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[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy that advocates self-governed societies based on voluntary institutions. These are often described as stateless societies, although several authors have defined them more specifically as institutions based on non-hierarchical free associations. Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary and harmful.\n\nWhile anti-statism is central, anarchism specifically entails opposing authority or hierarchical organisation in the conduct of all human relations, including—but not limited to—the state system. Anarchism is usually considered a far-left ideology and much of anarchist economics and anarchist legal philosophy reflects anti-authoritarian interpretations of communism, collectivism, syndicalism, mutualism or participatory economics.\n\nAnarchism does not offer a fixed body of doctrine from a single particular world view, instead fluxing and flowing as a philosophy. Many types and traditions of anarchism exist, not all of which are mutually exclusive. Anarchist schools of thought can differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme individualism to complete collectivism. Strains of anarchism have often been divided into the categories of social and individualist anarchism or similar dual classifications.\n", "\n\nThe word ''anarchism'' is composed from the word ''anarchy'' and the suffix ''-ism'', themselves derived respectively from the Greek , i.e. ''anarchy'' (from , ''anarchos'', meaning \"one without rulers\"; from the privative prefix ἀν- (''an-'', i.e. \"without\") and , ''archos'', i.e. \"leader\", \"ruler\"; (cf. ''archon'' or , ''arkhē'', i.e. \"authority\", \"sovereignty\", \"realm\", \"magistracy\")) and the suffix or (''-ismos'', ''-isma'', from the verbal infinitive suffix -ίζειν, ''-izein''). The first known use of this word was in 1539. Various factions within the French Revolution labelled opponents as anarchists (as Robespierre did the Hébertists) although few shared many views of later anarchists. There would be many revolutionaries of the early nineteenth century who contributed to the anarchist doctrines of the next generation, such as William Godwin and Wilhelm Weitling, but they did not use the word ''anarchist'' or ''anarchism'' in describing themselves or their beliefs.\n\nThe first political philosopher to call himself an anarchist was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, marking the formal birth of anarchism in the mid-nineteenth century. Since the 1890s, and beginning in France, the term \"libertarianism\" has often been used as a synonym for anarchism and was used almost exclusively in this sense until the 1950s in the United States; its use as a synonym is still common outside the United States. On the other hand, some use libertarianism to refer to individualistic free-market philosophy only, referring to free-market anarchism as libertarian anarchism.\n", "\n\n===Origins===\nWoodcut from a Diggers document by William Everard\n\nThe earliest anarchist themes can be found in the 6th century BC among the works of Taoist philosopher Laozi and in later centuries by Zhuangzi and Bao Jingyan. Zhuangzi's philosophy has been described by various sources as anarchist. Zhuangzi wrote: \"A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation\". Diogenes of Sinope and the Cynics, as well as their contemporary Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, also introduced similar topics. Jesus is sometimes considered the first anarchist in the Christian anarchist tradition. Georges Lechartier wrote: \"The true founder of anarchy was Jesus Christ and ... the first anarchist society was that of the apostles\". In early Islamic history, some manifestations of anarchic thought are found during the Islamic civil war over the Caliphate, where the Kharijites insisted that the imamate is a right for each individual within the Islamic society.\n\nThe French renaissance political philosopher Étienne de La Boétie wrote in his most famous work the ''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'' what some historians consider an important anarchist precedent. The radical Protestant Christian Gerrard Winstanley and his group the Diggers are cited by various authors as proposing anarchist social measures in the 17th century in England. The term \"anarchist\" first entered the English language in 1642, during the English Civil War, as a term of abuse, used by Royalists against their Roundhead opponents. By the time of the French Revolution some, such as the ''Enragés'', began to use the term positively, in opposition to Jacobin centralisation of power, seeing \"revolutionary government\" as oxymoronic. By the turn of the 19th century, the English word \"anarchism\" had lost its initial negative connotation.\n\nModern anarchism emerged from the secular or religious thought of the Enlightenment, particularly Jean-Jacques Rousseau's arguments for the moral centrality of freedom.\n\nAs part of the political turmoil of the 1790s in the wake of the French Revolution, William Godwin developed the first expression of modern anarchist thought. Godwin was, according to Peter Kropotkin, \"the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work\", while Godwin attached his anarchist ideas to an early Edmund Burke.\n\nWilliam Godwin, \"the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work\".\nGodwin is generally regarded as the founder of the school of thought known as 'philosophical anarchism'. He argued in ''Political Justice'' (1793) that government has an inherently malevolent influence on society, and that it perpetuates dependency and ignorance. He thought that the spread of the use of reason to the masses would eventually cause government to wither away as an unnecessary force. Although he did not accord the state with moral legitimacy, he was against the use of revolutionary tactics for removing the government from power. Rather, he advocated for its replacement through a process of peaceful evolution.\n\nHis aversion to the imposition of a rules-based society led him to denounce, as a manifestation of the people's 'mental enslavement', the foundations of law, property rights and even the institution of marriage. He considered the basic foundations of society as constraining the natural development of individuals to use their powers of reasoning to arrive at a mutually beneficial method of social organisation. In each case, government and its institutions are shown to constrain the development of our capacity to live wholly in accordance with the full and free exercise of private judgement.\n\nThe French Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is regarded as the first ''self-proclaimed'' anarchist, a label he adopted in his groundbreaking work, ''What is Property?'', published in 1840. It is for this reason that some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory. He developed the theory of spontaneous order in society, where organisation emerges without a central coordinator imposing its own idea of order against the wills of individuals acting in their own interests. His famous quote on the matter is \"Liberty is the mother, not the daughter, of order\". In ''What is Property?'' Proudhon answers with the famous accusation \"Property is theft.\" In this work, he opposed the institution of decreed \"property\" (''propriété''), where owners have complete rights to \"use and abuse\" their property as they wish. He contrasted this with what he called \"possession,\" or limited ownership of resources and goods only while in more or less continuous use. Later, however, Proudhon added that \"Property is Liberty\" and argued that it was a bulwark against state power. His opposition to the state, organised religion, and certain capitalist practices inspired subsequent anarchists, and made him one of the leading social thinkers of his time.\n\nThe anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque was the first person to describe himself as \"libertarian\". Unlike Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, he argued that, \"it is not the product of his or her labour that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature.\" In 1844 in Germany the post-hegelian philosopher Max Stirner published the book, ''The Ego and Its Own'', which would later be considered an influential early text of individualist anarchism. French anarchists active in the 1848 Revolution included Anselme Bellegarrigue, Ernest Coeurderoy, Joseph Déjacque and Pierre Joseph Proudhon.\n\n\n===First International and the Paris Commune===\n\nAnarchist Mikhail Bakunin opposed the Marxist aim of dictatorship of the proletariat in favour of universal rebellion, and allied himself with the federalists in the First International before his expulsion by the Marxists.\n\nIn Europe, harsh reaction followed the revolutions of 1848, during which ten countries had experienced brief or long-term social upheaval as groups carried out nationalist uprisings. After most of these attempts at systematic change ended in failure, conservative elements took advantage of the divided groups of socialists, anarchists, liberals, and nationalists, to prevent further revolt. In Spain Ramón de la Sagra established the anarchist journal ''El Porvenir'' in La Coruña in 1845 which was inspired by Proudhon´s ideas. The Catalan politician Francesc Pi i Margall became the principal translator of Proudhon's works into Spanish and later briefly became president of Spain in 1873 while being the leader of the Democratic Republican Federal Party. According to George Woodcock \"These translations were to have a profound and lasting effect on the development of Spanish anarchism after 1870, but before that time Proudhonian ideas, as interpreted by Pi, already provided much of the inspiration for the federalist movement which sprang up in the early 1860's.\" According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' \"During the Spanish revolution of 1873, Pi y Margall attempted to establish a decentralised, or \"cantonalist,\" political system on Proudhonian lines.\"\n\nIn 1864 the International Workingmen's Association (sometimes called the \"First International\") united diverse revolutionary currents including French followers of Proudhon, Blanquists, Philadelphes, English trade unionists, socialists and social democrats. Due to its links to active workers' movements, the International became a significant organisation. Karl Marx became a leading figure in the International and a member of its General Council. Proudhon's followers, the mutualists, opposed Marx's state socialism, advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings. Woodcock also reports that the American individualist anarchists Lysander Spooner and William B. Greene had been members of the First International. In 1868, following their unsuccessful participation in the League of Peace and Freedom (LPF), Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin and his collectivist anarchist associates joined the First International (which had decided not to get involved with the LPF). They allied themselves with the federalist socialist sections of the International, who advocated the revolutionary overthrow of the state and the collectivisation of property.\n\nAt first, the collectivists worked with the Marxists to push the First International in a more revolutionary socialist direction. Subsequently, the International became polarised into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads. Mikhail Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as centralist and predicted that, if a Marxist party came to power, its leaders would simply take the place of the ruling class they had fought against. Anarchist historian George Woodcock reports that \"The annual Congress of the International had not taken place in 1870 owing to the outbreak of the Paris Commune, and in 1871 the General Council called only a special conference in London. One delegate was able to attend from Spain and none from Italy, while a technical excuse – that they had split away from the Fédération Romande – was used to avoid inviting Bakunin's Swiss supporters. Thus only a tiny minority of anarchists was present, and the General Council's resolutions passed almost unanimously. Most of them were clearly directed against Bakunin and his followers.\" In 1872, the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups at the Hague Congress, where Bakunin and James Guillaume were expelled from the International and its headquarters were transferred to New York. In response, the federalist sections formed their own International at the St. Imier Congress, adopting a revolutionary anarchist programme.\n\nThe Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally, from 28 March) to 28 May 1871. The Commune was the result of an uprising in Paris after France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War. Anarchists participated actively in the establishment of the Paris Commune. They included Louise Michel, the Reclus brothers, and Eugene Varlin (the latter murdered in the repression afterwards). As for the reforms initiated by the Commune, such as the re-opening of workplaces as co-operatives, anarchists can see their ideas of associated labour beginning to be realised ... Moreover, the Commune's ideas on federation obviously reflected the influence of Proudhon on French radical ideas. Indeed, the Commune's vision of a communal France based on a federation of delegates bound by imperative mandates issued by their electors and subject to recall at any moment echoes Bakunin's and Proudhon's ideas (Proudhon, like Bakunin, had argued in favour of the \"implementation of the binding mandate\" in 1848 ... and for federation of communes). Thus both economically and politically the Paris Commune was heavily influenced by anarchist ideas. George Woodcock states:\n\n\n===Organised labour===\n\nThe anti-authoritarian sections of the First International were the precursors of the anarcho-syndicalists, seeking to \"replace the privilege and authority of the State\" with the \"free and spontaneous organization of labour.\" In 1886, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) of the United States and Canada unanimously set 1 May 1886, as the date by which the eight-hour work day would become standard.\nA sympathetic engraving by Walter Crane of the executed \"Anarchists of Chicago\" after the Haymarket affair. The Haymarket affair is generally considered the most significant event for the origin of international May Day observances.\nIn response, unions across the United States prepared a general strike in support of the event. On 3 May, in Chicago, a fight broke out when strikebreakers attempted to cross the picket line, and two workers died when police opened fire upon the crowd. The next day, 4 May, anarchists staged a rally at Chicago's Haymarket Square. A bomb was thrown by an unknown party near the conclusion of the rally, killing an officer. In the ensuing panic, police opened fire on the crowd and each other. Seven police officers and at least four workers were killed. Eight anarchists directly and indirectly related to the organisers of the rally were arrested and charged with the murder of the deceased officer. The men became international political celebrities among the labour movement. Four of the men were executed and a fifth committed suicide prior to his own execution. The incident became known as the Haymarket affair, and was a setback for the labour movement and the struggle for the eight-hour day. In 1890 a second attempt, this time international in scope, to organise for the eight-hour day was made. The event also had the secondary purpose of memorialising workers killed as a result of the Haymarket affair. Although it had initially been conceived as a once-off event, by the following year the celebration of International Workers' Day on May Day had become firmly established as an international worker's holiday.\n\nIn 1907, the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam gathered delegates from 14 different countries, among which important figures of the anarchist movement, including Errico Malatesta, Pierre Monatte, Luigi Fabbri, Benoît Broutchoux, Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker, and Christiaan Cornelissen. Various themes were treated during the Congress, in particular concerning the organisation of the anarchist movement, popular education issues, the general strike or antimilitarism. A central debate concerned the relation between anarchism and syndicalism (or trade unionism). Malatesta and Monatte were in particular disagreement themselves on this issue, as the latter thought that syndicalism was revolutionary and would create the conditions of a social revolution, while Malatesta did not consider syndicalism by itself sufficient. He thought that the trade-union movement was reformist and even conservative, citing as essentially bourgeois and anti-worker the phenomenon of professional union officials. Malatesta warned that the syndicalists aims were in perpetuating syndicalism itself, whereas anarchists must always have anarchy as their end and consequently refrain from committing to any particular method of achieving it.\n\nThe Spanish Workers Federation in 1881 was the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement; anarchist trade union federations were of special importance in Spain. The most successful was the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), founded in 1910. Before the 1940s, the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics, attracting 1.58 million members at one point and playing a major role in the Spanish Civil War. The CNT was affiliated with the International Workers Association, a federation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions founded in 1922, with delegates representing two million workers from 15 countries in Europe and Latin America. In Latin America in particular \"The anarchists quickly became active in organising craft and industrial workers throughout South and Central America, and until the early 1920s most of the trade unions in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina were anarcho-syndicalist in general outlook; the prestige of the Spanish C.N.T. as a revolutionary organisation was undoubtedly to a great extent responsible for this situation. The largest and most militant of these organisations was the Federación Obrera Regional Argentina ... it grew quickly to a membership of nearly a quarter of a million, which dwarfed the rival socialdemocratic unions.\"\n\n\n===Propaganda of the deed and illegalism===\n\nItalian-American anarchist Luigi Galleani. His followers, known as Galleanists, carried out a series of bombings and assassination attempts from 1914 to 1932 in what they saw as attacks on 'tyrants' and 'enemies of the people'\nSome anarchists, such as Johann Most, advocated publicising violent acts of retaliation against counter-revolutionaries because \"we preach not only action in and for itself, but also action as propaganda.\" Scholars such as Beverly Gage contend that this was not advocacy of mass murder, but targeted killings of members of the ruling class at times when such actions might garner sympathy from the population, such as during periods of heightened government repression or labor conflicts where workers were killed. However, Most himself once boasted that \"the existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents. Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion.\" Most is best known for a pamphlet published in 1885: ''The Science of Revolutionary Warfare'', a how-to manual on the subject of making explosives, based on knowledge he acquired while working at an explosives plant in New Jersey.\n\nBy the 1880s, people inside and outside the anarchist movement began to use the slogan, \"propaganda of the deed\" to refer to individual bombings, regicides, and tyrannicides. From 1905 onwards, the Russian counterparts of these anti-syndicalist anarchist-communists become partisans of economic terrorism and illegal 'expropriations'.\" Illegalism as a practice emerged and within it \"The acts of the anarchist bombers and assassins (\"propaganda by the deed\") and the anarchist burglars (\"individual reappropriation\") expressed their desperation and their personal, violent rejection of an intolerable society. Moreover, they were clearly meant to be ''exemplary'' invitations to revolt.\". France's Bonnot Gang was the most famous group to embrace illegalism.\n\nHowever, as soon as 1887, important figures in the anarchist movement distanced themselves from such individual acts. Peter Kropotkin thus wrote that year in ''Le Révolté'' that \"a structure based on centuries of history cannot be destroyed with a few kilos of dynamite\". A variety of anarchists advocated the abandonment of these sorts of tactics in favour of collective revolutionary action, for example through the trade union movement. The anarcho-syndicalist, Fernand Pelloutier, argued in 1895 for renewed anarchist involvement in the labour movement on the basis that anarchism could do very well without \"the individual dynamiter.\"\n\nState repression (including the infamous 1894 French ''lois scélérates'') of the anarchist and labour movements following the few successful bombings and assassinations may have contributed to the abandonment of these kinds of tactics, although reciprocally state repression, in the first place, may have played a role in these isolated acts. The dismemberment of the French socialist movement, into many groups and, following the suppression of the 1871 Paris Commune, the execution and exile of many ''communards'' to penal colonies, favoured individualist political expression and acts.\n\nNumerous heads of state were assassinated between 1881 and 1914 by members of the anarchist movement, including Tsar Alexander II of Russia, President Sadi Carnot of France, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, King Umberto I of Italy, President William McKinley of the United States, King Carlos I of Portugal and King George I of Greece. McKinley's assassin Leon Czolgosz claimed to have been influenced by anarchist and feminist Emma Goldman.\n\n===Russian Revolution and other uprisings of the 1910s===\n\nNestor Makhno with members of the anarchist Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine\nAnarchists participated alongside the Bolsheviks in both February and October revolutions, and were initially enthusiastic about the Bolshevik revolution. However, following a political falling out with the Bolsheviks by the anarchists and other left-wing opposition, the conflict culminated in the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion, which the new government repressed. Anarchists in central Russia were either imprisoned, driven underground or joined the victorious Bolsheviks; the anarchists from Petrograd and Moscow fled to Ukraine. There, in the Free Territory, they fought in the civil war against the Whites (a grouping of monarchists and other opponents of the October Revolution) and then the Bolsheviks as part of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine led by Nestor Makhno, who established an anarchist society in the region for a number of months.\n\nExpelled American anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were among those agitating in response to Bolshevik policy and the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, before they left Russia. Both wrote accounts of their experiences in Russia, criticising the amount of control the Bolsheviks exercised. For them, Bakunin's predictions about the consequences of Marxist rule that the rulers of the new \"socialist\" Marxist state would become a new elite had proved all too true.\n\nThe victory of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally. Many workers and activists saw Bolshevik success as setting an example; Communist parties grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements. In France and the United States, for example, members of the major syndicalist movements of the CGT and IWW left the organisations and joined the Communist International.\n\nThe revolutionary wave of 1917–23 saw the active participation of anarchists in varying degrees of protagonism. In the German uprising known as the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which established the Bavarian Soviet Republic the anarchists Gustav Landauer, Silvio Gesell and Erich Mühsam had important leadership positions within the revolutionary councilist structures. In the Italian events known as the ''biennio rosso'' the anarcho-syndicalist trade union Unione Sindacale Italiana \"grew to 800,000 members and the influence of the Italian Anarchist Union (20,000 members plus ''Umanita Nova'', its daily paper) grew accordingly ... Anarchists were the first to suggest occupying workplaces. In the Mexican Revolution the Mexican Liberal Party was established and during the early 1910s it led a series of military offensives leading to the conquest and occupation of certain towns and districts in Baja California with the leadership of anarcho-communist Ricardo Flores Magón.\n\nIn Paris, the Dielo Truda group of Russian anarchist exiles, which included Nestor Makhno, concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of Bolshevism. Their 1926 manifesto, called the ''Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)'', was supported. Platformist groups active today include the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland and the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists of North America. Synthesis anarchism emerged as an organisational alternative to platformism that tries to join anarchists of different tendencies under the principles of anarchism without adjectives. In the 1920s this form found as its main proponents Volin and Sebastien Faure. It is the main principle behind the anarchist federations grouped around the contemporary global International of Anarchist Federations.\n\n===Conflicts with European fascist regimes===\n\n\n\nIn the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of fascism in Europe transformed anarchism's conflict with the state. Italy saw the first struggles between anarchists and fascists. Italian anarchists played a key role in the anti-fascist organisation ''Arditi del Popolo'', which was strongest in areas with anarchist traditions, and achieved some success in their activism, such as repelling Blackshirts in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922. The veteran Italian anarchist, Luigi Fabbri, was one of the first critical theorists of fascism, describing it as \"the preventive counter-revolution.\" In France, where the far right leagues came close to insurrection in the February 1934 riots, anarchists divided over a united front policy.\n\nAnarchists in France and Italy were active in the Resistance during World War II. In Germany the anarchist Erich Mühsam was arrested on charges unknown in the early morning hours of 28 February 1933, within a few hours after the Reichstag fire in Berlin. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, labelled him as one of \"those Jewish subversives.\" Over the next seventeen months, he would be imprisoned in the concentration camps at Sonnenburg, Brandenburg and finally, Oranienburg. On 2 February 1934, Mühsam was transferred to the concentration camp at Oranienburg when finally on the night of 9 July 1934, Mühsam was tortured and murdered by the guards, his battered corpse found hanging in a latrine the next morning.\n\n===Spanish Revolution===\n\nIn Spain, the national anarcho-syndicalist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance, and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory. But in 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power. Months later, conservative members of the military, with the support of minority extreme-right parties, responded with an attempted coup, causing the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). In response to the army rebellion, an anarchist-inspired movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of Barcelona and of large areas of rural Spain where they collectivised the land. But even before the fascist victory in 1939, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the Stalinists, who controlled much of the distribution of military aid to the Republican cause from the Soviet Union. According to Noam Chomsky, \"the communists were mainly responsible for the destruction of the Spanish anarchists. Not just in Catalonia—the communist armies mainly destroyed the collectives elsewhere. The communists basically acted as the police force of the security system of the Republic and were very much opposed to the anarchists, partially because Stalin still hoped at that time to have some kind of pact with Western countries against Hitler. That, of course, failed and Stalin withdrew the support to the Republic. They even withdrew the Spanish gold reserves.\" The events known as the Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organisational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to three years, primarily Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of the Levante. Much of Spain's economy was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy Communist Party of Spain influence, as the Soviet-allied party actively resisted attempts at collectivisation enactment. Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivised and run as libertarian communes. Anarchist historian Sam Dolgoff estimated that about eight million people participated directly or at least indirectly in the Spanish Revolution, which he claimed \"came closer to realising the ideal of the free stateless society on a vast scale than any other revolution in history.\" Spanish Communist Party-led troops suppressed the collectives and persecuted both dissident Marxists and anarchists. The prominent Italian anarchist Camillo Berneri, who volunteered to fight against Franco was killed instead in Spain by gunmen associated with the Spanish Communist Party. The city of Madrid was turned over to the francoist forces by the last non-francoist mayor of the city, the anarchist Melchor Rodríguez García.\n\n===Post-war years===\n\n\nAnarchism sought to reorganise itself after the war and in this context the organisational debate between synthesis anarchism and platformism took importance once again especially in the anarchist movements of Italy and France. The Mexican Anarchist Federation was established in 1945 after the Anarchist Federation of the Centre united with the Anarchist Federation of the Federal District. In the early 1940s, the Antifascist International Solidarity and the Federation of Anarchist Groups of Cuba merged into the large national organisation Asociación Libertaria de Cuba (Cuban Libertarian Association). From 1944 to 1947, the Bulgarian Anarchist Communist Federation reemerged as part of a factory and workplace committee movement, but was repressed by the new Communist regime. In 1945 in France the Fédération Anarchiste and the anarchosyndicalist trade union Confédération nationale du travail was established in the next year while the also synthesist Federazione Anarchica Italiana was founded in Italy. Korean anarchists formed the League of Free Social Constructors in September 1945 and in 1946 the Japanese Anarchist Federation was founded. An International Anarchist Congress with delegates from across Europe was held in Paris in May 1948. After World War II, an appeal in the ''Fraye Arbeter Shtime'' detailing the plight of German anarchists and called for Americans to support them. By February 1946, the sending of aid parcels to anarchists in Germany was a large-scale operation. The Federation of Libertarian Socialists was founded in Germany in 1947 and Rudolf Rocker wrote for its organ, ''Die Freie Gesellschaft'', which survived until 1953. In 1956 the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation was founded. In 1955 the Anarcho-Communist Federation of Argentina renamed itself as the Argentine Libertarian Federation. The Syndicalist Workers' Federation was a syndicalist group in active in post-war Britain, and one of Solidarity Federation's earliest predecessors. It was formed in 1950 by members of the dissolved Anarchist Federation of Britain. Unlike the AFB, which was influenced by anarcho-syndicalist ideas but ultimately not syndicalist itself, the SWF decided to pursue a more definitely syndicalist, worker-centred strategy from the outset.\n\nAnarchism continued to influence important literary and intellectual personalities of the time, such as Albert Camus, Herbert Read, Paul Goodman, Dwight Macdonald, Allen Ginsberg, George Woodcock, Leopold Kohr, Julian Beck, John Cage and the French Surrealist group led by André Breton, which now openly embraced anarchism and collaborated in the Fédération Anarchiste.\n\nAnarcho-pacifism became influential in the Anti-nuclear movement and anti war movements of the time as can be seen in the activism and writings of the English anarchist member of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Alex Comfort or the similar activism of the American catholic anarcho-pacifists Ammon Hennacy and Dorothy Day. Anarcho-pacifism became a \"basis for a critique of militarism on both sides of the Cold War.\" The resurgence of anarchist ideas during this period is well documented in Robert Graham's Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, ''Volume Two: The Emergence of the New Anarchism (1939–1977)''.\n\n===Contemporary anarchism===\n\nsquat near Parc Güell, overlooking Barcelona. Squatting was a prominent part of the emergence of renewed anarchist movement from the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. On the roof: \"Occupy and Resist\" A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred in western nations during the 1960s and 1970s. Anarchism was influential in the Counterculture of the 1960s and anarchists actively participated in the late sixties students and workers revolts. In 1968 in Carrara, Italy the International of Anarchist Federations was founded during an international anarchist conference held there in 1968 by the three existing European federations of France (the Fédération Anarchiste), the Federazione Anarchica Italiana of Italy and the Iberian Anarchist Federation as well as the Bulgarian federation in French exile.\n\nIn the United Kingdom in the 1970s this was associated with the punk rock movement, as exemplified by bands such as Crass and the Sex Pistols. The housing and employment crisis in most of Western Europe led to the formation of communes and squatter movements like that of Barcelona, Spain. In Denmark, squatters occupied a disused military base and declared the Freetown Christiania, an autonomous haven in central Copenhagen. Since the revival of anarchism in the mid-20th century, a number of new movements and schools of thought emerged. Although feminist tendencies have always been a part of the anarchist movement in the form of anarcha-feminism, they returned with vigour during the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber and anarchist historian Andrej Grubacic have posited a rupture between generations of anarchism, with those \"who often still have not shaken the sectarian habits\" of the 19th century contrasted with the younger activists who are \"much more informed, among other elements, by indigenous, feminist, ecological and cultural-critical ideas\", and who by the turn of the 21st century formed \"by far the majority\" of anarchists.\n\nAround the turn of the 21st century, anarchism grew in popularity and influence as part of the anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-globalisation movements. Anarchists became known for their involvement in protests against the meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Group of Eight, and the World Economic Forum. Some anarchist factions at these protests engaged in rioting, property destruction, and violent confrontations with police. These actions were precipitated by ad hoc, leaderless, anonymous cadres known as ''black blocs''; other organisational tactics pioneered in this time include security culture, affinity groups and the use of decentralised technologies such as the internet. A significant event of this period was the confrontations at WTO conference in Seattle in 1999. According to anarchist scholar Simon Critchley, \"contemporary anarchism can be seen as a powerful critique of the pseudo-libertarianism of contemporary neo-liberalism ... One might say that contemporary anarchism is about responsibility, whether sexual, ecological or socio-economic; it flows from an experience of conscience about the manifold ways in which the West ravages the rest; it is an ethical outrage at the yawning inequality, impoverishment and disenfranchisment that is so palpable locally and globally.\"\n\nInternational anarchist federations in existence include the International of Anarchist Federations, the International Workers' Association, and International Libertarian Solidarity.\nThe largest organised anarchist movement today is in Spain, in the form of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) and the CNT. CGT membership was estimated at around 100,000 for 2003.\n", "\nPortrait of philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) by Gustave Courbet. Proudhon was the primary proponent of anarchist mutualism, and influenced many later individualist anarchist and social anarchist thinkers.\nAnarchist schools of thought had been generally grouped in two main historical traditions, individualist anarchism and social anarchism, which have some different origins, values and evolution. The individualist wing of anarchism emphasises negative liberty, i.e. opposition to state or social control over the individual, while those in the social wing emphasise positive liberty to achieve one's potential and argue that humans have needs that society ought to fulfil, \"recognising equality of entitlement\". In a chronological and theoretical sense, there are classical – those created throughout the 19th century – and post-classical anarchist schools – those created since the mid-20th century and after.\n\nBeyond the specific factions of anarchist thought is philosophical anarchism, which embodies the theoretical stance that the state lacks moral legitimacy without accepting the imperative of revolution to eliminate it. A component especially of individualist anarchism philosophical anarchism may accept the existence of a minimal state as unfortunate, and usually temporary, \"necessary evil\" but argue that citizens do not have a moral obligation to obey the state when its laws conflict with individual autonomy. One reaction against sectarianism within the anarchist milieu was \"anarchism without adjectives\", a call for toleration first adopted by Fernando Tarrida del Mármol in 1889 in response to the \"bitter debates\" of anarchist theory at the time. In abandoning the hyphenated anarchisms (i.e. collectivist-, communist-, mutualist– and individualist-anarchism), it sought to emphasise the anti-authoritarian beliefs common to all anarchist schools of thought.\n\n===Classical anarchist schools of thought===\n\n====Mutualism====\n\nMutualism began in 18th-century English and French labour movements before taking an anarchist form associated with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in France and others in the United States. Proudhon proposed spontaneous order, whereby organisation emerges without central authority, a \"positive anarchy\" where order arises when everybody does \"what he wishes and only what he wishes\" and where \"business transactions alone produce the social order.\" Proudhon distinguished between ideal political possibilities and practical governance. For this reason, much in contrast to some of his theoretical statements concerning ultimate spontaneous self-governance, Proudhon was heavily involved in French parliamentary politics and allied himself not with anarchist but socialist factions of workers' movements and, in addition to advocating state-protected charters for worker-owned cooperatives, promoted certain nationalisation schemes during his life of public service.\n\nMutualist anarchism is concerned with reciprocity, free association, voluntary contract, federation, and credit and currency reform. According to the American mutualist William Batchelder Greene, each worker in the mutualist system would receive \"just and exact pay for his work; services equivalent in cost being exchangeable for services equivalent in cost, without profit or discount.\" Mutualism has been retrospectively characterised as ideologically situated between individualist and collectivist forms of anarchism.''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought'', Blackwell Publishing 1991 , p. 11. Proudhon first characterised his goal as a \"third form of society, the synthesis of communism and property.\"\n\n====Individualist anarchism====\n\nIndividualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasise the individual and their will over any kinds of external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a group of individualistic philosophies that sometimes are in conflict.\n\nIn 1793, William Godwin, who has often been cited as the first anarchist, wrote ''Political Justice'', which some consider the first expression of anarchism. Godwin, a philosophical anarchist, from a rationalist and utilitarian basis opposed revolutionary action and saw a minimal state as a present \"necessary evil\" that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge. Godwin advocated individualism, proposing that all cooperation in labour be eliminated on the premise that this would be most conducive with the general good.\n19th-century philosopher Max Stirner, usually considered a prominent early individualist anarchist (sketch by Friedrich Engels).\nAn influential form of individualist anarchism, called \"egoism,\" or egoist anarchism, was expounded by one of the earliest and best-known proponents of individualist anarchism, the German Max Stirner. Stirner's ''The Ego and Its Own'', published in 1844, is a founding text of the philosophy. According to Stirner, the only limitation on the rights of individuals is their power to obtain what they desire, without regard for God, state, or morality. To Stirner, rights were ''spooks'' in the mind, and he held that society does not exist but \"the individuals are its reality\". Stirner advocated self-assertion and foresaw unions of egoists, non-systematic associations continually renewed by all parties' support through an act of will, which Stirner proposed as a form of organisation in place of the state. Egoist anarchists argue that egoism will foster genuine and spontaneous union between individuals. \"Egoism\" has inspired many interpretations of Stirner's philosophy. It was re-discovered and promoted by German philosophical anarchist and homosexual activist John Henry Mackay.\n\nJosiah Warren is widely regarded as the first American anarchist, and the four-page weekly paper he edited during 1833, ''The Peaceful Revolutionist'', was the first anarchist periodical published. For American anarchist historian Eunice Minette Schuster \"It is apparent ... that Proudhonian Anarchism was to be found in the United States at least as early as 1848 and that it was not conscious of its affinity to the Individualist Anarchism of Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews ... William B. Greene presented this Proudhonian Mutualism in its purest and most systematic form.\". Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an important early influence in individualist anarchist thought in the United States and Europe. Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his books ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, ''Civil Disobedience'', an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state. Later Benjamin Tucker fused Stirner's egoism with the economics of Warren and Proudhon in his eclectic influential publication ''Liberty''.\n\nFrom these early influences individualist anarchism in different countries attracted a small but diverse following of bohemian artists and intellectuals, free love and birth control advocates (see Anarchism and issues related to love and sex), individualist naturists nudists (see anarcho-naturism), freethought and anti-clerical activists as well as young anarchist outlaws in what became known as illegalism and individual reclamation (see European individualist anarchism and individualist anarchism in France). These authors and activists included Oscar Wilde, Emile Armand, Han Ryner, Henri Zisly, Renzo Novatore, Miguel Gimenez Igualada, Adolf Brand and Lev Chernyi among others.\n\n====Social anarchism====\n\nSocial anarchism calls for a system with common ownership of means of production and democratic control of all organisations, without any government authority or coercion. It is the largest school of thought in anarchism. Social anarchism rejects private property, seeing it as a source of social inequality (while retaining respect for personal property), and emphasises cooperation and mutual aid.\n\n=====Collectivist anarchism=====\n\nCollectivist anarchism, also referred to as \"revolutionary socialism\" or a form of such, is a revolutionary form of anarchism, commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin and Johann Most. Collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating that ownership be collectivised. This was to be achieved through violent revolution, first starting with a small cohesive group through acts of violence, or ''propaganda by the deed'', which would inspire the workers as a whole to revolt and forcibly collectivise the means of production.\n\nHowever, collectivisation was not to be extended to the distribution of income, as workers would be paid according to time worked, rather than receiving goods being distributed \"according to need\" as in anarcho-communism. This position was criticised by anarchist communists as effectively \"upholding the wages system\". Collectivist anarchism arose contemporaneously with Marxism but opposed the Marxist dictatorship of the proletariat, despite the stated Marxist goal of a collectivist stateless society. Anarchist, communist and collectivist ideas are not mutually exclusive; although the collectivist anarchists advocated compensation for labour, some held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need.\n\n=====Anarcho-communism=====\n\n\nAnarchist communism (also known as anarcho-communism, libertarian communism and occasionally as free communism) is a theory of anarchism that advocates abolition of the state, markets, money, private property (while retaining respect for personal property), and capitalism in favour of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: \"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need\".\n\nRussian theorist Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921), who was influential in the development of anarchist communism\n\nSome forms of anarchist communism such as insurrectionary anarchism are strongly influenced by egoism and radical individualism, believing anarcho-communism is the best social system for the realisation of individual freedom. Most anarcho-communists view anarcho-communism as a way of reconciling the opposition between the individual and society.\n\nAnarcho-communism developed out of radical socialist currents after the French revolution but was first formulated as such in the Italian section of the First International. The theoretical work of Peter Kropotkin took importance later as it expanded and developed pro-organisationalist and insurrectionary anti-organisationalist sections. To date, the best known examples of an anarchist communist society (i.e., established around the ideas as they exist today and achieving worldwide attention and knowledge in the historical canon), are the anarchist territories during the Spanish Revolution and the Free Territory during the Russian Revolution. Through the efforts and influence of the Spanish Anarchists during the Spanish Revolution within the Spanish Civil War, starting in 1936 anarchist communism existed in most of Aragon, parts of the Levante and Andalusia, as well as in the stronghold of Anarchist Catalonia before being crushed by the combined forces of the regime that won the war, Hitler, Mussolini, Spanish Communist Party repression (backed by the USSR) as well as economic and armaments blockades from the capitalist countries and the Spanish Republic itself. During the Russian Revolution, anarchists such as Nestor Makhno worked to create and defend – through the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine – anarchist communism in the Free Territory of the Ukraine from 1919 before being conquered by the Bolsheviks in 1921.\n\n=====Anarcho-syndicalism=====\n\nMay day demonstration of Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union CNT in Bilbao, Basque Country in 2010Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism that focuses on the labour movement. Anarcho-syndicalists view labour unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are: Workers' solidarity, Direct action and Workers' self-management\nAnarcho-syndicalists believe that only direct action – that is, action concentrated on directly attaining a goal, as opposed to indirect action, such as electing a representative to a government position – will allow workers to liberate themselves. Moreover, anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers' organisations (the organisations that struggle against the wage system, which, in anarcho-syndicalist theory, will eventually form the basis of a new society) should be self-managing. They should not have bosses or \"business agents\"; rather, the workers should be able to make all the decisions that affect them themselves. Rudolf Rocker was one of the most popular voices in the anarcho-syndicalist movement. He outlined a view of the origins of the movement, what it sought, and why it was important to the future of labour in his 1938 pamphlet ''Anarcho-Syndicalism''. The International Workers Association is an international anarcho-syndicalist federation of various labour unions from different countries. The Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo played and still plays a major role in the Spanish labour movement. It was also an important force in the Spanish Civil War.\n\n===Post-classical schools of thought===\n\nLawrence Jarach (left) and John Zerzan (right), two prominent contemporary anarchist authors. Zerzan is known as prominent voice within anarcho-primitivism, while Jarach is a noted advocate of post-left anarchy.\nAnarchism continues to generate many philosophies and movements, at times eclectic, drawing upon various sources, and syncretic, combining disparate concepts to create new philosophical approaches.\n\nGreen anarchism (or eco-anarchism) is a school of thought within anarchism that emphasises environmental issues, with an important precedent in anarcho-naturism, and whose main contemporary currents are anarcho-primitivism and social ecology. Writing from a green anarchist perspective, John Zerzan attributes the ills of today's social degradation to technology and the birth of agricultural civilization. While Layla AbdelRahim argues that \"the shift in human consciousness was also a shift in human subsistence strategies, whereby some human animals reinvented their narrative to center murder and predation and thereby institutionalize violence\". Thus, according to her, civilization was the result of the human development of technologies and grammar for predatory economics. Language and literacy, she claims, are some of these technologies.\n\nAnarcha-feminism (also called anarchist feminism and anarcho-feminism) combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary coercive hierarchy that should be replaced by decentralised free association. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state. In essence, the philosophy sees anarchist struggle as a necessary component of feminist struggle and vice versa. L. Susan Brown claims that \"as anarchism is a political philosophy that opposes all relationships of power, it is inherently feminist\". Anarcha-feminism began with the late 19th-century writings of early feminist anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Voltairine de Cleyre.\n\nAnarcho-pacifism is a tendency that rejects violence in the struggle for social change (see non-violence). It developed \"mostly in the Netherlands, Britain, and the United States, before and during the Second World War\". Christian anarchism is a movement in political theology that combines anarchism and Christianity. Its main proponents included Leo Tolstoy, Dorothy Day, Ammon Hennacy, and Jacques Ellul.\n\nPlatformism is a tendency within the wider anarchist movement based on the organisational theories in the tradition of Dielo Truda's ''Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)''. The document was based on the experiences of Russian anarchists in the 1917 October Revolution, which led eventually to the victory of the Bolsheviks over the anarchists and other groups. The ''Platform'' attempted to address and explain the anarchist movement's failures during the Russian Revolution.\n\nSynthesis anarchism is a form of anarchism that tries to join anarchists of different tendencies under the principles of anarchism without adjectives. In the 1920s, this form found as its main proponents the anarcho-communists Voline and Sébastien Faure. It is the main principle behind the anarchist federations grouped around the contemporary global International of Anarchist Federations.\n\nPost-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional Left-wing politics. Some post-leftists seek to escape the confines of ideology in general also presenting a critique of organisations and morality. Influenced by the work of Max Stirner and by the Marxist Situationist International, post-left anarchy is marked by a focus on social insurrection and a rejection of leftist social organisation.\n\nInsurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory, practice, and tendency within the anarchist movement which emphasises insurrection within anarchist practice. It is critical of formal organisations such as labour unions and federations that are based on a political programme and periodic congresses. Instead, insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organisation and small affinity group based organisation. Insurrectionary anarchists put value in attack, permanent class conflict, and a refusal to negotiate or compromise with class enemies.\n\nPost-anarchism is a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought, drawing from diverse ideas including post-modernism, autonomist marxism, post-left anarchy, Situationist International, and postcolonialism.\n\nLeft-wing market anarchism strongly affirm the classical liberal ideas of self-ownership and free markets, while maintaining that, taken to their logical conclusions, these ideas support strongly anti-corporatist, anti-hierarchical, pro-labour positions and anti-capitalism in economics and anti-imperialism in foreign policy.\n\nAnarcho-capitalism advocates the elimination of the state in favour of self-ownership in a free market. Anarcho-capitalism developed from radical anti-state libertarianism and individualist anarchism, drawing from Austrian School economics, study of law and economics, and public choice theory. There is a strong current within anarchism which believes that anarcho-capitalism cannot be considered a part of the anarchist movement, due to the fact that anarchism has historically been an anti-capitalist movement and for definitional reasons which see anarchism as incompatible with capitalist forms.\n\n", "\nconsistent with anarchist values is a controversial subject among anarchists.\n\nAnarchism is a philosophy that embodies many diverse attitudes, tendencies and schools of thought; as such, disagreement over questions of values, ideology and tactics is common. The compatibility of capitalism, nationalism, and religion with anarchism is widely disputed. Similarly, anarchism enjoys complex relationships with ideologies such as Marxism, communism, collectivism, syndicalism/trade unionism, and capitalism. Anarchists may be motivated by humanism, divine authority, enlightened self-interest, veganism or any number of alternative ethical doctrines.\n\nPhenomena such as civilisation, technology (e.g. within anarcho-primitivism), and the democratic process may be sharply criticised within some anarchist tendencies and simultaneously lauded in others.\n\nOn a tactical level, while propaganda of the deed was a tactic used by anarchists in the 19th century (e.g. the Nihilist movement), some contemporary anarchists espouse alternative direct action methods such as nonviolence, counter-economics and anti-state cryptography to bring about an anarchist society. About the scope of an anarchist society, some anarchists advocate a global one, while others do so by local ones. The diversity in anarchism has led to widely different use of identical terms among different anarchist traditions, which has led to many definitional concerns in anarchist theory.\n\n", "Intersecting and overlapping between various schools of thought, certain topics of interest and internal disputes have proven perennial within anarchist theory.\n\n===Free love===\n\nFrench individualist anarchist Emile Armand (1872–1962), who propounded the virtues of free love in the Parisian anarchist milieu of the early 20th century\nAn important current within anarchism is free love. Free love advocates sometimes traced their roots back to Josiah Warren and to experimental communities, viewed sexual freedom as a clear, direct expression of an individual's sovereignty. Free love particularly stressed women's rights since most sexual laws discriminated against women: for example, marriage laws and anti-birth control measures. The most important American free love journal was ''Lucifer the Lightbearer'' (1883–1907) edited by Moses Harman and Lois Waisbrooker, but also there existed Ezra Heywood and Angela Heywood's ''The Word'' (1872–1890, 1892–1893). ''Free Society'' (1895–1897 as ''The Firebrand''; 1897–1904 as ''Free Society'') was a major anarchist newspaper in the United States at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The publication advocated free love and women's rights, and critiqued \"Comstockery\" – censorship of sexual information. Also M. E. Lazarus was an important American individualist anarchist who promoted free love.\n\nIn New York City's Greenwich Village, bohemian feminists and socialists advocated self-realisation and pleasure for women (and also men) in the here and now. They encouraged playing with sexual roles and sexuality, and the openly bisexual radical Edna St. Vincent Millay and the lesbian anarchist Margaret Anderson were prominent among them. Discussion groups organised by the Villagers were frequented by Emma Goldman, among others. Magnus Hirschfeld noted in 1923 that Goldman \"has campaigned boldly and steadfastly for individual rights, and especially for those deprived of their rights. Thus it came about that she was the first and only woman, indeed the first and only American, to take up the defence of homosexual love before the general public.\" In fact, before Goldman, heterosexual anarchist Robert Reitzel (1849–1898) spoke positively of homosexuality from the beginning of the 1890s in his Detroit-based German language journal ''Der arme Teufel'' (English: The Poor Devil). In Argentina anarcha-feminist Virginia Bolten published the newspaper called '''' (English: The Woman's Voice), which was published nine times in Rosario between 8 January 1896 and 1 January 1897, and was revived, briefly, in 1901.\n\nIn Europe the main propagandist of free love within individualist anarchism was Emile Armand. He proposed the concept of ''la camaraderie amoureuse'' to speak of free love as the possibility of voluntary sexual encounter between consenting adults. He was also a consistent proponent of polyamory. In Germany the stirnerists Adolf Brand and John Henry Mackay were pioneering campaigners for the acceptance of male bisexuality and homosexuality. Mujeres Libres was an anarchist women's organisation in Spain that aimed to empower working class women. It was founded in 1936 by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada and Amparo Poch y Gascón and had approximately 30,000 members. The organisation was based on the idea of a \"double struggle\" for women's liberation and social revolution and argued that the two objectives were equally important and should be pursued in parallel. In order to gain mutual support, they created networks of women anarchists. Lucía Sánchez Saornil was a main founder of the Spanish anarcha-feminist federation Mujeres Libres who was open about her lesbianism. She was published in a variety of literary journals where working under a male pen name, she was able to explore lesbian themes at a time when homosexuality was criminalised and subject to censorship and punishment.\n\nMore recently, the British anarcho-pacifist Alex Comfort gained notoriety during the sexual revolution for writing the bestseller sex manual ''The Joy of Sex''. The issue of free love has a dedicated treatment in the work of French anarcho-hedonist philosopher Michel Onfray in such works as ''Théorie du corps amoureux : pour une érotique solaire'' (2000) and ''L'invention du plaisir : fragments cyréaniques'' (2002).\n\n===Libertarian education and freethought===\n\nFrancesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Catalan anarchist pedagogue and free-thinker For English anarchist William Godwin education was \"the main means by which change would be achieved.\" Godwin saw that the main goal of education should be the promotion of happiness. For Godwin education had to have \"A respect for the child's autonomy which precluded any form of coercion,\" \"A pedagogy that respected this and sought to build on the child's own motivation and initiatives,\" and \"A concern about the child's capacity to resist an ideology transmitted through the school.\" In his ''Political Justice'' he criticises state sponsored schooling \"on account of its obvious alliance with national government\". Early American anarchist Josiah Warren advanced alternative education experiences in the libertarian communities he established. Max Stirner wrote in 1842 a long essay on education called ''The False Principle of our Education''. In it Stirner names his educational principle \"personalist,\" explaining that self-understanding consists in hourly self-creation. Education for him is to create \"free men, sovereign characters,\" by which he means \"eternal characters ... who are therefore eternal because they form themselves each moment\".\n\nIn the United States \"freethought was a basically anti-christian, anti-clerical movement, whose purpose was to make the individual politically and spiritually free to decide for himself on religious matters. A number of contributors to ''Liberty'' (anarchist publication) were prominent figures in both freethought and anarchism. The individualist anarchist George MacDonald was a co-editor of ''Freethought'' and, for a time, ''The Truth Seeker''. E.C. Walker was co-editor of the excellent free-thought / free love journal ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer''\". \"Many of the anarchists were ardent freethinkers; reprints from freethought papers such as ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer'', ''Freethought'' and ''The Truth Seeker'' appeared in ''Liberty''... The church was viewed as a common ally of the state and as a repressive force in and of itself\".\n\nIn 1901, Catalan anarchist and free-thinker Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia established \"modern\" or progressive schools in Barcelona in defiance of an educational system controlled by the Catholic Church. The schools' stated goal was to \"educate the working class in a rational, secular and non-coercive setting\". Fiercely anti-clerical, Ferrer believed in \"freedom in education\", education free from the authority of church and state. Murray Bookchin wrote: \"This period 1890s was the heyday of libertarian schools and pedagogical projects in all areas of the country where Anarchists exercised some degree of influence. Perhaps the best-known effort in this field was Francisco Ferrer's Modern School (Escuela Moderna), a project which exercised a considerable influence on Catalan education and on experimental techniques of teaching generally.\" La Escuela Moderna, and Ferrer's ideas generally, formed the inspiration for a series of ''Modern Schools'' in the United States, Cuba, South America and London. The first of these was started in New York City in 1911. It also inspired the Italian newspaper ''Università popolare'', founded in 1901. Russian christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy established a school for peasant children on his estate. Tolstoy's educational experiments were short-lived due to harassment by the Tsarist secret police. Tolstoy established a conceptual difference between education and culture. He thought that \"Education is the tendency of one man to make another just like himself ... Education is culture under restraint, culture is free. Education is when the teaching is forced upon the pupil, and when then instruction is exclusive, that is when only those subjects are taught which the educator regards as necessary\". For him \"without compulsion, education was transformed into culture\".\n\nA more recent libertarian tradition on education is that of unschooling and the free school in which child-led activity replaces pedagogic approaches. Experiments in Germany led to A. S. Neill founding what became Summerhill School in 1921. Summerhill is often cited as an example of anarchism in practice. However, although Summerhill and other free schools are radically libertarian, they differ in principle from those of Ferrer by not advocating an overtly political class struggle-approach.\nIn addition to organising schools according to libertarian principles, anarchists have also questioned the concept of schooling per se. The term deschooling was popularised by Ivan Illich, who argued that the school as an institution is dysfunctional for self-determined learning and serves the creation of a consumer society instead.\n", "\nCriticisms of anarchism include moral criticisms and pragmatic criticisms. Anarchism is often evaluated as unfeasible or utopian by its critics.\n", "* Anarchism by country\n", "\n", "* Barclay, Harold, ''People Without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy'' (2nd ed.), Left Bank Books, 1990 \n* Blumenfeld, Jacob; Bottici, Chiara; Critchley, Simon, eds., ''The Anarchist Turn'', Pluto Press. 19 March 2013. \n* Carter, April, ''The Political Theory of Anarchism'', Harper & Row. 1971. \n* Federici, Silvia, '' Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation'', Autonomedia, 2004. . \n* Gordon, Uri, ''Anarchy Alive!'', London: Pluto Press, 2007.\n* Graeber, David. ''Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology'', Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2004\n* Graham, Robert, ed., ''Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas''.\n** ''Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE to 1939)'', Black Rose Books, Montréal and London 2005. .\n** ''Volume Two: The Anarchist Current (1939–2006)'', Black Rose Books, Montréal 2007. .\n* Guérin, Daniel, ''Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'', Monthly Review Press. 1970. \n* Harper, Clifford, ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'', (Camden Press, 1987): An overview, updating Woodcock's classic, and illustrated throughout by Harper's woodcut-style artwork.\n* Le Guin, Ursula, ''The Dispossessed'', New York : Harper & Row, 1974. (first edition, hardcover)\n* McKay, Iain, ed., ''An Anarchist FAQ''.\n** ''Volume I'', AK Press, Oakland/Edinburgh 2008; 558 pages, .\n** ''Volume II'', AK Press, Oakland/Edinburgh 2012; 550 Pages, \n* McLaughlin, Paul, ''Anarchism and Authority: A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism'', AshGate. 2007. \n* Marshall, Peter, ''Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism'', PM Press. 2010. \n* Nettlau, Max, ''Anarchy through the times'', Gordon Press. 1979. \n* \n* Scott, James C., ''Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play'', Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012. .\n*\n* Woodcock, George, ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements'' (Penguin Books, 1962). . .\n* Woodcock, George, ed., ''The Anarchist Reader'' (Fontana/Collins 1977; ): An anthology of writings from anarchist thinkers and activists including Proudhon, Kropotkin, Bakunin, Malatesta, Bookchin, Goldman, and many others.\n", "\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology and terminology", "History", "Anarchist schools of thought", "Internal issues and debates", "Topics of interest", "Criticisms", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "), Left Bank Books, 1990 \n* Blumenfeld, Jacob; Bottici, Chiara; Critchley, Simon, eds., ''The Anarchist Turn'', Pluto Press." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy that advocates self-governed societies based on voluntary institutions.", "These are often described as stateless societies, although several authors have defined them more specifically as institutions based on non-hierarchical free associations.", "Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary and harmful.", "While anti-statism is central, anarchism specifically entails opposing authority or hierarchical organisation in the conduct of all human relations, including—but not limited to—the state system.", "Anarchism is usually considered a far-left ideology and much of anarchist economics and anarchist legal philosophy reflects anti-authoritarian interpretations of communism, collectivism, syndicalism, mutualism or participatory economics.", "Anarchism does not offer a fixed body of doctrine from a single particular world view, instead fluxing and flowing as a philosophy.", "Many types and traditions of anarchism exist, not all of which are mutually exclusive.", "Anarchist schools of thought can differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme individualism to complete collectivism.", "Strains of anarchism have often been divided into the categories of social and individualist anarchism or similar dual classifications.", "\n\nThe word ''anarchism'' is composed from the word ''anarchy'' and the suffix ''-ism'', themselves derived respectively from the Greek , i.e.", "''anarchy'' (from , ''anarchos'', meaning \"one without rulers\"; from the privative prefix ἀν- (''an-'', i.e.", "\"without\") and , ''archos'', i.e.", "\"leader\", \"ruler\"; (cf.", "''archon'' or , ''arkhē'', i.e.", "\"authority\", \"sovereignty\", \"realm\", \"magistracy\")) and the suffix or (''-ismos'', ''-isma'', from the verbal infinitive suffix -ίζειν, ''-izein'').", "The first known use of this word was in 1539.", "Various factions within the French Revolution labelled opponents as anarchists (as Robespierre did the Hébertists) although few shared many views of later anarchists.", "There would be many revolutionaries of the early nineteenth century who contributed to the anarchist doctrines of the next generation, such as William Godwin and Wilhelm Weitling, but they did not use the word ''anarchist'' or ''anarchism'' in describing themselves or their beliefs.", "The first political philosopher to call himself an anarchist was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, marking the formal birth of anarchism in the mid-nineteenth century.", "Since the 1890s, and beginning in France, the term \"libertarianism\" has often been used as a synonym for anarchism and was used almost exclusively in this sense until the 1950s in the United States; its use as a synonym is still common outside the United States.", "On the other hand, some use libertarianism to refer to individualistic free-market philosophy only, referring to free-market anarchism as libertarian anarchism.", "\n\n===Origins===\nWoodcut from a Diggers document by William Everard\n\nThe earliest anarchist themes can be found in the 6th century BC among the works of Taoist philosopher Laozi and in later centuries by Zhuangzi and Bao Jingyan.", "Zhuangzi's philosophy has been described by various sources as anarchist.", "Zhuangzi wrote: \"A petty thief is put in jail.", "A great brigand becomes a ruler of a Nation\".", "Diogenes of Sinope and the Cynics, as well as their contemporary Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, also introduced similar topics.", "Jesus is sometimes considered the first anarchist in the Christian anarchist tradition.", "Georges Lechartier wrote: \"The true founder of anarchy was Jesus Christ and ... the first anarchist society was that of the apostles\".", "In early Islamic history, some manifestations of anarchic thought are found during the Islamic civil war over the Caliphate, where the Kharijites insisted that the imamate is a right for each individual within the Islamic society.", "The French renaissance political philosopher Étienne de La Boétie wrote in his most famous work the ''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'' what some historians consider an important anarchist precedent.", "The radical Protestant Christian Gerrard Winstanley and his group the Diggers are cited by various authors as proposing anarchist social measures in the 17th century in England.", "The term \"anarchist\" first entered the English language in 1642, during the English Civil War, as a term of abuse, used by Royalists against their Roundhead opponents.", "By the time of the French Revolution some, such as the ''Enragés'', began to use the term positively, in opposition to Jacobin centralisation of power, seeing \"revolutionary government\" as oxymoronic.", "By the turn of the 19th century, the English word \"anarchism\" had lost its initial negative connotation.", "Modern anarchism emerged from the secular or religious thought of the Enlightenment, particularly Jean-Jacques Rousseau's arguments for the moral centrality of freedom.", "As part of the political turmoil of the 1790s in the wake of the French Revolution, William Godwin developed the first expression of modern anarchist thought.", "Godwin was, according to Peter Kropotkin, \"the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work\", while Godwin attached his anarchist ideas to an early Edmund Burke.", "William Godwin, \"the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work\".", "Godwin is generally regarded as the founder of the school of thought known as 'philosophical anarchism'.", "He argued in ''Political Justice'' (1793) that government has an inherently malevolent influence on society, and that it perpetuates dependency and ignorance.", "He thought that the spread of the use of reason to the masses would eventually cause government to wither away as an unnecessary force.", "Although he did not accord the state with moral legitimacy, he was against the use of revolutionary tactics for removing the government from power.", "Rather, he advocated for its replacement through a process of peaceful evolution.", "His aversion to the imposition of a rules-based society led him to denounce, as a manifestation of the people's 'mental enslavement', the foundations of law, property rights and even the institution of marriage.", "He considered the basic foundations of society as constraining the natural development of individuals to use their powers of reasoning to arrive at a mutually beneficial method of social organisation.", "In each case, government and its institutions are shown to constrain the development of our capacity to live wholly in accordance with the full and free exercise of private judgement.", "The French Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is regarded as the first ''self-proclaimed'' anarchist, a label he adopted in his groundbreaking work, ''What is Property?", "'', published in 1840.", "It is for this reason that some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory.", "He developed the theory of spontaneous order in society, where organisation emerges without a central coordinator imposing its own idea of order against the wills of individuals acting in their own interests.", "His famous quote on the matter is \"Liberty is the mother, not the daughter, of order\".", "In ''What is Property?''", "Proudhon answers with the famous accusation \"Property is theft.\"", "In this work, he opposed the institution of decreed \"property\" (''propriété''), where owners have complete rights to \"use and abuse\" their property as they wish.", "He contrasted this with what he called \"possession,\" or limited ownership of resources and goods only while in more or less continuous use.", "Later, however, Proudhon added that \"Property is Liberty\" and argued that it was a bulwark against state power.", "His opposition to the state, organised religion, and certain capitalist practices inspired subsequent anarchists, and made him one of the leading social thinkers of his time.", "The anarcho-communist Joseph Déjacque was the first person to describe himself as \"libertarian\".", "Unlike Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, he argued that, \"it is not the product of his or her labour that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature.\"", "In 1844 in Germany the post-hegelian philosopher Max Stirner published the book, ''The Ego and Its Own'', which would later be considered an influential early text of individualist anarchism.", "French anarchists active in the 1848 Revolution included Anselme Bellegarrigue, Ernest Coeurderoy, Joseph Déjacque and Pierre Joseph Proudhon.", "===First International and the Paris Commune===\n\nAnarchist Mikhail Bakunin opposed the Marxist aim of dictatorship of the proletariat in favour of universal rebellion, and allied himself with the federalists in the First International before his expulsion by the Marxists.", "In Europe, harsh reaction followed the revolutions of 1848, during which ten countries had experienced brief or long-term social upheaval as groups carried out nationalist uprisings.", "After most of these attempts at systematic change ended in failure, conservative elements took advantage of the divided groups of socialists, anarchists, liberals, and nationalists, to prevent further revolt.", "In Spain Ramón de la Sagra established the anarchist journal ''El Porvenir'' in La Coruña in 1845 which was inspired by Proudhon´s ideas.", "The Catalan politician Francesc Pi i Margall became the principal translator of Proudhon's works into Spanish and later briefly became president of Spain in 1873 while being the leader of the Democratic Republican Federal Party.", "According to George Woodcock \"These translations were to have a profound and lasting effect on the development of Spanish anarchism after 1870, but before that time Proudhonian ideas, as interpreted by Pi, already provided much of the inspiration for the federalist movement which sprang up in the early 1860's.\"", "According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' \"During the Spanish revolution of 1873, Pi y Margall attempted to establish a decentralised, or \"cantonalist,\" political system on Proudhonian lines.\"", "In 1864 the International Workingmen's Association (sometimes called the \"First International\") united diverse revolutionary currents including French followers of Proudhon, Blanquists, Philadelphes, English trade unionists, socialists and social democrats.", "Due to its links to active workers' movements, the International became a significant organisation.", "Karl Marx became a leading figure in the International and a member of its General Council.", "Proudhon's followers, the mutualists, opposed Marx's state socialism, advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings.", "Woodcock also reports that the American individualist anarchists Lysander Spooner and William B. Greene had been members of the First International.", "In 1868, following their unsuccessful participation in the League of Peace and Freedom (LPF), Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin and his collectivist anarchist associates joined the First International (which had decided not to get involved with the LPF).", "They allied themselves with the federalist socialist sections of the International, who advocated the revolutionary overthrow of the state and the collectivisation of property.", "At first, the collectivists worked with the Marxists to push the First International in a more revolutionary socialist direction.", "Subsequently, the International became polarised into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads.", "Mikhail Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as centralist and predicted that, if a Marxist party came to power, its leaders would simply take the place of the ruling class they had fought against.", "Anarchist historian George Woodcock reports that \"The annual Congress of the International had not taken place in 1870 owing to the outbreak of the Paris Commune, and in 1871 the General Council called only a special conference in London.", "One delegate was able to attend from Spain and none from Italy, while a technical excuse – that they had split away from the Fédération Romande – was used to avoid inviting Bakunin's Swiss supporters.", "Thus only a tiny minority of anarchists was present, and the General Council's resolutions passed almost unanimously.", "Most of them were clearly directed against Bakunin and his followers.\"", "In 1872, the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups at the Hague Congress, where Bakunin and James Guillaume were expelled from the International and its headquarters were transferred to New York.", "In response, the federalist sections formed their own International at the St. Imier Congress, adopting a revolutionary anarchist programme.", "The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally, from 28 March) to 28 May 1871.", "The Commune was the result of an uprising in Paris after France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War.", "Anarchists participated actively in the establishment of the Paris Commune.", "They included Louise Michel, the Reclus brothers, and Eugene Varlin (the latter murdered in the repression afterwards).", "As for the reforms initiated by the Commune, such as the re-opening of workplaces as co-operatives, anarchists can see their ideas of associated labour beginning to be realised ...", "Moreover, the Commune's ideas on federation obviously reflected the influence of Proudhon on French radical ideas.", "Indeed, the Commune's vision of a communal France based on a federation of delegates bound by imperative mandates issued by their electors and subject to recall at any moment echoes Bakunin's and Proudhon's ideas (Proudhon, like Bakunin, had argued in favour of the \"implementation of the binding mandate\" in 1848 ... and for federation of communes).", "Thus both economically and politically the Paris Commune was heavily influenced by anarchist ideas.", "George Woodcock states:\n\n\n===Organised labour===\n\nThe anti-authoritarian sections of the First International were the precursors of the anarcho-syndicalists, seeking to \"replace the privilege and authority of the State\" with the \"free and spontaneous organization of labour.\"", "In 1886, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU) of the United States and Canada unanimously set 1 May 1886, as the date by which the eight-hour work day would become standard.", "A sympathetic engraving by Walter Crane of the executed \"Anarchists of Chicago\" after the Haymarket affair.", "The Haymarket affair is generally considered the most significant event for the origin of international May Day observances.", "In response, unions across the United States prepared a general strike in support of the event.", "On 3 May, in Chicago, a fight broke out when strikebreakers attempted to cross the picket line, and two workers died when police opened fire upon the crowd.", "The next day, 4 May, anarchists staged a rally at Chicago's Haymarket Square.", "A bomb was thrown by an unknown party near the conclusion of the rally, killing an officer.", "In the ensuing panic, police opened fire on the crowd and each other.", "Seven police officers and at least four workers were killed.", "Eight anarchists directly and indirectly related to the organisers of the rally were arrested and charged with the murder of the deceased officer.", "The men became international political celebrities among the labour movement.", "Four of the men were executed and a fifth committed suicide prior to his own execution.", "The incident became known as the Haymarket affair, and was a setback for the labour movement and the struggle for the eight-hour day.", "In 1890 a second attempt, this time international in scope, to organise for the eight-hour day was made.", "The event also had the secondary purpose of memorialising workers killed as a result of the Haymarket affair.", "Although it had initially been conceived as a once-off event, by the following year the celebration of International Workers' Day on May Day had become firmly established as an international worker's holiday.", "In 1907, the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam gathered delegates from 14 different countries, among which important figures of the anarchist movement, including Errico Malatesta, Pierre Monatte, Luigi Fabbri, Benoît Broutchoux, Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker, and Christiaan Cornelissen.", "Various themes were treated during the Congress, in particular concerning the organisation of the anarchist movement, popular education issues, the general strike or antimilitarism.", "A central debate concerned the relation between anarchism and syndicalism (or trade unionism).", "Malatesta and Monatte were in particular disagreement themselves on this issue, as the latter thought that syndicalism was revolutionary and would create the conditions of a social revolution, while Malatesta did not consider syndicalism by itself sufficient.", "He thought that the trade-union movement was reformist and even conservative, citing as essentially bourgeois and anti-worker the phenomenon of professional union officials.", "Malatesta warned that the syndicalists aims were in perpetuating syndicalism itself, whereas anarchists must always have anarchy as their end and consequently refrain from committing to any particular method of achieving it.", "The Spanish Workers Federation in 1881 was the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement; anarchist trade union federations were of special importance in Spain.", "The most successful was the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), founded in 1910.", "Before the 1940s, the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics, attracting 1.58 million members at one point and playing a major role in the Spanish Civil War.", "The CNT was affiliated with the International Workers Association, a federation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions founded in 1922, with delegates representing two million workers from 15 countries in Europe and Latin America.", "In Latin America in particular \"The anarchists quickly became active in organising craft and industrial workers throughout South and Central America, and until the early 1920s most of the trade unions in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina were anarcho-syndicalist in general outlook; the prestige of the Spanish C.N.T.", "as a revolutionary organisation was undoubtedly to a great extent responsible for this situation.", "The largest and most militant of these organisations was the Federación Obrera Regional Argentina ... it grew quickly to a membership of nearly a quarter of a million, which dwarfed the rival socialdemocratic unions.\"", "===Propaganda of the deed and illegalism===\n\nItalian-American anarchist Luigi Galleani.", "His followers, known as Galleanists, carried out a series of bombings and assassination attempts from 1914 to 1932 in what they saw as attacks on 'tyrants' and 'enemies of the people'\nSome anarchists, such as Johann Most, advocated publicising violent acts of retaliation against counter-revolutionaries because \"we preach not only action in and for itself, but also action as propaganda.\"", "Scholars such as Beverly Gage contend that this was not advocacy of mass murder, but targeted killings of members of the ruling class at times when such actions might garner sympathy from the population, such as during periods of heightened government repression or labor conflicts where workers were killed.", "However, Most himself once boasted that \"the existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents.", "Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion.\"", "Most is best known for a pamphlet published in 1885: ''The Science of Revolutionary Warfare'', a how-to manual on the subject of making explosives, based on knowledge he acquired while working at an explosives plant in New Jersey.", "By the 1880s, people inside and outside the anarchist movement began to use the slogan, \"propaganda of the deed\" to refer to individual bombings, regicides, and tyrannicides.", "From 1905 onwards, the Russian counterparts of these anti-syndicalist anarchist-communists become partisans of economic terrorism and illegal 'expropriations'.\"", "Illegalism as a practice emerged and within it \"The acts of the anarchist bombers and assassins (\"propaganda by the deed\") and the anarchist burglars (\"individual reappropriation\") expressed their desperation and their personal, violent rejection of an intolerable society.", "Moreover, they were clearly meant to be ''exemplary'' invitations to revolt.\".", "France's Bonnot Gang was the most famous group to embrace illegalism.", "However, as soon as 1887, important figures in the anarchist movement distanced themselves from such individual acts.", "Peter Kropotkin thus wrote that year in ''Le Révolté'' that \"a structure based on centuries of history cannot be destroyed with a few kilos of dynamite\".", "A variety of anarchists advocated the abandonment of these sorts of tactics in favour of collective revolutionary action, for example through the trade union movement.", "The anarcho-syndicalist, Fernand Pelloutier, argued in 1895 for renewed anarchist involvement in the labour movement on the basis that anarchism could do very well without \"the individual dynamiter.\"", "State repression (including the infamous 1894 French ''lois scélérates'') of the anarchist and labour movements following the few successful bombings and assassinations may have contributed to the abandonment of these kinds of tactics, although reciprocally state repression, in the first place, may have played a role in these isolated acts.", "The dismemberment of the French socialist movement, into many groups and, following the suppression of the 1871 Paris Commune, the execution and exile of many ''communards'' to penal colonies, favoured individualist political expression and acts.", "Numerous heads of state were assassinated between 1881 and 1914 by members of the anarchist movement, including Tsar Alexander II of Russia, President Sadi Carnot of France, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, King Umberto I of Italy, President William McKinley of the United States, King Carlos I of Portugal and King George I of Greece.", "McKinley's assassin Leon Czolgosz claimed to have been influenced by anarchist and feminist Emma Goldman.", "===Russian Revolution and other uprisings of the 1910s===\n\nNestor Makhno with members of the anarchist Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine\nAnarchists participated alongside the Bolsheviks in both February and October revolutions, and were initially enthusiastic about the Bolshevik revolution.", "However, following a political falling out with the Bolsheviks by the anarchists and other left-wing opposition, the conflict culminated in the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion, which the new government repressed.", "Anarchists in central Russia were either imprisoned, driven underground or joined the victorious Bolsheviks; the anarchists from Petrograd and Moscow fled to Ukraine.", "There, in the Free Territory, they fought in the civil war against the Whites (a grouping of monarchists and other opponents of the October Revolution) and then the Bolsheviks as part of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine led by Nestor Makhno, who established an anarchist society in the region for a number of months.", "Expelled American anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were among those agitating in response to Bolshevik policy and the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, before they left Russia.", "Both wrote accounts of their experiences in Russia, criticising the amount of control the Bolsheviks exercised.", "For them, Bakunin's predictions about the consequences of Marxist rule that the rulers of the new \"socialist\" Marxist state would become a new elite had proved all too true.", "The victory of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally.", "Many workers and activists saw Bolshevik success as setting an example; Communist parties grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements.", "In France and the United States, for example, members of the major syndicalist movements of the CGT and IWW left the organisations and joined the Communist International.", "The revolutionary wave of 1917–23 saw the active participation of anarchists in varying degrees of protagonism.", "In the German uprising known as the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which established the Bavarian Soviet Republic the anarchists Gustav Landauer, Silvio Gesell and Erich Mühsam had important leadership positions within the revolutionary councilist structures.", "In the Italian events known as the ''biennio rosso'' the anarcho-syndicalist trade union Unione Sindacale Italiana \"grew to 800,000 members and the influence of the Italian Anarchist Union (20,000 members plus ''Umanita Nova'', its daily paper) grew accordingly ... Anarchists were the first to suggest occupying workplaces.", "In the Mexican Revolution the Mexican Liberal Party was established and during the early 1910s it led a series of military offensives leading to the conquest and occupation of certain towns and districts in Baja California with the leadership of anarcho-communist Ricardo Flores Magón.", "In Paris, the Dielo Truda group of Russian anarchist exiles, which included Nestor Makhno, concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of Bolshevism.", "Their 1926 manifesto, called the ''Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)'', was supported.", "Platformist groups active today include the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland and the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists of North America.", "Synthesis anarchism emerged as an organisational alternative to platformism that tries to join anarchists of different tendencies under the principles of anarchism without adjectives.", "In the 1920s this form found as its main proponents Volin and Sebastien Faure.", "It is the main principle behind the anarchist federations grouped around the contemporary global International of Anarchist Federations.", "===Conflicts with European fascist regimes===\n\n\n\nIn the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of fascism in Europe transformed anarchism's conflict with the state.", "Italy saw the first struggles between anarchists and fascists.", "Italian anarchists played a key role in the anti-fascist organisation ''Arditi del Popolo'', which was strongest in areas with anarchist traditions, and achieved some success in their activism, such as repelling Blackshirts in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922.", "The veteran Italian anarchist, Luigi Fabbri, was one of the first critical theorists of fascism, describing it as \"the preventive counter-revolution.\"", "In France, where the far right leagues came close to insurrection in the February 1934 riots, anarchists divided over a united front policy.", "Anarchists in France and Italy were active in the Resistance during World War II.", "In Germany the anarchist Erich Mühsam was arrested on charges unknown in the early morning hours of 28 February 1933, within a few hours after the Reichstag fire in Berlin.", "Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, labelled him as one of \"those Jewish subversives.\"", "Over the next seventeen months, he would be imprisoned in the concentration camps at Sonnenburg, Brandenburg and finally, Oranienburg.", "On 2 February 1934, Mühsam was transferred to the concentration camp at Oranienburg when finally on the night of 9 July 1934, Mühsam was tortured and murdered by the guards, his battered corpse found hanging in a latrine the next morning.", "===Spanish Revolution===\n\nIn Spain, the national anarcho-syndicalist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance, and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory.", "But in 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power.", "Months later, conservative members of the military, with the support of minority extreme-right parties, responded with an attempted coup, causing the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).", "In response to the army rebellion, an anarchist-inspired movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of Barcelona and of large areas of rural Spain where they collectivised the land.", "But even before the fascist victory in 1939, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the Stalinists, who controlled much of the distribution of military aid to the Republican cause from the Soviet Union.", "According to Noam Chomsky, \"the communists were mainly responsible for the destruction of the Spanish anarchists.", "Not just in Catalonia—the communist armies mainly destroyed the collectives elsewhere.", "The communists basically acted as the police force of the security system of the Republic and were very much opposed to the anarchists, partially because Stalin still hoped at that time to have some kind of pact with Western countries against Hitler.", "That, of course, failed and Stalin withdrew the support to the Republic.", "They even withdrew the Spanish gold reserves.\"", "The events known as the Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organisational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to three years, primarily Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of the Levante.", "Much of Spain's economy was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy Communist Party of Spain influence, as the Soviet-allied party actively resisted attempts at collectivisation enactment.", "Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivised and run as libertarian communes.", "Anarchist historian Sam Dolgoff estimated that about eight million people participated directly or at least indirectly in the Spanish Revolution, which he claimed \"came closer to realising the ideal of the free stateless society on a vast scale than any other revolution in history.\"", "Spanish Communist Party-led troops suppressed the collectives and persecuted both dissident Marxists and anarchists.", "The prominent Italian anarchist Camillo Berneri, who volunteered to fight against Franco was killed instead in Spain by gunmen associated with the Spanish Communist Party.", "The city of Madrid was turned over to the francoist forces by the last non-francoist mayor of the city, the anarchist Melchor Rodríguez García.", "===Post-war years===\n\n\nAnarchism sought to reorganise itself after the war and in this context the organisational debate between synthesis anarchism and platformism took importance once again especially in the anarchist movements of Italy and France.", "The Mexican Anarchist Federation was established in 1945 after the Anarchist Federation of the Centre united with the Anarchist Federation of the Federal District.", "In the early 1940s, the Antifascist International Solidarity and the Federation of Anarchist Groups of Cuba merged into the large national organisation Asociación Libertaria de Cuba (Cuban Libertarian Association).", "From 1944 to 1947, the Bulgarian Anarchist Communist Federation reemerged as part of a factory and workplace committee movement, but was repressed by the new Communist regime.", "In 1945 in France the Fédération Anarchiste and the anarchosyndicalist trade union Confédération nationale du travail was established in the next year while the also synthesist Federazione Anarchica Italiana was founded in Italy.", "Korean anarchists formed the League of Free Social Constructors in September 1945 and in 1946 the Japanese Anarchist Federation was founded.", "An International Anarchist Congress with delegates from across Europe was held in Paris in May 1948.", "After World War II, an appeal in the ''Fraye Arbeter Shtime'' detailing the plight of German anarchists and called for Americans to support them.", "By February 1946, the sending of aid parcels to anarchists in Germany was a large-scale operation.", "The Federation of Libertarian Socialists was founded in Germany in 1947 and Rudolf Rocker wrote for its organ, ''Die Freie Gesellschaft'', which survived until 1953.", "In 1956 the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation was founded.", "In 1955 the Anarcho-Communist Federation of Argentina renamed itself as the Argentine Libertarian Federation.", "The Syndicalist Workers' Federation was a syndicalist group in active in post-war Britain, and one of Solidarity Federation's earliest predecessors.", "It was formed in 1950 by members of the dissolved Anarchist Federation of Britain.", "Unlike the AFB, which was influenced by anarcho-syndicalist ideas but ultimately not syndicalist itself, the SWF decided to pursue a more definitely syndicalist, worker-centred strategy from the outset.", "Anarchism continued to influence important literary and intellectual personalities of the time, such as Albert Camus, Herbert Read, Paul Goodman, Dwight Macdonald, Allen Ginsberg, George Woodcock, Leopold Kohr, Julian Beck, John Cage and the French Surrealist group led by André Breton, which now openly embraced anarchism and collaborated in the Fédération Anarchiste.", "Anarcho-pacifism became influential in the Anti-nuclear movement and anti war movements of the time as can be seen in the activism and writings of the English anarchist member of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Alex Comfort or the similar activism of the American catholic anarcho-pacifists Ammon Hennacy and Dorothy Day.", "Anarcho-pacifism became a \"basis for a critique of militarism on both sides of the Cold War.\"", "The resurgence of anarchist ideas during this period is well documented in Robert Graham's Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, ''Volume Two: The Emergence of the New Anarchism (1939–1977)''.", "===Contemporary anarchism===\n\nsquat near Parc Güell, overlooking Barcelona.", "Squatting was a prominent part of the emergence of renewed anarchist movement from the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s.", "On the roof: \"Occupy and Resist\" A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred in western nations during the 1960s and 1970s.", "Anarchism was influential in the Counterculture of the 1960s and anarchists actively participated in the late sixties students and workers revolts.", "In 1968 in Carrara, Italy the International of Anarchist Federations was founded during an international anarchist conference held there in 1968 by the three existing European federations of France (the Fédération Anarchiste), the Federazione Anarchica Italiana of Italy and the Iberian Anarchist Federation as well as the Bulgarian federation in French exile.", "In the United Kingdom in the 1970s this was associated with the punk rock movement, as exemplified by bands such as Crass and the Sex Pistols.", "The housing and employment crisis in most of Western Europe led to the formation of communes and squatter movements like that of Barcelona, Spain.", "In Denmark, squatters occupied a disused military base and declared the Freetown Christiania, an autonomous haven in central Copenhagen.", "Since the revival of anarchism in the mid-20th century, a number of new movements and schools of thought emerged.", "Although feminist tendencies have always been a part of the anarchist movement in the form of anarcha-feminism, they returned with vigour during the second wave of feminism in the 1960s.", "Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber and anarchist historian Andrej Grubacic have posited a rupture between generations of anarchism, with those \"who often still have not shaken the sectarian habits\" of the 19th century contrasted with the younger activists who are \"much more informed, among other elements, by indigenous, feminist, ecological and cultural-critical ideas\", and who by the turn of the 21st century formed \"by far the majority\" of anarchists.", "Around the turn of the 21st century, anarchism grew in popularity and influence as part of the anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-globalisation movements.", "Anarchists became known for their involvement in protests against the meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Group of Eight, and the World Economic Forum.", "Some anarchist factions at these protests engaged in rioting, property destruction, and violent confrontations with police.", "These actions were precipitated by ad hoc, leaderless, anonymous cadres known as ''black blocs''; other organisational tactics pioneered in this time include security culture, affinity groups and the use of decentralised technologies such as the internet.", "A significant event of this period was the confrontations at WTO conference in Seattle in 1999.", "According to anarchist scholar Simon Critchley, \"contemporary anarchism can be seen as a powerful critique of the pseudo-libertarianism of contemporary neo-liberalism ... One might say that contemporary anarchism is about responsibility, whether sexual, ecological or socio-economic; it flows from an experience of conscience about the manifold ways in which the West ravages the rest; it is an ethical outrage at the yawning inequality, impoverishment and disenfranchisment that is so palpable locally and globally.\"", "International anarchist federations in existence include the International of Anarchist Federations, the International Workers' Association, and International Libertarian Solidarity.", "The largest organised anarchist movement today is in Spain, in the form of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) and the CNT.", "CGT membership was estimated at around 100,000 for 2003.", "\nPortrait of philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) by Gustave Courbet.", "Proudhon was the primary proponent of anarchist mutualism, and influenced many later individualist anarchist and social anarchist thinkers.", "Anarchist schools of thought had been generally grouped in two main historical traditions, individualist anarchism and social anarchism, which have some different origins, values and evolution.", "The individualist wing of anarchism emphasises negative liberty, i.e.", "opposition to state or social control over the individual, while those in the social wing emphasise positive liberty to achieve one's potential and argue that humans have needs that society ought to fulfil, \"recognising equality of entitlement\".", "In a chronological and theoretical sense, there are classical – those created throughout the 19th century – and post-classical anarchist schools – those created since the mid-20th century and after.", "Beyond the specific factions of anarchist thought is philosophical anarchism, which embodies the theoretical stance that the state lacks moral legitimacy without accepting the imperative of revolution to eliminate it.", "A component especially of individualist anarchism philosophical anarchism may accept the existence of a minimal state as unfortunate, and usually temporary, \"necessary evil\" but argue that citizens do not have a moral obligation to obey the state when its laws conflict with individual autonomy.", "One reaction against sectarianism within the anarchist milieu was \"anarchism without adjectives\", a call for toleration first adopted by Fernando Tarrida del Mármol in 1889 in response to the \"bitter debates\" of anarchist theory at the time.", "In abandoning the hyphenated anarchisms (i.e.", "collectivist-, communist-, mutualist– and individualist-anarchism), it sought to emphasise the anti-authoritarian beliefs common to all anarchist schools of thought.", "===Classical anarchist schools of thought===\n\n====Mutualism====\n\nMutualism began in 18th-century English and French labour movements before taking an anarchist form associated with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in France and others in the United States.", "Proudhon proposed spontaneous order, whereby organisation emerges without central authority, a \"positive anarchy\" where order arises when everybody does \"what he wishes and only what he wishes\" and where \"business transactions alone produce the social order.\"", "Proudhon distinguished between ideal political possibilities and practical governance.", "For this reason, much in contrast to some of his theoretical statements concerning ultimate spontaneous self-governance, Proudhon was heavily involved in French parliamentary politics and allied himself not with anarchist but socialist factions of workers' movements and, in addition to advocating state-protected charters for worker-owned cooperatives, promoted certain nationalisation schemes during his life of public service.", "Mutualist anarchism is concerned with reciprocity, free association, voluntary contract, federation, and credit and currency reform.", "According to the American mutualist William Batchelder Greene, each worker in the mutualist system would receive \"just and exact pay for his work; services equivalent in cost being exchangeable for services equivalent in cost, without profit or discount.\"", "Mutualism has been retrospectively characterised as ideologically situated between individualist and collectivist forms of anarchism.", "''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought'', Blackwell Publishing 1991 , p. 11.", "Proudhon first characterised his goal as a \"third form of society, the synthesis of communism and property.\"", "====Individualist anarchism====\n\nIndividualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasise the individual and their will over any kinds of external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems.", "Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a group of individualistic philosophies that sometimes are in conflict.", "In 1793, William Godwin, who has often been cited as the first anarchist, wrote ''Political Justice'', which some consider the first expression of anarchism.", "Godwin, a philosophical anarchist, from a rationalist and utilitarian basis opposed revolutionary action and saw a minimal state as a present \"necessary evil\" that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge.", "Godwin advocated individualism, proposing that all cooperation in labour be eliminated on the premise that this would be most conducive with the general good.", "19th-century philosopher Max Stirner, usually considered a prominent early individualist anarchist (sketch by Friedrich Engels).", "An influential form of individualist anarchism, called \"egoism,\" or egoist anarchism, was expounded by one of the earliest and best-known proponents of individualist anarchism, the German Max Stirner.", "Stirner's ''The Ego and Its Own'', published in 1844, is a founding text of the philosophy.", "According to Stirner, the only limitation on the rights of individuals is their power to obtain what they desire, without regard for God, state, or morality.", "To Stirner, rights were ''spooks'' in the mind, and he held that society does not exist but \"the individuals are its reality\".", "Stirner advocated self-assertion and foresaw unions of egoists, non-systematic associations continually renewed by all parties' support through an act of will, which Stirner proposed as a form of organisation in place of the state.", "Egoist anarchists argue that egoism will foster genuine and spontaneous union between individuals.", "\"Egoism\" has inspired many interpretations of Stirner's philosophy.", "It was re-discovered and promoted by German philosophical anarchist and homosexual activist John Henry Mackay.", "Josiah Warren is widely regarded as the first American anarchist, and the four-page weekly paper he edited during 1833, ''The Peaceful Revolutionist'', was the first anarchist periodical published.", "For American anarchist historian Eunice Minette Schuster \"It is apparent ... that Proudhonian Anarchism was to be found in the United States at least as early as 1848 and that it was not conscious of its affinity to the Individualist Anarchism of Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews ... William B. Greene presented this Proudhonian Mutualism in its purest and most systematic form.\".", "Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an important early influence in individualist anarchist thought in the United States and Europe.", "Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist.", "He is best known for his books ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, ''Civil Disobedience'', an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state.", "Later Benjamin Tucker fused Stirner's egoism with the economics of Warren and Proudhon in his eclectic influential publication ''Liberty''.", "From these early influences individualist anarchism in different countries attracted a small but diverse following of bohemian artists and intellectuals, free love and birth control advocates (see Anarchism and issues related to love and sex), individualist naturists nudists (see anarcho-naturism), freethought and anti-clerical activists as well as young anarchist outlaws in what became known as illegalism and individual reclamation (see European individualist anarchism and individualist anarchism in France).", "These authors and activists included Oscar Wilde, Emile Armand, Han Ryner, Henri Zisly, Renzo Novatore, Miguel Gimenez Igualada, Adolf Brand and Lev Chernyi among others.", "====Social anarchism====\n\nSocial anarchism calls for a system with common ownership of means of production and democratic control of all organisations, without any government authority or coercion.", "It is the largest school of thought in anarchism.", "Social anarchism rejects private property, seeing it as a source of social inequality (while retaining respect for personal property), and emphasises cooperation and mutual aid.", "=====Collectivist anarchism=====\n\nCollectivist anarchism, also referred to as \"revolutionary socialism\" or a form of such, is a revolutionary form of anarchism, commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin and Johann Most.", "Collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating that ownership be collectivised.", "This was to be achieved through violent revolution, first starting with a small cohesive group through acts of violence, or ''propaganda by the deed'', which would inspire the workers as a whole to revolt and forcibly collectivise the means of production.", "However, collectivisation was not to be extended to the distribution of income, as workers would be paid according to time worked, rather than receiving goods being distributed \"according to need\" as in anarcho-communism.", "This position was criticised by anarchist communists as effectively \"upholding the wages system\".", "Collectivist anarchism arose contemporaneously with Marxism but opposed the Marxist dictatorship of the proletariat, despite the stated Marxist goal of a collectivist stateless society.", "Anarchist, communist and collectivist ideas are not mutually exclusive; although the collectivist anarchists advocated compensation for labour, some held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need.", "=====Anarcho-communism=====\n\n\nAnarchist communism (also known as anarcho-communism, libertarian communism and occasionally as free communism) is a theory of anarchism that advocates abolition of the state, markets, money, private property (while retaining respect for personal property), and capitalism in favour of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: \"from each according to his ability, to each according to his need\".", "Russian theorist Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921), who was influential in the development of anarchist communism\n\nSome forms of anarchist communism such as insurrectionary anarchism are strongly influenced by egoism and radical individualism, believing anarcho-communism is the best social system for the realisation of individual freedom.", "Most anarcho-communists view anarcho-communism as a way of reconciling the opposition between the individual and society.", "Anarcho-communism developed out of radical socialist currents after the French revolution but was first formulated as such in the Italian section of the First International.", "The theoretical work of Peter Kropotkin took importance later as it expanded and developed pro-organisationalist and insurrectionary anti-organisationalist sections.", "To date, the best known examples of an anarchist communist society (i.e., established around the ideas as they exist today and achieving worldwide attention and knowledge in the historical canon), are the anarchist territories during the Spanish Revolution and the Free Territory during the Russian Revolution.", "Through the efforts and influence of the Spanish Anarchists during the Spanish Revolution within the Spanish Civil War, starting in 1936 anarchist communism existed in most of Aragon, parts of the Levante and Andalusia, as well as in the stronghold of Anarchist Catalonia before being crushed by the combined forces of the regime that won the war, Hitler, Mussolini, Spanish Communist Party repression (backed by the USSR) as well as economic and armaments blockades from the capitalist countries and the Spanish Republic itself.", "During the Russian Revolution, anarchists such as Nestor Makhno worked to create and defend – through the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine – anarchist communism in the Free Territory of the Ukraine from 1919 before being conquered by the Bolsheviks in 1921.", "=====Anarcho-syndicalism=====\n\nMay day demonstration of Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union CNT in Bilbao, Basque Country in 2010Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism that focuses on the labour movement.", "Anarcho-syndicalists view labour unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society democratically self-managed by workers.", "The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are: Workers' solidarity, Direct action and Workers' self-management\nAnarcho-syndicalists believe that only direct action – that is, action concentrated on directly attaining a goal, as opposed to indirect action, such as electing a representative to a government position – will allow workers to liberate themselves.", "Moreover, anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers' organisations (the organisations that struggle against the wage system, which, in anarcho-syndicalist theory, will eventually form the basis of a new society) should be self-managing.", "They should not have bosses or \"business agents\"; rather, the workers should be able to make all the decisions that affect them themselves.", "Rudolf Rocker was one of the most popular voices in the anarcho-syndicalist movement.", "He outlined a view of the origins of the movement, what it sought, and why it was important to the future of labour in his 1938 pamphlet ''Anarcho-Syndicalism''.", "The International Workers Association is an international anarcho-syndicalist federation of various labour unions from different countries.", "The Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo played and still plays a major role in the Spanish labour movement.", "It was also an important force in the Spanish Civil War.", "===Post-classical schools of thought===\n\nLawrence Jarach (left) and John Zerzan (right), two prominent contemporary anarchist authors.", "Zerzan is known as prominent voice within anarcho-primitivism, while Jarach is a noted advocate of post-left anarchy.", "Anarchism continues to generate many philosophies and movements, at times eclectic, drawing upon various sources, and syncretic, combining disparate concepts to create new philosophical approaches.", "Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism) is a school of thought within anarchism that emphasises environmental issues, with an important precedent in anarcho-naturism, and whose main contemporary currents are anarcho-primitivism and social ecology.", "Writing from a green anarchist perspective, John Zerzan attributes the ills of today's social degradation to technology and the birth of agricultural civilization.", "While Layla AbdelRahim argues that \"the shift in human consciousness was also a shift in human subsistence strategies, whereby some human animals reinvented their narrative to center murder and predation and thereby institutionalize violence\".", "Thus, according to her, civilization was the result of the human development of technologies and grammar for predatory economics.", "Language and literacy, she claims, are some of these technologies.", "Anarcha-feminism (also called anarchist feminism and anarcho-feminism) combines anarchism with feminism.", "It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary coercive hierarchy that should be replaced by decentralised free association.", "Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state.", "In essence, the philosophy sees anarchist struggle as a necessary component of feminist struggle and vice versa.", "L. Susan Brown claims that \"as anarchism is a political philosophy that opposes all relationships of power, it is inherently feminist\".", "Anarcha-feminism began with the late 19th-century writings of early feminist anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Voltairine de Cleyre.", "Anarcho-pacifism is a tendency that rejects violence in the struggle for social change (see non-violence).", "It developed \"mostly in the Netherlands, Britain, and the United States, before and during the Second World War\".", "Christian anarchism is a movement in political theology that combines anarchism and Christianity.", "Its main proponents included Leo Tolstoy, Dorothy Day, Ammon Hennacy, and Jacques Ellul.", "Platformism is a tendency within the wider anarchist movement based on the organisational theories in the tradition of Dielo Truda's ''Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)''.", "The document was based on the experiences of Russian anarchists in the 1917 October Revolution, which led eventually to the victory of the Bolsheviks over the anarchists and other groups.", "The ''Platform'' attempted to address and explain the anarchist movement's failures during the Russian Revolution.", "Synthesis anarchism is a form of anarchism that tries to join anarchists of different tendencies under the principles of anarchism without adjectives.", "In the 1920s, this form found as its main proponents the anarcho-communists Voline and Sébastien Faure.", "It is the main principle behind the anarchist federations grouped around the contemporary global International of Anarchist Federations.", "Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional Left-wing politics.", "Some post-leftists seek to escape the confines of ideology in general also presenting a critique of organisations and morality.", "Influenced by the work of Max Stirner and by the Marxist Situationist International, post-left anarchy is marked by a focus on social insurrection and a rejection of leftist social organisation.", "Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory, practice, and tendency within the anarchist movement which emphasises insurrection within anarchist practice.", "It is critical of formal organisations such as labour unions and federations that are based on a political programme and periodic congresses.", "Instead, insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organisation and small affinity group based organisation.", "Insurrectionary anarchists put value in attack, permanent class conflict, and a refusal to negotiate or compromise with class enemies.", "Post-anarchism is a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought, drawing from diverse ideas including post-modernism, autonomist marxism, post-left anarchy, Situationist International, and postcolonialism.", "Left-wing market anarchism strongly affirm the classical liberal ideas of self-ownership and free markets, while maintaining that, taken to their logical conclusions, these ideas support strongly anti-corporatist, anti-hierarchical, pro-labour positions and anti-capitalism in economics and anti-imperialism in foreign policy.", "Anarcho-capitalism advocates the elimination of the state in favour of self-ownership in a free market.", "Anarcho-capitalism developed from radical anti-state libertarianism and individualist anarchism, drawing from Austrian School economics, study of law and economics, and public choice theory.", "There is a strong current within anarchism which believes that anarcho-capitalism cannot be considered a part of the anarchist movement, due to the fact that anarchism has historically been an anti-capitalist movement and for definitional reasons which see anarchism as incompatible with capitalist forms.", "\nconsistent with anarchist values is a controversial subject among anarchists.", "Anarchism is a philosophy that embodies many diverse attitudes, tendencies and schools of thought; as such, disagreement over questions of values, ideology and tactics is common.", "The compatibility of capitalism, nationalism, and religion with anarchism is widely disputed.", "Similarly, anarchism enjoys complex relationships with ideologies such as Marxism, communism, collectivism, syndicalism/trade unionism, and capitalism.", "Anarchists may be motivated by humanism, divine authority, enlightened self-interest, veganism or any number of alternative ethical doctrines.", "Phenomena such as civilisation, technology (e.g.", "within anarcho-primitivism), and the democratic process may be sharply criticised within some anarchist tendencies and simultaneously lauded in others.", "On a tactical level, while propaganda of the deed was a tactic used by anarchists in the 19th century (e.g.", "the Nihilist movement), some contemporary anarchists espouse alternative direct action methods such as nonviolence, counter-economics and anti-state cryptography to bring about an anarchist society.", "About the scope of an anarchist society, some anarchists advocate a global one, while others do so by local ones.", "The diversity in anarchism has led to widely different use of identical terms among different anarchist traditions, which has led to many definitional concerns in anarchist theory.", "Intersecting and overlapping between various schools of thought, certain topics of interest and internal disputes have proven perennial within anarchist theory.", "===Free love===\n\nFrench individualist anarchist Emile Armand (1872–1962), who propounded the virtues of free love in the Parisian anarchist milieu of the early 20th century\nAn important current within anarchism is free love.", "Free love advocates sometimes traced their roots back to Josiah Warren and to experimental communities, viewed sexual freedom as a clear, direct expression of an individual's sovereignty.", "Free love particularly stressed women's rights since most sexual laws discriminated against women: for example, marriage laws and anti-birth control measures.", "The most important American free love journal was ''Lucifer the Lightbearer'' (1883–1907) edited by Moses Harman and Lois Waisbrooker, but also there existed Ezra Heywood and Angela Heywood's ''The Word'' (1872–1890, 1892–1893).", "''Free Society'' (1895–1897 as ''The Firebrand''; 1897–1904 as ''Free Society'') was a major anarchist newspaper in the United States at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.", "The publication advocated free love and women's rights, and critiqued \"Comstockery\" – censorship of sexual information.", "Also M. E. Lazarus was an important American individualist anarchist who promoted free love.", "In New York City's Greenwich Village, bohemian feminists and socialists advocated self-realisation and pleasure for women (and also men) in the here and now.", "They encouraged playing with sexual roles and sexuality, and the openly bisexual radical Edna St. Vincent Millay and the lesbian anarchist Margaret Anderson were prominent among them.", "Discussion groups organised by the Villagers were frequented by Emma Goldman, among others.", "Magnus Hirschfeld noted in 1923 that Goldman \"has campaigned boldly and steadfastly for individual rights, and especially for those deprived of their rights.", "Thus it came about that she was the first and only woman, indeed the first and only American, to take up the defence of homosexual love before the general public.\"", "In fact, before Goldman, heterosexual anarchist Robert Reitzel (1849–1898) spoke positively of homosexuality from the beginning of the 1890s in his Detroit-based German language journal ''Der arme Teufel'' (English: The Poor Devil).", "In Argentina anarcha-feminist Virginia Bolten published the newspaper called '''' (English: The Woman's Voice), which was published nine times in Rosario between 8 January 1896 and 1 January 1897, and was revived, briefly, in 1901.", "In Europe the main propagandist of free love within individualist anarchism was Emile Armand.", "He proposed the concept of ''la camaraderie amoureuse'' to speak of free love as the possibility of voluntary sexual encounter between consenting adults.", "He was also a consistent proponent of polyamory.", "In Germany the stirnerists Adolf Brand and John Henry Mackay were pioneering campaigners for the acceptance of male bisexuality and homosexuality.", "Mujeres Libres was an anarchist women's organisation in Spain that aimed to empower working class women.", "It was founded in 1936 by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada and Amparo Poch y Gascón and had approximately 30,000 members.", "The organisation was based on the idea of a \"double struggle\" for women's liberation and social revolution and argued that the two objectives were equally important and should be pursued in parallel.", "In order to gain mutual support, they created networks of women anarchists.", "Lucía Sánchez Saornil was a main founder of the Spanish anarcha-feminist federation Mujeres Libres who was open about her lesbianism.", "She was published in a variety of literary journals where working under a male pen name, she was able to explore lesbian themes at a time when homosexuality was criminalised and subject to censorship and punishment.", "More recently, the British anarcho-pacifist Alex Comfort gained notoriety during the sexual revolution for writing the bestseller sex manual ''The Joy of Sex''.", "The issue of free love has a dedicated treatment in the work of French anarcho-hedonist philosopher Michel Onfray in such works as ''Théorie du corps amoureux : pour une érotique solaire'' (2000) and ''L'invention du plaisir : fragments cyréaniques'' (2002).", "===Libertarian education and freethought===\n\nFrancesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Catalan anarchist pedagogue and free-thinker For English anarchist William Godwin education was \"the main means by which change would be achieved.\"", "Godwin saw that the main goal of education should be the promotion of happiness.", "For Godwin education had to have \"A respect for the child's autonomy which precluded any form of coercion,\" \"A pedagogy that respected this and sought to build on the child's own motivation and initiatives,\" and \"A concern about the child's capacity to resist an ideology transmitted through the school.\"", "In his ''Political Justice'' he criticises state sponsored schooling \"on account of its obvious alliance with national government\".", "Early American anarchist Josiah Warren advanced alternative education experiences in the libertarian communities he established.", "Max Stirner wrote in 1842 a long essay on education called ''The False Principle of our Education''.", "In it Stirner names his educational principle \"personalist,\" explaining that self-understanding consists in hourly self-creation.", "Education for him is to create \"free men, sovereign characters,\" by which he means \"eternal characters ... who are therefore eternal because they form themselves each moment\".", "In the United States \"freethought was a basically anti-christian, anti-clerical movement, whose purpose was to make the individual politically and spiritually free to decide for himself on religious matters.", "A number of contributors to ''Liberty'' (anarchist publication) were prominent figures in both freethought and anarchism.", "The individualist anarchist George MacDonald was a co-editor of ''Freethought'' and, for a time, ''The Truth Seeker''.", "E.C.", "Walker was co-editor of the excellent free-thought / free love journal ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer''\".", "\"Many of the anarchists were ardent freethinkers; reprints from freethought papers such as ''Lucifer, the Light-Bearer'', ''Freethought'' and ''The Truth Seeker'' appeared in ''Liberty''...", "The church was viewed as a common ally of the state and as a repressive force in and of itself\".", "In 1901, Catalan anarchist and free-thinker Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia established \"modern\" or progressive schools in Barcelona in defiance of an educational system controlled by the Catholic Church.", "The schools' stated goal was to \"educate the working class in a rational, secular and non-coercive setting\".", "Fiercely anti-clerical, Ferrer believed in \"freedom in education\", education free from the authority of church and state.", "Murray Bookchin wrote: \"This period 1890s was the heyday of libertarian schools and pedagogical projects in all areas of the country where Anarchists exercised some degree of influence.", "Perhaps the best-known effort in this field was Francisco Ferrer's Modern School (Escuela Moderna), a project which exercised a considerable influence on Catalan education and on experimental techniques of teaching generally.\"", "La Escuela Moderna, and Ferrer's ideas generally, formed the inspiration for a series of ''Modern Schools'' in the United States, Cuba, South America and London.", "The first of these was started in New York City in 1911.", "It also inspired the Italian newspaper ''Università popolare'', founded in 1901.", "Russian christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy established a school for peasant children on his estate.", "Tolstoy's educational experiments were short-lived due to harassment by the Tsarist secret police.", "Tolstoy established a conceptual difference between education and culture.", "He thought that \"Education is the tendency of one man to make another just like himself ... Education is culture under restraint, culture is free.", "Education is when the teaching is forced upon the pupil, and when then instruction is exclusive, that is when only those subjects are taught which the educator regards as necessary\".", "For him \"without compulsion, education was transformed into culture\".", "A more recent libertarian tradition on education is that of unschooling and the free school in which child-led activity replaces pedagogic approaches.", "Experiments in Germany led to A. S. Neill founding what became Summerhill School in 1921.", "Summerhill is often cited as an example of anarchism in practice.", "However, although Summerhill and other free schools are radically libertarian, they differ in principle from those of Ferrer by not advocating an overtly political class struggle-approach.", "In addition to organising schools according to libertarian principles, anarchists have also questioned the concept of schooling per se.", "The term deschooling was popularised by Ivan Illich, who argued that the school as an institution is dysfunctional for self-determined learning and serves the creation of a consumer society instead.", "\nCriticisms of anarchism include moral criticisms and pragmatic criticisms.", "Anarchism is often evaluated as unfeasible or utopian by its critics.", "* Anarchism by country", "* Barclay, Harold, ''People Without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy'' (2nd ed.", "19 March 2013.", "* Carter, April, ''The Political Theory of Anarchism'', Harper & Row.", "1971.", "* Federici, Silvia, '' Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation'', Autonomedia, 2004. .", "* Gordon, Uri, ''Anarchy Alive!", "'', London: Pluto Press, 2007.", "* Graeber, David.", "''Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology'', Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2004\n* Graham, Robert, ed., ''Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas''.", "** ''Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE to 1939)'', Black Rose Books, Montréal and London 2005. .", "** ''Volume Two: The Anarchist Current (1939–2006)'', Black Rose Books, Montréal 2007. .", "* Guérin, Daniel, ''Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'', Monthly Review Press.", "1970.", "* Harper, Clifford, ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'', (Camden Press, 1987): An overview, updating Woodcock's classic, and illustrated throughout by Harper's woodcut-style artwork.", "* Le Guin, Ursula, ''The Dispossessed'', New York : Harper & Row, 1974.", "(first edition, hardcover)\n* McKay, Iain, ed., ''An Anarchist FAQ''.", "** ''Volume I'', AK Press, Oakland/Edinburgh 2008; 558 pages, .", "** ''Volume II'', AK Press, Oakland/Edinburgh 2012; 550 Pages, \n* McLaughlin, Paul, ''Anarchism and Authority: A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism'', AshGate.", "2007.", "* Marshall, Peter, ''Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism'', PM Press.", "2010.", "* Nettlau, Max, ''Anarchy through the times'', Gordon Press.", "1979.", "* \n* Scott, James C., ''Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play'', Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012. .", "*\n* Woodcock, George, ''Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements'' (Penguin Books, 1962).", ".", ".", "* Woodcock, George, ed., ''The Anarchist Reader'' (Fontana/Collins 1977; ): An anthology of writings from anarchist thinkers and activists including Proudhon, Kropotkin, Bakunin, Malatesta, Bookchin, Goldman, and many others.", "\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alabama''' () is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.\n\nAlabama is nicknamed the ''Yellowhammer State'', after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the \"Heart of Dixie\" and the ''Cotton State''. The state tree is the longleaf pine, and the state flower is the camellia. Alabama's capital is Montgomery. The largest city by population is Birmingham, which has long been the most industrialized city; the largest city by land area is Huntsville. The oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana.\n\nFrom the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many states in the southern U.S., suffered economic hardship, in part because of its continued dependence on agriculture. Like other southern states, Alabama legislators disfranchised African Americans and many poor whites at the turn of the century. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature from 1901 to the 1960s; urban interests and African Americans were markedly under-represented. Following World War II, Alabama grew as the state's economy changed from one primarily based on agriculture to one with diversified interests. The state economy in the 21st century is based on management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.\n", "Russell Cave in Jackson County. Charcoal from indigenous camp fires in the cave has been dated as early as 6550 to 6145 BC.\n\nThe European-American naming of the Alabama River and state was derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river. In the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is ''Albaamo'' (or variously ''Albaama'' or ''Albàamo'' in different dialects; the plural form is ''Albaamaha'').\n\nThe word ''Alabama'' is believed to have come from the Alabama language; a suggestion that the name was borrowed from the Choctaw language is unlikely. The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources. The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used ''Alibamo'', while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote ''Alibamu'' and ''Limamu'', respectively, in transliterations of the term. As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the ''Alibamon'', with French maps identifying the river as ''Rivière des Alibamons''. Other spellings of the name have included ''Alibamu'', ''Alabamo'', ''Albama'', ''Alebamon'', ''Alibama'', ''Alibamou'', ''Alabamu'', ''Allibamou''.\n\nSources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctaw ''alba'' (meaning \"plants\" or \"weeds\") and ''amo'' (meaning \"to cut\", \"to trim\", or \"to gather\"). The meaning may have been \"clearers of the thicket\" or \"herb gatherers\", referring to clearing land for cultivation or collecting medicinal plants. The state has numerous place names of Native American origin. However, there are no correspondingly similar words in the Alabama language.\n\nAn 1842 article in the ''Jacksonville Republican'' proposed it meant \"Here We Rest.\" This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek. Experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation.\n", "\n\n\n===Pre-European settlement===\nThe Moundville Archaeological Site in Hale County. It was occupied by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture from 1000 to 1450 AD.\n\nIndigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization. Trade with the northeastern tribes by the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BC–AD 700) and continued until European contact.\n\nThe agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD, with one of its major centers built at what is now the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama. This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after Cahokia in present-day Illinois, which was the center of the culture. Analysis of artifacts from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerican culture, but developed independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.\n\nAmong the historical tribes of Native American people living in present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were the Cherokee, an Iroquoian language people; and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama (''Alibamu''), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Koasati. While part of the same large language family, the Muskogee tribes developed distinct cultures and languages.\n\n===European settlement===\nWith exploration in the 16th century, the Spanish were the first Europeans to reach Alabama. The expedition of Hernando de Soto passed through Mabila and other parts of the state in 1540. More than 160 years later, the French founded the region's first European settlement at Old Mobile in 1702. The city was moved to the current site of Mobile in 1711. This area was claimed by the French from 1702 to 1763 as part of La Louisiane.\n\nAfter the French lost to the British in the Seven Years' War, it became part of British West Florida from 1763 to 1783. After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War, the territory was divided between the United States and Spain. The latter retained control of this western territory from 1783 until the surrender of the Spanish garrison at Mobile to U.S. forces on April 13, 1813.\n\nThomas Bassett, a loyalist to the British monarchy during the Revolutionary era, was one of the earliest white settlers in the state outside Mobile. He settled in the Tombigbee District during the early 1770s. The district's boundaries were roughly limited to the area within a few miles of the Tombigbee River and included portions of what is today southern Clarke County, northernmost Mobile County, and most of Washington County.\n\nWhat is now the counties of Baldwin and Mobile became part of Spanish West Florida in 1783, part of the independent Republic of West Florida in 1810, and was finally added to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as the Yazoo lands beginning during the British colonial period. It was claimed by the Province of Georgia from 1767 onwards. Following the Revolutionary War, it remained a part of Georgia, although heavily disputed.\n\nMap showing the formation of the Mississippi and Alabama territories\n\nWith the exception of the area around Mobile and the Yazoo lands, what is now the lower one-third Alabama was made part of the Mississippi Territory when it was organized in 1798. The Yazoo lands were added to the territory in 1804, following the Yazoo land scandal. Spain kept a claim on its former Spanish West Florida territory in what would become the coastal counties until the Adams–Onís Treaty officially ceded it to the United States in 1819.\n\n===19th century===\nBefore Mississippi's admission to statehood on December 10, 1817, the more sparsely settled eastern half of the territory was separated and named the Alabama Territory. The United States Congress created the Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817. St. Stephens, now abandoned, served as the territorial capital from 1817 to 1819.\n\nAlabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selecting Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention. From July 5 to August 2, 1819, delegates met to prepare the new state constitution. Huntsville served as temporary capital from 1819 to 1820, when the seat of government moved to Cahaba in Dallas County.\n\nThornhill in Greene County. It is a former Black Belt plantation.\n\nCahaba, now a ghost town, was the first permanent state capital from 1820 to 1825. Alabama Fever was underway when the state was admitted to the Union, with settlers and land speculators pouring into the state to take advantage of fertile land suitable for cotton cultivation. Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men.\n\nSoutheastern planters and traders from the Upper South brought slaves with them as the cotton plantations in Alabama expanded. The economy of the central Black Belt (named for its dark, productive soil) was built around large cotton plantations whose owners' wealth grew mainly from slave labor. The area also drew many poor, disfranchised people who became subsistence farmers. Alabama had an estimated population of under 10,000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830. Most Native American tribes were completely removed from the state within a few years of the passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress in 1830.\n\nWilliam Nichols, it was built from 1827 to 1829 and was destroyed by fire in 1923.\nFrom 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa served as Alabama's capital. On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced it had voted to move the capital city from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The first legislative session in the new capital met in December 1847. A new capitol building was erected under the direction of Stephen Decatur Button of Philadelphia. The first structure burned down in 1849, but was rebuilt on the same site in 1851. This second capitol building in Montgomery remains to the present day. It was designed by Barachias Holt of Exeter, Maine.\n\nBy 1860, the population had increased to 964,201 people, of which nearly half, 435,080, were enslaved African Americans, and 2,690 were free people of color. On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession from the Union. After remaining an independent republic for a few days, it joined the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy's capital was initially at Montgomery. Alabama was heavily involved in the American Civil War. Although comparatively few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war effort.\n\nUnion Army troops occupying Courthouse Square in Huntsville, following its capture and occupation by federal forces in 1864.\nA company of cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama, joined Nathan Bedford Forrest's battalion in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The company wore new uniforms with yellow trim on the sleeves, collar and coat tails. This led to them being greeted with \"Yellowhammer\", and the name later was applied to all Alabama troops in the Confederate Army.\n\nAlabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865. Alabama was under military rule from the end of the war in May 1865 until its official restoration to the Union in 1868. From 1867 to 1874, with most white citizens barred temporarily from voting and freedmen enfranchised, many African Americans emerged as political leaders in the state. Alabama was represented in Congress during this period by three African-American congressmen: Jeremiah Haralson, Benjamin S. Turner, and James T. Rapier.\n\nFollowing the war, the state remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. During Reconstruction, state legislators ratified a new state constitution in 1868 that created the state's first public school system and expanded women's rights. Legislators funded numerous public road and railroad projects, although these were plagued with allegations of fraud and misappropriation. Organized insurgent, resistance groups tried to suppress the freedmen and Republicans. Besides the short-lived original Ku Klux Klan, these included the Pale Faces, Knights of the White Camellia, Red Shirts, and the White League.\n\nReconstruction in Alabama ended in 1874, when the Democrats regained control of the legislature and governor's office through an election dominated by fraud and violence. They wrote another constitution in 1875, and the legislature passed the Blaine Amendment, prohibiting public money from being used to finance religious-affiliated schools. The same year, legislation was approved that called for racially segregated schools. Railroad passenger cars were segregated in 1891. After disfranchising most African Americans and many poor whites in the 1901 constitution, the Alabama legislature passed more Jim Crow laws at the beginning of the 20th century to impose segregation in everyday life.\n\n===20th century===\nThe developing skyline of Birmingham in 1915\n\nThe new 1901 Constitution of Alabama included provisions for voter registration that effectively disenfranchised large portions of the population, including nearly all African Americans and Native Americans, and tens of thousands of poor whites, through making voter registration difficult, requiring a poll tax and literacy test. The 1901 constitution required racial segregation of public schools. By 1903, only 2,980 African Americans were registered in Alabama, although at least 74,000 were literate. This compared to more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote in 1900. The numbers dropped even more in later decades. The state legislature passed additional racial segregation laws related to public facilities into the 1950s: jails were segregated in 1911; hospitals in 1915; toilets, hotels, and restaurants in 1928; and bus stop waiting rooms in 1945.\n\nWhile the planter class had persuaded poor whites to vote for this legislative effort to suppress black voting, the new restrictions resulted in their disenfranchisement as well, due mostly to the imposition of a cumulative poll tax. By 1941, whites constituted a slight majority of those disenfranchised by these laws: 600,000 whites vs. 520,000 African-Americans. Nearly all African Americans had lost the ability to vote. Despite numerous legal challenges that succeeded in overturning certain provisions, the state legislature would create new ones to maintain disenfranchisement. The exclusion of blacks from the political system persisted until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the 1965 to enforce their constitutional rights as citizens.\n\nThe rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for the disenfranchised African Americans, but it did not relieve them of paying taxes. Partially as a response to chronic underfunding of education for African Americans in the South, the Rosenwald Fund began funding the construction of what came to be known as Rosenwald Schools. In Alabama these schools were designed and the construction partially financed with Rosenwald funds, which paid one-third of the construction costs. The fund required the local community and state to raise matching funds to pay the rest. Black residents effectively taxed themselves twice, by raising additional monies to supply matching funds for such schools, which were built in many rural areas. They often donated land and labor as well.\n\nThe former Mount Sinai School in rural Autauga County, completed in 1919. It was one of the 387 Rosenwald Schools built in the state.\nBeginning in 1913, the first 80 Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama for African-American children. A total of 387 schools, seven teachers' houses, and several vocational buildings were completed by 1937 in the state. Several of the surviving school buildings in the state are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.\n\nContinued racial discrimination and lynchings, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans from rural Alabama and other states to seek opportunities in northern and midwestern cities during the early decades of the 20th century as part of the Great Migration out of the South. Reflecting this emigration, the population growth rate in Alabama (see \"historical populations\" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920.\n\nAt the same time, many rural people, both white and African American, migrated to the city of Birmingham to work in new industrial jobs. Birmingham experienced such rapid growth that it was called the \"Magic City\". By the 1920s, Birmingham was the 19th-largest city in the United States and had more than 30% of the state's population. Heavy industry and mining were the basis of its economy. Its residents were under-represented for decades in the state legislature, which refused to redistrict after each decennial census according to population changes, as it was required by the state constitution. This did not change until the late 1960s following a lawsuit and court order.\n\nBeginning in the 1940s, when the courts started taking the first steps to recognize the voting rights of black voters, the Alabama legislature took several counter -steps designed to disfranchise black voters. The legislature passed, and the voters ratified as these were mostly white voters, a state constitutional amendment that gave local registrars greater latitude to disqualify voter registration applicants. Black citizens in Mobile successfully challenged this amendment as a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. The legislature also changed the boundaries of Tuskegee to a 28-sided figure designed to fence out blacks from the city limits. The Supreme Court unanimously held that this racial \"gerrymandering\" violated the Constitution. In 1961, ... the Alabama legislature also intentionally diluted the effect of the black vote by instituting numbered place requirements for local elections.\n\nIndustrial development related to the demands of World War II brought a level of prosperity to the state not seen since before the civil war. Rural workers poured into the largest cities in the state for better jobs and a higher standard of living. One example of this massive influx of workers occurred in Mobile. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into the city to work for war-related industries. Cotton and other cash crops faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing and service base.\n\nDespite massive population changes in the state from 1901 to 1961, the rural-dominated legislature refused to reapportion House and Senate seats based on population, as required by the state constitution to follow the results of decennial censuses. They held on to old representation to maintain political and economic power in agricultural areas. In addition, the state legislature gerrymandered the few Birmingham legislative seats to ensure election by persons living outside Birmingham.\n\nOne result was that Jefferson County, containing Birmingham's industrial and economic powerhouse, contributed more than one-third of all tax revenue to the state, but did not receive a proportional amount in services. Urban interests were consistently underrepresented in the legislature. A 1960 study noted that because of rural domination, \"a minority of about 25 per cent of the total state population is in majority control of the Alabama legislature.\"\n\nA class action suit initiated on behalf of plaintiffs in Lowndes County, Alabama, challenged the state legislature's lack of redistricting for congressional seats. In 1962 ''White v. Crook'', Judge Frank M. Johnson ordered the state to redistrict. United States Supreme Court cases of ''Baker v. Carr'' (1962) and ''Reynolds v. Sims'' (1964) ruled that the principle of \"one man, one vote\" needed to be the basis of both houses of state legislatures as well, and that their districts had to be based on population, rather than geographic counties, as Alabama had used for its senate.\n\nIn 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature completed the first congressional redistricting based on the decennial census. This benefited the urban areas that had developed, as well as all in the population who had been underrepresented for more than 60 years. Other changes were made to implement representative state house and senate districts.\n\nAfrican Americans continued to press in the 1950s and 1960s to end disenfranchisement and segregation in the state through the Civil Rights Movement, including legal challenges. In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' that public schools had to be desegregated, but Alabama was slow to comply. During the 1960s, under Governor George Wallace, Alabama resisted compliance with federal demands for desegregation. The Civil Rights Movement had notable events in Alabama, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56), Freedom Rides in 1961, and 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. These contributed to Congressional passage and enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S. Congress.\n\nLegal segregation ended in the states in 1964, but Jim Crow customs often continued until specifically challenged in court.\n\nDespite recommendations of a 1973 Alabama Constitutional Commission, the state legislature did not approve an amendment to establish home rule for counties. There is very limited home rule, but the legislature is deeply involved in passing legislation that applies to county-level functions and policies. This both deprives local residents of the ability to govern themselves and distracts the legislature from statewide issues.\n \nAlabama has made some changes since the late 20th century and has used new types of voting to increase representation. In the 1980s, an omnibus redistricting case, ''Dillard v. Crenshaw County'', challenged the at-large voting for representative seats of 180 Alabama jurisdictions, including counties and school boards. At-large voting had diluted the votes of any minority in a county, as the majority tended to take all seats. Despite African Americans making up a significant minority in the state, they had been unable to elect any representatives in most of the at-large jurisdictions.\n\nAs part of settlement of this case, five Alabama cities and counties, including Chilton County, adopted a system of cumulative voting for election of representatives in multi-seat jurisdictions. This has resulted in more proportional representation for voters. In another form of proportional representation, 23 jurisdictions use limited voting, as in Conecuh County. In 1982, limited voting was first tested in Conecuh County. Together use of these systems has increased the number of African Americans and women being elected to local offices, resulting in governments that are more representative of their citizens.\n", "A general map of Alabama\n\n\n\nAlabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making Alabama 23rd in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second-largest inland waterway system in the United States. About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley and creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.\n\nAlabama is bordered by the states of Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state. The state ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay to over 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast.\n\nThe highest point is Mount Cheaha, at a height of . Alabama's land consists of of forest or 67% of total land area. Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.\n\nAreas in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City; Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.\n\nAdditionally, Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B. Bankhead. Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail. A notable natural wonder in Alabama is \"Natural Bridge\" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, located just south of Haleyville.\n\nA -wide meteorite impact crater is located in Elmore County, just north of Montgomery. This is the Wetumpka crater, the site of \"Alabama's greatest natural disaster.\" A -wide meteorite hit the area about 80 million years ago. The hills just east of downtown Wetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme (\"star-wound\") because of the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface. In 2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of Vienna published evidence and established the site as the 157th recognized impact crater on Earth.\n\n===Climate===\n\nAutumn tree in Birmingham\n\nThe state is classified as humid subtropical (''Cfa'') under the Koppen Climate Classification. The average annual temperature is 64 °F (18 °C). Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state, especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler. Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year. Alabama receives an average of of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state.\n\nSummers in Alabama are among the hottest in the U.S., with high temperatures averaging over throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes. Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken.\n\nSouth Alabama reports many thunderstorms. The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported. This activity decreases somewhat further north in the state, but even the far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year. Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequent lightning and large hail; the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm. Alabama ranks ninth in the number of deaths from lightning and tenth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita.\n\nPhil Campbell following the statewide April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak.\nAlabama, along with Oklahoma, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes of any state, according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to June 2013. Several long-tracked F5/EF5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state. The state was affected by the 1974 Super Outbreak and was devastated tremendously by the 2011 Super Outbreak. The 2011 Super Outbreak produced a record amount of tornadoes in the state. The tally reached 62.\n\nSnowfall outside Birmingham City Hall in February 2010\nThe peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season in November and December, along with the spring severe weather season. The northern part of the state—along the Tennessee Valley—is one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to violent tornadoes. The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains.\n\nWinters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the Southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around in Mobile and around in Birmingham. Although snow is a rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years. Historic snowfall events include New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the 1993 Storm of the Century. The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is per year. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.\n\nAlabama's highest temperature of was recorded on September 5, 1925, in the unincorporated community of Centerville. The record low of occurred on January 30, 1966, in New Market.\n\n\n\n===Flora and fauna===\nCahaba lilies (''Hymenocallis coronaria'') in the Cahaba River, within the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.\n\n\nAlabama is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, due largely to a variety of habitats that range from the Tennessee Valley, Appalachian Plateau, and Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the north to the Piedmont, Canebrake and Black Belt of the central region to the Gulf Coastal Plain and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The state is usually ranked among the top in nation for its range of overall biodiversity.\n\nAlabama is in the subtropical coniferous forest biome and once boasted huge expanses of pine forest, which still form the largest proportion of forests in the state. It currently ranks fifth in the nation for the diversity of its flora. It is home to nearly 4,000 pteridophyte and spermatophyte plant species.\n\nIndigenous animal species in the state include 62 mammal species, 93 reptile species, 73 amphibian species, roughly 307 native freshwater fish species, and 420 bird species that spend at least part of their year within the state. Invertebrates include 97 crayfish species and 383 mollusk species. 113 of these mollusk species have never been collected outside the state.\n", "Alabama's population density\n\n\n\n\nThe United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Alabama was 4,858,979 on July 1, 2015, which represents an increase of 79,243, or 1.66%, since the 2010 Census. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 people (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 people into the state.\n\nImmigration from outside the U.S. resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people. The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were undocumented (24,000).\n\nThe center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside the town of Jemison.\n\n===Ancestry===\nAccording to the 2010 Census, Alabama had a population of 4,779,736. The racial composition of the state was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White and 1.5% Hispanic White), 26.2% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.1% Asian, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race, and 1.5% from Two or More Races. In 2011, 46.6% of Alabama's population younger than age 1 were minorities.\n\nThe largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama are: African (26.2%), English (23.6%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%). Those citing \"American\" ancestry in Alabama are generally of English or British ancestry; many Anglo-Americans identify as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in some cases since the 1600s. Demographers estimate that a minimum of 20–23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and that the figure is likely higher. In the 1980 census, 41% of the people in Alabama identified as being of English ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group at the time.\n\n\n+ '''Alabama Racial Breakdown of Population'''\n\n Racial composition !! 1990 !! 2000!! 2010\n\n White \n 73.6% \n 71.1% \n 68.5%\n\n Black \n 25.3% \n 26.0% \n 26.2%\n\n Asian \n 0.5% \n 0.7% \n 1.1%\n\n Native \n 0.4% \n 0.5% \n 0.6%\n\n Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander \n – \n – \n 0.1%\n\n Other race \n 0.1% \n 0.6% \n 2.0%\n\n Two or more races \n – \n 1.0% \n 1.5%\n\n\nBased on historic migration and settlement patterns in the southern colonies and states, demographers estimated there are more people in Alabama of Scots-Irish origins than self-reported. Many people in Alabama claim Irish ancestry because of the term Scots-Irish but, based on historic immigration and settlement, their ancestors were more likely Protestant Scots-Irish coming from northern Ireland, where they had been for a few generations as part of the English colonization. The Scots-Irish were the largest non-English immigrant group from the British Isles before the American Revolution, and many settled in the South, later moving into the Deep South as it was developed.\n\nIn 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, the state legislature established the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission. Native American groups within the state had increasingly been demanding recognition as ethnic groups and seeking an end to discrimination. Given the long history of slavery and associated racial segregation, the Native American peoples, who have sometimes been of mixed race, have insisted on having their cultural identification respected. In the past, their self-identification was often overlooked as the state tried to impose a binary breakdown of society into white and black.\n\nThe state has officially recognized nine American Indian tribes in the state, descended mostly from the Five Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast. These are:\n* Poarch Band of Creek Indians (who also have federal recognition),\n* MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians,\n* Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks,\n* Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama,\n* Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama,\n* Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians,\n* ''Ma-Chis'' Lower Creek Indian Tribe,\n* ''Piqua'' Shawnee Tribe, and\n* ''Ani-Yun-Wiya'' Nation.\n\nThe state government has promoted recognition of Native American contributions to the state, including the designation in 2000 for Columbus Day to be jointly celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day.\n\n===Census-designated areas===\nBirmingham, largest city and largest metropolitan area\nMontgomery, second-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area\nMobile, third-largest city and third-largest metropolitan area\nHuntsville, fourth-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area\n\n\n\n Rank\n Combined Statistical area \nPopulation (2016 Estimate)\nPopulation (2010 Census)\n\n1\nBirmingham-Hoover-Talladega\n1,361,299\n1,302,283\n\n2\nChattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton\n954,228\n923,460\n\n3\nHuntsville-Decatur-Albertville\n768,033\n664,441\n\n4\nMobile-Daphne-Fairhope\n623,399\n595,257\n\n5\nPensacola-Ferry Pass\n523,412\n487,310\n\n6\nColumbus-Auburn-Opelika\n501,589\n469,327\n\n7\nDothan-Enterprise-Ozark\n248,286\n245,838\n\n\n===Metropolitan areas===\n\n\n\n\n Rank\n Metropolitan Area\n Population (2016 Estimate)\n Population (2010 Census)\n\n1\nBirmingham-Hoover\n1,147,417\n1,128,047\n\n2\nHuntsville\n449,720\n417,593\n\n3\nMobile\n414,836\n412,992\n\n4\nMontgomery\n373,922\n374,536\n\n5\nTuscaloosa\n241,378\n230,162\n\n6\nDaphne-Fairhope-Foley\n208,563\n182,265\n\n7\nDecatur\n152,256\n153,829\n\n8\nDothan\n147,834\n145,639\n\n9\nAuburn-Opelika\n158,991\n140,247\n\n10\nFlorence-Muscle Shoals\n146,534\n147,137\n\n11\nAnniston-Oxford\n114,611\n118,572\n\n12\nGadsden\n102,564\n104,430\n\n\n===Cities===\n\n\n\n\n Rank !! City !! Population (2015 census estimates) !! County\n\n1\n Birmingham\n212,461\n Jefferson\n\n2\n Montgomery\n200,602\n Montgomery\n\n3\n Mobile\n194,288\n Mobile\n\n4\n Huntsville\n190,582\n MadisonLimestone\n\n5\n Tuscaloosa\n98,332\n Tuscaloosa\n\n6\n Hoover\n84,848\nJeffersonShelby\n\n7\n Dothan\n68,567\n Houston\n\n8\n Auburn\n62,059\n Lee\n\n9\n Decatur\n55,437\n MorganLimestone\n\n10\n Madison\n46,492\nMadisonLimestone\n\n11\n Florence\n40,026\n Lauderdale\n\n12\n Phenix City\n37,570\n Russell\n\n13\n Gadsden\n36,084\n Etowah\n\n14\n Prattville\n35,420\n Autauga\n\n15\n Vestavia Hills\n34,174\nJefferson\n\n\n===Language===\n95.1% of all Alabama residents five years old or older spoke only English at home in 2010, a minor decrease from 96.1% in 2000. Alabama English is predominantly Southern, and is related to South Midland speech which was taken across the border from Tennessee. In the major Southern speech region, there is the decreasing loss of the final /r/, for example the /boyd/ pronunciation of 'bird.' In the northern third of the state, there is a South Midland 'arm' and 'barb' rhyming with 'form' and 'orb.' Unique words in Alabama English include: redworm (earthworm), peckerwood (woodpecker), snake doctor and snake feeder (dragonfly), tow sack (burlap bag), plum peach (clingstone), French harp (harmonica), and dog irons (andirons).\n\n\n+ '''Top 10 Non-English Languages Spoken in Alabama'''\n\n Language !! Percentage of population()\n\n Spanish\n 2.2%\n\n German \n 0.4%\n\n French (incl. Patois, Cajun) \n 0.3%\n\n Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, African languages, Japanese, and Italian (tied)\n 0.1%\n\n\n===Religion===\nHighlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, part of the Five Points South Historic District\nBriarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham\nTemple B'Nai Sholom in Huntsville, established in 1876. It is the oldest synagogue building in continuous use in the state.\nThe Islamic Center of Tuscaloosa, one of the Islamic centers that contain a mosque and facilities for the cultural needs of Muslims in the state.\n\nIn the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 86% of Alabama respondents reported their religion as Christian, including 6% Catholic, and 11% as having no religion. The composition of other traditions is 0.5% Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu.\n\n\n Religious affiliation in Alabama (2014)\n\n Affiliation\n% of population\n\n Christian\n '''\n\n Protestant\n '''\n\n Evangelical Protestant\n '''\n\n Mainline Protestant\n '''\n\n Black church\n '''\n\n Catholic\n '''\n\n Mormon\n '''\n\n Jehovah's Witnesses\n '''\n\n Eastern Orthodox\n '''\n\n Other Christian\n '''\n\n Unaffiliated\n '''\n\n Nothing in particular\n '''\n\n Agnostic\n '''\n\n Atheist\n '''\n\n Non-Christian faiths\n '''\n\n Jewish\n '''\n\n Muslim\n '''\n\n Buddhist\n '''\n\n Hindu\n '''\n\n Other Non-Christian faiths\n '''\n\n Don't know/refused answer\n '''\n\n '''Total''' \n ''''''\n\n\n====Christianity====\n\n\nAlabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous Protestant Christians. Alabama has been identified as one of the most religious states in the United States, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly. A majority of people in the state identify as Evangelical Protestant. , the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are the Southern Baptist Convention, The United Methodist Church, and non-denominational Evangelical Protestant.\n\nIn Alabama, the Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents with 1,380,121; this is followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734 adherents, non-denominational Evangelical Protestant with 220,938 adherents, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents. Many Baptist and Methodist congregations became established in the Great Awakening of the early 19th century, when preachers proselytized across the South. The Assemblies of God had almost 60,000 members, the Churches of Christ had nearly 120,000 members. The Presbyterian churches, strongly associated with Scots-Irish immigrants of the 18th century and their descendants, had a combined membership around 75,000 (PCA – 28,009 members in 108 congregations, PC(USA) – 26,247 members in 147 congregations, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church – 6,000 members in 59 congregations, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America – 5,000 members and 50 congregations plus the EPC and Associate Reformed Presbyterians with 230 members and 9 congregations).\n\nIn a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a \"full understanding\" of their faith and needed no further learning. In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.\n\n====Other faiths====\nAlthough in much smaller numbers, many other religious faiths are represented in the state as well, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, the Bahá'í Faith, and Unitarian Universalism.\n\nJews have been present in what is now Alabama since 1763, during the colonial era of Mobile, when Sephardic Jews immigrated from London. The oldest Jewish congregation in the state is Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim in Mobile. It was formally recognized by the state legislature on January 25, 1844. Later immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries tended to be Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Europe. Jewish denominations in the state include two Orthodox, four Conservative, ten Reform, and one Humanistic synagogue.\n\nMuslims have been increasing in Alabama, with 31 mosques built by 2011, many by African-American converts.\n\nSeveral Hindu temples and cultural centers in the state have been founded by Indian immigrants and their descendants, the best-known being the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham in Pelham, the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama in Capshaw, and the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center in Tuscaloosa.\n\nThere are six Dharma centers and organizations for Theravada Buddhists. Most monastic Buddhist temples are concentrated in southern Mobile County, near Bayou La Batre. This area has attracted an influx of refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam during the 1970s and thereafter. The four temples within a ten-mile radius of Bayou La Batre, include Chua Chanh Giac, Wat Buddharaksa, and Wat Lao Phoutthavihan.\n\nThe first community of adherents of the Baha'i Faith in Alabama was founded in 1896 by Paul K. Dealy, who moved from Chicago to Fairhope. Baha'i Centers in Alabama exist in Birmingham, Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama, and Florence, Alabama.\n\n===Health===\n\nA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study in 2008 showed that obesity in Alabama was a problem, with most counties having over 29% of adults obese, except for ten which had a rate between 26% and 29%. Residents of the state, along with those in five other states, were least likely in the nation to be physically active during leisure time. Alabama, and the southeastern U.S. in general, has one of the highest incidences of adult onset diabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of adults.\n", "\n\nThe state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication. By 2006, crop and animal production in Alabama was valued at $1.5 billion. In contrast to the primarily agricultural economy of the previous century, this was only about 1% of the state's gross domestic product. The number of private farms has declined at a steady rate since the 1960s, as land has been sold to developers, timber companies, and large farming conglomerates.\n\nNon-agricultural employment in 2008 was 121,800 in management occupations; 71,750 in business and financial operations; 36,790 in computer-related and mathematical occupation; 44,200 in architecture and engineering; 12,410 in life, physical, and social sciences; 32,260 in community and social services; 12,770 in legal occupations; 116,250 in education, training, and library services; 27,840 in art, design and media occupations; 121,110 in healthcare; 44,750 in fire fighting, law enforcement, and security; 154,040 in food preparation and serving; 76,650 in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; 53,230 in personal care and services; 244,510 in sales; 338,760 in office and administration support; 20,510 in farming, fishing, and forestry; 120,155 in construction and mining, gas, and oil extraction; 106,280 in installation, maintenance, and repair; 224,110 in production; and 167,160 in transportation and material moving.\n\nAccording to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2012 GDP increased 1.2% from the previous year. The single largest increase came in the area of information. In 2010, per capita income for the state was $22,984.\n\nThe state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8% in April 2015. This compared to a nationwide seasonally adjusted rate of 5.4%.\n\nAlabama has no state minimum wage and uses the federal minimum wage of $7.25. In February 2016, the state passed legislation that prevents Alabama municipalities from raising the minimum wage in their locality. The legislation voids a Birmingham city ordinance that was to raise the city's minimum wage to $10.10.\n\n===Largest employers===\nSpace Shuttle ''Enterprise'' being tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1978.\nHyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery in 2010\nShelby Hall, School of Computing, at the University of South Alabama in Mobile\n\nThe five employers that employed the most employees in Alabama in April 2011 were:\n\n\n\n Employer\n Employees\n\n Redstone Arsenal\n 25,373\n\n University of Alabama at Birmingham (includes UAB Hospital)\n 18,750\n\n Maxwell Air Force Base\n 12,280\n\n State of Alabama\n 9,500\n\n Mobile County Public School System\n 8,100\n\n\nThe next twenty largest employers, , included:\n\n\n Employer\n Location\n\n Anniston Army Depot\n Anniston\n\n AT&T\n Multiple\n\n Auburn University\n Auburn\n\n Baptist Medical Center South\n Montgomery\n\n Birmingham City Schools\n Birmingham\n\n City of Birmingham\n Birmingham\n\n DCH Health System\n Tuscaloosa\n\n Huntsville City Schools\n Huntsville\n\n Huntsville Hospital System\n Huntsville\n\n Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama\n Montgomery\n\n Infirmary Health System\n Mobile\n\n Jefferson County Board of Education\n Birmingham\n\n Marshall Space Flight Center\n Huntsville\n\n Mercedes-Benz U.S. International\n Vance\n\n Montgomery Public Schools\n Montgomery\n\n Regions Financial Corporation\n Multiple\n\n Boeing\n Multiple\n\n University of Alabama\n Tuscaloosa\n\n University of South Alabama\n Mobile\n\n Walmart\n Multiple\n\n\n===Agriculture===\nAlabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, fish, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as \"The Cotton State\", Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton production, according to various reports, with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three.\n\n===Industry===\nAlabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel. In addition, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, the location of NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Materiel Command, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal.\n\nMercedes-Benz U.S. International in Tuscaloosa County was the first automotive facility to locate within the state.\nA great deal of Alabama's economic growth since the 1990s has been due to the state's expanding automotive manufacturing industry. Located in the state are Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, as well as their various suppliers. Since 1993, the automobile industry has generated more than 67,800 new jobs in the state. Alabama currently ranks 4th in the nation for vehicle exports.\n\nAutomakers accounted for approximately a third of the industrial expansion in the state in 2012. The eight models produced at the state's auto factories totaled combined sales of 74,335 vehicles for 2012. The strongest model sales during this period were the Hyundai Elantra compact car, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport utility vehicle and the Honda Ridgeline sport utility truck.\n\nAirbus Mobile Engineering Center at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile\nSteel producers Outokumpu, Nucor, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and U.S. Steel have facilities in Alabama and employ over 10,000 people. In May 2007, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp selected Calvert in Mobile County for a 4.65 billion combined stainless and carbon steel processing facility. ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel division, Inoxum, including the stainless portion of the Calvert plant, was sold to Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu in 2012. The remaining portion of the ThyssenKrupp plant had final bids submitted by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel for $1.6 billion in March 2013. Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional submitted a combined bid for the mill at Calvert, plus a majority stake in the ThyssenKrupp mill in Brazil, for $3.8 billion. In July 2013, the plant was sold to ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.\n\nThe Hunt Refining Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa and operates a refinery there. The company also operates terminals in Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville. JVC America, Inc. operates an optical disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.\n\nThe Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company operates a large plant in Gadsden that employs about 1,400 people. It has been in operation since 1929.\n\nConstruction of an Airbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile was formally announced by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Center on July 2, 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the Brookley Aeroplex for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. Construction began in 2013, with plans for it to become operable by 2015 and produce up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017. The assembly plant is the company's first factory to be built within the United States. It was announced on February 1, 2013, that Airbus had hired Alabama-based Hoar Construction to oversee construction of the facility.\n\n===Tourism===\nAlabama's beaches are one of the state's major tourist destinations.\n\nAn estimated 20 million tourists visit the state each year. Over 100,000 of these are from other countries, including from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. In 2006, 22.3 million travellers spent $8.3 billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state. Some of the most popular areas include the Rocket City of Huntsville, the beaches along the Gulf, and the state's capitol in Montgomery.\n\n===Healthcare===\nUAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama. UAB is the largest state government employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about 18,000.\n\n===Banking===\nRegions-Harbert Plaza, Regions Center, and Wells Fargo Tower in Birmingham's financial district.\n\nAlabama has the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, BBVA Compass, Superior Bancorp and the former Colonial Bancgroup. Birmingham-based Compass Banchshares was acquired by Spanish-based BBVA in September 2007, although the headquarters of BBVA Compass remains in Birmingham. In November 2006, Regions Financial completed its merger with AmSouth Bancorporation, which was also headquartered in Birmingham. SouthTrust Corporation, another large bank headquartered in Birmingham, was acquired by Wachovia in 2004 for $14.3 billion.\n\nThe city still has major operations for Wachovia and its now post-operating bank Wells Fargo, which includes a regional headquarters, an operations center campus and a $400 million data center. Nearly a dozen smaller banks are also headquartered in the Birmingham, such as Superior Bancorp, ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank. Birmingham also serves as the headquarters for several large investment management companies, including Harbert Management Corporation.\n\n===Electronics===\nTelecommunications provider AT&T, formerly BellSouth, has a major presence in Alabama with several large offices in Birmingham. The company has over 6,000 employees and more than 1,200 contract employees.\n\nMany commercial technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such as the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company Intergraph, design and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent, and telecommunications provider Deltacom. Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their Huntsville plant.\n\n===Construction===\nRust International has grown to include Brasfield & Gorrie, BE&K, Hoar Construction and B.L. Harbert International, which all routinely are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design, international construction, and engineering firms. (Rust International was acquired in 2000 by Washington Group International, which was in turn acquired by San-Francisco based URS Corporation in 2007.)\n", "\n===State government===\nState Capitol Building in Montgomery, completed in 1851\n\n\nThe foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At almost 800 amendments and 310,000 words, it is by some accounts the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the United States Constitution.\n\nThere has been a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution. Critics argue that Alabama's constitution maintains highly centralized power with the state legislature, leaving practically no power in local hands. Most counties do not have home rule. Any policy changes proposed in different areas of the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. One criticism of the current constitution claims that its complexity and length intentionally codify segregation and racism.\n\nThe Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. It houses the Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.\n\nAlabama's government is divided into three coequal branches. The legislative branch is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation. The Republican Party currently holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature. The Legislature has the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto).\n\nUntil 1964, the state elected state senators on a geographic basis by county, with one per county. It had not redistricted congressional districts since passage of its constitution in 1901; as a result, urbanized areas were grossly underrepresented. It had not changed legislative districts to reflect the decennial censuses, either. In ''Reynolds v. Sims'' (1964), the US Supreme Court implemented the principle of \"one man, one vote\", ruling that congressional districts had to be reapportioned based on censuses (as the state already included in its constitution but had not implemented.) Further, the court ruled that both houses of bicameral state legislatures had to be apportioned by population, as there was no constitutional basis for states to have geographically based systems.\n\nAt that time, Alabama and many other states had to change their legislative districting, as many across the country had systems that underrepresented urban areas and districts. This had caused decades of underinvestment in such areas. For instance, Birmingham and Jefferson County taxes had supplied one-third of the state budget, but Jefferson County received only 1/67th of state services in funding. Through the legislative delegations, the Alabama legislature kept control of county governments.\n\nGovernor Kay Ivey is the current and second female Governor of Alabama. She is the only Republican female Governor in the state's history.\n\nThe executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws. It is headed by the Governor of Alabama. Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama, the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the State Auditor of Alabama. The current governor of the state is Republican Kay Ivey. The office of lieutenant governor is currently vacant.\n\nThe members of the Legislature take office immediately after the November elections. Statewide officials, such as the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and other constitutional officers, take office the following January.\n\nThe judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. The state's highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama. Alabama uses partisan elections to select judges. Since the 1980s judicial campaigns have become increasingly politicized. The current chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Republican Roy Moore. All sitting justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are members of the Republican Party. There are two intermediate appellate courts, the Court of Civil Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals, and four trial courts: the circuit court (trial court of general jurisdiction), and the district, probate, and municipal courts.\n\nSome critics believe that the election of judges has contributed to an exceedingly high rate of executions. Alabama has the highest per capita death penalty rate in the country. In some years, it imposes more death sentences than does Texas, a state which has a population five times larger. Some of its cases have been highly controversial; the Supreme Court has overturned 24 convictions in death penalty cases. It is the only state that still allows judges to override jury decisions in whether or not to use a death sentence; in 10 cases judges overturned sentences of life imprisonment without parole (LWOP) that were voted unanimously by juries.\n\n===Taxes===\nAlabama levies a 2, 4, or 5 percent personal income tax, depending upon the amount earned and filing status. Taxpayers are allowed to deduct their federal income tax from their Alabama state tax, and can do so even if taking the standard deduction. Taxpayers who file itemized deductions are also allowed to deduct the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (Social Security and Medicare tax).\n\nThe state's general sales tax rate is 4%. Sales tax rates for cities and counties are also added to purchases. For example, the total sales tax rate in Mobile is 10% and there is an additional restaurant tax of 1%, which means that a diner in Mobile would pay an 11% tax on a meal. , sales and excise taxes in Alabama account for 51% of all state and local revenue, compared with an average of about 36% nationwide. Alabama is one of seven states that levy a tax on food at the same rate as other goods, and one of two states (the other being neighboring Mississippi) which fully taxes groceries without any offsetting relief for low-income families. (Most states exempt groceries from sales tax or apply a lower tax rate.)\n\nAlabama's income tax on poor working families is among the highest in the United States. Alabama is the only state that levies income tax on a family of four with income as low as $4,600, which is barely one-quarter of the federal poverty line. Alabama's threshold is the lowest among the 41 states and the District of Columbia with income taxes.\n\nThe corporate income tax rate is currently 6.5%. The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country. Property taxes are the lowest in the U.S. The current state constitution requires a voter referendum to raise property taxes.\n\nSince Alabama's tax structure largely depends on consumer spending, it is subject to high variable budget structure. For example, in 2003, Alabama had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million.\n\n===County and local governments===\n\n\nTreemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election.\n\nAlabama has 67 counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the county commission. It also has limited executive authority in the county. Because of the constraints of the Alabama Constitution, which centralizes power in the state legislature, only seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have limited home rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies approved, ranging from waste disposal to land use zoning. The cumbersome process results in local jurisdictions being unable to manage their problems, and the state legislators being buried in local county issues.\n\nThe state legislature has retained power over local governments by refusing to pass a constitutional amendment establishing home rule for counties, as recommended by the 1973 Alabama Constitutional Commission. Legislative delegations retain certain powers over each county. United States Supreme Court decisions in ''Baker v. Carr'' (1964) required that both houses have districts established on the basis of population, and redistricted after each census, in order to implement the principle of \"one man, one vote\". Before that, each county was represented by one state senator, leading to under-representation in the state senate for more urbanized, populous counties. The rural bias of the state legislature, which had also failed to redistrict seats in the state house, affected politics well into the 20th century, failing to recognize the rise of industrial cities and urbanized areas.\n\n\"The lack of home rule for counties in Alabama has resulted in the proliferation of local legislation permitting counties to do things not authorized by the state constitution. Alabama's constitution has been amended more than 700 times, and almost one-third of the amendments are local in nature, applying to only one county or city. A significant part of each legislative session is spent on local legislation, taking away time and attention of legislators from issues of statewide importance.\"\n\nAlabama is an alcoholic beverage control state, meaning that the state government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol. The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board controls the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the state. Twenty-five of the 67 counties are \"dry counties\" which ban the sale of alcohol, and there are many dry municipalities even in counties which permit alcohol sales.\n\n\n\n Rank !! County !! Population(2010 Census) !! Seat !! Largest city\n\n 1\n Jefferson\n 658,466\n Birmingham\n Birmingham\n\n 2\n Mobile\n 412,992\n Mobile\n Mobile\n\n 3\n Madison\n 334,811\n Huntsville\n Huntsville\n\n 4\n Montgomery\n 229,363\n Montgomery\n Montgomery\n\n 5\n Shelby\n 195,085\n Columbiana\n Hoover (part)Alabaster\n\n 6\n Tuscaloosa\n 194,656\n Tuscaloosa\n Tuscaloosa\n\n 7\n Baldwin\n 182,265\n Bay Minette\n Daphne\n\n 8\n Lee\n 140,247\n Opelika\n Auburn\n\n 9\n Morgan\n 119,490\n Decatur\n Decatur\n\n 10\n Calhoun\n 118,572\n Anniston\n Anniston\n\n 11\n Etowah\n 104,303\n Gadsden\n Gadsden\n\n 12\n Houston\n 101,547\n Dothan\n Dothan\n\n 13\n Marshall\n 93,019\n Guntersville\n Albertville\n\n 14\n Lauderdale\n 92,709\n Florence\n Florence\n\n 15\n St. Clair\n 83,593\n Ashville &Pell City\n Pell City\n\n\n===Politics===\nDuring Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition of white Democrats known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African-American vote through violence, fraud and intimidation.\n\nAfter 1890, a coalition of White Democratic politicians passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise African American residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disenfranchised African Americans resulted in excluding many poor Whites. By 1941 more Whites than African Americans had been disenfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000. The total effects were greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised and relegated to separate and unequal treatment under the law.\n\nFrom 1901 through the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population grew and shifted within the state during urbanization and industrialization of certain areas. As counties were the basis of election districts, the result was a rural minority that dominated state politics through nearly three-quarters of the century, until a series of federal court cases required redistricting in 1972 to meet equal representation.\n\nAlabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, when whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform. Governor George Wallace, the state's only four-term governor, was a controversial figure who vowed to maintain segregation. Only after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain the ability to exercise suffrage, among other civil rights. In many jurisdictions, they continued to be excluded from representation by at-large electoral systems, which allowed the majority of the population to dominate elections. Some changes at the county level have occurred following court challenges to establish single-member districts that enable a more diverse representation among county boards.\n\nIn 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican Governor Bob Riley signed a resolution expressing \"profound regret\" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America.\n\nIn 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years, after a nearly complete realignment of political parties, who represent different visions in the 21st century.\n\n===Elections===\n\n\n====State elections====\nWith the disfranchisement of African Americans in 1901, the state became part of the \"Solid South\", a system in which the Democratic Party operated as effectively the only viable political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election. Since the mid to late 20th century, however, there has been a realignment among the two major political parties, and white conservatives started shifting to the Republican Party. In Alabama, majority-white districts are now expected to regularly elect Republican candidates to federal, state and local office.\n\nMembers of the nine seats on the Alabama Supreme Court and all ten seats on the state appellate courts are elected to office. Until 1994, no Republicans held any of the court seats. In that general election, the then-incumbent Chief Justice of Alabama, Ernest C. Hornsby, refused to leave office after losing the election by approximately 3,000 votes to Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr.. Hornsby sued Alabama and defiantly remained in office for nearly a year before finally giving up the seat after losing in court. This ultimately led to a collapse of support for Democrats at the ballot box in the next three or four election cycles. The Democrats lost the last of the nineteen court seats in August 2011 with the resignation of the last Democrat on the bench.\n\nIn the early 21st century, Republicans hold all seven of the statewide elected executive branch offices. Republicans hold six of the eight elected seats on the Alabama State Board of Education. In 2010, Republicans took large majorities of both chambers of the state legislature, giving them control of that body for the first time in 136 years. The last remaining statewide Democrat, who served on the Alabama Public Service Commission was defeated in 2012.\n\nOnly two Republican Lieutenant Governors have been elected since the end of Reconstruction, when Republicans generally represented Reconstruction government, including the newly emancipated freedmen who had gained the franchise. The two GOP Lt. Governors were Steve Windom (1999–2003) and the current Lt. Governor, Kay Ivey, who was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.\n\n====Local elections====\nMany local offices (County Commissioners, Boards of Education, Tax Assessors, Tax Collectors, etc.) in the state are still held by Democrats. Many rural counties have voters who are majority Democrats, resulting in local elections being decided in the Democratic primary. Similarly many metropolitan and suburban counties are majority-Republican and elections are effectively decided in the Republican Primary, although there are exceptions.\n\nAlabama's 67 County Sheriffs are elected in partisan, at-large races, and Democrats still retain the narrow majority of those posts. The current split is 35 Democrats, 31 Republicans, and one Independent Fayette. However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over rural and less populated counties. The majority of Republican sheriffs have been elected in the more urban/suburban and heavily populated counties. , the state of Alabama has one female sheriff, in Morgan County, Alabama, and ten African-American sheriffs.\n\n====Federal elections====\n\n+ '''Presidential elections results'''\n\n Year\n Republican\n Democratic\n\n2016\n'''62.08%''' ''1,318,255''\n34.36% 729,547\n\n2012\n'''60.55%''' ''1,255,925''\n38.36% 795,696\n\n2008\n'''60.32%''' ''1,266,546''\n38.80% 813,479\n\n2004\n'''62.46%''' ''1,176,394''\n36.84% 693,933\n\n2000\n'''56.47%''' ''944,409''\n41.59% 695,602\n\n1996\n'''50.12%''' ''769,044''\n43.16% 662,165\n\n1992\n'''47.65%''' ''804,283''\n40.88% 690,080\n\n1988\n'''59.17%''' ''815,576''\n39.86% 549,506\n\n1984\n'''60.54%''' ''872,849''\n38.28% 551,899\n\n1980\n'''48.75%''' ''654,192''\n47.45% 636,730\n\n1976\n42.61% 504,070\n'''55.73%''' ''659,170''\n\n1972\n'''72.43%''' ''728,701''\n25.54% 256,923\n\n1968*\n13.99% 146,923\n18.72% 196,579\n\n1964\n'''69.45%''' ''479,085''\n30.55% 210,732\n\n1960\n42.16% 237,981\n'''56.39%''' ''318,303''\n\n*State won by George Wallaceof the American Independent Party,at 65.86%, or 691,425 votes\n\n\nThe state's two U.S. senators are Luther Strange and Richard C. Shelby, both Republicans. Shelby was originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, but switched parties immediately following the November 1994 general election.\n\nIn the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, six of whom are Republicans: (Bradley Byrne, Mike D. Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Morris J. Brooks, Martha Roby, and Gary Palmer) and one Democrat: Terri Sewell who represents the Black Belt as well as most of the predominantly black portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery.\n\n", "\n\n===Primary and secondary education===\nVestavia Hills High School in the suburbs of Birmingham\n\nPublic primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the purview of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,496 individual schools provide education for 744,637 elementary and secondary students.\n\nPublic school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund. In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year. In 2007, over 82 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the National No Child Left Behind law, using measures determined by the state of Alabama.\n\nWhile Alabama's public education system has improved in recent decades, it lags behind in achievement compared to other states. According to U.S. Census data (2000), Alabama's high school graduation rate—75%—is the fourth lowest in the U.S. (after Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi). The largest educational gains were among people with some college education but without degrees.\n\nAlthough unusual in the West, school corporal punishment is not uncommon in Alabama, with 27,260 public school students paddled at least one time, according to government data for the 2011–2012 school year. The rate of school corporal punishment in Alabama is surpassed only by Mississippi and Arkansas.\n\n===Colleges and universities===\n\nHarrison Plaza at the University of North Alabama in Florence. The school was chartered as LaGrange College by the Alabama Legislature in 1830.\n\nAlabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. In the state are four medical schools (as of fall 2015) (University of Alabama School of Medicine, University of South Alabama and Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine and The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Auburn Campus), two veterinary colleges (Auburn University and Tuskegee University), a dental school (University of Alabama School of Dentistry), an optometry college (University of Alabama at Birmingham), two pharmacy schools (Auburn University and Samford University), and five law schools (University of Alabama School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law). Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to a multitude of doctoral level programs.\n\nWilliam J. Samford Hall at Auburn University in Auburn\nThe largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 37,665 enrolled for fall 2016. Troy University was the largest institution in the state in 2010, with an enrollment of 29,689 students across four Alabama campuses (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City), as well as sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other countries. The oldest institutions are the public University of North Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliated Spring Hill College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.\n\nAccreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as other subject-focused national and international accreditation agencies such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the Council on Occupational Education (COE), and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).\n\nAccording to the 2011 ''U.S. News & World Report'', Alabama had three universities ranked in the top 100 Public Schools in America (University of Alabama at 31, Auburn University at 36, and University of Alabama at Birmingham at 73).\n\nAccording to the 2012 ''U.S. News & World Report'', Alabama had four tier 1 universities (University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville).\n", "\n\nMajor newspapers include ''Birmingham News'', ''Birmingham Post-Herald'', Mobile ''Press-Register'', and ''Montgomery Advertiser''.\n\nTelevision news channels in Alabama include:\n\n'''ABC'''\n* WJSU 40 ABC, Anniston, AL\n* WBMA 33/40 ABC, Birmingham, AL\n* WDHN 18 ABC, Dothan, AL\n* WAAY 31 ABC, Huntsville, AL\n* WNCF 32 ABC, Montgomery, AL\n* WCFT 33 ABC, Tuscaloosa, AL,\n\n'''CBS'''\n* WIAT 42 CBS, Birmingham, AL\n* WTVY 4 CBS, Dothan, AL\n* WHNT 19 CBS, Huntsville, AL\n* WKRG 5 CBS, Mobile, AL\n* WAKA 8 CBS, Selma, AL\n\n'''Fox'''\n* WBRC 6 FOX, Birmingham, AL\n* WZDX 54 FOX, Huntsville, AL\n* WALA 10 FOX, Mobile, AL\n* WCOV 20 FOX, Montgomery, AL\n* WDFX 34 FOX, Ozark, AL\n\n'''NBC'''\n* WVTM 13 NBC, Birmingham, AL\n* WAFF 48 NBC, Huntsville, AL\n* WPMI 15 NBC, Mobile, AL\n* WSFA 12 NBC, Montgomery, AL\n\n'''PBS/Alabama Public Television'''\n* WBIQ 10 PBS, Birmingham, AL\n* WIIQ 41 PBS, Demopolis, AL\n* WDIQ 2 PBS, Dozier, AL\n* WFIQ 36 PBS, Florence, AL\n* WHIQ 25 PBS, Huntsville, AL\n* WGIQ 43 PBS, Louisville, AL\n* WEIQ 42 PBS, Mobile, AL\n* WAIQ 26 PBS, Montgomery, AL\n* WCIQ 7 PBS, Mount Cheaha, AL\n", "\n\n===Literature===\n\n\n===Sports===\n\n====College sports====\nBryant–Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa\n\nCollege football is popular in Alabama, particularly the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn University Tigers, rivals in the Southeastern Conference. In the 2013 season, Alabama averaged over 100,000 fans per game and Auburn averaged over 80,000 fans, both numbers among the top 20 in the nation in average attendance. Bryant–Denny Stadium is the home of the Alabama football team, and has a seating capacity of 101,821, and is the fifth largest stadium in America. Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn football team and seats up to 87,451.\n\nLegion Field is home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Birmingham Bowl. It seats 80,601. Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile is the home of the University of South Alabama football team, and serves as the home of the NCAA Senior Bowl, Dollar General Bowl (formerly GoDaddy.com Bowl), and Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic; the stadium seats 40,646. In 2009, Bryant–Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, after previously being held at Legion Field in Birmingham.\n\n====Professional sports====\n\nRegions Field in Birmingham\nHank Aaron Stadium in Mobile\n\nAlabama has several professional and semi-professional sports teams, including three minor league baseball teams.\n\n\n\n Club\n City\n Sport\n League\n Venue\n\n Birmingham Barons\n Birmingham\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Regions Field\n\n Huntsville Havoc\n Huntsville\n Ice hockey\n Southern Professional Hockey League\n Von Braun Center\n\n\n Mobile BayBears\n Mobile\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Hank Aaron Stadium\n\n Montgomery Biscuits\n Montgomery\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium\n\n Birmingham Hammers\n Birmingham\n Soccer\n National Premier Soccer League\n Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex\n\n Tennessee Valley Tigers\n Huntsville\n Football\n Independent Women's Football League\n Milton Frank Stadium\n\n\nThe Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR events. It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America. Also, the Barber Motorsports Park has hosted IndyCar Series and Rolex Sports Car Series races.\n\nThe ATP Birmingham was a World Championship Tennis tournament held from 1973 to 1980.\n\nAlabama has hosted several professional golf tournaments, such as the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek, the Barbasol Championship (PGA Tour), the Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions, Airbus LPGA Classic and Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (LPGA Tour), and The Tradition (Champions Tour).\n", "Terminal at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Montgomery.\nInterstate 59 (co-signed with Interstate 20) approaching Interstate 65 in downtown Birmingham.\nAerial view of the port of Mobile.\n\n\n===Aviation===\n\n\nMajor airports with sustained commercial operations in Alabama include Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Huntsville International Airport (HSV), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), and Muscle Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL).\n\n===Rail===\nFor rail transport, Amtrak schedules the ''Crescent'', a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with station stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.\n\n===Roads===\nAlabama has six major interstate roads that cross the state: Interstate 65 (I-65) travels north–south roughly through the middle of the state; I-20/I-59 travel from the central west Mississippi state line to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta; I-85 originates in Montgomery and travels east-northeast to the Georgia state line, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, traveling from west to east through Mobile. I-22 enters the state from Mississippi and connects Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, there are currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state: I-165 in Mobile, I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 around Birmingham, I-565 in Decatur and Huntsville, and I-759 in Gadsden. A sixth route, I-685, will be formed when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery. A proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will be designated as I-422. Since a direct connection from I-22 to I-422 will not be possible, I-222 has been proposed, as well.\n\nSeveral U.S. Highways also pass through the state, such as U.S. Route 11 (US-11), US-29, US-31, US-43, US-45, US-72, US-78, US-80, US-82, US-84, US-90, US-98, US-231, US-278, US-280, US-331, US-411, and US-431.\n\nThere are four toll roads in the state: Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery; Tuscaloosa Bypass in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway in Wetumpka; and Beach Express in Orange Beach.\n\n===Ports===\nThe Port of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a large seaport on the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to the Midwest by way of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Port of Mobile was ranked 12th by tons of traffic in the United States during 2009. The newly expanded container terminal at the Port of Mobile was ranked as the 25th busiest for container traffic in the nation during 2011. The state's other ports are on rivers with access to the Gulf of Mexico.\n\nWater ports of Alabama, listed from north to south:\n\n+\n Port name\n Location\n Connected to\n\n Port of Florence \n''Florence/Muscle Shoals'', on ''Pickwick Lake''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Decatur \n ''Decatur'', on ''Wheeler Lake''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Guntersville \n''Guntersville'', on ''Lake Guntersville''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Birmingham \n ''Birmingham'', on ''Black Warrior River'' \n Tenn-Tom Waterway\n\n Port of Tuscaloosa \n''Tuscaloosa'', on ''Black Warrior River''\nTenn-Tom Waterway\n\n Port of Montgomery \n ''Montgomery'', on ''Woodruff Lake'' \n Alabama River\n\n Port of Mobile \n ''Mobile'', on ''Mobile Bay'' \n Gulf of Mexico\n\n\n", "\n* Outline of Alabama – organized list of topics about Alabama\n* Index of Alabama-related articles\n* Gun rights in Alabama\n* Right to work in Alabama\n", "\n* “Alabama - History and Culture.” Adventure Tourism – Experiential Travel Guides. Accessed: March 31, 2017.\n", ":''For a detailed bibliography, see the History of Alabama.''\n* Atkins, Leah Rawls, Wayne Flynt, William Warren Rogers, and David Ward. ''Alabama: The History of a Deep South State'' (1994)\n*Flynt, Wayne. ''Alabama in the Twentieth Century'' (2004)\n*Owen Thomas M. ''History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography'' 4 vols. 1921.\n*Jackson, Harvey H. ''Inside Alabama: A Personal History of My State'' (2004)\n*Mohl, Raymond A. \"Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama\" ''Alabama Review'' 2002 55(4): 243–274. \n*Peirce, Neal R. ''The Deep South States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Seven Deep South States'' (1974). Information on politics and economics 1960–72.\n*Williams, Benjamin Buford. ''A Literary History of Alabama: The Nineteenth Century'' 1979.\n*WPA. ''Guide to Alabama'' (1939)\n", "\n\n* Alabama.gov – Official State Government web site\n* \n* Alabama State Guide, from the Library of Congress\n* All About Alabama, at the Alabama Department of Archives and History\n* Code of Alabama 1975 – at the Alabama Legislature site\n* USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Alabama\n* Alabama QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau\n* Alabama State Fact Sheet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "History", "Geography", "Demographics", "Economy", "Law and government", "Education", "Media", "Culture", "Transportation", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "SouthTrust Corporation, another large bank headquartered in Birmingham, was acquired by Wachovia in 2004 for $14.3 billion.", "The city still has major operations for Wachovia and its now post-operating bank Wells Fargo, which includes a regional headquarters, an operations center campus and a $400 million data center.", "Nearly a dozen smaller banks are also headquartered in the Birmingham, such as Superior Bancorp, ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alabama''' () is a state in the southeastern region of the United States.", "It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west.", "Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states.", "With a total of of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.", "Alabama is nicknamed the ''Yellowhammer State'', after the state bird.", "Alabama is also known as the \"Heart of Dixie\" and the ''Cotton State''.", "The state tree is the longleaf pine, and the state flower is the camellia.", "Alabama's capital is Montgomery.", "The largest city by population is Birmingham, which has long been the most industrialized city; the largest city by land area is Huntsville.", "The oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana.", "From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many states in the southern U.S., suffered economic hardship, in part because of its continued dependence on agriculture.", "Like other southern states, Alabama legislators disfranchised African Americans and many poor whites at the turn of the century.", "Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature from 1901 to the 1960s; urban interests and African Americans were markedly under-represented.", "Following World War II, Alabama grew as the state's economy changed from one primarily based on agriculture to one with diversified interests.", "The state economy in the 21st century is based on management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.", "Russell Cave in Jackson County.", "Charcoal from indigenous camp fires in the cave has been dated as early as 6550 to 6145 BC.", "The European-American naming of the Alabama River and state was derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.", "In the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is ''Albaamo'' (or variously ''Albaama'' or ''Albàamo'' in different dialects; the plural form is ''Albaamaha'').", "The word ''Alabama'' is believed to have come from the Alabama language; a suggestion that the name was borrowed from the Choctaw language is unlikely.", "The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources.", "The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used ''Alibamo'', while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote ''Alibamu'' and ''Limamu'', respectively, in transliterations of the term.", "As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the ''Alibamon'', with French maps identifying the river as ''Rivière des Alibamons''.", "Other spellings of the name have included ''Alibamu'', ''Alabamo'', ''Albama'', ''Alebamon'', ''Alibama'', ''Alibamou'', ''Alabamu'', ''Allibamou''.", "Sources disagree on the word's meaning.", "Some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctaw ''alba'' (meaning \"plants\" or \"weeds\") and ''amo'' (meaning \"to cut\", \"to trim\", or \"to gather\").", "The meaning may have been \"clearers of the thicket\" or \"herb gatherers\", referring to clearing land for cultivation or collecting medicinal plants.", "The state has numerous place names of Native American origin.", "However, there are no correspondingly similar words in the Alabama language.", "An 1842 article in the ''Jacksonville Republican'' proposed it meant \"Here We Rest.\"", "This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek.", "Experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation.", "\n\n\n===Pre-European settlement===\nThe Moundville Archaeological Site in Hale County.", "It was occupied by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture from 1000 to 1450 AD.", "Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization.", "Trade with the northeastern tribes by the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BC–AD 700) and continued until European contact.", "The agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD, with one of its major centers built at what is now the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama.", "This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after Cahokia in present-day Illinois, which was the center of the culture.", "Analysis of artifacts from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC).", "Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerican culture, but developed independently.", "The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.", "Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were the Cherokee, an Iroquoian language people; and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama (''Alibamu''), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Koasati.", "While part of the same large language family, the Muskogee tribes developed distinct cultures and languages.", "===European settlement===\nWith exploration in the 16th century, the Spanish were the first Europeans to reach Alabama.", "The expedition of Hernando de Soto passed through Mabila and other parts of the state in 1540.", "More than 160 years later, the French founded the region's first European settlement at Old Mobile in 1702.", "The city was moved to the current site of Mobile in 1711.", "This area was claimed by the French from 1702 to 1763 as part of La Louisiane.", "After the French lost to the British in the Seven Years' War, it became part of British West Florida from 1763 to 1783.", "After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War, the territory was divided between the United States and Spain.", "The latter retained control of this western territory from 1783 until the surrender of the Spanish garrison at Mobile to U.S. forces on April 13, 1813.", "Thomas Bassett, a loyalist to the British monarchy during the Revolutionary era, was one of the earliest white settlers in the state outside Mobile.", "He settled in the Tombigbee District during the early 1770s.", "The district's boundaries were roughly limited to the area within a few miles of the Tombigbee River and included portions of what is today southern Clarke County, northernmost Mobile County, and most of Washington County.", "What is now the counties of Baldwin and Mobile became part of Spanish West Florida in 1783, part of the independent Republic of West Florida in 1810, and was finally added to the Mississippi Territory in 1812.", "Most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as the Yazoo lands beginning during the British colonial period.", "It was claimed by the Province of Georgia from 1767 onwards.", "Following the Revolutionary War, it remained a part of Georgia, although heavily disputed.", "Map showing the formation of the Mississippi and Alabama territories\n\nWith the exception of the area around Mobile and the Yazoo lands, what is now the lower one-third Alabama was made part of the Mississippi Territory when it was organized in 1798.", "The Yazoo lands were added to the territory in 1804, following the Yazoo land scandal.", "Spain kept a claim on its former Spanish West Florida territory in what would become the coastal counties until the Adams–Onís Treaty officially ceded it to the United States in 1819.", "===19th century===\nBefore Mississippi's admission to statehood on December 10, 1817, the more sparsely settled eastern half of the territory was separated and named the Alabama Territory.", "The United States Congress created the Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817.", "St. Stephens, now abandoned, served as the territorial capital from 1817 to 1819.", "Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selecting Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention.", "From July 5 to August 2, 1819, delegates met to prepare the new state constitution.", "Huntsville served as temporary capital from 1819 to 1820, when the seat of government moved to Cahaba in Dallas County.", "Thornhill in Greene County.", "It is a former Black Belt plantation.", "Cahaba, now a ghost town, was the first permanent state capital from 1820 to 1825.", "Alabama Fever was underway when the state was admitted to the Union, with settlers and land speculators pouring into the state to take advantage of fertile land suitable for cotton cultivation.", "Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men.", "Southeastern planters and traders from the Upper South brought slaves with them as the cotton plantations in Alabama expanded.", "The economy of the central Black Belt (named for its dark, productive soil) was built around large cotton plantations whose owners' wealth grew mainly from slave labor.", "The area also drew many poor, disfranchised people who became subsistence farmers.", "Alabama had an estimated population of under 10,000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830.", "Most Native American tribes were completely removed from the state within a few years of the passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress in 1830.", "William Nichols, it was built from 1827 to 1829 and was destroyed by fire in 1923.", "From 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa served as Alabama's capital.", "On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced it had voted to move the capital city from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery.", "The first legislative session in the new capital met in December 1847.", "A new capitol building was erected under the direction of Stephen Decatur Button of Philadelphia.", "The first structure burned down in 1849, but was rebuilt on the same site in 1851.", "This second capitol building in Montgomery remains to the present day.", "It was designed by Barachias Holt of Exeter, Maine.", "By 1860, the population had increased to 964,201 people, of which nearly half, 435,080, were enslaved African Americans, and 2,690 were free people of color.", "On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession from the Union.", "After remaining an independent republic for a few days, it joined the Confederate States of America.", "The Confederacy's capital was initially at Montgomery.", "Alabama was heavily involved in the American Civil War.", "Although comparatively few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war effort.", "Union Army troops occupying Courthouse Square in Huntsville, following its capture and occupation by federal forces in 1864.", "A company of cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama, joined Nathan Bedford Forrest's battalion in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.", "The company wore new uniforms with yellow trim on the sleeves, collar and coat tails.", "This led to them being greeted with \"Yellowhammer\", and the name later was applied to all Alabama troops in the Confederate Army.", "Alabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865.", "Alabama was under military rule from the end of the war in May 1865 until its official restoration to the Union in 1868.", "From 1867 to 1874, with most white citizens barred temporarily from voting and freedmen enfranchised, many African Americans emerged as political leaders in the state.", "Alabama was represented in Congress during this period by three African-American congressmen: Jeremiah Haralson, Benjamin S. Turner, and James T. Rapier.", "Following the war, the state remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton.", "During Reconstruction, state legislators ratified a new state constitution in 1868 that created the state's first public school system and expanded women's rights.", "Legislators funded numerous public road and railroad projects, although these were plagued with allegations of fraud and misappropriation.", "Organized insurgent, resistance groups tried to suppress the freedmen and Republicans.", "Besides the short-lived original Ku Klux Klan, these included the Pale Faces, Knights of the White Camellia, Red Shirts, and the White League.", "Reconstruction in Alabama ended in 1874, when the Democrats regained control of the legislature and governor's office through an election dominated by fraud and violence.", "They wrote another constitution in 1875, and the legislature passed the Blaine Amendment, prohibiting public money from being used to finance religious-affiliated schools.", "The same year, legislation was approved that called for racially segregated schools.", "Railroad passenger cars were segregated in 1891.", "After disfranchising most African Americans and many poor whites in the 1901 constitution, the Alabama legislature passed more Jim Crow laws at the beginning of the 20th century to impose segregation in everyday life.", "===20th century===\nThe developing skyline of Birmingham in 1915\n\nThe new 1901 Constitution of Alabama included provisions for voter registration that effectively disenfranchised large portions of the population, including nearly all African Americans and Native Americans, and tens of thousands of poor whites, through making voter registration difficult, requiring a poll tax and literacy test.", "The 1901 constitution required racial segregation of public schools.", "By 1903, only 2,980 African Americans were registered in Alabama, although at least 74,000 were literate.", "This compared to more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote in 1900.", "The numbers dropped even more in later decades.", "The state legislature passed additional racial segregation laws related to public facilities into the 1950s: jails were segregated in 1911; hospitals in 1915; toilets, hotels, and restaurants in 1928; and bus stop waiting rooms in 1945.", "While the planter class had persuaded poor whites to vote for this legislative effort to suppress black voting, the new restrictions resulted in their disenfranchisement as well, due mostly to the imposition of a cumulative poll tax.", "By 1941, whites constituted a slight majority of those disenfranchised by these laws: 600,000 whites vs. 520,000 African-Americans.", "Nearly all African Americans had lost the ability to vote.", "Despite numerous legal challenges that succeeded in overturning certain provisions, the state legislature would create new ones to maintain disenfranchisement.", "The exclusion of blacks from the political system persisted until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the 1965 to enforce their constitutional rights as citizens.", "The rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for the disenfranchised African Americans, but it did not relieve them of paying taxes.", "Partially as a response to chronic underfunding of education for African Americans in the South, the Rosenwald Fund began funding the construction of what came to be known as Rosenwald Schools.", "In Alabama these schools were designed and the construction partially financed with Rosenwald funds, which paid one-third of the construction costs.", "The fund required the local community and state to raise matching funds to pay the rest.", "Black residents effectively taxed themselves twice, by raising additional monies to supply matching funds for such schools, which were built in many rural areas.", "They often donated land and labor as well.", "The former Mount Sinai School in rural Autauga County, completed in 1919.", "It was one of the 387 Rosenwald Schools built in the state.", "Beginning in 1913, the first 80 Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama for African-American children.", "A total of 387 schools, seven teachers' houses, and several vocational buildings were completed by 1937 in the state.", "Several of the surviving school buildings in the state are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.", "Continued racial discrimination and lynchings, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans from rural Alabama and other states to seek opportunities in northern and midwestern cities during the early decades of the 20th century as part of the Great Migration out of the South.", "Reflecting this emigration, the population growth rate in Alabama (see \"historical populations\" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920.", "At the same time, many rural people, both white and African American, migrated to the city of Birmingham to work in new industrial jobs.", "Birmingham experienced such rapid growth that it was called the \"Magic City\".", "By the 1920s, Birmingham was the 19th-largest city in the United States and had more than 30% of the state's population.", "Heavy industry and mining were the basis of its economy.", "Its residents were under-represented for decades in the state legislature, which refused to redistrict after each decennial census according to population changes, as it was required by the state constitution.", "This did not change until the late 1960s following a lawsuit and court order.", "Beginning in the 1940s, when the courts started taking the first steps to recognize the voting rights of black voters, the Alabama legislature took several counter -steps designed to disfranchise black voters.", "The legislature passed, and the voters ratified as these were mostly white voters, a state constitutional amendment that gave local registrars greater latitude to disqualify voter registration applicants.", "Black citizens in Mobile successfully challenged this amendment as a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.", "The legislature also changed the boundaries of Tuskegee to a 28-sided figure designed to fence out blacks from the city limits.", "The Supreme Court unanimously held that this racial \"gerrymandering\" violated the Constitution.", "In 1961, ... the Alabama legislature also intentionally diluted the effect of the black vote by instituting numbered place requirements for local elections.", "Industrial development related to the demands of World War II brought a level of prosperity to the state not seen since before the civil war.", "Rural workers poured into the largest cities in the state for better jobs and a higher standard of living.", "One example of this massive influx of workers occurred in Mobile.", "Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into the city to work for war-related industries.", "Cotton and other cash crops faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing and service base.", "Despite massive population changes in the state from 1901 to 1961, the rural-dominated legislature refused to reapportion House and Senate seats based on population, as required by the state constitution to follow the results of decennial censuses.", "They held on to old representation to maintain political and economic power in agricultural areas.", "In addition, the state legislature gerrymandered the few Birmingham legislative seats to ensure election by persons living outside Birmingham.", "One result was that Jefferson County, containing Birmingham's industrial and economic powerhouse, contributed more than one-third of all tax revenue to the state, but did not receive a proportional amount in services.", "Urban interests were consistently underrepresented in the legislature.", "A 1960 study noted that because of rural domination, \"a minority of about 25 per cent of the total state population is in majority control of the Alabama legislature.\"", "A class action suit initiated on behalf of plaintiffs in Lowndes County, Alabama, challenged the state legislature's lack of redistricting for congressional seats.", "In 1962 ''White v. Crook'', Judge Frank M. Johnson ordered the state to redistrict.", "United States Supreme Court cases of ''Baker v. Carr'' (1962) and ''Reynolds v. Sims'' (1964) ruled that the principle of \"one man, one vote\" needed to be the basis of both houses of state legislatures as well, and that their districts had to be based on population, rather than geographic counties, as Alabama had used for its senate.", "In 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature completed the first congressional redistricting based on the decennial census.", "This benefited the urban areas that had developed, as well as all in the population who had been underrepresented for more than 60 years.", "Other changes were made to implement representative state house and senate districts.", "African Americans continued to press in the 1950s and 1960s to end disenfranchisement and segregation in the state through the Civil Rights Movement, including legal challenges.", "In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' that public schools had to be desegregated, but Alabama was slow to comply.", "During the 1960s, under Governor George Wallace, Alabama resisted compliance with federal demands for desegregation.", "The Civil Rights Movement had notable events in Alabama, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56), Freedom Rides in 1961, and 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.", "These contributed to Congressional passage and enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S. Congress.", "Legal segregation ended in the states in 1964, but Jim Crow customs often continued until specifically challenged in court.", "Despite recommendations of a 1973 Alabama Constitutional Commission, the state legislature did not approve an amendment to establish home rule for counties.", "There is very limited home rule, but the legislature is deeply involved in passing legislation that applies to county-level functions and policies.", "This both deprives local residents of the ability to govern themselves and distracts the legislature from statewide issues.", "Alabama has made some changes since the late 20th century and has used new types of voting to increase representation.", "In the 1980s, an omnibus redistricting case, ''Dillard v. Crenshaw County'', challenged the at-large voting for representative seats of 180 Alabama jurisdictions, including counties and school boards.", "At-large voting had diluted the votes of any minority in a county, as the majority tended to take all seats.", "Despite African Americans making up a significant minority in the state, they had been unable to elect any representatives in most of the at-large jurisdictions.", "As part of settlement of this case, five Alabama cities and counties, including Chilton County, adopted a system of cumulative voting for election of representatives in multi-seat jurisdictions.", "This has resulted in more proportional representation for voters.", "In another form of proportional representation, 23 jurisdictions use limited voting, as in Conecuh County.", "In 1982, limited voting was first tested in Conecuh County.", "Together use of these systems has increased the number of African Americans and women being elected to local offices, resulting in governments that are more representative of their citizens.", "A general map of Alabama\n\n\n\nAlabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making Alabama 23rd in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second-largest inland waterway system in the United States.", "About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.", "The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley and creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.", "Alabama is bordered by the states of Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida to the south, and Mississippi to the west.", "Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state.", "The state ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay to over 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast.", "The highest point is Mount Cheaha, at a height of .", "Alabama's land consists of of forest or 67% of total land area.", "Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.", "Areas in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City; Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.", "Additionally, Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B. Bankhead.", "Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail.", "A notable natural wonder in Alabama is \"Natural Bridge\" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, located just south of Haleyville.", "A -wide meteorite impact crater is located in Elmore County, just north of Montgomery.", "This is the Wetumpka crater, the site of \"Alabama's greatest natural disaster.\"", "A -wide meteorite hit the area about 80 million years ago.", "The hills just east of downtown Wetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme (\"star-wound\") because of the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface.", "In 2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of Vienna published evidence and established the site as the 157th recognized impact crater on Earth.", "===Climate===\n\nAutumn tree in Birmingham\n\nThe state is classified as humid subtropical (''Cfa'') under the Koppen Climate Classification.", "The average annual temperature is 64 °F (18 °C).", "Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state, especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler.", "Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year.", "Alabama receives an average of of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state.", "Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the U.S., with high temperatures averaging over throughout the summer in some parts of the state.", "Alabama is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes.", "Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken.", "South Alabama reports many thunderstorms.", "The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported.", "This activity decreases somewhat further north in the state, but even the far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year.", "Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequent lightning and large hail; the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm.", "Alabama ranks ninth in the number of deaths from lightning and tenth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita.", "Phil Campbell following the statewide April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak.", "Alabama, along with Oklahoma, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes of any state, according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to June 2013.", "Several long-tracked F5/EF5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state.", "The state was affected by the 1974 Super Outbreak and was devastated tremendously by the 2011 Super Outbreak.", "The 2011 Super Outbreak produced a record amount of tornadoes in the state.", "The tally reached 62.", "Snowfall outside Birmingham City Hall in February 2010\nThe peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state.", "Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season in November and December, along with the spring severe weather season.", "The northern part of the state—along the Tennessee Valley—is one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to violent tornadoes.", "The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains.", "Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the Southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around in Mobile and around in Birmingham.", "Although snow is a rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years.", "Historic snowfall events include New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the 1993 Storm of the Century.", "The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is per year.", "In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.", "Alabama's highest temperature of was recorded on September 5, 1925, in the unincorporated community of Centerville.", "The record low of occurred on January 30, 1966, in New Market.", "===Flora and fauna===\nCahaba lilies (''Hymenocallis coronaria'') in the Cahaba River, within the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.", "Alabama is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, due largely to a variety of habitats that range from the Tennessee Valley, Appalachian Plateau, and Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the north to the Piedmont, Canebrake and Black Belt of the central region to the Gulf Coastal Plain and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico in the south.", "The state is usually ranked among the top in nation for its range of overall biodiversity.", "Alabama is in the subtropical coniferous forest biome and once boasted huge expanses of pine forest, which still form the largest proportion of forests in the state.", "It currently ranks fifth in the nation for the diversity of its flora.", "It is home to nearly 4,000 pteridophyte and spermatophyte plant species.", "Indigenous animal species in the state include 62 mammal species, 93 reptile species, 73 amphibian species, roughly 307 native freshwater fish species, and 420 bird species that spend at least part of their year within the state.", "Invertebrates include 97 crayfish species and 383 mollusk species.", "113 of these mollusk species have never been collected outside the state.", "Alabama's population density\n\n\n\n\nThe United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Alabama was 4,858,979 on July 1, 2015, which represents an increase of 79,243, or 1.66%, since the 2010 Census.", "This includes a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 people (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 people into the state.", "Immigration from outside the U.S. resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people.", "The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were undocumented (24,000).", "The center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside the town of Jemison.", "===Ancestry===\nAccording to the 2010 Census, Alabama had a population of 4,779,736.", "The racial composition of the state was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White and 1.5% Hispanic White), 26.2% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.1% Asian, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race, and 1.5% from Two or More Races.", "In 2011, 46.6% of Alabama's population younger than age 1 were minorities.", "The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama are: African (26.2%), English (23.6%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%).", "Those citing \"American\" ancestry in Alabama are generally of English or British ancestry; many Anglo-Americans identify as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in some cases since the 1600s.", "Demographers estimate that a minimum of 20–23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and that the figure is likely higher.", "In the 1980 census, 41% of the people in Alabama identified as being of English ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group at the time.", "+ '''Alabama Racial Breakdown of Population'''\n\n Racial composition !", "!", "1990 !", "!", "2000!!", "2010\n\n White \n 73.6% \n 71.1% \n 68.5%\n\n Black \n 25.3% \n 26.0% \n 26.2%\n\n Asian \n 0.5% \n 0.7% \n 1.1%\n\n Native \n 0.4% \n 0.5% \n 0.6%\n\n Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander \n – \n – \n 0.1%\n\n Other race \n 0.1% \n 0.6% \n 2.0%\n\n Two or more races \n – \n 1.0% \n 1.5%\n\n\nBased on historic migration and settlement patterns in the southern colonies and states, demographers estimated there are more people in Alabama of Scots-Irish origins than self-reported.", "Many people in Alabama claim Irish ancestry because of the term Scots-Irish but, based on historic immigration and settlement, their ancestors were more likely Protestant Scots-Irish coming from northern Ireland, where they had been for a few generations as part of the English colonization.", "The Scots-Irish were the largest non-English immigrant group from the British Isles before the American Revolution, and many settled in the South, later moving into the Deep South as it was developed.", "In 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, the state legislature established the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission.", "Native American groups within the state had increasingly been demanding recognition as ethnic groups and seeking an end to discrimination.", "Given the long history of slavery and associated racial segregation, the Native American peoples, who have sometimes been of mixed race, have insisted on having their cultural identification respected.", "In the past, their self-identification was often overlooked as the state tried to impose a binary breakdown of society into white and black.", "The state has officially recognized nine American Indian tribes in the state, descended mostly from the Five Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast.", "These are:\n* Poarch Band of Creek Indians (who also have federal recognition),\n* MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians,\n* Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks,\n* Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama,\n* Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama,\n* Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians,\n* ''Ma-Chis'' Lower Creek Indian Tribe,\n* ''Piqua'' Shawnee Tribe, and\n* ''Ani-Yun-Wiya'' Nation.", "The state government has promoted recognition of Native American contributions to the state, including the designation in 2000 for Columbus Day to be jointly celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day.", "===Census-designated areas===\nBirmingham, largest city and largest metropolitan area\nMontgomery, second-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area\nMobile, third-largest city and third-largest metropolitan area\nHuntsville, fourth-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area\n\n\n\n Rank\n Combined Statistical area \nPopulation (2016 Estimate)\nPopulation (2010 Census)\n\n1\nBirmingham-Hoover-Talladega\n1,361,299\n1,302,283\n\n2\nChattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton\n954,228\n923,460\n\n3\nHuntsville-Decatur-Albertville\n768,033\n664,441\n\n4\nMobile-Daphne-Fairhope\n623,399\n595,257\n\n5\nPensacola-Ferry Pass\n523,412\n487,310\n\n6\nColumbus-Auburn-Opelika\n501,589\n469,327\n\n7\nDothan-Enterprise-Ozark\n248,286\n245,838\n\n\n===Metropolitan areas===\n\n\n\n\n Rank\n Metropolitan Area\n Population (2016 Estimate)\n Population (2010 Census)\n\n1\nBirmingham-Hoover\n1,147,417\n1,128,047\n\n2\nHuntsville\n449,720\n417,593\n\n3\nMobile\n414,836\n412,992\n\n4\nMontgomery\n373,922\n374,536\n\n5\nTuscaloosa\n241,378\n230,162\n\n6\nDaphne-Fairhope-Foley\n208,563\n182,265\n\n7\nDecatur\n152,256\n153,829\n\n8\nDothan\n147,834\n145,639\n\n9\nAuburn-Opelika\n158,991\n140,247\n\n10\nFlorence-Muscle Shoals\n146,534\n147,137\n\n11\nAnniston-Oxford\n114,611\n118,572\n\n12\nGadsden\n102,564\n104,430\n\n\n===Cities===\n\n\n\n\n Rank !", "!", "City !", "!", "Population (2015 census estimates) !", "!", "County\n\n1\n Birmingham\n212,461\n Jefferson\n\n2\n Montgomery\n200,602\n Montgomery\n\n3\n Mobile\n194,288\n Mobile\n\n4\n Huntsville\n190,582\n MadisonLimestone\n\n5\n Tuscaloosa\n98,332\n Tuscaloosa\n\n6\n Hoover\n84,848\nJeffersonShelby\n\n7\n Dothan\n68,567\n Houston\n\n8\n Auburn\n62,059\n Lee\n\n9\n Decatur\n55,437\n MorganLimestone\n\n10\n Madison\n46,492\nMadisonLimestone\n\n11\n Florence\n40,026\n Lauderdale\n\n12\n Phenix City\n37,570\n Russell\n\n13\n Gadsden\n36,084\n Etowah\n\n14\n Prattville\n35,420\n Autauga\n\n15\n Vestavia Hills\n34,174\nJefferson\n\n\n===Language===\n95.1% of all Alabama residents five years old or older spoke only English at home in 2010, a minor decrease from 96.1% in 2000.", "Alabama English is predominantly Southern, and is related to South Midland speech which was taken across the border from Tennessee.", "In the major Southern speech region, there is the decreasing loss of the final /r/, for example the /boyd/ pronunciation of 'bird.'", "In the northern third of the state, there is a South Midland 'arm' and 'barb' rhyming with 'form' and 'orb.'", "Unique words in Alabama English include: redworm (earthworm), peckerwood (woodpecker), snake doctor and snake feeder (dragonfly), tow sack (burlap bag), plum peach (clingstone), French harp (harmonica), and dog irons (andirons).", "+ '''Top 10 Non-English Languages Spoken in Alabama'''\n\n Language !", "!", "Percentage of population()\n\n Spanish\n 2.2%\n\n German \n 0.4%\n\n French (incl.", "Patois, Cajun) \n 0.3%\n\n Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, African languages, Japanese, and Italian (tied)\n 0.1%\n\n\n===Religion===\nHighlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, part of the Five Points South Historic District\nBriarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham\nTemple B'Nai Sholom in Huntsville, established in 1876.", "It is the oldest synagogue building in continuous use in the state.", "The Islamic Center of Tuscaloosa, one of the Islamic centers that contain a mosque and facilities for the cultural needs of Muslims in the state.", "In the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 86% of Alabama respondents reported their religion as Christian, including 6% Catholic, and 11% as having no religion.", "The composition of other traditions is 0.5% Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu.", "Religious affiliation in Alabama (2014)\n\n Affiliation\n% of population\n\n Christian\n '''\n\n Protestant\n '''\n\n Evangelical Protestant\n '''\n\n Mainline Protestant\n '''\n\n Black church\n '''\n\n Catholic\n '''\n\n Mormon\n '''\n\n Jehovah's Witnesses\n '''\n\n Eastern Orthodox\n '''\n\n Other Christian\n '''\n\n Unaffiliated\n '''\n\n Nothing in particular\n '''\n\n Agnostic\n '''\n\n Atheist\n '''\n\n Non-Christian faiths\n '''\n\n Jewish\n '''\n\n Muslim\n '''\n\n Buddhist\n '''\n\n Hindu\n '''\n\n Other Non-Christian faiths\n '''\n\n Don't know/refused answer\n '''\n\n '''Total''' \n ''''''\n\n\n====Christianity====\n\n\nAlabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous Protestant Christians.", "Alabama has been identified as one of the most religious states in the United States, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly.", "A majority of people in the state identify as Evangelical Protestant.", ", the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are the Southern Baptist Convention, The United Methodist Church, and non-denominational Evangelical Protestant.", "In Alabama, the Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents with 1,380,121; this is followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734 adherents, non-denominational Evangelical Protestant with 220,938 adherents, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents.", "Many Baptist and Methodist congregations became established in the Great Awakening of the early 19th century, when preachers proselytized across the South.", "The Assemblies of God had almost 60,000 members, the Churches of Christ had nearly 120,000 members.", "The Presbyterian churches, strongly associated with Scots-Irish immigrants of the 18th century and their descendants, had a combined membership around 75,000 (PCA – 28,009 members in 108 congregations, PC(USA) – 26,247 members in 147 congregations, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church – 6,000 members in 59 congregations, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America – 5,000 members and 50 congregations plus the EPC and Associate Reformed Presbyterians with 230 members and 9 congregations).", "In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels.", "Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a \"full understanding\" of their faith and needed no further learning.", "In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.", "====Other faiths====\nAlthough in much smaller numbers, many other religious faiths are represented in the state as well, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, the Bahá'í Faith, and Unitarian Universalism.", "Jews have been present in what is now Alabama since 1763, during the colonial era of Mobile, when Sephardic Jews immigrated from London.", "The oldest Jewish congregation in the state is Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim in Mobile.", "It was formally recognized by the state legislature on January 25, 1844.", "Later immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries tended to be Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Europe.", "Jewish denominations in the state include two Orthodox, four Conservative, ten Reform, and one Humanistic synagogue.", "Muslims have been increasing in Alabama, with 31 mosques built by 2011, many by African-American converts.", "Several Hindu temples and cultural centers in the state have been founded by Indian immigrants and their descendants, the best-known being the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham in Pelham, the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama in Capshaw, and the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center in Tuscaloosa.", "There are six Dharma centers and organizations for Theravada Buddhists.", "Most monastic Buddhist temples are concentrated in southern Mobile County, near Bayou La Batre.", "This area has attracted an influx of refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam during the 1970s and thereafter.", "The four temples within a ten-mile radius of Bayou La Batre, include Chua Chanh Giac, Wat Buddharaksa, and Wat Lao Phoutthavihan.", "The first community of adherents of the Baha'i Faith in Alabama was founded in 1896 by Paul K. Dealy, who moved from Chicago to Fairhope.", "Baha'i Centers in Alabama exist in Birmingham, Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama, and Florence, Alabama.", "===Health===\n\nA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study in 2008 showed that obesity in Alabama was a problem, with most counties having over 29% of adults obese, except for ten which had a rate between 26% and 29%.", "Residents of the state, along with those in five other states, were least likely in the nation to be physically active during leisure time.", "Alabama, and the southeastern U.S. in general, has one of the highest incidences of adult onset diabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of adults.", "\n\nThe state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.", "By 2006, crop and animal production in Alabama was valued at $1.5 billion.", "In contrast to the primarily agricultural economy of the previous century, this was only about 1% of the state's gross domestic product.", "The number of private farms has declined at a steady rate since the 1960s, as land has been sold to developers, timber companies, and large farming conglomerates.", "Non-agricultural employment in 2008 was 121,800 in management occupations; 71,750 in business and financial operations; 36,790 in computer-related and mathematical occupation; 44,200 in architecture and engineering; 12,410 in life, physical, and social sciences; 32,260 in community and social services; 12,770 in legal occupations; 116,250 in education, training, and library services; 27,840 in art, design and media occupations; 121,110 in healthcare; 44,750 in fire fighting, law enforcement, and security; 154,040 in food preparation and serving; 76,650 in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; 53,230 in personal care and services; 244,510 in sales; 338,760 in office and administration support; 20,510 in farming, fishing, and forestry; 120,155 in construction and mining, gas, and oil extraction; 106,280 in installation, maintenance, and repair; 224,110 in production; and 167,160 in transportation and material moving.", "According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita.", "Alabama's 2012 GDP increased 1.2% from the previous year.", "The single largest increase came in the area of information.", "In 2010, per capita income for the state was $22,984.", "The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8% in April 2015.", "This compared to a nationwide seasonally adjusted rate of 5.4%.", "Alabama has no state minimum wage and uses the federal minimum wage of $7.25.", "In February 2016, the state passed legislation that prevents Alabama municipalities from raising the minimum wage in their locality.", "The legislation voids a Birmingham city ordinance that was to raise the city's minimum wage to $10.10.", "===Largest employers===\nSpace Shuttle ''Enterprise'' being tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1978.", "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery in 2010\nShelby Hall, School of Computing, at the University of South Alabama in Mobile\n\nThe five employers that employed the most employees in Alabama in April 2011 were:\n\n\n\n Employer\n Employees\n\n Redstone Arsenal\n 25,373\n\n University of Alabama at Birmingham (includes UAB Hospital)\n 18,750\n\n Maxwell Air Force Base\n 12,280\n\n State of Alabama\n 9,500\n\n Mobile County Public School System\n 8,100\n\n\nThe next twenty largest employers, , included:\n\n\n Employer\n Location\n\n Anniston Army Depot\n Anniston\n\n AT&T\n Multiple\n\n Auburn University\n Auburn\n\n Baptist Medical Center South\n Montgomery\n\n Birmingham City Schools\n Birmingham\n\n City of Birmingham\n Birmingham\n\n DCH Health System\n Tuscaloosa\n\n Huntsville City Schools\n Huntsville\n\n Huntsville Hospital System\n Huntsville\n\n Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama\n Montgomery\n\n Infirmary Health System\n Mobile\n\n Jefferson County Board of Education\n Birmingham\n\n Marshall Space Flight Center\n Huntsville\n\n Mercedes-Benz U.S. International\n Vance\n\n Montgomery Public Schools\n Montgomery\n\n Regions Financial Corporation\n Multiple\n\n Boeing\n Multiple\n\n University of Alabama\n Tuscaloosa\n\n University of South Alabama\n Mobile\n\n Walmart\n Multiple\n\n\n===Agriculture===\nAlabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, fish, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches.", "Although known as \"The Cotton State\", Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton production, according to various reports, with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three.", "===Industry===\nAlabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel.", "In addition, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, the location of NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Materiel Command, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal.", "Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Tuscaloosa County was the first automotive facility to locate within the state.", "A great deal of Alabama's economic growth since the 1990s has been due to the state's expanding automotive manufacturing industry.", "Located in the state are Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, as well as their various suppliers.", "Since 1993, the automobile industry has generated more than 67,800 new jobs in the state.", "Alabama currently ranks 4th in the nation for vehicle exports.", "Automakers accounted for approximately a third of the industrial expansion in the state in 2012.", "The eight models produced at the state's auto factories totaled combined sales of 74,335 vehicles for 2012.", "The strongest model sales during this period were the Hyundai Elantra compact car, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport utility vehicle and the Honda Ridgeline sport utility truck.", "Airbus Mobile Engineering Center at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile\nSteel producers Outokumpu, Nucor, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and U.S. Steel have facilities in Alabama and employ over 10,000 people.", "In May 2007, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp selected Calvert in Mobile County for a 4.65 billion combined stainless and carbon steel processing facility.", "ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel division, Inoxum, including the stainless portion of the Calvert plant, was sold to Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu in 2012.", "The remaining portion of the ThyssenKrupp plant had final bids submitted by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel for $1.6 billion in March 2013.", "Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional submitted a combined bid for the mill at Calvert, plus a majority stake in the ThyssenKrupp mill in Brazil, for $3.8 billion.", "In July 2013, the plant was sold to ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.", "The Hunt Refining Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa and operates a refinery there.", "The company also operates terminals in Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville.", "JVC America, Inc. operates an optical disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.", "The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company operates a large plant in Gadsden that employs about 1,400 people.", "It has been in operation since 1929.", "Construction of an Airbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile was formally announced by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Center on July 2, 2012.", "The plans include a $600 million factory at the Brookley Aeroplex for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.", "Construction began in 2013, with plans for it to become operable by 2015 and produce up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017.", "The assembly plant is the company's first factory to be built within the United States.", "It was announced on February 1, 2013, that Airbus had hired Alabama-based Hoar Construction to oversee construction of the facility.", "===Tourism===\nAlabama's beaches are one of the state's major tourist destinations.", "An estimated 20 million tourists visit the state each year.", "Over 100,000 of these are from other countries, including from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.", "In 2006, 22.3 million travellers spent $8.3 billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state.", "Some of the most popular areas include the Rocket City of Huntsville, the beaches along the Gulf, and the state's capitol in Montgomery.", "===Healthcare===\nUAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama.", "UAB is the largest state government employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about 18,000.", "===Banking===\nRegions-Harbert Plaza, Regions Center, and Wells Fargo Tower in Birmingham's financial district.", "Alabama has the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, BBVA Compass, Superior Bancorp and the former Colonial Bancgroup.", "Birmingham-based Compass Banchshares was acquired by Spanish-based BBVA in September 2007, although the headquarters of BBVA Compass remains in Birmingham.", "In November 2006, Regions Financial completed its merger with AmSouth Bancorporation, which was also headquartered in Birmingham.", "Birmingham also serves as the headquarters for several large investment management companies, including Harbert Management Corporation.", "===Electronics===\nTelecommunications provider AT&T, formerly BellSouth, has a major presence in Alabama with several large offices in Birmingham.", "The company has over 6,000 employees and more than 1,200 contract employees.", "Many commercial technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such as the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company Intergraph, design and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent, and telecommunications provider Deltacom.", "Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their Huntsville plant.", "===Construction===\nRust International has grown to include Brasfield & Gorrie, BE&K, Hoar Construction and B.L.", "Harbert International, which all routinely are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design, international construction, and engineering firms.", "(Rust International was acquired in 2000 by Washington Group International, which was in turn acquired by San-Francisco based URS Corporation in 2007.)", "\n===State government===\nState Capitol Building in Montgomery, completed in 1851\n\n\nThe foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901.", "At almost 800 amendments and 310,000 words, it is by some accounts the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the United States Constitution.", "There has been a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution.", "Critics argue that Alabama's constitution maintains highly centralized power with the state legislature, leaving practically no power in local hands.", "Most counties do not have home rule.", "Any policy changes proposed in different areas of the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum.", "One criticism of the current constitution claims that its complexity and length intentionally codify segregation and racism.", "The Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery.", "It houses the Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.", "Alabama's government is divided into three coequal branches.", "The legislative branch is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members.", "The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation.", "The Republican Party currently holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature.", "The Legislature has the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto).", "Until 1964, the state elected state senators on a geographic basis by county, with one per county.", "It had not redistricted congressional districts since passage of its constitution in 1901; as a result, urbanized areas were grossly underrepresented.", "It had not changed legislative districts to reflect the decennial censuses, either.", "In ''Reynolds v. Sims'' (1964), the US Supreme Court implemented the principle of \"one man, one vote\", ruling that congressional districts had to be reapportioned based on censuses (as the state already included in its constitution but had not implemented.)", "Further, the court ruled that both houses of bicameral state legislatures had to be apportioned by population, as there was no constitutional basis for states to have geographically based systems.", "At that time, Alabama and many other states had to change their legislative districting, as many across the country had systems that underrepresented urban areas and districts.", "This had caused decades of underinvestment in such areas.", "For instance, Birmingham and Jefferson County taxes had supplied one-third of the state budget, but Jefferson County received only 1/67th of state services in funding.", "Through the legislative delegations, the Alabama legislature kept control of county governments.", "Governor Kay Ivey is the current and second female Governor of Alabama.", "She is the only Republican female Governor in the state's history.", "The executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws.", "It is headed by the Governor of Alabama.", "Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama, the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the State Auditor of Alabama.", "The current governor of the state is Republican Kay Ivey.", "The office of lieutenant governor is currently vacant.", "The members of the Legislature take office immediately after the November elections.", "Statewide officials, such as the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and other constitutional officers, take office the following January.", "The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases.", "The state's highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama.", "Alabama uses partisan elections to select judges.", "Since the 1980s judicial campaigns have become increasingly politicized.", "The current chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Republican Roy Moore.", "All sitting justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are members of the Republican Party.", "There are two intermediate appellate courts, the Court of Civil Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals, and four trial courts: the circuit court (trial court of general jurisdiction), and the district, probate, and municipal courts.", "Some critics believe that the election of judges has contributed to an exceedingly high rate of executions.", "Alabama has the highest per capita death penalty rate in the country.", "In some years, it imposes more death sentences than does Texas, a state which has a population five times larger.", "Some of its cases have been highly controversial; the Supreme Court has overturned 24 convictions in death penalty cases.", "It is the only state that still allows judges to override jury decisions in whether or not to use a death sentence; in 10 cases judges overturned sentences of life imprisonment without parole (LWOP) that were voted unanimously by juries.", "===Taxes===\nAlabama levies a 2, 4, or 5 percent personal income tax, depending upon the amount earned and filing status.", "Taxpayers are allowed to deduct their federal income tax from their Alabama state tax, and can do so even if taking the standard deduction.", "Taxpayers who file itemized deductions are also allowed to deduct the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (Social Security and Medicare tax).", "The state's general sales tax rate is 4%.", "Sales tax rates for cities and counties are also added to purchases.", "For example, the total sales tax rate in Mobile is 10% and there is an additional restaurant tax of 1%, which means that a diner in Mobile would pay an 11% tax on a meal.", ", sales and excise taxes in Alabama account for 51% of all state and local revenue, compared with an average of about 36% nationwide.", "Alabama is one of seven states that levy a tax on food at the same rate as other goods, and one of two states (the other being neighboring Mississippi) which fully taxes groceries without any offsetting relief for low-income families.", "(Most states exempt groceries from sales tax or apply a lower tax rate.)", "Alabama's income tax on poor working families is among the highest in the United States.", "Alabama is the only state that levies income tax on a family of four with income as low as $4,600, which is barely one-quarter of the federal poverty line.", "Alabama's threshold is the lowest among the 41 states and the District of Columbia with income taxes.", "The corporate income tax rate is currently 6.5%.", "The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country.", "Property taxes are the lowest in the U.S.", "The current state constitution requires a voter referendum to raise property taxes.", "Since Alabama's tax structure largely depends on consumer spending, it is subject to high variable budget structure.", "For example, in 2003, Alabama had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million.", "===County and local governments===\n\n\nTreemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election.", "Alabama has 67 counties.", "Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the county commission.", "It also has limited executive authority in the county.", "Because of the constraints of the Alabama Constitution, which centralizes power in the state legislature, only seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have limited home rule.", "Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies approved, ranging from waste disposal to land use zoning.", "The cumbersome process results in local jurisdictions being unable to manage their problems, and the state legislators being buried in local county issues.", "The state legislature has retained power over local governments by refusing to pass a constitutional amendment establishing home rule for counties, as recommended by the 1973 Alabama Constitutional Commission.", "Legislative delegations retain certain powers over each county.", "United States Supreme Court decisions in ''Baker v. Carr'' (1964) required that both houses have districts established on the basis of population, and redistricted after each census, in order to implement the principle of \"one man, one vote\".", "Before that, each county was represented by one state senator, leading to under-representation in the state senate for more urbanized, populous counties.", "The rural bias of the state legislature, which had also failed to redistrict seats in the state house, affected politics well into the 20th century, failing to recognize the rise of industrial cities and urbanized areas.", "\"The lack of home rule for counties in Alabama has resulted in the proliferation of local legislation permitting counties to do things not authorized by the state constitution.", "Alabama's constitution has been amended more than 700 times, and almost one-third of the amendments are local in nature, applying to only one county or city.", "A significant part of each legislative session is spent on local legislation, taking away time and attention of legislators from issues of statewide importance.\"", "Alabama is an alcoholic beverage control state, meaning that the state government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol.", "The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board controls the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the state.", "Twenty-five of the 67 counties are \"dry counties\" which ban the sale of alcohol, and there are many dry municipalities even in counties which permit alcohol sales.", "Rank !", "!", "County !", "!", "Population(2010 Census) !", "!", "Seat !", "!", "Largest city\n\n 1\n Jefferson\n 658,466\n Birmingham\n Birmingham\n\n 2\n Mobile\n 412,992\n Mobile\n Mobile\n\n 3\n Madison\n 334,811\n Huntsville\n Huntsville\n\n 4\n Montgomery\n 229,363\n Montgomery\n Montgomery\n\n 5\n Shelby\n 195,085\n Columbiana\n Hoover (part)Alabaster\n\n 6\n Tuscaloosa\n 194,656\n Tuscaloosa\n Tuscaloosa\n\n 7\n Baldwin\n 182,265\n Bay Minette\n Daphne\n\n 8\n Lee\n 140,247\n Opelika\n Auburn\n\n 9\n Morgan\n 119,490\n Decatur\n Decatur\n\n 10\n Calhoun\n 118,572\n Anniston\n Anniston\n\n 11\n Etowah\n 104,303\n Gadsden\n Gadsden\n\n 12\n Houston\n 101,547\n Dothan\n Dothan\n\n 13\n Marshall\n 93,019\n Guntersville\n Albertville\n\n 14\n Lauderdale\n 92,709\n Florence\n Florence\n\n 15\n St. Clair\n 83,593\n Ashville &Pell City\n Pell City\n\n\n===Politics===\nDuring Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope.", "In 1874, the political coalition of white Democrats known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African-American vote through violence, fraud and intimidation.", "After 1890, a coalition of White Democratic politicians passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise African American residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution.", "Provisions which disenfranchised African Americans resulted in excluding many poor Whites.", "By 1941 more Whites than African Americans had been disenfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000.", "The total effects were greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised and relegated to separate and unequal treatment under the law.", "From 1901 through the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population grew and shifted within the state during urbanization and industrialization of certain areas.", "As counties were the basis of election districts, the result was a rural minority that dominated state politics through nearly three-quarters of the century, until a series of federal court cases required redistricting in 1972 to meet equal representation.", "Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, when whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform.", "Governor George Wallace, the state's only four-term governor, was a controversial figure who vowed to maintain segregation.", "Only after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain the ability to exercise suffrage, among other civil rights.", "In many jurisdictions, they continued to be excluded from representation by at-large electoral systems, which allowed the majority of the population to dominate elections.", "Some changes at the county level have occurred following court challenges to establish single-member districts that enable a more diverse representation among county boards.", "In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican Governor Bob Riley signed a resolution expressing \"profound regret\" over slavery and its lingering impact.", "In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America.", "In 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years, after a nearly complete realignment of political parties, who represent different visions in the 21st century.", "===Elections===\n\n\n====State elections====\nWith the disfranchisement of African Americans in 1901, the state became part of the \"Solid South\", a system in which the Democratic Party operated as effectively the only viable political party in every Southern state.", "For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election.", "Since the mid to late 20th century, however, there has been a realignment among the two major political parties, and white conservatives started shifting to the Republican Party.", "In Alabama, majority-white districts are now expected to regularly elect Republican candidates to federal, state and local office.", "Members of the nine seats on the Alabama Supreme Court and all ten seats on the state appellate courts are elected to office.", "Until 1994, no Republicans held any of the court seats.", "In that general election, the then-incumbent Chief Justice of Alabama, Ernest C. Hornsby, refused to leave office after losing the election by approximately 3,000 votes to Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr.. Hornsby sued Alabama and defiantly remained in office for nearly a year before finally giving up the seat after losing in court.", "This ultimately led to a collapse of support for Democrats at the ballot box in the next three or four election cycles.", "The Democrats lost the last of the nineteen court seats in August 2011 with the resignation of the last Democrat on the bench.", "In the early 21st century, Republicans hold all seven of the statewide elected executive branch offices.", "Republicans hold six of the eight elected seats on the Alabama State Board of Education.", "In 2010, Republicans took large majorities of both chambers of the state legislature, giving them control of that body for the first time in 136 years.", "The last remaining statewide Democrat, who served on the Alabama Public Service Commission was defeated in 2012.", "Only two Republican Lieutenant Governors have been elected since the end of Reconstruction, when Republicans generally represented Reconstruction government, including the newly emancipated freedmen who had gained the franchise.", "The two GOP Lt. Governors were Steve Windom (1999–2003) and the current Lt.", "Governor, Kay Ivey, who was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.", "====Local elections====\nMany local offices (County Commissioners, Boards of Education, Tax Assessors, Tax Collectors, etc.)", "in the state are still held by Democrats.", "Many rural counties have voters who are majority Democrats, resulting in local elections being decided in the Democratic primary.", "Similarly many metropolitan and suburban counties are majority-Republican and elections are effectively decided in the Republican Primary, although there are exceptions.", "Alabama's 67 County Sheriffs are elected in partisan, at-large races, and Democrats still retain the narrow majority of those posts.", "The current split is 35 Democrats, 31 Republicans, and one Independent Fayette.", "However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over rural and less populated counties.", "The majority of Republican sheriffs have been elected in the more urban/suburban and heavily populated counties.", ", the state of Alabama has one female sheriff, in Morgan County, Alabama, and ten African-American sheriffs.", "====Federal elections====\n\n+ '''Presidential elections results'''\n\n Year\n Republican\n Democratic\n\n2016\n'''62.08%''' ''1,318,255''\n34.36% 729,547\n\n2012\n'''60.55%''' ''1,255,925''\n38.36% 795,696\n\n2008\n'''60.32%''' ''1,266,546''\n38.80% 813,479\n\n2004\n'''62.46%''' ''1,176,394''\n36.84% 693,933\n\n2000\n'''56.47%''' ''944,409''\n41.59% 695,602\n\n1996\n'''50.12%''' ''769,044''\n43.16% 662,165\n\n1992\n'''47.65%''' ''804,283''\n40.88% 690,080\n\n1988\n'''59.17%''' ''815,576''\n39.86% 549,506\n\n1984\n'''60.54%''' ''872,849''\n38.28% 551,899\n\n1980\n'''48.75%''' ''654,192''\n47.45% 636,730\n\n1976\n42.61% 504,070\n'''55.73%''' ''659,170''\n\n1972\n'''72.43%''' ''728,701''\n25.54% 256,923\n\n1968*\n13.99% 146,923\n18.72% 196,579\n\n1964\n'''69.45%''' ''479,085''\n30.55% 210,732\n\n1960\n42.16% 237,981\n'''56.39%''' ''318,303''\n\n*State won by George Wallaceof the American Independent Party,at 65.86%, or 691,425 votes\n\n\nThe state's two U.S. senators are Luther Strange and Richard C. Shelby, both Republicans.", "Shelby was originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, but switched parties immediately following the November 1994 general election.", "In the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, six of whom are Republicans: (Bradley Byrne, Mike D. Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Morris J. Brooks, Martha Roby, and Gary Palmer) and one Democrat: Terri Sewell who represents the Black Belt as well as most of the predominantly black portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery.", "\n\n===Primary and secondary education===\nVestavia Hills High School in the suburbs of Birmingham\n\nPublic primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the purview of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education.", "Together, 1,496 individual schools provide education for 744,637 elementary and secondary students.", "Public school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund.", "In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education.", "That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year.", "In 2007, over 82 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the National No Child Left Behind law, using measures determined by the state of Alabama.", "While Alabama's public education system has improved in recent decades, it lags behind in achievement compared to other states.", "According to U.S. Census data (2000), Alabama's high school graduation rate—75%—is the fourth lowest in the U.S. (after Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi).", "The largest educational gains were among people with some college education but without degrees.", "Although unusual in the West, school corporal punishment is not uncommon in Alabama, with 27,260 public school students paddled at least one time, according to government data for the 2011–2012 school year.", "The rate of school corporal punishment in Alabama is surpassed only by Mississippi and Arkansas.", "===Colleges and universities===\n\nHarrison Plaza at the University of North Alabama in Florence.", "The school was chartered as LaGrange College by the Alabama Legislature in 1830.", "Alabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities.", "In the state are four medical schools (as of fall 2015) (University of Alabama School of Medicine, University of South Alabama and Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine and The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Auburn Campus), two veterinary colleges (Auburn University and Tuskegee University), a dental school (University of Alabama School of Dentistry), an optometry college (University of Alabama at Birmingham), two pharmacy schools (Auburn University and Samford University), and five law schools (University of Alabama School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law).", "Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education.", "Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to a multitude of doctoral level programs.", "William J. Samford Hall at Auburn University in Auburn\nThe largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 37,665 enrolled for fall 2016.", "Troy University was the largest institution in the state in 2010, with an enrollment of 29,689 students across four Alabama campuses (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City), as well as sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other countries.", "The oldest institutions are the public University of North Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliated Spring Hill College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.", "Accreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as other subject-focused national and international accreditation agencies such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the Council on Occupational Education (COE), and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).", "According to the 2011 ''U.S.", "News & World Report'', Alabama had three universities ranked in the top 100 Public Schools in America (University of Alabama at 31, Auburn University at 36, and University of Alabama at Birmingham at 73).", "According to the 2012 ''U.S.", "News & World Report'', Alabama had four tier 1 universities (University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville).", "\n\nMajor newspapers include ''Birmingham News'', ''Birmingham Post-Herald'', Mobile ''Press-Register'', and ''Montgomery Advertiser''.", "Television news channels in Alabama include:\n\n'''ABC'''\n* WJSU 40 ABC, Anniston, AL\n* WBMA 33/40 ABC, Birmingham, AL\n* WDHN 18 ABC, Dothan, AL\n* WAAY 31 ABC, Huntsville, AL\n* WNCF 32 ABC, Montgomery, AL\n* WCFT 33 ABC, Tuscaloosa, AL,\n\n'''CBS'''\n* WIAT 42 CBS, Birmingham, AL\n* WTVY 4 CBS, Dothan, AL\n* WHNT 19 CBS, Huntsville, AL\n* WKRG 5 CBS, Mobile, AL\n* WAKA 8 CBS, Selma, AL\n\n'''Fox'''\n* WBRC 6 FOX, Birmingham, AL\n* WZDX 54 FOX, Huntsville, AL\n* WALA 10 FOX, Mobile, AL\n* WCOV 20 FOX, Montgomery, AL\n* WDFX 34 FOX, Ozark, AL\n\n'''NBC'''\n* WVTM 13 NBC, Birmingham, AL\n* WAFF 48 NBC, Huntsville, AL\n* WPMI 15 NBC, Mobile, AL\n* WSFA 12 NBC, Montgomery, AL\n\n'''PBS/Alabama Public Television'''\n* WBIQ 10 PBS, Birmingham, AL\n* WIIQ 41 PBS, Demopolis, AL\n* WDIQ 2 PBS, Dozier, AL\n* WFIQ 36 PBS, Florence, AL\n* WHIQ 25 PBS, Huntsville, AL\n* WGIQ 43 PBS, Louisville, AL\n* WEIQ 42 PBS, Mobile, AL\n* WAIQ 26 PBS, Montgomery, AL\n* WCIQ 7 PBS, Mount Cheaha, AL", "\n\n===Literature===\n\n\n===Sports===\n\n====College sports====\nBryant–Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa\n\nCollege football is popular in Alabama, particularly the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn University Tigers, rivals in the Southeastern Conference.", "In the 2013 season, Alabama averaged over 100,000 fans per game and Auburn averaged over 80,000 fans, both numbers among the top 20 in the nation in average attendance.", "Bryant–Denny Stadium is the home of the Alabama football team, and has a seating capacity of 101,821, and is the fifth largest stadium in America.", "Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn football team and seats up to 87,451.", "Legion Field is home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Birmingham Bowl.", "It seats 80,601.", "Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile is the home of the University of South Alabama football team, and serves as the home of the NCAA Senior Bowl, Dollar General Bowl (formerly GoDaddy.com Bowl), and Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic; the stadium seats 40,646.", "In 2009, Bryant–Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, after previously being held at Legion Field in Birmingham.", "====Professional sports====\n\nRegions Field in Birmingham\nHank Aaron Stadium in Mobile\n\nAlabama has several professional and semi-professional sports teams, including three minor league baseball teams.", "Club\n City\n Sport\n League\n Venue\n\n Birmingham Barons\n Birmingham\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Regions Field\n\n Huntsville Havoc\n Huntsville\n Ice hockey\n Southern Professional Hockey League\n Von Braun Center\n\n\n Mobile BayBears\n Mobile\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Hank Aaron Stadium\n\n Montgomery Biscuits\n Montgomery\n Baseball\n Southern League (AA)\n Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium\n\n Birmingham Hammers\n Birmingham\n Soccer\n National Premier Soccer League\n Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex\n\n Tennessee Valley Tigers\n Huntsville\n Football\n Independent Women's Football League\n Milton Frank Stadium\n\n\nThe Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR events.", "It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America.", "Also, the Barber Motorsports Park has hosted IndyCar Series and Rolex Sports Car Series races.", "The ATP Birmingham was a World Championship Tennis tournament held from 1973 to 1980.", "Alabama has hosted several professional golf tournaments, such as the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek, the Barbasol Championship (PGA Tour), the Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions, Airbus LPGA Classic and Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (LPGA Tour), and The Tradition (Champions Tour).", "Terminal at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Montgomery.", "Interstate 59 (co-signed with Interstate 20) approaching Interstate 65 in downtown Birmingham.", "Aerial view of the port of Mobile.", "===Aviation===\n\n\nMajor airports with sustained commercial operations in Alabama include Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Huntsville International Airport (HSV), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), and Muscle Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL).", "===Rail===\nFor rail transport, Amtrak schedules the ''Crescent'', a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with station stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.", "===Roads===\nAlabama has six major interstate roads that cross the state: Interstate 65 (I-65) travels north–south roughly through the middle of the state; I-20/I-59 travel from the central west Mississippi state line to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta; I-85 originates in Montgomery and travels east-northeast to the Georgia state line, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, traveling from west to east through Mobile.", "I-22 enters the state from Mississippi and connects Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee.", "In addition, there are currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state: I-165 in Mobile, I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 around Birmingham, I-565 in Decatur and Huntsville, and I-759 in Gadsden.", "A sixth route, I-685, will be formed when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery.", "A proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will be designated as I-422.", "Since a direct connection from I-22 to I-422 will not be possible, I-222 has been proposed, as well.", "Several U.S.", "Highways also pass through the state, such as U.S. Route 11 (US-11), US-29, US-31, US-43, US-45, US-72, US-78, US-80, US-82, US-84, US-90, US-98, US-231, US-278, US-280, US-331, US-411, and US-431.", "There are four toll roads in the state: Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery; Tuscaloosa Bypass in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway in Wetumpka; and Beach Express in Orange Beach.", "===Ports===\nThe Port of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a large seaport on the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to the Midwest by way of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.", "The Port of Mobile was ranked 12th by tons of traffic in the United States during 2009.", "The newly expanded container terminal at the Port of Mobile was ranked as the 25th busiest for container traffic in the nation during 2011.", "The state's other ports are on rivers with access to the Gulf of Mexico.", "Water ports of Alabama, listed from north to south:\n\n+\n Port name\n Location\n Connected to\n\n Port of Florence \n''Florence/Muscle Shoals'', on ''Pickwick Lake''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Decatur \n ''Decatur'', on ''Wheeler Lake''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Guntersville \n''Guntersville'', on ''Lake Guntersville''\nTennessee River\n\n Port of Birmingham \n ''Birmingham'', on ''Black Warrior River'' \n Tenn-Tom Waterway\n\n Port of Tuscaloosa \n''Tuscaloosa'', on ''Black Warrior River''\nTenn-Tom Waterway\n\n Port of Montgomery \n ''Montgomery'', on ''Woodruff Lake'' \n Alabama River\n\n Port of Mobile \n ''Mobile'', on ''Mobile Bay'' \n Gulf of Mexico", "\n* Outline of Alabama – organized list of topics about Alabama\n* Index of Alabama-related articles\n* Gun rights in Alabama\n* Right to work in Alabama", "\n* “Alabama - History and Culture.” Adventure Tourism – Experiential Travel Guides.", "Accessed: March 31, 2017.", ":''For a detailed bibliography, see the History of Alabama.''", "* Atkins, Leah Rawls, Wayne Flynt, William Warren Rogers, and David Ward.", "''Alabama: The History of a Deep South State'' (1994)\n*Flynt, Wayne.", "''Alabama in the Twentieth Century'' (2004)\n*Owen Thomas M. ''History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography'' 4 vols.", "1921.", "*Jackson, Harvey H. ''Inside Alabama: A Personal History of My State'' (2004)\n*Mohl, Raymond A.", "\"Latinization in the Heart of Dixie: Hispanics in Late-twentieth-century Alabama\" ''Alabama Review'' 2002 55(4): 243–274.", "*Peirce, Neal R. ''The Deep South States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Seven Deep South States'' (1974).", "Information on politics and economics 1960–72.", "*Williams, Benjamin Buford.", "''A Literary History of Alabama: The Nineteenth Century'' 1979.", "*WPA.", "''Guide to Alabama'' (1939)", "\n\n* Alabama.gov – Official State Government web site\n* \n* Alabama State Guide, from the Library of Congress\n* All About Alabama, at the Alabama Department of Archives and History\n* Code of Alabama 1975 – at the Alabama Legislature site\n* USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Alabama\n* Alabama QuickFacts from the U.S. Census Bureau\n* Alabama State Fact Sheet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Algeria''' ( ''''; , ''''; ), officially the '''People's Democratic Republic of Algeria''', is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the country's far north. With an area of , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999.\n\nAncient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zirid, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French colonial empire. Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria.\n\nAlgeria is a regional and middle power. The North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa, while it has the 9th largest reserves of natural gas. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent; most of Algeria's weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations and is the founding member of the Maghreb Union.\n", "The country's name derives from the city of Algiers. The city's name in turn derives from the Arabic '''' (, \"The Islands\"), a truncated form of the older '''' (, \"Islands of the Mazghanna Tribe\"), employed by medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi.\n", "\n\n===Ancient history===\n \n\n\nIn the region of Ain Hanech (Saïda Province), early remnants (200,000 BC) of hominid occupation in North Africa were found. Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in the Levant. Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian (after the archeological site of Bir el Ater, south of Tebessa).\n\nThe earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called Berbers, who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa.\n\nRoman ruins at Djémila\nRoman ruins of Timgadon the street leading to the local Arch of Trajan\n\nFrom their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa, east of Cherchell, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages.\n\nAs Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others.\n\nNumidia along with Egypt, Rome, and Carthage 200 BC\nAncient Roman theatre in Djémila\n\nBy the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars.\n\nMasinissa (c. 238–148 BC), first king of Numidia\nJugurtha (c. 160–104 BC), king of Numidia\n\nIn 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River in modern-day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the 2nd century BC.\n\nAfter Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire.\n\nFor several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products. Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Algeria), located in the Roman province of Africa. The Germanic Vandals of Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia. They did not make any significant settlement on the land, as they were harassed by local tribes. In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived Lepcis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous Laguatan who had been busy facilitating an Amazigh political, military and cultural revival.\n\n===Middle Ages===\n\nMansourah mosque, Tlemcen\n\nAfter negligible resistance from the locals, Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the mid-7th century and a large number of the indigenous people converted to the newly founded faith of Islam. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the Aghlabids, Almohads, Abdalwadid, Zirids, Rustamids, Hammadids, Almoravids and the Fatimids.\n\nDuring the Middle Ages, North Africa was home to many great scholars, saints and sovereigns including Judah Ibn Quraysh the first grammarian to suggest the Afroasiatic language family, the great Sufi masters Sidi Boumediene (Abu Madyan) and Sidi El Houari, as well as the Emirs Abd Al Mu'min and Yāghmūrasen. It was during this time period that the Fatimids or children of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, came to the Maghreb. These \"Fatimids\" went on to found a long lasting dynasty stretching across the Maghreb, Hejaz and the Levant, boasting a secular inner government, as well as a powerful army and navy, primarily made of Arabs and levantians extending from Algeria to their capital state of Cairo. The Fatimid caliphate began to collapse when its governors the Zirids seceded. In order to punish them the Fatimids sent the Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym against them. The resultant war is recounted in the epic Tāghribāt. In Al-Tāghrībāt the Amazigh Zirid Hero Khālīfā Al-Zānatī asks daily, for duels, to defeat the Hilalan hero Ābu Zayd al-Hilalī and many other Arab knights in a string of victories. The Zirids, however, were ultimately defeated ushering in an adoption of Arab customs and culture. The indigenous Amazigh tribes, however, remained largely independent, and depending on tribe, location and time controlled varying parts of the Maghreb, at times unifying it (as under the Fatimids). The Fatimid Islamic state, also known as Fatimid Caliphate made an Islamic empire that included North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Tihamah, Hejaz and Yemen. Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during the Islamic Era.\n\nFatimid Caliphate, c. 960–1100\n\nThe Amazighs historically consisted of several tribes. The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja, Houara, Zenata, Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba, and Berghwata). All these tribes made independent territorial decisions.\n\nSeveral Amazigh dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands. Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the Zirid, Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid, Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid, Abdalwadid, Wattasid, Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties.\n\nIn the early 16th century, Spain constructed fortified outposts (presidios) on or near the Algerian coast. Spain took control of few coastal towns like Mers el Kebir in 1505; Oran in 1509; and Tlemcen, Mostaganem and Ténès in 1510. In the same year, a few merchants of Algiers ceded one of the rocky islets in their harbour to Spain, which built a fort on it. The presidios in North Africa turned out to be a costly and largely ineffective military endeavour that did not guarantee access for Spain's merchant fleet.\n\n\nThe Almohad Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 1212\n\nThere reigned in Ifriqiya, current Tunisia, a Berber family, Zirid, somehow recognising the suzerainty of the Fatimid caliph of Cairo. Probably in 1048, the Zirid ruler or viceroy, el-Mu'izz, decided to end this suzerainty. The Fatimid state was too weak to attempt a punitive expedition; The Viceroy, el-Mu'izz, also found another means of revenge.\n\nBetween the Nile and the Red Sea were living Bedouin tribes expelled from Arabia for their disruption and turbulent influence, both Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym among others, whose presence disrupted farmers in the Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot. The then Fatimid vizier devised to relinquish control of the Maghreb and obtained the agreement of his sovereign. This not only prompted the Bedouins to leave, but the Fatimid treasury even gave them a light expatriation cash allowance.\n\nWhole tribes set off with women, children, ancestors, animals and camping equipment. Some stopped on the way, especially in Cyrenaica, where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in Ifriqiya by the Gabes region. The Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but each meeting, the last under the walls of Kairouan, his troops were defeated and Arabs remained masters of the field.\n\nThe flood was still rising, and in 1057 the Arabs spread on the high plains of Constantine where they gradually choked Qalaa of Banu Hammad, as they had done Kairouan few decades ago. From there they gradually gained the upper Algiers and Oran plains. Some were forcibly taken by the Almohads in the second half of the 12th century. We can say that in the 13th century there were in all of North Africa, with the exception of the main mountain ranges and certain coastal regions remained entirely Berber.\n\n===Privateers era===\n\nThe Zayyanid kingdom of Tlemcen in the fifteenth century and its neighbors\nHayreddin Barbarossa\n\nThe region of Algeria was partially ruled by Ottomans for three centuries from 1516 to 1830. In 1516 the Turkish privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa, who operated successfully under the Hafsids, moved their base of operations to Algiers. They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the Spaniards but eventually assumed control over the city and the surrounding region, forcing the previous ruler, Abu Hamo Musa III of the ''Bani Ziyad'' dynasty, to flee. When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen, Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers. The Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000 janissaries. With the aid of this force, Hayreddin conquered the whole area between Constantine and Oran (although the city of Oran remained in Spanish hands until 1791).\n\nThe next beylerbey was Hayreddin's son Hasan, who assumed the position in 1544. Until 1587 the area was governed by officers who served terms with no fixed limits. Subsequently, with the institution of a regular Ottoman administration, governors with the title of pasha ruled for three-year terms. The pasha was assisted by janissaries, known in Algeria as the ojaq and led by an agha. Discontent among the ojaq rose in the mid-1600s because they were not paid regularly, and they repeatedly revolted against the pasha. As a result, the agha charged the pasha with corruption and incompetence and seized power in 1659.\n\nPlague had repeatedly struck the cities of North Africa. Algiers lost from 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants to the plague in 1620–21, and suffered high fatalities in 1654–57, 1665, 1691 and 1740–42.\n\nIn 1671, the taifa rebelled, killed the agha, and placed one of its own in power. The new leader received the title of dey. After 1689, the right to select the dey passed to the divan, a council of some sixty nobles. It was at first dominated by the ''ojaq''; but by the 18th century, it had become the dey's instrument. In 1710, the dey persuaded the sultan to recognise him and his successors as regent, replacing the pasha in that role, although Algiers remained a part of the Ottoman Empire.\n\nThe dey was in effect a constitutional autocrat. The dey was elected for a life term, but in the 159 years (1671–1830) that the system survived, fourteen of the twenty-nine deys were assassinated. Despite usurpation, military coups and occasional mob rule, the day-to-day operation of Ottoman government was remarkably orderly. Although the regency patronised the tribal chieftains, it never had the unanimous allegiance of the countryside, where heavy taxation frequently provoked unrest. Autonomous tribal states were tolerated, and the regency's authority was seldom applied in the Kabylie.\n\nChristian slaves in Algiers, 1706\n\nThe Barbary pirates preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea. The pirates often took the passengers and crew on the ships and sold them or used them as slaves. They also did a brisk business in ransoming some of the captives. According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. They often made raids, called Razzias, on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire.\n\nIn 1544, Hayreddin captured the island of Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari, almost the entire population. In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending the captives to Libya. In 1554, pirates sacked Vieste in southern Italy and took an estimated 7,000 captives as slaves.\n\nIn 1558, Barbary corsairs captured the town of Ciutadella (Minorca), destroyed it, slaughtered the inhabitants and took 3,000 survivors as slaves to Istanbul. Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands, and in response, the residents built many coastal watchtowers and fortified churches. The threat was so severe that residents abandoned the island of Formentera. Between 1609 and 1616, England lost 466 merchant ships to Barbary pirates.\n\nBombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, to support the ultimatum to release European slaves, August 1816\n\nIn July 1627 two pirate ships from Algiers sailed as far as Iceland, raiding and capturing slaves. Two weeks earlier another pirate ship from Salé in Morocco had also raided in Iceland. Some of the slaves brought to Algiers were later ransomed back to Iceland, but some chose to stay in Algeria. In 1629 pirate ships from Algeria raided the Faroe Islands.\n\nIn the 19th century, the pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a \"licence tax\" in exchange for safe harbour of their vessels. One American slave reported that the Algerians had enslaved 130 American seamen in the Mediterranean and Atlantic from 1785 to 1793.\n\nPiracy on American vessels in the Mediterranean resulted in the United States initiating the First (1801–1805) and Second Barbary Wars (1815). Following those wars, Algeria was weaker and Europeans, with an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by the British Lord Exmouth, attacked Algiers. After a nine-hour bombardment, they obtained a treaty from the Dey that reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Captain (later Commodore) Stephen Decatur (U.S. Navy) concerning the demands of tributes. In addition, the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians.\n\n===French colonization (1830–1962)===\n\nBattle of Somah in 1836\n\nUnder the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830. Algerine slave trade and piracy ceased when the French conquered Algiers. The conquest of Algeria by the French took some time and resulted in considerable bloodshed. A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872. Historian Ben Kiernan wrote on the French conquest of Algeria: \"By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830.\" The population of Algeria, which stood at about 1.5 million in 1830, reached nearly 11 million in 1960. French policy was predicated on \"civilising\" the country. During this period, a small but influential French-speaking indigenous elite was formed, made up of Berbers, mostly Kabyles.\nAs a consequence, French government favored the Kabyles. About 80% of Indigenous schools were constructed for Kabyles.\n\nEmir Abdelkader, Algerian leader insurgent against French colonial rule, 1865\n\nFrom 1848 until independence, France administered the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria as an integral part and ''département'' of the nation. One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, who became known as ''colons'' and later, as ''Pied-Noirs.'' Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria. These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land from tribal peoples, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land. Many Europeans settled in Oran and Algiers, and by the early 20th century they formed a majority of the population in both cities.\n\nThe six historical Leaders of the FLN: Rabah Bitat, Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, Didouche Mourad, Mohammed Boudiaf, Krim Belkacem and Larbi Ben M'Hidi.\n\nDuring the late 19th and early 20th century; the European share was almost a fifth of the population. The French government aimed at making Algeria an assimilated part of France, and this included substantial educational investments especially after 1900. The indigenous cultural and religious resistance heavily opposed this tendency, but in contrast to the other colonised countries' path in central Asia and Caucasus, Algeria kept its individual skills and a relatively human-capital intensive agriculture.\n\nGradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population, which lacked political and economic status in the colonial system, gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from France. In May 1945, the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif and Guelma massacre. Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what was later called the Algerian War began. Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) or by lynch mobs in Algeria. The FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war, and the French conducted severe reprisals.\n\nThe war led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Algerians and hundreds of thousands of injuries. Historians, like Alistair Horne and Raymond Aron, state that the actual number of Algerian Muslim war dead was far greater than the original FLN and official French estimates but was less than the 1 million deaths claimed by the Algerian government after independence. Horne estimated Algerian casualties during the span of eight years to be around 700,000. The war uprooted more than 2 million Algerians.\n\nThe war against French rule concluded in 1962, when Algeria gained complete independence following the March 1962 Evian agreements and the July 1962 self-determination referendum.\n\n===The first three decades of independence (1962–1991)===\n\nThe number of European ''Pied-Noirs'' who fled Algeria totaled more than 900,000 between 1962 and 1964. The exodus to mainland France accelerated after the Oran massacre of 1962, in which hundreds of militants entered European sections of the city, and began attacking civilians.\n\nHouari Boumediene\n\nAlgeria's first president was the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) leader Ahmed Ben Bella. Morocco's claim to portions of western Algeria led to the Sand War in 1963. Ben Bella was overthrown in 1965 by Houari Boumediene, his former ally and defence minister. Under Ben Bella, the government had become increasingly socialist and authoritarian; Boumédienne continued this trend. But, he relied much more on the army for his support, and reduced the sole legal party to a symbolic role. He collectivised agriculture and launched a massive industrialization drive. Oil extraction facilities were nationalised. This was especially beneficial to the leadership after the international 1973 oil crisis.\n\nIn the 1960s and 1970s under President Houari Boumediene, Algeria pursued a program of industrialization within a state-controlled socialist economy. Boumediene's successor, Chadli Bendjedid, introduced some liberal economic reforms. He promoted a policy of Arabisation in Algerian society and public life. Teachers of Arabic, brought in from other Muslim countries, spread conventional Islamic thought in schools and sowed the seeds of a return to Orthodox Islam.\n\nThe Algerian economy became increasingly dependent on oil, leading to hardship when the price collapsed during the 1980s oil glut. Economic recession caused by the crash in world oil prices resulted in Algerian social unrest during the 1980s; by the end of the decade, Bendjedid introduced a multi-party system. Political parties developed, such as the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a broad coalition of Muslim groups.\n\n===Civil War (1991–2002) and aftermath===\n\nMassacres of over 50 people in 1997–1998. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed responsibility for many of them.\nIn December 1991 the Islamic Salvation Front dominated the first of two rounds of legislative elections. Fearing the election of an Islamist government, the authorities intervened on 11 January 1992, cancelling the elections. Bendjedid resigned and a High Council of State was installed to act as Presidency. It banned the FIS, triggering a civil insurgency between the Front's armed wing, the Armed Islamic Group, and the national armed forces, in which more than 100,000 people are thought to have died. The Islamist militants conducted a violent campaign of civilian massacres. At several points in the conflict, the situation in Algeria became a point of international concern, most notably during the crisis surrounding Air France Flight 8969, a hijacking perpetrated by the Armed Islamic Group. The Armed Islamic Group declared a ceasefire in October 1997.\n\nAlgeria held elections in 1999, considered biased by international observers and most opposition groups which were won by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He worked to restore political stability to the country and announced a 'Civil Concord' initiative, approved in a referendum, under which many political prisoners were pardoned, and several thousand members of armed groups were granted exemption from prosecution under a limited amnesty, in force until 13 January 2000. The AIS disbanded and levels of insurgent violence fell rapidly. The Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC), a splinter group of the Group Islamic Armée, continued a terrorist campaign against the Government.\n\nBouteflika was re-elected in the April 2004 presidential election after campaigning on a programme of national reconciliation. The programme comprised economic, institutional, political and social reform to modernise the country, raise living standards, and tackle the causes of alienation. It also included a second amnesty initiative, the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which was approved in a referendum in September 2005. It offered amnesty to most guerrillas and Government security forces.\n\nIn November 2008, the Algerian Constitution was amended following a vote in Parliament, removing the two-term limit on Presidential incumbents. This change enabled Bouteflika to stand for re-election in the 2009 presidential elections, and he was re-elected in April 2009. During his election campaign and following his re-election, Bouteflika promised to extend the programme of national reconciliation and a $150-billion spending programme to create three million new jobs, the construction of one million new housing units, and to continue public sector and infrastructure modernisation programmes.\n\nA continuing series of protests throughout the country started on 28 December 2010, inspired by similar protests across the Middle East and North Africa. On 24 February 2011, the government lifted Algeria's 19-year-old state of emergency. The government enacted legislation dealing with political parties, the electoral code, and the representation of women in elected bodies. In April 2011, Bouteflika promised further constitutional and political reform. However, elections are routinely criticized by opposition groups as unfair and international human rights groups say that media censorship and harassment of political opponents continue.\n", "\n\nFile:Kabylie-neige.jpg|The Djurdjura Range in snow\nFile:Tadrart Rouge.jpg|The Tadrart Rouge near Djanet.\nFile:Ouarsenis 2012, Wilaya de Tissemsilt (Algérie).jpg|Ouarsenis, range of mountains in North-Western (1985m)\nFile:Les Aiguades.jpg|Maritime front of Bejaïa\nFile:Djanet, Tassili.jpg|The Tassili n'Ajjer.\nFile:Seraidi-Annaba.jpg|Edough National Park, Annaba\nFile:Lagh-Algeria-SM.jpg|Bakhdache valley laghouat.\n\nAlgeria is the largest country in Africa, the Arab world, and the Mediterranean Basin. Its southern part includes a significant portion of the Sahara. To the north, the Tell Atlas form with the Saharan Atlas, further south, two parallel sets of reliefs in approaching eastbound, and between which are inserted vast plains and highlands. Both Atlas tend to merge in eastern Algeria. The vast mountain ranges of Aures and Nememcha occupy the entire northeastern Algeria and are delineated by the Tunisian border. The highest point is Mount Tahat ( m).\n\nThe Sahara, the Ahaggar and the Atlas mountains compose the Algerian relief.\n\nAlgeria lies mostly between latitudes 19° and 37°N (a small area is north of 37°), and longitudes 9°W and 12°E. Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are a few natural harbours. The area from the coast to the Tell Atlas is fertile. South of the Tell Atlas is a steppe landscape ending with the Saharan Atlas; farther south, there is the Sahara desert.\n\nThe Ahaggar Mountains (), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, southern Algeria. They are located about south of the capital, Algiers, and just west of Tamanghasset. Algiers, Oran, Constantine, and Annaba are Algeria's main cities.\n\n===Climate and hydrology===\n\nAlgeria map of Köppen climate classification.\nSaharan oasis town of Taghit\nLake Agoulmime, Tikjda.\n\nIn this region, midday desert temperatures can be hot year round. After sunset, however, the clear, dry air permits rapid loss of heat, and the nights are cool to chilly. Enormous daily ranges in temperature are recorded.\n\nRainfall is fairly plentiful along the coastal part of the Tell Atlas, ranging from annually, the amount of precipitation increasing from west to east. Precipitation is heaviest in the northern part of eastern Algeria, where it reaches as much as in some years.\n\nFarther inland, the rainfall is less plentiful. Algeria also has ergs, or sand dunes, between mountains. Among these, in the summer time when winds are heavy and gusty, temperatures can get up to .\n\n===Fauna and flora===\n\nCedrus of Chélia in the Aures\n\nThe varied vegetation of Algeria includes coastal, mountainous and grassy desert-like regions which all support a wide range of wildlife. Many of the creatures comprising the Algerian wildlife live in close proximity to civilization. The most commonly seen animals include the wild boars, jackals, and gazelles, although it is not uncommon to spot fennecs (foxes), and jerboas. Algeria also has a small African leopard and Saharan cheetah population, but these are seldom seen. A species of deer, the Barbary stag, inhabits the dense humid forests in the north-eastern areas.\n\nA variety of bird species makes the country an attraction for bird watchers. The forests are inhabited by boars and jackals. Barbary macaques are the sole native monkey. Snakes, monitor lizards, and numerous other reptiles can be found living among an array of rodents throughout the semi arid regions of Algeria. Many animals are now extinct, including the Barbary lions, Atlas bears and crocodiles.\n\nIn the north, some of the native flora includes Macchia scrub, olive trees, oaks, cedars and other conifers. The mountain regions contain large forests of evergreens (Aleppo pine, juniper, and evergreen oak) and some deciduous trees. Fig, eucalyptus, agave, and various palm trees grow in the warmer areas. The grape vine is indigenous to the coast. In the Sahara region, some oases have palm trees. Acacias with wild olives are the predominant flora in the remainder of the Sahara.\n\nCamels are used extensively; the desert also abounds with venomous and nonvenomous snakes, scorpions, and numerous insects.\n", "\nThe People's National Assembly\nAlgerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika\n\nElected politicians are considered to have relatively little sway over Algeria. Instead, a group of unelected civilian and military \"décideurs\", known as \"le pouvoir\" (\"the power\"), actually rule the country, even deciding who should be president. The most powerful man may be Mohamed Mediène, head of the military intelligence. In recent years, many of these generals have died or retired. After the death of General Larbi Belkheir, Bouteflika put loyalists in key posts, notably at Sonatrach, and secured constitutional amendments that make him re-electable indefinitely.\n\nThe head of state is the president of Algeria, who is elected for a five-year term. The president was formerly limited to two five-year terms, but a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on 11 November 2008 removed this limitation. Algeria has universal suffrage at 18 years of age. The President is the head of the army, the Council of Ministers and the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government.\n\nThe Algerian parliament is bicameral; the lower house, the People's National Assembly, has 462 members who are directly elected for five-year terms, while the upper house, the Council of the Nation, has 144 members serving six-year terms, of which 96 members are chosen by local assemblies and 48 are appointed by the president. According to the constitution, no political association may be formed if it is \"based on differences in religion, language, race, gender, profession, or region\". In addition, political campaigns must be exempt from the aforementioned subjects.\n\nParliamentary elections were last held in May 2012, and were judged to be largely free by international monitors, though local groups alleged fraud and irregularities. In the elections, the FLN won 221 seats, the military-backed National Rally for Democracy won 70, and the Islamist Green Algeria Alliance won 47.\n\n===Foreign relations===\n\nPresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika and George W. Bush exchange handshakes at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Tōyako Town, Abuta District, Hokkaidō in 2008. With them are Dmitriy Medvedev, left, and Yasuo Fukuda, right.\n\nAlgeria is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.\nGiving incentives and rewarding best performers, as well as offering funds in a faster and more flexible manner, are the two main principles underlying the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) that came into force in 2014. It has a budget of €15.4 billion and provides the bulk of funding through a number of programmes.\n\nIn 2009, the French government agreed to compensate victims of nuclear tests in Algeria. Defense Minister Herve Morin stated that “It’s time for our country to be at peace with itself, at peace thanks to a system of compensation and reparations,” when presenting the draft law on the payouts. Algerian officials and activists believe that this is a good first step and hope that this move would encourage broader reparation.\n\nTensions between Algeria and Morocco in relation to the Western Sahara have been an obstacle to tightening the Arab Maghreb Union, nominally established in 1989, but which has carried little practical weight.\n\n===Military===\n\nThe military of Algeria consists of the People's National Army (ANP), the Algerian National Navy (MRA), and the Algerian Air Force (QJJ), plus the Territorial Air Defence Forces. It is the direct successor of the National Liberation Army (Armée de Libération Nationale or ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front which fought French colonial occupation during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62).\n\nTotal military personnel include 147,000 active, 150,000 reserve, and 187,000 paramilitary staff (2008 estimate). Service in the military is compulsory for men aged 19–30, for a total of 12 months. The military expenditure was 4.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012. Algeria has the second largest military in North Africa with the largest defence budget in Africa ($10 billion).\n\nIn 2007, the Algerian Air Force signed a deal with Russia to purchase 49 MiG-29SMT and 6 MiG-29UBT at an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. Russia is also building two 636-type diesel submarines for Algeria.\n\n===Human rights===\n\nAlgeria has been categorized by Freedom House as “not free” since it began publishing such ratings in 1972, with the exception of 1989, 1990, and 1991, when the country was labeled “partly free.” In December 2016, the ''Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor'' issued a report regarding violation of media freedom in Algeria. It clarified that the Algerian government imposed restriction on freedom of the press; expression; and right to peaceful demonstration, protest and assembly as well as intensified censorship of the media and websites. Due to the fact that the journalists and activists criticize the ruling government, some media organizations' licenses are canceled.\n\nHomosexuality is illegal in Algeria. Public homosexual behavior is punishable by up to two years in prison.\n", "\nAlgeria is divided into 48 provinces (''wilayas''), 553 districts (''daïras'') and 1,541 municipalities (''baladiyahs''). Each province, district, and municipality is named after its seat, which is usually the largest city.\n\nThe administrative divisions have changed several times since independence. When introducing new provinces, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order. With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are\n\n\n", "\nGraphical depiction of the country's exports in 28 colour-coded categories.\n\nAlgeria is classified as an upper middle income country by the World Bank. Algeria's currency is the dinar (DZD). The economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. In recent years, the Algerian government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy.\n\nAlgeria has struggled to develop industries outside hydrocarbons in part because of high costs and an inert state bureaucracy. The government's efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector have done little to reduce high youth unemployment rates or to address housing shortages. The country is facing a number of short-term and medium-term problems, including the need to diversify the economy, strengthen political, economic and financial reforms, improve the business climate and reduce inequalities amongst regions.\n\nA wave of economic protests in February and March 2011 prompted the Algerian government to offer more than $23 billion in public grants and retroactive salary and benefit increases. Public spending has increased by 27% annually during the past 5 years. The 2010–14 public-investment programme will cost US$286 billion, 40% of which will go to human development.\n\nThe port city of Oran\n\nThe Algerian economy grew by 2.6% in 2011, driven by public spending, in particular in the construction and public-works sector, and by growing internal demand. If hydrocarbons are excluded, growth has been estimated at 4.8%. Growth of 3% is expected in 2012, rising to 4.2% in 2013. The rate of inflation was 4% and the budget deficit 3% of GDP. The current-account surplus is estimated at 9.3% of GDP and at the end of December 2011, official reserves were put at US$182 billion. Inflation, the lowest in the region, has remained stable at 4% on average between 2003 and 2007.\n\nAlgeria, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010\n\nIn 2011 Algeria announced a budgetary surplus of $26.9 billion, 62% increase in comparison to 2010 surplus. In general, the country exported $73 billion worth of commodities while it imported $46 billion.\n\nThanks to strong hydrocarbon revenues, Algeria has a cushion of $173 billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbon stabilization fund. In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 2% of GDP. The economy remains very dependent on hydrocarbon wealth, and, despite high foreign exchange reserves (US$178 billion, equivalent to three years of imports), current expenditure growth makes Algeria's budget more vulnerable to the risk of prolonged lower hydrocarbon revenues.\n\nIn 2011, the agricultural sector and services recorded growth of 10% and 5.3%, respectively. About 14% of the labor force are employed in the agricultural sector. Fiscal policy in 2011 remained expansionist and made it possible to maintain the pace of public investment and to contain the strong demand for jobs and housing.\n\nAlgeria has not joined the WTO, despite several years of negotiations.\n\nIn March 2006, Russia agreed to erase $4.74 billion of Algeria's Soviet-era debt during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the country, the first by a Russian leader in half a century. In return, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika agreed to buy $7.5 billion worth of combat planes, air-defence systems and other arms from Russia, according to the head of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.\n\nDubai-based conglomerate Emarat Dzayer Group said it had signed a joint venture agreement to develop a $1.6 billion steel factory in Algeria.\n\n===Hydrocarbons===\n\nPipelines across Algeria\n\nAlgeria, whose economy is reliant on petroleum, has been an OPEC member since 1969. Its crude oil production stands at around 1.1 million barrels/day, but it is also a major gas producer and exporter, with important links to Europe. Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the sixth-largest gas exporter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that in 2005, Algeria had of proven natural-gas reserves. It also ranks 16th in oil reserves.\n\nNon-hydrocarbon growth for 2011 was projected at 5%. To cope with social demands, the authorities raised expenditure, especially on basic food support, employment creation, support for SMEs, and higher salaries. High hydrocarbon prices have improved the current account and the already large international reserves position.\n\nIncome from oil and gas rose in 2011 as a result of continuing high oil prices, though the trend in production volume is downwards. Production from the oil and gas sector in terms of volume, continues to decline, dropping from 43.2 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes between 2007 and 2011. Nevertheless, the sector accounted for 98% of the total volume of exports in 2011, against 48% in 1962, and 70% of budgetary receipts, or USD 71.4 billion.\n\nThe Algerian national oil company is Sonatrach, which plays a key role in all aspects of the oil and natural gas sectors in Algeria. All foreign operators must work in partnership with Sonatrach, which usually has majority ownership in production-sharing agreements.\n\n===Research and alternative energy sources===\nAlgeria has invested an estimated 100 billion dinars towards developing research facilities and paying researchers. This development program is meant to advance alternative energy production, especially solar and wind power. Algeria is estimated to have the largest solar energy potential in the Mediterranean, so the government has funded the creation of a solar science park in Hassi R’Mel. Currently, Algeria has 20,000 research professors at various universities and over 780 research labs, with state-set goals to expand to 1,000. Besides solar energy, areas of research in Algeria include space and satellite telecommunications, nuclear power and medical research.\n\n===Labour market===\nDespite a decline in total unemployment, youth and women unemployment is high. Unemployment particularly affects the young, with a jobless rate of 21.5% among the 15–24 age group.\n\nThe overall rate of unemployment was 10% in 2011, but remained higher among young people, with a rate of 21.5% for those aged between 15 and 24. The government strengthened in 2011 the job programmes introduced in 1988, in particular in the framework of the programme to aid those seeking work (Dispositif d'Aide à l'Insertion Professionnelle).\n\n===Tourism===\n\nDjanet\n\nThe development of the tourism sector in Algeria had previously been hampered by a lack of facilities, but since 2004 a broad tourism development strategy has been implemented resulting in many hotels of a high modern standard being built.\n\nThere are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria including Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire; Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town; and Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins; M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis; also the Casbah of Algiers is an important citadel. The only natural World Heritage Sites is the Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range.\n\n===Transport===\n\nThe main highway connecting the Moroccan to the Tunisian border was a part of the Cairo–Dakar Highway project\n\nThe Algerian road network is the densest in Africa; its length is estimated at 180,000 km of highways, with more than 3,756 structures and a paving rate of 85%. This network will be complemented by the East-West Highway, a major infrastructure project currently under construction. It is a 3-way, highway, linking Annaba in the extreme east to the Tlemcen in the far west. Algeria is also crossed by the Trans-Sahara Highway, which is now completely paved. This road is supported by the Algerian government to increase trade between the six countries crossed: Algeria, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Tunisia.\n", "\n\nIn January 2016 Algeria's population was an estimated 40.4 million, who are mainly Arab-Berber ethnically. At the outset of the 20th century, its population was approximately four million. About 90% of Algerians live in the northern, coastal area; the inhabitants of the Sahara desert are mainly concentrated in oases, although some 1.5 million remain nomadic or partly nomadic. 28.1% of Algerians are under the age of 15.\n\nWomen make up 70% of the country's lawyers and 60% of its judges and also dominate the field of medicine. Increasingly, women are contributing more to household income than men. 60% of university students are women, according to university researchers.\n\nBetween 90,000 and 165,000 Sahrawis from Western Sahara live in the Sahrawi refugee camps, in the western Algerian Sahara desert. There are also more than 4,000 Palestinian refugees, who are well integrated and have not asked for assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In 2009, 35,000 Chinese migrant workers lived in Algeria.\n\nThe largest concentration of Algerian migrants outside Algeria is in France, which has reportedly over 1.7 million Algerians of up to the second generation.\n\n===Ethnic groups===\n\nIndigenous Berbers as well as Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, various Sub-Saharan Africans, and French have contributed to the history of Algeria. Descendants of Andalusian refugees are also present in the population of Algiers and other cities. Moreover, Spanish was spoken by these Aragonese and Castillian Morisco descendants deep into the 18th century, and even Catalan was spoken at the same time by Catalan Morisco descendants in the small town of Grish El-Oued.\n\nSome of Algeria's traditional clothes\n\nThere are 600,000 to 2 million former Algerian Turks, descendants of Turkish rulers, soldiers, doctors and others who ruled the region during the Ottoman rule in North Africa. Today's Turkish descendants are often called ''Kouloughlis'', meaning descendants of Turkish men and native Algerian women.\n\nDespite the dominance of the Berber culture and ethnicity in Algeria, the majority of Algerians identify with an Arabic-based identity, especially after the Arab nationalism rising in the 20th century. Berbers and Berber-speaking Algerians are divided into many groups with varying languages. The largest of these are the Kabyles, who live in the Kabylie region east of Algiers, the Chaoui of Northeast Algeria, the Tuaregs in the southern desert and the Shenwa people of North Algeria.\n\nDuring the colonial period, there was a large (10% in 1960) European population who became known as ''Pied-Noirs''. They were primarily of French, Spanish and Italian origin. Almost all of this population left during the war of independence or immediately after its end.\n\n===Languages===\n\n\nSigns in the University of Tizi Ouzou in three languages: Arabic, Berber, and French\n\nBerber and Modern Standard Arabic are the official languages. Algerian Arabic (Darja) is the language used by the majority of the population. Colloquial Algerian Arabic is heavily infused with borrowings from French and Berber.\n\nBerber has been recognized as a \"national language\" by the constitutional amendment of 8 May 2002. Kabyle, the predominant Berber language, is taught and is partially co-official (with a few restrictions) in parts of Kabylie. In February 2016, the Algerian constitution passed a resolution that would make Berber an official language alongside Arabic.\n\nAlthough French has no official status, Algeria is the second-largest Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers, and French is widely used in government, media (newspapers, radio, local television), and both the education system (from primary school onwards) and academia due to Algeria's colonial history. It can be regarded as the ''de facto'' co-official language of Algeria. In 2008, 11.2 million Algerians could read and write in French. An Abassa Institute study in April 2000 found that 60% of households could speak and understand French or 18 million in a population of 30 million then. After an earlier period during which the Algerian government tried to phase out French (which is why it has no official status), in recent decades the government has backtracked and reinforced the study of French and TV programs have reinforced use of the language.\n\nAlgeria emerged as a bilingual state after 1962. Colloquial Algerian Arabic is spoken by about 72% of the population and Berber by 27–30%.\n\n===Religion===\n\n\n\n\n\nIslam is the predominant religion in Algeria, with its adherents accounting for 99% of the population. There are about 150,000 Ibadis in the M'zab Valley in the region of Ghardaia.\n\nEstimates of the number of Christians in Algeria vary. A Pew Research Center study in 2010 estimated there were 60,000 Christians in Algeria. In a 1993 study the Federal Research Division estimated there were 45,000 Catholics and 50,000–100,000 Protestants in Algeria. A 2015 study estimated there were 380,000 Muslim converted to Christianity in Algeria.\n\nFollowing the Revolution and Algerian independence, all but 6,500 of the country's 140,000 Jews left the country, of whom about 90% moved to France with the Pied-Noirs and 10% left for Israel.\n\nAlgeria has given the Muslim world a number of prominent thinkers, including Emir Abdelkader, Abdelhamid Ben Badis, Mouloud Kacem Naît Belkacem, Malek Bennabi and Mohamed Arkoun.\n\n===Cities===\n\nBelow is a list of the most important Algerian cities:\n\n", "\nAlgerian musicians in Tlemcen. Painting by Bachir Yellès\n\nModern Algerian literature, split between Arabic, Tamazight and French, has been strongly influenced by the country's recent history. Famous novelists of the 20th century include Mohammed Dib, Albert Camus, Kateb Yacine and Ahlam Mosteghanemi while Assia Djebar is widely translated. Among the important novelists of the 1980s were Rachid Mimouni, later vice-president of Amnesty International, and Tahar Djaout, murdered by an Islamist group in 1993 for his secularist views.\n\nMalek Bennabi and Frantz Fanon are noted for their thoughts on decolonization; Augustine of Hippo was born in Tagaste (modern-day Souk Ahras); and Ibn Khaldun, though born in Tunis, wrote the Muqaddima while staying in Algeria. The works of the Sanusi family in pre-colonial times, and of Emir Abdelkader and Sheikh Ben Badis in colonial times, are widely noted. The Latin author Apuleius was born in Madaurus (Mdaourouch), in what later became Algeria.\n\nContemporary Algerian cinema is various in terms of genre, exploring a wider range of themes and issues. There has been a transition from cinema which focused on the war of independence to films more concerned with the everyday lives of Algerians.\n\n===Media===\n\n\n===Art===\nMohammed Racim was a Painter and founder of the Algerian school of miniature painting\n\nAlgerian painters, like Mohamed Racim or Baya, attempted to revive the prestigious Algerian past prior to French colonization, at the same time that they have contributed to the preservation of the authentic values of Algeria. In this line, Mohamed Temam, Abdelkhader Houamel have also returned through this art, scenes from the history of the country, the habits and customs of the past and the country life. Other new artistic currents including the one of M'hamed Issiakhem, Mohammed Khadda and Bachir Yelles, appeared on the scene of Algerian painting, abandoning figurative classical painting to find new pictorial ways, in order to adapt Algerian paintings to the new realities of the country through its struggle and its aspirations. Mohammed Khadda and M'hamed Issiakhem have been notable in recent years.\n\n===Literature===\n\nAhlam Mosteghanemi, the most widely read woman writer in the Arab world.\n\nThe historic roots of Algerian literature go back to the Numidian era, when Apuleius wrote ''The Golden Ass'', the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety. This period had also known Augustine of Hippo, Nonius Marcellus and Martianus Capella, among many others. The Middle Ages have known many Arabic writers who revolutionized the Arab world literature, with authors like Ahmad al-Buni, Ibn Manzur and Ibn Khaldoun, who wrote the Muqaddimah while staying in Algeria, and many others.\n\nAlbert Camus was an Algerian-born French Pied-Noir author. In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.\n\n\n\nToday Algeria contains, in its literary landscape, big names having not only marked the Algerian literature, but also the universal literary heritage in Arabic and French.\n\nAs a first step, Algerian literature was marked by works whose main concern was the assertion of the Algerian national entity, there is the publication of novels as the ''Algerian trilogy'' of Mohammed Dib, or even ''Nedjma'' of Kateb Yacine novel which is often regarded as a monumental and major work. Other known writers will contribute to the emergence of Algerian literature whom include Mouloud Feraoun, Malek Bennabi, Malek Haddad, Moufdi Zakaria, Abdelhamid Ben Badis, Mohamed Laïd Al-Khalifa, Mouloud Mammeri, Frantz Fanon, and Assia Djebar.\n\nIn the aftermath of the independence, several new authors emerged on the Algerian literary scene, they will attempt through their works to expose a number of social problems, among them there are Rachid Boudjedra, Rachid Mimouni, Leila Sebbar, Tahar Djaout and Tahir Wattar.\n\nCurrently, a part of Algerian writers tends to be defined in a literature of shocking expression, due to the terrorism that occurred during the 1990s, the other party is defined in a different style of literature who staged an individualistic conception of the human adventure. Among the most noted recent works, there is the writer, ''the swallows of Kabul'' and ''the attack'' of Yasmina Khadra, ''the oath of barbarians'' of Boualem Sansal, ''memory of the flesh'' of Ahlam Mosteghanemi and the last novel by Assia Djebar ''nowhere in my father's House''.\n\n===Music===\n\nChaâbi music is a typically Algerian musical genre characterized by specific rhythms and of Qacidate (Popular poems) in Arabic dialect. The undisputed master of this music is El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka. The Constantinois Malouf style is saved by musician from whom Mohamed Tahar Fergani is a performer.\n\nEl Hadj M'Hamed El Anka\nCheb Khaled King raï\n\nFolk music styles include Bedouin music, characterized by the poetic songs based on long kacida (poems); Kabyle music, based on a rich repertoire that is poetry and old tales passed through generations; Shawiya music, a folklore from diverse areas of the Aurès Mountains. Rahaba music style is unique to the Aures. Souad Massi is a rising Algerian folk singer. Other Algerian singers of the diaspora include Manel Filali in Germany and Kenza Farah in France. Tergui music is sung in Tuareg languages generally, Tinariwen had a worldwide success. Finally, the staïfi music is born in Sétif and remains a unique style of its kind.\n\nModern music is available in several facets, Raï music is a style typical of Western Algeria. Rap, relatively recent style in Algeria, is experiencing significant growth.\n\n===Cinema===\n\nChronicle of the Years of Fire, the film won the Palme d'Or prize at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.\n\nThe Algerian state's interest in film-industry activities can be seen in the annual budget of DZD 200 million (EUR 1.8) allocated to production, specific measures and an ambitious programme plan implemented by the Ministry of Culture in order to promote national production, renovate the cinema stock and remedy the weak links in distribution and exploitation.\n\nThe financial support provided by the state, through the Fund for the Development of the Arts, Techniques and the Film Industry (FDATIC) and the Algerian Agency for Cultural Influence (AARC), plays a key role in the promotion of national production. Between 2007 and 2013, FDATIC subsidised 98 films (feature films, documentaries and short films). In mid-2013, AARC had already supported a total of 78 films, including 42 feature films, 6 short films and 30 documentaries.\n\nAccording to the European Audiovisual Observatory's LUMIERE database, 41 Algerian films were distributed in Europe between 1996 and 2013; 21 films in this repertoire were Algerian-French co-productions. ''Days of Glory'' (2006) and ''Outside the Law'' (2010) recorded the highest number of admissions in the European Union, 3,172,612 and 474,722, respectively.\n\nAlgeria won the Palme d'Or for ''Chronicle of the Years of Fire'' (1975), two Oscars for ''Z'' (1969), and other awards for ''The Battle of Algiers''.\n\n===Sports===\n\nVarious games have existed in Algeria since antiquity. In the Aures, people played several games such as El Kherdba or El khergueba (chess variant). Playing cards, checkers and chess games are part of Algerian culture. Racing (fantasia) and rifle shooting are part of cultural recreation of the Algerians.\n\nThe first Algerian and African gold medalist is Boughera El Ouafi in 1928 Olympics of Amsterdam in the Marathon. The second Algerian Medalist was Alain Mimoun in 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Several men and women were champions in athletics in the 1990s including Noureddine Morceli, Hassiba Boulmerka, Nouria Merah-Benida, and Taoufik Makhloufi, all specialized in middle-distance running.\n\nFootball is the most popular sport in Algeria. Several names are engraved in the history of the sport, including Lakhdar Belloumi, Rachid Mekhloufi, Hassen Lalmas, Rabah Madjer, Salah Assad and Djamel Zidane. The Algeria national football team qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1986 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup. In addition, several football clubs have won continental and international trophies as the club ES Sétif or JS Kabylia. The Algerian Football Federation is an association of Algeria football clubs organizing national competitions and international matches of the selection of Algeria national football team.\n\n===Cuisine===\n\nA Couscous-based salad\n\nAlgerian cuisine is rich and diverse. The country was considered as the \"granary of Rome\". It offers a component of dishes and varied dishes, depending on the region and according to the seasons. The cuisine uses cereals as the main products, since they are always produced with abundance in the country. There is not a dish where cereals are not present.\n\nAlgerian cuisine varies from one region to another, according to seasonal vegetables. It can be prepared using meat, fish and vegetables. Among the dishes known, couscous, chorba, Rechta, Chakhchoukha, Berkoukes, Shakshouka, Mthewem, Chtitha, Mderbel, Dolma, Brik or Bourek, Garantita, Lham'hlou, etc. Merguez sausage is widely used in Algeria, but it differs, depending on the region and on the added spices.\n\nCakes are marketed and can be found in cities either in Algeria, in Europe or North America. However, traditional cakes are also made at home, following the habits and customs of each family. Among these cakes, there are Tamina, Chrik, Garn logzelles, Griouech, Kalb el-louz, Makroud, Mbardja, Mchewek, Samsa, Tcharak, Baghrir, Khfaf, Zlabia, Aarayech, Ghroubiya and Mghergchette. Algerian pastry also contains Tunisian or French cakes. Marketed and home-made bread products include varieties such as Kessra or Khmira or Harchaya, chopsticks and so-called washers Khoubz dar or Matloue.\nOther tradionel meals (Chakhchokha-Hassoua-T'chicha-Mahjouba and Doubara) are famous in Biskra.\n", "\nIn 2002, Algeria had inadequate numbers of physicians (1.13 per 1,000 people), nurses (2.23 per 1,000 people), and dentists (0.31 per 1,000 people). Access to \"improved water sources\" was limited to 92% of the population in urban areas and 80% of the population in the rural areas. Some 99% of Algerians living in urban areas, but only 82% of those living in rural areas, had access to \"improved sanitation\". According to the World Bank, Algeria is making progress toward its goal of \"reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to improved drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015\". Given Algeria's young population, policy favors preventive health care and clinics over hospitals. In keeping with this policy, the government maintains an immunization program. However, poor sanitation and unclean water still cause tuberculosis, hepatitis, measles, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. The poor generally receive health care free of charge.\n\nHealth records have been maintained in Algeria since 1882 and began adding Muslims living in the South to their Vital record database in 1905 during French rule.\n", "\nNouria Benghabrit-Remaoun, Minister of National education\nAlgerian school children\n\nSince the 1970s, in a centralized system that was designed to significantly reduce the rate of illiteracy, the Algerian government introduced a decree by which school attendance became compulsory for all children aged between 6 and 15 years who have the ability to track their learning through the 20 facilities built since independence, now the literacy rate is around 78.7%.\nUIS literacy rate Algeria population plus 15 1985–2015\nSince 1972, Arabic is used as the language of instruction during the first nine years of schooling. From the third year, French is taught and it is also the language of instruction for science classes. The students can also learn English, Italian, Spanish and German. In 2008, new programs at the elementary appeared, therefore the compulsory schooling does not start at the age of six anymore, but at the age of five.\nApart from the 122 private, learning at school, the Universities of the State are free of charge. After nine years of primary school, students can go to the high school or to an educational institution. The school offers two programs: general or technical. At the end of the third year of secondary school, students pass the exam of the bachelor's degree, which allows once it is successful to pursue graduate studies in universities and institutes.\n\nEducation is officially compulsory for children between the ages of six and 15. In 2008, the illiteracy rate for people over 10 was 22.3%, 15.6% for men and 29.0% for women. The province with the lowest rate of illiteracy was Algiers Province at 11.6%, while the province with the highest rate was Djelfa Province at 35.5%.\n\nAlgeria has 26 universities and 67 institutions of higher education, which must accommodate a million Algerians and 80,000 foreign students in 2008. The University of Algiers, founded in 1879, is the oldest, it offers education in various disciplines (law, medicine, science and letters). 25 of these universities and almost all of the institutions of higher education were founded after the independence of the country.\n\nEven if some of them offer instruction in Arabic like areas of law and the economy, most of the other sectors as science and medicine continue to be provided in French and English. Among the most important universities, there are the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, the University of Mentouri Constantine, and University of Oran Es-Senia. The University of Abou Bekr Belkaïd in Tlemcen and University of Batna Hadj Lakhdar occupy the 26th and 45th row in Africa.\n", "\n* Index of Algeria-related articles\n* Outline of Algeria\n* \n", "\n", "\n", "\n* Ageron, Charles-Robert (1991). ''Modern Algeria – A History from 1830 to the Present''. Translated from French and edited by Michael Brett. London: Hurst. .\n* Aghrout, Ahmed; Bougherira, Redha M. (2004). ''Algeria in Transition – Reforms and Development Prospects''. Routledge. .\n* Bennoune, Mahfoud (1988). ''The Making of Contemporary Algeria – Colonial Upheavals and Post-Independence Development, 1830–1987''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .\n* Fanon, Frantz (1966; 2005 paperback). ''The Wretched of the Earth''. Grove Press. ASIN B0007FW4AW, .\n* Horne, Alistair (1977). ''A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962''. Viking Adult. , (2006 reprint)\n* Laouisset, Djamel (2009). ''A Retrospective Study of the Algerian Iron and Steel Industry''. New York City: Nova Publishers. .\n* Roberts, Hugh (2003). ''The Battlefield – Algeria, 1988–2002. Studies in a Broken Polity''. London: Verso Books. .\n* Ruedy, John (1992). ''Modern Algeria – The Origins and Development of a Nation''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. .\n* Stora, Benjamin (2001). ''Algeria, 1830–2000 – A Short History''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. .\n* Sidaoui, Riadh (2009). \"Islamic Politics and the Military – Algeria 1962–2008\". ''Religion and Politics – Islam and Muslim Civilisation''. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. .\n\n", "\n\n* People's Democratic Republic of Algeria ''Official government website'' / \n* \n* \n* \n* Algeria profile from the BBC News\n* \n* \n* Key Development Forecasts for Algeria from International Futures\n* EU Neighbourhood Info Centre: Algeria\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "History", "Geography", "Politics", "Administrative divisions", "Economy", "Demographics", "Culture", "Health", "Education", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Bibliography", "External links" ]

[ "Algeria is classified as an upper middle income country by the World Bank.", "According to the World Bank, Algeria is making progress toward its goal of \"reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to improved drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015\"." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Algeria''' ( ''''; , ''''; ), officially the '''People's Democratic Republic of Algeria''', is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast.", "Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the country's far north.", "With an area of , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa.", "Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea.", "The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties).", "Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999.", "Ancient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zirid, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French colonial empire.", "Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria.", "Algeria is a regional and middle power.", "The North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.", "According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa, while it has the 9th largest reserves of natural gas.", "Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa.", "Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent; most of Algeria's weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally.", "Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations and is the founding member of the Maghreb Union.", "The country's name derives from the city of Algiers.", "The city's name in turn derives from the Arabic '''' (, \"The Islands\"), a truncated form of the older '''' (, \"Islands of the Mazghanna Tribe\"), employed by medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi.", "\n\n===Ancient history===\n \n\n\nIn the region of Ain Hanech (Saïda Province), early remnants (200,000 BC) of hominid occupation in North Africa were found.", "Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in the Levant.", "Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques.", "Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian (after the archeological site of Bir el Ater, south of Tebessa).", "The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the Oran region).", "This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC.", "Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC.", "This life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period.", "The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called Berbers, who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa.", "Roman ruins at Djémila\nRoman ruins of Timgadon the street leading to the local Arch of Trajan\n\nFrom their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa, east of Cherchell, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda).", "These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages.", "As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically.", "Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states.", "Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others.", "Numidia along with Egypt, Rome, and Carthage 200 BC\nAncient Roman theatre in Djémila\n\nBy the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army.", "In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War.", "They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa.", "The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars.", "Masinissa (c. 238–148 BC), first king of Numidia\nJugurtha (c. 160–104 BC), king of Numidia\n\nIn 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed.", "As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew.", "By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged.", "Two of them were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage.", "West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River in modern-day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean.", "The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the 2nd century BC.", "After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times.", "Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire.", "For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region.", "Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products.", "Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Algeria), located in the Roman province of Africa.", "The Germanic Vandals of Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia.", "They did not make any significant settlement on the land, as they were harassed by local tribes.", "In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived Lepcis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous Laguatan who had been busy facilitating an Amazigh political, military and cultural revival.", "===Middle Ages===\n\nMansourah mosque, Tlemcen\n\nAfter negligible resistance from the locals, Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the mid-7th century and a large number of the indigenous people converted to the newly founded faith of Islam.", "After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the Aghlabids, Almohads, Abdalwadid, Zirids, Rustamids, Hammadids, Almoravids and the Fatimids.", "During the Middle Ages, North Africa was home to many great scholars, saints and sovereigns including Judah Ibn Quraysh the first grammarian to suggest the Afroasiatic language family, the great Sufi masters Sidi Boumediene (Abu Madyan) and Sidi El Houari, as well as the Emirs Abd Al Mu'min and Yāghmūrasen.", "It was during this time period that the Fatimids or children of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, came to the Maghreb.", "These \"Fatimids\" went on to found a long lasting dynasty stretching across the Maghreb, Hejaz and the Levant, boasting a secular inner government, as well as a powerful army and navy, primarily made of Arabs and levantians extending from Algeria to their capital state of Cairo.", "The Fatimid caliphate began to collapse when its governors the Zirids seceded.", "In order to punish them the Fatimids sent the Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym against them.", "The resultant war is recounted in the epic Tāghribāt.", "In Al-Tāghrībāt the Amazigh Zirid Hero Khālīfā Al-Zānatī asks daily, for duels, to defeat the Hilalan hero Ābu Zayd al-Hilalī and many other Arab knights in a string of victories.", "The Zirids, however, were ultimately defeated ushering in an adoption of Arab customs and culture.", "The indigenous Amazigh tribes, however, remained largely independent, and depending on tribe, location and time controlled varying parts of the Maghreb, at times unifying it (as under the Fatimids).", "The Fatimid Islamic state, also known as Fatimid Caliphate made an Islamic empire that included North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Tihamah, Hejaz and Yemen.", "Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during the Islamic Era.", "Fatimid Caliphate, c. 960–1100\n\nThe Amazighs historically consisted of several tribes.", "The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes.", "Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja, Houara, Zenata, Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba, and Berghwata).", "All these tribes made independent territorial decisions.", "Several Amazigh dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands.", "Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the Zirid, Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid, Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid, Abdalwadid, Wattasid, Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties.", "In the early 16th century, Spain constructed fortified outposts (presidios) on or near the Algerian coast.", "Spain took control of few coastal towns like Mers el Kebir in 1505; Oran in 1509; and Tlemcen, Mostaganem and Ténès in 1510.", "In the same year, a few merchants of Algiers ceded one of the rocky islets in their harbour to Spain, which built a fort on it.", "The presidios in North Africa turned out to be a costly and largely ineffective military endeavour that did not guarantee access for Spain's merchant fleet.", "The Almohad Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 1212\n\nThere reigned in Ifriqiya, current Tunisia, a Berber family, Zirid, somehow recognising the suzerainty of the Fatimid caliph of Cairo.", "Probably in 1048, the Zirid ruler or viceroy, el-Mu'izz, decided to end this suzerainty.", "The Fatimid state was too weak to attempt a punitive expedition; The Viceroy, el-Mu'izz, also found another means of revenge.", "Between the Nile and the Red Sea were living Bedouin tribes expelled from Arabia for their disruption and turbulent influence, both Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym among others, whose presence disrupted farmers in the Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot.", "The then Fatimid vizier devised to relinquish control of the Maghreb and obtained the agreement of his sovereign.", "This not only prompted the Bedouins to leave, but the Fatimid treasury even gave them a light expatriation cash allowance.", "Whole tribes set off with women, children, ancestors, animals and camping equipment.", "Some stopped on the way, especially in Cyrenaica, where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in Ifriqiya by the Gabes region.", "The Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but each meeting, the last under the walls of Kairouan, his troops were defeated and Arabs remained masters of the field.", "The flood was still rising, and in 1057 the Arabs spread on the high plains of Constantine where they gradually choked Qalaa of Banu Hammad, as they had done Kairouan few decades ago.", "From there they gradually gained the upper Algiers and Oran plains.", "Some were forcibly taken by the Almohads in the second half of the 12th century.", "We can say that in the 13th century there were in all of North Africa, with the exception of the main mountain ranges and certain coastal regions remained entirely Berber.", "===Privateers era===\n\nThe Zayyanid kingdom of Tlemcen in the fifteenth century and its neighbors\nHayreddin Barbarossa\n\nThe region of Algeria was partially ruled by Ottomans for three centuries from 1516 to 1830.", "In 1516 the Turkish privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa, who operated successfully under the Hafsids, moved their base of operations to Algiers.", "They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the Spaniards but eventually assumed control over the city and the surrounding region, forcing the previous ruler, Abu Hamo Musa III of the ''Bani Ziyad'' dynasty, to flee.", "When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen, Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers.", "The Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000 janissaries.", "With the aid of this force, Hayreddin conquered the whole area between Constantine and Oran (although the city of Oran remained in Spanish hands until 1791).", "The next beylerbey was Hayreddin's son Hasan, who assumed the position in 1544.", "Until 1587 the area was governed by officers who served terms with no fixed limits.", "Subsequently, with the institution of a regular Ottoman administration, governors with the title of pasha ruled for three-year terms.", "The pasha was assisted by janissaries, known in Algeria as the ojaq and led by an agha.", "Discontent among the ojaq rose in the mid-1600s because they were not paid regularly, and they repeatedly revolted against the pasha.", "As a result, the agha charged the pasha with corruption and incompetence and seized power in 1659.", "Plague had repeatedly struck the cities of North Africa.", "Algiers lost from 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants to the plague in 1620–21, and suffered high fatalities in 1654–57, 1665, 1691 and 1740–42.", "In 1671, the taifa rebelled, killed the agha, and placed one of its own in power.", "The new leader received the title of dey.", "After 1689, the right to select the dey passed to the divan, a council of some sixty nobles.", "It was at first dominated by the ''ojaq''; but by the 18th century, it had become the dey's instrument.", "In 1710, the dey persuaded the sultan to recognise him and his successors as regent, replacing the pasha in that role, although Algiers remained a part of the Ottoman Empire.", "The dey was in effect a constitutional autocrat.", "The dey was elected for a life term, but in the 159 years (1671–1830) that the system survived, fourteen of the twenty-nine deys were assassinated.", "Despite usurpation, military coups and occasional mob rule, the day-to-day operation of Ottoman government was remarkably orderly.", "Although the regency patronised the tribal chieftains, it never had the unanimous allegiance of the countryside, where heavy taxation frequently provoked unrest.", "Autonomous tribal states were tolerated, and the regency's authority was seldom applied in the Kabylie.", "Christian slaves in Algiers, 1706\n\nThe Barbary pirates preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea.", "The pirates often took the passengers and crew on the ships and sold them or used them as slaves.", "They also did a brisk business in ransoming some of the captives.", "According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves.", "They often made raids, called Razzias, on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire.", "In 1544, Hayreddin captured the island of Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari, almost the entire population.", "In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending the captives to Libya.", "In 1554, pirates sacked Vieste in southern Italy and took an estimated 7,000 captives as slaves.", "In 1558, Barbary corsairs captured the town of Ciutadella (Minorca), destroyed it, slaughtered the inhabitants and took 3,000 survivors as slaves to Istanbul.", "Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands, and in response, the residents built many coastal watchtowers and fortified churches.", "The threat was so severe that residents abandoned the island of Formentera.", "Between 1609 and 1616, England lost 466 merchant ships to Barbary pirates.", "Bombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, to support the ultimatum to release European slaves, August 1816\n\nIn July 1627 two pirate ships from Algiers sailed as far as Iceland, raiding and capturing slaves.", "Two weeks earlier another pirate ship from Salé in Morocco had also raided in Iceland.", "Some of the slaves brought to Algiers were later ransomed back to Iceland, but some chose to stay in Algeria.", "In 1629 pirate ships from Algeria raided the Faroe Islands.", "In the 19th century, the pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a \"licence tax\" in exchange for safe harbour of their vessels.", "One American slave reported that the Algerians had enslaved 130 American seamen in the Mediterranean and Atlantic from 1785 to 1793.", "Piracy on American vessels in the Mediterranean resulted in the United States initiating the First (1801–1805) and Second Barbary Wars (1815).", "Following those wars, Algeria was weaker and Europeans, with an Anglo-Dutch fleet commanded by the British Lord Exmouth, attacked Algiers.", "After a nine-hour bombardment, they obtained a treaty from the Dey that reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Captain (later Commodore) Stephen Decatur (U.S. Navy) concerning the demands of tributes.", "In addition, the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians.", "===French colonization (1830–1962)===\n\nBattle of Somah in 1836\n\nUnder the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830.", "Algerine slave trade and piracy ceased when the French conquered Algiers.", "The conquest of Algeria by the French took some time and resulted in considerable bloodshed.", "A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872.", "Historian Ben Kiernan wrote on the French conquest of Algeria: \"By 1875, the French conquest was complete.", "The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830.\"", "The population of Algeria, which stood at about 1.5 million in 1830, reached nearly 11 million in 1960.", "French policy was predicated on \"civilising\" the country.", "During this period, a small but influential French-speaking indigenous elite was formed, made up of Berbers, mostly Kabyles.", "As a consequence, French government favored the Kabyles.", "About 80% of Indigenous schools were constructed for Kabyles.", "Emir Abdelkader, Algerian leader insurgent against French colonial rule, 1865\n\nFrom 1848 until independence, France administered the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria as an integral part and ''département'' of the nation.", "One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, who became known as ''colons'' and later, as ''Pied-Noirs.''", "Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria.", "These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land from tribal peoples, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land.", "Many Europeans settled in Oran and Algiers, and by the early 20th century they formed a majority of the population in both cities.", "The six historical Leaders of the FLN: Rabah Bitat, Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, Didouche Mourad, Mohammed Boudiaf, Krim Belkacem and Larbi Ben M'Hidi.", "During the late 19th and early 20th century; the European share was almost a fifth of the population.", "The French government aimed at making Algeria an assimilated part of France, and this included substantial educational investments especially after 1900.", "The indigenous cultural and religious resistance heavily opposed this tendency, but in contrast to the other colonised countries' path in central Asia and Caucasus, Algeria kept its individual skills and a relatively human-capital intensive agriculture.", "Gradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population, which lacked political and economic status in the colonial system, gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from France.", "In May 1945, the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif and Guelma massacre.", "Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what was later called the Algerian War began.", "Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) or by lynch mobs in Algeria.", "The FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war, and the French conducted severe reprisals.", "The war led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Algerians and hundreds of thousands of injuries.", "Historians, like Alistair Horne and Raymond Aron, state that the actual number of Algerian Muslim war dead was far greater than the original FLN and official French estimates but was less than the 1 million deaths claimed by the Algerian government after independence.", "Horne estimated Algerian casualties during the span of eight years to be around 700,000.", "The war uprooted more than 2 million Algerians.", "The war against French rule concluded in 1962, when Algeria gained complete independence following the March 1962 Evian agreements and the July 1962 self-determination referendum.", "===The first three decades of independence (1962–1991)===\n\nThe number of European ''Pied-Noirs'' who fled Algeria totaled more than 900,000 between 1962 and 1964.", "The exodus to mainland France accelerated after the Oran massacre of 1962, in which hundreds of militants entered European sections of the city, and began attacking civilians.", "Houari Boumediene\n\nAlgeria's first president was the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) leader Ahmed Ben Bella.", "Morocco's claim to portions of western Algeria led to the Sand War in 1963.", "Ben Bella was overthrown in 1965 by Houari Boumediene, his former ally and defence minister.", "Under Ben Bella, the government had become increasingly socialist and authoritarian; Boumédienne continued this trend.", "But, he relied much more on the army for his support, and reduced the sole legal party to a symbolic role.", "He collectivised agriculture and launched a massive industrialization drive.", "Oil extraction facilities were nationalised.", "This was especially beneficial to the leadership after the international 1973 oil crisis.", "In the 1960s and 1970s under President Houari Boumediene, Algeria pursued a program of industrialization within a state-controlled socialist economy.", "Boumediene's successor, Chadli Bendjedid, introduced some liberal economic reforms.", "He promoted a policy of Arabisation in Algerian society and public life.", "Teachers of Arabic, brought in from other Muslim countries, spread conventional Islamic thought in schools and sowed the seeds of a return to Orthodox Islam.", "The Algerian economy became increasingly dependent on oil, leading to hardship when the price collapsed during the 1980s oil glut.", "Economic recession caused by the crash in world oil prices resulted in Algerian social unrest during the 1980s; by the end of the decade, Bendjedid introduced a multi-party system.", "Political parties developed, such as the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a broad coalition of Muslim groups.", "===Civil War (1991–2002) and aftermath===\n\nMassacres of over 50 people in 1997–1998.", "The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed responsibility for many of them.", "In December 1991 the Islamic Salvation Front dominated the first of two rounds of legislative elections.", "Fearing the election of an Islamist government, the authorities intervened on 11 January 1992, cancelling the elections.", "Bendjedid resigned and a High Council of State was installed to act as Presidency.", "It banned the FIS, triggering a civil insurgency between the Front's armed wing, the Armed Islamic Group, and the national armed forces, in which more than 100,000 people are thought to have died.", "The Islamist militants conducted a violent campaign of civilian massacres.", "At several points in the conflict, the situation in Algeria became a point of international concern, most notably during the crisis surrounding Air France Flight 8969, a hijacking perpetrated by the Armed Islamic Group.", "The Armed Islamic Group declared a ceasefire in October 1997.", "Algeria held elections in 1999, considered biased by international observers and most opposition groups which were won by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.", "He worked to restore political stability to the country and announced a 'Civil Concord' initiative, approved in a referendum, under which many political prisoners were pardoned, and several thousand members of armed groups were granted exemption from prosecution under a limited amnesty, in force until 13 January 2000.", "The AIS disbanded and levels of insurgent violence fell rapidly.", "The Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC), a splinter group of the Group Islamic Armée, continued a terrorist campaign against the Government.", "Bouteflika was re-elected in the April 2004 presidential election after campaigning on a programme of national reconciliation.", "The programme comprised economic, institutional, political and social reform to modernise the country, raise living standards, and tackle the causes of alienation.", "It also included a second amnesty initiative, the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which was approved in a referendum in September 2005.", "It offered amnesty to most guerrillas and Government security forces.", "In November 2008, the Algerian Constitution was amended following a vote in Parliament, removing the two-term limit on Presidential incumbents.", "This change enabled Bouteflika to stand for re-election in the 2009 presidential elections, and he was re-elected in April 2009.", "During his election campaign and following his re-election, Bouteflika promised to extend the programme of national reconciliation and a $150-billion spending programme to create three million new jobs, the construction of one million new housing units, and to continue public sector and infrastructure modernisation programmes.", "A continuing series of protests throughout the country started on 28 December 2010, inspired by similar protests across the Middle East and North Africa.", "On 24 February 2011, the government lifted Algeria's 19-year-old state of emergency.", "The government enacted legislation dealing with political parties, the electoral code, and the representation of women in elected bodies.", "In April 2011, Bouteflika promised further constitutional and political reform.", "However, elections are routinely criticized by opposition groups as unfair and international human rights groups say that media censorship and harassment of political opponents continue.", "\n\nFile:Kabylie-neige.jpg|The Djurdjura Range in snow\nFile:Tadrart Rouge.jpg|The Tadrart Rouge near Djanet.", "File:Ouarsenis 2012, Wilaya de Tissemsilt (Algérie).jpg|Ouarsenis, range of mountains in North-Western (1985m)\nFile:Les Aiguades.jpg|Maritime front of Bejaïa\nFile:Djanet, Tassili.jpg|The Tassili n'Ajjer.", "File:Seraidi-Annaba.jpg|Edough National Park, Annaba\nFile:Lagh-Algeria-SM.jpg|Bakhdache valley laghouat.", "Algeria is the largest country in Africa, the Arab world, and the Mediterranean Basin.", "Its southern part includes a significant portion of the Sahara.", "To the north, the Tell Atlas form with the Saharan Atlas, further south, two parallel sets of reliefs in approaching eastbound, and between which are inserted vast plains and highlands.", "Both Atlas tend to merge in eastern Algeria.", "The vast mountain ranges of Aures and Nememcha occupy the entire northeastern Algeria and are delineated by the Tunisian border.", "The highest point is Mount Tahat ( m).", "The Sahara, the Ahaggar and the Atlas mountains compose the Algerian relief.", "Algeria lies mostly between latitudes 19° and 37°N (a small area is north of 37°), and longitudes 9°W and 12°E.", "Most of the coastal area is hilly, sometimes even mountainous, and there are a few natural harbours.", "The area from the coast to the Tell Atlas is fertile.", "South of the Tell Atlas is a steppe landscape ending with the Saharan Atlas; farther south, there is the Sahara desert.", "The Ahaggar Mountains (), also known as the Hoggar, are a highland region in central Sahara, southern Algeria.", "They are located about south of the capital, Algiers, and just west of Tamanghasset.", "Algiers, Oran, Constantine, and Annaba are Algeria's main cities.", "===Climate and hydrology===\n\nAlgeria map of Köppen climate classification.", "Saharan oasis town of Taghit\nLake Agoulmime, Tikjda.", "In this region, midday desert temperatures can be hot year round.", "After sunset, however, the clear, dry air permits rapid loss of heat, and the nights are cool to chilly.", "Enormous daily ranges in temperature are recorded.", "Rainfall is fairly plentiful along the coastal part of the Tell Atlas, ranging from annually, the amount of precipitation increasing from west to east.", "Precipitation is heaviest in the northern part of eastern Algeria, where it reaches as much as in some years.", "Farther inland, the rainfall is less plentiful.", "Algeria also has ergs, or sand dunes, between mountains.", "Among these, in the summer time when winds are heavy and gusty, temperatures can get up to .", "===Fauna and flora===\n\nCedrus of Chélia in the Aures\n\nThe varied vegetation of Algeria includes coastal, mountainous and grassy desert-like regions which all support a wide range of wildlife.", "Many of the creatures comprising the Algerian wildlife live in close proximity to civilization.", "The most commonly seen animals include the wild boars, jackals, and gazelles, although it is not uncommon to spot fennecs (foxes), and jerboas.", "Algeria also has a small African leopard and Saharan cheetah population, but these are seldom seen.", "A species of deer, the Barbary stag, inhabits the dense humid forests in the north-eastern areas.", "A variety of bird species makes the country an attraction for bird watchers.", "The forests are inhabited by boars and jackals.", "Barbary macaques are the sole native monkey.", "Snakes, monitor lizards, and numerous other reptiles can be found living among an array of rodents throughout the semi arid regions of Algeria.", "Many animals are now extinct, including the Barbary lions, Atlas bears and crocodiles.", "In the north, some of the native flora includes Macchia scrub, olive trees, oaks, cedars and other conifers.", "The mountain regions contain large forests of evergreens (Aleppo pine, juniper, and evergreen oak) and some deciduous trees.", "Fig, eucalyptus, agave, and various palm trees grow in the warmer areas.", "The grape vine is indigenous to the coast.", "In the Sahara region, some oases have palm trees.", "Acacias with wild olives are the predominant flora in the remainder of the Sahara.", "Camels are used extensively; the desert also abounds with venomous and nonvenomous snakes, scorpions, and numerous insects.", "\nThe People's National Assembly\nAlgerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika\n\nElected politicians are considered to have relatively little sway over Algeria.", "Instead, a group of unelected civilian and military \"décideurs\", known as \"le pouvoir\" (\"the power\"), actually rule the country, even deciding who should be president.", "The most powerful man may be Mohamed Mediène, head of the military intelligence.", "In recent years, many of these generals have died or retired.", "After the death of General Larbi Belkheir, Bouteflika put loyalists in key posts, notably at Sonatrach, and secured constitutional amendments that make him re-electable indefinitely.", "The head of state is the president of Algeria, who is elected for a five-year term.", "The president was formerly limited to two five-year terms, but a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on 11 November 2008 removed this limitation.", "Algeria has universal suffrage at 18 years of age.", "The President is the head of the army, the Council of Ministers and the High Security Council.", "He appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government.", "The Algerian parliament is bicameral; the lower house, the People's National Assembly, has 462 members who are directly elected for five-year terms, while the upper house, the Council of the Nation, has 144 members serving six-year terms, of which 96 members are chosen by local assemblies and 48 are appointed by the president.", "According to the constitution, no political association may be formed if it is \"based on differences in religion, language, race, gender, profession, or region\".", "In addition, political campaigns must be exempt from the aforementioned subjects.", "Parliamentary elections were last held in May 2012, and were judged to be largely free by international monitors, though local groups alleged fraud and irregularities.", "In the elections, the FLN won 221 seats, the military-backed National Rally for Democracy won 70, and the Islamist Green Algeria Alliance won 47.", "===Foreign relations===\n\nPresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika and George W. Bush exchange handshakes at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Tōyako Town, Abuta District, Hokkaidō in 2008.", "With them are Dmitriy Medvedev, left, and Yasuo Fukuda, right.", "Algeria is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.", "Giving incentives and rewarding best performers, as well as offering funds in a faster and more flexible manner, are the two main principles underlying the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) that came into force in 2014.", "It has a budget of €15.4 billion and provides the bulk of funding through a number of programmes.", "In 2009, the French government agreed to compensate victims of nuclear tests in Algeria.", "Defense Minister Herve Morin stated that “It’s time for our country to be at peace with itself, at peace thanks to a system of compensation and reparations,” when presenting the draft law on the payouts.", "Algerian officials and activists believe that this is a good first step and hope that this move would encourage broader reparation.", "Tensions between Algeria and Morocco in relation to the Western Sahara have been an obstacle to tightening the Arab Maghreb Union, nominally established in 1989, but which has carried little practical weight.", "===Military===\n\nThe military of Algeria consists of the People's National Army (ANP), the Algerian National Navy (MRA), and the Algerian Air Force (QJJ), plus the Territorial Air Defence Forces.", "It is the direct successor of the National Liberation Army (Armée de Libération Nationale or ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front which fought French colonial occupation during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62).", "Total military personnel include 147,000 active, 150,000 reserve, and 187,000 paramilitary staff (2008 estimate).", "Service in the military is compulsory for men aged 19–30, for a total of 12 months.", "The military expenditure was 4.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012.", "Algeria has the second largest military in North Africa with the largest defence budget in Africa ($10 billion).", "In 2007, the Algerian Air Force signed a deal with Russia to purchase 49 MiG-29SMT and 6 MiG-29UBT at an estimated cost of $1.9 billion.", "Russia is also building two 636-type diesel submarines for Algeria.", "===Human rights===\n\nAlgeria has been categorized by Freedom House as “not free” since it began publishing such ratings in 1972, with the exception of 1989, 1990, and 1991, when the country was labeled “partly free.” In December 2016, the ''Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor'' issued a report regarding violation of media freedom in Algeria.", "It clarified that the Algerian government imposed restriction on freedom of the press; expression; and right to peaceful demonstration, protest and assembly as well as intensified censorship of the media and websites.", "Due to the fact that the journalists and activists criticize the ruling government, some media organizations' licenses are canceled.", "Homosexuality is illegal in Algeria.", "Public homosexual behavior is punishable by up to two years in prison.", "\nAlgeria is divided into 48 provinces (''wilayas''), 553 districts (''daïras'') and 1,541 municipalities (''baladiyahs'').", "Each province, district, and municipality is named after its seat, which is usually the largest city.", "The administrative divisions have changed several times since independence.", "When introducing new provinces, the numbers of old provinces are kept, hence the non-alphabetical order.", "With their official numbers, currently (since 1983) they are", "\nGraphical depiction of the country's exports in 28 colour-coded categories.", "Algeria's currency is the dinar (DZD).", "The economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model.", "In recent years, the Algerian government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy.", "Algeria has struggled to develop industries outside hydrocarbons in part because of high costs and an inert state bureaucracy.", "The government's efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector have done little to reduce high youth unemployment rates or to address housing shortages.", "The country is facing a number of short-term and medium-term problems, including the need to diversify the economy, strengthen political, economic and financial reforms, improve the business climate and reduce inequalities amongst regions.", "A wave of economic protests in February and March 2011 prompted the Algerian government to offer more than $23 billion in public grants and retroactive salary and benefit increases.", "Public spending has increased by 27% annually during the past 5 years.", "The 2010–14 public-investment programme will cost US$286 billion, 40% of which will go to human development.", "The port city of Oran\n\nThe Algerian economy grew by 2.6% in 2011, driven by public spending, in particular in the construction and public-works sector, and by growing internal demand.", "If hydrocarbons are excluded, growth has been estimated at 4.8%.", "Growth of 3% is expected in 2012, rising to 4.2% in 2013.", "The rate of inflation was 4% and the budget deficit 3% of GDP.", "The current-account surplus is estimated at 9.3% of GDP and at the end of December 2011, official reserves were put at US$182 billion.", "Inflation, the lowest in the region, has remained stable at 4% on average between 2003 and 2007.", "Algeria, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010\n\nIn 2011 Algeria announced a budgetary surplus of $26.9 billion, 62% increase in comparison to 2010 surplus.", "In general, the country exported $73 billion worth of commodities while it imported $46 billion.", "Thanks to strong hydrocarbon revenues, Algeria has a cushion of $173 billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbon stabilization fund.", "In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 2% of GDP.", "The economy remains very dependent on hydrocarbon wealth, and, despite high foreign exchange reserves (US$178 billion, equivalent to three years of imports), current expenditure growth makes Algeria's budget more vulnerable to the risk of prolonged lower hydrocarbon revenues.", "In 2011, the agricultural sector and services recorded growth of 10% and 5.3%, respectively.", "About 14% of the labor force are employed in the agricultural sector.", "Fiscal policy in 2011 remained expansionist and made it possible to maintain the pace of public investment and to contain the strong demand for jobs and housing.", "Algeria has not joined the WTO, despite several years of negotiations.", "In March 2006, Russia agreed to erase $4.74 billion of Algeria's Soviet-era debt during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the country, the first by a Russian leader in half a century.", "In return, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika agreed to buy $7.5 billion worth of combat planes, air-defence systems and other arms from Russia, according to the head of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.", "Dubai-based conglomerate Emarat Dzayer Group said it had signed a joint venture agreement to develop a $1.6 billion steel factory in Algeria.", "===Hydrocarbons===\n\nPipelines across Algeria\n\nAlgeria, whose economy is reliant on petroleum, has been an OPEC member since 1969.", "Its crude oil production stands at around 1.1 million barrels/day, but it is also a major gas producer and exporter, with important links to Europe.", "Hydrocarbons have long been the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings.", "Algeria has the 10th-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the sixth-largest gas exporter.", "The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that in 2005, Algeria had of proven natural-gas reserves.", "It also ranks 16th in oil reserves.", "Non-hydrocarbon growth for 2011 was projected at 5%.", "To cope with social demands, the authorities raised expenditure, especially on basic food support, employment creation, support for SMEs, and higher salaries.", "High hydrocarbon prices have improved the current account and the already large international reserves position.", "Income from oil and gas rose in 2011 as a result of continuing high oil prices, though the trend in production volume is downwards.", "Production from the oil and gas sector in terms of volume, continues to decline, dropping from 43.2 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes between 2007 and 2011.", "Nevertheless, the sector accounted for 98% of the total volume of exports in 2011, against 48% in 1962, and 70% of budgetary receipts, or USD 71.4 billion.", "The Algerian national oil company is Sonatrach, which plays a key role in all aspects of the oil and natural gas sectors in Algeria.", "All foreign operators must work in partnership with Sonatrach, which usually has majority ownership in production-sharing agreements.", "===Research and alternative energy sources===\nAlgeria has invested an estimated 100 billion dinars towards developing research facilities and paying researchers.", "This development program is meant to advance alternative energy production, especially solar and wind power.", "Algeria is estimated to have the largest solar energy potential in the Mediterranean, so the government has funded the creation of a solar science park in Hassi R’Mel.", "Currently, Algeria has 20,000 research professors at various universities and over 780 research labs, with state-set goals to expand to 1,000.", "Besides solar energy, areas of research in Algeria include space and satellite telecommunications, nuclear power and medical research.", "===Labour market===\nDespite a decline in total unemployment, youth and women unemployment is high.", "Unemployment particularly affects the young, with a jobless rate of 21.5% among the 15–24 age group.", "The overall rate of unemployment was 10% in 2011, but remained higher among young people, with a rate of 21.5% for those aged between 15 and 24.", "The government strengthened in 2011 the job programmes introduced in 1988, in particular in the framework of the programme to aid those seeking work (Dispositif d'Aide à l'Insertion Professionnelle).", "===Tourism===\n\nDjanet\n\nThe development of the tourism sector in Algeria had previously been hampered by a lack of facilities, but since 2004 a broad tourism development strategy has been implemented resulting in many hotels of a high modern standard being built.", "There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Algeria including Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the first capital of the Hammadid empire; Tipasa, a Phoenician and later Roman town; and Djémila and Timgad, both Roman ruins; M'Zab Valley, a limestone valley containing a large urbanized oasis; also the Casbah of Algiers is an important citadel.", "The only natural World Heritage Sites is the Tassili n'Ajjer, a mountain range.", "===Transport===\n\nThe main highway connecting the Moroccan to the Tunisian border was a part of the Cairo–Dakar Highway project\n\nThe Algerian road network is the densest in Africa; its length is estimated at 180,000 km of highways, with more than 3,756 structures and a paving rate of 85%.", "This network will be complemented by the East-West Highway, a major infrastructure project currently under construction.", "It is a 3-way, highway, linking Annaba in the extreme east to the Tlemcen in the far west.", "Algeria is also crossed by the Trans-Sahara Highway, which is now completely paved.", "This road is supported by the Algerian government to increase trade between the six countries crossed: Algeria, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Tunisia.", "\n\nIn January 2016 Algeria's population was an estimated 40.4 million, who are mainly Arab-Berber ethnically.", "At the outset of the 20th century, its population was approximately four million.", "About 90% of Algerians live in the northern, coastal area; the inhabitants of the Sahara desert are mainly concentrated in oases, although some 1.5 million remain nomadic or partly nomadic.", "28.1% of Algerians are under the age of 15.", "Women make up 70% of the country's lawyers and 60% of its judges and also dominate the field of medicine.", "Increasingly, women are contributing more to household income than men.", "60% of university students are women, according to university researchers.", "Between 90,000 and 165,000 Sahrawis from Western Sahara live in the Sahrawi refugee camps, in the western Algerian Sahara desert.", "There are also more than 4,000 Palestinian refugees, who are well integrated and have not asked for assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).", "In 2009, 35,000 Chinese migrant workers lived in Algeria.", "The largest concentration of Algerian migrants outside Algeria is in France, which has reportedly over 1.7 million Algerians of up to the second generation.", "===Ethnic groups===\n\nIndigenous Berbers as well as Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, various Sub-Saharan Africans, and French have contributed to the history of Algeria.", "Descendants of Andalusian refugees are also present in the population of Algiers and other cities.", "Moreover, Spanish was spoken by these Aragonese and Castillian Morisco descendants deep into the 18th century, and even Catalan was spoken at the same time by Catalan Morisco descendants in the small town of Grish El-Oued.", "Some of Algeria's traditional clothes\n\nThere are 600,000 to 2 million former Algerian Turks, descendants of Turkish rulers, soldiers, doctors and others who ruled the region during the Ottoman rule in North Africa.", "Today's Turkish descendants are often called ''Kouloughlis'', meaning descendants of Turkish men and native Algerian women.", "Despite the dominance of the Berber culture and ethnicity in Algeria, the majority of Algerians identify with an Arabic-based identity, especially after the Arab nationalism rising in the 20th century.", "Berbers and Berber-speaking Algerians are divided into many groups with varying languages.", "The largest of these are the Kabyles, who live in the Kabylie region east of Algiers, the Chaoui of Northeast Algeria, the Tuaregs in the southern desert and the Shenwa people of North Algeria.", "During the colonial period, there was a large (10% in 1960) European population who became known as ''Pied-Noirs''.", "They were primarily of French, Spanish and Italian origin.", "Almost all of this population left during the war of independence or immediately after its end.", "===Languages===\n\n\nSigns in the University of Tizi Ouzou in three languages: Arabic, Berber, and French\n\nBerber and Modern Standard Arabic are the official languages.", "Algerian Arabic (Darja) is the language used by the majority of the population.", "Colloquial Algerian Arabic is heavily infused with borrowings from French and Berber.", "Berber has been recognized as a \"national language\" by the constitutional amendment of 8 May 2002.", "Kabyle, the predominant Berber language, is taught and is partially co-official (with a few restrictions) in parts of Kabylie.", "In February 2016, the Algerian constitution passed a resolution that would make Berber an official language alongside Arabic.", "Although French has no official status, Algeria is the second-largest Francophone country in the world in terms of speakers, and French is widely used in government, media (newspapers, radio, local television), and both the education system (from primary school onwards) and academia due to Algeria's colonial history.", "It can be regarded as the ''de facto'' co-official language of Algeria.", "In 2008, 11.2 million Algerians could read and write in French.", "An Abassa Institute study in April 2000 found that 60% of households could speak and understand French or 18 million in a population of 30 million then.", "After an earlier period during which the Algerian government tried to phase out French (which is why it has no official status), in recent decades the government has backtracked and reinforced the study of French and TV programs have reinforced use of the language.", "Algeria emerged as a bilingual state after 1962.", "Colloquial Algerian Arabic is spoken by about 72% of the population and Berber by 27–30%.", "===Religion===\n\n\n\n\n\nIslam is the predominant religion in Algeria, with its adherents accounting for 99% of the population.", "There are about 150,000 Ibadis in the M'zab Valley in the region of Ghardaia.", "Estimates of the number of Christians in Algeria vary.", "A Pew Research Center study in 2010 estimated there were 60,000 Christians in Algeria.", "In a 1993 study the Federal Research Division estimated there were 45,000 Catholics and 50,000–100,000 Protestants in Algeria.", "A 2015 study estimated there were 380,000 Muslim converted to Christianity in Algeria.", "Following the Revolution and Algerian independence, all but 6,500 of the country's 140,000 Jews left the country, of whom about 90% moved to France with the Pied-Noirs and 10% left for Israel.", "Algeria has given the Muslim world a number of prominent thinkers, including Emir Abdelkader, Abdelhamid Ben Badis, Mouloud Kacem Naît Belkacem, Malek Bennabi and Mohamed Arkoun.", "===Cities===\n\nBelow is a list of the most important Algerian cities:", "\nAlgerian musicians in Tlemcen.", "Painting by Bachir Yellès\n\nModern Algerian literature, split between Arabic, Tamazight and French, has been strongly influenced by the country's recent history.", "Famous novelists of the 20th century include Mohammed Dib, Albert Camus, Kateb Yacine and Ahlam Mosteghanemi while Assia Djebar is widely translated.", "Among the important novelists of the 1980s were Rachid Mimouni, later vice-president of Amnesty International, and Tahar Djaout, murdered by an Islamist group in 1993 for his secularist views.", "Malek Bennabi and Frantz Fanon are noted for their thoughts on decolonization; Augustine of Hippo was born in Tagaste (modern-day Souk Ahras); and Ibn Khaldun, though born in Tunis, wrote the Muqaddima while staying in Algeria.", "The works of the Sanusi family in pre-colonial times, and of Emir Abdelkader and Sheikh Ben Badis in colonial times, are widely noted.", "The Latin author Apuleius was born in Madaurus (Mdaourouch), in what later became Algeria.", "Contemporary Algerian cinema is various in terms of genre, exploring a wider range of themes and issues.", "There has been a transition from cinema which focused on the war of independence to films more concerned with the everyday lives of Algerians.", "===Media===\n\n\n===Art===\nMohammed Racim was a Painter and founder of the Algerian school of miniature painting\n\nAlgerian painters, like Mohamed Racim or Baya, attempted to revive the prestigious Algerian past prior to French colonization, at the same time that they have contributed to the preservation of the authentic values of Algeria.", "In this line, Mohamed Temam, Abdelkhader Houamel have also returned through this art, scenes from the history of the country, the habits and customs of the past and the country life.", "Other new artistic currents including the one of M'hamed Issiakhem, Mohammed Khadda and Bachir Yelles, appeared on the scene of Algerian painting, abandoning figurative classical painting to find new pictorial ways, in order to adapt Algerian paintings to the new realities of the country through its struggle and its aspirations.", "Mohammed Khadda and M'hamed Issiakhem have been notable in recent years.", "===Literature===\n\nAhlam Mosteghanemi, the most widely read woman writer in the Arab world.", "The historic roots of Algerian literature go back to the Numidian era, when Apuleius wrote ''The Golden Ass'', the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety.", "This period had also known Augustine of Hippo, Nonius Marcellus and Martianus Capella, among many others.", "The Middle Ages have known many Arabic writers who revolutionized the Arab world literature, with authors like Ahmad al-Buni, Ibn Manzur and Ibn Khaldoun, who wrote the Muqaddimah while staying in Algeria, and many others.", "Albert Camus was an Algerian-born French Pied-Noir author.", "In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.", "Today Algeria contains, in its literary landscape, big names having not only marked the Algerian literature, but also the universal literary heritage in Arabic and French.", "As a first step, Algerian literature was marked by works whose main concern was the assertion of the Algerian national entity, there is the publication of novels as the ''Algerian trilogy'' of Mohammed Dib, or even ''Nedjma'' of Kateb Yacine novel which is often regarded as a monumental and major work.", "Other known writers will contribute to the emergence of Algerian literature whom include Mouloud Feraoun, Malek Bennabi, Malek Haddad, Moufdi Zakaria, Abdelhamid Ben Badis, Mohamed Laïd Al-Khalifa, Mouloud Mammeri, Frantz Fanon, and Assia Djebar.", "In the aftermath of the independence, several new authors emerged on the Algerian literary scene, they will attempt through their works to expose a number of social problems, among them there are Rachid Boudjedra, Rachid Mimouni, Leila Sebbar, Tahar Djaout and Tahir Wattar.", "Currently, a part of Algerian writers tends to be defined in a literature of shocking expression, due to the terrorism that occurred during the 1990s, the other party is defined in a different style of literature who staged an individualistic conception of the human adventure.", "Among the most noted recent works, there is the writer, ''the swallows of Kabul'' and ''the attack'' of Yasmina Khadra, ''the oath of barbarians'' of Boualem Sansal, ''memory of the flesh'' of Ahlam Mosteghanemi and the last novel by Assia Djebar ''nowhere in my father's House''.", "===Music===\n\nChaâbi music is a typically Algerian musical genre characterized by specific rhythms and of Qacidate (Popular poems) in Arabic dialect.", "The undisputed master of this music is El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka.", "The Constantinois Malouf style is saved by musician from whom Mohamed Tahar Fergani is a performer.", "El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka\nCheb Khaled King raï\n\nFolk music styles include Bedouin music, characterized by the poetic songs based on long kacida (poems); Kabyle music, based on a rich repertoire that is poetry and old tales passed through generations; Shawiya music, a folklore from diverse areas of the Aurès Mountains.", "Rahaba music style is unique to the Aures.", "Souad Massi is a rising Algerian folk singer.", "Other Algerian singers of the diaspora include Manel Filali in Germany and Kenza Farah in France.", "Tergui music is sung in Tuareg languages generally, Tinariwen had a worldwide success.", "Finally, the staïfi music is born in Sétif and remains a unique style of its kind.", "Modern music is available in several facets, Raï music is a style typical of Western Algeria.", "Rap, relatively recent style in Algeria, is experiencing significant growth.", "===Cinema===\n\nChronicle of the Years of Fire, the film won the Palme d'Or prize at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.", "The Algerian state's interest in film-industry activities can be seen in the annual budget of DZD 200 million (EUR 1.8) allocated to production, specific measures and an ambitious programme plan implemented by the Ministry of Culture in order to promote national production, renovate the cinema stock and remedy the weak links in distribution and exploitation.", "The financial support provided by the state, through the Fund for the Development of the Arts, Techniques and the Film Industry (FDATIC) and the Algerian Agency for Cultural Influence (AARC), plays a key role in the promotion of national production.", "Between 2007 and 2013, FDATIC subsidised 98 films (feature films, documentaries and short films).", "In mid-2013, AARC had already supported a total of 78 films, including 42 feature films, 6 short films and 30 documentaries.", "According to the European Audiovisual Observatory's LUMIERE database, 41 Algerian films were distributed in Europe between 1996 and 2013; 21 films in this repertoire were Algerian-French co-productions.", "''Days of Glory'' (2006) and ''Outside the Law'' (2010) recorded the highest number of admissions in the European Union, 3,172,612 and 474,722, respectively.", "Algeria won the Palme d'Or for ''Chronicle of the Years of Fire'' (1975), two Oscars for ''Z'' (1969), and other awards for ''The Battle of Algiers''.", "===Sports===\n\nVarious games have existed in Algeria since antiquity.", "In the Aures, people played several games such as El Kherdba or El khergueba (chess variant).", "Playing cards, checkers and chess games are part of Algerian culture.", "Racing (fantasia) and rifle shooting are part of cultural recreation of the Algerians.", "The first Algerian and African gold medalist is Boughera El Ouafi in 1928 Olympics of Amsterdam in the Marathon.", "The second Algerian Medalist was Alain Mimoun in 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.", "Several men and women were champions in athletics in the 1990s including Noureddine Morceli, Hassiba Boulmerka, Nouria Merah-Benida, and Taoufik Makhloufi, all specialized in middle-distance running.", "Football is the most popular sport in Algeria.", "Several names are engraved in the history of the sport, including Lakhdar Belloumi, Rachid Mekhloufi, Hassen Lalmas, Rabah Madjer, Salah Assad and Djamel Zidane.", "The Algeria national football team qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1986 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup.", "In addition, several football clubs have won continental and international trophies as the club ES Sétif or JS Kabylia.", "The Algerian Football Federation is an association of Algeria football clubs organizing national competitions and international matches of the selection of Algeria national football team.", "===Cuisine===\n\nA Couscous-based salad\n\nAlgerian cuisine is rich and diverse.", "The country was considered as the \"granary of Rome\".", "It offers a component of dishes and varied dishes, depending on the region and according to the seasons.", "The cuisine uses cereals as the main products, since they are always produced with abundance in the country.", "There is not a dish where cereals are not present.", "Algerian cuisine varies from one region to another, according to seasonal vegetables.", "It can be prepared using meat, fish and vegetables.", "Among the dishes known, couscous, chorba, Rechta, Chakhchoukha, Berkoukes, Shakshouka, Mthewem, Chtitha, Mderbel, Dolma, Brik or Bourek, Garantita, Lham'hlou, etc.", "Merguez sausage is widely used in Algeria, but it differs, depending on the region and on the added spices.", "Cakes are marketed and can be found in cities either in Algeria, in Europe or North America.", "However, traditional cakes are also made at home, following the habits and customs of each family.", "Among these cakes, there are Tamina, Chrik, Garn logzelles, Griouech, Kalb el-louz, Makroud, Mbardja, Mchewek, Samsa, Tcharak, Baghrir, Khfaf, Zlabia, Aarayech, Ghroubiya and Mghergchette.", "Algerian pastry also contains Tunisian or French cakes.", "Marketed and home-made bread products include varieties such as Kessra or Khmira or Harchaya, chopsticks and so-called washers Khoubz dar or Matloue.", "Other tradionel meals (Chakhchokha-Hassoua-T'chicha-Mahjouba and Doubara) are famous in Biskra.", "\nIn 2002, Algeria had inadequate numbers of physicians (1.13 per 1,000 people), nurses (2.23 per 1,000 people), and dentists (0.31 per 1,000 people).", "Access to \"improved water sources\" was limited to 92% of the population in urban areas and 80% of the population in the rural areas.", "Some 99% of Algerians living in urban areas, but only 82% of those living in rural areas, had access to \"improved sanitation\".", "Given Algeria's young population, policy favors preventive health care and clinics over hospitals.", "In keeping with this policy, the government maintains an immunization program.", "However, poor sanitation and unclean water still cause tuberculosis, hepatitis, measles, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery.", "The poor generally receive health care free of charge.", "Health records have been maintained in Algeria since 1882 and began adding Muslims living in the South to their Vital record database in 1905 during French rule.", "\nNouria Benghabrit-Remaoun, Minister of National education\nAlgerian school children\n\nSince the 1970s, in a centralized system that was designed to significantly reduce the rate of illiteracy, the Algerian government introduced a decree by which school attendance became compulsory for all children aged between 6 and 15 years who have the ability to track their learning through the 20 facilities built since independence, now the literacy rate is around 78.7%.", "UIS literacy rate Algeria population plus 15 1985–2015\nSince 1972, Arabic is used as the language of instruction during the first nine years of schooling.", "From the third year, French is taught and it is also the language of instruction for science classes.", "The students can also learn English, Italian, Spanish and German.", "In 2008, new programs at the elementary appeared, therefore the compulsory schooling does not start at the age of six anymore, but at the age of five.", "Apart from the 122 private, learning at school, the Universities of the State are free of charge.", "After nine years of primary school, students can go to the high school or to an educational institution.", "The school offers two programs: general or technical.", "At the end of the third year of secondary school, students pass the exam of the bachelor's degree, which allows once it is successful to pursue graduate studies in universities and institutes.", "Education is officially compulsory for children between the ages of six and 15.", "In 2008, the illiteracy rate for people over 10 was 22.3%, 15.6% for men and 29.0% for women.", "The province with the lowest rate of illiteracy was Algiers Province at 11.6%, while the province with the highest rate was Djelfa Province at 35.5%.", "Algeria has 26 universities and 67 institutions of higher education, which must accommodate a million Algerians and 80,000 foreign students in 2008.", "The University of Algiers, founded in 1879, is the oldest, it offers education in various disciplines (law, medicine, science and letters).", "25 of these universities and almost all of the institutions of higher education were founded after the independence of the country.", "Even if some of them offer instruction in Arabic like areas of law and the economy, most of the other sectors as science and medicine continue to be provided in French and English.", "Among the most important universities, there are the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, the University of Mentouri Constantine, and University of Oran Es-Senia.", "The University of Abou Bekr Belkaïd in Tlemcen and University of Batna Hadj Lakhdar occupy the 26th and 45th row in Africa.", "\n* Index of Algeria-related articles\n* Outline of Algeria\n*", "\n* Ageron, Charles-Robert (1991).", "''Modern Algeria – A History from 1830 to the Present''.", "Translated from French and edited by Michael Brett.", "London: Hurst.", ".", "* Aghrout, Ahmed; Bougherira, Redha M. (2004).", "''Algeria in Transition – Reforms and Development Prospects''.", "Routledge.", ".", "* Bennoune, Mahfoud (1988).", "''The Making of Contemporary Algeria – Colonial Upheavals and Post-Independence Development, 1830–1987''.", "Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.", ".", "* Fanon, Frantz (1966; 2005 paperback).", "''The Wretched of the Earth''.", "Grove Press.", "ASIN B0007FW4AW, .", "* Horne, Alistair (1977).", "''A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962''.", "Viking Adult.", ", (2006 reprint)\n* Laouisset, Djamel (2009).", "''A Retrospective Study of the Algerian Iron and Steel Industry''.", "New York City: Nova Publishers.", ".", "* Roberts, Hugh (2003).", "''The Battlefield – Algeria, 1988–2002.", "Studies in a Broken Polity''.", "London: Verso Books.", ".", "* Ruedy, John (1992).", "''Modern Algeria – The Origins and Development of a Nation''.", "Bloomington: Indiana University Press.", ".", "* Stora, Benjamin (2001).", "''Algeria, 1830–2000 – A Short History''.", "Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.", ".", "* Sidaoui, Riadh (2009).", "\"Islamic Politics and the Military – Algeria 1962–2008\".", "''Religion and Politics – Islam and Muslim Civilisation''.", "Farnham: Ashgate Publishing.", ".", "\n\n* People's Democratic Republic of Algeria ''Official government website'' / \n* \n* \n* \n* Algeria profile from the BBC News\n* \n* \n* Key Development Forecasts for Algeria from International Futures\n* EU Neighbourhood Info Centre: Algeria" ]

[ "\nThis is a list of characters in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged.''\n", "The following are major characters from the novel.\n\n===Protagonists===\n\n====Dagny Taggart====\nDagny Taggart is the protagonist of the novel. She is Vice-President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental, under her brother, James Taggart. Given James' incompetence, Dagny is responsible for all the workings of the railroad.\n\n====Francisco d'Anconia====\nFrancisco d'Anconia is one of the central characters in ''Atlas Shrugged'', an owner by inheritance of the world's largest copper mining operation. He is a childhood friend, and the first love, of Dagny Taggart. A child prodigy of exceptional talents, Francisco was dubbed the \"climax\" of the d'Anconia line, an already prestigious family of skilled industrialists. He was a classmate of John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld and student of both Hugh Akston and Robert Stadler. He began working while still in school, proving that he could have made a fortune without the aid of his family's wealth and power. Later, Francisco bankrupts the d'Anconia business to put it out of others' reach. His full name is given as \"Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastián d'Anconia\".\n\n====John Galt====\n\nJohn Galt is the primary male hero of ''Atlas Shrugged''. He initially appears as an unnamed menial worker for Taggart Transcontinental, who often dines with Eddie Willers in the employees' cafeteria, and leads Eddie to reveal important information about Dagny Taggart and Taggart Transcontinental. Only Eddie's side of their conversations is given in the novel. Later in the novel, the reader discovers this worker's true identity.\n\nBefore working for Taggart Transcontinental, Galt worked as an engineer for the Twentieth Century Motor Company, where he secretly invented a generator of usable electric energy from ambient static electricity, but abandoned his prototype, and his employment, when dissatisfied by an easily corrupted novel system of payment. This prototype was found by Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden. Galt himself remains concealed, throughout much of the novel, in a valley concealed by himself, where he unites the most skillful inventors and business leaders under his leadership. Much of the book's third division is given to his broadcast speech, which presents the author's philosophy of Objectivism.\n\n====Henry \"Hank\" Rearden====\nHenry (known as \"Hank\") Rearden is one of the central characters in ''Atlas Shrugged''. He owns the most important steel company in the United States, and invents Rearden Metal, an alloy stronger than steel (with similar properties to stainless steel). He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Lillian, his brother Philip, and his elderly mother. Rearden represents a type of self-made man or prototypical hero, and illustrates Rand's theory of sex in so far as he accepts the traditional view of sexual congress as a subhuman instinct, but responds sexually to Dagny Taggart. Although this is not stated in the book.\n\n====Eddie Willers====\nEdwin \"Eddie\" Willers is the Special Assistant to the Vice-President in Charge of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental. His father and grandfather worked for the Taggarts, and himself likewise. He is completely loyal to Dagny and to Taggart Transcontinental. Willers does not possess the creative ability of Galt's associates, but matches them in moral courage and is capable of appreciating and making use of their creations. After Dagny shifts her attention and loyalty to saving the captive Galt, Willers maintains the railroad until its collapse.\n\n====Ragnar Danneskjöld====\nOne of Galt's first followers, and world-famous as a pirate, who seizes relief ships sent from the United States to the People's States of Europe. He works to ensure that once those espousing Galt's philosophy are restored to their rightful place in society, they have enough capital to rebuild the world. Kept in the background for much of the book, Danneskjöld makes a personal appearance to encourage Rearden to persevere in his increasingly difficult situation, and gives him a bar of gold as compensation for the income taxes he has paid over the last several years. Danneskjöld is married to the actress Kay Ludlow; their relationship is kept hidden from the outside world, which only knows of Ludlow as a retired film star. Considered a misfit by Galt's other adherents, he views his actions as a means to speed the world along in understanding Galt's perspective.\n\nAccording to Barbara Branden, who was closely associated with Rand at the time the book was written, there were sections written describing Danneskjöld's adventures at sea, cut from the final published text. In a 1974 comment at a lecture, Ayn Rand admitted that Danneskjöld's name was a tribute to Victor Hugo's novel, ''Hans of Iceland'', wherein the hero becomes the first of the Counts of Danneskjöld. In the published book, Danneskjöld is always seen through the eyes of others (Dagny Taggart or Hank Rearden), except for a brief paragraph in the very last chapter.\n\n===Antagonists===\n\n====James Taggart====\nThe President of Taggart Transcontinental and the book's most important antagonist. Taggart is an expert influence peddler but incapable of making operational decisions on his own. He relies on his sister, Dagny Taggart, to actually run the railroad, but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor because of his various anti-capitalist moral and political beliefs. In a sense, he is the antithesis of Dagny. This contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life: the desire to overcome those on whom his life depends, and the horror that he will succeed at this. In the final chapters of the novel, he suffers a complete mental breakdown upon realizing that he can no longer deceive himself in this respect.\n\n====Lillian Rearden====\nThe unsupportive wife of Hank Rearden, who dislikes his habits and (secretly at first) seeks to ruin Rearden to prove her own value. Lillian achieves this, when she passes information to James Taggart about her husband's affair with his sister. This information is used to persuade Rearden to sign a Gift Certificate which delivers all the property rights of Rearden Metal to others. Lillian thereafter uses James Taggart for sexual satisfaction, until Hank abandons her.\n\n====Dr. Floyd Ferris====\n\nFerris is a biologist who works as \"co-ordinator\" at the State Science Institute. He uses his position there to deride reason and productive achievement, and publishes a book entitled ''Why Do You Think You Think?'' He clashes on several occasions with Hank Rearden, and twice attempts to blackmail Rearden into giving up Rearden Metal. He is also one of the group of looters who tries to get Rearden to agree to the Steel Unification Plan. Ferris hosts the demonstration of the Project X weapon, and is the creator of the Ferris Persuader, a torture machine. When John Galt is captured by the looters, Ferris uses the device on Galt, but it breaks down before extracting the information Ferris wants from Galt. Ferris represents the group which uses brute force on the heroes to achieve the ends of the looters.\n\n====Dr. Robert Stadler====\nA former professor at Patrick Henry University, and along with colleague Hugh Akston, mentor to Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld. He has since become a sell-out, one who had great promise but squandered it for social approval, to the detriment of the free. He works at the State Science Institute where all his inventions are perverted for use by the military, including the instrument of his demise: Project X (Xylophone). The character was, in part, modeled on J. Robert Oppenheimer, whom Rand had interviewed for an earlier project, and his part in the creation of nuclear weapons. To his former student Galt, Stadler represents the epitome of human evil, as the \"man who knew better\" but chose not to act for the good.\n\n====Wesley Mouch====\nThe incompetent and treacherous lobbyist whom Hank Rearden reluctantly employs in Washington, who rises to prominence and authority throughout the novel through trading favours and disloyalty. In return for betraying Hank by helping broker the Equalization of Opportunity Bill (which, by restricting the number of businesses each person may own to one, forces Hank to divest most of his companies), he is given a senior position at the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources. Later in the novel he becomes its Top Co-ordinator, a position that eventually becomes Economic Dictator of the country.\n", "The following secondary characters also appear in the novel.\n\n*'''Hugh Akston''' is identified as \"One of the last great advocates of reason.\" He was a renowned philosopher and the head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University, where he taught Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt, and Ragnar Danneskjöld. He was, along with Robert Stadler, a father figure to these three. Akston's name is so hallowed that a young lady, on hearing that Francisco had studied under him, is shocked. She thought he must have been one of those great names from an earlier century. He now works as a cook in a roadside diner, and proves extremely skillful at the job. When Dagny tracks him down, and before she discovers his true identity, he rejects her enthusiastic offer to manage the dining car services for Taggart Transcontinental. He is based on Aristotle.\n*'''Jeff Allen''' is a tramp who stows away on a Taggart train during one of Dagny's cross-country trips. Instead of throwing him out, she allows him to ride as her guest. It is from Allen that she learns the full story behind the collapse of the Twentieth Century Motor Company (Rand's extensive metaphor for the inherent flaws of communism), as well as a hint of John Galt's true background.\n*'''Calvin Atwood''' is owner of Atwood Light and Power Company and joins Galt's strike.\n*'''Mayor Bascom''' is the mayor of Rome, Wisconsin, who reveals part of the history of the Twentieth Century Motor Company.\n*'''Dr. Blodgett''' is the scientist who pulls the lever to demonstrate Project X.\n*'''Orren Boyle''' is the head of Associated Steel, antithesis of Hank Rearden and a friend of James Taggart. He is an investor in the San Sebastián Mines. He disappears from the story after having a nervous breakdown following the failed 'unification' of the steel industry.\n*'''Laura Bradford''' is an actress and Kip Chalmers's mistress.\n*'''Bill Brent''' is the chief dispatcher for the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental, who tries to prevent the Taggart Tunnel disaster.\n*'''Cherryl Brooks''' is a dime store shopgirl who marries James Taggart after a chance encounter in her store the night the John Galt Line was falsely deemed his greatest success. She marries him thinking he is the heroic person behind Taggart Transcontinental. Cherryl is at first harsh towards Dagny, having believed Jim Taggart's descriptions of his sister, until she questions employees of the railroad. Upon learning that her scorn had been misdirected, Cherryl puts off apologizing to Dagny out of shame until the night before she commits suicide, when she confesses to Dagny that when she married Jim, she thought he had the heroic qualities that she had looked up to - she thought she was marrying someone like Dagny. She eventually commits suicide, unable to live with her worthless husband, and unable to escape.\n*'''Millie Bush''' was \"a mean, ugly little eight-year-old\" girl voted to receive gold braces to straighten her teeth by the Marxist \"family\" committee who determined how pay was allocated at The Twentieth Century Motor Company. Her teeth are later knocked out by a man denied an allowance by the committee to purchase the things he valued.\n*'''Emma Chalmers''', Kip Chalmers' mother, gains some influence after his death. Known as \"Kip's Ma,\" she starts a soybean-growing project in Louisiana and commandeers thousands of railcars to move the harvest. As a result, the year's wheat crop from Minnesota never reaches the rest of the country, but instead rots in storage; also, the soybean crop is lost, having been reaped too early.\n*'''Kip Chalmers''' is a Washington man who has decided to run for election as Legislator from California. On the way to his campaign, the Taggart Transcontinental train that is carrying him encounters a split rail, resulting in the destruction of its diesel engine. His demands lead to a coal-burning steam engine being attached to his train in its stead and used to pull it through an eight-mile tunnel. The result is the suffocation of all passengers and the destruction of the Taggart Tunnel.\n*'''Dan Conway''' is the middle-aged president of the Phoenix-Durango railroad. Running a railroad is just about the only thing he knows. When the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is used to drive his business out of Colorado, he loses the will to fight, and resigns himself to a quiet life of books and fishing.\n*'''Ken Danagger''' owns Danagger Coal in Pennsylvania. He helps Hank Rearden illegally make Rearden Metal, then later decides to quit and join Galt's strike moments before Dagny arrives to try to persuade him otherwise.\n*'''Quentin Daniels''' is an enterprising engineer hired by Dagny Taggart to reconstruct John Galt's motor. Partway through this process, Quentin withdraws his effort for the same reasons John Galt himself had. Dagny's pursuit of Quentin leads her to Galt's Gulch.\n*'''Sebastian d'Anconia''' was the 16th (or 17th) Century founder of the d'Anconia dynasty. Escaped from Spain because of expressing his opinions too freely and coming in conflict with the Inquisition, leaving behind a palace and his beloved. Started a small mine in South America, which became the beginning of a mining empire and a new fortune (and a new palace). Eventually sent for his beloved who had waited for him many years. He is the role model which Francisco d'Anconia looks to, as Dagny Taggart looks to Nathaniel Taggart. Francisco remarks that their respective ancestors would have liked each other.\n*'''Balph Eubank''' is called \"the literary leader of the age\", despite the fact that no book he has written has sold more than 3,000 copies. He complains that it is disgraceful that artists are treated as peddlers, and that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to 10,000 copies. He is a misogynist who thinks it disgusting that Dagny Taggart is a railroad vice-president.\n*The '''Fishwife''' is one of the strikers, who earns her living by providing the fish for Hammond’s grocery market; she is described as having \"dark, disheveled hair and large eyes\", and is a writer. Galt says she \"wouldn't be published outside. She believes that when one deals with words, one deals with the mind.\" According to Barbara Branden in her book ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'', \"The Fishwife is Ayn's Hitchcock-like appearance in ''Atlas Shrugged''.\" So says too Leonard Peikoff.\n*'''Lawrence Hammond''' runs Hammond Cars in Colorado, one of the few companies in existence that still produces top-quality vehicles. He eventually quits and joins the strike.\n*'''Richard Halley''' is Dagny Taggart's favorite composer, who mysteriously disappeared after the evening of his greatest triumph. Halley spent years as a struggling and unappreciated composer. At age 24, his opera ''Phaethon'' was performed for the first time, to an audience who booed and heckled it. After 19 years, ''Phaethon'' was performed again, but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard. The following day, Halley retired, sold the rights to his music, and disappeared. It is later revealed that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch.\n*'''Mrs. William Hastings''' is the widow of the chief engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Her husband quit shortly after Galt did and joined the strike some years later. Her lead allows Dagny to find Hugh Akston.\n*'''Dr. Thomas Hendricks''' is a famous brain surgeon who developed a new method of preventing strokes. He joined Galt's strike when the American medical system was put under government control.\n*'''Tinky Holloway''' is one of the \"looters\" and is frequently referred to and quoted by other characters in the story, but he has only one major appearance: during the Washington meeting with Hank Rearden.\n*'''Lee Hunsacker''' is in charge of a company called Amalgamated Service when takes over the Twentieth Century Motor Company. He files a lawsuit that eventually leads to Midas Mulligan and Judge Narragansett joining the strike. A failed businessman, he laments constantly that no-one ever gave him a chance.\n*'''Gwen Ives''' is Hank Rearden's secretary.\n*'''Owen Kellogg''' is Assistant to the Manager of the Taggart Terminal in New York. He catches Dagny Taggart's eye as one of the few competent men on staff. After seeing the sorry state of the Ohio Division, she decides to make him its new Superintendent. However, as soon as she returns to New York, Kellogg informs her that he is quitting his job. Owen Kellogg eventually reaches, and settles in, Galt's Gulch.\n*'''Gilbert Keith-Worthing''' is a British novelist of erstwhile fame, now neglected but still considered a \"walking classic\". Rand introduces him only for a few pages as a guest of Kip Chalmers (\"for no reason that either of them could discover\") to then implicitly have him asphyxiated in the Tunnel catastrophe, after giving some statements.\n*'''Fred Kinnan''' is a labor leader and member of the looter cabal. Unlike the others, however, Kinnan is straightforward and honest about his purpose. Kinnan is the only one to openly state the true motivations of himself and his fellow conspirators. At the end of Galt's three-hour speech, he expresses admiration for the man, as he says what he means. Despite this, Kinnan admits that he is one of the people Galt is out to destroy.\n*'''Paul Larkin''' is an unsuccessful, middle-aged businessman, a friend of the Rearden family. He meets with the other Looters to work out a plan to bring Rearden down. James Taggart knows he is friends with Hank Rearden and challenges his loyalty, and Larkin assures Taggart that he will go along with them.\n*'''Eugene Lawson''' heads the Community Bank of Madison, then gets a job with the government when it his bank goes bankrupt. One of the looter's cabal, he is a collectivist who abhors production and money-making.\n*'''Mort Liddy''' is a hack composer who writes trite scores for movies and modern symphonies to which no one listens. He believes melody is a primitive vulgarity. He is one of Lillian Rearden's friends and a member of the cultural elite.\n*'''Clifton Locey''' is a friend of Jim Taggart who takes the position of vice-president of operation when Dagny Taggart quits.\n*'''Pat Logan''' is the engineer on the first run of the John Galt Line. He later strikes.\n*'''Kay Ludlow''' is a beautiful actress and the wife of Ragnar Danneskjöld.\n*'''Dick McNamara''' is a contractor who finished the San Sebastian Line. Dagny Taggart plans to hire him to lay the new Rearden Metal track for the Rio Norte Line, but before she does so, he mysteriously disappears. She later discovers that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch.\n*'''Cuffy Meigs''' is the Director of Unification for the railroad business. He carries a pistol and a lucky rabbit's foot, and he dresses in a military uniform, and has been described as \"impervious to thought\". Meigs seizes control of Project X and accidentally destroys it, demolishing the country's last railroad bridge across the Mississippi River and killing himself, his men, and Dr. Stadler.\n*'''Dave Mitchum''' is a state-hired superintendent of the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental. He is partially responsible for the Taggart Tunnel disaster.\n*'''Chick Morrison''' holds the position of \"Morale Conditioner\" in the government. He quits when society begins to collapse and flees to a stronghold in Tennessee. His fellow looters consider it unlikely that he will survive.\n*'''Horace Bussby Mowen''' is the president of the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc. of Connecticut. He is a businessman who sees nothing wrong with the moral code that is destroying society and would never dream of saying he is in business for any reason other than the good of society. Dagny Taggart hires Mowen to produce switches made of Rearden Metal. He is reluctant to build anything with this unproven technology, and has to be cajoled into accepting the contract. When pressured by public opinion, he discontinues production of the switches, forcing Dagny to find an alternative source.\n*'''Midas Mulligan''' is a wealthy banker who mysteriously disappeared in protest after he was given a court order to lend money to an incompetent applicant. When the order came down, he liquidated his entire business, paid off his depositors, and joined Galt's strike. He is the legal owner of the land where Galt's Gulch is located. Mulligan's birth name was Michael, but he had it legally changed after a news article called him \"Midas\" in a derogatory fashion, which Mulligan took as a compliment.\n*'''Judge Narragansett''' is an American jurist who ruled in favor of Midas Mulligan during the case brought against him by the incompetent loan applicant. When Narragansett's ruling was reversed on appeal, he retired and joined the strike. At the end of the novel, he is seen editing the United States Constitution, crossing out the contradicting amendments of it and adding an amendment to prohibit Congress from passing laws that restrain freedom of trade.\n*'''Ben Nealy''' is a railroad contractor whom Dagny Taggart hires to replace the track on the Rio Norte Line with Rearden Metal. Nealy is incompetent, but Dagny can find no one better in all the country. Nealy believes that anything can get done with enough muscle power. He sees no role for intelligence in human achievement. He relies on Dagny and Ellis Wyatt to run things, and resents them for doing it, because it appears to him like they are just bossing people around.\n*'''Ted Nielsen''' is the head of Nielsen Motors. He eventually goes on strike, along with most of the other industrialist \"producer\" types, by closing his motor factory. Dagny later finds him when she visits Galt's Gulch for the first time.\n*'''Betty Pope''' is a wealthy socialite who is having a meaningless sexual affair with James Taggart. She is deliberately crude in a way that casts ridicule on her high social position.\n*'''Dr. Potter''' holds some undefined position with the State Science Institute. He is sent to try to obtain the rights to Rearden Metal.\n*'''Dr. Simon Pritchett''' is the prestigious head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University and is considered the leading philosopher of the age. He believes that man is nothing but a collection of chemicals, reason is a superstition, it is futile to seek meaning in life, and the duty of a philosopher is to show that nothing can be understood.\n*'''Rearden's mother''', whose name is not mentioned, lives with Rearden at his home in Philadelphia. She is involved in charity work, and berates Rearden whenever she can. She dotes on her weak son Philip Rearden.\n*'''Philip Rearden''' is the younger brother of Hank Rearden. He lives in his brother's home in Philadelphia and is completely dependent on him. He is resentful of his brother's charity.\n*'''Dwight Sanders''' owns Sanders Aircraft, a producer of high-quality airplanes, and joins the strike.\n*'''Bertram Scudder''' is an editorial writer for the magazine ''The Future''. He typically bashes business and businessmen, but he never says anything specific in his articles, relying on innuendo, sneers, and denunciation. He wrote a hatchet job on Hank Rearden called ''The Octopus''. He is also vocal in support of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill. Scudder claims that the most important thing in life is \"brother love\" but seems to have nothing but hatred for those around him. He loses his job after Dagny Taggart reveals her affair with Hank Rearden over air on his radio show.\n*'''Claude Slagenhop''' is president of political organization Friends of Global Progress and one of Lillian Rearden's friends. He believes that ideas are just air, that this is no time for talk, but for action. Global Progress is a sponsor of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill.\n*'''Gerald and Ivy Starnes''' are the two surviving children of Jed Starnes, the founder of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Together with their since-deceased brother Eric, they instituted a communistic payment-and-benefits program that drove the company into bankruptcy. Gerald, a dying alcoholic, and Ivy, a pseudo-Buddhist ascetic, continue to insist that the plan was perfect and that the failure of their father's company was entirely due to the workers. Eric was a weak, attention-seeking man with a pathological desire to be loved. He committed suicide after the woman he loved married another man. Gerald claims that he always acted for the good of the employees, but he was vain and incompetent and often threw lavish parties using company funds. Ivy, on the other hand, is described as a sadist who relishes seeing others in poverty, but who has no desire for wealth of her own.\n*'''Andrew Stockton''' runs the Stockton Foundry in Stockton, Colorado. When he joins the strike, he opens a foundry in Galt's Gulch.\n*'''Nathaniel \"Nat\" Taggart''' was the founder of Taggart Transcontinental. He built his railroad without any government handouts, and ran the business for no other reason than to turn a profit. He began as a penniless adventurer and ended up as one of the wealthiest men in the country. He never earned money by force or fraud (except for bribing government officials and throwing an opponent down a flight of stairs), and never apologized for becoming wealthy and successful. He was one of the most hated men of his time. Dagny is often inspired by looking at a statue of Nat Taggart at the railroad headquarters, and draws a dollar sign on its base as a signal to Francisco when she is ready to join Galt's strike. It is suspected that he is modeled after James Jerome Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railroad. \n*'''Mr. Thompson''' is the \"Head of the State\" for the United States. He is not particularly intelligent and has a very undistinguished look. He knows politics, however, and is a master of public relations and back-room deals. Rand's notes indicate that she modeled him on President Harry S. Truman, and that she deliberately decided not to call him \"President of the United States\" as this title has \"honorable connotations\" which the character does not deserve.\n*'''Lester Tuck''' is the press agent for Kip Chalmers.\n*'''Clem Weatherby''' is a government representative on the board of directors of Taggart Transcontinental. Dagny considers him the least bad of the government representatives, since he does have some real knowledge on the running of trains. She notices, however, that he is the least appreciated by his own bosses.\n*The '''Wet Nurse (Tony)''' is a young bureaucrat sent by the government to watch over Rearden’s mills. Though he starts out as a cynical follower of the looters’ code, his experience at the mills transforms him, and he comes to respect and admire the producers. He is shot attempting to inform Hank Rearden about a government plot, but does succeed in warning Rearden just before he dies.\n*'''Ellis Wyatt''' is the head of Wyatt Oil. He has almost single-handedly revived the economy of Colorado by discovering a new process for extracting more oil from what were thought to be exhausted oil wells. When first introduced, he is aggressive towards Dagny, whom he does not yet know and whom he blames for what are, in fact, her brother's policies which directly threaten his business. When the government passes laws and decrees which make it impossible for him to continue, he sets all his oil wells on fire, leaving a jeering note: \"I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It's yours.\" One particular burning well that resists all efforts to extinguish it becomes known as \"Wyatt's Torch\". Later Dagny meets him in Galt's Gulch.\n", "\n", "*\n*\n*\n*\n", "* Website with comprehensive list of individuals mentioned in Atlas Shrugged\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Major characters", "Secondary characters", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "*'''Eugene Lawson''' heads the Community Bank of Madison, then gets a job with the government when it his bank goes bankrupt." ]

[ "\nThis is a list of characters in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged.''", "The following are major characters from the novel.", "===Protagonists===\n\n====Dagny Taggart====\nDagny Taggart is the protagonist of the novel.", "She is Vice-President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental, under her brother, James Taggart.", "Given James' incompetence, Dagny is responsible for all the workings of the railroad.", "====Francisco d'Anconia====\nFrancisco d'Anconia is one of the central characters in ''Atlas Shrugged'', an owner by inheritance of the world's largest copper mining operation.", "He is a childhood friend, and the first love, of Dagny Taggart.", "A child prodigy of exceptional talents, Francisco was dubbed the \"climax\" of the d'Anconia line, an already prestigious family of skilled industrialists.", "He was a classmate of John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld and student of both Hugh Akston and Robert Stadler.", "He began working while still in school, proving that he could have made a fortune without the aid of his family's wealth and power.", "Later, Francisco bankrupts the d'Anconia business to put it out of others' reach.", "His full name is given as \"Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastián d'Anconia\".", "====John Galt====\n\nJohn Galt is the primary male hero of ''Atlas Shrugged''.", "He initially appears as an unnamed menial worker for Taggart Transcontinental, who often dines with Eddie Willers in the employees' cafeteria, and leads Eddie to reveal important information about Dagny Taggart and Taggart Transcontinental.", "Only Eddie's side of their conversations is given in the novel.", "Later in the novel, the reader discovers this worker's true identity.", "Before working for Taggart Transcontinental, Galt worked as an engineer for the Twentieth Century Motor Company, where he secretly invented a generator of usable electric energy from ambient static electricity, but abandoned his prototype, and his employment, when dissatisfied by an easily corrupted novel system of payment.", "This prototype was found by Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden.", "Galt himself remains concealed, throughout much of the novel, in a valley concealed by himself, where he unites the most skillful inventors and business leaders under his leadership.", "Much of the book's third division is given to his broadcast speech, which presents the author's philosophy of Objectivism.", "====Henry \"Hank\" Rearden====\nHenry (known as \"Hank\") Rearden is one of the central characters in ''Atlas Shrugged''.", "He owns the most important steel company in the United States, and invents Rearden Metal, an alloy stronger than steel (with similar properties to stainless steel).", "He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Lillian, his brother Philip, and his elderly mother.", "Rearden represents a type of self-made man or prototypical hero, and illustrates Rand's theory of sex in so far as he accepts the traditional view of sexual congress as a subhuman instinct, but responds sexually to Dagny Taggart.", "Although this is not stated in the book.", "====Eddie Willers====\nEdwin \"Eddie\" Willers is the Special Assistant to the Vice-President in Charge of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental.", "His father and grandfather worked for the Taggarts, and himself likewise.", "He is completely loyal to Dagny and to Taggart Transcontinental.", "Willers does not possess the creative ability of Galt's associates, but matches them in moral courage and is capable of appreciating and making use of their creations.", "After Dagny shifts her attention and loyalty to saving the captive Galt, Willers maintains the railroad until its collapse.", "====Ragnar Danneskjöld====\nOne of Galt's first followers, and world-famous as a pirate, who seizes relief ships sent from the United States to the People's States of Europe.", "He works to ensure that once those espousing Galt's philosophy are restored to their rightful place in society, they have enough capital to rebuild the world.", "Kept in the background for much of the book, Danneskjöld makes a personal appearance to encourage Rearden to persevere in his increasingly difficult situation, and gives him a bar of gold as compensation for the income taxes he has paid over the last several years.", "Danneskjöld is married to the actress Kay Ludlow; their relationship is kept hidden from the outside world, which only knows of Ludlow as a retired film star.", "Considered a misfit by Galt's other adherents, he views his actions as a means to speed the world along in understanding Galt's perspective.", "According to Barbara Branden, who was closely associated with Rand at the time the book was written, there were sections written describing Danneskjöld's adventures at sea, cut from the final published text.", "In a 1974 comment at a lecture, Ayn Rand admitted that Danneskjöld's name was a tribute to Victor Hugo's novel, ''Hans of Iceland'', wherein the hero becomes the first of the Counts of Danneskjöld.", "In the published book, Danneskjöld is always seen through the eyes of others (Dagny Taggart or Hank Rearden), except for a brief paragraph in the very last chapter.", "===Antagonists===\n\n====James Taggart====\nThe President of Taggart Transcontinental and the book's most important antagonist.", "Taggart is an expert influence peddler but incapable of making operational decisions on his own.", "He relies on his sister, Dagny Taggart, to actually run the railroad, but nonetheless opposes her in almost every endeavor because of his various anti-capitalist moral and political beliefs.", "In a sense, he is the antithesis of Dagny.", "This contradiction leads to the recurring absurdity of his life: the desire to overcome those on whom his life depends, and the horror that he will succeed at this.", "In the final chapters of the novel, he suffers a complete mental breakdown upon realizing that he can no longer deceive himself in this respect.", "====Lillian Rearden====\nThe unsupportive wife of Hank Rearden, who dislikes his habits and (secretly at first) seeks to ruin Rearden to prove her own value.", "Lillian achieves this, when she passes information to James Taggart about her husband's affair with his sister.", "This information is used to persuade Rearden to sign a Gift Certificate which delivers all the property rights of Rearden Metal to others.", "Lillian thereafter uses James Taggart for sexual satisfaction, until Hank abandons her.", "====Dr.", "Floyd Ferris====\n\nFerris is a biologist who works as \"co-ordinator\" at the State Science Institute.", "He uses his position there to deride reason and productive achievement, and publishes a book entitled ''Why Do You Think You Think?''", "He clashes on several occasions with Hank Rearden, and twice attempts to blackmail Rearden into giving up Rearden Metal.", "He is also one of the group of looters who tries to get Rearden to agree to the Steel Unification Plan.", "Ferris hosts the demonstration of the Project X weapon, and is the creator of the Ferris Persuader, a torture machine.", "When John Galt is captured by the looters, Ferris uses the device on Galt, but it breaks down before extracting the information Ferris wants from Galt.", "Ferris represents the group which uses brute force on the heroes to achieve the ends of the looters.", "====Dr.", "Robert Stadler====\nA former professor at Patrick Henry University, and along with colleague Hugh Akston, mentor to Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt and Ragnar Danneskjöld.", "He has since become a sell-out, one who had great promise but squandered it for social approval, to the detriment of the free.", "He works at the State Science Institute where all his inventions are perverted for use by the military, including the instrument of his demise: Project X (Xylophone).", "The character was, in part, modeled on J. Robert Oppenheimer, whom Rand had interviewed for an earlier project, and his part in the creation of nuclear weapons.", "To his former student Galt, Stadler represents the epitome of human evil, as the \"man who knew better\" but chose not to act for the good.", "====Wesley Mouch====\nThe incompetent and treacherous lobbyist whom Hank Rearden reluctantly employs in Washington, who rises to prominence and authority throughout the novel through trading favours and disloyalty.", "In return for betraying Hank by helping broker the Equalization of Opportunity Bill (which, by restricting the number of businesses each person may own to one, forces Hank to divest most of his companies), he is given a senior position at the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources.", "Later in the novel he becomes its Top Co-ordinator, a position that eventually becomes Economic Dictator of the country.", "The following secondary characters also appear in the novel.", "*'''Hugh Akston''' is identified as \"One of the last great advocates of reason.\"", "He was a renowned philosopher and the head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University, where he taught Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt, and Ragnar Danneskjöld.", "He was, along with Robert Stadler, a father figure to these three.", "Akston's name is so hallowed that a young lady, on hearing that Francisco had studied under him, is shocked.", "She thought he must have been one of those great names from an earlier century.", "He now works as a cook in a roadside diner, and proves extremely skillful at the job.", "When Dagny tracks him down, and before she discovers his true identity, he rejects her enthusiastic offer to manage the dining car services for Taggart Transcontinental.", "He is based on Aristotle.", "*'''Jeff Allen''' is a tramp who stows away on a Taggart train during one of Dagny's cross-country trips.", "Instead of throwing him out, she allows him to ride as her guest.", "It is from Allen that she learns the full story behind the collapse of the Twentieth Century Motor Company (Rand's extensive metaphor for the inherent flaws of communism), as well as a hint of John Galt's true background.", "*'''Calvin Atwood''' is owner of Atwood Light and Power Company and joins Galt's strike.", "*'''Mayor Bascom''' is the mayor of Rome, Wisconsin, who reveals part of the history of the Twentieth Century Motor Company.", "*'''Dr.", "Blodgett''' is the scientist who pulls the lever to demonstrate Project X.", "*'''Orren Boyle''' is the head of Associated Steel, antithesis of Hank Rearden and a friend of James Taggart.", "He is an investor in the San Sebastián Mines.", "He disappears from the story after having a nervous breakdown following the failed 'unification' of the steel industry.", "*'''Laura Bradford''' is an actress and Kip Chalmers's mistress.", "*'''Bill Brent''' is the chief dispatcher for the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental, who tries to prevent the Taggart Tunnel disaster.", "*'''Cherryl Brooks''' is a dime store shopgirl who marries James Taggart after a chance encounter in her store the night the John Galt Line was falsely deemed his greatest success.", "She marries him thinking he is the heroic person behind Taggart Transcontinental.", "Cherryl is at first harsh towards Dagny, having believed Jim Taggart's descriptions of his sister, until she questions employees of the railroad.", "Upon learning that her scorn had been misdirected, Cherryl puts off apologizing to Dagny out of shame until the night before she commits suicide, when she confesses to Dagny that when she married Jim, she thought he had the heroic qualities that she had looked up to - she thought she was marrying someone like Dagny.", "She eventually commits suicide, unable to live with her worthless husband, and unable to escape.", "*'''Millie Bush''' was \"a mean, ugly little eight-year-old\" girl voted to receive gold braces to straighten her teeth by the Marxist \"family\" committee who determined how pay was allocated at The Twentieth Century Motor Company.", "Her teeth are later knocked out by a man denied an allowance by the committee to purchase the things he valued.", "*'''Emma Chalmers''', Kip Chalmers' mother, gains some influence after his death.", "Known as \"Kip's Ma,\" she starts a soybean-growing project in Louisiana and commandeers thousands of railcars to move the harvest.", "As a result, the year's wheat crop from Minnesota never reaches the rest of the country, but instead rots in storage; also, the soybean crop is lost, having been reaped too early.", "*'''Kip Chalmers''' is a Washington man who has decided to run for election as Legislator from California.", "On the way to his campaign, the Taggart Transcontinental train that is carrying him encounters a split rail, resulting in the destruction of its diesel engine.", "His demands lead to a coal-burning steam engine being attached to his train in its stead and used to pull it through an eight-mile tunnel.", "The result is the suffocation of all passengers and the destruction of the Taggart Tunnel.", "*'''Dan Conway''' is the middle-aged president of the Phoenix-Durango railroad.", "Running a railroad is just about the only thing he knows.", "When the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule is used to drive his business out of Colorado, he loses the will to fight, and resigns himself to a quiet life of books and fishing.", "*'''Ken Danagger''' owns Danagger Coal in Pennsylvania.", "He helps Hank Rearden illegally make Rearden Metal, then later decides to quit and join Galt's strike moments before Dagny arrives to try to persuade him otherwise.", "*'''Quentin Daniels''' is an enterprising engineer hired by Dagny Taggart to reconstruct John Galt's motor.", "Partway through this process, Quentin withdraws his effort for the same reasons John Galt himself had.", "Dagny's pursuit of Quentin leads her to Galt's Gulch.", "*'''Sebastian d'Anconia''' was the 16th (or 17th) Century founder of the d'Anconia dynasty.", "Escaped from Spain because of expressing his opinions too freely and coming in conflict with the Inquisition, leaving behind a palace and his beloved.", "Started a small mine in South America, which became the beginning of a mining empire and a new fortune (and a new palace).", "Eventually sent for his beloved who had waited for him many years.", "He is the role model which Francisco d'Anconia looks to, as Dagny Taggart looks to Nathaniel Taggart.", "Francisco remarks that their respective ancestors would have liked each other.", "*'''Balph Eubank''' is called \"the literary leader of the age\", despite the fact that no book he has written has sold more than 3,000 copies.", "He complains that it is disgraceful that artists are treated as peddlers, and that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to 10,000 copies.", "He is a misogynist who thinks it disgusting that Dagny Taggart is a railroad vice-president.", "*The '''Fishwife''' is one of the strikers, who earns her living by providing the fish for Hammond’s grocery market; she is described as having \"dark, disheveled hair and large eyes\", and is a writer.", "Galt says she \"wouldn't be published outside.", "She believes that when one deals with words, one deals with the mind.\"", "According to Barbara Branden in her book ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'', \"The Fishwife is Ayn's Hitchcock-like appearance in ''Atlas Shrugged''.\"", "So says too Leonard Peikoff.", "*'''Lawrence Hammond''' runs Hammond Cars in Colorado, one of the few companies in existence that still produces top-quality vehicles.", "He eventually quits and joins the strike.", "*'''Richard Halley''' is Dagny Taggart's favorite composer, who mysteriously disappeared after the evening of his greatest triumph.", "Halley spent years as a struggling and unappreciated composer.", "At age 24, his opera ''Phaethon'' was performed for the first time, to an audience who booed and heckled it.", "After 19 years, ''Phaethon'' was performed again, but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard.", "The following day, Halley retired, sold the rights to his music, and disappeared.", "It is later revealed that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch.", "*'''Mrs.", "William Hastings''' is the widow of the chief engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Company.", "Her husband quit shortly after Galt did and joined the strike some years later.", "Her lead allows Dagny to find Hugh Akston.", "*'''Dr.", "Thomas Hendricks''' is a famous brain surgeon who developed a new method of preventing strokes.", "He joined Galt's strike when the American medical system was put under government control.", "*'''Tinky Holloway''' is one of the \"looters\" and is frequently referred to and quoted by other characters in the story, but he has only one major appearance: during the Washington meeting with Hank Rearden.", "*'''Lee Hunsacker''' is in charge of a company called Amalgamated Service when takes over the Twentieth Century Motor Company.", "He files a lawsuit that eventually leads to Midas Mulligan and Judge Narragansett joining the strike.", "A failed businessman, he laments constantly that no-one ever gave him a chance.", "*'''Gwen Ives''' is Hank Rearden's secretary.", "*'''Owen Kellogg''' is Assistant to the Manager of the Taggart Terminal in New York.", "He catches Dagny Taggart's eye as one of the few competent men on staff.", "After seeing the sorry state of the Ohio Division, she decides to make him its new Superintendent.", "However, as soon as she returns to New York, Kellogg informs her that he is quitting his job.", "Owen Kellogg eventually reaches, and settles in, Galt's Gulch.", "*'''Gilbert Keith-Worthing''' is a British novelist of erstwhile fame, now neglected but still considered a \"walking classic\".", "Rand introduces him only for a few pages as a guest of Kip Chalmers (\"for no reason that either of them could discover\") to then implicitly have him asphyxiated in the Tunnel catastrophe, after giving some statements.", "*'''Fred Kinnan''' is a labor leader and member of the looter cabal.", "Unlike the others, however, Kinnan is straightforward and honest about his purpose.", "Kinnan is the only one to openly state the true motivations of himself and his fellow conspirators.", "At the end of Galt's three-hour speech, he expresses admiration for the man, as he says what he means.", "Despite this, Kinnan admits that he is one of the people Galt is out to destroy.", "*'''Paul Larkin''' is an unsuccessful, middle-aged businessman, a friend of the Rearden family.", "He meets with the other Looters to work out a plan to bring Rearden down.", "James Taggart knows he is friends with Hank Rearden and challenges his loyalty, and Larkin assures Taggart that he will go along with them.", "One of the looter's cabal, he is a collectivist who abhors production and money-making.", "*'''Mort Liddy''' is a hack composer who writes trite scores for movies and modern symphonies to which no one listens.", "He believes melody is a primitive vulgarity.", "He is one of Lillian Rearden's friends and a member of the cultural elite.", "*'''Clifton Locey''' is a friend of Jim Taggart who takes the position of vice-president of operation when Dagny Taggart quits.", "*'''Pat Logan''' is the engineer on the first run of the John Galt Line.", "He later strikes.", "*'''Kay Ludlow''' is a beautiful actress and the wife of Ragnar Danneskjöld.", "*'''Dick McNamara''' is a contractor who finished the San Sebastian Line.", "Dagny Taggart plans to hire him to lay the new Rearden Metal track for the Rio Norte Line, but before she does so, he mysteriously disappears.", "She later discovers that he has joined the strike and settled in Galt's Gulch.", "*'''Cuffy Meigs''' is the Director of Unification for the railroad business.", "He carries a pistol and a lucky rabbit's foot, and he dresses in a military uniform, and has been described as \"impervious to thought\".", "Meigs seizes control of Project X and accidentally destroys it, demolishing the country's last railroad bridge across the Mississippi River and killing himself, his men, and Dr. Stadler.", "*'''Dave Mitchum''' is a state-hired superintendent of the Colorado Division of Taggart Transcontinental.", "He is partially responsible for the Taggart Tunnel disaster.", "*'''Chick Morrison''' holds the position of \"Morale Conditioner\" in the government.", "He quits when society begins to collapse and flees to a stronghold in Tennessee.", "His fellow looters consider it unlikely that he will survive.", "*'''Horace Bussby Mowen''' is the president of the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc. of Connecticut.", "He is a businessman who sees nothing wrong with the moral code that is destroying society and would never dream of saying he is in business for any reason other than the good of society.", "Dagny Taggart hires Mowen to produce switches made of Rearden Metal.", "He is reluctant to build anything with this unproven technology, and has to be cajoled into accepting the contract.", "When pressured by public opinion, he discontinues production of the switches, forcing Dagny to find an alternative source.", "*'''Midas Mulligan''' is a wealthy banker who mysteriously disappeared in protest after he was given a court order to lend money to an incompetent applicant.", "When the order came down, he liquidated his entire business, paid off his depositors, and joined Galt's strike.", "He is the legal owner of the land where Galt's Gulch is located.", "Mulligan's birth name was Michael, but he had it legally changed after a news article called him \"Midas\" in a derogatory fashion, which Mulligan took as a compliment.", "*'''Judge Narragansett''' is an American jurist who ruled in favor of Midas Mulligan during the case brought against him by the incompetent loan applicant.", "When Narragansett's ruling was reversed on appeal, he retired and joined the strike.", "At the end of the novel, he is seen editing the United States Constitution, crossing out the contradicting amendments of it and adding an amendment to prohibit Congress from passing laws that restrain freedom of trade.", "*'''Ben Nealy''' is a railroad contractor whom Dagny Taggart hires to replace the track on the Rio Norte Line with Rearden Metal.", "Nealy is incompetent, but Dagny can find no one better in all the country.", "Nealy believes that anything can get done with enough muscle power.", "He sees no role for intelligence in human achievement.", "He relies on Dagny and Ellis Wyatt to run things, and resents them for doing it, because it appears to him like they are just bossing people around.", "*'''Ted Nielsen''' is the head of Nielsen Motors.", "He eventually goes on strike, along with most of the other industrialist \"producer\" types, by closing his motor factory.", "Dagny later finds him when she visits Galt's Gulch for the first time.", "*'''Betty Pope''' is a wealthy socialite who is having a meaningless sexual affair with James Taggart.", "She is deliberately crude in a way that casts ridicule on her high social position.", "*'''Dr.", "Potter''' holds some undefined position with the State Science Institute.", "He is sent to try to obtain the rights to Rearden Metal.", "*'''Dr.", "Simon Pritchett''' is the prestigious head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University and is considered the leading philosopher of the age.", "He believes that man is nothing but a collection of chemicals, reason is a superstition, it is futile to seek meaning in life, and the duty of a philosopher is to show that nothing can be understood.", "*'''Rearden's mother''', whose name is not mentioned, lives with Rearden at his home in Philadelphia.", "She is involved in charity work, and berates Rearden whenever she can.", "She dotes on her weak son Philip Rearden.", "*'''Philip Rearden''' is the younger brother of Hank Rearden.", "He lives in his brother's home in Philadelphia and is completely dependent on him.", "He is resentful of his brother's charity.", "*'''Dwight Sanders''' owns Sanders Aircraft, a producer of high-quality airplanes, and joins the strike.", "*'''Bertram Scudder''' is an editorial writer for the magazine ''The Future''.", "He typically bashes business and businessmen, but he never says anything specific in his articles, relying on innuendo, sneers, and denunciation.", "He wrote a hatchet job on Hank Rearden called ''The Octopus''.", "He is also vocal in support of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill.", "Scudder claims that the most important thing in life is \"brother love\" but seems to have nothing but hatred for those around him.", "He loses his job after Dagny Taggart reveals her affair with Hank Rearden over air on his radio show.", "*'''Claude Slagenhop''' is president of political organization Friends of Global Progress and one of Lillian Rearden's friends.", "He believes that ideas are just air, that this is no time for talk, but for action.", "Global Progress is a sponsor of the Equalization of Opportunity Bill.", "*'''Gerald and Ivy Starnes''' are the two surviving children of Jed Starnes, the founder of the Twentieth Century Motor Company.", "Together with their since-deceased brother Eric, they instituted a communistic payment-and-benefits program that drove the company into bankruptcy.", "Gerald, a dying alcoholic, and Ivy, a pseudo-Buddhist ascetic, continue to insist that the plan was perfect and that the failure of their father's company was entirely due to the workers.", "Eric was a weak, attention-seeking man with a pathological desire to be loved.", "He committed suicide after the woman he loved married another man.", "Gerald claims that he always acted for the good of the employees, but he was vain and incompetent and often threw lavish parties using company funds.", "Ivy, on the other hand, is described as a sadist who relishes seeing others in poverty, but who has no desire for wealth of her own.", "*'''Andrew Stockton''' runs the Stockton Foundry in Stockton, Colorado.", "When he joins the strike, he opens a foundry in Galt's Gulch.", "*'''Nathaniel \"Nat\" Taggart''' was the founder of Taggart Transcontinental.", "He built his railroad without any government handouts, and ran the business for no other reason than to turn a profit.", "He began as a penniless adventurer and ended up as one of the wealthiest men in the country.", "He never earned money by force or fraud (except for bribing government officials and throwing an opponent down a flight of stairs), and never apologized for becoming wealthy and successful.", "He was one of the most hated men of his time.", "Dagny is often inspired by looking at a statue of Nat Taggart at the railroad headquarters, and draws a dollar sign on its base as a signal to Francisco when she is ready to join Galt's strike.", "It is suspected that he is modeled after James Jerome Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railroad.", "*'''Mr.", "Thompson''' is the \"Head of the State\" for the United States.", "He is not particularly intelligent and has a very undistinguished look.", "He knows politics, however, and is a master of public relations and back-room deals.", "Rand's notes indicate that she modeled him on President Harry S. Truman, and that she deliberately decided not to call him \"President of the United States\" as this title has \"honorable connotations\" which the character does not deserve.", "*'''Lester Tuck''' is the press agent for Kip Chalmers.", "*'''Clem Weatherby''' is a government representative on the board of directors of Taggart Transcontinental.", "Dagny considers him the least bad of the government representatives, since he does have some real knowledge on the running of trains.", "She notices, however, that he is the least appreciated by his own bosses.", "*The '''Wet Nurse (Tony)''' is a young bureaucrat sent by the government to watch over Rearden’s mills.", "Though he starts out as a cynical follower of the looters’ code, his experience at the mills transforms him, and he comes to respect and admire the producers.", "He is shot attempting to inform Hank Rearden about a government plot, but does succeed in warning Rearden just before he dies.", "*'''Ellis Wyatt''' is the head of Wyatt Oil.", "He has almost single-handedly revived the economy of Colorado by discovering a new process for extracting more oil from what were thought to be exhausted oil wells.", "When first introduced, he is aggressive towards Dagny, whom he does not yet know and whom he blames for what are, in fact, her brother's policies which directly threaten his business.", "When the government passes laws and decrees which make it impossible for him to continue, he sets all his oil wells on fire, leaving a jeering note: \"I am leaving it as I found it.", "Take over.", "It's yours.\"", "One particular burning well that resists all efforts to extinguish it becomes known as \"Wyatt's Torch\".", "Later Dagny meets him in Galt's Gulch.", "*\n*\n*\n*", "* Website with comprehensive list of individuals mentioned in Atlas Shrugged" ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Andre Kirk Agassi''' (; born April 29, 1970) is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1 who was one of the sport's most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the greatest service returner in the history of the game. Described by the BBC upon his retirement as \"perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history\", Agassi compiled performances that, along with his unorthodox apparel and attitude, saw him cited as one of the most charismatic players in history. As a result, he is credited for helping to revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s.\n\nIn singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, as well as finishing runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments. During the Open Era, Agassi was the first male player to win four Australian Open titles, a record that was later surpassed by Novak Djokovic when he won his fifth title in 2015, and then by Roger Federer in 2017. Agassi is one of five male singles players to achieve the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of eight in history, the first of two to achieve the Career Golden Slam (Career Grand Slam and Olympic Gold Medal, the other being Rafael Nadal), and the only man to win the Career Golden Slam and the ATP Tour World Championships (won in 1990): a distinction dubbed as a \"Career Super Slam\" by ''Sports Illustrated''.\n\nAgassi was the first male player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and the last American male to win both the French Open (in 1999) and the Australian Open (in 2003). He also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup teams in 1990, 1992 and 1995. Agassi reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in 1995 but was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to World No. 141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career was over. Agassi returned to World No. 1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years. During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known by the nickname \"The Punisher\".\n\nAfter suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open to Benjamin Becker. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children. He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001.\n", "Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Emmanuel \"Mike\" Agassi, a former Olympic boxer from Iran and Elizabeth \"Betty\" Agassi (née Dudley). His father stated he is from a mixed Armenian and Assyrian heritage. One of his ancestors changed his surname from Aghassian to Agassi to avoid persecution. Andre Agassi's mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor. He has three older siblings – Rita (last wife to Pancho Gonzales), Philip and Tami.\n\nIn a passage from the book ''Open'', Agassi details how his father made him play a match for money with football legend Jim Brown, in 1979, when Agassi was 9 years old. Brown was at a Vegas tennis club complaining to the owner about a money match that was canceled. Agassi's father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son and he would put up his house for the wager. Brown countered with a $10,000 bet, but after he was warned by the club owner not to take the bet because he would lose and be embarrassed, Brown agreed with Mike Agassi that they would set the amount after he and Andre played two sets. Brown lost those sets, 3–6, 3–6, declined the 10K wager, and offered to play the third set for $500. He lost 2–6.\n\nAt age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida. He was meant to stay for only 3 months because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri called Mike and said: \"Take your check back. He's here for free,\" claiming that Agassi had more natural talent than anyone else he had seen. Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade.\n", "\n===1986–1993: Breakthrough and the first major title===\nAgassi turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California. He won his first match against John Austin, but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander. By the end of 1986, Agassi was ranked world no. 91. He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica and ended the year ranked world no. 25. He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Forest Hills WCT, Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level. During 1988, he also set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager (a record that stood for 17 years until Rafael Nadal broke it in 2005). His year-end ranking was world no. 3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander. Both the Association of Tennis Professionals and ''Tennis'' magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988.\n\nIn addition to not playing the Australian Open (which later became his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its \"predominantly white\" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform.\n\nStrong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion. While still a teenager, he reached the semifinals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988 and made the US Open semifinals in 1989. He began the 1990s with a series of near-misses. He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he was favored before losing in four sets to Andrés Gómez, which he attributes to worrying about his wig falling off. He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion Boris Becker in the semifinals. His opponent in the final was Pete Sampras; a year earlier, Agassi had crushed Sampras, after which he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it as a pro. Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets. The rivalry between these two American players became the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest of the decade. Also in 1990, Agassi helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years and won his only Tennis Masters Cup, beating reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in the final.\n\nIn 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier. Courier emerged the victor in a five-set final. Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear. He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit. He reached the quarterfinals on that occasion, losing in five sets to David Wheaton.\n\nAgassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open, where he had previously enjoyed success. In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivanišević in a five-set final. Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions: Boris Becker and John McEnroe. No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later. Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992. Agassi once again played on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992. It was their second Davis cup title in three years.\n\nIn 1993, Agassi won the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters, partnered with Petr Korda. He missed much of the early part of that year due to injuries. Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and world no. 1 Pete Sampras in five sets. Agassi lost in the first round at the US Open to Thomas Enqvist and required wrist surgery late in the year.\n\n===1994–1997: Rise to the top, Olympic Gold and the fall===\nWith new coach Brad Gilbert on board, Agassi began to employ more of a tactical, consistent approach, which fueled his resurgence. He started slowly in 1994, losing in the first week at the French Open and Wimbledon. Nevertheless, he emerged during the hard-court season, winning the Canadian Open. His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a five-set fourth-round victory against compatriot Michael Chang. He then became the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in the final. Along the way, he beat 5 seeded players.\n\nIn 1995, Agassi shaved his balding head, breaking with his old \"image is everything\" style. He competed in the 1995 Australian Open (his first appearance at the event) and won, beating Sampras in a four-set final. Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt, with Agassi winning three. Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 (Cincinnati, Key Biscayne, and the Canadian Open) and seven titles total. He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court circuit, with the last victory being in an intense late night four-set semifinal of the US Open against Boris Becker. The streak ended the next day when Agassi lost the final to Sampras.\n\nAgassi reached the world no. 1 ranking for the first time in April 1995. He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks. Agassi skipped most of the fall indoor season which allowed Sampras to surpass him and finish ranked no. 1 at the year-ending ranking. In terms of win/loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year. He won 73 matches while losing 9 and was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team—the third and final Davis Cup title of Agassi's career.\n\n1996 was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final. He suffered two early-round losses at the hands of compatriots Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and lost to Chang in straight sets in the Australian and US Open semifinals. At the time, Agassi blamed the Australian Open loss on the windy conditions, but later said in his biography that he had lost the match on purpose, as he did not want to play Boris Becker, whom he would have faced in that final. The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final. Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne.\n\n1997 was the low point of Agassi's career. His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during the year. He later confessed that he started using crystal methamphetamine at that time, allegedly on the urging of a friend. He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that the letter was a lie. He quit the drug soon after. At this time Agassi was also in a failing marriage with actress Brooke Shields and had lost interest in the game. He won no top-level titles, and his ranking sank to world no. 141 on November 10, 1997, prompting many to believe that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over and that he would never again win any significant championships.\n\n===1998–2003: Return to glory and Career Super Slam===\nAgassi serving\nIn 1998, Agassi began a rigorous conditioning program and worked his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments, a circuit for pro players ranked outside the world's top 50. After returning to top physical and mental shape, Agassi recorded the most successful period of his tennis career and also played classic matches in that period against Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter.\n\nIn 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from world no. 110 to no. 6, the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a calendar year. At Wimbledon, he had an early loss in the second round to Tommy Haas. He won five titles in ten finals and was runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, losing to Marcelo Ríos, who became world no. 1 as a result. At the year end he was awarded the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year for the second time in his career (the first being 10 years earlier in 1988).\n\nAgassi entered the history books in 1999 when he came back from two sets to love down to beat Andrei Medvedev in a five-set French Open final, becoming, at the time, only the fifth male player (joining Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Don Budge—these have since been joined by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic) to win all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career. Only Laver, Agassi, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have achieved this feat during the open era. This win also made him the first (of only four, the next being Federer, Nadal and Djokovic respectively) male player in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Agassi also became the only male player to win the Career Super Slam, consisting of all four Grand Slam tournaments plus an Olympic gold medal in singles and a Year-End Championship.\n\nAgassi followed his 1999 French Open victory by reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras in straight sets. He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a two sets to one deficit) in the final. Overall during the year Agassi won 5 titles including two majors and the ATP Masters Series in Paris, where he beat Marat Safin. Agassi ended 1999 as the world no. 1, ending Sampras's record of six consecutive year-ending top rankings (1993–98). This was the only time Agassi ended the year at no. 1.\n\nHe began the next year by capturing his second Australian Open title, beating Sampras in a five-set semifinal and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a four-set final. He was the first male player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver achieved the Grand Slam in 1969. At the time, Agassi was also only the fourth player since Laver to be the reigning champion of three of four Grand Slam events, missing only the Wimbledon title.. 2000 also saw Agassi reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever at Wimbledon. At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached the final after defeating Marat Safin in the semifinals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest world no. 1 in the history of tennis. Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end world no. 1.\n\nAgassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clément. En route, he beat a cramping Rafter in five sets in front of a sell-out crowd in what turned out to be the Aussie's last Australian Open. At Wimbledon, they met again in the semifinals, where Agassi lost another close match to Rafter, 8–6 in the fifth set. In the quarterfinals at the US Open, Agassi lost a 3-hour, 33 minute epic match with Sampras, 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 6–7, with no breaks of serve during the 52-game match. Despite the setback, Agassi finished 2001 ranked world no. 3, becoming the only male tennis player to finish a year ranked in the top 3 in three different decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s). He also was the oldest player (age 31) to finish in the top three since 32-year-old Connors finished at world no. 2 in 1984.\n\n2002 opened with disappointment for Agassi, as injury forced him to skip the Australian Open, where he was a two-time defending champion. Agassi recovered from the injury and later that year defended his Key Biscayne title beating then rising Roger Federer in a four-set final. The last duel between Agassi and Sampras came in the final of the US Open, which Sampras won in four sets and left Sampras with a 20–14 edge in their 34 career meetings. The match was the last of Sampras's career. Agassi's US Open finish, along with his Masters Series victories in Key Biscayne, Rome and Madrid, helped him finish 2002 as the oldest year-end world no. 2 at 32 years and 8 months.\n\nIn 2003, Agassi won the eighth (and final) Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets in the final. In March, he won his sixth career and third consecutive Key Biscayne title, in the process surpassing his wife, Steffi Graf, who was a five-time winner of the event. The final was his 18th straight win in that tournament, which broke the previous record of 17 set by Sampras from 1993–95. (Agassi's winning streak continued to 20 after winning his first two matches at the 2004 edition of that tournament before bowing to Agustín Calleri.) With the victory, Agassi became the youngest (19 years old) and oldest (32) winner of the Key Biscayne tournament.\n\nOn April 28, 2003, he recaptured the world no. 1 ranking after a quarterfinal victory over Xavier Malisse at the Queen's Club Championships to become the oldest top-ranked male player since the ATP rankings began at 33 years and 13 days. He had held the world no. 1 ranking for two weeks, when Lleyton Hewitt took it back on May 12, 2003. Agassi then recaptured the world no. 1 ranking once again on June 16, 2003, which he held for 12 weeks until September 7, 2003. During his career, Agassi held the world no. 1 ranking for a total of 101 weeks. Agassi's ranking slipped when injuries forced him to withdraw from many events. He did manage to reach the US Open semifinals, where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero and surrendered his world no. 1 ranking to Ferrero. At the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, Agassi lost in the final to Federer and finished the year ranked world no. 4. At age 33, he was the oldest player to rank in the top 5 since Connors, at age 35, was world no. 4 in 1987.\n\n===2004–2006: Final years===\nIn 2004, Agassi began the year with a five-set loss in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Marat Safin; the loss ended Agassi's 26-match winning streak at the event, a record that still stands. He won the Masters series event in Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles and a record 17 ATP Masters Series titles, having already won seven of the nine ATP Masters tournament—all except the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At 34, he became the second-oldest singles champion in Cincinnati tournament history (the tournament began in 1899), surpassed only by Ken Rosewall, who won the title in 1970 at age 35. He finished the year ranked world no. 8, the oldest player to finish in the top 10 since the 36-year-old Connors was world no. 7 in 1988. Agassi also became only the sixth male player during the open era to reach 800 career wins with his first-round victory over Alex Bogomolov in Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.\n\nAgassi's 2005 began with a quarterfinal loss to Federer at the Australian Open. Agassi had several other deep runs at tournaments, but had to withdraw from several events due to injury. He lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the French Open. He won his fourth title in Los Angeles and reached the final of the Rogers Cup, before falling to world no. 2 Rafael Nadal.\n\nAgassi's 2005 was defined by an improbable run to the US Open final. After beating Răzvan Sabău and Ivo Karlović in straight sets and Tomáš Berdych in four sets, Agassi won three consecutive five-set matches to advance to the final. The most notable of these matches was his quarterfinal victory over James Blake, where he rallied from two sets down to win 7–6 in the fifth set. His other five-set victims were Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and Robby Ginepri in the semifinals. In the final, Agassi faced Federer, who was seeking his second consecutive US Open title and his sixth Grand Slam title in two years. Federer defeated Agassi in four sets. Agassi finished 2005 ranked world no. 7, his 16th time in the year-end top-10 rankings, which tied Connors for the most times ranked in the top 10 at year's end.\n\nAgassi had a poor start to 2006. He was still recovering from an ankle injury and also suffering from back and leg pain and lack of match play. Agassi withdrew from the Australian Open because of the ankle injury, and his back injury and other pains forced him to withdraw from several other events, eventually skipping the entire clay-court season including the French Open. This caused his ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the last time. Agassi returned for the grass-court season, playing a tune-up, and then Wimbledon. He was defeated in the third round by world no. 2 (and eventual runner-up) Rafael Nadal. Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match. At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following the US Open. Agassi played only two events during the summer hard-court season with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile, which resulted in him being unseeded at the US Open.\n\nAgassi had a short, but dramatic, run in his final US Open. Because of extreme back pain, Agassi was forced to receive anti-inflammatory injections after every match. After a tough four-set win against Andrei Pavel, Agassi faced eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round who had earlier advanced to the 2006 Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinals. Agassi won in five tough sets as the younger Baghdatis succumbed to muscle cramping in the final set. In his last match, Agassi fell to 112th-ranked big-serving Benjamin Becker of Germany in four sets. Agassi received a four-minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a retirement speech.\n", "Agassi earned more than $30 million in prize-money during his career, sixth only to Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Sampras and Murray to date (October 22, 2015). He also earned more than $25 million a year through endorsements during his career, fourth in all sports at the time.\n", "Since retiring after the 2006 US Open, Agassi has participated in a series of charity tournaments and continues his work with his own charity. On September 5, 2007, he was a surprise guest commentator for the Andy Roddick/Roger Federer US Open quarterfinal. He played an exhibition match at Wimbledon, teaming with his wife, Steffi Graf, to play with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters. He played World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms in the summer of 2009. At the 2009 French Open, Agassi was on hand to present Roger Federer, who completed his Career Grand Slam by winning the tournament and joined Agassi as one of six men to complete the Career Grand Slam, with the trophy.\n\nAlso in 2009 Agassi played at the Outback Champions Series event for the first time. He played the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at Surprise, Arizona, where he reached the final before bowing to eventual champion Todd Martin. He also announced that he will not be playing the tour on a full-time basis, and played the tournament as a favor to long-time friend Jim Courier. Agassi returned to the tour renamed for the PowerShares Series in 2011 and participated in a total of seven events while winning two. Agassi beat Courier in the final of the Staples Champions Cup in Boston and later defeated Sampras at the CTCA Championships at his hometown Las Vegas.\n\nIn 2012, Agassi took part in five tournaments, winning three of those. In November, at first he won BILT Champions Showdown in San Jose, beating John McEnroe in the final. The following day, he defended his title of the CTCA Championships, while defeating Courier in the decisive match. In the series season finale, he beat Michael Chang for the Acura Champions Cup. The series and Agassi came back to action in 2014. Agassi won both tournaments he participated in. At the Camden Wealth Advisors Cup's final in Houston, Agassi beat James Blake for a rematch of their 2005 US Open quarterfinal. He defeated Blake again in Portland to win the title of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships. In 2015, Agassi took part in just one event of the PowerShares Series, losing to Mark Philippoussis in the final of the Champions Shootout.\n\nIn 2009, in Macau Agassi and Sampras met for the first time on court since the 2002 US Open final. Sampras won the exhibition in three sets. The rivalry between the former champions headlined sports media again in March 2010 after the two participated in the \"Hit for Haiti\" charity event organized to raise money for the victims of the earthquake. Partnered with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the old rivals began making jokes on each other which ended up with Sampras intentionally striking a serve at Agassi's body. After the event Agassi admitted that he had crossed the line with his jokes and publicly apologized to Sampras. Agassi and Sampras met again one year later for an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden in New York in front of 19 000 spectators as Sampras defeated Agassi in two sets. On March 3, 2014, Agassi and Sampras squared off for an exhibition in London for the annual World Tennis Day. This time it was Agassi who came out on top in two straight sets.\n\nHe returned to the tour in May 2017 in the position of coach to Novak Djokovic for the French Open.\n", "Early in his career, Agassi would look to end points quickly by playing first-strike tennis, typically by inducing a weak return with a deep, hard shot, and then playing a winner at an extreme angle. His groundstrokes, return of serve, baseline game, anticipation, and eye–hand coordination were always among the best in the game. On the rare occasion that he charged the net, Agassi liked to take the ball in the air and hit a swinging volley for the winner. His favored groundstroke was his flat, accurate two-handed backhand, hit well cross-court but in particular down the line. His forehand was nearly as strong, in particular his inside-out forehand to the ad court.\n\nAgassi's strength was in dictating play from the back of the court. While he was growing up, his father and Nick Bollettieri trained him in this way. When in control of a point, Agassi would often pass up an opportunity to attempt a winner and hit a conservative shot to minimize his errors, and to make his opponent run more. This change to more methodical, less aggressive baseline play was largely initiated by his longtime coach, Brad Gilbert, in their first year together in 1994. Gilbert encouraged Agassi to wear out opponents with his deep, flat groundstrokes and to use his fitness to win attrition wars, and noted Agassi's two-handed backhand down the line as his very best shot. A signature play later in his career was a change up drop shot to the deuce court after deep penetrating groundstrokes. This would often be followed by a passing shot or lob if the opponent was fast enough to retrieve it.\n\nAgassi was raised on hardcourts, but found much of his early major-tournament success on the red clay of Roland Garros, reaching two consecutive finals there early in his career. Despite grass being his worst surface, his first major win was at the slick grass of Wimbledon in 1992, a tournament that he professed to hating at the time. His strongest surface over the course of his career, was indeed hardcourt, where he won six of his eight majors.\n", "Agassi established a limited liability company named Andre Agassi Ventures (formerly named Agassi Enterprises). Agassi, along with five athlete partners (including Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, Shaquille O'Neal, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Monica Seles) opened a chain of sports-themed restaurant named Official All Star Café in April 1996. The restaurant closed down in 2001. In 1999, he paid $1 million for a 10 percent stake in Nevada First Bank and made a $10 million profit when it was sold to Western Alliance Bancorp in 2006. In 2002, he joined the Tennis Channel to promote the channel to consumers and cable and satellite industry, and made an equity investment in the network. After meeting chef Michael Mina at one of his restaurants in San Francisco, Agassi partnered with him in 2002 to start Mina Group Inc. and opened 18 concept restaurants in San Francisco, San Jose, Dana Point, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Agassi was an equity investor of a group that acquired Golden Nugget Las Vegas and Golden Nugget Laughlin from MGM Mirage for $215 million in 2004. One year later, the group sold the hotel-casino to Landry's, Inc. for $163 million in cash and $182 million in assumed debt. In 2007, he sat on the board of Meadows Bank, an independent bank in Nevada. He has invested in start-up companies backed by Allen & Company.\n\nAgassi and Graf formed a company called Agassi Graf Holdings. They invested in PURE, a nightclub at Caesars Palace, which opened in 2004, and sold it to Angel Management Group in 2010. In August 2006, Agassi and Graf developed a joint venture with high-end furniture maker Kreiss Enterprises. They launched a furniture line called Agassi Graf Collection. In September, Agassi and Graf, through their company Agassi Graf Development LLC, along with Bayview Financial LP, finalized an agreement to develop a condominium hotel, Fairmont Tamarack, at Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, Idaho. Due to difficult market conditions and delays, they withdrew from the project in 2009. The group still owns three small chunks of land. In September, they collaborated with Steve Case's Exclusive Resorts to co-develop luxury resorts and design Agassi-Graf Tennis and Fitness Centers.\n\nThey also invested in online ticket reseller viagogo in 2009 and both serve as board members and advisors of the company.\n\nIn October 2012, Village Roadshow and investors including Agassi and Graf announced plans to build new water park called Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Village Roadshow has a 51% stake in the park while Agassi, Graf, and other private investors hold the remaining 49%. The park opened in May 2013.\n\nIMG managed Agassi from the time he turned pro in 1986 through January 2000 before switching to SFX Sports Group. His business manager, lawyer and agent was childhood friend Perry Rogers, but they have been estranged since 2008. In 2009, he and Graf signed with CAA.\n\n===Equipment and endorsements===\nAgassi used Prince Graphite rackets early in his career. He signed a $7 million endorsement contract with Belgian tennis racquet makers Donnay. He later switched to Head Ti Radical racket and Head's LiquidMetal Radical racket, having signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Head in 1993. He renewed his contract in 1999 and in November 2003, he signed a lifetime agreement with Head. He also endorses Penn tennis balls. On July 25, 2005, Agassi left Nike after 17 years and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. A major reason for Agassi leaving Nike was because Nike refused to donate to Agassi's charities, and Adidas was more than happy to do so. On May 13, 2013, Agassi rejoined Nike.\n\nAgassi was sponsored by DuPont, Ebel, Mountain Dew in 1993, Mazda in 1997, Kia Motors in 2002, American Express and Deutsche Bank in 2003. In 1990, he appeared in a television commercial for Canon Inc., promoting the Canon EOS Rebel camera. Between 1999 and 2000, he signed a multimillion-dollar, multiyear endorsement deal with Schick and became the worldwide spokesman for the company. Agassi signed a multiyear contract with Twinlab and promoted the company's nutritional supplements. In mid-2003, he was named the spokesman of Aramis Life, a fragrance by Aramis and signed a five-year deal with the company. In March 2004, he signed a ten-year agreement worth $1.5 million a year with 24 Hour Fitness, which will open five Andre Agassi fitness centers by year-end. Prior to the 2012 Australian Open, Agassi and Australian winemaker Jacobs Creek announced a three-year partnership and created the Open Film Series to \"share personal stories about the life defining moments that shaped his character on and off the court.\" In 2007, watchmaker Longines named Agassi as their brand ambassador.\n\nAgassi and his mother appeared in a Got Milk? advertisement in 2002.\n\nAgassi has appeared in many advertisements and television commercials with Graf. They both endorsed Deutsche Telekom in 2002, Genworth Financial and Canon Inc. in 2004, LVMH in 2007, and Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit U and Longines in 2013.\n", "\n===Relationships and family===\nIn the early 1990s Agassi dated American entertainer Barbra Streisand. Writing about the relationship in his 2009 autobiography, he said, \"We agree that we're good for each other, and so what if she's twenty-eight years older? We're sympatico, and the public outcry only adds spice to our connection. It makes our friendship feel forbidden, taboo – another piece of my overall rebellion. Dating Barbra Streisand is like wearing Hot Lava.\" Agassi was married to Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999.\n\nHe married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001, at their Las Vegas home after the 1999 French Open, with only their mothers as witnesses. They have two children: son Jaden Gil (born 2001) and daughter Jaz Elle (born 2003). Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. The Graf-Agassi family resides in Summerlin, a community in the Las Vegas Valley. Graf's mother and her brother, Michael Graf, with his four children also live there.\n\nLong-time trainer Gil Reyes has been called one of Agassi's closest friends; some have described him as being a \"father figure\" to Agassi. In 2012, Agassi and Reyes introduced their own line of fitness equipment, BILT By Agassi and Reyes. In December 2008, Agassi's childhood friend and former business manager, Perry Rogers, sued Graf for $50,000 in management fees he claimed that she owed him.\n\n===Autobiography===\nAgassi's autobiography, ''Open: An Autobiography,'' (written with assistance from J. R. Moehringer), was published in November 2009. In it, Agassi admitted that he used and tested positive for methamphetamine in 1997. In response to this revelation, Roger Federer declared himself shocked and disappointed, while Marat Safin argued that Agassi should return his prize money and be stripped of his titles. In an exclusive interview with CBS, Agassi justified himself and asked for understanding, saying that \"It was a period in my life where I needed help.\" He also revealed that he had always hated tennis during his career because of the constant pressure it exerted on him. He also revealed he wore a hairpiece earlier in his career and thought Pete Sampras was \"robotic\". The book reached No. 1 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and received favorable reviews. It won the Autobiography category of the 2010 British Sports Book Awards.\n", "Agassi has donated more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates. On September 1, 2010, when he appeared on daily WNYC public radio program \"The Brian Lehrer Show,\" he stated that he is a registered Independent.\n", "Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association in 1994, which assists Las Vegas' young people. He was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for his efforts to help disadvantaged youth. He is regularly cited as the most charitable and socially involved player in professional tennis. It has also been claimed that he may be the most charitable athlete of his generation.\n\nAgassi's charities help in assisting children reach their athletic potential. His Boys & Girls Club sees 2,000 children throughout the year and boasts a world-class junior tennis team. It also has a basketball program (the Agassi Stars) and a rigorous system that encourages a mix of academics and athletics.\n\nIn 2001, Agassi opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a tuition-free charter school for at-risk children in the area. He personally donated $35 million to the school. In 2009, the graduating class had 100 percent graduation rate and expected a 100 percent college acceptance rate. Among other child-related programs that Agassi supports through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is Clark County's only residential facility for abused and neglected children, Child Haven. In 1997, Agassi donated funding to Child Haven for a six-room classroom building now named the Agassi Center for Education. His foundation also provided $720,000 to assist in the building of the Andre Agassi Cottage for Medically Fragile Children. This 20-bed facility opened in December 2001, and accommodates developmentally delayed or handicapped children and children quarantined for infectious diseases.\n\nIn 2007, along with several other athletes, Agassi founded the charity Athletes for Hope, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities. He created the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund and is now known as the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. The Fund is an investment initiative for social change, focusing on the \"nationwide effort to move charters from stopgap buildings into permanent campuses.\" It has funded over 30 campuses for high performing charter schools and seeks to provide investors with a healthy return.\n\nIn September 2013, the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education formed a partnership with V20 Foods to launch Box Budd!es, a line of kids' healthy snacks. All proceeds go to the Foundation.\n\nIn February 2014, Agassi remodeled the vacant University of Phoenix building as a new school called the Doral Academy West through the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. Doral Academy opened in August 2014. The Fund purchased a 4.6-acre plot in Henderson, Nevada to house the Somerset Academy of Las Vegas, which will relocate from its campus inside a church.\n", "\n\n===Singles timeline overview===\n\n Tournament !! 1986 !! 1987 !! 1988 !! 1989 !! 1990 !! 1991 !! 1992 !! 1993 !! 1994 !! 1995 !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999 !! 2000 !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! !! \n\n '''Grand Slams'''\n\n Australian Open\nNH\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n '''W'''\n SF\n A\n 4R\n 4R\n '''W'''\n '''W'''\n A\n '''W'''\n SF\n QF\n A\n 4 / 9\n 48–5\n\n French Open\n A\n 2R\n SF\n 3R\n F\n F\n SF\n A\n 2R\n QF\n 2R\n A\n 1R\n '''W'''\n 2R\n QF\n QF\n QF\n 1R\n 1R\n A\n 1 / 17\n 51–16\n\n Wimbledon\n A\n 1R\n A\n A\n A\n QF\n '''W\n QF\n 4R\n SF\n 1R\n A\n 2R\n F\n SF\n SF\n 2R\n 4R\n A\n A\n 3R\n 1 / 14\n 46–13\n\n US Open\n 1R\n 1R\n SF\n SF\n F\n 1R\n QF\n 1R\n '''W\n F\n SF\n 4R\n 4R\n '''W\n 2R\n QF\n F\n SF\n QF\n F\n 3R\n 2 / 21\n 79–19\n\n '''Year-End Championship\n\n Masters Cup\nDNQ\nDNQ\n RR\n RR\n '''W\n SF\nDNQ\nDNQ\n SF\n A\n RR\nDNQ\n RR\n F\n F\n RR\n RR\n F\n A\n RR\nRET\n 1 / 13\n 22–20\n\n '''Overall'''\n\nWin–Loss\n 5–6\n 26–17\n 63–11\n 41–19\n 45–12\n 39–17\n 42–15\n 33–11\n 52–14\n 73–9\n 38–14\n 12–12\n 68–18\n 63–14\n 40–15\n 46–15\n 53–12\n 47–10\n 37–13\n 38–12\n 10–8\n 870–274\n\nTitles\n 0\n 1\n 6\n 1\n 4\n 2\n 3\n 2\n 5\n 7\n 3\n 0\n 5\n 5\n 1\n 4\n 5\n 4\n 1\n 1\n 0\n 60 / 343\n\n '''Ranking'''\n 91\n 25\n '''3'''\n 7\n 4\n 10\n 9\n 24\n '''2'''\n '''2'''\n 8\n 110\n 6\n '''1'''\n 6\n '''3'''\n '''2'''\n 4\n 8\n 7\n 150\n \n\n\n===Grand Slam finals===\nBy winning the 1999 French Open, Agassi completed a men's singles Career Grand Slam. He is the 5th of 8 male players in history (after Budge, Perry, Laver, Emerson and before Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) to achieve this.\n\nOutcome\nYear\nChampionship\nSurface\nOpponent\nScore\n\nRunner-up\n 1990\n French Open\n Clay\n Andrés Gómez\n 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6\n\nRunner-up\n 1990\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 3–6, 2–6\n\nRunner-up\n 1991\n French Open\n Clay\n Jim Courier\n 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 4–6\n\nWinner\n 1992\n Wimbledon\n Grass\n Goran Ivanišević\n 6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4\n\nWinner\n 1994\n US Open\n Hard\n Michael Stich\n 6–1, 7–6(7–5), 7–5\n\nWinner\n 1995\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–4\n\nRunner-up\n 1995\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 5–7\n\nWinner\n 1999\n French Open\n Clay\n Andrei Medvedev\n 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4\n\nRunner-up\n 1999\n Wimbledon\n Grass\n Pete Sampras\n 3–6, 4–6, 5–7\n\nWinner\n 1999\n US Open\n Hard\n Todd Martin\n 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–2\n\nWinner\n 2000\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Yevgeny Kafelnikov\n 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4\n\nWinner\n 2001\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Arnaud Clément\n 6–4, 6–2, 6–2\n\nRunner-up\n 2002\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6\n\nWinner\n 2003\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Rainer Schüttler\n 6–2, 6–2, 6–1\n\nRunner-up\n 2005\n US Open\n Hard\n Roger Federer\n 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(1–7), 1–6\n\n\n==== Open Era records ====\n* These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis and in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series since 1990.\n* Records in '''bold''' indicate peer-less achievements.\n\n\n\n Time span\n Selected Grand Slam tournament records\n Players matched\n\n '''1990 YEC — 1999 French Open \n '''Career \"Super Slam\" \n '''Stands alone'''\n\n 1992 Wimbledon — 1999 French Open \n Career Golden Slam \n Rafael Nadal\n\n 1992 Wimbledon — 1999 French Open \n Career Grand Slam \n Rod LaverRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak Djokovic\n\n 1996 Olympics — 1999 US Open \n Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay & hard court \n Rafael Nadal\n\n 1996 Olympics — 2000 Australian Open \n Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and 3 Majors \n Rafael Nadal\n\n\n\n\n Grand Slam tournaments\n Time Span\n Records at each Grand Slam tournament\n Players matched\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''2000–2004 \n '''26 consecutive match wins \n '''Stands alone\n\n Australian Open \n 1995 \n Won tournament on the first attempt \n Jimmy ConnorsRoscoe TannerVitas GerulaitisJohan Kriek\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''1995–2005 \n '''88.89% (48–6) match winning percentage \n '''Stands alone\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''2003 \n '''71.6% (121–48) games winning percentage in 1 tournament \n '''Stands alone\n\n '''US Open \n '''1986–2006 \n '''21 consecutive tournaments played \n '''Stands alone\n\n\n\n\n Time span\n Other selected records\n Players matched\n\n 1990–2003 \n 6 Miami Masters titles \n Novak Djokovic\n\n 1995–2003 \n Oldest player ranked no. 1 (33 years 4 months) \n '''Stands alone'''\n\n 1988–2005 \n Ended 16 years ranked inside the top 10 \n Jimmy Connors\n\n", "* ITF World Champion: 1999.\n* ATP Player of the Year: 1999.\n* ATP Most Improved Player: 1988, 1998\n", "* In 1992, Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.\n* In 2010, ''Sports Illustrated'' named Agassi the 7th greatest male player of all time.\n* On July 9, 2011, Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.\n", "* ''Wimbledon 2000 Semi-final – Agassi vs. Rafter (2003)'' Starring: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 213 minutes, .\n* ''Charlie Rose with Andre Agassi (May 7, 2001)'' Charlie Rose, Inc., DVD Release Date: August 15, 2006, Run Time: 57 minutes.\n* ''Wimbledon: The Record Breakers (2005)'' Starring: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 52 minutes, .\n", "\n* ''Andre Agassi Tennis'' for the SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Master System, and Mobile phone\n* ''Agassi Tennis Generation'' for PS2 and GBA\n* ''Agassi Tennis Generation 2002'' for Windows\n* ''Smash Court Pro Tournament'' for PS2\n* ''Top Spin 4'' (On cover of game) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii\n", "\n* List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions\n* Agassi–Sampras rivalry\n* Tennis male players statistics\n* All-time tennis records – men's singles\n* Tennis records of the Open Era – men's singles\n", "\n", "\n", "* \n* \n", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Player profile at TheTennisChannel.com\n* Andre Agassi Ventures\n* For Agassi, it's substance over style, 2004\n* Farewell to Tennis Speech at the U.S. Open\n* Agassi's Tennis Hall of Fame Induction for Steffi Graf\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "1970–85: Early life", "International tennis career biography", "Earnings", "Post-retirement", "Playing style", "Business ventures", "Personal life", "Politics", "Philanthropy", "Career statistics", "Professional awards", "Recognition", "Video", "Video games", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "In 1999, he paid $1 million for a 10 percent stake in Nevada First Bank and made a $10 million profit when it was sold to Western Alliance Bancorp in 2006.", "In 2007, he sat on the board of Meadows Bank, an independent bank in Nevada.", "Agassi was sponsored by DuPont, Ebel, Mountain Dew in 1993, Mazda in 1997, Kia Motors in 2002, American Express and Deutsche Bank in 2003." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Andre Kirk Agassi''' (; born April 29, 1970) is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No.", "1 who was one of the sport's most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.", "Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the greatest service returner in the history of the game.", "Described by the BBC upon his retirement as \"perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history\", Agassi compiled performances that, along with his unorthodox apparel and attitude, saw him cited as one of the most charismatic players in history.", "As a result, he is credited for helping to revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s.", "In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, as well as finishing runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments.", "During the Open Era, Agassi was the first male player to win four Australian Open titles, a record that was later surpassed by Novak Djokovic when he won his fifth title in 2015, and then by Roger Federer in 2017.", "Agassi is one of five male singles players to achieve the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of eight in history, the first of two to achieve the Career Golden Slam (Career Grand Slam and Olympic Gold Medal, the other being Rafael Nadal), and the only man to win the Career Golden Slam and the ATP Tour World Championships (won in 1990): a distinction dubbed as a \"Career Super Slam\" by ''Sports Illustrated''.", "Agassi was the first male player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and the last American male to win both the French Open (in 1999) and the Australian Open (in 2003).", "He also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup teams in 1990, 1992 and 1995.", "Agassi reached the World No.", "1 ranking for the first time in 1995 but was troubled by personal issues during the mid-to-late 1990s and sank to World No.", "141 in 1997, prompting many to believe that his career was over.", "Agassi returned to World No.", "1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years.", "During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known by the nickname \"The Punisher\".", "After suffering from sciatica caused by two bulging discs in his back, a spondylolisthesis (vertebral displacement) and a bone spur that interfered with the nerve, Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open to Benjamin Becker.", "He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada.", "In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.", "He has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001.", "Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Emmanuel \"Mike\" Agassi, a former Olympic boxer from Iran and Elizabeth \"Betty\" Agassi (née Dudley).", "His father stated he is from a mixed Armenian and Assyrian heritage.", "One of his ancestors changed his surname from Aghassian to Agassi to avoid persecution.", "Andre Agassi's mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor.", "He has three older siblings – Rita (last wife to Pancho Gonzales), Philip and Tami.", "In a passage from the book ''Open'', Agassi details how his father made him play a match for money with football legend Jim Brown, in 1979, when Agassi was 9 years old.", "Brown was at a Vegas tennis club complaining to the owner about a money match that was canceled.", "Agassi's father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son and he would put up his house for the wager.", "Brown countered with a $10,000 bet, but after he was warned by the club owner not to take the bet because he would lose and be embarrassed, Brown agreed with Mike Agassi that they would set the amount after he and Andre played two sets.", "Brown lost those sets, 3–6, 3–6, declined the 10K wager, and offered to play the third set for $500.", "He lost 2–6.", "At age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida.", "He was meant to stay for only 3 months because that was all his father could afford.", "After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri called Mike and said: \"Take your check back.", "He's here for free,\" claiming that Agassi had more natural talent than anyone else he had seen.", "Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade.", "\n===1986–1993: Breakthrough and the first major title===\nAgassi turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California.", "He won his first match against John Austin, but then lost his second match to Mats Wilander.", "By the end of 1986, Agassi was ranked world no.", "91.", "He won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica and ended the year ranked world no.", "25.", "He won six additional tournaments in 1988 (Memphis, U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Forest Hills WCT, Stuttgart Outdoor, Volvo International and Livingston Open), and, by December of that year, he had surpassed US$1 million in career prize money after playing in just 43 tournaments—the fastest anyone in history had reached that level.", "During 1988, he also set the open-era record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager (a record that stood for 17 years until Rafael Nadal broke it in 2005).", "His year-end ranking was world no.", "3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander.", "Both the Association of Tennis Professionals and ''Tennis'' magazine named Agassi the Most Improved Player of the Year for 1988.", "In addition to not playing the Australian Open (which later became his best Grand Slam event) for the first eight years of his career, Agassi chose not to play at Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 and publicly stated that he did not wish to play there because of the event's traditionalism, particularly its \"predominantly white\" dress code to which players at the event are required to conform.", "Strong performances on the tour meant that Agassi was quickly tipped as a future Grand Slam champion.", "While still a teenager, he reached the semifinals of both the French Open and the US Open in 1988 and made the US Open semifinals in 1989.", "He began the 1990s with a series of near-misses.", "He reached his first Grand Slam final in 1990 at the French Open, where he was favored before losing in four sets to Andrés Gómez, which he attributes to worrying about his wig falling off.", "He reached his second Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, defeating defending champion Boris Becker in the semifinals.", "His opponent in the final was Pete Sampras; a year earlier, Agassi had crushed Sampras, after which he told his coach that he felt bad for Sampras because he was never going to make it as a pro.", "Agassi lost the US Open final to Sampras in three sets.", "The rivalry between these two American players became the dominant rivalry in tennis over the rest of the decade.", "Also in 1990, Agassi helped the United States win its first Davis Cup in 8 years and won his only Tennis Masters Cup, beating reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg in the final.", "In 1991, Agassi reached his second consecutive French Open final, where he faced fellow Bollettieri Academy alumnus Jim Courier.", "Courier emerged the victor in a five-set final.", "Agassi decided to play at Wimbledon in 1991, leading to weeks of speculation in the media about the clothes he would wear.", "He eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit.", "He reached the quarterfinals on that occasion, losing in five sets to David Wheaton.", "Agassi's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came at Wimbledon, not at the French Open or the US Open, where he had previously enjoyed success.", "In 1992, he defeated Goran Ivanišević in a five-set final.", "Along the way, Agassi overcame two former Wimbledon champions: Boris Becker and John McEnroe.", "No other baseliner would triumph at Wimbledon until Lleyton Hewitt ten years later.", "Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1992.", "Agassi once again played on the United States' Davis Cup winning team in 1992.", "It was their second Davis cup title in three years.", "In 1993, Agassi won the only doubles title of his career, at the Cincinnati Masters, partnered with Petr Korda.", "He missed much of the early part of that year due to injuries.", "Although he made the quarterfinals in his Wimbledon title defense, he lost to eventual champion and world no.", "1 Pete Sampras in five sets.", "Agassi lost in the first round at the US Open to Thomas Enqvist and required wrist surgery late in the year.", "===1994–1997: Rise to the top, Olympic Gold and the fall===\nWith new coach Brad Gilbert on board, Agassi began to employ more of a tactical, consistent approach, which fueled his resurgence.", "He started slowly in 1994, losing in the first week at the French Open and Wimbledon.", "Nevertheless, he emerged during the hard-court season, winning the Canadian Open.", "His comeback culminated at the 1994 US Open with a five-set fourth-round victory against compatriot Michael Chang.", "He then became the first man to capture the US Open as an unseeded player, beating Michael Stich in the final.", "Along the way, he beat 5 seeded players.", "In 1995, Agassi shaved his balding head, breaking with his old \"image is everything\" style.", "He competed in the 1995 Australian Open (his first appearance at the event) and won, beating Sampras in a four-set final.", "Agassi and Sampras met in five tournament finals in 1995, all on hardcourt, with Agassi winning three.", "Agassi won three Masters Series events in 1995 (Cincinnati, Key Biscayne, and the Canadian Open) and seven titles total.", "He compiled a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court circuit, with the last victory being in an intense late night four-set semifinal of the US Open against Boris Becker.", "The streak ended the next day when Agassi lost the final to Sampras.", "Agassi reached the world no.", "1 ranking for the first time in April 1995.", "He held that ranking until November, for a total of 30 weeks.", "Agassi skipped most of the fall indoor season which allowed Sampras to surpass him and finish ranked no.", "1 at the year-ending ranking.", "In terms of win/loss record, 1995 was Agassi's best year.", "He won 73 matches while losing 9 and was also once again a key player on the United States' Davis Cup winning team—the third and final Davis Cup title of Agassi's career.", "1996 was a less successful year for Agassi, as he failed to reach any Grand Slam final.", "He suffered two early-round losses at the hands of compatriots Chris Woodruff and Doug Flach at the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and lost to Chang in straight sets in the Australian and US Open semifinals.", "At the time, Agassi blamed the Australian Open loss on the windy conditions, but later said in his biography that he had lost the match on purpose, as he did not want to play Boris Becker, whom he would have faced in that final.", "The high point for Agassi was winning the men's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, beating Sergi Bruguera of Spain in the final.", "Agassi also successfully defended his singles titles in Cincinnati and Key Biscayne.", "1997 was the low point of Agassi's career.", "His wrist injury resurfaced, and he played only 24 matches during the year.", "He later confessed that he started using crystal methamphetamine at that time, allegedly on the urging of a friend.", "He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink.", "The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning.", "In his autobiography, Agassi admitted that the letter was a lie.", "He quit the drug soon after.", "At this time Agassi was also in a failing marriage with actress Brooke Shields and had lost interest in the game.", "He won no top-level titles, and his ranking sank to world no.", "141 on November 10, 1997, prompting many to believe that his run as one of the sport's premier competitors was over and that he would never again win any significant championships.", "===1998–2003: Return to glory and Career Super Slam===\nAgassi serving\nIn 1998, Agassi began a rigorous conditioning program and worked his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments, a circuit for pro players ranked outside the world's top 50.", "After returning to top physical and mental shape, Agassi recorded the most successful period of his tennis career and also played classic matches in that period against Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter.", "In 1998, Agassi won five titles and leapt from world no.", "110 to no.", "6, the highest jump into the top 10 made by any player during a calendar year.", "At Wimbledon, he had an early loss in the second round to Tommy Haas.", "He won five titles in ten finals and was runner-up at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, losing to Marcelo Ríos, who became world no.", "1 as a result.", "At the year end he was awarded the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year for the second time in his career (the first being 10 years earlier in 1988).", "Agassi entered the history books in 1999 when he came back from two sets to love down to beat Andrei Medvedev in a five-set French Open final, becoming, at the time, only the fifth male player (joining Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Don Budge—these have since been joined by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic) to win all four Grand Slam singles titles during his career.", "Only Laver, Agassi, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have achieved this feat during the open era.", "This win also made him the first (of only four, the next being Federer, Nadal and Djokovic respectively) male player in history to have won all four Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts).", "Agassi also became the only male player to win the Career Super Slam, consisting of all four Grand Slam tournaments plus an Olympic gold medal in singles and a Year-End Championship.", "Agassi followed his 1999 French Open victory by reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sampras in straight sets.", "He rebounded from his Wimbledon defeat by winning the US Open, beating Todd Martin in five sets (rallying from a two sets to one deficit) in the final.", "Overall during the year Agassi won 5 titles including two majors and the ATP Masters Series in Paris, where he beat Marat Safin.", "Agassi ended 1999 as the world no.", "1, ending Sampras's record of six consecutive year-ending top rankings (1993–98).", "This was the only time Agassi ended the year at no.", "1.", "He began the next year by capturing his second Australian Open title, beating Sampras in a five-set semifinal and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in a four-set final.", "He was the first male player to have reached four consecutive Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver achieved the Grand Slam in 1969.", "At the time, Agassi was also only the fourth player since Laver to be the reigning champion of three of four Grand Slam events, missing only the Wimbledon title.. 2000 also saw Agassi reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever at Wimbledon.", "At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached the final after defeating Marat Safin in the semifinals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest world no.", "1 in the history of tennis.", "Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end world no.", "1.", "Agassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over Arnaud Clément.", "En route, he beat a cramping Rafter in five sets in front of a sell-out crowd in what turned out to be the Aussie's last Australian Open.", "At Wimbledon, they met again in the semifinals, where Agassi lost another close match to Rafter, 8–6 in the fifth set.", "In the quarterfinals at the US Open, Agassi lost a 3-hour, 33 minute epic match with Sampras, 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 6–7, with no breaks of serve during the 52-game match.", "Despite the setback, Agassi finished 2001 ranked world no.", "3, becoming the only male tennis player to finish a year ranked in the top 3 in three different decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s).", "He also was the oldest player (age 31) to finish in the top three since 32-year-old Connors finished at world no.", "2 in 1984.", "2002 opened with disappointment for Agassi, as injury forced him to skip the Australian Open, where he was a two-time defending champion.", "Agassi recovered from the injury and later that year defended his Key Biscayne title beating then rising Roger Federer in a four-set final.", "The last duel between Agassi and Sampras came in the final of the US Open, which Sampras won in four sets and left Sampras with a 20–14 edge in their 34 career meetings.", "The match was the last of Sampras's career.", "Agassi's US Open finish, along with his Masters Series victories in Key Biscayne, Rome and Madrid, helped him finish 2002 as the oldest year-end world no.", "2 at 32 years and 8 months.", "In 2003, Agassi won the eighth (and final) Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open, where he beat Rainer Schüttler in straight sets in the final.", "In March, he won his sixth career and third consecutive Key Biscayne title, in the process surpassing his wife, Steffi Graf, who was a five-time winner of the event.", "The final was his 18th straight win in that tournament, which broke the previous record of 17 set by Sampras from 1993–95.", "(Agassi's winning streak continued to 20 after winning his first two matches at the 2004 edition of that tournament before bowing to Agustín Calleri.)", "With the victory, Agassi became the youngest (19 years old) and oldest (32) winner of the Key Biscayne tournament.", "On April 28, 2003, he recaptured the world no.", "1 ranking after a quarterfinal victory over Xavier Malisse at the Queen's Club Championships to become the oldest top-ranked male player since the ATP rankings began at 33 years and 13 days.", "He had held the world no.", "1 ranking for two weeks, when Lleyton Hewitt took it back on May 12, 2003.", "Agassi then recaptured the world no.", "1 ranking once again on June 16, 2003, which he held for 12 weeks until September 7, 2003.", "During his career, Agassi held the world no.", "1 ranking for a total of 101 weeks.", "Agassi's ranking slipped when injuries forced him to withdraw from many events.", "He did manage to reach the US Open semifinals, where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero and surrendered his world no.", "1 ranking to Ferrero.", "At the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, Agassi lost in the final to Federer and finished the year ranked world no.", "4.", "At age 33, he was the oldest player to rank in the top 5 since Connors, at age 35, was world no.", "4 in 1987.", "===2004–2006: Final years===\nIn 2004, Agassi began the year with a five-set loss in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Marat Safin; the loss ended Agassi's 26-match winning streak at the event, a record that still stands.", "He won the Masters series event in Cincinnati to bring his career total to 59 top-level singles titles and a record 17 ATP Masters Series titles, having already won seven of the nine ATP Masters tournament—all except the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.", "At 34, he became the second-oldest singles champion in Cincinnati tournament history (the tournament began in 1899), surpassed only by Ken Rosewall, who won the title in 1970 at age 35.", "He finished the year ranked world no.", "8, the oldest player to finish in the top 10 since the 36-year-old Connors was world no.", "7 in 1988.", "Agassi also became only the sixth male player during the open era to reach 800 career wins with his first-round victory over Alex Bogomolov in Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.", "Agassi's 2005 began with a quarterfinal loss to Federer at the Australian Open.", "Agassi had several other deep runs at tournaments, but had to withdraw from several events due to injury.", "He lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the French Open.", "He won his fourth title in Los Angeles and reached the final of the Rogers Cup, before falling to world no.", "2 Rafael Nadal.", "Agassi's 2005 was defined by an improbable run to the US Open final.", "After beating Răzvan Sabău and Ivo Karlović in straight sets and Tomáš Berdych in four sets, Agassi won three consecutive five-set matches to advance to the final.", "The most notable of these matches was his quarterfinal victory over James Blake, where he rallied from two sets down to win 7–6 in the fifth set.", "His other five-set victims were Xavier Malisse in the fourth round and Robby Ginepri in the semifinals.", "In the final, Agassi faced Federer, who was seeking his second consecutive US Open title and his sixth Grand Slam title in two years.", "Federer defeated Agassi in four sets.", "Agassi finished 2005 ranked world no.", "7, his 16th time in the year-end top-10 rankings, which tied Connors for the most times ranked in the top 10 at year's end.", "Agassi had a poor start to 2006.", "He was still recovering from an ankle injury and also suffering from back and leg pain and lack of match play.", "Agassi withdrew from the Australian Open because of the ankle injury, and his back injury and other pains forced him to withdraw from several other events, eventually skipping the entire clay-court season including the French Open.", "This caused his ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the last time.", "Agassi returned for the grass-court season, playing a tune-up, and then Wimbledon.", "He was defeated in the third round by world no.", "2 (and eventual runner-up) Rafael Nadal.", "Against conventions, Agassi, the losing player, was interviewed on court after the match.", "At Wimbledon, Agassi announced his plans to retire following the US Open.", "Agassi played only two events during the summer hard-court season with his best result being a quarterfinal loss at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles to Fernando González of Chile, which resulted in him being unseeded at the US Open.", "Agassi had a short, but dramatic, run in his final US Open.", "Because of extreme back pain, Agassi was forced to receive anti-inflammatory injections after every match.", "After a tough four-set win against Andrei Pavel, Agassi faced eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round who had earlier advanced to the 2006 Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinals.", "Agassi won in five tough sets as the younger Baghdatis succumbed to muscle cramping in the final set.", "In his last match, Agassi fell to 112th-ranked big-serving Benjamin Becker of Germany in four sets.", "Agassi received a four-minute standing ovation from the crowd after the match and delivered a retirement speech.", "Agassi earned more than $30 million in prize-money during his career, sixth only to Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Sampras and Murray to date (October 22, 2015).", "He also earned more than $25 million a year through endorsements during his career, fourth in all sports at the time.", "Since retiring after the 2006 US Open, Agassi has participated in a series of charity tournaments and continues his work with his own charity.", "On September 5, 2007, he was a surprise guest commentator for the Andy Roddick/Roger Federer US Open quarterfinal.", "He played an exhibition match at Wimbledon, teaming with his wife, Steffi Graf, to play with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters.", "He played World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms in the summer of 2009.", "At the 2009 French Open, Agassi was on hand to present Roger Federer, who completed his Career Grand Slam by winning the tournament and joined Agassi as one of six men to complete the Career Grand Slam, with the trophy.", "Also in 2009 Agassi played at the Outback Champions Series event for the first time.", "He played the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at Surprise, Arizona, where he reached the final before bowing to eventual champion Todd Martin.", "He also announced that he will not be playing the tour on a full-time basis, and played the tournament as a favor to long-time friend Jim Courier.", "Agassi returned to the tour renamed for the PowerShares Series in 2011 and participated in a total of seven events while winning two.", "Agassi beat Courier in the final of the Staples Champions Cup in Boston and later defeated Sampras at the CTCA Championships at his hometown Las Vegas.", "In 2012, Agassi took part in five tournaments, winning three of those.", "In November, at first he won BILT Champions Showdown in San Jose, beating John McEnroe in the final.", "The following day, he defended his title of the CTCA Championships, while defeating Courier in the decisive match.", "In the series season finale, he beat Michael Chang for the Acura Champions Cup.", "The series and Agassi came back to action in 2014.", "Agassi won both tournaments he participated in.", "At the Camden Wealth Advisors Cup's final in Houston, Agassi beat James Blake for a rematch of their 2005 US Open quarterfinal.", "He defeated Blake again in Portland to win the title of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships.", "In 2015, Agassi took part in just one event of the PowerShares Series, losing to Mark Philippoussis in the final of the Champions Shootout.", "In 2009, in Macau Agassi and Sampras met for the first time on court since the 2002 US Open final.", "Sampras won the exhibition in three sets.", "The rivalry between the former champions headlined sports media again in March 2010 after the two participated in the \"Hit for Haiti\" charity event organized to raise money for the victims of the earthquake.", "Partnered with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the old rivals began making jokes on each other which ended up with Sampras intentionally striking a serve at Agassi's body.", "After the event Agassi admitted that he had crossed the line with his jokes and publicly apologized to Sampras.", "Agassi and Sampras met again one year later for an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden in New York in front of 19 000 spectators as Sampras defeated Agassi in two sets.", "On March 3, 2014, Agassi and Sampras squared off for an exhibition in London for the annual World Tennis Day.", "This time it was Agassi who came out on top in two straight sets.", "He returned to the tour in May 2017 in the position of coach to Novak Djokovic for the French Open.", "Early in his career, Agassi would look to end points quickly by playing first-strike tennis, typically by inducing a weak return with a deep, hard shot, and then playing a winner at an extreme angle.", "His groundstrokes, return of serve, baseline game, anticipation, and eye–hand coordination were always among the best in the game.", "On the rare occasion that he charged the net, Agassi liked to take the ball in the air and hit a swinging volley for the winner.", "His favored groundstroke was his flat, accurate two-handed backhand, hit well cross-court but in particular down the line.", "His forehand was nearly as strong, in particular his inside-out forehand to the ad court.", "Agassi's strength was in dictating play from the back of the court.", "While he was growing up, his father and Nick Bollettieri trained him in this way.", "When in control of a point, Agassi would often pass up an opportunity to attempt a winner and hit a conservative shot to minimize his errors, and to make his opponent run more.", "This change to more methodical, less aggressive baseline play was largely initiated by his longtime coach, Brad Gilbert, in their first year together in 1994.", "Gilbert encouraged Agassi to wear out opponents with his deep, flat groundstrokes and to use his fitness to win attrition wars, and noted Agassi's two-handed backhand down the line as his very best shot.", "A signature play later in his career was a change up drop shot to the deuce court after deep penetrating groundstrokes.", "This would often be followed by a passing shot or lob if the opponent was fast enough to retrieve it.", "Agassi was raised on hardcourts, but found much of his early major-tournament success on the red clay of Roland Garros, reaching two consecutive finals there early in his career.", "Despite grass being his worst surface, his first major win was at the slick grass of Wimbledon in 1992, a tournament that he professed to hating at the time.", "His strongest surface over the course of his career, was indeed hardcourt, where he won six of his eight majors.", "Agassi established a limited liability company named Andre Agassi Ventures (formerly named Agassi Enterprises).", "Agassi, along with five athlete partners (including Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, Shaquille O'Neal, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Monica Seles) opened a chain of sports-themed restaurant named Official All Star Café in April 1996.", "The restaurant closed down in 2001.", "In 2002, he joined the Tennis Channel to promote the channel to consumers and cable and satellite industry, and made an equity investment in the network.", "After meeting chef Michael Mina at one of his restaurants in San Francisco, Agassi partnered with him in 2002 to start Mina Group Inc. and opened 18 concept restaurants in San Francisco, San Jose, Dana Point, Atlantic City and Las Vegas.", "Agassi was an equity investor of a group that acquired Golden Nugget Las Vegas and Golden Nugget Laughlin from MGM Mirage for $215 million in 2004.", "One year later, the group sold the hotel-casino to Landry's, Inc. for $163 million in cash and $182 million in assumed debt.", "He has invested in start-up companies backed by Allen & Company.", "Agassi and Graf formed a company called Agassi Graf Holdings.", "They invested in PURE, a nightclub at Caesars Palace, which opened in 2004, and sold it to Angel Management Group in 2010.", "In August 2006, Agassi and Graf developed a joint venture with high-end furniture maker Kreiss Enterprises.", "They launched a furniture line called Agassi Graf Collection.", "In September, Agassi and Graf, through their company Agassi Graf Development LLC, along with Bayview Financial LP, finalized an agreement to develop a condominium hotel, Fairmont Tamarack, at Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, Idaho.", "Due to difficult market conditions and delays, they withdrew from the project in 2009.", "The group still owns three small chunks of land.", "In September, they collaborated with Steve Case's Exclusive Resorts to co-develop luxury resorts and design Agassi-Graf Tennis and Fitness Centers.", "They also invested in online ticket reseller viagogo in 2009 and both serve as board members and advisors of the company.", "In October 2012, Village Roadshow and investors including Agassi and Graf announced plans to build new water park called Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas in Las Vegas.", "Village Roadshow has a 51% stake in the park while Agassi, Graf, and other private investors hold the remaining 49%.", "The park opened in May 2013.", "IMG managed Agassi from the time he turned pro in 1986 through January 2000 before switching to SFX Sports Group.", "His business manager, lawyer and agent was childhood friend Perry Rogers, but they have been estranged since 2008.", "In 2009, he and Graf signed with CAA.", "===Equipment and endorsements===\nAgassi used Prince Graphite rackets early in his career.", "He signed a $7 million endorsement contract with Belgian tennis racquet makers Donnay.", "He later switched to Head Ti Radical racket and Head's LiquidMetal Radical racket, having signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Head in 1993.", "He renewed his contract in 1999 and in November 2003, he signed a lifetime agreement with Head.", "He also endorses Penn tennis balls.", "On July 25, 2005, Agassi left Nike after 17 years and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas.", "A major reason for Agassi leaving Nike was because Nike refused to donate to Agassi's charities, and Adidas was more than happy to do so.", "On May 13, 2013, Agassi rejoined Nike.", "In 1990, he appeared in a television commercial for Canon Inc., promoting the Canon EOS Rebel camera.", "Between 1999 and 2000, he signed a multimillion-dollar, multiyear endorsement deal with Schick and became the worldwide spokesman for the company.", "Agassi signed a multiyear contract with Twinlab and promoted the company's nutritional supplements.", "In mid-2003, he was named the spokesman of Aramis Life, a fragrance by Aramis and signed a five-year deal with the company.", "In March 2004, he signed a ten-year agreement worth $1.5 million a year with 24 Hour Fitness, which will open five Andre Agassi fitness centers by year-end.", "Prior to the 2012 Australian Open, Agassi and Australian winemaker Jacobs Creek announced a three-year partnership and created the Open Film Series to \"share personal stories about the life defining moments that shaped his character on and off the court.\"", "In 2007, watchmaker Longines named Agassi as their brand ambassador.", "Agassi and his mother appeared in a Got Milk?", "advertisement in 2002.", "Agassi has appeared in many advertisements and television commercials with Graf.", "They both endorsed Deutsche Telekom in 2002, Genworth Financial and Canon Inc. in 2004, LVMH in 2007, and Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit U and Longines in 2013.", "\n===Relationships and family===\nIn the early 1990s Agassi dated American entertainer Barbra Streisand.", "Writing about the relationship in his 2009 autobiography, he said, \"We agree that we're good for each other, and so what if she's twenty-eight years older?", "We're sympatico, and the public outcry only adds spice to our connection.", "It makes our friendship feel forbidden, taboo – another piece of my overall rebellion.", "Dating Barbra Streisand is like wearing Hot Lava.\"", "Agassi was married to Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999.", "He married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001, at their Las Vegas home after the 1999 French Open, with only their mothers as witnesses.", "They have two children: son Jaden Gil (born 2001) and daughter Jaz Elle (born 2003).", "Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players.", "The Graf-Agassi family resides in Summerlin, a community in the Las Vegas Valley.", "Graf's mother and her brother, Michael Graf, with his four children also live there.", "Long-time trainer Gil Reyes has been called one of Agassi's closest friends; some have described him as being a \"father figure\" to Agassi.", "In 2012, Agassi and Reyes introduced their own line of fitness equipment, BILT By Agassi and Reyes.", "In December 2008, Agassi's childhood friend and former business manager, Perry Rogers, sued Graf for $50,000 in management fees he claimed that she owed him.", "===Autobiography===\nAgassi's autobiography, ''Open: An Autobiography,'' (written with assistance from J. R. Moehringer), was published in November 2009.", "In it, Agassi admitted that he used and tested positive for methamphetamine in 1997.", "In response to this revelation, Roger Federer declared himself shocked and disappointed, while Marat Safin argued that Agassi should return his prize money and be stripped of his titles.", "In an exclusive interview with CBS, Agassi justified himself and asked for understanding, saying that \"It was a period in my life where I needed help.\"", "He also revealed that he had always hated tennis during his career because of the constant pressure it exerted on him.", "He also revealed he wore a hairpiece earlier in his career and thought Pete Sampras was \"robotic\".", "The book reached No.", "1 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and received favorable reviews.", "It won the Autobiography category of the 2010 British Sports Book Awards.", "Agassi has donated more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates.", "On September 1, 2010, when he appeared on daily WNYC public radio program \"The Brian Lehrer Show,\" he stated that he is a registered Independent.", "Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association in 1994, which assists Las Vegas' young people.", "He was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 1995 for his efforts to help disadvantaged youth.", "He is regularly cited as the most charitable and socially involved player in professional tennis.", "It has also been claimed that he may be the most charitable athlete of his generation.", "Agassi's charities help in assisting children reach their athletic potential.", "His Boys & Girls Club sees 2,000 children throughout the year and boasts a world-class junior tennis team.", "It also has a basketball program (the Agassi Stars) and a rigorous system that encourages a mix of academics and athletics.", "In 2001, Agassi opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a tuition-free charter school for at-risk children in the area.", "He personally donated $35 million to the school.", "In 2009, the graduating class had 100 percent graduation rate and expected a 100 percent college acceptance rate.", "Among other child-related programs that Agassi supports through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation is Clark County's only residential facility for abused and neglected children, Child Haven.", "In 1997, Agassi donated funding to Child Haven for a six-room classroom building now named the Agassi Center for Education.", "His foundation also provided $720,000 to assist in the building of the Andre Agassi Cottage for Medically Fragile Children.", "This 20-bed facility opened in December 2001, and accommodates developmentally delayed or handicapped children and children quarantined for infectious diseases.", "In 2007, along with several other athletes, Agassi founded the charity Athletes for Hope, which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities.", "He created the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund and is now known as the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund.", "The Fund is an investment initiative for social change, focusing on the \"nationwide effort to move charters from stopgap buildings into permanent campuses.\"", "It has funded over 30 campuses for high performing charter schools and seeks to provide investors with a healthy return.", "In September 2013, the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education formed a partnership with V20 Foods to launch Box Budd!es, a line of kids' healthy snacks.", "All proceeds go to the Foundation.", "In February 2014, Agassi remodeled the vacant University of Phoenix building as a new school called the Doral Academy West through the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund.", "Doral Academy opened in August 2014.", "The Fund purchased a 4.6-acre plot in Henderson, Nevada to house the Somerset Academy of Las Vegas, which will relocate from its campus inside a church.", "\n\n===Singles timeline overview===\n\n Tournament !", "!", "1986 !", "!", "1987 !", "!", "1988 !", "!", "1989 !", "!", "1990 !", "!", "1991 !", "!", "1992 !", "!", "1993 !", "!", "1994 !", "!", "1995 !", "!", "1996 !", "!", "1997 !", "!", "1998 !", "!", "1999 !", "!", "2000 !", "!", "2001 !", "!", "2002 !", "!", "2003 !", "!", "2004 !", "!", "2005 !", "!", "2006 !", "!", "!", "!", "'''Grand Slams'''\n\n Australian Open\nNH\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n A\n '''W'''\n SF\n A\n 4R\n 4R\n '''W'''\n '''W'''\n A\n '''W'''\n SF\n QF\n A\n 4 / 9\n 48–5\n\n French Open\n A\n 2R\n SF\n 3R\n F\n F\n SF\n A\n 2R\n QF\n 2R\n A\n 1R\n '''W'''\n 2R\n QF\n QF\n QF\n 1R\n 1R\n A\n 1 / 17\n 51–16\n\n Wimbledon\n A\n 1R\n A\n A\n A\n QF\n '''W\n QF\n 4R\n SF\n 1R\n A\n 2R\n F\n SF\n SF\n 2R\n 4R\n A\n A\n 3R\n 1 / 14\n 46–13\n\n US Open\n 1R\n 1R\n SF\n SF\n F\n 1R\n QF\n 1R\n '''W\n F\n SF\n 4R\n 4R\n '''W\n 2R\n QF\n F\n SF\n QF\n F\n 3R\n 2 / 21\n 79–19\n\n '''Year-End Championship\n\n Masters Cup\nDNQ\nDNQ\n RR\n RR\n '''W\n SF\nDNQ\nDNQ\n SF\n A\n RR\nDNQ\n RR\n F\n F\n RR\n RR\n F\n A\n RR\nRET\n 1 / 13\n 22–20\n\n '''Overall'''\n\nWin–Loss\n 5–6\n 26–17\n 63–11\n 41–19\n 45–12\n 39–17\n 42–15\n 33–11\n 52–14\n 73–9\n 38–14\n 12–12\n 68–18\n 63–14\n 40–15\n 46–15\n 53–12\n 47–10\n 37–13\n 38–12\n 10–8\n 870–274\n\nTitles\n 0\n 1\n 6\n 1\n 4\n 2\n 3\n 2\n 5\n 7\n 3\n 0\n 5\n 5\n 1\n 4\n 5\n 4\n 1\n 1\n 0\n 60 / 343\n\n '''Ranking'''\n 91\n 25\n '''3'''\n 7\n 4\n 10\n 9\n 24\n '''2'''\n '''2'''\n 8\n 110\n 6\n '''1'''\n 6\n '''3'''\n '''2'''\n 4\n 8\n 7\n 150\n \n\n\n===Grand Slam finals===\nBy winning the 1999 French Open, Agassi completed a men's singles Career Grand Slam.", "He is the 5th of 8 male players in history (after Budge, Perry, Laver, Emerson and before Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) to achieve this.", "Outcome\nYear\nChampionship\nSurface\nOpponent\nScore\n\nRunner-up\n 1990\n French Open\n Clay\n Andrés Gómez\n 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6\n\nRunner-up\n 1990\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 3–6, 2–6\n\nRunner-up\n 1991\n French Open\n Clay\n Jim Courier\n 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 4–6\n\nWinner\n 1992\n Wimbledon\n Grass\n Goran Ivanišević\n 6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4\n\nWinner\n 1994\n US Open\n Hard\n Michael Stich\n 6–1, 7–6(7–5), 7–5\n\nWinner\n 1995\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–4\n\nRunner-up\n 1995\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 5–7\n\nWinner\n 1999\n French Open\n Clay\n Andrei Medvedev\n 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4\n\nRunner-up\n 1999\n Wimbledon\n Grass\n Pete Sampras\n 3–6, 4–6, 5–7\n\nWinner\n 1999\n US Open\n Hard\n Todd Martin\n 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–2\n\nWinner\n 2000\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Yevgeny Kafelnikov\n 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4\n\nWinner\n 2001\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Arnaud Clément\n 6–4, 6–2, 6–2\n\nRunner-up\n 2002\n US Open\n Hard\n Pete Sampras\n 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6\n\nWinner\n 2003\n Australian Open\n Hard\n Rainer Schüttler\n 6–2, 6–2, 6–1\n\nRunner-up\n 2005\n US Open\n Hard\n Roger Federer\n 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(1–7), 1–6\n\n\n==== Open Era records ====\n* These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis and in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series since 1990.", "* Records in '''bold''' indicate peer-less achievements.", "Time span\n Selected Grand Slam tournament records\n Players matched\n\n '''1990 YEC — 1999 French Open \n '''Career \"Super Slam\" \n '''Stands alone'''\n\n 1992 Wimbledon — 1999 French Open \n Career Golden Slam \n Rafael Nadal\n\n 1992 Wimbledon — 1999 French Open \n Career Grand Slam \n Rod LaverRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak Djokovic\n\n 1996 Olympics — 1999 US Open \n Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay & hard court \n Rafael Nadal\n\n 1996 Olympics — 2000 Australian Open \n Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and 3 Majors \n Rafael Nadal\n\n\n\n\n Grand Slam tournaments\n Time Span\n Records at each Grand Slam tournament\n Players matched\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''2000–2004 \n '''26 consecutive match wins \n '''Stands alone\n\n Australian Open \n 1995 \n Won tournament on the first attempt \n Jimmy ConnorsRoscoe TannerVitas GerulaitisJohan Kriek\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''1995–2005 \n '''88.89% (48–6) match winning percentage \n '''Stands alone\n\n '''Australian Open \n '''2003 \n '''71.6% (121–48) games winning percentage in 1 tournament \n '''Stands alone\n\n '''US Open \n '''1986–2006 \n '''21 consecutive tournaments played \n '''Stands alone\n\n\n\n\n Time span\n Other selected records\n Players matched\n\n 1990–2003 \n 6 Miami Masters titles \n Novak Djokovic\n\n 1995–2003 \n Oldest player ranked no.", "1 (33 years 4 months) \n '''Stands alone'''\n\n 1988–2005 \n Ended 16 years ranked inside the top 10 \n Jimmy Connors", "* ITF World Champion: 1999.", "* ATP Player of the Year: 1999.", "* ATP Most Improved Player: 1988, 1998", "* In 1992, Agassi was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.", "* In 2010, ''Sports Illustrated'' named Agassi the 7th greatest male player of all time.", "* On July 9, 2011, Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.", "* ''Wimbledon 2000 Semi-final – Agassi vs. Rafter (2003)'' Starring: Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 213 minutes, .", "* ''Charlie Rose with Andre Agassi (May 7, 2001)'' Charlie Rose, Inc., DVD Release Date: August 15, 2006, Run Time: 57 minutes.", "* ''Wimbledon: The Record Breakers (2005)'' Starring: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: August 16, 2005, Run Time: 52 minutes, .", "\n* ''Andre Agassi Tennis'' for the SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Master System, and Mobile phone\n* ''Agassi Tennis Generation'' for PS2 and GBA\n* ''Agassi Tennis Generation 2002'' for Windows\n* ''Smash Court Pro Tournament'' for PS2\n* ''Top Spin 4'' (On cover of game) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii", "\n* List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions\n* Agassi–Sampras rivalry\n* Tennis male players statistics\n* All-time tennis records – men's singles\n* Tennis records of the Open Era – men's singles", "* \n*", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Player profile at TheTennisChannel.com\n* Andre Agassi Ventures\n* For Agassi, it's substance over style, 2004\n* Farewell to Tennis Speech at the U.S. Open\n* Agassi's Tennis Hall of Fame Induction for Steffi Graf\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''American Football Conference''' ('''AFC''') is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger with the rival American Football League (AFL), with all ten of the former AFL teams and three NFL teams forming the AFC, and the remaining thirteen NFL clubs forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total 16 clubs per each conference.\n\nSince the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the New England Patriots have won nine AFC titles, the most of any team in the conference (and of any team in either conference since the merger), and are its current title holder.\n", "Since 2002, the AFC has 16 teams, organized into four divisions each with four teams: East, North, South and West.\n\n\n Division\n Team\n City/Town\n Stadium\n\n East\n '''Buffalo Bills'''\n Orchard Park, NY\n New Era Field\n\n '''Miami Dolphins'''\n Miami Gardens, FL\n Hard Rock Stadium\n\n '''New England Patriots'''\n Foxborough, MA\n Gillette Stadium\n\n '''New York Jets'''\n East Rutherford, NJ\n MetLife Stadium\n\n North\n '''Baltimore Ravens'''\n Baltimore, MD\n M&T Bank Stadium\n\n '''Cincinnati Bengals'''\n Cincinnati, OH\n Paul Brown Stadium\n\n '''Cleveland Browns'''\n Cleveland, OH\n FirstEnergy Stadium\n\n '''Pittsburgh Steelers'''\n Pittsburgh, PA\n Heinz Field\n\n South\n '''Houston Texans'''\n Houston, TX\n NRG Stadium\n\n '''Indianapolis Colts'''\n Indianapolis, IN\n Lucas Oil Stadium\n\n '''Jacksonville Jaguars'''\n Jacksonville, FL\n EverBank Field\n\n '''Tennessee Titans'''\n Nashville, TN\n Nissan Stadium\n\n West\n '''Denver Broncos'''\n Denver, CO\n Sports Authority Field at Mile High\n\n '''Kansas City Chiefs'''\n Kansas City, MO\n Arrowhead Stadium\n\n '''Los Angeles Chargers'''\n Carson, CA\n StubHub Center\n\n '''Oakland Raiders'''\n Oakland, CA\n Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum\n\n", " \n\n\n\n\n\n !! AFC East !! AFC North !! AFC South !! AFC West\n\n 1st \n Patriots \n Steelers \n Texans \n Chiefs\n\n 2nd \n Dolphins \n Ravens \n Titans \n Raiders\n\n 3rd \n Bills \n Bengals \n Colts \n Broncos\n\n 4th \n Jets \n Browns \n Jaguars \n Chargers\n\n\n\n !! NFC East !! NFC North !! NFC South !! NFC West\n\n 1st \n Cowboys \n Packers \n Falcons \n Seahawks\n\n 2nd \n Giants \n Lions \n Buccaneers \n Cardinals\n\n 3rd \n Redskins \n Vikings \n Saints \n Rams\n\n 4th \n Eagles \n Bears \n Panthers \n 49ers\n\n\nThis chart of the 2016 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula. The Patriots in 2016 (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the AFC East. Thus, in 2017, the Patriots will play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the AFC West and NFC South (highlighted in yellow), and one game each against the first-place finishers in the AFC North and AFC South (highlighted in orange).\n\n\nCurrently, the thirteen opponents each team faces over the 16-game regular season schedule are set using a pre-determined formula:\n\nEach AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to 10 other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL. Two of these games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from the previous season. The remaining 8 games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions. This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2012 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC North and NFC South. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the two games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing.\n\nAt the end of each season, the top six teams in the conference proceeds into the playoff. These teams consist of the four division winners and the top two wild card teams. The AFC playoffs culminate in the AFC Championship Game with the winner receiving the Lamar Hunt Trophy. The AFC Champion then plays the NFC Champion in the Super Bowl.\n", "\nOriginal American Football Conference logo, based on the AFL logo with blue stars\nBoth the AFC and the NFC were created after the NFL merged with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. The AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, and added two more expansion clubs (the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968) before the merger. In order to equalize the number of teams in each conference, three NFL teams that predated the AFL's launch (the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the then-Baltimore Colts) joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC. The two AFL divisions AFL East and AFL West were more or less intact, while the Century Division, in which the Browns and the Steelers had played since 1967, was moved from the NFL to become the new AFC Central.\n\nSince the merger, five expansion teams have joined the AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16. When the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976, they were temporarily placed in the NFC and AFC respectively. This arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences. The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the 2002 realignment. The expansion Jacksonville Jaguars joined the AFC in 1995. There have been five teams that have relocated at least once. In 1984, the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984. In 1995, the Cleveland Browns had attempted to move to Baltimore, the resulting dispute between Cleveland and the team, led to Modell establishing the Baltimore Ravens with the players and personnel from the Browns, while the Browns were placed in suspended operations before they were reinstated by the NFL.\n\nIn California, the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, and Back to Oakland in 1995, while the San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017.\n\nThe Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers. The team would change its name again, two years later, to the Tennessee Titans.\n\nThe NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the Houston Texans to the AFC.\n\nBetween 2000 and 2016, the AFC has sent either the Baltimore Ravens (2 times), the Denver Broncos (2 times), the Indianapolis Colts (2 times), the Oakland Raiders (1 time), the New England Patriots (7 times), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3 times) to the Super Bowl. By contrast, the NFC has sent 12 different teams during that same time frame. 14 of the last 17 AFC champions have started one of just three quarterbacks - Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger - in the Super Bowl.\n", "216x216px\nThe merged league created a new logo for the AFC that took elements of the old AFL logo, specifically the \"A\" and the six stars surrounding it. The AFC logo basically remained unchanged from 1970 to 2009. The 2010 NFL season introduced an updated AFC logo, with the most notable revision being the removal of two stars (leaving four representing the four divisions of the AFC), and moving the stars inside the letter, similar to the NFC logo.\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Current teams", "Season structure", "History", "Logo", "References" ]

[ "Division\n Team\n City/Town\n Stadium\n\n East\n '''Buffalo Bills'''\n Orchard Park, NY\n New Era Field\n\n '''Miami Dolphins'''\n Miami Gardens, FL\n Hard Rock Stadium\n\n '''New England Patriots'''\n Foxborough, MA\n Gillette Stadium\n\n '''New York Jets'''\n East Rutherford, NJ\n MetLife Stadium\n\n North\n '''Baltimore Ravens'''\n Baltimore, MD\n M&T Bank Stadium\n\n '''Cincinnati Bengals'''\n Cincinnati, OH\n Paul Brown Stadium\n\n '''Cleveland Browns'''\n Cleveland, OH\n FirstEnergy Stadium\n\n '''Pittsburgh Steelers'''\n Pittsburgh, PA\n Heinz Field\n\n South\n '''Houston Texans'''\n Houston, TX\n NRG Stadium\n\n '''Indianapolis Colts'''\n Indianapolis, IN\n Lucas Oil Stadium\n\n '''Jacksonville Jaguars'''\n Jacksonville, FL\n EverBank Field\n\n '''Tennessee Titans'''\n Nashville, TN\n Nissan Stadium\n\n West\n '''Denver Broncos'''\n Denver, CO\n Sports Authority Field at Mile High\n\n '''Kansas City Chiefs'''\n Kansas City, MO\n Arrowhead Stadium\n\n '''Los Angeles Chargers'''\n Carson, CA\n StubHub Center\n\n '''Oakland Raiders'''\n Oakland, CA\n Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''American Football Conference''' ('''AFC''') is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States.", "This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.", "Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger with the rival American Football League (AFL), with all ten of the former AFL teams and three NFL teams forming the AFC, and the remaining thirteen NFL clubs forming the NFC.", "A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total 16 clubs per each conference.", "Since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the New England Patriots have won nine AFC titles, the most of any team in the conference (and of any team in either conference since the merger), and are its current title holder.", "Since 2002, the AFC has 16 teams, organized into four divisions each with four teams: East, North, South and West.", " \n\n\n\n\n\n !", "!", "AFC East !", "!", "AFC North !", "!", "AFC South !", "!", "AFC West\n\n 1st \n Patriots \n Steelers \n Texans \n Chiefs\n\n 2nd \n Dolphins \n Ravens \n Titans \n Raiders\n\n 3rd \n Bills \n Bengals \n Colts \n Broncos\n\n 4th \n Jets \n Browns \n Jaguars \n Chargers\n\n\n\n !", "!", "NFC East !", "!", "NFC North !", "!", "NFC South !", "!", "NFC West\n\n 1st \n Cowboys \n Packers \n Falcons \n Seahawks\n\n 2nd \n Giants \n Lions \n Buccaneers \n Cardinals\n\n 3rd \n Redskins \n Vikings \n Saints \n Rams\n\n 4th \n Eagles \n Bears \n Panthers \n 49ers\n\n\nThis chart of the 2016 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula.", "The Patriots in 2016 (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the AFC East.", "Thus, in 2017, the Patriots will play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the AFC West and NFC South (highlighted in yellow), and one game each against the first-place finishers in the AFC North and AFC South (highlighted in orange).", "Currently, the thirteen opponents each team faces over the 16-game regular season schedule are set using a pre-determined formula:\n\nEach AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to 10 other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL.", "Two of these games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from the previous season.", "The remaining 8 games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions.", "This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle.", "Using the 2012 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC North and NFC South.", "In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the two games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing.", "At the end of each season, the top six teams in the conference proceeds into the playoff.", "These teams consist of the four division winners and the top two wild card teams.", "The AFC playoffs culminate in the AFC Championship Game with the winner receiving the Lamar Hunt Trophy.", "The AFC Champion then plays the NFC Champion in the Super Bowl.", "\nOriginal American Football Conference logo, based on the AFL logo with blue stars\nBoth the AFC and the NFC were created after the NFL merged with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970.", "The AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, and added two more expansion clubs (the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968) before the merger.", "In order to equalize the number of teams in each conference, three NFL teams that predated the AFL's launch (the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the then-Baltimore Colts) joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC.", "The two AFL divisions AFL East and AFL West were more or less intact, while the Century Division, in which the Browns and the Steelers had played since 1967, was moved from the NFL to become the new AFC Central.", "Since the merger, five expansion teams have joined the AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16.", "When the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976, they were temporarily placed in the NFC and AFC respectively.", "This arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences.", "The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the 2002 realignment.", "The expansion Jacksonville Jaguars joined the AFC in 1995.", "There have been five teams that have relocated at least once.", "In 1984, the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984.", "In 1995, the Cleveland Browns had attempted to move to Baltimore, the resulting dispute between Cleveland and the team, led to Modell establishing the Baltimore Ravens with the players and personnel from the Browns, while the Browns were placed in suspended operations before they were reinstated by the NFL.", "In California, the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, and Back to Oakland in 1995, while the San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017.", "The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers.", "The team would change its name again, two years later, to the Tennessee Titans.", "The NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the Houston Texans to the AFC.", "Between 2000 and 2016, the AFC has sent either the Baltimore Ravens (2 times), the Denver Broncos (2 times), the Indianapolis Colts (2 times), the Oakland Raiders (1 time), the New England Patriots (7 times), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (3 times) to the Super Bowl.", "By contrast, the NFC has sent 12 different teams during that same time frame.", "14 of the last 17 AFC champions have started one of just three quarterbacks - Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger - in the Super Bowl.", "216x216px\nThe merged league created a new logo for the AFC that took elements of the old AFL logo, specifically the \"A\" and the six stars surrounding it.", "The AFC logo basically remained unchanged from 1970 to 2009.", "The 2010 NFL season introduced an updated AFC logo, with the most notable revision being the removal of two stars (leaving four representing the four divisions of the AFC), and moving the stars inside the letter, similar to the NFC logo." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''''Animal Farm''''' is an allegorical novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described ''Animal Farm'' as a satirical tale against Stalin (\"''un conte satirique contre Staline''\"), and in his essay \"Why I Write\" (1946), wrote that ''Animal Farm'' was the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, \"to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole\".\n\nThe original title was ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story;'' U.S. publishers dropped the subtitle when it was published in 1946, and only one of the translations during Orwell's lifetime kept it. Other titular variations include subtitles like \"''A Satire''\" and \"''A Contemporary Satire''\". Orwell suggested the title ''Union des républiques socialistes animales'' for the French translation, which abbreviates to URSA, the Latin word for \"bear\", a symbol of Russia. It also played on the French name of the Soviet Union, ''Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques''.\n\nOrwell wrote the book between November 1943 and February 1944, when the UK was in its wartime alliance with the Soviet Union and the British people and intelligentsia held Stalin in high esteem, a phenomenon Orwell hated. The manuscript was initially rejected by a number of British and American publishers, including one of Orwell's own, Victor Gollancz, which delayed its publication. It became a great commercial success when it did appear partly because international relations were transformed as the wartime alliance gave way to the Cold War.\n\n''Time'' magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to 2005); it also featured at number 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels. It won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 1996, and is included in the Great Books of the Western World selection.\n", "Old Major, the old boar on the Manor Farm, summons the animals on the farm together for a meeting, during which he refers to humans as \"enemies\" and teaches the animals a revolutionary song called \"Beasts of England\". When Major dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command and consider it a duty to prepare for the Rebellion. The animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible farmer Mr. Jones from the farm, renaming it \"Animal Farm\". They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, \"All animals are equal.\"\n\nSnowball teaches the animals to read and write, while Napoleon educates young puppies on the principles of Animalism. Food is plentiful, and the farm runs smoothly. The pigs elevate themselves to positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for their personal health.\n\nSome time later, several men attack Animal Farm. Jones and his men are making an attempt to recapture the farm, aided by several other farmers who are terrified of similar animal revolts. Snowball and the animals, who are hiding in ambush, defeat the men by launching a surprise attack as soon as they enter the farmyard. Snowball's popularity soars, and this event is proclaimed \"The Battle of the Cowshed\". It is celebrated annually with the firing of a gun, on the anniversary of the Revolution.\n\nNapoleon and Snowball vie for pre-eminence. When Snowball announces his plans to modernize the farm by building a windmill, Napoleon has his dogs chase Snowball away and declares himself leader.\n\nNapoleon enacts changes to the governance structure of the farm, replacing meetings with a committee of pigs who will run the farm. Through a young pig named Squealer, Napoleon claims credit for the windmill idea. The animals work harder with the promise of easier lives with the windmill. When the animals find the windmill collapsed after a violent storm, Napoleon and Squealer convince the animals that Snowball is trying to sabotage their project. Once Snowball becomes a scapegoat, Napoleon begins to purge the farm with his dogs, killing animals he accuses of consorting with his old rival. When some animals recall the Battle of the Cowshed, Napoleon (who was nowhere to be found during the battle) frequently smears Snowball as a collaborator of Jones', while falsely representing himself as the hero of the battle. \"Beasts of England\" is replaced with an anthem glorifying Napoleon, who appears to be adopting the lifestyle of a man. The animals remain convinced that they are better off than they were under Mr. Jones.\n\nMr Frederick, one of the neighbouring farmers, attacks the farm, using blasting powder to blow up the restored windmill. Though the animals win the battle, they do so at great cost, as many, including Boxer the workhorse, are wounded. Despite his injuries, Boxer continues working harder and harder, until he collapses while working on the windmill. Napoleon sends for a van to take Boxer to the veterinary surgeon, explaining that better care can be given there. Benjamin, the cynical donkey who \"could read as well as any pig\", notices that the van belongs to a knacker and attempts a futile rescue. Squealer quickly assures the animals that the van had been purchased from the knacker by an animal hospital, and the previous owner's signboard had not been repainted. In a subsequent report, Squealer reports sadly to the animals that Boxer died peacefully at the animal hospital; the pigs hold a festival one day after Boxer's death to further praise the glories of Animal Farm and have the animals work harder by taking on Boxer's ways. However, the truth was that Napoleon had engineered the sale of Boxer to the knacker, allowing him and his inner circle to acquire money to buy whisky for themselves. (In 1940s England, one way for farms to make money was to sell large animals to a knacker, who would kill the animal and boil its remains into animal glue.)\n\n\nYears pass, and the windmill is rebuilt along with construction of another windmill, which makes the farm a good amount of income. However, the ideals which Snowball discussed, including stalls with electric lighting, heating and running water are forgotten, with Napoleon advocating that the happiest animals live simple lives. In addition to Boxer, many of the animals who participated in the Revolution are dead, as is Farmer Jones, who died in another part of England. The pigs start to resemble humans, as they walk upright, carry whips, and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments are abridged to a single phrase: \"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others\". Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and local farmers, with whom he celebrates a new alliance. He abolishes the practice of the revolutionary traditions and restores the name \"The Manor Farm\". As the animals look from pigs to humans, they realise they can no longer distinguish between the two.\n", "\n===Pigs===\n\n*'''Old Major''' – An aged prize Middle White boar provides the inspiration that fuels the rebellion. He is an allegorical combination of Karl Marx, one of the creators of communism, and Vladimir Lenin, the communist leader of the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet nation, in that he draws up the principles of the revolution. His skull being put on revered public display recalls Lenin, whose embalmed body was put on display. \n*'''Napoleon''' – \"A large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way\". An allegory of Joseph Stalin, Napoleon is the main villain of ''Animal Farm''. In the first French version of ''Animal Farm'', Napoleon is called '''', the French form of Caesar, although another translation has him as ''''.\n*'''Snowball''' – Napoleon's rival and original head of the farm after Jones' overthrow. He is mainly based on Leon Trotsky, but also combines elements from Lenin.\n*'''Squealer''' – A small, white, fat porker who serves as Napoleon's second-in-command and minister of propaganda, holding a position similar to that of Vyacheslav Molotov.\n*'''Minimus''' – A poetic pig who writes the second and third national anthems of Animal Farm after the singing of \"Beasts of England\" is banned.\n*'''The piglets''' – Hinted to be the children of Napoleon and are the first generation of animals subjugated to his idea of animal inequality.\n*'''The young pigs''' – Four pigs who complain about Napoleon's takeover of the farm but are quickly silenced and later executed, the first animals killed in Napoleon's farm purge. Based on the Great Purge of Grigori Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin, and Alexei Rykov.\n*'''Pinkeye''' – A minor pig who is mentioned only once; he is the pig that tastes Napoleon's food to make sure it is not poisoned, in response to rumours about an assassination attempt on Napoleon.\n\n===Humans===\n\n*'''Mr Jones''' – A heavy drinker who is the original owner of Manor Farm, a farm in disrepair with farmhands who often loaf on the job. He is an allegory of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917 and was murdered, along with the rest of his family, by the Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918. The animals revolt after Jones drinks so much he does not care for the animals.\n*'''Mr Frederick''' – The tough owner of Pinchfield, a small but well-kept neighbouring farm, who briefly enters into an alliance with Napoleon. Animal Farm shares land boundaries with Pinchfield on one side and Foxwood on another, making Animal Farm a \"buffer zone\" between the two bickering farmers. The animals of Animal Farm are terrified of Frederick, as rumours abound of him abusing his animals and entertaining himself with cockfighting (a likely allegory for the human rights abuses of Adolf Hitler). Napoleon enters into an alliance with Frederick in order to sell surplus timber that Pilkington also sought, but is enraged to learn Frederick paid him in counterfeit money. Shortly after the swindling, Frederick and his men invade Animal Farm, killing many animals and detonating the windmill. The brief alliance and subsequent invasion may allude to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Operation Barbarossa.\n*'''Mr Pilkington''' – The easy-going but crafty and well-to-do owner of Foxwood, a large neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds. Unlike Frederick, Pilkington is wealthier and owns more land, but his farm is in need of care as opposed to Frederick's smaller but more efficiently-run farm. Although on bad terms with Frederick, Pilkington is also concerned about the animal revolution that deposed Jones, and worried that this could also happen to him.\n*'''Mr Whymper''' – A man hired by Napoleon to act as the liaison between Animal Farm and human society. At first he is used to acquire necessities that cannot be produced on the farm, such as dog biscuits and paraffin wax, but later he procures luxuries like alcohol for the pigs.\n\n===Horses and donkeys ===\n\n*'''Boxer''' – A loyal, kind, dedicated, extremely strong, hard working, and respectable cart-horse, although quite naive and gullible. Boxer does a large share of the physical labour on the farm. He is shown to hold the belief that 'Napoleon is always right'. At one point, he had challenged Squealer's statement that Snowball was always against the welfare of the farm, earning him an attack from Napoleon's dogs. But Boxer's immense strength repels the attack, worrying the pigs that their authority can be challenged. Boxer has been compared to the Stakhanovite movement. He has been described as \"faithful and strong\"; he believes any problem can be solved if he works harder. When Boxer is injured, Napoleon sells him to a local knacker to buy himself whisky, and Squealer gives a moving account falsifying Boxer's death.\n*'''Mollie''' – A self-centred, self-indulgent and vain young white mare who quickly leaves for another farm after the revolution. She is only once mentioned again, in a manner similar to those who left Russia after the fall of the Tsar.\n*'''Clover''' – A gentle, caring female horse, who shows concern especially for Boxer, who often pushes himself too hard. Clover can read all the letters of the alphabet, but cannot \"put words together\". She seems to catch on to the sly tricks and schemes set up by Napoleon and Squealer.\n*'''Benjamin''' – A donkey, one of the oldest, wisest animals on the farm, and one of the few who can read properly. He is sceptical, temperamental and cynical: his most frequent remark is, \"Life will go on as it has always gone on—that is, badly.\" The academic Morris Dickstein has suggested there is \"a touch of Orwell himself in this creature's timeless skepticism\" and indeed, friends called Orwell \"Donkey George\", \"after his grumbling donkey Benjamin, in ''Animal Farm''.\"\n\n===Other animals===\n*'''Muriel''' – A wise old goat who is friends with all of the animals on the farm. She, like Benjamin and Snowball, is one of the few animals on the farm who can read.\n*'''The puppies''' – Offspring of Jessie and Bluebell, they were taken away at birth by Napoleon and reared by him to be his security force.\n*'''Moses''' – The raven, \"Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker.\" Initially following Mrs. Jones into exile, he reappears several years later and resumes his role of talking but not working. He regales Animal Farm's denizens with tales of a wondrous place beyond the clouds called \"Sugarcandy Mountain, that happy country where we poor animals shall rest forever from our labours!\" Orwell portrays established religion as \"the black raven of priestcraft—promising pie in the sky when you die, and faithfully serving whoever happens to be in power.\" Napoleon brings the raven back (Ch. IX), as Stalin brought back the Russian Orthodox Church. \n*'''The sheep''' – They show limited understanding of the Animalism and the political atmosphere of the farm; yet nonetheless they blindly support Napoleon's ideals with vocal jingles during his speeches and meetings with Snowball. Some commentators have compared the sheep to representations of state controlled press. Their constant bleating of \"four legs good, two legs bad\" was used as a device to drown out any opposition; analogous to simplistic headlines used in printed media of the age. Towards the latter section of the book, Squealer (the propagandist) trains the sheep to alter their slogan to \"four legs good, two legs better\", which they dutifully do. Symbolizing the state manipulation of media.\n*'''The hens''' – The hens are promised at the start of the revolution that they will get to keep their eggs, which are stolen from them under Mr Jones. However their eggs are soon taken from them under the premise of buying goods from outside Animal Farm. The hens are among the first to rebel against Napoleon.\n*'''The cows''' – The cows are enticed into the revolution by promises that their milk will not be stolen, but can be used to raise their own calves. Their milk is then stolen by the pigs, who learn to milk them. The milk is stirred into the pigs' mash every day, while the other animals are denied such luxuries. \n*'''The cat''' – Never seen to carry out any work, the cat is absent for long periods and is forgiven; because her excuses are so convincing and she \"purred so affectionately that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.\" She has no interest in the politics of the farm, and the only time she is recorded as having participated in an election, she is found to have actually \"voted on both sides.\"\n", "\n===Origin===\nGeorge Orwell wrote the manuscript in 1943 and 1944 subsequent to his experiences during the Spanish Civil War, which he described in ''Homage to Catalonia'' (1938). In the preface of a 1947 Ukrainian edition of ''Animal Farm'', he explained how escaping the communist purges in Spain taught him \"how easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people in democratic countries\". This motivated Orwell to expose and strongly condemn what he saw as the Stalinist corruption of the original socialist ideals.\n\nImmediately prior to writing the book, Orwell had quit the BBC. He was also upset about a booklet for propagandists the Ministry of Information had put out. The booklet included instructions on how to quell ideological fears of the Soviet Union, such as directions to claim that the Red Terror was a figment of Nazi imagination.\n\nIn the preface, Orwell also described the source of the idea of setting the book on a farm:\n\n\n===Efforts to find a publisher===\nOrwell initially encountered difficulty getting the manuscript published, largely due to fears that the book might upset the alliance between Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Four publishers refused; one had initially accepted the work but declined it after consulting the Ministry of Information. Eventually, Secker and Warburg published the first edition in 1945.\n\nDuring the Second World War, it became clear to Orwell that anti-Soviet literature was not something which most major publishing houses would touch—including his regular publisher Gollancz. He also submitted the manuscript to Faber and Faber, where the poet T. S. Eliot (who was a director of the firm) rejected it; Eliot wrote back to Orwell praising the book's \"good writing\" and \"fundamental integrity\", but declared that they would only accept it for publication if they had some sympathy for the viewpoint \"which I take to be generally Trotskyite\". Eliot said he found the view \"not convincing\", and contended that the pigs were made out to be the best to run the farm; he posited that someone might argue \"what was needed... was not more communism but more public-spirited pigs\". Orwell let André Deutsch, who was working for Nicholson & Watson in 1944, read the typescript, and Deutsch was convinced that Nicholson & Watson would want to publish it; however, they did not, and \"lectured Orwell on what they perceived to be errors in ''Animal Farm''.\" In his ''London Letter'' on 17 April 1944 for ''Partisan Review'', Orwell wrote that it was \"now next door to impossible to get anything overtly anti-Russian printed. Anti-Russian books do appear, but mostly from Catholic publishing firms and always from a religious or frankly reactionary angle.\"\n\nThe publisher Jonathan Cape, who had initially accepted ''Animal Farm'', subsequently rejected the book after an official at the British Ministry of Information warned him off—although the civil servant who it is assumed gave the order was later found to be a Soviet spy. Writing to Leonard Moore, a partner in the literary agency of Christy & Moore, publisher Jonathan Cape explained that the decision had been taken on the advice of a senior official in the Ministry of Information. Such flagrant anti-Soviet bias was unacceptable, and the choice of pigs as the dominant class was thought to be especially offensive. It may reasonably be assumed that the 'important official' was a man named Peter Smollett, who was later unmasked as a Soviet agent. Orwell was suspicious of Smollett/Smolka, and he would be one of the names Orwell included in his list of Crypto-Communists and Fellow-Travellers sent to the Information Research Department in 1949. Born Hans Peter Smolka in Vienna in 1912, he came to Britain in 1933 as an NKVD agent with the codename 'Abo', became a naturalised British subject in 1938, changed his name, and after the outbreak of World War II joined the Ministry of Information where he organised pro-Soviet propaganda, working with Kim Philby in 1943–45. Smollett's family have rejected the accusation that he was a spy. The publisher wrote to Orwell, saying:\n\n\nFrederic Warburg also faced pressures against publication, even from people in his own office and from his wife Pamela, who felt that it was not the moment for ingratitude towards Stalin and the heroic Red Army, which had played a major part in defeating Hitler. A Russian translation was printed in the paper ''Posev'', and in giving permission for a Russian translation of ''Animal Farm'', Orwell refused in advance all royalties. A translation in Ukrainian, which was produced in Germany, was confiscated in large part by the American wartime authorities and handed over to the Soviet repatriation commission.\n\nIn October 1945, Orwell wrote to Frederic Warburg expressing interest in pursuing the possibility that the political cartoonist David Low might illustrate ''Animal Farm''. Low had written a letter saying that he had had \"a good time with ''ANIMAL FARM''—an excellent bit of satire—it would illustrate perfectly.\" Nothing came of this, and a trial issue produced by Secker & Warburg in 1956 illustrated by John Driver was abandoned, but the Folio Society published an edition in 1984 illustrated by Quentin Blake and an edition illustrated by the cartoonist Ralph Steadman was published by Secker & Warburg in 1995 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first edition of ''Animal Farm''.\n\n===Preface===\nOrwell originally wrote a preface complaining about British self-censorship and how the British people were suppressing criticism of the USSR, their World War II ally:\n\nAlthough the first edition allowed space for the preface, it was not included, and as of June 2009 most editions of the book have not included it.\n\nSecker and Warburg published the first edition of ''Animal Farm'' in 1945 without an introduction. However, the publisher had provided space for a preface in the author's proof composited from the manuscript. For reasons unknown, no preface was supplied, and the page numbers had to be renumbered at the last minute.\n\nIn 1972, Ian Angus found the original typescript titled \"The Freedom of the Press\", and Bernard Crick published it, together with his own introduction, in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' on 15 September 1972 as \"How the essay came to be written\". Orwell's essay criticised British self-censorship by the press, specifically the suppression of unflattering descriptions of Stalin and the Soviet government. The same essay also appeared in the Italian 1976 edition of ''Animal Farm'' with another introduction by Crick, claiming to be the first edition with the preface. Other publishers were still declining to publish it.\n", "Contemporary reviews of the work were not universally positive. Writing in the American ''New Republic'' magazine, George Soule expressed his disappointment in the book, writing that it \"puzzled and saddened me. It seemed on the whole dull. The allegory turned out to be a creaking machine for saying in a clumsy way things that have been said better directly.\" Soule believed that the animals were not consistent enough with their real world inspirations, and said, \"It seems to me that the failure of this book (commercially it is already assured of tremendous success) arises from the fact that the satire deals not with something the author has experienced, but rather with stereotyped ideas about a country which he probably does not know very well\".\n\n''The Guardian'' on 24 August 1945 called ''Animal Farm'' \"a delightfully humorous and caustic satire on the rule of the many by the few\". Tosco Fyvel, writing in ''Tribune'' on the same day, called the book \"a gentle satire on a certain State and on the illusions of an age which may already be behind us.\" Julian Symons responded, on 7 September, \"Should we not expect, in ''Tribune'' at least, acknowledgement of the fact that it is a satire not at all gentle upon a particular State—Soviet Russia? It seems to me that a reviewer should have the courage to identify Napoleon with Stalin, and Snowball with Trotsky, and express an opinion favourable or unfavourable to the author, upon a political ground. In a hundred years time perhaps, ''Animal Farm'' may be simply a fairy story, today it is a political satire with a good deal of point.\"\n\n''Animal Farm'' has been subject to much comment in the decades since these early remarks.\n", "\n===Animalism===\n\n\nThe pigs Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer adapt Old Major's ideas into \"a complete system of thought\", which they formally name Animalism, an allegoric reference to Communism. Soon after, Napoleon and Squealer partake in activities associated with the humans (drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, trading), which were explicitly prohibited by the Seven Commandments. Squealer is employed to alter the Seven Commandments to account for this humanisation, an allusion to the Soviet government's revising of history in order to exercise control of the people's beliefs about themselves and their society.\nSquealer sprawls at the foot of the end wall of the big barn where the Seven Commandments were written (ch. viii) – preliminary artwork for a 1950 strip cartoon by Norman Pett and Donald Freeman\n\nThe original commandments are:\n# Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.\n# Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.\n# No animal shall wear clothes.\n# No animal shall sleep in a bed.\n# No animal shall drink alcohol.\n# No animal shall kill any other animal.\n# All animals are equal.\n\nThese commandments are also distilled into the maxim \"Four legs good, two legs '''bad!'''\" which is primarily used by the sheep on the farm, often to disrupt discussions and disagreements between animals on the nature of Animalism.\n\nLater, Napoleon and his pigs secretly revise some commandments to clear themselves of accusations of law-breaking. The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes bolded:\n\nNo animal shall sleep in a bed '''with sheets.'''\nNo animal shall drink alcohol '''to excess.'''\nNo animal shall kill any other animal '''without cause.'''\n\nEventually, these are replaced with the maxims, \"All animals are equal '''but some animals are more equal than others'''\", and \"Four legs good, two legs '''better!'''\" as the pigs become more human. This is an ironic twist to the original purpose of the Seven Commandments, which were supposed to keep order within Animal Farm by uniting the animals together against the humans and preventing animals from following the humans' evil habits. Through the revision of the commandments, Orwell demonstrates how simply political dogma can be turned into malleable propaganda.\n\n===Significance and allegory===\nThe Horn and Hoof Flag described in the book appears to be based on the hammer and sickle, the Communist symbol.\n\nIn the Eastern Bloc, both ''Animal Farm'' and later ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' were on the list of forbidden books until the end of communist rule in 1989, and were only available via clandestine Samizdat networks.\n\nOrwell biographer Jeffrey Meyers has written, \"virtually every detail has political significance in this allegory.\" Orwell himself wrote in 1946, \"Of course I intended it primarily as a satire on the Russian revolution..and ''that kind'' of revolution (violent conspiratorial revolution, led by unconsciously power hungry people) can only lead to a change of masters - revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert.\" In a preface for a 1947 Ukrainian edition, he stated, \"... for the past ten years I have been convinced that the destruction of the Soviet myth was essential if we wanted a revival of the socialist movement. On my return from Spain in 1937 I thought of exposing the Soviet myth in a story that could be easily understood by almost anyone and which could be easily translated into other languages.\"\n\nThe revolt of the animals against Farmer Jones is Orwell's analogy with the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The ''Battle of the Cowshed'' has been said to represent the allied invasion of Soviet Russia in 1918, and the defeat of the White Russians in the Russian Civil War. The pigs' rise to pre-eminence mirrors the rise of a Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR, just as Napoleon's emergence as the farm's sole leader reflects Stalin's emergence. The pigs' appropriation of milk and apples for their own use, \"the turning point of the story\" as Orwell termed it in a letter to Dwight Macdonald, stands as an analogy for the crushing of the left-wing 1921 Kronstadt revolt against the Bolsheviks, and the difficult efforts of the animals to build the windmill suggest the various Five Year Plans. The puppies controlled by Napoleon parallel the nurture of the secret police in the Stalinist structure, and the pigs' treatment of the other animals on the farm recalls the internal terror faced by the populace in the 1930s. In chapter seven, when the animals confess their nonexistent crimes and are killed, Orwell directly alludes to the purges, confessions and show trials of the late 1930s. These contributed to Orwell's conviction that the Bolshevik revolution had been corrupted and the Soviet system become rotten.\n\nPeter Edgerly Firchow and Peter Davison consider that the ''Battle of the Windmill'' represents the Great Patriotic War (World War II), especially the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Moscow. During the battle, Orwell first wrote, \"All the animals, including Napoleon\" took cover. Orwell had the publisher alter this to \"All the animals except Napoleon\" in recognition of Stalin's decision to remain in Moscow during the German advance. Orwell requested the change after he met Joseph Czapski in Paris in March 1945. Czapski, a survivor of the Katyn Massacre and an opponent of the Soviet regime, told Orwell, as Orwell wrote to Arthur Koestler, that it had been \"the character and greatness of Stalin\" that saved Russia from the German invasion.\n\nRykov, Skrypnyk, and Stalin – 'When Snowball comes to the crucial points in his speeches he is drowned out by the sheep (Ch. V), just as in the party Congress in 1927 above, at Stalin's instigation 'pleas for the opposition were drowned in the continual, hysterically intolerant uproar from the floor'.\n\nOther connections that writers have suggested illustrate Orwell's telescoping of Russian history from 1917 to 1943 include the wave of rebelliousness that ran through the countryside after the Rebellion, which stands for the abortive revolutions in Hungary and in Germany (Ch IV); the conflict between Napoleon and Snowball (Ch V), paralleling \"the two rival and quasi-Messianic beliefs that seemed pitted against one another: Trotskyism, with its faith in the revolutionary vocation of the proletariat of the West; and Stalinism with its glorification of Russia's socialist destiny\"; Napoleon's dealings with Whymper and the Willingdon markets (Ch VI), paralleling the Treaty of Rapallo; and Frederick's forged bank notes, paralleling the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact of August 1939, after which Frederick attacks Animal Farm without warning and destroys the windmill.\n\nThe book's close, with the pigs and men in a kind of rapprochement, reflected Orwell's view of the 1943 Teheran Conference that seemed to display the establishment of \"the best possible relations between the USSR and the West\"—but in reality were destined, as Orwell presciently predicted, to continue to unravel. The disagreement between the allies and the start of the Cold War is suggested when Napoleon and Pilkington, both suspicious, \"played an ace of spades simultaneously\".\n\nSimilarly, the music in the novel, starting with ''Beasts of England'' and the later anthems, parallels ''The Internationale'' and its adoption and repudiation by the Soviet authorities as the Anthem of the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s.\n", "===Films===\n''Animal Farm'' has been adapted to film twice. Both differ from the novel and have been accused of taking significant liberties, including sanitising some aspects. \n*''Animal Farm'' (1954) is an animated feature in which Napoleon is apparently overthrown in a second revolution. In 1974, E. Howard Hunt revealed that he had been sent by the CIA's Psychological Warfare department to obtain the film rights from Orwell's widow, and the resulting 1954 animation was funded by the agency.\n*''Animal Farm'' (1999) is a TV live action version that shows Napoleon's regime collapsing in on itself, with the farm having new human owners, reflecting the collapse of Soviet communism.\n\nIn 2012, a HFR-3D version of ''Animal Farm'', potentially directed by Andy Serkis was announced.\n\n===Radio dramatizations===\nA BBC radio version, produced by Rayner Heppenstall, was broadcast in January 1947. Orwell listened to the production at his home in Canonbury Square, London, with Hugh Gordon Porteous, amongst others. Orwell later wrote to Heppenstall that Porteous, \"who had not read the book, grasped what was happening after a few minutes.\"\n\nA further radio production, again using Orwell's own dramatisation of the book, was broadcast in January 2013 on BBC Radio 4. Tamsin Greig narrated, and the cast included Nicky Henson as Napoleon, Toby Jones as the propagandist Squealer, and Ralph Ineson as Boxer.\n\n===Stage productions===\nA theatrical version, with music by Richard Peaslee and lyrics by Adrian Mitchell, was staged at the National Theatre London on 25 April 1984, directed by Peter Hall. It toured nine cities in 1985.\n\nA solo version, adapted and performed by Guy Masterson, premièred at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh in January 1995 and has toured worldwide since.\n", "\n===Music===\n(Alphabetical by artist)\n*The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps' 2014 show was titled Animal Farm, based on the novel.\n*Canadian-based band Boxer the Horse takes its name from a character in the novel.\n*Dead prez based a song on their album ''Let's Get Free'' (2000), called \"Animal in Man\", on the novella, putting emphasis on how the other animals should not trust the pigs during a revolution.\n*The lyrics of the song ″Arthur's Farm″ from the Half Man Half Biscuit album ''Back Again in the DHSS'' (1987) tell the story of Douglas Bader and Arthur Askey visiting Animal Farm. The song features the line \"Four legs good, but no legs best\" in apparent tribute to the two famous amputees.\n*The song, \"The Nature of the Beast\", by the American metalcore band, Ice Nine Kills, was inspired by ''Animal Farm''.\n* Pink Floyd's album ''Animals'' (1977) was partially inspired by ''Animal Farm''. It categorises people as pigs, dogs, or sheep.\n* R.E.M.'s song \"Disturbance at the Heron House\" is based on ''Animal Farm''.\n*Radiohead's song \"Optimistic\" contains a lyric mentioning Animal Farm.\n*The Clash used an image from the animated movie ''Animal Farm'' (1954) on their single \"English Civil War\".\n\n===Television===\n(Alphabetical by program)\n* In \"The Daleks' Master Plan\" (1966), an episode of the long-running British science fiction show ''Doctor Who,'' a character references the modified seventh commandment of ''Animal Farm'', saying: \"Though we are all equal partners with the Daleks on this great conquest, some of us are more equal than others.\"\n* In the tenth episode of the second season of ''Johnny Bravo'', \"Aunt Katie's Farm\" (1999), Johnny, while dressed in a pig costume, yells, \"Four feet good! Two feet bad!\".\n* The ''Lost'' episode \"Exposé\" (2007), in season three, involves flashbacks with Nikki and Paulo involving an argument with Kate about the handgun case. During this scene, Dr. Leslie Arzt yells at Kate: \"The pigs are walking,\" a reference to ''Animal Farm'' where Napoleon and his generals begin to adapt human characteristics and change their oath from \"Four legs good, two legs bad\" to \"Four legs good, two legs better.\"\n* The seventh episode (1998) of the second season of the HBO series ''Oz'' is titled \"Animal Farm\" in reference to the conniving and manipulation of the characters vying for control, similar to the characters of the novella.\n*In the ninth episode of the fourth season of ''Sex and the City'', \"Sex and the Country\" (2001), Carrie goes with her new boyfriend Aidan to his cottage, and informs her friends that it reminds her of ''Animal Farm'', and would not be surprised to hear an outburst of \"four legs good, two legs bad!\"\n* In the third episode of the first season of the ''X-Men'' animated series, \"Enter Magneto\" (1992), Beast is seen reading a copy of ''Animal Farm'', is mocked by the prison guards for \"reading a picture book\", and is asked if he \"sees any relatives in there\" because they assume he is an illiterate animal.\n\n=== Video game ===\nA video game adaptation of ''Animal Farm'' was announced in August 2017. Fully authorised by the estate of George Orwell, ''Animal Farm'' is created by an independent team formed specifically to deliver Orwell’s vision in an interactive format.\n", "* LCCN 46006290 (hardcover, 1946, First American Edition)\n* (paperback, 1956, Signet Classic)\n* (paper text, 1989)\n* (hardcover, 1990)\n* (paper text, 1991)\n* (hardcover, 1993)\n* (prebound, 1996)\n* (hardcover, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (paperback, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (mass market paperback, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (1996)\n* (cloth text, 1998, Large Type Edition)\n* (hardcover, 1999)\n* (paperback, 1999)\n* (paperback, 1999)\n* (e-book, 1999)\n* (hardcover, 2002)\n* (hardcover, 2003, with ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')\n* (paperback, 2003, Centennial Edition)\n* (hardcover)\n* (hardcover) Animal Farm with Connections\n* (hardcover) Animal Farm & Related Readings, 1997\n* (hardcover, 2007)\n* (paperback, 2007)\n* (paperback, 2008)\n* (paperback, 2013, puffin books edition)\n\nOn 17 July 2009, Amazon.com withdrew certain Amazon Kindle titles, including ''Animal Farm'' and ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' by George Orwell, from sale, refunded buyers, and remotely deleted items from purchasers' devices after discovering that the publisher lacked rights to publish the titles in question. Notes and annotations for the books made by users on their devices were also deleted. After the move prompted outcry and comparisons to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' itself, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener stated that the company is \"changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances.\"\n", "* History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–1927)\n* History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)\n* New class\n* Anthems in Animal Farm\n* Władysław Reymont, Polish Nobel laureate who anticipated by two decades Orwell's ''Animal Farm'' with his book ''Revolt''.\n\n=== Books ===\n* ''Gulliver's Travels'', a favourite book of Orwell's—Swift reverses the role of horses and human beings in the fourth book—Orwell brought also to ''Animal Farm'' \"a dose of ''Swiftian misanthropy, looking ahead to a time 'when the human race had finally been overthrown.'\"\n* ''Bunt'' (Revolt), published in 1924, is a book by Polish Nobel laureate Władysław Reymont with a theme similar to ''Animal Farm''s.\n* ''White Acre vs. Black Acre'', published in 1856 and written by William M. Burwell, is a satirical novel that features allegories for slavery in the United States similar to ''Animal Farm's'' portrayal of Soviet history.\n* George Orwell's own ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', a classic dystopian novel about totalitarianism.\n", "\n", "\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* (Bernard Crick's preface quotes Orwell writing to T. S. Eliot about Cape's suggestion to find another animal than pigs to represent the Bolsheviks)\n*\n*\n\n", "\n\n\n* ''Animal Farm'' full text at eBooks@Adelaide\n* ''Animal Farm'' Audio Book (web archive)\n*\n*\n* ''Animal Farm'' Book Notes from Literapedia\n* Excerpts from Orwell's letters to his agent concerning ''Animal Farm''\n* Literary Journal review\n* Orwell's original preface to the book\n* ''Animal Farm Revisited'' by John Molyneux, ''International Socialism'', 44 (1989)\n* ''Animal Farm'' at the British Library\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Plot summary ", "Characters", "Composition and publication", "Critical response", "Analysis", "Adaptations", "Popular culture", "Editions", "See also", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Other connections that writers have suggested illustrate Orwell's telescoping of Russian history from 1917 to 1943 include the wave of rebelliousness that ran through the countryside after the Rebellion, which stands for the abortive revolutions in Hungary and in Germany (Ch IV); the conflict between Napoleon and Snowball (Ch V), paralleling \"the two rival and quasi-Messianic beliefs that seemed pitted against one another: Trotskyism, with its faith in the revolutionary vocation of the proletariat of the West; and Stalinism with its glorification of Russia's socialist destiny\"; Napoleon's dealings with Whymper and the Willingdon markets (Ch VI), paralleling the Treaty of Rapallo; and Frederick's forged bank notes, paralleling the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact of August 1939, after which Frederick attacks Animal Farm without warning and destroys the windmill." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''''Animal Farm''''' is an allegorical novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945.", "According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union.", "Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War.", "The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror.", "In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described ''Animal Farm'' as a satirical tale against Stalin (\"''un conte satirique contre Staline''\"), and in his essay \"Why I Write\" (1946), wrote that ''Animal Farm'' was the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, \"to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole\".", "The original title was ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story;'' U.S. publishers dropped the subtitle when it was published in 1946, and only one of the translations during Orwell's lifetime kept it.", "Other titular variations include subtitles like \"''A Satire''\" and \"''A Contemporary Satire''\".", "Orwell suggested the title ''Union des républiques socialistes animales'' for the French translation, which abbreviates to URSA, the Latin word for \"bear\", a symbol of Russia.", "It also played on the French name of the Soviet Union, ''Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques''.", "Orwell wrote the book between November 1943 and February 1944, when the UK was in its wartime alliance with the Soviet Union and the British people and intelligentsia held Stalin in high esteem, a phenomenon Orwell hated.", "The manuscript was initially rejected by a number of British and American publishers, including one of Orwell's own, Victor Gollancz, which delayed its publication.", "It became a great commercial success when it did appear partly because international relations were transformed as the wartime alliance gave way to the Cold War.", "''Time'' magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to 2005); it also featured at number 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.", "It won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 1996, and is included in the Great Books of the Western World selection.", "Old Major, the old boar on the Manor Farm, summons the animals on the farm together for a meeting, during which he refers to humans as \"enemies\" and teaches the animals a revolutionary song called \"Beasts of England\".", "When Major dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command and consider it a duty to prepare for the Rebellion.", "The animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible farmer Mr. Jones from the farm, renaming it \"Animal Farm\".", "They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, \"All animals are equal.\"", "Snowball teaches the animals to read and write, while Napoleon educates young puppies on the principles of Animalism.", "Food is plentiful, and the farm runs smoothly.", "The pigs elevate themselves to positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for their personal health.", "Some time later, several men attack Animal Farm.", "Jones and his men are making an attempt to recapture the farm, aided by several other farmers who are terrified of similar animal revolts.", "Snowball and the animals, who are hiding in ambush, defeat the men by launching a surprise attack as soon as they enter the farmyard.", "Snowball's popularity soars, and this event is proclaimed \"The Battle of the Cowshed\".", "It is celebrated annually with the firing of a gun, on the anniversary of the Revolution.", "Napoleon and Snowball vie for pre-eminence.", "When Snowball announces his plans to modernize the farm by building a windmill, Napoleon has his dogs chase Snowball away and declares himself leader.", "Napoleon enacts changes to the governance structure of the farm, replacing meetings with a committee of pigs who will run the farm.", "Through a young pig named Squealer, Napoleon claims credit for the windmill idea.", "The animals work harder with the promise of easier lives with the windmill.", "When the animals find the windmill collapsed after a violent storm, Napoleon and Squealer convince the animals that Snowball is trying to sabotage their project.", "Once Snowball becomes a scapegoat, Napoleon begins to purge the farm with his dogs, killing animals he accuses of consorting with his old rival.", "When some animals recall the Battle of the Cowshed, Napoleon (who was nowhere to be found during the battle) frequently smears Snowball as a collaborator of Jones', while falsely representing himself as the hero of the battle.", "\"Beasts of England\" is replaced with an anthem glorifying Napoleon, who appears to be adopting the lifestyle of a man.", "The animals remain convinced that they are better off than they were under Mr. Jones.", "Mr Frederick, one of the neighbouring farmers, attacks the farm, using blasting powder to blow up the restored windmill.", "Though the animals win the battle, they do so at great cost, as many, including Boxer the workhorse, are wounded.", "Despite his injuries, Boxer continues working harder and harder, until he collapses while working on the windmill.", "Napoleon sends for a van to take Boxer to the veterinary surgeon, explaining that better care can be given there.", "Benjamin, the cynical donkey who \"could read as well as any pig\", notices that the van belongs to a knacker and attempts a futile rescue.", "Squealer quickly assures the animals that the van had been purchased from the knacker by an animal hospital, and the previous owner's signboard had not been repainted.", "In a subsequent report, Squealer reports sadly to the animals that Boxer died peacefully at the animal hospital; the pigs hold a festival one day after Boxer's death to further praise the glories of Animal Farm and have the animals work harder by taking on Boxer's ways.", "However, the truth was that Napoleon had engineered the sale of Boxer to the knacker, allowing him and his inner circle to acquire money to buy whisky for themselves.", "(In 1940s England, one way for farms to make money was to sell large animals to a knacker, who would kill the animal and boil its remains into animal glue.)", "Years pass, and the windmill is rebuilt along with construction of another windmill, which makes the farm a good amount of income.", "However, the ideals which Snowball discussed, including stalls with electric lighting, heating and running water are forgotten, with Napoleon advocating that the happiest animals live simple lives.", "In addition to Boxer, many of the animals who participated in the Revolution are dead, as is Farmer Jones, who died in another part of England.", "The pigs start to resemble humans, as they walk upright, carry whips, and wear clothes.", "The Seven Commandments are abridged to a single phrase: \"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others\".", "Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and local farmers, with whom he celebrates a new alliance.", "He abolishes the practice of the revolutionary traditions and restores the name \"The Manor Farm\".", "As the animals look from pigs to humans, they realise they can no longer distinguish between the two.", "\n===Pigs===\n\n*'''Old Major''' – An aged prize Middle White boar provides the inspiration that fuels the rebellion.", "He is an allegorical combination of Karl Marx, one of the creators of communism, and Vladimir Lenin, the communist leader of the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet nation, in that he draws up the principles of the revolution.", "His skull being put on revered public display recalls Lenin, whose embalmed body was put on display.", "*'''Napoleon''' – \"A large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way\".", "An allegory of Joseph Stalin, Napoleon is the main villain of ''Animal Farm''.", "In the first French version of ''Animal Farm'', Napoleon is called '''', the French form of Caesar, although another translation has him as ''''.", "*'''Snowball''' – Napoleon's rival and original head of the farm after Jones' overthrow.", "He is mainly based on Leon Trotsky, but also combines elements from Lenin.", "*'''Squealer''' – A small, white, fat porker who serves as Napoleon's second-in-command and minister of propaganda, holding a position similar to that of Vyacheslav Molotov.", "*'''Minimus''' – A poetic pig who writes the second and third national anthems of Animal Farm after the singing of \"Beasts of England\" is banned.", "*'''The piglets''' – Hinted to be the children of Napoleon and are the first generation of animals subjugated to his idea of animal inequality.", "*'''The young pigs''' – Four pigs who complain about Napoleon's takeover of the farm but are quickly silenced and later executed, the first animals killed in Napoleon's farm purge.", "Based on the Great Purge of Grigori Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin, and Alexei Rykov.", "*'''Pinkeye''' – A minor pig who is mentioned only once; he is the pig that tastes Napoleon's food to make sure it is not poisoned, in response to rumours about an assassination attempt on Napoleon.", "===Humans===\n\n*'''Mr Jones''' – A heavy drinker who is the original owner of Manor Farm, a farm in disrepair with farmhands who often loaf on the job.", "He is an allegory of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917 and was murdered, along with the rest of his family, by the Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918.", "The animals revolt after Jones drinks so much he does not care for the animals.", "*'''Mr Frederick''' – The tough owner of Pinchfield, a small but well-kept neighbouring farm, who briefly enters into an alliance with Napoleon.", "Animal Farm shares land boundaries with Pinchfield on one side and Foxwood on another, making Animal Farm a \"buffer zone\" between the two bickering farmers.", "The animals of Animal Farm are terrified of Frederick, as rumours abound of him abusing his animals and entertaining himself with cockfighting (a likely allegory for the human rights abuses of Adolf Hitler).", "Napoleon enters into an alliance with Frederick in order to sell surplus timber that Pilkington also sought, but is enraged to learn Frederick paid him in counterfeit money.", "Shortly after the swindling, Frederick and his men invade Animal Farm, killing many animals and detonating the windmill.", "The brief alliance and subsequent invasion may allude to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Operation Barbarossa.", "*'''Mr Pilkington''' – The easy-going but crafty and well-to-do owner of Foxwood, a large neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds.", "Unlike Frederick, Pilkington is wealthier and owns more land, but his farm is in need of care as opposed to Frederick's smaller but more efficiently-run farm.", "Although on bad terms with Frederick, Pilkington is also concerned about the animal revolution that deposed Jones, and worried that this could also happen to him.", "*'''Mr Whymper''' – A man hired by Napoleon to act as the liaison between Animal Farm and human society.", "At first he is used to acquire necessities that cannot be produced on the farm, such as dog biscuits and paraffin wax, but later he procures luxuries like alcohol for the pigs.", "===Horses and donkeys ===\n\n*'''Boxer''' – A loyal, kind, dedicated, extremely strong, hard working, and respectable cart-horse, although quite naive and gullible.", "Boxer does a large share of the physical labour on the farm.", "He is shown to hold the belief that 'Napoleon is always right'.", "At one point, he had challenged Squealer's statement that Snowball was always against the welfare of the farm, earning him an attack from Napoleon's dogs.", "But Boxer's immense strength repels the attack, worrying the pigs that their authority can be challenged.", "Boxer has been compared to the Stakhanovite movement.", "He has been described as \"faithful and strong\"; he believes any problem can be solved if he works harder.", "When Boxer is injured, Napoleon sells him to a local knacker to buy himself whisky, and Squealer gives a moving account falsifying Boxer's death.", "*'''Mollie''' – A self-centred, self-indulgent and vain young white mare who quickly leaves for another farm after the revolution.", "She is only once mentioned again, in a manner similar to those who left Russia after the fall of the Tsar.", "*'''Clover''' – A gentle, caring female horse, who shows concern especially for Boxer, who often pushes himself too hard.", "Clover can read all the letters of the alphabet, but cannot \"put words together\".", "She seems to catch on to the sly tricks and schemes set up by Napoleon and Squealer.", "*'''Benjamin''' – A donkey, one of the oldest, wisest animals on the farm, and one of the few who can read properly.", "He is sceptical, temperamental and cynical: his most frequent remark is, \"Life will go on as it has always gone on—that is, badly.\"", "The academic Morris Dickstein has suggested there is \"a touch of Orwell himself in this creature's timeless skepticism\" and indeed, friends called Orwell \"Donkey George\", \"after his grumbling donkey Benjamin, in ''Animal Farm''.\"", "===Other animals===\n*'''Muriel''' – A wise old goat who is friends with all of the animals on the farm.", "She, like Benjamin and Snowball, is one of the few animals on the farm who can read.", "*'''The puppies''' – Offspring of Jessie and Bluebell, they were taken away at birth by Napoleon and reared by him to be his security force.", "*'''Moses''' – The raven, \"Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker.\"", "Initially following Mrs. Jones into exile, he reappears several years later and resumes his role of talking but not working.", "He regales Animal Farm's denizens with tales of a wondrous place beyond the clouds called \"Sugarcandy Mountain, that happy country where we poor animals shall rest forever from our labours!\"", "Orwell portrays established religion as \"the black raven of priestcraft—promising pie in the sky when you die, and faithfully serving whoever happens to be in power.\"", "Napoleon brings the raven back (Ch.", "IX), as Stalin brought back the Russian Orthodox Church.", "*'''The sheep''' – They show limited understanding of the Animalism and the political atmosphere of the farm; yet nonetheless they blindly support Napoleon's ideals with vocal jingles during his speeches and meetings with Snowball.", "Some commentators have compared the sheep to representations of state controlled press.", "Their constant bleating of \"four legs good, two legs bad\" was used as a device to drown out any opposition; analogous to simplistic headlines used in printed media of the age.", "Towards the latter section of the book, Squealer (the propagandist) trains the sheep to alter their slogan to \"four legs good, two legs better\", which they dutifully do.", "Symbolizing the state manipulation of media.", "*'''The hens''' – The hens are promised at the start of the revolution that they will get to keep their eggs, which are stolen from them under Mr Jones.", "However their eggs are soon taken from them under the premise of buying goods from outside Animal Farm.", "The hens are among the first to rebel against Napoleon.", "*'''The cows''' – The cows are enticed into the revolution by promises that their milk will not be stolen, but can be used to raise their own calves.", "Their milk is then stolen by the pigs, who learn to milk them.", "The milk is stirred into the pigs' mash every day, while the other animals are denied such luxuries.", "*'''The cat''' – Never seen to carry out any work, the cat is absent for long periods and is forgiven; because her excuses are so convincing and she \"purred so affectionately that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.\"", "She has no interest in the politics of the farm, and the only time she is recorded as having participated in an election, she is found to have actually \"voted on both sides.\"", "\n===Origin===\nGeorge Orwell wrote the manuscript in 1943 and 1944 subsequent to his experiences during the Spanish Civil War, which he described in ''Homage to Catalonia'' (1938).", "In the preface of a 1947 Ukrainian edition of ''Animal Farm'', he explained how escaping the communist purges in Spain taught him \"how easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people in democratic countries\".", "This motivated Orwell to expose and strongly condemn what he saw as the Stalinist corruption of the original socialist ideals.", "Immediately prior to writing the book, Orwell had quit the BBC.", "He was also upset about a booklet for propagandists the Ministry of Information had put out.", "The booklet included instructions on how to quell ideological fears of the Soviet Union, such as directions to claim that the Red Terror was a figment of Nazi imagination.", "In the preface, Orwell also described the source of the idea of setting the book on a farm:\n\n\n===Efforts to find a publisher===\nOrwell initially encountered difficulty getting the manuscript published, largely due to fears that the book might upset the alliance between Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.", "Four publishers refused; one had initially accepted the work but declined it after consulting the Ministry of Information.", "Eventually, Secker and Warburg published the first edition in 1945.", "During the Second World War, it became clear to Orwell that anti-Soviet literature was not something which most major publishing houses would touch—including his regular publisher Gollancz.", "He also submitted the manuscript to Faber and Faber, where the poet T. S. Eliot (who was a director of the firm) rejected it; Eliot wrote back to Orwell praising the book's \"good writing\" and \"fundamental integrity\", but declared that they would only accept it for publication if they had some sympathy for the viewpoint \"which I take to be generally Trotskyite\".", "Eliot said he found the view \"not convincing\", and contended that the pigs were made out to be the best to run the farm; he posited that someone might argue \"what was needed... was not more communism but more public-spirited pigs\".", "Orwell let André Deutsch, who was working for Nicholson & Watson in 1944, read the typescript, and Deutsch was convinced that Nicholson & Watson would want to publish it; however, they did not, and \"lectured Orwell on what they perceived to be errors in ''Animal Farm''.\"", "In his ''London Letter'' on 17 April 1944 for ''Partisan Review'', Orwell wrote that it was \"now next door to impossible to get anything overtly anti-Russian printed.", "Anti-Russian books do appear, but mostly from Catholic publishing firms and always from a religious or frankly reactionary angle.\"", "The publisher Jonathan Cape, who had initially accepted ''Animal Farm'', subsequently rejected the book after an official at the British Ministry of Information warned him off—although the civil servant who it is assumed gave the order was later found to be a Soviet spy.", "Writing to Leonard Moore, a partner in the literary agency of Christy & Moore, publisher Jonathan Cape explained that the decision had been taken on the advice of a senior official in the Ministry of Information.", "Such flagrant anti-Soviet bias was unacceptable, and the choice of pigs as the dominant class was thought to be especially offensive.", "It may reasonably be assumed that the 'important official' was a man named Peter Smollett, who was later unmasked as a Soviet agent.", "Orwell was suspicious of Smollett/Smolka, and he would be one of the names Orwell included in his list of Crypto-Communists and Fellow-Travellers sent to the Information Research Department in 1949.", "Born Hans Peter Smolka in Vienna in 1912, he came to Britain in 1933 as an NKVD agent with the codename 'Abo', became a naturalised British subject in 1938, changed his name, and after the outbreak of World War II joined the Ministry of Information where he organised pro-Soviet propaganda, working with Kim Philby in 1943–45.", "Smollett's family have rejected the accusation that he was a spy.", "The publisher wrote to Orwell, saying:\n\n\nFrederic Warburg also faced pressures against publication, even from people in his own office and from his wife Pamela, who felt that it was not the moment for ingratitude towards Stalin and the heroic Red Army, which had played a major part in defeating Hitler.", "A Russian translation was printed in the paper ''Posev'', and in giving permission for a Russian translation of ''Animal Farm'', Orwell refused in advance all royalties.", "A translation in Ukrainian, which was produced in Germany, was confiscated in large part by the American wartime authorities and handed over to the Soviet repatriation commission.", "In October 1945, Orwell wrote to Frederic Warburg expressing interest in pursuing the possibility that the political cartoonist David Low might illustrate ''Animal Farm''.", "Low had written a letter saying that he had had \"a good time with ''ANIMAL FARM''—an excellent bit of satire—it would illustrate perfectly.\"", "Nothing came of this, and a trial issue produced by Secker & Warburg in 1956 illustrated by John Driver was abandoned, but the Folio Society published an edition in 1984 illustrated by Quentin Blake and an edition illustrated by the cartoonist Ralph Steadman was published by Secker & Warburg in 1995 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first edition of ''Animal Farm''.", "===Preface===\nOrwell originally wrote a preface complaining about British self-censorship and how the British people were suppressing criticism of the USSR, their World War II ally:\n\nAlthough the first edition allowed space for the preface, it was not included, and as of June 2009 most editions of the book have not included it.", "Secker and Warburg published the first edition of ''Animal Farm'' in 1945 without an introduction.", "However, the publisher had provided space for a preface in the author's proof composited from the manuscript.", "For reasons unknown, no preface was supplied, and the page numbers had to be renumbered at the last minute.", "In 1972, Ian Angus found the original typescript titled \"The Freedom of the Press\", and Bernard Crick published it, together with his own introduction, in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' on 15 September 1972 as \"How the essay came to be written\".", "Orwell's essay criticised British self-censorship by the press, specifically the suppression of unflattering descriptions of Stalin and the Soviet government.", "The same essay also appeared in the Italian 1976 edition of ''Animal Farm'' with another introduction by Crick, claiming to be the first edition with the preface.", "Other publishers were still declining to publish it.", "Contemporary reviews of the work were not universally positive.", "Writing in the American ''New Republic'' magazine, George Soule expressed his disappointment in the book, writing that it \"puzzled and saddened me.", "It seemed on the whole dull.", "The allegory turned out to be a creaking machine for saying in a clumsy way things that have been said better directly.\"", "Soule believed that the animals were not consistent enough with their real world inspirations, and said, \"It seems to me that the failure of this book (commercially it is already assured of tremendous success) arises from the fact that the satire deals not with something the author has experienced, but rather with stereotyped ideas about a country which he probably does not know very well\".", "''The Guardian'' on 24 August 1945 called ''Animal Farm'' \"a delightfully humorous and caustic satire on the rule of the many by the few\".", "Tosco Fyvel, writing in ''Tribune'' on the same day, called the book \"a gentle satire on a certain State and on the illusions of an age which may already be behind us.\"", "Julian Symons responded, on 7 September, \"Should we not expect, in ''Tribune'' at least, acknowledgement of the fact that it is a satire not at all gentle upon a particular State—Soviet Russia?", "It seems to me that a reviewer should have the courage to identify Napoleon with Stalin, and Snowball with Trotsky, and express an opinion favourable or unfavourable to the author, upon a political ground.", "In a hundred years time perhaps, ''Animal Farm'' may be simply a fairy story, today it is a political satire with a good deal of point.\"", "''Animal Farm'' has been subject to much comment in the decades since these early remarks.", "\n===Animalism===\n\n\nThe pigs Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer adapt Old Major's ideas into \"a complete system of thought\", which they formally name Animalism, an allegoric reference to Communism.", "Soon after, Napoleon and Squealer partake in activities associated with the humans (drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, trading), which were explicitly prohibited by the Seven Commandments.", "Squealer is employed to alter the Seven Commandments to account for this humanisation, an allusion to the Soviet government's revising of history in order to exercise control of the people's beliefs about themselves and their society.", "Squealer sprawls at the foot of the end wall of the big barn where the Seven Commandments were written (ch.", "viii) – preliminary artwork for a 1950 strip cartoon by Norman Pett and Donald Freeman\n\nThe original commandments are:\n# Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.", "# Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.", "# No animal shall wear clothes.", "# No animal shall sleep in a bed.", "# No animal shall drink alcohol.", "# No animal shall kill any other animal.", "# All animals are equal.", "These commandments are also distilled into the maxim \"Four legs good, two legs '''bad!'''\"", "which is primarily used by the sheep on the farm, often to disrupt discussions and disagreements between animals on the nature of Animalism.", "Later, Napoleon and his pigs secretly revise some commandments to clear themselves of accusations of law-breaking.", "The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes bolded:\n\nNo animal shall sleep in a bed '''with sheets.'''", "No animal shall drink alcohol '''to excess.'''", "No animal shall kill any other animal '''without cause.'''", "Eventually, these are replaced with the maxims, \"All animals are equal '''but some animals are more equal than others'''\", and \"Four legs good, two legs '''better!'''\"", "as the pigs become more human.", "This is an ironic twist to the original purpose of the Seven Commandments, which were supposed to keep order within Animal Farm by uniting the animals together against the humans and preventing animals from following the humans' evil habits.", "Through the revision of the commandments, Orwell demonstrates how simply political dogma can be turned into malleable propaganda.", "===Significance and allegory===\nThe Horn and Hoof Flag described in the book appears to be based on the hammer and sickle, the Communist symbol.", "In the Eastern Bloc, both ''Animal Farm'' and later ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' were on the list of forbidden books until the end of communist rule in 1989, and were only available via clandestine Samizdat networks.", "Orwell biographer Jeffrey Meyers has written, \"virtually every detail has political significance in this allegory.\"", "Orwell himself wrote in 1946, \"Of course I intended it primarily as a satire on the Russian revolution..and ''that kind'' of revolution (violent conspiratorial revolution, led by unconsciously power hungry people) can only lead to a change of masters - revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert.\"", "In a preface for a 1947 Ukrainian edition, he stated, \"... for the past ten years I have been convinced that the destruction of the Soviet myth was essential if we wanted a revival of the socialist movement.", "On my return from Spain in 1937 I thought of exposing the Soviet myth in a story that could be easily understood by almost anyone and which could be easily translated into other languages.\"", "The revolt of the animals against Farmer Jones is Orwell's analogy with the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.", "The ''Battle of the Cowshed'' has been said to represent the allied invasion of Soviet Russia in 1918, and the defeat of the White Russians in the Russian Civil War.", "The pigs' rise to pre-eminence mirrors the rise of a Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR, just as Napoleon's emergence as the farm's sole leader reflects Stalin's emergence.", "The pigs' appropriation of milk and apples for their own use, \"the turning point of the story\" as Orwell termed it in a letter to Dwight Macdonald, stands as an analogy for the crushing of the left-wing 1921 Kronstadt revolt against the Bolsheviks, and the difficult efforts of the animals to build the windmill suggest the various Five Year Plans.", "The puppies controlled by Napoleon parallel the nurture of the secret police in the Stalinist structure, and the pigs' treatment of the other animals on the farm recalls the internal terror faced by the populace in the 1930s.", "In chapter seven, when the animals confess their nonexistent crimes and are killed, Orwell directly alludes to the purges, confessions and show trials of the late 1930s.", "These contributed to Orwell's conviction that the Bolshevik revolution had been corrupted and the Soviet system become rotten.", "Peter Edgerly Firchow and Peter Davison consider that the ''Battle of the Windmill'' represents the Great Patriotic War (World War II), especially the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Moscow.", "During the battle, Orwell first wrote, \"All the animals, including Napoleon\" took cover.", "Orwell had the publisher alter this to \"All the animals except Napoleon\" in recognition of Stalin's decision to remain in Moscow during the German advance.", "Orwell requested the change after he met Joseph Czapski in Paris in March 1945.", "Czapski, a survivor of the Katyn Massacre and an opponent of the Soviet regime, told Orwell, as Orwell wrote to Arthur Koestler, that it had been \"the character and greatness of Stalin\" that saved Russia from the German invasion.", "Rykov, Skrypnyk, and Stalin – 'When Snowball comes to the crucial points in his speeches he is drowned out by the sheep (Ch.", "V), just as in the party Congress in 1927 above, at Stalin's instigation 'pleas for the opposition were drowned in the continual, hysterically intolerant uproar from the floor'.", "The book's close, with the pigs and men in a kind of rapprochement, reflected Orwell's view of the 1943 Teheran Conference that seemed to display the establishment of \"the best possible relations between the USSR and the West\"—but in reality were destined, as Orwell presciently predicted, to continue to unravel.", "The disagreement between the allies and the start of the Cold War is suggested when Napoleon and Pilkington, both suspicious, \"played an ace of spades simultaneously\".", "Similarly, the music in the novel, starting with ''Beasts of England'' and the later anthems, parallels ''The Internationale'' and its adoption and repudiation by the Soviet authorities as the Anthem of the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s.", "===Films===\n''Animal Farm'' has been adapted to film twice.", "Both differ from the novel and have been accused of taking significant liberties, including sanitising some aspects.", "*''Animal Farm'' (1954) is an animated feature in which Napoleon is apparently overthrown in a second revolution.", "In 1974, E. Howard Hunt revealed that he had been sent by the CIA's Psychological Warfare department to obtain the film rights from Orwell's widow, and the resulting 1954 animation was funded by the agency.", "*''Animal Farm'' (1999) is a TV live action version that shows Napoleon's regime collapsing in on itself, with the farm having new human owners, reflecting the collapse of Soviet communism.", "In 2012, a HFR-3D version of ''Animal Farm'', potentially directed by Andy Serkis was announced.", "===Radio dramatizations===\nA BBC radio version, produced by Rayner Heppenstall, was broadcast in January 1947.", "Orwell listened to the production at his home in Canonbury Square, London, with Hugh Gordon Porteous, amongst others.", "Orwell later wrote to Heppenstall that Porteous, \"who had not read the book, grasped what was happening after a few minutes.\"", "A further radio production, again using Orwell's own dramatisation of the book, was broadcast in January 2013 on BBC Radio 4.", "Tamsin Greig narrated, and the cast included Nicky Henson as Napoleon, Toby Jones as the propagandist Squealer, and Ralph Ineson as Boxer.", "===Stage productions===\nA theatrical version, with music by Richard Peaslee and lyrics by Adrian Mitchell, was staged at the National Theatre London on 25 April 1984, directed by Peter Hall.", "It toured nine cities in 1985.", "A solo version, adapted and performed by Guy Masterson, premièred at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh in January 1995 and has toured worldwide since.", "\n===Music===\n(Alphabetical by artist)\n*The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps' 2014 show was titled Animal Farm, based on the novel.", "*Canadian-based band Boxer the Horse takes its name from a character in the novel.", "*Dead prez based a song on their album ''Let's Get Free'' (2000), called \"Animal in Man\", on the novella, putting emphasis on how the other animals should not trust the pigs during a revolution.", "*The lyrics of the song ″Arthur's Farm″ from the Half Man Half Biscuit album ''Back Again in the DHSS'' (1987) tell the story of Douglas Bader and Arthur Askey visiting Animal Farm.", "The song features the line \"Four legs good, but no legs best\" in apparent tribute to the two famous amputees.", "*The song, \"The Nature of the Beast\", by the American metalcore band, Ice Nine Kills, was inspired by ''Animal Farm''.", "* Pink Floyd's album ''Animals'' (1977) was partially inspired by ''Animal Farm''.", "It categorises people as pigs, dogs, or sheep.", "* R.E.M.", "'s song \"Disturbance at the Heron House\" is based on ''Animal Farm''.", "*Radiohead's song \"Optimistic\" contains a lyric mentioning Animal Farm.", "*The Clash used an image from the animated movie ''Animal Farm'' (1954) on their single \"English Civil War\".", "===Television===\n(Alphabetical by program)\n* In \"The Daleks' Master Plan\" (1966), an episode of the long-running British science fiction show ''Doctor Who,'' a character references the modified seventh commandment of ''Animal Farm'', saying: \"Though we are all equal partners with the Daleks on this great conquest, some of us are more equal than others.\"", "* In the tenth episode of the second season of ''Johnny Bravo'', \"Aunt Katie's Farm\" (1999), Johnny, while dressed in a pig costume, yells, \"Four feet good!", "Two feet bad!\".", "* The ''Lost'' episode \"Exposé\" (2007), in season three, involves flashbacks with Nikki and Paulo involving an argument with Kate about the handgun case.", "During this scene, Dr. Leslie Arzt yells at Kate: \"The pigs are walking,\" a reference to ''Animal Farm'' where Napoleon and his generals begin to adapt human characteristics and change their oath from \"Four legs good, two legs bad\" to \"Four legs good, two legs better.\"", "* The seventh episode (1998) of the second season of the HBO series ''Oz'' is titled \"Animal Farm\" in reference to the conniving and manipulation of the characters vying for control, similar to the characters of the novella.", "*In the ninth episode of the fourth season of ''Sex and the City'', \"Sex and the Country\" (2001), Carrie goes with her new boyfriend Aidan to his cottage, and informs her friends that it reminds her of ''Animal Farm'', and would not be surprised to hear an outburst of \"four legs good, two legs bad!\"", "* In the third episode of the first season of the ''X-Men'' animated series, \"Enter Magneto\" (1992), Beast is seen reading a copy of ''Animal Farm'', is mocked by the prison guards for \"reading a picture book\", and is asked if he \"sees any relatives in there\" because they assume he is an illiterate animal.", "=== Video game ===\nA video game adaptation of ''Animal Farm'' was announced in August 2017.", "Fully authorised by the estate of George Orwell, ''Animal Farm'' is created by an independent team formed specifically to deliver Orwell’s vision in an interactive format.", "* LCCN 46006290 (hardcover, 1946, First American Edition)\n* (paperback, 1956, Signet Classic)\n* (paper text, 1989)\n* (hardcover, 1990)\n* (paper text, 1991)\n* (hardcover, 1993)\n* (prebound, 1996)\n* (hardcover, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (paperback, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (mass market paperback, 1996, Anniversary Edition)\n* (1996)\n* (cloth text, 1998, Large Type Edition)\n* (hardcover, 1999)\n* (paperback, 1999)\n* (paperback, 1999)\n* (e-book, 1999)\n* (hardcover, 2002)\n* (hardcover, 2003, with ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')\n* (paperback, 2003, Centennial Edition)\n* (hardcover)\n* (hardcover) Animal Farm with Connections\n* (hardcover) Animal Farm & Related Readings, 1997\n* (hardcover, 2007)\n* (paperback, 2007)\n* (paperback, 2008)\n* (paperback, 2013, puffin books edition)\n\nOn 17 July 2009, Amazon.com withdrew certain Amazon Kindle titles, including ''Animal Farm'' and ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' by George Orwell, from sale, refunded buyers, and remotely deleted items from purchasers' devices after discovering that the publisher lacked rights to publish the titles in question.", "Notes and annotations for the books made by users on their devices were also deleted.", "After the move prompted outcry and comparisons to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' itself, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener stated that the company is \"changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances.\"", "* History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–1927)\n* History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)\n* New class\n* Anthems in Animal Farm\n* Władysław Reymont, Polish Nobel laureate who anticipated by two decades Orwell's ''Animal Farm'' with his book ''Revolt''.", "=== Books ===\n* ''Gulliver's Travels'', a favourite book of Orwell's—Swift reverses the role of horses and human beings in the fourth book—Orwell brought also to ''Animal Farm'' \"a dose of ''Swiftian misanthropy, looking ahead to a time 'when the human race had finally been overthrown.'\"", "* ''Bunt'' (Revolt), published in 1924, is a book by Polish Nobel laureate Władysław Reymont with a theme similar to ''Animal Farm''s.", "* ''White Acre vs. Black Acre'', published in 1856 and written by William M. Burwell, is a satirical novel that features allegories for slavery in the United States similar to ''Animal Farm's'' portrayal of Soviet history.", "* George Orwell's own ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', a classic dystopian novel about totalitarianism.", "\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* (Bernard Crick's preface quotes Orwell writing to T. S. Eliot about Cape's suggestion to find another animal than pigs to represent the Bolsheviks)\n*\n*", "\n\n\n* ''Animal Farm'' full text at eBooks@Adelaide\n* ''Animal Farm'' Audio Book (web archive)\n*\n*\n* ''Animal Farm'' Book Notes from Literapedia\n* Excerpts from Orwell's letters to his agent concerning ''Animal Farm''\n* Literary Journal review\n* Orwell's original preface to the book\n* ''Animal Farm Revisited'' by John Molyneux, ''International Socialism'', 44 (1989)\n* ''Animal Farm'' at the British Library" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nFields in Záhorie (Slovakia)a typical Central European agricultural region\n\nDomestic sheep and a cow (heifer) pastured together in South Africa\n\n\n'''Agriculture''' is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology.\n\nModern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production. Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts. Significant degradation of land and water resources, including the depletion of aquifers, has been observed in recent decades, and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood.\n\nThe major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, oils, meats and spices. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. Over one third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture, second only to the service sector, although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries.\n", "\nThe word ''agriculture'' is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin ''agricultūra'', from ''ager'', \"field\", and ''cultūra'', \"cultivation\" or \"growing\". Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use natural resources to \"produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services.\" This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, animal husbandry and forestry. A distinction is sometimes made between forestry and agriculture, based on the former's longer management rotations, extensive versus intensive management practices and development mainly by nature, rather than by man. Even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture (the management of forests) and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry.\n", "\n\nA Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay (BC)\n\nAgriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin. Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago. Rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago. Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time. In Mesoamerica, wild teosinte was domesticated to maize by 6,000 years ago.\n\nIn the Middle Ages, both in the Islamic world and in Europe, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the orange to Europe by way of Al-Andalus. After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice and turnips, and livestock including horses, cattle, sheep and goats to the Americas.\nIrrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers were introduced soon after the Neolithic Revolution and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the British Agricultural Revolution. Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labor has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-Bosch method allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields. Modern agriculture has raised political issues including water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies, leading to alternative approaches such as the organic movement and regenerative agriculture.\n", "\n\nCivilization was the product of the Agricultural Neolithic Revolution; as H. G. Wells put it, \"civilization was the agricultural surplus.\" In the course of history, civilization coincided in space with fertile areas such as The Fertile Crescent, and states formed mainly in circumscribed agricultural lands. The Great Wall of China and the Roman empire's ''limes'' (borders) demarcated the same northern frontier of cereal agriculture. This cereal belt fed the civilizations formed in the Axial Age and connected by the Silk Road.\n\nAncient Egyptians, whose agriculture depended exclusively on the Nile, deified the river, worshipped, and exalted it in a great hymn. The Chinese imperial court issued numerous edicts, stating: \"Agriculture is the foundation of this Empire.\" Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Inca Emperors themselves plowed ceremonial fields in order to show personal example to everyone.\n\nAncient strategists, Chinese Guan Zhong and Shang Yang and Indian Kautilya, drew doctrines linking agriculture with military power. Agriculture defined the limits on how large and for how long an army could be mobilized. Shang Yang called agriculture and war the ''One''. In the vast human pantheon of agricultural deities there are several deities who combined the functions of agriculture and war.\n\nAs the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution produced civilization, the modern Agricultural Revolution, begun in Britain (British Agricultural Revolution), made possible the industrial civilization. The first precondition for industry was greater yields by less manpower, resulting in greater percentage of manpower available for non-agricultural sectors.\n", "Reindeer herds form the basis of pastoral agriculture for several Arctic and Subarctic peoples.\n\nPastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism, herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practised in arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India.\n\nIn shifting cultivation, a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is burned. The land is then used for growing crops for several years. When the soil becomes less fertile, the area is then abandoned. Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Basin.\n\nSubsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia.\n\nIn intensive farming, the crops are cultivated for commercial purpose i.e., for selling. The main motive of the farmer is to make profit, with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs. This type of farming is mainly practiced in highly developed countries.\n", "\nSatellite image of farming in Minnesota\n\nIn the past century, agriculture has been characterized by increased productivity, the substitution of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, water pollution, and farm subsidies. In recent years there has been a backlash against the external environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture movements. One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies, also known as decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management and selective breeding. Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food.\n\nIn 2007, higher incentives for farmers to grow non-food biofuel crops combined with other factors, such as over development of former farm lands, rising transportation costs, climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and population growth, caused food shortages in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, as well as rising food prices around the globe. As of December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. Some of these shortages resulted in food riots and even deadly stampedes. The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture may be part of the solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security. They in part base this on the experience of Vietnam, which went from a food importer to large food exporter and saw a significant drop in poverty, due mainly to the development of smallholder agriculture in the country.\n\nDisease and land degradation are two of the major concerns in agriculture today. For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by the Ug99 lineage is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concerns due to crop losses of 70% or more under some conditions. Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations University's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.\n\nAgrarian structure is a long-term structure in the Braudelian understanding of the concept. On a larger scale the agrarian structure is more dependent on the regional, social, cultural and historical factors than on the state’s undertaken activities. Like in Poland, where despite running an intense agrarian policy for many years, the agrarian structure in 2002 has much in common with that found in 1921 soon after the partitions period.\n\nIn 2009, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States, according to the International Monetary Fund (''see below''). Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture and by this measure agriculture in the United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948.\n", "\n, the International Labour Organization states that approximately one billion people, or over 1/3 of the available work force, are employed in the global agricultural sector. Agriculture constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries employs the largest percentage of women of any industry. The service sector only overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007. Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of people employed in agriculture fell by over four percentage points, a trend that is expected to continue. The number of people employed in agriculture varies widely on a per-country basis, ranging from less than 2% in countries like the US and Canada to over 80% in many African nations. In developed countries, these figures are significantly lower than in previous centuries. During the 16th century in Europe, for example, between 55 and 75 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture, depending on the country. By the 19th century in Europe, this had dropped to between 35 and 65 percent. In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%.\n\n=== Safety ===\n\nRollover protection bar on a Fordson tractor\n\nAgriculture, specifically farming, remains a hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss, skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. On industrialized farms, injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural machinery, and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is tractor rollovers. Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can also be hazardous to worker health, and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects. As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on the farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death. Common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor vehicle-related accidents.\n\nThe International Labour Organization considers agriculture \"one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors.\" It estimates that the annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported. The organization has developed the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001, which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and the role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play.\n", "\n=== Crop cultivation systems ===\n\nRice cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, India\n\nCropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and the philosophy and culture of the farmer.\n\nShifting cultivation (or slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years. Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure) and some manual pest control. Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs.\n\nFurther industrialization led to the use of monocultures, when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Because of the low biodiversity, nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating the greater use of pesticides and fertilizers. Multiple cropping, in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping, when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures.\n\nIn subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in a year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry. In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie, highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system.\n\n==== Crop statistics ====\n\n\nImportant categories of crops include cereals and pseudocereals, pulses (legumes), forage, and fruits and vegetables. Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimate.\n\n\n\n\nTop agricultural products, by crop types (million tonnes) 2004 data\n\n Cereals \n 2,263\n\n Vegetables and melons \n 866\n\n Roots and tubers \n 715\n\n Milk \n 619\n\n Fruit \n 503\n\n Meat \n 259\n\n Oilcrops \n 133\n\n Fish (2001 estimate) \n 130\n\n Eggs \n 63\n\n Pulses \n 60\n\n Vegetable fiber \n 30\n\n''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)''\n\n\n\n\nTop agricultural products, by individual crops (million tonnes) 2011 data\n\n Sugar cane \n 1794\n\n Maize \n 883\n\n Rice \n 722\n\n Wheat \n 704\n\n Potatoes \n 374\n\n Sugar beet \n 271\n\n Soybeans \n 260\n\n Cassava \n 252\n\n Tomatoes \n 159\n\n Barley \n 134\n\n''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)''\n\n\n\n\n\n\n=== Livestock production systems ===\n\n\n\nPloughing rice paddy fields with water buffalo, in Indonesia\n\nAnimals, including horses, mules, oxen, water buffalo, camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, are often used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers. Animal husbandry not only refers to the breeding and raising of animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis, but also to the breeding and care of species for work and companionship.\n\nAn ox-pulled plough in India\n\nLivestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless. , 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10. Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050. Aquaculture or fish farming, the production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007.\n\nDuring the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock breeds and crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve genetic diversity. This trend has led to a significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds.\n\nGrassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland, rangeland, and pastures for feeding ruminant animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists. Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as a fertilizer for crops.\n\nLandless systems rely upon feed from outside the farm, representing the de-linking of crop and livestock production found more prevalently in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) member countries. Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure utilization becomes a challenge as well as a source for pollution. Industrialized countries use these operations to produce much of the global supplies of poultry and pork. Scientists estimate that 75% of the growth in livestock production between 2003 and 2030 will be in confined animal feeding operations, sometimes called factory farming. Much of this growth is happening in developing countries in Asia, with much smaller amounts of growth in Africa. Some of the practices used in commercial livestock production, including the usage of growth hormones, are controversial.\n", "\nRoad leading across the farm allows machinery access to the farm for production practices\n\nFarming is the practice of agriculture by specialized labor in an area primarily devoted to agricultural processes, in service of a dislocated population usually in a city.\n\nTillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to no-till. It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms.\n\nPest control includes the management of weeds, insects, mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used. Cultural practices include crop rotation, culling, cover crops, intercropping, composting, avoidance, and resistance. Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and recommends pesticides as a last resort.\n\nNutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals. Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a fallow period. Manure is used either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing, such as in managed intensive rotational grazing, or by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or pastures.\n\nWater management is needed where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world. Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall. In other areas such as the Great Plains in the U.S. and Canada, farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year. Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.\n\nAccording to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, the International Food Policy Research Institute found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.\n\n\"Payment for ecosystem services (PES) can further incentivise efforts to green the agriculture sector. This is an approach that verifies values and rewards the benefits of ecosystem services provided by green agricultural practices.\" \"Innovative PES measures could include reforestation payments made by cities to upstream communities in rural areas of shared watersheds for improved quantities and quality of fresh water for municipal users. Ecoservice payments by farmers to upstream forest stewards for properly managing the flow of soil nutrients, and methods to monetise the carbon sequestration and emission reduction credit benefits of green agriculture practices in order to compensate farmers for their efforts to restore and build SOM and employ other practices.\"\n", "\n\nTractor and chaser bin\n\nCrop alteration has been practiced by humankind for thousands of years, since the beginning of civilization. Altering crops through breeding practices changes the genetic make-up of a plant to develop crops with more beneficial characteristics for humans, for example, larger fruits or seeds, drought-tolerance, or resistance to pests. Significant advances in plant breeding ensued after the work of geneticist Gregor Mendel. His work on dominant and recessive alleles, although initially largely ignored for almost 50 years, gave plant breeders a better understanding of genetics and breeding techniques. Crop breeding includes techniques such as plant selection with desirable traits, self-pollination and cross-pollination, and molecular techniques that genetically modify the organism.\n\nDomestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and drought tolerance, eased harvest and improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants. Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive X-ray and ultraviolet induced mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn (maize) and barley.\n\nThe Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to sharply increase yield by creating \"high-yielding varieties\". For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990. South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, African under 1 t/ha, and Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as France is over 8 t/ha. Variations in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the level of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging).\n\n=== Genetic engineering ===\n\n\n\nGenetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering has expanded the genes available to breeders to utilize in creating desired germlines for new crops. Increased durability, nutritional content, insect and virus resistance and herbicide tolerance are a few of the attributes bred into crops through genetic engineering. For some, GMO crops cause food safety and food labeling concerns. Numerous countries have placed restrictions on the production, import or use of GMO foods and crops, which have been put in place due to concerns over potential health issues, declining agricultural diversity and contamination of non-GMO crops. Currently a global treaty, the Biosafety Protocol, regulates the trade of GMOs. There is ongoing discussion regarding the labeling of foods made from GMOs, and while the EU currently requires all GMO foods to be labeled, the US does not.\n\nHerbicide-resistant seed has a gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to herbicides, including glyphosates. These seeds allow the farmer to grow a crop that can be sprayed with herbicides to control weeds without harming the resistant crop. Herbicide-tolerant crops are used by farmers worldwide. With the increasing use of herbicide-tolerant crops, comes an increase in the use of glyphosate-based herbicide sprays. In some areas glyphosate resistant weeds have developed, causing farmers to switch to other herbicides. Some studies also link widespread glyphosate usage to iron deficiencies in some crops, which is both a crop production and a nutritional quality concern, with potential economic and health implications.\n\nOther GMO crops used by growers include insect-resistant crops, which have a gene from the soil bacterium ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (Bt), which produces a toxin specific to insects. These crops protect plants from damage by insects. Some believe that similar or better pest-resistance traits can be acquired through traditional breeding practices, and resistance to various pests can be gained through hybridization or cross-pollination with wild species. In some cases, wild species are the primary source of resistance traits; some tomato cultivars that have gained resistance to at least 19 diseases did so through crossing with wild populations of tomatoes.\n", "\n\nWater pollution in a rural stream due to runoff from farming activity in New Zealand\n\nAgriculture, as implemented through the method of farming, imposes external costs upon society through pesticides, nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, loss of natural environment and assorted other problems. A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare. A 2005 analysis of these costs in the USA concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to 16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714 million. Both studies, which focused solely on the fiscal impacts, concluded that more should be done to internalize external costs. Neither included subsidies in their analysis, but they noted that subsidies also influence the cost of agriculture to society. In 2010, the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme published a report assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production. The study found that agriculture and food consumption are two of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report states that \"agricultural operations, excluding land use changes, produce approximately 13 per cent of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This includes GHGs emitted by the use of inorganic fertilisers agro-chemical pesticides and herbicides; (GHG emissions resulting from production of these inputs are included in industrial emissions); and fossil fuel-energy inputs. \"On average we find that the total amount of fresh residues from agricultural and forestry production for second- generation biofuel production amounts to 3.8 billion tonnes per year between 2011 and 2050 (with an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent throughout the period analysed, accounting for higher growth during early years, 48 per cent for 2011–2020 and an average 2 per cent annual expansion after 2020).\"\n\n=== Livestock issues ===\n\nA senior UN official and co-author of a UN report detailing this problem, Henning Steinfeld, said \"Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems\". Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet. It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2,) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2.) It also generates 64% of the ammonia emission. Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving deforestation; in the Amazon basin 70% of previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feedcrops. Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity. Furthermore, the UNEP states that \"methane emissions from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2030 under current practices and consumption patterns.\"\n\n=== Land and water issues ===\n\n\nLand transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is considered the driving force in the loss of biodiversity. Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39 to 50%. Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented. The UN-FAO report cites land management as the driving factor behind degradation and reports that 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land. Degradation can be deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or chemical degradation (acidification and salinization).\n\nEutrophication, excessive nutrients in aquatic ecosystems resulting in algal blooms and anoxia, leads to fish kills, loss of biodiversity, and renders water unfit for drinking and other industrial uses. Excessive fertilization and manure application to cropland, as well as high livestock stocking densities cause nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) runoff and leaching from agricultural land. These nutrients are major nonpoint pollutants contributing to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.\n\nAgriculture accounts for 70 percent of withdrawals of freshwater resources. Agriculture is a major draw on water from aquifers, and currently draws from those underground water sources at an unsustainable rate. It is long known that aquifers in areas as diverse as northern China, the Upper Ganges and the western US are being depleted, and new research extends these problems to aquifers in Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Increasing pressure is being placed on water resources by industry and urban areas, meaning that water scarcity is increasing and agriculture is facing the challenge of producing more food for the world's growing population with reduced water resources. Agricultural water usage can also cause major environmental problems, including the destruction of natural wetlands, the spread of water-borne diseases, and land degradation through salinization and waterlogging, when irrigation is performed incorrectly.\n\n=== Pesticides ===\n\n\nPesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5million short tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant. The World Health Organization estimated in 1992 that 3million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths. Pesticides select for pesticide resistance in the pest population, leading to a condition termed the \"pesticide treadmill\" in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.\n\nAn alternative argument is that the way to \"save the environment\" and prevent famine is by using pesticides and intensive high yield farming, a view exemplified by a quote heading the Center for Global Food Issues website: 'Growing more per acre leaves more land for nature'. However, critics argue that a trade-off between the environment and a need for food is not inevitable, and that pesticides simply replace good agronomic practices such as crop rotation. The UNEP introduces the Push–pull agricultural pest management technique which involves intercropping that uses plant aromas to repel or push away pests while pulling in or attracting the right insects. \"The implementation of push-pull in eastern Africa has significantly increased maize yields and the combined cultivation of N-fixing forage crops has enriched the soil and has also provided farmers with feed for livestock. With increased livestock operations, the farmers are able to produce meat, milk and other dairy products and they use the manure as organic fertiliser that returns nutrients to the fields.\"\n\n=== Climate change ===\n\n\nClimate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature, rainfall (timing and quantity), CO2, solar radiation and the interaction of these elements. Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase as climate change takes hold. Agriculture is among sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; water supply for example, will be critical to sustain agricultural production and provide the increase in food output required to sustain the world's growing population. Fluctuations in the flow of rivers are likely to increase in the twenty-first century. Based on the experience of countries in the Nile river basin (Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan) and other developing countries, depletion of water resources during seasons crucial for agriculture can lead to a decline in yield by up to 50%. Transformational approaches will be needed to manage natural resources in the future. For example, policies, practices and tools promoting climate-smart agriculture will be important, as will better use of scientific information on climate for assessing risks and vulnerability. Planners and policy-makers will need to help create suitable policies that encourage funding for such agricultural transformation.\n\nAgriculture in its many forms can both mitigate or worsen global warming. Some of the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is caused by the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddy fields, as well as the normal digestive activities of farm animals. Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gases nitric oxide and nitrous oxide. Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Informed by the UNEP, \"agriculture also produces about 58 per cent of global nitrous oxide emissions and about 47 per cent of global methane emissions. Cattle and rice farms release methane, fertilized fields release nitrous oxide, and the cutting down of rainforests to grow crops or raise livestock releases carbon dioxide. Both of these gases have a far greater global warming potential per tonne than CO2 (298 times and 25 times respectively).\"\n\nThere are several factors within the field of agriculture that contribute to the large amount of CO2 emissions. The diversity of the sources ranges from the production of farming tools to the transport of harvested produce. Approximately 8% of the national carbon footprint is due to agricultural sources. Of that, 75% is of the carbon emissions released from the production of crop assisting chemicals. Factories producing insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are a major culprit of the greenhouse gas. Productivity on the farm itself and the use of machinery is another source of the carbon emission. Almost all the industrial machines used in modern farming are powered by fossil fuels. These instruments are burning fossil fuels from the beginning of the process to the end. Tractors are the root of this source. The tractor is going to burn fuel and release CO2 just to run. The amount of emissions from the machinery increase with the attachment of different units and need for more power. During the soil preparation stage tillers and plows will be used to disrupt the soil. During growth watering pumps and sprayers are used to keep the crops hydrated. And when the crops are ready for picking a forage or combine harvester is used. These types of machinery all require additional energy which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions from the basic tractors. The final major contribution to CO2 emissions in agriculture is in the final transport of produce. Local farming suffered a decline over the past century due to large amounts of farm subsidies. The majority of crops are shipped hundreds of miles to various processing plants before ending up in the grocery store. These shipments are made using fossil fuel burning modes of transportation. Inevitably these transport adds to carbon dioxide emissions.\n\n=== Sustainability ===\n\n\nSome major organizations are hailing farming within agroecosystems as the way forward for mainstream agriculture. Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility. According to a report by the International Water Management Institute and UNEP, there is not enough water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how critical water, land, and ecosystem resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered. The report suggested assigning value to ecosystems, recognizing environmental and livelihood tradeoffs, and balancing the rights of a variety of users and interests. Inequities that result when such measures are adopted would need to be addressed, such as the reallocation of water from poor to rich, the clearing of land to make way for\nmore productive farmland, or the preservation of a wetland system that limits fishing rights.\n\nTechnological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable. New technologies have given rise to innovations like conservation tillage, a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, water pollution and enhances carbon sequestration.\n\nAccording to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, IFPRI found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.\n", "\n\n\nAgricultural economics refers to economics as it relates to the \"production, distribution and consumption of agricultural goods and services\". Combining agricultural production with general theories of marketing and business as a discipline of study began in the late 1800s, and grew significantly through the 20th century. Although the study of agricultural economics is relatively recent, major trends in agriculture have significantly affected national and international economies throughout history, ranging from tenant farmers and sharecropping in the post-American Civil War Southern United States to the European feudal system of manorialism. In the United States, and elsewhere, food costs attributed to food processing, distribution, and agricultural marketing, sometimes referred to as the value chain, have risen while the costs attributed to farming have declined. This is related to the greater efficiency of farming, combined with the increased level of value addition (e.g. more highly processed products) provided by the supply chain. Market concentration has increased in the sector as well, and although the total effect of the increased market concentration is likely increased efficiency, the changes redistribute economic surplus from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implications for rural communities.\n\nNational government policies can significantly change the economic marketplace for agricultural products, in the form of taxation, subsidies, tariffs and other measures. Since at least the 1960s, a combination of import/export restrictions, exchange rate policies and subsidies have affected farmers in both the developing and developed world. In the 1980s, it was clear that non-subsidized farmers in developing countries were experiencing adverse effects from national policies that created artificially low global prices for farm products. Between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, several international agreements were put into place that limited agricultural tariffs, subsidies and other trade restrictions.\n\nHowever, , there was still a significant amount of policy-driven distortion in global agricultural product prices. The three agricultural products with the greatest amount of trade distortion were sugar, milk and rice, mainly due to taxation. Among the oilseeds, sesame had the greatest amount of taxation, but overall, feed grains and oilseeds had much lower levels of taxation than livestock products. Since the 1980s, policy-driven distortions have seen a greater decrease among livestock products than crops during the worldwide reforms in agricultural policy. Despite this progress, certain crops, such as cotton, still see subsidies in developed countries artificially deflating global prices, causing hardship in developing countries with non-subsidized farmers. Unprocessed commodities (i.e. corn, soybeans, cows) are generally graded to indicate quality. The quality affects the price the producer receives. Commodities are generally reported by production quantities, such as volume, number or weight.\n", "\n\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "\nSince the 1940s, agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, due largely to the increased use of energy-intensive mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides. The vast majority of this energy input comes from fossil fuel sources. Between the 1960–65 measuring cycle and the cycle from 1986 to 1990, the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, with world grain production increasing significantly (between 70% and 390% for wheat and 60% to 150% for rice, depending on geographic area) as world population doubled. Modern agriculture's heavy reliance on petrochemicals and mechanization has raised concerns that oil shortages could increase costs and reduce agricultural output, causing food shortages.\n\n\n\nAgriculture and food system share (%) of total energyconsumption by three industrialized nations\n\n Country\n Year\n Agriculture(direct & indirect)\n Foodsystem\n\n United Kingdom\n 2005\n 1.9\n 11\n\n United States\n 2002\n 2.0\n 14\n\n Sweden\n 2000\n 2.5\n 13\n\n\nModern or industrialized agriculture is dependent on fossil fuels in two fundamental ways: 1. direct consumption on the farm and 2. indirect consumption to manufacture inputs used on the farm. Direct consumption includes the use of lubricants and fuels to operate farm vehicles and machinery; and use of gasoline, liquid propane, and electricity to power dryers, pumps, lights, heaters, and coolers. American farms directly consumed about 1.2 exajoules (1.1 quadrillion BTU) in 2002, or just over 1% of the nation's total energy.\n\nIndirect consumption is mainly oil and natural gas used to manufacture fertilizers and pesticides, which accounted for 0.6 exajoules (0.6 quadrillion BTU) in 2002. The natural gas and coal consumed by the production of nitrogen fertilizer can account for over half of the agricultural energy usage. China utilizes mostly coal in the production of nitrogen fertilizer, while most of Europe uses large amounts of natural gas and small amounts of coal. According to a 2010 report published by The Royal Society, agriculture is increasingly dependent on the direct and indirect input of fossil fuels. Overall, the fuels used in agriculture vary based on several factors, including crop, production system and location. The energy used to manufacture farm machinery is also a form of indirect agricultural energy consumption. Together, direct and indirect consumption by US farms accounts for about 2% of the nation's energy use. Direct and indirect energy consumption by U.S. farms peaked in 1979, and has gradually declined over the past 30 years. Food systems encompass not just agricultural production, but also off-farm processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items. Agriculture accounts for less than one-fifth of food system energy use in the US.\n\n=== ===\n\nM. King Hubbert's prediction of world petroleum production rates. Modern agriculture is totally reliant on petroleum energy\n\nIn the event of a petroleum shortage (see peak oil for global concerns), organic agriculture can be more attractive than conventional practices that use petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Some studies using modern organic-farming methods have reported yields equal to or higher than those available from conventional farming. In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, with shortages of conventional petroleum-based inputs, Cuba made use of mostly organic practices, including biopesticides, plant-based pesticides and sustainable cropping practices, to feed its populace. However, organic farming may be more labor-intensive and would require a shift of the workforce from urban to rural areas. The reconditioning of soil to restore organic matter lost during the use of monoculture agriculture techniques is important to provide a reservoir of plant-available nutrients, to maintain texture, and to minimize erosion.\n\nIt has been suggested that rural communities might obtain fuel from the biochar and synfuel process, which uses agricultural ''waste'' to provide charcoal fertilizer, some fuel ''and'' food, instead of the normal food vs. fuel debate. As the synfuel would be used on-site, the process would be more efficient and might just provide enough fuel for a new organic-agriculture fusion.\n\nIt has been suggested that some transgenic plants may some day be developed which would allow for maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil-fuel-derived inputs than conventional crops. The possibility of success of these programs is questioned by ecologists and economists concerned with unsustainable GMO practices such as terminator seeds. While there has been some research on sustainability using GMO crops, at least one prominent multi-year attempt by Monsanto Company has been unsuccessful, though during the same period traditional breeding techniques yielded a more sustainable variety of the same crop.\n", "\n\nFrom a Congressional Budget Office report\n\nAgricultural policy is the set of government decisions and actions relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets. Some overarching themes include risk management and adjustment (including policies related to climate change, food safety and natural disasters), economic stability (including policies related to taxes), natural resources and environmental sustainability (especially water policy), research and development, and market access for domestic commodities (including relations with global organizations and agreements with other countries). Agricultural policy can also touch on food quality, ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality, food security, ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs, and conservation. Policy programs can range from financial programs, such as subsidies, to encouraging producers to enroll in voluntary quality assurance programs.\n\nThere are many influences on the creation of agricultural policy, including consumers, agribusiness, trade lobbies and other groups. Agribusiness interests hold a large amount of influence over policy making, in the form of lobbying and campaign contributions. Political action groups, including those interested in environmental issues and labor unions, also provide influence, as do lobbying organizations representing individual agricultural commodities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and provides a forum for the negotiation of global agricultural regulations and agreements. Dr. Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division, states that lobbying by large corporations has stopped reforms that would improve human health and the environment. For example, proposals in 2010 for a voluntary code of conduct for the livestock industry that would have provided incentives for improving standards for health, and environmental regulations, such as the number of animals an area of land can support without long-term damage, were successfully defeated due to large food company pressure.\n", "\n\n\n* Aeroponics\n* Agricultural engineering\n* Agricultural robot\n* Agricultural value chain\n* Agroecology\n* Agroforestry\n* Building-integrated agriculture\n* Contract farming\n* Corporate farming\n* Crofting\n* Crop\n* Ecoagriculture\n* Feed additive\n* Food security\n* Hill farming\n* List of documentary films about agriculture\n* Pharming (genetics)\n* Regenerative agriculture\n* Remote sensing\n* Subsistence economy\n* Vertical farming\n\n\n\n", "\n\n", "* \n* Bolens, L. (1997). \"Agriculture\" in Selin, Helaine (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures''. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp. 20–22.\n* Collinson, M. (ed.) ''A History of Farming Systems Research''. CABI Publishing, 2000. \n* Jared Diamond, ''Guns, germs and steel. A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years'', 1997.\n* Mazoyer, Marcel; Roudart, Laurence (2006). ''A history of world agriculture: from the Neolithic Age to the current crisis''. Monthly Review Press, New York. \n* Watson, A.M. (1983). ''Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World'', Cambridge University Press.\n", "\n\n* Official website of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations\n* Official website of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)\n** Official website of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service\n* Agriculture Research Guide from the Government Information Library of the University of Colorado, Boulder\n* Agriculture material from the World Bank Group\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology and terminology ", " History ", " Agriculture and civilization ", " Types of agriculture ", " Contemporary agriculture ", " Workforce ", " Agricultural production systems ", " Production practices ", " Crop alteration and biotechnology ", " Environmental impact ", " Agricultural economics ", " Agricultural science ", " List of countries by agricultural output ", " Energy and agriculture ", " Policy ", " See also ", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "\n\n* Official website of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations\n* Official website of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)\n** Official website of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service\n* Agriculture Research Guide from the Government Information Library of the University of Colorado, Boulder\n* Agriculture material from the World Bank Group\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nFields in Záhorie (Slovakia)a typical Central European agricultural region\n\nDomestic sheep and a cow (heifer) pastured together in South Africa\n\n\n'''Agriculture''' is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life.", "Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization.", "The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science.", "The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies.", "Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology.", "Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects.", "Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production.", "Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries.", "Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts.", "Significant degradation of land and water resources, including the depletion of aquifers, has been observed in recent decades, and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood.", "The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials.", "Specific foods include cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, oils, meats and spices.", "Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax.", "Raw materials include lumber and bamboo.", "Other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants.", "Over one third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture, second only to the service sector, although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries.", "\nThe word ''agriculture'' is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin ''agricultūra'', from ''ager'', \"field\", and ''cultūra'', \"cultivation\" or \"growing\".", "Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle.", "To practice agriculture means to use natural resources to \"produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services.\"", "This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, animal husbandry and forestry.", "A distinction is sometimes made between forestry and agriculture, based on the former's longer management rotations, extensive versus intensive management practices and development mainly by nature, rather than by man.", "Even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture (the management of forests) and agriculture.", "In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry.", "\n\nA Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay (BC)\n\nAgriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa.", "At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin.", "Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago.", "Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago.", "Rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans.", "Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago.", "From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant.", "Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago.", "In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs.", "Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago.", "Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago.", "Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time.", "In Mesoamerica, wild teosinte was domesticated to maize by 6,000 years ago.", "In the Middle Ages, both in the Islamic world and in Europe, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the orange to Europe by way of Al-Andalus.", "After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice and turnips, and livestock including horses, cattle, sheep and goats to the Americas.", "Irrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers were introduced soon after the Neolithic Revolution and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the British Agricultural Revolution.", "Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labor has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding.", "The Haber-Bosch method allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields.", "Modern agriculture has raised political issues including water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies, leading to alternative approaches such as the organic movement and regenerative agriculture.", "\n\nCivilization was the product of the Agricultural Neolithic Revolution; as H. G. Wells put it, \"civilization was the agricultural surplus.\"", "In the course of history, civilization coincided in space with fertile areas such as The Fertile Crescent, and states formed mainly in circumscribed agricultural lands.", "The Great Wall of China and the Roman empire's ''limes'' (borders) demarcated the same northern frontier of cereal agriculture.", "This cereal belt fed the civilizations formed in the Axial Age and connected by the Silk Road.", "Ancient Egyptians, whose agriculture depended exclusively on the Nile, deified the river, worshipped, and exalted it in a great hymn.", "The Chinese imperial court issued numerous edicts, stating: \"Agriculture is the foundation of this Empire.\"", "Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Inca Emperors themselves plowed ceremonial fields in order to show personal example to everyone.", "Ancient strategists, Chinese Guan Zhong and Shang Yang and Indian Kautilya, drew doctrines linking agriculture with military power.", "Agriculture defined the limits on how large and for how long an army could be mobilized.", "Shang Yang called agriculture and war the ''One''.", "In the vast human pantheon of agricultural deities there are several deities who combined the functions of agriculture and war.", "As the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution produced civilization, the modern Agricultural Revolution, begun in Britain (British Agricultural Revolution), made possible the industrial civilization.", "The first precondition for industry was greater yields by less manpower, resulting in greater percentage of manpower available for non-agricultural sectors.", "Reindeer herds form the basis of pastoral agriculture for several Arctic and Subarctic peoples.", "Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals.", "In nomadic pastoralism, herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water.", "This type of farming is practised in arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India.", "In shifting cultivation, a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is burned.", "The land is then used for growing crops for several years.", "When the soil becomes less fertile, the area is then abandoned.", "Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated.", "This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly.", "This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Basin.", "Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere.", "It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia.", "In intensive farming, the crops are cultivated for commercial purpose i.e., for selling.", "The main motive of the farmer is to make profit, with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs.", "This type of farming is mainly practiced in highly developed countries.", "\nSatellite image of farming in Minnesota\n\nIn the past century, agriculture has been characterized by increased productivity, the substitution of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, water pollution, and farm subsidies.", "In recent years there has been a backlash against the external environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture movements.", "One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies, also known as decoupling.", "The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management and selective breeding.", "Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food.", "In 2007, higher incentives for farmers to grow non-food biofuel crops combined with other factors, such as over development of former farm lands, rising transportation costs, climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and population growth, caused food shortages in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, as well as rising food prices around the globe.", "As of December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls.", "Some of these shortages resulted in food riots and even deadly stampedes.", "The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture may be part of the solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security.", "They in part base this on the experience of Vietnam, which went from a food importer to large food exporter and saw a significant drop in poverty, due mainly to the development of smallholder agriculture in the country.", "Disease and land degradation are two of the major concerns in agriculture today.", "For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by the Ug99 lineage is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concerns due to crop losses of 70% or more under some conditions.", "Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.", "In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations University's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.", "Agrarian structure is a long-term structure in the Braudelian understanding of the concept.", "On a larger scale the agrarian structure is more dependent on the regional, social, cultural and historical factors than on the state’s undertaken activities.", "Like in Poland, where despite running an intense agrarian policy for many years, the agrarian structure in 2002 has much in common with that found in 1921 soon after the partitions period.", "In 2009, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States, according to the International Monetary Fund (''see below'').", "Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture and by this measure agriculture in the United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948.", "\n, the International Labour Organization states that approximately one billion people, or over 1/3 of the available work force, are employed in the global agricultural sector.", "Agriculture constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries employs the largest percentage of women of any industry.", "The service sector only overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007.", "Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of people employed in agriculture fell by over four percentage points, a trend that is expected to continue.", "The number of people employed in agriculture varies widely on a per-country basis, ranging from less than 2% in countries like the US and Canada to over 80% in many African nations.", "In developed countries, these figures are significantly lower than in previous centuries.", "During the 16th century in Europe, for example, between 55 and 75 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture, depending on the country.", "By the 19th century in Europe, this had dropped to between 35 and 65 percent.", "In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%.", "=== Safety ===\n\nRollover protection bar on a Fordson tractor\n\nAgriculture, specifically farming, remains a hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss, skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure.", "On industrialized farms, injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural machinery, and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is tractor rollovers.", "Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can also be hazardous to worker health, and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects.", "As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on the farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death.", "Common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor vehicle-related accidents.", "The International Labour Organization considers agriculture \"one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors.\"", "It estimates that the annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs.", "In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported.", "The organization has developed the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001, which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and the role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play.", "\n=== Crop cultivation systems ===\n\nRice cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, India\n\nCropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and the philosophy and culture of the farmer.", "Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years.", "Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20).", "This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure) and some manual pest control.", "Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period.", "This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs.", "Further industrialization led to the use of monocultures, when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage.", "Because of the low biodiversity, nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating the greater use of pesticides and fertilizers.", "Multiple cropping, in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping, when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures.", "In subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in a year, or requiring irrigation.", "In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry.", "In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie, highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system.", "==== Crop statistics ====\n\n\nImportant categories of crops include cereals and pseudocereals, pulses (legumes), forage, and fruits and vegetables.", "Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout the world.", "In millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimate.", "Top agricultural products, by crop types (million tonnes) 2004 data\n\n Cereals \n 2,263\n\n Vegetables and melons \n 866\n\n Roots and tubers \n 715\n\n Milk \n 619\n\n Fruit \n 503\n\n Meat \n 259\n\n Oilcrops \n 133\n\n Fish (2001 estimate) \n 130\n\n Eggs \n 63\n\n Pulses \n 60\n\n Vegetable fiber \n 30\n\n''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)''\n\n\n\n\nTop agricultural products, by individual crops (million tonnes) 2011 data\n\n Sugar cane \n 1794\n\n Maize \n 883\n\n Rice \n 722\n\n Wheat \n 704\n\n Potatoes \n 374\n\n Sugar beet \n 271\n\n Soybeans \n 260\n\n Cassava \n 252\n\n Tomatoes \n 159\n\n Barley \n 134\n\n''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)''\n\n\n\n\n\n\n=== Livestock production systems ===\n\n\n\nPloughing rice paddy fields with water buffalo, in Indonesia\n\nAnimals, including horses, mules, oxen, water buffalo, camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, are often used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers.", "Animal husbandry not only refers to the breeding and raising of animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis, but also to the breeding and care of species for work and companionship.", "An ox-pulled plough in India\n\nLivestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless.", ", 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people.", "Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10.", "Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases.", "Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050.", "Aquaculture or fish farming, the production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007.", "During the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock breeds and crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve genetic diversity.", "This trend has led to a significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds.", "Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland, rangeland, and pastures for feeding ruminant animals.", "Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source.", "This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists.", "Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock.", "Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as a fertilizer for crops.", "Landless systems rely upon feed from outside the farm, representing the de-linking of crop and livestock production found more prevalently in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) member countries.", "Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure utilization becomes a challenge as well as a source for pollution.", "Industrialized countries use these operations to produce much of the global supplies of poultry and pork.", "Scientists estimate that 75% of the growth in livestock production between 2003 and 2030 will be in confined animal feeding operations, sometimes called factory farming.", "Much of this growth is happening in developing countries in Asia, with much smaller amounts of growth in Africa.", "Some of the practices used in commercial livestock production, including the usage of growth hormones, are controversial.", "\nRoad leading across the farm allows machinery access to the farm for production practices\n\nFarming is the practice of agriculture by specialized labor in an area primarily devoted to agricultural processes, in service of a dislocated population usually in a city.", "Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control.", "Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to no-till.", "It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms.", "Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects, mites, and diseases.", "Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used.", "Cultural practices include crop rotation, culling, cover crops, intercropping, composting, avoidance, and resistance.", "Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and recommends pesticides as a last resort.", "Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock.", "Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals.", "Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a fallow period.", "Manure is used either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing, such as in managed intensive rotational grazing, or by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or pastures.", "Water management is needed where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world.", "Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall.", "In other areas such as the Great Plains in the U.S. and Canada, farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year.", "Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.", "According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, the International Food Policy Research Institute found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.", "\"Payment for ecosystem services (PES) can further incentivise efforts to green the agriculture sector.", "This is an approach that verifies values and rewards the benefits of ecosystem services provided by green agricultural practices.\"", "\"Innovative PES measures could include reforestation payments made by cities to upstream communities in rural areas of shared watersheds for improved quantities and quality of fresh water for municipal users.", "Ecoservice payments by farmers to upstream forest stewards for properly managing the flow of soil nutrients, and methods to monetise the carbon sequestration and emission reduction credit benefits of green agriculture practices in order to compensate farmers for their efforts to restore and build SOM and employ other practices.\"", "\n\nTractor and chaser bin\n\nCrop alteration has been practiced by humankind for thousands of years, since the beginning of civilization.", "Altering crops through breeding practices changes the genetic make-up of a plant to develop crops with more beneficial characteristics for humans, for example, larger fruits or seeds, drought-tolerance, or resistance to pests.", "Significant advances in plant breeding ensued after the work of geneticist Gregor Mendel.", "His work on dominant and recessive alleles, although initially largely ignored for almost 50 years, gave plant breeders a better understanding of genetics and breeding techniques.", "Crop breeding includes techniques such as plant selection with desirable traits, self-pollination and cross-pollination, and molecular techniques that genetically modify the organism.", "Domestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and drought tolerance, eased harvest and improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants.", "Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants.", "Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand.", "Extensive X-ray and ultraviolet induced mutagenesis efforts (i.e.", "primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn (maize) and barley.", "The Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to sharply increase yield by creating \"high-yielding varieties\".", "For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001.", "Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990.", "South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, African under 1 t/ha, and Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation.", "In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as France is over 8 t/ha.", "Variations in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the level of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging).", "=== Genetic engineering ===\n\n\n\nGenetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology.", "Genetic engineering has expanded the genes available to breeders to utilize in creating desired germlines for new crops.", "Increased durability, nutritional content, insect and virus resistance and herbicide tolerance are a few of the attributes bred into crops through genetic engineering.", "For some, GMO crops cause food safety and food labeling concerns.", "Numerous countries have placed restrictions on the production, import or use of GMO foods and crops, which have been put in place due to concerns over potential health issues, declining agricultural diversity and contamination of non-GMO crops.", "Currently a global treaty, the Biosafety Protocol, regulates the trade of GMOs.", "There is ongoing discussion regarding the labeling of foods made from GMOs, and while the EU currently requires all GMO foods to be labeled, the US does not.", "Herbicide-resistant seed has a gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to herbicides, including glyphosates.", "These seeds allow the farmer to grow a crop that can be sprayed with herbicides to control weeds without harming the resistant crop.", "Herbicide-tolerant crops are used by farmers worldwide.", "With the increasing use of herbicide-tolerant crops, comes an increase in the use of glyphosate-based herbicide sprays.", "In some areas glyphosate resistant weeds have developed, causing farmers to switch to other herbicides.", "Some studies also link widespread glyphosate usage to iron deficiencies in some crops, which is both a crop production and a nutritional quality concern, with potential economic and health implications.", "Other GMO crops used by growers include insect-resistant crops, which have a gene from the soil bacterium ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (Bt), which produces a toxin specific to insects.", "These crops protect plants from damage by insects.", "Some believe that similar or better pest-resistance traits can be acquired through traditional breeding practices, and resistance to various pests can be gained through hybridization or cross-pollination with wild species.", "In some cases, wild species are the primary source of resistance traits; some tomato cultivars that have gained resistance to at least 19 diseases did so through crossing with wild populations of tomatoes.", "\n\nWater pollution in a rural stream due to runoff from farming activity in New Zealand\n\nAgriculture, as implemented through the method of farming, imposes external costs upon society through pesticides, nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, loss of natural environment and assorted other problems.", "A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare.", "A 2005 analysis of these costs in the USA concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to 16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714 million.", "Both studies, which focused solely on the fiscal impacts, concluded that more should be done to internalize external costs.", "Neither included subsidies in their analysis, but they noted that subsidies also influence the cost of agriculture to society.", "In 2010, the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme published a report assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production.", "The study found that agriculture and food consumption are two of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions.", "The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report states that \"agricultural operations, excluding land use changes, produce approximately 13 per cent of anthropogenic global GHG emissions.", "This includes GHGs emitted by the use of inorganic fertilisers agro-chemical pesticides and herbicides; (GHG emissions resulting from production of these inputs are included in industrial emissions); and fossil fuel-energy inputs.", "\"On average we find that the total amount of fresh residues from agricultural and forestry production for second- generation biofuel production amounts to 3.8 billion tonnes per year between 2011 and 2050 (with an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent throughout the period analysed, accounting for higher growth during early years, 48 per cent for 2011–2020 and an average 2 per cent annual expansion after 2020).\"", "=== Livestock issues ===\n\nA senior UN official and co-author of a UN report detailing this problem, Henning Steinfeld, said \"Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems\".", "Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet.", "It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents.", "By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2.", "It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2,) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2.)", "It also generates 64% of the ammonia emission.", "Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving deforestation; in the Amazon basin 70% of previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feedcrops.", "Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity.", "Furthermore, the UNEP states that \"methane emissions from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2030 under current practices and consumption patterns.\"", "=== Land and water issues ===\n\n\nLand transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is considered the driving force in the loss of biodiversity.", "Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39 to 50%.", "Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented.", "The UN-FAO report cites land management as the driving factor behind degradation and reports that 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land.", "Degradation can be deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or chemical degradation (acidification and salinization).", "Eutrophication, excessive nutrients in aquatic ecosystems resulting in algal blooms and anoxia, leads to fish kills, loss of biodiversity, and renders water unfit for drinking and other industrial uses.", "Excessive fertilization and manure application to cropland, as well as high livestock stocking densities cause nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) runoff and leaching from agricultural land.", "These nutrients are major nonpoint pollutants contributing to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.", "Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of withdrawals of freshwater resources.", "Agriculture is a major draw on water from aquifers, and currently draws from those underground water sources at an unsustainable rate.", "It is long known that aquifers in areas as diverse as northern China, the Upper Ganges and the western US are being depleted, and new research extends these problems to aquifers in Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.", "Increasing pressure is being placed on water resources by industry and urban areas, meaning that water scarcity is increasing and agriculture is facing the challenge of producing more food for the world's growing population with reduced water resources.", "Agricultural water usage can also cause major environmental problems, including the destruction of natural wetlands, the spread of water-borne diseases, and land degradation through salinization and waterlogging, when irrigation is performed incorrectly.", "=== Pesticides ===\n\n\nPesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5million short tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant.", "The World Health Organization estimated in 1992 that 3million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths.", "Pesticides select for pesticide resistance in the pest population, leading to a condition termed the \"pesticide treadmill\" in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.", "An alternative argument is that the way to \"save the environment\" and prevent famine is by using pesticides and intensive high yield farming, a view exemplified by a quote heading the Center for Global Food Issues website: 'Growing more per acre leaves more land for nature'.", "However, critics argue that a trade-off between the environment and a need for food is not inevitable, and that pesticides simply replace good agronomic practices such as crop rotation.", "The UNEP introduces the Push–pull agricultural pest management technique which involves intercropping that uses plant aromas to repel or push away pests while pulling in or attracting the right insects.", "\"The implementation of push-pull in eastern Africa has significantly increased maize yields and the combined cultivation of N-fixing forage crops has enriched the soil and has also provided farmers with feed for livestock.", "With increased livestock operations, the farmers are able to produce meat, milk and other dairy products and they use the manure as organic fertiliser that returns nutrients to the fields.\"", "=== Climate change ===\n\n\nClimate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature, rainfall (timing and quantity), CO2, solar radiation and the interaction of these elements.", "Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase as climate change takes hold.", "Agriculture is among sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; water supply for example, will be critical to sustain agricultural production and provide the increase in food output required to sustain the world's growing population.", "Fluctuations in the flow of rivers are likely to increase in the twenty-first century.", "Based on the experience of countries in the Nile river basin (Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan) and other developing countries, depletion of water resources during seasons crucial for agriculture can lead to a decline in yield by up to 50%.", "Transformational approaches will be needed to manage natural resources in the future.", "For example, policies, practices and tools promoting climate-smart agriculture will be important, as will better use of scientific information on climate for assessing risks and vulnerability.", "Planners and policy-makers will need to help create suitable policies that encourage funding for such agricultural transformation.", "Agriculture in its many forms can both mitigate or worsen global warming.", "Some of the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is caused by the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddy fields, as well as the normal digestive activities of farm animals.", "Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gases nitric oxide and nitrous oxide.", "Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO2 in the atmosphere.", "Informed by the UNEP, \"agriculture also produces about 58 per cent of global nitrous oxide emissions and about 47 per cent of global methane emissions.", "Cattle and rice farms release methane, fertilized fields release nitrous oxide, and the cutting down of rainforests to grow crops or raise livestock releases carbon dioxide.", "Both of these gases have a far greater global warming potential per tonne than CO2 (298 times and 25 times respectively).\"", "There are several factors within the field of agriculture that contribute to the large amount of CO2 emissions.", "The diversity of the sources ranges from the production of farming tools to the transport of harvested produce.", "Approximately 8% of the national carbon footprint is due to agricultural sources.", "Of that, 75% is of the carbon emissions released from the production of crop assisting chemicals.", "Factories producing insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are a major culprit of the greenhouse gas.", "Productivity on the farm itself and the use of machinery is another source of the carbon emission.", "Almost all the industrial machines used in modern farming are powered by fossil fuels.", "These instruments are burning fossil fuels from the beginning of the process to the end.", "Tractors are the root of this source.", "The tractor is going to burn fuel and release CO2 just to run.", "The amount of emissions from the machinery increase with the attachment of different units and need for more power.", "During the soil preparation stage tillers and plows will be used to disrupt the soil.", "During growth watering pumps and sprayers are used to keep the crops hydrated.", "And when the crops are ready for picking a forage or combine harvester is used.", "These types of machinery all require additional energy which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions from the basic tractors.", "The final major contribution to CO2 emissions in agriculture is in the final transport of produce.", "Local farming suffered a decline over the past century due to large amounts of farm subsidies.", "The majority of crops are shipped hundreds of miles to various processing plants before ending up in the grocery store.", "These shipments are made using fossil fuel burning modes of transportation.", "Inevitably these transport adds to carbon dioxide emissions.", "=== Sustainability ===\n\n\nSome major organizations are hailing farming within agroecosystems as the way forward for mainstream agriculture.", "Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility.", "According to a report by the International Water Management Institute and UNEP, there is not enough water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how critical water, land, and ecosystem resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered.", "The report suggested assigning value to ecosystems, recognizing environmental and livelihood tradeoffs, and balancing the rights of a variety of users and interests.", "Inequities that result when such measures are adopted would need to be addressed, such as the reallocation of water from poor to rich, the clearing of land to make way for\nmore productive farmland, or the preservation of a wetland system that limits fishing rights.", "Technological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable.", "New technologies have given rise to innovations like conservation tillage, a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, water pollution and enhances carbon sequestration.", "According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, IFPRI found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.", "\n\n\nAgricultural economics refers to economics as it relates to the \"production, distribution and consumption of agricultural goods and services\".", "Combining agricultural production with general theories of marketing and business as a discipline of study began in the late 1800s, and grew significantly through the 20th century.", "Although the study of agricultural economics is relatively recent, major trends in agriculture have significantly affected national and international economies throughout history, ranging from tenant farmers and sharecropping in the post-American Civil War Southern United States to the European feudal system of manorialism.", "In the United States, and elsewhere, food costs attributed to food processing, distribution, and agricultural marketing, sometimes referred to as the value chain, have risen while the costs attributed to farming have declined.", "This is related to the greater efficiency of farming, combined with the increased level of value addition (e.g.", "more highly processed products) provided by the supply chain.", "Market concentration has increased in the sector as well, and although the total effect of the increased market concentration is likely increased efficiency, the changes redistribute economic surplus from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implications for rural communities.", "National government policies can significantly change the economic marketplace for agricultural products, in the form of taxation, subsidies, tariffs and other measures.", "Since at least the 1960s, a combination of import/export restrictions, exchange rate policies and subsidies have affected farmers in both the developing and developed world.", "In the 1980s, it was clear that non-subsidized farmers in developing countries were experiencing adverse effects from national policies that created artificially low global prices for farm products.", "Between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, several international agreements were put into place that limited agricultural tariffs, subsidies and other trade restrictions.", "However, , there was still a significant amount of policy-driven distortion in global agricultural product prices.", "The three agricultural products with the greatest amount of trade distortion were sugar, milk and rice, mainly due to taxation.", "Among the oilseeds, sesame had the greatest amount of taxation, but overall, feed grains and oilseeds had much lower levels of taxation than livestock products.", "Since the 1980s, policy-driven distortions have seen a greater decrease among livestock products than crops during the worldwide reforms in agricultural policy.", "Despite this progress, certain crops, such as cotton, still see subsidies in developed countries artificially deflating global prices, causing hardship in developing countries with non-subsidized farmers.", "Unprocessed commodities (i.e.", "corn, soybeans, cows) are generally graded to indicate quality.", "The quality affects the price the producer receives.", "Commodities are generally reported by production quantities, such as volume, number or weight.", "\nSince the 1940s, agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, due largely to the increased use of energy-intensive mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides.", "The vast majority of this energy input comes from fossil fuel sources.", "Between the 1960–65 measuring cycle and the cycle from 1986 to 1990, the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, with world grain production increasing significantly (between 70% and 390% for wheat and 60% to 150% for rice, depending on geographic area) as world population doubled.", "Modern agriculture's heavy reliance on petrochemicals and mechanization has raised concerns that oil shortages could increase costs and reduce agricultural output, causing food shortages.", "Agriculture and food system share (%) of total energyconsumption by three industrialized nations\n\n Country\n Year\n Agriculture(direct & indirect)\n Foodsystem\n\n United Kingdom\n 2005\n 1.9\n 11\n\n United States\n 2002\n 2.0\n 14\n\n Sweden\n 2000\n 2.5\n 13\n\n\nModern or industrialized agriculture is dependent on fossil fuels in two fundamental ways: 1. direct consumption on the farm and 2. indirect consumption to manufacture inputs used on the farm.", "Direct consumption includes the use of lubricants and fuels to operate farm vehicles and machinery; and use of gasoline, liquid propane, and electricity to power dryers, pumps, lights, heaters, and coolers.", "American farms directly consumed about 1.2 exajoules (1.1 quadrillion BTU) in 2002, or just over 1% of the nation's total energy.", "Indirect consumption is mainly oil and natural gas used to manufacture fertilizers and pesticides, which accounted for 0.6 exajoules (0.6 quadrillion BTU) in 2002.", "The natural gas and coal consumed by the production of nitrogen fertilizer can account for over half of the agricultural energy usage.", "China utilizes mostly coal in the production of nitrogen fertilizer, while most of Europe uses large amounts of natural gas and small amounts of coal.", "According to a 2010 report published by The Royal Society, agriculture is increasingly dependent on the direct and indirect input of fossil fuels.", "Overall, the fuels used in agriculture vary based on several factors, including crop, production system and location.", "The energy used to manufacture farm machinery is also a form of indirect agricultural energy consumption.", "Together, direct and indirect consumption by US farms accounts for about 2% of the nation's energy use.", "Direct and indirect energy consumption by U.S. farms peaked in 1979, and has gradually declined over the past 30 years.", "Food systems encompass not just agricultural production, but also off-farm processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items.", "Agriculture accounts for less than one-fifth of food system energy use in the US.", "=== ===\n\nM. King Hubbert's prediction of world petroleum production rates.", "Modern agriculture is totally reliant on petroleum energy\n\nIn the event of a petroleum shortage (see peak oil for global concerns), organic agriculture can be more attractive than conventional practices that use petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.", "Some studies using modern organic-farming methods have reported yields equal to or higher than those available from conventional farming.", "In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, with shortages of conventional petroleum-based inputs, Cuba made use of mostly organic practices, including biopesticides, plant-based pesticides and sustainable cropping practices, to feed its populace.", "However, organic farming may be more labor-intensive and would require a shift of the workforce from urban to rural areas.", "The reconditioning of soil to restore organic matter lost during the use of monoculture agriculture techniques is important to provide a reservoir of plant-available nutrients, to maintain texture, and to minimize erosion.", "It has been suggested that rural communities might obtain fuel from the biochar and synfuel process, which uses agricultural ''waste'' to provide charcoal fertilizer, some fuel ''and'' food, instead of the normal food vs. fuel debate.", "As the synfuel would be used on-site, the process would be more efficient and might just provide enough fuel for a new organic-agriculture fusion.", "It has been suggested that some transgenic plants may some day be developed which would allow for maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil-fuel-derived inputs than conventional crops.", "The possibility of success of these programs is questioned by ecologists and economists concerned with unsustainable GMO practices such as terminator seeds.", "While there has been some research on sustainability using GMO crops, at least one prominent multi-year attempt by Monsanto Company has been unsuccessful, though during the same period traditional breeding techniques yielded a more sustainable variety of the same crop.", "\n\nFrom a Congressional Budget Office report\n\nAgricultural policy is the set of government decisions and actions relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products.", "Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets.", "Some overarching themes include risk management and adjustment (including policies related to climate change, food safety and natural disasters), economic stability (including policies related to taxes), natural resources and environmental sustainability (especially water policy), research and development, and market access for domestic commodities (including relations with global organizations and agreements with other countries).", "Agricultural policy can also touch on food quality, ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality, food security, ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs, and conservation.", "Policy programs can range from financial programs, such as subsidies, to encouraging producers to enroll in voluntary quality assurance programs.", "There are many influences on the creation of agricultural policy, including consumers, agribusiness, trade lobbies and other groups.", "Agribusiness interests hold a large amount of influence over policy making, in the form of lobbying and campaign contributions.", "Political action groups, including those interested in environmental issues and labor unions, also provide influence, as do lobbying organizations representing individual agricultural commodities.", "The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and provides a forum for the negotiation of global agricultural regulations and agreements.", "Dr. Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division, states that lobbying by large corporations has stopped reforms that would improve human health and the environment.", "For example, proposals in 2010 for a voluntary code of conduct for the livestock industry that would have provided incentives for improving standards for health, and environmental regulations, such as the number of animals an area of land can support without long-term damage, were successfully defeated due to large food company pressure.", "\n\n\n* Aeroponics\n* Agricultural engineering\n* Agricultural robot\n* Agricultural value chain\n* Agroecology\n* Agroforestry\n* Building-integrated agriculture\n* Contract farming\n* Corporate farming\n* Crofting\n* Crop\n* Ecoagriculture\n* Feed additive\n* Food security\n* Hill farming\n* List of documentary films about agriculture\n* Pharming (genetics)\n* Regenerative agriculture\n* Remote sensing\n* Subsistence economy\n* Vertical farming", "* \n* Bolens, L. (1997).", "\"Agriculture\" in Selin, Helaine (ed.", "), ''Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures''.", "Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp. 20–22.", "* Collinson, M.", "(ed.)", "''A History of Farming Systems Research''.", "CABI Publishing, 2000.", "* Jared Diamond, ''Guns, germs and steel.", "A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years'', 1997.", "* Mazoyer, Marcel; Roudart, Laurence (2006).", "''A history of world agriculture: from the Neolithic Age to the current crisis''.", "Monthly Review Press, New York.", "* Watson, A.M. (1983).", "''Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World'', Cambridge University Press." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Apollo 11''' was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Michael Collins piloted the command module ''Columbia'' alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent just under a day on the lunar surface before rejoining ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.\n\nApollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16 at 9:32 am EDT (13:32 UTC) and was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a command module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that landed back on Earth; a service module (SM), which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a lunar module (LM) that had two stages – a lower stage for landing on the Moon, and an upper stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit. \n\nAfter being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the lunar module ''Eagle'' and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed a total of about 21.5 hours on the lunar surface. The astronauts used ''Eagle'''s upper stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module. They jettisoned ''Eagle'' before they performed the maneuvers that blasted them out of lunar orbit on a trajectory back to Earth. They returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.\n\nThe landing was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as \"one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.\" Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by U.S. President John F. Kennedy: \"before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.\"\n", "\n===Crew===\n\nApollo 11 was the second all-veteran multi-person crew (the first being Apollo 10) in human spaceflight history. A previous solo veteran flight had been made on Soyuz 1 in 1967 by Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.\n\nCollins was originally slated to be the Command Module Pilot (CMP) on Apollo 8 but was removed when he required surgery on his back and was replaced by Jim Lovell, his backup for that flight. After Collins was medically cleared, he took what would have been Lovell's spot on Apollo 11; as a veteran of Apollo 8, Lovell was transferred to Apollo 11's backup crew and promoted to backup commander.\n\n===Backup crew===\n\n\nIn early 1969, Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective August 1969 and announced that he would retire as an astronaut on that date. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was delayed past its intended July launch (at which point Anders would be unavailable if needed) and would later join Lovell's crew and ultimately be assigned as the original Apollo 13 CMP.\n\n===Support crew===\n*Charlie Duke, Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)\n*Ronald Evans (CAPCOM)\n*Owen K. Garriott (CAPCOM)\n*Don L. Lind (CAPCOM)\n*Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)\n*Bruce McCandless II (CAPCOM)\n*Harrison Schmitt (CAPCOM)\n*Bill Pogue\n*Jack Swigert\n*William Carpentier (SURGEON)\n\n===Flight directors===\n*Cliff Charlesworth (Green Team), launch and EVA\n*Gene Kranz (White Team), lunar landing\n*Glynn Lunney (Black Team), lunar ascent\n\n===Call signs===\nApollo 11 Command/Service Module ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit, photographed from the Lunar Module ''Eagle''\n\nAfter the crew of Apollo 10 named their spacecraft ''Charlie Brown'' and ''Snoopy'', assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer wrote to Manned Spacecraft Center director George M. Low to suggest the Apollo 11 crew be less flippant in naming their craft. During early mission planning, the names ''Snowcone'' and ''Haystack'' were used and put in the news release, but the crew later decided to change them.\n\nThe Command Module was named ''Columbia'' after the ''Columbiad'', the giant cannon shell \"spacecraft\" fired by a giant cannon (also from Florida) in Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon''. The Lunar Module was named ''Eagle'' for the national bird of the United States, the bald eagle, which is featured prominently on the mission insignia.\n\n===Insignia===\n\nRobbins medallion\nThe Apollo 11 mission insignia was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for \"peaceful lunar landing by the United States\". He chose an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a lunar background with the Earth in the distance. NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too \"warlike\" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be understood in some nations and went with \"Apollo 11\"; they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would \"be representative of ''everyone'' who had worked toward a lunar landing\". All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch.\n\nWhen the Eisenhower dollar coin was released in 1971, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side. The design was also used for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar unveiled in 1979, ten years after the Apollo 11 mission.\n\n===Mementos===\n\nNeil Armstrong's personal preference kit carried a piece of wood from the Wright brothers' 1903 airplane's left propeller and a piece of fabric from its wing, along with a diamond-studded astronaut pin originally given to Deke Slayton by the widows of the Apollo 1 crew. This pin had been intended to be flown on Apollo 1 and given to Slayton after the mission but following the disastrous launch pad fire and subsequent funerals, the widows gave the pin to Slayton and Armstrong took it on Apollo 11.\n\n", "\n===Launch and flight to lunar orbit===\n\nIn addition to many people crowding highways and beaches near the launch site, millions watched the event on television, with NASA Chief of Public Information Jack King providing commentary. President Richard M. Nixon viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House.\n\nA Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from Launch Pad 39A, part of the Launch Complex 39 site at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 UTC (9:32:00 a.m. EDT local time). It entered Earth orbit, at an altitude of by , twelve minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn at 16:22:13 UTC. About 30 minutes later, the transposition, docking, and extraction maneuver was performed: this involved separating the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) from the spent rocket stage, turning around, and docking with the Lunar Module still attached to the stage. After the Lunar Module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the rocket stage flew on a trajectory past the Moon and into orbit around the Sun.\n\nOn July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) about southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated ''Ranger 8'' and ''Surveyor 5'' landers along with the ''Lunar Orbiter'' mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extravehicular activity (EVA) challenges.\n\n===Lunar descent===\nThe ''Eagle'' in lunar orbit after separating from ''Columbia''\nJames Lovell and Fred Haise listening in during Apollo 11's descent\n\nOn July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' separated from the Command Module ''Columbia''. Collins, alone aboard ''Columbia'', inspected ''Eagle'' as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.\n\nAs the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found that they were passing landmarks on the surface four seconds early and reported that they were \"long\"; they would land miles west of their target point.\n\nFive minutes into the descent burn, and above the surface of the Moon, the LM navigation and guidance computer distracted the crew with the first of several unexpected \"1202\" and \"1201\" program alarms. Inside Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, computer engineer Jack Garman told guidance officer Steve Bales it was safe to continue the descent, and this was relayed to the crew. The program alarms indicated \"executive overflows\", meaning the guidance computer could not complete all of its tasks in real time and had to postpone some of them.\n\n\n\n===Landing===\nLanding on the Moon, July 20, 1969\nLanding site of Apollo 11 at Sea of Tranquility\nLRO camera.\n\nWhen Armstrong again looked outside, he saw that the computer's landing target was in a boulder-strewn area just north and east of a diameter crater (later determined to be West crater, named for its location in the western part of the originally planned landing ellipse). Armstrong took semi-automatic control and, with Aldrin calling out altitude and velocity data, landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.\n\nApollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, and the astronauts encountered a premature low fuel warning. This was later found to be the result of greater propellant 'slosh' than expected, uncovering a fuel sensor. On subsequent missions, extra anti-slosh baffles were added to the tanks to prevent this.\n\nThroughout the descent, Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the LM. A few moments before the landing, a light informed Aldrin that at least one of the probes hanging from ''Eagle'' footpads had touched the surface, and he said: \"Contact light!\" Three seconds later, ''Eagle'' landed and Armstrong said \"Shutdown.\" Aldrin immediately said \"Okay, engine stop. ACA – out of detent.\" Armstrong acknowledged \"Out of detent. Auto\" and Aldrin continued \"Mode control – both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm – off. 413 is in.\"\n\nCharles Duke, CAPCOM during the landing phase, acknowledged their landing by saying \"We copy you down, ''Eagle''.\"\n\nArmstrong acknowledged Aldrin's completion of the post landing checklist with \"Engine arm is off\", before responding to Duke with the words, \"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The ''Eagle'' has landed.\" Armstrong's unrehearsed change of call sign from \"Eagle\" to \"Tranquility Base\" emphasized to listeners that landing was complete and successful. Duke mispronounced his reply as he expressed the relief at Mission Control: \"Roger, Twan— Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.\"\n\nTwo and a half hours after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin radioed to Earth:\n\n He then took communion privately. At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (who had objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis) demanding that their astronauts refrain from broadcasting religious activities while in space. As such, Aldrin chose to refrain from directly mentioning taking communion on the Moon. Aldrin was an elder at the Webster Presbyterian Church, and his communion kit was prepared by the pastor of the church, the Rev. Dean Woodruff. Aldrin described communion on the Moon and the involvement of his church and pastor in the October 1970 edition of ''Guideposts'' magazine and in his book ''Return to Earth''. Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the Moon and commemorates the event each year on the Sunday closest to July 20.\n\nThe schedule for the mission called for the astronauts to follow the landing with a five-hour sleep period as they had been awake since early morning. However, they elected to forgo the sleep period and begin the preparations for the EVA early, thinking that they would be unable to sleep.\n\n\n===Lunar surface operations===\n\n\nmounted slowscan TV camera showing Armstrong as he climbs down the ladder to surface\n\nLM, taken by Aldrin on the lunar surface; most of the time Armstrong had the camera.\n\nThe astronauts planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package (EASEP) and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site through ''Eagle'' twin triangular windows, which gave them a 60° field of view. Preparation required longer than the two hours scheduled. Armstrong initially had some difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his Portable Life Support System (PLSS). According to veteran Moon-walker John Young, a redesign of the LM to incorporate a smaller hatch had not been followed by a redesign of the PLSS backpack, so some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress.\n\nSeveral books indicate early mission timelines had Buzz Aldrin rather than Neil Armstrong as the first man on the Moon.\n\nAt 02:39 UTC on Monday July 21, 1969, Armstrong opened the hatch, and at 02:51 UTC began his descent to the lunar surface. The Remote Control Unit controls on his chest kept him from seeing his feet. Climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) folded against ''Eagle'' side and activate the TV camera, and at 02:56:15 UTC he set his left foot on the surface. The first landing used slow-scan television incompatible with commercial TV, so it was displayed on a special monitor and a conventional TV camera viewed this monitor, significantly reducing the quality of the picture. The signal was received at Goldstone in the United States but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Australia. Minutes later the feed was switched to the more sensitive Parkes radio telescope in Australia. Despite some technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and broadcast to at least 600 million people on Earth. Although copies of this video in broadcast format were saved and are widely available, recordings of the original slow scan source transmission from the lunar surface were accidentally destroyed during routine magnetic tape re-use at NASA.\n\nThe plaque left on the ladder of ''Eagle''\nWhile still on the ladder, Armstrong uncovered a plaque mounted on the LM Descent Stage bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and President Nixon. The inscription read:\n\n\nAfter describing the surface dust as \"very fine-grained\" and \"almost like a powder,\" six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong stepped off ''Eagle'' footpad and declared, \"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.\"\n\nArmstrong intended to say \"That's one small step for a man\", but the word \"''a''\" is not audible in the transmission, and thus was not initially reported by most observers of the live broadcast. When later asked about his quote, Armstrong said he believed he said \"for a man\", and subsequent printed versions of the quote included the \"a\" in square brackets. One explanation for the absence may be that his accent caused him to slur the words \"for a\" together; another is the intermittent nature of the audio and video links to Earth, partly because of storms near Parkes Observatory. More recent digital analysis of the tape claims to reveal the \"a\" may have been spoken but obscured by static.\n\n\n\nAbout seven minutes after stepping onto the Moon's surface, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample using a sample bag on a stick. He then folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his right thigh. This was to guarantee there would be some lunar soil brought back in case an emergency required the astronauts to abandon the EVA and return to the LM.\n\nTwelve minutes after the contingency sample was collected, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface, and described the view with the simple phrase, \"Magnificent desolation.\"\n\nAldrin poses on the Moon, allowing Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor's reflection\nIn addition to fulfilling President Kennedy's mandate to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s, Apollo 11 was an engineering test of the Apollo system; therefore, Armstrong snapped photos of the LM so engineers would be able to judge its post-landing condition. He removed the TV camera from the MESA and made a panoramic sweep, then mounted it on a tripod from the LM. The TV camera cable remained partly coiled and presented a tripping hazard throughout the EVA.\n\nArmstrong said that moving in the lunar gravity, one-sixth of Earth's, was \"even perhaps easier than the simulations ... It's absolutely no trouble to walk around.\" Aldrin joined him on the surface and tested methods for moving around, including two-footed kangaroo hops. The PLSS backpack created a tendency to tip backwards, but neither astronaut had serious problems maintaining balance. Loping became the preferred method of movement. The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead. The fine soil was quite slippery. Aldrin remarked that moving from sunlight into ''Eagle'' shadow produced no temperature change inside the suit, though the helmet was warmer in sunlight, so he felt cooler in shadow.\n\nThe astronauts planted a specially designed U.S. flag on the lunar surface, in clear view of the TV camera. Some time later, President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone-radio transmission which Nixon called \"the most historic phone call ever made from the White House.\" Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call, but Frank Borman, who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11, convinced Nixon to keep his words brief, to respect the lunar landing as Kennedy's legacy. Armstrong thanked the President, and gave a brief reflection on the significance of the moment:\n\nPresident Nixon speaks to Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon\n'''Nixon:''' Hello, Neil and Buzz. I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House. And this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made. I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you've done. For every American, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world, I am sure they too join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is. Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth. For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one: one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth.\n\n'''Armstrong:''' Thank you, Mr. President. It's a great honor and privilege for us to be here, representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations, and with interest and curiosity, and men with a vision for the future. It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today.\n\n\nAldrin bootprint; part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith\nThe MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow, slowing work somewhat. As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray dust which soiled the outer part of their suits, the integrated thermal meteoroid garment.\n\nThey deployed the EASEP, which included a passive seismograph and a Lunar Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR). Then Armstrong walked from the LM to snap photos at the rim of Little West Crater while Aldrin collected two core tubes. He used the geological hammer to pound in the tubes – the only time the hammer was used on Apollo 11. The astronauts then collected rock samples using scoops and tongs on extension handles. Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so they had to stop documenting sample collection halfway through the allotted 34 minutes.\n\nMap showing landing site and photos taken\nThree new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: armalcolite, tranquillityite, and pyroxferroite. Armalcolite was named after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins.\n\nDuring this period, Mission Control used a coded phrase to warn Armstrong that his metabolic rates were high and that he should slow down. He was moving rapidly from task to task as time ran out. However, as metabolic rates remained generally lower than expected for both astronauts throughout the walk, Mission Control granted the astronauts a 15-minute extension. In a 2010 interview, Armstrong, who had walked a maximum of from the LM, explained that NASA limited the first moonwalk's time and distance because there was no empirical proof of how much cooling water the astronauts' PLSS backpacks would consume to handle their body heat generation while working on the Moon.\n\n===Lunar ascent and return===\nAldrin next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with ''Eagle'' in the background\n\nAldrin entered ''Eagle'' first. With some difficulty the astronauts lifted film and two sample boxes containing of lunar surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor. Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his suit pocket sleeve, and Aldrin tossed the bag down; Armstrong then jumped to the ladder's third rung and climbed into the LM. After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. They then pressurized the LM and settled down to sleep.\n\n\nPresident Nixon's speech writer William Safire had prepared ''In Event of Moon Disaster'' for the President to read on television in the event the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon. The contingency plan originated in a memo from Safire to Nixon's White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, in which Safire suggested a protocol the administration might follow in reaction to such a disaster. According to the plan, Mission Control would \"close down communications\" with the LM, and a clergyman would \"commend their souls to the deepest of the deep\" in a public ritual likened to burial at sea. The last line of the prepared text contained an allusion to Rupert Brooke's First World War poem, \"The Soldier\". The plan included presidential telephone calls to the astronauts' wives.\n\nWhile moving within the cabin, Aldrin accidentally damaged the circuit breaker that would arm the main engine for lift off from the Moon. There was concern this would prevent firing the engine, stranding them on the Moon. Fortunately, a felt-tip pen was sufficient to activate the switch. Had this not worked, the Lunar Module circuitry could have been reconfigured to allow firing the ascent engine.\n\nAfter about seven hours of rest, the crew was awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight. Two and a half hours later, at 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle'' ascent stage to rejoin Collins aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.\n\nAfter more than 21½ total hours on the lunar surface, they had left behind scientific instruments that included a retroreflector array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package used to measure moonquakes. They also left an Apollo 1 mission patch, and a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace and a silicon message disk. The disk carries the goodwill statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon and messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world. The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and present top management. (In his 1989 book, ''Men from Earth'', Aldrin says that the items included Soviet medals commemorating Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin.) Also, according to Deke Slayton's book ''Moonshot'', Armstrong carried with him a special diamond-studded astronaut pin from Slayton.\n\n''Eagle'' ascent stage approaching ''Columbia''\n\nFilm taken from the LM Ascent Stage upon liftoff from the Moon reveals the American flag, planted some from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine. Aldrin looked up in time to witness the flag topple: \"The ascent stage of the LM separated ... I was concentrating on the computers, and Neil was studying the attitude indicator, but I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over.\" Subsequent Apollo missions usually planted the American flags at least from the LM to prevent them being blown over by the ascent engine exhaust.\n\nAfter rendezvous with ''Columbia'', ''Eagle''s ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit on July 21, 1969, at 23:41 UTC. Just before the Apollo 12 flight, it was noted that ''Eagle'' was still likely to be orbiting the Moon. Later NASA reports mentioned that ''Eagle'' orbit had decayed, resulting in it impacting in an \"uncertain location\" on the lunar surface. The location is uncertain because the ''Eagle'' ascent stage was not tracked after it was jettisoned, and the lunar gravity field is sufficiently non-uniform to make the orbit of the spacecraft unpredictable after a short time. NASA estimated that the orbit had decayed within months and would have impacted on the Moon.\n\nOn July 23, the last night before splashdown, the three astronauts made a television broadcast in which Collins commented: ... The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly ... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly. All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of a people ... All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all of those, I would like to say, \"Thank you very much.\"\n\nAldrin added: This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown ... Personally, in reflecting on the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind. \"When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the Moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?\"\n\nArmstrong concluded: The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have, through their will, indicated their desire; next with four administrations and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, with the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the spacesuit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface. We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11.\n\nOn the return to Earth, a bearing at the Guam tracking station failed, potentially preventing communication on the last segment of the Earth return. A regular repair was not possible in the available time but the station director, Charles Force, had his ten-year-old son Greg use his small hands to reach into the housing and pack it with grease. Greg later was thanked by Armstrong.\n\n===Splashdown and quarantine===\n''Columbia'' floats on the ocean as Navy divers assist in retrieving the astronauts \nThe astronauts in their Biological Isolation Garments aboard the \n\nOn July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module ''Columbia'' just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC) at , in the Pacific Ocean east of Wake Island, south of Johnston Atoll, and from the recovery ship, .\n\nAt 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and seven minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. During splashdown, the Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. \"Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers\", was Armstrong's last official transmission from the ''Columbia''. A diver from the Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to the Command Module to prevent it from drifting. Additional divers attached flotation collars to stabilize the module and position rafts for astronaut extraction. Though the chance of bringing back pathogens from the lunar surface was considered remote, it was considered a possibility and NASA took great precautions at the recovery site. Divers provided the astronauts with Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs) which were worn until they reached isolation facilities on board the ''Hornet''. Additionally, astronauts were rubbed down with a sodium hypochlorite solution and the Command Module wiped with Betadine to remove any lunar dust that might be present. The raft containing decontamination materials was then intentionally sunk.\n\nA second Sea King helicopter hoisted the astronauts aboard one by one, where a NASA flight surgeon gave each a brief physical check during the trip back to the ''Hornet''.\n\nThe crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon\n\nAfter touchdown on the ''Hornet'', the astronauts exited the helicopter, leaving the flight surgeon and three crewmen. The helicopter was then lowered into hangar bay #2 where the astronauts walked the to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where they would begin their 21 days of quarantine. This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions, Apollo 12 and Apollo 14, before the Moon was proven to be barren of life and the quarantine process dropped.\n\nPresident Richard Nixon was aboard ''Hornet'' to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth. He told the astronauts, \"As a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before.\" After Nixon departed, the ''Hornet'' was brought alongside the five-ton Command Module where it was placed aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF. The ''Hornet'' sailed for Pearl Harbor where the Command Module and MQF were airlifted to the Manned Spacecraft Center.\n\nIn accordance with the recently promulgated Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law, the astronauts were placed in quarantine for fear that the Moon might contain undiscovered pathogens and that the astronauts might have been exposed to them during their Moon walks. However, after almost three weeks in confinement (first in their trailer and later in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center), the astronauts were given a clean bill of health. On August 10, 1969, the astronauts exited quarantine.\n\n===Celebration===\nParade in New York City\nOn August 13, they rode in parades in their honor in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. On the same evening in Los Angeles there was an official State Dinner to celebrate the flight, attended by members of Congress, 44 governors, the Chief Justice of the United States, and ambassadors from 83 nations at the Century Plaza Hotel. President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew honored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This celebration was the beginning of a 45-day \"Giant Leap\" tour that brought the astronauts to 25 foreign countries and included visits with prominent leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Many nations honored the first manned Moon landing with special features in magazines or by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage stamps or coins.\n\nOn September 16, 1969, the three astronauts spoke before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill. They presented two US flags, one to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that had been carried to the surface of the Moon with them.\n", "Artist's impression of Luna 15\n\nThe Soviet Union was secretly attempting to compete with the US in landing a man on the Moon but had been hampered by repeated failures in development of a launcher comparable to the Saturn V. Meanwhile, they tried to beat the US to return lunar material to the Earth by means of unmanned probes. On July 13, three days before Apollo 11's launch, they launched Luna 15, which reached lunar orbit before Apollo 11. During descent, a malfunction caused Luna 15 to crash in Mare Crisium about two hours before Armstrong and Aldrin took off from the Moon's surface to begin their voyage home. The Jodrell Bank Observatory radio telescope in England was later discovered to have recorded transmissions from Luna 15 during its descent, and this was published in July 2009 on the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.\n", "\n\nThe Command Module ''Columbia'' was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Washington, D.C. It was in the central ''Milestones of Flight'' exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Wright Flyer, the ''Spirit of St. Louis'', the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft ''Friendship 7'', and Gemini 4. Armstrong's and Aldrin's space suits are displayed in the museum's ''Apollo to the Moon'' exhibit. The quarantine trailer, the flotation collar, and the righting spheres are displayed at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.\n\nIn 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) imaged the various Apollo landing sites on the surface of the Moon, for the first time with sufficient resolution to see the descent stages of the lunar modules, scientific instruments, and foot trails made by the astronauts.\n\nIn March 2012 a team of specialists financed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos located the F-1 engines that launched Apollo 11 into space. The engines were found below the Atlantic Ocean's surface through the use of advanced sonar scanning. His team brought parts of two of the five engines to the surface. In July 2013, a conservator discovered a serial number under the rust on one of the engines raised from the Atlantic, which NASA confirmed was from the Apollo 11 launch.\nCommand Module ''Columbia'' at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hanger\n\n''Columbia'' was moved in 2017 to the NASM Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, to be readied for a four-city tour titled ''Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission''. This will include Space Center Houston (October 14, 2017, to March 18, 2018), the Saint Louis Science Center (April 14 to September 3, 2018), the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh (September 29, 2018, to February 18, 2019), and the Seattle Museum of Flight (March 16 to September 2, 2019).\n", "Mike Simons, director of the National Electronics Museum, assembles an Apollo TV camera for display at the Newseum\n\nOn July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by ''Life'' photographer Ralph Morse prior to the Apollo 11 launch.\n\nFrom July 16–24, 2009, NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred.\nIn addition, it is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments.\n\nOn July 20, 2009, the crew of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. \"We expect that there is, as we speak, another generation of kids out there who are looking up at the sky and are going to be the next Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin\", Obama said. \"We want to make sure that NASA is going to be there for them when they want to take their journey.\"\n\nThe John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up a Flash website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon.\n\nA group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:\n\nIt was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken ... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today ... The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date ... nothing since Apollo has come close to the excitement that was generated by those astronauts – Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them.\n\nOn August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States. The bill was sponsored by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Rep. Alan Grayson.\n\nIn July 2010, air-to-ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronised and released for the first time.\n", "\nFile:Apollo 11 Liftoff Spectators - GPN-2000-001852.jpg|Spectators camp out to watch the launch\nFile:Invite to Apollo 11 launch.png|Seating credential issued to viewers of the Apollo 11 launch\nFile:Engineers Working apollo 11.png|Launch Control Center before liftoff\nFile:Guenter Wendt and the Apollo 11 Crew.jpg|Collins, Aldrin and Armstrong consult with pad leader Guenter Wendt after Countdown Demonstration Test\nFile:Ap11-KSC-69PC-241HR.jpg|Roll-out of Saturn V AS-505 from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad\nFile:Apollo 11 Earth.jpg|The Earth as seen from Apollo 11 on the third day out\nFile:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv|Neil Armstrong describes the Moon's surface before setting foot on it\nFile:President Nixon telephones the Apollo 11 crew on the Moon.ogg|President Nixon speaks to Armstrong and Aldrin from the Oval Office\nFile:Land on the Moon 7 21 1969-repair.jpg|''The Washington Post'' on Monday, July 21, 1969: \"'The Eagle Has Landed'—Two Men Walk on the Moon\"\nFile:NASA Armstrong 1969 scout.png|Neil Armstrong's certification: \"I certify that this World Scout Badge was carried to the surface of the Moon on man's first lunar landing, Apollo XI, July 20, 1969.\"\nFile:First Man on Moon 1969 Issue-10c.jpg|First Man on the Moon Commemorative Issue of 1969 \nFile:Apollo 11 - Crew at the White House.jpg|Apollo 11 crew at the White House in 2004\n\n", "*Apollo 11 flight, artist concept (an illustrated timeline)\n*Apollo 11 in popular culture\n*Apollo 11 missing tapes\n*Apollo Guidance Computer\n*Google Moon\n*List of man-made objects on the Moon\n*List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999\n*Moon landing conspiracy theories\n*Wernher von Braun\n", "\n", "\n\n", "*\n*\n*\n*\n* Mailer, Norman \"Of a Fire on the Moon\" (first serialized in Life magazine; published as a book in 1970). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_a_Fire_on_the_Moon\n\n'''For young readers'''\n*\n*\n*\n", "\n\n* \"Apollo 11 transcripts\" at Spacelog\n* \"Magnificent Desolation: The Apollo 11 Moonwalk Pictures\" by ''Apollo Lunar Surface Journal'' contributor Joseph O'Dea. Complete gallery of Apollo 11 EVA pictures.\n* \"Apollo 11\" Detailed mission information by Dr. David R. Williams, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center\n* \"Apollo 11\" Photographer Blaise Thirard's presentation of Apollo 11 photographs\n* Original reports from ''The Times'' (London)\n* NASA website honoring the mission\n* \"The untold story: how one small silicon disc delivered a giant message to the Moon\" at collectSPACE.com\n* \"Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing 'Inspired World'\" ''National Geographic News'', July 16, 2004 – 35th anniversary of Apollo 11; Steven Dick, NASA's chief historian: \"... a thousand years from now, that step may be considered the crowning achievement of the 20th century.\"\n* \"Ten Things You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing\" by Craig Nelson, ''Popular Mechanics'', July 13, 2009\n* \"Coverage of the Flight of Apollo 11 – (1969)\" provided by Todd Kosovich for RadioTapes.com. Radio station recordings (airchecks) covering the flight of Apollo 11.\n* \"Space Missions\" at Buzz Aldrin's official website\n\n'''NASA reports'''\n* – 200+ pages\n*\n* – 230 pages\n* – Timeline of the mission, from \"One Giant Leap for Mandkind,\" 2004.\n\n'''Multimedia'''\n* – ''Life'' magazine Special Edition, August 11, 1969\n* – slideshow by ''Life'' magazine\n* – Remastered videos of the original landing.\n* – Transcripts and audio clips of important parts of the mission\n* – Hundreds of high-resolution images of the mission, including assembled panoramas.\n* – Several maps showing routes of moonwalks\n* Google Moon – with lunar landing sites tagged\n* Apollo Lunar Surface VR Panoramas at moonpans.com\n* Apollo Image Archive at Arizona State University\n* Apollo launch and mission videos at ApolloTV.net\n* Real-time audiovisual recreation of the lunar module landing with audio feeds from the crew of Apollo 11 and Ground Control\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* Apollo 11 Restored EVA Part 1 (1h of restored footage)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Framework", "Mission highlights", "Moon race", "Spacecraft location", "40th anniversary events", "Gallery", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The Jodrell Bank Observatory radio telescope in England was later discovered to have recorded transmissions from Luna 15 during its descent, and this was published in July 2009 on the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Apollo 11''' was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon.", "Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC.", "Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later.", "They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected of lunar material to bring back to Earth.", "Michael Collins piloted the command module ''Columbia'' alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface.", "Armstrong and Aldrin spent just under a day on the lunar surface before rejoining ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.", "Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16 at 9:32 am EDT (13:32 UTC) and was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program.", "The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a command module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that landed back on Earth; a service module (SM), which supported the command module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a lunar module (LM) that had two stages – a lower stage for landing on the Moon, and an upper stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit.", "After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit.", "Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the lunar module ''Eagle'' and landed in the Sea of Tranquility.", "They stayed a total of about 21.5 hours on the lunar surface.", "The astronauts used ''Eagle'''s upper stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module.", "They jettisoned ''Eagle'' before they performed the maneuvers that blasted them out of lunar orbit on a trajectory back to Earth.", "They returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.", "The landing was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience.", "Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as \"one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.\"", "Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by U.S. President John F. Kennedy: \"before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.\"", "\n===Crew===\n\nApollo 11 was the second all-veteran multi-person crew (the first being Apollo 10) in human spaceflight history.", "A previous solo veteran flight had been made on Soyuz 1 in 1967 by Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.", "Collins was originally slated to be the Command Module Pilot (CMP) on Apollo 8 but was removed when he required surgery on his back and was replaced by Jim Lovell, his backup for that flight.", "After Collins was medically cleared, he took what would have been Lovell's spot on Apollo 11; as a veteran of Apollo 8, Lovell was transferred to Apollo 11's backup crew and promoted to backup commander.", "===Backup crew===\n\n\nIn early 1969, Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective August 1969 and announced that he would retire as an astronaut on that date.", "At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was delayed past its intended July launch (at which point Anders would be unavailable if needed) and would later join Lovell's crew and ultimately be assigned as the original Apollo 13 CMP.", "===Support crew===\n*Charlie Duke, Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM)\n*Ronald Evans (CAPCOM)\n*Owen K. Garriott (CAPCOM)\n*Don L. Lind (CAPCOM)\n*Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)\n*Bruce McCandless II (CAPCOM)\n*Harrison Schmitt (CAPCOM)\n*Bill Pogue\n*Jack Swigert\n*William Carpentier (SURGEON)\n\n===Flight directors===\n*Cliff Charlesworth (Green Team), launch and EVA\n*Gene Kranz (White Team), lunar landing\n*Glynn Lunney (Black Team), lunar ascent\n\n===Call signs===\nApollo 11 Command/Service Module ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit, photographed from the Lunar Module ''Eagle''\n\nAfter the crew of Apollo 10 named their spacecraft ''Charlie Brown'' and ''Snoopy'', assistant manager for public affairs Julian Scheer wrote to Manned Spacecraft Center director George M. Low to suggest the Apollo 11 crew be less flippant in naming their craft.", "During early mission planning, the names ''Snowcone'' and ''Haystack'' were used and put in the news release, but the crew later decided to change them.", "The Command Module was named ''Columbia'' after the ''Columbiad'', the giant cannon shell \"spacecraft\" fired by a giant cannon (also from Florida) in Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon''.", "The Lunar Module was named ''Eagle'' for the national bird of the United States, the bald eagle, which is featured prominently on the mission insignia.", "===Insignia===\n\nRobbins medallion\nThe Apollo 11 mission insignia was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for \"peaceful lunar landing by the United States\".", "He chose an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a lunar background with the Earth in the distance.", "NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too \"warlike\" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws.", "The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be understood in some nations and went with \"Apollo 11\"; they decided not to put their names on the patch, so it would \"be representative of ''everyone'' who had worked toward a lunar landing\".", "All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch.", "When the Eisenhower dollar coin was released in 1971, the patch design provided the eagle for its reverse side.", "The design was also used for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar unveiled in 1979, ten years after the Apollo 11 mission.", "===Mementos===\n\nNeil Armstrong's personal preference kit carried a piece of wood from the Wright brothers' 1903 airplane's left propeller and a piece of fabric from its wing, along with a diamond-studded astronaut pin originally given to Deke Slayton by the widows of the Apollo 1 crew.", "This pin had been intended to be flown on Apollo 1 and given to Slayton after the mission but following the disastrous launch pad fire and subsequent funerals, the widows gave the pin to Slayton and Armstrong took it on Apollo 11.", "\n===Launch and flight to lunar orbit===\n\nIn addition to many people crowding highways and beaches near the launch site, millions watched the event on television, with NASA Chief of Public Information Jack King providing commentary.", "President Richard M. Nixon viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House.", "A Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from Launch Pad 39A, part of the Launch Complex 39 site at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 UTC (9:32:00 a.m. EDT local time).", "It entered Earth orbit, at an altitude of by , twelve minutes later.", "After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn at 16:22:13 UTC.", "About 30 minutes later, the transposition, docking, and extraction maneuver was performed: this involved separating the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) from the spent rocket stage, turning around, and docking with the Lunar Module still attached to the stage.", "After the Lunar Module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the rocket stage flew on a trajectory past the Moon and into orbit around the Sun.", "On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit.", "In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) about southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E).", "The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated ''Ranger 8'' and ''Surveyor 5'' landers along with the ''Lunar Orbiter'' mapping spacecraft and unlikely to present major landing or extravehicular activity (EVA) challenges.", "===Lunar descent===\nThe ''Eagle'' in lunar orbit after separating from ''Columbia''\nJames Lovell and Fred Haise listening in during Apollo 11's descent\n\nOn July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' separated from the Command Module ''Columbia''.", "Collins, alone aboard ''Columbia'', inspected ''Eagle'' as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged.", "As the descent began, Armstrong and Aldrin found that they were passing landmarks on the surface four seconds early and reported that they were \"long\"; they would land miles west of their target point.", "Five minutes into the descent burn, and above the surface of the Moon, the LM navigation and guidance computer distracted the crew with the first of several unexpected \"1202\" and \"1201\" program alarms.", "Inside Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, computer engineer Jack Garman told guidance officer Steve Bales it was safe to continue the descent, and this was relayed to the crew.", "The program alarms indicated \"executive overflows\", meaning the guidance computer could not complete all of its tasks in real time and had to postpone some of them.", "===Landing===\nLanding on the Moon, July 20, 1969\nLanding site of Apollo 11 at Sea of Tranquility\nLRO camera.", "When Armstrong again looked outside, he saw that the computer's landing target was in a boulder-strewn area just north and east of a diameter crater (later determined to be West crater, named for its location in the western part of the originally planned landing ellipse).", "Armstrong took semi-automatic control and, with Aldrin calling out altitude and velocity data, landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.", "Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, and the astronauts encountered a premature low fuel warning.", "This was later found to be the result of greater propellant 'slosh' than expected, uncovering a fuel sensor.", "On subsequent missions, extra anti-slosh baffles were added to the tanks to prevent this.", "Throughout the descent, Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the LM.", "A few moments before the landing, a light informed Aldrin that at least one of the probes hanging from ''Eagle'' footpads had touched the surface, and he said: \"Contact light!\"", "Three seconds later, ''Eagle'' landed and Armstrong said \"Shutdown.\"", "Aldrin immediately said \"Okay, engine stop.", "ACA – out of detent.\"", "Armstrong acknowledged \"Out of detent.", "Auto\" and Aldrin continued \"Mode control – both auto.", "Descent engine command override off.", "Engine arm – off.", "413 is in.\"", "Charles Duke, CAPCOM during the landing phase, acknowledged their landing by saying \"We copy you down, ''Eagle''.\"", "Armstrong acknowledged Aldrin's completion of the post landing checklist with \"Engine arm is off\", before responding to Duke with the words, \"Houston, Tranquility Base here.", "The ''Eagle'' has landed.\"", "Armstrong's unrehearsed change of call sign from \"Eagle\" to \"Tranquility Base\" emphasized to listeners that landing was complete and successful.", "Duke mispronounced his reply as he expressed the relief at Mission Control: \"Roger, Twan— Tranquility, we copy you on the ground.", "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.", "We're breathing again.", "Thanks a lot.\"", "Two and a half hours after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin radioed to Earth:\n\n He then took communion privately.", "At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (who had objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis) demanding that their astronauts refrain from broadcasting religious activities while in space.", "As such, Aldrin chose to refrain from directly mentioning taking communion on the Moon.", "Aldrin was an elder at the Webster Presbyterian Church, and his communion kit was prepared by the pastor of the church, the Rev.", "Dean Woodruff.", "Aldrin described communion on the Moon and the involvement of his church and pastor in the October 1970 edition of ''Guideposts'' magazine and in his book ''Return to Earth''.", "Webster Presbyterian possesses the chalice used on the Moon and commemorates the event each year on the Sunday closest to July 20.", "The schedule for the mission called for the astronauts to follow the landing with a five-hour sleep period as they had been awake since early morning.", "However, they elected to forgo the sleep period and begin the preparations for the EVA early, thinking that they would be unable to sleep.", "===Lunar surface operations===\n\n\nmounted slowscan TV camera showing Armstrong as he climbs down the ladder to surface\n\nLM, taken by Aldrin on the lunar surface; most of the time Armstrong had the camera.", "The astronauts planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package (EASEP) and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site through ''Eagle'' twin triangular windows, which gave them a 60° field of view.", "Preparation required longer than the two hours scheduled.", "Armstrong initially had some difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his Portable Life Support System (PLSS).", "According to veteran Moon-walker John Young, a redesign of the LM to incorporate a smaller hatch had not been followed by a redesign of the PLSS backpack, so some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress.", "Several books indicate early mission timelines had Buzz Aldrin rather than Neil Armstrong as the first man on the Moon.", "At 02:39 UTC on Monday July 21, 1969, Armstrong opened the hatch, and at 02:51 UTC began his descent to the lunar surface.", "The Remote Control Unit controls on his chest kept him from seeing his feet.", "Climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) folded against ''Eagle'' side and activate the TV camera, and at 02:56:15 UTC he set his left foot on the surface.", "The first landing used slow-scan television incompatible with commercial TV, so it was displayed on a special monitor and a conventional TV camera viewed this monitor, significantly reducing the quality of the picture.", "The signal was received at Goldstone in the United States but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Australia.", "Minutes later the feed was switched to the more sensitive Parkes radio telescope in Australia.", "Despite some technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and broadcast to at least 600 million people on Earth.", "Although copies of this video in broadcast format were saved and are widely available, recordings of the original slow scan source transmission from the lunar surface were accidentally destroyed during routine magnetic tape re-use at NASA.", "The plaque left on the ladder of ''Eagle''\nWhile still on the ladder, Armstrong uncovered a plaque mounted on the LM Descent Stage bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and President Nixon.", "The inscription read:\n\n\nAfter describing the surface dust as \"very fine-grained\" and \"almost like a powder,\" six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong stepped off ''Eagle'' footpad and declared, \"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.\"", "Armstrong intended to say \"That's one small step for a man\", but the word \"''a''\" is not audible in the transmission, and thus was not initially reported by most observers of the live broadcast.", "When later asked about his quote, Armstrong said he believed he said \"for a man\", and subsequent printed versions of the quote included the \"a\" in square brackets.", "One explanation for the absence may be that his accent caused him to slur the words \"for a\" together; another is the intermittent nature of the audio and video links to Earth, partly because of storms near Parkes Observatory.", "More recent digital analysis of the tape claims to reveal the \"a\" may have been spoken but obscured by static.", "About seven minutes after stepping onto the Moon's surface, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample using a sample bag on a stick.", "He then folded the bag and tucked it into a pocket on his right thigh.", "This was to guarantee there would be some lunar soil brought back in case an emergency required the astronauts to abandon the EVA and return to the LM.", "Twelve minutes after the contingency sample was collected, Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface, and described the view with the simple phrase, \"Magnificent desolation.\"", "Aldrin poses on the Moon, allowing Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor's reflection\nIn addition to fulfilling President Kennedy's mandate to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s, Apollo 11 was an engineering test of the Apollo system; therefore, Armstrong snapped photos of the LM so engineers would be able to judge its post-landing condition.", "He removed the TV camera from the MESA and made a panoramic sweep, then mounted it on a tripod from the LM.", "The TV camera cable remained partly coiled and presented a tripping hazard throughout the EVA.", "Armstrong said that moving in the lunar gravity, one-sixth of Earth's, was \"even perhaps easier than the simulations ...", "It's absolutely no trouble to walk around.\"", "Aldrin joined him on the surface and tested methods for moving around, including two-footed kangaroo hops.", "The PLSS backpack created a tendency to tip backwards, but neither astronaut had serious problems maintaining balance.", "Loping became the preferred method of movement.", "The astronauts reported that they needed to plan their movements six or seven steps ahead.", "The fine soil was quite slippery.", "Aldrin remarked that moving from sunlight into ''Eagle'' shadow produced no temperature change inside the suit, though the helmet was warmer in sunlight, so he felt cooler in shadow.", "The astronauts planted a specially designed U.S. flag on the lunar surface, in clear view of the TV camera.", "Some time later, President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone-radio transmission which Nixon called \"the most historic phone call ever made from the White House.\"", "Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call, but Frank Borman, who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11, convinced Nixon to keep his words brief, to respect the lunar landing as Kennedy's legacy.", "Armstrong thanked the President, and gave a brief reflection on the significance of the moment:\n\nPresident Nixon speaks to Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon\n'''Nixon:''' Hello, Neil and Buzz.", "I'm talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House.", "And this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made.", "I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you've done.", "For every American, this has to be the proudest day of our lives.", "And for people all over the world, I am sure they too join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is.", "Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world.", "And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth.", "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one: one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth.", "'''Armstrong:''' Thank you, Mr. President.", "It's a great honor and privilege for us to be here, representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations, and with interest and curiosity, and men with a vision for the future.", "It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today.", "Aldrin bootprint; part of an experiment to test the properties of the lunar regolith\nThe MESA failed to provide a stable work platform and was in shadow, slowing work somewhat.", "As they worked, the moonwalkers kicked up gray dust which soiled the outer part of their suits, the integrated thermal meteoroid garment.", "They deployed the EASEP, which included a passive seismograph and a Lunar Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR).", "Then Armstrong walked from the LM to snap photos at the rim of Little West Crater while Aldrin collected two core tubes.", "He used the geological hammer to pound in the tubes – the only time the hammer was used on Apollo 11.", "The astronauts then collected rock samples using scoops and tongs on extension handles.", "Many of the surface activities took longer than expected, so they had to stop documenting sample collection halfway through the allotted 34 minutes.", "Map showing landing site and photos taken\nThree new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: armalcolite, tranquillityite, and pyroxferroite.", "Armalcolite was named after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins.", "During this period, Mission Control used a coded phrase to warn Armstrong that his metabolic rates were high and that he should slow down.", "He was moving rapidly from task to task as time ran out.", "However, as metabolic rates remained generally lower than expected for both astronauts throughout the walk, Mission Control granted the astronauts a 15-minute extension.", "In a 2010 interview, Armstrong, who had walked a maximum of from the LM, explained that NASA limited the first moonwalk's time and distance because there was no empirical proof of how much cooling water the astronauts' PLSS backpacks would consume to handle their body heat generation while working on the Moon.", "===Lunar ascent and return===\nAldrin next to the Passive Seismic Experiment Package with ''Eagle'' in the background\n\nAldrin entered ''Eagle'' first.", "With some difficulty the astronauts lifted film and two sample boxes containing of lunar surface material to the LM hatch using a flat cable pulley device called the Lunar Equipment Conveyor.", "Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his suit pocket sleeve, and Aldrin tossed the bag down; Armstrong then jumped to the ladder's third rung and climbed into the LM.", "After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad camera, and other equipment.", "They then pressurized the LM and settled down to sleep.", "President Nixon's speech writer William Safire had prepared ''In Event of Moon Disaster'' for the President to read on television in the event the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon.", "The contingency plan originated in a memo from Safire to Nixon's White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, in which Safire suggested a protocol the administration might follow in reaction to such a disaster.", "According to the plan, Mission Control would \"close down communications\" with the LM, and a clergyman would \"commend their souls to the deepest of the deep\" in a public ritual likened to burial at sea.", "The last line of the prepared text contained an allusion to Rupert Brooke's First World War poem, \"The Soldier\".", "The plan included presidential telephone calls to the astronauts' wives.", "While moving within the cabin, Aldrin accidentally damaged the circuit breaker that would arm the main engine for lift off from the Moon.", "There was concern this would prevent firing the engine, stranding them on the Moon.", "Fortunately, a felt-tip pen was sufficient to activate the switch.", "Had this not worked, the Lunar Module circuitry could have been reconfigured to allow firing the ascent engine.", "After about seven hours of rest, the crew was awakened by Houston to prepare for the return flight.", "Two and a half hours later, at 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle'' ascent stage to rejoin Collins aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.", "After more than 21½ total hours on the lunar surface, they had left behind scientific instruments that included a retroreflector array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package used to measure moonquakes.", "They also left an Apollo 1 mission patch, and a memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch as a traditional symbol of peace and a silicon message disk.", "The disk carries the goodwill statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon and messages from leaders of 73 countries around the world.", "The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the US Congress, a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the NASA legislation, and the names of NASA's past and present top management.", "(In his 1989 book, ''Men from Earth'', Aldrin says that the items included Soviet medals commemorating Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin.)", "Also, according to Deke Slayton's book ''Moonshot'', Armstrong carried with him a special diamond-studded astronaut pin from Slayton.", "''Eagle'' ascent stage approaching ''Columbia''\n\nFilm taken from the LM Ascent Stage upon liftoff from the Moon reveals the American flag, planted some from the descent stage, whipping violently in the exhaust of the ascent stage engine.", "Aldrin looked up in time to witness the flag topple: \"The ascent stage of the LM separated ...", "I was concentrating on the computers, and Neil was studying the attitude indicator, but I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over.\"", "Subsequent Apollo missions usually planted the American flags at least from the LM to prevent them being blown over by the ascent engine exhaust.", "After rendezvous with ''Columbia'', ''Eagle''s ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit on July 21, 1969, at 23:41 UTC.", "Just before the Apollo 12 flight, it was noted that ''Eagle'' was still likely to be orbiting the Moon.", "Later NASA reports mentioned that ''Eagle'' orbit had decayed, resulting in it impacting in an \"uncertain location\" on the lunar surface.", "The location is uncertain because the ''Eagle'' ascent stage was not tracked after it was jettisoned, and the lunar gravity field is sufficiently non-uniform to make the orbit of the spacecraft unpredictable after a short time.", "NASA estimated that the orbit had decayed within months and would have impacted on the Moon.", "On July 23, the last night before splashdown, the three astronauts made a television broadcast in which Collins commented: ...", "The Saturn V rocket which put us in orbit is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, every piece of which worked flawlessly ... We have always had confidence that this equipment will work properly.", "All this is possible only through the blood, sweat, and tears of a number of a people ... All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all of those, I would like to say, \"Thank you very much.\"", "Aldrin added: This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more, still, than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation.", "We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown ...", "Personally, in reflecting on the events of the past several days, a verse from Psalms comes to mind.", "\"When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the Moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?\"", "Armstrong concluded: The responsibility for this flight lies first with history and with the giants of science who have preceded this effort; next with the American people, who have, through their will, indicated their desire; next with four administrations and their Congresses, for implementing that will; and then, with the agency and industry teams that built our spacecraft, the Saturn, the Columbia, the Eagle, and the little EMU, the spacesuit and backpack that was our small spacecraft out on the lunar surface.", "We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft.", "To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you.", "Good night from Apollo 11.", "On the return to Earth, a bearing at the Guam tracking station failed, potentially preventing communication on the last segment of the Earth return.", "A regular repair was not possible in the available time but the station director, Charles Force, had his ten-year-old son Greg use his small hands to reach into the housing and pack it with grease.", "Greg later was thanked by Armstrong.", "===Splashdown and quarantine===\n''Columbia'' floats on the ocean as Navy divers assist in retrieving the astronauts \nThe astronauts in their Biological Isolation Garments aboard the \n\nOn July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module ''Columbia'' just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC) at , in the Pacific Ocean east of Wake Island, south of Johnston Atoll, and from the recovery ship, .", "At 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and seven minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully.", "During splashdown, the Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts.", "\"Everything's okay.", "Our checklist is complete.", "Awaiting swimmers\", was Armstrong's last official transmission from the ''Columbia''.", "A diver from the Navy helicopter hovering above attached a sea anchor to the Command Module to prevent it from drifting.", "Additional divers attached flotation collars to stabilize the module and position rafts for astronaut extraction.", "Though the chance of bringing back pathogens from the lunar surface was considered remote, it was considered a possibility and NASA took great precautions at the recovery site.", "Divers provided the astronauts with Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs) which were worn until they reached isolation facilities on board the ''Hornet''.", "Additionally, astronauts were rubbed down with a sodium hypochlorite solution and the Command Module wiped with Betadine to remove any lunar dust that might be present.", "The raft containing decontamination materials was then intentionally sunk.", "A second Sea King helicopter hoisted the astronauts aboard one by one, where a NASA flight surgeon gave each a brief physical check during the trip back to the ''Hornet''.", "The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon\n\nAfter touchdown on the ''Hornet'', the astronauts exited the helicopter, leaving the flight surgeon and three crewmen.", "The helicopter was then lowered into hangar bay #2 where the astronauts walked the to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where they would begin their 21 days of quarantine.", "This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions, Apollo 12 and Apollo 14, before the Moon was proven to be barren of life and the quarantine process dropped.", "President Richard Nixon was aboard ''Hornet'' to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth.", "He told the astronauts, \"As a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before.\"", "After Nixon departed, the ''Hornet'' was brought alongside the five-ton Command Module where it was placed aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF.", "The ''Hornet'' sailed for Pearl Harbor where the Command Module and MQF were airlifted to the Manned Spacecraft Center.", "In accordance with the recently promulgated Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law, the astronauts were placed in quarantine for fear that the Moon might contain undiscovered pathogens and that the astronauts might have been exposed to them during their Moon walks.", "However, after almost three weeks in confinement (first in their trailer and later in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center), the astronauts were given a clean bill of health.", "On August 10, 1969, the astronauts exited quarantine.", "===Celebration===\nParade in New York City\nOn August 13, they rode in parades in their honor in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.", "On the same evening in Los Angeles there was an official State Dinner to celebrate the flight, attended by members of Congress, 44 governors, the Chief Justice of the United States, and ambassadors from 83 nations at the Century Plaza Hotel.", "President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew honored each astronaut with a presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.", "This celebration was the beginning of a 45-day \"Giant Leap\" tour that brought the astronauts to 25 foreign countries and included visits with prominent leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.", "Many nations honored the first manned Moon landing with special features in magazines or by issuing Apollo 11 commemorative postage stamps or coins.", "On September 16, 1969, the three astronauts spoke before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill.", "They presented two US flags, one to the House of Representatives and the other to the Senate, that had been carried to the surface of the Moon with them.", "Artist's impression of Luna 15\n\nThe Soviet Union was secretly attempting to compete with the US in landing a man on the Moon but had been hampered by repeated failures in development of a launcher comparable to the Saturn V. Meanwhile, they tried to beat the US to return lunar material to the Earth by means of unmanned probes.", "On July 13, three days before Apollo 11's launch, they launched Luna 15, which reached lunar orbit before Apollo 11.", "During descent, a malfunction caused Luna 15 to crash in Mare Crisium about two hours before Armstrong and Aldrin took off from the Moon's surface to begin their voyage home.", "\n\nThe Command Module ''Columbia'' was displayed at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Washington, D.C.", "It was in the central ''Milestones of Flight'' exhibition hall in front of the Jefferson Drive entrance, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Wright Flyer, the ''Spirit of St. Louis'', the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft ''Friendship 7'', and Gemini 4.", "Armstrong's and Aldrin's space suits are displayed in the museum's ''Apollo to the Moon'' exhibit.", "The quarantine trailer, the flotation collar, and the righting spheres are displayed at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center annex near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.", "In 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) imaged the various Apollo landing sites on the surface of the Moon, for the first time with sufficient resolution to see the descent stages of the lunar modules, scientific instruments, and foot trails made by the astronauts.", "In March 2012 a team of specialists financed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos located the F-1 engines that launched Apollo 11 into space.", "The engines were found below the Atlantic Ocean's surface through the use of advanced sonar scanning.", "His team brought parts of two of the five engines to the surface.", "In July 2013, a conservator discovered a serial number under the rust on one of the engines raised from the Atlantic, which NASA confirmed was from the Apollo 11 launch.", "Command Module ''Columbia'' at the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hanger\n\n''Columbia'' was moved in 2017 to the NASM Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, to be readied for a four-city tour titled ''Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission''.", "This will include Space Center Houston (October 14, 2017, to March 18, 2018), the Saint Louis Science Center (April 14 to September 3, 2018), the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh (September 29, 2018, to February 18, 2019), and the Seattle Museum of Flight (March 16 to September 2, 2019).", "Mike Simons, director of the National Electronics Museum, assembles an Apollo TV camera for display at the Newseum\n\nOn July 15, 2009, Life.com released a photo gallery of previously unpublished photos of the astronauts taken by ''Life'' photographer Ralph Morse prior to the Apollo 11 launch.", "From July 16–24, 2009, NASA streamed the original mission audio on its website in real time 40 years to the minute after the events occurred.", "In addition, it is in the process of restoring the video footage and has released a preview of key moments.", "On July 20, 2009, the crew of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House.", "\"We expect that there is, as we speak, another generation of kids out there who are looking up at the sky and are going to be the next Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin\", Obama said.", "\"We want to make sure that NASA is going to be there for them when they want to take their journey.\"", "The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum set up a Flash website that rebroadcasts the transmissions of Apollo 11 from launch to landing on the Moon.", "A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:\n\nIt was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken ... that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today ...", "The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date ... nothing since Apollo has come close to the excitement that was generated by those astronauts – Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them.", "On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States.", "The bill was sponsored by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Rep. Alan Grayson.", "In July 2010, air-to-ground voice recordings and film footage shot in Mission Control during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing was re-synchronised and released for the first time.", "\nFile:Apollo 11 Liftoff Spectators - GPN-2000-001852.jpg|Spectators camp out to watch the launch\nFile:Invite to Apollo 11 launch.png|Seating credential issued to viewers of the Apollo 11 launch\nFile:Engineers Working apollo 11.png|Launch Control Center before liftoff\nFile:Guenter Wendt and the Apollo 11 Crew.jpg|Collins, Aldrin and Armstrong consult with pad leader Guenter Wendt after Countdown Demonstration Test\nFile:Ap11-KSC-69PC-241HR.jpg|Roll-out of Saturn V AS-505 from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad\nFile:Apollo 11 Earth.jpg|The Earth as seen from Apollo 11 on the third day out\nFile:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv|Neil Armstrong describes the Moon's surface before setting foot on it\nFile:President Nixon telephones the Apollo 11 crew on the Moon.ogg|President Nixon speaks to Armstrong and Aldrin from the Oval Office\nFile:Land on the Moon 7 21 1969-repair.jpg|''The Washington Post'' on Monday, July 21, 1969: \"'The Eagle Has Landed'—Two Men Walk on the Moon\"\nFile:NASA Armstrong 1969 scout.png|Neil Armstrong's certification: \"I certify that this World Scout Badge was carried to the surface of the Moon on man's first lunar landing, Apollo XI, July 20, 1969.\"", "File:First Man on Moon 1969 Issue-10c.jpg|First Man on the Moon Commemorative Issue of 1969 \nFile:Apollo 11 - Crew at the White House.jpg|Apollo 11 crew at the White House in 2004", "*Apollo 11 flight, artist concept (an illustrated timeline)\n*Apollo 11 in popular culture\n*Apollo 11 missing tapes\n*Apollo Guidance Computer\n*Google Moon\n*List of man-made objects on the Moon\n*List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999\n*Moon landing conspiracy theories\n*Wernher von Braun", "*\n*\n*\n*\n* Mailer, Norman \"Of a Fire on the Moon\" (first serialized in Life magazine; published as a book in 1970).", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_a_Fire_on_the_Moon\n\n'''For young readers'''\n*\n*\n*", "\n\n* \"Apollo 11 transcripts\" at Spacelog\n* \"Magnificent Desolation: The Apollo 11 Moonwalk Pictures\" by ''Apollo Lunar Surface Journal'' contributor Joseph O'Dea.", "Complete gallery of Apollo 11 EVA pictures.", "* \"Apollo 11\" Detailed mission information by Dr. David R. Williams, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center\n* \"Apollo 11\" Photographer Blaise Thirard's presentation of Apollo 11 photographs\n* Original reports from ''The Times'' (London)\n* NASA website honoring the mission\n* \"The untold story: how one small silicon disc delivered a giant message to the Moon\" at collectSPACE.com\n* \"Apollo Anniversary: Moon Landing 'Inspired World'\" ''National Geographic News'', July 16, 2004 – 35th anniversary of Apollo 11; Steven Dick, NASA's chief historian: \"... a thousand years from now, that step may be considered the crowning achievement of the 20th century.\"", "* \"Ten Things You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing\" by Craig Nelson, ''Popular Mechanics'', July 13, 2009\n* \"Coverage of the Flight of Apollo 11 – (1969)\" provided by Todd Kosovich for RadioTapes.com.", "Radio station recordings (airchecks) covering the flight of Apollo 11.", "* \"Space Missions\" at Buzz Aldrin's official website\n\n'''NASA reports'''\n* – 200+ pages\n*\n* – 230 pages\n* – Timeline of the mission, from \"One Giant Leap for Mandkind,\" 2004.", "'''Multimedia'''\n* – ''Life'' magazine Special Edition, August 11, 1969\n* – slideshow by ''Life'' magazine\n* – Remastered videos of the original landing.", "* – Transcripts and audio clips of important parts of the mission\n* – Hundreds of high-resolution images of the mission, including assembled panoramas.", "* – Several maps showing routes of moonwalks\n* Google Moon – with lunar landing sites tagged\n* Apollo Lunar Surface VR Panoramas at moonpans.com\n* Apollo Image Archive at Arizona State University\n* Apollo launch and mission videos at ApolloTV.net\n* Real-time audiovisual recreation of the lunar module landing with audio feeds from the crew of Apollo 11 and Ground Control\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* Apollo 11 Restored EVA Part 1 (1h of restored footage)" ]

[ "\n\n", "===Childhood and early life===\nAndrei Tarkovsky was born in the village of Zavrazhye in the Yuryevetsky District of the Ivanovo Industrial Oblast to the poet and translator Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky, a native of Yelisavetgrad, Kherson Governorate, and Maria Ivanova Vishnyakova, a graduate of the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute who later worked as a corrector; she was born in Moscow in the Dubasov family estate. Andrei's paternal grandfather Aleksandr Karlovich Tarkovsky (in ) was a Polish nobleman who worked as a bank clerk. His wife Maria Danilovna Rachkovskaya was a Romanian teacher who arrived from Iași. Andrei's maternal grandmother Vera Nikolaevna Vishnyakova (née Dubasova) belonged to an old Dubasov family of Russian nobility that traces its history back to the 17th century; among her relatives was Admiral Fyodor Dubasov, a fact she had to conceal during the Soviet days. She was married to Ivan Ivanovich Vishnyakov, a native of the Kaluga Governorate who studied law at the Moscow University and served as a judge in Kozelsk. According to the family legend, Tarkovsky's ancestors on his father's side were princes from the Shamkhalate of Tarki, Dagestan, although his sister Marina Tarkovskaya who did a detailed research on their genealogy called it «a myth, even a prank of sorts», stressing that none of the documents confirms this version.\n\nTarkovsky spent his childhood in Yuryevets. He was described by childhood friends as active and popular, having many friends and being typically in the center of action. His father left the family in 1937, subsequently volunteering for the army in 1941. Tarkovsky stayed with his mother, moving with her and his sister Marina to Moscow, where she worked as a proofreader at a printing press. In 1939 Tarkovsky enrolled at the Moscow School № 554. During the war, the three evacuated to Yuryevets, living with his maternal grandmother. In 1943 the family returned to Moscow. Tarkovsky continued his studies at his old school, where the poet Andrey Voznesensky was one of his classmates. He studied piano at a music school and attended classes at an art school. The family lived on Shchipok Street in the Zamoskvorechye District in Moscow. From November 1947 to spring 1948 he was in the hospital with tuberculosis. Many themes of his childhood—the evacuation, his mother and her two children, the withdrawn father, the time in the hospital—feature prominently in his film ''Mirror''.\n\nIn his school years, Tarkovsky was a troublemaker and a poor student. He still managed to graduate, and from 1951 to 1952 studied Arabic at the Oriental Institute in Moscow, a branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Although he already spoke some Arabic and was a successful student in his first semesters, he did not finish his studies and dropped out to work as a prospector for the Academy of Science Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold. He participated in a year-long research expedition to the river Kureikye near Turukhansk in the Krasnoyarsk Province. During this time in the taiga, Tarkovsky decided to study film.\n\n===Film school student===\nUpon returning from the research expedition in 1954, Tarkovsky applied at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and was admitted to the film-directing program. He was in the same class as Irma Raush whom he married in April 1957.\n\nThe early Khrushchev era offered good opportunities for young film directors. Before 1953, annual film production was low and most films were directed by veteran directors. After 1953, more films were produced, many of them by young directors. The Khrushchev Thaw relaxed Soviet social restrictions a bit and permitted a limited influx of European and North American literature, films and music. This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of the Italian neorealists, French New Wave, and of directors such as Kurosawa, Buñuel, Bergman, Bresson, Andrzej Wajda (whose film ''Ashes and Diamonds'' influenced Tarkovsky) and Mizoguchi. Tarkovsky absorbed the idea of the auteur as a necessary condition for creativity.\n\nTarkovsky's teacher and mentor was Mikhail Romm, who taught many film students who would later become influential film directors. In 1956 Tarkovsky directed his first student short film, ''The Killers'', from a short story of Ernest Hemingway. The short film ''There Will Be No Leave Today'' and the screenplay ''Concentrate'' followed in 1958 and 1959.\n\nAn important influence on Tarkovsky was the film director Grigori Chukhrai, who was teaching at the VGIK. Impressed by the talent of his student, Chukhrai offered Tarkovsky a position as assistant director for his film ''Clear Skies''. Tarkovsky initially showed interest but then decided to concentrate on his studies and his own projects.\n\nDuring his third year at the VGIK, Tarkovsky met Andrei Konchalovsky. They found much in common as they liked the same film directors and shared ideas on cinema and films. In 1959 they wrote the script ''Antarctica – Distant Country'', which was later published in the ''Moskovskij Komsomolets''. Tarkovsky submitted the script to Lenfilm, but it was rejected. They were more successful with the script ''The Steamroller and the Violin'', which they sold to Mosfilm. This became Tarkovsky's graduation project, earning him his diploma in 1960 and winning First Prize at the New York Student Film Festival in 1961.\n", "===Film career in the Soviet Union===\nTarkovsky's first feature film was ''Ivan's Childhood'' in 1962. He had inherited the film from director Eduard Abalov, who had to abort the project. The film earned Tarkovsky international acclaim and won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in the year 1962. In the same year, on 30 September, his first son Arseny (called Senka in Tarkovsky's diaries) Tarkovsky was born.\nMonument to Andrei Tarkovsky at entrance of Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography\nIn 1965, he directed the film ''Andrei Rublev'' about the life of Andrei Rublev, the fifteenth-century Russian icon painter. ''Andrei Rublev'' was not, except for a single screening in Moscow in 1966, immediately released after completion due to problems with Soviet authorities. Tarkovsky had to cut the film several times, resulting in several different versions of varying lengths. A version of the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969 and won the FIPRESCI prize. The film was widely released in the Soviet Union in a cut version in 1971.\n\nHe divorced his wife, Irma Raush, in June 1970. In the same year, he married Larissa Kizilova (née Egorkina), who had been a production assistant for the film ''Andrei Rublev'' (they had been living together since 1965). Their son, Andrei Andreyevich Tarkovsky, was born in the same year on 7 August.\n\nIn 1972, he completed ''Solaris'', an adaptation of the novel ''Solaris'' by Stanisław Lem. He had worked on this together with screenwriter Fridrikh Gorenshtein as early as 1968. The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury and the FIPRESCI prize, and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. From 1973 to 1974, he shot the film ''Mirror'', a highly autobiographical and unconventionally structured film drawing on his childhood and incorporating some of his father's poems. Tarkovsky had worked on the screenplay for this film since 1967, under the consecutive titles ''Confession'', ''White day'' and ''A white, white day''. From the beginning the film was not well received by Soviet authorities due to its content and its perceived elitist nature. Russian authorities placed the film in the \"third category,\" a severely limited distribution, and only allowed it to be shown in third-class cinemas and workers' clubs. Few prints were made and the film-makers received no returns. Third category films also placed the film-makers in danger of being accused of wasting public funds, which could have serious effects on their future productivity. These difficulties are presumed to have made Tarkovsky play with the idea of going abroad and producing a film outside the Soviet film industry.\n\nDuring 1975, Tarkovsky also worked on the screenplay ''Hoffmanniana'', about the German writer and poet E. T. A. Hoffmann. In December 1976, he directed ''Hamlet'', his only stage play, at the Lenkom Theatre in Moscow. The main role was played by Anatoly Solonitsyn, who also acted in several of Tarkovsky's films. At the end of 1978, he also wrote the screenplay ''Sardor'' together with the writer Aleksandr Misharin.\n\nThe last film Tarkovsky completed in the Soviet Union was ''Stalker'', inspired by the novel ''Roadside Picnic'' by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Tarkovsky had met the brothers first in 1971 and was in contact with them until his death in 1986. Initially he wanted to shoot a film based on their novel ''Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' and he developed a raw script. Influenced by a discussion with Arkady Strugatsky he changed his plan and began to work on the script based on ''Roadside Picnic''. Work on this film began in 1976. The production was mired in troubles; improper development of the negatives had ruined all the exterior shots. Tarkovsky's relationship with cinematographer Georgy Rerberg deteriorated to the point where he hired Alexander Knyazhinsky as a new first cinematographer. Furthermore, Tarkovsky suffered a heart attack in April 1978, resulting in further delay. The film was completed in 1979 and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.\n\nIn the same year Tarkovsky also began the production of the film ''The First Day'' (Russian: Первый День ''Pervyj Dyen′''), based on a script by his friend and long-term collaborator Andrei Konchalovsky. The film was set in 18th-century Russia during the reign of Peter the Great and starred Natalya Bondarchuk and Anatoli Papanov. To get the project approved by Goskino, Tarkovsky submitted a script that was different from the original script, omitting several scenes that were critical of the official atheism in the Soviet Union. After shooting roughly half of the film the project was stopped by Goskino after it became apparent that the film differed from the script submitted to the censors. Tarkovsky was reportedly infuriated by this interruption and destroyed most of the film.\n\n===Film career outside the Soviet Union===\nRefugee Camp of Latina (Italy) in 1985\nDuring the summer of 1979, Tarkovsky traveled to Italy, where he shot the documentary ''Voyage in Time'' together with his long-time friend Tonino Guerra. Tarkovsky returned to Italy in 1980 for an extended trip during which he and Guerra completed the script for the film ''Nostalghia''.\n\nTarkovsky returned to Italy in 1982 to start shooting ''Nostalghia''. He did not return to his home country. As Mosfilm withdrew from the project, he had to complete the film with financial support provided by the Italian RAI. Tarkovsky completed the film in 1983. ''Nostalghia'' was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Tarkovsky also shared a special prize called ''Grand Prix du cinéma de creation'' with Robert Bresson. Soviet authorities prevented the film from winning the Palme d'Or, a fact that hardened Tarkovsky's resolve to never work in the Soviet Union again. In the same year, he also staged the opera ''Boris Godunov'' at the Royal Opera House in London under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado.\n\nHe spent most of 1984 preparing the film ''The Sacrifice''. At a press conference in Milan on 10 July 1984, he announced that he would never return to the Soviet Union and would remain in Europe. At that time, his son Andrei Jr. was still in the Soviet Union and not allowed to leave the country. On 28 August 1985, Tarkovsky arrived at Latina Refugee Camp in Latina, where he was registered with the serial number 13225/379.\n\n===Death===\nDuring 1985, he shot the film ''The Sacrifice'' in Sweden. At the end of the year he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In January 1986, he began treatment in Paris and was joined there by his son, who was finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union. ''The Sacrifice'' was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and received the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, the FIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. As Tarkovsky was unable to attend due to his illness, the prizes were collected by his son, Andrei Jr.\nAndrei and Larisa Tarkovsky's grave, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in France\nIn Tarkovsky's last diary entry (15 December 1986), he wrote: \"But now I have no strength left – that is the problem\". The diaries are sometimes also known as ''Martyrolog'' and were published posthumously in 1989 and in English in 1991.\n\nTarkovsky died in Paris on 29 December 1986. His funeral ceremony was held at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. He was buried on 3 January 1987 in the Russian Cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois in France. The inscription on his gravestone, which was created by the Russian sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, reads: ''To the man who saw the Angel''.\n\nA conspiracy theory emerged in Russia in the early 1990s when it was alleged that Tarkovsky did not die of natural causes but was assassinated by the KGB. Evidence for this hypothesis includes testimonies by former KGB agents who claim that Viktor Chebrikov gave the order to eradicate Tarkovsky to curtail what the Soviet government and the KGB saw as anti-Soviet propaganda by Tarkovsky. Other evidence includes several memoranda that surfaced after the 1991 coup and the claim by one of Tarkovsky's doctors that his cancer could not have developed from a natural cause.\n\nAs with Tarkovsky, his wife Larisa Tarkovskaya and actor Anatoli Solonitsyn all died from the very same type of lung cancer. Vladimir Sharun, sound designer in ''Stalker'', is convinced that they were all poisoned by the chemical plant where they were shooting the film.\n\n===Filmography===\n\nTarkovsky is mainly known as a film director. During his career he directed only seven feature films, as well as three shorts from his time at VGIK. He also wrote several screenplays. He furthermore directed the play ''Hamlet'' for the stage in Moscow, directed the opera ''Boris Godunov'' in London, and he directed a radio production of the short story ''Turnabout'' by William Faulkner. He also wrote ''Sculpting in Time'', a book on film theory.\n\nTarkovsky's first feature film was ''Ivan's Childhood'' in 1962. He then directed ''Andrei Rublev'' in 1966, ''Solaris'' in 1972, ''Mirror'' in 1975 and ''Stalker'' in 1979. The documentary ''Voyage in Time'' was produced in Italy in 1982, as was ''Nostalghia'' in 1983. His last film ''The Sacrifice'' was produced in Sweden in 1986. Tarkovsky was personally involved in writing the screenplays for all his films, sometimes with a cowriter. Tarkovsky once said that a director who realizes somebody else's screenplay without being involved in it becomes a mere illustrator, resulting in dead and monotonous films.\n\nA book of 60 photos, ''Instant Light, Tarkovsky Polaroids'', taken by Tarkovsky in Russia and Italy between 1979 and 1984 was published in 2006. The collection was selected by Italian photographer Giovanni Chiaramonte and Tarkovsky's son Andrey A. Tarkovsky.\n\n===Awards===\n\nNumerous awards were bestowed on Tarkovsky throughout his lifetime. At the Venice Film Festival he was awarded the Golden Lion for ''Ivan's Childhood''. At the Cannes Film Festival, he won the FIPRESCI prize four times, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury three times (more than any other director), and the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury twice. He was also nominated for the Palme d'Or two times. In 1987, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film to ''The Sacrifice''.\nRussian stamp featuring Tarkovsky\nUnder the influence of Glasnost and Perestroika, Tarkovsky was finally recognized in the Soviet Union in the Autumn of 1986, shortly before his death, by a retrospective of his films in Moscow. After his death, an entire issue of the film magazine ''Iskusstvo Kino'' was devoted to Tarkovsky. In their obituaries, the film committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Union of Soviet Film Makers expressed their sorrow that Tarkovsky had to spend the last years of his life in exile.\n\nPosthumously, he was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1990, one of the highest state honors in the Soviet Union. In 1989 the ''Andrei Tarkovsky Memorial Prize'' was established, with its first recipient being the Russian animator Yuriy Norshteyn. In three consecutive events, the Moscow International Film Festival awards the annual ''Andrei Tarkovsky Award'' in the years of 1993, 1995 and 1997. In 1996 the Andrei Tarkovsky Museum opened in Yuryevets, his childhood town. A minor planet, 3345 Tarkovskij, discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina in 1982, has also been named after him.\n\nTarkovsky has been the subject of several documentaries. Most notable is the 1988 documentary ''Moscow Elegy'', by Russian film director Alexander Sokurov. Sokurov's own work has been heavily influenced by Tarkovsky. The film consists mostly of narration over stock footage from Tarkovsky's films. ''Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky'' is 1988 documentary film by Michal Leszczylowski, an editor of the film ''The Sacrifice''. Film director Chris Marker produced the television documentary ''One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich'' as an homage to Andrei Tarkovsky in 2000.\n\nIngmar Bergman was quoted as saying: \"Tarkovsky for me is the greatest of us all, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream\". Film historian Steven Dillon says that much of subsequent film was deeply influenced by the films of Tarkovsky.\n\nAt the entrance to the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, Russia there is a monument that includes statues of Tarkovsky, Gennady Shpalikov and Vasily Shukshin.\n", "'''''Concentrate''''' (, ''Konsentrat'') is a never-filmed 1958 screenplay by Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky. The screenplay is based on Tarkovsky's year in the taiga as a member of a research expedition, prior to his enrollment in film school.\n\n===Plot===\n''Concentrate'' is about the leader of a geological expedition, who waits for the boat that brings back the concentrates collected by the expedition. The expedition is surrounded by mystery, and its purpose is a state secret. This screenplay refers to Tarkovsky's year in the taiga, where he was a member of a research expedition prior to enrolling at the film school.\n\n===Background===\nAlthough some authors claim that the screenplay was filmed, according to Marina Tarkovskaya, Tarkovsky's sister (and wife of Aleksandr Gordon, a fellow student of Tarvosky during his film school years) the screenplay was never filmed. Tarkovsky wrote the screenplay during his entrance examination at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in a single sitting. He earned the highest possible grade, excellent () for this work. In 1994 fragments of the ''Concentrate'' were filmed and used in the documentary ''Andrei Tarkovsky's Taiga Summer'' by Marina Tarkovskaya and Aleksandr Gordon.\n", "\n\n'''''Hoffmanniana''''' () is a never-filmed 1974 screenplay by Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky. The screenplay is based on the life and work of German author E. T. A. Hoffmann. In 1974 an acquaintance from Tallinnfilm approached Tarkovsky to write a screenplay on a German theme. Tarkovsky considered Thomas Mann and E.T.A. Hoffmann, and also thought about Ibsen's ''Peer Gynt''. In the end Tarkovsky signed a contract for a script based on the life and work of Hoffmann. Tarkovsky planned to write the script during the summer of 1974 at his dacha. Writing was not without difficulty, less than a month before the deadline he had not written a single page. He finally finished the project in late 1974 and submitted the final script to Tallinnfilm in October.\n\nAlthough the script was well received by the officials at Tallinnfilm, it was the consensus that no one but Tarkovsky would be able to direct it. The script was sent to Goskino in February 1976, and although approval was granted for proceeding with making the film the screenplay was never realized. In 1984, during the time of his exile in the West, Tarkovsky revisited the screenplay and made a few changes. He also considered to finally direct a film based on the screenplay but ultimately dropped this idea.\n", "Tarkovsky became a film director during the mid and late 1950s, a period referred to as the Khrushchev Thaw, during which Soviet society opened to foreign films, literature and music, among other things. This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of European, American and Japanese directors, an experience which influenced his own film making. His teacher and mentor at the film school, Mikhail Romm, allowed his students considerable freedom and emphasized the independence of the film director.\n\nTarkovsky was, according to fellow student Shavkat Abdusalmov, fascinated by Japanese films. He was amazed by how every character on the screen is exceptional and how everyday events such as a Samurai cutting bread with his sword are elevated to something special and put into the limelight. Tarkovsky has also expressed interest in the art of Haiku and its ability to create \"images in such a way that they mean nothing beyond themselves.\"\n\nTarkovsky perceived that the art of cinema has only been truly mastered by very few filmmakers, stating in a 1970 interview with Naum Abramov that \"they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.\" In 1972, Tarkovsky told film historian Leonid Kozlov his ten favorite films. The list includes: ''Diary of a Country Priest'' and ''Mouchette'' by Robert Bresson; ''Winter Light'', ''Wild Strawberries'', and ''Persona'' by Ingmar Bergman; ''Nazarín'' by Luis Buñuel; ''City Lights'' by Charlie Chaplin; ''Ugetsu'' by Kenji Mizoguchi; ''Seven Samurai'' by Akira Kurosawa, and ''Woman in the Dunes'' by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Among his favorite directors were Buñuel, Mizoguchi, Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean Vigo, and Carl Theodor Dreyer.\n\nWith the exception of ''City Lights'', the list does not contain any films of the early silent era. The reason is that Tarkovsky saw film as an art as only a relatively recent phenomenon, with the early film-making forming only a prelude. The list has also no films or directors from Tarkovsky's native Russia, although he rated Soviet directors such as Boris Barnet, Sergei Parajanov and Alexander Dovzhenko highly.\n\nAlthough strongly opposed to commercial cinema, in a famous exception Tarkovsky praised the blockbuster film ''The Terminator'', saying its \"vision of the future and the relation between man and its destiny is pushing the frontier of cinema as an art\". He was critical of the \"brutality and low acting skills\", but nevertheless impressed by this film.\n", "In a 1962 interview, Tarkovsky argued, \"All art, of course, is intellectual, but for me, all the arts, and cinema even more so, must above all be emotional and act upon the heart.\" His films are characterized by metaphysical themes, extremely long takes, and images often considered by critics to be of exceptional beauty. Recurring motifs are dreams, memory, childhood, running water accompanied by fire, rain indoors, reflections, levitation, and characters re-appearing in the foreground of long panning movements of the camera. He once said, \"Juxtaposing a person with an environment that is boundless, collating him with a countless number of people passing by close to him and far away, relating a person to the whole world, that is the meaning of cinema.”\n\nTarkovsky incorporated levitation scenes into several of his films, most notably ''Solaris''. To him these scenes possess great power and are used for their photogenic value and magical inexplicability. Water, clouds, and reflections were used by him for their surreal beauty and photogenic value, as well as their symbolism, such as waves or the forms of brooks or running water. Bells and candles are also frequent symbols. These are symbols of film, sight and sound, and Tarkovsky's film frequently has themes of self-reflection.\n\nTarkovsky developed a theory of cinema that he called \"sculpting in time\". By this he meant that the unique characteristic of cinema as a medium was to take our experience of time and alter it. Unedited movie footage transcribes time in real time. By using long takes and few cuts in his films, he aimed to give the viewers a sense of time passing, time lost, and the relationship of one moment in time to another.\n\nUp to, and including, his film ''Mirror'', Tarkovsky focused his cinematic works on exploring this theory. After ''Mirror'', he announced that he would focus his work on exploring the dramatic unities proposed by Aristotle: a concentrated action, happening in one place, within the span of a single day.\n\nSeveral of Tarkovsky's films have color or black and white sequences. This first occurs in the otherwise monochrome ''Andrei Rublev'', which features a color epilogue of Rublev's authentic religious icon paintings. All of his films afterwards contain monochrome, and in ''Stalker's'' case sepia sequences, while otherwise being in color. In 1966, in an interview conducted shortly after finishing ''Andrei Rublev'', Tarkovsky dismissed color film as a \"commercial gimmick\" and cast doubt on the idea that contemporary films meaningfully use color. He claimed that in everyday life one does not consciously notice colors most of the time, and that color should therefore be used in film mainly to emphasize certain moments, but not all the time, as this distracts the viewer. To him, films in color were like moving paintings or photographs, which are too beautiful to be a realistic depiction of life.\n\n===Vadim Yusov===\nTarkovsky worked in close collaboration with cinematographer Vadim Yusov from 1958 to 1972, and much of the visual style of Tarkovsky's films can be attributed to this collaboration. Tarkovsky would spend two days preparing for Yusov to film a single long take, and due to the preparation, usually only a single take was needed.\n\n===Sven Nykvist===\nIn his last film, ''The Sacrifice'', Tarkovsky worked with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who had worked closely with director Ingmar Bergman on many of Ingmar Bergman's films – multiple people who worked with Bergman worked on the production, notably lead actor Erland Josephson, who had acted for Tarkovsky in ''Nostalghia''. Nykvist complained that Tarkovsky would frequently look through the camera and even direct actors through it.\n", "*''Voyage in Time'' (1983): documents the travels in Italy of Andrei Tarkovsky in preparation for the making of his film ''Nostalghia'', Tonino Guerra.\n*''Tarkovsky: A Poet in the Cinema'' (1984): directed by Donatella Baglivo\n*''Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit'' (1988): Andrej Tarkowskijs Exil und Tod. Documentary directed by Ebbo Demant. Germany.\n*''One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich'' (1999): French documentary film directed by Chris Marker\n*\"Andrey\" (color/b&w, short-fiction, 35mm, 15min. 2006) A film by Nariné Mktchyan and Arsen Azatyan. Festivals: Yerevan IFF 2006, Rotterdam IFF 2007, Busan IFF 2007, Sidney IFF 2007, Zerkalo FF Ivanovo (Special Prize) 2008, Kinoshock FF 2014\n", "'''Notes'''\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*Tumanov, Vladimir. \"Philosophy of Mind and Body in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris.\" Film-Philosophy. 20 (2016) 2-3: 357-375. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/film.2016.0020\n*\n*\n*\n*\n\n", "\n\n*\n*\n* Andrei Tarkovsky at Senses of Cinema\n*\n* Website about Andrei Tarkovsky, Films, Articles, Interviews\n* Nostalghia.com - An Andrei Tarkovsky Information Site, at Film Studies Program in the Department of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary\n* Andrei Tarkovsky: Biography wrestles with the filmmaker’s remarkable life\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Life", "Career", "''Concentrate''", "''Hoffmanniana''", "Influences", "Cinematic style", " Films about Tarkovsky ", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Andrei's paternal grandfather Aleksandr Karlovich Tarkovsky (in ) was a Polish nobleman who worked as a bank clerk." ]

[ "===Childhood and early life===\nAndrei Tarkovsky was born in the village of Zavrazhye in the Yuryevetsky District of the Ivanovo Industrial Oblast to the poet and translator Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky, a native of Yelisavetgrad, Kherson Governorate, and Maria Ivanova Vishnyakova, a graduate of the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute who later worked as a corrector; she was born in Moscow in the Dubasov family estate.", "His wife Maria Danilovna Rachkovskaya was a Romanian teacher who arrived from Iași.", "Andrei's maternal grandmother Vera Nikolaevna Vishnyakova (née Dubasova) belonged to an old Dubasov family of Russian nobility that traces its history back to the 17th century; among her relatives was Admiral Fyodor Dubasov, a fact she had to conceal during the Soviet days.", "She was married to Ivan Ivanovich Vishnyakov, a native of the Kaluga Governorate who studied law at the Moscow University and served as a judge in Kozelsk.", "According to the family legend, Tarkovsky's ancestors on his father's side were princes from the Shamkhalate of Tarki, Dagestan, although his sister Marina Tarkovskaya who did a detailed research on their genealogy called it «a myth, even a prank of sorts», stressing that none of the documents confirms this version.", "Tarkovsky spent his childhood in Yuryevets.", "He was described by childhood friends as active and popular, having many friends and being typically in the center of action.", "His father left the family in 1937, subsequently volunteering for the army in 1941.", "Tarkovsky stayed with his mother, moving with her and his sister Marina to Moscow, where she worked as a proofreader at a printing press.", "In 1939 Tarkovsky enrolled at the Moscow School № 554.", "During the war, the three evacuated to Yuryevets, living with his maternal grandmother.", "In 1943 the family returned to Moscow.", "Tarkovsky continued his studies at his old school, where the poet Andrey Voznesensky was one of his classmates.", "He studied piano at a music school and attended classes at an art school.", "The family lived on Shchipok Street in the Zamoskvorechye District in Moscow.", "From November 1947 to spring 1948 he was in the hospital with tuberculosis.", "Many themes of his childhood—the evacuation, his mother and her two children, the withdrawn father, the time in the hospital—feature prominently in his film ''Mirror''.", "In his school years, Tarkovsky was a troublemaker and a poor student.", "He still managed to graduate, and from 1951 to 1952 studied Arabic at the Oriental Institute in Moscow, a branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.", "Although he already spoke some Arabic and was a successful student in his first semesters, he did not finish his studies and dropped out to work as a prospector for the Academy of Science Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold.", "He participated in a year-long research expedition to the river Kureikye near Turukhansk in the Krasnoyarsk Province.", "During this time in the taiga, Tarkovsky decided to study film.", "===Film school student===\nUpon returning from the research expedition in 1954, Tarkovsky applied at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and was admitted to the film-directing program.", "He was in the same class as Irma Raush whom he married in April 1957.", "The early Khrushchev era offered good opportunities for young film directors.", "Before 1953, annual film production was low and most films were directed by veteran directors.", "After 1953, more films were produced, many of them by young directors.", "The Khrushchev Thaw relaxed Soviet social restrictions a bit and permitted a limited influx of European and North American literature, films and music.", "This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of the Italian neorealists, French New Wave, and of directors such as Kurosawa, Buñuel, Bergman, Bresson, Andrzej Wajda (whose film ''Ashes and Diamonds'' influenced Tarkovsky) and Mizoguchi.", "Tarkovsky absorbed the idea of the auteur as a necessary condition for creativity.", "Tarkovsky's teacher and mentor was Mikhail Romm, who taught many film students who would later become influential film directors.", "In 1956 Tarkovsky directed his first student short film, ''The Killers'', from a short story of Ernest Hemingway.", "The short film ''There Will Be No Leave Today'' and the screenplay ''Concentrate'' followed in 1958 and 1959.", "An important influence on Tarkovsky was the film director Grigori Chukhrai, who was teaching at the VGIK.", "Impressed by the talent of his student, Chukhrai offered Tarkovsky a position as assistant director for his film ''Clear Skies''.", "Tarkovsky initially showed interest but then decided to concentrate on his studies and his own projects.", "During his third year at the VGIK, Tarkovsky met Andrei Konchalovsky.", "They found much in common as they liked the same film directors and shared ideas on cinema and films.", "In 1959 they wrote the script ''Antarctica – Distant Country'', which was later published in the ''Moskovskij Komsomolets''.", "Tarkovsky submitted the script to Lenfilm, but it was rejected.", "They were more successful with the script ''The Steamroller and the Violin'', which they sold to Mosfilm.", "This became Tarkovsky's graduation project, earning him his diploma in 1960 and winning First Prize at the New York Student Film Festival in 1961.", "===Film career in the Soviet Union===\nTarkovsky's first feature film was ''Ivan's Childhood'' in 1962.", "He had inherited the film from director Eduard Abalov, who had to abort the project.", "The film earned Tarkovsky international acclaim and won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in the year 1962.", "In the same year, on 30 September, his first son Arseny (called Senka in Tarkovsky's diaries) Tarkovsky was born.", "Monument to Andrei Tarkovsky at entrance of Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography\nIn 1965, he directed the film ''Andrei Rublev'' about the life of Andrei Rublev, the fifteenth-century Russian icon painter.", "''Andrei Rublev'' was not, except for a single screening in Moscow in 1966, immediately released after completion due to problems with Soviet authorities.", "Tarkovsky had to cut the film several times, resulting in several different versions of varying lengths.", "A version of the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969 and won the FIPRESCI prize.", "The film was widely released in the Soviet Union in a cut version in 1971.", "He divorced his wife, Irma Raush, in June 1970.", "In the same year, he married Larissa Kizilova (née Egorkina), who had been a production assistant for the film ''Andrei Rublev'' (they had been living together since 1965).", "Their son, Andrei Andreyevich Tarkovsky, was born in the same year on 7 August.", "In 1972, he completed ''Solaris'', an adaptation of the novel ''Solaris'' by Stanisław Lem.", "He had worked on this together with screenwriter Fridrikh Gorenshtein as early as 1968.", "The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury and the FIPRESCI prize, and was nominated for the Palme d'Or.", "From 1973 to 1974, he shot the film ''Mirror'', a highly autobiographical and unconventionally structured film drawing on his childhood and incorporating some of his father's poems.", "Tarkovsky had worked on the screenplay for this film since 1967, under the consecutive titles ''Confession'', ''White day'' and ''A white, white day''.", "From the beginning the film was not well received by Soviet authorities due to its content and its perceived elitist nature.", "Russian authorities placed the film in the \"third category,\" a severely limited distribution, and only allowed it to be shown in third-class cinemas and workers' clubs.", "Few prints were made and the film-makers received no returns.", "Third category films also placed the film-makers in danger of being accused of wasting public funds, which could have serious effects on their future productivity.", "These difficulties are presumed to have made Tarkovsky play with the idea of going abroad and producing a film outside the Soviet film industry.", "During 1975, Tarkovsky also worked on the screenplay ''Hoffmanniana'', about the German writer and poet E. T. A. Hoffmann.", "In December 1976, he directed ''Hamlet'', his only stage play, at the Lenkom Theatre in Moscow.", "The main role was played by Anatoly Solonitsyn, who also acted in several of Tarkovsky's films.", "At the end of 1978, he also wrote the screenplay ''Sardor'' together with the writer Aleksandr Misharin.", "The last film Tarkovsky completed in the Soviet Union was ''Stalker'', inspired by the novel ''Roadside Picnic'' by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.", "Tarkovsky had met the brothers first in 1971 and was in contact with them until his death in 1986.", "Initially he wanted to shoot a film based on their novel ''Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' and he developed a raw script.", "Influenced by a discussion with Arkady Strugatsky he changed his plan and began to work on the script based on ''Roadside Picnic''.", "Work on this film began in 1976.", "The production was mired in troubles; improper development of the negatives had ruined all the exterior shots.", "Tarkovsky's relationship with cinematographer Georgy Rerberg deteriorated to the point where he hired Alexander Knyazhinsky as a new first cinematographer.", "Furthermore, Tarkovsky suffered a heart attack in April 1978, resulting in further delay.", "The film was completed in 1979 and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.", "In the same year Tarkovsky also began the production of the film ''The First Day'' (Russian: Первый День ''Pervyj Dyen′''), based on a script by his friend and long-term collaborator Andrei Konchalovsky.", "The film was set in 18th-century Russia during the reign of Peter the Great and starred Natalya Bondarchuk and Anatoli Papanov.", "To get the project approved by Goskino, Tarkovsky submitted a script that was different from the original script, omitting several scenes that were critical of the official atheism in the Soviet Union.", "After shooting roughly half of the film the project was stopped by Goskino after it became apparent that the film differed from the script submitted to the censors.", "Tarkovsky was reportedly infuriated by this interruption and destroyed most of the film.", "===Film career outside the Soviet Union===\nRefugee Camp of Latina (Italy) in 1985\nDuring the summer of 1979, Tarkovsky traveled to Italy, where he shot the documentary ''Voyage in Time'' together with his long-time friend Tonino Guerra.", "Tarkovsky returned to Italy in 1980 for an extended trip during which he and Guerra completed the script for the film ''Nostalghia''.", "Tarkovsky returned to Italy in 1982 to start shooting ''Nostalghia''.", "He did not return to his home country.", "As Mosfilm withdrew from the project, he had to complete the film with financial support provided by the Italian RAI.", "Tarkovsky completed the film in 1983.", "''Nostalghia'' was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.", "Tarkovsky also shared a special prize called ''Grand Prix du cinéma de creation'' with Robert Bresson.", "Soviet authorities prevented the film from winning the Palme d'Or, a fact that hardened Tarkovsky's resolve to never work in the Soviet Union again.", "In the same year, he also staged the opera ''Boris Godunov'' at the Royal Opera House in London under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado.", "He spent most of 1984 preparing the film ''The Sacrifice''.", "At a press conference in Milan on 10 July 1984, he announced that he would never return to the Soviet Union and would remain in Europe.", "At that time, his son Andrei Jr. was still in the Soviet Union and not allowed to leave the country.", "On 28 August 1985, Tarkovsky arrived at Latina Refugee Camp in Latina, where he was registered with the serial number 13225/379.", "===Death===\nDuring 1985, he shot the film ''The Sacrifice'' in Sweden.", "At the end of the year he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.", "In January 1986, he began treatment in Paris and was joined there by his son, who was finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union.", "''The Sacrifice'' was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and received the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, the FIPRESCI prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.", "As Tarkovsky was unable to attend due to his illness, the prizes were collected by his son, Andrei Jr.\nAndrei and Larisa Tarkovsky's grave, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in France\nIn Tarkovsky's last diary entry (15 December 1986), he wrote: \"But now I have no strength left – that is the problem\".", "The diaries are sometimes also known as ''Martyrolog'' and were published posthumously in 1989 and in English in 1991.", "Tarkovsky died in Paris on 29 December 1986.", "His funeral ceremony was held at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.", "He was buried on 3 January 1987 in the Russian Cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois in France.", "The inscription on his gravestone, which was created by the Russian sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, reads: ''To the man who saw the Angel''.", "A conspiracy theory emerged in Russia in the early 1990s when it was alleged that Tarkovsky did not die of natural causes but was assassinated by the KGB.", "Evidence for this hypothesis includes testimonies by former KGB agents who claim that Viktor Chebrikov gave the order to eradicate Tarkovsky to curtail what the Soviet government and the KGB saw as anti-Soviet propaganda by Tarkovsky.", "Other evidence includes several memoranda that surfaced after the 1991 coup and the claim by one of Tarkovsky's doctors that his cancer could not have developed from a natural cause.", "As with Tarkovsky, his wife Larisa Tarkovskaya and actor Anatoli Solonitsyn all died from the very same type of lung cancer.", "Vladimir Sharun, sound designer in ''Stalker'', is convinced that they were all poisoned by the chemical plant where they were shooting the film.", "===Filmography===\n\nTarkovsky is mainly known as a film director.", "During his career he directed only seven feature films, as well as three shorts from his time at VGIK.", "He also wrote several screenplays.", "He furthermore directed the play ''Hamlet'' for the stage in Moscow, directed the opera ''Boris Godunov'' in London, and he directed a radio production of the short story ''Turnabout'' by William Faulkner.", "He also wrote ''Sculpting in Time'', a book on film theory.", "Tarkovsky's first feature film was ''Ivan's Childhood'' in 1962.", "He then directed ''Andrei Rublev'' in 1966, ''Solaris'' in 1972, ''Mirror'' in 1975 and ''Stalker'' in 1979.", "The documentary ''Voyage in Time'' was produced in Italy in 1982, as was ''Nostalghia'' in 1983.", "His last film ''The Sacrifice'' was produced in Sweden in 1986.", "Tarkovsky was personally involved in writing the screenplays for all his films, sometimes with a cowriter.", "Tarkovsky once said that a director who realizes somebody else's screenplay without being involved in it becomes a mere illustrator, resulting in dead and monotonous films.", "A book of 60 photos, ''Instant Light, Tarkovsky Polaroids'', taken by Tarkovsky in Russia and Italy between 1979 and 1984 was published in 2006.", "The collection was selected by Italian photographer Giovanni Chiaramonte and Tarkovsky's son Andrey A. Tarkovsky.", "===Awards===\n\nNumerous awards were bestowed on Tarkovsky throughout his lifetime.", "At the Venice Film Festival he was awarded the Golden Lion for ''Ivan's Childhood''.", "At the Cannes Film Festival, he won the FIPRESCI prize four times, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury three times (more than any other director), and the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury twice.", "He was also nominated for the Palme d'Or two times.", "In 1987, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film to ''The Sacrifice''.", "Russian stamp featuring Tarkovsky\nUnder the influence of Glasnost and Perestroika, Tarkovsky was finally recognized in the Soviet Union in the Autumn of 1986, shortly before his death, by a retrospective of his films in Moscow.", "After his death, an entire issue of the film magazine ''Iskusstvo Kino'' was devoted to Tarkovsky.", "In their obituaries, the film committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Union of Soviet Film Makers expressed their sorrow that Tarkovsky had to spend the last years of his life in exile.", "Posthumously, he was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1990, one of the highest state honors in the Soviet Union.", "In 1989 the ''Andrei Tarkovsky Memorial Prize'' was established, with its first recipient being the Russian animator Yuriy Norshteyn.", "In three consecutive events, the Moscow International Film Festival awards the annual ''Andrei Tarkovsky Award'' in the years of 1993, 1995 and 1997.", "In 1996 the Andrei Tarkovsky Museum opened in Yuryevets, his childhood town.", "A minor planet, 3345 Tarkovskij, discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina in 1982, has also been named after him.", "Tarkovsky has been the subject of several documentaries.", "Most notable is the 1988 documentary ''Moscow Elegy'', by Russian film director Alexander Sokurov.", "Sokurov's own work has been heavily influenced by Tarkovsky.", "The film consists mostly of narration over stock footage from Tarkovsky's films.", "''Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky'' is 1988 documentary film by Michal Leszczylowski, an editor of the film ''The Sacrifice''.", "Film director Chris Marker produced the television documentary ''One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich'' as an homage to Andrei Tarkovsky in 2000.", "Ingmar Bergman was quoted as saying: \"Tarkovsky for me is the greatest of us all, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream\".", "Film historian Steven Dillon says that much of subsequent film was deeply influenced by the films of Tarkovsky.", "At the entrance to the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, Russia there is a monument that includes statues of Tarkovsky, Gennady Shpalikov and Vasily Shukshin.", "'''''Concentrate''''' (, ''Konsentrat'') is a never-filmed 1958 screenplay by Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky.", "The screenplay is based on Tarkovsky's year in the taiga as a member of a research expedition, prior to his enrollment in film school.", "===Plot===\n''Concentrate'' is about the leader of a geological expedition, who waits for the boat that brings back the concentrates collected by the expedition.", "The expedition is surrounded by mystery, and its purpose is a state secret.", "This screenplay refers to Tarkovsky's year in the taiga, where he was a member of a research expedition prior to enrolling at the film school.", "===Background===\nAlthough some authors claim that the screenplay was filmed, according to Marina Tarkovskaya, Tarkovsky's sister (and wife of Aleksandr Gordon, a fellow student of Tarvosky during his film school years) the screenplay was never filmed.", "Tarkovsky wrote the screenplay during his entrance examination at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in a single sitting.", "He earned the highest possible grade, excellent () for this work.", "In 1994 fragments of the ''Concentrate'' were filmed and used in the documentary ''Andrei Tarkovsky's Taiga Summer'' by Marina Tarkovskaya and Aleksandr Gordon.", "\n\n'''''Hoffmanniana''''' () is a never-filmed 1974 screenplay by Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky.", "The screenplay is based on the life and work of German author E. T. A. Hoffmann.", "In 1974 an acquaintance from Tallinnfilm approached Tarkovsky to write a screenplay on a German theme.", "Tarkovsky considered Thomas Mann and E.T.A.", "Hoffmann, and also thought about Ibsen's ''Peer Gynt''.", "In the end Tarkovsky signed a contract for a script based on the life and work of Hoffmann.", "Tarkovsky planned to write the script during the summer of 1974 at his dacha.", "Writing was not without difficulty, less than a month before the deadline he had not written a single page.", "He finally finished the project in late 1974 and submitted the final script to Tallinnfilm in October.", "Although the script was well received by the officials at Tallinnfilm, it was the consensus that no one but Tarkovsky would be able to direct it.", "The script was sent to Goskino in February 1976, and although approval was granted for proceeding with making the film the screenplay was never realized.", "In 1984, during the time of his exile in the West, Tarkovsky revisited the screenplay and made a few changes.", "He also considered to finally direct a film based on the screenplay but ultimately dropped this idea.", "Tarkovsky became a film director during the mid and late 1950s, a period referred to as the Khrushchev Thaw, during which Soviet society opened to foreign films, literature and music, among other things.", "This allowed Tarkovsky to see films of European, American and Japanese directors, an experience which influenced his own film making.", "His teacher and mentor at the film school, Mikhail Romm, allowed his students considerable freedom and emphasized the independence of the film director.", "Tarkovsky was, according to fellow student Shavkat Abdusalmov, fascinated by Japanese films.", "He was amazed by how every character on the screen is exceptional and how everyday events such as a Samurai cutting bread with his sword are elevated to something special and put into the limelight.", "Tarkovsky has also expressed interest in the art of Haiku and its ability to create \"images in such a way that they mean nothing beyond themselves.\"", "Tarkovsky perceived that the art of cinema has only been truly mastered by very few filmmakers, stating in a 1970 interview with Naum Abramov that \"they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.\"", "In 1972, Tarkovsky told film historian Leonid Kozlov his ten favorite films.", "The list includes: ''Diary of a Country Priest'' and ''Mouchette'' by Robert Bresson; ''Winter Light'', ''Wild Strawberries'', and ''Persona'' by Ingmar Bergman; ''Nazarín'' by Luis Buñuel; ''City Lights'' by Charlie Chaplin; ''Ugetsu'' by Kenji Mizoguchi; ''Seven Samurai'' by Akira Kurosawa, and ''Woman in the Dunes'' by Hiroshi Teshigahara.", "Among his favorite directors were Buñuel, Mizoguchi, Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean Vigo, and Carl Theodor Dreyer.", "With the exception of ''City Lights'', the list does not contain any films of the early silent era.", "The reason is that Tarkovsky saw film as an art as only a relatively recent phenomenon, with the early film-making forming only a prelude.", "The list has also no films or directors from Tarkovsky's native Russia, although he rated Soviet directors such as Boris Barnet, Sergei Parajanov and Alexander Dovzhenko highly.", "Although strongly opposed to commercial cinema, in a famous exception Tarkovsky praised the blockbuster film ''The Terminator'', saying its \"vision of the future and the relation between man and its destiny is pushing the frontier of cinema as an art\".", "He was critical of the \"brutality and low acting skills\", but nevertheless impressed by this film.", "In a 1962 interview, Tarkovsky argued, \"All art, of course, is intellectual, but for me, all the arts, and cinema even more so, must above all be emotional and act upon the heart.\"", "His films are characterized by metaphysical themes, extremely long takes, and images often considered by critics to be of exceptional beauty.", "Recurring motifs are dreams, memory, childhood, running water accompanied by fire, rain indoors, reflections, levitation, and characters re-appearing in the foreground of long panning movements of the camera.", "He once said, \"Juxtaposing a person with an environment that is boundless, collating him with a countless number of people passing by close to him and far away, relating a person to the whole world, that is the meaning of cinema.”\n\nTarkovsky incorporated levitation scenes into several of his films, most notably ''Solaris''.", "To him these scenes possess great power and are used for their photogenic value and magical inexplicability.", "Water, clouds, and reflections were used by him for their surreal beauty and photogenic value, as well as their symbolism, such as waves or the forms of brooks or running water.", "Bells and candles are also frequent symbols.", "These are symbols of film, sight and sound, and Tarkovsky's film frequently has themes of self-reflection.", "Tarkovsky developed a theory of cinema that he called \"sculpting in time\".", "By this he meant that the unique characteristic of cinema as a medium was to take our experience of time and alter it.", "Unedited movie footage transcribes time in real time.", "By using long takes and few cuts in his films, he aimed to give the viewers a sense of time passing, time lost, and the relationship of one moment in time to another.", "Up to, and including, his film ''Mirror'', Tarkovsky focused his cinematic works on exploring this theory.", "After ''Mirror'', he announced that he would focus his work on exploring the dramatic unities proposed by Aristotle: a concentrated action, happening in one place, within the span of a single day.", "Several of Tarkovsky's films have color or black and white sequences.", "This first occurs in the otherwise monochrome ''Andrei Rublev'', which features a color epilogue of Rublev's authentic religious icon paintings.", "All of his films afterwards contain monochrome, and in ''Stalker's'' case sepia sequences, while otherwise being in color.", "In 1966, in an interview conducted shortly after finishing ''Andrei Rublev'', Tarkovsky dismissed color film as a \"commercial gimmick\" and cast doubt on the idea that contemporary films meaningfully use color.", "He claimed that in everyday life one does not consciously notice colors most of the time, and that color should therefore be used in film mainly to emphasize certain moments, but not all the time, as this distracts the viewer.", "To him, films in color were like moving paintings or photographs, which are too beautiful to be a realistic depiction of life.", "===Vadim Yusov===\nTarkovsky worked in close collaboration with cinematographer Vadim Yusov from 1958 to 1972, and much of the visual style of Tarkovsky's films can be attributed to this collaboration.", "Tarkovsky would spend two days preparing for Yusov to film a single long take, and due to the preparation, usually only a single take was needed.", "===Sven Nykvist===\nIn his last film, ''The Sacrifice'', Tarkovsky worked with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who had worked closely with director Ingmar Bergman on many of Ingmar Bergman's films – multiple people who worked with Bergman worked on the production, notably lead actor Erland Josephson, who had acted for Tarkovsky in ''Nostalghia''.", "Nykvist complained that Tarkovsky would frequently look through the camera and even direct actors through it.", "*''Voyage in Time'' (1983): documents the travels in Italy of Andrei Tarkovsky in preparation for the making of his film ''Nostalghia'', Tonino Guerra.", "*''Tarkovsky: A Poet in the Cinema'' (1984): directed by Donatella Baglivo\n*''Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit'' (1988): Andrej Tarkowskijs Exil und Tod.", "Documentary directed by Ebbo Demant.", "Germany.", "*''One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich'' (1999): French documentary film directed by Chris Marker\n*\"Andrey\" (color/b&w, short-fiction, 35mm, 15min.", "2006) A film by Nariné Mktchyan and Arsen Azatyan.", "Festivals: Yerevan IFF 2006, Rotterdam IFF 2007, Busan IFF 2007, Sidney IFF 2007, Zerkalo FF Ivanovo (Special Prize) 2008, Kinoshock FF 2014", "'''Notes'''\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*Tumanov, Vladimir.", "\"Philosophy of Mind and Body in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris.\"", "Film-Philosophy.", "20 (2016) 2-3: 357-375.", "DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/film.2016.0020\n*\n*\n*\n*", "\n\n*\n*\n* Andrei Tarkovsky at Senses of Cinema\n*\n* Website about Andrei Tarkovsky, Films, Articles, Interviews\n* Nostalghia.com - An Andrei Tarkovsky Information Site, at Film Studies Program in the Department of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary\n* Andrei Tarkovsky: Biography wrestles with the filmmaker’s remarkable life" ]

[ "\n\n\nSir John Tenniel's illustration of the Caterpillar for Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' is noted for its ambiguous central figure, whose head can be viewed as being a human male's face with a pointed nose and pointy chin or being the head end of an actual caterpillar, with the first two right \"true\" legs visible.\n\n'''Ambiguity''' is a type of uncertainty of meaning in which several interpretations are plausible. It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement whose intended meaning cannot be definitively resolved according to a rule or process with a finite number of steps. (The ''ambi-'' part of the term reflects an idea of \"two\", as in \"two meanings\".)\n\nThe concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately obvious), whereas with information that is vague, it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity.\n\nContext may play a role in resolving ambiguity. For example, the same piece of information may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another.\n", "Structural analysis of an ambiguous Spanish sentence: '''Pepe vio a Pablo enfurecido'''Interpretation 1: When Pepe was angry, then he saw PabloInterpretation 2: Pepe saw that Pablo was angry.Here, the syntactic tree in figure represents interpretation 2.\n\nThe lexical ambiguity of a word or phrase pertains to its having more than one meaning in the language to which the word belongs. \"Meaning\" here refers to whatever should be captured by a good dictionary. For instance, the word \"bank\" has several distinct lexical definitions, including \"financial institution\" and \"edge of a river\". Or consider \"apothecary\". One could say \"I bought herbs from the apothecary\". This could mean one actually spoke to the apothecary (pharmacist) or went to the apothecary (pharmacy).\n\nThe context in which an ambiguous word is used often makes it evident which of the meanings is intended. If, for instance, someone says \"I buried $100 in the bank\", most people would not think someone used a shovel to dig in the mud. However, some linguistic contexts do not provide sufficient information to disambiguate a used word.\n\nLexical ambiguity can be addressed by algorithmic methods that automatically associate the appropriate meaning with a word in context, a task referred to as word sense disambiguation.\n\nThe use of multi-defined words requires the author or speaker to clarify their context, and sometimes elaborate on their specific intended meaning (in which case, a less ambiguous term should have been used). The goal of clear concise communication is that the receiver(s) have no misunderstanding about what was meant to be conveyed. An exception to this could include a politician whose \"weasel words\" and obfuscation are necessary to gain support from multiple constituents with mutually exclusive conflicting desires from their candidate of choice. Ambiguity is a powerful tool of political science.\n\nMore problematic are words whose senses express closely related concepts. \"Good\", for example, can mean \"useful\" or \"functional\" (''That's a good hammer''), \"exemplary\" (''She's a good student''), \"pleasing\" (''This is good soup''), \"moral\" (''a good person'' versus ''the lesson to be learned from a story''), \"righteous\", etc. \" I have a good daughter\" is not clear about which sense is intended. The various ways to apply prefixes and suffixes can also create ambiguity (\"unlockable\" can mean \"capable of being unlocked\" or \"impossible to lock\").\n\nSyntactic ambiguity arises when a sentence can have two (or more) different meanings because of the structure of the sentence—its syntax. This is often due to a modifying expression, such as a prepositional phrase, the application of which is unclear. \"He ate the cookies on the couch\", for example, could mean that he ate those cookies that were on the couch (as opposed to those that were on the table), or it could mean that he was sitting on the couch when he ate the cookies. \"To get in, you will need an entrance fee of $10 or your voucher and your drivers' license.\" This could mean that you need EITHER ten dollars OR BOTH your voucher and your license. Or it could mean that you need your license AND you need EITHER ten dollars OR a voucher. Only rewriting the sentence, or placing appropriate punctuation can resolve a syntactic ambiguity.\nFor the notion of, and theoretic results about, syntactic ambiguity in artificial, formal languages (such as computer programming languages), see Ambiguous grammar.\n\nSpoken language can contain many more types of ambiguities which are called phonological ambiguities, where there is more than one way to compose a set of sounds into words. For example, \"ice cream\" and \"I scream\". Such ambiguity is generally resolved according to the context. A mishearing of such, based on incorrectly resolved ambiguity, is called a mondegreen.\n\nSemantic ambiguity happens when a sentence contains an ambiguous word or phrase—a word or phrase that has more than one meaning. In \"We saw her duck\" (example due to Richard Nordquist), the word \"duck\" can refer either\n# to the person's bird (the noun \"duck\", modified by the possessive pronoun \"her\"), or\n# to a motion she made (the verb \"duck\", the subject of which is the objective pronoun \"her\", object of the verb \"saw\").\n\nFor example, \"You could do with a new automobile. How about a test drive?\" The clause \"You could do with\" presents a statement with such wide possible interpretation as to be essentially meaningless. Lexical ambiguity is contrasted with semantic ambiguity. The former represents a choice between a finite number of known and meaningful context-dependent interpretations. The latter represents a choice between any number of possible interpretations, none of which may have a standard agreed-upon meaning. This form of ambiguity is closely related to vagueness.\n\nLinguistic ambiguity can be a problem in law, because the interpretation of written documents and oral agreements is often of paramount importance.\n\nPhilosophers (and other users of logic) spend a lot of time and effort searching for and removing (or intentionally adding) ambiguity in arguments because it can lead to incorrect conclusions and can be used to deliberately conceal bad arguments. For example, a politician might say, \"I oppose taxes which hinder economic growth\", an example of a glittering generality. Some will think he opposes taxes in general because they hinder economic growth. Others may think he opposes only those taxes that he believes will hinder economic growth. In writing, the sentence can be rewritten to reduce possible misinterpretation, either by adding a comma after \"taxes\" (to convey the first sense) or by changing \"which\" to \"that\" (to convey the second sense) or by rewriting it in other ways. The devious politician hopes that each constituent will interpret the statement in the most desirable way, and think the politician supports everyone's opinion. However, the opposite can also be true – an opponent can turn a positive statement into a bad one if the speaker uses ambiguity (intentionally or not). The logical fallacies of amphiboly and equivocation rely heavily on the use of ambiguous words and phrases.\n\nIn continental philosophy (particularly phenomenology and existentialism), there is much greater tolerance of ambiguity, as it is generally seen as an integral part of the human condition. Martin Heidegger argued that the relation between the subject and object is ambiguous, as is the relation of mind and body, and part and whole.3 In Heidegger's phenomenology, Dasein is always in a meaningful world, but there is always an underlying background for every instance of signification. Thus, although some things may be certain, they have little to do with Dasein's sense of care and existential anxiety, e.g., in the face of death. In calling his work Being and Nothingness an \"essay in phenomenological ontology\" Jean-Paul Sartre follows Heidegger in defining the human essence as ambiguous, or relating fundamentally to such ambiguity. Simone de Beauvoir tries to base an ethics on Heidegger's and Sartre's writings (The Ethics of Ambiguity), where she highlights the need to grapple with ambiguity: \"as long as philosophers and they men have thought, most of them have tried to mask it...And the ethics which they have proposed to their disciples have always pursued the same goal. It has been a matter of eliminating the ambiguity by making oneself pure inwardness or pure externality, by escaping from the sensible world or being engulfed by it, by yielding to eternity or enclosing oneself in the pure moment.\" Ethics cannot be based on the authoritative certainty given by mathematics and logic, or prescribed directly from the empirical findings of science. She states: \"Since we do not succeed in fleeing it, let us, therefore, try to look the truth in the face. Let us try to assume our fundamental ambiguity. It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our life that we must draw our strength to live and our reason for acting\". Other continental philosophers suggest that concepts such as life, nature, and sex are ambiguous. Corey Anton has argued that we cannot be certain what is separate from or unified with something else: language, he asserts, divides what is not, in fact, separate. Following Ernest Becker, he argues that the desire to 'authoritatively disambiguate' the world and existence have led to numerous ideologies and historical events such as genocide. On this basis, he argues that ethics must focus on 'dialectically integrating opposites' and balancing tension, rather than seeking a priori validation or certainty. Like the existentialists and phenomenologists, he sees the ambiguity of life as the basis of creativity.\n\nIn literature and rhetoric, ambiguity can be a useful tool. Groucho Marx's classic joke depends on a grammatical ambiguity for its humor, for example: \"Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know\". Songs and poetry often rely on ambiguous words for artistic effect, as in the song title \"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue\" (where \"blue\" can refer to the color, or to sadness).\n\nIn narrative, ambiguity can be introduced in several ways: motive, plot, character. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the latter type of ambiguity with notable effect in his novel ''The Great Gatsby''.\n\nChristianity and Judaism employ the concept of paradox synonymously with 'ambiguity'. Many Christians and Jews endorse Rudolf Otto's description of the sacred as 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans', the awe-inspiring mystery which fascinates humans.dubious – discuss The orthodox Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton regularly employed paradox to tease out the meanings in common concepts which he found ambiguous, or to reveal meaning often overlooked or forgotten in common phrases. (The title of one of his most famous books, Orthodoxy, itself employing such a paradox.)\n\nMetonymy involves the use of the name of a subcomponent part as an abbreviation, or jargon, for the name of the whole object (for example \"wheels\" to refer to a car, or \"flowers\" to refer to beautiful offspring, an entire plant, or a collection of blooming plants). In modern vocabulary critical semiotics,9 metonymy encompasses any potentially ambiguous word substitution that is based on contextual contiguity (located close together), or a function or process that an object performs, such as \"sweet ride\" to refer to a nice car. Metonym miscommunication is considered a primary mechanism of linguistic humour.\n", "In music, pieces or sections which confound expectations and may be or are interpreted simultaneously in different ways are ambiguous, such as some polytonality, polymeter, other ambiguous meters or rhythms, and ambiguous phrasing, or (Stein 2005, p. 79) any aspect of music. The music of Africa is often purposely ambiguous. To quote Sir Donald Francis Tovey (1935, p. 195), \"Theorists are apt to vex themselves with vain efforts to remove uncertainty just where it has a high aesthetic value.\"\n", "\nThe thumb\nIn visual art, certain images are visually ambiguous, such as the Necker cube, which can be interpreted in two ways. Perceptions of such objects remain stable for a time, then may flip, a phenomenon called multistable perception.\nThe opposite of such ambiguous images are impossible objects.\n\nPictures or photographs may also be ambiguous at the semantic level: the visual image is unambiguous, but the meaning and narrative may be ambiguous: is a certain facial expression one of excitement or fear, for instance?\n", "\nSome languages have been created with the intention of avoiding ambiguity, especially lexical ambiguity. Lojban and Loglan are two related languages which have been created for this, focusing chiefly on syntactic ambiguity as well. The languages can be both spoken and written. These languages are intended to provide a greater technical precision over big natural languages, although historically, such attempts at language improvement have been criticized. Languages composed from many diverse sources contain much ambiguity and inconsistency. The many exceptions to syntax and semantic rules are time-consuming and difficult to learn.\n", "In computer science, the SI prefixes kilo-, mega- and giga- were historically used in certain contexts to mean either the first three powers of 1024 (1024, 10242 and 10243) contrary to the metric system in which these units unambiguously mean one thousand, one million, and one billion. This usage is particularly prevalent with electronic memory devices (e.g. DRAM) addressed directly by a binary machine register where a decimal interpretation makes no practical sense.\n\nSubsequently, the Ki, Mi, and Gi prefixes were introduced so that binary prefixes could be written explicitly, also rendering k, M, and G ''unambiguous'' in texts conforming to the new standard — this led to a ''new'' ambiguity in engineering documents lacking outward trace of the binary prefixes (necessarily indicating the new style) as to whether the usage of k, M, and G remains ambiguous (old style) or not (new style). Note also that 1 M (where M is ambiguously 1,000,000 or 1,048,576) is ''less'' uncertain than the engineering value 1.0e6 (defined to designate the interval 950,000 to 1,050,000), and that as non-volatile storage devices began to commonly exceed 1 GB in capacity (where the ambiguity begins to routinely impact the second significant digit), GB and TB almost always mean 109 and 1012 bytes.\n", "Mathematical notation, widely used in physics and other sciences, avoids many ambiguities compared to expression in natural language. However, for various reasons, several lexical, syntactic and semantic ambiguities remain.\n\n=== Names of functions ===\nThe '''ambiguity''' in the style of writing a function should not be confused with a multivalued function, which can (and should) be defined in a deterministic and unambiguous way. Several special functions still do not have established notations. Usually, the conversion to another notation requires to scale the argument or the resulting value; sometimes, the same name of the function is used, causing confusions. Examples of such underestablished functions:\n* Sinc function\n* Elliptic integral of the third kind; translating elliptic integral form MAPLE to Mathematica, one should replace the second argument to its square, see Talk:Elliptic integral#List of notations; dealing with complex values, this may cause problems.\n* Exponential integral\n* Hermite polynomial\n\n=== Expressions ===\nAmbiguous expressions often appear in physical and mathematical texts.\nIt is common practice to omit multiplication signs in mathematical expressions. Also, it is common to give the same name to a variable and a function, for example, . Then, if one sees , there is no way to distinguish whether it means '''multiplied''' by , or function '''evaluated''' at argument equal to . In each case of use of such notations, the reader is supposed to be able to perform the deduction and reveal the true meaning.\n\nCreators of algorithmic languages try to avoid ambiguities. Many algorithmic languages (C++ and Fortran) require the character * as symbol of multiplication. The Wolfram Language used in Mathematica allows the user to omit the multiplication symbol, but requires square brackets to indicate the argument of a function; square brackets are not allowed for grouping of expressions. Fortran, in addition, does not allow use of the same name (identifier) for different objects, for example, function and variable; in particular, the expression '''f=f(x)''' is qualified as an error.\n\nThe order of operations may depend on the context. In most programming languages, the operations of division and multiplication have equal priority and are executed from left to right. Until the last century, many editorials assumed that multiplication is performed first, for example, is interpreted as ; in this case, the insertion of parentheses is required when translating the formulas to an algorithmic language. In addition, it is common to write an argument of a function without parenthesis, which also may lead to ambiguity.\nSometimes, one uses ''italics'' letters to denote elementary functions.\nIn the scientific journal style, the expression\n\nmeans\nproduct of variables\n,\n,\n and\n, although in a slideshow, it may mean .\n\nA comma in subscripts and superscripts sometimes is omitted; it is also ambiguous notation.\nIf it is written , the reader should guess from the context, does it mean a single-index object, evaluated while the subscript is equal to product of variables\n, and , or it is indication to a trivalent tensor.\nThe writing of instead of may mean that the writer either is stretched in space (for example, to reduce the publication fees) or aims to increase number of publications without considering readers. The same may apply to any other use of ambiguous notations.\n\nSubscripts are also used to denote the argument to a function, as in .\n\n\n=== Examples of potentially confusing ambiguous mathematical expressions ===\n, which could be understood to mean either or . In addition, may mean , as means (see tetration).\n\n, which by convention means , though it might be thought to mean , since means .\n\n, which arguably should mean but would commonly be understood to mean .\n\n=== Notations in quantum optics and quantum mechanics ===\nIt is common to define the coherent states in quantum optics with and states with fixed number of photons with . Then, there is an \"unwritten rule\": the state is coherent if there are more Greek characters than Latin characters in the argument, and photon state if the Latin characters dominate. The ambiguity becomes even worse, if is used for the states with certain value of the coordinate, and means the state with certain value of the momentum, which may be used in books on quantum mechanics. Such ambiguities easily lead to confusions, especially if some normalized adimensional, dimensionless variables are used. Expression may mean a state with single photon, or the coherent state with mean amplitude equal to 1, or state with momentum equal to unity, and so on. The reader is supposed to guess from the context.\n\n=== Ambiguous terms in physics and mathematics ===\nSome physical quantities do not yet have established notations; their value (and sometimes even dimension, as in the case of the Einstein coefficients), depends on the system of notations. Many terms are ambiguous. Each use of an ambiguous term should be preceded by the definition, suitable for a specific case. Just like Ludwig Wittgenstein states in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: \"... Only in the context of a proposition has a name meaning.\"\n\nA highly confusing term is ''gain''. For example, the sentence \"the gain of a system should be doubled\", without context, means close to nothing.\nIt may mean that the ratio of the output voltage of an electric circuit to the input voltage should be doubled.\nIt may mean that the ratio of the output power of an electric or optical circuit to the input power should be doubled.\nIt may mean that the gain of the laser medium should be doubled, for example, doubling the population of the upper laser level in a quasi-two level system (assuming negligible absorption of the ground-state).\n\nThe term ''intensity'' is ambiguous when applied to light. The term can refer to any of irradiance, luminous intensity, radiant intensity, or radiance, depending on the background of the person using the term.\n\nAlso, confusions may be related with the use of atomic percent as measure of concentration of a dopant, or resolution of an imaging system, as measure of the size of the smallest detail which still can be resolved at the background of statistical noise. See also Accuracy and precision and its talk.\n\nThe Berry paradox arises as a result of systematic ambiguity in the meaning of terms such as \"definable\" or \"nameable\". Terms of this kind give rise to vicious circle fallacies. Other terms with this type of ambiguity are: satisfiable, true, false, function, property, class, relation, cardinal, and ordinal.\n", "The Necker cube and impossible cube, an underdetermined and overdetermined object, respectively.|thumb\nIn mathematics and logic, ambiguity can be considered to be an instance of the logical concept of underdetermination—for example, leaves open what the value of ''X'' is—while its opposite is a self-contradiction, also called inconsistency, paradoxicalness, or oxymoron, or in mathematics an inconsistent system—such as , which has no solution.\n\nLogical ambiguity and self-contradiction is analogous to visual ambiguity and impossible objects, such as the Necker cube and impossible cube, or many of the drawings of M. C. Escher.\n", "\n\n* Abbreviation\n* Ambiguity (law)\n* Ambiguity tolerance\n* Amphibology\n* Decision problem\n* Disambiguation (disambiguation)\n* Double entendre\n\n* Essentially contested concept\n* Fallacy\n* Formal fallacy\n* Golden hammer\n* Informal fallacy\n\n* Self reference\n* Semantics\n* Uncertainty\n* Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity\n* Word-sense disambiguation\n\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* Collection of Ambiguous or Inconsistent/Incomplete Statements\n* Leaving out ambiguities when writing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Linguistic forms ", " Music ", " Visual art ", " Constructed language ", " Computer science ", " Mathematical notation ", " Mathematical interpretation of ambiguity ", " See also ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "For instance, the word \"bank\" has several distinct lexical definitions, including \"financial institution\" and \"edge of a river\".", "If, for instance, someone says \"I buried $100 in the bank\", most people would not think someone used a shovel to dig in the mud." ]

[ "\n\n\nSir John Tenniel's illustration of the Caterpillar for Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' is noted for its ambiguous central figure, whose head can be viewed as being a human male's face with a pointed nose and pointy chin or being the head end of an actual caterpillar, with the first two right \"true\" legs visible.", "'''Ambiguity''' is a type of uncertainty of meaning in which several interpretations are plausible.", "It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement whose intended meaning cannot be definitively resolved according to a rule or process with a finite number of steps.", "(The ''ambi-'' part of the term reflects an idea of \"two\", as in \"two meanings\".)", "The concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness.", "In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately obvious), whereas with information that is vague, it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity.", "Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity.", "For example, the same piece of information may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another.", "Structural analysis of an ambiguous Spanish sentence: '''Pepe vio a Pablo enfurecido'''Interpretation 1: When Pepe was angry, then he saw PabloInterpretation 2: Pepe saw that Pablo was angry.Here, the syntactic tree in figure represents interpretation 2.", "The lexical ambiguity of a word or phrase pertains to its having more than one meaning in the language to which the word belongs.", "\"Meaning\" here refers to whatever should be captured by a good dictionary.", "Or consider \"apothecary\".", "One could say \"I bought herbs from the apothecary\".", "This could mean one actually spoke to the apothecary (pharmacist) or went to the apothecary (pharmacy).", "The context in which an ambiguous word is used often makes it evident which of the meanings is intended.", "However, some linguistic contexts do not provide sufficient information to disambiguate a used word.", "Lexical ambiguity can be addressed by algorithmic methods that automatically associate the appropriate meaning with a word in context, a task referred to as word sense disambiguation.", "The use of multi-defined words requires the author or speaker to clarify their context, and sometimes elaborate on their specific intended meaning (in which case, a less ambiguous term should have been used).", "The goal of clear concise communication is that the receiver(s) have no misunderstanding about what was meant to be conveyed.", "An exception to this could include a politician whose \"weasel words\" and obfuscation are necessary to gain support from multiple constituents with mutually exclusive conflicting desires from their candidate of choice.", "Ambiguity is a powerful tool of political science.", "More problematic are words whose senses express closely related concepts.", "\"Good\", for example, can mean \"useful\" or \"functional\" (''That's a good hammer''), \"exemplary\" (''She's a good student''), \"pleasing\" (''This is good soup''), \"moral\" (''a good person'' versus ''the lesson to be learned from a story''), \"righteous\", etc. \"", "I have a good daughter\" is not clear about which sense is intended.", "The various ways to apply prefixes and suffixes can also create ambiguity (\"unlockable\" can mean \"capable of being unlocked\" or \"impossible to lock\").", "Syntactic ambiguity arises when a sentence can have two (or more) different meanings because of the structure of the sentence—its syntax.", "This is often due to a modifying expression, such as a prepositional phrase, the application of which is unclear.", "\"He ate the cookies on the couch\", for example, could mean that he ate those cookies that were on the couch (as opposed to those that were on the table), or it could mean that he was sitting on the couch when he ate the cookies.", "\"To get in, you will need an entrance fee of $10 or your voucher and your drivers' license.\"", "This could mean that you need EITHER ten dollars OR BOTH your voucher and your license.", "Or it could mean that you need your license AND you need EITHER ten dollars OR a voucher.", "Only rewriting the sentence, or placing appropriate punctuation can resolve a syntactic ambiguity.", "For the notion of, and theoretic results about, syntactic ambiguity in artificial, formal languages (such as computer programming languages), see Ambiguous grammar.", "Spoken language can contain many more types of ambiguities which are called phonological ambiguities, where there is more than one way to compose a set of sounds into words.", "For example, \"ice cream\" and \"I scream\".", "Such ambiguity is generally resolved according to the context.", "A mishearing of such, based on incorrectly resolved ambiguity, is called a mondegreen.", "Semantic ambiguity happens when a sentence contains an ambiguous word or phrase—a word or phrase that has more than one meaning.", "In \"We saw her duck\" (example due to Richard Nordquist), the word \"duck\" can refer either\n# to the person's bird (the noun \"duck\", modified by the possessive pronoun \"her\"), or\n# to a motion she made (the verb \"duck\", the subject of which is the objective pronoun \"her\", object of the verb \"saw\").", "For example, \"You could do with a new automobile.", "How about a test drive?\"", "The clause \"You could do with\" presents a statement with such wide possible interpretation as to be essentially meaningless.", "Lexical ambiguity is contrasted with semantic ambiguity.", "The former represents a choice between a finite number of known and meaningful context-dependent interpretations.", "The latter represents a choice between any number of possible interpretations, none of which may have a standard agreed-upon meaning.", "This form of ambiguity is closely related to vagueness.", "Linguistic ambiguity can be a problem in law, because the interpretation of written documents and oral agreements is often of paramount importance.", "Philosophers (and other users of logic) spend a lot of time and effort searching for and removing (or intentionally adding) ambiguity in arguments because it can lead to incorrect conclusions and can be used to deliberately conceal bad arguments.", "For example, a politician might say, \"I oppose taxes which hinder economic growth\", an example of a glittering generality.", "Some will think he opposes taxes in general because they hinder economic growth.", "Others may think he opposes only those taxes that he believes will hinder economic growth.", "In writing, the sentence can be rewritten to reduce possible misinterpretation, either by adding a comma after \"taxes\" (to convey the first sense) or by changing \"which\" to \"that\" (to convey the second sense) or by rewriting it in other ways.", "The devious politician hopes that each constituent will interpret the statement in the most desirable way, and think the politician supports everyone's opinion.", "However, the opposite can also be true – an opponent can turn a positive statement into a bad one if the speaker uses ambiguity (intentionally or not).", "The logical fallacies of amphiboly and equivocation rely heavily on the use of ambiguous words and phrases.", "In continental philosophy (particularly phenomenology and existentialism), there is much greater tolerance of ambiguity, as it is generally seen as an integral part of the human condition.", "Martin Heidegger argued that the relation between the subject and object is ambiguous, as is the relation of mind and body, and part and whole.3 In Heidegger's phenomenology, Dasein is always in a meaningful world, but there is always an underlying background for every instance of signification.", "Thus, although some things may be certain, they have little to do with Dasein's sense of care and existential anxiety, e.g., in the face of death.", "In calling his work Being and Nothingness an \"essay in phenomenological ontology\" Jean-Paul Sartre follows Heidegger in defining the human essence as ambiguous, or relating fundamentally to such ambiguity.", "Simone de Beauvoir tries to base an ethics on Heidegger's and Sartre's writings (The Ethics of Ambiguity), where she highlights the need to grapple with ambiguity: \"as long as philosophers and they men have thought, most of them have tried to mask it...And the ethics which they have proposed to their disciples have always pursued the same goal.", "It has been a matter of eliminating the ambiguity by making oneself pure inwardness or pure externality, by escaping from the sensible world or being engulfed by it, by yielding to eternity or enclosing oneself in the pure moment.\"", "Ethics cannot be based on the authoritative certainty given by mathematics and logic, or prescribed directly from the empirical findings of science.", "She states: \"Since we do not succeed in fleeing it, let us, therefore, try to look the truth in the face.", "Let us try to assume our fundamental ambiguity.", "It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our life that we must draw our strength to live and our reason for acting\".", "Other continental philosophers suggest that concepts such as life, nature, and sex are ambiguous.", "Corey Anton has argued that we cannot be certain what is separate from or unified with something else: language, he asserts, divides what is not, in fact, separate.", "Following Ernest Becker, he argues that the desire to 'authoritatively disambiguate' the world and existence have led to numerous ideologies and historical events such as genocide.", "On this basis, he argues that ethics must focus on 'dialectically integrating opposites' and balancing tension, rather than seeking a priori validation or certainty.", "Like the existentialists and phenomenologists, he sees the ambiguity of life as the basis of creativity.", "In literature and rhetoric, ambiguity can be a useful tool.", "Groucho Marx's classic joke depends on a grammatical ambiguity for its humor, for example: \"Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas.", "How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know\".", "Songs and poetry often rely on ambiguous words for artistic effect, as in the song title \"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue\" (where \"blue\" can refer to the color, or to sadness).", "In narrative, ambiguity can be introduced in several ways: motive, plot, character.", "F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the latter type of ambiguity with notable effect in his novel ''The Great Gatsby''.", "Christianity and Judaism employ the concept of paradox synonymously with 'ambiguity'.", "Many Christians and Jews endorse Rudolf Otto's description of the sacred as 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans', the awe-inspiring mystery which fascinates humans.dubious – discuss The orthodox Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton regularly employed paradox to tease out the meanings in common concepts which he found ambiguous, or to reveal meaning often overlooked or forgotten in common phrases.", "(The title of one of his most famous books, Orthodoxy, itself employing such a paradox.)", "Metonymy involves the use of the name of a subcomponent part as an abbreviation, or jargon, for the name of the whole object (for example \"wheels\" to refer to a car, or \"flowers\" to refer to beautiful offspring, an entire plant, or a collection of blooming plants).", "In modern vocabulary critical semiotics,9 metonymy encompasses any potentially ambiguous word substitution that is based on contextual contiguity (located close together), or a function or process that an object performs, such as \"sweet ride\" to refer to a nice car.", "Metonym miscommunication is considered a primary mechanism of linguistic humour.", "In music, pieces or sections which confound expectations and may be or are interpreted simultaneously in different ways are ambiguous, such as some polytonality, polymeter, other ambiguous meters or rhythms, and ambiguous phrasing, or (Stein 2005, p. 79) any aspect of music.", "The music of Africa is often purposely ambiguous.", "To quote Sir Donald Francis Tovey (1935, p. 195), \"Theorists are apt to vex themselves with vain efforts to remove uncertainty just where it has a high aesthetic value.\"", "\nThe thumb\nIn visual art, certain images are visually ambiguous, such as the Necker cube, which can be interpreted in two ways.", "Perceptions of such objects remain stable for a time, then may flip, a phenomenon called multistable perception.", "The opposite of such ambiguous images are impossible objects.", "Pictures or photographs may also be ambiguous at the semantic level: the visual image is unambiguous, but the meaning and narrative may be ambiguous: is a certain facial expression one of excitement or fear, for instance?", "\nSome languages have been created with the intention of avoiding ambiguity, especially lexical ambiguity.", "Lojban and Loglan are two related languages which have been created for this, focusing chiefly on syntactic ambiguity as well.", "The languages can be both spoken and written.", "These languages are intended to provide a greater technical precision over big natural languages, although historically, such attempts at language improvement have been criticized.", "Languages composed from many diverse sources contain much ambiguity and inconsistency.", "The many exceptions to syntax and semantic rules are time-consuming and difficult to learn.", "In computer science, the SI prefixes kilo-, mega- and giga- were historically used in certain contexts to mean either the first three powers of 1024 (1024, 10242 and 10243) contrary to the metric system in which these units unambiguously mean one thousand, one million, and one billion.", "This usage is particularly prevalent with electronic memory devices (e.g.", "DRAM) addressed directly by a binary machine register where a decimal interpretation makes no practical sense.", "Subsequently, the Ki, Mi, and Gi prefixes were introduced so that binary prefixes could be written explicitly, also rendering k, M, and G ''unambiguous'' in texts conforming to the new standard — this led to a ''new'' ambiguity in engineering documents lacking outward trace of the binary prefixes (necessarily indicating the new style) as to whether the usage of k, M, and G remains ambiguous (old style) or not (new style).", "Note also that 1 M (where M is ambiguously 1,000,000 or 1,048,576) is ''less'' uncertain than the engineering value 1.0e6 (defined to designate the interval 950,000 to 1,050,000), and that as non-volatile storage devices began to commonly exceed 1 GB in capacity (where the ambiguity begins to routinely impact the second significant digit), GB and TB almost always mean 109 and 1012 bytes.", "Mathematical notation, widely used in physics and other sciences, avoids many ambiguities compared to expression in natural language.", "However, for various reasons, several lexical, syntactic and semantic ambiguities remain.", "=== Names of functions ===\nThe '''ambiguity''' in the style of writing a function should not be confused with a multivalued function, which can (and should) be defined in a deterministic and unambiguous way.", "Several special functions still do not have established notations.", "Usually, the conversion to another notation requires to scale the argument or the resulting value; sometimes, the same name of the function is used, causing confusions.", "Examples of such underestablished functions:\n* Sinc function\n* Elliptic integral of the third kind; translating elliptic integral form MAPLE to Mathematica, one should replace the second argument to its square, see Talk:Elliptic integral#List of notations; dealing with complex values, this may cause problems.", "* Exponential integral\n* Hermite polynomial\n\n=== Expressions ===\nAmbiguous expressions often appear in physical and mathematical texts.", "It is common practice to omit multiplication signs in mathematical expressions.", "Also, it is common to give the same name to a variable and a function, for example, .", "Then, if one sees , there is no way to distinguish whether it means '''multiplied''' by , or function '''evaluated''' at argument equal to .", "In each case of use of such notations, the reader is supposed to be able to perform the deduction and reveal the true meaning.", "Creators of algorithmic languages try to avoid ambiguities.", "Many algorithmic languages (C++ and Fortran) require the character * as symbol of multiplication.", "The Wolfram Language used in Mathematica allows the user to omit the multiplication symbol, but requires square brackets to indicate the argument of a function; square brackets are not allowed for grouping of expressions.", "Fortran, in addition, does not allow use of the same name (identifier) for different objects, for example, function and variable; in particular, the expression '''f=f(x)''' is qualified as an error.", "The order of operations may depend on the context.", "In most programming languages, the operations of division and multiplication have equal priority and are executed from left to right.", "Until the last century, many editorials assumed that multiplication is performed first, for example, is interpreted as ; in this case, the insertion of parentheses is required when translating the formulas to an algorithmic language.", "In addition, it is common to write an argument of a function without parenthesis, which also may lead to ambiguity.", "Sometimes, one uses ''italics'' letters to denote elementary functions.", "In the scientific journal style, the expression\n\nmeans\nproduct of variables\n,\n,\n and\n, although in a slideshow, it may mean .", "A comma in subscripts and superscripts sometimes is omitted; it is also ambiguous notation.", "If it is written , the reader should guess from the context, does it mean a single-index object, evaluated while the subscript is equal to product of variables\n, and , or it is indication to a trivalent tensor.", "The writing of instead of may mean that the writer either is stretched in space (for example, to reduce the publication fees) or aims to increase number of publications without considering readers.", "The same may apply to any other use of ambiguous notations.", "Subscripts are also used to denote the argument to a function, as in .", "=== Examples of potentially confusing ambiguous mathematical expressions ===\n, which could be understood to mean either or .", "In addition, may mean , as means (see tetration).", ", which by convention means , though it might be thought to mean , since means .", ", which arguably should mean but would commonly be understood to mean .", "=== Notations in quantum optics and quantum mechanics ===\nIt is common to define the coherent states in quantum optics with and states with fixed number of photons with .", "Then, there is an \"unwritten rule\": the state is coherent if there are more Greek characters than Latin characters in the argument, and photon state if the Latin characters dominate.", "The ambiguity becomes even worse, if is used for the states with certain value of the coordinate, and means the state with certain value of the momentum, which may be used in books on quantum mechanics.", "Such ambiguities easily lead to confusions, especially if some normalized adimensional, dimensionless variables are used.", "Expression may mean a state with single photon, or the coherent state with mean amplitude equal to 1, or state with momentum equal to unity, and so on.", "The reader is supposed to guess from the context.", "=== Ambiguous terms in physics and mathematics ===\nSome physical quantities do not yet have established notations; their value (and sometimes even dimension, as in the case of the Einstein coefficients), depends on the system of notations.", "Many terms are ambiguous.", "Each use of an ambiguous term should be preceded by the definition, suitable for a specific case.", "Just like Ludwig Wittgenstein states in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: \"... Only in the context of a proposition has a name meaning.\"", "A highly confusing term is ''gain''.", "For example, the sentence \"the gain of a system should be doubled\", without context, means close to nothing.", "It may mean that the ratio of the output voltage of an electric circuit to the input voltage should be doubled.", "It may mean that the ratio of the output power of an electric or optical circuit to the input power should be doubled.", "It may mean that the gain of the laser medium should be doubled, for example, doubling the population of the upper laser level in a quasi-two level system (assuming negligible absorption of the ground-state).", "The term ''intensity'' is ambiguous when applied to light.", "The term can refer to any of irradiance, luminous intensity, radiant intensity, or radiance, depending on the background of the person using the term.", "Also, confusions may be related with the use of atomic percent as measure of concentration of a dopant, or resolution of an imaging system, as measure of the size of the smallest detail which still can be resolved at the background of statistical noise.", "See also Accuracy and precision and its talk.", "The Berry paradox arises as a result of systematic ambiguity in the meaning of terms such as \"definable\" or \"nameable\".", "Terms of this kind give rise to vicious circle fallacies.", "Other terms with this type of ambiguity are: satisfiable, true, false, function, property, class, relation, cardinal, and ordinal.", "The Necker cube and impossible cube, an underdetermined and overdetermined object, respectively.|thumb\nIn mathematics and logic, ambiguity can be considered to be an instance of the logical concept of underdetermination—for example, leaves open what the value of ''X'' is—while its opposite is a self-contradiction, also called inconsistency, paradoxicalness, or oxymoron, or in mathematics an inconsistent system—such as , which has no solution.", "Logical ambiguity and self-contradiction is analogous to visual ambiguity and impossible objects, such as the Necker cube and impossible cube, or many of the drawings of M. C. Escher.", "\n\n* Abbreviation\n* Ambiguity (law)\n* Ambiguity tolerance\n* Amphibology\n* Decision problem\n* Disambiguation (disambiguation)\n* Double entendre\n\n* Essentially contested concept\n* Fallacy\n* Formal fallacy\n* Golden hammer\n* Informal fallacy\n\n* Self reference\n* Semantics\n* Uncertainty\n* Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity\n* Word-sense disambiguation", "\n* \n* \n* \n* Collection of Ambiguous or Inconsistent/Incomplete Statements\n* Leaving out ambiguities when writing" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Asia''' () is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. Asia covers an area of , about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population, but also dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of billion people, or roughly 60% of the world's population.\n\nIn general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas.\n\nChina and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism (or Daoism), Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastranism, as well as many other religions.\n\nGiven its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot desert in the Middle East, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.\n", "\n\n\n===Asia-Africa boundary===\nThe boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa.\n\n===Asia–Europe boundary===\nStatue representing Asia at Palazzo Ferreria, in Valletta, Malta\nThe border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics. The Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the Tsardom of Russia, defeating rival claims of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire to the eastern lands, and armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new Russian Empire extending to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721. The major geographical theorist of the empire was actually a former Swedish prisoner-of-war, taken at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and assigned to Tobolsk, where he associated with Peter's Siberian official, Vasily Tatishchev, and was allowed freedom to conduct geographical and anthropological studies in preparation for a future book.\n\nIn Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia. The Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg. The latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century. The border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, although it is sometimes placed further north.\n\n===Asia–Oceania boundary===\nThe border between Asia and the region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The Maluku Islands in Indonesia are often considered to lie on the border of southeast Asia, with New Guinea, to the east of the islands, being wholly part of Oceania. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several vastly different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the colonial possessions of the various empires there (not all European). Lewis and Wigen assert, \"The narrowing of 'Southeast Asia' to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process.\"\n\n===Ongoing definition===\nAfro-Eurasia shown in green\nGeographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the Ancient Greeks, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means. Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe. It does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents.\n\nFrom the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system (Europe, Africa, Asia) on the grounds that there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them. For example, Sir Barry Cunliffe, the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford, argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely \"the western excrescence of the continent of Asia\". \n\nGeographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of Eurasia with Europe being a northwestern peninsula of the landmass. Asia, Europe and Africa make up a single continuous landmass - Afro-Eurasia (except for the Suez Canal) and share a common continental shelf. Almost all of Europe and the better part of Asia sit atop the Eurasian Plate, adjoined on the south by the Arabian and Indian Plate and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the Chersky Range) on the North American Plate.\n\n", "Ptolemy's Asia\nThe English name \"Asia\" was originally a concept of Greek civilization. The place name \"Asia\" in various forms in a large number of modern languages is of unknown ultimate provenience. Its etymology and language of origin are uncertain. It appears to be one of the most ancient of recorded names. A number of theories have been published. English Asia can be traced through the formation of English literature to Latin literature, where it has the same form, Asia. Whether all uses and all forms of the name derive also from the Latin of the Roman Empire is much less certain. One of the first classical writers to use Asia as a name of the whole continent was Pliny. This metonymical change in meaning is common and can be observed in some other geographical names, such as Skandinavia (from Scania).\n\n===Bronze Age===\nBefore Greek poetry, the Aegean Sea area was in a Greek Dark Age, at the beginning of which syllabic writing was lost and alphabetic writing had not begun. Prior to then in the Bronze Age the records of the Assyrian Empire, the Hittite Empire and the various Mycenaean states of Greece mention a region undoubtedly Asia, certainly in Anatolia, including if not identical to Lydia. These records are administrative and do not include poetry.\n\nThe Mycenaean states were destroyed about 1200 BCE by unknown agents although one school of thought assigns the Dorian invasion to this time. The burning of the palaces baked clay diurnal administrative records written in a Greek syllabic script called Linear B, deciphered by a number of interested parties, most notably by a young World War II cryptographer, Michael Ventris, subsequently assisted by the scholar, John Chadwick. A major cache discovered by Carl Blegen at the site of ancient Pylos included hundreds of male and female names formed by different methods.\n\nSome of these are of women held in servitude (as study of the society implied by the content reveals). They were used in trades, such as cloth-making, and usually came with children. The epithet, lawiaiai, \"captives,\" associated with some of them identifies their origin. Some are ethnic names. One in particular, aswiai, identifies \"women of Asia.\" Perhaps they were captured in Asia, but some others, Milatiai, appear to have been of Miletus, a Greek colony, which would not have been raided for slaves by Greeks. Chadwick suggests that the names record the locations where these foreign women were purchased. The name is also in the singular, Aswia, which refers both to the name of a country and to a female of it. There is a masculine form, aswios. This Aswia appears to have been a remnant of a region known to the Hittites as Assuwa, centered on Lydia, or \"Roman Asia.\" This name, ''Assuwa'', has been suggested as the origin for the name of the continent \"Asia\". The Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia, defeated by the Hittites under Tudhaliya I around 1400 BCE.\n\nAlternatively, the etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word ''(w)aṣû(m)'', which means 'to go outside' or 'to ascend', referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East and also likely connected with the Phoenician word ''asa'' meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for ''Europe'', as being from Akkadian ''erēbu(m)'' 'to enter' or 'set' (of the sun).\n\nT.R. Reid supports this alternative etymology, noting that the ancient Greek name must have derived from ''asu'', meaning 'east' in Assyrian (''ereb'' for ''Europe'' meaning 'west'). The ideas of ''Occidental'' (form Latin ''Occidens'' 'setting') and ''Oriental'' (from Latin ''Oriens'' for 'rising') are also European invention, synonymous with ''Western'' and ''Eastern''. Reid further emphasizes that it explains the Western point of view of placing all the peoples and cultures of Asia into a single classification, almost as if there were a need for setting the distinction between Western and Eastern civilizations on the Eurasian continent. Ogura Kazuo and Tenshin Okakura are two outspoken Japanese figures on the subject.\n\n===Classical antiquity===\nAsia highlighted (in red) within the Roman Empire.\nLatin Asia and Greek Ἀσία appear to be the same word. Roman authors translated Ἀσία as Asia. The Romans named a province Asia, which roughly corresponds with modern-day central-western Turkey. There was an Asia Minor and an Asia Major located in modern-day Iraq. As the earliest evidence of the name is Greek, it is likely circumstantially that Asia came from Ἀσία, but ancient transitions, due to the lack of literary contexts, are difficult to catch in the act. The most likely vehicles were the ancient geographers and historians, such as Herodotus, who were all Greek. Ancient Greek certainly evidences early and rich uses of the name.\n\nThe first continental use of Asia is attributed to Herodotus (about 440 BCE), not because he innovated it, but because his ''Histories'' are the earliest surviving prose to describe it in any detail. He defines it carefully, mentioning the previous geographers whom he had read, but whose works are now missing. By it he means Anatolia and the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three women's names were \"given to a tract which is in reality one\" (Europa, Asia, and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus (i.e. Hesione), but that the Lydians say it was named after Asies, son of Cotys, who passed the name on to a tribe at Sardis. In Greek mythology, \"Asia\" (''Ἀσία'') or \"Asie\" (''Ἀσίη'') was the name of a \"Nymph or Titan goddess of Lydia.\"\n\nIn ancient Greek religion, places were under the care of female divinities, parallel to guardian angels. The poets detailed their doings and generations in allegoric language salted with entertaining stories, which subsequently playwrights transformed into classical Greek drama and became \"Greek mythology.\" For example, Hesiod mentions the daughters of Tethys and Ocean, among whom are a \"holy company\", \"who with the Lord Apollo and the Rivers have youths in their keeping.\" Many of these are geographic: Doris, Rhodea, Europa, Asia. Hesiod explains:\"For there are three-thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean who are dispersed far and wide, and in every place alike serve the earth and the deep waters.\" The Iliad (attributed by the ancient Greeks to Homer) mentions two Phrygians (the tribe that replaced the Luvians in Lydia) in the Trojan War named Asios (an adjective meaning \"Asian\"); and also a marsh or lowland containing a marsh in Lydia as ασιος.\n", "\nThe Mongol Empire, ca. 1300. The gray area is the later Timurid Empire.1890 map of Asia\n\nMap of western, southern, and central Asia in 1885\n\nThe history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, linked by the interior mass of the Central Asian steppes.\n\nThe coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Yellow River shared many similarities. These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.\n\nThe central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into the Middle East, South Asia, and the borders of China, where the Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate and tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated.\n\nThe Silk Road connected many civilizations across Asia\nThe center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.\n\nThe Islamic Caliphate took over the Middle East and Central Asia during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Before the Mongol invasion, Song dynasty reportedly had approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported roughly 60 million people.\n\nThe Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road.\n\nThe Russian Empire began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the mid 16th century onwards. In the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing Dynasty. The Islamic Mughal Empire and the Hindu Maratha Empire controlled much of India in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively.\n", "\n\nHimalayan range is home to some of the planet's highest peaks.\nAsia is the largest continent on Earth. It covers 8.8% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the largest coastline, at . Asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four-fifths of Eurasia. It is located to the east of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma–Manych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. Asia is subdivided into 48 countries, three of them (Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) having part of their land in Europe.\n\nAsia has extremely diverse climates and geographic features. Climates range from arctic and subarctic in Siberia to tropical in southern India and Southeast Asia. It is moist across southeast sections, and dry across much of the interior. Some of the largest daily temperature ranges on Earth occur in western sections of Asia. The monsoon circulation dominates across southern and eastern sections, due to the presence of the Himalayas forcing the formation of a thermal low which draws in moisture during the summer. Southwestern sections of the continent are hot. Siberia is one of the coldest places in the Northern Hemisphere, and can act as a source of arctic air masses for North America. The most active place on Earth for tropical cyclone activity lies northeast of the Philippines and south of Japan. The Gobi Desert is in Mongolia and the Arabian Desert stretches across much of the Middle East. The Yangtze River in China is the longest river in the continent. The Himalayas between Nepal and China is the tallest mountain range in the world. Tropical rainforests stretch across much of southern Asia and coniferous and deciduous forests lie farther north.\n\n\nFile:Paysan soignant ses boeufs (Kerala).jpg|Kerala backwaters\nFile:Naadam rider 2.jpg|Mongolian steppe\nFile:1 li jiang guilin yangshuo 2011.jpg|South China Karst\nFile:Akkem Valley 2011.jpg|Altai Mountains\nFile:Hunza Valley from Eagle Point.jpg|Hunza Valley\n\n\n===Climate change===\n\nA survey carried out in 2010 by global risk analysis farm Maplecroft identified 16 countries that are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Each nation's vulnerability was calculated using 42 socio, economic and environmental indicators, which identified the likely climate change impacts during the next 30 years. The Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were among the 16 countries facing extreme risk from climate change. Some shifts are already occurring. For example, in tropical parts of India with a semi-arid climate, the temperature increased by 0.4 °C between 1901 and 2003.\nA 2013 study by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aimed to find science-based, pro-poor approaches and techniques that would enable Asia's agricultural systems to cope with climate change, while benefitting poor and vulnerable farmers. The study's recommendations ranged from improving the use of climate information in local planning and strengthening weather-based agro-advisory services, to stimulating diversification of rural household incomes and providing incentives to farmers to adopt natural resource conservation measures to enhance forest cover, replenish groundwater and use renewable energy.\n", "\nSingapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading center.\n\n\n\n Rank\n Country\n GDP (PPP, Peak Year)millions of USD\n Peak Year\n\n 1 \n \n 23,194,411 \n 2017\n\n 2 \n \n 9,489,302 \n 2017\n\n 3 \n \n 5,420,228 \n 2017\n\n 4 \n \n 3,938,001 \n 2017\n\n 5 \n \n 3,257,123 \n 2017\n\n 6 \n \n 2,082,079 \n 2017\n\n 7 \n \n 2,029,706 \n 2017\n\n 8 \n \n 1,796,205 \n 2017\n\n 9 \n \n 1,535,491 \n 2017\n\n 10 \n \n 1,226,407 \n 2017\n\n\n\n Rank\n Country\n GDP (nominal, Peak Year)millions of USD \n Peak Year\n\n 1 \n \n 11,795,297 \n 2017\n\n 2 \n \n 6,203,213 \n 2012\n\n 3 \n \n 2,454,458 \n 2017\n\n 4 \n \n 2,230,624 \n 2013\n\n 5 \n \n 1,498,074 \n 2017\n\n 6 \n \n 1,020,515 \n 2017\n\n 7 \n \n 950,328 \n 2013\n\n 8 \n \n 756,350 \n 2014\n\n 9 \n \n 570,039 \n 2011\n\n 10 \n \n 566,757 \n 2017\n\n\nAsia has the second largest nominal GDP of all continents, after Europe, but the largest when measured in purchasing power parity. As of 2011, the largest economies in Asia are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia. Based on Global Office Locations 2011, Asia dominated the office locations with 4 of the top 5 being in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. Around 68 percent of international firms have office in Hong Kong.\n\nIn the late 1990s and early 2000s, the economies of China and India have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate of more than 8%. Other recent very-high-growth nations in Asia include Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Cyprus and the Philippines, and mineral-rich nations such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.\n\nAccording to economic historian Angus Maddison in his book ''The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective'', India had the world's largest economy during 0 BCE and 1000 BCE. China was the largest and most advanced economy on earth for much of recorded history, until the British Empire (excluding India) overtook it in the mid-19th century. For several decades in the late twentieth century Japan was the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in net material product) in 1986 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or APEC). This ended in 2010 when China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy.\n\nIn the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan's GDP was almost as large (current exchange rate method) as that of the rest of Asia combined. In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the USA as the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen/US$. Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore located in the Pacific Rim, known as the Asian tigers, which have now all received developed country status, having the highest GDP per capita in Asia.\n\nMumbai is one of the most populous cities on the continent. The city is an infrastructure and tourism hub, and plays a crucial role in the Economy of India.\nIt is forecasted that India will overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP by 2020. By 2027, according to Goldman Sachs, China will have the largest economy in the world. Several trade blocs exist, with the most developed being the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.\n\nAsia is the largest continent in the world by a considerable margin, and it is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, forests, fish, water, rice, copper and silver. Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Singapore. Japan and South Korea continue to dominate in the area of multinational corporations, but increasingly the PRC and India are making significant inroads. Many companies from Europe, North America, South Korea and Japan have operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour and relatively developed infrastructure.\n\nAccording to Citigroup 9 of 11 Global Growth Generators countries came from Asia driven by population and income growth. They are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Asia has four main financial centers: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Call centers and business process outsourcing (BPOs) are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled, English-speaking workers. The increased use of outsourcing has assisted the rise of India and the China as financial centers. Due to its large and extremely competitive information technology industry, India has become a major hub for outsourcing.\n\nIn 2010, Asia had 3.3 million millionaires (people with net worth over US$1 million excluding their homes), slightly below North America with 3.4 million millionaires. Last year Asia had toppled Europe.\nCitigroup in The Wealth Report 2012 stated that Asian centa-millionaire overtook North America's wealth for the first time as the world's \"economic center of gravity\" continued moving east. At the end of 2011, there were 18,000 Asian people mainly in Southeast Asia, China and Japan who have at least $100 million in disposable assets, while North America with 17,000 people and Western Europe with 14,000 people.\n", "Wat Phra Kaeo in the Grand Palace is among Bangkok's major tourist attractions.\nWith growing Regional Tourism with domination of Chinese visitors, MasterCard has released Global Destination Cities Index 2013 with 10 of 20 are dominated by Asia and Pacific Region Cities and also for the first time a city of a country from Asia (Bangkok) set in the top-ranked with 15.98 international visitors.\n", "\n\nGraph showing population by continent as a percentage of world population (1750 - 2005)\nEast Asia had by far the strongest overall Human Development Index (HDI) improvement of any region in the world, nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years, according to the report's analysis of health, education and income data. China, the second highest achiever in the world in terms of HDI improvement since\n1970, is the only country on the \"Top 10 Movers\" list due to income rather than health or education achievements. Its per capita income increased a stunning 21-fold over the last four decades, also lifting hundreds of millions out of income poverty. Yet it was not among the region's top performers in improving school enrollment and life expectancy.\nNepal, a South Asian country, emerges as one of the world's fastest movers since 1970 mainly due to health and education achievements. Its present life expectancy is 25 years longer than in the 1970s. More than four of every five children of school age in Nepal now attend primary school, compared to just one in five 40 years ago.\n Japan and South Korea ranked highest among the countries grouped on the HDI (number 11 and 12 in the world, which are in the \"very high human development\" category), followed by Hong Kong (21) and Singapore (27). Afghanistan (155) ranked lowest amongst Asian countries out of the 169 countries assessed.\n\n===Languages===\n\nAsia is home to several language families and many language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue, more than 600 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 800 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines. China has many languages and dialects in different provinces.\n\n===Religions===\n\nThe Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem\nPilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca.\nSpring Temple Buddha in Lushan County, Henan, China is the world's tallest statue.\nMany of the world's major religions have their origins in Asia, including the five most practiced in the world (excluding irreligion), which are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion (classified as Confucianism and Taoism), and Buddhism respectively. Asian mythology is complex and diverse. The story of the Great Flood for example, as presented to Christians in the Old Testament in the narrative of Noah, is first found in Mesopotamian mythology, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Likewise, the same story of Great Flood is presented to Muslims in the Holy Quran, again in the narrative of Noah, Who according to Islamic mythology was a Prophet and Built an Ark on Allah's Command to save the True Believers from the Great Flood (Great Calamity). Hindu mythology also tells about an Avatar of the God Vishnu in the form of a fish who warned Manu of a terrible flood. In ancient Chinese mythology, Shan Hai Jing, the Chinese ruler Da Yu, had to spend 10 years to control a deluge which swept out most of ancient China and was aided by the goddess Nüwa who literally fixed the broken sky through which huge rains were pouring.\n\n====Abrahamic====\nThe Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahá'í Faith originated in West Asia.\n\nJudaism, the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, is practiced primarily in Israel, the birthplace and historical homeland of the Hebrew nation which today consists equally of those Israelites who remained in Asia/North Africa and those who returned from diaspora in Europe, North America, and other regions, though sizable communities continue to live abroad. Jews are the predominant ethnic group in Israel (75.6%) numbering at about 6.1 million, although the levels of adherence to Jewish religion are unspecified. Outside of Israel there are small ancient communities of Jewish still live in Turkey (17,400), Azerbaijan (9,100), Iran (8,756), India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000).\n\nChristianity is a widespread religion in Asia with more than 286 million adherents according to Pew Research Center in 2010, and nearly 364 million according to Britannica Book of the Year 2014. Constituting around 12.6% of the total population of Asia. In the Philippines and East Timor, Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion; it was introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, respectively. In Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia and Asian Russia, Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion. Various Christian denominations have adherents in portions of the Middle East, as well as China and India. Saint Thomas Christians in India trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.\n\nIslam, which originated in Saudi Arabia, is the largest and most widely spread religion in Asia with at least 1 billion Muslims constituting around 23.8% of the total population of Asia. With 12.7% of the world Muslim population, the country currently with the largest Muslim population in the world is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey. Mecca, Medina and to a lesser extent Jerusalem are the holiest cities for Islam in all the world. These religious sites attract large numbers of devotees from all over the world, particularly during the Hajj and Umrah seasons. Iran is the largest Shi'a country.\n\nThe Bahá'í Faith originated in Asia, in Iran (Persia), and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, India, and Burma during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh. Since the middle of the 20th century, growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries, because Bahá'í activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities. Lotus Temple is a big Baha'i Temple in India.\n\n====Indian and East Asian religions====\nSwaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according to the Guinness World Records is the ''World's Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple''\nAlmost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings. Indian philosophy includes Hindu philosophy and Buddhist philosophy. They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits, whereas another school of thought from India, Cārvāka, preached the enjoyment of the material world. The religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India, South Asia. In East Asia, particularly in China and Japan, Confucianism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism took shape.\n\nAs of 2012, Hinduism has around 1.1 billion adherents. The faith represents around 25% of Asia's population and is the second largest religion in Asia. However, it is mostly concentrated in South Asia. Over 80% of the populations of both India and Nepal adhere to Hinduism, alongside significant communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bali, Indonesia. Many overseas Indians in countries such as Burma, Singapore and Malaysia also adhere to Hinduism.\n\nBuddhism has a great following in mainland Southeast Asia and East Asia. Buddhism is the religion of the majority of the populations of Cambodia (96%), Thailand (95%), Burma (80%–89%), Japan (36%–96%), Bhutan (75%–84%), Sri Lanka (70%), Laos (60%–67%) and Mongolia (53%–93%). Large Buddhist populations also exist in Singapore (33%–51%), Taiwan (35%–93%), South Korea (23%–50%), Malaysia (19%–21%), Nepal (9%–11%), Vietnam (10%–75%), China (20%–50%), North Korea (1.5%–14%), and small communities in India and Bangladesh. In many Chinese communities, Mahayana Buddhism is easily syncretized with Taoism, thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated. The Communist-governed countries of China, Vietnam and North Korea are officially atheist, thus the number of Buddhists and other religious adherents may be under-reported.\n\nJainism is found mainly in India and in oversea Indian communities such as the United States and Malaysia.\nSikhism is found in Northern India and amongst overseas Indian communities in other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia.\nConfucianism is found predominantly in Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and in overseas Chinese populations.\nTaoism is found mainly in Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. Taoism is easily syncretized with Mahayana Buddhism for many Chinese, thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated.\n\n\nFile:Traditional wedding at Meji-jingu 72570539 f30636e2ef o.jpg|Japanese wedding at the Meiji Shrine\nFile:A day of devotion – Thaipusam in Singapore (4316108409).jpg|Hindu festival celebrated by Singapore's Tamil community\nFile:Cross Procession in Novosibirsk 01.jpg|Orthodox cross procession in Novosibirsk\nFile:Black Nazarene procession.jpg|Catholic procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila\nFile:İstanbul 4258.jpg|Muslim men praying in Turkey\n\n\n", "\n\nUS forces drop Napalm on suspected Viet Cong positions in 1965\nWounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, October 2012\nSome of the events pivotal in the Asia territory related to the relationship with the outside world in the post-Second World War were:\n\n* The Insurgency in Northeast India\n* The Korean War\n* The French-Indochina War\n* The Vietnam War\n* The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation\n* The Sino-Vietnamese War\n* The Bangladesh Liberation War\n* The Yom Kippur War\n* The Iranian Revolution\n* The Soviet war in Afghanistan\n* The Iran–Iraq War\n* The Indonesian occupation of East Timor\n* The Cambodian Killing Fields\n* The Insurgency in Laos\n* The Lebanese Civil War\n* The Sri Lankan Civil War\n* The Dissolution of the Soviet Union\n* The Gulf War\n* The Nepalese Civil War\n* The India-Pakistan Wars\n* The Nagorno-Karabakh War\n* The War in Afghanistan\n* The Iraq War\n* The 2006 Thai coup d'état\n* The Burmese Civil War\n* The Saffron Revolution\n* The Arab Spring\n* The Arab–Israeli conflict\n* The Syrian Civil War\n* The Sino-Indian War\n* The 2014 Thai coup d'état\n* The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant\n", "\n\n\n===Nobel prizes===\nBengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, and became Asia's first Nobel laureate\n\nThe polymath Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, dramatist, and writer from Santiniketan, now in West Bengal, India, became in 1913 the first Asian Nobel laureate. He won his Nobel Prize in Literature for notable impact his prose works and poetic thought had on English, French, and other national literatures of Europe and the Americas. He is also the writer of the national anthems of Bangladesh and India.\n\nOther Asian writers who won Nobel Prize for literature include Yasunari Kawabata (Japan, 1968), Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan, 1994), Gao Xingjian (China, 2000), Orhan Pamuk (Turkey, 2006), and Mo Yan (China, 2012). Some may consider the American writer, Pearl S. Buck, an honorary Asian Nobel laureate, having spent considerable time in China as the daughter of missionaries, and based many of her novels, namely ''The Good Earth'' (1931) and ''The Mother'' (1933), as well as the biographies of her parents of their time in China, ''The Exile'' and ''Fighting Angel'', all of which earned her the Literature prize in 1938.\n\nAlso, Mother Teresa of India and Shirin Ebadi of Iran were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children. Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. Another Nobel Peace Prize winner is Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship in Burma. She is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar) and a noted prisoner of conscience. She is a Buddhist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for \"his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China\" on 8 October 2010. He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China. In 2014, Kailash Satyarthi from India and Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize \"for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education\".\n\nSir C. V. Raman is the first Asian to get a Nobel prize in Sciences. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics \"for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him\".\n\nJapan has won the most Nobel Prizes of any Asian nation with 24 followed by India which has won 13.\n\nAmartya Sen, (born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members.\n\nOther Asian Nobel Prize winners include Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Abdus Salam, Malala yousafzai, Robert Aumann, Menachem Begin, Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Daniel Kahneman, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Ada Yonath, Yasser Arafat, José Ramos-Horta and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Timor Leste, Kim Dae-jung, and 13 Japanese scientists. Most of the said awardees are from Japan and Israel except for Chandrasekhar and Raman (India), Abdus Salam and Malala yousafzai, (Pakistan), Arafat (Palestinian Territories), Kim (South Korea), and Horta and Belo (Timor Leste).\n\nIn 2006, Dr. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of Grameen Bank, a community development bank that lends money to poor people, especially women in Bangladesh. Dr. Yunus received his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University, United States. He is internationally known for the concept of micro credit which allows poor and destitute people with little or no collateral to borrow money. The borrowers typically pay back money within the specified period and the incidence of default is very low.\n\nThe Dalai Lama has received approximately eighty-four awards over his spiritual and political career. On 22 June 2006, he became one of only four people ever to be recognized with Honorary Citizenship by the Governor General of Canada. On 28 May 2005, he received the Christmas Humphreys Award from the Buddhist Society in the United Kingdom. Most notable was the Nobel Peace Prize, presented in Oslo, Norway on 10 December 1989.\n", "\n\nHong Kong was a British colony.\n\n Flag\n Name\n Population()\n Area(km²)\n Capital\n\n \n Afghanistan\n \n 647,500\n Kabul\n\n \n Armenia\n \n 29,743\n Yerevan\n\n \n Azerbaijan\n \n 86,600\n Baku\n\n \n Bahrain\n \n 760\n Manama\n\n \n Bangladesh\n \n 147,570\n Dhaka\n\n \n Bhutan\n \n 38,394\n Thimphu\n\n \n Brunei\n \n 5,765\n Bandar Seri Begawan\n\n \n Cambodia\n \n 181,035\n Phnom Penh\n\n \n China (PRC)\n \n 9,596,961\n Beijing\n\n \n Cyprus\n \n 9,251\n Nicosia\n\n \n East Timor\n \n 14,874\n Dili\n\n \n Egypt\n \n 1,010,408\n Cairo\t\n\n \n Georgia\n \n 69,700\n Tbilisi\n\n \n India\n \n 3,287,263\n New Delhi\n\n \n Indonesia\n \n 1,904,569\n Jakarta\n\n \n Iran\n \n 1,648,195\n Tehran\n\n \n Iraq\n \n 438,317\n Baghdad\n\n \n Israel\n \n 20,770\n Jerusalem (disputed)\n\n \n Japan\n \n 377,915\n Tokyo\n\n \n Jordan\n \n 89,342\n Amman\n\n \n Kazakhstan\n \n 2,724,900\n Astana\n\n \n Kuwait\n \n 17,818\n Kuwait City\n\n \n Kyrgyzstan\n \n 199,951\n Bishkek\n\n \n Laos\n \n 236,800\n Vientiane\n\n \n Lebanon\n \n 10,400\n Beirut\n\n \n Malaysia\n \n 329,847\n Kuala Lumpur\n\n \n Maldives\n \n 298\n Malé\n\n \n Mongolia\n \n 1,564,116\n Ulaanbaatar\n\n \n Myanmar\n \n 676,578\n Naypyidaw\n\n \n Nepal\n \n 147,181\n Kathmandu\n\n \n North Korea\n \n 120,538\n Pyongyang\n\n \n Oman\n \n 309,500\n Muscat\n\n \n Pakistan\n \n 796,095\n Islamabad\n\n \n Palestine\n \n 6,220\n Ramallah(''Jerusalem'') (claimed)\n\n \n Philippines\n \n 300,000\n Manila\n\n \n Qatar\n \n 11,586\n Doha\n\n \n Russia\n \n 17,098,242\n Moscow\n\n \n Saudi Arabia\n \n 2,149,690\n Riyadh\n\n \n Singapore\n \n 697\n Singapore\n\n \n South Korea\n \n 100,210\n Seoul\n\n \n Sri Lanka\n \n 65,610\n Colombo\n\n \n Syria\n \n 185,180\n Damascus\n\n \n Tajikistan\n \n 143,100\n Dushanbe\n\n \n Thailand\n \n 513,120\n Bangkok\n\n \n Turkey\n \n 783,562\n Ankara\n\n \n Turkmenistan\n \n 488,100\n Ashgabat\n\n \n United Arab Emirates\n \n 83,600\n Abu Dhabi\n\n \n Uzbekistan\n \n 447,400\n Tashkent\n\n \n Vietnam\n \n 331,212\n Hanoi\n\n \n Yemen\n \n 527,968\n Sana'a\n\n\nWithin the above-mentioned states are several partially recognized countries with limited to no international recognition. None of them are members of the UN:\n\n Flag\n Name\n Population\n Area(km²)\n Capital\n\n\n \n Abkhazia\n 242,862\n 8,660\n Sukhumi\n\n \n Nagorno-Karabakh\n 146,573\n 11,458\n Stepanakert\n\n \n Northern Cyprus\n 285,356\n 3,355\n Nicosia\n\n \n South Ossetia\n 51,547\n 3,900\n Tskhinvali\n\n \n Taiwan (ROC)\n \n 36,193\n Taipei\n\n", "\n\n'''References to articles:'''\n\n* Subregions of Asia\n'''Special topics:'''\n* Asian Century\n* Asian cuisine\n* Asian furniture\n* Asian Games\n* Asian Monetary Unit\n* Asian people\n* Eastern world\n* Eurasia\n* Far East\n* East Asia\n* Southeast Asia\n* South Asia\n* Central Asia\n* Fauna of Asia\n* Flags of Asia\n* Middle East\n** Eastern Mediterranean\n** Levant\n** Near East\n* Pan-Asianism\n\n'''Lists:'''\n* List of cities in Asia\n* List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population\n* List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia\n\n\n", "\n", "* \n* \n", "* Higham, Charles. ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations''. Facts on File library of world history. New York: Facts On File, 2004.\n* Kamal, Niraj. \"Arise Asia: Respond to White Peril\". New Delhi:Wordsmith,2002, \n* Kapadia, Feroz, and Mandira Mukherjee. ''Encyclopaedia of Asian Culture and Society.'' New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 1999.\n* Levinson, David, and Karen Christensen. ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Definition and boundaries", "Etymology", "History", "Geography and climate", "Economy", "Tourism", "Demographics", "Modern conflicts", "Culture", "Political geography", "See also", "References", "Bibliography", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "In 2006, Dr. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of Grameen Bank, a community development bank that lends money to poor people, especially women in Bangladesh." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Asia''' () is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres.", "It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa.", "Asia covers an area of , about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area.", "The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations.", "Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population, but also dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of billion people, or roughly 60% of the world's population.", "In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.", "The western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them.", "The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas.", "China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE.", "China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism.", "The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination.", "The Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route.", "Asia has exhibited economic dynamism (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen.", "Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism (or Daoism), Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastranism, as well as many other religions.", "Given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography.", "Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems.", "It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot desert in the Middle East, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.", "\n\n\n===Asia-Africa boundary===\nThe boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal.", "This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa.", "===Asia–Europe boundary===\nStatue representing Asia at Palazzo Ferreria, in Valletta, Malta\nThe border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics.", "The Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the Tsardom of Russia, defeating rival claims of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire to the eastern lands, and armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new Russian Empire extending to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721.", "The major geographical theorist of the empire was actually a former Swedish prisoner-of-war, taken at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and assigned to Tobolsk, where he associated with Peter's Siberian official, Vasily Tatishchev, and was allowed freedom to conduct geographical and anthropological studies in preparation for a future book.", "In Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia.", "The Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography.", "Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg.", "The latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary.", "Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century.", "The border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects.", "The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, although it is sometimes placed further north.", "===Asia–Oceania boundary===\nThe border between Asia and the region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago.", "The Maluku Islands in Indonesia are often considered to lie on the border of southeast Asia, with New Guinea, to the east of the islands, being wholly part of Oceania.", "The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several vastly different geographic meanings since their inception.", "The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the colonial possessions of the various empires there (not all European).", "Lewis and Wigen assert, \"The narrowing of 'Southeast Asia' to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process.\"", "===Ongoing definition===\nAfro-Eurasia shown in green\nGeographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the Ancient Greeks, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means.", "Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe.", "It does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents.", "From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system (Europe, Africa, Asia) on the grounds that there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them.", "For example, Sir Barry Cunliffe, the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford, argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely \"the western excrescence of the continent of Asia\".", "Geographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of Eurasia with Europe being a northwestern peninsula of the landmass.", "Asia, Europe and Africa make up a single continuous landmass - Afro-Eurasia (except for the Suez Canal) and share a common continental shelf.", "Almost all of Europe and the better part of Asia sit atop the Eurasian Plate, adjoined on the south by the Arabian and Indian Plate and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the Chersky Range) on the North American Plate.", "Ptolemy's Asia\nThe English name \"Asia\" was originally a concept of Greek civilization.", "The place name \"Asia\" in various forms in a large number of modern languages is of unknown ultimate provenience.", "Its etymology and language of origin are uncertain.", "It appears to be one of the most ancient of recorded names.", "A number of theories have been published.", "English Asia can be traced through the formation of English literature to Latin literature, where it has the same form, Asia.", "Whether all uses and all forms of the name derive also from the Latin of the Roman Empire is much less certain.", "One of the first classical writers to use Asia as a name of the whole continent was Pliny.", "This metonymical change in meaning is common and can be observed in some other geographical names, such as Skandinavia (from Scania).", "===Bronze Age===\nBefore Greek poetry, the Aegean Sea area was in a Greek Dark Age, at the beginning of which syllabic writing was lost and alphabetic writing had not begun.", "Prior to then in the Bronze Age the records of the Assyrian Empire, the Hittite Empire and the various Mycenaean states of Greece mention a region undoubtedly Asia, certainly in Anatolia, including if not identical to Lydia.", "These records are administrative and do not include poetry.", "The Mycenaean states were destroyed about 1200 BCE by unknown agents although one school of thought assigns the Dorian invasion to this time.", "The burning of the palaces baked clay diurnal administrative records written in a Greek syllabic script called Linear B, deciphered by a number of interested parties, most notably by a young World War II cryptographer, Michael Ventris, subsequently assisted by the scholar, John Chadwick.", "A major cache discovered by Carl Blegen at the site of ancient Pylos included hundreds of male and female names formed by different methods.", "Some of these are of women held in servitude (as study of the society implied by the content reveals).", "They were used in trades, such as cloth-making, and usually came with children.", "The epithet, lawiaiai, \"captives,\" associated with some of them identifies their origin.", "Some are ethnic names.", "One in particular, aswiai, identifies \"women of Asia.\"", "Perhaps they were captured in Asia, but some others, Milatiai, appear to have been of Miletus, a Greek colony, which would not have been raided for slaves by Greeks.", "Chadwick suggests that the names record the locations where these foreign women were purchased.", "The name is also in the singular, Aswia, which refers both to the name of a country and to a female of it.", "There is a masculine form, aswios.", "This Aswia appears to have been a remnant of a region known to the Hittites as Assuwa, centered on Lydia, or \"Roman Asia.\"", "This name, ''Assuwa'', has been suggested as the origin for the name of the continent \"Asia\".", "The Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia, defeated by the Hittites under Tudhaliya I around 1400 BCE.", "Alternatively, the etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word ''(w)aṣû(m)'', which means 'to go outside' or 'to ascend', referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East and also likely connected with the Phoenician word ''asa'' meaning east.", "This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for ''Europe'', as being from Akkadian ''erēbu(m)'' 'to enter' or 'set' (of the sun).", "T.R.", "Reid supports this alternative etymology, noting that the ancient Greek name must have derived from ''asu'', meaning 'east' in Assyrian (''ereb'' for ''Europe'' meaning 'west').", "The ideas of ''Occidental'' (form Latin ''Occidens'' 'setting') and ''Oriental'' (from Latin ''Oriens'' for 'rising') are also European invention, synonymous with ''Western'' and ''Eastern''.", "Reid further emphasizes that it explains the Western point of view of placing all the peoples and cultures of Asia into a single classification, almost as if there were a need for setting the distinction between Western and Eastern civilizations on the Eurasian continent.", "Ogura Kazuo and Tenshin Okakura are two outspoken Japanese figures on the subject.", "===Classical antiquity===\nAsia highlighted (in red) within the Roman Empire.", "Latin Asia and Greek Ἀσία appear to be the same word.", "Roman authors translated Ἀσία as Asia.", "The Romans named a province Asia, which roughly corresponds with modern-day central-western Turkey.", "There was an Asia Minor and an Asia Major located in modern-day Iraq.", "As the earliest evidence of the name is Greek, it is likely circumstantially that Asia came from Ἀσία, but ancient transitions, due to the lack of literary contexts, are difficult to catch in the act.", "The most likely vehicles were the ancient geographers and historians, such as Herodotus, who were all Greek.", "Ancient Greek certainly evidences early and rich uses of the name.", "The first continental use of Asia is attributed to Herodotus (about 440 BCE), not because he innovated it, but because his ''Histories'' are the earliest surviving prose to describe it in any detail.", "He defines it carefully, mentioning the previous geographers whom he had read, but whose works are now missing.", "By it he means Anatolia and the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt.", "Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three women's names were \"given to a tract which is in reality one\" (Europa, Asia, and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus (i.e.", "Hesione), but that the Lydians say it was named after Asies, son of Cotys, who passed the name on to a tribe at Sardis.", "In Greek mythology, \"Asia\" (''Ἀσία'') or \"Asie\" (''Ἀσίη'') was the name of a \"Nymph or Titan goddess of Lydia.\"", "In ancient Greek religion, places were under the care of female divinities, parallel to guardian angels.", "The poets detailed their doings and generations in allegoric language salted with entertaining stories, which subsequently playwrights transformed into classical Greek drama and became \"Greek mythology.\"", "For example, Hesiod mentions the daughters of Tethys and Ocean, among whom are a \"holy company\", \"who with the Lord Apollo and the Rivers have youths in their keeping.\"", "Many of these are geographic: Doris, Rhodea, Europa, Asia.", "Hesiod explains:\"For there are three-thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean who are dispersed far and wide, and in every place alike serve the earth and the deep waters.\"", "The Iliad (attributed by the ancient Greeks to Homer) mentions two Phrygians (the tribe that replaced the Luvians in Lydia) in the Trojan War named Asios (an adjective meaning \"Asian\"); and also a marsh or lowland containing a marsh in Lydia as ασιος.", "\nThe Mongol Empire, ca.", "1300.", "The gray area is the later Timurid Empire.1890 map of Asia\n\nMap of western, southern, and central Asia in 1885\n\nThe history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, linked by the interior mass of the Central Asian steppes.", "The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys.", "The civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Yellow River shared many similarities.", "These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel.", "Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area.", "Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.", "The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes.", "The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into the Middle East, South Asia, and the borders of China, where the Tocharians resided.", "The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate and tundra.", "These areas remained very sparsely populated.", "The Silk Road connected many civilizations across Asia\nThe center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts.", "The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty.", "While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe.", "However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.", "The Islamic Caliphate took over the Middle East and Central Asia during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century.", "The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe.", "Before the Mongol invasion, Song dynasty reportedly had approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported roughly 60 million people.", "The Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road.", "The Russian Empire began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century.", "The Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the mid 16th century onwards.", "In the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing Dynasty.", "The Islamic Mughal Empire and the Hindu Maratha Empire controlled much of India in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively.", "\n\nHimalayan range is home to some of the planet's highest peaks.", "Asia is the largest continent on Earth.", "It covers 8.8% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the largest coastline, at .", "Asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four-fifths of Eurasia.", "It is located to the east of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma–Manych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas.", "It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.", "Asia is subdivided into 48 countries, three of them (Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) having part of their land in Europe.", "Asia has extremely diverse climates and geographic features.", "Climates range from arctic and subarctic in Siberia to tropical in southern India and Southeast Asia.", "It is moist across southeast sections, and dry across much of the interior.", "Some of the largest daily temperature ranges on Earth occur in western sections of Asia.", "The monsoon circulation dominates across southern and eastern sections, due to the presence of the Himalayas forcing the formation of a thermal low which draws in moisture during the summer.", "Southwestern sections of the continent are hot.", "Siberia is one of the coldest places in the Northern Hemisphere, and can act as a source of arctic air masses for North America.", "The most active place on Earth for tropical cyclone activity lies northeast of the Philippines and south of Japan.", "The Gobi Desert is in Mongolia and the Arabian Desert stretches across much of the Middle East.", "The Yangtze River in China is the longest river in the continent.", "The Himalayas between Nepal and China is the tallest mountain range in the world.", "Tropical rainforests stretch across much of southern Asia and coniferous and deciduous forests lie farther north.", "File:Paysan soignant ses boeufs (Kerala).jpg|Kerala backwaters\nFile:Naadam rider 2.jpg|Mongolian steppe\nFile:1 li jiang guilin yangshuo 2011.jpg|South China Karst\nFile:Akkem Valley 2011.jpg|Altai Mountains\nFile:Hunza Valley from Eagle Point.jpg|Hunza Valley\n\n\n===Climate change===\n\nA survey carried out in 2010 by global risk analysis farm Maplecroft identified 16 countries that are extremely vulnerable to climate change.", "Each nation's vulnerability was calculated using 42 socio, economic and environmental indicators, which identified the likely climate change impacts during the next 30 years.", "The Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were among the 16 countries facing extreme risk from climate change.", "Some shifts are already occurring.", "For example, in tropical parts of India with a semi-arid climate, the temperature increased by 0.4 °C between 1901 and 2003.", "A 2013 study by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aimed to find science-based, pro-poor approaches and techniques that would enable Asia's agricultural systems to cope with climate change, while benefitting poor and vulnerable farmers.", "The study's recommendations ranged from improving the use of climate information in local planning and strengthening weather-based agro-advisory services, to stimulating diversification of rural household incomes and providing incentives to farmers to adopt natural resource conservation measures to enhance forest cover, replenish groundwater and use renewable energy.", "\nSingapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading center.", "Rank\n Country\n GDP (PPP, Peak Year)millions of USD\n Peak Year\n\n 1 \n \n 23,194,411 \n 2017\n\n 2 \n \n 9,489,302 \n 2017\n\n 3 \n \n 5,420,228 \n 2017\n\n 4 \n \n 3,938,001 \n 2017\n\n 5 \n \n 3,257,123 \n 2017\n\n 6 \n \n 2,082,079 \n 2017\n\n 7 \n \n 2,029,706 \n 2017\n\n 8 \n \n 1,796,205 \n 2017\n\n 9 \n \n 1,535,491 \n 2017\n\n 10 \n \n 1,226,407 \n 2017\n\n\n\n Rank\n Country\n GDP (nominal, Peak Year)millions of USD \n Peak Year\n\n 1 \n \n 11,795,297 \n 2017\n\n 2 \n \n 6,203,213 \n 2012\n\n 3 \n \n 2,454,458 \n 2017\n\n 4 \n \n 2,230,624 \n 2013\n\n 5 \n \n 1,498,074 \n 2017\n\n 6 \n \n 1,020,515 \n 2017\n\n 7 \n \n 950,328 \n 2013\n\n 8 \n \n 756,350 \n 2014\n\n 9 \n \n 570,039 \n 2011\n\n 10 \n \n 566,757 \n 2017\n\n\nAsia has the second largest nominal GDP of all continents, after Europe, but the largest when measured in purchasing power parity.", "As of 2011, the largest economies in Asia are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia.", "Based on Global Office Locations 2011, Asia dominated the office locations with 4 of the top 5 being in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai.", "Around 68 percent of international firms have office in Hong Kong.", "In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the economies of China and India have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate of more than 8%.", "Other recent very-high-growth nations in Asia include Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Cyprus and the Philippines, and mineral-rich nations such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.", "According to economic historian Angus Maddison in his book ''The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective'', India had the world's largest economy during 0 BCE and 1000 BCE.", "China was the largest and most advanced economy on earth for much of recorded history, until the British Empire (excluding India) overtook it in the mid-19th century.", "For several decades in the late twentieth century Japan was the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in net material product) in 1986 and Germany in 1968.", "(NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or APEC).", "This ended in 2010 when China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy.", "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan's GDP was almost as large (current exchange rate method) as that of the rest of Asia combined.", "In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the USA as the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen/US$.", "Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore located in the Pacific Rim, known as the Asian tigers, which have now all received developed country status, having the highest GDP per capita in Asia.", "Mumbai is one of the most populous cities on the continent.", "The city is an infrastructure and tourism hub, and plays a crucial role in the Economy of India.", "It is forecasted that India will overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP by 2020.", "By 2027, according to Goldman Sachs, China will have the largest economy in the world.", "Several trade blocs exist, with the most developed being the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.", "Asia is the largest continent in the world by a considerable margin, and it is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, forests, fish, water, rice, copper and silver.", "Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Singapore.", "Japan and South Korea continue to dominate in the area of multinational corporations, but increasingly the PRC and India are making significant inroads.", "Many companies from Europe, North America, South Korea and Japan have operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour and relatively developed infrastructure.", "According to Citigroup 9 of 11 Global Growth Generators countries came from Asia driven by population and income growth.", "They are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.", "Asia has four main financial centers: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.", "Call centers and business process outsourcing (BPOs) are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled, English-speaking workers.", "The increased use of outsourcing has assisted the rise of India and the China as financial centers.", "Due to its large and extremely competitive information technology industry, India has become a major hub for outsourcing.", "In 2010, Asia had 3.3 million millionaires (people with net worth over US$1 million excluding their homes), slightly below North America with 3.4 million millionaires.", "Last year Asia had toppled Europe.", "Citigroup in The Wealth Report 2012 stated that Asian centa-millionaire overtook North America's wealth for the first time as the world's \"economic center of gravity\" continued moving east.", "At the end of 2011, there were 18,000 Asian people mainly in Southeast Asia, China and Japan who have at least $100 million in disposable assets, while North America with 17,000 people and Western Europe with 14,000 people.", "Wat Phra Kaeo in the Grand Palace is among Bangkok's major tourist attractions.", "With growing Regional Tourism with domination of Chinese visitors, MasterCard has released Global Destination Cities Index 2013 with 10 of 20 are dominated by Asia and Pacific Region Cities and also for the first time a city of a country from Asia (Bangkok) set in the top-ranked with 15.98 international visitors.", "\n\nGraph showing population by continent as a percentage of world population (1750 - 2005)\nEast Asia had by far the strongest overall Human Development Index (HDI) improvement of any region in the world, nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years, according to the report's analysis of health, education and income data.", "China, the second highest achiever in the world in terms of HDI improvement since\n1970, is the only country on the \"Top 10 Movers\" list due to income rather than health or education achievements.", "Its per capita income increased a stunning 21-fold over the last four decades, also lifting hundreds of millions out of income poverty.", "Yet it was not among the region's top performers in improving school enrollment and life expectancy.", "Nepal, a South Asian country, emerges as one of the world's fastest movers since 1970 mainly due to health and education achievements.", "Its present life expectancy is 25 years longer than in the 1970s.", "More than four of every five children of school age in Nepal now attend primary school, compared to just one in five 40 years ago.", "Japan and South Korea ranked highest among the countries grouped on the HDI (number 11 and 12 in the world, which are in the \"very high human development\" category), followed by Hong Kong (21) and Singapore (27).", "Afghanistan (155) ranked lowest amongst Asian countries out of the 169 countries assessed.", "===Languages===\n\nAsia is home to several language families and many language isolates.", "Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken.", "For instance, according to Ethnologue, more than 600 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 800 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines.", "China has many languages and dialects in different provinces.", "===Religions===\n\nThe Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem\nPilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca.", "Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan County, Henan, China is the world's tallest statue.", "Many of the world's major religions have their origins in Asia, including the five most practiced in the world (excluding irreligion), which are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion (classified as Confucianism and Taoism), and Buddhism respectively.", "Asian mythology is complex and diverse.", "The story of the Great Flood for example, as presented to Christians in the Old Testament in the narrative of Noah, is first found in Mesopotamian mythology, in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.", "Likewise, the same story of Great Flood is presented to Muslims in the Holy Quran, again in the narrative of Noah, Who according to Islamic mythology was a Prophet and Built an Ark on Allah's Command to save the True Believers from the Great Flood (Great Calamity).", "Hindu mythology also tells about an Avatar of the God Vishnu in the form of a fish who warned Manu of a terrible flood.", "In ancient Chinese mythology, Shan Hai Jing, the Chinese ruler Da Yu, had to spend 10 years to control a deluge which swept out most of ancient China and was aided by the goddess Nüwa who literally fixed the broken sky through which huge rains were pouring.", "====Abrahamic====\nThe Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahá'í Faith originated in West Asia.", "Judaism, the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, is practiced primarily in Israel, the birthplace and historical homeland of the Hebrew nation which today consists equally of those Israelites who remained in Asia/North Africa and those who returned from diaspora in Europe, North America, and other regions, though sizable communities continue to live abroad.", "Jews are the predominant ethnic group in Israel (75.6%) numbering at about 6.1 million, although the levels of adherence to Jewish religion are unspecified.", "Outside of Israel there are small ancient communities of Jewish still live in Turkey (17,400), Azerbaijan (9,100), Iran (8,756), India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000).", "Christianity is a widespread religion in Asia with more than 286 million adherents according to Pew Research Center in 2010, and nearly 364 million according to Britannica Book of the Year 2014.", "Constituting around 12.6% of the total population of Asia.", "In the Philippines and East Timor, Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion; it was introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, respectively.", "In Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia and Asian Russia, Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion.", "Various Christian denominations have adherents in portions of the Middle East, as well as China and India.", "Saint Thomas Christians in India trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.", "Islam, which originated in Saudi Arabia, is the largest and most widely spread religion in Asia with at least 1 billion Muslims constituting around 23.8% of the total population of Asia.", "With 12.7% of the world Muslim population, the country currently with the largest Muslim population in the world is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey.", "Mecca, Medina and to a lesser extent Jerusalem are the holiest cities for Islam in all the world.", "These religious sites attract large numbers of devotees from all over the world, particularly during the Hajj and Umrah seasons.", "Iran is the largest Shi'a country.", "The Bahá'í Faith originated in Asia, in Iran (Persia), and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, India, and Burma during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh.", "Since the middle of the 20th century, growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries, because Bahá'í activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities.", "Lotus Temple is a big Baha'i Temple in India.", "====Indian and East Asian religions====\nSwaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according to the Guinness World Records is the ''World's Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple''\nAlmost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings.", "Indian philosophy includes Hindu philosophy and Buddhist philosophy.", "They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits, whereas another school of thought from India, Cārvāka, preached the enjoyment of the material world.", "The religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India, South Asia.", "In East Asia, particularly in China and Japan, Confucianism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism took shape.", "As of 2012, Hinduism has around 1.1 billion adherents.", "The faith represents around 25% of Asia's population and is the second largest religion in Asia.", "However, it is mostly concentrated in South Asia.", "Over 80% of the populations of both India and Nepal adhere to Hinduism, alongside significant communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bali, Indonesia.", "Many overseas Indians in countries such as Burma, Singapore and Malaysia also adhere to Hinduism.", "Buddhism has a great following in mainland Southeast Asia and East Asia.", "Buddhism is the religion of the majority of the populations of Cambodia (96%), Thailand (95%), Burma (80%–89%), Japan (36%–96%), Bhutan (75%–84%), Sri Lanka (70%), Laos (60%–67%) and Mongolia (53%–93%).", "Large Buddhist populations also exist in Singapore (33%–51%), Taiwan (35%–93%), South Korea (23%–50%), Malaysia (19%–21%), Nepal (9%–11%), Vietnam (10%–75%), China (20%–50%), North Korea (1.5%–14%), and small communities in India and Bangladesh.", "In many Chinese communities, Mahayana Buddhism is easily syncretized with Taoism, thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated.", "The Communist-governed countries of China, Vietnam and North Korea are officially atheist, thus the number of Buddhists and other religious adherents may be under-reported.", "Jainism is found mainly in India and in oversea Indian communities such as the United States and Malaysia.", "Sikhism is found in Northern India and amongst overseas Indian communities in other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia.", "Confucianism is found predominantly in Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and in overseas Chinese populations.", "Taoism is found mainly in Mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.", "Taoism is easily syncretized with Mahayana Buddhism for many Chinese, thus exact religious statistics is difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated.", "File:Traditional wedding at Meji-jingu 72570539 f30636e2ef o.jpg|Japanese wedding at the Meiji Shrine\nFile:A day of devotion – Thaipusam in Singapore (4316108409).jpg|Hindu festival celebrated by Singapore's Tamil community\nFile:Cross Procession in Novosibirsk 01.jpg|Orthodox cross procession in Novosibirsk\nFile:Black Nazarene procession.jpg|Catholic procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila\nFile:İstanbul 4258.jpg|Muslim men praying in Turkey", "\n\nUS forces drop Napalm on suspected Viet Cong positions in 1965\nWounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War, October 2012\nSome of the events pivotal in the Asia territory related to the relationship with the outside world in the post-Second World War were:\n\n* The Insurgency in Northeast India\n* The Korean War\n* The French-Indochina War\n* The Vietnam War\n* The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation\n* The Sino-Vietnamese War\n* The Bangladesh Liberation War\n* The Yom Kippur War\n* The Iranian Revolution\n* The Soviet war in Afghanistan\n* The Iran–Iraq War\n* The Indonesian occupation of East Timor\n* The Cambodian Killing Fields\n* The Insurgency in Laos\n* The Lebanese Civil War\n* The Sri Lankan Civil War\n* The Dissolution of the Soviet Union\n* The Gulf War\n* The Nepalese Civil War\n* The India-Pakistan Wars\n* The Nagorno-Karabakh War\n* The War in Afghanistan\n* The Iraq War\n* The 2006 Thai coup d'état\n* The Burmese Civil War\n* The Saffron Revolution\n* The Arab Spring\n* The Arab–Israeli conflict\n* The Syrian Civil War\n* The Sino-Indian War\n* The 2014 Thai coup d'état\n* The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant", "\n\n\n===Nobel prizes===\nBengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, and became Asia's first Nobel laureate\n\nThe polymath Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, dramatist, and writer from Santiniketan, now in West Bengal, India, became in 1913 the first Asian Nobel laureate.", "He won his Nobel Prize in Literature for notable impact his prose works and poetic thought had on English, French, and other national literatures of Europe and the Americas.", "He is also the writer of the national anthems of Bangladesh and India.", "Other Asian writers who won Nobel Prize for literature include Yasunari Kawabata (Japan, 1968), Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan, 1994), Gao Xingjian (China, 2000), Orhan Pamuk (Turkey, 2006), and Mo Yan (China, 2012).", "Some may consider the American writer, Pearl S. Buck, an honorary Asian Nobel laureate, having spent considerable time in China as the daughter of missionaries, and based many of her novels, namely ''The Good Earth'' (1931) and ''The Mother'' (1933), as well as the biographies of her parents of their time in China, ''The Exile'' and ''Fighting Angel'', all of which earned her the Literature prize in 1938.", "Also, Mother Teresa of India and Shirin Ebadi of Iran were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children.", "Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.", "Another Nobel Peace Prize winner is Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship in Burma.", "She is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar) and a noted prisoner of conscience.", "She is a Buddhist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.", "Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for \"his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China\" on 8 October 2010.", "He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China.", "In 2014, Kailash Satyarthi from India and Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize \"for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education\".", "Sir C. V. Raman is the first Asian to get a Nobel prize in Sciences.", "He won the Nobel Prize in Physics \"for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him\".", "Japan has won the most Nobel Prizes of any Asian nation with 24 followed by India which has won 13.", "Amartya Sen, (born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members.", "Other Asian Nobel Prize winners include Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Abdus Salam, Malala yousafzai, Robert Aumann, Menachem Begin, Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Daniel Kahneman, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Ada Yonath, Yasser Arafat, José Ramos-Horta and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Timor Leste, Kim Dae-jung, and 13 Japanese scientists.", "Most of the said awardees are from Japan and Israel except for Chandrasekhar and Raman (India), Abdus Salam and Malala yousafzai, (Pakistan), Arafat (Palestinian Territories), Kim (South Korea), and Horta and Belo (Timor Leste).", "Dr. Yunus received his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University, United States.", "He is internationally known for the concept of micro credit which allows poor and destitute people with little or no collateral to borrow money.", "The borrowers typically pay back money within the specified period and the incidence of default is very low.", "The Dalai Lama has received approximately eighty-four awards over his spiritual and political career.", "On 22 June 2006, he became one of only four people ever to be recognized with Honorary Citizenship by the Governor General of Canada.", "On 28 May 2005, he received the Christmas Humphreys Award from the Buddhist Society in the United Kingdom.", "Most notable was the Nobel Peace Prize, presented in Oslo, Norway on 10 December 1989.", "\n\nHong Kong was a British colony.", "Flag\n Name\n Population()\n Area(km²)\n Capital\n\n \n Afghanistan\n \n 647,500\n Kabul\n\n \n Armenia\n \n 29,743\n Yerevan\n\n \n Azerbaijan\n \n 86,600\n Baku\n\n \n Bahrain\n \n 760\n Manama\n\n \n Bangladesh\n \n 147,570\n Dhaka\n\n \n Bhutan\n \n 38,394\n Thimphu\n\n \n Brunei\n \n 5,765\n Bandar Seri Begawan\n\n \n Cambodia\n \n 181,035\n Phnom Penh\n\n \n China (PRC)\n \n 9,596,961\n Beijing\n\n \n Cyprus\n \n 9,251\n Nicosia\n\n \n East Timor\n \n 14,874\n Dili\n\n \n Egypt\n \n 1,010,408\n Cairo\t\n\n \n Georgia\n \n 69,700\n Tbilisi\n\n \n India\n \n 3,287,263\n New Delhi\n\n \n Indonesia\n \n 1,904,569\n Jakarta\n\n \n Iran\n \n 1,648,195\n Tehran\n\n \n Iraq\n \n 438,317\n Baghdad\n\n \n Israel\n \n 20,770\n Jerusalem (disputed)\n\n \n Japan\n \n 377,915\n Tokyo\n\n \n Jordan\n \n 89,342\n Amman\n\n \n Kazakhstan\n \n 2,724,900\n Astana\n\n \n Kuwait\n \n 17,818\n Kuwait City\n\n \n Kyrgyzstan\n \n 199,951\n Bishkek\n\n \n Laos\n \n 236,800\n Vientiane\n\n \n Lebanon\n \n 10,400\n Beirut\n\n \n Malaysia\n \n 329,847\n Kuala Lumpur\n\n \n Maldives\n \n 298\n Malé\n\n \n Mongolia\n \n 1,564,116\n Ulaanbaatar\n\n \n Myanmar\n \n 676,578\n Naypyidaw\n\n \n Nepal\n \n 147,181\n Kathmandu\n\n \n North Korea\n \n 120,538\n Pyongyang\n\n \n Oman\n \n 309,500\n Muscat\n\n \n Pakistan\n \n 796,095\n Islamabad\n\n \n Palestine\n \n 6,220\n Ramallah(''Jerusalem'') (claimed)\n\n \n Philippines\n \n 300,000\n Manila\n\n \n Qatar\n \n 11,586\n Doha\n\n \n Russia\n \n 17,098,242\n Moscow\n\n \n Saudi Arabia\n \n 2,149,690\n Riyadh\n\n \n Singapore\n \n 697\n Singapore\n\n \n South Korea\n \n 100,210\n Seoul\n\n \n Sri Lanka\n \n 65,610\n Colombo\n\n \n Syria\n \n 185,180\n Damascus\n\n \n Tajikistan\n \n 143,100\n Dushanbe\n\n \n Thailand\n \n 513,120\n Bangkok\n\n \n Turkey\n \n 783,562\n Ankara\n\n \n Turkmenistan\n \n 488,100\n Ashgabat\n\n \n United Arab Emirates\n \n 83,600\n Abu Dhabi\n\n \n Uzbekistan\n \n 447,400\n Tashkent\n\n \n Vietnam\n \n 331,212\n Hanoi\n\n \n Yemen\n \n 527,968\n Sana'a\n\n\nWithin the above-mentioned states are several partially recognized countries with limited to no international recognition.", "None of them are members of the UN:\n\n Flag\n Name\n Population\n Area(km²)\n Capital\n\n\n \n Abkhazia\n 242,862\n 8,660\n Sukhumi\n\n \n Nagorno-Karabakh\n 146,573\n 11,458\n Stepanakert\n\n \n Northern Cyprus\n 285,356\n 3,355\n Nicosia\n\n \n South Ossetia\n 51,547\n 3,900\n Tskhinvali\n\n \n Taiwan (ROC)\n \n 36,193\n Taipei", "\n\n'''References to articles:'''\n\n* Subregions of Asia\n'''Special topics:'''\n* Asian Century\n* Asian cuisine\n* Asian furniture\n* Asian Games\n* Asian Monetary Unit\n* Asian people\n* Eastern world\n* Eurasia\n* Far East\n* East Asia\n* Southeast Asia\n* South Asia\n* Central Asia\n* Fauna of Asia\n* Flags of Asia\n* Middle East\n** Eastern Mediterranean\n** Levant\n** Near East\n* Pan-Asianism\n\n'''Lists:'''\n* List of cities in Asia\n* List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population\n* List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia", "* \n*", "* Higham, Charles.", "''Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations''.", "Facts on File library of world history.", "New York: Facts On File, 2004.", "* Kamal, Niraj.", "\"Arise Asia: Respond to White Peril\".", "New Delhi:Wordsmith,2002, \n* Kapadia, Feroz, and Mandira Mukherjee.", "''Encyclopaedia of Asian Culture and Society.''", "New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 1999.", "* Levinson, David, and Karen Christensen.", "''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia''.", "New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.", "\n* \n* \n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Aruba''' ( ; ) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea, located about west of the main part of the Lesser Antilles and north of the coast of Venezuela. It measures long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.\n\nAruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten; the citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but, for census purposes, is divided into eight regions. Its capital is Oranjestad.\n\nUnlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of and is densely populated, with a total of 102,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside Hurricane Alley.\n", "\nOranjestad\n\nAruba's first inhabitants are thought to have been Caquetío Amerindians from the Arawak tribe, who migrated there from Venezuela to escape attacks by the Caribs. Fragments of the earliest known Indian settlements date back to 1000 AD. As sea currents made canoe travel to other Caribbean islands difficult, Caquetio culture remained more closely associated with that of mainland South America.\n\nEuropeans first learned of Aruba following the explorations for Spain by Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda in the summer of 1499. Both described Aruba as an \"island of giants\", remarking on the comparatively large stature of the native Caquetíos compared to Europeans. Gold was not discovered on Aruba for another 300 years. Vespucci returned to Spain with stocks of cotton and brazilwood from the island and described houses built into the ocean. Vespucci and Ojeda's tales spurred interest in Aruba, and Spaniards soon colonized the island.\n\nBecause it had low rainfall, Aruba was not considered profitable for the plantation system and the economics of the slave trade.\n\nAruba was colonized by Spain for over a century. ''Simas'', the ''Cacique'', or chief, in Aruba, welcomed the first Catholic priests in Aruba, who gave him a wooden cross as a gift. In 1508, the Spanish Crown appointed Alonso de Ojeda as its first Governor of Aruba, as part of ''Nueva Andalucía''. Arawaks spoke the \"broken Spanish\" which their ancestors had learned on Hispaniola.\n\nAnother governor appointed by Spain was Juan Martínez de Ampiés. A ''cédula real'' decreed in November 1525 gave Ampiés, factor of Española, the right to repopulate Aruba. In 1528, Ampiés was replaced by a representative of the House of Welser of Augsburg.\n\nThe Dutch statutes have applied to Aruba since 1629. The Netherlands acquired Aruba in 1636. Since 1636, Aruba has been under Dutch administration, initially governed by Peter Stuyvesant, later appointed to New Amsterdam (New York City). Stuyvesant was on a special mission in Aruba in November and December 1642. The island was included under the Dutch West India Company (W.I.C.) administration, as \"New Netherland and Curaçao\", from 1648 to 1664. In 1667 the Dutch administration appointed an Irishman as \"Commandeur\" in Aruba.\n\nThe Dutch took control 135 years after the Spanish, leaving the Arawaks to farm and graze livestock, and used the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean.\n\nDuring the Napoleonic wars, the British Empire took control over the island, between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816, before handing it back to the Dutch.\n\nDuring World War II with the occupation of the Netherlands in 1940 the oil facilities in Aruba came under the administration of the Dutch government-in-exile in London, and Aruba continued to supply oil to the British and their allies.\n\n=== Move towards independence ===\n\nIn August 1947, Aruba presented its first ''Staatsreglement'' (constitution), for Aruba's ''status aparte'' as an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. By 1954, the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, providing a framework for relations between Aruba and the rest of the Kingdom.\n\nIn 1972, at a conference in Suriname, Betico Croes (MEP), a politician from Aruba, proposed a ''sui-generis'' Dutch Commonwealth of four states: Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, each to have its own nationality. C. Yarzagaray, a parliamentary member representing the AVP political party, proposed a referendum so that the people of Aruba could choose whether they wanted total independence or ''Status Aparte'' as a full autonomous state under the Crown.\n\nCroes worked in Aruba to inform and prepare the people of Aruba for independence. In 1976, he appointed a committee that chose the national flag and anthem, introducing them as symbols of Aruba's sovereignty and independence. He set 1981 as a target date for independence. In March 1977, the first Referendum for Self Determination was held with the support of the United Nations; 82% of the participants voted for independence.\n\nThe Island Government of Aruba assigned the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague to prepare a study for independence; it was titled ''Aruba en Onafhankelijkheid, achtergronden, modaliteiten en mogelijkheden; een rapport in eerste aanleg'' (Aruba and independence, backgrounds, modalities and opportunities; a preliminary report) (1978). At the conference in The Hague in 1981, Aruba's independence was set for the year 1991.\n\nIn March 1983, Aruba reached an official agreement within the Kingdom for its independence, to be developed in a series of steps as the Crown granted increasing autonomy. In August 1985 Aruba drafted a constitution that was unanimously approved. On 1 January 1986, after elections were held for its first parliament, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles; it officially became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Full independence was projected in 1996.\n\nAfter his death in 1986, Croes was proclaimed ''Libertador di Aruba''. At a convention in The Hague in 1990, at the request of Aruba's Prime Minister, the governments of Aruba, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles postponed indefinitely its transition to full independence. The article scheduling Aruba's complete independence was rescinded in 1995, although the process could be revived after another referendum.\n", "\nA map of Aruba\nMap of Aruba from the ''Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië 1914-1917.''\nNatural bridge in Aruba (collapsed 2 September 2005)\n\nAruba is a generally flat, riverless island in the Leeward Antilles island arc of the Lesser Antilles in the southern part of the Caribbean. It has white sandy beaches on the western and southern coasts of the island, relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents. This is where most tourist development has occurred. The northern and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are considerably more battered by the sea and have been left largely untouched by humans.\n\nThe hinterland of the island features some rolling hills, the best known of which are called Hooiberg at and Mount Jamanota, the highest on the island at above sea level. Oranjestad, the capital, is located at .\n\nTo the east of Aruba are Bonaire and Curaçao, two island territories which once formed the southwest part of the Netherlands Antilles. This group of islands is sometimes called the ABC islands. They are located on the South American continental shelf and therefore geographically listed as part of South America.\n\nThe Natural Bridge was a large, naturally formed limestone bridge on the island's north shore. It was a popular tourist destination until its collapse in 2005.\n\n=== Cities and towns ===\n\nThe island, with a population of just over 100,000 inhabitants, does not have major cities. However, most of the island's population resides in or surrounding the two major city-like districts of Oranjestad (Capital) and San Nicolaas. Furthermore, the island is divided into six districts, which are:\n* Noord\n* Oranjestad (33,000 in 2006), divided in two districts\n* Paradera\n* San Nicolaas, divided in two districts\n* Santa Cruz\n* Savaneta\n\n=== Fauna ===\n\n\nThe island of Aruba, being isolated from the main land of South America, has fostered the evolution of multiple endemic animals. The island provides a habitat for the endemic Aruban Whiptail and Aruba Rattlesnake, as well as endemic subspecies of Burrowing Owl and Brown-throated Parakeet.\n\nThe rattlesnake and the owl are printed on the Aruban currency.\n\n=== Flora ===\nYatu cactus growing in Aruba\n\n\nThe flora of Aruba differs from the typical tropical island vegetation. Xeric scrublands are common, with various forms of cacti, thorny shrubs and evergreens. The most known plant is the Aloe vera, which has a place on the Coat of Arms of Aruba.\n\n=== Climate ===\n\nIn the Köppen climate classification, Aruba has a tropical semi-arid climate. Mean monthly temperature in Oranjestad varies little from to , moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean, which comes from north-east. Yearly precipitation barely exceeds in Oranjestad.\n\n\n", "\nFAO in 2005; number of inhabitants given in thousands\n\nThe population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities.\n\nThe Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands. Although no full-blooded Aboriginals remain, the features of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic Arawak heritage. Most of the population is descended from Caquetio Indians and Dutch and to a lesser extent of Africans, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Sephardic Jewish ancestors.\n\nRecently, there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring American and Caribbean nations, possibly attracted by the higher paid jobs. In 2007, new immigration laws were introduced to help control the growth of the population by restricting foreign workers to a maximum of three years residency on the island.\n\nDemographically, Aruba has felt the impact of its proximity to Venezuela. Many of Aruba's families are descended from Venezuelan immigrants. There is a seasonal increase of Venezuelans living in second homes.\n\n=== Language ===\n\n\nThe official languages are Dutch and Papiamento. Papiamento is the predominant language on Aruba. It is a creole language, spoken on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, that incorporates words from Portuguese, West African languages, Dutch, and Spanish. English is known by many; its usage has grown due to tourism. Other common languages spoken, based on the size of their community, are Portuguese, Chinese, German, Spanish, and French.\n\nIn recent years, the government of Aruba has shown an increased interest in acknowledging the cultural and historical importance of its native language. Although spoken Papiamento is fairly similar among the several Papiamento-speaking islands, there is a big difference in written Papiamento. The orthography differs per island and even per group of people. Some are more oriented towards Portuguese and use the equivalent spelling (e.g. \"y\" instead of \"j\"), where others are more oriented towards Dutch.\n\nThe book ''The Buccaneers of America'', first published in 1678, states through eyewitness account that the natives on Aruba spoke Spanish already. The oldest government official statement written in Papiamento dates from 1803. Around 12.6% of the population today speaks Spanish.\n\nAruba has four newspapers published in Papiamento: ''Diario'', ''Bon Dia'', ''Solo di Pueblo'' and ''Awe Mainta''; and three in English: ''Aruba Daily'', ''Aruba Today'' and ''The News''. ''Amigoe'' is a newspaper published in Dutch. Aruba also has 18 radio stations (two AM and 16 FM) and two local television stations (Telearuba, and Channel 22).\n\n=== Religion ===\n\nThree-quarters of the population is Roman Catholic.\n\n=== Regions ===\nFor census purposes, Aruba is divided into eight regions, which have no administrative functions:\n\n\n\n Name !! Area (km²) !! Population 1991 Census !! Population 2000 Census !! Population 2010 Census\n\n Noord / Tanki Leendert \n \n \n \n \n\n Oranjestad West \n \n \n \n \n\n Oranjestad Oost \n \n \n \n \n\n Paradera \n \n \n \n \n\n San Nicolas Noord \n \n \n \n \n\n San Nicolas Zuid \n \n \n \n \n\n Santa Cruz \n \n \n \n \n\n Savaneta \n \n \n \n \n\n Total Aruba \n \n \n \n \n\n", "\nMap of the European Union in the world with overseas countries and territories and outermost regions\nKing Willem-Alexander is the head of state of Aruba\nOranjestad\n\nAs a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba's politics take place within a framework of a 21-member Parliament and an eight-member Cabinet. The governor of Aruba is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten (or \"Parlamento\") for four-year terms. The Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve a four-year term.\n\nTogether with the Netherlands, the countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As they share the same Dutch citizenship, these four countries still also share the Dutch passport as the Kingdom of the Netherlands passport. As Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have small populations, the three countries had to limit immigration. To protect their population, they have the right to control the admission and expulsion of people from the Netherlands.\n\nAruba is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Aruba can and does receive support from the European Development Fund.\n\n=== Politics ===\nThe Aruban legal system is based on the Dutch model. In Aruba, legal jurisdiction lies with the ''Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg'' (Court of First Instance) on Aruba, the ''Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie van Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten en van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba'' (Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) and the ''Hoge Raad der Nederlanden'' (Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands). The ''Korps Politie Aruba'' (Aruba Police Force) is the island's law enforcement agency and operates district precincts in Oranjestad, Noord, San Nicolaas, and Santa Cruz, where it is headquartered.\n\nDeficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well. By 2006, the government's debt had grown to 1.883 billion Aruban florins. Aruba received some development aid from the Dutch government each year through 2009, as part of a deal (signed as \"Aruba's Financial Independence\") in which the Netherlands gradually reduced its financial help to the island each successive year.\n\nIn 2006, the Aruban government changed several tax laws to reduce the deficit. Direct taxes have been converted to indirect taxes as proposed by the IMF. A 3% tax has been introduced on sales and services, while income taxes have been lowered and revenue taxes for business reduced by 20%. The government compensated workers with 3.1% for the effect that the B.B.O. would have on the inflation for 2007.\n", "Aruba's educational system is patterned after the Dutch system of education.\n\nThe Government of Aruba finances the public national education system.\n\nThere are private schools, including the International School of Aruba and Schakel College.\n\nThere are two medical schools, Aureus University School of Medicine and Xavier University School of Medicine, as well as its own national university, the University of Aruba.\n", "\n\nAruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region. There is a low unemployment rate.\n\nThe GDP per capita for Aruba was estimated to be $28,924 in 2014; among the highest in the Caribbean and the Americas. Its main trading partners are Colombia, the United States, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.\n\nA graphical breakdown of Aruba's economy by exports\n\nThe island's economy has been dominated by three main industries: tourism, aloe export, and petroleum refining (The Lago Oil and Transport Company and the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij Shell Co.). Before the \"Status Aparte\" (a separate completely autonomous country/state within the Kingdom), oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba despite expansion of the tourism sector. Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal. The size of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors also remains minimal.\n\nThe official exchange rate of the Aruban florin is pegged to the US dollar at 1.79 florins to 1 USD. Because of this fact, and due to a large number of American tourists, many businesses operate using US dollars instead of florins, especially in the hotel and resort districts.\n\n=== Tourism ===\nAbout three quarters of the Aruban gross national product is earned through tourism or related activities. Most tourists are from the United States (predominantly from the north-east US), the Netherlands and South America, mainly Venezuela and Colombia.\n\nAs part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, citizens of the Netherlands can travel with relative ease to Aruba and other islands of the Dutch Antilles. No visas are needed for Dutch citizens, only a passport, and although the currency used in Aruba is different (the Netherlands uses the Euro), money can be easily exchanged at a local bank for Aruban Florins.\n\nFor the facilitation of the passengers whose destination is the United States, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) full pre-clearance facility in Aruba has been in effect since 1 February 2001 with the expansion in the Queen Beatrix Airport. United States and Aruba have had the agreement since 1986. It began as a USDA and Customs post. Since 2008, Aruba has been the only island to have this service for private flights.\n\n=== Military ===\nIn 1999, the U.S. Department of Defense established a Forward Operating Location (FOL) at the airport.\n", "\n\nOrnate buildings in Oranjestad, Aruba\n\nOn 18 March, Aruba celebrates its National Day. In 1976, Aruba presented its National Anthem (Aruba Dushi Tera) and Flag.\n\nAruba has a varied culture. According to the ''Bureau Burgelijke Stand en Bevolkingsregister'' (BBSB), in 2005 there were ninety-two different nationalities living on the island. Dutch influence can still be seen, as in the celebration of \"Sinterklaas\" on 5 and 6 December and other national holidays like 27 April, when in Aruba and the rest of the Kingdom of the Netherlands the King's birthday or \"Dia di Rey\" (Koningsdag) is celebrated.\nIguanas on a rooftop in Aruba\n\nChristmas and New Year's Eve are celebrated with the typical music and songs for gaitas for Christmas and the Dande for New Year, and ''ayaca'', ''ponche crema'', ham, and other typical foods and drinks. Millions of florins worth of fireworks are burnt at midnight on New Year's Eve. On 25 January, Betico Croes' birthday is celebrated. Dia di San Juan is celebrated on 24 June.\n\nBesides Christmas, the religious holy days of the Feast of the Ascension and Good Friday are holidays on the island.\n\nThe holiday of Carnaval is also an important one in Aruba, as it is in many Caribbean and Latin American countries, and, like Mardi Gras, that goes on for weeks. Its celebration in Aruba started, around the 1950s, influenced by the inhabitants from Venezuela and the nearby islands (Curaçao, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Maarten and Anguilla) who came to work for the Oil refinery. Over the years the Carnival Celebration has changed and now starts from the beginning of January till the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with a large parade on the last Sunday of the festivities (Sunday before Ash Wednesday).\n\nTourism from the United States has recently increased the visibility of American culture on the island, with such celebrations as Halloween and Thanksgiving Day in November.\n", "Palm Beach\n\nAruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport is located near Oranjestad. According to the Aruba Airport Authority, almost 1.7 million travelers used the airport in 2005, 61% of whom were Americans.\n\nAruba has two ports, Barcadera and Playa, which are located in Oranjestad and Barcadera. The Port of Playa services all the cruise-ship lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines, NCL, Holland America Line, Disney Cruise Line and others. Nearly one million tourists enter this port per year. Aruba Ports Authority, owned and operated by the Aruban government, runs these seaports.\n\nArubus is a government-owned bus company. Its buses operate from 3:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m., 365 days a year. Small private vans also provide transportation services in certain areas such Hotel Area, San Nicolaas, Santa Cruz and Noord.\n\nA street car service runs on rails on the Mainstreet.\n\n=== Utilities ===\nWater-en Energiebedrijf Aruba, N.V. (W.E.B.) produces potable industrial water at the world's third largest desalination plant. Average daily consumption in Aruba is about .\n\n=== Communications ===\nThere are three telecommunications providers: Setar, a government-based company, Mio Wireless and Digicel, both of which are privately owned. Setar is the provider of services such as internet, video conferencing, GSM wireless technology and land lines. Digicel is Setar's competitor in wireless technology using the GSM platform, and Mio Wireless provides wireless technology and services using CDMA.\n", "Alto Vista Chapel\n\n\n", "*Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada\n*Xander Bogaerts, MLB shortstop of the Boston Red Sox\n*Rachel Brathen, yoga teacher \n*Betico Croes, political activist\n*Henny Eman, first prime minister of Aruba\n*Bobby Farrell, musician\n*Dave Benton, Aruban-Estonian musician\n*Jossy Mansur, editor of the Papiamento language newspaper, ''Diario''\n*Nelson Oduber, prime minister\n*Sidney Ponson, MLB pitcher\n*Fredis Refunjol, governor\n*Julia Renfro, newspaper editor and photographer\n", "\n* Bibliography of Aruba\n* Central Bank of Aruba\n* Index of Aruba-related articles\n* List of monuments of Aruba\n* Military of Aruba\n* Outline of Aruba\n* \n", "\n", "\n\n* Aruba.com – official tourism site of Aruba\n* \n* \n* ''Aruba Esso News'' from the National Library of Aruba, openly and freely available in the Digital Library of the Caribbean\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Geography ", " Demographics ", " Government ", " Education ", " Economy ", " Culture ", " Infrastructure ", " Places of interest ", "Notable people", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "No visas are needed for Dutch citizens, only a passport, and although the currency used in Aruba is different (the Netherlands uses the Euro), money can be easily exchanged at a local bank for Aruban Florins.", "\n* Bibliography of Aruba\n* Central Bank of Aruba\n* Index of Aruba-related articles\n* List of monuments of Aruba\n* Military of Aruba\n* Outline of Aruba\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Aruba''' ( ; ) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea, located about west of the main part of the Lesser Antilles and north of the coast of Venezuela.", "It measures long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and across at its widest point.", "Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands.", "Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.", "Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten; the citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals.", "Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but, for census purposes, is divided into eight regions.", "Its capital is Oranjestad.", "Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape.", "This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather.", "It has a land area of and is densely populated, with a total of 102,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census.", "It lies outside Hurricane Alley.", "\nOranjestad\n\nAruba's first inhabitants are thought to have been Caquetío Amerindians from the Arawak tribe, who migrated there from Venezuela to escape attacks by the Caribs.", "Fragments of the earliest known Indian settlements date back to 1000 AD.", "As sea currents made canoe travel to other Caribbean islands difficult, Caquetio culture remained more closely associated with that of mainland South America.", "Europeans first learned of Aruba following the explorations for Spain by Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda in the summer of 1499.", "Both described Aruba as an \"island of giants\", remarking on the comparatively large stature of the native Caquetíos compared to Europeans.", "Gold was not discovered on Aruba for another 300 years.", "Vespucci returned to Spain with stocks of cotton and brazilwood from the island and described houses built into the ocean.", "Vespucci and Ojeda's tales spurred interest in Aruba, and Spaniards soon colonized the island.", "Because it had low rainfall, Aruba was not considered profitable for the plantation system and the economics of the slave trade.", "Aruba was colonized by Spain for over a century.", "''Simas'', the ''Cacique'', or chief, in Aruba, welcomed the first Catholic priests in Aruba, who gave him a wooden cross as a gift.", "In 1508, the Spanish Crown appointed Alonso de Ojeda as its first Governor of Aruba, as part of ''Nueva Andalucía''.", "Arawaks spoke the \"broken Spanish\" which their ancestors had learned on Hispaniola.", "Another governor appointed by Spain was Juan Martínez de Ampiés.", "A ''cédula real'' decreed in November 1525 gave Ampiés, factor of Española, the right to repopulate Aruba.", "In 1528, Ampiés was replaced by a representative of the House of Welser of Augsburg.", "The Dutch statutes have applied to Aruba since 1629.", "The Netherlands acquired Aruba in 1636.", "Since 1636, Aruba has been under Dutch administration, initially governed by Peter Stuyvesant, later appointed to New Amsterdam (New York City).", "Stuyvesant was on a special mission in Aruba in November and December 1642.", "The island was included under the Dutch West India Company (W.I.C.)", "administration, as \"New Netherland and Curaçao\", from 1648 to 1664.", "In 1667 the Dutch administration appointed an Irishman as \"Commandeur\" in Aruba.", "The Dutch took control 135 years after the Spanish, leaving the Arawaks to farm and graze livestock, and used the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean.", "During the Napoleonic wars, the British Empire took control over the island, between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816, before handing it back to the Dutch.", "During World War II with the occupation of the Netherlands in 1940 the oil facilities in Aruba came under the administration of the Dutch government-in-exile in London, and Aruba continued to supply oil to the British and their allies.", "=== Move towards independence ===\n\nIn August 1947, Aruba presented its first ''Staatsreglement'' (constitution), for Aruba's ''status aparte'' as an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.", "By 1954, the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, providing a framework for relations between Aruba and the rest of the Kingdom.", "In 1972, at a conference in Suriname, Betico Croes (MEP), a politician from Aruba, proposed a ''sui-generis'' Dutch Commonwealth of four states: Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, each to have its own nationality.", "C. Yarzagaray, a parliamentary member representing the AVP political party, proposed a referendum so that the people of Aruba could choose whether they wanted total independence or ''Status Aparte'' as a full autonomous state under the Crown.", "Croes worked in Aruba to inform and prepare the people of Aruba for independence.", "In 1976, he appointed a committee that chose the national flag and anthem, introducing them as symbols of Aruba's sovereignty and independence.", "He set 1981 as a target date for independence.", "In March 1977, the first Referendum for Self Determination was held with the support of the United Nations; 82% of the participants voted for independence.", "The Island Government of Aruba assigned the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague to prepare a study for independence; it was titled ''Aruba en Onafhankelijkheid, achtergronden, modaliteiten en mogelijkheden; een rapport in eerste aanleg'' (Aruba and independence, backgrounds, modalities and opportunities; a preliminary report) (1978).", "At the conference in The Hague in 1981, Aruba's independence was set for the year 1991.", "In March 1983, Aruba reached an official agreement within the Kingdom for its independence, to be developed in a series of steps as the Crown granted increasing autonomy.", "In August 1985 Aruba drafted a constitution that was unanimously approved.", "On 1 January 1986, after elections were held for its first parliament, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles; it officially became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.", "Full independence was projected in 1996.", "After his death in 1986, Croes was proclaimed ''Libertador di Aruba''.", "At a convention in The Hague in 1990, at the request of Aruba's Prime Minister, the governments of Aruba, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles postponed indefinitely its transition to full independence.", "The article scheduling Aruba's complete independence was rescinded in 1995, although the process could be revived after another referendum.", "\nA map of Aruba\nMap of Aruba from the ''Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië 1914-1917.''", "Natural bridge in Aruba (collapsed 2 September 2005)\n\nAruba is a generally flat, riverless island in the Leeward Antilles island arc of the Lesser Antilles in the southern part of the Caribbean.", "It has white sandy beaches on the western and southern coasts of the island, relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents.", "This is where most tourist development has occurred.", "The northern and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are considerably more battered by the sea and have been left largely untouched by humans.", "The hinterland of the island features some rolling hills, the best known of which are called Hooiberg at and Mount Jamanota, the highest on the island at above sea level.", "Oranjestad, the capital, is located at .", "To the east of Aruba are Bonaire and Curaçao, two island territories which once formed the southwest part of the Netherlands Antilles.", "This group of islands is sometimes called the ABC islands.", "They are located on the South American continental shelf and therefore geographically listed as part of South America.", "The Natural Bridge was a large, naturally formed limestone bridge on the island's north shore.", "It was a popular tourist destination until its collapse in 2005.", "=== Cities and towns ===\n\nThe island, with a population of just over 100,000 inhabitants, does not have major cities.", "However, most of the island's population resides in or surrounding the two major city-like districts of Oranjestad (Capital) and San Nicolaas.", "Furthermore, the island is divided into six districts, which are:\n* Noord\n* Oranjestad (33,000 in 2006), divided in two districts\n* Paradera\n* San Nicolaas, divided in two districts\n* Santa Cruz\n* Savaneta\n\n=== Fauna ===\n\n\nThe island of Aruba, being isolated from the main land of South America, has fostered the evolution of multiple endemic animals.", "The island provides a habitat for the endemic Aruban Whiptail and Aruba Rattlesnake, as well as endemic subspecies of Burrowing Owl and Brown-throated Parakeet.", "The rattlesnake and the owl are printed on the Aruban currency.", "=== Flora ===\nYatu cactus growing in Aruba\n\n\nThe flora of Aruba differs from the typical tropical island vegetation.", "Xeric scrublands are common, with various forms of cacti, thorny shrubs and evergreens.", "The most known plant is the Aloe vera, which has a place on the Coat of Arms of Aruba.", "=== Climate ===\n\nIn the Köppen climate classification, Aruba has a tropical semi-arid climate.", "Mean monthly temperature in Oranjestad varies little from to , moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean, which comes from north-east.", "Yearly precipitation barely exceeds in Oranjestad.", "\nFAO in 2005; number of inhabitants given in thousands\n\nThe population is estimated to be 75% mixed European/Amerindian/African, 15% Black and 10% other ethnicities.", "The Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands.", "Although no full-blooded Aboriginals remain, the features of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic Arawak heritage.", "Most of the population is descended from Caquetio Indians and Dutch and to a lesser extent of Africans, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Sephardic Jewish ancestors.", "Recently, there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring American and Caribbean nations, possibly attracted by the higher paid jobs.", "In 2007, new immigration laws were introduced to help control the growth of the population by restricting foreign workers to a maximum of three years residency on the island.", "Demographically, Aruba has felt the impact of its proximity to Venezuela.", "Many of Aruba's families are descended from Venezuelan immigrants.", "There is a seasonal increase of Venezuelans living in second homes.", "=== Language ===\n\n\nThe official languages are Dutch and Papiamento.", "Papiamento is the predominant language on Aruba.", "It is a creole language, spoken on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, that incorporates words from Portuguese, West African languages, Dutch, and Spanish.", "English is known by many; its usage has grown due to tourism.", "Other common languages spoken, based on the size of their community, are Portuguese, Chinese, German, Spanish, and French.", "In recent years, the government of Aruba has shown an increased interest in acknowledging the cultural and historical importance of its native language.", "Although spoken Papiamento is fairly similar among the several Papiamento-speaking islands, there is a big difference in written Papiamento.", "The orthography differs per island and even per group of people.", "Some are more oriented towards Portuguese and use the equivalent spelling (e.g.", "\"y\" instead of \"j\"), where others are more oriented towards Dutch.", "The book ''The Buccaneers of America'', first published in 1678, states through eyewitness account that the natives on Aruba spoke Spanish already.", "The oldest government official statement written in Papiamento dates from 1803.", "Around 12.6% of the population today speaks Spanish.", "Aruba has four newspapers published in Papiamento: ''Diario'', ''Bon Dia'', ''Solo di Pueblo'' and ''Awe Mainta''; and three in English: ''Aruba Daily'', ''Aruba Today'' and ''The News''.", "''Amigoe'' is a newspaper published in Dutch.", "Aruba also has 18 radio stations (two AM and 16 FM) and two local television stations (Telearuba, and Channel 22).", "=== Religion ===\n\nThree-quarters of the population is Roman Catholic.", "=== Regions ===\nFor census purposes, Aruba is divided into eight regions, which have no administrative functions:\n\n\n\n Name !", "!", "Area (km²) !", "!", "Population 1991 Census !", "!", "Population 2000 Census !", "!", "Population 2010 Census\n\n Noord / Tanki Leendert \n \n \n \n \n\n Oranjestad West \n \n \n \n \n\n Oranjestad Oost \n \n \n \n \n\n Paradera \n \n \n \n \n\n San Nicolas Noord \n \n \n \n \n\n San Nicolas Zuid \n \n \n \n \n\n Santa Cruz \n \n \n \n \n\n Savaneta \n \n \n \n \n\n Total Aruba", "\nMap of the European Union in the world with overseas countries and territories and outermost regions\nKing Willem-Alexander is the head of state of Aruba\nOranjestad\n\nAs a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba's politics take place within a framework of a 21-member Parliament and an eight-member Cabinet.", "The governor of Aruba is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten (or \"Parlamento\") for four-year terms.", "The Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve a four-year term.", "Together with the Netherlands, the countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.", "As they share the same Dutch citizenship, these four countries still also share the Dutch passport as the Kingdom of the Netherlands passport.", "As Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have small populations, the three countries had to limit immigration.", "To protect their population, they have the right to control the admission and expulsion of people from the Netherlands.", "Aruba is designated as a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) and is thus officially not a part of the European Union, though Aruba can and does receive support from the European Development Fund.", "=== Politics ===\nThe Aruban legal system is based on the Dutch model.", "In Aruba, legal jurisdiction lies with the ''Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg'' (Court of First Instance) on Aruba, the ''Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie van Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten en van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba'' (Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) and the ''Hoge Raad der Nederlanden'' (Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands).", "The ''Korps Politie Aruba'' (Aruba Police Force) is the island's law enforcement agency and operates district precincts in Oranjestad, Noord, San Nicolaas, and Santa Cruz, where it is headquartered.", "Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well.", "By 2006, the government's debt had grown to 1.883 billion Aruban florins.", "Aruba received some development aid from the Dutch government each year through 2009, as part of a deal (signed as \"Aruba's Financial Independence\") in which the Netherlands gradually reduced its financial help to the island each successive year.", "In 2006, the Aruban government changed several tax laws to reduce the deficit.", "Direct taxes have been converted to indirect taxes as proposed by the IMF.", "A 3% tax has been introduced on sales and services, while income taxes have been lowered and revenue taxes for business reduced by 20%.", "The government compensated workers with 3.1% for the effect that the B.B.O.", "would have on the inflation for 2007.", "Aruba's educational system is patterned after the Dutch system of education.", "The Government of Aruba finances the public national education system.", "There are private schools, including the International School of Aruba and Schakel College.", "There are two medical schools, Aureus University School of Medicine and Xavier University School of Medicine, as well as its own national university, the University of Aruba.", "\n\nAruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region.", "There is a low unemployment rate.", "The GDP per capita for Aruba was estimated to be $28,924 in 2014; among the highest in the Caribbean and the Americas.", "Its main trading partners are Colombia, the United States, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.", "A graphical breakdown of Aruba's economy by exports\n\nThe island's economy has been dominated by three main industries: tourism, aloe export, and petroleum refining (The Lago Oil and Transport Company and the Arend Petroleum Maatschappij Shell Co.).", "Before the \"Status Aparte\" (a separate completely autonomous country/state within the Kingdom), oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba despite expansion of the tourism sector.", "Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal.", "The size of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors also remains minimal.", "The official exchange rate of the Aruban florin is pegged to the US dollar at 1.79 florins to 1 USD.", "Because of this fact, and due to a large number of American tourists, many businesses operate using US dollars instead of florins, especially in the hotel and resort districts.", "=== Tourism ===\nAbout three quarters of the Aruban gross national product is earned through tourism or related activities.", "Most tourists are from the United States (predominantly from the north-east US), the Netherlands and South America, mainly Venezuela and Colombia.", "As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, citizens of the Netherlands can travel with relative ease to Aruba and other islands of the Dutch Antilles.", "For the facilitation of the passengers whose destination is the United States, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) full pre-clearance facility in Aruba has been in effect since 1 February 2001 with the expansion in the Queen Beatrix Airport.", "United States and Aruba have had the agreement since 1986.", "It began as a USDA and Customs post.", "Since 2008, Aruba has been the only island to have this service for private flights.", "=== Military ===\nIn 1999, the U.S. Department of Defense established a Forward Operating Location (FOL) at the airport.", "\n\nOrnate buildings in Oranjestad, Aruba\n\nOn 18 March, Aruba celebrates its National Day.", "In 1976, Aruba presented its National Anthem (Aruba Dushi Tera) and Flag.", "Aruba has a varied culture.", "According to the ''Bureau Burgelijke Stand en Bevolkingsregister'' (BBSB), in 2005 there were ninety-two different nationalities living on the island.", "Dutch influence can still be seen, as in the celebration of \"Sinterklaas\" on 5 and 6 December and other national holidays like 27 April, when in Aruba and the rest of the Kingdom of the Netherlands the King's birthday or \"Dia di Rey\" (Koningsdag) is celebrated.", "Iguanas on a rooftop in Aruba\n\nChristmas and New Year's Eve are celebrated with the typical music and songs for gaitas for Christmas and the Dande for New Year, and ''ayaca'', ''ponche crema'', ham, and other typical foods and drinks.", "Millions of florins worth of fireworks are burnt at midnight on New Year's Eve.", "On 25 January, Betico Croes' birthday is celebrated.", "Dia di San Juan is celebrated on 24 June.", "Besides Christmas, the religious holy days of the Feast of the Ascension and Good Friday are holidays on the island.", "The holiday of Carnaval is also an important one in Aruba, as it is in many Caribbean and Latin American countries, and, like Mardi Gras, that goes on for weeks.", "Its celebration in Aruba started, around the 1950s, influenced by the inhabitants from Venezuela and the nearby islands (Curaçao, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Maarten and Anguilla) who came to work for the Oil refinery.", "Over the years the Carnival Celebration has changed and now starts from the beginning of January till the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with a large parade on the last Sunday of the festivities (Sunday before Ash Wednesday).", "Tourism from the United States has recently increased the visibility of American culture on the island, with such celebrations as Halloween and Thanksgiving Day in November.", "Palm Beach\n\nAruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport is located near Oranjestad.", "According to the Aruba Airport Authority, almost 1.7 million travelers used the airport in 2005, 61% of whom were Americans.", "Aruba has two ports, Barcadera and Playa, which are located in Oranjestad and Barcadera.", "The Port of Playa services all the cruise-ship lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines, NCL, Holland America Line, Disney Cruise Line and others.", "Nearly one million tourists enter this port per year.", "Aruba Ports Authority, owned and operated by the Aruban government, runs these seaports.", "Arubus is a government-owned bus company.", "Its buses operate from 3:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m., 365 days a year.", "Small private vans also provide transportation services in certain areas such Hotel Area, San Nicolaas, Santa Cruz and Noord.", "A street car service runs on rails on the Mainstreet.", "=== Utilities ===\nWater-en Energiebedrijf Aruba, N.V.", "(W.E.B.)", "produces potable industrial water at the world's third largest desalination plant.", "Average daily consumption in Aruba is about .", "=== Communications ===\nThere are three telecommunications providers: Setar, a government-based company, Mio Wireless and Digicel, both of which are privately owned.", "Setar is the provider of services such as internet, video conferencing, GSM wireless technology and land lines.", "Digicel is Setar's competitor in wireless technology using the GSM platform, and Mio Wireless provides wireless technology and services using CDMA.", "Alto Vista Chapel", "*Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada\n*Xander Bogaerts, MLB shortstop of the Boston Red Sox\n*Rachel Brathen, yoga teacher \n*Betico Croes, political activist\n*Henny Eman, first prime minister of Aruba\n*Bobby Farrell, musician\n*Dave Benton, Aruban-Estonian musician\n*Jossy Mansur, editor of the Papiamento language newspaper, ''Diario''\n*Nelson Oduber, prime minister\n*Sidney Ponson, MLB pitcher\n*Fredis Refunjol, governor\n*Julia Renfro, newspaper editor and photographer", "\n\n* Aruba.com – official tourism site of Aruba\n* \n* \n* ''Aruba Esso News'' from the National Library of Aruba, openly and freely available in the Digital Library of the Caribbean" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThis video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS. The pass starts from just northeast of the island of Newfoundland over the North Atlantic Ocean to central Africa, over South Sudan.\n\nThe '''Atlantic Ocean''' is the second largest of the world's oceans with a total area of about . It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. It separates the \"Old World\" from the \"New World\".\n\nThe Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the '''North Atlantic Ocean''' and the '''South Atlantic Ocean''' at about 8°N.\n\nScientific explorations of the Atlantic include the Challenger expedition, the German Meteor expedition, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office.\n", "The Aethiopian Ocean in a 1710 French map of Africa.\nThe oldest known mentions of an \"Atlantic\" sea come from Stesichorus around mid-sixth century BC (Sch. A. R. 1. 211): ''Atlantikoi pelágei'' (Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει; English: 'the Atlantic sea'; etym. 'Sea of Atlantis') and in ''The Histories'' of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): ''Atlantis thalassa'' (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: 'Sea of Atlantis' or 'the Atlantis sea') where the name refers to \"the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles\" which is said to be part of the ocean that surrounds all land. Thus, on one hand, the name refers to Atlas, the Titan in Greek mythology, who supported the heavens and who later appeared as a frontispiece in Medieval maps and also lent his name to modern atlases. On the other hand, to early Greek sailors and in Ancient Greek mythological literature such as the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', this all-encompassing ocean was instead known as Oceanus, the gigantic river that encircled the world; in contrast to the enclosed seas well-known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.\nIn contrast, the term \"Atlantic\" originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word ''thalassa'' has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of million years ago.\n\nThe term \"Aethiopian Ocean\", derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century.\n", "\n\nExtent of the Atlantic Ocean according to the 2002 IHO definition, excluding Arctic and Antarctic regions\nThe International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined the limits of the oceans and seas in 1953, but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not used by various authorities, institutions, and countries, see for example the CIA World Factbook. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies.\n\nThe Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea–one of its marginal seas–and, in turn, the Black Sea, both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa.\n\nIn the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean.\n\nThe Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures compared to for the Pacific.\n\nIncluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of or 23.3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers and has a volume of . The North Atlantic covers (11.5%) and the South Atlantic (11.1%). The average depth is and the maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench, is .\n", "False color map of ocean depth in the Atlantic basin\nThe bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). It runs from 87°N or south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S.\n\n===Mid-Atlantic Ridge===\n\nThe MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above along most of its length, but is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gibbs Fracture Zone at 53°N. The MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other.\n\nThe MAR rises above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates in the North Atlantic and the South American and African plates in the South Atlantic. The MAR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, and pillow lava on the ocean floor. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep.\n\nThe MAR is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault, the boundary between the Nubian and Eurasian plates, intersects the MAR at the Azores Triple Junction, on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N. A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the North American and South American plates, intersects the MAR near or just north of the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone, approximately at 16°N.\n\nIn the 1870s, the Challenger expedition discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or:\n The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the German Meteor expedition using echo-sounding equipment. The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s lead to the general acceptance of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.\n\nMost of the MAR runs under water but where it reaches the surfaces it has produced volcanic islands. While nine of these have collectively been nominated a World Heritage Site for their geological value, four of them are considered of \"Outstanding Universal Value\" based on their cultural and natural criteria: Þingvellir, Iceland; Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture, Portugal; Gough and Inaccessible Islands, United Kingdom; and Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves, Brazil.\n\n===Ocean floor===\n\nContinental shelves in the Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southern-most South America, and north-eastern Europe.\nIn the western Atlantic carbonate platforms dominate large areas, for example the Blake Plateau and Bermuda Rise.\nThe Atlantic is surrounded by passive margins except at a few locations where active margins form deep trenches: the Puerto Rico Trench ( maximum depth) in the western Pacific and South Sandwich Trench () in the South Atlantic. There are numerous submarine canyons off north-eastern North America, western Europe, and north-western Africa. Some of these canyons extend along the continental rises and farther into the abyssal plains as deep-sea channels.\n\nIn 1922 a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred. The USS Stewart used a Navy Sonic Depth Finder to draw a continuous map across the bed of the Atlantic. This involved little guesswork because the idea of sonar is straight forward with pulses being sent from the vessel, which bounce off the ocean floor, then return to the vessel. The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains, trenches, seamounts, basins, plateaus, canyons, and some guyots. Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise.\n\nThe mean depth between 60°N and 60°S is , or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between .\n\nIn the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents.\nThe Laurentian Abyss is found off the eastern coast of Canada.\n", "alt=Visualisation of the Gulf Stream stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Western Europe\nPath of the alt=Map displaying a looping line with arrows indicating that water flows eastward in the far Southern ocean, angling north east of Australia, turning sough after passing Alaska, then crossing the mid-Pacific to flow north of Australia, continuing west below Africa, then turning northwest until reaching eastern Canada, then angling east to southern Europe, then finally turning south just below Greenland and flowing down the Americas' eastern coast, and resuming its flow eastward to complete the circle\n\nSurface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below to over . Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by .\n\nFrom October to June the surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea.\n\nThe Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east-west oscillation, known as the North Atlantic oscillation, occurs.\n\n===Salinity===\nOn average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 – 3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south, in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation.\n\nThe high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings, which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into the South Atlantic, and the \"Atmospheric Bridge\", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific.\n\n\n\n===Water masses===\n\n+ Temperature-salinity characteristics for Atlantic water masses\n\n ! Water mass !! Temperature !! Salinity\n\n ! colspan=\"3\" | Upper waters ()\n\n | align=left | Atlantic SubarcticUpper Water (ASUW) \n 0.0–4.0 °C \n 34.0–35.0\n\n | align=left | Western North AtlanticCentral Water (WNACW) \n 7.0–20 °C \n 35.0–36.7\n\n | align=left | Eastern North AtlanticCentral Water (ENACW) \n 8.0–18.0 °C \n 35.2–36.7\n\n | align=left | South AtlanticCentral Water (SACW) \n 5.0–18.0 °C \n 34.3–35.8\n\n ! colspan=\"3\" | Intermediate waters ()\n\n | align=left | Western Atlantic SubarcticIntermediate Water (WASIW) \n 3.0–9.0 °C \n 34.0–35.1\n\n | align=left | Eastern Atlantic SubarcticIntermediate Water (EASIW) \n 3.0–9.0 °C \n 34.4–35.3\n\n | align=left | Mediterranean Water (MW) \n 2.6–11.0 °C \n 35.0–36.2\n\n | align=left | Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) \n −1.5–3.0 °C \n 34.7–34.9\n\n ! colspan=\"3\" | Deep and abyssal waters (1,500 m–bottom or 4,900 ft–bottom)\n\n | align=left | North AtlanticDeep Water (NADW) \n 1.5–4.0 °C \n 34.8–35.0\n\n | align=left | Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) \n −0.9–1.7 °C \n 34.64–34.72\n\n | align=left | Arctic Bottom Water (ABW) \n −1.8 to −0.5 °C \n 34.85–34.94\n\n\nThe Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper water masses with distinct temperature and salinity. The Atlantic Subarctic Upper Water in the northern-most North Atlantic is the source for Subarctic Intermediate Water and North Atlantic Intermediate Water. North Atlantic Central Water can be divided into the Eastern and Western North Atlantic central Water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water. The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean Water. North Atlantic Central Water flows into South Atlantic Central Water at 15°N.\n\nThere are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation. Arctic Intermediate Water, flows from north to become the source for North Atlantic Deep Water south of the Greenland-Scotland sill. These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins. The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical gyre and the large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labrador Sea, Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic Intermediate Water.\n\nThe North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean — Classical and Upper Labrador Sea Water — and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill — Denmark Strait and Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water. Along its path across Earth the composition of the NADW is affected by other water masses, especially Antarctic Bottom Water and Mediterranean Overflow Water.\nThe NADW is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Atlantic which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europe. Changes in the formation of NADW have been linked to global climate changes in the past. Since man-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NADW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from nuclear weapon tests in the 1960s and CFCs.\n\n\n===Gyres===\ngyres|alt=Map showing 5 circles. The first is between western Australia and eastern Africa. The second is between eastern Australia and western South America. The third is between Japan and western North America. Of the two in the Atlantic, one is in hemisphere.\nThe clockwise warm-water North Atlantic Gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and the counter-clockwise warm-water South Atlantic Gyre appears in the southern Atlantic.\n\nIn the North Atlantic surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the North American coast at Cape Hatteras; the North Atlantic Current, a branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks; and the Subpolar Front, an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transport warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically.\n\nIn the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic warm subtropical waters are transformed into colder subpolar and polar waters. In the Labrador Sea this water flows back to the subtropical gyre.\nNorth of the North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate variability. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level.\nThe subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation. Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from the subtropics to the north-eastern Atlantic. There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50 Sv) current which flows around the continental margins of the Labrador Sea. A third of this water become parts of the deep portion of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The NADW, in its turn, feed the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change. Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the North Atlantic oscillation, are especially pronounced in Labrador Sea Water, the upper layers of the MOC.\n\nThe South Atlantic is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre. The South Atlantic Central Water originates in this gyre, while Antarctic Intermediate Water originates in the upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean. On the African east coast the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre.\nThe southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer. The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Atlantic Deep Water flows southerward below the thermocline of the subtropical gyre.\n\n===Sargasso Sea===\n\nApproximate extent of the Sargasso Sea\nThe Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of ''Sargassum'' (''S. fluitans'' and ''natans'') float, an area wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, and North Equatorial Current. This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on the European shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth, floating in the ocean for millions of years.\n\nSargassum fish (''Histrio histrio'')\nOther species endemic to the Sargasso Sea include the sargassum fish, a predator with algae-like appendages who hovers motionless among the ''Sargassum''. Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what is now the Carpathian region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea. It is possible that the population in the Sargasso Sea migrated to the Atlantic as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17 Ma.\nThe origin of the Sargasso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries. The fossils found in the Carpathians in the mid-20th century, often called the \"quasi-Sargasso assemblage\", finally showed that this assemblage originated in the Carpathian Basin from were it migrated over Sicily to the Central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea.\n\nThe location of the spawning ground for European eels remained unknown for decades. In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargasso Sea is the spawning ground for both the European and American eel and that the former migrate more than and the latter . Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and Northern Africa. Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Earth's magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults.\n", "Waves in the alt=Map of Caribbean showing seven approximately parallel westward-pointing arrows that extend from east of the Virgin Islands to Cuba. The southern arrows bend northward just east of the Dominican Republic before straightening out again.\n\nClimate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.\n\nThe oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas.\n\nThe Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift is thought to have at least some influence on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern North America, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas. The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula. In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms the atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and north-western Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter like other locations at the same high latitude. The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's north-western coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.\n\n===Natural hazards===\nalt=Overhead photo of iceberg\nIcebergs are common from February to August in the Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and Madeira. Ships are subject to superstructure icing in the extreme north from October to May. Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September, as can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December).\n\nThe United States' southeast coast, especially the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, has a long history of shipwrecks due to its many shoals and reefs.\n\nThe Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents because of unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but Coast Guard records do not support this belief.\n\nHurricanes are also a natural hazard in the Atlantic, but mainly in the northern part of the ocean, rarely tropical cyclones form in the southern parts. Hurricanes usually form annually between June and November.\n", "The break-up of Pangaea resulted in the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in three stages\n\n===Central Atlantic===\nThe break-up of Pangaea began in the Central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains. The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 Ma.\n\nThe opening of the Atlantic Ocean coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea, both of which were initiated by the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of the most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, one of Earth's major extinction events.\nTheoliitic dikes, sills, and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to of which covered what is now northern and central Brazil.\n\nThe formation of the Central American Isthmus closed the Central American Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 Ma ago. The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the Great American Interchange, but the closure of the seaway resulted in a \"Great American Schism\" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Marine organisms on both sides of the isthmus became isolated and either diverged or went extinct.\n\n======\n\nGeologically the Northern Atlantic is the area delimited to the south by two conjugate margins, Newfoundland and Iberia, and to the north by the Arctic Eurasian Basin. The opening of the Northern Atlantic closely followed the margins of its predecessor, the Iapetus Ocean, and spread from the Central Atlantic in six stages: Iberia–Newfoundland, Porcupine–North America, Eurasia–Greenland, Eurasia–North America. Active and inactive spreading systems in this area are marked by the interaction with the Iceland hotspot.\n\n===South Atlantic===\nWest Gondwana (South America and Africa) broke up in the Early Cretaceous to form the South Atlantic. The apparent fit between the coastlines of the two continents was noted on the first maps that included the South Atlantic and it was also the subject of the first computer-assisted plate tectonic reconstructions in 1965. This magnificent fit, however, has since then proven problematic and later reconstructions have introduced various deformation zones along the shorelines to accommodate the northward-propagating break-up. Intra-continental rifts and deformations have also been introduced to subdivide both continental plates into sub-plates.\n\nGeologically the South Atlantic can be divided into four segments: Equatorial segment, from 10°N to the Romanche Fracture Zone (RFZ);; Central segment, from RFZ to Florianopolis Fracture Zone (FFZ, north of Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise); Southern segment, from FFZ to the Agulhas-Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ); and Falkland segment, south of AFFZ.\n\nIn the southern segment the Early Cretaceous (133–130 Ma) intensive magmatism of the Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province produced by the Tristan hotspot resulted in an estimated volume of . It covered an area of in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and in Africa. Dyke swarms in Brazil, Angola, eastern Paraguay, and Namibia, however, suggest the LIP originally covered a much larger area and also indicate failed rifts in all these areas. Associated offshore basaltic flows reach as far south as the Falkland Islands and South Africa. Traces of magmatism in both offshore and onshore basins in the central and southern segments have been dated to 147–49 Ma with two peaks between 143–121 Ma and 90–60 Ma.\n\nIn the Falkland segment rifting began with dextral movements between the Patagonia and Colorado sub-plates between the Early Jurassic (190 Ma) and the Early Cretaceous (126.7 Ma). Around 150 Ma sea-floor spreading propagated northward into the southern segment. No later than 130 Ma rifting had reached the Walvis Ridge–Rio Grande Rise.\n\nIn the central segment rifting started to break Africa in two by opening the Benue Trough around 118 Ma. Rifting in the central segment, however, coincided with the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (also known as the Cretaceous quiet period), a 40 Ma period without magnetic reversals, which makes it difficult to date sea-floor spreading in this segment.\n\nThe equatorial segment is the last phase of the break-up, but, because it is located on the Equator, magnetic anomalies cannot be used for dating. Various estimates date the propagation of sea-floor spreading in this segment to the period 120–96 Ma. This final stage, nevertheless, coincided with or resulted in the end of continental extension in Africa.\n\nAbout 50 Ma the opening of the Drake Passage resulted from a change in the motions and separation rate of the South American and Antarctic plates. First small ocean basins opened and a shallow gateway appeared during the Middle Eocene. 34–30 Ma a deeper seaway developed, followed by an Eocene–Oligocene climatic deterioration and the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet.\n\n===Closure of the Atlantic===\nAn embryonic subduction margin is potentially developing west of Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Arc in the western Mediterranean is migrating westward into the Central Atlantic where it joins the converging African and Eurasian plates. Together these three tectonic forces are slowly developing into a new subduction system in the eastern Atlantic Basin. Meanwhile, the Scotia Arc and Caribbean Plate in the western Atlantic Basin are eastward-propagating subduction systems that might, together with the Gibraltar system, represent the beginning of the closure of the Atlantic Ocean and the final stage of the Atlantic Wilson Cycle.\n", "\n\n===Human origin===\nHumans evolved in Africa; first by diverging from other apes around 7 Ma; then developing stone tools around 2.6 Ma; to finally evolve as modern humans around 100 kya. The earliest evidences for the complex behavior associated with this behavioral modernity has been found in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) along the coast of South Africa. During the latest glacial stages the now-submerged plains of the Agulhas Bank were exposed above sea level, extending the South African coastline farther south by hundreds of kilometers. A small population of modern humans — probably fewer than a thousand reproducing individuals — survived glacial maxima by exploring the high diversity offered by these Palaeo-Agulhas plains. The GCFR is delimited to the north by the Cape Fold Belt and the limited space south of it resulted in the development of social networks out of which complex Stone Age technologies emerged. Human history thus begins on the coasts of South Africa where the Atlantic Benguela Upwelling and Indian Ocean Agulhas Current meet to produce an intertidal zone on which shellfish, fur seal, fishes and sea birds provided the necessary protein sources.\nThe African origin of this modern behaviour is evidenced by 70,000 years-old engravings from Blombos Cave, South Africa.\n\n===Old World===\nMitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies indicate that 80–60,000 years ago a major demographic expansion within Africa, derived from a single, small population, coincided with the emergence of behavioral complexity and the rapid MIS 5–4 environmental changes. This group of people not only expanded over the whole of Africa, but also started to disperse out of Africa into Asia, Europe, and Australasia around 65,000 years ago and quickly replaced the archaic humans in these regions. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 20,000 years ago humans had to abandon their initial settlements along the European North Atlantic coast and retreat to the Mediterranean. Following rapid climate changes at the end of the LGM this region was repopulated by Magdalenian culture. Other hunter-gatherers followed in waves interrupted by large-scale hazards such as the Laacher See volcanic eruption, the inundation of Doggerland (now the North Sea), and the formation of the Baltic Sea. The European coasts of the North Atlantic were permanently populated about 9–8.5 thousand years ago.\n\nThis human dispersal left abundant traces along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. 50 ka-old, deeply stratified shell middens found in Ysterfontein on the western coast of South Africa are associated with the Middle Stone Age (MSA). The MSA population was small and dispersed and the rate of their reproduction and exploitation was less intense than those of later generations. While their middens resemble 12–11 ka-old Late Stone Age (LSA) middens found on every inhabited continent, the 50–45 ka-old Enkapune Ya Muto in Kenya probably represents the oldest traces of the first modern humans to disperse out of Africa.\nErtebølle middens in 1880\nThe same development can be seen in Europe. In La Riera Cave (23–13 ka) in Asturias, Spain, only some 26,600 molluscs were deposited over 10 ka. In contrast, 8–7 ka-old shell middens in Portugal, Denmark, and Brazil generated thousands of tons of debris and artefacts. The Ertebølle middens in Denmark, for example, accumulated of shell deposits representing some 50 million molluscs over only a thousand years. This intensification in the exploitation of marine resources has been described as accompanied by new technologies — such as boats, harpoons, and fish-hooks — because many caves found in the Mediterranean and on the European Atlantic coast have increased quantities of marine shells in their upper levels and reduced quantities in their lower. The earliest exploitation, however, took place on the now submerged shelves, and most settlements now excavated were then located several kilometers from these shelves. The reduced quantities of shells in the lower levels can represent the few shells that were exported inland.\n\n===New World===\nDuring the LGM the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of northern North America while Beringia connected Siberia to Alaska. In 1973 late U.S. geoscientist Paul S. Martin proposed a \"blitzkrieg\" colonization of America by which Clovis hunters migrated into North America around 13,000 years ago in a single wave through an ice-free corridor in the ice sheet and \"spread southward explosively, briefly attaining a density sufficiently large to overkill much of their prey.\" Others later proposed a \"three-wave\" migration over the Bering Land Bridge. These hypotheses remained the long-held view regarding the settlement of the Americas, a view challenged by more recent archaeological discoveries: the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas have been found in South America; sites in north-east Siberia report virtually no human presence there during the LGM; and most Clovis artefacts have been found in eastern North America along the Atlantic coast. Furthermore, colonisation models based on mtDNA, yDNA, and atDNA data respectively support neither the \"blitzkrieg\" nor the \"three-wave\" hypotheses but they also deliver mutually ambiguous results. Contradictory data from archaeology and genetics will most likely deliver future hypotheses that will, eventually, confirm each other. A proposed route across the Pacific to South America could explain early South American finds and another hypothesis proposes a northern path, through the Canadian Arctic and down the North American Atlantic coast.\nEarly settlements across the Atlantic have been suggested by alternative theories, ranging from purely hypothetical to mostly disputed, including the Solutrean hypothesis and some of the Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories.\n\nÍslendingasögur'' sagas, including the ''Grœnlendinga saga'', this interpretative map of the \"Norse World\" shows that Norse knowledge of America and the Atlantic remained limited.\nThe Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands and Iceland began during the 9th and 10th centuries. A settlement on Greenland was established before 1000 CE, but contact with it was lost in 1409 and it was finally abandoned during the early Little Ice Age. This setback was caused by a range of factors: an unsustainable economy resulted in erosion and denudation, while conflicts with the local Inuit resulted in the failure to adapt their Arctic technologies; a colder climate resulted in starvation; and the colony got economically marginalized as the Great Plague and Barbary pirates harvested its victims on Iceland in the 15th century.\nIceland was initially settled 865–930 CE following a warm period when winter temperatures hovered around which made farming favorable at high latitudes. This did not last, however, and temperatures quickly dropped; at 1080 CE summer temperatures had reached a maximum of . The ''Landnámabók'' (''Book of Settlement'') records disastrous famines during the first century of settlement — \"men ate foxes and ravens\" and \"the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs\" — and by the early 1200s hay had to be abandoned for short-season crops such as barley.\n\n\n\n===Atlantic World===\n\nA century after Columbus' first voyage large parts of the New World had been included into the Spanish Empire\nChristopher Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492 under Spanish flag. Six years later Vasco da Gama reached India under Portuguese flag, by navigating south around the Cape of Good Hope, thus proving that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected. In 1500, in his voyage to India following Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral reached Brazil, taken by the currents of the South Atlantic Gyre. Following these explorations, Spain and Portugal quickly conquered and colonized large territories in the New World and forced the Native American population into slavery in order to explore the vast quantities of silver and gold they found. Spain and Portugal monopolized this trade in order to keep other European nations out, but conflicting interests nevertheless lead to a series of Spanish-Portuguese wars. A peace treaty mediated by the Pope divided the conquered territories into Spanish and Portuguese sectors while keeping other colonial powers away. England, France, and the Dutch Republic enviously watched the Spanish and Portuguese wealth grow and allied themselves with pirates such as Henry Mainwaring and Alexandre Exquemelin. They could explore the convoys leaving America because prevailing winds and currents made the transport of heavy metals slow and predictable.\n\nEmbarked and disembarked slaves in the Atlantic slave trade 1525–1863 (first and last slave voyages)\nIn the American colonies depredation, disease, and slavery quickly reduced the indigenous American population to the extent that the Atlantic slave trade had to be introduced to replace them — a trade that became norm and an integral part of the colonization. Between the 15th century and 1888, when Brazil became the last part of America to end slave trade, an estimated ten million Africans were exported as slaves, most of them destined for agricultural labour. The slave trade was officially abolished in the British Empire and the United States in 1808, and slavery itself was abolished in the British Empire in 1838 and in the U.S. in 1865 after the Civil War.\n\nFrom Columbus to the Industrial Revolution Trans-Atlantic trade, including colonialism and slavery, became crucial for Western Europe. For European countries with a direct access to the Atlantic (including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain) 1500–1800 was a period of sustained growth during which these countries grew richer than those in Eastern Europe and Asia. Colonialism evolved as part of the Trans-Atlantic trade, but this trade also strengthened the position of merchant groups at the expense of monarchs. Growth was more rapid in non-absolutist countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, and more limited in absolutist monarchies, such as Portugal, Spain, and France, where profit mostly or exclusively benefited the monarchy and its allies.\n\nTrans-Atlantic trade also resulted in an increasing urbanization: in European countries facing the Atlantic urbanization grew from 8% in 1300, 10.1% in 1500, to 24.5% in 1850; in other European countries from 10% in 1300, 11.4% in 1500, to 17% in 1850. Likewise, GDP doubled in Atlantic countries but rose by only 30% in the rest of Europe. By end of the 17th century the volume of the Trans-Atlantic trade had surpassed that of the Mediterranean trade.\n\n\n", "\nThe Atlantic has contributed significantly to the development and economy of surrounding countries. Besides major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant petroleum deposits in the sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves.\n\nThe Atlantic harbors petroleum and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, and precious stones.\nGold deposits are a mile or two under water on the ocean floor, however the deposits are also encased in rock that must be mined through. Currently, there is no cost-effective way to mine or extract gold from the ocean to make a profit.\n\nVarious international treaties attempt to reduce pollution caused by environmental threats such as oil spills, marine debris, and the incineration of toxic wastes at sea.\n\n===Fisheries===\nThe shelves of the Atlantic hosts one of the world's richest fishing resources. The most productive areas include the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank off Cape Cod, the Bahama Banks, the waters around Iceland, the Irish Sea, the Bay of Fundy, the Dogger Bank of the North Sea, and the Falkland Banks.\nFisheries have, however, undergone significant changes since the 1950s and global catches can now be divided into three groups of which only two are observed in the Atlantic: fisheries in the Eastern Central and South-West Atlantic oscillate around a globally stable value, the rest of the Atlantic is in overall decline following historical peaks. The third group, \"continuously increasing trend since 1950\", is only found in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.\n\nBanks of the North-East Atlantic\nIn the North-East Atlantic total catches decreased between the mid-1970s and the 1990s and reached 8.7 million tons in 2013. Blue whiting reached a 2.4 million tons peak in 2004 but was down to 628,000 tons in 2013. Recovery plans for cod, sole, and plaice have reduced mortality in these species. Arctic cod reached its lowest levels in the 1960s–1980s but is now recovered. Arctic saithe and haddock are considered fully fished; Sand eel is overfished as was capelin which has now recovered to fully fished. Limited data makes the state of redfishes and deep-water species difficult to assess but most likely they remain vulnerable to overfishing. Stocks of northern shrimp and Norwegian lobster are in good condition. In the North-East Atlantic 21% of stocks are considered overfished.\n\nBanks of the North-West Atlantic\nIn the North-West Atlantic landings have decreased from 4.2 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.9 million tons in 2013. During the 21th century some species have shown weak signs of recovery, including Greenland halibut, yellowtail flounder, Atlantic halibut, haddock, spiny dogfish, while other stocks shown no such signs, including cod, witch flounder, and redfish. Stocks of invertebrates, in contrast, remain at record levels of abundance. 31% of stocks are overfished in the North-west Atlantic.\nCapture of Atlantic north-west cod in million tons\nIn 1497 John Cabot became the first to explore mainland North America and one of his major discoveries was the abundant resources of Atlantic cod off Newfoundland. Referred to as \"Newfoundland Currency\" this discovery supplied mankind with some 200 million tons of fish over five centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries new fisheries started to exploit haddock, mackerel, and lobster. From the 1950s to the 1970s the introduction of European and Asian distant-water fleets in the area dramatically increased the fishing capacity and number of exploited species. It also expanded the exploited areas from near-shore to the open sea and to great depths to include deep-water species such as redfish, Greenland halibut, witch flounder, and grenadiers. Overfishing in the area was recognised as early as the 1960s but, because this was occurring on international waters, it took until the late 1970s before any attempts to regulate was made. In the early 1990s this finally resulted in the collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery. The population of a number of deep-sea fishes also collapsed in the process, including American plaice, redfish, and Greenland halibut, together with flounder and grenadier.\n\nIn the Eastern Central Atlantic small pelagic fishes constitute about 50% of landings with sardine reaching 0.6–1.0 million tons per year. Pelagic fish stocks are considered fully fishes or overfished, with sardines south of Cape Bojador the notable exception. Almost half of stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Total catches have been fluctuating since the 1970s; reaching 3.9 million tons in 2013 or slightly less than the peak production in 2010.\n\nBahama Banks\nIn the Western Central Atlantic catches have been decreasing since 2000 and reached 1.3 million tons in 2013. The most important species in the area, Gulf menhaden, reached a million tons in the mid-1980s but only half a million tons in 2013 and is now considered fully fished. Round sardinella was an important species in the 1990s but is now considered overfished. Groupers and snappers are overfished and northern brown shrimp and American cupped oyster are considered fully fished approaching overfished. 44% of stocks are being fished at unsustainable levels.\n\nAgulhas Bank\nIn the South-East Atlantic catches have decreased from 3.3 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.3 million tons in 2013. Horse mackerel and hake are the most important species, together representing almost half of the landings. Off South Africa and Namibia deep-water hake and shallow-water Cape hake have recovered to sustainable levels since regulations were introduced in 2006 and the states of Southern African pilchard and anchovy have improved to fully fished in 2013.\n\nIn the South-West Atlantic a peak was reached in the mid-1980s and catches now fluctuate between 1.7 and 2.6 million tons. The most important species, the Argentine shortfin squid, which reached half a million tons in 2013 or half the peak value, is considered fully fished to overfished. Another important species was the Brazilian sardinella, with a production of 100,000 tons in 2013 it is now considered overfished. Half the stocks in this area are being fished at unsustainable levels: Whitehead’s round herring has not yet reached fully fished but Cunene horse mackerel is overfished. The sea snail perlemoen abalone is targeted by illegal fishing and remain overfished.\n\n\n", "Marine debris strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic Inaccessible Island.\nEndangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales. Drift net fishing can kill dolphins, albatrosses and other seabirds (petrels, auks), hastening the fish stock decline and contributing to international disputes. Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.\n\nNorth Atlantic hurricane activity has increased over past decades because of increased sea surface temperature (SST) at tropical latitudes, changes that can be attributed to either the natural Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) or to anthropogenic climate change.\nA 2005 report indicated that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) slowed down by 30% between 1957 and 2004.\nIf the AMO was responsible for SST variability then the AMOC would have increased in strength, which is apparently not the case. Furthermore, it is clear from statistical analyses of annual tropical cyclones that these changes do not display multidecadal cyclicity. Therefore, these changes in SST must be caused by human activities.\n\nThe ocean mixed layer plays an important role heat storage over seasonal and decadal time-scales, whereas deeper layers are affected over millennia and has a heat capacity about 50 times that of the mixed layer. This heat uptake provides a time-lag for climate change but it also results in a thermal expansion of the oceans which contribute to sea-level rise. 21st century global warming will probably result in an equilibrium sea-level rise five times greater than today, whilst melting of glaciers, including that of the Greenland ice-sheet, expected to have virtually no effect during the 21st century, will probably result in a sea-level rise of 3–6 m over a millennium.\n\nOn 7 June 2006, Florida's wildlife commission voted to take the manatee off the state's endangered species list. Some environmentalists worry that this could erode safeguards for the popular sea creature.\n\nMarine pollution is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture fertilizer chemicals as well as livestock and human waste. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.\n\nMarine debris, which is also known as marine litter, describes human-created waste floating in a body of water. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.\n\n\n", "\n* List of countries and territories bordering the Atlantic Ocean\n* Seven Seas\n* Gulf Stream shutdown\n* Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean\n* Atlantic hurricanes\n* Transatlantic crossing\n", "\n===Notes===\n\n\n===Sources===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* map\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "* \n", "\n* Atlantic Ocean\n* \"Map of Atlantic Coast of North America from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida\" from 1639 via the World Digital Library\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "Extent and data", "Bathymetry", "Water characteristics", "Climate", "Plate tectonics", "History", "Economy", "Environmental issues", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "During the latest glacial stages the now-submerged plains of the Agulhas Bank were exposed above sea level, extending the South African coastline farther south by hundreds of kilometers.", "The most productive areas include the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank off Cape Cod, the Bahama Banks, the waters around Iceland, the Irish Sea, the Bay of Fundy, the Dogger Bank of the North Sea, and the Falkland Banks.", "Agulhas Bank\nIn the South-East Atlantic catches have decreased from 3.3 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.3 million tons in 2013." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThis video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS.", "The pass starts from just northeast of the island of Newfoundland over the North Atlantic Ocean to central Africa, over South Sudan.", "The '''Atlantic Ocean''' is the second largest of the world's oceans with a total area of about .", "It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area.", "It separates the \"Old World\" from the \"New World\".", "The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west.", "As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica).", "The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the '''North Atlantic Ocean''' and the '''South Atlantic Ocean''' at about 8°N.", "Scientific explorations of the Atlantic include the Challenger expedition, the German Meteor expedition, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office.", "The Aethiopian Ocean in a 1710 French map of Africa.", "The oldest known mentions of an \"Atlantic\" sea come from Stesichorus around mid-sixth century BC (Sch.", "A. R. 1.", "211): ''Atlantikoi pelágei'' (Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει; English: 'the Atlantic sea'; etym.", "'Sea of Atlantis') and in ''The Histories'' of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt.", "1.202.4): ''Atlantis thalassa'' (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: 'Sea of Atlantis' or 'the Atlantis sea') where the name refers to \"the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles\" which is said to be part of the ocean that surrounds all land.", "Thus, on one hand, the name refers to Atlas, the Titan in Greek mythology, who supported the heavens and who later appeared as a frontispiece in Medieval maps and also lent his name to modern atlases.", "On the other hand, to early Greek sailors and in Ancient Greek mythological literature such as the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', this all-encompassing ocean was instead known as Oceanus, the gigantic river that encircled the world; in contrast to the enclosed seas well-known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.", "In contrast, the term \"Atlantic\" originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast.", "The Greek word ''thalassa'' has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of million years ago.", "The term \"Aethiopian Ocean\", derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century.", "\n\nExtent of the Atlantic Ocean according to the 2002 IHO definition, excluding Arctic and Antarctic regions\nThe International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined the limits of the oceans and seas in 1953, but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not used by various authorities, institutions, and countries, see for example the CIA World Factbook.", "Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies.", "The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America.", "It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.", "To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea–one of its marginal seas–and, in turn, the Black Sea, both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa.", "In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean.", "The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border.", "In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean.", "The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas.", "These include the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies.", "Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures compared to for the Pacific.", "Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of or 23.3%.", "Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers and has a volume of .", "The North Atlantic covers (11.5%) and the South Atlantic (11.1%).", "The average depth is and the maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench, is .", "False color map of ocean depth in the Atlantic basin\nThe bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR).", "It runs from 87°N or south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S.", "===Mid-Atlantic Ridge===\n\nThe MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges.", "The MAR reaches above along most of its length, but is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gibbs Fracture Zone at 53°N.", "The MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other.", "The MAR rises above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates in the North Atlantic and the South American and African plates in the South Atlantic.", "The MAR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, and pillow lava on the ocean floor.", "The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep.", "The MAR is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault, the boundary between the Nubian and Eurasian plates, intersects the MAR at the Azores Triple Junction, on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N.", "A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the North American and South American plates, intersects the MAR near or just north of the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone, approximately at 16°N.", "In the 1870s, the Challenger expedition discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or:\n The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the German Meteor expedition using echo-sounding equipment.", "The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s lead to the general acceptance of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.", "Most of the MAR runs under water but where it reaches the surfaces it has produced volcanic islands.", "While nine of these have collectively been nominated a World Heritage Site for their geological value, four of them are considered of \"Outstanding Universal Value\" based on their cultural and natural criteria: Þingvellir, Iceland; Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture, Portugal; Gough and Inaccessible Islands, United Kingdom; and Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves, Brazil.", "===Ocean floor===\n\nContinental shelves in the Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southern-most South America, and north-eastern Europe.", "In the western Atlantic carbonate platforms dominate large areas, for example the Blake Plateau and Bermuda Rise.", "The Atlantic is surrounded by passive margins except at a few locations where active margins form deep trenches: the Puerto Rico Trench ( maximum depth) in the western Pacific and South Sandwich Trench () in the South Atlantic.", "There are numerous submarine canyons off north-eastern North America, western Europe, and north-western Africa.", "Some of these canyons extend along the continental rises and farther into the abyssal plains as deep-sea channels.", "In 1922 a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred.", "The USS Stewart used a Navy Sonic Depth Finder to draw a continuous map across the bed of the Atlantic.", "This involved little guesswork because the idea of sonar is straight forward with pulses being sent from the vessel, which bounce off the ocean floor, then return to the vessel.", "The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains, trenches, seamounts, basins, plateaus, canyons, and some guyots.", "Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise.", "The mean depth between 60°N and 60°S is , or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between .", "In the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents.", "The Laurentian Abyss is found off the eastern coast of Canada.", "alt=Visualisation of the Gulf Stream stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Western Europe\nPath of the alt=Map displaying a looping line with arrows indicating that water flows eastward in the far Southern ocean, angling north east of Australia, turning sough after passing Alaska, then crossing the mid-Pacific to flow north of Australia, continuing west below Africa, then turning northwest until reaching eastern Canada, then angling east to southern Europe, then finally turning south just below Greenland and flowing down the Americas' eastern coast, and resuming its flow eastward to complete the circle\n\nSurface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below to over .", "Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions.", "In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by .", "From October to June the surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea.", "The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise.", "The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours.", "In latitudes above 40° North some east-west oscillation, known as the North Atlantic oscillation, occurs.", "===Salinity===\nOn average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 – 3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season.", "Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values.", "Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter.", "Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south, in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation.", "The high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings, which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into the South Atlantic, and the \"Atmospheric Bridge\", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific.", "===Water masses===\n\n+ Temperature-salinity characteristics for Atlantic water masses\n\n !", "Water mass !", "!", "Temperature !", "!", "Salinity\n\n !", "colspan=\"3\" | Upper waters ()\n\n | align=left | Atlantic SubarcticUpper Water (ASUW) \n 0.0–4.0 °C \n 34.0–35.0\n\n | align=left | Western North AtlanticCentral Water (WNACW) \n 7.0–20 °C \n 35.0–36.7\n\n | align=left | Eastern North AtlanticCentral Water (ENACW) \n 8.0–18.0 °C \n 35.2–36.7\n\n | align=left | South AtlanticCentral Water (SACW) \n 5.0–18.0 °C \n 34.3–35.8\n\n !", "colspan=\"3\" | Intermediate waters ()\n\n | align=left | Western Atlantic SubarcticIntermediate Water (WASIW) \n 3.0–9.0 °C \n 34.0–35.1\n\n | align=left | Eastern Atlantic SubarcticIntermediate Water (EASIW) \n 3.0–9.0 °C \n 34.4–35.3\n\n | align=left | Mediterranean Water (MW) \n 2.6–11.0 °C \n 35.0–36.2\n\n | align=left | Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) \n −1.5–3.0 °C \n 34.7–34.9\n\n !", "colspan=\"3\" | Deep and abyssal waters (1,500 m–bottom or 4,900 ft–bottom)\n\n | align=left | North AtlanticDeep Water (NADW) \n 1.5–4.0 °C \n 34.8–35.0\n\n | align=left | Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) \n −0.9–1.7 °C \n 34.64–34.72\n\n | align=left | Arctic Bottom Water (ABW) \n −1.8 to −0.5 °C \n 34.85–34.94\n\n\nThe Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper water masses with distinct temperature and salinity.", "The Atlantic Subarctic Upper Water in the northern-most North Atlantic is the source for Subarctic Intermediate Water and North Atlantic Intermediate Water.", "North Atlantic Central Water can be divided into the Eastern and Western North Atlantic central Water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water.", "The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean Water.", "North Atlantic Central Water flows into South Atlantic Central Water at 15°N.", "There are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation.", "Arctic Intermediate Water, flows from north to become the source for North Atlantic Deep Water south of the Greenland-Scotland sill.", "These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins.", "The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical gyre and the large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labrador Sea, Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic Intermediate Water.", "The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean — Classical and Upper Labrador Sea Water — and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill — Denmark Strait and Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water.", "Along its path across Earth the composition of the NADW is affected by other water masses, especially Antarctic Bottom Water and Mediterranean Overflow Water.", "The NADW is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Atlantic which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europe.", "Changes in the formation of NADW have been linked to global climate changes in the past.", "Since man-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NADW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from nuclear weapon tests in the 1960s and CFCs.", "===Gyres===\ngyres|alt=Map showing 5 circles.", "The first is between western Australia and eastern Africa.", "The second is between eastern Australia and western South America.", "The third is between Japan and western North America.", "Of the two in the Atlantic, one is in hemisphere.", "The clockwise warm-water North Atlantic Gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and the counter-clockwise warm-water South Atlantic Gyre appears in the southern Atlantic.", "In the North Atlantic surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the North American coast at Cape Hatteras; the North Atlantic Current, a branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks; and the Subpolar Front, an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre.", "This system of currents transport warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically.", "In the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic warm subtropical waters are transformed into colder subpolar and polar waters.", "In the Labrador Sea this water flows back to the subtropical gyre.", "North of the North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate variability.", "It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level.", "The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation.", "Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from the subtropics to the north-eastern Atlantic.", "There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50 Sv) current which flows around the continental margins of the Labrador Sea.", "A third of this water become parts of the deep portion of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW).", "The NADW, in its turn, feed the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change.", "Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the North Atlantic oscillation, are especially pronounced in Labrador Sea Water, the upper layers of the MOC.", "The South Atlantic is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre.", "The South Atlantic Central Water originates in this gyre, while Antarctic Intermediate Water originates in the upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and Falkland Islands.", "Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean.", "On the African east coast the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre.", "The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer.", "The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years.", "North Atlantic Deep Water flows southerward below the thermocline of the subtropical gyre.", "===Sargasso Sea===\n\nApproximate extent of the Sargasso Sea\nThe Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of ''Sargassum'' (''S.", "fluitans'' and ''natans'') float, an area wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, and North Equatorial Current.", "This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on the European shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth, floating in the ocean for millions of years.", "Sargassum fish (''Histrio histrio'')\nOther species endemic to the Sargasso Sea include the sargassum fish, a predator with algae-like appendages who hovers motionless among the ''Sargassum''.", "Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what is now the Carpathian region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea.", "It is possible that the population in the Sargasso Sea migrated to the Atlantic as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17 Ma.", "The origin of the Sargasso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries.", "The fossils found in the Carpathians in the mid-20th century, often called the \"quasi-Sargasso assemblage\", finally showed that this assemblage originated in the Carpathian Basin from were it migrated over Sicily to the Central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea.", "The location of the spawning ground for European eels remained unknown for decades.", "In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargasso Sea is the spawning ground for both the European and American eel and that the former migrate more than and the latter .", "Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and Northern Africa.", "Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Earth's magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults.", "Waves in the alt=Map of Caribbean showing seven approximately parallel westward-pointing arrows that extend from east of the Virgin Islands to Cuba.", "The southern arrows bend northward just east of the Dominican Republic before straightening out again.", "Climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds.", "Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates.", "Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.", "The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation.", "Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator.", "The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice.", "Ocean currents influence climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions.", "The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas.", "The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift is thought to have at least some influence on climate.", "For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern North America, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas.", "The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula.", "In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms the atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and north-western Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter like other locations at the same high latitude.", "The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's north-western coast.", "In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.", "===Natural hazards===\nalt=Overhead photo of iceberg\nIcebergs are common from February to August in the Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and Madeira.", "Ships are subject to superstructure icing in the extreme north from October to May.", "Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September, as can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December).", "The United States' southeast coast, especially the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, has a long history of shipwrecks due to its many shoals and reefs.", "The Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents because of unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but Coast Guard records do not support this belief.", "Hurricanes are also a natural hazard in the Atlantic, but mainly in the northern part of the ocean, rarely tropical cyclones form in the southern parts.", "Hurricanes usually form annually between June and November.", "The break-up of Pangaea resulted in the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in three stages\n\n===Central Atlantic===\nThe break-up of Pangaea began in the Central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic.", "This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains.", "The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 Ma.", "The opening of the Atlantic Ocean coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea, both of which were initiated by the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of the most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, one of Earth's major extinction events.", "Theoliitic dikes, sills, and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America.", "The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to of which covered what is now northern and central Brazil.", "The formation of the Central American Isthmus closed the Central American Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 Ma ago.", "The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the Great American Interchange, but the closure of the seaway resulted in a \"Great American Schism\" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both the Atlantic and Pacific.", "Marine organisms on both sides of the isthmus became isolated and either diverged or went extinct.", "======\n\nGeologically the Northern Atlantic is the area delimited to the south by two conjugate margins, Newfoundland and Iberia, and to the north by the Arctic Eurasian Basin.", "The opening of the Northern Atlantic closely followed the margins of its predecessor, the Iapetus Ocean, and spread from the Central Atlantic in six stages: Iberia–Newfoundland, Porcupine–North America, Eurasia–Greenland, Eurasia–North America.", "Active and inactive spreading systems in this area are marked by the interaction with the Iceland hotspot.", "===South Atlantic===\nWest Gondwana (South America and Africa) broke up in the Early Cretaceous to form the South Atlantic.", "The apparent fit between the coastlines of the two continents was noted on the first maps that included the South Atlantic and it was also the subject of the first computer-assisted plate tectonic reconstructions in 1965.", "This magnificent fit, however, has since then proven problematic and later reconstructions have introduced various deformation zones along the shorelines to accommodate the northward-propagating break-up.", "Intra-continental rifts and deformations have also been introduced to subdivide both continental plates into sub-plates.", "Geologically the South Atlantic can be divided into four segments: Equatorial segment, from 10°N to the Romanche Fracture Zone (RFZ);; Central segment, from RFZ to Florianopolis Fracture Zone (FFZ, north of Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise); Southern segment, from FFZ to the Agulhas-Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ); and Falkland segment, south of AFFZ.", "In the southern segment the Early Cretaceous (133–130 Ma) intensive magmatism of the Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province produced by the Tristan hotspot resulted in an estimated volume of .", "It covered an area of in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and in Africa.", "Dyke swarms in Brazil, Angola, eastern Paraguay, and Namibia, however, suggest the LIP originally covered a much larger area and also indicate failed rifts in all these areas.", "Associated offshore basaltic flows reach as far south as the Falkland Islands and South Africa.", "Traces of magmatism in both offshore and onshore basins in the central and southern segments have been dated to 147–49 Ma with two peaks between 143–121 Ma and 90–60 Ma.", "In the Falkland segment rifting began with dextral movements between the Patagonia and Colorado sub-plates between the Early Jurassic (190 Ma) and the Early Cretaceous (126.7 Ma).", "Around 150 Ma sea-floor spreading propagated northward into the southern segment.", "No later than 130 Ma rifting had reached the Walvis Ridge–Rio Grande Rise.", "In the central segment rifting started to break Africa in two by opening the Benue Trough around 118 Ma.", "Rifting in the central segment, however, coincided with the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (also known as the Cretaceous quiet period), a 40 Ma period without magnetic reversals, which makes it difficult to date sea-floor spreading in this segment.", "The equatorial segment is the last phase of the break-up, but, because it is located on the Equator, magnetic anomalies cannot be used for dating.", "Various estimates date the propagation of sea-floor spreading in this segment to the period 120–96 Ma.", "This final stage, nevertheless, coincided with or resulted in the end of continental extension in Africa.", "About 50 Ma the opening of the Drake Passage resulted from a change in the motions and separation rate of the South American and Antarctic plates.", "First small ocean basins opened and a shallow gateway appeared during the Middle Eocene.", "34–30 Ma a deeper seaway developed, followed by an Eocene–Oligocene climatic deterioration and the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet.", "===Closure of the Atlantic===\nAn embryonic subduction margin is potentially developing west of Gibraltar.", "The Gibraltar Arc in the western Mediterranean is migrating westward into the Central Atlantic where it joins the converging African and Eurasian plates.", "Together these three tectonic forces are slowly developing into a new subduction system in the eastern Atlantic Basin.", "Meanwhile, the Scotia Arc and Caribbean Plate in the western Atlantic Basin are eastward-propagating subduction systems that might, together with the Gibraltar system, represent the beginning of the closure of the Atlantic Ocean and the final stage of the Atlantic Wilson Cycle.", "\n\n===Human origin===\nHumans evolved in Africa; first by diverging from other apes around 7 Ma; then developing stone tools around 2.6 Ma; to finally evolve as modern humans around 100 kya.", "The earliest evidences for the complex behavior associated with this behavioral modernity has been found in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) along the coast of South Africa.", "A small population of modern humans — probably fewer than a thousand reproducing individuals — survived glacial maxima by exploring the high diversity offered by these Palaeo-Agulhas plains.", "The GCFR is delimited to the north by the Cape Fold Belt and the limited space south of it resulted in the development of social networks out of which complex Stone Age technologies emerged.", "Human history thus begins on the coasts of South Africa where the Atlantic Benguela Upwelling and Indian Ocean Agulhas Current meet to produce an intertidal zone on which shellfish, fur seal, fishes and sea birds provided the necessary protein sources.", "The African origin of this modern behaviour is evidenced by 70,000 years-old engravings from Blombos Cave, South Africa.", "===Old World===\nMitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies indicate that 80–60,000 years ago a major demographic expansion within Africa, derived from a single, small population, coincided with the emergence of behavioral complexity and the rapid MIS 5–4 environmental changes.", "This group of people not only expanded over the whole of Africa, but also started to disperse out of Africa into Asia, Europe, and Australasia around 65,000 years ago and quickly replaced the archaic humans in these regions.", "During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 20,000 years ago humans had to abandon their initial settlements along the European North Atlantic coast and retreat to the Mediterranean.", "Following rapid climate changes at the end of the LGM this region was repopulated by Magdalenian culture.", "Other hunter-gatherers followed in waves interrupted by large-scale hazards such as the Laacher See volcanic eruption, the inundation of Doggerland (now the North Sea), and the formation of the Baltic Sea.", "The European coasts of the North Atlantic were permanently populated about 9–8.5 thousand years ago.", "This human dispersal left abundant traces along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean.", "50 ka-old, deeply stratified shell middens found in Ysterfontein on the western coast of South Africa are associated with the Middle Stone Age (MSA).", "The MSA population was small and dispersed and the rate of their reproduction and exploitation was less intense than those of later generations.", "While their middens resemble 12–11 ka-old Late Stone Age (LSA) middens found on every inhabited continent, the 50–45 ka-old Enkapune Ya Muto in Kenya probably represents the oldest traces of the first modern humans to disperse out of Africa.", "Ertebølle middens in 1880\nThe same development can be seen in Europe.", "In La Riera Cave (23–13 ka) in Asturias, Spain, only some 26,600 molluscs were deposited over 10 ka.", "In contrast, 8–7 ka-old shell middens in Portugal, Denmark, and Brazil generated thousands of tons of debris and artefacts.", "The Ertebølle middens in Denmark, for example, accumulated of shell deposits representing some 50 million molluscs over only a thousand years.", "This intensification in the exploitation of marine resources has been described as accompanied by new technologies — such as boats, harpoons, and fish-hooks — because many caves found in the Mediterranean and on the European Atlantic coast have increased quantities of marine shells in their upper levels and reduced quantities in their lower.", "The earliest exploitation, however, took place on the now submerged shelves, and most settlements now excavated were then located several kilometers from these shelves.", "The reduced quantities of shells in the lower levels can represent the few shells that were exported inland.", "===New World===\nDuring the LGM the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of northern North America while Beringia connected Siberia to Alaska.", "In 1973 late U.S. geoscientist Paul S. Martin proposed a \"blitzkrieg\" colonization of America by which Clovis hunters migrated into North America around 13,000 years ago in a single wave through an ice-free corridor in the ice sheet and \"spread southward explosively, briefly attaining a density sufficiently large to overkill much of their prey.\"", "Others later proposed a \"three-wave\" migration over the Bering Land Bridge.", "These hypotheses remained the long-held view regarding the settlement of the Americas, a view challenged by more recent archaeological discoveries: the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas have been found in South America; sites in north-east Siberia report virtually no human presence there during the LGM; and most Clovis artefacts have been found in eastern North America along the Atlantic coast.", "Furthermore, colonisation models based on mtDNA, yDNA, and atDNA data respectively support neither the \"blitzkrieg\" nor the \"three-wave\" hypotheses but they also deliver mutually ambiguous results.", "Contradictory data from archaeology and genetics will most likely deliver future hypotheses that will, eventually, confirm each other.", "A proposed route across the Pacific to South America could explain early South American finds and another hypothesis proposes a northern path, through the Canadian Arctic and down the North American Atlantic coast.", "Early settlements across the Atlantic have been suggested by alternative theories, ranging from purely hypothetical to mostly disputed, including the Solutrean hypothesis and some of the Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories.", "Íslendingasögur'' sagas, including the ''Grœnlendinga saga'', this interpretative map of the \"Norse World\" shows that Norse knowledge of America and the Atlantic remained limited.", "The Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands and Iceland began during the 9th and 10th centuries.", "A settlement on Greenland was established before 1000 CE, but contact with it was lost in 1409 and it was finally abandoned during the early Little Ice Age.", "This setback was caused by a range of factors: an unsustainable economy resulted in erosion and denudation, while conflicts with the local Inuit resulted in the failure to adapt their Arctic technologies; a colder climate resulted in starvation; and the colony got economically marginalized as the Great Plague and Barbary pirates harvested its victims on Iceland in the 15th century.", "Iceland was initially settled 865–930 CE following a warm period when winter temperatures hovered around which made farming favorable at high latitudes.", "This did not last, however, and temperatures quickly dropped; at 1080 CE summer temperatures had reached a maximum of .", "The ''Landnámabók'' (''Book of Settlement'') records disastrous famines during the first century of settlement — \"men ate foxes and ravens\" and \"the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs\" — and by the early 1200s hay had to be abandoned for short-season crops such as barley.", "===Atlantic World===\n\nA century after Columbus' first voyage large parts of the New World had been included into the Spanish Empire\nChristopher Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492 under Spanish flag.", "Six years later Vasco da Gama reached India under Portuguese flag, by navigating south around the Cape of Good Hope, thus proving that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected.", "In 1500, in his voyage to India following Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral reached Brazil, taken by the currents of the South Atlantic Gyre.", "Following these explorations, Spain and Portugal quickly conquered and colonized large territories in the New World and forced the Native American population into slavery in order to explore the vast quantities of silver and gold they found.", "Spain and Portugal monopolized this trade in order to keep other European nations out, but conflicting interests nevertheless lead to a series of Spanish-Portuguese wars.", "A peace treaty mediated by the Pope divided the conquered territories into Spanish and Portuguese sectors while keeping other colonial powers away.", "England, France, and the Dutch Republic enviously watched the Spanish and Portuguese wealth grow and allied themselves with pirates such as Henry Mainwaring and Alexandre Exquemelin.", "They could explore the convoys leaving America because prevailing winds and currents made the transport of heavy metals slow and predictable.", "Embarked and disembarked slaves in the Atlantic slave trade 1525–1863 (first and last slave voyages)\nIn the American colonies depredation, disease, and slavery quickly reduced the indigenous American population to the extent that the Atlantic slave trade had to be introduced to replace them — a trade that became norm and an integral part of the colonization.", "Between the 15th century and 1888, when Brazil became the last part of America to end slave trade, an estimated ten million Africans were exported as slaves, most of them destined for agricultural labour.", "The slave trade was officially abolished in the British Empire and the United States in 1808, and slavery itself was abolished in the British Empire in 1838 and in the U.S. in 1865 after the Civil War.", "From Columbus to the Industrial Revolution Trans-Atlantic trade, including colonialism and slavery, became crucial for Western Europe.", "For European countries with a direct access to the Atlantic (including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain) 1500–1800 was a period of sustained growth during which these countries grew richer than those in Eastern Europe and Asia.", "Colonialism evolved as part of the Trans-Atlantic trade, but this trade also strengthened the position of merchant groups at the expense of monarchs.", "Growth was more rapid in non-absolutist countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, and more limited in absolutist monarchies, such as Portugal, Spain, and France, where profit mostly or exclusively benefited the monarchy and its allies.", "Trans-Atlantic trade also resulted in an increasing urbanization: in European countries facing the Atlantic urbanization grew from 8% in 1300, 10.1% in 1500, to 24.5% in 1850; in other European countries from 10% in 1300, 11.4% in 1500, to 17% in 1850.", "Likewise, GDP doubled in Atlantic countries but rose by only 30% in the rest of Europe.", "By end of the 17th century the volume of the Trans-Atlantic trade had surpassed that of the Mediterranean trade.", "\nThe Atlantic has contributed significantly to the development and economy of surrounding countries.", "Besides major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant petroleum deposits in the sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves.", "The Atlantic harbors petroleum and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, and precious stones.", "Gold deposits are a mile or two under water on the ocean floor, however the deposits are also encased in rock that must be mined through.", "Currently, there is no cost-effective way to mine or extract gold from the ocean to make a profit.", "Various international treaties attempt to reduce pollution caused by environmental threats such as oil spills, marine debris, and the incineration of toxic wastes at sea.", "===Fisheries===\nThe shelves of the Atlantic hosts one of the world's richest fishing resources.", "Fisheries have, however, undergone significant changes since the 1950s and global catches can now be divided into three groups of which only two are observed in the Atlantic: fisheries in the Eastern Central and South-West Atlantic oscillate around a globally stable value, the rest of the Atlantic is in overall decline following historical peaks.", "The third group, \"continuously increasing trend since 1950\", is only found in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.", "Banks of the North-East Atlantic\nIn the North-East Atlantic total catches decreased between the mid-1970s and the 1990s and reached 8.7 million tons in 2013.", "Blue whiting reached a 2.4 million tons peak in 2004 but was down to 628,000 tons in 2013.", "Recovery plans for cod, sole, and plaice have reduced mortality in these species.", "Arctic cod reached its lowest levels in the 1960s–1980s but is now recovered.", "Arctic saithe and haddock are considered fully fished; Sand eel is overfished as was capelin which has now recovered to fully fished.", "Limited data makes the state of redfishes and deep-water species difficult to assess but most likely they remain vulnerable to overfishing.", "Stocks of northern shrimp and Norwegian lobster are in good condition.", "In the North-East Atlantic 21% of stocks are considered overfished.", "Banks of the North-West Atlantic\nIn the North-West Atlantic landings have decreased from 4.2 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.9 million tons in 2013.", "During the 21th century some species have shown weak signs of recovery, including Greenland halibut, yellowtail flounder, Atlantic halibut, haddock, spiny dogfish, while other stocks shown no such signs, including cod, witch flounder, and redfish.", "Stocks of invertebrates, in contrast, remain at record levels of abundance.", "31% of stocks are overfished in the North-west Atlantic.", "Capture of Atlantic north-west cod in million tons\nIn 1497 John Cabot became the first to explore mainland North America and one of his major discoveries was the abundant resources of Atlantic cod off Newfoundland.", "Referred to as \"Newfoundland Currency\" this discovery supplied mankind with some 200 million tons of fish over five centuries.", "In the late 19th and early 20th centuries new fisheries started to exploit haddock, mackerel, and lobster.", "From the 1950s to the 1970s the introduction of European and Asian distant-water fleets in the area dramatically increased the fishing capacity and number of exploited species.", "It also expanded the exploited areas from near-shore to the open sea and to great depths to include deep-water species such as redfish, Greenland halibut, witch flounder, and grenadiers.", "Overfishing in the area was recognised as early as the 1960s but, because this was occurring on international waters, it took until the late 1970s before any attempts to regulate was made.", "In the early 1990s this finally resulted in the collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery.", "The population of a number of deep-sea fishes also collapsed in the process, including American plaice, redfish, and Greenland halibut, together with flounder and grenadier.", "In the Eastern Central Atlantic small pelagic fishes constitute about 50% of landings with sardine reaching 0.6–1.0 million tons per year.", "Pelagic fish stocks are considered fully fishes or overfished, with sardines south of Cape Bojador the notable exception.", "Almost half of stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels.", "Total catches have been fluctuating since the 1970s; reaching 3.9 million tons in 2013 or slightly less than the peak production in 2010.", "Bahama Banks\nIn the Western Central Atlantic catches have been decreasing since 2000 and reached 1.3 million tons in 2013.", "The most important species in the area, Gulf menhaden, reached a million tons in the mid-1980s but only half a million tons in 2013 and is now considered fully fished.", "Round sardinella was an important species in the 1990s but is now considered overfished.", "Groupers and snappers are overfished and northern brown shrimp and American cupped oyster are considered fully fished approaching overfished.", "44% of stocks are being fished at unsustainable levels.", "Horse mackerel and hake are the most important species, together representing almost half of the landings.", "Off South Africa and Namibia deep-water hake and shallow-water Cape hake have recovered to sustainable levels since regulations were introduced in 2006 and the states of Southern African pilchard and anchovy have improved to fully fished in 2013.", "In the South-West Atlantic a peak was reached in the mid-1980s and catches now fluctuate between 1.7 and 2.6 million tons.", "The most important species, the Argentine shortfin squid, which reached half a million tons in 2013 or half the peak value, is considered fully fished to overfished.", "Another important species was the Brazilian sardinella, with a production of 100,000 tons in 2013 it is now considered overfished.", "Half the stocks in this area are being fished at unsustainable levels: Whitehead’s round herring has not yet reached fully fished but Cunene horse mackerel is overfished.", "The sea snail perlemoen abalone is targeted by illegal fishing and remain overfished.", "Marine debris strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic Inaccessible Island.", "Endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales.", "Drift net fishing can kill dolphins, albatrosses and other seabirds (petrels, auks), hastening the fish stock decline and contributing to international disputes.", "Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.", "North Atlantic hurricane activity has increased over past decades because of increased sea surface temperature (SST) at tropical latitudes, changes that can be attributed to either the natural Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) or to anthropogenic climate change.", "A 2005 report indicated that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) slowed down by 30% between 1957 and 2004.", "If the AMO was responsible for SST variability then the AMOC would have increased in strength, which is apparently not the case.", "Furthermore, it is clear from statistical analyses of annual tropical cyclones that these changes do not display multidecadal cyclicity.", "Therefore, these changes in SST must be caused by human activities.", "The ocean mixed layer plays an important role heat storage over seasonal and decadal time-scales, whereas deeper layers are affected over millennia and has a heat capacity about 50 times that of the mixed layer.", "This heat uptake provides a time-lag for climate change but it also results in a thermal expansion of the oceans which contribute to sea-level rise.", "21st century global warming will probably result in an equilibrium sea-level rise five times greater than today, whilst melting of glaciers, including that of the Greenland ice-sheet, expected to have virtually no effect during the 21st century, will probably result in a sea-level rise of 3–6 m over a millennium.", "On 7 June 2006, Florida's wildlife commission voted to take the manatee off the state's endangered species list.", "Some environmentalists worry that this could erode safeguards for the popular sea creature.", "Marine pollution is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles.", "The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture fertilizer chemicals as well as livestock and human waste.", "The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.", "Marine debris, which is also known as marine litter, describes human-created waste floating in a body of water.", "Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.", "\n* List of countries and territories bordering the Atlantic Ocean\n* Seven Seas\n* Gulf Stream shutdown\n* Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean\n* Atlantic hurricanes\n* Transatlantic crossing", "\n===Notes===\n\n\n===Sources===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* map\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "*", "\n* Atlantic Ocean\n* \"Map of Atlantic Coast of North America from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida\" from 1639 via the World Digital Library" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Angola''' , officially the '''Republic of Angola''' ( ; Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu: ''Repubilika ya Ngola''), is a country in Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa and is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to west. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.\n\nAlthough its territory has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Era, what is now the modern country of Angola was influenced by Portuguese colonisation, which began with, and was for centuries limited to, coastal settlements and trading posts established beginning in the 16th century. In the 19th century, European settlers slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. As a Portuguese colony, Angola did not encompass its present borders until the early 20th century, following resistance by groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama and the Mbunda. Independence was achieved in 1975 under a Marxist-Leninist one party state, backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba after a protracted anti-colonial struggle. However, the country soon descended into an even lengthier civil war that lasted until 2002. It has since become a relatively stable unitary presidential republic.\n\nAngola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy is among the fastest growing in the world, especially since the cessation of the civil war. In spite of this, the standard of living remains low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy in Angola is among the lowest in the world, while infant mortality rates are among the highest. Angola's economic growth is highly uneven, with the majority of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small sector of the population.\n\nAngola is a member state of the United Nations, OPEC, African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and the Southern African Development Community. A highly multiethnic country, Angola's 25.8 million people span various tribal groups, customs, and traditions. Angolan culture reflects centuries of Portuguese rule, namely in the predominance of the Portuguese language and the Catholic Church, combined with diverse indigenous influences.\n", "The name ''Angola'' comes from the Portuguese colonial name ''Reino de Angola (Kingdom of Angola)'', appearing as early as Dias de Novais's 1571 charter. The toponym was derived by the Portuguese from the title ''ngola'' held by the kings of Ndongo. Ndongo was a kingdom in the highlands, between the Kwanza and Lukala Rivers, nominally tributary to the king of Kongo but which was seeking greater independence during the 16th century.\n", "\n\n===Early migrations and political units===\nTerritory comprising Kingdom of Ndongo, present-day Angola\n\nModern Angola was populated predominantly by nomadic Khoi and San prior to the first Bantu migrations. The Khoi and San peoples were neither pastoralists nor cultivators, following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They were displaced by Bantu peoples arriving from the north, most of whom likely originated in what is today northwestern Nigeria and southern Niger. Bantu speakers introduced the cultivation of bananas and taro, as well as large cattle herds, to Angola's central highlands and the Luanda plain.\n\nDuring this time, the Bantu established a number of political entities in most of what today comprises Angola. The best known of these was the Kingdom of the Kongo, which was based in Angola, but also extended northward to what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, as well as Gabon. It established trade routes with other city-states and civilisations up and down the coast of southwestern and western Africa and even with Great Zimbabwe and the Mutapa Empire but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade. To its south lay the Kingdom of Ndongo, from which the area of the later Portuguese colony was sometimes known as ''Dongo''.\n\n===Portuguese colonisation===\n\nQueen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in Luanda, 1657.\nThe region, now known as Angola, was reached by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão in 1484. The year before, the Portuguese had established relations with the Kongo, which stretched at the time from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The Portuguese established their primary early trading post at Soyo, which is now the northernmost city in Angola apart from the Cabinda exclave. Paulo Dias de Novais founded São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) in 1575 with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Benguela was fortified in 1587 and elevated to a township in 1617.\n\nThe Portuguese established several other settlements, forts and trading posts along the Angolan coast, principally trading in Angolan slaves for Brazilian plantations. Local slave dealers provided a large number of slaves for the Portuguese Empire, usually sold in exchange for manufactured goods from Europe. This part of the Atlantic slave trade continued until after Brazil's independence in the 1820s.\n\nDespite Portugal's territorial claims to Angola, its control over much of the country's vast interior was minimal. In the 16th century Portugal gained control of the coast through a series of treaties and wars. Life for European colonists was difficult and progress proved to be slow. Iliffe notes that \"Portuguese records of Angola from the 16th century show that a great famine occurred on average every seventy years; accompanied by epidemic disease, it might kill one-third or one-half of the population, destroying the demographic growth of a generation and forcing colonists back into the river valleys\".\nAn illustration depicting Portuguese encounter with Kongo Royal family.\nDuring the Portuguese Restoration War, the Dutch West India Company occupied the principal settlement of Luanda in 1641, using alliances with local peoples to carry out attacks against Portuguese holdings elsewhere. A fleet under Salvador de Sá retook Luanda in 1648; reconquest of the rest of the territory was completed by 1650. New treaties with the Kongo were signed in 1649; others with Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo followed in 1656. The conquest of Pungo Andongo in 1671 was the last major Portuguese expansion from Luanda, as attempts to invade Kongo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed. Colonial outposts also expanded inward from Benguela, but until the late 19th century the inroads from Luanda and Benguela were very limited. Hamstrung by a series of political upheavals in the early 1800s, Portugal was slow to mount a large scale annexation of Angolan territory.\n\nThe slave trade was abolished in Angola in 1836, and in 1854 the colonial government freed all its existing slaves. Four years later, a more progressive administration appointed by Lisbon abolished slavery altogether. However, these decrees remained largely unenforceable, and the Portuguese were dependent on assistance from the Royal Navy to enforce their ban on the slave trade. This coincided with a series of renewed military expeditions on the hinterland, and by the mid-nineteenth century Portugal had established its dominion as far east as the Congo River and as far south as Mossâmedes. Until the late 1880s, Lisbon entertained proposals to link Angola with its colony in Mozambique, but was blocked by British and Belgian opposition. During this whole period, the Portuguese came up against different forms of armed resistance from various peoples in Angola.\n\nThe Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 fixed the colony's borders, delineating the boundaries of Portuguese claims to Angola., although many details were resolved afterwards, until the 1920s. Trade between Portugal and her African territories also rapidly increased as a result of protective tariffs, leading to increased development, as well as a wave of new Portuguese migrants.\n\n===Rise of Angolan nationalism===\n\nPortuguese troops on patrol in Angola during the Angolan War of Independence.\n\nUnder colonial law, black Angolans were forbidden from forming political parties or labour unions. The first nationalist movements did not take root until after World War II, spearheaded by a largely Westernised, Portuguese-speaking urban class which included many mestiços. During the early 1960s they were joined by other associations stemming from ''ad hoc'' labour activism in the rural workforce. Portugal's refusal to address increasing Angolan demands for self-determination provoked an armed conflict which erupted in 1961 with the Baixa de Cassanje revolt and gradually evolved into a protracted war of independence that persisted for the next twelve years. Throughout the conflict, three militant nationalist movements with their own partisan guerrilla wings emerged from the fighting between the Portuguese government and local forces, supported to varying degrees by the Portuguese Communist Party.\n\nThe ''National Front for the Liberation of Angola'' (FNLA) recruited from Bakongo refugees in Zaire. Benefiting from particularly favourable political circumstances in Léopoldville, and especially from a common border with Zaire, Angolan political exiles were able to build up a power base among a large expatriate community from related families, clans, and traditions. People on both sides of the border spoke mutually intelligible dialects and enjoyed shared ties to the historical Kingdom of Kongo. Though as foreigners skilled Angolans could not take advantage of Mobutu Sese Seko's state employment programme, some found work as middlemen for the absentee owners of various lucrative private ventures. The migrants eventually formed the FNLA with the intention of making a bid for political power upon their envisaged return to Angola.\n\nA largely Ovimbundu guerrilla initiative against the Portuguese in central Angola from 1966 was spearheaded by Jonas Savimbi and the ''National Union for the Total Independence of Angola'' (UNITA). It remained handicapped by its geographic remoteness from friendly borders, by the ethnic fragmentation of the Ovimbundu, and the isolation of peasants on European plantations where they had little opportunity to mobilise.\nFNLA insurgents being trained in Zaire in 1973\nAgainst the background of these simultaneous efforts, the rising of the Marxist-Leninist ''Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola'' (MPLA) in the east and Dembos hills north of Luanda came to hold special significance. Formed as a coalition resistance by the Angolan Communist Party, the organisation's leadership remained predominantly Ambundu and courted public sector workers in Luanda. Although both the MPLA and its rivals had accepted material assistance from the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China, the former harboured strong anti-imperialist views and was openly critical of the United States and its support for Portugal. This allowed it to win important ground on the diplomatic front, soliciting support from nonaligned governments in Morocco, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and the United Arab Republic.\n\nThe MPLA attempted to move its headquarters from Conakry to Léopoldville in October 1961, renewing efforts to create a common front with the FNLA, then known as the ''Union of Angolan Peoples'' (UPA) and its leader Holden Roberto. Roberto turned down the offer. When the MPLA first attempted to insert its own insurgents into Angola, the cadres were ambushed and annihilated by UPA partisans on Roberto's orders—setting a precedent for the bitter factional strife which would later ignite the Angolan Civil War.\n\n===Civil war===\n\n\nMonument to the memory of Agostinho Neto and Angolan independence, in Luanda\n\nThroughout the war of independence, the three rival nationalist movements were severely hampered by political and military factionalism, as well as their inability to unite guerrilla efforts against the Portuguese. Between 1961 and 1975 the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA competed for influence in the Angolan population and the international community. The Soviet Union and Cuba became especially sympathetic towards the MPLA and supplied that party with arms, ammunition, funding, and training. They also backed UNITA militants until it became clear that the latter was at irreconcilable odds with the MPLA.\n\nThe collapse of Portugal's Estado Novo government following the 1974 Carnation Revolution led to a suspension of all Portuguese military activities in Africa and the brokering of a ceasefire pending negotiations for Angolan independence. Encouraged by the Organisation of African Unity, Holden Roberto, Jonas Savimbi, and MPLA chairman Agostinho Neto met in Mombasa in early January 1975 and agreed to form a coalition government. This was ratified by the Alvor Agreement later that month, which called for general elections and set the country's independence date for 11 November 1975. All three factions, however, followed up on the ceasefire by taking advantage of the gradual Portuguese withdrawal to seize various strategic positions, acquire more arms, and enlarge their militant forces. The rapid influx of weapons from numerous external sources, especially the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as the escalation of tensions between the nationalist parties, fueled a new outbreak of hostilities. With tacit American and Zairean support the FNLA began massing large numbers of troops in northern Angola in an attempt to gain military superiority. Meanwhile, the MPLA began securing control of Luanda, a traditional Ambundu stronghold. Sporadic violence broke out in Luanda over the next few months after the FNLA attacked MPLA forces in March 1975. The fighting intensified with street clashes in April and May, and UNITA became involved after over two hundred of its members were massacred by an MPLA contingent that June. An upswing in Soviet arms shipments to the MPLA influenced a decision by the Central Intelligence Agency to likewise provide substantial covert aid to the FNLA and UNITA.\n\nIn August 1975, the MPLA requested direct assistance from the Soviet Union in the form of ground troops. The Soviets declined, offering to send advisers but no troops; however, Cuba was more forthcoming and in late September dispatched nearly five hundred combat personnel to Angola, along with sophisticated weaponry and supplies. By independence there were over a thousand Cuban soldiers in the country. They were kept supplied by a massive airbridge carried out with Soviet aircraft. The persistent buildup of Cuban and Soviet military aid allowed the MPLA to drive its opponents from Luanda and blunt an abortive intervention by Zairean and South African troops, which had deployed in a belated attempt to assist the FNLA and UNITA. The FNLA was largely annihilated, although UNITA managed to withdraw its civil officials and militia from Luanda and seek sanctuary in the southern provinces. From there, Savimbi continued to mount a determined insurgent campaign against the MPLA.\nAn MPLA staff car burns after being destroyed in the fighting outside Novo Redondo (present day Sumbe) in late 1975.\nBetween 1975 and 1991, the MPLA implemented an economic and political system based on the principles of scientific socialism, incorporating central planning and a Marxist-Leninist one-party state. It embarked on an ambitious programme of nationalisation and made a concerted attempt to eliminate the preexisting private sector. All locally owned enterprises in every sector of economic activity were subject to nationalisation by the state. These were then incorporated into a single umbrella of state-owned enterprises known as ''Unidades Economicas Estatais'' (UEE). Under the MPLA, Angola experienced a significant degree of modern industrialisation. However, corruption and graft also increased as public resources were either allocated inefficiently or simply embezzled by officials for personal enrichment. The ruling party survived an attempted coup d'état by the Maoist-oriented Communist Organisation of Angola (OCA) in 1977, which was suppressed after a series of bloody political purges that left thousands of OCA supporters dead.\n\nThe MPLA abandoned its former Marxist ideology at its third party congress in 1990, and declared social democracy to be its new platform. Angola subsequently became a member of the International Monetary Fund; restrictions on the market economy were also reduced in an attempt to draw foreign investment. By May 1991 it had reached a peace agreement with UNITA, the Bicesse Accords, which scheduled new general elections for September 1992. When the MPLA secured a major electoral victory, UNITA objected to the results of both the presidential and legislative vote count and returned to war.\n\n===Ceasefire with UNITA===\n\n\n\nOn 22 March 2002, Jonas Savimbi was killed in action against government troops. UNITA and the MPLA reached a cease-fire shortly afterwards. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of a major opposition party. Although the political situation of the country began to stabilise, regular democratic processes did not prevail until the elections in Angola in 2008 and 2012 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010, all of which strengthened the prevailing dominant-party system.\n\nAngola has a serious humanitarian crisis; the result of the prolonged war, of the abundance of minefields, of the continued political (and to a much lesser degree) military activities in favour of the independence of the exclave of Cabinda (carried out in the context of the protracted Cabinda Conflict by the Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, (FLEC)), but most of all, by the depredation of the country's rich mineral resources by the régime. While most of the internally displaced have now settled around the capital, in the so-called ''musseques'', the general situation for Angolans remains desperate.\n\nDrought in 2016 caused the worst food crisis in Southern Africa in 25 years. Drought affected 1.4 million people across seven of Angola's 18 provinces. Food prices rose and acute malnutrition rates doubled, with more than 95,000 children affected. Food insecurity was expected to worsen from July to December 2016.\n", "\n\nAt , Angola is the world's twenty-third largest country. It is comparable in size to Mali, or twice the size of France or Texas. It lies mostly between latitudes 4° and 18°S, and longitudes 12° and 24°E.\n\nAngola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west. The coastal exclave of Cabinda in the north, borders the Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the northwest of the country.\n\n\nFile:Beach of Coatinha in Benguela, Angola.jpg|Coatinha beach in Benguela.\nFile:Miradouro da Lua (Angola).jpg|Miradouro da Lua on the south coast of Luanda.\nFile:Epupa Falls 2.jpg|Epupa Falls, Cunene River on the border of Angola and Namibia.\nFile:Black Stones Pungo Adongo.JPG|Black Stones of Pungo Adongo near Malage, Angola.\nFile:Angola Topography.png|Topographic map of Angola.\n\n", "\nAngola map of Köppen climate classification.\n\nAngola, although located in a tropical zone, has a climate that is not characterized for this region, due to the confluence of three factors:\n\n*The Benguela Current, cold, along the southern part of the coast;\n*The relief in the interior;\n*Influence of the Namib Desert in the southwest.\n\nAs a result, Angola's climate is characterized by two seasons: rainfall from October to April and drought, known as ''Cacimbo'', from May to August, drier, as the name implies, and with lower temperatures. On the other hand, while the coastline has high rainfall rates, decreasing from North to South and from 800 mm to 50 mm, with average annual temperatures above 23 °C, the interior zone can be divided into three areas:\n\n*North, with high rainfall and high temperatures;\n*Central Plateau, with a dry season and average temperatures of the order of 19 °C;\n*South with very high thermal amplitudes due to the proximity of the Kalahari Desert and the influence of masses of tropical air.\n", "\n\nJosé Eduardo dos Santos meets with Vladimir Putin. \nThe National Assembly building in Luanda was built by a Portuguese company in 2013 at a cost of US$185 million\n\nThe Angolan government is composed of three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch comprises a 220-seat unicameral legislature elected from both provincial and nationwide constituencies. For decades, political power has been concentrated in the presidency.\n\nThe Constitution of 2010 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese law and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court does not hold the powers of judicial review. Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by the president.\n\nAfter the end of the civil war the regime came under pressure from within as well as from the international community to become more democratic and less authoritarian. Its reaction was to implement a number of changes without substantially changing its character.\n\nAngola is classified as 'not free' by Freedom House in the Freedom in the World 2014 report. The report noted that the August 2012 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola won more than 70% of the vote, suffered from serious flaws, including outdated and inaccurate voter rolls. Voter turnout dropped from 80% in 2008 to 60%.\n\nAngola scored poorly on the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. It was ranked 39 out of 52 sub-Saharan African countries, scoring particularly badly in the areas of participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. The Ibrahim Index uses a number of variables to compile its list which reflects the state of governance in Africa.\nJosé Eduardo dos Santos, current President of Angola since 1979.\n\nThe new constitution, adopted in 2010, did away with presidential elections, introducing a system in which the president and the vice-president of the political party that wins the parliamentary elections automatically become president and vice-president. Directly or indirectly, the president controls all other organs of the state, so there is de facto no separation of powers. In terms of the classifications used in constitutional law, this form of government fall under the category of ''authoritarian regime''.\n\nOn 16 October 2014, Angola was elected for the second time as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, with 190 favourable votes out of 193. The mandate begins on 1 January 2015 and lasts for two years.\n\nAlso in that month, the country took on the leadership of the Group of African Ministers and Governors at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, following the debates at the annual meetings of both entities.\n\nSince January 2014 the Republic of Angola has held the presidency of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). In 2015, the executive secretary of ICGLR, Ntumba Luaba, said that Angola is the example to be followed by members of the organisation, because of the significant progress made over the 12 years of peace, particularly in terms of socioeconomic and political-military stability.\n\nAfter 38 years of rule, President dos Santos will be stepping down from the MPLA leadership. The leader of the winning party at the Parliamentary Elections in August 2017 will become the next president of Angola. The MPLA has selected Defense Minister, General João Lourenço, for their front-runner to take over from President dos Santos if the ruling party wins the August elections.\n\n===Armed forces===\n\nAngolan Air Force Ilyushin Il-76TD Karpezo-1\nAngolan Army training in Russia. From left to right, the ranks of the men are Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain.\n\nThe Angolan Armed Forces (AAF) is headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defence. There are three divisions—the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MGA) and National Air Force (Força Aérea Nacional, FAN). Total manpower is about 110,000. Its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombers and transport planes. There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucano for training role, Czech-made L-39 for training and bombing role, Czech Zlin for training role and a variety of western made aircraft such as C-212\\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc. A small number of AAF personnel are stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).\n\n===Police===\nThe National Police departments are Public Order, Criminal Investigation, Traffic and Transport, Investigation and Inspection of Economic Activities, Taxation and Frontier Supervision, Riot Police and the Rapid Intervention Police. The National Police are in the process of standing up an air wing, which will provide helicopter support for operations. The National Police are developing their criminal investigation and forensic capabilities. The force has an estimated 6,000 patrol officers, 2,500 taxation and frontier supervision officers, 182 criminal investigators and 100 financial crimes detectives and around 90 economic activity inspectors.\n\nThe National Police have implemented a modernisation and development plan to increase the capabilities and efficiency of the total force. In addition to administrative reorganisation, modernisation projects include procurement of new vehicles, aircraft and equipment, construction of new police stations and forensic laboratories, restructured training programmes and the replacement of AKM rifles with 9 mm Uzis for officers in urban areas.\n\n===Justice===\nA Supreme Court serves as a court of appeal. The Constitutional Court is the supreme body of the constitutional jurisdiction, its Organic Law was approved by Law no. 2/08, of June 17, and its first task was the validation of the candidacies of the political parties to the legislative elections of 5 September 2008. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary laws, but it is weak and fragmented. There are only 12 courts in more than 140 counties in the country. A Supreme Court serves as a court of appeal. With the approval of Law no. 2/08, of June 17 - Organic Law of the Constitutional Court and Law n. 3/08, of June 17 - Organic Law of the Constitutional Process, the Legal Creation of the Constitutional Court. Thus, on June 25, 2008, the Constitutional Court was institutionalized and its Judicial Counselors assumed the position before the President of the Republic. On this date, seven advisory judges took office, four men and three women.\n\nIn 2014, a new penal code took effect in Angola. The classification of money-laundering as a crime is one of the novelties in the new legislation.\n\n===Foreign relations===\nDiplomatic missions of Angola.\nOn 16 October 2014, Angola was elected for the second time a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with 190 favorable votes out of a total of 193. The term of office begins on 1 January 2015 and lasts for two Years.\n\nSince January 2014, the Republic of Angola has been chairing the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL). 80 In 2015, CIRGL Executive Secretary Ntumba Luaba said that Angola is the example to be followed by the members of the organization, due to the significant progress made during the 12 years of peace, namely in terms of socio-economic stability and political- military.\n\n===Human rights===\n\nHomosexual acts are currently illegal in Angola. However, in February 2017, the Angolan Parliament approved a new penal code which does not outlaw homosexual acts. The law will come effect in late 2017. In 2010, the Angolan Government refused to receive openly gay Isi Yanouka as the new Israeli ambassador, allegedly due to his sexual orientation.\n", "\nMap of Angola with the provinces numbered\n\n, Angola is divided into eighteen provinces (''províncias'') and 162 municipalities. The municipalities are further divided into 559 communes (townships). The provinces are:\n\n# Bengo\n# Benguela\n# Bié\n# Cabinda\n# Cuando Cubango\n# Cuanza Norte\n# Cuanza Sul\n# Cunene\n# Huambo\n# Huíla\n# Luanda\n# Lunda Norte\n# Lunda Sul\n# Malanje\n# Moxico\n# Namibe\n# Uíge\n# Zaire\n\n\n===Exclave of Cabinda===\n\nFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC)\n\nWith an area of approximately , the Northern Angolan province of Cabinda is unusual in being separated from the rest of the country by a strip, some wide, of the Democratic Republic of Congo along the lower Congo River. Cabinda borders the Congo Republic to the north and north-northeast and the DRC to the east and south. The town of Cabinda is the chief population centre.\n\nAccording to a 1995 census, Cabinda had an estimated population of 600,000, approximately 400,000 of whom live in neighbouring countries. Population estimates are, however, highly unreliable. Consisting largely of tropical forest, Cabinda produces hardwoods, coffee, cocoa, crude rubber and palm oil. The product for which it is best known, however, is its oil, which has given it the nickname, \"the Kuwait of Africa\". Cabinda's petroleum production from its considerable offshore reserves now accounts for more than half of Angola's output. Most of the oil along its coast was discovered under Portuguese rule by the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) from 1968 onwards.\n\nEver since Portugal handed over sovereignty of its former overseas province of Angola to the local independence groups (MPLA, UNITA and FNLA), the territory of Cabinda has been a focus of separatist guerrilla actions opposing the Government of Angola (which has employed its armed forces, the FAA—Forças Armadas Angolanas) and Cabindan separatists. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Armed Forces of Cabinda (FLEC-FAC) announced a virtual Federal Republic of Cabinda under the Presidency of N'Zita Henriques Tiago. One of the characteristics of the Cabindan independence movement is its constant fragmentation, into smaller and smaller factions.\n", "\nA booming economy due to oil revenues and stable politics, Angola has seen an increase in its international trading sector.\nLuanda city centre.\nThe Banco Nacional de Angola building on the Marginal in Luanda dates from 1956.\nTAAG Angolan Airlines is Angola's national airline.\nNew suburb (new housing area) in Luanda built in 2010.\nOffshore petrol platform prepared moving to final destination on high sea, Luanda, Angola, Atlantic Ocean\n\nAngola has a rich subsoil heritage, from diamonds, oil, gold, copper and a rich wildlife (dramatically impoverished during the civil war), forest and fossils. Since independence, oil and diamonds have been the most important economic resource. Smallholder and plantation agriculture have dramatically dropped because of the Angolan Civil War, but have begun to recover after 2002. The transformation industry that had come into existence in the late colonial period collapsed at independence, because of the exodus of most of the ethnic Portuguese population, but has begun to reemerge with updated technologies, partly because of the influx of new Portuguese entrepreneurs. Similar developments can be verified in the service sector.\n\nOverall, Angola's economy has in recent years moved on from the disarray caused by a quarter-century of civil war to become the fastest-growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world, with an average GDP growth of 20 percent between 2005 and 2007. In the period 2001–10, Angola had the world's highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1 percent. In 2004, the Exim Bank of China approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola. The loan was to be used to rebuild Angola's infrastructure, and also to limited the influence of the International Monetary Fund in the country. China is Angola's biggest trade partner and export destination as well as the fourth-largest importer. Bilateral trade reached $27.67 billion in 2011, up 11.5% year-on-year. China's imports, mainly crude oil and diamonds, increased 9.1% to $24.89 billion while China's exports, including mechanical and electrical products, machinery parts and construction materials, surged 38.8%. The oil glut led to a local unleaded gasoline \"pricetag\" of £0.37 per gallon.\n\n''The Economist'' reported in 2008 that diamonds and oil make up 60% of Angola's economy, almost all of the country's revenue and all its dominant exports. Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late 2005 and was expected to grow to by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government. In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC. However, operations in diamond mines include partnerships between state-run Endiama and mining companies such as ALROSA which continue operations in Angola. The economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007. However, due to the global recession the economy contracted an estimated −0.3% in 2009. The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.\n\nAlthough the country's economy has developed significantly since it achieved political stability in 2002, mainly thanks to the fast-rising earnings of the oil sector, Angola faces huge social and economic problems. These are in part a result of the almost continual state of conflict from 1961 onwards, although the highest level of destruction and socio-economic damage took place after the 1975 independence, during the long years of civil war. However, high poverty rates and blatant social inequality are chiefly the outcome of a combination of a persistent political authoritarianism, of \"neo-patrimonial\" practices at all levels of the political, administrative, armed forces and economic apparatuses, and of a pervasive corruption. The main beneficiary of this situation is a social segment constituted during the last decades, around the political, administrative, economic and military power holders, which has accumulated (and continues accumulating) enormous wealth. \"Secondary beneficiaries\" are the middle strata which are about to become social classes. However, overall almost half the population has to be considered as poor, but in this respect there are dramatic differences between the countryside and the cities (where by now slightly more than 50% of the people live).\n\nAn inquiry carried out in 2008 by the Angolan Instituto Nacional de Estatística has it that in the rural areas roughly 58% must be classified as \"poor\", according to UN norms, but in the urban areas only 19%, while the overall rate is 37%. In the cities, a majority of families, well beyond those officially classified as poor, have to adopt a variety of survival strategies. At the same time, in urban areas social inequality is most evident and assumes extreme forms in the capital, Luanda. In the Human Development Index Angola constantly ranks in the bottom group.\n\nAccording to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, oil production from Angola has increased so significantly that Angola now is China's biggest supplier of oil. “China has extended three multibillion dollar lines of credit to the Angolan government; two loans of $2 billion from China Exim Bank, one in 2004, the second in 2007, as well as one loan in 2005 of $2.9 billion from China International Fund Ltd.” Growing oil revenues have also created opportunities for corruption: according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, 32 billion US dollars disappeared from government accounts from 2007 to 2010. Furthermore, Sonangol, the state run oil company, has control of 51% of Cabinda’s oil. Due to this market control the company ends up determining the profit given to the government and the taxes paid. The council of foreign affairs states that the World Bank mentioned that Sonangol \" is a taxpayer, it carries out quasi-fiscal activities, it invests public funds, and, as concessionaire, it is a sector regulator. This multifarious work programme creates conflicts of interest and characterises a complex relationship between Sonangol and the government that weakens the formal budgetary process and creates uncertainty as regards the actual fiscal stance of the state.\"\n\nBefore independence in 1975, Angola was a breadbasket of southern Africa and a major exporter of bananas, coffee and sisal, but three decades of civil war (1975–2002) destroyed fertile countryside, left it littered with landmines and drove millions into the cities. The country now depends on expensive food imports, mainly from South Africa and Portugal, while more than 90% of farming is done at the family and subsistence level. Thousands of Angolan small-scale farmers are trapped in poverty.\n\nThe enormous differences between the regions pose a serious structural problem for the Angolan economy, illustrated by the fact that about one third of economic activities are concentrated in Luanda and neighbouring Bengo province, while several areas of the interior suffer economic stagnation and even regression.\n\nOne of the economic consequences of the social and regional disparities is a sharp increase in Angolan private investments abroad. The small fringe of Angolan society where most of the accumulation takes place seeks to spread its assets, for reasons of security and profit. For the time being, the biggest share of these investments is concentrated in Portugal where the Angolan presence (including that of the family of the state president) in banks as well as in the domains of energy, telecommunications, and mass media has become notable, as has the acquisition of vineyards and orchards as well as of touristic enterprises.\n\nSub-Saharan Africa nations are globally achieving impressive improvements in well-being, according to a report by Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative and the Boston Consulting Group. Angola has upgraded critical infrastructure, an investment made possible by funds from the nation's development of oil resources. According to this report, just slightly more than ten years after the end of the civil war Angola's standard of living has overall greatly improved. Life expectancy, which was just 46 years in 2002, reached 51 in 2011. Mortality rates for children fell from 25 percent in 2001 to 19 percent in 2010 and the number of students enrolled in primary school has tripled since 2001. However, at the same time the social and economic inequality that has characterised the country since long has not diminished, but on the contrary deepened in all respects.\n\nWith a stock of assets corresponding to 70 billion Kz (6.8 billion USD), Angola is now the third largest financial market in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassed only by Nigeria and South Africa. According to the Angolan Minister of Economy, Abraão Gourgel, the financial market of the country grew modestly from 2002 and now lies in third place at the level of sub-Saharan Africa.\n\nAngola's economy is expected to grow by 3.9 percent in 2014 said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the Fund, robust growth in the non-oil economy, mainly driven by a very good performance in the agricultural sector, is expected to offset a temporary drop in oil production.\n\nAngola's financial system is maintained by the National Bank of Angola and managed by governor Jose de Lima Massano. According to a study on the banking sector, carried out by Deloitte, the monetary policy led by Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), the Angolan national bank, allowed a decrease in the inflation rate put at 7.96% in December 2013, which contributed to the sector's growth trend. According to estimates released by Angola's central bank, the country's economy should grow at an annual average rate of 5 percent over the next four years, boosted by the increasing participation of the private sector.\n\nOn 19 December 2014, the Capital Market in Angola started. BODIVA (Angola Securities and Debt Stock Exchange, in English) received the secondary public debt market, and it is expected to start the corporate debt market by 2015, but the stock market should be a reality only in 2016.\n\n=== Agriculture ===\nAgriculture and forestry is an area of opportunity for the country. “Angola requires 4.5 million tonnes a year of grain but grows only about 55% of the corn it needs, 20% of the rice and just 5% of its required wheat”(African economic Outlook) but “less than 3 percent of Angola's abundant fertile land is cultivated and the economic potential of the forestry sector remains largely unexploited” (World Bank). From this fact we can appreciate the capacity that Angola has to increase production for not only for the national market but also the international one. Investing in this sector can help reduce unemployment and more specifically in the rural areas. This will undoubtedly have consequences on the living standard of rural civilians.\n\n===Transport===\n\nQuatro de Fevereiro Luanda Airport arrivals.\nTrains station in Benguela.\nShip loading minerals at Namibe harbour, Angola.\nTransport in Angola consists of:\n*Three separate railway systems totalling \n* of highway of which is paved\n*1,295 navigable inland waterways\n*Eight major sea ports\n*243 airports, of which 32 are paved.\n\nTravel on highways outside of towns and cities in Angola (and in some cases within) is often not best advised for those without four-by-four vehicles. While a reasonable road infrastructure has existed within Angola, time and the war have taken their toll on the road surfaces, leaving many severely potholed, littered with broken asphalt. In many areas drivers have established alternate tracks to avoid the worst parts of the surface, although careful attention must be paid to the presence or absence of landmine warning markers by the side of the road. The Angolan government has contracted the restoration of many of the country's roads. The road between Lubango and Namibe, for example, was completed recently with funding from the European Union, and is comparable to many European main routes. Completing the road infrastructure is likely to take some decades, but substantial efforts are already being made.\n\nTransport is an important aspect in Angola because it is strategically located and it could become a regional logistics hub. In addition Angola has some of the most important and biggest ports and so it is vital to connect them to the interior of the country as well as to neighbouring countries.\n\nTourism is creaking to its feet on the heels of the long ended stop in the civil war, and very few tourists venture anywhere in Angola yet due to lack of infrastructure.\n\n===Telecommunications===\nThe telecommunications industry is considered one of the main strategic sectors in Angola.\n\nIn October 2014, the building of an optic fiber underwater cable was announced. This project aims to turn Angola into a continental hub, thus improving Internet connections both nationally and internationally.\n\nOn 11 March 2015, the First Angolan Forum of Telecommunications and Information Technology was held in Luanda under the motto \"The challenges of telecommunications in the current context of Angola\". The purpose of this forum was to promote the debate on topical issues on telecommunications in Angola and worldwide. A study about this sector was also presented at this forum, and some of its conclusions were: Angola had the first telecommunications operator in Africa to test the High Speed Internet technology (LTE-Advanced with speeds up to 400Mbit/s); It has a mobile penetration rate of about 75%; There are about 3.5 million smartphones in the Angolan market; There are about of optical fibre installed in the country.\n\nThe first Angolan satellite, AngoSat-1, will be ready for launch into orbit in 2017 and it will ensure telecommunications throughout the country. According to Aristides Safeca, Secretary of State for Telecommunications, the satellite will provide telecommunications services, TV, internet and e-government and will remain into orbit \"at best\" for 18 years.\n\n===Technology===\nThe management of the domain '.ao' on web pages, will go from Portugal to Angola in 2015, following the approval of a new legislation by the Angolan Government. The joint decree of the minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, José Carvalho da Rocha, and the minister of Science and Technology, Maria Cândida Pereira Teixeira, states that \"under the massification\" of that Angolan domain, \"conditions are created for the transfer of the domain root '.ao' of Portugal to Angola\".\n", "\nPopulation Pyramid of Angola in 2012\n\n\nPopulation in Angola\n\nYear\nMillion\n\n1950 \n4.1\n\n2000 \n13.1\n\n2014 \n25.8\n\n\nAngola has a population of 24,383,301 inhabitants according to the preliminary results of its 2014 census, the first one conducted or carried out since 15 December 1970. It is composed of Ovimbundu (language Umbundu) 37%, Ambundu (language Kimbundu) 23%, Bakongo 13%, and 32% other ethnic groups (including the Chokwe, the Ovambo, the Ganguela and the Xindonga) as well as about 2% ''mestiços'' (mixed European and African), 1.6% Chinese and 1% European. The Ambundu and Ovimbundu ethnic groups combined form a majority of the population, at 62%. The population is forecast to grow to over 60 million people to 2050, 2.7 times the 2014 population. However, on 23 March 2016, official data revealed by Angola's National Statistic Institute – Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), states that Angola has a population of 25.789.024 inhabitants.\n\nIt is estimated that Angola was host to 12,100 refugees and 2,900 asylum seekers by the end of 2007. 11,400 of those refugees were originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who arrived in the 1970s. there were an estimated 400,000 Democratic Republic of the Congo migrant workers, at least 220,000 Portuguese, and about 259,000 Chinese living in Angola.\n\nSince 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from Angola. Prior to independence in 1975, Angola had a community of approximately 350,000 Portuguese, but the vast majority left after independence and the ensuing civil war. However, Angola has recovered its Portuguese minority in recent years; currently, there are about 200,000 registered with the consulates, and increasing due to the debt crisis in Portugal and the relative prosperity in Angola. The Chinese population stands at 258,920, mostly composed of temporary migrants. Also, there is a small Brazilian community of about 5,000 people.\n\nThe total fertility rate of Angola is 5.54 children born per woman (2012 estimates), the 11th highest in the world.\n\n===Languages===\n\n\nEthnic groups of Angola 1970\nThe languages in Angola are those originally spoken by the different ethnic groups and Portuguese, introduced during the Portuguese colonial era. The most widely spoken indigenous languages are Umbundu, Kimbundu and Kikongo, in that order. Portuguese is the official language of the country.\n\nAlthough the exact numbers of those fluent in Portuguese or who speak Portuguese as a first language are unknown, a 2012 study mentions that Portuguese is the first language of 39% of the population. In 2014, a census carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística in Angola mentions that 71.15% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola (meaning around 18.3 million people) use Portuguese as a first or second language.\n\n===Religion===\n\nCatholic church in Benguela\n\nThere are about 1,000 religious communities, mostly Christian, in Angola. While reliable statistics are nonexistent, estimates have it that more than half of the population are Catholics, while about a quarter adhere to the Protestant churches introduced during the colonial period: the Congregationalists mainly among the Ovimbundu of the Central Highlands and the coastal region to its west, the Methodists concentrating on the Kimbundu speaking strip from Luanda to Malanje, the Baptists almost exclusively among the Bakongo of the north-west (now present in Luanda as well) and dispersed Adventists, Reformed and Lutherans. In Luanda and region there subsists a nucleus of the \"syncretic\" Tocoists and in the north-west a sprinkling of Kimbanguism can be found, spreading from the Congo/Zaïre. Since independence, hundreds of Pentecostal and similar communities have sprung up in the cities, where by now about 50% of the population is living; several of these communities/churches are of Brazilian origin.\n\n the U.S. Department of State estimates the Muslim population at 80,000–90,000, less than 1% of the population, while the Islamic Community of Angola puts the figure closer to 500,000. Muslims consist largely of migrants from West Africa and the Middle East (especially Lebanon), although some are local converts. The Angolan government does not legally recognize any Muslim organizations and often shuts down mosques or prevents their construction.\n\nIn a study assessing nations' levels of religious regulation and persecution with scores ranging from 0 to 10 where 0 represented low levels of regulation or persecution, Angola was scored 0.8 on Government Regulation of Religion, 4.0 on Social Regulation of Religion, 0 on Government Favoritism of Religion and 0 on Religious Persecution.\n\nForeign missionaries were very active prior to independence in 1975, although since the beginning of the anti-colonial fight in 1961 the Portuguese colonial authorities expelled a series of Protestant missionaries and closed mission stations based on the belief that the missionaries were inciting pro-independence sentiments. Missionaries have been able to return to the country since the early 1990s, although security conditions due to the civil war have prevented them until 2002 from restoring many of their former inland mission stations.\n\nThe Catholic Church and some major Protestant denominations mostly keep to themselves in contrast to the \"New Churches\" which actively proselytize. Catholics, as well as some major Protestant denominations, provide help for the poor in the form of crop seeds, farm animals, medical care and education.\n\n===Largest cities===\n\n", "\n\nYombe-sculpture, 19th century\n\nThe ''substrate'' of Angolan culture is African, predominantly Bantu, while Portuguese culture has had a significant impact, specifically in terms of language and religion. The diverse ethnic communities – the Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, Mbunda and other peoples – to varying degrees maintain their own cultural traits, traditions and languages, but in the cities, where slightly more than half of the population now lives, a mixed culture has been emerging since colonial times; in Luanda, since its foundation in the 16th century. In this urban culture, the Portuguese heritage has become more and more dominant. African roots are evident in music and dance, and is moulding the way in which Portuguese is spoken. This process is well reflected in contemporary Angolan literature, especially in the works of Angolan authors.\n\nIn 2014, Angola resumed the National Festival of Angolan Culture after a 25-year break. The festival took place in all the provincial capitals and lasted for 20 days, with the theme ''Culture as a Factor of Peace and Development''.\n", "\nAngolan woman with children outside a health clinic\n\nEpidemics of cholera, malaria, rabies and African hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are common diseases in several parts of the country. Many regions in this country have high incidence rates of tuberculosis and high HIV prevalence rates. Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are other diseases carried by insects that also occur in the region. Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and one of the world's lowest life expectancies. A 2007 survey concluded that low and deficient niacin status was common in Angola. Demographic and Health Surveys is currently conducting several surveys in Angola on malaria, domestic violence and more.\n\nIn September 2014, the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC) was created by presidential decree, and it will integrate the National Health Service in Angola. The purpose of this new centre is to ensure the health and medical care in oncology, policy implementation, programmes and plans for prevention and specialised treatment. This cancer institute will be assumed as a reference institution in the central and southern regions of Africa.\n\nIn 2014, Angola launched a national campaign of vaccination against measles, extended to every child under ten years old and aiming to go to all 18 provinces in the country. The measure is part of the Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles 2014–2020 created by the Angolan Ministry of Health which includes strengthening routine immunisation, a proper dealing with measles cases, national campaigns, introducing a second dose of vaccination in the national routine vaccination calendar and active epidemiological surveillance for measles. This campaign took place together with the vaccination against polio and vitamin A supplementation.\n\nA yellow fever outbreak, the worst in the country in three decades began in December 2015. By August 2016, when the outbreak began to subside, nearly 4,000 people were suspected of being infected. As many as 369 may have died. The outbreak began in the capital, Luanda, and spread to at least 16 of the 18 provinces.\n", "\nLyceum Salvador Correia in Luanda\nKuito class, Angola\n\nAlthough by law education in Angola is compulsory and free for eight years, the government reports that a percentage of pupils are not attending due to a lack of school buildings and teachers. Pupils are often responsible for paying additional school-related expenses, including fees for books and supplies.\n\nIn 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 74 percent and in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the net primary enrollment rate was 61 percent. Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of pupils formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. There continue to be significant disparities in enrollment between rural and urban areas. In 1995, 71.2 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school. It is reported that higher percentages of boys attend school than girls. During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), nearly half of all schools were reportedly looted and destroyed, leading to current problems with overcrowding.\n\nThe Ministry of Education recruited 20,000 new teachers in 2005 and continued to implement teacher trainings. Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day). Some teachers may reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their pupils. Other factors, such as the presence of landmines, lack of resources and identity papers, and poor health prevent children from regularly attending school. Although budgetary allocations for education were increased in 2004, the education system in Angola continues to be extremely under-funded.\n\nAccording to estimates by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the adult literacy rate in 2011 was 70.4%. 82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001. Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Angolan students continued to be admitted every year at high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities in Portugal, Brazil and Cuba through bilateral agreements; in general, these students belong to the elites.\n\nIn September 2014, the Angolan Ministry of Education announced an investment of 16 million Euros in the computerisation of over 300 classrooms across the country. The project also includes training teachers at a national level, \"as a way to introduce and use new information technologies in primary schools, thus reflecting an improvement in the quality of teaching.\"\n\nIn 2010, the Angolan government started building the Angolan Media Libraries Network, distributed throughout several provinces in the country to facilitate the people's access to information and knowledge. Each site has a bibliographic archive, multimedia resources and computers with Internet access, as well as areas for reading, researching and socialising. The plan envisages the establishment of one media library in each Angolan province by 2017. The project also includes the implementation of several media libraries, in order to provide the several contents available in the fixed media libraries to the most isolated populations in the country. At this time, the mobile media libraries are already operating in the provinces of Luanda, Malanje, Uíge, Cabinda and Lunda South. As for REMA, the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Lubango and Soyo have currently working media libraries.\n", "Interior of 11 November stadium in Luanda, Angola, with Tribunes and running track\nAngola hosted the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.\nAngola is the top basketball team of FIBA Africa, and a regular competitor at the Summer Olympic Games and the FIBA World Cup. The Angola national football team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as this was their first appearance on the World Cup finals stage. They were eliminated after one defeat and two draws in the group stage. They won 3 COSAFA Cups and finished runner up in 2011 African Nations Championship. Angola has participated in the World Women's Handball Championship for several years. The country has also appeared in the Summer Olympics for seven years and both regularly competes in and once has hosted the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, where the best finish is sixth. Angola is also often believed to have historic roots in the martial art \"Capoeira Angola\" and \"Batuque\" which were practiced by enslaved African Angolans transported as part of the Atlantic slave trade.\n", "\n*Outline of Angola\n*Index of Angola-related articles\n\n\n", "\n", "* \n* \n*Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. The information given there is, however, corrected and updated on the basis of the other sources indicated.\n", "\n\n\n* \n*\n*\n* Angola from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.\n* Angola profile from the BBC News.\n*\n* Key Development Forecasts for Angola from International Futures.\n* Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2012 – Angola Country Report\n*Markus Weimer, \" The Peace Dividend: Analysis of a Decade of Angolan Indicators, 2002–2012\".\n* The participation of Hungarian soldiers in UN peacekeeping operations in Angola\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "History", "Geography", "Climate", "Politics", "Administrative divisions", "Economy", "Demographics", "Culture", "Health", "Education", "Sports", "See also", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Also in that month, the country took on the leadership of the Group of African Ministers and Governors at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, following the debates at the annual meetings of both entities.", "In 2004, the Exim Bank of China approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola.", "“China has extended three multibillion dollar lines of credit to the Angolan government; two loans of $2 billion from China Exim Bank, one in 2004, the second in 2007, as well as one loan in 2005 of $2.9 billion from China International Fund Ltd.” Growing oil revenues have also created opportunities for corruption: according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, 32 billion US dollars disappeared from government accounts from 2007 to 2010.", "The council of foreign affairs states that the World Bank mentioned that Sonangol \" is a taxpayer, it carries out quasi-fiscal activities, it invests public funds, and, as concessionaire, it is a sector regulator.", "Angola's financial system is maintained by the National Bank of Angola and managed by governor Jose de Lima Massano.", "According to a study on the banking sector, carried out by Deloitte, the monetary policy led by Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), the Angolan national bank, allowed a decrease in the inflation rate put at 7.96% in December 2013, which contributed to the sector's growth trend.", "According to estimates released by Angola's central bank, the country's economy should grow at an annual average rate of 5 percent over the next four years, boosted by the increasing participation of the private sector.", "“Angola requires 4.5 million tonnes a year of grain but grows only about 55% of the corn it needs, 20% of the rice and just 5% of its required wheat”(African economic Outlook) but “less than 3 percent of Angola's abundant fertile land is cultivated and the economic potential of the forestry sector remains largely unexploited” (World Bank)." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Angola''' , officially the '''Republic of Angola''' ( ; Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu: ''Repubilika ya Ngola''), is a country in Southern Africa.", "It is the seventh-largest country in Africa and is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to west.", "The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.", "The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.", "Although its territory has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Era, what is now the modern country of Angola was influenced by Portuguese colonisation, which began with, and was for centuries limited to, coastal settlements and trading posts established beginning in the 16th century.", "In the 19th century, European settlers slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior.", "As a Portuguese colony, Angola did not encompass its present borders until the early 20th century, following resistance by groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama and the Mbunda.", "Independence was achieved in 1975 under a Marxist-Leninist one party state, backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba after a protracted anti-colonial struggle.", "However, the country soon descended into an even lengthier civil war that lasted until 2002.", "It has since become a relatively stable unitary presidential republic.", "Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy is among the fastest growing in the world, especially since the cessation of the civil war.", "In spite of this, the standard of living remains low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy in Angola is among the lowest in the world, while infant mortality rates are among the highest.", "Angola's economic growth is highly uneven, with the majority of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small sector of the population.", "Angola is a member state of the United Nations, OPEC, African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and the Southern African Development Community.", "A highly multiethnic country, Angola's 25.8 million people span various tribal groups, customs, and traditions.", "Angolan culture reflects centuries of Portuguese rule, namely in the predominance of the Portuguese language and the Catholic Church, combined with diverse indigenous influences.", "The name ''Angola'' comes from the Portuguese colonial name ''Reino de Angola (Kingdom of Angola)'', appearing as early as Dias de Novais's 1571 charter.", "The toponym was derived by the Portuguese from the title ''ngola'' held by the kings of Ndongo.", "Ndongo was a kingdom in the highlands, between the Kwanza and Lukala Rivers, nominally tributary to the king of Kongo but which was seeking greater independence during the 16th century.", "\n\n===Early migrations and political units===\nTerritory comprising Kingdom of Ndongo, present-day Angola\n\nModern Angola was populated predominantly by nomadic Khoi and San prior to the first Bantu migrations.", "The Khoi and San peoples were neither pastoralists nor cultivators, following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.", "They were displaced by Bantu peoples arriving from the north, most of whom likely originated in what is today northwestern Nigeria and southern Niger.", "Bantu speakers introduced the cultivation of bananas and taro, as well as large cattle herds, to Angola's central highlands and the Luanda plain.", "During this time, the Bantu established a number of political entities in most of what today comprises Angola.", "The best known of these was the Kingdom of the Kongo, which was based in Angola, but also extended northward to what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, as well as Gabon.", "It established trade routes with other city-states and civilisations up and down the coast of southwestern and western Africa and even with Great Zimbabwe and the Mutapa Empire but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade.", "To its south lay the Kingdom of Ndongo, from which the area of the later Portuguese colony was sometimes known as ''Dongo''.", "===Portuguese colonisation===\n\nQueen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in Luanda, 1657.", "The region, now known as Angola, was reached by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão in 1484.", "The year before, the Portuguese had established relations with the Kongo, which stretched at the time from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south.", "The Portuguese established their primary early trading post at Soyo, which is now the northernmost city in Angola apart from the Cabinda exclave.", "Paulo Dias de Novais founded São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) in 1575 with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers.", "Benguela was fortified in 1587 and elevated to a township in 1617.", "The Portuguese established several other settlements, forts and trading posts along the Angolan coast, principally trading in Angolan slaves for Brazilian plantations.", "Local slave dealers provided a large number of slaves for the Portuguese Empire, usually sold in exchange for manufactured goods from Europe.", "This part of the Atlantic slave trade continued until after Brazil's independence in the 1820s.", "Despite Portugal's territorial claims to Angola, its control over much of the country's vast interior was minimal.", "In the 16th century Portugal gained control of the coast through a series of treaties and wars.", "Life for European colonists was difficult and progress proved to be slow.", "Iliffe notes that \"Portuguese records of Angola from the 16th century show that a great famine occurred on average every seventy years; accompanied by epidemic disease, it might kill one-third or one-half of the population, destroying the demographic growth of a generation and forcing colonists back into the river valleys\".", "An illustration depicting Portuguese encounter with Kongo Royal family.", "During the Portuguese Restoration War, the Dutch West India Company occupied the principal settlement of Luanda in 1641, using alliances with local peoples to carry out attacks against Portuguese holdings elsewhere.", "A fleet under Salvador de Sá retook Luanda in 1648; reconquest of the rest of the territory was completed by 1650.", "New treaties with the Kongo were signed in 1649; others with Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo followed in 1656.", "The conquest of Pungo Andongo in 1671 was the last major Portuguese expansion from Luanda, as attempts to invade Kongo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed.", "Colonial outposts also expanded inward from Benguela, but until the late 19th century the inroads from Luanda and Benguela were very limited.", "Hamstrung by a series of political upheavals in the early 1800s, Portugal was slow to mount a large scale annexation of Angolan territory.", "The slave trade was abolished in Angola in 1836, and in 1854 the colonial government freed all its existing slaves.", "Four years later, a more progressive administration appointed by Lisbon abolished slavery altogether.", "However, these decrees remained largely unenforceable, and the Portuguese were dependent on assistance from the Royal Navy to enforce their ban on the slave trade.", "This coincided with a series of renewed military expeditions on the hinterland, and by the mid-nineteenth century Portugal had established its dominion as far east as the Congo River and as far south as Mossâmedes.", "Until the late 1880s, Lisbon entertained proposals to link Angola with its colony in Mozambique, but was blocked by British and Belgian opposition.", "During this whole period, the Portuguese came up against different forms of armed resistance from various peoples in Angola.", "The Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 fixed the colony's borders, delineating the boundaries of Portuguese claims to Angola., although many details were resolved afterwards, until the 1920s.", "Trade between Portugal and her African territories also rapidly increased as a result of protective tariffs, leading to increased development, as well as a wave of new Portuguese migrants.", "===Rise of Angolan nationalism===\n\nPortuguese troops on patrol in Angola during the Angolan War of Independence.", "Under colonial law, black Angolans were forbidden from forming political parties or labour unions.", "The first nationalist movements did not take root until after World War II, spearheaded by a largely Westernised, Portuguese-speaking urban class which included many mestiços.", "During the early 1960s they were joined by other associations stemming from ''ad hoc'' labour activism in the rural workforce.", "Portugal's refusal to address increasing Angolan demands for self-determination provoked an armed conflict which erupted in 1961 with the Baixa de Cassanje revolt and gradually evolved into a protracted war of independence that persisted for the next twelve years.", "Throughout the conflict, three militant nationalist movements with their own partisan guerrilla wings emerged from the fighting between the Portuguese government and local forces, supported to varying degrees by the Portuguese Communist Party.", "The ''National Front for the Liberation of Angola'' (FNLA) recruited from Bakongo refugees in Zaire.", "Benefiting from particularly favourable political circumstances in Léopoldville, and especially from a common border with Zaire, Angolan political exiles were able to build up a power base among a large expatriate community from related families, clans, and traditions.", "People on both sides of the border spoke mutually intelligible dialects and enjoyed shared ties to the historical Kingdom of Kongo.", "Though as foreigners skilled Angolans could not take advantage of Mobutu Sese Seko's state employment programme, some found work as middlemen for the absentee owners of various lucrative private ventures.", "The migrants eventually formed the FNLA with the intention of making a bid for political power upon their envisaged return to Angola.", "A largely Ovimbundu guerrilla initiative against the Portuguese in central Angola from 1966 was spearheaded by Jonas Savimbi and the ''National Union for the Total Independence of Angola'' (UNITA).", "It remained handicapped by its geographic remoteness from friendly borders, by the ethnic fragmentation of the Ovimbundu, and the isolation of peasants on European plantations where they had little opportunity to mobilise.", "FNLA insurgents being trained in Zaire in 1973\nAgainst the background of these simultaneous efforts, the rising of the Marxist-Leninist ''Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola'' (MPLA) in the east and Dembos hills north of Luanda came to hold special significance.", "Formed as a coalition resistance by the Angolan Communist Party, the organisation's leadership remained predominantly Ambundu and courted public sector workers in Luanda.", "Although both the MPLA and its rivals had accepted material assistance from the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China, the former harboured strong anti-imperialist views and was openly critical of the United States and its support for Portugal.", "This allowed it to win important ground on the diplomatic front, soliciting support from nonaligned governments in Morocco, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and the United Arab Republic.", "The MPLA attempted to move its headquarters from Conakry to Léopoldville in October 1961, renewing efforts to create a common front with the FNLA, then known as the ''Union of Angolan Peoples'' (UPA) and its leader Holden Roberto.", "Roberto turned down the offer.", "When the MPLA first attempted to insert its own insurgents into Angola, the cadres were ambushed and annihilated by UPA partisans on Roberto's orders—setting a precedent for the bitter factional strife which would later ignite the Angolan Civil War.", "===Civil war===\n\n\nMonument to the memory of Agostinho Neto and Angolan independence, in Luanda\n\nThroughout the war of independence, the three rival nationalist movements were severely hampered by political and military factionalism, as well as their inability to unite guerrilla efforts against the Portuguese.", "Between 1961 and 1975 the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA competed for influence in the Angolan population and the international community.", "The Soviet Union and Cuba became especially sympathetic towards the MPLA and supplied that party with arms, ammunition, funding, and training.", "They also backed UNITA militants until it became clear that the latter was at irreconcilable odds with the MPLA.", "The collapse of Portugal's Estado Novo government following the 1974 Carnation Revolution led to a suspension of all Portuguese military activities in Africa and the brokering of a ceasefire pending negotiations for Angolan independence.", "Encouraged by the Organisation of African Unity, Holden Roberto, Jonas Savimbi, and MPLA chairman Agostinho Neto met in Mombasa in early January 1975 and agreed to form a coalition government.", "This was ratified by the Alvor Agreement later that month, which called for general elections and set the country's independence date for 11 November 1975.", "All three factions, however, followed up on the ceasefire by taking advantage of the gradual Portuguese withdrawal to seize various strategic positions, acquire more arms, and enlarge their militant forces.", "The rapid influx of weapons from numerous external sources, especially the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as the escalation of tensions between the nationalist parties, fueled a new outbreak of hostilities.", "With tacit American and Zairean support the FNLA began massing large numbers of troops in northern Angola in an attempt to gain military superiority.", "Meanwhile, the MPLA began securing control of Luanda, a traditional Ambundu stronghold.", "Sporadic violence broke out in Luanda over the next few months after the FNLA attacked MPLA forces in March 1975.", "The fighting intensified with street clashes in April and May, and UNITA became involved after over two hundred of its members were massacred by an MPLA contingent that June.", "An upswing in Soviet arms shipments to the MPLA influenced a decision by the Central Intelligence Agency to likewise provide substantial covert aid to the FNLA and UNITA.", "In August 1975, the MPLA requested direct assistance from the Soviet Union in the form of ground troops.", "The Soviets declined, offering to send advisers but no troops; however, Cuba was more forthcoming and in late September dispatched nearly five hundred combat personnel to Angola, along with sophisticated weaponry and supplies.", "By independence there were over a thousand Cuban soldiers in the country.", "They were kept supplied by a massive airbridge carried out with Soviet aircraft.", "The persistent buildup of Cuban and Soviet military aid allowed the MPLA to drive its opponents from Luanda and blunt an abortive intervention by Zairean and South African troops, which had deployed in a belated attempt to assist the FNLA and UNITA.", "The FNLA was largely annihilated, although UNITA managed to withdraw its civil officials and militia from Luanda and seek sanctuary in the southern provinces.", "From there, Savimbi continued to mount a determined insurgent campaign against the MPLA.", "An MPLA staff car burns after being destroyed in the fighting outside Novo Redondo (present day Sumbe) in late 1975.", "Between 1975 and 1991, the MPLA implemented an economic and political system based on the principles of scientific socialism, incorporating central planning and a Marxist-Leninist one-party state.", "It embarked on an ambitious programme of nationalisation and made a concerted attempt to eliminate the preexisting private sector.", "All locally owned enterprises in every sector of economic activity were subject to nationalisation by the state.", "These were then incorporated into a single umbrella of state-owned enterprises known as ''Unidades Economicas Estatais'' (UEE).", "Under the MPLA, Angola experienced a significant degree of modern industrialisation.", "However, corruption and graft also increased as public resources were either allocated inefficiently or simply embezzled by officials for personal enrichment.", "The ruling party survived an attempted coup d'état by the Maoist-oriented Communist Organisation of Angola (OCA) in 1977, which was suppressed after a series of bloody political purges that left thousands of OCA supporters dead.", "The MPLA abandoned its former Marxist ideology at its third party congress in 1990, and declared social democracy to be its new platform.", "Angola subsequently became a member of the International Monetary Fund; restrictions on the market economy were also reduced in an attempt to draw foreign investment.", "By May 1991 it had reached a peace agreement with UNITA, the Bicesse Accords, which scheduled new general elections for September 1992.", "When the MPLA secured a major electoral victory, UNITA objected to the results of both the presidential and legislative vote count and returned to war.", "===Ceasefire with UNITA===\n\n\n\nOn 22 March 2002, Jonas Savimbi was killed in action against government troops.", "UNITA and the MPLA reached a cease-fire shortly afterwards.", "UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of a major opposition party.", "Although the political situation of the country began to stabilise, regular democratic processes did not prevail until the elections in Angola in 2008 and 2012 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010, all of which strengthened the prevailing dominant-party system.", "Angola has a serious humanitarian crisis; the result of the prolonged war, of the abundance of minefields, of the continued political (and to a much lesser degree) military activities in favour of the independence of the exclave of Cabinda (carried out in the context of the protracted Cabinda Conflict by the Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, (FLEC)), but most of all, by the depredation of the country's rich mineral resources by the régime.", "While most of the internally displaced have now settled around the capital, in the so-called ''musseques'', the general situation for Angolans remains desperate.", "Drought in 2016 caused the worst food crisis in Southern Africa in 25 years.", "Drought affected 1.4 million people across seven of Angola's 18 provinces.", "Food prices rose and acute malnutrition rates doubled, with more than 95,000 children affected.", "Food insecurity was expected to worsen from July to December 2016.", "\n\nAt , Angola is the world's twenty-third largest country.", "It is comparable in size to Mali, or twice the size of France or Texas.", "It lies mostly between latitudes 4° and 18°S, and longitudes 12° and 24°E.", "Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west.", "The coastal exclave of Cabinda in the north, borders the Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south.", "Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the northwest of the country.", "File:Beach of Coatinha in Benguela, Angola.jpg|Coatinha beach in Benguela.", "File:Miradouro da Lua (Angola).jpg|Miradouro da Lua on the south coast of Luanda.", "File:Epupa Falls 2.jpg|Epupa Falls, Cunene River on the border of Angola and Namibia.", "File:Black Stones Pungo Adongo.JPG|Black Stones of Pungo Adongo near Malage, Angola.", "File:Angola Topography.png|Topographic map of Angola.", "\nAngola map of Köppen climate classification.", "Angola, although located in a tropical zone, has a climate that is not characterized for this region, due to the confluence of three factors:\n\n*The Benguela Current, cold, along the southern part of the coast;\n*The relief in the interior;\n*Influence of the Namib Desert in the southwest.", "As a result, Angola's climate is characterized by two seasons: rainfall from October to April and drought, known as ''Cacimbo'', from May to August, drier, as the name implies, and with lower temperatures.", "On the other hand, while the coastline has high rainfall rates, decreasing from North to South and from 800 mm to 50 mm, with average annual temperatures above 23 °C, the interior zone can be divided into three areas:\n\n*North, with high rainfall and high temperatures;\n*Central Plateau, with a dry season and average temperatures of the order of 19 °C;\n*South with very high thermal amplitudes due to the proximity of the Kalahari Desert and the influence of masses of tropical air.", "\n\nJosé Eduardo dos Santos meets with Vladimir Putin.", "The National Assembly building in Luanda was built by a Portuguese company in 2013 at a cost of US$185 million\n\nThe Angolan government is composed of three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.", "The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Council of Ministers.", "The legislative branch comprises a 220-seat unicameral legislature elected from both provincial and nationwide constituencies.", "For decades, political power has been concentrated in the presidency.", "The Constitution of 2010 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens.", "The legal system is based on Portuguese law and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities.", "A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court does not hold the powers of judicial review.", "Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by the president.", "After the end of the civil war the regime came under pressure from within as well as from the international community to become more democratic and less authoritarian.", "Its reaction was to implement a number of changes without substantially changing its character.", "Angola is classified as 'not free' by Freedom House in the Freedom in the World 2014 report.", "The report noted that the August 2012 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola won more than 70% of the vote, suffered from serious flaws, including outdated and inaccurate voter rolls.", "Voter turnout dropped from 80% in 2008 to 60%.", "Angola scored poorly on the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance.", "It was ranked 39 out of 52 sub-Saharan African countries, scoring particularly badly in the areas of participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.", "The Ibrahim Index uses a number of variables to compile its list which reflects the state of governance in Africa.", "José Eduardo dos Santos, current President of Angola since 1979.", "The new constitution, adopted in 2010, did away with presidential elections, introducing a system in which the president and the vice-president of the political party that wins the parliamentary elections automatically become president and vice-president.", "Directly or indirectly, the president controls all other organs of the state, so there is de facto no separation of powers.", "In terms of the classifications used in constitutional law, this form of government fall under the category of ''authoritarian regime''.", "On 16 October 2014, Angola was elected for the second time as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, with 190 favourable votes out of 193.", "The mandate begins on 1 January 2015 and lasts for two years.", "Since January 2014 the Republic of Angola has held the presidency of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).", "In 2015, the executive secretary of ICGLR, Ntumba Luaba, said that Angola is the example to be followed by members of the organisation, because of the significant progress made over the 12 years of peace, particularly in terms of socioeconomic and political-military stability.", "After 38 years of rule, President dos Santos will be stepping down from the MPLA leadership.", "The leader of the winning party at the Parliamentary Elections in August 2017 will become the next president of Angola.", "The MPLA has selected Defense Minister, General João Lourenço, for their front-runner to take over from President dos Santos if the ruling party wins the August elections.", "===Armed forces===\n\nAngolan Air Force Ilyushin Il-76TD Karpezo-1\nAngolan Army training in Russia.", "From left to right, the ranks of the men are Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain.", "The Angolan Armed Forces (AAF) is headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defence.", "There are three divisions—the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MGA) and National Air Force (Força Aérea Nacional, FAN).", "Total manpower is about 110,000.", "Its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombers and transport planes.", "There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucano for training role, Czech-made L-39 for training and bombing role, Czech Zlin for training role and a variety of western made aircraft such as C-212\\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc.", "A small number of AAF personnel are stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).", "===Police===\nThe National Police departments are Public Order, Criminal Investigation, Traffic and Transport, Investigation and Inspection of Economic Activities, Taxation and Frontier Supervision, Riot Police and the Rapid Intervention Police.", "The National Police are in the process of standing up an air wing, which will provide helicopter support for operations.", "The National Police are developing their criminal investigation and forensic capabilities.", "The force has an estimated 6,000 patrol officers, 2,500 taxation and frontier supervision officers, 182 criminal investigators and 100 financial crimes detectives and around 90 economic activity inspectors.", "The National Police have implemented a modernisation and development plan to increase the capabilities and efficiency of the total force.", "In addition to administrative reorganisation, modernisation projects include procurement of new vehicles, aircraft and equipment, construction of new police stations and forensic laboratories, restructured training programmes and the replacement of AKM rifles with 9 mm Uzis for officers in urban areas.", "===Justice===\nA Supreme Court serves as a court of appeal.", "The Constitutional Court is the supreme body of the constitutional jurisdiction, its Organic Law was approved by Law no.", "2/08, of June 17, and its first task was the validation of the candidacies of the political parties to the legislative elections of 5 September 2008.", "The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary laws, but it is weak and fragmented.", "There are only 12 courts in more than 140 counties in the country.", "A Supreme Court serves as a court of appeal.", "With the approval of Law no.", "2/08, of June 17 - Organic Law of the Constitutional Court and Law n. 3/08, of June 17 - Organic Law of the Constitutional Process, the Legal Creation of the Constitutional Court.", "Thus, on June 25, 2008, the Constitutional Court was institutionalized and its Judicial Counselors assumed the position before the President of the Republic.", "On this date, seven advisory judges took office, four men and three women.", "In 2014, a new penal code took effect in Angola.", "The classification of money-laundering as a crime is one of the novelties in the new legislation.", "===Foreign relations===\nDiplomatic missions of Angola.", "On 16 October 2014, Angola was elected for the second time a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with 190 favorable votes out of a total of 193.", "The term of office begins on 1 January 2015 and lasts for two Years.", "Since January 2014, the Republic of Angola has been chairing the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL).", "80 In 2015, CIRGL Executive Secretary Ntumba Luaba said that Angola is the example to be followed by the members of the organization, due to the significant progress made during the 12 years of peace, namely in terms of socio-economic stability and political- military.", "===Human rights===\n\nHomosexual acts are currently illegal in Angola.", "However, in February 2017, the Angolan Parliament approved a new penal code which does not outlaw homosexual acts.", "The law will come effect in late 2017.", "In 2010, the Angolan Government refused to receive openly gay Isi Yanouka as the new Israeli ambassador, allegedly due to his sexual orientation.", "\nMap of Angola with the provinces numbered\n\n, Angola is divided into eighteen provinces (''províncias'') and 162 municipalities.", "The municipalities are further divided into 559 communes (townships).", "The provinces are:\n\n# Bengo\n# Benguela\n# Bié\n# Cabinda\n# Cuando Cubango\n# Cuanza Norte\n# Cuanza Sul\n# Cunene\n# Huambo\n# Huíla\n# Luanda\n# Lunda Norte\n# Lunda Sul\n# Malanje\n# Moxico\n# Namibe\n# Uíge\n# Zaire\n\n\n===Exclave of Cabinda===\n\nFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC)\n\nWith an area of approximately , the Northern Angolan province of Cabinda is unusual in being separated from the rest of the country by a strip, some wide, of the Democratic Republic of Congo along the lower Congo River.", "Cabinda borders the Congo Republic to the north and north-northeast and the DRC to the east and south.", "The town of Cabinda is the chief population centre.", "According to a 1995 census, Cabinda had an estimated population of 600,000, approximately 400,000 of whom live in neighbouring countries.", "Population estimates are, however, highly unreliable.", "Consisting largely of tropical forest, Cabinda produces hardwoods, coffee, cocoa, crude rubber and palm oil.", "The product for which it is best known, however, is its oil, which has given it the nickname, \"the Kuwait of Africa\".", "Cabinda's petroleum production from its considerable offshore reserves now accounts for more than half of Angola's output.", "Most of the oil along its coast was discovered under Portuguese rule by the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) from 1968 onwards.", "Ever since Portugal handed over sovereignty of its former overseas province of Angola to the local independence groups (MPLA, UNITA and FNLA), the territory of Cabinda has been a focus of separatist guerrilla actions opposing the Government of Angola (which has employed its armed forces, the FAA—Forças Armadas Angolanas) and Cabindan separatists.", "The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Armed Forces of Cabinda (FLEC-FAC) announced a virtual Federal Republic of Cabinda under the Presidency of N'Zita Henriques Tiago.", "One of the characteristics of the Cabindan independence movement is its constant fragmentation, into smaller and smaller factions.", "\nA booming economy due to oil revenues and stable politics, Angola has seen an increase in its international trading sector.", "Luanda city centre.", "The Banco Nacional de Angola building on the Marginal in Luanda dates from 1956.", "TAAG Angolan Airlines is Angola's national airline.", "New suburb (new housing area) in Luanda built in 2010.", "Offshore petrol platform prepared moving to final destination on high sea, Luanda, Angola, Atlantic Ocean\n\nAngola has a rich subsoil heritage, from diamonds, oil, gold, copper and a rich wildlife (dramatically impoverished during the civil war), forest and fossils.", "Since independence, oil and diamonds have been the most important economic resource.", "Smallholder and plantation agriculture have dramatically dropped because of the Angolan Civil War, but have begun to recover after 2002.", "The transformation industry that had come into existence in the late colonial period collapsed at independence, because of the exodus of most of the ethnic Portuguese population, but has begun to reemerge with updated technologies, partly because of the influx of new Portuguese entrepreneurs.", "Similar developments can be verified in the service sector.", "Overall, Angola's economy has in recent years moved on from the disarray caused by a quarter-century of civil war to become the fastest-growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world, with an average GDP growth of 20 percent between 2005 and 2007.", "In the period 2001–10, Angola had the world's highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1 percent.", "The loan was to be used to rebuild Angola's infrastructure, and also to limited the influence of the International Monetary Fund in the country.", "China is Angola's biggest trade partner and export destination as well as the fourth-largest importer.", "Bilateral trade reached $27.67 billion in 2011, up 11.5% year-on-year.", "China's imports, mainly crude oil and diamonds, increased 9.1% to $24.89 billion while China's exports, including mechanical and electrical products, machinery parts and construction materials, surged 38.8%.", "The oil glut led to a local unleaded gasoline \"pricetag\" of £0.37 per gallon.", "''The Economist'' reported in 2008 that diamonds and oil make up 60% of Angola's economy, almost all of the country's revenue and all its dominant exports.", "Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late 2005 and was expected to grow to by 2007.", "Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government.", "In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC.", "However, operations in diamond mines include partnerships between state-run Endiama and mining companies such as ALROSA which continue operations in Angola.", "The economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007.", "However, due to the global recession the economy contracted an estimated −0.3% in 2009.", "The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.", "Although the country's economy has developed significantly since it achieved political stability in 2002, mainly thanks to the fast-rising earnings of the oil sector, Angola faces huge social and economic problems.", "These are in part a result of the almost continual state of conflict from 1961 onwards, although the highest level of destruction and socio-economic damage took place after the 1975 independence, during the long years of civil war.", "However, high poverty rates and blatant social inequality are chiefly the outcome of a combination of a persistent political authoritarianism, of \"neo-patrimonial\" practices at all levels of the political, administrative, armed forces and economic apparatuses, and of a pervasive corruption.", "The main beneficiary of this situation is a social segment constituted during the last decades, around the political, administrative, economic and military power holders, which has accumulated (and continues accumulating) enormous wealth.", "\"Secondary beneficiaries\" are the middle strata which are about to become social classes.", "However, overall almost half the population has to be considered as poor, but in this respect there are dramatic differences between the countryside and the cities (where by now slightly more than 50% of the people live).", "An inquiry carried out in 2008 by the Angolan Instituto Nacional de Estatística has it that in the rural areas roughly 58% must be classified as \"poor\", according to UN norms, but in the urban areas only 19%, while the overall rate is 37%.", "In the cities, a majority of families, well beyond those officially classified as poor, have to adopt a variety of survival strategies.", "At the same time, in urban areas social inequality is most evident and assumes extreme forms in the capital, Luanda.", "In the Human Development Index Angola constantly ranks in the bottom group.", "According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, oil production from Angola has increased so significantly that Angola now is China's biggest supplier of oil.", "Furthermore, Sonangol, the state run oil company, has control of 51% of Cabinda’s oil.", "Due to this market control the company ends up determining the profit given to the government and the taxes paid.", "This multifarious work programme creates conflicts of interest and characterises a complex relationship between Sonangol and the government that weakens the formal budgetary process and creates uncertainty as regards the actual fiscal stance of the state.\"", "Before independence in 1975, Angola was a breadbasket of southern Africa and a major exporter of bananas, coffee and sisal, but three decades of civil war (1975–2002) destroyed fertile countryside, left it littered with landmines and drove millions into the cities.", "The country now depends on expensive food imports, mainly from South Africa and Portugal, while more than 90% of farming is done at the family and subsistence level.", "Thousands of Angolan small-scale farmers are trapped in poverty.", "The enormous differences between the regions pose a serious structural problem for the Angolan economy, illustrated by the fact that about one third of economic activities are concentrated in Luanda and neighbouring Bengo province, while several areas of the interior suffer economic stagnation and even regression.", "One of the economic consequences of the social and regional disparities is a sharp increase in Angolan private investments abroad.", "The small fringe of Angolan society where most of the accumulation takes place seeks to spread its assets, for reasons of security and profit.", "For the time being, the biggest share of these investments is concentrated in Portugal where the Angolan presence (including that of the family of the state president) in banks as well as in the domains of energy, telecommunications, and mass media has become notable, as has the acquisition of vineyards and orchards as well as of touristic enterprises.", "Sub-Saharan Africa nations are globally achieving impressive improvements in well-being, according to a report by Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative and the Boston Consulting Group.", "Angola has upgraded critical infrastructure, an investment made possible by funds from the nation's development of oil resources.", "According to this report, just slightly more than ten years after the end of the civil war Angola's standard of living has overall greatly improved.", "Life expectancy, which was just 46 years in 2002, reached 51 in 2011.", "Mortality rates for children fell from 25 percent in 2001 to 19 percent in 2010 and the number of students enrolled in primary school has tripled since 2001.", "However, at the same time the social and economic inequality that has characterised the country since long has not diminished, but on the contrary deepened in all respects.", "With a stock of assets corresponding to 70 billion Kz (6.8 billion USD), Angola is now the third largest financial market in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassed only by Nigeria and South Africa.", "According to the Angolan Minister of Economy, Abraão Gourgel, the financial market of the country grew modestly from 2002 and now lies in third place at the level of sub-Saharan Africa.", "Angola's economy is expected to grow by 3.9 percent in 2014 said the International Monetary Fund (IMF).", "According to the Fund, robust growth in the non-oil economy, mainly driven by a very good performance in the agricultural sector, is expected to offset a temporary drop in oil production.", "On 19 December 2014, the Capital Market in Angola started.", "BODIVA (Angola Securities and Debt Stock Exchange, in English) received the secondary public debt market, and it is expected to start the corporate debt market by 2015, but the stock market should be a reality only in 2016.", "=== Agriculture ===\nAgriculture and forestry is an area of opportunity for the country.", "From this fact we can appreciate the capacity that Angola has to increase production for not only for the national market but also the international one.", "Investing in this sector can help reduce unemployment and more specifically in the rural areas.", "This will undoubtedly have consequences on the living standard of rural civilians.", "===Transport===\n\nQuatro de Fevereiro Luanda Airport arrivals.", "Trains station in Benguela.", "Ship loading minerals at Namibe harbour, Angola.", "Transport in Angola consists of:\n*Three separate railway systems totalling \n* of highway of which is paved\n*1,295 navigable inland waterways\n*Eight major sea ports\n*243 airports, of which 32 are paved.", "Travel on highways outside of towns and cities in Angola (and in some cases within) is often not best advised for those without four-by-four vehicles.", "While a reasonable road infrastructure has existed within Angola, time and the war have taken their toll on the road surfaces, leaving many severely potholed, littered with broken asphalt.", "In many areas drivers have established alternate tracks to avoid the worst parts of the surface, although careful attention must be paid to the presence or absence of landmine warning markers by the side of the road.", "The Angolan government has contracted the restoration of many of the country's roads.", "The road between Lubango and Namibe, for example, was completed recently with funding from the European Union, and is comparable to many European main routes.", "Completing the road infrastructure is likely to take some decades, but substantial efforts are already being made.", "Transport is an important aspect in Angola because it is strategically located and it could become a regional logistics hub.", "In addition Angola has some of the most important and biggest ports and so it is vital to connect them to the interior of the country as well as to neighbouring countries.", "Tourism is creaking to its feet on the heels of the long ended stop in the civil war, and very few tourists venture anywhere in Angola yet due to lack of infrastructure.", "===Telecommunications===\nThe telecommunications industry is considered one of the main strategic sectors in Angola.", "In October 2014, the building of an optic fiber underwater cable was announced.", "This project aims to turn Angola into a continental hub, thus improving Internet connections both nationally and internationally.", "On 11 March 2015, the First Angolan Forum of Telecommunications and Information Technology was held in Luanda under the motto \"The challenges of telecommunications in the current context of Angola\".", "The purpose of this forum was to promote the debate on topical issues on telecommunications in Angola and worldwide.", "A study about this sector was also presented at this forum, and some of its conclusions were: Angola had the first telecommunications operator in Africa to test the High Speed Internet technology (LTE-Advanced with speeds up to 400Mbit/s); It has a mobile penetration rate of about 75%; There are about 3.5 million smartphones in the Angolan market; There are about of optical fibre installed in the country.", "The first Angolan satellite, AngoSat-1, will be ready for launch into orbit in 2017 and it will ensure telecommunications throughout the country.", "According to Aristides Safeca, Secretary of State for Telecommunications, the satellite will provide telecommunications services, TV, internet and e-government and will remain into orbit \"at best\" for 18 years.", "===Technology===\nThe management of the domain '.ao' on web pages, will go from Portugal to Angola in 2015, following the approval of a new legislation by the Angolan Government.", "The joint decree of the minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, José Carvalho da Rocha, and the minister of Science and Technology, Maria Cândida Pereira Teixeira, states that \"under the massification\" of that Angolan domain, \"conditions are created for the transfer of the domain root '.ao' of Portugal to Angola\".", "\nPopulation Pyramid of Angola in 2012\n\n\nPopulation in Angola\n\nYear\nMillion\n\n1950 \n4.1\n\n2000 \n13.1\n\n2014 \n25.8\n\n\nAngola has a population of 24,383,301 inhabitants according to the preliminary results of its 2014 census, the first one conducted or carried out since 15 December 1970.", "It is composed of Ovimbundu (language Umbundu) 37%, Ambundu (language Kimbundu) 23%, Bakongo 13%, and 32% other ethnic groups (including the Chokwe, the Ovambo, the Ganguela and the Xindonga) as well as about 2% ''mestiços'' (mixed European and African), 1.6% Chinese and 1% European.", "The Ambundu and Ovimbundu ethnic groups combined form a majority of the population, at 62%.", "The population is forecast to grow to over 60 million people to 2050, 2.7 times the 2014 population.", "However, on 23 March 2016, official data revealed by Angola's National Statistic Institute – Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), states that Angola has a population of 25.789.024 inhabitants.", "It is estimated that Angola was host to 12,100 refugees and 2,900 asylum seekers by the end of 2007.", "11,400 of those refugees were originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who arrived in the 1970s.", "there were an estimated 400,000 Democratic Republic of the Congo migrant workers, at least 220,000 Portuguese, and about 259,000 Chinese living in Angola.", "Since 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from Angola.", "Prior to independence in 1975, Angola had a community of approximately 350,000 Portuguese, but the vast majority left after independence and the ensuing civil war.", "However, Angola has recovered its Portuguese minority in recent years; currently, there are about 200,000 registered with the consulates, and increasing due to the debt crisis in Portugal and the relative prosperity in Angola.", "The Chinese population stands at 258,920, mostly composed of temporary migrants.", "Also, there is a small Brazilian community of about 5,000 people.", "The total fertility rate of Angola is 5.54 children born per woman (2012 estimates), the 11th highest in the world.", "===Languages===\n\n\nEthnic groups of Angola 1970\nThe languages in Angola are those originally spoken by the different ethnic groups and Portuguese, introduced during the Portuguese colonial era.", "The most widely spoken indigenous languages are Umbundu, Kimbundu and Kikongo, in that order.", "Portuguese is the official language of the country.", "Although the exact numbers of those fluent in Portuguese or who speak Portuguese as a first language are unknown, a 2012 study mentions that Portuguese is the first language of 39% of the population.", "In 2014, a census carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística in Angola mentions that 71.15% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola (meaning around 18.3 million people) use Portuguese as a first or second language.", "===Religion===\n\nCatholic church in Benguela\n\nThere are about 1,000 religious communities, mostly Christian, in Angola.", "While reliable statistics are nonexistent, estimates have it that more than half of the population are Catholics, while about a quarter adhere to the Protestant churches introduced during the colonial period: the Congregationalists mainly among the Ovimbundu of the Central Highlands and the coastal region to its west, the Methodists concentrating on the Kimbundu speaking strip from Luanda to Malanje, the Baptists almost exclusively among the Bakongo of the north-west (now present in Luanda as well) and dispersed Adventists, Reformed and Lutherans.", "In Luanda and region there subsists a nucleus of the \"syncretic\" Tocoists and in the north-west a sprinkling of Kimbanguism can be found, spreading from the Congo/Zaïre.", "Since independence, hundreds of Pentecostal and similar communities have sprung up in the cities, where by now about 50% of the population is living; several of these communities/churches are of Brazilian origin.", "the U.S. Department of State estimates the Muslim population at 80,000–90,000, less than 1% of the population, while the Islamic Community of Angola puts the figure closer to 500,000.", "Muslims consist largely of migrants from West Africa and the Middle East (especially Lebanon), although some are local converts.", "The Angolan government does not legally recognize any Muslim organizations and often shuts down mosques or prevents their construction.", "In a study assessing nations' levels of religious regulation and persecution with scores ranging from 0 to 10 where 0 represented low levels of regulation or persecution, Angola was scored 0.8 on Government Regulation of Religion, 4.0 on Social Regulation of Religion, 0 on Government Favoritism of Religion and 0 on Religious Persecution.", "Foreign missionaries were very active prior to independence in 1975, although since the beginning of the anti-colonial fight in 1961 the Portuguese colonial authorities expelled a series of Protestant missionaries and closed mission stations based on the belief that the missionaries were inciting pro-independence sentiments.", "Missionaries have been able to return to the country since the early 1990s, although security conditions due to the civil war have prevented them until 2002 from restoring many of their former inland mission stations.", "The Catholic Church and some major Protestant denominations mostly keep to themselves in contrast to the \"New Churches\" which actively proselytize.", "Catholics, as well as some major Protestant denominations, provide help for the poor in the form of crop seeds, farm animals, medical care and education.", "===Largest cities===", "\n\nYombe-sculpture, 19th century\n\nThe ''substrate'' of Angolan culture is African, predominantly Bantu, while Portuguese culture has had a significant impact, specifically in terms of language and religion.", "The diverse ethnic communities – the Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, Mbunda and other peoples – to varying degrees maintain their own cultural traits, traditions and languages, but in the cities, where slightly more than half of the population now lives, a mixed culture has been emerging since colonial times; in Luanda, since its foundation in the 16th century.", "In this urban culture, the Portuguese heritage has become more and more dominant.", "African roots are evident in music and dance, and is moulding the way in which Portuguese is spoken.", "This process is well reflected in contemporary Angolan literature, especially in the works of Angolan authors.", "In 2014, Angola resumed the National Festival of Angolan Culture after a 25-year break.", "The festival took place in all the provincial capitals and lasted for 20 days, with the theme ''Culture as a Factor of Peace and Development''.", "\nAngolan woman with children outside a health clinic\n\nEpidemics of cholera, malaria, rabies and African hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are common diseases in several parts of the country.", "Many regions in this country have high incidence rates of tuberculosis and high HIV prevalence rates.", "Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are other diseases carried by insects that also occur in the region.", "Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and one of the world's lowest life expectancies.", "A 2007 survey concluded that low and deficient niacin status was common in Angola.", "Demographic and Health Surveys is currently conducting several surveys in Angola on malaria, domestic violence and more.", "In September 2014, the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC) was created by presidential decree, and it will integrate the National Health Service in Angola.", "The purpose of this new centre is to ensure the health and medical care in oncology, policy implementation, programmes and plans for prevention and specialised treatment.", "This cancer institute will be assumed as a reference institution in the central and southern regions of Africa.", "In 2014, Angola launched a national campaign of vaccination against measles, extended to every child under ten years old and aiming to go to all 18 provinces in the country.", "The measure is part of the Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles 2014–2020 created by the Angolan Ministry of Health which includes strengthening routine immunisation, a proper dealing with measles cases, national campaigns, introducing a second dose of vaccination in the national routine vaccination calendar and active epidemiological surveillance for measles.", "This campaign took place together with the vaccination against polio and vitamin A supplementation.", "A yellow fever outbreak, the worst in the country in three decades began in December 2015.", "By August 2016, when the outbreak began to subside, nearly 4,000 people were suspected of being infected.", "As many as 369 may have died.", "The outbreak began in the capital, Luanda, and spread to at least 16 of the 18 provinces.", "\nLyceum Salvador Correia in Luanda\nKuito class, Angola\n\nAlthough by law education in Angola is compulsory and free for eight years, the government reports that a percentage of pupils are not attending due to a lack of school buildings and teachers.", "Pupils are often responsible for paying additional school-related expenses, including fees for books and supplies.", "In 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 74 percent and in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the net primary enrollment rate was 61 percent.", "Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of pupils formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance.", "There continue to be significant disparities in enrollment between rural and urban areas.", "In 1995, 71.2 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school.", "It is reported that higher percentages of boys attend school than girls.", "During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), nearly half of all schools were reportedly looted and destroyed, leading to current problems with overcrowding.", "The Ministry of Education recruited 20,000 new teachers in 2005 and continued to implement teacher trainings.", "Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day).", "Some teachers may reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their pupils.", "Other factors, such as the presence of landmines, lack of resources and identity papers, and poor health prevent children from regularly attending school.", "Although budgetary allocations for education were increased in 2004, the education system in Angola continues to be extremely under-funded.", "According to estimates by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the adult literacy rate in 2011 was 70.4%.", "82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001.", "Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Angolan students continued to be admitted every year at high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities in Portugal, Brazil and Cuba through bilateral agreements; in general, these students belong to the elites.", "In September 2014, the Angolan Ministry of Education announced an investment of 16 million Euros in the computerisation of over 300 classrooms across the country.", "The project also includes training teachers at a national level, \"as a way to introduce and use new information technologies in primary schools, thus reflecting an improvement in the quality of teaching.\"", "In 2010, the Angolan government started building the Angolan Media Libraries Network, distributed throughout several provinces in the country to facilitate the people's access to information and knowledge.", "Each site has a bibliographic archive, multimedia resources and computers with Internet access, as well as areas for reading, researching and socialising.", "The plan envisages the establishment of one media library in each Angolan province by 2017.", "The project also includes the implementation of several media libraries, in order to provide the several contents available in the fixed media libraries to the most isolated populations in the country.", "At this time, the mobile media libraries are already operating in the provinces of Luanda, Malanje, Uíge, Cabinda and Lunda South.", "As for REMA, the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Lubango and Soyo have currently working media libraries.", "Interior of 11 November stadium in Luanda, Angola, with Tribunes and running track\nAngola hosted the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.", "Angola is the top basketball team of FIBA Africa, and a regular competitor at the Summer Olympic Games and the FIBA World Cup.", "The Angola national football team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as this was their first appearance on the World Cup finals stage.", "They were eliminated after one defeat and two draws in the group stage.", "They won 3 COSAFA Cups and finished runner up in 2011 African Nations Championship.", "Angola has participated in the World Women's Handball Championship for several years.", "The country has also appeared in the Summer Olympics for seven years and both regularly competes in and once has hosted the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, where the best finish is sixth.", "Angola is also often believed to have historic roots in the martial art \"Capoeira Angola\" and \"Batuque\" which were practiced by enslaved African Angolans transported as part of the Atlantic slave trade.", "\n*Outline of Angola\n*Index of Angola-related articles", "* \n* \n*Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.", "The information given there is, however, corrected and updated on the basis of the other sources indicated.", "\n\n\n* \n*\n*\n* Angola from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.", "* Angola profile from the BBC News.", "*\n* Key Development Forecasts for Angola from International Futures.", "* Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2012 – Angola Country Report\n*Markus Weimer, \" The Peace Dividend: Analysis of a Decade of Angolan Indicators, 2002–2012\".", "* The participation of Hungarian soldiers in UN peacekeeping operations in Angola" ]

[ "\nSince the adoption of a new constitution in 2010, the '''politics of Angola''' takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Angola is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the President, the government and parliament.\n\nAngola changed from a one-party Marxist-Leninist system ruled by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in place since independence in 1975, to a multiparty democracy based on a new constitution adopted in 1992. That same year the first parliamentary and presidential elections were held. The MPLA won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections. In the presidential elections, President José Eduardo dos Santos won the first round election with more than 49% of the vote to Jonas Savimbi's 40%. A runoff election would have been necessary, but never took place. The renewal of civil war immediately after the elections, which were considered as fraudulent by UNITA, and the collapse of the Lusaka Protocol, created a split situation. To a certain degree the new democratic institutions worked, notably the National Assembly, with the active participation of UNITA's and the FNLA's elected MPs - while José Eduardo dos Santos continued to exercise his functions without democratic legitimation. However the armed forces of the MPLA (now the official armed forces of the Angolan state) and of UNITA fought each other until the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, was killed in action in 2002.\n\nFrom 2002 to 2010, the system as defined by the constitution of 1992 functioned in a relatively normal way. The executive branch of the government was composed of the President, the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers, composed of all ministers and vice ministers, met regularly to discuss policy issues. Governors of the 18 provinces were appointed by and served at the pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 established the broad outlines of government structure and the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system was based on Portuguese and customary law but was weak and fragmented. Courts operated in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court served as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review was never constituted despite statutory authorization. In practice, power was more and more concentrated in the hands of the President who, supported by an ever-increasing staff, largely controlled parliament, government, and the judiciary.\n\nThe 26-year-long civil war has ravaged the country's political and social institutions. The UN estimates of 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), while generally the accepted figure for war-affected people is 4 million. Daily conditions of life throughout the country and specifically Luanda (population approximately 6 million) mirror the collapse of administrative infrastructure as well as many social institutions. The ongoing grave economic situation largely prevents any government support for social institutions. Hospitals are without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without books, and public employees often lack the basic supplies for their day-to-day work.\n", "The 2010 constitution grants the President almost absolute power. Elections for the National assembly are to take place every five years, and the President is automatically the leader of the winning party or coalition. It is for the President to appoint (and dismiss) all of the following:\n* The members of the government (state ministers, ministers, state secretaries and vice-ministers);\n* The members of the Constitutional Court;\n* The members of the Supreme Court;\n* The members of the Court of Auditors;\n* The members of the Military Supreme Court;\n* The Governor and Vice-Governors of the Nacional Angolan Bank;\n* The General-Attorney, the Vice-General-Attorneys and their deputies (as well as the military homologous);\n* The Governors of the provinces;\n* The members of the Republic Council;\n* The members of the National Security Council;\n* The members of the Superior Magistrates Councils;\n* The General Chief of the Armed Forces and his deputy;\n* All other command posts in the military;\n* The Police General Commander, and the 2nd in command;\n* All other command posts in the police;\n* The chiefs and directors of the intelligence and security organs.\nThe President is also provided a variety of powers, like defining the policy of the country. Even though it's not up to him/her to make laws (only to promulgate them and make edicts), the President is the leader of the winning party.\nThe only \"relevant\" post that is not directly appointed by the President is the Vice-President, which is the second in the winning party.\n", "The National Assembly (''Assembleia Nacional'') has 223 members, elected for a four-year term, 130 members by proportional representation, 90 members in provincial districts, and 3 members to represent Angolans abroad. The next general elections, due for 1997, have been rescheduled for 5 September 2008. The ruling party MPLA won 82% (191 seats in the National Assembly) and the main opposition party won only 10% (16 seats). The elections however have been described as only partly free but certainly not fair. A White Book on the elections in 2008 lists up all irregularities surrounding the Parliamentary elections of 2008.\n", "\n", "Supreme Court (or \"Tribunal da Relacao\") judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president. The Constitutional Court, with the power of judicial review, contains 11 justices. Four are appointed by the President, four by the National Assembly, two by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and one elected by the public.\n", "Angola has eighteen provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire\n", "Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC (Henrique N'zita Tiago; António Bento Bembe)\n* ''note:'' FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province\n", "African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, AfDB, CEEAC, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, FAO, Group of 77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court (signatory), ICFTU, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Migration, ISO (correspondent), ITU, Non-Aligned Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, World Customs Organization, World Federation of Trade Unions, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO\n", "* \n", "\n", "*ANGOLA LIVRO BRANCO SOBRE AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2008. http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2009/dokument_id-17396/index.html\n*Bösl, Anton (2008). Angola's Parliamentary Elections in 2008. A Country on its Way to One-Party-Democracy, KAS Auslandsinformationen 10/2008. http://www.kas.de/wf/de/33.15186/\n* Amundsen, I. (2011) Angola Party Politics: Into the African Trend. ''Angola Brief vol. 1 no. 9'' \n", "* The Chr. Michelsen Institute The largest centre for development research in Scandinavia. In particular, see their collaborative Angola Programme.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Executive branch", "Legislative branch", "Political parties and elections", "Judicial branch", "Administrative divisions", "Political pressure groups and leaders", "International organization participation", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "It is for the President to appoint (and dismiss) all of the following:\n* The members of the government (state ministers, ministers, state secretaries and vice-ministers);\n* The members of the Constitutional Court;\n* The members of the Supreme Court;\n* The members of the Court of Auditors;\n* The members of the Military Supreme Court;\n* The Governor and Vice-Governors of the Nacional Angolan Bank;\n* The General-Attorney, the Vice-General-Attorneys and their deputies (as well as the military homologous);\n* The Governors of the provinces;\n* The members of the Republic Council;\n* The members of the National Security Council;\n* The members of the Superior Magistrates Councils;\n* The General Chief of the Armed Forces and his deputy;\n* All other command posts in the military;\n* The Police General Commander, and the 2nd in command;\n* All other command posts in the police;\n* The chiefs and directors of the intelligence and security organs." ]

[ "\nSince the adoption of a new constitution in 2010, the '''politics of Angola''' takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Angola is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system.", "Executive power is exercised by the government.", "Legislative power is vested in the President, the government and parliament.", "Angola changed from a one-party Marxist-Leninist system ruled by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in place since independence in 1975, to a multiparty democracy based on a new constitution adopted in 1992.", "That same year the first parliamentary and presidential elections were held.", "The MPLA won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections.", "In the presidential elections, President José Eduardo dos Santos won the first round election with more than 49% of the vote to Jonas Savimbi's 40%.", "A runoff election would have been necessary, but never took place.", "The renewal of civil war immediately after the elections, which were considered as fraudulent by UNITA, and the collapse of the Lusaka Protocol, created a split situation.", "To a certain degree the new democratic institutions worked, notably the National Assembly, with the active participation of UNITA's and the FNLA's elected MPs - while José Eduardo dos Santos continued to exercise his functions without democratic legitimation.", "However the armed forces of the MPLA (now the official armed forces of the Angolan state) and of UNITA fought each other until the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, was killed in action in 2002.", "From 2002 to 2010, the system as defined by the constitution of 1992 functioned in a relatively normal way.", "The executive branch of the government was composed of the President, the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.", "The Council of Ministers, composed of all ministers and vice ministers, met regularly to discuss policy issues.", "Governors of the 18 provinces were appointed by and served at the pleasure of the president.", "The Constitutional Law of 1992 established the broad outlines of government structure and the rights and duties of citizens.", "The legal system was based on Portuguese and customary law but was weak and fragmented.", "Courts operated in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities.", "A Supreme Court served as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review was never constituted despite statutory authorization.", "In practice, power was more and more concentrated in the hands of the President who, supported by an ever-increasing staff, largely controlled parliament, government, and the judiciary.", "The 26-year-long civil war has ravaged the country's political and social institutions.", "The UN estimates of 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), while generally the accepted figure for war-affected people is 4 million.", "Daily conditions of life throughout the country and specifically Luanda (population approximately 6 million) mirror the collapse of administrative infrastructure as well as many social institutions.", "The ongoing grave economic situation largely prevents any government support for social institutions.", "Hospitals are without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without books, and public employees often lack the basic supplies for their day-to-day work.", "The 2010 constitution grants the President almost absolute power.", "Elections for the National assembly are to take place every five years, and the President is automatically the leader of the winning party or coalition.", "The President is also provided a variety of powers, like defining the policy of the country.", "Even though it's not up to him/her to make laws (only to promulgate them and make edicts), the President is the leader of the winning party.", "The only \"relevant\" post that is not directly appointed by the President is the Vice-President, which is the second in the winning party.", "The National Assembly (''Assembleia Nacional'') has 223 members, elected for a four-year term, 130 members by proportional representation, 90 members in provincial districts, and 3 members to represent Angolans abroad.", "The next general elections, due for 1997, have been rescheduled for 5 September 2008.", "The ruling party MPLA won 82% (191 seats in the National Assembly) and the main opposition party won only 10% (16 seats).", "The elections however have been described as only partly free but certainly not fair.", "A White Book on the elections in 2008 lists up all irregularities surrounding the Parliamentary elections of 2008.", "Supreme Court (or \"Tribunal da Relacao\") judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president.", "The Constitutional Court, with the power of judicial review, contains 11 justices.", "Four are appointed by the President, four by the National Assembly, two by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and one elected by the public.", "Angola has eighteen provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire", "Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC (Henrique N'zita Tiago; António Bento Bembe)\n* ''note:'' FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province", "African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, AfDB, CEEAC, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, FAO, Group of 77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court (signatory), ICFTU, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Migration, ISO (correspondent), ITU, Non-Aligned Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, World Customs Organization, World Federation of Trade Unions, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO", "*", "*ANGOLA LIVRO BRANCO SOBRE AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2008. http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2009/dokument_id-17396/index.html\n*Bösl, Anton (2008).", "Angola's Parliamentary Elections in 2008.", "A Country on its Way to One-Party-Democracy, KAS Auslandsinformationen 10/2008.", "http://www.kas.de/wf/de/33.15186/\n* Amundsen, I.", "(2011) Angola Party Politics: Into the African Trend.", "''Angola Brief vol.", "1 no.", "9''", "* The Chr.", "Michelsen Institute The largest centre for development research in Scandinavia.", "In particular, see their collaborative Angola Programme." ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''Economy of Angola''' is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with reported annual average GDP growth of 11.1 percent from 2001 to 2010. It is still recovering from 27 years of the civil war that plagued the country from its independence in 1975 to 2002. Despite extensive oil and gas resources, diamonds, hydroelectric potential, and rich agricultural land, Angola remains poor, and a third of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Since 2002, when the 27-year civil war ended, the nation has worked to repair and improve ravaged infrastructure and weakened political and social institutions. High international oil prices and rising oil production have contributed to the very strong economic growth since 1998, but corruption and public-sector mismanagement remain, particularly in the oil sector, which accounts for over 50 percent of GDP, over 90 percent of export revenue, and over 80 percent of government revenue.\n", "The Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the Angolan coast in 1484, after which Portugal began to found trading posts and forts along the shore. Paulo Dias de Novais founded Sāo Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) in 1575. São Felipe de Benguella (Benguela) followed in 1587.\n\nThe principal early trade was in slaves. Portuguese merchants purchased the slaves from the local Imbangala and Mbundu peoples, notable slave hunters, and sold them to the sugarcane plantations in Brazil. Brazilian ships were frequent visitors to Luanda and Benguela and Angola functioned as a kind of colony of Brazil, with Brazilian Jesuits active in its religious and educational centers.\n\nThe Portuguese Empire was neglected during the period of the Iberian Union, which lasted from 1580 to 1640. The Dutch, bitter enemies of their former masters in Spain, invaded many Portuguese overseas possessions. During Portugal's separatist war against Spain, the Dutch occupied Luanda from 1640 to 1648, calling it \"Fort Aardenburgh\". The Dutch used the territory to supply their own slaves to the sugarcane plantations of Northeastern Brazil (Pernambuco, Olinda, Recife), which they had also seized from Portugal. John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, conquered the Portuguese possessions of Saint George del Mina, Saint Thomas, and Luanda, Angola, on the west coast of Africa. Portugal recovered the territory between 1648 and 1650.\n\nIn the high plains, the Planalto, the most important native states were Bié and Bailundo, the latter being noted for its production of foodstuffs and rubber. Portugal expanded into their territory, but did not control much of the interior prior to the late 19th century.\n\nThe Portuguese started to develop townships, trading posts, logging camps and small processing factories. From 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society to one based on production for domestic consumption and export. Following the independence of Brazil in 1822, the slave trade was formally abolished in 1836. However it did continue locally into the 20th century. In 1844, Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping.\n\nBy 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside of Mainland Portugal, full of trading companies, exporting peanut oil, copal, timber, and cocoa. The principal exports of the post-slave economy in the 19th century were rubber, beeswax, and ivory. Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be locally produced. Prior to the First World War, exportation of coffee, palm kernels and oil, cattle, leather and hides, and salt fish joined the principal exports, with small quantities of gold and cotton also being produced. Grains, sugar, and rum were also produced for local consumption. The principal imports were foodstuffs, cotton goods, hardware, and British coal. Legislation against foreign traders was implemented in the 1890s. The territory's prosperity, however, continued to depend on plantations worked by labor \"indentured\" from the interior.\n\nFrom the 1920s to the 1960s, strong economic growth, abundant natural resources and development of infrastructure, led to the arrival of even more Portuguese settlers. Petroleum was known to exist as early as the mid-19th century, but modern exploitation didn't begin until in 1955. Production began in the Cuanza basin in the 1950s, in the Congo basin in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda in 1968. The Portuguese government granted operating rights for Block Zero to the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco, in 1955. Oil production surpassed the exportation of coffee as Angola's largest export in 1973.\n\n\n\nAngolan oil production rates\n\nYear\nthousand barrels per day\nthousand cubic metres per day\n\n1974\n\n\n1991\n\n\n1995\n\n\n2001\n\n\n2006\n\n\n\nA military-led coup d'état, started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, overthrew the Marcelo Caetano government in Portugal, and promised to hand over power to an independent Angolan government. Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, met with António de Spínola, the transitional President of Portugal, on September 15, 1974, on Sal island in Cape Verde, crafting a plan to empower Holden Roberto of the National Liberation Front of Angola, Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, and Daniel Chipenda of the MPLA's eastern faction at the expense of MPLA leader Agostinho Neto while retaining the façade of national unity. Mobutu and Spínola wanted to present Chipenda as the MPLA head, Mobutu particularly preferring Chipenda over Neto because Chipenda supported autonomy for Cabinda. The Angolan exclave has immense petroleum reserves estimated at around 300 million tons (~300 kg) which Zaire, and thus the Mobutu government, depended on for economic survival. After independence thousands of white Portuguese left, most of them to Portugal and many travelling overland to South Africa. There was an immediate crisis because the indigenous African population lacked the skills and knowledge needed to run the country and maintain its well-developed infrastructure.\n\nThe Angolan government created Sonangol, a state-run oil company, in 1976. Two years later Sonangol received the rights to oil exploration and production in all of Angola. After independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola was ravaged by a horrific civil war between 1975 and 2002.\n\n===1990s===\nUnited Nations Angola Verification Mission III and MONUA spent USD1.5 billion overseeing implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, a 1994 peace accord that ultimately failed to end the civil war. The protocol prohibited UNITA from buying foreign arms, a provision the United Nations largely did not enforce, so both sides continued to build up their stockpile. UNITA purchased weapons in 1996 and 1997 from private sources in Albania and Bulgaria, and from Zaire, South Africa, Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Togo, and Burkina Faso. In October 1997 the UN imposed travel sanctions on UNITA leaders, but the UN waited until July 1998 to limit UNITA's exportation of diamonds and freeze UNITA bank accounts. While the U.S. government gave USD250 million to UNITA between 1986 and 1991, UNITA made USD1.72 billion between 1994 and 1999 exporting diamonds, primarily through Zaire to Europe. At the same time the Angolan government received large amounts of weapons from the governments of Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, and South Africa. While no arms shipment to the government violated the protocol, no country informed the U.N. Register on Conventional Weapons as required.\n\nDespite the increase in civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 4% in 1999. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including a 1 and 5 kwanza note.\n\n===2000s===\nAn economic reform effort was launched in 1998. Angola ranked 160 of 174 nations in the United Nations Human Development Index in 2000. In April 2000 Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). The program formally lapsed in June 2001, but the IMF remains engaged. In this context the Government of Angola has succeeded in unifying exchange rates and has raised fuel, electricity, and water rates. The Commercial Code, telecommunications law, and Foreign Investment Code are being modernized. A privatization effort, prepared with World Bank assistance, has begun with the BCI bank. Nevertheless, a legacy of fiscal mismanagement and corruption persists. The civil war internally displaced 3.8 million people, 32% of the population, by 2001. The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.\n\nAngola produced over of diamonds in 2003, and production was expected to grow to per year by 2007. In 2004 China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola to rebuild infrastructure. The economy grew 18% in 2005 and growth was expected to reach 26% in 2006 and stay above 10% for the rest of the decade.\n\nThe construction industry is taking advantage of the growing economy, with various housing projects stimulated by the government initiatives for example the ''Angola Investe'' program and the ''Casa Feliz'' or ''Meña'' projects. Not all public construction projects are functional. A case in point: Kilamba Kiaxi, where a whole new satellite town of Luanda, consisting of housing facilities for several hundreds of thousands of people, was completely uninhabited for over four years because of skyrocketing prices, but completely sold out after the government decreased the original price and created mortgage plans at around the election time thus made it affordable for middle-class people. \nChevronTexaco started pumping from Block 14 in January 2000, but production decreased to in 2007 due to poor-quality oil. Angola joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on January 1, 2007.\n\nCabinda Gulf Oil Company found Malange-1, an oil reservoir in Block 14, on August 9, 2007.\n", "\nNational GDP per capita ranges from wealthier states in the north and south to poorer states in the east. These figures from the 2002 World Bank are converted to US dollars.\nDespite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late-2005 and which is expected to grow to by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government. With revenues booming from oil exports, the government has started to implement ambitious development programs to build roads and other basic infrastructure for the nation.\n\nIn the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African food exporter but now imports almost all its food. Severe wartime conditions, including extensive planting of landmines throughout the countryside, have brought agricultural activities to a near-standstill. Some efforts to recover have gone forward, however, notably in fisheries. Coffee production, though a fraction of its pre-1975 level, is sufficient for domestic needs and some exports. Expanding oil production is now almost half of GDP and 90% of exports, at . Diamonds provided much of the revenue for Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebellion through illicit trade. Other rich resources await development: gold, forest products, fisheries, iron ore, coffee, and fruits.\n\nThis is a chart of trend of nominal gross domestic product of Angola at market prices using International Monetary Fund data; figures are in millions of units.\n\n\nYear \n Gross Domestic Product (*$1,000,000) \n US Dollar Exchange \n Per Capita Income (as % of USA)\n\n1980 \n \n \n 6.33\n\n1985 \n \n \n 4.46\n\n1990 \n \n \n 4.42\n\n1995 \n 5,066 \n 14 Angolan Kwanza \n 1.58\n\n2000 \n 9,135 \n 91,666 Angolan Kwanza \n 1.96\n\n2005 \n 28,860 \n 2,515,452 Angolan Kwanza \n 4.73\n\n", "\n\nExports in 2004 reached US$10,530,764,911. The vast majority of Angola's exports, 92% in 2004, are petroleum products. US$785 million worth of diamonds, 7.5% of exports, were sold abroad that year. Nearly all of Angola's oil goes to the United States, in 2006, making it the eighth largest supplier of oil to the United States, and to China, in 2006. In the first quarter of 2008, Angola became the main exporter of oil to China. The rest of its petroleum exports go to Europe and Latin America. U.S. companies account for more than half the investment in Angola, with Chevron-Texaco leading the way. The U.S. exports industrial goods and services, primarily oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food, to Angola, while principally importing petroleum. Trade between Angola and South Africa exceeded USD 300 million in 2007. From the 2000s many Chinese have settled and started up businesses.\n", "\n===Petroleum===\nAngolan exports in 2009\nAngola produces and exports more petroleum than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing Nigeria in the 2000s. In January 2007 Angola became a member of OPEC. By 2010 production is expected to double the 2006 output level with development of deep-water offshore oil fields. Oil sales generated USD 1.71 billion in tax revenue in 2004 and now makes up 80% of the government's budget, a 5% increase from 2003, and 45% of GDP.\n\nChevron Corporation produces and receives , 27% of Angolan oil. Total S.A., Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, Eni, Petrobras, and BP also operate in the country.\n\nBlock Zero provides the majority of Angola's crude oil production with produced annually. The largest fields in Block Zero are Takula (Area A), Numbi (Area A), and Kokongo (Area B). Chevron operates in Block Zero with a 39.2% share. SONANGOL, the state oil company, Total, and Eni own the rest of the block. Chevron also operates Angola's first producing deepwater section, Block 14, with .\n\nThe United Nations has criticized the Angolan government for using torture, rape, summary executions, arbitrary detention, and disappearances, actions which Angolan government has justified on the need to maintain oil output.\n\nAngola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports. The U.S. imports 7% of its oil from Angola, about three times as much as it imported from Kuwait just prior to the Gulf War in 1991. The U.S. Government has invested USD $4 billion in Angola's petroleum sector.\n\nOil makes up over 90% of Angola's exports.\n\n===Diamonds===\n\nAngola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa and has only explored 40% of the diamond-rich territory within the country, but has had difficulty in attracting foreign investment because of corruption, human rights violations, and diamond smuggling. Production rose by 30% in 2006 and Endiama, the national diamond company of Angola, expects production to increase by 8% in 2007 to 10 million carats annually. The government is trying to attract foreign companies to the provinces of Bié, Malanje and Uíge.\n\nThe Angolan government loses $375 million annually from diamond smuggling. In 2003 the government began Operation Brilliant, an anti-smuggling investigation that arrested and deported 250,000 smugglers between 2003 and 2006. Rafael Marques, a journalist and human rights activist, described the diamond industry in his 2006 ''Angola's Deadly Diamonds'' report as plagued by \"murders, beatings, arbitrary detentions and other human rights violations.\" Marques called on foreign countries to boycott Angola's \"conflict diamonds\". In December 2014, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs issued a ''List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor'' that classified Angola as one of the major diamond-producing African countries relying on both child labor and forced labor. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that \"there is little publicly available information on Angola's efforts to enforce child labor law\". Diamonds accounted for 1.48% of Angolan exports in 2014.\n\n===Iron===\n\nUnder Portuguese rule, Angola began mining iron in 1957, producing 1.2 million tons in 1967 and 6.2 million tons by 1971. In the early 1970s, 70% of Portuguese Angola's iron exports went to Western Europe and Japan. After independence in 1975, the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) destroyed most of the territory's mining infrastructure. The redevelopment of the Angolan mining industry started in the late 2000s.\n", "*Banco Espírito Santo Angola\n*List of Angolan billionaires by net worth\n", "\n", "*McCormick, Shawn H. ''The Angolan Economy: Prospects for Growth in a Postwar Environment'', 1994.\n*OECD, International Energy Agency. ''Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy'', 2006.\n*\n", "*\n* MBendi overview of Angola\n* Angola latest trade data on ITC Trade Map\n* Exports to Angola Datasheet\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Overview", "Foreign trade", "Resources", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "In October 1997 the UN imposed travel sanctions on UNITA leaders, but the UN waited until July 1998 to limit UNITA's exportation of diamonds and freeze UNITA bank accounts.", "A privatization effort, prepared with World Bank assistance, has begun with the BCI bank.", "These figures from the 2002 World Bank are converted to US dollars." ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''Economy of Angola''' is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with reported annual average GDP growth of 11.1 percent from 2001 to 2010.", "It is still recovering from 27 years of the civil war that plagued the country from its independence in 1975 to 2002.", "Despite extensive oil and gas resources, diamonds, hydroelectric potential, and rich agricultural land, Angola remains poor, and a third of the population relies on subsistence agriculture.", "Since 2002, when the 27-year civil war ended, the nation has worked to repair and improve ravaged infrastructure and weakened political and social institutions.", "High international oil prices and rising oil production have contributed to the very strong economic growth since 1998, but corruption and public-sector mismanagement remain, particularly in the oil sector, which accounts for over 50 percent of GDP, over 90 percent of export revenue, and over 80 percent of government revenue.", "The Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the Angolan coast in 1484, after which Portugal began to found trading posts and forts along the shore.", "Paulo Dias de Novais founded Sāo Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) in 1575.", "São Felipe de Benguella (Benguela) followed in 1587.", "The principal early trade was in slaves.", "Portuguese merchants purchased the slaves from the local Imbangala and Mbundu peoples, notable slave hunters, and sold them to the sugarcane plantations in Brazil.", "Brazilian ships were frequent visitors to Luanda and Benguela and Angola functioned as a kind of colony of Brazil, with Brazilian Jesuits active in its religious and educational centers.", "The Portuguese Empire was neglected during the period of the Iberian Union, which lasted from 1580 to 1640.", "The Dutch, bitter enemies of their former masters in Spain, invaded many Portuguese overseas possessions.", "During Portugal's separatist war against Spain, the Dutch occupied Luanda from 1640 to 1648, calling it \"Fort Aardenburgh\".", "The Dutch used the territory to supply their own slaves to the sugarcane plantations of Northeastern Brazil (Pernambuco, Olinda, Recife), which they had also seized from Portugal.", "John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, conquered the Portuguese possessions of Saint George del Mina, Saint Thomas, and Luanda, Angola, on the west coast of Africa.", "Portugal recovered the territory between 1648 and 1650.", "In the high plains, the Planalto, the most important native states were Bié and Bailundo, the latter being noted for its production of foodstuffs and rubber.", "Portugal expanded into their territory, but did not control much of the interior prior to the late 19th century.", "The Portuguese started to develop townships, trading posts, logging camps and small processing factories.", "From 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society to one based on production for domestic consumption and export.", "Following the independence of Brazil in 1822, the slave trade was formally abolished in 1836.", "However it did continue locally into the 20th century.", "In 1844, Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping.", "By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside of Mainland Portugal, full of trading companies, exporting peanut oil, copal, timber, and cocoa.", "The principal exports of the post-slave economy in the 19th century were rubber, beeswax, and ivory.", "Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be locally produced.", "Prior to the First World War, exportation of coffee, palm kernels and oil, cattle, leather and hides, and salt fish joined the principal exports, with small quantities of gold and cotton also being produced.", "Grains, sugar, and rum were also produced for local consumption.", "The principal imports were foodstuffs, cotton goods, hardware, and British coal.", "Legislation against foreign traders was implemented in the 1890s.", "The territory's prosperity, however, continued to depend on plantations worked by labor \"indentured\" from the interior.", "From the 1920s to the 1960s, strong economic growth, abundant natural resources and development of infrastructure, led to the arrival of even more Portuguese settlers.", "Petroleum was known to exist as early as the mid-19th century, but modern exploitation didn't begin until in 1955.", "Production began in the Cuanza basin in the 1950s, in the Congo basin in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda in 1968.", "The Portuguese government granted operating rights for Block Zero to the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco, in 1955.", "Oil production surpassed the exportation of coffee as Angola's largest export in 1973.", "Angolan oil production rates\n\nYear\nthousand barrels per day\nthousand cubic metres per day\n\n1974\n\n\n1991\n\n\n1995\n\n\n2001\n\n\n2006\n\n\n\nA military-led coup d'état, started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, overthrew the Marcelo Caetano government in Portugal, and promised to hand over power to an independent Angolan government.", "Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, met with António de Spínola, the transitional President of Portugal, on September 15, 1974, on Sal island in Cape Verde, crafting a plan to empower Holden Roberto of the National Liberation Front of Angola, Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, and Daniel Chipenda of the MPLA's eastern faction at the expense of MPLA leader Agostinho Neto while retaining the façade of national unity.", "Mobutu and Spínola wanted to present Chipenda as the MPLA head, Mobutu particularly preferring Chipenda over Neto because Chipenda supported autonomy for Cabinda.", "The Angolan exclave has immense petroleum reserves estimated at around 300 million tons (~300 kg) which Zaire, and thus the Mobutu government, depended on for economic survival.", "After independence thousands of white Portuguese left, most of them to Portugal and many travelling overland to South Africa.", "There was an immediate crisis because the indigenous African population lacked the skills and knowledge needed to run the country and maintain its well-developed infrastructure.", "The Angolan government created Sonangol, a state-run oil company, in 1976.", "Two years later Sonangol received the rights to oil exploration and production in all of Angola.", "After independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola was ravaged by a horrific civil war between 1975 and 2002.", "===1990s===\nUnited Nations Angola Verification Mission III and MONUA spent USD1.5 billion overseeing implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, a 1994 peace accord that ultimately failed to end the civil war.", "The protocol prohibited UNITA from buying foreign arms, a provision the United Nations largely did not enforce, so both sides continued to build up their stockpile.", "UNITA purchased weapons in 1996 and 1997 from private sources in Albania and Bulgaria, and from Zaire, South Africa, Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Togo, and Burkina Faso.", "While the U.S. government gave USD250 million to UNITA between 1986 and 1991, UNITA made USD1.72 billion between 1994 and 1999 exporting diamonds, primarily through Zaire to Europe.", "At the same time the Angolan government received large amounts of weapons from the governments of Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, and South Africa.", "While no arms shipment to the government violated the protocol, no country informed the U.N. Register on Conventional Weapons as required.", "Despite the increase in civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 4% in 1999.", "The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including a 1 and 5 kwanza note.", "===2000s===\nAn economic reform effort was launched in 1998.", "Angola ranked 160 of 174 nations in the United Nations Human Development Index in 2000.", "In April 2000 Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Program (SMP).", "The program formally lapsed in June 2001, but the IMF remains engaged.", "In this context the Government of Angola has succeeded in unifying exchange rates and has raised fuel, electricity, and water rates.", "The Commercial Code, telecommunications law, and Foreign Investment Code are being modernized.", "Nevertheless, a legacy of fiscal mismanagement and corruption persists.", "The civil war internally displaced 3.8 million people, 32% of the population, by 2001.", "The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.", "Angola produced over of diamonds in 2003, and production was expected to grow to per year by 2007.", "In 2004 China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola to rebuild infrastructure.", "The economy grew 18% in 2005 and growth was expected to reach 26% in 2006 and stay above 10% for the rest of the decade.", "The construction industry is taking advantage of the growing economy, with various housing projects stimulated by the government initiatives for example the ''Angola Investe'' program and the ''Casa Feliz'' or ''Meña'' projects.", "Not all public construction projects are functional.", "A case in point: Kilamba Kiaxi, where a whole new satellite town of Luanda, consisting of housing facilities for several hundreds of thousands of people, was completely uninhabited for over four years because of skyrocketing prices, but completely sold out after the government decreased the original price and created mortgage plans at around the election time thus made it affordable for middle-class people.", "ChevronTexaco started pumping from Block 14 in January 2000, but production decreased to in 2007 due to poor-quality oil.", "Angola joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on January 1, 2007.", "Cabinda Gulf Oil Company found Malange-1, an oil reservoir in Block 14, on August 9, 2007.", "\nNational GDP per capita ranges from wealthier states in the north and south to poorer states in the east.", "Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest.", "Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population.", "Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports.", "Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late-2005 and which is expected to grow to by 2007.", "Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government.", "With revenues booming from oil exports, the government has started to implement ambitious development programs to build roads and other basic infrastructure for the nation.", "In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African food exporter but now imports almost all its food.", "Severe wartime conditions, including extensive planting of landmines throughout the countryside, have brought agricultural activities to a near-standstill.", "Some efforts to recover have gone forward, however, notably in fisheries.", "Coffee production, though a fraction of its pre-1975 level, is sufficient for domestic needs and some exports.", "Expanding oil production is now almost half of GDP and 90% of exports, at .", "Diamonds provided much of the revenue for Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebellion through illicit trade.", "Other rich resources await development: gold, forest products, fisheries, iron ore, coffee, and fruits.", "This is a chart of trend of nominal gross domestic product of Angola at market prices using International Monetary Fund data; figures are in millions of units.", "Year \n Gross Domestic Product (*$1,000,000) \n US Dollar Exchange \n Per Capita Income (as % of USA)\n\n1980 \n \n \n 6.33\n\n1985 \n \n \n 4.46\n\n1990 \n \n \n 4.42\n\n1995 \n 5,066 \n 14 Angolan Kwanza \n 1.58\n\n2000 \n 9,135 \n 91,666 Angolan Kwanza \n 1.96\n\n2005 \n 28,860 \n 2,515,452 Angolan Kwanza \n 4.73", "\n\nExports in 2004 reached US$10,530,764,911.", "The vast majority of Angola's exports, 92% in 2004, are petroleum products.", "US$785 million worth of diamonds, 7.5% of exports, were sold abroad that year.", "Nearly all of Angola's oil goes to the United States, in 2006, making it the eighth largest supplier of oil to the United States, and to China, in 2006.", "In the first quarter of 2008, Angola became the main exporter of oil to China.", "The rest of its petroleum exports go to Europe and Latin America.", "U.S. companies account for more than half the investment in Angola, with Chevron-Texaco leading the way.", "The U.S. exports industrial goods and services, primarily oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food, to Angola, while principally importing petroleum.", "Trade between Angola and South Africa exceeded USD 300 million in 2007.", "From the 2000s many Chinese have settled and started up businesses.", "\n===Petroleum===\nAngolan exports in 2009\nAngola produces and exports more petroleum than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing Nigeria in the 2000s.", "In January 2007 Angola became a member of OPEC.", "By 2010 production is expected to double the 2006 output level with development of deep-water offshore oil fields.", "Oil sales generated USD 1.71 billion in tax revenue in 2004 and now makes up 80% of the government's budget, a 5% increase from 2003, and 45% of GDP.", "Chevron Corporation produces and receives , 27% of Angolan oil.", "Total S.A., Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, Eni, Petrobras, and BP also operate in the country.", "Block Zero provides the majority of Angola's crude oil production with produced annually.", "The largest fields in Block Zero are Takula (Area A), Numbi (Area A), and Kokongo (Area B).", "Chevron operates in Block Zero with a 39.2% share.", "SONANGOL, the state oil company, Total, and Eni own the rest of the block.", "Chevron also operates Angola's first producing deepwater section, Block 14, with .", "The United Nations has criticized the Angolan government for using torture, rape, summary executions, arbitrary detention, and disappearances, actions which Angolan government has justified on the need to maintain oil output.", "Angola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports.", "The U.S. imports 7% of its oil from Angola, about three times as much as it imported from Kuwait just prior to the Gulf War in 1991.", "The U.S. Government has invested USD $4 billion in Angola's petroleum sector.", "Oil makes up over 90% of Angola's exports.", "===Diamonds===\n\nAngola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa and has only explored 40% of the diamond-rich territory within the country, but has had difficulty in attracting foreign investment because of corruption, human rights violations, and diamond smuggling.", "Production rose by 30% in 2006 and Endiama, the national diamond company of Angola, expects production to increase by 8% in 2007 to 10 million carats annually.", "The government is trying to attract foreign companies to the provinces of Bié, Malanje and Uíge.", "The Angolan government loses $375 million annually from diamond smuggling.", "In 2003 the government began Operation Brilliant, an anti-smuggling investigation that arrested and deported 250,000 smugglers between 2003 and 2006.", "Rafael Marques, a journalist and human rights activist, described the diamond industry in his 2006 ''Angola's Deadly Diamonds'' report as plagued by \"murders, beatings, arbitrary detentions and other human rights violations.\"", "Marques called on foreign countries to boycott Angola's \"conflict diamonds\".", "In December 2014, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs issued a ''List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor'' that classified Angola as one of the major diamond-producing African countries relying on both child labor and forced labor.", "The U.S. Department of Labor reported that \"there is little publicly available information on Angola's efforts to enforce child labor law\".", "Diamonds accounted for 1.48% of Angolan exports in 2014.", "===Iron===\n\nUnder Portuguese rule, Angola began mining iron in 1957, producing 1.2 million tons in 1967 and 6.2 million tons by 1971.", "In the early 1970s, 70% of Portuguese Angola's iron exports went to Western Europe and Japan.", "After independence in 1975, the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) destroyed most of the territory's mining infrastructure.", "The redevelopment of the Angolan mining industry started in the late 2000s.", "*Banco Espírito Santo Angola\n*List of Angolan billionaires by net worth", "*McCormick, Shawn H. ''The Angolan Economy: Prospects for Growth in a Postwar Environment'', 1994.", "*OECD, International Energy Agency.", "''Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy'', 2006.", "*", "*\n* MBendi overview of Angola\n* Angola latest trade data on ITC Trade Map\n* Exports to Angola Datasheet" ]

[ "\n\n'''Albert Sidney Johnston''' (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian (''i.e.'' Republic of Texas) Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his military career, fighting actions in the Black Hawk War, Texas War of Independence, the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, and the American Civil War.\n\nConsidered by Confederate States President Jefferson Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy before the later emergence of Robert E. Lee, he was killed early in the Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Johnston was the highest-ranking officer, Union or Confederate, killed during the entire war. Davis believed the loss of Gen. Johnston \"was the turning point of our fate.\"\n\nJohnston was unrelated to Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.\n", "Johnston was born in Washington, Kentucky, the youngest son of Dr. John and Abigail (Harris) Johnston. His father was a native of Salisbury, Connecticut. Although Albert Johnston was born in Kentucky, he lived much of his life in Texas, which he considered his home. He was first educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he met fellow student Jefferson Davis. Both were appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Davis two years behind Johnston. In 1826, Johnston graduated eighth of 41 cadets in his class from West Point with a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry.\n\nJohnston was assigned to posts in New York and Missouri and served in the brief Black Hawk War in 1832 as chief of staff to Bvt. Brig. Gen. Henry Atkinson.\n", "In 1829 he married Henrietta Preston, sister of Kentucky politician and future Civil War general William Preston. They had one son, William Preston Johnston, who became a colonel in the Confederate States Army. The senior Johnston resigned his commission in 1834 in order to care for his dying wife in Kentucky, who succumbed two years later to tuberculosis.\n\nAfter serving as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas from 1838 to 1840, Johnston resigned and returned to Kentucky. In 1843, he married Eliza Griffin, his late wife's first cousin. The couple moved to Texas, where they settled on a large plantation in Brazoria County. Johnston named the property \"China Grove\". Here they raised Johnston's two children from his first marriage and the first three children born to Eliza and him. (A sixth child was born later when they lived in Los Angeles).\n", "In 1836 Johnston moved to Texas. He enlisted as a private in the Texas Army during the Texas War of Independence against the Republic of Mexico. He was named Adjutant General as a colonel in the Republic of Texas Army on August 5, 1836. On January 31, 1837, he became senior brigadier general in command of the Texas Army.\n\nOn February 5, 1837, he fought in a duel with Texas Brig. Gen. Felix Huston, as they challenged each other for the command of the Texas Army; Johnston refused to fire on Huston and lost the position after he was wounded in the pelvis.\n\nOn December 22, 1838, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas, appointed Johnston as Secretary of War. He provided for the defense of the Texas border against Mexican invasion, and in 1839 conducted a campaign against Indians in northern Texas. In February 1840, he resigned and returned to Kentucky.\n", "Johnston as commander of the Department of Utah. Portrait taken by Samuel C. Mills at Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, winter of 1858–59.\nJohnston returned to Texas during the Mexican–American War (1846-1848), under General Zachary Taylor as a colonel of the 1st Texas Rifle Volunteers. The enlistments of his volunteers ran out just before the Battle of Monterrey. Johnston convinced a few volunteers to stay and fight as he served as the inspector general of volunteers and fought at the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista.\n\nHe remained on his plantation after the war until he was appointed by later 12th President Zachary Taylor to the U.S. Army as a major and was made a paymaster in December 1849. He served in that role for more than five years, making six tours, and traveling more than annually on the Indian frontier of Texas. He served on the Texas frontier at Fort Mason and elsewhere in the West.\n\nIn 1855, 14th President Franklin Pierce appointed him colonel of the new 2nd U.S. Cavalry (the unit that preceded the modern 5th U.S.), a new regiment, which he organized. On August 19, 1856, Gen. Persifor Smith, at the request of Kansas Territorial Governor Wilson Shannon, sent Col. Johnston with 1300 men composed of the 2d Cavalry Dragoons from Fort Riley, a battalion of the 6th Infantry and Capt. Howe's artillery company from Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis to protect the territorial capital at Lecompton from an imminent attack by James Henry Lane and his abolitionist \"Army of the North.\"\n", "As a key figure in the Utah War, Johnston led U.S. troops who established a non-Mormon government in the formerly Mormon territory. He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in 1857 for his service in Utah. He spent 1860 in Kentucky until December 21, when he sailed for California to take command of the Department of the Pacific.\n", "Albert S. Johnston in Confederate Army uniform wearing Three Gold Stars and Wreath on a General's Collar\nAt the outbreak of the American Civil War, Johnston was the commander of the U.S. Army Department of the Pacific in California. Like many regular army officers from the South, he was opposed to secession. But he resigned his commission soon after he heard of the secession of his adopted state of Texas. It was accepted by the War Department on May 6, 1861, effective May 3. On April 28 he moved to Los Angeles, the home of his wife's brother John Griffin. Considering staying in California with his wife and five children, Johnston remained there until May.\n\nSoon, under suspicion by local Union officials, he evaded arrest and joined the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles as a private, leaving Warner's Ranch May 27. He participated in their trek across the southwestern deserts to Texas, crossing the Colorado River into the Confederate Territory of Arizona on July 4, 1861.\n\nEarly in the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis decided that the Confederacy would attempt to hold as much of its territory as possible, and therefore distributed military forces around its borders and coasts. In the summer of 1861, Davis appointed several generals to defend Confederate lines from the Mississippi River east to the Allegheny Mountains.\n\nThe most sensitive, and in many ways the most crucial areas, along the Mississippi River and in western Tennessee along the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers were placed under the command of Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk and Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow. The latter had initially been in command in Tennessee as that State's top general. Their impolitic occupation of Columbus, Kentucky, on September 3, 1861, two days before Johnston arrived in the Confederacy's capital of Richmond, Virginia, after his cross-country journey, drove Kentucky from its stated neutrality. The majority of Kentuckians allied with the Union camp. Polk and Pillow's action gave Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant an excuse to take control of the strategically located town of Paducah, Kentucky, without raising the ire of most Kentuckians and the pro-Union majority in the State legislature.\n\n===Confederate command in Western Theater===\nOn September 10, 1861, Johnston was assigned to command the huge area of the Confederacy west of the Allegheny Mountains, except for coastal areas. He became commander of the Confederacy's western armies in the area often called the Western Department or Western Military Department. Johnston's appointment as a full general by his friend and admirer Jefferson Davis already had been confirmed by the Confederate Senate on August 31, 1861. The appointment had been backdated to rank from May 30, 1861, making him the second highest ranking general in the Confederate States Army. Only Adjutant General and Inspector General Samuel Cooper ranked ahead of him. After his appointment, Johnston immediately headed for his new territory. He was permitted to call on governors of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi for new troops, although this authority was largely stifled by politics, especially with respect to Mississippi. On September 13, 1861, Johnston ordered Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer with 4,000 men to occupy Cumberland Gap in Kentucky in order to block Union troops from coming into eastern Tennessee. The Kentucky legislature had voted to side with the Union after the occupation of Columbus by Polk. By September 18, Johnston had Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner with another 4,000 men blocking the railroad route to Tennessee at Bowling Green, Kentucky.\n\nJohnston had fewer than 40,000 men spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. Of these, 10,000 were in Missouri under Missouri State Guard Maj. Gen. Sterling Price. Johnston did not quickly gain many recruits when he first requested them from the governors, but his more serious problem was lacking sufficient arms and ammunition for the troops he already had. As the Confederate government concentrated efforts on the units in the East, they gave Johnston small numbers of reinforcements and minimal amounts of arms and material. Johnston maintained his defense by conducting raids and other measures to make it appear he had larger forces than he did, a strategy that worked for several months. Johnston's tactics had so annoyed and confused Union Brig. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in Kentucky that he became paranoid and mentally unstable. Sherman overestimated Johnston's forces, and had to be relieved by Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell on November 9, 1861.\n\n===Battle of Mill Springs===\nEastern Tennessee was held for the Confederacy by two unimpressive brigadier generals appointed by Jefferson Davis: Felix Zollicoffer, a brave but untrained and inexperienced officer, and soon-to-be Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden, a former U.S. Army officer with apparent alcohol problems. While Crittenden was away in Richmond, Zollicoffer moved his forces to the north bank of the upper Cumberland River near Mill Springs (now Nancy, Kentucky), putting the river to his back and his forces into a trap. Zollicoffer decided it was impossible to obey orders to return to the other side of the river because of scarcity of transport and proximity of Union troops. When Union Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas moved against the Confederates, Crittenden decided to attack one of the two parts of Thomas's command at Logan's Cross Roads near Mill Springs before the Union forces could unite. At the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, the ill-prepared Confederates, after a night march in the rain, attacked the Union force with some initial success. As the battle progressed, Zollicoffer was killed, Crittenden was unable to lead the Confederate force (he may have been intoxicated), and the Confederates were turned back and routed by a Union bayonet charge, suffering 533 casualties from their force of 4,000. The Confederate troops who escaped were assigned to other units as General Crittenden faced an investigation of his conduct.\n\nAfter the Confederate defeat at the Mill Springs, Davis sent Johnston a brigade and a few other scattered reinforcements. He also assigned him Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, who was supposed to attract recruits because of his victories early in the war, and act as a competent subordinate for Johnston. The brigade was led by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, considered incompetent. He took command at Fort Donelson as the senior general present just before Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant attacked the fort. Historians believe the assignment of Beauregard to the west stimulated Union commanders to attack the forts before Beauregard could make a difference in the theater. Union officers heard that he was bringing 15 regiments with him, but this was an exaggeration of his forces.\n\n===Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Nashville===\nBased on the assumption that Kentucky neutrality would act as a shield against a direct invasion from the north, Tennessee initially had sent men to Virginia and concentrated defenses in the Mississippi Valley, circumstances that no longer applied in September 1861. Even before Johnston arrived in Tennessee, construction of two forts had been started to defend the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers, which provided avenues into the State from the north. Both forts were located in Tennessee in order to respect Kentucky neutrality, but these were not in ideal locations. Fort Henry on the Tennessee River was in an unfavorable low-lying location, commanded by hills on the Kentucky side of the river. Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, although in a better location, had a vulnerable land side and did not have enough heavy artillery to defend against gunboats.\n\nMaj. Gen. Polk ignored the problems of the forts when he took command. After Johnston took command, Polk at first refused to comply with Johnston's order to send an engineer, Lt. Joseph K. Dixon, to inspect the forts. After Johnston asserted his authority, Polk had to allow Dixon to proceed. Dixon recommended that the forts be maintained and strengthened, although they were not in ideal locations, because much work had been done on them and the Confederates might not have time to build new ones. Johnston accepted his recommendations. Johnston wanted Major Alexander P. Stewart to command the forts but President Davis appointed Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman as commander.\n\nTo prevent Polk from dissipating his forces by allowing some men to join a partisan group, Johnston ordered him to send Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow and 5,000 men to Fort Donelson. Pillow took up a position at nearby Clarksville, Tennessee and did not move into the fort until February 7, 1862. Alerted by a Union reconnaissance on January 14, 1862, Johnston ordered Tilghman to fortify the high ground opposite Fort Henry, which Polk had failed to do despite Johnston's orders. Tilghman failed to act decisively on these orders, which in any event were too late to be adequately carried out.\n\nGen. Beauregard arrived at Johnston's headquarters at Bowling Green on February 4, 1862, and was given overall command of Polk's force at the western end of Johnston's line at Columbus, Kentucky. On February 6, 1862, Union Navy gunboats quickly reduced the defenses of ill-sited Fort Henry, inflicting 21 casualties on the small remaining Confederate force. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman surrendered the 94 remaining officers and men of his approximately 3,000-man force which had not been sent to Fort Donelson before U.S. Grant's force could even take up their positions. Johnston knew he could be trapped at Bowling Green if Fort Donelson fell, so he moved his force to Nashville, the capital of Tennessee and an increasingly important Confederate industrial center, beginning on February 11, 1862.\n\nJohnston also reinforced Fort Donelson with 12,000 more men, including those under Floyd and Pillow, a curious decision in view of his thought that the Union gunboats alone might be able to take the fort. He did order the commanders of the fort to evacuate the troops if the fort could not be held. The senior generals sent to the fort to command the enlarged garrison, Gideon J. Pillow and John B. Floyd, squandered their chance to avoid having to surrender most of the garrison and on February 16, 1862, Brig. Gen. Simon Buckner, having been abandoned by Floyd and Pillow, surrendered Fort Donelson. Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest escaped with his cavalry force of about 700 men before the surrender. The Confederates suffered about 1,500 casualties with an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 taken prisoner. Union casualties were 500 killed, 2,108 wounded, 224 missing.\n\nJohnston, who had little choice in allowing Floyd and Pillow to take charge at Fort Donelson on the basis of seniority after he ordered them to add their forces to the garrison, took the blame and suffered calls for his removal because a full explanation to the press and public would have exposed the weakness of the Confederate position. His passive defensive performance while positioning himself in a forward position at Bowling Green, spreading his forces too thinly, not concentrating his forces in the face of Union advances, and appointing or relying upon inadequate or incompetent subordinates subjected him to criticism at the time and by later historians. The fall of the forts exposed Nashville to imminent attack, and it fell without resistance to Union forces under Brig. Gen. Buell on February 25, 1862, two days after Johnston had to pull his forces out in order to avoid having them captured as well.\n\n===Concentration at Corinth===\nJohnston had various remaining military units scattered throughout his territory and retreating to the south to avoid being cut off. Johnston himself retreated with the force under his personal command, the Army of Central Kentucky, from the vicinity of Nashville. With Beauregard's help, Johnston decided to concentrate forces with those formerly under Polk and now already under Beauregard's command at the strategically located railroad crossroads of Corinth, Mississippi, which he reached by a circuitous route. Johnston kept the Union forces, now under the overall command of the ponderous Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, confused and hesitant to move, allowing Johnston to reach his objective undetected. This delay allowed Jefferson Davis finally to send reinforcements from the garrisons of coastal cities and another highly rated but prickly general, Braxton Bragg, to help organize the western forces. Bragg at least calmed the nerves of Beauregard and Polk who had become agitated by their apparent dire situation in the face of numerically superior forces before the arrival of Johnston on March 24, 1862.\n\nJohnston's army of 17,000 men gave the Confederates a combined force of about 40,000 to 44,669 men at Corinth. On March 29, 1862, Johnston officially took command of this combined force, which continued to use the Army of the Mississippi name under which it had been organized by Beauregard on March 5.\n\nJohnston now planned to defeat the Union forces piecemeal before the various Union units in Kentucky and Tennessee under Grant with 40,000 men at nearby Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and the now Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell on his way from Nashville with 35,000 men, could unite against him. Johnston started his army in motion on April 3, 1862, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day, but they moved slowly due to their inexperience, bad roads and lack of adequate staff planning. Due to the delays, as well as several contacts with the enemy, Johnston's second in command, P. G. T. Beauregard, felt the element of surprise had been lost and recommended calling off the attack. Johnston decided to proceed as planned, stating \"I would fight them if they were a million.\" His army was finally in position within a mile or two of Grant's force, and undetected, by the evening of April 5, 1862.\n\n===Battle of Shiloh and death===\nMonument to Johnston at Shiloh National Military Park\nJohnston launched a massive surprise attack with his concentrated forces against Grant at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. As the Confederate forces overran the Union camps, Johnston seemed to be everywhere, personally leading and rallying troops up and down the line on his horse. At about 2:30 pm, while leading one of those charges against a Union camp near the \"Peach Orchard,\" he was wounded, taking a bullet behind his right knee. He apparently did not think the wound was serious at the time, or even possibly did not feel it. It is possible that Johnston's duel in 1837 had caused nerve damage or numbness to his right leg and that he did not feel the wound to his leg as a result. The bullet had in fact clipped a part of his popliteal artery and his boot was filling up with blood. There were no medical personnel on scene at the time, since Johnston had sent his personal surgeon to care for the wounded Confederate troops and Yankee prisoners earlier in the battle.\n\nWithin a few minutes, Johnston was observed by his staff to be nearly fainting. Among his staff was Isham G. Harris, the Governor of Tennessee, who had ceased to make any real effort to function as governor after learning that Abraham Lincoln had appointed Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee. Seeing Johnston slumping in his saddle and his face turning deathly pale, Harris asked: \"General, are you wounded?\" Johnston glanced down at his leg wound, then faced Harris and replied in a weak voice his last words: \"Yes... and I fear seriously.\" Harris and other staff officers removed Johnston from his horse and carried him to a small ravine near the \"Hornets Nest\" and desperately tried to aid the general who had lost consciousness by this point. Harris then sent an aide to fetch Johnston's surgeon, but did not apply a tourniquet to Johnson's wounded leg. Before a doctor could be found, Johnston died from blood loss a few minutes later. It is believed that Johnston may have lived for as long as one hour after receiving his fatal wound. Ironically, it was later discovered that Johnston had a tourniquet in his pocket when he died.\n\nHarris and the other officers wrapped General Johnston's body in a blanket so as not to damage the troops' morale with the sight of the dead general. Johnston and his wounded horse, named Fire Eater, were taken to his field headquarters on the Corinth road, where his body remained in his tent until the Confederate Army withdrew to Corinth the next day, April 7, 1862, after failing to gain a decisive victory over the Union armies. From there, his body was taken to the home of Colonel William Inge, which had been his headquarters in Corinth. It was covered in the Confederate flag and lay in state for several hours.\n\nIt is probable that a Confederate soldier fired the fatal round. No Union soldiers were observed to have ever gotten behind Johnston during the fatal charge, while it is known that many Confederates were firing at the Union lines while Johnston charged well in advance of his soldiers. Furthermore, the surgeon who later dug the bullet out of Johnston's leg identified the round as one fired from a Pattern 1853 Enfield. No Union troops in the area where Johnston was hit had been issued Enfield rifles, whereas the Enfield rifle was standard issue for the Confederate forces Johnston was leading.\n\nJohnston was the highest-ranking fatality of the war on either side, and his death was a strong blow to the morale of the Confederacy. At the time, Jefferson Davis considered him the best general in the country.\n", "Johnston's tomb in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas\nSculpted by Elisabet Ney\n\nJohnston was survived by his wife Eliza and six children. His wife and five younger children, including one born after he went to war, chose to live out their days at home in Los Angeles with Eliza's brother, Dr. John Strother Griffin. Johnston's eldest son, Albert Sidney Jr. (born in Texas), had already followed him into the Confederate States Army. In 1863, after taking home leave in Los Angeles, Albert Jr. was on his way out of San Pedro harbor on a ferry. While a steamer was taking on passengers from the ferry, a wave swamped the smaller boat, causing its boilers to explode. Albert Jr. was killed in the accident.\n\nKilled in action, General Johnston received the highest praise ever given by the Confederate government; accounts were published, on December 20, 1862, and thereafter, in the Los Angeles ''Star'' of his family's hometown. Johnston Street, Hancock Street, and Griffin Avenue, each in northeast Los Angeles, are named after the general and his family, who lived in the neighborhood.\n\nJohnston was initially buried in New Orleans. In 1866, a joint resolution of the Texas Legislature was passed to have his body moved and reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. The re-interment occurred in 1867. Forty years later, the state appointed Elisabet Ney to design a monument and sculpture of him to be erected at the grave site.\n\nThe Texas Historical Commission has erected a historical marker near the entrance of what was once Johnston's plantation. An adjacent marker was erected by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas and the Lee, Roberts, and Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederate States of America.\n\nIn 1916, the University of Texas at Austin recognized several confederate veterans (including Johnston) with statues on its South Mall. On August 21, 2017, as part of the wave of confederate monument removals in America, Johnston's statue was taken down. Plans were announced to add it to the Briscoe Center for American History on the east side of the university campus.\n", "\n* List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)\n* List of monuments and memorials of the Confederate States of America\n", "\n", "* Beauregard, G. T. ''The Campaign of Shiloh''. p. 579. In ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', vol. I, edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence C. Buel. New York: Century Co., 1884–1888. .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and David L. Bongard. ''Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography''. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. .\n* \n* \n* \n* Hattaway, Herman, and Archer Jones. ''How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Long, E. B. ''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "*popliteal artery\n* Albert Sidney Johnston at ''Handbook of Texas Online''\n*\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life and education", "Marriage and family", "Texas Army", "United States Army", "Utah War", "Civil War", "Legacy and honors", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "While Crittenden was away in Richmond, Zollicoffer moved his forces to the north bank of the upper Cumberland River near Mill Springs (now Nancy, Kentucky), putting the river to his back and his forces into a trap." ]

[ "\n\n'''Albert Sidney Johnston''' (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian (''i.e.''", "Republic of Texas) Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army.", "He saw extensive combat during his military career, fighting actions in the Black Hawk War, Texas War of Independence, the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, and the American Civil War.", "Considered by Confederate States President Jefferson Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy before the later emergence of Robert E. Lee, he was killed early in the Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.", "Johnston was the highest-ranking officer, Union or Confederate, killed during the entire war.", "Davis believed the loss of Gen. Johnston \"was the turning point of our fate.\"", "Johnston was unrelated to Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.", "Johnston was born in Washington, Kentucky, the youngest son of Dr. John and Abigail (Harris) Johnston.", "His father was a native of Salisbury, Connecticut.", "Although Albert Johnston was born in Kentucky, he lived much of his life in Texas, which he considered his home.", "He was first educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he met fellow student Jefferson Davis.", "Both were appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Davis two years behind Johnston.", "In 1826, Johnston graduated eighth of 41 cadets in his class from West Point with a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry.", "Johnston was assigned to posts in New York and Missouri and served in the brief Black Hawk War in 1832 as chief of staff to Bvt.", "Brig.", "Gen. Henry Atkinson.", "In 1829 he married Henrietta Preston, sister of Kentucky politician and future Civil War general William Preston.", "They had one son, William Preston Johnston, who became a colonel in the Confederate States Army.", "The senior Johnston resigned his commission in 1834 in order to care for his dying wife in Kentucky, who succumbed two years later to tuberculosis.", "After serving as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas from 1838 to 1840, Johnston resigned and returned to Kentucky.", "In 1843, he married Eliza Griffin, his late wife's first cousin.", "The couple moved to Texas, where they settled on a large plantation in Brazoria County.", "Johnston named the property \"China Grove\".", "Here they raised Johnston's two children from his first marriage and the first three children born to Eliza and him.", "(A sixth child was born later when they lived in Los Angeles).", "In 1836 Johnston moved to Texas.", "He enlisted as a private in the Texas Army during the Texas War of Independence against the Republic of Mexico.", "He was named Adjutant General as a colonel in the Republic of Texas Army on August 5, 1836.", "On January 31, 1837, he became senior brigadier general in command of the Texas Army.", "On February 5, 1837, he fought in a duel with Texas Brig.", "Gen. Felix Huston, as they challenged each other for the command of the Texas Army; Johnston refused to fire on Huston and lost the position after he was wounded in the pelvis.", "On December 22, 1838, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas, appointed Johnston as Secretary of War.", "He provided for the defense of the Texas border against Mexican invasion, and in 1839 conducted a campaign against Indians in northern Texas.", "In February 1840, he resigned and returned to Kentucky.", "Johnston as commander of the Department of Utah.", "Portrait taken by Samuel C. Mills at Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, winter of 1858–59.", "Johnston returned to Texas during the Mexican–American War (1846-1848), under General Zachary Taylor as a colonel of the 1st Texas Rifle Volunteers.", "The enlistments of his volunteers ran out just before the Battle of Monterrey.", "Johnston convinced a few volunteers to stay and fight as he served as the inspector general of volunteers and fought at the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista.", "He remained on his plantation after the war until he was appointed by later 12th President Zachary Taylor to the U.S. Army as a major and was made a paymaster in December 1849.", "He served in that role for more than five years, making six tours, and traveling more than annually on the Indian frontier of Texas.", "He served on the Texas frontier at Fort Mason and elsewhere in the West.", "In 1855, 14th President Franklin Pierce appointed him colonel of the new 2nd U.S. Cavalry (the unit that preceded the modern 5th U.S.), a new regiment, which he organized.", "On August 19, 1856, Gen. Persifor Smith, at the request of Kansas Territorial Governor Wilson Shannon, sent Col. Johnston with 1300 men composed of the 2d Cavalry Dragoons from Fort Riley, a battalion of the 6th Infantry and Capt.", "Howe's artillery company from Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis to protect the territorial capital at Lecompton from an imminent attack by James Henry Lane and his abolitionist \"Army of the North.\"", "As a key figure in the Utah War, Johnston led U.S. troops who established a non-Mormon government in the formerly Mormon territory.", "He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general in 1857 for his service in Utah.", "He spent 1860 in Kentucky until December 21, when he sailed for California to take command of the Department of the Pacific.", "Albert S. Johnston in Confederate Army uniform wearing Three Gold Stars and Wreath on a General's Collar\nAt the outbreak of the American Civil War, Johnston was the commander of the U.S. Army Department of the Pacific in California.", "Like many regular army officers from the South, he was opposed to secession.", "But he resigned his commission soon after he heard of the secession of his adopted state of Texas.", "It was accepted by the War Department on May 6, 1861, effective May 3.", "On April 28 he moved to Los Angeles, the home of his wife's brother John Griffin.", "Considering staying in California with his wife and five children, Johnston remained there until May.", "Soon, under suspicion by local Union officials, he evaded arrest and joined the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles as a private, leaving Warner's Ranch May 27.", "He participated in their trek across the southwestern deserts to Texas, crossing the Colorado River into the Confederate Territory of Arizona on July 4, 1861.", "Early in the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis decided that the Confederacy would attempt to hold as much of its territory as possible, and therefore distributed military forces around its borders and coasts.", "In the summer of 1861, Davis appointed several generals to defend Confederate lines from the Mississippi River east to the Allegheny Mountains.", "The most sensitive, and in many ways the most crucial areas, along the Mississippi River and in western Tennessee along the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers were placed under the command of Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk and Brig.", "Gen. Gideon J. Pillow.", "The latter had initially been in command in Tennessee as that State's top general.", "Their impolitic occupation of Columbus, Kentucky, on September 3, 1861, two days before Johnston arrived in the Confederacy's capital of Richmond, Virginia, after his cross-country journey, drove Kentucky from its stated neutrality.", "The majority of Kentuckians allied with the Union camp.", "Polk and Pillow's action gave Union Brig.", "Gen. Ulysses S. Grant an excuse to take control of the strategically located town of Paducah, Kentucky, without raising the ire of most Kentuckians and the pro-Union majority in the State legislature.", "===Confederate command in Western Theater===\nOn September 10, 1861, Johnston was assigned to command the huge area of the Confederacy west of the Allegheny Mountains, except for coastal areas.", "He became commander of the Confederacy's western armies in the area often called the Western Department or Western Military Department.", "Johnston's appointment as a full general by his friend and admirer Jefferson Davis already had been confirmed by the Confederate Senate on August 31, 1861.", "The appointment had been backdated to rank from May 30, 1861, making him the second highest ranking general in the Confederate States Army.", "Only Adjutant General and Inspector General Samuel Cooper ranked ahead of him.", "After his appointment, Johnston immediately headed for his new territory.", "He was permitted to call on governors of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi for new troops, although this authority was largely stifled by politics, especially with respect to Mississippi.", "On September 13, 1861, Johnston ordered Brig.", "Gen. Felix Zollicoffer with 4,000 men to occupy Cumberland Gap in Kentucky in order to block Union troops from coming into eastern Tennessee.", "The Kentucky legislature had voted to side with the Union after the occupation of Columbus by Polk.", "By September 18, Johnston had Brig.", "Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner with another 4,000 men blocking the railroad route to Tennessee at Bowling Green, Kentucky.", "Johnston had fewer than 40,000 men spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.", "Of these, 10,000 were in Missouri under Missouri State Guard Maj. Gen. Sterling Price.", "Johnston did not quickly gain many recruits when he first requested them from the governors, but his more serious problem was lacking sufficient arms and ammunition for the troops he already had.", "As the Confederate government concentrated efforts on the units in the East, they gave Johnston small numbers of reinforcements and minimal amounts of arms and material.", "Johnston maintained his defense by conducting raids and other measures to make it appear he had larger forces than he did, a strategy that worked for several months.", "Johnston's tactics had so annoyed and confused Union Brig.", "Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in Kentucky that he became paranoid and mentally unstable.", "Sherman overestimated Johnston's forces, and had to be relieved by Brig.", "Gen. Don Carlos Buell on November 9, 1861.", "===Battle of Mill Springs===\nEastern Tennessee was held for the Confederacy by two unimpressive brigadier generals appointed by Jefferson Davis: Felix Zollicoffer, a brave but untrained and inexperienced officer, and soon-to-be Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden, a former U.S. Army officer with apparent alcohol problems.", "Zollicoffer decided it was impossible to obey orders to return to the other side of the river because of scarcity of transport and proximity of Union troops.", "When Union Brig.", "Gen. George H. Thomas moved against the Confederates, Crittenden decided to attack one of the two parts of Thomas's command at Logan's Cross Roads near Mill Springs before the Union forces could unite.", "At the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, the ill-prepared Confederates, after a night march in the rain, attacked the Union force with some initial success.", "As the battle progressed, Zollicoffer was killed, Crittenden was unable to lead the Confederate force (he may have been intoxicated), and the Confederates were turned back and routed by a Union bayonet charge, suffering 533 casualties from their force of 4,000.", "The Confederate troops who escaped were assigned to other units as General Crittenden faced an investigation of his conduct.", "After the Confederate defeat at the Mill Springs, Davis sent Johnston a brigade and a few other scattered reinforcements.", "He also assigned him Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, who was supposed to attract recruits because of his victories early in the war, and act as a competent subordinate for Johnston.", "The brigade was led by Brig.", "Gen. John B. Floyd, considered incompetent.", "He took command at Fort Donelson as the senior general present just before Union Brig.", "Gen. Ulysses S. Grant attacked the fort.", "Historians believe the assignment of Beauregard to the west stimulated Union commanders to attack the forts before Beauregard could make a difference in the theater.", "Union officers heard that he was bringing 15 regiments with him, but this was an exaggeration of his forces.", "===Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Nashville===\nBased on the assumption that Kentucky neutrality would act as a shield against a direct invasion from the north, Tennessee initially had sent men to Virginia and concentrated defenses in the Mississippi Valley, circumstances that no longer applied in September 1861.", "Even before Johnston arrived in Tennessee, construction of two forts had been started to defend the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers, which provided avenues into the State from the north.", "Both forts were located in Tennessee in order to respect Kentucky neutrality, but these were not in ideal locations.", "Fort Henry on the Tennessee River was in an unfavorable low-lying location, commanded by hills on the Kentucky side of the river.", "Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, although in a better location, had a vulnerable land side and did not have enough heavy artillery to defend against gunboats.", "Maj. Gen. Polk ignored the problems of the forts when he took command.", "After Johnston took command, Polk at first refused to comply with Johnston's order to send an engineer, Lt. Joseph K. Dixon, to inspect the forts.", "After Johnston asserted his authority, Polk had to allow Dixon to proceed.", "Dixon recommended that the forts be maintained and strengthened, although they were not in ideal locations, because much work had been done on them and the Confederates might not have time to build new ones.", "Johnston accepted his recommendations.", "Johnston wanted Major Alexander P. Stewart to command the forts but President Davis appointed Brig.", "Gen. Lloyd Tilghman as commander.", "To prevent Polk from dissipating his forces by allowing some men to join a partisan group, Johnston ordered him to send Brig.", "Gen. Gideon Pillow and 5,000 men to Fort Donelson.", "Pillow took up a position at nearby Clarksville, Tennessee and did not move into the fort until February 7, 1862.", "Alerted by a Union reconnaissance on January 14, 1862, Johnston ordered Tilghman to fortify the high ground opposite Fort Henry, which Polk had failed to do despite Johnston's orders.", "Tilghman failed to act decisively on these orders, which in any event were too late to be adequately carried out.", "Gen. Beauregard arrived at Johnston's headquarters at Bowling Green on February 4, 1862, and was given overall command of Polk's force at the western end of Johnston's line at Columbus, Kentucky.", "On February 6, 1862, Union Navy gunboats quickly reduced the defenses of ill-sited Fort Henry, inflicting 21 casualties on the small remaining Confederate force.", "Brig.", "Gen. Lloyd Tilghman surrendered the 94 remaining officers and men of his approximately 3,000-man force which had not been sent to Fort Donelson before U.S. Grant's force could even take up their positions.", "Johnston knew he could be trapped at Bowling Green if Fort Donelson fell, so he moved his force to Nashville, the capital of Tennessee and an increasingly important Confederate industrial center, beginning on February 11, 1862.", "Johnston also reinforced Fort Donelson with 12,000 more men, including those under Floyd and Pillow, a curious decision in view of his thought that the Union gunboats alone might be able to take the fort.", "He did order the commanders of the fort to evacuate the troops if the fort could not be held.", "The senior generals sent to the fort to command the enlarged garrison, Gideon J. Pillow and John B. Floyd, squandered their chance to avoid having to surrender most of the garrison and on February 16, 1862, Brig.", "Gen. Simon Buckner, having been abandoned by Floyd and Pillow, surrendered Fort Donelson.", "Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest escaped with his cavalry force of about 700 men before the surrender.", "The Confederates suffered about 1,500 casualties with an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 taken prisoner.", "Union casualties were 500 killed, 2,108 wounded, 224 missing.", "Johnston, who had little choice in allowing Floyd and Pillow to take charge at Fort Donelson on the basis of seniority after he ordered them to add their forces to the garrison, took the blame and suffered calls for his removal because a full explanation to the press and public would have exposed the weakness of the Confederate position.", "His passive defensive performance while positioning himself in a forward position at Bowling Green, spreading his forces too thinly, not concentrating his forces in the face of Union advances, and appointing or relying upon inadequate or incompetent subordinates subjected him to criticism at the time and by later historians.", "The fall of the forts exposed Nashville to imminent attack, and it fell without resistance to Union forces under Brig.", "Gen. Buell on February 25, 1862, two days after Johnston had to pull his forces out in order to avoid having them captured as well.", "===Concentration at Corinth===\nJohnston had various remaining military units scattered throughout his territory and retreating to the south to avoid being cut off.", "Johnston himself retreated with the force under his personal command, the Army of Central Kentucky, from the vicinity of Nashville.", "With Beauregard's help, Johnston decided to concentrate forces with those formerly under Polk and now already under Beauregard's command at the strategically located railroad crossroads of Corinth, Mississippi, which he reached by a circuitous route.", "Johnston kept the Union forces, now under the overall command of the ponderous Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, confused and hesitant to move, allowing Johnston to reach his objective undetected.", "This delay allowed Jefferson Davis finally to send reinforcements from the garrisons of coastal cities and another highly rated but prickly general, Braxton Bragg, to help organize the western forces.", "Bragg at least calmed the nerves of Beauregard and Polk who had become agitated by their apparent dire situation in the face of numerically superior forces before the arrival of Johnston on March 24, 1862.", "Johnston's army of 17,000 men gave the Confederates a combined force of about 40,000 to 44,669 men at Corinth.", "On March 29, 1862, Johnston officially took command of this combined force, which continued to use the Army of the Mississippi name under which it had been organized by Beauregard on March 5.", "Johnston now planned to defeat the Union forces piecemeal before the various Union units in Kentucky and Tennessee under Grant with 40,000 men at nearby Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and the now Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell on his way from Nashville with 35,000 men, could unite against him.", "Johnston started his army in motion on April 3, 1862, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day, but they moved slowly due to their inexperience, bad roads and lack of adequate staff planning.", "Due to the delays, as well as several contacts with the enemy, Johnston's second in command, P. G. T. Beauregard, felt the element of surprise had been lost and recommended calling off the attack.", "Johnston decided to proceed as planned, stating \"I would fight them if they were a million.\"", "His army was finally in position within a mile or two of Grant's force, and undetected, by the evening of April 5, 1862.", "===Battle of Shiloh and death===\nMonument to Johnston at Shiloh National Military Park\nJohnston launched a massive surprise attack with his concentrated forces against Grant at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.", "As the Confederate forces overran the Union camps, Johnston seemed to be everywhere, personally leading and rallying troops up and down the line on his horse.", "At about 2:30 pm, while leading one of those charges against a Union camp near the \"Peach Orchard,\" he was wounded, taking a bullet behind his right knee.", "He apparently did not think the wound was serious at the time, or even possibly did not feel it.", "It is possible that Johnston's duel in 1837 had caused nerve damage or numbness to his right leg and that he did not feel the wound to his leg as a result.", "The bullet had in fact clipped a part of his popliteal artery and his boot was filling up with blood.", "There were no medical personnel on scene at the time, since Johnston had sent his personal surgeon to care for the wounded Confederate troops and Yankee prisoners earlier in the battle.", "Within a few minutes, Johnston was observed by his staff to be nearly fainting.", "Among his staff was Isham G. Harris, the Governor of Tennessee, who had ceased to make any real effort to function as governor after learning that Abraham Lincoln had appointed Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee.", "Seeing Johnston slumping in his saddle and his face turning deathly pale, Harris asked: \"General, are you wounded?\"", "Johnston glanced down at his leg wound, then faced Harris and replied in a weak voice his last words: \"Yes... and I fear seriously.\"", "Harris and other staff officers removed Johnston from his horse and carried him to a small ravine near the \"Hornets Nest\" and desperately tried to aid the general who had lost consciousness by this point.", "Harris then sent an aide to fetch Johnston's surgeon, but did not apply a tourniquet to Johnson's wounded leg.", "Before a doctor could be found, Johnston died from blood loss a few minutes later.", "It is believed that Johnston may have lived for as long as one hour after receiving his fatal wound.", "Ironically, it was later discovered that Johnston had a tourniquet in his pocket when he died.", "Harris and the other officers wrapped General Johnston's body in a blanket so as not to damage the troops' morale with the sight of the dead general.", "Johnston and his wounded horse, named Fire Eater, were taken to his field headquarters on the Corinth road, where his body remained in his tent until the Confederate Army withdrew to Corinth the next day, April 7, 1862, after failing to gain a decisive victory over the Union armies.", "From there, his body was taken to the home of Colonel William Inge, which had been his headquarters in Corinth.", "It was covered in the Confederate flag and lay in state for several hours.", "It is probable that a Confederate soldier fired the fatal round.", "No Union soldiers were observed to have ever gotten behind Johnston during the fatal charge, while it is known that many Confederates were firing at the Union lines while Johnston charged well in advance of his soldiers.", "Furthermore, the surgeon who later dug the bullet out of Johnston's leg identified the round as one fired from a Pattern 1853 Enfield.", "No Union troops in the area where Johnston was hit had been issued Enfield rifles, whereas the Enfield rifle was standard issue for the Confederate forces Johnston was leading.", "Johnston was the highest-ranking fatality of the war on either side, and his death was a strong blow to the morale of the Confederacy.", "At the time, Jefferson Davis considered him the best general in the country.", "Johnston's tomb in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas\nSculpted by Elisabet Ney\n\nJohnston was survived by his wife Eliza and six children.", "His wife and five younger children, including one born after he went to war, chose to live out their days at home in Los Angeles with Eliza's brother, Dr. John Strother Griffin.", "Johnston's eldest son, Albert Sidney Jr. (born in Texas), had already followed him into the Confederate States Army.", "In 1863, after taking home leave in Los Angeles, Albert Jr. was on his way out of San Pedro harbor on a ferry.", "While a steamer was taking on passengers from the ferry, a wave swamped the smaller boat, causing its boilers to explode.", "Albert Jr. was killed in the accident.", "Killed in action, General Johnston received the highest praise ever given by the Confederate government; accounts were published, on December 20, 1862, and thereafter, in the Los Angeles ''Star'' of his family's hometown.", "Johnston Street, Hancock Street, and Griffin Avenue, each in northeast Los Angeles, are named after the general and his family, who lived in the neighborhood.", "Johnston was initially buried in New Orleans.", "In 1866, a joint resolution of the Texas Legislature was passed to have his body moved and reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.", "The re-interment occurred in 1867.", "Forty years later, the state appointed Elisabet Ney to design a monument and sculpture of him to be erected at the grave site.", "The Texas Historical Commission has erected a historical marker near the entrance of what was once Johnston's plantation.", "An adjacent marker was erected by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas and the Lee, Roberts, and Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederate States of America.", "In 1916, the University of Texas at Austin recognized several confederate veterans (including Johnston) with statues on its South Mall.", "On August 21, 2017, as part of the wave of confederate monument removals in America, Johnston's statue was taken down.", "Plans were announced to add it to the Briscoe Center for American History on the east side of the university campus.", "\n* List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)\n* List of monuments and memorials of the Confederate States of America", "* Beauregard, G. T. ''The Campaign of Shiloh''.", "p. 579.", "In ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', vol.", "I, edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence C. Buel.", "New York: Century Co., 1884–1888.", ".", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and David L. Bongard.", "''Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography''.", "New York: HarperCollins, 1992. .", "* \n* \n* \n* Hattaway, Herman, and Archer Jones.", "''How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War''.", "Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* Long, E. B.", "''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.''", "Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "*popliteal artery\n* Albert Sidney Johnston at ''Handbook of Texas Online''\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alberta''' () is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census, it is Canada's fourth-most populous province and the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Its area is about . Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905. The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015.\n\nAlberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces. It has a predominantly humid continental climate, with stark contrasts over a year; but seasonal temperature average swings are smaller than in areas further east, due to winters being warmed by occasional chinook winds bringing sudden warming.\n\nAlberta's capital, Edmonton, is near the geographic centre of the province and is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's crude oil, the Athabasca oil sands and other northern resource industries.\n\nAbout south of the capital is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta. Calgary and Edmonton centre Alberta's two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding one million, while the province has 16 census agglomerations. Tourist destinations in the province include Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Jasper and Sylvan Lake.\n", "Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada (1878–83). Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour.\n", "Topographic map of Alberta\n\nAlberta, with an area of , is the fourth largest province after Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. To the south, the province borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the US state of Montana, while on the north the 60th parallel north divides it from the Northwest Territories. To the east, the 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan, while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains, and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49°N.\n\nThe province extends north to south and east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast.\n\nWith the exception of the semi-arid steppe of the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources. There are numerous rivers and lakes used for swimming, fishing and a range of water sports. There are three large lakes, Lake Claire () in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake (), and Lake Athabasca () which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca. The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2161 m3/s. The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River.\n\nMoraine Lake in Banff National Park|left\n\nAlberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located approximately in the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly major city in Canada, and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada. The region, with its proximity to Canada's largest oil fields, has most of western Canada's oil refinery capacity. Calgary is located approximately south of Edmonton and north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. Almost 75% of the province's population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The land grant policy to the railroads served as a means to populate the province in its early years.\n\nMost of the northern half of the province is boreal forest, while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely forested (see Alberta Mountain forests and Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests). The southern quarter of the province is prairie, ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it. The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, and then east to Lloydminster, contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population. Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south.\n\nThe Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, and features deep canyons and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, Alberta, showcases the badlands terrain, desert flora, and remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape.\n\n=== Climate ===\nBanff Trail station in Calgary\nAlberta has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The province is open to cold arctic weather systems from the north, which often produce extremely cold conditions in winter. As the fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta, the temperature can change rapidly. Arctic air masses in the winter produce extreme minimum temperatures varying from in northern Alberta to in southern Alberta, although temperatures at these extremes are rare. In the summer, continental air masses have produced record maximum temperatures from in the mountains to over in southeastern Alberta.\nPrairie in Alberta\nAlberta extends for over from north to south; its climate, therefore, varies considerably. Average high temperatures in January range from in the southwest to in the far north. The climate is also influenced by the presence of the Rocky Mountains to the southwest, which disrupt the flow of the prevailing westerly winds and cause them to drop most of their moisture on the western slopes of the mountain ranges before reaching the province, casting a rain shadow over much of Alberta. The northerly location and isolation from the weather systems of the Pacific Ocean cause Alberta to have a dry climate with little moderation from the ocean. Annual precipitation ranges from in the southeast to in the north, except in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where total precipitation including snowfall can reach annually. The province is the namesake of the Alberta clipper, a type of intense, fast-moving winter storm that generally forms over or near the province and pushed with great speed by the continental polar jetstream descends over the rest of Southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States.\nSatellite image of wildfires in Alberta\nIn the summer, the average daytime temperatures range from around in the Rocky Mountain valleys and far north, up to around in the dry prairie of the southeast. The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures. The south and east-central portions are prone to drought-like conditions sometimes persisting for several years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation, sometimes resulting in flooding.\nKöppen climate types in Alberta\n\nAlberta is a sunny province. Annual bright sunshine totals range between 1900 up to just under 2600 hours per year. Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer.\n\nIn southwestern Alberta, the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm, dry chinook winds blowing from the mountains, which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above the freezing point in a very short period. During one chinook recorded at Pincher Creek, temperatures soared from in just one hour. The region around Lethbridge has the most chinooks, averaging 30 to 35 chinook days per year. Calgary has a 56% chance of a white Christmas, while Edmonton has an 86% chance.\n\nNorthern Alberta is mostly covered by boreal forest and has a subarctic climate. The agricultural area of southern Alberta has a semi-arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants. The southeastern corner of Alberta, part of the Palliser Triangle, experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province, and as a result suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts. Western Alberta is protected by the mountains and enjoys the mild temperatures brought by winter chinook winds. Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north.\n\nAfter Saskatchewan, Alberta experiences the most tornadoes in Canada with an average of 15 verified per year. Thunderstorms, some of them severe, are frequent in the summer, especially in central and southern Alberta. The region surrounding the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of hail in Canada, which is caused by orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains, enhancing the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail.\n\n\n\n+'''Climate averages for communities in Alberta'''\n\nCommunity\nRegion\nJuly dailymaximum\nJanuary dailymaximum\nAnnualprecipitation\nPlanthardinesszone\n\nMedicine Hat \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4b\n\nBrooks \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nLethbridge \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4b\n\nFort McMurray \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nWetaskiwin \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nEdmonton \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nCold Lake \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nCamrose \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nFort Saskatchewan \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nLloydminster \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nRed Deer \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nGrande Prairie \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nLeduc \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nCalgary \n Calgary Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nChestermere \n Calgary Region \n \n \n \n\n 3b\n\nSt. Albert \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nLacombe \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\n\n\n=== Ecology ===\n\n==== Flora ====\nHoodoos in Dinosaur Provincial Park\nIn central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring is marked by the early flowering of the prairie crocus anemone; this member of the buttercup family has been recorded flowering as early as March, though April is the usual month for the general population. Other prairie flora known to flower early are the golden bean and wild rose. Members of the sunflower family blossom on the prairie in the summer months between July and September. The southern and east central parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass, which dries up as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the prairie coneflower, fleabane, and sage. Both yellow and white sweet clover can be found throughout the southern and central areas of the province.\n\nThe trees in the parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides. These are largely deciduous, typically aspen, poplar, and willow. Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain. On the north side of the North Saskatchewan River evergreen forests prevail for thousands of square kilometres. Aspen poplar, balsam poplar (or in some parts cottonwood), and paper birch are the primary large deciduous species. Conifers include jack pine, Rocky Mountain pine, lodgepole pine, both white and black spruce, and the deciduous conifer tamarack.\n\n==== Fauna ====\nThe bighorn sheep is Alberta's provincial animal\nThe four climatic regions (alpine, boreal forest, parkland, and prairie) of Alberta are home to many different species of animals. The south and central prairie was the land of the bison, commonly known as buffalo, its grasses providing pasture and breeding ground for millions of buffalo. The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement, but since then buffalo have made a comeback, living on farms and in parks all over Alberta.\n\nAlberta is home to many large carnivores. Among them are the grizzly and black bears, which are found in the mountains and wooded regions. Smaller carnivores of the canine and feline families include coyotes, wolves, fox, lynx, bobcat and mountain lion (cougar).\n\nHerbivorous animals are found throughout the province. Moose, mule deer, elk, and white-tail deer are found in the wooded regions, and pronghorn can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains. Rabbits, porcupines, skunks, squirrels and many species of rodents and reptiles live in every corner of the province. Alberta is home to only one variety of venomous snake, the prairie rattlesnake.\n\nWater birds in EdmontonCentral and northern Alberta and the region farther north is the nesting ground of many migratory birds. Vast numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or near one of the hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta. Eagles, hawks, owls and crows are plentiful, and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect-eating birds can be found. Alberta, like other temperate regions, is home to mosquitoes, flies, wasps, and bees. Rivers and lakes are populated with pike, walleye, whitefish, rainbow, speckled, brown trout, and sturgeon. Bull trout, native to the province, is Alberta's provincial fish. Turtles are found in some water bodies in the southern part of the province. Frogs and salamanders are a few of the amphibians that make their homes in Alberta.\n\nAlberta is the only province in Canada—as well as one of the few places in the world—that is free of Norwegian rats. Since the early 1950s, the Government of Alberta has operated a rat-control program, which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported, usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail. In 2006, Alberta Agriculture reported zero findings of wild rats; the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners. It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description; the animals can only be kept in the province by zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions. In 2009, several rats were\nfound and captured, in small pockets in southern Alberta, putting Alberta's rat-free status in jeopardy. A colony of rats were subsequently found in a landfill near Medicine Hat in 2012, and again in 2014.\n\n=== Paleontology ===\n''Pachyrhinosaurus'' skull; large quantities of this genus are preserved in the Wapiti Formation\nAlberta has one of the greatest diversities and abundances of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils in the world. Taxa are represented by complete fossil skeletons, isolated material, microvertebrate remains, and even mass graves. At least 38 dinosaur type specimens were collected in the province. The Foremost Formation, Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formations collectively comprise the Judith River Group and are the most thoroughly studied dinosaur-bearing strata in Alberta.\n\nDinosaur-bearing strata are distributed widely throughout Alberta. The Dinosaur Provincial Park area contains outcrops of the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation. In the central and southern regions of Alberta are intermittent Scollard Formation outcrops. In the Drumheller Valley and Edmonton regions there are exposed Horseshoe Canyon facies. Other formations have been recorded as well, like the Milk River and Foremost Formations. However, these latter two have a lower diversity of documented dinosaurs, primarily due to their lower total fossil quantity and neglect from collectors who are hindered by the isolation and scarcity of exposed outcrops. Their dinosaur fossils are primarily teeth recovered from microvertebrate fossil sites. Additional geologic formations that have produced only few fossils are the Belly River Group and St. Mary River Formations of the southwest and the northwestern Wapiti Formation. The Wapiti Formation contains two ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' bone beds that break its general trend of low productivity, however. The Bearpaw Formation represents strata deposited during a marine transgression. Dinosaurs are known from this Formation, but represent specimens washed out to sea or reworked from older sediments.\n", "Alexander C. Rutherford, Alberta's first premier\nView from Morant's Curve beside the Bow Valley Parkway and the Bow River within Banff National Park\n\nPaleo-Indians arrived in Alberta at least 10,000 years ago, toward the end of the last ice age. They are thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then possibly moved down the east side of the Rocky Mountains through Alberta to settle the Americas. Others may have migrated down the coast of British Columbia and then moved inland. Over time they differentiated into various First Nations peoples, including the Plains Indian tribes of southern Alberta such as those of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Plains Cree, who generally lived by hunting buffalo (American bison), and the more northerly tribes such as the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan who hunted, trapped, and fished for a living.\n\nAfter the British arrival in Canada, approximately half of the province of Alberta, south of the Athabasca River drainage, became part of Rupert's Land which consisted of all land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. This area was granted by Charles II of England to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, and rival fur trading companies were not allowed to trade in it. After the arrival of French Canadians in the west around 1731, they settled near fur trading posts, establishing communities such as Lac La Biche and Bonnyville. Fort La Jonquière was established near what is now Calgary in 1752.\n\nThe Athabasca River and the rivers north of it were not in HBC territory because they drained into the Arctic Ocean instead of Hudson Bay, and they were prime habitat for fur-bearing animals. The first explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond, who learned of the Methye Portage, which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of Rupert's Land. Fur traders formed the North West Company (NWC) of Montreal to compete with the HBC in 1779. The NWC occupied the northern part of Alberta territory. Peter Pond built Fort Athabasca on Lac la Biche in 1778. Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca ten years later in 1788. His cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost point near Edmonton, then setting northward on foot, trekked to the Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake Athabasca. It was there he discovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name—the Mackenzie River—which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean. Returning to Lake Athabasca, he followed the Peace River upstream, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean, and so he became the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico.\n\nThe extreme southernmost portion of Alberta was part of the French (and Spanish) territory of Louisiana, sold to the United States in 1803; in 1818, the portion of Louisiana north of the Forty-Ninth Parallel was ceded to Great Britain.\n\nFur trade expanded in the north, but bloody battles occurred between the rival HBC and NWC, and in 1821 the British government forced them to merge to stop the hostilities. The amalgamated Hudson's Bay Company dominated trade in Alberta until 1870, when the newly formed Canadian Government purchased Rupert's Land. Northern Alberta was included in the North-Western Territory until 1870, when it and Rupert's land became Canada's Northwest Territories.\n\nThe District of Alberta was created as part of the North-West Territories in 1882. As settlement increased, local representatives to the North-West Legislative Assembly were added. After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905 the District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status, with the election of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier.\n\nOn June 21, 2013, during the 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries. A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.\n\nIn 2016, a wildfire resulted in the largest evacuation of residents in Alberta's history, as more than 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate.\n", "\n\nAlberta's population has grown steadily for over a century.\n\nThe 2016 census reported Alberta had a population of 4,067,175 living in 1,527,678 of its 1,654,129 total dwellings, an 11.6% change from its 2011 population of 3,645,257. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. Statistics Canada estimated the province to have a population of 4,280,127 in Q1 of 2017.\n\nAlberta has experienced a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, mainly because of its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province had high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration compared to other provinces.\n\nAbout 81% of the population lives in urban areas and only about 19% in rural areas. The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have experienced very high rates of growth in recent history. Alberta's population rose from 73,022 in 1901 to 3,290,350 according to the 2006 census.\nEnglish is the most common mother tongue of Albertans.\n\nThe 2006 census found that English, with 2,576,670 native speakers, was the most common mother tongue of Albertans, representing 79.99% of the population. The next most common mother tongues were Chinese with 97,275 native speakers (3.02%), followed by German with 84,505 native speakers (2.62%) and French with 61,225 (1.90%).\n\nOther mother tongues include: Punjabi, with 36,320 native speakers (1.13%); Tagalog, with 29,740 (0.92%); Ukrainian, with 29,455 (0.91%); Spanish, with 29,125 (0.90%); Polish, with 21,990 (0.68%); Arabic, with 20,495 (0.64%); Dutch, with 19,980 (0.62%); and Vietnamese, with 19,350 (0.60%). The most common aboriginal language is Cree 17,215 (0.53%). Other common mother tongues include Italian with 13,095 speakers (0.41%); Urdu with 11,275 (0.35%); and Korean with 10,845 (0.33%); then Hindi 8,985 (0.28%); Persian 7,700 (0.24%); Portuguese 7,205 (0.22%); and Hungarian 6,770 (0.21%).''(Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.)''\n\nAlberta has considerable ethnic diversity. In line with the rest of Canada, many immigrants originated from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France, but large numbers also came from other parts of Europe, notably Germany, Ukraine and Scandinavia. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta is home to the second highest proportion (two percent) of Francophones in western Canada (after Manitoba). Despite this, relatively few Albertans claim French as their mother tongue. Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province.\n\nAs reported in the 2001 census, the Chinese represented nearly four percent of Alberta's population, and East Indians represented more than two percent. Both Edmonton and Calgary have historic Chinatowns, and Calgary has Canada's third largest Chinese community. The Chinese presence began with workers employed in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. Aboriginal Albertans make up approximately three percent of the population.\n\nIn the 2006 Canadian census, the most commonly reported ethnic origins among Albertans were: 885,825 English (27.2%); 679,705 German (20.9%); 667,405 Canadian (20.5%); 661,265 Scottish (20.3%); 539,160 Irish (16.6%); 388,210 French (11.9%); 332,180 Ukrainian (10.2%); 172,910 Dutch (5.3%); 170,935 Polish (5.2%); 169,355 North American Indian (5.2%); 144,585 Norwegian (4.4%); and 137,600 Chinese (4.2%). (Each person could choose as many ethnicities as were applicable.)''\n\nAmongst those of British origins, the Scots have had a particularly strong influence on place-names, with the names of many cities and towns including Calgary, Airdrie, Canmore, and Banff having Scottish origins.\n\nAlberta is the third most diverse province in terms of visible minorities after British Columbia and Ontario with 13.9% of the population consisting of visible minorities. Nearly one-fourth of the populations of Calgary and Edmonton belong to a visible minority group.\n\nAboriginal Identity Peoples make up 5.8% of the population, about half of whom consist of North American Indians and the other half are Metis. There are also small number of Inuit people in Alberta. The number of Aboriginal Identity Peoples have been increasing at a rate greater than the population of Alberta.\n\nAs of 2011, Christians comprised approximately 60% of Alberta's population, while 32% of the province had no religious affiliation.\n\nAs of the 2011 National Household Survey, the largest religious group was Roman Catholic, representing 24.3% of the population. Alberta had the second highest percentage of non-religious residents among the provinces (after British Columbia) at 31.6% of the population. Of the remainder, 7.5% of the population identified themselves as belonging to the United Church of Canada, while 3.9% were Anglican. Lutherans made up 3.3% of the population while Baptists comprised 1.9%.\n\n\nThe remainder belonged to a wide variety of different religious affiliations, none of which constituted more than 2% of the population. Members of LDS Church are mostly concentrated in the extreme south of the province. Alberta has a population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites, and has a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists. Alberta is home to several Byzantine Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigration, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada's Western Diocese which is based in Edmonton.\n\nMuslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus live in Alberta. Muslims made up 3.2% of the population, Sikhs 1.5%, Buddhists 1.2%, and Hindus 1.0%. Many of these are recent immigrants, but others have roots that go back to the first settlers of the prairies. Canada's oldest mosque, the Al-Rashid Mosque, is located in Edmonton, whereas Calgary is home to Canada's largest mosque, the Baitun Nur mosque. Alberta is also home to a growing Jewish population of about 15,400 people who constituted 0.3% of Alberta's population. Most of Alberta's Jews live in the metropolitan areas of Calgary (8,200) and Edmonton (5,500).\n\n=== Municipalities ===\n\n\n\n\n\n;Largest metro areas and municipalities by population as of 2006\n\n\n\n '''Census metropolitan areas:'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Calgary CMA\n 1,214,839\n 1,079,310\n 951,395\n 821,628\n\n Edmonton CMA\n 1,159,869\n 1,034,945\n 937,845\n 862,597\n\n '''Urban municipalities (10 largest):'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Calgary\n 1,096,833\n 988,193\n 878,866\n 768,082\n\n Edmonton\n 812,201\n 730,372\n 666,104\n 616,306\n\n Red Deer\n 90,564\n 82,772\n 67,707\n 60,080\n\n Lethbridge\n 83,517\n 78,713\n 68,712\n 64,938\n\n St. Albert (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 61,466\n 57,719\n 53,081\n 46,888\n\n Medicine Hat\n 60,005\n 56,997\n 51,249\n 46,783\n\n Grande Prairie\n 55,032\n 47,076\n 36,983\n 31,353\n\n Airdrie (included in Calgary CMA)\n 42,564\n 28,927\n 20,382\n 15,946\n\n Spruce Grove (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 26,171\n 19,496\n 15,983\n 14,271\n\n Okotoks\n 24,511\n 17,145\n 11,689\n 8,528\n\n '''Specialized/rural municipalities (5 largest):'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Strathcona County (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 92,490\n 82,511\n 71,986\n 64,176\n\n Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (includes Fort McMurray)\n 65,565\n 51,496\n 42,581\n 35,213\n\n Rocky View County (included in Calgary CMA)\n 36,461\n 34,171\n 29,925\n 23,326\n\n Parkland County (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 30,568\n 29,265\n 27,252\n 24,769\n\n Municipal District of Foothills No. 31\n 21,258\n 19,736\n 16,764\n 13,714\n\n\n\n\n\n", "\n\nAlberta's economy was one of the strongest in the world, supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry and to a lesser extent, agriculture and technology. In 2013 Alberta's per capita GDP exceeded that of the United States, Norway, or Switzerland, and was the highest of any province in Canada at C$84,390. This was 56% higher than the national average of C$53,870 and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces. In 2006 the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history. According to the 2006 census, the median annual family income after taxes was $70,986 in Alberta (compared to $60,270 in Canada as a whole).\n\nAlberta's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 11.4% in fiscal year 2019-2020, compared to a surplus-to-GDP ratio of 13.4% in 2009-2010.\n\nThe Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada. The region covers a distance of roughly 400 kilometres north to south. In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72% of Alberta's population). It is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country. A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor to be the only Canadian urban centre to amass a US level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits. The study found that GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average US metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.\n\nThe Fraser Institute states that Alberta also has very high levels of economic freedom and rates Alberta as the freest economy in Canada, and the second freest economy amongst US states and Canadian provinces. The government of Alberta has invested its earnings wisely; as of September 30, 2013, official statistics reported nearly 500 holdings.\n\nIn 2014, Merchandise exports totalled US$121.4 Billion. Energy revenues totalled $111.7 Billion and Energy resource exports totalled $90.8 Billion. Farm Cash receipts from agricultural products totalled $12.9 Billion. Shipments of forest products totalled $5.4 Billion while exports were $2.7 Billion. Manufacturing sales totaled $79.4 Billion, and Alberta's ICT industries generated over $13 Billion in revenue. In total, Alberta's 2014 GDP amassed $364.5 Billion in 2007 dollars, or $414.3 Billion in 2015 dollars. In 2015, Alberta's GDP grew despite low oil prices, however it was unstable with growth rates as high 4.4% and as low as 0.2%. Should the GDP remain at an average of 2.2% for the last two quarters of 2015, Alberta's GDP should exceed $430 Billion by the end of 2015. However, RBC Economics research predicts Alberta's real GDP growth to only average 0.6% for the last 2 quarters of 2015. This estimate predicts a real GDP growth of only 1.4% for 2015. A positive is the predicted 10.8% growth in Nominal GDP, and possibly above 11% in 2016.\n\n=== Industry ===\nMildred Lake mine site and plant at the Athabasca oil sands\nAlberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in Canada. Alberta is the world’s second largest exporter of natural gas and the fourth largest producer. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north-central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products that are shipped all over the world. Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.\n\nThe Athabasca oil sands surrounding Fort McMurray have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (254 km3). Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands. As of late 2006 there were over $100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta.\n\nAnother factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands is the price of oil. The oil price increases since 2003 have made it profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss. By mid-2014 however rising costs and stabilizing oil prices were threatening the economic viability of some projects. An example of this was the shelving of the Joslyn north project in the Athabasca region in May 2014.\n\nWith concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems. With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.\n\n=== Agriculture and forestry ===\nDistinctive yellow canola fields\nThe Warner elevator row, the last surviving elevator row in Alberta, currently unprotected\nAgriculture has a significant position in the province's economy. The province has over three million head of cattle, and Alberta beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the top producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market. Sheep for wool and mutton are also raised.\n\nWheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production; other grains are also prominent. Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation. Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion. Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreasing; farmers typically truck the grain to central points.\n\nAlberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.\n\nForestry plays a vital role in Alberta's economy, providing over 15,000 jobs and contributing billions of dollars annually. Uses for harvested timber include pulpwood, hardwood, engineered wood and bioproducts such as chemicals and biofuels. Recently, the United States has been Canada and Alberta's largest importer of hardwood and pulpwood, although continued trades issues (Canada–United_States_softwood_lumber_dispute) with the U.S. have likely been a contributing factor towards Alberta's increased focus on Asian markets.\n\n=== Tourism ===\n\n\nAlberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the twentieth century, with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing, hiking and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, Calgary Stampede, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, as well as more eclectic attractions. There are also natural attractions like Elk Island National Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, and the Columbia Icefield.\n\nAccording to Alberta Economic Development, Calgary and Edmonton both host over four million visitors annually. Banff, Jasper and the Rocky Mountains are visited by about three million people per year. Alberta tourism relies heavily on Southern Ontario tourists, as well as tourists from other parts of Canada, the United States, and many other countries.\n\nAlberta's Rockies include well-known tourist destinations Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. The two mountain parks are connected by the scenic Icefields Parkway. Banff is located west of Calgary on Highway 1, and Jasper is located west of Edmonton on Yellowhead Highway. Five of Canada's fourteen UNESCO World heritage sites are located within the province: Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.\n\nLake Louise in the Canadian Rockies\nAbout 1.2 million people visit the Calgary Stampede, a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry. About 700,000 people enjoy Edmonton's K-Days (formerly Klondike Days and Capital EX). Edmonton was the gateway to the only all-Canadian route to the Yukon gold fields, and the only route which did not require gold-seekers to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass.\n\nAnother tourist destination that draws more than 650,000 visitors each year is the Drumheller Valley, located northeast of Calgary. Drumheller, \"Dinosaur Capital of The World\", offers the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Drumheller also had a rich mining history being one of Western Canada's largest coal producers during the war years.\n\nLocated in east-central Alberta is Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, a popular tourist attraction operated out of Stettler, that offers train excursions into the prairie and caters to tens of thousands of visitors every year.\n\nAlberta has numerous ski resorts most notably Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Norquay and Nakiska.\n", "\nAlberta's Legislative Building in Edmonton\n\nJasper Avenue is Edmonton's hub of offices and the financial centres.\nThe Government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature. Its unicameral legislature—the Legislative Assembly—consists of eighty-seven members elected first past the post (FPTP) from single-member constituencies.\n\nLocally municipal governments and school boards are elected and operate separately. Their boundaries do not necessarily coincide.\n\nAs Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for the Government of Alberta. Her duties in Alberta are carried out by Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell. The Queen and lieutenant governor are figureheads whose actions are highly restricted by custom and constitutional convention. The lieutenant governor handles numerous honorific duties in the name of the Queen. The government is headed by the premier. The premier is normally a member of the Legislative Assembly, and draws all the members of the Cabinet from among the members of the Legislative Assembly. The City of Edmonton is the seat of the provincial government—the capital of Alberta.\n\nThe current premier is Rachel Notley, sworn in on May 24, 2015.\n\nThe previous premier was Jim Prentice, who became the leader of the then governing Progressive Conservatives on September 6, 2014, following the resignation of Alison Redford and the interim leadership of Dave Hancock. Prentice was sworn in as the 16th Premier of Alberta on September 15, 2014. He called an early election on May 5, 2015 in which the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) won a majority of the seats. Prentice immediately resigned his seat and leadership of the PC party, but remained premier until Notley was sworn in on May 24, 2015.\n\nAlberta's elections have tended to yield much more conservative outcomes than those of other Canadian provinces. Since the 1960s, Alberta has had three main political parties, the Progressive Conservatives (\"Conservatives\" or \"Tories\"), the Liberals, and the social democratic New Democrats. The Wildrose Party, a more conservative party formed in early 2008, gained much support in 2012 election and became the official opposition, a role it still holds today. The strongly conservative Social Credit Party was a power in Alberta for many decades, but fell from the political map after the Progressive Conservatives came to power in 1971.\n\nFor 44 years the Progressive Conservatives governed Alberta. They lost the 2015 election to the NDP, signalling a possible shift to the left in the province, also indicated by the election of progressive mayors in both of Alberta's major cities. Since becoming a province in 1905, Alberta has seen only four changes of government - only five parties have governed Alberta: the Liberals, from 1905 to 1921; the United Farmers of Alberta, from 1921 to 1935; the Social Credit Party, from 1935 to 1971, the Progressive Conservative Party, from 1971 to 2015: and the currently governing Alberta New Democratic Party.\n\nAlberta has had occasional surges in separatist sentiment. Even during the 1980s, when these feelings were at their strongest, there has not been enough interest in secession to initiate any major movement or referendum. Several groups are currently active promoting independence for Alberta in some form.\n\n=== Taxation ===\nGovernment revenue comes mainly from royalties on non-renewable natural resources (30.4%), personal income taxes (22.3%), corporate and other taxes (19.6%), and grants from the federal government primarily for infrastructure projects (9.8%). Albertans are the lowest-taxed people in Canada, and Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax (but residents are still subject to the federal sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax of 5%). It is also the only Canadian province to have a flat tax for personal income taxes, which is 10% of taxable income.\n\nThe Alberta personal income tax system maintains a progressive character by granting residents personal tax exemptions of $17,787, in addition to a variety of tax deductions for persons with disabilities, students, and the aged. Alberta's municipalities and school jurisdictions have their own governments who usually work in co-operation with the provincial government.\n\nAlberta also privatized alcohol distribution. The privatization increased outlets from 304 stores to 1,726; 1,300 jobs to 4,000 jobs; and 3,325 products to 16,495 products. Tax revenue also increased from $400 million to $700 million.\n\nAlbertan municipalities raise a significant portion of their income through levying property taxes. The value of assessed property in Alberta was approximately $727 billion in 2011. Most real property is assessed according to its market value. The exceptions to market value assessment are farmland, railways, machinery & equipment and linear property, all of which is assessed by regulated rates. Depending on the property type, property owners may appeal a property assessment to their municipal 'Local Assessment Review Board', 'Composite Assessment Review Board,' or the Alberta Municipal Government Board.\n\n=== Law enforcement ===\nAlberta Sheriffs Branch vehicle, part of the disaster response to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire\nPolicing in the province of Alberta upon its creation was the responsibility of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1917, due to pressures of World War I, the Alberta Provincial Police was created. This organization policed the province until it was disbanded as a Great Depression era cost cutting measure in 1932. It was at that time the now renamed Royal Canadian Mounted Police resumed policing of the province, specifically RCMP \"K\" Division. With the advent of the Alberta Sheriffs Branch, the duties of law enforcement in Alberta has been evolving as certain aspects, such as traffic enforement, mobile surveillance and the close protection of the Premier of Alberta have been transferred to the Sheriffs. In 2006, Alberta formed the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) to combat organized crime and the serious offences that accompany it. ALERT is made up of members of the RCMP, Sheriffs Branch and various major municipal police forces in Alberta.\n\n=== Military ===\nMilitary bases in Alberta include Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cold Lake, CFB Edmonton, CFB Suffield and CFB Wainwright. Air force units stationed at CFB Cold Lake have access to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. CFB Edmonton is the headquarters for the 3rd Canadian Division. CFB Suffield hosts British troops and is the largest training facility in Canada.\n", "\n===Road===\n\nAlberta Highway 11 beyond Banff National Park\n\nAlberta Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray\nAlberta has over of highways and roads, of which nearly are paved. The main north-south corridor is Highway 2, which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing and is part of the CANAMEX Corridor. Highway 4, which effectively extends Interstate 15 into Alberta and is the busiest US gateway to the province, begins at the Coutts border crossing and ends at Lethbridge. Highway 3 joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Highway 2 to Highway 4. Highway 2 travels north through Fort Macleod, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.\n\nNorth of Edmonton, the highway continues to Athabasca, then northwesterly along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake into High Prairie, north to Peace River, west to Fairview and finally south to Grande Prairie, where it ends at an interchange with Highway 43. The section of Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton has been named the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to commemorate the visit of the monarch in 2005. Highway 2 is supplemented by two more highways that run parallel to it: Highway 22, west of Highway 2, known as ''Cowboy Trail'', and Highway 21, east of Highway 2. Highway 43 travels northwest into Grande Prairie and the Peace River Country; Highway 63 travels northeast to Fort McMurray, the location of the Athabasca oil sands.\n\nAlberta has two main east-west corridors. The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near Medicine Hat, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park. The northern corridor, also part of the Trans-Canada network and known as the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta, through Edmonton and Jasper National Park into British Columbia. One of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs for between Jasper and Lake Louise, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length. A third corridor stretches across southern Alberta; Highway 3 runs between Crowsnest Pass and Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and forms the eastern portion of the Crowsnest Highway. Another major corridor through central Alberta is Highway 11 (also known as the David Thompson Highway), which runs east from the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park through Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer, connecting with Highway 12 west of Stettler. The highway connects many of the smaller towns in central Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton, as it crosses Highway 2 just west of Red Deer.\n\nUrban stretches of Alberta's major highways and freeways are often called ''trails''. For example, Highway 2, the main north-south highway in the province, is called Deerfoot Trail as it passes through Calgary but becomes Calgary Trail (for southbound traffic) and Gateway Boulevard (for northbound traffic) as it enters Edmonton and then turns into St. Albert Trail as it leaves Edmonton for the City of St. Albert. Calgary, in particular, has a tradition of calling its largest urban expressways ''trails'' and naming many of them after prominent First Nations individuals and tribes, such as Crowchild Trail, Deerfoot Trail, and Stoney Trail.\n\n===Public transit===\nCalgary Transit C-Train \nCalgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge have substantial public transit systems. In addition to buses, Calgary and Edmonton operate light rail transit (LRT) systems. Edmonton LRT, which is underground in the downtown core and on the surface outside the CBD, was the first of the modern generation of light rail systems to be built in North America, while the Calgary C-Train has one of the highest number of daily riders of any LRT system in North America.\n\n===Air===\nAlberta is well-connected by air, with international airports in both Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the third and fifth busiest in Canada respectively. Calgary's airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada. Calgary's airport primarily serves the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) for connecting flights to British Columbia, eastern Canada, 15 major US centres, nine European airports, one Asian airport and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. Edmonton's airport acts as a hub for the Canadian north and has connections to all major Canadian airports as well as 10 major US airports, 3 European airports and 6 Mexican and Caribbean airports.\n\n===Rail===\nThere are more than of operating mainline railway; the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway companies operate railway freight across the province. Passenger trains include Via Rail's Canadian (Toronto–Vancouver) or Jasper–Prince Rupert trains, which use the CN mainline and pass through Jasper National Park and parallel the Yellowhead Highway during at least part of their routes. The Rocky Mountaineer operates two sections: one from Vancouver to Banff and Calgary over CP tracks, and a section that travels over CN tracks to Jasper.\n", "\nAlberta Children's Hospital, Calgary\n\nAlberta provides a publicly funded health care system, Alberta Health Services, for all its citizens and residents as set out by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984. Alberta became Canada's second province (after Saskatchewan) to adopt a Tommy Douglas-style program in 1950, a precursor to the modern medicare system.\n\nAlberta's health care budget is currently $17.1 billion during the 2013–2014 fiscal year (approximately 45% of all government spending), making it the best funded health care system per-capita in Canada. Every hour more than $1.9 million is spent on health care in the province.\n\nUniversity of Alberta Hospital complex\nNotable health, education, research, and resources facilities in Alberta, all of which are located within Calgary or Edmonton:\n\n\n\n;Calgary\n*Alberta Children's Hospital\n*Foothills Medical Centre\n*Grace Women's Health Centre\n*Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta\n*Peter Lougheed Centre\n*Rockyview General Hospital\n*South Health Campus\n*Tom Baker Cancer Centre\n*University of Calgary Medical Centre (UCMC)\n\n;Edmonton\n*Alberta Diabetes Institute\n*Cross Cancer Institute\n*Edmonton Clinic\n*Grey Nuns Community Hospital\n*Lois Hole Hospital for Women\n*Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute\n*Misericordia Community Hospital\n*Rexall Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research\n*Royal Alexandra Hospital\n*Stollery Children's Hospital\n*University of Alberta Hospital\n\n\nThe Edmonton Clinic complex, completed in 2012, provides a similar research, education, and care environment as the Mayo Clinic in the United States.\n\nAll public health care services funded by the Government of Alberta are delivered operationally by Alberta Health Services. AHS is the province's single health authority established on July 1, 2008, which replaced nine local health authorities. AHS also funds all ground ambulance services in the province, as well as the province-wide STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) air ambulance service.\n", "\n\nSAIT\nAs with any Canadian province, the Alberta Legislature has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education. Since 1905 the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905, as well as to create and regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, home schooling).\n\n=== Elementary schools ===\nThere are forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta, and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions. Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Catholic electorate, and one (St. Albert) has a Protestant electorate. In addition, one Protestant separate school district, Glen Avon, survives as a ward of the St. Paul Education Region. The City of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers: both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law.\n\nFor many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K–12 education. Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property as a supplementary support for local education. In 1994 the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards, but not for separate school boards. Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K–12 education; the difference is that the mill rate is now set by the provincial government, the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government. The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax must go to the support of K–12 education provided by school boards. The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.\n\nPublic and separate school boards, charter schools, and private schools all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education (Alberta Education). Homeschool tutors may choose to follow the Program of Studies or develop their own Program of Studies. Public and separate schools, charter schools, and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education, they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education, and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Alberta Education.\n\n=== Universities ===\n\nSt. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta\n\nThe University of Alberta, located in Edmonton and established in 1908, is Alberta's oldest and largest university. The University of Calgary, once affiliated with the University of Alberta, gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second largest university in Alberta. Athabasca University, which focuses on distance learning, and the University of Lethbridge are located in Athabasca and Lethbridge respectively.\n\nIn early September 2009, Mount Royal University became Calgary's second public university, and in late September 2009, a similar move made MacEwan University Edmonton's second public university. There are 15 colleges that receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.\n\nThere is also a large and active private sector of post-secondary institutions, mostly Christian Universities, bringing the total number of universities to twelve. Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions. There has been some controversy in recent years over the rising cost of post-secondary education for students (as opposed to taxpayers). In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs.\n", "\n\n\n\nThe Calgary Stampede\nSummer brings many festivals to the province of Alberta, especially in Edmonton. The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the world's second largest after the Edinburgh Festival. Both Calgary and Edmonton host a number of annual festivals and events, including folk music festivals. The city's \"heritage days\" festival sees the participation of over 70 ethnic groups. Edmonton's Churchill Square is home to a large number of the festivals, including the large Taste of Edmonton & The Works Art & Design Festival throughout the summer months.\n\nThe City of Calgary is also famous for its Stampede, dubbed \"The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth\". The Stampede is Canada's biggest rodeo festival and features various races and competitions, such as calf roping and bull riding. In line with the western tradition of rodeo are the cultural artisans that reside and create unique Alberta western heritage crafts.\n\nThe Banff Centre hosts a range of festivals and other events including the international Mountain Film Festival. These cultural events in Alberta highlight the province's cultural diversity. Most of the major cities have several performing theatre companies who entertain in venues as diverse as Edmonton's Arts Barns and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. Both Calgary and Edmonton are home to Canadian Football League and National Hockey League teams. Soccer, rugby union and lacrosse are also played professionally in Alberta.\n", "\nAlberta has relationships with several provinces, states, and other entities worldwide.\n\n* Gangwon-do, South Korea (1974)\n* Hokkaido, Japan (1980)\n* Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China (1981)\n* Montana, United States (1985)\n* Tyumen, Russia (1992)\n* Khanty–Mansi, Russia (1995)\n* Yamalo-Nenets, Russia (1997)\n* Jalisco, Mexico (1999)\n* Alaska, United States (2002)\n* Saxony, Germany (2002)\n* Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2004)\n* Lviv, Ukraine (2005)\n* California, United States (1997)\n", "* Outline of Alberta\n* Index of Alberta-related articles\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* Government of Alberta website\n* \n* Alberta Encyclopedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", " Geography ", " History ", " Demographics ", " Economy ", "Government and politics", " Transportation ", " Health care ", " Education ", " Culture ", " Friendship partners ", "See also", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor to be the only Canadian urban centre to amass a US level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alberta''' () is a western province of Canada.", "With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census, it is Canada's fourth-most populous province and the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces.", "Its area is about .", "Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905.", "The premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015.", "Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south.", "Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces.", "It has a predominantly humid continental climate, with stark contrasts over a year; but seasonal temperature average swings are smaller than in areas further east, due to winters being warmed by occasional chinook winds bringing sudden warming.", "Alberta's capital, Edmonton, is near the geographic centre of the province and is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's crude oil, the Athabasca oil sands and other northern resource industries.", "About south of the capital is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta.", "Calgary and Edmonton centre Alberta's two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding one million, while the province has 16 census agglomerations.", "Tourist destinations in the province include Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Jasper and Sylvan Lake.", "Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria.", "Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada (1878–83).", "Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour.", "Topographic map of Alberta\n\nAlberta, with an area of , is the fourth largest province after Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.", "To the south, the province borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the US state of Montana, while on the north the 60th parallel north divides it from the Northwest Territories.", "To the east, the 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan, while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains, and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49°N.", "The province extends north to south and east to west at its maximum width.", "Its highest point is at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast.", "With the exception of the semi-arid steppe of the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources.", "There are numerous rivers and lakes used for swimming, fishing and a range of water sports.", "There are three large lakes, Lake Claire () in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake (), and Lake Athabasca () which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.", "The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca.", "The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2161 m3/s.", "The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River.", "Moraine Lake in Banff National Park|left\n\nAlberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located approximately in the geographic centre of the province.", "It is the most northerly major city in Canada, and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada.", "The region, with its proximity to Canada's largest oil fields, has most of western Canada's oil refinery capacity.", "Calgary is located approximately south of Edmonton and north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country.", "Almost 75% of the province's population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor.", "The land grant policy to the railroads served as a means to populate the province in its early years.", "Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest, while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely forested (see Alberta Mountain forests and Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests).", "The southern quarter of the province is prairie, ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it.", "The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, and then east to Lloydminster, contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population.", "Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south.", "The Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, and features deep canyons and striking landforms.", "Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, Alberta, showcases the badlands terrain, desert flora, and remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape.", "=== Climate ===\nBanff Trail station in Calgary\nAlberta has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters.", "The province is open to cold arctic weather systems from the north, which often produce extremely cold conditions in winter.", "As the fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta, the temperature can change rapidly.", "Arctic air masses in the winter produce extreme minimum temperatures varying from in northern Alberta to in southern Alberta, although temperatures at these extremes are rare.", "In the summer, continental air masses have produced record maximum temperatures from in the mountains to over in southeastern Alberta.", "Prairie in Alberta\nAlberta extends for over from north to south; its climate, therefore, varies considerably.", "Average high temperatures in January range from in the southwest to in the far north.", "The climate is also influenced by the presence of the Rocky Mountains to the southwest, which disrupt the flow of the prevailing westerly winds and cause them to drop most of their moisture on the western slopes of the mountain ranges before reaching the province, casting a rain shadow over much of Alberta.", "The northerly location and isolation from the weather systems of the Pacific Ocean cause Alberta to have a dry climate with little moderation from the ocean.", "Annual precipitation ranges from in the southeast to in the north, except in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where total precipitation including snowfall can reach annually.", "The province is the namesake of the Alberta clipper, a type of intense, fast-moving winter storm that generally forms over or near the province and pushed with great speed by the continental polar jetstream descends over the rest of Southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States.", "Satellite image of wildfires in Alberta\nIn the summer, the average daytime temperatures range from around in the Rocky Mountain valleys and far north, up to around in the dry prairie of the southeast.", "The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures.", "The south and east-central portions are prone to drought-like conditions sometimes persisting for several years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation, sometimes resulting in flooding.", "Köppen climate types in Alberta\n\nAlberta is a sunny province.", "Annual bright sunshine totals range between 1900 up to just under 2600 hours per year.", "Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer.", "In southwestern Alberta, the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm, dry chinook winds blowing from the mountains, which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above the freezing point in a very short period.", "During one chinook recorded at Pincher Creek, temperatures soared from in just one hour.", "The region around Lethbridge has the most chinooks, averaging 30 to 35 chinook days per year.", "Calgary has a 56% chance of a white Christmas, while Edmonton has an 86% chance.", "Northern Alberta is mostly covered by boreal forest and has a subarctic climate.", "The agricultural area of southern Alberta has a semi-arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants.", "The southeastern corner of Alberta, part of the Palliser Triangle, experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province, and as a result suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts.", "Western Alberta is protected by the mountains and enjoys the mild temperatures brought by winter chinook winds.", "Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north.", "After Saskatchewan, Alberta experiences the most tornadoes in Canada with an average of 15 verified per year.", "Thunderstorms, some of them severe, are frequent in the summer, especially in central and southern Alberta.", "The region surrounding the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of hail in Canada, which is caused by orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains, enhancing the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail.", "+'''Climate averages for communities in Alberta'''\n\nCommunity\nRegion\nJuly dailymaximum\nJanuary dailymaximum\nAnnualprecipitation\nPlanthardinesszone\n\nMedicine Hat \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4b\n\nBrooks \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nLethbridge \n Southern Alberta \n \n \n \n 4b\n\nFort McMurray \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nWetaskiwin \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nEdmonton \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nCold Lake \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nCamrose \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nFort Saskatchewan \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nLloydminster \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3a\n\nRed Deer \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nGrande Prairie \n Northern Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nLeduc \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 3b\n\nCalgary \n Calgary Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nChestermere \n Calgary Region \n \n \n \n\n 3b\n\nSt. Albert \n Edmonton Capital Region \n \n \n \n 4a\n\nLacombe \n Central Alberta \n \n \n \n 3b\n\n\n\n=== Ecology ===\n\n==== Flora ====\nHoodoos in Dinosaur Provincial Park\nIn central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring is marked by the early flowering of the prairie crocus anemone; this member of the buttercup family has been recorded flowering as early as March, though April is the usual month for the general population.", "Other prairie flora known to flower early are the golden bean and wild rose.", "Members of the sunflower family blossom on the prairie in the summer months between July and September.", "The southern and east central parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass, which dries up as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the prairie coneflower, fleabane, and sage.", "Both yellow and white sweet clover can be found throughout the southern and central areas of the province.", "The trees in the parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides.", "These are largely deciduous, typically aspen, poplar, and willow.", "Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain.", "On the north side of the North Saskatchewan River evergreen forests prevail for thousands of square kilometres.", "Aspen poplar, balsam poplar (or in some parts cottonwood), and paper birch are the primary large deciduous species.", "Conifers include jack pine, Rocky Mountain pine, lodgepole pine, both white and black spruce, and the deciduous conifer tamarack.", "==== Fauna ====\nThe bighorn sheep is Alberta's provincial animal\nThe four climatic regions (alpine, boreal forest, parkland, and prairie) of Alberta are home to many different species of animals.", "The south and central prairie was the land of the bison, commonly known as buffalo, its grasses providing pasture and breeding ground for millions of buffalo.", "The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement, but since then buffalo have made a comeback, living on farms and in parks all over Alberta.", "Alberta is home to many large carnivores.", "Among them are the grizzly and black bears, which are found in the mountains and wooded regions.", "Smaller carnivores of the canine and feline families include coyotes, wolves, fox, lynx, bobcat and mountain lion (cougar).", "Herbivorous animals are found throughout the province.", "Moose, mule deer, elk, and white-tail deer are found in the wooded regions, and pronghorn can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta.", "Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains.", "Rabbits, porcupines, skunks, squirrels and many species of rodents and reptiles live in every corner of the province.", "Alberta is home to only one variety of venomous snake, the prairie rattlesnake.", "Water birds in EdmontonCentral and northern Alberta and the region farther north is the nesting ground of many migratory birds.", "Vast numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or near one of the hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta.", "Eagles, hawks, owls and crows are plentiful, and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect-eating birds can be found.", "Alberta, like other temperate regions, is home to mosquitoes, flies, wasps, and bees.", "Rivers and lakes are populated with pike, walleye, whitefish, rainbow, speckled, brown trout, and sturgeon.", "Bull trout, native to the province, is Alberta's provincial fish.", "Turtles are found in some water bodies in the southern part of the province.", "Frogs and salamanders are a few of the amphibians that make their homes in Alberta.", "Alberta is the only province in Canada—as well as one of the few places in the world—that is free of Norwegian rats.", "Since the early 1950s, the Government of Alberta has operated a rat-control program, which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported, usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail.", "In 2006, Alberta Agriculture reported zero findings of wild rats; the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners.", "It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description; the animals can only be kept in the province by zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions.", "In 2009, several rats were\nfound and captured, in small pockets in southern Alberta, putting Alberta's rat-free status in jeopardy.", "A colony of rats were subsequently found in a landfill near Medicine Hat in 2012, and again in 2014.", "=== Paleontology ===\n''Pachyrhinosaurus'' skull; large quantities of this genus are preserved in the Wapiti Formation\nAlberta has one of the greatest diversities and abundances of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils in the world.", "Taxa are represented by complete fossil skeletons, isolated material, microvertebrate remains, and even mass graves.", "At least 38 dinosaur type specimens were collected in the province.", "The Foremost Formation, Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formations collectively comprise the Judith River Group and are the most thoroughly studied dinosaur-bearing strata in Alberta.", "Dinosaur-bearing strata are distributed widely throughout Alberta.", "The Dinosaur Provincial Park area contains outcrops of the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation.", "In the central and southern regions of Alberta are intermittent Scollard Formation outcrops.", "In the Drumheller Valley and Edmonton regions there are exposed Horseshoe Canyon facies.", "Other formations have been recorded as well, like the Milk River and Foremost Formations.", "However, these latter two have a lower diversity of documented dinosaurs, primarily due to their lower total fossil quantity and neglect from collectors who are hindered by the isolation and scarcity of exposed outcrops.", "Their dinosaur fossils are primarily teeth recovered from microvertebrate fossil sites.", "Additional geologic formations that have produced only few fossils are the Belly River Group and St. Mary River Formations of the southwest and the northwestern Wapiti Formation.", "The Wapiti Formation contains two ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' bone beds that break its general trend of low productivity, however.", "The Bearpaw Formation represents strata deposited during a marine transgression.", "Dinosaurs are known from this Formation, but represent specimens washed out to sea or reworked from older sediments.", "Alexander C. Rutherford, Alberta's first premier\nView from Morant's Curve beside the Bow Valley Parkway and the Bow River within Banff National Park\n\nPaleo-Indians arrived in Alberta at least 10,000 years ago, toward the end of the last ice age.", "They are thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then possibly moved down the east side of the Rocky Mountains through Alberta to settle the Americas.", "Others may have migrated down the coast of British Columbia and then moved inland.", "Over time they differentiated into various First Nations peoples, including the Plains Indian tribes of southern Alberta such as those of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Plains Cree, who generally lived by hunting buffalo (American bison), and the more northerly tribes such as the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan who hunted, trapped, and fished for a living.", "After the British arrival in Canada, approximately half of the province of Alberta, south of the Athabasca River drainage, became part of Rupert's Land which consisted of all land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay.", "This area was granted by Charles II of England to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, and rival fur trading companies were not allowed to trade in it.", "After the arrival of French Canadians in the west around 1731, they settled near fur trading posts, establishing communities such as Lac La Biche and Bonnyville.", "Fort La Jonquière was established near what is now Calgary in 1752.", "The Athabasca River and the rivers north of it were not in HBC territory because they drained into the Arctic Ocean instead of Hudson Bay, and they were prime habitat for fur-bearing animals.", "The first explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond, who learned of the Methye Portage, which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of Rupert's Land.", "Fur traders formed the North West Company (NWC) of Montreal to compete with the HBC in 1779.", "The NWC occupied the northern part of Alberta territory.", "Peter Pond built Fort Athabasca on Lac la Biche in 1778.", "Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca ten years later in 1788.", "His cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost point near Edmonton, then setting northward on foot, trekked to the Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake Athabasca.", "It was there he discovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name—the Mackenzie River—which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean.", "Returning to Lake Athabasca, he followed the Peace River upstream, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean, and so he became the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico.", "The extreme southernmost portion of Alberta was part of the French (and Spanish) territory of Louisiana, sold to the United States in 1803; in 1818, the portion of Louisiana north of the Forty-Ninth Parallel was ceded to Great Britain.", "Fur trade expanded in the north, but bloody battles occurred between the rival HBC and NWC, and in 1821 the British government forced them to merge to stop the hostilities.", "The amalgamated Hudson's Bay Company dominated trade in Alberta until 1870, when the newly formed Canadian Government purchased Rupert's Land.", "Northern Alberta was included in the North-Western Territory until 1870, when it and Rupert's land became Canada's Northwest Territories.", "The District of Alberta was created as part of the North-West Territories in 1882.", "As settlement increased, local representatives to the North-West Legislative Assembly were added.", "After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905 the District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status, with the election of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier.", "On June 21, 2013, during the 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries.", "A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.", "In 2016, a wildfire resulted in the largest evacuation of residents in Alberta's history, as more than 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate.", "\n\nAlberta's population has grown steadily for over a century.", "The 2016 census reported Alberta had a population of 4,067,175 living in 1,527,678 of its 1,654,129 total dwellings, an 11.6% change from its 2011 population of 3,645,257.", "With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.", "Statistics Canada estimated the province to have a population of 4,280,127 in Q1 of 2017.", "Alberta has experienced a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, mainly because of its burgeoning economy.", "Between 2003 and 2004, the province had high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration compared to other provinces.", "About 81% of the population lives in urban areas and only about 19% in rural areas.", "The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada.", "Many of Alberta's cities and towns have experienced very high rates of growth in recent history.", "Alberta's population rose from 73,022 in 1901 to 3,290,350 according to the 2006 census.", "English is the most common mother tongue of Albertans.", "The 2006 census found that English, with 2,576,670 native speakers, was the most common mother tongue of Albertans, representing 79.99% of the population.", "The next most common mother tongues were Chinese with 97,275 native speakers (3.02%), followed by German with 84,505 native speakers (2.62%) and French with 61,225 (1.90%).", "Other mother tongues include: Punjabi, with 36,320 native speakers (1.13%); Tagalog, with 29,740 (0.92%); Ukrainian, with 29,455 (0.91%); Spanish, with 29,125 (0.90%); Polish, with 21,990 (0.68%); Arabic, with 20,495 (0.64%); Dutch, with 19,980 (0.62%); and Vietnamese, with 19,350 (0.60%).", "The most common aboriginal language is Cree 17,215 (0.53%).", "Other common mother tongues include Italian with 13,095 speakers (0.41%); Urdu with 11,275 (0.35%); and Korean with 10,845 (0.33%); then Hindi 8,985 (0.28%); Persian 7,700 (0.24%); Portuguese 7,205 (0.22%); and Hungarian 6,770 (0.21%).", "''(Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.)''", "Alberta has considerable ethnic diversity.", "In line with the rest of Canada, many immigrants originated from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France, but large numbers also came from other parts of Europe, notably Germany, Ukraine and Scandinavia.", "According to Statistics Canada, Alberta is home to the second highest proportion (two percent) of Francophones in western Canada (after Manitoba).", "Despite this, relatively few Albertans claim French as their mother tongue.", "Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province.", "As reported in the 2001 census, the Chinese represented nearly four percent of Alberta's population, and East Indians represented more than two percent.", "Both Edmonton and Calgary have historic Chinatowns, and Calgary has Canada's third largest Chinese community.", "The Chinese presence began with workers employed in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s.", "Aboriginal Albertans make up approximately three percent of the population.", "In the 2006 Canadian census, the most commonly reported ethnic origins among Albertans were: 885,825 English (27.2%); 679,705 German (20.9%); 667,405 Canadian (20.5%); 661,265 Scottish (20.3%); 539,160 Irish (16.6%); 388,210 French (11.9%); 332,180 Ukrainian (10.2%); 172,910 Dutch (5.3%); 170,935 Polish (5.2%); 169,355 North American Indian (5.2%); 144,585 Norwegian (4.4%); and 137,600 Chinese (4.2%).", "(Each person could choose as many ethnicities as were applicable.)''", "Amongst those of British origins, the Scots have had a particularly strong influence on place-names, with the names of many cities and towns including Calgary, Airdrie, Canmore, and Banff having Scottish origins.", "Alberta is the third most diverse province in terms of visible minorities after British Columbia and Ontario with 13.9% of the population consisting of visible minorities.", "Nearly one-fourth of the populations of Calgary and Edmonton belong to a visible minority group.", "Aboriginal Identity Peoples make up 5.8% of the population, about half of whom consist of North American Indians and the other half are Metis.", "There are also small number of Inuit people in Alberta.", "The number of Aboriginal Identity Peoples have been increasing at a rate greater than the population of Alberta.", "As of 2011, Christians comprised approximately 60% of Alberta's population, while 32% of the province had no religious affiliation.", "As of the 2011 National Household Survey, the largest religious group was Roman Catholic, representing 24.3% of the population.", "Alberta had the second highest percentage of non-religious residents among the provinces (after British Columbia) at 31.6% of the population.", "Of the remainder, 7.5% of the population identified themselves as belonging to the United Church of Canada, while 3.9% were Anglican.", "Lutherans made up 3.3% of the population while Baptists comprised 1.9%.", "The remainder belonged to a wide variety of different religious affiliations, none of which constituted more than 2% of the population.", "Members of LDS Church are mostly concentrated in the extreme south of the province.", "Alberta has a population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites, and has a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists.", "Alberta is home to several Byzantine Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigration, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada's Western Diocese which is based in Edmonton.", "Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus live in Alberta.", "Muslims made up 3.2% of the population, Sikhs 1.5%, Buddhists 1.2%, and Hindus 1.0%.", "Many of these are recent immigrants, but others have roots that go back to the first settlers of the prairies.", "Canada's oldest mosque, the Al-Rashid Mosque, is located in Edmonton, whereas Calgary is home to Canada's largest mosque, the Baitun Nur mosque.", "Alberta is also home to a growing Jewish population of about 15,400 people who constituted 0.3% of Alberta's population.", "Most of Alberta's Jews live in the metropolitan areas of Calgary (8,200) and Edmonton (5,500).", "=== Municipalities ===\n\n\n\n\n\n;Largest metro areas and municipalities by population as of 2006\n\n\n\n '''Census metropolitan areas:'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Calgary CMA\n 1,214,839\n 1,079,310\n 951,395\n 821,628\n\n Edmonton CMA\n 1,159,869\n 1,034,945\n 937,845\n 862,597\n\n '''Urban municipalities (10 largest):'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Calgary\n 1,096,833\n 988,193\n 878,866\n 768,082\n\n Edmonton\n 812,201\n 730,372\n 666,104\n 616,306\n\n Red Deer\n 90,564\n 82,772\n 67,707\n 60,080\n\n Lethbridge\n 83,517\n 78,713\n 68,712\n 64,938\n\n St. Albert (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 61,466\n 57,719\n 53,081\n 46,888\n\n Medicine Hat\n 60,005\n 56,997\n 51,249\n 46,783\n\n Grande Prairie\n 55,032\n 47,076\n 36,983\n 31,353\n\n Airdrie (included in Calgary CMA)\n 42,564\n 28,927\n 20,382\n 15,946\n\n Spruce Grove (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 26,171\n 19,496\n 15,983\n 14,271\n\n Okotoks\n 24,511\n 17,145\n 11,689\n 8,528\n\n '''Specialized/rural municipalities (5 largest):'''\n 2011 \n 2006 \n 2001 \n 1996 \n\n Strathcona County (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 92,490\n 82,511\n 71,986\n 64,176\n\n Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (includes Fort McMurray)\n 65,565\n 51,496\n 42,581\n 35,213\n\n Rocky View County (included in Calgary CMA)\n 36,461\n 34,171\n 29,925\n 23,326\n\n Parkland County (included in Edmonton CMA)\n 30,568\n 29,265\n 27,252\n 24,769\n\n Municipal District of Foothills No.", "31\n 21,258\n 19,736\n 16,764\n 13,714", "\n\nAlberta's economy was one of the strongest in the world, supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry and to a lesser extent, agriculture and technology.", "In 2013 Alberta's per capita GDP exceeded that of the United States, Norway, or Switzerland, and was the highest of any province in Canada at C$84,390.", "This was 56% higher than the national average of C$53,870 and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces.", "In 2006 the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history.", "According to the 2006 census, the median annual family income after taxes was $70,986 in Alberta (compared to $60,270 in Canada as a whole).", "Alberta's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 11.4% in fiscal year 2019-2020, compared to a surplus-to-GDP ratio of 13.4% in 2009-2010.", "The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada.", "The region covers a distance of roughly 400 kilometres north to south.", "In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72% of Alberta's population).", "It is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country.", "The study found that GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average US metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.", "The Fraser Institute states that Alberta also has very high levels of economic freedom and rates Alberta as the freest economy in Canada, and the second freest economy amongst US states and Canadian provinces.", "The government of Alberta has invested its earnings wisely; as of September 30, 2013, official statistics reported nearly 500 holdings.", "In 2014, Merchandise exports totalled US$121.4 Billion.", "Energy revenues totalled $111.7 Billion and Energy resource exports totalled $90.8 Billion.", "Farm Cash receipts from agricultural products totalled $12.9 Billion.", "Shipments of forest products totalled $5.4 Billion while exports were $2.7 Billion.", "Manufacturing sales totaled $79.4 Billion, and Alberta's ICT industries generated over $13 Billion in revenue.", "In total, Alberta's 2014 GDP amassed $364.5 Billion in 2007 dollars, or $414.3 Billion in 2015 dollars.", "In 2015, Alberta's GDP grew despite low oil prices, however it was unstable with growth rates as high 4.4% and as low as 0.2%.", "Should the GDP remain at an average of 2.2% for the last two quarters of 2015, Alberta's GDP should exceed $430 Billion by the end of 2015.", "However, RBC Economics research predicts Alberta's real GDP growth to only average 0.6% for the last 2 quarters of 2015.", "This estimate predicts a real GDP growth of only 1.4% for 2015.", "A positive is the predicted 10.8% growth in Nominal GDP, and possibly above 11% in 2016.", "=== Industry ===\nMildred Lake mine site and plant at the Athabasca oil sands\nAlberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in Canada.", "Alberta is the world’s second largest exporter of natural gas and the fourth largest producer.", "Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north-central Alberta.", "In both Red Deer and Edmonton, polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products that are shipped all over the world.", "Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.", "The Athabasca oil sands surrounding Fort McMurray have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (254 km3).", "Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands.", "As of late 2006 there were over $100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta.", "Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands is the price of oil.", "The oil price increases since 2003 have made it profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss.", "By mid-2014 however rising costs and stabilizing oil prices were threatening the economic viability of some projects.", "An example of this was the shelving of the Joslyn north project in the Athabasca region in May 2014.", "With concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems.", "With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.", "=== Agriculture and forestry ===\nDistinctive yellow canola fields\nThe Warner elevator row, the last surviving elevator row in Alberta, currently unprotected\nAgriculture has a significant position in the province's economy.", "The province has over three million head of cattle, and Alberta beef has a healthy worldwide market.", "Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta.", "Alberta is one of the top producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market.", "Sheep for wool and mutton are also raised.", "Wheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production; other grains are also prominent.", "Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation.", "Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion.", "Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreasing; farmers typically truck the grain to central points.", "Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed.", "Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.", "Forestry plays a vital role in Alberta's economy, providing over 15,000 jobs and contributing billions of dollars annually.", "Uses for harvested timber include pulpwood, hardwood, engineered wood and bioproducts such as chemicals and biofuels.", "Recently, the United States has been Canada and Alberta's largest importer of hardwood and pulpwood, although continued trades issues (Canada–United_States_softwood_lumber_dispute) with the U.S. have likely been a contributing factor towards Alberta's increased focus on Asian markets.", "=== Tourism ===\n\n\nAlberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the twentieth century, with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing, hiking and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, Calgary Stampede, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, as well as more eclectic attractions.", "There are also natural attractions like Elk Island National Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, and the Columbia Icefield.", "According to Alberta Economic Development, Calgary and Edmonton both host over four million visitors annually.", "Banff, Jasper and the Rocky Mountains are visited by about three million people per year.", "Alberta tourism relies heavily on Southern Ontario tourists, as well as tourists from other parts of Canada, the United States, and many other countries.", "Alberta's Rockies include well-known tourist destinations Banff National Park and Jasper National Park.", "The two mountain parks are connected by the scenic Icefields Parkway.", "Banff is located west of Calgary on Highway 1, and Jasper is located west of Edmonton on Yellowhead Highway.", "Five of Canada's fourteen UNESCO World heritage sites are located within the province: Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.", "Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies\nAbout 1.2 million people visit the Calgary Stampede, a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry.", "About 700,000 people enjoy Edmonton's K-Days (formerly Klondike Days and Capital EX).", "Edmonton was the gateway to the only all-Canadian route to the Yukon gold fields, and the only route which did not require gold-seekers to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass.", "Another tourist destination that draws more than 650,000 visitors each year is the Drumheller Valley, located northeast of Calgary.", "Drumheller, \"Dinosaur Capital of The World\", offers the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.", "Drumheller also had a rich mining history being one of Western Canada's largest coal producers during the war years.", "Located in east-central Alberta is Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, a popular tourist attraction operated out of Stettler, that offers train excursions into the prairie and caters to tens of thousands of visitors every year.", "Alberta has numerous ski resorts most notably Sunshine Village, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Norquay and Nakiska.", "\nAlberta's Legislative Building in Edmonton\n\nJasper Avenue is Edmonton's hub of offices and the financial centres.", "The Government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature.", "Its unicameral legislature—the Legislative Assembly—consists of eighty-seven members elected first past the post (FPTP) from single-member constituencies.", "Locally municipal governments and school boards are elected and operate separately.", "Their boundaries do not necessarily coincide.", "As Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for the Government of Alberta.", "Her duties in Alberta are carried out by Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell.", "The Queen and lieutenant governor are figureheads whose actions are highly restricted by custom and constitutional convention.", "The lieutenant governor handles numerous honorific duties in the name of the Queen.", "The government is headed by the premier.", "The premier is normally a member of the Legislative Assembly, and draws all the members of the Cabinet from among the members of the Legislative Assembly.", "The City of Edmonton is the seat of the provincial government—the capital of Alberta.", "The current premier is Rachel Notley, sworn in on May 24, 2015.", "The previous premier was Jim Prentice, who became the leader of the then governing Progressive Conservatives on September 6, 2014, following the resignation of Alison Redford and the interim leadership of Dave Hancock.", "Prentice was sworn in as the 16th Premier of Alberta on September 15, 2014.", "He called an early election on May 5, 2015 in which the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) won a majority of the seats.", "Prentice immediately resigned his seat and leadership of the PC party, but remained premier until Notley was sworn in on May 24, 2015.", "Alberta's elections have tended to yield much more conservative outcomes than those of other Canadian provinces.", "Since the 1960s, Alberta has had three main political parties, the Progressive Conservatives (\"Conservatives\" or \"Tories\"), the Liberals, and the social democratic New Democrats.", "The Wildrose Party, a more conservative party formed in early 2008, gained much support in 2012 election and became the official opposition, a role it still holds today.", "The strongly conservative Social Credit Party was a power in Alberta for many decades, but fell from the political map after the Progressive Conservatives came to power in 1971.", "For 44 years the Progressive Conservatives governed Alberta.", "They lost the 2015 election to the NDP, signalling a possible shift to the left in the province, also indicated by the election of progressive mayors in both of Alberta's major cities.", "Since becoming a province in 1905, Alberta has seen only four changes of government - only five parties have governed Alberta: the Liberals, from 1905 to 1921; the United Farmers of Alberta, from 1921 to 1935; the Social Credit Party, from 1935 to 1971, the Progressive Conservative Party, from 1971 to 2015: and the currently governing Alberta New Democratic Party.", "Alberta has had occasional surges in separatist sentiment.", "Even during the 1980s, when these feelings were at their strongest, there has not been enough interest in secession to initiate any major movement or referendum.", "Several groups are currently active promoting independence for Alberta in some form.", "=== Taxation ===\nGovernment revenue comes mainly from royalties on non-renewable natural resources (30.4%), personal income taxes (22.3%), corporate and other taxes (19.6%), and grants from the federal government primarily for infrastructure projects (9.8%).", "Albertans are the lowest-taxed people in Canada, and Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax (but residents are still subject to the federal sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax of 5%).", "It is also the only Canadian province to have a flat tax for personal income taxes, which is 10% of taxable income.", "The Alberta personal income tax system maintains a progressive character by granting residents personal tax exemptions of $17,787, in addition to a variety of tax deductions for persons with disabilities, students, and the aged.", "Alberta's municipalities and school jurisdictions have their own governments who usually work in co-operation with the provincial government.", "Alberta also privatized alcohol distribution.", "The privatization increased outlets from 304 stores to 1,726; 1,300 jobs to 4,000 jobs; and 3,325 products to 16,495 products.", "Tax revenue also increased from $400 million to $700 million.", "Albertan municipalities raise a significant portion of their income through levying property taxes.", "The value of assessed property in Alberta was approximately $727 billion in 2011.", "Most real property is assessed according to its market value.", "The exceptions to market value assessment are farmland, railways, machinery & equipment and linear property, all of which is assessed by regulated rates.", "Depending on the property type, property owners may appeal a property assessment to their municipal 'Local Assessment Review Board', 'Composite Assessment Review Board,' or the Alberta Municipal Government Board.", "=== Law enforcement ===\nAlberta Sheriffs Branch vehicle, part of the disaster response to the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire\nPolicing in the province of Alberta upon its creation was the responsibility of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police.", "In 1917, due to pressures of World War I, the Alberta Provincial Police was created.", "This organization policed the province until it was disbanded as a Great Depression era cost cutting measure in 1932.", "It was at that time the now renamed Royal Canadian Mounted Police resumed policing of the province, specifically RCMP \"K\" Division.", "With the advent of the Alberta Sheriffs Branch, the duties of law enforcement in Alberta has been evolving as certain aspects, such as traffic enforement, mobile surveillance and the close protection of the Premier of Alberta have been transferred to the Sheriffs.", "In 2006, Alberta formed the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) to combat organized crime and the serious offences that accompany it.", "ALERT is made up of members of the RCMP, Sheriffs Branch and various major municipal police forces in Alberta.", "=== Military ===\nMilitary bases in Alberta include Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cold Lake, CFB Edmonton, CFB Suffield and CFB Wainwright.", "Air force units stationed at CFB Cold Lake have access to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range.", "CFB Edmonton is the headquarters for the 3rd Canadian Division.", "CFB Suffield hosts British troops and is the largest training facility in Canada.", "\n===Road===\n\nAlberta Highway 11 beyond Banff National Park\n\nAlberta Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray\nAlberta has over of highways and roads, of which nearly are paved.", "The main north-south corridor is Highway 2, which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing and is part of the CANAMEX Corridor.", "Highway 4, which effectively extends Interstate 15 into Alberta and is the busiest US gateway to the province, begins at the Coutts border crossing and ends at Lethbridge.", "Highway 3 joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Highway 2 to Highway 4.", "Highway 2 travels north through Fort Macleod, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.", "North of Edmonton, the highway continues to Athabasca, then northwesterly along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake into High Prairie, north to Peace River, west to Fairview and finally south to Grande Prairie, where it ends at an interchange with Highway 43.", "The section of Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton has been named the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to commemorate the visit of the monarch in 2005.", "Highway 2 is supplemented by two more highways that run parallel to it: Highway 22, west of Highway 2, known as ''Cowboy Trail'', and Highway 21, east of Highway 2.", "Highway 43 travels northwest into Grande Prairie and the Peace River Country; Highway 63 travels northeast to Fort McMurray, the location of the Athabasca oil sands.", "Alberta has two main east-west corridors.", "The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near Medicine Hat, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park.", "The northern corridor, also part of the Trans-Canada network and known as the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta, through Edmonton and Jasper National Park into British Columbia.", "One of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs for between Jasper and Lake Louise, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length.", "A third corridor stretches across southern Alberta; Highway 3 runs between Crowsnest Pass and Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and forms the eastern portion of the Crowsnest Highway.", "Another major corridor through central Alberta is Highway 11 (also known as the David Thompson Highway), which runs east from the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park through Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer, connecting with Highway 12 west of Stettler.", "The highway connects many of the smaller towns in central Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton, as it crosses Highway 2 just west of Red Deer.", "Urban stretches of Alberta's major highways and freeways are often called ''trails''.", "For example, Highway 2, the main north-south highway in the province, is called Deerfoot Trail as it passes through Calgary but becomes Calgary Trail (for southbound traffic) and Gateway Boulevard (for northbound traffic) as it enters Edmonton and then turns into St. Albert Trail as it leaves Edmonton for the City of St. Albert.", "Calgary, in particular, has a tradition of calling its largest urban expressways ''trails'' and naming many of them after prominent First Nations individuals and tribes, such as Crowchild Trail, Deerfoot Trail, and Stoney Trail.", "===Public transit===\nCalgary Transit C-Train \nCalgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge have substantial public transit systems.", "In addition to buses, Calgary and Edmonton operate light rail transit (LRT) systems.", "Edmonton LRT, which is underground in the downtown core and on the surface outside the CBD, was the first of the modern generation of light rail systems to be built in North America, while the Calgary C-Train has one of the highest number of daily riders of any LRT system in North America.", "===Air===\nAlberta is well-connected by air, with international airports in both Calgary and Edmonton.", "Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the third and fifth busiest in Canada respectively.", "Calgary's airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada.", "Calgary's airport primarily serves the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) for connecting flights to British Columbia, eastern Canada, 15 major US centres, nine European airports, one Asian airport and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.", "Edmonton's airport acts as a hub for the Canadian north and has connections to all major Canadian airports as well as 10 major US airports, 3 European airports and 6 Mexican and Caribbean airports.", "===Rail===\nThere are more than of operating mainline railway; the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway companies operate railway freight across the province.", "Passenger trains include Via Rail's Canadian (Toronto–Vancouver) or Jasper–Prince Rupert trains, which use the CN mainline and pass through Jasper National Park and parallel the Yellowhead Highway during at least part of their routes.", "The Rocky Mountaineer operates two sections: one from Vancouver to Banff and Calgary over CP tracks, and a section that travels over CN tracks to Jasper.", "\nAlberta Children's Hospital, Calgary\n\nAlberta provides a publicly funded health care system, Alberta Health Services, for all its citizens and residents as set out by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984.", "Alberta became Canada's second province (after Saskatchewan) to adopt a Tommy Douglas-style program in 1950, a precursor to the modern medicare system.", "Alberta's health care budget is currently $17.1 billion during the 2013–2014 fiscal year (approximately 45% of all government spending), making it the best funded health care system per-capita in Canada.", "Every hour more than $1.9 million is spent on health care in the province.", "University of Alberta Hospital complex\nNotable health, education, research, and resources facilities in Alberta, all of which are located within Calgary or Edmonton:\n\n\n\n;Calgary\n*Alberta Children's Hospital\n*Foothills Medical Centre\n*Grace Women's Health Centre\n*Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta\n*Peter Lougheed Centre\n*Rockyview General Hospital\n*South Health Campus\n*Tom Baker Cancer Centre\n*University of Calgary Medical Centre (UCMC)\n\n;Edmonton\n*Alberta Diabetes Institute\n*Cross Cancer Institute\n*Edmonton Clinic\n*Grey Nuns Community Hospital\n*Lois Hole Hospital for Women\n*Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute\n*Misericordia Community Hospital\n*Rexall Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research\n*Royal Alexandra Hospital\n*Stollery Children's Hospital\n*University of Alberta Hospital\n\n\nThe Edmonton Clinic complex, completed in 2012, provides a similar research, education, and care environment as the Mayo Clinic in the United States.", "All public health care services funded by the Government of Alberta are delivered operationally by Alberta Health Services.", "AHS is the province's single health authority established on July 1, 2008, which replaced nine local health authorities.", "AHS also funds all ground ambulance services in the province, as well as the province-wide STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) air ambulance service.", "\n\nSAIT\nAs with any Canadian province, the Alberta Legislature has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education.", "Since 1905 the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905, as well as to create and regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, home schooling).", "=== Elementary schools ===\nThere are forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta, and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions.", "Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Catholic electorate, and one (St. Albert) has a Protestant electorate.", "In addition, one Protestant separate school district, Glen Avon, survives as a ward of the St. Paul Education Region.", "The City of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers: both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law.", "For many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K–12 education.", "Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property as a supplementary support for local education.", "In 1994 the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards, but not for separate school boards.", "Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K–12 education; the difference is that the mill rate is now set by the provincial government, the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government.", "The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax must go to the support of K–12 education provided by school boards.", "The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.", "Public and separate school boards, charter schools, and private schools all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education (Alberta Education).", "Homeschool tutors may choose to follow the Program of Studies or develop their own Program of Studies.", "Public and separate schools, charter schools, and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education, they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education, and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Alberta Education.", "=== Universities ===\n\nSt. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta\n\nThe University of Alberta, located in Edmonton and established in 1908, is Alberta's oldest and largest university.", "The University of Calgary, once affiliated with the University of Alberta, gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second largest university in Alberta.", "Athabasca University, which focuses on distance learning, and the University of Lethbridge are located in Athabasca and Lethbridge respectively.", "In early September 2009, Mount Royal University became Calgary's second public university, and in late September 2009, a similar move made MacEwan University Edmonton's second public university.", "There are 15 colleges that receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.", "There is also a large and active private sector of post-secondary institutions, mostly Christian Universities, bringing the total number of universities to twelve.", "Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions.", "There has been some controversy in recent years over the rising cost of post-secondary education for students (as opposed to taxpayers).", "In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs.", "\n\n\n\nThe Calgary Stampede\nSummer brings many festivals to the province of Alberta, especially in Edmonton.", "The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the world's second largest after the Edinburgh Festival.", "Both Calgary and Edmonton host a number of annual festivals and events, including folk music festivals.", "The city's \"heritage days\" festival sees the participation of over 70 ethnic groups.", "Edmonton's Churchill Square is home to a large number of the festivals, including the large Taste of Edmonton & The Works Art & Design Festival throughout the summer months.", "The City of Calgary is also famous for its Stampede, dubbed \"The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth\".", "The Stampede is Canada's biggest rodeo festival and features various races and competitions, such as calf roping and bull riding.", "In line with the western tradition of rodeo are the cultural artisans that reside and create unique Alberta western heritage crafts.", "The Banff Centre hosts a range of festivals and other events including the international Mountain Film Festival.", "These cultural events in Alberta highlight the province's cultural diversity.", "Most of the major cities have several performing theatre companies who entertain in venues as diverse as Edmonton's Arts Barns and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music.", "Both Calgary and Edmonton are home to Canadian Football League and National Hockey League teams.", "Soccer, rugby union and lacrosse are also played professionally in Alberta.", "\nAlberta has relationships with several provinces, states, and other entities worldwide.", "* Gangwon-do, South Korea (1974)\n* Hokkaido, Japan (1980)\n* Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China (1981)\n* Montana, United States (1985)\n* Tyumen, Russia (1992)\n* Khanty–Mansi, Russia (1995)\n* Yamalo-Nenets, Russia (1997)\n* Jalisco, Mexico (1999)\n* Alaska, United States (2002)\n* Saxony, Germany (2002)\n* Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2004)\n* Lviv, Ukraine (2005)\n* California, United States (1997)", "* Outline of Alberta\n* Index of Alberta-related articles", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* Government of Alberta website\n* \n* Alberta Encyclopedia" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Afghanistan''' (; Pashto/Dari: , Pashto: ''Afġānistān'' , Dari: ''Afġānestān'' ), officially the '''Islamic Republic of Afghanistan''', is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. The country has a population of million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast. Its territory covers , making it the 41st largest country in the world.\n\nHuman habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. The land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by Alexander the Great, Mauryas, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviet, and in the modern era by Western powers. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khaljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires.\n\nThe political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the \"Great Game\" between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country. Afghanistan remained peaceful during Zahir Shah's forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of civil wars that devastated much of Afghanistan which began when the country became a socialist state under the influence of the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War. Following the departure of the Soviet forces, the country became an Islamic state under the Peshawar Accord but much of its territory was then held by the Islamic supremacist group the Taliban, who ruled the country as a totalitarian regime for almost five years. Following the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States, the Taliban was forcibly removed by the NATO-led coalition, Afghanistan's previous political structure was replaced with a more pro-Western, democratically-elected government.\n\nAfghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic with Islam as an official state religion. It is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Afghanistan's economy is the world's 108th largest, with a GDP of $64.08 billion; the country fares much worse in terms of per-capita GDP (PPP), ranking 167th out of 186 countries in a 2016 report from the International Monetary Fund.\n", "\nThe name ''Afghānistān'' (Pashto |افغانستان) is believed to be as old as the ethnonym ''Afghan'', which is documented in the 10th-century geography book ''Hudud ul-'alam''. The root name \"Afghan\" was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix \"-stan\" means \"place of\" in Persian and Hindi. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to ''land of the Afghans'' or, more specifically in a historical sense, to ''land of the Pashtuns''. However, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that \"the word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan.\"\n", "\n\nExcavations of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree and others suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world. An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites.\n\nThe country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and often fought. It has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire.\n\nMany empires and kingdoms have also risen to power in Afghanistan, such as the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Hephthalites, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khaljis, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, and finally the Hotak and Durrani dynasties that marked the political origins of the modern state.\n\n=== Pre-Islamic period ===\n\nGreek and Aramaic) edict by Emperor Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE discovered in the southern city of Kandahar\nArchaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the geographical area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west, and north. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found in Afghanistan. Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. In more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well.\nOne of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Buddhism was widespread before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.\nAfter 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea. The region at the time was referred to as Ariana.\n\nThe religion Zoroastrianism is believed by some to have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BCE, as its founder Zoroaster is thought to have lived and died in Balkh. Ancient Eastern Iranian languages may have been spoken in the region around the time of the rise of Zoroastrianism. By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its eastern boundaries. An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered.\n\nAlexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived to Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE, when they gave much of it to the Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE. Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away from them and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.\n\nDuring the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region, but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals. In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire, centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region. The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region. They were followed by the Kidarite who, in turn, were replaced by the Hephthalites. By the 6th century CE, the successors to the Kushans and Hepthalites established a small dynasty called Kabul Shahi. Much of the northeastern and southern areas of the country remained dominated by Buddhist culture.\n\n=== Islamization and Mongol invasion ===\n\nThe Friday Mosque of Herat is one of the oldest mosques in Afghanistan. (March 1962 photo)\nArab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted. The land was collectively recognized by the Arabs as al-Hind due to its cultural connection with Greater India. Before Islam was introduced, people of the region were mostly Buddhists and Zoroastrians, but there were also Surya and Nana worshipers, Jews, and others. The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj. Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of the Hindu Kush. It is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side in Kabul before the Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.\n\nBy the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region, with the exception of Kafiristan. Afghanistan became one of the main centers in the Muslim world during this Islamic Golden Age. The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by the Ghurids, who expanded and advanced the already powerful Islamic empire.\n\nIn 1219 AD, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khorasanian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan. The destruction caused by the Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society. Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur, who established the Timurid Empire in 1370.\n\nIn the early 16th century, Babur arrived from Fergana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty. In 1526, he invaded Delhi in India to replace the Lodi dynasty with the Mughal Empire. Between the 16th and 18th century, the Khanate of Bukhara, Safavids, and Mughals ruled parts of the territory. Before the 19th century, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan. Two of the four capitals of Khorasan (Herat and Balkh) are now located in Afghanistan, while the regions of Kandahar, Zabulistan, Ghazni, Kabulistan, and Afghanistan formed the frontier between Khorasan and Hindustan.\n\n=== Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire ===\n\nAhmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire and viewed as ''Father of the Nation''\nIn 1709, Mirwais Hotak, a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids. He defeated Gurgin Khan and made Afghanistan independent. Mirwais died of a natural cause in 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was soon killed by Mirwais' son Mahmud for treason. Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan, captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan.\n\nIn 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak, at which point the incarcerated 16-year-old Ahmad Shah Durrani was freed and made the commander of an Afghan regiment. Soon after the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India. By 1747, the Afghans chose Durrani as their head of state. Durrani and his Afghan army conquered much of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, and Delhi in India. He defeated the Indian Maratha Empire, and one of his biggest victories was the 1761 Battle of Panipat.\n\nIn October 1772, Durrani died of a natural cause and was buried at a site now adjacent to the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar. He was succeeded by his son, Timur Shah, who transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. After Timur's death in 1793, the Durrani throne passed down to his son Zaman Shah, followed by Mahmud Shah, Shuja Shah and others.\n\nThe Afghan Empire was under threat in the early 19th century by the Persians in the west and the Sikh Empire in the east. Fateh Khan, leader of the Barakzai tribe, had installed 21 of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire. After his death, they rebelled and divided up the provinces of the empire between themselves. During this turbulent period, Afghanistan had many temporary rulers until Dost Mohammad Khan declared himself emir in 1826. The Punjab region was lost to Ranjit Singh, who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in 1834 captured the city of Peshawar. In 1837, during the Battle of Jamrud near the Khyber Pass, Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army, but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa, thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars. By this time the British were advancing from the east and the first major conflict during the \"Great Game\" was initiated.\n\n=== Western influence ===\n\nBritish and allied forces at Kandahar after the 1880 Battle of Kandahar, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The large defensive wall around the city was removed in the early 1930s by the order of King Nadir.\nIn 1838, the British marched into Afghanistan and arrested Dost Mohammad, sent him into exile in India and replaced him with the previous ruler, Shah Shuja. Following an uprising, the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces, and the Battle of Kabul that led to its recapture, the British placed Dost Mohammad Khan back into power and withdrew their military forces from Afghanistan. In 1878, the Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought over perceived Russian influence, Abdur Rahman Khan replaced Ayub Khan, and Britain gained control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879. In 1893, Mortimer Durand made Amir Abdur Rahman Khan sign a controversial agreement in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line. This was a standard divide and rule policy of the British and would lead to strained relations, especially with the later new state of Pakistan.\nZahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 to 1973.\nAfter the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, King Amanullah Khan declared Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state. He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community and, following a 1927–28 tour of Europe and Turkey, introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation. A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education of women. He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution, which made elementary education compulsory. The institution of slavery was abolished in 1923.\n\nSome of the reforms that were actually put in place, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of a number of co-educational schools, quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders. Faced with overwhelming armed opposition, Amanullah Khan was forced to abdicate in January 1929 after Kabul fell to rebel forces led by Habibullah Kalakani. Prince Mohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullah's cousin, in turn defeated and killed Kalakani in November 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah. He abandoned the reforms of Amanullah Khan in favor of a more gradual approach to modernisation but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq, a fifteen-year-old Hazara student.\n\nMohammed Zahir Shah, Nadir Shah's 19-year-old son, succeeded to the throne and reigned from 1933 to 1973. Until 1946, Zahir Shah ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of Prime Minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah. Another of Zahir Shah's uncles, Shah Mahmud Khan, became Prime Minister in 1946 and began an experiment allowing greater political freedom, but reversed the policy when it went further than he expected. He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan, the king's cousin and brother-in-law. Daoud Khan sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union and a more distant one towards Pakistan. Afghanistan remained neutral and was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in the Cold War. However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure. On per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country. In 1973, while King Zahir Shah was on an official overseas visit, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first President of Afghanistan. In the meantime, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto got neighboring Pakistan involved in Afghanistan. Some experts suggest that Bhutto paved the way for the April 1978 Saur Revolution.\n\n===Marxist revolution and Soviet war===\n\nArg Presidential Palace in Kabul, a day after the April 1978 Marxist revolution in which President Daoud Khan was assassinated along with his entire family.\nIn April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in Afghanistan in the Saur Revolution. Within months, opponents of the communist government launched an uprising in eastern Afghanistan that quickly expanded into a civil war waged by guerrilla mujahideen against government forces countrywide. The Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, while the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA government. Meanwhile, increasing friction between the competing factions of the PDPA — the dominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham — resulted in the dismissal of Parchami cabinet members and the arrest of Parchami military officers under the pretext of a Parchami coup.\n\nIn September 1979, Nur Muhammad Taraki was assassinated in a coup within the PDPA orchestrated by fellow Khalq member Hafizullah Amin, who assumed the presidency. Distrusted by the Soviets, Amin was assassinated by Soviet special forces in December 1979. A Soviet-organized government, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions, filled the vacuum. Soviet troops were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal in more substantial numbers, although the Soviet government did not expect to do most of the fighting in Afghanistan. As a result, however, the Soviets were now directly involved in what had been a domestic war in Afghanistan. The PDPA prohibited usury, declared equality of the sexes, and introduced women to political life.\n\nThe United States had been supporting anti-Soviet Afghan ''mujahideen'' and foreign \"Afghan Arab\" fighters through Pakistan's ISI as early as mid-1979 (see ''CIA activities in Afghanistan''). Billions in cash and weapons, which included over two thousand FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, were provided by the United States and Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.\n\nDuring the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Soviet forces and their proxies killed between 562,000 and 2 million Afghans, and also displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province functioned as an organisational and networking base for the anti-Soviet Afghan resistance, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a major supporting role in promoting the 'jihad'. Faced with mounting international pressure and numerous casualties, the Soviets withdrew in 1989 but continued to support Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah until 1992.\n\n===Civil war===\n\nFrom 1989 until 1992, Najibullah's government tried to solve the ongoing civil war with economic and military aid, but without Soviet troops on the ground. Pakistan's spy agency (ISI), headed by Hamid Gul at the time, was interested in a trans-national Islamic revolution which would cover Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. For this purpose Pakistan masterminded an attack on Jalalabad for the Mujahideen to establish their own government in Afghanistan. Najibullah tried to build support for his government by portraying his government as Islamic, and in the 1990 constitution the country officially became an Islamic state and all references of communism were removed. Nevertheless, Najibullah did not win any significant support, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, he was left without foreign aid. This, coupled with the internal collapse of his government, led to his ousting from power in April 1992. After the fall of Najibullah's government in 1992, the post-communist Islamic State of Afghanistan was established by the Peshawar Accord, a peace and power-sharing agreement under which all the Afghan parties were united in April 1992, except for the Pakistani supported Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar started a bombardment campaign against the capital city Kabul, which marked the beginning of a new phase in the war.\n\nSaudi Arabia and Iran supported different Afghan militias and instability quickly developed. The conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war.\ncivil war in 1993\n\nDue to the sudden initiation of the war, working government departments, police units, and a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals of the different armed factions while Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos. Because of the chaos, some leaders increasingly had only nominal control over their (sub-)commanders. For civilians there was little security from murder, rape, and extortion. An estimated 25,000 people died during the most intense period of bombardment by Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami and the Junbish-i Milli forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum, who had created an alliance with Hekmatyar in 1994. Half a million people fled Afghanistan.\n\nSouthern and eastern Afghanistan were under the control of local commanders such as Gul Agha Sherzai and others. In 1994, the Taliban (a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan) also developed in Afghanistan as a political-religious force. The Taliban first took control of southern Afghanistan in 1994 and forced the surrender of dozens of local Pashtun leaders.\n\nIn late 1994, forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud held on to Kabul. Rabbani's government took steps to reopen courts, restore law and order, and initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation and democratic elections. Massoud invited Taliban leaders to join the process but they refused.\n\n===Taliban Emirate and Northern Alliance===\n\nMassoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories.\nThe Taliban's early victories in late 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses. The Taliban attempted to capture Kabul in early 1995 but were repelled by forces under Massoud. In September 1996, as the Taliban, with military support from Pakistan and financial support from Saudi Arabia, prepared for another major offensive, Massoud ordered a full retreat from Kabul. The Taliban seized Kabul in the same month and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They imposed a strict form of Sharia, similar to that found in Saudi Arabia. According to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), \"no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment from showing their faces, seeking medical care without a male escort, or attending school\" (this statement, though, was made in 1998, long before the advent of ISIS which has imposed even tougher and more violent sharia controls).\n\nAfter the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Massoud and Dostum formed the Northern Alliance. The Taliban defeated Dostum's forces during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–98). Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance. From 1996 to 2001, the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri was also operating inside Afghanistan. This and the fact that around one million Afghans were internally displaced made the United States worry. From 1990 to September 2001, around 400,000 Afghans died in the internal mini-wars.\n\nOn 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir province of Afghanistan. Two days later, the September 11 attacks were carried out in the United States. The US government suspected Osama bin Laden as the perpetrator of the attacks, and demanded that the Taliban hand him over. The Taliban offered to hand over Bin Laden to a third country for trial, not directly to the USA. Washington refused that offer. Instead, the US launched the October 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom. The majority of Afghans supported the American invasion of their country. During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps. The United States began working with the Northern Alliance to remove the Taliban from power.\n\n===Recent history (2002–present)===\n\nFrom upper left, clockwise - Canadian troops in Kandahar; American president Barack Obama meets Afghan leader Hamid Karzai in March 2010; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with female politicians in Kabul in October, 2011; An officer of the RAF explains a C-27 of the Afghan air force to 'Thunder Lab' students in July 2011\nIn December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed, in which process the Taliban were typecast as 'the bad guys' and left out. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security. Taliban forces meanwhile began regrouping inside Pakistan, while more coalition troops entered Afghanistan and began rebuilding the war-torn country.\n\nShortly after their fall from power, the Taliban began an insurgency to regain control of Afghanistan. Over the next decade, ISAF and Afghan troops led many offensives against the Taliban, but failed to fully defeat them. Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world due to a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.\n\nMeanwhile, the Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, and the country changed its name to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Attempts were made, often with the support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture. ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces. In the decade following 2002, over five million Afghans were repatriated, including some who were forcefully deported from Western countries.\n\nBy 2009, a Taliban-led shadow government began to form in parts of the country. In 2010, President Karzai attempted to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban leaders, but the rebel group refused to attend until mid-2015 when the Taliban supreme leader finally decided to back the peace talks.\n\nRemains of the Bamiyan Buddhas.\nAfter the May 2011 death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, many prominent Afghan figures were assassinated. Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes intensified and many large scale attacks by the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network also took place across Afghanistan. The United States blamed rogue elements within the Pakistani government for the increased attacks. The U.S. government spent tens of billions of dollars on development aid over 15 years and over a trillion dollars on military expenses during the same period. Corruption by Western defense and development contractors and associated Afghans reached unprecedented levels in a country where the national GDP was often only a small fraction of the U.S. government's annual budget for the conflict.\n\nFollowing the 2014 presidential election President Karzai left power and Ashraf Ghani became President in September 2014. The United States' war in Afghanistan - by then the longest in its history - officially ended on 28 December 2014. However, thousands of US-led NATO troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces. The 2001–present war has resulted in over 90,000 direct war-related deaths, which includes insurgents, Afghan civilians and government forces. Over 100,000 have been injured.\n", "\nAfghanistan map of Köppen climate classification.\nTopography\nA landlocked mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest, Afghanistan is located within South Asia and Central Asia. It is part of the US-coined Greater Middle East Muslim world, which lies between latitudes and , and longitudes and . The country's highest point is Noshaq, at above sea level. It has a continental climate with harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (around Nuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average temperature in January is below , and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over in July.\nLandscapes of Afghanistan, from left to right: 1. Band-e Amir National Park; 2. Salang Pass in Parwan Province; 3. Korangal Valley in Kunar Province; and 4. Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province\nDespite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry. The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world. Aside from the usual rainfall, Afghanistan receives snow during the winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams. However, two-thirds of the country's water flows into the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan. The state needs more than to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so that the water is properly managed.\n\nThe northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in and around the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in a geologically active area where earthquakes may occur almost every year. They can be deadly and destructive sometimes, causing landslides in some parts or avalanches during the winter. The last strong earthquakes were in 1998, which killed about 6,000 people in Badakhshan near Tajikistan. This was followed by the 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes in which over 150 people were killed and over 1,000 injured. A 2010 earthquake left 11 Afghans dead, over 70 injured, and more than 2,000 houses destroyed.\n\nThe country's natural resources include: coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum, among other things. In 2010, US and Afghan government officials estimated that untapped mineral deposits located in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worth at least .\n\nAt , Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country, slightly bigger than France and smaller than Burma, about the size of Texas in the United States. It borders Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far east.\n", "\nThe population of Afghanistan was estimated at 29.2 million in 2017. Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million females. About 22% of them are urbanite and the remaining 78% live in rural areas. An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries. This makes the total Afghan population at around 33,332,025, and its current growth rate is 2.34%. This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050.\n\nThe only city with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul. Other large cities in the country are, in order of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Lashkar Gah, Taloqan, Khost, Sheberghan, and Ghazni.\n\n\n=== Ethnic groups ===\n\nEthnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan\nAfghanistan's population is divided into several ethnolinguistic groups, which are listed in the chart below:\n\n\n+Ethnic groups in Afghanistan\n\nEthnic group\n\n\n\n Pashtun\n42%\n38–55%\n\n Tajik\n27%\n26% (of this 1% are Qizilbash)\n\n Hazara\n8%\n9–10%\n\n Uzbek\n9%\n6–8%\n\n Aimaq\n4%\n500,000 to 800,000\n\n Turkmen\n3%\n2.5%\n\n Baloch\n2%\n100,000\n\n Others (Pashayi, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri, Gurjar, etc.)\n4%\n6.9%\n\n\n\n=== Languages ===\n\n\nPashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common. Dari, which is Afghanistan's Persian, functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country. Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto.\n\nThere are a number of smaller regional languages, they include Uzbeki, Turkmeni, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani. A number of Afghans are also fluent in Urdu, English, and other foreign languages.\n\n=== Religions ===\n\n\nOver 99% of the Afghan population is Muslim. According to latest estimates, up to 90% practice Sunni Islam and the remaining 7–15% adhere to Shia Islam.\n\nThousands of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are also found in the major cities. There was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan who had emigrated to Israel and the United States by the end of the twentieth century; at least one Jew, Zablon Simintov, remained.\n", "\nThe National Assembly of Afghanistan in 2006\n\nCurrent military situation, as of 27 February 2016.\n\n\n\nAfghanistan is an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial. The nation is led by President Ashraf Ghani with Abdul Rashid Dostum and Sarwar Danish as vice presidents. Abdullah Abdullah serves as the chief executive officer (CEO). The National Assembly is the legislature, a bicameral body having two chambers, the House of the People and the House of Elders. The Supreme Court is led by Chief Justice Said Yusuf Halem, the former Deputy Minister of Justice for Legal Affairs.\n\nA January 2010 report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that bribery consumed an amount equal to 23% of the GDP of the nation. A number of government ministries are believed to be rife with corruption, and while President Karzai vowed to tackle the problem in late 2009 by stating that \"individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government\", top government officials were stealing and misusing hundreds of millions of dollars through the Kabul Bank. According to Transparency International's 2014 corruption perceptions index results, Afghanistan was ranked as the fourth most corrupt country in the world.\n\n=== Elections and parties ===\n\nFrom left to right: Abdullah Abdullah, John Kerry and Ashraf Ghani during the 2014 presidential election\n\nThe 2004 Afghan presidential election was relatively peaceful, in which Hamid Karzai won in the first round with 55.4% of the votes. However, the 2009 presidential election was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout, and widespread electoral fraud. The vote, along with elections for 420 provincial council seats, took place in August 2009, but remained unresolved during a lengthy period of vote counting and fraud investigation.\n\nTwo months later, under international pressure, a second round run-off vote between Karzai and remaining challenger Abdullah was announced, but a few days later Abdullah announced that he would not participate in 7 November run-off because his demands for changes in the electoral commission had not been met. The next day, officials of the election commission cancelled the run-off and declared Hamid Karzai as President for another five-year term.\n\nIn the 2005 parliamentary election, among the elected officials were former mujahideen, Islamic fundamentalists, warlords, communists, reformists, and several Taliban associates. In the same period, Afghanistan reached to the 30th highest nation in terms of female representation in the National Assembly. The last parliamentary election was held in September 2010, but due to disputes and investigation of fraud, the swearing-in ceremony took place in late January 2011. The 2014 presidential election ended with Ashraf Ghani winning by 56.44% votes.\n\n=== Administrative divisions ===\n\nAfghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (''wilayats''), with each province having its own capital and a provincial administration. The provinces are further divided into about 398 smaller provincial districts, each of which normally covers a city or a number of villages. Each district is represented by a district governor.\n\nThe provincial governors are appointed by the President of Afghanistan and the district governors are selected by the provincial governors. The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces. There are also provincial councils that are elected through direct and general elections for a period of four years. The functions of provincial councils are to take part in provincial development planning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal of other provincial governance institutions.\n\nAccording to article 140 of the constitution and the presidential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities should be elected through free and direct elections for a four-year term. However, due to huge election costs, mayoral and municipal elections have never been held. Instead, mayors have been appointed by the government. In the capital city of Kabul, the mayor is appointed by the President of Afghanistan.\n\nThe following is a list of all the 34 provinces in alphabetical order:\n\n34 provinces, and every province is further divided into a number of districts\n\n\n# Badakhshan\n# Badghis\n# Baghlan\n# Balkh\n# Bamyan\n# Daykundi\n# Farah\n# Faryab\n# Ghazni\n# Ghor\n# Helmand\n# Herat\n# Jowzjan\n# Kabul\n# Kandahar\n# Kapisa\n# Khost\n# Kunar\n# Kunduz\n# Laghman\n# Logar\n# Nangarhar\n# Nimruz\n# Nuristan\n# Oruzgan\n# Paktia\n# Paktika\n# Panjshir\n# Parwan\n# Samangan\n# Sar-e Pol\n# Takhar\n# Wardak\n# Zabul\n\n\n=== Foreign relations and military ===\n\nSoldiers of the Afghan National Army, including the ANA Commando Battalion standing in the front\nThe Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of maintaining the foreign relations of Afghanistan. The state has been a member of the United Nations since 1946. It enjoys strong economic relations with a number of NATO and allied states, particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey. In 2012, the United States designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally and created the U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement. Afghanistan also has friendly diplomatic relations with neighboring Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China, and with regional states such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Russia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Japan, and South Korea. It continues to develop diplomatic relations with other countries around the world.\n\nUnited Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was established in 2002 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1401 in order to help the country recover from decades of war. Today, a number of NATO member states deploy about 38,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Its main purpose is to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The Afghan Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defense, which includes the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan Air Force (AAF). The ANA is divided into 6 major Corps, with the 201st Selab (\"Flood\") in Kabul followed by the 203rd in Gardez, 205th Atul (\"Hero\") in Kandahar, 207th in Herat, 209th in Mazar-i-Sharif, and the 215th in Lashkar Gah. The ANA also has a commando brigade, which was established in 2007. The Afghan Defense University (ADU) houses various educational establishments for the Afghan Armed Forces, including the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.\n\n=== Law enforcement ===\n\nAfghan National Police (ANP) in Kunar Province\nThe National Directorate of Security (NDS) is the nation's domestic intelligence agency, which operates similar to that of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Afghan National Police (ANP) is under the Ministry of the Interior and serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The Afghan National Civil Order Police is the main branch of the ANP, which is divided into five Brigades, each commanded by a Brigadier General. These brigades are stationed in Kabul, Gardez, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif. Every province has an appointed provincial Chief of Police who is responsible for law enforcement throughout the province.\n\nAll parts of Afghanistan are considered dangerous due to militant activities. Hundreds of Afghan police are killed in the line of duty each year. Kidnapping and robberies are also reported. The Afghan Border Police (ABP) are responsible for protecting the nation's airports and borders, especially the disputed Durand Line border, which is often used by members of criminal organizations and terrorists for their illegal activities. A report in 2011 suggested that up to 3 million people were involved in the illegal drug business in Afghanistan. Attacks on government employees may be ordered by powerful mafia groups who reside inside and outside the country. Drugs from Afghanistan are exported to neighboring countries and then to other countries. The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics is tasked to deal with these issues by bringing to justice major drug traffickers.\n", "\npomegranates (''anaar''), which Afghanistan is famous for in Asia\nAfghan women at a textile factory in Kabul\nAfghanistan's GDP is around $64 billion with an exchange rate of $18.4 billion, and its GDP per capita is $2,000. Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits, it remains as one of the least developed countries. The country imports over $6 billion worth of goods but exports only $658 million, mainly fruits and nuts. It has less than $1.5 billion in external debt.\n\nAgricultural production is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy. The country is known for producing some of the finest pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits. It is also known as the world's largest producer of opium. Sources indicate that as much as 11% or more of the nation's economy is derived from the cultivation and sale of opium.\n\nWhile the nation's current account deficit is largely financed with donor money, only a small portion is provided directly to the government budget. The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. The Afghan Ministry of Finance is focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline. For example, government revenues increased 31% to $1.7 billion from March 2010 to March 2011.\n\nAfghanistan, Trends in the Human Development Index, 1970–2010\nDa Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of the nation and the \"Afghani\" (AFN) is the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 60 Afghanis to 1 US dollar. A number of local and foreign banks operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, New Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the First Micro Finance Bank.\n\nOne of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses. Many Afghans are now involved in construction, which is one of the largest industries in the country. Some of the major national construction projects include the New Kabul City next to the capital, the Aino Mena project in Kandahar, and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town near Jalalabad. Similar development projects have also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities. An estimated 400,000 people enter the labor market each year.\n\nA number of small companies and factories began operating in different parts of the country, which not only provide revenues to the government but also create new jobs. Improvements to the business environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003. Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing many carpet dealers around the country to hire more workers.\n\nAfghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, ECO, and OIC. It holds an observer status in SCO. Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul told the media in 2011 that his nation's \"goal is to achieve an Afghan economy whose growth is based on trade, private enterprise and investment\". Experts believe that this will revolutionize the economy of the region. In June 2012, India advocated for private investments in the resource rich country and the creation of a suitable environment therefor.\n\n=== Mining ===\n\nMichael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 bn per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product would double and provide long-term funding for Afghan security forces and other critical needs. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that northern Afghanistan has an average (bbl) of crude oil, 15.7 trillion cubic feet ( bn m3) of natural gas, and of natural gas liquids. In 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river in the north.\n\nThe country has significant amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals. The Khanashin carbonatite in Helmand Province contains of rare earth elements. In 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion, making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan's history. The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan. Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral deposits are worth at least . One official asserted that \"this will become the backbone of the Afghan economy\" and a Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the \"Saudi Arabia of lithium\". In a 2011 news story, the ''CSM'' reported, \"The United States and other Western nations that have borne the brunt of the cost of the Afghan war have been conspicuously absent from the bidding process on Afghanistan's mineral deposits, leaving it mostly to regional powers.\"\n", "\n\n=== Air ===\n\nAn Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA) Airbus A310 in 2006\nAir transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA), and by private companies such as Afghan Jet International, East Horizon Airlines, Kam Air, Pamir Airways, and Safi Airways. Airlines from a number of countries also provide flights in and out of the country. These include Air India, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.\n\nThe country has four international airports: Hamid Karzai International Airport (formerly Kabul International Airport), Kandahar International Airport, Herat International Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Airport. There are also around a dozen domestic airports with flights to Kabul and other major cities.\n\n=== Rail ===\n\n, the country has only two rail links, one a 75 km line from Kheyrabad to the Uzbekistan border and the other a 10 km long line from Toraghundi to the Turkmenistan border. Both lines are used for freight only and there is no passenger service as of yet. There are various proposals for the construction of additional rail lines in the country. In 2013, the presidents of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a 225 km line between Turkmenistan-Andkhvoy-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kheyrabad. The line will link at Kheyrabad with the existing line to the Uzbekistan border. Plans exist for a rail line from Kabul to the eastern border town of Torkham, where it will connect with Pakistan Railways. There are also plans to finish a rail line between Khaf, Iran and Herat, Afghanistan.\n\n=== Roads ===\n\nTraveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous due to militant activities. The buses are usually older model Mercedes-Benz and owned by private companies. Serious traffic accidents are common on Afghan roads and highways, particularly on the Kabul–Kandahar and the Kabul–Jalalabad Road.\n\nNewer automobiles have recently become more widely available after the rebuilding of roads and highways. They are imported from the United Arab Emirates through Pakistan and Iran. , vehicles more than 10 years old are banned from being imported into the country. The development of the nation's road network is a major boost for the economy due to trade with neighboring countries. Postal services in Afghanistan are provided by the publicly owned Afghan Post and private companies such as FedEx, DHL, and others.\n", "\nOpening ceremony at a public health institute in Kandahar.\nAccording to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. The average life expectancy is estimated to be around 60 years. The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66 to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births. The Ministry of Public Health plans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every 100,000 live births before 2020. The country has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year.\n\nThere are over 100 hospitals in Afghanistan, with the most advanced treatments being available in Kabul. The French Medical Institute for Children and Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul are the leading children's hospitals in the country. Some of the other main hospitals in Kabul include the Jamhuriat Hospital and the under-construction Jinnah Hospital. In spite of all this, many Afghans travel to Pakistan and India for advanced treatment.\n\nIt was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the Afghan population lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest health facility. Disability rate is also high in Afghanistan due to the decades of war. It was reported recently that about 80,000 people are missing limbs. Non-governmental charities such as Save the Children and Mahboba's Promise assist orphans in association with governmental structures. Demographic and Health Surveys is working with the Indian Institute of Health Management Research and others to conduct a survey in Afghanistan focusing on maternal death, among other things.\n", "\nUNESCO Institute of Statistics Afghanistan Literacy Rate population plus15 1980–2015\nEducation in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. There are over 16,000 schools in the country and roughly 9 million students. Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females. Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country. About 21% of these are females. Former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated that construction of 8,000 schools is required for the remaining children who are deprived of formal learning.\n\nThe top universities in Afghanistan are the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) followed by Kabul University (KU), both of which are located in Kabul. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point, is a four-year military development institution dedicated to graduating officers for the Afghan Armed Forces. The Afghan Defense University was constructed near Qargha in Kabul. Major universities outside of Kabul include Kandahar University in the south, Herat University in the northwest, Balkh University and Kunduz University in the north, Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east. The United States is building six faculties of education and five provincial teacher training colleges around the country, two large secondary schools in Kabul, and one school in Jalalabad.\n\nThe literacy rate of the entire population is 38.2% (males 52% and females 24.2%). In 2010, the United States began establishing a number of Lincoln learning centers in Afghanistan. They are set up to serve as programming platforms offering English language classes, library facilities, programming venues, internet connectivity, and educational and other counseling services. A goal of the program is to reach at least 4,000 Afghan citizens per month per location. The Afghan National Security Forces are provided with mandatory literacy courses. In addition to this, Baghch-e-Simsim (based on the American Sesame Street) serves as a means to attract Afghan children into learning.\n", "\n\nAfghanistan is mostly a tribal society with different regions of the country having its own subculture. Their history is traced back to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE. In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (Pashtun way). The Pashtuns (and Baloch) are largely connected to the culture of South Asia. The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic. Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized. Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations.\nAfghan dress in the southern city of Kandahar\n\nAfghans are regarded with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for personal honor, for their tribe loyalty and for their readiness to use force to settle disputes. As tribal warfare and internecine feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial, this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreigners to conquer them. One writer considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that, from a materialistic point of view, has an uncomplicated lifestyle. There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads.\n\nThe nation has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments. However, many of its historic monuments have been damaged in modern times. The two famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous. Despite that, archaeologists are still finding Buddhist relics in different parts of the country, some of them dating back to the 2nd century. This indicates that Buddhism was widespread in Afghanistan. Other historical places include the cities of Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Zaranj. The Minaret of Jam in the Hari River valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site. A cloak reputedly worn by Islam's prophet Muhammad is kept inside the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city founded by Alexander and the first capital of Afghanistan. The citadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has been renovated in recent years and is a popular attraction for tourists. In the north of the country is the Shrine of Ali, believed by many to be the location where Ali was buried. The National Museum of Afghanistan is located in Kabul.\n\nClassic Persian and Pashto poetry plays an important role in the Afghan culture. Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in the region, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture. Some notable poets include Rumi, Rabi'a Balkhi, Sanai, Jami, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Khalilullah Khalili, and Parween Pazhwak.\n\n=== Media and entertainment ===\n\nStudio of TOLOnews in Kabul\nAfghanistan has around 150 radio stations and over 50 television stations, which includes the state-owned RTA TV and various private channels such as Tolo TV and Shamshad TV. The first Afghan newspaper was published in 1906. By the 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio services. Television programs began airing in the early 1970s. Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast in both of Afghanistan's official languages.\n\nSince 2002, press restrictions have been gradually relaxed and private media diversified. Freedom of expression and the press is promoted in the 2004 constitution and censorship is banned, although defaming individuals or producing material contrary to the principles of Islam is prohibited. In 2008, Reporters Without Borders ranked the media environment as 156 out of 173 countries, with the 1st being the most free.\n\nThe city of Kabul has been home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music. Traditional music is especially popular during the Nowruz (New Year) and National Independence Day celebrations. Ahmad Zahir, Nashenas, Ustad Sarahang, Sarban, Ubaidullah Jan, Farhad Darya, and Naghma are some of the notable Afghan musicians, but there are many others. Afghans have long been accustomed to watching Indian Bollywood films and listening to its filmi songs. Many Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan, Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Zarine Khan, Celina Jaitly, and a number of others. Several Bollywood films have been shot inside Afghanistan, including ''Dharmatma'', ''Khuda Gawah'', ''Escape from Taliban'', and ''Kabul Express''.\n\n=== Communication ===\n\nTelecommunication services in Afghanistan are provided by Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, and Roshan. The country uses its own space satellite called Afghansat 1, which provides services to over 18 million GSM phone subscribers and over 2.6 million internet users. There are only about 105,310 fixed telephone lines and 295,078 CDMA subscribers in Afghanistan.\n\n=== Sports ===\n\n\nThe Afghanistan national football team (in red uniforms) before its first win over India (in blue) during the 2011 SAFF Championship.\nAfghanistan's sports teams are increasingly celebrating titles at international events. Its basketball team won the first team sports title at the 2010 South Asian Games. Later that year, the country's cricket team followed as it won the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup. In 2012, the country's 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Beach Games. In 2013, Afghanistan's football team followed as it won the SAFF Championship.\n\nCricket and association football are the most popular sports in the country. The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed in the last decade, participated in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. It won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The team eventually made it to play in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport and is headquartered in Kabul. The Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground serves as the nation's main cricket stadium. There are a number of other stadiums throughout the country, including the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadium near Jalalabad. Domestically, cricket is played between teams from different provinces.\n\nThe Afghanistan national football team has been competing in international football since 1941. The national team plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team has never competed or qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has recently won an international football trophy in 2013. The country also has a national team in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of football.\n\nOther popular sports in Afghanistan include basketball, volleyball, taekwondo, and bodybuilding. Buzkashi is a traditional sport, mainly among the northern Afghans. It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams, each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass. The Afghan Hound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistan and was originally used in hunting.\n", "\n\n* Afghanistanism\n* Bibliography of Afghanistan\n* Environmental issues in Afghanistan\n* Index of Afghanistan-related articles\n* International rankings of Afghanistan\n* List of power stations in Afghanistan\n* Outline of Afghanistan\n", "\n", "\n", "'''Books'''\n\n\n\n\n'''Articles'''\n\n*Meek, James. Worse than a Defeat.'' London Review of Books,'' Vol. 36, No. 24, December 2014, pages 3–10\n\n", "\n\n* Office of the President\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Research Guide to Afghanistan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology ", " History ", " Geography ", " Demographics ", " Governance ", " Economy ", " Transport ", " Health ", " Education ", " Culture ", " See also ", " Notes ", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "A number of government ministries are believed to be rife with corruption, and while President Karzai vowed to tackle the problem in late 2009 by stating that \"individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government\", top government officials were stealing and misusing hundreds of millions of dollars through the Kabul Bank.", "Afghanistan, Trends in the Human Development Index, 1970–2010\nDa Afghanistan Bank serves as the central bank of the nation and the \"Afghani\" (AFN) is the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 60 Afghanis to 1 US dollar.", "A number of local and foreign banks operate in the country, including the Afghanistan International Bank, New Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and the First Micro Finance Bank." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Afghanistan''' (; Pashto/Dari: , Pashto: ''Afġānistān'' , Dari: ''Afġānestān'' ), officially the '''Islamic Republic of Afghanistan''', is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia.", "The country has a population of million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world.", "Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast.", "Its territory covers , making it the 41st largest country in the world.", "Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia.", "The land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by Alexander the Great, Mauryas, Muslim Arabs, Mongols, British, Soviet, and in the modern era by Western powers.", "The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khaljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, and others have risen to form major empires.", "The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century.", "In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the \"Great Game\" between British India and the Russian Empire.", "Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country.", "Afghanistan remained peaceful during Zahir Shah's forty years of monarchy.", "A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of civil wars that devastated much of Afghanistan which began when the country became a socialist state under the influence of the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War.", "Following the departure of the Soviet forces, the country became an Islamic state under the Peshawar Accord but much of its territory was then held by the Islamic supremacist group the Taliban, who ruled the country as a totalitarian regime for almost five years.", "Following the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States, the Taliban was forcibly removed by the NATO-led coalition, Afghanistan's previous political structure was replaced with a more pro-Western, democratically-elected government.", "Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic with Islam as an official state religion.", "It is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Non-Aligned Movement.", "Afghanistan's economy is the world's 108th largest, with a GDP of $64.08 billion; the country fares much worse in terms of per-capita GDP (PPP), ranking 167th out of 186 countries in a 2016 report from the International Monetary Fund.", "\nThe name ''Afghānistān'' (Pashto |افغانستان) is believed to be as old as the ethnonym ''Afghan'', which is documented in the 10th-century geography book ''Hudud ul-'alam''.", "The root name \"Afghan\" was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix \"-stan\" means \"place of\" in Persian and Hindi.", "Therefore, Afghanistan translates to ''land of the Afghans'' or, more specifically in a historical sense, to ''land of the Pashtuns''.", "However, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that \"the word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan.\"", "\n\nExcavations of prehistoric sites by Louis Dupree and others suggest that humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities in the area were among the earliest in the world.", "An important site of early historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites.", "The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and often fought.", "It has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region.", "At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire.", "Many empires and kingdoms have also risen to power in Afghanistan, such as the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Hephthalites, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khaljis, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, and finally the Hotak and Durrani dynasties that marked the political origins of the modern state.", "=== Pre-Islamic period ===\n\nGreek and Aramaic) edict by Emperor Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE discovered in the southern city of Kandahar\nArchaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the geographical area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west, and north.", "Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found in Afghanistan.", "Urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization.", "More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.", "In more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan.", "An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan.", "There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well.", "One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.", "Buddhism was widespread before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan.", "After 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan; among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians.", "These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, and toward Europe via the area north of the Caspian Sea.", "The region at the time was referred to as Ariana.", "The religion Zoroastrianism is believed by some to have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BCE, as its founder Zoroaster is thought to have lived and died in Balkh.", "Ancient Eastern Iranian languages may have been spoken in the region around the time of the rise of Zoroastrianism.", "By the middle of the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenids overthrew the Medes and incorporated Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria within its eastern boundaries.", "An inscription on the tombstone of Darius I of Persia mentions the Kabul Valley in a list of the 29 countries that he had conquered.", "Alexander the Great and his Macedonian forces arrived to Afghanistan in 330 BCE after defeating Darius III of Persia a year earlier in the Battle of Gaugamela.", "Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire controlled the region until 305 BCE, when they gave much of it to the Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty.", "The Mauryans controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until they were overthrown in about 185 BCE.", "Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka's rule ended, leading to the Hellenistic reconquest by the Greco-Bactrians.", "Much of it soon broke away from them and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.", "They were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.", "During the first century BCE, the Parthian Empire subjugated the region, but lost it to their Indo-Parthian vassals.", "In the mid-to-late first century CE the vast Kushan Empire, centered in Afghanistan, became great patrons of Buddhist culture, making Buddhism flourish throughout the region.", "The Kushans were overthrown by the Sassanids in the 3rd century CE, though the Indo-Sassanids continued to rule at least parts of the region.", "They were followed by the Kidarite who, in turn, were replaced by the Hephthalites.", "By the 6th century CE, the successors to the Kushans and Hepthalites established a small dynasty called Kabul Shahi.", "Much of the northeastern and southern areas of the country remained dominated by Buddhist culture.", "=== Islamization and Mongol invasion ===\n\nThe Friday Mosque of Herat is one of the oldest mosques in Afghanistan.", "(March 1962 photo)\nArab Muslims brought Islam to Herat and Zaranj in 642 CE and began spreading eastward; some of the native inhabitants they encountered accepted it while others revolted.", "The land was collectively recognized by the Arabs as al-Hind due to its cultural connection with Greater India.", "Before Islam was introduced, people of the region were mostly Buddhists and Zoroastrians, but there were also Surya and Nana worshipers, Jews, and others.", "The Zunbils and Kabul Shahi were first conquered in 870 CE by the Saffarid Muslims of Zaranj.", "Later, the Samanids extended their Islamic influence south of the Hindu Kush.", "It is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side in Kabul before the Ghaznavids rose to power in the 10th century.", "By the 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the remaining Hindu rulers and effectively Islamized the wider region, with the exception of Kafiristan.", "Afghanistan became one of the main centers in the Muslim world during this Islamic Golden Age.", "The Ghaznavid dynasty was overthrown by the Ghurids, who expanded and advanced the already powerful Islamic empire.", "In 1219 AD, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region.", "His troops are said to have annihilated the Khorasanian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan.", "The destruction caused by the Mongols forced many locals to return to an agrarian rural society.", "Mongol rule continued with the Ilkhanate in the northwest while the Khalji dynasty administered the Afghan tribal areas south of the Hindu Kush until the invasion of Timur, who established the Timurid Empire in 1370.", "In the early 16th century, Babur arrived from Fergana and captured Kabul from the Arghun dynasty.", "In 1526, he invaded Delhi in India to replace the Lodi dynasty with the Mughal Empire.", "Between the 16th and 18th century, the Khanate of Bukhara, Safavids, and Mughals ruled parts of the territory.", "Before the 19th century, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan.", "Two of the four capitals of Khorasan (Herat and Balkh) are now located in Afghanistan, while the regions of Kandahar, Zabulistan, Ghazni, Kabulistan, and Afghanistan formed the frontier between Khorasan and Hindustan.", "=== Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire ===\n\nAhmad Shah Durrani, founder of the last Afghan empire and viewed as ''Father of the Nation''\nIn 1709, Mirwais Hotak, a local Ghilzai tribal leader, successfully rebelled against the Safavids.", "He defeated Gurgin Khan and made Afghanistan independent.", "Mirwais died of a natural cause in 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, who was soon killed by Mirwais' son Mahmud for treason.", "Mahmud led the Afghan army in 1722 to the Persian capital of Isfahan, captured the city after the Battle of Gulnabad and proclaimed himself King of Persia.", "The Afghan dynasty was ousted from Persia by Nader Shah after the 1729 Battle of Damghan.", "In 1738, Nader Shah and his forces captured Kandahar, the last Hotak stronghold, from Shah Hussain Hotak, at which point the incarcerated 16-year-old Ahmad Shah Durrani was freed and made the commander of an Afghan regiment.", "Soon after the Persian and Afghan forces invaded India.", "By 1747, the Afghans chose Durrani as their head of state.", "Durrani and his Afghan army conquered much of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, and Delhi in India.", "He defeated the Indian Maratha Empire, and one of his biggest victories was the 1761 Battle of Panipat.", "In October 1772, Durrani died of a natural cause and was buried at a site now adjacent to the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar.", "He was succeeded by his son, Timur Shah, who transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776.", "After Timur's death in 1793, the Durrani throne passed down to his son Zaman Shah, followed by Mahmud Shah, Shuja Shah and others.", "The Afghan Empire was under threat in the early 19th century by the Persians in the west and the Sikh Empire in the east.", "Fateh Khan, leader of the Barakzai tribe, had installed 21 of his brothers in positions of power throughout the empire.", "After his death, they rebelled and divided up the provinces of the empire between themselves.", "During this turbulent period, Afghanistan had many temporary rulers until Dost Mohammad Khan declared himself emir in 1826.", "The Punjab region was lost to Ranjit Singh, who invaded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in 1834 captured the city of Peshawar.", "In 1837, during the Battle of Jamrud near the Khyber Pass, Akbar Khan and the Afghan army failed to capture the Jamrud fort from the Sikh Khalsa Army, but killed Sikh Commander Hari Singh Nalwa, thus ending the Afghan-Sikh Wars.", "By this time the British were advancing from the east and the first major conflict during the \"Great Game\" was initiated.", "=== Western influence ===\n\nBritish and allied forces at Kandahar after the 1880 Battle of Kandahar, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.", "The large defensive wall around the city was removed in the early 1930s by the order of King Nadir.", "In 1838, the British marched into Afghanistan and arrested Dost Mohammad, sent him into exile in India and replaced him with the previous ruler, Shah Shuja.", "Following an uprising, the 1842 retreat from Kabul of British-Indian forces, and the Battle of Kabul that led to its recapture, the British placed Dost Mohammad Khan back into power and withdrew their military forces from Afghanistan.", "In 1878, the Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought over perceived Russian influence, Abdur Rahman Khan replaced Ayub Khan, and Britain gained control of Afghanistan's foreign relations as part of the Treaty of Gandamak of 1879.", "In 1893, Mortimer Durand made Amir Abdur Rahman Khan sign a controversial agreement in which the ethnic Pashtun and Baloch territories were divided by the Durand Line.", "This was a standard divide and rule policy of the British and would lead to strained relations, especially with the later new state of Pakistan.", "Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, who reigned from 1933 to 1973.", "After the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi on 19 August 1919, King Amanullah Khan declared Afghanistan a sovereign and fully independent state.", "He moved to end his country's traditional isolation by establishing diplomatic relations with the international community and, following a 1927–28 tour of Europe and Turkey, introduced several reforms intended to modernize his nation.", "A key force behind these reforms was Mahmud Tarzi, an ardent supporter of the education of women.", "He fought for Article 68 of Afghanistan's 1923 constitution, which made elementary education compulsory.", "The institution of slavery was abolished in 1923.", "Some of the reforms that were actually put in place, such as the abolition of the traditional burqa for women and the opening of a number of co-educational schools, quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders.", "Faced with overwhelming armed opposition, Amanullah Khan was forced to abdicate in January 1929 after Kabul fell to rebel forces led by Habibullah Kalakani.", "Prince Mohammed Nadir Shah, Amanullah's cousin, in turn defeated and killed Kalakani in November 1929, and was declared King Nadir Shah.", "He abandoned the reforms of Amanullah Khan in favor of a more gradual approach to modernisation but was assassinated in 1933 by Abdul Khaliq, a fifteen-year-old Hazara student.", "Mohammed Zahir Shah, Nadir Shah's 19-year-old son, succeeded to the throne and reigned from 1933 to 1973.", "Until 1946, Zahir Shah ruled with the assistance of his uncle, who held the post of Prime Minister and continued the policies of Nadir Shah.", "Another of Zahir Shah's uncles, Shah Mahmud Khan, became Prime Minister in 1946 and began an experiment allowing greater political freedom, but reversed the policy when it went further than he expected.", "He was replaced in 1953 by Mohammed Daoud Khan, the king's cousin and brother-in-law.", "Daoud Khan sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union and a more distant one towards Pakistan.", "Afghanistan remained neutral and was neither a participant in World War II nor aligned with either power bloc in the Cold War.", "However, it was a beneficiary of the latter rivalry as both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for influence by building Afghanistan's main highways, airports, and other vital infrastructure.", "On per capita basis, Afghanistan received more Soviet development aid than any other country.", "In 1973, while King Zahir Shah was on an official overseas visit, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first President of Afghanistan.", "In the meantime, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto got neighboring Pakistan involved in Afghanistan.", "Some experts suggest that Bhutto paved the way for the April 1978 Saur Revolution.", "===Marxist revolution and Soviet war===\n\nArg Presidential Palace in Kabul, a day after the April 1978 Marxist revolution in which President Daoud Khan was assassinated along with his entire family.", "In April 1978, the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) seized power in Afghanistan in the Saur Revolution.", "Within months, opponents of the communist government launched an uprising in eastern Afghanistan that quickly expanded into a civil war waged by guerrilla mujahideen against government forces countrywide.", "The Pakistani government provided these rebels with covert training centers, while the Soviet Union sent thousands of military advisers to support the PDPA government.", "Meanwhile, increasing friction between the competing factions of the PDPA — the dominant Khalq and the more moderate Parcham — resulted in the dismissal of Parchami cabinet members and the arrest of Parchami military officers under the pretext of a Parchami coup.", "In September 1979, Nur Muhammad Taraki was assassinated in a coup within the PDPA orchestrated by fellow Khalq member Hafizullah Amin, who assumed the presidency.", "Distrusted by the Soviets, Amin was assassinated by Soviet special forces in December 1979.", "A Soviet-organized government, led by Parcham's Babrak Karmal but inclusive of both factions, filled the vacuum.", "Soviet troops were deployed to stabilize Afghanistan under Karmal in more substantial numbers, although the Soviet government did not expect to do most of the fighting in Afghanistan.", "As a result, however, the Soviets were now directly involved in what had been a domestic war in Afghanistan.", "The PDPA prohibited usury, declared equality of the sexes, and introduced women to political life.", "The United States had been supporting anti-Soviet Afghan ''mujahideen'' and foreign \"Afghan Arab\" fighters through Pakistan's ISI as early as mid-1979 (see ''CIA activities in Afghanistan'').", "Billions in cash and weapons, which included over two thousand FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, were provided by the United States and Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.", "During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Soviet forces and their proxies killed between 562,000 and 2 million Afghans, and also displaced about 6 million people who subsequently fled Afghanistan, mainly to Pakistan and Iran.", "Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province functioned as an organisational and networking base for the anti-Soviet Afghan resistance, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a major supporting role in promoting the 'jihad'.", "Faced with mounting international pressure and numerous casualties, the Soviets withdrew in 1989 but continued to support Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah until 1992.", "===Civil war===\n\nFrom 1989 until 1992, Najibullah's government tried to solve the ongoing civil war with economic and military aid, but without Soviet troops on the ground.", "Pakistan's spy agency (ISI), headed by Hamid Gul at the time, was interested in a trans-national Islamic revolution which would cover Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.", "For this purpose Pakistan masterminded an attack on Jalalabad for the Mujahideen to establish their own government in Afghanistan.", "Najibullah tried to build support for his government by portraying his government as Islamic, and in the 1990 constitution the country officially became an Islamic state and all references of communism were removed.", "Nevertheless, Najibullah did not win any significant support, and with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, he was left without foreign aid.", "This, coupled with the internal collapse of his government, led to his ousting from power in April 1992.", "After the fall of Najibullah's government in 1992, the post-communist Islamic State of Afghanistan was established by the Peshawar Accord, a peace and power-sharing agreement under which all the Afghan parties were united in April 1992, except for the Pakistani supported Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.", "Hekmatyar started a bombardment campaign against the capital city Kabul, which marked the beginning of a new phase in the war.", "Saudi Arabia and Iran supported different Afghan militias and instability quickly developed.", "The conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war.", "civil war in 1993\n\nDue to the sudden initiation of the war, working government departments, police units, and a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form.", "Atrocities were committed by individuals of the different armed factions while Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos.", "Because of the chaos, some leaders increasingly had only nominal control over their (sub-)commanders.", "For civilians there was little security from murder, rape, and extortion.", "An estimated 25,000 people died during the most intense period of bombardment by Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami and the Junbish-i Milli forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum, who had created an alliance with Hekmatyar in 1994.", "Half a million people fled Afghanistan.", "Southern and eastern Afghanistan were under the control of local commanders such as Gul Agha Sherzai and others.", "In 1994, the Taliban (a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan) also developed in Afghanistan as a political-religious force.", "The Taliban first took control of southern Afghanistan in 1994 and forced the surrender of dozens of local Pashtun leaders.", "In late 1994, forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud held on to Kabul.", "Rabbani's government took steps to reopen courts, restore law and order, and initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation and democratic elections.", "Massoud invited Taliban leaders to join the process but they refused.", "===Taliban Emirate and Northern Alliance===\n\nMassoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories.", "The Taliban's early victories in late 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses.", "The Taliban attempted to capture Kabul in early 1995 but were repelled by forces under Massoud.", "In September 1996, as the Taliban, with military support from Pakistan and financial support from Saudi Arabia, prepared for another major offensive, Massoud ordered a full retreat from Kabul.", "The Taliban seized Kabul in the same month and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.", "They imposed a strict form of Sharia, similar to that found in Saudi Arabia.", "According to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), \"no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment from showing their faces, seeking medical care without a male escort, or attending school\" (this statement, though, was made in 1998, long before the advent of ISIS which has imposed even tougher and more violent sharia controls).", "After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Massoud and Dostum formed the Northern Alliance.", "The Taliban defeated Dostum's forces during the Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–98).", "Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, began sending thousands of Pakistanis to help the Taliban defeat the Northern Alliance.", "From 1996 to 2001, the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri was also operating inside Afghanistan.", "This and the fact that around one million Afghans were internally displaced made the United States worry.", "From 1990 to September 2001, around 400,000 Afghans died in the internal mini-wars.", "On 9 September 2001, Massoud was assassinated by two Arab suicide attackers in Panjshir province of Afghanistan.", "Two days later, the September 11 attacks were carried out in the United States.", "The US government suspected Osama bin Laden as the perpetrator of the attacks, and demanded that the Taliban hand him over.", "The Taliban offered to hand over Bin Laden to a third country for trial, not directly to the USA.", "Washington refused that offer.", "Instead, the US launched the October 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom.", "The majority of Afghans supported the American invasion of their country.", "During the initial invasion, US and UK forces bombed al-Qaeda training camps.", "The United States began working with the Northern Alliance to remove the Taliban from power.", "===Recent history (2002–present)===\n\nFrom upper left, clockwise - Canadian troops in Kandahar; American president Barack Obama meets Afghan leader Hamid Karzai in March 2010; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with female politicians in Kabul in October, 2011; An officer of the RAF explains a C-27 of the Afghan air force to 'Thunder Lab' students in July 2011\nIn December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed, in which process the Taliban were typecast as 'the bad guys' and left out.", "The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security.", "Taliban forces meanwhile began regrouping inside Pakistan, while more coalition troops entered Afghanistan and began rebuilding the war-torn country.", "Shortly after their fall from power, the Taliban began an insurgency to regain control of Afghanistan.", "Over the next decade, ISAF and Afghan troops led many offensives against the Taliban, but failed to fully defeat them.", "Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world due to a lack of foreign investment, government corruption, and the Taliban insurgency.", "Meanwhile, the Afghan government was able to build some democratic structures, and the country changed its name to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.", "Attempts were made, often with the support of foreign donor countries, to improve the country's economy, healthcare, education, transport, and agriculture.", "ISAF forces also began to train the Afghan National Security Forces.", "In the decade following 2002, over five million Afghans were repatriated, including some who were forcefully deported from Western countries.", "By 2009, a Taliban-led shadow government began to form in parts of the country.", "In 2010, President Karzai attempted to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban leaders, but the rebel group refused to attend until mid-2015 when the Taliban supreme leader finally decided to back the peace talks.", "Remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas.", "After the May 2011 death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, many prominent Afghan figures were assassinated.", "Afghanistan–Pakistan border skirmishes intensified and many large scale attacks by the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network also took place across Afghanistan.", "The United States blamed rogue elements within the Pakistani government for the increased attacks.", "The U.S. government spent tens of billions of dollars on development aid over 15 years and over a trillion dollars on military expenses during the same period.", "Corruption by Western defense and development contractors and associated Afghans reached unprecedented levels in a country where the national GDP was often only a small fraction of the U.S. government's annual budget for the conflict.", "Following the 2014 presidential election President Karzai left power and Ashraf Ghani became President in September 2014.", "The United States' war in Afghanistan - by then the longest in its history - officially ended on 28 December 2014.", "However, thousands of US-led NATO troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces.", "The 2001–present war has resulted in over 90,000 direct war-related deaths, which includes insurgents, Afghan civilians and government forces.", "Over 100,000 have been injured.", "\nAfghanistan map of Köppen climate classification.", "Topography\nA landlocked mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest, Afghanistan is located within South Asia and Central Asia.", "It is part of the US-coined Greater Middle East Muslim world, which lies between latitudes and , and longitudes and .", "The country's highest point is Noshaq, at above sea level.", "It has a continental climate with harsh winters in the central highlands, the glaciated northeast (around Nuristan), and the Wakhan Corridor, where the average temperature in January is below , and hot summers in the low-lying areas of the Sistan Basin of the southwest, the Jalalabad basin in the east, and the Turkestan plains along the Amu River in the north, where temperatures average over in July.", "Landscapes of Afghanistan, from left to right: 1.", "Band-e Amir National Park; 2.", "Salang Pass in Parwan Province; 3.", "Korangal Valley in Kunar Province; and 4.", "Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province\nDespite having numerous rivers and reservoirs, large parts of the country are dry.", "The endorheic Sistan Basin is one of the driest regions in the world.", "Aside from the usual rainfall, Afghanistan receives snow during the winter in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains, and the melting snow in the spring season enters the rivers, lakes, and streams.", "However, two-thirds of the country's water flows into the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.", "The state needs more than to rehabilitate its irrigation systems so that the water is properly managed.", "The northeastern Hindu Kush mountain range, in and around the Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, is in a geologically active area where earthquakes may occur almost every year.", "They can be deadly and destructive sometimes, causing landslides in some parts or avalanches during the winter.", "The last strong earthquakes were in 1998, which killed about 6,000 people in Badakhshan near Tajikistan.", "This was followed by the 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes in which over 150 people were killed and over 1,000 injured.", "A 2010 earthquake left 11 Afghans dead, over 70 injured, and more than 2,000 houses destroyed.", "The country's natural resources include: coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi-precious stones, natural gas, and petroleum, among other things.", "In 2010, US and Afghan government officials estimated that untapped mineral deposits located in 2007 by the US Geological Survey are worth at least .", "At , Afghanistan is the world's 41st largest country, slightly bigger than France and smaller than Burma, about the size of Texas in the United States.", "It borders Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far east.", "\nThe population of Afghanistan was estimated at 29.2 million in 2017.", "Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million females.", "About 22% of them are urbanite and the remaining 78% live in rural areas.", "An additional 3 million or so Afghans are temporarily housed in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, most of whom were born and raised in those two countries.", "This makes the total Afghan population at around 33,332,025, and its current growth rate is 2.34%.", "This population is expected to reach 82 million by 2050.", "The only city with over a million residents is its capital, Kabul.", "Other large cities in the country are, in order of population size, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad, Lashkar Gah, Taloqan, Khost, Sheberghan, and Ghazni.", "=== Ethnic groups ===\n\nEthnolinguistic groups of Afghanistan\nAfghanistan's population is divided into several ethnolinguistic groups, which are listed in the chart below:\n\n\n+Ethnic groups in Afghanistan\n\nEthnic group\n\n\n\n Pashtun\n42%\n38–55%\n\n Tajik\n27%\n26% (of this 1% are Qizilbash)\n\n Hazara\n8%\n9–10%\n\n Uzbek\n9%\n6–8%\n\n Aimaq\n4%\n500,000 to 800,000\n\n Turkmen\n3%\n2.5%\n\n Baloch\n2%\n100,000\n\n Others (Pashayi, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri, Gurjar, etc.)", "4%\n6.9%\n\n\n\n=== Languages ===\n\n\nPashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan; bilingualism is very common.", "Dari, which is Afghanistan's Persian, functions as the lingua franca in Kabul as well as in much of the northern and northwestern parts of the country.", "Pashto is the native tongue of the Pashtuns, although many of them are also fluent in Dari while some non-Pashtuns are fluent in Pashto.", "There are a number of smaller regional languages, they include Uzbeki, Turkmeni, Balochi, Pashayi, and Nuristani.", "A number of Afghans are also fluent in Urdu, English, and other foreign languages.", "=== Religions ===\n\n\nOver 99% of the Afghan population is Muslim.", "According to latest estimates, up to 90% practice Sunni Islam and the remaining 7–15% adhere to Shia Islam.", "Thousands of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are also found in the major cities.", "There was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan who had emigrated to Israel and the United States by the end of the twentieth century; at least one Jew, Zablon Simintov, remained.", "\nThe National Assembly of Afghanistan in 2006\n\nCurrent military situation, as of 27 February 2016.", "Afghanistan is an Islamic republic consisting of three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial.", "The nation is led by President Ashraf Ghani with Abdul Rashid Dostum and Sarwar Danish as vice presidents.", "Abdullah Abdullah serves as the chief executive officer (CEO).", "The National Assembly is the legislature, a bicameral body having two chambers, the House of the People and the House of Elders.", "The Supreme Court is led by Chief Justice Said Yusuf Halem, the former Deputy Minister of Justice for Legal Affairs.", "A January 2010 report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that bribery consumed an amount equal to 23% of the GDP of the nation.", "According to Transparency International's 2014 corruption perceptions index results, Afghanistan was ranked as the fourth most corrupt country in the world.", "=== Elections and parties ===\n\nFrom left to right: Abdullah Abdullah, John Kerry and Ashraf Ghani during the 2014 presidential election\n\nThe 2004 Afghan presidential election was relatively peaceful, in which Hamid Karzai won in the first round with 55.4% of the votes.", "However, the 2009 presidential election was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout, and widespread electoral fraud.", "The vote, along with elections for 420 provincial council seats, took place in August 2009, but remained unresolved during a lengthy period of vote counting and fraud investigation.", "Two months later, under international pressure, a second round run-off vote between Karzai and remaining challenger Abdullah was announced, but a few days later Abdullah announced that he would not participate in 7 November run-off because his demands for changes in the electoral commission had not been met.", "The next day, officials of the election commission cancelled the run-off and declared Hamid Karzai as President for another five-year term.", "In the 2005 parliamentary election, among the elected officials were former mujahideen, Islamic fundamentalists, warlords, communists, reformists, and several Taliban associates.", "In the same period, Afghanistan reached to the 30th highest nation in terms of female representation in the National Assembly.", "The last parliamentary election was held in September 2010, but due to disputes and investigation of fraud, the swearing-in ceremony took place in late January 2011.", "The 2014 presidential election ended with Ashraf Ghani winning by 56.44% votes.", "=== Administrative divisions ===\n\nAfghanistan is administratively divided into 34 provinces (''wilayats''), with each province having its own capital and a provincial administration.", "The provinces are further divided into about 398 smaller provincial districts, each of which normally covers a city or a number of villages.", "Each district is represented by a district governor.", "The provincial governors are appointed by the President of Afghanistan and the district governors are selected by the provincial governors.", "The provincial governors are representatives of the central government in Kabul and are responsible for all administrative and formal issues within their provinces.", "There are also provincial councils that are elected through direct and general elections for a period of four years.", "The functions of provincial councils are to take part in provincial development planning and to participate in the monitoring and appraisal of other provincial governance institutions.", "According to article 140 of the constitution and the presidential decree on electoral law, mayors of cities should be elected through free and direct elections for a four-year term.", "However, due to huge election costs, mayoral and municipal elections have never been held.", "Instead, mayors have been appointed by the government.", "In the capital city of Kabul, the mayor is appointed by the President of Afghanistan.", "The following is a list of all the 34 provinces in alphabetical order:\n\n34 provinces, and every province is further divided into a number of districts\n\n\n# Badakhshan\n# Badghis\n# Baghlan\n# Balkh\n# Bamyan\n# Daykundi\n# Farah\n# Faryab\n# Ghazni\n# Ghor\n# Helmand\n# Herat\n# Jowzjan\n# Kabul\n# Kandahar\n# Kapisa\n# Khost\n# Kunar\n# Kunduz\n# Laghman\n# Logar\n# Nangarhar\n# Nimruz\n# Nuristan\n# Oruzgan\n# Paktia\n# Paktika\n# Panjshir\n# Parwan\n# Samangan\n# Sar-e Pol\n# Takhar\n# Wardak\n# Zabul\n\n\n=== Foreign relations and military ===\n\nSoldiers of the Afghan National Army, including the ANA Commando Battalion standing in the front\nThe Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of maintaining the foreign relations of Afghanistan.", "The state has been a member of the United Nations since 1946.", "It enjoys strong economic relations with a number of NATO and allied states, particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey.", "In 2012, the United States designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally and created the U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement.", "Afghanistan also has friendly diplomatic relations with neighboring Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China, and with regional states such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Russia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Japan, and South Korea.", "It continues to develop diplomatic relations with other countries around the world.", "United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was established in 2002 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1401 in order to help the country recover from decades of war.", "Today, a number of NATO member states deploy about 38,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).", "Its main purpose is to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).", "The Afghan Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defense, which includes the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan Air Force (AAF).", "The ANA is divided into 6 major Corps, with the 201st Selab (\"Flood\") in Kabul followed by the 203rd in Gardez, 205th Atul (\"Hero\") in Kandahar, 207th in Herat, 209th in Mazar-i-Sharif, and the 215th in Lashkar Gah.", "The ANA also has a commando brigade, which was established in 2007.", "The Afghan Defense University (ADU) houses various educational establishments for the Afghan Armed Forces, including the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.", "=== Law enforcement ===\n\nAfghan National Police (ANP) in Kunar Province\nThe National Directorate of Security (NDS) is the nation's domestic intelligence agency, which operates similar to that of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).", "The Afghan National Police (ANP) is under the Ministry of the Interior and serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country.", "The Afghan National Civil Order Police is the main branch of the ANP, which is divided into five Brigades, each commanded by a Brigadier General.", "These brigades are stationed in Kabul, Gardez, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif.", "Every province has an appointed provincial Chief of Police who is responsible for law enforcement throughout the province.", "All parts of Afghanistan are considered dangerous due to militant activities.", "Hundreds of Afghan police are killed in the line of duty each year.", "Kidnapping and robberies are also reported.", "The Afghan Border Police (ABP) are responsible for protecting the nation's airports and borders, especially the disputed Durand Line border, which is often used by members of criminal organizations and terrorists for their illegal activities.", "A report in 2011 suggested that up to 3 million people were involved in the illegal drug business in Afghanistan.", "Attacks on government employees may be ordered by powerful mafia groups who reside inside and outside the country.", "Drugs from Afghanistan are exported to neighboring countries and then to other countries.", "The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics is tasked to deal with these issues by bringing to justice major drug traffickers.", "\npomegranates (''anaar''), which Afghanistan is famous for in Asia\nAfghan women at a textile factory in Kabul\nAfghanistan's GDP is around $64 billion with an exchange rate of $18.4 billion, and its GDP per capita is $2,000.", "Despite having $1 trillion or more in mineral deposits, it remains as one of the least developed countries.", "The country imports over $6 billion worth of goods but exports only $658 million, mainly fruits and nuts.", "It has less than $1.5 billion in external debt.", "Agricultural production is the backbone of Afghanistan's economy.", "The country is known for producing some of the finest pomegranates, grapes, apricots, melons, and several other fresh and dry fruits.", "It is also known as the world's largest producer of opium.", "Sources indicate that as much as 11% or more of the nation's economy is derived from the cultivation and sale of opium.", "While the nation's current account deficit is largely financed with donor money, only a small portion is provided directly to the government budget.", "The rest is provided to non-budgetary expenditure and donor-designated projects through the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations.", "The Afghan Ministry of Finance is focusing on improved revenue collection and public sector expenditure discipline.", "For example, government revenues increased 31% to $1.7 billion from March 2010 to March 2011.", "One of the main drivers for the current economic recovery is the return of over 5 million expatriates, who brought with them fresh energy, entrepreneurship and wealth-creating skills as well as much needed funds to start up businesses.", "Many Afghans are now involved in construction, which is one of the largest industries in the country.", "Some of the major national construction projects include the New Kabul City next to the capital, the Aino Mena project in Kandahar, and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Town near Jalalabad.", "Similar development projects have also begun in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other cities.", "An estimated 400,000 people enter the labor market each year.", "A number of small companies and factories began operating in different parts of the country, which not only provide revenues to the government but also create new jobs.", "Improvements to the business environment have resulted in more than $1.5 billion in telecom investment and created more than 100,000 jobs since 2003.", "Afghan rugs are becoming popular again, allowing many carpet dealers around the country to hire more workers.", "Afghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, ECO, and OIC.", "It holds an observer status in SCO.", "Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul told the media in 2011 that his nation's \"goal is to achieve an Afghan economy whose growth is based on trade, private enterprise and investment\".", "Experts believe that this will revolutionize the economy of the region.", "In June 2012, India advocated for private investments in the resource rich country and the creation of a suitable environment therefor.", "=== Mining ===\n\nMichael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution estimated that if Afghanistan generates about $10 bn per year from its mineral deposits, its gross national product would double and provide long-term funding for Afghan security forces and other critical needs.", "The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2006 that northern Afghanistan has an average (bbl) of crude oil, 15.7 trillion cubic feet ( bn m3) of natural gas, and of natural gas liquids.", "In 2011, Afghanistan signed an oil exploration contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of three oil fields along the Amu Darya river in the north.", "The country has significant amounts of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals.", "The Khanashin carbonatite in Helmand Province contains of rare earth elements.", "In 2007, a 30-year lease was granted for the Aynak copper mine to the China Metallurgical Group for $3 billion, making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan's history.", "The state-run Steel Authority of India won the mining rights to develop the huge Hajigak iron ore deposit in central Afghanistan.", "Government officials estimate that 30% of the country's untapped mineral deposits are worth at least .", "One official asserted that \"this will become the backbone of the Afghan economy\" and a Pentagon memo stated that Afghanistan could become the \"Saudi Arabia of lithium\".", "In a 2011 news story, the ''CSM'' reported, \"The United States and other Western nations that have borne the brunt of the cost of the Afghan war have been conspicuously absent from the bidding process on Afghanistan's mineral deposits, leaving it mostly to regional powers.\"", "\n\n=== Air ===\n\nAn Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA) Airbus A310 in 2006\nAir transport in Afghanistan is provided by the national carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA), and by private companies such as Afghan Jet International, East Horizon Airlines, Kam Air, Pamir Airways, and Safi Airways.", "Airlines from a number of countries also provide flights in and out of the country.", "These include Air India, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.", "The country has four international airports: Hamid Karzai International Airport (formerly Kabul International Airport), Kandahar International Airport, Herat International Airport, and Mazar-e Sharif International Airport.", "There are also around a dozen domestic airports with flights to Kabul and other major cities.", "=== Rail ===\n\n, the country has only two rail links, one a 75 km line from Kheyrabad to the Uzbekistan border and the other a 10 km long line from Toraghundi to the Turkmenistan border.", "Both lines are used for freight only and there is no passenger service as of yet.", "There are various proposals for the construction of additional rail lines in the country.", "In 2013, the presidents of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a 225 km line between Turkmenistan-Andkhvoy-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kheyrabad.", "The line will link at Kheyrabad with the existing line to the Uzbekistan border.", "Plans exist for a rail line from Kabul to the eastern border town of Torkham, where it will connect with Pakistan Railways.", "There are also plans to finish a rail line between Khaf, Iran and Herat, Afghanistan.", "=== Roads ===\n\nTraveling by bus in Afghanistan remains dangerous due to militant activities.", "The buses are usually older model Mercedes-Benz and owned by private companies.", "Serious traffic accidents are common on Afghan roads and highways, particularly on the Kabul–Kandahar and the Kabul–Jalalabad Road.", "Newer automobiles have recently become more widely available after the rebuilding of roads and highways.", "They are imported from the United Arab Emirates through Pakistan and Iran.", ", vehicles more than 10 years old are banned from being imported into the country.", "The development of the nation's road network is a major boost for the economy due to trade with neighboring countries.", "Postal services in Afghanistan are provided by the publicly owned Afghan Post and private companies such as FedEx, DHL, and others.", "\nOpening ceremony at a public health institute in Kandahar.", "According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world.", "The average life expectancy is estimated to be around 60 years.", "The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66 to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births.", "The Ministry of Public Health plans to cut the infant mortality rate to 400 for every 100,000 live births before 2020.", "The country has more than 3,000 midwives, with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year.", "There are over 100 hospitals in Afghanistan, with the most advanced treatments being available in Kabul.", "The French Medical Institute for Children and Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul are the leading children's hospitals in the country.", "Some of the other main hospitals in Kabul include the Jamhuriat Hospital and the under-construction Jinnah Hospital.", "In spite of all this, many Afghans travel to Pakistan and India for advanced treatment.", "It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the Afghan population lives within a two-hour walk of the nearest health facility.", "Disability rate is also high in Afghanistan due to the decades of war.", "It was reported recently that about 80,000 people are missing limbs.", "Non-governmental charities such as Save the Children and Mahboba's Promise assist orphans in association with governmental structures.", "Demographic and Health Surveys is working with the Indian Institute of Health Management Research and others to conduct a survey in Afghanistan focusing on maternal death, among other things.", "\nUNESCO Institute of Statistics Afghanistan Literacy Rate population plus15 1980–2015\nEducation in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is overseen by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education.", "There are over 16,000 schools in the country and roughly 9 million students.", "Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females.", "Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country.", "About 21% of these are females.", "Former Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak had stated that construction of 8,000 schools is required for the remaining children who are deprived of formal learning.", "The top universities in Afghanistan are the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) followed by Kabul University (KU), both of which are located in Kabul.", "The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point, is a four-year military development institution dedicated to graduating officers for the Afghan Armed Forces.", "The Afghan Defense University was constructed near Qargha in Kabul.", "Major universities outside of Kabul include Kandahar University in the south, Herat University in the northwest, Balkh University and Kunduz University in the north, Nangarhar University and Khost University in the east.", "The United States is building six faculties of education and five provincial teacher training colleges around the country, two large secondary schools in Kabul, and one school in Jalalabad.", "The literacy rate of the entire population is 38.2% (males 52% and females 24.2%).", "In 2010, the United States began establishing a number of Lincoln learning centers in Afghanistan.", "They are set up to serve as programming platforms offering English language classes, library facilities, programming venues, internet connectivity, and educational and other counseling services.", "A goal of the program is to reach at least 4,000 Afghan citizens per month per location.", "The Afghan National Security Forces are provided with mandatory literacy courses.", "In addition to this, Baghch-e-Simsim (based on the American Sesame Street) serves as a means to attract Afghan children into learning.", "\n\nAfghanistan is mostly a tribal society with different regions of the country having its own subculture.", "Their history is traced back to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE.", "In the southern and eastern region, the people live according to the Pashtun culture by following Pashtunwali (Pashtun way).", "The Pashtuns (and Baloch) are largely connected to the culture of South Asia.", "The remaining Afghans are culturally Persian and Turkic.", "Some non-Pashtuns who live in proximity with Pashtuns have adopted Pashtunwali in a process called Pashtunization, while some Pashtuns have been Persianized.", "Those who have lived in Pakistan and Iran over the last 30 years have been further influenced by the cultures of those neighboring nations.", "Afghan dress in the southern city of Kandahar\n\nAfghans are regarded with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for personal honor, for their tribe loyalty and for their readiness to use force to settle disputes.", "As tribal warfare and internecine feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial, this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreigners to conquer them.", "One writer considers the tribal system to be the best way of organizing large groups of people in a country that is geographically difficult, and in a society that, from a materialistic point of view, has an uncomplicated lifestyle.", "There are various Afghan tribes, and an estimated 2–3 million nomads.", "The nation has a complex history that has survived either in its current cultures or in the form of various languages and monuments.", "However, many of its historic monuments have been damaged in modern times.", "The two famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban, who regarded them as idolatrous.", "Despite that, archaeologists are still finding Buddhist relics in different parts of the country, some of them dating back to the 2nd century.", "This indicates that Buddhism was widespread in Afghanistan.", "Other historical places include the cities of Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Zaranj.", "The Minaret of Jam in the Hari River valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site.", "A cloak reputedly worn by Islam's prophet Muhammad is kept inside the Shrine of the Cloak in Kandahar, a city founded by Alexander and the first capital of Afghanistan.", "The citadel of Alexander in the western city of Herat has been renovated in recent years and is a popular attraction for tourists.", "In the north of the country is the Shrine of Ali, believed by many to be the location where Ali was buried.", "The National Museum of Afghanistan is located in Kabul.", "Classic Persian and Pashto poetry plays an important role in the Afghan culture.", "Poetry has always been one of the major educational pillars in the region, to the level that it has integrated itself into culture.", "Some notable poets include Rumi, Rabi'a Balkhi, Sanai, Jami, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Khalilullah Khalili, and Parween Pazhwak.", "=== Media and entertainment ===\n\nStudio of TOLOnews in Kabul\nAfghanistan has around 150 radio stations and over 50 television stations, which includes the state-owned RTA TV and various private channels such as Tolo TV and Shamshad TV.", "The first Afghan newspaper was published in 1906.", "By the 1920s, Radio Kabul was broadcasting local radio services.", "Television programs began airing in the early 1970s.", "Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcast in both of Afghanistan's official languages.", "Since 2002, press restrictions have been gradually relaxed and private media diversified.", "Freedom of expression and the press is promoted in the 2004 constitution and censorship is banned, although defaming individuals or producing material contrary to the principles of Islam is prohibited.", "In 2008, Reporters Without Borders ranked the media environment as 156 out of 173 countries, with the 1st being the most free.", "The city of Kabul has been home to many musicians who were masters of both traditional and modern Afghan music.", "Traditional music is especially popular during the Nowruz (New Year) and National Independence Day celebrations.", "Ahmad Zahir, Nashenas, Ustad Sarahang, Sarban, Ubaidullah Jan, Farhad Darya, and Naghma are some of the notable Afghan musicians, but there are many others.", "Afghans have long been accustomed to watching Indian Bollywood films and listening to its filmi songs.", "Many Bollywood film stars have roots in Afghanistan, including Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), Aamir Khan, Feroz Khan, Kader Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Zarine Khan, Celina Jaitly, and a number of others.", "Several Bollywood films have been shot inside Afghanistan, including ''Dharmatma'', ''Khuda Gawah'', ''Escape from Taliban'', and ''Kabul Express''.", "=== Communication ===\n\nTelecommunication services in Afghanistan are provided by Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, and Roshan.", "The country uses its own space satellite called Afghansat 1, which provides services to over 18 million GSM phone subscribers and over 2.6 million internet users.", "There are only about 105,310 fixed telephone lines and 295,078 CDMA subscribers in Afghanistan.", "=== Sports ===\n\n\nThe Afghanistan national football team (in red uniforms) before its first win over India (in blue) during the 2011 SAFF Championship.", "Afghanistan's sports teams are increasingly celebrating titles at international events.", "Its basketball team won the first team sports title at the 2010 South Asian Games.", "Later that year, the country's cricket team followed as it won the 2009–10 ICC Intercontinental Cup.", "In 2012, the country's 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2012 Asian Beach Games.", "In 2013, Afghanistan's football team followed as it won the SAFF Championship.", "Cricket and association football are the most popular sports in the country.", "The Afghan national cricket team, which was formed in the last decade, participated in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division One and the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.", "It won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013.", "The team eventually made it to play in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.", "The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport and is headquartered in Kabul.", "The Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground serves as the nation's main cricket stadium.", "There are a number of other stadiums throughout the country, including the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadium near Jalalabad.", "Domestically, cricket is played between teams from different provinces.", "The Afghanistan national football team has been competing in international football since 1941.", "The national team plays its home games at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, while football in Afghanistan is governed by the Afghanistan Football Federation.", "The national team has never competed or qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has recently won an international football trophy in 2013.", "The country also has a national team in the sport of futsal, a 5-a-side variation of football.", "Other popular sports in Afghanistan include basketball, volleyball, taekwondo, and bodybuilding.", "Buzkashi is a traditional sport, mainly among the northern Afghans.", "It is similar to polo, played by horsemen in two teams, each trying to grab and hold a goat carcass.", "The Afghan Hound (a type of running dog) originated in Afghanistan and was originally used in hunting.", "\n\n* Afghanistanism\n* Bibliography of Afghanistan\n* Environmental issues in Afghanistan\n* Index of Afghanistan-related articles\n* International rankings of Afghanistan\n* List of power stations in Afghanistan\n* Outline of Afghanistan", "'''Books'''\n\n\n\n\n'''Articles'''\n\n*Meek, James.", "Worse than a Defeat.''", "London Review of Books,'' Vol.", "36, No.", "24, December 2014, pages 3–10", "\n\n* Office of the President\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Research Guide to Afghanistan" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Albania''' (, ; ; ), officially the '''Republic of Albania''' (, ), is a country in Southern and Southeastern Europe. The country spans and had a total population of almost 3 million people . Albania is located in the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast. The country has a coastline on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the southwest, forming the Albanian Riviera. Albania is less than from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic with the capital in Tirana, the country's largest city and main economic and commercial centre, followed by Durrës. The country's other major cities include Vlorë, Sarandë, Shkodër, Berat, Korçë, Gjirokastër and Fier.\n\nDuring the classical times, Albania was inhabited by various ancient Illyrian, Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established inside the Illyrian coast. In the third century BC, the region was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. The unified Principality of Arbër emerged in 1190, established by archon Progon in the Krujë, within the Byzantine Empire. In the late twelfth century, Charles of Anjou conquered the Albanian territories from the Byzantines and established the medieval Kingdom of Albania, extending from Durrës along the coast to Butrint in the south. Falling in the mid-fifteenth century under Ottoman dominion, the modern nation state of Albania emerged in 1912 following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and Balkan Wars. The modern Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist People's Republic emerged under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. The country experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the fourth Republic of Albania was established.\n\nAlbania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the country's economy, followed by the industrial and agriculture sector. Following the collapse of communism in 1990, Albania went through a process of transition from a centralized economy to a market-based economy. Albania has a high Human Development Index and is ranked thirty-seventh in the world for life expectancy. It provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, Council of Europe, OSCE, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Furthermore, Albania is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and Union for the Mediterranean. \n\n", "\n\nThe term Albania is the medieval latin name of the country. It may be derived from the Illyrian tribe of Albani ('''') recorded by Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria, who drafted a map in 150 AD, which shows the city of Albanopolis located northeast of the city of Durrës. The term may have a continuation in the name of a medieval settlement called Albanon or Arbanon, although it is not certain that this was the same place. \nIn his history written in the 10th century, the byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was the first to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country ('''') and referred to themselves as ('''').\n\nNowaday, Albanians call their country Shqipëri or Shqipëria. As early as the 17th century the placename ('''') and the ethnic demonym ('''') gradually replaced (''''). The two terms are popularly interpreted as \"Land of the Eagles\" and \"Children of the Eagles\".\n", "\n\n=== Early history ===\n\n\nAncient cave in Pëllumbas near the capital city of Tirana.\n\nThe first traces of human presence in Albania, dating to the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic eras, were found in the village of Xarrë, near Sarandë and Mount Dajt near Tiranë. The objects found in a cave near Xarrë include flint and jasper objects and fossilized animal bones, while those found at Mount Dajt comprise bone and stone tools similar to those of the Aurignacian culture. The Paleolithic finds of Albania show great similarities with objects of the same era found at Crvena Stijena in Montenegro and north-western Greece.\n\nSeveral Bronze Age artefacts from tumulus burials have been unearthed in central and southern Albania that show close connection with sites in south-western Macedonia and Lefkada, Greece. Archaeologists have come to the conclusion that these regions were inhabited from the middle of the third millennium BC by Indo-European people who spoke a Proto-Greek language. A part of this population later moved to Mycenae around 1600 BC and founded the Mycenaean civilisation there. Another population group, the Illirii, probably the southernmost Illyrian tribe of that time that lived on the border of Albania and Montenegro, possibly neighbored the Greek tribes. \n\nApollonia was an important port city on the Illyrian coast and one of the western points of the Via Egnatia route.\n\nIn ancient times, the territory of modern Albania was mainly inhabited by a number of Illyrian tribes. This territory was known as Illyria, corresponding roughly to the area east of the Adriatic sea to the mouth of the Vjosë river in the south. The first account of the Illyrian groups comes from ''Periplus of the Euxine Sea'', an ancient Greek text written in the middle of the 4th century BC. The south was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians, whose capital was at Phoenice, while numerous colonies, such as Apollonia, Epidamnos and Amantia, were established by Greek city-states on the coast by the 7th century BC.\n\nOne of the most powerful tribes that ruled over modern Albania was the Ardiaei. The Ardiaean Kingdom reached its greatest extent under Agron, son of Pleuratus II. Agron extended his rule over other neighboring tribes as well. After Agron's death in 230 BC, his wife Teuta inherited the Ardiaean kingdom. Teuta's forces extended their operations further southward into the Ionian Sea. In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria for extensively plundering Roman ships. The war ended in Illyrian defeat in 227 BC. Teuta was eventually succeeded by Gentius in 181 BC. Gentius clashed with the Romans in 168 BC, initiating the Third Illyrian War. The conflict resulted in Roman victory and the end of Illyrian independence by 167 BC. After his defeat, the Roman split the region into three administrative divisions.\n\n\n=== Middle Ages ===\n\n \n\nKrujë was the capital of the Albanian unity during the medieval times. \n\nDuring the medieval period, the area what is now known as Albania, remained under Byzantine control until the Slavs began to overrun the country from the 7th century. Later it was captured by the Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century. After the weakening of the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire in the 13th century, some of the territory of modern Albania was captured by the Serbian Principality. In general, the invaders destroyed or weakened Roman and Byzantine cultural centers in the lands, that would become Albania.\n\nThe territorial nucleus of the Albanian state formed in the Middle Ages, as the Principality of Arbër and the Kingdom of Albania. The Principality of Arbër or Albanon ''(Arbër or Arbëria)'', was the first Albanian entiy during the Middle Ages, it was established by archon Progon ''(Progoni i Krujës)'' in the region of Krujë, in 1190. Progon, was succeeded by his sons Gjin and Dhimitri, the latter which attained the height of the realm. After the death of Dhimiter, the last of the Progon family, the principality came under the Greek Gregory Kamonas Lord of Krujë, and later Golem. The Principality was dissolved in 1255. Pipa and Repishti conclude that Arbanon was the first sketch of an \"Albanian state\", and that it retained semi-autonomous status as the western extremity of an empire (under the Doukai of Epirus or the Laskarids of Nicaea).\n\nByzantine Holy Trinity church from the 13th century in Berat.\n\nThe Kingdom of Albania ''(Mbretëria e Arbërisë)'' was established by Charles of Anjou ''(Karli Anzhu)'' in the Albanian territory. In 1271, he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus. One year later in February 1272, he took the title of King of Albania. The kingdom extended from the region of Dyrrhachium (modern Durrës), south along the coast to Butrint. After the creation of the kingdom, a catholic political structure was a basis for the papal plans of spreading Catholicism in the Balkans. This plan found also the support of Helen of Anjou, a cousin of Charles of Anjou, who was at that time ruling territories in North Albania. Around 30 catholic churches and monasteries were built during her rule in North Albania and also in Serbia. From 1331 to 1355, the Serbian Empire wrestled control over Albania. After the dissolution of the Serbian Empire, several Albanian principalities were created, and among the most powerful were the Balsha, Thopia, Kastrioti, Muzaka and Arianiti. In the first half of the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire invaded most of Albania. In 1444, the Albanian principalities were united under George Castrioti Skanderbeg ''(Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu)'', who became the national hero of the Albanian medieval history. \n\n\n\nAt the dawn of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in southeastern Europe, the geopolitical landscape was marked by scattered kingdoms of small principalities. The Ottomans erected their garrisons throughout southern Albania in 1415 and occupied most of the country in 1431. However, in 1443 a great and longstanding revolt broke out under the lead of the Albanian national hero George Castrioti Skanderbeg ''(Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu)'', which lasted until 1479, many times defeating major Ottoman armies led by the sultans Murad II and Mehmed II. Skanderbeg united initially the Albanian princes, and later on established a centralized authority over most of the non-conquered territories, becoming the ruling ''Lord of Albania''. He also tried relentlessly but rather unsuccessfully to create a European coalition against the Ottomans. He thwarted every attempt by the Turks to regain Albania, which they envisioned as a springboard for the invasion of Italy and western Europe. His unequal fight against the mightiest power of the time, won the esteem of Europe as well as some support in the form of money and military aid from Naples, Venice, Ragusa and the Papacy.\nWith the arrival of the Ottomans, Islam was introduced in the country as a third religion. This conversion caused a massive emigration of Albanians to other Christian European countries, especially the Arbëreshë of Italy. Along with the Bosniaks, Muslim Albanians occupied an outstanding position in the Ottoman Empire, and were the main pillars of Ottoman Porte's policy in the Balkans.\n\nEnjoying this privileged position in the empire, Muslim Albanians held various high administrative positions, with over two dozen Grand Viziers of Albanian origin, such as Gen. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, who commanded the Ottoman forces during the Ottoman-Persian Wars; Gen. Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed, who led the Ottoman armies during the Austro-Turkish War; and later Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt.\n\n\n\nDuring the 15th century, when the Ottomans were gaining a firm foothold in the region, Albanian towns were organised into four principal sanjaks. The government fostered trade by settling a sizeable Jewish colony of refugees fleeing persecution in Spain (at the end of the 15th century). The city of Vlorë saw passing through its ports imported merchandise from Europe such as velvets, cotton goods, mohairs, carpets, spices, and leather from Bursa and Constantinople. Some citizens of Vlorë even had business associates throughout Europe.\n\nAlbanians could also be found throughout the empire in Iraq, Egypt, Algeria and across the Maghreb, as vital military and administrative retainers.\nThis was partly due to the Devşirme system. The process of Islamization was an incremental one, commencing from the arrival of the Ottomans in the 14th century (to this day, a minority of Albanians are Catholic or Orthodox Christians, though the vast majority became Muslim). Timar holders, the bedrock of early Ottoman control in southeast Europe, were not necessarily converts to Islam, and occasionally rebelled; the most famous of these rebels is Skanderbeg (his figure would rise up later on, in the 19th century, as a central component of the Albanian national identity). The most significant impact on the Albanians was the gradual Islamisation process of a large majority of the population, although it became widespread only in the 17th century.\n\nMainly Catholics converted in the 17th century, while the Orthodox Albanians followed suit mainly in the following century. Initially confined to the main city centres of Elbasan and Shkodër, by this period the countryside was also embracing the new religion. The motives for conversion according to some scholars were diverse, depending on the context. The lack of source material does not help when investigating such issues. Albania remained under Ottoman control as part of the Rumelia province until 1912, when independent Albania was declared.\n\n=== Modern ===\n \n\n\nThe League of Prizren building in Prizren from inside the courtyard.\n\nThe National Renaissance ''(Rilindja Kombëtare)'' began in the 1870s and lasted until 1912, when the Albanians declared their independence. The League of Prizren (League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation) ''(Lidhja e Prizrenit)'' was formed on June 1878, in the old town of Prizren, Kosovo Vilayet. At first the Ottoman authorities supported the League, whose initial position was based on the religious solidarity of Muslim landlords and people connected with the Ottoman administration. The Ottomans favoured and protected the Muslim solidarity, and called for defense of Muslim lands, including present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the reason for naming the league 'The Committee of the Real Muslims' ''(Komiteti i Myslimanëve të Vërtetë)''. The League issued a decree known as Kararname. Its text contained a proclamation that the people from northern Albania, Epirus and Bosnia\" are willing to defend the 'territorial integrity' of the Ottoman Empire by all possible means against the troops of the Bulgarian, Serbian and Montenegrin Kingdoms. However, it was signed by 47 Muslim deputies of the League on June 18, 1878. Around 300 Muslims participated in the assembly, including delegates from Bosnia and mutasarrif (sanjakbey) of the Sanjak of Prizren as representatives of the central authorities, and no delegates from Scutari Vilayet.\n\nThe letters of Naum Veqilharxhi's alphabet ''(Alfabeti i Vithkuqit)'' published in 1845.\n\nThe Ottomans cancelled their support when the League, under the influence of Abdyl Bey Frashëri, became focused on working toward the Albanian autonomy and requested merging of four Ottoman vilayets, which includes Kosovo, Scutari, Monastir and Ioannina into a new vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian Vilayet. The League used military force to prevent the annexing areas of Plav and Gusinje assigned to Montenegro by the Congress of Berlin. After several successful battles with Montenegrin troops such as in Novsice, under the pressure of the great powers, the League of Prizren was forced to retreat from their contested regions of Plav and Gusinje and later on, the league was defeated by the Ottoman army sent by the Sultan. The Albanian uprising of 1912, the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars and the advance of Montenegrin, Serbian and Greek forces into territories claimed as Albanian, led to the proclamation of independence by Ismail Qemali in southern Vlorë, on November 28, 1912.\n\nThe proposed boundaries of the newly established Albanian state in 1913 to 1914.\n\nAt the All-Albanian Congress in southern Vlorë on 28 November 1912, the participants constituted the Assembly of Vlorë. The assembly of eighty-three leaders, declared the nation as an independent country and set up a provisional government. The Provisional Government was established on the second session of the assembly on 4 December 1912. Furthermore, it was a government of ten members led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignation on 22 January 1914. However the Assembly also established the Senate ''(Pleqësi)'', with an advisory role to the government, consisting of 18 members of the Assembly.\n\nThe independence of Albania was recognized by the Conference of London on 29 July 1913. The drawing of the borders of the newly established Principality of Albania ignored the demographic realities of the time. The International Commission of Control was established on 15 October 1913 to take care of the administration of newly established Albania, until its own political institutions were in order. Its headquarters were in Vlorë. The International Gendarmerie was established as the first law enforcement agency of the Principality of Albania. In November, the first gendarmerie members arrived in the country. Prince of Albania Wilhelm of Wied ''(Princ Vilhelm Vidi)'' was selected as the first prince of the principality. On 7 March, he arrived in the provisional capital of Durrës and started to organise his government, appointing Turhan Pasha Përmeti to form the first Albanian cabinet.\n\nThe city of Skopje after being captured by Albanian revolutionaries in August 1912 after defeating the Ottoman forces holding the city.\n\nIn November 1913, the Albanian pro-Ottoman forces had offered the throne of Albania to the Ottoman war Minister of Albanian origin, Ahmed Izzet Pasha. The pro-Ottoman peasants believed that, the new regime of the Principality of Albania was a tool of the six Christian Great Powers and local landowners, that owned half of the arable land.\n\nIn February 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was proclaimed in Gjirokastër by the local Greek population against incorporation to Albania. This initiative was short lived and in 1921, the southern provinces were finally incorporated to the Albanian Principality. Meanwhile, the revolt of Albanian peasants against the new Albanian regime erupted under the leadership of the group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who proclaimed himself the savior of Albania and Islam. In order to gain support of the Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern part of Albania, Prince Wied appointed their leader, Prênk Bibë Doda, to be the foreign minister of the Principality of Albania. In May and June 1914, the International Gendarmerie was joined by Isa Boletini and his men, mostly from Kosovo, and northern Mirdita Catholics, were defeated by the rebels who captured most of Central Albania by the end of August 1914. The regime of Prince Wied collapsed and later he left the country on 3 September 1914.\n\n=== First Republic ===\n\n\nZog I with Geraldine of Albania in 1938.\n\nThe short-lived principality (1914–1925) was succeeded by the first Albanian Republic (1925–1928). In 1925 the four-member Regency was abolished and Ahmed Zogu was elected president of the newly declared republic. Tirana was endorsed officially as the country's permanent capital. Zogu led an authoritarian and conservative regime, the primary aim of which was the maintenance of stability and order. Zogu was forced to adopt a policy of cooperation with Italy. A pact had been signed between Italy and Albania on 20 January 1925 whereby Italy gained a monopoly on shipping and trade concessions.\n\nThe Albanian republic was eventually replaced by another monarchy in 1928. In order to extend his direct control throughout the entire country, Zogu placed great emphasis on the construction of roads. Every male Albanian over the age of 16 years was legally bound to give ten days of free labor each year to the state. King Zogu remained a conservative, but initiated reforms. For example, in an attempt at social modernization, the custom of adding one's region to one's name was dropped. Zogu also made donations of land to international organisations for the building of schools and hospitals. The armed forces were trained and supervised by Italian instructors. As a counterweight, Zogu kept British officers in the Gendarmerie despite strong Italian pressure to remove them. The kingdom was supported by the fascist regime in Italy and the two countries maintained close relations until Italy's sudden invasion of the country in 1939. Albania was occupied by Fascist Italy and then by Nazi Germany during World War II. \n\nAlbanian partisans march in Tirana 29 November 1944\n\nAfter being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943 the Albanian Kingdom was a protectorate and a dependency of Italy governed by the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and his government. After the Axis' invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, territories of Yugoslavia with substantial Albanian population were annexed to Albania: most of Kosovo, as well as Western Macedonia, the town of Tutin in Central Serbia and a strip of Eastern Montenegro. In November 1941, the small Albanian Communist groups established an Albanian Communist Party in Tirana of 130 members under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and an eleven-man Central Committee. The party at first had little mass appeal, and even its youth organization netted few recruits.\n\nAfter the capitulation of Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany occupied Albania too. The nationalist Balli Kombetar, which had fought against Italy, formed a \"neutral\" government in Tirana, and side by side with the Germans fought against the communist-led National Liberation Movement of Albania. The Center for Relief to Civilian Populations (Geneva) reported that Albania was one of the most devastated countries in Europe. 60,000 houses were destroyed and about 10% of the population was left homeless. The communist partisans had regrouped and gained control of much of southern Albania in January 1944. However, they were subject to German attacks driving them out of certain areas. In the Congress of Përmet, the NLF formed an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania's administration and legislature. By the last year in World War II Albania fell into a civil war-like state between the communists and nationalists. The communist partisans however defeated the last Balli Kombëtar forces in southern Albania by mid-summer 1944. Before the end of November, the main German troops had withdrawn from Tirana, and the communists took control by attacking it. The partisans entirely liberated Albania from German occupation on 29 November 1944. A provisional government, which the communists had formed at Berat in October, administered Albania with Enver Hoxha as prime minister.\n\n\n=== Communism ===\n\n\nA Cultural Revolution poster depicting the Albanian-Chinese cooperation featuring Enver Hoxha and Mao Zedong. The two leaders met only twice: in 1956 during Hoxha's visit to China, and in 1957 at the Moscow meeting of communist and workers parties.\n\nBy the end of the second World War, the main military and political force of the nation, the Communist party sent forces to northern Albania against the nationalists to eliminate its rivals. They faced open resistance in Nikaj-Mërtur, Dukagjin and Kelmend led by Prek Cali. On 15 January 1945, a clash took place between partisans of the first Brigade and nationalist forces at the Tamara Bridge, resulting in the defeat of the nationalist forces. About 150 Kelmendi people were killed or tortured. This event was the starting point of many other issues which took place during Enver Hoxha's dictatorship. Class struggle was strictly applied, human freedom and human rights were denied. The Kelmend region was almost isolated by both the border and by a lack of roads for another 20 years, the institution of agricultural cooperatives brought about economic decline. Many Kelmendi people fled, some were executed trying to cross the border.\n\nAfter the liberation of Albania from the Nazi occupation, the country became a Communist state. Afterwards, the People's Republic of Albania ''(renamed \"People's Socialist Republic of Albania\" in 1976)'' was founded, which was led by Enver Hoxha and the Labour Party of Albania. The socialist reconstruction of Albania was launched immediately after the annulling of the monarchy and the establishment of a People's Republic. In 1947, Albania's first railway line was completed, with the second one being completed eight months later. New land reform laws were passed granting ownership of the land to the workers and peasants who tilled it. Agriculture became cooperative, and production increased significantly, leading to Albania's becoming agriculturally self-sufficient. By 1955, illiteracy was eliminated among Albania's adult population.\n \nValbona Valley. By 1983 approximately 173,371 concrete bunkers were scattered throughout the country.\n\nDuring this period, Albania became industrialized and saw rapid economic growth, as well as unprecedented progress in the areas of education and health care. The average annual increase in Albania's national income was 29% higher than the world average and 56% higher than the European average.. The nation incurred large debts, first with Yugoslavia until 1948, then the Soviet Union until 1961, and China from the middle of the 1950s. The communist constitution did not allow taxes on individuals; instead, taxes were imposed on cooperatives and other organizations, with much the same effect.\nReligious freedoms were severely curtailed during the communist regime, with all forms of worship being outlawed. In August 1945, the ''Agrarian Reform Law'' meant that large swaths of property owned by religious groups (mostly Islamic waqfs) were nationalized, along with the estates of monasteries and dioceses. Many believers, along with the ulema and many priests, were arrested and executed. In 1949, a new Decree on Religious Communities required that all their activities be sanctioned by the state alone.\n\nAfter hundreds of mosques and dozens of Islamic libraries, containing priceless manuscripts, were destroyed, Enver Hoxha proclaimed Albania the \"World's first atheist state\" in 1967. The churches had not been spared either, and many were converted into cultural centers for young people. A 1967 law banned all \"fascist, religious, warmongerish, antisocialist activity and propaganda\". Preaching religion carried a three to ten-year prison sentence. Nonetheless, many Albanians continued to practice their beliefs secretly. The Hoxha dictatorship's anti-religious policy attained its most fundamental legal and political expression a decade later: \"The state recognizes no religion,\" states Albania's 1976 constitution, \"and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialistic world outlook in people.\" Enver Hoxha's political successor, Ramiz Alia oversaw the dismemberment of the \"Hoxhaist\" state during the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s.\n\n\n=== Fourth Republic ===\n\n\nIn 1988, the first outsiders were allowed to walk into the Skanderbeg Square, the main plaza in Tirana.\n\nAfter the revolution of 1989, reforms were made by the communist government in 1990. Subsequently, the People's Republic was dissolved and the 4th Albanian Republic was founded on 29 April 1991. The communists retained a stronghold in the Parliament, after popular support in the first multi-party elections in 1991. In March 1992, amid liberalization policies resulting in economic collapse and social unrest, a new coalition led by the new Democratic Party took power after victory in the parliamentary elections of 1992. \n\nIn the following years, much of the accumulated wealth of the country was invested in Ponzi pyramid banking schemes, which were widely supported by the government. The schemes swept up somewhere between one sixth and one third of the Albanian population. Despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warnings in late 1996, President Sali Berisha defended the schemes as large investment firms, leading more people to redirect their remittances and sell their homes and cattle for cash to deposit in the schemes. The schemes began to collapse in late 1996, leading many of the investors to join initially peaceful protests against the government, requesting their money back. The protests turned violent in February 1997 as government forces responded with fire. In March, the Police and Republican Guard deserted, leaving their armories open. These were promptly emptied by militias and criminal gangs. The resulting crisis caused a wave of evacuations of foreign nationals and of refugees.\n\nThe crisis led Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi to resign on 11 March 1997, followed by President Sali Berisha in July in the wake of the June General Election. In April 1997, Operation Alba, a UN peacekeeping force led by Italy, entered the country with two goals: to assist with the evacuation of expatriates and to secure the ground for international organizations. The main international organization involved was the Western European Union's Multinational Albanian Police element (MAPE), which worked with the government to restructure the judicial system and the Albanian Police. The Socialist Party had won the previously mentioned parliamentary elections in June 1997, and a degree of political stabilization followed. In 1999, the country was affected by the Kosovo War, which caused a great number of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo to seek refuge in Albania, although most ultimately returned to Kosovo.\n\nsixth member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The admission was considered a top priority of Albania's foreign policy after the cold war.\n\nOn 23 June 2013, the eighth parliamentary elections took place, won by Edi Rama of the Socialist Party. During his tenure as 33rd Prime Minister, Albania has implemented numerous reforms focused on the modernizing the economy and democratizing of state institutions like the judiciary and law enforcement. Additionally, unemployment has been steadily reduced to the 4th lowest unemployment rate in the Balkans.\n\nAfter the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Albania started to develop closer ties with Western Europe. At the 2008 Bucharest summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) invited Albania to join the alliance. In April 2014 Albania became a full member of NATO. Albania was among the first southeastern European countries to join the Partnership for peace programme. Albania applied to join the European Union, becoming an official candidate for accession to the European Union in June 2014. Although Albania received candidate status for the European Union membership in 2014 (based on its 2009 application), the European Union has twice rejected full membership. The European Parliament warned the Government leaders in early 2017 that the 2017 parliamentary elections in June must be free and fair before negotiations could begin to admit the country into the union.\n\n== Geography == \n\n\n\nGjipe Canyon, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian sea.\n\nAlbania occupies the southwestern portion of the Balkan Peninsula. The country is located in Southeastern and Southern Europe, with Montenegro bordering to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. The Adriatic and Ionian Seas makes up its entire west border of Albania. It lies mostly between latitudes 42° and 39° N, and longitudes 21° and 19° E. The territory covers , making it the 145th largest country in the world. Albania's coastline length is and extends along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea. \n\nThe Albanian Alps are the southernmost part of the Dinaric Alps.\n\nAlbania's northernmost point is Vërmosh at 42° 35' 34\" northern latitude; the southernmost is Konispol at 39° 40' 0\" northern latitude; the westernmost point is Sazan Island at 19° 16' 50\" eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is Vërnik at 21° 1' 26\" eastern longitude. The highest point is Mount Korab standing at above sea level, and the lowest is the Mediterranean Sea. The distance from east to west is , from north to south .\n\nDespite its small size, Albania is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a wide variety of natural features including valleys, plains, canyons and caves. Topographically, the mountains run the length of the country from north to south; the Albanian Alps in the north, Sharr Mountains in the northeast, Skanderbeg Mountains in the center, Korab Mountains in the east, Pindus Mountains in the southeast and the Ceraunian Mountains in the southwest along the Albanian Riviera. \n\nA scenic view of Lake Butrint in the south, along the Albanian Riviera.\n\nThe hydrographic network of Albania includes several of the largest and most ancient bodies of freshwater in Southern Europe. Lake Shkodër is the largest lake, situated in the northwest with a surface which can vary between and , out of which one third belongs to Albania and the rest to Montenegro. It is the largest lake in Southern Europe. Lake Ohrid in the southeast is shared with Macedonia and is one of the most ancient lakes in the world. Lake Prespa at the border triangle with Macedonia and Greece is one the highest tectonic lakes within the Balkan Peninsula at an elevation of . Albania has a dense network of about 152 rivers and streams, forming at least 8 large rivers, which flow from east to west towards the Adriatic Sea. Among which are included Drin, Vjosë, Shkumbin, Osum, Mat, Erzen, Fan and Seman. \n\n\n=== Biodiversity ===\n\n\n\nKarst landscape in the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park.\n\nAlthough a small country, Albania is distinguished by a high biodiversity. Due to its climatic, hydrological, geological and topographical conditions, it is host to 30% of the entire flora and 42% of fauna of Europe. Phytogeographically, Albania straddles the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The country falls within four terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic ecozone, including the Illyrian deciduous forests, Balkan mixed forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, and Dinaric Alpine mixed forests. \n\nAbout of Albania is forested and very rich in flora. About 3,000 different species of plants can be found in Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes. The coastal regions and lowlands have typical Mediterranean macchia vegetation, whereas oak forests and vegetation are found on higher elevations. Vast forests of black pine, beech and fir are found on higher mountains and alpine grasslands grow at elevations above . \n\nThe forests are home to a wide range of mammals, including wolves, bears, wild boars and chamois. Lynx, wildcats, pine martens and polecats are rare, but survive in various forests of Albania. There are around 760 vertebrate species found so far in Albania. Among these there are over 350 bird species, 330 freshwater and marine fish and 80 mammal species. There are some 91 globally threatened species found within the country, among which the dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant, and the european sea sturgeon. Rocky coastal regions in the south provide good habitats for the endangered mediterranean monk seal. Some of the most significant bird species found in the country include the golden eagle, which is known as the national symbol of the country, vulture species, capercaillie and numerous waterfowl. \n\n\n=== Climate ===\n\n\nAlbania map of Köppen climate classification.\n\n\n\n\n\n Mediterranean climate in Ksamil\n\nAccording to the Köppen system, Albania hosts five major climatic subtypes. These include mediterranean, subtropical, oceanic, continental and subarctic. With its coastline facing the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea in the west, Albania's highlands backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass, and the entire country lying at a latitude subject to a variety of weather patterns during the winter and summer seasons. The climate on the coasts is typically mediterranean, while in the highlands it is continental. In both the western lowlands and the inner highlands, the weather varies from north to south. The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about , while summer temperatures average . In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about higher throughout the year. The difference is greater than during the summer and somewhat less during the winter.\n\nInland conditions vary depending on elevation, but the higher areas above in the northern and central highlands are rather cold and frequently snowy in winter; here cold conditions with snow may linger into spring. The temperatures are affected more by differences in elevation than by latitude or any other factor. Average summer temperatures are lower than in the coastal areas and much lower at higher elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater.Subarctic climate on Albanian Alps Average precipitation is heavy, a result of the convergence of the prevailing airflow from the Mediterranean Sea and the continental air mass.Because they usually meet at the point where the terrain rises, the heaviest rain falls in the central highlands. When the continental air mass is weak, Mediterranean winds drop their moisture farther inland. When there is a dominant continental air mass, cold air spills onto the lowland areas, which occurs most frequently in the winter.\n\nLowland rainfall averages from to more than annually, with the higher levels in the north. Nearly 95% of the rain falls in the winter. Rainfall in the northern highlands is heavier. Adequate records are not available, and estimates vary widely, but annual averages are probably about and are as high as . However, the western Albanian Alps are among the wettest areas in Europe, receiving some of rain annually. The seasonal variation is not quite as great in the coastal area. The central highlands receive less precipitation than the intermediate northern highlands. Terrain differences cause wide local variations, but the seasonal distribution is the most consistent of any area. In 2009, an expedition from the University of Colorado discovered four small glaciers inside the Albanian Alps. The glaciers are at the relatively low level of , almost unique for such a southerly latitude.\n\n", "\n\n \n\nEdi RamaPrime Minister since 2013Kryeministria, the official workplace of the Prime Minister of Albania.\n\nPolitics in Albania operate under a framework laid out in the Constitution of Albania. First in 1913, Albania was constituted as a monarchy, briefly a republic in 1920, then into a democratic monarchy in 1928. Succeeding, it became a socialist republic, until the restoration of capitalism and democracy, after the collapse of communism. Nowadays, Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic in which the President serves as the head of state and the Prime Minister as the head of government. \n\nThe President is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representative of the unity of the Albanian people. The President is elected to a five-year term by the Parliament by a majority of three-fifths of all its members. The President has the power to guarantee observation of the Constitution and all laws, exercise the duties of the Parliament when it is not in session, and appoints the Prime Minister. Ministers are also nominated by the President on the basis of the Prime Minister's recommendation. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers which make up the government. The Parliament must give final approval of the composition of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies, directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state organs. \n\nThe façade of the Parliament of Albania in Tirana.\n\nThe Parliament is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of Albania and is elected by people to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal, periodic and equal suffrage by secret ballot. There are 140 deputies in the Parliament, which are elected through a party-list proportional representation system. The Chairperson has two deputies and chairs the Parliament. There are 15 permanent committees. The Parliament has the power to decide the direction of domestic and foreign policy; approve or amend the constitution; declare war on another state; ratify or annul international treaties; elect the President, the Supreme Court, and the Attorney General and their deputies; and control the activity of state radio and television, state news agency and other official information media. \n\nThe judicial system of Albania is a civil law system divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts. It is codified and based on the French law. Major institutions of the branch include the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Court of Appeal, and the Administrative Court. Law enforcement in the country is primarily the responsibility of the Albanian Police. It is the main and largest state law enforcement agency in the country. It carries nearly all general police duties thath includes criminal investigation, patrol activity, traffic policing and border control. \n\n=== Foreign relations ===\n\n\nAlbania plays a central role in the negotiation of the Berlin Process a diplomatic initiative linked to the future enlargement of the European Union.\n\nForeign relations are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana. The current minister is Ditmir Bushati. Since the collapse of Communism in 1990, Albania has extended its responsibilities and position in European and international affairs, supporting and establishing friendly relations with other nations around the world.\n\nThe main objectives of the Albanian foreign policy are the Accession of Albania to the European Union, the International recognition of Kosovo, the recognition of Expulsion of Cham Albanians, helping and protecting of the rights the Albanians in Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, southern Serbia, Italy and the Albanian diaspora. Albania has a network of 40 foreign embassies and 46 diplomatic missions abroad. \n\nAlbania has been a member of the United Nations since December 1955. Three years later in 1958, it became member of UNESCO. Albania took on the membership of the United Nations Economic and Social Council from 2005 to 2007 and for the second time in 2012. In addition to that, Albania served as vice president of the ECOSOC in 2006 and 2013. In 2014, it also joined the United Nations Human Rights Council from 2015 to 2017 and was elected vice president in 2015. Albania was among the first eastern European countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Major Albanian politicians considered admission to NATO as a top priority for the country. Since 1992, it has been extensively engaged with NATO, and has maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of the United States and European Union in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans. \n\nBesides, Albania is a full member of numerous international organizations, namely the United Nations, Council of Europe, International Organization for Migration, World Health Organization, Union for the Mediterranean, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and La Francophonie.\n\n=== Military ===\n\n\nAlbanian Army.\n\nThe Albanian Armed Forces (''Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë'') are the military and paramilitary forces of Albania, under the President as supreme commander. In times of peace, the President's powers as a commander are executed through the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister. The military consist the General staff, the Land Force (''Forca Tokësore''), the Air Force (''Forca Ajrore'') and the Naval Force (''Forca Detare''). Albania has nocompulsory military service. Until January 2010 military service was compulsory for men at age 18 and conscripts served six-month tours of duty. Nowadays, military service is voluntary, with the age of 19 being the legal minimum age for the duty.\n\nAlbania has committed to increase the participations in multinational operations. Since the fall of communism, the country has participated in six international missions but participated in only one United Nations mission in Geogria sending of 3 military observers. Since February 2008, Albania has participated officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea. It was invited to join NATO on 3 April 2008, and it became a full member on 2 April 2009.\n\nAlbania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009. The military now consists mainly of a small fleet of aircraft and sea vessels. In the 1990s, the country scrapped enormous amounts of obsolete hardware from China, such as tanks and SAM systems. Increasing the military budget was one of the most important conditions for NATO integration. Military spending has generally been low. As of 1996 military spending was an estimated 1.5% of the country's GDP, only to peak in 2009 at 2% and fall again to 1.5%. According to 2016 Global Peace Index, the nation ranked 54th out of 163 countries in the world.\n", "\n\nWith a total area of , Albania is divided into twelve administrative counties (''''). The counties are further subdivided into 61 municipalities (''''). In addition, the counties were further subdivided in 36 districts (''''), which became defunct in 2000. \n\nThe counties were created on 31 July 2000 to replace the thirty-six former districts. The government introduced a new administrative division to be implemented in 2015, whereby municipalities were reduced to 61, while rural ones called ('''') are abolished. The defunct municipalities are known as Neighborhoods or Villages (''''). There are overall 2980 villages or communities in the entire country, formerly known as localities (''''). The municipalities are the first level of local governance, responsible for local needs and law enforcement.\nAs part of the reform, major town centers in the country were physically redesigned and façades painted to reflect a more Mediterranean look.\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n County !! Capital !! Population !! Area \n\n\n 1 \n Shkodër County (''Qarku i Shkodrës'') \n Shkodër \n 215,483 \n 3,562 \n\n 2 \n Kukës County (''Qarku i Kukësit'') \n Kukës \n 84,035 \n 2,374 \n\n 3 \n Lezhë County (''Qarku i Lezhës'') \n Lezhë \n 135,613 \n 1,620 \n\n 4 \n Dibër County (''Qarku i Dibrës'') \n Peshkopi \n 134,153 \n 2,586 \n\n 5 \n Durrës County (''Qarku i Durrësit'') \n Durrës \n 278,775 \n 766 \n\n 6 \n Tirana County (''Qarku i Tiranës'') \n Tirana \n 811,649 \n 1,652 \n\n 7 \n Elbasan County (''Qarku i Elbasanit'') \n Elbasan \n 298,913 \n 3,199 \n\n 8 \n Fier County (''Qarku i Fierit'') \n Fier \n 312,448 \n 1,890 \n\n 9 \n Berat County (''Qarku i Beratit'') \n Berat \n 139,815 \n 1,798 \n\n 10 \n Gjirokastër County (''Qarku i Gjirokastrës'') \n Gjirokastër \n 70,331 \n 2,884 \n\n 11 \n Vlorë County (''Qarku i Vlorës'') \n Vlorë \n 183,105 \n 2,706 \n\n 12 \n Korçë County (''Qarku i Korçës'') \n Korçë \n 221,706 \n 3,711 \n\n\n", "\n\nTirana is the economic hub of the country. It is home to major domestic and foreign companies operating in the country.\n\nThe transition from a socialist planned economy to a capitalist mixed economy has been largely successful. Albania has a developing mixed economy that is classed as a upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. With 14.7% in 2016, Albania has the 4th lowest unemployment rate in the Balkans. Albania's largest trading partners are Italy, Greece, China, Spain, Kosovo and the United States. The lek (ALL) is Albania's currency and is pegged at approximately 132,51 lek per euro.\n\nBoth, Tirana and Durrës are the economic heart of Albania. Further, Tirana is the major centre for trade, banking and finance, transportation, advertising, legal services, accountancy, and insurance. Major roads and railways run through Tirana and Durrës, connecting the north with the south and the west with the east. Among the largest companies the petroleum Taçi Oil, Albpetrol, ARMO and Kastrati, the mineral AlbChrome, cement Antea, the investment BALFIN Group and the technology Albtelecom, Vodafone, Telekom Albania and so on. \n\nIn 2012, Albania's GDP per capita stood at 30% of the European Union average, while GDP (PPP) per capita was 35%. Albania were one of three countries in Europe to record an economic growth in the first quarter of 2010 after the global financial crisis. The International Monetary Fund predicted 2.6% growth for Albania in 2010 and 3.2% in 2011. According to the Forbes as of December 2016, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was growing at 2.8%. The country had a trade balance of −9.7% and unemployment rate of 14.7%. The Foreign direct investment has increased significantly in recent years as the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. The economy is expected to expand in the near term, driven by a recovery in consumption and robust investments. Growth is projected to be 3.2% in 2016, 3.5% in 2017, and 3.8% in 2018.\n\n=== Primary sector ===\n\n\nGrapes in Berat. Due to the mediterranean climate, wine, olives and citrus fruits are mostly produced in southern Albania.\n\nAgriculture in the country is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units. It remains a significant sector of the economy of Albania. It employs 41% of the population, and about 24.31% of the land is used for agricultural purposes. One of the earliest farming sites in Europe has been found in southeastern of the country. As part of the pre-accession process of Albania to the European Union, farmers are being aided through IPA funds to improve Albanian agriculture standards. \n\nAlbania produces significant amounts of fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, apricots, peaches, cherries, figs, sour cherries, plums, and strawberries), vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, maize, onions, and wheat), sugar beets, tobacco, meat, honey, dairy products, traditional medicine and aromatic plants. Albania's proximity to the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea give the underdeveloped fishing industry great potential. The World Bank and European Community economists report that, Albania's fishing industry has good potential to generate export earnings because prices in the nearby Greek and Italian markets are many times higher than those in the Albanian market. The fish available off the coasts of Albania are carp, trout, sea bream, mussels, and crustaceans.\n\nAlbania has one of Europe's longest histories of viticulture. The today's region was one of the few places where vine was naturally grown during the ice age. The oldest found seeds in the region are 4,000 to 6,000 years old. In 2009, the nation produced an estimated 17,500 tonnes of wine During the communism, the production area expanded to some .\n\n=== Secondary sector ===\n\n\nAntea factory in Fushë-Krujë.\n\nThe secondary sector of Albania have undergone many changes and diversification, since the collapse of the communist regime in the country. It is very diversified, from electronics, manufacturing, textiles, to food, cement, mining, and energy. The Antea Cement plant in Fushë-Krujë is considered as one of the largest industrial greenfield investments in the country. Albanian oil and gas is represents of the most promising albeit strictly regulated sectors of its economy. Albania has the second largest oil deposits in the Balkan peninsula after Romania, and the largest oil reserves in Europe. The Albpetrol company is owned by the Albanian state and monitors the state petroleum agreements in the country. The textile industry has seen an extensive expansion by approaching companies from the European Union (EU) in Albania. According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) , the textile production marked an annual growth of 5,3% and an annual turnover of around 1,5 billion euros.\n\nAlbania is a significant minerals producer and is ranked among the world's leading chromium producers and exporters. The nation is also a notable producer of copper, nickel and coal. The Batra mine, Bulqizë mine, and Thekna mine are among the most recognised Albanian mines that are still in operation.\n\n=== Tertiary sector ===\n\n\n\n\nThe service industry represents the fastest growing sector of the Albanian economy. A significant part of Albania's national income derives from tourism. In 2016, it directly accounted for 8.4 percent of GDP, though including indirect contributions pushes the proportion to 26 percent. In the same year, Albania welcomed around 4.74 million visitors, mostly from Southern Europe and several countries from the European Union and also the United States. The increase of foreign visitors has been dramatic. Albania had only 500,000 visitors in 2005, while in 2012 had an estimated 4.2 million, an increase of 740 percent in only 7 years. In 2015, tourism in summer increased by 25 percent in contrast the previous year, accouring to the country's tourism agency. In 2011, Lonely Planet named as a top travel destination, while The New York Times nominated Albania as number 4 global touristic destination in 2014.\n\nThe bulk of the tourist industry is concentrated along the Adriatic and Ionian Sea in the west of the country. However, the Albanian Riviera in the southwest has the most scenic and pristine beaches, and is often called the pearl of the Albanian coast. Its coastline has a considerable length of . The coast has a particular character because it is rich in varieties of virgin beaches, capes, coves, covered bays, lagoons, small gravel beaches, sea caves and many landforms. Some parts of this seaside are very clean ecologically, which represent in this prospective unexplored areas, which are very rare within the Mediterranean. Other attractions include the mountainous areas such as the Albanian Alps, Ceraunian Mountains and Korab Mountains but also the historical cities of Berat, Durrës, Gjirokastër, Sarandë, Shkodër and Korçë.\n\n", "\n\nTirana International Airport is the 10th busiest airport in the Balkans, handling over 2 million passengers per year.\n\nA1 motorway in Northern Albania near Kalimash to Kosovo.Lin to Pogradec along the Ohrid Lake.National Road 8 ''(SH8)'' at Llogara Pass along the Albanian Riviera.\n\nFollowing the collapse of the communist regime in Albania, the transportation has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure. Improvements to the road infrastructure, urban transport, and air travel have all led to a vast improvement in transportation.\n\nCurrently there are three main motorways in Albania: the A1, A2, and A3. The A1 motorway connects the port city of Durrës on the Adriatic Sea, to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. Prospectively, the motorway will link with Pan-European Corridor X near Niš in Serbia. The project was the largest and most expensive infrastructure road project ever undertaken in the country. Two additional highways are currently under construction. The A3 motorway is going to connect the capital city Tirana with Pan-European Corridor VIII, linking Albania with Macedonia and Bulgaria to the east. The North-South motorway consists of SH1 and SH2 and makes up the Albanian portion of the Adriatic–Ionian motorway, a larger regional highway connecting Croatia with Greece along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. When all three corridors are completed, Albania will have an estimated 759 kilometers of highway linking it with all of its neighboring countries.\n\nThe busiest and largest seaport in Albania is the Port of Durrës. , the port ranks as one of the largest passenger ports on the Adriatic Sea, with annual passenger volume of approximately 1.5 million. Other seaports include Vlorë, Sarandë, and Shëngjin. The ports serve an extensive system of ferries connecting numerous islands and coastal cities in addition to ferry lines to several cities in Croatia, Greece, and Italy.\n\nThe highly advantageous geographical location of Durrës makes its port the busiest in Albania and among the largest in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.\n\nThe only international airport in the country is the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. It is the only port of entry for air travelers to the country. The airport offers international connections to many European cities. In 2016, the Government of Albania reached an agreement with Tirana International Airport to end its monopoly on flights, paving the way for the opening of an airport at Kukës in the north.\n\nThe railways in Albania are administered by the national railway company Hekurudha Shqiptare. The railway system was extensively promoted by the totalitarian communist regime of dictator Enver Hoxha, during which time the use of private transport was effectively prohibited. Since the collapse of the communist regime, there has been a considerable increase in car ownership and bus usage. A new railway line from the capital Tirana via Tirana International Airport to the port city Durrës is currently planned. The location of this railway, connecting the most populated urban areas in Albania, makes it an important economic development project. The opening will take place in 2019.\n\n\n=== Science and technology ===\n\n\nUntil 1990, after the fall of Communism in Albania, the country was one of the world's most isolated and controlled countries, and installation and maintenance of a modern system of international and domestic telecommunications was precluded. Callers previously needed operator assistance even to make domestic long-distance calls.\nInternet in Albania is fast and inexpensive in comparison to the rest of Europe. For example, an ISP known as ABcom, offers a 30mbit download package for 306.999 lekë ($2.39579 USD) per month. In the mobile network industry, providers such as Vodafone, Telekom, Albanian Mobile Communications and Eagle Mobile provide both 3G and 4G data plans. From 1993 human resources in sciences and technology have drastically decreased. Various surveys show that during 1991–2005, approximately 50% of the professors and research scientists of the universities and science institutions in the country have emigrated.\n\nHowever, in 2009 the government approved the \"National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in Albania\" covering the period 2009–15. It aims to triple public spending on research and development (R&D) to 0.6% of GDP and augment the share of gross domestic expenditure on R&D from foreign sources, including via the European Union's Framework Programmes for Research, to the point where it covers 40% of research spending, among others.\n\n\n=== Energy ===\n\n\nThe Fierza Reservoir was formed as a result of the construction of the Fierza Hydroelectric Power Station in 1978.\n\nEnergy in Albania is dependent on hydroelectricity. Albania is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world, having a percentage of 100%. The country is host to five hydroelectric power stations and a plant. Almost four power stations including Fierza, Koman, Skavica and Vau i Dejës are situated on the Drin River, the longest river in the country with a total length of 335 km (208 mi). Due to its strategical location, it plays a significant role for the production of electricity in Albania.\n\nAlbania and Croatia have discussed the possibility of jointly building a nuclear power plant at Lake Shkodër, close to the border with Montenegro, a plan that has gathered criticism from Montenegro due to seismicity in the area. In February 2009 Italian company Enel announced plans to build an 800 MW coal-fired power plant in Albania, to diversify electricity sources.\n\nThe Albanian Devoll Hydropower company, owned and operated by Norwegian Statkraft, is currently build two hydroelectricity plants on the Devoll River near Banjë and Moglicë. The Moglicë Hydro Power Plant is anticipated to be the world's highest of its kind upon completion. The ''Devoll Hydropower Project'' is one of the largest hydropower investments in the Balkan peninsula. The two plants are expected to be completed in 2016 and 2018. After its completion, it will produce 729 GWh annually, increasing the electricity production in Albania by almost 17%.\n\n\n=== Media ===\n\n\n\nRadio in Albania began officially in 1938 with the founding of RTSH ''(Albania Radio and Television - Radio Televizioni Shqiptar)'', and television broadcasting began in 1960. Almost 4 regional radio stations serve in the four extremities of Albania. The international service broadcasts radio programmes in Albanian and seven other languages via medium wave (AM) and short wave (SW). The international service has used the theme from the song \"Keputa një gjethe dafine\" as its signature tune. The international television service via satellite was launched since 1993 and aims at Albanian communities in Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and northern Greece, plus the Albanian diaspora in the rest of Europe. According to the Albanian Media Authority, Albania has an estimated 257 media outlets, including 66 radio stations and 67 television stations, with three national, 62 local and more than 50 cable TV stations. In Llast years, Albania has organized several shows as a part of worldwide series like ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Big Brother'', ''Got Talent'', ''The Voice'', and ''X Factor''.\n\nAlbania ranked 34th in the 2003 Press Freedom Index report compiled by the Reporters Without Borders. In 2016, it ranked 82nd. In 2016, there were 1.82 million Internet users in the country in percentage 63% of the population.\n\n\n=== Education ===\n\n\nThe University of Tirana is the largest and highest ranking university in the country.\n\nFollowing the fall of communism in Albania in 1991, a reorganization plan was announced that would extend the compulsory education program from eight to ten years. The following year, major economic and political crisis in Albania, and the ensuing breakdown of public order, plunged the school system into chaos. Widespread vandalism and extreme shortages of textbooks and supplies had a devastating effect on school operations, prompting Italy and other countries to provide material assistance. In the late 1990, many schools were rebuilt or reconstructed, to improve learning conditions. Most of the improvements have happened in the larger cities of the country especially in Tirana, Durrës and Shkodër.\n\nAll educational programmes in Albania are regulated by the Ministry of Education and administered by local municipalities. Education is mostly supported by the state and is composed of three stages, primary education (arsimi fillorë), secondary education (arsimi i mesëm), and tertiary education (arsimi universitarë). The academic year is very similar to the one in the United States, with classes starting in September or October and ending in June or July. Albanian is the primary language of instruction in all public schools. The primary education is obligatory from grade one to nine. Students must pass the graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade in order to continue their education. After the primary school, the general education is provided at the secondary schools. Students get prepared for the Matura examination, allowing them to obtain their matura diploma, which grants admission to higher education. Although, Albania follows the Bologna model in accordance with the 2007 Law on Higher Education. These institutions can be public or private, and may offer one, two or three levels of higher education depending on the institution.\n\nThe school life expectancy of Albania is 16 years, ranking 25th in the world. Literacy rate in Albania is 99.2% for males and 98.3% for females, having an overall of 98.7%. \n\n\n=== Health ===\n\n\nvegetables and olive oil.\n\nAlbania has a universal health care system run by the Ministry of Health. According to the World Health Organization, Albania had the world's 55th best healthcare performance in 2000. The system has been in a steep decline since the collapse of communism in the country, but a process of modernization has been taking place since 2000. There were a total of 51 hospitals in 2000 in the country, including a military hospital and specialist facilities. The most common causes of death are circulatory diseases followed by cancerous illnesses. Demographic and Health Surveys completed a survey in April 2009, detailing various health statistics in Albania, including male circumcision, abortion and more. The leading causes of death are cardiovascular disease, trauma, cancer, and respiratory disease. Albania has successfully eradicated diseases such as malaria.\n\nLife expectancy is estimated at 77.8 years (75.1 for males and 80.7 for females), ranking thirty-seventh in the world and outperforming a number of European Union countries, such as Slovenia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Albania's infant mortality rate, estimated at 12 per 1,000 live births in 2015. Compared to other European countries, Albania has a relatively low rate of obesity, probably thanks to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.\n\n", "\n \n\n\n\nAccording to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) Census of 2011, the total population of Albania was approximately 2,821,977 with a low Fertility rate of 1.49 children born per woman. The last census, was conducted in 1989.\n\nThe fall of the Communist regime in 1990, Albania was accompanied with massive migration. External migration was prohibited outright in Communist Albania while internal migration was quite limited, hence this was a new phenomenon. Between 1991 and 2004, roughly 900,000 people have migrated out of Albania, about 600,000 of them settling in Greece. Migration greatly affected Albania's internal population distribution. Population decreased mainly in the North and South of the country while it increased in Tirana and Durrës center districts. According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) as of 1 January 2015, the population of Albania is 2,893,005.\n\nIssues of ethnicity are a delicate topic and subject to debate. Contrary to official statistics that show an over 97 per cent Albanian majority in the country, minority groups (such as Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Roma and Aromanians) have frequently disputed the official numbers, asserting a higher percentage of the country's population. According to the disputed 2011 census, ethnic affiliation was as follows: Albanians 2,312,356 (82.6% of the total), Greeks 24,243 (0.9%), Macedonians 5,512 (0.2%), Montenegrins 366 (0.01%), Aromanians 8,266 (0.30%), Romani 8,301 (0.3%), Balkan Egyptians 3,368 (0.1%), other ethnicities 2,644 (0.1%), no declared ethnicity 390,938 (14.0%), and not relevant 44,144 (1.6%). On the quality of the specific data the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities stated that \"the results of the census should be viewed with the utmost caution and calls on the authorities not to rely exclusively on the data on nationality collected during the census in determining its policy on the protection of national minorities.”.\n\nAlbania recognizes almost three national minorities, Greeks, Macedonians and Montenegrins, and two cultural minorities: Aromanians and Romani people. Other Albanian minorities are Bulgarians, Gorani, Serbs, Balkan Egyptians, Bosniaks and Jews. Regarding the Greeks, \"it is difficult to know how many Greeks there are in Albania. The Greek government, it is typically claimed, says that there are around 300,000 ethnic Greeks in Albania, but most western estimates are around the 200,000 mark.\" The Albanian government puts the number at only 24,243.\" The CIA World Factbook estimates the Greek minority at 0.9% of the total population and the US State Department uses 1.17% for Greeks and 0.23% for other minorities. However, the latter questions the validity of the data about the Greek minority, due to the fact that measurements have been affected by boycott. \n\nMacedonian and some Greek minority groups have sharply criticized Article 20 of the Census law, according to which a $1,000 fine will be imposed on anyone who will declare an ethnicity other than what is stated on his or her birth certificate. This is claimed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity, according to them the Albanian government has stated that it will jail anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity. Genc Pollo, the minister in charge has declared that: \"Albanian citizens will be able to freely express their ethnic and religious affiliation and mother tongue. However, they are not forced to answer these sensitive questions\". The amendments criticized do not include jailing or forced declaration of ethnicity or religion; only a fine is envisioned which can be overthrown by court.\n\nGreek representatives form part of the Albanian parliament and the government has invited Albanian Greeks to register, as the only way to improve their status. On the other hand, nationalists, various organizations and political parties in Albania have expressed their concern that the census might artificially increase the numbers of the Greek minority, which might be then exploited by Greece to threaten Albania's territorial integrity.\n\n\n=== Urbanization ===\n\nAbout 53.4% of Albania's population living in cities. According the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the three largest counties account for half of the population. Over 1 million people lives in the Tirana and Durrës, making it the largest urban area in Albania. The capital Tirana, is one of largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula and ranks 7th with a population about 800,000.\nThe second largest is the port city of Durrës, with a population of 201.110, followed by Vlorë, the largest city in southern Albania, with 141.513 inhabitants.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTiranaTirana\nDurrësDurrës\nRank\nCity\nPopulation\nRank\nCity\nPopulation\n\nGjirokastërGjirokastër\nSarandëSarandë\n\n 1 \n'''Tirana''' \n 418,495 \n 11 \n'''Kavajë''' \n 20,192\n\n 2 \n'''Durrës''' \n 113,249 \n 12 \n'''Gjirokastër ''' \n 19,836\n\n 3 \n'''Vlorë''' \n 79,513 \n 13 \n'''Sarandë''' \n 17,233\n\n 4 \n'''Shkodër''' \n 78,703 \n 14 \n'''Laç''' \n 17,086\n\n 5 \n'''Elbasan''' \n 77,075 \n 15 \n'''Kukës''' \n 16,719 \n\n 6 \n'''Fier''' \n 55,845 \n 16 \n'''Patos''' \n 15,937\n\n 7 \n'''Korçë''' \n 51,152 \n 17 \n'''Lezhë''' \n 15,510\n\n 8 \n'''Berat''' \n 32,606 \n 18 \n'''Peshkopi''' \n 13,251\n\n 9 \n'''Lushnjë''' \n 31,105 \n 19 \n'''Kuçovë''' \n 12,654\n\n 10 \n'''Pogradec''' \n 20,848 \n 20 \n'''Krujë''' \n 11,721\n\n\n\n\n\n\n=== Language ===\n\n\nAlbanian in Albania and all surrounding countries.\n\nAlbanian is the official language of the Republic of Albania. Its standard spoken and written form is revised and merged from the two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk, though it is notably based more on the Tosk dialect. The Shkumbin river is the rough dividing line between the two dialects. Also a dialect of Greek that preserves features now lost in standard modern Greek is spoken in areas inhabited by the Greek minority. Other languages spoken by ethnic minorities in Albania include Aromanian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Gorani, and Roma. Macedonian is official in the Pustec Municipality in East Albania.\n\n\n\nGreek is the second most-spoken language in the country, with two thirds of families having at least one member that speaks Greek. La Francophonie states 320,000 French speakers can be found in Albania. Other spoken languages include Italian, English, French, German, and Turkish.\n\nAccording to the 2011 population census, 2,765,610 or 98.767% of the population declared Albanian as their mother tongue (''mother tongue is defined as the first or main language spoken at home during childhood'').\n\n\n\n=== Religion ===\n\n\nThe leaders of Albania's four main denominations in Paris, France, after the Charlie Hebdo attacks from 2015. From left to right: Sunni, Orthodox, Bektashi, and Catholic.\n\nAccording to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) Census of 2011, 58.79% of Albanians adhere to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country; Christianity is practiced by 17.06% of the population, and 24.29% of the total population is either non-religious, belongs to other religious groups, or are 'undeclared'. Both the Albanian Orthodox church and the Bektashi Sufi order refused to recognize the 2011 census results regarding faith, with the Orthodox claiming that 24% of the total population are Albanian Orthodox Christians rather than just 6.75%. Before World War II, 70% of the population were Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics. According to a 2010 survey, religion today plays an important role in the lives of only 39% of Albanians, and Albania is ranked among the least religious countries in the world. A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that 65% of Albanian Muslims are non-denominational Muslims. According to 2008 statistics from the religious communities in Albania, there are 1119 churches and 638 mosques in the country. The Catholics declared 694 churches, the Orthodox 425 churches, the Muslim community 568 mosques and the Bektashi 70 tekkes.\n\nAlbania is one of the most ancient countries of Christianity. There are thought to have been about seventy Christian families in the port town of Durrës as early as the time of the Apostles. The Archbishopric of Durrës was purportedly founded by the apostle Paul while preaching in Illyria and Epirus. The Albanians first appeared in the historical record in Byzantine sources of the late 11th century. At this point, they were already fully Christianized. Islam came for the first time in the 9th century to the region which is known as Albania today. It later emerged as the majority religion during the centuries of Ottoman rule, though a significant Christian minority remained. After independence (1912) from the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian republican, monarchic and later Communist regimes followed a systematic policy of separating religion from official functions and cultural life. Albania never had an official state religion either as a republic or as a kingdom. In the 20th century, the clergy of all faiths was weakened under the monarchy, and ultimately eradicated during the 1950s and 1960s, under the state policy of obliterating all organized religion from Albanian territories.\n\n\n\nThe Communist regime that took control of Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom has returned to Albania since the regime's change in 1992. Albania joined the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, but did not attend the 2014 conference due a dispute regarding the fact that its parliament never ratified the country's membership. Albanian Muslim populations (mainly secular and of the Sunni branch) are found throughout the country whereas Albanian Orthodox Christians as well as Bektashis are concentrated in the south and Roman Catholics are found in the north of the country.\n\nThe first recorded Albanian Protestant was Said Toptani, who traveled around Europe, and in 1853 returned to Tirana and preached Protestantism. He was arrested and imprisoned by the Ottoman authorities in 1864. Mainline evangelical Protestants date back to the work of Congregational and later Methodist missionaries and the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the 19th century. The Evangelical Alliance, which is known as VUSh, was founded in 1892. Today VUSh has about 160 member congregations from different Protestant denominations. VUSh organizes marches in Tirana including one against blood feuds in 2010. Bibles are provided by the Interconfessional Bible Society of Albania. The first full Albanian Bible to be printed was the Filipaj translation printed in 1990. Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses also have a number of adherents in Albania.\n\nAlbania was the only country in Europe where Jewish population experienced growth during the Holocaust. After the mass emigration to Israel since the fall of Communist regime, only 200 Albanian Jews are left in the country today.\n\n", "\n\n=== Architecture ===\n\n\nThe ancient remains of Butrint has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1992.\n\nDue to its long history, Albania is home to many valuable cultural and historical landmarks. From antiquity to the modern period, major cities in the country have evolved from within the castle to include dwellings, religious, and commercial structures, with constant redesigning of town squares and evolution of building techniques.\n\nAlbania is host to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the ancient remains of Butrint in the south of Sarandë, the medieval Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastër, and Gashi River and Rrajcë, which is part of the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park under the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. Further, the natural and cultural heritage of Ohrid, the royal Illyrian tombs of Selca e Poshtme, the remains of Apollonia, the ancient Amphitheatre of Durrës and the Fortress of Bashtovë has been included on the tentative list.\n\nMany ancient architectural treasures from the Illyrians such as Byllis, Amantia, Phoenice and Shkodër can be found in Albania. Due to the long period of rule of the Byzantine Empire, Albania is home to many Byzantine churches, castles, and monasteries. Albania also host many surviving monuments from the five centuries of Ottoman rule. In the 19th century, Albanian medieval towns underwent urban transformations by Austro-Hungarian and Italian architects, giving them the appearance of European cities. During the communism, many socialist-styled complexes, wide roads, and factories were constructed, while town squares were redesigned and a number of historic buildings demolished.\n\n\n=== Music and clothing ===\n\n\nAlexandre Decamps wearing Fustanellas, the national costume of Albania.\n\nThe folk music of Albania falls into two major groups, such as the northern Ghegs and southern Labs and Tosks. The northern and southern traditions are contrasted by the rugged and heroic tone of the north and the relaxed form of the south. The Ghegs are known for a distinctive variety of sung epic poetry. Many of the songs are about the ancient history of the Albanians but also the national hero Skanderbeg, who led the struggle against the Ottomans, and the constant Albanian themes of honour, hospitality, treachery and revenge. Tosk music is soft and gentle, and polyphonic in nature. The southern corner of Albania is also known for funeral laments with a chorus and one to two soloists with overlapping, mournful voices. Its instrumental music includes the sedate kaba, an ensemble-driven by a clarinet or violin alongside accordions and lahuta. The kaba is an improvised and melancholic style with melodies that Kim Burton describes as \"both fresh and ancient\", \"ornamented with swoops, glides and growls of an almost vocal quality\", exemplifying the \"combination of passion with restraint that is the hallmark of Albanian culture\".\n\nGheg Albanian wearing the triq as he carries the lahuta\n\nThese disparate styles are unified by the intensity that both performers and listeners give to their music as a medium for patriotic expression and as a vehicle carrying the narrative of oral history, as well as certain characteristics like the use of rhythms such as 3/8, 5/8 and 10/8. The first compilation of Albanian folk music was made by two Himariot song artists Neço Muka and Koço Çakali in 1929 and 1931 in Paris during their interpretations with the Albanian song diva Tefta Tashko Koço. Several gramophone compilations were recorded in those years by this genial trio of Albanian artists which eventually led to the recognition of the Himariot Isopolyphonic Music as an UNESCO World Heritage.\n\nThe contemporary music artists Ermonela Jaho, Inva Mula, Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora and Era Istrefi, have achieved international recognition for their music. Sporano Ermonela Jaho has been described by The Economist as \"the world’s most acclaimed soprano\". One widely recognised musician from Elbasan is Saimir Pirgu, an Albanian international opera singer. He was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award in the category of ''Best Opera Recording''.\n\nAlmost each cultural and geographical region has its own specific variety of costume that vary in style, material, color, shape, detail and form. Presently, the national costumes are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious holidays, weddings, and by dancing groups. Some conservative old men and women mainly from the high Northern as well as Southern Lands and wear traditional clothing in their daily lives. The clothing was made mainly of products from the local agriculture and livestock such as leather, wool, linen, hemp fiber and silk. Today, the Albanian traditional textiles are still embroidered in very claborate ancient patterns. Among the most important parts of clothing includes the Plis, Albanian hat, Qylafë, Fustanella, Xhubleta, Xhamadan, Brez, Çorape, Opinga and others.\n\n=== Literature and arts ===\n\n\nA excerpt from the Meshari ''(The Missal)'' written by Gjon Buzuku. (1555)\n\nThe Albanian language comprises its own branch of the Indo-European language family. The language is considered an isolate within the Indo-European. The only other languages that are the sole surviving member of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek. It was proved to be an Indo-European language in 1854 by the German philologist Franz Bopp. Albanian is often held to be related to the Illyrian languages, a language spoken in the Balkans during classical times. Scholars argue that Albanian derives from Illyrian while some others claim that it derives from Daco-Thracian. (Illyrian and Daco-Thracian, however, might have been closely related languages; see Thraco-Illyrian.)\n\nThe cultural renaissance was first of all expressed through the development of the Albanian language in the area of church texts and publications, mainly of the Catholic region in the northern of Albania, but also of the Orthodox in the south. The Protestant reforms invigorated hopes for the development of the local language and literary tradition, when cleric Gjon Buzuku brought into the Albanian language the Catholic liturgy, trying to do for the Albanian language, what Martin Luther did for the German language. Meshari (''The Missal'') written by Gjon Buzuku was published in 1555 and is considered as one of the first literary work of written Albanian during the Middle Ages. The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be the result of an earlier tradition of written Albanian, a tradition that is not well understood. However, there is some fragmented evidence, pre-dating Buzuku, which indicates that Albanian was written from at least the 14th century.\nThe earliest evidence dates from 1332 AD with a Latin report from the French Dominican Guillelmus Adae, Archbishop of Antivari, who wrote that Albanians used Latin letters in their books although their language was quite different from Latin. Other significant examples include: a baptism formula (''Unte paghesont premenit Atit et Birit et spertit senit'') from 1462, written in Albanian within a Latin text by the Bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli; a glossary of Albanian words of 1497 by Arnold von Harff, a German who had travelled through Albania, and a 15th-century fragment of the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, also in Albanian, but written in Greek letters.\n\n\n\nAlbanian writings from these centuries must not have been religious texts only, but historical chronicles too. They are mentioned by the humanist Marin Barleti, who in his book Siege of Shkodër (''Rrethimi i Shkodrës'') from 1504, confirms that he leafed through such chronicles written in the language of the people (''in vernacula lingua'') as well as his famous biography of Skanderbeg Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (''History of Skanderbeg'') from 1508. The ''History of Skanderbeg'' is still the foundation of Skanderbeg studies and is considered an Albanian cultural treasure, vital to the formation of Albanian national self-consciousness.\n\nDuring the 16th and the 17th centuries, the catechism (''E mbësuame krishterë'') (Christian Teachings) from 1592 written by Lekë Matrënga, (''Doktrina e krishterë'') (The Christian Doctrine) from 1618 and (''Rituale romanum'') 1621 by Pjetër Budi, the first writer of original Albanian prose and poetry, an apology for George Castriot (1636) by Frang Bardhi, who also published a dictionary and folklore creations, the theological-philosophical treaty ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' (The Band of Prophets) (1685) by Pjetër Bogdani, the most universal personality of Albanian Middle Ages, were published in Albanian. The most famous Albanian writer in the 20th and 21th century is probably Ismail Kadare. He has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature several times.\n\nAlbanian icon by Onufri from the 15th century in Berat.\n\nThe visual arts tradition of Albania has been shaped by the many cultures, which have flourished on its territory. Once the Byzantines, the Ottomans ruled over Albania for nearly five centuries, which greatly affected the country's artwork and artistic forms. After Albania's joining with the Ottoman Empire in 1478, Ottoman influenced art forms such as mosaics and mural paintings became prevalent, and no real artistic change occurred until the independence in 1912.\n\nFollowing mosaics and murals from antiquity and the middle mges, the first paintings were icons Byzantine Orthodox tradition. Albanian earliest icons date from the late thirteenth century and generally estimated that their artistic peak reached in the eighteenth century. Among the most prominent representatives of the Albanian iconographic art were Onufri and David Selenica. The museums of Berat, Korçë and Tirana houses good collections remaining icons. By the end of the Ottoman period, the painting was limited mostly to folk art and ornate mosques. Paintings and sculpture arose in the first half of the twentieth century and reached a modest peak in the 1930s and 1940s, when the first organized art exhibitions at national level. Contemporary Albanian artwork captures the struggle of everyday Albanians, however new artists are utilizing different artistic styles to convey this message. Albanian artists continue to move art forward, while their art still remains distinctively Albanian in content. Though among Albanian artist post-modernism was fairly recently introduced, there is a number of artists and works known internationally. Among the most prominent Albanian post-modernist are considered Anri Sala, Sislej Xhafa, and Helidon Gjergji. \n\n=== Cuisine ===\n\n\n\n\nThe Cuisine of Albania – as with most Mediterranean and Balkan nations – is strongly influenced by its long history. At different times, the territory which is now Albania has been claimed or occupied by Ancient Greece, Romans, Byzantine and the Ottoman Turks and each group has left its mark on Albanian cuisine.\n\nThe main meal of Albanians is the midday meal, which is usually accompanied by a salad of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and olives with olive oil, vinegar and salt. It also includes a main dish of vegetables and meat. Though it is used in several dishes, pumpkins are more commonly displayed and traditionally given as gifts throughout Albania, especially in the region of Berat. Seafood specialties are also common in the coastal cities of Durrës, Sarandë and Vlorë. In high elevation localities, smoked meat and pickled preserves are common.\n\n=== Cinema ===\n\n\nAlbanian-American actress Eliza Dushku produced the documentary ''Dear Albania'' with a crew from Travel Channel and Lonely Planet, promoting tourism in Albania.\n\nThe history of Cinema in Albania dates back to 1911 and 1912 with the first showings of foreign films and few documentaries in the pre-war and inter-war period. The first public showing to occur in Albania was a little-known title, ''Paddy the Reliable'', a comical story. The publication of foreign films began in the cities of Shkodër and Korçë.\n\nThe first Albanian films were mostly documentaries; the first was about the Monastir Congress that sanctioned the Albanian alphabet in 1908. During communism, the Albanian Film Institute that later became known as Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re was founded with Soviet assistance, focusing mostly on propaganda of wartime struggles.\n\nAfter 1945, the communist government founded the Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re in 1952. This was followed by the first Albanian epic film, ''Skënderbeu'', a cooperation with Soviet artists chronicling the life and fight of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg. The film was awarded from the Cannes Film Festival.\n\nNotable Albanian film directors include Andamion Murataj, Besim Sahatçiu, Xhanfize Keko, Dhimitër Anagnosti, Kujtim Çashku, Luljeta Hoxha, Saim Kokona, Saimir Kumbaro, Kristaq Mitro, Leon Qafzezi and Gjergj Xhuvani. Famous actors in Albania include Nik Xhelilaj, Klement Tinaj, Masiela Lusha, Blerim Destani, Aleksandër Moisiu, Tinka Kurti, Pjetër Malota, Sandër Prosi and Margarita Xhepa.\n\nBy 1990, about 200 movies had been produced, and Albania had over 450 theaters. With the economic transition after the collapse of communism in the 1990s, the Kinostudio was broken up and privatised. A new National Center of Cinematography was established, while cities built modern cinema theatres showing mostly American movies.\n\nThe Tirana International Film Festival was established in 2003 and has become the premier and largest film festival in the country as well as in the Balkans. Durrës hosts the International Film Summerfest of Durrës, the second largest international film festival in the country which takes place every year in late August or early September in Durrës Amphitheatre.\n\nThere are internationally renowned actors in the Albanian diaspora, such as the Albanian-Americans Eliza Dushku, Jim and John Belushi, Kosovo-Albanians Bekim Fehmiu and Arta Dobroshi and Turkish-Albanian Barish Arduç.\n\n\n=== Sports ===\n\n\n\n\nAlbania participated at the Olympic Games in 1972 for the first time. The country made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania missed the next four games, two of them due to the 1980 and 1984 boycotts, but returned for the 1992 games in Barcelona. Since then, Albania have participated in all games. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting and wrestling. The country have been represented by the National Olympic Committee of Albania since 1972. The nation has participated at the Mediterranean Games since the games of 1987 in Syria. The Albanian athletes have won a total of 43 (8 gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze) medals from 1987 to 2013.\n\nPopular sports in Albania include Football, Weightlifting, Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Rugby, and Gymnastics. Football is by far the most popular sport in Albania. It is governed by the Football Association of Albania (, F.SH.F.), which was created in 1930 and has membership in FIFA and UEFA. Football arrived in Albania early in the 20th century when the inhabitants of the northern city of Shkodër were surprised to see a strange game being played by students at a Christian mission.\n\nThe Albania national football team, ranking 51th in the World in 2017 (highest 22nd in August 22, 2015) have won the 1946 Balkan Cup and the Malta Rothmans International Tournament 2000, but had never participated in any major UEFA or FIFA tournament, until UEFA Euro 2016, Albania's first ever appearance at the continental tournament and at a major men's football tournament. Albania scored their first ever goal in a major tournament and secured their first ever win in European Championship when they beat Romania by 1–0 in a UEFA Euro 2016 match on 19 June 2016. The most successful football clubs in the country are Skënderbeu, KF Tirana, Dinamo Tirana, Partizani and Vllaznia.\n\nWeightlifting is one of the most successful individual sport for the Albanians, with the national team winning medals at the European Weightlifting Championships and the rest international competitions. Albanian weightlifters have won a total of 16 medals at the European Championships with 1 of them being gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze. In the World Weightlifting Championships, the Albanian weightlifting team has won in 1972 a gold in 2002 a silver and in 2011 a bronze medal.\n\n\n=== Diaspora ===\n\n\nSince antiquity, Albanians have established communities in many regions throughout southern Europe. The modern Albanian diaspora was formed largely in the 15th century, when many Albanians emigrated to southern Italy, especially in Sicily and Calabria also to Greece, to escape either various socio-political difficulties and the Ottoman conquest. Other destinations includes Turkey, United States, Argentina and Chile. After the fall of communism in 1991, many Albanians have migrated out of Albania to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.\n\nNotable people of Albanian origin includes Mother Teresa, Ferid Murad, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Tony Dovolani, Fadil Berisha, Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mateo Musacchio, Ernesto Sabato, Cecilia Bolocco and many others. (See also: List of Albanians)\n", "\nThe following are international rankings of Albania, including those measuring life quality, health care quality, stability, press freedom, and income.\n:{|class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center;\"\n\nIndex\nRank\nCountries reviewed\n\nLiteracy Rate 2011\n6\n183\n\nEase of Protecting Minority Investors 2015\n8\n128\n\nTrade Freedom Index 2016\n10\n179\n\nILGA-Europe LGBT rights 2015\n19\n50\n\nFiscal Freedom Index 2016\n35\n179\n\nLife Expectancy 2015\n37\n190\n\nMonetary Freedom Index 2016\n49\n181\n\nSocial Progress Index 2017\n52\n150\n\nGlobal Peace Index 2015\n52\n163\n\nFragile States Index 2016\n54\n178\n\nInequality adjusted Human Development Index 2015\n55\n151\n\nEase of doing Business Index 2017\n58\n190\n\n", "* Outline of Albania\n* Index of Albania-related articles\n* Bibliography of Albania\n* \n\n", "\n", "\n", "* ''History of the Party of Labor of Albania''. Tirana: Institute of Marxist–Leninist Studies, 1971. 691 p.\n* \n", "\n\n\n* \n* Albanian Tourism Official Portal\n* \n* Albania from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''\n* \n* \n* Guide To Albania\n* \n* Key Development Forecasts for Albania from International Futures\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology ", " History ", " Politics ", " Administrative divisions ", " Economy ", " Infrastructure ", " Demographics ", " Culture ", " International rankings ", " See also ", " Notes ", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, Council of Europe, OSCE, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.", "Albania has a developing mixed economy that is classed as a upper-middle income economy by the World Bank.", "The World Bank and European Community economists report that, Albania's fishing industry has good potential to generate export earnings because prices in the nearby Greek and Italian markets are many times higher than those in the Albanian market." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Albania''' (, ; ; ), officially the '''Republic of Albania''' (, ), is a country in Southern and Southeastern Europe.", "The country spans and had a total population of almost 3 million people .", "Albania is located in the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast.", "The country has a coastline on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the southwest, forming the Albanian Riviera.", "Albania is less than from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.", "Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic with the capital in Tirana, the country's largest city and main economic and commercial centre, followed by Durrës.", "The country's other major cities include Vlorë, Sarandë, Shkodër, Berat, Korçë, Gjirokastër and Fier.", "During the classical times, Albania was inhabited by various ancient Illyrian, Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established inside the Illyrian coast.", "In the third century BC, the region was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior.", "The unified Principality of Arbër emerged in 1190, established by archon Progon in the Krujë, within the Byzantine Empire.", "In the late twelfth century, Charles of Anjou conquered the Albanian territories from the Byzantines and established the medieval Kingdom of Albania, extending from Durrës along the coast to Butrint in the south.", "Falling in the mid-fifteenth century under Ottoman dominion, the modern nation state of Albania emerged in 1912 following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and Balkan Wars.", "The modern Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943.", "The following year, a socialist People's Republic emerged under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour.", "The country experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community.", "In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the fourth Republic of Albania was established.", "Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy.", "The service sector dominates the country's economy, followed by the industrial and agriculture sector.", "Following the collapse of communism in 1990, Albania went through a process of transition from a centralized economy to a market-based economy.", "Albania has a high Human Development Index and is ranked thirty-seventh in the world for life expectancy.", "It provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.", "It is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union.", "Furthermore, Albania is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and Union for the Mediterranean.", "\n\nThe term Albania is the medieval latin name of the country.", "It may be derived from the Illyrian tribe of Albani ('''') recorded by Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria, who drafted a map in 150 AD, which shows the city of Albanopolis located northeast of the city of Durrës.", "The term may have a continuation in the name of a medieval settlement called Albanon or Arbanon, although it is not certain that this was the same place.", "In his history written in the 10th century, the byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was the first to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium.", "During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country ('''') and referred to themselves as ('''').", "Nowaday, Albanians call their country Shqipëri or Shqipëria.", "As early as the 17th century the placename ('''') and the ethnic demonym ('''') gradually replaced ('''').", "The two terms are popularly interpreted as \"Land of the Eagles\" and \"Children of the Eagles\".", "\n\n=== Early history ===\n\n\nAncient cave in Pëllumbas near the capital city of Tirana.", "The first traces of human presence in Albania, dating to the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic eras, were found in the village of Xarrë, near Sarandë and Mount Dajt near Tiranë.", "The objects found in a cave near Xarrë include flint and jasper objects and fossilized animal bones, while those found at Mount Dajt comprise bone and stone tools similar to those of the Aurignacian culture.", "The Paleolithic finds of Albania show great similarities with objects of the same era found at Crvena Stijena in Montenegro and north-western Greece.", "Several Bronze Age artefacts from tumulus burials have been unearthed in central and southern Albania that show close connection with sites in south-western Macedonia and Lefkada, Greece.", "Archaeologists have come to the conclusion that these regions were inhabited from the middle of the third millennium BC by Indo-European people who spoke a Proto-Greek language.", "A part of this population later moved to Mycenae around 1600 BC and founded the Mycenaean civilisation there.", "Another population group, the Illirii, probably the southernmost Illyrian tribe of that time that lived on the border of Albania and Montenegro, possibly neighbored the Greek tribes.", "Apollonia was an important port city on the Illyrian coast and one of the western points of the Via Egnatia route.", "In ancient times, the territory of modern Albania was mainly inhabited by a number of Illyrian tribes.", "This territory was known as Illyria, corresponding roughly to the area east of the Adriatic sea to the mouth of the Vjosë river in the south.", "The first account of the Illyrian groups comes from ''Periplus of the Euxine Sea'', an ancient Greek text written in the middle of the 4th century BC.", "The south was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians, whose capital was at Phoenice, while numerous colonies, such as Apollonia, Epidamnos and Amantia, were established by Greek city-states on the coast by the 7th century BC.", "One of the most powerful tribes that ruled over modern Albania was the Ardiaei.", "The Ardiaean Kingdom reached its greatest extent under Agron, son of Pleuratus II.", "Agron extended his rule over other neighboring tribes as well.", "After Agron's death in 230 BC, his wife Teuta inherited the Ardiaean kingdom.", "Teuta's forces extended their operations further southward into the Ionian Sea.", "In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria for extensively plundering Roman ships.", "The war ended in Illyrian defeat in 227 BC.", "Teuta was eventually succeeded by Gentius in 181 BC.", "Gentius clashed with the Romans in 168 BC, initiating the Third Illyrian War.", "The conflict resulted in Roman victory and the end of Illyrian independence by 167 BC.", "After his defeat, the Roman split the region into three administrative divisions.", "=== Middle Ages ===\n\n \n\nKrujë was the capital of the Albanian unity during the medieval times.", "During the medieval period, the area what is now known as Albania, remained under Byzantine control until the Slavs began to overrun the country from the 7th century.", "Later it was captured by the Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century.", "After the weakening of the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire in the 13th century, some of the territory of modern Albania was captured by the Serbian Principality.", "In general, the invaders destroyed or weakened Roman and Byzantine cultural centers in the lands, that would become Albania.", "The territorial nucleus of the Albanian state formed in the Middle Ages, as the Principality of Arbër and the Kingdom of Albania.", "The Principality of Arbër or Albanon ''(Arbër or Arbëria)'', was the first Albanian entiy during the Middle Ages, it was established by archon Progon ''(Progoni i Krujës)'' in the region of Krujë, in 1190.", "Progon, was succeeded by his sons Gjin and Dhimitri, the latter which attained the height of the realm.", "After the death of Dhimiter, the last of the Progon family, the principality came under the Greek Gregory Kamonas Lord of Krujë, and later Golem.", "The Principality was dissolved in 1255.", "Pipa and Repishti conclude that Arbanon was the first sketch of an \"Albanian state\", and that it retained semi-autonomous status as the western extremity of an empire (under the Doukai of Epirus or the Laskarids of Nicaea).", "Byzantine Holy Trinity church from the 13th century in Berat.", "The Kingdom of Albania ''(Mbretëria e Arbërisë)'' was established by Charles of Anjou ''(Karli Anzhu)'' in the Albanian territory.", "In 1271, he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus.", "One year later in February 1272, he took the title of King of Albania.", "The kingdom extended from the region of Dyrrhachium (modern Durrës), south along the coast to Butrint.", "After the creation of the kingdom, a catholic political structure was a basis for the papal plans of spreading Catholicism in the Balkans.", "This plan found also the support of Helen of Anjou, a cousin of Charles of Anjou, who was at that time ruling territories in North Albania.", "Around 30 catholic churches and monasteries were built during her rule in North Albania and also in Serbia.", "From 1331 to 1355, the Serbian Empire wrestled control over Albania.", "After the dissolution of the Serbian Empire, several Albanian principalities were created, and among the most powerful were the Balsha, Thopia, Kastrioti, Muzaka and Arianiti.", "In the first half of the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire invaded most of Albania.", "In 1444, the Albanian principalities were united under George Castrioti Skanderbeg ''(Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu)'', who became the national hero of the Albanian medieval history.", "At the dawn of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in southeastern Europe, the geopolitical landscape was marked by scattered kingdoms of small principalities.", "The Ottomans erected their garrisons throughout southern Albania in 1415 and occupied most of the country in 1431.", "However, in 1443 a great and longstanding revolt broke out under the lead of the Albanian national hero George Castrioti Skanderbeg ''(Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu)'', which lasted until 1479, many times defeating major Ottoman armies led by the sultans Murad II and Mehmed II.", "Skanderbeg united initially the Albanian princes, and later on established a centralized authority over most of the non-conquered territories, becoming the ruling ''Lord of Albania''.", "He also tried relentlessly but rather unsuccessfully to create a European coalition against the Ottomans.", "He thwarted every attempt by the Turks to regain Albania, which they envisioned as a springboard for the invasion of Italy and western Europe.", "His unequal fight against the mightiest power of the time, won the esteem of Europe as well as some support in the form of money and military aid from Naples, Venice, Ragusa and the Papacy.", "With the arrival of the Ottomans, Islam was introduced in the country as a third religion.", "This conversion caused a massive emigration of Albanians to other Christian European countries, especially the Arbëreshë of Italy.", "Along with the Bosniaks, Muslim Albanians occupied an outstanding position in the Ottoman Empire, and were the main pillars of Ottoman Porte's policy in the Balkans.", "Enjoying this privileged position in the empire, Muslim Albanians held various high administrative positions, with over two dozen Grand Viziers of Albanian origin, such as Gen. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, who commanded the Ottoman forces during the Ottoman-Persian Wars; Gen. Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed, who led the Ottoman armies during the Austro-Turkish War; and later Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt.", "During the 15th century, when the Ottomans were gaining a firm foothold in the region, Albanian towns were organised into four principal sanjaks.", "The government fostered trade by settling a sizeable Jewish colony of refugees fleeing persecution in Spain (at the end of the 15th century).", "The city of Vlorë saw passing through its ports imported merchandise from Europe such as velvets, cotton goods, mohairs, carpets, spices, and leather from Bursa and Constantinople.", "Some citizens of Vlorë even had business associates throughout Europe.", "Albanians could also be found throughout the empire in Iraq, Egypt, Algeria and across the Maghreb, as vital military and administrative retainers.", "This was partly due to the Devşirme system.", "The process of Islamization was an incremental one, commencing from the arrival of the Ottomans in the 14th century (to this day, a minority of Albanians are Catholic or Orthodox Christians, though the vast majority became Muslim).", "Timar holders, the bedrock of early Ottoman control in southeast Europe, were not necessarily converts to Islam, and occasionally rebelled; the most famous of these rebels is Skanderbeg (his figure would rise up later on, in the 19th century, as a central component of the Albanian national identity).", "The most significant impact on the Albanians was the gradual Islamisation process of a large majority of the population, although it became widespread only in the 17th century.", "Mainly Catholics converted in the 17th century, while the Orthodox Albanians followed suit mainly in the following century.", "Initially confined to the main city centres of Elbasan and Shkodër, by this period the countryside was also embracing the new religion.", "The motives for conversion according to some scholars were diverse, depending on the context.", "The lack of source material does not help when investigating such issues.", "Albania remained under Ottoman control as part of the Rumelia province until 1912, when independent Albania was declared.", "=== Modern ===\n \n\n\nThe League of Prizren building in Prizren from inside the courtyard.", "The National Renaissance ''(Rilindja Kombëtare)'' began in the 1870s and lasted until 1912, when the Albanians declared their independence.", "The League of Prizren (League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation) ''(Lidhja e Prizrenit)'' was formed on June 1878, in the old town of Prizren, Kosovo Vilayet.", "At first the Ottoman authorities supported the League, whose initial position was based on the religious solidarity of Muslim landlords and people connected with the Ottoman administration.", "The Ottomans favoured and protected the Muslim solidarity, and called for defense of Muslim lands, including present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.", "This was the reason for naming the league 'The Committee of the Real Muslims' ''(Komiteti i Myslimanëve të Vërtetë)''.", "The League issued a decree known as Kararname.", "Its text contained a proclamation that the people from northern Albania, Epirus and Bosnia\" are willing to defend the 'territorial integrity' of the Ottoman Empire by all possible means against the troops of the Bulgarian, Serbian and Montenegrin Kingdoms.", "However, it was signed by 47 Muslim deputies of the League on June 18, 1878.", "Around 300 Muslims participated in the assembly, including delegates from Bosnia and mutasarrif (sanjakbey) of the Sanjak of Prizren as representatives of the central authorities, and no delegates from Scutari Vilayet.", "The letters of Naum Veqilharxhi's alphabet ''(Alfabeti i Vithkuqit)'' published in 1845.", "The Ottomans cancelled their support when the League, under the influence of Abdyl Bey Frashëri, became focused on working toward the Albanian autonomy and requested merging of four Ottoman vilayets, which includes Kosovo, Scutari, Monastir and Ioannina into a new vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian Vilayet.", "The League used military force to prevent the annexing areas of Plav and Gusinje assigned to Montenegro by the Congress of Berlin.", "After several successful battles with Montenegrin troops such as in Novsice, under the pressure of the great powers, the League of Prizren was forced to retreat from their contested regions of Plav and Gusinje and later on, the league was defeated by the Ottoman army sent by the Sultan.", "The Albanian uprising of 1912, the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars and the advance of Montenegrin, Serbian and Greek forces into territories claimed as Albanian, led to the proclamation of independence by Ismail Qemali in southern Vlorë, on November 28, 1912.", "The proposed boundaries of the newly established Albanian state in 1913 to 1914.", "At the All-Albanian Congress in southern Vlorë on 28 November 1912, the participants constituted the Assembly of Vlorë.", "The assembly of eighty-three leaders, declared the nation as an independent country and set up a provisional government.", "The Provisional Government was established on the second session of the assembly on 4 December 1912.", "Furthermore, it was a government of ten members led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignation on 22 January 1914.", "However the Assembly also established the Senate ''(Pleqësi)'', with an advisory role to the government, consisting of 18 members of the Assembly.", "The independence of Albania was recognized by the Conference of London on 29 July 1913.", "The drawing of the borders of the newly established Principality of Albania ignored the demographic realities of the time.", "The International Commission of Control was established on 15 October 1913 to take care of the administration of newly established Albania, until its own political institutions were in order.", "Its headquarters were in Vlorë.", "The International Gendarmerie was established as the first law enforcement agency of the Principality of Albania.", "In November, the first gendarmerie members arrived in the country.", "Prince of Albania Wilhelm of Wied ''(Princ Vilhelm Vidi)'' was selected as the first prince of the principality.", "On 7 March, he arrived in the provisional capital of Durrës and started to organise his government, appointing Turhan Pasha Përmeti to form the first Albanian cabinet.", "The city of Skopje after being captured by Albanian revolutionaries in August 1912 after defeating the Ottoman forces holding the city.", "In November 1913, the Albanian pro-Ottoman forces had offered the throne of Albania to the Ottoman war Minister of Albanian origin, Ahmed Izzet Pasha.", "The pro-Ottoman peasants believed that, the new regime of the Principality of Albania was a tool of the six Christian Great Powers and local landowners, that owned half of the arable land.", "In February 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was proclaimed in Gjirokastër by the local Greek population against incorporation to Albania.", "This initiative was short lived and in 1921, the southern provinces were finally incorporated to the Albanian Principality.", "Meanwhile, the revolt of Albanian peasants against the new Albanian regime erupted under the leadership of the group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who proclaimed himself the savior of Albania and Islam.", "In order to gain support of the Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern part of Albania, Prince Wied appointed their leader, Prênk Bibë Doda, to be the foreign minister of the Principality of Albania.", "In May and June 1914, the International Gendarmerie was joined by Isa Boletini and his men, mostly from Kosovo, and northern Mirdita Catholics, were defeated by the rebels who captured most of Central Albania by the end of August 1914.", "The regime of Prince Wied collapsed and later he left the country on 3 September 1914.", "=== First Republic ===\n\n\nZog I with Geraldine of Albania in 1938.", "The short-lived principality (1914–1925) was succeeded by the first Albanian Republic (1925–1928).", "In 1925 the four-member Regency was abolished and Ahmed Zogu was elected president of the newly declared republic.", "Tirana was endorsed officially as the country's permanent capital.", "Zogu led an authoritarian and conservative regime, the primary aim of which was the maintenance of stability and order.", "Zogu was forced to adopt a policy of cooperation with Italy.", "A pact had been signed between Italy and Albania on 20 January 1925 whereby Italy gained a monopoly on shipping and trade concessions.", "The Albanian republic was eventually replaced by another monarchy in 1928.", "In order to extend his direct control throughout the entire country, Zogu placed great emphasis on the construction of roads.", "Every male Albanian over the age of 16 years was legally bound to give ten days of free labor each year to the state.", "King Zogu remained a conservative, but initiated reforms.", "For example, in an attempt at social modernization, the custom of adding one's region to one's name was dropped.", "Zogu also made donations of land to international organisations for the building of schools and hospitals.", "The armed forces were trained and supervised by Italian instructors.", "As a counterweight, Zogu kept British officers in the Gendarmerie despite strong Italian pressure to remove them.", "The kingdom was supported by the fascist regime in Italy and the two countries maintained close relations until Italy's sudden invasion of the country in 1939.", "Albania was occupied by Fascist Italy and then by Nazi Germany during World War II.", "Albanian partisans march in Tirana 29 November 1944\n\nAfter being militarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943 the Albanian Kingdom was a protectorate and a dependency of Italy governed by the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and his government.", "After the Axis' invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, territories of Yugoslavia with substantial Albanian population were annexed to Albania: most of Kosovo, as well as Western Macedonia, the town of Tutin in Central Serbia and a strip of Eastern Montenegro.", "In November 1941, the small Albanian Communist groups established an Albanian Communist Party in Tirana of 130 members under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and an eleven-man Central Committee.", "The party at first had little mass appeal, and even its youth organization netted few recruits.", "After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany occupied Albania too.", "The nationalist Balli Kombetar, which had fought against Italy, formed a \"neutral\" government in Tirana, and side by side with the Germans fought against the communist-led National Liberation Movement of Albania.", "The Center for Relief to Civilian Populations (Geneva) reported that Albania was one of the most devastated countries in Europe.", "60,000 houses were destroyed and about 10% of the population was left homeless.", "The communist partisans had regrouped and gained control of much of southern Albania in January 1944.", "However, they were subject to German attacks driving them out of certain areas.", "In the Congress of Përmet, the NLF formed an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania's administration and legislature.", "By the last year in World War II Albania fell into a civil war-like state between the communists and nationalists.", "The communist partisans however defeated the last Balli Kombëtar forces in southern Albania by mid-summer 1944.", "Before the end of November, the main German troops had withdrawn from Tirana, and the communists took control by attacking it.", "The partisans entirely liberated Albania from German occupation on 29 November 1944.", "A provisional government, which the communists had formed at Berat in October, administered Albania with Enver Hoxha as prime minister.", "=== Communism ===\n\n\nA Cultural Revolution poster depicting the Albanian-Chinese cooperation featuring Enver Hoxha and Mao Zedong.", "The two leaders met only twice: in 1956 during Hoxha's visit to China, and in 1957 at the Moscow meeting of communist and workers parties.", "By the end of the second World War, the main military and political force of the nation, the Communist party sent forces to northern Albania against the nationalists to eliminate its rivals.", "They faced open resistance in Nikaj-Mërtur, Dukagjin and Kelmend led by Prek Cali.", "On 15 January 1945, a clash took place between partisans of the first Brigade and nationalist forces at the Tamara Bridge, resulting in the defeat of the nationalist forces.", "About 150 Kelmendi people were killed or tortured.", "This event was the starting point of many other issues which took place during Enver Hoxha's dictatorship.", "Class struggle was strictly applied, human freedom and human rights were denied.", "The Kelmend region was almost isolated by both the border and by a lack of roads for another 20 years, the institution of agricultural cooperatives brought about economic decline.", "Many Kelmendi people fled, some were executed trying to cross the border.", "After the liberation of Albania from the Nazi occupation, the country became a Communist state.", "Afterwards, the People's Republic of Albania ''(renamed \"People's Socialist Republic of Albania\" in 1976)'' was founded, which was led by Enver Hoxha and the Labour Party of Albania.", "The socialist reconstruction of Albania was launched immediately after the annulling of the monarchy and the establishment of a People's Republic.", "In 1947, Albania's first railway line was completed, with the second one being completed eight months later.", "New land reform laws were passed granting ownership of the land to the workers and peasants who tilled it.", "Agriculture became cooperative, and production increased significantly, leading to Albania's becoming agriculturally self-sufficient.", "By 1955, illiteracy was eliminated among Albania's adult population.", "Valbona Valley.", "By 1983 approximately 173,371 concrete bunkers were scattered throughout the country.", "During this period, Albania became industrialized and saw rapid economic growth, as well as unprecedented progress in the areas of education and health care.", "The average annual increase in Albania's national income was 29% higher than the world average and 56% higher than the European average..", "The nation incurred large debts, first with Yugoslavia until 1948, then the Soviet Union until 1961, and China from the middle of the 1950s.", "The communist constitution did not allow taxes on individuals; instead, taxes were imposed on cooperatives and other organizations, with much the same effect.", "Religious freedoms were severely curtailed during the communist regime, with all forms of worship being outlawed.", "In August 1945, the ''Agrarian Reform Law'' meant that large swaths of property owned by religious groups (mostly Islamic waqfs) were nationalized, along with the estates of monasteries and dioceses.", "Many believers, along with the ulema and many priests, were arrested and executed.", "In 1949, a new Decree on Religious Communities required that all their activities be sanctioned by the state alone.", "After hundreds of mosques and dozens of Islamic libraries, containing priceless manuscripts, were destroyed, Enver Hoxha proclaimed Albania the \"World's first atheist state\" in 1967.", "The churches had not been spared either, and many were converted into cultural centers for young people.", "A 1967 law banned all \"fascist, religious, warmongerish, antisocialist activity and propaganda\".", "Preaching religion carried a three to ten-year prison sentence.", "Nonetheless, many Albanians continued to practice their beliefs secretly.", "The Hoxha dictatorship's anti-religious policy attained its most fundamental legal and political expression a decade later: \"The state recognizes no religion,\" states Albania's 1976 constitution, \"and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialistic world outlook in people.\"", "Enver Hoxha's political successor, Ramiz Alia oversaw the dismemberment of the \"Hoxhaist\" state during the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s.", "=== Fourth Republic ===\n\n\nIn 1988, the first outsiders were allowed to walk into the Skanderbeg Square, the main plaza in Tirana.", "After the revolution of 1989, reforms were made by the communist government in 1990.", "Subsequently, the People's Republic was dissolved and the 4th Albanian Republic was founded on 29 April 1991.", "The communists retained a stronghold in the Parliament, after popular support in the first multi-party elections in 1991.", "In March 1992, amid liberalization policies resulting in economic collapse and social unrest, a new coalition led by the new Democratic Party took power after victory in the parliamentary elections of 1992.", "In the following years, much of the accumulated wealth of the country was invested in Ponzi pyramid banking schemes, which were widely supported by the government.", "The schemes swept up somewhere between one sixth and one third of the Albanian population.", "Despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warnings in late 1996, President Sali Berisha defended the schemes as large investment firms, leading more people to redirect their remittances and sell their homes and cattle for cash to deposit in the schemes.", "The schemes began to collapse in late 1996, leading many of the investors to join initially peaceful protests against the government, requesting their money back.", "The protests turned violent in February 1997 as government forces responded with fire.", "In March, the Police and Republican Guard deserted, leaving their armories open.", "These were promptly emptied by militias and criminal gangs.", "The resulting crisis caused a wave of evacuations of foreign nationals and of refugees.", "The crisis led Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi to resign on 11 March 1997, followed by President Sali Berisha in July in the wake of the June General Election.", "In April 1997, Operation Alba, a UN peacekeeping force led by Italy, entered the country with two goals: to assist with the evacuation of expatriates and to secure the ground for international organizations.", "The main international organization involved was the Western European Union's Multinational Albanian Police element (MAPE), which worked with the government to restructure the judicial system and the Albanian Police.", "The Socialist Party had won the previously mentioned parliamentary elections in June 1997, and a degree of political stabilization followed.", "In 1999, the country was affected by the Kosovo War, which caused a great number of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo to seek refuge in Albania, although most ultimately returned to Kosovo.", "sixth member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).", "The admission was considered a top priority of Albania's foreign policy after the cold war.", "On 23 June 2013, the eighth parliamentary elections took place, won by Edi Rama of the Socialist Party.", "During his tenure as 33rd Prime Minister, Albania has implemented numerous reforms focused on the modernizing the economy and democratizing of state institutions like the judiciary and law enforcement.", "Additionally, unemployment has been steadily reduced to the 4th lowest unemployment rate in the Balkans.", "After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Albania started to develop closer ties with Western Europe.", "At the 2008 Bucharest summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) invited Albania to join the alliance.", "In April 2014 Albania became a full member of NATO.", "Albania was among the first southeastern European countries to join the Partnership for peace programme.", "Albania applied to join the European Union, becoming an official candidate for accession to the European Union in June 2014.", "Although Albania received candidate status for the European Union membership in 2014 (based on its 2009 application), the European Union has twice rejected full membership.", "The European Parliament warned the Government leaders in early 2017 that the 2017 parliamentary elections in June must be free and fair before negotiations could begin to admit the country into the union.", "== Geography == \n\n\n\nGjipe Canyon, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian sea.", "Albania occupies the southwestern portion of the Balkan Peninsula.", "The country is located in Southeastern and Southern Europe, with Montenegro bordering to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south.", "The Adriatic and Ionian Seas makes up its entire west border of Albania.", "It lies mostly between latitudes 42° and 39° N, and longitudes 21° and 19° E. The territory covers , making it the 145th largest country in the world.", "Albania's coastline length is and extends along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea.", "The Albanian Alps are the southernmost part of the Dinaric Alps.", "Albania's northernmost point is Vërmosh at 42° 35' 34\" northern latitude; the southernmost is Konispol at 39° 40' 0\" northern latitude; the westernmost point is Sazan Island at 19° 16' 50\" eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is Vërnik at 21° 1' 26\" eastern longitude.", "The highest point is Mount Korab standing at above sea level, and the lowest is the Mediterranean Sea.", "The distance from east to west is , from north to south .", "Despite its small size, Albania is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a wide variety of natural features including valleys, plains, canyons and caves.", "Topographically, the mountains run the length of the country from north to south; the Albanian Alps in the north, Sharr Mountains in the northeast, Skanderbeg Mountains in the center, Korab Mountains in the east, Pindus Mountains in the southeast and the Ceraunian Mountains in the southwest along the Albanian Riviera.", "A scenic view of Lake Butrint in the south, along the Albanian Riviera.", "The hydrographic network of Albania includes several of the largest and most ancient bodies of freshwater in Southern Europe.", "Lake Shkodër is the largest lake, situated in the northwest with a surface which can vary between and , out of which one third belongs to Albania and the rest to Montenegro.", "It is the largest lake in Southern Europe.", "Lake Ohrid in the southeast is shared with Macedonia and is one of the most ancient lakes in the world.", "Lake Prespa at the border triangle with Macedonia and Greece is one the highest tectonic lakes within the Balkan Peninsula at an elevation of .", "Albania has a dense network of about 152 rivers and streams, forming at least 8 large rivers, which flow from east to west towards the Adriatic Sea.", "Among which are included Drin, Vjosë, Shkumbin, Osum, Mat, Erzen, Fan and Seman.", "=== Biodiversity ===\n\n\n\nKarst landscape in the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park.", "Although a small country, Albania is distinguished by a high biodiversity.", "Due to its climatic, hydrological, geological and topographical conditions, it is host to 30% of the entire flora and 42% of fauna of Europe.", "Phytogeographically, Albania straddles the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region and Mediterranean Region within the Boreal Kingdom.", "The country falls within four terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic ecozone, including the Illyrian deciduous forests, Balkan mixed forests, Pindus Mountains mixed forests, and Dinaric Alpine mixed forests.", "About of Albania is forested and very rich in flora.", "About 3,000 different species of plants can be found in Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes.", "The coastal regions and lowlands have typical Mediterranean macchia vegetation, whereas oak forests and vegetation are found on higher elevations.", "Vast forests of black pine, beech and fir are found on higher mountains and alpine grasslands grow at elevations above .", "The forests are home to a wide range of mammals, including wolves, bears, wild boars and chamois.", "Lynx, wildcats, pine martens and polecats are rare, but survive in various forests of Albania.", "There are around 760 vertebrate species found so far in Albania.", "Among these there are over 350 bird species, 330 freshwater and marine fish and 80 mammal species.", "There are some 91 globally threatened species found within the country, among which the dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant, and the european sea sturgeon.", "Rocky coastal regions in the south provide good habitats for the endangered mediterranean monk seal.", "Some of the most significant bird species found in the country include the golden eagle, which is known as the national symbol of the country, vulture species, capercaillie and numerous waterfowl.", "=== Climate ===\n\n\nAlbania map of Köppen climate classification.", "Mediterranean climate in Ksamil\n\nAccording to the Köppen system, Albania hosts five major climatic subtypes.", "These include mediterranean, subtropical, oceanic, continental and subarctic.", "With its coastline facing the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea in the west, Albania's highlands backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass, and the entire country lying at a latitude subject to a variety of weather patterns during the winter and summer seasons.", "The climate on the coasts is typically mediterranean, while in the highlands it is continental.", "In both the western lowlands and the inner highlands, the weather varies from north to south.", "The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about , while summer temperatures average .", "In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about higher throughout the year.", "The difference is greater than during the summer and somewhat less during the winter.", "Inland conditions vary depending on elevation, but the higher areas above in the northern and central highlands are rather cold and frequently snowy in winter; here cold conditions with snow may linger into spring.", "The temperatures are affected more by differences in elevation than by latitude or any other factor.", "Average summer temperatures are lower than in the coastal areas and much lower at higher elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater.Subarctic climate on Albanian Alps Average precipitation is heavy, a result of the convergence of the prevailing airflow from the Mediterranean Sea and the continental air mass.Because they usually meet at the point where the terrain rises, the heaviest rain falls in the central highlands.", "When the continental air mass is weak, Mediterranean winds drop their moisture farther inland.", "When there is a dominant continental air mass, cold air spills onto the lowland areas, which occurs most frequently in the winter.", "Lowland rainfall averages from to more than annually, with the higher levels in the north.", "Nearly 95% of the rain falls in the winter.", "Rainfall in the northern highlands is heavier.", "Adequate records are not available, and estimates vary widely, but annual averages are probably about and are as high as .", "However, the western Albanian Alps are among the wettest areas in Europe, receiving some of rain annually.", "The seasonal variation is not quite as great in the coastal area.", "The central highlands receive less precipitation than the intermediate northern highlands.", "Terrain differences cause wide local variations, but the seasonal distribution is the most consistent of any area.", "In 2009, an expedition from the University of Colorado discovered four small glaciers inside the Albanian Alps.", "The glaciers are at the relatively low level of , almost unique for such a southerly latitude.", "\n\n \n\nEdi RamaPrime Minister since 2013Kryeministria, the official workplace of the Prime Minister of Albania.", "Politics in Albania operate under a framework laid out in the Constitution of Albania.", "First in 1913, Albania was constituted as a monarchy, briefly a republic in 1920, then into a democratic monarchy in 1928.", "Succeeding, it became a socialist republic, until the restoration of capitalism and democracy, after the collapse of communism.", "Nowadays, Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic in which the President serves as the head of state and the Prime Minister as the head of government.", "The President is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representative of the unity of the Albanian people.", "The President is elected to a five-year term by the Parliament by a majority of three-fifths of all its members.", "The President has the power to guarantee observation of the Constitution and all laws, exercise the duties of the Parliament when it is not in session, and appoints the Prime Minister.", "Ministers are also nominated by the President on the basis of the Prime Minister's recommendation.", "The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers which make up the government.", "The Parliament must give final approval of the composition of the Cabinet.", "The Prime Minister is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies, directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state organs.", "The façade of the Parliament of Albania in Tirana.", "The Parliament is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of Albania and is elected by people to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal, periodic and equal suffrage by secret ballot.", "There are 140 deputies in the Parliament, which are elected through a party-list proportional representation system.", "The Chairperson has two deputies and chairs the Parliament.", "There are 15 permanent committees.", "The Parliament has the power to decide the direction of domestic and foreign policy; approve or amend the constitution; declare war on another state; ratify or annul international treaties; elect the President, the Supreme Court, and the Attorney General and their deputies; and control the activity of state radio and television, state news agency and other official information media.", "The judicial system of Albania is a civil law system divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts.", "It is codified and based on the French law.", "Major institutions of the branch include the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Court of Appeal, and the Administrative Court.", "Law enforcement in the country is primarily the responsibility of the Albanian Police.", "It is the main and largest state law enforcement agency in the country.", "It carries nearly all general police duties thath includes criminal investigation, patrol activity, traffic policing and border control.", "=== Foreign relations ===\n\n\nAlbania plays a central role in the negotiation of the Berlin Process a diplomatic initiative linked to the future enlargement of the European Union.", "Foreign relations are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana.", "The current minister is Ditmir Bushati.", "Since the collapse of Communism in 1990, Albania has extended its responsibilities and position in European and international affairs, supporting and establishing friendly relations with other nations around the world.", "The main objectives of the Albanian foreign policy are the Accession of Albania to the European Union, the International recognition of Kosovo, the recognition of Expulsion of Cham Albanians, helping and protecting of the rights the Albanians in Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, southern Serbia, Italy and the Albanian diaspora.", "Albania has a network of 40 foreign embassies and 46 diplomatic missions abroad.", "Albania has been a member of the United Nations since December 1955.", "Three years later in 1958, it became member of UNESCO.", "Albania took on the membership of the United Nations Economic and Social Council from 2005 to 2007 and for the second time in 2012.", "In addition to that, Albania served as vice president of the ECOSOC in 2006 and 2013.", "In 2014, it also joined the United Nations Human Rights Council from 2015 to 2017 and was elected vice president in 2015.", "Albania was among the first eastern European countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).", "Major Albanian politicians considered admission to NATO as a top priority for the country.", "Since 1992, it has been extensively engaged with NATO, and has maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of the United States and European Union in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans.", "Besides, Albania is a full member of numerous international organizations, namely the United Nations, Council of Europe, International Organization for Migration, World Health Organization, Union for the Mediterranean, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and La Francophonie.", "=== Military ===\n\n\nAlbanian Army.", "The Albanian Armed Forces (''Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë'') are the military and paramilitary forces of Albania, under the President as supreme commander.", "In times of peace, the President's powers as a commander are executed through the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister.", "The military consist the General staff, the Land Force (''Forca Tokësore''), the Air Force (''Forca Ajrore'') and the Naval Force (''Forca Detare'').", "Albania has nocompulsory military service.", "Until January 2010 military service was compulsory for men at age 18 and conscripts served six-month tours of duty.", "Nowadays, military service is voluntary, with the age of 19 being the legal minimum age for the duty.", "Albania has committed to increase the participations in multinational operations.", "Since the fall of communism, the country has participated in six international missions but participated in only one United Nations mission in Geogria sending of 3 military observers.", "Since February 2008, Albania has participated officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea.", "It was invited to join NATO on 3 April 2008, and it became a full member on 2 April 2009.", "Albania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009.", "The military now consists mainly of a small fleet of aircraft and sea vessels.", "In the 1990s, the country scrapped enormous amounts of obsolete hardware from China, such as tanks and SAM systems.", "Increasing the military budget was one of the most important conditions for NATO integration.", "Military spending has generally been low.", "As of 1996 military spending was an estimated 1.5% of the country's GDP, only to peak in 2009 at 2% and fall again to 1.5%.", "According to 2016 Global Peace Index, the nation ranked 54th out of 163 countries in the world.", "\n\nWith a total area of , Albania is divided into twelve administrative counties ('''').", "The counties are further subdivided into 61 municipalities ('''').", "In addition, the counties were further subdivided in 36 districts (''''), which became defunct in 2000.", "The counties were created on 31 July 2000 to replace the thirty-six former districts.", "The government introduced a new administrative division to be implemented in 2015, whereby municipalities were reduced to 61, while rural ones called ('''') are abolished.", "The defunct municipalities are known as Neighborhoods or Villages ('''').", "There are overall 2980 villages or communities in the entire country, formerly known as localities ('''').", "The municipalities are the first level of local governance, responsible for local needs and law enforcement.", "As part of the reform, major town centers in the country were physically redesigned and façades painted to reflect a more Mediterranean look.", "County !", "!", "Capital !", "!", "Population !", "!", "Area \n\n\n 1 \n Shkodër County (''Qarku i Shkodrës'') \n Shkodër \n 215,483 \n 3,562 \n\n 2 \n Kukës County (''Qarku i Kukësit'') \n Kukës \n 84,035 \n 2,374 \n\n 3 \n Lezhë County (''Qarku i Lezhës'') \n Lezhë \n 135,613 \n 1,620 \n\n 4 \n Dibër County (''Qarku i Dibrës'') \n Peshkopi \n 134,153 \n 2,586 \n\n 5 \n Durrës County (''Qarku i Durrësit'') \n Durrës \n 278,775 \n 766 \n\n 6 \n Tirana County (''Qarku i Tiranës'') \n Tirana \n 811,649 \n 1,652 \n\n 7 \n Elbasan County (''Qarku i Elbasanit'') \n Elbasan \n 298,913 \n 3,199 \n\n 8 \n Fier County (''Qarku i Fierit'') \n Fier \n 312,448 \n 1,890 \n\n 9 \n Berat County (''Qarku i Beratit'') \n Berat \n 139,815 \n 1,798 \n\n 10 \n Gjirokastër County (''Qarku i Gjirokastrës'') \n Gjirokastër \n 70,331 \n 2,884 \n\n 11 \n Vlorë County (''Qarku i Vlorës'') \n Vlorë \n 183,105 \n 2,706 \n\n 12 \n Korçë County (''Qarku i Korçës'') \n Korçë \n 221,706 \n 3,711", "\n\nTirana is the economic hub of the country.", "It is home to major domestic and foreign companies operating in the country.", "The transition from a socialist planned economy to a capitalist mixed economy has been largely successful.", "With 14.7% in 2016, Albania has the 4th lowest unemployment rate in the Balkans.", "Albania's largest trading partners are Italy, Greece, China, Spain, Kosovo and the United States.", "The lek (ALL) is Albania's currency and is pegged at approximately 132,51 lek per euro.", "Both, Tirana and Durrës are the economic heart of Albania.", "Further, Tirana is the major centre for trade, banking and finance, transportation, advertising, legal services, accountancy, and insurance.", "Major roads and railways run through Tirana and Durrës, connecting the north with the south and the west with the east.", "Among the largest companies the petroleum Taçi Oil, Albpetrol, ARMO and Kastrati, the mineral AlbChrome, cement Antea, the investment BALFIN Group and the technology Albtelecom, Vodafone, Telekom Albania and so on.", "In 2012, Albania's GDP per capita stood at 30% of the European Union average, while GDP (PPP) per capita was 35%.", "Albania were one of three countries in Europe to record an economic growth in the first quarter of 2010 after the global financial crisis.", "The International Monetary Fund predicted 2.6% growth for Albania in 2010 and 3.2% in 2011.", "According to the Forbes as of December 2016, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was growing at 2.8%.", "The country had a trade balance of −9.7% and unemployment rate of 14.7%.", "The Foreign direct investment has increased significantly in recent years as the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms.", "The economy is expected to expand in the near term, driven by a recovery in consumption and robust investments.", "Growth is projected to be 3.2% in 2016, 3.5% in 2017, and 3.8% in 2018.", "=== Primary sector ===\n\n\nGrapes in Berat.", "Due to the mediterranean climate, wine, olives and citrus fruits are mostly produced in southern Albania.", "Agriculture in the country is based on small to medium-sized family-owned dispersed units.", "It remains a significant sector of the economy of Albania.", "It employs 41% of the population, and about 24.31% of the land is used for agricultural purposes.", "One of the earliest farming sites in Europe has been found in southeastern of the country.", "As part of the pre-accession process of Albania to the European Union, farmers are being aided through IPA funds to improve Albanian agriculture standards.", "Albania produces significant amounts of fruits (apples, olives, grapes, oranges, lemons, apricots, peaches, cherries, figs, sour cherries, plums, and strawberries), vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, maize, onions, and wheat), sugar beets, tobacco, meat, honey, dairy products, traditional medicine and aromatic plants.", "Albania's proximity to the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea give the underdeveloped fishing industry great potential.", "The fish available off the coasts of Albania are carp, trout, sea bream, mussels, and crustaceans.", "Albania has one of Europe's longest histories of viticulture.", "The today's region was one of the few places where vine was naturally grown during the ice age.", "The oldest found seeds in the region are 4,000 to 6,000 years old.", "In 2009, the nation produced an estimated 17,500 tonnes of wine During the communism, the production area expanded to some .", "=== Secondary sector ===\n\n\nAntea factory in Fushë-Krujë.", "The secondary sector of Albania have undergone many changes and diversification, since the collapse of the communist regime in the country.", "It is very diversified, from electronics, manufacturing, textiles, to food, cement, mining, and energy.", "The Antea Cement plant in Fushë-Krujë is considered as one of the largest industrial greenfield investments in the country.", "Albanian oil and gas is represents of the most promising albeit strictly regulated sectors of its economy.", "Albania has the second largest oil deposits in the Balkan peninsula after Romania, and the largest oil reserves in Europe.", "The Albpetrol company is owned by the Albanian state and monitors the state petroleum agreements in the country.", "The textile industry has seen an extensive expansion by approaching companies from the European Union (EU) in Albania.", "According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) , the textile production marked an annual growth of 5,3% and an annual turnover of around 1,5 billion euros.", "Albania is a significant minerals producer and is ranked among the world's leading chromium producers and exporters.", "The nation is also a notable producer of copper, nickel and coal.", "The Batra mine, Bulqizë mine, and Thekna mine are among the most recognised Albanian mines that are still in operation.", "=== Tertiary sector ===\n\n\n\n\nThe service industry represents the fastest growing sector of the Albanian economy.", "A significant part of Albania's national income derives from tourism.", "In 2016, it directly accounted for 8.4 percent of GDP, though including indirect contributions pushes the proportion to 26 percent.", "In the same year, Albania welcomed around 4.74 million visitors, mostly from Southern Europe and several countries from the European Union and also the United States.", "The increase of foreign visitors has been dramatic.", "Albania had only 500,000 visitors in 2005, while in 2012 had an estimated 4.2 million, an increase of 740 percent in only 7 years.", "In 2015, tourism in summer increased by 25 percent in contrast the previous year, accouring to the country's tourism agency.", "In 2011, Lonely Planet named as a top travel destination, while The New York Times nominated Albania as number 4 global touristic destination in 2014.", "The bulk of the tourist industry is concentrated along the Adriatic and Ionian Sea in the west of the country.", "However, the Albanian Riviera in the southwest has the most scenic and pristine beaches, and is often called the pearl of the Albanian coast.", "Its coastline has a considerable length of .", "The coast has a particular character because it is rich in varieties of virgin beaches, capes, coves, covered bays, lagoons, small gravel beaches, sea caves and many landforms.", "Some parts of this seaside are very clean ecologically, which represent in this prospective unexplored areas, which are very rare within the Mediterranean.", "Other attractions include the mountainous areas such as the Albanian Alps, Ceraunian Mountains and Korab Mountains but also the historical cities of Berat, Durrës, Gjirokastër, Sarandë, Shkodër and Korçë.", "\n\nTirana International Airport is the 10th busiest airport in the Balkans, handling over 2 million passengers per year.", "A1 motorway in Northern Albania near Kalimash to Kosovo.Lin to Pogradec along the Ohrid Lake.National Road 8 ''(SH8)'' at Llogara Pass along the Albanian Riviera.", "Following the collapse of the communist regime in Albania, the transportation has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure.", "Improvements to the road infrastructure, urban transport, and air travel have all led to a vast improvement in transportation.", "Currently there are three main motorways in Albania: the A1, A2, and A3.", "The A1 motorway connects the port city of Durrës on the Adriatic Sea, to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo.", "Prospectively, the motorway will link with Pan-European Corridor X near Niš in Serbia.", "The project was the largest and most expensive infrastructure road project ever undertaken in the country.", "Two additional highways are currently under construction.", "The A3 motorway is going to connect the capital city Tirana with Pan-European Corridor VIII, linking Albania with Macedonia and Bulgaria to the east.", "The North-South motorway consists of SH1 and SH2 and makes up the Albanian portion of the Adriatic–Ionian motorway, a larger regional highway connecting Croatia with Greece along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts.", "When all three corridors are completed, Albania will have an estimated 759 kilometers of highway linking it with all of its neighboring countries.", "The busiest and largest seaport in Albania is the Port of Durrës.", ", the port ranks as one of the largest passenger ports on the Adriatic Sea, with annual passenger volume of approximately 1.5 million.", "Other seaports include Vlorë, Sarandë, and Shëngjin.", "The ports serve an extensive system of ferries connecting numerous islands and coastal cities in addition to ferry lines to several cities in Croatia, Greece, and Italy.", "The highly advantageous geographical location of Durrës makes its port the busiest in Albania and among the largest in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.", "The only international airport in the country is the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza.", "It is the only port of entry for air travelers to the country.", "The airport offers international connections to many European cities.", "In 2016, the Government of Albania reached an agreement with Tirana International Airport to end its monopoly on flights, paving the way for the opening of an airport at Kukës in the north.", "The railways in Albania are administered by the national railway company Hekurudha Shqiptare.", "The railway system was extensively promoted by the totalitarian communist regime of dictator Enver Hoxha, during which time the use of private transport was effectively prohibited.", "Since the collapse of the communist regime, there has been a considerable increase in car ownership and bus usage.", "A new railway line from the capital Tirana via Tirana International Airport to the port city Durrës is currently planned.", "The location of this railway, connecting the most populated urban areas in Albania, makes it an important economic development project.", "The opening will take place in 2019.", "=== Science and technology ===\n\n\nUntil 1990, after the fall of Communism in Albania, the country was one of the world's most isolated and controlled countries, and installation and maintenance of a modern system of international and domestic telecommunications was precluded.", "Callers previously needed operator assistance even to make domestic long-distance calls.", "Internet in Albania is fast and inexpensive in comparison to the rest of Europe.", "For example, an ISP known as ABcom, offers a 30mbit download package for 306.999 lekë ($2.39579 USD) per month.", "In the mobile network industry, providers such as Vodafone, Telekom, Albanian Mobile Communications and Eagle Mobile provide both 3G and 4G data plans.", "From 1993 human resources in sciences and technology have drastically decreased.", "Various surveys show that during 1991–2005, approximately 50% of the professors and research scientists of the universities and science institutions in the country have emigrated.", "However, in 2009 the government approved the \"National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in Albania\" covering the period 2009–15.", "It aims to triple public spending on research and development (R&D) to 0.6% of GDP and augment the share of gross domestic expenditure on R&D from foreign sources, including via the European Union's Framework Programmes for Research, to the point where it covers 40% of research spending, among others.", "=== Energy ===\n\n\nThe Fierza Reservoir was formed as a result of the construction of the Fierza Hydroelectric Power Station in 1978.", "Energy in Albania is dependent on hydroelectricity.", "Albania is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world, having a percentage of 100%.", "The country is host to five hydroelectric power stations and a plant.", "Almost four power stations including Fierza, Koman, Skavica and Vau i Dejës are situated on the Drin River, the longest river in the country with a total length of 335 km (208 mi).", "Due to its strategical location, it plays a significant role for the production of electricity in Albania.", "Albania and Croatia have discussed the possibility of jointly building a nuclear power plant at Lake Shkodër, close to the border with Montenegro, a plan that has gathered criticism from Montenegro due to seismicity in the area.", "In February 2009 Italian company Enel announced plans to build an 800 MW coal-fired power plant in Albania, to diversify electricity sources.", "The Albanian Devoll Hydropower company, owned and operated by Norwegian Statkraft, is currently build two hydroelectricity plants on the Devoll River near Banjë and Moglicë.", "The Moglicë Hydro Power Plant is anticipated to be the world's highest of its kind upon completion.", "The ''Devoll Hydropower Project'' is one of the largest hydropower investments in the Balkan peninsula.", "The two plants are expected to be completed in 2016 and 2018.", "After its completion, it will produce 729 GWh annually, increasing the electricity production in Albania by almost 17%.", "=== Media ===\n\n\n\nRadio in Albania began officially in 1938 with the founding of RTSH ''(Albania Radio and Television - Radio Televizioni Shqiptar)'', and television broadcasting began in 1960.", "Almost 4 regional radio stations serve in the four extremities of Albania.", "The international service broadcasts radio programmes in Albanian and seven other languages via medium wave (AM) and short wave (SW).", "The international service has used the theme from the song \"Keputa një gjethe dafine\" as its signature tune.", "The international television service via satellite was launched since 1993 and aims at Albanian communities in Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and northern Greece, plus the Albanian diaspora in the rest of Europe.", "According to the Albanian Media Authority, Albania has an estimated 257 media outlets, including 66 radio stations and 67 television stations, with three national, 62 local and more than 50 cable TV stations.", "In Llast years, Albania has organized several shows as a part of worldwide series like ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Big Brother'', ''Got Talent'', ''The Voice'', and ''X Factor''.", "Albania ranked 34th in the 2003 Press Freedom Index report compiled by the Reporters Without Borders.", "In 2016, it ranked 82nd.", "In 2016, there were 1.82 million Internet users in the country in percentage 63% of the population.", "=== Education ===\n\n\nThe University of Tirana is the largest and highest ranking university in the country.", "Following the fall of communism in Albania in 1991, a reorganization plan was announced that would extend the compulsory education program from eight to ten years.", "The following year, major economic and political crisis in Albania, and the ensuing breakdown of public order, plunged the school system into chaos.", "Widespread vandalism and extreme shortages of textbooks and supplies had a devastating effect on school operations, prompting Italy and other countries to provide material assistance.", "In the late 1990, many schools were rebuilt or reconstructed, to improve learning conditions.", "Most of the improvements have happened in the larger cities of the country especially in Tirana, Durrës and Shkodër.", "All educational programmes in Albania are regulated by the Ministry of Education and administered by local municipalities.", "Education is mostly supported by the state and is composed of three stages, primary education (arsimi fillorë), secondary education (arsimi i mesëm), and tertiary education (arsimi universitarë).", "The academic year is very similar to the one in the United States, with classes starting in September or October and ending in June or July.", "Albanian is the primary language of instruction in all public schools.", "The primary education is obligatory from grade one to nine.", "Students must pass the graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade in order to continue their education.", "After the primary school, the general education is provided at the secondary schools.", "Students get prepared for the Matura examination, allowing them to obtain their matura diploma, which grants admission to higher education.", "Although, Albania follows the Bologna model in accordance with the 2007 Law on Higher Education.", "These institutions can be public or private, and may offer one, two or three levels of higher education depending on the institution.", "The school life expectancy of Albania is 16 years, ranking 25th in the world.", "Literacy rate in Albania is 99.2% for males and 98.3% for females, having an overall of 98.7%.", "=== Health ===\n\n\nvegetables and olive oil.", "Albania has a universal health care system run by the Ministry of Health.", "According to the World Health Organization, Albania had the world's 55th best healthcare performance in 2000.", "The system has been in a steep decline since the collapse of communism in the country, but a process of modernization has been taking place since 2000.", "There were a total of 51 hospitals in 2000 in the country, including a military hospital and specialist facilities.", "The most common causes of death are circulatory diseases followed by cancerous illnesses.", "Demographic and Health Surveys completed a survey in April 2009, detailing various health statistics in Albania, including male circumcision, abortion and more.", "The leading causes of death are cardiovascular disease, trauma, cancer, and respiratory disease.", "Albania has successfully eradicated diseases such as malaria.", "Life expectancy is estimated at 77.8 years (75.1 for males and 80.7 for females), ranking thirty-seventh in the world and outperforming a number of European Union countries, such as Slovenia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.", "Albania's infant mortality rate, estimated at 12 per 1,000 live births in 2015.", "Compared to other European countries, Albania has a relatively low rate of obesity, probably thanks to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.", "\n \n\n\n\nAccording to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) Census of 2011, the total population of Albania was approximately 2,821,977 with a low Fertility rate of 1.49 children born per woman.", "The last census, was conducted in 1989.", "The fall of the Communist regime in 1990, Albania was accompanied with massive migration.", "External migration was prohibited outright in Communist Albania while internal migration was quite limited, hence this was a new phenomenon.", "Between 1991 and 2004, roughly 900,000 people have migrated out of Albania, about 600,000 of them settling in Greece.", "Migration greatly affected Albania's internal population distribution.", "Population decreased mainly in the North and South of the country while it increased in Tirana and Durrës center districts.", "According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) as of 1 January 2015, the population of Albania is 2,893,005.", "Issues of ethnicity are a delicate topic and subject to debate.", "Contrary to official statistics that show an over 97 per cent Albanian majority in the country, minority groups (such as Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Roma and Aromanians) have frequently disputed the official numbers, asserting a higher percentage of the country's population.", "According to the disputed 2011 census, ethnic affiliation was as follows: Albanians 2,312,356 (82.6% of the total), Greeks 24,243 (0.9%), Macedonians 5,512 (0.2%), Montenegrins 366 (0.01%), Aromanians 8,266 (0.30%), Romani 8,301 (0.3%), Balkan Egyptians 3,368 (0.1%), other ethnicities 2,644 (0.1%), no declared ethnicity 390,938 (14.0%), and not relevant 44,144 (1.6%).", "On the quality of the specific data the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities stated that \"the results of the census should be viewed with the utmost caution and calls on the authorities not to rely exclusively on the data on nationality collected during the census in determining its policy on the protection of national minorities.”.", "Albania recognizes almost three national minorities, Greeks, Macedonians and Montenegrins, and two cultural minorities: Aromanians and Romani people.", "Other Albanian minorities are Bulgarians, Gorani, Serbs, Balkan Egyptians, Bosniaks and Jews.", "Regarding the Greeks, \"it is difficult to know how many Greeks there are in Albania.", "The Greek government, it is typically claimed, says that there are around 300,000 ethnic Greeks in Albania, but most western estimates are around the 200,000 mark.\"", "The Albanian government puts the number at only 24,243.\"", "The CIA World Factbook estimates the Greek minority at 0.9% of the total population and the US State Department uses 1.17% for Greeks and 0.23% for other minorities.", "However, the latter questions the validity of the data about the Greek minority, due to the fact that measurements have been affected by boycott.", "Macedonian and some Greek minority groups have sharply criticized Article 20 of the Census law, according to which a $1,000 fine will be imposed on anyone who will declare an ethnicity other than what is stated on his or her birth certificate.", "This is claimed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity, according to them the Albanian government has stated that it will jail anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity.", "Genc Pollo, the minister in charge has declared that: \"Albanian citizens will be able to freely express their ethnic and religious affiliation and mother tongue.", "However, they are not forced to answer these sensitive questions\".", "The amendments criticized do not include jailing or forced declaration of ethnicity or religion; only a fine is envisioned which can be overthrown by court.", "Greek representatives form part of the Albanian parliament and the government has invited Albanian Greeks to register, as the only way to improve their status.", "On the other hand, nationalists, various organizations and political parties in Albania have expressed their concern that the census might artificially increase the numbers of the Greek minority, which might be then exploited by Greece to threaten Albania's territorial integrity.", "=== Urbanization ===\n\nAbout 53.4% of Albania's population living in cities.", "According the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the three largest counties account for half of the population.", "Over 1 million people lives in the Tirana and Durrës, making it the largest urban area in Albania.", "The capital Tirana, is one of largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula and ranks 7th with a population about 800,000.", "The second largest is the port city of Durrës, with a population of 201.110, followed by Vlorë, the largest city in southern Albania, with 141.513 inhabitants.", "TiranaTirana\nDurrësDurrës\nRank\nCity\nPopulation\nRank\nCity\nPopulation\n\nGjirokastërGjirokastër\nSarandëSarandë\n\n 1 \n'''Tirana''' \n 418,495 \n 11 \n'''Kavajë''' \n 20,192\n\n 2 \n'''Durrës''' \n 113,249 \n 12 \n'''Gjirokastër ''' \n 19,836\n\n 3 \n'''Vlorë''' \n 79,513 \n 13 \n'''Sarandë''' \n 17,233\n\n 4 \n'''Shkodër''' \n 78,703 \n 14 \n'''Laç''' \n 17,086\n\n 5 \n'''Elbasan''' \n 77,075 \n 15 \n'''Kukës''' \n 16,719 \n\n 6 \n'''Fier''' \n 55,845 \n 16 \n'''Patos''' \n 15,937\n\n 7 \n'''Korçë''' \n 51,152 \n 17 \n'''Lezhë''' \n 15,510\n\n 8 \n'''Berat''' \n 32,606 \n 18 \n'''Peshkopi''' \n 13,251\n\n 9 \n'''Lushnjë''' \n 31,105 \n 19 \n'''Kuçovë''' \n 12,654\n\n 10 \n'''Pogradec''' \n 20,848 \n 20 \n'''Krujë''' \n 11,721\n\n\n\n\n\n\n=== Language ===\n\n\nAlbanian in Albania and all surrounding countries.", "Albanian is the official language of the Republic of Albania.", "Its standard spoken and written form is revised and merged from the two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk, though it is notably based more on the Tosk dialect.", "The Shkumbin river is the rough dividing line between the two dialects.", "Also a dialect of Greek that preserves features now lost in standard modern Greek is spoken in areas inhabited by the Greek minority.", "Other languages spoken by ethnic minorities in Albania include Aromanian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Gorani, and Roma.", "Macedonian is official in the Pustec Municipality in East Albania.", "Greek is the second most-spoken language in the country, with two thirds of families having at least one member that speaks Greek.", "La Francophonie states 320,000 French speakers can be found in Albania.", "Other spoken languages include Italian, English, French, German, and Turkish.", "According to the 2011 population census, 2,765,610 or 98.767% of the population declared Albanian as their mother tongue (''mother tongue is defined as the first or main language spoken at home during childhood'').", "=== Religion ===\n\n\nThe leaders of Albania's four main denominations in Paris, France, after the Charlie Hebdo attacks from 2015.", "From left to right: Sunni, Orthodox, Bektashi, and Catholic.", "According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) Census of 2011, 58.79% of Albanians adhere to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country; Christianity is practiced by 17.06% of the population, and 24.29% of the total population is either non-religious, belongs to other religious groups, or are 'undeclared'.", "Both the Albanian Orthodox church and the Bektashi Sufi order refused to recognize the 2011 census results regarding faith, with the Orthodox claiming that 24% of the total population are Albanian Orthodox Christians rather than just 6.75%.", "Before World War II, 70% of the population were Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics.", "According to a 2010 survey, religion today plays an important role in the lives of only 39% of Albanians, and Albania is ranked among the least religious countries in the world.", "A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that 65% of Albanian Muslims are non-denominational Muslims.", "According to 2008 statistics from the religious communities in Albania, there are 1119 churches and 638 mosques in the country.", "The Catholics declared 694 churches, the Orthodox 425 churches, the Muslim community 568 mosques and the Bektashi 70 tekkes.", "Albania is one of the most ancient countries of Christianity.", "There are thought to have been about seventy Christian families in the port town of Durrës as early as the time of the Apostles.", "The Archbishopric of Durrës was purportedly founded by the apostle Paul while preaching in Illyria and Epirus.", "The Albanians first appeared in the historical record in Byzantine sources of the late 11th century.", "At this point, they were already fully Christianized.", "Islam came for the first time in the 9th century to the region which is known as Albania today.", "It later emerged as the majority religion during the centuries of Ottoman rule, though a significant Christian minority remained.", "After independence (1912) from the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian republican, monarchic and later Communist regimes followed a systematic policy of separating religion from official functions and cultural life.", "Albania never had an official state religion either as a republic or as a kingdom.", "In the 20th century, the clergy of all faiths was weakened under the monarchy, and ultimately eradicated during the 1950s and 1960s, under the state policy of obliterating all organized religion from Albanian territories.", "The Communist regime that took control of Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state.", "Religious freedom has returned to Albania since the regime's change in 1992.", "Albania joined the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, but did not attend the 2014 conference due a dispute regarding the fact that its parliament never ratified the country's membership.", "Albanian Muslim populations (mainly secular and of the Sunni branch) are found throughout the country whereas Albanian Orthodox Christians as well as Bektashis are concentrated in the south and Roman Catholics are found in the north of the country.", "The first recorded Albanian Protestant was Said Toptani, who traveled around Europe, and in 1853 returned to Tirana and preached Protestantism.", "He was arrested and imprisoned by the Ottoman authorities in 1864.", "Mainline evangelical Protestants date back to the work of Congregational and later Methodist missionaries and the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the 19th century.", "The Evangelical Alliance, which is known as VUSh, was founded in 1892.", "Today VUSh has about 160 member congregations from different Protestant denominations.", "VUSh organizes marches in Tirana including one against blood feuds in 2010.", "Bibles are provided by the Interconfessional Bible Society of Albania.", "The first full Albanian Bible to be printed was the Filipaj translation printed in 1990.", "Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses also have a number of adherents in Albania.", "Albania was the only country in Europe where Jewish population experienced growth during the Holocaust.", "After the mass emigration to Israel since the fall of Communist regime, only 200 Albanian Jews are left in the country today.", "\n\n=== Architecture ===\n\n\nThe ancient remains of Butrint has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1992.", "Due to its long history, Albania is home to many valuable cultural and historical landmarks.", "From antiquity to the modern period, major cities in the country have evolved from within the castle to include dwellings, religious, and commercial structures, with constant redesigning of town squares and evolution of building techniques.", "Albania is host to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the ancient remains of Butrint in the south of Sarandë, the medieval Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastër, and Gashi River and Rrajcë, which is part of the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park under the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.", "Further, the natural and cultural heritage of Ohrid, the royal Illyrian tombs of Selca e Poshtme, the remains of Apollonia, the ancient Amphitheatre of Durrës and the Fortress of Bashtovë has been included on the tentative list.", "Many ancient architectural treasures from the Illyrians such as Byllis, Amantia, Phoenice and Shkodër can be found in Albania.", "Due to the long period of rule of the Byzantine Empire, Albania is home to many Byzantine churches, castles, and monasteries.", "Albania also host many surviving monuments from the five centuries of Ottoman rule.", "In the 19th century, Albanian medieval towns underwent urban transformations by Austro-Hungarian and Italian architects, giving them the appearance of European cities.", "During the communism, many socialist-styled complexes, wide roads, and factories were constructed, while town squares were redesigned and a number of historic buildings demolished.", "=== Music and clothing ===\n\n\nAlexandre Decamps wearing Fustanellas, the national costume of Albania.", "The folk music of Albania falls into two major groups, such as the northern Ghegs and southern Labs and Tosks.", "The northern and southern traditions are contrasted by the rugged and heroic tone of the north and the relaxed form of the south.", "The Ghegs are known for a distinctive variety of sung epic poetry.", "Many of the songs are about the ancient history of the Albanians but also the national hero Skanderbeg, who led the struggle against the Ottomans, and the constant Albanian themes of honour, hospitality, treachery and revenge.", "Tosk music is soft and gentle, and polyphonic in nature.", "The southern corner of Albania is also known for funeral laments with a chorus and one to two soloists with overlapping, mournful voices.", "Its instrumental music includes the sedate kaba, an ensemble-driven by a clarinet or violin alongside accordions and lahuta.", "The kaba is an improvised and melancholic style with melodies that Kim Burton describes as \"both fresh and ancient\", \"ornamented with swoops, glides and growls of an almost vocal quality\", exemplifying the \"combination of passion with restraint that is the hallmark of Albanian culture\".", "Gheg Albanian wearing the triq as he carries the lahuta\n\nThese disparate styles are unified by the intensity that both performers and listeners give to their music as a medium for patriotic expression and as a vehicle carrying the narrative of oral history, as well as certain characteristics like the use of rhythms such as 3/8, 5/8 and 10/8.", "The first compilation of Albanian folk music was made by two Himariot song artists Neço Muka and Koço Çakali in 1929 and 1931 in Paris during their interpretations with the Albanian song diva Tefta Tashko Koço.", "Several gramophone compilations were recorded in those years by this genial trio of Albanian artists which eventually led to the recognition of the Himariot Isopolyphonic Music as an UNESCO World Heritage.", "The contemporary music artists Ermonela Jaho, Inva Mula, Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora and Era Istrefi, have achieved international recognition for their music.", "Sporano Ermonela Jaho has been described by The Economist as \"the world’s most acclaimed soprano\".", "One widely recognised musician from Elbasan is Saimir Pirgu, an Albanian international opera singer.", "He was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award in the category of ''Best Opera Recording''.", "Almost each cultural and geographical region has its own specific variety of costume that vary in style, material, color, shape, detail and form.", "Presently, the national costumes are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious holidays, weddings, and by dancing groups.", "Some conservative old men and women mainly from the high Northern as well as Southern Lands and wear traditional clothing in their daily lives.", "The clothing was made mainly of products from the local agriculture and livestock such as leather, wool, linen, hemp fiber and silk.", "Today, the Albanian traditional textiles are still embroidered in very claborate ancient patterns.", "Among the most important parts of clothing includes the Plis, Albanian hat, Qylafë, Fustanella, Xhubleta, Xhamadan, Brez, Çorape, Opinga and others.", "=== Literature and arts ===\n\n\nA excerpt from the Meshari ''(The Missal)'' written by Gjon Buzuku.", "(1555)\n\nThe Albanian language comprises its own branch of the Indo-European language family.", "The language is considered an isolate within the Indo-European.", "The only other languages that are the sole surviving member of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek.", "It was proved to be an Indo-European language in 1854 by the German philologist Franz Bopp.", "Albanian is often held to be related to the Illyrian languages, a language spoken in the Balkans during classical times.", "Scholars argue that Albanian derives from Illyrian while some others claim that it derives from Daco-Thracian.", "(Illyrian and Daco-Thracian, however, might have been closely related languages; see Thraco-Illyrian.)", "The cultural renaissance was first of all expressed through the development of the Albanian language in the area of church texts and publications, mainly of the Catholic region in the northern of Albania, but also of the Orthodox in the south.", "The Protestant reforms invigorated hopes for the development of the local language and literary tradition, when cleric Gjon Buzuku brought into the Albanian language the Catholic liturgy, trying to do for the Albanian language, what Martin Luther did for the German language.", "Meshari (''The Missal'') written by Gjon Buzuku was published in 1555 and is considered as one of the first literary work of written Albanian during the Middle Ages.", "The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be the result of an earlier tradition of written Albanian, a tradition that is not well understood.", "However, there is some fragmented evidence, pre-dating Buzuku, which indicates that Albanian was written from at least the 14th century.", "The earliest evidence dates from 1332 AD with a Latin report from the French Dominican Guillelmus Adae, Archbishop of Antivari, who wrote that Albanians used Latin letters in their books although their language was quite different from Latin.", "Other significant examples include: a baptism formula (''Unte paghesont premenit Atit et Birit et spertit senit'') from 1462, written in Albanian within a Latin text by the Bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli; a glossary of Albanian words of 1497 by Arnold von Harff, a German who had travelled through Albania, and a 15th-century fragment of the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, also in Albanian, but written in Greek letters.", "Albanian writings from these centuries must not have been religious texts only, but historical chronicles too.", "They are mentioned by the humanist Marin Barleti, who in his book Siege of Shkodër (''Rrethimi i Shkodrës'') from 1504, confirms that he leafed through such chronicles written in the language of the people (''in vernacula lingua'') as well as his famous biography of Skanderbeg Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (''History of Skanderbeg'') from 1508.", "The ''History of Skanderbeg'' is still the foundation of Skanderbeg studies and is considered an Albanian cultural treasure, vital to the formation of Albanian national self-consciousness.", "During the 16th and the 17th centuries, the catechism (''E mbësuame krishterë'') (Christian Teachings) from 1592 written by Lekë Matrënga, (''Doktrina e krishterë'') (The Christian Doctrine) from 1618 and (''Rituale romanum'') 1621 by Pjetër Budi, the first writer of original Albanian prose and poetry, an apology for George Castriot (1636) by Frang Bardhi, who also published a dictionary and folklore creations, the theological-philosophical treaty ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' (The Band of Prophets) (1685) by Pjetër Bogdani, the most universal personality of Albanian Middle Ages, were published in Albanian.", "The most famous Albanian writer in the 20th and 21th century is probably Ismail Kadare.", "He has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature several times.", "Albanian icon by Onufri from the 15th century in Berat.", "The visual arts tradition of Albania has been shaped by the many cultures, which have flourished on its territory.", "Once the Byzantines, the Ottomans ruled over Albania for nearly five centuries, which greatly affected the country's artwork and artistic forms.", "After Albania's joining with the Ottoman Empire in 1478, Ottoman influenced art forms such as mosaics and mural paintings became prevalent, and no real artistic change occurred until the independence in 1912.", "Following mosaics and murals from antiquity and the middle mges, the first paintings were icons Byzantine Orthodox tradition.", "Albanian earliest icons date from the late thirteenth century and generally estimated that their artistic peak reached in the eighteenth century.", "Among the most prominent representatives of the Albanian iconographic art were Onufri and David Selenica.", "The museums of Berat, Korçë and Tirana houses good collections remaining icons.", "By the end of the Ottoman period, the painting was limited mostly to folk art and ornate mosques.", "Paintings and sculpture arose in the first half of the twentieth century and reached a modest peak in the 1930s and 1940s, when the first organized art exhibitions at national level.", "Contemporary Albanian artwork captures the struggle of everyday Albanians, however new artists are utilizing different artistic styles to convey this message.", "Albanian artists continue to move art forward, while their art still remains distinctively Albanian in content.", "Though among Albanian artist post-modernism was fairly recently introduced, there is a number of artists and works known internationally.", "Among the most prominent Albanian post-modernist are considered Anri Sala, Sislej Xhafa, and Helidon Gjergji.", "=== Cuisine ===\n\n\n\n\nThe Cuisine of Albania – as with most Mediterranean and Balkan nations – is strongly influenced by its long history.", "At different times, the territory which is now Albania has been claimed or occupied by Ancient Greece, Romans, Byzantine and the Ottoman Turks and each group has left its mark on Albanian cuisine.", "The main meal of Albanians is the midday meal, which is usually accompanied by a salad of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and olives with olive oil, vinegar and salt.", "It also includes a main dish of vegetables and meat.", "Though it is used in several dishes, pumpkins are more commonly displayed and traditionally given as gifts throughout Albania, especially in the region of Berat.", "Seafood specialties are also common in the coastal cities of Durrës, Sarandë and Vlorë.", "In high elevation localities, smoked meat and pickled preserves are common.", "=== Cinema ===\n\n\nAlbanian-American actress Eliza Dushku produced the documentary ''Dear Albania'' with a crew from Travel Channel and Lonely Planet, promoting tourism in Albania.", "The history of Cinema in Albania dates back to 1911 and 1912 with the first showings of foreign films and few documentaries in the pre-war and inter-war period.", "The first public showing to occur in Albania was a little-known title, ''Paddy the Reliable'', a comical story.", "The publication of foreign films began in the cities of Shkodër and Korçë.", "The first Albanian films were mostly documentaries; the first was about the Monastir Congress that sanctioned the Albanian alphabet in 1908.", "During communism, the Albanian Film Institute that later became known as Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re was founded with Soviet assistance, focusing mostly on propaganda of wartime struggles.", "After 1945, the communist government founded the Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re in 1952.", "This was followed by the first Albanian epic film, ''Skënderbeu'', a cooperation with Soviet artists chronicling the life and fight of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg.", "The film was awarded from the Cannes Film Festival.", "Notable Albanian film directors include Andamion Murataj, Besim Sahatçiu, Xhanfize Keko, Dhimitër Anagnosti, Kujtim Çashku, Luljeta Hoxha, Saim Kokona, Saimir Kumbaro, Kristaq Mitro, Leon Qafzezi and Gjergj Xhuvani.", "Famous actors in Albania include Nik Xhelilaj, Klement Tinaj, Masiela Lusha, Blerim Destani, Aleksandër Moisiu, Tinka Kurti, Pjetër Malota, Sandër Prosi and Margarita Xhepa.", "By 1990, about 200 movies had been produced, and Albania had over 450 theaters.", "With the economic transition after the collapse of communism in the 1990s, the Kinostudio was broken up and privatised.", "A new National Center of Cinematography was established, while cities built modern cinema theatres showing mostly American movies.", "The Tirana International Film Festival was established in 2003 and has become the premier and largest film festival in the country as well as in the Balkans.", "Durrës hosts the International Film Summerfest of Durrës, the second largest international film festival in the country which takes place every year in late August or early September in Durrës Amphitheatre.", "There are internationally renowned actors in the Albanian diaspora, such as the Albanian-Americans Eliza Dushku, Jim and John Belushi, Kosovo-Albanians Bekim Fehmiu and Arta Dobroshi and Turkish-Albanian Barish Arduç.", "=== Sports ===\n\n\n\n\nAlbania participated at the Olympic Games in 1972 for the first time.", "The country made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006.", "Albania missed the next four games, two of them due to the 1980 and 1984 boycotts, but returned for the 1992 games in Barcelona.", "Since then, Albania have participated in all games.", "Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting and wrestling.", "The country have been represented by the National Olympic Committee of Albania since 1972.", "The nation has participated at the Mediterranean Games since the games of 1987 in Syria.", "The Albanian athletes have won a total of 43 (8 gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze) medals from 1987 to 2013.", "Popular sports in Albania include Football, Weightlifting, Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Rugby, and Gymnastics.", "Football is by far the most popular sport in Albania.", "It is governed by the Football Association of Albania (, F.SH.F.", "), which was created in 1930 and has membership in FIFA and UEFA.", "Football arrived in Albania early in the 20th century when the inhabitants of the northern city of Shkodër were surprised to see a strange game being played by students at a Christian mission.", "The Albania national football team, ranking 51th in the World in 2017 (highest 22nd in August 22, 2015) have won the 1946 Balkan Cup and the Malta Rothmans International Tournament 2000, but had never participated in any major UEFA or FIFA tournament, until UEFA Euro 2016, Albania's first ever appearance at the continental tournament and at a major men's football tournament.", "Albania scored their first ever goal in a major tournament and secured their first ever win in European Championship when they beat Romania by 1–0 in a UEFA Euro 2016 match on 19 June 2016.", "The most successful football clubs in the country are Skënderbeu, KF Tirana, Dinamo Tirana, Partizani and Vllaznia.", "Weightlifting is one of the most successful individual sport for the Albanians, with the national team winning medals at the European Weightlifting Championships and the rest international competitions.", "Albanian weightlifters have won a total of 16 medals at the European Championships with 1 of them being gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze.", "In the World Weightlifting Championships, the Albanian weightlifting team has won in 1972 a gold in 2002 a silver and in 2011 a bronze medal.", "=== Diaspora ===\n\n\nSince antiquity, Albanians have established communities in many regions throughout southern Europe.", "The modern Albanian diaspora was formed largely in the 15th century, when many Albanians emigrated to southern Italy, especially in Sicily and Calabria also to Greece, to escape either various socio-political difficulties and the Ottoman conquest.", "Other destinations includes Turkey, United States, Argentina and Chile.", "After the fall of communism in 1991, many Albanians have migrated out of Albania to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.", "Notable people of Albanian origin includes Mother Teresa, Ferid Murad, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Tony Dovolani, Fadil Berisha, Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mateo Musacchio, Ernesto Sabato, Cecilia Bolocco and many others.", "(See also: List of Albanians)", "\nThe following are international rankings of Albania, including those measuring life quality, health care quality, stability, press freedom, and income.", ":{|class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center;\"\n\nIndex\nRank\nCountries reviewed\n\nLiteracy Rate 2011\n6\n183\n\nEase of Protecting Minority Investors 2015\n8\n128\n\nTrade Freedom Index 2016\n10\n179\n\nILGA-Europe LGBT rights 2015\n19\n50\n\nFiscal Freedom Index 2016\n35\n179\n\nLife Expectancy 2015\n37\n190\n\nMonetary Freedom Index 2016\n49\n181\n\nSocial Progress Index 2017\n52\n150\n\nGlobal Peace Index 2015\n52\n163\n\nFragile States Index 2016\n54\n178\n\nInequality adjusted Human Development Index 2015\n55\n151\n\nEase of doing Business Index 2017\n58\n190", "* Outline of Albania\n* Index of Albania-related articles\n* Bibliography of Albania\n*", "* ''History of the Party of Labor of Albania''.", "Tirana: Institute of Marxist–Leninist Studies, 1971.", "691 p.\n*", "\n\n\n* \n* Albanian Tourism Official Portal\n* \n* Albania from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''\n* \n* \n* Guide To Albania\n* \n* Key Development Forecasts for Albania from International Futures" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Azerbaijan''' ( ; , officially the '''Republic of Azerbaijan''' ()), is a country in the South Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe. It is bound by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bound by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having an 11 km border with Turkey in the north west.\n\nThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first democratic state in the Muslim-oriented world. The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, prior to the official dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. In September 1991, the Armenian majority of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region seceded to form the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The region and seven adjacent districts outside it became ''de facto'' independent with the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994. These regions are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan pending a solution to the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh, found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE.\n\nAzerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic. The country is a member state of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. It is one of six independent Turkic states, an active member of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations. It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. A member of the United Nations since 1992 after its independence, Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 May 2006. Its term of office began on 19 June 2006. Azerbaijan is also a member state of the Non-Aligned Movement, holds observer status in World Trade Organization, and is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union.\n\nThe Constitution of Azerbaijan does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are secularist. However, the majority of the population are of a Shiite Muslim background. Most Azerbaijanis, however, do not actively practice any religion, and the country has been seen to be one of the most irreligious countries in the Muslim world, with 53% stating religion has little to no importance in their lives, according to Pew Research Center and Gallup polls. Azerbaijan has a high level of human development which ranks on par with most Eastern European countries. It has a high rate of economic development and literacy, as well as a low rate of unemployment. However, the ruling party, the New Azerbaijan Party, has been accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.\n", "Azerbaijan and its main cities\nAccording to a modern etymology, the name of Azerbaijan derives from that of ''Atropates'', a Persian satrap under the Achaemenid Empire, who was later reinstated as the satrap of Media under Alexander the Great. The original etymology of this name is thought to have its roots in the once-dominant Zoroastrianism. In the Avesta, Frawardin Yasht (\"Hymn to the Guardian Angels\"), there is a mention of ''âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide'', which literally translates from Avestan as \"we worship the fravashi of the holy Atropatene.\" The name \"Atropates\" itself is the Greek transliteration of an Old Iranian, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning \"Protected by the (Holy) Fire\" or \"The Land of the (Holy) Fire\". The Greek name was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo. Over the span of millennia the name evolved to ''Āturpātākān'' (Middle Persian) then to ''Ādharbādhagān'', ''Ādharbāyagān'', ''Āzarbāydjān'' (New Persian) and present-day ''Azerbaijan''.\n \t\n\n\nIn 1918, the government of Musavat adopted the name \"Azerbaijan\" for the new Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which was proclaimed on 28 May 1918, for political reasons, even though the name of \"Azerbaijan\" had always been used to refer to the adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran. Thus, until 1918, when the Musavat regime decided to name the newly-independent state Azerbaijan, the designation had been used exclusively to identify the Iranian province of Azerbaijan.\n\nDuring Soviet rule, the country was also spelled in English from the Russian transliteration as ''\"Azerbaydzhan\"''.\n", "\n\n===Antiquity===\n\nPetroglyphs in Gobustan National Park dating back to the 10th millennium BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of \"outstanding universal value\".\nThe earliest evidence of human settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan dates back to the late Stone Age and is related to the Guruchay culture of Azokh Cave. The Upper Paleolithic and late Bronze Age cultures are attested in the caves of Tağılar, Damcılı, Zar, Yataq-yeri and in the necropolises of Leylatepe and Saraytepe.\n\nEarly settlements included the Scythians in the 9th century BC. Following the Scythians, Iranian Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras. The Medes forged a vast empire between 900–700 BC, which was integrated into the Achaemenid Empire around 550 BC. The area was conquered by the Achaemenids leading to the spread of Zoroastrianism. Later it became part of Alexander the Great's Empire and its successor, the Seleucid Empire. During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in the Caucasus and Atropatene. Caucasian Albanians, the original inhabitants of northeastern Azerbaijan, ruled that area from around the 4th century BC, and established an independent kingdom.\n\n===From the Sasanid period to the Safavid period===\n\nThe Sasanian Empire turned Caucasian Albania into a vassal state in 252, while King Urnayr officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. Despite Sassanid rule, Albania remained an entity in the region until the 9th century, while fully subordinate to Sassanid Iran, and retained its monarchy. Despite being one of the chief vassals of the Sasanian emperor, the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sasanian marzban (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.\n\nIn the first half of the 7th century, Caucasian Albania, as a vassal of the Sasanians, came under nominal Muslim rule due to the Muslim conquest of Persia. The Umayyad Caliphate repulsed both the Sasanians and Byzantines from Transcaucasia and turned Caucasian Albania into a vassal state after Christian resistance led by King Javanshir, was suppressed in 667. The power vacuum left by the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate was filled by numerous local dynasties such as the Sallarids, Sajids, Shaddadids, Rawadids and Buyids. At the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by waves of Oghuz Turks from Central Asia. The first of these Turkic dynasties established was the Seljuk Empire, who entered the area now known as Azerbaijan by 1067.\n\nThe pre-Turkic population that lived on the territory of modern Azerbaijan spoke several Indo-European and Caucasian languages, among them Armenian and an Iranian language, Old Azeri, which was gradually replaced by a Turkic language, the early precursor of the Azerbaijani language of today. Some linguists have also stated that the Tati dialects of Iranian Azerbaijan and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like those spoken by the Tats, are descended from Old Azeri. Locally, the possessions of the subsequent Seljuk Empire were ruled by Eldiguzids, technically vassals of the Seljuk sultans, but sometimes ''de facto'' rulers themselves. Under the Seljuks, local poets such as Nizami Ganjavi and Khaqani gave rise to a blossoming of Persian literature on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan.\n\nThe next ruling state, the Jalairid Sultanate, was short-lived and fell as a conquest of Timur.\n\nThe local dynasty of the Shirvanshahs became a vassal state of Timur's Empire, and assisted him in his war with the ruler of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh. Following Timur's death, two independent and rival states emerged: Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu. The Shirvanshahs returned, maintaining a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals from 861, for numerous centuries to come. In 1501, the Safavid dynasty of Iran subdued the Shirvanshahs, and gained its possessions. In the course of the next century, the Safavids converted the formerly Sunni population to Shia Islam, as they did with the population in what is modern-day Iran. The Safavids allowed the Shirvanshahs to remain in power, under Safavid suzerainty, until 1538, when Safavid king Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576) completely deposed them, and made the area into the Safavid province of Shirvan. The Sunni Ottomans briefly managed to occupy parts of present-day Azerbaijan as a result of the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1590; by the early 17th century, they were ousted by Safavid Iranian ruler Abbas I (r. 1588-1629). In the wake of the demise of the Safavid Empire, Baku and its environs were briefly occupied by the Russians as a consequence of the Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723. Despite brief intermissions such as these by Safavid Iran's neighboring rivals, the land of what is today Azerbaijan remained under Iranian rule from the earliest advent of the Safavids up to the course of the 19th century.\n\n===Contemporary history===\n\n\nTerritories of the khanates (and sultanates) in the 18th–19th century.\n\nAfter the Safavids, the area was ruled by the Iranian Afsharid dynasty. After the death of Nader Shah (r. 1736-1747), many of his former subjects capitalized on the eruption of instability. Numerous self-ruling khanates with various forms of autonomy emerged in the area. These rulers of these khanates were directly related to the ruling dynasties of Iran, and were vassals and subjects of the Iranian shah. The khanates exercised control over their affairs via international trade routes between Central Asia and the West.\n\nThereafter, the area was under the successive rule of the Iranian Zands and Qajars. From the late 18th century, Imperial Russia switched to a more aggressive geo-political stance towards its two neighbors and rivals to the south, namely Iran and the Ottoman Empire. Russia now actively tried to gain possession of the Caucasus region which was, for the most part, in the hands of Iran. In 1804, the Russians invaded and sacked the Iranian town of Ganja, sparking the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813. Militarily superior, the Russians ended the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 with a victory.\n\nThe siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 by Russian forces under the leadership of General Pavel Tsitsianov.\nFollowing Qajar Iran's loss in the 1804–1813 war, it was forced to concede suzerainty over most of the khanates, along with Georgia and Dagestan to the Russian Empire, per the Treaty of Gulistan.\n\nThe area to the north of the river Aras, amongst which territory lies the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia in the 19th century. About a decade later, in violation of the Gulistan treaty, the Russians invaded Iran's Erivan Khanate. This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two, the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828. The resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay, forced Qajar Iran to cede sovereignty over the Erivan Khanate, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Lankaran Khanate, comprising the last parts of the soil of the contemporary Azerbaijani Republic that were still in Iranian hands. After incorporation of all Caucasian territories from Iran into Russia, the new border between the two was set at the Aras River, which, upon the Soviet Union's disintegration, subsequently became part of the border between Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic.\n\nQajar Iran was forced to cede its Caucasian territories to Russia in the 19th century, which thus included the territory of the modern-day Azerbaijan Republic, while as a result of that cession, the Azerbaijani ethnic group is nowadays parted between two nations: Iran and Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran far outnumber those in neighbouring Azerbaijan.\n\nAfter the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was declared, constituting what are the present-day republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.\n\nIt was followed by the March Days massacres that took place between 30 March and 2 April 1918 in the city of Baku and adjacent areas of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire. When the republic dissolved in May 1918, the leading Musavat party declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), adopting the name of \"Azerbaijan\" for the new republic; a name that prior to the proclamation of the ADR was solely used to refer to the adjacent northwestern region of contemporary Iran. The ADR was the first modern parliamentary republic in the Muslim world. Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men. Another important accomplishment of ADR was the establishment of Baku State University, which was the first modern-type university founded in the Muslim East.\nParis Peace Conference in 1919. By March 1920, it was obvious that Soviet Russia would attack Baku. Vladimir Lenin said that the invasion was justified as Soviet Russia could not survive without Baku's oil. Independent Azerbaijan lasted only 23 months until the Bolshevik 11th Soviet Red Army invaded it, establishing the Azerbaijan SSR on 28 April 1920. Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh, Azerbaijanis did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 Azerbaijani soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.\n\nOn 13 October 1921, the Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed an agreement with Turkey known as the Treaty of Kars. The previously independent Republic of Aras would also become the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Azerbaijan SSR by the treaty of Kars. On the other hand, Armenia was awarded the region of Zangezur and Turkey agreed to return Gyumri (then known as Alexandropol).\n\nDuring World War II, Azerbaijan played a crucial role in the strategic energy policy of the Soviet Union, with 80 percent of the Soviet Union's oil on the Eastern Front being supplied by Baku. By the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February 1942, the commitment of more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan were awarded orders and medals. Operation Edelweiss carried out by the German Wehrmacht targeted Baku because of its importance as the energy (petroleum) dynamo of the USSR. A fifth of all Azerbaijanis fought in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945. Approximately 681,000 people with over 100,000 of them women went to the front, while the total population of Azerbaijan was 3.4 million at the time. Some 250,000 people from Azerbaijan were killed on the front. More than 130 Azerbaijanis were named Heroes of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani Major-General Azi Aslanov was twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union.\n\n===Independence===\nRed Army paratroops during the Black January tragedy in 1990.\nFollowing the politics of ''glasnost'', initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, civil unrest and ethnic strife grew in various regions of the Soviet Union, including Nagorno-Karabakh, an autonomous region of the Azerbaijan SSR. The disturbances in Azerbaijan, in response to Moscow's indifference to already heated conflict, resulted in calls for independence and secession, which culminated in Black January in Baku. Later in 1990, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR dropped the words \"Soviet Socialist\" from the title, adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Azerbaijan Republic and restored flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as the state flag. As an consequence of the failed coup that occurred in August in Moscow, on 18 October 1991, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a Declaration of Independence which was affirmed by a nationwide referendum in December 1991, when the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on 26 December 1991.\n\nThe early years of independence were overshadowed by the Nagorno-Karabakh war with the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia. By the end of hostilities in 1994, Armenians controlled up to 14–16 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh itself. During the war many atrocities were committed including the massacre at Malibeyli and Gushchular, the Garadaghly, Agdaban and the Khojaly massacres. Furthermore, an estimated 30,000 people had been killed and more than a million people had been displaced. Four United Nations Security Council Resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) demand for \"the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan.\" Many Russians and Armenians left Azerbaijan during the 1990s. According to the 1970 census, there were 510,000 ethnic Russians and 484,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan.\n\nIn 1993, democratically elected president Abulfaz Elchibey was overthrown by a military insurrection led by Colonel Surat Huseynov, which resulted in the rise to power of the former leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. In 1994, Surat Huseynov, by that time a prime minister, attempted another military coup against Heydar Aliyev, but Huseynov was arrested and charged with treason. A year later, in 1995, another coup was attempted against Aliyev, this time by the commander of the OMON special unit, Rovshan Javadov. The coup was averted, resulting in the killing of the latter and disbanding of Azerbaijan's OMON units. At the same time, the country was tainted by rampant corruption in the governing bureaucracy. In October 1998, Aliyev was reelected for a second term. Despite the much improved economy, particularly with the exploitations of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field and Shah Deniz gas field, Aliyev's presidency was criticized due to suspected vote fraud and corruption.\n\nIlham Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, became chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party as well as President of Azerbaijan when his father died in 2003. He was reelected to a third term as president in October 2013.\n", "Azerbaijan map of Köppen climate classification.\n\n\nCaucasus Mountains in northern Azerbaijan.\nGeographically Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It lies between latitudes 38° and 42° N, and longitudes 44° and 51° E. The total length of Azerbaijan's land borders is , of which 1,007 kilometers are with Armenia, 756 kilometers with Iran, 480 kilometers with Georgia, 390 kilometers with Russia and 15 kilometers with Turkey. The coastline stretches for , and the length of the widest area of the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea is . The territory of Azerbaijan extends from north to south, and from west to east.\n\nThree physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. There are also three mountain ranges, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains, together covering approximately 40% of the country. The highest peak of Azerbaijan is mount Bazardüzü (4,466 m), while the lowest point lies in the Caspian Sea (−28 m). Nearly half of all the mud volcanoes on Earth are concentrated in Azerbaijan, these volcanoes were also among nominees for the New7Wonders of Nature.\n\nThe main water sources are surface waters. However, only 24 of the 8,350 rivers are greater than in length. All the rivers drain into the Caspian Sea in the east of the country. The largest lake is Sarysu (67 km²), and the longest river is Kur (1,515 km), which is transboundary with Armenia. Azerbaijan's four main islands in the Caspian Sea have a combined area of over thirty square kilometers.\n\nSince the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijani government has taken drastic measures to preserve the environment of Azerbaijan. But national protection of the environment started to truly improve after 2001 when the state budget increased due to new revenues provided by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Within four years protected areas doubled and now make up eight percent of the country's territory. Since 2001 the government has set up seven large reserves and almost doubled the sector of the budget earmarked for environmental protection.\n\n===Landscape===\n\nMount Bazarduzu, the highest peak of Azerbaijan, as seen from Mount Shahdagh\nThe landscape of Khinalug valley.\nAzerbaijan is home to a vast variety of landscapes. Over half of Azerbaijan's land mass consists of mountain ridges, crests, yailas, and plateaus which rise up to hypsometric levels of 400–1000 meters (including the Middle and Lower lowlands), in some places (Talis, Jeyranchol-Ajinohur and Langabiz-Alat foreranges) up to 100–120 meters, and others from 0–50 meters and up (Qobustan, Absheron). The rest of Azerbaijan's terrain consist of plains and lowlands. Hypsometric marks within the Caucasus region vary from about −28 meters at the Caspian Sea shoreline up to 4,466 meters (Bazardüzü peak).\n\nThe formation of climate in Azerbaijan is influenced particularly by cold arctic air masses of Scandinavian anticyclone, temperate of Siberian anticyclone, and Central Asian anticyclone. Azerbaijan's diverse landscape affects the ways air masses enter the country. The Greater Caucasus protects the country from direct influences of cold air masses coming from the north. That leads to the formation of subtropical climate on most foothills and plains of the country. Meanwhile, plains and foothills are characterized by high solar radiation rates.\n\n9 out of 11 existing climate zones are present in Azerbaijan. Both the absolute minimum temperature ( ) and the absolute maximum temperature ( ) were observed in Julfa and Ordubad – regions of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The maximum annual precipitation falls in Lankaran () and the minimum in Absheron ().\nMurovdag is the highest mountain range in the Lesser Caucasus.\nRivers and lakes form the principal part of the water systems of Azerbaijan, they were formed over a long geological timeframe and changed significantly throughout that period (what period would that be??). This is particularly evidenced by remnants of ancient rivers found throughout the country. The country's water systems are continually changing under the influence of natural forces and human introduced industrial activities. Artificial rivers (canals) and ponds are a part of Azerbaijan's water systems. In terms of water supply, Azerbaijan is below the average in the world with approximately per year of water per square kilometer. All big water reservoirs are built on Kur. The hydrography of Azerbaijan basically belongs to the Caspian Sea basin.\n\nThere are 8,350 rivers of various lengths within Azerbaijan. Only 24 rivers are over 100 kilometers long. The Kura and Aras are the major rivers in Azerbaijan, they run through the Kura-Aras Lowland. The rivers that directly flow into the Caspian Sea, originate mainly from the north-eastern slope of the Major Caucasus and Talysh Mountains and run along the Samur–Devechi and Lankaran lowlands.\n\nYanar Dag, translated as \"burning mountain\", is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, which itself is known as the \"land of fire.\" Flames jet out into the air from a thin, porous sandstone layer. It is a tourist attraction to visitors to the Baku area.\n\n===Biodiversity===\n\n\nThe Karabakh horse is the national animal of Azerbaijan.\nThe first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in travel notes of Eastern travelers. Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks and stones survived up to the present times. The first information on the flora and fauna of Azerbaijan was collected during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in the 17th century.\n\nThere are 106 species of mammals, 97 species of fish, 363 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians and 52 species of reptiles which have been recorded and classified in Azerbaijan. The national animal of Azerbaijan is the Karabakh horse, a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse endemic to Azerbaijan. The Karabakh horse has a reputation for its good temper, speed, elegance and intelligence. It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world. However, today the horse is an endangered species.\n\nAzerbaijan's flora consists of more than 4,500 species of higher plants. Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. About 67 percent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.\n", "\n\nGovernment building.\nThe son of former President Heydar Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father and has remained in power since 2003.\nThe structural formation of Azerbaijan's political system was completed by the adoption of the new Constitution on 12 November 1995. According to Article 23 of the Constitution, the state symbols of the Azerbaijan Republic are the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem. The state power in Azerbaijan is limited only by law for internal issues, but for international affairs is additionally limited by the provisions of international agreements.\n\nThe government of Azerbaijan is based on the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative power is held by the unicameral National Assembly and the Supreme National Assembly in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Parliamentary elections are held every five years, on the first Sunday of November. The Yeni Azerbaijan Party, and independents loyal to the ruling government, currently hold almost all of the Parliament's 125 seats. During the 2010 Parliamentary election, the opposition parties, Musavat and Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, failed to win a single seat. European observers found numerous irregularities in the run-up to the election and on election day.\n\nThe executive power is held by the president, who is elected for a seven-year term by direct elections, and the prime minister. The president is authorized to form the Cabinet, a collective executive body, accountable to both the president and the National Assembly. The Cabinet of Azerbaijan consists primarily of the prime minister, his deputies, and ministers. The president does not have the right to dissolve the National Assembly, but he has the right to veto its decisions. To override the presidential veto, the parliament must have a majority of 95 votes. The judicial power is vested in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and the Economic Court. The president nominates the judges in these courts. The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) report refers to the Azerbaijani justice model on the selection of new judges as best practice that reflects the particular features and the course of development towards ensuring the independence and quality of the judiciary in a new democracy.\n\nThe Security Council is the deliberative body under the president, and he organizes it according to the Constitution. It was established on 10 April 1997. The administrative department is not a part of the president's office but manages the financial, technical and pecuniary activities of both the president and his office.\n\nAlthough Azerbaijan has held several elections since regaining its independence and it has many of the formal institutions of democracy, it remains classified as \"not free\" (on border with \"partly free\") by Freedom House. In recent years, large numbers of Azerbaijani journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and human rights activists have been rounded up and jailed for their criticism of President Aliyev and government authorities. A resolution adopted by the European Parliament in September 2015 described Azerbaijan as \"having suffered the greatest decline in democratic governance in all of Eurasia over the past ten years,\" noting as well that its dialogue with the country on human rights has \"not made any substantial progress.\" On 17 March 2016, the President of Azerbaijan signed a decree pardoning more than a dozen of the persons regarded as political prisoners by some NGOs. This decree was welcomed as a positive step by the US State Department. On 16 March 2017 another pardon decree was signed, which led to the release of additional persons regarded as political prisoners.\n\nAzerbaijan has been harshly criticized for bribing foreign officials and diplomats in order to promote its causes abroad and legitimize its elections at home, a practice which has been termed as 'caviar diplomacy'. However, on 6 March 2017, ESISC (European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center) published a report called “The Armenian Connection” where it attacked human rights NGOs and research organisations criticising human rights violations and corruption in Azerbaijan.\nESISC in that report asserted that \"Caviar diplomacy\" report elaborated by ESI aimed to create climate of suspicion based on slander to form a network of MPs that would engage in a political war against Azerbaijan, and that the network composed of European PMs, Armenian officials and some NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, \"Human Rights House Foundation\", \"Open Dialog, European Stability Initiative, and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, was financed by the Soros Foundation. According to Robert Coalson (Radio Free Europe), ESISC is a part of Baku's lobbying efforts to extend to the use of front think tanks to shift public opinion. Freedom Files Analytical Centre said that \"The report is written in the worst traditions of authoritarian propaganda\".\n\n===Foreign relations===\n\n\nVladimir Putin in Azerbaijan in August 2013\nThe short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic succeeded in establishing diplomatic relations with six countries, sending diplomatic representatives to Germany and Finland. The process of international recognition of Azerbaijan's independence from the collapsing Soviet Union lasted roughly one year. The most recent country to recognize Azerbaijan was Bahrain, on 6 November 1996. Full diplomatic relations, including mutual exchanges of missions, were first established with Turkey, Pakistan, the United States, Iran and Israel. Azerbaijan has placed a particular emphasis on its \"special relationship\" with Turkey.\n\nAzerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries so far and holds membership in 38 international organizations. It holds observer status in the Non-Aligned Movement and World Trade Organization and is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union. On 9 May 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly. The term of office began on 19 June 2006. Azerbaijan for the first time elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2011 with the support of 155 countries.\n\nIlham Aliyev attends the Caspian Sea Summit in Astrakhan, Russia, 29 September 2014\nForeign policy priorities of Azerbaijan include, first of all, the restoration of its territorial integrity; elimination of the consequences of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh; integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structure; contribution to international security; cooperation with international organizations; regional cooperation and bilateral relations; strengthening of defense capability; promotion of security by domestic policy means; strengthening of democracy; preservation of ethnic and religious tolerance; scientific, educational, and cultural policy and preservation of moral values; economic and social development; enhancing internal and border security; and migration, energy, and transportation security policy.\n\nThe Azerbaijani government, in late 2007, stated that the long-standing dispute over the Armenian-occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is almost certain to spark a new war if it remains unresolved. The Government is in the process of increasing its military budget.\n\nAzerbaijan is an active member of international coalitions fighting international terrorism. Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to offer support after the September 11 attacks. The country is contributing to peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Azerbaijan is an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. It also maintains good relations with the European Union and could potentially one day apply for membership.\n\n===Administrative divisions===\n\nAzerbaijan is divided into 10 economic regions; 66 rayons (''rayonlar'', singular ''rayon'') and 77 cities (''şəhərlər'', singular ''şəhər'') of which 12 are under the direct authority of the republic. Moreover, Azerbaijan includes the Autonomous Republic (''muxtar respublika'') of Nakhchivan. The President of Azerbaijan appoints the governors of these units, while the government of Nakhchivan is elected and approved by the parliament of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.\n\n\n;Absheron Economic Region\n* Absheron (Abşeron)\n* Khizi (Xızı)\n* ''Baku'' (Bakı)\n* ''Sumqayit'' (Sumqayıt)\n;Aran Economic Region\n* Aghjabadi (Ağcabədi)\n* Aghdash (Ağdaş)\n* Barda (Bərdə)\n* Beylagan (Beyləqan)\n* Bilasuvar (Biləsuvar)\n* Goychay (Göyçay)\n* Hajigabul (Hacıqabul)\n* Imishli (İmişli)\n* Kurdamir (Kürdəmir)\n* Neftchala (Neftçala)\n* Saatly (Saatlı)\n* Sabirabad (Sabirabad)\n* Salyan (Salyan)\n* Ujar (Ucar)\n* Yevlakh (Yevlax)\n* Zardab (Zərdab)\n* ''Mingachevir'' (Mingəçevir)\n* ''Shirvan'' (Şirvan)\n* ''Yevlakh'' (Yevlax)\n;Daghlig Shirvan\n* Aghsu (Ağsu)\n* Gobustan (Qobustan)\n* Ismailly (İsmayıllı)\n* Shamakhy (Şamaxı)\n\n;Ganja-Gazakh\n* Aghstafa (Ağstafa)\n* Dashkasan (Daşkəsən)\n* Gadabay (Gədəbəy)\n* Gazakh (Qazax)\n* Goygol (Göygöl)\n* Goranboy (Goranboy)\n* Samukh (Samux)\n* Shamkir (Şəmkir)\n* Tovuz (Tovuz)\n* ''Ganja'' (Gəncə)\n* ''Naftalan'' (Naftalan)\n;Guba-Khachmaz\n* Guba (Quba)\n* Gusar (Qusar)\n* Khachmaz (Xaçmaz)\n* Shabran (Şabran)\n* Siyazan (Siyəzən)\n;Kalbajar-Lachin\n* Gubadly (Qubadlı)\n* Kalbajar (Kəlbəcər)\n* Lachin (Laçın)\n* Zangilan (Zəngilan)\n;Lankaran\n* Astara (Astara)\n* Jalilabad (Cəlilabad)\n* Lankaran (Lənkəran)\n* Lerik (Lerik)\n* Masally (Masallı)\n\n* Yardimly (Yardımlı)\n* ''Lankaran'' (Lənkəran)\n;Nakhchivan\n* Babek (Babək)\n* Julfa (Culfa)\n* Kangarli (Kəngərli)\n* Ordubad (Ordubad)\n* Sadarak (Sədərək)\n* Shahbuz (Şahbuz)\n* Sharur (Şərur)\n* ''Nakhchivan'' (Naxçıvan)\n;Shaki-Zaqatala\n* Balakan (Balakən)\n* Gabala (Qəbələ)\n* Gakh (Qax)\n* Oghuz (Oğuz)\n* Shaki (Şəki)\n* Zaqatala (Zaqatala)\n* ''Shaki'' (Şəki)\n;Yukhari Garabakh\n* Aghdam (Ağdam)\n* Fuzuli (Füzuli)\n* Jabrayil (Cəbrayıl)\n* Khojaly (Xocalı)\n* Khojavend (Xocavənd)\n* Shusha (Şuşa)\n* Tartar (Tərtər)\n* ''Khankendi'' (Xankəndi)\n* ''Shusha'' (Şuşa)\n\n Azerbaijan is divided into 10 economic regions\n\n''Note: The cities under the direct authority of the republic in italics''.\n", "\nAzerbaijani Navy fleet during the 2011 military parade in Baku.\nAzerbaijani Special Forces during military parade.\nThe history of the modern Azerbaijan army dates back to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, when the National Army of the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was created on 26 June 1918. When Azerbaijan gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan were created according to the Law on the Armed Forces of 9 October 1991. The original date of the establishment of the short-lived National Army is celebrated as Army Day (26 June) in today's Azerbaijan.\nAs of 2002, Azerbaijan had 95,000 active personnel in its armed forces. There are also 17,000 paramilitary troops. The armed forces have three branches: the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Navy. Additionally the armed forces embrace several military sub-groups that can be involved in state defense when needed. These are the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border Service, which includes the Coast Guard as well. The Azerbaijan National Guard is a further paramilitary force. It operates as a semi-independent entity of the Special State Protection Service, an agency subordinate to the President.\n\nMoscow Victory Day Parade, 9 May 2015\nAzerbaijan adheres to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and has signed all major international arms and weapons treaties. Azerbaijan closely cooperates with NATO in programs such as Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan. Azerbaijan has deployed 151 of its Peacekeeping Forces in Iraq and another 184 in Afghanistan.\n\nThe defense budget of Azerbaijan for 2011 was set at US$3.1 billion. In addition to that, $1.36 billion was planned to be used for the needs of the defense industry, which bring up the total military budget to 4.6 billion. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on 26 June 2011 that the defence spending reached $3.3 billion that year.\n\nAzerbaijan's defense budget for 2013 is $3.7 billion.\n\nAzerbaijani defense industry manufactures small arms, artillery systems, tanks, armors and noctovision devices, aviation bombs, pilotless vehicles, various military vehicles and military planes and helicopters.\n", "\n\nAfter gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, commercial banks and non-banking credit organizations. The National (now Central) Bank was created in 1992 based on the Azerbaijan State Savings Bank, an affiliate of the former State Savings Bank of the USSR. The Central Bank serves as Azerbaijan's central bank, empowered to issue the national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, and to supervise all commercial banks. Two major commercial banks are UniBank and the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan, run by Dr. Jahangir Hajiyev.\n\nPushed up by spending and demand growth, the 2007 Q1 inflation rate reached 16.6%. Nominal incomes and monthly wages climbed 29% and 25% respectively against this figure, but price increases in non-oil industry encouraged inflation. Azerbaijan shows some signs of the so-called \"Dutch disease\" because of its fast-growing energy sector, which causes inflation and makes non-energy exports more expensive.\n\nIn the early 2000s the chronically high inflation was brought under control. This led to the launch of a new currency, the new Azerbaijani manat, on 1 January 2006, to cement the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy.\n\nIn 2008, Azerbaijan was cited as one of the top 10 reformers by the World Bank's Doing Business Report.\n\n\n\nAzerbaijan is also ranked 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010–2011, above other CIS countries. By 2012 the GDP of Azerbaijan had increased 20-fold from to its 1995 level.\n\n===Energy===\n \npumping unit for the mechanical extraction of oil on the outskirts of Baku.\nTwo-thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas. The history of the oil industry of Azerbaijan dates back to the ancient period. Arabian historian and traveler Ahmed Al-Belaruri mentioned about the economics of Absheron peninsula in the ancient times, oil lands, also, white and black oil in Absheron.\n\nThe region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony. In September 1994, a 30-year contract was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and 13 oil companies, among them Amoco, BP, ExxonMobil, Lukoil and Statoil. As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development. Meanwhile, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and safeguarding of resources for future generations.\n\nAzeriqaz, a sub-company of SOCAR, intends to ensure full gasification of the country by 2021.\nAzerbaijan is one of the sponsors of the East–West and North–South energy transport corridors. Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway line will connect the Caspian region with Turkey, is expected to be completed in July 2017. The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will deliver natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas to Turkey and Europe.\n\nAzerbaijan extended the agreement on development of ACG until 2050 according to the amended PSA signed on 14 September 2017 by SOCAR and co-venturers (BP, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil, TP, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh).\n\n===Agriculture===\n\nAzerbaijan has the largest agricultural basin in the region. About 54.9 percent of Azerbaijan is agricultural land. At the beginning of 2007 there were 4,755,100 hectares of utilized agricultural area. In the same year the total wood resources counted 136 million m³. Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on meadows and pastures, horticulture and subtropical crops, green vegetables, viticulture and wine-making, cotton growing and medicinal plants. In some areas it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, sugar beets, cotton and tobacco. Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products. The Caspian fishing industry concentrates on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga. In 2002 the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships.\n\nSome products previously imported from abroad have begun to be produced locally. Among them are Coca-Cola by Coca-Cola Bottlers LTD, beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan.\n\n===Tourism===\n\nShahdag Mountain Resort is the country's largest winter resort.\nTourism is an important part of the economy of Azerbaijan. The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s. However, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1990s, damaged the tourist industry and the image of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.\n\nIt was not until the 2000s that the tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits and overnight stays. In the recent years, Azerbaijan has also become a popular destination for religious, spa, and health care tourism. During winter, the Shahdag Mountain Resort offers skiing with state of the art facilities.\n\nThe government of Azerbaijan has set the development of Azerbaijan as an elite tourist destination as a top priority. It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not the single largest, contributor to the Azerbaijani economy. These activities are regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.\nThere are 63 countries which have visa-free score.\nE-visa – for a visit of foreigners of visa-required countries to the Republic of Azerbaijan.\n\nAccording to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 of the World Economic Forum Azerbaijan holds 84th place.\n\nAzerbaijan placed among top ten countries due to the strongest growth in visitor exports in years of 2010-2016 according to the report prepared by the World Travel and Tourism Council. As well as, Azerbaijan is at the first place (46.1%) among the countries which have the fastest developing travel and tourism economies in addition with strong inbound international visitor spending last year.\n\n===Transportation===\n\nThe convenient location of Azerbaijan on the crossroad of major international traffic arteries, such as the Silk Road and the south–north corridor, highlights the strategic importance of transportation sector for the country's economy. The transport sector in the country includes roads, railways, aviation, and maritime transport.\n\nAzerbaijan is also an important economic hub in the transportation of raw materials. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and extends more than 1,774 kilometers through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The BTC is designed to transport up to 50 million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets. The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, became operational at the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supplies to the European market from the Shah Deniz gas field. Shah Deniz is expected to produce up to 296 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.\n\nIn 2002, the Azerbaijani government established the Ministry of Transport with a broad range of policy and regulatory functions. In the same year, the country became a member of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The highest priority being; upgrading the transport network and transforming transportation services into one of the key comparative advantages of the country, as this would be highly conducive to the development of other sectors of the economy.\n\nIn 2012, the construction of Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway expected to provide transportation between Asia and Europe through connecting the railways of China and Kazakhstan in the east with Turkey's Marmaray to the European railway system in the west. Broad-gauge railways in 2010 stretched for and electrified railways numbered . By 2010, there were 35 airports and one heliport.\n\n===Science and technology===\n\nShamakhi Astrophysical Observatory\nIn the 21st century, a new oil and gas boom helped to improve the situation in Azerbaijan's science and technology sectors, and the government launched a campaign aimed at modernization and innovation. The government estimates that profits from the information technology and communication industry will grow and become comparable with those from oil production.\n\nAzerbaijan has a large and steadily growing Internet sector, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; rapid growth is forecast for at least five more years.\n\nThe country has also been making progress in developing its telecoms sector. The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator. Public pay phones are available for local calls and require the purchase of a token from the telephone exchange or some shops and kiosks. Tokens allow a call of indefinite duration. , there were 1,397,000 main telephone lines and 1,485,000 internet users. There are four GSM providers: Azercell, Bakcell, Azerfon (Nar Mobile), Nakhtel mobile network operators and one CDMA.\n\nIn the 21st century a number of prominent Azerbaijani geodynamics and geotectonics scientists, inspired by the fundamental works of Elchin Khalilov and others, designed hundreds of earthquake prediction stations and earthquake-resistant buildings that now constitute the bulk of The Republican Center of Seismic Service.\n\nThe Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency launched its first satellite AzerSat 1 into orbit on 7 February 2013 from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at orbital positions 46° East. The satellite will cover Europe and significant part of Asian countries and Africa and will have transmission for TV, radio broadcasting and the internet. The launch of its own satellite on orbit is Azerbaijan's first action in realizing prospective projects to turn itself into a country with a space industry.\n", "\n\n\nFrom the total population of 9.705. 600 people as of the beginning of 2016, nearly 53,1% was urban population, the remaining 46,9% was the rural population. 50,2% of the total population were female.The sex ratio for total population in that year was therefore 0.99 males per female.\n\nThe 2011 population growth-rate was 0.85%, compared to 1.09% worldwide. A significant factor restricting the population growth is a high level of migration. In 2011 Azerbaijan saw migration of −1.14/1,000 people.\n\nThe Azerbaijani diaspora is found in 42 countries and in turn there are many centers for ethnic minorities inside Azerbaijan, including the German cultural society \"Karelhaus\", Slavic cultural center, Azerbaijani-Israeli community, Kurdish cultural center, International Talysh Association, Lezgin national center \"Samur\", Azerbaijani-Tatar community, Crimean Tatars society, etc.\n\n===Ethnic groups===\n\n\nEthnic composition (2009)\n\nAzerbaijani\n91.60%\n\nLezgian\n2.02%\n\nArmenian\n1.35%\n\nRussian\n1.34%\n\nTalysh\n1.26%\n\nOther nations\n2.43%\n\n\nThe ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 population census: 91.60% Azerbaijanis, 2.02% Lezgians, 1.35% Armenians (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh), 1.34% Russians, 1.26% Talysh, 0.56% Avars, 0.43% Turks, 0.29% Tatars, 0.28% Tats, 0.24% Ukrainians, 0.14% Tsakhurs, 0.11% Georgians, 0.10% Jews, 0.07% Kurds, other 0.21%.\n\nIranian Azerbaijanis are by far the largest minority in Iran. The number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran furthermore far outnumber those in neighboring Azerbaijan. The CIA World Factbook estimates Iranian Azerbaijanis as comprising at least 16% of Iran's population.\n\n===Urbanization===\n\nIn total, Azerbaijan has 78 cities, 63 city districts, and one special legal status city. These are followed by 261 urban-type settlements and 4248 villages.\n\n===Language===\n\nThe official language is Azerbaijani (Turkic language), which is spoken by approximately 92% of the population as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Turkic language family. Russian and Armenian (only in Nagorno-Karabakh) are also spoken, and each are the mother tongue of around 1.5% of the population respectively. Russian and English play significant roles as second or third languages of education and communication. There are a dozen other minority languages spoken natively in the country. Avar, Budukh, Georgian, Juhuri, Khinalug, Kryts, Lezgian, Rutul, Talysh, Tat, Tsakhur, and Udi are all spoken by small minorities. Some of these language communities are very small and their numbers are decreasing. Armenian is almost exclusively spoken in the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region.\n\n===Religion===\n\n\nThe Bibi-Heybat Mosque before its destruction by the Bolsheviks in 1936. The mosque was built over the tomb of a descendant of Muhammad.\nAround 98% of the population are Muslims. 85% of the Muslims are Shia Muslims and 15% Sunni Muslims, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia population percentage in the world. Other faiths are practised by the country's various ethnic groups. Under article 48 of its Constitution, Azerbaijan is a secular state and ensures religious freedom. In a 2006–2008 Gallup poll, only 21% of respondents from Azerbaijan stated that religion is an important part of their daily lives. This makes Azerbaijan the least religious Muslim-majority country in the world.\n\nOf the nation's religious minorities, Christians who estimated 280,000 (3.1%) are mostly Russian and Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh). In 2003, there were 250 Roman Catholics. Other Christian denominations as of 2002 include Lutherans, Baptists and Molokans. There is also a small Protestant community. Azerbaijan also has an ancient Jewish population with a 2,500-year history; Jewish organizations estimate that 10,000–20,000 Jews remain in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also is home to members of the Bahá'í, Hare Krishna and Jehovah's Witnesses communities, as well as adherents of the other religious communities. Some religious communities have been unofficially restricted from religious freedom. A U.S. State Department report on the matter mentions detention of members of certain Muslim and Christian groups, and many groups have difficulty registering with the SCWRA.\n\n===Education===\n\nDunya School\nA relatively high percentage of Azerbaijanis have obtained some form of higher education, most notably in scientific and technical subjects. In the Soviet era, literacy and average education levels rose dramatically from their very low starting point, despite two changes in the standard alphabet, from Perso-Arabic script to Latin in the 1920s and from Roman to Cyrillic in the 1930s. According to Soviet data, 100 percent of males and females (ages nine to forty-nine) were literate in 1970. According to the United Nations Development Program Report 2009, the literacy rate in Azerbaijan is 99.5 percent.\n\nSince independence, one of the first laws that Azerbaijan's Parliament passed to disassociate itself from the Soviet Union was to adopt a modified-Latin alphabet to replace Cyrillic. Other than that the Azerbaijani system has undergone little structural change. Initial alterations have included the reestablishment of religious education (banned during the Soviet period) and curriculum changes that have reemphasized the use of the Azerbaijani language and have eliminated ideological content. In addition to elementary schools, the education institutions include thousands of preschools, general secondary schools, and vocational schools, including specialized secondary schools and technical schools. Education through the eighth grade is compulsory.\n", "\n\n\nThe culture of Azerbaijan has developed as a result of many influences. Today, national traditions are well preserved in the country despite Western influences, including globalized consumer culture. Some of the main elements of the Azerbaijani culture are: music, literature, folk dances and art, cuisine, architecture, cinematography and Novruz Bayram. The latter is derived from the traditional celebration of the New Year in the ancient Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism. Novruz is a family holiday.\n\nThe profile of Azerbaijan's population consists, as stated above, of Azerbaijanis, as well as other nationalities or ethnic groups, compactly living in various areas of the country. Azerbaijani national and traditional dresses are the Chokha and Papakhi. There are radio broadcasts in Russian, Georgian, Kurdish, Lezgian and Talysh languages, which are financed from the state budget. Some local radio stations in Balakan and Khachmaz organize broadcasts in Avar and Tat. In Baku several newspapers are published in Russian, Kurdish (''Dengi Kurd''), Lezgian (''Samur'') and Talysh languages. Jewish society \"Sokhnut\" publishes the newspaper ''Aziz''.\n\n===Music and folk dances===\n\nUzeyir Hajibeyov merged traditional Azerbaijani music with Western styles in the early 20th century.\nMusic of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly a thousand years. For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies. Azerbaijani music has a branchy mode system, where chromatization of major and minor scales is of great importance. Among national musical instruments there are 14 string instruments, eight percussion instruments and six wind instruments. According to ''The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', \"in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion the Azerbaijani are musically much closer to Iran than Turkey.\"\nAzerbaijani Mugam, a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage of Humanity, 16th-century miniature of Nizami Ganjavi's Khosrow and Shirin tragic romance.\nMugham, meykhana and ashiq art are among the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan. Mugham is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes. When performing mugham, the singers have to transform their emotions into singing and music. In contrast to the mugham traditions of Central Asian countries, Azerbaijani mugham is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to the improvised field of jazz. UNESCO proclaimed the Azerbaijani mugham tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003. Meykhana is a kind of traditional Azerbaijani distinctive folk unaccompanied song, usually performed by several people improvising on a particular subject.\n\nAshiq combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture. It is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard who sings and plays the saz. This tradition has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turkic peoples. Ashiqs' songs are semi-improvised around common bases. Azerbaijan's ashiq art was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO on 30 September 2009.\n\nSince the mid-1960s, Western-influenced Azerbaijani pop music, in its various forms, that has been growing in popularity in Azerbaijan, while genres such as rock and hip hop are widely produced and enjoyed. Azerbaijani pop and Azerbaijani folk music arose with the international popularity of performers like Alim Qasimov, Rashid Behbudov, Vagif Mustafazadeh, Muslim Magomayev, Shovkat Alakbarova and Rubaba Muradova. Azerbaijan is an enthusiastic participant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijan made its debut appearance at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The country's entry gained third place in 2009 and fifth the following year. Ell and Nikki won the first place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song \"Running Scared\", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in 2012, in Baku. They have never missed a Grand Final.\n\nThere are dozens of Azerbaijani folk dances. They are performed at formal celebrations and the dancers wear national clothes like the Chokha, which is well-preserved within the national dances. Most dances have a very fast rhythm. The national dance shows the characteristics of the Azerbaijani nation.\n\n===Literature===\n\nPainting of Khurshidbanu Natavan, one of the most distinguished Azerbaijani poets. She was also the daughter of the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate.\nAmong the medieval authors born within the territorial limits of modern Azerbaijani Republic was Persian poet and philosopher Nizami, called Ganjavi after his place of birth, Ganja, who was the author of the Khamseh (\"The Quintuplet\"), composed of five romantic poems, including \"The Treasure of Mysteries,\" \"Khosrow and Shīrīn,\" and \"Leyli and Mejnūn.\"\n\nThe earliest known figure in Azerbaijani literature was Izzeddin Hasanoglu, who composed a divan consisting of Persian and Turkic ghazals. In Persian ghazals he used his pen-name, while his Turkic ghazals were composed under his own name of Hasanoghlu.\n\nClassical literature in Azerbaijani was formed in the 14th century based on the various Early Middle Ages dialects of Tabriz and Shirvan. Among the poets of this period were Gazi Burhanaddin, Haqiqi (pen-name of Jahan-shah Qara Qoyunlu), and Habibi. The end of the 14th century was also the period of starting literary activity of Imadaddin Nesimi, one of the greatest Turkic Hurufi mystical poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries and one of the most prominent early divan masters in Turkic literary history, who also composed poetry in Persian and Arabic. The divan and ghazal styles were further developed by poets Qasim al-Anvar, Fuzuli and Khatai (pen-name of Safavid Shah Ismail I).\n\nThe Book of Dede Korkut consists of two manuscripts copied in the 16th century, was not written earlier than the 15th century. It is a collection of 12 stories reflecting the oral tradition of Oghuz nomads. The 16th-century poet, Muhammed Fuzuli produced his timeless philosophical and lyrical ''Qazals'' in Arabic, Persian, and Azerbaijani. Benefiting immensely from the fine literary traditions of his environment, and building upon the legacy of his predecessors, Fizuli was destined to become the leading literary figure of his society. His major works include ''The Divan of Ghazals'' and ''The Qasidas''. In the same century, Azerbaijani literature further flourished with the development of Ashik () poetic genre of bards. During the same period, under the pen-name of Khatāī ( for ''sinner'') Shah Ismail I wrote about 1400 verses in Azerbaijani, which were later published as his ''Divan''. A unique literary style known as ''qoshma'' ( for ''improvization'') was introduced in this period, and developed by Shah Ismail and later by his son and successor, Shah Tahmasp I.\n\nIn the span of the 17th and 18th centuries, Fizuli's unique genres as well Ashik poetry were taken up by prominent poets and writers such as Qovsi of Tabriz, Shah Abbas Sani, Agha Mesih Shirvani, Nishat, Molla Vali Vidadi, Molla Panah Vagif, Amani, Zafar and others. Along with Turks, Turkmens and Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis also celebrate the Epic of Koroglu (from for ''blind man's son''), a legendary folk hero. Several documented versions of Koroglu epic remain at the Institute for Manuscripts of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.\n\nModern literature in Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iran it is based on the Tabrizi one. The first newspaper in Azerbaijani, ''Akinchi'' was published in 1875. In the mid-19th century, it was taught in the schools of Baku, Ganja, Shaki, Tbilisi, and Yerevan. Since 1845, it has also been taught in the University of Saint Petersburg in Russia.\n\n===Folk art===\n\nTraditional Azerbaijani clothing and musical instruments.\nAzerbaijanis have a rich and distinctive culture, a major part of which is decorative and applied art. This form of art is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jeweler, engraving in metal, carving in wood, stone and bone, carpet-making, lasing, pattern weaving and printing, knitting and embroidery. Each of these types of decorative art, evidence of the endowments of the Azerbaijan nation, is very much in favor here. Many interesting facts pertaining to the development of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan were reported by numerous merchants, travelers and diplomats who had visited these places at different times.\n\nThe Azerbaijani carpet is a traditional handmade textile of various sizes, with dense texture and a pile or pile-less surface, whose patterns are characteristic of Azerbaijan's many carpet-making regions. In November 2010 the Azerbaijani carpet was proclaimed a Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.\nLahic.\nAzerbaijan has been since the ancient times known as a center of a large variety of crafts. The archeological dig on the territory of Azerbaijan testifies to the well developed agriculture, stock raising, metal working, pottery, ceramics, and carpet-weaving that date as far back as to the 2nd millennium BC. Archeological sites in Dashbulaq, Hasansu, Zayamchai, and Tovuzchai uncovered from the BTC pipeline have revealed early Iron Age artifacts.\n\nAzerbaijani carpets can be categorized under several large groups and a multitude of subgroups. Scientific research of the Azerbaijani carpet is connected with the name of Latif Kerimov, a prominent scientist and artist. It was his classification that related the four large groups of carpets with the four geographical zones of Azerbaijan, Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Kazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz.\n\n===Cuisine===\n\nDushbara, a traditional Azerbaijani meal.\nPakhlava and Badambura are traditional desserts, usually drunk with tea\nThe traditional cuisine is famous for an abundance of vegetables and greens used seasonally in the dishes. Fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro (coriander), dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leeks, chives, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress, are very popular and often accompany main dishes on the table. Climatic diversity and fertility of the land are reflected in the national dishes, which are based on fish from the Caspian Sea, local meat (mainly mutton and beef), and an abundance of seasonal vegetables and greens. Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan and black tea is the national beverage. Azerbaijanis often use traditional armudu (pear-shaped) glass as they have very strong tea culture. Popular traditional dishes include ''bozbash'' (lamb soup that exists in several regional varieties with the addition of different vegetables), qutab (fried turnover with a filling of greens or minced meat) and dushbara (sort of dumplings of dough filled with ground meat and flavor).\n\n===Architecture===\n\nMomine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhchivan built in the 12th century\nAzerbaijani architecture typically combines elements of East and West. Azerbaijiani architecture has heavy influences from Persian architecture. Many ancient architectural treasures such as the Maiden Tower and Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the Walled City of Baku survive in modern Azerbaijan. Entries submitted on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list include the Ateshgah of Baku, Momine Khatun Mausoleum, Hirkan National Park, Binegadi National Park, Lökbatan Mud Volcano, Baku Stage Mountain, Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions, Shusha National Reserve, Ordubad National Reserve and the Palace of Shaki Khans.\n\nAmong other architectural treasures are Quadrangular Castle in Mardakan, Parigala in Yukhary Chardaglar, a number of bridges spanning the Aras River, and several mausoleums. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, little monumental architecture was created, but distinctive residences were built in Baku and elsewhere. Among the most recent architectural monuments, the Baku subways are noted for their lavish decor.\n\nThe task for modern Azerbaijani architecture is diverse application of modern aesthetics, the search for an architect's own artistic style and inclusion of the existing historico-cultural environment. Major projects such as Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Flame Towers, Baku Crystal Hall, Baku White City and SOCAR Tower have transformed the country's skyline and promotes its contemporary identity.\n\n===Visual art===\n\nminiature painting of a battle scene on the walls of the Palace of Shaki Khans, 18th century, city of Shaki.\nAzerbaijani art includes one of the oldest art objects in the world, which were discovered as Gamigaya Petroglyphs in the territory of Ordubad Rayon are dated back to the 1st to 4th centuries BC. About 1500 dislodged and carved rock paintings with images of deer, goats, bulls, dogs, snakes, birds, fantastic beings and also people, carriages and various symbols had been found out on basalt rocks. Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl was convinced that people from the area went to Scandinavia in about 100 AD and took their boat building skills with them, and transmuted them into the Viking boats in Northern Europe.\n\nOver the centuries, Azerbaijani art has gone through many stylistic changes. Azerbaijani painting is traditionally characterized by a warmth of colour and light, as exemplified in the works of Azim Azimzade and Bahruz Kangarli, and a preoccupation with religious figures and cultural motifs. Azerbaijani painting enjoyed preeminence in Caucasus for hundreds of years, from the Romanesque and Ottoman periods, and through the Soviet and Baroque periods, the latter two of which saw fruition in Azerbaijan. Other notable artists who fall within these periods include Sattar Bahlulzade, Togrul Narimanbekov, Tahir Salahov, Alakbar Rezaguliyev, Mirza Gadim Iravani, Mikayil Abdullayev and Boyukagha Mirzazade.\n\n===Cinema===\nScene from the Azerbaijani film ''In the Kingdom of Oil and Millions'', 1916\n\nThe film industry in Azerbaijan dates back to 1898. In fact, Azerbaijan was among the first countries involved in cinematography. Therefore, it's not surprising that this apparatus soon showed up in Baku – at the start of the 20th century, this bay town on the Caspian was producing more than 50 percent of the world's supply of oil. Just like today, the oil industry attracted foreigners eager to invest and to work. In 1919, during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, a documentary ''The Celebration of the Anniversary of Azerbaijani Independence'' was filmed on Azerbaijan's independence day, 28 May, and premiered in June 1919 at several theatres in Baku. After the Soviet power was established in 1920, Nariman Narimanov, Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan, signed a decree nationalizing Azerbaijan's cinema. This also influenced the creation of Azerbaijani animation.\n\nIn 1991, after Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union, the first Baku International Film Festival East-West was held in Baku. In December 2000, the former President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, signed a decree proclaiming 2 August to be the professional holiday of filmmakers of Azerbaijan. Today Azerbaijani filmmakers are again dealing with issues similar to those faced by cinematographers prior to the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1920. Once again, both choice of content and sponsorship of films are largely left up to the initiative of the filmmaker.\n\n===Media and media freedom===\n\nThere are three state-owned television channels: AzTV, Idman TV and Medeniyyet TV. One public channel and 6 private channels: İctimai Television, ANS TV, Space TV, Lider TV, Azad Azerbaijan TV, Xazar TV and Region TV.\n\n===Human rights in Azerbaijan===\n\n\nThe Constitution of Azerbaijan claims to guarantee freedom of speech, but this is denied in practice. After several years of decline in press and media freedom, in 2014 the media environment in Azerbaijan deteriorated fast under a governmental campaign to silence any opposition and criticism, even while the country led the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May–November 2014). Spurious legal charges and impunity in violence against journalists have remained the norm. All foreign broadcasts are banned in the country.\n\nAccording to the 2013 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report, Azerbaijan's press freedom status is \"not free,\" and Azerbaijan ranks 177th out of 196 countries.\n\nRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America are banned in Azerbaijan.\n\nDuring the last few years, three journalists were killed and several prosecuted in trials described as unfair by international human rights organizations. Azerbaijan has the biggest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe and Central Asia in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and is the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.\n\nA report by an Amnesty International researcher in October 2015 points to '...the severe deterioration of human rights in Azerbaijan over the past few years. Sadly Azerbaijan has been allowed to get away with unprecedented levels of repression and in the process almost wipe out its civil society'. Amnesty's 2015/16 annual report on the country stated ' ... persecution of political dissent continued. Human rights organizations remained unable to resume their work. At least 18 prisoners of conscience remained in detention at the end of the year. Reprisals against independent journalists and activists persisted both in the country and abroad, while their family members also faced harassment and arrests. International human rights monitors were barred and expelled from the country. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment persisted.'\n\nThe Guardian reported 9-4-17: \"Azerbaijan’s ruling elite operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies, an investigation by the Guardian reveals. Leaked data shows that the Azerbaijani leadership, accused of serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and rigging elections, made more than 16,000 covert payments from 2012 to 2014. Some of this money went to politicians and journalists, as part of an international lobbying operation to deflect criticism of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, and to promote a positive image of his oil-rich country. There is no suggestion that all the recipients were aware of the original source of the money. It arrived via a disguised route.\"\n\n===Sports===\n\n\nShakhriyar Mamedyarov was the 2013 World Rapid Chess and two-time European Team Chess champion.\n\nFreestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's national sport, in which Azerbaijan won up to fourteen medals, including four golds since joining the National Olympic Committee. Currently, the most popular sports include football and wrestling.\n\nFootball is the most popular sport in Azerbaijan, and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan with 9,122 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country. The national football team of Azerbaijan demonstrates relatively low performance in the international arena compared to the nation football clubs. The most successful Azerbaijani football clubs are Neftchi Baku, Qarabağ, and Gabala. In 2012, Neftchi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of a European competition, beating APOEL of Cyprus 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League. In 2014, Qarabağ became the second Azerbaijani club advancing to the group stage of UEFA Europa League. In 2017, after beating Copenhagen 2-2(a) in the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League, Qarabağ became the first Azerbaijani club to reach the Group stage. Futsal is another popular sport in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan national futsal team reached fourth place in the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship, while domestic club Araz Naxçivan clinched bronze medals at the 2009–10 UEFA Futsal Cup and 2013–14 UEFA Futsal Cup. Azerbaijan was the main sponsor of Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid during seasons 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a partnership that the club described should 'promote the image of Azerbaijan in the world'.\n\nBackgammon also plays a major role in Azerbaijani culture. The game is very popular in Azerbaijan and is widely played among the local public. There are also different variations of backgammon developed and analyzed by Azerbaijani experts.\nBaku National Stadium was used for the first European Games in June 2015.\nAzerbaijan is one of the leading volleyball countries in the world and its Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League is one of strongest women leagues in world. Its women's national team came fourth at the 2005 European Championship. Over the last years, clubs like Rabita Baku and Azerrail Baku achieved great success at European cups. Azerbaijani volleyball players include likes of Valeriya Korotenko, Oksana Parkhomenko, Inessa Korkmaz, Natalya Mammadova and Alla Hasanova.\n\nOther well-known Azerbaijani athletes are Namig Abdullayev, Toghrul Asgarov, Rovshan Bayramov, Sharif Sharifov, Mariya Stadnik and Farid Mansurov in wrestling, Nazim Huseynov, Elnur Mammadli, Elkhan Mammadov and Rustam Orujov in judo, Rafael Aghayev in karate, Magomedrasul Majidov and Aghasi Mammadov in boxing, Nizami Pashayev in Olympic weightlifting, Azad Asgarov in pankration, Eduard Mammadov in kickboxing, and K-1 fighter Zabit Samedov.\n\nAzerbaijan has a Formula One race-track and the country hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix on 19 June 2016. Other annual sporting events held in the country are the Baku Cup tennis tournament and the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan cycling race.\n\nAzerbaijan hosted several major sport competitions since the late 2000s, including the 2013 F1 Powerboat World Championship, 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships, 2010 European Wrestling Championships, 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2014 European Taekwondo Championships, 2014 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2016 World Chess Olympiad. On 8 December 2012, Baku was selected to host the 2015 European Games, the first to be held in competition's history. Baku is also set to host the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.\n\n", "\n* Outline of Azerbaijan\n* Visa policy of Azerbaijan\n* Index of Azerbaijan-related articles\n\n", "\n", "\n", "* Olukbasi, Suha. ''Azerbaijan: A Political History''. I.B. Tauris (2011). Focus on post-Soviet era.\n* de Waal, Thomas. ''Black Garden''. NYU (2003). \n* Goltz, Thomas. ''Azerbaijan Diary : A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic''. M E Sharpe (1998). \n", "\n\n\n\n'''General information'''\n* Azerbaijan International\n* Heydar Aliyev Foundation\n* \n* \n* Azerbaijan at University of Colorado at Boulder\n* Country profile from BBC\n* Key Development Forecasts for Azerbaijan from International Futures\n* Visions of Azerbaijan Journal of The European Azerbaijan Society\n* \n*\n\n'''Major government resources'''\n* President of Azerbaijan website\n* Azerbaijan State Statistical Committee\n* United Nations Office in Azerbaijan\n\n'''Major news media'''\n* Network NEWS Azerbaijan\n* Azerbaijan Today\n* Azerbaijan Press Agency\n* Trend News Agency\n* News.Az\n\n'''Tourism'''\n* Azerbaijan Tourism Portal\n* \n* Travel in Azerbaijan in Visions of Azerbaijan Journal\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "History", "Geography", "Politics", "Military", "Economy", "Demographics", "Culture", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "\n\nAfter gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.", "The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, commercial banks and non-banking credit organizations.", "The National (now Central) Bank was created in 1992 based on the Azerbaijan State Savings Bank, an affiliate of the former State Savings Bank of the USSR.", "The Central Bank serves as Azerbaijan's central bank, empowered to issue the national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, and to supervise all commercial banks.", "Two major commercial banks are UniBank and the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan, run by Dr. Jahangir Hajiyev.", "In 2008, Azerbaijan was cited as one of the top 10 reformers by the World Bank's Doing Business Report." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Azerbaijan''' ( ; , officially the '''Republic of Azerbaijan''' ()), is a country in the South Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe.", "It is bound by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south.", "The exclave of Nakhchivan is bound by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having an 11 km border with Turkey in the north west.", "The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first democratic state in the Muslim-oriented world.", "The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.", "The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, prior to the official dissolution of the USSR in December 1991.", "In September 1991, the Armenian majority of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region seceded to form the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.", "The region and seven adjacent districts outside it became ''de facto'' independent with the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994.", "These regions are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan pending a solution to the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh, found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE.", "Azerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic.", "The country is a member state of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.", "It is one of six independent Turkic states, an active member of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community.", "Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations.", "It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.", "A member of the United Nations since 1992 after its independence, Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 May 2006.", "Its term of office began on 19 June 2006.", "Azerbaijan is also a member state of the Non-Aligned Movement, holds observer status in World Trade Organization, and is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union.", "The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are secularist.", "However, the majority of the population are of a Shiite Muslim background.", "Most Azerbaijanis, however, do not actively practice any religion, and the country has been seen to be one of the most irreligious countries in the Muslim world, with 53% stating religion has little to no importance in their lives, according to Pew Research Center and Gallup polls.", "Azerbaijan has a high level of human development which ranks on par with most Eastern European countries.", "It has a high rate of economic development and literacy, as well as a low rate of unemployment.", "However, the ruling party, the New Azerbaijan Party, has been accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.", "Azerbaijan and its main cities\nAccording to a modern etymology, the name of Azerbaijan derives from that of ''Atropates'', a Persian satrap under the Achaemenid Empire, who was later reinstated as the satrap of Media under Alexander the Great.", "The original etymology of this name is thought to have its roots in the once-dominant Zoroastrianism.", "In the Avesta, Frawardin Yasht (\"Hymn to the Guardian Angels\"), there is a mention of ''âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide'', which literally translates from Avestan as \"we worship the fravashi of the holy Atropatene.\"", "The name \"Atropates\" itself is the Greek transliteration of an Old Iranian, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning \"Protected by the (Holy) Fire\" or \"The Land of the (Holy) Fire\".", "The Greek name was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo.", "Over the span of millennia the name evolved to ''Āturpātākān'' (Middle Persian) then to ''Ādharbādhagān'', ''Ādharbāyagān'', ''Āzarbāydjān'' (New Persian) and present-day ''Azerbaijan''.", "In 1918, the government of Musavat adopted the name \"Azerbaijan\" for the new Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which was proclaimed on 28 May 1918, for political reasons, even though the name of \"Azerbaijan\" had always been used to refer to the adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran.", "Thus, until 1918, when the Musavat regime decided to name the newly-independent state Azerbaijan, the designation had been used exclusively to identify the Iranian province of Azerbaijan.", "During Soviet rule, the country was also spelled in English from the Russian transliteration as ''\"Azerbaydzhan\"''.", "\n\n===Antiquity===\n\nPetroglyphs in Gobustan National Park dating back to the 10th millennium BC indicating a thriving culture.", "It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of \"outstanding universal value\".", "The earliest evidence of human settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan dates back to the late Stone Age and is related to the Guruchay culture of Azokh Cave.", "The Upper Paleolithic and late Bronze Age cultures are attested in the caves of Tağılar, Damcılı, Zar, Yataq-yeri and in the necropolises of Leylatepe and Saraytepe.", "Early settlements included the Scythians in the 9th century BC.", "Following the Scythians, Iranian Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras.", "The Medes forged a vast empire between 900–700 BC, which was integrated into the Achaemenid Empire around 550 BC.", "The area was conquered by the Achaemenids leading to the spread of Zoroastrianism.", "Later it became part of Alexander the Great's Empire and its successor, the Seleucid Empire.", "During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in the Caucasus and Atropatene.", "Caucasian Albanians, the original inhabitants of northeastern Azerbaijan, ruled that area from around the 4th century BC, and established an independent kingdom.", "===From the Sasanid period to the Safavid period===\n\nThe Sasanian Empire turned Caucasian Albania into a vassal state in 252, while King Urnayr officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century.", "Despite Sassanid rule, Albania remained an entity in the region until the 9th century, while fully subordinate to Sassanid Iran, and retained its monarchy.", "Despite being one of the chief vassals of the Sasanian emperor, the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sasanian marzban (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.", "In the first half of the 7th century, Caucasian Albania, as a vassal of the Sasanians, came under nominal Muslim rule due to the Muslim conquest of Persia.", "The Umayyad Caliphate repulsed both the Sasanians and Byzantines from Transcaucasia and turned Caucasian Albania into a vassal state after Christian resistance led by King Javanshir, was suppressed in 667.", "The power vacuum left by the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate was filled by numerous local dynasties such as the Sallarids, Sajids, Shaddadids, Rawadids and Buyids.", "At the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by waves of Oghuz Turks from Central Asia.", "The first of these Turkic dynasties established was the Seljuk Empire, who entered the area now known as Azerbaijan by 1067.", "The pre-Turkic population that lived on the territory of modern Azerbaijan spoke several Indo-European and Caucasian languages, among them Armenian and an Iranian language, Old Azeri, which was gradually replaced by a Turkic language, the early precursor of the Azerbaijani language of today.", "Some linguists have also stated that the Tati dialects of Iranian Azerbaijan and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like those spoken by the Tats, are descended from Old Azeri.", "Locally, the possessions of the subsequent Seljuk Empire were ruled by Eldiguzids, technically vassals of the Seljuk sultans, but sometimes ''de facto'' rulers themselves.", "Under the Seljuks, local poets such as Nizami Ganjavi and Khaqani gave rise to a blossoming of Persian literature on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan.", "The next ruling state, the Jalairid Sultanate, was short-lived and fell as a conquest of Timur.", "The local dynasty of the Shirvanshahs became a vassal state of Timur's Empire, and assisted him in his war with the ruler of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh.", "Following Timur's death, two independent and rival states emerged: Kara Koyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu.", "The Shirvanshahs returned, maintaining a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals from 861, for numerous centuries to come.", "In 1501, the Safavid dynasty of Iran subdued the Shirvanshahs, and gained its possessions.", "In the course of the next century, the Safavids converted the formerly Sunni population to Shia Islam, as they did with the population in what is modern-day Iran.", "The Safavids allowed the Shirvanshahs to remain in power, under Safavid suzerainty, until 1538, when Safavid king Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576) completely deposed them, and made the area into the Safavid province of Shirvan.", "The Sunni Ottomans briefly managed to occupy parts of present-day Azerbaijan as a result of the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1590; by the early 17th century, they were ousted by Safavid Iranian ruler Abbas I (r. 1588-1629).", "In the wake of the demise of the Safavid Empire, Baku and its environs were briefly occupied by the Russians as a consequence of the Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723.", "Despite brief intermissions such as these by Safavid Iran's neighboring rivals, the land of what is today Azerbaijan remained under Iranian rule from the earliest advent of the Safavids up to the course of the 19th century.", "===Contemporary history===\n\n\nTerritories of the khanates (and sultanates) in the 18th–19th century.", "After the Safavids, the area was ruled by the Iranian Afsharid dynasty.", "After the death of Nader Shah (r. 1736-1747), many of his former subjects capitalized on the eruption of instability.", "Numerous self-ruling khanates with various forms of autonomy emerged in the area.", "These rulers of these khanates were directly related to the ruling dynasties of Iran, and were vassals and subjects of the Iranian shah.", "The khanates exercised control over their affairs via international trade routes between Central Asia and the West.", "Thereafter, the area was under the successive rule of the Iranian Zands and Qajars.", "From the late 18th century, Imperial Russia switched to a more aggressive geo-political stance towards its two neighbors and rivals to the south, namely Iran and the Ottoman Empire.", "Russia now actively tried to gain possession of the Caucasus region which was, for the most part, in the hands of Iran.", "In 1804, the Russians invaded and sacked the Iranian town of Ganja, sparking the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813.", "Militarily superior, the Russians ended the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 with a victory.", "The siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 by Russian forces under the leadership of General Pavel Tsitsianov.", "Following Qajar Iran's loss in the 1804–1813 war, it was forced to concede suzerainty over most of the khanates, along with Georgia and Dagestan to the Russian Empire, per the Treaty of Gulistan.", "The area to the north of the river Aras, amongst which territory lies the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia in the 19th century.", "About a decade later, in violation of the Gulistan treaty, the Russians invaded Iran's Erivan Khanate.", "This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two, the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828.", "The resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay, forced Qajar Iran to cede sovereignty over the Erivan Khanate, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Lankaran Khanate, comprising the last parts of the soil of the contemporary Azerbaijani Republic that were still in Iranian hands.", "After incorporation of all Caucasian territories from Iran into Russia, the new border between the two was set at the Aras River, which, upon the Soviet Union's disintegration, subsequently became part of the border between Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic.", "Qajar Iran was forced to cede its Caucasian territories to Russia in the 19th century, which thus included the territory of the modern-day Azerbaijan Republic, while as a result of that cession, the Azerbaijani ethnic group is nowadays parted between two nations: Iran and Azerbaijan.", "Nevertheless, the number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran far outnumber those in neighbouring Azerbaijan.", "After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was declared, constituting what are the present-day republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.", "It was followed by the March Days massacres that took place between 30 March and 2 April 1918 in the city of Baku and adjacent areas of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire.", "When the republic dissolved in May 1918, the leading Musavat party declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), adopting the name of \"Azerbaijan\" for the new republic; a name that prior to the proclamation of the ADR was solely used to refer to the adjacent northwestern region of contemporary Iran.", "The ADR was the first modern parliamentary republic in the Muslim world.", "Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men.", "Another important accomplishment of ADR was the establishment of Baku State University, which was the first modern-type university founded in the Muslim East.", "Paris Peace Conference in 1919.", "By March 1920, it was obvious that Soviet Russia would attack Baku.", "Vladimir Lenin said that the invasion was justified as Soviet Russia could not survive without Baku's oil.", "Independent Azerbaijan lasted only 23 months until the Bolshevik 11th Soviet Red Army invaded it, establishing the Azerbaijan SSR on 28 April 1920.", "Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh, Azerbaijanis did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily.", "As many as 20,000 Azerbaijani soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.", "On 13 October 1921, the Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed an agreement with Turkey known as the Treaty of Kars.", "The previously independent Republic of Aras would also become the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Azerbaijan SSR by the treaty of Kars.", "On the other hand, Armenia was awarded the region of Zangezur and Turkey agreed to return Gyumri (then known as Alexandropol).", "During World War II, Azerbaijan played a crucial role in the strategic energy policy of the Soviet Union, with 80 percent of the Soviet Union's oil on the Eastern Front being supplied by Baku.", "By the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February 1942, the commitment of more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan were awarded orders and medals.", "Operation Edelweiss carried out by the German Wehrmacht targeted Baku because of its importance as the energy (petroleum) dynamo of the USSR.", "A fifth of all Azerbaijanis fought in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945.", "Approximately 681,000 people with over 100,000 of them women went to the front, while the total population of Azerbaijan was 3.4 million at the time.", "Some 250,000 people from Azerbaijan were killed on the front.", "More than 130 Azerbaijanis were named Heroes of the Soviet Union.", "Azerbaijani Major-General Azi Aslanov was twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union.", "===Independence===\nRed Army paratroops during the Black January tragedy in 1990.", "Following the politics of ''glasnost'', initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, civil unrest and ethnic strife grew in various regions of the Soviet Union, including Nagorno-Karabakh, an autonomous region of the Azerbaijan SSR.", "The disturbances in Azerbaijan, in response to Moscow's indifference to already heated conflict, resulted in calls for independence and secession, which culminated in Black January in Baku.", "Later in 1990, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR dropped the words \"Soviet Socialist\" from the title, adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Azerbaijan Republic and restored flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as the state flag.", "As an consequence of the failed coup that occurred in August in Moscow, on 18 October 1991, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a Declaration of Independence which was affirmed by a nationwide referendum in December 1991, when the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on 26 December 1991.", "The early years of independence were overshadowed by the Nagorno-Karabakh war with the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia.", "By the end of hostilities in 1994, Armenians controlled up to 14–16 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh itself.", "During the war many atrocities were committed including the massacre at Malibeyli and Gushchular, the Garadaghly, Agdaban and the Khojaly massacres.", "Furthermore, an estimated 30,000 people had been killed and more than a million people had been displaced.", "Four United Nations Security Council Resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) demand for \"the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan.\"", "Many Russians and Armenians left Azerbaijan during the 1990s.", "According to the 1970 census, there were 510,000 ethnic Russians and 484,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan.", "In 1993, democratically elected president Abulfaz Elchibey was overthrown by a military insurrection led by Colonel Surat Huseynov, which resulted in the rise to power of the former leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev.", "In 1994, Surat Huseynov, by that time a prime minister, attempted another military coup against Heydar Aliyev, but Huseynov was arrested and charged with treason.", "A year later, in 1995, another coup was attempted against Aliyev, this time by the commander of the OMON special unit, Rovshan Javadov.", "The coup was averted, resulting in the killing of the latter and disbanding of Azerbaijan's OMON units.", "At the same time, the country was tainted by rampant corruption in the governing bureaucracy.", "In October 1998, Aliyev was reelected for a second term.", "Despite the much improved economy, particularly with the exploitations of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field and Shah Deniz gas field, Aliyev's presidency was criticized due to suspected vote fraud and corruption.", "Ilham Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, became chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party as well as President of Azerbaijan when his father died in 2003.", "He was reelected to a third term as president in October 2013.", "Azerbaijan map of Köppen climate classification.", "Caucasus Mountains in northern Azerbaijan.", "Geographically Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe.", "It lies between latitudes 38° and 42° N, and longitudes 44° and 51° E. The total length of Azerbaijan's land borders is , of which 1,007 kilometers are with Armenia, 756 kilometers with Iran, 480 kilometers with Georgia, 390 kilometers with Russia and 15 kilometers with Turkey.", "The coastline stretches for , and the length of the widest area of the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea is .", "The territory of Azerbaijan extends from north to south, and from west to east.", "Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center.", "There are also three mountain ranges, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains, together covering approximately 40% of the country.", "The highest peak of Azerbaijan is mount Bazardüzü (4,466 m), while the lowest point lies in the Caspian Sea (−28 m).", "Nearly half of all the mud volcanoes on Earth are concentrated in Azerbaijan, these volcanoes were also among nominees for the New7Wonders of Nature.", "The main water sources are surface waters.", "However, only 24 of the 8,350 rivers are greater than in length.", "All the rivers drain into the Caspian Sea in the east of the country.", "The largest lake is Sarysu (67 km²), and the longest river is Kur (1,515 km), which is transboundary with Armenia.", "Azerbaijan's four main islands in the Caspian Sea have a combined area of over thirty square kilometers.", "Since the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijani government has taken drastic measures to preserve the environment of Azerbaijan.", "But national protection of the environment started to truly improve after 2001 when the state budget increased due to new revenues provided by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.", "Within four years protected areas doubled and now make up eight percent of the country's territory.", "Since 2001 the government has set up seven large reserves and almost doubled the sector of the budget earmarked for environmental protection.", "===Landscape===\n\nMount Bazarduzu, the highest peak of Azerbaijan, as seen from Mount Shahdagh\nThe landscape of Khinalug valley.", "Azerbaijan is home to a vast variety of landscapes.", "Over half of Azerbaijan's land mass consists of mountain ridges, crests, yailas, and plateaus which rise up to hypsometric levels of 400–1000 meters (including the Middle and Lower lowlands), in some places (Talis, Jeyranchol-Ajinohur and Langabiz-Alat foreranges) up to 100–120 meters, and others from 0–50 meters and up (Qobustan, Absheron).", "The rest of Azerbaijan's terrain consist of plains and lowlands.", "Hypsometric marks within the Caucasus region vary from about −28 meters at the Caspian Sea shoreline up to 4,466 meters (Bazardüzü peak).", "The formation of climate in Azerbaijan is influenced particularly by cold arctic air masses of Scandinavian anticyclone, temperate of Siberian anticyclone, and Central Asian anticyclone.", "Azerbaijan's diverse landscape affects the ways air masses enter the country.", "The Greater Caucasus protects the country from direct influences of cold air masses coming from the north.", "That leads to the formation of subtropical climate on most foothills and plains of the country.", "Meanwhile, plains and foothills are characterized by high solar radiation rates.", "9 out of 11 existing climate zones are present in Azerbaijan.", "Both the absolute minimum temperature ( ) and the absolute maximum temperature ( ) were observed in Julfa and Ordubad – regions of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.", "The maximum annual precipitation falls in Lankaran () and the minimum in Absheron ().", "Murovdag is the highest mountain range in the Lesser Caucasus.", "Rivers and lakes form the principal part of the water systems of Azerbaijan, they were formed over a long geological timeframe and changed significantly throughout that period (what period would that be??).", "This is particularly evidenced by remnants of ancient rivers found throughout the country.", "The country's water systems are continually changing under the influence of natural forces and human introduced industrial activities.", "Artificial rivers (canals) and ponds are a part of Azerbaijan's water systems.", "In terms of water supply, Azerbaijan is below the average in the world with approximately per year of water per square kilometer.", "All big water reservoirs are built on Kur.", "The hydrography of Azerbaijan basically belongs to the Caspian Sea basin.", "There are 8,350 rivers of various lengths within Azerbaijan.", "Only 24 rivers are over 100 kilometers long.", "The Kura and Aras are the major rivers in Azerbaijan, they run through the Kura-Aras Lowland.", "The rivers that directly flow into the Caspian Sea, originate mainly from the north-eastern slope of the Major Caucasus and Talysh Mountains and run along the Samur–Devechi and Lankaran lowlands.", "Yanar Dag, translated as \"burning mountain\", is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, which itself is known as the \"land of fire.\"", "Flames jet out into the air from a thin, porous sandstone layer.", "It is a tourist attraction to visitors to the Baku area.", "===Biodiversity===\n\n\nThe Karabakh horse is the national animal of Azerbaijan.", "The first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in travel notes of Eastern travelers.", "Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks and stones survived up to the present times.", "The first information on the flora and fauna of Azerbaijan was collected during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in the 17th century.", "There are 106 species of mammals, 97 species of fish, 363 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians and 52 species of reptiles which have been recorded and classified in Azerbaijan.", "The national animal of Azerbaijan is the Karabakh horse, a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse endemic to Azerbaijan.", "The Karabakh horse has a reputation for its good temper, speed, elegance and intelligence.", "It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world.", "However, today the horse is an endangered species.", "Azerbaijan's flora consists of more than 4,500 species of higher plants.", "Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus.", "About 67 percent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.", "\n\nGovernment building.", "The son of former President Heydar Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father and has remained in power since 2003.", "The structural formation of Azerbaijan's political system was completed by the adoption of the new Constitution on 12 November 1995.", "According to Article 23 of the Constitution, the state symbols of the Azerbaijan Republic are the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem.", "The state power in Azerbaijan is limited only by law for internal issues, but for international affairs is additionally limited by the provisions of international agreements.", "The government of Azerbaijan is based on the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.", "The legislative power is held by the unicameral National Assembly and the Supreme National Assembly in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.", "Parliamentary elections are held every five years, on the first Sunday of November.", "The Yeni Azerbaijan Party, and independents loyal to the ruling government, currently hold almost all of the Parliament's 125 seats.", "During the 2010 Parliamentary election, the opposition parties, Musavat and Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, failed to win a single seat.", "European observers found numerous irregularities in the run-up to the election and on election day.", "The executive power is held by the president, who is elected for a seven-year term by direct elections, and the prime minister.", "The president is authorized to form the Cabinet, a collective executive body, accountable to both the president and the National Assembly.", "The Cabinet of Azerbaijan consists primarily of the prime minister, his deputies, and ministers.", "The president does not have the right to dissolve the National Assembly, but he has the right to veto its decisions.", "To override the presidential veto, the parliament must have a majority of 95 votes.", "The judicial power is vested in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and the Economic Court.", "The president nominates the judges in these courts.", "The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) report refers to the Azerbaijani justice model on the selection of new judges as best practice that reflects the particular features and the course of development towards ensuring the independence and quality of the judiciary in a new democracy.", "The Security Council is the deliberative body under the president, and he organizes it according to the Constitution.", "It was established on 10 April 1997.", "The administrative department is not a part of the president's office but manages the financial, technical and pecuniary activities of both the president and his office.", "Although Azerbaijan has held several elections since regaining its independence and it has many of the formal institutions of democracy, it remains classified as \"not free\" (on border with \"partly free\") by Freedom House.", "In recent years, large numbers of Azerbaijani journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and human rights activists have been rounded up and jailed for their criticism of President Aliyev and government authorities.", "A resolution adopted by the European Parliament in September 2015 described Azerbaijan as \"having suffered the greatest decline in democratic governance in all of Eurasia over the past ten years,\" noting as well that its dialogue with the country on human rights has \"not made any substantial progress.\"", "On 17 March 2016, the President of Azerbaijan signed a decree pardoning more than a dozen of the persons regarded as political prisoners by some NGOs.", "This decree was welcomed as a positive step by the US State Department.", "On 16 March 2017 another pardon decree was signed, which led to the release of additional persons regarded as political prisoners.", "Azerbaijan has been harshly criticized for bribing foreign officials and diplomats in order to promote its causes abroad and legitimize its elections at home, a practice which has been termed as 'caviar diplomacy'.", "However, on 6 March 2017, ESISC (European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center) published a report called “The Armenian Connection” where it attacked human rights NGOs and research organisations criticising human rights violations and corruption in Azerbaijan.", "ESISC in that report asserted that \"Caviar diplomacy\" report elaborated by ESI aimed to create climate of suspicion based on slander to form a network of MPs that would engage in a political war against Azerbaijan, and that the network composed of European PMs, Armenian officials and some NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, \"Human Rights House Foundation\", \"Open Dialog, European Stability Initiative, and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, was financed by the Soros Foundation.", "According to Robert Coalson (Radio Free Europe), ESISC is a part of Baku's lobbying efforts to extend to the use of front think tanks to shift public opinion.", "Freedom Files Analytical Centre said that \"The report is written in the worst traditions of authoritarian propaganda\".", "===Foreign relations===\n\n\nVladimir Putin in Azerbaijan in August 2013\nThe short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic succeeded in establishing diplomatic relations with six countries, sending diplomatic representatives to Germany and Finland.", "The process of international recognition of Azerbaijan's independence from the collapsing Soviet Union lasted roughly one year.", "The most recent country to recognize Azerbaijan was Bahrain, on 6 November 1996.", "Full diplomatic relations, including mutual exchanges of missions, were first established with Turkey, Pakistan, the United States, Iran and Israel.", "Azerbaijan has placed a particular emphasis on its \"special relationship\" with Turkey.", "Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries so far and holds membership in 38 international organizations.", "It holds observer status in the Non-Aligned Movement and World Trade Organization and is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union.", "On 9 May 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly.", "The term of office began on 19 June 2006.", "Azerbaijan for the first time elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2011 with the support of 155 countries.", "Ilham Aliyev attends the Caspian Sea Summit in Astrakhan, Russia, 29 September 2014\nForeign policy priorities of Azerbaijan include, first of all, the restoration of its territorial integrity; elimination of the consequences of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh; integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structure; contribution to international security; cooperation with international organizations; regional cooperation and bilateral relations; strengthening of defense capability; promotion of security by domestic policy means; strengthening of democracy; preservation of ethnic and religious tolerance; scientific, educational, and cultural policy and preservation of moral values; economic and social development; enhancing internal and border security; and migration, energy, and transportation security policy.", "The Azerbaijani government, in late 2007, stated that the long-standing dispute over the Armenian-occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is almost certain to spark a new war if it remains unresolved.", "The Government is in the process of increasing its military budget.", "Azerbaijan is an active member of international coalitions fighting international terrorism.", "Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to offer support after the September 11 attacks.", "The country is contributing to peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.", "Azerbaijan is an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.", "It also maintains good relations with the European Union and could potentially one day apply for membership.", "===Administrative divisions===\n\nAzerbaijan is divided into 10 economic regions; 66 rayons (''rayonlar'', singular ''rayon'') and 77 cities (''şəhərlər'', singular ''şəhər'') of which 12 are under the direct authority of the republic.", "Moreover, Azerbaijan includes the Autonomous Republic (''muxtar respublika'') of Nakhchivan.", "The President of Azerbaijan appoints the governors of these units, while the government of Nakhchivan is elected and approved by the parliament of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.", ";Absheron Economic Region\n* Absheron (Abşeron)\n* Khizi (Xızı)\n* ''Baku'' (Bakı)\n* ''Sumqayit'' (Sumqayıt)\n;Aran Economic Region\n* Aghjabadi (Ağcabədi)\n* Aghdash (Ağdaş)\n* Barda (Bərdə)\n* Beylagan (Beyləqan)\n* Bilasuvar (Biləsuvar)\n* Goychay (Göyçay)\n* Hajigabul (Hacıqabul)\n* Imishli (İmişli)\n* Kurdamir (Kürdəmir)\n* Neftchala (Neftçala)\n* Saatly (Saatlı)\n* Sabirabad (Sabirabad)\n* Salyan (Salyan)\n* Ujar (Ucar)\n* Yevlakh (Yevlax)\n* Zardab (Zərdab)\n* ''Mingachevir'' (Mingəçevir)\n* ''Shirvan'' (Şirvan)\n* ''Yevlakh'' (Yevlax)\n;Daghlig Shirvan\n* Aghsu (Ağsu)\n* Gobustan (Qobustan)\n* Ismailly (İsmayıllı)\n* Shamakhy (Şamaxı)\n\n;Ganja-Gazakh\n* Aghstafa (Ağstafa)\n* Dashkasan (Daşkəsən)\n* Gadabay (Gədəbəy)\n* Gazakh (Qazax)\n* Goygol (Göygöl)\n* Goranboy (Goranboy)\n* Samukh (Samux)\n* Shamkir (Şəmkir)\n* Tovuz (Tovuz)\n* ''Ganja'' (Gəncə)\n* ''Naftalan'' (Naftalan)\n;Guba-Khachmaz\n* Guba (Quba)\n* Gusar (Qusar)\n* Khachmaz (Xaçmaz)\n* Shabran (Şabran)\n* Siyazan (Siyəzən)\n;Kalbajar-Lachin\n* Gubadly (Qubadlı)\n* Kalbajar (Kəlbəcər)\n* Lachin (Laçın)\n* Zangilan (Zəngilan)\n;Lankaran\n* Astara (Astara)\n* Jalilabad (Cəlilabad)\n* Lankaran (Lənkəran)\n* Lerik (Lerik)\n* Masally (Masallı)\n\n* Yardimly (Yardımlı)\n* ''Lankaran'' (Lənkəran)\n;Nakhchivan\n* Babek (Babək)\n* Julfa (Culfa)\n* Kangarli (Kəngərli)\n* Ordubad (Ordubad)\n* Sadarak (Sədərək)\n* Shahbuz (Şahbuz)\n* Sharur (Şərur)\n* ''Nakhchivan'' (Naxçıvan)\n;Shaki-Zaqatala\n* Balakan (Balakən)\n* Gabala (Qəbələ)\n* Gakh (Qax)\n* Oghuz (Oğuz)\n* Shaki (Şəki)\n* Zaqatala (Zaqatala)\n* ''Shaki'' (Şəki)\n;Yukhari Garabakh\n* Aghdam (Ağdam)\n* Fuzuli (Füzuli)\n* Jabrayil (Cəbrayıl)\n* Khojaly (Xocalı)\n* Khojavend (Xocavənd)\n* Shusha (Şuşa)\n* Tartar (Tərtər)\n* ''Khankendi'' (Xankəndi)\n* ''Shusha'' (Şuşa)\n\n Azerbaijan is divided into 10 economic regions\n\n''Note: The cities under the direct authority of the republic in italics''.", "\nAzerbaijani Navy fleet during the 2011 military parade in Baku.", "Azerbaijani Special Forces during military parade.", "The history of the modern Azerbaijan army dates back to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, when the National Army of the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was created on 26 June 1918.", "When Azerbaijan gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan were created according to the Law on the Armed Forces of 9 October 1991.", "The original date of the establishment of the short-lived National Army is celebrated as Army Day (26 June) in today's Azerbaijan.", "As of 2002, Azerbaijan had 95,000 active personnel in its armed forces.", "There are also 17,000 paramilitary troops.", "The armed forces have three branches: the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Navy.", "Additionally the armed forces embrace several military sub-groups that can be involved in state defense when needed.", "These are the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border Service, which includes the Coast Guard as well.", "The Azerbaijan National Guard is a further paramilitary force.", "It operates as a semi-independent entity of the Special State Protection Service, an agency subordinate to the President.", "Moscow Victory Day Parade, 9 May 2015\nAzerbaijan adheres to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and has signed all major international arms and weapons treaties.", "Azerbaijan closely cooperates with NATO in programs such as Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan.", "Azerbaijan has deployed 151 of its Peacekeeping Forces in Iraq and another 184 in Afghanistan.", "The defense budget of Azerbaijan for 2011 was set at US$3.1 billion.", "In addition to that, $1.36 billion was planned to be used for the needs of the defense industry, which bring up the total military budget to 4.6 billion.", "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on 26 June 2011 that the defence spending reached $3.3 billion that year.", "Azerbaijan's defense budget for 2013 is $3.7 billion.", "Azerbaijani defense industry manufactures small arms, artillery systems, tanks, armors and noctovision devices, aviation bombs, pilotless vehicles, various military vehicles and military planes and helicopters.", "Pushed up by spending and demand growth, the 2007 Q1 inflation rate reached 16.6%.", "Nominal incomes and monthly wages climbed 29% and 25% respectively against this figure, but price increases in non-oil industry encouraged inflation.", "Azerbaijan shows some signs of the so-called \"Dutch disease\" because of its fast-growing energy sector, which causes inflation and makes non-energy exports more expensive.", "In the early 2000s the chronically high inflation was brought under control.", "This led to the launch of a new currency, the new Azerbaijani manat, on 1 January 2006, to cement the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy.", "Azerbaijan is also ranked 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010–2011, above other CIS countries.", "By 2012 the GDP of Azerbaijan had increased 20-fold from to its 1995 level.", "===Energy===\n \npumping unit for the mechanical extraction of oil on the outskirts of Baku.", "Two-thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas.", "The history of the oil industry of Azerbaijan dates back to the ancient period.", "Arabian historian and traveler Ahmed Al-Belaruri mentioned about the economics of Absheron peninsula in the ancient times, oil lands, also, white and black oil in Absheron.", "The region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony.", "In September 1994, a 30-year contract was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and 13 oil companies, among them Amoco, BP, ExxonMobil, Lukoil and Statoil.", "As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development.", "Meanwhile, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and safeguarding of resources for future generations.", "Azeriqaz, a sub-company of SOCAR, intends to ensure full gasification of the country by 2021.", "Azerbaijan is one of the sponsors of the East–West and North–South energy transport corridors.", "Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway line will connect the Caspian region with Turkey, is expected to be completed in July 2017.", "The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will deliver natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas to Turkey and Europe.", "Azerbaijan extended the agreement on development of ACG until 2050 according to the amended PSA signed on 14 September 2017 by SOCAR and co-venturers (BP, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil, TP, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh).", "===Agriculture===\n\nAzerbaijan has the largest agricultural basin in the region.", "About 54.9 percent of Azerbaijan is agricultural land.", "At the beginning of 2007 there were 4,755,100 hectares of utilized agricultural area.", "In the same year the total wood resources counted 136 million m³.", "Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on meadows and pastures, horticulture and subtropical crops, green vegetables, viticulture and wine-making, cotton growing and medicinal plants.", "In some areas it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, sugar beets, cotton and tobacco.", "Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products.", "The Caspian fishing industry concentrates on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga.", "In 2002 the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships.", "Some products previously imported from abroad have begun to be produced locally.", "Among them are Coca-Cola by Coca-Cola Bottlers LTD, beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan.", "===Tourism===\n\nShahdag Mountain Resort is the country's largest winter resort.", "Tourism is an important part of the economy of Azerbaijan.", "The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s.", "However, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1990s, damaged the tourist industry and the image of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.", "It was not until the 2000s that the tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits and overnight stays.", "In the recent years, Azerbaijan has also become a popular destination for religious, spa, and health care tourism.", "During winter, the Shahdag Mountain Resort offers skiing with state of the art facilities.", "The government of Azerbaijan has set the development of Azerbaijan as an elite tourist destination as a top priority.", "It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not the single largest, contributor to the Azerbaijani economy.", "These activities are regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.", "There are 63 countries which have visa-free score.", "E-visa – for a visit of foreigners of visa-required countries to the Republic of Azerbaijan.", "According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 of the World Economic Forum Azerbaijan holds 84th place.", "Azerbaijan placed among top ten countries due to the strongest growth in visitor exports in years of 2010-2016 according to the report prepared by the World Travel and Tourism Council.", "As well as, Azerbaijan is at the first place (46.1%) among the countries which have the fastest developing travel and tourism economies in addition with strong inbound international visitor spending last year.", "===Transportation===\n\nThe convenient location of Azerbaijan on the crossroad of major international traffic arteries, such as the Silk Road and the south–north corridor, highlights the strategic importance of transportation sector for the country's economy.", "The transport sector in the country includes roads, railways, aviation, and maritime transport.", "Azerbaijan is also an important economic hub in the transportation of raw materials.", "The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and extends more than 1,774 kilometers through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.", "The BTC is designed to transport up to 50 million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets.", "The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, became operational at the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supplies to the European market from the Shah Deniz gas field.", "Shah Deniz is expected to produce up to 296 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.", "Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.", "In 2002, the Azerbaijani government established the Ministry of Transport with a broad range of policy and regulatory functions.", "In the same year, the country became a member of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.", "The highest priority being; upgrading the transport network and transforming transportation services into one of the key comparative advantages of the country, as this would be highly conducive to the development of other sectors of the economy.", "In 2012, the construction of Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway expected to provide transportation between Asia and Europe through connecting the railways of China and Kazakhstan in the east with Turkey's Marmaray to the European railway system in the west.", "Broad-gauge railways in 2010 stretched for and electrified railways numbered .", "By 2010, there were 35 airports and one heliport.", "===Science and technology===\n\nShamakhi Astrophysical Observatory\nIn the 21st century, a new oil and gas boom helped to improve the situation in Azerbaijan's science and technology sectors, and the government launched a campaign aimed at modernization and innovation.", "The government estimates that profits from the information technology and communication industry will grow and become comparable with those from oil production.", "Azerbaijan has a large and steadily growing Internet sector, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; rapid growth is forecast for at least five more years.", "The country has also been making progress in developing its telecoms sector.", "The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator.", "Public pay phones are available for local calls and require the purchase of a token from the telephone exchange or some shops and kiosks.", "Tokens allow a call of indefinite duration.", ", there were 1,397,000 main telephone lines and 1,485,000 internet users.", "There are four GSM providers: Azercell, Bakcell, Azerfon (Nar Mobile), Nakhtel mobile network operators and one CDMA.", "In the 21st century a number of prominent Azerbaijani geodynamics and geotectonics scientists, inspired by the fundamental works of Elchin Khalilov and others, designed hundreds of earthquake prediction stations and earthquake-resistant buildings that now constitute the bulk of The Republican Center of Seismic Service.", "The Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency launched its first satellite AzerSat 1 into orbit on 7 February 2013 from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at orbital positions 46° East.", "The satellite will cover Europe and significant part of Asian countries and Africa and will have transmission for TV, radio broadcasting and the internet.", "The launch of its own satellite on orbit is Azerbaijan's first action in realizing prospective projects to turn itself into a country with a space industry.", "\n\n\nFrom the total population of 9.705.", "600 people as of the beginning of 2016, nearly 53,1% was urban population, the remaining 46,9% was the rural population.", "50,2% of the total population were female.The sex ratio for total population in that year was therefore 0.99 males per female.", "The 2011 population growth-rate was 0.85%, compared to 1.09% worldwide.", "A significant factor restricting the population growth is a high level of migration.", "In 2011 Azerbaijan saw migration of −1.14/1,000 people.", "The Azerbaijani diaspora is found in 42 countries and in turn there are many centers for ethnic minorities inside Azerbaijan, including the German cultural society \"Karelhaus\", Slavic cultural center, Azerbaijani-Israeli community, Kurdish cultural center, International Talysh Association, Lezgin national center \"Samur\", Azerbaijani-Tatar community, Crimean Tatars society, etc.", "===Ethnic groups===\n\n\nEthnic composition (2009)\n\nAzerbaijani\n91.60%\n\nLezgian\n2.02%\n\nArmenian\n1.35%\n\nRussian\n1.34%\n\nTalysh\n1.26%\n\nOther nations\n2.43%\n\n\nThe ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 population census: 91.60% Azerbaijanis, 2.02% Lezgians, 1.35% Armenians (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh), 1.34% Russians, 1.26% Talysh, 0.56% Avars, 0.43% Turks, 0.29% Tatars, 0.28% Tats, 0.24% Ukrainians, 0.14% Tsakhurs, 0.11% Georgians, 0.10% Jews, 0.07% Kurds, other 0.21%.", "Iranian Azerbaijanis are by far the largest minority in Iran.", "The number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran furthermore far outnumber those in neighboring Azerbaijan.", "The CIA World Factbook estimates Iranian Azerbaijanis as comprising at least 16% of Iran's population.", "===Urbanization===\n\nIn total, Azerbaijan has 78 cities, 63 city districts, and one special legal status city.", "These are followed by 261 urban-type settlements and 4248 villages.", "===Language===\n\nThe official language is Azerbaijani (Turkic language), which is spoken by approximately 92% of the population as a mother tongue.", "It belongs to the Turkic language family.", "Russian and Armenian (only in Nagorno-Karabakh) are also spoken, and each are the mother tongue of around 1.5% of the population respectively.", "Russian and English play significant roles as second or third languages of education and communication.", "There are a dozen other minority languages spoken natively in the country.", "Avar, Budukh, Georgian, Juhuri, Khinalug, Kryts, Lezgian, Rutul, Talysh, Tat, Tsakhur, and Udi are all spoken by small minorities.", "Some of these language communities are very small and their numbers are decreasing.", "Armenian is almost exclusively spoken in the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region.", "===Religion===\n\n\nThe Bibi-Heybat Mosque before its destruction by the Bolsheviks in 1936.", "The mosque was built over the tomb of a descendant of Muhammad.", "Around 98% of the population are Muslims.", "85% of the Muslims are Shia Muslims and 15% Sunni Muslims, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia population percentage in the world.", "Other faiths are practised by the country's various ethnic groups.", "Under article 48 of its Constitution, Azerbaijan is a secular state and ensures religious freedom.", "In a 2006–2008 Gallup poll, only 21% of respondents from Azerbaijan stated that religion is an important part of their daily lives.", "This makes Azerbaijan the least religious Muslim-majority country in the world.", "Of the nation's religious minorities, Christians who estimated 280,000 (3.1%) are mostly Russian and Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh).", "In 2003, there were 250 Roman Catholics.", "Other Christian denominations as of 2002 include Lutherans, Baptists and Molokans.", "There is also a small Protestant community.", "Azerbaijan also has an ancient Jewish population with a 2,500-year history; Jewish organizations estimate that 10,000–20,000 Jews remain in Azerbaijan.", "Azerbaijan also is home to members of the Bahá'í, Hare Krishna and Jehovah's Witnesses communities, as well as adherents of the other religious communities.", "Some religious communities have been unofficially restricted from religious freedom.", "A U.S. State Department report on the matter mentions detention of members of certain Muslim and Christian groups, and many groups have difficulty registering with the SCWRA.", "===Education===\n\nDunya School\nA relatively high percentage of Azerbaijanis have obtained some form of higher education, most notably in scientific and technical subjects.", "In the Soviet era, literacy and average education levels rose dramatically from their very low starting point, despite two changes in the standard alphabet, from Perso-Arabic script to Latin in the 1920s and from Roman to Cyrillic in the 1930s.", "According to Soviet data, 100 percent of males and females (ages nine to forty-nine) were literate in 1970.", "According to the United Nations Development Program Report 2009, the literacy rate in Azerbaijan is 99.5 percent.", "Since independence, one of the first laws that Azerbaijan's Parliament passed to disassociate itself from the Soviet Union was to adopt a modified-Latin alphabet to replace Cyrillic.", "Other than that the Azerbaijani system has undergone little structural change.", "Initial alterations have included the reestablishment of religious education (banned during the Soviet period) and curriculum changes that have reemphasized the use of the Azerbaijani language and have eliminated ideological content.", "In addition to elementary schools, the education institutions include thousands of preschools, general secondary schools, and vocational schools, including specialized secondary schools and technical schools.", "Education through the eighth grade is compulsory.", "\n\n\nThe culture of Azerbaijan has developed as a result of many influences.", "Today, national traditions are well preserved in the country despite Western influences, including globalized consumer culture.", "Some of the main elements of the Azerbaijani culture are: music, literature, folk dances and art, cuisine, architecture, cinematography and Novruz Bayram.", "The latter is derived from the traditional celebration of the New Year in the ancient Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism.", "Novruz is a family holiday.", "The profile of Azerbaijan's population consists, as stated above, of Azerbaijanis, as well as other nationalities or ethnic groups, compactly living in various areas of the country.", "Azerbaijani national and traditional dresses are the Chokha and Papakhi.", "There are radio broadcasts in Russian, Georgian, Kurdish, Lezgian and Talysh languages, which are financed from the state budget.", "Some local radio stations in Balakan and Khachmaz organize broadcasts in Avar and Tat.", "In Baku several newspapers are published in Russian, Kurdish (''Dengi Kurd''), Lezgian (''Samur'') and Talysh languages.", "Jewish society \"Sokhnut\" publishes the newspaper ''Aziz''.", "===Music and folk dances===\n\nUzeyir Hajibeyov merged traditional Azerbaijani music with Western styles in the early 20th century.", "Music of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly a thousand years.", "For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.", "Azerbaijani music has a branchy mode system, where chromatization of major and minor scales is of great importance.", "Among national musical instruments there are 14 string instruments, eight percussion instruments and six wind instruments.", "According to ''The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', \"in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion the Azerbaijani are musically much closer to Iran than Turkey.\"", "Azerbaijani Mugam, a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage of Humanity, 16th-century miniature of Nizami Ganjavi's Khosrow and Shirin tragic romance.", "Mugham, meykhana and ashiq art are among the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan.", "Mugham is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes.", "When performing mugham, the singers have to transform their emotions into singing and music.", "In contrast to the mugham traditions of Central Asian countries, Azerbaijani mugham is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to the improvised field of jazz.", "UNESCO proclaimed the Azerbaijani mugham tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.", "Meykhana is a kind of traditional Azerbaijani distinctive folk unaccompanied song, usually performed by several people improvising on a particular subject.", "Ashiq combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture.", "It is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard who sings and plays the saz.", "This tradition has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turkic peoples.", "Ashiqs' songs are semi-improvised around common bases.", "Azerbaijan's ashiq art was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO on 30 September 2009.", "Since the mid-1960s, Western-influenced Azerbaijani pop music, in its various forms, that has been growing in popularity in Azerbaijan, while genres such as rock and hip hop are widely produced and enjoyed.", "Azerbaijani pop and Azerbaijani folk music arose with the international popularity of performers like Alim Qasimov, Rashid Behbudov, Vagif Mustafazadeh, Muslim Magomayev, Shovkat Alakbarova and Rubaba Muradova.", "Azerbaijan is an enthusiastic participant in the Eurovision Song Contest.", "Azerbaijan made its debut appearance at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.", "The country's entry gained third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.", "Ell and Nikki won the first place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song \"Running Scared\", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in 2012, in Baku.", "They have never missed a Grand Final.", "There are dozens of Azerbaijani folk dances.", "They are performed at formal celebrations and the dancers wear national clothes like the Chokha, which is well-preserved within the national dances.", "Most dances have a very fast rhythm.", "The national dance shows the characteristics of the Azerbaijani nation.", "===Literature===\n\nPainting of Khurshidbanu Natavan, one of the most distinguished Azerbaijani poets.", "She was also the daughter of the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate.", "Among the medieval authors born within the territorial limits of modern Azerbaijani Republic was Persian poet and philosopher Nizami, called Ganjavi after his place of birth, Ganja, who was the author of the Khamseh (\"The Quintuplet\"), composed of five romantic poems, including \"The Treasure of Mysteries,\" \"Khosrow and Shīrīn,\" and \"Leyli and Mejnūn.\"", "The earliest known figure in Azerbaijani literature was Izzeddin Hasanoglu, who composed a divan consisting of Persian and Turkic ghazals.", "In Persian ghazals he used his pen-name, while his Turkic ghazals were composed under his own name of Hasanoghlu.", "Classical literature in Azerbaijani was formed in the 14th century based on the various Early Middle Ages dialects of Tabriz and Shirvan.", "Among the poets of this period were Gazi Burhanaddin, Haqiqi (pen-name of Jahan-shah Qara Qoyunlu), and Habibi.", "The end of the 14th century was also the period of starting literary activity of Imadaddin Nesimi, one of the greatest Turkic Hurufi mystical poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries and one of the most prominent early divan masters in Turkic literary history, who also composed poetry in Persian and Arabic.", "The divan and ghazal styles were further developed by poets Qasim al-Anvar, Fuzuli and Khatai (pen-name of Safavid Shah Ismail I).", "The Book of Dede Korkut consists of two manuscripts copied in the 16th century, was not written earlier than the 15th century.", "It is a collection of 12 stories reflecting the oral tradition of Oghuz nomads.", "The 16th-century poet, Muhammed Fuzuli produced his timeless philosophical and lyrical ''Qazals'' in Arabic, Persian, and Azerbaijani.", "Benefiting immensely from the fine literary traditions of his environment, and building upon the legacy of his predecessors, Fizuli was destined to become the leading literary figure of his society.", "His major works include ''The Divan of Ghazals'' and ''The Qasidas''.", "In the same century, Azerbaijani literature further flourished with the development of Ashik () poetic genre of bards.", "During the same period, under the pen-name of Khatāī ( for ''sinner'') Shah Ismail I wrote about 1400 verses in Azerbaijani, which were later published as his ''Divan''.", "A unique literary style known as ''qoshma'' ( for ''improvization'') was introduced in this period, and developed by Shah Ismail and later by his son and successor, Shah Tahmasp I.", "In the span of the 17th and 18th centuries, Fizuli's unique genres as well Ashik poetry were taken up by prominent poets and writers such as Qovsi of Tabriz, Shah Abbas Sani, Agha Mesih Shirvani, Nishat, Molla Vali Vidadi, Molla Panah Vagif, Amani, Zafar and others.", "Along with Turks, Turkmens and Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis also celebrate the Epic of Koroglu (from for ''blind man's son''), a legendary folk hero.", "Several documented versions of Koroglu epic remain at the Institute for Manuscripts of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.", "Modern literature in Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iran it is based on the Tabrizi one.", "The first newspaper in Azerbaijani, ''Akinchi'' was published in 1875.", "In the mid-19th century, it was taught in the schools of Baku, Ganja, Shaki, Tbilisi, and Yerevan.", "Since 1845, it has also been taught in the University of Saint Petersburg in Russia.", "===Folk art===\n\nTraditional Azerbaijani clothing and musical instruments.", "Azerbaijanis have a rich and distinctive culture, a major part of which is decorative and applied art.", "This form of art is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jeweler, engraving in metal, carving in wood, stone and bone, carpet-making, lasing, pattern weaving and printing, knitting and embroidery.", "Each of these types of decorative art, evidence of the endowments of the Azerbaijan nation, is very much in favor here.", "Many interesting facts pertaining to the development of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan were reported by numerous merchants, travelers and diplomats who had visited these places at different times.", "The Azerbaijani carpet is a traditional handmade textile of various sizes, with dense texture and a pile or pile-less surface, whose patterns are characteristic of Azerbaijan's many carpet-making regions.", "In November 2010 the Azerbaijani carpet was proclaimed a Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.", "Lahic.", "Azerbaijan has been since the ancient times known as a center of a large variety of crafts.", "The archeological dig on the territory of Azerbaijan testifies to the well developed agriculture, stock raising, metal working, pottery, ceramics, and carpet-weaving that date as far back as to the 2nd millennium BC.", "Archeological sites in Dashbulaq, Hasansu, Zayamchai, and Tovuzchai uncovered from the BTC pipeline have revealed early Iron Age artifacts.", "Azerbaijani carpets can be categorized under several large groups and a multitude of subgroups.", "Scientific research of the Azerbaijani carpet is connected with the name of Latif Kerimov, a prominent scientist and artist.", "It was his classification that related the four large groups of carpets with the four geographical zones of Azerbaijan, Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Kazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz.", "===Cuisine===\n\nDushbara, a traditional Azerbaijani meal.", "Pakhlava and Badambura are traditional desserts, usually drunk with tea\nThe traditional cuisine is famous for an abundance of vegetables and greens used seasonally in the dishes.", "Fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro (coriander), dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leeks, chives, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress, are very popular and often accompany main dishes on the table.", "Climatic diversity and fertility of the land are reflected in the national dishes, which are based on fish from the Caspian Sea, local meat (mainly mutton and beef), and an abundance of seasonal vegetables and greens.", "Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan and black tea is the national beverage.", "Azerbaijanis often use traditional armudu (pear-shaped) glass as they have very strong tea culture.", "Popular traditional dishes include ''bozbash'' (lamb soup that exists in several regional varieties with the addition of different vegetables), qutab (fried turnover with a filling of greens or minced meat) and dushbara (sort of dumplings of dough filled with ground meat and flavor).", "===Architecture===\n\nMomine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhchivan built in the 12th century\nAzerbaijani architecture typically combines elements of East and West.", "Azerbaijiani architecture has heavy influences from Persian architecture.", "Many ancient architectural treasures such as the Maiden Tower and Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the Walled City of Baku survive in modern Azerbaijan.", "Entries submitted on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list include the Ateshgah of Baku, Momine Khatun Mausoleum, Hirkan National Park, Binegadi National Park, Lökbatan Mud Volcano, Baku Stage Mountain, Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions, Shusha National Reserve, Ordubad National Reserve and the Palace of Shaki Khans.", "Among other architectural treasures are Quadrangular Castle in Mardakan, Parigala in Yukhary Chardaglar, a number of bridges spanning the Aras River, and several mausoleums.", "In the 19th and early 20th centuries, little monumental architecture was created, but distinctive residences were built in Baku and elsewhere.", "Among the most recent architectural monuments, the Baku subways are noted for their lavish decor.", "The task for modern Azerbaijani architecture is diverse application of modern aesthetics, the search for an architect's own artistic style and inclusion of the existing historico-cultural environment.", "Major projects such as Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Flame Towers, Baku Crystal Hall, Baku White City and SOCAR Tower have transformed the country's skyline and promotes its contemporary identity.", "===Visual art===\n\nminiature painting of a battle scene on the walls of the Palace of Shaki Khans, 18th century, city of Shaki.", "Azerbaijani art includes one of the oldest art objects in the world, which were discovered as Gamigaya Petroglyphs in the territory of Ordubad Rayon are dated back to the 1st to 4th centuries BC.", "About 1500 dislodged and carved rock paintings with images of deer, goats, bulls, dogs, snakes, birds, fantastic beings and also people, carriages and various symbols had been found out on basalt rocks.", "Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl was convinced that people from the area went to Scandinavia in about 100 AD and took their boat building skills with them, and transmuted them into the Viking boats in Northern Europe.", "Over the centuries, Azerbaijani art has gone through many stylistic changes.", "Azerbaijani painting is traditionally characterized by a warmth of colour and light, as exemplified in the works of Azim Azimzade and Bahruz Kangarli, and a preoccupation with religious figures and cultural motifs.", "Azerbaijani painting enjoyed preeminence in Caucasus for hundreds of years, from the Romanesque and Ottoman periods, and through the Soviet and Baroque periods, the latter two of which saw fruition in Azerbaijan.", "Other notable artists who fall within these periods include Sattar Bahlulzade, Togrul Narimanbekov, Tahir Salahov, Alakbar Rezaguliyev, Mirza Gadim Iravani, Mikayil Abdullayev and Boyukagha Mirzazade.", "===Cinema===\nScene from the Azerbaijani film ''In the Kingdom of Oil and Millions'', 1916\n\nThe film industry in Azerbaijan dates back to 1898.", "In fact, Azerbaijan was among the first countries involved in cinematography.", "Therefore, it's not surprising that this apparatus soon showed up in Baku – at the start of the 20th century, this bay town on the Caspian was producing more than 50 percent of the world's supply of oil.", "Just like today, the oil industry attracted foreigners eager to invest and to work.", "In 1919, during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, a documentary ''The Celebration of the Anniversary of Azerbaijani Independence'' was filmed on Azerbaijan's independence day, 28 May, and premiered in June 1919 at several theatres in Baku.", "After the Soviet power was established in 1920, Nariman Narimanov, Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan, signed a decree nationalizing Azerbaijan's cinema.", "This also influenced the creation of Azerbaijani animation.", "In 1991, after Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union, the first Baku International Film Festival East-West was held in Baku.", "In December 2000, the former President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, signed a decree proclaiming 2 August to be the professional holiday of filmmakers of Azerbaijan.", "Today Azerbaijani filmmakers are again dealing with issues similar to those faced by cinematographers prior to the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1920.", "Once again, both choice of content and sponsorship of films are largely left up to the initiative of the filmmaker.", "===Media and media freedom===\n\nThere are three state-owned television channels: AzTV, Idman TV and Medeniyyet TV.", "One public channel and 6 private channels: İctimai Television, ANS TV, Space TV, Lider TV, Azad Azerbaijan TV, Xazar TV and Region TV.", "===Human rights in Azerbaijan===\n\n\nThe Constitution of Azerbaijan claims to guarantee freedom of speech, but this is denied in practice.", "After several years of decline in press and media freedom, in 2014 the media environment in Azerbaijan deteriorated fast under a governmental campaign to silence any opposition and criticism, even while the country led the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May–November 2014).", "Spurious legal charges and impunity in violence against journalists have remained the norm.", "All foreign broadcasts are banned in the country.", "According to the 2013 Freedom House Freedom of the Press report, Azerbaijan's press freedom status is \"not free,\" and Azerbaijan ranks 177th out of 196 countries.", "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America are banned in Azerbaijan.", "During the last few years, three journalists were killed and several prosecuted in trials described as unfair by international human rights organizations.", "Azerbaijan has the biggest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe and Central Asia in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and is the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.", "A report by an Amnesty International researcher in October 2015 points to '...the severe deterioration of human rights in Azerbaijan over the past few years.", "Sadly Azerbaijan has been allowed to get away with unprecedented levels of repression and in the process almost wipe out its civil society'.", "Amnesty's 2015/16 annual report on the country stated ' ... persecution of political dissent continued.", "Human rights organizations remained unable to resume their work.", "At least 18 prisoners of conscience remained in detention at the end of the year.", "Reprisals against independent journalists and activists persisted both in the country and abroad, while their family members also faced harassment and arrests.", "International human rights monitors were barred and expelled from the country.", "Reports of torture and other ill-treatment persisted.'", "The Guardian reported 9-4-17: \"Azerbaijan’s ruling elite operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies, an investigation by the Guardian reveals.", "Leaked data shows that the Azerbaijani leadership, accused of serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and rigging elections, made more than 16,000 covert payments from 2012 to 2014.", "Some of this money went to politicians and journalists, as part of an international lobbying operation to deflect criticism of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, and to promote a positive image of his oil-rich country.", "There is no suggestion that all the recipients were aware of the original source of the money.", "It arrived via a disguised route.\"", "===Sports===\n\n\nShakhriyar Mamedyarov was the 2013 World Rapid Chess and two-time European Team Chess champion.", "Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's national sport, in which Azerbaijan won up to fourteen medals, including four golds since joining the National Olympic Committee.", "Currently, the most popular sports include football and wrestling.", "Football is the most popular sport in Azerbaijan, and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan with 9,122 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country.", "The national football team of Azerbaijan demonstrates relatively low performance in the international arena compared to the nation football clubs.", "The most successful Azerbaijani football clubs are Neftchi Baku, Qarabağ, and Gabala.", "In 2012, Neftchi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of a European competition, beating APOEL of Cyprus 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League.", "In 2014, Qarabağ became the second Azerbaijani club advancing to the group stage of UEFA Europa League.", "In 2017, after beating Copenhagen 2-2(a) in the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League, Qarabağ became the first Azerbaijani club to reach the Group stage.", "Futsal is another popular sport in Azerbaijan.", "The Azerbaijan national futsal team reached fourth place in the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship, while domestic club Araz Naxçivan clinched bronze medals at the 2009–10 UEFA Futsal Cup and 2013–14 UEFA Futsal Cup.", "Azerbaijan was the main sponsor of Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid during seasons 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a partnership that the club described should 'promote the image of Azerbaijan in the world'.", "Backgammon also plays a major role in Azerbaijani culture.", "The game is very popular in Azerbaijan and is widely played among the local public.", "There are also different variations of backgammon developed and analyzed by Azerbaijani experts.", "Baku National Stadium was used for the first European Games in June 2015.", "Azerbaijan is one of the leading volleyball countries in the world and its Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League is one of strongest women leagues in world.", "Its women's national team came fourth at the 2005 European Championship.", "Over the last years, clubs like Rabita Baku and Azerrail Baku achieved great success at European cups.", "Azerbaijani volleyball players include likes of Valeriya Korotenko, Oksana Parkhomenko, Inessa Korkmaz, Natalya Mammadova and Alla Hasanova.", "Other well-known Azerbaijani athletes are Namig Abdullayev, Toghrul Asgarov, Rovshan Bayramov, Sharif Sharifov, Mariya Stadnik and Farid Mansurov in wrestling, Nazim Huseynov, Elnur Mammadli, Elkhan Mammadov and Rustam Orujov in judo, Rafael Aghayev in karate, Magomedrasul Majidov and Aghasi Mammadov in boxing, Nizami Pashayev in Olympic weightlifting, Azad Asgarov in pankration, Eduard Mammadov in kickboxing, and K-1 fighter Zabit Samedov.", "Azerbaijan has a Formula One race-track and the country hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix on 19 June 2016.", "Other annual sporting events held in the country are the Baku Cup tennis tournament and the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan cycling race.", "Azerbaijan hosted several major sport competitions since the late 2000s, including the 2013 F1 Powerboat World Championship, 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships, 2010 European Wrestling Championships, 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2014 European Taekwondo Championships, 2014 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2016 World Chess Olympiad.", "On 8 December 2012, Baku was selected to host the 2015 European Games, the first to be held in competition's history.", "Baku is also set to host the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.", "\n* Outline of Azerbaijan\n* Visa policy of Azerbaijan\n* Index of Azerbaijan-related articles", "* Olukbasi, Suha.", "''Azerbaijan: A Political History''.", "I.B.", "Tauris (2011).", "Focus on post-Soviet era.", "* de Waal, Thomas.", "''Black Garden''.", "NYU (2003).", "* Goltz, Thomas.", "''Azerbaijan Diary : A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic''.", "M E Sharpe (1998).", "\n\n\n\n'''General information'''\n* Azerbaijan International\n* Heydar Aliyev Foundation\n* \n* \n* Azerbaijan at University of Colorado at Boulder\n* Country profile from BBC\n* Key Development Forecasts for Azerbaijan from International Futures\n* Visions of Azerbaijan Journal of The European Azerbaijan Society\n* \n*\n\n'''Major government resources'''\n* President of Azerbaijan website\n* Azerbaijan State Statistical Committee\n* United Nations Office in Azerbaijan\n\n'''Major news media'''\n* Network NEWS Azerbaijan\n* Azerbaijan Today\n* Azerbaijan Press Agency\n* Trend News Agency\n* News.Az\n\n'''Tourism'''\n* Azerbaijan Tourism Portal\n* \n* Travel in Azerbaijan in Visions of Azerbaijan Journal" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThe '''American Revolutionary War''' (17751783), also known as the '''American War of Independence''', was a global war that began as a conflict between Great Britain and her Thirteen Colonies, which declared independence as the United States of America.\n\nAfter 1765, growing philosophical and political differences strained the relationship between Great Britain and its colonies. Following the Stamp Act, Patriot protests against taxation without representation escalated into boycotts, which culminated in the Sons of Liberty destroying a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor. Britain responded by closing Boston Harbor and passing a series of punitive measures against Massachusetts colony. Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, and they established a shadow government which wrested control of the countryside from the Crown. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, establishing committees and conventions that effectively seized power.\n\nBritish attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord in April 1775 led to open combat. Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British evacuation in March 1776, and Congress appointed George Washington to command the Continental Army. Concurrently, an American attempt to invade Quebec and raise rebellion against the British decisively failed. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence, issuing its declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe launched a British counter-offensive, capturing New York City and leaving American morale at a low ebb. However, victories at Trenton and Princeton restored American confidence. In 1777, the British launched an invasion from Quebec under John Burgoyne, intending to isolate New England. Instead of assisting this effort, Howe took his army on a separate campaign against Philadelphia, and Burgoyne was decisively defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.\n\nBurgoyne's defeat had drastic consequences; France formally allied with the Americans and entered the war in 1778, and Spain joined the war the following year as an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States. In 1780, the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the British in India, and tensions between Great Britain and the Netherlands erupted into open war. In North America, the British mounted a \"Southern strategy\" led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising, but too few came forward. Cornwallis suffered reversals at King's Mountain and Cowpens. He retreated to Yorktown, Virginia, intending an evacuation, but a decisive French naval victory deprived him of an escape. A Franco-American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and Washington then besieged Cornwallis' army and, with no sign of relief, he surrendered.\n\nWhigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tories in Parliament, and the surrender gave them the upper hand. In early 1782, Parliament voted to end all offensive operations in North America, but the war continued in Europe and India. Britain remained under siege in Gibraltar but scored a major victory over the French navy. On September 3, 1783, the belligerent parties signed the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain agreed to recognize the sovereignty of the United States and formally end the war. French involvement had proven decisive, but France made few gains and incurred crippling debts. Spain made some minor territorial gains but failed in its primary aim of recovering Gibraltar. The Dutch were defeated on all counts and were compelled to cede territory to Great Britain. In India, the war against Mysore and its allies concluded in 1784 without any territorial changes.\n", "\n\n=== Early seeds ===\n\nIn 1651, the Parliament of England sought to regulate trade in America by passing the Navigation Acts, ensuring that trade only enriched Britain. The economic effects were minimal, but they triggered serious political friction. The American colonists had fought King Philip's War without significant assistance from the Crown, and this contributed to a growing sense of American identity separate from that of Britain. Britain continued to assert control into the 1680s, culminating in the abrogation of colonial charters and the establishment of the Dominion of New England in 1686. Colonists, however, felt that the Dominion was undermining their democratic liberty and they overthrew it in 1689; the Crown made no attempt to restore it.\n\nThe British government continued to pursue trade control, however, passing acts that taxed wool, hats, and molasses. The Molasses Act of 1733 was especially egregious to the colonists, as a significant part of colonial trade relied on the product. The taxes severely damaged the local economy, and consequently they were rarely paid. Smuggling, bribery, piracy, and intimidation of customs officials became commonplace.\nColonial wars were also a contributing factor. The return of Louisbourg to France in 1748 following the War of the Austrian Succession caused considerable resentment in New England, the colonists having expended great effort in subduing the fortress only to have it returned to their erstwhile enemy.\n\n=== Taxation disputes ===\n\nBritain triumphed over France and Spain in the Seven Years' War, but this led to a financial crisis, as the national debt had doubled to £130 million, and the annual cost of the British civil and military establishment in America had quintupled when compared to 1749. Smuggling had been tacitly accepted, but now the British began to consider that it blunted their revenue, so Whitehall decided to ensure that customs duties were unavoidable by passing the Stamp Act in 1765. Colonists condemned the tax because their rights as Englishmen protected them from being taxed by a Parliament in which they had no elected representatives. Parliament argued that the colonies were \"represented virtually\", an idea that was criticized throughout the Empire. Parliament did repeal the act in 1766; however, it also affirmed its right to pass laws that were binding on the colonies. From 1767, Parliament began passing legislation to raise revenue for the salaries of civil officials, ensuring their loyalty while inadvertently increasing resentment among the colonists, and opposition soon became widespread.\n\nEnforcing the acts proved difficult; the seizure of the sloop ''Liberty'' on suspicions of smuggling triggered a riot. In response, British troops occupied Boston, and Parliament threatened to extradite colonists to face trial in England. Tensions rose after the murder of a teen by a customs official in 1770 and escalated into outrage after British troops fired on civilians in the Boston Massacre. In 1772, colonists in Rhode Island boarded and burned a customs schooner. Parliament then repealed all taxes except the one on tea, passing the Tea Act in 1773, attempting to force colonists to buy East India Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, thus implicitly agreeing to Parliamentary supremacy. The landing of the tea was resisted in all colonies, but the governor of Massachusetts permitted British tea ships to remain in Boston Harbor—so the Sons of Liberty destroyed the tea chests.\n\nThis iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled \"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor\"; the phrase \"Boston Tea Party\" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Indians.\n\nParliament then passed punitive legislation. It closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and revoked the Massachusetts Charter, taking upon themselves the right to directly appoint the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Additionally, the royal governor was granted powers to undermine local democracy. Further measures allowed the extradition of officials for trial elsewhere in the Empire, if the governor felt that a fair trial could not be secured locally. The act's vague reimbursement policy for travel expenses left few with the ability to testify, and colonists argued that it would allow officials to harass them with impunity. Further laws allowed the governor to billet troops in private property without permission. The colonists referred to the measures as the \"Intolerable Acts\", and they argued that both their constitutional rights and their natural rights were being violated, viewing the acts as a threat to all of America. The acts were widely opposed, driving neutral parties into support of the Patriots and curtailing Loyalist sentiment.\n\n=== Colonial response ===\n\nThe colonists responded by establishing the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, effectively removing Crown control of the colony outside Boston. Meanwhile, representatives from twelve colonies convened the First Continental Congress to respond to the crisis. The Congress narrowly rejected a proposal which would have created an American parliament to act in concert with the British Parliament; instead, they passed a compact declaring a trade boycott against Britain. Congress also affirmed that Parliament had no authority over internal American matters, but they were willing to consent to trade regulations for the benefit of the empire, and they authorized committees and conventions to enforce the boycott. The boycott was effective, as imports from Britain dropped by 97% in 1775 compared to 1774.\n\nParliament refused to yield. In 1775, it declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and enforced a blockade of the colony. It then passed legislation to limit colonial trade to the British West Indies and the British Isles. Colonial ships were barred from the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a measure which pleased Canadiens but damaged New England's economy. These increasing tensions led to a mutual scramble for ordnance and pushed the colonies toward open war. Thomas Gage was the British Commander-in-Chief and military governor of Massachusetts, and he received orders on April 14, 1775 to disarm the local militias.\n", "\n=== War breaks out (1775–1776) ===\n\n\n\nConcord in April 1775\n\nOn April 18, 1775, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord. Fighting broke out, forcing the regulars to conduct a fighting withdrawal to Boston. Overnight, the local militia converged on and laid siege to Boston. On March 25, 4,500 British reinforcements arrived with three senior generals; William Howe, John Burgoyne and Henry Clinton. On June 17, the British seized the Charlestown peninsular after a costly frontal assault, leading Howe to replace Gage. Many senior officers were dismayed at the attack which had gained them little, while Gage wrote to London stressing the need for a large army to suppress the revolt. On July 3, George Washington took command of the Continental Army besieging Boston. Howe made no effort to attack, much to Washington's surprise. After a plan to assault the city was rejected, in early March 1776, the Americans fortified Dorchester Heights with heavy artillery captured from a raid on Fort Ticonderoga. On March 17, the British were permitted to withdraw unmolested, sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Washington then moved his army to New York.\n\nMeanwhile, British officials in Quebec began lobbying Native American tribes to support them, while the Americans attempted to maintain their neutrality. Fearing an Anglo-Indian attack from Canada, Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec. Quebec, with a largely Francophone population, had only been under British rule for twelve years, and the Americans expected that liberating them from the British would be welcomed. After an arduous march, the Americans attacked Quebec City on December 31, which was decisively defeated. After a loose siege, the Americans withdrew on May 6. 1776. A failed counter-attack on June 8 ended American operations in Quebec. However, the British could not conduct an aggressive pursuit, due to the presence of American ships on Lake Champlain. On October 11, the British defeated the American squadron, forcing the Americans to withdraw to Ticonderoga, ending the campaign. The invasion cost the Patriots their support in British public opinion, while aggressive anti-Loyalist policies diluted Canadien support. The Patriots continued to view Quebec as a strategic aim, though no further attempts to invade were ever realized.\n\nSault-au-Matelot, Canada, December 1775\n\nIn Virginia, the Royal governor, Lord Dunmore, had attempted to disarm the militia as tensions increased, although no fighting broke out. After war broke out, Dunmore issued a proclamation on November 7, 1775, promising freedom for slaves who fled their Patriot masters to fight for the Crown. After Dunmore's troops were overwhelmed by Patriots at Great Bridge, Dunmore fled to naval ships anchored off Norfolk. After negotiations broke down, Dunmore ordered the ships to destroy the town. In South Carolina, fighting broke out on November 19 between Loyalist and Patriot militias, and the Loyalists were subsequently driven out of the colony. Loyalists recruited in North Carolina to reassert colonial rule in the South were decisively defeated, subduing Loyalist sentiment. An expedition of British regulars to reconquer South Carolina launched a failed attack on Charleston on June 28, 1776, effectively leaving the South in Patriot control until 1780.\n\nThe shortage of gunpowder had led Congress to authorize an expedition against the Bahamas Colony in the West Indies, in order to secure ordnance there. On March 3, 1776, the Americans landed after a bloodless exchange of fire, and the local militia offered no resistance. For two weeks, the Americans confiscated all the supplies they could load, and sailed away on March 17. After a brief skirmish with the Royal Navy frigate ''HMS Glasgow'' on April 6, the squadron reached New London on April 8.\n\n=== Political reactions ===\n\n\nAfter fighting began, Congress launched a final attempt to avert war, which Parliament rejected as insincere. King George III then issued a Proclamation of Rebellion on August 23, 1775, leading to an emboldening of hitherto weak support for independence in the colonies. After a speech by the King, Parliament rejected to oppose coercive measures on the colonies by 170 votes. British Tories refused to compromise, while Whigs argued current policy would drive the colonists towards secession. Despite opposition, the King himself began micromanaging the war effort. The Irish Parliament pledged to send troops to America, and Irish Catholics were allowed to enlist in the army for the first time. Irish Protestants favored the Americans, while Catholics favored the King.\n\nMilitarily, the initial hostilities was a sobering lesson for the British, causing them to rethink their views on colonial military capability. The weak British response gave the Patriots the advantage; the British lost control over every colony. The army had been kept deliberately small since 1688 to prevent abuses of power by the King. Parliament secured treaties with small German states for additional troops, and, after a year, were able to send an army of 32,000 men to America, the largest it had ever sent outside Europe at the time.\n\nIn the colonies, the success of Thomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'' had boosted public support for independence. On July 2, Congress voted in favor of independence with twelve affirmatives and one abstention, issuing its declaration on July 4. Washington read the declaration to his men and the citizens of New York on July 9, invigorating the crowd to tear down a lead statue of the King, melting it to make bullets. British Tories criticized the signatories for not extending the same standards of equality to slaves. Patriots followed independence with the Test Laws, requiring residents to swear allegiance to the state in which they lived, intending to root out neutrals or opponents to independence. Failure to do so meant possible imprisonment, exile, and, in some cases, death. American Tories were barred from public office, forbidden from practising medicine and law, forced to pay increased taxes, barred from executing wills or becoming guardians to orphans. Congress enabled states to confiscate Loyalist property to fund the war, and offered them a choice between swearing loyalty to the republic, or either face exile, or forfeit the right to protection. Quakers, who remained neutral, had their property confiscated. States later prevented Loyalists from collecting any debts they were owed.\n\n=== British counter-offensive (1776–1777) ===\n\n\nAmerican soldiers in combat at the Battle of Long Island, 1776\n\nAfter regrouping at Halifax, William Howe determined to take the fight to the Americans. Howe set sail in June 1776, and began landing troops on Staten Island on July 2. Due to poor intelligence, Washington split his army to positions across the city. An informal attempt to negotiate peace was rejected by the Americans. On August 27, Howe defeated Washington and forced him back to Brooklyn Heights. Had Howe chose to land on Manhattan, Washington could have been encircled and his army destroyed. Howe restrained his subordinates from pursuit, opting to besiege Washington instead. Washington managed to withdraw to Manhattan without any losses in men or ordnance. Following the withdrawal, a second attempt to negotiate peace failed, as the British delegates did not possess authorization to grant independence. Howe then seized control of New York on September 15, and unsuccessfully engaged the Americans the following day. Howe attempted encirclement of Washington again, but the Americans successfully withdrew. On October 28, the British fought an indecisive action against Washington, in which Howe declined to attack Washington's army, instead concentrating his efforts upon a hill that was of no strategic value.\n\nBritish warships forcing passage of the Hudson River.\n\nWashington's retreat left the remnants of his forces isolated, and, on November 16, the British captured an American army, taking 3,000 prisoners, amounting to the worst American defeat to date. Washington fell back four days later. Henry Clinton then captured Newport, an operation which he opposed, feeling the 6,000 troops assigned to him could have been better employed in the pursuit of Washington. The American prisoners were then sent to the infamous \"prison ships\", in which more American soldiers and sailors died of disease and neglect than died in every battle of the war combined. Charles Cornwallis pursued Washington, but Howe ordered him to halt, and Washington escaped unmolested. The outlook of the American cause was bleak; the army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men, and would be reduced further when the enlistments expired at the end of the year. Popular support wavered, morale ebbed away, and Congress abandoned Philadelphia. Loyalist activity surged in the wake of the American defeat, especially in New York.\n\nEmanuel Leutze's famous 1851 depiction of ''Washington Crossing the Delaware''\n\nNews of the campaign was well received in Britain; festivities took place in London, and public support reached a peak. William Howe was awarded the Order of the Bath by the King. The successes led to predictions that the British could win within a year. The American defeat revealed Washington's strategic deficiencies, such as dividing a numerically weaker army in the face of a stronger one, his inexperienced staff misreading the situation, and his poorly-trained troops, who fled in disorder when fighting began. In the meantime, the British entered winter quarters, and were in a good place to resume campaigning.\n\nOn December 25, 1776, Washington stealthily crossed the Delaware, and overwhelmed the Hessian garrison at Trenton the following morning, taking 900 prisoners. The decisive victory rescued the army's flagging morale, and gave a new hope to the cause for independence. Cornwallis marched to re-take Trenton, though his efforts to this end were repulsed on January 2. Washington outmanoeuvred Cornwallis that night, and defeated his rearguard the following day. The victories proved instrumental in convincing the French and Spanish that the Americans were worthwhile allies, as well as recovering morale in the army. Washington entered winter quarters at Morristown on January 6, though a protracted guerrilla conflict continued. While encamped, Howe made no attempt to attack, much to Washington's amazement.\n\n=== British northern strategy fails (1777–1778) ===\n\n\nThe Surrender at Saratoga\" shows General Daniel Morgan in front of a French de Vallière 4-pounder.\n\nIn December 1776, John Burgoyne returned to London to set strategy with Lord George Germain. Burgoyne's plan was to establish control of the Champlain-George-Hudson route from New York to Quebec, isolating New England. Efforts could then be concentrated on the southern colonies, where it was believed Loyalist support was in abundance. Howe instead argued capturing Philadelphia and defeating Washington was a priority. Germain approved this plan, leaving Howe unable to assist Burgoyne. Washington himself was baffled by Howe's choices. Alden argues Howe was influenced by the idea that, upon success, he would not receive credit, but Burgoyne. Controversy persists over whether Germain approved Burgoyne's plan after reading Howe's, and whether he shared this information with his subordinates. Howe was not given any explicit orders to assist Burgoyne, however, a copy Germain sent to Quebec explicitly stated Howe was to assist Burgoyne's efforts. Another letter stated Howe should launch his campaign against Philadelphia as intended, while allowing enough time to assist Burgoyne. Black argues Germain either left his generals too much latitude, or without a clear direction.\n\nBurgoyne's plan was to lead an army along Lake Champlain, while a strategic diversion advanced along the Mohawk River, and both would rendezvous at Albany. Burgoyne set out on June 14, 1777, quickly capturing Ticonderoga on July 5. The hasty withdrawal of the Continental Army after little resistance outraged the American public. Burgoyne's pursuit ran into stiff resistance at Hubbardton and Fort Anne. Leaving 1,300 men behind as a garrison, Burgoyne continued the advance. Progress was slow; the Americans blocked roads, destroyed bridges, dammed streams and denuded the area of food. Meanwhile, Barry St. Ledger's diversionary column laid siege to Fort Stanwix. St. Ledger withdrew to Quebec on August 22 after his Indian support abandoned him. On August 16, a British foraging expedition was soundly defeated at Bennington, and more than 700 troops were captured. As a result of the defeat, the vast majority of Burgoyne's Indian support abandoned him. Meanwhile, Howe informed Burgoyne he would launch his campaign on Philadelphia as planned, and would be unable to render aid.\n\nHaving considered his options, Burgoyne decided to continue the advance. On September 19, he attempted to flank the American position, and clashed at Freeman's Farm. The British won, but at the cost of 600 casualties. Burgoyne then dug in, but suffered a constant haemorrhage of deserters, and critical supplies were running low. Henry Clinton did capture two key forts on October 6 to divert American resources, though he turned back ten days later. Meanwhile, the American army was growing in size daily, swelling to some 15,000 men. On October 7, a British reconnaissance in force against the American lines was repulsed with heavy losses. Burgoyne then withdrew with the Americans in pursuit, and by October 13, he was surrounded. With no hope of relief and supplies exhausted, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17. 6,222 soldiers became prisoners of the Americans. The decisive success spurred France to enter the war as an ally of the United States, securing the final elements needed for victory over Britain, that of foreign assistance.\n\nWashington and Lafayette inspect the troops at Valley Forge.\n\nMeanwhile, Howe launched his campaign against Washington, though his initial efforts to bring him to battle in June 1777 failed. Howe declined to attack Philadelphia overland via New Jersey, or by sea via the Delaware Bay, even though both options would have enabled him to assist Burgoyne if necessary. Instead, he took his army on a time-consuming route through the Chesapeake Bay, leaving him completely unable to assist Burgoyne. This decision was so difficult to understand, Howe's critics accused him of treason.\n\nHowe outflanked and defeated Washington on September 11, though he failed to follow-up on the victory and destroy his army. A British victory at Willistown left Philadelphia defenceless, and Howe captured the city unopposed on September 26. Howe then moved 9,000 men to Germantown, north of Philadelphia. Washington launched a surprise attack on Howe's garrison on October 4, which was eventually repulsed. Again, Howe did not follow-up on his victory, leaving the American army intact and able to fight. Later, after several days of probing American defences at White Marsh, Howe inexplicably ordered a retreat to Philadelphia, astonishing both sides. Howe ignored the vulnerable American rear, where an attack could have deprived Washington of his baggage and supplies. On December 19, Washington's army entered winter quarters at Valley Forge. Poor conditions and supply problems resulted in the deaths of some 2,500 troops. Howe, only 20 miles (32 km) away, made no effort to attack, which critics observed could have ended the war.\n\nThe Continental Army was put through a new training program, supervised by Baron von Steuben, introducing the most modern Prussian methods of drilling. Meanwhile, Howe resigned, and was replaced by Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778. Clinton received orders to abandon Philadelphia and fortify New York following France's entry into the war. On June 18, the British departed Philadelphia, with the reinvigorated Americans in pursuit. The two armies fought at Monmouth Court House on June 28, with the Americans holding the field, greatly boosting morale and confidence. By July, both armies were back in the same positions they had been two years prior.\n\n=== Foreign intervention ===\n\n\nFrench troops storming Redoubt 9 during the Siege of Yorktown\n\nThe defeat at Saratoga caused considerable anxiety in Britain over foreign intervention. The North ministry sought reconciliation with the colonies by consenting to their original demands, although Lord North refused to grant independence. No positive reply was received from the Americans.\n\nFrench foreign minister the Comte de Vergennes was strongly anti-British, and he sought a ''casus belli'' to go to war with and weaken their perennial foe following the conquest of Canada in 1763. The French had covertly supplied the Americans through neutral Dutch ports since the onset of the war, proving invaluable throughout the Saratoga campaign. The French public favored war, though Vergennes and King Louis XVI were hesitant, owing to the military and financial risk. The American victory at Saratoga convinced the French that supporting the Patriots was worthwhile, but doing so also brought major concerns. The King was concerned that Britain's concessions would be accepted, and that she would then reconcile with the Colonies to strike at French and Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. To prevent this, France formally recognized the United States on February 6, 1778 and followed with a military alliance. France aimed to expel Britain from the Newfoundland fishery, end restrictions on Dunkirk sovereignty, regain free trade in India, recover Senegal and Dominica, and restore the Treaty of Utrecht provisions pertaining to Anglo-French trade.\n\nSpain was wary of provoking war with Britain before she was ready, so she covertly supplied the Patriots via her colonies in New Spain. Congress hoped to persuade Spain into an open alliance, so the first American Commission met with the Count of Aranda in 1776. Spain was still reluctant to make an early commitment, owing to a lack of direct French involvement, the threat against their treasure fleets, and the possibility of war with Portugal, Spain's neighbor and a close ally of Britain. However, Spain affirmed its desire to support the Americans the following year, hoping to weaken Britain's empire. In the Spanish-Portuguese War (1776-77), the Portuguese threat was neutralized. On 12 April 1779, Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez with France and went to war against Britain. Spain sought to recover Gibraltar and Menorca in Europe, as well as Mobile and Pensacola in Florida, and also to expel the British from Central America.\n\nMeanwhile, George III had given up on subduing America while Britain had a European war to fight. He did not welcome war with France, but he believed that Britain had made all necessary steps to avoid it and cited the British victories over France in the Seven Years' War as a reason to remain optimistic. Britain tried in vain to find a powerful ally to engage France, leaving it isolated, preventing Britain from focusing the majority of her efforts in one theater, and forcing a major diversion of military resources from America. Despite this, the King determined never to recognize American independence and to ravage the colonies indefinitely, or until they pleaded to return to the yoke of the Crown. Mahan argues that Britain's attempt to fight in multiple theaters simultaneously without major allies was fundamentally flawed, citing impossible mutual support, exposing the forces to defeat in detail.\n\nSince the outbreak of the conflict, Britain had appealed to her ally, the neutral Dutch Republic, to loan her the use of the Scots Brigade for service in America, but pro-American sentiment among the Dutch public forced them to deny the request. Consequently, the British attempted to invoke several treaties for outright Dutch military support, but the Republic still refused. Moreover, American troops were being supplied with ordnance by Dutch merchants via their West Indies colonies. French supplies bound for America had also passed through Dutch ports. The Republic maintained free trade with France following France's declaration of war on Britain, citing a prior concession by Britain on this issue. Britain responded by confiscating Dutch shipping, and even firing upon it. Consequently, the Republic joined the First League of Armed Neutrality to enforce their neutral status. The Republic had also given sanctuary to American privateers and had drafted a treaty of commerce with the Americans. Britain argued that these actions contravened the Republic's neutral stance and declared war in December 1780.\n\n=== International war breaks out (1778–1780) ===\n\n\n==== Europe ====\n\nSoon after France declared war, French and British fleets fought an indecisive action off Ushant on 27 July 1778. On 12 April 1779, Spain entered the war, with a primary goal of capturing Gibraltar. On June 24, Spanish troops under the Duc de Crillon laid siege to the Rock. The naval blockade, however, was relatively weak, and the British were able to resupply the garrison. Meanwhile, a plan was formulated for a combined Franco-Spanish invasion of the British mainland. A combination of poor planning, disease, logistical issues and high financial expenditures resulted in the expedition's failure. However, a diversionary Franco-American squadron under John Paul Jones did meet with some success on 23 September. On 16 January 1780, the Royal Navy under George Rodney scored a major victory over the Spanish, weakening the naval blockade of Gibraltar.\n\nOn 9 August, a Franco-Spanish fleet commanded by Luis de Córdova intercepted and decisively defeated a large British convoy off The Azores, led by John Moutray, bound for the West Indies. The defeat was catastrophic for Britain; losing 52 merchant ships, 5 East Indiamen, 80,000 muskets, equipment for 40,000 troops, 294 guns and 3,144 men, making it one of the most complete naval captures ever made. The loss was valued at some £1.5 million, or £ in today's money, dealing a severe blow to British commerce.\n\nBattle of Cape St. Vincent, 16 January 1780 by Francis Holman, painted 1780\n\n==== Americas ====\n\nIn the Caribbean, intending to damage British trade, the French blockaded the lucrative sugar islands of Barbados and Jamaica. In order to improve communication among French Caribbean islands, and to strike a blow to privateering, French troops led by the Marquis de Bouillé captured Dominica on 7 September 1778. To monitor the French naval base on Martinique, the British defeated a French naval force on 15 December, and captured St. Lucia on 28 December. Though both fleets received reinforcements through the first half of 1779, the French under the Comte d'Estaing soon enjoyed superiority in the Caribbean, and began capturing British territories; seizing St. Vincent on 18 June, and Grenada on 4 July. On July 6, having pursued d'Estaing from Grenada, the British fleet under John Byron was tactically defeated, the worst loss the Royal Navy had suffered since 1690. Naval skirmishes continued until 17 April 1780, when British and French fleets clashed indecisively off Martinique.\n\nOn the mainland, Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, had intercepted intelligence the British were planning to invade New Orleans, and decided to strike first. Gálvez intended to conquer West Florida, and set out with 670 men on August 27, 1779, though his force was soon swollen to 1,400 by local Native Americans. On 7 September, Fort Bute fell to the Spanish, who then marched on to Baton Rouge, arriving on September 12. After a nine-day siege, the town fell. Leaving a garrison behind, Gálvez returned to New Orleans to recruit additional troops. In early 1780, Gálvez mounted an expedition to take Mobile, setting off with 750 troops on 11 January. Joined by reinforcements from Havana, siege operations commenced on March 1, and the town fell after a 14-day siege. Gálvez had hoped to push on to Pensacola, the British capital of West Florida, however, a hurricane devastated his expedition, stalling it till 1781.\n\nIn Central America, the defence of Guatemala was a priority for Spain. The British intended to capture the key fortress of San Fernando de Omoa and drive the Spanish from the region. After inadequate first attempts, 1,200 British troops led by William Dalrymple arrived on 16 October, and captured the fort on 20 October. However, the British suffered terribly due to disease, and were forced to abandon the fort on 29 November, and Spanish troops subsequently reoccupied the fort. In 1780, John Dalling, governor of Jamaica, planned an expedition to cut New Spain in two, by capturing Granada, which would subsequently allow them full control of the San Juan River. The British expedition, led by John Polson and Horatio Nelson, set out on 3 February 1780. On 17 March, the expedition reached Fort San Juan and laid siege, capturing it on 29 April. The British were ravaged by disease, and were running low on food due to poor logistics. The British withdrew on 8 November, the expedition having suffered a decisive defeat; some 2,500 troops had perished, making it the costliest British disaster of the war.\n\nrockets against closely massed British infantry\n\n==== India ====\n\nAfter word of hostilities with France reached India, the British East India Company moved quickly to capture French possessions, and took Pondicherry after a two-week siege on 19 October 1778. The Company resolved to drive the French out of India entirely, capturing the Malabar port of Mahé in 1779. Mahé had been under the protection of Mysore, as French ordnance passed through the port to the Mysorean ruler, Hyder Ali. Tensions were already inflamed due to British support for Malabar rebels against Ali, and the fall of Mahé precipitated war. In July 1780, Ali invaded the Carnatic, and laid siege to Tellicherry and Arcot. A 7,000-strong Company relief force under William Baille was intercepted and destroyed by the Tipu Sultan on 10 September; thus far the worst defeat suffered by a European army in India. Instead of pressing on for a decisive victory against a second Company army at Madras, Ali renewed the siege at Arcot, capturing it on 3 November. The delay allowed British forces to regroup for campaigning the following year.\n\n=== Stalemate in the North (1778–1780) ===\n\n\nAmerican troops repulse Wilhelm von Knyphausen's attack at Springfield\n\nFollowing the British defeat at Saratoga, and the entry of France into the war, Henry Clinton withdrew from Philadelphia, consolidating in New York. French admiral the Comte d'Estaing had been dispatched to North America in April 1778 to assist Washington, arriving shortly after Clinton withdrew into New York. Concluding New York's defences were too formidable for the French fleet, the Franco-American forces opted to attack Newport. This effort, launched on August 29, failed after the French opted to withdraw, greatly angering the Americans. The war then ground down to a stalemate, with the majority of actions fought as large skirmishes, such as those at Chestnut Neck and Little Egg Harbor. In the summer of 1779, the Americans captured British posts at Stony Point and Paulus Hook.\n\nIn July, Clinton's attempts to coax Washington into a decisive engagement with a major raid into Connecticut failed. That month, a large American naval operation to retake Maine resulted in the worst American naval defeat until Pearl Harbor in 1941. The high frequency of Iroquois raids on the locals compelled Washington to mount a punitive expedition, destroying a large number of Iroquois settlements, but the effort ultimately failed to stop the raids. During the winter of 1779–80, the Continental Army suffered greater hardships than at Valley Forge. Morale was poor; public support was being eroded by the long war, the national currency was virtually worthless, the army was plagued with supply problems, desertion was common, and, in early 1780, whole regiments mutinied over the conditions.\n\nHamilton surrenders at Vincennes, February 29, 1779\n\nIn 1780, Clinton launched an attempt to re-take New Jersey. On June 7, an invasion of 6,000 men under Hessian general Wilhelm von Knyphausen met stiff resistance from the local militia. Though the British held the field, Knyphausen feared a general engagement with Washington's main army, and withdrew. A fortnight later, Knyphausen and Clinton decided upon a second attempt, which was soundly defeated at Springfield, effectively ending British ambitions in New Jersey. Meanwhile, American general Benedict Arnold had grown disenfranchised with the war, and conspired with the British to surrender the key American fortress of West Point. Arnold's plot was foiled upon the capture of his contact, John André, and he escaped to British lines in New York. Though Arnold's reasoning reflected Loyalist opinion, Patriots strongly condemned him.\n\nWest of the Appalachians, the war was largely confined to skirmishing and raids. In February 1778, an expedition of militia to destroy British military supplies in settlements along the Cuyahoga River was halted due to adverse weather. Later in the year, a second campaign was undertaken to seize the Illinois Country from the British. The Americans captured Kaskaskia on July 4, and then secured Vincennes, although the latter was quickly recaptured by Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit. In early 1779, the Americans counter-attacked by undertaking a risky winter march, and secured the surrender of the British at Vincennes, taking Hamilton prisoner.\n\nOn May 25, 1780, the British launched an expedition into Kentucky, as part of a wider operation to clear resistance from Quebec to the Gulf coast. The expedition met with only limited success, though hundreds of settlers were killed or captured. The Americans responded with a major offensive along the Mad River in August, which met with some success, but did little to abate the Native American raids on the frontier. An attempt by French militia to capture Detroit ended in disaster when Miami Indians ambushed and defeated the gathered troops on November 5. The war in the west had become a stalemate; the Americans did not have the manpower to simultaneously defeat the Indian tribes and occupy their land.\n\n=== War in the South (1778–1781) ===\n\n\nBritish troops besiege Charleston in 1780, by Alonzo Chappel\n\nIn 1778, despite the defeat at Saratoga, the British turned their attention to reconquering the South. Prominent Loyalists with great influence in London had convinced the British that Loyalist support was high in the South, and that a campaign there would inspire a popular Loyalist uprising. The British centred their strategy upon this thinking. A southern campaign also had the advantage of keeping the Royal Navy closer to the Caribbean, where it would be needed to defend lucrative colonies against the Franco-Spanish fleets.\n\nOn December 29, 1778, an expeditionary corps from New York captured Savannah. British troops then moved inland to recruit Loyalist support. Despite a promising initial turnout in early 1779, a large Loyalist militia was defeated at Kettle Creek on February 14, demonstrating their vulnerability when operating away from British regulars. The British recovered their loss, defeating Patriot militia at Brier Creek on March 3. The British then launched an abortive assault on Charleston, South Carolina. The operation was noted for a high degree of looting by British troops, enraging both Loyalists and Patriot colonists. In October, a combined Franco-American effort to capture Savannah failed. In 1780, Henry Clinton moved against Charleston, capturing it on May 12. With few losses of their own, the British took 5,266 prisoners, effectively destroying the Continental Army in the south. Organized American resistance in the region collapsed when Banastre Tarleton defeated the withdrawing Americans at Waxhaws on May 29.\n\nAmerican and British cavalry clash at the Battle of Cowpens, from an 1845 painting by William Ranney\n\nClinton returned to New York, leaving Charles Cornwallis in command in Charleston to oversee the southern war effort. In the interim, the war was carried on by Patriot militias, whom effectively suppressed Loyalists by winning victories in Fairfield County, Lincolnton, York County, Stanly County, and Lancaster County. Congress appointed Horatio Gates, victor at Saratoga, to lead the American effort in the south. Soon after arriving, on August 16, Gates suffered a major defeat at Camden, setting the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina. While Patriot militia continued to interfere in attempts to pacify the countryside, Cornwallis dispatched troops to raise Loyalist forces to cover his left flank as he moved north. This wing of Cornwallis' army was virtually destroyed on October 7, irreversibly breaking Loyalist support in the Carolinas. Cornwallis subsequently aborted his advance and retreated back into South Carolina. In the interim, Washington replaced Gates with his trusted subordinate, Nathanael Greene.\n\nUnable to confront the British directly, Greene dispatched a force under Daniel Morgan to recruit additional troops. Morgan then defeated the cream of the British army under Tarleton on January 17, 1781, at Cowpens. As after the defeat of the Loyalists at King's Mountain, Cornwallis was criticized for his decision to detach a substantial part of his army without adequate support. Despite the setbacks, Cornwallis proceeded to advance into North Carolina, gambling that he would receive substantial Loyalist support. Greene evaded combat with Cornwallis, instead wearing his army down through a protracted war of attrition. By March, Greene's army had grown enough where he felt confident in facing Cornwallis. The two armies engaged at Guilford Courthouse on March 15, and, though Greene was beaten, Cornwallis' army had suffered irreplaceable casualties. Compounding this, far fewer Loyalists were joining as expected due to effective Patriot suppression. Cornwallis' casualties were such that he was compelled to retreat to Wilmington for reinforcement, leaving the interior of the Carolinas, and Georgia, wide open to Greene.\n\nIn Cornwallis' absence, Greene proceeded to reconquer the South. Despite suffering a reversal at Hobkirk's Hill on April 25, American troops continued to dislodge strategic British posts in the area, capturing Fort Watson, and Fort Motte. Augusta, the last major British outpost in the South outside of Charleston and Savannah, fell on June 6. In an effort to stop Greene, a British force clashed with American troops at Eutaw Springs on September 8. Despite inflicting a tactical defeat on Greene's army, the casualties suffered by the British were such that they withdrew to Charleston. While minor skirmishes in the Carolinas continued till the end of the war, British troops were effectively confined to Charleston and Savannah for the remainder of the conflict.\n\n=== British defeat in America (1781) ===\n\nThe French (left) and British (right) lines exchange fire at the Battle of the Chesapeake\n\nCornwallis had discovered that the majority of the American's supplies in the Carolinas were passing through Virginia, and had written to both Lord Germain and Clinton detailing his intentions to invade. Cornwallis believed a successful campaign there would cut supplies to Greene's army and precipitate a collapse of American resistance in the South. Clinton strongly opposed the plan, instead favoring conducting a campaign further north in the Chesapeake region. Lord Germain wrote to Cornwallis approving his plan, neglecting to include Clinton in the decision-making entirely, despite him being Cornwallis' superior officer. Cornwallis then decided to move into Virginia without informing Clinton. Clinton, however, had failed to construct a coherent strategy for British operations in 1781, owing to his difficult relationship with his naval counterpart, Marriot Arbuthnot.\n\nFollowing the calamitous operations at Newport and Savannah, French planners realized closer cooperation with the Americans was required to achieve success. The French fleet, led by the Comte de Grasse, had received discretionary orders from Paris to assist joint efforts in the north if naval support was needed. Washington and his French counterpart, the Comte de Rochambeau, discussed their options. Washington pushed for an attack on New York, while Rochambeau preferred a strike in Virginia, where the British were less well-established and thus, easier to defeat. Franco-American movements around New York caused Clinton a great deal of anxiety, fearing an attack on the city. His instructions to Cornwallis during this time were vague, rarely forming explicit orders. However, Clinton did instruct Cornwallis to establish a fortified naval base, and transfer troops to the north to defend New York. Cornwallis dug in at Yorktown, and awaited the Royal Navy.\n\n''Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown'' by John Trumbull, 1797\n\nWashington still favored an assault on New York, but was essentially overruled when the French opted to send their fleet to their preferred target of Yorktown. In August, the combined Franco-American army moved south to cooperate with de Grasse to defeat Cornwallis. Lacking sufficient naval resources to effectively counter the French, the British dispatched an inadequate fleet under Thomas Graves to assist Cornwallis and assume naval dominance. On September 5, the French fleet decisively defeated Graves, giving the French control of the seas around Yorktown, cutting Cornwallis off from reinforcements and relief. Despite the continued urging of his subordinates, Cornwallis made no attempt to break out and engage the Franco-American army before it had established siege works, instead expecting reinforcements would arrive from New York.\n\nOn September 28, the Franco-American army laid siege to Yorktown. Believing relief from Clinton was imminent, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned all of his outer defences, which were then occupied by the Franco-American troops, serving to hasten his subsequent defeat. A British attempt to break out of the siege across the river at Gloucester Point failed when a storm hit. Under increasing bombardment and with dwindling supplies, Cornwallis and his subordinates agreed their situation was untenable, and negotiated a surrender on October 17. Some 7,685 soldiers became prisoners of the Franco-American army. The same day as the surrender, 6,000 troops under Clinton had departed New York, sailing to relieve Yorktown.\n\n=== North Ministry collapses ===\n\nThe Gordon Riots, by John Seymour Lucas\n\nFollowing British successes at Newport and Charleston, the North government had gained support in Parliament. However, the government's decision to allow Irish Catholics to enlist in the army was deeply unpopular, triggering a massive protest in London in 1780, culminating in widespread rioting. The riots were the most destructive in London's history, damaging the prestige of the government. On 25 November 1781, the situation worsened when news of the surrender at Yorktown arrived in London. Prime Minister Lord North is said to have repeatedly exclaimed; \"Oh, God! It's all over!\" King George III received the news with dignity, though later became depressed and considered abdication. The Whig opposition gained traction in Parliament, though a motion proposed on December 12 to end the war was defeated by only one vote.\n\nLord Germain, who had overseen strategic matters in the war effort, was dismissed from office in early 1782. Soon after, a no confidence motion in the Prime Minister was passed, forcing the resignation of North and leading to the collapse of his ministry. The Rockingham Whigs came to power soon after and began opening negotiations for peace. Prime Minister the Marquess of Rockingham died in office on 1 July 1782, and was succeeded by the Earl of Shelburne, forcing the resignations of prominent Whigs Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox, with whom Shelburne had an icy relationship. Shelburne was initially hesitant to granting full American independence, instead preferring the colonies accept Dominion status, though such intentions were never realized.\n\nDespite the defeats in America, the British still had 30,000 troops garrisoned there, occupying New York, Charleston and Savannah. Henry Clinton was recalled to London after the defeat at Yorktown, and departed America in March 1782. He was replaced by Guy Carleton, who was under orders to suspend offensive operations in America.\n\n=== Final years of the war (1781–1783) ===\n\n\n==== Europe ====\n\nAfter hostilities with the Dutch began in late 1780, Britain had moved quickly, enforcing a blockade across the North Sea. Within weeks, the British had captured 200 Dutch merchantmen, and 300 more were holed up in foreign ports, though political turmoil within the Republic and peace negotiations by both sides helped keep conflict to a minimum. The majority of the Dutch public favored a military alliance with France against Britain, however, the Dutch Stadtholder impeded these efforts, hoping to secure an early peace. To restore diminishing trade a Dutch squadron under Johan Zoutman escorted a fleet of some 70 merchantmen from the Texel. Zoutman's ships were intercepted by Sir Hyde Parker, who engaged Zoutman at Dogger Bank on 5 August 1781. Though the contest was tactically inconclusive, the Dutch fleet did not leave harbor again during the war, and their merchant fleet remained crippled.\n\nThe Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar'', September 13, 1782, by John Singleton Copley\n\nOn 6 January 1781, a French attempt to capture Jersey to neutralize British privateering failed. Frustrated in their attempts to capture Gibraltar, a Franco-Spanish force of 14,000 men under the Duc de Mahon met with more success in August; invading Menorca on 19 August. After a long siege of St. Philip's, the British garrison under James Murray surrendered on 5 February 1782, securing a primary war goal for the Spanish. At Gibraltar, a major Franco-Spanish assault on 13 September 1782 was repulsed with heavy casualties. On 20 October 1782, following a successful resupply of Gibraltar, British ships under Richard Howe successfully refused battle to the Franco-Spanish fleet under Luis de Córdova, denying Córdova dominance at sea. On 7 February 1783, after 1,322 days of siege, the Franco-Spanish army withdrew, decisively defeated.\n\n==== Americas ====\n\nSpanish troops led by Bernardo de Gálvez in combat at Pensacola. Oil on canvas, Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, 2015.\n\nIn the West Indies, on 29–30 April 1781, a Royal Navy squadron under Samuel Hood was narrowly defeated by the French, led by the Comte de Grasse. de Grasse continued seizing British territories; Tobago fell on 2 June, Demerara and Essequibo on 22 January 1782, St. Kitts and Nevis on 12 February, despite a British naval victory on 25 January, and Montserrat on 22 February. In 1782, the primary strategic goal of the French and Spanish was the capture of Jamaica, whose sugar exports were more valuable to the British than the Thirteen Colonies combined. On 7 April 1782, de Grasse departed Martinique to rendezvous with Franco-Spanish troops at Saint Domingue, and invade Jamaica from the north. The British under Hood and George Rodney pursued and decisively defeated the French off Dominica between 9–12 April. The Franco-Spanish plan to conquer Jamaica was in ruins, and the balance of naval power in the Caribbean shifted to the Royal Navy.\n\nAfter the fall of Mobile to Spanish troops under Bernardo de Gálvez, an attempt to capture Pensacola was thwarted due to a hurricane. Emboldened by the disaster, John Campbell, British commander at Pensacola, decided to recapture Mobile. Campbell's expeditionary force of around 700 men was defeated on 7 January 1781. After re-grouping at Havana, Gálvez set out for Pensacola on 13 February. Arriving on 9 March, siege operations did not begin until 24 March, owing to difficulties in bringing the ships into the bay. After a 45-day siege, Gálvez decisively defeated the garrison, securing the conquest of West Florida. In May, Spanish troops captured the Bahamas, although the British bloodlessly recaptured the islands the following year on 18 April.\n\nIn Guatemala, Matías de Gálvez led Spanish troops in an effort to dislocate British settlements along the Gulf of Honduras. Gálvez captured Roatán on 16 March 1782, and then quickly took Black River. Following the decisive naval victory at the Saintes, Archibald Campbell, the Royal governor of Jamaica, authorized Edward Despard to re-take Black River, which he did on 22 August. However, with peace talks opening, and Franco-Spanish resources committed to the siege of Gibraltar, no further offensive operations took place.\n\nFew operations were conducted against the Dutch, although several Dutch colonies were captured by the British in 1781. Sint Eustatius, a key supply port for the Patriots, was sacked by British forces under George Rodney on 3 February 1782, plundering the island's wealth.\n\n==== India ====\n\nFollowing Dutch entry into the conflict, East India Company troops under Hector Munro captured the Dutch port of Negapatam after a three-week siege on 11 October 1781. Soon after, British Admiral Edward Hughes captured Trincomalee after a brief engagement on 11 January 1782.\n\nThe British (right) and the French (left), with Admiral Suffren's flagship ''Cléopâtre'' on the far left, exchange fire at Cuddalore, by Auguste Jugelet, 1836. \n\nIn March 1781, French Admiral Bailli de Suffren was dispatched to India to assist colonial efforts. Suffren arrived off the Indian coast in February 1782, where he clashed with a British fleet under Hughes, winning a narrow tactical victory. After landing troops at Porto Novo to assist Mysore, Suffren's fleet clashed with Hughes again Providien on 12 April. There was no clear victor, though Hughes' fleet came off worse, and he withdrew to the British-held port of Trincomalee. Hyder Ali wished for the French to capture Negapatam to establish naval dominance over the British, and this task fell to Suffren. Suffren's fleet clashed with Hughes again off Negapatam on 6 July. Suffren withdrew to Cuddalore, strategically defeated, and the British remained in control of Negapatam. Intending to find a more suitable port than Cuddalore, Suffren captured Trincomalee on 1 September, and successfully engaged Hughes two days later.\n\nMeanwhile, Ali's troops loosely blockaded Vellore as the East India Company regrouped. Company troops under Sir Eyre Coote led a counter-offensive, defeating Ali at Porto Novo on 1 July 1781, Pollilur on 27 August, and Sholinghur on 27 September, expelling the Mysorean troops from the Carnatic. On 18 February 1782, Tipu Sultan defeated John Braithwaite near Tanjore, taking his entire 1,800-strong force prisoner. The war had, by this point, reached an uneasy stalemate. On 7 December 1782, Hyder Ali died, and the rule of Mysore passed to his son, Tipu Sultan.\n\nSultan advanced along the west coast, laying siege to Mangalore on 20 May 1783. Meanwhile, on the east coast, an army under James Stuart besieged the French-held port of Cuddalore on 9 June 1783. On 20 June, key British naval support for the siege was neutralized when Suffren defeated Hughes' fleet off Cuddalore, and though narrow, the victory gave Suffren the opportunity to displace British holdings in India. On 25 June, the Franco-Mysorean defenders made repeated sorties against British lines, though all assaults failed. On 30 June, news arrived of a preliminary peace between the belligerent powers, and the siege was effectively over when the French abandoned the siege. Mangalore remained under siege, and capitulated to Sultan on 30 January 1784. Little fighting took place thereafter, and Mysore and Britain made peace on 11 March.\n", "\nBenjamin West's famous painting of the American delegations at the Treaty of Paris. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.\n\nFollowing the surrender at Yorktown, the Whig party came to power in Britain and began opening negotiations for a cessation of hostilities. While peace negotiations were being undertaken, British troops in America were restricted from launching further offensives. Prime Minister the Earl of Shelburne was reluctant to accept American independence as a prerequisite for peace, as the British were aware that the French economy was nearly bankrupt, and reinforcements sent to the West Indies could potentially reverse the situation there. He preferred that the colonies accept Dominion status within the Empire, though a similar offer had been rejected by the Americans in 1778. Negotiations soon began in Paris.\n\nThe Americans initially demanded that Quebec be ceded to them as spoils of war, a proposal that was dropped when Shelburne accepted American demands for recognition of independence. On April 19, 1782, the Dutch formally recognized the United States as a sovereign power, enhancing American leverage at the negotiations. Spain initially impeded the negotiations, refusing to enter into peace talks until Gibraltar had been captured. The Comte de Vergennes proposed that American territory be confined to the east of the Appalachians; Britain would have sovereignty over the area north of the Ohio River, below which an Indian barrier state would be established under Spanish control. The United States fiercely opposed the proposal.\n\nBritish evacuation of America.\n\nThe Americans skirted their allies, recognizing that more favorable terms would be found in London. They negotiated directly with Shelburne, who hoped to make Britain a valuable trading partner of America at the expense of France. To this end, Shelburne offered to cede all the land east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Quebec, while also allowing American fishermen access to the rich Newfoundland fishery. According to one historian, Shelburne was hoping to facilitate the growth of the American population, creating lucrative markets that Britain could exploit at no administrative cost to London. As Vergennes commented, \"the English buy peace rather than make it\".\n\nThroughout the negotiations, Britain never consulted her American Indian allies, forcing them to reluctantly accept the treaty. However, the subsequent tension erupted into conflicts between the Indians and the young United States, the largest being the Northwest Indian War. Britain continued trying to create an Indian buffer state in the American Midwest as late as 1814 during the War of 1812.\n\nBritain negotiated separate treaties with Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic. Gibraltar proved to be a stumbling block in the peace talks; Spain offered to relinquish their conquests in West Florida, Menorca, and the Bahamas in exchange for Gibraltar, terms which Shelburne steadfastly refused. Shelburne instead offered to cede East Florida, West Florida, and Menorca if Spain would relinquish the claim on Gibraltar, terms which were reluctantly accepted. However, in the long-term, the new territorial gains were of little value to Spain. France's only net gains were the island of Tobago in the Caribbean and Senegal in Africa, after agreeing to return all other colonial conquests to British sovereignty. Britain returned Dutch Caribbean territories to Dutch sovereignty, in exchange for free trade rights in the Dutch East Indies and control of the Indian port of Negapatnam.\n\nPreliminary peace articles were signed in Paris on 30 November 1782, while preliminaries between Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands continued until September 1783. The United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784. Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the other parties involved, the first reaching France in March 1784. British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784, and the ratified versions were exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784. The war formally concluded on September 3, 1783.\n\nThe last British troops departed New York City on November 25, 1783, marking the end of British rule in the new United States.\n", "\n=== Casualties and losses ===\n\n==== Americans and allies ====\nThe total loss of life throughout the conflict is largely unknown. As was typical in wars of the era, diseases such as smallpox claimed more lives than battle. Between 1775 and 1782, a smallpox epidemic broke out throughout North America, killing 40 people in Boston alone. Historian Joseph Ellis suggests that Washington's decision to have his troops inoculated against the disease was one of his most important decisions.\n\nBetween 25,000 and 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service. Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor. If the upper limit of 70,000 is accepted as the total net loss for the Patriots, it would make the conflict proportionally deadlier than the American Civil War. Uncertainty arises due to the difficulties in accurately calculating the number of those who succumbed to disease, as it is estimated at least 10,000 died in 1776 alone. The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.\n\nThe French suffered approximately 7,000 total dead throughout the conflict; of those, 2,112 were killed in combat in the American theaters of war.\n\nThe Dutch suffered around 500 total killed, owing to the minor scale of their conflict with Britain.\n\n==== British and allies ====\nBritish returns in 1783 listed 43,633 rank and file deaths across the British Armed Forces. A table from 1781 puts total British Army deaths at 9,372 soldiers killed in battle across the Americas; 6,046 in North America (1775–1779), and 3,326 in the West Indies (1778–1780). In 1784, a British lieutenant compiled a detailed list of 205 British officers killed in action during the war, encompassing Europe, the Caribbean and the East Indies. Extrapolations based upon this list puts British Army losses in the area of at least 4,000 killed or died of wounds. Approximately 7,774 Germans died in British service in addition to 4,888 deserters; of the former, it is estimated 1,800 were killed in combat.\n\nAround 171,000 sailors served in the Royal Navy during the war; approximately a quarter of whom had been pressed into service. Around 1,240 were killed in battle, while an estimated 18,500 died from disease (1776–1780). The greatest killer at sea was scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. It was not until 1795 that scurvy was eradicated from the Royal Navy after the Admiralty declared lemon juice and sugar were to be issued among the standard daily rations of sailors. Around 42,000 sailors deserted during the war. The impact on merchant shipping was substantial; an estimated 3,386 merchant ships were seized by enemy forces during the war; of those, 2,283 were taken by American privateers alone.\n\n=== Financial debts ===\n\nAt the start of the war, the economy of the colonies was flourishing, and the free white population enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world. The Royal Navy enforced a naval blockade during the war to financially cripple the colonies, however, this proved unsuccessful; 90% of the population worked in farming, not in coastal trade, and, as such, the American economy proved resilient enough to withstand the blockade.\n\nCongress had immense difficulties throughout the conflict to efficiently finance the war effort. As the circulation of hard currency declined, the Americans had to rely on loans from American merchants and bankers, France, Spain and the Netherlands, saddling the young nation with crippling debts. Congress attempted to remedy this by printing vast amounts of paper money and bills of credit to raise revenue. The effect was disastrous; inflation skyrocketed, and the paper money became virtually worthless. The inflation spawned a popular phrase that anything of little value was \"not worth a continental\".\n\nBy 1791, the United States had accumulated a national debt of approximately $75.5 million. The United States finally solved its debt and currency problems in the 1790s, when Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton secured legislation by which the national government assumed all of the state debts, and, in addition, created a national bank and a funding system based on tariffs and bond issues that paid off the foreign debts.\n\nBritain spent around £80 million and ended with a national debt of £250 million, (£ in today's money), generating a yearly interest of £9.5 million annually. The debts piled upon that which it had already accumulated from the Seven Years' War. Due to wartime taxation upon the British populace, the tax for the average Briton amounted to approximately four shillings in every pound.\n\nThe French spent approximately 1.3 billion livres on aiding the Americans, accumulating a national debt of 3.315.1 billion livres by 1783 on war costs. Unlike Britain, which had a very efficient taxation system, the French tax system was highly unstable, eventually leading to a financial crisis in 1786. The debts contributed to a worsening fiscal crisis that ultimately begat the French Revolution at the end of the century. The debt continued to spiral; on the eve of the French Revolution, the national debt had skyrocketed to 12 billion livres.\n\nSpain had nearly doubled her military spending during the war, from 454 million reales in 1778 to over 700 million in 1779. Spain more easily disposed of her debts unlike her French ally, partially due to the massive increase in silver mining in her American colonies; production increased approximately 600% in Mexico, and by 250% in Peru and Bolivia.\n", "\n=== Great Britain ===\n\n\nredcoats at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.\n\nThe population of Great Britain and Ireland in 1780 was approximately 12.6 million, while the Thirteen Colonies held a population of some 2.8 million, including some 500,000 slaves. Theoretically, Britain had the advantage, however, many factors inhibited the procurement of a large army.\n\n==== Armed Forces ====\n\n===== Recruitment =====\n\nPress gang at work, British caricature of 1780\n\nIn 1775, the standing British Army, exclusive of militia, comprised 45,123 men worldwide, made up of 38,254 infantry and 6,869 cavalry. The Army had approximately eighteen regiments of foot, some 8,500 men, stationed in North America. Standing armies had played a key role in the purge of the Long Parliament in 1648, the maintenance of a military dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell, and the overthrow of James II, and, as such, the Army had been deliberately kept small in peacetime to prevent abuses of power by the King. Despite this, eighteenth century armies were not easy guests, and were regarded with scorn and contempt by the press and public of the New and Old World alike, derided as enemies of liberty. An expression ran in the Navy; \"A messmate before a shipmate, a shipmate before a stranger, a stranger before a dog, a dog before a soldier\".\n\nParliament suffered chronic difficulties in obtaining sufficient manpower, and found it impossible to fill the quotas they had set. The Army was a deeply unpopular profession, one contentious issue being pay. A Private infantryman was paid a wage of just 8d. per day, the same pay as for a New Model Army infantryman, 130 years earlier. The rate of pay in the army was insufficient to meet the rising costs of living, turning off potential recruits, as service was nominally for life.\n\nTo entice people to enrol, Parliament offered a bounty of £1.10s for every recruit. As the war dragged on, Parliament became desperate for manpower; criminals were offered military service to escape legal penalties, and deserters were pardoned if they re-joined their units. After the defeat at Saratoga, Parliament doubled the bounty to £3, and increased it again the following year, to £3.3s, as well as expanding the age limit from 17–45 to 16–50 years of age.\n\nImpressment, essentially conscription by the \"press gang\", was a favored recruiting method, though it was unpopular with the public, leading many to enlist in local militias to avoid regular service. Attempts were made to draft such levies, much to the chagrin of the militia commanders. Competition between naval and army press gangs, and even between rival ships or regiments, frequently resulted in brawls between the gangs in order to secure recruits for their unit. Men would maim themselves to avoid the press gangs, while many deserted at the first opportunity. Pressed men were militarily unreliable; regiments with large numbers of such men were deployed to garrisons such as Gibraltar or the West Indies, purely to increase the difficulty in successfully deserting.\n\nBy 1781, the Army numbered approximately 121,000 men globally, 48,000 of whom were stationed throughout the Americas. Of the 171,000 sailors who served in the Royal Navy throughout the conflict, around a quarter were pressed. Interestingly, this same proportion, approximately 42,000 men, deserted during the conflict. At its height, the Navy had 94 ships-of-the-line, 104 frigates and 37 sloops in service.\n\nHessian soldiers of the Leibregiment\n\n====== Loyalists and Hessians ======\n\nIn 1775, Britain unsuccessfully attempted to secure 20,000 mercenaries from Russia, and the use of the Scots Brigade from the Dutch Republic, such was the shortage of manpower. Parliament managed to negotiate treaties with the princes of German states for large sums of money, in exchange for mercenary troops. In total, 29,875 troops were hired for British service from six German states; Brunswick (5,723), Hesse-Kassel (16,992), Hesse-Hannau (2,422), Ansbach-Bayreuth (2,353), Waldeck-Pyrmont (1,225) and Anhalt-Zerbst (1,160). King George III, who also ruled Hanover as a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, was approached by Parliament to loan the government Hanoverian soldiers for service in the war. Hanover supplied 2,365 men in five battalions, however, the lease agreement permitted them to only be used in Europe.\n\nWithout any major allies, the manpower shortage became critical when France and Spain entered the war, forcing a major diversion of military resources from the Americas. Recruiting adequate numbers of Loyalist militia in America proved difficult due to high Patriot activity. To bolster numbers, the British promised freedom and grants of land to slaves who fought for them. Approximately 25,000 Loyalists fought for the British throughout the war, and provided some of the best troops in the British service; the British Legion, a mixed regiment of 250 dragoons and 200 infantry commanded by Banastre Tarleton, gained a fearsome reputation in the colonies, especially in the South.\n\n===== Leadership =====\n\nBritain had a difficult time appointing a determined senior military leadership in America. Thomas Gage, Commander-in-Chief of North America at the outbreak of the war, was criticized for being too lenient on the rebellious colonists. Jeffrey Amherst, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1778, refused a direct command in America, due to unwillingness to take sides in the war. Admiral Augustus Keppel similarly opposed a command, stating; \"I cannot draw the sword in such a cause\". The Earl of Effingham resigned his commission when his regiment was posted to America, while William Howe and John Burgoyne were opposed to military solutions to the crisis. Howe and Henry Clinton both stated they were unwilling participants, and were only following orders.\n\nAs was the case in many European armies, except the Prussian Army, officers in British service could purchase commissions to ascend the ranks. Despite repeated attempts by Parliament to suppress it, the practise was common in the Army. Values of commissions varied, but were usually in line with social and military prestige, for example, regiments such as the Guards commanded the highest prices. The lower ranks often regarded the treatment to high-ranking commissions by wealthier officers as \"plums for their consumption\". Wealthy individuals lacking any formal military education, or practical experience, often found their way into positions of high responsibility, diluting the effectiveness of a regiment. Though Royal authority had forbade the practise since 1711, it was still permitted for infants to hold commissions. Young boys, often orphans of deceased wealthy officers, were taken from their schooling and placed in positions of responsibility within regiments.\n\n===== Logistics =====\n\nLogistical organization of eighteenth century armies was chaotic at best, and the British Army was no exception. No logistical corps existed in the modern sense; while on campaign in foreign territories such as America, horses, wagons, and drivers were frequently requisitioned from the locals, often by impressment or by hire. No centrally organized medical corps existed. It was common for surgeons to have no formal medical education, and no diploma or entry examination was required. Nurses sometimes were apprentices to surgeons, but many were drafted from the women who followed the army. Army surgeons and doctors were poorly paid and were regarded as social inferiors to other officers.\n\nBlack Watch armed with Brown Bess muskets, c. 1790.\nGrenadier of the 40th Regiment of Foot in 1767, armed with a Brown Bess musket.\n\nThe heavy personal equipment and wool uniform of the regular infantrymen were wholly unsuitable for combat in America, and the outfit was especially ill-suited to comfort and agile movement. During the Battle of Monmouth in late June 1778, the temperature exceeded 100°F (37.8°C) and is said to have claimed more lives through heat stroke than through actual combat. The standard-issue firearm of the British Army was the Land Pattern Musket. Some officers preferred their troops to fire careful, measured shots (around two per minute), rather than rapid firing. A bayonet made firing difficult, as its cumbersome shape hampered ramming down the charge into the barrel. British troops had a tendency to fire impetuously, resulting in inaccurate fire, a trait for which John Burgoyne criticized them during the Saratoga campaign. Burgoyne instead encouraged bayonet charges to break up enemy formations, which was a preferred tactic in most European armies at the time.\n\nEvery battalion in America had organized its own rifle company by the end of the war, although rifles were not formally issued to the army until the Baker Rifle in 1801. Flintlocks were heavily dependent on the weather; high winds could blow the gunpowder from the flash pan, while heavy rain could soak the paper cartridge, ruining the powder and rendering the musket unable to fire. Furthermore, flints used in British muskets were of notoriously poor quality; they could only be fired around six times before requiring resharpening, while American flints could fire sixty. This led to a common expression among the British: \"Yankee flint was as good as a glass of grog\".\n\nProvisioning troops and sailors proved to be an immense challenge, as the majority of food stores had to be shipped overseas from Britain. The need to maintain Loyalist support prevented the Army from living off the land. Other factors also impeded this option; the countryside was too sparsely populated and the inhabitants were largely hostile or indifferent, the network of roads and bridges was poorly developed, and the area which the British controlled was so limited that foraging parties were frequently in danger of being ambushed. After France entered the war, the threat of the French navy increased the difficulty of transporting supplies to America. The food that could be bought in America was purchased at vastly inflated prices. Soldiers stationed in the West Indies perhaps suffered the worst; the garrison commander of Tobago, Barbados, and Antigua frequently complained of the near-total lack of regular supply from Britain, and the food that could be bought was so expensive that the pay of the troops was inadequate to cover the costs.\n\nFood supplies were frequently in terrible condition, infested with mould, weevils, worms, and maggots. Provisions were frequently destroyed by rats, and their containers were too fragile to sustain a long ocean voyage or the rigors of campaigning. The climate was also against the British in the southern colonies and the Caribbean, where the intense summer heat caused food supplies to sour and spoil. British troops stationed in America were often on the verge of starvation.\n\nLife at sea was little better. Sailors and passengers were issued a daily food ration, largely consisting of hardtack and beer. The hardtack was often infested by weevils and was so tough that it earned the nicknames \"molar breakers\" and \"worm castles\", and it sometimes had to be broken up with cannon shot. Meat supplies often spoiled on long voyages. The lack of fresh fruit and vegetables gave rise to scurvy, one of the biggest killers at sea. Rum was issued as part of a daily ration and was a popular drink among soldiers and sailors alike, often mixed with fresh water to make grog.\n\n===== Discipline =====\n\nFlogging of a delinquent in Germany, 17th century\n\nDiscipline in the armed forces was harsh, and the lash was used to punish even trivial offences, nor was it applied sparingly. For instance, during the Saratoga campaign, two redcoats received 1,000 lashes each for robbery, while another received 800 lashes for striking a superior officer. During the Napoleonic Wars, one soldier received 700 lashes for stealing a beehive, while another, whom had received only 175 strikes of his 400-lash sentence, spent three weeks in hospital from his injuries. The practise could often be a contentious source of resentment; during the Battle of Quatre Bras in 1815, the commander of the 92nd Foot was shot and killed by a soldier whom he had recently flogged. Flogging was a common punishment in the Royal Navy, and came to be associated with the stereotypical hardiness of sailors.\n\nDespite the harsh discipline, a distinct lack of self-discipline pervaded all ranks. Soldiers had an intense passion for gambling, reaching such excesses that troops would often wager their own uniforms. Soldiers drank heavily, and was not exclusive to the lower ranks; William Howe was said to have seen many \"crapulous mornings\" while campaigning in New York. John Burgoyne drank heavily on a nightly basis towards the end of the Saratoga campaign. The two generals were also reported to have found solace with the wives of subordinate officers to ease the stressful burdens of command. During the Philadelphia campaign, British officers deeply offended local Quakers by entertaining their mistresses in the houses they had been quartered in. Despite such issues, British troops are reported to have been generally scrupulous in their treatment of non-combatants. This is contrasted by Hessian diaries, who wrote of their disapproval of British conduct towards the colonists, such as the destruction of property and the execution of prisoners.\n\nThe presence of Hessian soldiers caused considerable anxiety amongst the colonists, both Patriot and Loyalist, who viewed them as brutal mercenaries. British soldiers were often contemptuous in their treatment of Hessian troops, despite orders from General Howe that \"the English should treat the Germans as brothers\". The order only began to have any real effect when the Hessians learned to speak a minimal degree of English, which was seen as a prerequisite for the British troops to accord them any respect.\n\nDuring peacetime, the Army's idleness led to it becoming riddled with corruption and inefficiency, resulting in a myriad of administrative difficulties once campaigning began.\n\n==== Strategic deficiencies ====\n\nThe British leadership soon discovered it had overestimated the capabilities of its own troops, while underestimating those of the colonists, causing a sudden re-think in British planning. The ineffective initial response of British military and civil officials to the onset of the rebellion had allowed the advantage to shift to the colonists, as British authorities rapidly lost control over every colony. A microcosm of these shortcomings were evident at the Battle of Bunker Hill. It took ten hours for the British leadership to respond following the sighting of the Americans on the Charlestown Peninsula, giving the colonists ample time to reinforce their defenses. Rather than opt for a simple flanking attack that would have rapidly succeeded with minimal loss, the British decided on repeated frontal attacks. The results were telling; the British suffered 1,054 casualties of a force of around 3,000 after repeated frontal assaults. The British leadership had nevertheless remained excessively optimistic, believing that just two regiments could suppress the rebellion in Massachusetts.\n\nDebate persists over whether a British defeat was a guaranteed outcome. Ferling argues that the odds were so long, the defeat of Britain was nothing short of a miracle. Ellis, however, considers that the odds always favored the Americans, and questions whether a British victory by any margin was realistic. Ellis argues that the British squandered their only opportunities for a decisive success in 1777, and that the strategic decisions undertaken by William Howe underestimated the challenges posed by the Americans. Ellis concludes that, once Howe failed, the opportunity for a British victory \"would never come again\". Conversely, the United States Army's official textbook argues that, had Britain been able to commit 10,000 fresh troops to the war in 1780, a British victory was within the realms of possibility.\n\n===== William Howe =====\n\nCommander-in-Chief from 1775–1778\n\nHistorians such as Ellis and Stewart have observed that, under William Howe's command, the British squandered several opportunities to achieve a decisive victory over the Americans. Throughout the New York and Philadelphia campaigns, Howe made several strategic errors, errors which cost the British opportunities for a complete victory. At Long Island, Howe failed to even attempt an encirclement of Washington, and actively restrained his subordinates from mounting an aggressive pursuit of the defeated American army. At White Plains, he refused to engage Washington's vulnerable army, and instead concentrated his efforts upon a hill which offered the British no strategic advantage. After securing control of New York, Howe dispatched Henry Clinton to capture Newport, a measure which Clinton was opposed to, on the grounds the troops assigned to his command could have been put to better use in pursuing Washington's retreating army. Despite the bleak outlook for the revolutionary cause and the surge of Loyalist activity in the wake of Washington's defeats, Howe made no attempt to mount an attack upon Washington while the Americans settled down into winter quarters, much to their surprise.\n\nDuring planning for the Saratoga campaign, Howe was left with the choice of committing his army to support Burgoyne, or capture Philadelphia, the revolutionary capital. Howe decided upon the latter, determining that Washington was of a greater threat. The decision left Burgoyne precariously isolated, and left the Americans confounded at the decision. Alden argues Howe may have been motivated by political opportunism; if Burgoyne was successful, he would receive the credit for a decisive victory, and not Howe. However, the confusion was further compounded by the lack of explicit and contradictory instructions from London. When Howe launched his campaign, he took his army upon a time-consuming route through the Chesapeake Bay, rather than the more sensible choices of overland through New Jersey, or by sea through the Delaware Bay. The move left him unable to assist Burgoyne even if it was required of him. The decision so confused Parliament, that Howe was accused by Tories on both sides of the Atlantic of treason.\n\nDuring the Philadelphia campaign, Howe failed to pursue and destroy the defeated Americans on two occasions; once after the Battle of Brandywine, and again after the Battle of Germantown. At the Battle of White Marsh, Howe failed to even attempt to exploit the vulnerable American rear, and then inexplicably ordered a retreat to Philadelphia after only minor skirmishes, astonishing both sides. While the Americans wintered only twenty miles away, Howe made no effort to attack their camp, which critics argue could have ended the war. Following the conclusion of the campaign, Howe resigned his commission, and was replaced by Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778.\n\nContrary to Howe's more hostile critics, however, there were strategic factors at play which impeded aggressive action. Howe may have been dissuaded from pursuing aggressive manoeuvres due to the memory of the grievous losses the British suffered at Bunker Hill. During the major campaigns in New York and Philadelphia, Howe often wrote of the scarcity of adequate provisions, which hampered his ability to mount effective campaigns. Howe's tardiness in launching the New York campaign, and his reluctance to allow Cornwallis to vigorously pursue Washington's beaten army, have both been attributed to the paucity of available food supplies.\n\nDuring the winter of 1776–1777, Howe split his army into scattered cantonments. This decision dangerously exposed the individual forces to defeat in detail, as the distance between them was such that they could not mutually support each other. This strategic failure allowed the Americans to achieve victory at the Battle of Trenton, and the concurrent Battle of Princeton. While a major strategic error to divide an army in such a manner, the quantity of available food supplies in New York was so low that Howe had been compelled to take such a decision. The garrisons were widely spaced so their respective foraging parties would not interfere with each other's efforts. Howe's difficulties during the Philadelphia campaign were also greatly exacerbated by the poor quality and quantity of available provisions.\n\n===== Clinton and Cornwallis =====\n\nCharles Cornwallis, who led British forces in the southern campaign.\n\nIn 1780, the primary British strategy hinged upon a Loyalist uprising in the south, for which Charles Cornwallis was chiefly responsible. After an encouraging success at Camden, Cornwallis was poised to invade North Carolina. However, any significant Loyalist support had been effectively destroyed at the Battle of Kings Mountain, and the British Legion, the cream of his army, had been decisively defeated at the Battle of Cowpens. Following both defeats, Cornwallis was fiercely criticized for detaching a significant portion of his army without adequate mutual support. Despite the defeats, Cornwallis chose to proceed into North Carolina, gambling his success upon a large Loyalist uprising which never materialized. As a result, subsequent engagements cost Cornwallis valuable troops he could not replace, as at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and the Americans steadily wore his army down in an exhaustive war of attrition. Cornwallis had thus left the Carolinas ripe for reconquest. The Americans had largely achieved this aim by the end of 1781, effectively confining the British to the coast, and undoing all the progress they had made in the previous year.\n\nIn a last-ditch attempt to win the war in the South, Cornwallis resolved to invade Virginia, in order to cut off the American's supply base to the Carolinas. Henry Clinton, Cornwallis' superior, strongly opposed the plan, believing the decisive confrontations would take place between Washington in the North. London had approved Cornwallis plan, however they had failed to include Clinton in the decision-making, despite his seniority over Cornwallis, leading to a muddled strategic direction. Cornwallis then decided to invade Virginia without informing Clinton of his intentions. Clinton, however, had wholly failed to construct a coherent strategy for British campaigning that year, owing to his fractious relationship that he shared with Mariot Arbuthnot, his naval counterpart.\n\nAs the Franco-American army approached Cornwallis at Yorktown, he made no attempt to sally out and engage before siege lines could be erected, despite the repeated urging of his subordinate officers. Expecting relief to soon arrive from Clinton, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned all of his outer defences, which were then promptly occupied by the besiegers, serving to hasten the British defeat. These factors contributed to the eventual surrender of Cornwallis' entire army, and the end of major operations in North America.\n\nLike Howe before him, Clinton's efforts to campaign suffered from chronic supply issues. In 1778, Clinton wrote to Germain complaining of the lack of supplies, even after the arrival of a convoy from Ireland. That winter, the supply issue had deteriorated so badly, that Clinton expressed considerable anxiety over how the troops were going to be properly fed. Clinton was largely inactive in the North throughout 1779, launching few major campaigns. This inactivity was partially due to the shortage of food. By 1780, the situation had not improved. Clinton wrote a frustrated correspondence to Germain, voicing concern that a \"fatal consequence will ensue\" if matters did not improve. By October that year, Clinton again wrote to Germain, angered that the troops in New York had not received \"an ounce\" of that year's allotted stores from Britain.\n\n==== Campaign issues ====\n\nSuppressing a rebellion in America presented the British with major problems. The key issue was distance; it could take up to three months to cross the Atlantic, and orders from London were often outdated by the time that they arrived. The colonies had never been formally united prior to the conflict and there was no centralized area of ultimate strategic importance. Traditionally, the fall of a capital city often signalled the end of a conflict, yet the war continued unabated even after the fall of major settlements such as New York, Philadelphia (which was the Patriot capital), and Charleston. Britain's ability to project its power overseas lay chiefly in the power of the Royal Navy, allowing her to control major coastal settlements with relative ease and enforce a strong blockade of colonial ports. However, the overwhelming majority of the American population was agrarian, not urban. As a result, the American economy proved resilient enough to withstand the blockade's effects.\n\nBlack Loyalist soldiers fought alongside British regulars in the 1781 Battle of Jersey, from ''The Death of Major Peirson''\n\nThe need to maintain Loyalist support prevented the British from using the harsh methods of suppressing revolts that they had used in Scotland and Ireland. For example, British troops looted and pillaged the locals during an aborted attack on Charleston in 1779, enraging both Patriots and Loyalists. Neutral colonists were often driven into the ranks of the Patriots when brutal combat broke out between Tories and Whigs across the Carolinas in the later stages of the war. Conversely, Loyalists were often emboldened when Patriots resorted to intimidating suspected Tories, such as destroying property or tarring and feathering. The vastness of the American countryside and the limited manpower available meant that the British could never simultaneously defeat the Americans and occupy captured territory. One British statesman described the attempt as \"like trying to conquer a map\".\n\nWealthy Loyalists wielded great influence in London and were successful in convincing the British that the majority view in the colonies was sympathetic toward the Crown. Consequently, British planners pinned the success of their strategies on popular uprisings of Loyalists, which never transpired on the scale required. Historians have estimated that Loyalists made up only 15–20% of the population (vs. 40-45% Patriots) and that they continued to deceive themselves on their level of support as late as 1780. The British discovered that any significant level of organized Loyalist activity would require the continued presence of British regulars, which presented them with a major dilemma. The manpower that the British had available was insufficient to both protect Loyalist territory and counter American advances. The vulnerability of Loyalist militias was repeatedly demonstrated in the South, where they suffered strings of defeats to their Patriot neighbors. The most crucial juncture of this was at Kings Mountain, and the victory of the Patriot partisans irreversibly crippled Loyalist military capability in the South.\n\nUpon the entry of France and Spain into the conflict, the British were forced to severely limit the number of troops and warships that they sent to North America in order to defend other key territories and the British mainland. As a result, King George III abandoned any hope of subduing America militarily while he had a European war to contend with. The small size of Britain's army left them unable to concentrate their resources primarily in one theater as they had done in the Seven Years' War, leaving them at a critical disadvantage. The British were compelled to disperse troops from the Americas to Europe and the East Indies, and these forces were unable to assist one other as a result, precariously exposing them to defeat. In North America, the immediate strategic focus of the French, Spanish, and British shifted to Jamaica, whose sugar exports were more valuable to the British than the economy of the Thirteen Colonies combined.\n\nFollowing the end of the war, Britain had lost some of her most populous colonies. However, the economic effects of the loss were negligible in the long-term, and she became a global superpower just 32 years after the end of the conflict.\n\n=== Patriots ===\n\n1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the Battle of Guilford\nThe Americans began the war with significant disadvantages compared to the British. They had no national government, no national army or navy, no financial system, no banks, no established credit, and no functioning government departments, such as a treasury. The Congress tried to handle administrative affairs through legislative committees, which proved inefficient. The state governments were themselves brand new and officials had no administrative experience. In peacetime the colonies relied heavily on ocean travel and shipping, but that was now shut down by the British blockade and the Americans had to rely on slow overland travel.\n\nHowever, the Americans had multiple advantages that in the long run outweighed the initial disadvantages they faced. The Americans had a large prosperous population that depended not on imports but on local production for food and most supplies, while the British were mostly shipped in from across the ocean. The British faced a vast territory far larger than Britain or France, located at a far distance from home ports. Most of the Americans lived on farms distant from the seaports—the British could capture any port but that did not give them control over the hinterland. They were on their home ground, had a smoothly functioning, well organized system of local and state governments, newspapers and printers, and internal lines of communications. They had a long-established system of local militia, previously used to combat the French and Native Americans, with companies and an officer corps that could form the basis of local militias, and provide a training ground for the national army created by Congress.\n\nMotivation was a major asset. The Patriots wanted to win; over 200,000 fought in the war; 25,000 died. The British expected the Loyalists to do much of the fighting, but they did much less than expected. The British also hired German mercenaries to do much of their fighting.\n\nAt the onset of the war, the Americans had no major international allies. Battles such as the Battle of Bennington, the Battles of Saratoga and even defeats such as the Battle of Germantown proved decisive in gaining the attention and support of powerful European nations such as France and Spain, who moved from covertly supplying the Americans with weapons and supplies, to overtly supporting them militarily, moving the war to a global stage.\n\nThe new Continental Army suffered significantly from a lack of an effective training regime, and largely inexperienced officers and sergeants. The inexperience of its officers was compensated for in part by its senior officers; officers such as George Washington, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, Richard Montgomery and Francis Marion all had military experience with the British Army during the French and Indian War. The Americans solved their training dilemma during their stint in Winter Quarters at Valley Forge, where they were relentlessly drilled and trained by General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a veteran of the famed Prussian General Staff. He taught the Continental Army the essentials of military discipline, drills, tactics and strategy, and wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual. When the Army emerged from Valley Forge, it proved its ability to equally match the British troops in battle when they fought a successful strategic action at the Battle of Monmouth.\n\nPopulation density in the American Colonies in 1775\nWhen the war began, the 13 colonies lacked a professional army or navy. Each colony sponsored local militia. Militiamen were lightly armed, had little training, and usually did not have uniforms. Their units served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were reluctant to travel far from home and thus were unavailable for extended operations, and lacked the training and discipline of soldiers with more experience. If properly used, however, their numbers could help the Continental armies overwhelm smaller British forces, as at the battles of Concord, Bennington and Saratoga, and the siege of Boston. Both sides used partisan warfare but the Americans effectively suppressed Loyalist activity when British regulars were not in the area.\n\nSeeking to coordinate military efforts, the Continental Congress established a regular army on June 14, 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief. The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress, and Washington used both his regulars and state militia throughout the war.\n\nThree current branches of the United States Military trace their institutional roots to the American Revolutionary War; the United States Army comes from the Continental Army, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775. The United States Navy recognizes October 13, 1775 as the date of its official establishment, the passage of the resolution of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia that created the Continental Navy. And the United States Marine Corps traces its institutional roots to the Continental Marines of the war, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775, a date regarded and celebrated as the birthday of the Marine Corps. At the beginning of 1776, Washington's army had 20,000 men, with two-thirds enlisted in the Continental Army and the other third in the various state militias. At the end of the American Revolution in 1783, both the Continental Navy and Continental Marines were disbanded. About 250,000 men served as regulars or as militiamen for the Revolutionary cause in the eight years of the war, but there were never more than 90,000 men under arms at one time. About 55,000 American sailors served aboard privateers during the war. The American privateers had almost 1,700 ships, and they captured 2,283 enemy ships. John Paul Jones became the first great American naval hero, capturing HMS ''Drake'' on April 24, 1778, the first victory for any American military vessel in British waters.\n\nArmies were small by European standards of the era, largely attributable to limitations such as lack of powder and other logistical capabilities on the American side. It was also difficult for Great Britain to transport troops across the Atlantic and they depended on local supplies that the Patriots tried to cut off. By comparison, Duffy notes that Frederick the Great usually commanded from 23,000 to 50,000 in battle. Both figures pale in comparison to the armies that were fielded in the early 19th century, where troop formations approached or exceeded 100,000 men.\n\n=== African Americans ===\n1780 drawing of American soldiers from the Yorktown campaign shows a black infantryman from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.\nAfrican Americans—slave and free—served on both sides during the war. The British recruited slaves belonging to Patriot masters and promised freedom to those who served by act of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation. Because of manpower shortages, George Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. Small all-black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many slaves were promised freedom for serving. Some of the men promised freedom were sent back to their masters, after the war was over, out of political convenience. Another all-black unit came from Saint-Domingue with French colonial forces. At least 5,000 black soldiers fought for the Revolutionary cause.\n\nTens of thousands of slaves escaped during the war and joined British lines; others simply moved off in the chaos. For instance, in South Carolina, nearly 25,000 slaves (30% of the enslaved population) fled, migrated or died during the disruption of the war. This greatly disrupted plantation production during and after the war. When they withdrew their forces from Savannah and Charleston, the British also evacuated 10,000 slaves belonging to Loyalists. Altogether, the British evacuated nearly 20,000 blacks at the end of the war. More than 3,000 of them were freedmen and most of these were resettled in Nova Scotia; other blacks were sold in the West Indies.\n\n=== American Indians ===\nMost American Indians east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war, and many tribes were divided over the question of how to respond to the conflict. A few tribes were on friendly terms with the other Americans, but most Indians opposed the union of the Colonies as a potential threat to their territory. Approximately 13,000 Indians fought on the British side, with the largest group coming from the Iroquois tribes, who fielded around 1,500 men. The powerful Iroquois Confederacy was shattered as a result of the conflict, although they did not take sides; the Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga nations sided with the British. Members of the Mohawk nation fought on both sides. Many Tuscarora and Oneida sided with the colonists. The Continental Army sent the Sullivan Expedition on raids throughout New York to cripple the Iroquois tribes that had sided with the British. Mohawk leaders Joseph Louis Cook and Joseph Brant sided with the Americans and the British respectively, and this further exacerbated the split.\nA watercolor painting depicting a variety of Continental Army soldiers.\n\nEarly in July 1776, a major action occurred in the fledgling conflict when the Cherokee allies of Britain attacked the western frontier areas of North Carolina. Their defeat resulted in a splintering of the Cherokee settlements and people, and was directly responsible for the rise of the Chickamauga Cherokee, bitter enemies of the Colonials who carried on a frontier war for decades following the end of hostilities with Britain.\n\nCreek and Seminole allies of Britain fought against Americans in Georgia and South Carolina. In 1778, a force of 800 Creeks destroyed American settlements along the Broad River in Georgia. Creek warriors also joined Thomas Brown's raids into South Carolina and assisted Britain during the Siege of Savannah. Many Indians were involved in the fighting between Britain and Spain on the Gulf Coast and up the Mississippi River—mostly on the British side. Thousands of Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws fought in major battles such as the Battle of Fort Charlotte, the Battle of Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola.\n\n=== Race and class ===\nPybus (2005) estimates that about 20,000 slaves defected to or were captured by the British, of whom about 8,000 died from disease or wounds or were recaptured by the Patriots. The British took some 12,000 at the end of the war; of these 8000 remained in slavery. Including those who left during the war, a total of about 8000 to 10,000 slaves gained freedom. About 4000 freed slaves went to Nova Scotia and 1200 blacks remained slaves.\n\nBaller (2006) examines family dynamics and mobilization for the Revolution in central Massachusetts. He reports that warfare and the farming culture were sometimes incompatible. Militiamen found that living and working on the family farm had not prepared them for wartime marches and the rigors of camp life. Rugged individualism conflicted with military discipline and regimentation. A man's birth order often influenced his military recruitment, as younger sons went to war and older sons took charge of the farm. A person's family responsibilities and the prevalent patriarchy could impede mobilization. Harvesting duties and family emergencies pulled men home regardless of the sergeant's orders. Some relatives might be Loyalists, creating internal strains. On the whole, historians conclude the Revolution's effect on patriarchy and inheritance patterns favored egalitarianism.\n\nMcDonnell (2006) shows a grave complication in Virginia's mobilization of troops was the conflicting interests of distinct social classes, which tended to undercut a unified commitment to the Patriot cause. The Assembly balanced the competing demands of elite slave-owning planters, the middling yeomen (some owning a few slaves), and landless indentured servants, among other groups. The Assembly used deferments, taxes, military service substitute, and conscription to resolve the tensions. Unresolved class conflict, however, made these laws less effective. There were violent protests, many cases of evasion, and large-scale desertion, so that Virginia's contributions came at embarrassingly low levels. With the British invasion of the state in 1781, Virginia was mired in class division as its native son, George Washington, made desperate appeals for troops.\n\nWashington and the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, 1781\n", "\n\n* Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War\n* Bibliography of George Washington\n* Conrad Heyer\n* Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War\n* British Army during the American War of Independence\n* First Treaty of San Ildefonso\n* First League of Armed Neutrality\n* Fourth Anglo-Dutch War\n* George Washington in the American Revolution \n* Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War\n* Lemuel Cook \n* List of American Revolutionary War battles\n* List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War\n* List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War\n* List of plays and films about the American Revolution\n* List of revolutions and rebellions \n* Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War \n* Treaty of El Pardo (1778) \n* War of the Bavarian Succession \n\n", "\n", "\n\n", "\n\n* Black, Jeremy. ''War for America: The Fight for Independence, 1775–1783''. 2001. Analysis from a noted British military historian.\n* Benn, Carl ''Historic Fort York, 1793–1993''. Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd. 1993. .\n* Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. ''Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.'' 1966; revised 1974. . Military topics, references many secondary sources.\n* Chambers, John Whiteclay II, ed. in chief. ''The Oxford Companion to American Military History''. Oxford University Press, 1999. .\n* Conway, Stephen. ''The British Isles and the War of American Independence'' (2002) online\n* \n* Curtis, Edward E. ''The Organization of the British Army in the American Revolution'' (Yale U.P. 1926) online\n* Duffy, Christopher. ''The Military Experience in the Age of Reason, 1715–1789'' Routledge, 1987. .\n* Edler, Friedrich. ''The Dutch Republic and The American Revolution''. University Press of the Pacific, 1911, reprinted 2001. .\n* Ellis, Joseph J. ''His Excellency: George Washington''. (2004). .\n* David Hackett Fischer. ''Washington's Crossing''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. .\n* Fletcher, Charles Robert Leslie. ''An Introductory History of England: The Great European War'', Volume 4. E.P. Dutton, 1909. .\n* Greene, Jack P. and Pole, J.R., eds. ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution''. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1991; reprint 1999. . Collection of essays focused on political and social history.\n* Gilbert, Alan. ''Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. .\n* Higginbotham, Don. ''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789''. Northeastern University Press, 1983. . Overview of military topics; online in ACLS History E-book Project.\n* Morrissey, Brendan. ''Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The Last Great Battle in the North''. Osprey Publishing, 2004. .\n* Jensen, Merrill. ''The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 1763–1776.'' (2004)\n* Kaplan, Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan. ''The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution''. Amherst, Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989. .\n* Ketchum, Richard M. ''Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War''. Henry Holt, 1997. .\n* Mackesy, Piers. ''The War for America: 1775–1783''. London, 1964. Reprinted University of Nebraska Press, 1993. . Highly regarded examination of British strategy and leadership.\n* McCullough, David. ''1776''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.\n* Middleton, Richard, ''The War of American Independence, 1775–1783''. London: Pearson, 2012. \n* \n* Riddick, John F. ''The History of British India: a Chronology''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. .\n* Savas, Theodore P. and Dameron, J. David. ''A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution.'' New York: Savas Beatie LLC, 2006. .\n* Schama, Simon. ''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution'', New York, NY: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2006\n* O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson. ''The Men who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire'' (Yale UP, 2014).\n* Shy, John. ''A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976 (); revised University of Michigan Press, 1990 (). Collection of essays.\n* Stephenson, Orlando W. \"The Supply of Gunpowder in 1776\", ''American Historical Review'', Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jan. 1925), pp. 271–281 in JSTOR.\n* Tombs, Robert and Isabelle. ''That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present'' Random House, 2007. .\n* Trevelyan, George Otto. ''George the Third and Charles Fox: the concluding part of The American revolution'' Longmans, Green, 1912.\n* Watson, J. Steven. ''The Reign of George III, 1760–1815''. 1960. Standard history of British politics.\n* Weigley, Russell F. ''The American Way of War''. Indiana University Press, 1977. .\n* Weintraub, Stanley. ''Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775–1783''. New York: Free Press, 2005 (a division of Simon & Schuster). . An account of the British politics on the conduct of the war.\n\n", "\n\nThese are some of the standard works about the war in general that are not listed above; books about specific campaigns, battles, units, and individuals can be found in those articles.\n* Billias, George Athan. ''George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership'' (1994) scholarly studies of key generals on each side.\\\n* Black, Jeremy. \"Could the British Have Won the American War of Independence?.\" ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research.'' (Fall 1996), Vol. 74 Issue 299, pp 145–154. online video lecture, uses Real Player\n* Conway, Stephen. ''The War of American Independence 1775–1783''. Publisher: E. Arnold, 1995. . 280 pages.\n* Lowell, Edward J. ''The Hessians in the Revolution '' Williamstown, Massachusetts, Corner House Publishers, 1970, Reprint\n* Bancroft, George. ''History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent.'' (1854–78), vol. 7–10.\n* Bobrick, Benson. ''Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution''. Penguin, 1998 (paperback reprint).\n* Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Ryerson, Richard A., eds. ''The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006) 5 volume paper and online editions; 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all topics\n* Frey, Sylvia R. ''The British Soldier in America: A Social History of Military Life in the Revolutionary Period'' (University of Texas Press, 1981).\n* Hibbert, Christopher. ''Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution through British Eyes.'' New York: Norton, 1990. .\n* Kwasny, Mark V. ''Washington's Partisan War, 1775–1783''. Kent, Ohio: 1996. . Militia warfare.\n* Middlekauff, Robert. ''The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789''. Oxford University Press, 1984; revised 2005. . online edition\n* Contains a detailed listing of American, French, British, German, and Loyalist regiments; indicates when they were raised, the main battles, and what happened to them. Also includes the main warships on both sides, And all the important battles.\n* Simms, Brendan. ''Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, 1714–1783'' (2008) 802 pp., detailed coverage of diplomacy from London viewpoint\n* Symonds, Craig L. ''A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1989), newly drawn maps emphasizing the movement of military units\n* Ward, Christopher. ''The War of the Revolution''. (2 volumes. New York: Macmillan, 1952.) History of land battles in North America.\n* Wood, W. J. ''Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775–1781''. (2003 paperback reprint). Analysis of tactics of a dozen battles, with emphasis on American military leadership.\n* Men-at-Arms series: short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions:\n** Zlatich, Marko; Copeland, Peter. ''General Washington's Army (1): 1775–78'' (1994)\n** Zlatich, Marko. ''General Washington's Army (2): 1779–83'' (1994)\n** Chartrand, Rene. ''The French Army in the American War of Independence'' (1994)\n** May, Robin. ''The British Army in North America 1775–1783'' (1993)\n* ''The Partisan in War'', a treatise on light infantry tactics written by Colonel Andreas Emmerich in 1789.\n\n", "\n\n* Liberty – The American Revolution from PBS\n* American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 in the News\n* Important battles of the American Revolutionary War\n\n=== Bibliographies ===\n* Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution\n* Bibliographies of the War of American Independence https://wayback.archive.org/web/20151101171424/http://www.history.army.mil/reference/revbib/revwar.htm compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History\n* Political bibliography from Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Background ", " Course of the war ", " Peace of Paris ", " Aftermath ", " Analysis of combatants ", " See also ", " Notes ", " References ", " Further reading ", " Reference literature ", " External links " ]

[ "Zoutman's ships were intercepted by Sir Hyde Parker, who engaged Zoutman at Dogger Bank on 5 August 1781.", "The United States finally solved its debt and currency problems in the 1790s, when Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton secured legislation by which the national government assumed all of the state debts, and, in addition, created a national bank and a funding system based on tariffs and bond issues that paid off the foreign debts." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThe '''American Revolutionary War''' (17751783), also known as the '''American War of Independence''', was a global war that began as a conflict between Great Britain and her Thirteen Colonies, which declared independence as the United States of America.", "After 1765, growing philosophical and political differences strained the relationship between Great Britain and its colonies.", "Following the Stamp Act, Patriot protests against taxation without representation escalated into boycotts, which culminated in the Sons of Liberty destroying a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor.", "Britain responded by closing Boston Harbor and passing a series of punitive measures against Massachusetts colony.", "Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, and they established a shadow government which wrested control of the countryside from the Crown.", "Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, establishing committees and conventions that effectively seized power.", "British attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord in April 1775 led to open combat.", "Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British evacuation in March 1776, and Congress appointed George Washington to command the Continental Army.", "Concurrently, an American attempt to invade Quebec and raise rebellion against the British decisively failed.", "On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence, issuing its declaration on July 4.", "Sir William Howe launched a British counter-offensive, capturing New York City and leaving American morale at a low ebb.", "However, victories at Trenton and Princeton restored American confidence.", "In 1777, the British launched an invasion from Quebec under John Burgoyne, intending to isolate New England.", "Instead of assisting this effort, Howe took his army on a separate campaign against Philadelphia, and Burgoyne was decisively defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.", "Burgoyne's defeat had drastic consequences; France formally allied with the Americans and entered the war in 1778, and Spain joined the war the following year as an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States.", "In 1780, the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the British in India, and tensions between Great Britain and the Netherlands erupted into open war.", "In North America, the British mounted a \"Southern strategy\" led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising, but too few came forward.", "Cornwallis suffered reversals at King's Mountain and Cowpens.", "He retreated to Yorktown, Virginia, intending an evacuation, but a decisive French naval victory deprived him of an escape.", "A Franco-American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and Washington then besieged Cornwallis' army and, with no sign of relief, he surrendered.", "Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tories in Parliament, and the surrender gave them the upper hand.", "In early 1782, Parliament voted to end all offensive operations in North America, but the war continued in Europe and India.", "Britain remained under siege in Gibraltar but scored a major victory over the French navy.", "On September 3, 1783, the belligerent parties signed the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain agreed to recognize the sovereignty of the United States and formally end the war.", "French involvement had proven decisive, but France made few gains and incurred crippling debts.", "Spain made some minor territorial gains but failed in its primary aim of recovering Gibraltar.", "The Dutch were defeated on all counts and were compelled to cede territory to Great Britain.", "In India, the war against Mysore and its allies concluded in 1784 without any territorial changes.", "\n\n=== Early seeds ===\n\nIn 1651, the Parliament of England sought to regulate trade in America by passing the Navigation Acts, ensuring that trade only enriched Britain.", "The economic effects were minimal, but they triggered serious political friction.", "The American colonists had fought King Philip's War without significant assistance from the Crown, and this contributed to a growing sense of American identity separate from that of Britain.", "Britain continued to assert control into the 1680s, culminating in the abrogation of colonial charters and the establishment of the Dominion of New England in 1686.", "Colonists, however, felt that the Dominion was undermining their democratic liberty and they overthrew it in 1689; the Crown made no attempt to restore it.", "The British government continued to pursue trade control, however, passing acts that taxed wool, hats, and molasses.", "The Molasses Act of 1733 was especially egregious to the colonists, as a significant part of colonial trade relied on the product.", "The taxes severely damaged the local economy, and consequently they were rarely paid.", "Smuggling, bribery, piracy, and intimidation of customs officials became commonplace.", "Colonial wars were also a contributing factor.", "The return of Louisbourg to France in 1748 following the War of the Austrian Succession caused considerable resentment in New England, the colonists having expended great effort in subduing the fortress only to have it returned to their erstwhile enemy.", "=== Taxation disputes ===\n\nBritain triumphed over France and Spain in the Seven Years' War, but this led to a financial crisis, as the national debt had doubled to £130 million, and the annual cost of the British civil and military establishment in America had quintupled when compared to 1749.", "Smuggling had been tacitly accepted, but now the British began to consider that it blunted their revenue, so Whitehall decided to ensure that customs duties were unavoidable by passing the Stamp Act in 1765.", "Colonists condemned the tax because their rights as Englishmen protected them from being taxed by a Parliament in which they had no elected representatives.", "Parliament argued that the colonies were \"represented virtually\", an idea that was criticized throughout the Empire.", "Parliament did repeal the act in 1766; however, it also affirmed its right to pass laws that were binding on the colonies.", "From 1767, Parliament began passing legislation to raise revenue for the salaries of civil officials, ensuring their loyalty while inadvertently increasing resentment among the colonists, and opposition soon became widespread.", "Enforcing the acts proved difficult; the seizure of the sloop ''Liberty'' on suspicions of smuggling triggered a riot.", "In response, British troops occupied Boston, and Parliament threatened to extradite colonists to face trial in England.", "Tensions rose after the murder of a teen by a customs official in 1770 and escalated into outrage after British troops fired on civilians in the Boston Massacre.", "In 1772, colonists in Rhode Island boarded and burned a customs schooner.", "Parliament then repealed all taxes except the one on tea, passing the Tea Act in 1773, attempting to force colonists to buy East India Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, thus implicitly agreeing to Parliamentary supremacy.", "The landing of the tea was resisted in all colonies, but the governor of Massachusetts permitted British tea ships to remain in Boston Harbor—so the Sons of Liberty destroyed the tea chests.", "This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled \"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor\"; the phrase \"Boston Tea Party\" had not yet become standard.", "Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Indians.", "Parliament then passed punitive legislation.", "It closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and revoked the Massachusetts Charter, taking upon themselves the right to directly appoint the Massachusetts Governor's Council.", "Additionally, the royal governor was granted powers to undermine local democracy.", "Further measures allowed the extradition of officials for trial elsewhere in the Empire, if the governor felt that a fair trial could not be secured locally.", "The act's vague reimbursement policy for travel expenses left few with the ability to testify, and colonists argued that it would allow officials to harass them with impunity.", "Further laws allowed the governor to billet troops in private property without permission.", "The colonists referred to the measures as the \"Intolerable Acts\", and they argued that both their constitutional rights and their natural rights were being violated, viewing the acts as a threat to all of America.", "The acts were widely opposed, driving neutral parties into support of the Patriots and curtailing Loyalist sentiment.", "=== Colonial response ===\n\nThe colonists responded by establishing the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, effectively removing Crown control of the colony outside Boston.", "Meanwhile, representatives from twelve colonies convened the First Continental Congress to respond to the crisis.", "The Congress narrowly rejected a proposal which would have created an American parliament to act in concert with the British Parliament; instead, they passed a compact declaring a trade boycott against Britain.", "Congress also affirmed that Parliament had no authority over internal American matters, but they were willing to consent to trade regulations for the benefit of the empire, and they authorized committees and conventions to enforce the boycott.", "The boycott was effective, as imports from Britain dropped by 97% in 1775 compared to 1774.", "Parliament refused to yield.", "In 1775, it declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and enforced a blockade of the colony.", "It then passed legislation to limit colonial trade to the British West Indies and the British Isles.", "Colonial ships were barred from the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a measure which pleased Canadiens but damaged New England's economy.", "These increasing tensions led to a mutual scramble for ordnance and pushed the colonies toward open war.", "Thomas Gage was the British Commander-in-Chief and military governor of Massachusetts, and he received orders on April 14, 1775 to disarm the local militias.", "\n=== War breaks out (1775–1776) ===\n\n\n\nConcord in April 1775\n\nOn April 18, 1775, 700 troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord.", "Fighting broke out, forcing the regulars to conduct a fighting withdrawal to Boston.", "Overnight, the local militia converged on and laid siege to Boston.", "On March 25, 4,500 British reinforcements arrived with three senior generals; William Howe, John Burgoyne and Henry Clinton.", "On June 17, the British seized the Charlestown peninsular after a costly frontal assault, leading Howe to replace Gage.", "Many senior officers were dismayed at the attack which had gained them little, while Gage wrote to London stressing the need for a large army to suppress the revolt.", "On July 3, George Washington took command of the Continental Army besieging Boston.", "Howe made no effort to attack, much to Washington's surprise.", "After a plan to assault the city was rejected, in early March 1776, the Americans fortified Dorchester Heights with heavy artillery captured from a raid on Fort Ticonderoga.", "On March 17, the British were permitted to withdraw unmolested, sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia.", "Washington then moved his army to New York.", "Meanwhile, British officials in Quebec began lobbying Native American tribes to support them, while the Americans attempted to maintain their neutrality.", "Fearing an Anglo-Indian attack from Canada, Congress authorized an invasion of Quebec.", "Quebec, with a largely Francophone population, had only been under British rule for twelve years, and the Americans expected that liberating them from the British would be welcomed.", "After an arduous march, the Americans attacked Quebec City on December 31, which was decisively defeated.", "After a loose siege, the Americans withdrew on May 6.", "1776.", "A failed counter-attack on June 8 ended American operations in Quebec.", "However, the British could not conduct an aggressive pursuit, due to the presence of American ships on Lake Champlain.", "On October 11, the British defeated the American squadron, forcing the Americans to withdraw to Ticonderoga, ending the campaign.", "The invasion cost the Patriots their support in British public opinion, while aggressive anti-Loyalist policies diluted Canadien support.", "The Patriots continued to view Quebec as a strategic aim, though no further attempts to invade were ever realized.", "Sault-au-Matelot, Canada, December 1775\n\nIn Virginia, the Royal governor, Lord Dunmore, had attempted to disarm the militia as tensions increased, although no fighting broke out.", "After war broke out, Dunmore issued a proclamation on November 7, 1775, promising freedom for slaves who fled their Patriot masters to fight for the Crown.", "After Dunmore's troops were overwhelmed by Patriots at Great Bridge, Dunmore fled to naval ships anchored off Norfolk.", "After negotiations broke down, Dunmore ordered the ships to destroy the town.", "In South Carolina, fighting broke out on November 19 between Loyalist and Patriot militias, and the Loyalists were subsequently driven out of the colony.", "Loyalists recruited in North Carolina to reassert colonial rule in the South were decisively defeated, subduing Loyalist sentiment.", "An expedition of British regulars to reconquer South Carolina launched a failed attack on Charleston on June 28, 1776, effectively leaving the South in Patriot control until 1780.", "The shortage of gunpowder had led Congress to authorize an expedition against the Bahamas Colony in the West Indies, in order to secure ordnance there.", "On March 3, 1776, the Americans landed after a bloodless exchange of fire, and the local militia offered no resistance.", "For two weeks, the Americans confiscated all the supplies they could load, and sailed away on March 17.", "After a brief skirmish with the Royal Navy frigate ''HMS Glasgow'' on April 6, the squadron reached New London on April 8.", "=== Political reactions ===\n\n\nAfter fighting began, Congress launched a final attempt to avert war, which Parliament rejected as insincere.", "King George III then issued a Proclamation of Rebellion on August 23, 1775, leading to an emboldening of hitherto weak support for independence in the colonies.", "After a speech by the King, Parliament rejected to oppose coercive measures on the colonies by 170 votes.", "British Tories refused to compromise, while Whigs argued current policy would drive the colonists towards secession.", "Despite opposition, the King himself began micromanaging the war effort.", "The Irish Parliament pledged to send troops to America, and Irish Catholics were allowed to enlist in the army for the first time.", "Irish Protestants favored the Americans, while Catholics favored the King.", "Militarily, the initial hostilities was a sobering lesson for the British, causing them to rethink their views on colonial military capability.", "The weak British response gave the Patriots the advantage; the British lost control over every colony.", "The army had been kept deliberately small since 1688 to prevent abuses of power by the King.", "Parliament secured treaties with small German states for additional troops, and, after a year, were able to send an army of 32,000 men to America, the largest it had ever sent outside Europe at the time.", "In the colonies, the success of Thomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'' had boosted public support for independence.", "On July 2, Congress voted in favor of independence with twelve affirmatives and one abstention, issuing its declaration on July 4.", "Washington read the declaration to his men and the citizens of New York on July 9, invigorating the crowd to tear down a lead statue of the King, melting it to make bullets.", "British Tories criticized the signatories for not extending the same standards of equality to slaves.", "Patriots followed independence with the Test Laws, requiring residents to swear allegiance to the state in which they lived, intending to root out neutrals or opponents to independence.", "Failure to do so meant possible imprisonment, exile, and, in some cases, death.", "American Tories were barred from public office, forbidden from practising medicine and law, forced to pay increased taxes, barred from executing wills or becoming guardians to orphans.", "Congress enabled states to confiscate Loyalist property to fund the war, and offered them a choice between swearing loyalty to the republic, or either face exile, or forfeit the right to protection.", "Quakers, who remained neutral, had their property confiscated.", "States later prevented Loyalists from collecting any debts they were owed.", "=== British counter-offensive (1776–1777) ===\n\n\nAmerican soldiers in combat at the Battle of Long Island, 1776\n\nAfter regrouping at Halifax, William Howe determined to take the fight to the Americans.", "Howe set sail in June 1776, and began landing troops on Staten Island on July 2.", "Due to poor intelligence, Washington split his army to positions across the city.", "An informal attempt to negotiate peace was rejected by the Americans.", "On August 27, Howe defeated Washington and forced him back to Brooklyn Heights.", "Had Howe chose to land on Manhattan, Washington could have been encircled and his army destroyed.", "Howe restrained his subordinates from pursuit, opting to besiege Washington instead.", "Washington managed to withdraw to Manhattan without any losses in men or ordnance.", "Following the withdrawal, a second attempt to negotiate peace failed, as the British delegates did not possess authorization to grant independence.", "Howe then seized control of New York on September 15, and unsuccessfully engaged the Americans the following day.", "Howe attempted encirclement of Washington again, but the Americans successfully withdrew.", "On October 28, the British fought an indecisive action against Washington, in which Howe declined to attack Washington's army, instead concentrating his efforts upon a hill that was of no strategic value.", "British warships forcing passage of the Hudson River.", "Washington's retreat left the remnants of his forces isolated, and, on November 16, the British captured an American army, taking 3,000 prisoners, amounting to the worst American defeat to date.", "Washington fell back four days later.", "Henry Clinton then captured Newport, an operation which he opposed, feeling the 6,000 troops assigned to him could have been better employed in the pursuit of Washington.", "The American prisoners were then sent to the infamous \"prison ships\", in which more American soldiers and sailors died of disease and neglect than died in every battle of the war combined.", "Charles Cornwallis pursued Washington, but Howe ordered him to halt, and Washington escaped unmolested.", "The outlook of the American cause was bleak; the army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men, and would be reduced further when the enlistments expired at the end of the year.", "Popular support wavered, morale ebbed away, and Congress abandoned Philadelphia.", "Loyalist activity surged in the wake of the American defeat, especially in New York.", "Emanuel Leutze's famous 1851 depiction of ''Washington Crossing the Delaware''\n\nNews of the campaign was well received in Britain; festivities took place in London, and public support reached a peak.", "William Howe was awarded the Order of the Bath by the King.", "The successes led to predictions that the British could win within a year.", "The American defeat revealed Washington's strategic deficiencies, such as dividing a numerically weaker army in the face of a stronger one, his inexperienced staff misreading the situation, and his poorly-trained troops, who fled in disorder when fighting began.", "In the meantime, the British entered winter quarters, and were in a good place to resume campaigning.", "On December 25, 1776, Washington stealthily crossed the Delaware, and overwhelmed the Hessian garrison at Trenton the following morning, taking 900 prisoners.", "The decisive victory rescued the army's flagging morale, and gave a new hope to the cause for independence.", "Cornwallis marched to re-take Trenton, though his efforts to this end were repulsed on January 2.", "Washington outmanoeuvred Cornwallis that night, and defeated his rearguard the following day.", "The victories proved instrumental in convincing the French and Spanish that the Americans were worthwhile allies, as well as recovering morale in the army.", "Washington entered winter quarters at Morristown on January 6, though a protracted guerrilla conflict continued.", "While encamped, Howe made no attempt to attack, much to Washington's amazement.", "=== British northern strategy fails (1777–1778) ===\n\n\nThe Surrender at Saratoga\" shows General Daniel Morgan in front of a French de Vallière 4-pounder.", "In December 1776, John Burgoyne returned to London to set strategy with Lord George Germain.", "Burgoyne's plan was to establish control of the Champlain-George-Hudson route from New York to Quebec, isolating New England.", "Efforts could then be concentrated on the southern colonies, where it was believed Loyalist support was in abundance.", "Howe instead argued capturing Philadelphia and defeating Washington was a priority.", "Germain approved this plan, leaving Howe unable to assist Burgoyne.", "Washington himself was baffled by Howe's choices.", "Alden argues Howe was influenced by the idea that, upon success, he would not receive credit, but Burgoyne.", "Controversy persists over whether Germain approved Burgoyne's plan after reading Howe's, and whether he shared this information with his subordinates.", "Howe was not given any explicit orders to assist Burgoyne, however, a copy Germain sent to Quebec explicitly stated Howe was to assist Burgoyne's efforts.", "Another letter stated Howe should launch his campaign against Philadelphia as intended, while allowing enough time to assist Burgoyne.", "Black argues Germain either left his generals too much latitude, or without a clear direction.", "Burgoyne's plan was to lead an army along Lake Champlain, while a strategic diversion advanced along the Mohawk River, and both would rendezvous at Albany.", "Burgoyne set out on June 14, 1777, quickly capturing Ticonderoga on July 5.", "The hasty withdrawal of the Continental Army after little resistance outraged the American public.", "Burgoyne's pursuit ran into stiff resistance at Hubbardton and Fort Anne.", "Leaving 1,300 men behind as a garrison, Burgoyne continued the advance.", "Progress was slow; the Americans blocked roads, destroyed bridges, dammed streams and denuded the area of food.", "Meanwhile, Barry St.", "Ledger's diversionary column laid siege to Fort Stanwix.", "St.", "Ledger withdrew to Quebec on August 22 after his Indian support abandoned him.", "On August 16, a British foraging expedition was soundly defeated at Bennington, and more than 700 troops were captured.", "As a result of the defeat, the vast majority of Burgoyne's Indian support abandoned him.", "Meanwhile, Howe informed Burgoyne he would launch his campaign on Philadelphia as planned, and would be unable to render aid.", "Having considered his options, Burgoyne decided to continue the advance.", "On September 19, he attempted to flank the American position, and clashed at Freeman's Farm.", "The British won, but at the cost of 600 casualties.", "Burgoyne then dug in, but suffered a constant haemorrhage of deserters, and critical supplies were running low.", "Henry Clinton did capture two key forts on October 6 to divert American resources, though he turned back ten days later.", "Meanwhile, the American army was growing in size daily, swelling to some 15,000 men.", "On October 7, a British reconnaissance in force against the American lines was repulsed with heavy losses.", "Burgoyne then withdrew with the Americans in pursuit, and by October 13, he was surrounded.", "With no hope of relief and supplies exhausted, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17.", "6,222 soldiers became prisoners of the Americans.", "The decisive success spurred France to enter the war as an ally of the United States, securing the final elements needed for victory over Britain, that of foreign assistance.", "Washington and Lafayette inspect the troops at Valley Forge.", "Meanwhile, Howe launched his campaign against Washington, though his initial efforts to bring him to battle in June 1777 failed.", "Howe declined to attack Philadelphia overland via New Jersey, or by sea via the Delaware Bay, even though both options would have enabled him to assist Burgoyne if necessary.", "Instead, he took his army on a time-consuming route through the Chesapeake Bay, leaving him completely unable to assist Burgoyne.", "This decision was so difficult to understand, Howe's critics accused him of treason.", "Howe outflanked and defeated Washington on September 11, though he failed to follow-up on the victory and destroy his army.", "A British victory at Willistown left Philadelphia defenceless, and Howe captured the city unopposed on September 26.", "Howe then moved 9,000 men to Germantown, north of Philadelphia.", "Washington launched a surprise attack on Howe's garrison on October 4, which was eventually repulsed.", "Again, Howe did not follow-up on his victory, leaving the American army intact and able to fight.", "Later, after several days of probing American defences at White Marsh, Howe inexplicably ordered a retreat to Philadelphia, astonishing both sides.", "Howe ignored the vulnerable American rear, where an attack could have deprived Washington of his baggage and supplies.", "On December 19, Washington's army entered winter quarters at Valley Forge.", "Poor conditions and supply problems resulted in the deaths of some 2,500 troops.", "Howe, only 20 miles (32 km) away, made no effort to attack, which critics observed could have ended the war.", "The Continental Army was put through a new training program, supervised by Baron von Steuben, introducing the most modern Prussian methods of drilling.", "Meanwhile, Howe resigned, and was replaced by Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778.", "Clinton received orders to abandon Philadelphia and fortify New York following France's entry into the war.", "On June 18, the British departed Philadelphia, with the reinvigorated Americans in pursuit.", "The two armies fought at Monmouth Court House on June 28, with the Americans holding the field, greatly boosting morale and confidence.", "By July, both armies were back in the same positions they had been two years prior.", "=== Foreign intervention ===\n\n\nFrench troops storming Redoubt 9 during the Siege of Yorktown\n\nThe defeat at Saratoga caused considerable anxiety in Britain over foreign intervention.", "The North ministry sought reconciliation with the colonies by consenting to their original demands, although Lord North refused to grant independence.", "No positive reply was received from the Americans.", "French foreign minister the Comte de Vergennes was strongly anti-British, and he sought a ''casus belli'' to go to war with and weaken their perennial foe following the conquest of Canada in 1763.", "The French had covertly supplied the Americans through neutral Dutch ports since the onset of the war, proving invaluable throughout the Saratoga campaign.", "The French public favored war, though Vergennes and King Louis XVI were hesitant, owing to the military and financial risk.", "The American victory at Saratoga convinced the French that supporting the Patriots was worthwhile, but doing so also brought major concerns.", "The King was concerned that Britain's concessions would be accepted, and that she would then reconcile with the Colonies to strike at French and Spanish possessions in the Caribbean.", "To prevent this, France formally recognized the United States on February 6, 1778 and followed with a military alliance.", "France aimed to expel Britain from the Newfoundland fishery, end restrictions on Dunkirk sovereignty, regain free trade in India, recover Senegal and Dominica, and restore the Treaty of Utrecht provisions pertaining to Anglo-French trade.", "Spain was wary of provoking war with Britain before she was ready, so she covertly supplied the Patriots via her colonies in New Spain.", "Congress hoped to persuade Spain into an open alliance, so the first American Commission met with the Count of Aranda in 1776.", "Spain was still reluctant to make an early commitment, owing to a lack of direct French involvement, the threat against their treasure fleets, and the possibility of war with Portugal, Spain's neighbor and a close ally of Britain.", "However, Spain affirmed its desire to support the Americans the following year, hoping to weaken Britain's empire.", "In the Spanish-Portuguese War (1776-77), the Portuguese threat was neutralized.", "On 12 April 1779, Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez with France and went to war against Britain.", "Spain sought to recover Gibraltar and Menorca in Europe, as well as Mobile and Pensacola in Florida, and also to expel the British from Central America.", "Meanwhile, George III had given up on subduing America while Britain had a European war to fight.", "He did not welcome war with France, but he believed that Britain had made all necessary steps to avoid it and cited the British victories over France in the Seven Years' War as a reason to remain optimistic.", "Britain tried in vain to find a powerful ally to engage France, leaving it isolated, preventing Britain from focusing the majority of her efforts in one theater, and forcing a major diversion of military resources from America.", "Despite this, the King determined never to recognize American independence and to ravage the colonies indefinitely, or until they pleaded to return to the yoke of the Crown.", "Mahan argues that Britain's attempt to fight in multiple theaters simultaneously without major allies was fundamentally flawed, citing impossible mutual support, exposing the forces to defeat in detail.", "Since the outbreak of the conflict, Britain had appealed to her ally, the neutral Dutch Republic, to loan her the use of the Scots Brigade for service in America, but pro-American sentiment among the Dutch public forced them to deny the request.", "Consequently, the British attempted to invoke several treaties for outright Dutch military support, but the Republic still refused.", "Moreover, American troops were being supplied with ordnance by Dutch merchants via their West Indies colonies.", "French supplies bound for America had also passed through Dutch ports.", "The Republic maintained free trade with France following France's declaration of war on Britain, citing a prior concession by Britain on this issue.", "Britain responded by confiscating Dutch shipping, and even firing upon it.", "Consequently, the Republic joined the First League of Armed Neutrality to enforce their neutral status.", "The Republic had also given sanctuary to American privateers and had drafted a treaty of commerce with the Americans.", "Britain argued that these actions contravened the Republic's neutral stance and declared war in December 1780.", "=== International war breaks out (1778–1780) ===\n\n\n==== Europe ====\n\nSoon after France declared war, French and British fleets fought an indecisive action off Ushant on 27 July 1778.", "On 12 April 1779, Spain entered the war, with a primary goal of capturing Gibraltar.", "On June 24, Spanish troops under the Duc de Crillon laid siege to the Rock.", "The naval blockade, however, was relatively weak, and the British were able to resupply the garrison.", "Meanwhile, a plan was formulated for a combined Franco-Spanish invasion of the British mainland.", "A combination of poor planning, disease, logistical issues and high financial expenditures resulted in the expedition's failure.", "However, a diversionary Franco-American squadron under John Paul Jones did meet with some success on 23 September.", "On 16 January 1780, the Royal Navy under George Rodney scored a major victory over the Spanish, weakening the naval blockade of Gibraltar.", "On 9 August, a Franco-Spanish fleet commanded by Luis de Córdova intercepted and decisively defeated a large British convoy off The Azores, led by John Moutray, bound for the West Indies.", "The defeat was catastrophic for Britain; losing 52 merchant ships, 5 East Indiamen, 80,000 muskets, equipment for 40,000 troops, 294 guns and 3,144 men, making it one of the most complete naval captures ever made.", "The loss was valued at some £1.5 million, or £ in today's money, dealing a severe blow to British commerce.", "Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 16 January 1780 by Francis Holman, painted 1780\n\n==== Americas ====\n\nIn the Caribbean, intending to damage British trade, the French blockaded the lucrative sugar islands of Barbados and Jamaica.", "In order to improve communication among French Caribbean islands, and to strike a blow to privateering, French troops led by the Marquis de Bouillé captured Dominica on 7 September 1778.", "To monitor the French naval base on Martinique, the British defeated a French naval force on 15 December, and captured St. Lucia on 28 December.", "Though both fleets received reinforcements through the first half of 1779, the French under the Comte d'Estaing soon enjoyed superiority in the Caribbean, and began capturing British territories; seizing St. Vincent on 18 June, and Grenada on 4 July.", "On July 6, having pursued d'Estaing from Grenada, the British fleet under John Byron was tactically defeated, the worst loss the Royal Navy had suffered since 1690.", "Naval skirmishes continued until 17 April 1780, when British and French fleets clashed indecisively off Martinique.", "On the mainland, Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, had intercepted intelligence the British were planning to invade New Orleans, and decided to strike first.", "Gálvez intended to conquer West Florida, and set out with 670 men on August 27, 1779, though his force was soon swollen to 1,400 by local Native Americans.", "On 7 September, Fort Bute fell to the Spanish, who then marched on to Baton Rouge, arriving on September 12.", "After a nine-day siege, the town fell.", "Leaving a garrison behind, Gálvez returned to New Orleans to recruit additional troops.", "In early 1780, Gálvez mounted an expedition to take Mobile, setting off with 750 troops on 11 January.", "Joined by reinforcements from Havana, siege operations commenced on March 1, and the town fell after a 14-day siege.", "Gálvez had hoped to push on to Pensacola, the British capital of West Florida, however, a hurricane devastated his expedition, stalling it till 1781.", "In Central America, the defence of Guatemala was a priority for Spain.", "The British intended to capture the key fortress of San Fernando de Omoa and drive the Spanish from the region.", "After inadequate first attempts, 1,200 British troops led by William Dalrymple arrived on 16 October, and captured the fort on 20 October.", "However, the British suffered terribly due to disease, and were forced to abandon the fort on 29 November, and Spanish troops subsequently reoccupied the fort.", "In 1780, John Dalling, governor of Jamaica, planned an expedition to cut New Spain in two, by capturing Granada, which would subsequently allow them full control of the San Juan River.", "The British expedition, led by John Polson and Horatio Nelson, set out on 3 February 1780.", "On 17 March, the expedition reached Fort San Juan and laid siege, capturing it on 29 April.", "The British were ravaged by disease, and were running low on food due to poor logistics.", "The British withdrew on 8 November, the expedition having suffered a decisive defeat; some 2,500 troops had perished, making it the costliest British disaster of the war.", "rockets against closely massed British infantry\n\n==== India ====\n\nAfter word of hostilities with France reached India, the British East India Company moved quickly to capture French possessions, and took Pondicherry after a two-week siege on 19 October 1778.", "The Company resolved to drive the French out of India entirely, capturing the Malabar port of Mahé in 1779.", "Mahé had been under the protection of Mysore, as French ordnance passed through the port to the Mysorean ruler, Hyder Ali.", "Tensions were already inflamed due to British support for Malabar rebels against Ali, and the fall of Mahé precipitated war.", "In July 1780, Ali invaded the Carnatic, and laid siege to Tellicherry and Arcot.", "A 7,000-strong Company relief force under William Baille was intercepted and destroyed by the Tipu Sultan on 10 September; thus far the worst defeat suffered by a European army in India.", "Instead of pressing on for a decisive victory against a second Company army at Madras, Ali renewed the siege at Arcot, capturing it on 3 November.", "The delay allowed British forces to regroup for campaigning the following year.", "=== Stalemate in the North (1778–1780) ===\n\n\nAmerican troops repulse Wilhelm von Knyphausen's attack at Springfield\n\nFollowing the British defeat at Saratoga, and the entry of France into the war, Henry Clinton withdrew from Philadelphia, consolidating in New York.", "French admiral the Comte d'Estaing had been dispatched to North America in April 1778 to assist Washington, arriving shortly after Clinton withdrew into New York.", "Concluding New York's defences were too formidable for the French fleet, the Franco-American forces opted to attack Newport.", "This effort, launched on August 29, failed after the French opted to withdraw, greatly angering the Americans.", "The war then ground down to a stalemate, with the majority of actions fought as large skirmishes, such as those at Chestnut Neck and Little Egg Harbor.", "In the summer of 1779, the Americans captured British posts at Stony Point and Paulus Hook.", "In July, Clinton's attempts to coax Washington into a decisive engagement with a major raid into Connecticut failed.", "That month, a large American naval operation to retake Maine resulted in the worst American naval defeat until Pearl Harbor in 1941.", "The high frequency of Iroquois raids on the locals compelled Washington to mount a punitive expedition, destroying a large number of Iroquois settlements, but the effort ultimately failed to stop the raids.", "During the winter of 1779–80, the Continental Army suffered greater hardships than at Valley Forge.", "Morale was poor; public support was being eroded by the long war, the national currency was virtually worthless, the army was plagued with supply problems, desertion was common, and, in early 1780, whole regiments mutinied over the conditions.", "Hamilton surrenders at Vincennes, February 29, 1779\n\nIn 1780, Clinton launched an attempt to re-take New Jersey.", "On June 7, an invasion of 6,000 men under Hessian general Wilhelm von Knyphausen met stiff resistance from the local militia.", "Though the British held the field, Knyphausen feared a general engagement with Washington's main army, and withdrew.", "A fortnight later, Knyphausen and Clinton decided upon a second attempt, which was soundly defeated at Springfield, effectively ending British ambitions in New Jersey.", "Meanwhile, American general Benedict Arnold had grown disenfranchised with the war, and conspired with the British to surrender the key American fortress of West Point.", "Arnold's plot was foiled upon the capture of his contact, John André, and he escaped to British lines in New York.", "Though Arnold's reasoning reflected Loyalist opinion, Patriots strongly condemned him.", "West of the Appalachians, the war was largely confined to skirmishing and raids.", "In February 1778, an expedition of militia to destroy British military supplies in settlements along the Cuyahoga River was halted due to adverse weather.", "Later in the year, a second campaign was undertaken to seize the Illinois Country from the British.", "The Americans captured Kaskaskia on July 4, and then secured Vincennes, although the latter was quickly recaptured by Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit.", "In early 1779, the Americans counter-attacked by undertaking a risky winter march, and secured the surrender of the British at Vincennes, taking Hamilton prisoner.", "On May 25, 1780, the British launched an expedition into Kentucky, as part of a wider operation to clear resistance from Quebec to the Gulf coast.", "The expedition met with only limited success, though hundreds of settlers were killed or captured.", "The Americans responded with a major offensive along the Mad River in August, which met with some success, but did little to abate the Native American raids on the frontier.", "An attempt by French militia to capture Detroit ended in disaster when Miami Indians ambushed and defeated the gathered troops on November 5.", "The war in the west had become a stalemate; the Americans did not have the manpower to simultaneously defeat the Indian tribes and occupy their land.", "=== War in the South (1778–1781) ===\n\n\nBritish troops besiege Charleston in 1780, by Alonzo Chappel\n\nIn 1778, despite the defeat at Saratoga, the British turned their attention to reconquering the South.", "Prominent Loyalists with great influence in London had convinced the British that Loyalist support was high in the South, and that a campaign there would inspire a popular Loyalist uprising.", "The British centred their strategy upon this thinking.", "A southern campaign also had the advantage of keeping the Royal Navy closer to the Caribbean, where it would be needed to defend lucrative colonies against the Franco-Spanish fleets.", "On December 29, 1778, an expeditionary corps from New York captured Savannah.", "British troops then moved inland to recruit Loyalist support.", "Despite a promising initial turnout in early 1779, a large Loyalist militia was defeated at Kettle Creek on February 14, demonstrating their vulnerability when operating away from British regulars.", "The British recovered their loss, defeating Patriot militia at Brier Creek on March 3.", "The British then launched an abortive assault on Charleston, South Carolina.", "The operation was noted for a high degree of looting by British troops, enraging both Loyalists and Patriot colonists.", "In October, a combined Franco-American effort to capture Savannah failed.", "In 1780, Henry Clinton moved against Charleston, capturing it on May 12.", "With few losses of their own, the British took 5,266 prisoners, effectively destroying the Continental Army in the south.", "Organized American resistance in the region collapsed when Banastre Tarleton defeated the withdrawing Americans at Waxhaws on May 29.", "American and British cavalry clash at the Battle of Cowpens, from an 1845 painting by William Ranney\n\nClinton returned to New York, leaving Charles Cornwallis in command in Charleston to oversee the southern war effort.", "In the interim, the war was carried on by Patriot militias, whom effectively suppressed Loyalists by winning victories in Fairfield County, Lincolnton, York County, Stanly County, and Lancaster County.", "Congress appointed Horatio Gates, victor at Saratoga, to lead the American effort in the south.", "Soon after arriving, on August 16, Gates suffered a major defeat at Camden, setting the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.", "While Patriot militia continued to interfere in attempts to pacify the countryside, Cornwallis dispatched troops to raise Loyalist forces to cover his left flank as he moved north.", "This wing of Cornwallis' army was virtually destroyed on October 7, irreversibly breaking Loyalist support in the Carolinas.", "Cornwallis subsequently aborted his advance and retreated back into South Carolina.", "In the interim, Washington replaced Gates with his trusted subordinate, Nathanael Greene.", "Unable to confront the British directly, Greene dispatched a force under Daniel Morgan to recruit additional troops.", "Morgan then defeated the cream of the British army under Tarleton on January 17, 1781, at Cowpens.", "As after the defeat of the Loyalists at King's Mountain, Cornwallis was criticized for his decision to detach a substantial part of his army without adequate support.", "Despite the setbacks, Cornwallis proceeded to advance into North Carolina, gambling that he would receive substantial Loyalist support.", "Greene evaded combat with Cornwallis, instead wearing his army down through a protracted war of attrition.", "By March, Greene's army had grown enough where he felt confident in facing Cornwallis.", "The two armies engaged at Guilford Courthouse on March 15, and, though Greene was beaten, Cornwallis' army had suffered irreplaceable casualties.", "Compounding this, far fewer Loyalists were joining as expected due to effective Patriot suppression.", "Cornwallis' casualties were such that he was compelled to retreat to Wilmington for reinforcement, leaving the interior of the Carolinas, and Georgia, wide open to Greene.", "In Cornwallis' absence, Greene proceeded to reconquer the South.", "Despite suffering a reversal at Hobkirk's Hill on April 25, American troops continued to dislodge strategic British posts in the area, capturing Fort Watson, and Fort Motte.", "Augusta, the last major British outpost in the South outside of Charleston and Savannah, fell on June 6.", "In an effort to stop Greene, a British force clashed with American troops at Eutaw Springs on September 8.", "Despite inflicting a tactical defeat on Greene's army, the casualties suffered by the British were such that they withdrew to Charleston.", "While minor skirmishes in the Carolinas continued till the end of the war, British troops were effectively confined to Charleston and Savannah for the remainder of the conflict.", "=== British defeat in America (1781) ===\n\nThe French (left) and British (right) lines exchange fire at the Battle of the Chesapeake\n\nCornwallis had discovered that the majority of the American's supplies in the Carolinas were passing through Virginia, and had written to both Lord Germain and Clinton detailing his intentions to invade.", "Cornwallis believed a successful campaign there would cut supplies to Greene's army and precipitate a collapse of American resistance in the South.", "Clinton strongly opposed the plan, instead favoring conducting a campaign further north in the Chesapeake region.", "Lord Germain wrote to Cornwallis approving his plan, neglecting to include Clinton in the decision-making entirely, despite him being Cornwallis' superior officer.", "Cornwallis then decided to move into Virginia without informing Clinton.", "Clinton, however, had failed to construct a coherent strategy for British operations in 1781, owing to his difficult relationship with his naval counterpart, Marriot Arbuthnot.", "Following the calamitous operations at Newport and Savannah, French planners realized closer cooperation with the Americans was required to achieve success.", "The French fleet, led by the Comte de Grasse, had received discretionary orders from Paris to assist joint efforts in the north if naval support was needed.", "Washington and his French counterpart, the Comte de Rochambeau, discussed their options.", "Washington pushed for an attack on New York, while Rochambeau preferred a strike in Virginia, where the British were less well-established and thus, easier to defeat.", "Franco-American movements around New York caused Clinton a great deal of anxiety, fearing an attack on the city.", "His instructions to Cornwallis during this time were vague, rarely forming explicit orders.", "However, Clinton did instruct Cornwallis to establish a fortified naval base, and transfer troops to the north to defend New York.", "Cornwallis dug in at Yorktown, and awaited the Royal Navy.", "''Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown'' by John Trumbull, 1797\n\nWashington still favored an assault on New York, but was essentially overruled when the French opted to send their fleet to their preferred target of Yorktown.", "In August, the combined Franco-American army moved south to cooperate with de Grasse to defeat Cornwallis.", "Lacking sufficient naval resources to effectively counter the French, the British dispatched an inadequate fleet under Thomas Graves to assist Cornwallis and assume naval dominance.", "On September 5, the French fleet decisively defeated Graves, giving the French control of the seas around Yorktown, cutting Cornwallis off from reinforcements and relief.", "Despite the continued urging of his subordinates, Cornwallis made no attempt to break out and engage the Franco-American army before it had established siege works, instead expecting reinforcements would arrive from New York.", "On September 28, the Franco-American army laid siege to Yorktown.", "Believing relief from Clinton was imminent, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned all of his outer defences, which were then occupied by the Franco-American troops, serving to hasten his subsequent defeat.", "A British attempt to break out of the siege across the river at Gloucester Point failed when a storm hit.", "Under increasing bombardment and with dwindling supplies, Cornwallis and his subordinates agreed their situation was untenable, and negotiated a surrender on October 17.", "Some 7,685 soldiers became prisoners of the Franco-American army.", "The same day as the surrender, 6,000 troops under Clinton had departed New York, sailing to relieve Yorktown.", "=== North Ministry collapses ===\n\nThe Gordon Riots, by John Seymour Lucas\n\nFollowing British successes at Newport and Charleston, the North government had gained support in Parliament.", "However, the government's decision to allow Irish Catholics to enlist in the army was deeply unpopular, triggering a massive protest in London in 1780, culminating in widespread rioting.", "The riots were the most destructive in London's history, damaging the prestige of the government.", "On 25 November 1781, the situation worsened when news of the surrender at Yorktown arrived in London.", "Prime Minister Lord North is said to have repeatedly exclaimed; \"Oh, God!", "It's all over!\"", "King George III received the news with dignity, though later became depressed and considered abdication.", "The Whig opposition gained traction in Parliament, though a motion proposed on December 12 to end the war was defeated by only one vote.", "Lord Germain, who had overseen strategic matters in the war effort, was dismissed from office in early 1782.", "Soon after, a no confidence motion in the Prime Minister was passed, forcing the resignation of North and leading to the collapse of his ministry.", "The Rockingham Whigs came to power soon after and began opening negotiations for peace.", "Prime Minister the Marquess of Rockingham died in office on 1 July 1782, and was succeeded by the Earl of Shelburne, forcing the resignations of prominent Whigs Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox, with whom Shelburne had an icy relationship.", "Shelburne was initially hesitant to granting full American independence, instead preferring the colonies accept Dominion status, though such intentions were never realized.", "Despite the defeats in America, the British still had 30,000 troops garrisoned there, occupying New York, Charleston and Savannah.", "Henry Clinton was recalled to London after the defeat at Yorktown, and departed America in March 1782.", "He was replaced by Guy Carleton, who was under orders to suspend offensive operations in America.", "=== Final years of the war (1781–1783) ===\n\n\n==== Europe ====\n\nAfter hostilities with the Dutch began in late 1780, Britain had moved quickly, enforcing a blockade across the North Sea.", "Within weeks, the British had captured 200 Dutch merchantmen, and 300 more were holed up in foreign ports, though political turmoil within the Republic and peace negotiations by both sides helped keep conflict to a minimum.", "The majority of the Dutch public favored a military alliance with France against Britain, however, the Dutch Stadtholder impeded these efforts, hoping to secure an early peace.", "To restore diminishing trade a Dutch squadron under Johan Zoutman escorted a fleet of some 70 merchantmen from the Texel.", "Though the contest was tactically inconclusive, the Dutch fleet did not leave harbor again during the war, and their merchant fleet remained crippled.", "The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar'', September 13, 1782, by John Singleton Copley\n\nOn 6 January 1781, a French attempt to capture Jersey to neutralize British privateering failed.", "Frustrated in their attempts to capture Gibraltar, a Franco-Spanish force of 14,000 men under the Duc de Mahon met with more success in August; invading Menorca on 19 August.", "After a long siege of St. Philip's, the British garrison under James Murray surrendered on 5 February 1782, securing a primary war goal for the Spanish.", "At Gibraltar, a major Franco-Spanish assault on 13 September 1782 was repulsed with heavy casualties.", "On 20 October 1782, following a successful resupply of Gibraltar, British ships under Richard Howe successfully refused battle to the Franco-Spanish fleet under Luis de Córdova, denying Córdova dominance at sea.", "On 7 February 1783, after 1,322 days of siege, the Franco-Spanish army withdrew, decisively defeated.", "==== Americas ====\n\nSpanish troops led by Bernardo de Gálvez in combat at Pensacola.", "Oil on canvas, Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, 2015.", "In the West Indies, on 29–30 April 1781, a Royal Navy squadron under Samuel Hood was narrowly defeated by the French, led by the Comte de Grasse.", "de Grasse continued seizing British territories; Tobago fell on 2 June, Demerara and Essequibo on 22 January 1782, St. Kitts and Nevis on 12 February, despite a British naval victory on 25 January, and Montserrat on 22 February.", "In 1782, the primary strategic goal of the French and Spanish was the capture of Jamaica, whose sugar exports were more valuable to the British than the Thirteen Colonies combined.", "On 7 April 1782, de Grasse departed Martinique to rendezvous with Franco-Spanish troops at Saint Domingue, and invade Jamaica from the north.", "The British under Hood and George Rodney pursued and decisively defeated the French off Dominica between 9–12 April.", "The Franco-Spanish plan to conquer Jamaica was in ruins, and the balance of naval power in the Caribbean shifted to the Royal Navy.", "After the fall of Mobile to Spanish troops under Bernardo de Gálvez, an attempt to capture Pensacola was thwarted due to a hurricane.", "Emboldened by the disaster, John Campbell, British commander at Pensacola, decided to recapture Mobile.", "Campbell's expeditionary force of around 700 men was defeated on 7 January 1781.", "After re-grouping at Havana, Gálvez set out for Pensacola on 13 February.", "Arriving on 9 March, siege operations did not begin until 24 March, owing to difficulties in bringing the ships into the bay.", "After a 45-day siege, Gálvez decisively defeated the garrison, securing the conquest of West Florida.", "In May, Spanish troops captured the Bahamas, although the British bloodlessly recaptured the islands the following year on 18 April.", "In Guatemala, Matías de Gálvez led Spanish troops in an effort to dislocate British settlements along the Gulf of Honduras.", "Gálvez captured Roatán on 16 March 1782, and then quickly took Black River.", "Following the decisive naval victory at the Saintes, Archibald Campbell, the Royal governor of Jamaica, authorized Edward Despard to re-take Black River, which he did on 22 August.", "However, with peace talks opening, and Franco-Spanish resources committed to the siege of Gibraltar, no further offensive operations took place.", "Few operations were conducted against the Dutch, although several Dutch colonies were captured by the British in 1781.", "Sint Eustatius, a key supply port for the Patriots, was sacked by British forces under George Rodney on 3 February 1782, plundering the island's wealth.", "==== India ====\n\nFollowing Dutch entry into the conflict, East India Company troops under Hector Munro captured the Dutch port of Negapatam after a three-week siege on 11 October 1781.", "Soon after, British Admiral Edward Hughes captured Trincomalee after a brief engagement on 11 January 1782.", "The British (right) and the French (left), with Admiral Suffren's flagship ''Cléopâtre'' on the far left, exchange fire at Cuddalore, by Auguste Jugelet, 1836.", "In March 1781, French Admiral Bailli de Suffren was dispatched to India to assist colonial efforts.", "Suffren arrived off the Indian coast in February 1782, where he clashed with a British fleet under Hughes, winning a narrow tactical victory.", "After landing troops at Porto Novo to assist Mysore, Suffren's fleet clashed with Hughes again Providien on 12 April.", "There was no clear victor, though Hughes' fleet came off worse, and he withdrew to the British-held port of Trincomalee.", "Hyder Ali wished for the French to capture Negapatam to establish naval dominance over the British, and this task fell to Suffren.", "Suffren's fleet clashed with Hughes again off Negapatam on 6 July.", "Suffren withdrew to Cuddalore, strategically defeated, and the British remained in control of Negapatam.", "Intending to find a more suitable port than Cuddalore, Suffren captured Trincomalee on 1 September, and successfully engaged Hughes two days later.", "Meanwhile, Ali's troops loosely blockaded Vellore as the East India Company regrouped.", "Company troops under Sir Eyre Coote led a counter-offensive, defeating Ali at Porto Novo on 1 July 1781, Pollilur on 27 August, and Sholinghur on 27 September, expelling the Mysorean troops from the Carnatic.", "On 18 February 1782, Tipu Sultan defeated John Braithwaite near Tanjore, taking his entire 1,800-strong force prisoner.", "The war had, by this point, reached an uneasy stalemate.", "On 7 December 1782, Hyder Ali died, and the rule of Mysore passed to his son, Tipu Sultan.", "Sultan advanced along the west coast, laying siege to Mangalore on 20 May 1783.", "Meanwhile, on the east coast, an army under James Stuart besieged the French-held port of Cuddalore on 9 June 1783.", "On 20 June, key British naval support for the siege was neutralized when Suffren defeated Hughes' fleet off Cuddalore, and though narrow, the victory gave Suffren the opportunity to displace British holdings in India.", "On 25 June, the Franco-Mysorean defenders made repeated sorties against British lines, though all assaults failed.", "On 30 June, news arrived of a preliminary peace between the belligerent powers, and the siege was effectively over when the French abandoned the siege.", "Mangalore remained under siege, and capitulated to Sultan on 30 January 1784.", "Little fighting took place thereafter, and Mysore and Britain made peace on 11 March.", "\nBenjamin West's famous painting of the American delegations at the Treaty of Paris.", "The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.", "Following the surrender at Yorktown, the Whig party came to power in Britain and began opening negotiations for a cessation of hostilities.", "While peace negotiations were being undertaken, British troops in America were restricted from launching further offensives.", "Prime Minister the Earl of Shelburne was reluctant to accept American independence as a prerequisite for peace, as the British were aware that the French economy was nearly bankrupt, and reinforcements sent to the West Indies could potentially reverse the situation there.", "He preferred that the colonies accept Dominion status within the Empire, though a similar offer had been rejected by the Americans in 1778.", "Negotiations soon began in Paris.", "The Americans initially demanded that Quebec be ceded to them as spoils of war, a proposal that was dropped when Shelburne accepted American demands for recognition of independence.", "On April 19, 1782, the Dutch formally recognized the United States as a sovereign power, enhancing American leverage at the negotiations.", "Spain initially impeded the negotiations, refusing to enter into peace talks until Gibraltar had been captured.", "The Comte de Vergennes proposed that American territory be confined to the east of the Appalachians; Britain would have sovereignty over the area north of the Ohio River, below which an Indian barrier state would be established under Spanish control.", "The United States fiercely opposed the proposal.", "British evacuation of America.", "The Americans skirted their allies, recognizing that more favorable terms would be found in London.", "They negotiated directly with Shelburne, who hoped to make Britain a valuable trading partner of America at the expense of France.", "To this end, Shelburne offered to cede all the land east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Quebec, while also allowing American fishermen access to the rich Newfoundland fishery.", "According to one historian, Shelburne was hoping to facilitate the growth of the American population, creating lucrative markets that Britain could exploit at no administrative cost to London.", "As Vergennes commented, \"the English buy peace rather than make it\".", "Throughout the negotiations, Britain never consulted her American Indian allies, forcing them to reluctantly accept the treaty.", "However, the subsequent tension erupted into conflicts between the Indians and the young United States, the largest being the Northwest Indian War.", "Britain continued trying to create an Indian buffer state in the American Midwest as late as 1814 during the War of 1812.", "Britain negotiated separate treaties with Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic.", "Gibraltar proved to be a stumbling block in the peace talks; Spain offered to relinquish their conquests in West Florida, Menorca, and the Bahamas in exchange for Gibraltar, terms which Shelburne steadfastly refused.", "Shelburne instead offered to cede East Florida, West Florida, and Menorca if Spain would relinquish the claim on Gibraltar, terms which were reluctantly accepted.", "However, in the long-term, the new territorial gains were of little value to Spain.", "France's only net gains were the island of Tobago in the Caribbean and Senegal in Africa, after agreeing to return all other colonial conquests to British sovereignty.", "Britain returned Dutch Caribbean territories to Dutch sovereignty, in exchange for free trade rights in the Dutch East Indies and control of the Indian port of Negapatnam.", "Preliminary peace articles were signed in Paris on 30 November 1782, while preliminaries between Britain, Spain, France, and the Netherlands continued until September 1783.", "The United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784.", "Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the other parties involved, the first reaching France in March 1784.", "British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784, and the ratified versions were exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784.", "The war formally concluded on September 3, 1783.", "The last British troops departed New York City on November 25, 1783, marking the end of British rule in the new United States.", "\n=== Casualties and losses ===\n\n==== Americans and allies ====\nThe total loss of life throughout the conflict is largely unknown.", "As was typical in wars of the era, diseases such as smallpox claimed more lives than battle.", "Between 1775 and 1782, a smallpox epidemic broke out throughout North America, killing 40 people in Boston alone.", "Historian Joseph Ellis suggests that Washington's decision to have his troops inoculated against the disease was one of his most important decisions.", "Between 25,000 and 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service.", "Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease.", "The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor.", "If the upper limit of 70,000 is accepted as the total net loss for the Patriots, it would make the conflict proportionally deadlier than the American Civil War.", "Uncertainty arises due to the difficulties in accurately calculating the number of those who succumbed to disease, as it is estimated at least 10,000 died in 1776 alone.", "The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.", "The French suffered approximately 7,000 total dead throughout the conflict; of those, 2,112 were killed in combat in the American theaters of war.", "The Dutch suffered around 500 total killed, owing to the minor scale of their conflict with Britain.", "==== British and allies ====\nBritish returns in 1783 listed 43,633 rank and file deaths across the British Armed Forces.", "A table from 1781 puts total British Army deaths at 9,372 soldiers killed in battle across the Americas; 6,046 in North America (1775–1779), and 3,326 in the West Indies (1778–1780).", "In 1784, a British lieutenant compiled a detailed list of 205 British officers killed in action during the war, encompassing Europe, the Caribbean and the East Indies.", "Extrapolations based upon this list puts British Army losses in the area of at least 4,000 killed or died of wounds.", "Approximately 7,774 Germans died in British service in addition to 4,888 deserters; of the former, it is estimated 1,800 were killed in combat.", "Around 171,000 sailors served in the Royal Navy during the war; approximately a quarter of whom had been pressed into service.", "Around 1,240 were killed in battle, while an estimated 18,500 died from disease (1776–1780).", "The greatest killer at sea was scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.", "It was not until 1795 that scurvy was eradicated from the Royal Navy after the Admiralty declared lemon juice and sugar were to be issued among the standard daily rations of sailors.", "Around 42,000 sailors deserted during the war.", "The impact on merchant shipping was substantial; an estimated 3,386 merchant ships were seized by enemy forces during the war; of those, 2,283 were taken by American privateers alone.", "=== Financial debts ===\n\nAt the start of the war, the economy of the colonies was flourishing, and the free white population enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world.", "The Royal Navy enforced a naval blockade during the war to financially cripple the colonies, however, this proved unsuccessful; 90% of the population worked in farming, not in coastal trade, and, as such, the American economy proved resilient enough to withstand the blockade.", "Congress had immense difficulties throughout the conflict to efficiently finance the war effort.", "As the circulation of hard currency declined, the Americans had to rely on loans from American merchants and bankers, France, Spain and the Netherlands, saddling the young nation with crippling debts.", "Congress attempted to remedy this by printing vast amounts of paper money and bills of credit to raise revenue.", "The effect was disastrous; inflation skyrocketed, and the paper money became virtually worthless.", "The inflation spawned a popular phrase that anything of little value was \"not worth a continental\".", "By 1791, the United States had accumulated a national debt of approximately $75.5 million.", "Britain spent around £80 million and ended with a national debt of £250 million, (£ in today's money), generating a yearly interest of £9.5 million annually.", "The debts piled upon that which it had already accumulated from the Seven Years' War.", "Due to wartime taxation upon the British populace, the tax for the average Briton amounted to approximately four shillings in every pound.", "The French spent approximately 1.3 billion livres on aiding the Americans, accumulating a national debt of 3.315.1 billion livres by 1783 on war costs.", "Unlike Britain, which had a very efficient taxation system, the French tax system was highly unstable, eventually leading to a financial crisis in 1786.", "The debts contributed to a worsening fiscal crisis that ultimately begat the French Revolution at the end of the century.", "The debt continued to spiral; on the eve of the French Revolution, the national debt had skyrocketed to 12 billion livres.", "Spain had nearly doubled her military spending during the war, from 454 million reales in 1778 to over 700 million in 1779.", "Spain more easily disposed of her debts unlike her French ally, partially due to the massive increase in silver mining in her American colonies; production increased approximately 600% in Mexico, and by 250% in Peru and Bolivia.", "\n=== Great Britain ===\n\n\nredcoats at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.", "The population of Great Britain and Ireland in 1780 was approximately 12.6 million, while the Thirteen Colonies held a population of some 2.8 million, including some 500,000 slaves.", "Theoretically, Britain had the advantage, however, many factors inhibited the procurement of a large army.", "==== Armed Forces ====\n\n===== Recruitment =====\n\nPress gang at work, British caricature of 1780\n\nIn 1775, the standing British Army, exclusive of militia, comprised 45,123 men worldwide, made up of 38,254 infantry and 6,869 cavalry.", "The Army had approximately eighteen regiments of foot, some 8,500 men, stationed in North America.", "Standing armies had played a key role in the purge of the Long Parliament in 1648, the maintenance of a military dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell, and the overthrow of James II, and, as such, the Army had been deliberately kept small in peacetime to prevent abuses of power by the King.", "Despite this, eighteenth century armies were not easy guests, and were regarded with scorn and contempt by the press and public of the New and Old World alike, derided as enemies of liberty.", "An expression ran in the Navy; \"A messmate before a shipmate, a shipmate before a stranger, a stranger before a dog, a dog before a soldier\".", "Parliament suffered chronic difficulties in obtaining sufficient manpower, and found it impossible to fill the quotas they had set.", "The Army was a deeply unpopular profession, one contentious issue being pay.", "A Private infantryman was paid a wage of just 8d.", "per day, the same pay as for a New Model Army infantryman, 130 years earlier.", "The rate of pay in the army was insufficient to meet the rising costs of living, turning off potential recruits, as service was nominally for life.", "To entice people to enrol, Parliament offered a bounty of £1.10s for every recruit.", "As the war dragged on, Parliament became desperate for manpower; criminals were offered military service to escape legal penalties, and deserters were pardoned if they re-joined their units.", "After the defeat at Saratoga, Parliament doubled the bounty to £3, and increased it again the following year, to £3.3s, as well as expanding the age limit from 17–45 to 16–50 years of age.", "Impressment, essentially conscription by the \"press gang\", was a favored recruiting method, though it was unpopular with the public, leading many to enlist in local militias to avoid regular service.", "Attempts were made to draft such levies, much to the chagrin of the militia commanders.", "Competition between naval and army press gangs, and even between rival ships or regiments, frequently resulted in brawls between the gangs in order to secure recruits for their unit.", "Men would maim themselves to avoid the press gangs, while many deserted at the first opportunity.", "Pressed men were militarily unreliable; regiments with large numbers of such men were deployed to garrisons such as Gibraltar or the West Indies, purely to increase the difficulty in successfully deserting.", "By 1781, the Army numbered approximately 121,000 men globally, 48,000 of whom were stationed throughout the Americas.", "Of the 171,000 sailors who served in the Royal Navy throughout the conflict, around a quarter were pressed.", "Interestingly, this same proportion, approximately 42,000 men, deserted during the conflict.", "At its height, the Navy had 94 ships-of-the-line, 104 frigates and 37 sloops in service.", "Hessian soldiers of the Leibregiment\n\n====== Loyalists and Hessians ======\n\nIn 1775, Britain unsuccessfully attempted to secure 20,000 mercenaries from Russia, and the use of the Scots Brigade from the Dutch Republic, such was the shortage of manpower.", "Parliament managed to negotiate treaties with the princes of German states for large sums of money, in exchange for mercenary troops.", "In total, 29,875 troops were hired for British service from six German states; Brunswick (5,723), Hesse-Kassel (16,992), Hesse-Hannau (2,422), Ansbach-Bayreuth (2,353), Waldeck-Pyrmont (1,225) and Anhalt-Zerbst (1,160).", "King George III, who also ruled Hanover as a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, was approached by Parliament to loan the government Hanoverian soldiers for service in the war.", "Hanover supplied 2,365 men in five battalions, however, the lease agreement permitted them to only be used in Europe.", "Without any major allies, the manpower shortage became critical when France and Spain entered the war, forcing a major diversion of military resources from the Americas.", "Recruiting adequate numbers of Loyalist militia in America proved difficult due to high Patriot activity.", "To bolster numbers, the British promised freedom and grants of land to slaves who fought for them.", "Approximately 25,000 Loyalists fought for the British throughout the war, and provided some of the best troops in the British service; the British Legion, a mixed regiment of 250 dragoons and 200 infantry commanded by Banastre Tarleton, gained a fearsome reputation in the colonies, especially in the South.", "===== Leadership =====\n\nBritain had a difficult time appointing a determined senior military leadership in America.", "Thomas Gage, Commander-in-Chief of North America at the outbreak of the war, was criticized for being too lenient on the rebellious colonists.", "Jeffrey Amherst, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1778, refused a direct command in America, due to unwillingness to take sides in the war.", "Admiral Augustus Keppel similarly opposed a command, stating; \"I cannot draw the sword in such a cause\".", "The Earl of Effingham resigned his commission when his regiment was posted to America, while William Howe and John Burgoyne were opposed to military solutions to the crisis.", "Howe and Henry Clinton both stated they were unwilling participants, and were only following orders.", "As was the case in many European armies, except the Prussian Army, officers in British service could purchase commissions to ascend the ranks.", "Despite repeated attempts by Parliament to suppress it, the practise was common in the Army.", "Values of commissions varied, but were usually in line with social and military prestige, for example, regiments such as the Guards commanded the highest prices.", "The lower ranks often regarded the treatment to high-ranking commissions by wealthier officers as \"plums for their consumption\".", "Wealthy individuals lacking any formal military education, or practical experience, often found their way into positions of high responsibility, diluting the effectiveness of a regiment.", "Though Royal authority had forbade the practise since 1711, it was still permitted for infants to hold commissions.", "Young boys, often orphans of deceased wealthy officers, were taken from their schooling and placed in positions of responsibility within regiments.", "===== Logistics =====\n\nLogistical organization of eighteenth century armies was chaotic at best, and the British Army was no exception.", "No logistical corps existed in the modern sense; while on campaign in foreign territories such as America, horses, wagons, and drivers were frequently requisitioned from the locals, often by impressment or by hire.", "No centrally organized medical corps existed.", "It was common for surgeons to have no formal medical education, and no diploma or entry examination was required.", "Nurses sometimes were apprentices to surgeons, but many were drafted from the women who followed the army.", "Army surgeons and doctors were poorly paid and were regarded as social inferiors to other officers.", "Black Watch armed with Brown Bess muskets, c. 1790.", "Grenadier of the 40th Regiment of Foot in 1767, armed with a Brown Bess musket.", "The heavy personal equipment and wool uniform of the regular infantrymen were wholly unsuitable for combat in America, and the outfit was especially ill-suited to comfort and agile movement.", "During the Battle of Monmouth in late June 1778, the temperature exceeded 100°F (37.8°C) and is said to have claimed more lives through heat stroke than through actual combat.", "The standard-issue firearm of the British Army was the Land Pattern Musket.", "Some officers preferred their troops to fire careful, measured shots (around two per minute), rather than rapid firing.", "A bayonet made firing difficult, as its cumbersome shape hampered ramming down the charge into the barrel.", "British troops had a tendency to fire impetuously, resulting in inaccurate fire, a trait for which John Burgoyne criticized them during the Saratoga campaign.", "Burgoyne instead encouraged bayonet charges to break up enemy formations, which was a preferred tactic in most European armies at the time.", "Every battalion in America had organized its own rifle company by the end of the war, although rifles were not formally issued to the army until the Baker Rifle in 1801.", "Flintlocks were heavily dependent on the weather; high winds could blow the gunpowder from the flash pan, while heavy rain could soak the paper cartridge, ruining the powder and rendering the musket unable to fire.", "Furthermore, flints used in British muskets were of notoriously poor quality; they could only be fired around six times before requiring resharpening, while American flints could fire sixty.", "This led to a common expression among the British: \"Yankee flint was as good as a glass of grog\".", "Provisioning troops and sailors proved to be an immense challenge, as the majority of food stores had to be shipped overseas from Britain.", "The need to maintain Loyalist support prevented the Army from living off the land.", "Other factors also impeded this option; the countryside was too sparsely populated and the inhabitants were largely hostile or indifferent, the network of roads and bridges was poorly developed, and the area which the British controlled was so limited that foraging parties were frequently in danger of being ambushed.", "After France entered the war, the threat of the French navy increased the difficulty of transporting supplies to America.", "The food that could be bought in America was purchased at vastly inflated prices.", "Soldiers stationed in the West Indies perhaps suffered the worst; the garrison commander of Tobago, Barbados, and Antigua frequently complained of the near-total lack of regular supply from Britain, and the food that could be bought was so expensive that the pay of the troops was inadequate to cover the costs.", "Food supplies were frequently in terrible condition, infested with mould, weevils, worms, and maggots.", "Provisions were frequently destroyed by rats, and their containers were too fragile to sustain a long ocean voyage or the rigors of campaigning.", "The climate was also against the British in the southern colonies and the Caribbean, where the intense summer heat caused food supplies to sour and spoil.", "British troops stationed in America were often on the verge of starvation.", "Life at sea was little better.", "Sailors and passengers were issued a daily food ration, largely consisting of hardtack and beer.", "The hardtack was often infested by weevils and was so tough that it earned the nicknames \"molar breakers\" and \"worm castles\", and it sometimes had to be broken up with cannon shot.", "Meat supplies often spoiled on long voyages.", "The lack of fresh fruit and vegetables gave rise to scurvy, one of the biggest killers at sea.", "Rum was issued as part of a daily ration and was a popular drink among soldiers and sailors alike, often mixed with fresh water to make grog.", "===== Discipline =====\n\nFlogging of a delinquent in Germany, 17th century\n\nDiscipline in the armed forces was harsh, and the lash was used to punish even trivial offences, nor was it applied sparingly.", "For instance, during the Saratoga campaign, two redcoats received 1,000 lashes each for robbery, while another received 800 lashes for striking a superior officer.", "During the Napoleonic Wars, one soldier received 700 lashes for stealing a beehive, while another, whom had received only 175 strikes of his 400-lash sentence, spent three weeks in hospital from his injuries.", "The practise could often be a contentious source of resentment; during the Battle of Quatre Bras in 1815, the commander of the 92nd Foot was shot and killed by a soldier whom he had recently flogged.", "Flogging was a common punishment in the Royal Navy, and came to be associated with the stereotypical hardiness of sailors.", "Despite the harsh discipline, a distinct lack of self-discipline pervaded all ranks.", "Soldiers had an intense passion for gambling, reaching such excesses that troops would often wager their own uniforms.", "Soldiers drank heavily, and was not exclusive to the lower ranks; William Howe was said to have seen many \"crapulous mornings\" while campaigning in New York.", "John Burgoyne drank heavily on a nightly basis towards the end of the Saratoga campaign.", "The two generals were also reported to have found solace with the wives of subordinate officers to ease the stressful burdens of command.", "During the Philadelphia campaign, British officers deeply offended local Quakers by entertaining their mistresses in the houses they had been quartered in.", "Despite such issues, British troops are reported to have been generally scrupulous in their treatment of non-combatants.", "This is contrasted by Hessian diaries, who wrote of their disapproval of British conduct towards the colonists, such as the destruction of property and the execution of prisoners.", "The presence of Hessian soldiers caused considerable anxiety amongst the colonists, both Patriot and Loyalist, who viewed them as brutal mercenaries.", "British soldiers were often contemptuous in their treatment of Hessian troops, despite orders from General Howe that \"the English should treat the Germans as brothers\".", "The order only began to have any real effect when the Hessians learned to speak a minimal degree of English, which was seen as a prerequisite for the British troops to accord them any respect.", "During peacetime, the Army's idleness led to it becoming riddled with corruption and inefficiency, resulting in a myriad of administrative difficulties once campaigning began.", "==== Strategic deficiencies ====\n\nThe British leadership soon discovered it had overestimated the capabilities of its own troops, while underestimating those of the colonists, causing a sudden re-think in British planning.", "The ineffective initial response of British military and civil officials to the onset of the rebellion had allowed the advantage to shift to the colonists, as British authorities rapidly lost control over every colony.", "A microcosm of these shortcomings were evident at the Battle of Bunker Hill.", "It took ten hours for the British leadership to respond following the sighting of the Americans on the Charlestown Peninsula, giving the colonists ample time to reinforce their defenses.", "Rather than opt for a simple flanking attack that would have rapidly succeeded with minimal loss, the British decided on repeated frontal attacks.", "The results were telling; the British suffered 1,054 casualties of a force of around 3,000 after repeated frontal assaults.", "The British leadership had nevertheless remained excessively optimistic, believing that just two regiments could suppress the rebellion in Massachusetts.", "Debate persists over whether a British defeat was a guaranteed outcome.", "Ferling argues that the odds were so long, the defeat of Britain was nothing short of a miracle.", "Ellis, however, considers that the odds always favored the Americans, and questions whether a British victory by any margin was realistic.", "Ellis argues that the British squandered their only opportunities for a decisive success in 1777, and that the strategic decisions undertaken by William Howe underestimated the challenges posed by the Americans.", "Ellis concludes that, once Howe failed, the opportunity for a British victory \"would never come again\".", "Conversely, the United States Army's official textbook argues that, had Britain been able to commit 10,000 fresh troops to the war in 1780, a British victory was within the realms of possibility.", "===== William Howe =====\n\nCommander-in-Chief from 1775–1778\n\nHistorians such as Ellis and Stewart have observed that, under William Howe's command, the British squandered several opportunities to achieve a decisive victory over the Americans.", "Throughout the New York and Philadelphia campaigns, Howe made several strategic errors, errors which cost the British opportunities for a complete victory.", "At Long Island, Howe failed to even attempt an encirclement of Washington, and actively restrained his subordinates from mounting an aggressive pursuit of the defeated American army.", "At White Plains, he refused to engage Washington's vulnerable army, and instead concentrated his efforts upon a hill which offered the British no strategic advantage.", "After securing control of New York, Howe dispatched Henry Clinton to capture Newport, a measure which Clinton was opposed to, on the grounds the troops assigned to his command could have been put to better use in pursuing Washington's retreating army.", "Despite the bleak outlook for the revolutionary cause and the surge of Loyalist activity in the wake of Washington's defeats, Howe made no attempt to mount an attack upon Washington while the Americans settled down into winter quarters, much to their surprise.", "During planning for the Saratoga campaign, Howe was left with the choice of committing his army to support Burgoyne, or capture Philadelphia, the revolutionary capital.", "Howe decided upon the latter, determining that Washington was of a greater threat.", "The decision left Burgoyne precariously isolated, and left the Americans confounded at the decision.", "Alden argues Howe may have been motivated by political opportunism; if Burgoyne was successful, he would receive the credit for a decisive victory, and not Howe.", "However, the confusion was further compounded by the lack of explicit and contradictory instructions from London.", "When Howe launched his campaign, he took his army upon a time-consuming route through the Chesapeake Bay, rather than the more sensible choices of overland through New Jersey, or by sea through the Delaware Bay.", "The move left him unable to assist Burgoyne even if it was required of him.", "The decision so confused Parliament, that Howe was accused by Tories on both sides of the Atlantic of treason.", "During the Philadelphia campaign, Howe failed to pursue and destroy the defeated Americans on two occasions; once after the Battle of Brandywine, and again after the Battle of Germantown.", "At the Battle of White Marsh, Howe failed to even attempt to exploit the vulnerable American rear, and then inexplicably ordered a retreat to Philadelphia after only minor skirmishes, astonishing both sides.", "While the Americans wintered only twenty miles away, Howe made no effort to attack their camp, which critics argue could have ended the war.", "Following the conclusion of the campaign, Howe resigned his commission, and was replaced by Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778.", "Contrary to Howe's more hostile critics, however, there were strategic factors at play which impeded aggressive action.", "Howe may have been dissuaded from pursuing aggressive manoeuvres due to the memory of the grievous losses the British suffered at Bunker Hill.", "During the major campaigns in New York and Philadelphia, Howe often wrote of the scarcity of adequate provisions, which hampered his ability to mount effective campaigns.", "Howe's tardiness in launching the New York campaign, and his reluctance to allow Cornwallis to vigorously pursue Washington's beaten army, have both been attributed to the paucity of available food supplies.", "During the winter of 1776–1777, Howe split his army into scattered cantonments.", "This decision dangerously exposed the individual forces to defeat in detail, as the distance between them was such that they could not mutually support each other.", "This strategic failure allowed the Americans to achieve victory at the Battle of Trenton, and the concurrent Battle of Princeton.", "While a major strategic error to divide an army in such a manner, the quantity of available food supplies in New York was so low that Howe had been compelled to take such a decision.", "The garrisons were widely spaced so their respective foraging parties would not interfere with each other's efforts.", "Howe's difficulties during the Philadelphia campaign were also greatly exacerbated by the poor quality and quantity of available provisions.", "===== Clinton and Cornwallis =====\n\nCharles Cornwallis, who led British forces in the southern campaign.", "In 1780, the primary British strategy hinged upon a Loyalist uprising in the south, for which Charles Cornwallis was chiefly responsible.", "After an encouraging success at Camden, Cornwallis was poised to invade North Carolina.", "However, any significant Loyalist support had been effectively destroyed at the Battle of Kings Mountain, and the British Legion, the cream of his army, had been decisively defeated at the Battle of Cowpens.", "Following both defeats, Cornwallis was fiercely criticized for detaching a significant portion of his army without adequate mutual support.", "Despite the defeats, Cornwallis chose to proceed into North Carolina, gambling his success upon a large Loyalist uprising which never materialized.", "As a result, subsequent engagements cost Cornwallis valuable troops he could not replace, as at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and the Americans steadily wore his army down in an exhaustive war of attrition.", "Cornwallis had thus left the Carolinas ripe for reconquest.", "The Americans had largely achieved this aim by the end of 1781, effectively confining the British to the coast, and undoing all the progress they had made in the previous year.", "In a last-ditch attempt to win the war in the South, Cornwallis resolved to invade Virginia, in order to cut off the American's supply base to the Carolinas.", "Henry Clinton, Cornwallis' superior, strongly opposed the plan, believing the decisive confrontations would take place between Washington in the North.", "London had approved Cornwallis plan, however they had failed to include Clinton in the decision-making, despite his seniority over Cornwallis, leading to a muddled strategic direction.", "Cornwallis then decided to invade Virginia without informing Clinton of his intentions.", "Clinton, however, had wholly failed to construct a coherent strategy for British campaigning that year, owing to his fractious relationship that he shared with Mariot Arbuthnot, his naval counterpart.", "As the Franco-American army approached Cornwallis at Yorktown, he made no attempt to sally out and engage before siege lines could be erected, despite the repeated urging of his subordinate officers.", "Expecting relief to soon arrive from Clinton, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned all of his outer defences, which were then promptly occupied by the besiegers, serving to hasten the British defeat.", "These factors contributed to the eventual surrender of Cornwallis' entire army, and the end of major operations in North America.", "Like Howe before him, Clinton's efforts to campaign suffered from chronic supply issues.", "In 1778, Clinton wrote to Germain complaining of the lack of supplies, even after the arrival of a convoy from Ireland.", "That winter, the supply issue had deteriorated so badly, that Clinton expressed considerable anxiety over how the troops were going to be properly fed.", "Clinton was largely inactive in the North throughout 1779, launching few major campaigns.", "This inactivity was partially due to the shortage of food.", "By 1780, the situation had not improved.", "Clinton wrote a frustrated correspondence to Germain, voicing concern that a \"fatal consequence will ensue\" if matters did not improve.", "By October that year, Clinton again wrote to Germain, angered that the troops in New York had not received \"an ounce\" of that year's allotted stores from Britain.", "==== Campaign issues ====\n\nSuppressing a rebellion in America presented the British with major problems.", "The key issue was distance; it could take up to three months to cross the Atlantic, and orders from London were often outdated by the time that they arrived.", "The colonies had never been formally united prior to the conflict and there was no centralized area of ultimate strategic importance.", "Traditionally, the fall of a capital city often signalled the end of a conflict, yet the war continued unabated even after the fall of major settlements such as New York, Philadelphia (which was the Patriot capital), and Charleston.", "Britain's ability to project its power overseas lay chiefly in the power of the Royal Navy, allowing her to control major coastal settlements with relative ease and enforce a strong blockade of colonial ports.", "However, the overwhelming majority of the American population was agrarian, not urban.", "As a result, the American economy proved resilient enough to withstand the blockade's effects.", "Black Loyalist soldiers fought alongside British regulars in the 1781 Battle of Jersey, from ''The Death of Major Peirson''\n\nThe need to maintain Loyalist support prevented the British from using the harsh methods of suppressing revolts that they had used in Scotland and Ireland.", "For example, British troops looted and pillaged the locals during an aborted attack on Charleston in 1779, enraging both Patriots and Loyalists.", "Neutral colonists were often driven into the ranks of the Patriots when brutal combat broke out between Tories and Whigs across the Carolinas in the later stages of the war.", "Conversely, Loyalists were often emboldened when Patriots resorted to intimidating suspected Tories, such as destroying property or tarring and feathering.", "The vastness of the American countryside and the limited manpower available meant that the British could never simultaneously defeat the Americans and occupy captured territory.", "One British statesman described the attempt as \"like trying to conquer a map\".", "Wealthy Loyalists wielded great influence in London and were successful in convincing the British that the majority view in the colonies was sympathetic toward the Crown.", "Consequently, British planners pinned the success of their strategies on popular uprisings of Loyalists, which never transpired on the scale required.", "Historians have estimated that Loyalists made up only 15–20% of the population (vs. 40-45% Patriots) and that they continued to deceive themselves on their level of support as late as 1780.", "The British discovered that any significant level of organized Loyalist activity would require the continued presence of British regulars, which presented them with a major dilemma.", "The manpower that the British had available was insufficient to both protect Loyalist territory and counter American advances.", "The vulnerability of Loyalist militias was repeatedly demonstrated in the South, where they suffered strings of defeats to their Patriot neighbors.", "The most crucial juncture of this was at Kings Mountain, and the victory of the Patriot partisans irreversibly crippled Loyalist military capability in the South.", "Upon the entry of France and Spain into the conflict, the British were forced to severely limit the number of troops and warships that they sent to North America in order to defend other key territories and the British mainland.", "As a result, King George III abandoned any hope of subduing America militarily while he had a European war to contend with.", "The small size of Britain's army left them unable to concentrate their resources primarily in one theater as they had done in the Seven Years' War, leaving them at a critical disadvantage.", "The British were compelled to disperse troops from the Americas to Europe and the East Indies, and these forces were unable to assist one other as a result, precariously exposing them to defeat.", "In North America, the immediate strategic focus of the French, Spanish, and British shifted to Jamaica, whose sugar exports were more valuable to the British than the economy of the Thirteen Colonies combined.", "Following the end of the war, Britain had lost some of her most populous colonies.", "However, the economic effects of the loss were negligible in the long-term, and she became a global superpower just 32 years after the end of the conflict.", "=== Patriots ===\n\n1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the Battle of Guilford\nThe Americans began the war with significant disadvantages compared to the British.", "They had no national government, no national army or navy, no financial system, no banks, no established credit, and no functioning government departments, such as a treasury.", "The Congress tried to handle administrative affairs through legislative committees, which proved inefficient.", "The state governments were themselves brand new and officials had no administrative experience.", "In peacetime the colonies relied heavily on ocean travel and shipping, but that was now shut down by the British blockade and the Americans had to rely on slow overland travel.", "However, the Americans had multiple advantages that in the long run outweighed the initial disadvantages they faced.", "The Americans had a large prosperous population that depended not on imports but on local production for food and most supplies, while the British were mostly shipped in from across the ocean.", "The British faced a vast territory far larger than Britain or France, located at a far distance from home ports.", "Most of the Americans lived on farms distant from the seaports—the British could capture any port but that did not give them control over the hinterland.", "They were on their home ground, had a smoothly functioning, well organized system of local and state governments, newspapers and printers, and internal lines of communications.", "They had a long-established system of local militia, previously used to combat the French and Native Americans, with companies and an officer corps that could form the basis of local militias, and provide a training ground for the national army created by Congress.", "Motivation was a major asset.", "The Patriots wanted to win; over 200,000 fought in the war; 25,000 died.", "The British expected the Loyalists to do much of the fighting, but they did much less than expected.", "The British also hired German mercenaries to do much of their fighting.", "At the onset of the war, the Americans had no major international allies.", "Battles such as the Battle of Bennington, the Battles of Saratoga and even defeats such as the Battle of Germantown proved decisive in gaining the attention and support of powerful European nations such as France and Spain, who moved from covertly supplying the Americans with weapons and supplies, to overtly supporting them militarily, moving the war to a global stage.", "The new Continental Army suffered significantly from a lack of an effective training regime, and largely inexperienced officers and sergeants.", "The inexperience of its officers was compensated for in part by its senior officers; officers such as George Washington, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, Richard Montgomery and Francis Marion all had military experience with the British Army during the French and Indian War.", "The Americans solved their training dilemma during their stint in Winter Quarters at Valley Forge, where they were relentlessly drilled and trained by General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a veteran of the famed Prussian General Staff.", "He taught the Continental Army the essentials of military discipline, drills, tactics and strategy, and wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual.", "When the Army emerged from Valley Forge, it proved its ability to equally match the British troops in battle when they fought a successful strategic action at the Battle of Monmouth.", "Population density in the American Colonies in 1775\nWhen the war began, the 13 colonies lacked a professional army or navy.", "Each colony sponsored local militia.", "Militiamen were lightly armed, had little training, and usually did not have uniforms.", "Their units served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were reluctant to travel far from home and thus were unavailable for extended operations, and lacked the training and discipline of soldiers with more experience.", "If properly used, however, their numbers could help the Continental armies overwhelm smaller British forces, as at the battles of Concord, Bennington and Saratoga, and the siege of Boston.", "Both sides used partisan warfare but the Americans effectively suppressed Loyalist activity when British regulars were not in the area.", "Seeking to coordinate military efforts, the Continental Congress established a regular army on June 14, 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief.", "The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress, and Washington used both his regulars and state militia throughout the war.", "Three current branches of the United States Military trace their institutional roots to the American Revolutionary War; the United States Army comes from the Continental Army, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775.", "The United States Navy recognizes October 13, 1775 as the date of its official establishment, the passage of the resolution of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia that created the Continental Navy.", "And the United States Marine Corps traces its institutional roots to the Continental Marines of the war, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775, a date regarded and celebrated as the birthday of the Marine Corps.", "At the beginning of 1776, Washington's army had 20,000 men, with two-thirds enlisted in the Continental Army and the other third in the various state militias.", "At the end of the American Revolution in 1783, both the Continental Navy and Continental Marines were disbanded.", "About 250,000 men served as regulars or as militiamen for the Revolutionary cause in the eight years of the war, but there were never more than 90,000 men under arms at one time.", "About 55,000 American sailors served aboard privateers during the war.", "The American privateers had almost 1,700 ships, and they captured 2,283 enemy ships.", "John Paul Jones became the first great American naval hero, capturing HMS ''Drake'' on April 24, 1778, the first victory for any American military vessel in British waters.", "Armies were small by European standards of the era, largely attributable to limitations such as lack of powder and other logistical capabilities on the American side.", "It was also difficult for Great Britain to transport troops across the Atlantic and they depended on local supplies that the Patriots tried to cut off.", "By comparison, Duffy notes that Frederick the Great usually commanded from 23,000 to 50,000 in battle.", "Both figures pale in comparison to the armies that were fielded in the early 19th century, where troop formations approached or exceeded 100,000 men.", "=== African Americans ===\n1780 drawing of American soldiers from the Yorktown campaign shows a black infantryman from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.", "African Americans—slave and free—served on both sides during the war.", "The British recruited slaves belonging to Patriot masters and promised freedom to those who served by act of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation.", "Because of manpower shortages, George Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776.", "Small all-black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many slaves were promised freedom for serving.", "Some of the men promised freedom were sent back to their masters, after the war was over, out of political convenience.", "Another all-black unit came from Saint-Domingue with French colonial forces.", "At least 5,000 black soldiers fought for the Revolutionary cause.", "Tens of thousands of slaves escaped during the war and joined British lines; others simply moved off in the chaos.", "For instance, in South Carolina, nearly 25,000 slaves (30% of the enslaved population) fled, migrated or died during the disruption of the war.", "This greatly disrupted plantation production during and after the war.", "When they withdrew their forces from Savannah and Charleston, the British also evacuated 10,000 slaves belonging to Loyalists.", "Altogether, the British evacuated nearly 20,000 blacks at the end of the war.", "More than 3,000 of them were freedmen and most of these were resettled in Nova Scotia; other blacks were sold in the West Indies.", "=== American Indians ===\nMost American Indians east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war, and many tribes were divided over the question of how to respond to the conflict.", "A few tribes were on friendly terms with the other Americans, but most Indians opposed the union of the Colonies as a potential threat to their territory.", "Approximately 13,000 Indians fought on the British side, with the largest group coming from the Iroquois tribes, who fielded around 1,500 men.", "The powerful Iroquois Confederacy was shattered as a result of the conflict, although they did not take sides; the Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga nations sided with the British.", "Members of the Mohawk nation fought on both sides.", "Many Tuscarora and Oneida sided with the colonists.", "The Continental Army sent the Sullivan Expedition on raids throughout New York to cripple the Iroquois tribes that had sided with the British.", "Mohawk leaders Joseph Louis Cook and Joseph Brant sided with the Americans and the British respectively, and this further exacerbated the split.", "A watercolor painting depicting a variety of Continental Army soldiers.", "Early in July 1776, a major action occurred in the fledgling conflict when the Cherokee allies of Britain attacked the western frontier areas of North Carolina.", "Their defeat resulted in a splintering of the Cherokee settlements and people, and was directly responsible for the rise of the Chickamauga Cherokee, bitter enemies of the Colonials who carried on a frontier war for decades following the end of hostilities with Britain.", "Creek and Seminole allies of Britain fought against Americans in Georgia and South Carolina.", "In 1778, a force of 800 Creeks destroyed American settlements along the Broad River in Georgia.", "Creek warriors also joined Thomas Brown's raids into South Carolina and assisted Britain during the Siege of Savannah.", "Many Indians were involved in the fighting between Britain and Spain on the Gulf Coast and up the Mississippi River—mostly on the British side.", "Thousands of Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws fought in major battles such as the Battle of Fort Charlotte, the Battle of Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola.", "=== Race and class ===\nPybus (2005) estimates that about 20,000 slaves defected to or were captured by the British, of whom about 8,000 died from disease or wounds or were recaptured by the Patriots.", "The British took some 12,000 at the end of the war; of these 8000 remained in slavery.", "Including those who left during the war, a total of about 8000 to 10,000 slaves gained freedom.", "About 4000 freed slaves went to Nova Scotia and 1200 blacks remained slaves.", "Baller (2006) examines family dynamics and mobilization for the Revolution in central Massachusetts.", "He reports that warfare and the farming culture were sometimes incompatible.", "Militiamen found that living and working on the family farm had not prepared them for wartime marches and the rigors of camp life.", "Rugged individualism conflicted with military discipline and regimentation.", "A man's birth order often influenced his military recruitment, as younger sons went to war and older sons took charge of the farm.", "A person's family responsibilities and the prevalent patriarchy could impede mobilization.", "Harvesting duties and family emergencies pulled men home regardless of the sergeant's orders.", "Some relatives might be Loyalists, creating internal strains.", "On the whole, historians conclude the Revolution's effect on patriarchy and inheritance patterns favored egalitarianism.", "McDonnell (2006) shows a grave complication in Virginia's mobilization of troops was the conflicting interests of distinct social classes, which tended to undercut a unified commitment to the Patriot cause.", "The Assembly balanced the competing demands of elite slave-owning planters, the middling yeomen (some owning a few slaves), and landless indentured servants, among other groups.", "The Assembly used deferments, taxes, military service substitute, and conscription to resolve the tensions.", "Unresolved class conflict, however, made these laws less effective.", "There were violent protests, many cases of evasion, and large-scale desertion, so that Virginia's contributions came at embarrassingly low levels.", "With the British invasion of the state in 1781, Virginia was mired in class division as its native son, George Washington, made desperate appeals for troops.", "Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, 1781", "\n\n* Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War\n* Bibliography of George Washington\n* Conrad Heyer\n* Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War\n* British Army during the American War of Independence\n* First Treaty of San Ildefonso\n* First League of Armed Neutrality\n* Fourth Anglo-Dutch War\n* George Washington in the American Revolution \n* Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War\n* Lemuel Cook \n* List of American Revolutionary War battles\n* List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War\n* List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War\n* List of plays and films about the American Revolution\n* List of revolutions and rebellions \n* Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War \n* Treaty of El Pardo (1778) \n* War of the Bavarian Succession", "\n\n* Black, Jeremy.", "''War for America: The Fight for Independence, 1775–1783''.", "2001.", "Analysis from a noted British military historian.", "* Benn, Carl ''Historic Fort York, 1793–1993''.", "Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd. 1993. .", "* Boatner, Mark Mayo, III.", "''Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.''", "1966; revised 1974. .", "Military topics, references many secondary sources.", "* Chambers, John Whiteclay II, ed.", "in chief.", "''The Oxford Companion to American Military History''.", "Oxford University Press, 1999. .", "* Conway, Stephen.", "''The British Isles and the War of American Independence'' (2002) online\n* \n* Curtis, Edward E. ''The Organization of the British Army in the American Revolution'' (Yale U.P.", "1926) online\n* Duffy, Christopher.", "''The Military Experience in the Age of Reason, 1715–1789'' Routledge, 1987. .", "* Edler, Friedrich.", "''The Dutch Republic and The American Revolution''.", "University Press of the Pacific, 1911, reprinted 2001. .", "* Ellis, Joseph J.", "''His Excellency: George Washington''.", "(2004).", ".", "* David Hackett Fischer.", "''Washington's Crossing''.", "New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. .", "* Fletcher, Charles Robert Leslie.", "''An Introductory History of England: The Great European War'', Volume 4.", "E.P.", "Dutton, 1909. .", "* Greene, Jack P. and Pole, J.R., eds.", "''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution''.", "Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1991; reprint 1999. .", "Collection of essays focused on political and social history.", "* Gilbert, Alan.", "''Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence''.", "Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. .", "* Higginbotham, Don.", "''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789''.", "Northeastern University Press, 1983. .", "Overview of military topics; online in ACLS History E-book Project.", "* Morrissey, Brendan.", "''Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The Last Great Battle in the North''.", "Osprey Publishing, 2004. .", "* Jensen, Merrill.", "''The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 1763–1776.''", "(2004)\n* Kaplan, Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan.", "''The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution''.", "Amherst, Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989. .", "* Ketchum, Richard M. ''Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War''.", "Henry Holt, 1997. .", "* Mackesy, Piers.", "''The War for America: 1775–1783''.", "London, 1964.", "Reprinted University of Nebraska Press, 1993. .", "Highly regarded examination of British strategy and leadership.", "* McCullough, David.", "''1776''.", "New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.", "* Middleton, Richard, ''The War of American Independence, 1775–1783''.", "London: Pearson, 2012.", "* \n* Riddick, John F. ''The History of British India: a Chronology''.", "Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. .", "* Savas, Theodore P. and Dameron, J. David.", "''A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution.''", "New York: Savas Beatie LLC, 2006. .", "* Schama, Simon.", "''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution'', New York, NY: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2006\n* O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson.", "''The Men who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire'' (Yale UP, 2014).", "* Shy, John.", "''A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence''.", "New York: Oxford University Press, 1976 (); revised University of Michigan Press, 1990 ().", "Collection of essays.", "* Stephenson, Orlando W. \"The Supply of Gunpowder in 1776\", ''American Historical Review'', Vol.", "30, No.", "2 (Jan. 1925), pp.", "271–281 in JSTOR.", "* Tombs, Robert and Isabelle.", "''That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present'' Random House, 2007. .", "* Trevelyan, George Otto.", "''George the Third and Charles Fox: the concluding part of The American revolution'' Longmans, Green, 1912.", "* Watson, J. Steven.", "''The Reign of George III, 1760–1815''.", "1960.", "Standard history of British politics.", "* Weigley, Russell F. ''The American Way of War''.", "Indiana University Press, 1977. .", "* Weintraub, Stanley.", "''Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775–1783''.", "New York: Free Press, 2005 (a division of Simon & Schuster).", ".", "An account of the British politics on the conduct of the war.", "\n\nThese are some of the standard works about the war in general that are not listed above; books about specific campaigns, battles, units, and individuals can be found in those articles.", "* Billias, George Athan.", "''George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership'' (1994) scholarly studies of key generals on each side.\\\n* Black, Jeremy.", "\"Could the British Have Won the American War of Independence?.\"", "''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research.''", "(Fall 1996), Vol.", "74 Issue 299, pp 145–154.", "online video lecture, uses Real Player\n* Conway, Stephen.", "''The War of American Independence 1775–1783''.", "Publisher: E. Arnold, 1995. .", "280 pages.", "* Lowell, Edward J.", "''The Hessians in the Revolution '' Williamstown, Massachusetts, Corner House Publishers, 1970, Reprint\n* Bancroft, George.", "''History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent.''", "(1854–78), vol.", "7–10.", "* Bobrick, Benson.", "''Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution''.", "Penguin, 1998 (paperback reprint).", "* Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Ryerson, Richard A., eds.", "''The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006) 5 volume paper and online editions; 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all topics\n* Frey, Sylvia R. ''The British Soldier in America: A Social History of Military Life in the Revolutionary Period'' (University of Texas Press, 1981).", "* Hibbert, Christopher.", "''Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution through British Eyes.''", "New York: Norton, 1990. .", "* Kwasny, Mark V. ''Washington's Partisan War, 1775–1783''.", "Kent, Ohio: 1996. .", "Militia warfare.", "* Middlekauff, Robert.", "''The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789''.", "Oxford University Press, 1984; revised 2005. .", "online edition\n* Contains a detailed listing of American, French, British, German, and Loyalist regiments; indicates when they were raised, the main battles, and what happened to them.", "Also includes the main warships on both sides, And all the important battles.", "* Simms, Brendan.", "''Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, 1714–1783'' (2008) 802 pp., detailed coverage of diplomacy from London viewpoint\n* Symonds, Craig L. ''A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1989), newly drawn maps emphasizing the movement of military units\n* Ward, Christopher.", "''The War of the Revolution''.", "(2 volumes.", "New York: Macmillan, 1952.)", "History of land battles in North America.", "* Wood, W. J.", "''Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775–1781''.", "(2003 paperback reprint).", "Analysis of tactics of a dozen battles, with emphasis on American military leadership.", "* Men-at-Arms series: short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions:\n** Zlatich, Marko; Copeland, Peter.", "''General Washington's Army (1): 1775–78'' (1994)\n** Zlatich, Marko.", "''General Washington's Army (2): 1779–83'' (1994)\n** Chartrand, Rene.", "''The French Army in the American War of Independence'' (1994)\n** May, Robin.", "''The British Army in North America 1775–1783'' (1993)\n* ''The Partisan in War'', a treatise on light infantry tactics written by Colonel Andreas Emmerich in 1789.", "\n\n* Liberty – The American Revolution from PBS\n* American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 in the News\n* Important battles of the American Revolutionary War\n\n=== Bibliographies ===\n* Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution\n* Bibliographies of the War of American Independence https://wayback.archive.org/web/20151101171424/http://www.history.army.mil/reference/revbib/revwar.htm compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History\n* Political bibliography from Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture" ]

[ "\nPeas are an annual plant.\nAn '''annual plant''' is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seed, within one year, and then dies. Summer annuals germinate during spring or early summer and mature by autumn of the same year. Winter annuals germinate during the autumn and mature during the spring or summer of the following calendar year.\n\nOne seed-to-seed life cycle for an annual can occur in as little as a month in some species, though most last several months. Oilseed rapa can go from seed-to-seed in about five weeks under a bank of fluorescent lamps. This style of growing is often used in classrooms for education. Many desert annuals are therophytes, because their seed-to-seed life cycle is only weeks and they spend most of the year as seeds to survive dry conditions.\n__TOC__\n", "In cultivation, many food plants are, or are grown as, annuals, including virtually all domesticated grains. Some perennials and biennials are grown in gardens as annuals for convenience, particularly if they are not considered cold hardy for the local climate. Carrot, celery and parsley are true biennials that are usually grown as annual crops for their edible roots, petioles and leaves, respectively. Tomato, sweet potato and bell pepper are tender perennials usually grown as annuals. Ornamental perennials commonly grown as annuals are impatiens, wax begonia, snapdragon, ''Pelargonium'', coleus and petunia. Examples of true annuals include corn, wheat, rice, lettuce, peas, watermelon, beans, zinnia and marigold.\n", "'''Summer annuals''' sprout, flower, produce seed, and die, during the warmer months of the year.\n\nThe lawn weed crabgrass is a summer annual.\n", "'''Winter annuals''' germinate in autumn or winter, live through the winter, then bloom in winter or spring.\n\nThe plants grow and bloom during the cool season when most other plants are dormant or other annuals are in seed form waiting for warmer weather to germinate. Winter annuals die after flowering and setting seed. The seeds germinate in the autumn or winter when the soil temperature is cool.\n\nWinter annuals typically grow low to the ground, where they are usually sheltered from the coldest nights by snow cover, and make use of warm periods in winter for growth when the snow melts. Some common winter annuals include henbit, deadnettle, chickweed, and winter cress.dandelion.\n\nWinter annuals are important ecologically, as they provide vegetative cover that prevents soil erosion during winter and early spring when no other cover exists and they provide fresh vegetation for animals and birds that feed on them. Although they are often considered to be weeds in gardens, this viewpoint is not always necessary, as most of them die when the soil temperature warms up again in early to late spring when other plants are still dormant and have not yet leafed out.\n\nEven though they do not compete directly with cultivated plants, sometimes winter annuals are considered a pest in commercial agriculture, because they can be hosts for insect pests or fungal diseases (ovary smut – Microbotryum sp) which attack crops being cultivated. Ironically, the property that they prevent the soil from drying out can also be problematic for commercial agriculture.\n", "In 2008, it was discovered that the inactivation of only two genes in one species of annual plant leads to the conversion into a perennial plant. Researchers deactivated the SOC1 and FUL genes in ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', which control flowering time. This switch established phenotypes common in perennial plants, such as wood formation.\n", "*Biennial plant\n*Perennial plant\n", "\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "{{anchor|Cultivation}}Cultivation", "{{anchor|Summer annuals}}Summer", "Winter{{anchor|Winter annuals}}", "Molecular genetics", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Oilseed rapa can go from seed-to-seed in about five weeks under a bank of fluorescent lamps." ]

[ "\nPeas are an annual plant.", "An '''annual plant''' is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seed, within one year, and then dies.", "Summer annuals germinate during spring or early summer and mature by autumn of the same year.", "Winter annuals germinate during the autumn and mature during the spring or summer of the following calendar year.", "One seed-to-seed life cycle for an annual can occur in as little as a month in some species, though most last several months.", "This style of growing is often used in classrooms for education.", "Many desert annuals are therophytes, because their seed-to-seed life cycle is only weeks and they spend most of the year as seeds to survive dry conditions.", "__TOC__", "In cultivation, many food plants are, or are grown as, annuals, including virtually all domesticated grains.", "Some perennials and biennials are grown in gardens as annuals for convenience, particularly if they are not considered cold hardy for the local climate.", "Carrot, celery and parsley are true biennials that are usually grown as annual crops for their edible roots, petioles and leaves, respectively.", "Tomato, sweet potato and bell pepper are tender perennials usually grown as annuals.", "Ornamental perennials commonly grown as annuals are impatiens, wax begonia, snapdragon, ''Pelargonium'', coleus and petunia.", "Examples of true annuals include corn, wheat, rice, lettuce, peas, watermelon, beans, zinnia and marigold.", "'''Summer annuals''' sprout, flower, produce seed, and die, during the warmer months of the year.", "The lawn weed crabgrass is a summer annual.", "'''Winter annuals''' germinate in autumn or winter, live through the winter, then bloom in winter or spring.", "The plants grow and bloom during the cool season when most other plants are dormant or other annuals are in seed form waiting for warmer weather to germinate.", "Winter annuals die after flowering and setting seed.", "The seeds germinate in the autumn or winter when the soil temperature is cool.", "Winter annuals typically grow low to the ground, where they are usually sheltered from the coldest nights by snow cover, and make use of warm periods in winter for growth when the snow melts.", "Some common winter annuals include henbit, deadnettle, chickweed, and winter cress.dandelion.", "Winter annuals are important ecologically, as they provide vegetative cover that prevents soil erosion during winter and early spring when no other cover exists and they provide fresh vegetation for animals and birds that feed on them.", "Although they are often considered to be weeds in gardens, this viewpoint is not always necessary, as most of them die when the soil temperature warms up again in early to late spring when other plants are still dormant and have not yet leafed out.", "Even though they do not compete directly with cultivated plants, sometimes winter annuals are considered a pest in commercial agriculture, because they can be hosts for insect pests or fungal diseases (ovary smut – Microbotryum sp) which attack crops being cultivated.", "Ironically, the property that they prevent the soil from drying out can also be problematic for commercial agriculture.", "In 2008, it was discovered that the inactivation of only two genes in one species of annual plant leads to the conversion into a perennial plant.", "Researchers deactivated the SOC1 and FUL genes in ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', which control flowering time.", "This switch established phenotypes common in perennial plants, such as wood formation.", "*Biennial plant\n*Perennial plant" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''''Asteroids''''' is an arcade space shooter released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. and designed by Lyle Rains, Ed Logg, and Dominic Walsh. The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy asteroids and saucers while not colliding with either or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases.\n\n''Asteroids'' was one of the first major hits of the golden age of arcade games. The game sold over 70,000 arcade cabinets and proved both popular with players and influential with developers. It has since been ported to multiple platforms. ''Asteroids'' was widely imitated and directly influenced ''Defender'', ''Gravitar'', and many other video games.\n\n''Asteroids'' was conceived during a meeting between Logg and Rains and used hardware developed by Howard Delman previously used for ''Lunar Lander''. Based on an unfinished game titled ''Cosmos'' and inspired by ''Spacewar!'', ''Computer Space'', and ''Space Invaders'', ''Asteroids'' physics model, control scheme and gameplay theme were derived from these earlier games and refined through trial and error. The game is rendered on a vector display in a two-dimensional view that wraps around in both screen axes.\n", "A ship is surrounded by asteroids and a saucer.\nThe objective of ''Asteroids'' is to destroy asteroids and saucers. The player controls a triangular ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. Once the ship begins moving in a direction, it will continue in that direction for a time without player intervention unless the player applies thrust in a different direction. The ship eventually comes to a stop when not thrusting. The player can also send the ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, at the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid.\n\nEach level starts with a few large asteroids drifting in various directions on the screen. Objects wrap around screen edges – for instance, an asteroid that drifts off the top edge of the screen reappears at the bottom and continues moving in the same direction. As the player shoots asteroids, they break into smaller asteroids that move faster and are more difficult to hit. Smaller asteroids are also worth more points. Two flying saucers appear periodically on the screen; the \"big saucer\" shoots randomly and poorly, while the \"small saucer\" fires frequently at the ship. After reaching a score of 40,000, only the small saucer appears. As the player's score increases, the angle range of the shots from the small saucer diminishes until the saucer fires extremely accurately. Once the screen has been cleared of all asteroids and flying saucers, a new set of large asteroids appears, thus starting the next level. The game gets harder as the number of asteroids increases until after the score reaches a range between 40,000 and 60,000. The player starts with 3 lives after a coin is inserted and gains an extra life per 10,000 points. When the player loses all their lives, the game ends.\n\n''Asteroids'' contains several bugs. The game slows down as the player gains 50-100 lives, due to a programming error in that there is no limit for the permitted number of lives. The player can \"lose\" the game after more than 250 lives are collected.\n\n", "''Asteroids'' was conceived by Lyle Rains and programmed by Ed Logg with collaborations from other Atari staff. Logg was impressed with the Atari 2600 (then known as \"Atari Video Computer System\") and joined Atari's coin-op division and worked on ''Dirt Bike'', which was never released due to an unsuccessful field test. He developed ''Super Breakout'' after hearing that Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, wanted ''Breakout'' updated. Paul Mancuso joined the development team as ''Asteroids'' technician and engineer Howard Delman contributed to the hardware. During a meeting in April 1979, Rains discussed ''Planet Grab'', a multiplayer arcade game later renamed to ''Cosmos''. Logg did not know the name of the game, thinking ''Computer Space'' as \"the inspiration for the two-dimensional approach\". Rains conceived of ''Asteroids'' as a mixture of ''Computer Space'' and ''Space Invaders'', combining the two-dimensional approach of ''Computer Space'' with ''Space Invaders'' addictive gameplay of \"completion\" and \"eliminate all threats\". The unfinished game featured a giant, indestructible asteroid, so Rains asked Logg: \"Well, why don’t we have a game where you shoot the rocks and blow them up?\" In response, Logg described a similar concept where the player selectively shoots at rocks that break into smaller pieces. Both agreed on the concept.\n\n''Asteroids'' was implemented on hardware developed by Delman and is a vector game, in which the graphics are composed of lines drawn on a vector monitor. Rains initially wanted the game done in raster graphics, but Logg, experienced in vector graphics, suggested an XY monitor because the high image quality would permit precise aiming. The hardware is chiefly a MOS 6502 executing the game program, and QuadraScan, a high-resolution vector graphics processor developed by Atari and referred to as an \"XY display system\" and the \"Digital Vector Generator (DVG)\".\n\nThe original design concepts for QuadraScan came out of Cyan Engineering, Atari's off-campus research lab in Grass Valley, California, in 1978. Cyan gave it to Delman, who finished the design and first used it for ''Lunar Lander''. Logg received Delman's modified board with five buttons, 13 sound effects, and additional RAM, and used it to develop ''Asteroids''. The size of the board was 4 by 4 inches, and it was \"linked up\" to a monitor.\n\nLogg modeled the player's ship, the five-button control scheme, and the game physics after ''Spacewar!'', which he had played as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, but made several changes to improve playability. The ship was programmed into the hardware and rendered by the monitor, and was configured to move with thrust and inertia. The hyperspace button was not placed near Logg's right thumb, which he was dissatisfied with, as he had a problem \"taking his hand off the thrust button\". Drawings of asteroids in various shapes were incorporated into the game. Logg copied the idea of a high score table with initials from Exidy's ''Star Fire''.\n\nThe two saucers were formulated to be different from each other. A steadily decreasing timer that shortens intervals between saucer attacks was employed to keep the player from not shooting asteroids and saucers. The minimalist soundtrack features a \"heartbeat\" sound effect, which quickens as the game progresses. The game did not have a sound chip, so Delman created a hardware circuit for 13 sound effects by hand which was wired onto the board.\n\nA prototype of ''Asteroids'' was well received by several Atari staff and engineers, who would \"wander between labs, passing comment and \nstopping to play as they went\". Logg was often asked when he would be leaving by employees eager to play the prototype, so he created a second prototype specifically for staff to play. Atari went to Sacramento, California for testing, setting up prototypes of the game in local arcades to measure its potential success. The company also observed veteran players and younger players during focus group sessions at Atari itself. A group of old players familiar with ''Spacewar!'' struggled to maintain grip on the thrust button and requested a joystick, whereas younger players accustomed to ''Space Invaders'' noted they get no break in the game. Logg and other Atari engineers observed proceedings and documented comments in four pages.\n\n", "''Asteroids'' was immediately successful upon release. It displaced ''Space Invaders'' by popularity in the United States and became Atari's best selling arcade game of all time, with over 70,000 units sold. Atari earned an estimated $150 million in sales from the game, and arcade operators earned a further $500 million from coin drops. Atari had been in the process of manufacturing another vector game, ''Lunar Lander'', but demand for ''Asteroids'' was so high \"that several hundred ''Asteroids'' games were shipped in ''Lunar Lander'' cabinets\". ''Asteroids'' was so popular that some video arcade operators had to install large boxes to hold the number of coins spent by players.\n\nThe saucer in the original game design was supposed to take a shot as soon as it appeared. This action was altered so there would be a delay before the saucer shoots, leading to \"lurking\" from players. Lurking is a strategy in which the player uses thrust to keep the ship in motion, leaves 1 or 2 asteroids undamaged, and hunts for saucers, allowing the player to pick off as many 1,000-point UFOs as possible and play indefinitely on a single credit. Since the saucer could only shoot directly at the player's position on the screen, the player could \"hide\" at the opposite end of the screen and shoot across the screen boundary, while remaining relatively safe. Complaints from operators losing revenue due to lurking led to the creation of an EPROM restricting such chances. Usage of the names of ''Saturday Night Live'' characters \"Mr. Bill\" and \"Sluggo\" to refer to the saucers in an ''Esquire'' article about the game led to Logg receiving a cease and desist letter from a lawyer with the \"Mr. Bill Trademark.\"\n\n''Asteroids'' received positive reviews from video game critics and has been regarded as Logg's magnum opus. Brett Alan Weiss, writing for Allgame, likened the monochrome vector graphics to minimalism and viewed its sound effects as memorable. Weiss found its overall design to be near-perfect and cites the intensity and controls as elements that make the game addicting. He admitted the game is easily understandable and \"holds up extremely well over time\". William Cassidy, writing for GameSpy's \"Classic Gaming\", noticed its innovations, including being one of the first video games to track initials and allow players to enter their initials for appearing in the top 10 high scores, and commented, \"the vector graphics fit the futuristic outer space theme very well.\" In 1996, ''Next Generation'' listed it as number 39 on their \"Top 100 Games of All Time\", particularly lauding the control dynamics which require \"the constant juggling of speed, positioning, and direction.\" ''Asteroids'' was ranked fourth on ''Retro Gamer''s list of \"Top 25 Arcade Games\"; the ''Retro Gamer'' staff cited its simplicity and the lack of a proper ending as allowances of revisiting the game. In 2012, ''Asteroids'' was listed on Time's All-TIME 100 greatest video games list. ''Entertainment Weekly'' named ''Asteroids'' one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013. It was added to the Museum of Modern Art's collection of video games. By contrast, in March 1983 the Atari 8-bit port won sixth place in ''Softline''s Dog of the Year awards \"for badness in computer games\", Atari division, based on reader submissions.\n\nThe gameplay in ''Asteroids'' was imitated by many games that followed, mostly \"''Asteroid'' clones\". By December 1981 ''BYTE'' observed that \"If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Atari's Asteroids has a lot to be proud of ... Its popularity has inspired numerous imitations\", including eight for personal computers. The Mattel Intellivision title ''Astrosmash'' was conceived as ''Avalanche!'' after ''Meteor!'' did not take up the cartridge's entire ROM space. ''Meteor!'', an ''Asteroids'' clone, was cancelled to avoid a lawsuit and ''Avalanche!'' was released as ''Astrosmash''. The resultant game borrows elements from ''Asteroids'' and ''Space Invaders'', both which also influenced ''Defender'' and ''Gravitar'', two popular and often cloned arcade games. Quality Software's ''Asteroids in Space'' (1980), another ''Asteroids'' clone, was one of the best selling games for the Apple II and was voted one of the most popular software titles of 1978-80 by ''Softalk'' magazine. Others include Acornsoft's ''Meteors'', ''Moons of Jupiter'' for the Commodore VIC-20, and ''MineStorm'' for the Vectrex.\n", "Released in 1981, ''Asteroids Deluxe'' is the first sequel to ''Asteroids''. Dave Shepperd edited the code and made enhancements to the game without Logg's involvement. The onscreen objects were tinted blue, and hyperspace was replaced by a shield that depleted if used. The asteroids rotate, and the added ''killer satellite'' enemy breaks apart into three smaller ships when hit that home in on the player's position. The arcade machine's monitor displays vector graphics overlaying a holographic backdrop. The game is much harder than the original and does not allow saucers to be hunted—a common strategy for ''Asteroids'' high scores.\n\nIt was followed by Owen Rubin's ''Space Duel'' in 1982, featuring colorful geometric shapes and co-op multiplayer gameplay.\n\nIn 1987's ''Blasteroids'', Ed Rotberg added \"power-ups, ship morphing, branching levels, bosses, and the ability to dock your ships in multiplayer for added firepower\". ''Blasteroids'' uses raster graphics instead of vectors.\n", "A ship fires at one of the glowing asteroids. The Xbox Live Arcade port of ''Asteroids'' includes revamped HD graphics.\n''Asteroids'' has been ported to multiple platforms, including much of Atari's hardware (Atari 2600 and 8-bit computers in 1981, Atari 7800 in 1987, Atari Lynx in 1994) and many other platforms. Released in 1981, the 2600 port was the first game to use bank switching, a technique developed by Carl Nielsen's group of engineers that increased available ROM space from 4 KB to 8 KB. Brad Stewart, the programmer tasked to work on the port, used bank switching to complete the game. A port for the Atari 5200, identical to the Atari 8-bit computer version, was in development in 1982, but was not published.\n\nThe Atari 7800 version was a launch title and features co-operative play. The asteroids receive colorful textures, and the \"heartbeat\" sound effect remains intact. The game was included as part of the Atari Lynx title ''Super Asteroids & Missile Command'', and featured in the original ''Microsoft Arcade'' compilation in 1993, the latter with four other Atari video games: ''Missile Command'', ''Tempest'', ''Centipede'', and ''Battlezone''.\n\nActivision made an enhanced version of ''Asteroids'' for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, and the Game Boy Color in 1998. Doug Perry, writing for entertainment and video game journalism website IGN, praised the high-end graphics – with realistic space object models, backgrounds, and special effects – for making ''Asteroids'' \"a pleasure to look at\" while being a homage to the original arcade version. The Atari Flashback series of dedicated video game consoles have included both the 2600 the arcade versions of ''Asteroids''.\n\nPublished by Crave Entertainment on December 14, 1999, ''Asteroids Hyper 64'' is the Nintendo 64 port of ''Asteroids''. The game's graphics were upgraded to 3D, with both the ship and asteroids receiving polygon models along static backgrounds, and it was supplemented with weapons and a multiplayer mode. IGN writer Matt Casamassina was pleased that the gameplay was faithful to the original but felt the minor additions and constant \"repetition\" was not enough to make the port \"warrant a $50 purchase\". He was disappointed about the lack of music and found the sound effects to be of poor quality.\n\nIn 2001, Infogrames released ''Atari Anniversary Edition'' for the Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation, and PC compatibles. Developed by Digital Eclipse, it included emulated versions of Asteroids and other old Atari games. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot criticized the Dreamcast version for its limitations, such as the presentation of vector graphics on a low resolution television set, which obscures the copyright text in ''Asteroids''. The arcade and Atari 2600 versions of ''Asteroids'', along with ''Asteroids Deluxe'', were included in ''Atari Anthology'' for both Xbox and PlayStation 2.\n\nReleased on November 28, 2007, the Xbox Live Arcade port of ''Asteroids'' has revamped HD graphics along with an added intense \"throttle monkey\" mode. Both ''Asteroids'' in its arcade and 2600 versions and ''Asteroids Deluxe'' were ported to Microsofts ''Game Room'' download service in 2010. Glu Mobile released a mobile phone port of the game with supplementary features as well as the original arcade version.\n\n''Asteroids'' was included on ''Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1'' for the Nintendo DS. Craig Harris, writing for IGN, noted that the Nintendo DS's small screen can not properly display details of games with vector graphics.\n", "On November 13, 1982, 15-year-old Scott Safran of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, set a world record of 41,336,440 points on the arcade game ''Asteroids'', beating the 40,101,910 point score set by Leo Daniels of Carolina Beach on February 6, 1982. In 1998, to congratulate Safran on his accomplishment, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard searched for him for four years until 2002, when it was discovered that he had died in an accident in 1989. In a ceremony in Philadelphia on April 27, 2002, Walter Day of Twin Galaxies presented an award to the surviving members of Safran's family, commemorating the Asteroid Champion's achievement. On April 6, 2010, John McAllister broke Safran's record with a high score of 41,338,740 in a 58-hour Internet livestream.\n", "\n", "\n\n* \n* \n* Official online version of ''Asteroids'' at Atari\n* All About ''Asteroids'' at Atari Times\n* Article at The Dot Eaters, featuring a history of ''Asteroids''\n* ''Edge Magazine'' The Making Of: ''Asteroids''\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Gameplay", "Development and design", "Reception and legacy", "Arcade sequels", "Ports", "Highest score", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Released in 1981, the 2600 port was the first game to use bank switching, a technique developed by Carl Nielsen's group of engineers that increased available ROM space from 4 KB to 8 KB.", "Brad Stewart, the programmer tasked to work on the port, used bank switching to complete the game." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''''Asteroids''''' is an arcade space shooter released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. and designed by Lyle Rains, Ed Logg, and Dominic Walsh.", "The player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers.", "The object of the game is to shoot and destroy asteroids and saucers while not colliding with either or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire.", "The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases.", "''Asteroids'' was one of the first major hits of the golden age of arcade games.", "The game sold over 70,000 arcade cabinets and proved both popular with players and influential with developers.", "It has since been ported to multiple platforms.", "''Asteroids'' was widely imitated and directly influenced ''Defender'', ''Gravitar'', and many other video games.", "''Asteroids'' was conceived during a meeting between Logg and Rains and used hardware developed by Howard Delman previously used for ''Lunar Lander''.", "Based on an unfinished game titled ''Cosmos'' and inspired by ''Spacewar!", "'', ''Computer Space'', and ''Space Invaders'', ''Asteroids'' physics model, control scheme and gameplay theme were derived from these earlier games and refined through trial and error.", "The game is rendered on a vector display in a two-dimensional view that wraps around in both screen axes.", "A ship is surrounded by asteroids and a saucer.", "The objective of ''Asteroids'' is to destroy asteroids and saucers.", "The player controls a triangular ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward.", "Once the ship begins moving in a direction, it will continue in that direction for a time without player intervention unless the player applies thrust in a different direction.", "The ship eventually comes to a stop when not thrusting.", "The player can also send the ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, at the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid.", "Each level starts with a few large asteroids drifting in various directions on the screen.", "Objects wrap around screen edges – for instance, an asteroid that drifts off the top edge of the screen reappears at the bottom and continues moving in the same direction.", "As the player shoots asteroids, they break into smaller asteroids that move faster and are more difficult to hit.", "Smaller asteroids are also worth more points.", "Two flying saucers appear periodically on the screen; the \"big saucer\" shoots randomly and poorly, while the \"small saucer\" fires frequently at the ship.", "After reaching a score of 40,000, only the small saucer appears.", "As the player's score increases, the angle range of the shots from the small saucer diminishes until the saucer fires extremely accurately.", "Once the screen has been cleared of all asteroids and flying saucers, a new set of large asteroids appears, thus starting the next level.", "The game gets harder as the number of asteroids increases until after the score reaches a range between 40,000 and 60,000.", "The player starts with 3 lives after a coin is inserted and gains an extra life per 10,000 points.", "When the player loses all their lives, the game ends.", "''Asteroids'' contains several bugs.", "The game slows down as the player gains 50-100 lives, due to a programming error in that there is no limit for the permitted number of lives.", "The player can \"lose\" the game after more than 250 lives are collected.", "''Asteroids'' was conceived by Lyle Rains and programmed by Ed Logg with collaborations from other Atari staff.", "Logg was impressed with the Atari 2600 (then known as \"Atari Video Computer System\") and joined Atari's coin-op division and worked on ''Dirt Bike'', which was never released due to an unsuccessful field test.", "He developed ''Super Breakout'' after hearing that Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, wanted ''Breakout'' updated.", "Paul Mancuso joined the development team as ''Asteroids'' technician and engineer Howard Delman contributed to the hardware.", "During a meeting in April 1979, Rains discussed ''Planet Grab'', a multiplayer arcade game later renamed to ''Cosmos''.", "Logg did not know the name of the game, thinking ''Computer Space'' as \"the inspiration for the two-dimensional approach\".", "Rains conceived of ''Asteroids'' as a mixture of ''Computer Space'' and ''Space Invaders'', combining the two-dimensional approach of ''Computer Space'' with ''Space Invaders'' addictive gameplay of \"completion\" and \"eliminate all threats\".", "The unfinished game featured a giant, indestructible asteroid, so Rains asked Logg: \"Well, why don’t we have a game where you shoot the rocks and blow them up?\"", "In response, Logg described a similar concept where the player selectively shoots at rocks that break into smaller pieces.", "Both agreed on the concept.", "''Asteroids'' was implemented on hardware developed by Delman and is a vector game, in which the graphics are composed of lines drawn on a vector monitor.", "Rains initially wanted the game done in raster graphics, but Logg, experienced in vector graphics, suggested an XY monitor because the high image quality would permit precise aiming.", "The hardware is chiefly a MOS 6502 executing the game program, and QuadraScan, a high-resolution vector graphics processor developed by Atari and referred to as an \"XY display system\" and the \"Digital Vector Generator (DVG)\".", "The original design concepts for QuadraScan came out of Cyan Engineering, Atari's off-campus research lab in Grass Valley, California, in 1978.", "Cyan gave it to Delman, who finished the design and first used it for ''Lunar Lander''.", "Logg received Delman's modified board with five buttons, 13 sound effects, and additional RAM, and used it to develop ''Asteroids''.", "The size of the board was 4 by 4 inches, and it was \"linked up\" to a monitor.", "Logg modeled the player's ship, the five-button control scheme, and the game physics after ''Spacewar!", "'', which he had played as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, but made several changes to improve playability.", "The ship was programmed into the hardware and rendered by the monitor, and was configured to move with thrust and inertia.", "The hyperspace button was not placed near Logg's right thumb, which he was dissatisfied with, as he had a problem \"taking his hand off the thrust button\".", "Drawings of asteroids in various shapes were incorporated into the game.", "Logg copied the idea of a high score table with initials from Exidy's ''Star Fire''.", "The two saucers were formulated to be different from each other.", "A steadily decreasing timer that shortens intervals between saucer attacks was employed to keep the player from not shooting asteroids and saucers.", "The minimalist soundtrack features a \"heartbeat\" sound effect, which quickens as the game progresses.", "The game did not have a sound chip, so Delman created a hardware circuit for 13 sound effects by hand which was wired onto the board.", "A prototype of ''Asteroids'' was well received by several Atari staff and engineers, who would \"wander between labs, passing comment and \nstopping to play as they went\".", "Logg was often asked when he would be leaving by employees eager to play the prototype, so he created a second prototype specifically for staff to play.", "Atari went to Sacramento, California for testing, setting up prototypes of the game in local arcades to measure its potential success.", "The company also observed veteran players and younger players during focus group sessions at Atari itself.", "A group of old players familiar with ''Spacewar!''", "struggled to maintain grip on the thrust button and requested a joystick, whereas younger players accustomed to ''Space Invaders'' noted they get no break in the game.", "Logg and other Atari engineers observed proceedings and documented comments in four pages.", "''Asteroids'' was immediately successful upon release.", "It displaced ''Space Invaders'' by popularity in the United States and became Atari's best selling arcade game of all time, with over 70,000 units sold.", "Atari earned an estimated $150 million in sales from the game, and arcade operators earned a further $500 million from coin drops.", "Atari had been in the process of manufacturing another vector game, ''Lunar Lander'', but demand for ''Asteroids'' was so high \"that several hundred ''Asteroids'' games were shipped in ''Lunar Lander'' cabinets\".", "''Asteroids'' was so popular that some video arcade operators had to install large boxes to hold the number of coins spent by players.", "The saucer in the original game design was supposed to take a shot as soon as it appeared.", "This action was altered so there would be a delay before the saucer shoots, leading to \"lurking\" from players.", "Lurking is a strategy in which the player uses thrust to keep the ship in motion, leaves 1 or 2 asteroids undamaged, and hunts for saucers, allowing the player to pick off as many 1,000-point UFOs as possible and play indefinitely on a single credit.", "Since the saucer could only shoot directly at the player's position on the screen, the player could \"hide\" at the opposite end of the screen and shoot across the screen boundary, while remaining relatively safe.", "Complaints from operators losing revenue due to lurking led to the creation of an EPROM restricting such chances.", "Usage of the names of ''Saturday Night Live'' characters \"Mr. Bill\" and \"Sluggo\" to refer to the saucers in an ''Esquire'' article about the game led to Logg receiving a cease and desist letter from a lawyer with the \"Mr. Bill Trademark.\"", "''Asteroids'' received positive reviews from video game critics and has been regarded as Logg's magnum opus.", "Brett Alan Weiss, writing for Allgame, likened the monochrome vector graphics to minimalism and viewed its sound effects as memorable.", "Weiss found its overall design to be near-perfect and cites the intensity and controls as elements that make the game addicting.", "He admitted the game is easily understandable and \"holds up extremely well over time\".", "William Cassidy, writing for GameSpy's \"Classic Gaming\", noticed its innovations, including being one of the first video games to track initials and allow players to enter their initials for appearing in the top 10 high scores, and commented, \"the vector graphics fit the futuristic outer space theme very well.\"", "In 1996, ''Next Generation'' listed it as number 39 on their \"Top 100 Games of All Time\", particularly lauding the control dynamics which require \"the constant juggling of speed, positioning, and direction.\"", "''Asteroids'' was ranked fourth on ''Retro Gamer''s list of \"Top 25 Arcade Games\"; the ''Retro Gamer'' staff cited its simplicity and the lack of a proper ending as allowances of revisiting the game.", "In 2012, ''Asteroids'' was listed on Time's All-TIME 100 greatest video games list.", "''Entertainment Weekly'' named ''Asteroids'' one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013.", "It was added to the Museum of Modern Art's collection of video games.", "By contrast, in March 1983 the Atari 8-bit port won sixth place in ''Softline''s Dog of the Year awards \"for badness in computer games\", Atari division, based on reader submissions.", "The gameplay in ''Asteroids'' was imitated by many games that followed, mostly \"''Asteroid'' clones\".", "By December 1981 ''BYTE'' observed that \"If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Atari's Asteroids has a lot to be proud of ... Its popularity has inspired numerous imitations\", including eight for personal computers.", "The Mattel Intellivision title ''Astrosmash'' was conceived as ''Avalanche!''", "after ''Meteor!''", "did not take up the cartridge's entire ROM space.", "''Meteor!", "'', an ''Asteroids'' clone, was cancelled to avoid a lawsuit and ''Avalanche!''", "was released as ''Astrosmash''.", "The resultant game borrows elements from ''Asteroids'' and ''Space Invaders'', both which also influenced ''Defender'' and ''Gravitar'', two popular and often cloned arcade games.", "Quality Software's ''Asteroids in Space'' (1980), another ''Asteroids'' clone, was one of the best selling games for the Apple II and was voted one of the most popular software titles of 1978-80 by ''Softalk'' magazine.", "Others include Acornsoft's ''Meteors'', ''Moons of Jupiter'' for the Commodore VIC-20, and ''MineStorm'' for the Vectrex.", "Released in 1981, ''Asteroids Deluxe'' is the first sequel to ''Asteroids''.", "Dave Shepperd edited the code and made enhancements to the game without Logg's involvement.", "The onscreen objects were tinted blue, and hyperspace was replaced by a shield that depleted if used.", "The asteroids rotate, and the added ''killer satellite'' enemy breaks apart into three smaller ships when hit that home in on the player's position.", "The arcade machine's monitor displays vector graphics overlaying a holographic backdrop.", "The game is much harder than the original and does not allow saucers to be hunted—a common strategy for ''Asteroids'' high scores.", "It was followed by Owen Rubin's ''Space Duel'' in 1982, featuring colorful geometric shapes and co-op multiplayer gameplay.", "In 1987's ''Blasteroids'', Ed Rotberg added \"power-ups, ship morphing, branching levels, bosses, and the ability to dock your ships in multiplayer for added firepower\".", "''Blasteroids'' uses raster graphics instead of vectors.", "A ship fires at one of the glowing asteroids.", "The Xbox Live Arcade port of ''Asteroids'' includes revamped HD graphics.", "''Asteroids'' has been ported to multiple platforms, including much of Atari's hardware (Atari 2600 and 8-bit computers in 1981, Atari 7800 in 1987, Atari Lynx in 1994) and many other platforms.", "A port for the Atari 5200, identical to the Atari 8-bit computer version, was in development in 1982, but was not published.", "The Atari 7800 version was a launch title and features co-operative play.", "The asteroids receive colorful textures, and the \"heartbeat\" sound effect remains intact.", "The game was included as part of the Atari Lynx title ''Super Asteroids & Missile Command'', and featured in the original ''Microsoft Arcade'' compilation in 1993, the latter with four other Atari video games: ''Missile Command'', ''Tempest'', ''Centipede'', and ''Battlezone''.", "Activision made an enhanced version of ''Asteroids'' for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, and the Game Boy Color in 1998.", "Doug Perry, writing for entertainment and video game journalism website IGN, praised the high-end graphics – with realistic space object models, backgrounds, and special effects – for making ''Asteroids'' \"a pleasure to look at\" while being a homage to the original arcade version.", "The Atari Flashback series of dedicated video game consoles have included both the 2600 the arcade versions of ''Asteroids''.", "Published by Crave Entertainment on December 14, 1999, ''Asteroids Hyper 64'' is the Nintendo 64 port of ''Asteroids''.", "The game's graphics were upgraded to 3D, with both the ship and asteroids receiving polygon models along static backgrounds, and it was supplemented with weapons and a multiplayer mode.", "IGN writer Matt Casamassina was pleased that the gameplay was faithful to the original but felt the minor additions and constant \"repetition\" was not enough to make the port \"warrant a $50 purchase\".", "He was disappointed about the lack of music and found the sound effects to be of poor quality.", "In 2001, Infogrames released ''Atari Anniversary Edition'' for the Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation, and PC compatibles.", "Developed by Digital Eclipse, it included emulated versions of Asteroids and other old Atari games.", "Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot criticized the Dreamcast version for its limitations, such as the presentation of vector graphics on a low resolution television set, which obscures the copyright text in ''Asteroids''.", "The arcade and Atari 2600 versions of ''Asteroids'', along with ''Asteroids Deluxe'', were included in ''Atari Anthology'' for both Xbox and PlayStation 2.", "Released on November 28, 2007, the Xbox Live Arcade port of ''Asteroids'' has revamped HD graphics along with an added intense \"throttle monkey\" mode.", "Both ''Asteroids'' in its arcade and 2600 versions and ''Asteroids Deluxe'' were ported to Microsofts ''Game Room'' download service in 2010.", "Glu Mobile released a mobile phone port of the game with supplementary features as well as the original arcade version.", "''Asteroids'' was included on ''Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1'' for the Nintendo DS.", "Craig Harris, writing for IGN, noted that the Nintendo DS's small screen can not properly display details of games with vector graphics.", "On November 13, 1982, 15-year-old Scott Safran of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, set a world record of 41,336,440 points on the arcade game ''Asteroids'', beating the 40,101,910 point score set by Leo Daniels of Carolina Beach on February 6, 1982.", "In 1998, to congratulate Safran on his accomplishment, the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard searched for him for four years until 2002, when it was discovered that he had died in an accident in 1989.", "In a ceremony in Philadelphia on April 27, 2002, Walter Day of Twin Galaxies presented an award to the surviving members of Safran's family, commemorating the Asteroid Champion's achievement.", "On April 6, 2010, John McAllister broke Safran's record with a high score of 41,338,740 in a 58-hour Internet livestream.", "\n\n* \n* \n* Official online version of ''Asteroids'' at Atari\n* All About ''Asteroids'' at Atari Times\n* Article at The Dot Eaters, featuring a history of ''Asteroids''\n* ''Edge Magazine'' The Making Of: ''Asteroids''" ]

[ "\n\n'''Aries ''' is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is 20px (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere).\n\nAlthough Aries came to represent specifically the ram whose fleece became the Golden Fleece of Ancient Greek mythology, it has represented a ram since late Babylonian times. Before that, the stars of Aries formed a farmhand. Different cultures have incorporated the stars of Aries into different constellations including twin inspectors in China and a porpoise in the Marshall Islands. Aries is a relatively dim constellation, possessing only four bright stars: Hamal (Alpha Arietis, second magnitude), Sheratan (Beta Arietis, third magnitude), Mesarthim (Gamma Arietis, fourth magnitude), and 41 Arietis (also fourth magnitude). The few deep-sky objects within the constellation are quite faint and include several pairs of interacting galaxies. Several meteor showers appear to radiate from Aries, including the Daytime Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids.\n", "\nAries is now recognized as an official constellation, albeit as a specific region of the sky, by the International Astronomical Union. It was originally defined in ancient texts as a specific pattern of stars, and has remained a constellation since ancient times; it now includes the ancient pattern as well as the surrounding stars. In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation now known as Aries was the final station along the ecliptic. The MUL.APIN was a comprehensive table of the risings and settings of stars, which likely served as an agricultural calendar. Modern-day Aries was known as , \"The Agrarian Worker\" or \"The Hired Man\". Although likely compiled in the 12th or 11th century BC, the MUL.APIN reflects a tradition which marks the Pleiades as the vernal equinox, which was the case with some precision at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The earliest identifiable reference to Aries as a distinct constellation comes from the boundary stones that date from 1350 to 1000 BC. On several boundary stones, a zodiacal ram figure is distinct from the other characters present. The shift in identification from the constellation as the Agrarian Worker to the Ram likely occurred in later Babylonian tradition because of its growing association with Dumuzi the Shepherd. By the time the MUL.APIN was created—by 1000 BC—modern Aries was identified with both Dumuzi's ram and a hired laborer. The exact timing of this shift is difficult to determine due to the lack of images of Aries or other ram figures.\n\nIn ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was associated with the god Amon-Ra, who was depicted as a man with a ram's head and represented fertility and creativity. Because it was the location of the vernal equinox, it was called the \"Indicator of the Reborn Sun\". During the times of the year when Aries was prominent, priests would process statues of Amon-Ra to temples, a practice that was modified by Persian astronomers centuries later. Aries acquired the title of \"Lord of the Head\" in Egypt, referring to its symbolic and mythological importance.\n\nAries and Musca Borealis as depicted in ''Urania's Mirror'', a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825\nAries depicted in an early medieval manuscript, c.1000\nAries was not fully accepted as a constellation until classical times. In Hellenistic astrology, the constellation of Aries is associated with the golden ram of Greek mythology that rescued Phrixos and Helle on orders from Hermes, taking Phrixos to the land of Colchis. Phrixos and Helle were the son and daughter of King Athamas and his first wife Nephele. The king's second wife, Ino, was jealous and wished to kill his children. To accomplish this, she induced a famine in Boeotia, then falsified a message from the Oracle of Delphi that said Phrixos must be sacrificed to end the famine. Athamas was about to sacrifice his son atop Mount Laphystium when Aries, sent by Nephele, arrived. Helle fell off of Aries's back in flight and drowned in the Dardanelles, also called the Hellespont in her honor. After arriving, Phrixos sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the Fleece to Aeëtes of Colchis, who rewarded him with an engagement to his daughter Chalciope. Aeëtes hung its skin in a sacred place where it became known as the Golden Fleece and was guarded by a dragon. In a later myth, this Golden Fleece was stolen by Jason and the Argonauts.\n\nHistorically, Aries has been depicted as a crouched, wingless ram with its head turned towards Taurus. Ptolemy asserted in his ''Almagest'' that Hipparchus depicted Alpha Arietis as the ram's muzzle, though Ptolemy did not include it in his constellation figure. Instead, it was listed as an \"unformed star\", and denoted as \"the star over the head\". John Flamsteed, in his ''Atlas Coelestis'', followed Ptolemy's description by mapping it above the figure's head. Flamsteed followed the general convention of maps by depicting Aries lying down. Astrologically, Aries has been associated with the head and its humors. It was strongly associated with Mars, both the planet and the god. It was considered to govern Western Europe and Syria, and to indicate a strong temper in a person.\n\nThe First Point of Aries, the location of the vernal equinox, is named for the constellation. This is because the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north in Aries more than two millennia ago. Hipparchus defined it in 130 BC. as a point south of Gamma Arietis. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries has since moved into Pisces and will move into Aquarius by around 2600 AD. The Sun now appears in Aries from late April through mid May, though the constellation is still associated with the beginning of spring.\n\nMedieval Muslim astronomers depicted Aries in various ways. Astronomers like al-Sufi saw the constellation as a ram, modeled on the precedent of Ptolemy. However, some Islamic celestial globes depicted Aries as a nondescript four-legged animal with what may be antlers instead of horns. Some early Bedouin observers saw a ram elsewhere in the sky; this constellation featured the Pleiades as the ram's tail. The generally accepted Arabic formation of Aries consisted of thirteen stars in a figure along with five \"unformed\" stars, four of which were over the animal's hindquarters and one of which was the disputed star over Aries's head. Al-Sufi's depiction differed from both other Arab astronomers' and Flamsteed's, in that his Aries was running and looking behind itself.\n\nThe obsolete constellations introduced in Aries (Musca Borealis, Lilium, Vespa, and Apes) have all been composed of the northern stars. Musca Borealis was created from the stars 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis. In 1612, Petrus Plancius introduced Apes, a constellation representing a bee. In 1624, the same stars were used by Jakob Bartsch to create a constellation called Vespa, representing a wasp. In 1679 Augustin Royer used these stars for his constellation Lilium, representing the fleur-de-lis. None of these constellation became widely accepted. Johann Hevelius renamed the constellation \"Musca\" in 1690 in his ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum''. To differentiate it from Musca, the southern fly, it was later renamed Musca Borealis but it did not gain acceptance and its stars were ultimately officially reabsorbed into Aries.\n\nIn 1922, the International Astronomical Union defined its recommended three-letter abbreviation, \"Ari\". The official boundaries of Aries were defined in 1930 by Eugène Delporte as a polygon of 12 segments. Its right ascension is between 1h 46.4m and 3h 29.4m and its declination is between 10.36° and 31.22° in the equatorial coordinate system.\n\n=== In non-Western astronomy ===\n\nIn traditional Chinese astronomy, stars from Aries were used in several constellations. The brightest stars—Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis—formed a constellation called ''Lou'', variously translated as \"bond\", \"lasso\", and \"sickle\", which was associated with the ritual sacrifice of cattle. This name was shared by the 16th lunar mansion, the location of the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The lunar mansion represented the area where animals were gathered before sacrifice around that time. This constellation has also been associated with harvest-time as it could represent a woman carrying a basket of food on her head. 35, 39, and 41 Arietis were part of a constellation called ''Wei'', which represented a fat abdomen and was the namesake of the 17th lunar mansion, which represented granaries. Delta and Zeta Arietis were a part of the constellation ''Tianyin'', thought to represent the Emperor's hunting partner. ''Zuogeng'' (''Tso-kang''), a constellation depicting a marsh and pond inspector, was composed of Mu, Nu, Omicron, Pi, and Sigma Arietis. He was accompanied by ''Yeou-kang'', a constellation depicting an official in charge of pasture distribution.\n\nIn a similar system to the Chinese, the first lunar mansion in Hindu astronomy was called \"Aswini\", after the traditional names for Beta and Gamma Arietis, the Aswins. Because the Hindu new year began with the vernal equinox, the Rig Veda contains over 50 new-year's related hymns to the twins, making them some of the most prominent characters in the work. Aries itself was known as \"''Aja''\" and \"''Mesha''\". In Hebrew astronomy Aries was named \"''Teli''\"; it signified either Simeon or Gad, and generally symbolizes the \"Lamb of the World\". The neighboring Syrians named the constellation \"Amru\", and the bordering Turks named it \"Kuzi\". Half a world away, in the Marshall Islands, several stars from Aries were incorporated into a constellation depicting a porpoise, along with stars from Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Triangulum. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis formed the head of the porpoise, while stars from Andromeda formed the body and the bright stars of Cassiopeia formed the tail. Other Polynesian peoples recognized Aries as a constellation. The Marquesas islanders called it ''Na-pai-ka''; the Māori constellation ''Pipiri'' may correspond to modern Aries as well. In indigenous Peruvian astronomy, a constellation with most of the same stars as Aries existed. It was called the \"Market Moon\" and the \"Kneeling Terrace\", as a reminder for when to hold the annual harvest festival, Ayri Huay.\n", "\nThe constellation Aries as it can be seen with the naked eye.\n\n=== Stars ===\n\n\n\nAries has three prominent stars forming an asterism, designated Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis by Johann Bayer. All three are commonly used for navigation. There is also one other star above the fourth magnitude, 41 Arietis. α Arietis, called Hamal, is the brightest star in Aries. Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for \"lamb\" or \"head of the ram\" (''ras al-hamal''), which references Aries's mythological background. With a spectral class of K2 and a luminosity class of III, it is an orange giant with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.00, which lies 66 light-years from Earth. Hamal has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is −0.1.\n\nβ Arietis, also known as Sheratan, is a blue-white star with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.64. Its traditional name is derived from \"''sharatayn''\", the Arabic word for \"the two signs\", referring to both Beta and Gamma Arietis in their position as heralds of the vernal equinox. The two stars were known to the Bedouin as \"''qarna al-hamal''\", \"horns of the ram\". It is 59 light-years from Earth. It has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is 2.1. It is a spectroscopic binary star, one in which the companion star is only known through analysis of the spectra. The spectral class of the primary is A5. Hermann Carl Vogel determined that Sheratan was a spectroscopic binary in 1903; its orbit was determined by Hans Ludendorff in 1907. It has since been studied for its eccentric orbit.\n\nγ Arietis, with a common name of Mesarthim, is a binary star with two white-hued components, located in a rich field of magnitude 8–12 stars. Its traditional name has conflicting derivations. It may be derived from a corruption of \"al-sharatan\", the Arabic word meaning \"pair\" or a word for \"fat ram\". However, it may also come from the Sanskrit for \"first star of Aries\" or the Hebrew for \"ministerial servants\", both of which are unusual languages of origin for star names. Along with Beta Arietis, it was known to the Bedouin as \"''qarna al-hamal''\". The primary is of magnitude 4.59 and the secondary is of magnitude 4.68. The system is 164 light-years from Earth. The two components are separated by 7.8 arcseconds, and the system as a whole has an apparent magnitude of 3.9. The primary has a luminosity of and the secondary has a luminosity of ; the primary is an A-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.2 and the secondary is a B9-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.4. The angle between the two components is 1°. Mesarthim was discovered to be a double star by Robert Hooke in 1664, one of the earliest such telescopic discoveries. The primary, γ1 Arietis, is an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable star that has a range of 0.02 magnitudes and a period of 2.607 days. It is unusual because of its strong silicon emission lines.\n\nThe constellation is home to several double stars, including Epsilon, Lambda, and Pi Arietis. ε Arietis is a binary star with two white components. The primary is of magnitude 5.2 and the secondary is of magnitude 5.5. The system is 290 light-years from Earth. Its overall magnitude is 4.63, and the primary has an absolute magnitude of 1.4. Its spectral class is A2. The two components are separated by 1.5 arcseconds. λ Arietis is a wide double star with a white-hued primary and a yellow-hued secondary. The primary is of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is of magnitude 7.3. The primary is 129 light-years from Earth. It has an absolute magnitude of 1.7 and a spectral class of F0. The two components are separated by 36 arcseconds at an angle of 50°; the two stars are located 0.5° east of 7 Arietis. π Arietis is a close binary star with a blue-white primary and a white secondary. The primary is of magnitude 5.3 and the secondary is of magnitude 8.5. The primary is 776 light-years from Earth. The primary itself is a wide double star with a separation of 25.2 arcseconds; the tertiary has a magnitude of 10.8. The primary and secondary are separated by 3.2 arcseconds.\n\nMost of the other stars in Aries visible to the naked eye have magnitudes between 3 and 5. δ Ari, called Boteïn, is a star of magnitude 4.35, 170 light-years away. It has an absolute magnitude of −0.1 and a spectral class of K2. ζ Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.89, 263 light-years away. Its spectral class is A0 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0. 14 Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.98, 288 light-years away. Its spectral class is F2 and its absolute magnitude is 0.6. 39 Arietis is a similar star of magnitude 4.51, 172 light-years away. Its spectral class is K1 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0. 35 Arietis is a dim star of magnitude 4.55, 343 light-years away. Its spectral class is B3 and its absolute magnitude is −1.7. 41 Arietis, known both as c Arietis and Nair al Butain, is a brighter star of magnitude 3.63, 165 light-years away. Its spectral class is B8 and it has a luminosity of . Its absolute magnitude is −0.2. 53 Arietis is a runaway star of magnitude 6.09, 815 light-years away. Its spectral class is B2. It was likely ejected from the Orion Nebula approximately five million years ago, possibly due to supernovae. Finally, Teegarden's Star is the closest star to Earth in Aries. It is a brown dwarf of magnitude 15.14 and spectral class M6.5V. With a proper motion of 5.1 arcseconds per year, it is the 24th closest star to Earth overall.\n\nAries has its share of variable stars, including R and U Arietis, Mira-type variable stars, and T Arietis, a semi-regular variable star. R Arietis is a Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.7 to a maximum of 7.4 with a period of 186.8 days. It is 4,080 light-years away. U Arietis is another Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 15.2 to a maximum of 7.2 with a period of 371.1 days. T Arietis is a semiregular variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 11.3 to a maximum of 7.5 with a period of 317 days. It is 1,630 light-years away. One particularly interesting variable in Aries is SX Arietis, a rotating variable star considered to be the prototype of its class, helium variable stars. SX Arietis stars have very prominent emission lines of Helium I and Silicon III. They are normally main-sequence B0p—B9p stars, and their variations are not usually visible to the naked eye. Therefore, they are observed photometrically, usually having periods that fit in the course of one night. Similar to Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variables, SX Arietis stars have periodic changes in their light and magnetic field, which correspond to the periodic rotation; they differ from the Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variables in their higher temperature. There are between 39 and 49 SX Arietis variable stars currently known; ten are noted as being \"uncertain\" in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.\n\n=== Deep-sky objects ===\n\nThe few deep-sky objects in Aries are very dim. Nevertheless, several scientifically interesting galaxies lie within its borders; it has spiral, elliptical, and interacting galaxies.\n\nNGC 772, with a notated supernova.\n\nNGC 772 is a spiral galaxy with an integrated magnitude of 10.3, located southeast of β Arietis and 15 arcminutes west of 15 Arietis. It is a relatively bright galaxy and shows obvious nebulosity and ellipticity in an amateur telescope. It is 7.2 by 4.2 arcminutes, meaning that its surface brightness, magnitude 13.6, is significantly lower than its integrated magnitude. NGC 772 is a class SA(s)b galaxy, which means that it is an unbarred spiral galaxy without a ring that possesses a somewhat prominent bulge and spiral arms that are wound somewhat tightly. The main arm, on the northwest side of the galaxy, is home to many star forming regions; this is due to previous gravitational interactions with other galaxies. NGC 772 has a small companion galaxy, NGC 770, that is about 113,000 light-years away from the larger galaxy. The two galaxies together are also classified as Arp 78 in the Arp peculiar galaxy catalog. NGC 772 has a diameter of 240,000 light-years and the system is 114 million light-years from Earth. Another spiral galaxy in Aries is NGC 673, a face-on class SAB(s)c galaxy. It is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms. It has no ring and a faint bulge and is 2.5 by 1.9 arcminutes. It has two primary arms with fragments located farther from the core. 171,000 light-years in diameter, NGC 673 is 235 million light-years from Earth.\n\nNGC 678 and NGC 680 are a pair of galaxies in Aries that are only about 200,000 light-years apart. Part of the NGC 691 group of galaxies, both are at a distance of approximately 130 million light-years. NGC 678 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that is 4.5 by 0.8 arcminutes. NGC 680, an elliptical galaxy with an asymmetrical boundary, is the brighter of the two at magnitude 12.9; NGC 678 has a magnitude of 13.35. Both galaxies have bright cores, but NGC 678 is the larger galaxy at a diameter of 171,000 light-years; NGC 680 has a diameter of 72,000 light-years. NGC 678 is further distinguished by its prominent dust lane. NGC 691 itself is a spiral galaxy slightly inclined to our line of sight. It has multiple spiral arms and a bright core. Because it is so diffuse, it has a low surface brightness. It has a diameter of 126,000 light-years and is 124 million light-years away. NGC 877 is the brightest member of an 8-galaxy group that also includes NGC 870, NGC 871, and NGC 876, with a magnitude of 12.53. It is 2.4 by 1.8 arcminutes and is 178 million light-years away with a diameter of 124,000 light-years. Its companion is NGC 876, which is about 103,000 light-years from the core of NGC 877. They are interacting gravitationally, as they are connected by a faint stream of gas and dust. Arp 276 is a different pair of interacting galaxies in Aries, consisting of NGC 935 and IC 1801.\n\nNGC 821 is an E6 elliptical galaxy. It is unusual because it has hints of an early spiral structure, which is normally only found in lenticular and spiral galaxies. NGC 821 is 2.6 by 2.0 arcminutes and has a visual magnitude of 11.3. Its diameter is 61,000 light-years and it is 80 million light-years away. Another unusual galaxy in Aries is Segue 2. Segue 2 is a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, recently discovered to be a potential relic of the epoch of reionization.\n\n=== Meteor showers ===\n\nAries is home to several meteor showers. The Daytime Arietid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers that occurs during the day, lasting from 22 May to 2 July. It is an annual shower associated with the Marsden group of comets that peaks on 7 June with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of 54 meteors. Its parent body may be the asteroid Icarus. The meteors are sometimes visible before dawn, because the radiant is 32 degrees away from the Sun. They usually appear at a rate of 1–2 per hour as \"earthgrazers\", meteors that last several seconds and often begin at the horizon. Because most of the Daytime Arietids are not visible to the naked eye, they are observed in the radio spectrum. This is possible because of the ionized gas they leave in their wake. Other meteor showers radiate from Aries during the day; these include the Daytime Epsilon Arietids and the Northern and Southern Daytime May Arietids. The Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered the Daytime Arietids in 1947 when James Hey and G. S. Stewart adapted the World War II-era radar systems for meteor observations.\n\nThe Delta Arietids are another meteor shower radiating from Aries. Peaking on 9 December with a low peak rate, the shower lasts from 8 December to 14 January, with the highest rates visible from 8 to 14 December. The average Delta Aquarid meteor is very slow, with an average velocity of per second. However, this shower sometimes produces bright fireballs. This meteor shower has northern and southern components, both of which are likely associated with 1990 HA, a near-Earth asteroid.\n\nThe Autumn Arietids also radiate from Aries. The shower lasts from 7 September to 27 October and peaks on 9 October. Its peak rate is low. The Epsilon Arietids appear from 12 to 23 October. Other meteor showers radiating from Aries include the October Delta Arietids, Daytime Epsilon Arietids, Daytime May Arietids, Sigma Arietids, Nu Arietids, and Beta Arietids. The Sigma Arietids, a class IV meteor shower, are visible from 12 to 19 October, with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of less than two meteors per hour on 19 October.\n\n=== Planetary systems ===\n\nAries contains several stars with extrasolar planets. HIP 14810, a G5 type star, is orbited by three giant planets (those more than ten times the mass of Earth). HD 12661, like HIP 14810, is a G-type main sequence star, slightly larger than the Sun, with two orbiting planets. One planet is 2.3 times the mass of Jupiter, and the other is 1.57 times the mass of Jupiter. HD 20367 is a G0 type star, approximately the size of the Sun, with one orbiting planet. The planet, discovered in 2002, has a mass 1.07 times that of Jupiter and orbits every 500 days.\n", "\n'''Explanatory notes'''\n\n\n\n'''Citations'''\n\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n'''Online sources'''\n\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n''SIMBAD''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aries\n* Star Tales – Aries\n* Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (over 300 medieval and early modern images of Aries)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History and mythology ", " Features ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "The Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered the Daytime Arietids in 1947 when James Hey and G. S. Stewart adapted the World War II-era radar systems for meteor observations." ]

[ "\n\n'''Aries ''' is one of the constellations of the zodiac.", "It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east.", "The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is 20px (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns.", "It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.", "It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere).", "Although Aries came to represent specifically the ram whose fleece became the Golden Fleece of Ancient Greek mythology, it has represented a ram since late Babylonian times.", "Before that, the stars of Aries formed a farmhand.", "Different cultures have incorporated the stars of Aries into different constellations including twin inspectors in China and a porpoise in the Marshall Islands.", "Aries is a relatively dim constellation, possessing only four bright stars: Hamal (Alpha Arietis, second magnitude), Sheratan (Beta Arietis, third magnitude), Mesarthim (Gamma Arietis, fourth magnitude), and 41 Arietis (also fourth magnitude).", "The few deep-sky objects within the constellation are quite faint and include several pairs of interacting galaxies.", "Several meteor showers appear to radiate from Aries, including the Daytime Arietids and the Epsilon Arietids.", "\nAries is now recognized as an official constellation, albeit as a specific region of the sky, by the International Astronomical Union.", "It was originally defined in ancient texts as a specific pattern of stars, and has remained a constellation since ancient times; it now includes the ancient pattern as well as the surrounding stars.", "In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation now known as Aries was the final station along the ecliptic.", "The MUL.APIN was a comprehensive table of the risings and settings of stars, which likely served as an agricultural calendar.", "Modern-day Aries was known as , \"The Agrarian Worker\" or \"The Hired Man\".", "Although likely compiled in the 12th or 11th century BC, the MUL.APIN reflects a tradition which marks the Pleiades as the vernal equinox, which was the case with some precision at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age.", "The earliest identifiable reference to Aries as a distinct constellation comes from the boundary stones that date from 1350 to 1000 BC.", "On several boundary stones, a zodiacal ram figure is distinct from the other characters present.", "The shift in identification from the constellation as the Agrarian Worker to the Ram likely occurred in later Babylonian tradition because of its growing association with Dumuzi the Shepherd.", "By the time the MUL.APIN was created—by 1000 BC—modern Aries was identified with both Dumuzi's ram and a hired laborer.", "The exact timing of this shift is difficult to determine due to the lack of images of Aries or other ram figures.", "In ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was associated with the god Amon-Ra, who was depicted as a man with a ram's head and represented fertility and creativity.", "Because it was the location of the vernal equinox, it was called the \"Indicator of the Reborn Sun\".", "During the times of the year when Aries was prominent, priests would process statues of Amon-Ra to temples, a practice that was modified by Persian astronomers centuries later.", "Aries acquired the title of \"Lord of the Head\" in Egypt, referring to its symbolic and mythological importance.", "Aries and Musca Borealis as depicted in ''Urania's Mirror'', a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825\nAries depicted in an early medieval manuscript, c.1000\nAries was not fully accepted as a constellation until classical times.", "In Hellenistic astrology, the constellation of Aries is associated with the golden ram of Greek mythology that rescued Phrixos and Helle on orders from Hermes, taking Phrixos to the land of Colchis.", "Phrixos and Helle were the son and daughter of King Athamas and his first wife Nephele.", "The king's second wife, Ino, was jealous and wished to kill his children.", "To accomplish this, she induced a famine in Boeotia, then falsified a message from the Oracle of Delphi that said Phrixos must be sacrificed to end the famine.", "Athamas was about to sacrifice his son atop Mount Laphystium when Aries, sent by Nephele, arrived.", "Helle fell off of Aries's back in flight and drowned in the Dardanelles, also called the Hellespont in her honor.", "After arriving, Phrixos sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the Fleece to Aeëtes of Colchis, who rewarded him with an engagement to his daughter Chalciope.", "Aeëtes hung its skin in a sacred place where it became known as the Golden Fleece and was guarded by a dragon.", "In a later myth, this Golden Fleece was stolen by Jason and the Argonauts.", "Historically, Aries has been depicted as a crouched, wingless ram with its head turned towards Taurus.", "Ptolemy asserted in his ''Almagest'' that Hipparchus depicted Alpha Arietis as the ram's muzzle, though Ptolemy did not include it in his constellation figure.", "Instead, it was listed as an \"unformed star\", and denoted as \"the star over the head\".", "John Flamsteed, in his ''Atlas Coelestis'', followed Ptolemy's description by mapping it above the figure's head.", "Flamsteed followed the general convention of maps by depicting Aries lying down.", "Astrologically, Aries has been associated with the head and its humors.", "It was strongly associated with Mars, both the planet and the god.", "It was considered to govern Western Europe and Syria, and to indicate a strong temper in a person.", "The First Point of Aries, the location of the vernal equinox, is named for the constellation.", "This is because the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north in Aries more than two millennia ago.", "Hipparchus defined it in 130 BC.", "as a point south of Gamma Arietis.", "Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries has since moved into Pisces and will move into Aquarius by around 2600 AD.", "The Sun now appears in Aries from late April through mid May, though the constellation is still associated with the beginning of spring.", "Medieval Muslim astronomers depicted Aries in various ways.", "Astronomers like al-Sufi saw the constellation as a ram, modeled on the precedent of Ptolemy.", "However, some Islamic celestial globes depicted Aries as a nondescript four-legged animal with what may be antlers instead of horns.", "Some early Bedouin observers saw a ram elsewhere in the sky; this constellation featured the Pleiades as the ram's tail.", "The generally accepted Arabic formation of Aries consisted of thirteen stars in a figure along with five \"unformed\" stars, four of which were over the animal's hindquarters and one of which was the disputed star over Aries's head.", "Al-Sufi's depiction differed from both other Arab astronomers' and Flamsteed's, in that his Aries was running and looking behind itself.", "The obsolete constellations introduced in Aries (Musca Borealis, Lilium, Vespa, and Apes) have all been composed of the northern stars.", "Musca Borealis was created from the stars 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis.", "In 1612, Petrus Plancius introduced Apes, a constellation representing a bee.", "In 1624, the same stars were used by Jakob Bartsch to create a constellation called Vespa, representing a wasp.", "In 1679 Augustin Royer used these stars for his constellation Lilium, representing the fleur-de-lis.", "None of these constellation became widely accepted.", "Johann Hevelius renamed the constellation \"Musca\" in 1690 in his ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum''.", "To differentiate it from Musca, the southern fly, it was later renamed Musca Borealis but it did not gain acceptance and its stars were ultimately officially reabsorbed into Aries.", "In 1922, the International Astronomical Union defined its recommended three-letter abbreviation, \"Ari\".", "The official boundaries of Aries were defined in 1930 by Eugène Delporte as a polygon of 12 segments.", "Its right ascension is between 1h 46.4m and 3h 29.4m and its declination is between 10.36° and 31.22° in the equatorial coordinate system.", "=== In non-Western astronomy ===\n\nIn traditional Chinese astronomy, stars from Aries were used in several constellations.", "The brightest stars—Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis—formed a constellation called ''Lou'', variously translated as \"bond\", \"lasso\", and \"sickle\", which was associated with the ritual sacrifice of cattle.", "This name was shared by the 16th lunar mansion, the location of the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.", "The lunar mansion represented the area where animals were gathered before sacrifice around that time.", "This constellation has also been associated with harvest-time as it could represent a woman carrying a basket of food on her head.", "35, 39, and 41 Arietis were part of a constellation called ''Wei'', which represented a fat abdomen and was the namesake of the 17th lunar mansion, which represented granaries.", "Delta and Zeta Arietis were a part of the constellation ''Tianyin'', thought to represent the Emperor's hunting partner.", "''Zuogeng'' (''Tso-kang''), a constellation depicting a marsh and pond inspector, was composed of Mu, Nu, Omicron, Pi, and Sigma Arietis.", "He was accompanied by ''Yeou-kang'', a constellation depicting an official in charge of pasture distribution.", "In a similar system to the Chinese, the first lunar mansion in Hindu astronomy was called \"Aswini\", after the traditional names for Beta and Gamma Arietis, the Aswins.", "Because the Hindu new year began with the vernal equinox, the Rig Veda contains over 50 new-year's related hymns to the twins, making them some of the most prominent characters in the work.", "Aries itself was known as \"''Aja''\" and \"''Mesha''\".", "In Hebrew astronomy Aries was named \"''Teli''\"; it signified either Simeon or Gad, and generally symbolizes the \"Lamb of the World\".", "The neighboring Syrians named the constellation \"Amru\", and the bordering Turks named it \"Kuzi\".", "Half a world away, in the Marshall Islands, several stars from Aries were incorporated into a constellation depicting a porpoise, along with stars from Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Triangulum.", "Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis formed the head of the porpoise, while stars from Andromeda formed the body and the bright stars of Cassiopeia formed the tail.", "Other Polynesian peoples recognized Aries as a constellation.", "The Marquesas islanders called it ''Na-pai-ka''; the Māori constellation ''Pipiri'' may correspond to modern Aries as well.", "In indigenous Peruvian astronomy, a constellation with most of the same stars as Aries existed.", "It was called the \"Market Moon\" and the \"Kneeling Terrace\", as a reminder for when to hold the annual harvest festival, Ayri Huay.", "\nThe constellation Aries as it can be seen with the naked eye.", "=== Stars ===\n\n\n\nAries has three prominent stars forming an asterism, designated Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis by Johann Bayer.", "All three are commonly used for navigation.", "There is also one other star above the fourth magnitude, 41 Arietis.", "α Arietis, called Hamal, is the brightest star in Aries.", "Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for \"lamb\" or \"head of the ram\" (''ras al-hamal''), which references Aries's mythological background.", "With a spectral class of K2 and a luminosity class of III, it is an orange giant with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.00, which lies 66 light-years from Earth.", "Hamal has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is −0.1.", "β Arietis, also known as Sheratan, is a blue-white star with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.64.", "Its traditional name is derived from \"''sharatayn''\", the Arabic word for \"the two signs\", referring to both Beta and Gamma Arietis in their position as heralds of the vernal equinox.", "The two stars were known to the Bedouin as \"''qarna al-hamal''\", \"horns of the ram\".", "It is 59 light-years from Earth.", "It has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is 2.1.", "It is a spectroscopic binary star, one in which the companion star is only known through analysis of the spectra.", "The spectral class of the primary is A5.", "Hermann Carl Vogel determined that Sheratan was a spectroscopic binary in 1903; its orbit was determined by Hans Ludendorff in 1907.", "It has since been studied for its eccentric orbit.", "γ Arietis, with a common name of Mesarthim, is a binary star with two white-hued components, located in a rich field of magnitude 8–12 stars.", "Its traditional name has conflicting derivations.", "It may be derived from a corruption of \"al-sharatan\", the Arabic word meaning \"pair\" or a word for \"fat ram\".", "However, it may also come from the Sanskrit for \"first star of Aries\" or the Hebrew for \"ministerial servants\", both of which are unusual languages of origin for star names.", "Along with Beta Arietis, it was known to the Bedouin as \"''qarna al-hamal''\".", "The primary is of magnitude 4.59 and the secondary is of magnitude 4.68.", "The system is 164 light-years from Earth.", "The two components are separated by 7.8 arcseconds, and the system as a whole has an apparent magnitude of 3.9.", "The primary has a luminosity of and the secondary has a luminosity of ; the primary is an A-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.2 and the secondary is a B9-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.4.", "The angle between the two components is 1°.", "Mesarthim was discovered to be a double star by Robert Hooke in 1664, one of the earliest such telescopic discoveries.", "The primary, γ1 Arietis, is an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable star that has a range of 0.02 magnitudes and a period of 2.607 days.", "It is unusual because of its strong silicon emission lines.", "The constellation is home to several double stars, including Epsilon, Lambda, and Pi Arietis.", "ε Arietis is a binary star with two white components.", "The primary is of magnitude 5.2 and the secondary is of magnitude 5.5.", "The system is 290 light-years from Earth.", "Its overall magnitude is 4.63, and the primary has an absolute magnitude of 1.4.", "Its spectral class is A2.", "The two components are separated by 1.5 arcseconds.", "λ Arietis is a wide double star with a white-hued primary and a yellow-hued secondary.", "The primary is of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is of magnitude 7.3.", "The primary is 129 light-years from Earth.", "It has an absolute magnitude of 1.7 and a spectral class of F0.", "The two components are separated by 36 arcseconds at an angle of 50°; the two stars are located 0.5° east of 7 Arietis.", "π Arietis is a close binary star with a blue-white primary and a white secondary.", "The primary is of magnitude 5.3 and the secondary is of magnitude 8.5.", "The primary is 776 light-years from Earth.", "The primary itself is a wide double star with a separation of 25.2 arcseconds; the tertiary has a magnitude of 10.8.", "The primary and secondary are separated by 3.2 arcseconds.", "Most of the other stars in Aries visible to the naked eye have magnitudes between 3 and 5. δ Ari, called Boteïn, is a star of magnitude 4.35, 170 light-years away.", "It has an absolute magnitude of −0.1 and a spectral class of K2.", "ζ Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.89, 263 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is A0 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0.", "14 Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.98, 288 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is F2 and its absolute magnitude is 0.6.", "39 Arietis is a similar star of magnitude 4.51, 172 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is K1 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0.", "35 Arietis is a dim star of magnitude 4.55, 343 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is B3 and its absolute magnitude is −1.7.", "41 Arietis, known both as c Arietis and Nair al Butain, is a brighter star of magnitude 3.63, 165 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is B8 and it has a luminosity of .", "Its absolute magnitude is −0.2.", "53 Arietis is a runaway star of magnitude 6.09, 815 light-years away.", "Its spectral class is B2.", "It was likely ejected from the Orion Nebula approximately five million years ago, possibly due to supernovae.", "Finally, Teegarden's Star is the closest star to Earth in Aries.", "It is a brown dwarf of magnitude 15.14 and spectral class M6.5V.", "With a proper motion of 5.1 arcseconds per year, it is the 24th closest star to Earth overall.", "Aries has its share of variable stars, including R and U Arietis, Mira-type variable stars, and T Arietis, a semi-regular variable star.", "R Arietis is a Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.7 to a maximum of 7.4 with a period of 186.8 days.", "It is 4,080 light-years away.", "U Arietis is another Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 15.2 to a maximum of 7.2 with a period of 371.1 days.", "T Arietis is a semiregular variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 11.3 to a maximum of 7.5 with a period of 317 days.", "It is 1,630 light-years away.", "One particularly interesting variable in Aries is SX Arietis, a rotating variable star considered to be the prototype of its class, helium variable stars.", "SX Arietis stars have very prominent emission lines of Helium I and Silicon III.", "They are normally main-sequence B0p—B9p stars, and their variations are not usually visible to the naked eye.", "Therefore, they are observed photometrically, usually having periods that fit in the course of one night.", "Similar to Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variables, SX Arietis stars have periodic changes in their light and magnetic field, which correspond to the periodic rotation; they differ from the Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variables in their higher temperature.", "There are between 39 and 49 SX Arietis variable stars currently known; ten are noted as being \"uncertain\" in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.", "=== Deep-sky objects ===\n\nThe few deep-sky objects in Aries are very dim.", "Nevertheless, several scientifically interesting galaxies lie within its borders; it has spiral, elliptical, and interacting galaxies.", "NGC 772, with a notated supernova.", "NGC 772 is a spiral galaxy with an integrated magnitude of 10.3, located southeast of β Arietis and 15 arcminutes west of 15 Arietis.", "It is a relatively bright galaxy and shows obvious nebulosity and ellipticity in an amateur telescope.", "It is 7.2 by 4.2 arcminutes, meaning that its surface brightness, magnitude 13.6, is significantly lower than its integrated magnitude.", "NGC 772 is a class SA(s)b galaxy, which means that it is an unbarred spiral galaxy without a ring that possesses a somewhat prominent bulge and spiral arms that are wound somewhat tightly.", "The main arm, on the northwest side of the galaxy, is home to many star forming regions; this is due to previous gravitational interactions with other galaxies.", "NGC 772 has a small companion galaxy, NGC 770, that is about 113,000 light-years away from the larger galaxy.", "The two galaxies together are also classified as Arp 78 in the Arp peculiar galaxy catalog.", "NGC 772 has a diameter of 240,000 light-years and the system is 114 million light-years from Earth.", "Another spiral galaxy in Aries is NGC 673, a face-on class SAB(s)c galaxy.", "It is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms.", "It has no ring and a faint bulge and is 2.5 by 1.9 arcminutes.", "It has two primary arms with fragments located farther from the core.", "171,000 light-years in diameter, NGC 673 is 235 million light-years from Earth.", "NGC 678 and NGC 680 are a pair of galaxies in Aries that are only about 200,000 light-years apart.", "Part of the NGC 691 group of galaxies, both are at a distance of approximately 130 million light-years.", "NGC 678 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that is 4.5 by 0.8 arcminutes.", "NGC 680, an elliptical galaxy with an asymmetrical boundary, is the brighter of the two at magnitude 12.9; NGC 678 has a magnitude of 13.35.", "Both galaxies have bright cores, but NGC 678 is the larger galaxy at a diameter of 171,000 light-years; NGC 680 has a diameter of 72,000 light-years.", "NGC 678 is further distinguished by its prominent dust lane.", "NGC 691 itself is a spiral galaxy slightly inclined to our line of sight.", "It has multiple spiral arms and a bright core.", "Because it is so diffuse, it has a low surface brightness.", "It has a diameter of 126,000 light-years and is 124 million light-years away.", "NGC 877 is the brightest member of an 8-galaxy group that also includes NGC 870, NGC 871, and NGC 876, with a magnitude of 12.53.", "It is 2.4 by 1.8 arcminutes and is 178 million light-years away with a diameter of 124,000 light-years.", "Its companion is NGC 876, which is about 103,000 light-years from the core of NGC 877.", "They are interacting gravitationally, as they are connected by a faint stream of gas and dust.", "Arp 276 is a different pair of interacting galaxies in Aries, consisting of NGC 935 and IC 1801.", "NGC 821 is an E6 elliptical galaxy.", "It is unusual because it has hints of an early spiral structure, which is normally only found in lenticular and spiral galaxies.", "NGC 821 is 2.6 by 2.0 arcminutes and has a visual magnitude of 11.3.", "Its diameter is 61,000 light-years and it is 80 million light-years away.", "Another unusual galaxy in Aries is Segue 2.", "Segue 2 is a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, recently discovered to be a potential relic of the epoch of reionization.", "=== Meteor showers ===\n\nAries is home to several meteor showers.", "The Daytime Arietid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers that occurs during the day, lasting from 22 May to 2 July.", "It is an annual shower associated with the Marsden group of comets that peaks on 7 June with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of 54 meteors.", "Its parent body may be the asteroid Icarus.", "The meteors are sometimes visible before dawn, because the radiant is 32 degrees away from the Sun.", "They usually appear at a rate of 1–2 per hour as \"earthgrazers\", meteors that last several seconds and often begin at the horizon.", "Because most of the Daytime Arietids are not visible to the naked eye, they are observed in the radio spectrum.", "This is possible because of the ionized gas they leave in their wake.", "Other meteor showers radiate from Aries during the day; these include the Daytime Epsilon Arietids and the Northern and Southern Daytime May Arietids.", "The Delta Arietids are another meteor shower radiating from Aries.", "Peaking on 9 December with a low peak rate, the shower lasts from 8 December to 14 January, with the highest rates visible from 8 to 14 December.", "The average Delta Aquarid meteor is very slow, with an average velocity of per second.", "However, this shower sometimes produces bright fireballs.", "This meteor shower has northern and southern components, both of which are likely associated with 1990 HA, a near-Earth asteroid.", "The Autumn Arietids also radiate from Aries.", "The shower lasts from 7 September to 27 October and peaks on 9 October.", "Its peak rate is low.", "The Epsilon Arietids appear from 12 to 23 October.", "Other meteor showers radiating from Aries include the October Delta Arietids, Daytime Epsilon Arietids, Daytime May Arietids, Sigma Arietids, Nu Arietids, and Beta Arietids.", "The Sigma Arietids, a class IV meteor shower, are visible from 12 to 19 October, with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of less than two meteors per hour on 19 October.", "=== Planetary systems ===\n\nAries contains several stars with extrasolar planets.", "HIP 14810, a G5 type star, is orbited by three giant planets (those more than ten times the mass of Earth).", "HD 12661, like HIP 14810, is a G-type main sequence star, slightly larger than the Sun, with two orbiting planets.", "One planet is 2.3 times the mass of Jupiter, and the other is 1.57 times the mass of Jupiter.", "HD 20367 is a G0 type star, approximately the size of the Sun, with one orbiting planet.", "The planet, discovered in 2002, has a mass 1.07 times that of Jupiter and orbits every 500 days.", "\n'''Explanatory notes'''\n\n\n\n'''Citations'''\n\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n'''Online sources'''\n\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n''SIMBAD''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Aries\n* Star Tales – Aries\n* Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (over 300 medieval and early modern images of Aries)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Ankara''' (English ; Turkish ), formerly known as '''Ancyra''' () and '''Angora''', is the capital of the Republic of Turkey. With a population of 4,587,558 in the urban center (2014) and 5,150,072 in its province (2015), it is Turkey's second largest city after former imperial capital Istanbul, having overtaken İzmir. The former Metropolitan archbishopric remains a triple titular see (Latin, Armenian Catholic and Orthodox).\n\nAnkara was Atatürk's headquarters from 1920 and has been the capital of the Republic since the latter's founding in 1923, replacing Istanbul (once the Byzantine capital Constantinople) following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The government is a prominent employer, but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city, located at the center of Turkey's road and railway networks. The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits, the long-haired Angora goat (the source of mohair), and the Angora cat. The area is also known for its pears, honey and muscat grapes. Although situated in one of the driest places of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation except for the forested areas on the southern periphery, Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, at per head.\n\nAnkara is a very old city with various Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites. The historical center of town is a rocky hill rising over the left bank of the Ankara Çayı, a tributary of the Sakarya River, the classical Sangarius. The hill remains crowned by the ruins of the old citadel. Although few of its outworks have survived, there are well-preserved examples of Roman and Ottoman architecture throughout the city, the most remarkable being the 20  Temple of Augustus and Rome that boasts the Monumentum Ancyranum, the inscription recording the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti''.\n\n\n", "As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages. It has been identified with the Hittite cult center ''Ankuwaš'', although this remains a matter of debate. In classical antiquity and during the medieval period, the city was known as ''Ánkyra'' (,  \"anchor\") in Greek and ''Ancyra'' in Latin; the Galatian Celtic name was probably a similar variant. Following its annexation by the Seljuk Turks in 1073, the city became known in many European languages as ''Angora''; it was also known in Ottoman Turkish as ''Engürü''. The form \"Angora\" is preserved in the names of breeds of many different kinds of animals, and in the names of several locations in the US (see Angora).\n", "\nAlaca Höyük bronze standard on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara.\n\nThe region's history can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hattic civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later by the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, and Turks (the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, the Ottoman Empire and finally republican Turkey).\n\n===Ancient history===\nThe oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age and was gradually absorbed c. 2000–1700 BC by the Indo-European Hittites. The city grew significantly in size and importance under the Phrygians starting around 1000 BC, and experienced a large expansion following the mass migration from Gordion, (the capital of Phrygia), after an earthquake which severely damaged that city around that time. In Phrygian tradition, King Midas was venerated as the founder of Ancyra, but Pausanias mentions that the city was actually far older, which accords with present archaeological knowledge.\n\nPhrygian rule was succeeded first by Lydian and later by Persian rule, though the strongly Phrygian character of the peasantry remained, as evidenced by the gravestones of the much later Roman period. Persian sovereignty lasted until the Persians' defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC. Alexander came from Gordion to Ankara and stayed in the city for a short period. After his death at Babylon in 323 BC and the subsequent division of his empire among his generals, Ankara and its environs fell into the share of Antigonus.\n\nAnother important expansion took place under the Greeks of Pontos who came there around 300 BC and developed the city as a trading center for the commerce of goods between the Black Sea ports and Crimea to the north; Assyria, Cyprus, and Lebanon to the south; and Georgia, Armenia and Persia to the east. By that time the city also took its name (''Ánkyra'', meaning ''anchor'' in Ancient Greek) which, in slightly modified form, provides the modern name of ''Ankara''.\n\n===Celtic history===\nThe ''Dying Galatian'' was a famous statue commissioned some time between 230–220 BC by King Attalos I of Pergamon to honor his victory over the Celtic Galatians in Anatolia. Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BC, at the Capitoline Museums, Rome.\n\nIn 278 BC, the city, along with the rest of central Anatolia, was occupied by a Celtic group, the Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara one of their main tribal centers, the headquarters of the Tectosages tribe. Other centers were Pessinos, today's ''Balhisar'', for the Trocmi tribe, and Tavium, to the east of Ankara, for the ''Tolstibogii'' tribe. The city was then known as ''Ancyra''. The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers; a warrior aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants. However, the Celtic language continued to be spoken in Galatia for many centuries. At the end of the 4th century, St. Jerome, a native of Dalmatia, observed that the language spoken around Ankara was very similar to that being spoken in the northwest of the Roman world near Trier.\n\n===Roman history===\nCeltic kingdom of Galatia, and later of the Roman province with the same name, after its conquest by Augustus in 25 BC.\n\nThe city was subsequently passed under the control of the Roman Empire. In 25 BC, Emperor Augustus raised it to the status of a ''polis'' and made it the capital city of the Roman province of Galatia. Ankara is famous for the ''Monumentum Ancyranum'' (''Temple of Augustus and Rome'') which contains the official record of the ''Acts of Augustus'', known as the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'', an inscription cut in marble on the walls of this temple. The ruins of Ancyra still furnish today valuable bas-reliefs, inscriptions and other architectural fragments. Two other Galatian tribal centers, Tavium near Yozgat, and Pessinus (Balhisar) to the west, near Sivrihisar, continued to be reasonably important settlements in the Roman period, but it was Ancyra that grew into a grand metropolis.\n\nRes Gestae is the self-laudatory autobiography completed in 13 AD, just before his death, by the first Roman emperor Augustus. Most of the text is preserved in the Monumentum Ancyranum.\nThe Roman Baths of Ankara were constructed by the Roman emperor Caracalla (212–217) in honor of Asclepios, the God of Medicine, and built around three principal rooms: the ''caldarium'' (hot bath), the ''tepidarium'' (warm bath) and the ''frigidarium'' (cold bath) in a typically laid-out classical complex.\n\nAn estimated 200,000 people lived in Ancyra in good times during the Roman Empire, a far greater number than was to be the case from after the fall of the Roman Empire until the early 20th century. A small river, the Ankara Çayı, ran through the center of the Roman town. It has now been covered and diverted, but it formed the northern boundary of the old town during the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Çankaya, the rim of the majestic hill to the south of the present city center, stood well outside the Roman city, but may have been a summer resort. In the 19th century, the remains of at least one Roman villa or large house were still standing not far from where the Çankaya Presidential Residence stands today. To the west, the Roman city extended until the area of the Gençlik Park and Railway Station, while on the southern side of the hill, it may have extended downwards as far as the site presently occupied by Hacettepe University. It was thus a sizeable city by any standards and much larger than the Roman towns of Gaul or Britannia.\n\nAncyra's importance rested on the fact that it was the junction point where the roads in northern Anatolia running north-south and east-west intersected, giving it major strategic importance for Rome's eastern frontier. The great imperial road running east passed through Ankara and a succession of emperors and their armies came this way. They were not the only ones to use the Roman highway network, which was equally convenient for invaders. In the second half of the 3rd century, Ancyra was invaded in rapid succession by the Goths coming from the west (who rode far into the heart of Cappadocia, taking slaves and pillaging) and later by the Arabs. For about a decade, the town was one of the western outposts of one of Palmyrean empress Zenobia in the Syrian Desert, who took advantage of a period of weakness and disorder in the Roman Empire to set up a short-lived state of her own.\n\nThe town was reincorporated into the Roman Empire under Emperor Aurelian in 272. The tetrarchy, a system of multiple (up to four) emperors introduced by Diocletian (284–305), seems to have engaged in a substantial programme of rebuilding and of road construction from Ankara westwards to Germe and Dorylaeum (now Eskişehir).\n\nIn its heyday, Roman Ankara was a large market and trading center but it also functioned as a major administrative capital, where a high official ruled from the city's Praetorium, a large administrative palace or office. During the 3rd century, life in Ancyra, as in other Anatolian towns, seems to have become somewhat militarized in response to the invasions and instability of the town.\n\n===Byzantine history===\nThe city is well known during the 4th century as a centre of Christian activity (see also below), due to frequent imperial visits, and through the letters of the pagan scholar Libanius. Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra and Basil of Ancyra were active in the theological controversies of their day, and the city was the site of no less than three church synods in 314, in 358, and in 375, the latter two in favour of Arianism. The city was visited by Emperor Constans I () in 347 and 350, Julian () during his Persian campaign in 362, and Julian's successor Jovian () in winter 363/364 (he entered his consulship while in the city). After Jovian's death soon after, Valentinian I() was acclaimed emperor at Ancyra, and in the next year his brother Valens() used Ancyra as his base against the usurper Procopius. When the province of Galatia was divided sometime in 396/99, Ancyra remained the civil capital of Galatia I, as well as its ecclesiastical centre (metropolitan see). Emperor Arcadius () frequently used the city as his summer residence, and some information about the ecclesiastical affairs of the city during the early 5th century is found in the works of Palladius of Galatia and Nilus of Galatia.\n\nIn 479, the rebel Marcian attacked the city, without being able to capture it. In 610/11, Comentiolus, brother of Emperor Phocas (), launched his own unsuccessful rebellion in the city against Heraclius (). Ten years later, in 620 or more likely 622, it was captured by the Sassanid Persians during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628. Although the city returned to Byzantine hands after the end of the war, the Persian presence left traces in the city's archaeology, and likely began the process of its transformation from a late antique city to a medieval fortified settlement.\n\nIn 654, the city was captured for the first time by the Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate, under Muawiyah, the future founder of the Umayyad Caliphate. At about the same time, the themes were established in Anatolia, and Ancyra became capital of the Opsician Theme, which was the largest and most important theme until it was split up under Emperor Constantine V (); Ancyra then became the capital of the new Bucellarian Theme. The city was attacked without success by Abbasid forces in 776 and in 798/99. In 805, Emperor Nikephoros I () strengthened its fortifications, a fact which probably saved it from sack during the large-scale invasion of Anatolia by Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the next year. Arab sources report that Harun and his successor al-Ma'mun () took the city, but this information is later invention. In 838, however, during the Amorium campaign, the armies of Caliph al-Mu'tasim () converged and met at the city; abandoned by its inhabitants, Ancara was razed to the ground, before the Arab armies went on to besiege and destroy Amorium. In 859, Emperor Michael III () came to the city during a campaign against the Arabs, and ordered its fortifications restored. In 872, the city was menaced, but not taken, by the Paulicians under Chrysocheir. The last Arab raid to reach the city was undertaken in 931, by the Abbasid governor of Tarsus, Thamal al-Dulafi, but the city again was not captured.\n\n=== Turkic rulers ===\nPresident Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (center) and Prime Minister İsmet İnönü (left) leaving the Grand National Assembly of Turkey during the 7th anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Republic in 1930.\nZiraat Bank. It was designed by Istanbul-born Italian Levantine architect Giulio Mongeri and built between 1926 and 1929.\n\nAfter the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks overran much of Anatolia. By 1073, the Turkish settlers had reached the vicinity of Ancyra, and the city was captured shortly after, at the latest by the time of the rebellion of Nikephoros Melissenos in 1081. In 1101, when the Crusade under Raymond IV of Toulouse arrived, the city had been under Danishmend control for some time. The Crusaders captured the city, and handed it over to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (). Byzantine rule did not last long, and the city was captured by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum at some unknown point; in 1127, it returned to Danishmend control until 1143, when the Seljuks of Rum retook it.\n\nAfter the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, in which the Mongols defeated the Seljuks, most of Anatolia became part of the dominion of the Mongols. Taking advantage of Seljuk decline, a semi-religious cast of craftsmen and trade people named ''Ahiler'' chose Ankara as their independent city-state in 1290. Orhan I, the second Bey of the Ottoman Empire, captured the city in 1356. Timur defeated Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and took the city, but in 1403 Ankara was again under Ottoman control.\n\nThe Levant Company maintained a factory in the town from 1639 to 1768. In the 19th century, its population was estimated at 20,000 to 60,000. It was sacked by Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in 1832. Prior to World War I, the town had a British consulate and a population of around 28,000, roughly ⅓ of whom were Christian.\n\n=== Turkish republican capital ===\nAnıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, is visited by large crowds every year during national holidays such as Republic Day on October 29.\nKızılay Square during the early years of the Turkish Republic, with the later relocated ''Su Perileri'' (Water Fairies) fountain, c. 1930.\n\nFollowing the Ottoman defeat at World War I, the Ottoman capital Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and much of Anatolia were occupied by the Allies, who planned to share these lands between Armenia, France, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, leaving for the Turks the core piece of land in central Anatolia. In response, the leader of the Turkish nationalist movement, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, established the headquarters of his resistance movement in Ankara in 1920. After the Turkish War of Independence was won and the Treaty of Sèvres was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne, the Turkish nationalists replaced the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. A few days earlier, Ankara had officially replaced Constantinople as the new Turkish capital city, on 13 October 1923.\n\nAfter Ankara became the capital of the newly founded Republic of Turkey, new development divided the city into an old section, called ''Ulus'', and a new section, called ''Yenişehir''. Ancient buildings reflecting Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman history and narrow winding streets mark the old section. The new section, now centered on Kızılay Square, has the trappings of a more modern city: wide streets, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, and high-rises. Government offices and foreign embassies are also located in the new section. Ankara has experienced a phenomenal growth since it was made Turkey's capital in 1923, when it was \"a small town of no importance\". In 1924, the year after the government had moved there, Ankara had about 35,000 residents. By 1927 there were 44,553 residents and by 1950 the population had grown to 286,781. Ankara continued to grow rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century and eventually outranked Izmir as Turkey's second largest city, after Istanbul. Ankara's urban population reached 4,587,558 in 2014, while the population of Ankara Province reached 5,150,072 in 2015.\n\n\n", "Early Christian martyrs of Ancyra, about whom little is known, included Proklos and Hilarios who were natives of the otherwise unknown nearby village of Kallippi, and suffered repression under the emperor Trajan (98–117). In the 280s we hear of Philumenos, a Christian corn merchant from southern Anatolia, being captured and martyred in Ankara, and Eustathius.\n\nSt. Theodotus of Ancyra\nAs in other Roman towns, the reign of Diocletian marked the culmination of the persecution of the Christians. In 303, Ancyra was one of the towns where the co-Emperors Diocletian and his deputy Galerius launched their anti-Christian persecution. In Ancyra, their first target was the 38-year-old Bishop of the town, whose name was Clement. Clement's life describes how he was taken to Rome, then sent back, and forced to undergo many interrogations and hardship before he, and his brother, and various companions were put to death. The remains of the church of St. Clement can be found today in a building just off Işıklar Caddesi in the Ulus district. Quite possibly this marks the site where Clement was originally buried. Four years later, a doctor of the town named Plato and his brother Antiochus also became celebrated martyrs under Galerius. Theodotus of Ancyra is also venerated as a saint.\n\nHowever, the persecution proved unsuccessful and in 314 Ancyra was the center of an important council of the early church; its 25 disciplinary canons constitute one of the most important documents in the early history of the administration of the Sacrament of Penance. The synod also considered ecclesiastical policy for the reconstruction of the Christian Church after the persecutions, and in particular the treatment of ''lapsi''—Christians who had given in to forced paganism (sacrifices) to avoid martyrdom during these persecutions.\nThe ''Column of Julian'' (362) was erected in honor of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra.\n\nThough paganism was probably tottering in Ancyra in Clement's day, it may still have been the majority religion. Twenty years later, Christianity and monotheism had taken its place. Ancyra quickly turned into a Christian city, with a life dominated by monks and priests and theological disputes. The town council or senate gave way to the bishop as the main local figurehead. During the middle of the 4th century, Ancyra was involved in the complex theological disputes over the nature of Christ, and a form of Arianism seems to have originated there.\n\nIn 362–363, the Emperor Julian passed through Ancyra on his way to an ill-fated campaign against the Persians, and according to Christian sources, engaged in a persecution of various holy men. The stone base for a statue, with an inscription describing Julian as \"Lord of the whole world from the British Ocean to the barbarian nations\", can still be seen, built into the eastern side of the inner circuit of the walls of Ankara Castle. The Column of Julian which was erected in honor of the emperor's visit to the city in 362 still stands today. In 375, Arian bishops met at Ancyra and deposed several bishops, among them St. Gregory of Nyssa.\n\nIn the late 4th century, Ancyra became something of an imperial holiday resort. After Constantinople became the East Roman capital, emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries would retire from the humid summer weather on the Bosporus to the drier mountain atmosphere of Ancyra. Theodosius II (408–450) kept his court in Ancyra in the summers. Laws issued in Ancyra testify to the time they spent there. \n\nThe Metropolis of Ancyra continued to be a residential see of the Eastern Orthodox Church until the 20th century, with about 40,000 faithful, mostly Turkish-speaking, but that situation ended as a result of the 1923 Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations. The earlier Armenian Genocide put an end to the residential eparchy of Ancyra of the Armenian Catholic Church, which had been established in 1850. It is also a titular metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.\n \nBoth the Ancient Byzantine Metropolitan archbishopric and the 'modern' Armenian eparchy are now listed by the Catholic Church as titular sees, with separate apostolic successions.\n\n=== Armenian Catholic (titular) see ===\nIn 1735 an Armenian Catholic diocese was established (Curiate Italian: ''Ancira degli Ameni''). Having fallen into disuse, on 1850.04.30 it was restored.\n\nThe 1915–1918 Armenian Genocide put an effective end to the residential diocese, which was only formally suppressed in 1972 and instantly transformed into an Armenian Catholic titular bishopric. The titular see has had a single occupant:\n* Mikail Nersès Sétian (1981.07.03 – death 2002.09.09), as Apostolic Exarch of United States of America and Canada of the Armenians (USA) (1981.07.03 – retired 1993.09.18) and as emeritate.\n\n=== Latin titular archbishopric ===\nNo later than 1696, the Catholic Church also established a Latin Rite titular archbishopric of Ancyra. The last incumbent died in 1976.\n", "Ankara metropolitan area\n\nAnkara had a population of 75,000 in 1927. In 2013, Ankara Province had a population of 5,045,083.\n\nWhen Ankara became the capital of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, it was designated as a planned city for 500,000 future inhabitants. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the city grew in a planned and orderly pace. However, from the 1950s onward, the city grew much faster than envisioned, because unemployment and poverty forced people to migrate from the countryside into the city in order to seek a better standard of living. As a result, many illegal houses called gecekondu were built around the city, causing the unplanned and uncontrolled urban landscape of Ankara, as not enough planned housing could be built fast enough. Although precariously built, the vast majority of them have electricity, running water and modern household amenities.\n\nNevertheless, many of these gecekondus have been replaced by huge public housing projects in the form of tower blocks such as Elvankent, Eryaman and Güzelkent; and also as mass housing compounds for military and civil service accommodation. Although many gecekondus still remain, they too are gradually being replaced by mass housing compounds, as empty land plots in the city of Ankara for new construction projects are becoming impossible to find.\n", "BDDK Building (1975)\nA view of Kızılay Square from the northwest, with the Kahramanlar Business Center (1959–1965).\nSöğütözü business district in Ankara, as seen from the Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo, with the Armada Tower & Mall (2002) rising behind the Turkish flag.\n\nThe city has exported mohair (from the Angora goat) and Angora wool (from the Angora rabbit) internationally for centuries. In the 19th century, the city also exported substantial amounts of goat and cat skins, gum, wax, honey, berries, and madder root. It was connected to Istanbul by railway before the First World War, continuing to export mohair, wool, berries, and grain.\n\nThe Central Anatolia Region is one of the primary locations of grape and wine production in Turkey, and Ankara is particularly famous for its Kalecik Karası and Muscat grapes; and its Kavaklıdere wine, which is produced in the Kavaklıdere neighbourhood within the Çankaya district of the city. Ankara is also famous for its pears. Another renowned natural product of Ankara is its indigenous type of honey (''Ankara Balı'') which is known for its light color and is mostly produced by the Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo in the Gazi district, and by other facilities in the Elmadağ, Çubuk and Beypazarı districts.\n\nAnkara is the center of the state-owned and private Turkish defence and aerospace companies, where the industrial plants and headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industries, MKE, ASELSAN, Havelsan, Roketsan, FNSS, Nurol Makina, and numerous other firms are located. Exports to foreign countries from these defence and aerospace firms have steadily increased in the past decades. The IDEF in Ankara is one of the largest international expositions of the global arms industry. A number of the global automotive companies also have production facilities in Ankara, such as the German bus and truck manufacturer MAN SE. Ankara hosts the OSTIM Industrial Zone, Turkey's largest industrial park.\n\nA large percentage of the complicated employment in Ankara is provided by the state institutions; such as the ministries, undersecretariats, and other administrative bodies of the Turkish government. There are also many foreign citizens working as diplomats or clerks in the embassies of their respective countries.\n", "\nAnkara is politically a triple battleground between the ruling conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), the opposition Kemalist centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and the nationalist far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The province of Ankara is divided into 25 districts. The CHP's key and almost only political stronghold in Ankara lies within the central area of Çankaya, which is the city's most populous district. While the CHP has always gained between 60 and 70% of the vote in Çankaya since 2002, political support elsewhere throughout Ankara is minimal. The high population within Çankaya, as well as Yenimahalle to an extent, has allowed the CHP to take overall second place behind the AKP in both local and general elections, with the MHP a close third, despite the fact that the MHP is politically stronger than the CHP in almost every other district. Overall, the AKP enjoys the most support throughout the city. The electorate of Ankara thus tend to vote in favour of the political right, far more so than the other main cities of Istanbul and İzmir. In retrospect, the 2013–14 protests against the AKP government were particularly strong in Ankara, proving to be fatal on multiple occasions.\nMelih Gökçek has been the Metropolitan Mayor of Ankara since 1994 as a politician from the Welfare Party. He later joined the Virtue Party and then the AKP. Initially elected in the 1994 local elections, he was re-elected in 1999, 2004 and 2009. In the 2014 local election, Gökçek stood for a fifth term. The MHP metropolitan mayoral candidate for the 2009 local elections, conservative politician Mansur Yavaş, stood as the CHP candidate against Gökçek. In a heavily controversial election, Gökçek was declared the winner by just 1% ahead of Yavaş amid allegations of systematic electoral fraud. With the Supreme Electoral Council and courts rejecting Yavaş's appeals, he has declared intention to take the irregularities to the European Court of Human Rights. Although Gökçek was inaugurated for a fifth term, most election observers believe that Yavaş was the winner of the election.\n\nThe city suffered from a series of terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016, most notably on 10 October 2015; 17 February 2016; 13 March 2016; and 15 July 2016.\n", "\n===Ancient/archeological sites===\nAnkara castle and citadel\nAt the Monumentum Ancyranum (''Temple of Augustus and Rome'') in Ulus, the primary intact copy of Res Gestae written by the first Roman emperor Augustus survives.\nRoman Baths of Ankara\n\n====Ankara Citadel====\nThe foundations of the Ankara castle and citadel were laid by the Galatians on a prominent lava outcrop (), and the rest was completed by the Romans. The Byzantines and Seljuks further made restorations and additions. The area around and inside the citadel, being the oldest part of Ankara, contains many fine examples of traditional architecture. There are also recreational areas to relax. Many restored traditional Turkish houses inside the citadel area have found new life as restaurants, serving local cuisine.\n\nThe citadel was depicted in various Turkish banknotes during 1927–1952 and 1983–1989.\n\n====Roman Theatre====\nThe remains, the stage, and the backstage of the Roman theatre can be seen outside the castle. Roman statues that were found here are exhibited in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The seating area is still under excavation.\n\n====Temple of Augustus and Rome==== \n\nThe Augusteum, now known as the Temple of Augustus and Rome, was built 25  20  following the conquest of Central Anatolia by the Roman Empire. Ancyra then formed the capital of the new province of Galatia. After the death of Augustus in  14, a copy of the text of the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (the ''Monumentum Ancyranum'') was inscribed on the interior of the temple's '''' in Latin and a Greek translation on an exterior wall of the ''''. The temple on the ancient acropolis of Ancyra was enlarged in the 2nd century and converted into a church in the 5th century. It is located in the Ulus quarter of the city. It was subsequently publicized by the Austrian ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq in the 16th century.\n\n====Roman Baths====\nThe Roman Baths of Ankara have all the typical features of a classical Roman bath complex: a ''frigidarium'' (cold room), a ''tepidarium'' (warm room) and a ''caldarium'' (hot room). The baths were built during the reign of the Roman emperor Caracalla in the early 3rd century to honor Asclepios, the God of Medicine. Today, only the basement and first floors remain. It is situated in the Ulus quarter.\n\n====Roman Road====\nThe Roman Road of Ankara or ''Cardo Maximus'' was found in 1995 by Turkish archaeologist Cevdet Bayburtluoğlu. It is long and wide. Many ancient artifacts were discovered during the excavations along the road and most of them are currently displayed at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.\n\n====Column of Julian====\nThe Column of Julian or Julianus, now in the Ulus district, was erected in honor of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra in 362.\n\n=== Mosques ===\n\n====Kocatepe Mosque====\nKocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in Ankara\nKocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in the city. Located in the Kocatepe quarter, it was constructed between 1967 and 1987 in classical Ottoman style with four minarets. Its size and prominent location have made it a landmark for the city.\n\n====Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque====\nAhmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque is located near the Presidency of Religious Affairs on the Eskişehir Road. Built in the Turkish neoclassical style, it is one of the largest new mosques in the city, completed and opened in 2013. It can accommodate 6 thousand people during general prayers, and up to 30 thousand people during funeral prayers. The mosque was decorated with Anatolian Seljuk style patterns.\n\n====Yeni (Cenab Ahmet) Mosque====\nIt is the largest Ottoman mosque in Ankara and was built by the famous architect Sinan in the 16th century. The mimber (pulpit) and mihrap (prayer niche) are of white marble, and the mosque itself is of Ankara stone, an example of very fine workmanship.\n\n====Hacı Bayram Mosque====\nHacı Bayram Mosque (1428)\nThis mosque, in the Ulus quarter next to the Temple of Augustus, was built in the early 15th century in Seljuk style by an unknown architect. It was subsequently restored by architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th century, with Kütahya tiles being added in the 18th century. The mosque was built in honor of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, whose tomb is next to the mosque, two years before his death (1427–28). The usable space inside this mosque is on the first floor and on the second floor.\n\n====Ahi Elvan Mosque====\nIt was founded in the Ulus quarter near the Ankara Citadel and was constructed by the Ahi fraternity during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. The finely carved walnut mimber (pulpit) is of particular interest.\n\n====Alâeddin Mosque====\nThe Alâeddin Mosque is the oldest mosque in Ankara. It has a carved walnut mimber, the inscription on which records that the mosque was completed in early AH 574 (which corresponds to the summer of 1178 AD) and was built by the Seljuk prince Muhiddin Mesud Şah (d. 1204), the Bey of Ankara, who was the son of the Anatolian Seljuk sultan Kılıç Arslan II (reigned 1156–1192.)\n\n===Modern monuments===\n\n====Victory Monument====\n\n\nThe '' Victory Monument'' (Turkish: ''Zafer Anıtı'') was crafted by Austrian sculptor Heinrich Krippel in 1925 and was erected in 1927 at Ulus Square. The monument is made of marble and bronze and features an equestrian statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal.\n\n====Statue of Atatürk====\nLocated at Zafer Square (Turkish: ''Zafer Meydanı''), the marble and bronze statue was crafted by the renowned Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica in 1927 and depicts a standing Atatürk who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal.\n\n====Monument to a Secure, Confident Future====\nThis monument, located in Güven Park near Kızılay Square, was erected in 1935 and bears Atatürk's advice to his people: \"Turk! Be proud, work hard, and believe in yourself.\"\n\nThe monument was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 5 lira banknote of 1937–1952 and of the 1000 lira banknotes of 1939–1946.\n\n====Hatti Monument====\nErected in 1978 at Sıhhiye Square, this impressive monument symbolizes the Hatti Sun Disc (which was later adopted by the Hittites) and commemorates Anatolia's earliest known civilization. The Hatti Sun Disc has been used in the previous logo of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. It was also used in the previous logo of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism.\n\n===Inns===\n\n====Suluhan====\nSuluhan Inn (1511)\nSuluhan is a historical Inn in Ankara. It is also called the ''Hasanpaşa Han''. It is about southeast of Ulus Square and situated in the Hacıdoğan neighbourhood. According to the ''vakfiye'' (inscription) of the building, the Ottoman era ''han'' was commissioned by Hasan Pasha, a regional beylerbey, and was constructed between 1508 and 1511, during the final years of the reign of Sultan Bayezid II.\nThere are 102 rooms (now shops) which face the two yards. In each room there is a window, a niche and a chimney.\n\n====Çengelhan Rahmi Koç Museum====\nÇengelhan Rahmi Koç Museum is a museum of industrial technology situated in Çengel Han, an Ottoman era Inn which was completed in 1523, during the early years of the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The exhibits include industrial/technological artifacts from the 1850s onwards. There are also sections about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey; Vehbi Koç, Rahmi Koç's father and one of the first industrialists of Turkey, and Ankara city.\n", "There are about 50 museums in the city.\n\n===Museum of Anatolian Civilizations===\nA statue at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations\nThe Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (''Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi'') is situated at the entrance of the Ankara Castle. It is an old 15th century bedesten (covered bazaar) that has been beautifully restored and now houses a unique collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Roman works as well as a major section dedicated to Lydian treasures.\n\n=== Anıtkabir ===\nAnıtkabir is located on an imposing hill, which forms the ''Anıttepe'' quarter of the city, where the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, stands. Completed in 1953, it is an impressive fusion of ancient and modern architectural styles. An adjacent museum houses a wax statue of Atatürk, his writings, letters and personal items, as well as an exhibition of photographs recording important moments in his life and during the establishment of the Republic. Anıtkabir is open every day, while the adjacent museum is open every day except Mondays.\n\n\n\n\n\n===Ankara Ethnography Museum===\nAnkara Ethnography Museum (''Etnoğrafya Müzesi'') is located opposite to the Ankara Opera House on Talat Paşa Boulevard, in the Ulus district. There is a fine collection of folkloric items, as well as artifacts from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. In front of the museum building, there is a marble and bronze equestrian statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal) which was crafted in 1927 by the renowned Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica.\n\nKavaklıdere were crafted by sculptor Metin Yurdanur\n\n===State Art and Sculpture Museum===\nThe State Art and Sculpture Museum (''Resim-Heykel Müzesi'') which opened to the public in 1980 is close to the Ethnography Museum and houses a rich collection of Turkish art from the late 19th century to the present day. There are also galleries which host guest exhibitions.\n\n===Cer Modern===\n Cer Modern is the modern-arts museum of Ankara, inaugurated on 1 April 2010. It is situated in the renovated building of the historic TCDD Cer Atölyeleri, formerly a workshop of the Turkish State Railways. The museum incorporates the largest exhibition hall in Turkey. The museum holds periodic exhibitions of modern and contemporary art as well as hosting other contemporary arts events.\n\n===War of Independence Museum===\nThe War of Independence Museum (''Kurtuluş Savaşı Müzesi'') is located on Ulus Square. It was originally the first Parliament building (TBMM) of the Republic of Turkey. The War of Independence was planned and directed here as recorded in various photographs and items presently on exhibition. In another display, wax figures of former presidents of the Republic of Turkey are on exhibit.\n\n===Mehmet Akif Literature Museum Library===\nThe Mehmet Akif Literature Museum Library is a literary museum and archive opened in 2011 and dedicated to Mehmet Akif Ersoy (1873–1936), the poet of the Turkish National Anthem.\n\n===TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum===\nThe TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum is an open-air museum which traces the history of steam locomotives.\n\n===Ankara Aviation Museum===\nAnkara Aviation Museum (''Hava Kuvvetleri Müzesi Komutanlığı'') is located near the Istanbul Road in Etimesgut. The museum opened to the public in September 1998. It is home to various missiles, avionics, aviation materials and aircraft that have served in the Turkish Air Force (e.g. combat aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-5 Freedom Fighter, F-4 Phantom; and cargo planes such as the Transall C-160.) Also a Hungarian MiG-21, a Pakistani MiG-19, and a Bulgarian MiG-17 are on display at the museum.\n\n===METU Science and Technology Museum===\nThe METU Science and Technology Museum (''ODTÜ Bilim ve Teknoloji Müzesi'') is located inside the Middle East Technical University campus.\n", "Göksu Park \nGençlik Parkı (The Youth Park) \n\nAnkara has many parks and open spaces mainly established in the early years of the Republic and well maintained and expanded thereafter. The most important of these parks are: Gençlik Parkı (houses an amusement park with a large pond for rowing), the Botanical garden, Seğmenler Park, Anayasa Park, Kuğulu Park (famous for the swans received as a gift from the Chinese government), Abdi İpekçi Park, Esertepe Parkı, Güven Park (see above for the monument), Kurtuluş Park (has an ice-skating rink), Altınpark (also a prominent exposition/fair area), Harikalar Diyarı (claimed to be Biggest Park of Europe inside city borders) and Göksu Park.\n\nGençlik Park was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1952–1976.\n\nAtatürk Forest Farm and Zoo (''Atatürk Orman Çiftliği'') is an expansive recreational farming area which houses a zoo, several small agricultural farms, greenhouses, restaurants, a dairy farm and a brewery. It is a pleasant place to spend a day with family, be it for having picnics, hiking, biking or simply enjoying good food and nature. There is also an exact replica of the house where Atatürk was born in 1881, in Thessaloniki, Greece. Visitors to the \"Çiftlik\" (farm) as it is affectionately called by Ankarans, can sample such famous products of the farm such as old-fashioned beer and ice cream, fresh dairy products and meat rolls/kebaps made on charcoal, at a traditional restaurant (''Merkez Lokantası'', Central Restaurant), cafés and other establishments scattered around the farm.\n", "Atakule Tower (1989)\n\n\nForeign visitors to Ankara usually like to visit the old shops in ''Çıkrıkçılar Yokuşu'' (Weavers' Road) near Ulus, where myriad things ranging from traditional fabrics, hand-woven carpets and leather products can be found at bargain prices. ''Bakırcılar Çarşısı'' (Bazaar of Coppersmiths) is particularly popular, and many interesting items, not just of copper, can be found here like jewelry, carpets, costumes, antiques and embroidery. Up the hill to the castle gate, there are many shops selling a huge and fresh collection of spices, dried fruits, nuts, and other produce.\n\nModern shopping areas are mostly found in Kızılay, or on Tunalı Hilmi Avenue, including the modern mall of Karum (named after the ancient Assyrian merchant colonies called ''Kârum'' that were established in central Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) which is located towards the end of the Avenue; and in Çankaya, the quarter with the highest elevation in the city. Atakule Tower next to Atrium Mall in Çankaya commands a magnificent view over Ankara and also has a revolving restaurant at the top, where the city's panorama can be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion. The symbol of the Armada Shopping Mall is an anchor, and there's a large anchor monument at its entrance, as a reference to the ancient Greek name of the city, Ἄγκυρα (Ánkyra), which means anchor. Likewise, the anchor monument is also related with the Spanish name of the mall, Armada, which means naval fleet.\n\nAs Ankara started expanding westward in the 1970s, several modern, suburbia-style developments and mini-cities began to rise along the western highway, also known as the Eskişehir Road. The ''Armada'',''CEPA'' and ''Kentpark'' malls on the highway, the ''Galleria'', ''Arcadium'' and ''Gordion'' in Ümitköy, and a huge mall, ''Real'' in Bilkent Center, offer North American and European style shopping opportunities (these places can be reached through the Eskişehir Highway.) There is also the newly expanded ''ANKAmall'' at the outskirts, on the Istanbul Highway, which houses most of the well-known international brands. This mall is the largest throughout the Ankara region. In 2014 a few more shopping malls were open in Ankara. They are ''Next Level'' and ''Taurus'' on the Boulevard of Mevlana (also known as Konya Road).\n", "Ankara has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa'') under the Köppen climate classification. Under the Trewartha climate classification, Ankara has a middle latitude steppe climate (''BSks''). Due to its elevation and inland location, Ankara has cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers, with cool nightly temperatures. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. Ankara lies in USDA Hardiness zone 7b, and its annual average precipitation is fairly low at , nevertheless precipitation can be observed throughout the year. Monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July, with an annual mean of .\n\n\n", "\nKızılay station of the Ankara Metro\nA TCDD HT65000 high-speed train at the Ankara Central Station (1937)\n\nThe ''Electricity, Gas, Bus General Directorate'' (EGO) operates the Ankara Metro and other forms of public transportation. Ankara is currently served by a suburban rail named Ankaray (A1) and three subway lines (M1, M2, M3) of the Ankara Metro with about 300,000 total daily commuters, while an additional subway line (M4) is currently under construction. A long gondola lift with four stations connects the district of Şentepe to the Yenimahalle metro station.\n\nThe Ankara Central Station is a major rail hub in Turkey. The Turkish State Railways operates passenger train service from Ankara to other major cities, such as: Istanbul, Eskişehir, Balıkesir, Kütahya, İzmir, Kayseri, Adana, Kars, Elâzığ, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Karabük, Zonguldak and Sivas. Commuter rail also runs between the stations of Sincan and Kayaş. On 13 March 2009, the new Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) high-speed rail service began operation between Ankara and Eskişehir. On 23 August 2011, another YHT high-speed line commercially started its service between Ankara and Konya. On 25 July 2014, the Ankara–Istanbul high-speed line of YHT entered service.\n\nEsenboğa International Airport, located in the north-east of the city, is Ankara's main airport.\n\n===Ankara Public Transportation Statistics===\nThe average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Ankara, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 71 min. 17% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 16 min, while 28.% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 9.9 km, while 27% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.\n\n\n\n", "Ankara Arena (2010)\nAs with all other cities of Turkey, football is the most popular sport in Ankara. The city has one football club currently competing in the Turkish Super League: Gençlerbirliği, founded in 1923, is known as the ''Ankara Gale'' or the ''Poppies'' because of their colors: red and black. They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1987 and 2001. Ankaragücü, founded in 1910, is the oldest club in Ankara and is associated with Ankara's military arsenal manufacturing company MKE. Ankaragücü used to play in the Turkish Super League until being relegated to the TFF First League at the end of the 2011–2012 season. They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1972 and 1981. Gençlerbirliği's B team, Hacettepe SK (formerly known as Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ) played in the Turkish Super League for a while until being relegated. All of the aforementioned teams have their home at the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium in Ulus, which has a capacity of 21,250 (all-seater). A fourth team, Büyükşehir Belediye Ankaraspor, played in the Turkish Super League until 2010, when they were expelled, and currently are not a member of the Turkish league system. Their home was the Yenikent Asaş Stadium in the Sincan district of Yenikent, outside the city center.\n\nAnkara has a large number of minor teams, playing at regional levels: Bugsaşspor in Sincan; Etimesgut Şekerspor in Etimesgut; Türk Telekomspor owned by the phone company in Yenimahalle; Ankara Demirspor in Çankaya; Keçiörengücü, Keçiörenspor, Pursaklarspor, Bağlumspor in Keçiören; and Petrol Ofisi Spor owned by the oil company in Altındağ. Most of them, including Hacettepespor, play their matches at Cebeci İnönü Stadium in the Cebeci district.\n\nIn the Turkish Basketball League, Ankara is represented by Türk Telekom, whose home is the Ankara Arena, and CASA TED Kolejliler, whose home is the TOBB Sports Hall.\n\nHalkbank Ankara is currently the leading domestic powerhouse in Men's Volleyball, having won many championships and cups in the Turkish Men's Volleyball League and even the CEV Cup in 2013.\n\nAnkara Buz Pateni Sarayı is where the ice skating and ice hockey competitions take place in the city.\n\nThere are many popular spots for skateboarding which is active in the city since the 1980s. Skaters in Ankara usually meet in the park near the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.\n\nThe 2012-built THF Sport Hall hosts the Handball Super League and Women's Handball Super League matches scheduled in Ankara.\n", "The historic Evkaf Apartment (1929) is the headquarters of the Turkish State Theatres. The building also houses the Küçük Tiyatro and Oda Tiyatrosu.\nAnkara Opera House of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet (1933)\nBilkent Concert Hall\n\nTurkish State Opera and Ballet, the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, has its headquarters in Ankara, and serves the city with three venues:\n\n*Ankara Opera House (''Opera Sahnesi'', also known as ''Büyük Tiyatro'') is the largest of the three venues for opera and ballet in Ankara.\n\nThe Turkish State Theatres also has its head office in Ankara and runs the following stages in the city:\n\n*125. Yıl Çayyolu Sahnesi\n*Büyük Tiyatro, \n*Küçük Tiyatro,\n*Şinasi Sahnesi,\n*Akün Sahnesi,\n*Altındağ Tiyatrosu,\n*İrfan Şahinbaş Atölye Sahnesi,\n*Oda Tiyatrosu,\n*Mahir Canova Sahnesi,\n*Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi.\n\n\nIn addition, the city is served by several private theatre companies, among which Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu, who have their own stage in the city center, is a notable example.\n\nAnkara is host to five classical music orchestras:\n*Presidential Symphony Orchestra (Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra)\n*Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is a major symphony orchestra of Turkey.\n*Hacettepe Symphony Orchestra was founded in 2003 and is currently conducted by Erol Erdinç.\n*'''Başkent Oda Orkestrası''' (Chamber Orchestra of the Capital)\n\nThere are four concert halls in the city:\n*CSO Concert Hall\n*Bilkent Concert Hall is a performing arts center in Ankara. It is located in the Bilkent University campus.\n*MEB Şura Salonu (also known as the Festival Hall), It is noted for its tango performances.\n*Çankaya Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi Concert Hall was founded in 1994.\n\nThe city has been host to several well-established, annual theatre, music, film festivals:\n\n*Ankara International Music Festival, a music festival organized in the Turkish capital presenting classical music and ballet programmes.\n\nAnkara also has a number of concert venues such as ''Eskiyeni'', ''IF Performance Hall'', ''Jolly Joker'', ''Kite'', ''Nefes Bar'', ''Noxus Pub'', ''Passage Pub'' and ''Route'', which host the live performances and events of popular musicians.\n\n===Universities===\nAnkara is noted, within Turkey, for the multitude of universities it is home to. These include the following, several of them being among the most reputable in the country:\n\n\n*Ankara University\n*Başkent University\n*TED University\n*Altın Koza University\n*Atılım University\n*Turkish Aeronautical Association University\n*Bilkent University\n*Çankaya University\n*Gazi University\n*Hacettepe University\n*Middle East Technical University\n*TOBB University of Economics and Technology\n*Ufuk University\n*Yıldırım Beyazıt University\n*Gülhane Military Medical Academy\n*Turkish Military Academy\n*Turkish National Police Academy\n\n\n\nFile:TOBB University of Economics & Technology.jpg|TOBB University of Economics and Technology\nFile:Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakültesi Binası, Ankara.jpg|Ankara University Faculty of History and Geography (1940)\nFile:MiddleEastTechnicalUniversityCampus800x470.jpg|Part of the METU campus, as seen from its MM Building\nFile:Metuba1 big.jpg|An auditorium in METU\nFile:Merkez1.jpg|The Medical School on the main campus of Hacettepe University (1967)\nFile:Çankaya University Turquoise campus.JPG|Çankaya University (1997)\n\n", "\n===Angora cat===\n\nAngora cat\n\nAnkara is home to a world-famous domestic cat breed – the Turkish Angora, called ''Ankara kedisi'' (Ankara cat) in Turkish. Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, naturally occurring cat breeds, having originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia.\n\nThey mostly have a white, silky, medium to long length coat, no undercoat and a fine bone structure. There seems to be a connection between the Angora Cats and Persians, and the Turkish Angora is also a distant cousin of the Turkish Van. Although they are known for their shimmery white coat, currently there are more than twenty varieties including black, blue and reddish fur. They come in tabby and tabby-white, along with smoke varieties, and are in every color other than pointed, lavender, and cinnamon (all of which would indicate breeding to an outcross.)\n\nEyes may be blue, green, or amber, or even one blue and one amber or green. The W gene which is responsible for the white coat and blue eye is closely related to the hearing ability, and the presence of a blue eye can indicate that the cat is deaf to the side the blue eye is located. However, a great many blue and odd-eyed white cats have normal hearing, and even deaf cats lead a very normal life if kept indoors.\n\nEars are pointed and large, eyes are almond shaped and the head is massive with a two plane profile. Another characteristic is the tail, which is often kept parallel to the back.\n\n===Angora rabbit===\n\nAngora rabbit\n\nThe Angora rabbit () is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid-18th century, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 20th century. They are bred largely for their long Angora wool, which may be removed by shearing, combing, or plucking (gently pulling loose wool.)\n\nAngoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft. They have a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball. Most are calm and docile but should be handled carefully. Grooming is necessary to prevent the fiber from matting and felting on the rabbit. A condition called \"wool block\" is common in Angora rabbits and should be treated quickly. Sometimes they are shorn in the summer as the long fur can cause the rabbits to overheat.\n\n===Angora goat===\n\nAngora goat\n\nThe Angora goat () is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia.\n\nThis breed was first mentioned in the time of Moses, roughly in 1500 BC. The first Angora goats were brought to Europe by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, about 1554, but, like later imports, were not very successful. Angora goats were first introduced in the United States in 1849 by Dr. James P. Davis. Seven adult goats were a gift from Sultan Abdülmecid I in appreciation for his services and advice on the raising of cotton.\n\nThe fleece taken from an Angora goat is called mohair. A single goat produces between of hair per year. Angoras are shorn twice a year, unlike sheep, which are shorn only once. Angoras have high nutritional requirements due to their rapid hair growth. A poor quality diet will curtail mohair development. The United States, Turkey, and South Africa are the top producers of mohair.\n\nFor a long period of time, Angora goats were bred for their white coat. In 1998, the Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association was set up to promote breeding of colored Angoras. Today, Angora goats produce white, black (deep black to greys and silver), red (the color fades significantly as the goat gets older), and brownish fiber.\n\nAngora goats were depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 lira banknotes of 1938–1952.2. Emission Group – Fifty Turkish Lira – I. Series ;3. Emission Group – Fifty Turkish Lira – I. Series & II. Series. – Retrieved on 20 April 2009. \n", "\n\nFile:Atakule.JPG|Atakule Tower (1989)\nFile:A view of Sheraton Ankara from Karum Shopping Mall.JPG|Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center (1991)\nFile:A view of the BDDK building, Atatürk Avenue in Ankara.jpg|BDDK Building (1975), formerly Türkiye İş Bankası headquarters, on Atatürk Boulevard\nFile:Kızılay Square in Ankara, Turkey.JPG|Kahramanlar Business Center (1965) at Kızılay Square\nFile:Airport lake style.JPG|Esenboğa International Airport (2006)\nFile:Ankara Airport departures dougbelshaw 1.jpg|Esenboğa International Airport (2006)\nFile:145 Ulus.05.2006 resize.JPG|The historic Ankara Palas Hotel (1927)\nFile:Ankara Palas 1.JPG|The historic Ankara Palas Hotel (1927)\nFile:Resim ve Heykel Müzesi Ankara.jpg|Entrance of the State Art and Sculpture Museum (1927)\nFile:Yunus Emre Institut Ulus Ankara.JPG|Yunus Emre Institute, originally the Tekel Building (1928)\nFile:Ziraat Bankası 5.JPG|The historic Ziraat Bank Building (1929)\nFile:Leyla Gencer Anıtı.jpg|Statue of Leyla Gencer in front of the Ankara Opera House (1933)\nFile:Ankara.jpg|View of central Ankara from the Botanical Park\nFile:Guvenpark.jpg|Güvenpark in Kızılay Square\nFile:Atatürk Meydanı'ndan TBMM.jpg|The third and current Grand National Assembly of Turkey building (1938)\nFile:Crowne Plaza Ankara.JPG|Crowne Plaza Hotel (2006)\nFile:Radisson Blu Hotel.JPG|Radisson Blu Hotel, originally Stad Oteli (1970), was designed in 1964 by Doğan Tekeli, Sami Sisa and Metin Hepgüler\nFile:Sogutozu Ankara Turkey.jpg|Söğütözü business district in Yenimahalle, with the Armada Tower & Mall (2002) rising behind the Turkish flag\nFile:Ankara Armada Alışveriş Merkezi.JPG|Armada Tower & Mall (2002)\nFile:AŞTİ junction - Balgat.jpg|Söğütözü business district in Yenimahalle\nFile:AŞTİ üst kattan.JPG|Intercity Bus Terminal in Yenimahalle, Ankara\nFile:TOBB.jpg|TOBB Towers (2001)\nFile:Orange Flower street skyscraper Ankara.jpg|Portakal Çiçeği Residence in Ankara\nFile:Halkbank.jpg|Halkbank Tower (1993) designed by Doğan Tekeli and Sami Sisa\n\n\n", "\n\n===Twin towns and sister cities===\nAnkara is twinned with:\n\n\n* Seoul, South Korea (since 1971)\n* Islamabad, Pakistan (since 1982)\n* Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (since 1984)\n* Beijing, China (since 1990)\n* Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (since 1992)\n* Budapest, Hungary (since 1992)\n* Khartoum, Sudan (since 1992)\n* Moscow, Russia (since 1992)\n* Sofia, Bulgaria (since 1992)\n* Havana, Cuba (since 1993)\n* Kiev, Ukraine (since 1993)\n* Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (since 1994)\n* Kuwait City, Kuwait (since 1994)\n* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1994)\n* Tirana, Albania (since 1995)\n* Tbilisi, Georgia (since 1996)\n* Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia (since 1997) \n* Bucharest, Romania (since 1998)\n* Hanoi, Vietnam (since 1998)\n* Manama, Bahrain (since 2000)\n* Mogadishu, Somalia (since 2000)\n* Santiago, Chile (since 2000)\n* Astana, Kazakhstan (since 2001)\n* Dushanbe, Tajikistan (since 2003)\n* Kabul, Afghanistan (since 2003)\n* Ulan Bator, Mongolia (since 2003)\n* Cairo, Egypt (since 2004)\n* Chișinău, Moldova (since 2004)\n* Sana'a, Yemen (since 2004)\n* Tashkent, Uzbekistan (since 2004)\n* Pristina, Kosovo (since 2005)\n* Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia (since 2005)\n* Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2005)\n* Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (since 2006)\n* Minsk, Belarus (since 2007)\n* Zagreb, Croatia (since 2008)\n* Damascus, Syria (since 2010)\n* Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (since 2011)\n* Washington, D.C., USA (since 2011)\n* Bangkok, Thailand (since 2012)\n* Tehran, Iran (since 2013)\n\n\n===Partner cities===\n* Skopje, Macedonia (since 1995)\n* Vienna, Austria\n", "\n\n*Angora cat\n*Angora goat\n*Angora rabbit\n*Ankara Agreement\n*Ankara Arena\n*Ankara Central Station\n*Ankara Esenboğa International Airport\n*Ankara Metro\n*Ankara Province\n*Ankara University\n*Basil of Ancyra\n*Battle of Ancyra\n*Battle of Ankara\n*Clement of Ancyra\n*Gemellus of Ancyra\n*History of Ankara\n*List of hospitals in Ankara Province\n*List of Catholic dioceses in Turkey\n*List of mayors of Ankara\n*List of municipalities in Ankara Province\n*List of people from Ankara\n*List of tallest buildings in Ankara\n*Marcellus of Ancyra\n*Monumentum Ancyranum\n*Nilus of Ancyra\n*Roman Baths of Ankara\n*Synod of Ancyra\n*Theodotus of Ancyra (bishop)\n*Theodotus of Ancyra (martyr)\n*Timeline of Ankara\n*Treaty of Ankara\n*Victory Monument (Ankara)\n\n", "\n", "*\n*\n*\n43. ilişki durumu evli izle\n\n'''Attribution'''\n*\n*\n", "*\n", "\n\n* Governorate of Ankara\n* Municipality of Ankara\n* GCatholic - (former and) Latin titular see\n* GCatholic - former and titular Armenian Catholic see\n* Ankara Development Agency\n* Esenboğa International Airport\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology and names ", " History ", " Ecclesiastical history ", " Demographics ", " Economy ", " Politics ", " Main sights ", " Museums ", " Parks ", " Shopping ", " Climate ", "Transportation", "Sports", "Culture and education", "Fauna", "Ankara image gallery", "International relations", " See also ", "Notes", "References", "Further reading", " Sources and external links" ]

[ "The historical center of town is a rocky hill rising over the left bank of the Ankara Çayı, a tributary of the Sakarya River, the classical Sangarius.", "Ziraat Bank.", "\n\nFile:Atakule.JPG|Atakule Tower (1989)\nFile:A view of Sheraton Ankara from Karum Shopping Mall.JPG|Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center (1991)\nFile:A view of the BDDK building, Atatürk Avenue in Ankara.jpg|BDDK Building (1975), formerly Türkiye İş Bankası headquarters, on Atatürk Boulevard\nFile:Kızılay Square in Ankara, Turkey.JPG|Kahramanlar Business Center (1965) at Kızılay Square\nFile:Airport lake style.JPG|Esenboğa International Airport (2006)\nFile:Ankara Airport departures dougbelshaw 1.jpg|Esenboğa International Airport (2006)\nFile:145 Ulus.05.2006 resize.JPG|The historic Ankara Palas Hotel (1927)\nFile:Ankara Palas 1.JPG|The historic Ankara Palas Hotel (1927)\nFile:Resim ve Heykel Müzesi Ankara.jpg|Entrance of the State Art and Sculpture Museum (1927)\nFile:Yunus Emre Institut Ulus Ankara.JPG|Yunus Emre Institute, originally the Tekel Building (1928)\nFile:Ziraat Bankası 5.JPG|The historic Ziraat Bank Building (1929)\nFile:Leyla Gencer Anıtı.jpg|Statue of Leyla Gencer in front of the Ankara Opera House (1933)\nFile:Ankara.jpg|View of central Ankara from the Botanical Park\nFile:Guvenpark.jpg|Güvenpark in Kızılay Square\nFile:Atatürk Meydanı'ndan TBMM.jpg|The third and current Grand National Assembly of Turkey building (1938)\nFile:Crowne Plaza Ankara.JPG|Crowne Plaza Hotel (2006)\nFile:Radisson Blu Hotel.JPG|Radisson Blu Hotel, originally Stad Oteli (1970), was designed in 1964 by Doğan Tekeli, Sami Sisa and Metin Hepgüler\nFile:Sogutozu Ankara Turkey.jpg|Söğütözü business district in Yenimahalle, with the Armada Tower & Mall (2002) rising behind the Turkish flag\nFile:Ankara Armada Alışveriş Merkezi.JPG|Armada Tower & Mall (2002)\nFile:AŞTİ junction - Balgat.jpg|Söğütözü business district in Yenimahalle\nFile:AŞTİ üst kattan.JPG|Intercity Bus Terminal in Yenimahalle, Ankara\nFile:TOBB.jpg|TOBB Towers (2001)\nFile:Orange Flower street skyscraper Ankara.jpg|Portakal Çiçeği Residence in Ankara\nFile:Halkbank.jpg|Halkbank Tower (1993) designed by Doğan Tekeli and Sami Sisa" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Ankara''' (English ; Turkish ), formerly known as '''Ancyra''' () and '''Angora''', is the capital of the Republic of Turkey.", "With a population of 4,587,558 in the urban center (2014) and 5,150,072 in its province (2015), it is Turkey's second largest city after former imperial capital Istanbul, having overtaken İzmir.", "The former Metropolitan archbishopric remains a triple titular see (Latin, Armenian Catholic and Orthodox).", "Ankara was Atatürk's headquarters from 1920 and has been the capital of the Republic since the latter's founding in 1923, replacing Istanbul (once the Byzantine capital Constantinople) following the fall of the Ottoman Empire.", "The government is a prominent employer, but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city, located at the center of Turkey's road and railway networks.", "The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits, the long-haired Angora goat (the source of mohair), and the Angora cat.", "The area is also known for its pears, honey and muscat grapes.", "Although situated in one of the driest places of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation except for the forested areas on the southern periphery, Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, at per head.", "Ankara is a very old city with various Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites.", "The hill remains crowned by the ruins of the old citadel.", "Although few of its outworks have survived, there are well-preserved examples of Roman and Ottoman architecture throughout the city, the most remarkable being the 20  Temple of Augustus and Rome that boasts the Monumentum Ancyranum, the inscription recording the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti''.", "As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages.", "It has been identified with the Hittite cult center ''Ankuwaš'', although this remains a matter of debate.", "In classical antiquity and during the medieval period, the city was known as ''Ánkyra'' (,  \"anchor\") in Greek and ''Ancyra'' in Latin; the Galatian Celtic name was probably a similar variant.", "Following its annexation by the Seljuk Turks in 1073, the city became known in many European languages as ''Angora''; it was also known in Ottoman Turkish as ''Engürü''.", "The form \"Angora\" is preserved in the names of breeds of many different kinds of animals, and in the names of several locations in the US (see Angora).", "\nAlaca Höyük bronze standard on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara.", "The region's history can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hattic civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later by the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, and Turks (the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, the Ottoman Empire and finally republican Turkey).", "===Ancient history===\nThe oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age and was gradually absorbed c. 2000–1700 BC by the Indo-European Hittites.", "The city grew significantly in size and importance under the Phrygians starting around 1000 BC, and experienced a large expansion following the mass migration from Gordion, (the capital of Phrygia), after an earthquake which severely damaged that city around that time.", "In Phrygian tradition, King Midas was venerated as the founder of Ancyra, but Pausanias mentions that the city was actually far older, which accords with present archaeological knowledge.", "Phrygian rule was succeeded first by Lydian and later by Persian rule, though the strongly Phrygian character of the peasantry remained, as evidenced by the gravestones of the much later Roman period.", "Persian sovereignty lasted until the Persians' defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC.", "Alexander came from Gordion to Ankara and stayed in the city for a short period.", "After his death at Babylon in 323 BC and the subsequent division of his empire among his generals, Ankara and its environs fell into the share of Antigonus.", "Another important expansion took place under the Greeks of Pontos who came there around 300 BC and developed the city as a trading center for the commerce of goods between the Black Sea ports and Crimea to the north; Assyria, Cyprus, and Lebanon to the south; and Georgia, Armenia and Persia to the east.", "By that time the city also took its name (''Ánkyra'', meaning ''anchor'' in Ancient Greek) which, in slightly modified form, provides the modern name of ''Ankara''.", "===Celtic history===\nThe ''Dying Galatian'' was a famous statue commissioned some time between 230–220 BC by King Attalos I of Pergamon to honor his victory over the Celtic Galatians in Anatolia.", "Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BC, at the Capitoline Museums, Rome.", "In 278 BC, the city, along with the rest of central Anatolia, was occupied by a Celtic group, the Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara one of their main tribal centers, the headquarters of the Tectosages tribe.", "Other centers were Pessinos, today's ''Balhisar'', for the Trocmi tribe, and Tavium, to the east of Ankara, for the ''Tolstibogii'' tribe.", "The city was then known as ''Ancyra''.", "The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers; a warrior aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants.", "However, the Celtic language continued to be spoken in Galatia for many centuries.", "At the end of the 4th century, St. Jerome, a native of Dalmatia, observed that the language spoken around Ankara was very similar to that being spoken in the northwest of the Roman world near Trier.", "===Roman history===\nCeltic kingdom of Galatia, and later of the Roman province with the same name, after its conquest by Augustus in 25 BC.", "The city was subsequently passed under the control of the Roman Empire.", "In 25 BC, Emperor Augustus raised it to the status of a ''polis'' and made it the capital city of the Roman province of Galatia.", "Ankara is famous for the ''Monumentum Ancyranum'' (''Temple of Augustus and Rome'') which contains the official record of the ''Acts of Augustus'', known as the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'', an inscription cut in marble on the walls of this temple.", "The ruins of Ancyra still furnish today valuable bas-reliefs, inscriptions and other architectural fragments.", "Two other Galatian tribal centers, Tavium near Yozgat, and Pessinus (Balhisar) to the west, near Sivrihisar, continued to be reasonably important settlements in the Roman period, but it was Ancyra that grew into a grand metropolis.", "Res Gestae is the self-laudatory autobiography completed in 13 AD, just before his death, by the first Roman emperor Augustus.", "Most of the text is preserved in the Monumentum Ancyranum.", "The Roman Baths of Ankara were constructed by the Roman emperor Caracalla (212–217) in honor of Asclepios, the God of Medicine, and built around three principal rooms: the ''caldarium'' (hot bath), the ''tepidarium'' (warm bath) and the ''frigidarium'' (cold bath) in a typically laid-out classical complex.", "An estimated 200,000 people lived in Ancyra in good times during the Roman Empire, a far greater number than was to be the case from after the fall of the Roman Empire until the early 20th century.", "A small river, the Ankara Çayı, ran through the center of the Roman town.", "It has now been covered and diverted, but it formed the northern boundary of the old town during the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.", "Çankaya, the rim of the majestic hill to the south of the present city center, stood well outside the Roman city, but may have been a summer resort.", "In the 19th century, the remains of at least one Roman villa or large house were still standing not far from where the Çankaya Presidential Residence stands today.", "To the west, the Roman city extended until the area of the Gençlik Park and Railway Station, while on the southern side of the hill, it may have extended downwards as far as the site presently occupied by Hacettepe University.", "It was thus a sizeable city by any standards and much larger than the Roman towns of Gaul or Britannia.", "Ancyra's importance rested on the fact that it was the junction point where the roads in northern Anatolia running north-south and east-west intersected, giving it major strategic importance for Rome's eastern frontier.", "The great imperial road running east passed through Ankara and a succession of emperors and their armies came this way.", "They were not the only ones to use the Roman highway network, which was equally convenient for invaders.", "In the second half of the 3rd century, Ancyra was invaded in rapid succession by the Goths coming from the west (who rode far into the heart of Cappadocia, taking slaves and pillaging) and later by the Arabs.", "For about a decade, the town was one of the western outposts of one of Palmyrean empress Zenobia in the Syrian Desert, who took advantage of a period of weakness and disorder in the Roman Empire to set up a short-lived state of her own.", "The town was reincorporated into the Roman Empire under Emperor Aurelian in 272.", "The tetrarchy, a system of multiple (up to four) emperors introduced by Diocletian (284–305), seems to have engaged in a substantial programme of rebuilding and of road construction from Ankara westwards to Germe and Dorylaeum (now Eskişehir).", "In its heyday, Roman Ankara was a large market and trading center but it also functioned as a major administrative capital, where a high official ruled from the city's Praetorium, a large administrative palace or office.", "During the 3rd century, life in Ancyra, as in other Anatolian towns, seems to have become somewhat militarized in response to the invasions and instability of the town.", "===Byzantine history===\nThe city is well known during the 4th century as a centre of Christian activity (see also below), due to frequent imperial visits, and through the letters of the pagan scholar Libanius.", "Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra and Basil of Ancyra were active in the theological controversies of their day, and the city was the site of no less than three church synods in 314, in 358, and in 375, the latter two in favour of Arianism.", "The city was visited by Emperor Constans I () in 347 and 350, Julian () during his Persian campaign in 362, and Julian's successor Jovian () in winter 363/364 (he entered his consulship while in the city).", "After Jovian's death soon after, Valentinian I() was acclaimed emperor at Ancyra, and in the next year his brother Valens() used Ancyra as his base against the usurper Procopius.", "When the province of Galatia was divided sometime in 396/99, Ancyra remained the civil capital of Galatia I, as well as its ecclesiastical centre (metropolitan see).", "Emperor Arcadius () frequently used the city as his summer residence, and some information about the ecclesiastical affairs of the city during the early 5th century is found in the works of Palladius of Galatia and Nilus of Galatia.", "In 479, the rebel Marcian attacked the city, without being able to capture it.", "In 610/11, Comentiolus, brother of Emperor Phocas (), launched his own unsuccessful rebellion in the city against Heraclius ().", "Ten years later, in 620 or more likely 622, it was captured by the Sassanid Persians during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628.", "Although the city returned to Byzantine hands after the end of the war, the Persian presence left traces in the city's archaeology, and likely began the process of its transformation from a late antique city to a medieval fortified settlement.", "In 654, the city was captured for the first time by the Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate, under Muawiyah, the future founder of the Umayyad Caliphate.", "At about the same time, the themes were established in Anatolia, and Ancyra became capital of the Opsician Theme, which was the largest and most important theme until it was split up under Emperor Constantine V (); Ancyra then became the capital of the new Bucellarian Theme.", "The city was attacked without success by Abbasid forces in 776 and in 798/99.", "In 805, Emperor Nikephoros I () strengthened its fortifications, a fact which probably saved it from sack during the large-scale invasion of Anatolia by Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the next year.", "Arab sources report that Harun and his successor al-Ma'mun () took the city, but this information is later invention.", "In 838, however, during the Amorium campaign, the armies of Caliph al-Mu'tasim () converged and met at the city; abandoned by its inhabitants, Ancara was razed to the ground, before the Arab armies went on to besiege and destroy Amorium.", "In 859, Emperor Michael III () came to the city during a campaign against the Arabs, and ordered its fortifications restored.", "In 872, the city was menaced, but not taken, by the Paulicians under Chrysocheir.", "The last Arab raid to reach the city was undertaken in 931, by the Abbasid governor of Tarsus, Thamal al-Dulafi, but the city again was not captured.", "=== Turkic rulers ===\nPresident Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (center) and Prime Minister İsmet İnönü (left) leaving the Grand National Assembly of Turkey during the 7th anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Republic in 1930.", "It was designed by Istanbul-born Italian Levantine architect Giulio Mongeri and built between 1926 and 1929.", "After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks overran much of Anatolia.", "By 1073, the Turkish settlers had reached the vicinity of Ancyra, and the city was captured shortly after, at the latest by the time of the rebellion of Nikephoros Melissenos in 1081.", "In 1101, when the Crusade under Raymond IV of Toulouse arrived, the city had been under Danishmend control for some time.", "The Crusaders captured the city, and handed it over to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos ().", "Byzantine rule did not last long, and the city was captured by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum at some unknown point; in 1127, it returned to Danishmend control until 1143, when the Seljuks of Rum retook it.", "After the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, in which the Mongols defeated the Seljuks, most of Anatolia became part of the dominion of the Mongols.", "Taking advantage of Seljuk decline, a semi-religious cast of craftsmen and trade people named ''Ahiler'' chose Ankara as their independent city-state in 1290.", "Orhan I, the second Bey of the Ottoman Empire, captured the city in 1356.", "Timur defeated Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and took the city, but in 1403 Ankara was again under Ottoman control.", "The Levant Company maintained a factory in the town from 1639 to 1768.", "In the 19th century, its population was estimated at 20,000 to 60,000.", "It was sacked by Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in 1832.", "Prior to World War I, the town had a British consulate and a population of around 28,000, roughly ⅓ of whom were Christian.", "=== Turkish republican capital ===\nAnıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, is visited by large crowds every year during national holidays such as Republic Day on October 29.", "Kızılay Square during the early years of the Turkish Republic, with the later relocated ''Su Perileri'' (Water Fairies) fountain, c. 1930.", "Following the Ottoman defeat at World War I, the Ottoman capital Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and much of Anatolia were occupied by the Allies, who planned to share these lands between Armenia, France, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, leaving for the Turks the core piece of land in central Anatolia.", "In response, the leader of the Turkish nationalist movement, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, established the headquarters of his resistance movement in Ankara in 1920.", "After the Turkish War of Independence was won and the Treaty of Sèvres was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne, the Turkish nationalists replaced the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923.", "A few days earlier, Ankara had officially replaced Constantinople as the new Turkish capital city, on 13 October 1923.", "After Ankara became the capital of the newly founded Republic of Turkey, new development divided the city into an old section, called ''Ulus'', and a new section, called ''Yenişehir''.", "Ancient buildings reflecting Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman history and narrow winding streets mark the old section.", "The new section, now centered on Kızılay Square, has the trappings of a more modern city: wide streets, hotels, theaters, shopping malls, and high-rises.", "Government offices and foreign embassies are also located in the new section.", "Ankara has experienced a phenomenal growth since it was made Turkey's capital in 1923, when it was \"a small town of no importance\".", "In 1924, the year after the government had moved there, Ankara had about 35,000 residents.", "By 1927 there were 44,553 residents and by 1950 the population had grown to 286,781.", "Ankara continued to grow rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century and eventually outranked Izmir as Turkey's second largest city, after Istanbul.", "Ankara's urban population reached 4,587,558 in 2014, while the population of Ankara Province reached 5,150,072 in 2015.", "Early Christian martyrs of Ancyra, about whom little is known, included Proklos and Hilarios who were natives of the otherwise unknown nearby village of Kallippi, and suffered repression under the emperor Trajan (98–117).", "In the 280s we hear of Philumenos, a Christian corn merchant from southern Anatolia, being captured and martyred in Ankara, and Eustathius.", "St. Theodotus of Ancyra\nAs in other Roman towns, the reign of Diocletian marked the culmination of the persecution of the Christians.", "In 303, Ancyra was one of the towns where the co-Emperors Diocletian and his deputy Galerius launched their anti-Christian persecution.", "In Ancyra, their first target was the 38-year-old Bishop of the town, whose name was Clement.", "Clement's life describes how he was taken to Rome, then sent back, and forced to undergo many interrogations and hardship before he, and his brother, and various companions were put to death.", "The remains of the church of St. Clement can be found today in a building just off Işıklar Caddesi in the Ulus district.", "Quite possibly this marks the site where Clement was originally buried.", "Four years later, a doctor of the town named Plato and his brother Antiochus also became celebrated martyrs under Galerius.", "Theodotus of Ancyra is also venerated as a saint.", "However, the persecution proved unsuccessful and in 314 Ancyra was the center of an important council of the early church; its 25 disciplinary canons constitute one of the most important documents in the early history of the administration of the Sacrament of Penance.", "The synod also considered ecclesiastical policy for the reconstruction of the Christian Church after the persecutions, and in particular the treatment of ''lapsi''—Christians who had given in to forced paganism (sacrifices) to avoid martyrdom during these persecutions.", "The ''Column of Julian'' (362) was erected in honor of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra.", "Though paganism was probably tottering in Ancyra in Clement's day, it may still have been the majority religion.", "Twenty years later, Christianity and monotheism had taken its place.", "Ancyra quickly turned into a Christian city, with a life dominated by monks and priests and theological disputes.", "The town council or senate gave way to the bishop as the main local figurehead.", "During the middle of the 4th century, Ancyra was involved in the complex theological disputes over the nature of Christ, and a form of Arianism seems to have originated there.", "In 362–363, the Emperor Julian passed through Ancyra on his way to an ill-fated campaign against the Persians, and according to Christian sources, engaged in a persecution of various holy men.", "The stone base for a statue, with an inscription describing Julian as \"Lord of the whole world from the British Ocean to the barbarian nations\", can still be seen, built into the eastern side of the inner circuit of the walls of Ankara Castle.", "The Column of Julian which was erected in honor of the emperor's visit to the city in 362 still stands today.", "In 375, Arian bishops met at Ancyra and deposed several bishops, among them St. Gregory of Nyssa.", "In the late 4th century, Ancyra became something of an imperial holiday resort.", "After Constantinople became the East Roman capital, emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries would retire from the humid summer weather on the Bosporus to the drier mountain atmosphere of Ancyra.", "Theodosius II (408–450) kept his court in Ancyra in the summers.", "Laws issued in Ancyra testify to the time they spent there.", "The Metropolis of Ancyra continued to be a residential see of the Eastern Orthodox Church until the 20th century, with about 40,000 faithful, mostly Turkish-speaking, but that situation ended as a result of the 1923 Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations.", "The earlier Armenian Genocide put an end to the residential eparchy of Ancyra of the Armenian Catholic Church, which had been established in 1850.", "It is also a titular metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.", "Both the Ancient Byzantine Metropolitan archbishopric and the 'modern' Armenian eparchy are now listed by the Catholic Church as titular sees, with separate apostolic successions.", "=== Armenian Catholic (titular) see ===\nIn 1735 an Armenian Catholic diocese was established (Curiate Italian: ''Ancira degli Ameni'').", "Having fallen into disuse, on 1850.04.30 it was restored.", "The 1915–1918 Armenian Genocide put an effective end to the residential diocese, which was only formally suppressed in 1972 and instantly transformed into an Armenian Catholic titular bishopric.", "The titular see has had a single occupant:\n* Mikail Nersès Sétian (1981.07.03 – death 2002.09.09), as Apostolic Exarch of United States of America and Canada of the Armenians (USA) (1981.07.03 – retired 1993.09.18) and as emeritate.", "=== Latin titular archbishopric ===\nNo later than 1696, the Catholic Church also established a Latin Rite titular archbishopric of Ancyra.", "The last incumbent died in 1976.", "Ankara metropolitan area\n\nAnkara had a population of 75,000 in 1927.", "In 2013, Ankara Province had a population of 5,045,083.", "When Ankara became the capital of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, it was designated as a planned city for 500,000 future inhabitants.", "During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the city grew in a planned and orderly pace.", "However, from the 1950s onward, the city grew much faster than envisioned, because unemployment and poverty forced people to migrate from the countryside into the city in order to seek a better standard of living.", "As a result, many illegal houses called gecekondu were built around the city, causing the unplanned and uncontrolled urban landscape of Ankara, as not enough planned housing could be built fast enough.", "Although precariously built, the vast majority of them have electricity, running water and modern household amenities.", "Nevertheless, many of these gecekondus have been replaced by huge public housing projects in the form of tower blocks such as Elvankent, Eryaman and Güzelkent; and also as mass housing compounds for military and civil service accommodation.", "Although many gecekondus still remain, they too are gradually being replaced by mass housing compounds, as empty land plots in the city of Ankara for new construction projects are becoming impossible to find.", "BDDK Building (1975)\nA view of Kızılay Square from the northwest, with the Kahramanlar Business Center (1959–1965).", "Söğütözü business district in Ankara, as seen from the Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo, with the Armada Tower & Mall (2002) rising behind the Turkish flag.", "The city has exported mohair (from the Angora goat) and Angora wool (from the Angora rabbit) internationally for centuries.", "In the 19th century, the city also exported substantial amounts of goat and cat skins, gum, wax, honey, berries, and madder root.", "It was connected to Istanbul by railway before the First World War, continuing to export mohair, wool, berries, and grain.", "The Central Anatolia Region is one of the primary locations of grape and wine production in Turkey, and Ankara is particularly famous for its Kalecik Karası and Muscat grapes; and its Kavaklıdere wine, which is produced in the Kavaklıdere neighbourhood within the Çankaya district of the city.", "Ankara is also famous for its pears.", "Another renowned natural product of Ankara is its indigenous type of honey (''Ankara Balı'') which is known for its light color and is mostly produced by the Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo in the Gazi district, and by other facilities in the Elmadağ, Çubuk and Beypazarı districts.", "Ankara is the center of the state-owned and private Turkish defence and aerospace companies, where the industrial plants and headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industries, MKE, ASELSAN, Havelsan, Roketsan, FNSS, Nurol Makina, and numerous other firms are located.", "Exports to foreign countries from these defence and aerospace firms have steadily increased in the past decades.", "The IDEF in Ankara is one of the largest international expositions of the global arms industry.", "A number of the global automotive companies also have production facilities in Ankara, such as the German bus and truck manufacturer MAN SE.", "Ankara hosts the OSTIM Industrial Zone, Turkey's largest industrial park.", "A large percentage of the complicated employment in Ankara is provided by the state institutions; such as the ministries, undersecretariats, and other administrative bodies of the Turkish government.", "There are also many foreign citizens working as diplomats or clerks in the embassies of their respective countries.", "\nAnkara is politically a triple battleground between the ruling conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), the opposition Kemalist centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and the nationalist far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).", "The province of Ankara is divided into 25 districts.", "The CHP's key and almost only political stronghold in Ankara lies within the central area of Çankaya, which is the city's most populous district.", "While the CHP has always gained between 60 and 70% of the vote in Çankaya since 2002, political support elsewhere throughout Ankara is minimal.", "The high population within Çankaya, as well as Yenimahalle to an extent, has allowed the CHP to take overall second place behind the AKP in both local and general elections, with the MHP a close third, despite the fact that the MHP is politically stronger than the CHP in almost every other district.", "Overall, the AKP enjoys the most support throughout the city.", "The electorate of Ankara thus tend to vote in favour of the political right, far more so than the other main cities of Istanbul and İzmir.", "In retrospect, the 2013–14 protests against the AKP government were particularly strong in Ankara, proving to be fatal on multiple occasions.", "Melih Gökçek has been the Metropolitan Mayor of Ankara since 1994 as a politician from the Welfare Party.", "He later joined the Virtue Party and then the AKP.", "Initially elected in the 1994 local elections, he was re-elected in 1999, 2004 and 2009.", "In the 2014 local election, Gökçek stood for a fifth term.", "The MHP metropolitan mayoral candidate for the 2009 local elections, conservative politician Mansur Yavaş, stood as the CHP candidate against Gökçek.", "In a heavily controversial election, Gökçek was declared the winner by just 1% ahead of Yavaş amid allegations of systematic electoral fraud.", "With the Supreme Electoral Council and courts rejecting Yavaş's appeals, he has declared intention to take the irregularities to the European Court of Human Rights.", "Although Gökçek was inaugurated for a fifth term, most election observers believe that Yavaş was the winner of the election.", "The city suffered from a series of terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016, most notably on 10 October 2015; 17 February 2016; 13 March 2016; and 15 July 2016.", "\n===Ancient/archeological sites===\nAnkara castle and citadel\nAt the Monumentum Ancyranum (''Temple of Augustus and Rome'') in Ulus, the primary intact copy of Res Gestae written by the first Roman emperor Augustus survives.", "Roman Baths of Ankara\n\n====Ankara Citadel====\nThe foundations of the Ankara castle and citadel were laid by the Galatians on a prominent lava outcrop (), and the rest was completed by the Romans.", "The Byzantines and Seljuks further made restorations and additions.", "The area around and inside the citadel, being the oldest part of Ankara, contains many fine examples of traditional architecture.", "There are also recreational areas to relax.", "Many restored traditional Turkish houses inside the citadel area have found new life as restaurants, serving local cuisine.", "The citadel was depicted in various Turkish banknotes during 1927–1952 and 1983–1989.", "====Roman Theatre====\nThe remains, the stage, and the backstage of the Roman theatre can be seen outside the castle.", "Roman statues that were found here are exhibited in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.", "The seating area is still under excavation.", "====Temple of Augustus and Rome==== \n\nThe Augusteum, now known as the Temple of Augustus and Rome, was built 25  20  following the conquest of Central Anatolia by the Roman Empire.", "Ancyra then formed the capital of the new province of Galatia.", "After the death of Augustus in  14, a copy of the text of the ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (the ''Monumentum Ancyranum'') was inscribed on the interior of the temple's '''' in Latin and a Greek translation on an exterior wall of the ''''.", "The temple on the ancient acropolis of Ancyra was enlarged in the 2nd century and converted into a church in the 5th century.", "It is located in the Ulus quarter of the city.", "It was subsequently publicized by the Austrian ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq in the 16th century.", "====Roman Baths====\nThe Roman Baths of Ankara have all the typical features of a classical Roman bath complex: a ''frigidarium'' (cold room), a ''tepidarium'' (warm room) and a ''caldarium'' (hot room).", "The baths were built during the reign of the Roman emperor Caracalla in the early 3rd century to honor Asclepios, the God of Medicine.", "Today, only the basement and first floors remain.", "It is situated in the Ulus quarter.", "====Roman Road====\nThe Roman Road of Ankara or ''Cardo Maximus'' was found in 1995 by Turkish archaeologist Cevdet Bayburtluoğlu.", "It is long and wide.", "Many ancient artifacts were discovered during the excavations along the road and most of them are currently displayed at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.", "====Column of Julian====\nThe Column of Julian or Julianus, now in the Ulus district, was erected in honor of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate's visit to Ancyra in 362.", "=== Mosques ===\n\n====Kocatepe Mosque====\nKocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in Ankara\nKocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in the city.", "Located in the Kocatepe quarter, it was constructed between 1967 and 1987 in classical Ottoman style with four minarets.", "Its size and prominent location have made it a landmark for the city.", "====Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque====\nAhmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque is located near the Presidency of Religious Affairs on the Eskişehir Road.", "Built in the Turkish neoclassical style, it is one of the largest new mosques in the city, completed and opened in 2013.", "It can accommodate 6 thousand people during general prayers, and up to 30 thousand people during funeral prayers.", "The mosque was decorated with Anatolian Seljuk style patterns.", "====Yeni (Cenab Ahmet) Mosque====\nIt is the largest Ottoman mosque in Ankara and was built by the famous architect Sinan in the 16th century.", "The mimber (pulpit) and mihrap (prayer niche) are of white marble, and the mosque itself is of Ankara stone, an example of very fine workmanship.", "====Hacı Bayram Mosque====\nHacı Bayram Mosque (1428)\nThis mosque, in the Ulus quarter next to the Temple of Augustus, was built in the early 15th century in Seljuk style by an unknown architect.", "It was subsequently restored by architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th century, with Kütahya tiles being added in the 18th century.", "The mosque was built in honor of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, whose tomb is next to the mosque, two years before his death (1427–28).", "The usable space inside this mosque is on the first floor and on the second floor.", "====Ahi Elvan Mosque====\nIt was founded in the Ulus quarter near the Ankara Citadel and was constructed by the Ahi fraternity during the late 14th and early 15th centuries.", "The finely carved walnut mimber (pulpit) is of particular interest.", "====Alâeddin Mosque====\nThe Alâeddin Mosque is the oldest mosque in Ankara.", "It has a carved walnut mimber, the inscription on which records that the mosque was completed in early AH 574 (which corresponds to the summer of 1178 AD) and was built by the Seljuk prince Muhiddin Mesud Şah (d. 1204), the Bey of Ankara, who was the son of the Anatolian Seljuk sultan Kılıç Arslan II (reigned 1156–1192.)", "===Modern monuments===\n\n====Victory Monument====\n\n\nThe '' Victory Monument'' (Turkish: ''Zafer Anıtı'') was crafted by Austrian sculptor Heinrich Krippel in 1925 and was erected in 1927 at Ulus Square.", "The monument is made of marble and bronze and features an equestrian statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal.", "====Statue of Atatürk====\nLocated at Zafer Square (Turkish: ''Zafer Meydanı''), the marble and bronze statue was crafted by the renowned Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica in 1927 and depicts a standing Atatürk who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal.", "====Monument to a Secure, Confident Future====\nThis monument, located in Güven Park near Kızılay Square, was erected in 1935 and bears Atatürk's advice to his people: \"Turk!", "Be proud, work hard, and believe in yourself.\"", "The monument was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 5 lira banknote of 1937–1952 and of the 1000 lira banknotes of 1939–1946.", "====Hatti Monument====\nErected in 1978 at Sıhhiye Square, this impressive monument symbolizes the Hatti Sun Disc (which was later adopted by the Hittites) and commemorates Anatolia's earliest known civilization.", "The Hatti Sun Disc has been used in the previous logo of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.", "It was also used in the previous logo of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism.", "===Inns===\n\n====Suluhan====\nSuluhan Inn (1511)\nSuluhan is a historical Inn in Ankara.", "It is also called the ''Hasanpaşa Han''.", "It is about southeast of Ulus Square and situated in the Hacıdoğan neighbourhood.", "According to the ''vakfiye'' (inscription) of the building, the Ottoman era ''han'' was commissioned by Hasan Pasha, a regional beylerbey, and was constructed between 1508 and 1511, during the final years of the reign of Sultan Bayezid II.", "There are 102 rooms (now shops) which face the two yards.", "In each room there is a window, a niche and a chimney.", "====Çengelhan Rahmi Koç Museum====\nÇengelhan Rahmi Koç Museum is a museum of industrial technology situated in Çengel Han, an Ottoman era Inn which was completed in 1523, during the early years of the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.", "The exhibits include industrial/technological artifacts from the 1850s onwards.", "There are also sections about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey; Vehbi Koç, Rahmi Koç's father and one of the first industrialists of Turkey, and Ankara city.", "There are about 50 museums in the city.", "===Museum of Anatolian Civilizations===\nA statue at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations\nThe Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (''Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi'') is situated at the entrance of the Ankara Castle.", "It is an old 15th century bedesten (covered bazaar) that has been beautifully restored and now houses a unique collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Roman works as well as a major section dedicated to Lydian treasures.", "=== Anıtkabir ===\nAnıtkabir is located on an imposing hill, which forms the ''Anıttepe'' quarter of the city, where the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, stands.", "Completed in 1953, it is an impressive fusion of ancient and modern architectural styles.", "An adjacent museum houses a wax statue of Atatürk, his writings, letters and personal items, as well as an exhibition of photographs recording important moments in his life and during the establishment of the Republic.", "Anıtkabir is open every day, while the adjacent museum is open every day except Mondays.", "===Ankara Ethnography Museum===\nAnkara Ethnography Museum (''Etnoğrafya Müzesi'') is located opposite to the Ankara Opera House on Talat Paşa Boulevard, in the Ulus district.", "There is a fine collection of folkloric items, as well as artifacts from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.", "In front of the museum building, there is a marble and bronze equestrian statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (who wears a Republic era modern military uniform, with the rank Field Marshal) which was crafted in 1927 by the renowned Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica.", "Kavaklıdere were crafted by sculptor Metin Yurdanur\n\n===State Art and Sculpture Museum===\nThe State Art and Sculpture Museum (''Resim-Heykel Müzesi'') which opened to the public in 1980 is close to the Ethnography Museum and houses a rich collection of Turkish art from the late 19th century to the present day.", "There are also galleries which host guest exhibitions.", "===Cer Modern===\n Cer Modern is the modern-arts museum of Ankara, inaugurated on 1 April 2010.", "It is situated in the renovated building of the historic TCDD Cer Atölyeleri, formerly a workshop of the Turkish State Railways.", "The museum incorporates the largest exhibition hall in Turkey.", "The museum holds periodic exhibitions of modern and contemporary art as well as hosting other contemporary arts events.", "===War of Independence Museum===\nThe War of Independence Museum (''Kurtuluş Savaşı Müzesi'') is located on Ulus Square.", "It was originally the first Parliament building (TBMM) of the Republic of Turkey.", "The War of Independence was planned and directed here as recorded in various photographs and items presently on exhibition.", "In another display, wax figures of former presidents of the Republic of Turkey are on exhibit.", "===Mehmet Akif Literature Museum Library===\nThe Mehmet Akif Literature Museum Library is a literary museum and archive opened in 2011 and dedicated to Mehmet Akif Ersoy (1873–1936), the poet of the Turkish National Anthem.", "===TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum===\nThe TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum is an open-air museum which traces the history of steam locomotives.", "===Ankara Aviation Museum===\nAnkara Aviation Museum (''Hava Kuvvetleri Müzesi Komutanlığı'') is located near the Istanbul Road in Etimesgut.", "The museum opened to the public in September 1998.", "It is home to various missiles, avionics, aviation materials and aircraft that have served in the Turkish Air Force (e.g.", "combat aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, F-104 Starfighter, F-5 Freedom Fighter, F-4 Phantom; and cargo planes such as the Transall C-160.)", "Also a Hungarian MiG-21, a Pakistani MiG-19, and a Bulgarian MiG-17 are on display at the museum.", "===METU Science and Technology Museum===\nThe METU Science and Technology Museum (''ODTÜ Bilim ve Teknoloji Müzesi'') is located inside the Middle East Technical University campus.", "Göksu Park \nGençlik Parkı (The Youth Park) \n\nAnkara has many parks and open spaces mainly established in the early years of the Republic and well maintained and expanded thereafter.", "The most important of these parks are: Gençlik Parkı (houses an amusement park with a large pond for rowing), the Botanical garden, Seğmenler Park, Anayasa Park, Kuğulu Park (famous for the swans received as a gift from the Chinese government), Abdi İpekçi Park, Esertepe Parkı, Güven Park (see above for the monument), Kurtuluş Park (has an ice-skating rink), Altınpark (also a prominent exposition/fair area), Harikalar Diyarı (claimed to be Biggest Park of Europe inside city borders) and Göksu Park.", "Gençlik Park was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1952–1976.", "Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo (''Atatürk Orman Çiftliği'') is an expansive recreational farming area which houses a zoo, several small agricultural farms, greenhouses, restaurants, a dairy farm and a brewery.", "It is a pleasant place to spend a day with family, be it for having picnics, hiking, biking or simply enjoying good food and nature.", "There is also an exact replica of the house where Atatürk was born in 1881, in Thessaloniki, Greece.", "Visitors to the \"Çiftlik\" (farm) as it is affectionately called by Ankarans, can sample such famous products of the farm such as old-fashioned beer and ice cream, fresh dairy products and meat rolls/kebaps made on charcoal, at a traditional restaurant (''Merkez Lokantası'', Central Restaurant), cafés and other establishments scattered around the farm.", "Atakule Tower (1989)\n\n\nForeign visitors to Ankara usually like to visit the old shops in ''Çıkrıkçılar Yokuşu'' (Weavers' Road) near Ulus, where myriad things ranging from traditional fabrics, hand-woven carpets and leather products can be found at bargain prices.", "''Bakırcılar Çarşısı'' (Bazaar of Coppersmiths) is particularly popular, and many interesting items, not just of copper, can be found here like jewelry, carpets, costumes, antiques and embroidery.", "Up the hill to the castle gate, there are many shops selling a huge and fresh collection of spices, dried fruits, nuts, and other produce.", "Modern shopping areas are mostly found in Kızılay, or on Tunalı Hilmi Avenue, including the modern mall of Karum (named after the ancient Assyrian merchant colonies called ''Kârum'' that were established in central Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) which is located towards the end of the Avenue; and in Çankaya, the quarter with the highest elevation in the city.", "Atakule Tower next to Atrium Mall in Çankaya commands a magnificent view over Ankara and also has a revolving restaurant at the top, where the city's panorama can be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion.", "The symbol of the Armada Shopping Mall is an anchor, and there's a large anchor monument at its entrance, as a reference to the ancient Greek name of the city, Ἄγκυρα (Ánkyra), which means anchor.", "Likewise, the anchor monument is also related with the Spanish name of the mall, Armada, which means naval fleet.", "As Ankara started expanding westward in the 1970s, several modern, suburbia-style developments and mini-cities began to rise along the western highway, also known as the Eskişehir Road.", "The ''Armada'',''CEPA'' and ''Kentpark'' malls on the highway, the ''Galleria'', ''Arcadium'' and ''Gordion'' in Ümitköy, and a huge mall, ''Real'' in Bilkent Center, offer North American and European style shopping opportunities (these places can be reached through the Eskişehir Highway.)", "There is also the newly expanded ''ANKAmall'' at the outskirts, on the Istanbul Highway, which houses most of the well-known international brands.", "This mall is the largest throughout the Ankara region.", "In 2014 a few more shopping malls were open in Ankara.", "They are ''Next Level'' and ''Taurus'' on the Boulevard of Mevlana (also known as Konya Road).", "Ankara has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa'') under the Köppen climate classification.", "Under the Trewartha climate classification, Ankara has a middle latitude steppe climate (''BSks'').", "Due to its elevation and inland location, Ankara has cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers, with cool nightly temperatures.", "Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn.", "Ankara lies in USDA Hardiness zone 7b, and its annual average precipitation is fairly low at , nevertheless precipitation can be observed throughout the year.", "Monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July, with an annual mean of .", "\nKızılay station of the Ankara Metro\nA TCDD HT65000 high-speed train at the Ankara Central Station (1937)\n\nThe ''Electricity, Gas, Bus General Directorate'' (EGO) operates the Ankara Metro and other forms of public transportation.", "Ankara is currently served by a suburban rail named Ankaray (A1) and three subway lines (M1, M2, M3) of the Ankara Metro with about 300,000 total daily commuters, while an additional subway line (M4) is currently under construction.", "A long gondola lift with four stations connects the district of Şentepe to the Yenimahalle metro station.", "The Ankara Central Station is a major rail hub in Turkey.", "The Turkish State Railways operates passenger train service from Ankara to other major cities, such as: Istanbul, Eskişehir, Balıkesir, Kütahya, İzmir, Kayseri, Adana, Kars, Elâzığ, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Karabük, Zonguldak and Sivas.", "Commuter rail also runs between the stations of Sincan and Kayaş.", "On 13 March 2009, the new Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) high-speed rail service began operation between Ankara and Eskişehir.", "On 23 August 2011, another YHT high-speed line commercially started its service between Ankara and Konya.", "On 25 July 2014, the Ankara–Istanbul high-speed line of YHT entered service.", "Esenboğa International Airport, located in the north-east of the city, is Ankara's main airport.", "===Ankara Public Transportation Statistics===\nThe average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Ankara, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 71 min.", "17% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day.", "The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 16 min, while 28.% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day.", "The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 9.9 km, while 27% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.", "Ankara Arena (2010)\nAs with all other cities of Turkey, football is the most popular sport in Ankara.", "The city has one football club currently competing in the Turkish Super League: Gençlerbirliği, founded in 1923, is known as the ''Ankara Gale'' or the ''Poppies'' because of their colors: red and black.", "They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1987 and 2001.", "Ankaragücü, founded in 1910, is the oldest club in Ankara and is associated with Ankara's military arsenal manufacturing company MKE.", "Ankaragücü used to play in the Turkish Super League until being relegated to the TFF First League at the end of the 2011–2012 season.", "They were the Turkish Cup winners in 1972 and 1981.", "Gençlerbirliği's B team, Hacettepe SK (formerly known as Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ) played in the Turkish Super League for a while until being relegated.", "All of the aforementioned teams have their home at the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium in Ulus, which has a capacity of 21,250 (all-seater).", "A fourth team, Büyükşehir Belediye Ankaraspor, played in the Turkish Super League until 2010, when they were expelled, and currently are not a member of the Turkish league system.", "Their home was the Yenikent Asaş Stadium in the Sincan district of Yenikent, outside the city center.", "Ankara has a large number of minor teams, playing at regional levels: Bugsaşspor in Sincan; Etimesgut Şekerspor in Etimesgut; Türk Telekomspor owned by the phone company in Yenimahalle; Ankara Demirspor in Çankaya; Keçiörengücü, Keçiörenspor, Pursaklarspor, Bağlumspor in Keçiören; and Petrol Ofisi Spor owned by the oil company in Altındağ.", "Most of them, including Hacettepespor, play their matches at Cebeci İnönü Stadium in the Cebeci district.", "In the Turkish Basketball League, Ankara is represented by Türk Telekom, whose home is the Ankara Arena, and CASA TED Kolejliler, whose home is the TOBB Sports Hall.", "Halkbank Ankara is currently the leading domestic powerhouse in Men's Volleyball, having won many championships and cups in the Turkish Men's Volleyball League and even the CEV Cup in 2013.", "Ankara Buz Pateni Sarayı is where the ice skating and ice hockey competitions take place in the city.", "There are many popular spots for skateboarding which is active in the city since the 1980s.", "Skaters in Ankara usually meet in the park near the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.", "The 2012-built THF Sport Hall hosts the Handball Super League and Women's Handball Super League matches scheduled in Ankara.", "The historic Evkaf Apartment (1929) is the headquarters of the Turkish State Theatres.", "The building also houses the Küçük Tiyatro and Oda Tiyatrosu.", "Ankara Opera House of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet (1933)\nBilkent Concert Hall\n\nTurkish State Opera and Ballet, the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, has its headquarters in Ankara, and serves the city with three venues:\n\n*Ankara Opera House (''Opera Sahnesi'', also known as ''Büyük Tiyatro'') is the largest of the three venues for opera and ballet in Ankara.", "The Turkish State Theatres also has its head office in Ankara and runs the following stages in the city:\n\n*125.", "Yıl Çayyolu Sahnesi\n*Büyük Tiyatro, \n*Küçük Tiyatro,\n*Şinasi Sahnesi,\n*Akün Sahnesi,\n*Altındağ Tiyatrosu,\n*İrfan Şahinbaş Atölye Sahnesi,\n*Oda Tiyatrosu,\n*Mahir Canova Sahnesi,\n*Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi.", "In addition, the city is served by several private theatre companies, among which Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu, who have their own stage in the city center, is a notable example.", "Ankara is host to five classical music orchestras:\n*Presidential Symphony Orchestra (Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra)\n*Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is a major symphony orchestra of Turkey.", "*Hacettepe Symphony Orchestra was founded in 2003 and is currently conducted by Erol Erdinç.", "*'''Başkent Oda Orkestrası''' (Chamber Orchestra of the Capital)\n\nThere are four concert halls in the city:\n*CSO Concert Hall\n*Bilkent Concert Hall is a performing arts center in Ankara.", "It is located in the Bilkent University campus.", "*MEB Şura Salonu (also known as the Festival Hall), It is noted for its tango performances.", "*Çankaya Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi Concert Hall was founded in 1994.", "The city has been host to several well-established, annual theatre, music, film festivals:\n\n*Ankara International Music Festival, a music festival organized in the Turkish capital presenting classical music and ballet programmes.", "Ankara also has a number of concert venues such as ''Eskiyeni'', ''IF Performance Hall'', ''Jolly Joker'', ''Kite'', ''Nefes Bar'', ''Noxus Pub'', ''Passage Pub'' and ''Route'', which host the live performances and events of popular musicians.", "===Universities===\nAnkara is noted, within Turkey, for the multitude of universities it is home to.", "These include the following, several of them being among the most reputable in the country:\n\n\n*Ankara University\n*Başkent University\n*TED University\n*Altın Koza University\n*Atılım University\n*Turkish Aeronautical Association University\n*Bilkent University\n*Çankaya University\n*Gazi University\n*Hacettepe University\n*Middle East Technical University\n*TOBB University of Economics and Technology\n*Ufuk University\n*Yıldırım Beyazıt University\n*Gülhane Military Medical Academy\n*Turkish Military Academy\n*Turkish National Police Academy\n\n\n\nFile:TOBB University of Economics & Technology.jpg|TOBB University of Economics and Technology\nFile:Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakültesi Binası, Ankara.jpg|Ankara University Faculty of History and Geography (1940)\nFile:MiddleEastTechnicalUniversityCampus800x470.jpg|Part of the METU campus, as seen from its MM Building\nFile:Metuba1 big.jpg|An auditorium in METU\nFile:Merkez1.jpg|The Medical School on the main campus of Hacettepe University (1967)\nFile:Çankaya University Turquoise campus.JPG|Çankaya University (1997)", "\n===Angora cat===\n\nAngora cat\n\nAnkara is home to a world-famous domestic cat breed – the Turkish Angora, called ''Ankara kedisi'' (Ankara cat) in Turkish.", "Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, naturally occurring cat breeds, having originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia.", "They mostly have a white, silky, medium to long length coat, no undercoat and a fine bone structure.", "There seems to be a connection between the Angora Cats and Persians, and the Turkish Angora is also a distant cousin of the Turkish Van.", "Although they are known for their shimmery white coat, currently there are more than twenty varieties including black, blue and reddish fur.", "They come in tabby and tabby-white, along with smoke varieties, and are in every color other than pointed, lavender, and cinnamon (all of which would indicate breeding to an outcross.)", "Eyes may be blue, green, or amber, or even one blue and one amber or green.", "The W gene which is responsible for the white coat and blue eye is closely related to the hearing ability, and the presence of a blue eye can indicate that the cat is deaf to the side the blue eye is located.", "However, a great many blue and odd-eyed white cats have normal hearing, and even deaf cats lead a very normal life if kept indoors.", "Ears are pointed and large, eyes are almond shaped and the head is massive with a two plane profile.", "Another characteristic is the tail, which is often kept parallel to the back.", "===Angora rabbit===\n\nAngora rabbit\n\nThe Angora rabbit () is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair.", "The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat.", "The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid-18th century, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century.", "They first appeared in the United States in the early 20th century.", "They are bred largely for their long Angora wool, which may be removed by shearing, combing, or plucking (gently pulling loose wool.)", "Angoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft.", "They have a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball.", "Most are calm and docile but should be handled carefully.", "Grooming is necessary to prevent the fiber from matting and felting on the rabbit.", "A condition called \"wool block\" is common in Angora rabbits and should be treated quickly.", "Sometimes they are shorn in the summer as the long fur can cause the rabbits to overheat.", "===Angora goat===\n\nAngora goat\n\nThe Angora goat () is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara and its surrounding region in central Anatolia.", "This breed was first mentioned in the time of Moses, roughly in 1500 BC.", "The first Angora goats were brought to Europe by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, about 1554, but, like later imports, were not very successful.", "Angora goats were first introduced in the United States in 1849 by Dr. James P. Davis.", "Seven adult goats were a gift from Sultan Abdülmecid I in appreciation for his services and advice on the raising of cotton.", "The fleece taken from an Angora goat is called mohair.", "A single goat produces between of hair per year.", "Angoras are shorn twice a year, unlike sheep, which are shorn only once.", "Angoras have high nutritional requirements due to their rapid hair growth.", "A poor quality diet will curtail mohair development.", "The United States, Turkey, and South Africa are the top producers of mohair.", "For a long period of time, Angora goats were bred for their white coat.", "In 1998, the Colored Angora Goat Breeders Association was set up to promote breeding of colored Angoras.", "Today, Angora goats produce white, black (deep black to greys and silver), red (the color fades significantly as the goat gets older), and brownish fiber.", "Angora goats were depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 lira banknotes of 1938–1952.2.", "Emission Group – Fifty Turkish Lira – I.", "Series ;3.", "Emission Group – Fifty Turkish Lira – I.", "Series & II.", "Series.", "– Retrieved on 20 April 2009.", "\n\n===Twin towns and sister cities===\nAnkara is twinned with:\n\n\n* Seoul, South Korea (since 1971)\n* Islamabad, Pakistan (since 1982)\n* Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (since 1984)\n* Beijing, China (since 1990)\n* Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (since 1992)\n* Budapest, Hungary (since 1992)\n* Khartoum, Sudan (since 1992)\n* Moscow, Russia (since 1992)\n* Sofia, Bulgaria (since 1992)\n* Havana, Cuba (since 1993)\n* Kiev, Ukraine (since 1993)\n* Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (since 1994)\n* Kuwait City, Kuwait (since 1994)\n* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1994)\n* Tirana, Albania (since 1995)\n* Tbilisi, Georgia (since 1996)\n* Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia (since 1997) \n* Bucharest, Romania (since 1998)\n* Hanoi, Vietnam (since 1998)\n* Manama, Bahrain (since 2000)\n* Mogadishu, Somalia (since 2000)\n* Santiago, Chile (since 2000)\n* Astana, Kazakhstan (since 2001)\n* Dushanbe, Tajikistan (since 2003)\n* Kabul, Afghanistan (since 2003)\n* Ulan Bator, Mongolia (since 2003)\n* Cairo, Egypt (since 2004)\n* Chișinău, Moldova (since 2004)\n* Sana'a, Yemen (since 2004)\n* Tashkent, Uzbekistan (since 2004)\n* Pristina, Kosovo (since 2005)\n* Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia (since 2005)\n* Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2005)\n* Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (since 2006)\n* Minsk, Belarus (since 2007)\n* Zagreb, Croatia (since 2008)\n* Damascus, Syria (since 2010)\n* Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (since 2011)\n* Washington, D.C., USA (since 2011)\n* Bangkok, Thailand (since 2012)\n* Tehran, Iran (since 2013)\n\n\n===Partner cities===\n* Skopje, Macedonia (since 1995)\n* Vienna, Austria", "\n\n*Angora cat\n*Angora goat\n*Angora rabbit\n*Ankara Agreement\n*Ankara Arena\n*Ankara Central Station\n*Ankara Esenboğa International Airport\n*Ankara Metro\n*Ankara Province\n*Ankara University\n*Basil of Ancyra\n*Battle of Ancyra\n*Battle of Ankara\n*Clement of Ancyra\n*Gemellus of Ancyra\n*History of Ankara\n*List of hospitals in Ankara Province\n*List of Catholic dioceses in Turkey\n*List of mayors of Ankara\n*List of municipalities in Ankara Province\n*List of people from Ankara\n*List of tallest buildings in Ankara\n*Marcellus of Ancyra\n*Monumentum Ancyranum\n*Nilus of Ancyra\n*Roman Baths of Ankara\n*Synod of Ancyra\n*Theodotus of Ancyra (bishop)\n*Theodotus of Ancyra (martyr)\n*Timeline of Ankara\n*Treaty of Ankara\n*Victory Monument (Ankara)", "*\n*\n*\n43. ilişki durumu evli izle\n\n'''Attribution'''\n*\n*", "*", "\n\n* Governorate of Ankara\n* Municipality of Ankara\n* GCatholic - (former and) Latin titular see\n* GCatholic - former and titular Armenian Catholic see\n* Ankara Development Agency\n* Esenboğa International Airport" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Arabic''' (, '''' or '''' or ) is a Central Semitic language complex that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the ''lingua franca'' of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in northwestern Arabia, and in the Sinai peninsula.\n\nThe modern written language (Modern Standard Arabic) is derived from Classical Arabic. It is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic (''fuṣḥā''), which is the official language of 26 states and the liturgical language of Islam. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties, and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-classical era, especially in modern times.\n\nDuring the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a major vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As a result, many European languages have also borrowed many words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages, mainly Spanish \nand to a lesser extent Portuguese, Valencian and Catalan, owing to both the proximity of Christian European and Muslim Arab civilizations and 800 years of Arabic culture and language in the Iberian Peninsula, referred to in Arabic as al-Andalus. Sicilian has about 500 Arabic words as result of Sicily being progressively conquered by Saracens from North Africa, from the mid 9th to mid 10th centuries. Many of these words relate to agriculture and related activities (Hull and Ruffino). Balkan languages, including Greek and Bulgarian, have also acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish.\n\nArabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. Some of the most influenced languages are Persian, Turkish, Spanish, Maltese''',''' Urdu, Kashmiri, Kurdish, Bosnian, Kazakh, Bengali, Hindi, Malay, Maldivian, Indonesian, Pashto, Punjabi, Tagalog, Sindhi and Hausa and some languages in parts of Africa. Conversely, Arabic has borrowed words from other languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times, and contemporary European languages such as English and French in modern times.\n\nClassical Arabic is the liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims and Modern Standard Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations. It is spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world. Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet, which is an abjad script and is written from right to left, although the spoken varieties are sometimes written in ASCII Latin from left to right with no standardized orthography.\n", "Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Ugaritic and Phoenician), the Ancient South Arabian languages, and various other Semitic languages of Arabia such as Dadanitic. The Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include:\n# The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation (''jalas-'') into a past tense.\n# The conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation (''yajlis-'') into a present tense.\n# The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms (e.g., a present tense formed by doubling the middle root, a perfect formed by infixing a after the first root consonant, probably a jussive formed by a stress shift) in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms (e.g., ''-u'' for indicative, ''-a'' for subjunctive, no ending for jussive, ''-an'' or ''-anna'' for energetic).\n# The development of an internal passive.\nThere are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of the northern Hijaz. These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor, Proto-Arabic. The following features can be reconstructed with confidence for Proto-Arabic:\n# negative particles ''m'' *''mā''; ''lʾn'' *''lā-ʾan'' > CAr ''lan''\n# ''mafʿūl'' G-passive participle\n# prepositions and adverbs ''f'', ''ʿn'', ''ʿnd'', ''ḥt'', ''ʿkdy''\n# a subjunctive in -''a''\n# ''t''-demonstratives\n# leveling of the -''at'' allomorph of the feminine ending\n# ''ʾn'' complementizer and subordinator\n# the use of ''f''- to introduce modal clauses\n# independent object pronoun in (''ʾ'')''y''\n# vestiges of ''nunation''\n", "\n=== Old Arabic ===\n\nArabian Languages\nArabia boasted a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested. In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in a script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic. Finally, on the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B, Thamudic D, Safaitic, and Hismaic are attested. The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are in fact early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic.\n\nBeginning in the 1st century CE, fragments of Northern Old Arabic are attested in the Nabataean script across northern Arabia. By the 4th century CE, the Nabataean Aramaic writing system had come to express varieties of Arabic other than that of the Nabataeans.\n\n===Old Higazi and Classical Arabic===\nIn late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hijaz which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra, most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from the \"learned\" tradition (Classical Arabic). This variety and both its classicizing and \"lay\" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register. It is clear that the orthography of the Qur'ān was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi.\n\nIn the late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal \"poetic koine\" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd, probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra. During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. The standardization of Classical Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ''ʿarabiyya'' \"Arabic\", Sībawayhi's ''al''-''Kitāb'', is based first of all upon a corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'ān usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ''ʿarabiyya''. By the 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world.\n\n=== Neo-Arabic ===\nCharles Ferguson's koine theory (Ferguson 1959) claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on the eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories.\nAccording to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA.\n", "\n''Arabic'' usually designates one of three main variants: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and ''colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic. Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran, used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate. Theoretically, Classical Arabic is considered normative, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as the Lisān al-ʻArab). In practice, however, modern authors almost never write in pure Classical Arabic, instead using a literary language with its own grammatical norms and vocabulary, commonly known as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).\n\nMSA is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa, and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. \"Literary Arabic\" and \"Standard Arabic\" ( '''') are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic.\n\nSome of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows:\n* Certain grammatical constructions of CA that have no counterpart in any modern dialect (e.g., the energetic mood) are almost never used in Modern Standard Arabic.\n* No modern spoken variety of Arabic has case distinctions. As a result, MSA is generally composed without case distinctions in mind, and the proper cases are added after the fact, when necessary. Because most case endings are noted using final short vowels, which are normally left unwritten in the Arabic script, it is unnecessary to determine the proper case of most words. The practical result of this is that MSA, like English and Standard Chinese, is written in a strongly determined word order and alternative orders that were used in CA for emphasis are rare. In addition, because of the lack of case marking in the spoken varieties, most speakers cannot consistently use the correct endings in extemporaneous speech. As a result, spoken MSA tends to drop or regularize the endings except when reading from a prepared text.\n* The numeral system in CA is complex and heavily tied in with the case system. This system is never used in MSA, even in the most formal of circumstances; instead, a significantly simplified system is used, approximating the system of the conservative spoken varieties.\n\nMSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., '''' 'to go') that is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined a large number of terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve. Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., '''' 'film' or '''' 'democracy').\n\nHowever, the current preference is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use loan translations (e.g., '''' 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; '''' 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing roots ( '''' 'apoptosis', using the root ''m/w/t'' 'death' put into the Xth form, or '''' 'university', based on '''' 'to gather, unite'; '''' 'republic', based on '''' 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., '''' 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; '''' 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk').\n\n''Colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic refers to the many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language and evolved from Classical Arabic. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be mutually unintelligible, and some linguists consider them distinct languages. The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows, as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising.\n\nThe only variety of modern Arabic to have acquired official language status is Maltese, which is spoken in (predominately Catholic) Malta and written with the Latin script. It is descended from Classical Arabic through Siculo-Arabic, but is not mutually intelligible with any other variety of Arabic. Most linguists list it as a separate language rather than as a dialect of Arabic.\nFlag of the Arab League, used in some cases for the Arabic language.\nFlag used in some cases for the Arabic language\n\nEven during Muhammad's lifetime, there were dialects of spoken Arabic. Muhammad spoke in the dialect of Mecca, in the western Arabian peninsula, and it was in this dialect that the Quran was written down. However, the dialects of the eastern Arabian peninsula were considered the most prestigious at the time, so the language of the Quran was ultimately converted to follow the eastern phonology. It is this phonology that underlies the modern pronunciation of Classical Arabic. The phonological differences between these two dialects account for some of the complexities of Arabic writing, most notably the writing of the glottal stop or ''hamzah'' (which was preserved in the eastern dialects but lost in western speech) and the use of '''' (representing a sound preserved in the western dialects but merged with '''' in eastern speech).\n", "The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of diglossia, which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native, mutually unintelligible \"dialects\"; these dialects linguistically constitute separate languages which may have dialects of their own. When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers code-switch back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence. Arabic speakers often improve their familiarity with other dialects via music or film.\n\nThe issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the varieties of Chinese, Hindi and Urdu, Serbian and Croatian, Scots and English, etc. In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot. The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a significant complicating factor: A single written form, significantly different from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites a number of sometimes divergent spoken forms. For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak a single language, despite significant issues of mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions.\n\nFrom a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the Romance languages. This is an apt comparison in a number of ways. The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for the Romance languages. Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the Maghreb, a linguistically innovative variety such as Moroccan Arabic is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the Mashriq, much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them. This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages.\n", "\nThe influence of Arabic has been most important in Islamic countries, because it is the language of the Islamic sacred book, the Quran. Arabic is also an important source of vocabulary for languages such as Baluchi, Bengali, Berber, Bosnian, Catalan, Chechen, Dagestani, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hausa, Hindustani, Italian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kutchi, Malay, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Rohingya, Saraiki, Sicilian, Sindhi, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Turkish, Urdu, Uzbek, and Wolof, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken.\n\nIn addition, English has many Arabic loanwords, some directly, but most via other Mediterranean languages. Examples of such words include admiral, adobe, alchemy, alcohol, algebra, algorithm, alkaline, almanac, amber, arsenal, assassin, candy, carat, cipher, coffee, cotton, ghoul, hazard, jar, kismet, lemon, loofah, magazine, mattress, sherbet, sofa, sumac, tariff, and many other words. Other languages such as Maltese and Kinubi derive ultimately from Arabic, rather than merely borrowing vocabulary or grammatical rules.\n\nTerms borrowed range from religious terminology (like Berber ''taẓallit'', \"prayer\", from ''salat'' ( '''')), academic terms (like Uyghur ''mentiq'', \"logic\"), and economic items (like English ''coffee'') to placeholders (like Spanish ''fulano'', \"so-and-so\"), everyday terms (like Hindustani ''lekin'', \"but\", or Spanish ''taza'' and French ''tasse'', meaning \"cup\"), and expressions (like Catalan ''a betzef'', \"galore, in quantity\"). Most Berber varieties (such as Kabyle), along with Swahili, borrow some numbers from Arabic. Most Islamic religious terms are direct borrowings from Arabic, such as (''salat''), \"prayer\", and (''imam''), \"prayer leader.\"\n\nIn languages not directly in contact with the Arab world, Arabic loanwords are often transferred indirectly via other languages rather than being transferred directly from Arabic. For example, most Arabic loanwords in Hindustani and Turkish entered through Persian though Persian is an Indo-Iranian language. Older Arabic loanwords in Hausa were borrowed from Kanuri.\n\nSome words in English and other European languages are derived from Arabic, often through other European languages, especially Spanish and Italian. Among them are commonly used words like \"coffee\" ( ''qahwah''), \"cotton\" ( ''''), and \"magazine\" ( ''''). English words more recognizably of Arabic origin include \"algebra\", \"alcohol\", \"alchemy\", \"alkali\", \"zenith\", and \"nadir\".\n\nArabic words also made their way into several West African languages as Islam spread across the Sahara. Variants of Arabic words such as ''kitāb'' (\"book\") have spread to the languages of African groups who had no direct contact with Arab traders.\n\nSince throughout the Islamic world, Arabic occupied a position similar to that of Latin in Europe, many of the Arabic concepts in the fields of science, philosophy, commerce, etc. were coined from Arabic roots by non-native Arabic speakers, notably by Aramaic and Persian translators, and then found their way into other languages. This process of using Arabic roots, especially in Kurdish and Persian, to translate foreign concepts continued through to the 18th and 19th centuries, when swaths of Arab-inhabited lands were under Ottoman rule.\n", "The most important sources of borrowings into (pre-Islamic) Arabic are from the related (Semitic) languages Aramaic, which used to be the principal, international language of communication throughout the ancient Near and Middle East, Ethiopic, and to a lesser degree Hebrew (mainly religious concepts). In addition, many cultural, religious and political terms have entered Arabic from Iranian languages, notably Middle Persian, Parthian, and (Classical) Persian, and Hellenistic Greek (''kīmiyāʼ'' has as origin the Greek ''khymia'', meaning in that language the melting of metals; see Roger Dachez, ''Histoire de la Médecine de l'Antiquité au XXe siècle'', Tallandier, 2008, p. 251), ''alembic'' (distiller) from ''ambix'' (cup), ''almanac'' (climate) from ''almenichiakon'' (calendar). (For the origin of the last three borrowed words, see Alfred-Louis de Prémare, ''Foundations of Islam'', Seuil, L'Univers Historique, 2002.) Some Arabic borrowings from Semitic or Persian languages are, as presented in De Prémare's above-cited book:\n* ''madīnah''/medina (مدينة, city or city square), a word of Aramaic or Hebrew origin מדינה (in which it means \"a state\");\n* ''jazīrah'' (جزيرة), as in the well-known form الجزيرة \"Al-Jazeera,\" means \"island\" and has its origin in the Syriac ܓܙܝܪܗ ''gazīra''.\n* ''lāzaward'' (لازورد) is taken from Persian لاژورد ''lājvard'', the name of a blue stone, lapis lazuli. This word was borrowed in several European languages to mean (light) blue - azure in English, ''azur'' in French and ''azul'' in Portuguese and Spanish.\n", "There have been many instances of national movements to convert Arabic script into Latin script or to Romanize the language. Currently, the only Arabic language to use Latin script is Maltese.\n\n===Lebanon===\nThe Beirut newspaper ''La Syrie'' pushed for the change from Arabic script to Latin letters in 1922. The major head of this movement was Louis Massignon, a French Orientalist, who brought his concern before the Arabic Language Academy in Damacus in 1928. Massignon's attempt at Romanization failed as the Academy and population viewed the proposal as an attempt from the Western world to take over their country. Sa'id Afghani, a member of the Academy, mentioned that the movement to Romanize the script was a Zionist plan to dominate Lebanon.\n\n===Egypt===\nAfter the period of colonialism in Egypt, Egyptians were looking for a way to reclaim and re-emphasize Egyptian culture. As a result, some Egyptians pushed for an Egyptianization of the Arabic language in which the formal Arabic and the colloquial Arabic would be combined into one language and the Latin alphabet would be used. There was also the idea of finding a way to use Hieroglyphics instead of the Latin alphabet, but this was seen as too complicated to use. A scholar, Salama Musa agreed with the idea of applying a Latin alphabet to Arabic, as he believed that would allow Egypt to have a closer relationship with the West. He also believed that Latin script was key to the success of Egypt as it would allow for more advances in science and technology. This change in alphabet, he believed, would solve the problems inherent with Arabic, such as a lack of written vowels and difficulties writing foreign words that made it difficult for non-native speakers to learn. Ahmad Lutfi As Sayid and Muhammad Azmi, two Egyptian intellectuals, agreed with Musa and supported the push for Romanization. The idea that Romanization was necessary for modernization and growth in Egypt continued with Abd Al-Aziz Fahmi in 1944. He was the chairman for the Writing and Grammar Committee for the Arabic Language Academy of Cairo. However, this effort failed as the Egyptian people felt a strong cultural tie to the Arabic alphabet. In particular, the older Egyptian generations believed that the Arabic alphabet had strong connections to Arab values and history, which is easy to believe due to the long history of the Arabic alphabet (Shrivtiel, 189) in Muslim societies.\n", "The Quran introduced a new way of writing to the world. People began studying applying the unique styles they learned from the Quran into not only their own writing, but also their culture. The deep level on which the Quran addresses the reader creates a strong bond and connection to the reader's soul. Writers studied the unique structure and format of the Quran in order to identify and apply the figurative devices and their impact on the reader. \n\n=== Quran's figurative devices ===\nThe Quran inspired musicality in poetry through the internal rhythm of the verses. The arrangement of words, how certain sounds create harmony, and the agreement of rhymes create the sense of rhythm within each verse. At times, the chapters of the Quran only have the rhythm in common.\n\nThe repetition in the Quran introduced the true power and impact repetition can have in poetry. The repetition of certain words and phrases made them appear more firm and explicit in the Quran. The Quran uses constant metaphors of blindness and deafness to imply unbelief. Metaphors were not a new concept to poetry, however the strength of extended metaphors was. The explicit imagery in the Quran inspired many poets to include and focus on the feature in their own work. The poet ibn al mu'tazz wrote a book regarding the figures of speech inspired by his study of the Quran. OPoets such as badr Shakir al sayyab expresses his political opinion in his work through imagery inspired by the forms of more harsher imagery used in the Quran.\nThe Quran uses figurative devices in order to express the meaning in the most beautiful form possible. The study of the pauses in the Quran as well as other rhetoric allow it to be approached in a multiple ways.\n\n===Structure===\nAlthough the Quran is known for its fluency and harmony, the structure can be best described as chaotic. The suras also known as verses of the Quran are not placed in chronological order. The only constant in their structure is that the longest are placed first and shorter ones follow. The topics discussed in the chapter often have no relation to each other and only share their sense of rhyme. The Quran introduces to poetry the idea of abandoning order and scattering narratives throughout the text. Harmony is also present in the sound of the Quran. The elongations and accents present in the Quran create a harmonious flow within the writing. Unique sound of the Quran recited, due to the accents, create a deeper level of understanding through a deeper emotional connection. \n\nThe Quran is written in a language that is simple and understandable by people. The simplicity of the writing inspired later poets to write in a more clear and clear-cut style. The words of the Quran, although unchanged, are to this day understandable and frequently used in both formal and informal Arabic. The simplicity of the language makes memorizing and reciting the Quran a slightly easier task.\n\n===Culture and the Quran===\nThe writer al-Khattabi explains how culture is a required element to create a sense of art in work as well as understand it. He believes that fluency and harmony the Quran possess are not the only elements that make it beautiful and create a bond between the reader and the text. \nWhile a lot of poetry was deemed comparable to the Quran in that it is equal to or better than the composition of the Quran, a debate rose that such statements are not possible because humans are incapable of composing work comparable to the Quran.\nBecause the structure of the Quran made it difficult for a clear timeline to be seen, Hadith were the main source of chronological order. The Hadith were passed down from generation to generation and this tradition became a large resource for understanding the context. Poetry after the Quran began possessing this element of tradition by including ambiguity and background information to be required to understand the meaning. \n\nAfter the Quran came down to the people, the tradition of memorizing the verses became present. It is believed that the larger amount of the Quran memorized is a sign of a stronger faith. As technology improved overtime, hearing recitations of Quran became more available as well as more tools to help memorize the versus. \nThe tradition of Love Poetry served as a symbolic representation of a Muslim's desire for a closer contact with their Lord.\n\nWhile the influence of the Quran on Arabic poetry is explained and defended by numerous writers, some writers such as Al- Baqillani believe that poetry and the Quran are in no conceivable way related due to the uniqueness of the Quran. Poetry's imperfections prove his points that that they cannot be compared with the fluency the Quran holds.\n\n=== Arabic and Islam ===\nClassical Arabic is the language of poetry and literature (including news); it is also mainly the language of the Quran. At present, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is also used in modernized versions of literary forms of the Quran. Arabic is closely associated with the religion of Islam because the Quran was written in Arabic, but it is nevertheless also spoken by other religious groups such as Arab Christians, Mizrahi Jews, Druze and Iraqi Mandaeans. Most of the world's Muslims do not speak Classical Arabic as their native language, but many can read the Quranic script and recite the Quran. Among non-Arab Muslims, translations of the Quran are most often accompanied by the original text.\n\nSome Muslims present a monogenesis of languages and claim that the Arabic language was the language revealed by God for the benefit of mankind and the original language as a prototype system of symbolic communication, based upon its system of triconsonantal roots, spoken by man from which all other languages were derived, having first been corrupted. Judaism has a similar account with the Tower of Babel.\n", "\nDifferent dialects of Arabic.\n''Colloquial Arabic'' is a collective term for the spoken dialects of Arabic used throughout the Arab world, which differ radically from the literary language. The main dialectal division is between the varieties within and outside of the Arabian peninsula, followed by that between sedentary varieties and the much more conservative Bedouin varieties. All of the varieties outside of the Arabian peninsula (which include the large majority of speakers) have a large number of features in common with each other that are not found in Classical Arabic. This has led researchers to postulate the existence of a prestige koine dialect in the one or two centuries immediately following the Arab conquest, whose features eventually spread to all of the newly conquered areas. (These features are present to varying degrees inside the Arabian peninsula. Generally, the Arabian peninsula varieties have much more diversity than the non-peninsula varieties, but have been understudied.)\n\nWithin the non-peninsula varieties, the largest difference is between the non-Egyptian North African dialects (especially Moroccan Arabic) and the others. Moroccan Arabic in particular is hardly comprehensible to Arabic speakers east of Libya (although the converse is not true, in part due to the popularity of Egyptian films and other media).\n\nOne factor in the differentiation of the dialects is influence from the languages previously spoken in the areas, which have typically provided a significant number of new words and have sometimes also influenced pronunciation or word order; however, a much more significant factor for most dialects is, as among Romance languages, retention (or change of meaning) of different classical forms. Thus Iraqi ''aku'', Levantine ''fīh'' and North African ''kayən'' all mean 'there is', and all come from Classical Arabic forms (''yakūn'', ''fīhi'', ''kā'in'' respectively), but now sound very different.\n\n===Examples===\nTranscription is a broad IPA transcription, so minor differences were ignored for easier comparison. Also, the pronunciation of Modern Standard Arabic differs significantly from region to region.\n\n\n Variety\n I love reading a lot\n When I went to the library\n I didn't find this old book\n I wanted to read a book about the history of women in France\n\n Literary Arabic in Arabic script(common spelling)\n \n \n \n \n\n Literary Arabic in Arabic script(with all vowels)\n \n \n \n \n\n Classical Arabic(liturgical or poetic only)\n \n \n \n \n\n Modern Standard Arabic\n \n \n \n \n\n Yemeni Arabic (Sanaa)\n \n \n \n \n\n Gulf Arabic (Kuwait)\n \n \n \n \n\n Gələt Mesopotamian (Baghdad)\n \n \n \n \n\n Hijazi Arabic (Medina)\n \n \n \n \n\n Western Syrian Arabic (Damascus)\n \n \n \n \n\n Lebanese Arabic (Beirut?)\n \n \n \n \n\n Urban Palestinian (Jerusalem)\n \n \n \n \n\n Rural Palestinian (West Bank)\n \n \n \n \n\n Egyptian (metropolitan)\n \n \n \n \n\n Libyan Arabic (Tripoli?)\n\n \n \n \n \n\n Tunisian (Tunis)\n \n \n \n \n\n Algerian (Algiers?)\n \n \n \n \n\n Moroccan (Rabat?)\n \n \n \n \n\n Maltese (Valletta)(in Maltese orthography)\n \n \n \n \n\n\n=== Koine ===\nAccording to Charles A. Ferguson, the following are some of the characteristic features of the koine that underlies all of the modern dialects outside the Arabian peninsula. Although many other features are common to most or all of these varieties, Ferguson believes that these features in particular are unlikely to have evolved independently more than once or twice and together suggest the existence of the koine:\n* Loss of the dual (grammatical number) except on nouns, with consistent plural agreement (cf. feminine singular agreement in plural inanimates).\n* Change of ''a'' to ''i'' in many affixes (e.g., non-past-tense prefixes ''ti- yi- ni-''; ''wi-'' 'and'; ''il-'' 'the'; feminine ''-it'' in the construct state).\n* Loss of third-weak verbs ending in ''w'' (which merge with verbs ending in ''y'').\n* Reformation of geminate verbs, e.g., '''' 'I untied' → ''''.\n* Conversion of separate words ''lī'' 'to me', ''laka'' 'to you', etc. into indirect-object clitic suffixes.\n* Certain changes in the cardinal number system, e.g., '''' 'five days' → '''', where certain words have a special plural with prefixed ''t''.\n* Loss of the feminine elative (comparative).\n* Adjective plurals of the form '''' 'big' → ''''.\n* Change of nisba suffix '''' > ''''.\n* Certain lexical items, e.g., '''' 'bring' < '''' 'come with'; '''' 'see'; '''' 'what' (or similar) < '''' 'which thing'; '''' (relative pronoun).\n* Merger of and .\n\n=== Dialect groups ===\n* Egyptian Arabic is spoken by around 53 million in Egypt (55 million worldwide). It is one of the most understood varieties of Arabic, due in large part to the widespread distribution of Egyptian films and television shows throughout the Arabic-speaking world\n* Levantine Arabic includes North Levantine Arabic, South Levantine Arabic and Cypriot Arabic. It is spoken by about 21 million people in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey.\n** Lebanese Arabic is a variety of Levantine Arabic spoken primarily in Lebanon.\n** Jordanian Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Levantine Arabic spoken by the population of the Kingdom of Jordan.\n** Palestinian Arabic is a name of several dialects of the subgroup of Levantine Arabic spoken by the Palestinians in Palestine, by Arab citizens of Israel and in most Palestinian populations around the world.\n** Samaritan Arabic, spoken by only several hundred in the Nablus region\n** Cypriot Maronite Arabic, spoken in Cyprus\n* Maghrebi Arabic, also called \"Darija\" spoken by about 70 million people in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Malta. It is very hard to understand for Arabic speakers from the Mashriq or Mesopotamia, the easiest being Libyan Arabic and the hardest Moroccan Arabic and Maltese language (which is close to Tunisian Arabic). The others such as Algerian Arabic can be considered \"in between\".\n** Libyan Arabic spoken in Libya and neighboring countries.\n** Tunisian Arabic spoken in Tunisia and North-eastern Algeria\n** Algerian Arabic spoken in Algeria\n** Judeo-Algerian Arabic was spoken by Jews in Algeria until 1962\n** Moroccan Arabic spoken in Morocco\n** Maltese, spoken on the island of Malta, is the only dialect to have established itself as a fully separate language, with independent literary norms. Sicilian Arabic, spoken on the island of Sicily until the 14th century, developed into Maltese in Malta. In the course of its history the language has adopted numerous loanwords, phonetic and phonological features, and even some grammatical patterns, from Italian, Sicilian and English. It is also the only Semitic language written in the Latin script. Furthermore, Maltese or Sicilian Arabic are closely related to Tunisian Arabic due to the cultural and historical ties between Tunisia and Malta, and the languages are partially mutually intelligible.\n** Andalusian Arabic, spoken in Spain until the 16th century.\n** Siculo-Arabic, was spoken in Sicily and Malta between the end of the ninth century and the end of the twelfth century.\n* Mesopotamian Arabic, spoken by about 32 million people in Iraq (where it is called \"Aamiyah\"), eastern Syria and southwestern Iran (Khuzestan).\n** Baghdad Arabic is the Arabic dialect spoken in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. It is a subvariety of Mesopotamian Arabic.\n* Kuwaiti Arabic is a Gulf Arabic dialect spoken in Kuwait.\n* Khuzestani Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khuzestan.\n* Khorasani Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khorasan.\n* Sudanese Arabic is spoken by 17 million people in Sudan and some parts of southern Egypt. Sudanese Arabic is quite distinct from the dialect of its neighbor to the north; rather, the Sudanese have a dialect similar to the Hijazi dialect.\n* Juba Arabic spoken in South Sudan and southern Sudan\n* Gulf Arabic, spoken by around four million people, predominantly in Kuwait, Bahrain, some parts of Oman, eastern Saudi Arabia coastal areas and some parts of UAE and Qatar. Also spoken in Iran's Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces. Although Gulf Arabic is spoken in Qatar, most Qatari citizens speak Najdi Arabic (Bedawi).\n* Yemeni Arabic spoken in Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti and southern Saudi Arabia by 15 million people. Similar to Gulf Arabic.\n* Najdi Arabic, spoken by around 10 million people, mainly spoken in Najd, central and northern Saudi Arabia. Most Qatari citizens speak Najdi Arabic (Bedawi).\n* Hejazi Arabic (6 million speakers), spoken in Hijaz, western Saudi Arabia\n* Hassaniya Arabic (3 million speakers), spoken in Mauritania, Western Sahara, some parts of northern Mali, southern Morocco and south-western Algeria.\n* Saharan Arabic spoken in some parts of Algeria, Niger and Mali\n* Bahrani Arabic (600,000 speakers), spoken by Bahrani Shiʻah in Bahrain and Qatif, the dialect exhibits many big differences from Gulf Arabic. It is also spoken to a lesser extent in Oman.\n* Judeo-Arabic dialects - these are the dialects spoken by the Jews that had lived or continue to live in the Arab World. As Jewish migration to Israel took hold, the language did not thrive and is now considered endangered.\n* Chadian Arabic, spoken in Chad, Sudan, some parts of South Sudan, Central African Republic, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon\n* Central Asian Arabic, spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, is highly endangered\n* Shirvani Arabic, spoken in Azerbaijan and Dagestan until the 1930s, now extinct.\n", "\n\n=== History ===\nOf the 29 Proto-Semitic consonants, only one has been lost: , which merged with . But the consonant is still found in many colloquial Arabic dialects. Various other consonants have changed their sound too, but have remained distinct. An original lenited to , and - consistently attested in pre-Islamic Greek transcription of Arabic languages - became palatalized to or by the time of the Quran and , , or in MSA (see Arabic phonology#Local variations for more detail). An original voiceless alveolar lateral fricative became . Its emphatic counterpart was considered by Arabs to be the most unusual sound in Arabic (Hence the Classical Arabic's appellation '''' or \"language of the ''''\"); for most modern dialects, it has become an emphatic stop with loss of the laterality or with complete loss of any pharyngealization or velarization, . (The classical '''' pronunciation of pharyngealization still occurs in the Mehri language and the similar sound without velarization, , exists in other Modern South Arabian languages.)\n\nOther changes may also have happened. Classical Arabic pronunciation is not thoroughly recorded and different reconstructions of the sound system of Proto-Semitic propose different phonetic values. One example is the emphatic consonants, which are pharyngealized in modern pronunciations but may have been velarized in the eighth century and glottalized in Proto-Semitic.\n\nReduction of and between vowels occurs in a number of circumstances and is responsible for much of the complexity of third-weak (\"defective\") verbs. Early Akkadian transcriptions of Arabic names shows that this reduction had not yet occurred as of the early part of the 1st millennium BC.\n\nThe Classical Arabic language as recorded was a poetic koine that reflected a consciously archaizing dialect, chosen based on the tribes of the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, who spoke the most conservative variants of Arabic. Even at the time of Muhammed and before, other dialects existed with many more changes, including the loss of most glottal stops, the loss of case endings, the reduction of the diphthongs and into monophthongs , etc. Most of these changes are present in most or all modern varieties of Arabic.\n\nAn interesting feature of the writing system of the Quran (and hence of Classical Arabic) is that it contains certain features of Muhammad's native dialect of Mecca, corrected through diacritics into the forms of standard Classical Arabic. Among these features visible under the corrections are the loss of the glottal stop and a differing development of the reduction of certain final sequences containing : Evidently, final became as in the Classical language, but final became a different sound, possibly (rather than again in the Classical language). This is the apparent source of the ''alif maqṣūrah'' 'restricted alif' where a final is reconstructed: a letter that would normally indicate or some similar high-vowel sound, but is taken in this context to be a logical variant of ''alif'' and represent the sound .\n\n=== Literary Arabic ===\nThe \"colloquial\" spoken varieties of Arabic are learned at home and constitute the native languages of Arabic speakers. \"Formal\" Literary Arabic (usually specifically Modern Standard Arabic) is learned at school; although many speakers have a native-like command of the language, it is technically not the native language of any speakers. Both varieties can be both written and spoken, although the colloquial varieties are rarely written down and the formal variety is spoken mostly in formal circumstances, e.g., in radio broadcasts, formal lectures, parliamentary discussions and to some extent between speakers of different colloquial varieties. Even when the literary language is spoken, however, it is normally only spoken in its pure form when reading a prepared text out loud. When speaking extemporaneously (i.e. making up the language on the spot, as in a normal discussion among people), speakers tend to deviate somewhat from the strict literary language in the direction of the colloquial varieties. In fact, there is a continuous range of \"in-between\" spoken varieties: from nearly pure Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), to a form that still uses MSA grammar and vocabulary but with significant colloquial influence, to a form of the colloquial language that imports a number of words and grammatical constructions in MSA, to a form that is close to pure colloquial but with the \"rough edges\" (the most noticeably \"vulgar\" or non-Classical aspects) smoothed out, to pure colloquial. The particular variant (or ''register'') used depends on the social class and education level of the speakers involved and the level of formality of the speech situation. Often it will vary within a single encounter, e.g., moving from nearly pure MSA to a more mixed language in the process of a radio interview, as the interviewee becomes more comfortable with the interviewer. This type of variation is characteristic of the diglossia that exists throughout the Arabic-speaking world.Al-Ma'arri titled \"I no longer steal from nature\"\nAlthough Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is a unitary language, its pronunciation varies somewhat from country to country and from region to region within a country. The variation in individual \"accents\" of MSA speakers tends to mirror corresponding variations in the colloquial speech of the speakers in question, but with the distinguishing characteristics moderated somewhat. Note that it is important in descriptions of \"Arabic\" phonology to distinguish between pronunciation of a given colloquial (spoken) dialect and the pronunciation of MSA by these same speakers. Although they are related, they are not the same. For example, the phoneme that derives from Proto-Semitic has many different pronunciations in the modern spoken varieties, e.g., . Speakers whose native variety has either or will use the same pronunciation when speaking MSA. Even speakers from Cairo, whose native Egyptian Arabic has , normally use when speaking MSA. The of Persian Gulf speakers is the only variant pronunciation which isn't found in MSA; is used instead.\n\nAnother example: Many colloquial varieties are known for a type of vowel harmony in which the presence of an \"emphatic consonant\" triggers backed allophones of nearby vowels (especially of the low vowels , which are backed to in these circumstances and very often fronted to in all other circumstances). In many spoken varieties, the backed or \"emphatic\" vowel allophones spread a fair distance in both directions from the triggering consonant; in some varieties (most notably Egyptian Arabic), the \"emphatic\" allophones spread throughout the entire word, usually including prefixes and suffixes, even at a distance of several syllables from the triggering consonant. Speakers of colloquial varieties with this vowel harmony tend to introduce it into their MSA pronunciation as well, but usually with a lesser degree of spreading than in the colloquial varieties. (For example, speakers of colloquial varieties with extremely long-distance harmony may allow a moderate, but not extreme, amount of spreading of the harmonic allophones in their MSA speech, while speakers of colloquial varieties with moderate-distance harmony may only harmonize immediately adjacent vowels in MSA.)\n\n==== Vowels ====\nModern Standard Arabic has six pure vowels, with short and corresponding long vowels . There are also two diphthongs: and .\n\nThe pronunciation of the vowels differs from speaker to speaker, in a way that tends to reflect the pronunciation of the corresponding colloquial variety. Nonetheless, there are some common trends. Most noticeable is the differing pronunciation of and , which tend towards fronted , or in most situations, but a back in the neighborhood of emphatic consonants. Some accents and dialects, such as those of the Hijaz, have central in all situations. The vowel varies towards too. Listen to the final vowel in the recording of '''' at the beginning of this article, for example. The point is, Arabic has only three short vowel phonemes, so those phonemes can have a very wide range of allophones. The vowels and are often affected somewhat in emphatic neighborhoods as well, with generally more back or centralized allophones, but the differences are less great than for the low vowels. The pronunciation of short and tends towards and , respectively, in many dialects.\n\nThe definition of both \"emphatic\" and \"neighborhood\" vary in ways that reflect (to some extent) corresponding variations in the spoken dialects. Generally, the consonants triggering \"emphatic\" allophones are the pharyngealized consonants ; ; and , if not followed immediately by . Frequently, the fricatives also trigger emphatic allophones; occasionally also the pharyngeal consonants (the former more than the latter). Many dialects have multiple emphatic allophones of each vowel, depending on the particular nearby consonants. In most MSA accents, emphatic coloring of vowels is limited to vowels immediately adjacent to a triggering consonant, although in some it spreads a bit farther: e.g., '''' 'time'; '''' 'homeland'; '''' 'downtown' (sometimes or similar).\n\nIn a non-emphatic environment, the vowel in the diphthong tends to be fronted even more than elsewhere, often pronounced or : hence '''' 'sword' but '''' 'summer'. However, in accents with no emphatic allophones of (e.g., in the Hijaz), the pronunciation occurs in all situations.\n\n==== Consonants ====\n\n+ Consonant phonemes of Modern Standard Arabic\n\n Labial\n Dental\n Denti-alveolar\n Palatal\n Velar\n Uvular\n Pharyngeal\n Glottal\n\n plain\n emphatic\n\nNasal\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStop\nvoiceless\n\n\n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\nvoiced\n \n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\nFricative\nvoiceless\n \n \n \n \n \n ~ \n \n \n\nvoiced\n\n \n \n \n\n ~ \n \n\n\nTrill\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nApproximant\n\n\n \n ()\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\nThe phoneme is represented by the Arabic letter '''' () and has many standard pronunciations. is characteristic of north Algeria, Iraq, also in most of the Arabian peninsula but with an allophonic in some positions; occurs in most of the Levant and most North Africa; and is used in most of Egypt and some regions in Yemen and Oman. Generally this corresponds with the pronunciation in the colloquial dialects. In some regions in Sudan and Yemen, as well as in some Sudanese and Yemeni dialects, it may be either or , representing the original pronunciation of Classical Arabic. Foreign words containing may be transcribed with , , , , , or , mainly depending on the regional spoken variety of Arabic or the commonly diacriticized Arabic letter. Note also that in northern Egypt, where the Arabic letter '''' () is normally pronounced , a separate phoneme , which may be transcribed with , occurs in a small number of mostly non-Arabic loanwords, e.g., 'jacket'.\n\n () can be pronounced as or even . In some places of Maghreb it can be also pronounced as .\n\n and () are velar, post-velar, or uvular.\n\nIn many varieties, () are actually epiglottal (despite what is reported in many earlier works).\n\n is pronounced as velarized in الله , the name of God, q.e. Allah, when the word follows ''a'', ''ā'', ''u'' or ''ū'' (after ''i'' or ''ī'' it is unvelarized: ''bismi l–lāh'' ). Some speakers velarize other occurrences of in MSA, in imitation of their spoken dialects.\n\nThe emphatic consonant was actually pronounced , or possibly —either way, a highly unusual sound. The medieval Arabs actually termed their language '''' 'the language of the Ḍād' (the name of the letter used for this sound), since they thought the sound was unique to their language. (In fact, it also exists in a few other minority Semitic languages, e.g., Mehri.)\n\nArabic has consonants traditionally termed \"emphatic\" (), which exhibit simultaneous pharyngealization as well as varying degrees of velarization , so they may be written with the \"Velarized or pharyngealized\" diacritic () as: . This simultaneous articulation is described as \"Retracted Tongue Root\" by phonologists. In some transcription systems, emphasis is shown by capitalizing the letter, for example, is written ; in others the letter is underlined or has a dot below it, for example, .\n\nVowels and consonants can be phonologically short or long. Long (geminate) consonants are normally written doubled in Latin transcription (i.e. bb, dd, etc.), reflecting the presence of the Arabic diacritic mark '''', which indicates doubled consonants. In actual pronunciation, doubled consonants are held twice as long as short consonants. This consonant lengthening is phonemically contrastive: '''' 'he accepted' vs. '''' 'he kissed'.\n\n\n ProtoSemitic\n IPA\n Arabic\n\n written\n standard\n Classical\n OldArabic\n\n \n \n ب\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n د\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ج\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ف\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ت\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ك\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ط\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ق\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n / \n ذ\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n ز\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n س\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n\n \n / \n ث\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n ش\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n / \n ظ\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n / \n ص\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n / \n ض\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n ~\n غ\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ع\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ء\n ''''\n \n\n \n ~\n خ\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ح\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ه\n ''''\n \n\n\n\n \n \n م\n ''m''\n \n\n \n \n ن\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ر\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ل\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ي\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n و\n ''''\n \n\n ProtoSemitic\n IPA\n Arabic\n Standard\n Classical\n Old\n\n\n==== Syllable structure ====\nArabic has two kinds of syllables: open syllables (CV) and (CVV)—and closed syllables (CVC), (CVVC) and (CVCC). The syllable types with two morae (units of time), i.e. CVC and CVV, are termed ''heavy syllables'', while those with three morae, i.e. CVVC and CVCC, are ''superheavy syllables''. Superheavy syllables in Classical Arabic occur in only two places: at the end of the sentence (due to pausal pronunciation) and in words such as '''' 'hot', '''' 'stuff, substance', '''' 'they disputed with each other', where a long '''' occurs before two identical consonants (a former short vowel between the consonants has been lost). (In less formal pronunciations of Modern Standard Arabic, superheavy syllables are common at the end of words or before clitic suffixes such as '''' 'us, our', due to the deletion of final short vowels.)\n\nIn surface pronunciation, every vowel must be preceded by a consonant (which may include the glottal stop ). There are no cases of hiatus within a word (where two vowels occur next to each other, without an intervening consonant). Some words do have an underlying vowel at the beginning, such as the definite article ''al-'' or words such as '''' 'he bought', '''' 'meeting'. When actually pronounced, one of three things happens:\n* If the word occurs after another word ending in a consonant, there is a smooth transition from final consonant to initial vowel, e.g., '''' 'meeting' .\n* If the word occurs after another word ending in a vowel, the initial vowel of the word is elided, e.g., '''' 'house of the director' .\n* If the word occurs at the beginning of an utterance, a glottal stop is added onto the beginning, e.g., '''' 'The house is ...' .\n\n==== Stress ====\nWord stress is not phonemically contrastive in Standard Arabic. It bears a strong relationship to vowel length. The basic rules for Modern Standard Arabic are:\n* A final vowel, long or short, may not be stressed.\n* Only one of the last three syllables may be stressed.\n* Given this restriction, the last heavy syllable (containing a long vowel or ending in a consonant) is stressed, if it is not the final syllable.\n* If the final syllable is super heavy and closed (of the form CVVC or CVCC) it receives stress.\n* If no syllable is heavy or super heavy, the first possible syllable (i.e. third from end) is stressed.\n* As a special exception, in Form VII and VIII verb forms stress may not be on the first syllable, despite the above rules: Hence '''' 'he subscribed' (whether or not the final short vowel is pronounced), '''' 'he subscribes' (whether or not the final short vowel is pronounced), '''' 'he should subscribe (juss.)'. Likewise Form VIII '''' 'he bought', '''' 'he buys'.\n\nExamples:'''' 'book', '''' 'writer', '''' 'desk', '''' 'desks', '''' 'library' (but '''' 'library' in short pronunciation), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they wrote' = '''' (dialect), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they wrote it' = '''' (dialect), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they (dual, fem) wrote', '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'I wrote' = '''' (short form or dialect). Doubled consonants count as two consonants: '''' 'magazine', '''' \"place\".\n\nThese rules may result in differently stressed syllables when final case endings are pronounced, vs. the normal situation where they are not pronounced, as in the above example of '''' 'library' in full pronunciation, but '''' 'library' in short pronunciation.\n\nThe restriction on final long vowels does not apply to the spoken dialects, where original final long vowels have been shortened and secondary final long vowels have arisen from loss of original final ''-hu/hi''.\n\nSome dialects have different stress rules. In the Cairo (Egyptian Arabic) dialect a heavy syllable may not carry stress more than two syllables from the end of a word, hence '''' 'school', '''' 'Cairo'. This also affects the way that Modern Standard Arabic is pronounced in Egypt. In the Arabic of Sanaa, stress is often retracted: '''' 'two houses', '''' 'their table', '''' 'desks', '''' 'sometimes', '''' 'their school'. (In this dialect, only syllables with long vowels or diphthongs are considered heavy; in a two-syllable word, the final syllable can be stressed only if the preceding syllable is light; and in longer words, the final syllable cannot be stressed.)\n\n==== Levels of pronunciation ====\nThe final short vowels (e.g., the case endings ''-a -i -u'' and mood endings ''-u -a'') are often not pronounced in this language, despite forming part of the formal paradigm of nouns and verbs. The following levels of pronunciation exist:\n\n===== Full pronunciation with pausa =====\nThis is the most formal level actually used in speech. All endings are pronounced as written, except at the end of an utterance, where the following changes occur:\n* Final short vowels are not pronounced. (But possibly an exception is made for feminine plural ''-na'' and shortened vowels in the jussive/imperative of defective verbs, e.g., ''irmi!'' 'throw!'\".)\n* The entire indefinite noun endings ''-in'' and ''-un'' (with nunation) are left off. The ending ''-an'' is left off of nouns preceded by a ''tāʾ marbūṭah'' ة (i.e. the ''-t'' in the ending ''-at-'' that typically marks feminine nouns), but pronounced as ''-ā'' in other nouns (hence its writing in this fashion in the Arabic script).\n* The ''tāʼ marbūṭah'' itself (typically of feminine nouns) is pronounced as ''h''. (At least, this is the case in extremely formal pronunciation, e.g., some Quranic recitations. In practice, this ''h'' is usually omitted.)\n\n===== Formal short pronunciation =====\nThis is a formal level of pronunciation sometimes seen. It is somewhat like pronouncing all words as if they were in pausal position (with influence from the colloquial varieties). The following changes occur:\n* Most final short vowels are not pronounced. However, the following short vowels ''are'' pronounced:\n** feminine plural ''-na''\n** shortened vowels in the jussive/imperative of defective verbs, e.g., ''irmi!'' 'throw!'\n** second-person singular feminine past-tense ''-ti'' and likewise ''anti'' 'you (fem. sg.)'\n** sometimes, first-person singular past-tense ''-tu''\n** sometimes, second-person masculine past-tense ''-ta'' and likewise ''anta'' 'you (masc. sg.)'\n** final ''-a'' in certain short words, e.g., ''laysa'' 'is not', ''sawfa'' (future-tense marker)\n* The nunation endings ''-an -in -un'' are not pronounced. However, they ''are'' pronounced in adverbial accusative formations, e.g., '''' تَقْرِيبًا 'almost, approximately', '''' عَادَةً 'usually'.\n* The ''tāʾ marbūṭah'' ending ة is unpronounced, ''except'' in construct state nouns, where it sounds as ''t'' (and in adverbial accusative constructions, e.g., '''' عَادَةً 'usually', where the entire ''-tan'' is pronounced).\n* The masculine singular nisbah ending '''' is actually pronounced '''' and is unstressed (but plural and feminine singular forms, i.e. when followed by a suffix, still sound as '''').\n* ''Full endings'' (including case endings) occur when a clitic object or possessive suffix is added (e.g., '''' 'us/our').\n\n===== Informal short pronunciation =====\nThis is the pronunciation used by speakers of Modern Standard Arabic in extemporaneous speech, i.e. when producing new sentences rather than simply reading a prepared text. It is similar to formal short pronunciation except that the rules for dropping final vowels apply ''even'' when a clitic suffix is added. Basically, short-vowel case and mood endings are never pronounced and certain other changes occur that echo the corresponding colloquial pronunciations. Specifically:\n* All the rules for formal short pronunciation apply, except as follows.\n* The past tense singular endings written formally as ''-tu -ta -ti'' are pronounced ''-t -t -ti''. But masculine '''' is pronounced in full.\n* Unlike in formal short pronunciation, the rules for dropping or modifying final endings are also applied when a clitic object or possessive suffix is added (e.g., '''' 'us/our'). If this produces a sequence of three consonants, then one of the following happens, depending on the speaker's native colloquial variety:\n** A short vowel (e.g., ''-i-'' or ''-ǝ-'') is consistently added, either between the second and third or the first and second consonants.\n** Or, a short vowel is added only if an otherwise unpronounceable sequence occurs, typically due to a violation of the sonority hierarchy (e.g., ''-rtn-'' is pronounced as a three-consonant cluster, but ''-trn-'' needs to be broken up).\n** Or, a short vowel is never added, but consonants like ''r l m n'' occurring between two other consonants will be pronounced as a syllabic consonant (as in the English words \"butter bottle bottom button\").\n** When a doubled consonant occurs before another consonant (or finally), it is often shortened to a single consonant rather than a vowel added. (But note that Moroccan Arabic never shortens doubled consonants or inserts short vowels to break up clusters, instead tolerating arbitrary-length series of arbitrary consonants and hence Moroccan Arabic speakers are likely to follow the same rules in their pronunciation of Modern Standard Arabic.)\n* The clitic suffixes themselves tend also to be changed, in a way that avoids many possible occurrences of three-consonant clusters. In particular, ''-ka -ki -hu'' generally sound as ''-ak -ik -uh''.\n* Final long vowels are often shortened, merging with any short vowels that remain.\n* Depending on the level of formality, the speaker's education level, etc., various grammatical changes may occur in ways that echo the colloquial variants:\n** Any remaining case endings (e.g. masculine plural nominative ''-ūn'' vs. oblique ''-īn'') will be leveled, with the oblique form used everywhere. (However, in words like '''' 'father' and '''' 'brother' with special long-vowel case endings in the construct state, the nominative is used everywhere, hence '''' 'father of', '''' 'brother of'.)\n** Feminine plural endings in verbs and clitic suffixes will often drop out, with the masculine plural endings used instead. If the speaker's native variety has feminine plural endings, they may be preserved, but will often be modified in the direction of the forms used in the speaker's native variety, e.g. ''-an'' instead of ''-na''.\n** Dual endings will often drop out except on nouns and then used only for emphasis (similar to their use in the colloquial varieties); elsewhere, the plural endings are used (or feminine singular, if appropriate).\n\n=== Colloquial varieties ===\n\n\n====Vowels====\nAs mentioned above, many spoken dialects have a process of ''emphasis spreading'', where the \"emphasis\" (pharyngealization) of emphatic consonants spreads forward and back through adjacent syllables, pharyngealizing all nearby consonants and triggering the back allophone in all nearby low vowels. The extent of emphasis spreading varies. For example, in Moroccan Arabic, it spreads as far as the first full vowel (i.e. sound derived from a long vowel or diphthong) on either side; in many Levantine dialects, it spreads indefinitely, but is blocked by any or ; while in Egyptian Arabic, it usually spreads throughout the entire word, including prefixes and suffixes. In Moroccan Arabic, also have emphatic allophones and , respectively.\n\nUnstressed short vowels, especially , are deleted in many contexts. Many sporadic examples of short vowel change have occurred (especially → and interchange ↔). Most Levantine dialects merge short /i u/ into in most contexts (all except directly before a single final consonant). In Moroccan Arabic, on the other hand, short triggers labialization of nearby consonants (especially velar consonants and uvular consonants), and then short /a i u/ all merge into , which is deleted in many contexts. (The labialization plus is sometimes interpreted as an underlying phoneme .) This essentially causes the wholesale loss of the short-long vowel distinction, with the original long vowels remaining as half-long , phonemically , which are used to represent ''both'' short and long vowels in borrowings from Literary Arabic.\n\nMost spoken dialects have monophthongized original to (in all circumstances, including adjacent to emphatic consonants). In Moroccan Arabic, these have subsequently merged into original .\n\n====Consonants====\nIn some dialects, there may be more or fewer phonemes than those listed in the chart above. For example, non-Arabic is used in the Maghrebi dialects as well in the written language mostly for foreign names. Semitic became extremely early on in Arabic before it was written down; a few modern Arabic dialects, such as Iraqi (influenced by Persian and Kurdish) distinguish between and . The Iraqi Arabic also uses sounds , and uses Persian adding letters, e.g.: '''' – ''a plum''; '' – ''a truffle'' and so on.\n\nEarly in the expansion of Arabic, the separate emphatic phonemes and coalesced into a single phoneme . Many dialects (such as Egyptian, Levantine, and much of the Maghreb) subsequently lost fricatives, converting into . Most dialects borrow \"learned\" words from the Standard language using the same pronunciation as for inherited words, but some dialects without interdental fricatives (particularly in Egypt and the Levant) render original in borrowed words as .\n\nAnother key distinguishing mark of Arabic dialects is how they render the original velar and uvular plosives , (Proto-Semitic ), and :\n* retains its original pronunciation in widely scattered regions such as Yemen, Morocco, and urban areas of the Maghreb. It is pronounced as a glottal stop in several prestige dialects, such as those spoken in Cairo, Beirut and Damascus. But it is rendered as a voiced velar plosive in Persian Gulf, Upper Egypt, parts of the Maghreb, and less urban parts of the Levant (e.g. Jordan). In Iraqi Arabic it sometimes retains its original pronunciation and is sometimes rendered as a voiced velar plosive, depending on the word. Some traditionally Christian villages in rural areas of the Levant render the sound as , as do Shiʻi Bahrainis. In some Gulf dialects, it is palatalized to or . It is pronounced as a voiced uvular constrictive in Sudanese Arabic. Many dialects with a modified pronunciation for maintain the pronunciation in certain words (often with religious or educational overtones) borrowed from the Classical language.\n* is pronounced as an affricate in Iraq and much of the Arabian Peninsula, but is pronounced in most of North Egypt and parts of Yemen and Oman, in Morocco, Tunisia and the Levant, and , in most words in much of the Persian Gulf.\n* usually retains its original pronunciation, but is palatalized to in many words in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Iraq, and much of the Arabian Peninsula. Often a distinction is made between the suffixes ('you', masc.) and ('you', fem.), which become and , respectively. In Sana'a, Omani, and Bahrani is pronounced .\n\nPharyngealization of the emphatic consonants tends to weaken in many of the spoken varieties, and to spread from emphatic consonants to nearby sounds. In addition, the \"emphatic\" allophone automatically triggers pharyngealization of adjacent sounds in many dialects. As a result, it may difficult or impossible to determine whether a given coronal consonant is phonemically emphatic or not, especially in dialects with long-distance emphasis spreading. (A notable exception is the sounds vs. in Moroccan Arabic, because the former is pronounced as an affricate but the latter is not.)\n", "Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.\n\n\n=== Literary Arabic ===\n\nAs in other Semitic languages, Arabic has a complex and unusual morphology (i.e. method of constructing words from a basic root). Arabic has a nonconcatenative \"root-and-pattern\" morphology: A root consists of a set of bare consonants (usually three), which are fitted into a discontinuous pattern to form words. For example, the word for 'I wrote' is constructed by combining the root '''''' 'write' with the pattern '''''' 'I Xed' to form '''' 'I wrote'. Other verbs meaning 'I Xed' will typically have the same pattern but with different consonants, e.g. '''' 'I read', '''' 'I ate', '''' 'I went', although other patterns are possible (e.g. '''' 'I drank', '''' 'I said', '''' 'I spoke', where the subpattern used to signal the past tense may change but the suffix '''' is always used).\n\nFrom a single root '''''', numerous words can be formed by applying different patterns:\n* '''' 'I wrote'\n* '''' 'I had (something) written'\n* '''' 'I corresponded (with someone)'\"\n* '''' 'I dictated'\n* '''' 'I subscribed'\n* '''' 'we corresponded with each other'\n* '''' 'I write'\n* '''' 'I have (something) written'\n* '''' 'I correspond (with someone)'\n* '''' 'I dictate'\n* '''' 'I subscribe'\n* '''' 'we correspond each other'\n* '''' 'it was written'\n* '''' 'it was dictated'\"\n* '''' 'written'\n* '''' 'dictated'\n* '''' 'book'\n* '''' 'books'\n* '''' 'writer'\n* '''' 'writers'\n* '''' 'desk, office'\n* '''' 'library, bookshop'\n* etc.\n\n====Nouns and adjectives====\nNouns in Literary Arabic have three grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, and genitive also used when the noun is governed by a preposition); three numbers (singular, dual and plural); two genders (masculine and feminine); and three \"states\" (indefinite, definite, and construct). The cases of singular nouns (other than those that end in long ā) are indicated by suffixed short vowels (/-u/ for nominative, /-a/ for accusative, /-i/ for genitive).\n\nThe feminine singular is often marked by /-at/, which is reduced to /-ah/ or /-a/ before a pause. Plural is indicated either through endings (the sound plural) or internal modification (the broken plural). Definite nouns include all proper nouns, all nouns in \"construct state\" and all nouns which are prefixed by the definite article /al-/. Indefinite singular nouns (other than those that end in long ā) add a final /-n/ to the case-marking vowels, giving /-un/, /-an/ or /-in/ (which is also referred to as nunation or tanwīn).\n\nAdjectives in Literary Arabic are marked for case, number, gender and state, as for nouns. However, the plural of all non-human nouns is always combined with a singular feminine adjective, which takes the /-ah/ or /-at/ suffix.\n\nPronouns in Literary Arabic are marked for person, number and gender. There are two varieties, independent pronouns and enclitics. Enclitic pronouns are attached to the end of a verb, noun or preposition and indicate verbal and prepositional objects or possession of nouns. The first-person singular pronoun has a different enclitic form used for verbs (/-ni/) and for nouns or prepositions (/-ī/ after consonants, /-ya/ after vowels).\n\nNouns, verbs, pronouns and adjectives agree with each other in all respects. However, non-human plural nouns are grammatically considered to be feminine singular. Furthermore, a verb in a verb-initial sentence is marked as singular regardless of its semantic number when the subject of the verb is explicitly mentioned as a noun. Numerals between three and ten show \"chiasmic\" agreement, in that grammatically masculine numerals have feminine marking and vice versa.\n\n====Verbs====\nVerbs in Literary Arabic are marked for person (first, second, or third), gender, and number. They are conjugated in two major paradigms (past and non-past); two voices (active and passive); and six moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, jussive, shorter energetic and longer energetic), the fifth and sixth moods, the energetics, exist only in Classical Arabic but not in MSA. There are also two participles (active and passive) and a verbal noun, but no infinitive.\n\nThe past and non-past paradigms are sometimes also termed perfective and imperfective, indicating the fact that they actually represent a combination of tense and aspect. The moods other than the indicative occur only in the non-past, and the future tense is signaled by prefixing '''' or '''' onto the non-past. The past and non-past differ in the form of the stem (e.g., past '''' vs. non-past ''''), and also use completely different sets of affixes for indicating person, number and gender: In the past, the person, number and gender are fused into a single suffixal morpheme, while in the non-past, a combination of prefixes (primarily encoding person) and suffixes (primarily encoding gender and number) are used. The passive voice uses the same person/number/gender affixes but changes the vowels of the stem.\n\nThe following shows a paradigm of a regular Arabic verb, '''' 'to write'. Note that in Modern Standard, the energetic mood (in either long or short form, which have the same meaning) is almost never used.\n\n====Derivation====\nLike other Semitic languages, and unlike most other languages, Arabic makes much more use of nonconcatenative morphology (applying a large number of templates applied roots) to derive words than adding prefixes or suffixes to words.\n\nFor verbs, a given root can occur in many different derived verb stems (of which there are about fifteen), each with one or more characteristic meanings and each with its own templates for the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun. These are referred to by Western scholars as \"Form I\", \"Form II\", and so on through \"Form XV\" (although Forms XI to XV are rare). These stems encode grammatical functions such as the causative, intensive and reflexive. Stems sharing the same root consonants represent separate verbs, albeit often semantically related, and each is the basis for its own conjugational paradigm. As a result, these derived stems are part of the system of derivational morphology, not part of the inflectional system.\n\nExamples of the different verbs formed from the root '''' 'write' (using '''' 'red' for Form IX, which is limited to colors and physical defects):\n\n+ Most of these forms are exclusively Classical Arabic\n Form !! Past !! Meaning !! Non-past !! Meaning\n\n I \n '''' \n 'he wrote' \n '''' \n 'he writes'\n\n II \n '''' \n 'he made (someone) write' \n '''' \n \"he makes (someone) write\"\n\n III \n '''' \n 'he corresponded with, wrote to (someone)' \n '''' \n 'he corresponds with, writes to (someone)'\n\n IV \n '''' \n 'he dictated' \n '''' \n 'he dictates'\n\n V \n '''' \n 'nonexistent' \n '''' \n 'nonexistent'\n\n VI \n '''' \n 'he corresponded (with someone, esp. mutually)' \n '''' \n 'he corresponds (with someone, esp. mutually)'\n\n VII \n '''' \n 'he subscribed' \n '''' \n 'he subscribes'\n\n VIII \n '''' \n 'he copied' \n '''' \n 'he copies'\n\n IX \n '''' \n 'he turned red' \n '''' \n 'he turns red'\n\n X \n '''' \n 'he asked (someone) to write' \n '''' \n 'he asks (someone) to write'\n\n\nForm II is sometimes used to create transitive denominative verbs (verbs built from nouns); Form V is the equivalent used for intransitive denominatives.\n\nThe associated participles and verbal nouns of a verb are the primary means of forming new lexical nouns in Arabic. This is similar to the process by which, for example, the English gerund \"meeting\" (similar to a verbal noun) has turned into a noun referring to a particular type of social, often work-related event where people gather together to have a \"discussion\" (another lexicalized verbal noun). Another fairly common means of forming nouns is through one of a limited number of patterns that can be applied directly to roots, such as the \"nouns of location\" in ''ma-'' (e.g. '''' 'desk, office' masculine\n ''katáb-t''\n ''tí-ktib''\n ''bi-tí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-tí-ktib''\n ''í-ktib''\n\n feminine\n ''katáb-ti''\n ''ti-ktíb-i''\n ''bi-ti-ktíb-i''\n ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-i''\n ''i-ktíb-i''\n\n 3rd\n masculine\n ''kátab''\n ''yí-ktib''\n ''bi-yí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-yí-ktib''\n\"\n\n feminine\n ''kátab-it''\n ''tí-ktib''\n ''bi-tí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-tí-ktib''\n\n Plural\n\n 1st\n ''katáb-na''\n ''ní-ktib''\n ''bi-ní-ktib''\n ''ḥá-ní-ktib''\n\"\n\n 2nd\n ''katáb-tu''\n ''ti-ktíb-u''\n ''bi-ti-ktíb-u''\n ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-u''\n ''i-ktíb-u''\n\n 3rd\n ''kátab-u''\n ''yi-ktíb-u''\n ''bi-yi-ktíb-u''\n ''ḥa-yi-ktíb-u''\n\"\n\n", "\nIslamic calligraphy written by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. The calligrapher is making a rough draft.\nThe Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic through Nabatean, to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of Coptic or Cyrillic scripts to Greek script. Traditionally, there were several differences between the Western (North African) and Middle Eastern versions of the alphabet—in particular, the ''faʼ'' had a dot underneath and ''qaf'' a single dot above in the Maghreb, and the order of the letters was slightly different (at least when they were used as numerals).\n\nHowever, the old Maghrebi variant has been abandoned except for calligraphic purposes in the Maghreb itself, and remains in use mainly in the Quranic schools (zaouias) of West Africa. Arabic, like all other Semitic languages (except for the Latin-written Maltese, and the languages with the Ge'ez script), is written from right to left. There are several styles of script, notably naskh, which is used in print and by computers, and ruqʻah, which is commonly used in handwriting.\n\n=== Calligraphy ===\n\nAfter Khalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi finally fixed the Arabic script around 786, many styles were developed, both for the writing down of the Quran and other books, and for inscriptions on monuments as decoration.\n\nArabic calligraphy has not fallen out of use as calligraphy has in the Western world, and is still considered by Arabs as a major art form; calligraphers are held in great esteem. Being cursive by nature, unlike the Latin script, Arabic script is used to write down a verse of the Quran, a hadith, or simply a proverb. The composition is often abstract, but sometimes the writing is shaped into an actual form such as that of an animal. One of the current masters of the genre is Hassan Massoudy.\n\nIn modern times the intrinsically calligraphic nature of the written Arabic form is haunted by the thought that a typographic approach to the language, necessary for digitized unification, will not always accurately maintain meanings conveyed through calligraphy.\n\n=== Romanization ===\n\n\n+ Examples of different transliteration/transcription schemes\n Letter\n IPA\n UNGEGN\n ALA-LC\n Wehr\n DIN !! ISO\n SAS\n - 2\n BATR\n ArabTeX\n chat\n Malay\n\n \n \n ʼ\n ʾ \n ˈ, ˌ\n ʾ\n '\n e\n '\n 2\n '\n\n \n \n ā\n ʾ\n ā\n aa\n aa / A\n a\n a/e/é\n a/o\n\n \n , \n y\n y; ī\n y; e\n y; ii\n y\n y; i/ee; ei/ai\n y; i\n\n \n \n th\n ṯ\n ç\n ṯ\n c\n _t\n s/th\n ts\n\n \n ~~\n j\n ǧ\n ŷ\n j\n j\n ^g\n j/g/dj\n j\n\n \n \n ḩ\n ḥ\n H\n .h\n 7\n h\n\n \n \n kh\n ḵ\n ḫ \n ẖ\n j\n x\n K\n _h\n kh/7'/5\n kh\n\n \n \n dh\n ḏ\n đ\n z'\n _d\n z/dh/th\n dz\n\n \n \n sh\n š\n x\n ^s\n sh/ch\n sy\n\n \n \n ş\n ṣ\n S\n .s\n s/9\n sh\n\n \n \n ḑ\n ḍ\n D\n .d\n d/9'\n dh\n\n \n \n ţ\n ṭ\n T\n .tu\n t/6\n th\n\n \n ~\n z̧\n ẓ\n đ̣\n Z\n .z\n z/dh/6'\n zh\n\n \n \n ʻ\n ʿ\n ř\n E\n '\n 3\n '\n\n \n \n gh\n ḡ\n ġ\n g\n j\n g\n .g\n gh/3'/8\n gh\n\n\nThere are a number of different standards for the romanization of Arabic, i.e. methods of accurately and efficiently representing Arabic with the Latin script. There are various conflicting motivations involved, which leads to multiple systems. Some are interested in transliteration, i.e. representing the ''spelling'' of Arabic, while others focus on transcription, i.e. representing the ''pronunciation'' of Arabic. (They differ in that, for example, the same letter is used to represent both a consonant, as in \"'''y'''ou\" or \"'''y'''et\", and a vowel, as in \"m'''e'''\" or \"'''ea'''t\".) Some systems, e.g. for scholarly use, are intended to accurately and unambiguously represent the phonemes of Arabic, generally making the phonetics more explicit than the original word in the Arabic script. These systems are heavily reliant on diacritical marks such as \"š\" for the sound equivalently written ''sh'' in English. Other systems (e.g. the Bahá'í orthography) are intended to help readers who are neither Arabic speakers nor linguists with intuitive pronunciation of Arabic names and phrases. These less \"scientific\" tend to avoid diacritics and use digraphs (like ''sh'' and ''kh''). These are usually simpler to read, but sacrifice the definiteness of the scientific systems, and may lead to ambiguities, e.g. whether to interpret ''sh'' as a single sound, as in ''gash'', or a combination of two sounds, as in ''gashouse''. The ALA-LC romanization solves this problem by separating the two sounds with a prime symbol ( ′ ); e.g., ''as′hal'' 'easier'.\n\nDuring the last few decades and especially since the 1990s, Western-invented text communication technologies have become prevalent in the Arab world, such as personal computers, the World Wide Web, email, bulletin board systems, IRC, instant messaging and mobile phone text messaging. Most of these technologies originally had the ability to communicate using the Latin script only, and some of them still do not have the Arabic script as an optional feature. As a result, Arabic speaking users communicated in these technologies by transliterating the Arabic text using the Latin script, sometimes known as IM Arabic.\n\nTo handle those Arabic letters that cannot be accurately represented using the Latin script, numerals and other characters were appropriated. For example, the numeral \"3\" may be used to represent the Arabic letter . There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, but some have named it Arabic Chat Alphabet. Other systems of transliteration exist, such as using dots or capitalization to represent the \"emphatic\" counterparts of certain consonants. For instance, using capitalization, the letter , may be represented by '''d'''. Its emphatic counterpart, , may be written as '''D'''.\n\n=== Numerals ===\nIn most of present-day North Africa, the Western Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) are used. However, in Egypt and Arabic-speaking countries to the east of it, the Eastern Arabic numerals ( – – – – – – – – – ) are in use. When representing a number in Arabic, the lowest-valued position is placed on the right, so the order of positions is the same as in left-to-right scripts. Sequences of digits such as telephone numbers are read from left to right, but numbers are spoken in the traditional Arabic fashion, with units and tens reversed from the modern English usage. For example, 24 is said \"four and twenty\" just like in the German language (''vierundzwanzig'') and Classical Hebrew, and '''1975''' is said \"a thousand and nine-hundred and five and seventy\" or, more eloquently, \"a thousand and nine-hundred five seventy\"\n", "Academy of the Arabic Language is the name of a number of language-regulation bodies formed in the Arab League. The most active are in Damascus and Cairo. They review language development, monitor new words and approve inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries. They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts.\n\n", "Arabic has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around the world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages, Middle Eastern studies, and religious studies courses. Arabic language schools exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world. There are many Arabic language schools in the Arab world and other Muslim countries. Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study the language. Software and books with tapes are also important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available. Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations. A number of websites on the Internet provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries.\n", "\nIn Bahrain, Arabic is largely used in educational settings.\nHistorically, Arab linguists considered the Arabic language to be superior to all other languages, and took almost no interest in learning any language other than Arabic . With the sole example of Medieval linguist Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati - who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab - scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior.\n\nIn modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view. Yasir Suleiman wrote in 2011 that \"studying and knowing English or French in most of the Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises.\" Arab-American professor Franck Salamah went as far as to declare Arabic a dead language conveying dead ideas, blaming its stagnation for Arab intellectual stagnation and lamenting that great writers in Arabic are judged by their command of the language and not the merit of the ideas they express with it.\n", "\n* Arabic diglossia\n* AIDA - International Association of Arabic Dialectology\n* Arabic grammar\n* Arabic influence on the Spanish language\n* Arabic literature\n* Arabic–English Lexicon\n* Arabist\n* ''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic''\n* Glossary of Islam\n* List of Arabic neighborhoods\n* List of arabophones\n* List of countries where Arabic is an official language\n* List of French words of Arabic origin\n* List of Portuguese words of Arabic origin\n* List of replaced loanwords in Turkish\n* List of Arabic-language television channels\n* List of Arab newspapers\n* List of Arabic given names\n\n\n", "'''Notes'''\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Suileman, Yasir. ''Arabic, Self and Identity: A Study in Conflict and Displacement''. Oxford University Press, 10 August 2011. , 978-0-19-974701-6.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n* Arabic: a Category III language Languages which are difficult for native English speakers.\n* Dr. Nizar Habash's, Columbia University, Introduction to Arabic Natural Language Processing\n* Google Ta3reeb – Google Transliteration\n* Transliteration Arabic language pronunciation applet\n* '' Alexis Neme (2011), A lexicon of Arabic verbs constructed on the basis of Semitic taxonomy and using finite-state transducers''\n* '' Alexis Neme and Eric Laporte (2013), Pattern-and-root inflectional morphology: the Arabic broken plural''\n* ''Alexis Neme and Eric Laporte (2015), Do computer scientists deeply understand Arabic morphology? - '', available also in Arabic, Indonesian, French\n* \n* Arabic manuscripts, UA 5572 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University Online Arabic Keyboard\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Classification ", "History", " Classical, Modern Standard and spoken Arabic ", "Language and dialect", " Influence of Arabic on other languages ", "Influence of other languages on Arabic", "Arabic alphabet and nationalism", "The language of the Quran and its influence on Poetry", " Dialects and descendants ", " Phonology ", " Grammar ", " Writing system {{anchor|writing system}} ", " Language-standards regulators ", " As a foreign language ", "Arabic speakers and other languages", " See also ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "Urban Palestinian (Jerusalem)\n \n \n \n \n\n Rural Palestinian (West Bank)\n \n \n \n \n\n Egyptian (metropolitan)\n \n \n \n \n\n Libyan Arabic (Tripoli?)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Arabic''' (, '''' or '''' or ) is a Central Semitic language complex that first emerged in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the ''lingua franca'' of the Arab world.", "It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the east to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in northwestern Arabia, and in the Sinai peninsula.", "The modern written language (Modern Standard Arabic) is derived from Classical Arabic.", "It is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media.", "The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic (''fuṣḥā''), which is the official language of 26 states and the liturgical language of Islam.", "Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary.", "However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties, and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties.", "Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-classical era, especially in modern times.", "During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a major vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy.", "As a result, many European languages have also borrowed many words from it.", "Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages, mainly Spanish \nand to a lesser extent Portuguese, Valencian and Catalan, owing to both the proximity of Christian European and Muslim Arab civilizations and 800 years of Arabic culture and language in the Iberian Peninsula, referred to in Arabic as al-Andalus.", "Sicilian has about 500 Arabic words as result of Sicily being progressively conquered by Saracens from North Africa, from the mid 9th to mid 10th centuries.", "Many of these words relate to agriculture and related activities (Hull and Ruffino).", "Balkan languages, including Greek and Bulgarian, have also acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish.", "Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history.", "Some of the most influenced languages are Persian, Turkish, Spanish, Maltese''',''' Urdu, Kashmiri, Kurdish, Bosnian, Kazakh, Bengali, Hindi, Malay, Maldivian, Indonesian, Pashto, Punjabi, Tagalog, Sindhi and Hausa and some languages in parts of Africa.", "Conversely, Arabic has borrowed words from other languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times, and contemporary European languages such as English and French in modern times.", "Classical Arabic is the liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims and Modern Standard Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations.", "It is spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world.", "Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet, which is an abjad script and is written from right to left, although the spoken varieties are sometimes written in ASCII Latin from left to right with no standardized orthography.", "Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Ugaritic and Phoenician), the Ancient South Arabian languages, and various other Semitic languages of Arabia such as Dadanitic.", "The Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar.", "Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include:\n# The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation (''jalas-'') into a past tense.", "# The conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation (''yajlis-'') into a present tense.", "# The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms (e.g., a present tense formed by doubling the middle root, a perfect formed by infixing a after the first root consonant, probably a jussive formed by a stress shift) in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms (e.g., ''-u'' for indicative, ''-a'' for subjunctive, no ending for jussive, ''-an'' or ''-anna'' for energetic).", "# The development of an internal passive.", "There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of the northern Hijaz.", "These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor, Proto-Arabic.", "The following features can be reconstructed with confidence for Proto-Arabic:\n# negative particles ''m'' *''mā''; ''lʾn'' *''lā-ʾan'' > CAr ''lan''\n# ''mafʿūl'' G-passive participle\n# prepositions and adverbs ''f'', ''ʿn'', ''ʿnd'', ''ḥt'', ''ʿkdy''\n# a subjunctive in -''a''\n# ''t''-demonstratives\n# leveling of the -''at'' allomorph of the feminine ending\n# ''ʾn'' complementizer and subordinator\n# the use of ''f''- to introduce modal clauses\n# independent object pronoun in (''ʾ'')''y''\n# vestiges of ''nunation''", "\n=== Old Arabic ===\n\nArabian Languages\nArabia boasted a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity.", "In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g.", "Southern Thamudic) were spoken.", "It is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time.", "To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages.", "In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested.", "In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in a script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic.", "Finally, on the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B, Thamudic D, Safaitic, and Hismaic are attested.", "The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are in fact early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic.", "Beginning in the 1st century CE, fragments of Northern Old Arabic are attested in the Nabataean script across northern Arabia.", "By the 4th century CE, the Nabataean Aramaic writing system had come to express varieties of Arabic other than that of the Nabataeans.", "===Old Higazi and Classical Arabic===\nIn late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hijaz which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra, most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from the \"learned\" tradition (Classical Arabic).", "This variety and both its classicizing and \"lay\" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register.", "It is clear that the orthography of the Qur'ān was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi.", "In the late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal \"poetic koine\" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd, probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra.", "During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue.", "Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax.", "The standardization of Classical Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century.", "The first comprehensive description of the ''ʿarabiyya'' \"Arabic\", Sībawayhi's ''al''-''Kitāb'', is based first of all upon a corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'ān usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ''ʿarabiyya''.", "By the 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world.", "=== Neo-Arabic ===\nCharles Ferguson's koine theory (Ferguson 1959) claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times.", "Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on the eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009).", "The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests.", "Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories.", "According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples.", "Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA.", "\n''Arabic'' usually designates one of three main variants: Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and ''colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic.", "Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran, used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate.", "Theoretically, Classical Arabic is considered normative, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as the Lisān al-ʻArab).", "In practice, however, modern authors almost never write in pure Classical Arabic, instead using a literary language with its own grammatical norms and vocabulary, commonly known as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).", "MSA is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa, and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers.", "\"Literary Arabic\" and \"Standard Arabic\" ( '''') are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic.", "Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows:\n* Certain grammatical constructions of CA that have no counterpart in any modern dialect (e.g., the energetic mood) are almost never used in Modern Standard Arabic.", "* No modern spoken variety of Arabic has case distinctions.", "As a result, MSA is generally composed without case distinctions in mind, and the proper cases are added after the fact, when necessary.", "Because most case endings are noted using final short vowels, which are normally left unwritten in the Arabic script, it is unnecessary to determine the proper case of most words.", "The practical result of this is that MSA, like English and Standard Chinese, is written in a strongly determined word order and alternative orders that were used in CA for emphasis are rare.", "In addition, because of the lack of case marking in the spoken varieties, most speakers cannot consistently use the correct endings in extemporaneous speech.", "As a result, spoken MSA tends to drop or regularize the endings except when reading from a prepared text.", "* The numeral system in CA is complex and heavily tied in with the case system.", "This system is never used in MSA, even in the most formal of circumstances; instead, a significantly simplified system is used, approximating the system of the conservative spoken varieties.", "MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., '''' 'to go') that is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA.", "In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined a large number of terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve.", "Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., '''' 'film' or '''' 'democracy').", "However, the current preference is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use loan translations (e.g., '''' 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; '''' 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.", "), or to coin new words using forms within existing roots ( '''' 'apoptosis', using the root ''m/w/t'' 'death' put into the Xth form, or '''' 'university', based on '''' 'to gather, unite'; '''' 'republic', based on '''' 'multitude').", "An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., '''' 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; '''' 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk').", "''Colloquial'' or ''dialectal'' Arabic refers to the many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language and evolved from Classical Arabic.", "Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be mutually unintelligible, and some linguists consider them distinct languages.", "The varieties are typically unwritten.", "They are often used in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows, as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising.", "The only variety of modern Arabic to have acquired official language status is Maltese, which is spoken in (predominately Catholic) Malta and written with the Latin script.", "It is descended from Classical Arabic through Siculo-Arabic, but is not mutually intelligible with any other variety of Arabic.", "Most linguists list it as a separate language rather than as a dialect of Arabic.", "Flag of the Arab League, used in some cases for the Arabic language.", "Flag used in some cases for the Arabic language\n\nEven during Muhammad's lifetime, there were dialects of spoken Arabic.", "Muhammad spoke in the dialect of Mecca, in the western Arabian peninsula, and it was in this dialect that the Quran was written down.", "However, the dialects of the eastern Arabian peninsula were considered the most prestigious at the time, so the language of the Quran was ultimately converted to follow the eastern phonology.", "It is this phonology that underlies the modern pronunciation of Classical Arabic.", "The phonological differences between these two dialects account for some of the complexities of Arabic writing, most notably the writing of the glottal stop or ''hamzah'' (which was preserved in the eastern dialects but lost in western speech) and the use of '''' (representing a sound preserved in the western dialects but merged with '''' in eastern speech).", "The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of diglossia, which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations.", "In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native, mutually unintelligible \"dialects\"; these dialects linguistically constitute separate languages which may have dialects of their own.", "When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers code-switch back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence.", "Arabic speakers often improve their familiarity with other dialects via music or film.", "The issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the varieties of Chinese, Hindi and Urdu, Serbian and Croatian, Scots and English, etc.", "In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot.", "The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a significant complicating factor: A single written form, significantly different from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites a number of sometimes divergent spoken forms.", "For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak a single language, despite significant issues of mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions.", "From a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the Romance languages.", "This is an apt comparison in a number of ways.", "The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for the Romance languages.", "Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the Maghreb, a linguistically innovative variety such as Moroccan Arabic is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the Mashriq, much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them.", "This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages.", "\nThe influence of Arabic has been most important in Islamic countries, because it is the language of the Islamic sacred book, the Quran.", "Arabic is also an important source of vocabulary for languages such as Baluchi, Bengali, Berber, Bosnian, Catalan, Chechen, Dagestani, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hausa, Hindustani, Italian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kutchi, Malay, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Rohingya, Saraiki, Sicilian, Sindhi, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Turkish, Urdu, Uzbek, and Wolof, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken.", "In addition, English has many Arabic loanwords, some directly, but most via other Mediterranean languages.", "Examples of such words include admiral, adobe, alchemy, alcohol, algebra, algorithm, alkaline, almanac, amber, arsenal, assassin, candy, carat, cipher, coffee, cotton, ghoul, hazard, jar, kismet, lemon, loofah, magazine, mattress, sherbet, sofa, sumac, tariff, and many other words.", "Other languages such as Maltese and Kinubi derive ultimately from Arabic, rather than merely borrowing vocabulary or grammatical rules.", "Terms borrowed range from religious terminology (like Berber ''taẓallit'', \"prayer\", from ''salat'' ( '''')), academic terms (like Uyghur ''mentiq'', \"logic\"), and economic items (like English ''coffee'') to placeholders (like Spanish ''fulano'', \"so-and-so\"), everyday terms (like Hindustani ''lekin'', \"but\", or Spanish ''taza'' and French ''tasse'', meaning \"cup\"), and expressions (like Catalan ''a betzef'', \"galore, in quantity\").", "Most Berber varieties (such as Kabyle), along with Swahili, borrow some numbers from Arabic.", "Most Islamic religious terms are direct borrowings from Arabic, such as (''salat''), \"prayer\", and (''imam''), \"prayer leader.\"", "In languages not directly in contact with the Arab world, Arabic loanwords are often transferred indirectly via other languages rather than being transferred directly from Arabic.", "For example, most Arabic loanwords in Hindustani and Turkish entered through Persian though Persian is an Indo-Iranian language.", "Older Arabic loanwords in Hausa were borrowed from Kanuri.", "Some words in English and other European languages are derived from Arabic, often through other European languages, especially Spanish and Italian.", "Among them are commonly used words like \"coffee\" ( ''qahwah''), \"cotton\" ( ''''), and \"magazine\" ( '''').", "English words more recognizably of Arabic origin include \"algebra\", \"alcohol\", \"alchemy\", \"alkali\", \"zenith\", and \"nadir\".", "Arabic words also made their way into several West African languages as Islam spread across the Sahara.", "Variants of Arabic words such as ''kitāb'' (\"book\") have spread to the languages of African groups who had no direct contact with Arab traders.", "Since throughout the Islamic world, Arabic occupied a position similar to that of Latin in Europe, many of the Arabic concepts in the fields of science, philosophy, commerce, etc.", "were coined from Arabic roots by non-native Arabic speakers, notably by Aramaic and Persian translators, and then found their way into other languages.", "This process of using Arabic roots, especially in Kurdish and Persian, to translate foreign concepts continued through to the 18th and 19th centuries, when swaths of Arab-inhabited lands were under Ottoman rule.", "The most important sources of borrowings into (pre-Islamic) Arabic are from the related (Semitic) languages Aramaic, which used to be the principal, international language of communication throughout the ancient Near and Middle East, Ethiopic, and to a lesser degree Hebrew (mainly religious concepts).", "In addition, many cultural, religious and political terms have entered Arabic from Iranian languages, notably Middle Persian, Parthian, and (Classical) Persian, and Hellenistic Greek (''kīmiyāʼ'' has as origin the Greek ''khymia'', meaning in that language the melting of metals; see Roger Dachez, ''Histoire de la Médecine de l'Antiquité au XXe siècle'', Tallandier, 2008, p. 251), ''alembic'' (distiller) from ''ambix'' (cup), ''almanac'' (climate) from ''almenichiakon'' (calendar).", "(For the origin of the last three borrowed words, see Alfred-Louis de Prémare, ''Foundations of Islam'', Seuil, L'Univers Historique, 2002.)", "Some Arabic borrowings from Semitic or Persian languages are, as presented in De Prémare's above-cited book:\n* ''madīnah''/medina (مدينة, city or city square), a word of Aramaic or Hebrew origin מדינה (in which it means \"a state\");\n* ''jazīrah'' (جزيرة), as in the well-known form الجزيرة \"Al-Jazeera,\" means \"island\" and has its origin in the Syriac ܓܙܝܪܗ ''gazīra''.", "* ''lāzaward'' (لازورد) is taken from Persian لاژورد ''lājvard'', the name of a blue stone, lapis lazuli.", "This word was borrowed in several European languages to mean (light) blue - azure in English, ''azur'' in French and ''azul'' in Portuguese and Spanish.", "There have been many instances of national movements to convert Arabic script into Latin script or to Romanize the language.", "Currently, the only Arabic language to use Latin script is Maltese.", "===Lebanon===\nThe Beirut newspaper ''La Syrie'' pushed for the change from Arabic script to Latin letters in 1922.", "The major head of this movement was Louis Massignon, a French Orientalist, who brought his concern before the Arabic Language Academy in Damacus in 1928.", "Massignon's attempt at Romanization failed as the Academy and population viewed the proposal as an attempt from the Western world to take over their country.", "Sa'id Afghani, a member of the Academy, mentioned that the movement to Romanize the script was a Zionist plan to dominate Lebanon.", "===Egypt===\nAfter the period of colonialism in Egypt, Egyptians were looking for a way to reclaim and re-emphasize Egyptian culture.", "As a result, some Egyptians pushed for an Egyptianization of the Arabic language in which the formal Arabic and the colloquial Arabic would be combined into one language and the Latin alphabet would be used.", "There was also the idea of finding a way to use Hieroglyphics instead of the Latin alphabet, but this was seen as too complicated to use.", "A scholar, Salama Musa agreed with the idea of applying a Latin alphabet to Arabic, as he believed that would allow Egypt to have a closer relationship with the West.", "He also believed that Latin script was key to the success of Egypt as it would allow for more advances in science and technology.", "This change in alphabet, he believed, would solve the problems inherent with Arabic, such as a lack of written vowels and difficulties writing foreign words that made it difficult for non-native speakers to learn.", "Ahmad Lutfi As Sayid and Muhammad Azmi, two Egyptian intellectuals, agreed with Musa and supported the push for Romanization.", "The idea that Romanization was necessary for modernization and growth in Egypt continued with Abd Al-Aziz Fahmi in 1944.", "He was the chairman for the Writing and Grammar Committee for the Arabic Language Academy of Cairo.", "However, this effort failed as the Egyptian people felt a strong cultural tie to the Arabic alphabet.", "In particular, the older Egyptian generations believed that the Arabic alphabet had strong connections to Arab values and history, which is easy to believe due to the long history of the Arabic alphabet (Shrivtiel, 189) in Muslim societies.", "The Quran introduced a new way of writing to the world.", "People began studying applying the unique styles they learned from the Quran into not only their own writing, but also their culture.", "The deep level on which the Quran addresses the reader creates a strong bond and connection to the reader's soul.", "Writers studied the unique structure and format of the Quran in order to identify and apply the figurative devices and their impact on the reader.", "=== Quran's figurative devices ===\nThe Quran inspired musicality in poetry through the internal rhythm of the verses.", "The arrangement of words, how certain sounds create harmony, and the agreement of rhymes create the sense of rhythm within each verse.", "At times, the chapters of the Quran only have the rhythm in common.", "The repetition in the Quran introduced the true power and impact repetition can have in poetry.", "The repetition of certain words and phrases made them appear more firm and explicit in the Quran.", "The Quran uses constant metaphors of blindness and deafness to imply unbelief.", "Metaphors were not a new concept to poetry, however the strength of extended metaphors was.", "The explicit imagery in the Quran inspired many poets to include and focus on the feature in their own work.", "The poet ibn al mu'tazz wrote a book regarding the figures of speech inspired by his study of the Quran.", "OPoets such as badr Shakir al sayyab expresses his political opinion in his work through imagery inspired by the forms of more harsher imagery used in the Quran.", "The Quran uses figurative devices in order to express the meaning in the most beautiful form possible.", "The study of the pauses in the Quran as well as other rhetoric allow it to be approached in a multiple ways.", "===Structure===\nAlthough the Quran is known for its fluency and harmony, the structure can be best described as chaotic.", "The suras also known as verses of the Quran are not placed in chronological order.", "The only constant in their structure is that the longest are placed first and shorter ones follow.", "The topics discussed in the chapter often have no relation to each other and only share their sense of rhyme.", "The Quran introduces to poetry the idea of abandoning order and scattering narratives throughout the text.", "Harmony is also present in the sound of the Quran.", "The elongations and accents present in the Quran create a harmonious flow within the writing.", "Unique sound of the Quran recited, due to the accents, create a deeper level of understanding through a deeper emotional connection.", "The Quran is written in a language that is simple and understandable by people.", "The simplicity of the writing inspired later poets to write in a more clear and clear-cut style.", "The words of the Quran, although unchanged, are to this day understandable and frequently used in both formal and informal Arabic.", "The simplicity of the language makes memorizing and reciting the Quran a slightly easier task.", "===Culture and the Quran===\nThe writer al-Khattabi explains how culture is a required element to create a sense of art in work as well as understand it.", "He believes that fluency and harmony the Quran possess are not the only elements that make it beautiful and create a bond between the reader and the text.", "While a lot of poetry was deemed comparable to the Quran in that it is equal to or better than the composition of the Quran, a debate rose that such statements are not possible because humans are incapable of composing work comparable to the Quran.", "Because the structure of the Quran made it difficult for a clear timeline to be seen, Hadith were the main source of chronological order.", "The Hadith were passed down from generation to generation and this tradition became a large resource for understanding the context.", "Poetry after the Quran began possessing this element of tradition by including ambiguity and background information to be required to understand the meaning.", "After the Quran came down to the people, the tradition of memorizing the verses became present.", "It is believed that the larger amount of the Quran memorized is a sign of a stronger faith.", "As technology improved overtime, hearing recitations of Quran became more available as well as more tools to help memorize the versus.", "The tradition of Love Poetry served as a symbolic representation of a Muslim's desire for a closer contact with their Lord.", "While the influence of the Quran on Arabic poetry is explained and defended by numerous writers, some writers such as Al- Baqillani believe that poetry and the Quran are in no conceivable way related due to the uniqueness of the Quran.", "Poetry's imperfections prove his points that that they cannot be compared with the fluency the Quran holds.", "=== Arabic and Islam ===\nClassical Arabic is the language of poetry and literature (including news); it is also mainly the language of the Quran.", "At present, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is also used in modernized versions of literary forms of the Quran.", "Arabic is closely associated with the religion of Islam because the Quran was written in Arabic, but it is nevertheless also spoken by other religious groups such as Arab Christians, Mizrahi Jews, Druze and Iraqi Mandaeans.", "Most of the world's Muslims do not speak Classical Arabic as their native language, but many can read the Quranic script and recite the Quran.", "Among non-Arab Muslims, translations of the Quran are most often accompanied by the original text.", "Some Muslims present a monogenesis of languages and claim that the Arabic language was the language revealed by God for the benefit of mankind and the original language as a prototype system of symbolic communication, based upon its system of triconsonantal roots, spoken by man from which all other languages were derived, having first been corrupted.", "Judaism has a similar account with the Tower of Babel.", "\nDifferent dialects of Arabic.", "''Colloquial Arabic'' is a collective term for the spoken dialects of Arabic used throughout the Arab world, which differ radically from the literary language.", "The main dialectal division is between the varieties within and outside of the Arabian peninsula, followed by that between sedentary varieties and the much more conservative Bedouin varieties.", "All of the varieties outside of the Arabian peninsula (which include the large majority of speakers) have a large number of features in common with each other that are not found in Classical Arabic.", "This has led researchers to postulate the existence of a prestige koine dialect in the one or two centuries immediately following the Arab conquest, whose features eventually spread to all of the newly conquered areas.", "(These features are present to varying degrees inside the Arabian peninsula.", "Generally, the Arabian peninsula varieties have much more diversity than the non-peninsula varieties, but have been understudied.)", "Within the non-peninsula varieties, the largest difference is between the non-Egyptian North African dialects (especially Moroccan Arabic) and the others.", "Moroccan Arabic in particular is hardly comprehensible to Arabic speakers east of Libya (although the converse is not true, in part due to the popularity of Egyptian films and other media).", "One factor in the differentiation of the dialects is influence from the languages previously spoken in the areas, which have typically provided a significant number of new words and have sometimes also influenced pronunciation or word order; however, a much more significant factor for most dialects is, as among Romance languages, retention (or change of meaning) of different classical forms.", "Thus Iraqi ''aku'', Levantine ''fīh'' and North African ''kayən'' all mean 'there is', and all come from Classical Arabic forms (''yakūn'', ''fīhi'', ''kā'in'' respectively), but now sound very different.", "===Examples===\nTranscription is a broad IPA transcription, so minor differences were ignored for easier comparison.", "Also, the pronunciation of Modern Standard Arabic differs significantly from region to region.", "Variety\n I love reading a lot\n When I went to the library\n I didn't find this old book\n I wanted to read a book about the history of women in France\n\n Literary Arabic in Arabic script(common spelling)\n \n \n \n \n\n Literary Arabic in Arabic script(with all vowels)\n \n \n \n \n\n Classical Arabic(liturgical or poetic only)\n \n \n \n \n\n Modern Standard Arabic\n \n \n \n \n\n Yemeni Arabic (Sanaa)\n \n \n \n \n\n Gulf Arabic (Kuwait)\n \n \n \n \n\n Gələt Mesopotamian (Baghdad)\n \n \n \n \n\n Hijazi Arabic (Medina)\n \n \n \n \n\n Western Syrian Arabic (Damascus)\n \n \n \n \n\n Lebanese Arabic (Beirut?)", "Tunisian (Tunis)\n \n \n \n \n\n Algerian (Algiers?)", "Moroccan (Rabat?)", "Maltese (Valletta)(in Maltese orthography)\n \n \n \n \n\n\n=== Koine ===\nAccording to Charles A. Ferguson, the following are some of the characteristic features of the koine that underlies all of the modern dialects outside the Arabian peninsula.", "Although many other features are common to most or all of these varieties, Ferguson believes that these features in particular are unlikely to have evolved independently more than once or twice and together suggest the existence of the koine:\n* Loss of the dual (grammatical number) except on nouns, with consistent plural agreement (cf.", "feminine singular agreement in plural inanimates).", "* Change of ''a'' to ''i'' in many affixes (e.g., non-past-tense prefixes ''ti- yi- ni-''; ''wi-'' 'and'; ''il-'' 'the'; feminine ''-it'' in the construct state).", "* Loss of third-weak verbs ending in ''w'' (which merge with verbs ending in ''y'').", "* Reformation of geminate verbs, e.g., '''' 'I untied' → ''''.", "* Conversion of separate words ''lī'' 'to me', ''laka'' 'to you', etc.", "into indirect-object clitic suffixes.", "* Certain changes in the cardinal number system, e.g., '''' 'five days' → '''', where certain words have a special plural with prefixed ''t''.", "* Loss of the feminine elative (comparative).", "* Adjective plurals of the form '''' 'big' → ''''.", "* Change of nisba suffix '''' > ''''.", "* Certain lexical items, e.g., '''' 'bring' < '''' 'come with'; '''' 'see'; '''' 'what' (or similar) < '''' 'which thing'; '''' (relative pronoun).", "* Merger of and .", "=== Dialect groups ===\n* Egyptian Arabic is spoken by around 53 million in Egypt (55 million worldwide).", "It is one of the most understood varieties of Arabic, due in large part to the widespread distribution of Egyptian films and television shows throughout the Arabic-speaking world\n* Levantine Arabic includes North Levantine Arabic, South Levantine Arabic and Cypriot Arabic.", "It is spoken by about 21 million people in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey.", "** Lebanese Arabic is a variety of Levantine Arabic spoken primarily in Lebanon.", "** Jordanian Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible varieties of Levantine Arabic spoken by the population of the Kingdom of Jordan.", "** Palestinian Arabic is a name of several dialects of the subgroup of Levantine Arabic spoken by the Palestinians in Palestine, by Arab citizens of Israel and in most Palestinian populations around the world.", "** Samaritan Arabic, spoken by only several hundred in the Nablus region\n** Cypriot Maronite Arabic, spoken in Cyprus\n* Maghrebi Arabic, also called \"Darija\" spoken by about 70 million people in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Malta.", "It is very hard to understand for Arabic speakers from the Mashriq or Mesopotamia, the easiest being Libyan Arabic and the hardest Moroccan Arabic and Maltese language (which is close to Tunisian Arabic).", "The others such as Algerian Arabic can be considered \"in between\".", "** Libyan Arabic spoken in Libya and neighboring countries.", "** Tunisian Arabic spoken in Tunisia and North-eastern Algeria\n** Algerian Arabic spoken in Algeria\n** Judeo-Algerian Arabic was spoken by Jews in Algeria until 1962\n** Moroccan Arabic spoken in Morocco\n** Maltese, spoken on the island of Malta, is the only dialect to have established itself as a fully separate language, with independent literary norms.", "Sicilian Arabic, spoken on the island of Sicily until the 14th century, developed into Maltese in Malta.", "In the course of its history the language has adopted numerous loanwords, phonetic and phonological features, and even some grammatical patterns, from Italian, Sicilian and English.", "It is also the only Semitic language written in the Latin script.", "Furthermore, Maltese or Sicilian Arabic are closely related to Tunisian Arabic due to the cultural and historical ties between Tunisia and Malta, and the languages are partially mutually intelligible.", "** Andalusian Arabic, spoken in Spain until the 16th century.", "** Siculo-Arabic, was spoken in Sicily and Malta between the end of the ninth century and the end of the twelfth century.", "* Mesopotamian Arabic, spoken by about 32 million people in Iraq (where it is called \"Aamiyah\"), eastern Syria and southwestern Iran (Khuzestan).", "** Baghdad Arabic is the Arabic dialect spoken in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.", "It is a subvariety of Mesopotamian Arabic.", "* Kuwaiti Arabic is a Gulf Arabic dialect spoken in Kuwait.", "* Khuzestani Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khuzestan.", "* Khorasani Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khorasan.", "* Sudanese Arabic is spoken by 17 million people in Sudan and some parts of southern Egypt.", "Sudanese Arabic is quite distinct from the dialect of its neighbor to the north; rather, the Sudanese have a dialect similar to the Hijazi dialect.", "* Juba Arabic spoken in South Sudan and southern Sudan\n* Gulf Arabic, spoken by around four million people, predominantly in Kuwait, Bahrain, some parts of Oman, eastern Saudi Arabia coastal areas and some parts of UAE and Qatar.", "Also spoken in Iran's Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces.", "Although Gulf Arabic is spoken in Qatar, most Qatari citizens speak Najdi Arabic (Bedawi).", "* Yemeni Arabic spoken in Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti and southern Saudi Arabia by 15 million people.", "Similar to Gulf Arabic.", "* Najdi Arabic, spoken by around 10 million people, mainly spoken in Najd, central and northern Saudi Arabia.", "Most Qatari citizens speak Najdi Arabic (Bedawi).", "* Hejazi Arabic (6 million speakers), spoken in Hijaz, western Saudi Arabia\n* Hassaniya Arabic (3 million speakers), spoken in Mauritania, Western Sahara, some parts of northern Mali, southern Morocco and south-western Algeria.", "* Saharan Arabic spoken in some parts of Algeria, Niger and Mali\n* Bahrani Arabic (600,000 speakers), spoken by Bahrani Shiʻah in Bahrain and Qatif, the dialect exhibits many big differences from Gulf Arabic.", "It is also spoken to a lesser extent in Oman.", "* Judeo-Arabic dialects - these are the dialects spoken by the Jews that had lived or continue to live in the Arab World.", "As Jewish migration to Israel took hold, the language did not thrive and is now considered endangered.", "* Chadian Arabic, spoken in Chad, Sudan, some parts of South Sudan, Central African Republic, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon\n* Central Asian Arabic, spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, is highly endangered\n* Shirvani Arabic, spoken in Azerbaijan and Dagestan until the 1930s, now extinct.", "\n\n=== History ===\nOf the 29 Proto-Semitic consonants, only one has been lost: , which merged with .", "But the consonant is still found in many colloquial Arabic dialects.", "Various other consonants have changed their sound too, but have remained distinct.", "An original lenited to , and - consistently attested in pre-Islamic Greek transcription of Arabic languages - became palatalized to or by the time of the Quran and , , or in MSA (see Arabic phonology#Local variations for more detail).", "An original voiceless alveolar lateral fricative became .", "Its emphatic counterpart was considered by Arabs to be the most unusual sound in Arabic (Hence the Classical Arabic's appellation '''' or \"language of the ''''\"); for most modern dialects, it has become an emphatic stop with loss of the laterality or with complete loss of any pharyngealization or velarization, .", "(The classical '''' pronunciation of pharyngealization still occurs in the Mehri language and the similar sound without velarization, , exists in other Modern South Arabian languages.)", "Other changes may also have happened.", "Classical Arabic pronunciation is not thoroughly recorded and different reconstructions of the sound system of Proto-Semitic propose different phonetic values.", "One example is the emphatic consonants, which are pharyngealized in modern pronunciations but may have been velarized in the eighth century and glottalized in Proto-Semitic.", "Reduction of and between vowels occurs in a number of circumstances and is responsible for much of the complexity of third-weak (\"defective\") verbs.", "Early Akkadian transcriptions of Arabic names shows that this reduction had not yet occurred as of the early part of the 1st millennium BC.", "The Classical Arabic language as recorded was a poetic koine that reflected a consciously archaizing dialect, chosen based on the tribes of the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, who spoke the most conservative variants of Arabic.", "Even at the time of Muhammed and before, other dialects existed with many more changes, including the loss of most glottal stops, the loss of case endings, the reduction of the diphthongs and into monophthongs , etc.", "Most of these changes are present in most or all modern varieties of Arabic.", "An interesting feature of the writing system of the Quran (and hence of Classical Arabic) is that it contains certain features of Muhammad's native dialect of Mecca, corrected through diacritics into the forms of standard Classical Arabic.", "Among these features visible under the corrections are the loss of the glottal stop and a differing development of the reduction of certain final sequences containing : Evidently, final became as in the Classical language, but final became a different sound, possibly (rather than again in the Classical language).", "This is the apparent source of the ''alif maqṣūrah'' 'restricted alif' where a final is reconstructed: a letter that would normally indicate or some similar high-vowel sound, but is taken in this context to be a logical variant of ''alif'' and represent the sound .", "=== Literary Arabic ===\nThe \"colloquial\" spoken varieties of Arabic are learned at home and constitute the native languages of Arabic speakers.", "\"Formal\" Literary Arabic (usually specifically Modern Standard Arabic) is learned at school; although many speakers have a native-like command of the language, it is technically not the native language of any speakers.", "Both varieties can be both written and spoken, although the colloquial varieties are rarely written down and the formal variety is spoken mostly in formal circumstances, e.g., in radio broadcasts, formal lectures, parliamentary discussions and to some extent between speakers of different colloquial varieties.", "Even when the literary language is spoken, however, it is normally only spoken in its pure form when reading a prepared text out loud.", "When speaking extemporaneously (i.e.", "making up the language on the spot, as in a normal discussion among people), speakers tend to deviate somewhat from the strict literary language in the direction of the colloquial varieties.", "In fact, there is a continuous range of \"in-between\" spoken varieties: from nearly pure Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), to a form that still uses MSA grammar and vocabulary but with significant colloquial influence, to a form of the colloquial language that imports a number of words and grammatical constructions in MSA, to a form that is close to pure colloquial but with the \"rough edges\" (the most noticeably \"vulgar\" or non-Classical aspects) smoothed out, to pure colloquial.", "The particular variant (or ''register'') used depends on the social class and education level of the speakers involved and the level of formality of the speech situation.", "Often it will vary within a single encounter, e.g., moving from nearly pure MSA to a more mixed language in the process of a radio interview, as the interviewee becomes more comfortable with the interviewer.", "This type of variation is characteristic of the diglossia that exists throughout the Arabic-speaking world.Al-Ma'arri titled \"I no longer steal from nature\"\nAlthough Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is a unitary language, its pronunciation varies somewhat from country to country and from region to region within a country.", "The variation in individual \"accents\" of MSA speakers tends to mirror corresponding variations in the colloquial speech of the speakers in question, but with the distinguishing characteristics moderated somewhat.", "Note that it is important in descriptions of \"Arabic\" phonology to distinguish between pronunciation of a given colloquial (spoken) dialect and the pronunciation of MSA by these same speakers.", "Although they are related, they are not the same.", "For example, the phoneme that derives from Proto-Semitic has many different pronunciations in the modern spoken varieties, e.g., .", "Speakers whose native variety has either or will use the same pronunciation when speaking MSA.", "Even speakers from Cairo, whose native Egyptian Arabic has , normally use when speaking MSA.", "The of Persian Gulf speakers is the only variant pronunciation which isn't found in MSA; is used instead.", "Another example: Many colloquial varieties are known for a type of vowel harmony in which the presence of an \"emphatic consonant\" triggers backed allophones of nearby vowels (especially of the low vowels , which are backed to in these circumstances and very often fronted to in all other circumstances).", "In many spoken varieties, the backed or \"emphatic\" vowel allophones spread a fair distance in both directions from the triggering consonant; in some varieties (most notably Egyptian Arabic), the \"emphatic\" allophones spread throughout the entire word, usually including prefixes and suffixes, even at a distance of several syllables from the triggering consonant.", "Speakers of colloquial varieties with this vowel harmony tend to introduce it into their MSA pronunciation as well, but usually with a lesser degree of spreading than in the colloquial varieties.", "(For example, speakers of colloquial varieties with extremely long-distance harmony may allow a moderate, but not extreme, amount of spreading of the harmonic allophones in their MSA speech, while speakers of colloquial varieties with moderate-distance harmony may only harmonize immediately adjacent vowels in MSA.)", "==== Vowels ====\nModern Standard Arabic has six pure vowels, with short and corresponding long vowels .", "There are also two diphthongs: and .", "The pronunciation of the vowels differs from speaker to speaker, in a way that tends to reflect the pronunciation of the corresponding colloquial variety.", "Nonetheless, there are some common trends.", "Most noticeable is the differing pronunciation of and , which tend towards fronted , or in most situations, but a back in the neighborhood of emphatic consonants.", "Some accents and dialects, such as those of the Hijaz, have central in all situations.", "The vowel varies towards too.", "Listen to the final vowel in the recording of '''' at the beginning of this article, for example.", "The point is, Arabic has only three short vowel phonemes, so those phonemes can have a very wide range of allophones.", "The vowels and are often affected somewhat in emphatic neighborhoods as well, with generally more back or centralized allophones, but the differences are less great than for the low vowels.", "The pronunciation of short and tends towards and , respectively, in many dialects.", "The definition of both \"emphatic\" and \"neighborhood\" vary in ways that reflect (to some extent) corresponding variations in the spoken dialects.", "Generally, the consonants triggering \"emphatic\" allophones are the pharyngealized consonants ; ; and , if not followed immediately by .", "Frequently, the fricatives also trigger emphatic allophones; occasionally also the pharyngeal consonants (the former more than the latter).", "Many dialects have multiple emphatic allophones of each vowel, depending on the particular nearby consonants.", "In most MSA accents, emphatic coloring of vowels is limited to vowels immediately adjacent to a triggering consonant, although in some it spreads a bit farther: e.g., '''' 'time'; '''' 'homeland'; '''' 'downtown' (sometimes or similar).", "In a non-emphatic environment, the vowel in the diphthong tends to be fronted even more than elsewhere, often pronounced or : hence '''' 'sword' but '''' 'summer'.", "However, in accents with no emphatic allophones of (e.g., in the Hijaz), the pronunciation occurs in all situations.", "==== Consonants ====\n\n+ Consonant phonemes of Modern Standard Arabic\n\n Labial\n Dental\n Denti-alveolar\n Palatal\n Velar\n Uvular\n Pharyngeal\n Glottal\n\n plain\n emphatic\n\nNasal\n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStop\nvoiceless\n\n\n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\nvoiced\n \n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\nFricative\nvoiceless\n \n \n \n \n \n ~ \n \n \n\nvoiced\n\n \n \n \n\n ~ \n \n\n\nTrill\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nApproximant\n\n\n \n ()\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\nThe phoneme is represented by the Arabic letter '''' () and has many standard pronunciations.", "is characteristic of north Algeria, Iraq, also in most of the Arabian peninsula but with an allophonic in some positions; occurs in most of the Levant and most North Africa; and is used in most of Egypt and some regions in Yemen and Oman.", "Generally this corresponds with the pronunciation in the colloquial dialects.", "In some regions in Sudan and Yemen, as well as in some Sudanese and Yemeni dialects, it may be either or , representing the original pronunciation of Classical Arabic.", "Foreign words containing may be transcribed with , , , , , or , mainly depending on the regional spoken variety of Arabic or the commonly diacriticized Arabic letter.", "Note also that in northern Egypt, where the Arabic letter '''' () is normally pronounced , a separate phoneme , which may be transcribed with , occurs in a small number of mostly non-Arabic loanwords, e.g., 'jacket'.", "() can be pronounced as or even .", "In some places of Maghreb it can be also pronounced as .", "and () are velar, post-velar, or uvular.", "In many varieties, () are actually epiglottal (despite what is reported in many earlier works).", "is pronounced as velarized in الله , the name of God, q.e.", "Allah, when the word follows ''a'', ''ā'', ''u'' or ''ū'' (after ''i'' or ''ī'' it is unvelarized: ''bismi l–lāh'' ).", "Some speakers velarize other occurrences of in MSA, in imitation of their spoken dialects.", "The emphatic consonant was actually pronounced , or possibly —either way, a highly unusual sound.", "The medieval Arabs actually termed their language '''' 'the language of the Ḍād' (the name of the letter used for this sound), since they thought the sound was unique to their language.", "(In fact, it also exists in a few other minority Semitic languages, e.g., Mehri.)", "Arabic has consonants traditionally termed \"emphatic\" (), which exhibit simultaneous pharyngealization as well as varying degrees of velarization , so they may be written with the \"Velarized or pharyngealized\" diacritic () as: .", "This simultaneous articulation is described as \"Retracted Tongue Root\" by phonologists.", "In some transcription systems, emphasis is shown by capitalizing the letter, for example, is written ; in others the letter is underlined or has a dot below it, for example, .", "Vowels and consonants can be phonologically short or long.", "Long (geminate) consonants are normally written doubled in Latin transcription (i.e.", "bb, dd, etc.", "), reflecting the presence of the Arabic diacritic mark '''', which indicates doubled consonants.", "In actual pronunciation, doubled consonants are held twice as long as short consonants.", "This consonant lengthening is phonemically contrastive: '''' 'he accepted' vs. '''' 'he kissed'.", "ProtoSemitic\n IPA\n Arabic\n\n written\n standard\n Classical\n OldArabic\n\n \n \n ب\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n د\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ج\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ف\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ت\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ك\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ط\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n \n ق\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n / \n ذ\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n ز\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n س\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n\n \n / \n ث\n ''''\n \n\n \n / \n ش\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n / \n ظ\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n / \n ص\n ''''\n \n \n\n \n / \n ض\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n ~\n غ\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ع\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ء\n ''''\n \n\n \n ~\n خ\n ''''\n \n \n \n\n \n \n ح\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ه\n ''''\n \n\n\n\n \n \n م\n ''m''\n \n\n \n \n ن\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ر\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ل\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n ي\n ''''\n \n\n \n \n و\n ''''\n \n\n ProtoSemitic\n IPA\n Arabic\n Standard\n Classical\n Old\n\n\n==== Syllable structure ====\nArabic has two kinds of syllables: open syllables (CV) and (CVV)—and closed syllables (CVC), (CVVC) and (CVCC).", "The syllable types with two morae (units of time), i.e.", "CVC and CVV, are termed ''heavy syllables'', while those with three morae, i.e.", "CVVC and CVCC, are ''superheavy syllables''.", "Superheavy syllables in Classical Arabic occur in only two places: at the end of the sentence (due to pausal pronunciation) and in words such as '''' 'hot', '''' 'stuff, substance', '''' 'they disputed with each other', where a long '''' occurs before two identical consonants (a former short vowel between the consonants has been lost).", "(In less formal pronunciations of Modern Standard Arabic, superheavy syllables are common at the end of words or before clitic suffixes such as '''' 'us, our', due to the deletion of final short vowels.)", "In surface pronunciation, every vowel must be preceded by a consonant (which may include the glottal stop ).", "There are no cases of hiatus within a word (where two vowels occur next to each other, without an intervening consonant).", "Some words do have an underlying vowel at the beginning, such as the definite article ''al-'' or words such as '''' 'he bought', '''' 'meeting'.", "When actually pronounced, one of three things happens:\n* If the word occurs after another word ending in a consonant, there is a smooth transition from final consonant to initial vowel, e.g., '''' 'meeting' .", "* If the word occurs after another word ending in a vowel, the initial vowel of the word is elided, e.g., '''' 'house of the director' .", "* If the word occurs at the beginning of an utterance, a glottal stop is added onto the beginning, e.g., '''' 'The house is ...' .", "==== Stress ====\nWord stress is not phonemically contrastive in Standard Arabic.", "It bears a strong relationship to vowel length.", "The basic rules for Modern Standard Arabic are:\n* A final vowel, long or short, may not be stressed.", "* Only one of the last three syllables may be stressed.", "* Given this restriction, the last heavy syllable (containing a long vowel or ending in a consonant) is stressed, if it is not the final syllable.", "* If the final syllable is super heavy and closed (of the form CVVC or CVCC) it receives stress.", "* If no syllable is heavy or super heavy, the first possible syllable (i.e.", "third from end) is stressed.", "* As a special exception, in Form VII and VIII verb forms stress may not be on the first syllable, despite the above rules: Hence '''' 'he subscribed' (whether or not the final short vowel is pronounced), '''' 'he subscribes' (whether or not the final short vowel is pronounced), '''' 'he should subscribe (juss.)'.", "Likewise Form VIII '''' 'he bought', '''' 'he buys'.", "Examples:'''' 'book', '''' 'writer', '''' 'desk', '''' 'desks', '''' 'library' (but '''' 'library' in short pronunciation), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they wrote' = '''' (dialect), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they wrote it' = '''' (dialect), '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'they (dual, fem) wrote', '''' (Modern Standard Arabic) 'I wrote' = '''' (short form or dialect).", "Doubled consonants count as two consonants: '''' 'magazine', '''' \"place\".", "These rules may result in differently stressed syllables when final case endings are pronounced, vs. the normal situation where they are not pronounced, as in the above example of '''' 'library' in full pronunciation, but '''' 'library' in short pronunciation.", "The restriction on final long vowels does not apply to the spoken dialects, where original final long vowels have been shortened and secondary final long vowels have arisen from loss of original final ''-hu/hi''.", "Some dialects have different stress rules.", "In the Cairo (Egyptian Arabic) dialect a heavy syllable may not carry stress more than two syllables from the end of a word, hence '''' 'school', '''' 'Cairo'.", "This also affects the way that Modern Standard Arabic is pronounced in Egypt.", "In the Arabic of Sanaa, stress is often retracted: '''' 'two houses', '''' 'their table', '''' 'desks', '''' 'sometimes', '''' 'their school'.", "(In this dialect, only syllables with long vowels or diphthongs are considered heavy; in a two-syllable word, the final syllable can be stressed only if the preceding syllable is light; and in longer words, the final syllable cannot be stressed.)", "==== Levels of pronunciation ====\nThe final short vowels (e.g., the case endings ''-a -i -u'' and mood endings ''-u -a'') are often not pronounced in this language, despite forming part of the formal paradigm of nouns and verbs.", "The following levels of pronunciation exist:\n\n===== Full pronunciation with pausa =====\nThis is the most formal level actually used in speech.", "All endings are pronounced as written, except at the end of an utterance, where the following changes occur:\n* Final short vowels are not pronounced.", "(But possibly an exception is made for feminine plural ''-na'' and shortened vowels in the jussive/imperative of defective verbs, e.g., ''irmi!''", "'throw!'\".)", "* The entire indefinite noun endings ''-in'' and ''-un'' (with nunation) are left off.", "The ending ''-an'' is left off of nouns preceded by a ''tāʾ marbūṭah'' ة (i.e.", "the ''-t'' in the ending ''-at-'' that typically marks feminine nouns), but pronounced as ''-ā'' in other nouns (hence its writing in this fashion in the Arabic script).", "* The ''tāʼ marbūṭah'' itself (typically of feminine nouns) is pronounced as ''h''.", "(At least, this is the case in extremely formal pronunciation, e.g., some Quranic recitations.", "In practice, this ''h'' is usually omitted.)", "===== Formal short pronunciation =====\nThis is a formal level of pronunciation sometimes seen.", "It is somewhat like pronouncing all words as if they were in pausal position (with influence from the colloquial varieties).", "The following changes occur:\n* Most final short vowels are not pronounced.", "However, the following short vowels ''are'' pronounced:\n** feminine plural ''-na''\n** shortened vowels in the jussive/imperative of defective verbs, e.g., ''irmi!''", "'throw!'", "** second-person singular feminine past-tense ''-ti'' and likewise ''anti'' 'you (fem.", "sg.)'", "** sometimes, first-person singular past-tense ''-tu''\n** sometimes, second-person masculine past-tense ''-ta'' and likewise ''anta'' 'you (masc.", "sg.)'", "** final ''-a'' in certain short words, e.g., ''laysa'' 'is not', ''sawfa'' (future-tense marker)\n* The nunation endings ''-an -in -un'' are not pronounced.", "However, they ''are'' pronounced in adverbial accusative formations, e.g., '''' تَقْرِيبًا 'almost, approximately', '''' عَادَةً 'usually'.", "* The ''tāʾ marbūṭah'' ending ة is unpronounced, ''except'' in construct state nouns, where it sounds as ''t'' (and in adverbial accusative constructions, e.g., '''' عَادَةً 'usually', where the entire ''-tan'' is pronounced).", "* The masculine singular nisbah ending '''' is actually pronounced '''' and is unstressed (but plural and feminine singular forms, i.e.", "when followed by a suffix, still sound as '''').", "* ''Full endings'' (including case endings) occur when a clitic object or possessive suffix is added (e.g., '''' 'us/our').", "===== Informal short pronunciation =====\nThis is the pronunciation used by speakers of Modern Standard Arabic in extemporaneous speech, i.e.", "when producing new sentences rather than simply reading a prepared text.", "It is similar to formal short pronunciation except that the rules for dropping final vowels apply ''even'' when a clitic suffix is added.", "Basically, short-vowel case and mood endings are never pronounced and certain other changes occur that echo the corresponding colloquial pronunciations.", "Specifically:\n* All the rules for formal short pronunciation apply, except as follows.", "* The past tense singular endings written formally as ''-tu -ta -ti'' are pronounced ''-t -t -ti''.", "But masculine '''' is pronounced in full.", "* Unlike in formal short pronunciation, the rules for dropping or modifying final endings are also applied when a clitic object or possessive suffix is added (e.g., '''' 'us/our').", "If this produces a sequence of three consonants, then one of the following happens, depending on the speaker's native colloquial variety:\n** A short vowel (e.g., ''-i-'' or ''-ǝ-'') is consistently added, either between the second and third or the first and second consonants.", "** Or, a short vowel is added only if an otherwise unpronounceable sequence occurs, typically due to a violation of the sonority hierarchy (e.g., ''-rtn-'' is pronounced as a three-consonant cluster, but ''-trn-'' needs to be broken up).", "** Or, a short vowel is never added, but consonants like ''r l m n'' occurring between two other consonants will be pronounced as a syllabic consonant (as in the English words \"butter bottle bottom button\").", "** When a doubled consonant occurs before another consonant (or finally), it is often shortened to a single consonant rather than a vowel added.", "(But note that Moroccan Arabic never shortens doubled consonants or inserts short vowels to break up clusters, instead tolerating arbitrary-length series of arbitrary consonants and hence Moroccan Arabic speakers are likely to follow the same rules in their pronunciation of Modern Standard Arabic.)", "* The clitic suffixes themselves tend also to be changed, in a way that avoids many possible occurrences of three-consonant clusters.", "In particular, ''-ka -ki -hu'' generally sound as ''-ak -ik -uh''.", "* Final long vowels are often shortened, merging with any short vowels that remain.", "* Depending on the level of formality, the speaker's education level, etc., various grammatical changes may occur in ways that echo the colloquial variants:\n** Any remaining case endings (e.g.", "masculine plural nominative ''-ūn'' vs. oblique ''-īn'') will be leveled, with the oblique form used everywhere.", "(However, in words like '''' 'father' and '''' 'brother' with special long-vowel case endings in the construct state, the nominative is used everywhere, hence '''' 'father of', '''' 'brother of'.)", "** Feminine plural endings in verbs and clitic suffixes will often drop out, with the masculine plural endings used instead.", "If the speaker's native variety has feminine plural endings, they may be preserved, but will often be modified in the direction of the forms used in the speaker's native variety, e.g.", "''-an'' instead of ''-na''.", "** Dual endings will often drop out except on nouns and then used only for emphasis (similar to their use in the colloquial varieties); elsewhere, the plural endings are used (or feminine singular, if appropriate).", "=== Colloquial varieties ===\n\n\n====Vowels====\nAs mentioned above, many spoken dialects have a process of ''emphasis spreading'', where the \"emphasis\" (pharyngealization) of emphatic consonants spreads forward and back through adjacent syllables, pharyngealizing all nearby consonants and triggering the back allophone in all nearby low vowels.", "The extent of emphasis spreading varies.", "For example, in Moroccan Arabic, it spreads as far as the first full vowel (i.e.", "sound derived from a long vowel or diphthong) on either side; in many Levantine dialects, it spreads indefinitely, but is blocked by any or ; while in Egyptian Arabic, it usually spreads throughout the entire word, including prefixes and suffixes.", "In Moroccan Arabic, also have emphatic allophones and , respectively.", "Unstressed short vowels, especially , are deleted in many contexts.", "Many sporadic examples of short vowel change have occurred (especially → and interchange ↔).", "Most Levantine dialects merge short /i u/ into in most contexts (all except directly before a single final consonant).", "In Moroccan Arabic, on the other hand, short triggers labialization of nearby consonants (especially velar consonants and uvular consonants), and then short /a i u/ all merge into , which is deleted in many contexts.", "(The labialization plus is sometimes interpreted as an underlying phoneme .)", "This essentially causes the wholesale loss of the short-long vowel distinction, with the original long vowels remaining as half-long , phonemically , which are used to represent ''both'' short and long vowels in borrowings from Literary Arabic.", "Most spoken dialects have monophthongized original to (in all circumstances, including adjacent to emphatic consonants).", "In Moroccan Arabic, these have subsequently merged into original .", "====Consonants====\nIn some dialects, there may be more or fewer phonemes than those listed in the chart above.", "For example, non-Arabic is used in the Maghrebi dialects as well in the written language mostly for foreign names.", "Semitic became extremely early on in Arabic before it was written down; a few modern Arabic dialects, such as Iraqi (influenced by Persian and Kurdish) distinguish between and .", "The Iraqi Arabic also uses sounds , and uses Persian adding letters, e.g.", ": '''' – ''a plum''; '' – ''a truffle'' and so on.", "Early in the expansion of Arabic, the separate emphatic phonemes and coalesced into a single phoneme .", "Many dialects (such as Egyptian, Levantine, and much of the Maghreb) subsequently lost fricatives, converting into .", "Most dialects borrow \"learned\" words from the Standard language using the same pronunciation as for inherited words, but some dialects without interdental fricatives (particularly in Egypt and the Levant) render original in borrowed words as .", "Another key distinguishing mark of Arabic dialects is how they render the original velar and uvular plosives , (Proto-Semitic ), and :\n* retains its original pronunciation in widely scattered regions such as Yemen, Morocco, and urban areas of the Maghreb.", "It is pronounced as a glottal stop in several prestige dialects, such as those spoken in Cairo, Beirut and Damascus.", "But it is rendered as a voiced velar plosive in Persian Gulf, Upper Egypt, parts of the Maghreb, and less urban parts of the Levant (e.g.", "Jordan).", "In Iraqi Arabic it sometimes retains its original pronunciation and is sometimes rendered as a voiced velar plosive, depending on the word.", "Some traditionally Christian villages in rural areas of the Levant render the sound as , as do Shiʻi Bahrainis.", "In some Gulf dialects, it is palatalized to or .", "It is pronounced as a voiced uvular constrictive in Sudanese Arabic.", "Many dialects with a modified pronunciation for maintain the pronunciation in certain words (often with religious or educational overtones) borrowed from the Classical language.", "* is pronounced as an affricate in Iraq and much of the Arabian Peninsula, but is pronounced in most of North Egypt and parts of Yemen and Oman, in Morocco, Tunisia and the Levant, and , in most words in much of the Persian Gulf.", "* usually retains its original pronunciation, but is palatalized to in many words in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Iraq, and much of the Arabian Peninsula.", "Often a distinction is made between the suffixes ('you', masc.)", "and ('you', fem.", "), which become and , respectively.", "In Sana'a, Omani, and Bahrani is pronounced .", "Pharyngealization of the emphatic consonants tends to weaken in many of the spoken varieties, and to spread from emphatic consonants to nearby sounds.", "In addition, the \"emphatic\" allophone automatically triggers pharyngealization of adjacent sounds in many dialects.", "As a result, it may difficult or impossible to determine whether a given coronal consonant is phonemically emphatic or not, especially in dialects with long-distance emphasis spreading.", "(A notable exception is the sounds vs. in Moroccan Arabic, because the former is pronounced as an affricate but the latter is not.)", "Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.", "=== Literary Arabic ===\n\nAs in other Semitic languages, Arabic has a complex and unusual morphology (i.e.", "method of constructing words from a basic root).", "Arabic has a nonconcatenative \"root-and-pattern\" morphology: A root consists of a set of bare consonants (usually three), which are fitted into a discontinuous pattern to form words.", "For example, the word for 'I wrote' is constructed by combining the root '''''' 'write' with the pattern '''''' 'I Xed' to form '''' 'I wrote'.", "Other verbs meaning 'I Xed' will typically have the same pattern but with different consonants, e.g. ''''", "'I read', '''' 'I ate', '''' 'I went', although other patterns are possible (e.g. ''''", "'I drank', '''' 'I said', '''' 'I spoke', where the subpattern used to signal the past tense may change but the suffix '''' is always used).", "From a single root '''''', numerous words can be formed by applying different patterns:\n* '''' 'I wrote'\n* '''' 'I had (something) written'\n* '''' 'I corresponded (with someone)'\"\n* '''' 'I dictated'\n* '''' 'I subscribed'\n* '''' 'we corresponded with each other'\n* '''' 'I write'\n* '''' 'I have (something) written'\n* '''' 'I correspond (with someone)'\n* '''' 'I dictate'\n* '''' 'I subscribe'\n* '''' 'we correspond each other'\n* '''' 'it was written'\n* '''' 'it was dictated'\"\n* '''' 'written'\n* '''' 'dictated'\n* '''' 'book'\n* '''' 'books'\n* '''' 'writer'\n* '''' 'writers'\n* '''' 'desk, office'\n* '''' 'library, bookshop'\n* etc.", "====Nouns and adjectives====\nNouns in Literary Arabic have three grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, and genitive also used when the noun is governed by a preposition); three numbers (singular, dual and plural); two genders (masculine and feminine); and three \"states\" (indefinite, definite, and construct).", "The cases of singular nouns (other than those that end in long ā) are indicated by suffixed short vowels (/-u/ for nominative, /-a/ for accusative, /-i/ for genitive).", "The feminine singular is often marked by /-at/, which is reduced to /-ah/ or /-a/ before a pause.", "Plural is indicated either through endings (the sound plural) or internal modification (the broken plural).", "Definite nouns include all proper nouns, all nouns in \"construct state\" and all nouns which are prefixed by the definite article /al-/.", "Indefinite singular nouns (other than those that end in long ā) add a final /-n/ to the case-marking vowels, giving /-un/, /-an/ or /-in/ (which is also referred to as nunation or tanwīn).", "Adjectives in Literary Arabic are marked for case, number, gender and state, as for nouns.", "However, the plural of all non-human nouns is always combined with a singular feminine adjective, which takes the /-ah/ or /-at/ suffix.", "Pronouns in Literary Arabic are marked for person, number and gender.", "There are two varieties, independent pronouns and enclitics.", "Enclitic pronouns are attached to the end of a verb, noun or preposition and indicate verbal and prepositional objects or possession of nouns.", "The first-person singular pronoun has a different enclitic form used for verbs (/-ni/) and for nouns or prepositions (/-ī/ after consonants, /-ya/ after vowels).", "Nouns, verbs, pronouns and adjectives agree with each other in all respects.", "However, non-human plural nouns are grammatically considered to be feminine singular.", "Furthermore, a verb in a verb-initial sentence is marked as singular regardless of its semantic number when the subject of the verb is explicitly mentioned as a noun.", "Numerals between three and ten show \"chiasmic\" agreement, in that grammatically masculine numerals have feminine marking and vice versa.", "====Verbs====\nVerbs in Literary Arabic are marked for person (first, second, or third), gender, and number.", "They are conjugated in two major paradigms (past and non-past); two voices (active and passive); and six moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, jussive, shorter energetic and longer energetic), the fifth and sixth moods, the energetics, exist only in Classical Arabic but not in MSA.", "There are also two participles (active and passive) and a verbal noun, but no infinitive.", "The past and non-past paradigms are sometimes also termed perfective and imperfective, indicating the fact that they actually represent a combination of tense and aspect.", "The moods other than the indicative occur only in the non-past, and the future tense is signaled by prefixing '''' or '''' onto the non-past.", "The past and non-past differ in the form of the stem (e.g., past '''' vs. non-past ''''), and also use completely different sets of affixes for indicating person, number and gender: In the past, the person, number and gender are fused into a single suffixal morpheme, while in the non-past, a combination of prefixes (primarily encoding person) and suffixes (primarily encoding gender and number) are used.", "The passive voice uses the same person/number/gender affixes but changes the vowels of the stem.", "The following shows a paradigm of a regular Arabic verb, '''' 'to write'.", "Note that in Modern Standard, the energetic mood (in either long or short form, which have the same meaning) is almost never used.", "====Derivation====\nLike other Semitic languages, and unlike most other languages, Arabic makes much more use of nonconcatenative morphology (applying a large number of templates applied roots) to derive words than adding prefixes or suffixes to words.", "For verbs, a given root can occur in many different derived verb stems (of which there are about fifteen), each with one or more characteristic meanings and each with its own templates for the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun.", "These are referred to by Western scholars as \"Form I\", \"Form II\", and so on through \"Form XV\" (although Forms XI to XV are rare).", "These stems encode grammatical functions such as the causative, intensive and reflexive.", "Stems sharing the same root consonants represent separate verbs, albeit often semantically related, and each is the basis for its own conjugational paradigm.", "As a result, these derived stems are part of the system of derivational morphology, not part of the inflectional system.", "Examples of the different verbs formed from the root '''' 'write' (using '''' 'red' for Form IX, which is limited to colors and physical defects):\n\n+ Most of these forms are exclusively Classical Arabic\n Form !", "!", "Past !", "!", "Meaning !", "!", "Non-past !", "!", "Meaning\n\n I \n '''' \n 'he wrote' \n '''' \n 'he writes'\n\n II \n '''' \n 'he made (someone) write' \n '''' \n \"he makes (someone) write\"\n\n III \n '''' \n 'he corresponded with, wrote to (someone)' \n '''' \n 'he corresponds with, writes to (someone)'\n\n IV \n '''' \n 'he dictated' \n '''' \n 'he dictates'\n\n V \n '''' \n 'nonexistent' \n '''' \n 'nonexistent'\n\n VI \n '''' \n 'he corresponded (with someone, esp.", "mutually)' \n '''' \n 'he corresponds (with someone, esp.", "mutually)'\n\n VII \n '''' \n 'he subscribed' \n '''' \n 'he subscribes'\n\n VIII \n '''' \n 'he copied' \n '''' \n 'he copies'\n\n IX \n '''' \n 'he turned red' \n '''' \n 'he turns red'\n\n X \n '''' \n 'he asked (someone) to write' \n '''' \n 'he asks (someone) to write'\n\n\nForm II is sometimes used to create transitive denominative verbs (verbs built from nouns); Form V is the equivalent used for intransitive denominatives.", "The associated participles and verbal nouns of a verb are the primary means of forming new lexical nouns in Arabic.", "This is similar to the process by which, for example, the English gerund \"meeting\" (similar to a verbal noun) has turned into a noun referring to a particular type of social, often work-related event where people gather together to have a \"discussion\" (another lexicalized verbal noun).", "Another fairly common means of forming nouns is through one of a limited number of patterns that can be applied directly to roots, such as the \"nouns of location\" in ''ma-'' (e.g. ''''", "'desk, office' masculine\n ''katáb-t''\n ''tí-ktib''\n ''bi-tí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-tí-ktib''\n ''í-ktib''\n\n feminine\n ''katáb-ti''\n ''ti-ktíb-i''\n ''bi-ti-ktíb-i''\n ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-i''\n ''i-ktíb-i''\n\n 3rd\n masculine\n ''kátab''\n ''yí-ktib''\n ''bi-yí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-yí-ktib''\n\"\n\n feminine\n ''kátab-it''\n ''tí-ktib''\n ''bi-tí-ktib''\n ''ḥa-tí-ktib''\n\n Plural\n\n 1st\n ''katáb-na''\n ''ní-ktib''\n ''bi-ní-ktib''\n ''ḥá-ní-ktib''\n\"\n\n 2nd\n ''katáb-tu''\n ''ti-ktíb-u''\n ''bi-ti-ktíb-u''\n ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-u''\n ''i-ktíb-u''\n\n 3rd\n ''kátab-u''\n ''yi-ktíb-u''\n ''bi-yi-ktíb-u''\n ''ḥa-yi-ktíb-u''\n\"", "\nIslamic calligraphy written by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia.", "The calligrapher is making a rough draft.", "The Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic through Nabatean, to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of Coptic or Cyrillic scripts to Greek script.", "Traditionally, there were several differences between the Western (North African) and Middle Eastern versions of the alphabet—in particular, the ''faʼ'' had a dot underneath and ''qaf'' a single dot above in the Maghreb, and the order of the letters was slightly different (at least when they were used as numerals).", "However, the old Maghrebi variant has been abandoned except for calligraphic purposes in the Maghreb itself, and remains in use mainly in the Quranic schools (zaouias) of West Africa.", "Arabic, like all other Semitic languages (except for the Latin-written Maltese, and the languages with the Ge'ez script), is written from right to left.", "There are several styles of script, notably naskh, which is used in print and by computers, and ruqʻah, which is commonly used in handwriting.", "=== Calligraphy ===\n\nAfter Khalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi finally fixed the Arabic script around 786, many styles were developed, both for the writing down of the Quran and other books, and for inscriptions on monuments as decoration.", "Arabic calligraphy has not fallen out of use as calligraphy has in the Western world, and is still considered by Arabs as a major art form; calligraphers are held in great esteem.", "Being cursive by nature, unlike the Latin script, Arabic script is used to write down a verse of the Quran, a hadith, or simply a proverb.", "The composition is often abstract, but sometimes the writing is shaped into an actual form such as that of an animal.", "One of the current masters of the genre is Hassan Massoudy.", "In modern times the intrinsically calligraphic nature of the written Arabic form is haunted by the thought that a typographic approach to the language, necessary for digitized unification, will not always accurately maintain meanings conveyed through calligraphy.", "=== Romanization ===\n\n\n+ Examples of different transliteration/transcription schemes\n Letter\n IPA\n UNGEGN\n ALA-LC\n Wehr\n DIN !", "!", "ISO\n SAS\n - 2\n BATR\n ArabTeX\n chat\n Malay\n\n \n \n ʼ\n ʾ \n ˈ, ˌ\n ʾ\n '\n e\n '\n 2\n '\n\n \n \n ā\n ʾ\n ā\n aa\n aa / A\n a\n a/e/é\n a/o\n\n \n , \n y\n y; ī\n y; e\n y; ii\n y\n y; i/ee; ei/ai\n y; i\n\n \n \n th\n ṯ\n ç\n ṯ\n c\n _t\n s/th\n ts\n\n \n ~~\n j\n ǧ\n ŷ\n j\n j\n ^g\n j/g/dj\n j\n\n \n \n ḩ\n ḥ\n H\n .h\n 7\n h\n\n \n \n kh\n ḵ\n ḫ \n ẖ\n j\n x\n K\n _h\n kh/7'/5\n kh\n\n \n \n dh\n ḏ\n đ\n z'\n _d\n z/dh/th\n dz\n\n \n \n sh\n š\n x\n ^s\n sh/ch\n sy\n\n \n \n ş\n ṣ\n S\n .s\n s/9\n sh\n\n \n \n ḑ\n ḍ\n D\n .d\n d/9'\n dh\n\n \n \n ţ\n ṭ\n T\n .tu\n t/6\n th\n\n \n ~\n z̧\n ẓ\n đ̣\n Z\n .z\n z/dh/6'\n zh\n\n \n \n ʻ\n ʿ\n ř\n E\n '\n 3\n '\n\n \n \n gh\n ḡ\n ġ\n g\n j\n g\n .g\n gh/3'/8\n gh\n\n\nThere are a number of different standards for the romanization of Arabic, i.e.", "methods of accurately and efficiently representing Arabic with the Latin script.", "There are various conflicting motivations involved, which leads to multiple systems.", "Some are interested in transliteration, i.e.", "representing the ''spelling'' of Arabic, while others focus on transcription, i.e.", "representing the ''pronunciation'' of Arabic.", "(They differ in that, for example, the same letter is used to represent both a consonant, as in \"'''y'''ou\" or \"'''y'''et\", and a vowel, as in \"m'''e'''\" or \"'''ea'''t\".)", "Some systems, e.g.", "for scholarly use, are intended to accurately and unambiguously represent the phonemes of Arabic, generally making the phonetics more explicit than the original word in the Arabic script.", "These systems are heavily reliant on diacritical marks such as \"š\" for the sound equivalently written ''sh'' in English.", "Other systems (e.g.", "the Bahá'í orthography) are intended to help readers who are neither Arabic speakers nor linguists with intuitive pronunciation of Arabic names and phrases.", "These less \"scientific\" tend to avoid diacritics and use digraphs (like ''sh'' and ''kh'').", "These are usually simpler to read, but sacrifice the definiteness of the scientific systems, and may lead to ambiguities, e.g.", "whether to interpret ''sh'' as a single sound, as in ''gash'', or a combination of two sounds, as in ''gashouse''.", "The ALA-LC romanization solves this problem by separating the two sounds with a prime symbol ( ′ ); e.g., ''as′hal'' 'easier'.", "During the last few decades and especially since the 1990s, Western-invented text communication technologies have become prevalent in the Arab world, such as personal computers, the World Wide Web, email, bulletin board systems, IRC, instant messaging and mobile phone text messaging.", "Most of these technologies originally had the ability to communicate using the Latin script only, and some of them still do not have the Arabic script as an optional feature.", "As a result, Arabic speaking users communicated in these technologies by transliterating the Arabic text using the Latin script, sometimes known as IM Arabic.", "To handle those Arabic letters that cannot be accurately represented using the Latin script, numerals and other characters were appropriated.", "For example, the numeral \"3\" may be used to represent the Arabic letter .", "There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, but some have named it Arabic Chat Alphabet.", "Other systems of transliteration exist, such as using dots or capitalization to represent the \"emphatic\" counterparts of certain consonants.", "For instance, using capitalization, the letter , may be represented by '''d'''.", "Its emphatic counterpart, , may be written as '''D'''.", "=== Numerals ===\nIn most of present-day North Africa, the Western Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) are used.", "However, in Egypt and Arabic-speaking countries to the east of it, the Eastern Arabic numerals ( – – – – – – – – – ) are in use.", "When representing a number in Arabic, the lowest-valued position is placed on the right, so the order of positions is the same as in left-to-right scripts.", "Sequences of digits such as telephone numbers are read from left to right, but numbers are spoken in the traditional Arabic fashion, with units and tens reversed from the modern English usage.", "For example, 24 is said \"four and twenty\" just like in the German language (''vierundzwanzig'') and Classical Hebrew, and '''1975''' is said \"a thousand and nine-hundred and five and seventy\" or, more eloquently, \"a thousand and nine-hundred five seventy\"", "Academy of the Arabic Language is the name of a number of language-regulation bodies formed in the Arab League.", "The most active are in Damascus and Cairo.", "They review language development, monitor new words and approve inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries.", "They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts.", "Arabic has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools.", "Universities around the world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages, Middle Eastern studies, and religious studies courses.", "Arabic language schools exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world.", "There are many Arabic language schools in the Arab world and other Muslim countries.", "Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study the language.", "Software and books with tapes are also important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available.", "Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations.", "A number of websites on the Internet provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries.", "\nIn Bahrain, Arabic is largely used in educational settings.", "Historically, Arab linguists considered the Arabic language to be superior to all other languages, and took almost no interest in learning any language other than Arabic .", "With the sole example of Medieval linguist Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati - who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab - scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior.", "In modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view.", "Yasir Suleiman wrote in 2011 that \"studying and knowing English or French in most of the Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises.\"", "Arab-American professor Franck Salamah went as far as to declare Arabic a dead language conveying dead ideas, blaming its stagnation for Arab intellectual stagnation and lamenting that great writers in Arabic are judged by their command of the language and not the merit of the ideas they express with it.", "\n* Arabic diglossia\n* AIDA - International Association of Arabic Dialectology\n* Arabic grammar\n* Arabic influence on the Spanish language\n* Arabic literature\n* Arabic–English Lexicon\n* Arabist\n* ''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic''\n* Glossary of Islam\n* List of Arabic neighborhoods\n* List of arabophones\n* List of countries where Arabic is an official language\n* List of French words of Arabic origin\n* List of Portuguese words of Arabic origin\n* List of replaced loanwords in Turkish\n* List of Arabic-language television channels\n* List of Arab newspapers\n* List of Arabic given names", "'''Notes'''\n\n\n'''Bibliography'''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Suileman, Yasir.", "''Arabic, Self and Identity: A Study in Conflict and Displacement''.", "Oxford University Press, 10 August 2011. , 978-0-19-974701-6.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n\n\n\n\n\n* Arabic: a Category III language Languages which are difficult for native English speakers.", "* Dr. Nizar Habash's, Columbia University, Introduction to Arabic Natural Language Processing\n* Google Ta3reeb – Google Transliteration\n* Transliteration Arabic language pronunciation applet\n* '' Alexis Neme (2011), A lexicon of Arabic verbs constructed on the basis of Semitic taxonomy and using finite-state transducers''\n* '' Alexis Neme and Eric Laporte (2013), Pattern-and-root inflectional morphology: the Arabic broken plural''\n* ''Alexis Neme and Eric Laporte (2015), Do computer scientists deeply understand Arabic morphology?", "- '', available also in Arabic, Indonesian, French\n* \n* Arabic manuscripts, UA 5572 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University Online Arabic Keyboard" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Attila''' ( or ; fl. circa 406–453), frequently referred to as '''Attila the Hun''', was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, and Alans among others, on the territory of Central and Eastern Europe.\n\nDuring his reign, he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople. His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.\n\nHe subsequently invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453. After Attila's death his close adviser Ardaric of the Gepids led a Germanic revolt against Hunnic rule, after which the Hunnic Empire quickly collapsed.\n", "There is no surviving first-hand account of Attila's appearance, but there is a possible second-hand source provided by Jordanes, who cites a description given by Priscus.\n\n\n\nSome modern scholars have suggested that this description is typically East Asian, because it has all the combined features that fit the physical type of people from Eastern Asia, and Attila's ancestors may have come from there.\n", "The origin of the name \"Attila\" is unclear, and there is no consensus among scholars.\n\nOtto J. Maenchen-Helfen considered an East Germanic origin; ''Attila'' is formed from Gothic or Gepidic noun ''atta'', \"father\", by means of the diminutive suffix ''-ila'', meaning \"little father\". The Gothic etymology can be tracked up to Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19th century. Maenchen-Helfen noted that Hunnic names were \"not the true names of the Hun princes and lords. What we have are Hunnic names in Germanic dress, modified to fit the Gothic tongue, or popular Gothic etymologies, or both\". Peter Heather, who strongly considered Germanic etymology of the name Attila and some of noble Huns, stated that the possibility Attila was of Germanic ancestry cannot be ruled out. The names of Attila's brother Bleda, and most powerful minister Onegesius, also have hypothetical Germanic etymology. Only credible Germanic etymology have Attila's blood relative Laudaricus, and certain Hun-Goth Ragnaris.\n\nHyun Jin Kim argued that the \"Germanization of Hunnic names may have been a conscious policy among the Hunnic elite in the West in order to ease the transition to their rule of formerly independent German tribal unions\". In the Western part of Hunnic Empire, where mostly lived subjected Gothic tribes, Huns probably spoke both Hunnic and Gothic language, and as such bore Germanized or Germanic name, like Laudaricus. Maenchen-Helfen also expressed concern over orthography of the writer, possible morphological change, that some names writers heard from the Goths, the tendency of Roman and Byzantine writers to alter foreign names, and manuscript corruption.\n\nHowever, Kim noted that those names considered by Heather to be Gothic, especially in this case of Attila and Bleda, have more natural and probable Turkic etymology. Heather also ignored the fact that all Hunnic rulers before Attila, as well his father Mundzuk, paternal uncles Octar, Ruga and Oebarsius, wife Kreka, father-in-law Eskam, and sons Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak, have names of Turkic origin.\n\nOmeljan Pritsak considered ''̕Άττίλα'' (Atilla) a composite title-name which derived from Turkic *''es'' (great, old), and *''t il'' (sea, ocean), and the suffix /a/. The stressed back syllabic ''til'' assimilated the front member ''es'', so it became *''as''. It is a nominative, in form of ''attíl-'' (< *''etsíl'' < *''es tíl'') with the meaning \"the oceanic, universal ruler\". Peter Golden, citing Pritsak, like László Rásonyi connected Attila's name with Menander note in which used term ''Attilan'' as the name of the Volga River (Turkic ''Atil/Itil''; \"great river\"). J.J. Mikkola connected it with Turkic ''āt'' (name, fame). Gerd Althoff considered it was related to Turkish ''atli'' (horseman, cavalier), or Turkish ''at'' (horse) and ''dil'' (tongue).\n\nTom Shippey in his work ''Goths and Huns: The Rediscovery of Northern Cultures in the Nineteenth Century'' (1982), argued that the Gothic etymology is a product of 19th century Germanic romantic philological revisionism.\n\nM. Snædal casts doubt on the Germanic origin of the name Attila in a recently published article. \"The Gothic origin of the name Attila is questionable,\" Snædal writes. \"It is at least as likely to be of Hunnic origin\". The article points out that the word ''atta'' is a migratory term for \"father/forefather\" common in multiple languages, including many Turkic languages (see Ata). The article also indicates that Attila's name could have originated from Turkic-Mongolian ''at, adyy/agta'' (gelding, warhorse) and Turkish ''atli'' (horseman, cavalier), meaning \"possessor of geldings, provider of warhorses\", a suitable name for a warlord. He concludes: \n\nThe name has many variants in several languages: Atli and Atle in Old Norse; Etzel in Middle High German (Nibelungenlied); Ætla in Old English; Attila, Atilla, and Etele in Hungarian (Attila is the most popular); Attila, Atilla, Atilay, or Atila in Turkish; and Adil and Edil in Kazakh or Adil (\"same/similar\") or Edil (\"to use\") in Mongolian.\n", "George S. Stuart\nThe historiography of Attila is faced with a major challenge, in that the only complete sources are written in Greek and Latin by the enemies of the Huns. Attila's contemporaries left many testimonials of his life, but only fragments of these remain. Priscus was a Byzantine diplomat and historian who wrote in Greek, and he was both a witness to and an actor in the story of Attila, as a member of the embassy of Theodosius II at the Hunnic court in 449. He was obviously biased by his political position, but his writing is a major source for information on the life of Attila, and he is the only person known to have recorded a physical description of him. He wrote a history of the late Roman Empire in eight books covering the period from 430 to 476.\n\nToday we have only fragments of Priscus' work, but it was cited extensively by 6th-century historians Procopius and Jordanes, especially in Jordanes' ''The Origin and Deeds of the Goths''. It contains numerous references to Priscus's history, and it is also an important source of information about the Hunnic empire and its neighbors. He describes the legacy of Attila and the Hunnic people for a century after Attila's death. Marcellinus Comes, a chancellor of Justinian during the same era, also describes the relations between the Huns and the Eastern Roman Empire.\n\nNumerous ecclesiastical writings contain useful but scattered information, sometimes difficult to authenticate or distorted by years of hand-copying between the 6th and 17th centuries. The Hungarian writers of the 12th century wished to portray the Huns in a positive light as their glorious ancestors, and so repressed certain historical elements and added their own legends.\n\nThe literature and knowledge of the Huns themselves was transmitted orally, by means of epics and chanted poems that were handed down from generation to generation. Indirectly, fragments of this oral history have reached us via the literature of the Scandinavians and Germans, neighbors of the Huns who wrote between the 9th and 13th centuries. Attila is a major character in many Medieval epics, such as the Nibelungenlied, as well as various Eddas and sagas.\n\nArchaeological investigation has uncovered some details about the lifestyle, art, and warfare of the Huns. There are a few traces of battles and sieges, but today the tomb of Attila and the location of his capital have not yet been found.\n", "\nHuns in battle with the Alans. An 1870s engraving after a drawing by Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805–1880).\nThe Huns were a group of Eurasian nomads, appearing from east of the Volga, who migrated into Europe c. 370 and built up an enormous empire there. Their main military techniques were mounted archery and javelin throwing. They were possibly the descendants of the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu) who had been northern neighbors of China three hundred years before and may be the first expansion of Turkic people across Eurasia. They were in the process of developing settlements before their arrival in Europe, yet the Huns were a society of pastoral warriors whose primary form of nourishment was meat and milk, products of their herds.\n\nThe origin and language of the Huns has been the subject of debate for centuries. According to some theories, their leaders at least may have spoken a Turkic language, perhaps closest to the modern Chuvash language. One scholar suggests a relationship to Yeniseian. According to the ''Encyclopedia of European Peoples'', \"the Huns, especially those who migrated to the west, may have been a combination of central Asian Turkic, Mongolic, and Ugric stocks\".\n\nAttila's father Mundzuk was the brother of kings Octar and Ruga, who reigned jointly over the Hunnic empire in the early fifth century. This form of diarchy was recurrent with the Huns, but historians are unsure whether it was institutionalized, merely customary, or an occasional occurrence. His family was from a noble lineage, but it is uncertain whether they constituted a royal dynasty. Attila's birthdate is debated, journalist Éric Deschodt and writer Herman Schreiber have proposed a date of 395. However, historian Iaroslav Lebedynsky and archaeologist Katalin Escher prefer an estimate between the 390s and the first decade of the fifth century. Several historians have proposed 406 as the date.\n\nAttila grew up in a rapidly changing world. His people were nomads who had only recently arrived in Europe. They crossed the Volga river during the 370s and annexed the territory of the Alans, then attacked the Gothic kingdom between the Carpathian mountains and the Danube. They were a very mobile people, whose mounted archers had acquired a reputation of invincibility, and the Germanic tribes seemed unable to withstand them. Vast populations fleeing the Huns moved from Germania into the Roman Empire in the west and south, and along the banks of the Rhine and Danube. In 376, the Goths crossed the Danube, initially submitting to the Romans but soon rebelling against Emperor Valens, whom they killed in the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Large numbers of Vandals, Alans, Suebi, and Burgundians crossed the Rhine and invaded Roman Gaul on December 31, 406 to escape the Huns. The Roman Empire had been split in half since 395 and was ruled by two distinct governments, one based in Ravenna in the West, and the other in Constantinople in the East. The Roman Emperors, both East and West, were generally from the Theodosian family in Attila's lifetime (despite several power struggles).\n\nThe Huns dominated a vast territory with nebulous borders determined by the will of a constellation of ethnically varied peoples. Some were assimilated to Hunnic nationality, whereas many retained their own identities and rulers but acknowledged the suzerainty of the king of the Huns. The Huns were also the indirect source of many of the Romans' problems, driving various Germanic tribes into Roman territory, yet relations between the two empires were cordial: the Romans used the Huns as mercenaries against the Germans and even in their civil wars. Thus, the usurper Joannes was able to recruit thousands of Huns for his army against Valentinian III in 424. It was Aëtius, later Patrician of the West, who managed this operation. They exchanged ambassadors and hostages, the alliance lasting from 401 to 450 and permitting the Romans numerous military victories. The Huns considered the Romans to be paying them tribute, whereas the Romans preferred to view this as payment for services rendered. The Huns had become a great power by the time that Attila came of age during the reign of his uncle Ruga, to the point that Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, deplored the situation with these words: \"They have become both masters and slaves of the Romans\".\n", "The Empire of the Huns and subject tribes at the time of Attila.\nThe death of Rugila (also known as Rua or Ruga) in 434 left the sons of his brother Mundzuk, Attila and Bleda, in control of the united Hun tribes. At the time of the two brothers' accession, the Hun tribes were bargaining with Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II's envoys for the return of several renegades who had taken refuge within the Eastern Roman Empire, possibly Hunnic nobles who disagreed with the brothers' assumption of leadership.\n\nThe following year, Attila and Bleda met with the imperial legation at Margus (Požarevac), all seated on horseback in the Hunnic manner, and negotiated an advantageous treaty. The Romans agreed to return the fugitives, to double their previous tribute of 350 Roman pounds (c. 115 kg) of gold, to open their markets to Hunnish traders, and to pay a ransom of eight ''solidi'' for each Roman taken prisoner by the Huns. The Huns, satisfied with the treaty, decamped from the Roman Empire and returned to their home in the Great Hungarian Plain, perhaps to consolidate and strengthen their empire. Theodosius used this opportunity to strengthen the walls of Constantinople, building the city's first sea wall, and to build up his border defenses along the Danube.\n\nThe Huns remained out of Roman sight for the next few years while they invaded the Sassanid Empire. They were defeated in Armenia by the Sassanids, abandoned their invasion, and turned their attentions back to Europe. In 440, they reappeared in force on the borders of the Roman Empire, attacking the merchants at the market on the north bank of the Danube that had been established by the treaty.\n\nCrossing the Danube, they laid waste to the cities of Illyricum and forts on the river, including (according to Priscus) Viminacium, a city of Moesia. Their advance began at Margus, where they demanded that the Romans turn over a bishop who had retained property that Attila regarded as his. While the Romans discussed the bishop's fate, he slipped away secretly to the Huns and betrayed the city to them.\n\nWhile the Huns attacked city-states along the Danube, the Vandals (led by Geiseric) captured the Western Roman province of Africa and its capital of Carthage. Carthage was the richest province of the Western Empire and a main source of food for Rome. The Sassanid Shah Yazdegerd II invaded Armenia in 441.\n\nThe Romans stripped the Balkan area of forces, sending them to Sicily in order to mount an expedition against the Vandals in Africa. This left Attila and Bleda a clear path through Illyricum into the Balkans, which they invaded in 441. The Hunnish army sacked Margus and Viminacium, and then took Singidunum (Belgrade) and Sirmium. During 442, Theodosius recalled his troops from Sicily and ordered a large issue of new coins to finance operations against the Huns. He believed that he could defeat the Huns and refused the Hunnish kings' demands.\n\nAttila responded with a campaign in 443. The Huns were equipped with new military weapons as they advanced along the Danube, such as battering rams and rolling siege towers, and they overran the military centers of Ratiara and successfully besieged Naissus (Niš).\n\nAdvancing along the Nišava River, the Huns next took Serdica (Sofia), Philippopolis (Plovdiv), and Arcadiopolis (Lüleburgaz). They encountered and destroyed a Roman army outside Constantinople but were stopped by the double walls of the Eastern capital. They defeated a second army near Callipolis (Gelibolu).\n\nTheodosius, stripped of his armed forces, admitted defeat, sending the ''Magister militum per Orientem'' Anatolius to negotiate peace terms. The terms were harsher than the previous treaty: the Emperor agreed to hand over 6,000 Roman pounds (c. 2000 kg) of gold as punishment for having disobeyed the terms of the treaty during the invasion; the yearly tribute was tripled, rising to 2,100 Roman pounds (c. 700 kg) in gold; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner rose to 12 ''solidi''.\n\nTheir demands were met for a time, and the Hun kings withdrew into the interior of their empire. Bleda died following the Huns' withdrawal from Byzantium (probably around 445). Attila then took the throne for himself, becoming the sole ruler of the Huns.\n", "Mór Than's painting ''The Feast of Attila'', based on a fragment of Priscus\n\nIn 447, Attila again rode south into the Eastern Roman Empire through Moesia. The Roman army, under Gothic ''magister militum'' Arnegisclus, met him in the Battle of the Utus and was defeated, though not without inflicting heavy losses. The Huns were left unopposed and rampaged through the Balkans as far as Thermopylae.\n\nConstantinople itself was saved by the Isaurian troops of ''magister militum per Orientem'' Zeno and protected by the intervention of prefect Constantinus, who organized the reconstruction of the walls that had been previously damaged by earthquakes and, in some places, to construct a new line of fortification in front of the old. An account of this invasion survives:\n\n\n", "The general path of the Hun forces in the invasion of Gaul\n\nIn 450, Attila proclaimed his intent to attack the Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse by making an alliance with Emperor Valentinian III. He had previously been on good terms with the Western Roman Empire and its influential general Flavius Aëtius. Aëtius had spent a brief exile among the Huns in 433, and the troops that Attila provided against the Goths and Bagaudae had helped earn him the largely honorary title of ''magister militum'' in the west. The gifts and diplomatic efforts of Geiseric, who opposed and feared the Visigoths, may also have influenced Attila's plans.\n\nHowever, Valentinian's sister was Honoria, who had sent the Hunnish king a plea for help—and her engagement ring—in order to escape her forced betrothal to a Roman senator in the spring of 450. Honoria may not have intended a proposal of marriage, but Attila chose to interpret her message as such. He accepted, asking for half of the western Empire as dowry.\n\nWhen Valentinian discovered the plan, only the influence of his mother Galla Placidia convinced him to exile Honoria, rather than killing her. He also wrote to Attila, strenuously denying the legitimacy of the supposed marriage proposal. Attila sent an emissary to Ravenna to proclaim that Honoria was innocent, that the proposal had been legitimate, and that he would come to claim what was rightfully his.\n\nAttila interfered in a succession struggle after the death of a Frankish ruler. Attila supported the elder son, while Aëtius supported the younger. (The location and identity of these kings is not known and subject to conjecture.) Attila gathered his vassals—Gepids, Ostrogoths, Rugians, Scirians, Heruls, Thuringians, Alans, Burgundians, among others–and began his march west. In 451, he arrived in Belgica with an army exaggerated by Jordanes to half a million strong.\n\nOn April 7, he captured Metz. Other cities attacked can be determined by the hagiographic ''vitae'' written to commemorate their bishops: Nicasius was slaughtered before the altar of his church in Rheims; Servatus is alleged to have saved Tongeren with his prayers, as Saint Genevieve is said to have saved Paris. Lupus, bishop of Troyes, is also credited with saving his city by meeting Attila in person.\n\nAëtius moved to oppose Attila, gathering troops from among the Franks, the Burgundians, and the Celts. A mission by Avitus and Attila's continued westward advance convinced the Visigoth king Theodoric I (Theodorid) to ally with the Romans. The combined armies reached Orléans ahead of Attila, thus checking and turning back the Hunnish advance. Aëtius gave chase and caught the Huns at a place usually assumed to be near Catalaunum (modern Châlons-en-Champagne). Attila decided to fight the Romans on plains where he could use his cavalry.\n\nThe two armies clashed in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, the outcome of which is commonly considered to be a strategic victory for the Visigothic-Roman alliance. Theodoric was killed in the fighting, and Aëtius failed to press his advantage, according to Edward Gibbon and Edward Creasy, because he feared the consequences of an overwhelming Visigothic triumph as much as he did a defeat. From Aëtius' point of view, the best outcome was what occurred: Theodoric died, Attila was in retreat and disarray, and the Romans had the benefit of appearing victorious.\n", "Raphael's ''The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila'' depicts Leo, escorted by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with the Hun emperor outside Rome\n\nAttila returned in 452 to renew his marriage claim with Honoria, invading and ravaging Italy along the way. Communities became established in what would later become Venice as a result of these attacks when the residents fled to small islands in the Venetian Lagoon. His army sacked numerous cities and razed Aquileia so completely that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. Aëtius lacked the strength to offer battle, but managed to harass and slow Attila's advance with only a shadow force. Attila finally halted at the River Po. By this point, disease and starvation may have taken hold in Attila's camp, thus helping to stop his invasion.\n\nEmperor Valentinian III sent three envoys, the high civilian officers Gennadius Avienus and Trigetius, as well as the Bishop of Rome Leo I, who met Attila at Mincio in the vicinity of Mantua and obtained from him the promise that he would withdraw from Italy and negotiate peace with the Emperor. Prosper of Aquitaine gives a short description of the historic meeting, but gives all the credit to Leo for the successful negotiation. Priscus reports that superstitious fear of the fate of Alaric gave him pause—as Alaric died shortly after sacking Rome in 410.\n\nItaly had suffered from a terrible famine in 451 and her crops were faring little better in 452. Attila's devastating invasion of the plains of northern Italy this year did not improve the harvest. To advance on Rome would have required supplies which were not available in Italy, and taking the city would not have improved Attila's supply situation. Therefore, it was more profitable for Attila to conclude peace and retreat back to his homeland.\n\nFurthermore, an East Roman force had crossed the Danube under the command of another officer also named Aetius—who had participated in the Council of Chalcedon the previous year—and proceeded to defeat the Huns who had been left behind by Attila to safeguard their home territories. Attila, hence, faced heavy human and natural pressures to retire \"from Italy without ever setting foot south of the Po\". As Hydatius writes in his ''Chronica Minora'':\n\n\n===Death===\nThe Huns, led by Attila, invade Italy (''Attila, the Scourge of God'', by Ulpiano Checa, 1887).\nMarcian was the successor of Theodosius, and he had ceased paying tribute to the Huns in late 450 while Attila was occupied in the west. Multiple invasions by the Huns and others had left the Balkans with little to plunder.\nAfter Attila left Italy and returned to his palace across the Danube, he planned to strike at Constantinople again and reclaim the tribute which Marcian had stopped. However, he died in the early months of 453.\n\nThe conventional account from Priscus says that Attila was at a feast celebrating his latest marriage, this time to the beautiful young Ildico (the name suggests Gothic or Ostrogoth origins). In the midst of the revels, however, he suffered a severe nosebleed and choked to death in a stupor. An alternative theory is that he succumbed to internal bleeding after heavy drinking, possibly a condition called esophageal varices, where dilated veins in the lower part of the esophagus rupture leading to death by hemorrhage.\n\nAnother account of his death was first recorded 80 years after the events by Roman chronicler Marcellinus Comes. It reports that \"Attila, King of the Huns and ravager of the provinces of Europe, was pierced by the hand and blade of his wife\". The ''Volsunga saga'' and the ''Poetic Edda'' claim that King Atli (Attila) died at the hands of his wife Gudrun. Most scholars reject these accounts as no more than hearsay, preferring instead the account given by Attila's contemporary Priscus. Priscus' version, however, has recently come under renewed scrutiny by Michael A. Babcock. Based on detailed philological analysis, Babcock concludes that the account of natural death given by Priscus was an ecclesiastical \"cover story\", and that Emperor Marcian (who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 450 to 457) was the political force behind Attila's death. Jordanes recounts:\n\n\n\nAttila's sons Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak, \"''in their rash eagerness to rule they all alike destroyed his empire''\". They \"were clamoring that the nations should be divided among them equally and that warlike kings with their peoples should be apportioned to them by lot like a family estate\". Against the treatment as \"slaves of the basest condition\" a Germanic alliance led by the Gepid ruler Ardaric (who was noted for great loyalty to Attila) revolted and fought with the Huns in Pannonia in the Battle of Nedao 454 AD. Attila's eldest son Ellac was killed in that battle. Attila's sons \"regarding the Goths as deserters from their rule, came against them as though they were seeking fugitive slaves\", attacked Ostrogothic co-ruler Valamir (who also fought alongside Ardaric and Attila at the Catalaunian Plains), but were repelled, and some group of Huns moved to Scythia (probably those of Ernak). His brother Dengizich attempted a renewed invasion across the Danube in 468 AD, but was defeated at the Battle of Bassianae by the Ostrogoths. Dengizich was killed by Roman-Gothic general Anagast the following year, after which the Hunnic dominion ended.\n\nAttila's many children and relatives are known by name and some even by deeds, but soon valid genealogical sources all but dried up, and there seems to be no verifiable way to trace Attila's descendants. This has not stopped many genealogists from attempting to reconstruct a valid line of descent for various medieval rulers. One of the most credible claims has been that of the ''Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans'' for mythological Avitohol and Irnik from the Dulo clan of the Bulgars.\n", "\n\nIllustration of the meeting between Attila and Pope Leo from the Chronicon Pictum, c. 1360\nAttila in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)\nAttila himself is said to have claimed the titles \"Descendant of the Great Nimrod\", and \"King of the Huns, the Goths, the Danes, and the Medes\"—the last two peoples being mentioned to show the extent of his control over subject nations even on the peripheries of his domain.\n\nJordanes embellished the report of Priscus, reporting that Attila had possessed the \"Holy War Sword of the Scythians\", which was given to him by Mars and made him a \"prince of the entire world\".\n\nBy the end of the 12th century the royal court of Hungary proclaimed their descent from Attila. Lampert of Hersfeld's contemporary chronicles report that shortly before the year 1071, the Sword of Attila had been presented to Otto of Nordheim by the exiled queen of Hungary, Anastasia of Kiev. This sword, a cavalry sabre now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, appears to be the work of Hungarian goldsmiths of the ninth or tenth century.\n\nAn anonymous chronicler of the medieval period represented the meeting of Pope Leo and Atilla as attended also by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, \"a miraculous tale calculated to meet the taste of the time\" This apotheosis was later portrayed artistically by the Renaissance artist Raphael and sculptor Algardi, whom eighteenth-century historian Edward Gibbon praised for establishing \"one of the noblest legends of ecclesiastical tradition\".\n\nAccording to a version of this narrative related in the Chronicon Pictum, a mediaeval Hungarian chronicle, the Pope promised Attila that if he left Rome in peace, one of his successors would receive a holy crown (which has been understood as referring to the Holy Crown of Hungary).\n\nSome histories and chronicles describe him as a great and noble king, and he plays major roles in three Norse sagas: ''Atlakviða'', ''Volsunga saga'', and ''Atlamál''. The ''Polish Chronicle'' represents Attila's name as ''Aquila''.\n\nFrutolf of Michelsberg and Otto of Freising pointed out that some songs as \"vulgar fables\" made Theoderic the Great, Attila and Ermanaric contemporaries, when any reader of Jordanes knew that this was not the case.\n\nIn 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven conceived the idea of writing an opera about Attila and approached August von Kotzebue to write the libretto. It was, however, never written.\n\nIn World War I, Allied propaganda referred to Germans as the \"Huns\", based on a 1900 speech by Emperor Wilhelm II praising Attila the Hun's military prowess, according to Jawaharlal Nehru's ''Glimpses of World History''. ''Der Spiegel'' commented on November 6, 1948, that the Sword of Attila was hanging menacingly over Austria.\n\nAmerican writer Cecelia Holland wrote ''The Death of Attila'' (1973), a historical novel in which Attila appears as a powerful background figure whose life and death deeply impact the protagonists, a young Hunnic warrior and a Germanic one.\n\nIn modern Hungary and in Turkey, \"Attila\" and its Turkish variation \"Atilla\" are commonly used as a male first name. In Hungary, several public places are named after Attila; for instance, in Budapest there are 10 Attila Streets, one of which is an important street behind the Buda Castle. When the Turkish Armed Forces invaded Cyprus in 1974, the operations were named after Attila (\"The Attila Plan\").\n\nThe 1954 Universal International film ''Sign of the Pagan'' starred Jack Palance as Attila.\n", "\nFile:Attila Museum.JPG|Figure of Attilain a museum in Hungary\nFile:Atilla fléau de dieu.jpg|Renaissance medalwith the legend, ''Atila, Flagelum Dei''(dubiously-spelled Latin for\"Attila, Scourge of God\")\nFile:Attila-ChroniconPictum.jpg|Image of Attila from the ''Chronicon Pictum'' (1360)\nFile:Alessandro Algardi Meeting of Leo I and Attila 01.jpg|''The Meeting of Leo Iand Attila''by Alessandro Algardi(1646–1653)\n\n", "\n\n\n; Other sources\n* \n* \n* \n", "\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Appearance and character ", " Etymology ", " Historiography and source ", " Early life and background ", " Campaigns against the Eastern Roman Empire ", " Solitary kingship ", " In the west ", " Invasion of Italy and death ", " Later folklore and iconography ", " Depictions of Attila ", " Notes ", " External links " ]

[ "In 440, they reappeared in force on the borders of the Roman Empire, attacking the merchants at the market on the north bank of the Danube that had been established by the treaty." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Attila''' ( or ; fl.", "circa 406–453), frequently referred to as '''Attila the Hun''', was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453.", "He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, and Alans among others, on the territory of Central and Eastern Europe.", "During his reign, he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.", "He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople.", "His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West.", "He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.", "He subsequently invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome.", "He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453.", "After Attila's death his close adviser Ardaric of the Gepids led a Germanic revolt against Hunnic rule, after which the Hunnic Empire quickly collapsed.", "There is no surviving first-hand account of Attila's appearance, but there is a possible second-hand source provided by Jordanes, who cites a description given by Priscus.", "Some modern scholars have suggested that this description is typically East Asian, because it has all the combined features that fit the physical type of people from Eastern Asia, and Attila's ancestors may have come from there.", "The origin of the name \"Attila\" is unclear, and there is no consensus among scholars.", "Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen considered an East Germanic origin; ''Attila'' is formed from Gothic or Gepidic noun ''atta'', \"father\", by means of the diminutive suffix ''-ila'', meaning \"little father\".", "The Gothic etymology can be tracked up to Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19th century.", "Maenchen-Helfen noted that Hunnic names were \"not the true names of the Hun princes and lords.", "What we have are Hunnic names in Germanic dress, modified to fit the Gothic tongue, or popular Gothic etymologies, or both\".", "Peter Heather, who strongly considered Germanic etymology of the name Attila and some of noble Huns, stated that the possibility Attila was of Germanic ancestry cannot be ruled out.", "The names of Attila's brother Bleda, and most powerful minister Onegesius, also have hypothetical Germanic etymology.", "Only credible Germanic etymology have Attila's blood relative Laudaricus, and certain Hun-Goth Ragnaris.", "Hyun Jin Kim argued that the \"Germanization of Hunnic names may have been a conscious policy among the Hunnic elite in the West in order to ease the transition to their rule of formerly independent German tribal unions\".", "In the Western part of Hunnic Empire, where mostly lived subjected Gothic tribes, Huns probably spoke both Hunnic and Gothic language, and as such bore Germanized or Germanic name, like Laudaricus.", "Maenchen-Helfen also expressed concern over orthography of the writer, possible morphological change, that some names writers heard from the Goths, the tendency of Roman and Byzantine writers to alter foreign names, and manuscript corruption.", "However, Kim noted that those names considered by Heather to be Gothic, especially in this case of Attila and Bleda, have more natural and probable Turkic etymology.", "Heather also ignored the fact that all Hunnic rulers before Attila, as well his father Mundzuk, paternal uncles Octar, Ruga and Oebarsius, wife Kreka, father-in-law Eskam, and sons Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak, have names of Turkic origin.", "Omeljan Pritsak considered ''̕Άττίλα'' (Atilla) a composite title-name which derived from Turkic *''es'' (great, old), and *''t il'' (sea, ocean), and the suffix /a/.", "The stressed back syllabic ''til'' assimilated the front member ''es'', so it became *''as''.", "It is a nominative, in form of ''attíl-'' (< *''etsíl'' < *''es tíl'') with the meaning \"the oceanic, universal ruler\".", "Peter Golden, citing Pritsak, like László Rásonyi connected Attila's name with Menander note in which used term ''Attilan'' as the name of the Volga River (Turkic ''Atil/Itil''; \"great river\").", "J.J. Mikkola connected it with Turkic ''āt'' (name, fame).", "Gerd Althoff considered it was related to Turkish ''atli'' (horseman, cavalier), or Turkish ''at'' (horse) and ''dil'' (tongue).", "Tom Shippey in his work ''Goths and Huns: The Rediscovery of Northern Cultures in the Nineteenth Century'' (1982), argued that the Gothic etymology is a product of 19th century Germanic romantic philological revisionism.", "M. Snædal casts doubt on the Germanic origin of the name Attila in a recently published article.", "\"The Gothic origin of the name Attila is questionable,\" Snædal writes.", "\"It is at least as likely to be of Hunnic origin\".", "The article points out that the word ''atta'' is a migratory term for \"father/forefather\" common in multiple languages, including many Turkic languages (see Ata).", "The article also indicates that Attila's name could have originated from Turkic-Mongolian ''at, adyy/agta'' (gelding, warhorse) and Turkish ''atli'' (horseman, cavalier), meaning \"possessor of geldings, provider of warhorses\", a suitable name for a warlord.", "He concludes: \n\nThe name has many variants in several languages: Atli and Atle in Old Norse; Etzel in Middle High German (Nibelungenlied); Ætla in Old English; Attila, Atilla, and Etele in Hungarian (Attila is the most popular); Attila, Atilla, Atilay, or Atila in Turkish; and Adil and Edil in Kazakh or Adil (\"same/similar\") or Edil (\"to use\") in Mongolian.", "George S. Stuart\nThe historiography of Attila is faced with a major challenge, in that the only complete sources are written in Greek and Latin by the enemies of the Huns.", "Attila's contemporaries left many testimonials of his life, but only fragments of these remain.", "Priscus was a Byzantine diplomat and historian who wrote in Greek, and he was both a witness to and an actor in the story of Attila, as a member of the embassy of Theodosius II at the Hunnic court in 449.", "He was obviously biased by his political position, but his writing is a major source for information on the life of Attila, and he is the only person known to have recorded a physical description of him.", "He wrote a history of the late Roman Empire in eight books covering the period from 430 to 476.", "Today we have only fragments of Priscus' work, but it was cited extensively by 6th-century historians Procopius and Jordanes, especially in Jordanes' ''The Origin and Deeds of the Goths''.", "It contains numerous references to Priscus's history, and it is also an important source of information about the Hunnic empire and its neighbors.", "He describes the legacy of Attila and the Hunnic people for a century after Attila's death.", "Marcellinus Comes, a chancellor of Justinian during the same era, also describes the relations between the Huns and the Eastern Roman Empire.", "Numerous ecclesiastical writings contain useful but scattered information, sometimes difficult to authenticate or distorted by years of hand-copying between the 6th and 17th centuries.", "The Hungarian writers of the 12th century wished to portray the Huns in a positive light as their glorious ancestors, and so repressed certain historical elements and added their own legends.", "The literature and knowledge of the Huns themselves was transmitted orally, by means of epics and chanted poems that were handed down from generation to generation.", "Indirectly, fragments of this oral history have reached us via the literature of the Scandinavians and Germans, neighbors of the Huns who wrote between the 9th and 13th centuries.", "Attila is a major character in many Medieval epics, such as the Nibelungenlied, as well as various Eddas and sagas.", "Archaeological investigation has uncovered some details about the lifestyle, art, and warfare of the Huns.", "There are a few traces of battles and sieges, but today the tomb of Attila and the location of his capital have not yet been found.", "\nHuns in battle with the Alans.", "An 1870s engraving after a drawing by Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805–1880).", "The Huns were a group of Eurasian nomads, appearing from east of the Volga, who migrated into Europe c. 370 and built up an enormous empire there.", "Their main military techniques were mounted archery and javelin throwing.", "They were possibly the descendants of the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu) who had been northern neighbors of China three hundred years before and may be the first expansion of Turkic people across Eurasia.", "They were in the process of developing settlements before their arrival in Europe, yet the Huns were a society of pastoral warriors whose primary form of nourishment was meat and milk, products of their herds.", "The origin and language of the Huns has been the subject of debate for centuries.", "According to some theories, their leaders at least may have spoken a Turkic language, perhaps closest to the modern Chuvash language.", "One scholar suggests a relationship to Yeniseian.", "According to the ''Encyclopedia of European Peoples'', \"the Huns, especially those who migrated to the west, may have been a combination of central Asian Turkic, Mongolic, and Ugric stocks\".", "Attila's father Mundzuk was the brother of kings Octar and Ruga, who reigned jointly over the Hunnic empire in the early fifth century.", "This form of diarchy was recurrent with the Huns, but historians are unsure whether it was institutionalized, merely customary, or an occasional occurrence.", "His family was from a noble lineage, but it is uncertain whether they constituted a royal dynasty.", "Attila's birthdate is debated, journalist Éric Deschodt and writer Herman Schreiber have proposed a date of 395.", "However, historian Iaroslav Lebedynsky and archaeologist Katalin Escher prefer an estimate between the 390s and the first decade of the fifth century.", "Several historians have proposed 406 as the date.", "Attila grew up in a rapidly changing world.", "His people were nomads who had only recently arrived in Europe.", "They crossed the Volga river during the 370s and annexed the territory of the Alans, then attacked the Gothic kingdom between the Carpathian mountains and the Danube.", "They were a very mobile people, whose mounted archers had acquired a reputation of invincibility, and the Germanic tribes seemed unable to withstand them.", "Vast populations fleeing the Huns moved from Germania into the Roman Empire in the west and south, and along the banks of the Rhine and Danube.", "In 376, the Goths crossed the Danube, initially submitting to the Romans but soon rebelling against Emperor Valens, whom they killed in the Battle of Adrianople in 378.", "Large numbers of Vandals, Alans, Suebi, and Burgundians crossed the Rhine and invaded Roman Gaul on December 31, 406 to escape the Huns.", "The Roman Empire had been split in half since 395 and was ruled by two distinct governments, one based in Ravenna in the West, and the other in Constantinople in the East.", "The Roman Emperors, both East and West, were generally from the Theodosian family in Attila's lifetime (despite several power struggles).", "The Huns dominated a vast territory with nebulous borders determined by the will of a constellation of ethnically varied peoples.", "Some were assimilated to Hunnic nationality, whereas many retained their own identities and rulers but acknowledged the suzerainty of the king of the Huns.", "The Huns were also the indirect source of many of the Romans' problems, driving various Germanic tribes into Roman territory, yet relations between the two empires were cordial: the Romans used the Huns as mercenaries against the Germans and even in their civil wars.", "Thus, the usurper Joannes was able to recruit thousands of Huns for his army against Valentinian III in 424.", "It was Aëtius, later Patrician of the West, who managed this operation.", "They exchanged ambassadors and hostages, the alliance lasting from 401 to 450 and permitting the Romans numerous military victories.", "The Huns considered the Romans to be paying them tribute, whereas the Romans preferred to view this as payment for services rendered.", "The Huns had become a great power by the time that Attila came of age during the reign of his uncle Ruga, to the point that Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, deplored the situation with these words: \"They have become both masters and slaves of the Romans\".", "The Empire of the Huns and subject tribes at the time of Attila.", "The death of Rugila (also known as Rua or Ruga) in 434 left the sons of his brother Mundzuk, Attila and Bleda, in control of the united Hun tribes.", "At the time of the two brothers' accession, the Hun tribes were bargaining with Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II's envoys for the return of several renegades who had taken refuge within the Eastern Roman Empire, possibly Hunnic nobles who disagreed with the brothers' assumption of leadership.", "The following year, Attila and Bleda met with the imperial legation at Margus (Požarevac), all seated on horseback in the Hunnic manner, and negotiated an advantageous treaty.", "The Romans agreed to return the fugitives, to double their previous tribute of 350 Roman pounds (c. 115 kg) of gold, to open their markets to Hunnish traders, and to pay a ransom of eight ''solidi'' for each Roman taken prisoner by the Huns.", "The Huns, satisfied with the treaty, decamped from the Roman Empire and returned to their home in the Great Hungarian Plain, perhaps to consolidate and strengthen their empire.", "Theodosius used this opportunity to strengthen the walls of Constantinople, building the city's first sea wall, and to build up his border defenses along the Danube.", "The Huns remained out of Roman sight for the next few years while they invaded the Sassanid Empire.", "They were defeated in Armenia by the Sassanids, abandoned their invasion, and turned their attentions back to Europe.", "Crossing the Danube, they laid waste to the cities of Illyricum and forts on the river, including (according to Priscus) Viminacium, a city of Moesia.", "Their advance began at Margus, where they demanded that the Romans turn over a bishop who had retained property that Attila regarded as his.", "While the Romans discussed the bishop's fate, he slipped away secretly to the Huns and betrayed the city to them.", "While the Huns attacked city-states along the Danube, the Vandals (led by Geiseric) captured the Western Roman province of Africa and its capital of Carthage.", "Carthage was the richest province of the Western Empire and a main source of food for Rome.", "The Sassanid Shah Yazdegerd II invaded Armenia in 441.", "The Romans stripped the Balkan area of forces, sending them to Sicily in order to mount an expedition against the Vandals in Africa.", "This left Attila and Bleda a clear path through Illyricum into the Balkans, which they invaded in 441.", "The Hunnish army sacked Margus and Viminacium, and then took Singidunum (Belgrade) and Sirmium.", "During 442, Theodosius recalled his troops from Sicily and ordered a large issue of new coins to finance operations against the Huns.", "He believed that he could defeat the Huns and refused the Hunnish kings' demands.", "Attila responded with a campaign in 443.", "The Huns were equipped with new military weapons as they advanced along the Danube, such as battering rams and rolling siege towers, and they overran the military centers of Ratiara and successfully besieged Naissus (Niš).", "Advancing along the Nišava River, the Huns next took Serdica (Sofia), Philippopolis (Plovdiv), and Arcadiopolis (Lüleburgaz).", "They encountered and destroyed a Roman army outside Constantinople but were stopped by the double walls of the Eastern capital.", "They defeated a second army near Callipolis (Gelibolu).", "Theodosius, stripped of his armed forces, admitted defeat, sending the ''Magister militum per Orientem'' Anatolius to negotiate peace terms.", "The terms were harsher than the previous treaty: the Emperor agreed to hand over 6,000 Roman pounds (c. 2000 kg) of gold as punishment for having disobeyed the terms of the treaty during the invasion; the yearly tribute was tripled, rising to 2,100 Roman pounds (c. 700 kg) in gold; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner rose to 12 ''solidi''.", "Their demands were met for a time, and the Hun kings withdrew into the interior of their empire.", "Bleda died following the Huns' withdrawal from Byzantium (probably around 445).", "Attila then took the throne for himself, becoming the sole ruler of the Huns.", "Mór Than's painting ''The Feast of Attila'', based on a fragment of Priscus\n\nIn 447, Attila again rode south into the Eastern Roman Empire through Moesia.", "The Roman army, under Gothic ''magister militum'' Arnegisclus, met him in the Battle of the Utus and was defeated, though not without inflicting heavy losses.", "The Huns were left unopposed and rampaged through the Balkans as far as Thermopylae.", "Constantinople itself was saved by the Isaurian troops of ''magister militum per Orientem'' Zeno and protected by the intervention of prefect Constantinus, who organized the reconstruction of the walls that had been previously damaged by earthquakes and, in some places, to construct a new line of fortification in front of the old.", "An account of this invasion survives:", "The general path of the Hun forces in the invasion of Gaul\n\nIn 450, Attila proclaimed his intent to attack the Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse by making an alliance with Emperor Valentinian III.", "He had previously been on good terms with the Western Roman Empire and its influential general Flavius Aëtius.", "Aëtius had spent a brief exile among the Huns in 433, and the troops that Attila provided against the Goths and Bagaudae had helped earn him the largely honorary title of ''magister militum'' in the west.", "The gifts and diplomatic efforts of Geiseric, who opposed and feared the Visigoths, may also have influenced Attila's plans.", "However, Valentinian's sister was Honoria, who had sent the Hunnish king a plea for help—and her engagement ring—in order to escape her forced betrothal to a Roman senator in the spring of 450.", "Honoria may not have intended a proposal of marriage, but Attila chose to interpret her message as such.", "He accepted, asking for half of the western Empire as dowry.", "When Valentinian discovered the plan, only the influence of his mother Galla Placidia convinced him to exile Honoria, rather than killing her.", "He also wrote to Attila, strenuously denying the legitimacy of the supposed marriage proposal.", "Attila sent an emissary to Ravenna to proclaim that Honoria was innocent, that the proposal had been legitimate, and that he would come to claim what was rightfully his.", "Attila interfered in a succession struggle after the death of a Frankish ruler.", "Attila supported the elder son, while Aëtius supported the younger.", "(The location and identity of these kings is not known and subject to conjecture.)", "Attila gathered his vassals—Gepids, Ostrogoths, Rugians, Scirians, Heruls, Thuringians, Alans, Burgundians, among others–and began his march west.", "In 451, he arrived in Belgica with an army exaggerated by Jordanes to half a million strong.", "On April 7, he captured Metz.", "Other cities attacked can be determined by the hagiographic ''vitae'' written to commemorate their bishops: Nicasius was slaughtered before the altar of his church in Rheims; Servatus is alleged to have saved Tongeren with his prayers, as Saint Genevieve is said to have saved Paris.", "Lupus, bishop of Troyes, is also credited with saving his city by meeting Attila in person.", "Aëtius moved to oppose Attila, gathering troops from among the Franks, the Burgundians, and the Celts.", "A mission by Avitus and Attila's continued westward advance convinced the Visigoth king Theodoric I (Theodorid) to ally with the Romans.", "The combined armies reached Orléans ahead of Attila, thus checking and turning back the Hunnish advance.", "Aëtius gave chase and caught the Huns at a place usually assumed to be near Catalaunum (modern Châlons-en-Champagne).", "Attila decided to fight the Romans on plains where he could use his cavalry.", "The two armies clashed in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, the outcome of which is commonly considered to be a strategic victory for the Visigothic-Roman alliance.", "Theodoric was killed in the fighting, and Aëtius failed to press his advantage, according to Edward Gibbon and Edward Creasy, because he feared the consequences of an overwhelming Visigothic triumph as much as he did a defeat.", "From Aëtius' point of view, the best outcome was what occurred: Theodoric died, Attila was in retreat and disarray, and the Romans had the benefit of appearing victorious.", "Raphael's ''The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila'' depicts Leo, escorted by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, meeting with the Hun emperor outside Rome\n\nAttila returned in 452 to renew his marriage claim with Honoria, invading and ravaging Italy along the way.", "Communities became established in what would later become Venice as a result of these attacks when the residents fled to small islands in the Venetian Lagoon.", "His army sacked numerous cities and razed Aquileia so completely that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site.", "Aëtius lacked the strength to offer battle, but managed to harass and slow Attila's advance with only a shadow force.", "Attila finally halted at the River Po.", "By this point, disease and starvation may have taken hold in Attila's camp, thus helping to stop his invasion.", "Emperor Valentinian III sent three envoys, the high civilian officers Gennadius Avienus and Trigetius, as well as the Bishop of Rome Leo I, who met Attila at Mincio in the vicinity of Mantua and obtained from him the promise that he would withdraw from Italy and negotiate peace with the Emperor.", "Prosper of Aquitaine gives a short description of the historic meeting, but gives all the credit to Leo for the successful negotiation.", "Priscus reports that superstitious fear of the fate of Alaric gave him pause—as Alaric died shortly after sacking Rome in 410.", "Italy had suffered from a terrible famine in 451 and her crops were faring little better in 452.", "Attila's devastating invasion of the plains of northern Italy this year did not improve the harvest.", "To advance on Rome would have required supplies which were not available in Italy, and taking the city would not have improved Attila's supply situation.", "Therefore, it was more profitable for Attila to conclude peace and retreat back to his homeland.", "Furthermore, an East Roman force had crossed the Danube under the command of another officer also named Aetius—who had participated in the Council of Chalcedon the previous year—and proceeded to defeat the Huns who had been left behind by Attila to safeguard their home territories.", "Attila, hence, faced heavy human and natural pressures to retire \"from Italy without ever setting foot south of the Po\".", "As Hydatius writes in his ''Chronica Minora'':\n\n\n===Death===\nThe Huns, led by Attila, invade Italy (''Attila, the Scourge of God'', by Ulpiano Checa, 1887).", "Marcian was the successor of Theodosius, and he had ceased paying tribute to the Huns in late 450 while Attila was occupied in the west.", "Multiple invasions by the Huns and others had left the Balkans with little to plunder.", "After Attila left Italy and returned to his palace across the Danube, he planned to strike at Constantinople again and reclaim the tribute which Marcian had stopped.", "However, he died in the early months of 453.", "The conventional account from Priscus says that Attila was at a feast celebrating his latest marriage, this time to the beautiful young Ildico (the name suggests Gothic or Ostrogoth origins).", "In the midst of the revels, however, he suffered a severe nosebleed and choked to death in a stupor.", "An alternative theory is that he succumbed to internal bleeding after heavy drinking, possibly a condition called esophageal varices, where dilated veins in the lower part of the esophagus rupture leading to death by hemorrhage.", "Another account of his death was first recorded 80 years after the events by Roman chronicler Marcellinus Comes.", "It reports that \"Attila, King of the Huns and ravager of the provinces of Europe, was pierced by the hand and blade of his wife\".", "The ''Volsunga saga'' and the ''Poetic Edda'' claim that King Atli (Attila) died at the hands of his wife Gudrun.", "Most scholars reject these accounts as no more than hearsay, preferring instead the account given by Attila's contemporary Priscus.", "Priscus' version, however, has recently come under renewed scrutiny by Michael A. Babcock.", "Based on detailed philological analysis, Babcock concludes that the account of natural death given by Priscus was an ecclesiastical \"cover story\", and that Emperor Marcian (who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 450 to 457) was the political force behind Attila's death.", "Jordanes recounts:\n\n\n\nAttila's sons Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak, \"''in their rash eagerness to rule they all alike destroyed his empire''\".", "They \"were clamoring that the nations should be divided among them equally and that warlike kings with their peoples should be apportioned to them by lot like a family estate\".", "Against the treatment as \"slaves of the basest condition\" a Germanic alliance led by the Gepid ruler Ardaric (who was noted for great loyalty to Attila) revolted and fought with the Huns in Pannonia in the Battle of Nedao 454 AD.", "Attila's eldest son Ellac was killed in that battle.", "Attila's sons \"regarding the Goths as deserters from their rule, came against them as though they were seeking fugitive slaves\", attacked Ostrogothic co-ruler Valamir (who also fought alongside Ardaric and Attila at the Catalaunian Plains), but were repelled, and some group of Huns moved to Scythia (probably those of Ernak).", "His brother Dengizich attempted a renewed invasion across the Danube in 468 AD, but was defeated at the Battle of Bassianae by the Ostrogoths.", "Dengizich was killed by Roman-Gothic general Anagast the following year, after which the Hunnic dominion ended.", "Attila's many children and relatives are known by name and some even by deeds, but soon valid genealogical sources all but dried up, and there seems to be no verifiable way to trace Attila's descendants.", "This has not stopped many genealogists from attempting to reconstruct a valid line of descent for various medieval rulers.", "One of the most credible claims has been that of the ''Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans'' for mythological Avitohol and Irnik from the Dulo clan of the Bulgars.", "\n\nIllustration of the meeting between Attila and Pope Leo from the Chronicon Pictum, c. 1360\nAttila in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)\nAttila himself is said to have claimed the titles \"Descendant of the Great Nimrod\", and \"King of the Huns, the Goths, the Danes, and the Medes\"—the last two peoples being mentioned to show the extent of his control over subject nations even on the peripheries of his domain.", "Jordanes embellished the report of Priscus, reporting that Attila had possessed the \"Holy War Sword of the Scythians\", which was given to him by Mars and made him a \"prince of the entire world\".", "By the end of the 12th century the royal court of Hungary proclaimed their descent from Attila.", "Lampert of Hersfeld's contemporary chronicles report that shortly before the year 1071, the Sword of Attila had been presented to Otto of Nordheim by the exiled queen of Hungary, Anastasia of Kiev.", "This sword, a cavalry sabre now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, appears to be the work of Hungarian goldsmiths of the ninth or tenth century.", "An anonymous chronicler of the medieval period represented the meeting of Pope Leo and Atilla as attended also by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, \"a miraculous tale calculated to meet the taste of the time\" This apotheosis was later portrayed artistically by the Renaissance artist Raphael and sculptor Algardi, whom eighteenth-century historian Edward Gibbon praised for establishing \"one of the noblest legends of ecclesiastical tradition\".", "According to a version of this narrative related in the Chronicon Pictum, a mediaeval Hungarian chronicle, the Pope promised Attila that if he left Rome in peace, one of his successors would receive a holy crown (which has been understood as referring to the Holy Crown of Hungary).", "Some histories and chronicles describe him as a great and noble king, and he plays major roles in three Norse sagas: ''Atlakviða'', ''Volsunga saga'', and ''Atlamál''.", "The ''Polish Chronicle'' represents Attila's name as ''Aquila''.", "Frutolf of Michelsberg and Otto of Freising pointed out that some songs as \"vulgar fables\" made Theoderic the Great, Attila and Ermanaric contemporaries, when any reader of Jordanes knew that this was not the case.", "In 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven conceived the idea of writing an opera about Attila and approached August von Kotzebue to write the libretto.", "It was, however, never written.", "In World War I, Allied propaganda referred to Germans as the \"Huns\", based on a 1900 speech by Emperor Wilhelm II praising Attila the Hun's military prowess, according to Jawaharlal Nehru's ''Glimpses of World History''.", "''Der Spiegel'' commented on November 6, 1948, that the Sword of Attila was hanging menacingly over Austria.", "American writer Cecelia Holland wrote ''The Death of Attila'' (1973), a historical novel in which Attila appears as a powerful background figure whose life and death deeply impact the protagonists, a young Hunnic warrior and a Germanic one.", "In modern Hungary and in Turkey, \"Attila\" and its Turkish variation \"Atilla\" are commonly used as a male first name.", "In Hungary, several public places are named after Attila; for instance, in Budapest there are 10 Attila Streets, one of which is an important street behind the Buda Castle.", "When the Turkish Armed Forces invaded Cyprus in 1974, the operations were named after Attila (\"The Attila Plan\").", "The 1954 Universal International film ''Sign of the Pagan'' starred Jack Palance as Attila.", "\nFile:Attila Museum.JPG|Figure of Attilain a museum in Hungary\nFile:Atilla fléau de dieu.jpg|Renaissance medalwith the legend, ''Atila, Flagelum Dei''(dubiously-spelled Latin for\"Attila, Scourge of God\")\nFile:Attila-ChroniconPictum.jpg|Image of Attila from the ''Chronicon Pictum'' (1360)\nFile:Alessandro Algardi Meeting of Leo I and Attila 01.jpg|''The Meeting of Leo Iand Attila''by Alessandro Algardi(1646–1653)", "\n\n\n; Other sources\n* \n* \n*", "\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Amsterdam''' (; ) is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper, 1,351,587 in the urban area, and 2,410,960 in the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.\n\nAmsterdam's name derives from ''Amstelredamme'', indicative of the city's origin around a dam in the river Amstel. Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since the annexation of municipality Sloten in 1921 by the municipality of Amsterdam, the oldest historic part of the city lies in Sloten (9th century).\n\nAs the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the world's 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and 12th globally on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer. The city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, and the fifth largest seaport in Europe.\n\nFamous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.\n\nThe Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 5 million international visitors annually. It is also the world's most multicultural city with at least 177 nationalities represented.\n", "\nOude Kerk was consecrated in 1306.\nAfter the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river and a dam across it, giving its name to the village: \"Aemstelredamme\". The earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27, 1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks and dams. The certificate describes the inhabitants as ''homines manentes apud Amestelledamme'' (people residing near Amestelledamme). By 1327, the name had developed into ''Aemsterdam''.\n\nGrachtengordel had not yet been established.\n", "\n\n===Founding and Middle Ages===\nCourtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Emanuel de Witte, 1653. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century.\nAmsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean that there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat, for use as fuel.\n\nAmsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306. From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League. In 1345, an alleged Eucharistic miracle in the Kalverstraat rendered the city an important place of pilgrimage until the adoption of the Protestant faith. The Miracle devotion went underground but was kept alive. In the 19th century, especially after the jubilee of 1845, the devotion was revitalized and became an important national point of reference for Dutch Catholics. The ''Stille Omgang''—a silent walk or procession in civil attire—is the expression of the pilgrimage within the Protestant Netherlands since the late 19th century. In the heyday of the Silent Walk, up to 90,000 pilgrims came to Amsterdam. In the 21st century this has reduced to about 5000.\n\n===Conflict with Spain===\nIn the 16th century, the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors. The main reasons for the uprising were the imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and the religious persecution of Protestants by the newly introduced Inquisition. The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War, which ultimately led to Dutch independence. Strongly pushed by Dutch Revolt leader William the Silent, the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance. Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, Huguenots from France, prosperous merchants and printers from Flanders, and economic and religious refugees from the Spanish-controlled parts of the Low Countries found safety in Amsterdam. The influx of Flemish printers and the city's intellectual tolerance made Amsterdam a centre for the European free press.\n\n===Centre of the Dutch Golden Age===\nRoyal Palace, Nieuwe Kerk, and now demolished weigh house on Dam Square in 1814.\nThe 17th century is considered Amsterdam's ''Golden Age'', during which it became the wealthiest city in the western world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, forming the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. These companies acquired overseas possessions that later became Dutch colonies. Amsterdam was Europe's most important point for the shipment of goods and was the leading Financial centre of the western world. In 1602, the Amsterdam office of the international trading Dutch East India Company became the world's first stock exchange by trading in its own shares. The Bank of Amsterdam started operations in 1609, acting as a full service bank for Dutch merchant bankers and as a reserve bank.\n\n===Decline and modernisation===\nAmsterdam's prosperity declined during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The wars of the Dutch Republic with England and France took their toll on Amsterdam. During the Napoleonic Wars, Amsterdam's significance reached its lowest point, with Holland being absorbed into the French Empire. However, the later establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 marked a turning point.\n\nMuntplein in 1891\n\nThe end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age. New museums, a railway station, and the Concertgebouw were built; in this same time, the Industrial Revolution reached the city. The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine, and the North Sea Canal was dug to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea. Both projects dramatically improved commerce with the rest of Europe and the world. In 1906, Joseph Conrad gave a brief description of Amsterdam as seen from the seaside, in ''The Mirror of the Sea''.\n\n===20th century===\nShortly before the First World War, the city started to expand again, and new suburbs were built. Even though the Netherlands remained neutral in this war, Amsterdam suffered a food shortage, and heating fuel became scarce. The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed. These riots are known as the ''Aardappeloproer'' (Potato rebellion). People started looting stores and warehouses in order to get supplies, mainly food.\n\nSecret Annex\" where Anne Frank hid from Germans occupying Amsterdam during World War II.\n\nOn 1 January 1921, after a flood in 1916, the depleted municipalities of Durgerdam, Holysloot, Zunderdorp and Schellingwoude, all lying north of Amsterdam, were, at their own request, annexed to the city.\n\nBetween the wars, the city continued to expand, most notably to the west of the Jordaan district in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt and surrounding neighbourhoods.\n\nGermany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and took control of the country. Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to a high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps, of whom some 60,000 lived in Amsterdam. Perhaps the most famous deportee was the young Jewish girl Anne Frank, who died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. At the end of the Second World War, communication with the rest of the country broke down, and food and fuel became scarce. Many citizens travelled to the countryside to forage. Dogs, cats, raw sugar beets, and Tulip bulbs—cooked to a pulp—were consumed to stay alive. Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of deported Jews.\n\nliberation of Holland at the end of World War II on 8 May 1945.\n\nMany new suburbs, such as Osdorp, Slotervaart, Slotermeer and Geuzenveld, were built in the years after the Second World War.\nThese suburbs contained many public parks and wide open spaces, and the new buildings provided improved housing conditions with larger and brighter rooms, gardens, and balconies. Because of the war and other events of the 20th century, almost the entire city centre had fallen into disrepair. As society was changing, politicians and other influential figures made plans to redesign large parts of it. There was an increasing demand for office buildings, and also for new roads, as the automobile became available to most people. A metro started operating in 1977 between the new suburb of Bijlmer and the centre of Amsterdam. Further plans were to build a new highway above the metro to connect the Central Station and city centre with other parts of the city.\n\nThe required large-scale demolitions began in Amsterdam's former Jewish neighbourhood. Smaller streets, such as the Jodenbreestraat, were widened and almost all of their houses were demolished. At the peak of the demolition, the ''Nieuwmarktrellen'' (Nieuwmarkt Riots) broke out; the rioters expressed their fury about the demolition caused by the restructuring of the city.\n\nAs a result, the demolition was stopped, and the highway was never built; only the metro was completed. Only a few streets remained widened. The new city hall was built on the almost completely demolished Waterlooplein. Meanwhile, large private organisations, such as ''Stadsherstel Amsterdam'', were founded with the aim of restoring the entire city centre. Although the success of this struggle is visible today, efforts for further restoration are still ongoing. The entire city centre has reattained its former splendour and, as a whole, is now a protected area. Many of its buildings have become monuments, and in July 2010 the ''Grachtengordel'' (the three concentric canals, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.\n\nThe Zuidas district is the headquarters of many Dutch multinational corporations.\n\n===21st century===\nIn the early years of the 21st century, the Amsterdam city centre has attracted large numbers of tourists: between 2012 and 2015, the annual number of visitors rose from 10 million to 17 million. Real estate prices have surged, and local shops are making way for tourist-oriented ones, making the centre unaffordable for the city's inhabitants. These developments have evoked comparisons with Venice, a city thought to be overwhelmed by the tourist influx.\n\nConstruction of a metro line connecting the part of the city north of the river (or lake) IJ to the centre was started in 2003. The project is controversial because its cost had exceeded its budget by a factor three by 2008, because of fears of damage to buildings in the centre, and because construction had to be halted and restarted multiple times.\n\nSince 2014, renewed focus has been given to urban regeneration and renewal, especially in areas directly bordering the city centre, such as Frederik Hendrikbuurt. This urban renewal and expansion of the traditional centre of the city is part of the Structural Vision Amsterdam 2040 initiative.\n", "Topographic map of Amsterdam, Sept. 2014\nAmsterdam is in the western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The river Amstel ends in the city centre and connects to a large number of canals that eventually terminate in the IJ. Amsterdam is about below sea level. The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders. A man-made forest, Amsterdamse Bos, is in the southwest. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal.\n\nAmsterdam is intensely urbanised, as is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area surrounding the city. Comprising of land, the city proper has 4,457 inhabitants per km2 and 2,275 houses per km2. Parks and nature reserves make up 12% of Amsterdam's land area.\n\nOne of Amsterdam's many canals\nIce skaters on Prinsengracht\n\n===Canals===\nAmsterdam has more than of canals, most of which are navigable by boat. The three main canals are Prinsengracht, Herengracht, and Keizersgracht. In the Middle Ages, Amsterdam was surrounded by a moat, called the Singel, which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and makes the city centre a horseshoe shape. The city is also served by a seaport. It has been compared with Venice, due to its division into about 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges.\n\n===Climate===\nAmsterdam has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'') strongly influenced by its proximity to the North Sea to the west, with prevailing westerly winds. Both winters and summers are considered mild, although winters can get quite cold, while summers are quite warm occasionally. Amsterdam, as well as most of the North Holland province, lies in USDA Hardiness zone 8b. Frosts mainly occur during spells of easterly or northeasterly winds from the inner European continent. Even then, because Amsterdam is surrounded on three sides by large bodies of water, as well as having a significant heat-island effect, nights rarely fall below , while it could easily be in Hilversum, southeast. Summers are moderately warm with a number of hot days every month. The average daily high in August is , and or higher is only measured on average on 2.5 days, placing Amsterdam in AHS Heat Zone 2. The record extremes range from to .\nDays with more than of precipitation are common, on average 133 days per year. Amsterdam's average annual precipitation is , more than what is measured at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. A large part of this precipitation falls as light rain or brief showers. Cloudy and damp days are common during the cooler months of October through March.\n\n\n", "\n===Historical population===\n\n\n\nCompared to other important towns in the County of Holland, such as Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Delft and Alkmaar, Amsterdam is a relatively young city. In stark contrast to the relative decline of those other towns, Amsterdam's population grew in the 15th and 16th centuries, mainly due to the rise of the profitable Baltic maritime trade after the Burgundian victory in the Dutch–Hanseatic War. Still, the population of Amsterdam and other towns in Holland was only modest compared to the towns and cities of Flanders and Brabant, which comprised the most urbanised area of the Low Countries.\n\nThis changed when, during the Dutch Revolt, many people from the Southern Netherlands fled to the North, especially after Antwerp fell to Spanish forces in 1585. In thirty years, Amsterdam's population more than doubled from 41,362 inhabitants in 1590 to 106,500 inhabitants in 1620. During the 1660s, Amsterdam's population reached 200,000. The city's growth levelled off and the population stabilised around 240,000 for most of the 18th century.\n\nAt the turn of the 18th century, Amsterdam was the fourth largest city in Europe, behind Constantinople (about 700,000), London (550,000) and Paris (530,000). This was all the more remarkable as Amsterdam was neither the capital city nor the seat of government of the Dutch Republic, which itself was a much smaller state than England, France or the Ottoman Empire. In contrast to those other metropolises, Amsterdam was also surrounded by large towns such as Leiden (about 67,000), Rotterdam (45,000), Haarlem (38,000), and Utrecht (30,000).\n\nThe city's population declined in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, dipping under 200,000 in 1820. By the second half of the 19th century, industrialisation spurred renewed growth. Amsterdam's population hit an all-time high of 872,000 in 1959, before declining in the following decades due to government-sponsored suburbanisation to so-called ''groeikernen'' (growth centres) such as Purmerend and Almere. Between 1970 and 1980, Amsterdam experienced its sharpest population decline ever, and by 1985 the city had only 675,570 residents. This was soon followed by reurbanisation and gentrification, however, leading to renewed population growth in the 2010s. The municipal department for Research, Information and Statistics expects a new record population to be set in 2020.\n\n===Immigration===\n\n\n City of Amsterdam (2017)population by country of origin\n\n '''Country/Territory''' \n '''Population'''\n\n Netherlands \n401,260 (47.49%)\n\n Morocco \n75,758 (8.97%)\t\n\n Suriname \n65,468 (7.75%)\t\n\n Turkey \n43,168 (5.11%)\t\n\n Indonesia \n25,522 (3.02%)\n\n Germany \n18,445 (2.18%)\t\n\n United Kingdom \n12,670 (1.50%)\n\n Dutch Caribbean \n12,288 (1.45%)\n\n Ghana \n12,133 (1.44%)\n\n United States \n9,108 (1.08%)\n\n Italy \n8,553 (1.01%)\n\nOther \n160,574 (19.00%)\n\n\nIn the 16th and 17th century non-Dutch immigrants to Amsterdam were mostly Huguenots, Flemings, Sephardi Jews and Westphalians. Huguenots came after the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, while the Flemish Protestants came during the Eighty Years' War. The Westphalians came to Amsterdam mostly for economic reasons – their influx continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. Before the Second World War, 10% of the city population was Jewish. Just twenty per cent of them survived the Shoah.\n\nThe first mass immigration in the 20th century were by people from Indonesia, who came to Amsterdam after the independence of the Dutch East Indies in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s guest workers from Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Spain emigrated to Amsterdam. After the independence of Suriname in 1975, a large wave of Surinamese settled in Amsterdam, mostly in the Bijlmer area. Other immigrants, including refugees asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, came from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. In the 1970s and 1980s, many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities like Almere and Purmerend, prompted by the third planological bill of the Dutch government. This bill promoted suburbanisation and arranged for new developments in so-called \"groeikernen\", literally ''cores of growth''. Young professionals and artists moved into neighbourhoods de Pijp and the Jordaan abandoned by these Amsterdammers. The non-Western immigrants settled mostly in the social housing projects in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer. Today, people of non-Western origin make up approximately one-third of the population of Amsterdam, and more than 50% of the city'\ns children. Segregation along ethnic lines is clearly visible, with people of non-Western origin, considered a separate group by Statistics Netherlands, concentrating in specific neighbourhoods especially in Nieuw-West, Zeeburg, Bijlmer and in certain areas of Amsterdam-Noord.\n\nIn 2000, Christians formed the largest religious group in the city (27% of the population). The next largest religion was Islam (14%), most of whose followers were Sunni.\n\nThere is a Japanese population resident in Amsterdam. The Japanese School of Amsterdam serves elementary and junior high school students. 8% of the student body of the International School Amsterdam in nearby Amstelveen was Japanese; this figure was 40% in 1997. As of 1997 most Japanese children who lived in the Netherlands attended high schools and universities located in Japan.\n\n===Religions===\nIn 1578 the previously Roman Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt against Spanish rule, late in comparison to other major northern Dutch cities. In line with Protestant procedure of that time, all churches were converted to Protestant worship. Calvinism became the dominant religion, and although Catholicism was not forbidden and priests allowed to serve, the Catholic hierarchy was prohibited. This led to the establishment of ''schuilkerken'', covert churches, behind seemingly ordinary canal side house fronts. One example is the current debate centre de Rode Hoed.\nA large influx of foreigners of many religions came to 17th-century Amsterdam, in particular Sefardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, and Protestants from the Southern Netherlands. This led to the establishment of many non-Dutch-speaking religious churches. In 1603, the first notification was made of Jewish religious service. In 1639, the first synagogue was consecrated. The Jews came to call the town Jerusalem of the West, a reference to their sense of belonging there.\n\nBasilica of St. Nicholas\nAs they became established in the city, other Christian denominations used converted Catholic chapels to conduct their own services. The oldest English-language church congregation in the world outside the United Kingdom is found at the Begijnhof. Regular services there are still offered in English under the auspices of the Church of Scotland. The Huguenots accounted for nearly 20% of Amsterdam's inhabitants in 1700. Being Calvinists, they soon integrated into the Dutch Reformed Church, though often retaining their own congregations. Some, commonly referred by the moniker 'Walloon', are recognisable today as they offer occasional services in French.\n\nIn the second half of the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced an influx of Ashkenazim, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, which continued into the 19th century. Jews often fled the pogroms in those areas. The first Ashkenazi who arrived in Amsterdam were refugees from the Chmielnicki Uprising in Poland and the Thirty Years' War. They not only founded their own synagogues, but had a strong influence on the 'Amsterdam dialect' adding a large Yiddish local vocabulary.\n\nDespite an absence of an official Jewish ghetto, most Jews preferred to live in the eastern part of the old medieval heart of the city. The main street of this Jewish neighbourhood was the ''Jodenbreestraat''. The neighbourhood comprised the ''Waterlooplein'' and the Nieuwmarkt. Buildings in this neighbourhood fell into disrepair after the Second World War, and a large section of the neighbourhood was demolished during the construction of the subway. This led to riots, and as a result the original plans for large-scale reconstruction were abandoned and the neighbourhood was rebuilt with smaller-scale residence buildings on the basis of its original layout.\n\nThe Vondelpark is the largest park in Amsterdam.\nCatholic churches in Amsterdam have been constructed since the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy in 1853. One of the principal architects behind the city's Catholic churches, Cuypers, was also responsible for the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, which led to a refusal of Protestant King William III to open 'that monastery'.\nIn 1924, the Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, and numerous Catholic prelates visited the city, where festivities were held in churches and stadiums. Catholic processions on the public streets, however, were still forbidden under law at the time. Only in the 20th century was Amsterdam's relation to Catholicism normalised, but despite its far larger population size, the Catholic clergy chose to place its episcopal see of the city in the nearby provincial town of Haarlem.\n\nIn recent times, religious demographics in Amsterdam have been changed by large-scale immigration from former colonies. Immigrants from Suriname have introduced Evangelical Protestantism and Lutheranism, from the Hernhutter variety; Hinduism has been introduced mainly from Suriname; and several distinct branches of Islam have been brought from various parts of the world. Islam is now the largest non-Christian religion in Amsterdam. The large community of Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrants have established African churches, often in parking garages in the Bijlmer area, where many have settled. In addition, a broad array of other religious movements have established congregations, including Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism. Jews make up about 2% of the city's total population.\n\n\n\n===Tolerance and ethnic tension===\nAlthough the saying \"Leef en laat leven\" or \"Live and let live\" summarises the Dutch and especially the Amsterdam open and tolerant society, the increased influx of religions and cultures after the Second World War, has on a number of occasions strained social relations. With 180 different nationalities, Amsterdam is home to one of the widest varieties of nationalities of any city in the world. The proportion of the population of immigrant origin in the city proper is about 50% and 88% of the population are Dutch citizens.\n\nThe city has been at times marked by ethnic tension. In 2004 film director Theo van Gogh was murdered in Amsterdam. In line with attitude changes in Dutch politics towards certain minorities, Turkish-language and Arabic-language TV channels have been dropped from the basic cable TV package. In recent years, politicians are actively discouraged from campaigning in minority languages to encourage assimilation. In the local elections of 2010 politicians were criticised by current Amsterdam mayor Mr Van der Laan (then Minister of Integration) for distributing election leaflets in minority languages and in some cases leaflets were collected. Due to this alleged anti-multicultural stand, Van der Laan has been accused of hypocrisy by his own party's PvdA main candidate. Also during the same period, possibly due to his belief in integration via (possibly not always voluntary) assimilation, Amsterdam has been one of the municipalities in the Netherlands which provided immigrants with extensive and free Dutch-language courses, which have benefited many immigrants.\n", "\n\n\nAmsterdam fans out south from the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Damrak, the main street off the station. The oldest area of the town is known as ''de Wallen'' (the quays). It lies to the east of Damrak and contains the city's famous red light district. To the south of de Wallen is the old Jewish quarter of Waterlooplein. The medieval and colonial age canals of Amsterdam, known as ''Grachten'', embraces the heart of the city where homes have interesting gables. Beyond the Grachtengordel are the former working class areas of Jordaan and de Pijp. The Museumplein with the city's major museums, the Vondelpark, a 19th-century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel, and the Plantage neighbourhood, with the zoo, are also located outside the Grachtengordel.\n\nSeveral parts of the city and the surrounding urban area are polders. This can be recognised by the suffix ''-meer'' which means ''lake'', as in Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer.\n\n===Canals===\n\nPanorama of a canal in the Canal District\nThe Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning. In the early 17th century, when immigration was at a peak, a comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends emerging at the IJ bay. Known as the ''Grachtengordel'', three of the canals were mostly for residential development: the ''Herengracht'' (where \"Heren\" refers to ''Heren Regeerders van de stad Amsterdam'' (ruling lords of Amsterdam), and ''gracht'' means canal, so the name can be roughly translated as \"Canal of the lords\"), ''Keizersgracht'' (Emperor's Canal), and ''Prinsengracht'' (Prince's Canal). The fourth and outermost canal is the ''Singelgracht'', which is often not mentioned on maps, because it is a collective name for all canals in the outer ring. The Singelgracht should not be confused with the oldest and most inner canal ''Singel''. The canals served for defence, water management and transport. The defences took the form of a moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures. The original plans have been lost, so historians, such as Ed Taverne, need to speculate on the original intentions: it is thought that the considerations of the layout were purely practical and defensive rather than ornamental.\n\nA view of the Reguliersgracht on the corner with the Keizersgracht at dusk.\nConstruction started in 1613 and proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – and ''not'' from the centre outwards, as a popular myth has it. The canal construction in the southern sector was completed by 1656. Subsequently, the construction of residential buildings proceeded slowly. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ bay, has never been implemented. In the following centuries, the land was used for parks, senior citizens' homes, theatres, other public facilities, and waterways without much planning.\n\nBridges over a canal.\nOver the years, several canals have been filled in, becoming streets or squares, such as the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and the Spui.\n\n===Expansion===\n\nAmsterdam Heritage City View from Lookout\nAfter the development of Amsterdam's canals in the 17th century, the city did not grow beyond its borders for two centuries. During the 19th century, Samuel Sarphati devised a plan based on the grandeur of Paris and London at that time. The plan envisaged the construction of new houses, public buildings and streets just outside the ''grachtengordel''. The main aim of the plan, however, was to improve public health. Although the plan did not expand the city, it did produce some of the largest public buildings to date, like the ''Paleis voor Volksvlijt''.\n\nFollowing Sarphati, ''Van Niftrik'' and ''Kalff'' designed an entire ring of 19th-century neighbourhoods surrounding the city's centre, with the city preserving the ownership of all land outside the 17th-century limit, thus firmly controlling development. Most of these neighbourhoods became home to the working class.\n\nIn response to overcrowding, two plans were designed at the beginning of the 20th century which were very different from anything Amsterdam had ever seen before: ''Plan Zuid'', designed by the architect Berlage, and ''West''. These plans involved the development of new neighbourhoods consisting of ''housing blocks'' for all social classes.\n\nAfter the Second World War, large new neighbourhoods were built in the western, southeastern, and northern parts of the city. These new neighbourhoods were built to relieve the city's shortage of living space and give people affordable houses with modern conveniences. The neighbourhoods consisted mainly of large housing blocks situated among green spaces, connected to wide roads, making the neighbourhoods easily accessible by motor car. The western suburbs which were built in that period are collectively called the ''Westelijke Tuinsteden''. The area to the southeast of the city built during the same period is known as the ''Bijlmer''.\n\n===Architecture===\nThe Westerkerk (1631), designed by Dutch architect Hendrick de Keyser in the Renaissance style. At the church's \"Westertoren\" steeple is the highest in Amsterdam. The canal houses on the right are characteristic of the architectural styles from the Dutch Golden Age.\nAmsterdam has a rich architectural history. The oldest building in Amsterdam is the Oude Kerk (Old Church), at the heart of the Wallen, consecrated in 1306. The oldest wooden building is ''het Houten Huys'' at the Begijnhof.\nIt was constructed around 1425 and is one of only two existing wooden buildings. It is also one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Amsterdam.\nIn the 16th century, wooden buildings were razed and replaced with brick ones. During this period, many buildings were constructed in the architectural style of the Renaissance. Buildings of this period are very recognisable with their stepped gable façades, which is the common Dutch Renaissance style. Amsterdam quickly developed its own Renaissance architecture. These buildings were built according to the principles of the architect Hendrick de Keyser. One of the most striking buildings designed by Hendrick de Keyer is the Westerkerk. In the 17th century baroque architecture became very popular, as it was elsewhere in Europe. This roughly coincided with Amsterdam's Golden Age. The leading architects of this style in Amsterdam were Jacob van Campen, Philips Vingboons and Daniel Stalpaert.\n\nThe Scheepvaarthuis, by architects Johan van der Mey, Michel de Klerk, Piet Kramer is characteristic of the architecture of the Amsterdam School.\nPhilip Vingboons designed splendid merchants' houses throughout the city. A famous building in baroque style in Amsterdam is the Royal Palace on Dam Square. Throughout the 18th century, Amsterdam was heavily influenced by French culture. This is reflected in the architecture of that period. Around 1815, architects broke with the baroque style and started building in different neo-styles. Most Gothic style buildings date from that era and are therefore said to be built in a neo-gothic style. At the end of the 19th century, the Jugendstil or Art Nouveau style became popular and many new buildings were constructed in this architectural style. Since Amsterdam expanded rapidly during this period, new buildings adjacent to the city centre were also built in this style. The houses in the vicinity of the Museum Square in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid are an example of Jugendstil. The last style that was popular in Amsterdam before the modern era was Art Deco. Amsterdam had its own version of the style, which was called the Amsterdamse School. Whole districts were built this style, such as the ''Rivierenbuurt''. A notable feature of the façades of buildings designed in Amsterdamse School is that they are highly decorated and ornate, with oddly shaped windows and doors.\n\nThe old city centre is the focal point of all the architectural styles before the end of the 19th century.\nJugendstil and Georgian are mostly found outside the city's centre in the neighbourhoods built in the early\n20th century, although there are also some striking examples of these styles in the city centre.\nMost historic buildings in the city centre and nearby are houses, such as the famous merchants' houses lining the canals.\n\n===Parks and recreational areas===\n\n\n\nAmsterdam has many parks, open spaces, and squares throughout the city. Vondelpark, the largest park in the city, is located in the Oud-Zuid borough and is named after the 17th century Amsterdam author, Joost van den Vondel. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors. In the park is an open-air theatre, a playground and several horeca facilities. In the Zuid borough, is Beatrixpark, named after Queen Beatrix. Between Amsterdam and Amstelveen is the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), the largest recreational area in Amsterdam. Annually, almost 4.5 million people visit the park, which has a size of 1.000 hectares and is approximately three times the size of Central Park. Amstelpark in the Zuid borough houses the Rieker windmill, which dates to 1636. Other parks include Sarphatipark in the De Pijp neighbourhood, Oosterpark in the Oost borough, and Westerpark in the Westerpark neighbourhood. The city has four beaches, the Nemo Beach, Citybeach \"Het stenen hoofd\" (Silodam), Blijburg, and one in Amsterdam-Noord.\n\nThe city has many open squares (plein in Dutch). The namesake of the city as the site of the original dam, Dam Square, is the main town square and has the Royal Palace and National Monument. Museumplein hosts various museums, including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum. Other squares include Rembrandtplein, Muntplein, Nieuwmarkt, Leidseplein, Spui, and Waterlooplein. Also, near to Amsterdam is the Nekkeveld estate conservation project.\n", "Large-scale map of downtown Amsterdam, including sightseeing markers, as of April 2017.\nThe Amsterdam Stock Exchange, right, is the oldest stock exchange in the world.\nDiamond cutter\nAmsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.\nAmsterdam is currently one of the best European cities in which to locate an international business. It is ranked fifth in this category and is only surpassed by London, Paris, Frankfurt and Barcelona. Many large corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, ABN AMRO, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group, Booking.com and Philips. KPMG International's global headquarters is located in nearby Amstelveen, where many non-Dutch companies have settled as well, because surrounding communities allow full land ownership, contrary to Amsterdam's land-lease system.\n\nThough many small offices are still located on the old canals, companies are increasingly relocating outside the city centre. The Zuidas (English: South Axis) has become the new financial and legal hub. The five largest law firms of the Netherlands, a number of Dutch subsidiaries of large consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and Accenture, and the World Trade Center Amsterdam are also located in Zuidas.\n\nThere are three other smaller financial districts in Amsterdam. The first is the area surrounding Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, where several newspapers like ''De Telegraaf'' have their offices. Also, Deloitte, the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf (municipal public transport company) and the Dutch tax offices (''Belastingdienst'') are located there. The second Financial District is the area surrounding Amsterdam Arena. The third is the area surrounding Amsterdam Amstel railway station. The tallest building in Amsterdam, the Rembrandt Tower, is situated there, as is the headquarters of Philips.\n\n===Port of Amsterdam===\nThe Port of Amsterdam is the fourth largest port in Europe, the 38th largest port in the world and the second largest port in the Netherlands by metric tons of cargo. In 2014 the Port of Amsterdam had a cargo throughput of 97,4 million tons of cargo, which was mostly bulk cargo.\nAmsterdam has the biggest cruise port in the Netherlands with more than 150 cruise ships every year.\nIn 2019 the new lock in IJmuiden will open; the port will then be able to grow to 125 million tonnes in capacity.\n\nThe Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), now part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. It is near Dam Square in the city centre.\n\nTogether with Eindhoven (Brainport) and Rotterdam (Seaport), Amsterdam (Airport) forms the foundation of the Dutch economy.\n\n===Tourism===\n\nKeizersgracht, give tours of the city.\nAmsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.63 million international visitors annually, this is excluding the 16 million day trippers visiting the city every year. The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade. This can be attributed to an increasing number of European visitors. Two-thirds of the hotels are located in the city's centre. Hotels with 4 or 5 stars contribute 42% of the total beds available and 41% of the overnight stays in Amsterdam. The room occupation rate was 78% in 2006, up from 70% in 2005. The majority of tourists (74%) originate from Europe. The largest group of non-European visitors come from the United States, accounting for 14% of the total. Certain years have a theme in Amsterdam to attract extra tourists. For example, the year 2006 was designated \"Rembrandt 400\", to celebrate the 400th birthday of Rembrandt van Rijn. Some hotels offer special arrangements or activities during these years. The average number of guests per year staying at the four campsites around the city range from 12,000 to 65,000.\n\nThe red-light district is a main tourist attraction.\n\n====Red light district====\n\n'''De Wallen''', also known as '''Walletjes''' or '''Rosse Buurt''', is a designated area for legalised prostitution and is Amsterdam's largest and most well known red-light district. This neighbourhood has become a famous attraction for tourists. It consists of a network of roads and alleys containing several hundred small, one-room apartments rented by sex workers who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights.\n\n===Retail===\nShops in Amsterdam range from large high end department stores such as De Bijenkorf founded in 1870 to small specialty shops. Amsterdam's high-end shops are found in the streets P.C. Hooftstraat and ''Cornelis Schuytstraat'', which are located in the vicinity of the Vondelpark. One of Amsterdam's busiest high streets is the narrow, medieval Kalverstraat in the heart of the city. Other shopping areas include the ''Negen Straatjes'' and Haarlemmerdijk and Haarlemmerstraat. ''Negen Straatjes'' are nine narrow streets within the ''Grachtengordel'', the concentric canal system of Amsterdam. The Negen Straatjes differ from other shopping districts with the presence of a large diversity of privately owned shops. The Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk were voted best shopping street in the Netherlands in 2011. These streets have as the ''Negen Straatjes'' a large diversity of privately owned shops. But as the ''Negen Straatjes'' are dominated by fashion stores the Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk offer a very wide variety of all kinds of stores, just to name some specialties: candy and other food related stores, lingerie, sneakers, wedding clothing, interior shops, books, Italian deli's, racing and mountain bikes, skatewear, etc.\n\nThe city also features a large number of open-air markets such as the Albert Cuyp Market, Westerstraat-markt, Ten Katemarkt, and Dappermarkt. Some of these markets are held on a daily basis, like the Albert Cuypmarkt and the Dappermarkt. Others, like the Westerstraatmarkt, are held on a weekly basis.\n\n===Fashion===\nFashion brands like G-star, Gsus, BlueBlood, PICHICHI, Iris van Herpen, fair trade denim brand MUD Jeans, 10 feet and Warmenhoven & Venderbos, and fashion designers like Mart Visser, Viktor & Rolf, Sheila de Vries, Marlies Dekkers and Frans Molenaar are based in Amsterdam. Modelling agencies Elite Models, Touche models and Tony Jones have opened branches in Amsterdam. Fashion models like Yfke Sturm, Doutzen Kroes and Kim Noorda started their careers in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has its garment centre in the World Fashion Center. Buildings which formerly housed brothels in the red light district have been converted to ateliers for young fashion designers, AKA eagle fuel. Fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin were born in Amsterdam(Netherland).\n", "The Rijksmuseum houses Rembrandt's ''The Night Watch''.\nThe Van Gogh Museum houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and letters.\nThe Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is an international museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design.\nDuring the later part of the 16th-century Amsterdam's Rederijkerskamer (Chamber of rhetoric) organised contests between different Chambers in the reading of poetry and drama. In 1638, Amsterdam opened its first theatre. Ballet performances were given in this theatre as early as 1642. In the 18th century, French theatre became popular. While Amsterdam was under the influence of German music in the 19th century there were few national opera productions; the Hollandse Opera of Amsterdam was built in 1888 for the specific purpose of promoting Dutch opera. In the 19th century, popular culture was centred on the Nes area in Amsterdam (mainly vaudeville and music-hall). The metronome, one of the most important advances in European classical music, was invented here in 1812 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel. At the end of this century, the Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum were built. In 1888, the Concertgebouworkest was established. With the 20th century came cinema, radio and television. Though most studios are located in Hilversum and Aalsmeer, Amsterdam's influence on programming is very strong. Many people who work in the television industry live in Amsterdam. Also, the headquarters of the Dutch SBS Broadcasting Group is located in Amsterdam.\n\n===Museums===\nThe most important museums of Amsterdam are located on the Museumplein (Museum Square), located at the southwestern side of the Rijksmuseum. It was created in the last quarter of the 19th century on the grounds of the former World's fair. The northeastern part of the square is bordered by the very large Rijksmuseum. In front of the Rijksmuseum on the square itself is a long, rectangular pond. This is transformed into an ice rink in winter. The northwestern part of the square is bordered by the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience and Coster Diamonds. The southwestern border of the Museum Square is the Van Baerlestraat, which is a major thoroughfare in this part of Amsterdam. The Concertgebouw is situated across this street from the square. To the southeast of the square are situated a number of large houses, one of which contains the American consulate. A parking garage can be found underneath the square, as well as a supermarket. The Museumplein is covered almost entirely with a lawn, except for the northeastern part of the square which is covered with gravel. The current appearance of the square was realised in 1999, when the square was remodelled. The square itself is the most prominent site in Amsterdam for festivals and outdoor concerts, especially in the summer. Plans were made in 2008 to remodel the square again, because many inhabitants of Amsterdam are not happy with its current appearance.\n\nRembrandt monument on Rembrandtplein\nThe Rijksmuseum possesses the largest and most important collection of classical Dutch art.\nIt opened in 1885. Its collection consists of nearly one million objects. The artist most associated with Amsterdam is Rembrandt, whose work, and the work of his pupils, is displayed in the Rijksmuseum. Rembrandt's masterpiece ''The Night Watch'' is one of top pieces of art of the museum. It also houses paintings from artists like Van der Helst, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Ferdinand Bol, Albert Cuyp, Jacob van Ruisdael and Paulus Potter. Aside from paintings, the collection consists of a large variety of decorative art. This ranges from Delftware to giant doll-houses from the 17th century. The architect of the gothic revival building was P.J.H. Cuypers. The museum underwent a 10-year, 375 million euro renovation starting in 2003. The full collection was reopened to the public on 13 April 2013 and the Rijksmuseum has established itself as the most visited museum in Amsterdam with 2.2 million visitors in 2013.\n\nVan Gogh lived in Amsterdam for a short while and there is a museum dedicated to his work. The museum is housed in one of the few modern buildings in this area of Amsterdam. The building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld. This building is where the permanent collection is displayed. A new building was added to the museum in 1999. This building, known as the performance wing, was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Its purpose is to house temporary exhibitions of the museum. Some of Van Gogh's most famous paintings, like ''The Potato Eaters'' and ''Sunflowers'', are in the collection. The Van Gogh museum is the second most visited museum in Amsterdam, with 1.4 million annual visitors.\n\nNext to the Van Gogh museum stands the Stedelijk Museum. This is Amsterdam's most important museum of modern art. The museum is as old as the square it borders and was opened in 1895. The permanent collection consists of works of art from artists like Piet Mondriaan, Karel Appel, and Kazimir Malevich. After renovations lasting several years the museum opened in September 2012 with a new composite extension that has been called 'The Bathtub' due to its resemblance to one.\n\nAmsterdam contains many other museums throughout the city. They range from small museums such as the Verzetsmuseum (Resistance Museum), the Anne Frank House, and the Rembrandt House Museum, to the very large, like the Tropenmuseum (Museum of the Tropics), Amsterdam Museum (formerly known as Amsterdam Historical Museum), Hermitage Amsterdam (a dependency of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg) and the Joods Historisch Museum (Jewish Historical Museum). The modern-styled Nemo is dedicated to child-friendly science exhibitions.\n\n===Music===\n\nAmsterdam's musical culture includes a large collection of songs which treat the city nostalgically and lovingly. The 1949 song \"Aan de Amsterdamse grachten\" (\"On the canals of Amsterdam\") was performed and recorded by many artists, including John Kraaijkamp sr.; the best-known version is probably that by Wim Sonneveld (1962). In the 1950s Johnny Jordaan rose to fame with \"Geef mij maar Amsterdam\" (\"I prefer Amsterdam\"), which praises the city above all others (explicitly Paris); Jordaan sang especially about his own neighbourhood, the Jordaan (\"Bij ons in de Jordaan\"). Colleagues and contemporaries of Johnny include Tante Leen, Zwarte Riek, and Manke Nelis. Other notable Amsterdam songs are \"Amsterdam\" by Jacques Brel (1964) and \"Deze Stad\" by De Dijk (1989). A 2011 poll by Amsterdam paper ''Het Parool'' found, somewhat surprisingly, that Trio Bier's \"Oude Wolf\" was voted \"Amsterdams lijflied\". Notable Amsterdam bands from the modern era include the Osdorp Posse and The Ex.\n\nAFAS Live (formerly known as the Heineken Music Hall) is a concert hall located near the Amsterdam Arena. Its main purpose is to serve as a podium for pop concerts for big audiences. Many famous international artists have performed there. Two other notable venues, Paradiso and the Melkweg are located near the Leidseplein. Both focus on broad programming, ranging from indie rock to hip hop, R&B, and other popular genres. Other more subcultural music venues are OCCII, OT301, De Nieuwe Anita, Winston Kingdom and Zaal 100. Jazz has a strong following in Amsterdam, with the Bimhuis being the premier venue. In 2012, Ziggo Dome was opened, also near Amsterdam ArenA, a state of the art indoor music arena.\n\nAFAS Live is also host to many electronic dance music festivals, alongside many other venues. Armin van Buuren and Tiesto, some of the world's leading Trance DJ's hail from the Netherlands and perform frequently in Amsterdam. Each year in October, the city hosts the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) which is one of the leading electronic music conferences and one of the biggest club festivals for electronic music in the world, attracting over 350,000 visitors each year. Another popular dance festival is 5daysoff, which takes place in the venues Paradiso and Melkweg. In summer time there are several big outdoor dance parties in or nearby Amsterdam, such as Awakenings, Dance Valley, Mystery Land, Loveland, A Day at the Park, Welcome to the Future, and Valtifest.\n\nThe Concertgebouw or Royal Concert Hall houses performances of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and other musical events\nAmsterdam has a world-class symphony orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Their home is the Concertgebouw, which is across the Van Baerlestraat from the Museum Square. It is considered by critics to be a concert hall with some of the best acoustics in the world. The building contains three halls, Grote Zaal, Kleine Zaal, and Spiegelzaal. Some nine hundred concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, making it one of the most-visited concert halls in the world. The opera house of Amsterdam is situated adjacent to the city hall. Therefore, the two buildings combined are often called the Stopera, (a word originally coined by protesters against it very construction: ''Stop the Opera-house''). This huge modern complex, opened in 1986, lies in the former Jewish neighbourhood at ''Waterlooplein'' next to the river Amstel. The ''Stopera'' is the homebase of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and the Holland Symfonia. Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ is a concert hall, which is situated in the IJ near the central station. Its concerts perform mostly modern classical music. Located adjacent to it, is the ''Bimhuis'', a concert hall for improvised and Jazz music.\n\n===Performing arts===\nAmsterdam has three main theatre buildings.\n\nThe Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam at the Leidseplein is the home base of Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The current building dates from 1894. Most plays are performed in the Grote Zaal (Great Hall). The normal programme of events encompasses all sorts of theatrical forms. The Stadsschouwburg is currently being renovated and expanded. The third theatre space, to be operated jointly with next door Melkweg, will open in late 2009 or early 2010.\n\nDutch National Opera and Ballet (formerly known as ''Het Muziektheater''), dating from 1986, is the principal opera house and home to Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet.\n\nRoyal Theatre Carré was built as a permanent circus theatre in 1887 and is currently mainly used for musicals, cabaret performances and pop concerts.\n\nThe recently re-opened DeLaMar Theater houses the more commercial plays and musicals.\n\nAlso a new theatre has moved into Amsterdam scene in 2014, joining other established venues. Theater Amsterdam, situated in the west part of Amsterdam, Danzigerkade 5 / Westpoortnummer 2036 1013 AP Amsterdam. \nIt's a modern building with a panoramic view over the harbour. The theatre is the first ever purpose-built venue to showcase a single play entitled ANNE, the play based on Anne Frank's life.\n\nOn the east side of town there is a small theatre in a converted bath house, the Badhuistheater. The theatre often has English programming.\n\nThe Netherlands has a tradition of cabaret or ''kleinkunst'', which combines music, storytelling, commentary, theatre and comedy. Cabaret dates back to the 1930s and artists like Wim Kan, Wim Sonneveld and Toon Hermans were pioneers of this form of art in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam is the Kleinkunstacademie (English: Cabaret Academy). Contemporary popular artists are Youp van 't Hek, Freek de Jonge, Herman Finkers, Hans Teeuwen, Theo Maassen, Herman van Veen, Najib Amhali, Raoul Heertje, Jörgen Raymann, Brigitte Kaandorp and Comedytrain. The English spoken comedy scene was established with the founding of Boom Chicago in 1993. They have their own theatre at Leidseplein.\n\n===Nightlife===\nThe Magere Brug or \"Skinny Bridge\" over the Amstel River at night\nAmsterdam is famous for its vibrant and diverse nightlife. Amsterdam has many ''cafés'' (bars). They range from large and modern to small and cozy. The typical ''Bruine Kroeg'' (brown ''café'') breathe a more old fashioned atmosphere with dimmed lights, candles, and somewhat older clientele. Most ''cafés'' have terraces in summertime. A common sight on the Leidseplein during summer is a square full of terraces packed with people drinking beer or wine. Many restaurants can be found in Amsterdam as well. Since Amsterdam is a multicultural city, a lot of different ethnic restaurants can be found. Restaurants range from being rather luxurious and expensive to being ordinary and affordable. Amsterdam also possesses many discothèques. The two main nightlife areas for tourists are the Leidseplein and the Rembrandtplein. The Paradiso, Melkweg and Sugar Factory are cultural centres, which turn into discothèques on some nights. Examples of discothèques near the Rembrandtplein are the Escape, Air, John Doe and Club Abe. Also noteworthy are Panama, Hotel Arena (East), TrouwAmsterdam and Studio 80. Bimhuis located near the Central Station, with its rich programming hosting the best in the field is considered one of the best jazz clubs in the world. The Reguliersdwarsstraat is the main street for the LGBT community and nightlife.\n\n===Festivals===\nQueen's Day in Amsterdam in 2010\nIn 2008, there were 140 festivals and events in Amsterdam.\nFamous festivals and events in Amsterdam include: Koningsdag (which was named Koninginnedag until the crowning of king Willem-Alexander in 2013) (King's Day – Queen's Day); the Holland Festival for the performing arts; the yearly Prinsengrachtconcert (classical concerto on the Prinsen canal) in August; the 'Stille Omgang' (a silent Roman Catholic evening procession held every March); Amsterdam Gay Pride; The Cannabis Cup; and the Uitmarkt. On Koninginnedag—that was held each year on 30 April—hundreds of thousands of people travel to Amsterdam to celebrate with the city's residents and Koningsdag is held on 27 April. The entire city becomes overcrowded with people buying products from the ''freemarket,'' or visiting one of the many music concerts.\n\nThe yearly Holland Festival attracts international artists and visitors from all over Europe. Amsterdam Gay Pride is a yearly local LGBT parade of boats in Amsterdam's canals, held on the first Saturday in August. The annual Uitmarkt is a three-day cultural event at the start of the cultural season in late August. It offers previews of many different artists, such as musicians and poets, who perform on podia.\n\n===Sports===\nAjax Amsterdam play their home games at the Amsterdam ArenA\nAmsterdam is home of the ''Eredivisie'' football club Ajax Amsterdam. The stadium Amsterdam Arena is the home of Ajax. It is located in the south-east of the city next to the new Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station. Before moving to their current location in 1996, Ajax played their regular matches in De Meer Stadion.\nIn 1928, Amsterdam hosted the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Stadium built for the occasion has been completely restored and is now used for cultural and sporting events, such as the Amsterdam Marathon. In 1920, Amsterdam assisted in hosting some of the sailing events for the Summer Olympics held in neighbouring Antwerp, Belgium by hosting events at Buiten Y.\n\nThe city holds the Dam to Dam Run, a race from Amsterdam to Zaandam, as well as the Amsterdam Marathon.\n\nThe ice hockey team Amstel Tijgers play in the Jaap Eden ice rink. The team competes in the Dutch ice hockey premier league. Speed skating championships have been held on the 400-metre lane of this ice rink.\n\nAmsterdam holds two American football franchises: the Amsterdam Crusaders and the Amsterdam Panthers.\nThe Amsterdam Pirates baseball team competes in the Dutch Major League. There are three field hockey teams: Amsterdam, Pinoké and Hurley, who play their matches around the Wagener Stadium in the nearby city of Amstelveen. The basketball team MyGuide Amsterdam competes in the Dutch premier division and play their games in the Sporthallen Zuid.\n\nThere is one rugbyclub in Amsterdam, which also hosts sports training classes such as RTC(Rugby Talenten Centrum or Rugby Talent Centre) and the National Rugby stadium.\n\nSince 1999 the city of Amsterdam honours the best sportsmen and women at the Amsterdam Sports Awards. Boxer Raymond Joval and field hockey midfielder Carole Thate were the first to receive the awards, in 1999.\n", "\nKajsa Ollongren, the acting mayor of Amsterdam since 2017 \nThe city of Amsterdam is a municipality under the Dutch Municipalities Act. It is governed by a directly elected municipal council, a municipal executive board and a mayor. Since 1981, the municipality of Amsterdam has gradually been divided into semi-autonomous boroughs, called ''stadsdelen'' or 'districts'. Over time, a total of 15 boroughs were created. In May 2010, under a major reform, the number of Amsterdam boroughs was reduced to eight: Amsterdam-Centrum covering the city centre including the canal belt, Amsterdam-Noord consisting of the neighbourhoods north of the IJ lake, Amsterdam-Oost in the east, Amsterdam-Zuid in the south, Amsterdam-West in the west, Amsterdam Nieuw-West in the far west, Amsterdam Zuidoost in the southeast, and Westpoort covering the Port of Amsterdam area.\n\n===City government===\n\nAs with all Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is governed by a directly elected municipal council, a municipal executive board and a mayor (''burgemeester''). The mayor is a member of the municipal executive board, but also has individual responsibilies in maintaining public order. In July 2010, Eberhard van der Laan (Labour Party) was appointed mayor of Amsterdam by the national government for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam municipal council. After the 2014 municipal council elections, a governing majority of D66, VVD and SP was formed – the first coalition without the Labour Party since World War II. Next to the mayor, the municipal executive board consists of eight ''wethouders'' ('alderpersons') appointed by the municipal council: four D66 alderpersons, two VVD alderpersons and two SP alderpersons.\n\nOn 18 September 2017 it was announced by Eberhard van der Laan in an open letter to Amsterdam citizens that Kajsa Ollongren would take up his office as acting Mayor of Amsterdam - with immediate effect - with the resignation of Van der Laan due to ill health.\n\nThe boroughs of Amsterdam.Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into eight boroughs, called ''stadsdelen'' or 'districts', a system that was implemented gradually in the 1980s to improve local governance. The boroughs are responsible for many activities that had previously been run by the central city. In 2010, the number of Amsterdam boroughs reached fifteen. Fourteen of those had their own district council (''deelraad''), elected by a popular vote. The fifteenth, Westpoort, covers the harbour of Amsterdam and had very few residents. Therefore, it was governed by the central municipal council. Under the borough system, municipal decisions are made at borough level, except for those affairs pertaining to the whole city such as major infrastructure projects, which are the jurisdiction of the central municipal authorities. In 2010, the borough system was restructured, in which many smaller boroughs merged into larger boroughs. In 2014, under a reform of the Dutch Municipalities Act, the Amsterdam boroughs lost much of their autonomous status, as their district councils were abolished. The municipal council of Amsterdam voted to maintain the borough system by replacing the district councils with smaller, but still directly elected district committees (''bestuurscommissies''). Under a municipal ordinance, the new district committees were granted responsibilities through delegation of regulatory and executive powers by the central municipal council.\n\n\n===Metropolitan area===\n\"Amsterdam\" is usually understood to refer to the municipality of Amsterdam. Colloquially, some areas within the municipality, such as the town of Durgerdam, may not be considered part of Amsterdam.\n\nStatistics Netherlands uses three other definitions of Amsterdam: metropolitan agglomeration Amsterdam (''Grootstedelijke Agglomeratie Amsterdam'', not to be confused with ''Grootstedelijk Gebied Amsterdam'', a synonym of ''Groot Amsterdam''), Greater Amsterdam (''Groot Amsterdam'', a COROP region) and the urban region Amsterdam (''Stadsgewest Amsterdam''). The Amsterdam Department for Research and Statistics uses a fourth conurbation, namely the ''Stadsregio Amsterdam'' ('City Region of Amsterdam'). The city region is similar to Greater Amsterdam but includes the municipalities of Zaanstad and Wormerland. It excludes Graft-De Rijp.\n\nThe smallest of these areas is the municipality of Amsterdam with a population of 802,938 in 2013. The conurbation had a population of 1,096,042 in 2013. It includes the municipalities of Zaanstad, Wormerland, Oostzaan, Diemen and Amstelveen only, as well as the municipality of Amsterdam. Greater Amsterdam includes 15 municipalities, and had a population of 1,293,208 in 2013. Though much larger in area, the population of this area is only slightly larger, because the definition excludes the relatively populous municipality of Zaanstad. The largest area by population, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Dutch: Metropoolregio Amsterdam), has a population of 2,33 million. It includes for instance Zaanstad, Wormerveer, Muiden, Abcoude, Haarlem, Almere and Lelystad but excludes Graft-De Rijp. Amsterdam is part of the conglomerate metropolitan area Randstad, with a total population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.\n\nOf these various metropolitan area configurations, only the ''Stadsregio Amsterdam'' (City Region of Amsterdam) has a formal governmental status. Its responsibities include regional spatial planning and the metropolitan public transport concessions.\n\n===National capital===\n\nKing Willem-Alexander, Princess Beatrix, and Queen Máxima greeting Amsterdammers from the Royal Palace of Amsterdam during Willem-Alexanders inauguration in 2013\nUnder the Dutch Constitution, Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. Since the 1983 constitutional revision, the constitution mentions \"Amsterdam\" and \"capital\" in chapter 2, article 32: The king's confirmation by oath and his coronation take place in \"the capital Amsterdam\" (\"''de hoofdstad Amsterdam''\"). Previous versions of the constitution only mentioned \"the city of Amsterdam\" (\"''de stad Amsterdam''\"). For a royal investiture, therefore, the States General of the Netherlands (the Dutch Parliament) meets for a ceremonial joint session in Amsterdam. The ceremony traditionally takes place at the Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square, immediately after the former monarch has signed the act of abdication at the nearby Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Normally, however, the Parliament sits in The Hague, the city which has historically been the seat of the Dutch government, the Dutch monarchy, and the Dutch supreme court. Foreign embassies are also located in The Hague.\n\n===Symbols===\n\nThe coat of arms of Amsterdam is composed of several historical elements. First and centre are three St Andrew's crosses, aligned in a vertical band on the city's shield (although Amsterdam's patron saint was Saint Nicholas). These St Andrew's crosses can also be found on the cityshields of neighbours Amstelveen and Ouder-Amstel. This part of the coat of arms is the basis of the flag of Amsterdam, flown by the city government, but also as civil ensign for ships registered in Amsterdam. Second is the Imperial Crown of Austria. In 1489, out of gratitude for services and loans, Maximilian I awarded Amsterdam the right to adorn its coat of arms with the king's crown. Then, in 1508, this was replaced with Maximilian's imperial crown when he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In the early years of the 17th century, Maximilian's crown in Amsterdam's coat of arms was again replaced, this time with the crown of Emperor Rudolph II, a crown that became the Imperial Crown of Austria. The lions date from the late 16th century, when city and province became part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Last came the city's official motto: ''Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig'' (\"Heroic, Determined, Merciful\"), bestowed on the city in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina, in recognition of the city's bravery during the Second World War.\n", "\n\n===Metro, tram, bus===\n\ntram on Damrak with Centraal Station in the background\nThe Amsterdam Metro is a mixed subway and above ground commuter rail with various lines\nCurrently, there are sixteen tram routes and four metro routes, with a fifth route to be added when the North/South metro line is completed (due in 2017). All are operated by municipal public transport operator GVB, which also runs the city bus network.Fifth route\n\nFour fare-free GVB ferries carry pedestrians and cyclists across the IJ lake to the borough of Amsterdam-Noord, and two fare-charging ferries run east and west along the harbour. There are also privately operated water taxis, a water bus, a boat sharing operation, electric rental boats (Boaty) and canal cruises, that transport people along Amsterdam's waterways.\n\nRegional buses, and some suburban buses, are operated by Connexxion and EBS. International coach services are provided by Eurolines from Amsterdam Amstel railway station, IDBUS from Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, and Megabus from ''Zuiderzeeweg'' in the east of the city.\n\n===Car===\nAmsterdam was intended in 1932 to be the hub, a kind of Kilometre Zero, of the highway system of the Netherlands, with freeways numbered One to Eight planned to originate from the city. The outbreak of the Second World War and shifting priorities led to the current situation, where only roads A1, A2, and A4 originate from Amsterdam according to the original plan. The A3 road to Rotterdam was cancelled in 1970 in order to conserve the Groene Hart. Road A8, leading north to Zaandam and the A10 Ringroad were opened between 1968 and 1974. Besides the A1, A2, A4 and A8, several freeways, such as the A7 and A6, carry traffic mainly bound for Amsterdam.\n\nThe A10 ringroad surrounding the city connects Amsterdam with the Dutch national network of freeways. Interchanges on the A10 allow cars to enter the city by transferring to one of the 18 ''city roads'', numbered S101 through to S118. These city roads are regional roads without grade separation, and sometimes without a central reservation. Most are accessible by cyclists. The S100 ''Centrumring'' is a smaller ringroad circumnavigating the city's centre.\n\nIn the city centre, driving a car is discouraged. Parking fees are expensive, and many streets are closed to cars or are one-way. The local government sponsors carsharing and carpooling initiatives such as ''Autodelen'' and ''Meerijden.nu''.\n\n===National rail===\nAmsterdam Central Station is the city's main train station\nAmsterdam is served by ten stations of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways). Six are intercity stops: Sloterdijk, Zuid, Amstel, Bijlmer ArenA, Lelylaan and Amsterdam Centraal. The stations for local services are: RAI, Holendrecht, Muiderpoort and Science Park. Amsterdam Centraal is also an international railway station. From the station there are regular services to destinations such as Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Switzerland. Among these trains are international trains of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Amsterdam-Berlin) and the Thalys (Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris/Lille), CityNightLine, and InterCityExpress (Amsterdam–Cologne–Frankfurt).\nFuture line: Highspeed train Amsterdam/London opening end of 2017.\n\n===Airport===\nAmsterdam Airport Schiphol ranks as Europe's fifth-busiest airport and the world's 14th-busiest for passenger traffic.\nAmsterdam Airport Schiphol is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal railway station and is served by domestic and international intercity trains, such as Thalys and Intercity Brussel. Schiphol is the largest airport in the Netherlands, the third largest in Europe, and the 14th-largest in the world in terms of passengers. It handles over 60 million passengers per year and is the home base of four airlines, KLM, Transavia, Martinair and Arkefly . , Schiphol was the fifth busiest airport in the world measured by international passenger numbers.\n\n===Cycling===\n\nBicyclist crossing a bridge over Prinsengracht.\nAmsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world and is a centre of bicycle culture with good facilities for cyclists such as bike paths and bike racks, and several guarded bike storage garages (''fietsenstalling'') which can be used for a nominal fee. In 2013, there were about 1,200,000 bicycles in Amsterdam outnumbering the amount of citizens in the city. Theft is widespread – in 2011, about 83,000 bicycles were stolen in Amsterdam. Bicycles are used by all socio-economic groups because of their convenience, Amsterdam's small size, the of bike paths, the flat terrain, and the inconvenience of driving an automobile.\n", "\nThe Agnietenkapel Gate at the University of Amsterdam, founded in 1632 as the Athenaeum Illustre\nAmsterdam has two universities: the University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and the VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit or \"VU\"). Other institutions for higher education include an art school – Gerrit Rietveld Academie, a university of applied sciences – the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, and the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. Amsterdam's International Institute of Social History is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions concerning social history, and especially the history of the labour movement. Amsterdam's Hortus Botanicus, founded in the early 17th century, is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, with many old and rare specimens, among them the coffee plant that served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.\n\nThere are over 200 primary schools in Amsterdam. Some of these primary schools base their teachings on particular pedagogic theories like the various Montessori schools. The biggest Montessori high school in Amsterdam is the Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam. Many schools, however, are based on religion. This used to be primarily Roman Catholicism and various Protestant denominations, but with the influx of Muslim immigrants there has been a rise in the number of Islamic schools. Jewish schools can be found in the southern suburbs of Amsterdam.\n\nAmsterdam is noted for having five independent grammar schools (Dutch: gymnasia), the Vossius Gymnasium, Barlaeus Gymnasium, St. Ignatius Gymnasium, Het 4e Gymnasium and the Cygnus Gymnasium where a classical curriculum including Latin and classical Greek is taught. Though believed until recently by many to be an anachronistic and elitist concept that would soon die out, the gymnasia have recently experienced a revival, leading to the formation of a fourth and fifth grammar school in which the three aforementioned schools participate. Most secondary schools in Amsterdam offer a variety of different levels of education in the same school. The city also has various colleges ranging from art and design to politics and economics which are mostly also available for students coming from other countries.\n", "\n* Frits Bolkestein (born 1933), politician\n* Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (born 1954), businesswoman\n* Paul J. Crutzen (born 1933), atmospheric chemist\n* Willem Drees Sr. (1886–1988), politician\n* Floris Adriaan van Hall (1791–1866), Minister of Justice, Prime Minister of the Netherlands\n* Freddy Heineken (1923–2002), businessman\n* Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (born 1948), politician\n* André Kuipers (born 1958), astronaut\n* Baruch Spinoza (born 1632–1677), philosopher\n* Hans Wiegel (born 1941), politician\n\n===Entertainment===\n* Karel Appel (1921–2006), painter\n* Jan Akkerman (born 1946), musician\n* Willeke van Ammelrooy (born 1944), actress\n* Willem Breuker (1944–2010), musician\n* Frans Brüggen (1934–2014), musician\n* Rudi van Dantzig (1933–2012), ballet\n* Joop van den Ende (born 1942), film, television and theatric producer\n* Bernard Haitink (born 1929), orchestra conductor\n* John Kraaijkamp, Sr. (1925–2011), actor, comedian, singer\n* Andre Hazes (1951–2004), one of the most famous singers in the Netherlands\n\n===Sport===\n* Alistair Overeem (born 1980), mixed martial artist and kickboxer\n* Co Adriaanse (born 1947), football trainer\n* Dennis Bergkamp (born 1969), football player\n* Jan van Beveren (1948–2011) football goalkeeper and coach\n* Michael Bleekemolen (born 1949) racing driver\n* Daley Blind (born 1990), football player\n* Geraldo Boldewijn (born 1991), American football player\n* Cor Brom (1932–2008), football player and football trainer\n* Ellie van den Brom (born 1949) long-track speed skater\n* Daniel Sprong (born 1997) hockey player\n* Johan Cruyff (1947–2016), football player and football trainer\n* Ellen van Dijk (born 1987), cyclist\n* Max Euwe (1901–1981), Chess Grandmaster, mathematician, author\n* Louis van Gaal (born 1951), football trainer\n* Ruud Gullit (born 1962), football player\n* Bobby Haarms (1934–2009), football player and football trainer\n* Cor van der Hart (1928–2006), football player and football trainer\n* Rinus Israël (born 1942), football player and football trainer\n* Nigel de Jong (born 1984), football player\n* Jan Jongbloed (born 1940), football player (goalkeeper)\n* Piet Keizer (1943-2017), football player\n* Patrick Kluivert (born 1976), football player\n* Gerrie Knetemann (1951–2004), cyclist\n* Ada Kok (born 1947), swimmer\n* Ruud Krol (born 1949), football player and football coach\n* Edward Metgod (born 1959), football player (goalkeeper) and football trainer\n* John Metgod (born 1958), football player and football trainer\n* Rinus Michels (1928–2005), football player and football trainer\n* Bennie Muller (born 1938), football player (47 caps)\n* Eddy Pieters Graafland (born 1934), football player (goalkeeper)\n* Peter Post (1933–2011), cyclist\n* Quincy Promes (born 1992), football player\n* Anton Pronk (born 1941), football player (19 caps)\n* Rob Rensenbrink (born 1947), football player\n* Frank Rijkaard (born 1962), football player and football coach\n* Wim Ruska (born 1940), Judoka\n* Ton Sijbrands (born 1949), international draughts player\n* Sjaak Swart (born 1938), football player\n* Marko Vejinovic (born 1990), football player\n\n===Originating from elsewhere===\n* Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918–2004), athlete\n* Inge de Bruijn (born 1973), swimmer\n* Ryan ten Doeschate (born 1980), cricketer\n* Jan Hein Donner (1927–1988), chess grandmaster\n* Anne Frank (1929–1945), diarist and Holocaust victim\n* Theo van Gogh (1957–2004), film director\n* Carice van Houten (born 1976), actress\n* Søren Lerby (born 1958), football player\n* Satyendra Pakhale (born 1967), designer\n* Rembrandt van Rijn (1606/7–1669), painter\n* Jan van Speyk (1802–1831), lieutenant-commander Dutch Royal Navy\n* Joop den Uyl (1919–1987), politics\n* Joost van den Vondel (1597–1679), poet, playwright\n* Gerardus Vossius (1577–1649), theologist, historian\n* Vijce (born 1988), fine art photographer\n", "Amsterdam is a prominent centre for national and international media. Some locally based newspapers include ''Het Parool'', a national daily paper; ''De Telegraaf'', the largest Dutch daily newspaper; the daily newspapers ''Trouw'', ''de Volkskrant'' and ''NRC Handelsblad''; ''De Groene Amsterdammer'', a weekly newspaper; the free newspapers ''Sp!ts'', ''Metro'', and ''The Holland Times'' (printed in English).\n\nAmsterdam is home to the Dutch second-largest commercial TV group SBS Broadcasting Group, consisting of TV-stations SBS 6, Net 5 and Veronica. However, Amsterdam is not considered 'the media city of the Netherlands'. The town of Hilversum, south-east of Amsterdam, has been crowned with this unofficial title. Hilversum is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands. Radio Netherlands, heard worldwide via shortwave radio since the 1920s, is also based there. Hilversum is home to an extensive complex of audio and television studios belonging to the national broadcast production company NOS, as well as to the studios and offices of all the Dutch public broadcasting organisations and many commercial TV production companies.\n\nIn 2012, the music video of Far East Movement, 'Live My Life', was filmed in various parts of Amsterdam.\n\nAmsterdam is also featured in John Green's book 'The Fault in Our Stars,' which has also been made into a film, and part of the film takes place in Amsterdam.\n", "The housing market is heavily regulated. In Amsterdam, 55% of existing housing and 30% of new housing is owned by Housing Associations, which are Government sponsored entities.\n\nSquat properties are common throughout Amsterdam, due to property law strongly favouring tenants. A number of these squats have become well known, such as OT301, Paradiso, Vrankrijk (closed down by city government), and the Binnenpret, and several are now businesses, such as health clubs and licensed restaurants.\n", "\n* Amsterdammertje\n", "\n\n===Literature===\n* \n* \n* \n* Charles Caspers & Peter Jan Margry (2017), ''Het Mirakel van Amsterdam. Biografie van een betwiste devotie'' (Amsterdam, Prometheus).\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n===Attribution===\n* \n", "\n", "\n* Tourist information about Amsterdam – Website of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions\n* Amsterdam.nl – Official government site\n* I amsterdam – Portal for international visitors\n* DutchAmsterdam Visitors Guide\n* Amsterdam City Archives\n* Free Amsterdam audio guide\n* Free English guided walking tour\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology ", "History", "Geography", "Demographics", "Cityscape and architecture", "Economy", "Culture", "Government", "Transport", "Education", "Notable people", "Media", "Housing", "See also", "Notes and references", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The Bank of Amsterdam started operations in 1609, acting as a full service bank for Dutch merchant bankers and as a reserve bank." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Amsterdam''' (; ) is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.", "Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague.", "Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper, 1,351,587 in the urban area, and 2,410,960 in the Amsterdam metropolitan area.", "The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country.", "The metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.", "Amsterdam's name derives from ''Amstelredamme'', indicative of the city's origin around a dam in the river Amstel.", "Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), a result of its innovative developments in trade.", "During that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds.", "In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built.", "The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.", "Since the annexation of municipality Sloten in 1921 by the municipality of Amsterdam, the oldest historic part of the city lies in Sloten (9th century).", "As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group.", "The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands.", "Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the world's 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city.", "In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and 12th globally on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer.", "The city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009.", "The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, and the fifth largest seaport in Europe.", "Famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.", "The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center.", "Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 5 million international visitors annually.", "It is also the world's most multicultural city with at least 177 nationalities represented.", "\nOude Kerk was consecrated in 1306.", "After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river and a dam across it, giving its name to the village: \"Aemstelredamme\".", "The earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27, 1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks and dams.", "The certificate describes the inhabitants as ''homines manentes apud Amestelledamme'' (people residing near Amestelledamme).", "By 1327, the name had developed into ''Aemsterdam''.", "Grachtengordel had not yet been established.", "\n\n===Founding and Middle Ages===\nCourtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Emanuel de Witte, 1653.", "The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century.", "Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht.", "In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century.", "This does not necessarily mean that there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat, for use as fuel.", "Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306.", "From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League.", "In 1345, an alleged Eucharistic miracle in the Kalverstraat rendered the city an important place of pilgrimage until the adoption of the Protestant faith.", "The Miracle devotion went underground but was kept alive.", "In the 19th century, especially after the jubilee of 1845, the devotion was revitalized and became an important national point of reference for Dutch Catholics.", "The ''Stille Omgang''—a silent walk or procession in civil attire—is the expression of the pilgrimage within the Protestant Netherlands since the late 19th century.", "In the heyday of the Silent Walk, up to 90,000 pilgrims came to Amsterdam.", "In the 21st century this has reduced to about 5000.", "===Conflict with Spain===\nIn the 16th century, the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors.", "The main reasons for the uprising were the imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and the religious persecution of Protestants by the newly introduced Inquisition.", "The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War, which ultimately led to Dutch independence.", "Strongly pushed by Dutch Revolt leader William the Silent, the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance.", "Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, Huguenots from France, prosperous merchants and printers from Flanders, and economic and religious refugees from the Spanish-controlled parts of the Low Countries found safety in Amsterdam.", "The influx of Flemish printers and the city's intellectual tolerance made Amsterdam a centre for the European free press.", "===Centre of the Dutch Golden Age===\nRoyal Palace, Nieuwe Kerk, and now demolished weigh house on Dam Square in 1814.", "The 17th century is considered Amsterdam's ''Golden Age'', during which it became the wealthiest city in the western world.", "Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, forming the basis of a worldwide trading network.", "Amsterdam's merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company.", "These companies acquired overseas possessions that later became Dutch colonies.", "Amsterdam was Europe's most important point for the shipment of goods and was the leading Financial centre of the western world.", "In 1602, the Amsterdam office of the international trading Dutch East India Company became the world's first stock exchange by trading in its own shares.", "===Decline and modernisation===\nAmsterdam's prosperity declined during the 18th and early 19th centuries.", "The wars of the Dutch Republic with England and France took their toll on Amsterdam.", "During the Napoleonic Wars, Amsterdam's significance reached its lowest point, with Holland being absorbed into the French Empire.", "However, the later establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 marked a turning point.", "Muntplein in 1891\n\nThe end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age.", "New museums, a railway station, and the Concertgebouw were built; in this same time, the Industrial Revolution reached the city.", "The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine, and the North Sea Canal was dug to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea.", "Both projects dramatically improved commerce with the rest of Europe and the world.", "In 1906, Joseph Conrad gave a brief description of Amsterdam as seen from the seaside, in ''The Mirror of the Sea''.", "===20th century===\nShortly before the First World War, the city started to expand again, and new suburbs were built.", "Even though the Netherlands remained neutral in this war, Amsterdam suffered a food shortage, and heating fuel became scarce.", "The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed.", "These riots are known as the ''Aardappeloproer'' (Potato rebellion).", "People started looting stores and warehouses in order to get supplies, mainly food.", "Secret Annex\" where Anne Frank hid from Germans occupying Amsterdam during World War II.", "On 1 January 1921, after a flood in 1916, the depleted municipalities of Durgerdam, Holysloot, Zunderdorp and Schellingwoude, all lying north of Amsterdam, were, at their own request, annexed to the city.", "Between the wars, the city continued to expand, most notably to the west of the Jordaan district in the Frederik Hendrikbuurt and surrounding neighbourhoods.", "Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and took control of the country.", "Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to a high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps.", "More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps, of whom some 60,000 lived in Amsterdam.", "Perhaps the most famous deportee was the young Jewish girl Anne Frank, who died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.", "At the end of the Second World War, communication with the rest of the country broke down, and food and fuel became scarce.", "Many citizens travelled to the countryside to forage.", "Dogs, cats, raw sugar beets, and Tulip bulbs—cooked to a pulp—were consumed to stay alive.", "Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of deported Jews.", "liberation of Holland at the end of World War II on 8 May 1945.", "Many new suburbs, such as Osdorp, Slotervaart, Slotermeer and Geuzenveld, were built in the years after the Second World War.", "These suburbs contained many public parks and wide open spaces, and the new buildings provided improved housing conditions with larger and brighter rooms, gardens, and balconies.", "Because of the war and other events of the 20th century, almost the entire city centre had fallen into disrepair.", "As society was changing, politicians and other influential figures made plans to redesign large parts of it.", "There was an increasing demand for office buildings, and also for new roads, as the automobile became available to most people.", "A metro started operating in 1977 between the new suburb of Bijlmer and the centre of Amsterdam.", "Further plans were to build a new highway above the metro to connect the Central Station and city centre with other parts of the city.", "The required large-scale demolitions began in Amsterdam's former Jewish neighbourhood.", "Smaller streets, such as the Jodenbreestraat, were widened and almost all of their houses were demolished.", "At the peak of the demolition, the ''Nieuwmarktrellen'' (Nieuwmarkt Riots) broke out; the rioters expressed their fury about the demolition caused by the restructuring of the city.", "As a result, the demolition was stopped, and the highway was never built; only the metro was completed.", "Only a few streets remained widened.", "The new city hall was built on the almost completely demolished Waterlooplein.", "Meanwhile, large private organisations, such as ''Stadsherstel Amsterdam'', were founded with the aim of restoring the entire city centre.", "Although the success of this struggle is visible today, efforts for further restoration are still ongoing.", "The entire city centre has reattained its former splendour and, as a whole, is now a protected area.", "Many of its buildings have become monuments, and in July 2010 the ''Grachtengordel'' (the three concentric canals, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.", "The Zuidas district is the headquarters of many Dutch multinational corporations.", "===21st century===\nIn the early years of the 21st century, the Amsterdam city centre has attracted large numbers of tourists: between 2012 and 2015, the annual number of visitors rose from 10 million to 17 million.", "Real estate prices have surged, and local shops are making way for tourist-oriented ones, making the centre unaffordable for the city's inhabitants.", "These developments have evoked comparisons with Venice, a city thought to be overwhelmed by the tourist influx.", "Construction of a metro line connecting the part of the city north of the river (or lake) IJ to the centre was started in 2003.", "The project is controversial because its cost had exceeded its budget by a factor three by 2008, because of fears of damage to buildings in the centre, and because construction had to be halted and restarted multiple times.", "Since 2014, renewed focus has been given to urban regeneration and renewal, especially in areas directly bordering the city centre, such as Frederik Hendrikbuurt.", "This urban renewal and expansion of the traditional centre of the city is part of the Structural Vision Amsterdam 2040 initiative.", "Topographic map of Amsterdam, Sept. 2014\nAmsterdam is in the western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.", "The river Amstel ends in the city centre and connects to a large number of canals that eventually terminate in the IJ.", "Amsterdam is about below sea level.", "The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders.", "A man-made forest, Amsterdamse Bos, is in the southwest.", "Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal.", "Amsterdam is intensely urbanised, as is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area surrounding the city.", "Comprising of land, the city proper has 4,457 inhabitants per km2 and 2,275 houses per km2.", "Parks and nature reserves make up 12% of Amsterdam's land area.", "One of Amsterdam's many canals\nIce skaters on Prinsengracht\n\n===Canals===\nAmsterdam has more than of canals, most of which are navigable by boat.", "The three main canals are Prinsengracht, Herengracht, and Keizersgracht.", "In the Middle Ages, Amsterdam was surrounded by a moat, called the Singel, which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and makes the city centre a horseshoe shape.", "The city is also served by a seaport.", "It has been compared with Venice, due to its division into about 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges.", "===Climate===\nAmsterdam has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'') strongly influenced by its proximity to the North Sea to the west, with prevailing westerly winds.", "Both winters and summers are considered mild, although winters can get quite cold, while summers are quite warm occasionally.", "Amsterdam, as well as most of the North Holland province, lies in USDA Hardiness zone 8b.", "Frosts mainly occur during spells of easterly or northeasterly winds from the inner European continent.", "Even then, because Amsterdam is surrounded on three sides by large bodies of water, as well as having a significant heat-island effect, nights rarely fall below , while it could easily be in Hilversum, southeast.", "Summers are moderately warm with a number of hot days every month.", "The average daily high in August is , and or higher is only measured on average on 2.5 days, placing Amsterdam in AHS Heat Zone 2.", "The record extremes range from to .", "Days with more than of precipitation are common, on average 133 days per year.", "Amsterdam's average annual precipitation is , more than what is measured at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.", "A large part of this precipitation falls as light rain or brief showers.", "Cloudy and damp days are common during the cooler months of October through March.", "\n===Historical population===\n\n\n\nCompared to other important towns in the County of Holland, such as Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem, Delft and Alkmaar, Amsterdam is a relatively young city.", "In stark contrast to the relative decline of those other towns, Amsterdam's population grew in the 15th and 16th centuries, mainly due to the rise of the profitable Baltic maritime trade after the Burgundian victory in the Dutch–Hanseatic War.", "Still, the population of Amsterdam and other towns in Holland was only modest compared to the towns and cities of Flanders and Brabant, which comprised the most urbanised area of the Low Countries.", "This changed when, during the Dutch Revolt, many people from the Southern Netherlands fled to the North, especially after Antwerp fell to Spanish forces in 1585.", "In thirty years, Amsterdam's population more than doubled from 41,362 inhabitants in 1590 to 106,500 inhabitants in 1620.", "During the 1660s, Amsterdam's population reached 200,000.", "The city's growth levelled off and the population stabilised around 240,000 for most of the 18th century.", "At the turn of the 18th century, Amsterdam was the fourth largest city in Europe, behind Constantinople (about 700,000), London (550,000) and Paris (530,000).", "This was all the more remarkable as Amsterdam was neither the capital city nor the seat of government of the Dutch Republic, which itself was a much smaller state than England, France or the Ottoman Empire.", "In contrast to those other metropolises, Amsterdam was also surrounded by large towns such as Leiden (about 67,000), Rotterdam (45,000), Haarlem (38,000), and Utrecht (30,000).", "The city's population declined in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, dipping under 200,000 in 1820.", "By the second half of the 19th century, industrialisation spurred renewed growth.", "Amsterdam's population hit an all-time high of 872,000 in 1959, before declining in the following decades due to government-sponsored suburbanisation to so-called ''groeikernen'' (growth centres) such as Purmerend and Almere.", "Between 1970 and 1980, Amsterdam experienced its sharpest population decline ever, and by 1985 the city had only 675,570 residents.", "This was soon followed by reurbanisation and gentrification, however, leading to renewed population growth in the 2010s.", "The municipal department for Research, Information and Statistics expects a new record population to be set in 2020.", "===Immigration===\n\n\n City of Amsterdam (2017)population by country of origin\n\n '''Country/Territory''' \n '''Population'''\n\n Netherlands \n401,260 (47.49%)\n\n Morocco \n75,758 (8.97%)\t\n\n Suriname \n65,468 (7.75%)\t\n\n Turkey \n43,168 (5.11%)\t\n\n Indonesia \n25,522 (3.02%)\n\n Germany \n18,445 (2.18%)\t\n\n United Kingdom \n12,670 (1.50%)\n\n Dutch Caribbean \n12,288 (1.45%)\n\n Ghana \n12,133 (1.44%)\n\n United States \n9,108 (1.08%)\n\n Italy \n8,553 (1.01%)\n\nOther \n160,574 (19.00%)\n\n\nIn the 16th and 17th century non-Dutch immigrants to Amsterdam were mostly Huguenots, Flemings, Sephardi Jews and Westphalians.", "Huguenots came after the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, while the Flemish Protestants came during the Eighty Years' War.", "The Westphalians came to Amsterdam mostly for economic reasons – their influx continued through the 18th and 19th centuries.", "Before the Second World War, 10% of the city population was Jewish.", "Just twenty per cent of them survived the Shoah.", "The first mass immigration in the 20th century were by people from Indonesia, who came to Amsterdam after the independence of the Dutch East Indies in the 1940s and 1950s.", "In the 1960s guest workers from Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Spain emigrated to Amsterdam.", "After the independence of Suriname in 1975, a large wave of Surinamese settled in Amsterdam, mostly in the Bijlmer area.", "Other immigrants, including refugees asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, came from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa.", "In the 1970s and 1980s, many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities like Almere and Purmerend, prompted by the third planological bill of the Dutch government.", "This bill promoted suburbanisation and arranged for new developments in so-called \"groeikernen\", literally ''cores of growth''.", "Young professionals and artists moved into neighbourhoods de Pijp and the Jordaan abandoned by these Amsterdammers.", "The non-Western immigrants settled mostly in the social housing projects in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer.", "Today, people of non-Western origin make up approximately one-third of the population of Amsterdam, and more than 50% of the city'\ns children.", "Segregation along ethnic lines is clearly visible, with people of non-Western origin, considered a separate group by Statistics Netherlands, concentrating in specific neighbourhoods especially in Nieuw-West, Zeeburg, Bijlmer and in certain areas of Amsterdam-Noord.", "In 2000, Christians formed the largest religious group in the city (27% of the population).", "The next largest religion was Islam (14%), most of whose followers were Sunni.", "There is a Japanese population resident in Amsterdam.", "The Japanese School of Amsterdam serves elementary and junior high school students.", "8% of the student body of the International School Amsterdam in nearby Amstelveen was Japanese; this figure was 40% in 1997.", "As of 1997 most Japanese children who lived in the Netherlands attended high schools and universities located in Japan.", "===Religions===\nIn 1578 the previously Roman Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt against Spanish rule, late in comparison to other major northern Dutch cities.", "In line with Protestant procedure of that time, all churches were converted to Protestant worship.", "Calvinism became the dominant religion, and although Catholicism was not forbidden and priests allowed to serve, the Catholic hierarchy was prohibited.", "This led to the establishment of ''schuilkerken'', covert churches, behind seemingly ordinary canal side house fronts.", "One example is the current debate centre de Rode Hoed.", "A large influx of foreigners of many religions came to 17th-century Amsterdam, in particular Sefardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, and Protestants from the Southern Netherlands.", "This led to the establishment of many non-Dutch-speaking religious churches.", "In 1603, the first notification was made of Jewish religious service.", "In 1639, the first synagogue was consecrated.", "The Jews came to call the town Jerusalem of the West, a reference to their sense of belonging there.", "Basilica of St. Nicholas\nAs they became established in the city, other Christian denominations used converted Catholic chapels to conduct their own services.", "The oldest English-language church congregation in the world outside the United Kingdom is found at the Begijnhof.", "Regular services there are still offered in English under the auspices of the Church of Scotland.", "The Huguenots accounted for nearly 20% of Amsterdam's inhabitants in 1700.", "Being Calvinists, they soon integrated into the Dutch Reformed Church, though often retaining their own congregations.", "Some, commonly referred by the moniker 'Walloon', are recognisable today as they offer occasional services in French.", "In the second half of the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced an influx of Ashkenazim, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, which continued into the 19th century.", "Jews often fled the pogroms in those areas.", "The first Ashkenazi who arrived in Amsterdam were refugees from the Chmielnicki Uprising in Poland and the Thirty Years' War.", "They not only founded their own synagogues, but had a strong influence on the 'Amsterdam dialect' adding a large Yiddish local vocabulary.", "Despite an absence of an official Jewish ghetto, most Jews preferred to live in the eastern part of the old medieval heart of the city.", "The main street of this Jewish neighbourhood was the ''Jodenbreestraat''.", "The neighbourhood comprised the ''Waterlooplein'' and the Nieuwmarkt.", "Buildings in this neighbourhood fell into disrepair after the Second World War, and a large section of the neighbourhood was demolished during the construction of the subway.", "This led to riots, and as a result the original plans for large-scale reconstruction were abandoned and the neighbourhood was rebuilt with smaller-scale residence buildings on the basis of its original layout.", "The Vondelpark is the largest park in Amsterdam.", "Catholic churches in Amsterdam have been constructed since the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy in 1853.", "One of the principal architects behind the city's Catholic churches, Cuypers, was also responsible for the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, which led to a refusal of Protestant King William III to open 'that monastery'.", "In 1924, the Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, and numerous Catholic prelates visited the city, where festivities were held in churches and stadiums.", "Catholic processions on the public streets, however, were still forbidden under law at the time.", "Only in the 20th century was Amsterdam's relation to Catholicism normalised, but despite its far larger population size, the Catholic clergy chose to place its episcopal see of the city in the nearby provincial town of Haarlem.", "In recent times, religious demographics in Amsterdam have been changed by large-scale immigration from former colonies.", "Immigrants from Suriname have introduced Evangelical Protestantism and Lutheranism, from the Hernhutter variety; Hinduism has been introduced mainly from Suriname; and several distinct branches of Islam have been brought from various parts of the world.", "Islam is now the largest non-Christian religion in Amsterdam.", "The large community of Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrants have established African churches, often in parking garages in the Bijlmer area, where many have settled.", "In addition, a broad array of other religious movements have established congregations, including Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism.", "Jews make up about 2% of the city's total population.", "===Tolerance and ethnic tension===\nAlthough the saying \"Leef en laat leven\" or \"Live and let live\" summarises the Dutch and especially the Amsterdam open and tolerant society, the increased influx of religions and cultures after the Second World War, has on a number of occasions strained social relations.", "With 180 different nationalities, Amsterdam is home to one of the widest varieties of nationalities of any city in the world.", "The proportion of the population of immigrant origin in the city proper is about 50% and 88% of the population are Dutch citizens.", "The city has been at times marked by ethnic tension.", "In 2004 film director Theo van Gogh was murdered in Amsterdam.", "In line with attitude changes in Dutch politics towards certain minorities, Turkish-language and Arabic-language TV channels have been dropped from the basic cable TV package.", "In recent years, politicians are actively discouraged from campaigning in minority languages to encourage assimilation.", "In the local elections of 2010 politicians were criticised by current Amsterdam mayor Mr Van der Laan (then Minister of Integration) for distributing election leaflets in minority languages and in some cases leaflets were collected.", "Due to this alleged anti-multicultural stand, Van der Laan has been accused of hypocrisy by his own party's PvdA main candidate.", "Also during the same period, possibly due to his belief in integration via (possibly not always voluntary) assimilation, Amsterdam has been one of the municipalities in the Netherlands which provided immigrants with extensive and free Dutch-language courses, which have benefited many immigrants.", "\n\n\nAmsterdam fans out south from the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Damrak, the main street off the station.", "The oldest area of the town is known as ''de Wallen'' (the quays).", "It lies to the east of Damrak and contains the city's famous red light district.", "To the south of de Wallen is the old Jewish quarter of Waterlooplein.", "The medieval and colonial age canals of Amsterdam, known as ''Grachten'', embraces the heart of the city where homes have interesting gables.", "Beyond the Grachtengordel are the former working class areas of Jordaan and de Pijp.", "The Museumplein with the city's major museums, the Vondelpark, a 19th-century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel, and the Plantage neighbourhood, with the zoo, are also located outside the Grachtengordel.", "Several parts of the city and the surrounding urban area are polders.", "This can be recognised by the suffix ''-meer'' which means ''lake'', as in Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer.", "===Canals===\n\nPanorama of a canal in the Canal District\nThe Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning.", "In the early 17th century, when immigration was at a peak, a comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends emerging at the IJ bay.", "Known as the ''Grachtengordel'', three of the canals were mostly for residential development: the ''Herengracht'' (where \"Heren\" refers to ''Heren Regeerders van de stad Amsterdam'' (ruling lords of Amsterdam), and ''gracht'' means canal, so the name can be roughly translated as \"Canal of the lords\"), ''Keizersgracht'' (Emperor's Canal), and ''Prinsengracht'' (Prince's Canal).", "The fourth and outermost canal is the ''Singelgracht'', which is often not mentioned on maps, because it is a collective name for all canals in the outer ring.", "The Singelgracht should not be confused with the oldest and most inner canal ''Singel''.", "The canals served for defence, water management and transport.", "The defences took the form of a moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures.", "The original plans have been lost, so historians, such as Ed Taverne, need to speculate on the original intentions: it is thought that the considerations of the layout were purely practical and defensive rather than ornamental.", "A view of the Reguliersgracht on the corner with the Keizersgracht at dusk.", "Construction started in 1613 and proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – and ''not'' from the centre outwards, as a popular myth has it.", "The canal construction in the southern sector was completed by 1656.", "Subsequently, the construction of residential buildings proceeded slowly.", "The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ bay, has never been implemented.", "In the following centuries, the land was used for parks, senior citizens' homes, theatres, other public facilities, and waterways without much planning.", "Bridges over a canal.", "Over the years, several canals have been filled in, becoming streets or squares, such as the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and the Spui.", "===Expansion===\n\nAmsterdam Heritage City View from Lookout\nAfter the development of Amsterdam's canals in the 17th century, the city did not grow beyond its borders for two centuries.", "During the 19th century, Samuel Sarphati devised a plan based on the grandeur of Paris and London at that time.", "The plan envisaged the construction of new houses, public buildings and streets just outside the ''grachtengordel''.", "The main aim of the plan, however, was to improve public health.", "Although the plan did not expand the city, it did produce some of the largest public buildings to date, like the ''Paleis voor Volksvlijt''.", "Following Sarphati, ''Van Niftrik'' and ''Kalff'' designed an entire ring of 19th-century neighbourhoods surrounding the city's centre, with the city preserving the ownership of all land outside the 17th-century limit, thus firmly controlling development.", "Most of these neighbourhoods became home to the working class.", "In response to overcrowding, two plans were designed at the beginning of the 20th century which were very different from anything Amsterdam had ever seen before: ''Plan Zuid'', designed by the architect Berlage, and ''West''.", "These plans involved the development of new neighbourhoods consisting of ''housing blocks'' for all social classes.", "After the Second World War, large new neighbourhoods were built in the western, southeastern, and northern parts of the city.", "These new neighbourhoods were built to relieve the city's shortage of living space and give people affordable houses with modern conveniences.", "The neighbourhoods consisted mainly of large housing blocks situated among green spaces, connected to wide roads, making the neighbourhoods easily accessible by motor car.", "The western suburbs which were built in that period are collectively called the ''Westelijke Tuinsteden''.", "The area to the southeast of the city built during the same period is known as the ''Bijlmer''.", "===Architecture===\nThe Westerkerk (1631), designed by Dutch architect Hendrick de Keyser in the Renaissance style.", "At the church's \"Westertoren\" steeple is the highest in Amsterdam.", "The canal houses on the right are characteristic of the architectural styles from the Dutch Golden Age.", "Amsterdam has a rich architectural history.", "The oldest building in Amsterdam is the Oude Kerk (Old Church), at the heart of the Wallen, consecrated in 1306.", "The oldest wooden building is ''het Houten Huys'' at the Begijnhof.", "It was constructed around 1425 and is one of only two existing wooden buildings.", "It is also one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Amsterdam.", "In the 16th century, wooden buildings were razed and replaced with brick ones.", "During this period, many buildings were constructed in the architectural style of the Renaissance.", "Buildings of this period are very recognisable with their stepped gable façades, which is the common Dutch Renaissance style.", "Amsterdam quickly developed its own Renaissance architecture.", "These buildings were built according to the principles of the architect Hendrick de Keyser.", "One of the most striking buildings designed by Hendrick de Keyer is the Westerkerk.", "In the 17th century baroque architecture became very popular, as it was elsewhere in Europe.", "This roughly coincided with Amsterdam's Golden Age.", "The leading architects of this style in Amsterdam were Jacob van Campen, Philips Vingboons and Daniel Stalpaert.", "The Scheepvaarthuis, by architects Johan van der Mey, Michel de Klerk, Piet Kramer is characteristic of the architecture of the Amsterdam School.", "Philip Vingboons designed splendid merchants' houses throughout the city.", "A famous building in baroque style in Amsterdam is the Royal Palace on Dam Square.", "Throughout the 18th century, Amsterdam was heavily influenced by French culture.", "This is reflected in the architecture of that period.", "Around 1815, architects broke with the baroque style and started building in different neo-styles.", "Most Gothic style buildings date from that era and are therefore said to be built in a neo-gothic style.", "At the end of the 19th century, the Jugendstil or Art Nouveau style became popular and many new buildings were constructed in this architectural style.", "Since Amsterdam expanded rapidly during this period, new buildings adjacent to the city centre were also built in this style.", "The houses in the vicinity of the Museum Square in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid are an example of Jugendstil.", "The last style that was popular in Amsterdam before the modern era was Art Deco.", "Amsterdam had its own version of the style, which was called the Amsterdamse School.", "Whole districts were built this style, such as the ''Rivierenbuurt''.", "A notable feature of the façades of buildings designed in Amsterdamse School is that they are highly decorated and ornate, with oddly shaped windows and doors.", "The old city centre is the focal point of all the architectural styles before the end of the 19th century.", "Jugendstil and Georgian are mostly found outside the city's centre in the neighbourhoods built in the early\n20th century, although there are also some striking examples of these styles in the city centre.", "Most historic buildings in the city centre and nearby are houses, such as the famous merchants' houses lining the canals.", "===Parks and recreational areas===\n\n\n\nAmsterdam has many parks, open spaces, and squares throughout the city.", "Vondelpark, the largest park in the city, is located in the Oud-Zuid borough and is named after the 17th century Amsterdam author, Joost van den Vondel.", "Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors.", "In the park is an open-air theatre, a playground and several horeca facilities.", "In the Zuid borough, is Beatrixpark, named after Queen Beatrix.", "Between Amsterdam and Amstelveen is the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), the largest recreational area in Amsterdam.", "Annually, almost 4.5 million people visit the park, which has a size of 1.000 hectares and is approximately three times the size of Central Park.", "Amstelpark in the Zuid borough houses the Rieker windmill, which dates to 1636.", "Other parks include Sarphatipark in the De Pijp neighbourhood, Oosterpark in the Oost borough, and Westerpark in the Westerpark neighbourhood.", "The city has four beaches, the Nemo Beach, Citybeach \"Het stenen hoofd\" (Silodam), Blijburg, and one in Amsterdam-Noord.", "The city has many open squares (plein in Dutch).", "The namesake of the city as the site of the original dam, Dam Square, is the main town square and has the Royal Palace and National Monument.", "Museumplein hosts various museums, including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum.", "Other squares include Rembrandtplein, Muntplein, Nieuwmarkt, Leidseplein, Spui, and Waterlooplein.", "Also, near to Amsterdam is the Nekkeveld estate conservation project.", "Large-scale map of downtown Amsterdam, including sightseeing markers, as of April 2017.", "The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, right, is the oldest stock exchange in the world.", "Diamond cutter\nAmsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.", "Amsterdam is currently one of the best European cities in which to locate an international business.", "It is ranked fifth in this category and is only surpassed by London, Paris, Frankfurt and Barcelona.", "Many large corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, ABN AMRO, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group, Booking.com and Philips.", "KPMG International's global headquarters is located in nearby Amstelveen, where many non-Dutch companies have settled as well, because surrounding communities allow full land ownership, contrary to Amsterdam's land-lease system.", "Though many small offices are still located on the old canals, companies are increasingly relocating outside the city centre.", "The Zuidas (English: South Axis) has become the new financial and legal hub.", "The five largest law firms of the Netherlands, a number of Dutch subsidiaries of large consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and Accenture, and the World Trade Center Amsterdam are also located in Zuidas.", "There are three other smaller financial districts in Amsterdam.", "The first is the area surrounding Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, where several newspapers like ''De Telegraaf'' have their offices.", "Also, Deloitte, the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf (municipal public transport company) and the Dutch tax offices (''Belastingdienst'') are located there.", "The second Financial District is the area surrounding Amsterdam Arena.", "The third is the area surrounding Amsterdam Amstel railway station.", "The tallest building in Amsterdam, the Rembrandt Tower, is situated there, as is the headquarters of Philips.", "===Port of Amsterdam===\nThe Port of Amsterdam is the fourth largest port in Europe, the 38th largest port in the world and the second largest port in the Netherlands by metric tons of cargo.", "In 2014 the Port of Amsterdam had a cargo throughput of 97,4 million tons of cargo, which was mostly bulk cargo.", "Amsterdam has the biggest cruise port in the Netherlands with more than 150 cruise ships every year.", "In 2019 the new lock in IJmuiden will open; the port will then be able to grow to 125 million tonnes in capacity.", "The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), now part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses.", "It is near Dam Square in the city centre.", "Together with Eindhoven (Brainport) and Rotterdam (Seaport), Amsterdam (Airport) forms the foundation of the Dutch economy.", "===Tourism===\n\nKeizersgracht, give tours of the city.", "Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.63 million international visitors annually, this is excluding the 16 million day trippers visiting the city every year.", "The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade.", "This can be attributed to an increasing number of European visitors.", "Two-thirds of the hotels are located in the city's centre.", "Hotels with 4 or 5 stars contribute 42% of the total beds available and 41% of the overnight stays in Amsterdam.", "The room occupation rate was 78% in 2006, up from 70% in 2005.", "The majority of tourists (74%) originate from Europe.", "The largest group of non-European visitors come from the United States, accounting for 14% of the total.", "Certain years have a theme in Amsterdam to attract extra tourists.", "For example, the year 2006 was designated \"Rembrandt 400\", to celebrate the 400th birthday of Rembrandt van Rijn.", "Some hotels offer special arrangements or activities during these years.", "The average number of guests per year staying at the four campsites around the city range from 12,000 to 65,000.", "The red-light district is a main tourist attraction.", "====Red light district====\n\n'''De Wallen''', also known as '''Walletjes''' or '''Rosse Buurt''', is a designated area for legalised prostitution and is Amsterdam's largest and most well known red-light district.", "This neighbourhood has become a famous attraction for tourists.", "It consists of a network of roads and alleys containing several hundred small, one-room apartments rented by sex workers who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights.", "===Retail===\nShops in Amsterdam range from large high end department stores such as De Bijenkorf founded in 1870 to small specialty shops.", "Amsterdam's high-end shops are found in the streets P.C.", "Hooftstraat and ''Cornelis Schuytstraat'', which are located in the vicinity of the Vondelpark.", "One of Amsterdam's busiest high streets is the narrow, medieval Kalverstraat in the heart of the city.", "Other shopping areas include the ''Negen Straatjes'' and Haarlemmerdijk and Haarlemmerstraat.", "''Negen Straatjes'' are nine narrow streets within the ''Grachtengordel'', the concentric canal system of Amsterdam.", "The Negen Straatjes differ from other shopping districts with the presence of a large diversity of privately owned shops.", "The Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk were voted best shopping street in the Netherlands in 2011.", "These streets have as the ''Negen Straatjes'' a large diversity of privately owned shops.", "But as the ''Negen Straatjes'' are dominated by fashion stores the Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk offer a very wide variety of all kinds of stores, just to name some specialties: candy and other food related stores, lingerie, sneakers, wedding clothing, interior shops, books, Italian deli's, racing and mountain bikes, skatewear, etc.", "The city also features a large number of open-air markets such as the Albert Cuyp Market, Westerstraat-markt, Ten Katemarkt, and Dappermarkt.", "Some of these markets are held on a daily basis, like the Albert Cuypmarkt and the Dappermarkt.", "Others, like the Westerstraatmarkt, are held on a weekly basis.", "===Fashion===\nFashion brands like G-star, Gsus, BlueBlood, PICHICHI, Iris van Herpen, fair trade denim brand MUD Jeans, 10 feet and Warmenhoven & Venderbos, and fashion designers like Mart Visser, Viktor & Rolf, Sheila de Vries, Marlies Dekkers and Frans Molenaar are based in Amsterdam.", "Modelling agencies Elite Models, Touche models and Tony Jones have opened branches in Amsterdam.", "Fashion models like Yfke Sturm, Doutzen Kroes and Kim Noorda started their careers in Amsterdam.", "Amsterdam has its garment centre in the World Fashion Center.", "Buildings which formerly housed brothels in the red light district have been converted to ateliers for young fashion designers, AKA eagle fuel.", "Fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin were born in Amsterdam(Netherland).", "The Rijksmuseum houses Rembrandt's ''The Night Watch''.", "The Van Gogh Museum houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and letters.", "The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is an international museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design.", "During the later part of the 16th-century Amsterdam's Rederijkerskamer (Chamber of rhetoric) organised contests between different Chambers in the reading of poetry and drama.", "In 1638, Amsterdam opened its first theatre.", "Ballet performances were given in this theatre as early as 1642.", "In the 18th century, French theatre became popular.", "While Amsterdam was under the influence of German music in the 19th century there were few national opera productions; the Hollandse Opera of Amsterdam was built in 1888 for the specific purpose of promoting Dutch opera.", "In the 19th century, popular culture was centred on the Nes area in Amsterdam (mainly vaudeville and music-hall).", "The metronome, one of the most important advances in European classical music, was invented here in 1812 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel.", "At the end of this century, the Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum were built.", "In 1888, the Concertgebouworkest was established.", "With the 20th century came cinema, radio and television.", "Though most studios are located in Hilversum and Aalsmeer, Amsterdam's influence on programming is very strong.", "Many people who work in the television industry live in Amsterdam.", "Also, the headquarters of the Dutch SBS Broadcasting Group is located in Amsterdam.", "===Museums===\nThe most important museums of Amsterdam are located on the Museumplein (Museum Square), located at the southwestern side of the Rijksmuseum.", "It was created in the last quarter of the 19th century on the grounds of the former World's fair.", "The northeastern part of the square is bordered by the very large Rijksmuseum.", "In front of the Rijksmuseum on the square itself is a long, rectangular pond.", "This is transformed into an ice rink in winter.", "The northwestern part of the square is bordered by the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience and Coster Diamonds.", "The southwestern border of the Museum Square is the Van Baerlestraat, which is a major thoroughfare in this part of Amsterdam.", "The Concertgebouw is situated across this street from the square.", "To the southeast of the square are situated a number of large houses, one of which contains the American consulate.", "A parking garage can be found underneath the square, as well as a supermarket.", "The Museumplein is covered almost entirely with a lawn, except for the northeastern part of the square which is covered with gravel.", "The current appearance of the square was realised in 1999, when the square was remodelled.", "The square itself is the most prominent site in Amsterdam for festivals and outdoor concerts, especially in the summer.", "Plans were made in 2008 to remodel the square again, because many inhabitants of Amsterdam are not happy with its current appearance.", "Rembrandt monument on Rembrandtplein\nThe Rijksmuseum possesses the largest and most important collection of classical Dutch art.", "It opened in 1885.", "Its collection consists of nearly one million objects.", "The artist most associated with Amsterdam is Rembrandt, whose work, and the work of his pupils, is displayed in the Rijksmuseum.", "Rembrandt's masterpiece ''The Night Watch'' is one of top pieces of art of the museum.", "It also houses paintings from artists like Van der Helst, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Ferdinand Bol, Albert Cuyp, Jacob van Ruisdael and Paulus Potter.", "Aside from paintings, the collection consists of a large variety of decorative art.", "This ranges from Delftware to giant doll-houses from the 17th century.", "The architect of the gothic revival building was P.J.H.", "Cuypers.", "The museum underwent a 10-year, 375 million euro renovation starting in 2003.", "The full collection was reopened to the public on 13 April 2013 and the Rijksmuseum has established itself as the most visited museum in Amsterdam with 2.2 million visitors in 2013.", "Van Gogh lived in Amsterdam for a short while and there is a museum dedicated to his work.", "The museum is housed in one of the few modern buildings in this area of Amsterdam.", "The building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld.", "This building is where the permanent collection is displayed.", "A new building was added to the museum in 1999.", "This building, known as the performance wing, was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.", "Its purpose is to house temporary exhibitions of the museum.", "Some of Van Gogh's most famous paintings, like ''The Potato Eaters'' and ''Sunflowers'', are in the collection.", "The Van Gogh museum is the second most visited museum in Amsterdam, with 1.4 million annual visitors.", "Next to the Van Gogh museum stands the Stedelijk Museum.", "This is Amsterdam's most important museum of modern art.", "The museum is as old as the square it borders and was opened in 1895.", "The permanent collection consists of works of art from artists like Piet Mondriaan, Karel Appel, and Kazimir Malevich.", "After renovations lasting several years the museum opened in September 2012 with a new composite extension that has been called 'The Bathtub' due to its resemblance to one.", "Amsterdam contains many other museums throughout the city.", "They range from small museums such as the Verzetsmuseum (Resistance Museum), the Anne Frank House, and the Rembrandt House Museum, to the very large, like the Tropenmuseum (Museum of the Tropics), Amsterdam Museum (formerly known as Amsterdam Historical Museum), Hermitage Amsterdam (a dependency of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg) and the Joods Historisch Museum (Jewish Historical Museum).", "The modern-styled Nemo is dedicated to child-friendly science exhibitions.", "===Music===\n\nAmsterdam's musical culture includes a large collection of songs which treat the city nostalgically and lovingly.", "The 1949 song \"Aan de Amsterdamse grachten\" (\"On the canals of Amsterdam\") was performed and recorded by many artists, including John Kraaijkamp sr.; the best-known version is probably that by Wim Sonneveld (1962).", "In the 1950s Johnny Jordaan rose to fame with \"Geef mij maar Amsterdam\" (\"I prefer Amsterdam\"), which praises the city above all others (explicitly Paris); Jordaan sang especially about his own neighbourhood, the Jordaan (\"Bij ons in de Jordaan\").", "Colleagues and contemporaries of Johnny include Tante Leen, Zwarte Riek, and Manke Nelis.", "Other notable Amsterdam songs are \"Amsterdam\" by Jacques Brel (1964) and \"Deze Stad\" by De Dijk (1989).", "A 2011 poll by Amsterdam paper ''Het Parool'' found, somewhat surprisingly, that Trio Bier's \"Oude Wolf\" was voted \"Amsterdams lijflied\".", "Notable Amsterdam bands from the modern era include the Osdorp Posse and The Ex.", "AFAS Live (formerly known as the Heineken Music Hall) is a concert hall located near the Amsterdam Arena.", "Its main purpose is to serve as a podium for pop concerts for big audiences.", "Many famous international artists have performed there.", "Two other notable venues, Paradiso and the Melkweg are located near the Leidseplein.", "Both focus on broad programming, ranging from indie rock to hip hop, R&B, and other popular genres.", "Other more subcultural music venues are OCCII, OT301, De Nieuwe Anita, Winston Kingdom and Zaal 100.", "Jazz has a strong following in Amsterdam, with the Bimhuis being the premier venue.", "In 2012, Ziggo Dome was opened, also near Amsterdam ArenA, a state of the art indoor music arena.", "AFAS Live is also host to many electronic dance music festivals, alongside many other venues.", "Armin van Buuren and Tiesto, some of the world's leading Trance DJ's hail from the Netherlands and perform frequently in Amsterdam.", "Each year in October, the city hosts the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) which is one of the leading electronic music conferences and one of the biggest club festivals for electronic music in the world, attracting over 350,000 visitors each year.", "Another popular dance festival is 5daysoff, which takes place in the venues Paradiso and Melkweg.", "In summer time there are several big outdoor dance parties in or nearby Amsterdam, such as Awakenings, Dance Valley, Mystery Land, Loveland, A Day at the Park, Welcome to the Future, and Valtifest.", "The Concertgebouw or Royal Concert Hall houses performances of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and other musical events\nAmsterdam has a world-class symphony orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.", "Their home is the Concertgebouw, which is across the Van Baerlestraat from the Museum Square.", "It is considered by critics to be a concert hall with some of the best acoustics in the world.", "The building contains three halls, Grote Zaal, Kleine Zaal, and Spiegelzaal.", "Some nine hundred concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, making it one of the most-visited concert halls in the world.", "The opera house of Amsterdam is situated adjacent to the city hall.", "Therefore, the two buildings combined are often called the Stopera, (a word originally coined by protesters against it very construction: ''Stop the Opera-house'').", "This huge modern complex, opened in 1986, lies in the former Jewish neighbourhood at ''Waterlooplein'' next to the river Amstel.", "The ''Stopera'' is the homebase of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and the Holland Symfonia.", "Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ is a concert hall, which is situated in the IJ near the central station.", "Its concerts perform mostly modern classical music.", "Located adjacent to it, is the ''Bimhuis'', a concert hall for improvised and Jazz music.", "===Performing arts===\nAmsterdam has three main theatre buildings.", "The Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam at the Leidseplein is the home base of Toneelgroep Amsterdam.", "The current building dates from 1894.", "Most plays are performed in the Grote Zaal (Great Hall).", "The normal programme of events encompasses all sorts of theatrical forms.", "The Stadsschouwburg is currently being renovated and expanded.", "The third theatre space, to be operated jointly with next door Melkweg, will open in late 2009 or early 2010.", "Dutch National Opera and Ballet (formerly known as ''Het Muziektheater''), dating from 1986, is the principal opera house and home to Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet.", "Royal Theatre Carré was built as a permanent circus theatre in 1887 and is currently mainly used for musicals, cabaret performances and pop concerts.", "The recently re-opened DeLaMar Theater houses the more commercial plays and musicals.", "Also a new theatre has moved into Amsterdam scene in 2014, joining other established venues.", "Theater Amsterdam, situated in the west part of Amsterdam, Danzigerkade 5 / Westpoortnummer 2036 1013 AP Amsterdam.", "It's a modern building with a panoramic view over the harbour.", "The theatre is the first ever purpose-built venue to showcase a single play entitled ANNE, the play based on Anne Frank's life.", "On the east side of town there is a small theatre in a converted bath house, the Badhuistheater.", "The theatre often has English programming.", "The Netherlands has a tradition of cabaret or ''kleinkunst'', which combines music, storytelling, commentary, theatre and comedy.", "Cabaret dates back to the 1930s and artists like Wim Kan, Wim Sonneveld and Toon Hermans were pioneers of this form of art in the Netherlands.", "In Amsterdam is the Kleinkunstacademie (English: Cabaret Academy).", "Contemporary popular artists are Youp van 't Hek, Freek de Jonge, Herman Finkers, Hans Teeuwen, Theo Maassen, Herman van Veen, Najib Amhali, Raoul Heertje, Jörgen Raymann, Brigitte Kaandorp and Comedytrain.", "The English spoken comedy scene was established with the founding of Boom Chicago in 1993.", "They have their own theatre at Leidseplein.", "===Nightlife===\nThe Magere Brug or \"Skinny Bridge\" over the Amstel River at night\nAmsterdam is famous for its vibrant and diverse nightlife.", "Amsterdam has many ''cafés'' (bars).", "They range from large and modern to small and cozy.", "The typical ''Bruine Kroeg'' (brown ''café'') breathe a more old fashioned atmosphere with dimmed lights, candles, and somewhat older clientele.", "Most ''cafés'' have terraces in summertime.", "A common sight on the Leidseplein during summer is a square full of terraces packed with people drinking beer or wine.", "Many restaurants can be found in Amsterdam as well.", "Since Amsterdam is a multicultural city, a lot of different ethnic restaurants can be found.", "Restaurants range from being rather luxurious and expensive to being ordinary and affordable.", "Amsterdam also possesses many discothèques.", "The two main nightlife areas for tourists are the Leidseplein and the Rembrandtplein.", "The Paradiso, Melkweg and Sugar Factory are cultural centres, which turn into discothèques on some nights.", "Examples of discothèques near the Rembrandtplein are the Escape, Air, John Doe and Club Abe.", "Also noteworthy are Panama, Hotel Arena (East), TrouwAmsterdam and Studio 80.", "Bimhuis located near the Central Station, with its rich programming hosting the best in the field is considered one of the best jazz clubs in the world.", "The Reguliersdwarsstraat is the main street for the LGBT community and nightlife.", "===Festivals===\nQueen's Day in Amsterdam in 2010\nIn 2008, there were 140 festivals and events in Amsterdam.", "Famous festivals and events in Amsterdam include: Koningsdag (which was named Koninginnedag until the crowning of king Willem-Alexander in 2013) (King's Day – Queen's Day); the Holland Festival for the performing arts; the yearly Prinsengrachtconcert (classical concerto on the Prinsen canal) in August; the 'Stille Omgang' (a silent Roman Catholic evening procession held every March); Amsterdam Gay Pride; The Cannabis Cup; and the Uitmarkt.", "On Koninginnedag—that was held each year on 30 April—hundreds of thousands of people travel to Amsterdam to celebrate with the city's residents and Koningsdag is held on 27 April.", "The entire city becomes overcrowded with people buying products from the ''freemarket,'' or visiting one of the many music concerts.", "The yearly Holland Festival attracts international artists and visitors from all over Europe.", "Amsterdam Gay Pride is a yearly local LGBT parade of boats in Amsterdam's canals, held on the first Saturday in August.", "The annual Uitmarkt is a three-day cultural event at the start of the cultural season in late August.", "It offers previews of many different artists, such as musicians and poets, who perform on podia.", "===Sports===\nAjax Amsterdam play their home games at the Amsterdam ArenA\nAmsterdam is home of the ''Eredivisie'' football club Ajax Amsterdam.", "The stadium Amsterdam Arena is the home of Ajax.", "It is located in the south-east of the city next to the new Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station.", "Before moving to their current location in 1996, Ajax played their regular matches in De Meer Stadion.", "In 1928, Amsterdam hosted the Summer Olympics.", "The Olympic Stadium built for the occasion has been completely restored and is now used for cultural and sporting events, such as the Amsterdam Marathon.", "In 1920, Amsterdam assisted in hosting some of the sailing events for the Summer Olympics held in neighbouring Antwerp, Belgium by hosting events at Buiten Y.", "The city holds the Dam to Dam Run, a race from Amsterdam to Zaandam, as well as the Amsterdam Marathon.", "The ice hockey team Amstel Tijgers play in the Jaap Eden ice rink.", "The team competes in the Dutch ice hockey premier league.", "Speed skating championships have been held on the 400-metre lane of this ice rink.", "Amsterdam holds two American football franchises: the Amsterdam Crusaders and the Amsterdam Panthers.", "The Amsterdam Pirates baseball team competes in the Dutch Major League.", "There are three field hockey teams: Amsterdam, Pinoké and Hurley, who play their matches around the Wagener Stadium in the nearby city of Amstelveen.", "The basketball team MyGuide Amsterdam competes in the Dutch premier division and play their games in the Sporthallen Zuid.", "There is one rugbyclub in Amsterdam, which also hosts sports training classes such as RTC(Rugby Talenten Centrum or Rugby Talent Centre) and the National Rugby stadium.", "Since 1999 the city of Amsterdam honours the best sportsmen and women at the Amsterdam Sports Awards.", "Boxer Raymond Joval and field hockey midfielder Carole Thate were the first to receive the awards, in 1999.", "\nKajsa Ollongren, the acting mayor of Amsterdam since 2017 \nThe city of Amsterdam is a municipality under the Dutch Municipalities Act.", "It is governed by a directly elected municipal council, a municipal executive board and a mayor.", "Since 1981, the municipality of Amsterdam has gradually been divided into semi-autonomous boroughs, called ''stadsdelen'' or 'districts'.", "Over time, a total of 15 boroughs were created.", "In May 2010, under a major reform, the number of Amsterdam boroughs was reduced to eight: Amsterdam-Centrum covering the city centre including the canal belt, Amsterdam-Noord consisting of the neighbourhoods north of the IJ lake, Amsterdam-Oost in the east, Amsterdam-Zuid in the south, Amsterdam-West in the west, Amsterdam Nieuw-West in the far west, Amsterdam Zuidoost in the southeast, and Westpoort covering the Port of Amsterdam area.", "===City government===\n\nAs with all Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is governed by a directly elected municipal council, a municipal executive board and a mayor (''burgemeester'').", "The mayor is a member of the municipal executive board, but also has individual responsibilies in maintaining public order.", "In July 2010, Eberhard van der Laan (Labour Party) was appointed mayor of Amsterdam by the national government for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam municipal council.", "After the 2014 municipal council elections, a governing majority of D66, VVD and SP was formed – the first coalition without the Labour Party since World War II.", "Next to the mayor, the municipal executive board consists of eight ''wethouders'' ('alderpersons') appointed by the municipal council: four D66 alderpersons, two VVD alderpersons and two SP alderpersons.", "On 18 September 2017 it was announced by Eberhard van der Laan in an open letter to Amsterdam citizens that Kajsa Ollongren would take up his office as acting Mayor of Amsterdam - with immediate effect - with the resignation of Van der Laan due to ill health.", "The boroughs of Amsterdam.Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into eight boroughs, called ''stadsdelen'' or 'districts', a system that was implemented gradually in the 1980s to improve local governance.", "The boroughs are responsible for many activities that had previously been run by the central city.", "In 2010, the number of Amsterdam boroughs reached fifteen.", "Fourteen of those had their own district council (''deelraad''), elected by a popular vote.", "The fifteenth, Westpoort, covers the harbour of Amsterdam and had very few residents.", "Therefore, it was governed by the central municipal council.", "Under the borough system, municipal decisions are made at borough level, except for those affairs pertaining to the whole city such as major infrastructure projects, which are the jurisdiction of the central municipal authorities.", "In 2010, the borough system was restructured, in which many smaller boroughs merged into larger boroughs.", "In 2014, under a reform of the Dutch Municipalities Act, the Amsterdam boroughs lost much of their autonomous status, as their district councils were abolished.", "The municipal council of Amsterdam voted to maintain the borough system by replacing the district councils with smaller, but still directly elected district committees (''bestuurscommissies'').", "Under a municipal ordinance, the new district committees were granted responsibilities through delegation of regulatory and executive powers by the central municipal council.", "===Metropolitan area===\n\"Amsterdam\" is usually understood to refer to the municipality of Amsterdam.", "Colloquially, some areas within the municipality, such as the town of Durgerdam, may not be considered part of Amsterdam.", "Statistics Netherlands uses three other definitions of Amsterdam: metropolitan agglomeration Amsterdam (''Grootstedelijke Agglomeratie Amsterdam'', not to be confused with ''Grootstedelijk Gebied Amsterdam'', a synonym of ''Groot Amsterdam''), Greater Amsterdam (''Groot Amsterdam'', a COROP region) and the urban region Amsterdam (''Stadsgewest Amsterdam'').", "The Amsterdam Department for Research and Statistics uses a fourth conurbation, namely the ''Stadsregio Amsterdam'' ('City Region of Amsterdam').", "The city region is similar to Greater Amsterdam but includes the municipalities of Zaanstad and Wormerland.", "It excludes Graft-De Rijp.", "The smallest of these areas is the municipality of Amsterdam with a population of 802,938 in 2013.", "The conurbation had a population of 1,096,042 in 2013.", "It includes the municipalities of Zaanstad, Wormerland, Oostzaan, Diemen and Amstelveen only, as well as the municipality of Amsterdam.", "Greater Amsterdam includes 15 municipalities, and had a population of 1,293,208 in 2013.", "Though much larger in area, the population of this area is only slightly larger, because the definition excludes the relatively populous municipality of Zaanstad.", "The largest area by population, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Dutch: Metropoolregio Amsterdam), has a population of 2,33 million.", "It includes for instance Zaanstad, Wormerveer, Muiden, Abcoude, Haarlem, Almere and Lelystad but excludes Graft-De Rijp.", "Amsterdam is part of the conglomerate metropolitan area Randstad, with a total population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.", "Of these various metropolitan area configurations, only the ''Stadsregio Amsterdam'' (City Region of Amsterdam) has a formal governmental status.", "Its responsibities include regional spatial planning and the metropolitan public transport concessions.", "===National capital===\n\nKing Willem-Alexander, Princess Beatrix, and Queen Máxima greeting Amsterdammers from the Royal Palace of Amsterdam during Willem-Alexanders inauguration in 2013\nUnder the Dutch Constitution, Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands.", "Since the 1983 constitutional revision, the constitution mentions \"Amsterdam\" and \"capital\" in chapter 2, article 32: The king's confirmation by oath and his coronation take place in \"the capital Amsterdam\" (\"''de hoofdstad Amsterdam''\").", "Previous versions of the constitution only mentioned \"the city of Amsterdam\" (\"''de stad Amsterdam''\").", "For a royal investiture, therefore, the States General of the Netherlands (the Dutch Parliament) meets for a ceremonial joint session in Amsterdam.", "The ceremony traditionally takes place at the Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square, immediately after the former monarch has signed the act of abdication at the nearby Royal Palace of Amsterdam.", "Normally, however, the Parliament sits in The Hague, the city which has historically been the seat of the Dutch government, the Dutch monarchy, and the Dutch supreme court.", "Foreign embassies are also located in The Hague.", "===Symbols===\n\nThe coat of arms of Amsterdam is composed of several historical elements.", "First and centre are three St Andrew's crosses, aligned in a vertical band on the city's shield (although Amsterdam's patron saint was Saint Nicholas).", "These St Andrew's crosses can also be found on the cityshields of neighbours Amstelveen and Ouder-Amstel.", "This part of the coat of arms is the basis of the flag of Amsterdam, flown by the city government, but also as civil ensign for ships registered in Amsterdam.", "Second is the Imperial Crown of Austria.", "In 1489, out of gratitude for services and loans, Maximilian I awarded Amsterdam the right to adorn its coat of arms with the king's crown.", "Then, in 1508, this was replaced with Maximilian's imperial crown when he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.", "In the early years of the 17th century, Maximilian's crown in Amsterdam's coat of arms was again replaced, this time with the crown of Emperor Rudolph II, a crown that became the Imperial Crown of Austria.", "The lions date from the late 16th century, when city and province became part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.", "Last came the city's official motto: ''Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig'' (\"Heroic, Determined, Merciful\"), bestowed on the city in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina, in recognition of the city's bravery during the Second World War.", "\n\n===Metro, tram, bus===\n\ntram on Damrak with Centraal Station in the background\nThe Amsterdam Metro is a mixed subway and above ground commuter rail with various lines\nCurrently, there are sixteen tram routes and four metro routes, with a fifth route to be added when the North/South metro line is completed (due in 2017).", "All are operated by municipal public transport operator GVB, which also runs the city bus network.Fifth route\n\nFour fare-free GVB ferries carry pedestrians and cyclists across the IJ lake to the borough of Amsterdam-Noord, and two fare-charging ferries run east and west along the harbour.", "There are also privately operated water taxis, a water bus, a boat sharing operation, electric rental boats (Boaty) and canal cruises, that transport people along Amsterdam's waterways.", "Regional buses, and some suburban buses, are operated by Connexxion and EBS.", "International coach services are provided by Eurolines from Amsterdam Amstel railway station, IDBUS from Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, and Megabus from ''Zuiderzeeweg'' in the east of the city.", "===Car===\nAmsterdam was intended in 1932 to be the hub, a kind of Kilometre Zero, of the highway system of the Netherlands, with freeways numbered One to Eight planned to originate from the city.", "The outbreak of the Second World War and shifting priorities led to the current situation, where only roads A1, A2, and A4 originate from Amsterdam according to the original plan.", "The A3 road to Rotterdam was cancelled in 1970 in order to conserve the Groene Hart.", "Road A8, leading north to Zaandam and the A10 Ringroad were opened between 1968 and 1974.", "Besides the A1, A2, A4 and A8, several freeways, such as the A7 and A6, carry traffic mainly bound for Amsterdam.", "The A10 ringroad surrounding the city connects Amsterdam with the Dutch national network of freeways.", "Interchanges on the A10 allow cars to enter the city by transferring to one of the 18 ''city roads'', numbered S101 through to S118.", "These city roads are regional roads without grade separation, and sometimes without a central reservation.", "Most are accessible by cyclists.", "The S100 ''Centrumring'' is a smaller ringroad circumnavigating the city's centre.", "In the city centre, driving a car is discouraged.", "Parking fees are expensive, and many streets are closed to cars or are one-way.", "The local government sponsors carsharing and carpooling initiatives such as ''Autodelen'' and ''Meerijden.nu''.", "===National rail===\nAmsterdam Central Station is the city's main train station\nAmsterdam is served by ten stations of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways).", "Six are intercity stops: Sloterdijk, Zuid, Amstel, Bijlmer ArenA, Lelylaan and Amsterdam Centraal.", "The stations for local services are: RAI, Holendrecht, Muiderpoort and Science Park.", "Amsterdam Centraal is also an international railway station.", "From the station there are regular services to destinations such as Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Switzerland.", "Among these trains are international trains of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Amsterdam-Berlin) and the Thalys (Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris/Lille), CityNightLine, and InterCityExpress (Amsterdam–Cologne–Frankfurt).", "Future line: Highspeed train Amsterdam/London opening end of 2017.", "===Airport===\nAmsterdam Airport Schiphol ranks as Europe's fifth-busiest airport and the world's 14th-busiest for passenger traffic.", "Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal railway station and is served by domestic and international intercity trains, such as Thalys and Intercity Brussel.", "Schiphol is the largest airport in the Netherlands, the third largest in Europe, and the 14th-largest in the world in terms of passengers.", "It handles over 60 million passengers per year and is the home base of four airlines, KLM, Transavia, Martinair and Arkefly .", ", Schiphol was the fifth busiest airport in the world measured by international passenger numbers.", "===Cycling===\n\nBicyclist crossing a bridge over Prinsengracht.", "Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world and is a centre of bicycle culture with good facilities for cyclists such as bike paths and bike racks, and several guarded bike storage garages (''fietsenstalling'') which can be used for a nominal fee.", "In 2013, there were about 1,200,000 bicycles in Amsterdam outnumbering the amount of citizens in the city.", "Theft is widespread – in 2011, about 83,000 bicycles were stolen in Amsterdam.", "Bicycles are used by all socio-economic groups because of their convenience, Amsterdam's small size, the of bike paths, the flat terrain, and the inconvenience of driving an automobile.", "\nThe Agnietenkapel Gate at the University of Amsterdam, founded in 1632 as the Athenaeum Illustre\nAmsterdam has two universities: the University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and the VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit or \"VU\").", "Other institutions for higher education include an art school – Gerrit Rietveld Academie, a university of applied sciences – the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, and the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.", "Amsterdam's International Institute of Social History is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions concerning social history, and especially the history of the labour movement.", "Amsterdam's Hortus Botanicus, founded in the early 17th century, is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, with many old and rare specimens, among them the coffee plant that served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.", "There are over 200 primary schools in Amsterdam.", "Some of these primary schools base their teachings on particular pedagogic theories like the various Montessori schools.", "The biggest Montessori high school in Amsterdam is the Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam.", "Many schools, however, are based on religion.", "This used to be primarily Roman Catholicism and various Protestant denominations, but with the influx of Muslim immigrants there has been a rise in the number of Islamic schools.", "Jewish schools can be found in the southern suburbs of Amsterdam.", "Amsterdam is noted for having five independent grammar schools (Dutch: gymnasia), the Vossius Gymnasium, Barlaeus Gymnasium, St. Ignatius Gymnasium, Het 4e Gymnasium and the Cygnus Gymnasium where a classical curriculum including Latin and classical Greek is taught.", "Though believed until recently by many to be an anachronistic and elitist concept that would soon die out, the gymnasia have recently experienced a revival, leading to the formation of a fourth and fifth grammar school in which the three aforementioned schools participate.", "Most secondary schools in Amsterdam offer a variety of different levels of education in the same school.", "The city also has various colleges ranging from art and design to politics and economics which are mostly also available for students coming from other countries.", "\n* Frits Bolkestein (born 1933), politician\n* Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (born 1954), businesswoman\n* Paul J. Crutzen (born 1933), atmospheric chemist\n* Willem Drees Sr. (1886–1988), politician\n* Floris Adriaan van Hall (1791–1866), Minister of Justice, Prime Minister of the Netherlands\n* Freddy Heineken (1923–2002), businessman\n* Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (born 1948), politician\n* André Kuipers (born 1958), astronaut\n* Baruch Spinoza (born 1632–1677), philosopher\n* Hans Wiegel (born 1941), politician\n\n===Entertainment===\n* Karel Appel (1921–2006), painter\n* Jan Akkerman (born 1946), musician\n* Willeke van Ammelrooy (born 1944), actress\n* Willem Breuker (1944–2010), musician\n* Frans Brüggen (1934–2014), musician\n* Rudi van Dantzig (1933–2012), ballet\n* Joop van den Ende (born 1942), film, television and theatric producer\n* Bernard Haitink (born 1929), orchestra conductor\n* John Kraaijkamp, Sr. (1925–2011), actor, comedian, singer\n* Andre Hazes (1951–2004), one of the most famous singers in the Netherlands\n\n===Sport===\n* Alistair Overeem (born 1980), mixed martial artist and kickboxer\n* Co Adriaanse (born 1947), football trainer\n* Dennis Bergkamp (born 1969), football player\n* Jan van Beveren (1948–2011) football goalkeeper and coach\n* Michael Bleekemolen (born 1949) racing driver\n* Daley Blind (born 1990), football player\n* Geraldo Boldewijn (born 1991), American football player\n* Cor Brom (1932–2008), football player and football trainer\n* Ellie van den Brom (born 1949) long-track speed skater\n* Daniel Sprong (born 1997) hockey player\n* Johan Cruyff (1947–2016), football player and football trainer\n* Ellen van Dijk (born 1987), cyclist\n* Max Euwe (1901–1981), Chess Grandmaster, mathematician, author\n* Louis van Gaal (born 1951), football trainer\n* Ruud Gullit (born 1962), football player\n* Bobby Haarms (1934–2009), football player and football trainer\n* Cor van der Hart (1928–2006), football player and football trainer\n* Rinus Israël (born 1942), football player and football trainer\n* Nigel de Jong (born 1984), football player\n* Jan Jongbloed (born 1940), football player (goalkeeper)\n* Piet Keizer (1943-2017), football player\n* Patrick Kluivert (born 1976), football player\n* Gerrie Knetemann (1951–2004), cyclist\n* Ada Kok (born 1947), swimmer\n* Ruud Krol (born 1949), football player and football coach\n* Edward Metgod (born 1959), football player (goalkeeper) and football trainer\n* John Metgod (born 1958), football player and football trainer\n* Rinus Michels (1928–2005), football player and football trainer\n* Bennie Muller (born 1938), football player (47 caps)\n* Eddy Pieters Graafland (born 1934), football player (goalkeeper)\n* Peter Post (1933–2011), cyclist\n* Quincy Promes (born 1992), football player\n* Anton Pronk (born 1941), football player (19 caps)\n* Rob Rensenbrink (born 1947), football player\n* Frank Rijkaard (born 1962), football player and football coach\n* Wim Ruska (born 1940), Judoka\n* Ton Sijbrands (born 1949), international draughts player\n* Sjaak Swart (born 1938), football player\n* Marko Vejinovic (born 1990), football player\n\n===Originating from elsewhere===\n* Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918–2004), athlete\n* Inge de Bruijn (born 1973), swimmer\n* Ryan ten Doeschate (born 1980), cricketer\n* Jan Hein Donner (1927–1988), chess grandmaster\n* Anne Frank (1929–1945), diarist and Holocaust victim\n* Theo van Gogh (1957–2004), film director\n* Carice van Houten (born 1976), actress\n* Søren Lerby (born 1958), football player\n* Satyendra Pakhale (born 1967), designer\n* Rembrandt van Rijn (1606/7–1669), painter\n* Jan van Speyk (1802–1831), lieutenant-commander Dutch Royal Navy\n* Joop den Uyl (1919–1987), politics\n* Joost van den Vondel (1597–1679), poet, playwright\n* Gerardus Vossius (1577–1649), theologist, historian\n* Vijce (born 1988), fine art photographer", "Amsterdam is a prominent centre for national and international media.", "Some locally based newspapers include ''Het Parool'', a national daily paper; ''De Telegraaf'', the largest Dutch daily newspaper; the daily newspapers ''Trouw'', ''de Volkskrant'' and ''NRC Handelsblad''; ''De Groene Amsterdammer'', a weekly newspaper; the free newspapers ''Sp!ts'', ''Metro'', and ''The Holland Times'' (printed in English).", "Amsterdam is home to the Dutch second-largest commercial TV group SBS Broadcasting Group, consisting of TV-stations SBS 6, Net 5 and Veronica.", "However, Amsterdam is not considered 'the media city of the Netherlands'.", "The town of Hilversum, south-east of Amsterdam, has been crowned with this unofficial title.", "Hilversum is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands.", "Radio Netherlands, heard worldwide via shortwave radio since the 1920s, is also based there.", "Hilversum is home to an extensive complex of audio and television studios belonging to the national broadcast production company NOS, as well as to the studios and offices of all the Dutch public broadcasting organisations and many commercial TV production companies.", "In 2012, the music video of Far East Movement, 'Live My Life', was filmed in various parts of Amsterdam.", "Amsterdam is also featured in John Green's book 'The Fault in Our Stars,' which has also been made into a film, and part of the film takes place in Amsterdam.", "The housing market is heavily regulated.", "In Amsterdam, 55% of existing housing and 30% of new housing is owned by Housing Associations, which are Government sponsored entities.", "Squat properties are common throughout Amsterdam, due to property law strongly favouring tenants.", "A number of these squats have become well known, such as OT301, Paradiso, Vrankrijk (closed down by city government), and the Binnenpret, and several are now businesses, such as health clubs and licensed restaurants.", "\n* Amsterdammertje", "\n\n===Literature===\n* \n* \n* \n* Charles Caspers & Peter Jan Margry (2017), ''Het Mirakel van Amsterdam.", "Biografie van een betwiste devotie'' (Amsterdam, Prometheus).", "* \n* \n* \n* \n\n===Attribution===\n*", "\n* Tourist information about Amsterdam – Website of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions\n* Amsterdam.nl – Official government site\n* I amsterdam – Portal for international visitors\n* DutchAmsterdam Visitors Guide\n* Amsterdam City Archives\n* Free Amsterdam audio guide\n* Free English guided walking tour" ]

[ "\n\nNASA test aircraft\nThe Mil Mi-8 is the most-produced helicopter in history\nThe Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the most produced aircraft in history.\n''Voodoo'', a modified P 51 Mustang is the 2014 Reno Air Race Champion\n\nAn '''aircraft''' is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships (including blimps), gliders, and hot air balloons. \n\nThe human activity that surrounds aircraft is called ''aviation''. Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, but unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type, aircraft propulsion, usage and others.\n", "\n\n\nFlying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries, however the first manned ascent – and safe descent – in modern times took place by larger hot-air balloons developed in the 18th century. Each of the two World Wars led to great technical advances. Consequently, the history of aircraft can be divided into five eras:\n*Pioneers of flight, from the earliest experiments to 1914.\n*First World War, 1914 to 1918.\n*Aviation between the World Wars, 1918 to 1939.\n*Second World War, 1939 to 1945.\n*Postwar era, also called the jet age, 1945 to the present day.\n", "\n===Lighter than air – aerostats===\n\nballoons\nAerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that ships float on the water. They are characterized by one or more large gasbags or canopies, filled with a relatively low-density gas such as helium, hydrogen, or hot air, which is less dense than the surrounding air. When the weight of this is added to the weight of the aircraft structure, it adds up to the same weight as the air that the craft displaces.\n\nSmall hot-air balloons called sky lanterns were first invented in ancient China prior to the 3rd century BC and used primarily in cultural celebrations, and were only the second type of aircraft to fly, the first being kites which were first invented in ancient China over two thousand years ago (see Han Dynasty).\n\nUSS Akron over Manhattan in the 1930s\nA balloon was originally any aerostat, while the term airship was used for large, powered aircraft designs – usually fixed-wing. In 1919 Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to \"ships of the air,\" with smaller passenger types as \"Air yachts.\" In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as \"ships of the air\" or \"flying-ships\". – though none had yet been built. The advent of powered balloons, called dirigible balloons, and later of rigid hulls allowing a great increase in size, began to change the way these words were used. Huge powered aerostats, characterized by a rigid outer framework and separate aerodynamic skin surrounding the gas bags, were produced, the Zeppelins being the largest and most famous. There were still no fixed-wing aircraft or non-rigid balloons large enough to be called airships, so \"airship\" came to be synonymous with these aircraft. Then several accidents, such as the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, led to the demise of these airships. Nowadays a \"balloon\" is an unpowered aerostat and an \"airship\" is a powered one.\n\nA powered, steerable aerostat is called a ''dirigible''. Sometimes this term is applied only to non-rigid balloons, and sometimes ''dirigible balloon'' is regarded as the definition of an airship (which may then be rigid or non-rigid). Non-rigid dirigibles are characterized by a moderately aerodynamic gasbag with stabilizing fins at the back. These soon became known as ''blimps''. During the Second World War, this shape was widely adopted for tethered balloons; in windy weather, this both reduces the strain on the tether and stabilizes the balloon. The nickname ''blimp'' was adopted along with the shape. In modern times, any small dirigible or airship is called a blimp, though a blimp may be unpowered as well as powered.\n\n===Heavier-than-air – aerodynes===\n\nHeavier-than-air aircraft, such as airplanes, must find some way to push air or gas downwards, so that a reaction occurs (by Newton's laws of motion) to push the aircraft upwards. This dynamic movement through the air is the origin of the term ''aerodyne''. There are two ways to produce dynamic upthrust: aerodynamic lift, and powered lift in the form of engine thrust.\n\nAerodynamic lift involving wings is the most common, with fixed-wing aircraft being kept in the air by the forward movement of wings, and rotorcraft by spinning wing-shaped rotors sometimes called rotary wings. A wing is a flat, horizontal surface, usually shaped in cross-section as an aerofoil. To fly, air must flow over the wing and generate lift. A ''flexible wing'' is a wing made of fabric or thin sheet material, often stretched over a rigid frame. A ''kite'' is tethered to the ground and relies on the speed of the wind over its wings, which may be flexible or rigid, fixed, or rotary.\n\nWith powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downward. V/STOL aircraft, such as the Harrier Jump Jet and F-35B take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight.\n\nA pure rocket is not usually regarded as an aerodyne, because it does not depend on the air for its lift (and can even fly into space); however, many aerodynamic lift vehicles have been powered or assisted by rocket motors. Rocket-powered missiles that obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies are a marginal case.\n\n====Fixed-wing====\nAn Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner\n\n\nThe forerunner of the fixed-wing aircraft is the kite. Whereas a fixed-wing aircraft relies on its forward speed to create airflow over the wings, a kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the wind blowing over its wings to provide lift. Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly, and were invented in China around 500 BC. Much aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels, and computer modelling programs became available.\n\nThe first heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled free-flight were gliders. A glider designed by Cayley carried out the first true manned, controlled flight in 1853.\n\nPractical, powered, fixed-wing aircraft (the aeroplane or airplane) were invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright. Besides the method of propulsion, fixed-wing aircraft are in general characterized by their wing configuration. The most important wing characteristics are:\n*Number of wings – Monoplane, biplane, etc.\n*Wing support – Braced or cantilever, rigid, or flexible.\n*Wing planform – including aspect ratio, angle of sweep, and any variations along the span (including the important class of delta wings).\n*Location of the horizontal stabilizer, if any.\n*Dihedral angle – positive, zero, or negative (anhedral).\n\nA variable geometry aircraft can change its wing configuration during flight.\n\nA ''flying wing'' has no fuselage, though it may have small blisters or pods. The opposite of this is a ''lifting body'', which has no wings, though it may have small stabilizing and control surfaces.\n\nWing-in-ground-effect vehicles are not considered aircraft. They \"fly\" efficiently close to the surface of the ground or water, like conventional aircraft during takeoff. An example is the Russian ekranoplan (nicknamed the \"Caspian Sea Monster\"). Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne with a minimal pilot power, but this is only because they are so underpowered—in fact, the airframe is capable of flying higher.\n\n====Rotorcraft====\nAn autogyro\n\n\nRotorcraft, or rotary-wing aircraft, use a spinning rotor with aerofoil section blades (a ''rotary wing'') to provide lift. Types include helicopters, autogyros, and various hybrids such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft.\n\n''Helicopters'' have a rotor turned by an engine-driven shaft. The rotor pushes air downward to create lift. By tilting the rotor forward, the downward flow is tilted backward, producing thrust for forward flight. Some helicopters have more than one rotor and a few have rotors turned by gas jets at the tips.\n\n''Autogyros'' have unpowered rotors, with a separate power plant to provide thrust. The rotor is tilted backward. As the autogyro moves forward, air blows upward across the rotor, making it spin. This spinning increases the speed of airflow over the rotor, to provide lift. Rotor kites are unpowered autogyros, which are towed to give them forward speed or tethered to a static anchor in high-wind for kited flight.\n\n''Cyclogyros'' rotate their wings about a horizontal axis.\n\n''Compound rotorcraft'' have wings that provide some or all of the lift in forward flight. They are nowadays classified as ''powered lift'' types and not as rotorcraft. ''Tiltrotor'' aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey), tiltwing, tailsitter, and coleopter aircraft have their rotors/propellers horizontal for vertical flight and vertical for forward flight.\n\n====Other methods of lift====\nglider\n\n*A ''lifting body'' is an aircraft body shaped to produce lift. If there are any wings, they are too small to provide significant lift and are used only for stability and control. Lifting bodies are not efficient: they suffer from high drag, and must also travel at high speed to generate enough lift to fly. Many of the research prototypes, such as the Martin-Marietta X-24, which led up to the Space Shuttle, were lifting bodies (though the shuttle itself is not), and some supersonic missiles obtain lift from the airflow over a tubular body.\n*''Powered lift'' types rely on engine-derived lift for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). Most types transition to fixed-wing lift for horizontal flight. Classes of powered lift types include VTOL jet aircraft (such as the Harrier jump-jet) and tiltrotors (such as the V-22 Osprey), among others. A few experimental designs rely entirely on engine thrust to provide lift throughout the whole flight, including personal fan-lift hover platforms and jetpacks. VTOL research designs include the flying Bedstead.\n*The ''Flettner airplane'' uses a rotating cylinder in place of a fixed wing, obtaining lift from the magnus effect.\n*The ''ornithopter'' obtains thrust by flapping its wings.\n", "\n===Sizes===\nThe '''smallest aircraft''' are toys, and—even smaller -- nano-aircraft.\n\nThe '''largest aircraft by dimensions and volume''' (as of 2016) is the 302-foot-long (about 95 meters) British Airlander 10, a hybrid blimp, with helicopter and fixed-wing features, and reportedly capable of speeds up to 90 mph (about 150 km/h), and an airborne endurance of two weeks with a payload of up to 22,050 pounds (11 tons).\n\nThe '''largest aircraft by weight''' and '''largest regular fixed-wing aircraft''' ever built (as of 2016), is the Antonov An-225. That Ukrainian-built 6-engine Russian transport of the 1980s is 84 metres (276 feet) long, with an 88-meter (289 foot) wingspan. It holds the world payload record, after transporting 428,834 pounds (200 tons) of goods, and has recently flown 100-ton loads commercially. Weighing in at somewhere between 1.1 and 1.4 million pounds (550-700 tons) maximum loaded weight, it is also the heaviest aircraft to be built, to date. It can cruise at 500 mph.\n\nThe '''largest military airplanes''' are the Ukrainian/Russian Antonov An-124 (world's second-largest airplane, also used as a civilian transport), and American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport, weighing, loaded, over 765,000 pounds (over 380 tons). The 8-engine, piston/propeller Hughes HK-1 \"Spruce Goose,\" an American World War II wooden flying boat transport—with a greater wingspan (94 meters / 260 feet) than any current aircraft, and a tail-height equal to the tallest (Airbus A380-800 at 24.1 meters / 78 feet) -- flew only one short hop in the late 1940s, and never flew out of ground effect.\n\nThe '''largest civilian airplanes,''' apart from the above-noted An-225 and An-124, are the French Airbus Beluga cargo transport derivative of the Airbus A300 jet airliner, the American Boeing Dreamlifter cargo transport derivative of the Boeing 747 jet airliner/transport (the 747-200B was, at its creation in the 1960s, the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum weight of 836,000 pounds (over 400 tons)), and the double-decker French Airbus A380 \"super-jumbo\" jet airliner (the world's '''largest passenger airliner''').\n\n\n\n===Speeds===\nThe '''fastest recorded powered aircraft flight''' and '''fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft''' was of the NASA X-43A Pegasus, a scramjet-powered, hypersonic, lifting body experimental research aircraft, at '''Mach 9.6 (nearly 7,000 mph).''' The X-43A set that new mark, and broke its own world record (of Mach 6.3, nearly 5,000 mph, set in March, 2004) on its third and final flight on Nov. 16, 2004.\n\nPrior to the X-43A, the '''fastest recorded powered airplane flight''' (and still the record for the '''fastest manned, powered airplane''' / '''fastest manned, non-spacecraft aircraft''') was of the North American X-15A-2, '''rocket-powered airplane''' at 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h), Mach 6.72, on October 3, 1967. On one flight it reached an altitude of 354,300 feet.\n\nThe '''fastest known, production aircraft''' (other than rockets and missiles) currently or formerly operational (as of 2016) are:\n\n* The fastest '''fixed-wing aircraft,''' and '''fastest glider,''' is the Space Shuttle, a rocket-glider hybrid, which has re-entered the atmosphere as a fixed-wing glider at over Mach 25 (over 25 times the speed of sound—about 17,000 mph at re-entry to Earth's atmosphere).\n* The fastest '''military airplane''' ever built: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a U.S. reconnaissance jet fixed-wing aircraft, known to fly beyond Mach 3.3 (about 2,200 mph at cruising altitude). On July 28, 1976, an SR-71 set the record for the '''fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft''' with an '''absolute speed record of 2,193 mph''' and an '''absolute altitude record of 85,068 feet.''' At its retirement in the January 1990, it was the '''fastest air-breathing aircraft''' / '''fastest jet aircraft''' in the world—a record still standing as of August, 2016. \n:Note: Some sources refer to the above-mentioned X-15 as the \"fastest military airplane\" because it was partly a project of the U.S. Navy and Air Force; however, the X-15 was not used in non-experimental actual military operations.\n\n* The '''fastest current military aircraft''' are the Soviet/Russian MiG-25—capable of Mach 3.2 (2,170 mph), at the expense of engine damage, or Mach 2.83 (1,920 mph) normally—and the Russian MiG-31E (also capable of Mach 2.83 normally). Both are fighter-interceptor jet airplanes, in active operations as of 2016.\n\n* The fastest '''civilian airplane''' ever built, and '''fastest passenger airliner''' ever built: the briefly operated Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic jet airliner (Mach 2.35, 1,600 mph, 2,587 km/h), which was believed to cruise at about Mach 2.2. The Tu-144 (officially operated from 1968 to 1978, ending after two crashes of the small fleet) was outlived by its rival, the Concorde SST (Mach 2.23), a French/British supersonic airliner, known to cruise at Mach 2.02 (1.450 mph, 2,333 kmh at cruising altitude), operating from 1976 until the small Concorde fleet was grounded permanently in 2003, following the crash of one in the early 2000s.\n* The fastest '''civilian airplane currently flying''': the Cessna Citation Ten, an American business jet, capable of Mach 0.935 (over 600 mph at cruising altitude). Its rival, the American Gulfstream 650 business jet, can reach Mach 0.925\n* The fastest '''airliner currently flying''' is the Boeing 747, quoted as being capable of cruising over Mach 0.885 (over 550 mph). Previously, the fastest were the troubled, short-lived Russian (Soviet Union) Tupolev Tu-144 SST (Mach 2.35) and the French/British Concorde SST (Mach 2.23, normally cruising at Mach 2) . Before them, the Convair 990 Coronado jet airliner of the 1960s flew at over 600 mph.\n\n\n", "\n===Unpowered aircraft===\n\nGliders are heavier-than-air aircraft that do not employ propulsion once airborne. Take-off may be by launching forward and downward from a high location, or by pulling into the air on a tow-line, either by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or by a powered \"tug\" aircraft. For a glider to maintain its forward air speed and lift, it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Many gliders can 'soar' – gain height from updrafts such as thermal currents. The first practical, controllable example was designed and built by the British scientist and pioneer George Cayley, whom many recognise as the first aeronautical engineer. Common examples of gliders are sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders.\n\nBalloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude, either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). A wing-shaped hybrid balloon can glide directionally when rising or falling; but a spherically shaped balloon does not have such directional control.\n\nKites are aircraft that are tethered to the ground or other object (fixed or mobile) that maintains tension in the tether or kite line; they rely on virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag. Kytoons are balloon-kite hybrids that are shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than-air.\n\n===Powered aircraft===\n\nPowered aircraft have one or more onboard sources of mechanical power, typically aircraft engines although rubber and manpower have also been used. Most aircraft engines are either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines. Engine fuel is stored in tanks, usually in the wings but larger aircraft also have additional fuel tanks in the fuselage.\n\n====Propeller aircraft====\n\nA turboprop-engined DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a floatplane\n\nPropeller aircraft use one or more propellers (airscrews) to create thrust in a forward direction. The propeller is usually mounted in front of the power source in ''tractor configuration'' but can be mounted behind in ''pusher configuration''. Variations of propeller layout include ''contra-rotating propellers'' and ''ducted fans''.\n\nMany kinds of power plant have been used to drive propellers. Early airships used man power or steam engines. The more practical internal combustion piston engine was used for virtually all fixed-wing aircraft until World War II and is still used in many smaller aircraft. Some types use turbine engines to drive a propeller in the form of a turboprop or propfan. Human-powered flight has been achieved, but has not become a practical means of transport. Unmanned aircraft and models have also used power sources such as electric motors and rubber bands.\n\n====Jet aircraft====\n\nLockheed Martin F-22A Raptor\n\nJet aircraft use airbreathing jet engines, which take in air, burn fuel with it in a combustion chamber, and accelerate the exhaust rearwards to provide thrust.\n\nTurbojet and turbofan engines use a spinning turbine to drive one or more fans, which provide additional thrust. An afterburner may be used to inject extra fuel into the hot exhaust, especially on military \"fast jets\". Use of a turbine is not absolutely necessary: other designs include the pulse jet and ramjet. These mechanically simple designs cannot work when stationary, so the aircraft must be launched to flying speed by some other method. Other variants have also been used, including the motorjet and hybrids such as the Pratt & Whitney J58, which can convert between turbojet and ramjet operation.\n\nCompared to propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust, higher speeds and, above about , greater efficiency. They are also much more fuel-efficient than rockets. As a consequence nearly all large, high-speed or high-altitude aircraft use jet engines.\n\n====Rotorcraft====\n\nSome rotorcraft, such as helicopters, have a powered rotary wing or ''rotor'', where the rotor disc can be angled slightly forward so that a proportion of its lift is directed forwards. The rotor may, like a propeller, be powered by a variety of methods such as a piston engine or turbine. Experiments have also used jet nozzles at the rotor blade tips.\n\n====Other types of powered aircraft====\n*''Rocket-powered aircraft'' have occasionally been experimented with, and the Messerschmitt ''Komet'' fighter even saw action in the Second World War. Since then, they have been restricted to research aircraft, such as the North American X-15, which traveled up into space where air-breathing engines cannot work (rockets carry their own oxidant). Rockets have more often been used as a supplement to the main power plant, typically for the rocket-assisted take off of heavily loaded aircraft, but also to provide high-speed dash capability in some hybrid designs such as the Saunders-Roe SR.53.\n*The ''ornithopter'' obtains thrust by flapping its wings. It has found practical use in a model hawk used to freeze prey animals into stillness so that they can be captured, and in toy birds.\n", "Aircraft are designed according to many factors such as customer and manufacturer demand, safety protocols and physical and economic constraints. For many types of aircraft the design process is regulated by national airworthiness authorities.\n\nThe key parts of an aircraft are generally divided into three categories:\n*The ''structure'' comprises the main load-bearing elements and associated equipment.\n*The ''propulsion system'' (if it is powered) comprises the power source and associated equipment, as described above.\n*The ''avionics'' comprise the control, navigation and communication systems, usually electrical in nature.\n\n===Structure===\nThe approach to structural design varies widely between different types of aircraft. Some, such as paragliders, comprise only flexible materials that act in tension and rely on aerodynamic pressure to hold their shape. A balloon similarly relies on internal gas pressure but may have a rigid basket or gondola slung below it to carry its payload. Early aircraft, including airships, often employed flexible doped aircraft fabric covering to give a reasonably smooth aeroshell stretched over a rigid frame. Later aircraft employed semi-monocoque techniques, where the skin of the aircraft is stiff enough to share much of the flight loads. In a true monocoque design there is no internal structure left.\n\nThe key structural parts of an aircraft depend on what type it is.\n\n====Aerostats====\n\nLighter-than-air types are characterised by one or more gasbags, typically with a supporting structure of flexible cables or a rigid framework called its hull. Other elements such as engines or a gondola may also be attached to the supporting structure.\n\n====Aerodynes====\nAirframe diagram for an AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter\nHeavier-than-air types are characterised by one or more wings and a central fuselage. The fuselage typically also carries a tail or empennage for stability and control, and an undercarriage for takeoff and landing. Engines may be located on the fuselage or wings. On a fixed-wing aircraft the wings are rigidly attached to the fuselage, while on a rotorcraft the wings are attached to a rotating vertical shaft. Smaller designs sometimes use flexible materials for part or all of the structure, held in place either by a rigid frame or by air pressure. The fixed parts of the structure comprise the airframe.\n\n===Avionics===\n\nThe avionics comprise the flight control systems and related equipment, including the cockpit instrumentation, navigation, radar, monitoring, and communication systems.\n", "\n===Flight envelope===\n\nThe flight envelope of an aircraft refers to its capabilities in terms of airspeed and load factor or altitude. The term can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. When a craft is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown ''outside the envelope'', something considered unsafe.\n\n===Range===\nThe Boeing 777-200LR is the longest-range airliner, capable of flights of more than halfway around the world.\n\nThe range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by the time it can remain airborne.\n\nFor a powered aircraft the time limit is determined by the fuel load and rate of consumption.\n\nFor an unpowered aircraft, the maximum flight time is limited by factors such as weather conditions and pilot endurance. Many aircraft types are restricted to daylight hours, while balloons are limited by their supply of lifting gas. The range can be seen as the average ground speed multiplied by the maximum time in the air.\n\n===Flight dynamics===\n\n200px\n'''Flight dynamics''' is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation around three axes about the vehicle's center of mass, known as ''pitch'', ''roll'', and ''yaw'' (quite different from their use as Tait-Bryan angles).\n\n*Roll is a rotation about the longitudinal axis (equivalent to the rolling or heeling of a ship) giving an up-down movement of the wing tips measured by the roll or bank angle.\n*Pitch is a rotation about the sideways horizontal axis giving an up-down movement of the aircraft nose measured by the angle of attack.\n*Yaw is a rotation about the vertical axis giving a side-to-side movement of the nose known as sideslip.\n\nFlight dynamics is concerned with the stability and control of an aircraft's rotation about each of these axes.\n\n====Stability====\nThe tail assembly of a Boeing 747–200\n\nAn aircraft that is unstable tends to diverge from its current flight path and so is difficult to fly. A very stable aircraft tends to stay on its current flight path and is difficult to manoeuvre—so it is important for any design to achieve the desired degree of stability. Since the widespread use of digital computers, it is increasingly common for designs to be inherently unstable and rely on computerised control systems to provide artificial stability.\n\nA fixed wing is typically unstable in pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch and yaw stabilities of conventional fixed wing designs require horizontal and vertical stabilisers, which act similarly to the feathers on an arrow. These stabilizing surfaces allow equilibrium of aerodynamic forces and to stabilise the flight dynamics of pitch and yaw. They are usually mounted on the tail section (empennage), although in the canard layout, the main aft wing replaces the canard foreplane as pitch stabilizer. Tandem wing and Tailless aircraft rely on the same general rule to achieve stability, the aft surface being the stabilising one.\n\nA rotary wing is typically unstable in yaw, requiring a vertical stabiliser.\n\nA balloon is typically very stable in pitch and roll due to the way the payload is hung underneath.\n\n====Control====\nFlight control surfaces enable the pilot to control an aircraft's flight attitude and are usually part of the wing or mounted on, or integral with, the associated stabilizing surface. Their development was a critical advance in the history of aircraft, which had until that point been uncontrollable in flight.\n\nAerospace engineers develop control systems for a vehicle's orientation (attitude) about its center of mass. The control systems include actuators, which exert forces in various directions, and generate rotational forces or moments about the aerodynamic center of the aircraft, and thus rotate the aircraft in pitch, roll, or yaw. For example, a pitching moment is a vertical force applied at a distance forward or aft from the aerodynamic center of the aircraft, causing the aircraft to pitch up or down. Control systems are also sometimes used to increase or decrease drag, for example to slow the aircraft to a safe speed for landing.\n\nThe two main aerodynamic forces acting on any aircraft are lift supporting it in the air and drag opposing its motion. Control surfaces or other techniques may also be used to affect these forces directly, without inducing any rotation.\n", "\nAircraft permit long distance, high speed travel and may be a more fuel efficient mode of transportation in some circumstances. Aircraft have environmental and climate impacts beyond fuel efficiency considerations, however. They are also relatively noisy compared to other forms of travel and high altitude aircraft generate contrails, which experimental evidence suggests may alter weather patterns.\n", "Aircraft are produced in several different types optimized for various uses; military aircraft, which includes not just combat types but many types of supporting aircraft, and civil aircraft, which include all non-military types, experimental and model.\n\n===Military===\nBoeing B-17E in flight\n\nA military aircraft is any aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:\n* Combat aircraft are aircraft designed to destroy enemy equipment using its own armament. Combat aircraft divide broadly into fighters and bombers, with several in-between types such as fighter-bombers and ground-attack aircraft (including attack helicopters).\n* Non-combat aircraft are not designed for combat as their primary function, but may carry weapons for self-defense. Non-combat roles include search and rescue, reconnaissance, observation, transport, training, and aerial refueling. These aircraft are often variants of civil aircraft.\n\nMost military aircraft are powered heavier-than-air types. Other types such as gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the American Civil War and World War I, and military gliders were used during World War II to land troops.\n\n===Civil===\nAgusta A109 helicopter of the Swiss air rescue service\n\nCivil aircraft divide into ''commercial'' and ''general'' types, however there are some overlaps.\n\nCommercial aircraft include types designed for scheduled and charter airline flights, carrying passengers, mail and other cargo. The larger passenger-carrying types are the airliners, the largest of which are wide-body aircraft. Some of the smaller types are also used in general aviation, and some of the larger types are used as VIP aircraft.\n\nGeneral aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial use, and involving a wide range of aircraft types such as business jets (bizjets), trainers, homebuilt, gliders, warbirds and hot air balloons to name a few. The vast majority of aircraft today are general aviation types.\n\n===Experimental===\n\nAn experimental aircraft is one that has not been fully proven in flight, or that carries an FAA airworthiness certificate in the \"Experimental\" category. Often, this implies that the aircraft is testing new aerospace technologies, though the term also refers to amateur and kit-built aircraft—many based on proven designs.\nA model aircraft, weighing six grams\n\n===Model===\n\nA model aircraft is a small unmanned type made to fly for fun, for static display, for aerodynamic research or for other purposes. A scale model is a replica of some larger design.\n", "\n===Lists===\n*Early flying machines\n*Flight altitude record\n*List of aircraft\n*List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types\n*List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms\n*List of civil aircraft\n*List of fighter aircraft\n*List of individual aircraft\n*List of large aircraft\n\n\n===Topics===\n\n\n*Aircraft spotting\n*Air traffic control\n*Airport\n*Flying car/roadable aircraft\n*Personal air vehicle\n*Powered parachute\n \n\n*Rocket\n*Spacecraft\n*Spaceplane\n*Steam aircraft\n\n", "\n\n*\n", "\n\n\n'''History'''\n* The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)\n* Virtual Museum\n* Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft\n* Amazing Early Flying Machines slideshow by ''Life magazine''\n;\n'''Information'''\n* Airliners.net\n* Aviation Dictionary Free aviation terms, phrases and jargons\n* ''New Scientist's'' Aviation page\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Methods of lift", "Scale, sizes and speeds", "Propulsion", "Design and construction", "Flight characteristics", "Impacts of aircraft use", "Uses for aircraft", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "*Roll is a rotation about the longitudinal axis (equivalent to the rolling or heeling of a ship) giving an up-down movement of the wing tips measured by the roll or bank angle." ]

[ "\n\nNASA test aircraft\nThe Mil Mi-8 is the most-produced helicopter in history\nThe Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the most produced aircraft in history.", "''Voodoo'', a modified P 51 Mustang is the 2014 Reno Air Race Champion\n\nAn '''aircraft''' is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air.", "It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.", "Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships (including blimps), gliders, and hot air balloons.", "The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called ''aviation''.", "Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, but unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers.", "Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type, aircraft propulsion, usage and others.", "\n\n\nFlying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries, however the first manned ascent – and safe descent – in modern times took place by larger hot-air balloons developed in the 18th century.", "Each of the two World Wars led to great technical advances.", "Consequently, the history of aircraft can be divided into five eras:\n*Pioneers of flight, from the earliest experiments to 1914.", "*First World War, 1914 to 1918.", "*Aviation between the World Wars, 1918 to 1939.", "*Second World War, 1939 to 1945.", "*Postwar era, also called the jet age, 1945 to the present day.", "\n===Lighter than air – aerostats===\n\nballoons\nAerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that ships float on the water.", "They are characterized by one or more large gasbags or canopies, filled with a relatively low-density gas such as helium, hydrogen, or hot air, which is less dense than the surrounding air.", "When the weight of this is added to the weight of the aircraft structure, it adds up to the same weight as the air that the craft displaces.", "Small hot-air balloons called sky lanterns were first invented in ancient China prior to the 3rd century BC and used primarily in cultural celebrations, and were only the second type of aircraft to fly, the first being kites which were first invented in ancient China over two thousand years ago (see Han Dynasty).", "USS Akron over Manhattan in the 1930s\nA balloon was originally any aerostat, while the term airship was used for large, powered aircraft designs – usually fixed-wing.", "In 1919 Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to \"ships of the air,\" with smaller passenger types as \"Air yachts.\"", "In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as \"ships of the air\" or \"flying-ships\".", "– though none had yet been built.", "The advent of powered balloons, called dirigible balloons, and later of rigid hulls allowing a great increase in size, began to change the way these words were used.", "Huge powered aerostats, characterized by a rigid outer framework and separate aerodynamic skin surrounding the gas bags, were produced, the Zeppelins being the largest and most famous.", "There were still no fixed-wing aircraft or non-rigid balloons large enough to be called airships, so \"airship\" came to be synonymous with these aircraft.", "Then several accidents, such as the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, led to the demise of these airships.", "Nowadays a \"balloon\" is an unpowered aerostat and an \"airship\" is a powered one.", "A powered, steerable aerostat is called a ''dirigible''.", "Sometimes this term is applied only to non-rigid balloons, and sometimes ''dirigible balloon'' is regarded as the definition of an airship (which may then be rigid or non-rigid).", "Non-rigid dirigibles are characterized by a moderately aerodynamic gasbag with stabilizing fins at the back.", "These soon became known as ''blimps''.", "During the Second World War, this shape was widely adopted for tethered balloons; in windy weather, this both reduces the strain on the tether and stabilizes the balloon.", "The nickname ''blimp'' was adopted along with the shape.", "In modern times, any small dirigible or airship is called a blimp, though a blimp may be unpowered as well as powered.", "===Heavier-than-air – aerodynes===\n\nHeavier-than-air aircraft, such as airplanes, must find some way to push air or gas downwards, so that a reaction occurs (by Newton's laws of motion) to push the aircraft upwards.", "This dynamic movement through the air is the origin of the term ''aerodyne''.", "There are two ways to produce dynamic upthrust: aerodynamic lift, and powered lift in the form of engine thrust.", "Aerodynamic lift involving wings is the most common, with fixed-wing aircraft being kept in the air by the forward movement of wings, and rotorcraft by spinning wing-shaped rotors sometimes called rotary wings.", "A wing is a flat, horizontal surface, usually shaped in cross-section as an aerofoil.", "To fly, air must flow over the wing and generate lift.", "A ''flexible wing'' is a wing made of fabric or thin sheet material, often stretched over a rigid frame.", "A ''kite'' is tethered to the ground and relies on the speed of the wind over its wings, which may be flexible or rigid, fixed, or rotary.", "With powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downward.", "V/STOL aircraft, such as the Harrier Jump Jet and F-35B take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight.", "A pure rocket is not usually regarded as an aerodyne, because it does not depend on the air for its lift (and can even fly into space); however, many aerodynamic lift vehicles have been powered or assisted by rocket motors.", "Rocket-powered missiles that obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies are a marginal case.", "====Fixed-wing====\nAn Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner\n\n\nThe forerunner of the fixed-wing aircraft is the kite.", "Whereas a fixed-wing aircraft relies on its forward speed to create airflow over the wings, a kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the wind blowing over its wings to provide lift.", "Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly, and were invented in China around 500 BC.", "Much aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels, and computer modelling programs became available.", "The first heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled free-flight were gliders.", "A glider designed by Cayley carried out the first true manned, controlled flight in 1853.", "Practical, powered, fixed-wing aircraft (the aeroplane or airplane) were invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright.", "Besides the method of propulsion, fixed-wing aircraft are in general characterized by their wing configuration.", "The most important wing characteristics are:\n*Number of wings – Monoplane, biplane, etc.", "*Wing support – Braced or cantilever, rigid, or flexible.", "*Wing planform – including aspect ratio, angle of sweep, and any variations along the span (including the important class of delta wings).", "*Location of the horizontal stabilizer, if any.", "*Dihedral angle – positive, zero, or negative (anhedral).", "A variable geometry aircraft can change its wing configuration during flight.", "A ''flying wing'' has no fuselage, though it may have small blisters or pods.", "The opposite of this is a ''lifting body'', which has no wings, though it may have small stabilizing and control surfaces.", "Wing-in-ground-effect vehicles are not considered aircraft.", "They \"fly\" efficiently close to the surface of the ground or water, like conventional aircraft during takeoff.", "An example is the Russian ekranoplan (nicknamed the \"Caspian Sea Monster\").", "Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne with a minimal pilot power, but this is only because they are so underpowered—in fact, the airframe is capable of flying higher.", "====Rotorcraft====\nAn autogyro\n\n\nRotorcraft, or rotary-wing aircraft, use a spinning rotor with aerofoil section blades (a ''rotary wing'') to provide lift.", "Types include helicopters, autogyros, and various hybrids such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft.", "''Helicopters'' have a rotor turned by an engine-driven shaft.", "The rotor pushes air downward to create lift.", "By tilting the rotor forward, the downward flow is tilted backward, producing thrust for forward flight.", "Some helicopters have more than one rotor and a few have rotors turned by gas jets at the tips.", "''Autogyros'' have unpowered rotors, with a separate power plant to provide thrust.", "The rotor is tilted backward.", "As the autogyro moves forward, air blows upward across the rotor, making it spin.", "This spinning increases the speed of airflow over the rotor, to provide lift.", "Rotor kites are unpowered autogyros, which are towed to give them forward speed or tethered to a static anchor in high-wind for kited flight.", "''Cyclogyros'' rotate their wings about a horizontal axis.", "''Compound rotorcraft'' have wings that provide some or all of the lift in forward flight.", "They are nowadays classified as ''powered lift'' types and not as rotorcraft.", "''Tiltrotor'' aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey), tiltwing, tailsitter, and coleopter aircraft have their rotors/propellers horizontal for vertical flight and vertical for forward flight.", "====Other methods of lift====\nglider\n\n*A ''lifting body'' is an aircraft body shaped to produce lift.", "If there are any wings, they are too small to provide significant lift and are used only for stability and control.", "Lifting bodies are not efficient: they suffer from high drag, and must also travel at high speed to generate enough lift to fly.", "Many of the research prototypes, such as the Martin-Marietta X-24, which led up to the Space Shuttle, were lifting bodies (though the shuttle itself is not), and some supersonic missiles obtain lift from the airflow over a tubular body.", "*''Powered lift'' types rely on engine-derived lift for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).", "Most types transition to fixed-wing lift for horizontal flight.", "Classes of powered lift types include VTOL jet aircraft (such as the Harrier jump-jet) and tiltrotors (such as the V-22 Osprey), among others.", "A few experimental designs rely entirely on engine thrust to provide lift throughout the whole flight, including personal fan-lift hover platforms and jetpacks.", "VTOL research designs include the flying Bedstead.", "*The ''Flettner airplane'' uses a rotating cylinder in place of a fixed wing, obtaining lift from the magnus effect.", "*The ''ornithopter'' obtains thrust by flapping its wings.", "\n===Sizes===\nThe '''smallest aircraft''' are toys, and—even smaller -- nano-aircraft.", "The '''largest aircraft by dimensions and volume''' (as of 2016) is the 302-foot-long (about 95 meters) British Airlander 10, a hybrid blimp, with helicopter and fixed-wing features, and reportedly capable of speeds up to 90 mph (about 150 km/h), and an airborne endurance of two weeks with a payload of up to 22,050 pounds (11 tons).", "The '''largest aircraft by weight''' and '''largest regular fixed-wing aircraft''' ever built (as of 2016), is the Antonov An-225.", "That Ukrainian-built 6-engine Russian transport of the 1980s is 84 metres (276 feet) long, with an 88-meter (289 foot) wingspan.", "It holds the world payload record, after transporting 428,834 pounds (200 tons) of goods, and has recently flown 100-ton loads commercially.", "Weighing in at somewhere between 1.1 and 1.4 million pounds (550-700 tons) maximum loaded weight, it is also the heaviest aircraft to be built, to date.", "It can cruise at 500 mph.", "The '''largest military airplanes''' are the Ukrainian/Russian Antonov An-124 (world's second-largest airplane, also used as a civilian transport), and American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport, weighing, loaded, over 765,000 pounds (over 380 tons).", "The 8-engine, piston/propeller Hughes HK-1 \"Spruce Goose,\" an American World War II wooden flying boat transport—with a greater wingspan (94 meters / 260 feet) than any current aircraft, and a tail-height equal to the tallest (Airbus A380-800 at 24.1 meters / 78 feet) -- flew only one short hop in the late 1940s, and never flew out of ground effect.", "The '''largest civilian airplanes,''' apart from the above-noted An-225 and An-124, are the French Airbus Beluga cargo transport derivative of the Airbus A300 jet airliner, the American Boeing Dreamlifter cargo transport derivative of the Boeing 747 jet airliner/transport (the 747-200B was, at its creation in the 1960s, the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum weight of 836,000 pounds (over 400 tons)), and the double-decker French Airbus A380 \"super-jumbo\" jet airliner (the world's '''largest passenger airliner''').", "===Speeds===\nThe '''fastest recorded powered aircraft flight''' and '''fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft''' was of the NASA X-43A Pegasus, a scramjet-powered, hypersonic, lifting body experimental research aircraft, at '''Mach 9.6 (nearly 7,000 mph).'''", "The X-43A set that new mark, and broke its own world record (of Mach 6.3, nearly 5,000 mph, set in March, 2004) on its third and final flight on Nov. 16, 2004.", "Prior to the X-43A, the '''fastest recorded powered airplane flight''' (and still the record for the '''fastest manned, powered airplane''' / '''fastest manned, non-spacecraft aircraft''') was of the North American X-15A-2, '''rocket-powered airplane''' at 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h), Mach 6.72, on October 3, 1967.", "On one flight it reached an altitude of 354,300 feet.", "The '''fastest known, production aircraft''' (other than rockets and missiles) currently or formerly operational (as of 2016) are:\n\n* The fastest '''fixed-wing aircraft,''' and '''fastest glider,''' is the Space Shuttle, a rocket-glider hybrid, which has re-entered the atmosphere as a fixed-wing glider at over Mach 25 (over 25 times the speed of sound—about 17,000 mph at re-entry to Earth's atmosphere).", "* The fastest '''military airplane''' ever built: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a U.S. reconnaissance jet fixed-wing aircraft, known to fly beyond Mach 3.3 (about 2,200 mph at cruising altitude).", "On July 28, 1976, an SR-71 set the record for the '''fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft''' with an '''absolute speed record of 2,193 mph''' and an '''absolute altitude record of 85,068 feet.'''", "At its retirement in the January 1990, it was the '''fastest air-breathing aircraft''' / '''fastest jet aircraft''' in the world—a record still standing as of August, 2016. \n:Note: Some sources refer to the above-mentioned X-15 as the \"fastest military airplane\" because it was partly a project of the U.S. Navy and Air Force; however, the X-15 was not used in non-experimental actual military operations.", "* The '''fastest current military aircraft''' are the Soviet/Russian MiG-25—capable of Mach 3.2 (2,170 mph), at the expense of engine damage, or Mach 2.83 (1,920 mph) normally—and the Russian MiG-31E (also capable of Mach 2.83 normally).", "Both are fighter-interceptor jet airplanes, in active operations as of 2016.", "* The fastest '''civilian airplane''' ever built, and '''fastest passenger airliner''' ever built: the briefly operated Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic jet airliner (Mach 2.35, 1,600 mph, 2,587 km/h), which was believed to cruise at about Mach 2.2.", "The Tu-144 (officially operated from 1968 to 1978, ending after two crashes of the small fleet) was outlived by its rival, the Concorde SST (Mach 2.23), a French/British supersonic airliner, known to cruise at Mach 2.02 (1.450 mph, 2,333 kmh at cruising altitude), operating from 1976 until the small Concorde fleet was grounded permanently in 2003, following the crash of one in the early 2000s.", "* The fastest '''civilian airplane currently flying''': the Cessna Citation Ten, an American business jet, capable of Mach 0.935 (over 600 mph at cruising altitude).", "Its rival, the American Gulfstream 650 business jet, can reach Mach 0.925\n* The fastest '''airliner currently flying''' is the Boeing 747, quoted as being capable of cruising over Mach 0.885 (over 550 mph).", "Previously, the fastest were the troubled, short-lived Russian (Soviet Union) Tupolev Tu-144 SST (Mach 2.35) and the French/British Concorde SST (Mach 2.23, normally cruising at Mach 2) .", "Before them, the Convair 990 Coronado jet airliner of the 1960s flew at over 600 mph.", "\n===Unpowered aircraft===\n\nGliders are heavier-than-air aircraft that do not employ propulsion once airborne.", "Take-off may be by launching forward and downward from a high location, or by pulling into the air on a tow-line, either by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or by a powered \"tug\" aircraft.", "For a glider to maintain its forward air speed and lift, it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground).", "Many gliders can 'soar' – gain height from updrafts such as thermal currents.", "The first practical, controllable example was designed and built by the British scientist and pioneer George Cayley, whom many recognise as the first aeronautical engineer.", "Common examples of gliders are sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders.", "Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude, either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude).", "A wing-shaped hybrid balloon can glide directionally when rising or falling; but a spherically shaped balloon does not have such directional control.", "Kites are aircraft that are tethered to the ground or other object (fixed or mobile) that maintains tension in the tether or kite line; they rely on virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag.", "Kytoons are balloon-kite hybrids that are shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than-air.", "===Powered aircraft===\n\nPowered aircraft have one or more onboard sources of mechanical power, typically aircraft engines although rubber and manpower have also been used.", "Most aircraft engines are either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines.", "Engine fuel is stored in tanks, usually in the wings but larger aircraft also have additional fuel tanks in the fuselage.", "====Propeller aircraft====\n\nA turboprop-engined DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a floatplane\n\nPropeller aircraft use one or more propellers (airscrews) to create thrust in a forward direction.", "The propeller is usually mounted in front of the power source in ''tractor configuration'' but can be mounted behind in ''pusher configuration''.", "Variations of propeller layout include ''contra-rotating propellers'' and ''ducted fans''.", "Many kinds of power plant have been used to drive propellers.", "Early airships used man power or steam engines.", "The more practical internal combustion piston engine was used for virtually all fixed-wing aircraft until World War II and is still used in many smaller aircraft.", "Some types use turbine engines to drive a propeller in the form of a turboprop or propfan.", "Human-powered flight has been achieved, but has not become a practical means of transport.", "Unmanned aircraft and models have also used power sources such as electric motors and rubber bands.", "====Jet aircraft====\n\nLockheed Martin F-22A Raptor\n\nJet aircraft use airbreathing jet engines, which take in air, burn fuel with it in a combustion chamber, and accelerate the exhaust rearwards to provide thrust.", "Turbojet and turbofan engines use a spinning turbine to drive one or more fans, which provide additional thrust.", "An afterburner may be used to inject extra fuel into the hot exhaust, especially on military \"fast jets\".", "Use of a turbine is not absolutely necessary: other designs include the pulse jet and ramjet.", "These mechanically simple designs cannot work when stationary, so the aircraft must be launched to flying speed by some other method.", "Other variants have also been used, including the motorjet and hybrids such as the Pratt & Whitney J58, which can convert between turbojet and ramjet operation.", "Compared to propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust, higher speeds and, above about , greater efficiency.", "They are also much more fuel-efficient than rockets.", "As a consequence nearly all large, high-speed or high-altitude aircraft use jet engines.", "====Rotorcraft====\n\nSome rotorcraft, such as helicopters, have a powered rotary wing or ''rotor'', where the rotor disc can be angled slightly forward so that a proportion of its lift is directed forwards.", "The rotor may, like a propeller, be powered by a variety of methods such as a piston engine or turbine.", "Experiments have also used jet nozzles at the rotor blade tips.", "====Other types of powered aircraft====\n*''Rocket-powered aircraft'' have occasionally been experimented with, and the Messerschmitt ''Komet'' fighter even saw action in the Second World War.", "Since then, they have been restricted to research aircraft, such as the North American X-15, which traveled up into space where air-breathing engines cannot work (rockets carry their own oxidant).", "Rockets have more often been used as a supplement to the main power plant, typically for the rocket-assisted take off of heavily loaded aircraft, but also to provide high-speed dash capability in some hybrid designs such as the Saunders-Roe SR.53.", "*The ''ornithopter'' obtains thrust by flapping its wings.", "It has found practical use in a model hawk used to freeze prey animals into stillness so that they can be captured, and in toy birds.", "Aircraft are designed according to many factors such as customer and manufacturer demand, safety protocols and physical and economic constraints.", "For many types of aircraft the design process is regulated by national airworthiness authorities.", "The key parts of an aircraft are generally divided into three categories:\n*The ''structure'' comprises the main load-bearing elements and associated equipment.", "*The ''propulsion system'' (if it is powered) comprises the power source and associated equipment, as described above.", "*The ''avionics'' comprise the control, navigation and communication systems, usually electrical in nature.", "===Structure===\nThe approach to structural design varies widely between different types of aircraft.", "Some, such as paragliders, comprise only flexible materials that act in tension and rely on aerodynamic pressure to hold their shape.", "A balloon similarly relies on internal gas pressure but may have a rigid basket or gondola slung below it to carry its payload.", "Early aircraft, including airships, often employed flexible doped aircraft fabric covering to give a reasonably smooth aeroshell stretched over a rigid frame.", "Later aircraft employed semi-monocoque techniques, where the skin of the aircraft is stiff enough to share much of the flight loads.", "In a true monocoque design there is no internal structure left.", "The key structural parts of an aircraft depend on what type it is.", "====Aerostats====\n\nLighter-than-air types are characterised by one or more gasbags, typically with a supporting structure of flexible cables or a rigid framework called its hull.", "Other elements such as engines or a gondola may also be attached to the supporting structure.", "====Aerodynes====\nAirframe diagram for an AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter\nHeavier-than-air types are characterised by one or more wings and a central fuselage.", "The fuselage typically also carries a tail or empennage for stability and control, and an undercarriage for takeoff and landing.", "Engines may be located on the fuselage or wings.", "On a fixed-wing aircraft the wings are rigidly attached to the fuselage, while on a rotorcraft the wings are attached to a rotating vertical shaft.", "Smaller designs sometimes use flexible materials for part or all of the structure, held in place either by a rigid frame or by air pressure.", "The fixed parts of the structure comprise the airframe.", "===Avionics===\n\nThe avionics comprise the flight control systems and related equipment, including the cockpit instrumentation, navigation, radar, monitoring, and communication systems.", "\n===Flight envelope===\n\nThe flight envelope of an aircraft refers to its capabilities in terms of airspeed and load factor or altitude.", "The term can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability.", "When a craft is pushed, for instance by diving it at high speeds, it is said to be flown ''outside the envelope'', something considered unsafe.", "===Range===\nThe Boeing 777-200LR is the longest-range airliner, capable of flights of more than halfway around the world.", "The range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by the time it can remain airborne.", "For a powered aircraft the time limit is determined by the fuel load and rate of consumption.", "For an unpowered aircraft, the maximum flight time is limited by factors such as weather conditions and pilot endurance.", "Many aircraft types are restricted to daylight hours, while balloons are limited by their supply of lifting gas.", "The range can be seen as the average ground speed multiplied by the maximum time in the air.", "===Flight dynamics===\n\n200px\n'''Flight dynamics''' is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions.", "The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation around three axes about the vehicle's center of mass, known as ''pitch'', ''roll'', and ''yaw'' (quite different from their use as Tait-Bryan angles).", "*Pitch is a rotation about the sideways horizontal axis giving an up-down movement of the aircraft nose measured by the angle of attack.", "*Yaw is a rotation about the vertical axis giving a side-to-side movement of the nose known as sideslip.", "Flight dynamics is concerned with the stability and control of an aircraft's rotation about each of these axes.", "====Stability====\nThe tail assembly of a Boeing 747–200\n\nAn aircraft that is unstable tends to diverge from its current flight path and so is difficult to fly.", "A very stable aircraft tends to stay on its current flight path and is difficult to manoeuvre—so it is important for any design to achieve the desired degree of stability.", "Since the widespread use of digital computers, it is increasingly common for designs to be inherently unstable and rely on computerised control systems to provide artificial stability.", "A fixed wing is typically unstable in pitch, roll, and yaw.", "Pitch and yaw stabilities of conventional fixed wing designs require horizontal and vertical stabilisers, which act similarly to the feathers on an arrow.", "These stabilizing surfaces allow equilibrium of aerodynamic forces and to stabilise the flight dynamics of pitch and yaw.", "They are usually mounted on the tail section (empennage), although in the canard layout, the main aft wing replaces the canard foreplane as pitch stabilizer.", "Tandem wing and Tailless aircraft rely on the same general rule to achieve stability, the aft surface being the stabilising one.", "A rotary wing is typically unstable in yaw, requiring a vertical stabiliser.", "A balloon is typically very stable in pitch and roll due to the way the payload is hung underneath.", "====Control====\nFlight control surfaces enable the pilot to control an aircraft's flight attitude and are usually part of the wing or mounted on, or integral with, the associated stabilizing surface.", "Their development was a critical advance in the history of aircraft, which had until that point been uncontrollable in flight.", "Aerospace engineers develop control systems for a vehicle's orientation (attitude) about its center of mass.", "The control systems include actuators, which exert forces in various directions, and generate rotational forces or moments about the aerodynamic center of the aircraft, and thus rotate the aircraft in pitch, roll, or yaw.", "For example, a pitching moment is a vertical force applied at a distance forward or aft from the aerodynamic center of the aircraft, causing the aircraft to pitch up or down.", "Control systems are also sometimes used to increase or decrease drag, for example to slow the aircraft to a safe speed for landing.", "The two main aerodynamic forces acting on any aircraft are lift supporting it in the air and drag opposing its motion.", "Control surfaces or other techniques may also be used to affect these forces directly, without inducing any rotation.", "\nAircraft permit long distance, high speed travel and may be a more fuel efficient mode of transportation in some circumstances.", "Aircraft have environmental and climate impacts beyond fuel efficiency considerations, however.", "They are also relatively noisy compared to other forms of travel and high altitude aircraft generate contrails, which experimental evidence suggests may alter weather patterns.", "Aircraft are produced in several different types optimized for various uses; military aircraft, which includes not just combat types but many types of supporting aircraft, and civil aircraft, which include all non-military types, experimental and model.", "===Military===\nBoeing B-17E in flight\n\nA military aircraft is any aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type.", "Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:\n* Combat aircraft are aircraft designed to destroy enemy equipment using its own armament.", "Combat aircraft divide broadly into fighters and bombers, with several in-between types such as fighter-bombers and ground-attack aircraft (including attack helicopters).", "* Non-combat aircraft are not designed for combat as their primary function, but may carry weapons for self-defense.", "Non-combat roles include search and rescue, reconnaissance, observation, transport, training, and aerial refueling.", "These aircraft are often variants of civil aircraft.", "Most military aircraft are powered heavier-than-air types.", "Other types such as gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the American Civil War and World War I, and military gliders were used during World War II to land troops.", "===Civil===\nAgusta A109 helicopter of the Swiss air rescue service\n\nCivil aircraft divide into ''commercial'' and ''general'' types, however there are some overlaps.", "Commercial aircraft include types designed for scheduled and charter airline flights, carrying passengers, mail and other cargo.", "The larger passenger-carrying types are the airliners, the largest of which are wide-body aircraft.", "Some of the smaller types are also used in general aviation, and some of the larger types are used as VIP aircraft.", "General aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial use, and involving a wide range of aircraft types such as business jets (bizjets), trainers, homebuilt, gliders, warbirds and hot air balloons to name a few.", "The vast majority of aircraft today are general aviation types.", "===Experimental===\n\nAn experimental aircraft is one that has not been fully proven in flight, or that carries an FAA airworthiness certificate in the \"Experimental\" category.", "Often, this implies that the aircraft is testing new aerospace technologies, though the term also refers to amateur and kit-built aircraft—many based on proven designs.", "A model aircraft, weighing six grams\n\n===Model===\n\nA model aircraft is a small unmanned type made to fly for fun, for static display, for aerodynamic research or for other purposes.", "A scale model is a replica of some larger design.", "\n===Lists===\n*Early flying machines\n*Flight altitude record\n*List of aircraft\n*List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types\n*List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms\n*List of civil aircraft\n*List of fighter aircraft\n*List of individual aircraft\n*List of large aircraft\n\n\n===Topics===\n\n\n*Aircraft spotting\n*Air traffic control\n*Airport\n*Flying car/roadable aircraft\n*Personal air vehicle\n*Powered parachute\n \n\n*Rocket\n*Spacecraft\n*Spaceplane\n*Steam aircraft", "\n\n*", "\n\n\n'''History'''\n* The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)\n* Virtual Museum\n* Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft\n* Amazing Early Flying Machines slideshow by ''Life magazine''\n;\n'''Information'''\n* Airliners.net\n* Aviation Dictionary Free aviation terms, phrases and jargons\n* ''New Scientist's'' Aviation page" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alfred Bernhard Nobel''' (; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist.\n\nKnown for inventing dynamite, Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments. Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. After reading a premature obituary which condemned him for profiting from the sales of arms, he bequeathed his fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him. His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of mergers with companies Nobel himself established.\n", "Alfred Nobel at a young age\nBorn in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel was the third son of Immanuel Nobel (1801–1872), an inventor and engineer, and Carolina Andriette (Ahlsell) Nobel (1805–1889). The couple married in 1827 and had eight children. The family was impoverished, and only Alfred and his three brothers survived past childhood. Through his father, Alfred Nobel was a descendant of the Swedish scientist Olaus Rudbeck (1630–1702), and in his turn the boy was interested in engineering, particularly explosives, learning the basic principles from his father at a young age. Alfred Nobel's interest in technology was inherited from his father, an alumnus of Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.\n\nFollowing various business failures, Nobel's father moved to Saint Petersburg in 1837 and grew successful there as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives. He invented modern plywood and started work on the torpedo. In 1842, the family joined him in the city. Now prosperous, his parents were able to send Nobel to private tutors and the boy excelled in his studies, particularly in chemistry and languages, achieving fluency in English, French, German and Russian. For 18 months, from 1841 to 1842, Nobel went to the only school he ever attended as a child, the Jacobs Apologistic School in Stockholm.\n\nAs a young man, Nobel studied with chemist Nikolai Zinin; then, in 1850, went to Paris to further the work. There he met Ascanio Sobrero, who had invented nitroglycerin three years before. Sobrero strongly opposed the use of nitroglycerin, as it was unpredictable, exploding when subjected to heat or pressure. But Nobel became interested in finding a way to control and use nitroglycerin as a commercially usable explosive, as it had much more power than gunpowder. At age 18, he went to the United States for one year to study chemistry, working for a short period under inventor John Ericsson, who designed the American Civil War ironclad ''USS Monitor''. Nobel filed his first patent, an English patent for a gas meter, in 1857, while his first Swedish patent, which he received in 1863, was on 'ways to prepare gunpowder'.\n\nThe family factory produced armaments for the Crimean War (1853–1856), but had difficulty switching back to regular domestic production when the fighting ended and they filed for bankruptcy. In 1859, Nobel's father left his factory in the care of the second son, Ludvig Nobel (1831–1888), who greatly improved the business. Nobel and his parents returned to Sweden from Russia and Nobel devoted himself to the study of explosives, and especially to the safe manufacture and use of nitroglycerin. Nobel invented a detonator in 1863, and in 1865 designed the blasting cap.\n\nOn 3 September 1864, a shed used for preparation of nitroglycerin exploded at the factory in Heleneborg, Stockholm, killing five people, including Nobel's younger brother Emil. Dogged and unfazed by more minor accidents, Nobel went on to build further factories, focusing on improving the stability of the explosives he was developing. Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin. Dynamite was patented in the US and the UK and was used extensively in mining and the building of transport networks internationally. In 1875 Nobel invented gelignite, more stable and powerful than dynamite, and in 1887 patented ballistite, a predecessor of cordite.\n\nNobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1884, the same institution that would later select laureates for two of the Nobel prizes, and he received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1893.\n\nAlfred Nobel's death mask, at Bjorkborn, Nobel's residence in Karlskoga, Sweden.\nNobel's brothers Ludvig and Robert exploited oilfields along the Caspian Sea and became hugely rich in their own right. Nobel invested in these and amassed great wealth through the development of these new oil regions. During his life Nobel was issued 355 patents internationally and by his death his business had established more than 90 armaments factories, despite his belief in pacifism.\n\nIn 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error. A French obituary stated \"Le marchand de la mort est mort\" ''(\"The merchant of death is dead\")''.\n", "\nAccused of “high treason against France” for selling Ballistite to Italy, Nobel moved from Paris to Sanremo, Italy in 1891. On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel succumbed to a lingering heart ailment, suffered a stroke, and died. Unbeknownst to his family, friends or colleagues, he had left most of his wealth in trust, in order to fund the awards that would become known as the Nobel Prizes. He is buried in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.\n", "\nThrough baptism and confirmation Alfred Nobel was Lutheran and during his Paris years he regularly attended the Church of Sweden Abroad, led by pastor Nathan Söderblom, who would in 1930 also be the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he became an agnostic at youth and was an atheist later in life.\n\nNobel travelled for much of his business life, maintaining companies in various countries in Europe and North America and keeping a permanent home in Paris from 1873 to 1891. He remained a solitary character, given to periods of depression. Though Nobel remained unmarried, his biographers note that he had at least three loves. Nobel's first love was in Russia with a girl named Alexandra, who rejected his proposal. In 1876 Austro-Bohemian Countess Bertha Kinsky became Alfred Nobel's secretary, but after only a brief stay she left him to marry her previous lover, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. Though her personal contact with Alfred Nobel had been brief, she corresponded with him until his death in 1896, and it is believed that she was a major influence in his decision to include a peace prize among those prizes provided in his will. Bertha von Suttner was awarded the 1905 Nobel Peace prize, 'for her sincere peace activities'.\n\nNobel's third and longest-lasting relationship was with Sofie Hess from Vienna, whom he met in 1876. The liaison lasted for 18 years. After his death, according to his biographers Evlanoff, Fluor and Fant, Nobel's letters were locked within the Nobel Institute in Stockholm. They were released only in 1955, to be included with other biographical data.\n\nDespite the lack of formal secondary and tertiary level education, Nobel gained proficiency in six languages: Swedish, French, Russian, English, German and Italian. He also developed sufficient literary skill to write poetry in English. His ''Nemesis'', a prose tragedy in four acts about Beatrice Cenci, partly inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley's ''The Cenci'', was printed while he was dying. The entire stock except for three copies was destroyed immediately after his death, being regarded as scandalous and blasphemous. The first surviving edition (bilingual Swedish–Esperanto) was published in Sweden in 2003. The play has been translated into Slovenian via the Esperanto version and into French. In 2010 it was published in Russia in another bilingual (Russian–Esperanto) edition.\n", "\n\nPortrait of Nobel by Gösta Florman (1831–1900)\nNobel found that when nitroglycerin was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like ''kieselguhr'' (diatomaceous earth) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as \"dynamite\". Nobel demonstrated his explosive for the first time that year, at a quarry in Redhill, Surrey, England. In order to help reestablish his name and improve the image of his business from the earlier controversies associated with the dangerous explosives, Nobel had also considered naming the highly powerful substance \"Nobel's Safety Powder\", but settled with Dynamite instead, referring to the Greek word for \"power\" ().\n\nNobel later combined nitroglycerin with various nitrocellulose compounds, similar to collodion, but settled on a more efficient recipe combining another nitrate explosive, and obtained a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was a more powerful explosive than dynamite. 'Gelignite', or blasting gelatin, as it was named, was patented in 1876; and was followed by a host of similar combinations, modified by the addition of potassium nitrate and various other substances. Gelignite was more stable, transportable and conveniently formed to fit into bored holes, like those used in drilling and mining, than the previously used compounds and was adopted as the standard technology for mining in the ''Age of Engineering'' bringing Nobel a great amount of financial success, though at a significant cost to his health. An offshoot of this research resulted in Nobel's invention of ballistite, the precursor of many modern smokeless powder explosives and still used as a rocket propellant.\n", "\n\nIn 1888 Alfred's brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred's obituary. It condemned him for his invention of dynamite and is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death. The obituary stated, '''' (\"The merchant of death is dead\") and went on to say, \"Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.\" Alfred (who never had a wife or children) was disappointed with what he read and concerned with how he would be remembered.\n\nOn 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel's will allocated 94% of his total assets, 31,225,000 Swedish kronor, to establish the five Nobel Prizes. This converted to £1,687,837 (GBP) at the time. In 2012, the capital was worth around SEK 3.1 billion (USD 472 million, EUR 337 million), which is almost twice the amount of the initial capital, taking inflation into account.\n\nThe first three of these prizes are awarded for eminence in physical science, in chemistry and in medical science or physiology; the fourth is for literary work \"in an ideal direction\" and the fifth prize is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international fraternity, in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses. \n\nThe formulation for the literary prize being given for a work \"in an ideal direction\" ('''' in Swedish), is cryptic and has caused much confusion. For many years, the Swedish Academy interpreted \"ideal\" as \"idealistic\" ('''') and used it as a reason not to give the prize to important but less romantic authors, such as Henrik Ibsen and Leo Tolstoy. This interpretation has since been revised, and the prize has been awarded to, for example, Dario Fo and José Saramago, who do not belong to the camp of literary idealism.\n\nThere was room for interpretation by the bodies he had named for deciding on the physical sciences and chemistry prizes, given that he had not consulted them before making the will. In his one-page testament, he stipulated that the money go to discoveries or inventions in the physical sciences and to discoveries or improvements in chemistry. He had opened the door to technological awards, but had not left instructions on how to deal with the distinction between science and technology. Since the deciding bodies he had chosen were more concerned with the former, the prizes went to scientists more often than engineers, technicians or other inventors.\n\nIn 2001, Alfred Nobel's great-great-nephew, Peter Nobel (b. 1931), asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate its award to economists given \"in Alfred Nobel's memory\" from the five other awards. This request added to the controversy over whether the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is actually a legitimate \"Nobel Prize\".\n", "The ''Monument to Alfred Nobel'' (, ) in Saint Petersburg is located along the Bolshaya Nevka River on Petrogradskaya Embankment. It was dedicated in 1991 to mark the 90th anniversary of the first Nobel Prize presentation. Diplomat Thomas Bertelman and Professor Arkady Melua initiators of creation of the monument (1989). Professor A. Melua has provided funds for the establishment of the monument ( J.S.Co. \"Humanistica\", 1990–1991). The abstract metal sculpture was designed by local artists Sergey Alipov and Pavel Shevchenko, and appears to be an explosion or branches of a tree. Petrogradskaya Embankment is the street where the Nobel's family lived until 1859.\n", "Criticism of Nobel focuses on his leading role in weapons manufacturing and sales, and some question his motives in creating his prizes, suggesting they were intended to improve his reputation.\n", "\n", "\n\n* Schück, H, and Sohlman, R., (1929). ''The Life of Alfred Nobel''. London: William Heineman Ltd.\n* Alfred Nobel US Patent No 78,317, dated 26 May 1868\n* Evlanoff, M. and Fluor, M. ''Alfred Nobel – The Loneliest Millionaire''. Los Angeles, Ward Ritchie Press, 1969.\n* Sohlman, R. ''The Legacy of Alfred Nobel'', transl. Schubert E. London: The Bodley Head, 1983 (Swedish original, ''Ett Testamente'', published in 1950).\n* Jorpes, J.E. Alfred Nobel. ''British Medical Journal'', 3 January 1959, 1(5113): 1–6.\n* Sri Kantha, S. Alfred Nobel's unusual creativity; an analysis. ''Medical Hypotheses'', April 1999; 53(4): 338–344.\n* Sri Kantha, S. Could nitroglycerine poisoning be the cause of Alfred Nobel's anginal pains and premature death? ''Medical Hypotheses'', 1997; 49: 303–306.\n", "\n\n*\n* Alfred Nobel – Man behind the Prizes\n* Biography at the Norwegian Nobel Institute\n* Nobelprize.org\n* Documents of Life and Activity of The Nobel Family. Under the editorship of Professor Arkady Melua. Series of books.\n* \"The Nobels in Baku\" in Azerbaijan International, Vol 10.2 (Summer 2002), 56–59.\n* The Nobel Prize in Postage Stamps\n* A German branch or followup ''(German)''\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Life and career", "Death", "Personal life", "Inventions", "Nobel Prizes", "Monuments", "Criticism", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "1931), asked the Bank of Sweden to differentiate its award to economists given \"in Alfred Nobel's memory\" from the five other awards.", "This request added to the controversy over whether the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is actually a legitimate \"Nobel Prize\"." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Alfred Bernhard Nobel''' (; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist.", "Known for inventing dynamite, Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments.", "Nobel held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous.", "After reading a premature obituary which condemned him for profiting from the sales of arms, he bequeathed his fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes.", "The synthetic element nobelium was named after him.", "His name also survives in modern-day companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which are descendants of mergers with companies Nobel himself established.", "Alfred Nobel at a young age\nBorn in Stockholm, Alfred Nobel was the third son of Immanuel Nobel (1801–1872), an inventor and engineer, and Carolina Andriette (Ahlsell) Nobel (1805–1889).", "The couple married in 1827 and had eight children.", "The family was impoverished, and only Alfred and his three brothers survived past childhood.", "Through his father, Alfred Nobel was a descendant of the Swedish scientist Olaus Rudbeck (1630–1702), and in his turn the boy was interested in engineering, particularly explosives, learning the basic principles from his father at a young age.", "Alfred Nobel's interest in technology was inherited from his father, an alumnus of Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.", "Following various business failures, Nobel's father moved to Saint Petersburg in 1837 and grew successful there as a manufacturer of machine tools and explosives.", "He invented modern plywood and started work on the torpedo.", "In 1842, the family joined him in the city.", "Now prosperous, his parents were able to send Nobel to private tutors and the boy excelled in his studies, particularly in chemistry and languages, achieving fluency in English, French, German and Russian.", "For 18 months, from 1841 to 1842, Nobel went to the only school he ever attended as a child, the Jacobs Apologistic School in Stockholm.", "As a young man, Nobel studied with chemist Nikolai Zinin; then, in 1850, went to Paris to further the work.", "There he met Ascanio Sobrero, who had invented nitroglycerin three years before.", "Sobrero strongly opposed the use of nitroglycerin, as it was unpredictable, exploding when subjected to heat or pressure.", "But Nobel became interested in finding a way to control and use nitroglycerin as a commercially usable explosive, as it had much more power than gunpowder.", "At age 18, he went to the United States for one year to study chemistry, working for a short period under inventor John Ericsson, who designed the American Civil War ironclad ''USS Monitor''.", "Nobel filed his first patent, an English patent for a gas meter, in 1857, while his first Swedish patent, which he received in 1863, was on 'ways to prepare gunpowder'.", "The family factory produced armaments for the Crimean War (1853–1856), but had difficulty switching back to regular domestic production when the fighting ended and they filed for bankruptcy.", "In 1859, Nobel's father left his factory in the care of the second son, Ludvig Nobel (1831–1888), who greatly improved the business.", "Nobel and his parents returned to Sweden from Russia and Nobel devoted himself to the study of explosives, and especially to the safe manufacture and use of nitroglycerin.", "Nobel invented a detonator in 1863, and in 1865 designed the blasting cap.", "On 3 September 1864, a shed used for preparation of nitroglycerin exploded at the factory in Heleneborg, Stockholm, killing five people, including Nobel's younger brother Emil.", "Dogged and unfazed by more minor accidents, Nobel went on to build further factories, focusing on improving the stability of the explosives he was developing.", "Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin.", "Dynamite was patented in the US and the UK and was used extensively in mining and the building of transport networks internationally.", "In 1875 Nobel invented gelignite, more stable and powerful than dynamite, and in 1887 patented ballistite, a predecessor of cordite.", "Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1884, the same institution that would later select laureates for two of the Nobel prizes, and he received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in 1893.", "Alfred Nobel's death mask, at Bjorkborn, Nobel's residence in Karlskoga, Sweden.", "Nobel's brothers Ludvig and Robert exploited oilfields along the Caspian Sea and became hugely rich in their own right.", "Nobel invested in these and amassed great wealth through the development of these new oil regions.", "During his life Nobel was issued 355 patents internationally and by his death his business had established more than 90 armaments factories, despite his belief in pacifism.", "In 1888, the death of his brother Ludvig caused several newspapers to publish obituaries of Alfred in error.", "A French obituary stated \"Le marchand de la mort est mort\" ''(\"The merchant of death is dead\")''.", "\nAccused of “high treason against France” for selling Ballistite to Italy, Nobel moved from Paris to Sanremo, Italy in 1891.", "On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel succumbed to a lingering heart ailment, suffered a stroke, and died.", "Unbeknownst to his family, friends or colleagues, he had left most of his wealth in trust, in order to fund the awards that would become known as the Nobel Prizes.", "He is buried in Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.", "\nThrough baptism and confirmation Alfred Nobel was Lutheran and during his Paris years he regularly attended the Church of Sweden Abroad, led by pastor Nathan Söderblom, who would in 1930 also be the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.", "However, he became an agnostic at youth and was an atheist later in life.", "Nobel travelled for much of his business life, maintaining companies in various countries in Europe and North America and keeping a permanent home in Paris from 1873 to 1891.", "He remained a solitary character, given to periods of depression.", "Though Nobel remained unmarried, his biographers note that he had at least three loves.", "Nobel's first love was in Russia with a girl named Alexandra, who rejected his proposal.", "In 1876 Austro-Bohemian Countess Bertha Kinsky became Alfred Nobel's secretary, but after only a brief stay she left him to marry her previous lover, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner.", "Though her personal contact with Alfred Nobel had been brief, she corresponded with him until his death in 1896, and it is believed that she was a major influence in his decision to include a peace prize among those prizes provided in his will.", "Bertha von Suttner was awarded the 1905 Nobel Peace prize, 'for her sincere peace activities'.", "Nobel's third and longest-lasting relationship was with Sofie Hess from Vienna, whom he met in 1876.", "The liaison lasted for 18 years.", "After his death, according to his biographers Evlanoff, Fluor and Fant, Nobel's letters were locked within the Nobel Institute in Stockholm.", "They were released only in 1955, to be included with other biographical data.", "Despite the lack of formal secondary and tertiary level education, Nobel gained proficiency in six languages: Swedish, French, Russian, English, German and Italian.", "He also developed sufficient literary skill to write poetry in English.", "His ''Nemesis'', a prose tragedy in four acts about Beatrice Cenci, partly inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley's ''The Cenci'', was printed while he was dying.", "The entire stock except for three copies was destroyed immediately after his death, being regarded as scandalous and blasphemous.", "The first surviving edition (bilingual Swedish–Esperanto) was published in Sweden in 2003.", "The play has been translated into Slovenian via the Esperanto version and into French.", "In 2010 it was published in Russia in another bilingual (Russian–Esperanto) edition.", "\n\nPortrait of Nobel by Gösta Florman (1831–1900)\nNobel found that when nitroglycerin was incorporated in an absorbent inert substance like ''kieselguhr'' (diatomaceous earth) it became safer and more convenient to handle, and this mixture he patented in 1867 as \"dynamite\".", "Nobel demonstrated his explosive for the first time that year, at a quarry in Redhill, Surrey, England.", "In order to help reestablish his name and improve the image of his business from the earlier controversies associated with the dangerous explosives, Nobel had also considered naming the highly powerful substance \"Nobel's Safety Powder\", but settled with Dynamite instead, referring to the Greek word for \"power\" ().", "Nobel later combined nitroglycerin with various nitrocellulose compounds, similar to collodion, but settled on a more efficient recipe combining another nitrate explosive, and obtained a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was a more powerful explosive than dynamite.", "'Gelignite', or blasting gelatin, as it was named, was patented in 1876; and was followed by a host of similar combinations, modified by the addition of potassium nitrate and various other substances.", "Gelignite was more stable, transportable and conveniently formed to fit into bored holes, like those used in drilling and mining, than the previously used compounds and was adopted as the standard technology for mining in the ''Age of Engineering'' bringing Nobel a great amount of financial success, though at a significant cost to his health.", "An offshoot of this research resulted in Nobel's invention of ballistite, the precursor of many modern smokeless powder explosives and still used as a rocket propellant.", "\n\nIn 1888 Alfred's brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred's obituary.", "It condemned him for his invention of dynamite and is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death.", "The obituary stated, '''' (\"The merchant of death is dead\") and went on to say, \"Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.\"", "Alfred (who never had a wife or children) was disappointed with what he read and concerned with how he would be remembered.", "On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality.", "After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel's will allocated 94% of his total assets, 31,225,000 Swedish kronor, to establish the five Nobel Prizes.", "This converted to £1,687,837 (GBP) at the time.", "In 2012, the capital was worth around SEK 3.1 billion (USD 472 million, EUR 337 million), which is almost twice the amount of the initial capital, taking inflation into account.", "The first three of these prizes are awarded for eminence in physical science, in chemistry and in medical science or physiology; the fourth is for literary work \"in an ideal direction\" and the fifth prize is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international fraternity, in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses.", "The formulation for the literary prize being given for a work \"in an ideal direction\" ('''' in Swedish), is cryptic and has caused much confusion.", "For many years, the Swedish Academy interpreted \"ideal\" as \"idealistic\" ('''') and used it as a reason not to give the prize to important but less romantic authors, such as Henrik Ibsen and Leo Tolstoy.", "This interpretation has since been revised, and the prize has been awarded to, for example, Dario Fo and José Saramago, who do not belong to the camp of literary idealism.", "There was room for interpretation by the bodies he had named for deciding on the physical sciences and chemistry prizes, given that he had not consulted them before making the will.", "In his one-page testament, he stipulated that the money go to discoveries or inventions in the physical sciences and to discoveries or improvements in chemistry.", "He had opened the door to technological awards, but had not left instructions on how to deal with the distinction between science and technology.", "Since the deciding bodies he had chosen were more concerned with the former, the prizes went to scientists more often than engineers, technicians or other inventors.", "In 2001, Alfred Nobel's great-great-nephew, Peter Nobel (b.", "The ''Monument to Alfred Nobel'' (, ) in Saint Petersburg is located along the Bolshaya Nevka River on Petrogradskaya Embankment.", "It was dedicated in 1991 to mark the 90th anniversary of the first Nobel Prize presentation.", "Diplomat Thomas Bertelman and Professor Arkady Melua initiators of creation of the monument (1989).", "Professor A. Melua has provided funds for the establishment of the monument ( J.S.Co.", "\"Humanistica\", 1990–1991).", "The abstract metal sculpture was designed by local artists Sergey Alipov and Pavel Shevchenko, and appears to be an explosion or branches of a tree.", "Petrogradskaya Embankment is the street where the Nobel's family lived until 1859.", "Criticism of Nobel focuses on his leading role in weapons manufacturing and sales, and some question his motives in creating his prizes, suggesting they were intended to improve his reputation.", "\n\n* Schück, H, and Sohlman, R., (1929).", "''The Life of Alfred Nobel''.", "London: William Heineman Ltd.\n* Alfred Nobel US Patent No 78,317, dated 26 May 1868\n* Evlanoff, M. and Fluor, M. ''Alfred Nobel – The Loneliest Millionaire''.", "Los Angeles, Ward Ritchie Press, 1969.", "* Sohlman, R. ''The Legacy of Alfred Nobel'', transl.", "Schubert E. London: The Bodley Head, 1983 (Swedish original, ''Ett Testamente'', published in 1950).", "* Jorpes, J.E.", "Alfred Nobel.", "''British Medical Journal'', 3 January 1959, 1(5113): 1–6.", "* Sri Kantha, S. Alfred Nobel's unusual creativity; an analysis.", "''Medical Hypotheses'', April 1999; 53(4): 338–344.", "* Sri Kantha, S. Could nitroglycerine poisoning be the cause of Alfred Nobel's anginal pains and premature death?", "''Medical Hypotheses'', 1997; 49: 303–306.", "\n\n*\n* Alfred Nobel – Man behind the Prizes\n* Biography at the Norwegian Nobel Institute\n* Nobelprize.org\n* Documents of Life and Activity of The Nobel Family.", "Under the editorship of Professor Arkady Melua.", "Series of books.", "* \"The Nobels in Baku\" in Azerbaijan International, Vol 10.2 (Summer 2002), 56–59.", "* The Nobel Prize in Postage Stamps\n* A German branch or followup ''(German)''" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alexander Graham Bell''' (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born scientist, inventor, engineer, and innovator who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone and founding the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.\n\nBell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.\n\nMany other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics. Although Bell was not one of the 33 founders of the National Geographic Society, he had a strong influence on the magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898, until 1903.\n", "Alexander Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3, 1847. The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, and has a stone inscription marking it as Alexander Graham Bell's birthplace. He had two brothers: Melville James Bell (1845–70) and Edward Charles Bell (1848–67), both of whom would die of tuberculosis. His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell, a phonetician, and his mother was Eliza Grace (née Symonds). Born as just \"Alexander Bell\", at age 10, he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers. For his 11th birthday, his father acquiesced and allowed him to adopt the name \"Graham\", chosen out of respect for Alexander Graham, a Canadian being treated by his father who had become a family friend. To close relatives and friends he remained \"Aleck\".\n\n===First invention===\nAs a child, young Bell displayed a natural curiosity about his world, resulting in gathering botanical specimens as well as experimenting even at an early age. His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbour whose family operated a flour mill, the scene of many forays. Young Bell asked what needed to be done at the mill. He was told wheat had to be dehusked through a laborious process and at the age of 12, Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation and used steadily for a number of years. In return, Ben's father John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop in which to \"invent\".\n\nFrom his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry, and music that was encouraged by his mother. With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist. Despite being normally quiet and introspective, he revelled in mimicry and \"voice tricks\" akin to ventriloquism that continually entertained family guests during their occasional visits. Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness (she began to lose her hearing when he was 12), and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour. He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead wherein she would hear him with reasonable clarity. Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.\n\nHis family was long associated with the teaching of elocution: his grandfather, Alexander Bell, in London, his uncle in Dublin, and his father, in Edinburgh, were all elocutionists. His father published a variety of works on the subject, several of which are still well known, especially his ''The Standard Elocutionist'' (1860), which appeared in Edinburgh in 1868. ''The Standard Elocutionist'' appeared in 168 British editions and sold over a quarter of a million copies in the United States alone. In this treatise, his father explains his methods of how to instruct deaf-mutes (as they were then known) to articulate words and read other people's lip movements to decipher meaning. Bell's father taught him and his brothers not only to write Visible Speech but to identify any symbol and its accompanying sound. Bell became so proficient that he became a part of his father's public demonstrations and astounded audiences with his abilities. He could decipher Visible Speech representing virtually every language, including Latin, Scottish Gaelic, and even Sanskrit, accurately reciting written tracts without any prior knowledge of their pronunciation.\n\n\n\n===Education===\nAs a young child, Bell, like his brothers, received his early schooling at home from his father. At an early age, he was enrolled at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, Scotland, which he left at the age of 15, having completed only the first four forms. His school record was undistinguished, marked by absenteeism and lacklustre grades. His main interest remained in the sciences, especially biology while he treated other school subjects with indifference, to the dismay of his demanding father. Upon leaving school, Bell travelled to London to live with his grandfather, Alexander Bell. During the year he spent with his grandfather, a love of learning was born, with long hours spent in serious discussion and study. The elder Bell took great efforts to have his young pupil learn to speak clearly and with conviction, the attributes that his pupil would need to become a teacher himself. At the age of 16, Bell secured a position as a \"pupil-teacher\" of elocution and music, in Weston House Academy at Elgin, Moray, Scotland. Although he was enrolled as a student in Latin and Greek, he instructed classes himself in return for board and £10 per session. The following year, he attended the University of Edinburgh; joining his older brother Melville who had enrolled there the previous year. In 1868, not long before he departed for Canada with his family, Bell completed his matriculation exams and was accepted for admission to University College London.\n\n===First experiments with sound===\nHis father encouraged Bell's interest in speech and, in 1863, took his sons to see a unique automaton developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone based on the earlier work of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. The rudimentary \"mechanical man\" simulated a human voice. Bell was fascinated by the machine and after he obtained a copy of von Kempelen's book, published in German, and had laboriously translated it, he and his older brother Melville built their own automaton head. Their father, highly interested in their project, offered to pay for any supplies and spurred the boys on with the enticement of a \"big prize\" if they were successful. While his brother constructed the throat and larynx, Bell tackled the more difficult task of recreating a realistic skull. His efforts resulted in a remarkably lifelike head that could \"speak\", albeit only a few words. The boys would carefully adjust the \"lips\" and when a bellows forced air through the windpipe, a very recognizable \"Mama\" ensued, to the delight of neighbours who came to see the Bell invention.\n\nIntrigued by the results of the automaton, Bell continued to experiment with a live subject, the family's Skye Terrier, \"Trouve\". After he taught it to growl continuously, Bell would reach into its mouth and manipulate the dog's lips and vocal cords to produce a crude-sounding \"Ow ah oo ga ma ma\". With little convincing, visitors believed his dog could articulate \"How are you, grandma?\" Indicative of his playful nature, his experiments convinced onlookers that they saw a \"talking dog\". These initial forays into experimentation with sound led Bell to undertake his first serious work on the transmission of sound, using tuning forks to explore resonance.\n\nAt age 19, Bell wrote a report on his work and sent it to philologist Alexander Ellis, a colleague of his father (who would later be portrayed as Professor Henry Higgins in ''Pygmalion''). Ellis immediately wrote back indicating that the experiments were similar to existing work in Germany, and also lent Bell a copy of Hermann von Helmholtz's work, ''The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music''.\n\nDismayed to find that groundbreaking work had already been undertaken by Helmholtz who had conveyed vowel sounds by means of a similar tuning fork \"contraption\", Bell pored over the German scientist's book. Working from his own erroneous mistranslation of a French edition, Bell fortuitously then made a deduction that would be the underpinning of all his future work on transmitting sound, reporting: \"Without knowing much about the subject, it seemed to me that if vowel sounds could be produced by electrical means, so could consonants, so could articulate speech.\" He also later remarked: \"I thought that Helmholtz had done it ... and that my failure was due only to my ignorance of electricity. It was a valuable blunder ... If I had been able to read German in those days, I might never have commenced my experiments!\"\n\n===Family tragedy===\nIn 1865, when the Bell family moved to London, Bell returned to Weston House as an assistant master and, in his spare hours, continued experiments on sound using a minimum of laboratory equipment. Bell concentrated on experimenting with electricity to convey sound and later installed a telegraph wire from his room in Somerset College to that of a friend. Throughout late 1867, his health faltered mainly through exhaustion. His younger brother, Edward \"Ted,\" was similarly bed-ridden, suffering from tuberculosis. While Bell recovered (by then referring to himself in correspondence as \"A. G. Bell\") and served the next year as an instructor at Somerset College, Bath, England, his brother's condition deteriorated. Edward would never recover. Upon his brother's death, Bell returned home in 1867. His older brother Melville had married and moved out. With aspirations to obtain a degree at University College London, Bell considered his next years as preparation for the degree examinations, devoting his spare time at his family's residence to studying.\n\nHelping his father in Visible Speech demonstrations and lectures brought Bell to Susanna E. Hull's private school for the deaf in South Kensington, London. His first two pupils were deaf-mute girls who made remarkable progress under his tutelage. While his older brother seemed to achieve success on many fronts including opening his own elocution school, applying for a patent on an invention, and starting a family, Bell continued as a teacher. However, in May 1870, Melville died from complications due to tuberculosis, causing a family crisis. His father had also suffered a debilitating illness earlier in life and had been restored to health by a convalescence in Newfoundland. Bell's parents embarked upon a long-planned move when they realized that their remaining son was also sickly. Acting decisively, Alexander Melville Bell asked Bell to arrange for the sale of all the family property, conclude all of his brother's affairs (Bell took over his last student, curing a pronounced lisp), and join his father and mother in setting out for the \"New World\". Reluctantly, Bell also had to conclude a relationship with Marie Eccleston, who, as he had surmised, was not prepared to leave England with him.\n", "\nMelville House, the Bells' first home in North America, now a National Historic Site of Canada\n\nIn 1870, aged 23, Bell, together with Bell's brother's widow, Caroline Margaret Ottaway, and his parents travelled on the SS ''Nestorian'' to Canada. After landing at Quebec City, the Bells transferred to another steamer to Montreal and then boarded a train to Paris, Ontario, to stay with the Reverend Thomas Henderson, a family friend. After a brief stay with the Hendersons, the Bell family purchased a farm of at Tutelo Heights (now called Tutela Heights), near Brantford, Ontario. The property consisted of an orchard, large farmhouse, stable, pigsty, hen-house, and a carriage house, which bordered the Grand River.\n\nAt the homestead, Bell set up his own workshop in the converted carriage house near to what he called his \"dreaming place\", a large hollow nestled in trees at the back of the property above the river. Despite his frail condition upon arriving in Canada, Bell found the climate and environs to his liking, and rapidly improved. He continued his interest in the study of the human voice and when he discovered the Six Nations Reserve across the river at Onondaga, he learned the Mohawk language and translated its unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols. For his work, Bell was awarded the title of Honorary Chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.\n\nAfter setting up his workshop, Bell continued experiments based on Helmholtz's work with electricity and sound. He also modified a melodeon (a type of pump organ) so that it could transmit its music electrically over a distance. Once the family was settled in, both Bell and his father made plans to establish a teaching practice and in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.\n", "pedagogical instruction to teachers at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes, 1871. Throughout his life, he referred to himself as \"a teacher of the deaf\".\n\n\nBell's father was invited by Sarah Fuller, principal of the Boston School for Deaf Mutes (which continues today as the public Horace Mann School for the Deaf), in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, to introduce the Visible Speech System by providing training for Fuller's instructors, but he declined the post in favour of his son. Travelling to Boston in April 1871, Bell proved successful in training the school's instructors. He was subsequently asked to repeat the programme at the American Asylum for Deaf-mutes in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.\n\nReturning home to Brantford after six months abroad, Bell continued his experiments with his \"harmonic telegraph\". The basic concept behind his device was that messages could be sent through a single wire if each message was transmitted at a different pitch, but work on both the transmitter and receiver was needed.\n\nUnsure of his future, he first contemplated returning to London to complete his studies, but decided to return to Boston as a teacher. His father helped him set up his private practice by contacting Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the president of the Clarke School for the Deaf for a recommendation. Teaching his father's system, in October 1872, Alexander Bell opened his \"School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech\" in Boston, which attracted a large number of deaf pupils, with his first class numbering 30 students. While he was working as a private tutor, one of his most famous pupils was Helen Keller, who came to him as a young child unable to see, hear, or speak. She was later to say that Bell dedicated his life to the penetration of that \"inhuman silence which separates and estranges\". In 1893, Keller performed the sod-breaking ceremony for the construction of Bell's new Volta Bureau, dedicated to \"the increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf\".\n\nSeveral influential people of the time, including Bell, viewed deafness as something that should be eradicated, and also believed that with resources and effort, they could teach the deaf to speak and avoid the use of sign language, thus enabling their integration within the wider society from which many were often being excluded. Owing to his efforts to suppress the teaching of sign language, Bell is often viewed negatively by those embracing Deaf culture.\n", "\nIn the following year, Bell became professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory. During this period, he alternated between Boston and Brantford, spending summers in his Canadian home. At Boston University, Bell was \"swept up\" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors residing in the city. He continued his research in sound and endeavored to find a way to transmit musical notes and articulate speech, but although absorbed by his experiments, he found it difficult to devote enough time to experimentation. While days and evenings were occupied by his teaching and private classes, Bell began to stay awake late into the night, running experiment after experiment in rented facilities at his boarding house. Keeping \"night owl\" hours, he worried that his work would be discovered and took great pains to lock up his notebooks and laboratory equipment. Bell had a specially made table where he could place his notes and equipment inside a locking cover. Worse still, his health deteriorated as he suffered severe headaches. Returning to Boston in fall 1873, Bell made a fateful decision to concentrate on his experiments in sound.\n\nDeciding to give up his lucrative private Boston practice, Bell retained only two students, six-year-old \"Georgie\" Sanders, deaf from birth, and 15-year-old Mabel Hubbard. Each pupil would play an important role in the next developments. George's father, Thomas Sanders, a wealthy businessman, offered Bell a place to stay in nearby Salem with Georgie's grandmother, complete with a room to \"experiment\". Although the offer was made by George's mother and followed the year-long arrangement in 1872 where her son and his nurse had moved to quarters next to Bell's boarding house, it was clear that Mr. Sanders was backing the proposal. The arrangement was for teacher and student to continue their work together, with free room and board thrown in. Mabel was a bright, attractive girl who was ten years Bell's junior but became the object of his affection. Having lost her hearing after a near-fatal bout of scarlet fever close to her fifth birthday, she had learned to read lips but her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell's benefactor and personal friend, wanted her to work directly with her teacher.\n", "\n\n\n\nBy 1874, Bell's initial work on the harmonic telegraph had entered a formative stage, with progress made both at his new Boston \"laboratory\" (a rented facility) and at his family home in Canada a big success. While working that summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with a \"phonautograph\", a pen-like machine that could draw shapes of sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations. Bell thought it might be possible to generate undulating electrical currents that corresponded to sound waves. Bell also thought that multiple metal reeds tuned to different frequencies like a harp would be able to convert the undulating currents back into sound. But he had no working model to demonstrate the feasibility of these ideas.\n\nIn 1874, telegraph message traffic was rapidly expanding and in the words of Western Union President William Orton, had become \"the nervous system of commerce\". Orton had contracted with inventors Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to find a way to send multiple telegraph messages on each telegraph line to avoid the great cost of constructing new lines. When Bell mentioned to Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders that he was working on a method of sending multiple tones on a telegraph wire using a multi-reed device, the two wealthy patrons began to financially support Bell's experiments. Patent matters would be handled by Hubbard's patent attorney, Anthony Pollok.\n\nIn March 1875, Bell and Pollok visited the famous scientist Joseph Henry, who was then director of the Smithsonian Institution, and asked Henry's advice on the electrical multi-reed apparatus that Bell hoped would transmit the human voice by telegraph. Henry replied that Bell had \"the germ of a great invention\". When Bell said that he did not have the necessary knowledge, Henry replied, \"Get it!\" That declaration greatly encouraged Bell to keep trying, even though he did not have the equipment needed to continue his experiments, nor the ability to create a working model of his ideas. However, a chance meeting in 1874 between Bell and Thomas A. Watson, an experienced electrical designer and mechanic at the electrical machine shop of Charles Williams, changed all that.\n\nWith financial support from Sanders and Hubbard, Bell hired Thomas Watson as his assistant, and the two of them experimented with acoustic telegraphy. On June 2, 1875, Watson accidentally plucked one of the reeds and Bell, at the receiving end of the wire, heard the overtones of the reed; overtones that would be necessary for transmitting speech. That demonstrated to Bell that only one reed or armature was necessary, not multiple reeds. This led to the \"gallows\" sound-powered telephone, which could transmit indistinct, voice-like sounds, but not clear speech.\n\n===The race to the patent office===\n\nIn 1875, Bell developed an acoustic telegraph and drew up a patent application for it. Since he had agreed to share U.S. profits with his investors Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, Bell requested that an associate in Ontario, George Brown, attempt to patent it in Britain, instructing his lawyers to apply for a patent in the U.S. only after they received word from Britain (Britain would issue patents only for discoveries not previously patented elsewhere).\n\n\nAlexander Graham Bell's telephone patent drawing, March 7, 1876\n\nMeanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit speech using a water transmitter. On February 14, 1876, Gray filed a caveat with the U.S. Patent Office for a telephone design that used a water transmitter. That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed Bell's application with the patent office. There is considerable debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent. Bell was in Boston on February 14 and did not arrive in Washington until February 26.\n\nBell's patent 174,465, was issued to Bell on March 7, 1876, by the U.S. Patent Office. Bell's patent covered \"the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound\" Bell returned to Boston the same day and the next day resumed work, drawing in his notebook a diagram similar to that in Gray's patent caveat.\n\nOn March 10, 1876, three days after his patent was issued, Bell succeeded in getting his telephone to work, using a liquid transmitter similar to Gray's design. Vibration of the diaphragm caused a needle to vibrate in the water, varying the electrical resistance in the circuit. When Bell spoke the famous sentence \"Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you\" into the liquid transmitter, Watson, listening at the receiving end in an adjoining room, heard the words clearly.\n\nAlthough Bell was, and still is, accused of stealing the telephone from Gray, Bell used Gray's water transmitter design only after Bell's patent had been granted, and only as a proof of concept scientific experiment, to prove to his own satisfaction that intelligible \"articulate speech\" (Bell's words) could be electrically transmitted. After March 1876, Bell focused on improving the electromagnetic telephone and never used Gray's liquid transmitter in public demonstrations or commercial use.\n\nThe question of priority for the variable resistance feature of the telephone was raised by the examiner before he approved Bell's patent application. He told Bell that his claim for the variable resistance feature was also described in Gray's caveat. Bell pointed to a variable resistance device in Bell's previous application in which Bell described a cup of mercury, not water. Bell had filed the mercury application at the patent office a year earlier on February 25, 1875, long before Elisha Gray described the water device. In addition, Gray abandoned his caveat, and because he did not contest Bell's priority, the examiner approved Bell's patent on March 3, 1876. Gray had reinvented the variable resistance telephone, but Bell was the first to write down the idea and the first to test it in a telephone.\n\nThe patent examiner, Zenas Fisk Wilber, later stated in an affidavit that he was an alcoholic who was much in debt to Bell's lawyer, Marcellus Bailey, with whom he had served in the Civil War. He claimed he showed Gray's patent caveat to Bailey. Wilber also claimed (after Bell arrived in Washington D.C. from Boston) that he showed Gray's caveat to Bell and that Bell paid him $100. Bell claimed they discussed the patent only in general terms, although in a letter to Gray, Bell admitted that he learned some of the technical details. Bell denied in an affidavit that he ever gave Wilber any money.\n\n===Later developments===\nContinuing his experiments in Brantford, Bell brought home a working model of his telephone. On August 3, 1876, from the telegraph office in Mount Pleasant five miles (eight km) away from Brantford, Bell sent a tentative telegram indicating that he was ready. With curious onlookers packed into the office as witnesses, faint voices were heard replying. The following night, he amazed guests as well as his family when a message was received at the Bell home from Brantford, four miles (six km) distant, along an improvised wire strung up along telegraph lines and fences, and laid through a tunnel. This time, guests at the household distinctly heard people in Brantford reading and singing. These experiments clearly proved that the telephone could work over long distances.\nBell at the opening of the long-distance line from New York to Chicago in 1892\nBell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000. The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy. Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain. By then, the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent. Bell's investors would become millionaires while he fared well from residuals and at one point had assets of nearly one million dollars.\n\nBell began a series of public demonstrations and lectures to introduce the new invention to the scientific community as well as the general public. A short time later, his demonstration of an early telephone prototype at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia brought the telephone to international attention. Influential visitors to the exhibition included Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Later, Bell had the opportunity to demonstrate the invention personally to Sir William Thomson (later, Lord Kelvin), a renowned Scottish scientist, as well as to Queen Victoria, who had requested a private audience at Osborne House, her Isle of Wight home. She called the demonstration \"most extraordinary\". The enthusiasm surrounding Bell's public displays laid the groundwork for universal acceptance of the revolutionary device.\n\nThe Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877, and by 1886, more than 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones. Bell Company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone, which emerged as one of the most successful products ever. In 1879, the Bell company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union. This made the telephone practical for longer distances, and it was no longer necessary to shout to be heard at the receiving telephone.\n\nIn January 1915, Bell made the first ceremonial transcontinental telephone call. Calling from the AT&T head office at 15 Dey Street in New York City, Bell was heard by Thomas Watson at 333 Grant Avenue in San Francisco. The ''New York Times'' reported:\n\n\n===Competitors===\n\n\n\nAs is sometimes common in scientific discoveries, simultaneous developments can occur, as evidenced by a number of inventors who were at work on the telephone. Over a period of 18 years, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 court challenges to its patents, including five that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but none was successful in establishing priority over the original Bell patent and the Bell Telephone Company never lost a case that had proceeded to a final trial stage. Bell's laboratory notes and family letters were the key to establishing a long lineage to his experiments. The Bell company lawyers successfully fought off myriad lawsuits generated initially around the challenges by Elisha Gray and Amos Dolbear. In personal correspondence to Bell, both Gray and Dolbear had acknowledged his prior work, which considerably weakened their later claims.\n\nOn January 13, 1887, the U.S. Government moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. After a series of decisions and reversals, the Bell company won a decision in the Supreme Court, though a couple of the original claims from the lower court cases were left undecided. By the time that the trial wound its way through nine years of legal battles, the U.S. prosecuting attorney had died and the two Bell patents (No. 174,465 dated March 7, 1876, and No. 186,787 dated January 30, 1877) were no longer in effect, although the presiding judges agreed to continue the proceedings due to the case's importance as a precedent. With a change in administration and charges of conflict of interest (on both sides) arising from the original trial, the US Attorney General dropped the lawsuit on November 30, 1897, leaving several issues undecided on the merits.\n\nDuring a deposition filed for the 1887 trial, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci also claimed to have created the first working model of a telephone in Italy in 1834. In 1886, in the first of three cases in which he was involved, Meucci took the stand as a witness in the hopes of establishing his invention's priority. Meucci's evidence in this case was disputed due to a lack of material evidence for his inventions as his working models were purportedly lost at the laboratory of American District Telegraph (ADT) of New York, which was later incorporated as a subsidiary of Western Union in 1901. Meucci's work, like many other inventors of the period, was based on earlier acoustic principles and despite evidence of earlier experiments, the final case involving Meucci was eventually dropped upon Meucci's death. However, due to the efforts of Congressman Vito Fossella, the U.S. House of Representatives on June 11, 2002, stated that Meucci's \"work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged\", even though this did not put an end to a still contentious issue. Some modern scholars do not agree with the claims that Bell's work on the telephone was influenced by Meucci's inventions.\n\nThe value of the Bell patent was acknowledged throughout the world, and patent applications were made in most major countries, but when Bell delayed the German patent application, the electrical firm of Siemens & Halske (S&H) set up a rival manufacturer of Bell telephones under their own patent. The Siemens company produced near-identical copies of the Bell telephone without having to pay royalties. The establishment of the International Bell Telephone Company in Brussels, Belgium in 1880, as well as a series of agreements in other countries eventually consolidated a global telephone operation. The strain put on Bell by his constant appearances in court, necessitated by the legal battles, eventually resulted in his resignation from the company.\n\n\n", "Alexander Graham Bell, his wife Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, and their daughters Elsie (left) and Marian ca. 1885\n\nThe Brodhead-Bell mansion, the Bell family residence in Washington, D.C., from 1882 to 1889\n\nOn July 11, 1877, a few days after the Bell Telephone Company was established, Bell married Mabel Hubbard (1857–1923) at the Hubbard estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His wedding present to his bride was to turn over 1,487 of his 1,497 shares in the newly formed Bell Telephone Company. Shortly thereafter, the newlyweds embarked on a year-long honeymoon in Europe. During that excursion, Bell took a handmade model of his telephone with him, making it a \"working holiday\". The courtship had begun years earlier; however, Bell waited until he was more financially secure before marrying. Although the telephone appeared to be an \"instant\" success, it was not initially a profitable venture and Bell's main sources of income were from lectures until after 1897. One unusual request exacted by his fiancée was that he use \"Alec\" rather than the family's earlier familiar name of \"Aleck\". From 1876, he would sign his name \"Alec Bell\". They had four children:\n* Elsie May Bell (1878–1964) who married Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor of National Geographic fame.\n* Marian Hubbard Bell (1880–1962) who was referred to as \"Daisy\". Married David Fairchild.\n* Two sons who died in infancy (Edward in 1881 and Robert in 1883).\nThe Bell family home was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until 1880 when Bell's father-in-law bought a house in Washington, D.C.; in 1882 he bought a home in the same city for Bell's family, so they could be with him while he attended to the numerous court cases involving patent disputes.\n\nBell was a British subject throughout his early life in Scotland and later in Canada until 1882 when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1915, he characterized his status as: \"I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries.\" Despite this declaration, Bell has been proudly claimed as a \"native son\" by all three countries he resided in: the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.\n\nBy 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated. That summer, the Bells had a vacation on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, spending time at the small village of Baddeck. Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. By 1889, a large house, christened ''The Lodge'' was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic: ''beautiful mountain'') after Bell's ancestral Scottish highlands. Bell also built the Bell Boatyard on the estate, employing up to 40 people building experimental craft as well as wartime lifeboats and workboats for the Royal Canadian Navy and pleasure craft for the Bell family. He was an enthusiastic boater, and Bell and his family sailed or rowed a long series of vessels on Bras d'Or Lake, ordering additional vessels from the H.W. Embree and Sons boatyard in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. In his final, and some of his most productive years, Bell split his residency between Washington, D.C., where he and his family initially resided for most of the year, and at Beinn Bhreagh where they spent increasing amounts of time.\n\nUntil the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but ''Beinn Bhreagh'' would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened. Both Mabel and Bell became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as \"their own\". The Bells were still in residence at ''Beinn Bhreagh'' when the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917. Mabel and Bell mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.\n\n\n", "Alexander Graham Bell in his later years\n\n\nAlthough Alexander Graham Bell is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, his interests were extremely varied. According to one of his biographers, Charlotte Gray, Bell's work ranged \"unfettered across the scientific landscape\" and he often went to bed voraciously reading the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', scouring it for new areas of interest. The range of Bell's inventive genius is represented only in part by the 18 patents granted in his name alone and the 12 he shared with his collaborators. These included 14 for the telephone and telegraph, four for the photophone, one for the phonograph, five for aerial vehicles, four for \"hydroairplanes\", and two for selenium cells. Bell's inventions spanned a wide range of interests and included a metal jacket to assist in breathing, the audiometer to detect minor hearing problems, a device to locate icebergs, investigations on how to separate salt from seawater, and work on finding alternative fuels.\n\nBell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. During his Volta Laboratory period, Bell and his associates considered impressing a magnetic field on a record as a means of reproducing sound. Although the trio briefly experimented with the concept, they could not develop a workable prototype. They abandoned the idea, never realizing they had glimpsed a basic principle which would one day find its application in the tape recorder, the hard disc and floppy disc drive, and other magnetic media.\n\nBell's own home used a primitive form of air conditioning, in which fans blew currents of air across great blocks of ice. He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution. Methane gas, he reasoned, could be produced from the waste of farms and factories. At his Canadian estate in Nova Scotia, he experimented with composting toilets and devices to capture water from the atmosphere. In a magazine interview published shortly before his death, he reflected on the possibility of using solar panels to heat houses.\n\n===Photophone===\n\nPhotophone receiver, one half of Bell's wireless optical communication system, ca. 1880\n\nBell and his assistant Charles Sumner Tainter jointly invented a wireless telephone, named a photophone, which allowed for the transmission of both sounds and normal human conversations on a beam of light. Both men later became full associates in the Volta Laboratory Association.\n\nOn June 21, 1880, Bell's assistant transmitted a wireless voice telephone message a considerable distance, from the roof of the Franklin School in Washington, D.C., to Bell at the window of his laboratory, some away, 19 years before the first voice radio transmissions.\n\nBell believed the photophone's principles were his life's \"greatest achievement\", telling a reporter shortly before his death that the photophone was \"the greatest invention I have ever made, greater than the telephone\". The photophone was a precursor to the fiber-optic communication systems which achieved popular worldwide usage in the 1980s. Its master patent was issued in December 1880, many decades before the photophone's principles came into popular use.\n\n===Metal detector===\nVolta Laboratory recording in 1885. Restored by the Smithsonian in 2013.\n\nBell is also credited with developing one of the early versions of a metal detector in 1881. The device was quickly put together in an attempt to find the bullet in the body of U.S. President James Garfield. According to some accounts, the metal detector worked flawlessly in tests but did not find the assassin's bullet partly because the metal bed frame on which the President was lying disturbed the instrument, resulting in static. The president's surgeons, who were skeptical of the device, ignored Bell's requests to move the president to a bed not fitted with metal springs. Alternatively, although Bell had detected a slight sound on his first test, the bullet may have been lodged too deeply to be detected by the crude apparatus.\n\nBell's own detailed account, presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1882, differs in several particulars from most of the many and varied versions now in circulation, most notably by concluding that extraneous metal was not to blame for failure to locate the bullet. Perplexed by the peculiar results he had obtained during an examination of Garfield, Bell \"proceeded to the Executive Mansion the next morning ... to ascertain from the surgeons whether they were perfectly sure that all metal had been removed from the neighborhood of the bed. It was then recollected that underneath the horse-hair mattress on which the President lay was another mattress composed of steel wires. Upon obtaining a duplicate, the mattress was found to consist of a sort of net of woven steel wires, with large meshes. The extent of the area that produced a response from the detector having been so small, as compared with the area of the bed, it seemed reasonable to conclude that the steel mattress had produced no detrimental effect.\" In a footnote, Bell adds, \"The death of President Garfield and the subsequent ''post-mortem'' examination, however, proved that the bullet was at too great a distance from the surface to have affected our apparatus.\"\n\n===Hydrofoils===\n\nBell HD-4 on a test run ca. 1919\n\nThe March 1906 ''Scientific American'' article by American pioneer William E. Meacham explained the basic principle of hydrofoils and hydroplanes. Bell considered the invention of the hydroplane as a very significant achievement. Based on information gained from that article, he began to sketch concepts of what is now called a hydrofoil boat. Bell and assistant Frederick W. \"Casey\" Baldwin began hydrofoil experimentation in the summer of 1908 as a possible aid to airplane takeoff from water. Baldwin studied the work of the Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini and began testing models. This led him and Bell to the development of practical hydrofoil watercraft.\n\nDuring his world tour of 1910–11, Bell and Baldwin met with Forlanini in France. They had rides in the Forlanini hydrofoil boat over Lake Maggiore. Baldwin described it as being as smooth as flying. On returning to Baddeck, a number of initial concepts were built as experimental models, including the ''Dhonnas Beag'' (Scottish Gaelic for ''little devil''), the first self-propelled Bell-Baldwin hydrofoil. The experimental boats were essentially proof-of-concept prototypes that culminated in the more substantial HD-4, powered by Renault engines. A top speed of was achieved, with the hydrofoil exhibiting rapid acceleration, good stability, and steering, along with the ability to take waves without difficulty. In 1913, Dr. Bell hired Walter Pinaud, a Sydney yacht designer and builder as well as the proprietor of Pinaud's Yacht Yard in Westmount, Nova Scotia to work on the pontoons of the HD-4. Pinaud soon took over the boatyard at Bell Laboratories on Beinn Bhreagh, Bell's estate near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Pinaud's experience in boat-building enabled him to make useful design changes to the HD-4. After the First World War, work began again on the HD-4. Bell's report to the U.S. Navy permitted him to obtain two engines in July 1919. On September 9, 1919, the HD-4 set a world marine speed record of , a record which stood for ten years.\n\n===Aeronautics===\n\nAEA Silver Dart ca. 1909\n\nIn 1891, Bell had begun experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. The AEA was first formed as Bell shared the vision to fly with his wife, who advised him to seek \"young\" help as Bell was at the age of 60.\n\nIn 1898, Bell experimented with tetrahedral box kites and wings constructed of multiple compound tetrahedral kites covered in maroon silk. The tetrahedral wings were named ''Cygnet'' I, II, and III, and were flown both unmanned and manned (''Cygnet I'' crashed during a flight carrying Selfridge) in the period from 1907–1912. Some of Bell's kites are on display at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.\n\nBell was a supporter of aerospace engineering research through the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), officially formed at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, in October 1907 at the suggestion of his wife Mabel and with her financial support after the sale of some of her real estate. The AEA was headed by Bell and the founding members were four young men: American Glenn H. Curtiss, a motorcycle manufacturer at the time and who held the title \"world's fastest man\", having ridden his self-constructed motor bicycle around in the shortest time, and who was later awarded the Scientific American Trophy for the first official one-kilometre flight in the Western hemisphere, and who later became a world-renowned airplane manufacturer; Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, an official observer from the U.S. Federal government and one of the few people in the army who believed that aviation was the future; Frederick W. Baldwin, the first Canadian and first British subject to pilot a public flight in Hammondsport, New York, and J. A .D. McCurdy–Baldwin and McCurdy being new engineering graduates from the University of Toronto.\n\nThe AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their knowledge of kites to gliders. Moving to Hammondsport, the group then designed and built the ''Red Wing'', framed in bamboo and covered in red silk and powered by a small air-cooled engine. On March 12, 1908, over Keuka Lake, the biplane lifted off on the first public flight in North America. The innovations that were incorporated into this design included a cockpit enclosure and tail rudder (later variations on the original design would add ailerons as a means of control). One of the AEA's inventions, a practical wingtip form of the aileron, was to become a standard component on all aircraft. The ''White Wing'' and ''June Bug'' were to follow and by the end of 1908, over 150 flights without mishap had been accomplished. However, the AEA had depleted its initial reserves and only a $15,000 grant from Mrs. Bell allowed it to continue with experiments. Lt. Selfridge had also become the first person killed in a powered heavier-than-air flight in a crash of the Wright Flyer at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 17, 1908.\n\nTheir final aircraft design, the ''Silver Dart'', embodied all of the advancements found in the earlier machines. On February 23, 1909, Bell was present as the ''Silver Dart'' flown by J. A. D. McCurdy from the frozen ice of Bras d'Or made the first aircraft flight in Canada. Bell had worried that the flight was too dangerous and had arranged for a doctor to be on hand. With the successful flight, the AEA disbanded and the ''Silver Dart'' would revert to Baldwin and McCurdy who began the Canadian Aerodrome Company and would later demonstrate the aircraft to the Canadian Army.\n", "\nBell was connected with the eugenics movement in the United States. In his lecture ''Memoir upon the formation of a deaf variety of the human race'' presented to the National Academy of Sciences on November 13, 1883, he noted that congenitally deaf parents were more likely to produce deaf children and tentatively suggested that couples where both parties were deaf should not marry. However, it was his hobby of livestock breeding which led to his appointment to biologist David Starr Jordan's Committee on Eugenics, under the auspices of the American Breeders' Association. The committee unequivocally extended the principle to humans. From 1912 until 1918, he was the chairman of the board of scientific advisers to the Eugenics Record Office associated with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, and regularly attended meetings. In 1921, he was the honorary president of the Second International Congress of Eugenics held under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Organizations such as these advocated passing laws (with success in some states) that established the compulsory sterilization of people deemed to be, as Bell called them, a \"defective variety of the human race\". By the late 1930s, about half the states in the U.S. had eugenics laws, and California's compulsory sterilization law was used as a model for that of Nazi Germany.\n", "\nA. E. Cleeve Horne, similar in style to the Lincoln Memorial, in the front portico of the Bell Telephone Building of Brantford, Ontario, ''The Telephone City''. (Courtesy: '''''Brantford Heritage Inventory''', City of Brantford, Ontario, Canada'')\n\nHonors and tributes flowed to Bell in increasing numbers as his most famous invention became ubiquitous and his personal fame grew. Bell received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities to the point that the requests almost became burdensome. During his life, he also received dozens of major awards, medals, and other tributes. These included statuary monuments to both him and the new form of communication his telephone created, notably the Bell Telephone Memorial erected in his honor in ''Alexander Graham Bell Gardens'' in Brantford, Ontario, in 1917.\n\nA large number of Bell's writings, personal correspondence, notebooks, papers, and other documents reside in both the United States Library of Congress Manuscript Division (as the ''Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers''), and at the Alexander Graham Bell Institute, Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia; major portions of which are available for online viewing.\n\nA number of historic sites and other marks commemorate Bell in North America and Europe, including the first telephone companies in the United States and Canada. Among the major sites are:\n* The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, maintained by Parks Canada, which incorporates the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, close to the Bell estate Beinn Bhreagh\n* The Bell Homestead National Historic Site, includes the Bell family home, \"Melville House\", and farm overlooking Brantford, Ontario and the Grand River. It was their first home in North America;\n* Canada's first telephone company building, the \"Henderson Home\" of the late 1870s, a predecessor of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada (officially chartered in 1880). In 1969, the building was carefully moved to the historic Bell Homestead National Historic Site in Brantford, Ontario, and was refurbished to become a telephone museum. The Bell Homestead, the Henderson Home telephone museum, and the National Historic Site's reception centre are all maintained by the Bell Homestead Society;\n* The Alexander Graham Bell Memorial Park, which features a broad neoclassical monument built in 1917 by public subscription. The monument depicts mankind's ability to span the globe through telecommunications;\n* The Alexander Graham Bell Museum (opened in 1956), part of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site which was completed in 1978 in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Many of the museum's artifacts were donated by Bell's daughters;Bell Museum, Cape Breton, part of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site\n\nIn 1880, Bell received the Volta Prize with a purse of 50,000 francs (approximately US$ in today's dollars) for the invention of the telephone from the Académie française, representing the French government. Among the luminaries who judged were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. The Volta Prize was conceived by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801, and named in honor of Alessandro Volta, with Bell receiving the third grand prize in its history. Since Bell was becoming increasingly affluent, he used his prize money to create endowment funds (the 'Volta Fund') and institutions in and around the United States capital of Washington, D.C.. These included the prestigious'' 'Volta Laboratory Association' ''(1880), also known as the'' Volta Laboratory ''and as the'' 'Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory', ''and which eventually led to the Volta Bureau (1887) as a center for studies on deafness which is still in operation in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The Volta Laboratory became an experimental facility devoted to scientific discovery, and the very next year it improved Edison's phonograph by substituting wax for tinfoil as the recording medium and incising the recording rather than indenting it, key upgrades that Edison himself later adopted. The laboratory was also the site where he and his associate invented his \"proudest achievement\", \"the photophone\", the \"optical telephone\" which presaged fibre optical telecommunications while the Volta Bureau would later evolve into the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (the AG Bell), a leading center for the research and pedagogy of deafness.\n\nIn partnership with Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell helped establish the publication ''Science'' during the early 1880s. In 1898, Bell was elected as the second president of the National Geographic Society, serving until 1903, and was primarily responsible for the extensive use of illustrations, including photography, in the magazine. he also became a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution (1898–1922). The French government conferred on him the decoration of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor); the Royal Society of Arts in London awarded him the Albert Medal in 1902; the University of Würzburg, Bavaria, granted him a PhD, and he was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal in 1912. He was one of the founders of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1884 and served as its president from 1891–92. Bell was later awarded the AIEE's Edison Medal in 1914 \"For meritorious achievement in the invention of the telephone\".\n\nThe ''bel'' (B) and the smaller ''decibel'' (dB) are units of measurement of sound intensity invented by Bell Labs and named after him. Since 1976, the IEEE's Alexander Graham Bell Medal has been awarded to honor outstanding contributions in the field of telecommunications.\n~ A.G. Bell issue of 1940 ~\n\nIn 1936, the US Patent Office declared Bell first on its list of the country's greatest inventors, leading to the US Post Office issuing a commemorative stamp honoring Bell in 1940 as part of its 'Famous Americans Series'. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held on October 28 in Boston, Massachusetts, the city where Bell spent considerable time on research and working with the deaf. The Bell stamp became very popular and sold out in little time. The stamp became and remains to this day, the most valuable one of the series.\n\nThe 150th anniversary of Bell's birth in 1997 was marked by a special issue of commemorative £1 banknotes from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The illustrations on the reverse of the note include Bell's face in profile, his signature, and objects from Bell's life and career: users of the telephone over the ages; an audio wave signal; a diagram of a telephone receiver; geometric shapes from engineering structures; representations of sign language and the phonetic alphabet; the geese which helped him to understand flight; and the sheep which he studied to understand genetics. Additionally, the Government of Canada honored Bell in 1997 with a C$100 gold coin, in tribute also to the 150th anniversary of his birth, and with a silver dollar coin in 2009 in honor of the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada. That first flight was made by an airplane designed under Dr. Bell's tutelage, named the Silver Dart. Bell's image, and also those of his many inventions have graced paper money, coinage, and postal stamps in numerous countries worldwide for many dozens of years.\n\nAlexander Graham Bell was ranked 57th among the 100 Greatest Britons (2002) in an official BBC nationwide poll, and among the Top Ten Greatest Canadians (2004), and the 100 Greatest Americans (2005). In 2006, Bell was also named as one of the 10 greatest Scottish scientists in history after having been listed in the National Library of Scotland's 'Scottish Science Hall of Fame'. Bell's name is still widely known and used as part of the names of dozens of educational institutes, corporate namesakes, street and place names around the world.\n\nBell, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D.) at the university in 1906\n\n\n\n===Honorary degrees===\n\n\nAlexander Graham Bell, who could not complete the university program of his youth, received at least a dozen honorary degrees from academic institutions, including eight honorary LL.D.s (Doctorate of Laws), two Ph.D.s, a D.Sc., and an M.D.:\n* Gallaudet College (then named National Deaf-Mute College) in Washington, D.C. (Ph.D.) in 1880\n* University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Bavaria (Ph.D.) in 1882\n* Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany (M.D.) in 1886\n* Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (LL.D.) in 1896\n* Illinois College, in Jacksonville, Illinois (LL.D.) in 1896, possibly 1881\n* Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts (LL.D.) in 1901\n* St. Andrew's University in St Andrews, Scotland (LL.D) in 1902\n* University of Oxford in Oxford, England (D.Sc.) in 1906\n* University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland (LL.D.) in 1906\n* George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (LL.D.) in 1913\n* Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (LL.D.) in 1908\n* Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (LL.D.) in 1913, possibly 1914\n", "* Aegis Graham Bell Award are consistuted to recognise good work by innovators in India. Since 2010 awards are being given to innovators in IT and Telecom sector. Companies like Mahendra Tech, Data Infosys, CDOT, Infosys etc. have been awarded for the same.\n", "* The 1939 film ''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'' was based on his life and works.\n* The 1992 film ''The Sound and the Silence'' was a TV film.\n* ''Biography'' aired an episode ''Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of Invention'' on 6 August 1996.\n", "Bell died of complications arising from diabetes on August 2, 1922, at his private estate in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, at age 75. Bell had also been afflicted with pernicious anemia. His last view of the land he had inhabited was by moonlight on his mountain estate at 2:00 a.m. While tending to him after his long illness, Mabel, his wife, whispered, \"Don't leave me.\" By way of reply, Bell signed \"no...\", lost consciousness, and died shortly after.\n\nOn learning of Bell's death, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, cabled Mrs. Bell, saying:\nMy colleagues in the Government join with me in expressing to you our sense of the world's loss in the death of your distinguished husband. It will ever be a source of pride to our country that the great invention, with which his name is immortally associated, is a part of its history. On the behalf of the citizens of Canada, may I extend to you an expression of our combined gratitude and sympathy.\n\nBell's coffin was constructed of Beinn Bhreagh pine by his laboratory staff, lined with the same red silk fabric used in his tetrahedral kite experiments. To help celebrate his life, his wife asked guests not to wear black (the traditional funeral color) while attending his service, during which soloist Jean MacDonald sang a verse of Robert Louis Stevenson's \"Requiem\":\n:Under a wide and starry sky,\n:Dig the grave and let me lie.\n:Glad did I live and gladly die\n:And I laid me down with a will.\n\nUpon the conclusion of Bell's funeral, \"every phone on the continent of North America was silenced in honor of the man who had given to mankind the means for direct communication at a distance\".\n\nDr. Alexander Graham Bell was buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain, on his estate where he had resided increasingly for the last 35 years of his life, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. He was survived by his wife Mabel, his two daughters, Elsie May and Marian, and nine of his grandchildren.\n", "\n* Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing\n* Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site\n* Bell Boatyard\n* Bell Homestead National Historic Site\n* Bell Telephone Memorial\n* Berliner, Emile\n* Bourseul, Charles\n* Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell\n* IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal\n* John Peirce, submitted telephone ideas to Bell\n* Manzetti, Innocenzo\n* Meucci, Antonio\n* Oriental Telephone Company\n* Pioneers, a Volunteer Network\n* Reis, Philipp\n* The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, a 1939 movie of his life\n* The Telephone Cases\n* Volta Laboratory and Bureau\n* William Francis Channing, submitted telephone ideas to Bell\n\n", "\n===Notes===\n\n\n===Citations===\n\n\n===Bibliography===\n\n* Also published as: \n* \n* \n\n\n===Further reading===\n* Mullett, Mary B. ''The Story of A Famous Inventor.'' New York: Rogers and Fowle, 1921.\n* Walters, Eric. ''The Hydrofoil Mystery''. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Puffin Books, 1999. .\n* Winzer, Margret A. ''The History Of Special Education: From Isolation To Integration''. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 1993. .\n", "\n\n\n\n* Alexander Graham Bell Institute at Cape Breton University\n* Bell Telephone Memorial, Brantford, Ontario\n* Bell Homestead National Historic Site, Brantford, Ontario\n* Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada, Baddeck, Nova Scotia\n* Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress\n* \n* Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''\n* Science.ca profile: Alexander Graham Bell\n* \n* \n* Alexander Graham Bell's notebooks at the Internet Archive\n\n===Patents===\n''U.S. patent images in TIFF format''\n* ''Improvement in Transmitters and Receivers for Electric Telegraphs'', filed March 1875, issued April 1875 (multiplexing signals on a single wire)\n* ''Improvement in Telegraphy'', filed February 14, 1876, issued March 7, 1876 (Bell's first telephone patent)\n* ''Improvement in Telephonic Telegraph Receivers'', filed April 1876, issued June 1876\n* ''Improvement in Generating Electric Currents'' (using rotating permanent magnets), filed August 1876, issued August 1876\n* ''Electric Telegraphy'' (permanent magnet receiver), filed January 15, 1877, issued January 30, 1877\n* ''Apparatus for Signalling and Communicating, called Photophone'', filed August 1880, issued December 1880\n* ''Aerial Vehicle'', filed June 1903, issued April 1904\n\n===Multimedia===\n* Alexander Graham Bell at The Biography Channel\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* ''Shaping The Future'', from the ''Heritage Minutes'' and ''Radio Minutes'' collection at HistoricaCanada.ca (1:31 audio drama, Adobe Flash required)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life", "Canada", "Work with the deaf", "Continuing experimentation", "Telephone", "Family life", "Later inventions", "Eugenics", "Legacy and honors", " Innovators awarded in his name ", "Portrayal in film and television", "Death", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "The 150th anniversary of Bell's birth in 1997 was marked by a special issue of commemorative £1 banknotes from the Royal Bank of Scotland." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alexander Graham Bell''' (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born scientist, inventor, engineer, and innovator who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone and founding the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.", "Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work.", "His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876.", "Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.", "Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics.", "Although Bell was not one of the 33 founders of the National Geographic Society, he had a strong influence on the magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898, until 1903.", "Alexander Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3, 1847.", "The family home was at 16 South Charlotte Street, and has a stone inscription marking it as Alexander Graham Bell's birthplace.", "He had two brothers: Melville James Bell (1845–70) and Edward Charles Bell (1848–67), both of whom would die of tuberculosis.", "His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell, a phonetician, and his mother was Eliza Grace (née Symonds).", "Born as just \"Alexander Bell\", at age 10, he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers.", "For his 11th birthday, his father acquiesced and allowed him to adopt the name \"Graham\", chosen out of respect for Alexander Graham, a Canadian being treated by his father who had become a family friend.", "To close relatives and friends he remained \"Aleck\".", "===First invention===\nAs a child, young Bell displayed a natural curiosity about his world, resulting in gathering botanical specimens as well as experimenting even at an early age.", "His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbour whose family operated a flour mill, the scene of many forays.", "Young Bell asked what needed to be done at the mill.", "He was told wheat had to be dehusked through a laborious process and at the age of 12, Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation and used steadily for a number of years.", "In return, Ben's father John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop in which to \"invent\".", "From his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry, and music that was encouraged by his mother.", "With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist.", "Despite being normally quiet and introspective, he revelled in mimicry and \"voice tricks\" akin to ventriloquism that continually entertained family guests during their occasional visits.", "Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness (she began to lose her hearing when he was 12), and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour.", "He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead wherein she would hear him with reasonable clarity.", "Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.", "His family was long associated with the teaching of elocution: his grandfather, Alexander Bell, in London, his uncle in Dublin, and his father, in Edinburgh, were all elocutionists.", "His father published a variety of works on the subject, several of which are still well known, especially his ''The Standard Elocutionist'' (1860), which appeared in Edinburgh in 1868.", "''The Standard Elocutionist'' appeared in 168 British editions and sold over a quarter of a million copies in the United States alone.", "In this treatise, his father explains his methods of how to instruct deaf-mutes (as they were then known) to articulate words and read other people's lip movements to decipher meaning.", "Bell's father taught him and his brothers not only to write Visible Speech but to identify any symbol and its accompanying sound.", "Bell became so proficient that he became a part of his father's public demonstrations and astounded audiences with his abilities.", "He could decipher Visible Speech representing virtually every language, including Latin, Scottish Gaelic, and even Sanskrit, accurately reciting written tracts without any prior knowledge of their pronunciation.", "===Education===\nAs a young child, Bell, like his brothers, received his early schooling at home from his father.", "At an early age, he was enrolled at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, Scotland, which he left at the age of 15, having completed only the first four forms.", "His school record was undistinguished, marked by absenteeism and lacklustre grades.", "His main interest remained in the sciences, especially biology while he treated other school subjects with indifference, to the dismay of his demanding father.", "Upon leaving school, Bell travelled to London to live with his grandfather, Alexander Bell.", "During the year he spent with his grandfather, a love of learning was born, with long hours spent in serious discussion and study.", "The elder Bell took great efforts to have his young pupil learn to speak clearly and with conviction, the attributes that his pupil would need to become a teacher himself.", "At the age of 16, Bell secured a position as a \"pupil-teacher\" of elocution and music, in Weston House Academy at Elgin, Moray, Scotland.", "Although he was enrolled as a student in Latin and Greek, he instructed classes himself in return for board and £10 per session.", "The following year, he attended the University of Edinburgh; joining his older brother Melville who had enrolled there the previous year.", "In 1868, not long before he departed for Canada with his family, Bell completed his matriculation exams and was accepted for admission to University College London.", "===First experiments with sound===\nHis father encouraged Bell's interest in speech and, in 1863, took his sons to see a unique automaton developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone based on the earlier work of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen.", "The rudimentary \"mechanical man\" simulated a human voice.", "Bell was fascinated by the machine and after he obtained a copy of von Kempelen's book, published in German, and had laboriously translated it, he and his older brother Melville built their own automaton head.", "Their father, highly interested in their project, offered to pay for any supplies and spurred the boys on with the enticement of a \"big prize\" if they were successful.", "While his brother constructed the throat and larynx, Bell tackled the more difficult task of recreating a realistic skull.", "His efforts resulted in a remarkably lifelike head that could \"speak\", albeit only a few words.", "The boys would carefully adjust the \"lips\" and when a bellows forced air through the windpipe, a very recognizable \"Mama\" ensued, to the delight of neighbours who came to see the Bell invention.", "Intrigued by the results of the automaton, Bell continued to experiment with a live subject, the family's Skye Terrier, \"Trouve\".", "After he taught it to growl continuously, Bell would reach into its mouth and manipulate the dog's lips and vocal cords to produce a crude-sounding \"Ow ah oo ga ma ma\".", "With little convincing, visitors believed his dog could articulate \"How are you, grandma?\"", "Indicative of his playful nature, his experiments convinced onlookers that they saw a \"talking dog\".", "These initial forays into experimentation with sound led Bell to undertake his first serious work on the transmission of sound, using tuning forks to explore resonance.", "At age 19, Bell wrote a report on his work and sent it to philologist Alexander Ellis, a colleague of his father (who would later be portrayed as Professor Henry Higgins in ''Pygmalion'').", "Ellis immediately wrote back indicating that the experiments were similar to existing work in Germany, and also lent Bell a copy of Hermann von Helmholtz's work, ''The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music''.", "Dismayed to find that groundbreaking work had already been undertaken by Helmholtz who had conveyed vowel sounds by means of a similar tuning fork \"contraption\", Bell pored over the German scientist's book.", "Working from his own erroneous mistranslation of a French edition, Bell fortuitously then made a deduction that would be the underpinning of all his future work on transmitting sound, reporting: \"Without knowing much about the subject, it seemed to me that if vowel sounds could be produced by electrical means, so could consonants, so could articulate speech.\"", "He also later remarked: \"I thought that Helmholtz had done it ... and that my failure was due only to my ignorance of electricity.", "It was a valuable blunder ...", "If I had been able to read German in those days, I might never have commenced my experiments!\"", "===Family tragedy===\nIn 1865, when the Bell family moved to London, Bell returned to Weston House as an assistant master and, in his spare hours, continued experiments on sound using a minimum of laboratory equipment.", "Bell concentrated on experimenting with electricity to convey sound and later installed a telegraph wire from his room in Somerset College to that of a friend.", "Throughout late 1867, his health faltered mainly through exhaustion.", "His younger brother, Edward \"Ted,\" was similarly bed-ridden, suffering from tuberculosis.", "While Bell recovered (by then referring to himself in correspondence as \"A. G. Bell\") and served the next year as an instructor at Somerset College, Bath, England, his brother's condition deteriorated.", "Edward would never recover.", "Upon his brother's death, Bell returned home in 1867.", "His older brother Melville had married and moved out.", "With aspirations to obtain a degree at University College London, Bell considered his next years as preparation for the degree examinations, devoting his spare time at his family's residence to studying.", "Helping his father in Visible Speech demonstrations and lectures brought Bell to Susanna E. Hull's private school for the deaf in South Kensington, London.", "His first two pupils were deaf-mute girls who made remarkable progress under his tutelage.", "While his older brother seemed to achieve success on many fronts including opening his own elocution school, applying for a patent on an invention, and starting a family, Bell continued as a teacher.", "However, in May 1870, Melville died from complications due to tuberculosis, causing a family crisis.", "His father had also suffered a debilitating illness earlier in life and had been restored to health by a convalescence in Newfoundland.", "Bell's parents embarked upon a long-planned move when they realized that their remaining son was also sickly.", "Acting decisively, Alexander Melville Bell asked Bell to arrange for the sale of all the family property, conclude all of his brother's affairs (Bell took over his last student, curing a pronounced lisp), and join his father and mother in setting out for the \"New World\".", "Reluctantly, Bell also had to conclude a relationship with Marie Eccleston, who, as he had surmised, was not prepared to leave England with him.", "\nMelville House, the Bells' first home in North America, now a National Historic Site of Canada\n\nIn 1870, aged 23, Bell, together with Bell's brother's widow, Caroline Margaret Ottaway, and his parents travelled on the SS ''Nestorian'' to Canada.", "After landing at Quebec City, the Bells transferred to another steamer to Montreal and then boarded a train to Paris, Ontario, to stay with the Reverend Thomas Henderson, a family friend.", "After a brief stay with the Hendersons, the Bell family purchased a farm of at Tutelo Heights (now called Tutela Heights), near Brantford, Ontario.", "The property consisted of an orchard, large farmhouse, stable, pigsty, hen-house, and a carriage house, which bordered the Grand River.", "At the homestead, Bell set up his own workshop in the converted carriage house near to what he called his \"dreaming place\", a large hollow nestled in trees at the back of the property above the river.", "Despite his frail condition upon arriving in Canada, Bell found the climate and environs to his liking, and rapidly improved.", "He continued his interest in the study of the human voice and when he discovered the Six Nations Reserve across the river at Onondaga, he learned the Mohawk language and translated its unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols.", "For his work, Bell was awarded the title of Honorary Chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.", "After setting up his workshop, Bell continued experiments based on Helmholtz's work with electricity and sound.", "He also modified a melodeon (a type of pump organ) so that it could transmit its music electrically over a distance.", "Once the family was settled in, both Bell and his father made plans to establish a teaching practice and in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.", "pedagogical instruction to teachers at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes, 1871.", "Throughout his life, he referred to himself as \"a teacher of the deaf\".", "Bell's father was invited by Sarah Fuller, principal of the Boston School for Deaf Mutes (which continues today as the public Horace Mann School for the Deaf), in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, to introduce the Visible Speech System by providing training for Fuller's instructors, but he declined the post in favour of his son.", "Travelling to Boston in April 1871, Bell proved successful in training the school's instructors.", "He was subsequently asked to repeat the programme at the American Asylum for Deaf-mutes in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.", "Returning home to Brantford after six months abroad, Bell continued his experiments with his \"harmonic telegraph\".", "The basic concept behind his device was that messages could be sent through a single wire if each message was transmitted at a different pitch, but work on both the transmitter and receiver was needed.", "Unsure of his future, he first contemplated returning to London to complete his studies, but decided to return to Boston as a teacher.", "His father helped him set up his private practice by contacting Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the president of the Clarke School for the Deaf for a recommendation.", "Teaching his father's system, in October 1872, Alexander Bell opened his \"School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech\" in Boston, which attracted a large number of deaf pupils, with his first class numbering 30 students.", "While he was working as a private tutor, one of his most famous pupils was Helen Keller, who came to him as a young child unable to see, hear, or speak.", "She was later to say that Bell dedicated his life to the penetration of that \"inhuman silence which separates and estranges\".", "In 1893, Keller performed the sod-breaking ceremony for the construction of Bell's new Volta Bureau, dedicated to \"the increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf\".", "Several influential people of the time, including Bell, viewed deafness as something that should be eradicated, and also believed that with resources and effort, they could teach the deaf to speak and avoid the use of sign language, thus enabling their integration within the wider society from which many were often being excluded.", "Owing to his efforts to suppress the teaching of sign language, Bell is often viewed negatively by those embracing Deaf culture.", "\nIn the following year, Bell became professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory.", "During this period, he alternated between Boston and Brantford, spending summers in his Canadian home.", "At Boston University, Bell was \"swept up\" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors residing in the city.", "He continued his research in sound and endeavored to find a way to transmit musical notes and articulate speech, but although absorbed by his experiments, he found it difficult to devote enough time to experimentation.", "While days and evenings were occupied by his teaching and private classes, Bell began to stay awake late into the night, running experiment after experiment in rented facilities at his boarding house.", "Keeping \"night owl\" hours, he worried that his work would be discovered and took great pains to lock up his notebooks and laboratory equipment.", "Bell had a specially made table where he could place his notes and equipment inside a locking cover.", "Worse still, his health deteriorated as he suffered severe headaches.", "Returning to Boston in fall 1873, Bell made a fateful decision to concentrate on his experiments in sound.", "Deciding to give up his lucrative private Boston practice, Bell retained only two students, six-year-old \"Georgie\" Sanders, deaf from birth, and 15-year-old Mabel Hubbard.", "Each pupil would play an important role in the next developments.", "George's father, Thomas Sanders, a wealthy businessman, offered Bell a place to stay in nearby Salem with Georgie's grandmother, complete with a room to \"experiment\".", "Although the offer was made by George's mother and followed the year-long arrangement in 1872 where her son and his nurse had moved to quarters next to Bell's boarding house, it was clear that Mr. Sanders was backing the proposal.", "The arrangement was for teacher and student to continue their work together, with free room and board thrown in.", "Mabel was a bright, attractive girl who was ten years Bell's junior but became the object of his affection.", "Having lost her hearing after a near-fatal bout of scarlet fever close to her fifth birthday, she had learned to read lips but her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell's benefactor and personal friend, wanted her to work directly with her teacher.", "\n\n\n\nBy 1874, Bell's initial work on the harmonic telegraph had entered a formative stage, with progress made both at his new Boston \"laboratory\" (a rented facility) and at his family home in Canada a big success.", "While working that summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with a \"phonautograph\", a pen-like machine that could draw shapes of sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations.", "Bell thought it might be possible to generate undulating electrical currents that corresponded to sound waves.", "Bell also thought that multiple metal reeds tuned to different frequencies like a harp would be able to convert the undulating currents back into sound.", "But he had no working model to demonstrate the feasibility of these ideas.", "In 1874, telegraph message traffic was rapidly expanding and in the words of Western Union President William Orton, had become \"the nervous system of commerce\".", "Orton had contracted with inventors Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to find a way to send multiple telegraph messages on each telegraph line to avoid the great cost of constructing new lines.", "When Bell mentioned to Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders that he was working on a method of sending multiple tones on a telegraph wire using a multi-reed device, the two wealthy patrons began to financially support Bell's experiments.", "Patent matters would be handled by Hubbard's patent attorney, Anthony Pollok.", "In March 1875, Bell and Pollok visited the famous scientist Joseph Henry, who was then director of the Smithsonian Institution, and asked Henry's advice on the electrical multi-reed apparatus that Bell hoped would transmit the human voice by telegraph.", "Henry replied that Bell had \"the germ of a great invention\".", "When Bell said that he did not have the necessary knowledge, Henry replied, \"Get it!\"", "That declaration greatly encouraged Bell to keep trying, even though he did not have the equipment needed to continue his experiments, nor the ability to create a working model of his ideas.", "However, a chance meeting in 1874 between Bell and Thomas A. Watson, an experienced electrical designer and mechanic at the electrical machine shop of Charles Williams, changed all that.", "With financial support from Sanders and Hubbard, Bell hired Thomas Watson as his assistant, and the two of them experimented with acoustic telegraphy.", "On June 2, 1875, Watson accidentally plucked one of the reeds and Bell, at the receiving end of the wire, heard the overtones of the reed; overtones that would be necessary for transmitting speech.", "That demonstrated to Bell that only one reed or armature was necessary, not multiple reeds.", "This led to the \"gallows\" sound-powered telephone, which could transmit indistinct, voice-like sounds, but not clear speech.", "===The race to the patent office===\n\nIn 1875, Bell developed an acoustic telegraph and drew up a patent application for it.", "Since he had agreed to share U.S. profits with his investors Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, Bell requested that an associate in Ontario, George Brown, attempt to patent it in Britain, instructing his lawyers to apply for a patent in the U.S. only after they received word from Britain (Britain would issue patents only for discoveries not previously patented elsewhere).", "Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent drawing, March 7, 1876\n\nMeanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit speech using a water transmitter.", "On February 14, 1876, Gray filed a caveat with the U.S. Patent Office for a telephone design that used a water transmitter.", "That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed Bell's application with the patent office.", "There is considerable debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent.", "Bell was in Boston on February 14 and did not arrive in Washington until February 26.", "Bell's patent 174,465, was issued to Bell on March 7, 1876, by the U.S. Patent Office.", "Bell's patent covered \"the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound\" Bell returned to Boston the same day and the next day resumed work, drawing in his notebook a diagram similar to that in Gray's patent caveat.", "On March 10, 1876, three days after his patent was issued, Bell succeeded in getting his telephone to work, using a liquid transmitter similar to Gray's design.", "Vibration of the diaphragm caused a needle to vibrate in the water, varying the electrical resistance in the circuit.", "When Bell spoke the famous sentence \"Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you\" into the liquid transmitter, Watson, listening at the receiving end in an adjoining room, heard the words clearly.", "Although Bell was, and still is, accused of stealing the telephone from Gray, Bell used Gray's water transmitter design only after Bell's patent had been granted, and only as a proof of concept scientific experiment, to prove to his own satisfaction that intelligible \"articulate speech\" (Bell's words) could be electrically transmitted.", "After March 1876, Bell focused on improving the electromagnetic telephone and never used Gray's liquid transmitter in public demonstrations or commercial use.", "The question of priority for the variable resistance feature of the telephone was raised by the examiner before he approved Bell's patent application.", "He told Bell that his claim for the variable resistance feature was also described in Gray's caveat.", "Bell pointed to a variable resistance device in Bell's previous application in which Bell described a cup of mercury, not water.", "Bell had filed the mercury application at the patent office a year earlier on February 25, 1875, long before Elisha Gray described the water device.", "In addition, Gray abandoned his caveat, and because he did not contest Bell's priority, the examiner approved Bell's patent on March 3, 1876.", "Gray had reinvented the variable resistance telephone, but Bell was the first to write down the idea and the first to test it in a telephone.", "The patent examiner, Zenas Fisk Wilber, later stated in an affidavit that he was an alcoholic who was much in debt to Bell's lawyer, Marcellus Bailey, with whom he had served in the Civil War.", "He claimed he showed Gray's patent caveat to Bailey.", "Wilber also claimed (after Bell arrived in Washington D.C. from Boston) that he showed Gray's caveat to Bell and that Bell paid him $100.", "Bell claimed they discussed the patent only in general terms, although in a letter to Gray, Bell admitted that he learned some of the technical details.", "Bell denied in an affidavit that he ever gave Wilber any money.", "===Later developments===\nContinuing his experiments in Brantford, Bell brought home a working model of his telephone.", "On August 3, 1876, from the telegraph office in Mount Pleasant five miles (eight km) away from Brantford, Bell sent a tentative telegram indicating that he was ready.", "With curious onlookers packed into the office as witnesses, faint voices were heard replying.", "The following night, he amazed guests as well as his family when a message was received at the Bell home from Brantford, four miles (six km) distant, along an improvised wire strung up along telegraph lines and fences, and laid through a tunnel.", "This time, guests at the household distinctly heard people in Brantford reading and singing.", "These experiments clearly proved that the telephone could work over long distances.", "Bell at the opening of the long-distance line from New York to Chicago in 1892\nBell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000.", "The president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy.", "Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million he would consider it a bargain.", "By then, the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent.", "Bell's investors would become millionaires while he fared well from residuals and at one point had assets of nearly one million dollars.", "Bell began a series of public demonstrations and lectures to introduce the new invention to the scientific community as well as the general public.", "A short time later, his demonstration of an early telephone prototype at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia brought the telephone to international attention.", "Influential visitors to the exhibition included Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.", "Later, Bell had the opportunity to demonstrate the invention personally to Sir William Thomson (later, Lord Kelvin), a renowned Scottish scientist, as well as to Queen Victoria, who had requested a private audience at Osborne House, her Isle of Wight home.", "She called the demonstration \"most extraordinary\".", "The enthusiasm surrounding Bell's public displays laid the groundwork for universal acceptance of the revolutionary device.", "The Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877, and by 1886, more than 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones.", "Bell Company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone, which emerged as one of the most successful products ever.", "In 1879, the Bell company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union.", "This made the telephone practical for longer distances, and it was no longer necessary to shout to be heard at the receiving telephone.", "In January 1915, Bell made the first ceremonial transcontinental telephone call.", "Calling from the AT&T head office at 15 Dey Street in New York City, Bell was heard by Thomas Watson at 333 Grant Avenue in San Francisco.", "The ''New York Times'' reported:\n\n\n===Competitors===\n\n\n\nAs is sometimes common in scientific discoveries, simultaneous developments can occur, as evidenced by a number of inventors who were at work on the telephone.", "Over a period of 18 years, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 court challenges to its patents, including five that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but none was successful in establishing priority over the original Bell patent and the Bell Telephone Company never lost a case that had proceeded to a final trial stage.", "Bell's laboratory notes and family letters were the key to establishing a long lineage to his experiments.", "The Bell company lawyers successfully fought off myriad lawsuits generated initially around the challenges by Elisha Gray and Amos Dolbear.", "In personal correspondence to Bell, both Gray and Dolbear had acknowledged his prior work, which considerably weakened their later claims.", "On January 13, 1887, the U.S. Government moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation.", "After a series of decisions and reversals, the Bell company won a decision in the Supreme Court, though a couple of the original claims from the lower court cases were left undecided.", "By the time that the trial wound its way through nine years of legal battles, the U.S. prosecuting attorney had died and the two Bell patents (No.", "174,465 dated March 7, 1876, and No.", "186,787 dated January 30, 1877) were no longer in effect, although the presiding judges agreed to continue the proceedings due to the case's importance as a precedent.", "With a change in administration and charges of conflict of interest (on both sides) arising from the original trial, the US Attorney General dropped the lawsuit on November 30, 1897, leaving several issues undecided on the merits.", "During a deposition filed for the 1887 trial, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci also claimed to have created the first working model of a telephone in Italy in 1834.", "In 1886, in the first of three cases in which he was involved, Meucci took the stand as a witness in the hopes of establishing his invention's priority.", "Meucci's evidence in this case was disputed due to a lack of material evidence for his inventions as his working models were purportedly lost at the laboratory of American District Telegraph (ADT) of New York, which was later incorporated as a subsidiary of Western Union in 1901.", "Meucci's work, like many other inventors of the period, was based on earlier acoustic principles and despite evidence of earlier experiments, the final case involving Meucci was eventually dropped upon Meucci's death.", "However, due to the efforts of Congressman Vito Fossella, the U.S. House of Representatives on June 11, 2002, stated that Meucci's \"work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged\", even though this did not put an end to a still contentious issue.", "Some modern scholars do not agree with the claims that Bell's work on the telephone was influenced by Meucci's inventions.", "The value of the Bell patent was acknowledged throughout the world, and patent applications were made in most major countries, but when Bell delayed the German patent application, the electrical firm of Siemens & Halske (S&H) set up a rival manufacturer of Bell telephones under their own patent.", "The Siemens company produced near-identical copies of the Bell telephone without having to pay royalties.", "The establishment of the International Bell Telephone Company in Brussels, Belgium in 1880, as well as a series of agreements in other countries eventually consolidated a global telephone operation.", "The strain put on Bell by his constant appearances in court, necessitated by the legal battles, eventually resulted in his resignation from the company.", "Alexander Graham Bell, his wife Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, and their daughters Elsie (left) and Marian ca.", "1885\n\nThe Brodhead-Bell mansion, the Bell family residence in Washington, D.C., from 1882 to 1889\n\nOn July 11, 1877, a few days after the Bell Telephone Company was established, Bell married Mabel Hubbard (1857–1923) at the Hubbard estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts.", "His wedding present to his bride was to turn over 1,487 of his 1,497 shares in the newly formed Bell Telephone Company.", "Shortly thereafter, the newlyweds embarked on a year-long honeymoon in Europe.", "During that excursion, Bell took a handmade model of his telephone with him, making it a \"working holiday\".", "The courtship had begun years earlier; however, Bell waited until he was more financially secure before marrying.", "Although the telephone appeared to be an \"instant\" success, it was not initially a profitable venture and Bell's main sources of income were from lectures until after 1897.", "One unusual request exacted by his fiancée was that he use \"Alec\" rather than the family's earlier familiar name of \"Aleck\".", "From 1876, he would sign his name \"Alec Bell\".", "They had four children:\n* Elsie May Bell (1878–1964) who married Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor of National Geographic fame.", "* Marian Hubbard Bell (1880–1962) who was referred to as \"Daisy\".", "Married David Fairchild.", "* Two sons who died in infancy (Edward in 1881 and Robert in 1883).", "The Bell family home was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until 1880 when Bell's father-in-law bought a house in Washington, D.C.; in 1882 he bought a home in the same city for Bell's family, so they could be with him while he attended to the numerous court cases involving patent disputes.", "Bell was a British subject throughout his early life in Scotland and later in Canada until 1882 when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.", "In 1915, he characterized his status as: \"I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries.\"", "Despite this declaration, Bell has been proudly claimed as a \"native son\" by all three countries he resided in: the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.", "By 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated.", "That summer, the Bells had a vacation on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, spending time at the small village of Baddeck.", "Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake.", "By 1889, a large house, christened ''The Lodge'' was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic: ''beautiful mountain'') after Bell's ancestral Scottish highlands.", "Bell also built the Bell Boatyard on the estate, employing up to 40 people building experimental craft as well as wartime lifeboats and workboats for the Royal Canadian Navy and pleasure craft for the Bell family.", "He was an enthusiastic boater, and Bell and his family sailed or rowed a long series of vessels on Bras d'Or Lake, ordering additional vessels from the H.W.", "Embree and Sons boatyard in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.", "In his final, and some of his most productive years, Bell split his residency between Washington, D.C., where he and his family initially resided for most of the year, and at Beinn Bhreagh where they spent increasing amounts of time.", "Until the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but ''Beinn Bhreagh'' would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened.", "Both Mabel and Bell became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as \"their own\".", "The Bells were still in residence at ''Beinn Bhreagh'' when the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917.", "Mabel and Bell mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.", "Alexander Graham Bell in his later years\n\n\nAlthough Alexander Graham Bell is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, his interests were extremely varied.", "According to one of his biographers, Charlotte Gray, Bell's work ranged \"unfettered across the scientific landscape\" and he often went to bed voraciously reading the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', scouring it for new areas of interest.", "The range of Bell's inventive genius is represented only in part by the 18 patents granted in his name alone and the 12 he shared with his collaborators.", "These included 14 for the telephone and telegraph, four for the photophone, one for the phonograph, five for aerial vehicles, four for \"hydroairplanes\", and two for selenium cells.", "Bell's inventions spanned a wide range of interests and included a metal jacket to assist in breathing, the audiometer to detect minor hearing problems, a device to locate icebergs, investigations on how to separate salt from seawater, and work on finding alternative fuels.", "Bell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf.", "During his Volta Laboratory period, Bell and his associates considered impressing a magnetic field on a record as a means of reproducing sound.", "Although the trio briefly experimented with the concept, they could not develop a workable prototype.", "They abandoned the idea, never realizing they had glimpsed a basic principle which would one day find its application in the tape recorder, the hard disc and floppy disc drive, and other magnetic media.", "Bell's own home used a primitive form of air conditioning, in which fans blew currents of air across great blocks of ice.", "He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution.", "Methane gas, he reasoned, could be produced from the waste of farms and factories.", "At his Canadian estate in Nova Scotia, he experimented with composting toilets and devices to capture water from the atmosphere.", "In a magazine interview published shortly before his death, he reflected on the possibility of using solar panels to heat houses.", "===Photophone===\n\nPhotophone receiver, one half of Bell's wireless optical communication system, ca.", "1880\n\nBell and his assistant Charles Sumner Tainter jointly invented a wireless telephone, named a photophone, which allowed for the transmission of both sounds and normal human conversations on a beam of light.", "Both men later became full associates in the Volta Laboratory Association.", "On June 21, 1880, Bell's assistant transmitted a wireless voice telephone message a considerable distance, from the roof of the Franklin School in Washington, D.C., to Bell at the window of his laboratory, some away, 19 years before the first voice radio transmissions.", "Bell believed the photophone's principles were his life's \"greatest achievement\", telling a reporter shortly before his death that the photophone was \"the greatest invention I have ever made, greater than the telephone\".", "The photophone was a precursor to the fiber-optic communication systems which achieved popular worldwide usage in the 1980s.", "Its master patent was issued in December 1880, many decades before the photophone's principles came into popular use.", "===Metal detector===\nVolta Laboratory recording in 1885.", "Restored by the Smithsonian in 2013.", "Bell is also credited with developing one of the early versions of a metal detector in 1881.", "The device was quickly put together in an attempt to find the bullet in the body of U.S. President James Garfield.", "According to some accounts, the metal detector worked flawlessly in tests but did not find the assassin's bullet partly because the metal bed frame on which the President was lying disturbed the instrument, resulting in static.", "The president's surgeons, who were skeptical of the device, ignored Bell's requests to move the president to a bed not fitted with metal springs.", "Alternatively, although Bell had detected a slight sound on his first test, the bullet may have been lodged too deeply to be detected by the crude apparatus.", "Bell's own detailed account, presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1882, differs in several particulars from most of the many and varied versions now in circulation, most notably by concluding that extraneous metal was not to blame for failure to locate the bullet.", "Perplexed by the peculiar results he had obtained during an examination of Garfield, Bell \"proceeded to the Executive Mansion the next morning ... to ascertain from the surgeons whether they were perfectly sure that all metal had been removed from the neighborhood of the bed.", "It was then recollected that underneath the horse-hair mattress on which the President lay was another mattress composed of steel wires.", "Upon obtaining a duplicate, the mattress was found to consist of a sort of net of woven steel wires, with large meshes.", "The extent of the area that produced a response from the detector having been so small, as compared with the area of the bed, it seemed reasonable to conclude that the steel mattress had produced no detrimental effect.\"", "In a footnote, Bell adds, \"The death of President Garfield and the subsequent ''post-mortem'' examination, however, proved that the bullet was at too great a distance from the surface to have affected our apparatus.\"", "===Hydrofoils===\n\nBell HD-4 on a test run ca.", "1919\n\nThe March 1906 ''Scientific American'' article by American pioneer William E. Meacham explained the basic principle of hydrofoils and hydroplanes.", "Bell considered the invention of the hydroplane as a very significant achievement.", "Based on information gained from that article, he began to sketch concepts of what is now called a hydrofoil boat.", "Bell and assistant Frederick W. \"Casey\" Baldwin began hydrofoil experimentation in the summer of 1908 as a possible aid to airplane takeoff from water.", "Baldwin studied the work of the Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini and began testing models.", "This led him and Bell to the development of practical hydrofoil watercraft.", "During his world tour of 1910–11, Bell and Baldwin met with Forlanini in France.", "They had rides in the Forlanini hydrofoil boat over Lake Maggiore.", "Baldwin described it as being as smooth as flying.", "On returning to Baddeck, a number of initial concepts were built as experimental models, including the ''Dhonnas Beag'' (Scottish Gaelic for ''little devil''), the first self-propelled Bell-Baldwin hydrofoil.", "The experimental boats were essentially proof-of-concept prototypes that culminated in the more substantial HD-4, powered by Renault engines.", "A top speed of was achieved, with the hydrofoil exhibiting rapid acceleration, good stability, and steering, along with the ability to take waves without difficulty.", "In 1913, Dr. Bell hired Walter Pinaud, a Sydney yacht designer and builder as well as the proprietor of Pinaud's Yacht Yard in Westmount, Nova Scotia to work on the pontoons of the HD-4.", "Pinaud soon took over the boatyard at Bell Laboratories on Beinn Bhreagh, Bell's estate near Baddeck, Nova Scotia.", "Pinaud's experience in boat-building enabled him to make useful design changes to the HD-4.", "After the First World War, work began again on the HD-4.", "Bell's report to the U.S. Navy permitted him to obtain two engines in July 1919.", "On September 9, 1919, the HD-4 set a world marine speed record of , a record which stood for ten years.", "===Aeronautics===\n\nAEA Silver Dart ca.", "1909\n\nIn 1891, Bell had begun experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft.", "The AEA was first formed as Bell shared the vision to fly with his wife, who advised him to seek \"young\" help as Bell was at the age of 60.", "In 1898, Bell experimented with tetrahedral box kites and wings constructed of multiple compound tetrahedral kites covered in maroon silk.", "The tetrahedral wings were named ''Cygnet'' I, II, and III, and were flown both unmanned and manned (''Cygnet I'' crashed during a flight carrying Selfridge) in the period from 1907–1912.", "Some of Bell's kites are on display at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.", "Bell was a supporter of aerospace engineering research through the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), officially formed at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, in October 1907 at the suggestion of his wife Mabel and with her financial support after the sale of some of her real estate.", "The AEA was headed by Bell and the founding members were four young men: American Glenn H. Curtiss, a motorcycle manufacturer at the time and who held the title \"world's fastest man\", having ridden his self-constructed motor bicycle around in the shortest time, and who was later awarded the Scientific American Trophy for the first official one-kilometre flight in the Western hemisphere, and who later became a world-renowned airplane manufacturer; Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, an official observer from the U.S. Federal government and one of the few people in the army who believed that aviation was the future; Frederick W. Baldwin, the first Canadian and first British subject to pilot a public flight in Hammondsport, New York, and J.", "A .D.", "McCurdy–Baldwin and McCurdy being new engineering graduates from the University of Toronto.", "The AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their knowledge of kites to gliders.", "Moving to Hammondsport, the group then designed and built the ''Red Wing'', framed in bamboo and covered in red silk and powered by a small air-cooled engine.", "On March 12, 1908, over Keuka Lake, the biplane lifted off on the first public flight in North America.", "The innovations that were incorporated into this design included a cockpit enclosure and tail rudder (later variations on the original design would add ailerons as a means of control).", "One of the AEA's inventions, a practical wingtip form of the aileron, was to become a standard component on all aircraft.", "The ''White Wing'' and ''June Bug'' were to follow and by the end of 1908, over 150 flights without mishap had been accomplished.", "However, the AEA had depleted its initial reserves and only a $15,000 grant from Mrs. Bell allowed it to continue with experiments.", "Lt. Selfridge had also become the first person killed in a powered heavier-than-air flight in a crash of the Wright Flyer at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 17, 1908.", "Their final aircraft design, the ''Silver Dart'', embodied all of the advancements found in the earlier machines.", "On February 23, 1909, Bell was present as the ''Silver Dart'' flown by J.", "A. D. McCurdy from the frozen ice of Bras d'Or made the first aircraft flight in Canada.", "Bell had worried that the flight was too dangerous and had arranged for a doctor to be on hand.", "With the successful flight, the AEA disbanded and the ''Silver Dart'' would revert to Baldwin and McCurdy who began the Canadian Aerodrome Company and would later demonstrate the aircraft to the Canadian Army.", "\nBell was connected with the eugenics movement in the United States.", "In his lecture ''Memoir upon the formation of a deaf variety of the human race'' presented to the National Academy of Sciences on November 13, 1883, he noted that congenitally deaf parents were more likely to produce deaf children and tentatively suggested that couples where both parties were deaf should not marry.", "However, it was his hobby of livestock breeding which led to his appointment to biologist David Starr Jordan's Committee on Eugenics, under the auspices of the American Breeders' Association.", "The committee unequivocally extended the principle to humans.", "From 1912 until 1918, he was the chairman of the board of scientific advisers to the Eugenics Record Office associated with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, and regularly attended meetings.", "In 1921, he was the honorary president of the Second International Congress of Eugenics held under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.", "Organizations such as these advocated passing laws (with success in some states) that established the compulsory sterilization of people deemed to be, as Bell called them, a \"defective variety of the human race\".", "By the late 1930s, about half the states in the U.S. had eugenics laws, and California's compulsory sterilization law was used as a model for that of Nazi Germany.", "\nA. E. Cleeve Horne, similar in style to the Lincoln Memorial, in the front portico of the Bell Telephone Building of Brantford, Ontario, ''The Telephone City''.", "(Courtesy: '''''Brantford Heritage Inventory''', City of Brantford, Ontario, Canada'')\n\nHonors and tributes flowed to Bell in increasing numbers as his most famous invention became ubiquitous and his personal fame grew.", "Bell received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities to the point that the requests almost became burdensome.", "During his life, he also received dozens of major awards, medals, and other tributes.", "These included statuary monuments to both him and the new form of communication his telephone created, notably the Bell Telephone Memorial erected in his honor in ''Alexander Graham Bell Gardens'' in Brantford, Ontario, in 1917.", "A large number of Bell's writings, personal correspondence, notebooks, papers, and other documents reside in both the United States Library of Congress Manuscript Division (as the ''Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers''), and at the Alexander Graham Bell Institute, Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia; major portions of which are available for online viewing.", "A number of historic sites and other marks commemorate Bell in North America and Europe, including the first telephone companies in the United States and Canada.", "Among the major sites are:\n* The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, maintained by Parks Canada, which incorporates the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, close to the Bell estate Beinn Bhreagh\n* The Bell Homestead National Historic Site, includes the Bell family home, \"Melville House\", and farm overlooking Brantford, Ontario and the Grand River.", "It was their first home in North America;\n* Canada's first telephone company building, the \"Henderson Home\" of the late 1870s, a predecessor of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada (officially chartered in 1880).", "In 1969, the building was carefully moved to the historic Bell Homestead National Historic Site in Brantford, Ontario, and was refurbished to become a telephone museum.", "The Bell Homestead, the Henderson Home telephone museum, and the National Historic Site's reception centre are all maintained by the Bell Homestead Society;\n* The Alexander Graham Bell Memorial Park, which features a broad neoclassical monument built in 1917 by public subscription.", "The monument depicts mankind's ability to span the globe through telecommunications;\n* The Alexander Graham Bell Museum (opened in 1956), part of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site which was completed in 1978 in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.", "Many of the museum's artifacts were donated by Bell's daughters;Bell Museum, Cape Breton, part of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site\n\nIn 1880, Bell received the Volta Prize with a purse of 50,000 francs (approximately US$ in today's dollars) for the invention of the telephone from the Académie française, representing the French government.", "Among the luminaries who judged were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.", "The Volta Prize was conceived by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801, and named in honor of Alessandro Volta, with Bell receiving the third grand prize in its history.", "Since Bell was becoming increasingly affluent, he used his prize money to create endowment funds (the 'Volta Fund') and institutions in and around the United States capital of Washington, D.C..", "These included the prestigious'' 'Volta Laboratory Association' ''(1880), also known as the'' Volta Laboratory ''and as the'' 'Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory', ''and which eventually led to the Volta Bureau (1887) as a center for studies on deafness which is still in operation in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.", "The Volta Laboratory became an experimental facility devoted to scientific discovery, and the very next year it improved Edison's phonograph by substituting wax for tinfoil as the recording medium and incising the recording rather than indenting it, key upgrades that Edison himself later adopted.", "The laboratory was also the site where he and his associate invented his \"proudest achievement\", \"the photophone\", the \"optical telephone\" which presaged fibre optical telecommunications while the Volta Bureau would later evolve into the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (the AG Bell), a leading center for the research and pedagogy of deafness.", "In partnership with Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell helped establish the publication ''Science'' during the early 1880s.", "In 1898, Bell was elected as the second president of the National Geographic Society, serving until 1903, and was primarily responsible for the extensive use of illustrations, including photography, in the magazine.", "he also became a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution (1898–1922).", "The French government conferred on him the decoration of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor); the Royal Society of Arts in London awarded him the Albert Medal in 1902; the University of Würzburg, Bavaria, granted him a PhD, and he was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal in 1912.", "He was one of the founders of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1884 and served as its president from 1891–92.", "Bell was later awarded the AIEE's Edison Medal in 1914 \"For meritorious achievement in the invention of the telephone\".", "The ''bel'' (B) and the smaller ''decibel'' (dB) are units of measurement of sound intensity invented by Bell Labs and named after him.", "Since 1976, the IEEE's Alexander Graham Bell Medal has been awarded to honor outstanding contributions in the field of telecommunications.", "~ A.G. Bell issue of 1940 ~\n\nIn 1936, the US Patent Office declared Bell first on its list of the country's greatest inventors, leading to the US Post Office issuing a commemorative stamp honoring Bell in 1940 as part of its 'Famous Americans Series'.", "The First Day of Issue ceremony was held on October 28 in Boston, Massachusetts, the city where Bell spent considerable time on research and working with the deaf.", "The Bell stamp became very popular and sold out in little time.", "The stamp became and remains to this day, the most valuable one of the series.", "The illustrations on the reverse of the note include Bell's face in profile, his signature, and objects from Bell's life and career: users of the telephone over the ages; an audio wave signal; a diagram of a telephone receiver; geometric shapes from engineering structures; representations of sign language and the phonetic alphabet; the geese which helped him to understand flight; and the sheep which he studied to understand genetics.", "Additionally, the Government of Canada honored Bell in 1997 with a C$100 gold coin, in tribute also to the 150th anniversary of his birth, and with a silver dollar coin in 2009 in honor of the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada.", "That first flight was made by an airplane designed under Dr. Bell's tutelage, named the Silver Dart.", "Bell's image, and also those of his many inventions have graced paper money, coinage, and postal stamps in numerous countries worldwide for many dozens of years.", "Alexander Graham Bell was ranked 57th among the 100 Greatest Britons (2002) in an official BBC nationwide poll, and among the Top Ten Greatest Canadians (2004), and the 100 Greatest Americans (2005).", "In 2006, Bell was also named as one of the 10 greatest Scottish scientists in history after having been listed in the National Library of Scotland's 'Scottish Science Hall of Fame'.", "Bell's name is still widely known and used as part of the names of dozens of educational institutes, corporate namesakes, street and place names around the world.", "Bell, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D.)", "at the university in 1906\n\n\n\n===Honorary degrees===\n\n\nAlexander Graham Bell, who could not complete the university program of his youth, received at least a dozen honorary degrees from academic institutions, including eight honorary LL.D.s (Doctorate of Laws), two Ph.D.s, a D.Sc., and an M.D.", ":\n* Gallaudet College (then named National Deaf-Mute College) in Washington, D.C. (Ph.D.) in 1880\n* University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Bavaria (Ph.D.) in 1882\n* Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany (M.D.)", "in 1886\n* Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (LL.D.)", "in 1896\n* Illinois College, in Jacksonville, Illinois (LL.D.)", "in 1896, possibly 1881\n* Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts (LL.D.)", "in 1901\n* St. Andrew's University in St Andrews, Scotland (LL.D) in 1902\n* University of Oxford in Oxford, England (D.Sc.)", "in 1906\n* University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland (LL.D.)", "in 1906\n* George Washington University in Washington, D.C.", "(LL.D.)", "in 1913\n* Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (LL.D.)", "in 1908\n* Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (LL.D.)", "in 1913, possibly 1914", "* Aegis Graham Bell Award are consistuted to recognise good work by innovators in India.", "Since 2010 awards are being given to innovators in IT and Telecom sector.", "Companies like Mahendra Tech, Data Infosys, CDOT, Infosys etc.", "have been awarded for the same.", "* The 1939 film ''The Story of Alexander Graham Bell'' was based on his life and works.", "* The 1992 film ''The Sound and the Silence'' was a TV film.", "* ''Biography'' aired an episode ''Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of Invention'' on 6 August 1996.", "Bell died of complications arising from diabetes on August 2, 1922, at his private estate in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, at age 75.", "Bell had also been afflicted with pernicious anemia.", "His last view of the land he had inhabited was by moonlight on his mountain estate at 2:00 a.m.", "While tending to him after his long illness, Mabel, his wife, whispered, \"Don't leave me.\"", "By way of reply, Bell signed \"no...\", lost consciousness, and died shortly after.", "On learning of Bell's death, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, cabled Mrs. Bell, saying:\nMy colleagues in the Government join with me in expressing to you our sense of the world's loss in the death of your distinguished husband.", "It will ever be a source of pride to our country that the great invention, with which his name is immortally associated, is a part of its history.", "On the behalf of the citizens of Canada, may I extend to you an expression of our combined gratitude and sympathy.", "Bell's coffin was constructed of Beinn Bhreagh pine by his laboratory staff, lined with the same red silk fabric used in his tetrahedral kite experiments.", "To help celebrate his life, his wife asked guests not to wear black (the traditional funeral color) while attending his service, during which soloist Jean MacDonald sang a verse of Robert Louis Stevenson's \"Requiem\":\n:Under a wide and starry sky,\n:Dig the grave and let me lie.", ":Glad did I live and gladly die\n:And I laid me down with a will.", "Upon the conclusion of Bell's funeral, \"every phone on the continent of North America was silenced in honor of the man who had given to mankind the means for direct communication at a distance\".", "Dr. Alexander Graham Bell was buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain, on his estate where he had resided increasingly for the last 35 years of his life, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake.", "He was survived by his wife Mabel, his two daughters, Elsie May and Marian, and nine of his grandchildren.", "\n* Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing\n* Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site\n* Bell Boatyard\n* Bell Homestead National Historic Site\n* Bell Telephone Memorial\n* Berliner, Emile\n* Bourseul, Charles\n* Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell\n* IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal\n* John Peirce, submitted telephone ideas to Bell\n* Manzetti, Innocenzo\n* Meucci, Antonio\n* Oriental Telephone Company\n* Pioneers, a Volunteer Network\n* Reis, Philipp\n* The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, a 1939 movie of his life\n* The Telephone Cases\n* Volta Laboratory and Bureau\n* William Francis Channing, submitted telephone ideas to Bell", "\n===Notes===\n\n\n===Citations===\n\n\n===Bibliography===\n\n* Also published as: \n* \n* \n\n\n===Further reading===\n* Mullett, Mary B.", "''The Story of A Famous Inventor.''", "New York: Rogers and Fowle, 1921.", "* Walters, Eric.", "''The Hydrofoil Mystery''.", "Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Puffin Books, 1999. .", "* Winzer, Margret A.", "''The History Of Special Education: From Isolation To Integration''.", "Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 1993. .", "\n\n\n\n* Alexander Graham Bell Institute at Cape Breton University\n* Bell Telephone Memorial, Brantford, Ontario\n* Bell Homestead National Historic Site, Brantford, Ontario\n* Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada, Baddeck, Nova Scotia\n* Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress\n* \n* Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''\n* Science.ca profile: Alexander Graham Bell\n* \n* \n* Alexander Graham Bell's notebooks at the Internet Archive\n\n===Patents===\n''U.S.", "patent images in TIFF format''\n* ''Improvement in Transmitters and Receivers for Electric Telegraphs'', filed March 1875, issued April 1875 (multiplexing signals on a single wire)\n* ''Improvement in Telegraphy'', filed February 14, 1876, issued March 7, 1876 (Bell's first telephone patent)\n* ''Improvement in Telephonic Telegraph Receivers'', filed April 1876, issued June 1876\n* ''Improvement in Generating Electric Currents'' (using rotating permanent magnets), filed August 1876, issued August 1876\n* ''Electric Telegraphy'' (permanent magnet receiver), filed January 15, 1877, issued January 30, 1877\n* ''Apparatus for Signalling and Communicating, called Photophone'', filed August 1880, issued December 1880\n* ''Aerial Vehicle'', filed June 1903, issued April 1904\n\n===Multimedia===\n* Alexander Graham Bell at The Biography Channel\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* ''Shaping The Future'', from the ''Heritage Minutes'' and ''Radio Minutes'' collection at HistoricaCanada.ca (1:31 audio drama, Adobe Flash required)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Apple Inc.''' is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.\n\nApple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as '''Apple Computer, Inc.''' in January 1977, and sales of its computers saw significant momentum and revenue growth for the company. Within a few years, they had hired a staff of computer designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, and Apple's marketing commercials for its products received widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price tag of its products and limited software titles caused problems, as did power struggles between executives at the company. Jobs resigned from Apple and created his own company. As the market for personal computers increased, Apple's computers saw diminishing sales due to lower-priced products from competitors, in particular those offered with the Microsoft Windows operating system. More executive job shuffles happened at Apple until then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1997 decided to buy Jobs' company to bring him back. Jobs regained position as CEO, and began a process to rebuild Apple's status, which included opening Apple's own retail stores in 2001, making numerous acquisitions of software companies to create a portfolio of software titles, and changed some of the hardware technology used in its computers. It again saw success and returned to profitability. In January 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would be renamed Apple Inc. to reflect its shifted focus toward consumer electronics and announced the iPhone, which saw critical acclaim and significant financial success. In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health complications, and Tim Cook became the new CEO. Two months later, Jobs died, marking the end of an era for the company.\n\nApple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung. In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over US$700billion. The company employs 116,000 full-time employees and maintains 498 retail stores in 22 countries . It operates the iTunes Store, which is the world's largest music retailer. , more than one billion Apple products are actively in use worldwide.\n\nApple's worldwide annual revenue totaled $215billion for the 2016 fiscal year. The company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty and has been repeatedly ranked as the world's most valuable brand. However, it receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors and its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source materials.\n", "\n\n===1976–84: Founding and incorporation===\nThe birthplace of Apple Computer. In 1976, Steve Jobs co-founded the company in the garage of his childhood home on Crist Drive in Los Altos, California.\nApple's first product, the Apple I, invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was sold as an assembled circuit board and lacked basic features such as a keyboard, monitor, and case. The owner of this unit added a keyboard and wooden case.\nThe Apple II, introduced in 1977, was a major technological advancement over its predecessor.\n\nApple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company's first product was the Apple I, a computer single-handedly designed and hand-built by Wozniak, and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips), which was less than what is now considered a complete personal computer. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($ in dollars, adjusted for inflation).\n\nApple Computer, Inc. was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple. During the first five years of operations revenues grew exponentially, doubling about every four months. Between September 1977 and September 1980 yearly sales grew from $775,000 to $118m, an average annual growth rate of 533%.\n\nThe Apple II, also invented by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics and open architecture. While early Apple II models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first \"killer app\" of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office. Before VisiCalc, Apple had been a distant third place competitor to Commodore and Tandy.\n\nBy the end of 1970's, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The company introduced the Apple III in May 1980 in an attempt to compete with IBM and Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market. Jobs and several Apple employees, including Jef Raskin, visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Xerox Alto. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares (800,000 split-adjusted shares) of Apple at the pre-IPO price of $10 a share.\n\nJobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a graphical user interface (GUI), and development of a GUI began for the Apple Lisa. In 1982, however, he was pushed from the Lisa team due to infighting. Jobs took over Jef Raskin's low-cost-computer project, the Macintosh. A race broke out between the Lisa team and the Macintosh team over which product would ship first. Lisa won the race in 1983 and became the first personal computer sold to the public with a GUI, but was a commercial failure due to its high price tag and limited software titles.\n\nOn December 12, 1980, Apple went public at $22 per share, generating more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956 and immediately creating 300 millionaires.\n\n===1984–91: Success with Macintosh===\n\nThe Macintosh, released in 1984, was the first mass-market personal computer that featured an integral graphical user interface and mouse.\nIn 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh, the first personal computer to be sold without a programming language. Its debut was signified by \"1984\", a $1.5million television commercial directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The commercial is now hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success and was called a \"masterpiece\" by CNN and one of the greatest commercials of all time by ''TV Guide''.\n\nThe Macintosh initially sold well, but follow-up sales were not strong due to its high price and limited range of software titles. The machine's fortunes changed with the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first PostScript laser printer to be sold at a reasonable price, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing package. It has been suggested that the combination of these three products were responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market. The Macintosh was particularly powerful in the desktop publishing market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, which had necessarily been built in to create the intuitive Macintosh GUI.\n\nIn 1985, a power struggle developed between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired two years earlier. The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to \"contain\" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from his leadership role at Apple. Sculley found out that Jobs had been attempting to organize a coup and called a board meeting at which Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his managerial duties. Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year.\n\nThe Macintosh Portable, released in 1989, was Apple's first battery-powered portable Macintosh personal computer.\nAfter Jobs' departure, the Macintosh product line underwent a steady change of focus to higher price points, the so-called \"high-right policy\" named for the position on a chart of price vs. profits. Jobs had argued the company should produce products aimed at the consumer market and aimed for a $1000 price for the Macintosh, which they were unable to meet. Newer models selling at higher price points offered higher profit margin, and appeared to have no effect on total sales as power users snapped up every increase in power. Although some worried about pricing themselves out of the market, the high-right policy was in full force by the mid-1980s, notably due to Jean-Louis Gassée's mantra of \"fifty-five or die\", referring to the 55% profit margins of the Macintosh II.\n\nThis policy began to backfire in the last years of the decade as new desktop publishing programs appeared on PC clones that offered some or much of the same functionality of the Macintosh but at far lower price points. The company lost its monopoly in this market, and had already estranged many of its original consumer customer base who could no longer afford their high-priced products. The Christmas season of 1989 was the first in the company's history that saw declining sales, and led to a 20% drop in Apple's stock price. Gassée's objections were overruled, and he was forced from the company in 1990. Later that year, Apple introduced three lower cost models, the Macintosh Classic, Macintosh LC and Macintosh IIsi, all of which saw significant sales due to pent up demand.\n\nIn 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook, replacing the \"luggable\" Macintosh Portable with a design that set the current shape for almost all modern laptops. The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the operating system which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities. It remained the architectural basis for the Classic Mac OS. The success of the PowerBook and other products brought increasing revenue. For some time, Apple was doing incredibly well, introducing fresh new products and generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine ''MacAddict'' named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the \"first golden age\" of the Macintosh.\n\nApple believed the Apple II series was too expensive to produce and took away sales from the low-end Macintosh. In the 1990s, Apple released the Macintosh LC, and began efforts to promote that computer by advising developer technical support staff to recommend developing applications for Macintosh rather than Apple II, and authorizing salespersons to direct consumers towards Macintosh and away from Apple II. The Apple IIe was discontinued in 1993.\n\n===1991–97: Decline and restructuring===\n\nNewton.\nThe success of Apple's lower-cost consumer models, especially the LC, also led to cannibalization of their higher priced machines. To address this, management introduced several new brands, selling largely identical machines at different price points aimed at different markets. These were the high-end Quadra, the mid-range Centris line, and the ill-fated Performa series. This led to significant market confusion, as customers did not understand the difference between models.\n\nApple also experimented with a number of other unsuccessful consumer targeted products during the 1990s, including digital cameras, portable CD audio players, speakers, video consoles, the eWorld online service, and TV appliances. Enormous resources were also invested in the problem-plagued Newton division based on John Sculley's unrealistic market forecasts. Ultimately, none of these products helped and Apple's market share and stock prices continued to slide.\n\nThroughout this period, Microsoft continued to gain market share with Windows by focusing on delivering software to cheap commodity personal computers, while Apple was delivering a richly engineered but expensive experience. Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response; instead, they sued Microsoft for using a GUI similar to the Apple Lisa in ''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.'' The lawsuit dragged on for years before it was finally dismissed. At this time, a series of major product flops and missed deadlines sullied Apple's reputation, and Sculley was replaced as CEO by Michael Spindler.\n\nNewton was Apple's first foray into the PDA markets, as well as one of the first in the industry. Despite being a financial flop at the time of its release, it helped pave the way for the PalmPilot and Apple's own iPhone and iPad in the future.\n\nBy the early 1990s, Apple was developing alternative platforms to the Macintosh, such as A/UX. The Macintosh platform itself was becoming outdated because it was not built for multitasking and because several important software routines were programmed directly into the hardware. In addition, Apple was facing competition from OS/2 and UNIX vendors such as Sun Microsystems. The Macintosh would need to be replaced by a new platform or reworked to run on more powerful hardware.\n\nIn 1994, Apple allied with IBM and Motorola in the AIM alliance with the goal of creating a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple software. The AIM alliance hoped that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind and thus counter Microsoft. The same year, Apple introduced the Power Macintosh, the first of many Apple computers to use Motorola's PowerPC processor.\n\nIn 1996, Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as CEO. Amelio made numerous changes at Apple, including extensive layoffs and cut costs. After numerous failed attempts to improve Mac OS, first with the Taligent project and later with Copland and Gershwin, Amelio chose to purchase NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system and bring Steve Jobs back to Apple.\n\n===1997–2007: Return to profitability===\n\nThe NeXT deal was finalized on February 9, 1997, bringing Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. On July 9, 1997, Amelio was ousted by the board of directors after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs acted as the interim CEO and began restructuring the company's product line; it was during this period that he identified the design talent of Jonathan Ive, and the pair worked collaboratively to rebuild Apple's status.\n\nAt the 1997 Macworld Expo, Jobs announced that Apple would join Microsoft to release new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, and that Microsoft had made a $150million investment in non-voting Apple stock. On November 10, 1997, Apple introduced the Apple Online Store, which was tied to a new build-to-order manufacturing strategy.\n\nOn August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design, and sold almost 800,000 units in its first five months.\n\nDuring this period, Apple completed numerous acquisitions to create a portfolio of digital production software for both professionals and consumers. In 1998, Apple purchased Macromedia's Key Grip software project, signaling an expansion into the digital video editing market. The sale was an outcome of Macromedia's decision to solely focus upon web development software. The product, still unfinished at the time of the sale, was renamed \"Final Cut Pro\" when it was launched on the retail market in April 1999. The development of Key Grip also led to Apple's release of the consumer video-editing product iMovie in October 1999. Next, Apple successfully acquired the German company Astarte, which had developed DVD authoring technology, as well as Astarte's corresponding products and engineering team in April 2000. Astarte's digital tool DVDirector was subsequently transformed into the professional-oriented DVD Studio Pro software product. Apple then employed the same technology to create iDVD for the consumer market. In 2002, Apple purchased Nothing Real for their advanced digital compositing application Shake, as well as Emagic for the music productivity application Logic. The purchase of Emagic made Apple the first computer manufacturer to own a music software company. The acquisition was followed by the development of Apple's consumer-level GarageBand application. The release of iPhoto in the same year completed the iLife suite.\n\nMac OS X, based on NeXT's OPENSTEP and BSD Unix, was released on March 24, 2001, after several years of development. Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, Mac OS X aimed to combine the stability, reliability and security of Unix with the ease of use afforded by an overhauled user interface. To aid users in migrating from Mac OS 9, the new operating system allowed the use of OS 9 applications within Mac OS X via the Classic Environment.\n\nOn May 19, 2001, Apple opened its first official eponymous retail stores in Virginia and California. On October 23 of the same year, Apple debuted the iPod portable digital audio player. The product, which was first sold on November 10, 2001, was phenomenally successful with over 100million units sold within six years. In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced. The service offered online music downloads for $0.99 a song and integration with the iPod. The iTunes Store quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over five billion downloads by June 19, 2008. Two years later, the iTunes Store was the world's largest music retailer.\n\n\nThe MacBook Pro, Apple's first laptop with an Intel microprocessor, introduced in 2006.\nAt the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Jobs announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers in 2006. On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo CPU. By August 7, 2006, Apple made the transition to Intel chips for the entire Mac product line—over one year sooner than announced. The Power Mac, iBook and PowerBook brands were retired during the transition; the Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro became their respective successors. On April 29, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple was building its own team of engineers to design microchips. Apple also introduced Boot Camp in 2006 to help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.\n\nApple's success during this period was evident in its stock price. Between early 2003 and 2006, the price of Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around $6 per share (split-adjusted) to over $80. In January 2006, Apple's market cap surpassed that of Dell. Nine years prior, Dell's CEO Michael Dell had said that if he ran Apple he would \"shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.\" Although Apple's market share in computers had grown, it remained far behind competitors using Microsoft Windows, accounting for about 8% of desktops and laptops in the US.\n\nSince 2001, Apple's design team has progressively abandoned the use of translucent colored plastics first used in the iMac G3. This design change began with the titanium-made PowerBook and was followed by the iBook's white polycarbonate structure and the flat-panel iMac.\n\n===2007–11: Success with mobile devices===\nA first generation iPhone, one of Jonathan Ive's most recognized industrial designs. The iPhone has been phenomenally successful, with over 1billion units sold worldwide.\nDuring his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would thereafter be known as \"Apple Inc.\", because the company had shifted its emphasis from computers to consumer electronics. This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV. The company sold 270,000 iPhone units during the first 30 hours of sales, and the device was called \"a game changer for the industry\". Apple would achieve widespread success with its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad products, which introduced innovations in mobile phones, portable music players and personal computers respectively. Furthermore, by early 2007, 800,000 Final Cut Pro users were registered.\n\nIn an article posted on Apple's website on February 6, 2007, Jobs wrote that Apple would be willing to sell music on the iTunes Store without digital rights management (DRM), thereby allowing tracks to be played on third-party players, if record labels would agree to drop the technology. On April 2, 2007, Apple and EMI jointly announced the removal of DRM technology from EMI's catalog in the iTunes Store, effective in May 2007. Other record labels eventually followed suit and Apple published a press release in January 2009 to announce the corresponding changes to the iTunes Store.\n\nIn July 2008, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Within a month, the store sold 60million applications and registered an average daily revenue of $1million, with Jobs speculating in August 2008 that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for Apple. By October 2008, Apple was the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.\n\nOn December 16, 2008, Apple announced that 2009 would be the last year the corporation would attend the Macworld Expo, after more than 20 years of attendance, and that senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller would deliver the 2009 keynote address in lieu of the expected Jobs. The official press release explained that Apple was \"scaling back\" on trade shows in general, including Macworld Tokyo and the Apple Expo in Paris, France, primarily because the enormous successes of the Apple Retail Stores and website had rendered trade shows a minor promotional channel.\n\nOn January 14, 2009, Jobs announced in an internal memo that he would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June 2009 and would spend the time focusing on his health. In the email, Jobs stated that \"the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well\", and explained that the break would allow the company \"to focus on delivering extraordinary products\". Despite Jobs's absence, Apple recorded its best non-holiday quarter (Q1 FY 2009) during the recession with revenue of $8.16billion and profit of $1.21billion.\n\n\nAfter years of speculation and multiple rumored \"leaks\", Apple unveiled a large screen, tablet-like media device known as the iPad on January 27, 2010. The iPad ran the same touch-based operating system as the iPhone, and many iPhone apps were compatible with the iPad. This gave the iPad a large app catalog on launch, despite very little development time before the release. Later that year on April 3, 2010, the iPad was launched in the US. It sold more than 300,000 units on its first day, and 500,000 by the end of the first week. In May of the same year, Apple's market cap exceeded that of competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989.\n\nIn June 2010, Apple released the iPhone 4, which introduced video calling, multitasking, and a new uninsulated stainless steel design that acted as the phone's antenna. Later that year, Apple again refreshed its iPod line of MP3 players by introducing a multi-touch iPod Nano, an iPod Touch with FaceTime, and an iPod Shuffle that brought back the buttons of earlier generations. Additionally, on October 20, Apple updated the MacBook Air laptop, iLife suite of applications, and unveiled Mac OS X Lion, the last version with the name ''Mac OS X''.\n\nIn October 2010, Apple shares hit an all-time high, eclipsing $300.\n\nOn January 6, 2011, the company opened its Mac App Store, a digital software distribution platform similar to the iOS App Store.\n\nAlongside peer entities such as Atari and Cisco Systems, Apple was featured in the documentary ''Something Ventured'', which premiered in 2011 and explored the three-decade era that led to the establishment and dominance of Silicon Valley.\n\nOn January 17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another medical leave of absence for an indefinite period to allow him to focus on his health. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook assumed Jobs's day-to-day operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain \"involved in major strategic decisions\". Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world. In June 2011, Jobs surprisingly took the stage and unveiled iCloud, an online storage and syncing service for music, photos, files and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous attempt at content syncing.\n\nThis would be the last product launch Jobs would attend before his death. It has been argued that Apple has achieved such efficiency in its supply chain that the company operates as a monopsony (one buyer, many sellers) and can dictate terms to its suppliers. In July 2011, due to the American debt-ceiling crisis, Apple's financial reserves were briefly larger than those of the U.S. Government.\n\nOn August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of Apple. He was replaced by Cook and Jobs became Apple's chairman. Prior to this, Apple did not have a chairman and instead had two co-lead directors, Andrea Jung and Arthur D. Levinson, who continued with those titles until Levinson became Chairman of the Board in November.\n\n===2011–present: Post-Steve Jobs era; Tim Cook leadership===\nOn October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away, marking the end of an era for Apple. The first major product announcement by Apple following Jobs's passing occurred on January 19, 2012, when Apple's Phil Schiller introduced iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBook Author for Mac OS X in New York City. Jobs had stated in his biography that he wanted to reinvent the textbook industry and education.\n\nFrom 2011 to 2012, Apple released the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, which featured improved cameras, an intelligent software assistant named Siri, and cloud-sourced data with iCloud; the third and fourth generation iPads, which featured Retina displays; and the iPad Mini, which featured a 7.9-inch screen in contrast to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. These launches were successful, with the iPhone 5 (released September 21, 2012) becoming Apple's biggest iPhone launch with over two million pre-orders and sales of three million iPads in three days following the launch of the iPad Mini and fourth generation iPad (released November 3, 2012). Apple also released a third-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display and new iMac and Mac Mini computers.\n\nOn August 20, 2012, Apple's rising stock price increased the company's market capitalization to a world-record $624billion. This beat the non-inflation-adjusted record for market capitalization set by Microsoft in 1999. On August 24, 2012, a US jury ruled that Samsung should pay Apple $1.05billion (£665m) in damages in an intellectual property lawsuit. Samsung appealed the damages award, which the Court reduced by $450million. The Court further granted Samsung's request for a new trial. On November 10, 2012, Apple confirmed a global settlement that would dismiss all lawsuits between Apple and HTC up to that date, in favor of a ten-year license agreement for current and future patents between the two companies. It is predicted that Apple will make $280million a year from this deal with HTC.\n\nA previously confidential email written by Jobs a year before his death was presented during the proceedings of the ''Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co.'' lawsuits and became publicly available in early April 2014. With a subject line that reads \"Top 100 – A,\" the email was sent only to the company's 100 most senior employees and outlines Jobs's vision of Apple Inc.'s future under 10 subheadings. Notably, Jobs declares a \"Holy War with Google\" for 2011 and schedules a \"new campus\" for 2015.\n\nIn March 2013, Apple filed a patent for an augmented reality (AR) system that can identify objects in a live video stream and present information corresponding to these objects through a computer-generated information layer overlaid on top of the real-world image. The company also made several high-profile hiring decisions in 2013. On July 2, 2013, Apple recruited Paul Deneve, Belgian President and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent as a vice president reporting directly to Tim Cook. A mid-October 2013 announcement revealed that Burberry executive Angela Ahrendts will commence as a senior vice president at Apple in mid-2014. Ahrendts oversaw Burberry's digital strategy for almost eight years and, during her tenure, sales increased to about US$3.2 billion and shares gained more than threefold.\n\nAlongside Google vice-president Vint Cerf and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Cook attended a closed-door summit held by President Obama on August 8, 2013, in regard to government surveillance and the Internet in the wake of the Edward Snowden NSA incident. On February 4, 2014, Cook met with Abdullah Gül, the President of Turkey, in Ankara to discuss the company's involvement in the Fatih project.\n\nIn the first quarter of 2014, Apple reported sales of 51million iPhones and 26million iPads, becoming all-time quarterly sales records. It also experienced a significant year-over-year increase in Mac sales. This was contrasted with a significant drop in iPod sales. On May 28, 2014, Apple confirmed its intent to acquire Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's audio company Beats Electronics—producer of the ''Beats by Dr. Dre'' line of headphones and speaker products, and operator of the music streaming service Beats Music—for $3billion, and to sell their products through Apple's retail outlets and resellers. Iovine felt that Beats had always \"belonged\" with Apple, as the company modeled itself after Apple's \"unmatched ability to marry culture and technology.\" In August 2014, an Apple representative confirmed to the media that Anand Lal Shimpi, editor and publisher of the ''AnandTech'' website, had been recruited by Apple without elaborating on Lal Shimpi's role.\n\nApple has been at the top of Interbrand's annual Best Global Brands report for 4 years in a row; 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, with a valuation of $178.1billion.\n\nIn January 2016, it was announced that one billion Apple devices are in active use worldwide.\n\nOn May 12, 2016, Apple Inc., invested US$1billion in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese competitor to Uber. ''The Information'' reported in October 2016 that Apple had taken a board seat in Didi Chuxing, a move that James Vincent of ''The Verge'' speculated could be a strategic company decision by Apple to get closer to the automobile industry, particularly Didi Chuxing's reported interest in self-driving cars.\n\nOn June 6, 2016, Forbes released their list of companies ranked on revenue generation. In the trailing fiscal year, Apple appeared on the list as the top tech company. It ranked third, overall, with $233billion in revenue. This represents a movement upward of two spots from the previous year's list.\n\nOn April 6, 2017, Apple launched Clips, an app that allows iPad and iPhone users to make and edit videos. The app provides a way to produce short videos to share with other users on the Messages app, Instagram, Facebook and other social networks. Apple also introduced Live Titles for Clips that allows users to add live animated captions and titles using their voice.\n\nTowards the end of May 2017, Apple refreshed two of its website designs. Its public relations \"Apple Press Info\" website was changed to a new \"Apple Newsroom\" site, featuring a greater emphasis on imagery and therefore lower information density, and combines press releases, news items and photos. Its \"Apple Leadership\" overview of company executives was also refreshed, adding a simpler layout with a prominent header image and two-column text fields. ''9to5Mac'' noted the design similarities to several of Apple's redesigned apps in iOS 10, particularly its Apple Music and News software.\n\nOn June 9, 2017, Apple held the keynote for WWDC 2017 at the San Jose Convention Center and introduced iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, and watchOS 4 along with hardware improvements to the MacBook 12\", MacBook Pro laptops and the iMac all-in-one. New hardware launches included the iMac Pro workstation-class all-in-one, a redesigned 10.5\" iPad Pro, and the HomePod smart speaker.\n", "\n\n===Mac===\n\n\n\nMacs currently in production:\n* iMac: Consumer all-in-one desktop computer, introduced in 1998.\n* Mac Mini: Consumer sub-desktop computer, introduced in 2005.\n* MacBook: Consumer ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in 2006 and relaunched in 2015.\n* MacBook Pro: Professional notebook, introduced in 2006.\n* Mac Pro: Workstation desktop computer, introduced in 2006.\n* MacBook Air: Consumer ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in 2008.\n\n\nApple sells a variety of computer accessories for Macs, including Thunderbolt Display, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Magic Keyboard, the AirPort wireless networking products, and Time Capsule.\n\n===iPod===\n\nFrom left to right: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch.\n\nOn October 23, 2001, Apple introduced the iPod digital music player. Several updated models have since been introduced, and the iPod brand is now the market leader in portable music players by a significant margin. More than 350million units have shipped . Apple has partnered with Nike to offer the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, enabling runners to synchronize and monitor their runs with iTunes and the Nike+ website.\n\nIn late July 2017, Apple discontinued its iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle models, leaving only the iPod Touch available for purchase.\n\n===iPhone===\n\nfirst-generation iPhone, 3G, 4, 5, 5C and 5S to scale.\n\nAt the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the long-anticipated iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod. The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, for $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB) with an AT&T contract. On February 5, 2008, it was updated to have 16 GB of memory, in addition to the 8 GB and 4 GB models. It combined a 2.5G quad band GSM and EDGE cellular phone with features found in handheld devices, running scaled-down versions of Apple's Mac OS X (dubbed iPhone OS, later renamed iOS), with various Mac OS X applications such as Safari and Mail. It also includes web-based and Dashboard apps such as Google Maps and Weather. The iPhone features a touchscreen display, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (both \"b\" and \"g\").\n\nA second version, the iPhone 3G, was released on July 11, 2008, with a reduced price of $199 for the 8 GB version and $299 for the 16 GB version. This version added support for 3G networking and assisted GPS navigation. The flat silver back and large antenna square of the original model were eliminated in favor of a glossy, curved black or white back. Software capabilities were improved with the release of the App Store, which provided iPhone-compatible applications to download. On April 24, 2009, the App Store surpassed one billion downloads. On June 8, 2009, Apple announced the iPhone 3GS. It provided an incremental update to the device, including faster internal components, support for faster 3G speeds, video recording capability, and voice control.\n\nAt the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 7, 2010, Apple announced the redesigned iPhone 4. It featured a 960 × 640 display, the Apple A4 processor, a gyroscope for enhanced gaming, a 5MP camera with LED flash, front-facing VGA camera and FaceTime video calling. Shortly after its release, reception issues were discovered by consumers, due to the stainless steel band around the edge of the device, which also serves as the phone's cellular signal and Wi-Fi antenna. The issue was corrected by a \"Bumper Case\" distributed by Apple for free to all owners for a few months. In June 2011, Apple overtook Nokia to become the world's biggest smartphone maker by volume. On October 4, 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S, which was first released on October 14, 2011. It features the Apple A5 processor and Siri voice assistant technology, the latter of which Apple had acquired in 2010. It also features an updated 8MP camera with new optics. Apple began a new accessibility feature, Made for iPhone Hearing Aids with the iPhone 4S. Made for iPhone Hearing Aids feature Live Listen, it can help the user hear a conversation in a noisy room or hear someone speaking across the room. Apple sold 4million iPhone 4S phones in the first three days of availability.\n\nOn September 12, 2012, Apple introduced the iPhone 5. It has a 4-inch display, 4G LTE connectivity, and the upgraded Apple A6 chip, among several other improvements. Two million iPhones were sold in the first twenty-four hours of pre-ordering and over five million handsets were sold in the first three days of its launch. Upon the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, Apple set a new record for first-weekend smartphone sales by selling over nine million devices in the first three days of its launch. The release of the iPhone 5S and 5C was the first time that Apple simultaneously launched two models.\n\nA patent filed in July 2013 revealed the development of a new iPhone battery system that uses location data in combination with data on the user's habits to moderate the handsets power settings accordingly. Apple is working towards a power management system that will provide features such as the ability of the iPhone to estimate the length of time a user will be away from a power source to modify energy usage and a detection function that adjusts the charging rate to best suit the type of power source that is being used.\n\nIn a March 2014 interview, Apple designer Jonathan Ive used the iPhone as an example of Apple's ethos of creating high-quality, life-changing products. He explained that the phones are comparatively expensive due to the intensive effort that is used to make them:\n\n\n\nOn September 9, 2014, Apple introduced the iPhone 6, alongside the iPhone 6 Plus that both have screen sizes over 4-inches. One year later, Apple introduced the iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6S Plus, which introduced a new technology called 3D Touch, including an increase of the rear camera to 12 MP, and the FaceTime camera to 5 MP. On March 21, 2016, Apple introduced the iPhone SE that has a 4-inch screen size last used with the 5S and has nearly the same internal hardware as the 6S.\n\nIn July 2016, Apple announced that one billion iPhones had been sold.\n\nIPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were introduced on September 7, 2016.\nOn September 7, 2016, Apple introduced the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, which feature improved system and graphics performance, add water resistance, a new rear dual-camera system on the 7 Plus model, and, controversially, remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack.\n\nOn September 12, 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, along with the high-end iPhone X, which features no home button, near bezel-less design, and other advanced technologies like Face ID facial recognition and wireless charging.\n\n===iPad===\n\niPad Air 2 in Gold\nOn January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, the iPad. It offers multi-touch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, e-books, photos, videos, music, word processing documents, video games, and most existing iPhone apps using a 9.7-inch screen. It also includes a mobile version of Safari for web browsing, as well as access to the App Store, iTunes Library, iBookstore, Contacts, and Notes. Content is downloadable via Wi-Fi and optional 3G service or synced through the user's computer. AT&T was initially the sole U.S. provider of 3G wireless access for the iPad.\n\nOn March 2, 2011, Apple introduced the iPad 2, which had a faster processor and a camera on the front and back. It also added support for optional 3G service provided by Verizon in addition to AT&T. The availability of the iPad 2 was initially limited as a result of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011.\n\nThe third-generation iPad was released on March 7, 2012, and marketed as \"the new iPad\". It added LTE service from AT&T or Verizon, an upgraded A5X processor, and Retina display. The dimensions and form factor remained relatively unchanged, with the new iPad being a fraction thicker and heavier than the previous version and featuring minor positioning changes.\n\nOn October 23, 2012, Apple's fourth-generation iPad came out, marketed as the \"iPad with Retina display\". It added the upgraded A6X processor and replaced the traditional 30-pin dock connector with the all-digital Lightning connector. The iPad Mini was also introduced. It featured a reduced 7.9-inch display and much of the same internal specifications as the iPad 2.\n\nOn October 22, 2013, Apple introduced the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina Display, both featuring a new 64-bit Apple A7 processor.\n\nThe iPad Air 2 was unveiled on October 16, 2014. It added better graphics and central processing and a camera burst mode as well as minor updates. The iPad Mini 3 was unveiled at the same time.\n\nSince its launch, iPad users have downloaded over three billion apps. The total number of App Store downloads, , is over 100billion.\n\nOn September 9, 2015, Apple announced the iPad Pro, an iPad with a 12.9-inch display that supports two new accessories, the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil. An updated IPad Mini 4 was announced at the same time. A 9.7-inch iPad Pro was announced on March 21, 2016. On June 5, 2017, Apple announced a new iPad Pro with a 10.5-inch display to replace the 9.7 inch model and an updated 12.9-inch model.\n\n===Apple Watch===\n\nThe Apple Watch quickly became the best-selling wearable device, with the shipment of 11.4million smart watches in the first half of 2015, according to analyst firm Canalys.\n\nThe Apple Watch smartwatch was announced by Cook on September 9, 2014, and released on April 24, 2015. The wearable device consists of fitness-tracking capabilities that are similar to Fitbit, and must be used in combination with an iPhone to work (only the iPhone 5, or later models, are compatible with the Apple Watch).\n\nThe second generation of Apple Watch, Apple Watch Series 2 and Apple Watch Series 1 were released in September 2016.\n\nOn September 12, 2017, Apple introduced Apple Watch Series 3 featuring LTE cellular connectivity.\n\n===Apple TV===\n\n\nAt the 2007 Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV (previously known as the iTV), a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with high-definition televisions. The device links up to a user's TV and syncs, either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and streams content from an additional four. The Apple TV originally incorporated a 40 GB hard drive for storage, included outputs for HDMI and component video, and played video at a maximum resolution of 720p. On May 31, 2007, a 160 GB hard disk drive was released alongside the existing 40 GB model. A software update released on January 15, 2008, allowed media to be purchased directly from the Apple TV.\n\nIn September 2009, Apple discontinued the original 40 GB Apple TV and now continues to produce and sell the 160 GB Apple TV. On September 1, 2010, Apple released a completely redesigned Apple TV. The new device is 1/4 the size, runs quieter, and replaces the need for a hard drive with media streaming from any iTunes library on the network along with 8 GB of flash memory to cache media downloaded. Like the iPad and the iPhone, Apple TV runs on an A4 processor. The memory included in the device is half of that in the iPhone 4 at 256 MB; the same as the iPad, iPhone 3GS, third and fourth-generation iPod Touch.\n\nIt has HDMI out as the only video out source. Features include access to the iTunes Store to rent movies and TV shows (purchasing has been discontinued), streaming from internet video sources, including YouTube and Netflix, and media streaming from an iTunes library. Apple also reduced the price of the device to $99. A third generation of the device was introduced at an Apple event on March 7, 2012, with new features such as higher resolution (1080p) and a new user interface.\n\nAt the September 9, 2015, event, Apple unveiled an overhauled Apple TV, which now runs a variant of macOS, called tvOS, and contains 32GB or 64 GB of NAND Flash to store games, programs, and to cache the current media playing. The release also coincided with the opening of a separate Apple TV App Store and a new Siri Remote with a glass touchpad, gyroscope, and microphone.\n\nAt the September 12, 2017 event, Apple released a new 4K Apple TV with the same form factor as the 4th Generation model. The 4K model is powered by the A10X SoC designed in-house that also powers their second-generation iPad Pro. The 4K model also has support for high dynamic range.\n\n===Software===\nApple Worldwide Developers Conference is held annually by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for software developers.\n\nApple develops its own operating systems to run on its devices, including macOS for Mac personal computers, iOS for its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch smartphones and tablets, watchOS for its Apple Watch smartwatches, and tvOS for its Apple TV digital media player.\n\nFor iOS and macOS, Apple also develops its own software titles, including Pages for writing, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for presentations, as part of its iWork productivity suite. For macOS, it also offers iMovie and Final Cut Pro X for video editing, and GarageBand and Logic Pro X for music creation.\n\nApple's range of server software includes the operating system macOS Server; Apple Remote Desktop, a remote systems management application; and Xsan, a storage area network file system.\n\nApple also offers online services with iCloud, which provides cloud storage and synchronization for a wide range of user data, including documents, photos, music, device backups, and application data, and Apple Music, its music streaming service.\n\n===Electric vehicles===\n\n\nAccording to the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', Apple wants to start producing an electric car with autonomous driving as soon as 2020. Apple has made efforts to recruit battery development engineers and other electric automobile engineers from A123 Systems, LG Chem, Samsung Electronics, Panasonic, Toshiba, Johnson Controls and Tesla Motors.\n\n===Apple Energy===\nApple Energy, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc. that sells solar energy. As of June 6, 2016, Apple's solar farms in California and Nevada have been declared to provide 217.9 megawatts of solar generation capacity. In addition to the company's solar energy production, Apple has received regulatory approval to construct a landfill gas energy plant in North Carolina. Apple will use the methane emissions to generate electricity. Apple's North Carolina data center is already powered entirely with energy from renewable sources.\n", "\n===Logo===\n\n\n\nAccording to Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet. Jobs thought the name \"Apple\" was \"fun, spirited and not intimidating\".\n\nApple's first logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. It was almost immediately replaced by Rob Janoff's \"rainbow Apple\", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it. Janoff presented Jobs with several different monochromatic themes for the \"bitten\" logo, and Jobs immediately took a liking to it. However, Jobs insisted that the logo be colorized to humanize the company. The logo was designed with a bite so that it would not be confused with a cherry. The colored stripes were conceived to make the logo more accessible, and to represent the fact the Apple II could generate graphics in color. This logo is often erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide. Both Janoff and Apple deny any homage to Turing in the design of the logo.\n\nOn August 27, 1999 (the year following the introduction of the iMac G3), Apple officially dropped the rainbow scheme and began to use monochromatic logos nearly identical in shape to the previous rainbow incarnation. An Aqua-themed version of the monochrome logo was used from 1998 to 2003, and a glass-themed version was used from 2007 to 2013.\n\nSteve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were Beatles fans, but Apple Inc. had name and logo trademark issues with Apple Corps Ltd., a multimedia company started by the Beatles in 1967. This resulted in a series of lawsuits and tension between the two companies. These issues ended with settling of their most recent lawsuit in 2007.\n\n===Advertising===\n\n\nApple's first slogan, \"Byte into an Apple\", was coined in the late 1970s. From 1997 to 2002, the slogan \"Think Different\" was used in advertising campaigns, and is still closely associated with Apple. Apple also has slogans for specific product lines — for example, \"iThink, therefore iMac\" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac, and \"Say hello to iPhone\" has been used in iPhone advertisements. \"Hello\" was also used to introduce the original Macintosh, Newton, iMac (\"hello (again)\"), and iPod.\n\nFrom the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984 with the 1984 Super Bowl commercial to the more modern 'Get a Mac' adverts, Apple has been recognized for its efforts towards effective advertising and marketing for its products. However, claims made by later campaigns were criticized, particularly the 2005 Power Mac ads. Apple's product commercials gained a lot of attention as a result of their eye-popping graphics and catchy tunes. Musicians who benefited from an improved profile as a result of their songs being included on Apple commercials include Canadian singer Feist with the song \"1234\" and Yael Naïm with the song \"New Soul\".\n\nApple owns a YouTube channel where they have advertisements, tips, and introductions to their devices.\n\n===Brand loyalty===\n\n\nApple customers gained a reputation for devotion and loyalty early in the company's history. ''BYTE'' in 1984 stated that\n\n\n\nApple aficionados wait in line around an Apple Store in anticipation of a new product.\nApple evangelists were actively engaged by the company at one time, but this was after the phenomenon had already been firmly established. Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism \"something that was stumbled upon,\" while Ive explained in 2014 that \"People have an incredibly personal relationship\" with Apple's products. Apple Store openings and new product releases can draw crowds of hundreds, with some waiting in line as much as a day before the opening. The opening of New York City's Fifth Avenue \"Cube\" store in 2006 became the setting of a marriage proposal, and had visitors from Europe who flew in for the event. In June 2017, a newlywed couple took their wedding photos inside the then-recently-opened Orchard Road Apple Store in Singapore. The high level of brand loyalty has been criticized and ridiculed, applying the epithet \"Apple fanboy\" and mocking the lengthy lines before a product launch. An internal memo leaked in 2015 suggested the company planned to discourage long lines and direct customers to purchase its products on its website.\n\n''Fortune'' magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012. On September 30, 2013, Apple surpassed Coca-Cola to become the world's most valuable brand in the Omnicom Group's \"Best Global Brands\" report. Boston Consulting Group has ranked Apple as the world's most innovative brand every year since 2005.\n\n''The New York Times'' in 1985 stated that \"Apple above all else is a marketing company\". John Sculley agreed, telling ''The Guardian'' newspaper in 1997 that \"People talk about technology, but Apple was a marketing company. It was the marketing company of the decade.\" Research in 2002 by NetRatings indicate that the average Apple consumer was usually more affluent and better educated than other PC company consumers. The research indicated that this correlation could stem from the fact that on average Apple Inc. products were more expensive than other PC products.\n\nIn response to a query about the devotion of loyal Apple consumers, Jonathan Ive responded:\n\n\nWhat people are responding to is much bigger than the object. They are responding to something rare—a group of people who do more than simply make something work, they make the very best products they possibly can. It's a demonstration against thoughtlessness and carelessness.\n\n===Home page===\nThe Apple website home page has been used to commemorate, or pay tribute to, milestones and events outside of Apple's product offerings:\n* 2017: Martin Luther King Jr.\n* 2016: Muhammad Ali\n* 2016: Bill Campbell (board member and friend)\n* 2016: Martin Luther King Jr.\n* 2014: Robin Williams\n* 2013: Nelson Mandela\n* 2011: Steve Jobs\n* 2010: Jerome B. York (board member)\n* 2007: Al Gore (board member in honor of his Nobel Peace Prize)\n* 2005: Rosa Parks\n* 2003: Gregory Hines\n* 2001: George Harrison\n\n===Headquarters===\n\n\n\nApple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at 1–6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. This Apple campus has six buildings that total and was built in 1993 by Sobrato Development Cos.\n\nApple has a satellite campus in neighboring Sunnyvale, California, where it houses a testing and research laboratory. AppleInsider published article in March 2014 claiming that Apple has a tucked away a top-secret facility where is developing the SG5 electric vehicle project codenamed \"Titan\" under the shell company name SixtyEight Research.\n\nIn 2006, Apple announced its intention to build a second campus in Cupertino about east of the current campus and next to Interstate 280. The new campus building has been designed by Norman Foster. The Cupertino City Council approved the proposed \"spaceship\" design campus on October 15, 2013, after a 2011 presentation by Jobs detailing the architectural design of the new building and its environs. The new campus is planned to house up to 13,000 employees in one central, four-storied, circular building surrounded by extensive landscape. It will feature a café with room for 3,000 sitting people and parking underground as well as in a parking structure. The 2.8million square foot facility will also include Jobs's original designs for a fitness center and a corporate auditorium.\n\nApple has expanded its campuses in Austin, Texas concurrently with building Apple Park in Cupertino. The expansion consists of two locations, with one having 1.1 million square feet of workspace, and the other 216,000 square feet. At the biggest location, 6,000 employees work on technical support, manage Apple's network of suppliers to fulfill product shipments, aid in maintaining iTunes Store and App Store, handle economy, and continuously update Apple Maps with new data. At its smaller campus, 500 engineers work on next-generation processor chips to run in future Apple products.\n\nApple's headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are located in Cork in the south of Ireland. The facility, which opened in 1980, was Apple's first location outside of the United States. Apple Sales International, which deals with all of Apple's international sales outside of the USA, is located at Apple's campus in Cork along with Apple Distribution International, which similarly deals with Apple's international distribution network. On April 20, 2012, Apple added 500 new jobs at its European headquarters, increasing the total workforce from around 2,800 to 3,300 employees. The company will build a new office block on its Hollyhill Campus to accommodate the additional staff. Its United Kingdom headquarters is at Stockley Park on the outskirts of London.\n\nIn February 2015, Apple opened their new 180,000-square-foot headquarters in Herzliya, Israel, which will accommodate approximately 800 employees. This opening was Apple's third office located within Israel; the first, also in Herzliya, was obtained as part of the Anobit acquisition, and the other is a research center in Haifa.\n\nIn December 2015, Apple bought the 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in North San Jose previously used by Maxim Integrated, in an $18.2 million deal.\n\n===Stores===\n\nThe first Apple Stores were originally opened as two locations in May 2001 by then-CEO Steve Jobs, after years of attempting but failing store-within-a-store concepts. Seeing a need for improved retail presentation of the company's products, he began an effort in 1997 to revamp the retail program to get an improved relationship to consumers, and hired Ron Johnson in 2000. Jobs relaunched Apple's online store in 1997, and opened the first two physical stores in 2001. Despite initial media speculation that Apple would fail, its stores were highly successful, bypassing the sales numbers of competing nearby stores and within three years reached US$1 billion in annual sales, becoming the fastest retailer in history to do so. Over the years, Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical coverage, with 498 stores across 22 countries worldwide as of July 2017. Strong product sales have placed Apple among the top-tier retail stores, with sales over $16 billion globally in 2011.\n\nIn May 2016, Angela Ahrendts, Apple's current Senior Vice President of Retail, unveiled a significantly redesigned Apple Store in Union Square, San Francisco, featuring large glass doors for the entry, open spaces, and rebranded rooms. In addition to purchasing products, consumers can get advice and help from \"Creative Pros\" – individuals with specialized knowledge of creative arts; get product support in a tree-lined Genius Grove; and attend sessions, conferences and community events, with Ahrendts commenting that the goal is to make Apple Stores into \"town squares\", a place where people naturally meet up and spend time. The new design will be applied to all Apple Stores worldwide, a process that has seen stores temporarily relocate or close.\n\nMany Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone \"flagship\" stores in high-profile locations. It has been granted design patents and received architectural awards for its stores' designs and construction, specifically for its use of glass staircases and cubes. The success of Apple Stores have had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, who have lost traffic, control and profits due to a perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores. Apple's notable brand loyalty among consumers causes long lines of hundreds of people at new Apple Store openings or product releases. Due to the popularity of the brand, there are numerous job applications, many of which from young workers. Although Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts, there are limited or no paths of career advancement. A May 2016 report with an anonymous retail employee highlighted a hostile work environment with harassment from customers, intense internal criticism, and a lack of significant bonuses for securing major business contracts.\n\n\nFile:Apple Store San Francisco Union Square Store Interior 201605.jpg|Apple's new store design in Union Square, San Francisco\nFile:New Town Plaza Apple Store 201609.jpg|New store design in New Town Plaza, Hong Kong\nFile:Apple store fifth avenue.jpg|Fifth Avenue, New York City\nFile:Regent Street Apple Store, London 12297897574 o.jpg|London\nFile:Apple Store Carrousel du Louvre, 18 March 2011.jpg|Paris\nFile:Apple Store, Sydney.jpg|Sydney\nFile:HK Apple Store Opened Exterior.JPG|IFC mall store in Hong Kong\nFile:Apple Store, Barcelona - 0001.JPG|Barcelona\nFile:Eröffnung Apple Store Schildergasse Köln (33540189942).jpg|Cologne\n\n", "\n\n===Corporate culture===\nright\nApple was one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the traditional notions of corporate culture. Jobs often walked around the office barefoot even after Apple became a Fortune 500 company. By the time of the \"1984\" television commercial, Apple's informal culture had become a key trait that differentiated it from its competitors. According to a 2011 report in ''Fortune,'' this has resulted in a corporate culture more akin to a startup rather than a multinational corporation.\n\nAs the company has grown and been led by a series of differently opinionated chief executives, it has arguably lost some of its original character. Nonetheless, it has maintained a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably attracts talented workers, particularly after Jobs returned to the company. Numerous Apple employees have stated that projects without Jobs's involvement often took longer than projects with it. \n\nTo recognize the best of its employees, Apple created the Apple Fellows program which awards individuals who make extraordinary technical or leadership contributions to personal computing while at the company. The Apple Fellowship has so far been awarded to individuals including Bill Atkinson, Steve Capps, Rod Holt, Alan Kay, Guy Kawasaki, Al Alcorn, Don Norman, Rich Page, and Steve Wozniak.\n\nSteve Wozniak and Andy Hertzfeld in 1985\nAt Apple, employees are specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise. Jobs saw this as a means of having \"best-in-class\" employees in every role. For instance, Ron Johnson—Senior Vice President of Retail Operations until November 1, 2011—was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, yet had no control of the inventory in his stores (this was done by Cook, who had a background in supply-chain management). Apple is also known for strictly enforcing accountability. Each project has a \"directly responsible individual,\" or \"DRI\" in Apple jargon. As an example, when iOS senior vice president Scott Forstall refused to sign Apple's official apology for numerous errors in the redesigned Maps app, he was forced to resign. Unlike other major U.S. companies Apple provides a relatively simple compensation policy for executives that does not include perks enjoyed by other CEOs like country club fees or private use of company aircraft. The company typically grants stock options to executives every other year.\n\nIn 2015, Apple had 110,000 full-time employees. This increased to 116,000 full-time employees the next year, a notable hiring decrease, largely due to its first revenue decline. Apple does not specify how many of its employees work in retail, though its 2014 SEC filing put the number at approximately half of its employee base.\n\nAn editorial article in ''The Verge'' in September 2016 by technology journalist Thomas Ricker explored some of the public's perceived lack of innovation at Apple in recent years, specifically stating that Samsung has \"matched and even surpassed Apple in terms of smartphone industrial design\" and citing the belief that Apple is incapable of producing another breakthrough moment in technology with its products. He goes on to write that the criticism focuses on individual pieces of hardware rather than the ecosystem as a whole, stating \"Yes, iteration is boring. But it's also how Apple does business. ... It enters a new market and then refines and refines and continues refining until it yields a success\". He acknowledges that people are wishing for the \"excitement of revolution\", but argues that people want \"the comfort that comes with harmony\". Furthermore, he writes that \"a device is only the starting point of an experience that will ultimately be ruled by the ecosystem in which it was spawned\", referring to how decent hardware products can still fail without a proper ecosystem (specifically mentioning that Walkman didn't have an ecosystem to keep users from leaving once something better came along), but how Apple devices in different hardware segments are able to communicate and cooperate through the iCloud cloud service with features including Universal Clipboard (in which text copied on one device can be pasted on a different device) as well as inter-connected device functionality including Auto Unlock (in which an Apple Watch can unlock a Mac in close proximity). He argues that Apple's ecosystem is its greatest innovation.\n\nApple has a strong culture of corporate secrecy, and has an anti-leak Global Security team that recruits from the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.\n\n===Manufacturing===\nThe company's manufacturing, procurement and logistics enable it to execute massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories. In 2011, Apple's profit margins were 40 percent, compared with between 10 and 20 percent for most other hardware companies. Cook's catchphrase to describe his focus on the company's operational arm is: \"Nobody wants to buy sour milk\".\n\nDuring the Mac's early history Apple generally refused to adopt prevailing industry standards for hardware, instead creating their own. This trend was largely reversed in the late 1990s, beginning with Apple's adoption of the PCI bus in the 7500/8500/9500 Power Macs. Apple has since joined the industry standards groups to influence the future direction of technology standards such as USB, AGP, HyperTransport, Wi-Fi, NVMe, PCIe and others in its products. FireWire is an Apple-originated standard that was widely adopted across the industry after it was standardized as IEEE 1394 and is a legally mandated port in all Cable TV boxes in the United States.\n\nApple has gradually expanded its efforts in getting its products into the Indian market. In July 2012, during a conference call with investors, CEO Tim Cook said that he \"loves India\", but that Apple saw larger opportunities outside the region. India's requirement that 30% of products sold be manufactured in the country was described as \"really adds cost to getting product to market\". In October 2013, Indian Apple executives unveiled a plan for selling devices through instalment plans and store-within-a-store concepts, in an effort to expand further into the market. The news followed Cook's acknowledgment of the country in July when sales results showed that iPhone sales in India grew 400% during the second quarter of 2013. In March 2016, ''The Times of India'' reported that Apple had sought permission from the Indian government to sell refurbished iPhones in the country. However, two months later, the application was rejected, citing official country policy. In May 2016, Apple opened an iOS app development center in Bangalore. In February 2017, Apple once again requested permission to sell used iPhones in the country. The same month, ''Bloomberg'' reported that Apple was close to receiving permission to open its first retail store in the country. In March, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple would begin manufacturing iPhone models in India \"over the next two months\", and in May, the ''Journal'' wrote that an Apple manufacturer had begun production of iPhone SE in the country, while Apple told ''CNBC'' that the manufacturing was for a \"small number\" of units.\n\n====Labor practices====\n\nThe company advertised its products as being made in America until the late 1990s; however, as a result of outsourcing initiatives in the 2000s, almost all of its manufacturing is now handled abroad. According to a report by ''The New York Times'', Apple insiders \"believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that \"Made in the U.S.A.\" is no longer a viable option for most Apple products\".\n\nIn 2006, the ''Mail on Sunday'' reported on the working conditions of the Chinese factories where contract manufacturers Foxconn and Inventec produced the iPod. The article stated that one complex of factories that assembled the iPod and other items had over 200,000 workers living and working within it. Employees regularly worked more than 60 hours per week and made around $100 per month. A little over half of the workers' earnings was required to pay for rent and food from the company.\n\nApple immediately launched an investigation after the 2006 media report, and worked with their manufacturers to ensure acceptable working conditions. In 2007, Apple started yearly audits of all its suppliers regarding worker's rights, slowly raising standards and pruning suppliers that did not comply. Yearly progress reports have been published since 2008. In 2011, Apple admitted that its suppliers' child labor practices in China had worsened.\n\nThe Foxconn suicides occurred between January and November 2010, when 18 Foxconn (Chinese: 富士康) employees attempted suicide, resulting in 14 deaths—the company was the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, for clients including Apple, at the time. The suicides drew media attention, and employment practices at Foxconn were investigated by Apple. Apple issued a public statement about the suicides, and company spokesperson Steven Dowling said:\n\n\nApple is saddened and upset by the recent suicides at Foxconn ... A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made.\n\nThe statement was released after the results from the company's probe into its suppliers' labor practices were published in early 2010. Foxconn was not specifically named in the report, but Apple identified a series of serious labor violations of labor laws, including Apple's own rules, and some child labor existed in a number of factories. Apple committed to the implementation of changes following the suicides.\n\nAlso in 2010, workers in China planned to sue iPhone contractors over poisoning by a cleaner used to clean LCD screens. One worker claimed that he and his coworkers had not been informed of possible occupational illnesses. After a high suicide rate in a Foxconn facility in China making iPads and iPhones, albeit a lower rate than that of China as a whole, workers were forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they would not kill themselves. Workers in factories producing Apple products have also been exposed to n-hexane, a neurotoxin that is a cheaper alternative than alcohol for cleaning the products.\n\nA 2014 BBC investigation found excessive hours and other problems persisted, despite Apple's promise to reform factory practice after the 2010 Foxconn suicides. The Pegatron factory was once again the subject of review, as reporters gained access to the working conditions inside through recruitment as employees. While the BBC maintained that the experiences of its reporters showed that labor violations were continuing since 2010, Apple publicly disagreed with the BBC and stated: \"We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions\".\n\nIn December 2014, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights published a report which documented inhumane conditions for the 15,000 workers at a Zhen Ding Technology factory in Shenzhen, China, which serves as a major supplier of circuit boards for Apple's iPhone and iPad. According to the report, workers are pressured into 65-hour work weeks which leaves them so exhausted that they often sleep during lunch breaks. They are also made to reside in \"primitive, dark and filthy dorms\" where they sleep \"on plywood, with six to ten workers in each crowded room.\" Omnipresent security personnel also routinely harass and beat the workers.\n\n===Environmental practices and initiatives===\n\n====Energy and resources====\nFollowing a Greenpeace protest, Apple released a statement on April 17, 2012, committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy. By 2013 Apple was using 100% renewable energy to power their data centers. Overall, 75% of the company's power came from clean renewable sources.\n\nIn 2010, Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers toward the greenest companies, gave Apple a score of 52 points out of a possible 100, which puts Apple in their top category \"Striding\". This was an increase from May 2008, when Climate Counts only gave Apple 11 points out of 100, which placed the company last among electronics companies, at which time Climate Counts also labeled Apple with a \"stuck icon\", adding that Apple at the time was \"a choice to avoid for the climate conscious consumer\".\n\n, Apple states that 100% of its U.S. operations run on renewable energy, 100% of Apple's data centers run on renewable energy and 93% of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy. However, the facilities are connected to the local grid which usually contains a mix of fossil and renewable sources, so Apple carbon offsets its electricity use. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) allows consumers to see the effect a product has on the environment. Each product receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rank depending on its efficiency and sustainability. Every Apple tablet, notebook, desktop computer, and display that EPEAT ranks achieves a Gold rating, the highest possible. Although Apple's data centers recycle water 35 times, the increased activity in retail, corporate and data centers also increase the amount of water use to 573million gallons in 2015.\n\nIn May 2015, Greenpeace evaluated the state of the Green Internet and commended Apple on their environmental practices saying, \"Apple's commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100% renewable Internet is within its reach, and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet.\"\n\nDuring an event on March 21, 2016, Apple provided a status update on its environmental initiative to be 100% renewable in all of its worldwide operations. Lisa P. Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives who reports directly to CEO, Tim Cook, announced that as of March 2016, 93% of Apple's worldwide operations are powered with renewable energy. Also featured was the company's efforts to use sustainable paper in their product packaging; 99% of all paper used by Apple in the product packaging comes from post-consumer recycled paper or sustainably managed forests, as the company continues its move to all paper packaging for all of its products. Apple working in partnership with Conservation Fund, have preserved 36,000 acres of working forests in Maine and North Carolina. Another partnership announced is with the World Wildlife Fund to preserve up to 1,000,000 acres of forests in China. Featured was the company's installation of a 40 MW solar power plant in the Sichuan province of China that was tailor made to coexist with the indigenous yaks that eat hay produced on the land, by raising the panels to be several feet off of the ground so the yaks and their feed would be unharmed grazing beneath the array. This installation alone compensates for more than all of the energy used in Apple's Stores and Offices in the whole of China, negating the company's energy carbon footprint in the country. In Singapore, Apple has worked with the Singaporean government to cover the rooftops of 800 buildings in the city-state with solar panels allowing Apple's Singapore operations to be run on 100% renewable energy. Liam was introduced to the world, an advanced robotic disassembler and sorter designed by Apple Engineers in California specifically for recycling outdated or broken iPhones. Reuses and recycles parts from traded in products.\n\nApple announced on August 16, 2016, that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018. The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China. Apple also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation. The standard, which started in January 2015, certifies that all manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or converted into energy (when necessary). Since the program began, nearly, 140,000 metric tons of waste have been diverted from landfills.\n\n====Toxins====\nFollowing further campaigns by Greenpeace, in 2008, Apple became the first electronics manufacturer to fully eliminate all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its complete product line. In June 2007, Apple began replacing the cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlit LCD displays in its computers with mercury-free LED-backlit LCD displays and arsenic-free glass, starting with the upgraded MacBook Pro. Apple offers comprehensive and transparent information about the CO2e, emissions, materials, and electrical usage concerning every product they currently produce or have sold in the past (and which they have enough data needed to produce the report), in their portfolio on their homepage. Allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions on the products they offer for sale. In June 2009, Apple's iPhone 3GS was free of PVC, arsenic, and BFRs. All Apple products now have mercury-free LED-backlit LCD displays, arsenic-free glass, and non-PVC cables. All Apple products have EPEAT Gold status and beat the latest Energy Star guidelines in each product's respective regulatory category.\n\nIn November 2011, Apple was featured in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers on sustainability, climate and energy policy, and how \"green\" their products are. The company ranked fourth of fifteen electronics companies (moving up five places from the previous year) with a score of 4.6/10. Greenpeace praises Apple's sustainability, noting that the company exceeded its 70% global recycling goal in 2010. It continues to score well on the products rating with all Apple products now being free of PVC plastic and BFRs. However, the guide criticizes Apple on the Energy criteria for not seeking external verification of its greenhouse gas emissions data and for not setting out any targets to reduce emissions. In January 2012, Apple requested that its cable maker, Volex, begin producing halogen-free USB and power cables.\n\n====Green bonds====\nIn February 2016, Apple issued a US$1.5billion green bond (climate bond), the first ever of its kind by a U.S. tech company. The green bond proceeds are dedicated to the financing of environmental projects.\n\n===Finance===\n\nApple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue, the world's largest technology company by total assets, and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung. It is also the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, with an estimated market capitalization of $800 billion in May 2017. In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. corporation to be valued at over $700 billion.\n\nIn its fiscal year ending in September 2011, Apple Inc. reported a total of $108billion in annual revenues—a significant increase from its 2010 revenues of $65billion—and nearly $82billion in cash reserves. On March 19, 2012, Apple announced plans for a $2.65-per-share dividend beginning in fourth quarter of 2012, per approval by their board of directors. On September 2012, Apple reached a record share price of more than $705 and closed at above 700. With 936,596,000 outstanding shares (),\n\nThe company's worldwide annual revenue in 2013 totaled $170billion. In May 2013, Apple entered the top ten of the Fortune 500 list of companies for the first time, rising 11 places above its 2012 ranking to take the sixth position. , Apple has around US$234billion of cash and marketable securities, of which 90% is located outside the United States for tax purposes.\n\nApple amassed 65% of all profits made by the eight largest worldwide smartphone manufacturers in quarter one of 2014, according to a report by Canaccord Genuity. In the first quarter of 2015, the company garnered 92% of all earnings.\n\nOn April 30, 2017, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple had cash reserves of $250 billion, officially confirmed by Apple as specifically $256.8 billion a few days later. Coupled with a strong market capitalization around the same time, reports predicted Apple will soon become the world's first $1 trillion dollar company.\n\n====Tax practices====\n\n\nApple has created subsidiaries in low-tax places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands to cut the taxes it pays around the world. According to ''The New York Times,'' in the 1980s Apple was among the first tech companies to designate overseas salespeople in high-tax countries in a manner that allowed the company to sell on behalf of low-tax subsidiaries on other continents, sidestepping income taxes. In the late 1980s Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique known as the \"Double Irish with a Dutch sandwich,\" which reduces taxes by routing profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and then to the Caribbean.\n\nBritish Conservative Party Member of Parliament Charlie Elphicke published research on October 30, 2012, which showed that some multinational companies, including Apple Inc., were making billions of pounds of profit in the UK, but were paying an effective tax rate to the UK Treasury of only 3 percent, well below standard corporation tax. He followed this research by calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to force these multinationals, which also included Google and The Coca-Cola Company, to state the effective rate of tax they pay on their UK revenues. Elphicke also said that government contracts should be withheld from multinationals who do not pay their fair share of UK tax.\n\nIt is a matter of public record that Apple Inc. is the single largest taxpayer to the Department of the Treasury of the United States of America with an effective tax rate of approximately of 26% as of the Second Quarter of the Apple Fiscal Year 2016.\n\nIn 2015, Reuters reported that Apple had earnings abroad of $54.4billion which were untaxed by the IRS of the United States. Under U.S. tax law governed by the IRC, corporations don't pay income tax on overseas profits unless the profits are repatriated into the United States and as such Apple argues that to benefit its shareholders it will leave it overseas until a repatriation holiday or comprehensive tax reform takes place in the United States.\n\nOn August 30, 2016, after a three-year investigation by the EU's competition commissioner that concluded that Apple received \"illegal state aid\" from Ireland, the EU ordered Apple to pay 13billion euros ($14.5billion), plus interest, in unpaid taxes. Specifically, the commissioner found that Apple had benefitted from Irish Department of Revenue tax rulings that allowed it to split the profits recorded by Apple Sales International internally between its Irish branch and a stateless \"head office\" entity lacking employees or premises (permitted under Irish law until 2013). The Chancellor of Austria, Christian Kern, put this decision into perspective by stating that \"every Viennese cafe, every sausage stand pays more tax in Austria than a multinational corporation\".\n\n===Ownership===\nApple Inc. is a joint-stock company registered with the SEC. , it has 5,257,816,000 outstanding shares. These are mainly held by institutional investors and funds.\n* 6.43% (337,545,664): The Vanguard Group, Inc.\n* 4.19% (219,739,579): State Street Corporation\n* 3.01% (157,982,573): FMR, LLC\n* 2.76% (144,750,804): BlackRock Institutional Trust Company\n* 2.01% (105,224,082): Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund\n* 1.46% (76,838,518): BlackRock Fund Advisors\n* 1.42% (74,581,785): Vanguard 500 Index Fund\n* 1.26% (66,180,770): Northern Trust Corporation\n* 1.14% (59,781,550): Vanguard Institutional Index Fund-Institutional Index Fund\n* 1.11% (58,148,652): Bank of New York Mellon Corporation\n* 1.09% (57,359,652): Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.\n* 1.08% (56,659,296): SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust\n* 1.06% (55,512,801): T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.\n\n===Litigation===\n\nApple has been a participant in various legal proceedings and claims since it began operation. In particular, Apple is known for and promotes itself as actively and aggressively enforcing its intellectual property interests. Some litigation examples include ''Apple v. Samsung'', ''Apple v. Microsoft'', ''Motorola Mobility v. Apple Inc.'', and ''Apple Corps v. Apple Computer''. Apple has also had to defend itself against charges on numerous occasions of violating intellectual property rights. Most have been dismissed in the courts as shell companies known as patent trolls, with no evidence of actual use of patents in question. Most recently, on December 21, 2016, Nokia announced that in the U.S. and Germany, it has filed a suit against Apple, claiming that the latter's products infringe on Nokia's patents.\n\n===Privacy stance===\nApple has made clear its stance on privacy and as such has made available Transparency Reports on the Governmental Requests it receives. Apple states plainly, \"On devices running iOS 8 and later versions, your personal data is placed under the protection of your passcode.IPhone|305 For all devices running iOS 8 and later versions, Apple will not perform iOS data extractions in response to government search warrants because the files to be extracted are protected by an encryption key that is tied to the user's passcode, which Apple does not possess.\"\n\nIn its latest \"Who Has Your Back?\" report, once again the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) awarded Apple 5 out of 5 stars \"commending Apple for its strong stance regarding user rights, transparency, and privacy.\"\n\nFollowing media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in June 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including Apple. According to leaks of said program, Apple joined the PRISM program in 2012.\n\n===Charitable causes===\nApple is a partner of (PRODUCT)RED, a fundraising campaign for AIDS charity. In November 2014, Apple arranged for all App Store revenue in a two-week period to go to the fundraiser, generating more than US$20 million, and in March 2017, it released an iPhone 7 with a red color finish.\n\nIn November 2012, Apple donated $2.5million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy.\n\nOn April 14, 2016, Apple and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced that they have engaged in a partnership to, \"help protect life on our planet.\" Apple released a special page in the iTunes App Store, Apps for Earth. In the arrangement, Apple has committed that through April 24, WWF will receive 100% of the proceeds from the applications participating in the App Store via both the purchases of any paid apps and the In-App Purchases. Apple and WWF's Apps for Earth campaign raised more than $8million in total proceeds to support WWF's conservation work. WWF announced the results at WWDC 2016 in San Francisco.\n", "* Apple media events\n* Pixar\n* \n", "\n'''Sources'''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* Gil Amelio, William L. Simon (1999), ''On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple'' \n* Jim Carlton, ''Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania and Business Blunders'' \n* Alan Deutschman (2000), ''The Second Coming of Steve Jobs'', Broadway, \n* Andy Hertzfeld (2004), ''Revolution in the Valley'', O'Reilly Books \n* Paul Kunkel, ''AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group'' \n* \n* Steven Levy (1994), ''Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything'' \n* Owen Linzmayer (2004), ''Apple Confidential 2.0'', No Starch Press \n* Michael S. Malone (1999), ''Infinite Loop'' \n* Frank Rose (1990), ''West of Eden: The End of Innocence at Apple Computer'', Penguin Books \n* \n* Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith (2006), ''iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It'', W. W. Norton & Company, \n* Jeffrey S. Young (1988). ''Steve Jobs, The Journey is the Reward'', Lynx Books, \n* Jeffrey S. Young, William L. Simon (2005), ''iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business'', John Wiley & Sons, \n\n", "\n* \n\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Products", "Corporate identity", "Corporate affairs", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "* 6.43% (337,545,664): The Vanguard Group, Inc.\n* 4.19% (219,739,579): State Street Corporation\n* 3.01% (157,982,573): FMR, LLC\n* 2.76% (144,750,804): BlackRock Institutional Trust Company\n* 2.01% (105,224,082): Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund\n* 1.46% (76,838,518): BlackRock Fund Advisors\n* 1.42% (74,581,785): Vanguard 500 Index Fund\n* 1.26% (66,180,770): Northern Trust Corporation\n* 1.14% (59,781,550): Vanguard Institutional Index Fund-Institutional Index Fund\n* 1.11% (58,148,652): Bank of New York Mellon Corporation\n* 1.09% (57,359,652): Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.\n* 1.08% (56,659,296): SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust\n* 1.06% (55,512,801): T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.\n\n===Litigation===\n\nApple has been a participant in various legal proceedings and claims since it began operation." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Apple Inc.''' is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.", "The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker.", "Apple's consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites.", "Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.", "Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell personal computers.", "It was incorporated as '''Apple Computer, Inc.''' in January 1977, and sales of its computers saw significant momentum and revenue growth for the company.", "Within a few years, they had hired a staff of computer designers and had a production line.", "Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success.", "Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, and Apple's marketing commercials for its products received widespread critical acclaim.", "However, the high price tag of its products and limited software titles caused problems, as did power struggles between executives at the company.", "Jobs resigned from Apple and created his own company.", "As the market for personal computers increased, Apple's computers saw diminishing sales due to lower-priced products from competitors, in particular those offered with the Microsoft Windows operating system.", "More executive job shuffles happened at Apple until then-CEO Gil Amelio in 1997 decided to buy Jobs' company to bring him back.", "Jobs regained position as CEO, and began a process to rebuild Apple's status, which included opening Apple's own retail stores in 2001, making numerous acquisitions of software companies to create a portfolio of software titles, and changed some of the hardware technology used in its computers.", "It again saw success and returned to profitability.", "In January 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would be renamed Apple Inc. to reflect its shifted focus toward consumer electronics and announced the iPhone, which saw critical acclaim and significant financial success.", "In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health complications, and Tim Cook became the new CEO.", "Two months later, Jobs died, marking the end of an era for the company.", "Apple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung.", "In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over US$700billion.", "The company employs 116,000 full-time employees and maintains 498 retail stores in 22 countries .", "It operates the iTunes Store, which is the world's largest music retailer.", ", more than one billion Apple products are actively in use worldwide.", "Apple's worldwide annual revenue totaled $215billion for the 2016 fiscal year.", "The company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty and has been repeatedly ranked as the world's most valuable brand.", "However, it receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors and its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source materials.", "\n\n===1976–84: Founding and incorporation===\nThe birthplace of Apple Computer.", "In 1976, Steve Jobs co-founded the company in the garage of his childhood home on Crist Drive in Los Altos, California.", "Apple's first product, the Apple I, invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was sold as an assembled circuit board and lacked basic features such as a keyboard, monitor, and case.", "The owner of this unit added a keyboard and wooden case.", "The Apple II, introduced in 1977, was a major technological advancement over its predecessor.", "Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.", "The company's first product was the Apple I, a computer single-handedly designed and hand-built by Wozniak, and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club.", "Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips), which was less than what is now considered a complete personal computer.", "The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($ in dollars, adjusted for inflation).", "Apple Computer, Inc. was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800.", "Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple.", "During the first five years of operations revenues grew exponentially, doubling about every four months.", "Between September 1977 and September 1980 yearly sales grew from $775,000 to $118m, an average annual growth rate of 533%.", "The Apple II, also invented by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire.", "It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics and open architecture.", "While early Apple II models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II.", "The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first \"killer app\" of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program.", "VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office.", "Before VisiCalc, Apple had been a distant third place competitor to Commodore and Tandy.", "By the end of 1970's, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line.", "The company introduced the Apple III in May 1980 in an attempt to compete with IBM and Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market.", "Jobs and several Apple employees, including Jef Raskin, visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Xerox Alto.", "Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares (800,000 split-adjusted shares) of Apple at the pre-IPO price of $10 a share.", "Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a graphical user interface (GUI), and development of a GUI began for the Apple Lisa.", "In 1982, however, he was pushed from the Lisa team due to infighting.", "Jobs took over Jef Raskin's low-cost-computer project, the Macintosh.", "A race broke out between the Lisa team and the Macintosh team over which product would ship first.", "Lisa won the race in 1983 and became the first personal computer sold to the public with a GUI, but was a commercial failure due to its high price tag and limited software titles.", "On December 12, 1980, Apple went public at $22 per share, generating more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956 and immediately creating 300 millionaires.", "===1984–91: Success with Macintosh===\n\nThe Macintosh, released in 1984, was the first mass-market personal computer that featured an integral graphical user interface and mouse.", "In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh, the first personal computer to be sold without a programming language.", "Its debut was signified by \"1984\", a $1.5million television commercial directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984.", "The commercial is now hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success and was called a \"masterpiece\" by CNN and one of the greatest commercials of all time by ''TV Guide''.", "The Macintosh initially sold well, but follow-up sales were not strong due to its high price and limited range of software titles.", "The machine's fortunes changed with the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first PostScript laser printer to be sold at a reasonable price, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing package.", "It has been suggested that the combination of these three products were responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market.", "The Macintosh was particularly powerful in the desktop publishing market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, which had necessarily been built in to create the intuitive Macintosh GUI.", "In 1985, a power struggle developed between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired two years earlier.", "The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to \"contain\" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products.", "Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from his leadership role at Apple.", "Sculley found out that Jobs had been attempting to organize a coup and called a board meeting at which Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his managerial duties.", "Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year.", "The Macintosh Portable, released in 1989, was Apple's first battery-powered portable Macintosh personal computer.", "After Jobs' departure, the Macintosh product line underwent a steady change of focus to higher price points, the so-called \"high-right policy\" named for the position on a chart of price vs. profits.", "Jobs had argued the company should produce products aimed at the consumer market and aimed for a $1000 price for the Macintosh, which they were unable to meet.", "Newer models selling at higher price points offered higher profit margin, and appeared to have no effect on total sales as power users snapped up every increase in power.", "Although some worried about pricing themselves out of the market, the high-right policy was in full force by the mid-1980s, notably due to Jean-Louis Gassée's mantra of \"fifty-five or die\", referring to the 55% profit margins of the Macintosh II.", "This policy began to backfire in the last years of the decade as new desktop publishing programs appeared on PC clones that offered some or much of the same functionality of the Macintosh but at far lower price points.", "The company lost its monopoly in this market, and had already estranged many of its original consumer customer base who could no longer afford their high-priced products.", "The Christmas season of 1989 was the first in the company's history that saw declining sales, and led to a 20% drop in Apple's stock price.", "Gassée's objections were overruled, and he was forced from the company in 1990.", "Later that year, Apple introduced three lower cost models, the Macintosh Classic, Macintosh LC and Macintosh IIsi, all of which saw significant sales due to pent up demand.", "In 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook, replacing the \"luggable\" Macintosh Portable with a design that set the current shape for almost all modern laptops.", "The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the operating system which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities.", "It remained the architectural basis for the Classic Mac OS.", "The success of the PowerBook and other products brought increasing revenue.", "For some time, Apple was doing incredibly well, introducing fresh new products and generating increasing profits in the process.", "The magazine ''MacAddict'' named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the \"first golden age\" of the Macintosh.", "Apple believed the Apple II series was too expensive to produce and took away sales from the low-end Macintosh.", "In the 1990s, Apple released the Macintosh LC, and began efforts to promote that computer by advising developer technical support staff to recommend developing applications for Macintosh rather than Apple II, and authorizing salespersons to direct consumers towards Macintosh and away from Apple II.", "The Apple IIe was discontinued in 1993.", "===1991–97: Decline and restructuring===\n\nNewton.", "The success of Apple's lower-cost consumer models, especially the LC, also led to cannibalization of their higher priced machines.", "To address this, management introduced several new brands, selling largely identical machines at different price points aimed at different markets.", "These were the high-end Quadra, the mid-range Centris line, and the ill-fated Performa series.", "This led to significant market confusion, as customers did not understand the difference between models.", "Apple also experimented with a number of other unsuccessful consumer targeted products during the 1990s, including digital cameras, portable CD audio players, speakers, video consoles, the eWorld online service, and TV appliances.", "Enormous resources were also invested in the problem-plagued Newton division based on John Sculley's unrealistic market forecasts.", "Ultimately, none of these products helped and Apple's market share and stock prices continued to slide.", "Throughout this period, Microsoft continued to gain market share with Windows by focusing on delivering software to cheap commodity personal computers, while Apple was delivering a richly engineered but expensive experience.", "Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response; instead, they sued Microsoft for using a GUI similar to the Apple Lisa in ''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.'' The lawsuit dragged on for years before it was finally dismissed.", "At this time, a series of major product flops and missed deadlines sullied Apple's reputation, and Sculley was replaced as CEO by Michael Spindler.", "Newton was Apple's first foray into the PDA markets, as well as one of the first in the industry.", "Despite being a financial flop at the time of its release, it helped pave the way for the PalmPilot and Apple's own iPhone and iPad in the future.", "By the early 1990s, Apple was developing alternative platforms to the Macintosh, such as A/UX.", "The Macintosh platform itself was becoming outdated because it was not built for multitasking and because several important software routines were programmed directly into the hardware.", "In addition, Apple was facing competition from OS/2 and UNIX vendors such as Sun Microsystems.", "The Macintosh would need to be replaced by a new platform or reworked to run on more powerful hardware.", "In 1994, Apple allied with IBM and Motorola in the AIM alliance with the goal of creating a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple software.", "The AIM alliance hoped that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind and thus counter Microsoft.", "The same year, Apple introduced the Power Macintosh, the first of many Apple computers to use Motorola's PowerPC processor.", "In 1996, Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as CEO.", "Amelio made numerous changes at Apple, including extensive layoffs and cut costs.", "After numerous failed attempts to improve Mac OS, first with the Taligent project and later with Copland and Gershwin, Amelio chose to purchase NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system and bring Steve Jobs back to Apple.", "===1997–2007: Return to profitability===\n\nThe NeXT deal was finalized on February 9, 1997, bringing Jobs back to Apple as an advisor.", "On July 9, 1997, Amelio was ousted by the board of directors after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses.", "Jobs acted as the interim CEO and began restructuring the company's product line; it was during this period that he identified the design talent of Jonathan Ive, and the pair worked collaboratively to rebuild Apple's status.", "At the 1997 Macworld Expo, Jobs announced that Apple would join Microsoft to release new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, and that Microsoft had made a $150million investment in non-voting Apple stock.", "On November 10, 1997, Apple introduced the Apple Online Store, which was tied to a new build-to-order manufacturing strategy.", "On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac.", "The iMac design team was led by Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone.", "The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design, and sold almost 800,000 units in its first five months.", "During this period, Apple completed numerous acquisitions to create a portfolio of digital production software for both professionals and consumers.", "In 1998, Apple purchased Macromedia's Key Grip software project, signaling an expansion into the digital video editing market.", "The sale was an outcome of Macromedia's decision to solely focus upon web development software.", "The product, still unfinished at the time of the sale, was renamed \"Final Cut Pro\" when it was launched on the retail market in April 1999.", "The development of Key Grip also led to Apple's release of the consumer video-editing product iMovie in October 1999.", "Next, Apple successfully acquired the German company Astarte, which had developed DVD authoring technology, as well as Astarte's corresponding products and engineering team in April 2000.", "Astarte's digital tool DVDirector was subsequently transformed into the professional-oriented DVD Studio Pro software product.", "Apple then employed the same technology to create iDVD for the consumer market.", "In 2002, Apple purchased Nothing Real for their advanced digital compositing application Shake, as well as Emagic for the music productivity application Logic.", "The purchase of Emagic made Apple the first computer manufacturer to own a music software company.", "The acquisition was followed by the development of Apple's consumer-level GarageBand application.", "The release of iPhoto in the same year completed the iLife suite.", "Mac OS X, based on NeXT's OPENSTEP and BSD Unix, was released on March 24, 2001, after several years of development.", "Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, Mac OS X aimed to combine the stability, reliability and security of Unix with the ease of use afforded by an overhauled user interface.", "To aid users in migrating from Mac OS 9, the new operating system allowed the use of OS 9 applications within Mac OS X via the Classic Environment.", "On May 19, 2001, Apple opened its first official eponymous retail stores in Virginia and California.", "On October 23 of the same year, Apple debuted the iPod portable digital audio player.", "The product, which was first sold on November 10, 2001, was phenomenally successful with over 100million units sold within six years.", "In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced.", "The service offered online music downloads for $0.99 a song and integration with the iPod.", "The iTunes Store quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over five billion downloads by June 19, 2008.", "Two years later, the iTunes Store was the world's largest music retailer.", "The MacBook Pro, Apple's first laptop with an Intel microprocessor, introduced in 2006.", "At the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Jobs announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers in 2006.", "On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo CPU.", "By August 7, 2006, Apple made the transition to Intel chips for the entire Mac product line—over one year sooner than announced.", "The Power Mac, iBook and PowerBook brands were retired during the transition; the Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro became their respective successors.", "On April 29, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple was building its own team of engineers to design microchips.", "Apple also introduced Boot Camp in 2006 to help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.\n\nApple's success during this period was evident in its stock price.", "Between early 2003 and 2006, the price of Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around $6 per share (split-adjusted) to over $80.", "In January 2006, Apple's market cap surpassed that of Dell.", "Nine years prior, Dell's CEO Michael Dell had said that if he ran Apple he would \"shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.\"", "Although Apple's market share in computers had grown, it remained far behind competitors using Microsoft Windows, accounting for about 8% of desktops and laptops in the US.", "Since 2001, Apple's design team has progressively abandoned the use of translucent colored plastics first used in the iMac G3.", "This design change began with the titanium-made PowerBook and was followed by the iBook's white polycarbonate structure and the flat-panel iMac.", "===2007–11: Success with mobile devices===\nA first generation iPhone, one of Jonathan Ive's most recognized industrial designs.", "The iPhone has been phenomenally successful, with over 1billion units sold worldwide.", "During his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would thereafter be known as \"Apple Inc.\", because the company had shifted its emphasis from computers to consumer electronics.", "This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV.", "The company sold 270,000 iPhone units during the first 30 hours of sales, and the device was called \"a game changer for the industry\".", "Apple would achieve widespread success with its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad products, which introduced innovations in mobile phones, portable music players and personal computers respectively.", "Furthermore, by early 2007, 800,000 Final Cut Pro users were registered.", "In an article posted on Apple's website on February 6, 2007, Jobs wrote that Apple would be willing to sell music on the iTunes Store without digital rights management (DRM), thereby allowing tracks to be played on third-party players, if record labels would agree to drop the technology.", "On April 2, 2007, Apple and EMI jointly announced the removal of DRM technology from EMI's catalog in the iTunes Store, effective in May 2007.", "Other record labels eventually followed suit and Apple published a press release in January 2009 to announce the corresponding changes to the iTunes Store.", "In July 2008, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.", "Within a month, the store sold 60million applications and registered an average daily revenue of $1million, with Jobs speculating in August 2008 that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for Apple.", "By October 2008, Apple was the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.", "On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that 2009 would be the last year the corporation would attend the Macworld Expo, after more than 20 years of attendance, and that senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller would deliver the 2009 keynote address in lieu of the expected Jobs.", "The official press release explained that Apple was \"scaling back\" on trade shows in general, including Macworld Tokyo and the Apple Expo in Paris, France, primarily because the enormous successes of the Apple Retail Stores and website had rendered trade shows a minor promotional channel.", "On January 14, 2009, Jobs announced in an internal memo that he would be taking a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June 2009 and would spend the time focusing on his health.", "In the email, Jobs stated that \"the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well\", and explained that the break would allow the company \"to focus on delivering extraordinary products\".", "Despite Jobs's absence, Apple recorded its best non-holiday quarter (Q1 FY 2009) during the recession with revenue of $8.16billion and profit of $1.21billion.", "After years of speculation and multiple rumored \"leaks\", Apple unveiled a large screen, tablet-like media device known as the iPad on January 27, 2010.", "The iPad ran the same touch-based operating system as the iPhone, and many iPhone apps were compatible with the iPad.", "This gave the iPad a large app catalog on launch, despite very little development time before the release.", "Later that year on April 3, 2010, the iPad was launched in the US.", "It sold more than 300,000 units on its first day, and 500,000 by the end of the first week.", "In May of the same year, Apple's market cap exceeded that of competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989.", "In June 2010, Apple released the iPhone 4, which introduced video calling, multitasking, and a new uninsulated stainless steel design that acted as the phone's antenna.", "Later that year, Apple again refreshed its iPod line of MP3 players by introducing a multi-touch iPod Nano, an iPod Touch with FaceTime, and an iPod Shuffle that brought back the buttons of earlier generations.", "Additionally, on October 20, Apple updated the MacBook Air laptop, iLife suite of applications, and unveiled Mac OS X Lion, the last version with the name ''Mac OS X''.", "In October 2010, Apple shares hit an all-time high, eclipsing $300.", "On January 6, 2011, the company opened its Mac App Store, a digital software distribution platform similar to the iOS App Store.", "Alongside peer entities such as Atari and Cisco Systems, Apple was featured in the documentary ''Something Ventured'', which premiered in 2011 and explored the three-decade era that led to the establishment and dominance of Silicon Valley.", "On January 17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another medical leave of absence for an indefinite period to allow him to focus on his health.", "Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook assumed Jobs's day-to-day operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain \"involved in major strategic decisions\".", "Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world.", "In June 2011, Jobs surprisingly took the stage and unveiled iCloud, an online storage and syncing service for music, photos, files and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous attempt at content syncing.", "This would be the last product launch Jobs would attend before his death.", "It has been argued that Apple has achieved such efficiency in its supply chain that the company operates as a monopsony (one buyer, many sellers) and can dictate terms to its suppliers.", "In July 2011, due to the American debt-ceiling crisis, Apple's financial reserves were briefly larger than those of the U.S. Government.", "On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of Apple.", "He was replaced by Cook and Jobs became Apple's chairman.", "Prior to this, Apple did not have a chairman and instead had two co-lead directors, Andrea Jung and Arthur D. Levinson, who continued with those titles until Levinson became Chairman of the Board in November.", "===2011–present: Post-Steve Jobs era; Tim Cook leadership===\nOn October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away, marking the end of an era for Apple.", "The first major product announcement by Apple following Jobs's passing occurred on January 19, 2012, when Apple's Phil Schiller introduced iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBook Author for Mac OS X in New York City.", "Jobs had stated in his biography that he wanted to reinvent the textbook industry and education.", "From 2011 to 2012, Apple released the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, which featured improved cameras, an intelligent software assistant named Siri, and cloud-sourced data with iCloud; the third and fourth generation iPads, which featured Retina displays; and the iPad Mini, which featured a 7.9-inch screen in contrast to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen.", "These launches were successful, with the iPhone 5 (released September 21, 2012) becoming Apple's biggest iPhone launch with over two million pre-orders and sales of three million iPads in three days following the launch of the iPad Mini and fourth generation iPad (released November 3, 2012).", "Apple also released a third-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display and new iMac and Mac Mini computers.", "On August 20, 2012, Apple's rising stock price increased the company's market capitalization to a world-record $624billion.", "This beat the non-inflation-adjusted record for market capitalization set by Microsoft in 1999.", "On August 24, 2012, a US jury ruled that Samsung should pay Apple $1.05billion (£665m) in damages in an intellectual property lawsuit.", "Samsung appealed the damages award, which the Court reduced by $450million.", "The Court further granted Samsung's request for a new trial.", "On November 10, 2012, Apple confirmed a global settlement that would dismiss all lawsuits between Apple and HTC up to that date, in favor of a ten-year license agreement for current and future patents between the two companies.", "It is predicted that Apple will make $280million a year from this deal with HTC.", "A previously confidential email written by Jobs a year before his death was presented during the proceedings of the ''Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co.'' lawsuits and became publicly available in early April 2014.", "With a subject line that reads \"Top 100 – A,\" the email was sent only to the company's 100 most senior employees and outlines Jobs's vision of Apple Inc.'s future under 10 subheadings.", "Notably, Jobs declares a \"Holy War with Google\" for 2011 and schedules a \"new campus\" for 2015.", "In March 2013, Apple filed a patent for an augmented reality (AR) system that can identify objects in a live video stream and present information corresponding to these objects through a computer-generated information layer overlaid on top of the real-world image.", "The company also made several high-profile hiring decisions in 2013.", "On July 2, 2013, Apple recruited Paul Deneve, Belgian President and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent as a vice president reporting directly to Tim Cook.", "A mid-October 2013 announcement revealed that Burberry executive Angela Ahrendts will commence as a senior vice president at Apple in mid-2014.", "Ahrendts oversaw Burberry's digital strategy for almost eight years and, during her tenure, sales increased to about US$3.2 billion and shares gained more than threefold.", "Alongside Google vice-president Vint Cerf and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Cook attended a closed-door summit held by President Obama on August 8, 2013, in regard to government surveillance and the Internet in the wake of the Edward Snowden NSA incident.", "On February 4, 2014, Cook met with Abdullah Gül, the President of Turkey, in Ankara to discuss the company's involvement in the Fatih project.", "In the first quarter of 2014, Apple reported sales of 51million iPhones and 26million iPads, becoming all-time quarterly sales records.", "It also experienced a significant year-over-year increase in Mac sales.", "This was contrasted with a significant drop in iPod sales.", "On May 28, 2014, Apple confirmed its intent to acquire Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's audio company Beats Electronics—producer of the ''Beats by Dr. Dre'' line of headphones and speaker products, and operator of the music streaming service Beats Music—for $3billion, and to sell their products through Apple's retail outlets and resellers.", "Iovine felt that Beats had always \"belonged\" with Apple, as the company modeled itself after Apple's \"unmatched ability to marry culture and technology.\"", "In August 2014, an Apple representative confirmed to the media that Anand Lal Shimpi, editor and publisher of the ''AnandTech'' website, had been recruited by Apple without elaborating on Lal Shimpi's role.", "Apple has been at the top of Interbrand's annual Best Global Brands report for 4 years in a row; 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, with a valuation of $178.1billion.", "In January 2016, it was announced that one billion Apple devices are in active use worldwide.", "On May 12, 2016, Apple Inc., invested US$1billion in Didi Chuxing, a Chinese competitor to Uber.", "''The Information'' reported in October 2016 that Apple had taken a board seat in Didi Chuxing, a move that James Vincent of ''The Verge'' speculated could be a strategic company decision by Apple to get closer to the automobile industry, particularly Didi Chuxing's reported interest in self-driving cars.", "On June 6, 2016, Forbes released their list of companies ranked on revenue generation.", "In the trailing fiscal year, Apple appeared on the list as the top tech company.", "It ranked third, overall, with $233billion in revenue.", "This represents a movement upward of two spots from the previous year's list.", "On April 6, 2017, Apple launched Clips, an app that allows iPad and iPhone users to make and edit videos.", "The app provides a way to produce short videos to share with other users on the Messages app, Instagram, Facebook and other social networks.", "Apple also introduced Live Titles for Clips that allows users to add live animated captions and titles using their voice.", "Towards the end of May 2017, Apple refreshed two of its website designs.", "Its public relations \"Apple Press Info\" website was changed to a new \"Apple Newsroom\" site, featuring a greater emphasis on imagery and therefore lower information density, and combines press releases, news items and photos.", "Its \"Apple Leadership\" overview of company executives was also refreshed, adding a simpler layout with a prominent header image and two-column text fields.", "''9to5Mac'' noted the design similarities to several of Apple's redesigned apps in iOS 10, particularly its Apple Music and News software.", "On June 9, 2017, Apple held the keynote for WWDC 2017 at the San Jose Convention Center and introduced iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, and watchOS 4 along with hardware improvements to the MacBook 12\", MacBook Pro laptops and the iMac all-in-one.", "New hardware launches included the iMac Pro workstation-class all-in-one, a redesigned 10.5\" iPad Pro, and the HomePod smart speaker.", "\n\n===Mac===\n\n\n\nMacs currently in production:\n* iMac: Consumer all-in-one desktop computer, introduced in 1998.", "* Mac Mini: Consumer sub-desktop computer, introduced in 2005.", "* MacBook: Consumer ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in 2006 and relaunched in 2015.", "* MacBook Pro: Professional notebook, introduced in 2006.", "* Mac Pro: Workstation desktop computer, introduced in 2006.", "* MacBook Air: Consumer ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in 2008.", "Apple sells a variety of computer accessories for Macs, including Thunderbolt Display, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Magic Keyboard, the AirPort wireless networking products, and Time Capsule.", "===iPod===\n\nFrom left to right: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch.", "On October 23, 2001, Apple introduced the iPod digital music player.", "Several updated models have since been introduced, and the iPod brand is now the market leader in portable music players by a significant margin.", "More than 350million units have shipped .", "Apple has partnered with Nike to offer the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, enabling runners to synchronize and monitor their runs with iTunes and the Nike+ website.", "In late July 2017, Apple discontinued its iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle models, leaving only the iPod Touch available for purchase.", "===iPhone===\n\nfirst-generation iPhone, 3G, 4, 5, 5C and 5S to scale.", "At the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the long-anticipated iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod.", "The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, for $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB) with an AT&T contract.", "On February 5, 2008, it was updated to have 16 GB of memory, in addition to the 8 GB and 4 GB models.", "It combined a 2.5G quad band GSM and EDGE cellular phone with features found in handheld devices, running scaled-down versions of Apple's Mac OS X (dubbed iPhone OS, later renamed iOS), with various Mac OS X applications such as Safari and Mail.", "It also includes web-based and Dashboard apps such as Google Maps and Weather.", "The iPhone features a touchscreen display, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (both \"b\" and \"g\").", "A second version, the iPhone 3G, was released on July 11, 2008, with a reduced price of $199 for the 8 GB version and $299 for the 16 GB version.", "This version added support for 3G networking and assisted GPS navigation.", "The flat silver back and large antenna square of the original model were eliminated in favor of a glossy, curved black or white back.", "Software capabilities were improved with the release of the App Store, which provided iPhone-compatible applications to download.", "On April 24, 2009, the App Store surpassed one billion downloads.", "On June 8, 2009, Apple announced the iPhone 3GS.", "It provided an incremental update to the device, including faster internal components, support for faster 3G speeds, video recording capability, and voice control.", "At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 7, 2010, Apple announced the redesigned iPhone 4.", "It featured a 960 × 640 display, the Apple A4 processor, a gyroscope for enhanced gaming, a 5MP camera with LED flash, front-facing VGA camera and FaceTime video calling.", "Shortly after its release, reception issues were discovered by consumers, due to the stainless steel band around the edge of the device, which also serves as the phone's cellular signal and Wi-Fi antenna.", "The issue was corrected by a \"Bumper Case\" distributed by Apple for free to all owners for a few months.", "In June 2011, Apple overtook Nokia to become the world's biggest smartphone maker by volume.", "On October 4, 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S, which was first released on October 14, 2011.", "It features the Apple A5 processor and Siri voice assistant technology, the latter of which Apple had acquired in 2010.", "It also features an updated 8MP camera with new optics.", "Apple began a new accessibility feature, Made for iPhone Hearing Aids with the iPhone 4S.", "Made for iPhone Hearing Aids feature Live Listen, it can help the user hear a conversation in a noisy room or hear someone speaking across the room.", "Apple sold 4million iPhone 4S phones in the first three days of availability.", "On September 12, 2012, Apple introduced the iPhone 5.", "It has a 4-inch display, 4G LTE connectivity, and the upgraded Apple A6 chip, among several other improvements.", "Two million iPhones were sold in the first twenty-four hours of pre-ordering and over five million handsets were sold in the first three days of its launch.", "Upon the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, Apple set a new record for first-weekend smartphone sales by selling over nine million devices in the first three days of its launch.", "The release of the iPhone 5S and 5C was the first time that Apple simultaneously launched two models.", "A patent filed in July 2013 revealed the development of a new iPhone battery system that uses location data in combination with data on the user's habits to moderate the handsets power settings accordingly.", "Apple is working towards a power management system that will provide features such as the ability of the iPhone to estimate the length of time a user will be away from a power source to modify energy usage and a detection function that adjusts the charging rate to best suit the type of power source that is being used.", "In a March 2014 interview, Apple designer Jonathan Ive used the iPhone as an example of Apple's ethos of creating high-quality, life-changing products.", "He explained that the phones are comparatively expensive due to the intensive effort that is used to make them:\n\n\n\nOn September 9, 2014, Apple introduced the iPhone 6, alongside the iPhone 6 Plus that both have screen sizes over 4-inches.", "One year later, Apple introduced the iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6S Plus, which introduced a new technology called 3D Touch, including an increase of the rear camera to 12 MP, and the FaceTime camera to 5 MP.", "On March 21, 2016, Apple introduced the iPhone SE that has a 4-inch screen size last used with the 5S and has nearly the same internal hardware as the 6S.", "In July 2016, Apple announced that one billion iPhones had been sold.", "IPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were introduced on September 7, 2016.", "On September 7, 2016, Apple introduced the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, which feature improved system and graphics performance, add water resistance, a new rear dual-camera system on the 7 Plus model, and, controversially, remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack.", "On September 12, 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, along with the high-end iPhone X, which features no home button, near bezel-less design, and other advanced technologies like Face ID facial recognition and wireless charging.", "===iPad===\n\niPad Air 2 in Gold\nOn January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, the iPad.", "It offers multi-touch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, e-books, photos, videos, music, word processing documents, video games, and most existing iPhone apps using a 9.7-inch screen.", "It also includes a mobile version of Safari for web browsing, as well as access to the App Store, iTunes Library, iBookstore, Contacts, and Notes.", "Content is downloadable via Wi-Fi and optional 3G service or synced through the user's computer.", "AT&T was initially the sole U.S. provider of 3G wireless access for the iPad.", "On March 2, 2011, Apple introduced the iPad 2, which had a faster processor and a camera on the front and back.", "It also added support for optional 3G service provided by Verizon in addition to AT&T.", "The availability of the iPad 2 was initially limited as a result of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011.", "The third-generation iPad was released on March 7, 2012, and marketed as \"the new iPad\".", "It added LTE service from AT&T or Verizon, an upgraded A5X processor, and Retina display.", "The dimensions and form factor remained relatively unchanged, with the new iPad being a fraction thicker and heavier than the previous version and featuring minor positioning changes.", "On October 23, 2012, Apple's fourth-generation iPad came out, marketed as the \"iPad with Retina display\".", "It added the upgraded A6X processor and replaced the traditional 30-pin dock connector with the all-digital Lightning connector.", "The iPad Mini was also introduced.", "It featured a reduced 7.9-inch display and much of the same internal specifications as the iPad 2.", "On October 22, 2013, Apple introduced the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina Display, both featuring a new 64-bit Apple A7 processor.", "The iPad Air 2 was unveiled on October 16, 2014.", "It added better graphics and central processing and a camera burst mode as well as minor updates.", "The iPad Mini 3 was unveiled at the same time.", "Since its launch, iPad users have downloaded over three billion apps.", "The total number of App Store downloads, , is over 100billion.", "On September 9, 2015, Apple announced the iPad Pro, an iPad with a 12.9-inch display that supports two new accessories, the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil.", "An updated IPad Mini 4 was announced at the same time.", "A 9.7-inch iPad Pro was announced on March 21, 2016.", "On June 5, 2017, Apple announced a new iPad Pro with a 10.5-inch display to replace the 9.7 inch model and an updated 12.9-inch model.", "===Apple Watch===\n\nThe Apple Watch quickly became the best-selling wearable device, with the shipment of 11.4million smart watches in the first half of 2015, according to analyst firm Canalys.", "The Apple Watch smartwatch was announced by Cook on September 9, 2014, and released on April 24, 2015.", "The wearable device consists of fitness-tracking capabilities that are similar to Fitbit, and must be used in combination with an iPhone to work (only the iPhone 5, or later models, are compatible with the Apple Watch).", "The second generation of Apple Watch, Apple Watch Series 2 and Apple Watch Series 1 were released in September 2016.", "On September 12, 2017, Apple introduced Apple Watch Series 3 featuring LTE cellular connectivity.", "===Apple TV===\n\n\nAt the 2007 Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV (previously known as the iTV), a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with high-definition televisions.", "The device links up to a user's TV and syncs, either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and streams content from an additional four.", "The Apple TV originally incorporated a 40 GB hard drive for storage, included outputs for HDMI and component video, and played video at a maximum resolution of 720p.", "On May 31, 2007, a 160 GB hard disk drive was released alongside the existing 40 GB model.", "A software update released on January 15, 2008, allowed media to be purchased directly from the Apple TV.", "In September 2009, Apple discontinued the original 40 GB Apple TV and now continues to produce and sell the 160 GB Apple TV.", "On September 1, 2010, Apple released a completely redesigned Apple TV.", "The new device is 1/4 the size, runs quieter, and replaces the need for a hard drive with media streaming from any iTunes library on the network along with 8 GB of flash memory to cache media downloaded.", "Like the iPad and the iPhone, Apple TV runs on an A4 processor.", "The memory included in the device is half of that in the iPhone 4 at 256 MB; the same as the iPad, iPhone 3GS, third and fourth-generation iPod Touch.", "It has HDMI out as the only video out source.", "Features include access to the iTunes Store to rent movies and TV shows (purchasing has been discontinued), streaming from internet video sources, including YouTube and Netflix, and media streaming from an iTunes library.", "Apple also reduced the price of the device to $99.", "A third generation of the device was introduced at an Apple event on March 7, 2012, with new features such as higher resolution (1080p) and a new user interface.", "At the September 9, 2015, event, Apple unveiled an overhauled Apple TV, which now runs a variant of macOS, called tvOS, and contains 32GB or 64 GB of NAND Flash to store games, programs, and to cache the current media playing.", "The release also coincided with the opening of a separate Apple TV App Store and a new Siri Remote with a glass touchpad, gyroscope, and microphone.", "At the September 12, 2017 event, Apple released a new 4K Apple TV with the same form factor as the 4th Generation model.", "The 4K model is powered by the A10X SoC designed in-house that also powers their second-generation iPad Pro.", "The 4K model also has support for high dynamic range.", "===Software===\nApple Worldwide Developers Conference is held annually by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for software developers.", "Apple develops its own operating systems to run on its devices, including macOS for Mac personal computers, iOS for its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch smartphones and tablets, watchOS for its Apple Watch smartwatches, and tvOS for its Apple TV digital media player.", "For iOS and macOS, Apple also develops its own software titles, including Pages for writing, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for presentations, as part of its iWork productivity suite.", "For macOS, it also offers iMovie and Final Cut Pro X for video editing, and GarageBand and Logic Pro X for music creation.", "Apple's range of server software includes the operating system macOS Server; Apple Remote Desktop, a remote systems management application; and Xsan, a storage area network file system.", "Apple also offers online services with iCloud, which provides cloud storage and synchronization for a wide range of user data, including documents, photos, music, device backups, and application data, and Apple Music, its music streaming service.", "===Electric vehicles===\n\n\nAccording to the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', Apple wants to start producing an electric car with autonomous driving as soon as 2020.", "Apple has made efforts to recruit battery development engineers and other electric automobile engineers from A123 Systems, LG Chem, Samsung Electronics, Panasonic, Toshiba, Johnson Controls and Tesla Motors.", "===Apple Energy===\nApple Energy, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc. that sells solar energy.", "As of June 6, 2016, Apple's solar farms in California and Nevada have been declared to provide 217.9 megawatts of solar generation capacity.", "In addition to the company's solar energy production, Apple has received regulatory approval to construct a landfill gas energy plant in North Carolina.", "Apple will use the methane emissions to generate electricity.", "Apple's North Carolina data center is already powered entirely with energy from renewable sources.", "\n===Logo===\n\n\n\nAccording to Steve Jobs, the company's name was inspired by his visit to an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet.", "Jobs thought the name \"Apple\" was \"fun, spirited and not intimidating\".", "Apple's first logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree.", "It was almost immediately replaced by Rob Janoff's \"rainbow Apple\", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it.", "Janoff presented Jobs with several different monochromatic themes for the \"bitten\" logo, and Jobs immediately took a liking to it.", "However, Jobs insisted that the logo be colorized to humanize the company.", "The logo was designed with a bite so that it would not be confused with a cherry.", "The colored stripes were conceived to make the logo more accessible, and to represent the fact the Apple II could generate graphics in color.", "This logo is often erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a reference to his method of suicide.", "Both Janoff and Apple deny any homage to Turing in the design of the logo.", "On August 27, 1999 (the year following the introduction of the iMac G3), Apple officially dropped the rainbow scheme and began to use monochromatic logos nearly identical in shape to the previous rainbow incarnation.", "An Aqua-themed version of the monochrome logo was used from 1998 to 2003, and a glass-themed version was used from 2007 to 2013.", "Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were Beatles fans, but Apple Inc. had name and logo trademark issues with Apple Corps Ltd., a multimedia company started by the Beatles in 1967.", "This resulted in a series of lawsuits and tension between the two companies.", "These issues ended with settling of their most recent lawsuit in 2007.", "===Advertising===\n\n\nApple's first slogan, \"Byte into an Apple\", was coined in the late 1970s.", "From 1997 to 2002, the slogan \"Think Different\" was used in advertising campaigns, and is still closely associated with Apple.", "Apple also has slogans for specific product lines — for example, \"iThink, therefore iMac\" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac, and \"Say hello to iPhone\" has been used in iPhone advertisements.", "\"Hello\" was also used to introduce the original Macintosh, Newton, iMac (\"hello (again)\"), and iPod.", "From the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984 with the 1984 Super Bowl commercial to the more modern 'Get a Mac' adverts, Apple has been recognized for its efforts towards effective advertising and marketing for its products.", "However, claims made by later campaigns were criticized, particularly the 2005 Power Mac ads.", "Apple's product commercials gained a lot of attention as a result of their eye-popping graphics and catchy tunes.", "Musicians who benefited from an improved profile as a result of their songs being included on Apple commercials include Canadian singer Feist with the song \"1234\" and Yael Naïm with the song \"New Soul\".", "Apple owns a YouTube channel where they have advertisements, tips, and introductions to their devices.", "===Brand loyalty===\n\n\nApple customers gained a reputation for devotion and loyalty early in the company's history.", "''BYTE'' in 1984 stated that\n\n\n\nApple aficionados wait in line around an Apple Store in anticipation of a new product.", "Apple evangelists were actively engaged by the company at one time, but this was after the phenomenon had already been firmly established.", "Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism \"something that was stumbled upon,\" while Ive explained in 2014 that \"People have an incredibly personal relationship\" with Apple's products.", "Apple Store openings and new product releases can draw crowds of hundreds, with some waiting in line as much as a day before the opening.", "The opening of New York City's Fifth Avenue \"Cube\" store in 2006 became the setting of a marriage proposal, and had visitors from Europe who flew in for the event.", "In June 2017, a newlywed couple took their wedding photos inside the then-recently-opened Orchard Road Apple Store in Singapore.", "The high level of brand loyalty has been criticized and ridiculed, applying the epithet \"Apple fanboy\" and mocking the lengthy lines before a product launch.", "An internal memo leaked in 2015 suggested the company planned to discourage long lines and direct customers to purchase its products on its website.", "''Fortune'' magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012.", "On September 30, 2013, Apple surpassed Coca-Cola to become the world's most valuable brand in the Omnicom Group's \"Best Global Brands\" report.", "Boston Consulting Group has ranked Apple as the world's most innovative brand every year since 2005.", "''The New York Times'' in 1985 stated that \"Apple above all else is a marketing company\".", "John Sculley agreed, telling ''The Guardian'' newspaper in 1997 that \"People talk about technology, but Apple was a marketing company.", "It was the marketing company of the decade.\"", "Research in 2002 by NetRatings indicate that the average Apple consumer was usually more affluent and better educated than other PC company consumers.", "The research indicated that this correlation could stem from the fact that on average Apple Inc. products were more expensive than other PC products.", "In response to a query about the devotion of loyal Apple consumers, Jonathan Ive responded:\n\n\nWhat people are responding to is much bigger than the object.", "They are responding to something rare—a group of people who do more than simply make something work, they make the very best products they possibly can.", "It's a demonstration against thoughtlessness and carelessness.", "===Home page===\nThe Apple website home page has been used to commemorate, or pay tribute to, milestones and events outside of Apple's product offerings:\n* 2017: Martin Luther King Jr.\n* 2016: Muhammad Ali\n* 2016: Bill Campbell (board member and friend)\n* 2016: Martin Luther King Jr.\n* 2014: Robin Williams\n* 2013: Nelson Mandela\n* 2011: Steve Jobs\n* 2010: Jerome B. York (board member)\n* 2007: Al Gore (board member in honor of his Nobel Peace Prize)\n* 2005: Rosa Parks\n* 2003: Gregory Hines\n* 2001: George Harrison\n\n===Headquarters===\n\n\n\nApple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at 1–6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California.", "This Apple campus has six buildings that total and was built in 1993 by Sobrato Development Cos.\n\nApple has a satellite campus in neighboring Sunnyvale, California, where it houses a testing and research laboratory.", "AppleInsider published article in March 2014 claiming that Apple has a tucked away a top-secret facility where is developing the SG5 electric vehicle project codenamed \"Titan\" under the shell company name SixtyEight Research.", "In 2006, Apple announced its intention to build a second campus in Cupertino about east of the current campus and next to Interstate 280.", "The new campus building has been designed by Norman Foster.", "The Cupertino City Council approved the proposed \"spaceship\" design campus on October 15, 2013, after a 2011 presentation by Jobs detailing the architectural design of the new building and its environs.", "The new campus is planned to house up to 13,000 employees in one central, four-storied, circular building surrounded by extensive landscape.", "It will feature a café with room for 3,000 sitting people and parking underground as well as in a parking structure.", "The 2.8million square foot facility will also include Jobs's original designs for a fitness center and a corporate auditorium.", "Apple has expanded its campuses in Austin, Texas concurrently with building Apple Park in Cupertino.", "The expansion consists of two locations, with one having 1.1 million square feet of workspace, and the other 216,000 square feet.", "At the biggest location, 6,000 employees work on technical support, manage Apple's network of suppliers to fulfill product shipments, aid in maintaining iTunes Store and App Store, handle economy, and continuously update Apple Maps with new data.", "At its smaller campus, 500 engineers work on next-generation processor chips to run in future Apple products.", "Apple's headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are located in Cork in the south of Ireland.", "The facility, which opened in 1980, was Apple's first location outside of the United States.", "Apple Sales International, which deals with all of Apple's international sales outside of the USA, is located at Apple's campus in Cork along with Apple Distribution International, which similarly deals with Apple's international distribution network.", "On April 20, 2012, Apple added 500 new jobs at its European headquarters, increasing the total workforce from around 2,800 to 3,300 employees.", "The company will build a new office block on its Hollyhill Campus to accommodate the additional staff.", "Its United Kingdom headquarters is at Stockley Park on the outskirts of London.", "In February 2015, Apple opened their new 180,000-square-foot headquarters in Herzliya, Israel, which will accommodate approximately 800 employees.", "This opening was Apple's third office located within Israel; the first, also in Herzliya, was obtained as part of the Anobit acquisition, and the other is a research center in Haifa.", "In December 2015, Apple bought the 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in North San Jose previously used by Maxim Integrated, in an $18.2 million deal.", "===Stores===\n\nThe first Apple Stores were originally opened as two locations in May 2001 by then-CEO Steve Jobs, after years of attempting but failing store-within-a-store concepts.", "Seeing a need for improved retail presentation of the company's products, he began an effort in 1997 to revamp the retail program to get an improved relationship to consumers, and hired Ron Johnson in 2000.", "Jobs relaunched Apple's online store in 1997, and opened the first two physical stores in 2001.", "Despite initial media speculation that Apple would fail, its stores were highly successful, bypassing the sales numbers of competing nearby stores and within three years reached US$1 billion in annual sales, becoming the fastest retailer in history to do so.", "Over the years, Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical coverage, with 498 stores across 22 countries worldwide as of July 2017.", "Strong product sales have placed Apple among the top-tier retail stores, with sales over $16 billion globally in 2011.", "In May 2016, Angela Ahrendts, Apple's current Senior Vice President of Retail, unveiled a significantly redesigned Apple Store in Union Square, San Francisco, featuring large glass doors for the entry, open spaces, and rebranded rooms.", "In addition to purchasing products, consumers can get advice and help from \"Creative Pros\" – individuals with specialized knowledge of creative arts; get product support in a tree-lined Genius Grove; and attend sessions, conferences and community events, with Ahrendts commenting that the goal is to make Apple Stores into \"town squares\", a place where people naturally meet up and spend time.", "The new design will be applied to all Apple Stores worldwide, a process that has seen stores temporarily relocate or close.", "Many Apple Stores are located inside shopping malls, but Apple has built several stand-alone \"flagship\" stores in high-profile locations.", "It has been granted design patents and received architectural awards for its stores' designs and construction, specifically for its use of glass staircases and cubes.", "The success of Apple Stores have had significant influence over other consumer electronics retailers, who have lost traffic, control and profits due to a perceived higher quality of service and products at Apple Stores.", "Apple's notable brand loyalty among consumers causes long lines of hundreds of people at new Apple Store openings or product releases.", "Due to the popularity of the brand, there are numerous job applications, many of which from young workers.", "Although Apple Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money toward education and health care, and receive product discounts, there are limited or no paths of career advancement.", "A May 2016 report with an anonymous retail employee highlighted a hostile work environment with harassment from customers, intense internal criticism, and a lack of significant bonuses for securing major business contracts.", "File:Apple Store San Francisco Union Square Store Interior 201605.jpg|Apple's new store design in Union Square, San Francisco\nFile:New Town Plaza Apple Store 201609.jpg|New store design in New Town Plaza, Hong Kong\nFile:Apple store fifth avenue.jpg|Fifth Avenue, New York City\nFile:Regent Street Apple Store, London 12297897574 o.jpg|London\nFile:Apple Store Carrousel du Louvre, 18 March 2011.jpg|Paris\nFile:Apple Store, Sydney.jpg|Sydney\nFile:HK Apple Store Opened Exterior.JPG|IFC mall store in Hong Kong\nFile:Apple Store, Barcelona - 0001.JPG|Barcelona\nFile:Eröffnung Apple Store Schildergasse Köln (33540189942).jpg|Cologne", "\n\n===Corporate culture===\nright\nApple was one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the traditional notions of corporate culture.", "Jobs often walked around the office barefoot even after Apple became a Fortune 500 company.", "By the time of the \"1984\" television commercial, Apple's informal culture had become a key trait that differentiated it from its competitors.", "According to a 2011 report in ''Fortune,'' this has resulted in a corporate culture more akin to a startup rather than a multinational corporation.", "As the company has grown and been led by a series of differently opinionated chief executives, it has arguably lost some of its original character.", "Nonetheless, it has maintained a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably attracts talented workers, particularly after Jobs returned to the company.", "Numerous Apple employees have stated that projects without Jobs's involvement often took longer than projects with it.", "To recognize the best of its employees, Apple created the Apple Fellows program which awards individuals who make extraordinary technical or leadership contributions to personal computing while at the company.", "The Apple Fellowship has so far been awarded to individuals including Bill Atkinson, Steve Capps, Rod Holt, Alan Kay, Guy Kawasaki, Al Alcorn, Don Norman, Rich Page, and Steve Wozniak.", "Steve Wozniak and Andy Hertzfeld in 1985\nAt Apple, employees are specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise.", "Jobs saw this as a means of having \"best-in-class\" employees in every role.", "For instance, Ron Johnson—Senior Vice President of Retail Operations until November 1, 2011—was responsible for site selection, in-store service, and store layout, yet had no control of the inventory in his stores (this was done by Cook, who had a background in supply-chain management).", "Apple is also known for strictly enforcing accountability.", "Each project has a \"directly responsible individual,\" or \"DRI\" in Apple jargon.", "As an example, when iOS senior vice president Scott Forstall refused to sign Apple's official apology for numerous errors in the redesigned Maps app, he was forced to resign.", "Unlike other major U.S. companies Apple provides a relatively simple compensation policy for executives that does not include perks enjoyed by other CEOs like country club fees or private use of company aircraft.", "The company typically grants stock options to executives every other year.", "In 2015, Apple had 110,000 full-time employees.", "This increased to 116,000 full-time employees the next year, a notable hiring decrease, largely due to its first revenue decline.", "Apple does not specify how many of its employees work in retail, though its 2014 SEC filing put the number at approximately half of its employee base.", "An editorial article in ''The Verge'' in September 2016 by technology journalist Thomas Ricker explored some of the public's perceived lack of innovation at Apple in recent years, specifically stating that Samsung has \"matched and even surpassed Apple in terms of smartphone industrial design\" and citing the belief that Apple is incapable of producing another breakthrough moment in technology with its products.", "He goes on to write that the criticism focuses on individual pieces of hardware rather than the ecosystem as a whole, stating \"Yes, iteration is boring.", "But it's also how Apple does business.", "...", "It enters a new market and then refines and refines and continues refining until it yields a success\".", "He acknowledges that people are wishing for the \"excitement of revolution\", but argues that people want \"the comfort that comes with harmony\".", "Furthermore, he writes that \"a device is only the starting point of an experience that will ultimately be ruled by the ecosystem in which it was spawned\", referring to how decent hardware products can still fail without a proper ecosystem (specifically mentioning that Walkman didn't have an ecosystem to keep users from leaving once something better came along), but how Apple devices in different hardware segments are able to communicate and cooperate through the iCloud cloud service with features including Universal Clipboard (in which text copied on one device can be pasted on a different device) as well as inter-connected device functionality including Auto Unlock (in which an Apple Watch can unlock a Mac in close proximity).", "He argues that Apple's ecosystem is its greatest innovation.", "Apple has a strong culture of corporate secrecy, and has an anti-leak Global Security team that recruits from the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.", "===Manufacturing===\nThe company's manufacturing, procurement and logistics enable it to execute massive product launches without having to maintain large, profit-sapping inventories.", "In 2011, Apple's profit margins were 40 percent, compared with between 10 and 20 percent for most other hardware companies.", "Cook's catchphrase to describe his focus on the company's operational arm is: \"Nobody wants to buy sour milk\".", "During the Mac's early history Apple generally refused to adopt prevailing industry standards for hardware, instead creating their own.", "This trend was largely reversed in the late 1990s, beginning with Apple's adoption of the PCI bus in the 7500/8500/9500 Power Macs.", "Apple has since joined the industry standards groups to influence the future direction of technology standards such as USB, AGP, HyperTransport, Wi-Fi, NVMe, PCIe and others in its products.", "FireWire is an Apple-originated standard that was widely adopted across the industry after it was standardized as IEEE 1394 and is a legally mandated port in all Cable TV boxes in the United States.", "Apple has gradually expanded its efforts in getting its products into the Indian market.", "In July 2012, during a conference call with investors, CEO Tim Cook said that he \"loves India\", but that Apple saw larger opportunities outside the region.", "India's requirement that 30% of products sold be manufactured in the country was described as \"really adds cost to getting product to market\".", "In October 2013, Indian Apple executives unveiled a plan for selling devices through instalment plans and store-within-a-store concepts, in an effort to expand further into the market.", "The news followed Cook's acknowledgment of the country in July when sales results showed that iPhone sales in India grew 400% during the second quarter of 2013.", "In March 2016, ''The Times of India'' reported that Apple had sought permission from the Indian government to sell refurbished iPhones in the country.", "However, two months later, the application was rejected, citing official country policy.", "In May 2016, Apple opened an iOS app development center in Bangalore.", "In February 2017, Apple once again requested permission to sell used iPhones in the country.", "The same month, ''Bloomberg'' reported that Apple was close to receiving permission to open its first retail store in the country.", "In March, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple would begin manufacturing iPhone models in India \"over the next two months\", and in May, the ''Journal'' wrote that an Apple manufacturer had begun production of iPhone SE in the country, while Apple told ''CNBC'' that the manufacturing was for a \"small number\" of units.", "====Labor practices====\n\nThe company advertised its products as being made in America until the late 1990s; however, as a result of outsourcing initiatives in the 2000s, almost all of its manufacturing is now handled abroad.", "According to a report by ''The New York Times'', Apple insiders \"believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that \"Made in the U.S.A.\" is no longer a viable option for most Apple products\".", "In 2006, the ''Mail on Sunday'' reported on the working conditions of the Chinese factories where contract manufacturers Foxconn and Inventec produced the iPod.", "The article stated that one complex of factories that assembled the iPod and other items had over 200,000 workers living and working within it.", "Employees regularly worked more than 60 hours per week and made around $100 per month.", "A little over half of the workers' earnings was required to pay for rent and food from the company.", "Apple immediately launched an investigation after the 2006 media report, and worked with their manufacturers to ensure acceptable working conditions.", "In 2007, Apple started yearly audits of all its suppliers regarding worker's rights, slowly raising standards and pruning suppliers that did not comply.", "Yearly progress reports have been published since 2008.", "In 2011, Apple admitted that its suppliers' child labor practices in China had worsened.", "The Foxconn suicides occurred between January and November 2010, when 18 Foxconn (Chinese: 富士康) employees attempted suicide, resulting in 14 deaths—the company was the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, for clients including Apple, at the time.", "The suicides drew media attention, and employment practices at Foxconn were investigated by Apple.", "Apple issued a public statement about the suicides, and company spokesperson Steven Dowling said:\n\n\nApple is saddened and upset by the recent suicides at Foxconn ... A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made.", "The statement was released after the results from the company's probe into its suppliers' labor practices were published in early 2010.", "Foxconn was not specifically named in the report, but Apple identified a series of serious labor violations of labor laws, including Apple's own rules, and some child labor existed in a number of factories.", "Apple committed to the implementation of changes following the suicides.", "Also in 2010, workers in China planned to sue iPhone contractors over poisoning by a cleaner used to clean LCD screens.", "One worker claimed that he and his coworkers had not been informed of possible occupational illnesses.", "After a high suicide rate in a Foxconn facility in China making iPads and iPhones, albeit a lower rate than that of China as a whole, workers were forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they would not kill themselves.", "Workers in factories producing Apple products have also been exposed to n-hexane, a neurotoxin that is a cheaper alternative than alcohol for cleaning the products.", "A 2014 BBC investigation found excessive hours and other problems persisted, despite Apple's promise to reform factory practice after the 2010 Foxconn suicides.", "The Pegatron factory was once again the subject of review, as reporters gained access to the working conditions inside through recruitment as employees.", "While the BBC maintained that the experiences of its reporters showed that labor violations were continuing since 2010, Apple publicly disagreed with the BBC and stated: \"We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions\".", "In December 2014, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights published a report which documented inhumane conditions for the 15,000 workers at a Zhen Ding Technology factory in Shenzhen, China, which serves as a major supplier of circuit boards for Apple's iPhone and iPad.", "According to the report, workers are pressured into 65-hour work weeks which leaves them so exhausted that they often sleep during lunch breaks.", "They are also made to reside in \"primitive, dark and filthy dorms\" where they sleep \"on plywood, with six to ten workers in each crowded room.\"", "Omnipresent security personnel also routinely harass and beat the workers.", "===Environmental practices and initiatives===\n\n====Energy and resources====\nFollowing a Greenpeace protest, Apple released a statement on April 17, 2012, committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy.", "By 2013 Apple was using 100% renewable energy to power their data centers.", "Overall, 75% of the company's power came from clean renewable sources.", "In 2010, Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers toward the greenest companies, gave Apple a score of 52 points out of a possible 100, which puts Apple in their top category \"Striding\".", "This was an increase from May 2008, when Climate Counts only gave Apple 11 points out of 100, which placed the company last among electronics companies, at which time Climate Counts also labeled Apple with a \"stuck icon\", adding that Apple at the time was \"a choice to avoid for the climate conscious consumer\".", ", Apple states that 100% of its U.S. operations run on renewable energy, 100% of Apple's data centers run on renewable energy and 93% of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy.", "However, the facilities are connected to the local grid which usually contains a mix of fossil and renewable sources, so Apple carbon offsets its electricity use.", "The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) allows consumers to see the effect a product has on the environment.", "Each product receives a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rank depending on its efficiency and sustainability.", "Every Apple tablet, notebook, desktop computer, and display that EPEAT ranks achieves a Gold rating, the highest possible.", "Although Apple's data centers recycle water 35 times, the increased activity in retail, corporate and data centers also increase the amount of water use to 573million gallons in 2015.", "In May 2015, Greenpeace evaluated the state of the Green Internet and commended Apple on their environmental practices saying, \"Apple's commitment to renewable energy has helped set a new bar for the industry, illustrating in very concrete terms that a 100% renewable Internet is within its reach, and providing several models of intervention for other companies that want to build a sustainable Internet.\"", "During an event on March 21, 2016, Apple provided a status update on its environmental initiative to be 100% renewable in all of its worldwide operations.", "Lisa P. Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives who reports directly to CEO, Tim Cook, announced that as of March 2016, 93% of Apple's worldwide operations are powered with renewable energy.", "Also featured was the company's efforts to use sustainable paper in their product packaging; 99% of all paper used by Apple in the product packaging comes from post-consumer recycled paper or sustainably managed forests, as the company continues its move to all paper packaging for all of its products.", "Apple working in partnership with Conservation Fund, have preserved 36,000 acres of working forests in Maine and North Carolina.", "Another partnership announced is with the World Wildlife Fund to preserve up to 1,000,000 acres of forests in China.", "Featured was the company's installation of a 40 MW solar power plant in the Sichuan province of China that was tailor made to coexist with the indigenous yaks that eat hay produced on the land, by raising the panels to be several feet off of the ground so the yaks and their feed would be unharmed grazing beneath the array.", "This installation alone compensates for more than all of the energy used in Apple's Stores and Offices in the whole of China, negating the company's energy carbon footprint in the country.", "In Singapore, Apple has worked with the Singaporean government to cover the rooftops of 800 buildings in the city-state with solar panels allowing Apple's Singapore operations to be run on 100% renewable energy.", "Liam was introduced to the world, an advanced robotic disassembler and sorter designed by Apple Engineers in California specifically for recycling outdated or broken iPhones.", "Reuses and recycles parts from traded in products.", "Apple announced on August 16, 2016, that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018.", "The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China.", "Apple also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in China are now compliant with UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation.", "The standard, which started in January 2015, certifies that all manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or converted into energy (when necessary).", "Since the program began, nearly, 140,000 metric tons of waste have been diverted from landfills.", "====Toxins====\nFollowing further campaigns by Greenpeace, in 2008, Apple became the first electronics manufacturer to fully eliminate all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its complete product line.", "In June 2007, Apple began replacing the cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlit LCD displays in its computers with mercury-free LED-backlit LCD displays and arsenic-free glass, starting with the upgraded MacBook Pro.", "Apple offers comprehensive and transparent information about the CO2e, emissions, materials, and electrical usage concerning every product they currently produce or have sold in the past (and which they have enough data needed to produce the report), in their portfolio on their homepage.", "Allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions on the products they offer for sale.", "In June 2009, Apple's iPhone 3GS was free of PVC, arsenic, and BFRs.", "All Apple products now have mercury-free LED-backlit LCD displays, arsenic-free glass, and non-PVC cables.", "All Apple products have EPEAT Gold status and beat the latest Energy Star guidelines in each product's respective regulatory category.", "In November 2011, Apple was featured in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers on sustainability, climate and energy policy, and how \"green\" their products are.", "The company ranked fourth of fifteen electronics companies (moving up five places from the previous year) with a score of 4.6/10.", "Greenpeace praises Apple's sustainability, noting that the company exceeded its 70% global recycling goal in 2010.", "It continues to score well on the products rating with all Apple products now being free of PVC plastic and BFRs.", "However, the guide criticizes Apple on the Energy criteria for not seeking external verification of its greenhouse gas emissions data and for not setting out any targets to reduce emissions.", "In January 2012, Apple requested that its cable maker, Volex, begin producing halogen-free USB and power cables.", "====Green bonds====\nIn February 2016, Apple issued a US$1.5billion green bond (climate bond), the first ever of its kind by a U.S. tech company.", "The green bond proceeds are dedicated to the financing of environmental projects.", "===Finance===\n\nApple is the world's largest information technology company by revenue, the world's largest technology company by total assets, and the world's second-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung.", "It is also the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, with an estimated market capitalization of $800 billion in May 2017.", "In February 2015, Apple became the first U.S. corporation to be valued at over $700 billion.", "In its fiscal year ending in September 2011, Apple Inc. reported a total of $108billion in annual revenues—a significant increase from its 2010 revenues of $65billion—and nearly $82billion in cash reserves.", "On March 19, 2012, Apple announced plans for a $2.65-per-share dividend beginning in fourth quarter of 2012, per approval by their board of directors.", "On September 2012, Apple reached a record share price of more than $705 and closed at above 700.", "With 936,596,000 outstanding shares (),\n\nThe company's worldwide annual revenue in 2013 totaled $170billion.", "In May 2013, Apple entered the top ten of the Fortune 500 list of companies for the first time, rising 11 places above its 2012 ranking to take the sixth position.", ", Apple has around US$234billion of cash and marketable securities, of which 90% is located outside the United States for tax purposes.", "Apple amassed 65% of all profits made by the eight largest worldwide smartphone manufacturers in quarter one of 2014, according to a report by Canaccord Genuity.", "In the first quarter of 2015, the company garnered 92% of all earnings.", "On April 30, 2017, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Apple had cash reserves of $250 billion, officially confirmed by Apple as specifically $256.8 billion a few days later.", "Coupled with a strong market capitalization around the same time, reports predicted Apple will soon become the world's first $1 trillion dollar company.", "====Tax practices====\n\n\nApple has created subsidiaries in low-tax places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands to cut the taxes it pays around the world.", "According to ''The New York Times,'' in the 1980s Apple was among the first tech companies to designate overseas salespeople in high-tax countries in a manner that allowed the company to sell on behalf of low-tax subsidiaries on other continents, sidestepping income taxes.", "In the late 1980s Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique known as the \"Double Irish with a Dutch sandwich,\" which reduces taxes by routing profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and then to the Caribbean.", "British Conservative Party Member of Parliament Charlie Elphicke published research on October 30, 2012, which showed that some multinational companies, including Apple Inc., were making billions of pounds of profit in the UK, but were paying an effective tax rate to the UK Treasury of only 3 percent, well below standard corporation tax.", "He followed this research by calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to force these multinationals, which also included Google and The Coca-Cola Company, to state the effective rate of tax they pay on their UK revenues.", "Elphicke also said that government contracts should be withheld from multinationals who do not pay their fair share of UK tax.", "It is a matter of public record that Apple Inc. is the single largest taxpayer to the Department of the Treasury of the United States of America with an effective tax rate of approximately of 26% as of the Second Quarter of the Apple Fiscal Year 2016.", "In 2015, Reuters reported that Apple had earnings abroad of $54.4billion which were untaxed by the IRS of the United States.", "Under U.S. tax law governed by the IRC, corporations don't pay income tax on overseas profits unless the profits are repatriated into the United States and as such Apple argues that to benefit its shareholders it will leave it overseas until a repatriation holiday or comprehensive tax reform takes place in the United States.", "On August 30, 2016, after a three-year investigation by the EU's competition commissioner that concluded that Apple received \"illegal state aid\" from Ireland, the EU ordered Apple to pay 13billion euros ($14.5billion), plus interest, in unpaid taxes.", "Specifically, the commissioner found that Apple had benefitted from Irish Department of Revenue tax rulings that allowed it to split the profits recorded by Apple Sales International internally between its Irish branch and a stateless \"head office\" entity lacking employees or premises (permitted under Irish law until 2013).", "The Chancellor of Austria, Christian Kern, put this decision into perspective by stating that \"every Viennese cafe, every sausage stand pays more tax in Austria than a multinational corporation\".", "===Ownership===\nApple Inc. is a joint-stock company registered with the SEC.", ", it has 5,257,816,000 outstanding shares.", "These are mainly held by institutional investors and funds.", "In particular, Apple is known for and promotes itself as actively and aggressively enforcing its intellectual property interests.", "Some litigation examples include ''Apple v. Samsung'', ''Apple v. Microsoft'', ''Motorola Mobility v. Apple Inc.'', and ''Apple Corps v. Apple Computer''.", "Apple has also had to defend itself against charges on numerous occasions of violating intellectual property rights.", "Most have been dismissed in the courts as shell companies known as patent trolls, with no evidence of actual use of patents in question.", "Most recently, on December 21, 2016, Nokia announced that in the U.S. and Germany, it has filed a suit against Apple, claiming that the latter's products infringe on Nokia's patents.", "===Privacy stance===\nApple has made clear its stance on privacy and as such has made available Transparency Reports on the Governmental Requests it receives.", "Apple states plainly, \"On devices running iOS 8 and later versions, your personal data is placed under the protection of your passcode.IPhone|305 For all devices running iOS 8 and later versions, Apple will not perform iOS data extractions in response to government search warrants because the files to be extracted are protected by an encryption key that is tied to the user's passcode, which Apple does not possess.\"", "In its latest \"Who Has Your Back?\"", "report, once again the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) awarded Apple 5 out of 5 stars \"commending Apple for its strong stance regarding user rights, transparency, and privacy.\"", "Following media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in June 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including Apple.", "According to leaks of said program, Apple joined the PRISM program in 2012.", "===Charitable causes===\nApple is a partner of (PRODUCT)RED, a fundraising campaign for AIDS charity.", "In November 2014, Apple arranged for all App Store revenue in a two-week period to go to the fundraiser, generating more than US$20 million, and in March 2017, it released an iPhone 7 with a red color finish.", "In November 2012, Apple donated $2.5million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy.", "On April 14, 2016, Apple and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced that they have engaged in a partnership to, \"help protect life on our planet.\"", "Apple released a special page in the iTunes App Store, Apps for Earth.", "In the arrangement, Apple has committed that through April 24, WWF will receive 100% of the proceeds from the applications participating in the App Store via both the purchases of any paid apps and the In-App Purchases.", "Apple and WWF's Apps for Earth campaign raised more than $8million in total proceeds to support WWF's conservation work.", "WWF announced the results at WWDC 2016 in San Francisco.", "* Apple media events\n* Pixar\n*", "\n'''Sources'''\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* Gil Amelio, William L. Simon (1999), ''On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple'' \n* Jim Carlton, ''Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania and Business Blunders'' \n* Alan Deutschman (2000), ''The Second Coming of Steve Jobs'', Broadway, \n* Andy Hertzfeld (2004), ''Revolution in the Valley'', O'Reilly Books \n* Paul Kunkel, ''AppleDesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group'' \n* \n* Steven Levy (1994), ''Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything'' \n* Owen Linzmayer (2004), ''Apple Confidential 2.0'', No Starch Press \n* Michael S. Malone (1999), ''Infinite Loop'' \n* Frank Rose (1990), ''West of Eden: The End of Innocence at Apple Computer'', Penguin Books \n* \n* Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith (2006), ''iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It'', W. W. Norton & Company, \n* Jeffrey S. Young (1988).", "''Steve Jobs, The Journey is the Reward'', Lynx Books, \n* Jeffrey S. Young, William L. Simon (2005), ''iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business'', John Wiley & Sons,", "\n* \n\n* \n*" ]

[ "\nfields like this one in Dorset, England.\n\n'''Arable land''' (from Latin ''arabilis'', \"able to be plowed\") is, according to one definition, land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops. In Britain, it was traditionally contrasted with pasturable lands such as heaths which could be used for sheep-rearing but not farmland.\n\nA quite different kind of definition is used by various agencies concerned with agriculture. In providing statistics on arable land, the FAO and the World Bank use the definition offered in the glossary accompanying FAOSTAT: \"Arable land is the land under temporary agricultural crops (multiple-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow (less than five years). The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for ‘Arable land’ are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.\" A briefer definition appearing in the Eurostat glossary similarly refers to actual, rather than potential use: \"land worked (ploughed or tilled) regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation.\"\n", "World map of arable land, percentage by country (2006)\n\nAccording to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the world's Arable land amounted to 1,407 M ha, out of a total 4,924 M ha land used for agriculture, as for year 2013.\n\n\n\n\n+ Arable land area ('000 km2)\n\n Rank !! Country or region !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 \n 2012\n\n — \n World \n 13,866 \n 13,873 \n 13,880 \n 13,962 \n 13,958\n\n 1 \n \n 1,579 \n 1,578 \n 1,575 \n 1,574 \n 1,562\n\n 2 \n \n 1,631 \n 1,605 \n 1,598 \n 1,602 \n 1,551\n\n 3 \n \n 1,216 \n 1,218 \n 1,200 \n 1,215 \n 1,197\n\n — \n \n 1,091 \n 1,089 \n 1,074 \n 1,074 \n 1,083\n\n 4 \n \n 1,086 \n 1,100 \n 1,114 \n 1,116 \n 1,065\n\n 5 \n \n 702 \n 704 \n 703 \n 719 \n 726\n\n 6 \n \n 440 \n 475\n 426 \n 477 \n 471\n\n 7 \n \n 443 \n 438 \n 434 \n 430 \n 459\n\n 8 \n \n 351 \n 338 \n 372 \n 380 \n 392\n\n 9 \n \n 370 \n 340 \n 360 \n 360 \n 350\n\n 10 \n \n 325 \n 325 \n 325 \n 325 \n 325\n\n\n\n", "Fields in the region of Záhorie in Western Slovakia.\nA field of sunflowers in Cardejón, Spain\n\n\n+Arable land (hectares per person)\n Country Name \n 2013\n\n Afghanistan \n 0.254\n\n Albania \n 0.213\n\n Algeria \n 0.196\n\n American Samoa \n 0.054\n\n Andorra \n 0.038\n\n Angola \n 0.209\n\n Antigua and Barbuda \n 0.044\n\n Argentina \n 0.933\n\n Armenia \n 0.150\n\n Aruba \n 0.019\n\n Australia \n 1.999\n\n Austria \n 0.160\n\n Azerbaijan \n 0.204\n\n Bahamas, The \n 0.021\n\n Bahrain \n 0.001\n\n Bangladesh \n 0.049\n\n Barbados \n 0.039\n\n Belarus \n 0.589\n\n Belgium \n 0.073\n\n Belize \n 0.227\n\n Benin \n 0.262\n\n Bermuda \n 0.005\n\n Bhutan \n 0.133\n\n Bolivia \n 0.427\n\n Bosnia and Herzegovina \n 0.264\n\n Botswana \n 0.125\n\n Brazil \n 0.372\n\n British Virgin Islands \n 0.034\n\n Brunei Darussalam \n 0.012\n\n Bulgaria \n 0.479\n\n Burkina Faso \n 0.363\n\n Burundi \n 0.115\n\n Cabo Verde \n 0.108\n\n Cambodia \n 0.275\n\n Cameroon \n 0.279\n\n Canada \n 1.306\n\n Cayman Islands \n 0.003\n\n Central African Republic \n 0.382\n\n Chad \n 0.373\n\n Channel Islands \n 0.026\n\n Chile \n 0.074\n\n China \n 0.078\n\n Colombia \n 0.036\n\n Comoros \n 0.086\n\n Congo, Dem. Rep. \n 0.098\n\n Congo, Rep. \n 0.125\n\n Costa Rica \n 0.049\n\n Côte d'Ivoire \n 0.134\n\n Croatia \n 0.206\n\n Cuba \n 0.278\n\n Curaçao \n \n\n Cyprus \n 0.070\n\n Czech Republic \n 0.299\n\n Denmark \n 0.429\n\n Djibouti \n 0.002\n\n Dominica \n 0.083\n\n Dominican Republic \n 0.078\n\n Ecuador \n 0.076\n\n Egypt, Arab Rep. \n 0.031\n\n El Salvador \n 0.120\n\n Equatorial Guinea \n 0.151\n\n Eritrea \n \n\n Estonia \n 0.480\n\n Ethiopia \n 0.160\n\n Faroe Islands \n 0.062\n\n Fiji \n 0.187\n\n Finland \n 0.409\n\n France \n 0.277\n\n French Polynesia \n 0.009\n\n Gabon \n 0.197\n\n Gambia, The \n 0.236\n\n Georgia \n 0.119\n\n Germany \n 0.145\n\n Ghana \n 0.180\n\n Gibraltar \n \n\n Greece \n 0.232\n\n Greenland \n 0.016\n\n Grenada \n 0.028\n\n Guam \n 0.006\n\n Guatemala \n 0.064\n\n Guinea \n 0.259\n\n Guinea-Bissau \n 0.171\n\n Guyana \n 0.552\n\n Haiti \n 0.103\n\n Honduras \n 0.130\n\n Hong Kong SAR, China \n 0.000\n\n Hungary \n 0.445\n\n Iceland \n 0.374\n\n India \n 0.123\n\n Indonesia \n 0.094\n\n Iran, Islamic Rep. \n 0.193\n\n Iraq \n 0.147\n\n Ireland \n 0.242\n\n Isle of Man \n 0.253\n\n Israel \n 0.035\n\n Italy \n 0.113\n\n Jamaica \n 0.044\n\n Japan \n 0.033\n\n Jordan \n 0.032\n\n Kazakhstan \n 1.726\n\n Kenya \n 0.133\n\n Kiribati \n 0.018\n\n Korea, Dem. People’s Rep. \n 0.094\n\n Korea, Rep. \n 0.030\n\n Kosovo \n \n\n Kuwait \n 0.003\n\n Kyrgyz Republic \n 0.223\n\n Lao PDR \n 0.226\n\n Latvia \n 0.600\n\n Lebanon \n 0.025\n\n Lesotho \n 0.119\n\n Liberia \n 0.116\n\n Libya \n 0.274\n\n Liechtenstein \n 0.070\n\n Lithuania \n 0.774\n\n Luxembourg \n 0.115\n\n Macao SAR, China \n \n\n Macedonia, FYR \n 0.199\n\n Madagascar \n 0.153\n\n Malawi \n 0.235\n\n Malaysia \n 0.032\n\n Maldives \n 0.010\n\n Mali \n 0.386\n\n Malta \n 0.021\n\n Marshall Islands \n 0.038\n\n Mauritania \n 0.116\n\n Mauritius \n 0.060\n\n Mexico \n 0.186\n\n Micronesia, Fed. Sts. \n 0.019\n\n Moldova \n 0.510\n\n Monaco \n \n\n Mongolia \n 0.198\n\n Montenegro \n 0.013\n\n Morocco \n 0.240\n\n Mozambique \n 0.213\n\n Myanmar \n 0.203\n\n Namibia \n 0.341\n\n Nauru \n \n\n Nepal \n 0.076\n\n Netherlands \n 0.062\n\n New Caledonia \n 0.024\n\n New Zealand \n 0.123\n\n Nicaragua \n 0.253\n\n Niger \n 0.866\n\n Nigeria \n 0.197\n\n Northern Mariana Islands \n 0.019\n\n Norway \n 0.159\n\n Oman \n 0.010\n\n Pakistan \n 0.168\n\n Palau \n 0.048\n\n Panama \n 0.148\n\n Papua New Guinea \n 0.041\n\n Paraguay \n 0.696\n\n Peru \n 0.136\n\n Philippines \n 0.057\n\n Poland \n 0.284\n\n Portugal \n 0.107\n\n Puerto Rico \n 0.017\n\n Qatar \n 0.007\n\n Romania \n 0.438\n\n Russian Federation \n 0.852\n\n Rwanda \n 0.107\n\n Samoa \n 0.042\n\n San Marino \n 0.032\n\n São Tomé and Príncipe \n 0.048\n\n Saudi Arabia \n 0.102\n\n Senegal \n 0.229\n\n Serbia \n 0.460\n\n Seychelles \n 0.001\n\n Sierra Leone \n 0.256\n\n Singapore \n 0.000\n\n Sint Maarten (Dutch part) \n \n\n Slovak Republic \n 0.258\n\n Slovenia \n 0.085\n\n Solomon Islands \n 0.036\n\n Somalia \n 0.107\n\n South Africa \n 0.235\n\n South Sudan \n \n\n Spain \n 0.270\n\n Sri Lanka \n 0.063\n\n St. Kitts and Nevis \n 0.092\n\n St. Lucia \n 0.016\n\n St. Martin (French part) \n \n\n St. Vincent and the Grenadines \n 0.046\n\n Sudan \n 0.345\n\n Suriname \n 0.112\n\n Swaziland \n 0.140\n\n Sweden \n 0.270\n\n Switzerland \n 0.050\n\n Syrian Arab Republic \n 0.241\n\n Tajikistan \n 0.106\n\n Tanzania \n 0.269\n\n Thailand \n 0.249\n\n Timor-Leste \n 0.131\n\n Togo \n 0.382\n\n Tonga \n 0.152\n\n Trinidad and Tobago \n 0.019\n\n Tunisia \n 0.262\n\n Turkey \n 0.270\n\n Turkmenistan \n 0.370\n\n Turks and Caicos Islands \n 0.030\n\n Tuvalu \n \n\n Uganda \n 0.189\n\n Ukraine \n 0.715\n\n United Arab Emirates \n 0.004\n\n United Kingdom \n 0.098\n\n United States \n 0.480\n\n Uruguay \n 0.682\n\n Uzbekistan \n 0.145\n\n Vanuatu \n 0.079\n\n Venezuela, RB \n 0.089\n\n Vietnam \n 0.071\n\n Virgin Islands (U.S.) \n 0.010\n\n West Bank and Gaza \n 0.011\n\n Yemen, Rep. \n 0.049\n\n Zambia \n 0.243\n\n Zimbabwe \n 0.268\n\n", "\nWater Buffalo ploughing rice fields near Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia\nA pasture in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England\nAgricultural land that is not arable according to the FAO definition above includes:\n* Permanent crop - land that produces crops from woody vegetation, e.g. orchardland, vineyards, coffee plantations, rubber plantations, and land producing nut trees; \n* Meadows and pastures - land used as pasture and grazed range, and those natural grasslands and sedge meadows that are used for hay production in some regions. \nOther non-arable land includes land that is not suitable for any agricultural use.\n\nLand that is not arable, in the sense of lacking capability or suitability for cultivation for crop production, has one or more limitations e.g. lack of sufficient fresh water for irrigation, stoniness, steepness, adverse climate, excessive wetness with impracticality of drainage, excessive salts, among others. Although such limitations may preclude cultivation, and some will in some cases preclude any agricultural use, large areas unsuitable for cultivation are agriculturally productive. For example, US NRCS statistics indicate that about 59 percent of US non-federal pasture and unforested rangeland is unsuitable for cultivation, yet such land has value for grazing of livestock. In British Columbia, Canada, 41 percent of the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve area is unsuitable for production of cultivated crops, but is suitable for uncultivated production of forage usable by grazing livestock. Similar examples can be found in many rangeland areas elsewhere.\n\nLand incapable of being cultivated for production of crops can sometimes be converted to arable land. New arable land makes more food, and can reduce starvation. This outcome also makes a country more self-sufficient and politically independent, because food importation is reduced. Making non-arable land arable often involves digging new irrigation canals and new wells, aqueducts, desalination plants, planting trees for shade in the desert, hydroponics, fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides, reverse osmosis water processors, PET film insulation or other insulation against heat and cold, digging ditches and hills for protection against the wind, and greenhouses with internal light and heat for protection against the cold outside and to provide light in cloudy areas. This process is often extremely expensive. An alternative is the Seawater Greenhouse which desalinates water through evaporation and condensation using solar energy as the only energy input. This technology is optimized to grow crops on desert land close to the sea.\n\n(Note: The use of artifices does not make land arable. Rock, still remains rock, and shallow less than 6 feet turnable soil is still considered NONE toilable (IE: None arable). The use of artifice is an open air none recycled water hydroponics relationship. The below described circumstances are not in perspective, have limited duration, and have a tendency to accumulate trace materials in soil that either there or elsewhere cause de-oxination. IE: Use of fast amounts of fertilizer in the United States that end up devastating rivers, water ways and river endings due accumulation of none degradable toxins and Nitrogen bearing molecules that remove oxygen and cause none aerobic processes to form.)\n\nSome examples of infertile '''non-arable''' land being turned into fertile '''arable''' land are:\n* Aran Islands: These islands off the west coast of Ireland, (not to be confused with the Isle of Arran in Scotland's Firth of Clyde), were unsuitable for arable farming because they were too rocky. The people covered the islands with a shallow layer of seaweed and sand from the ocean. Today, crops are grown there, even though, the islands are still considered none arable.\n* Israel: The construction of desalination plants along Israel's coast allowed agriculture in some areas that were formerly desert. The desalination plants, which remove the salt from ocean water, have created a new source of water for farming, drinking, and washing.\n* Slash and burn agriculture uses nutrients in wood ash, but these expire within a few years.\n* Terra preta, fertile tropical soils created by adding charcoal.\n\nSome examples of fertile '''arable''' land being turned into infertile land are:\n* Droughts like the 'dust bowl' of the Great Depression in the U.S. turned farmland into desert.\n* Rainforest deforestation: The fertile tropical forests are converted into infertile desert land. For example, Madagascar's central highland plateau has become virtually totally barren (about ten percent of the country), as a result of slash-and-burn deforestation, an element of shifting cultivation practiced by many natives.\n* Each year, arable land is lost due to desertification and human-induced erosion. Improper irrigation of farm land can wick the sodium, calcium, and magnesium from the soil and water to the surface. This process steadily concentrates salt in the root zone, decreasing productivity for crops that are not salt-tolerant.\n", "* Soil fertility\n* Land use statistics by country\n* List of environment topics\n", "\n", "* Surface area of the Earth\n* Article from Technorati on Shrinking Arable Farmland in the world\n* Arable land: statistics by country\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Arable land area ", " Arable land (hectares per person) ", "Non-arable land", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "In providing statistics on arable land, the FAO and the World Bank use the definition offered in the glossary accompanying FAOSTAT: \"Arable land is the land under temporary agricultural crops (multiple-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow (less than five years).", "0.019\n\n Moldova \n 0.510\n\n Monaco \n \n\n Mongolia \n 0.198\n\n Montenegro \n 0.013\n\n Morocco \n 0.240\n\n Mozambique \n 0.213\n\n Myanmar \n 0.203\n\n Namibia \n 0.341\n\n Nauru \n \n\n Nepal \n 0.076\n\n Netherlands \n 0.062\n\n New Caledonia \n 0.024\n\n New Zealand \n 0.123\n\n Nicaragua \n 0.253\n\n Niger \n 0.866\n\n Nigeria \n 0.197\n\n Northern Mariana Islands \n 0.019\n\n Norway \n 0.159\n\n Oman \n 0.010\n\n Pakistan \n 0.168\n\n Palau \n 0.048\n\n Panama \n 0.148\n\n Papua New Guinea \n 0.041\n\n Paraguay \n 0.696\n\n Peru \n 0.136\n\n Philippines \n 0.057\n\n Poland \n 0.284\n\n Portugal \n 0.107\n\n Puerto Rico \n 0.017\n\n Qatar \n 0.007\n\n Romania \n 0.438\n\n Russian Federation \n 0.852\n\n Rwanda \n 0.107\n\n Samoa \n 0.042\n\n San Marino \n 0.032\n\n São Tomé and Príncipe \n 0.048\n\n Saudi Arabia \n 0.102\n\n Senegal \n 0.229\n\n Serbia \n 0.460\n\n Seychelles \n 0.001\n\n Sierra Leone \n 0.256\n\n Singapore \n 0.000\n\n Sint Maarten (Dutch part) \n \n\n Slovak Republic \n 0.258\n\n Slovenia \n 0.085\n\n Solomon Islands \n 0.036\n\n Somalia \n 0.107\n\n South Africa \n 0.235\n\n South Sudan \n \n\n Spain \n 0.270\n\n Sri Lanka \n 0.063\n\n St. Kitts and Nevis \n 0.092\n\n St. Lucia \n 0.016\n\n St. Martin (French part) \n \n\n St. Vincent and the Grenadines \n 0.046\n\n Sudan \n 0.345\n\n Suriname \n 0.112\n\n Swaziland \n 0.140\n\n Sweden \n 0.270\n\n Switzerland \n 0.050\n\n Syrian Arab Republic \n 0.241\n\n Tajikistan \n 0.106\n\n Tanzania \n 0.269\n\n Thailand \n 0.249\n\n Timor-Leste \n 0.131\n\n Togo \n 0.382\n\n Tonga \n 0.152\n\n Trinidad and Tobago \n 0.019\n\n Tunisia \n 0.262\n\n Turkey \n 0.270\n\n Turkmenistan \n 0.370\n\n Turks and Caicos Islands \n 0.030\n\n Tuvalu \n \n\n Uganda \n 0.189\n\n Ukraine \n 0.715\n\n United Arab Emirates \n 0.004\n\n United Kingdom \n 0.098\n\n United States \n 0.480\n\n Uruguay \n 0.682\n\n Uzbekistan \n 0.145\n\n Vanuatu \n 0.079\n\n Venezuela, RB \n 0.089\n\n Vietnam \n 0.071\n\n Virgin Islands (U.S.) \n 0.010\n\n West Bank and Gaza \n 0.011\n\n Yemen, Rep. \n 0.049\n\n Zambia \n 0.243\n\n Zimbabwe \n 0.268" ]

[ "\nfields like this one in Dorset, England.", "'''Arable land''' (from Latin ''arabilis'', \"able to be plowed\") is, according to one definition, land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.", "In Britain, it was traditionally contrasted with pasturable lands such as heaths which could be used for sheep-rearing but not farmland.", "A quite different kind of definition is used by various agencies concerned with agriculture.", "The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category.", "Data for ‘Arable land’ are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.\"", "A briefer definition appearing in the Eurostat glossary similarly refers to actual, rather than potential use: \"land worked (ploughed or tilled) regularly, generally under a system of crop rotation.\"", "World map of arable land, percentage by country (2006)\n\nAccording to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the world's Arable land amounted to 1,407 M ha, out of a total 4,924 M ha land used for agriculture, as for year 2013.", "+ Arable land area ('000 km2)\n\n Rank !", "!", "Country or region !", "!", "2008 !", "!", "2009 !", "!", "2010 !", "!", "2011 \n 2012\n\n — \n World \n 13,866 \n 13,873 \n 13,880 \n 13,962 \n 13,958\n\n 1 \n \n 1,579 \n 1,578 \n 1,575 \n 1,574 \n 1,562\n\n 2 \n \n 1,631 \n 1,605 \n 1,598 \n 1,602 \n 1,551\n\n 3 \n \n 1,216 \n 1,218 \n 1,200 \n 1,215 \n 1,197\n\n — \n \n 1,091 \n 1,089 \n 1,074 \n 1,074 \n 1,083\n\n 4 \n \n 1,086 \n 1,100 \n 1,114 \n 1,116 \n 1,065\n\n 5 \n \n 702 \n 704 \n 703 \n 719 \n 726\n\n 6 \n \n 440 \n 475\n 426 \n 477 \n 471\n\n 7 \n \n 443 \n 438 \n 434 \n 430 \n 459\n\n 8 \n \n 351 \n 338 \n 372 \n 380 \n 392\n\n 9 \n \n 370 \n 340 \n 360 \n 360 \n 350\n\n 10 \n \n 325 \n 325 \n 325 \n 325 \n 325", "Fields in the region of Záhorie in Western Slovakia.", "A field of sunflowers in Cardejón, Spain\n\n\n+Arable land (hectares per person)\n Country Name \n 2013\n\n Afghanistan \n 0.254\n\n Albania \n 0.213\n\n Algeria \n 0.196\n\n American Samoa \n 0.054\n\n Andorra \n 0.038\n\n Angola \n 0.209\n\n Antigua and Barbuda \n 0.044\n\n Argentina \n 0.933\n\n Armenia \n 0.150\n\n Aruba \n 0.019\n\n Australia \n 1.999\n\n Austria \n 0.160\n\n Azerbaijan \n 0.204\n\n Bahamas, The \n 0.021\n\n Bahrain \n 0.001\n\n Bangladesh \n 0.049\n\n Barbados \n 0.039\n\n Belarus \n 0.589\n\n Belgium \n 0.073\n\n Belize \n 0.227\n\n Benin \n 0.262\n\n Bermuda \n 0.005\n\n Bhutan \n 0.133\n\n Bolivia \n 0.427\n\n Bosnia and Herzegovina \n 0.264\n\n Botswana \n 0.125\n\n Brazil \n 0.372\n\n British Virgin Islands \n 0.034\n\n Brunei Darussalam \n 0.012\n\n Bulgaria \n 0.479\n\n Burkina Faso \n 0.363\n\n Burundi \n 0.115\n\n Cabo Verde \n 0.108\n\n Cambodia \n 0.275\n\n Cameroon \n 0.279\n\n Canada \n 1.306\n\n Cayman Islands \n 0.003\n\n Central African Republic \n 0.382\n\n Chad \n 0.373\n\n Channel Islands \n 0.026\n\n Chile \n 0.074\n\n China \n 0.078\n\n Colombia \n 0.036\n\n Comoros \n 0.086\n\n Congo, Dem.", "Rep. \n 0.098\n\n Congo, Rep. \n 0.125\n\n Costa Rica \n 0.049\n\n Côte d'Ivoire \n 0.134\n\n Croatia \n 0.206\n\n Cuba \n 0.278\n\n Curaçao \n \n\n Cyprus \n 0.070\n\n Czech Republic \n 0.299\n\n Denmark \n 0.429\n\n Djibouti \n 0.002\n\n Dominica \n 0.083\n\n Dominican Republic \n 0.078\n\n Ecuador \n 0.076\n\n Egypt, Arab Rep. \n 0.031\n\n El Salvador \n 0.120\n\n Equatorial Guinea \n 0.151\n\n Eritrea \n \n\n Estonia \n 0.480\n\n Ethiopia \n 0.160\n\n Faroe Islands \n 0.062\n\n Fiji \n 0.187\n\n Finland \n 0.409\n\n France \n 0.277\n\n French Polynesia \n 0.009\n\n Gabon \n 0.197\n\n Gambia, The \n 0.236\n\n Georgia \n 0.119\n\n Germany \n 0.145\n\n Ghana \n 0.180\n\n Gibraltar \n \n\n Greece \n 0.232\n\n Greenland \n 0.016\n\n Grenada \n 0.028\n\n Guam \n 0.006\n\n Guatemala \n 0.064\n\n Guinea \n 0.259\n\n Guinea-Bissau \n 0.171\n\n Guyana \n 0.552\n\n Haiti \n 0.103\n\n Honduras \n 0.130\n\n Hong Kong SAR, China \n 0.000\n\n Hungary \n 0.445\n\n Iceland \n 0.374\n\n India \n 0.123\n\n Indonesia \n 0.094\n\n Iran, Islamic Rep. \n 0.193\n\n Iraq \n 0.147\n\n Ireland \n 0.242\n\n Isle of Man \n 0.253\n\n Israel \n 0.035\n\n Italy \n 0.113\n\n Jamaica \n 0.044\n\n Japan \n 0.033\n\n Jordan \n 0.032\n\n Kazakhstan \n 1.726\n\n Kenya \n 0.133\n\n Kiribati \n 0.018\n\n Korea, Dem.", "People’s Rep. \n 0.094\n\n Korea, Rep. \n 0.030\n\n Kosovo \n \n\n Kuwait \n 0.003\n\n Kyrgyz Republic \n 0.223\n\n Lao PDR \n 0.226\n\n Latvia \n 0.600\n\n Lebanon \n 0.025\n\n Lesotho \n 0.119\n\n Liberia \n 0.116\n\n Libya \n 0.274\n\n Liechtenstein \n 0.070\n\n Lithuania \n 0.774\n\n Luxembourg \n 0.115\n\n Macao SAR, China \n \n\n Macedonia, FYR \n 0.199\n\n Madagascar \n 0.153\n\n Malawi \n 0.235\n\n Malaysia \n 0.032\n\n Maldives \n 0.010\n\n Mali \n 0.386\n\n Malta \n 0.021\n\n Marshall Islands \n 0.038\n\n Mauritania \n 0.116\n\n Mauritius \n 0.060\n\n Mexico \n 0.186\n\n Micronesia, Fed.", "Sts.", "\nWater Buffalo ploughing rice fields near Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia\nA pasture in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England\nAgricultural land that is not arable according to the FAO definition above includes:\n* Permanent crop - land that produces crops from woody vegetation, e.g.", "orchardland, vineyards, coffee plantations, rubber plantations, and land producing nut trees; \n* Meadows and pastures - land used as pasture and grazed range, and those natural grasslands and sedge meadows that are used for hay production in some regions.", "Other non-arable land includes land that is not suitable for any agricultural use.", "Land that is not arable, in the sense of lacking capability or suitability for cultivation for crop production, has one or more limitations e.g.", "lack of sufficient fresh water for irrigation, stoniness, steepness, adverse climate, excessive wetness with impracticality of drainage, excessive salts, among others.", "Although such limitations may preclude cultivation, and some will in some cases preclude any agricultural use, large areas unsuitable for cultivation are agriculturally productive.", "For example, US NRCS statistics indicate that about 59 percent of US non-federal pasture and unforested rangeland is unsuitable for cultivation, yet such land has value for grazing of livestock.", "In British Columbia, Canada, 41 percent of the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve area is unsuitable for production of cultivated crops, but is suitable for uncultivated production of forage usable by grazing livestock.", "Similar examples can be found in many rangeland areas elsewhere.", "Land incapable of being cultivated for production of crops can sometimes be converted to arable land.", "New arable land makes more food, and can reduce starvation.", "This outcome also makes a country more self-sufficient and politically independent, because food importation is reduced.", "Making non-arable land arable often involves digging new irrigation canals and new wells, aqueducts, desalination plants, planting trees for shade in the desert, hydroponics, fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides, reverse osmosis water processors, PET film insulation or other insulation against heat and cold, digging ditches and hills for protection against the wind, and greenhouses with internal light and heat for protection against the cold outside and to provide light in cloudy areas.", "This process is often extremely expensive.", "An alternative is the Seawater Greenhouse which desalinates water through evaporation and condensation using solar energy as the only energy input.", "This technology is optimized to grow crops on desert land close to the sea.", "(Note: The use of artifices does not make land arable.", "Rock, still remains rock, and shallow less than 6 feet turnable soil is still considered NONE toilable (IE: None arable).", "The use of artifice is an open air none recycled water hydroponics relationship.", "The below described circumstances are not in perspective, have limited duration, and have a tendency to accumulate trace materials in soil that either there or elsewhere cause de-oxination.", "IE: Use of fast amounts of fertilizer in the United States that end up devastating rivers, water ways and river endings due accumulation of none degradable toxins and Nitrogen bearing molecules that remove oxygen and cause none aerobic processes to form.)", "Some examples of infertile '''non-arable''' land being turned into fertile '''arable''' land are:\n* Aran Islands: These islands off the west coast of Ireland, (not to be confused with the Isle of Arran in Scotland's Firth of Clyde), were unsuitable for arable farming because they were too rocky.", "The people covered the islands with a shallow layer of seaweed and sand from the ocean.", "Today, crops are grown there, even though, the islands are still considered none arable.", "* Israel: The construction of desalination plants along Israel's coast allowed agriculture in some areas that were formerly desert.", "The desalination plants, which remove the salt from ocean water, have created a new source of water for farming, drinking, and washing.", "* Slash and burn agriculture uses nutrients in wood ash, but these expire within a few years.", "* Terra preta, fertile tropical soils created by adding charcoal.", "Some examples of fertile '''arable''' land being turned into infertile land are:\n* Droughts like the 'dust bowl' of the Great Depression in the U.S. turned farmland into desert.", "* Rainforest deforestation: The fertile tropical forests are converted into infertile desert land.", "For example, Madagascar's central highland plateau has become virtually totally barren (about ten percent of the country), as a result of slash-and-burn deforestation, an element of shifting cultivation practiced by many natives.", "* Each year, arable land is lost due to desertification and human-induced erosion.", "Improper irrigation of farm land can wick the sodium, calcium, and magnesium from the soil and water to the surface.", "This process steadily concentrates salt in the root zone, decreasing productivity for crops that are not salt-tolerant.", "* Soil fertility\n* Land use statistics by country\n* List of environment topics", "* Surface area of the Earth\n* Article from Technorati on Shrinking Arable Farmland in the world\n* Arable land: statistics by country" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Antigua and Barbuda''' (; ) is a sovereign state in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guiana, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population numbers about 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.\n\nLying near each other (the main Barbuda airport is less than 0.5° of latitude, or 30 nautical miles, north of the main Antigua airport), Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17°N of the equator. The country's name was given by Christopher Columbus in 1493 after discovering the island, in honor of the Virgin of La Antigua in the Seville Cathedral. The country is nicknamed \"Land of 365 Beaches\" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part, gaining sovereignty on 1 November 1981. It remains a member of the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. \n\nIn September 2017, Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed 95% of Barbuda's buildings and infrastructure. Everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua. The island struggled to accommodate the additional population. On September 18, Hurricane Watches were issued for the island again ahead of Hurricane Maria.\n", "'''' is Spanish for \"ancient\" and '''' is Spanish for \"bearded\". The island of Antigua, originally called '''' by Arawaks, is today called ''Wadadli'' by locals; Caribs possibly called it ''''. Christopher Columbus, while sailing by in 1493 may have named it Santa Maria la Antigua, after an icon in the Spanish Seville Cathedral.\n", "\n\nAntigua was first settled by archaic age hunter-gatherer Amerindians called the Siboney or Ciboney. Carbon dating has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.\n\nThe Arawaks introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua black pineapple (Moris cultivar of ''Ananas comosus''), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton.\n\nThe indigenous West Indians made excellent seagoing vessels which they used to sail around on the Atlantic and the Caribbean. As a result, Caribs and Arawaks were able to colonise much of South America and the Caribbean Islands. Their descendants still live there, notably in Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia.\n\nMost Arawaks left Antigua around 1100 AD; those who remained were later raided by the Caribs. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', the Caribs' superior weapons and seafaring prowess allowed them to defeat most of the West Indian Arawak nations, enslaving some and possibly cannibalising others.\nAntigua in 1823\n\nThe ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' makes it clear that the European invaders had difficulty differentiating between the various groups of the native peoples they encountered. As a result, the number and types of ethnic/tribal groups in existence at that time may have been much more varied and numerous than just the two mentioned in this article.\n\nEuropean and African diseases, malnutrition, and slavery eventually killed most of the Caribbean's native population. Smallpox was probably the greatest killer. Some historians believe that the psychological stress of slavery may also have played a part in the massive number of deaths amongst enslaved natives. Others believe the reportedly abundant but starchy, low-protein diet may have contributed to their severe malnutrition as they were used to a diet fortified with protein from the sea.\n\nThe Spaniards did not colonise Antigua because it lacked fresh water but not aggressive Caribs. The English settled on Antigua in 1632; Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda in 1684. Slavery, established to run sugar plantations around 1684, was abolished in 1834. The British ruled from 1632 to 1981, with a brief French interlude in 1666.\n\nThe islands became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981, with Elizabeth II as the first Queen of Antigua and Barbuda. Vere Cornwall Bird Sr became the first Prime Minister.\n\nMost of Barbuda was devastated in early September 2017 by Hurricane Irma, which brought winds with speeds reaching 295 km/h (185 mph). The storm damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings and infrastructure, leaving Barbuda \"barely habitable\" according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Nearly everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua.\n", "\n\nA map of Antigua and Barbuda\nEnglish Harbour, Antigua\nAntigua and Barbuda both are generally low-lying islands whose terrain has been influenced more by limestone formations than volcanic activity. The highest point on Antigua is Mount Obama (formerly Boggy Peak), the remnant of a volcanic crater rising .\n\nThe shorelines of both islands are greatly indented with beaches, lagoons, and natural harbours. The islands are rimmed by reefs and shoals. There are few streams as rainfall is slight. Both islands lack adequate amounts of fresh groundwater.\n\n===Islands===\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Antigua'''\n** Prickly Pear Island\n** Great Bird Island\n** Galley Island Major\n** Galley Island Minor\n** Jenny Island\n** Exchange Island\n** Rabbit Island\n** Lobster Island\n** Long Island\n** Maiden Island\n** Rat Island\n** Little Bird Island\n** Hells Gate Island\n** Monocle Point Island\n** Red Head Island\n** Guiana Island\n** Crump Island\n** Nanny Island (Henry Island)\n** Laviscounts Island\n** Bird Island\n** Round Island\n** Hawes Island\n** Little Island\n** Green Island\n** Pelican Island\n** York Island\n** Codrington Island\n\n* Blake Island\n* Cinnamon Island\n* Five Islands\n* Hawksbill Rock\n* Johnson Island\n* Maiden Island\n* Moor Rock\n* Mouse Island\n* Neck of Land\n* Sandy Island\n* Smith Island\n* The Sisters\n* Vernon’s Island\n* Wicked Will Island\n'''Barbuda'''\n* Goat Island\n* Kid Island\n* Man of War Island\n* Rabbit Island\n'''Redonda'''\n\n\n=== Climate ===\nRainfall averages per year, with the amount varying widely from season to season. In general the wettest period is between September and November. The islands generally experience low humidity and recurrent droughts. Temperatures average , with a range from to in the winter to from to in the summer and autumn. The coolest period is between December and February.\n\nHurricanes strike on an average of once a year, including the powerful Category 5 Hurricane Irma, on 6 September 2017, which damaged 95% of the structures on Barbuda. Some 1,800 people were evacuated to Antigua. \n\nAn estimate published by ''Time'' indicated that over $100 million would be required to rebuild homes and infrastructure. Philmore Mullin, Director of Barbuda's National Office of Disaster Services, said that \"all critical infrastructure and utilities are non-existent – food supply, medicine, shelter, electricity, water, communications, waste management\". He summarised the situation as follows: \"Public utilities need to be rebuilt in their entirety... It is optimistic to think anything can be rebuilt in six months ... In my 25 years in disaster management, I have never seen something like this.\"\n\n=== Ecology ===\nThe sandy soil on much of the islands has only scrub vegetation. Some parts of Antigua are more fertile–most notably the central plain–due to the volcanic ash in the soil. These areas support some tropical vegetation and agricultural uses. The planting of acacia, mahogany, and red and white cedar on Antigua has led to as much as 11% of the land becoming forested, helping to conserve the soil and water.\n", "\n===Political system===\n\n\nDowntown St. John's on Antigua.\nThe politics of Antigua and Barbuda take place within a framework of a unitary, parliamentary, representative democratic monarchy, in which the Head of State is the Monarch who appoints the Governor General as vice-regal representative. Elizabeth II is the present Queen of Antigua and Barbuda, having served in that position since the islands' independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. The Queen is currently represented by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams. A Council of Ministers is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, currently Gaston Browne (2014–). The Prime Minister is the Head of Government.\n\nExecutive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in both the government and the two Chambers of Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17 members appointed by members of the government and the opposition party, and approved by the Governor-General), and the House of Representatives (17 members elected by first past the post) to serve five-year terms.\n\nThe current Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition is the United Progressive Party Member of Parliament (MP), the Honourable Baldwin Spencer.\n\n=== Political culture ===\nSt. John's parish on Antigua.\n\nGaston Browne defeated his predecessor Lester Bryant Bird at the Antigua Labour Party's biennial convention in November 2012 held to elect a political leader and other officers. The party then altered its name from the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) to the Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP). This was done to officially include the party's presence on the sister island of Barbuda in its organisation, the only political party on the mainland to have a physical branch in Barbuda.\n\nThe last elections held were on 12 June 2014, during which the Antigua Labour Party won 14 seats, and the United Progressive Party 3 seats.\n\nSince 1949, the party system had been dominated by the populist Antigua Labour Party. However, the Antigua and Barbuda legislative election of 2004 saw the defeat of the longest-serving elected government in the Caribbean. Prime Minister Lester Bryant Bird, who had succeeded his father Vere Cornwall Bird Sr., and Deputy Robin Yearwood had been in office since 1976.\n\nThe elder Bird was Prime Minister from 1981 to 1994 and Chief Minister of Antigua from 1960 to 1981, except for the 1971–1976 period when the Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) defeated his party. Vere Cornwall Bird, the nation's first Prime Minister, is credited with having brought Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean into a new era of independence.\n\n=== Judiciary ===\nThe Judicial branch is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court of Justice). Antigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council serves as its Supreme Court of Appeal.\n\n===Foreign relations===\n\n\nAntigua and Barbuda is a member of the United Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Caribbean Community, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the Organization of American States, the World Trade Organization and the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System.\n\nAntigua and Barbuda is also a member of the International Criminal Court (with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of Protection for the US military as covered under Article 98 of the Rome Statute).\n\nIn 2013, Antigua and Barbuda called for reparations for slavery at the United Nations. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said \"We have recently seen a number of leaders apologising\", and that they should now \"match their words with concrete and material benefits\".\n\n===Military===\n\n\nThe Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force has around 260 members dispersed between the line infantry regiment, service and support unit and coast guard. There is also the Antigua and Barbuda Cadet Corps made up of 200 teenagers between the ages of 12 to 18.\n\n===Administrative divisions===\n\n\nAntigua and Barbuda is divided into six parishes and two dependencies:\nParishes of Antigua\n\n\n\n* Parishes\n*# Saint George\n*# Saint John\n*# Saint Mary\n*# Saint Paul\n*# Saint Peter\n*# Saint Philip\n* Dependencies\n*# Barbuda\n*# Redonda\n\n\n\n\nNote: Though Barbuda and Redonda are called dependencies they are integral parts of the state, making them essentially administrative divisions. Dependency is simply a title.\n", "\nA proportional representation of Antigua and Barbuda's exports.\nTourism dominates the economy, accounting for more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts. Weak tourist activity since early 2000 has slowed the economy, however, and squeezed the government into a tight fiscal corner.\n\nInvestment banking and financial services also make up an important part of the economy. Major world banks with offices in Antigua include the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Scotiabank. Financial-services corporations with offices in Antigua include PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, owned by Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, of orchestrating a huge fraud which may have bilked investors of some $8 billion. (check status 20100312)\n\nThe twin-island nation's agricultural production is focused on its domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labour shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction work.\n\nManufacturing is made up of enclave-type assembly for export, the major products being bedding, handicrafts and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialised world, especially in the United States, from which about one-third of all tourists come.\n\nFollowing the opening of the American University of Antigua College of Medicine by investor and attorney Neil Simon in 2003, a new source of revenue was established. The university employs many local Antiguans and the approximate 1000 students consume a large amount of the goods and services.\n", "\nAntigua & Barbuda's population (1961–2010). Number of inhabitants in thousands.\n\n===Ethnic groups===\nAntigua has a population of , mostly made up of people of West African, British, and Madeiran descent. The ethnic distribution consists of 91% Black & Mulatto, 4.4% mixed race, 1.7% White, and 2.9% other (primarily East Indian and other Asian). Most Whites are of Irish or British descent. Christian Levantine Arabs, and a small number of Asians and Sephardic Jews make up the remainder of the population.\n\nAn increasingly large percentage of the population lives abroad, most notably in the United Kingdom (Antiguan Britons), United States and Canada. A minority of Antiguan residents are immigrants from other countries, particularly from Dominica, Guyana and Jamaica, and, increasing, from the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Nigeria. An estimated 4,500 American citizens also make their home in Antigua and Barbuda, making their numbers one of the largest American populations in the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.\n\n===Languages===\nEnglish is the official language. The Barbudan accent is slightly different from the Antiguan.\n\nIn the years before Antigua and Barbuda's independence, Standard English was widely spoken in preference to Antiguan Creole. Generally, the upper and middle classes shun Antiguan Creole. The educational system dissuades the use of Antiguan Creole and instruction is done in Standard (British) English.\n\nMany of the words used in the Antiguan dialect are derived from British as well as African languages. This can be easily seen in phrases such as: \"Ent it?\" meaning \"Ain't it?\" which is itself dialectal and means \"Isn't it?\". Common island proverbs can often be traced to Africa.\n\nSpanish is spoken by around 10,000 inhabitants.\n\n===Largest cities===\n\n\n\n\n===Religion===\nSt. John's Cathedral, St. John's\n\nA majority of 77% of Antiguans are Christians, with the Anglicans (17,6%) being the largest single denomination. Other Christian denominations present are Seventh-day Adventist Church (12,4%), Pentecostalism (12,2%), Moravian Church (8,3%), Roman Catholics\n(8,2%), Methodist Church (5,6%), Wesleyan Holiness Church (4,5%), Church of God (4,1%), Baptists (3,6%), Mormons (<1,0%), and Jehovah's Witnesses.\n\nNon-Christian religions practised in the islands include the Rastafari, Islam, and Bahá'í Faith.\n\n===Education===\n\nAntigua & Barbuda has a greater than 90% literacy rate. In 1998, Antigua and Barbuda adopted a national mandate to become the pre-eminent provider of medical services in the Caribbean. As part of this mission, Antigua and Barbuda built the most technologically advanced hospital in the Caribbean, the Mt. St. John Medical Centre. The island of Antigua currently has two foreign-owned for-profit offshore medical schools, the American University of Antigua (AUA), founded in 2004, and The University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA), founded in 1982. The island's sole medical schools cater mostly to foreign students but contribute tremendously to the local economy and health care and help give the small country international attention.\n\nThere is also a government owned state college in Antigua as well as the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Information Technology (ABIIT) and the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI). The University of the West Indies has a branch in Antigua for locals to continue university studies.\n\nAntigua has two international primary/secondary schools Including CCSET International, which offers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, and Island Academy, which offers the International Baccalaureate. There are also many other private schools but these institutions tend to follow the same local curriculum (CXCs) as government schools. Both international schools are relatively inexperienced with offering international degrees. CCSET international has existed for several years but only began offering an International Degree in 2007. While CCSET's graduating classes have consistently been awarded the OSSD, this is somewhat controversial because CCSET students receive their diplomas from one of CCSET's (constantly changing) partner schools based in Ontario.\n", "\n\nThe culture is predominantly a mixture of West African and British cultural influences.\n\nCricket is the national sport and Antigua has produced several famous cricket players including Sir Vivian Richards, Anderson \"Andy\" Roberts, and Richard \"Richie\" Richardson. Other popular sports include football, boat racing and surfing. (Antigua Sailing Week attracts locals and visitors from all over the world).\n\nAmerican popular culture and fashion also have a heavy influence. Most of the country's media is made up of major United States networks. Many Antiguans prefer to make shopping trips to San Juan, Puerto Rico.\n\nFamily and religion play an important roles in the lives of Antiguans. Most attend religious services on Sunday, although there is a growing number of Seventh-day Adventists who observe the Sabbath on Saturday.\n\nCalypso and soca music, both originating primarily out of Trinidad, are important in Antigua and Barbuda.\n\n===Festivals===\n\nThe national Carnival held each August commemorates the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, although on some islands, Carnival may celebrate the coming of Lent. Its festive pageants, shows, contests and other activities are a major tourist attraction.\n\n===Cuisine===\n\n\nCorn and sweet potatoes play an important role in Antiguan cuisine. For example, a popular Antiguan dish, Dukuna is a sweet, steamed dumpling made from grated sweet potatoes, flour and spices. One of the Antiguan staple foods, fungi , is a cooked paste made of cornmeal and water.\n\n===Media===\nThere are two daily newspapers: the \"Daily Observer\" and \"Caribbean Times\". Besides most American television networks, the local channel ABS TV 10 is available (it is the only station which shows exclusively local programs). There are also several local and regional radio stations, such as V2C-AM 620, ZDK-AM 1100, VYBZ-FM 92.9, ZDK-FM 97.1, Observer Radio 91.1 FM, DNECA Radio 90.1 FM, Second Advent Radio 101.5 FM, Abundant Life Radio 103.9 FM, Crusader Radio 107.3 FM, Nice FM 104.3\n\n===Sports===\n\n\nThe Antigua Recreation Ground.\nThe Antigua and Barbuda national cricket team represented the country at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, but Antiguan cricketers otherwise play for the Leeward Islands cricket team in domestic matches and the West Indies cricket team internationally. The 2007 Cricket World Cup was hosted in the West Indies from 11 March to 28 April 2007.\n\nAntigua hosted eight matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which was completed on 11 February 2007 and can hold up to 20,000 people.\nAntigua is a Host of Stanford Twenty20 – Twenty20 Cricket, a version started by Allen Stanford in 2006 as a regional cricket game with almost all Caribbean islands taking part. Antiguan Viv Richards scored the fastest Test Century and Brian Lara twice scored the World Test Record at the Antigua Recreation Ground.\n\nRugby and netball are popular as well.\n\nAssociation football, or soccer, is also a very popular sport. Antigua has a national football team which entered World Cup qualification for the 1974 tournament and for 1986 and onwards. A professional team was formed in 2011, Antigua Barracuda FC, which played in the USL Pro, a lower professional league in the USA. The nation's team had a major achievement in 2012, getting out of its preliminary group for the 2014 World Cup, notably due to a victory over powerful Haiti. In its first game in the next CONCACAF group play on 8 June 2012 in Tampa, FL, Antigua and Barbuda, comprising 17 Barracuda players and 7 from the lower English professional leagues, scored a goal against the United States, authored by Peter Byers; however, the team lost 3:1 to the US.\n\nAthletics are popular. Talented athletes are trained from a young age, and Antigua and Barbuda has produced a few fairly adept athletes. Janill Williams, a young athlete with much promise comes from Gray's Farm, Antigua. Sonia Williams and Heather Samuel represented Antigua and Barbuda at the Olympic Games. Other prominent rising stars include Brendan Christian (100 m, 200 m), Daniel Bailey (100 m, 200 m) and James Grayman (high jump).\n", "\n* Outline of Antigua and Barbuda\n* Index of Antigua and Barbuda-related articles\n* Bibliography of Antigua and Barbuda\n* \n\n", "\n\n", "\n\n* \n* A comprehensive tourist guide to Antigua and Barbuda\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda, United States Library of Congress\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda from the BBC News\n* World Bank's country data profile for Antigua and Barbuda\n* ArchaeologyAntigua.org – 2010March13 source of archaeological information for Antigua and Barbuda\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Etymology ", "History", "Geography", "Governance", "Economy", "Demographics", "Culture", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Major world banks with offices in Antigua include the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Scotiabank.", "The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, owned by Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, of orchestrating a huge fraud which may have bilked investors of some $8 billion.", "\n\n* \n* A comprehensive tourist guide to Antigua and Barbuda\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda, United States Library of Congress\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''\n* \n* Antigua and Barbuda from the BBC News\n* World Bank's country data profile for Antigua and Barbuda\n* ArchaeologyAntigua.org – 2010March13 source of archaeological information for Antigua and Barbuda" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Antigua and Barbuda''' (; ) is a sovereign state in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.", "It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guiana, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda).", "The permanent population numbers about 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.", "Lying near each other (the main Barbuda airport is less than 0.5° of latitude, or 30 nautical miles, north of the main Antigua airport), Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17°N of the equator.", "The country's name was given by Christopher Columbus in 1493 after discovering the island, in honor of the Virgin of La Antigua in the Seville Cathedral.", "The country is nicknamed \"Land of 365 Beaches\" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands.", "Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part, gaining sovereignty on 1 November 1981.", "It remains a member of the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state.", "In September 2017, Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed 95% of Barbuda's buildings and infrastructure.", "Everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua.", "The island struggled to accommodate the additional population.", "On September 18, Hurricane Watches were issued for the island again ahead of Hurricane Maria.", "'''' is Spanish for \"ancient\" and '''' is Spanish for \"bearded\".", "The island of Antigua, originally called '''' by Arawaks, is today called ''Wadadli'' by locals; Caribs possibly called it ''''.", "Christopher Columbus, while sailing by in 1493 may have named it Santa Maria la Antigua, after an icon in the Spanish Seville Cathedral.", "\n\nAntigua was first settled by archaic age hunter-gatherer Amerindians called the Siboney or Ciboney.", "Carbon dating has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC.", "They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.", "The Arawaks introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua black pineapple (Moris cultivar of ''Ananas comosus''), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton.", "The indigenous West Indians made excellent seagoing vessels which they used to sail around on the Atlantic and the Caribbean.", "As a result, Caribs and Arawaks were able to colonise much of South America and the Caribbean Islands.", "Their descendants still live there, notably in Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia.", "Most Arawaks left Antigua around 1100 AD; those who remained were later raided by the Caribs.", "According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', the Caribs' superior weapons and seafaring prowess allowed them to defeat most of the West Indian Arawak nations, enslaving some and possibly cannibalising others.", "Antigua in 1823\n\nThe ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' makes it clear that the European invaders had difficulty differentiating between the various groups of the native peoples they encountered.", "As a result, the number and types of ethnic/tribal groups in existence at that time may have been much more varied and numerous than just the two mentioned in this article.", "European and African diseases, malnutrition, and slavery eventually killed most of the Caribbean's native population.", "Smallpox was probably the greatest killer.", "Some historians believe that the psychological stress of slavery may also have played a part in the massive number of deaths amongst enslaved natives.", "Others believe the reportedly abundant but starchy, low-protein diet may have contributed to their severe malnutrition as they were used to a diet fortified with protein from the sea.", "The Spaniards did not colonise Antigua because it lacked fresh water but not aggressive Caribs.", "The English settled on Antigua in 1632; Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda in 1684.", "Slavery, established to run sugar plantations around 1684, was abolished in 1834.", "The British ruled from 1632 to 1981, with a brief French interlude in 1666.", "The islands became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981, with Elizabeth II as the first Queen of Antigua and Barbuda.", "Vere Cornwall Bird Sr became the first Prime Minister.", "Most of Barbuda was devastated in early September 2017 by Hurricane Irma, which brought winds with speeds reaching 295 km/h (185 mph).", "The storm damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings and infrastructure, leaving Barbuda \"barely habitable\" according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne.", "Nearly everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua.", "\n\nA map of Antigua and Barbuda\nEnglish Harbour, Antigua\nAntigua and Barbuda both are generally low-lying islands whose terrain has been influenced more by limestone formations than volcanic activity.", "The highest point on Antigua is Mount Obama (formerly Boggy Peak), the remnant of a volcanic crater rising .", "The shorelines of both islands are greatly indented with beaches, lagoons, and natural harbours.", "The islands are rimmed by reefs and shoals.", "There are few streams as rainfall is slight.", "Both islands lack adequate amounts of fresh groundwater.", "===Islands===\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Antigua'''\n** Prickly Pear Island\n** Great Bird Island\n** Galley Island Major\n** Galley Island Minor\n** Jenny Island\n** Exchange Island\n** Rabbit Island\n** Lobster Island\n** Long Island\n** Maiden Island\n** Rat Island\n** Little Bird Island\n** Hells Gate Island\n** Monocle Point Island\n** Red Head Island\n** Guiana Island\n** Crump Island\n** Nanny Island (Henry Island)\n** Laviscounts Island\n** Bird Island\n** Round Island\n** Hawes Island\n** Little Island\n** Green Island\n** Pelican Island\n** York Island\n** Codrington Island\n\n* Blake Island\n* Cinnamon Island\n* Five Islands\n* Hawksbill Rock\n* Johnson Island\n* Maiden Island\n* Moor Rock\n* Mouse Island\n* Neck of Land\n* Sandy Island\n* Smith Island\n* The Sisters\n* Vernon’s Island\n* Wicked Will Island\n'''Barbuda'''\n* Goat Island\n* Kid Island\n* Man of War Island\n* Rabbit Island\n'''Redonda'''\n\n\n=== Climate ===\nRainfall averages per year, with the amount varying widely from season to season.", "In general the wettest period is between September and November.", "The islands generally experience low humidity and recurrent droughts.", "Temperatures average , with a range from to in the winter to from to in the summer and autumn.", "The coolest period is between December and February.", "Hurricanes strike on an average of once a year, including the powerful Category 5 Hurricane Irma, on 6 September 2017, which damaged 95% of the structures on Barbuda.", "Some 1,800 people were evacuated to Antigua.", "An estimate published by ''Time'' indicated that over $100 million would be required to rebuild homes and infrastructure.", "Philmore Mullin, Director of Barbuda's National Office of Disaster Services, said that \"all critical infrastructure and utilities are non-existent – food supply, medicine, shelter, electricity, water, communications, waste management\".", "He summarised the situation as follows: \"Public utilities need to be rebuilt in their entirety...", "It is optimistic to think anything can be rebuilt in six months ...", "In my 25 years in disaster management, I have never seen something like this.\"", "=== Ecology ===\nThe sandy soil on much of the islands has only scrub vegetation.", "Some parts of Antigua are more fertile–most notably the central plain–due to the volcanic ash in the soil.", "These areas support some tropical vegetation and agricultural uses.", "The planting of acacia, mahogany, and red and white cedar on Antigua has led to as much as 11% of the land becoming forested, helping to conserve the soil and water.", "\n===Political system===\n\n\nDowntown St. John's on Antigua.", "The politics of Antigua and Barbuda take place within a framework of a unitary, parliamentary, representative democratic monarchy, in which the Head of State is the Monarch who appoints the Governor General as vice-regal representative.", "Elizabeth II is the present Queen of Antigua and Barbuda, having served in that position since the islands' independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.", "The Queen is currently represented by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams.", "A Council of Ministers is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, currently Gaston Browne (2014–).", "The Prime Minister is the Head of Government.", "Executive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in both the government and the two Chambers of Parliament.", "The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17 members appointed by members of the government and the opposition party, and approved by the Governor-General), and the House of Representatives (17 members elected by first past the post) to serve five-year terms.", "The current Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition is the United Progressive Party Member of Parliament (MP), the Honourable Baldwin Spencer.", "=== Political culture ===\nSt. John's parish on Antigua.", "Gaston Browne defeated his predecessor Lester Bryant Bird at the Antigua Labour Party's biennial convention in November 2012 held to elect a political leader and other officers.", "The party then altered its name from the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) to the Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP).", "This was done to officially include the party's presence on the sister island of Barbuda in its organisation, the only political party on the mainland to have a physical branch in Barbuda.", "The last elections held were on 12 June 2014, during which the Antigua Labour Party won 14 seats, and the United Progressive Party 3 seats.", "Since 1949, the party system had been dominated by the populist Antigua Labour Party.", "However, the Antigua and Barbuda legislative election of 2004 saw the defeat of the longest-serving elected government in the Caribbean.", "Prime Minister Lester Bryant Bird, who had succeeded his father Vere Cornwall Bird Sr., and Deputy Robin Yearwood had been in office since 1976.", "The elder Bird was Prime Minister from 1981 to 1994 and Chief Minister of Antigua from 1960 to 1981, except for the 1971–1976 period when the Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) defeated his party.", "Vere Cornwall Bird, the nation's first Prime Minister, is credited with having brought Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean into a new era of independence.", "=== Judiciary ===\nThe Judicial branch is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court of Justice).", "Antigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice.", "The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council serves as its Supreme Court of Appeal.", "===Foreign relations===\n\n\nAntigua and Barbuda is a member of the United Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Caribbean Community, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the Organization of American States, the World Trade Organization and the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System.", "Antigua and Barbuda is also a member of the International Criminal Court (with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of Protection for the US military as covered under Article 98 of the Rome Statute).", "In 2013, Antigua and Barbuda called for reparations for slavery at the United Nations.", "Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said \"We have recently seen a number of leaders apologising\", and that they should now \"match their words with concrete and material benefits\".", "===Military===\n\n\nThe Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force has around 260 members dispersed between the line infantry regiment, service and support unit and coast guard.", "There is also the Antigua and Barbuda Cadet Corps made up of 200 teenagers between the ages of 12 to 18.", "===Administrative divisions===\n\n\nAntigua and Barbuda is divided into six parishes and two dependencies:\nParishes of Antigua\n\n\n\n* Parishes\n*# Saint George\n*# Saint John\n*# Saint Mary\n*# Saint Paul\n*# Saint Peter\n*# Saint Philip\n* Dependencies\n*# Barbuda\n*# Redonda\n\n\n\n\nNote: Though Barbuda and Redonda are called dependencies they are integral parts of the state, making them essentially administrative divisions.", "Dependency is simply a title.", "\nA proportional representation of Antigua and Barbuda's exports.", "Tourism dominates the economy, accounting for more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).", "Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts.", "Weak tourist activity since early 2000 has slowed the economy, however, and squeezed the government into a tight fiscal corner.", "Investment banking and financial services also make up an important part of the economy.", "Financial-services corporations with offices in Antigua include PriceWaterhouseCoopers.", "(check status 20100312)\n\nThe twin-island nation's agricultural production is focused on its domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labour shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction work.", "Manufacturing is made up of enclave-type assembly for export, the major products being bedding, handicrafts and electronic components.", "Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialised world, especially in the United States, from which about one-third of all tourists come.", "Following the opening of the American University of Antigua College of Medicine by investor and attorney Neil Simon in 2003, a new source of revenue was established.", "The university employs many local Antiguans and the approximate 1000 students consume a large amount of the goods and services.", "\nAntigua & Barbuda's population (1961–2010).", "Number of inhabitants in thousands.", "===Ethnic groups===\nAntigua has a population of , mostly made up of people of West African, British, and Madeiran descent.", "The ethnic distribution consists of 91% Black & Mulatto, 4.4% mixed race, 1.7% White, and 2.9% other (primarily East Indian and other Asian).", "Most Whites are of Irish or British descent.", "Christian Levantine Arabs, and a small number of Asians and Sephardic Jews make up the remainder of the population.", "An increasingly large percentage of the population lives abroad, most notably in the United Kingdom (Antiguan Britons), United States and Canada.", "A minority of Antiguan residents are immigrants from other countries, particularly from Dominica, Guyana and Jamaica, and, increasing, from the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Nigeria.", "An estimated 4,500 American citizens also make their home in Antigua and Barbuda, making their numbers one of the largest American populations in the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.", "===Languages===\nEnglish is the official language.", "The Barbudan accent is slightly different from the Antiguan.", "In the years before Antigua and Barbuda's independence, Standard English was widely spoken in preference to Antiguan Creole.", "Generally, the upper and middle classes shun Antiguan Creole.", "The educational system dissuades the use of Antiguan Creole and instruction is done in Standard (British) English.", "Many of the words used in the Antiguan dialect are derived from British as well as African languages.", "This can be easily seen in phrases such as: \"Ent it?\"", "meaning \"Ain't it?\"", "which is itself dialectal and means \"Isn't it?\".", "Common island proverbs can often be traced to Africa.", "Spanish is spoken by around 10,000 inhabitants.", "===Largest cities===\n\n\n\n\n===Religion===\nSt. John's Cathedral, St. John's\n\nA majority of 77% of Antiguans are Christians, with the Anglicans (17,6%) being the largest single denomination.", "Other Christian denominations present are Seventh-day Adventist Church (12,4%), Pentecostalism (12,2%), Moravian Church (8,3%), Roman Catholics\n(8,2%), Methodist Church (5,6%), Wesleyan Holiness Church (4,5%), Church of God (4,1%), Baptists (3,6%), Mormons (<1,0%), and Jehovah's Witnesses.", "Non-Christian religions practised in the islands include the Rastafari, Islam, and Bahá'í Faith.", "===Education===\n\nAntigua & Barbuda has a greater than 90% literacy rate.", "In 1998, Antigua and Barbuda adopted a national mandate to become the pre-eminent provider of medical services in the Caribbean.", "As part of this mission, Antigua and Barbuda built the most technologically advanced hospital in the Caribbean, the Mt.", "St. John Medical Centre.", "The island of Antigua currently has two foreign-owned for-profit offshore medical schools, the American University of Antigua (AUA), founded in 2004, and The University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA), founded in 1982.", "The island's sole medical schools cater mostly to foreign students but contribute tremendously to the local economy and health care and help give the small country international attention.", "There is also a government owned state college in Antigua as well as the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Information Technology (ABIIT) and the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI).", "The University of the West Indies has a branch in Antigua for locals to continue university studies.", "Antigua has two international primary/secondary schools Including CCSET International, which offers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, and Island Academy, which offers the International Baccalaureate.", "There are also many other private schools but these institutions tend to follow the same local curriculum (CXCs) as government schools.", "Both international schools are relatively inexperienced with offering international degrees.", "CCSET international has existed for several years but only began offering an International Degree in 2007.", "While CCSET's graduating classes have consistently been awarded the OSSD, this is somewhat controversial because CCSET students receive their diplomas from one of CCSET's (constantly changing) partner schools based in Ontario.", "\n\nThe culture is predominantly a mixture of West African and British cultural influences.", "Cricket is the national sport and Antigua has produced several famous cricket players including Sir Vivian Richards, Anderson \"Andy\" Roberts, and Richard \"Richie\" Richardson.", "Other popular sports include football, boat racing and surfing.", "(Antigua Sailing Week attracts locals and visitors from all over the world).", "American popular culture and fashion also have a heavy influence.", "Most of the country's media is made up of major United States networks.", "Many Antiguans prefer to make shopping trips to San Juan, Puerto Rico.", "Family and religion play an important roles in the lives of Antiguans.", "Most attend religious services on Sunday, although there is a growing number of Seventh-day Adventists who observe the Sabbath on Saturday.", "Calypso and soca music, both originating primarily out of Trinidad, are important in Antigua and Barbuda.", "===Festivals===\n\nThe national Carnival held each August commemorates the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, although on some islands, Carnival may celebrate the coming of Lent.", "Its festive pageants, shows, contests and other activities are a major tourist attraction.", "===Cuisine===\n\n\nCorn and sweet potatoes play an important role in Antiguan cuisine.", "For example, a popular Antiguan dish, Dukuna is a sweet, steamed dumpling made from grated sweet potatoes, flour and spices.", "One of the Antiguan staple foods, fungi , is a cooked paste made of cornmeal and water.", "===Media===\nThere are two daily newspapers: the \"Daily Observer\" and \"Caribbean Times\".", "Besides most American television networks, the local channel ABS TV 10 is available (it is the only station which shows exclusively local programs).", "There are also several local and regional radio stations, such as V2C-AM 620, ZDK-AM 1100, VYBZ-FM 92.9, ZDK-FM 97.1, Observer Radio 91.1 FM, DNECA Radio 90.1 FM, Second Advent Radio 101.5 FM, Abundant Life Radio 103.9 FM, Crusader Radio 107.3 FM, Nice FM 104.3\n\n===Sports===\n\n\nThe Antigua Recreation Ground.", "The Antigua and Barbuda national cricket team represented the country at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, but Antiguan cricketers otherwise play for the Leeward Islands cricket team in domestic matches and the West Indies cricket team internationally.", "The 2007 Cricket World Cup was hosted in the West Indies from 11 March to 28 April 2007.", "Antigua hosted eight matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which was completed on 11 February 2007 and can hold up to 20,000 people.", "Antigua is a Host of Stanford Twenty20 – Twenty20 Cricket, a version started by Allen Stanford in 2006 as a regional cricket game with almost all Caribbean islands taking part.", "Antiguan Viv Richards scored the fastest Test Century and Brian Lara twice scored the World Test Record at the Antigua Recreation Ground.", "Rugby and netball are popular as well.", "Association football, or soccer, is also a very popular sport.", "Antigua has a national football team which entered World Cup qualification for the 1974 tournament and for 1986 and onwards.", "A professional team was formed in 2011, Antigua Barracuda FC, which played in the USL Pro, a lower professional league in the USA.", "The nation's team had a major achievement in 2012, getting out of its preliminary group for the 2014 World Cup, notably due to a victory over powerful Haiti.", "In its first game in the next CONCACAF group play on 8 June 2012 in Tampa, FL, Antigua and Barbuda, comprising 17 Barracuda players and 7 from the lower English professional leagues, scored a goal against the United States, authored by Peter Byers; however, the team lost 3:1 to the US.", "Athletics are popular.", "Talented athletes are trained from a young age, and Antigua and Barbuda has produced a few fairly adept athletes.", "Janill Williams, a young athlete with much promise comes from Gray's Farm, Antigua.", "Sonia Williams and Heather Samuel represented Antigua and Barbuda at the Olympic Games.", "Other prominent rising stars include Brendan Christian (100 m, 200 m), Daniel Bailey (100 m, 200 m) and James Grayman (high jump).", "\n* Outline of Antigua and Barbuda\n* Index of Antigua and Barbuda-related articles\n* Bibliography of Antigua and Barbuda\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan''', DBE (''née'' '''Miller'''; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, a murder mystery, ''The Mousetrap'', and six romances under the name '''Mary Westmacott'''. In 1971 she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.\n\nChristie was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon. She served in a Devon hospital during the First World War, tending to troops coming back from the trenches, before marrying and starting a family in London. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six rejections, but this changed when ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', featuring Hercule Poirot, was published in 1920. During the Second World War she worked as a pharmacy assistant at University College Hospital, London, during the Blitz and acquired a good knowledge of poisons which featured in many of her novels.\n\n''Guinness World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages. ''And Then There Were None'' is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the best-selling books of all time. \nChristie's stage play ''The Mousetrap'' holds the world record for longest initial run. It opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 25 November 1952 and is still running after more than 25,000 performances.\n\nIn 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's highest honour, the Grand Master Award. Later the same year, ''Witness for the Prosecution'' received an Edgar Award by the MWA for Best Play.\nIn 2013, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was voted the best crime novel ever by 600 fellow writers of the Crime Writers' Association. On 15 September 2015, coinciding with her 125th birthday, ''And Then There Were None'' was named the \"World's Favourite Christie\" in a vote sponsored by the author's estate. Most of her books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games and comics, and more than thirty feature films have been based on her work.\n", "===Childhood and adolescence: 1890–1910===\nAgatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890, into a wealthy upper middle-class family in Ashfield, Torquay, Devon. Her mother, Clara Boehmer, was an Englishwoman who was born in Belfast in 1854 to Captain Frederick Boehmer and Mary Ann West, the couple's only daughter. Clara Boehmer had four brothers, one of whom died young. Captain Boehmer was killed in a riding accident while stationed on Jersey in April 1863, leaving Mary Ann (Agatha Christie's grandmother) to raise her children alone on a meagre income. Under financial strain, she sent Clara (Christie's mother) to live with her aunt Margaret Miller (née West), who had married a wealthy American, Nathaniel Frary Miller, in 1863. The couple lived in Prinsted, West Sussex. Clara stayed with Margaret, and there she met her future husband, an American stockbroker named Frederick Alvah Miller, who was the son of Nathaniel.\n\nChristie's father, Frederick, was a member of the American upper class, and had been sent to Switzerland for his education. He was considered personable and friendly by those who knew him. He soon developed a romantic relationship with Clara, and they were married in April 1878. Their first child, Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), was born in Torquay, where the couple were renting lodgings, while their second, Louis \"Monty\" Montant (1880–1929), was born in the U.S. state of New York, where Frederick was on a business trip. Clara soon purchased a villa in Torquay named \"Ashfield\" in which to raise her family, and it was here that her third and final child, Agatha, was born.\n\nAgatha Christie as a girl, date unknown\nChristie described her childhood as \"very happy\". She was surrounded by a series of strong and independent women from an early age. Her time was spent alternating between her home in Devon, her step-grandmother and aunt's house in Ealing, West London, and parts of Southern Europe, where her family would holiday during the winter. Agatha was raised in a household with various esoteric beliefs and, like her siblings, believed that her mother Clara was a psychic with the ability of second sight. Her mother insisted that she receive a home education, and so her parents were responsible for teaching her to read and write and to be able to perform basic arithmetic, a subject that she particularly enjoyed. They also taught her about music, and she learned to play both the piano and the mandolin. According to biographer Laura Thomson, Clara believed that Agatha should not learn to read till she was eight. However, due to her curiosity, Agatha taught herself to read much earlier. One of the first known photographs of Christie (now a part of the Christie family's heirlooms) depicts her as a little girl with her first dog, whom she called George Washington.\n\nChristie was a voracious reader from an early age. Among her earliest memories were those of reading the children's books written by Mrs Molesworth, including ''The Adventures of Herr Baby'' (1881), ''Christmas Tree Land'' (1897), and ''The Magic Nuts'' (1898). She also read the work of Edith Nesbit, including ''The Story of the Treasure Seekers'' (1899), ''The Phoenix and the Carpet'' (1903), and ''The Railway Children'' (1906). When a little older, she moved on to reading the surreal verse of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. In April 1901, at age 10, she wrote her first poem, \"The cowslip\".\n\nShe spent much of her childhood apart from other children, although she devoted much time to her pets, whom she adored. She eventually made friends with a group of other girls in Torquay, and she noted that \"one of the highlights of my existence\" was her appearance with them in a youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', in which she played the hero, Colonel Fairfax. This was her last operatic role for, as she later wrote, \"an experience that you really enjoyed should never be repeated.\"\n\nHer father was often ill, suffering from a series of heart attacks, and he died in November 1901, aged 55. His death left the family devastated and in an uncertain economic situation. Clara and Agatha continued to live together in their Torquay home, Madge had moved to Abney Hall in Cheadle, Cheshire, with her new husband, and Monty had joined the army and been sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War. Agatha later claimed that her father's death, occurring when she was eleven years old, marked the end of her childhood. In 1902, Agatha was sent to receive a formal education at Miss Guyer's Girls School in Torquay, but found it difficult to adjust to the disciplined atmosphere. In 1905, she was sent to Paris where she was educated in three ''pensions'' – Mademoiselle Cabernet's, Les Marroniers, and then Miss Dryden's – the last of which served primarily as a finishing school.\n\n===Early literary attempts and the First World War: 1910–19===\nAgatha returned to England in 1910 and found that her mother Clara was ill. They decided to spend time together in the warmer climate of Cairo, then a regular tourist destination for wealthy Britons; they stayed for three months at the Gezirah Palace Hotel. Agatha, always chaperoned by her mother, attended many social functions in search of a husband. She visited such ancient Egyptian monuments as the Great Pyramid of Giza, but did not exhibit the great interest in archaeology and Egyptology that became prominent in her later years.\n\nReturning to Britain, she continued her social activities, writing and performing in amateur theatrics. She also helped put on a play called ''The BlueBeard of Unhappiness'' with female friends. Her writing extended to both poetry and music. Some early works saw publication, but she decided against focusing on either of these as future professions.\n\nChristie wrote her first short story, ''The House of Beauty'' (an early version of her later-published story ''The House of Dreams''), while recovering in bed from an undisclosed illness. This was about 6,000 words on the topic of \"madness and dreams\", a subject of fascination for her. Biographer Janet Morgan commented that, despite \"infelicities of style\", the story was nevertheless \"compelling\".\n\nOther stories followed, most of them illustrating her interest in spiritualism and the paranormal. These included \"The Call of Wings\" and \"The Little Lonely God\". Magazines rejected all her early submissions, made under pseudonyms, although some were revised and published later, often with new titles.\n\nChristie then set her first novel, ''Snow Upon the Desert'', in Cairo, and drew from her recent experiences in that city, written under the pseudonym Monosyllaba. She was perturbed when various publishers all declined. Clara suggested that her daughter ask for advice from a family friend and neighbour, writer Eden Philpotts, who obliged her enquiry, encouraged her writing, and sent her an introduction to his own literary agent, Hughes Massie, who rejected ''Snow Upon the Desert'', and suggested a second novel.\n\nChristie continued searching for a husband, and entered into short-lived relationships with four separate men and an engagement with another. She then met Archibald Christie (1889–1962) at a dance given by Lord and Lady Clifford at Ugbrooke, about from Torquay. Archie was born in India, the son of a judge in the Indian Civil Service. He was an army officer who was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in April 1913. The couple quickly fell in love. Upon learning that he would be stationed in Farnborough, Archie proposed marriage, and Agatha accepted.\n\nWith the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Archie was sent to France to fight the German forces. They married on the afternoon of Christmas Eve 1914 at Emmanuel Church, Clifton, Bristol, which was close to the home of his parents, while Archie was on home leave. Rising through the ranks, he was eventually stationed back to Britain in September 1918 as a colonel in the Air Ministry.\n\nAgatha involved herself in the war effort. She joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) in 1914, and attended to wounded soldiers at a hospital in Torquay as an unpaid VAD nurse. Responsible for aiding the doctors and maintaining morale; she performed 3,400 hours of unpaid work between October 1914 and December 1916. After qualifying as an \"apothecaries' assistant\" (or dispenser) in 1917 and working as a dispenser, she earned £16 a year until the end of her service in September 1918. After the war, Agatha and Archie Christie settled into a flat at 5 Northwick Terrace in St. John's Wood, northwest London.\n\n===First novels and Poirot: 1919–23===\nChristie had long been a fan of detective novels, having enjoyed Wilkie Collins's ''The Woman in White'' and ''The Moonstone'' as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's early Sherlock Holmes stories. She wrote her own detective novel, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', featuring Hercule Poirot, a former Belgian police officer noted for his twirly large \"magnificent moustaches\" and egg-shaped head. Poirot had taken refuge in Britain after Germany invaded Belgium. Christie's inspiration for the character stemmed from real Belgian refugees who were living in Torquay and the Belgian soldiers whom she helped treat as a volunteer nurse in Torquay during the First World War.\n\nAgatha began writing ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' in 1916 and wrote most of it at Dartmoor. Her original manuscript was rejected by such publishing companies as Hodder and Stoughton and Methuen. After keeping the submission for several months, John Lane at The Bodley Head offered to accept it, provided that Christie change the ending. She did so, and signed a contract which she later felt was exploitative. It was finally published in 1920 after a number of rejections. Christie meanwhile settled into married life, giving birth to her only child, daughter Rosalind Margaret Hicks, in August 1919 at Ashfield, where the couple spent much of their time, having few friends in London. Archie left the Air Force at the end of the war and started working in the City financial sector at a relatively low salary, though they still employed a maid.\n\nChristie's second novel, ''The Secret Adversary'' (1922), featured a new detective couple Tommy and Tuppence, again published by The Bodley Head. It earned her £50. A third novel again featured Poirot, ''Murder on the Links'' (1923), as did short stories commissioned by Bruce Ingram, editor of ''The Sketch'' magazine. In order to tour the world promoting the British Empire Exhibition, the couple left their daughter Rosalind with Agatha's mother and sister. They travelled to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. They learned to surf prone in South Africa; then, in Waikiki, they were among the first Britons to surf standing up.\n\n===Disappearance===\nDaily Herald'', 15 December 1926, announcing Christie had been found\n\nIn late 1926, Archie asked Agatha for a divorce. He was in love with Nancy Neele, who had been a friend of Major Belcher, director of the British Empire Mission, on the promotional tour a few years earlier. On 3 December 1926, the Christies quarrelled, and Archie left their house, Styles, in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to spend the weekend with his mistress at Godalming, Surrey. That same evening, around 9:45 pm, Christie disappeared from her home, leaving behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Her car, a Morris Cowley, was later found at Newlands Corner, perched above a chalk quarry, with an expired driving licence and clothes.\n\nHer disappearance caused an outcry from the public. The Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, pressured police, and a newspaper offered a £100 reward. Over a thousand police officers, 15,000 volunteers, and several aeroplanes scoured the rural landscape. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even gave a spirit medium one of Christie's gloves to find the missing woman. Dorothy L. Sayers visited the house in Surrey, later using the scenario in her book ''Unnatural Death''.\n\nChristie's disappearance was featured on the front page of ''The New York Times''. Despite the extensive manhunt, she was not found for 10 days. On 14 December 1926, she was found at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel (now the Old Swan Hotel) in Harrogate, Yorkshire, registered as Mrs Teresa Neele (the surname of her husband's lover) from Cape Town.\n\nChristie's autobiography makes no reference to her disappearance. Two doctors diagnosed her as suffering from amnesia (see fugue state), yet opinion remains divided as to why she disappeared. Biographer Laura Thompson suggested that Christie let this out in the six novels that she wrote between 1930 and 1956 under the nom de plume Mary Westmacott, in a style quite different from her regular detective stories. She was known to be in a depressed state from literary overwork, her mother's death earlier that year, and her husband's infidelity. Public reaction at the time was largely negative, supposing a publicity stunt or attempt to frame her husband for murder.\n\nThe 1979 Michael Apted film ''Agatha'' features a disclaimer in the opening credits stating that what follows is an imaginary solution to an authentic mystery. The film starred Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Dalton as Agatha and Archie, and depicts Christie planning suicide in such a way as to frame her husband's mistress for her \"murder\". An American reporter, played by Dustin Hoffman, follows her closely and stops the plan. Christie's heirs unsuccessfully sued to prevent the film's distribution.\n\nAuthor Jared Cade interviewed numerous witnesses and relatives for his sympathetic biography ''Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days'', revised 2011. He provided substantial evidence to suggest that she planned the event to embarrass her husband, never anticipating the resulting escalated melodrama.\n\nThe Christies divorced in 1928, and Archie married Nancy Neele. Agatha retained custody of daughter Rosalind and the Christie name for her writing. During their marriage, she published six novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of short stories in magazines. \n\n===Second marriage and later life===\nAgatha Christie's room at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, where she wrote ''Murder on the Orient Express''\nIn 1928, Christie left England for Istanbul and subsequently for Baghdad on the Orient Express. During this trip, she encountered her first archaeological dig and met a young archaeologist, Max Mallowan, whom she married in September 1930. Their marriage was happy and lasted until Christie's death in 1976. In a 1977 interview, Mallowan recounted his first meeting with Christie, wherein he took her and a group of tourists on a tour of his expedition site in Iraq.\n\nChristie frequently used settings that were familiar to her for her stories. She often accompanied Mallowan on his archaeological expeditions, and her travels with him contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East. Other novels (such as ''And Then There Were None'') were set in and around Torquay, where she was raised. Christie's 1934 novel ''Murder on the Orient Express'' was written in the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, the southern terminus of the railway. The hotel maintains Christie's room as a memorial to the author. \n\nThe Greenway Estate in Devon, acquired by the couple as a summer residence in 1938, is now in the care of the National Trust. Christie often stayed at Abney Hall, Cheshire, owned by her brother-in-law, James Watts, basing at least two stories there: a short story \"The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding\" in the story collection of the same name, and the novel ''After the Funeral''. \"Abney became Agatha's greatest inspiration for country-house life, with all its servants and grandeur being woven into her plots. The descriptions of the fictional Chimneys, Stoneygates, and other houses in her stories are mostly Abney in various forms.\"\n\nDuring the Second World War, Christie worked in the pharmacy at University College Hospital, London, where she acquired a knowledge of poisons that she put to good use in her post-war crime novels. For example, the use of thallium as a poison was suggested to her by UCH Chief Pharmacist Harold Davis (later appointed Chief Pharmacist at the UK Ministry of Health), and in ''The Pale Horse'', published in 1961, she employed it to dispatch a series of victims, the first clue to the murder method coming from the victims' loss of hair. So accurate was her description of thallium poisoning that on at least one occasion it helped solve a case that was baffling doctors.\nCresswell Place\nChristie lived in Chelsea, first in Cresswell Place and later in Sheffield Terrace. Both properties are now marked by blue plaques. In 1934, she and Max Mallowan purchased Winterbrook House in Winterbrook, a hamlet adjoining the small market town of Wallingford, then within the bounds of Cholsey and in Berkshire. \n\nThis was their main residence for the rest of their lives and the place where Christie did most of her writing. This house, too, bears a blue plaque. Christie led a very low-profile life despite being known in the town of Wallingford, where she was for many years President of the local amateur dramatic society.\nBlue plaque, 58 Sheffield Terrace, Holland Park, London\nAround 1941–42, the British intelligence agency MI5 investigated Christie after a character called Major Bletchley appeared in her 1941 thriller ''N or M?'', which was about a hunt for a pair of deadly fifth columnists in wartime England. MI5 was afraid that Christie had a spy in Britain's top-secret codebreaking centre, Bletchley Park. The agency's fears were allayed when Christie told friend (and codebreaker) Dilly Knox, \"I was stuck there on my way by train from Oxford to London and took revenge by giving the name to one of my least lovable characters.\"\n\nTo honour her many literary works, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1956 New Year Honours. The next year, she became the President of the Detection Club. In the 1971 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). three years after her husband had been knighted for his archaeological work in 1968. They were one of the few married couples where both partners were honoured in their own right. From 1968, owing to her husband's knighthood, Christie could also be styled Lady Mallowan.\n\nFrom 1971-74, Christie's health began to fail, although she continued to write. Recently, using experimental tools of textual analysis, Canadian researchers have suggested that Christie may have begun to suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.\n", "Agatha Christie's gravestone at St. Mary's church, Cholsey\n\nDame Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976 at age 85 from natural causes at her home in Winterbrook, Cholsey. She is buried in the nearby churchyard of St Mary's, Cholsey, having chosen the plot for their final resting place with her husband Sir Max some ten years before she died. The simple funeral service was attended by about 20 newspaper and TV reporters, some having travelled from as far away as South America. Thirty wreaths adorned Dame Agatha's grave, including one from the cast of her long-running play ''The Mousetrap'' and one sent 'on behalf of the multitude of grateful readers' by the Ulverscroft Large Print Book Publishers.\n\nShe was survived by her only child, Rosalind Hicks, and only grandson, Mathew Prichard. Her husband, Max, died in 1978, aged 74.\n\n=== Agatha Christie's estate and subsequent ownership of works===\nChristie had set up a private company, Agatha Christie Limited, to hold the rights to her works, and around 1959 she had transferred her 278-acre home, Greenway Estate, to her daughter Rosalind. In 1968, when Christie was almost 80 years old, she sold a 51% stake in Agatha Christie Limited (and therefore the works it owned) to Booker Books (better known as Booker Author's Division), a subsidiary of the British food and transport conglomerate Booker-McConnell (now Booker Group), the founder of the Booker Prize for literature, which later increased its stake to 64%. Agatha Christie Limited remains the owner of the worldwide rights for over 80 of Christie's novels and short stories, 19 plays, and nearly 40 TV films.\n\nAfter Christie's death in 1976, her remaining 36% share of the company was inherited by her daughter, Rosalind Hicks, who passionately preserved her mother's works, image, and legacy until her own death 28 years later. The family's share of the company allowed them to appoint 50% of the board and the chairman, and thereby to retain a veto over new treatments, updated versions, and republications of her works.\n\nIn 1993, Hicks founded the Agatha Christie Society and became its first president. In 2004 her obituary in ''The Telegraph'' commented that Hicks had been \"determined to remain true to her mother's vision and to protect the integrity of her creations\" and disapproved of \"merchandising\" activities. Upon Hicks's death on 28 October 2004, both this and the Greenway Estate passed to Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard. After his parents' deaths, Prichard donated Greenway – both the house and its contents – to the National Trust.\n\nChristie's family and family trusts, including Prichard, continue to own the remaining 36% stake in Agatha Christie Limited, and remain associated with the company. Prichard remains as the company's chairman, and also in his own right holds the copyright to some of his grandmother's later literary works (including ''The Mousetrap'').\n\nIn 1998, Booker sold a number of its non-food assets to focus on its core business. As part of that, its shares in Agatha Christie Limited (at the time earning £2.1m annual revenue) were sold for £10m to Chorion, a major international media company whose portfolio of well-known authors' works also included the literary estates of Enid Blyton and Dennis Wheatley. In February 2012, some years after a management buyout, Chorion found itself in financial difficulties and began to sell off their literary assets on the market, selling their 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited to the current owner, Acorn Media UK (part of RLJ Entertainment, Inc. and the RLJ Companies, owned by American entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson) during that same month.\n\n, media reports state that the BBC had acquired the exclusive television rights to Christie's works in the UK (previously associated with ITV) and plans with Acorn's co-operation to air new productions for the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth in 2015. The BBC broadcast ''Partners In Crime'' and ''And Then There Were None'' in 2015 as part of the deal.\n", "\n\n===Works of fiction===\n====Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple====\nMemorial to Christie in central London\nChristie's first book, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', was published in 1920 and introduced the detective Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in many of Christie's works, appearing in 33 novels and 54 short stories.\n\nMiss Marple, introduced in the short-story collection ''The Thirteen Problems'' in 1927, was based on Christie's grandmother and her \"Ealing cronies\". Both Jane and Gran \"always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right.\" Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories.\n\nDuring the Second World War, Christie wrote two novels, ''Curtain'' and ''Sleeping Murder'', intended as the last cases of these two great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Both books were sealed in a bank vault for over thirty years and were released for publication by Christie only at the end of her life, when she realised that she could not write any more novels. These publications came on the heels of the success of the film version of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' in 1974.\n\nChristie became increasingly tired of Poirot, much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had grown weary of his character Sherlock Holmes. By the end of the 1930s, Christie wrote in her diary that she was finding Poirot \"insufferable\", and by the 1960s she felt that he was \"an egocentric creep\". However, unlike Conan Doyle, Christie resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular. She saw herself as an entertainer whose job was to produce what the public liked, and the public liked Poirot.\n\nShe did marry off Poirot's companion Colonel Hastings in an attempt to trim her cast commitments. In contrast, Christie was fond of Miss Marple. However, the Belgian detective's titles outnumber the Marple titles more than two to one. This is largely because Christie wrote numerous Poirot novels early in her career, while ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' remained the sole Marple novel until the 1940s. Christie never wrote a novel or short story featuring both Poirot and Miss Marple. In a recording discovered and released in 2008, Christie revealed the reason for this: \"Hercule Poirot, a complete egoist, would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady\".\n\nPoirot is the only fictional character to date to be given an obituary in ''The New York Times'', following the publication of ''Curtain''. It appeared on the front page of the paper on 6 August 1975.\n\nFollowing the great success of ''Curtain'', Christie gave permission for the release of ''Sleeping Murder'' sometime in 1976 but died in January 1976 before the book could be released. This may explain some of the inconsistencies compared to the rest of the Marple series — for example, Colonel Arthur Bantry, husband of Miss Marple's friend Dolly, is still alive and well in ''Sleeping Murder'' although he is noted as having died in books published earlier. It may be that Christie simply did not have time to revise the manuscript before she died.\n\nIn 2013, the Christie family gave their \"full backing\" to the release of a new Poirot story, ''The Monogram Murders'', which was written by British author Sophie Hannah.\n\n====Formula and plot devices====\n\nChristie's reputation as \"The Queen of Crime\" was built upon the large number of classic motifs that she introduced, or for which she provided the most famous example. Christie built these tropes into what is now considered classic mystery structure: a murder is committed, there are multiple suspects who are all concealing secrets, and the detective gradually uncovers these secrets over the course of the story, discovering the most shocking twists towards the end. Culprits in Christie's mysteries have included children, policemen, narrators, already deceased individuals, and sometimes comprise no known suspects (''And Then There Were None'') or all of the suspects (''Murder on the Orient Express'').\n\nAt the end, in a Christie hallmark, the detective usually gathers the surviving suspects into one room, explains the course of his deductive reasoning, and reveals the guilty party, although there are exceptions in which it is left to the guilty party to explain all (such as ''And Then There Were None'' and ''Endless Night'', both rather nihilistic in nature).\n\nChristie allows some culprits to escape earthly justice for a variety of reasons, such as the passage of time (retrospective cases), in which the most important characters have already died, or by active prescription. Such cases include ''The Witness for the Prosecution'', ''Murder on the Orient Express'', ''The Man in the Brown Suit'', ''Elephants Can Remember'', and ''The Unexpected Guest''. There are instances in which a killer is not brought to justice in the legal sense but does die as a direct result of his plot, sometimes by his own hand at the direction or with the collusion of the detective (usually Hercule Poirot). This occurs in ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', ''Death on the Nile'', ''Dumb Witness'', ''Crooked House'', ''The Hollow'', ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', ''Cat Among the Pigeons'', ''Peril at End House'', ''Nemesis'', ''Appointment with Death'', ''The Secret Adversary'', and ''Curtain''. In the last of these (''Curtain''), no fewer than three culprits die during the course of the story.\n\nIn ''The A.B.C. Murders'', the murderer has killed four innocent people and attempted to frame an unstable man for the crimes. Hercule Poirot, however, prevents this easy way out, ensuring a trial and hanging. In ''And Then There Were None'', the killer's own death is intrinsic to the plot; the red herring is when and how the killer actually died. However, stage, film, and television productions of some of these mysteries were traditionally sanitized with the culprits not evading some form of justice, for a variety of reasons – e.g., censors, plot clarity, and Christie's own changing tastes. (When Christie adapted ''Witness for the Prosecution'' into a stage play, she lengthened the ending so that the murderer was also killed; this format was followed in screen versions, including the Billy Wilder film from 1957.) In ''Death Comes as the End'', set in ancient Egypt, the culprit is killed by one of the few surviving characters before he can claim another victim .\n\nIn some stories, the question remains unresolved of whether formal justice will ever be delivered, such as ''Five Little Pigs'' and ''Endless Night''. According to P. D. James, Christie often, but not always, made the unlikeliest character the guilty party. Savvy readers could sometimes identify the culprit by simply identifying the least likely suspect.\n\nOn an edition of ''Desert Island Discs'' in 2007, Brian Aldiss claimed that Christie had told him that she wrote her books up to the last chapter, then decided who the most unlikely suspect was, after which she would go back and make the necessary changes to \"frame\" that person. However, John Curran's ''Agatha Christie: The Secret Notebooks'' describes different working methods for every book in Christie's bibliography, contradicting the claim by Aldiss. \n\n====Titles====\nChristie's mature novels, from 1940 onwards, often have titles drawn from literature.\n\nFour are from Shakespeare: \n* ''Sad Cypress'' from a song in ''Twelfth Night'': \"Come away, come away, death / And in sad cypress let me be laid\".\n* ''By the Pricking of My Thumbs'' from Act 4, Scene 1 of ''Macbeth'' : \"By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes\".\n* ''There is a Tide...'' (later ''Taken at the Flood'') from Brutus' speech in ''Julius Caesar'': \"There is a tide in the affairs of men / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune\".\n* ''Absent in the Spring'' from Sonnet 98: \"From you have I been absent in the spring ...\"\n\nThree are from the Bible: \n* ''Evil Under the Sun'' from Ecclesiastes 5:13 (and restated in 6:1): \"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt\".\n* ''The Burden'' from Jesus' words: \"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.\" (Matthew: 11: 29–30).\n* ''The Pale Horse'' from the Revelation of St John (6:8): \"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death  ...\".\n\nAnother six are from other works of literature:\n* ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' from Tennyson's \"The Lady of Shallot\": \"Out flew the web, and floated wide/The mirror cracked from side to side/'The curse is come upon me,\" cried/The Lady of Shalott\"\n* ''The Moving Finger'' from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'': \"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ/Moves on ...\" This, in turn, refers to the Biblical account of Belshazzar's feast (Daniel, chapter 5), which is the origin of the expression \"the writing on the wall\".\n* ''The Rose and the Yew Tree'' from Section V of \"Little Gidding\" from T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets'': \"The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree/Are of equal duration\".\n* ''Postern of Fate'' from the poem \"Gates of Damascus\" by James Elroy Flecker: \"Postern of Fate, the Desert Gate, Disaster's Cavern, Fort of Fear/The Portal of Bagdad am I ...\"\n* ''Endless Night'' from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence: \"Some are born to sweet delight / Some are born to endless night\".\n* ''N or M?'' from the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer which asks, \"What is your Christian name? Answer N. or M.\" The \"N. or M.\" stands for the Latin, \"nomen vel nomina\", meaning \"name or names\". It is an accident of typography that \"nomina\" came to be represented by \"m\".\n\nIn such cases, the original context of the title is usually printed as an epigraph. Similarly, the title of Christie's autobiographical travel book ''Come, Tell Me How You Live'' is a quote from verse three of the White Knight's poem, \"Haddocks' Eyes\" from chapter eight of ''Through the Looking-Glass'' by Lewis Carroll, and is a play on the word \"tell\", an archaeological mound. \n\nThe title of ''The Mousetrap'' is purportedly an allusion to Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', in which \"The Mousetrap\" is Hamlet's answer to Claudius's inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and first scene he and his court have just watched (III, ii).\n\nSeven stories are built around words from well known children's nursery rhymes: ''And Then There Were None'' (from \"Ten Little Indians\"), ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'' (from \"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe\"), ''Five Little Pigs'' (from \"This Little Piggy\"), ''Crooked House'' (from \"There Was a Crooked Man\"), ''A Pocket Full of Rye'' (from \"Sing a Song of Sixpence\"), ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' (from \"Hickory Dickory Dock\"), and ''Three Blind Mice'' (from \"Three Blind Mice\"). Similarly, the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead is named after a children's game that is explained in the course of the novel.\n\n====Character stereotypes====\nChristie occasionally inserted stereotyped descriptions of characters into her work, particularly before the end of the Second World War (when such attitudes were more commonly expressed publicly), and particularly in regard to Italians, Jews, non-Europeans, and sometimes Americans, the last usually as impossibly naïve or uninformed. For example, she described \"Hebraic men with hook-noses wearing rather flamboyant jewellery\" in the first editions of the collection ''The Mysterious Mr Quin'' (1930), in the short story \"The Soul of the Croupier\"; in later editions, the passage was edited to describe \"sallow men\" wearing same. \n\nIn ''The Hollow'', published as late as 1946, one of the more unsympathetic characters is \"a Whitechapel Jewess with dyed hair and a voice like a corncrake ... a small woman with a thick nose, henna red and a disagreeable voice\". To contrast with the more stereotyped descriptions, Christie sometimes showed \"foreigners\" as victims or potential victims at the hands of English malefactors, such as, respectively, Olga Seminoff (''Hallowe'en Party'') and Katrina Reiger (in the short story \"How Does Your Garden Grow?\"). Jewish characters are often seen as un-English (such as Oliver Manders in ''Three Act Tragedy''), but they are rarely the culprits.\n\nOften, she is affectionate or teasing with her prejudices. After four years of war-torn London, Christie hoped to return some day to Syria, which she described as \"gentle fertile country and its simple people, who know how to laugh and how to enjoy life; who are idle and gay, and who have dignity, good manners, and a great sense of humour, and to whom death is not terrible.\"\n\nShe had trouble with an incompetent Swiss French nursery helper (Marcelle) for toddler Rosalind, and as a result she decided, \"Scottish preferred ... good with the young. The French were hopeless disciplinarians ... Germans good and methodical, but it was not German that I really wanted Rosalind to learn. The Irish were gay but made trouble in the house; the English were of all kinds\".\n\n===Non-fiction writings===\nChristie published relatively few nonfiction works:\n*''Come, Tell Me How You Live'', about working on an archaeological dig, drawn from her life with second husband Max Mallowan\n*''The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery'', a collection of correspondence from her 1922 Grand Tour of the British empire, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada\n*''Agatha Christie: An Autobiography'', published posthumously in 1977\n\n===Critical reception and legacy===\nAgatha Christie is the world's best-selling mystery writer, often referred to as the \"Queen of Crime\", and considered a master of suspense, plotting, and characterisation. Some critics, however, regarded Christie's plotting abilities as considerably greater than her literary ones. Novelist Raymond Chandler criticised her in his essay \"The Simple Art of Murder\", and American literary critic Edmund Wilson was dismissive of Christie and the detective fiction genre generally in his ''New Yorker'' essay, \"Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?\"\n\nIn honour of the 125th anniversary of her birth, 25 contemporary mystery writers and one publisher revealed their views on Christie's works. Many of the authors read Christie's novels first, before other mystery writers, in English or in their native language, influencing their own writing, and nearly all still view her as the \"Queen of Crime\", and creator of the plot twists used by mystery authors. Nearly all had one or more favourites among Christie's mysteries, and find her books good to read now, nearly 100 years after her first novel was published. Several of the authors would be very pleased to have their own novels in print in 100 years. Just one of the 25 authors held with Edmund Wilson's views. Harper Collins also published a souvenir magazine ''Shocking Real Murders: Behind Her Classic Mysteries''.\n\nThe ''Guinness Book of World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible. Half of the sales are of English language editions, and the other half in translation. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages. ''And Then There Were None'' is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the best-selling books of all time.\n\nIn 2012, Christie was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires.\n", "\n===Archaeology===\n\n\nChristie had a lifelong interest in archaeology. She met her second husband, Sir Max Mallowan, a distinguished archaeologist, on a trip to the excavation site at Ur in 1930. But her fame as an author far surpassed his fame in archaeology. Prior to meeting Mallowan, Christie had not had any extensive brushes with archaeology, but once the two married, they made sure to only go to sites where they could work together. Christie accompanied Mallowan on countless archaeological trips, spending 3–4 months at a time in Syria and Iraq at excavation sites at Ur, Nineveh, Tell Arpachiyah, Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak, and Nimrud. She wrote novels and short stories, but also contributed work to the archaeological sites, more specifically to the archaeological restoration and labelling of ancient exhibits, including tasks such as cleaning and conserving delicate ivory pieces, reconstructing pottery, developing photos from early excavations which later led to taking photographs of the site and its findings, and taking field notes.\n\nChristie would always pay for her own board and lodging and her travel expenses so as to not influence the funding of the archaeological excavations, and she also supported excavations as an anonymous sponsor. During their time in the Middle East, there was also a large amount of time spent travelling to and from Mallowan's sites. Their extensive travelling had a strong influence on her writing, as some type of transportation often plays a part in her murderer's schemes. The large amount of travel was reused in novels such as ''The Murder on the Orient Express'', as well as suggesting the idea of archaeology as an adventure itself.\n\nAfter the Second World War, she chronicled her time in Syria with fondness in ''Come Tell Me How You Live''. Anecdotes, memories, funny episodes are strung in a rough timeline, with more emphasis on eccentric characters and lovely scenery than on factual accuracy. From 8 November 2001 to 24 March 2002, The British Museum had an exhibit named ''Agatha Christie and Archaeology: Mystery in Mesopotamia'', which presented the life of Agatha Christie and the influences of archaeology in her life and works.\n\n===Use of archaeology in her writing===\nMany of the settings for Christie's books were directly inspired by the many archaeological field seasons spent in the Middle East on the sites managed by her husband Max. The extent of her time spent at the many locations featured in her books is apparent from the extreme detail in which she describes them. One such site featured in her work is the temple site of Abu Simbel, depicted in ''Death on the Nile''. Also there is the great detail in which she describes life at the dig site in ''Murder in Mesopotamia''. Among the characters in her books, Christie has often given prominence to the archaeologists and experts in Middle Eastern cultures and artifacts. Most notable are the characters of Dr. Eric Leidner in ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' and Signor Richetti in ''Death on the Nile'', while many minor characters were archaeologists in ''They Came to Baghdad''.\n\nSome of Christie's best known novels with heavy archaeological influences are:\n* ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' (1936) – the most archaeologically influenced of all her novels, as it is set in the Middle East at an archaeological dig site and associated expedition house. The main characters include archaeologist Dr. Eric Leidner, his wife, many specialists and assistants, and the men working on the site. The novel is noted most for its careful description of the dig site and house, which showed that the author had spent much of her time in very similar situations. The characters in this book in particular are also based on archaeologists whom Christie knew from her personal experiences on excavation sites.\n* ''Death on the Nile'' (1937) – takes place on a tour boat on the Nile. Many archaeological sites are visited along the way and one of the main characters, Signor Richetti, is an archaeologist.\n* ''Appointment with Death'' (1938) – set in Jerusalem and its surrounding area. The death itself occurs at an old cave site in Petra and offers some very descriptive details of sites which Christie herself could have visited in order to write the book.\n* ''They Came to Baghdad'' (1951) – inspired by Christie's own trips to Baghdad with Mallowan, and involves an archaeologist as the heroine's love interest.\n", "Christie has been portrayed on a number of occasions in film and television. Several biographical programmes have been made, such as BBC television's ''Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures'' (2004; in which she was portrayed by Olivia Williams, Anna Massey, and Bonnie Wright, at different stages in her life), and in Season 3, Episode 1 of ''ITV Perspectives'': \"The Mystery of Agatha Christie\" (2013), hosted by David Suchet, who plays Hercule Poirot on television.\n\nChristie has also been portrayed fictionally. Some of these portrayals have explored and offered accounts of Christie's disappearance in 1926, including the film ''Agatha'' (1979) (with Vanessa Redgrave, in which she sneaks away to plan revenge against her husband), and the ''Doctor Who'' episode \"The Unicorn and the Wasp\" (17 May 2008), with Fenella Woolgar, in which her disappearance is the result of her suffering a temporary breakdown owing to a brief psychic link being formed between her and an alien. Others, such as Hungarian film, ''Kojak Budapesten'' (1980; not to be confused with the 1986 comedy by the same name) create their own scenarios involving Christie's criminal skill. In the TV play, ''Murder by the Book'' (1986), Christie herself (Dame Peggy Ashcroft) murdered one of her fictional-turned-real characters, Poirot. The heroine of Liar-Soft's visual novel ''Shikkoku no Sharnoth: What a Beautiful Tomorrow'' (2008), Mary Clarissa Christie, is based on the real-life Christie. Christie features as a character in Gaylord Larsen's ''Dorothy and Agatha'' and ''The London Blitz Murders'' by Max Allan Collins. A fictionalized account of Christie's disappearance is the central theme of a Korean musical, ''Agatha''. A young Agatha Christie is depicted in the Spanish historical television series ''Grand Hotel'' (2011). Aiding the local detectives, Agatha finds inspiration to write her new novel.\n", "\n\n* ''Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures'' (her life story in a 2004 BBC drama)\n* Abney Hall (home to her brother-in-law; several books use Abney as their setting)\n* Greenway Estate (Christie's former home in Devon. The house and grounds are now in the possession of the National Trust and open to the public)\n* Agatha Christie indult (an oecumenical request to which Christie was signatory seeking permission for the occasional use of the Tridentine (Latin) mass in England and Wales)\n* Agatha Award\n* Agatha Christie Award (Japan)\n* ''The Essence of Agatha Christie:\n", "\n", "\n", "*\n*\n*.\n*.\n*\n*\n*.\n*.\n*\n*.\n*.\n*.\n", "\n===Articles===\n*\n*\n*.\n* A reprint of the latter.\n*\n*\n\n===Books===\n* Reprinted as .\n*.\n*.\n*\n*\n*\n*.\n*.\n*.\n*.\n", "\n\n\n\n* Official Agatha Christie site (also ''Agatha Christie Limited's'' website)\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Agatha Christie/Sir Max Mallowan's blue plaque at Cholsey\n* Agatha Christie profile and articles at \"The Guardian\"\n* Agatha Christie profile on PBS.ORG\n* Agatha Christie's style and methods, the plot devices that she uses to trick the reader\n* Agatha Christie's Profile on FamousAuthors.org\n* Imperial War Museum Interview\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Life and career", "Death", "Writings", "Interests and influences", "Portrayals in fiction", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Sources", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Both books were sealed in a bank vault for over thirty years and were released for publication by Christie only at the end of her life, when she realised that she could not write any more novels." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan''', DBE (''née'' '''Miller'''; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright.", "She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.", "She also wrote the world's longest-running play, a murder mystery, ''The Mousetrap'', and six romances under the name '''Mary Westmacott'''.", "In 1971 she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.", "Christie was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon.", "She served in a Devon hospital during the First World War, tending to troops coming back from the trenches, before marrying and starting a family in London.", "She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six rejections, but this changed when ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', featuring Hercule Poirot, was published in 1920.", "During the Second World War she worked as a pharmacy assistant at University College Hospital, London, during the Blitz and acquired a good knowledge of poisons which featured in many of her novels.", "''Guinness World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time.", "Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible.", "According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages.", "''And Then There Were None'' is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the best-selling books of all time.", "Christie's stage play ''The Mousetrap'' holds the world record for longest initial run.", "It opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 25 November 1952 and is still running after more than 25,000 performances.", "In 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's highest honour, the Grand Master Award.", "Later the same year, ''Witness for the Prosecution'' received an Edgar Award by the MWA for Best Play.", "In 2013, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was voted the best crime novel ever by 600 fellow writers of the Crime Writers' Association.", "On 15 September 2015, coinciding with her 125th birthday, ''And Then There Were None'' was named the \"World's Favourite Christie\" in a vote sponsored by the author's estate.", "Most of her books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games and comics, and more than thirty feature films have been based on her work.", "===Childhood and adolescence: 1890–1910===\nAgatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890, into a wealthy upper middle-class family in Ashfield, Torquay, Devon.", "Her mother, Clara Boehmer, was an Englishwoman who was born in Belfast in 1854 to Captain Frederick Boehmer and Mary Ann West, the couple's only daughter.", "Clara Boehmer had four brothers, one of whom died young.", "Captain Boehmer was killed in a riding accident while stationed on Jersey in April 1863, leaving Mary Ann (Agatha Christie's grandmother) to raise her children alone on a meagre income.", "Under financial strain, she sent Clara (Christie's mother) to live with her aunt Margaret Miller (née West), who had married a wealthy American, Nathaniel Frary Miller, in 1863.", "The couple lived in Prinsted, West Sussex.", "Clara stayed with Margaret, and there she met her future husband, an American stockbroker named Frederick Alvah Miller, who was the son of Nathaniel.", "Christie's father, Frederick, was a member of the American upper class, and had been sent to Switzerland for his education.", "He was considered personable and friendly by those who knew him.", "He soon developed a romantic relationship with Clara, and they were married in April 1878.", "Their first child, Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), was born in Torquay, where the couple were renting lodgings, while their second, Louis \"Monty\" Montant (1880–1929), was born in the U.S. state of New York, where Frederick was on a business trip.", "Clara soon purchased a villa in Torquay named \"Ashfield\" in which to raise her family, and it was here that her third and final child, Agatha, was born.", "Agatha Christie as a girl, date unknown\nChristie described her childhood as \"very happy\".", "She was surrounded by a series of strong and independent women from an early age.", "Her time was spent alternating between her home in Devon, her step-grandmother and aunt's house in Ealing, West London, and parts of Southern Europe, where her family would holiday during the winter.", "Agatha was raised in a household with various esoteric beliefs and, like her siblings, believed that her mother Clara was a psychic with the ability of second sight.", "Her mother insisted that she receive a home education, and so her parents were responsible for teaching her to read and write and to be able to perform basic arithmetic, a subject that she particularly enjoyed.", "They also taught her about music, and she learned to play both the piano and the mandolin.", "According to biographer Laura Thomson, Clara believed that Agatha should not learn to read till she was eight.", "However, due to her curiosity, Agatha taught herself to read much earlier.", "One of the first known photographs of Christie (now a part of the Christie family's heirlooms) depicts her as a little girl with her first dog, whom she called George Washington.", "Christie was a voracious reader from an early age.", "Among her earliest memories were those of reading the children's books written by Mrs Molesworth, including ''The Adventures of Herr Baby'' (1881), ''Christmas Tree Land'' (1897), and ''The Magic Nuts'' (1898).", "She also read the work of Edith Nesbit, including ''The Story of the Treasure Seekers'' (1899), ''The Phoenix and the Carpet'' (1903), and ''The Railway Children'' (1906).", "When a little older, she moved on to reading the surreal verse of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll.", "In April 1901, at age 10, she wrote her first poem, \"The cowslip\".", "She spent much of her childhood apart from other children, although she devoted much time to her pets, whom she adored.", "She eventually made friends with a group of other girls in Torquay, and she noted that \"one of the highlights of my existence\" was her appearance with them in a youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Yeomen of the Guard'', in which she played the hero, Colonel Fairfax.", "This was her last operatic role for, as she later wrote, \"an experience that you really enjoyed should never be repeated.\"", "Her father was often ill, suffering from a series of heart attacks, and he died in November 1901, aged 55.", "His death left the family devastated and in an uncertain economic situation.", "Clara and Agatha continued to live together in their Torquay home, Madge had moved to Abney Hall in Cheadle, Cheshire, with her new husband, and Monty had joined the army and been sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War.", "Agatha later claimed that her father's death, occurring when she was eleven years old, marked the end of her childhood.", "In 1902, Agatha was sent to receive a formal education at Miss Guyer's Girls School in Torquay, but found it difficult to adjust to the disciplined atmosphere.", "In 1905, she was sent to Paris where she was educated in three ''pensions'' – Mademoiselle Cabernet's, Les Marroniers, and then Miss Dryden's – the last of which served primarily as a finishing school.", "===Early literary attempts and the First World War: 1910–19===\nAgatha returned to England in 1910 and found that her mother Clara was ill.", "They decided to spend time together in the warmer climate of Cairo, then a regular tourist destination for wealthy Britons; they stayed for three months at the Gezirah Palace Hotel.", "Agatha, always chaperoned by her mother, attended many social functions in search of a husband.", "She visited such ancient Egyptian monuments as the Great Pyramid of Giza, but did not exhibit the great interest in archaeology and Egyptology that became prominent in her later years.", "Returning to Britain, she continued her social activities, writing and performing in amateur theatrics.", "She also helped put on a play called ''The BlueBeard of Unhappiness'' with female friends.", "Her writing extended to both poetry and music.", "Some early works saw publication, but she decided against focusing on either of these as future professions.", "Christie wrote her first short story, ''The House of Beauty'' (an early version of her later-published story ''The House of Dreams''), while recovering in bed from an undisclosed illness.", "This was about 6,000 words on the topic of \"madness and dreams\", a subject of fascination for her.", "Biographer Janet Morgan commented that, despite \"infelicities of style\", the story was nevertheless \"compelling\".", "Other stories followed, most of them illustrating her interest in spiritualism and the paranormal.", "These included \"The Call of Wings\" and \"The Little Lonely God\".", "Magazines rejected all her early submissions, made under pseudonyms, although some were revised and published later, often with new titles.", "Christie then set her first novel, ''Snow Upon the Desert'', in Cairo, and drew from her recent experiences in that city, written under the pseudonym Monosyllaba.", "She was perturbed when various publishers all declined.", "Clara suggested that her daughter ask for advice from a family friend and neighbour, writer Eden Philpotts, who obliged her enquiry, encouraged her writing, and sent her an introduction to his own literary agent, Hughes Massie, who rejected ''Snow Upon the Desert'', and suggested a second novel.", "Christie continued searching for a husband, and entered into short-lived relationships with four separate men and an engagement with another.", "She then met Archibald Christie (1889–1962) at a dance given by Lord and Lady Clifford at Ugbrooke, about from Torquay.", "Archie was born in India, the son of a judge in the Indian Civil Service.", "He was an army officer who was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps in April 1913.", "The couple quickly fell in love.", "Upon learning that he would be stationed in Farnborough, Archie proposed marriage, and Agatha accepted.", "With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Archie was sent to France to fight the German forces.", "They married on the afternoon of Christmas Eve 1914 at Emmanuel Church, Clifton, Bristol, which was close to the home of his parents, while Archie was on home leave.", "Rising through the ranks, he was eventually stationed back to Britain in September 1918 as a colonel in the Air Ministry.", "Agatha involved herself in the war effort.", "She joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) in 1914, and attended to wounded soldiers at a hospital in Torquay as an unpaid VAD nurse.", "Responsible for aiding the doctors and maintaining morale; she performed 3,400 hours of unpaid work between October 1914 and December 1916.", "After qualifying as an \"apothecaries' assistant\" (or dispenser) in 1917 and working as a dispenser, she earned £16 a year until the end of her service in September 1918.", "After the war, Agatha and Archie Christie settled into a flat at 5 Northwick Terrace in St. John's Wood, northwest London.", "===First novels and Poirot: 1919–23===\nChristie had long been a fan of detective novels, having enjoyed Wilkie Collins's ''The Woman in White'' and ''The Moonstone'' as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's early Sherlock Holmes stories.", "She wrote her own detective novel, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', featuring Hercule Poirot, a former Belgian police officer noted for his twirly large \"magnificent moustaches\" and egg-shaped head.", "Poirot had taken refuge in Britain after Germany invaded Belgium.", "Christie's inspiration for the character stemmed from real Belgian refugees who were living in Torquay and the Belgian soldiers whom she helped treat as a volunteer nurse in Torquay during the First World War.", "Agatha began writing ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' in 1916 and wrote most of it at Dartmoor.", "Her original manuscript was rejected by such publishing companies as Hodder and Stoughton and Methuen.", "After keeping the submission for several months, John Lane at The Bodley Head offered to accept it, provided that Christie change the ending.", "She did so, and signed a contract which she later felt was exploitative.", "It was finally published in 1920 after a number of rejections.", "Christie meanwhile settled into married life, giving birth to her only child, daughter Rosalind Margaret Hicks, in August 1919 at Ashfield, where the couple spent much of their time, having few friends in London.", "Archie left the Air Force at the end of the war and started working in the City financial sector at a relatively low salary, though they still employed a maid.", "Christie's second novel, ''The Secret Adversary'' (1922), featured a new detective couple Tommy and Tuppence, again published by The Bodley Head.", "It earned her £50.", "A third novel again featured Poirot, ''Murder on the Links'' (1923), as did short stories commissioned by Bruce Ingram, editor of ''The Sketch'' magazine.", "In order to tour the world promoting the British Empire Exhibition, the couple left their daughter Rosalind with Agatha's mother and sister.", "They travelled to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.", "They learned to surf prone in South Africa; then, in Waikiki, they were among the first Britons to surf standing up.", "===Disappearance===\nDaily Herald'', 15 December 1926, announcing Christie had been found\n\nIn late 1926, Archie asked Agatha for a divorce.", "He was in love with Nancy Neele, who had been a friend of Major Belcher, director of the British Empire Mission, on the promotional tour a few years earlier.", "On 3 December 1926, the Christies quarrelled, and Archie left their house, Styles, in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to spend the weekend with his mistress at Godalming, Surrey.", "That same evening, around 9:45 pm, Christie disappeared from her home, leaving behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire.", "Her car, a Morris Cowley, was later found at Newlands Corner, perched above a chalk quarry, with an expired driving licence and clothes.", "Her disappearance caused an outcry from the public.", "The Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, pressured police, and a newspaper offered a £100 reward.", "Over a thousand police officers, 15,000 volunteers, and several aeroplanes scoured the rural landscape.", "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even gave a spirit medium one of Christie's gloves to find the missing woman.", "Dorothy L. Sayers visited the house in Surrey, later using the scenario in her book ''Unnatural Death''.", "Christie's disappearance was featured on the front page of ''The New York Times''.", "Despite the extensive manhunt, she was not found for 10 days.", "On 14 December 1926, she was found at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel (now the Old Swan Hotel) in Harrogate, Yorkshire, registered as Mrs Teresa Neele (the surname of her husband's lover) from Cape Town.", "Christie's autobiography makes no reference to her disappearance.", "Two doctors diagnosed her as suffering from amnesia (see fugue state), yet opinion remains divided as to why she disappeared.", "Biographer Laura Thompson suggested that Christie let this out in the six novels that she wrote between 1930 and 1956 under the nom de plume Mary Westmacott, in a style quite different from her regular detective stories.", "She was known to be in a depressed state from literary overwork, her mother's death earlier that year, and her husband's infidelity.", "Public reaction at the time was largely negative, supposing a publicity stunt or attempt to frame her husband for murder.", "The 1979 Michael Apted film ''Agatha'' features a disclaimer in the opening credits stating that what follows is an imaginary solution to an authentic mystery.", "The film starred Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Dalton as Agatha and Archie, and depicts Christie planning suicide in such a way as to frame her husband's mistress for her \"murder\".", "An American reporter, played by Dustin Hoffman, follows her closely and stops the plan.", "Christie's heirs unsuccessfully sued to prevent the film's distribution.", "Author Jared Cade interviewed numerous witnesses and relatives for his sympathetic biography ''Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days'', revised 2011.", "He provided substantial evidence to suggest that she planned the event to embarrass her husband, never anticipating the resulting escalated melodrama.", "The Christies divorced in 1928, and Archie married Nancy Neele.", "Agatha retained custody of daughter Rosalind and the Christie name for her writing.", "During their marriage, she published six novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of short stories in magazines.", "===Second marriage and later life===\nAgatha Christie's room at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, where she wrote ''Murder on the Orient Express''\nIn 1928, Christie left England for Istanbul and subsequently for Baghdad on the Orient Express.", "During this trip, she encountered her first archaeological dig and met a young archaeologist, Max Mallowan, whom she married in September 1930.", "Their marriage was happy and lasted until Christie's death in 1976.", "In a 1977 interview, Mallowan recounted his first meeting with Christie, wherein he took her and a group of tourists on a tour of his expedition site in Iraq.", "Christie frequently used settings that were familiar to her for her stories.", "She often accompanied Mallowan on his archaeological expeditions, and her travels with him contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East.", "Other novels (such as ''And Then There Were None'') were set in and around Torquay, where she was raised.", "Christie's 1934 novel ''Murder on the Orient Express'' was written in the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, the southern terminus of the railway.", "The hotel maintains Christie's room as a memorial to the author.", "The Greenway Estate in Devon, acquired by the couple as a summer residence in 1938, is now in the care of the National Trust.", "Christie often stayed at Abney Hall, Cheshire, owned by her brother-in-law, James Watts, basing at least two stories there: a short story \"The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding\" in the story collection of the same name, and the novel ''After the Funeral''.", "\"Abney became Agatha's greatest inspiration for country-house life, with all its servants and grandeur being woven into her plots.", "The descriptions of the fictional Chimneys, Stoneygates, and other houses in her stories are mostly Abney in various forms.\"", "During the Second World War, Christie worked in the pharmacy at University College Hospital, London, where she acquired a knowledge of poisons that she put to good use in her post-war crime novels.", "For example, the use of thallium as a poison was suggested to her by UCH Chief Pharmacist Harold Davis (later appointed Chief Pharmacist at the UK Ministry of Health), and in ''The Pale Horse'', published in 1961, she employed it to dispatch a series of victims, the first clue to the murder method coming from the victims' loss of hair.", "So accurate was her description of thallium poisoning that on at least one occasion it helped solve a case that was baffling doctors.", "Cresswell Place\nChristie lived in Chelsea, first in Cresswell Place and later in Sheffield Terrace.", "Both properties are now marked by blue plaques.", "In 1934, she and Max Mallowan purchased Winterbrook House in Winterbrook, a hamlet adjoining the small market town of Wallingford, then within the bounds of Cholsey and in Berkshire.", "This was their main residence for the rest of their lives and the place where Christie did most of her writing.", "This house, too, bears a blue plaque.", "Christie led a very low-profile life despite being known in the town of Wallingford, where she was for many years President of the local amateur dramatic society.", "Blue plaque, 58 Sheffield Terrace, Holland Park, London\nAround 1941–42, the British intelligence agency MI5 investigated Christie after a character called Major Bletchley appeared in her 1941 thriller ''N or M?", "'', which was about a hunt for a pair of deadly fifth columnists in wartime England.", "MI5 was afraid that Christie had a spy in Britain's top-secret codebreaking centre, Bletchley Park.", "The agency's fears were allayed when Christie told friend (and codebreaker) Dilly Knox, \"I was stuck there on my way by train from Oxford to London and took revenge by giving the name to one of my least lovable characters.\"", "To honour her many literary works, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1956 New Year Honours.", "The next year, she became the President of the Detection Club.", "In the 1971 New Year Honours, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).", "three years after her husband had been knighted for his archaeological work in 1968.", "They were one of the few married couples where both partners were honoured in their own right.", "From 1968, owing to her husband's knighthood, Christie could also be styled Lady Mallowan.", "From 1971-74, Christie's health began to fail, although she continued to write.", "Recently, using experimental tools of textual analysis, Canadian researchers have suggested that Christie may have begun to suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementia.", "Agatha Christie's gravestone at St. Mary's church, Cholsey\n\nDame Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976 at age 85 from natural causes at her home in Winterbrook, Cholsey.", "She is buried in the nearby churchyard of St Mary's, Cholsey, having chosen the plot for their final resting place with her husband Sir Max some ten years before she died.", "The simple funeral service was attended by about 20 newspaper and TV reporters, some having travelled from as far away as South America.", "Thirty wreaths adorned Dame Agatha's grave, including one from the cast of her long-running play ''The Mousetrap'' and one sent 'on behalf of the multitude of grateful readers' by the Ulverscroft Large Print Book Publishers.", "She was survived by her only child, Rosalind Hicks, and only grandson, Mathew Prichard.", "Her husband, Max, died in 1978, aged 74.", "=== Agatha Christie's estate and subsequent ownership of works===\nChristie had set up a private company, Agatha Christie Limited, to hold the rights to her works, and around 1959 she had transferred her 278-acre home, Greenway Estate, to her daughter Rosalind.", "In 1968, when Christie was almost 80 years old, she sold a 51% stake in Agatha Christie Limited (and therefore the works it owned) to Booker Books (better known as Booker Author's Division), a subsidiary of the British food and transport conglomerate Booker-McConnell (now Booker Group), the founder of the Booker Prize for literature, which later increased its stake to 64%.", "Agatha Christie Limited remains the owner of the worldwide rights for over 80 of Christie's novels and short stories, 19 plays, and nearly 40 TV films.", "After Christie's death in 1976, her remaining 36% share of the company was inherited by her daughter, Rosalind Hicks, who passionately preserved her mother's works, image, and legacy until her own death 28 years later.", "The family's share of the company allowed them to appoint 50% of the board and the chairman, and thereby to retain a veto over new treatments, updated versions, and republications of her works.", "In 1993, Hicks founded the Agatha Christie Society and became its first president.", "In 2004 her obituary in ''The Telegraph'' commented that Hicks had been \"determined to remain true to her mother's vision and to protect the integrity of her creations\" and disapproved of \"merchandising\" activities.", "Upon Hicks's death on 28 October 2004, both this and the Greenway Estate passed to Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard.", "After his parents' deaths, Prichard donated Greenway – both the house and its contents – to the National Trust.", "Christie's family and family trusts, including Prichard, continue to own the remaining 36% stake in Agatha Christie Limited, and remain associated with the company.", "Prichard remains as the company's chairman, and also in his own right holds the copyright to some of his grandmother's later literary works (including ''The Mousetrap'').", "In 1998, Booker sold a number of its non-food assets to focus on its core business.", "As part of that, its shares in Agatha Christie Limited (at the time earning £2.1m annual revenue) were sold for £10m to Chorion, a major international media company whose portfolio of well-known authors' works also included the literary estates of Enid Blyton and Dennis Wheatley.", "In February 2012, some years after a management buyout, Chorion found itself in financial difficulties and began to sell off their literary assets on the market, selling their 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited to the current owner, Acorn Media UK (part of RLJ Entertainment, Inc. and the RLJ Companies, owned by American entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson) during that same month.", ", media reports state that the BBC had acquired the exclusive television rights to Christie's works in the UK (previously associated with ITV) and plans with Acorn's co-operation to air new productions for the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth in 2015.", "The BBC broadcast ''Partners In Crime'' and ''And Then There Were None'' in 2015 as part of the deal.", "\n\n===Works of fiction===\n====Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple====\nMemorial to Christie in central London\nChristie's first book, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', was published in 1920 and introduced the detective Hercule Poirot, who became a long-running character in many of Christie's works, appearing in 33 novels and 54 short stories.", "Miss Marple, introduced in the short-story collection ''The Thirteen Problems'' in 1927, was based on Christie's grandmother and her \"Ealing cronies\".", "Both Jane and Gran \"always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right.\"", "Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories.", "During the Second World War, Christie wrote two novels, ''Curtain'' and ''Sleeping Murder'', intended as the last cases of these two great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.", "These publications came on the heels of the success of the film version of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' in 1974.", "Christie became increasingly tired of Poirot, much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had grown weary of his character Sherlock Holmes.", "By the end of the 1930s, Christie wrote in her diary that she was finding Poirot \"insufferable\", and by the 1960s she felt that he was \"an egocentric creep\".", "However, unlike Conan Doyle, Christie resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular.", "She saw herself as an entertainer whose job was to produce what the public liked, and the public liked Poirot.", "She did marry off Poirot's companion Colonel Hastings in an attempt to trim her cast commitments.", "In contrast, Christie was fond of Miss Marple.", "However, the Belgian detective's titles outnumber the Marple titles more than two to one.", "This is largely because Christie wrote numerous Poirot novels early in her career, while ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' remained the sole Marple novel until the 1940s.", "Christie never wrote a novel or short story featuring both Poirot and Miss Marple.", "In a recording discovered and released in 2008, Christie revealed the reason for this: \"Hercule Poirot, a complete egoist, would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady\".", "Poirot is the only fictional character to date to be given an obituary in ''The New York Times'', following the publication of ''Curtain''.", "It appeared on the front page of the paper on 6 August 1975.", "Following the great success of ''Curtain'', Christie gave permission for the release of ''Sleeping Murder'' sometime in 1976 but died in January 1976 before the book could be released.", "This may explain some of the inconsistencies compared to the rest of the Marple series — for example, Colonel Arthur Bantry, husband of Miss Marple's friend Dolly, is still alive and well in ''Sleeping Murder'' although he is noted as having died in books published earlier.", "It may be that Christie simply did not have time to revise the manuscript before she died.", "In 2013, the Christie family gave their \"full backing\" to the release of a new Poirot story, ''The Monogram Murders'', which was written by British author Sophie Hannah.", "====Formula and plot devices====\n\nChristie's reputation as \"The Queen of Crime\" was built upon the large number of classic motifs that she introduced, or for which she provided the most famous example.", "Christie built these tropes into what is now considered classic mystery structure: a murder is committed, there are multiple suspects who are all concealing secrets, and the detective gradually uncovers these secrets over the course of the story, discovering the most shocking twists towards the end.", "Culprits in Christie's mysteries have included children, policemen, narrators, already deceased individuals, and sometimes comprise no known suspects (''And Then There Were None'') or all of the suspects (''Murder on the Orient Express'').", "At the end, in a Christie hallmark, the detective usually gathers the surviving suspects into one room, explains the course of his deductive reasoning, and reveals the guilty party, although there are exceptions in which it is left to the guilty party to explain all (such as ''And Then There Were None'' and ''Endless Night'', both rather nihilistic in nature).", "Christie allows some culprits to escape earthly justice for a variety of reasons, such as the passage of time (retrospective cases), in which the most important characters have already died, or by active prescription.", "Such cases include ''The Witness for the Prosecution'', ''Murder on the Orient Express'', ''The Man in the Brown Suit'', ''Elephants Can Remember'', and ''The Unexpected Guest''.", "There are instances in which a killer is not brought to justice in the legal sense but does die as a direct result of his plot, sometimes by his own hand at the direction or with the collusion of the detective (usually Hercule Poirot).", "This occurs in ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', ''Death on the Nile'', ''Dumb Witness'', ''Crooked House'', ''The Hollow'', ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', ''Cat Among the Pigeons'', ''Peril at End House'', ''Nemesis'', ''Appointment with Death'', ''The Secret Adversary'', and ''Curtain''.", "In the last of these (''Curtain''), no fewer than three culprits die during the course of the story.", "In ''The A.B.C.", "Murders'', the murderer has killed four innocent people and attempted to frame an unstable man for the crimes.", "Hercule Poirot, however, prevents this easy way out, ensuring a trial and hanging.", "In ''And Then There Were None'', the killer's own death is intrinsic to the plot; the red herring is when and how the killer actually died.", "However, stage, film, and television productions of some of these mysteries were traditionally sanitized with the culprits not evading some form of justice, for a variety of reasons – e.g., censors, plot clarity, and Christie's own changing tastes.", "(When Christie adapted ''Witness for the Prosecution'' into a stage play, she lengthened the ending so that the murderer was also killed; this format was followed in screen versions, including the Billy Wilder film from 1957.)", "In ''Death Comes as the End'', set in ancient Egypt, the culprit is killed by one of the few surviving characters before he can claim another victim .", "In some stories, the question remains unresolved of whether formal justice will ever be delivered, such as ''Five Little Pigs'' and ''Endless Night''.", "According to P. D. James, Christie often, but not always, made the unlikeliest character the guilty party.", "Savvy readers could sometimes identify the culprit by simply identifying the least likely suspect.", "On an edition of ''Desert Island Discs'' in 2007, Brian Aldiss claimed that Christie had told him that she wrote her books up to the last chapter, then decided who the most unlikely suspect was, after which she would go back and make the necessary changes to \"frame\" that person.", "However, John Curran's ''Agatha Christie: The Secret Notebooks'' describes different working methods for every book in Christie's bibliography, contradicting the claim by Aldiss.", "====Titles====\nChristie's mature novels, from 1940 onwards, often have titles drawn from literature.", "Four are from Shakespeare: \n* ''Sad Cypress'' from a song in ''Twelfth Night'': \"Come away, come away, death / And in sad cypress let me be laid\".", "* ''By the Pricking of My Thumbs'' from Act 4, Scene 1 of ''Macbeth'' : \"By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes\".", "* ''There is a Tide...'' (later ''Taken at the Flood'') from Brutus' speech in ''Julius Caesar'': \"There is a tide in the affairs of men / Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune\".", "* ''Absent in the Spring'' from Sonnet 98: \"From you have I been absent in the spring ...\"\n\nThree are from the Bible: \n* ''Evil Under the Sun'' from Ecclesiastes 5:13 (and restated in 6:1): \"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt\".", "* ''The Burden'' from Jesus' words: \"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.\"", "(Matthew: 11: 29–30).", "* ''The Pale Horse'' from the Revelation of St John (6:8): \"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!", "Its rider was named Death  ...\".", "Another six are from other works of literature:\n* ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'' from Tennyson's \"The Lady of Shallot\": \"Out flew the web, and floated wide/The mirror cracked from side to side/'The curse is come upon me,\" cried/The Lady of Shalott\"\n* ''The Moving Finger'' from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'': \"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ/Moves on ...\" This, in turn, refers to the Biblical account of Belshazzar's feast (Daniel, chapter 5), which is the origin of the expression \"the writing on the wall\".", "* ''The Rose and the Yew Tree'' from Section V of \"Little Gidding\" from T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets'': \"The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree/Are of equal duration\".", "* ''Postern of Fate'' from the poem \"Gates of Damascus\" by James Elroy Flecker: \"Postern of Fate, the Desert Gate, Disaster's Cavern, Fort of Fear/The Portal of Bagdad am I ...\"\n* ''Endless Night'' from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence: \"Some are born to sweet delight / Some are born to endless night\".", "* ''N or M?''", "from the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer which asks, \"What is your Christian name?", "Answer N. or M.\" The \"N. or M.\" stands for the Latin, \"nomen vel nomina\", meaning \"name or names\".", "It is an accident of typography that \"nomina\" came to be represented by \"m\".", "In such cases, the original context of the title is usually printed as an epigraph.", "Similarly, the title of Christie's autobiographical travel book ''Come, Tell Me How You Live'' is a quote from verse three of the White Knight's poem, \"Haddocks' Eyes\" from chapter eight of ''Through the Looking-Glass'' by Lewis Carroll, and is a play on the word \"tell\", an archaeological mound.", "The title of ''The Mousetrap'' is purportedly an allusion to Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', in which \"The Mousetrap\" is Hamlet's answer to Claudius's inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and first scene he and his court have just watched (III, ii).", "Seven stories are built around words from well known children's nursery rhymes: ''And Then There Were None'' (from \"Ten Little Indians\"), ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'' (from \"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe\"), ''Five Little Pigs'' (from \"This Little Piggy\"), ''Crooked House'' (from \"There Was a Crooked Man\"), ''A Pocket Full of Rye'' (from \"Sing a Song of Sixpence\"), ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' (from \"Hickory Dickory Dock\"), and ''Three Blind Mice'' (from \"Three Blind Mice\").", "Similarly, the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead is named after a children's game that is explained in the course of the novel.", "====Character stereotypes====\nChristie occasionally inserted stereotyped descriptions of characters into her work, particularly before the end of the Second World War (when such attitudes were more commonly expressed publicly), and particularly in regard to Italians, Jews, non-Europeans, and sometimes Americans, the last usually as impossibly naïve or uninformed.", "For example, she described \"Hebraic men with hook-noses wearing rather flamboyant jewellery\" in the first editions of the collection ''The Mysterious Mr Quin'' (1930), in the short story \"The Soul of the Croupier\"; in later editions, the passage was edited to describe \"sallow men\" wearing same.", "In ''The Hollow'', published as late as 1946, one of the more unsympathetic characters is \"a Whitechapel Jewess with dyed hair and a voice like a corncrake ... a small woman with a thick nose, henna red and a disagreeable voice\".", "To contrast with the more stereotyped descriptions, Christie sometimes showed \"foreigners\" as victims or potential victims at the hands of English malefactors, such as, respectively, Olga Seminoff (''Hallowe'en Party'') and Katrina Reiger (in the short story \"How Does Your Garden Grow?\").", "Jewish characters are often seen as un-English (such as Oliver Manders in ''Three Act Tragedy''), but they are rarely the culprits.", "Often, she is affectionate or teasing with her prejudices.", "After four years of war-torn London, Christie hoped to return some day to Syria, which she described as \"gentle fertile country and its simple people, who know how to laugh and how to enjoy life; who are idle and gay, and who have dignity, good manners, and a great sense of humour, and to whom death is not terrible.\"", "She had trouble with an incompetent Swiss French nursery helper (Marcelle) for toddler Rosalind, and as a result she decided, \"Scottish preferred ... good with the young.", "The French were hopeless disciplinarians ... Germans good and methodical, but it was not German that I really wanted Rosalind to learn.", "The Irish were gay but made trouble in the house; the English were of all kinds\".", "===Non-fiction writings===\nChristie published relatively few nonfiction works:\n*''Come, Tell Me How You Live'', about working on an archaeological dig, drawn from her life with second husband Max Mallowan\n*''The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery'', a collection of correspondence from her 1922 Grand Tour of the British empire, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada\n*''Agatha Christie: An Autobiography'', published posthumously in 1977\n\n===Critical reception and legacy===\nAgatha Christie is the world's best-selling mystery writer, often referred to as the \"Queen of Crime\", and considered a master of suspense, plotting, and characterisation.", "Some critics, however, regarded Christie's plotting abilities as considerably greater than her literary ones.", "Novelist Raymond Chandler criticised her in his essay \"The Simple Art of Murder\", and American literary critic Edmund Wilson was dismissive of Christie and the detective fiction genre generally in his ''New Yorker'' essay, \"Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?\"", "In honour of the 125th anniversary of her birth, 25 contemporary mystery writers and one publisher revealed their views on Christie's works.", "Many of the authors read Christie's novels first, before other mystery writers, in English or in their native language, influencing their own writing, and nearly all still view her as the \"Queen of Crime\", and creator of the plot twists used by mystery authors.", "Nearly all had one or more favourites among Christie's mysteries, and find her books good to read now, nearly 100 years after her first novel was published.", "Several of the authors would be very pleased to have their own novels in print in 100 years.", "Just one of the 25 authors held with Edmund Wilson's views.", "Harper Collins also published a souvenir magazine ''Shocking Real Murders: Behind Her Classic Mysteries''.", "The ''Guinness Book of World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time.", "Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible.", "Half of the sales are of English language editions, and the other half in translation.", "According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages.", "''And Then There Were None'' is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the best-selling books of all time.", "In 2012, Christie was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''Sgt.", "Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires.", "\n===Archaeology===\n\n\nChristie had a lifelong interest in archaeology.", "She met her second husband, Sir Max Mallowan, a distinguished archaeologist, on a trip to the excavation site at Ur in 1930.", "But her fame as an author far surpassed his fame in archaeology.", "Prior to meeting Mallowan, Christie had not had any extensive brushes with archaeology, but once the two married, they made sure to only go to sites where they could work together.", "Christie accompanied Mallowan on countless archaeological trips, spending 3–4 months at a time in Syria and Iraq at excavation sites at Ur, Nineveh, Tell Arpachiyah, Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak, and Nimrud.", "She wrote novels and short stories, but also contributed work to the archaeological sites, more specifically to the archaeological restoration and labelling of ancient exhibits, including tasks such as cleaning and conserving delicate ivory pieces, reconstructing pottery, developing photos from early excavations which later led to taking photographs of the site and its findings, and taking field notes.", "Christie would always pay for her own board and lodging and her travel expenses so as to not influence the funding of the archaeological excavations, and she also supported excavations as an anonymous sponsor.", "During their time in the Middle East, there was also a large amount of time spent travelling to and from Mallowan's sites.", "Their extensive travelling had a strong influence on her writing, as some type of transportation often plays a part in her murderer's schemes.", "The large amount of travel was reused in novels such as ''The Murder on the Orient Express'', as well as suggesting the idea of archaeology as an adventure itself.", "After the Second World War, she chronicled her time in Syria with fondness in ''Come Tell Me How You Live''.", "Anecdotes, memories, funny episodes are strung in a rough timeline, with more emphasis on eccentric characters and lovely scenery than on factual accuracy.", "From 8 November 2001 to 24 March 2002, The British Museum had an exhibit named ''Agatha Christie and Archaeology: Mystery in Mesopotamia'', which presented the life of Agatha Christie and the influences of archaeology in her life and works.", "===Use of archaeology in her writing===\nMany of the settings for Christie's books were directly inspired by the many archaeological field seasons spent in the Middle East on the sites managed by her husband Max.", "The extent of her time spent at the many locations featured in her books is apparent from the extreme detail in which she describes them.", "One such site featured in her work is the temple site of Abu Simbel, depicted in ''Death on the Nile''.", "Also there is the great detail in which she describes life at the dig site in ''Murder in Mesopotamia''.", "Among the characters in her books, Christie has often given prominence to the archaeologists and experts in Middle Eastern cultures and artifacts.", "Most notable are the characters of Dr. Eric Leidner in ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' and Signor Richetti in ''Death on the Nile'', while many minor characters were archaeologists in ''They Came to Baghdad''.", "Some of Christie's best known novels with heavy archaeological influences are:\n* ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' (1936) – the most archaeologically influenced of all her novels, as it is set in the Middle East at an archaeological dig site and associated expedition house.", "The main characters include archaeologist Dr. Eric Leidner, his wife, many specialists and assistants, and the men working on the site.", "The novel is noted most for its careful description of the dig site and house, which showed that the author had spent much of her time in very similar situations.", "The characters in this book in particular are also based on archaeologists whom Christie knew from her personal experiences on excavation sites.", "* ''Death on the Nile'' (1937) – takes place on a tour boat on the Nile.", "Many archaeological sites are visited along the way and one of the main characters, Signor Richetti, is an archaeologist.", "* ''Appointment with Death'' (1938) – set in Jerusalem and its surrounding area.", "The death itself occurs at an old cave site in Petra and offers some very descriptive details of sites which Christie herself could have visited in order to write the book.", "* ''They Came to Baghdad'' (1951) – inspired by Christie's own trips to Baghdad with Mallowan, and involves an archaeologist as the heroine's love interest.", "Christie has been portrayed on a number of occasions in film and television.", "Several biographical programmes have been made, such as BBC television's ''Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures'' (2004; in which she was portrayed by Olivia Williams, Anna Massey, and Bonnie Wright, at different stages in her life), and in Season 3, Episode 1 of ''ITV Perspectives'': \"The Mystery of Agatha Christie\" (2013), hosted by David Suchet, who plays Hercule Poirot on television.", "Christie has also been portrayed fictionally.", "Some of these portrayals have explored and offered accounts of Christie's disappearance in 1926, including the film ''Agatha'' (1979) (with Vanessa Redgrave, in which she sneaks away to plan revenge against her husband), and the ''Doctor Who'' episode \"The Unicorn and the Wasp\" (17 May 2008), with Fenella Woolgar, in which her disappearance is the result of her suffering a temporary breakdown owing to a brief psychic link being formed between her and an alien.", "Others, such as Hungarian film, ''Kojak Budapesten'' (1980; not to be confused with the 1986 comedy by the same name) create their own scenarios involving Christie's criminal skill.", "In the TV play, ''Murder by the Book'' (1986), Christie herself (Dame Peggy Ashcroft) murdered one of her fictional-turned-real characters, Poirot.", "The heroine of Liar-Soft's visual novel ''Shikkoku no Sharnoth: What a Beautiful Tomorrow'' (2008), Mary Clarissa Christie, is based on the real-life Christie.", "Christie features as a character in Gaylord Larsen's ''Dorothy and Agatha'' and ''The London Blitz Murders'' by Max Allan Collins.", "A fictionalized account of Christie's disappearance is the central theme of a Korean musical, ''Agatha''.", "A young Agatha Christie is depicted in the Spanish historical television series ''Grand Hotel'' (2011).", "Aiding the local detectives, Agatha finds inspiration to write her new novel.", "\n\n* ''Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures'' (her life story in a 2004 BBC drama)\n* Abney Hall (home to her brother-in-law; several books use Abney as their setting)\n* Greenway Estate (Christie's former home in Devon.", "The house and grounds are now in the possession of the National Trust and open to the public)\n* Agatha Christie indult (an oecumenical request to which Christie was signatory seeking permission for the occasional use of the Tridentine (Latin) mass in England and Wales)\n* Agatha Award\n* Agatha Christie Award (Japan)\n* ''The Essence of Agatha Christie:", "*\n*\n*.", "*.", "*\n*\n*.", "*.", "*\n*.", "*.", "*.", "\n===Articles===\n*\n*\n*.", "* A reprint of the latter.", "*\n*\n\n===Books===\n* Reprinted as .", "*.", "*.", "*\n*\n*\n*.", "*.", "*.", "*.", "\n\n\n\n* Official Agatha Christie site (also ''Agatha Christie Limited's'' website)\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Agatha Christie/Sir Max Mallowan's blue plaque at Cholsey\n* Agatha Christie profile and articles at \"The Guardian\"\n* Agatha Christie profile on PBS.ORG\n* Agatha Christie's style and methods, the plot devices that she uses to trick the reader\n* Agatha Christie's Profile on FamousAuthors.org\n* Imperial War Museum Interview" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Hercule Poirot''' (; ) is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play (''Black Coffee''), and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.\n\nPoirot has been portrayed on radio, in film and on television by various actors, including Austin Trevor, John Moffatt, Albert Finney, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina, Orson Welles, David Suchet and Sir Kenneth Branagh.\n\n", "\n=== Influences ===\n\nPoirot's name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired Belgian police officer living in London.\n\nA more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle. In ''An Autobiography'', Christie states, \"I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp\". For his part, Conan Doyle acknowledged basing his detective stories on the model of Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin and his anonymous narrator, and basing his character Sherlock Holmes on Joseph Bell, who in his use of \"ratiocination\" prefigured Poirot's reliance on his \"little grey cells\".\n\nPoirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective, Inspector Hanaud of the French Sûreté, who first appeared in the 1910 novel ''At the Villa Rose'' and predates the first Poirot novel by ten years.\n\nUnlike the models mentioned above, Christie's Poirot was clearly the result of her early development of the detective in her first book, written in 1916 and published in 1920. His Belgian nationality was interesting because of Belgium's occupation by Germany, which also provided a plausible explanation of why such a skilled detective would be out of work and available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's ''casus belli'' for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the \"Rape of Belgium\".\n\n=== Popularity ===\n\nPoirot first appeared in ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' (published in 1920) and exited in ''Curtain'' (published in 1975). Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of ''The New York Times''.\n\nBy 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot \"insufferable\", and by 1960 she felt that he was a \"detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep\". Yet the public loved him and Christie refused to kill him off, claiming that it was her duty to produce what the public liked.\n\n=== Appearance and proclivities ===\n\nCaptain Arthur Hastings's first description of Poirot:\n\nHe was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. Even if everything on his face was covered, the tips of moustache and the pink-tipped nose would be visible.\nThe neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police.\n\nAgatha Christie's initial description of Poirot in ''The Murder on the Orient Express'':\n\nBy the step leading up into the sleeping-car stood a young French lieutenant, resplendent in uniform, conversing with a small man Hercule Poirot muffled up to the ears of whom nothing was visible but a pink-tipped nose and the two points of an upward-curled moustache.\n\nIn the later books, his limp is not mentioned, suggesting it may have been a temporary wartime injury. (In ''Curtain'', Poirot admits he was wounded when he first came to England.) Poirot has green eyes that are repeatedly described as shining \"like a cat's\" when he is struck by a clever idea, and dark hair, which he dyes later in life. In ''Curtain'', he admits to Hastings that he wears a wig and a false moustache. However, in many of his screen incarnations, he is bald or balding.\n\nFrequent mention is made of his patent leather shoes, damage to which is frequently a source of misery for him, but comical for the reader. Poirot's appearance, regarded as fastidious during his early career, later falls hopelessly out of fashion. He employs pince-nez reading glasses.\n\nAmong Poirot's most significant personal attributes is the sensitivity of his stomach:\n\nThe plane dropped slightly. \"''Mon estomac'',\" thought Hercule Poirot, and closed his eyes determinedly.\n\nHe suffers from sea sickness, and in ''Death in the Clouds'' he states that his air sickness prevents him from being more alert at the time of the murder. Later in his life, we are told:\n\nAlways a man who had taken his stomach seriously, he was reaping his reward in old age. Eating was not only a physical pleasure, it was also an intellectual research.\n\nPoirot is extremely punctual and carries a pocket watch almost to the end of his career. He is also particular about his personal finances, preferring to keep a bank balance of 444 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence.\n\nAs mentioned in ''Curtain'' and ''The Clocks'', he is fond of classical music, particularly Mozart and Bach.\n\n=== Methods ===\n\nIn ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based and logical detective; reflected in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of \"the little grey cells\" and \"order and method\". Hastings is irritated by the fact that Poirot sometimes conceals important details of his plans, as in ''The Big Four''. In this novel, Hastings is kept in the dark throughout the climax. This aspect of Poirot is less evident in the later novels, partly because there is rarely a narrator to mislead.\n\nIn ''Murder on the Links,'' still largely dependent on clues himself, Poirot mocks a rival \"bloodhound\" detective who focuses on the traditional trail of clues established in detective fiction (e.g., Sherlock Holmes depending on footprints, fingerprints, and cigar ash). From this point on, Poirot establishes his psychological bona fides. Rather than painstakingly examining crime scenes, he enquires into the nature of the victim or the psychology of the murderer. He predicates his actions in the later novels on his underlying assumption that particular crimes are committed by particular types of people.\n\nPoirot focuses on getting people to talk. In the early novels, he casts himself in the role of \"Papa Poirot\", a benign confessor, especially to young women. In later works, Christie made a point of having Poirot supply false or misleading information about himself or his background to assist him in obtaining information. In ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Poirot speaks of a non-existent mentally disabled nephew to uncover information about homes for the mentally unfit. In ''Dumb Witness'', Poirot invents an elderly invalid mother as a pretence to investigate local nurses. In ''The Big Four'', Poirot pretends to have (and poses as) an identical twin brother named Achille: however, this brother was mentioned again in ''The Labours of Hercules''. Poirot claimed to have a brother for a short time.\n\nTo this day Harold is not quite sure what made him suddenly pour out the whole story to a little man to whom he had only spoken a few minutes before.\n\nPoirot is also willing to appear more foreign or vain in an effort to make people underestimate him. He admits as much:\n\nIt is true that I can speak the exact, the idiomatic English. But, my friend, to speak the broken English is an enormous asset. It leads people to despise you. They say – a foreigner – he can't even speak English properly. ... Also I boast! An Englishman he says often, \"A fellow who thinks as much of himself as that cannot be worth much.\" ... And so, you see, I put people off their guard.\n\nIn later novels, Christie often uses the word ''mountebank'' when characters describe Poirot, showing that he has successfully passed himself off as a charlatan or fraud.\n\nPoirot's investigating techniques assist him solving cases; \"For in the long run, either through a lie, or through truth, people were bound to give themselves away...\" At the end, Poirot usually reveals his description of the sequence of events and his deductions to a room of suspects, often leading to the culprit's apprehension.\n", "\n\"I suppose you know pretty well everything there is to know about Poirot's family by this time\".\n\nChristie has been purposefully vague about Poirot's origins, as he is thought to be an elderly man even in the early novels. In ''An Autobiography,'' she admitted that she already imagined him to be an old man in 1920. At the time, however, she had no idea she would write works featuring him for decades to come.\n\nA brief passage in ''The Big Four'' provides original information about Poirot's birth or at least childhood in or near the town of Spa, Belgium: \"But we did not go into Spa itself. We left the main road and wound into the leafy fastnesses of the hills, till we reached a little hamlet and an isolated white villa high on the hillside.\" Christie strongly implies that this \"quiet retreat in the Ardennes\" near Spa is the location of the Poirot family home.\n \nAn alternate tradition holds that Poirot was born in the village of Ellezelles (province of Hainaut, Belgium). A few memorials dedicated to Hercule Poirot can be seen in the centre of this village. There appears to be no reference to this in Christie's writings, but the town of Ellezelles cherishes a copy of Poirot's birth certificate in a local memorial 'attesting' Poirot's birth, naming his father and mother as Jules-Louis Poirot and Godelieve Poirot.\n\nChristie wrote that Poirot is a Roman Catholic by birth, but not much is described about his later religious convictions, except sporadic references to his \"going to church\". Christie provides little information regarding Poirot’s childhood, only mentioning in ''Three Act Tragedy'' that he comes from a large family with little wealth, and has at least one younger sister.\n\n=== Policeman ===\n\nGustave... was not a policeman. I have dealt with policemen all my life and I ''know''. He could pass as a detective to an outsider but not to a man who was a policeman himself.\n\n: — Hercule Poirot \n\nHercule Poirot was active in the Brussels police force by 1893. Very little mention is made about this part of his life, but in \"The Nemean Lion\" (1939) Poirot refers to a Belgian case of his in which \"a wealthy soap manufacturer... poisoned his wife in order to be free to marry his secretary\". As Poirot was often misleading about his past to gain information, the truthfulness of that statement is unknown.\n\nInspector Japp offers some insight into Poirot's career with the Belgian police when introducing him to a colleague:\n\nYou've heard me speak of Mr Poirot? It was in 1904 he and I worked together – the Abercrombie forgery case – you remember he was run down in Brussels. Ah, those were the days Moosier. Then, do you remember \"Baron\" Altara? There was a pretty rogue for you! He eluded the clutches of half the police in Europe. But we nailed him in Antwerp – thanks to Mr. Poirot here.\n\nIn the short story \"The Chocolate Box\" (1923), Poirot reveals to Captain Arthur Hastings an account of what he considers to be his only failure. Poirot admits that he has failed to solve a crime \"innumerable\" times:\n\nI have been called in too late. Very often another, working towards the same goal, has arrived there first. Twice I have been struck down with illness just as I was on the point of success.\n\nNevertheless, he regards the 1893 case in \"The Chocolate Box\", as his only actual failure of detection. Again, Poirot is not reliable as a narrator of his personal history and there is no evidence that Christie sketched it out in any depth. During his police career Poirot shot a man who was firing from a roof into the public below. In ''Lord Edgware Dies'', Poirot reveals that he learned to read writing upside down during his police career. Around that time he met Xavier Bouc, director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Poirot also became a uniformed director, working on trains.\n\nIn ''The Double Clue,'' Poirot mentions that he was Chief of Police of Brussels, until \"the Great War\" (World War I) forced him to leave for England.\n\n=== Private detective ===\n\nI had called in at my friend Poirot's rooms to find him sadly overworked. So much had he become the rage that every rich woman who had mislaid a bracelet or lost a pet kitten rushed to secure the services of the great Hercule Poirot.\n\nDuring World War I, Poirot left Belgium for England as a refugee (although he returned a few times). On 16 July 1916 he again met his lifelong friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, and solved the first of his cases to be published, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles''. It is clear that Hastings and Poirot are already friends when they meet in Chapter 2 of the novel, as Hastings tells Cynthia that he has not seen him for \"some years\". Particulars such as the date of 1916 for the case and that Hastings had met Poirot in Belgium, are given in ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', Chapter 1. After that case, Poirot apparently came to the attention of the British secret service and undertook cases for the British government, including foiling the attempted abduction of the Prime Minister. Readers were told that the British authorities had learned of Poirot's keen investigative ability from certain members of Belgium's royal family.\n\nFlorin Court became the fictional residence of Agatha Christie's Poirot, known as \"Whitehaven Mansions\"\nAfter the war Poirot became a private detective and began undertaking civilian cases. He moved into what became both his home and work address, Flat 203 at 56B Whitehaven Mansions. Hastings first visits the flat when he returns to England in June 1935 from Argentina in ''The A.B.C. Murders'', Chapter 1. The TV programmes place this in Florin Court, Charterhouse Square, in the wrong part of London. According to Hastings, it was chosen by Poirot \"entirely on account of its strict geometrical appearance and proportion\" and described as the \"newest type of service flat\". (The Florin Court building was actually built in 1936, decades after Poirot fictionally moved in.) His first case in this period was \"The Affair at the Victory Ball\", which allowed Poirot to enter high society and begin his career as a private detective.\n\nBetween the world wars, Poirot travelled all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and half of South America investigating crimes and solving murders. Most of his cases occurred during this time and he was at the height of his powers at this point in his life. In ''The Murder on the Links'', the Belgian pits his grey cells against a French murderer. In the Middle East, he solved the cases ''Death on the Nile'' and ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' with ease and even survived ''An Appointment with Death''. As he passed through Eastern Europe on his return trip, he solved ''The Murder on the Orient Express''. However he did not travel to North America, the West Indies, the Caribbean or Oceania, probably to avoid sea sickness.\n\nIt is this villainous sea that troubles me! The ''mal de mer'' – it is horrible suffering!\n\nIt was during this time he met the Countess Vera Rossakoff, a glamorous jewel thief. The history of the Countess is, like Poirot's, steeped in mystery. She claims to have been a member of the Russian aristocracy before the Russian Rebellion and suffered greatly as a result, but how much of that story is true is an open question. Even Poirot acknowledges that Rossakoff offered wildly varying accounts of her early life. Poirot later became smitten with the woman and allowed her to escape justice.\n\nIt is the misfortune of small, precise men always to hanker after large and flamboyant women. Poirot had never been able to rid himself of the fatal fascination that the Countess held for him.\n\nAlthough letting the Countess escape was morally questionable, it was not uncommon. In ''The Nemean Lion'', Poirot sided with the criminal, Miss Amy Carnaby, allowing her to evade prosecution by blackmailing his client Sir Joseph Hoggins, who, Poirot discovered, had plans to commit murder. Poirot even sent Miss Carnaby two hundred pounds as a final payoff prior to the conclusion of her dog kidnapping campaign. In ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Poirot allowed the murderer to escape justice through suicide and then withheld the truth to spare the feelings of the murderer's relatives. In ''The Augean Stables'', he helped the government to cover up vast corruption. In ''Murder on the Orient Express'', Poirot allowed the murderers to go free after discovering that twelve different people participated in the murder. The victim had been responsible for a disgusting crime which had led to the deaths of no fewer than five people. There was no question of his guilt, but he had been acquitted in America in a miscarriage of justice. Considering it poetic justice that twelve jurors had acquitted him and twelve people had stabbed him, Poirot produced an alternate sequence of events to explain the death.\n\nAfter his cases in the Middle East, Poirot returned to Britain. Apart from some of the so-called \"Labours of Hercules\" (see next section) he very rarely went abroad during his later career. He moved into Styles Court towards the end of his life.\n\nWhile Poirot was usually paid handsomely by clients, he was also known to take on cases that piqued his curiosity, although they did not pay well.\n\nPoirot shows a love of steam trains, which Christie contrasts with Hastings' love of autos: this is shown in ''The Plymouth Express'', ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'', ''Murder on the Orient Express'', and ''The ABC Murders'' (in the TV series, steam trains are seen in nearly all of the episodes).\n\n=== Retirement ===\n\nThat’s the way of it. Just a case or two, just one case more – the Prima Donna’s farewell performance won’t be in it with yours, Poirot.\n\nConfusion surrounds Poirot's retirement. Most of the cases covered by Poirot's private detective agency take place before his retirement to grow marrows, at which time he solves ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. It has been said that the twelve cases related in ''The Labours of Hercules'' (1947) must refer to a different retirement, but the fact that Poirot specifically says that he intends to grow marrows indicates that these stories also take place before ''Roger Ackroyd'', and presumably Poirot closed his agency once he had completed them. There is specific mention in \"The Capture of Cerberus\" of the twenty-year gap between Poirot's previous meeting with Countess Rossakoff and this one. If the ''Labours'' precede the events in ''Roger Ackroyd'', then the Ackroyd case must have taken place around twenty years ''later'' than it was published, and so must any of the cases that refer to it. One alternative would be that having failed to grow marrows once, Poirot is determined to have another go, but this is specifically denied by Poirot himself. Also, in \"The Erymanthian Boar\", a character is said to have been turned out of Austria by the Nazis, implying that the events of ''The Labours of Hercules'' took place after 1937. Another alternative would be to suggest that the Preface to the ''Labours'' takes place at one date but that the labours are completed over a matter of twenty years. None of the explanations is especially attractive.\n\nIn terms of a rudimentary chronology, Poirot speaks of retiring to grow marrows in Chapter 18 of ''The Big Four'' (1927) which places that novel out of published order before ''Roger Ackroyd''. He declines to solve a case for the Home Secretary because he is retired in Chapter One of ''Peril at End House'' (1932). He is certainly retired at the time of ''Three Act Tragedy'' (1935) but he does not enjoy his retirement and repeatedly takes cases thereafter when his curiosity is engaged. He continues to employ his secretary, Miss Lemon, at the time of the cases retold in ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' and ''Dead Man's Folly'', which take place in the mid-1950s. It is therefore better to assume that Christie provided no authoritative chronology for Poirot's retirement, but assumed that he could either be an active detective, a consulting detective, or a retired detective as the needs of the immediate case required.\n\nOne consistent element about Poirot's retirement is that his fame declines during it, so that in the later novels he is often disappointed when characters (especially younger characters) recognise neither him nor his name:\n\n\"I should, perhaps, Madame, tell you a little more about myself. I am ''Hercule Poirot''.\"\nThe revelation left Mrs Summerhayes unmoved.\n\"What a lovely name,\" she said kindly. \"Greek, isn't it?\"\n\n=== Post–World War II ===\n\n\nPoirot is less active during the cases that take place at the end of his career. Beginning with ''Three Act Tragedy'' (1934), Christie had perfected during the inter-war years a subgenre of Poirot novel in which the detective himself spent much of the first third of the novel on the periphery of events. In novels such as ''Taken at the Flood'', ''After the Funeral'', and ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', he is even less in evidence, frequently passing the duties of main interviewing detective to a subsidiary character. In ''Cat Among the Pigeons'', Poirot's entrance is so late as to be almost an afterthought. Whether this was a reflection of his age or of Christie's distaste for him, is impossible to assess. ''Crooked House'' (1949) and ''Ordeal by Innocence'' (1957), which could easily have been Poirot novels, represent a logical endpoint of the general diminution of his presence in such works.\n\nTowards the end of his career, it becomes clear that Poirot's retirement is no longer a convenient fiction. He assumes a genuinely inactive lifestyle during which he concerns himself with studying famous unsolved cases of the past and reading detective novels. He even writes a book about mystery fiction in which he deals sternly with Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins. In the absence of a more appropriate puzzle, he solves such inconsequential domestic riddles as the presence of three pieces of orange peel in his umbrella stand. \n\nPoirot (and, it is reasonable to suppose, his creator) becomes increasingly bemused by the vulgarism of the up-and-coming generation's young people. In ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', he investigates the strange goings on in a student hostel, while in ''Third Girl'' (1966) he is forced into contact with the smart set of Chelsea youths. In the growing drug and pop culture of the sixties, he proves himself once again, but has become heavily reliant on other investigators (especially the private investigator, Mr. Goby) who provide him with the clues that he can no longer gather for himself.\n\n\nNotably, during this time his physical characteristics also change dramatically, and by the time Arthur Hastings meets Poirot again in ''Curtain'', he looks very different from his previous appearances, having become thin with age and with obviously dyed hair.\n\n\n\n=== Death ===\n\nOn the ITV television series, Poirot died in October 1949 from complications of a heart condition at the end of ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case''. In Christie's novels, he lived into the late 1960s, perhaps even until 1975 when ''Curtain'' was published. In both the novel and the television adaptation, he had moved his amyl nitrite pills out of his own reach, possibly because of guilt. He thereby became the murderer in ''Curtain'', although it was for the benefit of others. Poirot himself noted that he wanted to kill his victim shortly before his own death so that he could avoid succumbing to the arrogance of the murderer, concerned that he might come to view himself as entitled to kill those whom he deemed necessary to eliminate.\n\nThe \"murderer\" that he was hunting had never actually killed anyone, but he had manipulated others to kill for him, subtly and psychologically manipulating the moments where others desire to commit murder so that they carry out the crime when they might otherwise dismiss their thoughts as nothing more than a momentary passion. Poirot thus was forced to kill the man himself, as otherwise he would have continued his actions and never been officially convicted, as he did not legally do anything wrong. It is revealed at the end of ''Curtain'' that he fakes his need for a wheelchair to fool people into believing that he is suffering from arthritis, to give the impression that he is more infirm than he is. His last recorded words are \"''Cher ami!''\", spoken to Hastings as the Captain left his room. (The TV adaptation adds that as Poirot is dying alone, he whispers out his final prayer to God in these words: \"Forgive me... forgive...\") Poirot was buried at Styles, and his funeral was arranged by his best friend Hastings and Hastings' daughter Judith. Hastings reasoned, \"Here was the spot where he had lived when he first came to this country. He was to lie here at the last.\"\n\nPoirot's actual death and funeral occurred in ''Curtain'', years after his retirement from active investigation, but it was not the first time that Hastings attended the funeral of his best friend. In ''The Big Four'' (1927), Poirot feigned his death and subsequent funeral to launch a surprise attack on the Big Four.\n", "\n=== Captain Arthur Hastings ===\n\nHastings, a former British Army officer, first meets Poirot during Poirot's years as a police officer in Belgium and almost immediately after they both arrive in England. He becomes Poirot's lifelong friend and appears in many cases. Poirot regards Hastings as a poor private detective, not particularly intelligent, yet helpful in his way of being fooled by the criminal or seeing things the way the average man would see them and for his tendency to unknowingly \"stumble\" onto the truth. Hastings marries and has four children – two sons and two daughters.\nAs a loyal, albeit somewhat naïve companion, Hastings is to Poirot what Watson is to Sherlock Holmes.\n\nHastings is capable of great bravery and courage, facing death unflinchingly when confronted by ''The Big Four'' and displaying unwavering loyalty towards Poirot. However, when forced to choose between Poirot and his wife in that novel, he initially chooses to betray Poirot to protect his wife. Later, though, he tells Poirot to draw back and escape the trap.\n\nThe two are an airtight team until Hastings meets and marries Dulcie Duveen, a beautiful music hall performer half his age, after investigating the ''Murder on the Links''. They later emigrate to Argentina, leaving Poirot behind as a \"very unhappy old man\". However, Poirot and Hastings reunite during the novels ''The Big Four'', ''Peril at End House'', ''The ABC Murders'', ''Lord Edgware Dies'' and ''Dumb Witness'' when Hastings arrives in England for business, with Poirot noting in ''ABC Murders'' that he enjoys having Hastings over because he feels that he always has his most interesting cases with Hastings. The two collaborate for the final time in ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', when the seemingly-crippled Poirot asks Hastings to assist him in his final case. When the killer they are tracking nearly manipulates Hastings into committing murder, Poirot describes this in his final farewell letter to Hastings as the catalyst that prompted him to eliminate the man himself, as Poirot ''knew'' that his friend was not a murderer and refused to let a man capable of manipulating Hastings in such a manner go on.\n\n=== Mrs. Ariadne Oliver ===\n\nDetective novelist Ariadne Oliver is Agatha Christie's humorous self-caricature. Like Christie, she is not overly fond of the detective whom she is most famous for creating–in Ariadne's case, Finnish sleuth Sven Hjerson. We never learn anything about her husband, but we do know that she hates alcohol and public appearances and has a great fondness for apples until she is put off them by the events of ''Hallowe'en Party''. She also has a habit of constantly changing her hairstyle, and in every appearance by her much is made of her clothes and hats. Her maid Maria prevents the public adoration from becoming too much of a burden on her employer, but does nothing to prevent her from becoming too much of a burden on others.\n\nShe has authored over 56 novels and greatly dislikes people modifying her characters. She is the only one in Poirot's universe to have noted that \"It’s not natural for five or six people to be on the spot when B is murdered and all have a motive for killing B.\" She first met Poirot in the story ''Cards on the Table'' and has been bothering him ever since.\n\n=== Miss Felicity Lemon ===\nPoirot's secretary, Miss Felicity Lemon, has few human weaknesses. The only mistakes she makes within the series are a typing error during the events of ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' and the mis-mailing of an electricity bill, although she was worried about strange events surrounding her sister at the time. Poirot described her as being \"Unbelievably ugly and incredibly efficient. Anything that she mentioned as worth consideration usually was worth consideration.\" She is an expert on nearly everything and plans to create the perfect filing system. She also worked for the government statistician-turned-philanthropist Parker Pyne. Whether this was during one of Poirot’s numerous retirements or before she entered his employ is unknown. In ''The Agatha Christie Hour'', she was portrayed by British actress Angela Easterling, while in ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' she was portrayed by Pauline Moran. A marked difference from the text exists in Moran's portrayal, where she is an attractive, fashionable, and emotional woman showing an occasional soft corner for Poirot. She also appears far more often in the TV series, making an appearance in most episodes and often being a bigger part of the plot. On a number of occasions, she joins Poirot in his inquiries or seeks out answers alone at his request.\n\n=== Chief Inspector James Harold Japp ===\n\nJapp is a Scotland Yard Inspector and appears in many of the stories trying to solve cases that Poirot is working on. Japp is outgoing, loud and sometimes inconsiderate by nature and his relationship with the refined Belgian is one of the stranger aspects of Poirot’s world. He first met Poirot in Belgium in 1904, during the Abercrombie Forgery. Later that year they joined forces again to hunt down a criminal known as Baron Altara. They also meet in England where Poirot often helps Japp and lets him take credit in return for special favours. These favours usually entail Poirot being supplied with other interesting cases. In ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', Japp was portrayed by Philip Jackson. In the film, ''Thirteen at Dinner'' (1985), adapted from ''Lord Edgware Dies'', the role of Japp was taken by the actor David Suchet, who would later star as Poirot in the ITV adaptations.\n", "\nThe Poirot books take readers through the whole of his life in England, from the first book (''The Mysterious Affair at Styles''), where he is a refugee staying at Styles, to the last Poirot book (''Curtain''), where he visits Styles before his death. In between, Poirot solves cases outside England as well, including his most famous case, ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (1934).\n\nHercule Poirot became famous in 1926 with the publication of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', whose surprising solution proved controversial. The novel is still among the most famous of all detective novels: Edmund Wilson alludes to it in the title of his well-known attack on detective fiction, \"Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?\" Aside from ''Roger Ackroyd'', the most critically acclaimed Poirot novels appeared from 1932 to 1942, including ''Murder on the Orient Express'', ''The ABC Murders'' (1935), ''Cards on the Table'' (1936), and ''Death on the Nile'' (1937), a tale of multiple homicide upon a Nile steamer. ''Death on the Nile'' was judged by detective novelist John Dickson Carr to be among the ten greatest mystery novels of all time.\n\nThe 1942 novel ''Five Little Pigs'' (a.k.a. ''Murder in Retrospect''), in which Poirot investigates a murder committed sixteen years before by analysing various accounts of the tragedy, is a ''Rashomon''-like performance. In his analysis of this book, critic and mystery novelist Robert Barnard referred to it as \"the best Christie of all\".\n\nIn 2014, the Poirot canon was added to by the first author to be commissioned by the Christie estate to write an original story, Sophie Hannah. The novel was called ''The Monogram Murders'', and was set in the late 1920s, placing it chronologically between ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' and ''Peril at End House''. A second Hannah-penned Poirot came out in 2016, called ''Closed Casket''.\n", "\n\n=== Stage ===\n\nThe first actor to portray Hercule Poirot was Charles Laughton. He appeared on the West End in 1928 in the play ''Alibi'' which had been adapted by Michael Morton from the novel ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.\n\n=== Film ===\n\n==== Austin Trevor ====\n\nAustin Trevor debuted the role of Poirot on screen in the 1931 British film ''Alibi''. The film was based on the stage play. Trevor reprised the role of Poirot twice, in ''Black Coffee'' and ''Lord Edgware Dies''. Trevor said once that he was probably cast as Poirot simply because he could do a French accent. Leslie S. Hiscott directed the first two films, with Henry Edwards taking over for the third.\n\n==== Tony Randall ====\n\nTony Randall portrayed Poirot in ''The Alphabet Murders'', a 1965 film also known as ''The ABC Murders''. This was more a satire of Poirot than a straightforward adaptation, and was greatly changed from the original. Much of the story, set in modernistic times, was played for comedy, with Poirot investigating the murders while evading the attempts by Hastings (Robert Morley) and the police to get him out of England and back to Belgium.\n\n==== Albert Finney ====\nAlbert Finney playing Poirot in the 1974 film, ''Murder on the Orient Express''\n\nAlbert Finney played Poirot in 1974 in the cinematic version of ''Murder on the Orient Express''. Finney is the only actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing Poirot, though he did not win.\n\n\n==== Peter Ustinov ====\nPeter Ustinov as Poirot in a 1982 adaptation of the novel ''Evil Under the Sun''\n\nPeter Ustinov played Poirot six times, starting with ''Death on the Nile'' (1978). He reprised the role in ''Evil Under the Sun'' (1982) and ''Appointment with Death'' (1988).\n\nChristie's daughter Rosalind Hicks observed Ustinov during a rehearsal and said, \"''That's'' not Poirot! He isn't at all like that!\" Ustinov overheard and remarked \"He is ''now!''\"\n\nHe appeared again as Poirot in three made-for-television movies: ''Thirteen at Dinner'' (1985), ''Dead Man's Folly'' (1986), and ''Murder in Three Acts'' (1986). Earlier adaptations were set during the time in which the novels were written, but these TV movies were set in the contemporary era. The first of these was based on ''Lord Edgware Dies'' and was made by Warner Bros. It also starred Faye Dunaway, with David Suchet as Inspector Japp, just before Suchet began to play Poirot. David Suchet considers his performance as Japp to be \"possibly the worst performance of his career\".\n\n==== Other ====\n\n* Anatoly Ravikovich, ''Zagadka Endkhauza'' (''End House Mystery'') (1989; based on \"Peril at End House\")\n* Kenneth Branagh, ''Murder on the Orient Express'', 2017\n\n=== Television ===\n\n==== David Suchet ====\n\nDavid Suchet starred as Poirot in the ITV series ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' from 1989 until June 2013, when he announced that he was bidding farewell to the role. \"No one could've guessed then that the series would span a quarter-century or that the classically trained Suchet would complete the entire catalogue of whodunits featuring the eccentric Belgian investigator, including 33 novels and dozens of short stories.\" His final appearance was in an adaptation of ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', aired on 13 November 2013. During the time that it was filmed, Suchet expressed his sadness at his final farewell to the Poirot character whom he had loved:\n\nPoirot's death was the end of a long journey for me. I had only ever wanted to play Dame Agatha's true Poirot ... He was as real to me as he had been to her: a great detective, a remarkable man, if, perhaps, just now and then, a little irritating.\n\nI think back to Poirot’s last words in the scene before he dies. That second ‘Cher ami’ was for someone other than Hastings. It was for my dear, dear friend Poirot. I was saying goodbye to him as well — and I felt it with all my heart.\n\nThe writers of the \"Binge!\" article of ''Entertainment Weekly'' Issue #1343-44 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015) picked Suchet as \"Best Poirot\" in the \"Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple\" timeline.\n\nThe episodes were shot in various locations the UK, and foreign scenes were shot in Twickenham studios.\n\n==== Other ====\n\n* Heini Göbel, (1955; an adaptation of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' for the West German television series ''Die Galerie der großen Detektive'')\n* José Ferrer, ''Hercule Poirot'' (1961; Unaired TV Pilot, MGM; adaptation of \"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim\")\n* Martin Gabel, ''General Electric Theater'' (4/1/1962; adaptation of \"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim\")\n* Horst Bollmann, ''Black Coffee'' 1973\n* Ian Holm, ''Murder by the Book'', 1986\n* Alfred Molina, ''Murder on the Orient Express'', 2001\n* Konstantin Raikin, ''Neudacha Puaro'' (''Poirot's Failure'') (2002; based on \"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd\")\n\n=== Animated ===\n\nIn 2004, NHK (Japanese public TV network) produced a 39 episode anime series titled ''Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple'', as well as a manga series under the same title released in 2005. The series, adapting several of the best-known Poirot and Marple stories, ran from 4 July 2004 through 15 May 2005, and in repeated reruns on NHK and other networks in Japan. Poirot was voiced by Kōtarō Satomi and Miss Marple was voiced by Kaoru Yachigusa.\n\n=== Radio ===\nRadio adaptations of the Poirot stories also appeared, most recently twenty seven of them on BBC Radio 4 (and regularly repeated on BBC 7, later BBC Radio 4 Extra), starring John Moffatt; Maurice Denham and Peter Sallis have also played Poirot on BBC Radio 4 in ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' and in ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas'', respectively.\n\nIn 1939, Orson Welles and the Mercury Players dramatised ''Roger Ackroyd'' on CBS's ''Campbell Playhouse''.\n\nA 1945 radio series of at least 13 original half-hour episodes (none of which apparently adapt any Christie stories) transferred Poirot from London to New York and starred character actor Harold Huber, perhaps better known for his appearances as a police officer in various Charlie Chan films. On 22 February 1945, \"speaking from London, Agatha Christie introduced the initial broadcast of the Poirot series via shortwave\".\n\nAn adaptation of ''Murder in the Mews'' was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1955 starring Richard Williams as Poirot; this program was thought lost, but was recently discovered in the BBC archives in 2015.\n\n=== BBC Radio 4 Poirot radio dramas ===\n\nRecorded and released (John Moffatt stars as Poirot unless otherwise indicated):\n\n\n\n=== Parodies and references ===\nIn a 1964 episode of the TV series \"Burke's Law\" entitled \"Who Killed Supersleuth?\", Ed Begley plays a parody of Poirot named Bascule Doirot.\n\nIn ''Revenge of the Pink Panther'', Poirot makes a cameo appearance in a mental asylum, portrayed by Andrew Sachs and claiming to be \"the greatest detective in all of France, the greatest in all the world\".\n\nIn Neil Simon's ''Murder By Death'', American actor James Coco plays \"Milo Perrier\", a parody of Poirot. The film also features parodies of Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, Hildegarde Withers, and Miss Marple.\n\nIn season 7 episode 2 of ''The Benny Hill Show'', a sketch entitled \"Murder on the Oregon Express\" had Benny Hill parodying Poirot (also Deputy Sam McCloud, Frank Cannon, Theo Kojak and Robert Ironside). Hill played Poirot as French, not Belgian).\n\nDudley Jones played Poirot in the film ''The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It'' (1977).\n\nIn the movie ''Spice World'', Poirot (Hugh Laurie) ''accuses'' a weapons-packing Emma Bunton of the crime.\n\nMuch the same joke had already been done in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'', with Poirot played by Steve Punt, failing to accuse Hannibal Lecter of an obvious murder.\n\nIn ''Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened'', Poirot appears as a young boy on the train transporting Holmes and Watson. Holmes helps the boy in opening a puzzle-box, with Watson giving the boy advice about using his \"little grey cells\", giving the impression that Poirot first heard about grey cells and their uses from Dr. Watson.\n\nThe Belgian brewery Brasserie Ellezelloise makes a highly rated stout called ''Hercule'' with a moustachioed caricature of Hercule Poirot on the label.\n\nIn the final host segment of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''s episode \"The Rebel Set\", Tom Servo dresses up as Poirot and impersonates him in an attempt to discover the identity of B-movie actor Merritt Stone.\n\nJason Alexander played Poirot in episode 8 of ''Muppets Tonight'' in a spoof called \"Murder on the Disoriented Express\".\n\nPoirot is parodied twice in sketch show ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'', where he is played by David Mitchell; one sketch sees him identifying a killer due to her use of \"the evil voice\"—a voice that only murderers use—admitting that he otherwise had no evidence, and a later sketch sees him meeting a ship captain who is also played by Mitchell.\n\nPeter Serafinowicz parodied Poirot in ''The Peter Serafinowicz Show'', in which the detective is paired up with Miss Marple to crack a case, and the two promptly begin an illicit affair instead of solving the crime.\n\nLeo Bruce parodied Hercule Poirot with the character Amer Picon in his book ''Case for Three Detectives'' (1936); the other two characters were parodies of Lord Peter Wimsey and Father Brown.\n\nIn C. Northcote Parkinson's charity biography based on the P. G. Wodehouse character, \"Jeeves, A Gentleman's Personal Gentleman\", Poirot is one of a number of famous detectives beaten to a mystery's solution by the eponymous valet.\n\nIn season 2, episode 4 of TVFPlay's Indian web series ''Permanent Roommates'', one of the characters refers to Hercule Poirot as her inspiration while she attempts to solve the mystery of the cheating spouse. Throughout the episode, she is mocked as Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie by the suspects. TVFPlay also telecasted a spoof of Indian TV suspense drama ''CID'' as \"''Qissa Missing Dimaag Ka: C.I.D Qtiyapa''\". In the first episode, when Ujjwal is shown to browse for the best detectives of the world, David Suchet appears as Poirot in his search.\n", "\n* ''Poirot Investigates''\n* Tropes in Agatha Christie's novels\n", "\n", "\n===Works===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n\n===Reviews===\n* \n* \n*.\n* \n", "\n* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot\n* \n* \n* Listen to Orson Welles in \"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd\"\n* Listen to the 1945 Hercule Poirot radio program\n* Article on Hercule Poirot\n* Wiktionary definition of Edgar Allan Poe's \"ratiocination\"\n* Christie's Poirot and Doyle's Sherlock Holmes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Overview ", " Life ", " Recurring characters ", " Major novels ", " Portrayals ", " See also ", " References ", "Literature", " External links " ]

[ "He is also particular about his personal finances, preferring to keep a bank balance of 444 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Hercule Poirot''' (; ) is a fictional Belgian detective, created by Agatha Christie.", "Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play (''Black Coffee''), and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975.", "Poirot has been portrayed on radio, in film and on television by various actors, including Austin Trevor, John Moffatt, Albert Finney, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina, Orson Welles, David Suchet and Sir Kenneth Branagh.", "\n=== Influences ===\n\nPoirot's name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired Belgian police officer living in London.", "A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle.", "In ''An Autobiography'', Christie states, \"I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp\".", "For his part, Conan Doyle acknowledged basing his detective stories on the model of Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin and his anonymous narrator, and basing his character Sherlock Holmes on Joseph Bell, who in his use of \"ratiocination\" prefigured Poirot's reliance on his \"little grey cells\".", "Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective, Inspector Hanaud of the French Sûreté, who first appeared in the 1910 novel ''At the Villa Rose'' and predates the first Poirot novel by ten years.", "Unlike the models mentioned above, Christie's Poirot was clearly the result of her early development of the detective in her first book, written in 1916 and published in 1920.", "His Belgian nationality was interesting because of Belgium's occupation by Germany, which also provided a plausible explanation of why such a skilled detective would be out of work and available to solve mysteries at an English country house.", "At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's ''casus belli'' for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the \"Rape of Belgium\".", "=== Popularity ===\n\nPoirot first appeared in ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' (published in 1920) and exited in ''Curtain'' (published in 1975).", "Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of ''The New York Times''.", "By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot \"insufferable\", and by 1960 she felt that he was a \"detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep\".", "Yet the public loved him and Christie refused to kill him off, claiming that it was her duty to produce what the public liked.", "=== Appearance and proclivities ===\n\nCaptain Arthur Hastings's first description of Poirot:\n\nHe was hardly more than five feet four inches but carried himself with great dignity.", "His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side.", "His moustache was very stiff and military.", "Even if everything on his face was covered, the tips of moustache and the pink-tipped nose would be visible.", "The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound.", "Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police.", "Agatha Christie's initial description of Poirot in ''The Murder on the Orient Express'':\n\nBy the step leading up into the sleeping-car stood a young French lieutenant, resplendent in uniform, conversing with a small man Hercule Poirot muffled up to the ears of whom nothing was visible but a pink-tipped nose and the two points of an upward-curled moustache.", "In the later books, his limp is not mentioned, suggesting it may have been a temporary wartime injury.", "(In ''Curtain'', Poirot admits he was wounded when he first came to England.)", "Poirot has green eyes that are repeatedly described as shining \"like a cat's\" when he is struck by a clever idea, and dark hair, which he dyes later in life.", "In ''Curtain'', he admits to Hastings that he wears a wig and a false moustache.", "However, in many of his screen incarnations, he is bald or balding.", "Frequent mention is made of his patent leather shoes, damage to which is frequently a source of misery for him, but comical for the reader.", "Poirot's appearance, regarded as fastidious during his early career, later falls hopelessly out of fashion.", "He employs pince-nez reading glasses.", "Among Poirot's most significant personal attributes is the sensitivity of his stomach:\n\nThe plane dropped slightly.", "\"''Mon estomac'',\" thought Hercule Poirot, and closed his eyes determinedly.", "He suffers from sea sickness, and in ''Death in the Clouds'' he states that his air sickness prevents him from being more alert at the time of the murder.", "Later in his life, we are told:\n\nAlways a man who had taken his stomach seriously, he was reaping his reward in old age.", "Eating was not only a physical pleasure, it was also an intellectual research.", "Poirot is extremely punctual and carries a pocket watch almost to the end of his career.", "As mentioned in ''Curtain'' and ''The Clocks'', he is fond of classical music, particularly Mozart and Bach.", "=== Methods ===\n\nIn ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based and logical detective; reflected in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of \"the little grey cells\" and \"order and method\".", "Hastings is irritated by the fact that Poirot sometimes conceals important details of his plans, as in ''The Big Four''.", "In this novel, Hastings is kept in the dark throughout the climax.", "This aspect of Poirot is less evident in the later novels, partly because there is rarely a narrator to mislead.", "In ''Murder on the Links,'' still largely dependent on clues himself, Poirot mocks a rival \"bloodhound\" detective who focuses on the traditional trail of clues established in detective fiction (e.g., Sherlock Holmes depending on footprints, fingerprints, and cigar ash).", "From this point on, Poirot establishes his psychological bona fides.", "Rather than painstakingly examining crime scenes, he enquires into the nature of the victim or the psychology of the murderer.", "He predicates his actions in the later novels on his underlying assumption that particular crimes are committed by particular types of people.", "Poirot focuses on getting people to talk.", "In the early novels, he casts himself in the role of \"Papa Poirot\", a benign confessor, especially to young women.", "In later works, Christie made a point of having Poirot supply false or misleading information about himself or his background to assist him in obtaining information.", "In ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Poirot speaks of a non-existent mentally disabled nephew to uncover information about homes for the mentally unfit.", "In ''Dumb Witness'', Poirot invents an elderly invalid mother as a pretence to investigate local nurses.", "In ''The Big Four'', Poirot pretends to have (and poses as) an identical twin brother named Achille: however, this brother was mentioned again in ''The Labours of Hercules''.", "Poirot claimed to have a brother for a short time.", "To this day Harold is not quite sure what made him suddenly pour out the whole story to a little man to whom he had only spoken a few minutes before.", "Poirot is also willing to appear more foreign or vain in an effort to make people underestimate him.", "He admits as much:\n\nIt is true that I can speak the exact, the idiomatic English.", "But, my friend, to speak the broken English is an enormous asset.", "It leads people to despise you.", "They say – a foreigner – he can't even speak English properly.", "... Also I boast!", "An Englishman he says often, \"A fellow who thinks as much of himself as that cannot be worth much.\"", "... And so, you see, I put people off their guard.", "In later novels, Christie often uses the word ''mountebank'' when characters describe Poirot, showing that he has successfully passed himself off as a charlatan or fraud.", "Poirot's investigating techniques assist him solving cases; \"For in the long run, either through a lie, or through truth, people were bound to give themselves away...\" At the end, Poirot usually reveals his description of the sequence of events and his deductions to a room of suspects, often leading to the culprit's apprehension.", "\n\"I suppose you know pretty well everything there is to know about Poirot's family by this time\".", "Christie has been purposefully vague about Poirot's origins, as he is thought to be an elderly man even in the early novels.", "In ''An Autobiography,'' she admitted that she already imagined him to be an old man in 1920.", "At the time, however, she had no idea she would write works featuring him for decades to come.", "A brief passage in ''The Big Four'' provides original information about Poirot's birth or at least childhood in or near the town of Spa, Belgium: \"But we did not go into Spa itself.", "We left the main road and wound into the leafy fastnesses of the hills, till we reached a little hamlet and an isolated white villa high on the hillside.\"", "Christie strongly implies that this \"quiet retreat in the Ardennes\" near Spa is the location of the Poirot family home.", "An alternate tradition holds that Poirot was born in the village of Ellezelles (province of Hainaut, Belgium).", "A few memorials dedicated to Hercule Poirot can be seen in the centre of this village.", "There appears to be no reference to this in Christie's writings, but the town of Ellezelles cherishes a copy of Poirot's birth certificate in a local memorial 'attesting' Poirot's birth, naming his father and mother as Jules-Louis Poirot and Godelieve Poirot.", "Christie wrote that Poirot is a Roman Catholic by birth, but not much is described about his later religious convictions, except sporadic references to his \"going to church\".", "Christie provides little information regarding Poirot’s childhood, only mentioning in ''Three Act Tragedy'' that he comes from a large family with little wealth, and has at least one younger sister.", "=== Policeman ===\n\nGustave... was not a policeman.", "I have dealt with policemen all my life and I ''know''.", "He could pass as a detective to an outsider but not to a man who was a policeman himself.", ": — Hercule Poirot \n\nHercule Poirot was active in the Brussels police force by 1893.", "Very little mention is made about this part of his life, but in \"The Nemean Lion\" (1939) Poirot refers to a Belgian case of his in which \"a wealthy soap manufacturer... poisoned his wife in order to be free to marry his secretary\".", "As Poirot was often misleading about his past to gain information, the truthfulness of that statement is unknown.", "Inspector Japp offers some insight into Poirot's career with the Belgian police when introducing him to a colleague:\n\nYou've heard me speak of Mr Poirot?", "It was in 1904 he and I worked together – the Abercrombie forgery case – you remember he was run down in Brussels.", "Ah, those were the days Moosier.", "Then, do you remember \"Baron\" Altara?", "There was a pretty rogue for you!", "He eluded the clutches of half the police in Europe.", "But we nailed him in Antwerp – thanks to Mr. Poirot here.", "In the short story \"The Chocolate Box\" (1923), Poirot reveals to Captain Arthur Hastings an account of what he considers to be his only failure.", "Poirot admits that he has failed to solve a crime \"innumerable\" times:\n\nI have been called in too late.", "Very often another, working towards the same goal, has arrived there first.", "Twice I have been struck down with illness just as I was on the point of success.", "Nevertheless, he regards the 1893 case in \"The Chocolate Box\", as his only actual failure of detection.", "Again, Poirot is not reliable as a narrator of his personal history and there is no evidence that Christie sketched it out in any depth.", "During his police career Poirot shot a man who was firing from a roof into the public below.", "In ''Lord Edgware Dies'', Poirot reveals that he learned to read writing upside down during his police career.", "Around that time he met Xavier Bouc, director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits.", "Poirot also became a uniformed director, working on trains.", "In ''The Double Clue,'' Poirot mentions that he was Chief of Police of Brussels, until \"the Great War\" (World War I) forced him to leave for England.", "=== Private detective ===\n\nI had called in at my friend Poirot's rooms to find him sadly overworked.", "So much had he become the rage that every rich woman who had mislaid a bracelet or lost a pet kitten rushed to secure the services of the great Hercule Poirot.", "During World War I, Poirot left Belgium for England as a refugee (although he returned a few times).", "On 16 July 1916 he again met his lifelong friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, and solved the first of his cases to be published, ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles''.", "It is clear that Hastings and Poirot are already friends when they meet in Chapter 2 of the novel, as Hastings tells Cynthia that he has not seen him for \"some years\".", "Particulars such as the date of 1916 for the case and that Hastings had met Poirot in Belgium, are given in ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', Chapter 1.", "After that case, Poirot apparently came to the attention of the British secret service and undertook cases for the British government, including foiling the attempted abduction of the Prime Minister.", "Readers were told that the British authorities had learned of Poirot's keen investigative ability from certain members of Belgium's royal family.", "Florin Court became the fictional residence of Agatha Christie's Poirot, known as \"Whitehaven Mansions\"\nAfter the war Poirot became a private detective and began undertaking civilian cases.", "He moved into what became both his home and work address, Flat 203 at 56B Whitehaven Mansions.", "Hastings first visits the flat when he returns to England in June 1935 from Argentina in ''The A.B.C.", "Murders'', Chapter 1.", "The TV programmes place this in Florin Court, Charterhouse Square, in the wrong part of London.", "According to Hastings, it was chosen by Poirot \"entirely on account of its strict geometrical appearance and proportion\" and described as the \"newest type of service flat\".", "(The Florin Court building was actually built in 1936, decades after Poirot fictionally moved in.)", "His first case in this period was \"The Affair at the Victory Ball\", which allowed Poirot to enter high society and begin his career as a private detective.", "Between the world wars, Poirot travelled all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and half of South America investigating crimes and solving murders.", "Most of his cases occurred during this time and he was at the height of his powers at this point in his life.", "In ''The Murder on the Links'', the Belgian pits his grey cells against a French murderer.", "In the Middle East, he solved the cases ''Death on the Nile'' and ''Murder in Mesopotamia'' with ease and even survived ''An Appointment with Death''.", "As he passed through Eastern Europe on his return trip, he solved ''The Murder on the Orient Express''.", "However he did not travel to North America, the West Indies, the Caribbean or Oceania, probably to avoid sea sickness.", "It is this villainous sea that troubles me!", "The ''mal de mer'' – it is horrible suffering!", "It was during this time he met the Countess Vera Rossakoff, a glamorous jewel thief.", "The history of the Countess is, like Poirot's, steeped in mystery.", "She claims to have been a member of the Russian aristocracy before the Russian Rebellion and suffered greatly as a result, but how much of that story is true is an open question.", "Even Poirot acknowledges that Rossakoff offered wildly varying accounts of her early life.", "Poirot later became smitten with the woman and allowed her to escape justice.", "It is the misfortune of small, precise men always to hanker after large and flamboyant women.", "Poirot had never been able to rid himself of the fatal fascination that the Countess held for him.", "Although letting the Countess escape was morally questionable, it was not uncommon.", "In ''The Nemean Lion'', Poirot sided with the criminal, Miss Amy Carnaby, allowing her to evade prosecution by blackmailing his client Sir Joseph Hoggins, who, Poirot discovered, had plans to commit murder.", "Poirot even sent Miss Carnaby two hundred pounds as a final payoff prior to the conclusion of her dog kidnapping campaign.", "In ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Poirot allowed the murderer to escape justice through suicide and then withheld the truth to spare the feelings of the murderer's relatives.", "In ''The Augean Stables'', he helped the government to cover up vast corruption.", "In ''Murder on the Orient Express'', Poirot allowed the murderers to go free after discovering that twelve different people participated in the murder.", "The victim had been responsible for a disgusting crime which had led to the deaths of no fewer than five people.", "There was no question of his guilt, but he had been acquitted in America in a miscarriage of justice.", "Considering it poetic justice that twelve jurors had acquitted him and twelve people had stabbed him, Poirot produced an alternate sequence of events to explain the death.", "After his cases in the Middle East, Poirot returned to Britain.", "Apart from some of the so-called \"Labours of Hercules\" (see next section) he very rarely went abroad during his later career.", "He moved into Styles Court towards the end of his life.", "While Poirot was usually paid handsomely by clients, he was also known to take on cases that piqued his curiosity, although they did not pay well.", "Poirot shows a love of steam trains, which Christie contrasts with Hastings' love of autos: this is shown in ''The Plymouth Express'', ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'', ''Murder on the Orient Express'', and ''The ABC Murders'' (in the TV series, steam trains are seen in nearly all of the episodes).", "=== Retirement ===\n\nThat’s the way of it.", "Just a case or two, just one case more – the Prima Donna’s farewell performance won’t be in it with yours, Poirot.", "Confusion surrounds Poirot's retirement.", "Most of the cases covered by Poirot's private detective agency take place before his retirement to grow marrows, at which time he solves ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.", "It has been said that the twelve cases related in ''The Labours of Hercules'' (1947) must refer to a different retirement, but the fact that Poirot specifically says that he intends to grow marrows indicates that these stories also take place before ''Roger Ackroyd'', and presumably Poirot closed his agency once he had completed them.", "There is specific mention in \"The Capture of Cerberus\" of the twenty-year gap between Poirot's previous meeting with Countess Rossakoff and this one.", "If the ''Labours'' precede the events in ''Roger Ackroyd'', then the Ackroyd case must have taken place around twenty years ''later'' than it was published, and so must any of the cases that refer to it.", "One alternative would be that having failed to grow marrows once, Poirot is determined to have another go, but this is specifically denied by Poirot himself.", "Also, in \"The Erymanthian Boar\", a character is said to have been turned out of Austria by the Nazis, implying that the events of ''The Labours of Hercules'' took place after 1937.", "Another alternative would be to suggest that the Preface to the ''Labours'' takes place at one date but that the labours are completed over a matter of twenty years.", "None of the explanations is especially attractive.", "In terms of a rudimentary chronology, Poirot speaks of retiring to grow marrows in Chapter 18 of ''The Big Four'' (1927) which places that novel out of published order before ''Roger Ackroyd''.", "He declines to solve a case for the Home Secretary because he is retired in Chapter One of ''Peril at End House'' (1932).", "He is certainly retired at the time of ''Three Act Tragedy'' (1935) but he does not enjoy his retirement and repeatedly takes cases thereafter when his curiosity is engaged.", "He continues to employ his secretary, Miss Lemon, at the time of the cases retold in ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' and ''Dead Man's Folly'', which take place in the mid-1950s.", "It is therefore better to assume that Christie provided no authoritative chronology for Poirot's retirement, but assumed that he could either be an active detective, a consulting detective, or a retired detective as the needs of the immediate case required.", "One consistent element about Poirot's retirement is that his fame declines during it, so that in the later novels he is often disappointed when characters (especially younger characters) recognise neither him nor his name:\n\n\"I should, perhaps, Madame, tell you a little more about myself.", "I am ''Hercule Poirot''.\"", "The revelation left Mrs Summerhayes unmoved.", "\"What a lovely name,\" she said kindly.", "\"Greek, isn't it?\"", "=== Post–World War II ===\n\n\nPoirot is less active during the cases that take place at the end of his career.", "Beginning with ''Three Act Tragedy'' (1934), Christie had perfected during the inter-war years a subgenre of Poirot novel in which the detective himself spent much of the first third of the novel on the periphery of events.", "In novels such as ''Taken at the Flood'', ''After the Funeral'', and ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', he is even less in evidence, frequently passing the duties of main interviewing detective to a subsidiary character.", "In ''Cat Among the Pigeons'', Poirot's entrance is so late as to be almost an afterthought.", "Whether this was a reflection of his age or of Christie's distaste for him, is impossible to assess.", "''Crooked House'' (1949) and ''Ordeal by Innocence'' (1957), which could easily have been Poirot novels, represent a logical endpoint of the general diminution of his presence in such works.", "Towards the end of his career, it becomes clear that Poirot's retirement is no longer a convenient fiction.", "He assumes a genuinely inactive lifestyle during which he concerns himself with studying famous unsolved cases of the past and reading detective novels.", "He even writes a book about mystery fiction in which he deals sternly with Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins.", "In the absence of a more appropriate puzzle, he solves such inconsequential domestic riddles as the presence of three pieces of orange peel in his umbrella stand.", "Poirot (and, it is reasonable to suppose, his creator) becomes increasingly bemused by the vulgarism of the up-and-coming generation's young people.", "In ''Hickory Dickory Dock'', he investigates the strange goings on in a student hostel, while in ''Third Girl'' (1966) he is forced into contact with the smart set of Chelsea youths.", "In the growing drug and pop culture of the sixties, he proves himself once again, but has become heavily reliant on other investigators (especially the private investigator, Mr. Goby) who provide him with the clues that he can no longer gather for himself.", "Notably, during this time his physical characteristics also change dramatically, and by the time Arthur Hastings meets Poirot again in ''Curtain'', he looks very different from his previous appearances, having become thin with age and with obviously dyed hair.", "=== Death ===\n\nOn the ITV television series, Poirot died in October 1949 from complications of a heart condition at the end of ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case''.", "In Christie's novels, he lived into the late 1960s, perhaps even until 1975 when ''Curtain'' was published.", "In both the novel and the television adaptation, he had moved his amyl nitrite pills out of his own reach, possibly because of guilt.", "He thereby became the murderer in ''Curtain'', although it was for the benefit of others.", "Poirot himself noted that he wanted to kill his victim shortly before his own death so that he could avoid succumbing to the arrogance of the murderer, concerned that he might come to view himself as entitled to kill those whom he deemed necessary to eliminate.", "The \"murderer\" that he was hunting had never actually killed anyone, but he had manipulated others to kill for him, subtly and psychologically manipulating the moments where others desire to commit murder so that they carry out the crime when they might otherwise dismiss their thoughts as nothing more than a momentary passion.", "Poirot thus was forced to kill the man himself, as otherwise he would have continued his actions and never been officially convicted, as he did not legally do anything wrong.", "It is revealed at the end of ''Curtain'' that he fakes his need for a wheelchair to fool people into believing that he is suffering from arthritis, to give the impression that he is more infirm than he is.", "His last recorded words are \"''Cher ami!", "''\", spoken to Hastings as the Captain left his room.", "(The TV adaptation adds that as Poirot is dying alone, he whispers out his final prayer to God in these words: \"Forgive me... forgive...\") Poirot was buried at Styles, and his funeral was arranged by his best friend Hastings and Hastings' daughter Judith.", "Hastings reasoned, \"Here was the spot where he had lived when he first came to this country.", "He was to lie here at the last.\"", "Poirot's actual death and funeral occurred in ''Curtain'', years after his retirement from active investigation, but it was not the first time that Hastings attended the funeral of his best friend.", "In ''The Big Four'' (1927), Poirot feigned his death and subsequent funeral to launch a surprise attack on the Big Four.", "\n=== Captain Arthur Hastings ===\n\nHastings, a former British Army officer, first meets Poirot during Poirot's years as a police officer in Belgium and almost immediately after they both arrive in England.", "He becomes Poirot's lifelong friend and appears in many cases.", "Poirot regards Hastings as a poor private detective, not particularly intelligent, yet helpful in his way of being fooled by the criminal or seeing things the way the average man would see them and for his tendency to unknowingly \"stumble\" onto the truth.", "Hastings marries and has four children – two sons and two daughters.", "As a loyal, albeit somewhat naïve companion, Hastings is to Poirot what Watson is to Sherlock Holmes.", "Hastings is capable of great bravery and courage, facing death unflinchingly when confronted by ''The Big Four'' and displaying unwavering loyalty towards Poirot.", "However, when forced to choose between Poirot and his wife in that novel, he initially chooses to betray Poirot to protect his wife.", "Later, though, he tells Poirot to draw back and escape the trap.", "The two are an airtight team until Hastings meets and marries Dulcie Duveen, a beautiful music hall performer half his age, after investigating the ''Murder on the Links''.", "They later emigrate to Argentina, leaving Poirot behind as a \"very unhappy old man\".", "However, Poirot and Hastings reunite during the novels ''The Big Four'', ''Peril at End House'', ''The ABC Murders'', ''Lord Edgware Dies'' and ''Dumb Witness'' when Hastings arrives in England for business, with Poirot noting in ''ABC Murders'' that he enjoys having Hastings over because he feels that he always has his most interesting cases with Hastings.", "The two collaborate for the final time in ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', when the seemingly-crippled Poirot asks Hastings to assist him in his final case.", "When the killer they are tracking nearly manipulates Hastings into committing murder, Poirot describes this in his final farewell letter to Hastings as the catalyst that prompted him to eliminate the man himself, as Poirot ''knew'' that his friend was not a murderer and refused to let a man capable of manipulating Hastings in such a manner go on.", "=== Mrs. Ariadne Oliver ===\n\nDetective novelist Ariadne Oliver is Agatha Christie's humorous self-caricature.", "Like Christie, she is not overly fond of the detective whom she is most famous for creating–in Ariadne's case, Finnish sleuth Sven Hjerson.", "We never learn anything about her husband, but we do know that she hates alcohol and public appearances and has a great fondness for apples until she is put off them by the events of ''Hallowe'en Party''.", "She also has a habit of constantly changing her hairstyle, and in every appearance by her much is made of her clothes and hats.", "Her maid Maria prevents the public adoration from becoming too much of a burden on her employer, but does nothing to prevent her from becoming too much of a burden on others.", "She has authored over 56 novels and greatly dislikes people modifying her characters.", "She is the only one in Poirot's universe to have noted that \"It’s not natural for five or six people to be on the spot when B is murdered and all have a motive for killing B.\"", "She first met Poirot in the story ''Cards on the Table'' and has been bothering him ever since.", "=== Miss Felicity Lemon ===\nPoirot's secretary, Miss Felicity Lemon, has few human weaknesses.", "The only mistakes she makes within the series are a typing error during the events of ''Hickory Dickory Dock'' and the mis-mailing of an electricity bill, although she was worried about strange events surrounding her sister at the time.", "Poirot described her as being \"Unbelievably ugly and incredibly efficient.", "Anything that she mentioned as worth consideration usually was worth consideration.\"", "She is an expert on nearly everything and plans to create the perfect filing system.", "She also worked for the government statistician-turned-philanthropist Parker Pyne.", "Whether this was during one of Poirot’s numerous retirements or before she entered his employ is unknown.", "In ''The Agatha Christie Hour'', she was portrayed by British actress Angela Easterling, while in ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' she was portrayed by Pauline Moran.", "A marked difference from the text exists in Moran's portrayal, where she is an attractive, fashionable, and emotional woman showing an occasional soft corner for Poirot.", "She also appears far more often in the TV series, making an appearance in most episodes and often being a bigger part of the plot.", "On a number of occasions, she joins Poirot in his inquiries or seeks out answers alone at his request.", "=== Chief Inspector James Harold Japp ===\n\nJapp is a Scotland Yard Inspector and appears in many of the stories trying to solve cases that Poirot is working on.", "Japp is outgoing, loud and sometimes inconsiderate by nature and his relationship with the refined Belgian is one of the stranger aspects of Poirot’s world.", "He first met Poirot in Belgium in 1904, during the Abercrombie Forgery.", "Later that year they joined forces again to hunt down a criminal known as Baron Altara.", "They also meet in England where Poirot often helps Japp and lets him take credit in return for special favours.", "These favours usually entail Poirot being supplied with other interesting cases.", "In ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', Japp was portrayed by Philip Jackson.", "In the film, ''Thirteen at Dinner'' (1985), adapted from ''Lord Edgware Dies'', the role of Japp was taken by the actor David Suchet, who would later star as Poirot in the ITV adaptations.", "\nThe Poirot books take readers through the whole of his life in England, from the first book (''The Mysterious Affair at Styles''), where he is a refugee staying at Styles, to the last Poirot book (''Curtain''), where he visits Styles before his death.", "In between, Poirot solves cases outside England as well, including his most famous case, ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (1934).", "Hercule Poirot became famous in 1926 with the publication of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', whose surprising solution proved controversial.", "The novel is still among the most famous of all detective novels: Edmund Wilson alludes to it in the title of his well-known attack on detective fiction, \"Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?\"", "Aside from ''Roger Ackroyd'', the most critically acclaimed Poirot novels appeared from 1932 to 1942, including ''Murder on the Orient Express'', ''The ABC Murders'' (1935), ''Cards on the Table'' (1936), and ''Death on the Nile'' (1937), a tale of multiple homicide upon a Nile steamer.", "''Death on the Nile'' was judged by detective novelist John Dickson Carr to be among the ten greatest mystery novels of all time.", "The 1942 novel ''Five Little Pigs'' (a.k.a.", "''Murder in Retrospect''), in which Poirot investigates a murder committed sixteen years before by analysing various accounts of the tragedy, is a ''Rashomon''-like performance.", "In his analysis of this book, critic and mystery novelist Robert Barnard referred to it as \"the best Christie of all\".", "In 2014, the Poirot canon was added to by the first author to be commissioned by the Christie estate to write an original story, Sophie Hannah.", "The novel was called ''The Monogram Murders'', and was set in the late 1920s, placing it chronologically between ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' and ''Peril at End House''.", "A second Hannah-penned Poirot came out in 2016, called ''Closed Casket''.", "\n\n=== Stage ===\n\nThe first actor to portray Hercule Poirot was Charles Laughton.", "He appeared on the West End in 1928 in the play ''Alibi'' which had been adapted by Michael Morton from the novel ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.", "=== Film ===\n\n==== Austin Trevor ====\n\nAustin Trevor debuted the role of Poirot on screen in the 1931 British film ''Alibi''.", "The film was based on the stage play.", "Trevor reprised the role of Poirot twice, in ''Black Coffee'' and ''Lord Edgware Dies''.", "Trevor said once that he was probably cast as Poirot simply because he could do a French accent.", "Leslie S. Hiscott directed the first two films, with Henry Edwards taking over for the third.", "==== Tony Randall ====\n\nTony Randall portrayed Poirot in ''The Alphabet Murders'', a 1965 film also known as ''The ABC Murders''.", "This was more a satire of Poirot than a straightforward adaptation, and was greatly changed from the original.", "Much of the story, set in modernistic times, was played for comedy, with Poirot investigating the murders while evading the attempts by Hastings (Robert Morley) and the police to get him out of England and back to Belgium.", "==== Albert Finney ====\nAlbert Finney playing Poirot in the 1974 film, ''Murder on the Orient Express''\n\nAlbert Finney played Poirot in 1974 in the cinematic version of ''Murder on the Orient Express''.", "Finney is the only actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing Poirot, though he did not win.", "==== Peter Ustinov ====\nPeter Ustinov as Poirot in a 1982 adaptation of the novel ''Evil Under the Sun''\n\nPeter Ustinov played Poirot six times, starting with ''Death on the Nile'' (1978).", "He reprised the role in ''Evil Under the Sun'' (1982) and ''Appointment with Death'' (1988).", "Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks observed Ustinov during a rehearsal and said, \"''That's'' not Poirot!", "He isn't at all like that!\"", "Ustinov overheard and remarked \"He is ''now!''\"", "He appeared again as Poirot in three made-for-television movies: ''Thirteen at Dinner'' (1985), ''Dead Man's Folly'' (1986), and ''Murder in Three Acts'' (1986).", "Earlier adaptations were set during the time in which the novels were written, but these TV movies were set in the contemporary era.", "The first of these was based on ''Lord Edgware Dies'' and was made by Warner Bros.", "It also starred Faye Dunaway, with David Suchet as Inspector Japp, just before Suchet began to play Poirot.", "David Suchet considers his performance as Japp to be \"possibly the worst performance of his career\".", "==== Other ====\n\n* Anatoly Ravikovich, ''Zagadka Endkhauza'' (''End House Mystery'') (1989; based on \"Peril at End House\")\n* Kenneth Branagh, ''Murder on the Orient Express'', 2017\n\n=== Television ===\n\n==== David Suchet ====\n\nDavid Suchet starred as Poirot in the ITV series ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' from 1989 until June 2013, when he announced that he was bidding farewell to the role.", "\"No one could've guessed then that the series would span a quarter-century or that the classically trained Suchet would complete the entire catalogue of whodunits featuring the eccentric Belgian investigator, including 33 novels and dozens of short stories.\"", "His final appearance was in an adaptation of ''Curtain: Poirot's Last Case'', aired on 13 November 2013.", "During the time that it was filmed, Suchet expressed his sadness at his final farewell to the Poirot character whom he had loved:\n\nPoirot's death was the end of a long journey for me.", "I had only ever wanted to play Dame Agatha's true Poirot ...", "He was as real to me as he had been to her: a great detective, a remarkable man, if, perhaps, just now and then, a little irritating.", "I think back to Poirot’s last words in the scene before he dies.", "That second ‘Cher ami’ was for someone other than Hastings.", "It was for my dear, dear friend Poirot.", "I was saying goodbye to him as well — and I felt it with all my heart.", "The writers of the \"Binge!\"", "article of ''Entertainment Weekly'' Issue #1343-44 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015) picked Suchet as \"Best Poirot\" in the \"Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple\" timeline.", "The episodes were shot in various locations the UK, and foreign scenes were shot in Twickenham studios.", "==== Other ====\n\n* Heini Göbel, (1955; an adaptation of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' for the West German television series ''Die Galerie der großen Detektive'')\n* José Ferrer, ''Hercule Poirot'' (1961; Unaired TV Pilot, MGM; adaptation of \"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim\")\n* Martin Gabel, ''General Electric Theater'' (4/1/1962; adaptation of \"The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim\")\n* Horst Bollmann, ''Black Coffee'' 1973\n* Ian Holm, ''Murder by the Book'', 1986\n* Alfred Molina, ''Murder on the Orient Express'', 2001\n* Konstantin Raikin, ''Neudacha Puaro'' (''Poirot's Failure'') (2002; based on \"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd\")\n\n=== Animated ===\n\nIn 2004, NHK (Japanese public TV network) produced a 39 episode anime series titled ''Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple'', as well as a manga series under the same title released in 2005.", "The series, adapting several of the best-known Poirot and Marple stories, ran from 4 July 2004 through 15 May 2005, and in repeated reruns on NHK and other networks in Japan.", "Poirot was voiced by Kōtarō Satomi and Miss Marple was voiced by Kaoru Yachigusa.", "=== Radio ===\nRadio adaptations of the Poirot stories also appeared, most recently twenty seven of them on BBC Radio 4 (and regularly repeated on BBC 7, later BBC Radio 4 Extra), starring John Moffatt; Maurice Denham and Peter Sallis have also played Poirot on BBC Radio 4 in ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' and in ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas'', respectively.", "In 1939, Orson Welles and the Mercury Players dramatised ''Roger Ackroyd'' on CBS's ''Campbell Playhouse''.", "A 1945 radio series of at least 13 original half-hour episodes (none of which apparently adapt any Christie stories) transferred Poirot from London to New York and starred character actor Harold Huber, perhaps better known for his appearances as a police officer in various Charlie Chan films.", "On 22 February 1945, \"speaking from London, Agatha Christie introduced the initial broadcast of the Poirot series via shortwave\".", "An adaptation of ''Murder in the Mews'' was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1955 starring Richard Williams as Poirot; this program was thought lost, but was recently discovered in the BBC archives in 2015.", "=== BBC Radio 4 Poirot radio dramas ===\n\nRecorded and released (John Moffatt stars as Poirot unless otherwise indicated):\n\n\n\n=== Parodies and references ===\nIn a 1964 episode of the TV series \"Burke's Law\" entitled \"Who Killed Supersleuth?", "\", Ed Begley plays a parody of Poirot named Bascule Doirot.", "In ''Revenge of the Pink Panther'', Poirot makes a cameo appearance in a mental asylum, portrayed by Andrew Sachs and claiming to be \"the greatest detective in all of France, the greatest in all the world\".", "In Neil Simon's ''Murder By Death'', American actor James Coco plays \"Milo Perrier\", a parody of Poirot.", "The film also features parodies of Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, Hildegarde Withers, and Miss Marple.", "In season 7 episode 2 of ''The Benny Hill Show'', a sketch entitled \"Murder on the Oregon Express\" had Benny Hill parodying Poirot (also Deputy Sam McCloud, Frank Cannon, Theo Kojak and Robert Ironside).", "Hill played Poirot as French, not Belgian).", "Dudley Jones played Poirot in the film ''The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It'' (1977).", "In the movie ''Spice World'', Poirot (Hugh Laurie) ''accuses'' a weapons-packing Emma Bunton of the crime.", "Much the same joke had already been done in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'', with Poirot played by Steve Punt, failing to accuse Hannibal Lecter of an obvious murder.", "In ''Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened'', Poirot appears as a young boy on the train transporting Holmes and Watson.", "Holmes helps the boy in opening a puzzle-box, with Watson giving the boy advice about using his \"little grey cells\", giving the impression that Poirot first heard about grey cells and their uses from Dr. Watson.", "The Belgian brewery Brasserie Ellezelloise makes a highly rated stout called ''Hercule'' with a moustachioed caricature of Hercule Poirot on the label.", "In the final host segment of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''s episode \"The Rebel Set\", Tom Servo dresses up as Poirot and impersonates him in an attempt to discover the identity of B-movie actor Merritt Stone.", "Jason Alexander played Poirot in episode 8 of ''Muppets Tonight'' in a spoof called \"Murder on the Disoriented Express\".", "Poirot is parodied twice in sketch show ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'', where he is played by David Mitchell; one sketch sees him identifying a killer due to her use of \"the evil voice\"—a voice that only murderers use—admitting that he otherwise had no evidence, and a later sketch sees him meeting a ship captain who is also played by Mitchell.", "Peter Serafinowicz parodied Poirot in ''The Peter Serafinowicz Show'', in which the detective is paired up with Miss Marple to crack a case, and the two promptly begin an illicit affair instead of solving the crime.", "Leo Bruce parodied Hercule Poirot with the character Amer Picon in his book ''Case for Three Detectives'' (1936); the other two characters were parodies of Lord Peter Wimsey and Father Brown.", "In C. Northcote Parkinson's charity biography based on the P. G. Wodehouse character, \"Jeeves, A Gentleman's Personal Gentleman\", Poirot is one of a number of famous detectives beaten to a mystery's solution by the eponymous valet.", "In season 2, episode 4 of TVFPlay's Indian web series ''Permanent Roommates'', one of the characters refers to Hercule Poirot as her inspiration while she attempts to solve the mystery of the cheating spouse.", "Throughout the episode, she is mocked as Hercule Poirot and Agatha Christie by the suspects.", "TVFPlay also telecasted a spoof of Indian TV suspense drama ''CID'' as \"''Qissa Missing Dimaag Ka: C.I.D Qtiyapa''\".", "In the first episode, when Ujjwal is shown to browse for the best detectives of the world, David Suchet appears as Poirot in his search.", "\n* ''Poirot Investigates''\n* Tropes in Agatha Christie's novels", "\n===Works===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n\n===Reviews===\n* \n* \n*.", "*", "\n* Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot\n* \n* \n* Listen to Orson Welles in \"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd\"\n* Listen to the 1945 Hercule Poirot radio program\n* Article on Hercule Poirot\n* Wiktionary definition of Edgar Allan Poe's \"ratiocination\"\n* Christie's Poirot and Doyle's Sherlock Holmes" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\nDepiction of harvesting in the August calendar page of the Queen Mary Psalter (fol. 78v), ca. 1310.\n'''August''' is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, falling between July and September, and the fifth month to have the length of 31 days. It was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, and March was the first month of the year. About 700 BC, it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC, giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC, it was renamed in honor of Augustus. According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.\n\nIn the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers. Numerous religious holidays occurred during August in ancient Rome.\n\nCertain meteor showers take place in August. The Kappa Cygnids take place in August, with the dates varying each year. The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower takes place as early as July 10 and ends at around August 10, and the Southern Delta Aquariids take place from mid-July to mid-August, with the peak usually around July 28–29. The Perseids, a major meteor shower, typically takes place between July 17 and August 24, with the days of the peak varying yearly. The star cluster of Messier 30 is best observed around August.\n", "Gladiolus\n*August's birthstones are the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel. \n*Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy, meaning beauty, strength of character, love, marriage and family.\n*The Western zodiac signs for the month of August are Leo (until August 22) and Virgo (from August 23 onwards).\n", "''This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance.''\n", "*July 4-October 31: Chaturmas (Hinduism, Jainism)\n*July 9-October 5: Vassa (Theravada Buddhism) \n*August 1: Tisha B'Av (Jewish calendar)\n*August 3: Aadi Perukku (Hinduism, Tamil calendar) \n*August 3: Shia Day of Celebration: Birth of Imam Ali Reza, 148 A.H. (Islamic calendar)\n*August 3: Shravana Putrada Ekadashi\n*August 3-7: Jhulan Purnima (Hinduism)\n*August 4: Varalakshmi Vratam (Hinduism)\n*August 5: Shabbat Nachamu (Jewish calendar)\n*August 7: Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism) \n*August 7: Tu B'Av (Jewish calendar)\n*August 8: Drupka Teshi (Buddhism, Tibetan calendar)\n*August 8: Tendong Lho Rumfaat (Lepcha people)\n*August 10: Kajari Teej (Hinduism)\n*August 10: Teejdi (Hinduism)\n*August 13: Children's Day (Nepali, Vikram Samvat calendar)\n*August 14: Krishna Janmashtami (Hinduism)\n*August 16: Nandotsava (Hinduism, Indian National calendar) \n*August 17-September 12: Mahalakshmi Vrata (Hinduism) \n*August 17: Multiple Shia days of Remembrance (Islamic calendar)\n*August 17: Simha Sankranti (Hinduism)\n*August 19: Shabbat Mevorchim (Jewish calendar)\n*August 21: Amavasya (Hinduism) \n*August 21: Gokarna Aunsi (Hinduism, Nepali calendar)\n*August 21: Shia Day of Remembrance: Martyrdom of Imam Mohammad Taqi (Islamic calendar)\n*August 22: Hekate's Deipon (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 22: Yom Kippur Katan (optional, Jewish calendar)\n*August 23: Gai Jatra (Hinduism, Vikram Samvat calendar)\n*August 23: National Doctors' Day (Iranian calendar)\n*August 23: Noumenia (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 23: Rosh Chodesh of Elul/Rosh Hashanah LaBehema (Jewish calendar)\n*August 23–31: 1-9 Dhu al-Hijjah, fasting days (Islamic calendar)\n*August 23-September 1: Nights for standing (Qiyaam) in Tahajjud (Islamic calendar)\n*August 24: Gowri Habba (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 24: Hartalika Teej (Hinduism)\n*August 25: Ganesh Chaturthi (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 26: Rishi Panchami (Hinduism) \n*August 26-September 6: Onam (Hinduism, Malayalam calendar)\n*August 27: Nuakhai (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 28: Artemis Agrotera (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 28: Qixi Festival (Chinese calendar) \n*August 29: Radhastami (Hinduism)\n*August 29: Shia Day of Mourning: Martyrdom of Imam Mohammad Baqir (Islamic calendar)\n*August 30: Shia Day of Mourning: Imam Hussain started from Mecca to Karbala (Islamic calendar)\n*August 30 - September 4: Hajj (Islamic calendar)\n*August 31: Day of Arafah/Shia Day of Mourning: Martyrdom of Janab-e-Muslim ibn Aqil & Hazrat Hani ibn Urwah in Kufa (Islamic calendar)\n*August 31 - September 4: Takbirut Tashreeq (Islamic calendar)\n", "* American Adventures Month (celebrating vacationing in the Americas)\n* Children's Eye Health and Safety Month\n* Digestive Tract Paralysis (DTP) Month\n* Get Ready for Kindergarten Month\n* Happiness Happens Month\n* Month of Philippine Languages (Philippines)\n* Neurosurgery Outreach Month\n* Psoriasis Awareness Month \n* Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month\n* What Will Be Your Legacy Month\n\n===United States month-long observances===\n* National Black Business Month \n* National Children's Vision and Learning Month \n* National Immunization Awareness Month \n* National Water Quality Month \n* National Win with Civility Month\n\n====Food Months in the United States====\n* National Catfish Month\n* National Dippin' Dots Month\n* Family Meals Month\n* Get Acquainted with Kiwifruit Month\n* National Goat Cheese Month. \n* National Panini Month\n* Peach Month\n* Sandwich Month\n", "*Construction Holiday (Quebec): July 27-August 5\n*Earth Overshoot Day: August 2\n*National Farmer's Market Week: August 6–12\n*National Science Week August 12–20 (Australia)\n\n===1st Tuesday: August 1===\n*National Night Out (United States)\n\n===Thursday before the first Monday: August 3===\n*Emancipation Day (Bermuda) \n\n===1st Friday: August 4===\n*International Beer Day\n\n===1st Saturday: August 5===\n*Food Day (Canada)\n*Mead Day (United States)\n*National Mustard Day (United States)\n\n===1st Sunday: August 6===\n*Air Force Day (Ukraine)\n*American Family Day (Arizona, United States)\n*Children's Day (Uruguay) \n*Friendship Day (United States)\n*International Forgiveness Day\n*Railway Workers' Day (Russia)\n\n===Sunday on or closest to August 9: August 6===\n*National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada)\n\n===1st Monday: August 7===\n*August Bank Holiday (Ireland)\n*Children's Day (Tuvalu)\n*Civic Holiday (Canada)\n**British Columbia Day (British Columbia, Canada) \n**Natal Day (Nova Scotia, Canada)\n**New Brunswick Day Day (New Brunswick, Canada) \n**Saskatchewan Day (Saskatchewan, Canada\n**Terry Fox Day (Manitoba, Canada)\n*Commerce Day (Iceland)\n*Emancipation Day (Anguilla, Antigua, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis)\n*Farmer's Day (Zambia)\n*Kadooment Day (Barbados)\n*Labor Day (Samoa)\n*National Day (Jamaica)\n*Picnic Day (Northern Territory, Australia) \n*Somers' Day (Bermuda)\n*Youth Day (Kiribati)\n\n===2nd Tuesday: August 8===\n*Defence Forces Day (Zimbabwe)\n\n===2nd Saturday: August 12===\n*Sports Day (Russia) \n*International Lefthanders Day\n\n===2nd Sunday: August 13===\n*Children's Day (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay)\n*Father's Day (Brazil, Samoa)\n*Melon Day (Turkmenistan)\n*Navy Day (Bulgaria)\n\n===2nd Monday: August 14===\n*Heroes' Day (Zimbabwe)\n*Victory Day (Hawaii and Rhode Island, United States)\n*Independence Day (Pakistan)\n\n===2nd Tuesday: August 15===\n*Independence Day (India)\n\n===3rd Friday: August 18===\n*Hawaii Admission Day (Hawaii, United States)\n\n===3rd Saturday: August 19===\n*National Honey Bee Day (United States)\n\n===Third Weekend: August 19–20===\n*Festa do Rosário (Córrego Danta, Brazil)\n\n===3rd Sunday: August 20===\n*Children's Day (Argentina, Peru)\n*Grandparents Day (Hong Kong)\n\n===3rd Monday: August 21===\n*Discovery Day (Yukon, Canada)\n*Day of Hearts (Haarlem and Amsterdam, Netherlands)\n*National Mourning Day (Bangladesh)\n\n===Sunday nearest August 26: August 27===\n*Go Topless Day (International observance)\n\n===Last Sunday: August 27===\n*Coal Miner's Day (some former Soviet Union countries)\n*National Grandparents Day (Taiwan)\n\n===Last Monday: August 28===\n*Father's Day (South Sudan)\n*Heroes' Day (Philippines)\n*Liberation Day (Hong Kong)\n*Late Summer Bank Holiday (England, Northern Ireland and Wales)\n\n===Last Thursday: August 31===\n*National Burger Day (United Kingdom)\n", "*Season of Emancipation (Barbados) (April 14 to August 23) \n*International Clown Week (August 1–7)\n*World Breastfeeding Week (August 1–7)\n*August 1 \n**Armed Forces Day (China)\n**Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)\n**Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)\n**Emancipation Day (Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands)\n**Imbolc (Neopaganism, Southern hemisphere only)\n**Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopaganism, Northern Hemisphere only)\n**Lughnasadh (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopaganism, Northern Hemisphere only)\n**Minden Day (United Kingdom)\n**National Day (Benin)\n**National Milkshake Day (United States)\n**Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)\n**Pachamama Raymi (Quechua people in Ecuador and Peru)\n**Parents' Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)\n**Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)\n**Statehood Day (Colorado)\n**Swiss National Day (Switzerland)\n**Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)\n**World Scout Scarf Day \n**Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)\n*August 2\n**Airmobile Forces Day (Ukraine)\n**Day of Azerbaijani cinema (Azerbaijan)\n**Our Lady of the Angels Day (Costa Rica)\n**Paratroopers Day (Russia)\n**Republic Day (Republic of Macedonia) \n*August 3\n**Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguiti (Guinea-Bissau)\n**Armed Forces Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n**Esther Day (United States)\n**Flag Day (Venezuela)\n**Independence Day (Niger)\n***Arbor Day (Niger)\n**National Guard Day (Venezuela)\n**National Watermelon Day (United States)\n**National White Wine Day (United States)\n*August 4\n**Coast Guard Day (United States)\n**Constitution Day (Cook Islands)\n**Matica slovenská Day (Slovakia)\n**Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)\n*August 5\n**Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Roman Catholic Church)\n**Independence Day (Burkina Faso)\n**National Underwear Day (United States)\n**Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)\n*August 6\n**H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Accession Day. (United Arab Emirates)\n**Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony (Hiroshima, Japan)\n**Independence Day (Bolivia)\n**Independence Day (Jamaica) \n**Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia)\n*August 7\n**Assyrian Martyrs Day (Assyrian community)\n**Battle of Boyacá Day (Colombia)\n**Emancipation Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)\n**Independence Day (Ivory Coast)\n**Republic Day (Ivory Coast)\n**Youth Day (Kiribati)\n*August 8\n**Ceasefire Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)\n**Father's Day (Taiwan)\n**Happiness Happens Day (International observance)\n**International Cat Day \n**Namesday of Queen Silvia of Sweden, (Sweden)\n**Nane Nane Day (Tanzania)\n**Signal Troops Day (Ukraine)\n*August 9\n**Battle of Gangut Day (Russia)\n**International Day of the World's Indigenous People (United Nations)\n**National Day (Singapore)\n**National Women's Day (South Africa)\n**Remembrance for Radbod, King of the Frisians (The Troth)\n*August 10\n**Argentine Air Force Day (Argentina)\n**Constitution Day (Anguilla)\n**Declaration of Independence of Quito (Ecuador)\n**International Biodiesel Day \n**National S'more Day (United States)\n*August 11\n**Flag Day (Pakistan)\n**Independence Day (Chad)\n**Mountain Day (Japan)\n*August 12\n**Glorious Twelfth (United Kingdom)\n**HM the Queen's Birthday and National Mother's Day (Thailand)\n**International Youth Day (United Nations)\n**Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia)\n**Sea Org Day (Scientology)\n**World Elephant Day\n*August 13\n**Independence Day (Central African Republic) \n**International Lefthanders Day \n**National Filet Mignon Day (United States)\n**Women's Day (Tunisia)\n*August 14\n**Anniversary Day (Tristan da Cunha)\n**Commemoration of Wadi al-Dahab (Morocco)\n**Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland (Abkhazia)\n**Engineer's Day (Dominican Republic)\n**Independence Day (Pakistan)\n**National Creamsicle Day (United States)\n**Pramuka Day (Indonesia)\n*August 15\n**Armed Forces Day (Poland)\n**Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary (Catholic holy days of obligation, a public holiday in many countries.\n***Ferragosto (Italy)\n***Māras (Latvia)\n***Mother's Day (Antwerp and Costa Rica)\n***National Acadian Day (Acadians)\n**National Lemon Meringue Pie Day (United States)\n***Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands. (Tenerife, Spain)\n**Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches)\n***Navy Day (Romania)\n**The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or ''Wafaa El-Nil'' (Egypt and Coptic Church)\n**The main day of Bon Festival (Japan), and its related observances:\n***Awa Dance Festival (Tokushima Prefecture)\n**Constitution Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n**End-of-war Memorial Day, when the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held. (Japan)\n**Founding of Asunción (Paraguay)\n**Independence Day (Korea)\n***Gwangbokjeol (South Korea)\n***Jogukhaebangui nal, \"Fatherland Liberation Day\" (North Korea)\n**Independence Day (India)\n**Independence Day (Republic of the Congo)\n**National Day (Liechtenstein)\n**National Mourning Day (Bangladesh)\n**Victory over Japan Day (United Kingdom)\n*August 16\n**Bennington Battle Day (Vermont, United States)\n**Children's Day (Paraguay)\n**Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)\n**The first day of the Independence Days (Gabon)\n**National Airborne Day (United States)\n**National Rum Day (United States)\n**Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)\n*August 17\n**The Birthday of Marcus Garvey (Rastafari)\n**Engineer's Day (Colombia)\n**Flag Day (Bolivia)\n**Independence Day (Indonesia)\n**Independence Days (Gabon)\n**National Vanilla Custard Day (United States)\n**Prekmurje Union Day (Slovenia)\n**San Martin Day (Argentina)\n*August 18\n**Arbor Day (Pakistan)\n**Armed Forces Day (Macedonia)\n**Bad Poetry Day \n**Birthday of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island)\n**Constitution Day (Indonesia)\n**Long Tan Day (Australia)\n**National Science Day (Thailand)\n*August 19\n**Afghan Independence Day (Afghanistan)\n**August Revolution Commemoration Day (Vietnam)\n**Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)\n**Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances:\n***Buhe (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)\n***Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the \"Apples Feast\" (Russian Orthodox Church and Georgian Orthodox Church)\n**Manuel Luis Quezón Day (Quezon City and other places in The Philippines named after Manuel L. Quezon)\n**National Aviation Day (United States)\n**National Potato Day (United States)\n**World Humanitarian Day \n*August 20\n**Indian Akshay Urja Day (India)\n**Restoration of Independence Day (Estonia) \n**Revolution of the King and People (Morocco)\n**Saint Stephen's Day (Hungary)\n**World Mosquito Day \n*August 21\n**Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)\n**Youth Day/King Mohammed VI's Birthday (Morocco)\n*August 22\n**Flag Day (Russia)\n**Madras Day (Chennai and Tamil Nadu, India)\n**National Eat a Peach Day (United States)\n**National Pecan Torte Day (United States)\n**Southern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day (Chase's Calendar of Events, Southern Hemisphere)\n*August 23\n**Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)\n**Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) \n**European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances:\n***Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania)\n**International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition \n**Umhlanga Day (Swaziland)\n*August 24\n**Flag Day (Liberia)\n**Independence Day of Ukraine \n**International Strange Music Day\n**National Waffle Day (United States) \n**Nostalgia Night (Uruguay)\n**Willka Raymi (Cusco, Peru)\n*August 25\n**Day of Songun (North Korea)\n**Independence Day (Uruguay) \n**Liberation Day (France)\n**National Banana Split Day (United States)\n**National Whiskey Sour Day (United States)\n**Soldier's Day (Brazil)\n*August 26\n**Herero Day (Namibia)\n**Heroes' Day (Namibia)\n**Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)\n**Women's Equality Day (United States)\n*August 27\n**Film and Movies Day (Russia)\n**Independence Day (Republic of Moldova)\n**Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States)\n**National Banana Lovers Day (United States)\n**National Pots De Creme Day (United States)\n*August 28\n**Assumption of Mary (Eastern Orthodox Church (Public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Georgia (country))\n**Crackers of the Keyboard Day\n**Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day \n**National Cherry Turnover Day (United States)\n*August 29\n**International Day against Nuclear Tests \n**Miners' Day (Ukraine)\n**More Herbs, Less Salt Day\n**National Lemon Juice Day (United States)\n**National Chop Suey Day (United States)\n**National Sports Day (India)\n**Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (Slovakia)\n**Telugu Language Day (India)\n*August 30\n**Constitution Day (Kazakhstan)\n**Constitution Day (Turks and Caicos Islands)\n**Independence Day (Tatarstan, Russia, unrecognized)\n**International Day of the Disappeared (International)\n**Popular Consultation Day (East Timor)\n**Saint Rose of Lima's Day (Peru)\n**Victory Day (Turkey)\n*August 31\n**Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day (Balochs and Pashtuns, International observance)\n**Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland) \n**Independence Day (Federation of Malaya, Malaysia)\n**Independence Day (Kyrgyzstan)\n**Independence Day (Trinidad and Tobago)\n**Love Litigating Lawyers Day \n**National Language Day (Moldova)\n**National Trail Mix Day (United States)\n**North Borneo Self-government Day (Sabah, Borneo)\n", "\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "August symbols", "Observances", "Non-Gregorian observances, 2017", "Month-long observances", "Movable Gregorian observances, 2017", "Fixed Gregorian Observances", "References", "Further reading" ]

[ "*Construction Holiday (Quebec): July 27-August 5\n*Earth Overshoot Day: August 2\n*National Farmer's Market Week: August 6–12\n*National Science Week August 12–20 (Australia)\n\n===1st Tuesday: August 1===\n*National Night Out (United States)\n\n===Thursday before the first Monday: August 3===\n*Emancipation Day (Bermuda) \n\n===1st Friday: August 4===\n*International Beer Day\n\n===1st Saturday: August 5===\n*Food Day (Canada)\n*Mead Day (United States)\n*National Mustard Day (United States)\n\n===1st Sunday: August 6===\n*Air Force Day (Ukraine)\n*American Family Day (Arizona, United States)\n*Children's Day (Uruguay) \n*Friendship Day (United States)\n*International Forgiveness Day\n*Railway Workers' Day (Russia)\n\n===Sunday on or closest to August 9: August 6===\n*National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada)\n\n===1st Monday: August 7===\n*August Bank Holiday (Ireland)\n*Children's Day (Tuvalu)\n*Civic Holiday (Canada)\n**British Columbia Day (British Columbia, Canada) \n**Natal Day (Nova Scotia, Canada)\n**New Brunswick Day Day (New Brunswick, Canada) \n**Saskatchewan Day (Saskatchewan, Canada\n**Terry Fox Day (Manitoba, Canada)\n*Commerce Day (Iceland)\n*Emancipation Day (Anguilla, Antigua, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis)\n*Farmer's Day (Zambia)\n*Kadooment Day (Barbados)\n*Labor Day (Samoa)\n*National Day (Jamaica)\n*Picnic Day (Northern Territory, Australia) \n*Somers' Day (Bermuda)\n*Youth Day (Kiribati)\n\n===2nd Tuesday: August 8===\n*Defence Forces Day (Zimbabwe)\n\n===2nd Saturday: August 12===\n*Sports Day (Russia) \n*International Lefthanders Day\n\n===2nd Sunday: August 13===\n*Children's Day (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay)\n*Father's Day (Brazil, Samoa)\n*Melon Day (Turkmenistan)\n*Navy Day (Bulgaria)\n\n===2nd Monday: August 14===\n*Heroes' Day (Zimbabwe)\n*Victory Day (Hawaii and Rhode Island, United States)\n*Independence Day (Pakistan)\n\n===2nd Tuesday: August 15===\n*Independence Day (India)\n\n===3rd Friday: August 18===\n*Hawaii Admission Day (Hawaii, United States)\n\n===3rd Saturday: August 19===\n*National Honey Bee Day (United States)\n\n===Third Weekend: August 19–20===\n*Festa do Rosário (Córrego Danta, Brazil)\n\n===3rd Sunday: August 20===\n*Children's Day (Argentina, Peru)\n*Grandparents Day (Hong Kong)\n\n===3rd Monday: August 21===\n*Discovery Day (Yukon, Canada)\n*Day of Hearts (Haarlem and Amsterdam, Netherlands)\n*National Mourning Day (Bangladesh)\n\n===Sunday nearest August 26: August 27===\n*Go Topless Day (International observance)\n\n===Last Sunday: August 27===\n*Coal Miner's Day (some former Soviet Union countries)\n*National Grandparents Day (Taiwan)\n\n===Last Monday: August 28===\n*Father's Day (South Sudan)\n*Heroes' Day (Philippines)\n*Liberation Day (Hong Kong)\n*Late Summer Bank Holiday (England, Northern Ireland and Wales)\n\n===Last Thursday: August 31===\n*National Burger Day (United Kingdom)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\nDepiction of harvesting in the August calendar page of the Queen Mary Psalter (fol.", "78v), ca.", "1310.", "'''August''' is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, falling between July and September, and the fifth month to have the length of 31 days.", "It was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, and March was the first month of the year.", "About 700 BC, it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days.", "Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC, giving it its modern length of 31 days.", "In 8 BC, it was renamed in honor of Augustus.", "According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.", "In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere.", "In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers.", "Numerous religious holidays occurred during August in ancient Rome.", "Certain meteor showers take place in August.", "The Kappa Cygnids take place in August, with the dates varying each year.", "The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower takes place as early as July 10 and ends at around August 10, and the Southern Delta Aquariids take place from mid-July to mid-August, with the peak usually around July 28–29.", "The Perseids, a major meteor shower, typically takes place between July 17 and August 24, with the days of the peak varying yearly.", "The star cluster of Messier 30 is best observed around August.", "Gladiolus\n*August's birthstones are the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel.", "*Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy, meaning beauty, strength of character, love, marriage and family.", "*The Western zodiac signs for the month of August are Leo (until August 22) and Virgo (from August 23 onwards).", "''This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance.''", "*July 4-October 31: Chaturmas (Hinduism, Jainism)\n*July 9-October 5: Vassa (Theravada Buddhism) \n*August 1: Tisha B'Av (Jewish calendar)\n*August 3: Aadi Perukku (Hinduism, Tamil calendar) \n*August 3: Shia Day of Celebration: Birth of Imam Ali Reza, 148 A.H. (Islamic calendar)\n*August 3: Shravana Putrada Ekadashi\n*August 3-7: Jhulan Purnima (Hinduism)\n*August 4: Varalakshmi Vratam (Hinduism)\n*August 5: Shabbat Nachamu (Jewish calendar)\n*August 7: Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism) \n*August 7: Tu B'Av (Jewish calendar)\n*August 8: Drupka Teshi (Buddhism, Tibetan calendar)\n*August 8: Tendong Lho Rumfaat (Lepcha people)\n*August 10: Kajari Teej (Hinduism)\n*August 10: Teejdi (Hinduism)\n*August 13: Children's Day (Nepali, Vikram Samvat calendar)\n*August 14: Krishna Janmashtami (Hinduism)\n*August 16: Nandotsava (Hinduism, Indian National calendar) \n*August 17-September 12: Mahalakshmi Vrata (Hinduism) \n*August 17: Multiple Shia days of Remembrance (Islamic calendar)\n*August 17: Simha Sankranti (Hinduism)\n*August 19: Shabbat Mevorchim (Jewish calendar)\n*August 21: Amavasya (Hinduism) \n*August 21: Gokarna Aunsi (Hinduism, Nepali calendar)\n*August 21: Shia Day of Remembrance: Martyrdom of Imam Mohammad Taqi (Islamic calendar)\n*August 22: Hekate's Deipon (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 22: Yom Kippur Katan (optional, Jewish calendar)\n*August 23: Gai Jatra (Hinduism, Vikram Samvat calendar)\n*August 23: National Doctors' Day (Iranian calendar)\n*August 23: Noumenia (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 23: Rosh Chodesh of Elul/Rosh Hashanah LaBehema (Jewish calendar)\n*August 23–31: 1-9 Dhu al-Hijjah, fasting days (Islamic calendar)\n*August 23-September 1: Nights for standing (Qiyaam) in Tahajjud (Islamic calendar)\n*August 24: Gowri Habba (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 24: Hartalika Teej (Hinduism)\n*August 25: Ganesh Chaturthi (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 26: Rishi Panchami (Hinduism) \n*August 26-September 6: Onam (Hinduism, Malayalam calendar)\n*August 27: Nuakhai (Hinduism, Indian National Calendar) \n*August 28: Artemis Agrotera (Attic calendar, modern Hellenism (religion))\n*August 28: Qixi Festival (Chinese calendar) \n*August 29: Radhastami (Hinduism)\n*August 29: Shia Day of Mourning: Martyrdom of Imam Mohammad Baqir (Islamic calendar)\n*August 30: Shia Day of Mourning: Imam Hussain started from Mecca to Karbala (Islamic calendar)\n*August 30 - September 4: Hajj (Islamic calendar)\n*August 31: Day of Arafah/Shia Day of Mourning: Martyrdom of Janab-e-Muslim ibn Aqil & Hazrat Hani ibn Urwah in Kufa (Islamic calendar)\n*August 31 - September 4: Takbirut Tashreeq (Islamic calendar)", "* American Adventures Month (celebrating vacationing in the Americas)\n* Children's Eye Health and Safety Month\n* Digestive Tract Paralysis (DTP) Month\n* Get Ready for Kindergarten Month\n* Happiness Happens Month\n* Month of Philippine Languages (Philippines)\n* Neurosurgery Outreach Month\n* Psoriasis Awareness Month \n* Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month\n* What Will Be Your Legacy Month\n\n===United States month-long observances===\n* National Black Business Month \n* National Children's Vision and Learning Month \n* National Immunization Awareness Month \n* National Water Quality Month \n* National Win with Civility Month\n\n====Food Months in the United States====\n* National Catfish Month\n* National Dippin' Dots Month\n* Family Meals Month\n* Get Acquainted with Kiwifruit Month\n* National Goat Cheese Month.", "* National Panini Month\n* Peach Month\n* Sandwich Month", "*Season of Emancipation (Barbados) (April 14 to August 23) \n*International Clown Week (August 1–7)\n*World Breastfeeding Week (August 1–7)\n*August 1 \n**Armed Forces Day (China)\n**Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)\n**Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)\n**Emancipation Day (Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands)\n**Imbolc (Neopaganism, Southern hemisphere only)\n**Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopaganism, Northern Hemisphere only)\n**Lughnasadh (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopaganism, Northern Hemisphere only)\n**Minden Day (United Kingdom)\n**National Day (Benin)\n**National Milkshake Day (United States)\n**Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)\n**Pachamama Raymi (Quechua people in Ecuador and Peru)\n**Parents' Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)\n**Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)\n**Statehood Day (Colorado)\n**Swiss National Day (Switzerland)\n**Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)\n**World Scout Scarf Day \n**Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)\n*August 2\n**Airmobile Forces Day (Ukraine)\n**Day of Azerbaijani cinema (Azerbaijan)\n**Our Lady of the Angels Day (Costa Rica)\n**Paratroopers Day (Russia)\n**Republic Day (Republic of Macedonia) \n*August 3\n**Anniversary of the Killing of Pidjiguiti (Guinea-Bissau)\n**Armed Forces Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n**Esther Day (United States)\n**Flag Day (Venezuela)\n**Independence Day (Niger)\n***Arbor Day (Niger)\n**National Guard Day (Venezuela)\n**National Watermelon Day (United States)\n**National White Wine Day (United States)\n*August 4\n**Coast Guard Day (United States)\n**Constitution Day (Cook Islands)\n**Matica slovenská Day (Slovakia)\n**Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)\n*August 5\n**Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Roman Catholic Church)\n**Independence Day (Burkina Faso)\n**National Underwear Day (United States)\n**Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)\n*August 6\n**H.H.", "Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Accession Day.", "(United Arab Emirates)\n**Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony (Hiroshima, Japan)\n**Independence Day (Bolivia)\n**Independence Day (Jamaica) \n**Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia)\n*August 7\n**Assyrian Martyrs Day (Assyrian community)\n**Battle of Boyacá Day (Colombia)\n**Emancipation Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)\n**Independence Day (Ivory Coast)\n**Republic Day (Ivory Coast)\n**Youth Day (Kiribati)\n*August 8\n**Ceasefire Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)\n**Father's Day (Taiwan)\n**Happiness Happens Day (International observance)\n**International Cat Day \n**Namesday of Queen Silvia of Sweden, (Sweden)\n**Nane Nane Day (Tanzania)\n**Signal Troops Day (Ukraine)\n*August 9\n**Battle of Gangut Day (Russia)\n**International Day of the World's Indigenous People (United Nations)\n**National Day (Singapore)\n**National Women's Day (South Africa)\n**Remembrance for Radbod, King of the Frisians (The Troth)\n*August 10\n**Argentine Air Force Day (Argentina)\n**Constitution Day (Anguilla)\n**Declaration of Independence of Quito (Ecuador)\n**International Biodiesel Day \n**National S'more Day (United States)\n*August 11\n**Flag Day (Pakistan)\n**Independence Day (Chad)\n**Mountain Day (Japan)\n*August 12\n**Glorious Twelfth (United Kingdom)\n**HM the Queen's Birthday and National Mother's Day (Thailand)\n**International Youth Day (United Nations)\n**Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia)\n**Sea Org Day (Scientology)\n**World Elephant Day\n*August 13\n**Independence Day (Central African Republic) \n**International Lefthanders Day \n**National Filet Mignon Day (United States)\n**Women's Day (Tunisia)\n*August 14\n**Anniversary Day (Tristan da Cunha)\n**Commemoration of Wadi al-Dahab (Morocco)\n**Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland (Abkhazia)\n**Engineer's Day (Dominican Republic)\n**Independence Day (Pakistan)\n**National Creamsicle Day (United States)\n**Pramuka Day (Indonesia)\n*August 15\n**Armed Forces Day (Poland)\n**Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary (Catholic holy days of obligation, a public holiday in many countries.", "***Ferragosto (Italy)\n***Māras (Latvia)\n***Mother's Day (Antwerp and Costa Rica)\n***National Acadian Day (Acadians)\n**National Lemon Meringue Pie Day (United States)\n***Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands.", "(Tenerife, Spain)\n**Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches)\n***Navy Day (Romania)\n**The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or ''Wafaa El-Nil'' (Egypt and Coptic Church)\n**The main day of Bon Festival (Japan), and its related observances:\n***Awa Dance Festival (Tokushima Prefecture)\n**Constitution Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n**End-of-war Memorial Day, when the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held.", "(Japan)\n**Founding of Asunción (Paraguay)\n**Independence Day (Korea)\n***Gwangbokjeol (South Korea)\n***Jogukhaebangui nal, \"Fatherland Liberation Day\" (North Korea)\n**Independence Day (India)\n**Independence Day (Republic of the Congo)\n**National Day (Liechtenstein)\n**National Mourning Day (Bangladesh)\n**Victory over Japan Day (United Kingdom)\n*August 16\n**Bennington Battle Day (Vermont, United States)\n**Children's Day (Paraguay)\n**Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)\n**The first day of the Independence Days (Gabon)\n**National Airborne Day (United States)\n**National Rum Day (United States)\n**Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)\n*August 17\n**The Birthday of Marcus Garvey (Rastafari)\n**Engineer's Day (Colombia)\n**Flag Day (Bolivia)\n**Independence Day (Indonesia)\n**Independence Days (Gabon)\n**National Vanilla Custard Day (United States)\n**Prekmurje Union Day (Slovenia)\n**San Martin Day (Argentina)\n*August 18\n**Arbor Day (Pakistan)\n**Armed Forces Day (Macedonia)\n**Bad Poetry Day \n**Birthday of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island)\n**Constitution Day (Indonesia)\n**Long Tan Day (Australia)\n**National Science Day (Thailand)\n*August 19\n**Afghan Independence Day (Afghanistan)\n**August Revolution Commemoration Day (Vietnam)\n**Birthday of Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)\n**Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar), and its related observances:\n***Buhe (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)\n***Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the \"Apples Feast\" (Russian Orthodox Church and Georgian Orthodox Church)\n**Manuel Luis Quezón Day (Quezon City and other places in The Philippines named after Manuel L. Quezon)\n**National Aviation Day (United States)\n**National Potato Day (United States)\n**World Humanitarian Day \n*August 20\n**Indian Akshay Urja Day (India)\n**Restoration of Independence Day (Estonia) \n**Revolution of the King and People (Morocco)\n**Saint Stephen's Day (Hungary)\n**World Mosquito Day \n*August 21\n**Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)\n**Youth Day/King Mohammed VI's Birthday (Morocco)\n*August 22\n**Flag Day (Russia)\n**Madras Day (Chennai and Tamil Nadu, India)\n**National Eat a Peach Day (United States)\n**National Pecan Torte Day (United States)\n**Southern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day (Chase's Calendar of Events, Southern Hemisphere)\n*August 23\n**Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)\n**Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) \n**European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances:\n***Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania)\n**International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition \n**Umhlanga Day (Swaziland)\n*August 24\n**Flag Day (Liberia)\n**Independence Day of Ukraine \n**International Strange Music Day\n**National Waffle Day (United States) \n**Nostalgia Night (Uruguay)\n**Willka Raymi (Cusco, Peru)\n*August 25\n**Day of Songun (North Korea)\n**Independence Day (Uruguay) \n**Liberation Day (France)\n**National Banana Split Day (United States)\n**National Whiskey Sour Day (United States)\n**Soldier's Day (Brazil)\n*August 26\n**Herero Day (Namibia)\n**Heroes' Day (Namibia)\n**Repentance Day (Papua New Guinea)\n**Women's Equality Day (United States)\n*August 27\n**Film and Movies Day (Russia)\n**Independence Day (Republic of Moldova)\n**Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States)\n**National Banana Lovers Day (United States)\n**National Pots De Creme Day (United States)\n*August 28\n**Assumption of Mary (Eastern Orthodox Church (Public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Georgia (country))\n**Crackers of the Keyboard Day\n**Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day \n**National Cherry Turnover Day (United States)\n*August 29\n**International Day against Nuclear Tests \n**Miners' Day (Ukraine)\n**More Herbs, Less Salt Day\n**National Lemon Juice Day (United States)\n**National Chop Suey Day (United States)\n**National Sports Day (India)\n**Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (Slovakia)\n**Telugu Language Day (India)\n*August 30\n**Constitution Day (Kazakhstan)\n**Constitution Day (Turks and Caicos Islands)\n**Independence Day (Tatarstan, Russia, unrecognized)\n**International Day of the Disappeared (International)\n**Popular Consultation Day (East Timor)\n**Saint Rose of Lima's Day (Peru)\n**Victory Day (Turkey)\n*August 31\n**Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day (Balochs and Pashtuns, International observance)\n**Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland) \n**Independence Day (Federation of Malaya, Malaysia)\n**Independence Day (Kyrgyzstan)\n**Independence Day (Trinidad and Tobago)\n**Love Litigating Lawyers Day \n**National Language Day (Moldova)\n**National Trail Mix Day (United States)\n**North Borneo Self-government Day (Sabah, Borneo)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n", "* 410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days.\n*1172 – King Henry II of England crowns his heirs, Henry the Young King and Queen Margaret, but gives them no actual authority.\n*1557 – The Battle of St. Quentin comes to an end.\n*1593 – Pierre Barrière fails in his attempt to assassinate King Henry IV of France.\n*1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar).\n*1776 – Battle of Long Island: In what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.\n*1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: The city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces.\n*1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht.\n*1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.\n*1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.\n*1828 – Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by the United Kingdom between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.\n*1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.\n*1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.\n*1881 – The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths.\n*1883 – Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions destroy the island of Krakatoa and cause years of climate change.\n*1893 – The Sea Islands hurricane strikes the United States near Savannah, Georgia, killing between 1,000-2,000 people.\n*1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.\n*1914 – Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat. \n*1916 – The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations.\n*1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil.\n*1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.\n*1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking, \"Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?\"\n*1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.\n*1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.\n*1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.\n*1942 – First day of the Sarny Massacre.\n*1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.\n*1943 – World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete.\n*1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.\n*1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.\n*1964 – South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, who had both been involved in plots to unseat Khánh.\n*1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.\n*1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.\n*1979 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British retired admiral Lord Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.\n*1980 – A massive bomb planted by extortionist John Birges explodes at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada after a failed disarming attempt by the FBI. Although the hotel is damaged, no one is injured. \n*1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian Genocide.\n*1985 – The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.\n*1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.\n* 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.\n*2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing distant.\n* 2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.\n*2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.\n*2009 – Internal conflict in Burma: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.\n*2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.\n", "*865 – Rhazes, Persian polymath (d. 925)\n*1407 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (d. 1425)\n*1471 – George, Duke of Saxony (d. 1539)\n*1487 – Anna of Brandenburg (d. 1514)\n*1512 – Friedrich Staphylus, German theologian (d. 1564)\n*1542 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania and Protestant Bishop of Cammin (d. 1600)\n*1545 – Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1592)\n*1624 – Koxinga, Chinese-Japanese Ming loyalist (d. 1662)\n*1637 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician, 2nd Proprietor of Maryland (d. 1715)\n*1665 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (d. 1751)\n*1669 – Anne Marie d'Orléans, French wife of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1728)\n*1677 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian general (d. 1748)\n*1724 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor, planter, and politician (d. 1781)\n*1730 – Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher and author (d. 1788)\n*1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher and academic (d. 1831)\n*1803 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (d. 1895)\n*1809 – Hannibal Hamlin, American publisher and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (d. 1891)\n*1812 – Bertalan Szemere, Hungarian poet and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1869)\n*1827 – Charles Lilley, English-Australian politician, 4th Premier of Queensland (d. 1897)\n*1845 – Ödön Lechner, Hungarian architect, designed the Museum of Applied Arts and the Church of St Elisabeth (d. 1914)\n* 1845 – Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1909)\n*1856 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian author and poet (d. 1916)\n*1858 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1932)\n*1864 – Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (d. 1919)\n*1865 – James Henry Breasted, American archaeologist and historian (d. 1935)\n* 1865 – Charles G. Dawes, American general and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)\n*1868 – Hong Beom-do, Korean general and activist (d. 1943)\n*1870 – Amado Nervo, Mexican journalist, poet, and diplomat (d. 1919)\n*1871 – Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist (d. 1945)\n*1874 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)\n*1875 – Katharine McCormick, American biologist, philanthropist, and activist (d. 1967)\n*1877 – Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1910)\n* 1877 – Ernst Wetter, Swiss lawyer and politician, 48th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1963)\n*1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (d. 1928)\n*1884 – Vincent Auriol, French lawyer and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (d. 1966)\n*1886 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (d. 1979)\n*1890 – Man Ray, American-French photographer and painter (d. 1976)\n*1895 – Andreas Alföldi, Hungarian archaeologist and historian (d. 1981)\n*1896 – Kenji Miyazawa, Japanese author and poet (d. 1933)\n* 1896 – Léon Theremin, Russian physicist and engineer, invented the Theremin (d. 1993)\n*1898 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian businessman and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1963)\n*1899 – C. S. Forester, English novelist (d. 1966)\n*1904 – Alar Kotli, Estonian architect (d. 1963)\n* 1904 – Norah Lofts, English author (d. 1983)\n* 1904 – John Hay Whitney, American businessman, publisher, and diplomat, founded J.H. Whitney & Company (d. 1982)\n*1905 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek soldier (d. 1945)\n*1908 – Don Bradman, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2001)\n* 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American commander and politician, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973)\n*1909 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1966)\n* 1909 – Charles Pozzi, French race car driver (d. 2001)\n* 1909 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1959)\n*1911 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2005)\n*1912 – Gloria Guinness, Mexican journalist (d. 1980)\n*1915 – Norman Foster Ramsey Jr., American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)\n*1916 – Gordon Bashford, English engineer, co-designed the Range Rover (d. 1991)\n* 1916 – Tony Harris, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1993)\n* 1916 – Martha Raye, American actress and comedian (d. 1994)\n*1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1986)\n*1918 – Jelle Zijlstra, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)\n*1919 – Pee Wee Butts, American baseball player and coach (d. 1972)\n* 1919 – Murray Grand, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)\n*1920 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (d. 2008)\n* 1920 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (d. 2015)\n*1921 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1996)\n* 1921 – Leo Penn, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1998)\n*1922 – Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Minister of Defence for The Netherlands (d. 2012)\n*1923 – Jimmy Greenhalgh, English footballer and manager (d. 2013)\n*1924 – David Rowbotham, Australian journalist and poet (d. 2010)\n* 1924 – Rosalie E. Wahl, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2013)\n*1925 – Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal\n* 1925 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (d. 2011)\n* 1925 – Saiichi Maruya, Japanese author and critic (d. 2012)\n* 1925 – Bill Neilson, Australian politician, 34th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1989)\n* 1925 – Jaswant Singh Neki, Indian poet and academic (d. 2015)\n* 1925 – Carter Stanley, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)\n*1926 – George Brecht, American-German chemist and composer (d. 2008)\n* 1926 – Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)\n*1928 – Péter Boross, Hungarian lawyer and politician, 54th Prime Minister of Hungary \n* 1928 – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician, Chief Minister of KwaZulu\n* 1928 – Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (d. 2003)\n*1929 – Ira Levin, American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (d. 2007)\n* 1929 – George Scott, Canadian-American wrestler and promoter (d. 2014)\n*1930 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler and politician (d. 1968)\n*1931 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian-American guru and poet (d. 2007)\n* 1931 – Joe Cunningham, American baseball player and coach\n*1932 – Cor Brom, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2008)\n* 1932 – Antonia Fraser, English historian and author\n*1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player\n* 1935 – Michael Holroyd, English author\n* 1935 – Frank Yablans, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2014)\n*1936 – Joel Kovel, American scholar and author\n*1936 – Lien Chan, Taiwanese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China \n*1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (d. 2007)\n* 1937 – Tommy Sands, American pop singer and actor\n*1939 – William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer and historian \n* 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)\n*1939 – Nikola Pilić, Yugoslav tennis player and coach\n*1940 – Fernest Arceneaux, American singer and accordion player (d. 2008)\n* 1940 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (d. 1994)\n*1941 – Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean singer (d. 2011)\n* 1941 – János Konrád, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer (d. 2014)\n* 1941 – Harrison Page, American actor\n*1942 – Daryl Dragon, American keyboard player and songwriter \n* 1942 – Brian Peckford, Canadian educator and politician, 3rd Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador\n*1943 – Chuck Girard, American singer-songwriter and pianist \n* 1943 – Bob Kerrey, American lieutenant and politician, 35th Governor of Nebraska\n* 1943 – Tuesday Weld, American model and actress \n*1944 – Tim Bogert, American singer and bass player \n*1945 – Douglas R. Campbell, Canadian lawyer and judge\n*1946 – Tony Howard, Barbadian cricketer and manager\n*1947 – Barbara Bach, American model and actress\n* 1947 – Halil Berktay, Turkish historian and academic\n* 1947 – Kirk Francis, American engineer and producer\n* 1947 – Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)\n* 1947 – John Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and politician\n* 1947 – Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2002)\n*1948 – John Mehler, American drummer \n* 1948 – Deborah Swallow, English historian and curator\n* 1948 – Philippe Vallois, French director and screenwriter\n*1949 – Jeff Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1949 – Leah Jamieson, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic\n* 1949 – Ann Murray, Irish soprano\n*1950 – Charles Fleischer, American comedian and actor \n* 1950 – Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter\n* 1950 – Edmund Weiner, English lexicographer and author\n*1951 – Buddy Bell, American baseball player and manager\n* 1951 – Mack Brown, American football player and coach\n* 1951 – Randall Garrison, American-Canadian criminologist and politician\n*1952 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian\n*1953 – Tom Berryhill, American businessman and politician\n* 1953 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer \n* 1953 – Joan Smith, English journalist and author\n* 1953 – Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, and playwright \n*1954 – John Lloyd, English tennis player and sportscaster\n* 1954 – Rajesh Thakker, English physician and academic\n* 1954 – Derek Warwick, English race car driver\n*1955 – Robert Richardson, American cinematographer\n* 1955 – Diana Scarwid, American actress\n*1956 – Glen Matlock, English singer-songwriter and bass player \n*1957 – Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author\n* 1957 – Bernhard Langer, German golfer\n*1958 – Sergei Krikalev, Russian engineer and astronaut \n* 1958 – Tom Lanoye, Belgian author, poet, and playwright\n* 1958 – Hugh Orde, British police officer \n*1959 – Daniela Romo, Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess\n* 1959 – Gerhard Berger, Austrian race car driver\n* 1959 – Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor \n* 1959 – Denice Denton, American engineer and academic (d. 2006)\n* 1959 – Frode Fjellheim, Norwegian pianist and composer\n* 1959 – András Petőcz, Hungarian author and poet\n* 1959 – Jeanette Winterson, English journalist and novelist\n*1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer, and actress\n* 1961 – Mark Curry, English television host and actor\n* 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer\n* 1961 – Steve McDowall, English rugby player\n* 1961 – Helmut Winklhofer, German footballer\n*1964 – Stephan Elliott, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter\n*1965 – Scott Dibble, American lawyer and politician\n* 1965 – Wayne James, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach\n* 1965 – Ange Postecoglou, Greek-Australian footballer and coach\n*1966 – Jeroen Duyster, Dutch rower\n* 1966 – Juhan Parts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Estonia\n*1967 – Ogie Alcasid, Filipino singer-songwriter, producer, and actor\n* 1967 – Rob Burnett, American football player and sportscaster\n*1968 – Daphne Koller, Israeli-American computer scientist and academic\n* 1968 – Michael Long, New Zealand golfer\n* 1968 – Matthew Ridge, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Mark Ealham, English cricketer\n* 1969 – Cesar Millan, Mexican-American dog trainer, television personality, and author\n* 1969 – Chandra Wilson, American actress and director\n*1970 – Andy Bichel, Australian cricketer and coach\n* 1970 – Mark Ilott, English cricketer\n* 1970 – Tony Kanal, British-American bass player. songwriter, and record producer (No Doubt)\n* 1970 – Jim Thome, American baseball player and manager\n* 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (d. 2008)\n*1971 – Ernest Faber, Dutch footballer and manager\n* 1971 – Kyung Lah, South Korean-American journalist\n* 1971 – Hisayuki Okawa, Japanese runner\n* 1971 – Aygül Özkan, German lawyer and politician\n*1972 – Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player\n* 1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete\n* 1972 – Jimmy Pop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1973 – Danny Coyne, Welsh footballer\n* 1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer and manager\n* 1973 – Burak Kut, Turkish singer-songwriter\n* 1973 – Johan Norberg, Swedish historian and author\n*1974 – Michael Mason, New Zealand cricketer\n* 1974 – José Vidro, Puerto Rican-American baseball player\n* 1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer\n*1975 – Blake Adams, American golfer\n* 1975 – Jonny Moseley, Puerto Rican-American skier and television host\n* 1975 – Mark Rudan, Australian footballer and manager\n*1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress\n* 1976 – Audrey C. Delsanti, French astronomer and biologist\n* 1976 – Milano Collection A.T., Japanese wrestler\n* 1976 – Carlos Moyá, Spanish-Swiss tennis player\n* 1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver\n*1977 – Mase, American rapper, songwriter, pastor, businessperson, and writer\n* 1977 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (d. 2013)\n*1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist \n* 1979 – Aaron Paul, American actor and producer\n* 1979 – Rusty Smith, American speed skater \n*1981 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor \n* 1981 – Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, Brazilian footballer\n* 1981 – Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer\n*1983 – Joanna McGilchrist, English rugby player and physiotherapist\n*1984 – David Bentley, English footballer\n* 1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer\n*1985 – Kevan Hurst, English footballer\n* 1985 – Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer\n* 1985 – Alexandra Nechita, Romanian-American painter and sculptor\n*1986 – Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, 36th Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs\n*1987 – Joel Grant, English-Jamaican footballer\n* 1987 – Darren McFadden, American football player\n*1988 – Alexa PenaVega, American actress and singer\n*1989 – Romain Amalfitano, French footballer\n* 1989 – Juliana Cannarozzo, American figure skater and actress\n*1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer\n*1991 – Lee Sung-yeol, South Korean actor and singer \n*1992 – Blake Jenner, American actor and singer\n* 1992 – Stephen Morris, American football player\n* 1992 – Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter\n*1993 – Sarah Hecken, German figure skater\n* 1993 – Olivier Le Gac, French cyclist\n\n", "* 542 – Caesarius of Arles, French bishop and saint (b. 470)\n* 749 – Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, Persian general\n* 827 – Pope Eugene II\n* 923 – Ageltrude, queen of Italy and Holy Roman Empress \n*1146 – King Eric III of Denmark\n*1255 – Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (b. 1247)\n*1312 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1261)\n*1394 – Emperor Chōkei of Japan (b. 1343)\n*1450 – Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395)\n*1521 – Josquin des Prez, Flemish composer (b. 1450)\n*1545 – Piotr Gamrat, Polish archbishop (b. 1487)\n*1576 – Titian, Italian painter and educator (b. 1488)\n*1590 – Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)\n*1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. c. 1548)\n*1635 – Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562)\n*1664 – Francisco de Zurbarán, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1598)\n*1748 – James Thomson, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1700)\n*1782 – John Laurens, American Revolutionary and Congressman (b.1754)\n*1828 – Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer and academic, built the Eisinga Planetarium (b. 1744)\n*1857 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, poet, and critic (b. 1815)\n*1865 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian judge and politician (b. 1796)\n*1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1794)\n*1875 – William Chapman Ralston, American businessman and financier, founded the Bank of California (b. 1826)\n*1891 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (b. 1816)\n*1909 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (b. 1842)\n*1922 – Reşat Çiğiltepe, Turkish colonel (b. 1879)\n*1929 – Herman Potočnik, Croatian-Austrian engineer (b. 1892)\n*1931 – Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist and author (b. 1856)\n* 1931 – Willem Hubert Nolens, Dutch priest and politician (b. 1860)\n* 1931 – Francis Marion Smith, American miner and businessman (b. 1846)\n*1935 – Childe Hassam, American painter and academic (b. 1859)\n*1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German soldier (b. 1915)\n*1945 – Hubert Pál Álgyay, Hungarian engineer, designed the Petőfi Bridge (b. 1894)\n*1948 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 11th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1862)\n*1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian author, poet, and critic (b. 1908)\n*1956 – Pelageya Shajn, Russian astronomer and academic (b. 1894)\n*1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)\n*1963 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (b. 1868)\n* 1963 – Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, Pakistani mathematician and scholar (b. 1888)\n*1964 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (b. 1895)\n*1965 – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect and urban planner, designed the Philips Pavilion (b. 1887)\n*1967 – Brian Epstein, English businessman and manager (b. 1934)\n*1968 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)\n*1969 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (b. 1884)\n* 1969 – Erika Mann, German actress and author (b. 1905)\n*1971 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher, co-founded Random House (b. 1898)\n* 1971 – Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer and journalist (b. 1906)\n*1975 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1892)\n*1978 – Gordon Matta-Clark, American painter and illustrator (b. 1943)\n* 1978 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author and poet (b. 1897)\n*1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (b. 1900)\n*1980 – Douglas Kenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)\n*1981 – Valeri Kharlamov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1948)\n*1990 – Avdy Andresson, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b. 1899)\n* 1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1954) (Double Trouble)\n*1994 – Frank Jeske, German footballer (b. 1960)\n*1996 – Greg Morris, American actor (b. 1933)\n*1998 – Essie Summers, New Zealand author (b. 1912)\n*1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop and theologian (b. 1909)\n*2001 – Michael Dertouzos, Greek-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1936)\n* 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian politician (b. 1938)\n*2002 – Edwin Louis Cole, American religious leader and author (b. 1922)\n*2003 – Pierre Poujade, French soldier and politician (b. 1920)\n*2004 – Willie Crawford, American baseball player (b. 1946)\n*2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (b. 1922)\n* 2005 – Seán Purcell, Irish footballer (b. 1929)\n*2006 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)\n* 2006 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (b. 1969) (Napalm Death)\n*2007 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (b. 1930)\n*2009 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and poet (b. 1913)\n*2010 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist (b. 1934)\n* 2010 – Luna Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler and manager (b. 1962)\n*2012 – Neville Alexander, South African linguist and activist (b. 1936)\n* 2012 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (b. 1931)\n* 2012 – Art Heyman, American basketball player (b. 1941)\n* 2012 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1926)\n* 2012 – Richard Kingsland, Australian captain and pilot (b. 1916)\n*2013 – Chen Liting, Chinese director and playwright (b. 1910)\n* 2013 – Bill Peach, Australian journalist (b. 1935)\n* 2013 – Dave Thomas, Welsh golfer and architect (b. 1934)\n*2014 – Jacques Friedel, French physicist and academic (b. 1921)\n* 2014 – Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)\n* 2014 – Benno Pludra, German author (b. 1925)\n*2015 – Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician, 8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1939)\n* 2015 – Pascal Chaumeil, French director and screenwriter (b. 1961)\n* 2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (b. 1957)\n\n", "*Christian feast day:\n**Baculus of Sorrento\n**Caesarius of Arles\n**Decuman\n**Gebhard of Constance\n**Euthalia\n**John of Pavia\n**Lycerius (or: Glkycerius, Lizier)\n**Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland)\n**Margaret the Barefooted\n**Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo\n**Narnus\n**Phanourios of Rhodes\n**Rufus and Carpophorus\n**Syagrius of Autun\n**Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle (Episcopal Church)\n**August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Film and Movies Day (Russia)\n*Independence Day (Republic of Moldova), celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991.\n*Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States)\n*National Banana Lovers Day (United States)\n*National Pots De Creme Day (United States)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* On This Day in Canada\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "1794)\n*1875 – William Chapman Ralston, American businessman and financier, founded the Bank of California (b." ]

[ "* 410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days.", "*1172 – King Henry II of England crowns his heirs, Henry the Young King and Queen Margaret, but gives them no actual authority.", "*1557 – The Battle of St. Quentin comes to an end.", "*1593 – Pierre Barrière fails in his attempt to assassinate King Henry IV of France.", "*1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar).", "*1776 – Battle of Long Island: In what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.", "*1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: The city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces.", "*1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht.", "*1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France.", "*1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.", "*1828 – Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by the United Kingdom between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.", "*1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.", "*1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.", "*1881 – The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths.", "*1883 – Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions destroy the island of Krakatoa and cause years of climate change.", "*1893 – The Sea Islands hurricane strikes the United States near Savannah, Georgia, killing between 1,000-2,000 people.", "*1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history (09:00 to 09:45), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.", "*1914 – Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.", "*1916 – The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations.", "*1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil.", "*1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece.", "*1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition to the Supreme Court of Canada, asking, \"Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?\"", "*1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations.", "Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it.", "*1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.", "*1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.", "*1942 – First day of the Sarny Massacre.", "*1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.", "*1943 – World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete.", "*1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.", "*1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.", "*1964 – South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, who had both been involved in plots to unseat Khánh.", "*1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad.", "The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.", "*1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.", "*1979 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British retired admiral Lord Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland.", "Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland.", "*1980 – A massive bomb planted by extortionist John Birges explodes at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada after a failed disarming attempt by the FBI.", "Although the hotel is damaged, no one is injured.", "*1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa.", "Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian Genocide.", "*1985 – The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.", "*1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.", "* 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.", "*2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing distant.", "* 2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.", "*2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.", "Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.", "*2009 – Internal conflict in Burma: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region.", "*2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.", "*865 – Rhazes, Persian polymath (d. 925)\n*1407 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (d. 1425)\n*1471 – George, Duke of Saxony (d. 1539)\n*1487 – Anna of Brandenburg (d. 1514)\n*1512 – Friedrich Staphylus, German theologian (d. 1564)\n*1542 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania and Protestant Bishop of Cammin (d. 1600)\n*1545 – Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1592)\n*1624 – Koxinga, Chinese-Japanese Ming loyalist (d. 1662)\n*1637 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician, 2nd Proprietor of Maryland (d. 1715)\n*1665 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (d. 1751)\n*1669 – Anne Marie d'Orléans, French wife of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1728)\n*1677 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian general (d. 1748)\n*1724 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor, planter, and politician (d. 1781)\n*1730 – Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher and author (d. 1788)\n*1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher and academic (d. 1831)\n*1803 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (d. 1895)\n*1809 – Hannibal Hamlin, American publisher and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (d. 1891)\n*1812 – Bertalan Szemere, Hungarian poet and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1869)\n*1827 – Charles Lilley, English-Australian politician, 4th Premier of Queensland (d. 1897)\n*1845 – Ödön Lechner, Hungarian architect, designed the Museum of Applied Arts and the Church of St Elisabeth (d. 1914)\n* 1845 – Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1909)\n*1856 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian author and poet (d. 1916)\n*1858 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1932)\n*1864 – Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (d. 1919)\n*1865 – James Henry Breasted, American archaeologist and historian (d. 1935)\n* 1865 – Charles G. Dawes, American general and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)\n*1868 – Hong Beom-do, Korean general and activist (d. 1943)\n*1870 – Amado Nervo, Mexican journalist, poet, and diplomat (d. 1919)\n*1871 – Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist (d. 1945)\n*1874 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)\n*1875 – Katharine McCormick, American biologist, philanthropist, and activist (d. 1967)\n*1877 – Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1910)\n* 1877 – Ernst Wetter, Swiss lawyer and politician, 48th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1963)\n*1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (d. 1928)\n*1884 – Vincent Auriol, French lawyer and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (d. 1966)\n*1886 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (d. 1979)\n*1890 – Man Ray, American-French photographer and painter (d. 1976)\n*1895 – Andreas Alföldi, Hungarian archaeologist and historian (d. 1981)\n*1896 – Kenji Miyazawa, Japanese author and poet (d. 1933)\n* 1896 – Léon Theremin, Russian physicist and engineer, invented the Theremin (d. 1993)\n*1898 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian businessman and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1963)\n*1899 – C. S. Forester, English novelist (d. 1966)\n*1904 – Alar Kotli, Estonian architect (d. 1963)\n* 1904 – Norah Lofts, English author (d. 1983)\n* 1904 – John Hay Whitney, American businessman, publisher, and diplomat, founded J.H.", "Whitney & Company (d. 1982)\n*1905 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek soldier (d. 1945)\n*1908 – Don Bradman, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2001)\n* 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American commander and politician, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973)\n*1909 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1966)\n* 1909 – Charles Pozzi, French race car driver (d. 2001)\n* 1909 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1959)\n*1911 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2005)\n*1912 – Gloria Guinness, Mexican journalist (d. 1980)\n*1915 – Norman Foster Ramsey Jr., American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)\n*1916 – Gordon Bashford, English engineer, co-designed the Range Rover (d. 1991)\n* 1916 – Tony Harris, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1993)\n* 1916 – Martha Raye, American actress and comedian (d. 1994)\n*1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1986)\n*1918 – Jelle Zijlstra, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)\n*1919 – Pee Wee Butts, American baseball player and coach (d. 1972)\n* 1919 – Murray Grand, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)\n*1920 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (d. 2008)\n* 1920 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (d. 2015)\n*1921 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1996)\n* 1921 – Leo Penn, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1998)\n*1922 – Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Minister of Defence for The Netherlands (d. 2012)\n*1923 – Jimmy Greenhalgh, English footballer and manager (d. 2013)\n*1924 – David Rowbotham, Australian journalist and poet (d. 2010)\n* 1924 – Rosalie E. Wahl, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2013)\n*1925 – Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal\n* 1925 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (d. 2011)\n* 1925 – Saiichi Maruya, Japanese author and critic (d. 2012)\n* 1925 – Bill Neilson, Australian politician, 34th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1989)\n* 1925 – Jaswant Singh Neki, Indian poet and academic (d. 2015)\n* 1925 – Carter Stanley, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)\n*1926 – George Brecht, American-German chemist and composer (d. 2008)\n* 1926 – Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)\n*1928 – Péter Boross, Hungarian lawyer and politician, 54th Prime Minister of Hungary \n* 1928 – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician, Chief Minister of KwaZulu\n* 1928 – Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (d. 2003)\n*1929 – Ira Levin, American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (d. 2007)\n* 1929 – George Scott, Canadian-American wrestler and promoter (d. 2014)\n*1930 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler and politician (d. 1968)\n*1931 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian-American guru and poet (d. 2007)\n* 1931 – Joe Cunningham, American baseball player and coach\n*1932 – Cor Brom, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2008)\n* 1932 – Antonia Fraser, English historian and author\n*1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player\n* 1935 – Michael Holroyd, English author\n* 1935 – Frank Yablans, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2014)\n*1936 – Joel Kovel, American scholar and author\n*1936 – Lien Chan, Taiwanese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China \n*1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (d. 2007)\n* 1937 – Tommy Sands, American pop singer and actor\n*1939 – William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer and historian \n* 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)\n*1939 – Nikola Pilić, Yugoslav tennis player and coach\n*1940 – Fernest Arceneaux, American singer and accordion player (d. 2008)\n* 1940 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (d. 1994)\n*1941 – Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean singer (d. 2011)\n* 1941 – János Konrád, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer (d. 2014)\n* 1941 – Harrison Page, American actor\n*1942 – Daryl Dragon, American keyboard player and songwriter \n* 1942 – Brian Peckford, Canadian educator and politician, 3rd Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador\n*1943 – Chuck Girard, American singer-songwriter and pianist \n* 1943 – Bob Kerrey, American lieutenant and politician, 35th Governor of Nebraska\n* 1943 – Tuesday Weld, American model and actress \n*1944 – Tim Bogert, American singer and bass player \n*1945 – Douglas R. Campbell, Canadian lawyer and judge\n*1946 – Tony Howard, Barbadian cricketer and manager\n*1947 – Barbara Bach, American model and actress\n* 1947 – Halil Berktay, Turkish historian and academic\n* 1947 – Kirk Francis, American engineer and producer\n* 1947 – Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)\n* 1947 – John Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and politician\n* 1947 – Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2002)\n*1948 – John Mehler, American drummer \n* 1948 – Deborah Swallow, English historian and curator\n* 1948 – Philippe Vallois, French director and screenwriter\n*1949 – Jeff Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1949 – Leah Jamieson, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic\n* 1949 – Ann Murray, Irish soprano\n*1950 – Charles Fleischer, American comedian and actor \n* 1950 – Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter\n* 1950 – Edmund Weiner, English lexicographer and author\n*1951 – Buddy Bell, American baseball player and manager\n* 1951 – Mack Brown, American football player and coach\n* 1951 – Randall Garrison, American-Canadian criminologist and politician\n*1952 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian\n*1953 – Tom Berryhill, American businessman and politician\n* 1953 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer \n* 1953 – Joan Smith, English journalist and author\n* 1953 – Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, and playwright \n*1954 – John Lloyd, English tennis player and sportscaster\n* 1954 – Rajesh Thakker, English physician and academic\n* 1954 – Derek Warwick, English race car driver\n*1955 – Robert Richardson, American cinematographer\n* 1955 – Diana Scarwid, American actress\n*1956 – Glen Matlock, English singer-songwriter and bass player \n*1957 – Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author\n* 1957 – Bernhard Langer, German golfer\n*1958 – Sergei Krikalev, Russian engineer and astronaut \n* 1958 – Tom Lanoye, Belgian author, poet, and playwright\n* 1958 – Hugh Orde, British police officer \n*1959 – Daniela Romo, Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess\n* 1959 – Gerhard Berger, Austrian race car driver\n* 1959 – Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor \n* 1959 – Denice Denton, American engineer and academic (d. 2006)\n* 1959 – Frode Fjellheim, Norwegian pianist and composer\n* 1959 – András Petőcz, Hungarian author and poet\n* 1959 – Jeanette Winterson, English journalist and novelist\n*1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer, and actress\n* 1961 – Mark Curry, English television host and actor\n* 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer\n* 1961 – Steve McDowall, English rugby player\n* 1961 – Helmut Winklhofer, German footballer\n*1964 – Stephan Elliott, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter\n*1965 – Scott Dibble, American lawyer and politician\n* 1965 – Wayne James, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach\n* 1965 – Ange Postecoglou, Greek-Australian footballer and coach\n*1966 – Jeroen Duyster, Dutch rower\n* 1966 – Juhan Parts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Estonia\n*1967 – Ogie Alcasid, Filipino singer-songwriter, producer, and actor\n* 1967 – Rob Burnett, American football player and sportscaster\n*1968 – Daphne Koller, Israeli-American computer scientist and academic\n* 1968 – Michael Long, New Zealand golfer\n* 1968 – Matthew Ridge, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Mark Ealham, English cricketer\n* 1969 – Cesar Millan, Mexican-American dog trainer, television personality, and author\n* 1969 – Chandra Wilson, American actress and director\n*1970 – Andy Bichel, Australian cricketer and coach\n* 1970 – Mark Ilott, English cricketer\n* 1970 – Tony Kanal, British-American bass player.", "songwriter, and record producer (No Doubt)\n* 1970 – Jim Thome, American baseball player and manager\n* 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (d. 2008)\n*1971 – Ernest Faber, Dutch footballer and manager\n* 1971 – Kyung Lah, South Korean-American journalist\n* 1971 – Hisayuki Okawa, Japanese runner\n* 1971 – Aygül Özkan, German lawyer and politician\n*1972 – Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player\n* 1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete\n* 1972 – Jimmy Pop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1973 – Danny Coyne, Welsh footballer\n* 1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer and manager\n* 1973 – Burak Kut, Turkish singer-songwriter\n* 1973 – Johan Norberg, Swedish historian and author\n*1974 – Michael Mason, New Zealand cricketer\n* 1974 – José Vidro, Puerto Rican-American baseball player\n* 1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer\n*1975 – Blake Adams, American golfer\n* 1975 – Jonny Moseley, Puerto Rican-American skier and television host\n* 1975 – Mark Rudan, Australian footballer and manager\n*1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress\n* 1976 – Audrey C. Delsanti, French astronomer and biologist\n* 1976 – Milano Collection A.T., Japanese wrestler\n* 1976 – Carlos Moyá, Spanish-Swiss tennis player\n* 1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver\n*1977 – Mase, American rapper, songwriter, pastor, businessperson, and writer\n* 1977 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (d. 2013)\n*1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist \n* 1979 – Aaron Paul, American actor and producer\n* 1979 – Rusty Smith, American speed skater \n*1981 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor \n* 1981 – Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, Brazilian footballer\n* 1981 – Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer\n*1983 – Joanna McGilchrist, English rugby player and physiotherapist\n*1984 – David Bentley, English footballer\n* 1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer\n*1985 – Kevan Hurst, English footballer\n* 1985 – Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer\n* 1985 – Alexandra Nechita, Romanian-American painter and sculptor\n*1986 – Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, 36th Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs\n*1987 – Joel Grant, English-Jamaican footballer\n* 1987 – Darren McFadden, American football player\n*1988 – Alexa PenaVega, American actress and singer\n*1989 – Romain Amalfitano, French footballer\n* 1989 – Juliana Cannarozzo, American figure skater and actress\n*1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer\n*1991 – Lee Sung-yeol, South Korean actor and singer \n*1992 – Blake Jenner, American actor and singer\n* 1992 – Stephen Morris, American football player\n* 1992 – Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter\n*1993 – Sarah Hecken, German figure skater\n* 1993 – Olivier Le Gac, French cyclist", "* 542 – Caesarius of Arles, French bishop and saint (b.", "470)\n* 749 – Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, Persian general\n* 827 – Pope Eugene II\n* 923 – Ageltrude, queen of Italy and Holy Roman Empress \n*1146 – King Eric III of Denmark\n*1255 – Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (b.", "1247)\n*1312 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b.", "1261)\n*1394 – Emperor Chōkei of Japan (b.", "1343)\n*1450 – Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b.", "1395)\n*1521 – Josquin des Prez, Flemish composer (b.", "1450)\n*1545 – Piotr Gamrat, Polish archbishop (b.", "1487)\n*1576 – Titian, Italian painter and educator (b.", "1488)\n*1590 – Pope Sixtus V (b.", "1521)\n*1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. c. 1548)\n*1635 – Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b.", "1562)\n*1664 – Francisco de Zurbarán, Spanish painter and educator (b.", "1598)\n*1748 – James Thomson, Scottish poet and playwright (b.", "1700)\n*1782 – John Laurens, American Revolutionary and Congressman (b.1754)\n*1828 – Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer and academic, built the Eisinga Planetarium (b.", "1744)\n*1857 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, poet, and critic (b.", "1815)\n*1865 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian judge and politician (b.", "1796)\n*1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American lawyer and politician (b.", "1826)\n*1891 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (b.", "1816)\n*1909 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (b.", "1842)\n*1922 – Reşat Çiğiltepe, Turkish colonel (b.", "1879)\n*1929 – Herman Potočnik, Croatian-Austrian engineer (b.", "1892)\n*1931 – Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist and author (b.", "1856)\n* 1931 – Willem Hubert Nolens, Dutch priest and politician (b.", "1860)\n* 1931 – Francis Marion Smith, American miner and businessman (b.", "1846)\n*1935 – Childe Hassam, American painter and academic (b.", "1859)\n*1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German soldier (b.", "1915)\n*1945 – Hubert Pál Álgyay, Hungarian engineer, designed the Petőfi Bridge (b.", "1894)\n*1948 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 11th Chief Justice of the United States (b.", "1862)\n*1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian author, poet, and critic (b.", "1908)\n*1956 – Pelageya Shajn, Russian astronomer and academic (b.", "1894)\n*1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1901)\n*1963 – W. E. B.", "Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (b.", "1868)\n* 1963 – Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, Pakistani mathematician and scholar (b.", "1888)\n*1964 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (b.", "1895)\n*1965 – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect and urban planner, designed the Philips Pavilion (b.", "1887)\n*1967 – Brian Epstein, English businessman and manager (b.", "1934)\n*1968 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b.", "1906)\n*1969 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (b.", "1884)\n* 1969 – Erika Mann, German actress and author (b.", "1905)\n*1971 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher, co-founded Random House (b.", "1898)\n* 1971 – Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer and journalist (b.", "1906)\n*1975 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (b.", "1892)\n*1978 – Gordon Matta-Clark, American painter and illustrator (b.", "1943)\n* 1978 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author and poet (b.", "1897)\n*1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (b.", "1900)\n*1980 – Douglas Kenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b.", "1947)\n*1981 – Valeri Kharlamov, Russian ice hockey player (b.", "1948)\n*1990 – Avdy Andresson, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b.", "1899)\n* 1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b.", "1954) (Double Trouble)\n*1994 – Frank Jeske, German footballer (b.", "1960)\n*1996 – Greg Morris, American actor (b.", "1933)\n*1998 – Essie Summers, New Zealand author (b.", "1912)\n*1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop and theologian (b.", "1909)\n*2001 – Michael Dertouzos, Greek-American computer scientist and academic (b.", "1936)\n* 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian politician (b.", "1938)\n*2002 – Edwin Louis Cole, American religious leader and author (b.", "1922)\n*2003 – Pierre Poujade, French soldier and politician (b.", "1920)\n*2004 – Willie Crawford, American baseball player (b.", "1946)\n*2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (b.", "1922)\n* 2005 – Seán Purcell, Irish footballer (b.", "1929)\n*2006 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b.", "1922)\n* 2006 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (b.", "1969) (Napalm Death)\n*2007 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (b.", "1930)\n*2009 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and poet (b.", "1913)\n*2010 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist (b.", "1934)\n* 2010 – Luna Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler and manager (b.", "1962)\n*2012 – Neville Alexander, South African linguist and activist (b.", "1936)\n* 2012 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (b.", "1931)\n* 2012 – Art Heyman, American basketball player (b.", "1941)\n* 2012 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (b.", "1926)\n* 2012 – Richard Kingsland, Australian captain and pilot (b.", "1916)\n*2013 – Chen Liting, Chinese director and playwright (b.", "1910)\n* 2013 – Bill Peach, Australian journalist (b.", "1935)\n* 2013 – Dave Thomas, Welsh golfer and architect (b.", "1934)\n*2014 – Jacques Friedel, French physicist and academic (b.", "1921)\n* 2014 – Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b.", "1920)\n* 2014 – Benno Pludra, German author (b.", "1925)\n*2015 – Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician, 8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b.", "1939)\n* 2015 – Pascal Chaumeil, French director and screenwriter (b.", "1961)\n* 2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (b.", "1957)", "*Christian feast day:\n**Baculus of Sorrento\n**Caesarius of Arles\n**Decuman\n**Gebhard of Constance\n**Euthalia\n**John of Pavia\n**Lycerius (or: Glkycerius, Lizier)\n**Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland)\n**Margaret the Barefooted\n**Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo\n**Narnus\n**Phanourios of Rhodes\n**Rufus and Carpophorus\n**Syagrius of Autun\n**Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle (Episcopal Church)\n**August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Film and Movies Day (Russia)\n*Independence Day (Republic of Moldova), celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991.", "*Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States)\n*National Banana Lovers Day (United States)\n*National Pots De Creme Day (United States)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* On This Day in Canada" ]

[ "\n\nRothbard, Murray N., '' The Betrayal of the American Right'' (2007): 188 It is also the flag used by the Swedish ''AnarkoKapitalistisk Front''\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Anarcho-capitalism''' is a political philosophy and school of anarchist thought that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of self-ownership, private property, and free markets. Anarcho-capitalists hold that, in the absence of statute (law by centralized decrees and legislation), society tends to contractually self-regulate and civilize through the discipline of the free market (in what its proponents describe as a ''voluntary society'').\n\nIn an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services would be operated by privately funded competitors rather than centrally through compulsory taxation. Money, along with all other goods and services, would be privately and competitively provided in an open market. Therefore, personal and economic activities under anarcho-capitalism would be regulated by victim-based dispute resolution organizations under tort and contract law, rather than by statute through centrally determined punishment under political monopolies.\n\nVarious theorists have espoused legal philosophies similar to anarcho-capitalism. The first person to use the term, however, was Murray Rothbard, who in the mid-20th century synthesized elements from the Austrian School of economics, classical liberalism, and 19th-century American individualist anarchists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker (while rejecting their labor theory of value and the norms they derived from it). A Rothbardian anarcho-capitalist society would operate under a mutually agreed-upon libertarian \"legal code which would be generally accepted, and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow.\" This pact would recognize self-ownership and the non-aggression principle (NAP), although methods of enforcement vary.\n\nAnarcho-capitalists are distinguished from minarchists, who advocate a small night-watchman state limited to the function of individual protection, and other anarchists who may seek to prohibit or regulate the accumulation of property and the flow of capital.\n\n\n", "\n===Ethics===\nAnarcho-capitalists argue for a society based on the voluntary trade of private property and services (in sum, all relationships not caused by threats or violence, including exchanges of money, consumer goods, land, and capital goods) in order to minimize conflict while maximizing individual liberty and prosperity. However, they also recognize charity and communal arrangements as part of the same voluntary ethic. Though anarcho-capitalists are known for asserting a right to private (individualized or joint non-public) property, some propose that non-state public or community property can also exist in an anarcho-capitalist society. For them, what is important is that it is acquired and transferred without help or hindrance from the compulsory state. Anarcho-capitalist libertarians believe that the only just and most economically beneficial way to acquire property is through voluntary trade, gift, or labor-based original appropriation, rather than through aggression or fraud.\n\nAnarcho-capitalists see free-market capitalism as the basis for a free and prosperous society. Murray Rothbard said that the difference between free-market capitalism and \"state capitalism\" is the difference between \"peaceful, voluntary exchange\" and a collusive partnership between business and government that uses coercion to subvert the free market (Rothbard is credited with coining the term \"anarcho-capitalism\"). \"Capitalism\", as anarcho-capitalists employ the term, is not to be confused with state monopoly capitalism, crony capitalism, corporatism, or contemporary mixed economies, wherein market incentives and disincentives may be altered by state action. They therefore reject the state, seeing it as an entity which steals property (through taxation and expropriation), initiates aggression, has a compulsory monopoly on the use of force, uses its coercive powers to benefit some businesses and individuals at the expense of others, creates artificial monopolies, restricts trade, and restricts personal freedoms via drug laws, compulsory education, conscription, laws on food and morality, and the like.\n\nMany anarchists view capitalism as an inherently authoritarian and hierarchical system, and seek the expropriation of private property. There is disagreement between these left anarchists and laissez-faire anarcho-capitalists, as the former generally rejects anarcho-capitalism as a form of anarchism and considers ''anarcho-capitalism'' an oxymoron, while the latter holds that such expropriation is counterproductive to order, and would require a state. On the Nolan chart, anarcho-capitalists are located at the extreme edge of the libertarian quadrant – since they reject state involvement in both economic and personal affairs.\n\nLaissez-faire anarchists argue that the state relies on initiating force because force can be used against those who have not stolen private property, vandalized private property, assaulted anyone, or committed fraud. Many also argue that subsidized monopolies tend to be corrupt and inefficient. Anarchist theorist Rothbard argued that all government services, including defense, are inefficient because they lack a market-based pricing mechanism regulated by the voluntary decisions of consumers purchasing services that fulfill their highest-priority needs and by investors seeking the most profitable enterprises to invest in. Many anarchists also argue that private defense and court agencies would have to have a good reputation in order to stay in business. Furthermore, Linda and Morris Tannehill argue that no coercive monopoly of force can arise on a truly free market and that a government's citizenry can't desert them in favor of a competent protection and defense agency.\n\nRothbard bases his philosophy on natural law grounds and also provides economic explanations of why he thinks anarcho-capitalism is preferable on pragmatic grounds as well. David D. Friedman says he is not an absolutist rights theorist but is also \"not a utilitarian\", however, he does believe that \"utilitarian arguments are usually the best way to defend libertarian views\". Peter Leeson argues that \"the case for anarchy derives its strength from empirical evidence, not theory\". Hans-Hermann Hoppe, meanwhile, uses \"argumentation ethics\" for his foundation of \"private property anarchism\", which is closer to Rothbard's natural law approach.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRothbard used the term ''anarcho-capitalism'' to distinguish his philosophy from anarchism that opposes private property, as well as to distinguish it from other forms of individualist anarchism. Other terms sometimes used for this philosophy, though not necessarily outside anarcho-capitalist circles, include:\n* anti-state capitalism\n* anti-state marketism\n* capitalist anarchism\n* market anarchism\n* free market anarchism\n* individualist anarchism\n* voluntaryism\n* natural order\n* ordered anarchy\n* polycentric law\n* the private-law society\n* private-property anarchy\n* pure capitalism\n* radical capitalism\n* stateless capitalism\n* stateless liberalism\n\n\nWhile the Friedmanian formulation of anarcho-capitalism is robust to the presence of violence, and in fact assumes some degree of violence will occur, anarcho-capitalism as formulated by Rothbard and others holds strongly to the central libertarian ''nonaggression axiom'':\n\n\n\nRothbard's defense of the self-ownership principle stems from what he believed to be his falsification of all other alternatives, namely that either a group of people can own another group of people, or the other alternative, that no single person has full ownership over one's self. Rothbard dismisses these two cases on the basis that they cannot result in a universal ethic, i.e., a just natural law that can govern all people, independent of place and time. The only alternative that remains to Rothbard is self-ownership, which he believes is both axiomatic and universal.\n\nIn general, the nonaggression axiom can be said to be a prohibition against the initiation of force, or the threat of force, against persons (i.e., direct violence, assault, murder) or property (i.e., fraud, burglary, theft, taxation). The initiation of force is usually referred to as aggression or coercion. The difference between anarcho-capitalists and other libertarians is largely one of the degree to which they take this axiom. Minarchist libertarians, such as most people involved in libertarian political parties, would retain the state in some smaller and less invasive form, retaining at the very least public police, courts and military; others, however, might give further allowance for other government programs. In contrast, anarcho-capitalists reject any level of state intervention, defining the state as a coercive monopoly and, as the only entity in human society that derives its income from legal aggression, an entity that inherently violates the central axiom of libertarianism.\n\nSome anarcho-capitalists, such as Rothbard, accept the nonaggression axiom on an intrinsic moral or natural law basis. It is in terms of the non-aggression principle that Rothbard defined anarchism; he defined \"anarchism as a system which provides no legal sanction for such aggression 'against person and property'\" and said that \"what anarchism proposes to do, then, is to abolish the State, i.e. to abolish the regularized institution of aggressive coercion\". In an interview published in the libertarian journal ''New Banner'', Rothbard said that \"capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism\".\n\n===Property===\n\n====Private property====\nCentral to Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism are the concepts of self-ownership and original appropriation that combines personal and private property\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnarcho-capitalism uses the following terms in ways that may differ from common usage or various anarchist movements.\n* '''Anarchism:''' any philosophy that opposes all forms of initiatory coercion (includes opposition to the State)\n* '''Contract:''' a voluntary binding agreement between persons\n* '''Coercion:''' physical force or threat of such against persons or property\n* '''Capitalism:''' economic system where the means of production are privately owned and where investments, production, distribution, income, and prices are determined through the operation of a free market rather than by statutory regulation\n* '''Free market:''' a market where all decisions regarding transfer of money, goods (including capital goods), and services are voluntary\n* '''Fraud:''' inducing one to part with something of value through the use of dishonesty\n* '''State:''' an organization that taxes and engages in regularized and institutionalized aggressive coercion\n* '''Voluntary:''' any action not influenced by coercion or fraud perpetrated by any human agency\n\n\nThis is the root of anarcho-capitalist property rights, and where they differ from collectivist forms of anarchism such as anarcho-communism where the means of production are controlled by the whole community and the product of labor is collectivized in a pool of goods and distributed \"according to need\" (which is to be determined and enforced collectively). Anarcho-capitalists advocate individual or joint (i.e. ''private'') ownership of the means of production and the product of labor regardless of what the individual \"needs\" or does not \"need\". As Rothbard says: \"if every man has the right to own his own body and if he must use and transform material natural objects in order to survive, then he has the right to own the product that he has made.\" After property is transformed through labor it may then only exchange hands legitimately by trade or gift; forced transfers are considered illegitimate. Original appropriation allows an individual to claim any never-before used resources, including land, and by improving or otherwise using it, own it with the same \"absolute right\" as his own body. According to Rothbard, property can only come about through labor, therefore original appropriation of land is not legitimate by merely claiming it or building a fence around it; it is only by ''using'' land – by mixing one's labor with it – that original appropriation is legitimized: \"Any attempt to claim a new resource that someone does not use would have to be considered invasive of the property right of whoever the first user will turn out to be.\" Rothbard argues that the resource need not ''continue'' to be used in order for it to be the person's property, \"for once his labor is mixed with the natural resource, it remains his owned land. His labor has been irretrievably mixed with the land, and the land is therefore his or his assigns' in perpetuity.\" As a practical matter, in terms of the ownership of land, anarcho-capitalists recognize that there are few (if any) parcels of land left on Earth whose ownership was not at some point in time obtained in violation of the homestead principle, through seizure by the state or put in private hands with the assistance of the state. Rothbard says,\n\n\n\nRothbard says in \"Justice and Property Right\" that \"any identifiable owner (the original victim of theft or his heir) must be accorded his property.\" In the case of slavery, Rothbard says that in many cases \"the old plantations and the heirs and descendants of the former slaves can be identified, and the reparations can become highly specific indeed.\" He believes slaves rightfully own any land they were forced to work on under the \"homestead principle\". If property is held by the state, Rothbard advocates its confiscation and return to the private sector: \"any property in the hands of the State is in the hands of thieves, and should be liberated as quickly as possible.\" For example, he proposes that State universities be seized by the students and faculty under the homestead principle. Rothbard also supports expropriation of nominally \"private property\" if it is the result of state-initiated force, such as businesses who receive grants and subsidies. He proposes that businesses who receive at least 50% of their funding from the state be confiscated by the workers. He says, \"What we libertarians object to, then, is not government per se but crime, what we object to is unjust or criminal property titles; what we are for is not \"private\" property per se but just, innocent, non-criminal private property.\" Likewise, Karl Hess says, \"libertarianism wants to advance ''principles'' of property but that it in no way wishes to defend, willy nilly, all property which now is called private... Much of that property is stolen. Much is of dubious title. All of it is deeply intertwined with an immoral, coercive state system.\" By accepting an axiomatic definition of private property and property rights, anarcho-capitalists deny the legitimacy of a state on principle:\n\n\n\n====Common property====\nThough anarcho-capitalists assert a right to private property, some anarcho-capitalists also point out that common, i.e. community, property can exist by right in an anarcho-capitalist system. Just as an individual comes to own that which was unowned by mixing his labor with it or using it regularly, a whole community or society can come to own a thing in common by mixing their labor with it collectively, meaning that no individual may appropriate it as his own. This may apply to roads, parks, rivers, and portions of oceans. Anarchist theorist Roderick Long gives the following example:\n\n\n\nNevertheless, since property that is owned collectively tends to lose the level of accountability found in individual ownership to the extent of the number of owners – and make consensus regarding property use and maintenance decisions proportionately less likely, anarcho-capitalists generally distrust and seek to avoid intentional communal arrangements. Privatization, decentralization, and individualization are often anarcho-capitalist goals. But in some cases, they not only provide a challenge, but are considered next to impossible. Established ocean routes, for example, are generally seen as unavailable for private appropriation.\n\nAnarcho-capitalists tend to concur with free-market environmentalists regarding the environmentally destructive tendencies of the state and other communal arrangements. Air, water, and land pollution, for example, are seen as the result of collectivization of ownership. Central governments generally strike down individual or class action censure of polluters in order to benefit \"the many\", and legal or economic subsidy of heavy industry is justified by many politicians for job creation within a political territory.\n\n===Economics===\nThe Austrian school of economics argued against the viability of socialism and centrally planned economic policy. Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, a colleague of Austrian school founder Carl Menger, wrote one of the first critiques of socialism in his treatise ''The Exploitation Theory of Socialism-Communism''. Later, Friedrich von Hayek wrote ''The Road to Serfdom'' (1944), which states that a command economy lacks the information function of market prices, and that central authority over the economy leads to totalitarianism. Another Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, wrote ''Human Action'', an early exposition of the method he called Praxeology.\nMurray Rothbard (1926–95).\nRothbard attempted to meld Austrian economics with classical liberalism and individualist anarchism. He wrote his first paper advocating \"private property anarchism\" in 1949, and later came up with the alternative name ''anarcho-capitalism''. He was probably the first to use ''libertarian'' in its current (U.S.) pro-capitalist sense. His academic training was in economics, but his writings also refer to history and political philosophy. When young, he considered himself part of the Old Right, an anti-statist and anti-interventionist branch of the Republican party. In the late 1950s, he was briefly involved with Ayn Rand, but later had a falling out. When interventionist cold warriors of the ''National Review'', such as William F. Buckley, Jr., gained influence in the Republican party in the 1950s, Rothbard quit that group and briefly associated himself with left-wing antiwar groups. He believed that the cold warriors were more indebted in theory to the left and imperialist progressives, especially with respect to Trotskyist theory. Rothbard initially opposed the founding of the Libertarian Party but joined in 1973 and became one of its leading activists.\n\n===Contractual society===\nIcelandic parliament. According to a theory associated with the economist David Friedman, medieval Icelandic society had some features of anarcho-capitalism. Chieftaincies could be bought and sold, and were not geographical monopolies; individuals could voluntarily choose membership in any chieftain's clan.\n\nThe society envisioned by anarcho-capitalists has been called the ''Contractual Society'' – \"... a society based purely on voluntary action, entirely unhampered by violence or threats of violence.\" – in which anarcho-capitalists assert the system relies on voluntary agreements (contracts) between individuals as the legal framework. It is difficult to predict precisely what the particulars of this society will look like because of the details and complexities of contracts.\n\nOne particular ramification is that transfer of property and services must be considered voluntarily on the part of both parties. No external entities can force an individual to accept or deny a particular transaction. An employer might offer insurance and death benefits to same-sex couples; another might refuse to recognize any union outside his or her own faith. Individuals are free to enter into or reject contractual agreements as they see fit.\n\nRothbard points out that corporations would exist in a free society, as they are simply the pooling of capital. He says limited liability for corporations could also exist through contract: \"Corporations are not at all monopolistic privileges; they are free associations of individuals pooling their capital. On the purely free market, such men would simply announce to their creditors that their liability is limited to the capital specifically invested in the corporation....\"\n\nCorporations created in this way would not, however, be able to replicate the limit on liabilities arising non-contractually, such as liability in tort for environmental disasters or personal injury, which corporations currently enjoy. Rothbard himself acknowledges that \"limited liability for torts is the illegitimate conferring of a special privilege\"\n\nThere are limits to the right to contract under some interpretations of anarcho-capitalism. Rothbard himself argues that the right to contract is based in inalienable human rights and therefore any contract that implicitly violates those rights can be voided at will, which would, for instance, prevent a person from permanently selling himself or herself into unindentured slavery. Other interpretations conclude that banning such contracts would in itself be an unacceptably invasive interference in the right to contract.\n\nIncluded in the right of contract is the right to contract oneself out for employment by others. Unlike anarcho-communists, anarcho-capitalists support the liberty of individuals to be self-employed or to contract to be employees of others, whichever they prefer and the freedom to pay and receive wages. Some anarcho-capitalists prefer to see self-employment prevail over wage labor. For example, David Friedman has expressed preference for a society where \"almost everyone is self-employed\" and \"instead of corporations there are large groups of entrepreneurs related by trade, not authority. Each sells not his time, but what his time produces.\" Others, such as Rothbard, do not express a preference either way but justify employment as a natural occurrence in a free market that is not immoral in any way.\n\n===Law and order and the use of violence===\nDifferent anarcho-capitalists propose different forms of anarcho-capitalism, and one area of disagreement is in the area of law. Morris and Linda Tannehill, in ''The Market for Liberty'', object to any statutory law whatsoever. They argue that all one has to do is ask if one is aggressing against another (see tort and contract law) in order to decide if an act is right or wrong. However, Rothbard, while also supporting a natural prohibition on force and fraud, supports the establishment of a mutually agreed-upon centralized libertarian legal code which private courts would pledge to follow.\n\nUnlike both the Tannehills and Rothbard who see an ideological commonality of ethics and morality as a requirement, David Friedman proposes that \"the systems of law will be produced for profit on the open market, just as books and bras are produced today. There could be competition among different brands of law, just as there is competition among different brands of cars.\" Friedman says whether this would lead to a libertarian society \"remains to be proven.\" He says it is a possibility that very unlibertarian laws may result, such as laws against drugs. But, he thinks this would be rare. He reasons that \"if the value of a law to its supporters is less than its cost to its victims, that law...will not survive in an anarcho-capitalist society.\"\n\nAnarcho-capitalists only accept collective defense of individual liberty (i.e., courts, military or police forces) insofar as such groups are formed and paid for on an explicitly voluntary basis. But, their complaint is not just that the state's defensive services are funded by taxation but that the state assumes it is the only legitimate practitioner of physical force. That is, it forcibly prevents the private sector from providing comprehensive security, such as a police, judicial, and prison systems to protect individuals from aggressors. Anarcho-capitalists believe that there is nothing morally superior about the state which would grant it, but not private individuals, a right to use physical force to restrain aggressors. Also, if competition in security provision were allowed to exist, prices would be lower and services would be better according to anarcho-capitalists. According to Molinari, \"Under a regime of liberty, the natural organization of the security industry would not be different from that of other industries.\" Proponents point out that private systems of justice and defense ''already'' exist, naturally forming where the market is allowed to compensate for the failure of the state: private arbitration, security guards, neighborhood watch groups, and so on. These private courts and police are sometimes referred to generically as Private Defense Agencies (PDAs).\n\nThe defense of those unable to pay for such protection might be financed by charitable organizations relying on voluntary donation rather than by state institutions relying on coercive taxation, or by cooperative self-help by groups of individuals.\n\nSubrogation, which allows remuneration for losses and damages to be funded by the aggressors, reduces insurance costs and could operate as a business in itself – converting victims from paying customers into direct beneficiaries. The concept of Restitution Transfer and Recoupment (RTR) has been explored by freenation theorist John Frederic Kosanke. RTR agencies would employ bonding agencies, private investigators, private dispute resolution organizations, and private aggressor containment agencies, as required. Instead of having to pay for restitution, victims sell restitution rights to the RTR agencies. This arrangement can be compared to the contractual nature of the Goðorð system employed in the Icelandic Commonwealth by competing chieftains.\n\nEdward Stringham argues that private adjudication of disputes could enable the market to internalize externalities and provide services that customers desire.\n\nMurray Rothbard admired the American Revolutionary War and believed it is the only U.S. war that can be justified.\n\nLike classical liberalism, and unlike anarcho-pacifism, anarcho-capitalism permits the use of force, as long as it is in the defense of persons or property. The permissible extent of this defensive use of force is an arguable point among anarcho-capitalists. Retributive justice, meaning retaliatory force, is often a component of the contracts imagined for an anarcho-capitalist society. Some believe prisons or indentured servitude would be justifiable institutions to deal with those who violate anarcho-capitalist property relations, while others believe exile or forced restitution are sufficient.\n\nBruce L. Benson argues that legal codes may impose punitive damages for intentional torts in the interest of deterring crime. For instance, a thief who breaks into a house by picking a lock and is caught before taking anything would still owe the victim for violating the sanctity of his property rights. Benson opines that, despite the lack of objectively measurable losses in such cases, \"standardized rules that are generally perceived to be fair by members of the community would, in all likelihood, be established through precedent, allowing judgments to specify payments that are reasonably appropriate for most criminal offenses.\" The Tannehills raise a similar example, noting that a bank robber who had an attack of conscience and returned the money would still owe reparations for endangering the employees' and customers' lives and safety, in addition to the costs of the defense agency answering the teller's call for help. But the robber's loss of reputation would be even more damaging. Specialized companies would list aggressors so that anyone wishing to do business with a man could first check his record. The bank robber would find insurance companies listing him as a very poor risk, and other firms would be reluctant to enter into contracts with him.\n\nOne difficult application of defensive aggression is the act of revolutionary violence (including anarcho-capitalist revolution) against tyrannical regimes. Many anarcho-capitalists admire the American Revolution as the legitimate act of individuals working together to fight against tyrannical restrictions of their liberties. In fact, according to Rothbard, the American Revolutionary War was the only war involving the United States that could be justified. Some anarcho-capitalists, such as Samuel Edward Konkin III, feel that violent revolution is counter-productive and prefer voluntary forms of economic secession to the extent possible.\n", "The two principal moral approaches to anarcho-capitalism differ in regard to whether anarcho-capitalist society is justified on deontological or consequentialist ethics, or both. Natural-law anarcho-capitalism (as advocated by Rothbard) holds that a universal system of rights can be derived from natural law. Some other anarcho-capitalists do not rely upon the idea of natural rights, but instead present economic justifications for a free-market capitalist society. Such a latter approach has been offered by David D. Friedman in ''The Machinery of Freedom''. Also unlike other anarcho-capitalists, most notably Rothbard, Friedman has never tried to deny the theoretical cogency of the neoclassical literature on \"market failure\", but openly applies the theory to both market and government institutions (see \"government failure\") to compare the net result. Nor has he been inclined to attack economic efficiency as a normative benchmark.\n\nKosanke sees such a debate as irrelevant since, in the absence of statutory law, the non-aggression principle (NAP) is naturally enforced, because individuals are automatically held accountable for their actions via tort and contract law. Communities of sovereign individuals naturally expel aggressors in the same way that ethical business practices are naturally required among competing businesses that are subject to the discipline of the marketplace. For him, the only thing that needs to be debated is the nature of the contractual mechanism that abolishes the state, or prevents it from coming into existence where new communities form.\n", "\nAnarchism, in both its collectivist and individualist forms, is usually considered a radical left-wing and anti-capitalist ideology that promotes socialist economic theories such as communism, syndicalism, and mutualism. These anarchists believe capitalism is incompatible with social and economic equality, and therefore do not recognize anarcho-capitalism as an anarchist school of thought. In particular, they argue that capitalist transactions are not voluntary, and that maintaining the class structure of a capitalist society requires coercion, which is incompatible with an anarchist society.\n\nMurray Rothbard argues that the capitalist system of today is, indeed, not properly anarchistic because it so often colludes with the state. According to Rothbard, \"what Marx and later writers have done is to lump together two extremely different and even contradictory concepts and actions under the same portmanteau term. These two contradictory concepts are what I would call 'free-market capitalism' on the one hand, and 'state capitalism' on the other.\" \"The difference between free-market capitalism and state capitalism,\" writes Rothbard, \"is precisely the difference between, on the one hand, peaceful, voluntary exchange, and on the other, violent expropriation.\" He continues, \"State capitalism inevitably creates all sorts of problems which become insoluble.\"\n\nRothbard maintains that anarcho-capitalism is the only true form of anarchism – the only form of anarchism that could possibly exist in reality, as, he argues, any other form presupposes an authoritarian enforcement of political ideology, such as redistribution of private property. According to this argument, the free market is simply the natural situation that would result from people being free from authority, and entails the establishment of all voluntary associations in society: cooperatives, non-profit organizations, businesses, etc. Moreover, anarcho-capitalists, as well as classical liberal minarchists, argue that the application of left-wing anarchist ideals would require an authoritarian body of some sort to impose it. In order to forcefully prevent people from accumulating private capital, there would necessarily be a redistributive organization of some sort which would have the authority to, in essence, exact a tax and re-allocate the resulting resources to a larger group of people. This body would thus inherently have political power and would be nothing short of a state. The difference between such an arrangement and an anarcho-capitalist system is precisely the voluntary nature of organization within anarcho-capitalism contrasted with a centralized ideology and a paired enforcement mechanism which would be necessary under a coercively egalitarian-anarchist system.\n\nHowever, Rothbard also wrote a piece, published posthumously, entitled 'Are Libertarians \"Anarchists\"?' where he traced the etymological roots of Anarchist philosophy, ultimately coming to the conclusion that \"...we find that all of the current anarchists are irrational collectivists, and therefore at opposite poles from our position. That none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that even the best of them have unrealistic and socialistic elements in their doctrines\", and furthermore, \"We must therefore conclude that we are not anarchists, and that those who call us anarchists are not on firm etymological ground, and are being completely unhistorical. On the other hand, it is clear that we are not archists either: we do not believe in establishing a tyrannical central authority that will coerce the noninvasive as well as the invasive. Perhaps, then, we could call ourselves by a new name: nonarchist.\"\n", "\n===Classical liberalism===\n\n\nClassical liberalism is the primary influence with the longest history on anarcho-capitalist theory. Classical liberals have had two main themes since John Locke first expounded the philosophy: the liberty of man, and limitations of state power. The liberty of man was expressed in terms of natural rights, while limiting the state was based (for Locke) on a consent theory.\n\nIn the 19th century, classical liberals led the attack against statism. One notable was Frédéric Bastiat (''The Law''), who wrote, \"The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else.\" Henry David Thoreau wrote, \"I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, 'That government is best which governs not at all'; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.\"\n\nThe early liberals believed that the state should confine its role to protecting individual liberty and property, and opposed all but the most minimal economic regulations. The \"normative core\" of classical liberalism is the idea that in an environment of laissez-faire, a spontaneous order of cooperation in exchanging goods and services emerges that satisfies human wants. Some individualists came to realize that the liberal state itself takes property forcefully through taxation in order to fund its protection services, and therefore it seemed logically inconsistent to oppose theft while also supporting a tax-funded protector. So, they advocated what may be seen as classical liberalism taken to the extreme by only supporting voluntarily funded defense by competing private providers. One of the first liberals to discuss the possibility of privatizing protection of individual liberty and property was France's Jakob Mauvillon in the 18th century. Later, in the 1840s, Julius Faucher and Gustave de Molinari advocated the same.\n\nMolinari, in his essay ''The Production of Security'', argued, \"No government should have the right to prevent another government from going into competition with it, or to require consumers of security to come exclusively to it for this commodity.\" Molinari and this new type of anti-state liberal grounded their reasoning on liberal ideals and classical economics. Historian and libertarian Ralph Raico argues that what these liberal philosophers \"had come up with was a form of individualist anarchism, or, as it would be called today, anarcho-capitalism or market anarchism.\" Unlike the liberalism of Locke, which saw the state as evolving from society, the anti-state liberals saw a fundamental conflict between the voluntary interactions of people – society – and the institutions of force – the State. This ''society versus state'' idea was expressed in various ways: natural society vs. artificial society, liberty vs. authority, society of contract vs. society of authority, and industrial society vs. militant society, just to name a few. The anti-state liberal tradition in Europe and the United States continued after Molinari in the early writings of Herbert Spencer, as well as in thinkers such as Paul Émile de Puydt and Auberon Herbert.\n\nLater, in the early 20th century, the mantle of anti-state liberalism was taken by the Old Right. These were minarchists, anti-war, anti-imperialists, and (later) anti-New Dealers. Some of the most notable members of the Old Right were Albert Jay Nock, Rose Wilder Lane, Isabel Paterson, Frank Chodorov, Garet Garrett, and H. L. Mencken. In the 1950s, the new \"fusion conservatism\", also called \"cold war conservatism\", took hold of the right wing in the U.S., stressing anti-communism. This induced the libertarian Old Right to split off from the right, and seek alliances with the (now left-wing) antiwar movement, and to start specifically libertarian organizations such as the (U.S.) Libertarian Party.\n\n===Nineteenth-century individualist anarchism in the United States===\nLysander Spooner (1808–87)\n\nRothbard was influenced by the work of the 19th-century American individualist anarchists (who were also influenced by classical liberalism). In the winter of 1949, influenced by several 19th century individualists anarchists, Rothbard decided to reject minimal state laissez-faire and embrace individualist anarchism. Rothbard said in 1965 \"Lysander Spooner and Benjamin R. Tucker were unsurpassed as political philosophers and nothing is more needed today than a revival and development of the largely forgotten legacy they left to political philosophy.\" However, he thought they had a faulty understanding of economics. The 19th century individualists had a labor theory of value, as influenced by the classical economists, but Rothbard was a student of Austrian Economics which does not agree with the labor theory of value. So, Rothbard sought to meld 19th-century American individualists' advocacy of free markets and private defense with the principles of Austrian economics: \"There is, in the body of thought known as 'Austrian economics', a scientific explanation of the workings of the free market (and of the consequences of government intervention in that market) which individualist anarchists could easily incorporate into their political and social Weltanschauung\". Rothbard held that the economic consequences of the political system they advocate would not result in an economy with people being paid in proportion to labor amounts, nor would profit and interest disappear as they expected. Tucker thought that unregulated banking and money issuance would cause increases in the money supply so that interest rates would drop to zero or near to it.\n\nRothbard disagreed with this, as he explains in ''The Spooner-Tucker Doctrine: An Economist's View''. He says that first of all Tucker was wrong to think that that would cause the money supply to increase, because he says that the money supply in a free market would be self-regulating. If it were not, then inflation would occur, so it is not necessarily desirable to increase the money supply in the first place. Secondly, he says that Tucker is wrong to think that interest would disappear regardless, because people in general do not wish to lend their money to others without compensation so there is no reason why this would change just because banking was unregulated. Also, Tucker held a labor theory of value. As a result, he thought that in a free market that people would be paid in proportion to how much labor they exerted and that if they were not then exploitation or \"usury\" was taking place. As he explains in ''State Socialism and Anarchism'', his theory was that unregulated banking would cause more money to be available and that this would allow proliferation of new businesses, which would in turn raise demand for labor. This led him to believe that the labor theory of value would be vindicated, and equal amounts of labor would receive equal pay. Again, as an Austrian economist, Rothbard did not agree with the labor theory. He believed that prices of goods and services are proportional to marginal utility rather than to labor amounts in free market. And he did not think that there was anything exploitative about people receiving an income according to how much buyers of their services value their labor or what that labor produces.\n\nOf particular importance to anarcho-capitalists and Tucker and Spooner are the ideas of \"sovereignty of the individual\", a market economy, and the opposition to collectivism. A defining point upon which they agree is that defense of liberty and property should be provided in the free market rather than by the State. Tucker said, \"Defense is a service like any other service; that it is labor both useful and desired, and therefore an economic commodity subject to the law of supply and demand; that in a free market this commodity would be furnished at the cost of production; that, competition prevailing, patronage would go to those who furnished the best article at the lowest price; that the production and sale of this commodity are now monopolized by the State; and that the State, like almost all monopolists, charges exorbitant prices.\"\n", "\n\n===Yurok Indians and their Northern California neighbors===\nWalter Goldsmidt, after studying the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok Indians and some of their Northern California neighbors, reported \"... a culture which reflects in surprising degree certain structural and ethical characteristics of emergent capitalistic Europe\". Commenting on this, Bruce Benson writes: In this Indian society, property was universally held in individual private ownership. Socially, these Indians were organized in households and villages. There were no class or other inalienable group affiliations, and no vested authoritarian position-that is no state-like government with coercive power. Private property rights were sharply defined. Title considerations, for example, included (1) separation of title to different types of products; (2) ownership rights within the territory of an alien group (e.g. Hupas owned property inside Yurok territory); and (3) the division of title between persons (e.g., a fishing place could be owned by several people and its use divided so that one person used it one day, another the next, and so on). Ownership was complete and transferable. Exchange was facilitated by a monetary system.\n\nBenson also notes that there was a well-developed system of private arbitration: These Indian tribes nevertheless had a well-developed system of private judging. For instance, if a Yurok wanted to process a legal claim he would hire two, three, or four \"crossers\" – nonrelatives from a community other than his own. The defendant in the claim would also hire crossers, and the entire group hired by both parties would act as go-betweens, ascertaining claims and defenses and gathering evidence. The crossers would render a judgment for damages after hearing all the evidence. \n\n===The legal system of the Ifugao of Northern Luzon===\nLegal scholar Bruce Benson notes: The economy of the Ifugao in Northern Luzon during the early 1900s was dominated by an intensive irrigation hoe culture. Such an economy inevitably requires laws, if for no other reason than to resolve issues over water rights and maintain a complex real-estate system. And the Ifugao developed a very elaborate system of substantive law. Yet the Ifugao had no tribal, district, or village governmental organizations, and no centralized authority with the power to force compliance with the laws or to levy compulsive sanctions on behalf of the society at large. The basic political unit was the family, which had a leader, but not in the sense of a political ruler, as Hoebel notes:\"Although he leads the family in legal and economic enterprise, its members think of him more as an integrating core than as a head who in any way dominates.\" The kinfolk had a mutual duty to support each other in disputes with members of other families. They did not settle these disputes through warfare, but through arbitration by a voluntarily contracted \"monkalun\". Benson notes: But what happened if the defendant refused to admit his guilt and would not come to terms through the monkalun? Did interfamily warfare break out? The answer to the second question is no because the answer to the first is that such a refusal would be viewed as an insult to the monkalun and align his family against whichever party initiated the violence. This prospect deterred any immediate action by either party even when an impasse was reached.\n\n===The Kapauku Papuans of West New Guinea===\nThe Kapauku Papuans were a primitive linguistic group of about 45,000 living by means of horticulture in the western part of the central highlands of West New Guinea until well past the middle of the 20th century. Their culture emphasized individual freedom and there was no common property; almost all property was individually owned, as Pospisil remarks: A house, boat, bow and arrows, field, crops, patches of second-growth forest, or even a meal shared by a family or household is always owned by one person. Individual ownership is so extensive in the Kamu Valley that we find the virgin forests divided into tracts which belong to single individuals. Relatives, husbands and wives do not own anything in common. Even an eleven-year-old boy can own his field and his money and play the role of debtor and creditor as well. \n\nBenson observes: Their reciprocal arrangements for support and protection were based on kinship, as with the Ifugao. However, members of two or more patrilineages typically joined together for defensive and legal purposes, even though they often belonged to different sibs. These \"confederations\" often encompassed from three to nine villages, with each village consisting of about fifteen households. The Kapauku had no formal government with coercive power. \n\nThose who were rich and considered to be honest and generous became leaders called \"tonowi\". However, they held no coercive authority over others. Legal disputes were handled through contractual arbitration, which was enforced ultimately by the threat of being outlawed and ostracized by all members of one's confederation.\n\n===Free cities of Medieval Europe===\nEconomist and libertarian scholar Bryan Caplan cites the free cities of medieval Europe as important examples of anarchist or nearly anarchistic societies: One case that has inspired both sorts of anarchists is that of the free cities of medieval Europe. The first weak link in the chain of feudalism, these free cities became Europe's centers of economic development, trade, art, and culture. They provided a haven for runaway serfs, who could often legally gain their freedom if they avoided re-capture for a year and a day. And they offer many examples of how people can form mutual-aid associations for protection, insurance, and community. Of course, left-anarchists and anarcho-capitalists take a somewhat different perspective on the free cities: the former emphasize the communitarian and egalitarian concerns of the free cities, while the latter point to the relatively unregulated nature of their markets and the wide range of services (often including defense, security, and legal services) which were provided privately or semi-privately. \n\n===Medieval Iceland===\n19th century interpretation of the Althing in the Icelandic Commonwealth, which authors such as David Friedman and Roderick Long believe to have some features of anarcho-capitalist society.\nAccording to the libertarian theorist David D. Friedman, \"Medieval Icelandic institutions have several peculiar and interesting characteristics; they might almost have been invented by a mad economist to test the lengths to which market systems could supplant government in its most fundamental functions.\" While not directly labeling it anarcho-capitalist, he argues that the legal system of the Icelandic Commonwealth comes close to being a real-world anarcho-capitalist legal system – while there was a single legal system, enforcement of law was entirely private and highly capitalist; and so provides some evidence of how such a society would function. \"Even where the Icelandic legal system recognized an essentially \"public\" offense, it dealt with it by giving some individual (in some cases chosen by lot from those affected) the right to pursue the case and collect the resulting fine, thus fitting it into an essentially private system.\" Commenting on its political structure, libertarian scholar Roderick Long remarks:The legal system's administration, insofar as it had one, lay in the hands of a parliament of about 40 officers whom historians call, however inadequately, \"chieftains.\" This parliament had no budget and no employees; it met only two weeks per year. In addition to their parliamentary role, chieftains were empowered in their own local districts to appoint judges and to keep the peace; this latter job was handled on an essentially fee-for-service basis. The enforcement of judicial decisions was largely a matter of self-help (hence Iceland's reputation as a land of constant private feuding), but those who lacked the might to enforce their rights could sell their court-decreed claims for compensation to someone more powerful, usually a chieftain; hence even the poor and friendless could not be victimized with impunity. The basis of a chieftain's power within the political order was the power he already possessed outside it, in civil society. The office of chieftaincy was private property, and could be bought or sold; hence chieftaincies tended to track private wealth. But wealth alone was not enough. As economic historian Birgir Solvason notes in his masterful study of the period, \"just buying the chieftainship was no guarantee of power\"; the mere office by itself was \"almost worthless\" unless the chieftain could \"convince some free-farmers to follow him.\" Chieftains did not hold authority over territorially-defined districts, but competed for clients with other chieftains from the same geographical area. Long observes how the system of free contract between farmers and chieftains was threatened when harassment from Norwegian kings that began around AD 1000 forced the people of Iceland to accept Christianity as the national religion, which paved the way for the introduction of a compulsory tax in AD 1096 which was to be compulsorily paid to the local chieftain who owned a churchstead. This gave an unfair advantage to some chieftains who, at least in part, did not need to rely upon the voluntary support of their clients in order to receive some income. This gradually lead to the concentration of power in the hands of a few big chieftains, enabling them to restrict competition and eventually establish effective monopolies. Although the Commonwealth was politically stable for over three centuries, longer than any democracy has lasted, its eventual down fall was brought about, according to Long, \"not through having too much privatization, but through having too little.\" He notes:The Free State failed, not through having too much privatization, but through having too little. The tithe, and particularly the portion allotted to churchstead maintenance, represented a monopolistic, non-competitive element in the system. The introduction of the tithe was in turn made possible by yet another non-competitive element: the establishment of an official state church which everyone was legally bound to support. Finally, buying up chieftaincies would have availed little if there had been free entry into the chieftaincy profession; instead, the number of chieftains was set by law, and the creation of new chieftaincies could be approved only by parliament – i.e., by the existing chieftains, who were naturally less than eager to encourage competitors. It is precisely those respects in which the Free State was least privatized and decentralized that led to its downfall – while its more privatized aspects delayed that downfall for three centuries.\n\n===American Old West===\nAccording to the research of Terry L. Anderson and P. J. Hill, the Old West in the United States in the period of 1830 to 1900 was similar to anarcho-capitalism in that \"private agencies provided the necessary basis for an orderly society in which property was protected and conflicts were resolved,\" and that the common popular perception that the Old West was chaotic with little respect for property rights is incorrect. Since squatters had no claim to western lands under federal law, extra-legal organizations formed to fill the void. Benson explains:\n\nAccording to Anderson, \"Defining anarcho-capitalist to mean minimal government with property rights developed from the bottom up, the western frontier was anarcho-capitalistic. People on the frontier invented institutions that fit the resource constraints they faced.\"\n\n===Gaelic Ireland===\nMurray Rothbard in his work ''For a New Liberty'' has claimed ancient Gaelic Ireland as an example of nearly anarcho-capitalist society. In his depiction, citing the work of Professor Joseph Peden, the basic political unit of ancient Ireland was the tuath, which is portrayed as \"a body of persons voluntarily united for socially beneficial purposes\" with its territorial claim being limited to \"the sum total of the landed properties of its members\". Civil disputes were settled by private arbiters called \"brehons\", and the compensation to be paid to the wronged party was insured through voluntary surety relationships. Commenting on the \"kings\" of tuaths, Rothbard states:The king was elected by the tuath from within a royal kin-group (the\nderbfine), which carried the hereditary priestly function. Politically, however, the king had strictly limited functions: he was the military leader of the tuath, and he presided over the tuath assemblies. But he could only conduct war or peace negotiations as agent of the assemblies; and he was in no sense sovereign and had no rights of administering justice over tuath members. He could not legislate, and when he himself was party to a lawsuit, he had to submit his case to an independent judicial arbiter.\n\n===Law merchant, admiralty law and early common law===\nMany libertarian historians have cited law merchant, admiralty law and early common law as examples of anarcho-capitalism. In his work, \"Power and Market\", Rothbard states:\nThe law merchant, admiralty law, and much of the common law began to be developed by privately competitive judges, who were sought out by litigants for their expertise in understanding the legal areas involved. The fairs of Champagne and the great marts of international trade in the Middle Ages enjoyed freely competitive courts, and people could patronize those that they deemed most accurate and efficient.\n\nCommenting on Law Merchant, the Britannica Encyclopedia states:\n The law merchant was developed in the early 11th century in order to protect foreign merchants not under the jurisdiction and protection of the local law. Foreign traders often were subject to confiscations and other types of harassment if one of their countrymen had defaulted in a business transaction. A kind of law was also needed by which the traders themselves could negotiate contracts, partnerships, trademarks, and various aspects of buying and selling. The law merchant gradually spread as the traders went from place to place. Their courts, set up by the merchants themselves at trade fairs or in cities, administered a law that was uniform throughout Europe, regardless of differences in national laws and languages. It was based primarily on Roman law, although there were some Germanic influences; it formed the basis for modern commercial law. \n\nRegarding common law, David Friedman notes:\nThe common law had its origin in the legal system of Anglo-Saxon England, whose early form involved a large element of private enforcement and private arbitration. It evolved in an environment of multiple court systems – church, royal, and local – where litigants had at least some control over where their disputes were resolved. Some common law rules originated as private norms, and I have argued that norms are produced on something like a competitive market. Some rules may have been borrowed from the medieval Fair Courts, which had some of the characteristics of the system I have described.\n\nCommenting on the evolution of British common law, the classical liberal economist Adam Smith noted in his treatise \"The Wealth of Nations\": The fees of court seem originally to have been the principal support of the different courts of justice in England. Each court endeavoured to draw to itself as much business as it could, and was, upon that account, willing to take cognisance of many suits which were not originally intended to fall under its jurisdiction. The court of king's bench, instituted for the trial of criminal causes only, took cognisance of civil suits; the plaintiff pretending that the defendant, in not doing him justice, had been guilty of some trespass or misdemeanour. The court of exchequer, instituted for the levying of the king's revenue, and for enforcing the payment of such debts only as were due to the king, took cognisance of all other contract debts; the plaintiff alleging that he could not pay the king because the defendant would not pay him. In consequence of such fictions it came, in many cases, to depend altogether upon the parties before what court they would choose to have their cause tried; and each court endeavoured, by superior dispatch and impartiality, to draw to itself as many causes as it could. The present admirable constitution of the courts of justice in England was, perhaps, originally in a great measure formed by this emulation which anciently took place between their respective judges; each judge endeavouring to give, in his own court, the speediest and most effectual remedy which the law would admit for every sort of injustice.\n\n===Somalia from 1991 to 2006===\n\nSomalia, from 1991 to 2006, is cited as a real-world example of a stateless society and legal system. Since the fall of Siad Barre's government in January 1991, there had been no central government in Somalia until the establishment of the Transitional National Government and its successor the Transitional Federal Government. While some urban areas such as Mogadishu had private police forces, many Somalis simply returned to the traditional clan-based legal structures for local governance and dispute resolution. Anthropologist Spencer MacCallum has identified the rule of law during the period as that of the Xeer, a customary law indigenous to Somalia. The law permits practices such as safe travel, trade, and marriage, which survives \"to a significant degree\" throughout Somalia, particularly in rural Somalia where it is \"virtually unaffected\".\nMacCallum credits the Xeer with \"Somalia's success without a central government, since it provides an authentic rule of law to support trade and economic development.\" In the Xeer, law and crime are defined in terms of property rights; consequently the criminal justice system is compensatory rather than the punitive system of the majority of states, and the Xeer is \"unequivocal in its opposition\" to any form of taxation. Powell et al. (2006) find that the existence of the common law dispute resolution system in Somalia makes possible basic economic order. MacCallum compares the Xeer to the common law in 6th century Scotland, and notes that there is no monopoly of either police nor judicial services, a condition of polycentric law.\n\nNonetheless, many anarcho-capitalists argue that Somalia was not an anarchist society.\n\nBenjamin Powell argued that statelessness led to more order and less chaos than had the previous state under central government, and economist Alex Tabarrok claimed that Somalia in its stateless period provided a \"unique test of the theory of anarchy\", in some aspects near of that espoused by anarcho-capitalists David D. Friedman and Murray Rothbard.\n", "\n===Justice and defense===\nSome critics argue that anarcho-capitalism turns justice into a commodity; private defense and court firms would favour those who pay more for their services. Randall G. Holcombe argues that defense agencies could form cartels and oppress people without fear of competition. Philosopher Albert Meltzer argued that since anarcho-capitalism promotes the idea of private armies, it actually supports a \"limited State.\" He contends that it \"is only possible to conceive of Anarchism which is free, communistic and offering no economic necessity for repression of countering it.\"\n\nRobert Nozick argues in ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' that an anarcho-capitalist society would inevitably transform into a minarchist state through the eventual emergence of a monopolistic private defense and judicial agency that no longer faces competition. He argues that anarcho-capitalism results in an unstable system that would not endure in the real world. Paul Birch argues that legal disputes involving several jurisdictions and different legal systems will be too complex and costly. Thus, the largest private protection business in a territory will develop into a natural monopoly.\n\nAnarcho-capitalists counter that this argument is circular, because monopolies are artificial constructs that can only be maintained by political immunity to natural market processes, or by perpetual provision of superior quality products and services. Unless competitors are prevented from entering a market, the profit incentive, which is fueled by constant demand for improvement, proportionately draws them into it. Furthermore, as demonstrated by the medieval systems in Ireland and Iceland, treating the right to justice as a property means that it is sold – not purchased – by victims.\n\n===Rights and freedom===\nMany anarcho-capitalists believe that negative rights should be recognized as legitimate but positive rights should be rejected. Some critics, including Noam Chomsky, reject the distinction between positive and negative rights.\n\nChomsky said, \"Anarcho-capitalism, in my opinion, is a doctrinal system which, if ever implemented, would lead to forms of tyranny and oppression that have few counterparts in human history. There isn't the slightest possibility that its (in my view, horrendous) ideas would be implemented, because they would quickly destroy any society that made this colossal error. The idea of \"free contract\" between the potentate and his starving subject is a sick joke, perhaps worth some moments in an academic seminar exploring the consequences of (in my view, absurd) ideas, but nowhere else\".\n\n===Economics and property===\nMost anarchists argue that certain capitalist transactions are not voluntary, and that maintaining the class structure of a capitalist society requires coercion, which violates anarchist principles. David Graeber noted his skepticism about anarcho-capitalism along the same lines:\n\n\n\nSome critics argue that the anarcho-capitalist concept of voluntary choice ignores constraints due to both human and non-human factors, such as the need for food and shelter, and active restriction of both used and unused resources by those enforcing property claims. Thus, if a person requires employment in order to feed and house himself, the employer–employee relationship could be considered involuntary. Another criticism is that employment is involuntary because the economic system that makes it necessary for some individuals to serve others is supported by the enforcement of coercive private property relations.\n\nSome philosophies view any ownership claims on land and natural resources as immoral and illegitimate.\n\nSome libertarian critics of anarcho-capitalism who support the full privatization of capital, such as geolibertarians, argue that land and the raw materials of nature remain a distinct factor of production and cannot be justly converted to private property because they are not products of human labor. Some socialists, including other market anarchists such as mutualists, adamantly oppose absentee ownership. Anarcho-capitalists have strong abandonment criteria – one maintains ownership (more or less) until one agrees to trade or gift it. Anti-state critics of this view tend to have comparatively weak abandonment criteria; for example, one loses ownership (more or less) when one stops personally occupying and using it. Also, the idea of perpetually binding original appropriation is anathema to socialism and traditional schools of anarchism, as well as to any moral or economic philosophy that takes equal natural rights to land and the earth's resources as a premise.\n\nAnarcho-capitalists counter that property is not only natural, but unavoidable, citing the Soviet Union as an inevitable result of its prohibition and collectivization, which they claim eliminates the incentives and accountability of ownership and blackens markets. Kosanke further challenges what he perceives as egalitarian dogma by attempting to demonstratrate that all costs of living are naturally determined, subject to a variety of factors, and can not be politically manipulated without net negative consequences.\n", "\n===Nonfiction===\nThe following is a partial list of notable nonfiction works discussing anarcho-capitalism.\n* Murray Rothbard founder of anarcho-capitalism:\n** ''Man, Economy, and State'' Austrian micro– and macroeconomics,\n** ''Power and Market'' Classification of State economic interventions,\n** ''The Ethics of Liberty'' Moral justification of a free society\n** ''For a New Liberty'' An outline of how an anarcho-capitalist society could work\n* David D. Friedman, ''The Machinery of Freedom'' Classic consequentialist defense of anarchism\n* Michael Huemer, ''The Problem of Political Authority'', a lengthy defense of philosophical and political anarchism (with the latter version being of the anarcho-capitalistic variety) drawing on a mix of natural rights and consequentialist arguments\n* Linda and Morris Tannehill, ''The Market for Liberty'' Classic on Private defense agencies\n* Hans-Hermann Hoppe, '' Anarcho-Capitalism: An Annotated Bibliography''\n** ''The Economics and Ethics of Private Property''\n** ''A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism''\n** ''Democracy: The God That Failed''\n* Frédéric Bastiat, ''The Law'' Radical classical liberalism. Precursor to anarcho-capitalism.\n* Bruce L. Benson: ''The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without The State''\n** ''To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice''\n* James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg, ''The Sovereign Individual'' Historians look at technology and its implications\n* Auberon Herbert, '' The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State''\n* Albert Jay Nock, ''Our Enemy, the State'' Oppenheimer's thesis applied to early US history\n* Herbert Spencer, ''Social Statics'' Includes the essay \"The Right to Ignore the State\". Spencer was not an anarcho-capitalist, however many of his ideas, including the Law of Equal Freedom, were precursors to modern anarcho-capitalism.\n* George H. Smith, \" Justice Entrepreneurship in a Free Market\" Examines the Epistemic and entrepreneurial role of Justice agencies.\n* Edward P. Stringham, '' Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice'' 700 page book presenting the major arguments historical studies about anarcho capitalism.\n\n===Fiction===\nAnarcho-capitalism has been examined in certain works of literature, particularly science fiction. An early example is Robert A. Heinlein's 1966 novel ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'', in which he explores what he terms \"rational anarchism\".\n\nCyberpunk and postcyberpunk authors have been particularly fascinated by the idea of the breakdown of the nation-state. Several stories of Vernor Vinge, including ''Marooned in Realtime'' and ''Conquest by Default'', feature anarcho-capitalist societies, sometimes portrayed in a favorable light, and sometimes not. Neal Stephenson's ''Snow Crash'' and ''The Diamond Age'', Max Barry's ''Jennifer Government'' and L. Neil Smith's ''The Probability Broach'' all explore anarcho-capitalist ideas. The cyberpunk portrayal of anarchy varies from the downright grim to the cheerfully optimistic, and it need not imply anything specific about the writer's political views. Neal Stephenson, in particular, refrains from sweeping political statements when deliberately provoked.\n\nIn Matt Stone's (Richard D. Fuerle) novelette ''On the Steppes of Central Asia'' an American grad student is invited to work for a newspaper in Mongolia, and discovers that the Mongolian society is indeed stateless in a semi-anarcho-capitalist way. The novelette was originally written to advertise Fuerle's 1986 economics treatise ''The Pure Logic of Choice''.\n\n''Sharper Security: A Sovereign Security Company Novel'', part of a series by Thomas Sewell, is \"set a couple of decades into the near-future with a liberty view of society based on individual choice and free market economics\" and features a society where individuals hire a security company to protect and insure them from crime. The security companies are sovereign, but customers are free to switch between them. They behave as a combination of insurance/underwriting and para-military police forces. Anarcho-capitalist themes abound, including an exploration of not honoring sovereign immunity, privately owned road systems, a laissez faire market and competing currencies.\n\nSandy Sandfort's, Scott Bieser's and Lee Oaks's Webcomic ''Escape from Terra'', examines a market anarchy based on Ceres\nand its interaction with the aggressive statist society on Terra.\n", "\n\n", "\n", "\n* Brown, Susan Love, '' The Free Market as Salvation from Government: The Anarcho-Capitalist View'', ''Meanings of the Market: The * Free Market in Western Culture'', edited by James G. Carrier, Berg/Oxford, 1997, p. 99\n* '' Anarchism/Minarchism: Is a Government Part of a Free Country?'' Ed., Roderick T. Long & Tibor R. Machan. Ashgate\n* '' Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice'', Edward Stringham. Transaction Publishers, 2007.\n* Sylvan, Richard. '' Anarchism. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy'', editors Goodin, Robert E. and Pettit, Philip. Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p. 231\n* DeLeon, David. ''The American as Anarchist: Reflections of Indigenous Radicalism'', Chapter: The Beginning of Another Cycle, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, pp. 117 & 123\n", "\n* \n* Ludwig von Mises Institute – a research and educational center of classical liberalism; including anarcho-capitalism, libertarian political theory, and the Austrian School of economics.\n* Freedomain Radio. Hosted by Stefan Molyneux, discusses anarcho-capitalism topics\n* Anarcho-capitalist FAQ.\n* Anti-state.com, the \"online center for market anarchism,\" has an active forum and archive of theoretical and practical articles from notable anarcho-capitalists\n* The Libertarian Standard – a website of Austrian and Rothbardian-influenced libertarians\n* LewRockwell.com, run by Lew Rockwell\n* Property and Freedom Society – an International anarcho-capitalist society\n* Strike The Root – an anarcho-capitalist website featuring essays, news, and a forum.\n* Center for a Stateless Society – anarchist think-tank and media center focused on market anarchism\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Philosophy", "Branches of anarcho-capitalism", "Anarcho-capitalism and other anarchist schools", "History", "Historical precedents similar to anarcho-capitalism", "Criticisms of anarcho-capitalism", "Anarcho-capitalist literature", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The Tannehills raise a similar example, noting that a bank robber who had an attack of conscience and returned the money would still owe reparations for endangering the employees' and customers' lives and safety, in addition to the costs of the defense agency answering the teller's call for help.", "The bank robber would find insurance companies listing him as a very poor risk, and other firms would be reluctant to enter into contracts with him." ]

[ "\n\nRothbard, Murray N., '' The Betrayal of the American Right'' (2007): 188 It is also the flag used by the Swedish ''AnarkoKapitalistisk Front''\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Anarcho-capitalism''' is a political philosophy and school of anarchist thought that advocates the elimination of the state in favor of self-ownership, private property, and free markets.", "Anarcho-capitalists hold that, in the absence of statute (law by centralized decrees and legislation), society tends to contractually self-regulate and civilize through the discipline of the free market (in what its proponents describe as a ''voluntary society'').", "In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services would be operated by privately funded competitors rather than centrally through compulsory taxation.", "Money, along with all other goods and services, would be privately and competitively provided in an open market.", "Therefore, personal and economic activities under anarcho-capitalism would be regulated by victim-based dispute resolution organizations under tort and contract law, rather than by statute through centrally determined punishment under political monopolies.", "Various theorists have espoused legal philosophies similar to anarcho-capitalism.", "The first person to use the term, however, was Murray Rothbard, who in the mid-20th century synthesized elements from the Austrian School of economics, classical liberalism, and 19th-century American individualist anarchists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker (while rejecting their labor theory of value and the norms they derived from it).", "A Rothbardian anarcho-capitalist society would operate under a mutually agreed-upon libertarian \"legal code which would be generally accepted, and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow.\"", "This pact would recognize self-ownership and the non-aggression principle (NAP), although methods of enforcement vary.", "Anarcho-capitalists are distinguished from minarchists, who advocate a small night-watchman state limited to the function of individual protection, and other anarchists who may seek to prohibit or regulate the accumulation of property and the flow of capital.", "\n===Ethics===\nAnarcho-capitalists argue for a society based on the voluntary trade of private property and services (in sum, all relationships not caused by threats or violence, including exchanges of money, consumer goods, land, and capital goods) in order to minimize conflict while maximizing individual liberty and prosperity.", "However, they also recognize charity and communal arrangements as part of the same voluntary ethic.", "Though anarcho-capitalists are known for asserting a right to private (individualized or joint non-public) property, some propose that non-state public or community property can also exist in an anarcho-capitalist society.", "For them, what is important is that it is acquired and transferred without help or hindrance from the compulsory state.", "Anarcho-capitalist libertarians believe that the only just and most economically beneficial way to acquire property is through voluntary trade, gift, or labor-based original appropriation, rather than through aggression or fraud.", "Anarcho-capitalists see free-market capitalism as the basis for a free and prosperous society.", "Murray Rothbard said that the difference between free-market capitalism and \"state capitalism\" is the difference between \"peaceful, voluntary exchange\" and a collusive partnership between business and government that uses coercion to subvert the free market (Rothbard is credited with coining the term \"anarcho-capitalism\").", "\"Capitalism\", as anarcho-capitalists employ the term, is not to be confused with state monopoly capitalism, crony capitalism, corporatism, or contemporary mixed economies, wherein market incentives and disincentives may be altered by state action.", "They therefore reject the state, seeing it as an entity which steals property (through taxation and expropriation), initiates aggression, has a compulsory monopoly on the use of force, uses its coercive powers to benefit some businesses and individuals at the expense of others, creates artificial monopolies, restricts trade, and restricts personal freedoms via drug laws, compulsory education, conscription, laws on food and morality, and the like.", "Many anarchists view capitalism as an inherently authoritarian and hierarchical system, and seek the expropriation of private property.", "There is disagreement between these left anarchists and laissez-faire anarcho-capitalists, as the former generally rejects anarcho-capitalism as a form of anarchism and considers ''anarcho-capitalism'' an oxymoron, while the latter holds that such expropriation is counterproductive to order, and would require a state.", "On the Nolan chart, anarcho-capitalists are located at the extreme edge of the libertarian quadrant – since they reject state involvement in both economic and personal affairs.", "Laissez-faire anarchists argue that the state relies on initiating force because force can be used against those who have not stolen private property, vandalized private property, assaulted anyone, or committed fraud.", "Many also argue that subsidized monopolies tend to be corrupt and inefficient.", "Anarchist theorist Rothbard argued that all government services, including defense, are inefficient because they lack a market-based pricing mechanism regulated by the voluntary decisions of consumers purchasing services that fulfill their highest-priority needs and by investors seeking the most profitable enterprises to invest in.", "Many anarchists also argue that private defense and court agencies would have to have a good reputation in order to stay in business.", "Furthermore, Linda and Morris Tannehill argue that no coercive monopoly of force can arise on a truly free market and that a government's citizenry can't desert them in favor of a competent protection and defense agency.", "Rothbard bases his philosophy on natural law grounds and also provides economic explanations of why he thinks anarcho-capitalism is preferable on pragmatic grounds as well.", "David D. Friedman says he is not an absolutist rights theorist but is also \"not a utilitarian\", however, he does believe that \"utilitarian arguments are usually the best way to defend libertarian views\".", "Peter Leeson argues that \"the case for anarchy derives its strength from empirical evidence, not theory\".", "Hans-Hermann Hoppe, meanwhile, uses \"argumentation ethics\" for his foundation of \"private property anarchism\", which is closer to Rothbard's natural law approach.", "Rothbard used the term ''anarcho-capitalism'' to distinguish his philosophy from anarchism that opposes private property, as well as to distinguish it from other forms of individualist anarchism.", "Other terms sometimes used for this philosophy, though not necessarily outside anarcho-capitalist circles, include:\n* anti-state capitalism\n* anti-state marketism\n* capitalist anarchism\n* market anarchism\n* free market anarchism\n* individualist anarchism\n* voluntaryism\n* natural order\n* ordered anarchy\n* polycentric law\n* the private-law society\n* private-property anarchy\n* pure capitalism\n* radical capitalism\n* stateless capitalism\n* stateless liberalism\n\n\nWhile the Friedmanian formulation of anarcho-capitalism is robust to the presence of violence, and in fact assumes some degree of violence will occur, anarcho-capitalism as formulated by Rothbard and others holds strongly to the central libertarian ''nonaggression axiom'':\n\n\n\nRothbard's defense of the self-ownership principle stems from what he believed to be his falsification of all other alternatives, namely that either a group of people can own another group of people, or the other alternative, that no single person has full ownership over one's self.", "Rothbard dismisses these two cases on the basis that they cannot result in a universal ethic, i.e., a just natural law that can govern all people, independent of place and time.", "The only alternative that remains to Rothbard is self-ownership, which he believes is both axiomatic and universal.", "In general, the nonaggression axiom can be said to be a prohibition against the initiation of force, or the threat of force, against persons (i.e., direct violence, assault, murder) or property (i.e., fraud, burglary, theft, taxation).", "The initiation of force is usually referred to as aggression or coercion.", "The difference between anarcho-capitalists and other libertarians is largely one of the degree to which they take this axiom.", "Minarchist libertarians, such as most people involved in libertarian political parties, would retain the state in some smaller and less invasive form, retaining at the very least public police, courts and military; others, however, might give further allowance for other government programs.", "In contrast, anarcho-capitalists reject any level of state intervention, defining the state as a coercive monopoly and, as the only entity in human society that derives its income from legal aggression, an entity that inherently violates the central axiom of libertarianism.", "Some anarcho-capitalists, such as Rothbard, accept the nonaggression axiom on an intrinsic moral or natural law basis.", "It is in terms of the non-aggression principle that Rothbard defined anarchism; he defined \"anarchism as a system which provides no legal sanction for such aggression 'against person and property'\" and said that \"what anarchism proposes to do, then, is to abolish the State, i.e.", "to abolish the regularized institution of aggressive coercion\".", "In an interview published in the libertarian journal ''New Banner'', Rothbard said that \"capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism\".", "===Property===\n\n====Private property====\nCentral to Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism are the concepts of self-ownership and original appropriation that combines personal and private property\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnarcho-capitalism uses the following terms in ways that may differ from common usage or various anarchist movements.", "* '''Anarchism:''' any philosophy that opposes all forms of initiatory coercion (includes opposition to the State)\n* '''Contract:''' a voluntary binding agreement between persons\n* '''Coercion:''' physical force or threat of such against persons or property\n* '''Capitalism:''' economic system where the means of production are privately owned and where investments, production, distribution, income, and prices are determined through the operation of a free market rather than by statutory regulation\n* '''Free market:''' a market where all decisions regarding transfer of money, goods (including capital goods), and services are voluntary\n* '''Fraud:''' inducing one to part with something of value through the use of dishonesty\n* '''State:''' an organization that taxes and engages in regularized and institutionalized aggressive coercion\n* '''Voluntary:''' any action not influenced by coercion or fraud perpetrated by any human agency\n\n\nThis is the root of anarcho-capitalist property rights, and where they differ from collectivist forms of anarchism such as anarcho-communism where the means of production are controlled by the whole community and the product of labor is collectivized in a pool of goods and distributed \"according to need\" (which is to be determined and enforced collectively).", "Anarcho-capitalists advocate individual or joint (i.e.", "''private'') ownership of the means of production and the product of labor regardless of what the individual \"needs\" or does not \"need\".", "As Rothbard says: \"if every man has the right to own his own body and if he must use and transform material natural objects in order to survive, then he has the right to own the product that he has made.\"", "After property is transformed through labor it may then only exchange hands legitimately by trade or gift; forced transfers are considered illegitimate.", "Original appropriation allows an individual to claim any never-before used resources, including land, and by improving or otherwise using it, own it with the same \"absolute right\" as his own body.", "According to Rothbard, property can only come about through labor, therefore original appropriation of land is not legitimate by merely claiming it or building a fence around it; it is only by ''using'' land – by mixing one's labor with it – that original appropriation is legitimized: \"Any attempt to claim a new resource that someone does not use would have to be considered invasive of the property right of whoever the first user will turn out to be.\"", "Rothbard argues that the resource need not ''continue'' to be used in order for it to be the person's property, \"for once his labor is mixed with the natural resource, it remains his owned land.", "His labor has been irretrievably mixed with the land, and the land is therefore his or his assigns' in perpetuity.\"", "As a practical matter, in terms of the ownership of land, anarcho-capitalists recognize that there are few (if any) parcels of land left on Earth whose ownership was not at some point in time obtained in violation of the homestead principle, through seizure by the state or put in private hands with the assistance of the state.", "Rothbard says,\n\n\n\nRothbard says in \"Justice and Property Right\" that \"any identifiable owner (the original victim of theft or his heir) must be accorded his property.\"", "In the case of slavery, Rothbard says that in many cases \"the old plantations and the heirs and descendants of the former slaves can be identified, and the reparations can become highly specific indeed.\"", "He believes slaves rightfully own any land they were forced to work on under the \"homestead principle\".", "If property is held by the state, Rothbard advocates its confiscation and return to the private sector: \"any property in the hands of the State is in the hands of thieves, and should be liberated as quickly as possible.\"", "For example, he proposes that State universities be seized by the students and faculty under the homestead principle.", "Rothbard also supports expropriation of nominally \"private property\" if it is the result of state-initiated force, such as businesses who receive grants and subsidies.", "He proposes that businesses who receive at least 50% of their funding from the state be confiscated by the workers.", "He says, \"What we libertarians object to, then, is not government per se but crime, what we object to is unjust or criminal property titles; what we are for is not \"private\" property per se but just, innocent, non-criminal private property.\"", "Likewise, Karl Hess says, \"libertarianism wants to advance ''principles'' of property but that it in no way wishes to defend, willy nilly, all property which now is called private... Much of that property is stolen.", "Much is of dubious title.", "All of it is deeply intertwined with an immoral, coercive state system.\"", "By accepting an axiomatic definition of private property and property rights, anarcho-capitalists deny the legitimacy of a state on principle:\n\n\n\n====Common property====\nThough anarcho-capitalists assert a right to private property, some anarcho-capitalists also point out that common, i.e.", "community, property can exist by right in an anarcho-capitalist system.", "Just as an individual comes to own that which was unowned by mixing his labor with it or using it regularly, a whole community or society can come to own a thing in common by mixing their labor with it collectively, meaning that no individual may appropriate it as his own.", "This may apply to roads, parks, rivers, and portions of oceans.", "Anarchist theorist Roderick Long gives the following example:\n\n\n\nNevertheless, since property that is owned collectively tends to lose the level of accountability found in individual ownership to the extent of the number of owners – and make consensus regarding property use and maintenance decisions proportionately less likely, anarcho-capitalists generally distrust and seek to avoid intentional communal arrangements.", "Privatization, decentralization, and individualization are often anarcho-capitalist goals.", "But in some cases, they not only provide a challenge, but are considered next to impossible.", "Established ocean routes, for example, are generally seen as unavailable for private appropriation.", "Anarcho-capitalists tend to concur with free-market environmentalists regarding the environmentally destructive tendencies of the state and other communal arrangements.", "Air, water, and land pollution, for example, are seen as the result of collectivization of ownership.", "Central governments generally strike down individual or class action censure of polluters in order to benefit \"the many\", and legal or economic subsidy of heavy industry is justified by many politicians for job creation within a political territory.", "===Economics===\nThe Austrian school of economics argued against the viability of socialism and centrally planned economic policy.", "Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, a colleague of Austrian school founder Carl Menger, wrote one of the first critiques of socialism in his treatise ''The Exploitation Theory of Socialism-Communism''.", "Later, Friedrich von Hayek wrote ''The Road to Serfdom'' (1944), which states that a command economy lacks the information function of market prices, and that central authority over the economy leads to totalitarianism.", "Another Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, wrote ''Human Action'', an early exposition of the method he called Praxeology.", "Murray Rothbard (1926–95).", "Rothbard attempted to meld Austrian economics with classical liberalism and individualist anarchism.", "He wrote his first paper advocating \"private property anarchism\" in 1949, and later came up with the alternative name ''anarcho-capitalism''.", "He was probably the first to use ''libertarian'' in its current (U.S.) pro-capitalist sense.", "His academic training was in economics, but his writings also refer to history and political philosophy.", "When young, he considered himself part of the Old Right, an anti-statist and anti-interventionist branch of the Republican party.", "In the late 1950s, he was briefly involved with Ayn Rand, but later had a falling out.", "When interventionist cold warriors of the ''National Review'', such as William F. Buckley, Jr., gained influence in the Republican party in the 1950s, Rothbard quit that group and briefly associated himself with left-wing antiwar groups.", "He believed that the cold warriors were more indebted in theory to the left and imperialist progressives, especially with respect to Trotskyist theory.", "Rothbard initially opposed the founding of the Libertarian Party but joined in 1973 and became one of its leading activists.", "===Contractual society===\nIcelandic parliament.", "According to a theory associated with the economist David Friedman, medieval Icelandic society had some features of anarcho-capitalism.", "Chieftaincies could be bought and sold, and were not geographical monopolies; individuals could voluntarily choose membership in any chieftain's clan.", "The society envisioned by anarcho-capitalists has been called the ''Contractual Society'' – \"... a society based purely on voluntary action, entirely unhampered by violence or threats of violence.\"", "– in which anarcho-capitalists assert the system relies on voluntary agreements (contracts) between individuals as the legal framework.", "It is difficult to predict precisely what the particulars of this society will look like because of the details and complexities of contracts.", "One particular ramification is that transfer of property and services must be considered voluntarily on the part of both parties.", "No external entities can force an individual to accept or deny a particular transaction.", "An employer might offer insurance and death benefits to same-sex couples; another might refuse to recognize any union outside his or her own faith.", "Individuals are free to enter into or reject contractual agreements as they see fit.", "Rothbard points out that corporations would exist in a free society, as they are simply the pooling of capital.", "He says limited liability for corporations could also exist through contract: \"Corporations are not at all monopolistic privileges; they are free associations of individuals pooling their capital.", "On the purely free market, such men would simply announce to their creditors that their liability is limited to the capital specifically invested in the corporation....\"\n\nCorporations created in this way would not, however, be able to replicate the limit on liabilities arising non-contractually, such as liability in tort for environmental disasters or personal injury, which corporations currently enjoy.", "Rothbard himself acknowledges that \"limited liability for torts is the illegitimate conferring of a special privilege\"\n\nThere are limits to the right to contract under some interpretations of anarcho-capitalism.", "Rothbard himself argues that the right to contract is based in inalienable human rights and therefore any contract that implicitly violates those rights can be voided at will, which would, for instance, prevent a person from permanently selling himself or herself into unindentured slavery.", "Other interpretations conclude that banning such contracts would in itself be an unacceptably invasive interference in the right to contract.", "Included in the right of contract is the right to contract oneself out for employment by others.", "Unlike anarcho-communists, anarcho-capitalists support the liberty of individuals to be self-employed or to contract to be employees of others, whichever they prefer and the freedom to pay and receive wages.", "Some anarcho-capitalists prefer to see self-employment prevail over wage labor.", "For example, David Friedman has expressed preference for a society where \"almost everyone is self-employed\" and \"instead of corporations there are large groups of entrepreneurs related by trade, not authority.", "Each sells not his time, but what his time produces.\"", "Others, such as Rothbard, do not express a preference either way but justify employment as a natural occurrence in a free market that is not immoral in any way.", "===Law and order and the use of violence===\nDifferent anarcho-capitalists propose different forms of anarcho-capitalism, and one area of disagreement is in the area of law.", "Morris and Linda Tannehill, in ''The Market for Liberty'', object to any statutory law whatsoever.", "They argue that all one has to do is ask if one is aggressing against another (see tort and contract law) in order to decide if an act is right or wrong.", "However, Rothbard, while also supporting a natural prohibition on force and fraud, supports the establishment of a mutually agreed-upon centralized libertarian legal code which private courts would pledge to follow.", "Unlike both the Tannehills and Rothbard who see an ideological commonality of ethics and morality as a requirement, David Friedman proposes that \"the systems of law will be produced for profit on the open market, just as books and bras are produced today.", "There could be competition among different brands of law, just as there is competition among different brands of cars.\"", "Friedman says whether this would lead to a libertarian society \"remains to be proven.\"", "He says it is a possibility that very unlibertarian laws may result, such as laws against drugs.", "But, he thinks this would be rare.", "He reasons that \"if the value of a law to its supporters is less than its cost to its victims, that law...will not survive in an anarcho-capitalist society.\"", "Anarcho-capitalists only accept collective defense of individual liberty (i.e., courts, military or police forces) insofar as such groups are formed and paid for on an explicitly voluntary basis.", "But, their complaint is not just that the state's defensive services are funded by taxation but that the state assumes it is the only legitimate practitioner of physical force.", "That is, it forcibly prevents the private sector from providing comprehensive security, such as a police, judicial, and prison systems to protect individuals from aggressors.", "Anarcho-capitalists believe that there is nothing morally superior about the state which would grant it, but not private individuals, a right to use physical force to restrain aggressors.", "Also, if competition in security provision were allowed to exist, prices would be lower and services would be better according to anarcho-capitalists.", "According to Molinari, \"Under a regime of liberty, the natural organization of the security industry would not be different from that of other industries.\"", "Proponents point out that private systems of justice and defense ''already'' exist, naturally forming where the market is allowed to compensate for the failure of the state: private arbitration, security guards, neighborhood watch groups, and so on.", "These private courts and police are sometimes referred to generically as Private Defense Agencies (PDAs).", "The defense of those unable to pay for such protection might be financed by charitable organizations relying on voluntary donation rather than by state institutions relying on coercive taxation, or by cooperative self-help by groups of individuals.", "Subrogation, which allows remuneration for losses and damages to be funded by the aggressors, reduces insurance costs and could operate as a business in itself – converting victims from paying customers into direct beneficiaries.", "The concept of Restitution Transfer and Recoupment (RTR) has been explored by freenation theorist John Frederic Kosanke.", "RTR agencies would employ bonding agencies, private investigators, private dispute resolution organizations, and private aggressor containment agencies, as required.", "Instead of having to pay for restitution, victims sell restitution rights to the RTR agencies.", "This arrangement can be compared to the contractual nature of the Goðorð system employed in the Icelandic Commonwealth by competing chieftains.", "Edward Stringham argues that private adjudication of disputes could enable the market to internalize externalities and provide services that customers desire.", "Murray Rothbard admired the American Revolutionary War and believed it is the only U.S. war that can be justified.", "Like classical liberalism, and unlike anarcho-pacifism, anarcho-capitalism permits the use of force, as long as it is in the defense of persons or property.", "The permissible extent of this defensive use of force is an arguable point among anarcho-capitalists.", "Retributive justice, meaning retaliatory force, is often a component of the contracts imagined for an anarcho-capitalist society.", "Some believe prisons or indentured servitude would be justifiable institutions to deal with those who violate anarcho-capitalist property relations, while others believe exile or forced restitution are sufficient.", "Bruce L. Benson argues that legal codes may impose punitive damages for intentional torts in the interest of deterring crime.", "For instance, a thief who breaks into a house by picking a lock and is caught before taking anything would still owe the victim for violating the sanctity of his property rights.", "Benson opines that, despite the lack of objectively measurable losses in such cases, \"standardized rules that are generally perceived to be fair by members of the community would, in all likelihood, be established through precedent, allowing judgments to specify payments that are reasonably appropriate for most criminal offenses.\"", "But the robber's loss of reputation would be even more damaging.", "Specialized companies would list aggressors so that anyone wishing to do business with a man could first check his record.", "One difficult application of defensive aggression is the act of revolutionary violence (including anarcho-capitalist revolution) against tyrannical regimes.", "Many anarcho-capitalists admire the American Revolution as the legitimate act of individuals working together to fight against tyrannical restrictions of their liberties.", "In fact, according to Rothbard, the American Revolutionary War was the only war involving the United States that could be justified.", "Some anarcho-capitalists, such as Samuel Edward Konkin III, feel that violent revolution is counter-productive and prefer voluntary forms of economic secession to the extent possible.", "The two principal moral approaches to anarcho-capitalism differ in regard to whether anarcho-capitalist society is justified on deontological or consequentialist ethics, or both.", "Natural-law anarcho-capitalism (as advocated by Rothbard) holds that a universal system of rights can be derived from natural law.", "Some other anarcho-capitalists do not rely upon the idea of natural rights, but instead present economic justifications for a free-market capitalist society.", "Such a latter approach has been offered by David D. Friedman in ''The Machinery of Freedom''.", "Also unlike other anarcho-capitalists, most notably Rothbard, Friedman has never tried to deny the theoretical cogency of the neoclassical literature on \"market failure\", but openly applies the theory to both market and government institutions (see \"government failure\") to compare the net result.", "Nor has he been inclined to attack economic efficiency as a normative benchmark.", "Kosanke sees such a debate as irrelevant since, in the absence of statutory law, the non-aggression principle (NAP) is naturally enforced, because individuals are automatically held accountable for their actions via tort and contract law.", "Communities of sovereign individuals naturally expel aggressors in the same way that ethical business practices are naturally required among competing businesses that are subject to the discipline of the marketplace.", "For him, the only thing that needs to be debated is the nature of the contractual mechanism that abolishes the state, or prevents it from coming into existence where new communities form.", "\nAnarchism, in both its collectivist and individualist forms, is usually considered a radical left-wing and anti-capitalist ideology that promotes socialist economic theories such as communism, syndicalism, and mutualism.", "These anarchists believe capitalism is incompatible with social and economic equality, and therefore do not recognize anarcho-capitalism as an anarchist school of thought.", "In particular, they argue that capitalist transactions are not voluntary, and that maintaining the class structure of a capitalist society requires coercion, which is incompatible with an anarchist society.", "Murray Rothbard argues that the capitalist system of today is, indeed, not properly anarchistic because it so often colludes with the state.", "According to Rothbard, \"what Marx and later writers have done is to lump together two extremely different and even contradictory concepts and actions under the same portmanteau term.", "These two contradictory concepts are what I would call 'free-market capitalism' on the one hand, and 'state capitalism' on the other.\"", "\"The difference between free-market capitalism and state capitalism,\" writes Rothbard, \"is precisely the difference between, on the one hand, peaceful, voluntary exchange, and on the other, violent expropriation.\"", "He continues, \"State capitalism inevitably creates all sorts of problems which become insoluble.\"", "Rothbard maintains that anarcho-capitalism is the only true form of anarchism – the only form of anarchism that could possibly exist in reality, as, he argues, any other form presupposes an authoritarian enforcement of political ideology, such as redistribution of private property.", "According to this argument, the free market is simply the natural situation that would result from people being free from authority, and entails the establishment of all voluntary associations in society: cooperatives, non-profit organizations, businesses, etc.", "Moreover, anarcho-capitalists, as well as classical liberal minarchists, argue that the application of left-wing anarchist ideals would require an authoritarian body of some sort to impose it.", "In order to forcefully prevent people from accumulating private capital, there would necessarily be a redistributive organization of some sort which would have the authority to, in essence, exact a tax and re-allocate the resulting resources to a larger group of people.", "This body would thus inherently have political power and would be nothing short of a state.", "The difference between such an arrangement and an anarcho-capitalist system is precisely the voluntary nature of organization within anarcho-capitalism contrasted with a centralized ideology and a paired enforcement mechanism which would be necessary under a coercively egalitarian-anarchist system.", "However, Rothbard also wrote a piece, published posthumously, entitled 'Are Libertarians \"Anarchists\"?'", "where he traced the etymological roots of Anarchist philosophy, ultimately coming to the conclusion that \"...we find that all of the current anarchists are irrational collectivists, and therefore at opposite poles from our position.", "That none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that even the best of them have unrealistic and socialistic elements in their doctrines\", and furthermore, \"We must therefore conclude that we are not anarchists, and that those who call us anarchists are not on firm etymological ground, and are being completely unhistorical.", "On the other hand, it is clear that we are not archists either: we do not believe in establishing a tyrannical central authority that will coerce the noninvasive as well as the invasive.", "Perhaps, then, we could call ourselves by a new name: nonarchist.\"", "\n===Classical liberalism===\n\n\nClassical liberalism is the primary influence with the longest history on anarcho-capitalist theory.", "Classical liberals have had two main themes since John Locke first expounded the philosophy: the liberty of man, and limitations of state power.", "The liberty of man was expressed in terms of natural rights, while limiting the state was based (for Locke) on a consent theory.", "In the 19th century, classical liberals led the attack against statism.", "One notable was Frédéric Bastiat (''The Law''), who wrote, \"The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else.\"", "Henry David Thoreau wrote, \"I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically.", "Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, 'That government is best which governs not at all'; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.\"", "The early liberals believed that the state should confine its role to protecting individual liberty and property, and opposed all but the most minimal economic regulations.", "The \"normative core\" of classical liberalism is the idea that in an environment of laissez-faire, a spontaneous order of cooperation in exchanging goods and services emerges that satisfies human wants.", "Some individualists came to realize that the liberal state itself takes property forcefully through taxation in order to fund its protection services, and therefore it seemed logically inconsistent to oppose theft while also supporting a tax-funded protector.", "So, they advocated what may be seen as classical liberalism taken to the extreme by only supporting voluntarily funded defense by competing private providers.", "One of the first liberals to discuss the possibility of privatizing protection of individual liberty and property was France's Jakob Mauvillon in the 18th century.", "Later, in the 1840s, Julius Faucher and Gustave de Molinari advocated the same.", "Molinari, in his essay ''The Production of Security'', argued, \"No government should have the right to prevent another government from going into competition with it, or to require consumers of security to come exclusively to it for this commodity.\"", "Molinari and this new type of anti-state liberal grounded their reasoning on liberal ideals and classical economics.", "Historian and libertarian Ralph Raico argues that what these liberal philosophers \"had come up with was a form of individualist anarchism, or, as it would be called today, anarcho-capitalism or market anarchism.\"", "Unlike the liberalism of Locke, which saw the state as evolving from society, the anti-state liberals saw a fundamental conflict between the voluntary interactions of people – society – and the institutions of force – the State.", "This ''society versus state'' idea was expressed in various ways: natural society vs. artificial society, liberty vs. authority, society of contract vs. society of authority, and industrial society vs. militant society, just to name a few.", "The anti-state liberal tradition in Europe and the United States continued after Molinari in the early writings of Herbert Spencer, as well as in thinkers such as Paul Émile de Puydt and Auberon Herbert.", "Later, in the early 20th century, the mantle of anti-state liberalism was taken by the Old Right.", "These were minarchists, anti-war, anti-imperialists, and (later) anti-New Dealers.", "Some of the most notable members of the Old Right were Albert Jay Nock, Rose Wilder Lane, Isabel Paterson, Frank Chodorov, Garet Garrett, and H. L. Mencken.", "In the 1950s, the new \"fusion conservatism\", also called \"cold war conservatism\", took hold of the right wing in the U.S., stressing anti-communism.", "This induced the libertarian Old Right to split off from the right, and seek alliances with the (now left-wing) antiwar movement, and to start specifically libertarian organizations such as the (U.S.) Libertarian Party.", "===Nineteenth-century individualist anarchism in the United States===\nLysander Spooner (1808–87)\n\nRothbard was influenced by the work of the 19th-century American individualist anarchists (who were also influenced by classical liberalism).", "In the winter of 1949, influenced by several 19th century individualists anarchists, Rothbard decided to reject minimal state laissez-faire and embrace individualist anarchism.", "Rothbard said in 1965 \"Lysander Spooner and Benjamin R. Tucker were unsurpassed as political philosophers and nothing is more needed today than a revival and development of the largely forgotten legacy they left to political philosophy.\"", "However, he thought they had a faulty understanding of economics.", "The 19th century individualists had a labor theory of value, as influenced by the classical economists, but Rothbard was a student of Austrian Economics which does not agree with the labor theory of value.", "So, Rothbard sought to meld 19th-century American individualists' advocacy of free markets and private defense with the principles of Austrian economics: \"There is, in the body of thought known as 'Austrian economics', a scientific explanation of the workings of the free market (and of the consequences of government intervention in that market) which individualist anarchists could easily incorporate into their political and social Weltanschauung\".", "Rothbard held that the economic consequences of the political system they advocate would not result in an economy with people being paid in proportion to labor amounts, nor would profit and interest disappear as they expected.", "Tucker thought that unregulated banking and money issuance would cause increases in the money supply so that interest rates would drop to zero or near to it.", "Rothbard disagreed with this, as he explains in ''The Spooner-Tucker Doctrine: An Economist's View''.", "He says that first of all Tucker was wrong to think that that would cause the money supply to increase, because he says that the money supply in a free market would be self-regulating.", "If it were not, then inflation would occur, so it is not necessarily desirable to increase the money supply in the first place.", "Secondly, he says that Tucker is wrong to think that interest would disappear regardless, because people in general do not wish to lend their money to others without compensation so there is no reason why this would change just because banking was unregulated.", "Also, Tucker held a labor theory of value.", "As a result, he thought that in a free market that people would be paid in proportion to how much labor they exerted and that if they were not then exploitation or \"usury\" was taking place.", "As he explains in ''State Socialism and Anarchism'', his theory was that unregulated banking would cause more money to be available and that this would allow proliferation of new businesses, which would in turn raise demand for labor.", "This led him to believe that the labor theory of value would be vindicated, and equal amounts of labor would receive equal pay.", "Again, as an Austrian economist, Rothbard did not agree with the labor theory.", "He believed that prices of goods and services are proportional to marginal utility rather than to labor amounts in free market.", "And he did not think that there was anything exploitative about people receiving an income according to how much buyers of their services value their labor or what that labor produces.", "Of particular importance to anarcho-capitalists and Tucker and Spooner are the ideas of \"sovereignty of the individual\", a market economy, and the opposition to collectivism.", "A defining point upon which they agree is that defense of liberty and property should be provided in the free market rather than by the State.", "Tucker said, \"Defense is a service like any other service; that it is labor both useful and desired, and therefore an economic commodity subject to the law of supply and demand; that in a free market this commodity would be furnished at the cost of production; that, competition prevailing, patronage would go to those who furnished the best article at the lowest price; that the production and sale of this commodity are now monopolized by the State; and that the State, like almost all monopolists, charges exorbitant prices.\"", "\n\n===Yurok Indians and their Northern California neighbors===\nWalter Goldsmidt, after studying the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok Indians and some of their Northern California neighbors, reported \"... a culture which reflects in surprising degree certain structural and ethical characteristics of emergent capitalistic Europe\".", "Commenting on this, Bruce Benson writes: In this Indian society, property was universally held in individual private ownership.", "Socially, these Indians were organized in households and villages.", "There were no class or other inalienable group affiliations, and no vested authoritarian position-that is no state-like government with coercive power.", "Private property rights were sharply defined.", "Title considerations, for example, included (1) separation of title to different types of products; (2) ownership rights within the territory of an alien group (e.g.", "Hupas owned property inside Yurok territory); and (3) the division of title between persons (e.g., a fishing place could be owned by several people and its use divided so that one person used it one day, another the next, and so on).", "Ownership was complete and transferable.", "Exchange was facilitated by a monetary system.", "Benson also notes that there was a well-developed system of private arbitration: These Indian tribes nevertheless had a well-developed system of private judging.", "For instance, if a Yurok wanted to process a legal claim he would hire two, three, or four \"crossers\" – nonrelatives from a community other than his own.", "The defendant in the claim would also hire crossers, and the entire group hired by both parties would act as go-betweens, ascertaining claims and defenses and gathering evidence.", "The crossers would render a judgment for damages after hearing all the evidence.", "===The legal system of the Ifugao of Northern Luzon===\nLegal scholar Bruce Benson notes: The economy of the Ifugao in Northern Luzon during the early 1900s was dominated by an intensive irrigation hoe culture.", "Such an economy inevitably requires laws, if for no other reason than to resolve issues over water rights and maintain a complex real-estate system.", "And the Ifugao developed a very elaborate system of substantive law.", "Yet the Ifugao had no tribal, district, or village governmental organizations, and no centralized authority with the power to force compliance with the laws or to levy compulsive sanctions on behalf of the society at large.", "The basic political unit was the family, which had a leader, but not in the sense of a political ruler, as Hoebel notes:\"Although he leads the family in legal and economic enterprise, its members think of him more as an integrating core than as a head who in any way dominates.\"", "The kinfolk had a mutual duty to support each other in disputes with members of other families.", "They did not settle these disputes through warfare, but through arbitration by a voluntarily contracted \"monkalun\".", "Benson notes: But what happened if the defendant refused to admit his guilt and would not come to terms through the monkalun?", "Did interfamily warfare break out?", "The answer to the second question is no because the answer to the first is that such a refusal would be viewed as an insult to the monkalun and align his family against whichever party initiated the violence.", "This prospect deterred any immediate action by either party even when an impasse was reached.", "===The Kapauku Papuans of West New Guinea===\nThe Kapauku Papuans were a primitive linguistic group of about 45,000 living by means of horticulture in the western part of the central highlands of West New Guinea until well past the middle of the 20th century.", "Their culture emphasized individual freedom and there was no common property; almost all property was individually owned, as Pospisil remarks: A house, boat, bow and arrows, field, crops, patches of second-growth forest, or even a meal shared by a family or household is always owned by one person.", "Individual ownership is so extensive in the Kamu Valley that we find the virgin forests divided into tracts which belong to single individuals.", "Relatives, husbands and wives do not own anything in common.", "Even an eleven-year-old boy can own his field and his money and play the role of debtor and creditor as well.", "Benson observes: Their reciprocal arrangements for support and protection were based on kinship, as with the Ifugao.", "However, members of two or more patrilineages typically joined together for defensive and legal purposes, even though they often belonged to different sibs.", "These \"confederations\" often encompassed from three to nine villages, with each village consisting of about fifteen households.", "The Kapauku had no formal government with coercive power.", "Those who were rich and considered to be honest and generous became leaders called \"tonowi\".", "However, they held no coercive authority over others.", "Legal disputes were handled through contractual arbitration, which was enforced ultimately by the threat of being outlawed and ostracized by all members of one's confederation.", "===Free cities of Medieval Europe===\nEconomist and libertarian scholar Bryan Caplan cites the free cities of medieval Europe as important examples of anarchist or nearly anarchistic societies: One case that has inspired both sorts of anarchists is that of the free cities of medieval Europe.", "The first weak link in the chain of feudalism, these free cities became Europe's centers of economic development, trade, art, and culture.", "They provided a haven for runaway serfs, who could often legally gain their freedom if they avoided re-capture for a year and a day.", "And they offer many examples of how people can form mutual-aid associations for protection, insurance, and community.", "Of course, left-anarchists and anarcho-capitalists take a somewhat different perspective on the free cities: the former emphasize the communitarian and egalitarian concerns of the free cities, while the latter point to the relatively unregulated nature of their markets and the wide range of services (often including defense, security, and legal services) which were provided privately or semi-privately.", "===Medieval Iceland===\n19th century interpretation of the Althing in the Icelandic Commonwealth, which authors such as David Friedman and Roderick Long believe to have some features of anarcho-capitalist society.", "According to the libertarian theorist David D. Friedman, \"Medieval Icelandic institutions have several peculiar and interesting characteristics; they might almost have been invented by a mad economist to test the lengths to which market systems could supplant government in its most fundamental functions.\"", "While not directly labeling it anarcho-capitalist, he argues that the legal system of the Icelandic Commonwealth comes close to being a real-world anarcho-capitalist legal system – while there was a single legal system, enforcement of law was entirely private and highly capitalist; and so provides some evidence of how such a society would function.", "\"Even where the Icelandic legal system recognized an essentially \"public\" offense, it dealt with it by giving some individual (in some cases chosen by lot from those affected) the right to pursue the case and collect the resulting fine, thus fitting it into an essentially private system.\"", "Commenting on its political structure, libertarian scholar Roderick Long remarks:The legal system's administration, insofar as it had one, lay in the hands of a parliament of about 40 officers whom historians call, however inadequately, \"chieftains.\"", "This parliament had no budget and no employees; it met only two weeks per year.", "In addition to their parliamentary role, chieftains were empowered in their own local districts to appoint judges and to keep the peace; this latter job was handled on an essentially fee-for-service basis.", "The enforcement of judicial decisions was largely a matter of self-help (hence Iceland's reputation as a land of constant private feuding), but those who lacked the might to enforce their rights could sell their court-decreed claims for compensation to someone more powerful, usually a chieftain; hence even the poor and friendless could not be victimized with impunity.", "The basis of a chieftain's power within the political order was the power he already possessed outside it, in civil society.", "The office of chieftaincy was private property, and could be bought or sold; hence chieftaincies tended to track private wealth.", "But wealth alone was not enough.", "As economic historian Birgir Solvason notes in his masterful study of the period, \"just buying the chieftainship was no guarantee of power\"; the mere office by itself was \"almost worthless\" unless the chieftain could \"convince some free-farmers to follow him.\"", "Chieftains did not hold authority over territorially-defined districts, but competed for clients with other chieftains from the same geographical area.", "Long observes how the system of free contract between farmers and chieftains was threatened when harassment from Norwegian kings that began around AD 1000 forced the people of Iceland to accept Christianity as the national religion, which paved the way for the introduction of a compulsory tax in AD 1096 which was to be compulsorily paid to the local chieftain who owned a churchstead.", "This gave an unfair advantage to some chieftains who, at least in part, did not need to rely upon the voluntary support of their clients in order to receive some income.", "This gradually lead to the concentration of power in the hands of a few big chieftains, enabling them to restrict competition and eventually establish effective monopolies.", "Although the Commonwealth was politically stable for over three centuries, longer than any democracy has lasted, its eventual down fall was brought about, according to Long, \"not through having too much privatization, but through having too little.\"", "He notes:The Free State failed, not through having too much privatization, but through having too little.", "The tithe, and particularly the portion allotted to churchstead maintenance, represented a monopolistic, non-competitive element in the system.", "The introduction of the tithe was in turn made possible by yet another non-competitive element: the establishment of an official state church which everyone was legally bound to support.", "Finally, buying up chieftaincies would have availed little if there had been free entry into the chieftaincy profession; instead, the number of chieftains was set by law, and the creation of new chieftaincies could be approved only by parliament – i.e., by the existing chieftains, who were naturally less than eager to encourage competitors.", "It is precisely those respects in which the Free State was least privatized and decentralized that led to its downfall – while its more privatized aspects delayed that downfall for three centuries.", "===American Old West===\nAccording to the research of Terry L. Anderson and P. J. Hill, the Old West in the United States in the period of 1830 to 1900 was similar to anarcho-capitalism in that \"private agencies provided the necessary basis for an orderly society in which property was protected and conflicts were resolved,\" and that the common popular perception that the Old West was chaotic with little respect for property rights is incorrect.", "Since squatters had no claim to western lands under federal law, extra-legal organizations formed to fill the void.", "Benson explains:\n\nAccording to Anderson, \"Defining anarcho-capitalist to mean minimal government with property rights developed from the bottom up, the western frontier was anarcho-capitalistic.", "People on the frontier invented institutions that fit the resource constraints they faced.\"", "===Gaelic Ireland===\nMurray Rothbard in his work ''For a New Liberty'' has claimed ancient Gaelic Ireland as an example of nearly anarcho-capitalist society.", "In his depiction, citing the work of Professor Joseph Peden, the basic political unit of ancient Ireland was the tuath, which is portrayed as \"a body of persons voluntarily united for socially beneficial purposes\" with its territorial claim being limited to \"the sum total of the landed properties of its members\".", "Civil disputes were settled by private arbiters called \"brehons\", and the compensation to be paid to the wronged party was insured through voluntary surety relationships.", "Commenting on the \"kings\" of tuaths, Rothbard states:The king was elected by the tuath from within a royal kin-group (the\nderbfine), which carried the hereditary priestly function.", "Politically, however, the king had strictly limited functions: he was the military leader of the tuath, and he presided over the tuath assemblies.", "But he could only conduct war or peace negotiations as agent of the assemblies; and he was in no sense sovereign and had no rights of administering justice over tuath members.", "He could not legislate, and when he himself was party to a lawsuit, he had to submit his case to an independent judicial arbiter.", "===Law merchant, admiralty law and early common law===\nMany libertarian historians have cited law merchant, admiralty law and early common law as examples of anarcho-capitalism.", "In his work, \"Power and Market\", Rothbard states:\nThe law merchant, admiralty law, and much of the common law began to be developed by privately competitive judges, who were sought out by litigants for their expertise in understanding the legal areas involved.", "The fairs of Champagne and the great marts of international trade in the Middle Ages enjoyed freely competitive courts, and people could patronize those that they deemed most accurate and efficient.", "Commenting on Law Merchant, the Britannica Encyclopedia states:\n The law merchant was developed in the early 11th century in order to protect foreign merchants not under the jurisdiction and protection of the local law.", "Foreign traders often were subject to confiscations and other types of harassment if one of their countrymen had defaulted in a business transaction.", "A kind of law was also needed by which the traders themselves could negotiate contracts, partnerships, trademarks, and various aspects of buying and selling.", "The law merchant gradually spread as the traders went from place to place.", "Their courts, set up by the merchants themselves at trade fairs or in cities, administered a law that was uniform throughout Europe, regardless of differences in national laws and languages.", "It was based primarily on Roman law, although there were some Germanic influences; it formed the basis for modern commercial law.", "Regarding common law, David Friedman notes:\nThe common law had its origin in the legal system of Anglo-Saxon England, whose early form involved a large element of private enforcement and private arbitration.", "It evolved in an environment of multiple court systems – church, royal, and local – where litigants had at least some control over where their disputes were resolved.", "Some common law rules originated as private norms, and I have argued that norms are produced on something like a competitive market.", "Some rules may have been borrowed from the medieval Fair Courts, which had some of the characteristics of the system I have described.", "Commenting on the evolution of British common law, the classical liberal economist Adam Smith noted in his treatise \"The Wealth of Nations\": The fees of court seem originally to have been the principal support of the different courts of justice in England.", "Each court endeavoured to draw to itself as much business as it could, and was, upon that account, willing to take cognisance of many suits which were not originally intended to fall under its jurisdiction.", "The court of king's bench, instituted for the trial of criminal causes only, took cognisance of civil suits; the plaintiff pretending that the defendant, in not doing him justice, had been guilty of some trespass or misdemeanour.", "The court of exchequer, instituted for the levying of the king's revenue, and for enforcing the payment of such debts only as were due to the king, took cognisance of all other contract debts; the plaintiff alleging that he could not pay the king because the defendant would not pay him.", "In consequence of such fictions it came, in many cases, to depend altogether upon the parties before what court they would choose to have their cause tried; and each court endeavoured, by superior dispatch and impartiality, to draw to itself as many causes as it could.", "The present admirable constitution of the courts of justice in England was, perhaps, originally in a great measure formed by this emulation which anciently took place between their respective judges; each judge endeavouring to give, in his own court, the speediest and most effectual remedy which the law would admit for every sort of injustice.", "===Somalia from 1991 to 2006===\n\nSomalia, from 1991 to 2006, is cited as a real-world example of a stateless society and legal system.", "Since the fall of Siad Barre's government in January 1991, there had been no central government in Somalia until the establishment of the Transitional National Government and its successor the Transitional Federal Government.", "While some urban areas such as Mogadishu had private police forces, many Somalis simply returned to the traditional clan-based legal structures for local governance and dispute resolution.", "Anthropologist Spencer MacCallum has identified the rule of law during the period as that of the Xeer, a customary law indigenous to Somalia.", "The law permits practices such as safe travel, trade, and marriage, which survives \"to a significant degree\" throughout Somalia, particularly in rural Somalia where it is \"virtually unaffected\".", "MacCallum credits the Xeer with \"Somalia's success without a central government, since it provides an authentic rule of law to support trade and economic development.\"", "In the Xeer, law and crime are defined in terms of property rights; consequently the criminal justice system is compensatory rather than the punitive system of the majority of states, and the Xeer is \"unequivocal in its opposition\" to any form of taxation.", "Powell et al.", "(2006) find that the existence of the common law dispute resolution system in Somalia makes possible basic economic order.", "MacCallum compares the Xeer to the common law in 6th century Scotland, and notes that there is no monopoly of either police nor judicial services, a condition of polycentric law.", "Nonetheless, many anarcho-capitalists argue that Somalia was not an anarchist society.", "Benjamin Powell argued that statelessness led to more order and less chaos than had the previous state under central government, and economist Alex Tabarrok claimed that Somalia in its stateless period provided a \"unique test of the theory of anarchy\", in some aspects near of that espoused by anarcho-capitalists David D. Friedman and Murray Rothbard.", "\n===Justice and defense===\nSome critics argue that anarcho-capitalism turns justice into a commodity; private defense and court firms would favour those who pay more for their services.", "Randall G. Holcombe argues that defense agencies could form cartels and oppress people without fear of competition.", "Philosopher Albert Meltzer argued that since anarcho-capitalism promotes the idea of private armies, it actually supports a \"limited State.\"", "He contends that it \"is only possible to conceive of Anarchism which is free, communistic and offering no economic necessity for repression of countering it.\"", "Robert Nozick argues in ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' that an anarcho-capitalist society would inevitably transform into a minarchist state through the eventual emergence of a monopolistic private defense and judicial agency that no longer faces competition.", "He argues that anarcho-capitalism results in an unstable system that would not endure in the real world.", "Paul Birch argues that legal disputes involving several jurisdictions and different legal systems will be too complex and costly.", "Thus, the largest private protection business in a territory will develop into a natural monopoly.", "Anarcho-capitalists counter that this argument is circular, because monopolies are artificial constructs that can only be maintained by political immunity to natural market processes, or by perpetual provision of superior quality products and services.", "Unless competitors are prevented from entering a market, the profit incentive, which is fueled by constant demand for improvement, proportionately draws them into it.", "Furthermore, as demonstrated by the medieval systems in Ireland and Iceland, treating the right to justice as a property means that it is sold – not purchased – by victims.", "===Rights and freedom===\nMany anarcho-capitalists believe that negative rights should be recognized as legitimate but positive rights should be rejected.", "Some critics, including Noam Chomsky, reject the distinction between positive and negative rights.", "Chomsky said, \"Anarcho-capitalism, in my opinion, is a doctrinal system which, if ever implemented, would lead to forms of tyranny and oppression that have few counterparts in human history.", "There isn't the slightest possibility that its (in my view, horrendous) ideas would be implemented, because they would quickly destroy any society that made this colossal error.", "The idea of \"free contract\" between the potentate and his starving subject is a sick joke, perhaps worth some moments in an academic seminar exploring the consequences of (in my view, absurd) ideas, but nowhere else\".", "===Economics and property===\nMost anarchists argue that certain capitalist transactions are not voluntary, and that maintaining the class structure of a capitalist society requires coercion, which violates anarchist principles.", "David Graeber noted his skepticism about anarcho-capitalism along the same lines:\n\n\n\nSome critics argue that the anarcho-capitalist concept of voluntary choice ignores constraints due to both human and non-human factors, such as the need for food and shelter, and active restriction of both used and unused resources by those enforcing property claims.", "Thus, if a person requires employment in order to feed and house himself, the employer–employee relationship could be considered involuntary.", "Another criticism is that employment is involuntary because the economic system that makes it necessary for some individuals to serve others is supported by the enforcement of coercive private property relations.", "Some philosophies view any ownership claims on land and natural resources as immoral and illegitimate.", "Some libertarian critics of anarcho-capitalism who support the full privatization of capital, such as geolibertarians, argue that land and the raw materials of nature remain a distinct factor of production and cannot be justly converted to private property because they are not products of human labor.", "Some socialists, including other market anarchists such as mutualists, adamantly oppose absentee ownership.", "Anarcho-capitalists have strong abandonment criteria – one maintains ownership (more or less) until one agrees to trade or gift it.", "Anti-state critics of this view tend to have comparatively weak abandonment criteria; for example, one loses ownership (more or less) when one stops personally occupying and using it.", "Also, the idea of perpetually binding original appropriation is anathema to socialism and traditional schools of anarchism, as well as to any moral or economic philosophy that takes equal natural rights to land and the earth's resources as a premise.", "Anarcho-capitalists counter that property is not only natural, but unavoidable, citing the Soviet Union as an inevitable result of its prohibition and collectivization, which they claim eliminates the incentives and accountability of ownership and blackens markets.", "Kosanke further challenges what he perceives as egalitarian dogma by attempting to demonstratrate that all costs of living are naturally determined, subject to a variety of factors, and can not be politically manipulated without net negative consequences.", "\n===Nonfiction===\nThe following is a partial list of notable nonfiction works discussing anarcho-capitalism.", "* Murray Rothbard founder of anarcho-capitalism:\n** ''Man, Economy, and State'' Austrian micro– and macroeconomics,\n** ''Power and Market'' Classification of State economic interventions,\n** ''The Ethics of Liberty'' Moral justification of a free society\n** ''For a New Liberty'' An outline of how an anarcho-capitalist society could work\n* David D. Friedman, ''The Machinery of Freedom'' Classic consequentialist defense of anarchism\n* Michael Huemer, ''The Problem of Political Authority'', a lengthy defense of philosophical and political anarchism (with the latter version being of the anarcho-capitalistic variety) drawing on a mix of natural rights and consequentialist arguments\n* Linda and Morris Tannehill, ''The Market for Liberty'' Classic on Private defense agencies\n* Hans-Hermann Hoppe, '' Anarcho-Capitalism: An Annotated Bibliography''\n** ''The Economics and Ethics of Private Property''\n** ''A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism''\n** ''Democracy: The God That Failed''\n* Frédéric Bastiat, ''The Law'' Radical classical liberalism.", "Precursor to anarcho-capitalism.", "* Bruce L. Benson: ''The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without The State''\n** ''To Serve and Protect: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice''\n* James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg, ''The Sovereign Individual'' Historians look at technology and its implications\n* Auberon Herbert, '' The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State''\n* Albert Jay Nock, ''Our Enemy, the State'' Oppenheimer's thesis applied to early US history\n* Herbert Spencer, ''Social Statics'' Includes the essay \"The Right to Ignore the State\".", "Spencer was not an anarcho-capitalist, however many of his ideas, including the Law of Equal Freedom, were precursors to modern anarcho-capitalism.", "* George H. Smith, \" Justice Entrepreneurship in a Free Market\" Examines the Epistemic and entrepreneurial role of Justice agencies.", "* Edward P. Stringham, '' Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice'' 700 page book presenting the major arguments historical studies about anarcho capitalism.", "===Fiction===\nAnarcho-capitalism has been examined in certain works of literature, particularly science fiction.", "An early example is Robert A. Heinlein's 1966 novel ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'', in which he explores what he terms \"rational anarchism\".", "Cyberpunk and postcyberpunk authors have been particularly fascinated by the idea of the breakdown of the nation-state.", "Several stories of Vernor Vinge, including ''Marooned in Realtime'' and ''Conquest by Default'', feature anarcho-capitalist societies, sometimes portrayed in a favorable light, and sometimes not.", "Neal Stephenson's ''Snow Crash'' and ''The Diamond Age'', Max Barry's ''Jennifer Government'' and L. Neil Smith's ''The Probability Broach'' all explore anarcho-capitalist ideas.", "The cyberpunk portrayal of anarchy varies from the downright grim to the cheerfully optimistic, and it need not imply anything specific about the writer's political views.", "Neal Stephenson, in particular, refrains from sweeping political statements when deliberately provoked.", "In Matt Stone's (Richard D. Fuerle) novelette ''On the Steppes of Central Asia'' an American grad student is invited to work for a newspaper in Mongolia, and discovers that the Mongolian society is indeed stateless in a semi-anarcho-capitalist way.", "The novelette was originally written to advertise Fuerle's 1986 economics treatise ''The Pure Logic of Choice''.", "''Sharper Security: A Sovereign Security Company Novel'', part of a series by Thomas Sewell, is \"set a couple of decades into the near-future with a liberty view of society based on individual choice and free market economics\" and features a society where individuals hire a security company to protect and insure them from crime.", "The security companies are sovereign, but customers are free to switch between them.", "They behave as a combination of insurance/underwriting and para-military police forces.", "Anarcho-capitalist themes abound, including an exploration of not honoring sovereign immunity, privately owned road systems, a laissez faire market and competing currencies.", "Sandy Sandfort's, Scott Bieser's and Lee Oaks's Webcomic ''Escape from Terra'', examines a market anarchy based on Ceres\nand its interaction with the aggressive statist society on Terra.", "\n* Brown, Susan Love, '' The Free Market as Salvation from Government: The Anarcho-Capitalist View'', ''Meanings of the Market: The * Free Market in Western Culture'', edited by James G. Carrier, Berg/Oxford, 1997, p. 99\n* '' Anarchism/Minarchism: Is a Government Part of a Free Country?''", "Ed., Roderick T. Long & Tibor R. Machan.", "Ashgate\n* '' Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice'', Edward Stringham.", "Transaction Publishers, 2007.", "* Sylvan, Richard. ''", "Anarchism.", "A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy'', editors Goodin, Robert E. and Pettit, Philip.", "Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p. 231\n* DeLeon, David.", "''The American as Anarchist: Reflections of Indigenous Radicalism'', Chapter: The Beginning of Another Cycle, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, pp.", "117 & 123", "\n* \n* Ludwig von Mises Institute – a research and educational center of classical liberalism; including anarcho-capitalism, libertarian political theory, and the Austrian School of economics.", "* Freedomain Radio.", "Hosted by Stefan Molyneux, discusses anarcho-capitalism topics\n* Anarcho-capitalist FAQ.", "* Anti-state.com, the \"online center for market anarchism,\" has an active forum and archive of theoretical and practical articles from notable anarcho-capitalists\n* The Libertarian Standard – a website of Austrian and Rothbardian-influenced libertarians\n* LewRockwell.com, run by Lew Rockwell\n* Property and Freedom Society – an International anarcho-capitalist society\n* Strike The Root – an anarcho-capitalist website featuring essays, news, and a forum.", "* Center for a Stateless Society – anarchist think-tank and media center focused on market anarchism" ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''Austrian School''' is a school of economic thought that is based on methodological individualism – the concept that social phenomena result from the motivations and actions of individuals. It originated in late-19th and early-20th century Vienna with the work of Carl Menger, Eugen Böhm von Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, and others. It was methodologically opposed to the Prussian Historical School (in a dispute known as Methodenstreit). Current-day economists working in this tradition are located in many different countries, but their work is still referred to as '''Austrian economics'''.\n\nAmong the theoretical contributions of the early years of the Austrian School are the subjective theory of value, marginalism in price theory, and the formulation of the economic calculation problem, each of which has become an accepted part of mainstream economics.\n\nSince the mid-20th century, many economists have been critical of the modern day Austrian School and consider its rejection of econometrics and aggregate macroeconomic analysis to be outside of mainstream economic theory, or \"heterodox\". Austrians are likewise critical of mainstream economics. Although the Austrian School has been considered heterodox since the late 1930s, it attracted renewed interest in the 1970s, after Friedrich Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.\n", "Jean-Baptiste Say\n\n=== Etymology ===\nThe Austrian School owes its name to members of the German historical school of economics, who argued against the Austrians during the late-19th century ''Methodenstreit'' (\"methodology struggle\"), in which the Austrians defended the role of theory in economics as distinct from the study or compilation of historical circumstance. In 1883, Menger published ''Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics'', which attacked the methods of the Historical school. Gustav von Schmoller, a leader of the Historical school, responded with an unfavorable review, coining the term \"Austrian School\" in an attempt to characterize the school as outcast and provincial. The label endured and was adopted by the adherents themselves.\n\n===First Wave===\nCarl Menger\nThe school originated in Vienna, in the Austrian Empire. Carl Menger's 1871 book, ''Principles of Economics'', is generally considered the founding of the Austrian School. The book was one of the first modern treatises to advance the theory of marginal utility. The Austrian School was one of three founding currents of the marginalist revolution of the 1870s, with its major contribution being the introduction of the subjectivist approach in economics. While marginalism was generally influential, there was also a more specific school that began to coalesce around Menger's work, which came to be known as the “Psychological School,” “Vienna School,” or “Austrian School.”\n\nMenger's contributions to economic theory were closely followed by those of Eugen Böhm von Bawerk and Friedrich von Wieser. These three economists became what is known as the \"first wave\" of the Austrian School. Böhm-Bawerk wrote extensive critiques of Karl Marx in the 1880s and 1890s, as was part of the Austrians' participation in the late 19th-century ''Methodenstreit'', during which they attacked the Hegelian doctrines of the Historical School.\n\n===Early twentieth century===\nFrank Albert Fetter (1863-1949) was a leader in the United States of Austrian thought; he obtained his PhD in 1894 from the University of Halle and then was made Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Cornell in 1901. Several important Austrian economists trained at the University of Vienna in the 1920s and later participated in private seminars held by Ludwig von Mises. These included Gottfried Haberler, Friedrich Hayek, Fritz Machlup, Karl Menger (son of Carl Menger), Oskar Morgenstern, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan Abraham Wald, among others.\n\n===Later twentieth century===\nIsrael Kirzner\n\nBy the mid-1930s, most economists had embraced what they considered the important contributions of the early Austrians. Fritz Machlup quoted Hayek's statement, \"the greatest success of a school is that it stops existing because its fundamental teachings have become parts of the general body of commonly accepted thought.\" Sometime during the middle of the twentieth century, Austrian economics became disregarded or derided by mainstream economists because it rejected model building, and mathematical and statistical methods in the study of economics. Mises' student, Israel Kirzner recalled that in 1954, when Kirzner was pursuing his PhD, there was no separate Austrian School as such. When Kirzner was deciding which graduate school to attend, Mises had advised him to accept an offer of admission at Johns Hopkins because it was a prestigious university and Fritz Machlup taught there.\n\nAfter the 1940s, Austrian economics can be divided into two schools of economic thought, and the school \"split\" to some degree in the late 20th century. One camp of Austrians, exemplified by Mises, regards neoclassical methodology to be irredeemably flawed; the other camp, exemplified by Friedrich Hayek, accepts a large part of neoclassical methodology and is more accepting of government intervention in the economy. Henry Hazlitt wrote economics columns and editorials for a number of publications and wrote many books on the topic of Austrian economics from the 1930s to the 1980s. Hazlitt's thinking was influenced by Mises. His book ''Economics in One Lesson'' (1946) sold over a million copies, and he is also known for ''The Failure of the \"New Economics\"'' (1959), a line-by-line critique of John Maynard Keynes's ''General Theory''.\n\nThe reputation of the Austrian School rose in the late-20th century due in part to the work of Israel Kirzner and Ludwig Lachmann at New York University, and to renewed public awareness of the work of Hayek after he won the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Hayek's work was influential in the revival of ''laissez-faire'' thought in the 20th century.\n\n===Split among contemporary Austrians===\nAccording to economist Bryan Caplan, by the late twentieth century, a split had developed among those who self-identify with the Austrian School. One group, building on the work of Hayek, follows the broad framework of mainstream neoclassical economics, including its use of mathematical models and general equilibrium, and brings a critical perspective to mainstream methodology merely influenced by the Austrian notions such as the economic calculation problem and the independent role of logical reasoning in developing economic theory.\n\nMurray Rothbard\nA second group, following Mises and Rothbard, rejects the neoclassical theories of consumer and welfare economics, dismisses empirical methods and mathematical and statistical models as inapplicable to economic science, and asserts that economic theory went entirely astray in the twentieth century; they offer the Misesian view as a radical alternative paradigm to mainstream theory. Caplan wrote that if \"Mises and Rothbard are right, then mainstream economics is wrong; but if Hayek is right, then mainstream economics merely needs to adjust its focus.\"\n\nEconomist Leland Yeager discussed the late twentieth century rift and referred to a discussion written by Murray Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Joseph Salerno, and others in which they attack and disparage Hayek. Yeager stated, \"To try to drive a wedge between Mises and Hayek on the role of knowledge in economic calculation, especially to the disparagement of Hayek, is unfair to these two great men, unfaithful to the history of economic thought\" and went on to call the rift subversive to economic analysis and the historical understanding of the fall of Eastern European communism.\n\nIn a 1999 book published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute (Mises Institute), Hans-Hermann Hoppe asserted that Murray Rothbard was the leader of the \"mainstream within Austrian Economics\" and contrasted Rothbard with Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek, whom he identified as a British empiricist and an opponent of the thought of Mises and Rothbard. Hoppe acknowledged that Hayek was the most prominent Austrian economist within academia, but stated that Hayek was an opponent of the Austrian tradition which led from Carl Menger and Böhm-Bawerk through Mises to Rothbard. Austrian economist Walter Block says that the \"Austrian school\" can be distinguished from other schools of economic thought through two categories – economic theory and political theory. According to Block, while Hayek can be considered an \"Austrian economist\", his views on political theory clash with the libertarian political theory which Block sees as an integral part of the Austrian school.\n\nHowever, both criticisms from Hoppe and Block to Hayek seem to apply to the founder of the Austrian School, Carl Menger, too. Hoppe emphasizes that Hayek, which for him is from the English empirical tradition, is an opponent of the supposed rationalist tradition of the Austrian School. However, Carl Menger made strong critiques to rationalism in his works, in similar vein as Hayek's. He emphasized the idea that there are several institutions which were not deliberately created, have a kind of 'superior wisdom' and serves important functions to society. He also talked about Burke and the English tradition to sustain these positions.\n\nBlock, when saying that the libertarian political theory is an integral part of the Austrian School, and supposing Hayek isn't a libertarian, excludes Menger from the Austrian School too, once Menger seems to defend broader state activity than Hayek. As examples, progressive taxation and extensive labour legislation.\n\nEconomists of the Hayekian view are affiliated with the Cato Institute, George Mason University (GMU), and New York University, among other institutions. They include Peter Boettke, Roger Garrison, Steven Horwitz, Peter Leeson and George Reisman. Economists of the Mises–Rothbard view include Walter Block, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jesús Huerta de Soto and Robert P. Murphy, each of whom is associated with the Mises Institute and some of them also with academic institutions. According to Murphy, a \"truce between (for lack of better terms) the GMU Austro-libertarians and the Auburn Austro-libertarians\" was signed around 2011.\n", "\n\nThe Austrian School theorizes that the subjective choices of individuals including individual knowledge, time, expectation, and other subjective factors, cause all economic phenomena. Austrians seek to understand the economy by examining the social ramifications of individual choice, an approach called ''methodological individualism''. It differs from other schools of economic thought, which have focused on aggregate variables, equilibrium analysis, and societal groups rather than individuals.\n\nLudwig von Mises\nIn the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, economists with a methodological lineage to the early Austrian School developed many diverse approaches and theoretical orientations. For example, in 1949, Ludwig von Mises organized his version of the subjectivist approach, which he called \"praxeology\", in a book published in English as ''Human Action''. In it, Mises stated that praxeology could be used to deduce ''a priori'' theoretical economic truths and that deductive economic thought experiments could yield conclusions which follow irrefutably from the underlying assumptions. He wrote that conclusions could not be inferred from empirical observation or statistical analysis and argued against the use of probabilities in economic models.\n\nSince Mises' time, some Austrian thinkers have accepted his praxeological approach, while others have adopted alternative methodologies. For example, Fritz Machlup, Friedrich Hayek, and others, did not take Mises' strong ''a priori'' approach to economics. Ludwig Lachmann, a radical subjectivist, also largely rejected Mises' formulation of Praxeology in favor of the ''verstehende Methode'' (interpretive method) articulated by Max Weber.\n\nIn the 20th century, various Austrians incorporated models and mathematics into their analysis. Austrian economist Steven Horwitz argued in 2000, that Austrian methodology is consistent with macroeconomics and that Austrian macroeconomics can be expressed in terms of microeconomic foundations. Austrian economist Roger Garrison writes that Austrian macroeconomic theory can be correctly expressed in terms of diagrammatic models. In 1944, Austrian economist Oskar Morgenstern presented a rigorous schematization of an ordinal utility function (the Von Neumann–Morgenstern utility theorem) in Theory of Games and Economic Behavior.\n", "In 1981, Fritz Machlup listed the typical views of Austrian economic thinking as:\n* Methodological Individualism: In the explanation of economic phenomena, we have to go back to the actions (or inaction) of individuals; groups or \"collectives\" cannot act except through the actions of individual members.\n* Methodological Subjectivism: In the explanation of economic phenomena, we have to go back to judgments and choices made by individuals on the basis of whatever knowledge they have or believe to have and whatever expectations they entertain regarding external developments and especially the perceived consequences of their own intended actions.\n* Tastes and Preferences: Subjective valuations of goods and services determine the demand for them so that their prices are influenced by (actual and potential) consumers.\n* Opportunity Costs: The costs with which producers and other economic actors calculate reflect the alternative opportunities that must be foregone; as productive services are employed for one purpose, all alternative uses have to be sacrificed.\n* Marginalism: In all economic designs, the values, costs, revenues, productivity, etc., are determined by the significance of the last unit added to or subtracted from the total.\n* Time Structure of Production and Consumption: Decisions to save reflect \"time preferences\" regarding consumption in the immediate, distant, or indefinite future, and investments are made in view of larger outputs expected to be obtained if more time-taking production processes are undertaken.\n\nHe included two additional tenets held by the Mises branch of Austrian economics:\n* Consumer Sovereignty: The influence consumers have on the effective demand for goods and services and, through the prices which result in free competitive markets, on the production plans of producers and investors, is not merely a hard fact but also an important objective, attainable only by complete avoidance of governmental interference with the markets and of restrictions on the freedom of sellers and buyers to follow their own judgment regarding quantities, qualities, and prices of products and services.\n* Political Individualism: Only when individuals are given full economic freedom will it be possible to secure political and moral freedom. Restrictions on economic freedom lead, sooner or later, to an extension of the coercive activities of the state into the political domain, undermining and eventually destroying the essential individual liberties which the capitalistic societies were able to attain in the nineteenth century.\n", "\n===Opportunity cost===\n\nFriedrich von Wieser\nThe opportunity cost doctrine was first explicitly formulated by the Austrian economist Friedrich von Wieser in the late 19th century. Opportunity cost is the cost of any activity measured in terms of the value of the next best alternative foregone (that is not chosen). It is the sacrifice related to the second best choice available to someone, or group, who has picked among several mutually exclusive choices.\n\nOpportunity cost is a key concept in mainstream economics, and has been described as expressing \"the basic relationship between scarcity and choice\". The notion of opportunity cost plays a crucial part in ensuring that resources are used efficiently.\n\n===Capital and interest===\n\nEugen Böhm von Bawerk\nThe Austrian theory of capital and interest was first developed by Eugen Böhm von Bawerk. He stated that interest rates and profits are determined by two factors, namely, supply and demand in the market for final goods and time preference.\n\nBöhm-Bawerk's theory equates capital intensity with the degree of roundaboutness of production processes. Böhm-Bawerk also argued that the law of marginal utility necessarily implies the classical law of costs. Some Austrian economists therefore entirely reject the notion that interest rates are affected by liquidity preference.\n\n===Inflation===\n\nIn Mises's definition, inflation is an increase in the supply of money:\n\nIn theoretical investigation there is only one meaning that can rationally be attached to the expression Inflation: an increase in the quantity of money (in the broader sense of the term, so as to include fiduciary media as well), that is not offset by a corresponding increase in the need for money (again in the broader sense of the term), so that a fall in the objective exchange-value of money must occur.\n\nHayek pointed out that inflationary stimulation exploits the lag between an increase in money supply and the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services:\n\nAnd since any inflation, however modest at first, can help employment only so long as it accelerates, adopted as a means of reducing unemployment, it will do so for any length of time only while it accelerates. \"Mild\" steady inflation cannot help—it can lead only to outright inflation. That inflation at a constant rate soon ceases to have any stimulating effect, and in the end merely leaves us with a backlog of delayed adaptations, is the conclusive argument against the \"mild\" inflation represented as beneficial even in standard economics textbooks.\n\n\n===Economic calculation problem===\n\n\nFriedrich Hayek\nThe economic calculation problem refers to a criticism of socialism which was first stated by Max Weber in 1920. Mises subsequently discussed Weber's idea with his student Friedrich Hayek, who developed it in various works including ''The Road to Serfdom''. The problem concerns the means by which resources are allocated and distributed in an economy.\n\nAustrian theory emphasizes the organizing power of markets. Hayek stated that market prices reflect information, the totality of which is not known to any single individual, which determines the allocation of resources in an economy. Because socialist systems lack the individual incentives and price discovery processes by which individuals act on their personal information, Hayek argued that socialist economic planners lack all of the knowledge required to make optimal decisions. Those who agree with this criticism view it as a refutation of socialism showing that socialism is not a viable or sustainable form of economic organization. The debate rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s, and that specific period of the debate has come to be known by historians of economic thought as ''The Socialist Calculation Debate.''\n\nMises argued in a 1920 essay \"Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth\" that the pricing systems in socialist economies were necessarily deficient because if government owned the means of production, then no prices could be obtained for capital goods as they were merely internal transfers of goods in a socialist system and not \"objects of exchange,\" unlike final goods. Therefore, they were unpriced and hence the system would be necessarily inefficient since the central planners would not know how to allocate the available resources efficiently. This led him to write \"that rational economic activity is impossible in a socialist commonwealth.\"\n\n===Business cycles===\n\n\nThe Austrian theory of the business cycle (\"ABCT\") focuses on banks' issuance of credit as the cause of economic fluctuations. Although later elaborated by Hayek and others, the theory was first set forth by Mises, who believed that banks extend credit at artificially low interest rates, causing businesses to invest in relatively roundabout production processes. Mises stated that this led to a misallocation of resources which he called ''malinvestment''.\n\n====Role of government disputed====\nAccording to Ludwig von Mises, central banks enable the commercial banks to fund loans at artificially low interest rates, thereby inducing an unsustainable expansion of bank credit and impeding any subsequent contraction. Friedrich Hayek disagreed. Prior to the 1970s, Hayek did not favor laissez-faire in banking and said that a freely competitive banking industry tends to be endogenously destabilizing and pro-cyclical, mimicking the effects which Rothbard attributed to central bank policy. Hayek stated that the need for central banking control was inescapable.\n", "Many theories developed by \"first wave\" Austrian economists have long been absorbed into mainstream economics. These include Carl Menger's theories on marginal utility, Friedrich von Wieser's theories on opportunity cost, and Eugen Böhm von Bawerk's theories on time preference, as well as Menger and Böhm-Bawerk's criticisms of Marxian economics.\n\nFormer U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the founders of the Austrian School \"reached far into the future from when most of them practiced and have had a profound and, in my judgment, probably an irreversible effect on how most mainstream economists think in this country.\" In 1987, Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan told an interviewer, \"I have no objections to being called an Austrian. Hayek and Mises might consider me an Austrian but, surely some of the others would not.\" Chinese economist Zhang Weiying supports some Austrian theories such as the Austrian theory of the business cycle.\n\nCurrently, universities with a significant Austrian presence are George Mason University, New York University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Auburn University in the United States, King Juan Carlos University in Spain and Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. Austrian economic ideas are also promoted by privately funded organizations such as the Mises Institute, and the Cato Institute.\n", "\n===General criticisms===\nMainstream economists have argued that Austrians are excessively averse to the use of mathematics and statistics in economics.\n\nEconomist Bryan Caplan argues that many Austrians have not understood valid contributions of modern mainstream economics, causing them to overstate their differences with it. For example, Murray Rothbard stated that he objected to the use of cardinal utility in microeconomic theory. Caplan says that Rothbard did not understand the position he was attacking, because microeconomic theorists go to great pains to show that their results hold for any monotonic transformation of an ordinal utility function, and do not entail cardinal utility.\n\nEconomist Paul Krugman has stated that because Austrians do not use \"explicit models\" they are unaware of holes in their own thinking.\n\nEconomist Benjamin Klein has criticized the economic methodological work of Austrian economist Israel M. Kirzner. While praising Kirzner for highlighting shortcomings in traditional methodology, Klein argued that Kirzner did not provide a viable alternative for economic methodology. Economist Tyler Cowen has written that Kirzner's theory of entrepreneurship can ultimately be reduced to a neoclassical search model and is thus not in the radical subjectivist tradition of Austrian praxeology. Cowen states that Kirzner's entrepreneurs can be modeled in mainstream terms of search.\n\nEconomist Jeffrey Sachs argues that among developed countries, those with high rates of taxation and high social welfare spending perform better on most measures of economic performance compared to countries with low rates of taxation and low social outlays. He concludes that Friedrich Hayek was wrong to argue that high levels of government spending harms an economy, and \"a generous social-welfare state is not a road to serfdom but rather to fairness, economic equality and international competitiveness.\" Austrian economist Sudha Shenoy responded by arguing that countries with large public sectors have grown more slowly.\n\nEconomist Bryan Caplan has noted that Mises has been criticized for overstating the strength of his case in describing socialism as ''impossible'' rather than as something that would need to establish non-market institutions to deal with the inefficiency.\n\n===Methodology===\nCritics generally argue that Austrian economics lacks scientific rigor and rejects scientific methods and the use of empirical data in modelling economic behavior. Some economists describe Austrian methodology as being ''a priori'' or non-empirical.\n\nEconomist Mark Blaug has criticized over-reliance on methodological individualism, arguing it would rule out all macroeconomic propositions that cannot be reduced to microeconomic ones, and hence reject almost the whole of received macroeconomics.\n\nEconomist Thomas Mayer has stated that Austrians advocate a rejection of the scientific method which involves the development of empirically falsifiable theories. Furthermore, many supporters of using models of market behavior to analyze and test economic theory argue that economists have developed numerous experiments that elicit useful information about individual preferences.\n\nAlthough economist Leland Yeager is sympathetic to Austrian economics, he rejects many favorite views of the Misesian group of Austrians, in particular, \"the specifics of their business-cycle theory, ultra-subjectivism in value theory and particularly in interest-rate theory, their insistence on unidirectional causality rather than general interdependence, and their fondness for methodological brooding, pointless profundities, and verbal gymnastics.\"\n\nEconomist Paul A. Samuelson wrote in 1964 that most economists believe that economic conclusions reached by pure logical deduction are limited and weak. According to Samuelson and economist Bryan Caplan, Mises' deductive methodology also embraced by Murray Rothbard and to a lesser extent by Mises' student, Israel Kirzner was not sufficient in and of itself. Bryan Caplan wrote that the Austrian challenge to the realism of neoclassical assumptions helped work towards making those assumptions more plausible.\n\n===Business cycle theory===\nMainstream economic research regarding Austrian business cycle theory finds that it is inconsistent with empirical evidence. Economists such as Gordon Tullock, Milton Friedman, and Paul Krugman have said that they regard the theory as incorrect. Austrian economist Ludwig Lachmann noted that the Austrian theory was rejected during the 1930s:\nThe promise of an Austrian theory of the trade cycle, which might also serve to explain the severity of the Great Depression, a feature of the early 1930s that provided the background for Hayek’s successful appearance on the London scene, soon proved deceptive. Three giants – Keynes, Knight and Sraffa – turned against the hapless Austrians who, in the middle of that black decade, thus had to do battle on three fronts. Naturally it proved a task beyond their strength.\n\n====Theoretical objections====\nSome economists argue that Austrian business cycle theory requires bankers and investors to exhibit a kind of irrationality, because the Austrian theory posits that investors will be fooled repeatedly (by temporarily low interest rates) into making unprofitable investment decisions. Bryan Caplan writes: \"Why does Rothbard think businessmen are so incompetent at forecasting government policy? He credits them with entrepreneurial foresight about all market-generated conditions, but curiously finds them unable to forecast government policy, or even to avoid falling prey to simple accounting illusions generated by inflation and deflation.\n\nMilton Friedman objected to the policy implications of the theory, stating the following in a 1998 interview:\n\nI think the Austrian business-cycle theory has done the world a great deal of harm. If you go back to the 1930s, which is a key point, here you had the Austrians sitting in London, Hayek and Lionel Robbins, and saying you just have to let the bottom drop out of the world. You’ve just got to let it cure itself. You can’t do anything about it. You will only make it worse. You have Rothbard saying it was a great mistake not to let the whole banking system collapse. I think by encouraging that kind of do-nothing policy both in Britain and in the United States, they did harm.\n\n====Empirical objections====\nIn 1969, Milton Friedman, after examining the history of business cycles in the U.S., concluded that \"The Hayek-Mises explanation of the business cycle is contradicted by the evidence. It is, I believe, false.\" He analyzed the issue using newer data in 1993, and again reached the same conclusion. Referring to Friedman's discussion of the business cycle, Austrian economist Roger Garrison argued that Friedman's empirical findings are \"broadly consistent with both Monetarist and Austrian views\", and goes on to argue that although Friedman's model \"describes the economy's performance at the highest level of aggregation; Austrian theory offers an insightful account of the market process that might underlie those aggregates.\"\n", "\n* List of Austrian School economists\n* List of Austrian intellectual traditions\n* Perspectives on capitalism\n* ''Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics''\n* New Institutional Economics\n* School of Salamanca\n", "\n", "*\n*Harald Hagemann, Tamotsu Nishizawa, and Yukihiro Ikeda, eds. ''Austrian Economics in Transition: From Carl Menger to Friedrich Hayek'' (Palgrave Macmillan; 2010) 339 pp.\n*\n*Stephen Littlechild, ed. (1990). ''Austrian economics'', 3 v. Edward Elgar. Description and scroll to chapter preview links for v. 1.\n*\n", "\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Methodology", "Fundamental tenets", "Contributions to economic thought", "Influence", "Criticisms", "See also", "References and notes", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "====Role of government disputed====\nAccording to Ludwig von Mises, central banks enable the commercial banks to fund loans at artificially low interest rates, thereby inducing an unsustainable expansion of bank credit and impeding any subsequent contraction.", "Prior to the 1970s, Hayek did not favor laissez-faire in banking and said that a freely competitive banking industry tends to be endogenously destabilizing and pro-cyclical, mimicking the effects which Rothbard attributed to central bank policy." ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''Austrian School''' is a school of economic thought that is based on methodological individualism – the concept that social phenomena result from the motivations and actions of individuals.", "It originated in late-19th and early-20th century Vienna with the work of Carl Menger, Eugen Böhm von Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, and others.", "It was methodologically opposed to the Prussian Historical School (in a dispute known as Methodenstreit).", "Current-day economists working in this tradition are located in many different countries, but their work is still referred to as '''Austrian economics'''.", "Among the theoretical contributions of the early years of the Austrian School are the subjective theory of value, marginalism in price theory, and the formulation of the economic calculation problem, each of which has become an accepted part of mainstream economics.", "Since the mid-20th century, many economists have been critical of the modern day Austrian School and consider its rejection of econometrics and aggregate macroeconomic analysis to be outside of mainstream economic theory, or \"heterodox\".", "Austrians are likewise critical of mainstream economics.", "Although the Austrian School has been considered heterodox since the late 1930s, it attracted renewed interest in the 1970s, after Friedrich Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.", "Jean-Baptiste Say\n\n=== Etymology ===\nThe Austrian School owes its name to members of the German historical school of economics, who argued against the Austrians during the late-19th century ''Methodenstreit'' (\"methodology struggle\"), in which the Austrians defended the role of theory in economics as distinct from the study or compilation of historical circumstance.", "In 1883, Menger published ''Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics'', which attacked the methods of the Historical school.", "Gustav von Schmoller, a leader of the Historical school, responded with an unfavorable review, coining the term \"Austrian School\" in an attempt to characterize the school as outcast and provincial.", "The label endured and was adopted by the adherents themselves.", "===First Wave===\nCarl Menger\nThe school originated in Vienna, in the Austrian Empire.", "Carl Menger's 1871 book, ''Principles of Economics'', is generally considered the founding of the Austrian School.", "The book was one of the first modern treatises to advance the theory of marginal utility.", "The Austrian School was one of three founding currents of the marginalist revolution of the 1870s, with its major contribution being the introduction of the subjectivist approach in economics.", "While marginalism was generally influential, there was also a more specific school that began to coalesce around Menger's work, which came to be known as the “Psychological School,” “Vienna School,” or “Austrian School.”\n\nMenger's contributions to economic theory were closely followed by those of Eugen Böhm von Bawerk and Friedrich von Wieser.", "These three economists became what is known as the \"first wave\" of the Austrian School.", "Böhm-Bawerk wrote extensive critiques of Karl Marx in the 1880s and 1890s, as was part of the Austrians' participation in the late 19th-century ''Methodenstreit'', during which they attacked the Hegelian doctrines of the Historical School.", "===Early twentieth century===\nFrank Albert Fetter (1863-1949) was a leader in the United States of Austrian thought; he obtained his PhD in 1894 from the University of Halle and then was made Professor of Political Economy and Finance at Cornell in 1901.", "Several important Austrian economists trained at the University of Vienna in the 1920s and later participated in private seminars held by Ludwig von Mises.", "These included Gottfried Haberler, Friedrich Hayek, Fritz Machlup, Karl Menger (son of Carl Menger), Oskar Morgenstern, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan Abraham Wald, among others.", "===Later twentieth century===\nIsrael Kirzner\n\nBy the mid-1930s, most economists had embraced what they considered the important contributions of the early Austrians.", "Fritz Machlup quoted Hayek's statement, \"the greatest success of a school is that it stops existing because its fundamental teachings have become parts of the general body of commonly accepted thought.\"", "Sometime during the middle of the twentieth century, Austrian economics became disregarded or derided by mainstream economists because it rejected model building, and mathematical and statistical methods in the study of economics.", "Mises' student, Israel Kirzner recalled that in 1954, when Kirzner was pursuing his PhD, there was no separate Austrian School as such.", "When Kirzner was deciding which graduate school to attend, Mises had advised him to accept an offer of admission at Johns Hopkins because it was a prestigious university and Fritz Machlup taught there.", "After the 1940s, Austrian economics can be divided into two schools of economic thought, and the school \"split\" to some degree in the late 20th century.", "One camp of Austrians, exemplified by Mises, regards neoclassical methodology to be irredeemably flawed; the other camp, exemplified by Friedrich Hayek, accepts a large part of neoclassical methodology and is more accepting of government intervention in the economy.", "Henry Hazlitt wrote economics columns and editorials for a number of publications and wrote many books on the topic of Austrian economics from the 1930s to the 1980s.", "Hazlitt's thinking was influenced by Mises.", "His book ''Economics in One Lesson'' (1946) sold over a million copies, and he is also known for ''The Failure of the \"New Economics\"'' (1959), a line-by-line critique of John Maynard Keynes's ''General Theory''.", "The reputation of the Austrian School rose in the late-20th century due in part to the work of Israel Kirzner and Ludwig Lachmann at New York University, and to renewed public awareness of the work of Hayek after he won the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.", "Hayek's work was influential in the revival of ''laissez-faire'' thought in the 20th century.", "===Split among contemporary Austrians===\nAccording to economist Bryan Caplan, by the late twentieth century, a split had developed among those who self-identify with the Austrian School.", "One group, building on the work of Hayek, follows the broad framework of mainstream neoclassical economics, including its use of mathematical models and general equilibrium, and brings a critical perspective to mainstream methodology merely influenced by the Austrian notions such as the economic calculation problem and the independent role of logical reasoning in developing economic theory.", "Murray Rothbard\nA second group, following Mises and Rothbard, rejects the neoclassical theories of consumer and welfare economics, dismisses empirical methods and mathematical and statistical models as inapplicable to economic science, and asserts that economic theory went entirely astray in the twentieth century; they offer the Misesian view as a radical alternative paradigm to mainstream theory.", "Caplan wrote that if \"Mises and Rothbard are right, then mainstream economics is wrong; but if Hayek is right, then mainstream economics merely needs to adjust its focus.\"", "Economist Leland Yeager discussed the late twentieth century rift and referred to a discussion written by Murray Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Joseph Salerno, and others in which they attack and disparage Hayek.", "Yeager stated, \"To try to drive a wedge between Mises and Hayek on the role of knowledge in economic calculation, especially to the disparagement of Hayek, is unfair to these two great men, unfaithful to the history of economic thought\" and went on to call the rift subversive to economic analysis and the historical understanding of the fall of Eastern European communism.", "In a 1999 book published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute (Mises Institute), Hans-Hermann Hoppe asserted that Murray Rothbard was the leader of the \"mainstream within Austrian Economics\" and contrasted Rothbard with Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek, whom he identified as a British empiricist and an opponent of the thought of Mises and Rothbard.", "Hoppe acknowledged that Hayek was the most prominent Austrian economist within academia, but stated that Hayek was an opponent of the Austrian tradition which led from Carl Menger and Böhm-Bawerk through Mises to Rothbard.", "Austrian economist Walter Block says that the \"Austrian school\" can be distinguished from other schools of economic thought through two categories – economic theory and political theory.", "According to Block, while Hayek can be considered an \"Austrian economist\", his views on political theory clash with the libertarian political theory which Block sees as an integral part of the Austrian school.", "However, both criticisms from Hoppe and Block to Hayek seem to apply to the founder of the Austrian School, Carl Menger, too.", "Hoppe emphasizes that Hayek, which for him is from the English empirical tradition, is an opponent of the supposed rationalist tradition of the Austrian School.", "However, Carl Menger made strong critiques to rationalism in his works, in similar vein as Hayek's.", "He emphasized the idea that there are several institutions which were not deliberately created, have a kind of 'superior wisdom' and serves important functions to society.", "He also talked about Burke and the English tradition to sustain these positions.", "Block, when saying that the libertarian political theory is an integral part of the Austrian School, and supposing Hayek isn't a libertarian, excludes Menger from the Austrian School too, once Menger seems to defend broader state activity than Hayek.", "As examples, progressive taxation and extensive labour legislation.", "Economists of the Hayekian view are affiliated with the Cato Institute, George Mason University (GMU), and New York University, among other institutions.", "They include Peter Boettke, Roger Garrison, Steven Horwitz, Peter Leeson and George Reisman.", "Economists of the Mises–Rothbard view include Walter Block, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jesús Huerta de Soto and Robert P. Murphy, each of whom is associated with the Mises Institute and some of them also with academic institutions.", "According to Murphy, a \"truce between (for lack of better terms) the GMU Austro-libertarians and the Auburn Austro-libertarians\" was signed around 2011.", "\n\nThe Austrian School theorizes that the subjective choices of individuals including individual knowledge, time, expectation, and other subjective factors, cause all economic phenomena.", "Austrians seek to understand the economy by examining the social ramifications of individual choice, an approach called ''methodological individualism''.", "It differs from other schools of economic thought, which have focused on aggregate variables, equilibrium analysis, and societal groups rather than individuals.", "Ludwig von Mises\nIn the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, economists with a methodological lineage to the early Austrian School developed many diverse approaches and theoretical orientations.", "For example, in 1949, Ludwig von Mises organized his version of the subjectivist approach, which he called \"praxeology\", in a book published in English as ''Human Action''.", "In it, Mises stated that praxeology could be used to deduce ''a priori'' theoretical economic truths and that deductive economic thought experiments could yield conclusions which follow irrefutably from the underlying assumptions.", "He wrote that conclusions could not be inferred from empirical observation or statistical analysis and argued against the use of probabilities in economic models.", "Since Mises' time, some Austrian thinkers have accepted his praxeological approach, while others have adopted alternative methodologies.", "For example, Fritz Machlup, Friedrich Hayek, and others, did not take Mises' strong ''a priori'' approach to economics.", "Ludwig Lachmann, a radical subjectivist, also largely rejected Mises' formulation of Praxeology in favor of the ''verstehende Methode'' (interpretive method) articulated by Max Weber.", "In the 20th century, various Austrians incorporated models and mathematics into their analysis.", "Austrian economist Steven Horwitz argued in 2000, that Austrian methodology is consistent with macroeconomics and that Austrian macroeconomics can be expressed in terms of microeconomic foundations.", "Austrian economist Roger Garrison writes that Austrian macroeconomic theory can be correctly expressed in terms of diagrammatic models.", "In 1944, Austrian economist Oskar Morgenstern presented a rigorous schematization of an ordinal utility function (the Von Neumann–Morgenstern utility theorem) in Theory of Games and Economic Behavior.", "In 1981, Fritz Machlup listed the typical views of Austrian economic thinking as:\n* Methodological Individualism: In the explanation of economic phenomena, we have to go back to the actions (or inaction) of individuals; groups or \"collectives\" cannot act except through the actions of individual members.", "* Methodological Subjectivism: In the explanation of economic phenomena, we have to go back to judgments and choices made by individuals on the basis of whatever knowledge they have or believe to have and whatever expectations they entertain regarding external developments and especially the perceived consequences of their own intended actions.", "* Tastes and Preferences: Subjective valuations of goods and services determine the demand for them so that their prices are influenced by (actual and potential) consumers.", "* Opportunity Costs: The costs with which producers and other economic actors calculate reflect the alternative opportunities that must be foregone; as productive services are employed for one purpose, all alternative uses have to be sacrificed.", "* Marginalism: In all economic designs, the values, costs, revenues, productivity, etc., are determined by the significance of the last unit added to or subtracted from the total.", "* Time Structure of Production and Consumption: Decisions to save reflect \"time preferences\" regarding consumption in the immediate, distant, or indefinite future, and investments are made in view of larger outputs expected to be obtained if more time-taking production processes are undertaken.", "He included two additional tenets held by the Mises branch of Austrian economics:\n* Consumer Sovereignty: The influence consumers have on the effective demand for goods and services and, through the prices which result in free competitive markets, on the production plans of producers and investors, is not merely a hard fact but also an important objective, attainable only by complete avoidance of governmental interference with the markets and of restrictions on the freedom of sellers and buyers to follow their own judgment regarding quantities, qualities, and prices of products and services.", "* Political Individualism: Only when individuals are given full economic freedom will it be possible to secure political and moral freedom.", "Restrictions on economic freedom lead, sooner or later, to an extension of the coercive activities of the state into the political domain, undermining and eventually destroying the essential individual liberties which the capitalistic societies were able to attain in the nineteenth century.", "\n===Opportunity cost===\n\nFriedrich von Wieser\nThe opportunity cost doctrine was first explicitly formulated by the Austrian economist Friedrich von Wieser in the late 19th century.", "Opportunity cost is the cost of any activity measured in terms of the value of the next best alternative foregone (that is not chosen).", "It is the sacrifice related to the second best choice available to someone, or group, who has picked among several mutually exclusive choices.", "Opportunity cost is a key concept in mainstream economics, and has been described as expressing \"the basic relationship between scarcity and choice\".", "The notion of opportunity cost plays a crucial part in ensuring that resources are used efficiently.", "===Capital and interest===\n\nEugen Böhm von Bawerk\nThe Austrian theory of capital and interest was first developed by Eugen Böhm von Bawerk.", "He stated that interest rates and profits are determined by two factors, namely, supply and demand in the market for final goods and time preference.", "Böhm-Bawerk's theory equates capital intensity with the degree of roundaboutness of production processes.", "Böhm-Bawerk also argued that the law of marginal utility necessarily implies the classical law of costs.", "Some Austrian economists therefore entirely reject the notion that interest rates are affected by liquidity preference.", "===Inflation===\n\nIn Mises's definition, inflation is an increase in the supply of money:\n\nIn theoretical investigation there is only one meaning that can rationally be attached to the expression Inflation: an increase in the quantity of money (in the broader sense of the term, so as to include fiduciary media as well), that is not offset by a corresponding increase in the need for money (again in the broader sense of the term), so that a fall in the objective exchange-value of money must occur.", "Hayek pointed out that inflationary stimulation exploits the lag between an increase in money supply and the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services:\n\nAnd since any inflation, however modest at first, can help employment only so long as it accelerates, adopted as a means of reducing unemployment, it will do so for any length of time only while it accelerates.", "\"Mild\" steady inflation cannot help—it can lead only to outright inflation.", "That inflation at a constant rate soon ceases to have any stimulating effect, and in the end merely leaves us with a backlog of delayed adaptations, is the conclusive argument against the \"mild\" inflation represented as beneficial even in standard economics textbooks.", "===Economic calculation problem===\n\n\nFriedrich Hayek\nThe economic calculation problem refers to a criticism of socialism which was first stated by Max Weber in 1920.", "Mises subsequently discussed Weber's idea with his student Friedrich Hayek, who developed it in various works including ''The Road to Serfdom''.", "The problem concerns the means by which resources are allocated and distributed in an economy.", "Austrian theory emphasizes the organizing power of markets.", "Hayek stated that market prices reflect information, the totality of which is not known to any single individual, which determines the allocation of resources in an economy.", "Because socialist systems lack the individual incentives and price discovery processes by which individuals act on their personal information, Hayek argued that socialist economic planners lack all of the knowledge required to make optimal decisions.", "Those who agree with this criticism view it as a refutation of socialism showing that socialism is not a viable or sustainable form of economic organization.", "The debate rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s, and that specific period of the debate has come to be known by historians of economic thought as ''The Socialist Calculation Debate.''", "Mises argued in a 1920 essay \"Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth\" that the pricing systems in socialist economies were necessarily deficient because if government owned the means of production, then no prices could be obtained for capital goods as they were merely internal transfers of goods in a socialist system and not \"objects of exchange,\" unlike final goods.", "Therefore, they were unpriced and hence the system would be necessarily inefficient since the central planners would not know how to allocate the available resources efficiently.", "This led him to write \"that rational economic activity is impossible in a socialist commonwealth.\"", "===Business cycles===\n\n\nThe Austrian theory of the business cycle (\"ABCT\") focuses on banks' issuance of credit as the cause of economic fluctuations.", "Although later elaborated by Hayek and others, the theory was first set forth by Mises, who believed that banks extend credit at artificially low interest rates, causing businesses to invest in relatively roundabout production processes.", "Mises stated that this led to a misallocation of resources which he called ''malinvestment''.", "Friedrich Hayek disagreed.", "Hayek stated that the need for central banking control was inescapable.", "Many theories developed by \"first wave\" Austrian economists have long been absorbed into mainstream economics.", "These include Carl Menger's theories on marginal utility, Friedrich von Wieser's theories on opportunity cost, and Eugen Böhm von Bawerk's theories on time preference, as well as Menger and Böhm-Bawerk's criticisms of Marxian economics.", "Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the founders of the Austrian School \"reached far into the future from when most of them practiced and have had a profound and, in my judgment, probably an irreversible effect on how most mainstream economists think in this country.\"", "In 1987, Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan told an interviewer, \"I have no objections to being called an Austrian.", "Hayek and Mises might consider me an Austrian but, surely some of the others would not.\"", "Chinese economist Zhang Weiying supports some Austrian theories such as the Austrian theory of the business cycle.", "Currently, universities with a significant Austrian presence are George Mason University, New York University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Auburn University in the United States, King Juan Carlos University in Spain and Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala.", "Austrian economic ideas are also promoted by privately funded organizations such as the Mises Institute, and the Cato Institute.", "\n===General criticisms===\nMainstream economists have argued that Austrians are excessively averse to the use of mathematics and statistics in economics.", "Economist Bryan Caplan argues that many Austrians have not understood valid contributions of modern mainstream economics, causing them to overstate their differences with it.", "For example, Murray Rothbard stated that he objected to the use of cardinal utility in microeconomic theory.", "Caplan says that Rothbard did not understand the position he was attacking, because microeconomic theorists go to great pains to show that their results hold for any monotonic transformation of an ordinal utility function, and do not entail cardinal utility.", "Economist Paul Krugman has stated that because Austrians do not use \"explicit models\" they are unaware of holes in their own thinking.", "Economist Benjamin Klein has criticized the economic methodological work of Austrian economist Israel M. Kirzner.", "While praising Kirzner for highlighting shortcomings in traditional methodology, Klein argued that Kirzner did not provide a viable alternative for economic methodology.", "Economist Tyler Cowen has written that Kirzner's theory of entrepreneurship can ultimately be reduced to a neoclassical search model and is thus not in the radical subjectivist tradition of Austrian praxeology.", "Cowen states that Kirzner's entrepreneurs can be modeled in mainstream terms of search.", "Economist Jeffrey Sachs argues that among developed countries, those with high rates of taxation and high social welfare spending perform better on most measures of economic performance compared to countries with low rates of taxation and low social outlays.", "He concludes that Friedrich Hayek was wrong to argue that high levels of government spending harms an economy, and \"a generous social-welfare state is not a road to serfdom but rather to fairness, economic equality and international competitiveness.\"", "Austrian economist Sudha Shenoy responded by arguing that countries with large public sectors have grown more slowly.", "Economist Bryan Caplan has noted that Mises has been criticized for overstating the strength of his case in describing socialism as ''impossible'' rather than as something that would need to establish non-market institutions to deal with the inefficiency.", "===Methodology===\nCritics generally argue that Austrian economics lacks scientific rigor and rejects scientific methods and the use of empirical data in modelling economic behavior.", "Some economists describe Austrian methodology as being ''a priori'' or non-empirical.", "Economist Mark Blaug has criticized over-reliance on methodological individualism, arguing it would rule out all macroeconomic propositions that cannot be reduced to microeconomic ones, and hence reject almost the whole of received macroeconomics.", "Economist Thomas Mayer has stated that Austrians advocate a rejection of the scientific method which involves the development of empirically falsifiable theories.", "Furthermore, many supporters of using models of market behavior to analyze and test economic theory argue that economists have developed numerous experiments that elicit useful information about individual preferences.", "Although economist Leland Yeager is sympathetic to Austrian economics, he rejects many favorite views of the Misesian group of Austrians, in particular, \"the specifics of their business-cycle theory, ultra-subjectivism in value theory and particularly in interest-rate theory, their insistence on unidirectional causality rather than general interdependence, and their fondness for methodological brooding, pointless profundities, and verbal gymnastics.\"", "Economist Paul A. Samuelson wrote in 1964 that most economists believe that economic conclusions reached by pure logical deduction are limited and weak.", "According to Samuelson and economist Bryan Caplan, Mises' deductive methodology also embraced by Murray Rothbard and to a lesser extent by Mises' student, Israel Kirzner was not sufficient in and of itself.", "Bryan Caplan wrote that the Austrian challenge to the realism of neoclassical assumptions helped work towards making those assumptions more plausible.", "===Business cycle theory===\nMainstream economic research regarding Austrian business cycle theory finds that it is inconsistent with empirical evidence.", "Economists such as Gordon Tullock, Milton Friedman, and Paul Krugman have said that they regard the theory as incorrect.", "Austrian economist Ludwig Lachmann noted that the Austrian theory was rejected during the 1930s:\nThe promise of an Austrian theory of the trade cycle, which might also serve to explain the severity of the Great Depression, a feature of the early 1930s that provided the background for Hayek’s successful appearance on the London scene, soon proved deceptive.", "Three giants – Keynes, Knight and Sraffa – turned against the hapless Austrians who, in the middle of that black decade, thus had to do battle on three fronts.", "Naturally it proved a task beyond their strength.", "====Theoretical objections====\nSome economists argue that Austrian business cycle theory requires bankers and investors to exhibit a kind of irrationality, because the Austrian theory posits that investors will be fooled repeatedly (by temporarily low interest rates) into making unprofitable investment decisions.", "Bryan Caplan writes: \"Why does Rothbard think businessmen are so incompetent at forecasting government policy?", "He credits them with entrepreneurial foresight about all market-generated conditions, but curiously finds them unable to forecast government policy, or even to avoid falling prey to simple accounting illusions generated by inflation and deflation.", "Milton Friedman objected to the policy implications of the theory, stating the following in a 1998 interview:\n\nI think the Austrian business-cycle theory has done the world a great deal of harm.", "If you go back to the 1930s, which is a key point, here you had the Austrians sitting in London, Hayek and Lionel Robbins, and saying you just have to let the bottom drop out of the world.", "You’ve just got to let it cure itself.", "You can’t do anything about it.", "You will only make it worse.", "You have Rothbard saying it was a great mistake not to let the whole banking system collapse.", "I think by encouraging that kind of do-nothing policy both in Britain and in the United States, they did harm.", "====Empirical objections====\nIn 1969, Milton Friedman, after examining the history of business cycles in the U.S., concluded that \"The Hayek-Mises explanation of the business cycle is contradicted by the evidence.", "It is, I believe, false.\"", "He analyzed the issue using newer data in 1993, and again reached the same conclusion.", "Referring to Friedman's discussion of the business cycle, Austrian economist Roger Garrison argued that Friedman's empirical findings are \"broadly consistent with both Monetarist and Austrian views\", and goes on to argue that although Friedman's model \"describes the economy's performance at the highest level of aggregation; Austrian theory offers an insightful account of the market process that might underlie those aggregates.\"", "\n* List of Austrian School economists\n* List of Austrian intellectual traditions\n* Perspectives on capitalism\n* ''Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics''\n* New Institutional Economics\n* School of Salamanca", "*\n*Harald Hagemann, Tamotsu Nishizawa, and Yukihiro Ikeda, eds.", "''Austrian Economics in Transition: From Carl Menger to Friedrich Hayek'' (Palgrave Macmillan; 2010) 339 pp.", "*\n*Stephen Littlechild, ed.", "(1990).", "''Austrian economics'', 3 v. Edward Elgar.", "Description and scroll to chapter preview links for v. 1.", "*", "\n*" ]

[ "\n\nThe '''politics of Antigua and Barbuda''' takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the Sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a Governor-General to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the Prime Minister advises the Governor-General on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (seventeen-member body appointed by the Governor General) and the House of Representatives (seventeen seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms).\n\nAntigua and Barbuda has a long history of free elections, three of which have resulted in peaceful changes of government. Since the 1951 general election, the party system has been dominated by the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), for a long time was dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers Vere and Lester Bird. The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ALP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the 1999 general election. The most recent elections to the House of Representatives were held on 12 June 2014. The Antigua Labour Party government was elected with fourteen seats. The United Progressive Party has three seats in the House of Representatives.\n\nConstitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.\n", "As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.\n\n\nMonarch\nQueen Elizabeth II\n\n6 February 1952\n\nGovernor-General\nRodney Williams\n\n14 August 2014\n\nPrime Minister\nGaston Browne\nLabour Party\n13 June 2014\n\n", "The parliament building in St. John's.\nAntigua and Barbuda elects on national level a legislature. Parliament has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 19 members, 17 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, 1 ex-officio member and 1 Speaker. The Senate has 17 appointed members. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Elections must be held at least every five years but may be called by the prime minister at any time.\n\nThere are special legislative provisions to account for Barbuda's low population relative to that of Antigua. Barbuda is guaranteed one member of the House of Representatives and two members of the Senate. In addition, there is a Barbuda Council to govern the internal affairs of the island.\n", "\n", "6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip\n", "Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. This court is headquartered in Saint Lucia, but at least one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Antigua and Barbuda, and presides over the High Court of Justice. The current High Court judges are Jennifer Remy and Keith Thom.\n\nAntigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, although it has not yet acceded to Part III of the 2001 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice. Its supreme appellate court therefore remains the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Indeed, of the signatories to the Agreement, as of December 2010, only Barbados has replaced appeals to Her Majesty in Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.\n\nIn addition to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Antigua and Barbuda has a Magistrates' Court, which deals with lesser civil and criminal cases.\n", "Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU William ROBINSON; People's Democratic Movement or PDM Hugh MARSHALL\n", "\nACP Countries, ALBA, Caricom, Caribbean Development Bank, CELAC, ECLAC, FAO, Group of 77, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Non-Aligned Movement (observer), Organization of American States, OECS, OPANAL, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, World Federation of Trade Unions, WHO, WMO, WTrO\n\n\n", "\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Executive branch", "Legislative branch", "Political parties and elections", "Administrative divisions", "Judicial branch", "Political pressure groups and leaders", "International organisation participation", "References" ]

[ "\nACP Countries, ALBA, Caricom, Caribbean Development Bank, CELAC, ECLAC, FAO, Group of 77, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Non-Aligned Movement (observer), Organization of American States, OECS, OPANAL, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, World Federation of Trade Unions, WHO, WMO, WTrO" ]

[ "\n\nThe '''politics of Antigua and Barbuda''' takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the Sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a Governor-General to act as vice-regal representative in the nation.", "A Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the Prime Minister advises the Governor-General on the appointment of a Council of Ministers.", "Executive power is exercised by the government.", "Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament.", "The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (seventeen-member body appointed by the Governor General) and the House of Representatives (seventeen seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms).", "Antigua and Barbuda has a long history of free elections, three of which have resulted in peaceful changes of government.", "Since the 1951 general election, the party system has been dominated by the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), for a long time was dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers Vere and Lester Bird.", "The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ALP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the 1999 general election.", "The most recent elections to the House of Representatives were held on 12 June 2014.", "The Antigua Labour Party government was elected with fourteen seats.", "The United Progressive Party has three seats in the House of Representatives.", "Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.", "Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system.", "The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.", "Jurisprudence is based on English common law.", "As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.", "Monarch\nQueen Elizabeth II\n\n6 February 1952\n\nGovernor-General\nRodney Williams\n\n14 August 2014\n\nPrime Minister\nGaston Browne\nLabour Party\n13 June 2014", "The parliament building in St. John's.", "Antigua and Barbuda elects on national level a legislature.", "Parliament has two chambers.", "The House of Representatives has 19 members, 17 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, 1 ex-officio member and 1 Speaker.", "The Senate has 17 appointed members.", "The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet.", "The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament.", "Elections must be held at least every five years but may be called by the prime minister at any time.", "There are special legislative provisions to account for Barbuda's low population relative to that of Antigua.", "Barbuda is guaranteed one member of the House of Representatives and two members of the Senate.", "In addition, there is a Barbuda Council to govern the internal affairs of the island.", "6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip", "Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.", "This court is headquartered in Saint Lucia, but at least one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Antigua and Barbuda, and presides over the High Court of Justice.", "The current High Court judges are Jennifer Remy and Keith Thom.", "Antigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, although it has not yet acceded to Part III of the 2001 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice.", "Its supreme appellate court therefore remains the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.", "Indeed, of the signatories to the Agreement, as of December 2010, only Barbados has replaced appeals to Her Majesty in Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.", "In addition to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Antigua and Barbuda has a Magistrates' Court, which deals with lesser civil and criminal cases.", "Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU William ROBINSON; People's Democratic Movement or PDM Hugh MARSHALL" ]

[ "\n\nAzerbaijan has an economy that has completed its post-Soviet transition into a major oil based economy (with the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline), from one where the state played the major role. Azerbaijan's GDP grew 41.7% in the first quarter of 2007, possibly the highest of any nation worldwide.\nSuch rates cannot be sustained, but despite reaching 26.4% in 2005 (second highest GDP growth in the world in 2005 only to Equatorial Guinea), and 2006 over 34.6% (world highest), in 2008 dropped to 10.8%, and dropped further to 9.3% in 2009. The real GDP growth rate for 2011 was expected at 3.7% but had dropped to 0.1%.\nLarge oil reserves are a major contributor to the economy. The national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, was stable in 2000, depreciating 3.8% against the dollar. The budget deficit equaled 1.3% of GDP in 2000.\n\nProgress on economic reform has generally lagged behind macroeconomic stabilization. The government has undertaken regulatory reforms in some areas, including substantial opening of trade policy, but inefficient public administration in which commercial and regulatory interests are co-mingled limit the impact of these reforms. The government has largely completed privatization of agricultural lands and small and medium-sized enterprises. In August 2000, the government launched a second-stage privatization program, in which many large state enterprises will be privatized. Since 2001, the economic activity in the country is regulated by the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Republic.\n", "\n===Modern era===\nThrough the Soviet period, Azerbaijan had always been more developed industrially than Armenia and Georgia, two neighboring Transcaucasia countries - but also less diversified, as a result of slow investment in non-oil sector. With a history of industrial development of more than 100 years, Azerbaijan proved to be a leading nation in Southern Caucasus throughout the turmoil of Soviet Union collapse in early 1990s until nowadays.\n\n===Republic era===\nOil remains the most prominent product of Azerbaijan's economy with cotton, natural gas and agriculture products contributing to its economic growth over the last five years. More than $60 billion was invested into Azerbaijan's oil by major international oil companies in AIOC consortium operated by BP. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997 and now is about 500,000 b/d. People visit petroleum spas (or \"oil spas\") to bathe in the local crude in Naftalan A leading caviar producer and exporter in the past, Azerbaijan's fishing industry today is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga in the Caspian Sea.\n\nAzerbaijan shares all the problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Azerbaijan has begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. An obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.\n\nIn 1992, Azerbaijan became member of the Economic Cooperation Organization. In 2002, the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships. In March 2001, Azerbaijan concluded a gas agreement with Turkey, providing a future export market for Azerbaijan.\n\nGraphical depiction of Azerbaijan Product's product exports (2009).\nAzerbaijan has concluded 21 production-sharing agreements with various oil companies. An export pipeline that transports Caspian oil to the Mediterranean from Baku through Tbilisi, Georgia to Ceyhan, Turkey (the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline) became operational in 2006. The pipeline is expected to generate as much as $160 billion in revenues for the country over the next 30 years. The recent high price of oil is highly beneficial to Azerbaijan's economy as the nation is in the midst of an oil boom. Eastern Caspian producers in Kazakhstan also have expressed interest in accessing this pipeline to transport a portion of their production.\n\nIn 2010, Azerbaijan entered into the top eight biggest oil suppliers to EU countries with €9.46 billion. In 2011, the amount of foreign investments in Azerbaijan was $20 billion, a 61% increase from 2010. According to Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev, in 2011, \"$15.7 billion was invested in the non-oil sector, while the rest - in the oil sector.\"\n\nAzerbaijani exports in 2006\nIn 2012, because of its economic performance after the Soviet breakup, Azerbaijan was predicted to become \"Tiger of Caucasus\". In 2012, Globalization and World Cities Research Network study ranked Baku as a Gamma-level global city.\n\nIn 2015, Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed to boost mutual trade to USD$15 billion by 2023.\n", "The following is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Azerbaijan at market prices with figures in USD.\n\n\n Year \n Gross domestic product PPP \n Per capita income (as % of USA)\n\n 1995 \n 19,497,000,000 \n 8.78\n\n 2000 \n 29,683,000,000 \n 10.01\n\n 2005 \n 59,087,000,000 \n 15.52\n\n 2010 \n 138,947,000,000 \n 31.78\n\n 2015 \n 169,789,000,000 \n 32.15\n\n\nFor purchasing power parity comparisons, the US dollar was exchanged at 1,565.88 Manats only. Currently, the new Manat is in use, with an exchange rate of about 1 manat = $1.10. Mean graduate pay was $5.76 per manhour in 2010.\n\nFor more than a century the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy has been petroleum, which represented 50 percent of Azerbaijan’s GDP in 2005, and is projected to double to almost 125 percent of GDP in 2007. Now that Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviets because of poor technology, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important areas in the world for oil exploration and development. Proven oil reserves in the Caspian Basin, which Azerbaijan shares with Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, are comparable in size to the North Sea, although exploration is still in the early stages.\n", "\n===Agriculture===\n\nAzerbaijan has the largest agricultural basin in the region. About 54,9 percent of Azerbaijan is agricultural lands. At the beginning of 2007 there were 4,755,100 hectares of utilized agricultural area. In the same year the total wood resources counted 136 million m³. Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on meadows and pastures, horticulture and subtropical crops, leaf vegetables, viticulture and wine-making, cotton growing and medicinal plants. In some lands it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, sugar beets, cotton and tobacco. Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products. The Caspian fishing industry is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga.\n\nSome portions of most products that were previously imported from abroad have begun to be produced locally (among them are Coca Cola by Coca Cola Bottlers LTD, beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan).\n\nNew program which is prepared by the Europe Union is aimed to support economic diversification of Azerbaijan.Program is considered for southern region Lankaran which has the lowest economic indicator and the lowest income per capita, as well as, the lowest level of investment, but at the same time, high potential for the production of garden products in high quality.The program will be focused on the development of the region at the local and international levels. \n\n===Manufacturing===\nMarauder (Mine Protected Vehicle) is manufactured in Azerbaijan.\nIn 2007, mining and hydrocarbon industries accounted for well over 95 per cent of the Azerbaijani economy. Diversification of the economy into manufacturing industries remain a long-term issue.\n\nAs of late 2000s, the defense industry of Azerbaijan has emerged as an autonomous entity with a growing defense production capability. The ministry is cooperating with the defense sectors of Ukraine, Belarus and Pakistan. Along with other contracts, Azerbaijani defence industries and Turkish companies, Azerbaijan will produce 40mm revolver grenade launchers, 107mm and 122mm MLRS systems, Cobra 4×4 vehicles and joint modernization of BTR vehicles in Baku.\n\n===Services===\n\n====Financial and business services====\n\nThe GDP growth rates observed in Azerbaijan during last years made the country one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But the banking sector of Azerbaijan has yet to tap the vast growth potential that should be achievable due to the continuation of the high economic growth. For this reason the banking sector remains small in relation to the size of the Azerbaijani economy. Since 2002, important stages of restructuring of the banking system have started to be carried out. Taking into consideration entry of big oil revenues in the country, as a logical result of successful oil strategy, and in this base, as the banks were ready to an effective transfer of their financial resources to the strategic goals, development strategy was made for 2002–2005.\n\nBy 1 April 2010, 47 banks, 631 bank branches function in Azerbaijan. One of banks was founded with participation of state capital, 23 of foreign capital. To the same date, 98 non-bank credit organizations operate in the republic along with banks. Growth of real money incomes of population, development of trust in bank system, improving the legal bases of protection of interests of creditors and depositors, in particular launch of ‘Deposits Insurance Fund’ were the criteria characterizing rapid growth of deposits of population. As of 1 April 2010, bank deposits of population were equal to 2,4 billion AZN. 33,3% of them were long-term deposits (higher than a year). As of 1 April 2010, bank credits to customers is 8.5 bn AZN, which makes 70.5% of bank assets. Special weight of private sector in structure of credit investments is higher than 82% (7 bn AZN).\n\n====Telecommunications====\n\n\nIn the 21st century, a new oil and gas boom helped to improve the situation in the Azerbaijan's science and technology sectors, and the government launched a campaign aimed at modernization and innovation. The government estimates that profits from the information technology and communication industry will grow and become comparable with those from oil production.\n\nAzerbaijan has a large and steadily growing Internet sector, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; rapid growth is forecast for at least five more years.\n\nThe country has also been making progress in developing its telecoms sector. The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator. Public pay phones are available for local calls and require the purchase of a token from the telephone exchange or some shops and kiosks. Tokens allow a call of indefinite duration. As of 2009, there were 1,397,000 main telephone lines and 1,485,000 internet users. There are five GSM providers: Azercell, Bakcell, Azerfon (Nar Mobile), Aztrank, Catel mobile network operators and one CDMA.\n\n====Tourism====\n\nPetroglyphs in Gobustan dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of \"outstanding universal value\"\nTourism is an important part of the economy of Azerbaijan. The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s. However, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1988-1994 period, damaged the tourist industry and the image of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.\n\nIt was not until the 2000s that the tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits and overnight stays. In the recent years, Azerbaijan has also becoming a popular destination for religious, spa, and health care tourism. During winter, the Shahdag Winter Complex offers skiing.\n\nThe government of Azerbaijan has set the development of Azerbaijan as an elite tourist destination a top priority. It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not the single largest, contributor to the Azerbaijani economy. These activities are regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.\n", "\nThe Azerbaijani manat is the currency of Azerbaijani, denominated as the manat, subdivided into 100 qapik. The manat is issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, the monetary authority of Azerbaijan. The ISO 4217 abbreviation is AZN. The Latinised symbol is (13px).\n\nThe manat is held in a floating exchange-rate system managed primarily against the US dollar. The rate of exchange (Azerbaijani manat per US$1) for 28 January 2016, was AZN 1.60.\n\nThere is a complex relationship between Azerbaijan's balance of trade, inflation, measured by the consumer price index and the value of its currency. Despite allowing the value of the manat to \"float\", Azerbaijan's central bank has decisive ability to control its value with relationship to other currencies.\n", "\n===Energy===\n \nThe Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (green) is one of several pipelines running from Baku.\nTwo thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas. The region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony. In September 1994, a 30-year contract was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and 13 oil companies, among them Amoco, BP, ExxonMobil, Lukoil and Statoil. As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development. Meanwhile, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure the macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and the safeguarding of resources for future generations.\n\nAzeriqaz, a sub-company of SOCAR, intends to ensure full gasification of the country by 2021.\n\n===Transportation===\n\nThe convenient location of Azerbaijan on the crossroad of major international traffic arteries, such as the Silk Road and the South-North corridor, highlights the strategic importance of transportation sector for the country’s economy. The transport sector in the country includes roads, railways, aviation, and maritime transport.\n\nAzerbaijan is also an important economic hub in the transportation of raw materials. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and extends more than 1,774 kilometers through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The BTC is designed to transport up to 50 million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets. The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, became operational at the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supplies to the European market from the Shah Deniz gas field. Shah Deniz is expected to produce up to 296 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.\n\nIn 2002, the Azerbaijani government established the Ministry of Transport with a broad range of policy and regulatory functions. In the same year, the country became a member of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The highest priority being; upgrading the transport network and transforming transportation services into one of the key comparative advantages of the country, as this would be highly conducive to the development of other sectors of the economy.\n\nIn 2012, the construction of Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway expected to provide transportation between Asia and Europe through connecting the railways of China and Kazakhstan in the east with Turkey's Marmaray to the European railway system in the west. Broad gauge railways in 2010 stretched for and electrified railways numbered . By 2010, there were 35 airports and one heliport.\n", "As of October 2014, Azerbaijan holds the highest foreign investment per capita among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Germany, for example, has invested approximately $760 million into the Azerbaijani economy, and approximately 177 German companies operate within Azerbaijan. Since gaining its independence, companies have invested $174 billion into Azerbaijan. Foreign investment accounts for around half of that amount.\n\nIn 2008, Azerbaijan was cited as the top reformer by the World Bank's Doing Business report:\n\n", ":''Data from CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise''\n\n;Investment (gross fixed):\n17% of GDP (2011 est.)\n\n;Household income or consumption by percentage share:\n* ''lowest 10%:'' 3.4%\n* ''highest 10%:'' 27.4% (2008)\n\n;Inflation rate (consumer prices):\n1.1% (2012 est.)\n\n;Agriculture:\n* ''utilized agricultural land:'' (2011)\n* ''total wood resources:'' 144,2 million cubic metres\n* ''crops:'' cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco\n* ''livestock products:'' beef, mutton, poultry, milk, eggs\n\n;Industrial production growth rate:\n-3% (2011 est.)\n\n;Electricity:\n* ''production:'' 22,55 billion kWh (2008)\n* ''consumption:'' 18,8 billion kWh (2008)\n* ''exports:'' 812 million kWh (2008)\n* ''imports:'' 596 million kWh (2008)\n\n;Current account balance:\n* $11,12 billion (2011 est.)\n\n;Exports - commodities:\n* petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs.\n\n;Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:\n* $7,146 billion (2011 est.)\n\n;Debt - external:\n* $3.89 billion (2011 est.)\n\n;Currency:\n* 1 Manat = 100 gepik\n\n;Exchange rates:\n* Azerbaijani manat per US dollar - 1.60 (for 28 January 2016)\n* Azerbaijani manat per Euro - 1.74 (for 28 January 2016)\n\n;Fiscal year:\n* Calendar year\n", "* List of companies of Azerbaijan\n* Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline\n* State Oil Company of Azerbaijan\n* Petroleum industry in Azerbaijan\n* Agriculture in Azerbaijan\n* Tourism in Azerbaijan\n* Baku\n* Military of Azerbaijan\n* Judiciary of Azerbaijan\n", "\n", "* Habibov, Nazim: \"Poverty in Azerbaijan\" in the Caucsus Analytical Digest No. 34\n* \n", "*\n* Hübner, Gerald: \"As If Nothing Happened? How Azerbaijan’s Economy Manages to Sail Through Stormy Weather\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 18\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Economic history of Azerbaijan", "Macro-economic trend", "Sectors of the economy", "Currency system", "Infrastructure", "Business environment", "Other economic indicators", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "By 1 April 2010, 47 banks, 631 bank branches function in Azerbaijan.", "To the same date, 98 non-bank credit organizations operate in the republic along with banks.", "Growth of real money incomes of population, development of trust in bank system, improving the legal bases of protection of interests of creditors and depositors, in particular launch of ‘Deposits Insurance Fund’ were the criteria characterizing rapid growth of deposits of population.", "As of 1 April 2010, bank deposits of population were equal to 2,4 billion AZN.", "As of 1 April 2010, bank credits to customers is 8.5 bn AZN, which makes 70.5% of bank assets.", "The manat is issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, the monetary authority of Azerbaijan.", "Despite allowing the value of the manat to \"float\", Azerbaijan's central bank has decisive ability to control its value with relationship to other currencies.", "In 2008, Azerbaijan was cited as the top reformer by the World Bank's Doing Business report:" ]

[ "\n\nAzerbaijan has an economy that has completed its post-Soviet transition into a major oil based economy (with the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline), from one where the state played the major role.", "Azerbaijan's GDP grew 41.7% in the first quarter of 2007, possibly the highest of any nation worldwide.", "Such rates cannot be sustained, but despite reaching 26.4% in 2005 (second highest GDP growth in the world in 2005 only to Equatorial Guinea), and 2006 over 34.6% (world highest), in 2008 dropped to 10.8%, and dropped further to 9.3% in 2009.", "The real GDP growth rate for 2011 was expected at 3.7% but had dropped to 0.1%.", "Large oil reserves are a major contributor to the economy.", "The national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, was stable in 2000, depreciating 3.8% against the dollar.", "The budget deficit equaled 1.3% of GDP in 2000.", "Progress on economic reform has generally lagged behind macroeconomic stabilization.", "The government has undertaken regulatory reforms in some areas, including substantial opening of trade policy, but inefficient public administration in which commercial and regulatory interests are co-mingled limit the impact of these reforms.", "The government has largely completed privatization of agricultural lands and small and medium-sized enterprises.", "In August 2000, the government launched a second-stage privatization program, in which many large state enterprises will be privatized.", "Since 2001, the economic activity in the country is regulated by the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Republic.", "\n===Modern era===\nThrough the Soviet period, Azerbaijan had always been more developed industrially than Armenia and Georgia, two neighboring Transcaucasia countries - but also less diversified, as a result of slow investment in non-oil sector.", "With a history of industrial development of more than 100 years, Azerbaijan proved to be a leading nation in Southern Caucasus throughout the turmoil of Soviet Union collapse in early 1990s until nowadays.", "===Republic era===\nOil remains the most prominent product of Azerbaijan's economy with cotton, natural gas and agriculture products contributing to its economic growth over the last five years.", "More than $60 billion was invested into Azerbaijan's oil by major international oil companies in AIOC consortium operated by BP.", "Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997 and now is about 500,000 b/d.", "People visit petroleum spas (or \"oil spas\") to bathe in the local crude in Naftalan A leading caviar producer and exporter in the past, Azerbaijan's fishing industry today is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga in the Caspian Sea.", "Azerbaijan shares all the problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its energy resources brighten its long-term prospects.", "Azerbaijan has begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced.", "An obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.", "In 1992, Azerbaijan became member of the Economic Cooperation Organization.", "In 2002, the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships.", "In March 2001, Azerbaijan concluded a gas agreement with Turkey, providing a future export market for Azerbaijan.", "Graphical depiction of Azerbaijan Product's product exports (2009).", "Azerbaijan has concluded 21 production-sharing agreements with various oil companies.", "An export pipeline that transports Caspian oil to the Mediterranean from Baku through Tbilisi, Georgia to Ceyhan, Turkey (the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline) became operational in 2006.", "The pipeline is expected to generate as much as $160 billion in revenues for the country over the next 30 years.", "The recent high price of oil is highly beneficial to Azerbaijan's economy as the nation is in the midst of an oil boom.", "Eastern Caspian producers in Kazakhstan also have expressed interest in accessing this pipeline to transport a portion of their production.", "In 2010, Azerbaijan entered into the top eight biggest oil suppliers to EU countries with €9.46 billion.", "In 2011, the amount of foreign investments in Azerbaijan was $20 billion, a 61% increase from 2010.", "According to Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev, in 2011, \"$15.7 billion was invested in the non-oil sector, while the rest - in the oil sector.\"", "Azerbaijani exports in 2006\nIn 2012, because of its economic performance after the Soviet breakup, Azerbaijan was predicted to become \"Tiger of Caucasus\".", "In 2012, Globalization and World Cities Research Network study ranked Baku as a Gamma-level global city.", "In 2015, Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed to boost mutual trade to USD$15 billion by 2023.", "The following is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Azerbaijan at market prices with figures in USD.", "Year \n Gross domestic product PPP \n Per capita income (as % of USA)\n\n 1995 \n 19,497,000,000 \n 8.78\n\n 2000 \n 29,683,000,000 \n 10.01\n\n 2005 \n 59,087,000,000 \n 15.52\n\n 2010 \n 138,947,000,000 \n 31.78\n\n 2015 \n 169,789,000,000 \n 32.15\n\n\nFor purchasing power parity comparisons, the US dollar was exchanged at 1,565.88 Manats only.", "Currently, the new Manat is in use, with an exchange rate of about 1 manat = $1.10.", "Mean graduate pay was $5.76 per manhour in 2010.", "For more than a century the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy has been petroleum, which represented 50 percent of Azerbaijan’s GDP in 2005, and is projected to double to almost 125 percent of GDP in 2007.", "Now that Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviets because of poor technology, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important areas in the world for oil exploration and development.", "Proven oil reserves in the Caspian Basin, which Azerbaijan shares with Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, are comparable in size to the North Sea, although exploration is still in the early stages.", "\n===Agriculture===\n\nAzerbaijan has the largest agricultural basin in the region.", "About 54,9 percent of Azerbaijan is agricultural lands.", "At the beginning of 2007 there were 4,755,100 hectares of utilized agricultural area.", "In the same year the total wood resources counted 136 million m³.", "Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on meadows and pastures, horticulture and subtropical crops, leaf vegetables, viticulture and wine-making, cotton growing and medicinal plants.", "In some lands it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, sugar beets, cotton and tobacco.", "Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products.", "The Caspian fishing industry is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga.", "Some portions of most products that were previously imported from abroad have begun to be produced locally (among them are Coca Cola by Coca Cola Bottlers LTD, beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan).", "New program which is prepared by the Europe Union is aimed to support economic diversification of Azerbaijan.Program is considered for southern region Lankaran which has the lowest economic indicator and the lowest income per capita, as well as, the lowest level of investment, but at the same time, high potential for the production of garden products in high quality.The program will be focused on the development of the region at the local and international levels.", "===Manufacturing===\nMarauder (Mine Protected Vehicle) is manufactured in Azerbaijan.", "In 2007, mining and hydrocarbon industries accounted for well over 95 per cent of the Azerbaijani economy.", "Diversification of the economy into manufacturing industries remain a long-term issue.", "As of late 2000s, the defense industry of Azerbaijan has emerged as an autonomous entity with a growing defense production capability.", "The ministry is cooperating with the defense sectors of Ukraine, Belarus and Pakistan.", "Along with other contracts, Azerbaijani defence industries and Turkish companies, Azerbaijan will produce 40mm revolver grenade launchers, 107mm and 122mm MLRS systems, Cobra 4×4 vehicles and joint modernization of BTR vehicles in Baku.", "===Services===\n\n====Financial and business services====\n\nThe GDP growth rates observed in Azerbaijan during last years made the country one of the fastest growing economies in the world.", "But the banking sector of Azerbaijan has yet to tap the vast growth potential that should be achievable due to the continuation of the high economic growth.", "For this reason the banking sector remains small in relation to the size of the Azerbaijani economy.", "Since 2002, important stages of restructuring of the banking system have started to be carried out.", "Taking into consideration entry of big oil revenues in the country, as a logical result of successful oil strategy, and in this base, as the banks were ready to an effective transfer of their financial resources to the strategic goals, development strategy was made for 2002–2005.", "One of banks was founded with participation of state capital, 23 of foreign capital.", "33,3% of them were long-term deposits (higher than a year).", "Special weight of private sector in structure of credit investments is higher than 82% (7 bn AZN).", "====Telecommunications====\n\n\nIn the 21st century, a new oil and gas boom helped to improve the situation in the Azerbaijan's science and technology sectors, and the government launched a campaign aimed at modernization and innovation.", "The government estimates that profits from the information technology and communication industry will grow and become comparable with those from oil production.", "Azerbaijan has a large and steadily growing Internet sector, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; rapid growth is forecast for at least five more years.", "The country has also been making progress in developing its telecoms sector.", "The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator.", "Public pay phones are available for local calls and require the purchase of a token from the telephone exchange or some shops and kiosks.", "Tokens allow a call of indefinite duration.", "As of 2009, there were 1,397,000 main telephone lines and 1,485,000 internet users.", "There are five GSM providers: Azercell, Bakcell, Azerfon (Nar Mobile), Aztrank, Catel mobile network operators and one CDMA.", "====Tourism====\n\nPetroglyphs in Gobustan dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture.", "It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of \"outstanding universal value\"\nTourism is an important part of the economy of Azerbaijan.", "The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s.", "However, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1988-1994 period, damaged the tourist industry and the image of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.", "It was not until the 2000s that the tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits and overnight stays.", "In the recent years, Azerbaijan has also becoming a popular destination for religious, spa, and health care tourism.", "During winter, the Shahdag Winter Complex offers skiing.", "The government of Azerbaijan has set the development of Azerbaijan as an elite tourist destination a top priority.", "It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not the single largest, contributor to the Azerbaijani economy.", "These activities are regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.", "\nThe Azerbaijani manat is the currency of Azerbaijani, denominated as the manat, subdivided into 100 qapik.", "The ISO 4217 abbreviation is AZN.", "The Latinised symbol is (13px).", "The manat is held in a floating exchange-rate system managed primarily against the US dollar.", "The rate of exchange (Azerbaijani manat per US$1) for 28 January 2016, was AZN 1.60.", "There is a complex relationship between Azerbaijan's balance of trade, inflation, measured by the consumer price index and the value of its currency.", "\n===Energy===\n \nThe Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (green) is one of several pipelines running from Baku.", "Two thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas.", "The region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony.", "In September 1994, a 30-year contract was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and 13 oil companies, among them Amoco, BP, ExxonMobil, Lukoil and Statoil.", "As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development.", "Meanwhile, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure the macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and the safeguarding of resources for future generations.", "Azeriqaz, a sub-company of SOCAR, intends to ensure full gasification of the country by 2021.", "===Transportation===\n\nThe convenient location of Azerbaijan on the crossroad of major international traffic arteries, such as the Silk Road and the South-North corridor, highlights the strategic importance of transportation sector for the country’s economy.", "The transport sector in the country includes roads, railways, aviation, and maritime transport.", "Azerbaijan is also an important economic hub in the transportation of raw materials.", "The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and extends more than 1,774 kilometers through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.", "The BTC is designed to transport up to 50 million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets.", "The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, became operational at the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supplies to the European market from the Shah Deniz gas field.", "Shah Deniz is expected to produce up to 296 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.", "Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.", "In 2002, the Azerbaijani government established the Ministry of Transport with a broad range of policy and regulatory functions.", "In the same year, the country became a member of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.", "The highest priority being; upgrading the transport network and transforming transportation services into one of the key comparative advantages of the country, as this would be highly conducive to the development of other sectors of the economy.", "In 2012, the construction of Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway expected to provide transportation between Asia and Europe through connecting the railways of China and Kazakhstan in the east with Turkey's Marmaray to the European railway system in the west.", "Broad gauge railways in 2010 stretched for and electrified railways numbered .", "By 2010, there were 35 airports and one heliport.", "As of October 2014, Azerbaijan holds the highest foreign investment per capita among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.", "Germany, for example, has invested approximately $760 million into the Azerbaijani economy, and approximately 177 German companies operate within Azerbaijan.", "Since gaining its independence, companies have invested $174 billion into Azerbaijan.", "Foreign investment accounts for around half of that amount.", ":''Data from CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise''\n\n;Investment (gross fixed):\n17% of GDP (2011 est.)", ";Household income or consumption by percentage share:\n* ''lowest 10%:'' 3.4%\n* ''highest 10%:'' 27.4% (2008)\n\n;Inflation rate (consumer prices):\n1.1% (2012 est.)", ";Agriculture:\n* ''utilized agricultural land:'' (2011)\n* ''total wood resources:'' 144,2 million cubic metres\n* ''crops:'' cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco\n* ''livestock products:'' beef, mutton, poultry, milk, eggs\n\n;Industrial production growth rate:\n-3% (2011 est.)", ";Electricity:\n* ''production:'' 22,55 billion kWh (2008)\n* ''consumption:'' 18,8 billion kWh (2008)\n* ''exports:'' 812 million kWh (2008)\n* ''imports:'' 596 million kWh (2008)\n\n;Current account balance:\n* $11,12 billion (2011 est.)", ";Exports - commodities:\n* petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs.", ";Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:\n* $7,146 billion (2011 est.)", ";Debt - external:\n* $3.89 billion (2011 est.)", ";Currency:\n* 1 Manat = 100 gepik\n\n;Exchange rates:\n* Azerbaijani manat per US dollar - 1.60 (for 28 January 2016)\n* Azerbaijani manat per Euro - 1.74 (for 28 January 2016)\n\n;Fiscal year:\n* Calendar year", "* List of companies of Azerbaijan\n* Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline\n* State Oil Company of Azerbaijan\n* Petroleum industry in Azerbaijan\n* Agriculture in Azerbaijan\n* Tourism in Azerbaijan\n* Baku\n* Military of Azerbaijan\n* Judiciary of Azerbaijan", "* Habibov, Nazim: \"Poverty in Azerbaijan\" in the Caucsus Analytical Digest No.", "34\n*", "*\n* Hübner, Gerald: \"As If Nothing Happened?", "How Azerbaijan’s Economy Manages to Sail Through Stormy Weather\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.", "18" ]

[ "\n\nAzerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the World Health Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Council of Europe, CFE Treaty, the Community of Democracies; the International Monetary Fund; and the World Bank.\n\nAzerbaijan has formal involvement with senior ex-U.S. government officials including James Baker and Henry Kissinger, as they serve on the Honorary Council of Advisors of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC). USACC is co-chaired by Tim Cejka, President of Exxon Mobil Corporation and Reza Vaziri, President of R.V. Investment Group and Chairman of the Anglo Asian Mining Plc (LSE Ticker: AAZ).\n", "AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)\n", "Diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan.\nAzerbaijan currently has diplomatic relations with 158 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the People's Republic of China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Libya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands,Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Republic of India, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.\n\nAzerbaijan is one of the few countries with predominantly Muslim populations that shares a strategic alliance with Israel. Today, Israel is a major arms supplier to the country. (''See Azerbaijan–Israel relations'').\n\nAzerbaijan also maintains good relations with the European Union, in the framework of its Eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (''See Azerbaijan and the European Union'').\n", "\n===Europe===\n\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n23 September 1992\nSee Albania–Azerbaijan relations\n* Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 September 1992. \n* Both countries are members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and of Council of Europe.\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Vienna.\n* Austria opened an embassy in Baku in 2010.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n \n See Azerbaijan–Belarus relations\n* Before 1918, they were part of the Russian Empire and before 1991, they were part of the Soviet Union.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Minsk.\n* Belarus has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).\n* Also Azerbaijan is a full member of the Council of Europe, Belarus is a candidate.\n* Belarus is a full member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Azerbaijan is an observer member.\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Brussels.\n* Belgium has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Sofia.\n* Bulgaria has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).\n* Bulgaria recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 14 January 1992.\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Zagreb\n* Croatia is represented in Azerbaijan through a non-resident ambassador based in Baku (in the Foreign Ministry).\n* Croatia is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Ankara (Turkey).\n* Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Croatia\n* Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration: list of bilateral treaties with Azerbaijan\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Prague, opened on 15 August 2007.\n* The Czech Republic has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n* The Czech Republic recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992.\n\n\n \n\nSee Azerbaijan-Denmark relations\n\n\n \n See Azerbaijan-Estonia relations\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Paris.\n* France has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Berlin.\n* Germany has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Greece relations\n* Greece recognized Azerbaijan's independence on 31 December 1991.\n* The Greek embassy in Baku was opened in the spring of 1993.\n* The embassy of Azerbaijan in Athens was opened in August 2004.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).\n* Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Greece\n\n Hungary\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Hungary relations\n* Hungary recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 26, 1991 and the diplomatic relations were established on November 27, 1992.\n* The Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan was established on January 12, 2009.\n* Embassy of Azerbaijan in Hungary was opened in September 2004.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n* Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Hungary\n\n Ireland\n 1996\n\n* Azerbaijan is represented in Ireland through its embassy in London (United Kingdom).\n* Ireland is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Ankara (Turkey).\n\n\n\n See Azerbaijan–Italy relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Rome.\n* Italy has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Riga.\n* Latvia has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Both countries were former republics of the Soviet Union.\n* Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Latvia on 30 August 1991.\n* Latvia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992.\n* Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Azerbaijan \n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Lithuania on 10 September 1991.\n* Lithuania recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 20 December 1991.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Vilnius.\n* Lithuania has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n* Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Cooperation with Azerbaijan\n* Foreign Minister of Lithuania to pay official visit to Azerbaijan\n\n\n \n\nBoth countries established diplomatic relations on June 28, 1995. \n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in The Hague.\n* The Netherlands has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan-Poland relations\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Romania relations\n\n\n \n\nSee Azerbaijan–Russia relations\n\n* Russia has an embassy in Baku.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Moscow and consulate-general in Saint Petersburg. Azerbaijan also announced that it will open another consulate-general in Yekaterinburg.\n\n\n\n\nSee Azerbaijan–Serbia relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Belgrade.\n* Serbia has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has a non-resident embassy in London.\n* Sweden has an honorary in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n\nSee Azerbaijan–Switzerland relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bern.\n* Switzerland has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n* Switzerland considers Azerbaijan an important country for economic development cooperation.\n\n\n \n See Azerbaijan–Ukraine relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Kiev.\n* Ukraine has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan – United Kingdom relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in London.\n* The United Kingdom has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).\n\n\n===Africa===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n===Americas===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \nSee Argentina–Azerbaijan relations\n* Argentina has an embassy in Baku.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Buenos Aires.\n\n\n \n\n*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Brasília.\n*Brazil has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Canada relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Ottawa.\n* Canada is accredited to Azerbaijan from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey.\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Santiago.\n* Chile is accredited to Azerbaijan from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey.\n\n\n \n\n*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bogotá.\n*Colombia has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Mexico relations\n*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Mexico City.\n*Mexico has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n \n\n*Azerbaijan is represented in Nicaragua through its embassy in Havana,Cuba.\n*Nicaragua is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Moscow, Russia.\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Lima.\n* Peru has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–United States relations\n\nOn 25 December 1991 President George H. W. Bush announced that the United States recognized the independence of all 12 former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Washington, DC and has a consulate-general in Los Angeles.\n* United States has an embassy in Baku.\n\n\n===Asia===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n 1918–1921\n\nArmenia and Azerbaijan do not have diplomatic relations today.\nSee Armenia–Azerbaijan relations, Nagorno-Karabakh War\n\nThe neighboring nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan have had formal governmental relations between 1918–1921, when both countries were briefly independent. The two nations have fought two wars in 1918–20 (Armenian–Azerbaijani War) and in 1988–94 (Nagorno-Karabakh War), in the past century, with last one ended with provisional cease fire agreement signed in Bishkek. There are no formal diplomatic relations between the two countries, because of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and dispute. In 2008, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev declared, \"Nagorno Karabakh will never be independent; the position is backed by international mediators as well; Armenia has to accept the reality,\" and \"in 1918, Yerevan was granted to the Armenians. It was a great mistake. The khanate of Iravan was the Azeri territory, the Armenians were guests here.\"\n\nDuring the Soviet period, many Armenians and Azeris lived side by side in peace. However, when Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, the majority of Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of the Azerbaijan SSR began a movement to unify with the Armenian SSR. In 1988, the Armenians of Karabakh voted to secede and join Armenia. This, along with mutual massacres in Azerbaijan and Armenia resulted in the conflict that became known as the Nagorno-Karabakh War. The violence resulted in ''de facto'' Armenian control of former NKAO and seven surrounding Azerbaijani regions, which was effectively halted when both sides agrees to observe a cease-fire, which has since been in effect since May 1994, and in late 1995 both also agreed to mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Minsk Group is currently co-chaired by the U.S., France, and Russia and comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and several Western European nations. Despite the cease fire, up to 40 clashes are reported along the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict lines of control each year.\n\nThe two countries are still technically at war. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia, as well as citizens of any other country who are of Armenian descent, are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.\n\nIf a person's passport shows any evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh, they are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.\n\nIn 2008, in what became known as the 2008 Mardakert Skirmishes, Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed over Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting between the two sides was brief, with few casualties on either side.\n\n\n\n\n* The PRC recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 27 December 1992.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Beijing.\n* The People's Republic of China has an embassy in Baku.\n* Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC: Relations with Azerbaijan\n\n\n\n\nAzerbaijan formally recognizes the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as the sole representative of the island, but has not yet established diplomatic relations with Cyprus.\nAzerbaijan, like all other countries except Turkey, formally recognizes the government of the Republic of Cyprus (with whom it has not yet established diplomatic relations), which under UN and EU law represents the entire island, but interestingly enough, the parliament of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic issued a resolution recognizing the Turkish Cypriot North (The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) as a sovereign state. While this recognition is not regarded by Azerbaijan and internationally as 'official state-to-state', Azerbaijan itself maintained cordial unofficial relations with the TRNC. In 2004, Azerbaijan threatened to formally recognize the TRNC if the Annan Plan was voted down by the Greek Cypriots (who rejected the plan in one of twin referendums held 24 April 2004 in both the Greek and Turkish zones simultaneously), but Azerbaijan backed off the threat when it was pointed out by Cyprus that doing so would be hypocritical, as a portion of its territory just like that of Cyprus itself is under occupation and would probably result in negative impact on its ongoing dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Recently, in July 2005, Azerbaijan announced its intentions to recognize TRNC passports and to commence direct flights from Baku to Ercan Airport in the TRNC (by-passing both Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus); however, aside from a flight handled by the private company Imair in August 2005, none have taken place. Azerbaijan has become very cool towards the Turkish Cypriot North, due to tensions arising from the possible normalization of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, which Azerbaijan fears will mean the loss of key leverage in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh War.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Georgia relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tbilisi.\n* Georgia has an embassy in Baku.\n* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan-India relations\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Iran relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tehran and a consulate-general in Tabriz.\n* Iran has an embassy in Baku and a consulate-general in Nakhchivan City.\n* Both countries are full members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).\n* Iran recognized Azerbaijan on 4 January 1992, upgraded its consulate in Baku to establish full diplomatic relations.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Israel relations\n* Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop bilateral strategic and economic relations with Israel.\n* Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan on December 25, 1991. \n* Israel established diplomatic relations on April 7, 1992.\n\n\n \n\n* Japan recognized Azerbaijan on 28 December 1991.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tokyo since 12 October 2005.\n* Japan has an embassy in Baku since 21 January 2000.\n* Azerbaijan is a full member of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Japan is an observer member of the CoE and a partner for co-operation of the OSCE.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan relations\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Astana.\n* Kazakhstan has an embassy in Baku since 16 December 1994.\n\n\n \n\n* The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea began on 23 March 1992. \n* Bilateral Trade in 2014 \n** Exports 269.5 million USD \n** Imports 0.54 million USD\n* The number of South Koreans living in Azerbaijan in 2014 about 230. \n* The Republic of Korea (South Korea) Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) held a briefing for journalists and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. \n* Foreign relations of South Korea#Europe Foreign relations of South Korea Foreign relations of the Republic of Korea.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Pakistan relations\n\n* Pakistan was the second country to recognize Azerbaijan after Turkey.\n* Pakistan is among the first countries to open an embassy in Baku.\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Islamabad.\n* Both countries are full members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).\n* Pakistan recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.\n* Azerbaijan has also expressed its support for Pakistan's stand on Kashmir.\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Turkey relations\n\nTurkey has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea. All this however has recently come under threat due to tensions arising from the possible normalization of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, which Azerbaijan fears will mean the loss of key leverage in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.\n\n\n \n\n\n\n===Oceania===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n===No relations===\nDiplomatic relations of Azerbaijan:\nAzerbaijan maintains diplomatic relations with 158 states (including Palestine and the Vatican City) and the European Union. Azerbaijan has not yet established diplomatic relations with:\n* Bahamas, Barbados\n* Cyprus, Armenia\n* Nigeria, Central African Republic, Congo, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe\n* Palau, Micronesia, Federated States of, Kiribati, Niue, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea\n* Sovereign Military Order of Malta\n* the rest of states with limited recognition\n", "\n===Nagorno-Karabakh/Armenia===\n\nThe frozen conflict over currently largely Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh within the Republic of Azerbaijan began when in 1988 the Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh demanded autonomy with demonstrations and persecutions against ethnic Azeris following in Armenia. This led to anti-Armenian rioting in Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijani militias beginning their effort to expel Armenians from the enclave. In 1992 a war broke out and pogroms of Armenians and Azeris forced both groups to flee their homes. In 1994, a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the war but more than 1 million ethnic Armenians and Azeris are still not able to return home. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved despite negotiations, that are ongoing since 1992 under the aegis of the Minsk Group of the OSCE, to resolve the conflict peacefully.\n\n===Caviar diplomacy===\nThe European Stability Initiative (ESI) has revealed in a report from 2012 with the title \"Caviar Diplomacy: How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe\", that since Azerbaijan's entry into the Council of Europe, each year 30 to 40 deputies are invited to Azerbaijan and generously paid with expensive gifts, including caviar (worth up to 1.400 euro), silk carpets, gold, silver and large amounts of money. In return they become lobbyists for Azerbaijan. This practice has been widely referred to as \"Caviar diplomacy\".\n\nESI also published a report on 2013 Presidential elections in Azerbaijan titled \"Disgraced: Azerbaijan and the end of election monitoring as we know it\". The report revealed the ties between Azerbaijani government and the members of certain observation missions who praised the elections. Azerbaijan's \"Caviar diplomacy\" at 2013 presidential elections sparked a major international scandal, as the reports of two authoritative organizations Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe/European Parliament and OSCE/ODIHR completely contradicted one another in their assessments of elections.\n\nNon-governmental anti-corruption organization Transparency International has regularly judged Azerbaijan to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world and has also criticized Azerbaijan for the \"Caviar diplomacy\".\n\nAt june 2016 the public prosecutor of Milan has accused the former leader of the (Christian) Union of the Center and of the European People's Party of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Luca Volonte of accepting large bribes from representatives of the Azerbaijani government. Two people with high-level experience of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly (Pace) have told the Guardian they believe its members have been offered bribes for votes by Azerbaijan. Former Azerbaijani diplomat, Arif Mammadov, alleged that a member of Azerbaijan's delegation at the Council of Europe had €30m (£25m) to spend on lobbying its institutions, including the Council of Europe assembly. PACE ratified the terms of reference of an independent external investigation body to carry out a detailed independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption at the council involving Azerbaijan.\n\n==== ESISC report ====\nOn 6 March 2017, ESISC (European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center) published a scandalous report called “The Armenian Connection” where it veraciously attacked human rights NGOs and research organisations criticising human rights violations and corruption in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia.\n\nESISC in that report asserted that \"Caviar diplomacy\" report elaborated by ESI aimed to create climate of suspicion based on slander to form a network of MPs that would engage in a political war against Azerbaijan. In the Second Chapter of the report called \"The Armenian Connection: «Mr X», Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights\" that was published on 18 April 2017 ESISC asserted that the network composed of European PMs, Armenian officials and some NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, \"Human Rights House Foundation\", \"Open Dialog, European Stability Initiative, and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights , was financed by the Soros Foundation. According to ESISC the key figure of the network since 2012 has been Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and the network has served to the interests of George Soros and the Republic of Armenia.\n\n\"The report is written in the worst traditions of authoritarian propaganda, makes absurd claims, and is clearly aimed at deflecting the wave of criticism against cover-up of unethical lobbying and corruption in PACE and demands for change in the Assembly\", said Freedom Files Analytical Centre.\n\nAccording Robert Coalson (Radio Free Europe), ESISC is a part of Baku's lobbying efforts to extend to the use of front think tanks to shift public opinion.\n\nEuropean Stability Initiative said that \"ESISC report is full of lies (such as claiming that German PACE member Strasser holds pro-Armenian views and citing as evidence that he went to Yerevan in 2015 to commemorate the Armenian genocide, when Strasser has never in his life been to independent Armenia)\".\n", "*Azerbaijan and the European Union\n*List of diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan\n*List of diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan\n*Visa requirements for Azerbaijani citizens\n", "* Valiyev, Anar: \"Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus: A Pragmatic Relationship\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 27\n* Hübner, Gerald: \"Foreign Direct Investment in Azerbaijan—the Quality of Quantity\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 28\n* Abbasov, Shahin: \"Azerbaijan's Eurovision Story: Great Chances to Improve, But No Political Will\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 32\n*Mazziotti, Marius; Sauerborn, Djan; Scianna, Bastian Matteo: \"Multipolarity is key: Assessing Azerbaijan's foreign policy\"\n", "*CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website\n\n", "* U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan in Baku\n* Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington\n* Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan relations\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "International organization participation", "Countries", "Information on some of the countries with which Azerbaijan maintains formal relations", "Disputes", "See also", "Further reading", "References", " External links " ]

[ "\n\nAzerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the World Health Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Council of Europe, CFE Treaty, the Community of Democracies; the International Monetary Fund; and the World Bank." ]

[ "Azerbaijan has formal involvement with senior ex-U.S. government officials including James Baker and Henry Kissinger, as they serve on the Honorary Council of Advisors of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC).", "USACC is co-chaired by Tim Cejka, President of Exxon Mobil Corporation and Reza Vaziri, President of R.V.", "Investment Group and Chairman of the Anglo Asian Mining Plc (LSE Ticker: AAZ).", "AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)", "Diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan.", "Azerbaijan currently has diplomatic relations with 158 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the People's Republic of China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Libya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands,Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Republic of India, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.", "Azerbaijan is one of the few countries with predominantly Muslim populations that shares a strategic alliance with Israel.", "Today, Israel is a major arms supplier to the country.", "(''See Azerbaijan–Israel relations'').", "Azerbaijan also maintains good relations with the European Union, in the framework of its Eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (''See Azerbaijan and the European Union'').", "\n===Europe===\n\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n23 September 1992\nSee Albania–Azerbaijan relations\n* Both countries established diplomatic relations on 23 September 1992.", "* Both countries are members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and of Council of Europe.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Vienna.", "* Austria opened an embassy in Baku in 2010.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "See Azerbaijan–Belarus relations\n* Before 1918, they were part of the Russian Empire and before 1991, they were part of the Soviet Union.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Minsk.", "* Belarus has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).", "* Also Azerbaijan is a full member of the Council of Europe, Belarus is a candidate.", "* Belarus is a full member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Azerbaijan is an observer member.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Brussels.", "* Belgium has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Sofia.", "* Bulgaria has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).", "* Bulgaria recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 14 January 1992.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Zagreb\n* Croatia is represented in Azerbaijan through a non-resident ambassador based in Baku (in the Foreign Ministry).", "* Croatia is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Ankara (Turkey).", "* Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Croatia\n* Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration: list of bilateral treaties with Azerbaijan\n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Prague, opened on 15 August 2007.", "* The Czech Republic has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* The Czech Republic recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992.", "See Azerbaijan-Denmark relations\n\n\n \n See Azerbaijan-Estonia relations\n\n\n\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Paris.", "* France has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Berlin.", "* Germany has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "See Azerbaijan–Greece relations\n* Greece recognized Azerbaijan's independence on 31 December 1991.", "* The Greek embassy in Baku was opened in the spring of 1993.", "* The embassy of Azerbaijan in Athens was opened in August 2004.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).", "* Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Greece\n\n Hungary\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Hungary relations\n* Hungary recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 26, 1991 and the diplomatic relations were established on November 27, 1992.", "* The Hungarian Embassy in Azerbaijan was established on January 12, 2009.", "* Embassy of Azerbaijan in Hungary was opened in September 2004.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Hungary\n\n Ireland\n 1996\n\n* Azerbaijan is represented in Ireland through its embassy in London (United Kingdom).", "* Ireland is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Ankara (Turkey).", "See Azerbaijan–Italy relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Rome.", "* Italy has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Riga.", "* Latvia has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "Both countries were former republics of the Soviet Union.", "* Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Latvia on 30 August 1991.", "* Latvia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992.", "* Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Azerbaijan \n\n\n \n\n* Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Lithuania on 10 September 1991.", "* Lithuania recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 20 December 1991.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Vilnius.", "* Lithuania has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Cooperation with Azerbaijan\n* Foreign Minister of Lithuania to pay official visit to Azerbaijan\n\n\n \n\nBoth countries established diplomatic relations on June 28, 1995.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in The Hague.", "* The Netherlands has an embassy in Baku.", "See Azerbaijan-Poland relations\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Romania relations\n\n\n \n\nSee Azerbaijan–Russia relations\n\n* Russia has an embassy in Baku.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Moscow and consulate-general in Saint Petersburg.", "Azerbaijan also announced that it will open another consulate-general in Yekaterinburg.", "See Azerbaijan–Serbia relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Belgrade.", "* Serbia has an embassy in Baku.", "* Azerbaijan has a non-resident embassy in London.", "* Sweden has an honorary in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "See Azerbaijan–Switzerland relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bern.", "* Switzerland has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "* Switzerland considers Azerbaijan an important country for economic development cooperation.", "See Azerbaijan–Ukraine relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Kiev.", "* Ukraine has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).", "See Azerbaijan – United Kingdom relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in London.", "* The United Kingdom has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).", "===Africa===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n===Americas===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \nSee Argentina–Azerbaijan relations\n* Argentina has an embassy in Baku.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Buenos Aires.", "*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Brasília.", "*Brazil has an embassy in Baku.", "See Azerbaijan–Canada relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Ottawa.", "* Canada is accredited to Azerbaijan from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Santiago.", "* Chile is accredited to Azerbaijan from its embassy in Ankara, Turkey.", "*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Bogotá.", "*Colombia has an embassy in Baku.", "See Azerbaijan–Mexico relations\n*Azerbaijan has an embassy in Mexico City.", "*Mexico has an embassy in Baku.", "*Azerbaijan is represented in Nicaragua through its embassy in Havana,Cuba.", "*Nicaragua is represented in Azerbaijan through its embassy in Moscow, Russia.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Lima.", "* Peru has an embassy in Baku.", "See Azerbaijan–United States relations\n\nOn 25 December 1991 President George H. W. Bush announced that the United States recognized the independence of all 12 former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Washington, DC and has a consulate-general in Los Angeles.", "* United States has an embassy in Baku.", "===Asia===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n 1918–1921\n\nArmenia and Azerbaijan do not have diplomatic relations today.", "See Armenia–Azerbaijan relations, Nagorno-Karabakh War\n\nThe neighboring nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan have had formal governmental relations between 1918–1921, when both countries were briefly independent.", "The two nations have fought two wars in 1918–20 (Armenian–Azerbaijani War) and in 1988–94 (Nagorno-Karabakh War), in the past century, with last one ended with provisional cease fire agreement signed in Bishkek.", "There are no formal diplomatic relations between the two countries, because of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and dispute.", "In 2008, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev declared, \"Nagorno Karabakh will never be independent; the position is backed by international mediators as well; Armenia has to accept the reality,\" and \"in 1918, Yerevan was granted to the Armenians.", "It was a great mistake.", "The khanate of Iravan was the Azeri territory, the Armenians were guests here.\"", "During the Soviet period, many Armenians and Azeris lived side by side in peace.", "However, when Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, the majority of Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of the Azerbaijan SSR began a movement to unify with the Armenian SSR.", "In 1988, the Armenians of Karabakh voted to secede and join Armenia.", "This, along with mutual massacres in Azerbaijan and Armenia resulted in the conflict that became known as the Nagorno-Karabakh War.", "The violence resulted in ''de facto'' Armenian control of former NKAO and seven surrounding Azerbaijani regions, which was effectively halted when both sides agrees to observe a cease-fire, which has since been in effect since May 1994, and in late 1995 both also agreed to mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group.", "The Minsk Group is currently co-chaired by the U.S., France, and Russia and comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and several Western European nations.", "Despite the cease fire, up to 40 clashes are reported along the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict lines of control each year.", "The two countries are still technically at war.", "Citizens of the Republic of Armenia, as well as citizens of any other country who are of Armenian descent, are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.", "If a person's passport shows any evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh, they are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.", "In 2008, in what became known as the 2008 Mardakert Skirmishes, Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed over Nagorno-Karabakh.", "The fighting between the two sides was brief, with few casualties on either side.", "* The PRC recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 27 December 1992.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Beijing.", "* The People's Republic of China has an embassy in Baku.", "* Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC: Relations with Azerbaijan\n\n\n\n\nAzerbaijan formally recognizes the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as the sole representative of the island, but has not yet established diplomatic relations with Cyprus.", "Azerbaijan, like all other countries except Turkey, formally recognizes the government of the Republic of Cyprus (with whom it has not yet established diplomatic relations), which under UN and EU law represents the entire island, but interestingly enough, the parliament of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic issued a resolution recognizing the Turkish Cypriot North (The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) as a sovereign state.", "While this recognition is not regarded by Azerbaijan and internationally as 'official state-to-state', Azerbaijan itself maintained cordial unofficial relations with the TRNC.", "In 2004, Azerbaijan threatened to formally recognize the TRNC if the Annan Plan was voted down by the Greek Cypriots (who rejected the plan in one of twin referendums held 24 April 2004 in both the Greek and Turkish zones simultaneously), but Azerbaijan backed off the threat when it was pointed out by Cyprus that doing so would be hypocritical, as a portion of its territory just like that of Cyprus itself is under occupation and would probably result in negative impact on its ongoing dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.", "Recently, in July 2005, Azerbaijan announced its intentions to recognize TRNC passports and to commence direct flights from Baku to Ercan Airport in the TRNC (by-passing both Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus); however, aside from a flight handled by the private company Imair in August 2005, none have taken place.", "Azerbaijan has become very cool towards the Turkish Cypriot North, due to tensions arising from the possible normalization of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, which Azerbaijan fears will mean the loss of key leverage in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh War.", "See Azerbaijan–Georgia relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tbilisi.", "* Georgia has an embassy in Baku.", "* Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).", "See Azerbaijan-India relations\n\n\n \nSee Azerbaijan–Iran relations\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tehran and a consulate-general in Tabriz.", "* Iran has an embassy in Baku and a consulate-general in Nakhchivan City.", "* Both countries are full members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).", "* Iran recognized Azerbaijan on 4 January 1992, upgraded its consulate in Baku to establish full diplomatic relations.", "See Azerbaijan–Israel relations\n* Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop bilateral strategic and economic relations with Israel.", "* Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan on December 25, 1991.", "* Israel established diplomatic relations on April 7, 1992.", "* Japan recognized Azerbaijan on 28 December 1991.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tokyo since 12 October 2005.", "* Japan has an embassy in Baku since 21 January 2000.", "* Azerbaijan is a full member of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Japan is an observer member of the CoE and a partner for co-operation of the OSCE.", "See Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan relations\n\n* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Astana.", "* Kazakhstan has an embassy in Baku since 16 December 1994.", "* The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea began on 23 March 1992.", "* Bilateral Trade in 2014 \n** Exports 269.5 million USD \n** Imports 0.54 million USD\n* The number of South Koreans living in Azerbaijan in 2014 about 230.", "* The Republic of Korea (South Korea) Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) held a briefing for journalists and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.", "* Foreign relations of South Korea#Europe Foreign relations of South Korea Foreign relations of the Republic of Korea.", "See Azerbaijan–Pakistan relations\n\n* Pakistan was the second country to recognize Azerbaijan after Turkey.", "* Pakistan is among the first countries to open an embassy in Baku.", "* Azerbaijan has an embassy in Islamabad.", "* Both countries are full members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).", "* Pakistan recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.", "* Azerbaijan has also expressed its support for Pakistan's stand on Kashmir.", "See Azerbaijan–Turkey relations\n\nTurkey has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.", "All this however has recently come under threat due to tensions arising from the possible normalization of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, which Azerbaijan fears will mean the loss of key leverage in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.", "===Oceania===\n\n Country\n Formal Relations Began\nNotes\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n===No relations===\nDiplomatic relations of Azerbaijan:\nAzerbaijan maintains diplomatic relations with 158 states (including Palestine and the Vatican City) and the European Union.", "Azerbaijan has not yet established diplomatic relations with:\n* Bahamas, Barbados\n* Cyprus, Armenia\n* Nigeria, Central African Republic, Congo, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe\n* Palau, Micronesia, Federated States of, Kiribati, Niue, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea\n* Sovereign Military Order of Malta\n* the rest of states with limited recognition", "\n===Nagorno-Karabakh/Armenia===\n\nThe frozen conflict over currently largely Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh within the Republic of Azerbaijan began when in 1988 the Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh demanded autonomy with demonstrations and persecutions against ethnic Azeris following in Armenia.", "This led to anti-Armenian rioting in Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijani militias beginning their effort to expel Armenians from the enclave.", "In 1992 a war broke out and pogroms of Armenians and Azeris forced both groups to flee their homes.", "In 1994, a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the war but more than 1 million ethnic Armenians and Azeris are still not able to return home.", "The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved despite negotiations, that are ongoing since 1992 under the aegis of the Minsk Group of the OSCE, to resolve the conflict peacefully.", "===Caviar diplomacy===\nThe European Stability Initiative (ESI) has revealed in a report from 2012 with the title \"Caviar Diplomacy: How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe\", that since Azerbaijan's entry into the Council of Europe, each year 30 to 40 deputies are invited to Azerbaijan and generously paid with expensive gifts, including caviar (worth up to 1.400 euro), silk carpets, gold, silver and large amounts of money.", "In return they become lobbyists for Azerbaijan.", "This practice has been widely referred to as \"Caviar diplomacy\".", "ESI also published a report on 2013 Presidential elections in Azerbaijan titled \"Disgraced: Azerbaijan and the end of election monitoring as we know it\".", "The report revealed the ties between Azerbaijani government and the members of certain observation missions who praised the elections.", "Azerbaijan's \"Caviar diplomacy\" at 2013 presidential elections sparked a major international scandal, as the reports of two authoritative organizations Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe/European Parliament and OSCE/ODIHR completely contradicted one another in their assessments of elections.", "Non-governmental anti-corruption organization Transparency International has regularly judged Azerbaijan to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world and has also criticized Azerbaijan for the \"Caviar diplomacy\".", "At june 2016 the public prosecutor of Milan has accused the former leader of the (Christian) Union of the Center and of the European People's Party of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Luca Volonte of accepting large bribes from representatives of the Azerbaijani government.", "Two people with high-level experience of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly (Pace) have told the Guardian they believe its members have been offered bribes for votes by Azerbaijan.", "Former Azerbaijani diplomat, Arif Mammadov, alleged that a member of Azerbaijan's delegation at the Council of Europe had €30m (£25m) to spend on lobbying its institutions, including the Council of Europe assembly.", "PACE ratified the terms of reference of an independent external investigation body to carry out a detailed independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption at the council involving Azerbaijan.", "==== ESISC report ====\nOn 6 March 2017, ESISC (European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center) published a scandalous report called “The Armenian Connection” where it veraciously attacked human rights NGOs and research organisations criticising human rights violations and corruption in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia.", "ESISC in that report asserted that \"Caviar diplomacy\" report elaborated by ESI aimed to create climate of suspicion based on slander to form a network of MPs that would engage in a political war against Azerbaijan.", "In the Second Chapter of the report called \"The Armenian Connection: «Mr X», Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights\" that was published on 18 April 2017 ESISC asserted that the network composed of European PMs, Armenian officials and some NGOs: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, \"Human Rights House Foundation\", \"Open Dialog, European Stability Initiative, and Helsinki Committee for Human Rights , was financed by the Soros Foundation.", "According to ESISC the key figure of the network since 2012 has been Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and the network has served to the interests of George Soros and the Republic of Armenia.", "\"The report is written in the worst traditions of authoritarian propaganda, makes absurd claims, and is clearly aimed at deflecting the wave of criticism against cover-up of unethical lobbying and corruption in PACE and demands for change in the Assembly\", said Freedom Files Analytical Centre.", "According Robert Coalson (Radio Free Europe), ESISC is a part of Baku's lobbying efforts to extend to the use of front think tanks to shift public opinion.", "European Stability Initiative said that \"ESISC report is full of lies (such as claiming that German PACE member Strasser holds pro-Armenian views and citing as evidence that he went to Yerevan in 2015 to commemorate the Armenian genocide, when Strasser has never in his life been to independent Armenia)\".", "*Azerbaijan and the European Union\n*List of diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan\n*List of diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan\n*Visa requirements for Azerbaijani citizens", "* Valiyev, Anar: \"Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus: A Pragmatic Relationship\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.", "27\n* Hübner, Gerald: \"Foreign Direct Investment in Azerbaijan—the Quality of Quantity\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.", "28\n* Abbasov, Shahin: \"Azerbaijan's Eurovision Story: Great Chances to Improve, But No Political Will\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.", "32\n*Mazziotti, Marius; Sauerborn, Djan; Scianna, Bastian Matteo: \"Multipolarity is key: Assessing Azerbaijan's foreign policy\"", "*CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website", "* U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan in Baku\n* Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington\n* Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan relations" ]

[ "\n\n'''The politics of Armenia''' takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.\n", "Armenia became independent from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic on 28 May 1918 as the First Republic of Armenia. After the First Republic collapsed on 2 December 1920, it was absorbed into the Soviet Union and became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. The TSFSR dissolved in 1936 and Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union known as the Armenian SSR.\n\nThe population of Armenia voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum, followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the vote to Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Ter-Petrosyan had been elected head of government in 1990, when the National Democratic Union party defeated the Armenian Communist Party. Ter-Petrosyan was re-elected in 1996. Following public demonstrations against Ter-Petrosyan's policies on Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned in January 1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan, who was elected President in March 1998. Following the assassination in Parliament of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan and six other officials, on 27 October 1999, a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharyan to resign. Kocharyan was successful in riding out the unrest. In May 2000, Andranik Margaryan replaced Aram Sargsyan as Prime Minister.\n\nKocharyan's re-election as president in 2003 was followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging. He went on to propose controversial constitutional amendments on the role of parliament. These were rejected in a referendum the following May at the same time as parliamentary elections which left Kocharyan's party in a very powerful position in parliament. There were mounting calls for the President's resignation in early 2004 with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of confidence in him.\n\nThe unicameral parliament (also called the National Assembly) is dominated by a coalition, called \"Unity\" (Miasnutyun), between the Republican and Peoples Parties and the Agro-Technical Peoples Union, aided by numerous independents. Dashnaksutyun, which was outlawed by Ter-Petrosyan in 1995–96 but legalized again after Ter-Petrosyan resigned, also usually supports the government. A new party, the Republic Party, is headed by ex-Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan, brother of Vazgen Sargsyan, and has become the primary voice of the opposition, which also includes the Armenian Communist Party, the National Unity party of Artashes Geghamyan, and elements of the former Ter-Petrosyan government.\n\nThe Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum since 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. For the most part however, Armenia is considered one of the more pro-democratic nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Observers noted, though, that opposition parties and candidates have been able to mount credible campaigns and proper polling procedures have been generally followed. Elections since 1998 have represented an improvement in terms of both fairness and efficiency, although they are still considered to have fallen short of international standards. The new constitution of 1995 greatly expanded the powers of the executive branch and gives it much more influence over the judiciary and municipal officials.\n\nThe observance of human rights in Armenia is uneven and is marked by shortcomings. Police brutality allegedly still goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers. Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in November 2000 by an opposition party was followed by the arrest and imprisonment for a month of its organizer. Freedom of religion is not always protected under existing law. Nontraditional churches, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently. All churches apart from the Armenian Apostolic Church must register with the government, and proselytizing was forbidden by law, though since 1997 the government has pursued more moderate policies. The government's policy toward conscientious objection is in transition, as part of Armenia's accession to the Council of Europe. Most of Armenia's ethnic Azeri population was deported in 1988–1989 and remain refugees, largely in Azerbaijan. Armenia's record on discrimination toward the few remaining national minorities is generally good. The government does not restrict internal or international travel. Although freedom of the press and speech are guaranteed, the government maintains its monopoly over television and radio broadcasting.\n\n===Change to parliamentary republic (2015)===\n\nIn December 2015 the country held a referendum which resulted in Armenia changing its form of government from a presidential to a parliamentary republic.\n\nAs a result, the president was stripped of his previous veto faculty and the presidency downgraded to a figurehead position elected by parliament every seven years. Following the reform, the president can not be a member of any political party and re-election is now forbidden. The amendments also reduced the number of parliamentary seats from 131 to 101.\n\nSceptics saw the constitutional reform as a way for incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan to remain in control by becoming prime minister when his second presidential term ends in 2018.\n", "\n\nThe president is elected for a five-year term by the people (absolute majority with 2nd round if necessary).\n\nPresident of Armenia\nSerzh Sargsyan\nRepublican Party\n9 April 2008\n\nPrime Minister\nKaren Karapetyan\nRepublican Party\n13 September 2016\n\n", "\n\nThe National Assembly of Armenia (''Azgayin Zhoghov'') is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia. It is a unicameral body, initially made of 131 members, elected for five-year terms: 90 members in single-seat constituencies and 41 by proportional representation. The proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly are assigned on a party-list basis amongst those parties that receive at least 5% of the total of the number of the votes.\nFollowing the 2015 referendum, the number of MPs was reduced from the original 131 members to 101.\n", "\n\nThe electoral threshold is currently set at 5% for single parties and 7% for blocs.\n\nThe first primary election in Armenia was held by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in November 2007 to select the presidential candidate. Some 300.000 people voted.\n\n", "\nIndependent of three traditional branches are the following independent agencies, each with separate powers and responsibilities:\n\n* the Constitutional Court of Armenia\n* the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia\n* the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia\n* the Central Bank of Armenia\n* the General Prosecutor's Office\n* the Control Chamber of The Republic of Armenia\n", "\n\nPolitical corruption is a problem in Armenian society. In 2008, Transparency International reduced its Corruption Perceptions Index for Armenia from 3.0 in 2007 to 2.9 out of 10 (a lower score means more perceived corruption); Armenia slipped from 99th place in 2007 to 109th out of 180 countries surveyed (on a par with Argentina, Belize, Moldova, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu). Despite legislative revisions in relation to elections and party financing, corruption either persists or has re-emerged in new forms.\n\nThe United Nations Development Programme in Armenia views corruption in Armenia as \"a serious challenge to its development.\"\n", "* Constitution of Armenia\n* Constitutional economics\n* Foreign relations of Armenia\n* Rule according to higher law\n\n\n", "\n", "* Global Integrity Report: Armenia has information on anti-corruption efforts\n* Petrosyan, David: \"The Political System of Armenia: Form and Content\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 17\n* http://www.coc.am/LegislationEng.aspx\n* http://www.coc.am/files/legislation/COCLawArm.pdf\n* http://www.parliament.am\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Government", "Legislative branch", "Political parties and elections", "Independent Agencies", "Corruption", "See also", "Notes", "External links" ]

[ "\nIndependent of three traditional branches are the following independent agencies, each with separate powers and responsibilities:\n\n* the Constitutional Court of Armenia\n* the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia\n* the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia\n* the Central Bank of Armenia\n* the General Prosecutor's Office\n* the Control Chamber of The Republic of Armenia" ]

[ "\n\n'''The politics of Armenia''' takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.", "Executive power is exercised by the government.", "Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.", "Armenia became independent from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic on 28 May 1918 as the First Republic of Armenia.", "After the First Republic collapsed on 2 December 1920, it was absorbed into the Soviet Union and became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR.", "The TSFSR dissolved in 1936 and Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union known as the Armenian SSR.", "The population of Armenia voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum, followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the vote to Levon Ter-Petrosyan.", "Ter-Petrosyan had been elected head of government in 1990, when the National Democratic Union party defeated the Armenian Communist Party.", "Ter-Petrosyan was re-elected in 1996.", "Following public demonstrations against Ter-Petrosyan's policies on Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned in January 1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan, who was elected President in March 1998.", "Following the assassination in Parliament of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan and six other officials, on 27 October 1999, a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharyan to resign.", "Kocharyan was successful in riding out the unrest.", "In May 2000, Andranik Margaryan replaced Aram Sargsyan as Prime Minister.", "Kocharyan's re-election as president in 2003 was followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging.", "He went on to propose controversial constitutional amendments on the role of parliament.", "These were rejected in a referendum the following May at the same time as parliamentary elections which left Kocharyan's party in a very powerful position in parliament.", "There were mounting calls for the President's resignation in early 2004 with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of confidence in him.", "The unicameral parliament (also called the National Assembly) is dominated by a coalition, called \"Unity\" (Miasnutyun), between the Republican and Peoples Parties and the Agro-Technical Peoples Union, aided by numerous independents.", "Dashnaksutyun, which was outlawed by Ter-Petrosyan in 1995–96 but legalized again after Ter-Petrosyan resigned, also usually supports the government.", "A new party, the Republic Party, is headed by ex-Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan, brother of Vazgen Sargsyan, and has become the primary voice of the opposition, which also includes the Armenian Communist Party, the National Unity party of Artashes Geghamyan, and elements of the former Ter-Petrosyan government.", "The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government.", "However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum since 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places.", "For the most part however, Armenia is considered one of the more pro-democratic nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States.", "Observers noted, though, that opposition parties and candidates have been able to mount credible campaigns and proper polling procedures have been generally followed.", "Elections since 1998 have represented an improvement in terms of both fairness and efficiency, although they are still considered to have fallen short of international standards.", "The new constitution of 1995 greatly expanded the powers of the executive branch and gives it much more influence over the judiciary and municipal officials.", "The observance of human rights in Armenia is uneven and is marked by shortcomings.", "Police brutality allegedly still goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers.", "Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in November 2000 by an opposition party was followed by the arrest and imprisonment for a month of its organizer.", "Freedom of religion is not always protected under existing law.", "Nontraditional churches, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently.", "All churches apart from the Armenian Apostolic Church must register with the government, and proselytizing was forbidden by law, though since 1997 the government has pursued more moderate policies.", "The government's policy toward conscientious objection is in transition, as part of Armenia's accession to the Council of Europe.", "Most of Armenia's ethnic Azeri population was deported in 1988–1989 and remain refugees, largely in Azerbaijan.", "Armenia's record on discrimination toward the few remaining national minorities is generally good.", "The government does not restrict internal or international travel.", "Although freedom of the press and speech are guaranteed, the government maintains its monopoly over television and radio broadcasting.", "===Change to parliamentary republic (2015)===\n\nIn December 2015 the country held a referendum which resulted in Armenia changing its form of government from a presidential to a parliamentary republic.", "As a result, the president was stripped of his previous veto faculty and the presidency downgraded to a figurehead position elected by parliament every seven years.", "Following the reform, the president can not be a member of any political party and re-election is now forbidden.", "The amendments also reduced the number of parliamentary seats from 131 to 101.", "Sceptics saw the constitutional reform as a way for incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan to remain in control by becoming prime minister when his second presidential term ends in 2018.", "\n\nThe president is elected for a five-year term by the people (absolute majority with 2nd round if necessary).", "President of Armenia\nSerzh Sargsyan\nRepublican Party\n9 April 2008\n\nPrime Minister\nKaren Karapetyan\nRepublican Party\n13 September 2016", "\n\nThe National Assembly of Armenia (''Azgayin Zhoghov'') is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia.", "It is a unicameral body, initially made of 131 members, elected for five-year terms: 90 members in single-seat constituencies and 41 by proportional representation.", "The proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly are assigned on a party-list basis amongst those parties that receive at least 5% of the total of the number of the votes.", "Following the 2015 referendum, the number of MPs was reduced from the original 131 members to 101.", "\n\nThe electoral threshold is currently set at 5% for single parties and 7% for blocs.", "The first primary election in Armenia was held by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in November 2007 to select the presidential candidate.", "Some 300.000 people voted.", "\n\nPolitical corruption is a problem in Armenian society.", "In 2008, Transparency International reduced its Corruption Perceptions Index for Armenia from 3.0 in 2007 to 2.9 out of 10 (a lower score means more perceived corruption); Armenia slipped from 99th place in 2007 to 109th out of 180 countries surveyed (on a par with Argentina, Belize, Moldova, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu).", "Despite legislative revisions in relation to elections and party financing, corruption either persists or has re-emerged in new forms.", "The United Nations Development Programme in Armenia views corruption in Armenia as \"a serious challenge to its development.\"", "* Constitution of Armenia\n* Constitutional economics\n* Foreign relations of Armenia\n* Rule according to higher law", "* Global Integrity Report: Armenia has information on anti-corruption efforts\n* Petrosyan, David: \"The Political System of Armenia: Form and Content\" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No.", "17\n* http://www.coc.am/LegislationEng.aspx\n* http://www.coc.am/files/legislation/COCLawArm.pdf\n* http://www.parliament.am" ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''economy of Armenia''' is ranked 132nd in the world, with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $10.561 billion per annum. It is also the 129th largest in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP), at $25.329 billion per annum. Armenia is the second-most densely populated of the post-Soviet states because of its small size. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.\n\nUntil independence, Armenia's economy was based largely on industry—chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber and textiles; it was highly dependent on outside resources. Agriculture accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold and lead. The vast majority of energy is produced with imported fuel, including gas and nuclear fuel from Russia (for its one nuclear power plant.) The main domestic energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of coal, gas and petroleum have not yet been developed.\n\nLike other former states, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function. In addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. Although a cease-fire has held since 1994, the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The consequent blockade along both the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because of Armenia's dependence on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed; routes through Georgia and Iran are adequate and reliable. In 1992-93, the GDP had fallen nearly 60% from its 1989 level. The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first few years after its introduction in 1993.\n\nArmenia has registered strong economic growth since 1995 and inflation has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such as precious stone processing and jewelry making and communication technology (primarily Armentel, which is left from the USSR era and is owned by external investors). This steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, EBRD, as well as other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans. Total loans extended to Armenia since 1993 exceed $800 million. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit, stabilizing the local currency; developing private businesses; energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation work in the earthquake zone.\n\nContinued progress will depend on the ability of the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate, and accelerating privatization. A liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994, and a law on privatization was adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization. The government has made major strides toward joining the World Trade Organization. By 1994, however, the Armenian government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2005. Armenia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2003. Armenia also has managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Armenia's unemployment rate, however, remains high, despite strong economic growth. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor, which is under international pressure to close. The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment. Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been more difficult to implement.\n", "Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold and bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh (which was part of Soviet Azerbaijan) and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-99. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Continued Russian financial difficulties have hurt the trade sector especially, but have been offset by international aid, domestic restructuring and foreign direct investment.\n", "\nAt the beginning of the 20th century, the territory of present-day Armenia was a backward agricultural region with some copper mining and cognac production. From 1914 through 1921, Caucasian Armenia suffered from war, revolution, the influx of refugees from Turkish Armenia, disease, hunger and economic misery. About 200,000 people died in 1919 alone. At that point, only American relief efforts saved Armenia from total collapse.\n\n100 million rubles banknote\n\nThe first Soviet Armenian government regulated economic activity stringently, nationalising all economic enterprises, requisitioning grain from peasants, and suppressing most private market activity. This first experiment of state control ended with the advent of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1921–27. This policy continued state control of the large enterprises and banks, but peasants could market much of their grain, and small businesses could function. In Armenia, the NEP years brought partial recovery from the economic disaster of the post-World War I period. By 1926 agricultural production in Armenia had reached nearly three-quarters of its prewar level.\n\nBy the end of the 1920s, Stalin's regime had revoked the NEP and reestablished the state monopoly on all economic activity. Once this occurred, the main goal of the Soviet economic policy in Armenia was to turn a predominantly agrarian and rural republic into an industrial and urban one. Among other restrictions, peasants now were forced to sell nearly all of their output to state procurement agencies rather than at the market. From the 1930s through the 1960s, an industrial infrastructure has been constructed. Besides hydroelectric plants and canals, roads were built and gas pipelines were laid to bring fuel and food from Azerbaijan and Russia.\n\nThe Stalinist command economy, in which market forces were suppressed and all orders for production and distribution came from the state authorities, survived in all its essential features until the fall of the Soviet regime in 1991. In the early stages of the communist economic revolution, Armenia underwent a fundamental transformation into a \"proletarian\" society. Between 1929 and 1939, the percentage of Armenia's work force categorised as industrial workers grew from 13% to 31%. By 1935 industry supplied 62% of Armenia's economic production. Highly integrated and sheltered within artificial barter economy of the Soviet system from the 1930s until the end of the communist era, the Armenian economy showed few signs of self-sufficiency at any time during that period. In 1988 Armenia produced only 0.9% of the net material product of the Soviet Union (1.2% of industry, 0.7% of agriculture). The republic retained 1.4% of total state budget revenue, delivered 63.7% of its NMP to other republics, and exported only 1.4% of what it produced to markets outside the Soviet Union.\n\nArmenia's industry was especially dependent on the Soviet military-industrial complex. About 40% of all enterprises in the republic were devoted to defense, and some factories lost 60% to 80% of their business in the last years of the Soviet Union, when massive cuts were made in the national defense expenditures. As the republic's economy faced the prospects of competing in world markets in the mid 1990s, the great liabilities of Armenia's industry were its outdated equipment and infrastructure and the pollution emitted by many of the country's heavy industrial plants.\n\nIn 1991, Armenia's last year as a Soviet republic, national income fell 12% from the previous year, while per capita gross national product was 4,920 rubles, only 68% of the Soviet average. In large part due to the earthquake of 1988, the Azerbaijani blockade that began in 1989 and the collapse of the international trading system of the Soviet Union, the Armenian economy of the early 1990s remained far below its 1980 production levels. In the first years of independence (1992–93), inflation was extremely high, productivity and national income dropped dramatically, and the national budget ran large deficits.\n\n=== Post-communist economic reform ===\n\nArmenia introduced elements of the free market and privatisation into their economic system in the late 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachov began advocating economic reform. Cooperatives were set up in the service sector, particularly in restaurants, although substantial resistance came from the Communist Party of Armenia (CPA) and other groups that had enjoyed privileged position in the old economy. In the late 1980s, much of Armenia's economy already was opening either semi-officially or illegally, with widespread corruption and bribery. The so-called mafia, made up of interconnected groups of powerful officials and their relatives and friends, sabotaged the efforts of reformers to create a lawful market system. When the December 1988 earthquake brought millions of dollars of foreign aid to the devastated regions of Armenia, much of the money went to corrupt and criminal elements.\n\nBeginning in 1991, the democratically elected government pushed vigorously for privatisation and market relations, although its efforts were frustrated by the old ways of doing business in Armenia, the Azerbaijani blockade, and the costs of the Nagorno-Karabakh War. In 1992, the Law on the Programme of Privatisation and Decentralisation of Incompletely Constructed Facilities established a state privatisation committee, with members from all political parties. In middle 1993, the committee announced a two-year privatisation programme, whose first stage would be privatisation of 30% of state enterprises, mostly services and light industries. The remaining 70%, including many bankrupt, nonfunctional enterprises, were to be privatised in a later stage with a minimum of government restriction, to encourage private initiative. For all enterprises, the workers would receive 20% of their firm's property free of charge; 30% would be distributed to all citizens by means of vouchers; and the remaining 50% was to be distributed by the government, with preference given to members of the labour organisations. A major problem of this system, however, was the lack of supporting legislation covering foreign investment protection, bankruptcy, monopoly policy, and consumer protection.\n\nIn the first post-communist years, efforts to interest foreign investors in joint enterprises were only moderately successful because of the blockade and the energy shortage. Only in late 1993 was a department of foreign investment established in the Ministry of Economy, to spread information about Armenia's investment opportunities and improve the legal infrastructure for investment activity. A specific goal of this agency was creating a market for scientific and technical intellectual property.\n\nA few Armenians living abroad made large-scale investments. Besides a toy factory and construction projects, diaspora Armenians built a cold storage plant (which in its first years had little produce to store) and established the American University of Armenia in Yerevan to teach the techniques necessary to run a market economy.\n\nArmenia was admitted to the International Monetary Fund in May 1992 and to the World Bank in September. A year later, the government complained that those organisations were holding back financial assistance and announced its intention to move toward fuller price liberalisation, and the removal of all tariffs, quotas, and restrictions of foreign trade. Although privatisation had slowed because of catastrophic collapse of the economy, Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan informed the United States officials in the fall of 1993 that plans had been made to embark on a renewed privatisation programme by the end of the year.\n", "The Armenian economy's competitiveness is low and stagnating according to the Global Competitiveness Index, in which Armenia's ranking slipped from 80th out of 132 countries in 2006-2007 index to 93rd out of 131 countries in the 2007-2008 index (just below Libya, Namibia, Georgia, Serbia and Pakistan). Armenia ranks 82nd out of 144 economies according to the 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Index.\n", "Armenia ranks 39th out of 179 economies according to the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom. Armenia is ranked 19th freest among the 43 countries in the Europe region, putting it above the world and regional averages.\n", "Armenian State Revenue Committee (housing both the Armenian Customs Service and the Armenian Tax Service) claimed to be corrupt.\n\n\nArmenia ranks 32nd out of 185 economies according to the 2013 ease of doing business index.\n\nArmenia's economy is competitive to a few extent with government-connected individuals enjoying de facto monopolies over the import and distribution of basic commodities and foodstuffs, and under-reporting revenue to avoid paying taxes.\n\nDespite pronouncements at the highest levels of government on the importance of free competition, Armenia is next to last in the effectiveness of its anti-monopoly policy according to the 2010 results of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.\n\nAccording to Vahram Nercissiantz, President Serzh Sargsyan's chief economic adviser, \"Businessmen holding state positions have turned into oligarchs who have avoided paying sufficient taxes by abusing their state positions, distorted markets with unequal conditions, breached the rules of competition, impeded or prevented small and medium-sized business’ entry into manufacturing and thereby sharply deepened social polarization in the republic.\n\nFollowing the advice of economic advisors who cautioned Armenia's leadership against the consolidation of economic power in the hands of a few, in January 2001, the Government of Armenia established the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition. Its members cannot be dismissed by the government.\n\n===Monopolies===\nAccording to one analyst, Armenia's economic system is anticompetitive due to the structure of the economy being a type of \"monopoly or oligopoly\". \"The result is the prices with us do not drop even if they do on international market, or they do quite belated and not to the size of the international market.\"\n\nAccording to the estimate of a former prime minister, Hrant Bagratian, 55 percent of Armenia's GDP is controlled by 44 families.\n\nIn early 2008, the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition named 60 companies having \"dominant positions\" in Armenia.\n\nIn October 2009, when visiting Yerevan, the World Bank’s managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, warned that Armenia will not reach a higher level of development unless its leadership changes the \"oligopolistic\" structure of the national economy, bolsters the rule of law and shows \"zero tolerance\" towards corruption. \"I think you can only go so far with this economic model,\" Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference in Yerevan. \"Armenia is a lower middle-income country. If it wants to become a high-income or upper middle-income country, it can not do so with this kind of economic structure. That is clear.\" She also called for a sweeping reform of tax and customs administration, the creation of a \"strong and independent judicial system\" as well as a tough fight against government corruption. The warning was echoed by the International Monetary Fund.\n\nMajor monopolies in Armenia include:\n# Natural gas import and distribution, held by ArmRosGazprom (ARG) (controlled by Russian monopoly Gazprom)\n# Armenia's railway, held by the Russian-owned South Caucasus Railway (SCR) (formerly Russia’s state-run rail company, RZD)\n# Oilimport and distribution (claimed by Armenian opposition parties to belonging to a handful of government-linked individuals, one of which - \"Mika Limited\" - is owned by Mikhail Baghdasarian, while the other - \"Flash\" - is owned by Barsegh Beglarian, a \"prominent representative of the Karabakh clan\")\n## Aviation kerosene (supplying to Zvartnots airport), held by Mika Limited\n# Various basic foodstuffs such as rice, sugar, wheat, cooking oil and butter (the Salex Group enjoys a de facto monopoly on imports of wheat, sugar, flour, butter and cooking oil. Its owner is parliament deputy Samvel Aleksanian (a.k.a. \"Lfik Samo\") a figure close to the country’s leadership.)\n# Newspaper distribution, held by Haymamul (some newspaper editors believe that Haymamul deliberately refuses to print more newspaper copies in order to minimize the impact of unfavorable press coverage of the government)\n\n''Former'' major monopolies in Armenia include:\n# Wireless (mobile) telephony, held by Armentel until 2004\n# Internet access, held by Armentel until September 2006\n# Fixed-line telephony, held by Armentel until August 2007\n", "The Gross Domestic Product of Armenia stood at 8.8 billion US dollars in 2010; with a population of 3.2 million, this amounts to a GDP per capita of $2,676 (purchasing power parity $5,178). GDP growth for 2010 was at 2.9 percent, and inflation was at 8 percent.\n\nGDP growth is expected to be around 3 percent in 2011, with inflation returning to 4-5 percent.\n\nIn comparison, in 2006, the GDP was estimated to be 6.6 billion USD per calendar year and the GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) was estimated at $5,400 US. The growth rate was high at 13.4%, but the relatively low base must be considered. Low inflation was maintained around 2.6% annually.\n\n===Growth===\nAfter a decade of double-digit growth, Armenia's economy declined by 14.4 percent in 2009. The year-to-date growth as of October 2010 was 2.8 percent. In 2010, the main macro deficiencies of the Armenian economy — namely, unsustainable growth drivers, a narrow and resource-dominated export base, and overdependence on private transfers — were still prevalent.\n\nAccording to official figures, Armenia’s economy grew by 13.8 percent in 2007. According to research funded by the USAID CAPS project, Armenia's exceptionally high rate of economic growth during the last decade has been largely dependent on external factors (e.g., remittances, assistance from international financial and donor organization). Furthermore, the study concluded that despite its record growth on most macro-economic metrics, Armenia is \"low and lagging\" in competitiveness.\n\nAccording to the National Statistical Service, the booming construction and service sectors remain the driving forces of the high growth rate of GDP.\n\n\n\n Year !! GDP ( millions of drams) !! Growth !! GDP per capita !! GDP deflator \n\n 2000 \n \n +5.9% \n \n −1.4%\n\n 2001 \n \n +9.6% \n \n +4.1%\n\n 2002 \n \n +13.2% \n \n +0.7%\n\n 2003 \n \n +14.0% \n \n +4.6%\n\n 2004 \n \n +10.5% \n \n +6.3%\n\n 2005 \n \n +13.9% \n \n +3.2%\n\n 2006 \n \n +13.2% \n \n +4.6%\n\n 2007 \n \n +13.7% \n \n +4.2%\n\n 2008 \n \n +6.9% \n \n +5.9%\n\n 2009 \n \n −14.1% \n \n +2.6%\n\n 2010 \n \n +2.2% \n \n +7.8%\n\n 2011 \n \n +4.7% \n \n +4.2%\n\n 2012\t\n \n +7.2% \n \n -1.2%\n\n 2013\t\n \n +3.3% \n \n +3.4%\n\n 2014\t\n \n +3.6% \n \n +2.3%\n\n 2015\t\n \n +3.0% \n \n +1.2%\n\n\n===Cash remittances===\nCash remittances sent back home from Armenians working abroad—mostly in Russia and the United States—are growing and contribute significantly to Armenia's Gross Domestic Product (between 15 and 30 percent). They help Armenia sustain double-digit economic growth and finance its massive trade deficit.\n\nAccording to the Central Bank of Armenia, during the first half of 2008, cash remittances sent back to Armenia by Armenians working abroad rose by 57.5 percent and totaled $668.6 million USD, equivalent to 15 percent of the country's first-half Gross Domestic Product. However, the latter figures only represent cash remittances processed through Armenian commercial banks. According to RFE/RL, comparable sums are believed to be transferred through non-bank systems, implying that cash remittances make up approximately 30 percent of Armenia's GDP in the first half of 2008.\n\nIn 2007, cash remittances through bank transfers rose by 37 percent to a record-high level of $1.32 billion USD. According to the Central Bank of Armenia, in 2005, cash remittances from Armenians working abroad reached a record-high level of $1 billion, which is worth more than one fifth of the country’s 2005 Gross Domestic Product.\n\nNet private transfers decreased in 2009, but saw a continuous increase during the first six months of 2010. Since private transfers from the Diaspora tend to be mostly injected into consumption of imports and not in high value-added sectors, the transfers have not resulted in sizeable increases in productivity.\n\n===Secondary sector===\nArmenia experienced a construction boom during the latter part of the 2000s. According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia's booming construction sector generated about 20 percent of Armenia's GDP during the first eight months of 2007. According to a World Bank official, 30 percent of Armenia's economy in 2009 came from the construction sector.\n\nHowever, during the January to September 2010 period, the sector experienced a 5.2 percent year-on-year decrease, which according to the Civilitas Foundation is an indication of the unsustainability of a sector based on an elite market, with few products for the median or low budgets. This decrease comes despite the fact that an important component of the government stimulus package was to support the completion of ongoing construction projects.\n\n===Retail trade===\nIn 2010, retail trade turnover was largely unaltered compared to 2009. The existing monopolies throughout the retail sector have made the sector non-responsive to the crisis and resulted in near zero growth. The aftermath of the crisis has started to shift the structure in the retail sector in favor of food products.\n\n===Services sector===\nIn the 2000s, along with the construction sector, the services sector was the driving force behind Armenia's recent high economic growth rate. In 2010, the volume of services increased as much as 7.4 percent from January to September, over the same period in 2009.\n\n====Tourism====\n\nAccording to official data, in 2007, a record-high 500,000 tourists visited Armenia — most of them ethnic Armenians from Europe, Russia and the United States. 2010 saw a noticeable increase in the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia – estimated to be 80,000.\n\nHowever, according to private tour operators and other individuals familiar with the country’s tourism industry, government claims that hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists visit Armenia each year are inflated. Official statistics show that as many 575,000 tourists visited Armenia from abroad in 2009; the government stated earlier in 2010 that the figure will surpass 620,000 in 2010. However, data from the National Statistical Service shows that there were only 65,000 foreigners staying in Armenian hotels in 2009. Ara Vartanian, the chairman of the Armenian Trade and Industry Chamber, thinks that this measure is a far more objective indicator of the tourist influx into the country. In 2012, as many as 843,330 tourists visited Armenia.\n\n===Industrial sector===\nIndustrial output was relatively positive throughout 2010, with year-on-year average growth of 10.9 percent in the period January to September 2010, due largely to the mining sector where higher global demand for commodities led to higher prices. According to the National Statistical Service, during the January–August 2007 period, Armenia's industrial sector was the single largest contributor to the country's GDP, but remained largely stagnant with industrial output increasing only by 1.7 percent per year. In 2005, Armenia's industrial output (including electricity) made up about 30 percent of GDP.\n\n===Mining===\n\n40 percent of Armenia's exports in 2009 were mining exports.\n\n===Agricultural sector===\n\nAs of 2010, the agricultural production comprises on average 25 percent of Armenia's GDP. In 2006, the agricultural sector accounted for about 20 percent of Armenia's GDP.\n\nArmenia's agricultural output dropped by 17.9 percent in the period of January–September 2010. This was owing to bad weather, a lack of a government stimulus package, and the continuing effects of decreased agricultural subsidies by the Armenian government (per WTO requirements).\n", "\n===United States===\nThe Armenian government receives foreign aid from the government of the United States through the United States Agency for International Development and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.\n\nOn March 27, 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $235.65 million compact with the Government of Armenia. The single stated goal of the \"Armenian Compact\" is \"the reduction of rural poverty through a sustainable increase in the economic performance of the agricultural sector.\" The compact includes a $67 million to rehabilitate up to 943 kilometers of rural roads, more than a third of Armenia's proposed \"Lifeline road network\". The Compact also includes a $146 million project to increase the productivity of approximately 250,000 farm households through improved water supply, higher yields, higher-value crops, and a more competitive agricultural sector.\n\nIn 2010, the volume of US assistance to Armenia remained near 2009 levels; however, longer-term decline continued. The original Millennium Challenge Account commitment for $235 million had been reduced to about $175 million due to Armenia’s poor governance record. Thus, the MCC would not complete road construction. Instead, the irrigated agriculture project was headed for completion with apparently no prospects for extension beyond 2011.\n\n===European Union===\nWith curtailment of the MCC funding, the European Union may replace the US as Armenia’s chief source of foreign aid for the first time since independence. From 2011 to 2013, the European Union is expected to advance at least €157.3 million ($208 million) in aid to Armenia.\n", "\n===Exports===\nCigarettes are ranked first among Armenia's export of finished products\nIn 2010, Armenia’s exports remained resource-dependent, largely because the non-resource-intensive sectors were significantly less competitive. Armenia has not succeeded in increasing and diversifying exports beyond raw materials thus leaving room for a greater vulnerability to external shocks. There was a 43.9 percent increase in overall exports during the January to September period. The main three export destinations were Bulgaria with 15.2 percent of total exports, followed by Germany with 14.2 percent and Russia with 13.9 percent. Raw minerals were the main export sent to Bulgaria and Germany.\n\n===Imports===\nThe global economic crisis has had less impact on imports because the sector is more diversified than exports. In the first nine months of 2010, imports grew about 19 percent, just about equal to the decline of the same sector in 2009.\n\n===Deficit===\nDuring the first half of 2008, Armenia's widening current-account trade deficit grew by 66 percent to $1.39 billion USD, with a 40 percent rise in imports. Furthermore, Armenian exports fell by about one percent to $520 million USD.\n\nAccording to the National Statistical Service, Armenia's trade deficit in 2006 was $1.2 billion with growth in exports being largely flat. During the first 11 months of 2006, net imports grew by 21 percent to $1.95 billion, while exports stood at $895 million, up 0.3 percent from the same period in 2005.\n\n===Partners===\n\n====European Union====\nIn 2010, EU countries accounted for 32.1 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade. Germany is Armenia’s largest trading partner among EU member states, accounting for 7.2 percent of trade; this is due largely to mining exports. Armenian exports to EU countries have skyrocketed by 65.9 percent, making up more than half of all 2010 January to September exports. Imports from EU countries increased by 17.1 percent, constituting 22.5 percent of all imports.\n\nDuring January–February 2007, Armenia’s trade with the European Union totaled $200 million. During the first 11 months of 2006, the European Union remained Armenia's largest trading partner, accounting for 34.4 percent of its $2.85 billion commercial exchange during the 11-month period.\n\n====Russia and former Soviet republics====\nBilateral trade with Russia stood at more than $700 million for the first nine months of 2010 – on track to rebound to $1 billion mark first reached in 2008 prior to the global economic crisis.\n\nDuring January–February 2007, Armenia’s trade with Russia and other former Soviet republics was $205.6 million (double the amount from the same period the previous year), making them the country’s number one trading partner. During the first 11 months of 2006, the volume of Armenia’s trade with Russia was $376.8 million or 13.2 percent of the total commercial exchange.\n\n====China====\nAs of early 2011, trade with China is dominated by imports of Chinese goods and accounts for about 10 percent of Armenia's foreign trade. The volume of Chinese-Armenian trade soared by 55 percent to $390 million in January–November 2010. Armenian exports to China, though still modest in absolute terms, nearly doubled in that period.\n\n====Iran====\nIn 2010, the volume of bilateral trade with Iran was $200 million - which is approximately equal to the trade between Armenia and Turkey. The number of Iranian tourists has risen in recent years, with an estimated 80,000 Iranian tourists in 2010.\n\n====Turkey====\nIn 2010, the volume of bilateral trade with Turkey was about $200 million, with trade taking place without open borders, across Georgian territory. This figure is not expected to increase significantly so long as the land border between the Armenia and Turkey remains closed.\n\n====United States====\nFrom January–September 2010, bilateral trade with the United States measured approximately $150 million, on track for about a 30 percent increase over 2009. An increase in Armenia’s exports to the US in 2009 and 2010 has been due to shipments of aluminum foil.\n\nDuring the first 11 months of 2006, U.S.-Armenian trade totaled $152.6 million.\n\n====Georgia====\nThe volume of Georgian-Armenian trade remains modest in both relative and absolute terms. According to official Armenian statistics, it rose by 11 percent to $91.6 million in January–November 2010. The figure was equivalent to just over 2 percent of Armenia’s overall foreign trade.\n", "Armenia's national debt has increased significantly since 2008 when public external debt consisted of only 13.5 percent of GDP. By the end of 2010, Armenia’s external debt is projected to form about 42 percent of GDP, and 50 percent in 2012.\n\nAs of late November 2009, the Armenian government's foreign debt was around $3 billion USD, having doubled in size over the course of the previous year. With the Armenian government needing more anti-crisis loans from the World Bank and other foreign donors, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to exceed 40 percent in 2010. According to a World Bank official, a country that has around 12 percent rate of growth or even lower, at the range of 7 to 8 percent, can afford a level of public debt of up to 50 percent. The official warned that the debt servicing payments of the Armenian government will surge by 2013 and absorb \"quite significant part of tax revenues.\"\n\nAccording to another estimate, the ratio between the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the state's foreign debt has reached 46 percent. Economists generally agree that a country is insolvent, if its foreign debt surpasses 50 percent of its GDP. Critics of the government say that the $500 million credit from Russia should have gone to develop industry, instead of going to the construction sector.\n", "\n===Internal===\nSince early 2008, Armenia's entire rail network is managed by the Russian state railway.\n\n===Through Georgia===\nRussian natural gas reaches Armenia via a pipeline through Georgia.\n\nThe only operational rail link into Armenia is from Georgia. During Soviet times, Armenia's rail network connected to Russia's via Georgia through Abkhazia along the Black Sea. However, the rail link between Abkhazia and other Georgian regions has been closed for a number of years, forcing Armenia to receive rail cars laden with cargo only through the relatively expensive rail-ferry services operating between Georgian and other Black Sea ports.\n\nThe Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti process more than 90 percent of freight shipped to and from landlocked Armenia. The Georgian railway, which runs through the town of Gori in central Georgia, is the main transport link between Armenia and the aforementioned Georgian seaports. Fuel, wheat and other basic commodities are transported to Armenia by rail.\n\nArmenia's main rail and road border-crossing with Georgia (at ) is along the Debed river near the Armenian town of Bagratashen and the Georgian town of Sadakhlo.\n\nThe Upper Lars border crossing (at Darial Gorge) between Georgia and Russia across the Caucasus Mountains served as Armenia's sole overland route to the former Soviet Union and Europe. It was controversially shut down by the Russian authorities in June 2006, at the height of a Russian-Georgian spy scandal. Upper Lars is the only land border crossing that does not go through Georgia's Russian-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The other two roads linking Georgia and Russia run through South Ossetia and Abkhazia, effectively barring them to international traffic. This crossing is expected to reopen starting on March 1, 2010.\n\n===Through Turkey and Azerbaijan===\nThe closing of the border by Turkey has cut Armenia's rail link between Gyumri and Kars to Turkey; the rail link with Iran through the Azeri exclave of Nakhichevan; and a natural gas and oil pipeline line with Azerbaijan. Also non-functioning are roads with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Despite the economic blockade of Turkey on Armenia, every day dozens of Turkish trucks laden with goods enter Armenia through Georgia.\n\nIn 2010, it was confirmed that Turkey will keep the border closed for the foreseeable future after the Turkey-Armenia normalization process collapsed.\n\n===Through Iran===\nA new gas pipeline to Iran has been completed, and a road to Iran through the southern city of Meghri allows trade with that country. An oil pipeline to pump Iranian oil products is also in the planning stages.\n\nAs of October 2008, the Armenian government is considering implementing an ambitious project to build a railway to Iran. The 400 kilometer railway would pass through Armenia's mountainous southern province of Syunik, which borders Iran. Economic analysts say that the project would cost at least $1 billion (equivalent to about 40 percent of Armenia's 2008 state budget). As of 2010, the project has been continuously delayed, with the rail link estimated to cost as much as $4 billion and stretch . In June 2010, Transport Minister Manuk Vartanian revealed that Yerevan is seeking as much as $1 billion in loans from China to finance the railway’s construction.\n", "Armenia labor force by occupation (2006 est.)\n\n===Monthly wages===\nAccording to the state-owned Armenpress news agency, the average monthly wage in Armenia for the first half of 2007 was 70,700 drams (about $210 USD).\n\nAs of April 24, 2008, the average monthly salary is 75,000 drams (about $242 US dollars). According to the ROA National Statistical Service, the average monthly salary during January - June 2008 is 86,850 drams (about $287 at the time). About 62% of officially registered wage earners earn at least the average monthly wage, while only 19.6% receive a monthly salary of over 100,000 drams (about $330 at the time).\n\n===Unemployment===\nAccording to research commissioned by the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), at least one in three working-age Armenians was unemployed as of February 2005 despite several consecutive years of double-digit economic growth. The finding sharply contrasts with government's official unemployment rate of about 10 percent. A 2003 household survey conducted by the National Statistical Survey found that the real unemployment rate is about 33 percent.\n\n===Migrant workers===\nSince gaining independence in 1991, hundreds of thousands of Armenia's residents have gone abroad, mainly to Russia, in search of work. Unemployment has been the major cause of this massive labor emigration. OSCE experts estimate that between 116,000 and 147,000 people left Armenia for economic reasons between 2002 and 2004, with two-thirds of them returning home by February 2005. According to estimates by the National Statistical Survey, the rate of labor emigration was twice as higher in 2001 and 2002.\n\nAccording to an OSCE survey, a typical Armenian migrant worker is a married man aged between 41 and 50 years who \"began looking for work abroad at the age of 32-33.\"\n", "\nImageSize = width:700 height:240\nPlotArea = width:600 height:150 left:50 bottom:40\nAlignBars = late\n\nDateFormat = yyyy\nPeriod = from:0 till:600\nTimeAxis = orientation:vertical\nScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:0\n\nBarData=\n bar:1 text:\"1993\"\n bar:2 text:\"1994\"\n bar:3 text:\"1995\"\n bar:4 text:\"1996\"\n bar:5 text:\"1997\"\n bar:6 text:\"1998\"\n bar:7 text:\"1999\"\n bar:8 text:\"2000\"\n bar:9 text:\"2001\"\n bar:10 text:\"2002\"\n bar:11 text:\"2003\"\n bar:12 text:\"2004\"\n bar:13 text:\"2005\"\n bar:14 text:\"2006\"\n bar:15 text:\"2007\"\n bar:16 text:\"2008\"\n bar:17 text:\"2009\"\n bar:18 text:\"2010\"\n bar:19 text:\"2011\"\n bar:20 text:\"2012\"\n bar:21 text:\"2013\"\n bar:22 text:\"2014\"\n bar:23 text:\"2015\"\nColors =\n id:lightgrey value:gray(0.7)\n id:darkgrey value:gray(0.1)\n\nTextData =\n pos:(10,220) textcolor:black fontsize:S\n text:AMD/USD\n pos:(290,25) textcolor:black fontsize:S\n text:Year\n pos:(180,220) textcolor:black fontsize:M\n text:Armenian dram exchange rate per USD\n\nPlotData=\n width:18\n bar:1 color:lightgrey from:0 till:9\n bar:2 color:lightgrey from:0 till:289\n bar:3 color:lightgrey from:0 till:406\n bar:4 color:lightgrey from:0 till:414\n bar:5 color:lightgrey from:0 till:491\n bar:6 color:lightgrey from:0 till:505\n bar:7 color:lightgrey from:0 till:535\n bar:8 color:lightgrey from:0 till:540\n bar:9 color:lightgrey from:0 till:555\n bar:10 color:lightgrey from:0 till:573\n bar:11 color:lightgrey from:0 till:579\n bar:12 color:lightgrey from:0 till:534\n bar:13 color:lightgrey from:0 till:458\n bar:14 color:lightgrey from:0 till:416\n bar:15 color:lightgrey from:0 till:342\n bar:16 color:lightgrey from:0 till:306\n bar:17 color:lightgrey from:0 till:363\n bar:18 color:lightgrey from:0 till:374\n bar:19 color:lightgrey from:0 till:373\n bar:20 color:lightgrey from:0 till:402\n bar:21 color:lightgrey from:0 till:410\n bar:22 color:lightgrey from:0 till:416\n bar:23 color:lightgrey from:0 till:480\n\n\nIn 2010, the value of the Armenian Dram (AMD) was artificially kept high during the height of the global economic crisis. Had the AMD been allowed to depreciate to its market level, exports would have become more competitive and the purchasing power of the majority of the population who are dependent on remittances from abroad would have increased. Instead, the value of the AMD was kept high, out of a fear of inflation and concern about alienating the powerful government-connected importers of oil, sugar, flour, cigarettes and beverages.\n\nThe AMD/USD exchange rate depreciated by 6.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, before it began to show the expected end-of-the-year appreciation. In comparison, between the January to October periods of 2010 and 2009, depreciation stands at 4.7 percent.\n", "The Armenian government collected 383.5 billion drams ($1.26 billion) in various taxes in the first nine months of 2008 (a 33.2 percent increase from the same period last year).\n\nMany large companies have a privileged status when it comes to taxation. Big business is not taxed in proportion to its capacity and output, and the disproportionate burden falls on small and medium size businesses.\n\n===New value-added tax===\nOver half of the tax revenues in the January–August 2008 time period were generated from value-added taxes (VAT) of 20%. By comparison, corporate profit tax generated less than 16 percent of the revenues. This suggests that tax collection in Armenia is improving at the expense of ordinary citizens, rather than wealthy citizens (who have been the main beneficiaries of Armenia's double-digit economic growth in recent years).\n\n===Tax evasion===\nMany Armenian companies, especially those owned by government-connected tycoons, have long reported suspiciously low earnings, thereby avoiding paying larger taxes.\n\n=== Employee income tax ===\n\nPercentage from gross salary\nSalary range\n\n26%\nFrom 0 - AMD 1,440,000\n\n36%\nAMD 1,440,000 - AMD 24,000,000\n\n36%\nOver AMD 24,000,000\n\n", "Armenia is trying to \"address its environmental problems\". It has established a Ministry of Environment and has introduced a pollution fee system by which taxes are levied on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal. The resulting revenues are used for unknown purposes. Armenia doesn't seem to be interested in cooperating with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (a group of 12 former Soviet republics) or with members of the international community on environmental issues. The Armenian Government is working toward closing the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and has already made an agreement with Russian \"businessmen\" about the construction and operation and ownage of a new Nuclear power plant.\n", "\n", "Armenia's financial system is not integrated into the global network. According to the head of the Armenian Central Bank’s (CBA) department for financial system policies and analyses (Vahe Vardanyan) Armenian banks have no large asset concentrations in foreign markets, particularly in capital markets. They nearly have no purchased securities (so-called securitized packages). For this reason, Armenia was virtually unaffected by the Liquidity crisis of September 2008.\n\nArmenian banking assets are very low and make up only 25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).\n", "Since 2000, the Russian state has acquired several key assets in the energy sector and Soviet-era industrial plants. Property-for-debt or equity-for-debt swaps (acquiring ownership by simply writing off the Armenian government's debts to Russia) are usually the method of acquiring assets. The failure of market reforms, clan-based economics, and official corruption in Armenia have allowed the success of this process.\n\nIn August 2002, the Armenian government sold an 80 percent stake in the Armenian Electricity Network (AEN) to Midland Resources, a British offshore-registered firm which is said to have close Russian connections.\n\nIn September 2002, the Armenian government handed over Armenia’s largest cement factory to the Russian ITERA gas exporter in payment for its $10 million debt for past gas deliveries.\n\nOn November 5, 2002, Armenia transferred control of 5 state enterprises to Russia in an assets-for-debts transaction which settled $100 million of Armenian state debts to Russia. The document was signed for Russia by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Industry Minister Ilya Klebanov, while Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and National Security Council Secretary Serge Sarkisian signed for Armenia. The five enterprises which passed to 100 percent Russian state ownership are:\n* Armenia's largest thermal power plant which is in the town of Hrazdan and is gas-burning\n* the Mars electronics and robotics plant in Yerevan, a Soviet-era flagship for both civilian and military production\n* three research-and-production enterprises—for mathematical machines, for the study of materials, and for automated control equipment—these being Soviet-era military-industrial plants\n\nIn January 2003, the Armenian government and United Company RUSAL signed an investment cooperation agreement, under which United Company RUSAL (which already owned a 76% stake) acquired the Armenian government's remaining 26% share of RUSAL ARMENAL aluminum foil mill, giving RUSAL 100% ownership of RUSAL ARMENAL.\n\nOn November 1, 2006, the Armenian government handed de facto control of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to Russian company Gazprom and increased Gazprom's stake in the Russian-Armenian company ArmRosGazprom from 45% to 58% by approving an additional issue of shares worth $119 million. This left the Armenian government with a 32% stake in ArmRosGazprom. The transaction will also help finance ArmRosGazprom's acquisition of the Hrazdan electricity generating plant’s fifth power bloc (Hrazdan-5), the leading unit in the country.\n\nIn October 2008 the Russian bank Gazprombank, the banking arm of Gazprom, acquired 100 percent of Armenian bank Areximbank after previously buying 80 percent of said bank in November 2007 and 94.15 percent in July of the same year.\n\n===Controversy over non-transparent deals===\nCritics of the Kocharian government say that the Armenian administration never considered alternative ways of settling the Russian debts. According to economist Eduard Aghajanov, Armenia could have repaid them with low-interest loans from other, presumably Western sources, or with some of its hard currency reserves which then totaled about $450 million. Furthermore, Aghajanov points to the Armenian government's failure to eliminate widespread corruption and mismanagement in the energy sector – abuses that cost Armenia at least $50 million in losses each year, according to one estimate.\n\nPolitical observers say that Armenia's economic cooperation with Russia has been one of the least transparent areas of the Armenian government’s work. The debt arrangements have been personally negotiated by (then) Defense Minister (and now President) Serge Sarkisian, Kocharian’s closest political associate. Other top government officials, including Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, had little say on the issue. Furthermore, all of the controversial agreements have been announced after Sarkisian’s frequent trips to Moscow, without prior public discussion.\n\nFinally, while Armenia is not the only ex-Soviet state that has incurred multimillion-dollar debts to Russia over the past decade, it is the only state to have so far given up such a large share of its economic infrastructure to Russia. For example, pro-Western Ukraine and Georgia (both of which owe Russia more than Armenia) have managed to reschedule repayment of their debts.\n", "'''Industrial production growth rate:'''\n:3% (2008 est.)\n:''country comparison to the world:'' 105\n\n'''Industries:''' Diamond processing, cigarette production, metal-cutting machine tools, forge-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewellery manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy.\n\n'''Agriculture - products:'''\nFruit (especially grapes and apricots), vegetables, livestock, wheat, wine, brandy\n\n'''Value of stock exchange:''' $42.8 million (2005)\n\n'''Currency:'''\ndram (AMD)\n\n'''Currency code:'''\nAMD\n\n'''Exchange rates:'''\nArmenian dram per US dollar - 310.00 (2008), 457.69 (2005), 533.45 (2004), 578.76 (2003), 573.35 (2002), 555.08 (2001), 539.53 (2000)\n", "'''Electricity - production:'''\n5.544 GWh (2007)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 108\n\n'''Electricity - consumption:'''\n4.539 GWh (2006)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 109\n\n'''Electricity - exports:'''\n322.6 GWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh (2007)\n\n'''Electricity - imports:'''\n400.6 GWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2007)\n\n'''Oil - production:'''\n (2005 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 208\n\n'''Oil - consumption:'''\n (2006 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 100\n\n'''Oil - exports:'''\n (2005)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 207\n\n'''Oil - imports:'''\n (2005)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 90\n\n'''Natural gas - production:'''\n0 m3 (2007 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 207\n\n'''Natural gas - consumption:'''\n2.05 billion m3 (2007 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 81\n\n'''Natural gas - exports:'''\n0 m3 (2007 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 201\n\n'''Natural gas - imports:'''\n2.05 billion m3 (2007 est.)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 44\n", "*List of companies of Armenia\n*Diamond industry in Armenia\n*Geographical Issues in Armenia\n", "\n\n", "\n=== Books ===\n\n\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "* \n* Ministry of Economic Development and Investments\n* Fund for Rural Economic Development\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Overview", " History of the modern Armenian economy ", "Global competitiveness", "Index of Economic Freedom", "Domestic business environment", "GDP", "Foreign aid", "External trade", "Foreign debt", "Transportation routes and energy lines", "Labor", "Appreciation and depreciation of the dram", "Government revenue and taxation", "Environmental issues", "Energy", "Banking", "Takeover of Armenian industrial property by the Russian state and Russian companies", "Production", "Energy", "See also", " Notes ", " Sources ", " External links " ]

[ "The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, EBRD, as well as other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans.", "Armenia was admitted to the International Monetary Fund in May 1992 and to the World Bank in September.", "In October 2009, when visiting Yerevan, the World Bank’s managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, warned that Armenia will not reach a higher level of development unless its leadership changes the \"oligopolistic\" structure of the national economy, bolsters the rule of law and shows \"zero tolerance\" towards corruption.", "According to the Central Bank of Armenia, during the first half of 2008, cash remittances sent back to Armenia by Armenians working abroad rose by 57.5 percent and totaled $668.6 million USD, equivalent to 15 percent of the country's first-half Gross Domestic Product.", "According to RFE/RL, comparable sums are believed to be transferred through non-bank systems, implying that cash remittances make up approximately 30 percent of Armenia's GDP in the first half of 2008.", "In 2007, cash remittances through bank transfers rose by 37 percent to a record-high level of $1.32 billion USD.", "According to the Central Bank of Armenia, in 2005, cash remittances from Armenians working abroad reached a record-high level of $1 billion, which is worth more than one fifth of the country’s 2005 Gross Domestic Product.", "According to a World Bank official, 30 percent of Armenia's economy in 2009 came from the construction sector.", "With the Armenian government needing more anti-crisis loans from the World Bank and other foreign donors, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to exceed 40 percent in 2010.", "According to a World Bank official, a country that has around 12 percent rate of growth or even lower, at the range of 7 to 8 percent, can afford a level of public debt of up to 50 percent.", "According to the head of the Armenian Central Bank’s (CBA) department for financial system policies and analyses (Vahe Vardanyan) Armenian banks have no large asset concentrations in foreign markets, particularly in capital markets.", "In October 2008 the Russian bank Gazprombank, the banking arm of Gazprom, acquired 100 percent of Armenian bank Areximbank after previously buying 80 percent of said bank in November 2007 and 94.15 percent in July of the same year." ]

[ "\n\n\nThe '''economy of Armenia''' is ranked 132nd in the world, with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $10.561 billion per annum.", "It is also the 129th largest in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP), at $25.329 billion per annum.", "Armenia is the second-most densely populated of the post-Soviet states because of its small size.", "It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.", "Until independence, Armenia's economy was based largely on industry—chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber and textiles; it was highly dependent on outside resources.", "Agriculture accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.", "Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold and lead.", "The vast majority of energy is produced with imported fuel, including gas and nuclear fuel from Russia (for its one nuclear power plant.)", "The main domestic energy source is hydroelectric.", "Small amounts of coal, gas and petroleum have not yet been developed.", "Like other former states, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns.", "Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function.", "In addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt.", "Although a cease-fire has held since 1994, the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved.", "The consequent blockade along both the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because of Armenia's dependence on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials.", "Land routes through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed; routes through Georgia and Iran are adequate and reliable.", "In 1992-93, the GDP had fallen nearly 60% from its 1989 level.", "The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first few years after its introduction in 1993.", "Armenia has registered strong economic growth since 1995 and inflation has been negligible for the past several years.", "New sectors, such as precious stone processing and jewelry making and communication technology (primarily Armentel, which is left from the USSR era and is owned by external investors).", "This steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions.", "Total loans extended to Armenia since 1993 exceed $800 million.", "These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit, stabilizing the local currency; developing private businesses; energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation work in the earthquake zone.", "Continued progress will depend on the ability of the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate, and accelerating privatization.", "A liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994, and a law on privatization was adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization.", "The government has made major strides toward joining the World Trade Organization.", "By 1994, however, the Armenian government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2005.", "Armenia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2003.", "Armenia also has managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises.", "Armenia's unemployment rate, however, remains high, despite strong economic growth.", "The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor.", "Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor, which is under international pressure to close.", "The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002.", "Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment.", "Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector.", "The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been more difficult to implement.", "Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy.", "Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era.", "The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology.", "The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration.", "Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold and bauxite) are small.", "The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh (which was part of Soviet Azerbaijan) and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s.", "By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-99.", "Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises.", "The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor.", "Continued Russian financial difficulties have hurt the trade sector especially, but have been offset by international aid, domestic restructuring and foreign direct investment.", "\nAt the beginning of the 20th century, the territory of present-day Armenia was a backward agricultural region with some copper mining and cognac production.", "From 1914 through 1921, Caucasian Armenia suffered from war, revolution, the influx of refugees from Turkish Armenia, disease, hunger and economic misery.", "About 200,000 people died in 1919 alone.", "At that point, only American relief efforts saved Armenia from total collapse.", "100 million rubles banknote\n\nThe first Soviet Armenian government regulated economic activity stringently, nationalising all economic enterprises, requisitioning grain from peasants, and suppressing most private market activity.", "This first experiment of state control ended with the advent of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1921–27.", "This policy continued state control of the large enterprises and banks, but peasants could market much of their grain, and small businesses could function.", "In Armenia, the NEP years brought partial recovery from the economic disaster of the post-World War I period.", "By 1926 agricultural production in Armenia had reached nearly three-quarters of its prewar level.", "By the end of the 1920s, Stalin's regime had revoked the NEP and reestablished the state monopoly on all economic activity.", "Once this occurred, the main goal of the Soviet economic policy in Armenia was to turn a predominantly agrarian and rural republic into an industrial and urban one.", "Among other restrictions, peasants now were forced to sell nearly all of their output to state procurement agencies rather than at the market.", "From the 1930s through the 1960s, an industrial infrastructure has been constructed.", "Besides hydroelectric plants and canals, roads were built and gas pipelines were laid to bring fuel and food from Azerbaijan and Russia.", "The Stalinist command economy, in which market forces were suppressed and all orders for production and distribution came from the state authorities, survived in all its essential features until the fall of the Soviet regime in 1991.", "In the early stages of the communist economic revolution, Armenia underwent a fundamental transformation into a \"proletarian\" society.", "Between 1929 and 1939, the percentage of Armenia's work force categorised as industrial workers grew from 13% to 31%.", "By 1935 industry supplied 62% of Armenia's economic production.", "Highly integrated and sheltered within artificial barter economy of the Soviet system from the 1930s until the end of the communist era, the Armenian economy showed few signs of self-sufficiency at any time during that period.", "In 1988 Armenia produced only 0.9% of the net material product of the Soviet Union (1.2% of industry, 0.7% of agriculture).", "The republic retained 1.4% of total state budget revenue, delivered 63.7% of its NMP to other republics, and exported only 1.4% of what it produced to markets outside the Soviet Union.", "Armenia's industry was especially dependent on the Soviet military-industrial complex.", "About 40% of all enterprises in the republic were devoted to defense, and some factories lost 60% to 80% of their business in the last years of the Soviet Union, when massive cuts were made in the national defense expenditures.", "As the republic's economy faced the prospects of competing in world markets in the mid 1990s, the great liabilities of Armenia's industry were its outdated equipment and infrastructure and the pollution emitted by many of the country's heavy industrial plants.", "In 1991, Armenia's last year as a Soviet republic, national income fell 12% from the previous year, while per capita gross national product was 4,920 rubles, only 68% of the Soviet average.", "In large part due to the earthquake of 1988, the Azerbaijani blockade that began in 1989 and the collapse of the international trading system of the Soviet Union, the Armenian economy of the early 1990s remained far below its 1980 production levels.", "In the first years of independence (1992–93), inflation was extremely high, productivity and national income dropped dramatically, and the national budget ran large deficits.", "=== Post-communist economic reform ===\n\nArmenia introduced elements of the free market and privatisation into their economic system in the late 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachov began advocating economic reform.", "Cooperatives were set up in the service sector, particularly in restaurants, although substantial resistance came from the Communist Party of Armenia (CPA) and other groups that had enjoyed privileged position in the old economy.", "In the late 1980s, much of Armenia's economy already was opening either semi-officially or illegally, with widespread corruption and bribery.", "The so-called mafia, made up of interconnected groups of powerful officials and their relatives and friends, sabotaged the efforts of reformers to create a lawful market system.", "When the December 1988 earthquake brought millions of dollars of foreign aid to the devastated regions of Armenia, much of the money went to corrupt and criminal elements.", "Beginning in 1991, the democratically elected government pushed vigorously for privatisation and market relations, although its efforts were frustrated by the old ways of doing business in Armenia, the Azerbaijani blockade, and the costs of the Nagorno-Karabakh War.", "In 1992, the Law on the Programme of Privatisation and Decentralisation of Incompletely Constructed Facilities established a state privatisation committee, with members from all political parties.", "In middle 1993, the committee announced a two-year privatisation programme, whose first stage would be privatisation of 30% of state enterprises, mostly services and light industries.", "The remaining 70%, including many bankrupt, nonfunctional enterprises, were to be privatised in a later stage with a minimum of government restriction, to encourage private initiative.", "For all enterprises, the workers would receive 20% of their firm's property free of charge; 30% would be distributed to all citizens by means of vouchers; and the remaining 50% was to be distributed by the government, with preference given to members of the labour organisations.", "A major problem of this system, however, was the lack of supporting legislation covering foreign investment protection, bankruptcy, monopoly policy, and consumer protection.", "In the first post-communist years, efforts to interest foreign investors in joint enterprises were only moderately successful because of the blockade and the energy shortage.", "Only in late 1993 was a department of foreign investment established in the Ministry of Economy, to spread information about Armenia's investment opportunities and improve the legal infrastructure for investment activity.", "A specific goal of this agency was creating a market for scientific and technical intellectual property.", "A few Armenians living abroad made large-scale investments.", "Besides a toy factory and construction projects, diaspora Armenians built a cold storage plant (which in its first years had little produce to store) and established the American University of Armenia in Yerevan to teach the techniques necessary to run a market economy.", "A year later, the government complained that those organisations were holding back financial assistance and announced its intention to move toward fuller price liberalisation, and the removal of all tariffs, quotas, and restrictions of foreign trade.", "Although privatisation had slowed because of catastrophic collapse of the economy, Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan informed the United States officials in the fall of 1993 that plans had been made to embark on a renewed privatisation programme by the end of the year.", "The Armenian economy's competitiveness is low and stagnating according to the Global Competitiveness Index, in which Armenia's ranking slipped from 80th out of 132 countries in 2006-2007 index to 93rd out of 131 countries in the 2007-2008 index (just below Libya, Namibia, Georgia, Serbia and Pakistan).", "Armenia ranks 82nd out of 144 economies according to the 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Index.", "Armenia ranks 39th out of 179 economies according to the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom.", "Armenia is ranked 19th freest among the 43 countries in the Europe region, putting it above the world and regional averages.", "Armenian State Revenue Committee (housing both the Armenian Customs Service and the Armenian Tax Service) claimed to be corrupt.", "Armenia ranks 32nd out of 185 economies according to the 2013 ease of doing business index.", "Armenia's economy is competitive to a few extent with government-connected individuals enjoying de facto monopolies over the import and distribution of basic commodities and foodstuffs, and under-reporting revenue to avoid paying taxes.", "Despite pronouncements at the highest levels of government on the importance of free competition, Armenia is next to last in the effectiveness of its anti-monopoly policy according to the 2010 results of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.", "According to Vahram Nercissiantz, President Serzh Sargsyan's chief economic adviser, \"Businessmen holding state positions have turned into oligarchs who have avoided paying sufficient taxes by abusing their state positions, distorted markets with unequal conditions, breached the rules of competition, impeded or prevented small and medium-sized business’ entry into manufacturing and thereby sharply deepened social polarization in the republic.", "Following the advice of economic advisors who cautioned Armenia's leadership against the consolidation of economic power in the hands of a few, in January 2001, the Government of Armenia established the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition.", "Its members cannot be dismissed by the government.", "===Monopolies===\nAccording to one analyst, Armenia's economic system is anticompetitive due to the structure of the economy being a type of \"monopoly or oligopoly\".", "\"The result is the prices with us do not drop even if they do on international market, or they do quite belated and not to the size of the international market.\"", "According to the estimate of a former prime minister, Hrant Bagratian, 55 percent of Armenia's GDP is controlled by 44 families.", "In early 2008, the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition named 60 companies having \"dominant positions\" in Armenia.", "\"I think you can only go so far with this economic model,\" Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference in Yerevan.", "\"Armenia is a lower middle-income country.", "If it wants to become a high-income or upper middle-income country, it can not do so with this kind of economic structure.", "That is clear.\"", "She also called for a sweeping reform of tax and customs administration, the creation of a \"strong and independent judicial system\" as well as a tough fight against government corruption.", "The warning was echoed by the International Monetary Fund.", "Major monopolies in Armenia include:\n# Natural gas import and distribution, held by ArmRosGazprom (ARG) (controlled by Russian monopoly Gazprom)\n# Armenia's railway, held by the Russian-owned South Caucasus Railway (SCR) (formerly Russia’s state-run rail company, RZD)\n# Oilimport and distribution (claimed by Armenian opposition parties to belonging to a handful of government-linked individuals, one of which - \"Mika Limited\" - is owned by Mikhail Baghdasarian, while the other - \"Flash\" - is owned by Barsegh Beglarian, a \"prominent representative of the Karabakh clan\")\n## Aviation kerosene (supplying to Zvartnots airport), held by Mika Limited\n# Various basic foodstuffs such as rice, sugar, wheat, cooking oil and butter (the Salex Group enjoys a de facto monopoly on imports of wheat, sugar, flour, butter and cooking oil.", "Its owner is parliament deputy Samvel Aleksanian (a.k.a.", "\"Lfik Samo\") a figure close to the country’s leadership.)", "# Newspaper distribution, held by Haymamul (some newspaper editors believe that Haymamul deliberately refuses to print more newspaper copies in order to minimize the impact of unfavorable press coverage of the government)\n\n''Former'' major monopolies in Armenia include:\n# Wireless (mobile) telephony, held by Armentel until 2004\n# Internet access, held by Armentel until September 2006\n# Fixed-line telephony, held by Armentel until August 2007", "The Gross Domestic Product of Armenia stood at 8.8 billion US dollars in 2010; with a population of 3.2 million, this amounts to a GDP per capita of $2,676 (purchasing power parity $5,178).", "GDP growth for 2010 was at 2.9 percent, and inflation was at 8 percent.", "GDP growth is expected to be around 3 percent in 2011, with inflation returning to 4-5 percent.", "In comparison, in 2006, the GDP was estimated to be 6.6 billion USD per calendar year and the GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) was estimated at $5,400 US.", "The growth rate was high at 13.4%, but the relatively low base must be considered.", "Low inflation was maintained around 2.6% annually.", "===Growth===\nAfter a decade of double-digit growth, Armenia's economy declined by 14.4 percent in 2009.", "The year-to-date growth as of October 2010 was 2.8 percent.", "In 2010, the main macro deficiencies of the Armenian economy — namely, unsustainable growth drivers, a narrow and resource-dominated export base, and overdependence on private transfers — were still prevalent.", "According to official figures, Armenia’s economy grew by 13.8 percent in 2007.", "According to research funded by the USAID CAPS project, Armenia's exceptionally high rate of economic growth during the last decade has been largely dependent on external factors (e.g., remittances, assistance from international financial and donor organization).", "Furthermore, the study concluded that despite its record growth on most macro-economic metrics, Armenia is \"low and lagging\" in competitiveness.", "According to the National Statistical Service, the booming construction and service sectors remain the driving forces of the high growth rate of GDP.", "Year !", "!", "GDP ( millions of drams) !", "!", "Growth !", "!", "GDP per capita !", "!", "GDP deflator \n\n 2000 \n \n +5.9% \n \n −1.4%\n\n 2001 \n \n +9.6% \n \n +4.1%\n\n 2002 \n \n +13.2% \n \n +0.7%\n\n 2003 \n \n +14.0% \n \n +4.6%\n\n 2004 \n \n +10.5% \n \n +6.3%\n\n 2005 \n \n +13.9% \n \n +3.2%\n\n 2006 \n \n +13.2% \n \n +4.6%\n\n 2007 \n \n +13.7% \n \n +4.2%\n\n 2008 \n \n +6.9% \n \n +5.9%\n\n 2009 \n \n −14.1% \n \n +2.6%\n\n 2010 \n \n +2.2% \n \n +7.8%\n\n 2011 \n \n +4.7% \n \n +4.2%\n\n 2012\t\n \n +7.2% \n \n -1.2%\n\n 2013\t\n \n +3.3% \n \n +3.4%\n\n 2014\t\n \n +3.6% \n \n +2.3%\n\n 2015\t\n \n +3.0% \n \n +1.2%\n\n\n===Cash remittances===\nCash remittances sent back home from Armenians working abroad—mostly in Russia and the United States—are growing and contribute significantly to Armenia's Gross Domestic Product (between 15 and 30 percent).", "They help Armenia sustain double-digit economic growth and finance its massive trade deficit.", "However, the latter figures only represent cash remittances processed through Armenian commercial banks.", "Net private transfers decreased in 2009, but saw a continuous increase during the first six months of 2010.", "Since private transfers from the Diaspora tend to be mostly injected into consumption of imports and not in high value-added sectors, the transfers have not resulted in sizeable increases in productivity.", "===Secondary sector===\nArmenia experienced a construction boom during the latter part of the 2000s.", "According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia's booming construction sector generated about 20 percent of Armenia's GDP during the first eight months of 2007.", "However, during the January to September 2010 period, the sector experienced a 5.2 percent year-on-year decrease, which according to the Civilitas Foundation is an indication of the unsustainability of a sector based on an elite market, with few products for the median or low budgets.", "This decrease comes despite the fact that an important component of the government stimulus package was to support the completion of ongoing construction projects.", "===Retail trade===\nIn 2010, retail trade turnover was largely unaltered compared to 2009.", "The existing monopolies throughout the retail sector have made the sector non-responsive to the crisis and resulted in near zero growth.", "The aftermath of the crisis has started to shift the structure in the retail sector in favor of food products.", "===Services sector===\nIn the 2000s, along with the construction sector, the services sector was the driving force behind Armenia's recent high economic growth rate.", "In 2010, the volume of services increased as much as 7.4 percent from January to September, over the same period in 2009.", "====Tourism====\n\nAccording to official data, in 2007, a record-high 500,000 tourists visited Armenia — most of them ethnic Armenians from Europe, Russia and the United States.", "2010 saw a noticeable increase in the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia – estimated to be 80,000.", "However, according to private tour operators and other individuals familiar with the country’s tourism industry, government claims that hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists visit Armenia each year are inflated.", "Official statistics show that as many 575,000 tourists visited Armenia from abroad in 2009; the government stated earlier in 2010 that the figure will surpass 620,000 in 2010.", "However, data from the National Statistical Service shows that there were only 65,000 foreigners staying in Armenian hotels in 2009.", "Ara Vartanian, the chairman of the Armenian Trade and Industry Chamber, thinks that this measure is a far more objective indicator of the tourist influx into the country.", "In 2012, as many as 843,330 tourists visited Armenia.", "===Industrial sector===\nIndustrial output was relatively positive throughout 2010, with year-on-year average growth of 10.9 percent in the period January to September 2010, due largely to the mining sector where higher global demand for commodities led to higher prices.", "According to the National Statistical Service, during the January–August 2007 period, Armenia's industrial sector was the single largest contributor to the country's GDP, but remained largely stagnant with industrial output increasing only by 1.7 percent per year.", "In 2005, Armenia's industrial output (including electricity) made up about 30 percent of GDP.", "===Mining===\n\n40 percent of Armenia's exports in 2009 were mining exports.", "===Agricultural sector===\n\nAs of 2010, the agricultural production comprises on average 25 percent of Armenia's GDP.", "In 2006, the agricultural sector accounted for about 20 percent of Armenia's GDP.", "Armenia's agricultural output dropped by 17.9 percent in the period of January–September 2010.", "This was owing to bad weather, a lack of a government stimulus package, and the continuing effects of decreased agricultural subsidies by the Armenian government (per WTO requirements).", "\n===United States===\nThe Armenian government receives foreign aid from the government of the United States through the United States Agency for International Development and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.", "On March 27, 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $235.65 million compact with the Government of Armenia.", "The single stated goal of the \"Armenian Compact\" is \"the reduction of rural poverty through a sustainable increase in the economic performance of the agricultural sector.\"", "The compact includes a $67 million to rehabilitate up to 943 kilometers of rural roads, more than a third of Armenia's proposed \"Lifeline road network\".", "The Compact also includes a $146 million project to increase the productivity of approximately 250,000 farm households through improved water supply, higher yields, higher-value crops, and a more competitive agricultural sector.", "In 2010, the volume of US assistance to Armenia remained near 2009 levels; however, longer-term decline continued.", "The original Millennium Challenge Account commitment for $235 million had been reduced to about $175 million due to Armenia’s poor governance record.", "Thus, the MCC would not complete road construction.", "Instead, the irrigated agriculture project was headed for completion with apparently no prospects for extension beyond 2011.", "===European Union===\nWith curtailment of the MCC funding, the European Union may replace the US as Armenia’s chief source of foreign aid for the first time since independence.", "From 2011 to 2013, the European Union is expected to advance at least €157.3 million ($208 million) in aid to Armenia.", "\n===Exports===\nCigarettes are ranked first among Armenia's export of finished products\nIn 2010, Armenia’s exports remained resource-dependent, largely because the non-resource-intensive sectors were significantly less competitive.", "Armenia has not succeeded in increasing and diversifying exports beyond raw materials thus leaving room for a greater vulnerability to external shocks.", "There was a 43.9 percent increase in overall exports during the January to September period.", "The main three export destinations were Bulgaria with 15.2 percent of total exports, followed by Germany with 14.2 percent and Russia with 13.9 percent.", "Raw minerals were the main export sent to Bulgaria and Germany.", "===Imports===\nThe global economic crisis has had less impact on imports because the sector is more diversified than exports.", "In the first nine months of 2010, imports grew about 19 percent, just about equal to the decline of the same sector in 2009.", "===Deficit===\nDuring the first half of 2008, Armenia's widening current-account trade deficit grew by 66 percent to $1.39 billion USD, with a 40 percent rise in imports.", "Furthermore, Armenian exports fell by about one percent to $520 million USD.", "According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia's trade deficit in 2006 was $1.2 billion with growth in exports being largely flat.", "During the first 11 months of 2006, net imports grew by 21 percent to $1.95 billion, while exports stood at $895 million, up 0.3 percent from the same period in 2005.", "===Partners===\n\n====European Union====\nIn 2010, EU countries accounted for 32.1 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade.", "Germany is Armenia’s largest trading partner among EU member states, accounting for 7.2 percent of trade; this is due largely to mining exports.", "Armenian exports to EU countries have skyrocketed by 65.9 percent, making up more than half of all 2010 January to September exports.", "Imports from EU countries increased by 17.1 percent, constituting 22.5 percent of all imports.", "During January–February 2007, Armenia’s trade with the European Union totaled $200 million.", "During the first 11 months of 2006, the European Union remained Armenia's largest trading partner, accounting for 34.4 percent of its $2.85 billion commercial exchange during the 11-month period.", "====Russia and former Soviet republics====\nBilateral trade with Russia stood at more than $700 million for the first nine months of 2010 – on track to rebound to $1 billion mark first reached in 2008 prior to the global economic crisis.", "During January–February 2007, Armenia’s trade with Russia and other former Soviet republics was $205.6 million (double the amount from the same period the previous year), making them the country’s number one trading partner.", "During the first 11 months of 2006, the volume of Armenia’s trade with Russia was $376.8 million or 13.2 percent of the total commercial exchange.", "====China====\nAs of early 2011, trade with China is dominated by imports of Chinese goods and accounts for about 10 percent of Armenia's foreign trade.", "The volume of Chinese-Armenian trade soared by 55 percent to $390 million in January–November 2010.", "Armenian exports to China, though still modest in absolute terms, nearly doubled in that period.", "====Iran====\nIn 2010, the volume of bilateral trade with Iran was $200 million - which is approximately equal to the trade between Armenia and Turkey.", "The number of Iranian tourists has risen in recent years, with an estimated 80,000 Iranian tourists in 2010.", "====Turkey====\nIn 2010, the volume of bilateral trade with Turkey was about $200 million, with trade taking place without open borders, across Georgian territory.", "This figure is not expected to increase significantly so long as the land border between the Armenia and Turkey remains closed.", "====United States====\nFrom January–September 2010, bilateral trade with the United States measured approximately $150 million, on track for about a 30 percent increase over 2009.", "An increase in Armenia’s exports to the US in 2009 and 2010 has been due to shipments of aluminum foil.", "During the first 11 months of 2006, U.S.-Armenian trade totaled $152.6 million.", "====Georgia====\nThe volume of Georgian-Armenian trade remains modest in both relative and absolute terms.", "According to official Armenian statistics, it rose by 11 percent to $91.6 million in January–November 2010.", "The figure was equivalent to just over 2 percent of Armenia’s overall foreign trade.", "Armenia's national debt has increased significantly since 2008 when public external debt consisted of only 13.5 percent of GDP.", "By the end of 2010, Armenia’s external debt is projected to form about 42 percent of GDP, and 50 percent in 2012.", "As of late November 2009, the Armenian government's foreign debt was around $3 billion USD, having doubled in size over the course of the previous year.", "The official warned that the debt servicing payments of the Armenian government will surge by 2013 and absorb \"quite significant part of tax revenues.\"", "According to another estimate, the ratio between the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the state's foreign debt has reached 46 percent.", "Economists generally agree that a country is insolvent, if its foreign debt surpasses 50 percent of its GDP.", "Critics of the government say that the $500 million credit from Russia should have gone to develop industry, instead of going to the construction sector.", "\n===Internal===\nSince early 2008, Armenia's entire rail network is managed by the Russian state railway.", "===Through Georgia===\nRussian natural gas reaches Armenia via a pipeline through Georgia.", "The only operational rail link into Armenia is from Georgia.", "During Soviet times, Armenia's rail network connected to Russia's via Georgia through Abkhazia along the Black Sea.", "However, the rail link between Abkhazia and other Georgian regions has been closed for a number of years, forcing Armenia to receive rail cars laden with cargo only through the relatively expensive rail-ferry services operating between Georgian and other Black Sea ports.", "The Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti process more than 90 percent of freight shipped to and from landlocked Armenia.", "The Georgian railway, which runs through the town of Gori in central Georgia, is the main transport link between Armenia and the aforementioned Georgian seaports.", "Fuel, wheat and other basic commodities are transported to Armenia by rail.", "Armenia's main rail and road border-crossing with Georgia (at ) is along the Debed river near the Armenian town of Bagratashen and the Georgian town of Sadakhlo.", "The Upper Lars border crossing (at Darial Gorge) between Georgia and Russia across the Caucasus Mountains served as Armenia's sole overland route to the former Soviet Union and Europe.", "It was controversially shut down by the Russian authorities in June 2006, at the height of a Russian-Georgian spy scandal.", "Upper Lars is the only land border crossing that does not go through Georgia's Russian-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.", "The other two roads linking Georgia and Russia run through South Ossetia and Abkhazia, effectively barring them to international traffic.", "This crossing is expected to reopen starting on March 1, 2010.", "===Through Turkey and Azerbaijan===\nThe closing of the border by Turkey has cut Armenia's rail link between Gyumri and Kars to Turkey; the rail link with Iran through the Azeri exclave of Nakhichevan; and a natural gas and oil pipeline line with Azerbaijan.", "Also non-functioning are roads with Turkey and Azerbaijan.", "Despite the economic blockade of Turkey on Armenia, every day dozens of Turkish trucks laden with goods enter Armenia through Georgia.", "In 2010, it was confirmed that Turkey will keep the border closed for the foreseeable future after the Turkey-Armenia normalization process collapsed.", "===Through Iran===\nA new gas pipeline to Iran has been completed, and a road to Iran through the southern city of Meghri allows trade with that country.", "An oil pipeline to pump Iranian oil products is also in the planning stages.", "As of October 2008, the Armenian government is considering implementing an ambitious project to build a railway to Iran.", "The 400 kilometer railway would pass through Armenia's mountainous southern province of Syunik, which borders Iran.", "Economic analysts say that the project would cost at least $1 billion (equivalent to about 40 percent of Armenia's 2008 state budget).", "As of 2010, the project has been continuously delayed, with the rail link estimated to cost as much as $4 billion and stretch .", "In June 2010, Transport Minister Manuk Vartanian revealed that Yerevan is seeking as much as $1 billion in loans from China to finance the railway’s construction.", "Armenia labor force by occupation (2006 est.)", "===Monthly wages===\nAccording to the state-owned Armenpress news agency, the average monthly wage in Armenia for the first half of 2007 was 70,700 drams (about $210 USD).", "As of April 24, 2008, the average monthly salary is 75,000 drams (about $242 US dollars).", "According to the ROA National Statistical Service, the average monthly salary during January - June 2008 is 86,850 drams (about $287 at the time).", "About 62% of officially registered wage earners earn at least the average monthly wage, while only 19.6% receive a monthly salary of over 100,000 drams (about $330 at the time).", "===Unemployment===\nAccording to research commissioned by the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), at least one in three working-age Armenians was unemployed as of February 2005 despite several consecutive years of double-digit economic growth.", "The finding sharply contrasts with government's official unemployment rate of about 10 percent.", "A 2003 household survey conducted by the National Statistical Survey found that the real unemployment rate is about 33 percent.", "===Migrant workers===\nSince gaining independence in 1991, hundreds of thousands of Armenia's residents have gone abroad, mainly to Russia, in search of work.", "Unemployment has been the major cause of this massive labor emigration.", "OSCE experts estimate that between 116,000 and 147,000 people left Armenia for economic reasons between 2002 and 2004, with two-thirds of them returning home by February 2005.", "According to estimates by the National Statistical Survey, the rate of labor emigration was twice as higher in 2001 and 2002.", "According to an OSCE survey, a typical Armenian migrant worker is a married man aged between 41 and 50 years who \"began looking for work abroad at the age of 32-33.\"", "\nImageSize = width:700 height:240\nPlotArea = width:600 height:150 left:50 bottom:40\nAlignBars = late\n\nDateFormat = yyyy\nPeriod = from:0 till:600\nTimeAxis = orientation:vertical\nScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:0\n\nBarData=\n bar:1 text:\"1993\"\n bar:2 text:\"1994\"\n bar:3 text:\"1995\"\n bar:4 text:\"1996\"\n bar:5 text:\"1997\"\n bar:6 text:\"1998\"\n bar:7 text:\"1999\"\n bar:8 text:\"2000\"\n bar:9 text:\"2001\"\n bar:10 text:\"2002\"\n bar:11 text:\"2003\"\n bar:12 text:\"2004\"\n bar:13 text:\"2005\"\n bar:14 text:\"2006\"\n bar:15 text:\"2007\"\n bar:16 text:\"2008\"\n bar:17 text:\"2009\"\n bar:18 text:\"2010\"\n bar:19 text:\"2011\"\n bar:20 text:\"2012\"\n bar:21 text:\"2013\"\n bar:22 text:\"2014\"\n bar:23 text:\"2015\"\nColors =\n id:lightgrey value:gray(0.7)\n id:darkgrey value:gray(0.1)\n\nTextData =\n pos:(10,220) textcolor:black fontsize:S\n text:AMD/USD\n pos:(290,25) textcolor:black fontsize:S\n text:Year\n pos:(180,220) textcolor:black fontsize:M\n text:Armenian dram exchange rate per USD\n\nPlotData=\n width:18\n bar:1 color:lightgrey from:0 till:9\n bar:2 color:lightgrey from:0 till:289\n bar:3 color:lightgrey from:0 till:406\n bar:4 color:lightgrey from:0 till:414\n bar:5 color:lightgrey from:0 till:491\n bar:6 color:lightgrey from:0 till:505\n bar:7 color:lightgrey from:0 till:535\n bar:8 color:lightgrey from:0 till:540\n bar:9 color:lightgrey from:0 till:555\n bar:10 color:lightgrey from:0 till:573\n bar:11 color:lightgrey from:0 till:579\n bar:12 color:lightgrey from:0 till:534\n bar:13 color:lightgrey from:0 till:458\n bar:14 color:lightgrey from:0 till:416\n bar:15 color:lightgrey from:0 till:342\n bar:16 color:lightgrey from:0 till:306\n bar:17 color:lightgrey from:0 till:363\n bar:18 color:lightgrey from:0 till:374\n bar:19 color:lightgrey from:0 till:373\n bar:20 color:lightgrey from:0 till:402\n bar:21 color:lightgrey from:0 till:410\n bar:22 color:lightgrey from:0 till:416\n bar:23 color:lightgrey from:0 till:480\n\n\nIn 2010, the value of the Armenian Dram (AMD) was artificially kept high during the height of the global economic crisis.", "Had the AMD been allowed to depreciate to its market level, exports would have become more competitive and the purchasing power of the majority of the population who are dependent on remittances from abroad would have increased.", "Instead, the value of the AMD was kept high, out of a fear of inflation and concern about alienating the powerful government-connected importers of oil, sugar, flour, cigarettes and beverages.", "The AMD/USD exchange rate depreciated by 6.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, before it began to show the expected end-of-the-year appreciation.", "In comparison, between the January to October periods of 2010 and 2009, depreciation stands at 4.7 percent.", "The Armenian government collected 383.5 billion drams ($1.26 billion) in various taxes in the first nine months of 2008 (a 33.2 percent increase from the same period last year).", "Many large companies have a privileged status when it comes to taxation.", "Big business is not taxed in proportion to its capacity and output, and the disproportionate burden falls on small and medium size businesses.", "===New value-added tax===\nOver half of the tax revenues in the January–August 2008 time period were generated from value-added taxes (VAT) of 20%.", "By comparison, corporate profit tax generated less than 16 percent of the revenues.", "This suggests that tax collection in Armenia is improving at the expense of ordinary citizens, rather than wealthy citizens (who have been the main beneficiaries of Armenia's double-digit economic growth in recent years).", "===Tax evasion===\nMany Armenian companies, especially those owned by government-connected tycoons, have long reported suspiciously low earnings, thereby avoiding paying larger taxes.", "=== Employee income tax ===\n\nPercentage from gross salary\nSalary range\n\n26%\nFrom 0 - AMD 1,440,000\n\n36%\nAMD 1,440,000 - AMD 24,000,000\n\n36%\nOver AMD 24,000,000", "Armenia is trying to \"address its environmental problems\".", "It has established a Ministry of Environment and has introduced a pollution fee system by which taxes are levied on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal.", "The resulting revenues are used for unknown purposes.", "Armenia doesn't seem to be interested in cooperating with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (a group of 12 former Soviet republics) or with members of the international community on environmental issues.", "The Armenian Government is working toward closing the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and has already made an agreement with Russian \"businessmen\" about the construction and operation and ownage of a new Nuclear power plant.", "Armenia's financial system is not integrated into the global network.", "They nearly have no purchased securities (so-called securitized packages).", "For this reason, Armenia was virtually unaffected by the Liquidity crisis of September 2008.", "Armenian banking assets are very low and make up only 25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).", "Since 2000, the Russian state has acquired several key assets in the energy sector and Soviet-era industrial plants.", "Property-for-debt or equity-for-debt swaps (acquiring ownership by simply writing off the Armenian government's debts to Russia) are usually the method of acquiring assets.", "The failure of market reforms, clan-based economics, and official corruption in Armenia have allowed the success of this process.", "In August 2002, the Armenian government sold an 80 percent stake in the Armenian Electricity Network (AEN) to Midland Resources, a British offshore-registered firm which is said to have close Russian connections.", "In September 2002, the Armenian government handed over Armenia’s largest cement factory to the Russian ITERA gas exporter in payment for its $10 million debt for past gas deliveries.", "On November 5, 2002, Armenia transferred control of 5 state enterprises to Russia in an assets-for-debts transaction which settled $100 million of Armenian state debts to Russia.", "The document was signed for Russia by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Industry Minister Ilya Klebanov, while Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and National Security Council Secretary Serge Sarkisian signed for Armenia.", "The five enterprises which passed to 100 percent Russian state ownership are:\n* Armenia's largest thermal power plant which is in the town of Hrazdan and is gas-burning\n* the Mars electronics and robotics plant in Yerevan, a Soviet-era flagship for both civilian and military production\n* three research-and-production enterprises—for mathematical machines, for the study of materials, and for automated control equipment—these being Soviet-era military-industrial plants\n\nIn January 2003, the Armenian government and United Company RUSAL signed an investment cooperation agreement, under which United Company RUSAL (which already owned a 76% stake) acquired the Armenian government's remaining 26% share of RUSAL ARMENAL aluminum foil mill, giving RUSAL 100% ownership of RUSAL ARMENAL.", "On November 1, 2006, the Armenian government handed de facto control of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to Russian company Gazprom and increased Gazprom's stake in the Russian-Armenian company ArmRosGazprom from 45% to 58% by approving an additional issue of shares worth $119 million.", "This left the Armenian government with a 32% stake in ArmRosGazprom.", "The transaction will also help finance ArmRosGazprom's acquisition of the Hrazdan electricity generating plant’s fifth power bloc (Hrazdan-5), the leading unit in the country.", "===Controversy over non-transparent deals===\nCritics of the Kocharian government say that the Armenian administration never considered alternative ways of settling the Russian debts.", "According to economist Eduard Aghajanov, Armenia could have repaid them with low-interest loans from other, presumably Western sources, or with some of its hard currency reserves which then totaled about $450 million.", "Furthermore, Aghajanov points to the Armenian government's failure to eliminate widespread corruption and mismanagement in the energy sector – abuses that cost Armenia at least $50 million in losses each year, according to one estimate.", "Political observers say that Armenia's economic cooperation with Russia has been one of the least transparent areas of the Armenian government’s work.", "The debt arrangements have been personally negotiated by (then) Defense Minister (and now President) Serge Sarkisian, Kocharian’s closest political associate.", "Other top government officials, including Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, had little say on the issue.", "Furthermore, all of the controversial agreements have been announced after Sarkisian’s frequent trips to Moscow, without prior public discussion.", "Finally, while Armenia is not the only ex-Soviet state that has incurred multimillion-dollar debts to Russia over the past decade, it is the only state to have so far given up such a large share of its economic infrastructure to Russia.", "For example, pro-Western Ukraine and Georgia (both of which owe Russia more than Armenia) have managed to reschedule repayment of their debts.", "'''Industrial production growth rate:'''\n:3% (2008 est.)", ":''country comparison to the world:'' 105\n\n'''Industries:''' Diamond processing, cigarette production, metal-cutting machine tools, forge-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewellery manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy.", "'''Agriculture - products:'''\nFruit (especially grapes and apricots), vegetables, livestock, wheat, wine, brandy\n\n'''Value of stock exchange:''' $42.8 million (2005)\n\n'''Currency:'''\ndram (AMD)\n\n'''Currency code:'''\nAMD\n\n'''Exchange rates:'''\nArmenian dram per US dollar - 310.00 (2008), 457.69 (2005), 533.45 (2004), 578.76 (2003), 573.35 (2002), 555.08 (2001), 539.53 (2000)", "'''Electricity - production:'''\n5.544 GWh (2007)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 108\n\n'''Electricity - consumption:'''\n4.539 GWh (2006)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 109\n\n'''Electricity - exports:'''\n322.6 GWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh (2007)\n\n'''Electricity - imports:'''\n400.6 GWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2007)\n\n'''Oil - production:'''\n (2005 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 208\n\n'''Oil - consumption:'''\n (2006 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 100\n\n'''Oil - exports:'''\n (2005)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 207\n\n'''Oil - imports:'''\n (2005)\n''country comparison to the world:'' 90\n\n'''Natural gas - production:'''\n0 m3 (2007 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 207\n\n'''Natural gas - consumption:'''\n2.05 billion m3 (2007 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 81\n\n'''Natural gas - exports:'''\n0 m3 (2007 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 201\n\n'''Natural gas - imports:'''\n2.05 billion m3 (2007 est.)", "''country comparison to the world:'' 44", "*List of companies of Armenia\n*Diamond industry in Armenia\n*Geographical Issues in Armenia", "\n=== Books ===\n\n\n*", "* \n* Ministry of Economic Development and Investments\n* Fund for Rural Economic Development" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Adelaide''' ( ) is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. In June 2016, Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1,326,354. South Australia, with a total of 1.7 million inhabitants, has the most centralised population of any state in Australia, with more than 75 percent of its people living in greater Adelaide, while the other population centres in the state are relatively small.\n\nAdelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches from the coast to the foothills, and from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.\n\nNamed in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands. Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth—until the Second World War, it was Australia's third-largest city and one of the few Australian cities to not have convict history. It has been noted for early examples of religious freedom, a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties. It has been known as the \"City of Churches\" since the mid-19th century. The demonym \"Adelaidean\" is used in reference to the city and its residents. \n\nAs South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area. Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of ''The Economist Intelligence Unit''s World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015. It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011, 2012 and 2013.\n", "\n\n=== Before European settlement ===\nApproximate extent of Kaurna territory, based on the description by Amery (2000)\nPrior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation (pronounced \"Garner\").\n\nKaurna culture and language was almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the European settlement of South Australia in 1836. However, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture.\n\n=== 19th century ===\nAdelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the city's namesake\nIn July 1876, the Illustrated Sydney News published a special supplement that included an early aerial view of the City of Adelaide, the River Torrens and portion of North Adelaide from a point above Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide.\n\nSouth Australia was officially proclaimed as a British colony on 28 December 1836, near The Old Gum Tree in what is now the suburb of Glenelg North. The event is commemorated in South Australia as Proclamation Day. The site of the colony's capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, through the design made by the architect George Strickland Kingston.\n\nAdelaide was established as a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, based upon the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Wakefield had read accounts of Australian settlement while in prison in London for attempting to abduct an heiress, and realised that the eastern colonies suffered from a lack of available labour, due to the practice of giving land grants to all arrivals. Wakefield's idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen. Funds raised from the sale of land were to be used to bring out working class emigrants, who would have to work hard for the monied settlers to ever afford their own land. As a result of this policy, Adelaide does not share the convict settlement history of other Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart.\n\nNorth Terrace in 1841\n\nAs it was believed that in a colony of free settlers there would be little crime, no provision was made for a gaol in Colonel Light's 1837 plan. However, by mid-1837 the ''South Australian Register'' was warning of escaped convicts from New South Wales and tenders for a temporary gaol were sought. Following a burglary, a murder, and two attempted murders in Adelaide during March 1838, Governor Hindmarsh created the South Australian Police Force (now named South Australia Police) in April 1838 under 21-year-old Henry Inman. The first sheriff, Mr Samuel Smart, was wounded during a robbery, and on 2 May 1838 one of the offenders, Michael Magee, became the first person to be hanged in South Australia. William Baker Ashton was appointed governor of the temporary gaol in 1839, and in 1840 George Strickland Kingston was commissioned to design Adelaide's new gaol. Construction of Adelaide Gaol commenced in 1841.\n\n1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout\n\nAdelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and questionable leadership. The first governor of South Australia, John Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with others, in particular the Resident Commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher. The rural area surrounding Adelaide was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Wool production provided an early basis for the South Australian economy. By 1860, wheat farms had been established from Encounter Bay in the south to Clare in the north.\n\nGovernor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and, despite being under orders from the ''Select Committee on South Australia'' in Britain not to undertake any public works, promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, the Adelaide Gaol, police barracks, a hospital, a customs house and a wharf at Port Adelaide. Gawler was recalled and replaced by Governor Grey in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, although its impact was negligible at this point: silver was discovered in Glen Osmond that year, agriculture was well underway, and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.\n\nTrade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the Murray River being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident. South Australia became a self-governing colony in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament. Secret ballots were introduced, and a bicameral parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.\n\nIn 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the now turbid River Torrens. Gas street lighting was implemented in 1867, the University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed. The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems, with some families leaving for Western Australia. Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at Broken Hill provided some relief. Only one year of deficit was recorded, but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.\n\n=== 20th century ===\nWestpac House, Adelaide's tallest building at 132 metres (Australia's 133rd tallest building).\n\nElectric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in World War I. Historian F.W. Crowley examined the reports of visitors in the early 20th century, noting that \"many visitors to Adelaide admired the foresighted planning of its founders\", as well as pondering on the riches of the young city. Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom, entering a time of relative prosperity. Its population grew, and it became the 3rd most populous metropolitan area in the country—after Sydney and Melbourne. Its prosperity was short lived, with the return of droughts, having endured the Great Depression of the 1930s, and later returning to fortune under strong government leadership. Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on primary industries. World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location. Shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of Whyalla.\n\nKing William Street viewed from Parliament House, 1938.\n\nThe South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries. International manufacturers like General Motors Holden and Chrysler made use of these factories around Adelaide, completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a 20th-century city. A pipeline from Mannum brought River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an airport opened at West Beach in 1955. Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre were established in the 1960s at Bedford Park, south of the city. Today, Flinders Medical Centre is one of the largest teaching hospitals within the South Australia.\n\nThe Dunstan Governments of the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival', establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts, building upon the biennial \"Adelaide Festival of Arts\" which commenced in 1960. Adelaide hosted the Formula One Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands; it then moved to Melbourne in 1996. The 1991 State Bank collapsed during the then economic recession, with its effects lasting until 2004, when ratings agency Standard & Poor's reinstated South Australia's AAA credit rating. Since 1999, the Clipsal 500 Supercars race has made use of sections of the former Formula One circuit. Adelaide's tallest building, built in 1988, was originally known as the State Bank Building. In 1991 it was renamed the Santos Building and in 2006 it was again renamed Westpac House.\n\n=== 21st century ===\nThe Adelaide central business district at night, 2013\n\nIn the early years of the 21st century there was a significant increase in the State Government's spending on Adelaide's infrastructure. The Rann Government invested $535 million in a major upgrade of the Adelaide Oval to enable AFL to be played in the city centre and more than $2 billion to build a new Royal Adelaide Hospital on land adjacent to the Adelaide Railway Station. The Glenelg tramline was extended through the city to Hindmarsh and the suburban railway line extended south to Seaford.\n\nFollowing a period of stagnancy in the 1990s and 2000s, Adelaide began several major developments and redevelopments. The Adelaide Convention Centre was redeveloped and expanded at a cost of $350 million beginning in 2012. Three historic buildings were adapted for modern use: the Torrens Building in Victoria Square as the Adelaide campus for Carnegie Mellon University, University College London and Torrens University; the Stock Exchange building as the Science Exchange of the Royal Institution Australia; and the Glenside Psychiatric Hospital as the Adelaide Studios of the SA Film Corporation. The government also invested more than $2 billion to build a desalination plant, powered by renewable energy, as an 'insurance policy' against droughts affecting Adelaide's water supply. In the Arts the Adelaide Festival, Fringe and Womadelaide became annual events.\n", "Satellite image of Adelaide's metropolitan area. The Adelaide Hills is the green area to the right of the image.\nCity map of Adelaide, Australia.\n\nAdelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches from the coast to the foothills, and from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Regional Development Australia, an Australian government planning initiative, the \"Adelaide Metropolitan Region\" has a total land area of , while a more expansive definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a \"Greater Adelaide\" statistical area totalling . The city sits at an average elevation of above sea level. Mount Lofty, east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of , is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of Burra.\n\nMuch of Adelaide was bushland before British settlement, with some variation – sandhills, swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. The loss of the sandhills to urban development had a particularly destructive effect on the coastline due to erosion. Where practical, the government has implemented programs to rebuild and vegetate sandhills at several of Adelaide's beachside suburbs. Much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Cleland Conservation Park and Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply with the Happy Valley Reservoir supplying around 40% and the much larger Mount Bold Reservoir 10% of Adelaide's domestic requirements respectively.\n\nAdelaide and its surrounding area is one of the most seismically active regions in Australia. On 1 March 1954 at 3:40 am Adelaide experienced its largest recorded earthquake to date, with the epicentre 12 km from the city centre at Darlington, and a reported magnitude of 5.6. There have been smaller earthquakes in 2010, 2011 and 2014.\n\n=== Urban layout ===\n\nNorth Terrace (right) and Pulteney Street (left), looking south-west from Bonython Hall.\n\nAdelaide is a planned city, designed by the first surveyor-general of South Australia, Colonel William Light. His plan, now known as '''Light's Vision''', arranged Adelaide in a grid, with five squares in the Adelaide city centre and a ring of parks, known as the Adelaide Parklands, surrounding it. Light's selection of the location for the city was initially unpopular with the early settlers, as well as South Australia's first governor, John Hindmarsh, due to its distance from the harbour at Port Adelaide, and the lack of fresh water there. Light successfully persisted with his choice of location against this initial opposition.\n\nThe benefits of Light's design are numerous: Adelaide has had wide multi-lane roads from its beginning, an easily navigable cardinal direction grid layout and an expansive green ring around the city centre. There are two sets of ring roads in Adelaide that have resulted from the original design. The inner ring route (A21) borders the parklands, and the outer route (A3/A13/A16/A17) completely bypasses the inner city via (in clockwise order) Grand Junction Road, Hampstead Road, Ascot Avenue, Portrush Road, Cross Road and South Road.\n\nFootbridge across the Torrens River, with the Adelaide Oval stadium in the background\n\nSuburban expansion has to some extent outgrown Light's original plan. Numerous former outlying villages and \"country towns\", as well as the satellite city of Elizabeth, have been enveloped by its suburban sprawl. Expanding developments in the Adelaide Hills region led to the construction of the South Eastern Freeway to cope with growth, which has subsequently led to new developments and further improvements to that transport corridor. Similarly, the booming development in Adelaide's South led to the construction of the Southern Expressway.\n\nNew roads are not the only transport infrastructure developed to cope with the urban growth. The O-Bahn Busway is an example of a unique solution to Tea Tree Gully's transport woes in the 1980s. The development of the nearby suburb of Golden Grove in the late 1980s is an example of well-thought-out urban planning.\n\nKing William Street, one of the widest main streets in an Australian capital city, viewed from Victoria Square.\n\nIn the 1960s, a Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study Plan was proposed in order to cater for the future growth of the city. The plan involved the construction of freeways, expressways and the upgrade of certain aspects of the public transport system. The then premier Steele Hall approved many parts of the plan and the government went as far as purchasing land for the project. The later Labor government elected under Don Dunstan shelved the plan, but allowed the purchased land to remain vacant, should the future need for freeways arise. In 1980, the Liberal party won government and premier David Tonkin committed his government to selling off the land acquired for the MATS plan, ensuring that even when needs changed, the construction of most MATS-proposed freeways would be impractical. Some parts of this land have been used for transport, (e.g. the O-Bahn Busway and Southern Expressway), while most has been progressively subdivided for residential use.\n\nIn 2008, the SA Government announced plans for a network of transport-oriented developments across the Adelaide metropolitan area and purchased a 10 hectare industrial site at Bowden for $52.5 million as the first of these developments. The site covers 102,478 square metres, or about 10 hectares, and is bounded by Park Terrace to the south, the Adelaide to Outer Harbour railway line to the west, Drayton Street to the north and Sixth and Seventh Streets to the east.\n\n==== Housing ====\n\n\nHistorically, Adelaide's suburban residential areas have been characterised by single-storey detached houses built on blocks. A relative lack of suitable locally available timber for construction purposes led to the early development of a brick-making industry, as well as the use of stone, for houses and other buildings. By 1891 68% of houses were built of stone, 15% of timber, and 10% of brick, with brick also being widely used in stone houses for quoins, door and window surrounds, and chimneys and fireplaces.\n\nThere is a wide variety in the styles of these predominately brick, and to a lesser degree, stone, and/or stone-faced, single-storey detached houses. After both of the World Wars, the use of red bricks was popular. In the 1960s, cream bricks became popular, and in the 1970s, deep red and brown bricks became popular. Until the 1970s, roofs tended to be clad with corrugated iron or clay tiles (usually red clay). Since then, cement tiles and colourbond corrugated (and other types of) iron have also become popular. Most roofs are pitched; flat roofs are not common. Up to the 1970s, the majority of houses were of \"double brick\" construction on concrete footings, with timber floors laid on joists supported by \"dwarf walls\". Due to Adelaide's reactive soils (particularly Keswick Clay, black earth and some red-brown earth soils), since then houses have mainly been constructed of \"brick veneer\" over a timber frame (and more recently, over a steel frame) on a concrete raft slab foundation. The use of precast concrete panels for floor and wall construction has also increased. In addition to this, a significant factor in Adelaide's suburban history is the role of the South Australian Housing Trust.\n\n=== Climate ===\n\n\nAdelaide has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''), with warm to hot dry summers and mild short winters, with most precipitation falling in the winter months. Adelaide receives enough annual precipitation to avoid Köppen's BSh (semi-arid climate) classification. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm. Frosts are occasional, with the most notable occurrences in July 1908 and July 1982. Hail is also common in winter. Adelaide is a windy city—it experiences wind chill in winter, which makes the temperature seem colder than it actually is. Snowfall in the metropolitan area is extremely uncommon, although light and sporadic falls in the nearby hills and at Mount Lofty occur during winter. Dewpoints in the summer typically range from .\n\nThe average annual temperature of the sea ranges from in August to in February.\n\n\n", "\n\n\n\n Composition of the Parliament of South Australia\n\nParty\nHouse\nCouncil\n\nLabor\n23\n8\n\nLiberal\n20\n8\n\nGreen\n0\n2\n\nAustralian Conservatives\n\n0\n\n2\n\nDignity for Disability\n\n0\n\n1\n\nIndependent\n4\n1\n\n'''Total'''\n\n'''47'''\n\n'''22'''\n\n Source: Electoral Commission SA\n\n\nParliament House, Adelaide\n\nAdelaide, as the capital of South Australia, is the seat of the Government of South Australia. As Adelaide is South Australia's capital and most populous city, the State Government co-operates extensively with the City of Adelaide. In 2006, the Ministry for the City of Adelaide was created to facilitate the state government's collaboration with the Adelaide City Council and the Lord Mayor to improve Adelaide's image. The state parliament's Capital City Committee is also involved in the governance of the City of Adelaide, being primarily concerned with the planning of Adelaide's urban development and growth.\n", "\n\nThe Adelaide metropolitan area is divided between eighteen local government areas, including, at its centre, the City of Adelaide, which administers the Adelaide city centre, North Adelaide, and the surrounding Adelaide Parklands. It is the oldest municipal authority in Australia and was established in 1840, when Adelaide and Australia's first mayor, James Hurtle Fisher, was elected. From 1919 onwards, the City has had a Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor Martin Haese.\n", "}(Based on 2006 Census data)\n\nCompared with the four other major state capitals in Australia, Adelaide is growing at a much slower rate. In 2015, Adelaide had a metropolitan population of more than 1,316,779 making it Australia's fifth largest city. Some 77% of the population of South Australia are residents of the Adelaide metropolitan area, making South Australia one of the most centralised states.\n\nMajor areas of population growth in recent years have been in outer suburbs such as Mawson Lakes and Golden Grove. Adelaide's inhabitants occupy 366,912 houses, 57,695 semi-detached, row terrace or town houses and 49,413 flats, units or apartments.\n\nAbout one sixth (17.1%) of the population had university qualifications. The number of Adelaideans with vocational qualifications (such as tradespersons) fell from 62.1% of the labour force in the 1991 census to 52.4% in the 2001 census.\n\nOverseas-born Adelaideans composed 29.8% of the total population. Suburbs including Newton, Payneham and Campbelltown in the east and Torrensville, West Lakes and Fulham to the west, have large Greek and Italian communities. The Italian consulate is located in the eastern suburb of Payneham. Large Vietnamese populations are settled in the north-western suburbs of Woodville, Kilkenny, Pennington, Mansfield Park and Athol Park and also Parafield Gardens and Pooraka in Adelaide's north. Migrants from India and Sri Lanka have settled into inner suburban areas of Adelaide including the inner northern suburbs of Blair Athol, Kilburn and Enfield and the inner southern suburbs of Plympton, Park Holme and Kurralta Park.\n\nChinatown on Moonta Street in the Market precinct\n\nSuburbs such as Para Hills, Salisbury, Ingle Farm and Blair Athol in the north and Findon, West Croydon and Seaton in the West are experiencing large migration from Afghanistan and Iran. Chinese migrants favour settling in the eastern and north eastern suburbs including Kensington Gardens, Greenacres, Modbury and Golden Grove. Mawson Lakes has a large international student population, due to its proximity to the University of South Australia campus. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from UK (7.0%), Italy (1.6%), India (1.4%), China (1.3%) and Vietnam (1.0%). The most-spoken languages other than English were Italian (2.6%), Greek (1.9%), Standard Mandarin (1.3%), Vietnamese (1.3%), and Cantonese (0.7%).\n\n\n\n'''Significant overseas born populations'''\n\n Country of birth \n Population (2011)\n\n \n 92,174\n\n \n 21,068\n\n \n 18,434\n\n \n 17,118\n\n \n 13,167\n\n\n=== Age structure ===\nAdelaide is ageing more rapidly than other Australian capital cities. More than a quarter (27.5%) of Adelaide's population is aged 55 years or older, in comparison to the national average of 25.6%. Adelaide has the lowest number of children (under-15-year-olds), who comprised 17.7% of the population, compared to the national average of 19.3%.\n\n=== Religion ===\nSaint Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Victoria Square\n\nAdelaide was founded on a vision of religious tolerance which attracted a wide variety of religious practitioners. This led to it being known as ''The City of Churches''. However, approximately 28% of the population expressed no religious affiliation in the 2011 Census, compared with the national average of 22.3%, making Adelaide one of the least religious cities in Australia.\nOver half of the population of Adelaide identifies as Christian, with the largest denominations being Catholic (21.3%), Anglican (12.6%), Uniting Church (7.6%) and Eastern Orthodox (3.5%).\n\nThe Jewish community of the city dates back to 1840. Eight years later, 58 Jews lived in the city. The Jewish synagogue was built in 1871, when 435 Jews lived in the city. Many Jews took part in the city councils, such as Judah Moss Solomon (1852–66) and others after him. Three Jews have been elected to the position of city mayor. In the 1960s, the Jewish population of Adelaide numbered about 1,200; in 2001, according to the Australian census, 979 persons declared themselves to be Jewish by religion. In 2011, over 1,000 Jews were living in the city, operating an orthodox and a reform school, in addition to a virtual Jewish museum.\n\nThe \"Afghan\" community in Australia first became established in the 1860s when camels and their Pathan, Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi handlers began to be used to open up settlement in the arid interior of the continent. Until eventually superseded by the advent of the railways and later, motor vehicles, they played an invaluable economic and social role in transporting heavy loads of goods to, and products from, isolated settlements and mines. This role is acknowledged by the name of The Ghan, the passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin. The Central Adelaide Mosque is regarded as the oldest permanent mosque in Australia; however an earlier mosque at Marree in northern South Australia, dating from 1861–62 and subsequently abandoned or demolished, has now been rebuilt.\n", "Flinders Medical Centre. Health care and social assistance is the largest ABS defined employment sector in South Australia.\nThe Adelaide-built entering Pearl Harbor, August 2004. \n\nSouth Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, surpassing manufacturing in SA as the largest employer since 2006–07. In 2009–10, manufacturing in SA had average annual employment of 83,700 persons compared with 103,300 for health care and social assistance. Health care and social assistance represented nearly 13% of the state average annual employment. The Adelaide Hills wine region is an iconic and viable economic region for both the state and country in terms of wine production and sale. The 2014 vintage is reported as consisting of red grapes crushed valued at A$8,196,142 and white grapes crushed valued at $14,777,631.\n\nThe retail trade is the second largest employer in SA (2009–10), with 91,900 jobs, and 12 per cent of the state workforce.\n\nManufacturing, defence technology, high tech electronic systems and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries all play a role in the SA economy. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide at the General Motors Holden plant in Elizabeth.\n\nThe collapse of the State Bank in 1992 resulted in large levels of state public debt (as much as A$4 billion). The collapse meant that successive governments enacted lean budgets, cutting spending, which was a setback to the further economic development of the city and state. The debt has more recently been reduced with the State Government once again receiving a AAA+ Credit Rating.\n\nThe global media conglomerate News Corporation was founded in, and until 2004 incorporated in, Adelaide and it is still considered its 'spiritual' home by Rupert Murdoch. Australia's largest oil company, Santos, prominent South Australian brewery, Coopers, and national retailer Harris Scarfe also call Adelaide their home.\n\n=== Defence industry ===\nAdelaide is home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries, which contribute over A$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product. The principal government military research institution, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and other defence technology organisations such as BAE Systems Australia and Lockheed Martin Australia, are north of Salisbury and west of Elizabeth in an area now called \"Edinburgh Parks\", adjacent to RAAF Base Edinburgh.\n\nOthers, such as Saab Systems and Raytheon, are in or near Technology Park. ASC Pty Ltd, based in the industrial suburb of Osborne. South Australia was charged with constructing Australia's ''Collins'' class submarines and more recently the A$6 billion contract to construct the Royal Australian Navy's new air-warfare destroyers.\n\n=== Employment statistics ===\nAs of November 2015, Greater Adelaide had an unemployment rate of 7.4% with a youth unemployment rate of 15%.\n\nThe median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over was $447 per week in 2006, compared with $466 nationally. The median family income was $1,137 per week, compared with $1,171 nationally. Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper. The median Adelaide house price is half that of Sydney and two-thirds that of Melbourne. The three-month trend unemployment rate to March 2007 was 6.2%. The Northern suburbs' unemployment rate is disproportionately higher than the other regions of Adelaide at 8.3%, while the East and South are lower than the Adelaide average at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively.\n\n=== House prices ===\nOver the decade March 2001 – March 2010, Metropolitan Adelaide median house prices approximately tripled. (approx. 285% – approx. 11%p.a. compounding)\nIn the 5 years March 2007 – March 2012, prices increased by approx. 27% – approx. 5%p.a. compounding. March 2012 - March 2017 saw a further increase of 19% - approx. 3.5%p.a. compounding. \n\nIn summary:\n\n\n March \n 2001 \n 2002 \n 2003 \n 2004 \n 2005 \n 2006 \n 2007 \n 2008 \n 2009 \n 2010\n 2011 \n 2012\n2013\n2014\n2015\n2016\n2017\n\n Median \n 140,000 \n 170,000 \n 200,000 \n 250,000 \n 270,000 \n 280,000 \n 300,000 \n 360,000 \n 350,000 \n 400,000\n 400,000 \n 380,000\n393,000\n413,000\n425,000\n436,000\n452,000\n\n% change \n \n 21% \n 18% \n 25% \n 8% \n 4% \n 7% \n 20% \n −3% \n 14%\n 0% \n −5%\n3%\n5%\n3%\n3%\n4%\n\n''All numbers approximate and rounded. Since March 2012, the REISA no longer release a median house price for the Adelaide Metropolitan area so figures retrieved are from Dept of the Premier and Cabinet.''\n\nEach quarter, The Alternative and Direct Investment Securities Association (ADISA) publishes a list of median house sale prices by suburb and Local Government Area. (Previously, this was done by REISA) Due to the small size of many of Adelaide's suburbs, the low volumes of sales in these suburbs, and (over time) the huge variations in the numbers of sales in a suburb in a quarter, statistical analysis of \"the most expensive suburb\" is unreliable; the suburbs appearing in the \"top 10 most expensive suburbs this quarter\" list is constantly varying. Quarterly Reports for the last two years can be found on the REISA website.\n\n", "\nBarr Smith Library, part of the University of Adelaide\n\nEducation forms an increasingly important part of the city's economy, with the South Australian Government and educational institutions attempting to position Adelaide as \"Australia's education hub\" and marketing it as a \"Learning City.\" The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students. In addition to the city's existing institutions, foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses in order to increase its attractiveness as an education hub. Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates, more than any other Australian city: physicist William Lawrence Bragg and pathologists Howard Florey and Robin Warren, all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide.\n\n=== Primary and secondary education ===\nAt the level of primary and secondary education, there are two systems of school education. There is a public system operated by the South Australian Government and a private system of independent and Catholic schools. All schools provide education under the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) or, to a lesser extent, the International Baccalaureate (IB), with Adelaide having the highest number of IB schools in Australia.\n\n=== Tertiary education ===\nVictoria Square houses campuses of several international universities operating in South Australia\n\nThere are three public universities local to Adelaide, as well as one private university and three constituent colleges of foreign universities. Flinders University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Torrens University Australia—part of the Laureate International Universities are based in Adelaide. The University of Adelaide was ranked in the top 150 universities worldwide. Flinders ranked in the top 250 and Uni SA in the top 300. Torrens University Australia is part of an international network of over 70 higher education institutions in more than 30 countries worldwide. The historic Torrens Building in Victoria Square houses Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College Australia, Cranfield University's Defence College of Management and Technology, and University College London's School of Energy and Resources (Australia), and constitute the city's international university precinct.\n\nThe University of Adelaide, with 25,000 students, is Australia's third-oldest university and a member of the leading \"Group of Eight\". It has five campuses throughout the state, including two in the city-centre, and a campus in Singapore. The University of South Australia, with 37,000 students, has two North Terrace campuses, three other campuses in the metropolitan area and campuses at Whyalla and Mount Gambier. The Flinders University of South Australia, with 21,809 students, is in the southern suburb of Bedford Park, alongside the Flinders Medical Centre, and maintains a small city campus in Victoria Square. \n\nThere are several South Australian TAFE (Technical and Further Education) campuses in the metropolitan area which provide a range of vocational education and training. The Adelaide College of the Arts, as a school of TAFE SA, provides nationally recognised training in visual and performing arts.\n\n=== Research ===\nIn addition to the universities, Adelaide is home to a number of research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia, established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain. Many of the organisations involved in research tend to be geographically clustered throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area:\n* The east end of North Terrace: IMVS; Hanson Institute; RAH; National Wine Centre.\n* The west end of North Terrace: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), located next to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.\n* The Waite Research Precinct: SARDI Head Office and Plant Research Centre; AWRI; ACPFG; CSIRO research laboratories. SARDI also have establishments at Glenside and West Beach.\n* Edinburgh, South Australia: DSTO; BAE Systems (Australia); Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.\n* Technology Park (Mawson Lakes): BAE Systems; Optus; Raytheon; Topcon; Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.\n* Research Park at Thebarton: businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services.\n* Science Park (adjacent to Flinders University): Playford Capital.\n* The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research in Woodville the research arm of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide\n\n\nFile:Bonython Hall.jpg | The Mitchell Building and Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide\nFile:Hawke Building, UniSA.jpg | The Hawke Building, part of the UniSA, City West Campus\nFile:Flinders from hill 3.jpg | Flinders University buildings from the campus hills\nFile:Torrens Building, Victoria Square.jpg | Torrens University\nFile:SAHMRI.jpg | South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)\n\n", "The Art Gallery of South Australia, and part of the South Australian Museum on North Terrace\n\nWhile established as a British province, and very much English in terms of its culture, Adelaide attracted immigrants from other parts of Europe early on, including German and other European non-conformists escaping religious persecution. The first German Lutherans arrived in 1838 bringing with them the vine cuttings that they used to found the acclaimed wineries of the Barossa Valley.\n\n=== Arts and entertainment ===\nAdelaide's arts scene flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with the support of successive premiers from both major political parties. The renowned Adelaide Festival of Arts and Fringe Festival were established in 1960 under Thomas Playford. Construction of the Adelaide Festival Centre began under Steele Hall in 1970 and was completed under the subsequent government of Don Dunstan, who also established the South Australian Film Corporation and, in 1976, the State Opera of South Australia.\n\nOver time, the Adelaide Festival has expanded to include the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Adelaide Writers' Week, and WOMADelaide, all held predominately in the autumnal month of March (sometimes jocularly called 'mad March' by locals due to the hectic clustering of these events). Other festivals include FEAST (a queer culture celebration), Tasting Australia (a biennial food and wine affair), and the Royal Adelaide Show (an annual agricultural show and state fair).\n\nThe Adelaide Convention Centre, the first of its kind in South Australia, is situated on the River Torrens. Photo taken in 2007.\n\nThere are many international cultural fairs, most notably the German Schützenfest and Greek Glendi. Adelaide is home to the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, the world's largest Christmas parade. As the state capital, Adelaide is home to a great number of cultural institutions with many along the boulevard of North Terrace. The Art Gallery of South Australia, with around 35,000 works, holds Australia's second largest state-based collection. Adjacent are the South Australian Museum and State Library of South Australia, while the Adelaide Botanic Garden, National Wine Centre and Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute are nearby in the East End of the city. In the back of the State Library lies the Migration Museum, Australia's oldest museum of its kind. Contemporary art scenes include the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia. Adelaide Festival Centre, on the banks of the Torrens, is the focal point for much of the cultural activity in the city and home to the State Theatre Company of South Australia, with other venues including the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and the city's many smaller theatres, pubs and cabaret bars.\n\nThe Adelaide Town Hall\n\nThe music of Adelaide has produced musical groups and individuals who have achieved national and international fame. This includes the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, rock bands The Angels, Cold Chisel, The Superjesus, Wolf & Cub, roots/blues group The Audreys, internationally acclaimed metal acts I Killed The Prom Queen and Double Dragon, popular Australian hip-hop outfit Hilltop Hoods, pop acts like Sia, Orianthi, Guy Sebastian, and Wes Carr, as well as internationally successful tribute act, The Australian Pink Floyd Show.\n\nNoted rocker Jimmy Barnes spent most of his youth in the northern suburb of Elizabeth. Paul Kelly grew up in Adelaide and was head prefect at Rostrevor College. The first ''Australian Idol'' winner, Guy Sebastian, hails from the north-eastern suburb of Golden Grove. American musician Ben Folds used to base himself in Adelaide when he was married to Australian Frally Hynes. Folds recorded a song about Adelaide before he moved away. In addition to its own WOMADelaide, Adelaide attracts several touring music festivals, including Big Day Out, Creamfields, Future Music, Laneway, Parklife, Soundwave, Stereosonic and Summadayze\n\nAdelaide plays host to two of Australia's leading contemporary dance companies. The Australian Dance Theatre and Leigh Warren & Dancers contribute to state festivals and perform nationally and internationally. Restless Dance Theatre is also based in Adelaide and is nationally recognised for working with disabled and non-disabled dancers to use movement as a means of expression.\n\nAdelaide has been recognised as a \"City of Music\" by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. \n\nIn 2014, Ghil'ad Zuckermann founded the Adelaide Language Festival.\n\n==== Concert venues ====\nThe Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the largest indoor sports and entertainment venue in Adelaide\nAdelaide pop-concert venues (past and present) include Adelaide Entertainment Centre; Adelaide Festival Theatre; Adelaide Oval; Apollo Stadium; Memorial Drive Park; Thebarton Theatre. Other concert and live theatre venues include Adelaide Town Hall; Dunstan Playhouse; Her Majesty's Theatre.\n\n=== Media ===\nSir Keith Murdoch House, named after the founder of ''The News'', is the headquarters for the publisher of Adelaide's daily newspaper, ''The Advertiser''.\n\n==== Newspapers ====\nNewspapers in Adelaide are dominated by News Corporation publications—Adelaide being the birthplace of News Corporation itself. The only South Australian daily newspaper is ''The Advertiser'', published by News Corporation six days a week. The same group publishes a Sunday paper, the ''Sunday Mail''.\n\nThere are eleven suburban community newspapers published weekly, known collectively as the ''Messenger Newspapers'', also published by a subsidiary of News Corporation. ''The Independent Weekly'' was a small independent newspaper providing an alternative view, but ceased publishing its print edition in November 2010 and now exists as a digital daily newsletter only. ''The Adelaide Review'' is a free paper published fortnightly, and other independent magazine-style papers are published, but are not as widely available.\n\n==== Television ====\nAdelaide is served by twenty-eight digital free-to-air television channels:\n\n# ABC\n# ABC (ABC broadcast in HD)\n# ABC2/KIDS\n# ABC Me\n# ABC News\n# SBS\n# SBS HD (SBS broadcast in HD)\n# SBS Viceland \n# Food Network\n# NITV\n# Seven\n# 7HD (Seven broadcast in HD)\n# 7Two\n# 7mate\n# 7flix\n# TV4ME\n# Racing.com\n# Nine\n# 9HD (Nine broadcast in HD)\n# 9Gem\n# 9Go!\n# 9Life\n# eXtra\n# Ten\n# Ten HD (Ten broadcast in HD)\n# One\n# Eleven\n# TVSN\n# Spree TV\n# C44 Adelaide (Adelaide's community TV station)\n\nAll of the five Australian national television networks broadcast both high definition digital and standard-definition television digital services in Adelaide. They share three transmission towers on the ridge near the summit of Mount Lofty. Two other transmission sites are located at Grenfell Street and Elizabeth Downs. The two government-funded stations are run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC South Australia) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The Seven Network and Network Ten both own their Adelaide stations (SAS-7 and ADS-10 respectively).\n\nAdelaide's NWS-9 is part of the Nine Network. New channels available in addition to ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS include Ten HD, (Channel Ten broadcast in HD), One, Eleven, TVSN, Spree TV, ABC2/KIDS, ABC3, ABC News, SBS HD (SBS broadcast in HD), SBS2, Food Network, NITV, 7HD (Channel 7 broadcast in HD), 7Two, 7mate, 7flix, TV4ME, RACING.COM, 9HD (Channel Nine broadcast in HD), 9Gem, 9Go!, 9Life and eXtra. Adelaide also has a community television station, Channel 44. The Foxtel pay TV service is available as cable television in a few areas, and as satellite television to the entire metropolitan area. It is resold by a number of other brands, mostly telephone companies.\n\nAs part of a nationwide phase-out of analogue television in Australia, Adelaide's analogue television service was shut down on 2 April 2013.\n\n==== Radio ====\nThere are twenty radio stations that serve the metropolitan area, as well as four community stations that serve only parts of the metropolitan area. Of the twenty full coverage stations, there are six commercial stations, six community stations, six national stations and two narrowcast stations. A complete list can be found at List of radio stations in Australia#Adelaide.\n\n\n\nCommercial stations include:\n* AM Band: Cruise 1323, FIVEaa 1395\n* FM Band: Nova 91.9, Mix 102.3, Triple M 104.7, SAFM 107.1\n   \nABC and other non-profit stations include:\n* AM Band: Radio National 729, 891 Adelaide (Local Radio), NewsRadio 972\n* FM Band: Classic FM 103.9, Triple J 105.5, Fresh FM 92.7, Radio Adelaide 101.5, Three D Radio 93.7\n\n\n=== Icons ===\n\n", "\nAdelaide Oval is the home of Australian rules football and cricket in South Australia.\nHindmarsh Stadium hosts Adelaide United.\nTitanium Security Arena is home to basketball in South Australia.\nThe main sports played professionally in Adelaide are Australian rules football, association football (soccer), cricket, netball, and basketball. Adelaide is the home of two Australian Football League teams: the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club, and one A-League soccer team, Adelaide United. A local Australian rules football league, the SANFL, is made up of ten teams from around Adelaide. The SANFL has been in operation since 1877 when it began as the South Australian Football Association (SAFL) before changing its name to the SANFL in 1927. The SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code played in Australia.\nAdelaide has developed a strong culture of attracting crowds to major sporting events. Until the completion of the 2012–14 renovation and upgrade of the Adelaide Oval, most large sporting events took place at either AAMI Stadium (the then home base of the Adelaide Crows, and the then Port Adelaide's home game venue), or the historic Adelaide Oval, home of the Southern Redbacks and the Adelaide Strikers cricket teams. Since completion of the upgrade, home games for Adelaide Crows & Port Adelaide now take place at Adelaide Oval.\n\nSince 1884, Adelaide Oval has also hosted an international cricket test every summer, along with a number of One Day International cricket matches. Memorial Drive Park, adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, used to host Davis Cup and other major tennis events, including the Australian Open and (until 2009) the Adelaide International (now known as the Brisbane International). Adelaide's professional association football team, Adelaide United, play in the A-League. Founded in 2003, their home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium, which has a capacity of 17,000 and is one of the few purpose-built soccer stadia in Australia.\n\nFor two years, 1997 and 1998, Adelaide was represented in Australia's top level rugby league, after the New South Wales Rugby League had played a single game per season at the Adelaide Oval for five years starting in 1991. The Adelaide Rams were formed and played in the breakaway Super League (SL) competition in 1997 before moving to the new National Rugby League in 1998. Initially playing at the Adelaide Oval, the club moved to the more suitable Hindmarsh Stadium late in the 1998 season. As part of a peace deal with the Australian Rugby League to end the Super League war, the club's owners News Limited (who were also owners of the SL) suddenly closed the club only weeks before the start of the 1999 season.\n\nAdelaide has two professional basketball teams, the men's team being the Adelaide 36ers who play in the National Basketball League (NBL) and the women's team, the Adelaide Lightning who play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Both teams play their home games at the Titanium Security Arena. Adelaide has a professional netball team, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, who play in the national netball competition, the Suncorp Super Netball championship, with home games played at Priceline Stadium. The Thunderbirds occasionally play games or finals at the Titanium Security Arena, while international netball matches are usually played at the 10,500 seat Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The Titanium Security Arena has a capacity of 8,000 in is the largest purpose built basketball stadium in Australia.\n\nThe Tour Down Under is the first event of the UCI World Tour calendar.\n\nSince 1999 Adelaide and its surrounding areas has hosted the Tour Down Under bicycle race, organised and directed by Adelaide-based Mike Turtur. Turtur won an Olympic gold medal for Australia in the 4000m Team pursuit at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The Tour Down Under is the largest cycling event outside Europe and was the first event outside Europe to be granted UCI ProTour status. Adelaide maintains a franchise in the Australian Baseball League, the Adelaide Bite. They have been playing since 2009, and their home stadium (until 2016) was Norwood Oval. From 2016 the team moved to the Diamond Sports Stadium located near the Adelaide International Airport due to renovations at Norwood. Their name stems from the local Great Australian Bight, and from the abundance of local Great White Sharks. Adelaide also has an Ice Hockey team, Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). They were national champions in 2009 and play their games at the IceArenA.\n\nThe Australian Grand Prix for World Championship Formula One racing was hosted by Adelaide from 1985 to 1995 on the Adelaide Street Circuit which was laid out in the city's East End as well as the eastern parklands including the Victoria Park Racecourse. The Grand Prix became a source of pride and losing the event to Melbourne in a surprise announcement in mid-1993 left a void that has since been filled with the highly successful Clipsal 500 for V8 Supercar racing, held on a modified version of the same street circuit. The Classic Adelaide, a rally of classic sporting vehicles, is also held in the city and its surrounds.\n\nAdelaide formerly had three horse racing venues. Victoria Park, Cheltenham Park Racecourse, both of which have now closed, and Morphettville Racecourse which remains as the home of the South Australian Jockey Club. It also has Globe Derby Park for Harness racing which opened in 1969 and by 1973 had become Adelaide's premier harness racing venue taking over from the Wayville Showgrounds, as well as Greyhound Park for greyhound racing which opened in 1972.\n\nThe World Solar Challenge race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987. Adelaide hosted the 2012 World Bowls Championships at Lockleys Bowling Club, becoming the third city in the world to have held the championships twice, having previously hosted the event in 1996.\n\nDirt track speedway is also popular in Adelaide with three operating speedways. Adelaide Motorsport Park, located adjacent to the Adelaide International Raceway road racing circuit at Virginia ( north of the city centre) has been in continuous operation since 1979 after the closure of the popular Rowley Park Speedway. Gillman Speedway located in the semi-industrial suburb of Gillman, has been in operation since 1998 and caters to Motorcycle speedway and Sidecars, while the Sidewinders Speedway located in Wingfield is also a motorcycle speedway dedicated to Under-16 riders and has been in operation since 1978.\n", "\n=== Health ===\nThe South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) located on North Terrace\nConstruction of the University of Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building\n\nAdelaide's two largest tertiary hospitals are the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide (705 beds), and the Flinders Medical Centre (580 beds) in Bedford Park, a teaching hospital of Flinders University. Other major public hospitals in the Adelaide area are the Women's and Children's Hospital (305 beds), on King William Road in North Adelaide; the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (340 beds) in Woodville, the Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park (300 beds) in Daw Park, and the Lyell McEwin Hospital (198 beds) in Elizabeth. These hospitals are all teaching hospitals. Additional RAH campuses which specialise in specific patient services are in the suburbs of Adelaide – the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre in Northfield, and the Glenside Campus Mental Health Service. Adelaide also hosts numerous private hospitals in the city centre and suburbs.\n\nIn June 2007 the State Government announced a series of overhauls to the health sector that would see a new hospital constructed on railyards at the west end of the city, to replace the Royal Adelaide Hospital at the east end of the city. The new 800-bed hospital has a cost of A$1.85 billion and was planned to be named the \"Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital\" after the former Governor of South Australia. However, in 2009, at the former governor's request, the state government chose to drop this name and instead transfer the Royal Adelaide Hospital name to the proposed facility. Construction started in June 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2016.\n\nIn addition, major upgrades were announced to see the Flinders Medical Centre become the primary centre for health care for the southern suburbs, and the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Elizabeth become the centre for the northern suburbs. The trio of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Modbury Hospital and the Noarlunga Hospital were to become specialist elective surgery centres. The Repatriation General Hospital was also to expand its range of speciality areas beyond veterans' health to incorporate stroke, orthopaedic rehabilitation and aged care. With the \"Global Financial Crisis\" of 2008, it remains to be seen if and how these initiatives will proceed.\n\nThe largest not-for-profit provider of community health care within Adelaide is the Royal District Nursing Service (South Australia) which provides out of hospital care and hospital avoidance care, which in turn eases pressure on the South Australia public hospital system.\n\n=== Transport ===\n\nA map of Adelaide's railway and tram network, served by the Adelaide Metro.\n\nBeing centrally located on the Australian mainland, Adelaide forms a strategic transport hub for east-west and north-south routes. The city itself has a metropolitan-wide public transport system, which is managed by and known as the Adelaide Metro. The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the O-Bahn Busway, metropolitan railways (with diesel and electric lines), and the Adelaide-Glenelg Tram, which was extended as a metropolitan tram in 2010 through the city centre to the inner north-west suburb of Hindmarsh. There are further plans to extend the tram to Port Adelaide and Semaphore. A CBD tram loop too, is being considered and the latest Adelaide Airport master plan has also revealed a tram extension to the airport in the near future.\n\nRoad transport in Adelaide has historically been comparatively easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development. Historically, Adelaide was known as a \"twenty-minute city\", with commuters having been able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes. However, these roads are now often considered inadequate to cope with Adelaide's growing road traffic, and often experience traffic congestion.\n\nThe Adelaide metropolitan area has one freeway and three expressways. In order of construction, they are:\n* The South Eastern Freeway (M1), connects the south-east corner of the Adelaide Plain to the Adelaide Hills and beyond to Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend, where it then continues as National Highway 1 south-east to Melbourne.\n* The Southern Expressway (M2), connecting the outer southern suburbs with the inner southern suburbs and the city centre. It duplicates the route of South Road.\n* The North-South Motorway (M2), is an ongoing major project that will become the major north-south corridor, replacing most of what is now South Road, connecting the Southern Expressway and the Port River Expressway. Currently, the motorway runs as an elevated freeway from its junction with the Port River Expressway to Regency Road, in Adelaide's inner north-west. Continuation of the motorway is currently under construction at both ends of the motorway, at Darlington and in the \"Torrens to Torrens\" project.\n* The Port River Expressway (A9), connects Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor to Port Wakefield Road at the northern \"entrance\" to the metropolitan area.\n* The Northern Expressway (Max Fatchen Expressway) (M20), is the northern suburbs bypass route connecting the Sturt Highway (National Highway 20) via the Gawler Bypass to Port Wakefield Road at a point a few kilometres north of the Port River Expressway connection.\n* The Northern Connector (proposed route M20) is due to start construction in 2016 to connect the North-South Motorway with the Northern Expressway. The road will not be subject to direct tolls, but South Australia will become a testing ground for a \"network fee\" which involves charging trucks based on road use and impact in place of high registration fees.\n\n==== Airports ====\nA Qantas plane leaving Adelaide Airport.\n\nThe Adelaide metropolitan area has two commercial airports, Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport. Adelaide Airport, in Adelaide's western suburbs, serves in excess of 8 million passengers annually. Parafield Airport, Adelaide's second airport north of the city centre, is used for small aircraft, pilot training and recreational aviation purposes. Parafield Airport served as Adelaide's main aerodrome until the opening of the Adelaide Airport in February 1955.\n\n=== Utilities ===\nAerial view of Happy Valley Reservoir in early 2007\n\nAdelaide's energy requirements were originally met by the Adelaide Electric Supply Company, which was nationalised by the Playford government in 1946, becoming the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA), now known as SA Power Networks. Despite significant public opposition and the Labor party's anti-privatisation stance which left the Liberal party one vote short of the numbers needed to pass the legislation, ETSA was privatised by the Olsen Government in 1999 by way of a 200-year lease for the distribution network and the outright purchase of ETSA Power by the Cheung Kong Holdings for $3.5 billion (11 times ETSA's annual earnings) after Labor MP Trevor Crothers resigned from the party and voted with the government. \n\nThe electricity retail market was opened to competition in 2003 and although competition was expected to result in lower retail costs, prices increased by 23.7% in the market's first year. In 2004 the privatisation was deemed to be a failure with consumers paying 60% more for their power and with the state government estimated to lose $3 billion in power generation net income in the first ten years of privatisation. In 2012, the industry came under scrutiny for allegedly reducing supply by shutting down generators during periods of peak demand to force prices up. Increased media attention also revealed that in 2009 the state government had approved a 46% increase in retail prices to cover expected increases in the costs of generation while generation costs had in fact fallen 35% by 2012. These price increases and large subsidies have led to South Australia paying the highest retail price for electricity in the world.\n\nSA Power Networks now distributes electricity from transmission companies to end users. Privatisation led to competition from a variety of companies who now separately provide for the generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of gas and electricity. Some of the major companies are: TRUenergy, which generates electricity; ElectraNet, which transmits electricity from the generators to the distribution network, Lumo Energy and AGL Energy, which retails gas and electricity. Substantial investment has been made in maintenance and reinforcement of the electricity supply network to provide continued reliability of supply.\n\nAdelaide derives most of its electricity from the Torrens Island Power Station gas-fired plant operated by AGL Energy and the Pelican Point Power Station, along with wind power and connections to the national grid. Gas is supplied from the Moomba Gas Processing Plant in the Cooper Basin via the Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System and the SEAGas pipeline from Victoria. South Australia generates 18% of its electricity from wind power, and has 51% of the installed capacity of wind generators in Australia.\n\nAdelaide's water supply is gained from its reservoirs: Mount Bold, Happy Valley, Myponga, Millbrook, Hope Valley, Little Para and South Para. The yield from these reservoir catchments can be as little as 10% of the city's requirements in drought years and about 60% in average years. The remaining demand is met by the pumping of water from the River Murray. A sea water desalination plant capable of supplying half of Adelaide's water requirements (100GL per annum) was commissioned in 2013. The provision of water services is by the government-owned SA Water.\n", "\n\n* Adelaide city centre\n* Adelaide Hills\n* City of Adelaide\n* Music of Adelaide\n* Port Adelaide\n\n;Lists\n* Images of Adelaide\n* List of Adelaide obsolete suburb names\n* List of Adelaide parks and gardens\n* List of Adelaide railway stations\n* List of Adelaide suburbs\n* List of people from Adelaide\n* List of protected areas in Adelaide\n* List of public art in South Australia\n* List of public transport routes in Adelaide\n* List of sporting clubs in Adelaide\n* List of tallest buildings in Adelaide\n* Tourist attractions in South Australia\n", "\n", "* Kathryn Gargett; Susan Marsden, ''Adelaide: A Brief History''. Adelaide: State History Centre, History Trust of South Australia in association with Adelaide City Council, 1996 .\n* Susan Marsden; Paul Stark; Patricia Sumerling, eds., ''Heritage of the City of Adelaide: an illustrated guide''. Adelaide: Adelaide City Council, 1990, 1996. .\n* Derek Whitelock et al. ''Adelaide: a sense of difference''. Melbourne: Arcadia, 2000. .\n", "\n* Adelaide City Council > Official City Guide\n* Adelaide City Council\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Geography ", " Governance ", " Local governments ", " Demography ", " Economy ", " Education and research ", " Cultural ", " Sport ", " Infrastructure ", " See also ", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "The 1991 State Bank collapsed during the then economic recession, with its effects lasting until 2004, when ratings agency Standard & Poor's reinstated South Australia's AAA credit rating.", "Adelaide's tallest building, built in 1988, was originally known as the State Bank Building.", "The collapse of the State Bank in 1992 resulted in large levels of state public debt (as much as A$4 billion)." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Adelaide''' ( ) is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia.", "In June 2016, Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1,326,354.", "South Australia, with a total of 1.7 million inhabitants, has the most centralised population of any state in Australia, with more than 75 percent of its people living in greater Adelaide, while the other population centres in the state are relatively small.", "Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city.", "Adelaide stretches from the coast to the foothills, and from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.", "Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely-settled British province in Australia.", "Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people.", "Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parklands.", "Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth—until the Second World War, it was Australia's third-largest city and one of the few Australian cities to not have convict history.", "It has been noted for early examples of religious freedom, a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties.", "It has been known as the \"City of Churches\" since the mid-19th century.", "The demonym \"Adelaidean\" is used in reference to the city and its residents.", "As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions.", "Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area.", "Today, Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors.", "It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of ''The Economist Intelligence Unit''s World's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.", "It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011, 2012 and 2013.", "\n\n=== Before European settlement ===\nApproximate extent of Kaurna territory, based on the description by Amery (2000)\nPrior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation (pronounced \"Garner\").", "Kaurna culture and language was almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the European settlement of South Australia in 1836.", "However, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture.", "=== 19th century ===\nAdelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the city's namesake\nIn July 1876, the Illustrated Sydney News published a special supplement that included an early aerial view of the City of Adelaide, the River Torrens and portion of North Adelaide from a point above Pennington Terrace, North Adelaide.", "South Australia was officially proclaimed as a British colony on 28 December 1836, near The Old Gum Tree in what is now the suburb of Glenelg North.", "The event is commemorated in South Australia as Proclamation Day.", "The site of the colony's capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, through the design made by the architect George Strickland Kingston.", "Adelaide was established as a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, based upon the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield.", "Wakefield had read accounts of Australian settlement while in prison in London for attempting to abduct an heiress, and realised that the eastern colonies suffered from a lack of available labour, due to the practice of giving land grants to all arrivals.", "Wakefield's idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen.", "Funds raised from the sale of land were to be used to bring out working class emigrants, who would have to work hard for the monied settlers to ever afford their own land.", "As a result of this policy, Adelaide does not share the convict settlement history of other Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart.", "North Terrace in 1841\n\nAs it was believed that in a colony of free settlers there would be little crime, no provision was made for a gaol in Colonel Light's 1837 plan.", "However, by mid-1837 the ''South Australian Register'' was warning of escaped convicts from New South Wales and tenders for a temporary gaol were sought.", "Following a burglary, a murder, and two attempted murders in Adelaide during March 1838, Governor Hindmarsh created the South Australian Police Force (now named South Australia Police) in April 1838 under 21-year-old Henry Inman.", "The first sheriff, Mr Samuel Smart, was wounded during a robbery, and on 2 May 1838 one of the offenders, Michael Magee, became the first person to be hanged in South Australia.", "William Baker Ashton was appointed governor of the temporary gaol in 1839, and in 1840 George Strickland Kingston was commissioned to design Adelaide's new gaol.", "Construction of Adelaide Gaol commenced in 1841.", "1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout\n\nAdelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and questionable leadership.", "The first governor of South Australia, John Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with others, in particular the Resident Commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher.", "The rural area surrounding Adelaide was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over of land.", "Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.", "Wool production provided an early basis for the South Australian economy.", "By 1860, wheat farms had been established from Encounter Bay in the south to Clare in the north.", "Governor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and, despite being under orders from the ''Select Committee on South Australia'' in Britain not to undertake any public works, promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, the Adelaide Gaol, police barracks, a hospital, a customs house and a wharf at Port Adelaide.", "Gawler was recalled and replaced by Governor Grey in 1841.", "Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, although its impact was negligible at this point: silver was discovered in Glen Osmond that year, agriculture was well underway, and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development.", "The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.", "Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the Murray River being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident.", "South Australia became a self-governing colony in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament.", "Secret ballots were introduced, and a bicameral parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.", "In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the now turbid River Torrens.", "Gas street lighting was implemented in 1867, the University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896.", "In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism.", "Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed.", "The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle.", "The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved.", "Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems, with some families leaving for Western Australia.", "Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at Broken Hill provided some relief.", "Only one year of deficit was recorded, but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending.", "Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.", "=== 20th century ===\nWestpac House, Adelaide's tallest building at 132 metres (Australia's 133rd tallest building).", "Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric trams were transporting passengers in 1909.", "28,000 men were sent to fight in World War I.", "Historian F.W.", "Crowley examined the reports of visitors in the early 20th century, noting that \"many visitors to Adelaide admired the foresighted planning of its founders\", as well as pondering on the riches of the young city.", "Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom, entering a time of relative prosperity.", "Its population grew, and it became the 3rd most populous metropolitan area in the country—after Sydney and Melbourne.", "Its prosperity was short lived, with the return of droughts, having endured the Great Depression of the 1930s, and later returning to fortune under strong government leadership.", "Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on primary industries.", "World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location.", "Shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of Whyalla.", "King William Street viewed from Parliament House, 1938.", "The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries.", "International manufacturers like General Motors Holden and Chrysler made use of these factories around Adelaide, completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a 20th-century city.", "A pipeline from Mannum brought River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an airport opened at West Beach in 1955.", "Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre were established in the 1960s at Bedford Park, south of the city.", "Today, Flinders Medical Centre is one of the largest teaching hospitals within the South Australia.", "The Dunstan Governments of the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival', establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts, building upon the biennial \"Adelaide Festival of Arts\" which commenced in 1960.", "Adelaide hosted the Formula One Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands; it then moved to Melbourne in 1996.", "Since 1999, the Clipsal 500 Supercars race has made use of sections of the former Formula One circuit.", "In 1991 it was renamed the Santos Building and in 2006 it was again renamed Westpac House.", "=== 21st century ===\nThe Adelaide central business district at night, 2013\n\nIn the early years of the 21st century there was a significant increase in the State Government's spending on Adelaide's infrastructure.", "The Rann Government invested $535 million in a major upgrade of the Adelaide Oval to enable AFL to be played in the city centre and more than $2 billion to build a new Royal Adelaide Hospital on land adjacent to the Adelaide Railway Station.", "The Glenelg tramline was extended through the city to Hindmarsh and the suburban railway line extended south to Seaford.", "Following a period of stagnancy in the 1990s and 2000s, Adelaide began several major developments and redevelopments.", "The Adelaide Convention Centre was redeveloped and expanded at a cost of $350 million beginning in 2012.", "Three historic buildings were adapted for modern use: the Torrens Building in Victoria Square as the Adelaide campus for Carnegie Mellon University, University College London and Torrens University; the Stock Exchange building as the Science Exchange of the Royal Institution Australia; and the Glenside Psychiatric Hospital as the Adelaide Studios of the SA Film Corporation.", "The government also invested more than $2 billion to build a desalination plant, powered by renewable energy, as an 'insurance policy' against droughts affecting Adelaide's water supply.", "In the Arts the Adelaide Festival, Fringe and Womadelaide became annual events.", "Satellite image of Adelaide's metropolitan area.", "The Adelaide Hills is the green area to the right of the image.", "City map of Adelaide, Australia.", "Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges.", "The city stretches from the coast to the foothills, and from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.", "According to the Regional Development Australia, an Australian government planning initiative, the \"Adelaide Metropolitan Region\" has a total land area of , while a more expansive definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a \"Greater Adelaide\" statistical area totalling .", "The city sits at an average elevation of above sea level.", "Mount Lofty, east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of , is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of Burra.", "Much of Adelaide was bushland before British settlement, with some variation – sandhills, swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast.", "The loss of the sandhills to urban development had a particularly destructive effect on the coastline due to erosion.", "Where practical, the government has implemented programs to rebuild and vegetate sandhills at several of Adelaide's beachside suburbs.", "Much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Cleland Conservation Park and Belair National Park.", "A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region.", "The largest are the Torrens and Onkaparinga catchments.", "Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply with the Happy Valley Reservoir supplying around 40% and the much larger Mount Bold Reservoir 10% of Adelaide's domestic requirements respectively.", "Adelaide and its surrounding area is one of the most seismically active regions in Australia.", "On 1 March 1954 at 3:40 am Adelaide experienced its largest recorded earthquake to date, with the epicentre 12 km from the city centre at Darlington, and a reported magnitude of 5.6.", "There have been smaller earthquakes in 2010, 2011 and 2014.", "=== Urban layout ===\n\nNorth Terrace (right) and Pulteney Street (left), looking south-west from Bonython Hall.", "Adelaide is a planned city, designed by the first surveyor-general of South Australia, Colonel William Light.", "His plan, now known as '''Light's Vision''', arranged Adelaide in a grid, with five squares in the Adelaide city centre and a ring of parks, known as the Adelaide Parklands, surrounding it.", "Light's selection of the location for the city was initially unpopular with the early settlers, as well as South Australia's first governor, John Hindmarsh, due to its distance from the harbour at Port Adelaide, and the lack of fresh water there.", "Light successfully persisted with his choice of location against this initial opposition.", "The benefits of Light's design are numerous: Adelaide has had wide multi-lane roads from its beginning, an easily navigable cardinal direction grid layout and an expansive green ring around the city centre.", "There are two sets of ring roads in Adelaide that have resulted from the original design.", "The inner ring route (A21) borders the parklands, and the outer route (A3/A13/A16/A17) completely bypasses the inner city via (in clockwise order) Grand Junction Road, Hampstead Road, Ascot Avenue, Portrush Road, Cross Road and South Road.", "Footbridge across the Torrens River, with the Adelaide Oval stadium in the background\n\nSuburban expansion has to some extent outgrown Light's original plan.", "Numerous former outlying villages and \"country towns\", as well as the satellite city of Elizabeth, have been enveloped by its suburban sprawl.", "Expanding developments in the Adelaide Hills region led to the construction of the South Eastern Freeway to cope with growth, which has subsequently led to new developments and further improvements to that transport corridor.", "Similarly, the booming development in Adelaide's South led to the construction of the Southern Expressway.", "New roads are not the only transport infrastructure developed to cope with the urban growth.", "The O-Bahn Busway is an example of a unique solution to Tea Tree Gully's transport woes in the 1980s.", "The development of the nearby suburb of Golden Grove in the late 1980s is an example of well-thought-out urban planning.", "King William Street, one of the widest main streets in an Australian capital city, viewed from Victoria Square.", "In the 1960s, a Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study Plan was proposed in order to cater for the future growth of the city.", "The plan involved the construction of freeways, expressways and the upgrade of certain aspects of the public transport system.", "The then premier Steele Hall approved many parts of the plan and the government went as far as purchasing land for the project.", "The later Labor government elected under Don Dunstan shelved the plan, but allowed the purchased land to remain vacant, should the future need for freeways arise.", "In 1980, the Liberal party won government and premier David Tonkin committed his government to selling off the land acquired for the MATS plan, ensuring that even when needs changed, the construction of most MATS-proposed freeways would be impractical.", "Some parts of this land have been used for transport, (e.g.", "the O-Bahn Busway and Southern Expressway), while most has been progressively subdivided for residential use.", "In 2008, the SA Government announced plans for a network of transport-oriented developments across the Adelaide metropolitan area and purchased a 10 hectare industrial site at Bowden for $52.5 million as the first of these developments.", "The site covers 102,478 square metres, or about 10 hectares, and is bounded by Park Terrace to the south, the Adelaide to Outer Harbour railway line to the west, Drayton Street to the north and Sixth and Seventh Streets to the east.", "==== Housing ====\n\n\nHistorically, Adelaide's suburban residential areas have been characterised by single-storey detached houses built on blocks.", "A relative lack of suitable locally available timber for construction purposes led to the early development of a brick-making industry, as well as the use of stone, for houses and other buildings.", "By 1891 68% of houses were built of stone, 15% of timber, and 10% of brick, with brick also being widely used in stone houses for quoins, door and window surrounds, and chimneys and fireplaces.", "There is a wide variety in the styles of these predominately brick, and to a lesser degree, stone, and/or stone-faced, single-storey detached houses.", "After both of the World Wars, the use of red bricks was popular.", "In the 1960s, cream bricks became popular, and in the 1970s, deep red and brown bricks became popular.", "Until the 1970s, roofs tended to be clad with corrugated iron or clay tiles (usually red clay).", "Since then, cement tiles and colourbond corrugated (and other types of) iron have also become popular.", "Most roofs are pitched; flat roofs are not common.", "Up to the 1970s, the majority of houses were of \"double brick\" construction on concrete footings, with timber floors laid on joists supported by \"dwarf walls\".", "Due to Adelaide's reactive soils (particularly Keswick Clay, black earth and some red-brown earth soils), since then houses have mainly been constructed of \"brick veneer\" over a timber frame (and more recently, over a steel frame) on a concrete raft slab foundation.", "The use of precast concrete panels for floor and wall construction has also increased.", "In addition to this, a significant factor in Adelaide's suburban history is the role of the South Australian Housing Trust.", "=== Climate ===\n\n\nAdelaide has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''), with warm to hot dry summers and mild short winters, with most precipitation falling in the winter months.", "Adelaide receives enough annual precipitation to avoid Köppen's BSh (semi-arid climate) classification.", "Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer.", "In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm.", "Frosts are occasional, with the most notable occurrences in July 1908 and July 1982.", "Hail is also common in winter.", "Adelaide is a windy city—it experiences wind chill in winter, which makes the temperature seem colder than it actually is.", "Snowfall in the metropolitan area is extremely uncommon, although light and sporadic falls in the nearby hills and at Mount Lofty occur during winter.", "Dewpoints in the summer typically range from .", "The average annual temperature of the sea ranges from in August to in February.", "\n\n\n\n Composition of the Parliament of South Australia\n\nParty\nHouse\nCouncil\n\nLabor\n23\n8\n\nLiberal\n20\n8\n\nGreen\n0\n2\n\nAustralian Conservatives\n\n0\n\n2\n\nDignity for Disability\n\n0\n\n1\n\nIndependent\n4\n1\n\n'''Total'''\n\n'''47'''\n\n'''22'''\n\n Source: Electoral Commission SA\n\n\nParliament House, Adelaide\n\nAdelaide, as the capital of South Australia, is the seat of the Government of South Australia.", "As Adelaide is South Australia's capital and most populous city, the State Government co-operates extensively with the City of Adelaide.", "In 2006, the Ministry for the City of Adelaide was created to facilitate the state government's collaboration with the Adelaide City Council and the Lord Mayor to improve Adelaide's image.", "The state parliament's Capital City Committee is also involved in the governance of the City of Adelaide, being primarily concerned with the planning of Adelaide's urban development and growth.", "\n\nThe Adelaide metropolitan area is divided between eighteen local government areas, including, at its centre, the City of Adelaide, which administers the Adelaide city centre, North Adelaide, and the surrounding Adelaide Parklands.", "It is the oldest municipal authority in Australia and was established in 1840, when Adelaide and Australia's first mayor, James Hurtle Fisher, was elected.", "From 1919 onwards, the City has had a Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor Martin Haese.", "}(Based on 2006 Census data)\n\nCompared with the four other major state capitals in Australia, Adelaide is growing at a much slower rate.", "In 2015, Adelaide had a metropolitan population of more than 1,316,779 making it Australia's fifth largest city.", "Some 77% of the population of South Australia are residents of the Adelaide metropolitan area, making South Australia one of the most centralised states.", "Major areas of population growth in recent years have been in outer suburbs such as Mawson Lakes and Golden Grove.", "Adelaide's inhabitants occupy 366,912 houses, 57,695 semi-detached, row terrace or town houses and 49,413 flats, units or apartments.", "About one sixth (17.1%) of the population had university qualifications.", "The number of Adelaideans with vocational qualifications (such as tradespersons) fell from 62.1% of the labour force in the 1991 census to 52.4% in the 2001 census.", "Overseas-born Adelaideans composed 29.8% of the total population.", "Suburbs including Newton, Payneham and Campbelltown in the east and Torrensville, West Lakes and Fulham to the west, have large Greek and Italian communities.", "The Italian consulate is located in the eastern suburb of Payneham.", "Large Vietnamese populations are settled in the north-western suburbs of Woodville, Kilkenny, Pennington, Mansfield Park and Athol Park and also Parafield Gardens and Pooraka in Adelaide's north.", "Migrants from India and Sri Lanka have settled into inner suburban areas of Adelaide including the inner northern suburbs of Blair Athol, Kilburn and Enfield and the inner southern suburbs of Plympton, Park Holme and Kurralta Park.", "Chinatown on Moonta Street in the Market precinct\n\nSuburbs such as Para Hills, Salisbury, Ingle Farm and Blair Athol in the north and Findon, West Croydon and Seaton in the West are experiencing large migration from Afghanistan and Iran.", "Chinese migrants favour settling in the eastern and north eastern suburbs including Kensington Gardens, Greenacres, Modbury and Golden Grove.", "Mawson Lakes has a large international student population, due to its proximity to the University of South Australia campus.", "The five largest groups of overseas-born were from UK (7.0%), Italy (1.6%), India (1.4%), China (1.3%) and Vietnam (1.0%).", "The most-spoken languages other than English were Italian (2.6%), Greek (1.9%), Standard Mandarin (1.3%), Vietnamese (1.3%), and Cantonese (0.7%).", "'''Significant overseas born populations'''\n\n Country of birth \n Population (2011)\n\n \n 92,174\n\n \n 21,068\n\n \n 18,434\n\n \n 17,118\n\n \n 13,167\n\n\n=== Age structure ===\nAdelaide is ageing more rapidly than other Australian capital cities.", "More than a quarter (27.5%) of Adelaide's population is aged 55 years or older, in comparison to the national average of 25.6%.", "Adelaide has the lowest number of children (under-15-year-olds), who comprised 17.7% of the population, compared to the national average of 19.3%.", "=== Religion ===\nSaint Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Victoria Square\n\nAdelaide was founded on a vision of religious tolerance which attracted a wide variety of religious practitioners.", "This led to it being known as ''The City of Churches''.", "However, approximately 28% of the population expressed no religious affiliation in the 2011 Census, compared with the national average of 22.3%, making Adelaide one of the least religious cities in Australia.", "Over half of the population of Adelaide identifies as Christian, with the largest denominations being Catholic (21.3%), Anglican (12.6%), Uniting Church (7.6%) and Eastern Orthodox (3.5%).", "The Jewish community of the city dates back to 1840.", "Eight years later, 58 Jews lived in the city.", "The Jewish synagogue was built in 1871, when 435 Jews lived in the city.", "Many Jews took part in the city councils, such as Judah Moss Solomon (1852–66) and others after him.", "Three Jews have been elected to the position of city mayor.", "In the 1960s, the Jewish population of Adelaide numbered about 1,200; in 2001, according to the Australian census, 979 persons declared themselves to be Jewish by religion.", "In 2011, over 1,000 Jews were living in the city, operating an orthodox and a reform school, in addition to a virtual Jewish museum.", "The \"Afghan\" community in Australia first became established in the 1860s when camels and their Pathan, Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi handlers began to be used to open up settlement in the arid interior of the continent.", "Until eventually superseded by the advent of the railways and later, motor vehicles, they played an invaluable economic and social role in transporting heavy loads of goods to, and products from, isolated settlements and mines.", "This role is acknowledged by the name of The Ghan, the passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin.", "The Central Adelaide Mosque is regarded as the oldest permanent mosque in Australia; however an earlier mosque at Marree in northern South Australia, dating from 1861–62 and subsequently abandoned or demolished, has now been rebuilt.", "Flinders Medical Centre.", "Health care and social assistance is the largest ABS defined employment sector in South Australia.", "The Adelaide-built entering Pearl Harbor, August 2004.", "South Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, surpassing manufacturing in SA as the largest employer since 2006–07.", "In 2009–10, manufacturing in SA had average annual employment of 83,700 persons compared with 103,300 for health care and social assistance.", "Health care and social assistance represented nearly 13% of the state average annual employment.", "The Adelaide Hills wine region is an iconic and viable economic region for both the state and country in terms of wine production and sale.", "The 2014 vintage is reported as consisting of red grapes crushed valued at A$8,196,142 and white grapes crushed valued at $14,777,631.", "The retail trade is the second largest employer in SA (2009–10), with 91,900 jobs, and 12 per cent of the state workforce.", "Manufacturing, defence technology, high tech electronic systems and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries all play a role in the SA economy.", "Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide at the General Motors Holden plant in Elizabeth.", "The collapse meant that successive governments enacted lean budgets, cutting spending, which was a setback to the further economic development of the city and state.", "The debt has more recently been reduced with the State Government once again receiving a AAA+ Credit Rating.", "The global media conglomerate News Corporation was founded in, and until 2004 incorporated in, Adelaide and it is still considered its 'spiritual' home by Rupert Murdoch.", "Australia's largest oil company, Santos, prominent South Australian brewery, Coopers, and national retailer Harris Scarfe also call Adelaide their home.", "=== Defence industry ===\nAdelaide is home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries, which contribute over A$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product.", "The principal government military research institution, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and other defence technology organisations such as BAE Systems Australia and Lockheed Martin Australia, are north of Salisbury and west of Elizabeth in an area now called \"Edinburgh Parks\", adjacent to RAAF Base Edinburgh.", "Others, such as Saab Systems and Raytheon, are in or near Technology Park.", "ASC Pty Ltd, based in the industrial suburb of Osborne.", "South Australia was charged with constructing Australia's ''Collins'' class submarines and more recently the A$6 billion contract to construct the Royal Australian Navy's new air-warfare destroyers.", "=== Employment statistics ===\nAs of November 2015, Greater Adelaide had an unemployment rate of 7.4% with a youth unemployment rate of 15%.", "The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over was $447 per week in 2006, compared with $466 nationally.", "The median family income was $1,137 per week, compared with $1,171 nationally.", "Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper.", "The median Adelaide house price is half that of Sydney and two-thirds that of Melbourne.", "The three-month trend unemployment rate to March 2007 was 6.2%.", "The Northern suburbs' unemployment rate is disproportionately higher than the other regions of Adelaide at 8.3%, while the East and South are lower than the Adelaide average at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively.", "=== House prices ===\nOver the decade March 2001 – March 2010, Metropolitan Adelaide median house prices approximately tripled.", "(approx.", "285% – approx.", "11%p.a.", "compounding)\nIn the 5 years March 2007 – March 2012, prices increased by approx.", "27% – approx.", "5%p.a.", "compounding.", "March 2012 - March 2017 saw a further increase of 19% - approx.", "3.5%p.a.", "compounding.", "In summary:\n\n\n March \n 2001 \n 2002 \n 2003 \n 2004 \n 2005 \n 2006 \n 2007 \n 2008 \n 2009 \n 2010\n 2011 \n 2012\n2013\n2014\n2015\n2016\n2017\n\n Median \n 140,000 \n 170,000 \n 200,000 \n 250,000 \n 270,000 \n 280,000 \n 300,000 \n 360,000 \n 350,000 \n 400,000\n 400,000 \n 380,000\n393,000\n413,000\n425,000\n436,000\n452,000\n\n% change \n \n 21% \n 18% \n 25% \n 8% \n 4% \n 7% \n 20% \n −3% \n 14%\n 0% \n −5%\n3%\n5%\n3%\n3%\n4%\n\n''All numbers approximate and rounded.", "Since March 2012, the REISA no longer release a median house price for the Adelaide Metropolitan area so figures retrieved are from Dept of the Premier and Cabinet.''", "Each quarter, The Alternative and Direct Investment Securities Association (ADISA) publishes a list of median house sale prices by suburb and Local Government Area.", "(Previously, this was done by REISA) Due to the small size of many of Adelaide's suburbs, the low volumes of sales in these suburbs, and (over time) the huge variations in the numbers of sales in a suburb in a quarter, statistical analysis of \"the most expensive suburb\" is unreliable; the suburbs appearing in the \"top 10 most expensive suburbs this quarter\" list is constantly varying.", "Quarterly Reports for the last two years can be found on the REISA website.", "\nBarr Smith Library, part of the University of Adelaide\n\nEducation forms an increasingly important part of the city's economy, with the South Australian Government and educational institutions attempting to position Adelaide as \"Australia's education hub\" and marketing it as a \"Learning City.\"", "The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students.", "In addition to the city's existing institutions, foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses in order to increase its attractiveness as an education hub.", "Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates, more than any other Australian city: physicist William Lawrence Bragg and pathologists Howard Florey and Robin Warren, all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide.", "=== Primary and secondary education ===\nAt the level of primary and secondary education, there are two systems of school education.", "There is a public system operated by the South Australian Government and a private system of independent and Catholic schools.", "All schools provide education under the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) or, to a lesser extent, the International Baccalaureate (IB), with Adelaide having the highest number of IB schools in Australia.", "=== Tertiary education ===\nVictoria Square houses campuses of several international universities operating in South Australia\n\nThere are three public universities local to Adelaide, as well as one private university and three constituent colleges of foreign universities.", "Flinders University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Torrens University Australia—part of the Laureate International Universities are based in Adelaide.", "The University of Adelaide was ranked in the top 150 universities worldwide.", "Flinders ranked in the top 250 and Uni SA in the top 300.", "Torrens University Australia is part of an international network of over 70 higher education institutions in more than 30 countries worldwide.", "The historic Torrens Building in Victoria Square houses Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College Australia, Cranfield University's Defence College of Management and Technology, and University College London's School of Energy and Resources (Australia), and constitute the city's international university precinct.", "The University of Adelaide, with 25,000 students, is Australia's third-oldest university and a member of the leading \"Group of Eight\".", "It has five campuses throughout the state, including two in the city-centre, and a campus in Singapore.", "The University of South Australia, with 37,000 students, has two North Terrace campuses, three other campuses in the metropolitan area and campuses at Whyalla and Mount Gambier.", "The Flinders University of South Australia, with 21,809 students, is in the southern suburb of Bedford Park, alongside the Flinders Medical Centre, and maintains a small city campus in Victoria Square.", "There are several South Australian TAFE (Technical and Further Education) campuses in the metropolitan area which provide a range of vocational education and training.", "The Adelaide College of the Arts, as a school of TAFE SA, provides nationally recognised training in visual and performing arts.", "=== Research ===\nIn addition to the universities, Adelaide is home to a number of research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia, established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain.", "Many of the organisations involved in research tend to be geographically clustered throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area:\n* The east end of North Terrace: IMVS; Hanson Institute; RAH; National Wine Centre.", "* The west end of North Terrace: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), located next to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.", "* The Waite Research Precinct: SARDI Head Office and Plant Research Centre; AWRI; ACPFG; CSIRO research laboratories.", "SARDI also have establishments at Glenside and West Beach.", "* Edinburgh, South Australia: DSTO; BAE Systems (Australia); Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.", "* Technology Park (Mawson Lakes): BAE Systems; Optus; Raytheon; Topcon; Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.", "* Research Park at Thebarton: businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services.", "* Science Park (adjacent to Flinders University): Playford Capital.", "* The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research in Woodville the research arm of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide\n\n\nFile:Bonython Hall.jpg | The Mitchell Building and Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide\nFile:Hawke Building, UniSA.jpg | The Hawke Building, part of the UniSA, City West Campus\nFile:Flinders from hill 3.jpg | Flinders University buildings from the campus hills\nFile:Torrens Building, Victoria Square.jpg | Torrens University\nFile:SAHMRI.jpg | South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)", "The Art Gallery of South Australia, and part of the South Australian Museum on North Terrace\n\nWhile established as a British province, and very much English in terms of its culture, Adelaide attracted immigrants from other parts of Europe early on, including German and other European non-conformists escaping religious persecution.", "The first German Lutherans arrived in 1838 bringing with them the vine cuttings that they used to found the acclaimed wineries of the Barossa Valley.", "=== Arts and entertainment ===\nAdelaide's arts scene flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with the support of successive premiers from both major political parties.", "The renowned Adelaide Festival of Arts and Fringe Festival were established in 1960 under Thomas Playford.", "Construction of the Adelaide Festival Centre began under Steele Hall in 1970 and was completed under the subsequent government of Don Dunstan, who also established the South Australian Film Corporation and, in 1976, the State Opera of South Australia.", "Over time, the Adelaide Festival has expanded to include the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Festival of Ideas, Adelaide Writers' Week, and WOMADelaide, all held predominately in the autumnal month of March (sometimes jocularly called 'mad March' by locals due to the hectic clustering of these events).", "Other festivals include FEAST (a queer culture celebration), Tasting Australia (a biennial food and wine affair), and the Royal Adelaide Show (an annual agricultural show and state fair).", "The Adelaide Convention Centre, the first of its kind in South Australia, is situated on the River Torrens.", "Photo taken in 2007.", "There are many international cultural fairs, most notably the German Schützenfest and Greek Glendi.", "Adelaide is home to the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, the world's largest Christmas parade.", "As the state capital, Adelaide is home to a great number of cultural institutions with many along the boulevard of North Terrace.", "The Art Gallery of South Australia, with around 35,000 works, holds Australia's second largest state-based collection.", "Adjacent are the South Australian Museum and State Library of South Australia, while the Adelaide Botanic Garden, National Wine Centre and Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute are nearby in the East End of the city.", "In the back of the State Library lies the Migration Museum, Australia's oldest museum of its kind.", "Contemporary art scenes include the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia.", "Adelaide Festival Centre, on the banks of the Torrens, is the focal point for much of the cultural activity in the city and home to the State Theatre Company of South Australia, with other venues including the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and the city's many smaller theatres, pubs and cabaret bars.", "The Adelaide Town Hall\n\nThe music of Adelaide has produced musical groups and individuals who have achieved national and international fame.", "This includes the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Youth Orchestra, rock bands The Angels, Cold Chisel, The Superjesus, Wolf & Cub, roots/blues group The Audreys, internationally acclaimed metal acts I Killed The Prom Queen and Double Dragon, popular Australian hip-hop outfit Hilltop Hoods, pop acts like Sia, Orianthi, Guy Sebastian, and Wes Carr, as well as internationally successful tribute act, The Australian Pink Floyd Show.", "Noted rocker Jimmy Barnes spent most of his youth in the northern suburb of Elizabeth.", "Paul Kelly grew up in Adelaide and was head prefect at Rostrevor College.", "The first ''Australian Idol'' winner, Guy Sebastian, hails from the north-eastern suburb of Golden Grove.", "American musician Ben Folds used to base himself in Adelaide when he was married to Australian Frally Hynes.", "Folds recorded a song about Adelaide before he moved away.", "In addition to its own WOMADelaide, Adelaide attracts several touring music festivals, including Big Day Out, Creamfields, Future Music, Laneway, Parklife, Soundwave, Stereosonic and Summadayze\n\nAdelaide plays host to two of Australia's leading contemporary dance companies.", "The Australian Dance Theatre and Leigh Warren & Dancers contribute to state festivals and perform nationally and internationally.", "Restless Dance Theatre is also based in Adelaide and is nationally recognised for working with disabled and non-disabled dancers to use movement as a means of expression.", "Adelaide has been recognised as a \"City of Music\" by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.", "In 2014, Ghil'ad Zuckermann founded the Adelaide Language Festival.", "==== Concert venues ====\nThe Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the largest indoor sports and entertainment venue in Adelaide\nAdelaide pop-concert venues (past and present) include Adelaide Entertainment Centre; Adelaide Festival Theatre; Adelaide Oval; Apollo Stadium; Memorial Drive Park; Thebarton Theatre.", "Other concert and live theatre venues include Adelaide Town Hall; Dunstan Playhouse; Her Majesty's Theatre.", "=== Media ===\nSir Keith Murdoch House, named after the founder of ''The News'', is the headquarters for the publisher of Adelaide's daily newspaper, ''The Advertiser''.", "==== Newspapers ====\nNewspapers in Adelaide are dominated by News Corporation publications—Adelaide being the birthplace of News Corporation itself.", "The only South Australian daily newspaper is ''The Advertiser'', published by News Corporation six days a week.", "The same group publishes a Sunday paper, the ''Sunday Mail''.", "There are eleven suburban community newspapers published weekly, known collectively as the ''Messenger Newspapers'', also published by a subsidiary of News Corporation.", "''The Independent Weekly'' was a small independent newspaper providing an alternative view, but ceased publishing its print edition in November 2010 and now exists as a digital daily newsletter only.", "''The Adelaide Review'' is a free paper published fortnightly, and other independent magazine-style papers are published, but are not as widely available.", "==== Television ====\nAdelaide is served by twenty-eight digital free-to-air television channels:\n\n# ABC\n# ABC (ABC broadcast in HD)\n# ABC2/KIDS\n# ABC Me\n# ABC News\n# SBS\n# SBS HD (SBS broadcast in HD)\n# SBS Viceland \n# Food Network\n# NITV\n# Seven\n# 7HD (Seven broadcast in HD)\n# 7Two\n# 7mate\n# 7flix\n# TV4ME\n# Racing.com\n# Nine\n# 9HD (Nine broadcast in HD)\n# 9Gem\n# 9Go!", "# 9Life\n# eXtra\n# Ten\n# Ten HD (Ten broadcast in HD)\n# One\n# Eleven\n# TVSN\n# Spree TV\n# C44 Adelaide (Adelaide's community TV station)\n\nAll of the five Australian national television networks broadcast both high definition digital and standard-definition television digital services in Adelaide.", "They share three transmission towers on the ridge near the summit of Mount Lofty.", "Two other transmission sites are located at Grenfell Street and Elizabeth Downs.", "The two government-funded stations are run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC South Australia) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).", "The Seven Network and Network Ten both own their Adelaide stations (SAS-7 and ADS-10 respectively).", "Adelaide's NWS-9 is part of the Nine Network.", "New channels available in addition to ABC, Seven, Nine, Ten and SBS include Ten HD, (Channel Ten broadcast in HD), One, Eleven, TVSN, Spree TV, ABC2/KIDS, ABC3, ABC News, SBS HD (SBS broadcast in HD), SBS2, Food Network, NITV, 7HD (Channel 7 broadcast in HD), 7Two, 7mate, 7flix, TV4ME, RACING.COM, 9HD (Channel Nine broadcast in HD), 9Gem, 9Go!, 9Life and eXtra.", "Adelaide also has a community television station, Channel 44.", "The Foxtel pay TV service is available as cable television in a few areas, and as satellite television to the entire metropolitan area.", "It is resold by a number of other brands, mostly telephone companies.", "As part of a nationwide phase-out of analogue television in Australia, Adelaide's analogue television service was shut down on 2 April 2013.", "==== Radio ====\nThere are twenty radio stations that serve the metropolitan area, as well as four community stations that serve only parts of the metropolitan area.", "Of the twenty full coverage stations, there are six commercial stations, six community stations, six national stations and two narrowcast stations.", "A complete list can be found at List of radio stations in Australia#Adelaide.", "Commercial stations include:\n* AM Band: Cruise 1323, FIVEaa 1395\n* FM Band: Nova 91.9, Mix 102.3, Triple M 104.7, SAFM 107.1\n   \nABC and other non-profit stations include:\n* AM Band: Radio National 729, 891 Adelaide (Local Radio), NewsRadio 972\n* FM Band: Classic FM 103.9, Triple J 105.5, Fresh FM 92.7, Radio Adelaide 101.5, Three D Radio 93.7\n\n\n=== Icons ===", "\nAdelaide Oval is the home of Australian rules football and cricket in South Australia.", "Hindmarsh Stadium hosts Adelaide United.", "Titanium Security Arena is home to basketball in South Australia.", "The main sports played professionally in Adelaide are Australian rules football, association football (soccer), cricket, netball, and basketball.", "Adelaide is the home of two Australian Football League teams: the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club, and one A-League soccer team, Adelaide United.", "A local Australian rules football league, the SANFL, is made up of ten teams from around Adelaide.", "The SANFL has been in operation since 1877 when it began as the South Australian Football Association (SAFL) before changing its name to the SANFL in 1927.", "The SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code played in Australia.", "Adelaide has developed a strong culture of attracting crowds to major sporting events.", "Until the completion of the 2012–14 renovation and upgrade of the Adelaide Oval, most large sporting events took place at either AAMI Stadium (the then home base of the Adelaide Crows, and the then Port Adelaide's home game venue), or the historic Adelaide Oval, home of the Southern Redbacks and the Adelaide Strikers cricket teams.", "Since completion of the upgrade, home games for Adelaide Crows & Port Adelaide now take place at Adelaide Oval.", "Since 1884, Adelaide Oval has also hosted an international cricket test every summer, along with a number of One Day International cricket matches.", "Memorial Drive Park, adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, used to host Davis Cup and other major tennis events, including the Australian Open and (until 2009) the Adelaide International (now known as the Brisbane International).", "Adelaide's professional association football team, Adelaide United, play in the A-League.", "Founded in 2003, their home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium, which has a capacity of 17,000 and is one of the few purpose-built soccer stadia in Australia.", "For two years, 1997 and 1998, Adelaide was represented in Australia's top level rugby league, after the New South Wales Rugby League had played a single game per season at the Adelaide Oval for five years starting in 1991.", "The Adelaide Rams were formed and played in the breakaway Super League (SL) competition in 1997 before moving to the new National Rugby League in 1998.", "Initially playing at the Adelaide Oval, the club moved to the more suitable Hindmarsh Stadium late in the 1998 season.", "As part of a peace deal with the Australian Rugby League to end the Super League war, the club's owners News Limited (who were also owners of the SL) suddenly closed the club only weeks before the start of the 1999 season.", "Adelaide has two professional basketball teams, the men's team being the Adelaide 36ers who play in the National Basketball League (NBL) and the women's team, the Adelaide Lightning who play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).", "Both teams play their home games at the Titanium Security Arena.", "Adelaide has a professional netball team, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, who play in the national netball competition, the Suncorp Super Netball championship, with home games played at Priceline Stadium.", "The Thunderbirds occasionally play games or finals at the Titanium Security Arena, while international netball matches are usually played at the 10,500 seat Adelaide Entertainment Centre.", "The Titanium Security Arena has a capacity of 8,000 in is the largest purpose built basketball stadium in Australia.", "The Tour Down Under is the first event of the UCI World Tour calendar.", "Since 1999 Adelaide and its surrounding areas has hosted the Tour Down Under bicycle race, organised and directed by Adelaide-based Mike Turtur.", "Turtur won an Olympic gold medal for Australia in the 4000m Team pursuit at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.", "The Tour Down Under is the largest cycling event outside Europe and was the first event outside Europe to be granted UCI ProTour status.", "Adelaide maintains a franchise in the Australian Baseball League, the Adelaide Bite.", "They have been playing since 2009, and their home stadium (until 2016) was Norwood Oval.", "From 2016 the team moved to the Diamond Sports Stadium located near the Adelaide International Airport due to renovations at Norwood.", "Their name stems from the local Great Australian Bight, and from the abundance of local Great White Sharks.", "Adelaide also has an Ice Hockey team, Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).", "They were national champions in 2009 and play their games at the IceArenA.", "The Australian Grand Prix for World Championship Formula One racing was hosted by Adelaide from 1985 to 1995 on the Adelaide Street Circuit which was laid out in the city's East End as well as the eastern parklands including the Victoria Park Racecourse.", "The Grand Prix became a source of pride and losing the event to Melbourne in a surprise announcement in mid-1993 left a void that has since been filled with the highly successful Clipsal 500 for V8 Supercar racing, held on a modified version of the same street circuit.", "The Classic Adelaide, a rally of classic sporting vehicles, is also held in the city and its surrounds.", "Adelaide formerly had three horse racing venues.", "Victoria Park, Cheltenham Park Racecourse, both of which have now closed, and Morphettville Racecourse which remains as the home of the South Australian Jockey Club.", "It also has Globe Derby Park for Harness racing which opened in 1969 and by 1973 had become Adelaide's premier harness racing venue taking over from the Wayville Showgrounds, as well as Greyhound Park for greyhound racing which opened in 1972.", "The World Solar Challenge race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools.", "The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987.", "Adelaide hosted the 2012 World Bowls Championships at Lockleys Bowling Club, becoming the third city in the world to have held the championships twice, having previously hosted the event in 1996.", "Dirt track speedway is also popular in Adelaide with three operating speedways.", "Adelaide Motorsport Park, located adjacent to the Adelaide International Raceway road racing circuit at Virginia ( north of the city centre) has been in continuous operation since 1979 after the closure of the popular Rowley Park Speedway.", "Gillman Speedway located in the semi-industrial suburb of Gillman, has been in operation since 1998 and caters to Motorcycle speedway and Sidecars, while the Sidewinders Speedway located in Wingfield is also a motorcycle speedway dedicated to Under-16 riders and has been in operation since 1978.", "\n=== Health ===\nThe South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) located on North Terrace\nConstruction of the University of Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building\n\nAdelaide's two largest tertiary hospitals are the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide (705 beds), and the Flinders Medical Centre (580 beds) in Bedford Park, a teaching hospital of Flinders University.", "Other major public hospitals in the Adelaide area are the Women's and Children's Hospital (305 beds), on King William Road in North Adelaide; the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (340 beds) in Woodville, the Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park (300 beds) in Daw Park, and the Lyell McEwin Hospital (198 beds) in Elizabeth.", "These hospitals are all teaching hospitals.", "Additional RAH campuses which specialise in specific patient services are in the suburbs of Adelaide – the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre in Northfield, and the Glenside Campus Mental Health Service.", "Adelaide also hosts numerous private hospitals in the city centre and suburbs.", "In June 2007 the State Government announced a series of overhauls to the health sector that would see a new hospital constructed on railyards at the west end of the city, to replace the Royal Adelaide Hospital at the east end of the city.", "The new 800-bed hospital has a cost of A$1.85 billion and was planned to be named the \"Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital\" after the former Governor of South Australia.", "However, in 2009, at the former governor's request, the state government chose to drop this name and instead transfer the Royal Adelaide Hospital name to the proposed facility.", "Construction started in June 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2016.", "In addition, major upgrades were announced to see the Flinders Medical Centre become the primary centre for health care for the southern suburbs, and the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Elizabeth become the centre for the northern suburbs.", "The trio of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Modbury Hospital and the Noarlunga Hospital were to become specialist elective surgery centres.", "The Repatriation General Hospital was also to expand its range of speciality areas beyond veterans' health to incorporate stroke, orthopaedic rehabilitation and aged care.", "With the \"Global Financial Crisis\" of 2008, it remains to be seen if and how these initiatives will proceed.", "The largest not-for-profit provider of community health care within Adelaide is the Royal District Nursing Service (South Australia) which provides out of hospital care and hospital avoidance care, which in turn eases pressure on the South Australia public hospital system.", "=== Transport ===\n\nA map of Adelaide's railway and tram network, served by the Adelaide Metro.", "Being centrally located on the Australian mainland, Adelaide forms a strategic transport hub for east-west and north-south routes.", "The city itself has a metropolitan-wide public transport system, which is managed by and known as the Adelaide Metro.", "The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the O-Bahn Busway, metropolitan railways (with diesel and electric lines), and the Adelaide-Glenelg Tram, which was extended as a metropolitan tram in 2010 through the city centre to the inner north-west suburb of Hindmarsh.", "There are further plans to extend the tram to Port Adelaide and Semaphore.", "A CBD tram loop too, is being considered and the latest Adelaide Airport master plan has also revealed a tram extension to the airport in the near future.", "Road transport in Adelaide has historically been comparatively easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development.", "Historically, Adelaide was known as a \"twenty-minute city\", with commuters having been able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes.", "However, these roads are now often considered inadequate to cope with Adelaide's growing road traffic, and often experience traffic congestion.", "The Adelaide metropolitan area has one freeway and three expressways.", "In order of construction, they are:\n* The South Eastern Freeway (M1), connects the south-east corner of the Adelaide Plain to the Adelaide Hills and beyond to Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend, where it then continues as National Highway 1 south-east to Melbourne.", "* The Southern Expressway (M2), connecting the outer southern suburbs with the inner southern suburbs and the city centre.", "It duplicates the route of South Road.", "* The North-South Motorway (M2), is an ongoing major project that will become the major north-south corridor, replacing most of what is now South Road, connecting the Southern Expressway and the Port River Expressway.", "Currently, the motorway runs as an elevated freeway from its junction with the Port River Expressway to Regency Road, in Adelaide's inner north-west.", "Continuation of the motorway is currently under construction at both ends of the motorway, at Darlington and in the \"Torrens to Torrens\" project.", "* The Port River Expressway (A9), connects Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor to Port Wakefield Road at the northern \"entrance\" to the metropolitan area.", "* The Northern Expressway (Max Fatchen Expressway) (M20), is the northern suburbs bypass route connecting the Sturt Highway (National Highway 20) via the Gawler Bypass to Port Wakefield Road at a point a few kilometres north of the Port River Expressway connection.", "* The Northern Connector (proposed route M20) is due to start construction in 2016 to connect the North-South Motorway with the Northern Expressway.", "The road will not be subject to direct tolls, but South Australia will become a testing ground for a \"network fee\" which involves charging trucks based on road use and impact in place of high registration fees.", "==== Airports ====\nA Qantas plane leaving Adelaide Airport.", "The Adelaide metropolitan area has two commercial airports, Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport.", "Adelaide Airport, in Adelaide's western suburbs, serves in excess of 8 million passengers annually.", "Parafield Airport, Adelaide's second airport north of the city centre, is used for small aircraft, pilot training and recreational aviation purposes.", "Parafield Airport served as Adelaide's main aerodrome until the opening of the Adelaide Airport in February 1955.", "=== Utilities ===\nAerial view of Happy Valley Reservoir in early 2007\n\nAdelaide's energy requirements were originally met by the Adelaide Electric Supply Company, which was nationalised by the Playford government in 1946, becoming the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA), now known as SA Power Networks.", "Despite significant public opposition and the Labor party's anti-privatisation stance which left the Liberal party one vote short of the numbers needed to pass the legislation, ETSA was privatised by the Olsen Government in 1999 by way of a 200-year lease for the distribution network and the outright purchase of ETSA Power by the Cheung Kong Holdings for $3.5 billion (11 times ETSA's annual earnings) after Labor MP Trevor Crothers resigned from the party and voted with the government.", "The electricity retail market was opened to competition in 2003 and although competition was expected to result in lower retail costs, prices increased by 23.7% in the market's first year.", "In 2004 the privatisation was deemed to be a failure with consumers paying 60% more for their power and with the state government estimated to lose $3 billion in power generation net income in the first ten years of privatisation.", "In 2012, the industry came under scrutiny for allegedly reducing supply by shutting down generators during periods of peak demand to force prices up.", "Increased media attention also revealed that in 2009 the state government had approved a 46% increase in retail prices to cover expected increases in the costs of generation while generation costs had in fact fallen 35% by 2012.", "These price increases and large subsidies have led to South Australia paying the highest retail price for electricity in the world.", "SA Power Networks now distributes electricity from transmission companies to end users.", "Privatisation led to competition from a variety of companies who now separately provide for the generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of gas and electricity.", "Some of the major companies are: TRUenergy, which generates electricity; ElectraNet, which transmits electricity from the generators to the distribution network, Lumo Energy and AGL Energy, which retails gas and electricity.", "Substantial investment has been made in maintenance and reinforcement of the electricity supply network to provide continued reliability of supply.", "Adelaide derives most of its electricity from the Torrens Island Power Station gas-fired plant operated by AGL Energy and the Pelican Point Power Station, along with wind power and connections to the national grid.", "Gas is supplied from the Moomba Gas Processing Plant in the Cooper Basin via the Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System and the SEAGas pipeline from Victoria.", "South Australia generates 18% of its electricity from wind power, and has 51% of the installed capacity of wind generators in Australia.", "Adelaide's water supply is gained from its reservoirs: Mount Bold, Happy Valley, Myponga, Millbrook, Hope Valley, Little Para and South Para.", "The yield from these reservoir catchments can be as little as 10% of the city's requirements in drought years and about 60% in average years.", "The remaining demand is met by the pumping of water from the River Murray.", "A sea water desalination plant capable of supplying half of Adelaide's water requirements (100GL per annum) was commissioned in 2013.", "The provision of water services is by the government-owned SA Water.", "\n\n* Adelaide city centre\n* Adelaide Hills\n* City of Adelaide\n* Music of Adelaide\n* Port Adelaide\n\n;Lists\n* Images of Adelaide\n* List of Adelaide obsolete suburb names\n* List of Adelaide parks and gardens\n* List of Adelaide railway stations\n* List of Adelaide suburbs\n* List of people from Adelaide\n* List of protected areas in Adelaide\n* List of public art in South Australia\n* List of public transport routes in Adelaide\n* List of sporting clubs in Adelaide\n* List of tallest buildings in Adelaide\n* Tourist attractions in South Australia", "* Kathryn Gargett; Susan Marsden, ''Adelaide: A Brief History''.", "Adelaide: State History Centre, History Trust of South Australia in association with Adelaide City Council, 1996 .", "* Susan Marsden; Paul Stark; Patricia Sumerling, eds., ''Heritage of the City of Adelaide: an illustrated guide''.", "Adelaide: Adelaide City Council, 1990, 1996. .", "* Derek Whitelock et al.", "''Adelaide: a sense of difference''.", "Melbourne: Arcadia, 2000. .", "\n* Adelaide City Council > Official City Guide\n* Adelaide City Council" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Artificial intelligence''' ('''AI''', also '''machine intelligence''', '''MI''') is apparently intelligent behaviour by machines, rather than the ''natural intelligence'' (''NI'') of humans and other animals. In computer science AI research is defined as the study of \"intelligent agents\": any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal. Colloquially, the term \"artificial intelligence\" is applied when a machine mimics \"cognitive\" functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as \"learning\" and \"problem solving\".\n\nThe scope of AI is disputed: as machines become increasingly capable, tasks considered as requiring \"intelligence\" are often removed from the definition, a phenomenon known as the AI effect, leading to the quip \"AI is whatever hasn't been done yet.\" For instance, optical character recognition is frequently excluded from \"artificial intelligence\", having become a routine technology. Capabilities generally classified as AI include successfully understanding human speech, competing at a high level in strategic game systems (such as chess and Go), autonomous cars, intelligent routing in content delivery networks, military simulations, and interpreting complex data.\n\n\nArtificial intelligence was founded as an academic discipline in 1956, and in the years since has experienced several waves of optimism, followed by disappointment and the loss of funding (known as an \"AI winter\"), followed by new approaches, success and renewed funding. For most of its history, AI research has been divided into subfields that often fail to communicate with each other. However, in the early 21st century statistical approaches to machine learning became successful enough to eclipse all other tools, approaches, problems and schools of thought.\n\n\nThe traditional problems (or goals) of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing, perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects. General intelligence is among the field's long-term goals. Approaches include statistical methods, computational intelligence, and traditional symbolic AI. Many tools are used in AI, including versions of search and mathematical optimization, neural networks and methods based on statistics, probability and economics. The AI field draws upon computer science, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, artificial psychology and many others.\n\n\nThe field was founded on the claim that human intelligence \"can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it\". This raises philosophical arguments about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings endowed with human-like intelligence, issues which have been explored by myth, fiction and philosophy since antiquity. Some people also consider AI a danger to humanity if it progresses unabatedly.\n\n\nIn the twenty-first century, AI techniques have experienced a resurgence following concurrent advances in computer power, large amounts of data, and theoretical understanding, and AI techniques have become an essential part of the technology industry, helping to solve many challenging problems in computer science.\n\n", "\n\n\n\nWhile thought-capable artificial beings appeared as storytelling devices in antiquity, the idea of actually trying to build a machine to perform useful reasoning may have begun with Ramon Llull (c. 1300 CE). With his Calculus ratiocinator, Gottfried Leibniz extended the concept of the calculating machine (Wilhelm Schickard engineered the first one around 1623), intending to perform operations on concepts rather than numbers. Since the 19th century, artificial beings are common in fiction, as in Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' or Karel Čapek's ''R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)''.\n\n\nThe study of mechanical or \"formal\" reasoning began with philosophers and mathematicians in antiquity. The study of mathematical logic led directly to Alan Turing's theory of computation, which suggested that a machine, by shuffling symbols as simple as \"0\" and \"1\", could simulate any conceivable act of mathematical deduction. This insight, that digital computers can simulate any process of formal reasoning, is known as the Church–Turing thesis. Along with concurrent discoveries in neurology, information theory and cybernetics, this led researchers to consider the possibility of building an electronic brain. The first work that is now generally recognized as AI was McCullouch and Pitts' 1943 formal design for Turing-complete \"artificial neurons\".\n\n\nThe field of AI research was born at a workshop at Dartmouth College in 1956. Attendees Allen Newell (CMU), Herbert Simon (CMU), John McCarthy (MIT), Marvin Minsky (MIT) and Arthur Samuel (IBM) became the founders and leaders of AI research. They and their students produced programs that the press described as \"astonishing\": computers were winning at the game checkers, solving word problems in algebra, proving logical theorems and speaking English. By the middle of the 1960s, research in the U.S. was heavily funded by the Department of Defense and laboratories had been established around the world. AI's founders were optimistic about the future: Herbert Simon predicted, \"machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do\". Marvin Minsky agreed, writing, \"within a generation ... the problem of creating 'artificial intelligence' will substantially be solved\".\n\n\nThey failed to recognize the difficulty of some of the remaining tasks. Progress slowed and in 1974, in response to the criticism of Sir James Lighthill and ongoing pressure from the US Congress to fund more productive projects, both the U.S. and British governments cut off exploratory research in AI. The next few years would later be called an \"AI winter\", a period when obtaining funding for AI projects was difficult.\n\n\nIn the early 1980s, AI research was revived by the commercial success of expert systems, a form of AI program that simulated the knowledge and analytical skills of human experts. By 1985 the market for AI had reached over a billion dollars. At the same time, Japan's fifth generation computer project inspired the U.S and British governments to restore funding for academic research. However, beginning with the collapse of the Lisp Machine market in 1987, AI once again fell into disrepute, and a second, longer-lasting hiatus began.\n\n\nIn the late 1990s and early 21st century, AI began to be used for logistics, data mining, medical diagnosis and other areas. The success was due to increasing computational power (see Moore's law), greater emphasis on solving specific problems, new ties between AI and other fields and a commitment by researchers to mathematical methods and scientific standards. Deep Blue became the first computer chess-playing system to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov on 11 May 1997.\n\n\nAdvanced statistical techniques (loosely known as deep learning), access to large amounts of data and faster computers enabled advances in machine learning and perception. By the mid 2010s, machine learning applications were used throughout the world. In a ''Jeopardy!'' quiz show exhibition match, IBM's question answering system, Watson, defeated the two greatest Jeopardy champions, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, by a significant margin. The Kinect, which provides a 3D body–motion interface for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One use algorithms that emerged from lengthy AI research as do intelligent personal assistants in smartphones. In March 2016, AlphaGo won 4 out of 5 games of Go in a match with Go champion Lee Sedol, becoming the first computer Go-playing system to beat a professional Go player without handicaps. In the 2017 Future of Go Summit, AlphaGo won a three-game match with Ke Jie, who at the time continuously held the world No. 1 ranking for two years. This marked the completion of a significant milestone in the development of Artificial Intelligence as Go is an extremely complex game, more so than Chess.\n\nAccording to Bloomberg's Jack Clark, 2015 was a landmark year for artificial intelligence, with the number of software projects that use AI within Google increased from a \"sporadic usage\" in 2012 to more than 2,700 projects. Clark also presents factual data indicating that error rates in image processing tasks have fallen significantly since 2011. He attributes this to an increase in affordable neural networks, due to a rise in cloud computing infrastructure and to an increase in research tools and datasets.\nOther cited examples include Microsoft's development of a Skype system that can automatically translate from one language to another and Facebook's system that can describe images to blind people.\n", "\n\nThe overall research goal of artificial intelligence is to create technology that allows computers and machines to function in an intelligent manner. The general problem of simulating (or creating) intelligence has been broken down into sub-problems. These consist of particular traits or capabilities that researchers expect an intelligent system to display. The traits described below have received the most attention.\n\nErik Sandwell emphasizes planning and learning that is relevant and applicable to the given situation.\n\n=== Reasoning, problem solving ===\n\nEarly researchers developed algorithms that imitated step-by-step reasoning that humans use when they solve puzzles or make logical deductions. By the late 1980s and 1990s, AI research had developed methods for dealing with uncertain or incomplete information, employing concepts from probability and economics.\n\n\nFor difficult problems, algorithms can require enormous computational resources—most experience a \"combinatorial explosion\": the amount of memory or computer time required becomes astronomical for problems of a certain size. The search for more efficient problem-solving algorithms is a high priority.\n\nHuman beings ordinarily use fast, intuitive judgments rather than step-by-step deduction that early AI research was able to model. AI has progressed using \"sub-symbolic\" problem solving: embodied agent approaches emphasize the importance of sensorimotor skills to higher reasoning; neural net research attempts to simulate the structures inside the brain that give rise to this skill; statistical approaches to AI mimic the human ability to guess.\n\n=== Knowledge representation ===\n\nAn ontology represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain and the relationships between those concepts.\n\n\nKnowledge representation and knowledge engineering are central to AI research. Many of the problems machines are expected to solve will require extensive knowledge about the world. Among the things that AI needs to represent are: objects, properties, categories and relations between objects; situations, events, states and time; causes and effects; knowledge about knowledge (what we know about what other people know); and many other, less well researched domains. A representation of \"what exists\" is an ontology: the set of objects, relations, concepts, and properties formally described so that software agents can interpret them. The semantics of these are captured as description logic concepts, roles, and individuals, and typically implemented as classes, properties, and individuals in the Web Ontology Language. The most general ontologies are called upper ontologies, which attempt to provide a foundation for all other knowledge by acting as mediators between domain ontologies that cover specific knowledge about a particular knowledge domain (field of interest or area of concern). Such formal knowledge representations are suitable for content-based indexing and retrieval, scene interpretation, clinical decision support, knowledge discovery via automated reasoning (inferring new statements based on explicitly stated knowledge), etc. Video events are often represented as SWRL rules, which can be used, among others, to automatically generate subtitles for constrained videos.\n\nAmong the most difficult problems in knowledge representation are:\n;Default reasoning and the qualification problem: Many of the things people know take the form of \"working assumptions\". For example, if a bird comes up in conversation, people typically picture an animal that is fist sized, sings, and flies. None of these things are true about all birds. John McCarthy identified this problem in 1969 as the qualification problem: for any commonsense rule that AI researchers care to represent, there tend to be a huge number of exceptions. Almost nothing is simply true or false in the way that abstract logic requires. AI research has explored a number of solutions to this problem.\n;The breadth of commonsense knowledge: The number of atomic facts that the average person knows is very large. Research projects that attempt to build a complete knowledge base of commonsense knowledge (e.g., Cyc) require enormous amounts of laborious ontological engineering—they must be built, by hand, one complicated concept at a time. A major goal is to have the computer understand enough concepts to be able to learn by reading from sources like the Internet, and thus be able to add to its own ontology.\n;The subsymbolic form of some commonsense knowledge: Much of what people know is not represented as \"facts\" or \"statements\" that they could express verbally. For example, a chess master will avoid a particular chess position because it \"feels too exposed\" or an art critic can take one look at a statue and realize that it is a fake. These are non-conscious and sub-symbolic intuitions or tendencies in the human brain. Knowledge like this informs, supports and provides a context for symbolic, conscious knowledge. As with the related problem of sub-symbolic reasoning, it is hoped that situated AI, computational intelligence, or statistical AI will provide ways to represent this kind of knowledge.\n\n=== Planning ===\n\n A hierarchical control system is a form of control system in which a set of devices and governing software is arranged in a hierarchy.\n\n\n\nIntelligent agents must be able to set goals and achieve them. They need a way to visualize the future—a representation of the state of the world and be able to make predictions about how their actions will change it—and be able to make choices that maximize the utility (or \"value\") of available choices.\n\nIn classical planning problems, the agent can assume that it is the only system acting in the world, allowing the agent to be certain of the consequences of its actions. However, if the agent is not the only actor, then it requires that the agent can reason under uncertainty. This calls for an agent that cannot only assess its environment and make predictions, but also evaluate its predictions and adapt based on its assessment.\n\nMulti-agent planning uses the cooperation and competition of many agents to achieve a given goal. Emergent behavior such as this is used by evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence.\n\n=== Learning ===\n\n\n\nMachine learning, a fundamental concept of AI research since the field's inception, is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience.\n\nUnsupervised learning is the ability to find patterns in a stream of input. Supervised learning includes both classification and numerical regression. Classification is used to determine what category something belongs in, after seeing a number of examples of things from several categories. Regression is the attempt to produce a function that describes the relationship between inputs and outputs and predicts how the outputs should change as the inputs change. In reinforcement learning the agent is rewarded for good responses and punished for bad ones. The agent uses this sequence of rewards and punishments to form a strategy for operating in its problem space. These three types of learning can be analyzed in terms of decision theory, using concepts like utility. The mathematical analysis of machine learning algorithms and their performance is a branch of theoretical computer science known as computational learning theory.\n\nWithin developmental robotics, developmental learning approaches are elaborated upon to allow robots to accumulate repertoires of novel skills through autonomous self-exploration, social interaction with human teachers, and the use of guidance mechanisms (active learning, maturation, motor synergies, etc.).\n\n=== Natural language processing ===\n\n A parse tree represents the syntactic structure of a sentence according to some formal grammar.\n\n\nNatural language processing gives machines the ability to read and understand human language. A sufficiently powerful natural language processing system would enable natural language user interfaces and the acquisition of knowledge directly from human-written sources, such as newswire texts. Some straightforward applications of natural language processing include information retrieval, text mining, question answering and machine translation.\n\nA common method of processing and extracting meaning from natural language is through semantic indexing. Although these indexes require a large volume of user input, it is expected that increases in processor speeds and decreases in data storage costs will result in greater efficiency.\n\n=== Perception ===\n\n\n\nMachine perception is the ability to use input from sensors (such as cameras, microphones, tactile sensors, sonar and others) to deduce aspects of the world. Computer vision is the ability to analyze visual input. A few selected subproblems are speech recognition, facial recognition and object recognition.\n\n=== Motion and manipulation ===\n\n\n\nThe field of robotics is closely related to AI. Intelligence is required for robots to handle tasks such as object manipulation and navigation, with sub-problems such as localization, mapping, and motion planning. These systems require that an agent is able to: Be spatially cognizant of its surroundings, learn from and build a map of its environment, figure out how to get from one point in space to another, and execute that movement (which often involves compliant motion, a process where movement requires maintaining physical contact with an object).\n\n=== Social intelligence ===\n\n\nKismet, a robot with rudimentary social skills\n\nAffective computing is the study and development of systems that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science. While the origins of the field may be traced as far back as the early philosophical inquiries into emotion, the more modern branch of computer science originated with Rosalind Picard's 1995 paper on \"affective computing\". A motivation for the research is the ability to simulate empathy, where the machine would be able to interpret human emotions and adapts its behavior to give an appropriate response to those emotions.\n\nEmotion and social skills are important to an intelligent agent for two reasons. First, being able to predict the actions of others by understanding their motives and emotional states allow an agent to make better decisions. Concepts such as game theory, decision theory, necessitate that an agent be able to detect and model human emotions. Second, in an effort to facilitate human–computer interaction, an intelligent machine may want to display emotions (even if it does not experience those emotions itself) to appear more sensitive to the emotional dynamics of human interaction.\n\n=== Creativity ===\n\n\n\nA sub-field of AI addresses creativity both theoretically (the philosophical psychological perspective) and practically (the specific implementation of systems that generate novel and useful outputs).\n\n=== General intelligence ===\n\n\n\nMany researchers think that their work will eventually be incorporated into a machine with artificial general intelligence, combining all the skills mentioned above and even exceeding human ability in most or all these areas. A few believe that anthropomorphic features like artificial consciousness or an artificial brain may be required for such a project.\n\nMany of the problems above also require that general intelligence be solved. For example, even specific straightforward tasks, like machine translation, require that a machine read and write in both languages (NLP), follow the author's argument (reason), know what is being talked about (knowledge), and faithfully reproduce the author's original intent (social intelligence). A problem like machine translation is considered \"AI-complete\", but all of these problems need to be solved simultaneously in order to reach human-level machine performance.\n", "There is no established unifying theory or paradigm that guides AI research. Researchers disagree about many issues. A few of the most long standing questions that have remained unanswered are these: should artificial intelligence simulate natural intelligence by studying psychology or neurology? Or is human biology as irrelevant to AI research as bird biology is to aeronautical engineering?\nCan intelligent behavior be described using simple, elegant principles (such as logic or optimization)? Or does it necessarily require solving a large number of completely unrelated problems?\nCan intelligence be reproduced using high-level symbols, similar to words and ideas? Or does it require \"sub-symbolic\" processing?\nJohn Haugeland, who coined the term GOFAI (Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Intelligence), also proposed that AI should more properly be referred to as synthetic intelligence, a term which has since been adopted by some non-GOFAI researchers.\n\nStuart Shapiro divides AI research into three approaches, which he calls computational psychology, computational philosophy, and computer science. Computational psychology is used to make computer programs that mimic human behavior. Computational philosophy, is used to develop an adaptive, free-flowing computer mind. Implementing computer science serves the goal of creating computers that can perform tasks that only people could previously accomplish. Together, the humanesque behavior, mind, and actions make up artificial intelligence.\n\n=== Cybernetics and brain simulation ===\n\nIn the 1940s and 1950s, a number of researchers explored the connection between neurology, information theory, and cybernetics. Some of them built machines that used electronic networks to exhibit rudimentary intelligence, such as W. Grey Walter's turtles and the Johns Hopkins Beast. Many of these researchers gathered for meetings of the Teleological Society at Princeton University and the Ratio Club in England. By 1960, this approach was largely abandoned, although elements of it would be revived in the 1980s.\n\n=== Symbolic ===\n\nWhen access to digital computers became possible in the middle 1950s, AI research began to explore the possibility that human intelligence could be reduced to symbol manipulation. The research was centered in three institutions: Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford and MIT, and each one developed its own style of research. John Haugeland named these approaches to AI \"good old fashioned AI\" or \"GOFAI\". During the 1960s, symbolic approaches had achieved great success at simulating high-level thinking in small demonstration programs. Approaches based on cybernetics or neural networks were abandoned or pushed into the background.\nResearchers in the 1960s and the 1970s were convinced that symbolic approaches would eventually succeed in creating a machine with artificial general intelligence and considered this the goal of their field.\n\n==== Cognitive simulation ====\nEconomist Herbert Simon and Allen Newell studied human problem-solving skills and attempted to formalize them, and their work laid the foundations of the field of artificial intelligence, as well as cognitive science, operations research and management science. Their research team used the results of psychological experiments to develop programs that simulated the techniques that people used to solve problems. This tradition, centered at Carnegie Mellon University would eventually culminate in the development of the Soar architecture in the middle 1980s.\n\n==== Logic-based ====\nUnlike Newell and Simon, John McCarthy felt that machines did not need to simulate human thought, but should instead try to find the essence of abstract reasoning and problem solving, regardless of whether people used the same algorithms. His laboratory at Stanford (SAIL) focused on using formal logic to solve a wide variety of problems, including knowledge representation, planning and learning. Logic was also the focus of the work at the University of Edinburgh and elsewhere in Europe which led to the development of the programming language Prolog and the science of logic programming.\n\n==== Anti-logic or scruffy ====\nResearchers at MIT (such as Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert) found that solving difficult problems in vision and natural language processing required ad-hoc solutions – they argued that there was no simple and general principle (like logic) that would capture all the aspects of intelligent behavior. Roger Schank described their \"anti-logic\" approaches as \"scruffy\" (as opposed to the \"neat\" paradigms at CMU and Stanford). Commonsense knowledge bases (such as Doug Lenat's Cyc) are an example of \"scruffy\" AI, since they must be built by hand, one complicated concept at a time.\n\n==== Knowledge-based====\nWhen computers with large memories became available around 1970, researchers from all three traditions began to build knowledge into AI applications. This \"knowledge revolution\" led to the development and deployment of expert systems (introduced by Edward Feigenbaum), the first truly successful form of AI software. The knowledge revolution was also driven by the realization that enormous amounts of knowledge would be required by many simple AI applications.\n\n=== Sub-symbolic ===\nBy the 1980s progress in symbolic AI seemed to stall and many believed that symbolic systems would never be able to imitate all the processes of human cognition, especially perception, robotics, learning and pattern recognition. A number of researchers began to look into \"sub-symbolic\" approaches to specific AI problems. Sub-symbolic methods manage to approach intelligence without specific representations of knowledge.\n\n==== Embodied intelligence ====\nThis includes embodied, situated, behavior-based, and nouvelle AI. Researchers from the related field of robotics, such as Rodney Brooks, rejected symbolic AI and focused on the basic engineering problems that would allow robots to move and survive. Their work revived the non-symbolic viewpoint of the early cybernetics researchers of the 1950s and reintroduced the use of control theory in AI. This coincided with the development of the embodied mind thesis in the related field of cognitive science: the idea that aspects of the body (such as movement, perception and visualization) are required for higher intelligence.\n\n==== Computational intelligence and soft computing====\nInterest in neural networks and \"connectionism\" was revived by David Rumelhart and others in the middle of 1980s. Neural networks are an example of soft computing --- they are solutions to problems which cannot be solved with complete logical certainty, and where an approximate solution is often sufficient. Other soft computing approaches to AI include fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation and many statistical tools. The application of soft computing to AI is studied collectively by the emerging discipline of computational intelligence.\n\n=== Statistical ===\nIn the 1990s, AI researchers developed sophisticated mathematical tools to solve specific subproblems. These tools are truly scientific, in the sense that their results are both measurable and verifiable, and they have been responsible for many of AI's recent successes. The shared mathematical language has also permitted a high level of collaboration with more established fields (like mathematics, economics or operations research). Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig describe this movement as nothing less than a \"revolution\" and \"the victory of the neats\". Critics argue that these techniques (with few exceptions) are too focused on particular problems and have failed to address the long-term goal of general intelligence. There is an ongoing debate about the relevance and validity of statistical approaches in AI, exemplified in part by exchanges between Peter Norvig and Noam Chomsky.\n\n=== Integrating the approaches ===\n;Intelligent agent paradigm: An intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success. The simplest intelligent agents are programs that solve specific problems. More complicated agents include human beings and organizations of human beings (such as firms). The paradigm gives researchers license to study isolated problems and find solutions that are both verifiable and useful, without agreeing on one single approach. An agent that solves a specific problem can use any approach that works – some agents are symbolic and logical, some are sub-symbolic neural networks and others may use new approaches. The paradigm also gives researchers a common language to communicate with other fields—such as decision theory and economics—that also use concepts of abstract agents. The intelligent agent paradigm became widely accepted during the 1990s.\n\n;Agent architectures and cognitive architectures: Researchers have designed systems to build intelligent systems out of interacting intelligent agents in a multi-agent system. A system with both symbolic and sub-symbolic components is a hybrid intelligent system, and the study of such systems is artificial intelligence systems integration. A hierarchical control system provides a bridge between sub-symbolic AI at its lowest, reactive levels and traditional symbolic AI at its highest levels, where relaxed time constraints permit planning and world modelling. Rodney Brooks' subsumption architecture was an early proposal for such a hierarchical system.\n\n", "In the course of 60+ years of research, AI has developed a large number of tools to solve the most difficult problems in computer science. A few of the most general of these methods are discussed below.\n\n=== Search and optimization ===\n\n\n\nMany problems in AI can be solved in theory by intelligently searching through many possible solutions: Reasoning can be reduced to performing a search. For example, logical proof can be viewed as searching for a path that leads from premises to conclusions, where each step is the application of an inference rule. Planning algorithms search through trees of goals and subgoals, attempting to find a path to a target goal, a process called means-ends analysis. Robotics algorithms for moving limbs and grasping objects use local searches in configuration space. Many learning algorithms use search algorithms based on optimization.\n\nSimple exhaustive searches are rarely sufficient for most real world problems: the search space (the number of places to search) quickly grows to astronomical numbers. The result is a search that is too slow or never completes. The solution, for many problems, is to use \"heuristics\" or \"rules of thumb\" that eliminate choices that are unlikely to lead to the goal (called \"pruning the search tree\"). Heuristics supply the program with a \"best guess\" for the path on which the solution lies. Heuristics limit the search for solutions into a smaller sample size.\n\nA very different kind of search came to prominence in the 1990s, based on the mathematical theory of optimization. For many problems, it is possible to begin the search with some form of a guess and then refine the guess incrementally until no more refinements can be made. These algorithms can be visualized as blind hill climbing: we begin the search at a random point on the landscape, and then, by jumps or steps, we keep moving our guess uphill, until we reach the top. Other optimization algorithms are simulated annealing, beam search and random optimization.\n\nEvolutionary computation uses a form of optimization search. For example, they may begin with a population of organisms (the guesses) and then allow them to mutate and recombine, selecting only the fittest to survive each generation (refining the guesses). Forms of evolutionary computation include swarm intelligence algorithms (such as ant colony or particle swarm optimization) and evolutionary algorithms (such as genetic algorithms, gene expression programming, and genetic programming).\n\n=== Logic ===\n\n\n\nLogic is used for knowledge representation and problem solving, but it can be applied to other problems as well. For example, the satplan algorithm uses logic for planning and inductive logic programming is a method for learning.\n\nSeveral different forms of logic are used in AI research. Propositional or sentential logic is the logic of statements which can be true or false. First-order logic also allows the use of quantifiers and predicates, and can express facts about objects, their properties, and their relations with each other. Fuzzy logic, is a version of first-order logic which allows the truth of a statement to be represented as a value between 0 and 1, rather than simply True (1) or False (0). Fuzzy systems can be used for uncertain reasoning and have been widely used in modern industrial and consumer product control systems. Subjective logic models uncertainty in a different and more explicit manner than fuzzy-logic: a given binomial opinion satisfies belief + disbelief + uncertainty = 1 within a Beta distribution. By this method, ignorance can be distinguished from probabilistic statements that an agent makes with high confidence.\n\nDefault logics, non-monotonic logics and circumscription are forms of logic designed to help with default reasoning and the qualification problem. Several extensions of logic have been designed to handle specific domains of knowledge, such as: description logics; situation calculus, event calculus and fluent calculus (for representing events and time); causal calculus; belief calculus; and modal logics.\n\n=== Probabilistic methods for uncertain reasoning ===\n\n\n\nMany problems in AI (in reasoning, planning, learning, perception and robotics) require the agent to operate with incomplete or uncertain information. AI researchers have devised a number of powerful tools to solve these problems using methods from probability theory and economics.\n\nBayesian networks are a very general tool that can be used for a large number of problems: reasoning (using the Bayesian inference algorithm), learning (using the expectation-maximization algorithm), planning (using decision networks) and perception (using dynamic Bayesian networks). Probabilistic algorithms can also be used for filtering, prediction, smoothing and finding explanations for streams of data, helping perception systems to analyze processes that occur over time (e.g., hidden Markov models or Kalman filters).\n\nA key concept from the science of economics is \"utility\": a measure of how valuable something is to an intelligent agent. Precise mathematical tools have been developed that analyze how an agent can make choices and plan, using decision theory, decision analysis, and information value theory. These tools include models such as Markov decision processes, dynamic decision networks, game theory and mechanism design.\n\n=== Classifiers and statistical learning methods ===\n\n\n\nThe simplest AI applications can be divided into two types: classifiers (\"if shiny then diamond\") and controllers (\"if shiny then pick up\"). Controllers do, however, also classify conditions before inferring actions, and therefore classification forms a central part of many AI systems. Classifiers are functions that use pattern matching to determine a closest match. They can be tuned according to examples, making them very attractive for use in AI. These examples are known as observations or patterns. In supervised learning, each pattern belongs to a certain predefined class. A class can be seen as a decision that has to be made. All the observations combined with their class labels are known as a data set. When a new observation is received, that observation is classified based on previous experience.\n\nA classifier can be trained in various ways; there are many statistical and machine learning approaches. The most widely used classifiers are the neural network,\nkernel methods such as the support vector machine,\nk-nearest neighbor algorithm,\nGaussian mixture model,\nnaive Bayes classifier,\nand decision tree.\nThe performance of these classifiers have been compared over a wide range of tasks. Classifier performance depends greatly on the characteristics of the data to be classified. There is no single classifier that works best on all given problems; this is also referred to as the \"no free lunch\" theorem. Determining a suitable classifier for a given problem is still more an art than science.\n\n=== Neural networks ===\n\n\nA neural network is an interconnected group of nodes, akin to the vast network of neurons in the human brain.\n\nNeural networks are modeled after the neurons in the human brain, where a trained algorithm determines an output response for input signals. . The study of non-learning artificial neural networks began in the decade before the field of AI research was founded, in the work of Walter Pitts and Warren McCullouch. Frank Rosenblatt invented the perceptron, a learning network with a single layer, similar to the old concept of linear regression. Early pioneers also include Alexey Grigorevich Ivakhnenko, Teuvo Kohonen, Stephen Grossberg, Kunihiko Fukushima, Christoph von der Malsburg, David Willshaw, Shun-Ichi Amari, Bernard Widrow, John Hopfield, Eduardo R. Caianiello, and others.\n\nThe main categories of networks are acyclic or feedforward neural networks (where the signal passes in only one direction) and recurrent neural networks (which allow feedback and short-term memories of previous input events). Among the most popular feedforward networks are perceptrons, multi-layer perceptrons and radial basis networks. Neural networks can be applied to the problem of intelligent control (for robotics) or learning, using such techniques as Hebbian learning, GMDH or competitive learning.\n\nToday, neural networks are often trained by the backpropagation algorithm, which had been around since 1970 as the reverse mode of automatic differentiation published by Seppo Linnainmaa, and was introduced to neural networks by Paul Werbos.\n\nHierarchical temporal memory is an approach that models some of the structural and algorithmic properties of the neocortex.\n\n=== Deep feedforward neural networks ===\n\n\n\nDeep learning in artificial neural networks with many layers has transformed many important subfields of artificial intelligence, including computer vision, speech recognition, natural language processing and others.\n\nAccording to a survey, the expression \"Deep Learning\" was introduced to the Machine Learning community by Rina Dechter in 1986 and gained traction after\nIgor Aizenberg and colleagues introduced it to Artificial Neural Networks in 2000. The first functional Deep Learning networks were published by Alexey Grigorevich Ivakhnenko and V. G. Lapa in 1965. These networks are trained one layer at a time. Ivakhnenko's 1971 paper describes the learning of a deep feedforward multilayer perceptron with eight layers, already much deeper than many later networks. In 2006, a publication by Geoffrey Hinton and Ruslan Salakhutdinov introduced another way of pre-training many-layered feedforward neural networks (FNNs) one layer at a time, treating each layer in turn as an unsupervised restricted Boltzmann machine, then using supervised backpropagation for fine-tuning. Similar to shallow artificial neural networks, deep neural networks can model complex non-linear relationships. Over the last few years, advances in both machine learning algorithms and computer hardware have led to more efficient methods for training deep neural networks that contain many layers of non-linear hidden units and a very large output layer.\n\nDeep learning often uses convolutional neural networks (CNNs), whose origins can be traced back to the Neocognitron introduced by Kunihiko Fukushima in 1980. In 1989, Yann LeCun and colleagues applied backpropagation to such an architecture. In the early 2000s, in an industrial application CNNs already processed an estimated 10% to 20% of all the checks written in the US.\nSince 2011, fast implementations of CNNs on GPUs have\nwon many visual pattern recognition competitions.\n\nDeep feedforward neural networks were used in conjunction with reinforcement learning by AlphaGo, Google Deepmind's program that was the first to beat a professional human Go player.\n\n=== Deep recurrent neural networks ===\n\n\n\nEarly on, deep learning was also applied to sequence learning with recurrent neural networks (RNNs) which are general computers and can run arbitrary programs to process arbitrary sequences of inputs. The depth of an RNN is unlimited and depends on the length of its input sequence. RNNs can be trained by gradient descent but suffer from the vanishing gradient problem. In 1992, it was shown that unsupervised pre-training of a stack of recurrent neural networks can speed up subsequent supervised learning of deep sequential problems.\n\nNumerous researchers now use variants of a deep learning recurrent NN called the long short-term memory (LSTM) network published by Hochreiter & Schmidhuber in 1997. LSTM is often trained by Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC). At Google, Microsoft and Baidu this approach has revolutionised speech recognition. For example, in 2015, Google's speech recognition experienced a dramatic performance jump of 49% through CTC-trained LSTM, which is now available through Google Voice to billions of smartphone users. Google also used LSTM to improve machine translation, Language Modeling and Multilingual Language Processing. LSTM combined with CNNs also improved automatic image captioning and a plethora of other applications.\n\n=== Control theory ===\n\n\nControl theory, the grandchild of cybernetics, has many important applications, especially in robotics.\n\n=== Languages ===\n\n\n\n\nAI researchers have developed several specialized languages for AI research, including Lisp, Prolog, Python, and C++.\n\n=== Evaluating progress ===\n\nIn 1950, Alan Turing proposed a general procedure to test the intelligence of an agent now known as the Turing test. This procedure allows almost all the major problems of artificial intelligence to be tested. However, it is a very difficult challenge and at present all agents fail.\n\nArtificial intelligence can also be evaluated on specific problems such as small problems in chemistry, hand-writing recognition and game-playing. Such tests have been termed subject matter expert Turing tests. Smaller problems provide more achievable goals and there are an ever-increasing number of positive results.\n\nFor example, performance at draughts (i.e. checkers) is optimal, performance at chess is high-human and nearing super-human (see computer chess: computers versus human) and performance at many everyday tasks (such as recognizing a face or crossing a room without bumping into something) is sub-human.\n\nA quite different approach measures machine intelligence through tests which are developed from ''mathematical'' definitions of intelligence. Examples of these kinds of tests start in the late nineties devising intelligence tests using notions from Kolmogorov complexity and data compression. Two major advantages of mathematical definitions are their applicability to nonhuman intelligences and their absence of a requirement for human testers.\n\nA derivative of the Turing test is the Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA). As the name implies, this helps to determine that a user is an actual person and not a computer posing as a human. In contrast to the standard Turing test, CAPTCHA administered by a machine and targeted to a human as opposed to being administered by a human and targeted to a machine. A computer asks a user to complete a simple test then generates a grade for that test. Computers are unable to solve the problem, so correct solutions are deemed to be the result of a person taking the test. A common type of CAPTCHA is the test that requires the typing of distorted letters, numbers or symbols that appear in an image undecipherable by a computer.\n", "An automated online assistant providing customer service on a web page – one of many very primitive applications of artificial intelligence.\n\n\nAI is relevant to any intellectual task. Modern artificial intelligence techniques are pervasive and are too numerous to list here. Frequently, when a technique reaches mainstream use, it is no longer considered artificial intelligence; this phenomenon is described as the AI effect.\n\nHigh-profile examples of AI include autonomous vehicles (such as drones and self-driving cars), medical diagnosis, creating art (such as poetry), proving mathematical theorems, playing games (such as Chess or Go), search engines (such as Google search), online assistants (such as Siri), image recognition in photographs, spam filtering, prediction of judicial decisions and targeting online advertisements.\n\nWith social media sites overtaking TV as a source for news for young people and news organisations increasingly reliant on social media platforms for generating distribution, major publishers now use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to post stories more effectively and generate higher volumes of traffic.\n\n=== Competitions and prizes ===\n\nThere are a number of competitions and prizes to promote research in artificial intelligence. The main areas promoted are: general machine intelligence, conversational behavior, data-mining, robotic cars, robot soccer and games.\n\n=== Healthcare ===\n A patient side surgical arm of Da Vinci Surgical System. \nArtificial intelligence is breaking into the healthcare industry by assisting doctors. According to Bloomberg Technology, Microsoft has developed AI to help doctors find the right treatments for cancer.  There is a great amount of research and drugs developed relating to cancer. In detail, there are more than 800 medicines and vaccines to treat cancer. This negatively affects the doctors, because there are too many options to choose from, making it more difficult to choose the right drugs for the patients. Microsoft is working on a project to develop a machine called \"Hanover\". Its goal is to memorize all the papers necessary to cancer and help predict which combinations of drugs will be most effective for each patient. One project that is being worked on at the moment is fighting myeloid leukemia, a fatal cancer where the treatment has not improved in decades. Another study was reported to have found that artificial intelligence was as good as trained doctors in identifying skin cancers. Another study is using artificial intelligence to try and monitor multiple high-risk patients, and this is done by asking each patient numerous questions based on data acquired from live doctor to patient interactions.\n\nAccording to CNN, there was a recent study by surgeons at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington which successfully demonstrated surgery with an autonomous robot. The team supervised the robot while it performed soft-tissue surgery, stitching together a pig's bowel during open surgery, and doing so better than a human surgeon, the team claimed. IBM has created its own artificial intelligence computer, the IBM Watson which has beaten human intelligence in many level. Watson was taken to a game show jeopardy to test its intelligence and was able to win the game show against the jeopardy champions. Watson did not just won Jeopardy against the champions but, Watson was declare a hero when he was able to successfully diagnosed a women who was suffering from leukemia.\n\n=== Automotive ===\nAdvancements in AI have contributed to the growth of the automotive industry through the creation and evolution of self-driving vehicles. As of 2016, there are over 30 companies utilizing AI into the creation of driverless cars. A few companies involved with AI include Tesla, Google, and Apple.\n\nMany components contribute to the functioning of self-driving cars. These vehicles incorporate systems such as braking, lane changing, collision prevention, navigation and mapping. Together, these systems, as well as high performance computers are integrated into one complex vehicle.\n\nRecent developments in autonomous automobiles have made the innovation of self-driving trucks possible, though the they are still in the testing phase. The UK government has passed legislation to begin testing of self-driving truck platoons in 2018. Self-driving truck platoons are a fleet of self-driving trucks following the lead of one non-self-driving truck, so the truck platoons aren't entirely autonomous yet. Meanwhile, the Daimler, a German automobile corporation, is testing the Freightliner Inspiration which is a semi-autonomous truck that will only be used on the highway. \n\nOne main factor that influences the ability for a driver-less automobiles to function is mapping. In general, the vehicle would be pre-programmed with a map of the area being driven. This map would include data on the approximations of street light and curb heights in order for the vehicle to be aware of its surroundings. However, Google has been working on an algorithm with the purpose of eliminating the need for pre-programmed maps and instead, creating a device that would be able to adjust to a variety of new surroundings. Some self-driving cars are not equipped with steering wheels or brakes, so there has also been research focused on creating an algorithm that is capable of maintaining a safe environment for the passengers in the vehicle through awareness of speed and driving conditions.\n\n=== Finance ===\nFinancial institutions have long used artificial neural network systems to detect charges or claims outside of the norm, flagging these for human investigation. The use of AI in banking can be traced back to 1987 when Security Pacific National Bank in USA set-up a Fraud Prevention Task force to counter the unauthorised use of debit cards. Apps like Kasisito and Moneystream are using AI in financial services.\n\nBanks use artificial intelligence systems today to organize operations, maintain book-keeping, invest in stocks, and manage properties. AI can react to changes overnight or when business is not taking place. In August 2001, robots beat humans in a simulated financial trading competition. AI has also reduced fraud and financial crimes by monitoring behavioral patterns of users for any abnormal changes or anomalies.\n\n=== Video games ===\n\nArtificial intelligence is used to generate intelligent behaviors primarily in non-player characters (NPCs), often simulating human-like intelligence.\n", "A platform (or \"computing platform\") is defined as \"some sort of hardware architecture or software framework (including application frameworks), that allows software to run\". As Rodney Brooks pointed out many years ago, it is not just the artificial intelligence software that defines the AI features of the platform, but rather the actual platform itself that affects the AI that results, i.e., there needs to be work in AI problems on real-world platforms rather than in isolation.\n\nA wide variety of platforms has allowed different aspects of AI to develop, ranging from expert systems such as Cyc to deep-learning frameworks to robot platforms such as the Roomba with open interface. Recent advances in deep artificial neural networks and distributed computing have led to a proliferation of software libraries, including Deeplearning4j, TensorFlow, Theano and Torch.\n\nCollective AI is a platform architecture that combines individual AI into a collective entity, in order to achieve global results from individual behaviors. With its collective structure, developers can crowdsource information and extend the functionality of existing AI domains on the platform for their own use, as well as continue to create and share new domains and capabilities for the wider community and greater good. As developers continue to contribute, the overall platform grows more intelligent and is able to perform more requests, providing a scalable model for greater communal benefit. Organizations like SoundHound Inc. and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have used this collaborative AI model.\n\n=== Partnership on AI ===\nAmazon, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft have established a non-profit partnership to formulate best practices on artificial intelligence technologies, advance the public's understanding, and to serve as a platform about artificial intelligence. They stated: \"This partnership on AI will conduct research, organize discussions, provide thought leadership, consult with relevant third parties, respond to questions from the public and media, and create educational material that advance the understanding of AI technologies including machine perception, learning, and automated reasoning.\" Apple joined other tech companies as a founding member of the Partnership on AI in January 2017. The corporate members will make financial and research contributions to the group, while engaging with the scientific community to bring academics onto the board.\n", "\nThere are three philosophical questions related to AI:\n# Is artificial general intelligence possible? Can a machine solve any problem that a human being can solve using intelligence? Or are there hard limits to what a machine can accomplish?\n# Are intelligent machines dangerous? How can we ensure that machines behave ethically and that they are used ethically?\n# Can a machine have a mind, consciousness and mental states in exactly the same sense that human beings do? Can a machine be sentient, and thus deserve certain rights? Can a machine intentionally cause harm?\n\n=== The limits of artificial general intelligence ===\n\n\nCan a machine be intelligent? Can it \"think\"?\n\n;''Alan Turing's \"polite convention\"'': We need not decide if a machine can \"think\"; we need only decide if a machine can act as intelligently as a human being. This approach to the philosophical problems associated with artificial intelligence forms the basis of the Turing test.\n\n;''The Dartmouth proposal'': \"Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it.\" This conjecture was printed in the proposal for the Dartmouth Conference of 1956, and represents the position of most working AI researchers.\n\n;''Newell and Simon's physical symbol system hypothesis'': \"A physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means of general intelligent action.\" Newell and Simon argue that intelligence consists of formal operations on symbols. Hubert Dreyfus argued that, on the contrary, human expertise depends on unconscious instinct rather than conscious symbol manipulation and on having a \"feel\" for the situation rather than explicit symbolic knowledge. (See Dreyfus' critique of AI.)\n\n;''Gödelian arguments'': Gödel himself, John Lucas (in 1961) and Roger Penrose (in a more detailed argument from 1989 onwards) made highly technical arguments that human mathematicians can consistently see the truth of their own \"Gödel statements\" and therefore have computational abilities beyond that of mechanical Turing machines. However, the modern consensus in the scientific and mathematical community is that these \"Gödelian arguments\" fail.\n\n;''The artificial brain argument'': The brain can be simulated by machines and because brains are intelligent, simulated brains must also be intelligent; thus machines can be intelligent. Hans Moravec, Ray Kurzweil and others have argued that it is technologically feasible to copy the brain directly into hardware and software, and that such a simulation will be essentially identical to the original.\n\n;''The AI effect'': Machines are ''already'' intelligent, but observers have failed to recognize it. When Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in chess, the machine was acting intelligently. However, onlookers commonly discount the behavior of an artificial intelligence program by arguing that it is not \"real\" intelligence after all; thus \"real\" intelligence is whatever intelligent behavior people can do that machines still cannot. This is known as the AI Effect: \"AI is whatever hasn't been done yet.\"\n\n=== Potential risks and moral reasoning ===\n\nWidespread use of artificial intelligence could have unintended consequences that are dangerous or undesirable. Scientists from the Future of Life Institute, among others, described some short-term research goals to be how AI influences the economy, the laws and ethics that are involved with AI and how to minimize AI security risks. In the long-term, the scientists have proposed to continue optimizing function while minimizing possible security risks that come along with new technologies.\n\nMachines with intelligence have the potential to use their intelligence to make ethical decisions. Research in this area includes \"machine ethics\", \"artificial moral agents\", and the study of \"malevolent vs. friendly AI\".\n\n==== Existential risk ====\n\n\nA common concern about the development of artificial intelligence is the potential threat it could pose to mankind. This concern has recently gained attention after mentions by celebrities including Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. A group of prominent tech titans including Peter Thiel, Amazon Web Services and Musk have committed $1billion to OpenAI a nonprofit company aimed at championing responsible AI development. The opinion of experts within the field of artificial intelligence is mixed, with sizable fractions both concerned and unconcerned by risk from eventual superhumanly-capable AI.\n\nIn his book ''Superintelligence'', Nick Bostrom provides an argument that artificial intelligence will pose a threat to mankind. He argues that sufficiently intelligent AI, if it chooses actions based on achieving some goal, will exhibit convergent behavior such as acquiring resources or protecting itself from being shut down. If this AI's goals do not reflect humanity's - one example is an AI told to compute as many digits of pi as possible - it might harm humanity in order to acquire more resources or prevent itself from being shut down, ultimately to better achieve its goal.\n\nFor this danger to be realized, the hypothetical AI would have to overpower or out-think all of humanity, which a minority of experts argue is a possibility far enough in the future to not be worth researching. Other counterarguments revolve around humans being either intrinsically or convergently valuable from the perspective of an artificial intelligence.\n\nConcern over risk from artificial intelligence has led to some high-profile donations and investments. In January 2015, Elon Musk donated ten million dollars to the Future of Life Institute to fund research on understanding AI decision making. The goal of the institute is to \"grow wisdom with which we manage\" the growing power of technology. Musk also funds companies developing artificial intelligence such as Google DeepMind and Vicarious to \"just keep an eye on what's going on with artificial intelligence. I think there is potentially a dangerous outcome there.\"\n\nDevelopment of militarized artificial intelligence is a related concern. Currently, 50+ countries are researching battlefield robots, including the United States, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Many people concerned about risk from superintelligent AI also want to limit the use of artificial soldiers.\n\n==== Devaluation of humanity ====\n\nJoseph Weizenbaum wrote that AI applications cannot, by definition, successfully simulate genuine human empathy and that the use of AI technology in fields such as customer service or psychotherapy was deeply misguided. Weizenbaum was also bothered that AI researchers (and some philosophers) were willing to view the human mind as nothing more than a computer program (a position now known as computationalism). To Weizenbaum these points suggest that AI research devalues human life.\n\n==== Decrease in demand for human labor ====\nMartin Ford, author of ''The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future'', and others argue that specialized artificial intelligence applications, robotics and other forms of automation will ultimately result in significant unemployment as machines begin to match and exceed the capability of workers to perform most routine and repetitive jobs. Ford predicts that many knowledge-based occupations—and in particular entry level jobs—will be increasingly susceptible to automation via expert systems, machine learning and other AI-enhanced applications. AI-based applications may also be used to amplify the capabilities of low-wage offshore workers, making it more feasible to outsource knowledge work.\n\n==== Artificial moral agents ====\nThis raises the issue of how ethically the machine should behave towards both humans and other AI agents. This issue was addressed by Wendell Wallach in his book titled ''Moral Machines'' in which he introduced the concept of artificial moral agents (AMA). For Wallach, AMAs have become a part of the research landscape of artificial intelligence as guided by its two central questions which he identifies as \"Does Humanity Want Computers Making Moral Decisions\" and \"Can (Ro)bots Really Be Moral\". For Wallach the question is not centered on the issue of ''whether'' machines can demonstrate the equivalent of moral behavior in contrast to the ''constraints'' which society may place on the development of AMAs.\n\n==== Machine ethics ====\n\nThe field of machine ethics is concerned with giving machines ethical principles, or a procedure for discovering a way to resolve the ethical dilemmas they might encounter, enabling them to function in an ethically responsible manner through their own ethical decision making. The field was delineated in the AAAI Fall 2005 Symposium on Machine Ethics: \"Past research concerning the relationship between technology and ethics has largely focused on responsible and irresponsible use of technology by human beings, with a few people being interested in how human beings ought to treat machines. In all cases, only human beings have engaged in ethical reasoning. The time has come for adding an ethical dimension to at least some machines. Recognition of the ethical ramifications of behavior involving machines, as well as recent and potential developments in machine autonomy, necessitate this. In contrast to computer hacking, software property issues, privacy issues and other topics normally ascribed to computer ethics, machine ethics is concerned with the behavior of machines towards human users and other machines. Research in machine ethics is key to alleviating concerns with autonomous systems—it could be argued that the notion of autonomous machines without such a dimension is at the root of all fear concerning machine intelligence. Further, investigation of machine ethics could enable the discovery of problems with current ethical theories, advancing our thinking about Ethics.\" Machine ethics is sometimes referred to as machine morality, computational ethics or computational morality. A variety of perspectives of this nascent field can be found in the collected edition \"Machine Ethics\" that stems from the AAAI Fall 2005 Symposium on Machine Ethics.\n\n==== Malevolent and friendly AI ====\n\nPolitical scientist Charles T. Rubin believes that AI can be neither designed nor guaranteed to be benevolent. He argues that \"any sufficiently advanced benevolence may be indistinguishable from malevolence.\" Humans should not assume machines or robots would treat us favorably, because there is no ''a priori'' reason to believe that they would be sympathetic to our system of morality, which has evolved along with our particular biology (which AIs would not share). Hyper-intelligent software may not necessarily decide to support the continued existence of mankind, and would be extremely difficult to stop. This topic has also recently begun to be discussed in academic publications as a real source of risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth.\n\nPhysicist Stephen Hawking, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have expressed concerns about the possibility that AI could evolve to the point that humans could not control it, with Hawking theorizing that this could \"spell the end of the human race\".\n\nOne proposal to deal with this is to ensure that the first generally intelligent AI is 'Friendly AI', and will then be able to control subsequently developed AIs. Some question whether this kind of check could really remain in place.\n\nLeading AI researcher Rodney Brooks writes, \"I think it is a mistake to be worrying about us developing malevolent AI anytime in the next few hundred years. I think the worry stems from a fundamental error in not distinguishing the difference between the very real recent advances in a particular aspect of AI, and the enormity and complexity of building sentient volitional intelligence.\"\n\n=== Machine consciousness, sentience and mind ===\n\nIf an AI system replicates all key aspects of human intelligence, will that system also be sentient – will it have a mind which has conscious experiences? This question is closely related to the philosophical problem as to the nature of human consciousness, generally referred to as the hard problem of consciousness.\n\n==== Consciousness ====\n\n\n\n==== Computationalism and functionalism ====\n\nComputationalism is the position in the philosophy of mind that the human mind or the human brain (or both) is an information processing system and that thinking is a form of computing. Computationalism argues that the relationship between mind and body is similar or identical to the relationship between software and hardware and thus may be a solution to the mind-body problem. This philosophical position was inspired by the work of AI researchers and cognitive scientists in the 1960s and was originally proposed by philosophers Jerry Fodor and Hilary Putnam.\n\n==== Strong AI hypothesis ====\n\nThe philosophical position that John Searle has named \"strong AI\" states: \"The appropriately programmed computer with the right inputs and outputs would thereby have a mind in exactly the same sense human beings have minds.\" Searle counters this assertion with his Chinese room argument, which asks us to look ''inside'' the computer and try to find where the \"mind\" might be.\n\n==== Robot rights ====\n\nMary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' considers a key issue in the ethics of artificial intelligence: if a machine can be created that has intelligence, could it also ''feel''? If it can feel, does it have the same rights as a human? The idea also appears in modern science fiction, such as the film ''A.I.: Artificial Intelligence'', in which humanoid machines have the ability to feel emotions. This issue, now known as \"robot rights\", is currently being considered by, for example, California's Institute for the Future, although many critics believe that the discussion is premature. Some critics of transhumanism argue that any hypothetical robot rights would lie on a spectrum with animal rights and human rights. The subject is profoundly discussed in the 2010 documentary film ''Plug & Pray''.\n\n=== Superintelligence ===\n\nAre there limits to how intelligent machines – or human-machine hybrids – can be? A superintelligence, hyperintelligence, or superhuman intelligence is a hypothetical agent that would possess intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human mind. ‘’Superintelligence’’ may also refer to the form or degree of intelligence possessed by such an agent.\n\n==== Technological singularity ====\n\nIf research into Strong AI produced sufficiently intelligent software, it might be able to reprogram and improve itself. The improved software would be even better at improving itself, leading to recursive self-improvement. The new intelligence could thus increase exponentially and dramatically surpass humans. Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge named this scenario \"singularity\". Technological singularity is when accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing or even ending civilization. Because the capabilities of such an intelligence may be impossible to comprehend, the technological singularity is an occurrence beyond which events are unpredictable or even unfathomable.\n\nRay Kurzweil has used Moore's law (which describes the relentless exponential improvement in digital technology) to calculate that desktop computers will have the same processing power as human brains by the year 2029, and predicts that the singularity will occur in 2045.\n\n==== Transhumanism ====\n\n\nRobot designer Hans Moravec, cyberneticist Kevin Warwick and inventor Ray Kurzweil have predicted that humans and machines will merge in the future into cyborgs that are more capable and powerful than either. This idea, called transhumanism, which has roots in Aldous Huxley and Robert Ettinger, has been illustrated in fiction as well, for example in the manga ''Ghost in the Shell'' and the science-fiction series ''Dune''.\n\nIn the 1980s artist Hajime Sorayama's Sexy Robots series were painted and published in Japan depicting the actual organic human form with lifelike muscular metallic skins and later \"the Gynoids\" book followed that was used by or influenced movie makers including George Lucas and other creatives. Sorayama never considered these organic robots to be real part of nature but always unnatural product of the human mind, a fantasy existing in the mind even when realized in actual form.\n\nEdward Fredkin argues that \"artificial intelligence is the next stage in evolution\", an idea first proposed by Samuel Butler's \"Darwin among the Machines\" (1863), and expanded upon by George Dyson in his book of the same name in 1998.\n", "\n\nThought-capable artificial beings have appeared as storytelling devices since antiquity.\n\nThe implications of a constructed machine exhibiting artificial intelligence have been a persistent theme in science fiction since the twentieth century. Early stories typically revolved around intelligent robots. The word \"robot\" itself was coined by Karel Čapek in his 1921 play ''R.U.R.'', the title standing for \"Rossum's Universal Robots\". Later, the SF writer Isaac Asimov developed the Three Laws of Robotics which he subsequently explored in a long series of robot stories. Asimov's laws are often brought up during layman discussions of machine ethics; while almost all artificial intelligence researchers are familiar with Asimov's laws through popular culture, they generally consider the laws useless for many reasons, one of which is their ambiguity.\n\nThe novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'', by Philip K. Dick, tells a science fiction story about Androids and humans clashing in a futuristic world. Elements of artificial intelligence include the empathy box, mood organ, and the androids themselves. Throughout the novel, Dick portrays the idea that human subjectivity is altered by technology created with artificial intelligence.\n\nNowadays AI is firmly rooted in popular culture; intelligent robots appear in innumerable works. HAL, the murderous computer in charge of the spaceship in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), is an example of the common \"robotic rampage\" archetype in science fiction movies. ''The Terminator'' (1984) and ''The Matrix'' (1999) provide additional widely familiar examples. In contrast, the rare loyal robots such as Gort from ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1951) and Bishop from ''Aliens'' (1986) are less prominent in popular culture.\n\n\n", "\n* Abductive reasoning\n* Case-based reasoning\n* Commonsense reasoning\n* Emergent algorithm\n* Evolutionary computing\n* Glossary of artificial intelligence\n* Machine learning\n* Mathematical optimization\n* Soft computing\n* Swarm intelligence\n", "\n", "\n=== AI textbooks ===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .\n* .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n=== History of AI ===\n\n* .\n* .\n* \n* \n\n\n=== Other sources ===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* BibTex .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* In \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Cited by .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .\n* Presidential Address to the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Later published as\n* \n* \n* \n* .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "* TechCast Article Series, John Sagi, \"Framing Consciousness\"\n* Boden, Margaret, ''Mind As Machine'', Oxford University Press, 2006\n* Gopnik, Alison, \"Making AI More Human: Artificial intelligence has staged a revival by starting to incorporate what we know about how children learn\", ''Scientific American'', vol. 316, no. 6 (June 2017), pp. 60–65.\n* Johnston, John (2008) ''The Allure of Machinic Life: Cybernetics, Artificial Life, and the New AI'', MIT Press\n* Marcus, Gary, \"Am I Human?: Researchers need new ways to distinguish artificial intelligence from the natural kind\", ''Scientific American'', vol. 316, no. 3 (March 2017), pp. 58–63. ''Multiple'' tests of artificial-intelligence efficacy are needed because, \"just as there is no single test of athletic prowess, there cannot be one ultimate test of intelligence.\" One such test, a \"Construction Challenge\", would test perception and physical action—\"two important elements of intelligent behavior that were entirely absent from the original Turing test.\" Another proposal has been to give machines the same standardized tests of science and other disciplines that schoolchildren take. A so far insuperable stumbling block to artificial intelligence is an incapacity for reliable disambiguation. \"Virtually every sentence that people generate is ambiguous, often in multiple ways.\" A prominent example is known as the \"pronoun disambiguation problem\": a machine has no way of determining to whom or what a pronoun in a sentence—such as \"he\", \"she\" or \"it\"—refers. \n* Myers, Courtney Boyd ed. (2009). \"The AI Report\". ''Forbes'' June 2009\n* \n* \n* \n* Sun, R. & Bookman, L. (eds.), ''Computational Architectures: Integrating Neural and Symbolic Processes''. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Needham, MA. 1994.\n* \n", "\n* What Is AI? – An introduction to artificial intelligence by John McCarthy—a co-founder of the field, and the person who coined the term.\n* The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence Volume Ⅰ by Avron Barr and Edward A. Feigenbaum (Stanford University)\n* \n* \n* \n* AITopics – A large directory of links and other resources maintained by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the leading organization of academic AI researchers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Goals ", " Approaches ", " Tools ", " Applications ", " Platforms ", " Philosophy and ethics ", " In fiction ", "See also", " Notes ", " References ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "The use of AI in banking can be traced back to 1987 when Security Pacific National Bank in USA set-up a Fraud Prevention Task force to counter the unauthorised use of debit cards." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Artificial intelligence''' ('''AI''', also '''machine intelligence''', '''MI''') is apparently intelligent behaviour by machines, rather than the ''natural intelligence'' (''NI'') of humans and other animals.", "In computer science AI research is defined as the study of \"intelligent agents\": any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal.", "Colloquially, the term \"artificial intelligence\" is applied when a machine mimics \"cognitive\" functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as \"learning\" and \"problem solving\".", "The scope of AI is disputed: as machines become increasingly capable, tasks considered as requiring \"intelligence\" are often removed from the definition, a phenomenon known as the AI effect, leading to the quip \"AI is whatever hasn't been done yet.\"", "For instance, optical character recognition is frequently excluded from \"artificial intelligence\", having become a routine technology.", "Capabilities generally classified as AI include successfully understanding human speech, competing at a high level in strategic game systems (such as chess and Go), autonomous cars, intelligent routing in content delivery networks, military simulations, and interpreting complex data.", "Artificial intelligence was founded as an academic discipline in 1956, and in the years since has experienced several waves of optimism, followed by disappointment and the loss of funding (known as an \"AI winter\"), followed by new approaches, success and renewed funding.", "For most of its history, AI research has been divided into subfields that often fail to communicate with each other.", "However, in the early 21st century statistical approaches to machine learning became successful enough to eclipse all other tools, approaches, problems and schools of thought.", "The traditional problems (or goals) of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing, perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects.", "General intelligence is among the field's long-term goals.", "Approaches include statistical methods, computational intelligence, and traditional symbolic AI.", "Many tools are used in AI, including versions of search and mathematical optimization, neural networks and methods based on statistics, probability and economics.", "The AI field draws upon computer science, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, artificial psychology and many others.", "The field was founded on the claim that human intelligence \"can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it\".", "This raises philosophical arguments about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings endowed with human-like intelligence, issues which have been explored by myth, fiction and philosophy since antiquity.", "Some people also consider AI a danger to humanity if it progresses unabatedly.", "In the twenty-first century, AI techniques have experienced a resurgence following concurrent advances in computer power, large amounts of data, and theoretical understanding, and AI techniques have become an essential part of the technology industry, helping to solve many challenging problems in computer science.", "\n\n\n\nWhile thought-capable artificial beings appeared as storytelling devices in antiquity, the idea of actually trying to build a machine to perform useful reasoning may have begun with Ramon Llull (c. 1300 CE).", "With his Calculus ratiocinator, Gottfried Leibniz extended the concept of the calculating machine (Wilhelm Schickard engineered the first one around 1623), intending to perform operations on concepts rather than numbers.", "Since the 19th century, artificial beings are common in fiction, as in Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' or Karel Čapek's ''R.U.R.", "(Rossum's Universal Robots)''.", "The study of mechanical or \"formal\" reasoning began with philosophers and mathematicians in antiquity.", "The study of mathematical logic led directly to Alan Turing's theory of computation, which suggested that a machine, by shuffling symbols as simple as \"0\" and \"1\", could simulate any conceivable act of mathematical deduction.", "This insight, that digital computers can simulate any process of formal reasoning, is known as the Church–Turing thesis.", "Along with concurrent discoveries in neurology, information theory and cybernetics, this led researchers to consider the possibility of building an electronic brain.", "The first work that is now generally recognized as AI was McCullouch and Pitts' 1943 formal design for Turing-complete \"artificial neurons\".", "The field of AI research was born at a workshop at Dartmouth College in 1956.", "Attendees Allen Newell (CMU), Herbert Simon (CMU), John McCarthy (MIT), Marvin Minsky (MIT) and Arthur Samuel (IBM) became the founders and leaders of AI research.", "They and their students produced programs that the press described as \"astonishing\": computers were winning at the game checkers, solving word problems in algebra, proving logical theorems and speaking English.", "By the middle of the 1960s, research in the U.S. was heavily funded by the Department of Defense and laboratories had been established around the world.", "AI's founders were optimistic about the future: Herbert Simon predicted, \"machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do\".", "Marvin Minsky agreed, writing, \"within a generation ... the problem of creating 'artificial intelligence' will substantially be solved\".", "They failed to recognize the difficulty of some of the remaining tasks.", "Progress slowed and in 1974, in response to the criticism of Sir James Lighthill and ongoing pressure from the US Congress to fund more productive projects, both the U.S. and British governments cut off exploratory research in AI.", "The next few years would later be called an \"AI winter\", a period when obtaining funding for AI projects was difficult.", "In the early 1980s, AI research was revived by the commercial success of expert systems, a form of AI program that simulated the knowledge and analytical skills of human experts.", "By 1985 the market for AI had reached over a billion dollars.", "At the same time, Japan's fifth generation computer project inspired the U.S and British governments to restore funding for academic research.", "However, beginning with the collapse of the Lisp Machine market in 1987, AI once again fell into disrepute, and a second, longer-lasting hiatus began.", "In the late 1990s and early 21st century, AI began to be used for logistics, data mining, medical diagnosis and other areas.", "The success was due to increasing computational power (see Moore's law), greater emphasis on solving specific problems, new ties between AI and other fields and a commitment by researchers to mathematical methods and scientific standards.", "Deep Blue became the first computer chess-playing system to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov on 11 May 1997.", "Advanced statistical techniques (loosely known as deep learning), access to large amounts of data and faster computers enabled advances in machine learning and perception.", "By the mid 2010s, machine learning applications were used throughout the world.", "In a ''Jeopardy!''", "quiz show exhibition match, IBM's question answering system, Watson, defeated the two greatest Jeopardy champions, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, by a significant margin.", "The Kinect, which provides a 3D body–motion interface for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One use algorithms that emerged from lengthy AI research as do intelligent personal assistants in smartphones.", "In March 2016, AlphaGo won 4 out of 5 games of Go in a match with Go champion Lee Sedol, becoming the first computer Go-playing system to beat a professional Go player without handicaps.", "In the 2017 Future of Go Summit, AlphaGo won a three-game match with Ke Jie, who at the time continuously held the world No.", "1 ranking for two years.", "This marked the completion of a significant milestone in the development of Artificial Intelligence as Go is an extremely complex game, more so than Chess.", "According to Bloomberg's Jack Clark, 2015 was a landmark year for artificial intelligence, with the number of software projects that use AI within Google increased from a \"sporadic usage\" in 2012 to more than 2,700 projects.", "Clark also presents factual data indicating that error rates in image processing tasks have fallen significantly since 2011.", "He attributes this to an increase in affordable neural networks, due to a rise in cloud computing infrastructure and to an increase in research tools and datasets.", "Other cited examples include Microsoft's development of a Skype system that can automatically translate from one language to another and Facebook's system that can describe images to blind people.", "\n\nThe overall research goal of artificial intelligence is to create technology that allows computers and machines to function in an intelligent manner.", "The general problem of simulating (or creating) intelligence has been broken down into sub-problems.", "These consist of particular traits or capabilities that researchers expect an intelligent system to display.", "The traits described below have received the most attention.", "Erik Sandwell emphasizes planning and learning that is relevant and applicable to the given situation.", "=== Reasoning, problem solving ===\n\nEarly researchers developed algorithms that imitated step-by-step reasoning that humans use when they solve puzzles or make logical deductions.", "By the late 1980s and 1990s, AI research had developed methods for dealing with uncertain or incomplete information, employing concepts from probability and economics.", "For difficult problems, algorithms can require enormous computational resources—most experience a \"combinatorial explosion\": the amount of memory or computer time required becomes astronomical for problems of a certain size.", "The search for more efficient problem-solving algorithms is a high priority.", "Human beings ordinarily use fast, intuitive judgments rather than step-by-step deduction that early AI research was able to model.", "AI has progressed using \"sub-symbolic\" problem solving: embodied agent approaches emphasize the importance of sensorimotor skills to higher reasoning; neural net research attempts to simulate the structures inside the brain that give rise to this skill; statistical approaches to AI mimic the human ability to guess.", "=== Knowledge representation ===\n\nAn ontology represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain and the relationships between those concepts.", "Knowledge representation and knowledge engineering are central to AI research.", "Many of the problems machines are expected to solve will require extensive knowledge about the world.", "Among the things that AI needs to represent are: objects, properties, categories and relations between objects; situations, events, states and time; causes and effects; knowledge about knowledge (what we know about what other people know); and many other, less well researched domains.", "A representation of \"what exists\" is an ontology: the set of objects, relations, concepts, and properties formally described so that software agents can interpret them.", "The semantics of these are captured as description logic concepts, roles, and individuals, and typically implemented as classes, properties, and individuals in the Web Ontology Language.", "The most general ontologies are called upper ontologies, which attempt to provide a foundation for all other knowledge by acting as mediators between domain ontologies that cover specific knowledge about a particular knowledge domain (field of interest or area of concern).", "Such formal knowledge representations are suitable for content-based indexing and retrieval, scene interpretation, clinical decision support, knowledge discovery via automated reasoning (inferring new statements based on explicitly stated knowledge), etc.", "Video events are often represented as SWRL rules, which can be used, among others, to automatically generate subtitles for constrained videos.", "Among the most difficult problems in knowledge representation are:\n;Default reasoning and the qualification problem: Many of the things people know take the form of \"working assumptions\".", "For example, if a bird comes up in conversation, people typically picture an animal that is fist sized, sings, and flies.", "None of these things are true about all birds.", "John McCarthy identified this problem in 1969 as the qualification problem: for any commonsense rule that AI researchers care to represent, there tend to be a huge number of exceptions.", "Almost nothing is simply true or false in the way that abstract logic requires.", "AI research has explored a number of solutions to this problem.", ";The breadth of commonsense knowledge: The number of atomic facts that the average person knows is very large.", "Research projects that attempt to build a complete knowledge base of commonsense knowledge (e.g., Cyc) require enormous amounts of laborious ontological engineering—they must be built, by hand, one complicated concept at a time.", "A major goal is to have the computer understand enough concepts to be able to learn by reading from sources like the Internet, and thus be able to add to its own ontology.", ";The subsymbolic form of some commonsense knowledge: Much of what people know is not represented as \"facts\" or \"statements\" that they could express verbally.", "For example, a chess master will avoid a particular chess position because it \"feels too exposed\" or an art critic can take one look at a statue and realize that it is a fake.", "These are non-conscious and sub-symbolic intuitions or tendencies in the human brain.", "Knowledge like this informs, supports and provides a context for symbolic, conscious knowledge.", "As with the related problem of sub-symbolic reasoning, it is hoped that situated AI, computational intelligence, or statistical AI will provide ways to represent this kind of knowledge.", "=== Planning ===\n\n A hierarchical control system is a form of control system in which a set of devices and governing software is arranged in a hierarchy.", "Intelligent agents must be able to set goals and achieve them.", "They need a way to visualize the future—a representation of the state of the world and be able to make predictions about how their actions will change it—and be able to make choices that maximize the utility (or \"value\") of available choices.", "In classical planning problems, the agent can assume that it is the only system acting in the world, allowing the agent to be certain of the consequences of its actions.", "However, if the agent is not the only actor, then it requires that the agent can reason under uncertainty.", "This calls for an agent that cannot only assess its environment and make predictions, but also evaluate its predictions and adapt based on its assessment.", "Multi-agent planning uses the cooperation and competition of many agents to achieve a given goal.", "Emergent behavior such as this is used by evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence.", "=== Learning ===\n\n\n\nMachine learning, a fundamental concept of AI research since the field's inception, is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience.", "Unsupervised learning is the ability to find patterns in a stream of input.", "Supervised learning includes both classification and numerical regression.", "Classification is used to determine what category something belongs in, after seeing a number of examples of things from several categories.", "Regression is the attempt to produce a function that describes the relationship between inputs and outputs and predicts how the outputs should change as the inputs change.", "In reinforcement learning the agent is rewarded for good responses and punished for bad ones.", "The agent uses this sequence of rewards and punishments to form a strategy for operating in its problem space.", "These three types of learning can be analyzed in terms of decision theory, using concepts like utility.", "The mathematical analysis of machine learning algorithms and their performance is a branch of theoretical computer science known as computational learning theory.", "Within developmental robotics, developmental learning approaches are elaborated upon to allow robots to accumulate repertoires of novel skills through autonomous self-exploration, social interaction with human teachers, and the use of guidance mechanisms (active learning, maturation, motor synergies, etc.).", "=== Natural language processing ===\n\n A parse tree represents the syntactic structure of a sentence according to some formal grammar.", "Natural language processing gives machines the ability to read and understand human language.", "A sufficiently powerful natural language processing system would enable natural language user interfaces and the acquisition of knowledge directly from human-written sources, such as newswire texts.", "Some straightforward applications of natural language processing include information retrieval, text mining, question answering and machine translation.", "A common method of processing and extracting meaning from natural language is through semantic indexing.", "Although these indexes require a large volume of user input, it is expected that increases in processor speeds and decreases in data storage costs will result in greater efficiency.", "=== Perception ===\n\n\n\nMachine perception is the ability to use input from sensors (such as cameras, microphones, tactile sensors, sonar and others) to deduce aspects of the world.", "Computer vision is the ability to analyze visual input.", "A few selected subproblems are speech recognition, facial recognition and object recognition.", "=== Motion and manipulation ===\n\n\n\nThe field of robotics is closely related to AI.", "Intelligence is required for robots to handle tasks such as object manipulation and navigation, with sub-problems such as localization, mapping, and motion planning.", "These systems require that an agent is able to: Be spatially cognizant of its surroundings, learn from and build a map of its environment, figure out how to get from one point in space to another, and execute that movement (which often involves compliant motion, a process where movement requires maintaining physical contact with an object).", "=== Social intelligence ===\n\n\nKismet, a robot with rudimentary social skills\n\nAffective computing is the study and development of systems that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects.", "It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science.", "While the origins of the field may be traced as far back as the early philosophical inquiries into emotion, the more modern branch of computer science originated with Rosalind Picard's 1995 paper on \"affective computing\".", "A motivation for the research is the ability to simulate empathy, where the machine would be able to interpret human emotions and adapts its behavior to give an appropriate response to those emotions.", "Emotion and social skills are important to an intelligent agent for two reasons.", "First, being able to predict the actions of others by understanding their motives and emotional states allow an agent to make better decisions.", "Concepts such as game theory, decision theory, necessitate that an agent be able to detect and model human emotions.", "Second, in an effort to facilitate human–computer interaction, an intelligent machine may want to display emotions (even if it does not experience those emotions itself) to appear more sensitive to the emotional dynamics of human interaction.", "=== Creativity ===\n\n\n\nA sub-field of AI addresses creativity both theoretically (the philosophical psychological perspective) and practically (the specific implementation of systems that generate novel and useful outputs).", "=== General intelligence ===\n\n\n\nMany researchers think that their work will eventually be incorporated into a machine with artificial general intelligence, combining all the skills mentioned above and even exceeding human ability in most or all these areas.", "A few believe that anthropomorphic features like artificial consciousness or an artificial brain may be required for such a project.", "Many of the problems above also require that general intelligence be solved.", "For example, even specific straightforward tasks, like machine translation, require that a machine read and write in both languages (NLP), follow the author's argument (reason), know what is being talked about (knowledge), and faithfully reproduce the author's original intent (social intelligence).", "A problem like machine translation is considered \"AI-complete\", but all of these problems need to be solved simultaneously in order to reach human-level machine performance.", "There is no established unifying theory or paradigm that guides AI research.", "Researchers disagree about many issues.", "A few of the most long standing questions that have remained unanswered are these: should artificial intelligence simulate natural intelligence by studying psychology or neurology?", "Or is human biology as irrelevant to AI research as bird biology is to aeronautical engineering?", "Can intelligent behavior be described using simple, elegant principles (such as logic or optimization)?", "Or does it necessarily require solving a large number of completely unrelated problems?", "Can intelligence be reproduced using high-level symbols, similar to words and ideas?", "Or does it require \"sub-symbolic\" processing?", "John Haugeland, who coined the term GOFAI (Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Intelligence), also proposed that AI should more properly be referred to as synthetic intelligence, a term which has since been adopted by some non-GOFAI researchers.", "Stuart Shapiro divides AI research into three approaches, which he calls computational psychology, computational philosophy, and computer science.", "Computational psychology is used to make computer programs that mimic human behavior.", "Computational philosophy, is used to develop an adaptive, free-flowing computer mind.", "Implementing computer science serves the goal of creating computers that can perform tasks that only people could previously accomplish.", "Together, the humanesque behavior, mind, and actions make up artificial intelligence.", "=== Cybernetics and brain simulation ===\n\nIn the 1940s and 1950s, a number of researchers explored the connection between neurology, information theory, and cybernetics.", "Some of them built machines that used electronic networks to exhibit rudimentary intelligence, such as W. Grey Walter's turtles and the Johns Hopkins Beast.", "Many of these researchers gathered for meetings of the Teleological Society at Princeton University and the Ratio Club in England.", "By 1960, this approach was largely abandoned, although elements of it would be revived in the 1980s.", "=== Symbolic ===\n\nWhen access to digital computers became possible in the middle 1950s, AI research began to explore the possibility that human intelligence could be reduced to symbol manipulation.", "The research was centered in three institutions: Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford and MIT, and each one developed its own style of research.", "John Haugeland named these approaches to AI \"good old fashioned AI\" or \"GOFAI\".", "During the 1960s, symbolic approaches had achieved great success at simulating high-level thinking in small demonstration programs.", "Approaches based on cybernetics or neural networks were abandoned or pushed into the background.", "Researchers in the 1960s and the 1970s were convinced that symbolic approaches would eventually succeed in creating a machine with artificial general intelligence and considered this the goal of their field.", "==== Cognitive simulation ====\nEconomist Herbert Simon and Allen Newell studied human problem-solving skills and attempted to formalize them, and their work laid the foundations of the field of artificial intelligence, as well as cognitive science, operations research and management science.", "Their research team used the results of psychological experiments to develop programs that simulated the techniques that people used to solve problems.", "This tradition, centered at Carnegie Mellon University would eventually culminate in the development of the Soar architecture in the middle 1980s.", "==== Logic-based ====\nUnlike Newell and Simon, John McCarthy felt that machines did not need to simulate human thought, but should instead try to find the essence of abstract reasoning and problem solving, regardless of whether people used the same algorithms.", "His laboratory at Stanford (SAIL) focused on using formal logic to solve a wide variety of problems, including knowledge representation, planning and learning.", "Logic was also the focus of the work at the University of Edinburgh and elsewhere in Europe which led to the development of the programming language Prolog and the science of logic programming.", "==== Anti-logic or scruffy ====\nResearchers at MIT (such as Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert) found that solving difficult problems in vision and natural language processing required ad-hoc solutions – they argued that there was no simple and general principle (like logic) that would capture all the aspects of intelligent behavior.", "Roger Schank described their \"anti-logic\" approaches as \"scruffy\" (as opposed to the \"neat\" paradigms at CMU and Stanford).", "Commonsense knowledge bases (such as Doug Lenat's Cyc) are an example of \"scruffy\" AI, since they must be built by hand, one complicated concept at a time.", "==== Knowledge-based====\nWhen computers with large memories became available around 1970, researchers from all three traditions began to build knowledge into AI applications.", "This \"knowledge revolution\" led to the development and deployment of expert systems (introduced by Edward Feigenbaum), the first truly successful form of AI software.", "The knowledge revolution was also driven by the realization that enormous amounts of knowledge would be required by many simple AI applications.", "=== Sub-symbolic ===\nBy the 1980s progress in symbolic AI seemed to stall and many believed that symbolic systems would never be able to imitate all the processes of human cognition, especially perception, robotics, learning and pattern recognition.", "A number of researchers began to look into \"sub-symbolic\" approaches to specific AI problems.", "Sub-symbolic methods manage to approach intelligence without specific representations of knowledge.", "==== Embodied intelligence ====\nThis includes embodied, situated, behavior-based, and nouvelle AI.", "Researchers from the related field of robotics, such as Rodney Brooks, rejected symbolic AI and focused on the basic engineering problems that would allow robots to move and survive.", "Their work revived the non-symbolic viewpoint of the early cybernetics researchers of the 1950s and reintroduced the use of control theory in AI.", "This coincided with the development of the embodied mind thesis in the related field of cognitive science: the idea that aspects of the body (such as movement, perception and visualization) are required for higher intelligence.", "==== Computational intelligence and soft computing====\nInterest in neural networks and \"connectionism\" was revived by David Rumelhart and others in the middle of 1980s.", "Neural networks are an example of soft computing --- they are solutions to problems which cannot be solved with complete logical certainty, and where an approximate solution is often sufficient.", "Other soft computing approaches to AI include fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation and many statistical tools.", "The application of soft computing to AI is studied collectively by the emerging discipline of computational intelligence.", "=== Statistical ===\nIn the 1990s, AI researchers developed sophisticated mathematical tools to solve specific subproblems.", "These tools are truly scientific, in the sense that their results are both measurable and verifiable, and they have been responsible for many of AI's recent successes.", "The shared mathematical language has also permitted a high level of collaboration with more established fields (like mathematics, economics or operations research).", "Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig describe this movement as nothing less than a \"revolution\" and \"the victory of the neats\".", "Critics argue that these techniques (with few exceptions) are too focused on particular problems and have failed to address the long-term goal of general intelligence.", "There is an ongoing debate about the relevance and validity of statistical approaches in AI, exemplified in part by exchanges between Peter Norvig and Noam Chomsky.", "=== Integrating the approaches ===\n;Intelligent agent paradigm: An intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success.", "The simplest intelligent agents are programs that solve specific problems.", "More complicated agents include human beings and organizations of human beings (such as firms).", "The paradigm gives researchers license to study isolated problems and find solutions that are both verifiable and useful, without agreeing on one single approach.", "An agent that solves a specific problem can use any approach that works – some agents are symbolic and logical, some are sub-symbolic neural networks and others may use new approaches.", "The paradigm also gives researchers a common language to communicate with other fields—such as decision theory and economics—that also use concepts of abstract agents.", "The intelligent agent paradigm became widely accepted during the 1990s.", ";Agent architectures and cognitive architectures: Researchers have designed systems to build intelligent systems out of interacting intelligent agents in a multi-agent system.", "A system with both symbolic and sub-symbolic components is a hybrid intelligent system, and the study of such systems is artificial intelligence systems integration.", "A hierarchical control system provides a bridge between sub-symbolic AI at its lowest, reactive levels and traditional symbolic AI at its highest levels, where relaxed time constraints permit planning and world modelling.", "Rodney Brooks' subsumption architecture was an early proposal for such a hierarchical system.", "In the course of 60+ years of research, AI has developed a large number of tools to solve the most difficult problems in computer science.", "A few of the most general of these methods are discussed below.", "=== Search and optimization ===\n\n\n\nMany problems in AI can be solved in theory by intelligently searching through many possible solutions: Reasoning can be reduced to performing a search.", "For example, logical proof can be viewed as searching for a path that leads from premises to conclusions, where each step is the application of an inference rule.", "Planning algorithms search through trees of goals and subgoals, attempting to find a path to a target goal, a process called means-ends analysis.", "Robotics algorithms for moving limbs and grasping objects use local searches in configuration space.", "Many learning algorithms use search algorithms based on optimization.", "Simple exhaustive searches are rarely sufficient for most real world problems: the search space (the number of places to search) quickly grows to astronomical numbers.", "The result is a search that is too slow or never completes.", "The solution, for many problems, is to use \"heuristics\" or \"rules of thumb\" that eliminate choices that are unlikely to lead to the goal (called \"pruning the search tree\").", "Heuristics supply the program with a \"best guess\" for the path on which the solution lies.", "Heuristics limit the search for solutions into a smaller sample size.", "A very different kind of search came to prominence in the 1990s, based on the mathematical theory of optimization.", "For many problems, it is possible to begin the search with some form of a guess and then refine the guess incrementally until no more refinements can be made.", "These algorithms can be visualized as blind hill climbing: we begin the search at a random point on the landscape, and then, by jumps or steps, we keep moving our guess uphill, until we reach the top.", "Other optimization algorithms are simulated annealing, beam search and random optimization.", "Evolutionary computation uses a form of optimization search.", "For example, they may begin with a population of organisms (the guesses) and then allow them to mutate and recombine, selecting only the fittest to survive each generation (refining the guesses).", "Forms of evolutionary computation include swarm intelligence algorithms (such as ant colony or particle swarm optimization) and evolutionary algorithms (such as genetic algorithms, gene expression programming, and genetic programming).", "=== Logic ===\n\n\n\nLogic is used for knowledge representation and problem solving, but it can be applied to other problems as well.", "For example, the satplan algorithm uses logic for planning and inductive logic programming is a method for learning.", "Several different forms of logic are used in AI research.", "Propositional or sentential logic is the logic of statements which can be true or false.", "First-order logic also allows the use of quantifiers and predicates, and can express facts about objects, their properties, and their relations with each other.", "Fuzzy logic, is a version of first-order logic which allows the truth of a statement to be represented as a value between 0 and 1, rather than simply True (1) or False (0).", "Fuzzy systems can be used for uncertain reasoning and have been widely used in modern industrial and consumer product control systems.", "Subjective logic models uncertainty in a different and more explicit manner than fuzzy-logic: a given binomial opinion satisfies belief + disbelief + uncertainty = 1 within a Beta distribution.", "By this method, ignorance can be distinguished from probabilistic statements that an agent makes with high confidence.", "Default logics, non-monotonic logics and circumscription are forms of logic designed to help with default reasoning and the qualification problem.", "Several extensions of logic have been designed to handle specific domains of knowledge, such as: description logics; situation calculus, event calculus and fluent calculus (for representing events and time); causal calculus; belief calculus; and modal logics.", "=== Probabilistic methods for uncertain reasoning ===\n\n\n\nMany problems in AI (in reasoning, planning, learning, perception and robotics) require the agent to operate with incomplete or uncertain information.", "AI researchers have devised a number of powerful tools to solve these problems using methods from probability theory and economics.", "Bayesian networks are a very general tool that can be used for a large number of problems: reasoning (using the Bayesian inference algorithm), learning (using the expectation-maximization algorithm), planning (using decision networks) and perception (using dynamic Bayesian networks).", "Probabilistic algorithms can also be used for filtering, prediction, smoothing and finding explanations for streams of data, helping perception systems to analyze processes that occur over time (e.g., hidden Markov models or Kalman filters).", "A key concept from the science of economics is \"utility\": a measure of how valuable something is to an intelligent agent.", "Precise mathematical tools have been developed that analyze how an agent can make choices and plan, using decision theory, decision analysis, and information value theory.", "These tools include models such as Markov decision processes, dynamic decision networks, game theory and mechanism design.", "=== Classifiers and statistical learning methods ===\n\n\n\nThe simplest AI applications can be divided into two types: classifiers (\"if shiny then diamond\") and controllers (\"if shiny then pick up\").", "Controllers do, however, also classify conditions before inferring actions, and therefore classification forms a central part of many AI systems.", "Classifiers are functions that use pattern matching to determine a closest match.", "They can be tuned according to examples, making them very attractive for use in AI.", "These examples are known as observations or patterns.", "In supervised learning, each pattern belongs to a certain predefined class.", "A class can be seen as a decision that has to be made.", "All the observations combined with their class labels are known as a data set.", "When a new observation is received, that observation is classified based on previous experience.", "A classifier can be trained in various ways; there are many statistical and machine learning approaches.", "The most widely used classifiers are the neural network,\nkernel methods such as the support vector machine,\nk-nearest neighbor algorithm,\nGaussian mixture model,\nnaive Bayes classifier,\nand decision tree.", "The performance of these classifiers have been compared over a wide range of tasks.", "Classifier performance depends greatly on the characteristics of the data to be classified.", "There is no single classifier that works best on all given problems; this is also referred to as the \"no free lunch\" theorem.", "Determining a suitable classifier for a given problem is still more an art than science.", "=== Neural networks ===\n\n\nA neural network is an interconnected group of nodes, akin to the vast network of neurons in the human brain.", "Neural networks are modeled after the neurons in the human brain, where a trained algorithm determines an output response for input signals.", ".", "The study of non-learning artificial neural networks began in the decade before the field of AI research was founded, in the work of Walter Pitts and Warren McCullouch.", "Frank Rosenblatt invented the perceptron, a learning network with a single layer, similar to the old concept of linear regression.", "Early pioneers also include Alexey Grigorevich Ivakhnenko, Teuvo Kohonen, Stephen Grossberg, Kunihiko Fukushima, Christoph von der Malsburg, David Willshaw, Shun-Ichi Amari, Bernard Widrow, John Hopfield, Eduardo R. Caianiello, and others.", "The main categories of networks are acyclic or feedforward neural networks (where the signal passes in only one direction) and recurrent neural networks (which allow feedback and short-term memories of previous input events).", "Among the most popular feedforward networks are perceptrons, multi-layer perceptrons and radial basis networks.", "Neural networks can be applied to the problem of intelligent control (for robotics) or learning, using such techniques as Hebbian learning, GMDH or competitive learning.", "Today, neural networks are often trained by the backpropagation algorithm, which had been around since 1970 as the reverse mode of automatic differentiation published by Seppo Linnainmaa, and was introduced to neural networks by Paul Werbos.", "Hierarchical temporal memory is an approach that models some of the structural and algorithmic properties of the neocortex.", "=== Deep feedforward neural networks ===\n\n\n\nDeep learning in artificial neural networks with many layers has transformed many important subfields of artificial intelligence, including computer vision, speech recognition, natural language processing and others.", "According to a survey, the expression \"Deep Learning\" was introduced to the Machine Learning community by Rina Dechter in 1986 and gained traction after\nIgor Aizenberg and colleagues introduced it to Artificial Neural Networks in 2000.", "The first functional Deep Learning networks were published by Alexey Grigorevich Ivakhnenko and V. G. Lapa in 1965.", "These networks are trained one layer at a time.", "Ivakhnenko's 1971 paper describes the learning of a deep feedforward multilayer perceptron with eight layers, already much deeper than many later networks.", "In 2006, a publication by Geoffrey Hinton and Ruslan Salakhutdinov introduced another way of pre-training many-layered feedforward neural networks (FNNs) one layer at a time, treating each layer in turn as an unsupervised restricted Boltzmann machine, then using supervised backpropagation for fine-tuning.", "Similar to shallow artificial neural networks, deep neural networks can model complex non-linear relationships.", "Over the last few years, advances in both machine learning algorithms and computer hardware have led to more efficient methods for training deep neural networks that contain many layers of non-linear hidden units and a very large output layer.", "Deep learning often uses convolutional neural networks (CNNs), whose origins can be traced back to the Neocognitron introduced by Kunihiko Fukushima in 1980.", "In 1989, Yann LeCun and colleagues applied backpropagation to such an architecture.", "In the early 2000s, in an industrial application CNNs already processed an estimated 10% to 20% of all the checks written in the US.", "Since 2011, fast implementations of CNNs on GPUs have\nwon many visual pattern recognition competitions.", "Deep feedforward neural networks were used in conjunction with reinforcement learning by AlphaGo, Google Deepmind's program that was the first to beat a professional human Go player.", "=== Deep recurrent neural networks ===\n\n\n\nEarly on, deep learning was also applied to sequence learning with recurrent neural networks (RNNs) which are general computers and can run arbitrary programs to process arbitrary sequences of inputs.", "The depth of an RNN is unlimited and depends on the length of its input sequence.", "RNNs can be trained by gradient descent but suffer from the vanishing gradient problem.", "In 1992, it was shown that unsupervised pre-training of a stack of recurrent neural networks can speed up subsequent supervised learning of deep sequential problems.", "Numerous researchers now use variants of a deep learning recurrent NN called the long short-term memory (LSTM) network published by Hochreiter & Schmidhuber in 1997.", "LSTM is often trained by Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC).", "At Google, Microsoft and Baidu this approach has revolutionised speech recognition.", "For example, in 2015, Google's speech recognition experienced a dramatic performance jump of 49% through CTC-trained LSTM, which is now available through Google Voice to billions of smartphone users.", "Google also used LSTM to improve machine translation, Language Modeling and Multilingual Language Processing.", "LSTM combined with CNNs also improved automatic image captioning and a plethora of other applications.", "=== Control theory ===\n\n\nControl theory, the grandchild of cybernetics, has many important applications, especially in robotics.", "=== Languages ===\n\n\n\n\nAI researchers have developed several specialized languages for AI research, including Lisp, Prolog, Python, and C++.", "=== Evaluating progress ===\n\nIn 1950, Alan Turing proposed a general procedure to test the intelligence of an agent now known as the Turing test.", "This procedure allows almost all the major problems of artificial intelligence to be tested.", "However, it is a very difficult challenge and at present all agents fail.", "Artificial intelligence can also be evaluated on specific problems such as small problems in chemistry, hand-writing recognition and game-playing.", "Such tests have been termed subject matter expert Turing tests.", "Smaller problems provide more achievable goals and there are an ever-increasing number of positive results.", "For example, performance at draughts (i.e.", "checkers) is optimal, performance at chess is high-human and nearing super-human (see computer chess: computers versus human) and performance at many everyday tasks (such as recognizing a face or crossing a room without bumping into something) is sub-human.", "A quite different approach measures machine intelligence through tests which are developed from ''mathematical'' definitions of intelligence.", "Examples of these kinds of tests start in the late nineties devising intelligence tests using notions from Kolmogorov complexity and data compression.", "Two major advantages of mathematical definitions are their applicability to nonhuman intelligences and their absence of a requirement for human testers.", "A derivative of the Turing test is the Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA).", "As the name implies, this helps to determine that a user is an actual person and not a computer posing as a human.", "In contrast to the standard Turing test, CAPTCHA administered by a machine and targeted to a human as opposed to being administered by a human and targeted to a machine.", "A computer asks a user to complete a simple test then generates a grade for that test.", "Computers are unable to solve the problem, so correct solutions are deemed to be the result of a person taking the test.", "A common type of CAPTCHA is the test that requires the typing of distorted letters, numbers or symbols that appear in an image undecipherable by a computer.", "An automated online assistant providing customer service on a web page – one of many very primitive applications of artificial intelligence.", "AI is relevant to any intellectual task.", "Modern artificial intelligence techniques are pervasive and are too numerous to list here.", "Frequently, when a technique reaches mainstream use, it is no longer considered artificial intelligence; this phenomenon is described as the AI effect.", "High-profile examples of AI include autonomous vehicles (such as drones and self-driving cars), medical diagnosis, creating art (such as poetry), proving mathematical theorems, playing games (such as Chess or Go), search engines (such as Google search), online assistants (such as Siri), image recognition in photographs, spam filtering, prediction of judicial decisions and targeting online advertisements.", "With social media sites overtaking TV as a source for news for young people and news organisations increasingly reliant on social media platforms for generating distribution, major publishers now use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to post stories more effectively and generate higher volumes of traffic.", "=== Competitions and prizes ===\n\nThere are a number of competitions and prizes to promote research in artificial intelligence.", "The main areas promoted are: general machine intelligence, conversational behavior, data-mining, robotic cars, robot soccer and games.", "=== Healthcare ===\n A patient side surgical arm of Da Vinci Surgical System.", "Artificial intelligence is breaking into the healthcare industry by assisting doctors.", "According to Bloomberg Technology, Microsoft has developed AI to help doctors find the right treatments for cancer.", "There is a great amount of research and drugs developed relating to cancer.", "In detail, there are more than 800 medicines and vaccines to treat cancer.", "This negatively affects the doctors, because there are too many options to choose from, making it more difficult to choose the right drugs for the patients.", "Microsoft is working on a project to develop a machine called \"Hanover\".", "Its goal is to memorize all the papers necessary to cancer and help predict which combinations of drugs will be most effective for each patient.", "One project that is being worked on at the moment is fighting myeloid leukemia, a fatal cancer where the treatment has not improved in decades.", "Another study was reported to have found that artificial intelligence was as good as trained doctors in identifying skin cancers.", "Another study is using artificial intelligence to try and monitor multiple high-risk patients, and this is done by asking each patient numerous questions based on data acquired from live doctor to patient interactions.", "According to CNN, there was a recent study by surgeons at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington which successfully demonstrated surgery with an autonomous robot.", "The team supervised the robot while it performed soft-tissue surgery, stitching together a pig's bowel during open surgery, and doing so better than a human surgeon, the team claimed.", "IBM has created its own artificial intelligence computer, the IBM Watson which has beaten human intelligence in many level.", "Watson was taken to a game show jeopardy to test its intelligence and was able to win the game show against the jeopardy champions.", "Watson did not just won Jeopardy against the champions but, Watson was declare a hero when he was able to successfully diagnosed a women who was suffering from leukemia.", "=== Automotive ===\nAdvancements in AI have contributed to the growth of the automotive industry through the creation and evolution of self-driving vehicles.", "As of 2016, there are over 30 companies utilizing AI into the creation of driverless cars.", "A few companies involved with AI include Tesla, Google, and Apple.", "Many components contribute to the functioning of self-driving cars.", "These vehicles incorporate systems such as braking, lane changing, collision prevention, navigation and mapping.", "Together, these systems, as well as high performance computers are integrated into one complex vehicle.", "Recent developments in autonomous automobiles have made the innovation of self-driving trucks possible, though the they are still in the testing phase.", "The UK government has passed legislation to begin testing of self-driving truck platoons in 2018.", "Self-driving truck platoons are a fleet of self-driving trucks following the lead of one non-self-driving truck, so the truck platoons aren't entirely autonomous yet.", "Meanwhile, the Daimler, a German automobile corporation, is testing the Freightliner Inspiration which is a semi-autonomous truck that will only be used on the highway.", "One main factor that influences the ability for a driver-less automobiles to function is mapping.", "In general, the vehicle would be pre-programmed with a map of the area being driven.", "This map would include data on the approximations of street light and curb heights in order for the vehicle to be aware of its surroundings.", "However, Google has been working on an algorithm with the purpose of eliminating the need for pre-programmed maps and instead, creating a device that would be able to adjust to a variety of new surroundings.", "Some self-driving cars are not equipped with steering wheels or brakes, so there has also been research focused on creating an algorithm that is capable of maintaining a safe environment for the passengers in the vehicle through awareness of speed and driving conditions.", "=== Finance ===\nFinancial institutions have long used artificial neural network systems to detect charges or claims outside of the norm, flagging these for human investigation.", "Apps like Kasisito and Moneystream are using AI in financial services.", "Banks use artificial intelligence systems today to organize operations, maintain book-keeping, invest in stocks, and manage properties.", "AI can react to changes overnight or when business is not taking place.", "In August 2001, robots beat humans in a simulated financial trading competition.", "AI has also reduced fraud and financial crimes by monitoring behavioral patterns of users for any abnormal changes or anomalies.", "=== Video games ===\n\nArtificial intelligence is used to generate intelligent behaviors primarily in non-player characters (NPCs), often simulating human-like intelligence.", "A platform (or \"computing platform\") is defined as \"some sort of hardware architecture or software framework (including application frameworks), that allows software to run\".", "As Rodney Brooks pointed out many years ago, it is not just the artificial intelligence software that defines the AI features of the platform, but rather the actual platform itself that affects the AI that results, i.e., there needs to be work in AI problems on real-world platforms rather than in isolation.", "A wide variety of platforms has allowed different aspects of AI to develop, ranging from expert systems such as Cyc to deep-learning frameworks to robot platforms such as the Roomba with open interface.", "Recent advances in deep artificial neural networks and distributed computing have led to a proliferation of software libraries, including Deeplearning4j, TensorFlow, Theano and Torch.", "Collective AI is a platform architecture that combines individual AI into a collective entity, in order to achieve global results from individual behaviors.", "With its collective structure, developers can crowdsource information and extend the functionality of existing AI domains on the platform for their own use, as well as continue to create and share new domains and capabilities for the wider community and greater good.", "As developers continue to contribute, the overall platform grows more intelligent and is able to perform more requests, providing a scalable model for greater communal benefit.", "Organizations like SoundHound Inc. and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have used this collaborative AI model.", "=== Partnership on AI ===\nAmazon, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft have established a non-profit partnership to formulate best practices on artificial intelligence technologies, advance the public's understanding, and to serve as a platform about artificial intelligence.", "They stated: \"This partnership on AI will conduct research, organize discussions, provide thought leadership, consult with relevant third parties, respond to questions from the public and media, and create educational material that advance the understanding of AI technologies including machine perception, learning, and automated reasoning.\"", "Apple joined other tech companies as a founding member of the Partnership on AI in January 2017.", "The corporate members will make financial and research contributions to the group, while engaging with the scientific community to bring academics onto the board.", "\nThere are three philosophical questions related to AI:\n# Is artificial general intelligence possible?", "Can a machine solve any problem that a human being can solve using intelligence?", "Or are there hard limits to what a machine can accomplish?", "# Are intelligent machines dangerous?", "How can we ensure that machines behave ethically and that they are used ethically?", "# Can a machine have a mind, consciousness and mental states in exactly the same sense that human beings do?", "Can a machine be sentient, and thus deserve certain rights?", "Can a machine intentionally cause harm?", "=== The limits of artificial general intelligence ===\n\n\nCan a machine be intelligent?", "Can it \"think\"?", ";''Alan Turing's \"polite convention\"'': We need not decide if a machine can \"think\"; we need only decide if a machine can act as intelligently as a human being.", "This approach to the philosophical problems associated with artificial intelligence forms the basis of the Turing test.", ";''The Dartmouth proposal'': \"Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it.\"", "This conjecture was printed in the proposal for the Dartmouth Conference of 1956, and represents the position of most working AI researchers.", ";''Newell and Simon's physical symbol system hypothesis'': \"A physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means of general intelligent action.\"", "Newell and Simon argue that intelligence consists of formal operations on symbols.", "Hubert Dreyfus argued that, on the contrary, human expertise depends on unconscious instinct rather than conscious symbol manipulation and on having a \"feel\" for the situation rather than explicit symbolic knowledge.", "(See Dreyfus' critique of AI.)", ";''Gödelian arguments'': Gödel himself, John Lucas (in 1961) and Roger Penrose (in a more detailed argument from 1989 onwards) made highly technical arguments that human mathematicians can consistently see the truth of their own \"Gödel statements\" and therefore have computational abilities beyond that of mechanical Turing machines.", "However, the modern consensus in the scientific and mathematical community is that these \"Gödelian arguments\" fail.", ";''The artificial brain argument'': The brain can be simulated by machines and because brains are intelligent, simulated brains must also be intelligent; thus machines can be intelligent.", "Hans Moravec, Ray Kurzweil and others have argued that it is technologically feasible to copy the brain directly into hardware and software, and that such a simulation will be essentially identical to the original.", ";''The AI effect'': Machines are ''already'' intelligent, but observers have failed to recognize it.", "When Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in chess, the machine was acting intelligently.", "However, onlookers commonly discount the behavior of an artificial intelligence program by arguing that it is not \"real\" intelligence after all; thus \"real\" intelligence is whatever intelligent behavior people can do that machines still cannot.", "This is known as the AI Effect: \"AI is whatever hasn't been done yet.\"", "=== Potential risks and moral reasoning ===\n\nWidespread use of artificial intelligence could have unintended consequences that are dangerous or undesirable.", "Scientists from the Future of Life Institute, among others, described some short-term research goals to be how AI influences the economy, the laws and ethics that are involved with AI and how to minimize AI security risks.", "In the long-term, the scientists have proposed to continue optimizing function while minimizing possible security risks that come along with new technologies.", "Machines with intelligence have the potential to use their intelligence to make ethical decisions.", "Research in this area includes \"machine ethics\", \"artificial moral agents\", and the study of \"malevolent vs. friendly AI\".", "==== Existential risk ====\n\n\nA common concern about the development of artificial intelligence is the potential threat it could pose to mankind.", "This concern has recently gained attention after mentions by celebrities including Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk.", "A group of prominent tech titans including Peter Thiel, Amazon Web Services and Musk have committed $1billion to OpenAI a nonprofit company aimed at championing responsible AI development.", "The opinion of experts within the field of artificial intelligence is mixed, with sizable fractions both concerned and unconcerned by risk from eventual superhumanly-capable AI.", "In his book ''Superintelligence'', Nick Bostrom provides an argument that artificial intelligence will pose a threat to mankind.", "He argues that sufficiently intelligent AI, if it chooses actions based on achieving some goal, will exhibit convergent behavior such as acquiring resources or protecting itself from being shut down.", "If this AI's goals do not reflect humanity's - one example is an AI told to compute as many digits of pi as possible - it might harm humanity in order to acquire more resources or prevent itself from being shut down, ultimately to better achieve its goal.", "For this danger to be realized, the hypothetical AI would have to overpower or out-think all of humanity, which a minority of experts argue is a possibility far enough in the future to not be worth researching.", "Other counterarguments revolve around humans being either intrinsically or convergently valuable from the perspective of an artificial intelligence.", "Concern over risk from artificial intelligence has led to some high-profile donations and investments.", "In January 2015, Elon Musk donated ten million dollars to the Future of Life Institute to fund research on understanding AI decision making.", "The goal of the institute is to \"grow wisdom with which we manage\" the growing power of technology.", "Musk also funds companies developing artificial intelligence such as Google DeepMind and Vicarious to \"just keep an eye on what's going on with artificial intelligence.", "I think there is potentially a dangerous outcome there.\"", "Development of militarized artificial intelligence is a related concern.", "Currently, 50+ countries are researching battlefield robots, including the United States, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom.", "Many people concerned about risk from superintelligent AI also want to limit the use of artificial soldiers.", "==== Devaluation of humanity ====\n\nJoseph Weizenbaum wrote that AI applications cannot, by definition, successfully simulate genuine human empathy and that the use of AI technology in fields such as customer service or psychotherapy was deeply misguided.", "Weizenbaum was also bothered that AI researchers (and some philosophers) were willing to view the human mind as nothing more than a computer program (a position now known as computationalism).", "To Weizenbaum these points suggest that AI research devalues human life.", "==== Decrease in demand for human labor ====\nMartin Ford, author of ''The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future'', and others argue that specialized artificial intelligence applications, robotics and other forms of automation will ultimately result in significant unemployment as machines begin to match and exceed the capability of workers to perform most routine and repetitive jobs.", "Ford predicts that many knowledge-based occupations—and in particular entry level jobs—will be increasingly susceptible to automation via expert systems, machine learning and other AI-enhanced applications.", "AI-based applications may also be used to amplify the capabilities of low-wage offshore workers, making it more feasible to outsource knowledge work.", "==== Artificial moral agents ====\nThis raises the issue of how ethically the machine should behave towards both humans and other AI agents.", "This issue was addressed by Wendell Wallach in his book titled ''Moral Machines'' in which he introduced the concept of artificial moral agents (AMA).", "For Wallach, AMAs have become a part of the research landscape of artificial intelligence as guided by its two central questions which he identifies as \"Does Humanity Want Computers Making Moral Decisions\" and \"Can (Ro)bots Really Be Moral\".", "For Wallach the question is not centered on the issue of ''whether'' machines can demonstrate the equivalent of moral behavior in contrast to the ''constraints'' which society may place on the development of AMAs.", "==== Machine ethics ====\n\nThe field of machine ethics is concerned with giving machines ethical principles, or a procedure for discovering a way to resolve the ethical dilemmas they might encounter, enabling them to function in an ethically responsible manner through their own ethical decision making.", "The field was delineated in the AAAI Fall 2005 Symposium on Machine Ethics: \"Past research concerning the relationship between technology and ethics has largely focused on responsible and irresponsible use of technology by human beings, with a few people being interested in how human beings ought to treat machines.", "In all cases, only human beings have engaged in ethical reasoning.", "The time has come for adding an ethical dimension to at least some machines.", "Recognition of the ethical ramifications of behavior involving machines, as well as recent and potential developments in machine autonomy, necessitate this.", "In contrast to computer hacking, software property issues, privacy issues and other topics normally ascribed to computer ethics, machine ethics is concerned with the behavior of machines towards human users and other machines.", "Research in machine ethics is key to alleviating concerns with autonomous systems—it could be argued that the notion of autonomous machines without such a dimension is at the root of all fear concerning machine intelligence.", "Further, investigation of machine ethics could enable the discovery of problems with current ethical theories, advancing our thinking about Ethics.\"", "Machine ethics is sometimes referred to as machine morality, computational ethics or computational morality.", "A variety of perspectives of this nascent field can be found in the collected edition \"Machine Ethics\" that stems from the AAAI Fall 2005 Symposium on Machine Ethics.", "==== Malevolent and friendly AI ====\n\nPolitical scientist Charles T. Rubin believes that AI can be neither designed nor guaranteed to be benevolent.", "He argues that \"any sufficiently advanced benevolence may be indistinguishable from malevolence.\"", "Humans should not assume machines or robots would treat us favorably, because there is no ''a priori'' reason to believe that they would be sympathetic to our system of morality, which has evolved along with our particular biology (which AIs would not share).", "Hyper-intelligent software may not necessarily decide to support the continued existence of mankind, and would be extremely difficult to stop.", "This topic has also recently begun to be discussed in academic publications as a real source of risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth.", "Physicist Stephen Hawking, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have expressed concerns about the possibility that AI could evolve to the point that humans could not control it, with Hawking theorizing that this could \"spell the end of the human race\".", "One proposal to deal with this is to ensure that the first generally intelligent AI is 'Friendly AI', and will then be able to control subsequently developed AIs.", "Some question whether this kind of check could really remain in place.", "Leading AI researcher Rodney Brooks writes, \"I think it is a mistake to be worrying about us developing malevolent AI anytime in the next few hundred years.", "I think the worry stems from a fundamental error in not distinguishing the difference between the very real recent advances in a particular aspect of AI, and the enormity and complexity of building sentient volitional intelligence.\"", "=== Machine consciousness, sentience and mind ===\n\nIf an AI system replicates all key aspects of human intelligence, will that system also be sentient – will it have a mind which has conscious experiences?", "This question is closely related to the philosophical problem as to the nature of human consciousness, generally referred to as the hard problem of consciousness.", "==== Consciousness ====\n\n\n\n==== Computationalism and functionalism ====\n\nComputationalism is the position in the philosophy of mind that the human mind or the human brain (or both) is an information processing system and that thinking is a form of computing.", "Computationalism argues that the relationship between mind and body is similar or identical to the relationship between software and hardware and thus may be a solution to the mind-body problem.", "This philosophical position was inspired by the work of AI researchers and cognitive scientists in the 1960s and was originally proposed by philosophers Jerry Fodor and Hilary Putnam.", "==== Strong AI hypothesis ====\n\nThe philosophical position that John Searle has named \"strong AI\" states: \"The appropriately programmed computer with the right inputs and outputs would thereby have a mind in exactly the same sense human beings have minds.\"", "Searle counters this assertion with his Chinese room argument, which asks us to look ''inside'' the computer and try to find where the \"mind\" might be.", "==== Robot rights ====\n\nMary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' considers a key issue in the ethics of artificial intelligence: if a machine can be created that has intelligence, could it also ''feel''?", "If it can feel, does it have the same rights as a human?", "The idea also appears in modern science fiction, such as the film ''A.I.", ": Artificial Intelligence'', in which humanoid machines have the ability to feel emotions.", "This issue, now known as \"robot rights\", is currently being considered by, for example, California's Institute for the Future, although many critics believe that the discussion is premature.", "Some critics of transhumanism argue that any hypothetical robot rights would lie on a spectrum with animal rights and human rights.", "The subject is profoundly discussed in the 2010 documentary film ''Plug & Pray''.", "=== Superintelligence ===\n\nAre there limits to how intelligent machines – or human-machine hybrids – can be?", "A superintelligence, hyperintelligence, or superhuman intelligence is a hypothetical agent that would possess intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human mind.", "‘’Superintelligence’’ may also refer to the form or degree of intelligence possessed by such an agent.", "==== Technological singularity ====\n\nIf research into Strong AI produced sufficiently intelligent software, it might be able to reprogram and improve itself.", "The improved software would be even better at improving itself, leading to recursive self-improvement.", "The new intelligence could thus increase exponentially and dramatically surpass humans.", "Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge named this scenario \"singularity\".", "Technological singularity is when accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing or even ending civilization.", "Because the capabilities of such an intelligence may be impossible to comprehend, the technological singularity is an occurrence beyond which events are unpredictable or even unfathomable.", "Ray Kurzweil has used Moore's law (which describes the relentless exponential improvement in digital technology) to calculate that desktop computers will have the same processing power as human brains by the year 2029, and predicts that the singularity will occur in 2045.", "==== Transhumanism ====\n\n\nRobot designer Hans Moravec, cyberneticist Kevin Warwick and inventor Ray Kurzweil have predicted that humans and machines will merge in the future into cyborgs that are more capable and powerful than either.", "This idea, called transhumanism, which has roots in Aldous Huxley and Robert Ettinger, has been illustrated in fiction as well, for example in the manga ''Ghost in the Shell'' and the science-fiction series ''Dune''.", "In the 1980s artist Hajime Sorayama's Sexy Robots series were painted and published in Japan depicting the actual organic human form with lifelike muscular metallic skins and later \"the Gynoids\" book followed that was used by or influenced movie makers including George Lucas and other creatives.", "Sorayama never considered these organic robots to be real part of nature but always unnatural product of the human mind, a fantasy existing in the mind even when realized in actual form.", "Edward Fredkin argues that \"artificial intelligence is the next stage in evolution\", an idea first proposed by Samuel Butler's \"Darwin among the Machines\" (1863), and expanded upon by George Dyson in his book of the same name in 1998.", "\n\nThought-capable artificial beings have appeared as storytelling devices since antiquity.", "The implications of a constructed machine exhibiting artificial intelligence have been a persistent theme in science fiction since the twentieth century.", "Early stories typically revolved around intelligent robots.", "The word \"robot\" itself was coined by Karel Čapek in his 1921 play ''R.U.R.", "'', the title standing for \"Rossum's Universal Robots\".", "Later, the SF writer Isaac Asimov developed the Three Laws of Robotics which he subsequently explored in a long series of robot stories.", "Asimov's laws are often brought up during layman discussions of machine ethics; while almost all artificial intelligence researchers are familiar with Asimov's laws through popular culture, they generally consider the laws useless for many reasons, one of which is their ambiguity.", "The novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", "'', by Philip K. Dick, tells a science fiction story about Androids and humans clashing in a futuristic world.", "Elements of artificial intelligence include the empathy box, mood organ, and the androids themselves.", "Throughout the novel, Dick portrays the idea that human subjectivity is altered by technology created with artificial intelligence.", "Nowadays AI is firmly rooted in popular culture; intelligent robots appear in innumerable works.", "HAL, the murderous computer in charge of the spaceship in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), is an example of the common \"robotic rampage\" archetype in science fiction movies.", "''The Terminator'' (1984) and ''The Matrix'' (1999) provide additional widely familiar examples.", "In contrast, the rare loyal robots such as Gort from ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1951) and Bishop from ''Aliens'' (1986) are less prominent in popular culture.", "\n* Abductive reasoning\n* Case-based reasoning\n* Commonsense reasoning\n* Emergent algorithm\n* Evolutionary computing\n* Glossary of artificial intelligence\n* Machine learning\n* Mathematical optimization\n* Soft computing\n* Swarm intelligence", "\n=== AI textbooks ===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .", "* .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n=== History of AI ===\n\n* .", "* .", "* \n* \n\n\n=== Other sources ===\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* BibTex .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* In \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Cited by .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* .", "* Presidential Address to the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Later published as\n* \n* \n* \n* .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "* TechCast Article Series, John Sagi, \"Framing Consciousness\"\n* Boden, Margaret, ''Mind As Machine'', Oxford University Press, 2006\n* Gopnik, Alison, \"Making AI More Human: Artificial intelligence has staged a revival by starting to incorporate what we know about how children learn\", ''Scientific American'', vol.", "316, no.", "6 (June 2017), pp. 60–65.", "* Johnston, John (2008) ''The Allure of Machinic Life: Cybernetics, Artificial Life, and the New AI'', MIT Press\n* Marcus, Gary, \"Am I Human?", ": Researchers need new ways to distinguish artificial intelligence from the natural kind\", ''Scientific American'', vol.", "316, no.", "3 (March 2017), pp. 58–63.", "''Multiple'' tests of artificial-intelligence efficacy are needed because, \"just as there is no single test of athletic prowess, there cannot be one ultimate test of intelligence.\"", "One such test, a \"Construction Challenge\", would test perception and physical action—\"two important elements of intelligent behavior that were entirely absent from the original Turing test.\"", "Another proposal has been to give machines the same standardized tests of science and other disciplines that schoolchildren take.", "A so far insuperable stumbling block to artificial intelligence is an incapacity for reliable disambiguation.", "\"Virtually every sentence that people generate is ambiguous, often in multiple ways.\"", "A prominent example is known as the \"pronoun disambiguation problem\": a machine has no way of determining to whom or what a pronoun in a sentence—such as \"he\", \"she\" or \"it\"—refers.", "* Myers, Courtney Boyd ed.", "(2009).", "\"The AI Report\".", "''Forbes'' June 2009\n* \n* \n* \n* Sun, R. & Bookman, L.", "(eds.", "), ''Computational Architectures: Integrating Neural and Symbolic Processes''.", "Kluwer Academic Publishers, Needham, MA.", "1994.", "*", "\n* What Is AI?", "– An introduction to artificial intelligence by John McCarthy—a co-founder of the field, and the person who coined the term.", "* The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence Volume Ⅰ by Avron Barr and Edward A. Feigenbaum (Stanford University)\n* \n* \n* \n* AITopics – A large directory of links and other resources maintained by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the leading organization of academic AI researchers." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n", "* 286 – Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.\n* 325 – Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age 4, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.\n* 457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army.\n* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.\n* 528 – The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei was made the \"Emperor\" as a male heir of the late emperor by Empress Dowager Hu, deposed and replaced by Yuan Zhao the next day; she was the first female monarch in the History of China, but not widely recognised.\n*1293 – Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.\n*1318 – Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by Scotland from England.\n*1340 – Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 ''interregnum'' in Denmark.\n*1545 – Potosí is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.\n*1572 – In the Eighty Years' War, the ''Watergeuzen'' capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.\n*1625 – A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet of 52 ships commences the recapture of Bahia from the Dutch during the Dutch–Portuguese War.\n*1789 – In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.\n*1826 – Samuel Morey received a patent for a compressionless \"Gas or Vapor Engine\".\n*1833 – The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin\n*1854 – Charles Dickens' novel ''Hard Times'' begins serialisation in his magazine ''Household Words''.\n*1865 – American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia's last supply line.\n*1867 – Singapore becomes a British crown colony.\n*1873 – The White Star steamer sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.\n*1889 – The University of Northern Colorado was established, as the Colorado State Normal School.\n*1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.\n*1893 – The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.\n*1908 – The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.\n*1918 – The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.\n*1924 – Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years imprisonment for his participation in the \"Beer Hall Putsch\" but spends only nine months in jail.\n* 1924 – The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.\n*1933 – The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.\n*1935 – India's central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India is formed.\n*1937 – Aden becomes a British crown colony.\n* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Jaén, Spain is bombed by German fascist forces, supporting Francoist Nationalists. \n*1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.\n*1941 – Fântâna Albă massacre: Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.\n* 1941 – A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.\n*1944 – Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.\n*1945 – World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.\n*1946 – The 8.6 Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (''Strong''). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.\n* 1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.\n*1948 – Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.\n* 1948 – Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.\n*1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Nationalist Party in Beijing, after three years of fighting.\n* 1949 – The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.\n*1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.\n*1955 – The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.\n*1960 – The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.\n*1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General's warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, effective 1 January 1971.\n*1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.\n*1973 – Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.\n*1974 – The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.\n*1976 – Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California, USA.\n*1978 – The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.\n*1979 – Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.\n*1986 – Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.\n*1989 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the \"poll tax\"), is introduced in Scotland.\n*1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.\n*1999 – Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.\n*2001 – An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.\n* 2001 – Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.\n* 2001 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.\n*2004 – Google announces Gmail to the public.\n*2011 – After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.\n*2016 – Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: The Four Day War or April War, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on April 1.\n", "*1220 – Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)\n*1282 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1347)\n*1328 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1382)\n*1543 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières (d. 1626)\n*1578 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (d. 1657)\n*1610 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier and critic (d. 1703)\n*1629 – Jean-Henri d'Anglebert, French organist and composer (d. 1691)\n*1640 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1697)\n*1647 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (d. 1680)\n*1697 – Antoine François Prévost, French novelist and translator (d. 1763)\n*1721 – Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)\n*1741 – George Dance the Younger, English architect and surveyor (d. 1825)\n*1753 – Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1821)\n*1755 – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French lawyer and politician (d. 1826)\n*1765 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1810)\n*1776 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (d. 1831)\n*1786 – William Mulready, Irish genre painter (d. 1863)\n*1815 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898)\n* 1815 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (d. 1880)\n*1823 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1891)\n*1824 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (d. 1901)\n*1834 – James Fisk, American businessman (d. 1872)\n*1852 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (d. 1911)\n*1856 – Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)\n*1865 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)\n*1866 – William Blomfield, New Zealand cartoonist and politician (d. 1938)\n* 1866 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)\n* 1866 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (d. 1929) \n*1868 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (d. 1918)\n* 1868 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (d. 1954)\n*1871 – F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist and conductor (d. 1955)\n*1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1943)\n*1874 – Ernest Barnes, English mathematician and theologian (d. 1953)\n* 1874 – Prince Karl of Bavaria (d. 1927)\n*1875 – Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1932)\n*1878 – C. Ganesha Iyer, Ceylon Tamil philologist (d. 1958)\n*1879 – Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (d. 1967)\n*1881 – Octavian Goga, Romanian Prime Minister (d. 1938)\n*1883 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1930)\n* 1883 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (d. 1976) \n* 1883 – Laurette Taylor, Irish-American actress (d. 1946)\n*1885 – Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)\n* 1885 – Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (d. 1977)\n*1889 – K. B. Hedgewar, Indian physician and activist (d. 1940)\n*1893 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-English actress (d. 1980)\n*1895 – Alberta Hunter, African-American singer-songwriter and nurse (d. 1984)\n*1898 – William James Sidis, Ukrainian-Russian Jewish American mathematician, anthropologist, and historian (d. 1944)\n*1899 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian academic and politician (d. 1968)\n*1901 – Whittaker Chambers, American journalist and spy (d. 1961)\n*1905 – Gaston Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1988)\n* 1905 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian, poet, and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1993)\n*1906 – Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer, founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau (d. 1989)\n*1907 – Shivakumara Swami, Indian religious leader and philanthropist\n*1908 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (d. 1970)\n* 1908 – Harlow Rothert, American shot putter, lawyer, and academic (d. 1997)\n*1909 – Abner Biberman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)\n* 1909 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1951)\n*1910 – Harry Carney, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1974)\n* 1910 – Bob Van Osdel, American high jumper and soldier (d. 1987)\n*1913 – Memos Makris, Greek sculptor (d. 1993)\n*1915 – O. W. Fischer, Austrian-Swiss actor and director (d. 2004)\n*1916 – Sheila May Edmonds, British mathematician (d. 2002)\n*1917 – Sydney Newman, Canadian screenwriter and producer, co-created ''Doctor Who'' (d. 1997)\n* 1917 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)\n*1919 – Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)\n*1920 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)\n*1921 – William Bergsma, American composer and educator (d. 1994)\n* 1921 – Arthur \"Guitar Boogie\" Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (d. 2014)\n*1922 – Duke Jordan, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)\n* 1922 – William Manchester, American historian and author (d. 2004)\n*1924 – Brendan Byrne, American lieutenant, judge, and politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey\n*1926 – Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish author (d. 2011)\n*1927 – Walter Bahr, American soccer player, coach, and manager\n* 1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2006)\n*1929 – Jonathan Haze, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and production manager\n* 1929 – Milan Kundera, Czech-born novelist, poet, and playwright\n* 1929 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (d. 2010)\n* 1929 – Jane Powell, American actress, singer, and dancer\n*1930 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (d. 2015)\n*1931 – George Baker, Bulgarian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2011)\n* 1931 – Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright\n*1932 – Debbie Reynolds, Scottish-Irish American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2016)\n*1933 – Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n* 1933 – Dan Flavin, American sculptor and educator (d. 1996)\n*1934 – Vladimir Posner, French-American journalist and radio host\n*1935 – Larry McDonald, American physician and politician (d. 1983)\n*1936 – Peter Collinson, English-American director and producer (d. 1980)\n* 1936 – Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, 80th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1998)\n* 1936 – Tarun Gogoi, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Assam\n* 1936 – Abdul Qadeer Khan, Indian-Pakistani physicist, chemist, and engineer\n*1939 – Ali MacGraw, American model and actress\n* 1939 – Phil Niekro, American baseball player and manager\n*1940 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)\n*1941 – Gideon Gadot, Israeli journalist and politician (d. 2012)\n* 1941 – Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer, coach, and manager\n*1942 – Samuel R. Delany, American author and critic\n* 1942 – Richard D. Wolff, American economist and academic\n*1943 – Dafydd Wigley, Welsh academic and politician\n*1946 – Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Health and Social Security\n* 1946 – Ronnie Lane, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 1997)\n* 1946 – Arrigo Sacchi, Italian footballer, coach, and manager\n*1947 – Alain Connes, French mathematician and academic\n* 1947 – Philippe Kirsch, Canadian lawyer and judge\n* 1947 – Francine Prose, American novelist, short story writer, and critic\n* 1947 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n*1948 – Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer and musician\n*1949 – Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman\n* 1949 – Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer and coach\n* 1949 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 2011)\n*1950 – Samuel Alito, American lawyer and jurist\n* 1950 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (d. 2010)\n* 1950 – Daniel Paillé, Canadian academic and politician\n*1951 – John Abizaid, American general\n* 1951 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (d. 2014)\n*1952 – Annette O'Toole, American actress \n* 1952 – Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher and academic\n*1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld, American cinematographer, director, and producer\n* 1953 – Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian footballer and manager\n*1954 – Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1992)\n*1955 – Don Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster\n* 1955 – Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani politician, 5th Commerce Minister of Pakistan\n* 1955 – Terry Nichols, American criminal\n*1957 – David Gower, English cricketer and sportscaster \n*1959 – Helmuth Duckadam, Romanian footballer\n*1961 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer \n* 1961 – Mark White, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1962 – Mark Shulman, American author\n*1962 – Chris Grayling, English journalist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain\n* 1962 – Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player and manager\n* 1962 – Phillip Schofield, English television host\n*1963 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (d. 1988)\n* 1963 – Aprille Ericsson-Jackson American aerospace engineer\n*1964 – Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager\n* 1964 – Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)\n* 1964 – John Morris, English cricketer\n* 1964 – José Rodrigues dos Santos, Portuguese journalist, author, and educator\n*1965 – Jane Adams, American film, television, and stage actress\n* 1965 – Mark Jackson, American basketball player and coach\n*1966 – Chris Evans, English radio and television host\n* 1966 – Mehmet Özdilek, Turkish footballer and manager\n*1967 – Nicola Roxon, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Attorney-General for Australia\n*1968 – Mike Baird, Australian politician, 44th Premier of New South Wales\n* 1968 – Andreas Schnaas, German actor and director\n* 1968 – Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland\n*1969 – Lev Lobodin, Ukrainian-Russian decathlete\n* 1969 – Dean Windass, English footballer and manager\n*1970 – Brad Meltzer, American author, screenwriter, and producer\n*1971 – Sonia Bisset, Cuban javelin thrower\n* 1971 – Shinji Nakano, Japanese race car driver\n*1972 – Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1972 – Jesse Tobias, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1973 – Christian Finnegan, American comedian and actor\n* 1973 – Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer and coach\n* 1973 – Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author\n*1974 – Hugo Ibarra, Argentinian footballer and manager\n* 1974 – Sandra Völker, German swimmer\n*1975 – John Butler, American-Australian singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1975 – Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player\n*1976 – Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian rugby league player and educator\n* 1976 – David Gilliland, American race car driver\n* 1976 – David Oyelowo, English actor \n* 1976 – Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Yuka Yoshida, Japanese tennis player\n*1977 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian-American boxer and mixed martial artist\n* 1977 – Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist\n*1978 – Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (d. 2009)\n* 1978 – Mirka Federer, Slovak-Swiss tennis player\n* 1978 – Anamaria Marinca, Romanian-English actress\n* 1978 – Etan Thomas, American basketball player\n*1979 – Ruth Beitia, Spanish high jumper\n*1980 – Dennis Kruppke, German footballer\n* 1980 – Randy Orton, American wrestler \n* 1980 – Bijou Phillips, American actress and model\n*1981 – Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player\n* 1981 – Bjørn Einar Romøren, Norwegian ski jumper\n*1982 – Taran Killam, American actor, voice artist, comedian, and writer\n* 1982 – Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower\n*1983 – Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer\n* 1983 – Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)\n*1984 – Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer\n*1985 – Daniel Murphy, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Beth Tweddle, English gymnast\n*1986 – Hillary Scott, American country singer-songwriter \n*1987 – Gianluca Musacci, Italian footballer\n* 1987 – Oliver Turvey, English race car driver\n*1988 – Brook Lopez, American basketball player\n* 1988 – Robin Lopez, American basketball player\n*1989 – Jan Blokhuijsen, Dutch speed skater\n* 1989 – David N'Gog, French footballer\n* 1989 – Christian Vietoris, German race car driver\n*1990 – Julia Fischer, German discus thrower\n*1992 – Deng Linlin, Chinese gymnast\n*1994 – Ella Eyre, English singer-songwriter\n* 1997 – Álex Palou, Spanish racing driver\n*1997 – Asa Butterfield, English actor\n\n", "*996 – Pope John XV\n*1085 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (b. 1048)\n*1132 – Hugh of Châteauneuf, French bishop and saint (b. 1053)\n*1204 – Eleanor of Aquitaine (b. 1122)\n*1205 – Amalric II of Jerusalem (b. 1145)\n*1282 – Abaqa Khan, khan of the Mongol Ilkhanate\n*1431 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general and religious figure\n*1441 – Blanche I of Navarre, Queen of Navarre\n*1455 – Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Polish cardinal and statesman (b. 1389)\n*1528 – Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer (b. 1470)\n*1548 – King Sigismund I the Old of Poland (b. 1467)\n*1549 – Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville, French princess (d. 1601)\n*1580 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1510)\n*1621 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter and educator (b. 1577)\n*1682 – Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian bishop (b. 1625)\n*1787 – Floyer Sydenham, English scholar and academic (b. 1710)\n*1839 – Benjamin Pierce, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1757)\n*1865 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1797)\n*1872 – Frederick Denison Maurice, English theologian and academic (b. 1805)\n*1878 – John C.W. Daly, English-Canadian soldier and politician (b. 1796)\n*1890 – David Wilber, American politician (b. 1820)\n* 1890 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier, pilot, and engineer (b. 1825)\n*1914 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b. 1876)\n* 1914 – Charles Wells, English founder of Charles Wells Ltd (b. 1842)\n*1917 – Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (b. 1868)\n*1920 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (b. 1857)\n*1922 – Charles I of Austria (b. 1887)\n* 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist and author (b. 1884)\n*1924 – Jacob Bolotin, American physician (b. 1888)\n*1924 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (b. 1870)\n* 1924 – Stan Rowley, Australian sprinter (b. 1876)\n*1946 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b. 1882)\n*1947 – George II of Greece (b. 1890)\n*1950 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (b. 1904)\n* 1950 – Recep Peker, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1889)\n*1962 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain and businessman (b. 1910)\n*1965 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (b. 1870)\n*1966 – Brian O'Nolan, Irish author (b. 1911)\n*1968 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)\n*1976 – Max Ernst, German painter and sculptor (b. 1891)\n*1981 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai singer-songwriter and bandleader (b. 1910)\n*1984 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (b. 1939)\n* 1984 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author (b. 1900)\n*1986 – Erik Bruhn, Danish actor, director, and choreographer (b. 1928)\n*1987 – Henri Cochet, French tennis player (b. 1901)\n*1991 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)\n* 1991 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1946)\n*1992 – Michael Havers, Baron Havers, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1923)\n*1993 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)\n*1994 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b. 1912)\n*1995 – H. Adams Carter, American mountaineer, journalist, and educator (b. 1914)\n* 1995 – Lucie Rie, Austrian-English potter (b. 1902)\n*1997 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1912)\n*1998 – Rozz Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1963)\n*1999 – Jesse Stone, American pianist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1901)\n*2001 – Trịnh Công Sơn, Vietnamese guitarist and composer (b. 1939)\n*2002 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (b. 1905)\n*2004 – Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)\n* 2004 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1945)\n*2005 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b 1925)\n* 2005 – Robert Coldwell Wood, American political scientist and academic (b. 1923)\n*2006 – In Tam, Cambodian general and politician, 26th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1916)\n*2010 – John Forsythe, American actor (b. 1918)\n* 2010 – Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek soldier and politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1927)\n*2012 – Lionel Bowen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1922)\n* 2012 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian-American soccer player and radio host (b. 1947)\n* 2012 – Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican banker, academic, and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (b. 1934)\n*2013 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (b. 1947\n* 2013 – Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (b. 1952)\n*2014 – King Fleming, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1922)\n* 2014 – Jacques Le Goff, French historian and author (b. 1924)\n* 2014 – Rolf Rendtorff, German theologian and academic (b. 1925)\n*2015 – Nicolae Rainea, Romanian footballer and referee (b. 1933)\n*2017 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet and Russian poet and writer (b. 1932)\n\n", "*Christian feast day:\n**Cellach of Armagh\n**Hugh of Grenoble\n**Frederick Denison Maurice (Episcopal Church (USA))\n**Melito of Sardis\n**Nuno Álvares Pereira\n**Tewdrig\n**Theodora\n**Walric, abbot of Leuconay\n**April 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which Sizdah Be-dar can fall, while April 2 is the latest; celebrated on the 13th day after vernal equinox. (Iran)\n*Iranian Islamic Republic Day (Iran) falls on this day if the Vernal Equinox falls on March 21.\n*Veneralia was held on April 1 during Ancient Rome, however this date does not lock into the modern Gregorian calendar.\n*April Fools' Day\n*Arbor Day (Tanzania)\n*Civil Service Day (Thailand)\n*Cyprus National Day (Cyprus) \n*Edible Book Day\n*Fossil Fools Day\n*Kha b-Nisan, the Assyrian New Year (Assyrian people)\n*National Civil Service Day (Thailand)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*1935 – India's central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India is formed." ]

[ "* 286 – Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.", "* 325 – Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age 4, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.", "* 457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army.", "* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.", "* 528 – The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei was made the \"Emperor\" as a male heir of the late emperor by Empress Dowager Hu, deposed and replaced by Yuan Zhao the next day; she was the first female monarch in the History of China, but not widely recognised.", "*1293 – Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.", "*1318 – Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by Scotland from England.", "*1340 – Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 ''interregnum'' in Denmark.", "*1545 – Potosí is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.", "*1572 – In the Eighty Years' War, the ''Watergeuzen'' capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.", "*1625 – A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet of 52 ships commences the recapture of Bahia from the Dutch during the Dutch–Portuguese War.", "*1789 – In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.", "*1826 – Samuel Morey received a patent for a compressionless \"Gas or Vapor Engine\".", "*1833 – The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin\n*1854 – Charles Dickens' novel ''Hard Times'' begins serialisation in his magazine ''Household Words''.", "*1865 – American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia's last supply line.", "*1867 – Singapore becomes a British crown colony.", "*1873 – The White Star steamer sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.", "*1889 – The University of Northern Colorado was established, as the Colorado State Normal School.", "*1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.", "*1893 – The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.", "*1908 – The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.", "*1918 – The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.", "*1924 – Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years imprisonment for his participation in the \"Beer Hall Putsch\" but spends only nine months in jail.", "* 1924 – The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.", "*1933 – The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.", "*1937 – Aden becomes a British crown colony.", "* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Jaén, Spain is bombed by German fascist forces, supporting Francoist Nationalists.", "*1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.", "*1941 – Fântâna Albă massacre: Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.", "* 1941 – A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.", "*1944 – Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.", "*1945 – World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.", "*1946 – The 8.6 Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (''Strong'').", "A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.", "* 1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.", "*1948 – Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.", "* 1948 – Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.", "*1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Nationalist Party in Beijing, after three years of fighting.", "* 1949 – The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.", "*1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.", "*1955 – The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.", "*1960 – The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.", "*1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General's warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, effective 1 January 1971.", "*1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.", "*1973 – Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.", "*1974 – The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.", "*1976 – Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California, USA.", "*1978 – The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.", "*1979 – Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.", "*1986 – Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.", "*1989 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the \"poll tax\"), is introduced in Scotland.", "*1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.", "*1999 – Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.", "*2001 – An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet.", "The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.", "* 2001 – Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.", "* 2001 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.", "*2004 – Google announces Gmail to the public.", "*2011 – After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.", "*2016 – Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: The Four Day War or April War, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on April 1.", "*1220 – Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)\n*1282 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1347)\n*1328 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b.", "1382)\n*1543 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières (d. 1626)\n*1578 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (d. 1657)\n*1610 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier and critic (d. 1703)\n*1629 – Jean-Henri d'Anglebert, French organist and composer (d. 1691)\n*1640 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1697)\n*1647 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (d. 1680)\n*1697 – Antoine François Prévost, French novelist and translator (d. 1763)\n*1721 – Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)\n*1741 – George Dance the Younger, English architect and surveyor (d. 1825)\n*1753 – Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1821)\n*1755 – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French lawyer and politician (d. 1826)\n*1765 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1810)\n*1776 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (d. 1831)\n*1786 – William Mulready, Irish genre painter (d. 1863)\n*1815 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898)\n* 1815 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (d. 1880)\n*1823 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1891)\n*1824 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (d. 1901)\n*1834 – James Fisk, American businessman (d. 1872)\n*1852 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (d. 1911)\n*1856 – Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)\n*1865 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)\n*1866 – William Blomfield, New Zealand cartoonist and politician (d. 1938)\n* 1866 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)\n* 1866 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (d. 1929) \n*1868 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (d. 1918)\n* 1868 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (d. 1954)\n*1871 – F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist and conductor (d. 1955)\n*1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1943)\n*1874 – Ernest Barnes, English mathematician and theologian (d. 1953)\n* 1874 – Prince Karl of Bavaria (d. 1927)\n*1875 – Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1932)\n*1878 – C. Ganesha Iyer, Ceylon Tamil philologist (d. 1958)\n*1879 – Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (d. 1967)\n*1881 – Octavian Goga, Romanian Prime Minister (d. 1938)\n*1883 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1930)\n* 1883 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (d. 1976) \n* 1883 – Laurette Taylor, Irish-American actress (d. 1946)\n*1885 – Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)\n* 1885 – Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (d. 1977)\n*1889 – K. B. Hedgewar, Indian physician and activist (d. 1940)\n*1893 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-English actress (d. 1980)\n*1895 – Alberta Hunter, African-American singer-songwriter and nurse (d. 1984)\n*1898 – William James Sidis, Ukrainian-Russian Jewish American mathematician, anthropologist, and historian (d. 1944)\n*1899 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian academic and politician (d. 1968)\n*1901 – Whittaker Chambers, American journalist and spy (d. 1961)\n*1905 – Gaston Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1988)\n* 1905 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian, poet, and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1993)\n*1906 – Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer, founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau (d. 1989)\n*1907 – Shivakumara Swami, Indian religious leader and philanthropist\n*1908 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (d. 1970)\n* 1908 – Harlow Rothert, American shot putter, lawyer, and academic (d. 1997)\n*1909 – Abner Biberman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)\n* 1909 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1951)\n*1910 – Harry Carney, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1974)\n* 1910 – Bob Van Osdel, American high jumper and soldier (d. 1987)\n*1913 – Memos Makris, Greek sculptor (d. 1993)\n*1915 – O. W. Fischer, Austrian-Swiss actor and director (d. 2004)\n*1916 – Sheila May Edmonds, British mathematician (d. 2002)\n*1917 – Sydney Newman, Canadian screenwriter and producer, co-created ''Doctor Who'' (d. 1997)\n* 1917 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)\n*1919 – Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)\n*1920 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)\n*1921 – William Bergsma, American composer and educator (d. 1994)\n* 1921 – Arthur \"Guitar Boogie\" Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (d. 2014)\n*1922 – Duke Jordan, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)\n* 1922 – William Manchester, American historian and author (d. 2004)\n*1924 – Brendan Byrne, American lieutenant, judge, and politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey\n*1926 – Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish author (d. 2011)\n*1927 – Walter Bahr, American soccer player, coach, and manager\n* 1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2006)\n*1929 – Jonathan Haze, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and production manager\n* 1929 – Milan Kundera, Czech-born novelist, poet, and playwright\n* 1929 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (d. 2010)\n* 1929 – Jane Powell, American actress, singer, and dancer\n*1930 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (d. 2015)\n*1931 – George Baker, Bulgarian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2011)\n* 1931 – Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright\n*1932 – Debbie Reynolds, Scottish-Irish American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2016)\n*1933 – Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n* 1933 – Dan Flavin, American sculptor and educator (d. 1996)\n*1934 – Vladimir Posner, French-American journalist and radio host\n*1935 – Larry McDonald, American physician and politician (d. 1983)\n*1936 – Peter Collinson, English-American director and producer (d. 1980)\n* 1936 – Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, 80th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1998)\n* 1936 – Tarun Gogoi, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Assam\n* 1936 – Abdul Qadeer Khan, Indian-Pakistani physicist, chemist, and engineer\n*1939 – Ali MacGraw, American model and actress\n* 1939 – Phil Niekro, American baseball player and manager\n*1940 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)\n*1941 – Gideon Gadot, Israeli journalist and politician (d. 2012)\n* 1941 – Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer, coach, and manager\n*1942 – Samuel R. Delany, American author and critic\n* 1942 – Richard D. Wolff, American economist and academic\n*1943 – Dafydd Wigley, Welsh academic and politician\n*1946 – Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Health and Social Security\n* 1946 – Ronnie Lane, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 1997)\n* 1946 – Arrigo Sacchi, Italian footballer, coach, and manager\n*1947 – Alain Connes, French mathematician and academic\n* 1947 – Philippe Kirsch, Canadian lawyer and judge\n* 1947 – Francine Prose, American novelist, short story writer, and critic\n* 1947 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n*1948 – Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer and musician\n*1949 – Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman\n* 1949 – Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer and coach\n* 1949 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 2011)\n*1950 – Samuel Alito, American lawyer and jurist\n* 1950 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (d. 2010)\n* 1950 – Daniel Paillé, Canadian academic and politician\n*1951 – John Abizaid, American general\n* 1951 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (d. 2014)\n*1952 – Annette O'Toole, American actress \n* 1952 – Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher and academic\n*1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld, American cinematographer, director, and producer\n* 1953 – Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian footballer and manager\n*1954 – Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1992)\n*1955 – Don Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster\n* 1955 – Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani politician, 5th Commerce Minister of Pakistan\n* 1955 – Terry Nichols, American criminal\n*1957 – David Gower, English cricketer and sportscaster \n*1959 – Helmuth Duckadam, Romanian footballer\n*1961 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer \n* 1961 – Mark White, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1962 – Mark Shulman, American author\n*1962 – Chris Grayling, English journalist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain\n* 1962 – Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player and manager\n* 1962 – Phillip Schofield, English television host\n*1963 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (d. 1988)\n* 1963 – Aprille Ericsson-Jackson American aerospace engineer\n*1964 – Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager\n* 1964 – Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)\n* 1964 – John Morris, English cricketer\n* 1964 – José Rodrigues dos Santos, Portuguese journalist, author, and educator\n*1965 – Jane Adams, American film, television, and stage actress\n* 1965 – Mark Jackson, American basketball player and coach\n*1966 – Chris Evans, English radio and television host\n* 1966 – Mehmet Özdilek, Turkish footballer and manager\n*1967 – Nicola Roxon, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Attorney-General for Australia\n*1968 – Mike Baird, Australian politician, 44th Premier of New South Wales\n* 1968 – Andreas Schnaas, German actor and director\n* 1968 – Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland\n*1969 – Lev Lobodin, Ukrainian-Russian decathlete\n* 1969 – Dean Windass, English footballer and manager\n*1970 – Brad Meltzer, American author, screenwriter, and producer\n*1971 – Sonia Bisset, Cuban javelin thrower\n* 1971 – Shinji Nakano, Japanese race car driver\n*1972 – Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1972 – Jesse Tobias, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1973 – Christian Finnegan, American comedian and actor\n* 1973 – Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer and coach\n* 1973 – Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author\n*1974 – Hugo Ibarra, Argentinian footballer and manager\n* 1974 – Sandra Völker, German swimmer\n*1975 – John Butler, American-Australian singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1975 – Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player\n*1976 – Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian rugby league player and educator\n* 1976 – David Gilliland, American race car driver\n* 1976 – David Oyelowo, English actor \n* 1976 – Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Yuka Yoshida, Japanese tennis player\n*1977 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian-American boxer and mixed martial artist\n* 1977 – Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist\n*1978 – Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (d. 2009)\n* 1978 – Mirka Federer, Slovak-Swiss tennis player\n* 1978 – Anamaria Marinca, Romanian-English actress\n* 1978 – Etan Thomas, American basketball player\n*1979 – Ruth Beitia, Spanish high jumper\n*1980 – Dennis Kruppke, German footballer\n* 1980 – Randy Orton, American wrestler \n* 1980 – Bijou Phillips, American actress and model\n*1981 – Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player\n* 1981 – Bjørn Einar Romøren, Norwegian ski jumper\n*1982 – Taran Killam, American actor, voice artist, comedian, and writer\n* 1982 – Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower\n*1983 – Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer\n* 1983 – Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)\n*1984 – Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer\n*1985 – Daniel Murphy, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Beth Tweddle, English gymnast\n*1986 – Hillary Scott, American country singer-songwriter \n*1987 – Gianluca Musacci, Italian footballer\n* 1987 – Oliver Turvey, English race car driver\n*1988 – Brook Lopez, American basketball player\n* 1988 – Robin Lopez, American basketball player\n*1989 – Jan Blokhuijsen, Dutch speed skater\n* 1989 – David N'Gog, French footballer\n* 1989 – Christian Vietoris, German race car driver\n*1990 – Julia Fischer, German discus thrower\n*1992 – Deng Linlin, Chinese gymnast\n*1994 – Ella Eyre, English singer-songwriter\n* 1997 – Álex Palou, Spanish racing driver\n*1997 – Asa Butterfield, English actor", "*996 – Pope John XV\n*1085 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (b.", "1048)\n*1132 – Hugh of Châteauneuf, French bishop and saint (b.", "1053)\n*1204 – Eleanor of Aquitaine (b.", "1122)\n*1205 – Amalric II of Jerusalem (b.", "1145)\n*1282 – Abaqa Khan, khan of the Mongol Ilkhanate\n*1431 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general and religious figure\n*1441 – Blanche I of Navarre, Queen of Navarre\n*1455 – Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Polish cardinal and statesman (b.", "1389)\n*1528 – Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer (b.", "1470)\n*1548 – King Sigismund I the Old of Poland (b.", "1467)\n*1549 – Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville, French princess (d. 1601)\n*1580 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish guitarist and composer (b.", "1510)\n*1621 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter and educator (b.", "1577)\n*1682 – Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian bishop (b.", "1625)\n*1787 – Floyer Sydenham, English scholar and academic (b.", "1710)\n*1839 – Benjamin Pierce, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of New Hampshire (b.", "1757)\n*1865 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b.", "1797)\n*1872 – Frederick Denison Maurice, English theologian and academic (b.", "1805)\n*1878 – John C.W.", "Daly, English-Canadian soldier and politician (b.", "1796)\n*1890 – David Wilber, American politician (b.", "1820)\n* 1890 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier, pilot, and engineer (b.", "1825)\n*1914 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b.", "1876)\n* 1914 – Charles Wells, English founder of Charles Wells Ltd (b.", "1842)\n*1917 – Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (b.", "1868)\n*1920 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (b.", "1857)\n*1922 – Charles I of Austria (b.", "1887)\n* 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist and author (b.", "1884)\n*1924 – Jacob Bolotin, American physician (b.", "1888)\n*1924 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (b.", "1870)\n* 1924 – Stan Rowley, Australian sprinter (b.", "1876)\n*1946 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b.", "1882)\n*1947 – George II of Greece (b.", "1890)\n*1950 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (b.", "1904)\n* 1950 – Recep Peker, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b.", "1889)\n*1962 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain and businessman (b.", "1910)\n*1965 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (b.", "1870)\n*1966 – Brian O'Nolan, Irish author (b.", "1911)\n*1968 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1908)\n*1976 – Max Ernst, German painter and sculptor (b.", "1891)\n*1981 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai singer-songwriter and bandleader (b.", "1910)\n*1984 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (b.", "1939)\n* 1984 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author (b.", "1900)\n*1986 – Erik Bruhn, Danish actor, director, and choreographer (b.", "1928)\n*1987 – Henri Cochet, French tennis player (b.", "1901)\n*1991 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b.", "1894)\n* 1991 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (b.", "1946)\n*1992 – Michael Havers, Baron Havers, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b.", "1923)\n*1993 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b.", "1954)\n*1994 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b.", "1912)\n*1995 – H. Adams Carter, American mountaineer, journalist, and educator (b.", "1914)\n* 1995 – Lucie Rie, Austrian-English potter (b.", "1902)\n*1997 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b.", "1912)\n*1998 – Rozz Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b.", "1963)\n*1999 – Jesse Stone, American pianist, songwriter, and producer (b.", "1901)\n*2001 – Trịnh Công Sơn, Vietnamese guitarist and composer (b.", "1939)\n*2002 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (b.", "1905)\n*2004 – Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b.", "1952)\n* 2004 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b.", "1945)\n*2005 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b 1925)\n* 2005 – Robert Coldwell Wood, American political scientist and academic (b.", "1923)\n*2006 – In Tam, Cambodian general and politician, 26th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b.", "1916)\n*2010 – John Forsythe, American actor (b.", "1918)\n* 2010 – Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek soldier and politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (b.", "1927)\n*2012 – Lionel Bowen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (b.", "1922)\n* 2012 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian-American soccer player and radio host (b.", "1947)\n* 2012 – Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican banker, academic, and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (b.", "1934)\n*2013 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (b.", "1947\n* 2013 – Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (b.", "1952)\n*2014 – King Fleming, American pianist and bandleader (b.", "1922)\n* 2014 – Jacques Le Goff, French historian and author (b.", "1924)\n* 2014 – Rolf Rendtorff, German theologian and academic (b.", "1925)\n*2015 – Nicolae Rainea, Romanian footballer and referee (b.", "1933)\n*2017 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet and Russian poet and writer (b.", "1932)", "*Christian feast day:\n**Cellach of Armagh\n**Hugh of Grenoble\n**Frederick Denison Maurice (Episcopal Church (USA))\n**Melito of Sardis\n**Nuno Álvares Pereira\n**Tewdrig\n**Theodora\n**Walric, abbot of Leuconay\n**April 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which Sizdah Be-dar can fall, while April 2 is the latest; celebrated on the 13th day after vernal equinox.", "(Iran)\n*Iranian Islamic Republic Day (Iran) falls on this day if the Vernal Equinox falls on March 21.", "*Veneralia was held on April 1 during Ancient Rome, however this date does not lock into the modern Gregorian calendar.", "*April Fools' Day\n*Arbor Day (Tanzania)\n*Civil Service Day (Thailand)\n*Cyprus National Day (Cyprus) \n*Edible Book Day\n*Fossil Fools Day\n*Kha b-Nisan, the Assyrian New Year (Assyrian people)\n*National Civil Service Day (Thailand)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History" ]

[ "\n\n\nAshmore and Cartier Islands\nThe '''Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands''' is an uninhabited external territory of Australia consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs, and the 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by the islands. The territory is located in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf, about off the northwest coast of Australia and south of the Indonesian island of Rote.\n\nAshmore Reef is called ''Pulau Pasir'' by Indonesians and it is called ''Nusa Solokaek'' in the Rotenese language. Both names have the meaning \"sand island\".\n", "The Territory comprises Ashmore Reef, which includes West, Middle, and East Islands, and two lagoons, and Cartier Reef, which includes Cartier Island. Ashmore Reef covers approximately and Cartier Reef , both to the limits of the reefs. They have a total of of shoreline, measured along the outer edge of the reef. Australia also claims a 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by the islands.\n\nWest, Middle, and East Islands have a combined land area variously reported as 54 ha, 93 ha, and 112 ha (1 hectare is 0.01 km2, or about 2.5 acres). Cartier Island has a reported land area of 0.4 ha.\n", "By a British Order-in-council dated 23 July 1931, Ashmore and Cartier Islands were placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia, but Australia officially accepted the Territory on 10 May 1934 when the ''Ashmore and Cartier Islands Acceptance Act 1933'' came into operation. The Act authorised the Governor of Western Australia to make Ordinances for the Territory. In July 1938 the Territory was annexed to the Northern Territory, then also administered by the Commonwealth, whose laws, ordinances and regulations applied to the Territory. When self-government was granted to the Northern Territory on 1 July 1978, administration of the Territory was retained by the Commonwealth.\n\nDue to its proximity to Indonesia, and the area being traditional fishing grounds of Indonesian fishermen for centuries, some Indonesian groups claim Ashmore Reef to be part of Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province. However, the Indonesian government does not appear to actively contest Australia's sovereignty of the Territory. Australia's sovereignty is backed up by the fact that the Territory was not administered by the Netherlands (Indonesia's former colonial power), but by the British before it was transferred to Australia.\n\nIn 1983 the Territory was declared a nature reserve under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975'', now replaced by the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999''.\n\nAfter the islands became a first point of contact with the Australian migration zone, in September 2001, the Australian government excised the Ashmore and Cartier Islands from the Australian migration zone.\n", "Today, the Territory is administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, which is also responsible for the administration of the territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island.\n\nThe Attorney-General's Department had been responsible for the administration of Australian territories until the 2010 federal election. In that year the responsibility for Australian territories was transferred to the then Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport, and from 18 September 2013 the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development has administered Australian territories.\n\nDefence of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is the responsibility of Australia, with periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.\n\nNearby Hibernia Reef, northeast of Ashmore Reef, is not part of the Territory, but belongs to Western Australia. It has no permanently dry land area, although large parts of the reef become exposed during low tide.\n", "\n\n\n===Ashmore Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve===\nCartier Island and surrounding reef (NASA satellite image)\nThe Ashmore Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve (formerly Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve), established in August 1983, comprises an area of approximately . It is of significant biodiversity value as it is in the flow of the Indonesian Throughflow ocean current from the Pacific Ocean through Maritime Southeast Asia to the Indian Ocean. It is also in a surface current west from the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea.\n\nThe Reserve comprises several marine habitats, including seagrass meadows, intertidal sand flats, coral reef flats, and lagoons, and supports an important and diverse range of species, including 14 species of sea snakes, a population of dugong that may be genetically distinct, a diverse marine invertebrate fauna, and many endemic species, especially of sea snakes and molluscs. There are feeding and nesting sites for loggerhead, hawksbill and green turtles. It is classified as an Important Bird Area and has 50,000 breeding pairs of various kinds of seabirds. A high abundance and diversity of sea cucumbers, over-exploited on other reefs in the region, is present, with 45 species recorded.\n\nIn 2003 the nature reserve was recognised as a wetland of international importance due to the importance of its islands providing a resting place for migratory shorebirds and supporting large seabird breeding colonies. It was designated Ramsar Site 1220 under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.\n\n===Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve===\nThe Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve (formerly Cartier Island Marine Reserve) was established in June 2000, and comprises an area of approximately , within a 4 nautical mile radius from the center of Cartier Island, and extends to a depth of below the sea floor. It includes the reef around Cartier island, a small submerged pinnacle called Wave Governor Bank, and two shallow pools to the island's northeast. The Reserve is part of the North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.\n", "There is no economic activity in the Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands being uninhabited. Cartier Island is an unvegetated sand island. Access to Cartier Island is prohibited because of the risk of unexploded ordnances. There are no ports or harbours, only offshore anchorage. The customs vessel ACV ''Ashmore Guardian'' is stationed off the reef for up to 330 days per year. The islands are also visited by seasonal caretakers and occasional scientific researchers.\n\nThe area has been a traditional fishing ground of Indonesian fishermen for centuries, and continues. In the 1850s, American whalers operated in the region. Mining of phosphate deposits took place on Ashmore Island in the latter half of the 19th century. Today, all the wells in the Territory are infected with cholera or contaminated and undrinkable.\n\nPetroleum extraction activities take place at the Jabiru and Challis oil fields, which are adjacent to the Territory, and which are administered by the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy on behalf of the Commonwealth.\n", "As Ashmore Reef is the closest point of Australian territory to Indonesia, it was a popular target for people smugglers transporting asylum seekers en route to Australia. Once they had landed on Ashmore Island, asylum seekers could claim to have entered Australian migration zone and request to be processed as refugees. The use of Ashmore Island for this purpose created great notoriety during late 2001, when refugee arrivals became a major political issue in Australia. The Australian Government argued that as Australia was not the country of first asylum for these \"boat people\", Australia did not have a responsibility to accept them.\n\nA number of things were done to discourage the use of the Territory for this purpose, such as attempting to have the people smugglers arrested in Indonesia; the so-called Pacific Solution of processing them in third countries; the boarding and forced turnaround of the boats by Australian military forces; and finally excising the Territory and many other small islands from the Australian migration zone.\n\nTwo boatloads of asylum seekers were each detained for several days in the lagoon at Ashmore Island after failed attempts by the Royal Australian Navy to turn them back to Indonesia in October 2001.\n", "\n* Immigration detention in Australia\n* Siev 36\n", "\n===Notes===\n\n", "\n\n* \n* Geoscience Australia—Ashmore and Cartier Islands\n* Department of the Environment and Heritage—Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve\n* Department of the Environment and Heritage—Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve\n* First on list of Australian islands\n* \"Ashmore Reef Belongs to Indonesia,\" posted on East Timor Action Network. \n* \"Ashmore Islands are member of ARABOSAI\" \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Geography", "History", "Governance", "Ecology and environment", "Economy", "Migration", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "It includes the reef around Cartier island, a small submerged pinnacle called Wave Governor Bank, and two shallow pools to the island's northeast." ]

[ "\n\n\nAshmore and Cartier Islands\nThe '''Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands''' is an uninhabited external territory of Australia consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs, and the 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by the islands.", "The territory is located in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf, about off the northwest coast of Australia and south of the Indonesian island of Rote.", "Ashmore Reef is called ''Pulau Pasir'' by Indonesians and it is called ''Nusa Solokaek'' in the Rotenese language.", "Both names have the meaning \"sand island\".", "The Territory comprises Ashmore Reef, which includes West, Middle, and East Islands, and two lagoons, and Cartier Reef, which includes Cartier Island.", "Ashmore Reef covers approximately and Cartier Reef , both to the limits of the reefs.", "They have a total of of shoreline, measured along the outer edge of the reef.", "Australia also claims a 12 nautical mile territorial sea generated by the islands.", "West, Middle, and East Islands have a combined land area variously reported as 54 ha, 93 ha, and 112 ha (1 hectare is 0.01 km2, or about 2.5 acres).", "Cartier Island has a reported land area of 0.4 ha.", "By a British Order-in-council dated 23 July 1931, Ashmore and Cartier Islands were placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia, but Australia officially accepted the Territory on 10 May 1934 when the ''Ashmore and Cartier Islands Acceptance Act 1933'' came into operation.", "The Act authorised the Governor of Western Australia to make Ordinances for the Territory.", "In July 1938 the Territory was annexed to the Northern Territory, then also administered by the Commonwealth, whose laws, ordinances and regulations applied to the Territory.", "When self-government was granted to the Northern Territory on 1 July 1978, administration of the Territory was retained by the Commonwealth.", "Due to its proximity to Indonesia, and the area being traditional fishing grounds of Indonesian fishermen for centuries, some Indonesian groups claim Ashmore Reef to be part of Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province.", "However, the Indonesian government does not appear to actively contest Australia's sovereignty of the Territory.", "Australia's sovereignty is backed up by the fact that the Territory was not administered by the Netherlands (Indonesia's former colonial power), but by the British before it was transferred to Australia.", "In 1983 the Territory was declared a nature reserve under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975'', now replaced by the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999''.", "After the islands became a first point of contact with the Australian migration zone, in September 2001, the Australian government excised the Ashmore and Cartier Islands from the Australian migration zone.", "Today, the Territory is administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, which is also responsible for the administration of the territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island.", "The Attorney-General's Department had been responsible for the administration of Australian territories until the 2010 federal election.", "In that year the responsibility for Australian territories was transferred to the then Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport, and from 18 September 2013 the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development has administered Australian territories.", "Defence of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is the responsibility of Australia, with periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.", "Nearby Hibernia Reef, northeast of Ashmore Reef, is not part of the Territory, but belongs to Western Australia.", "It has no permanently dry land area, although large parts of the reef become exposed during low tide.", "\n\n\n===Ashmore Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve===\nCartier Island and surrounding reef (NASA satellite image)\nThe Ashmore Reef Commonwealth Marine Reserve (formerly Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve), established in August 1983, comprises an area of approximately .", "It is of significant biodiversity value as it is in the flow of the Indonesian Throughflow ocean current from the Pacific Ocean through Maritime Southeast Asia to the Indian Ocean.", "It is also in a surface current west from the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea.", "The Reserve comprises several marine habitats, including seagrass meadows, intertidal sand flats, coral reef flats, and lagoons, and supports an important and diverse range of species, including 14 species of sea snakes, a population of dugong that may be genetically distinct, a diverse marine invertebrate fauna, and many endemic species, especially of sea snakes and molluscs.", "There are feeding and nesting sites for loggerhead, hawksbill and green turtles.", "It is classified as an Important Bird Area and has 50,000 breeding pairs of various kinds of seabirds.", "A high abundance and diversity of sea cucumbers, over-exploited on other reefs in the region, is present, with 45 species recorded.", "In 2003 the nature reserve was recognised as a wetland of international importance due to the importance of its islands providing a resting place for migratory shorebirds and supporting large seabird breeding colonies.", "It was designated Ramsar Site 1220 under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.", "===Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve===\nThe Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve (formerly Cartier Island Marine Reserve) was established in June 2000, and comprises an area of approximately , within a 4 nautical mile radius from the center of Cartier Island, and extends to a depth of below the sea floor.", "The Reserve is part of the North-west Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network.", "There is no economic activity in the Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands being uninhabited.", "Cartier Island is an unvegetated sand island.", "Access to Cartier Island is prohibited because of the risk of unexploded ordnances.", "There are no ports or harbours, only offshore anchorage.", "The customs vessel ACV ''Ashmore Guardian'' is stationed off the reef for up to 330 days per year.", "The islands are also visited by seasonal caretakers and occasional scientific researchers.", "The area has been a traditional fishing ground of Indonesian fishermen for centuries, and continues.", "In the 1850s, American whalers operated in the region.", "Mining of phosphate deposits took place on Ashmore Island in the latter half of the 19th century.", "Today, all the wells in the Territory are infected with cholera or contaminated and undrinkable.", "Petroleum extraction activities take place at the Jabiru and Challis oil fields, which are adjacent to the Territory, and which are administered by the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy on behalf of the Commonwealth.", "As Ashmore Reef is the closest point of Australian territory to Indonesia, it was a popular target for people smugglers transporting asylum seekers en route to Australia.", "Once they had landed on Ashmore Island, asylum seekers could claim to have entered Australian migration zone and request to be processed as refugees.", "The use of Ashmore Island for this purpose created great notoriety during late 2001, when refugee arrivals became a major political issue in Australia.", "The Australian Government argued that as Australia was not the country of first asylum for these \"boat people\", Australia did not have a responsibility to accept them.", "A number of things were done to discourage the use of the Territory for this purpose, such as attempting to have the people smugglers arrested in Indonesia; the so-called Pacific Solution of processing them in third countries; the boarding and forced turnaround of the boats by Australian military forces; and finally excising the Territory and many other small islands from the Australian migration zone.", "Two boatloads of asylum seekers were each detained for several days in the lagoon at Ashmore Island after failed attempts by the Royal Australian Navy to turn them back to Indonesia in October 2001.", "\n* Immigration detention in Australia\n* Siev 36", "\n===Notes===", "\n\n* \n* Geoscience Australia—Ashmore and Cartier Islands\n* Department of the Environment and Heritage—Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve\n* Department of the Environment and Heritage—Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve\n* First on list of Australian islands\n* \"Ashmore Reef Belongs to Indonesia,\" posted on East Timor Action Network.", "* \"Ashmore Islands are member of ARABOSAI\"" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n", "* 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.\n* AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.\n* 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.\n* 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).\n* 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.\n*1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.\n*1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.\n*1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.\n*1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.\n*1620 – ''Speedwell'' leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.\n*1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.\n*1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.\n*1759 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.\n*1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.\n*1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.\n*1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.\n*1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner captures the Tripolitan polacca ''Tripoli'' in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.\n*1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.\n*1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.\n*1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.\n*1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.\n*1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.\n*1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.\n*1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.\n*1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.\n*1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.\n*1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.\n*1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.\n*1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.\n*1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution \"Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH\" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.\n*1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as \"Black Sunday\", was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.\n*1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.\n*1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.\n*1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).\n*1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.\n* 1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.\n*1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization.\n*1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.\n*1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.\n* 1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.\n*1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.\n*1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.\n*1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the \"Green Line\", dividing Cyprus into two zones.\n*1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.\n* 1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.\n*1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, \"Video Killed the Radio Star\" by The Buggles.\n*1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.\n*1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.\n*2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.\n*2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour.\n*2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.\n* 2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.\n*2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Heart, Afghanistan kills 20 people.\n", "*10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)\n* 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)\n* 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)\n*1068 – Emperor Taizu of Jin (d. 1123)\n*1313 – Emperor Kōgon of Japan (d. 1364)\n*1377 – Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan (d. 1433)\n*1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)\n*1492 – Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, German prince (d. 1566)\n*1520 – King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (d. 1572)\n*1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)\n*1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)\n*1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)\n*1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)\n*1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)\n*1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)\n*1713 – Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1780)\n*1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)\n*1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)\n*1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)\n*1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)\n*1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)\n* 1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)\n*1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)\n*1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)\n*1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)\n*1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)\n*1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)\n*1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)\n*1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)\n*1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)\n* 1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)\n*1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)\n*1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)\n*1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)\n*1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)\n*1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)\n*1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)\n*1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)\n*1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)\n*1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)\n*1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)\n*1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980) \n*1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)\n*1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)\n*1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)\n*1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)\n*1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)\n*1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)\n*1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)\n* 1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)\n*1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)\n*1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)\n* 1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)\n* 1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)\n*1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)\n* 1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)\n* 1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)\n* 1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)\n*1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)\n*1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009) \n*1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)\n*1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n* 1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)\n*1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)\n*1923 – Val Bettin, American actor\n*1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)\n* 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)\n* 1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)\n*1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)\n*1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)\n*1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)\n*1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)\n*1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)\n* 1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)\n*1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)\n* 1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)\n* 1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)\n* 1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)\n* 1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)\n* 1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)\n*1931 – Ramblin' Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)\n*1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)\n* 1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)\n*1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)\n* 1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager\n* 1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)\n* 1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)\n*1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)\n* 1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer\n*1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)\n*1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)\n* 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)\n* 1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic\n*1937 – Al D'Amato, American lawyer and politician\n*1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)\n* 1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor\n* 1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)\n* 1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)\n*1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire\n* 1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant\n* 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor\n*1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)\n* 1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)\n*1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)\n* 1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)\n*1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)\n* 1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (The Grass Roots) (d. 2011)\n* 1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut\n* 1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic\n*1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author\n*1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios\n* 1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player\n* 1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)\n*1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan\n* 1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)\n* 1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)\n*1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach\n*1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)\n* 1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager\n*1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)\n*1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author\n*1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)\n* 1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author\n* 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager\n*1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)\n*1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)\n* 1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach\n*1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer \n*1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter (Public Enemy) \n* 1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (L7)\n*1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)\n*1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer\n* 1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor\n* 1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor\n* 1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer\n* 1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician\n* 1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator\n*1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer\n* 1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer\n*1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author\n*1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach\n* 1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter\n*1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach\n* 1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Disturbed)\n* 1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager\n* 1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout\n* 1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist\n*1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player\n* 1970 – David James, English footballer and manager\n*1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach\n* 1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach\n* 1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic\n*1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach\n* 1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner\n* 1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer\n*1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist \n* 1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)\n* 1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer\n* 1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach\n* 1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier\n*1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator\n*1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor\n* 1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer\n* 1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer\n* 1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player\n*1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor\n* 1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player\n* 1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer\n*1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer\n* 1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete\n* 1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer\n* 1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player\n*1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer\n* 1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer\n*1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer\n* 1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete\n* 1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer\n*1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer\n* 1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author\n* 1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer\n* 1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer\n* 1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player\n*1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer\n* 1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter\n*1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player\n* 1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player\n* 1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer\n* 1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete\n*1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer\n* 1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist\n* 1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player\n* 1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer\n*1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player\n* 1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player\n* 1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer\n* 1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer\n*1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer\n* 1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player\n* 1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer\n* 1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player\n* 1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player\n* 1987 – Karen Carney, English women's football winger\n* 1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer\n* 1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer\n*1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer\n* 1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer\n* 1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player\n*1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player\n*1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player\n* 1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer\n* 1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player\n*1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer\n* 1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer\n*1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player\n*1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player\n* 1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer\n*1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player\n* 1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer \n*1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player\n\n", "* 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)\n* 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)\n* 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)\n* 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia\n* 919 – Dhuka al-Rumi, Abbasid governor of Egypt\n* 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)\n* 946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)\n* 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)\n*1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate\n*1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)\n*1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)\n*1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)\n*1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)\n*1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)\n*1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)\n*1464 – Cosimo de' Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)\n*1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)\n*1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)\n*1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)\n*1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)\n*1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)\n*1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)\n*1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)\n*1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)\n*1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)\n*1787 – Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)\n*1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)\n*1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)\n*1798 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)\n*1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)\n* 1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)\n*1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)\n*1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)\n*1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)\n*1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)\n*1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)\n*1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)\n*1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)\n* 1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)\n*1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)\n*1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)\n*1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)\n*1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)\n*1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)\n*1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)\n*1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)\n*1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)\n*1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)\n*1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)\n*1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)\n*1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)\n*1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)\n* 1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)\n* 1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)\n*1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)\n* 1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)\n*1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)\n*1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)\n*1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)\n* 1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)\n*1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)\n*1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)\n*1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)\n*1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1897)\n*1996 – Mohamed Farrah Aidid, Somalian general and politician, 5th President of Somalia (b. 1934)\n* 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)\n* 1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)\n*1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)\n*2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)\n*2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)\n* 2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)\n*2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)\n*2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)\n* 2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)\n* 2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)\n* 2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)\n*2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)\n* 2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)\n*2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)\n*2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)\n* 2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)\n*2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)\n*2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)\n* 2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)\n*2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)\n* 2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)\n* 2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)\n*2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)\n* 2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)\n* 2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)\n* 2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)\n* 2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)\n*2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)\n* 2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)\n* 2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)\n* 2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)\n*2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)\n* 2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)\n* 2015 – Bernard d'Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)\n* 2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)\n* 2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)\n*2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)\n\n", "*Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)\n*Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army (People's Republic of China)\n*Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)\n* Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):\n**Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)\n**Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)\n**Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)\n*Christian feast day:\n**Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)\n**Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori\n**Æthelwold of Winchester\n**Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)\n**Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder\n**Eusebius of Vercelli\n**Exuperius of Bayeux\n**Felix of Girona\n**Peter Apostle in Chains\n**Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy) \n**The Holy Maccabees\n**August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.\n*Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)\n*Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or ''Frídagur verslunarmanna'', can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)\n*Earliest day on which Farmers' Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)\n*Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August. \n*Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)\n*Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)\n*Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)\n*Minden Day (United Kingdom)\n*National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.\n*National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.\n*Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)\n*Parents' Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)\n*Statehood Day (Colorado)\n*The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):\n**Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)\n**Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)\n**Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)\n*The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)\n*Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)\n*World Scout Scarf Day \n*Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "(Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)\n**Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)\n*Christian feast day:\n**Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)\n**Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori\n**Æthelwold of Winchester\n**Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)\n**Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder\n**Eusebius of Vercelli\n**Exuperius of Bayeux\n**Felix of Girona\n**Peter Apostle in Chains\n**Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy) \n**The Holy Maccabees\n**August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August." ]

[ "* 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.", "* AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.", "* 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.", "* 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).", "* 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.", "*1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.", "*1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.", "*1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.", "*1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.", "*1620 – ''Speedwell'' leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.", "*1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.", "*1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.", "*1759 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French.", "In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.", "*1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.", "*1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.", "*1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.", "*1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner captures the Tripolitan polacca ''Tripoli'' in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.", "*1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.", "*1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.", "*1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.", "*1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.", "*1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.", "*1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.", "*1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.", "*1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.", "*1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I.", "The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.", "*1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party.", "This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.", "*1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.", "*1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.", "*1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution \"Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH\" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.", "*1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as \"Black Sunday\", was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.", "*1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.", "*1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.", "*1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).", "*1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.", "* 1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.", "*1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization.", "*1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.", "*1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.", "* 1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.", "*1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.", "*1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.", "*1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the \"Green Line\", dividing Cyprus into two zones.", "*1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.", "* 1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.", "*1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, \"Video Killed the Radio Star\" by The Buggles.", "*1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.", "*1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.", "*2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.", "*2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour.", "*2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.", "* 2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.", "*2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Heart, Afghanistan kills 20 people.", "*10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)\n* 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)\n* 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)\n*1068 – Emperor Taizu of Jin (d. 1123)\n*1313 – Emperor Kōgon of Japan (d. 1364)\n*1377 – Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan (d. 1433)\n*1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)\n*1492 – Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, German prince (d. 1566)\n*1520 – King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (d. 1572)\n*1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)\n*1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)\n*1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)\n*1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)\n*1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)\n*1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)\n*1713 – Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1780)\n*1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)\n*1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)\n*1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)\n*1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)\n*1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)\n* 1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)\n*1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)\n*1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)\n*1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)\n*1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)\n*1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)\n*1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)\n*1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)\n*1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)\n* 1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)\n*1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)\n*1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)\n*1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)\n*1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)\n*1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)\n*1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)\n*1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)\n*1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)\n*1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)\n*1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)\n*1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980) \n*1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)\n*1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)\n*1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)\n*1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)\n*1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)\n*1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)\n*1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)\n* 1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)\n*1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)\n*1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)\n* 1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)\n* 1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)\n*1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)\n* 1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)\n* 1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)\n* 1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)\n*1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)\n*1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009) \n*1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)\n*1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n* 1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)\n*1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)\n*1923 – Val Bettin, American actor\n*1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)\n* 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)\n* 1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)\n*1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)\n*1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)\n*1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)\n*1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)\n*1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)\n* 1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)\n*1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)\n* 1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)\n* 1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)\n* 1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)\n* 1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)\n* 1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)\n*1931 – Ramblin' Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)\n*1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)\n* 1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)\n*1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)\n* 1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager\n* 1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)\n* 1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)\n*1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)\n* 1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer\n*1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)\n*1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)\n* 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)\n* 1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic\n*1937 – Al D'Amato, American lawyer and politician\n*1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)\n* 1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor\n* 1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)\n* 1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)\n*1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire\n* 1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant\n* 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor\n*1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)\n* 1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)\n*1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)\n* 1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)\n*1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)\n* 1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (The Grass Roots) (d. 2011)\n* 1946 – Richard O.", "Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut\n* 1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic\n*1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author\n*1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios\n* 1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player\n* 1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)\n*1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan\n* 1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)\n* 1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)\n*1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach\n*1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)\n* 1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager\n*1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)\n*1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author\n*1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)\n* 1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author\n* 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager\n*1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)\n*1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)\n* 1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach\n*1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer \n*1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter (Public Enemy) \n* 1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (L7)\n*1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)\n*1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer\n* 1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor\n* 1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor\n* 1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer\n* 1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician\n* 1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator\n*1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer\n* 1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer\n*1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author\n*1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach\n* 1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter\n*1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach\n* 1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Disturbed)\n* 1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager\n* 1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout\n* 1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist\n*1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player\n* 1970 – David James, English footballer and manager\n*1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach\n* 1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach\n* 1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic\n*1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach\n* 1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner\n* 1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer\n*1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist \n* 1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)\n* 1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer\n* 1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach\n* 1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier\n*1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator\n*1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor\n* 1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer\n* 1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer\n* 1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player\n*1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor\n* 1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player\n* 1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer\n*1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer\n* 1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete\n* 1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer\n* 1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player\n*1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer\n* 1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer\n*1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer\n* 1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete\n* 1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer\n*1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer\n* 1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author\n* 1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer\n* 1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer\n* 1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player\n*1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer\n* 1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter\n*1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player\n* 1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player\n* 1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer\n* 1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete\n*1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer\n* 1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist\n* 1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player\n* 1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer\n*1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player\n* 1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player\n* 1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player\n* 1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer\n* 1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer\n*1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer\n* 1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player\n* 1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer\n* 1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player\n* 1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player\n* 1987 – Karen Carney, English women's football winger\n* 1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer\n* 1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer\n*1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer\n* 1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer\n* 1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player\n*1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player\n*1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player\n* 1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer\n* 1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player\n*1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer\n* 1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer\n*1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player\n*1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player\n* 1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer\n*1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player\n* 1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer \n*1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player", "* 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b.", "83 BC)\n* 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b.", "283)\n* 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b.", "450)\n* 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia\n* 919 – Dhuka al-Rumi, Abbasid governor of Egypt\n* 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b.", "859)\n* 946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b.", "902)\n* 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b.", "879)\n*1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate\n*1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b.", "1081)\n*1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b.", "1179)\n*1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b.", "1180)\n*1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b.", "1240)\n*1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b.", "1341)\n*1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b.", "1406)\n*1464 – Cosimo de' Medici, Italian ruler (b.", "1386)\n*1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)\n*1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b.", "1493)\n*1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b.", "1488)\n*1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b.", "1506)\n*1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b.", "1490)\n*1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b.", "1524)\n*1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b.", "1567)\n*1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b.", "1563)\n*1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b.", "1665)\n*1787 – Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b.", "1696)\n*1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b.", "1735)\n*1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b.", "1720)\n*1798 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (b.", "1753)\n*1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)\n* 1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b.", "1732)\n*1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b.", "1734)\n*1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b.", "1763)\n*1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b.", "1775)\n*1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b.", "1790)\n*1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b.", "1815)\n*1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b.", "1853)\n*1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b.", "1852)\n* 1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b.", "1843)\n*1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b.", "1854)\n*1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b.", "1856)\n*1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b.", "1876)\n*1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b.", "1856)\n*1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b.", "1870)\n*1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b.", "1862)\n*1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b.", "1921)\n*1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b.", "1878)\n*1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b.", "1921)\n*1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b.", "1908)\n*1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b.", "1941)\n*1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b.", "1900)\n*1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b.", "1913)\n* 1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b.", "1901)\n* 1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1883)\n*1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b.", "1882)\n* 1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b.", "1893)\n*1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b.", "1898)\n*1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b.", "1929)\n*1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b.", "1944)\n* 1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b.", "1919)\n*1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b.", "1923)\n*1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b.", "1933)\n*1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b.", "1937)\n*1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b.", "1897)\n*1996 – Mohamed Farrah Aidid, Somalian general and politician, 5th President of Somalia (b.", "1934)\n* 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1897)\n* 1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b.", "1929)\n*1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b.", "1927)\n*2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b.", "1974)\n*2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b.", "1922)\n* 2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b.", "1962)\n*2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b.", "1913)\n*2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b.", "1928)\n* 2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b.", "1918)\n* 2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b.", "1920)\n* 2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b.", "1923)\n*2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b.", "1924)\n* 2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b.", "1949)\n*2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b.", "1932)\n*2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b.", "1932)\n* 2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b.", "1916)\n*2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b.", "1933)\n*2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b.", "1919)\n* 2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b.", "1910)\n*2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b.", "1953)\n* 2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b.", "1921)\n* 2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b.", "1924)\n*2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b.", "1922)\n* 2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b.", "1932)\n* 2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b.", "1920)\n* 2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b.", "1942)\n* 2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b.", "1928)\n*2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b.", "1973)\n* 2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b.", "1974)\n* 2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b.", "1925)\n* 2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b.", "1955)\n*2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b.", "1968)\n* 2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b.", "1943)\n* 2015 – Bernard d'Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b.", "1921)\n* 2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b.", "1939)\n* 2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b.", "1948)\n*2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b.", "1923)", "*Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)\n*Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army (People's Republic of China)\n*Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)\n* Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):\n**Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August.", "(Toronto)\n**Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August.", "*Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.", "(Canada)\n*Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or ''Frídagur verslunarmanna'', can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.", "(Iceland)\n*Earliest day on which Farmers' Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.", "(Zambia)\n*Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.", "*Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August.", "(United States)\n*Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)\n*Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)\n*Minden Day (United Kingdom)\n*National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.", "*National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.", "*Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)\n*Parents' Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)\n*Statehood Day (Colorado)\n*The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):\n**Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1.", "(Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)\n**Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)\n**Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)\n*The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)\n*Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)\n*World Scout Scarf Day \n*Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n", "*1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.\n*1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.\n*1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).\n*1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.\n*1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.\n*1777 – Legend tells that Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces\n*1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.\n*1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Régime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.\n*1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.\n*1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.\n*1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.\n* 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia.\n*1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded\n*1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.\n*1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.\n*1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.\n*1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.\n*1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.\n*1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.\n*1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.\n* 1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.\n*1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.\n* 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.\n*1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.\n*1956 – , the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.\n*1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Royal Blue'' from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.\n*1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule.\n*1962 – NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.\n*1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.\n*1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.\n*1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (''Very strong''). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.\n* 1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.\n*1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.\n*1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery.\n*1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.\n*1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.\n*1989 – The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.\n* 1989 – ''People's Daily'' publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests\n*1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak's end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year's only F5 tornado.\n*1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.\n*2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.\n*2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).\n", "\n* 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)\n* 757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)\n* 764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)\n*1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)\n*1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)\n*1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)\n*1575 – Marie de' Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)\n*1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)\n*1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)\n*1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)\n*1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)\n*1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)\n*1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)\n*1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)\n*1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)\n*1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)\n*1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)\n*1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)\n*1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)\n*1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)\n*1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)\n*1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)\n*1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)\n*1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)\n*1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)\n*1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)\n*1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)\n*1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)\n* 1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)\n*1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)\n* 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)\n*1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)\n*1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)\n* 1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)\n*1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)\n*1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)\n* 1898 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)\n* 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)\n*1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)\n*1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)\n* 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)\n*1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)\n* 1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)\n*1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)\n*1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)\n*1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)\n*1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)\n*1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)\n*1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986) \n* 1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)\n*1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)\n* 1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)\n* 1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)\n*1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)\n* 1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower\n* 1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)\n*1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)\n*1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)\n*1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)\n* 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)\n* 1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer\n*1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)\n*1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author\n* 1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)\n* 1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)\n* 1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)\n*1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)\n*1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)\n* 1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)\n* 1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)\n*1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)\n*1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster\n*1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)\n* 1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)\n* 1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria\n*1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)\n* 1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper\n* 1932 – Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)\n* 1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer\n* 1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)\n*1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer\n* 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)\n* 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator\n*1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)\n*1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor\n* 1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs)\n*1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)\n* 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer\n* 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player\n*1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress\n*1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)\n* 1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Leader of the Government in the Senate\n* 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States\n* 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor\n* 1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic\n*1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer \n* 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals\n*1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)\n*1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer\n* 1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver\n* 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician\n*1946 – Marilyn Nelson, African-American poet and author\n* 1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer\n* 1947 – Terrance Pavlack}}, Polish American inventor and steelmaker\n*1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager\n* 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)\n*1951 – John Battle, English politician\n*1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player\n* 1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer\n*1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician\n*1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer\n*1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish racing driver\n* 1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer\n* 1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager\n*1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach\n* 1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer \n*1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer\n* 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian\n*1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer\n* 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player\n* 1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler\n* 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player\n*1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress\n* 1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian \n*1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter\n* 1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician\n*1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager\n* 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; First Lady of the United States; wife of United States President Donald Trump\n* 1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic\n* 1970 – Tionne \"T-Boz\" Watkins, African-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress\n*1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer \n*1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver\n* 1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer\n* 1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach\n* 1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager\n*1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster\n* 1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer\n* 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer\n* 1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach\n*1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer \n*1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer\n* 1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player\n*1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut\n* 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player\n* 1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author\n* 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor\n*1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player\n* 1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress \n* 1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor\n* 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer\n*1980 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress\n* 1980 – Marlon King, English footballer\n* 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist\n* 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor and producer\n*1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer\n* 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer\n* 1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)\n*1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter\n*1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver\n* 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier and POW\n*1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress \n*1985 – John Isner, American tennis player\n* 1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, Chilean tennis player\n*1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer\n* 1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner\n*1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer\n*1988 – Eric Salamat, Filipino basketball player\n* 1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player\n* 1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer\n* 1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer\n*1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player\n*1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player\n* 1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (d. 2012)\n*1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer\n* 1991 – Will Heard, British singer and songwriter\n* 1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer\n* 1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player\n* 1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish professional racing cyclist\n*1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player\n*1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver\n\n", "* 499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b. 467)\n* 645 – Richarius, Frankish monk and saint (b. 560)\n* 680 – Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph (b. 602)\n* 757 – Pope Stephen II (b. 715)\n* 893 – Chen Jingxuan, general of the Tang Dynasty\n*1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)\n*1366 – Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury\n*1392 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (b. 1338) \n*1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)\n*1478 – Giuliano de' Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1453)\n*1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465)\n*1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician (b. 1497)\n*1686 – Magnus_Gabriel_De_la_Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man (b. 1622)\n*1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1651)\n*1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (b. 1718)\n*1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (b. 1721)\n*1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1838)\n*1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)\n*1892 – Provo Wallis, Canadian-English admiral (b. 1791)\n*1895 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (b. 1860)\n*1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)\n*1915 – John Bunny, American actor (b. 1863)\n*1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (b. 1887)\n*1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)\n*1934 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1876)\n*1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)\n*1944 – Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1893)\n*1945 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (b. 1909)\n* 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1871)\n*1946 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b. 1882)\n*1950 – George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1881)\n*1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (b. 1868)\n*1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)\n*1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b. 1868)\n*1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (b. 1882)\n*1968 – John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (b. 1891)\n*1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b. 1883)\n*1970 – Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (b. 1886)\n* 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (b. 1911)\n*1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (b. 1902)\n*1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)\n* 1976 – Sid James, South African-English actor (b. 1913)\n* 1976 – Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (b. 1897)\n*1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (b. 1893)\n*1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)\n*1984 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1904)\n*1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (b. 1911)\n* 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)\n* 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)\n*1987 – Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (b. 1922)\n* 1987 – John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (b. 1923)\n*1989 – Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (b. 1911)\n*1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1904)\n* 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)\n* 1991 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (b. 1901)\n* 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1931)\n*1994 – Mas Oyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b. 1927)\n*1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)\n*1999 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1957)\n* 1999 – Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (b. 1961)\n*2003 – Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1930)\n* 2003 – Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (b. 1984) \n* 2003 – Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1904)\n*2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1928)\n*2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)\n* 2005 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (b. 1926)\n* 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (b. 1917)\n*2007 – Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b. 1921)\n*2009 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b. 1920)\n*2010 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (b. 1930)\n* 2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (b. 1942)\n*2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)\n*2012 – Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (b. 1938)\n*2013 – Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (b. 1930)\n* 2013 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)\n*2014 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (b. 1936)\n* 2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (b. 1927)\n*2015 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (b. 1919)\n* 2015 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1930)\n*2016 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b. 1937)\n*2017 – Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (b. 1944)\n\n", "*Chernobyl disaster related observances:\n**Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus) \n**Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia)\n*Christian feast day:\n**Aldobrandesca (or Alda)\n**Franca Visalta\n**Lucidius of Verona\n**Our Lady of Good Counsel\n**Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus\n**Riquier\n**Paschasius Radbertus\n**Peter of Rates (or of Braga) \n**Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA))\n**Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day\n**Trudpert\n**April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States)\n*Union Day (Tanzania)\n*World Intellectual Property Day\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n*\n* Today in Canadian History\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "\n* 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)\n* 757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)\n* 764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)\n*1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)\n*1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)\n*1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)\n*1575 – Marie de' Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)\n*1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)\n*1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)\n*1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)\n*1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)\n*1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)\n*1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)\n*1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)\n*1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)\n*1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)\n*1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)\n*1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)\n*1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)\n*1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)\n*1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)\n*1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)\n*1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)\n*1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)\n*1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)\n*1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)\n*1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)\n*1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)\n* 1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)\n*1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)\n* 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)\n*1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)\n*1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)\n* 1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)\n*1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)\n*1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)\n* 1898 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)\n* 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)\n*1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)\n*1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)\n* 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)\n*1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)\n* 1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)\n*1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)\n*1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)\n*1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)\n*1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)\n*1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)\n*1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986) \n* 1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)\n*1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)\n* 1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)\n* 1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)\n*1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)\n* 1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower\n* 1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)\n*1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)\n*1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)\n*1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)\n* 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)\n* 1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer\n*1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)\n*1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author\n* 1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)\n* 1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)\n* 1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)\n*1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)\n*1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)\n* 1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)\n* 1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)\n*1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)\n*1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster\n*1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)\n* 1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)\n* 1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria\n*1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)\n* 1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper\n* 1932 – Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)\n* 1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer\n* 1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)\n*1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer\n* 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)\n* 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator\n*1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)\n*1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor\n* 1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs)\n*1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)\n* 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer\n* 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player\n*1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress\n*1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)\n* 1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Leader of the Government in the Senate\n* 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States\n* 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor\n* 1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic\n*1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer \n* 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals\n*1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)\n*1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer\n* 1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver\n* 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician\n*1946 – Marilyn Nelson, African-American poet and author\n* 1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer\n* 1947 – Terrance Pavlack}}, Polish American inventor and steelmaker\n*1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager\n* 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)\n*1951 – John Battle, English politician\n*1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player\n* 1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer\n*1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician\n*1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer\n*1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish racing driver\n* 1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer\n* 1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager\n*1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach\n* 1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer \n*1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer\n* 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian\n*1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer\n* 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player\n* 1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler\n* 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player\n*1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress\n* 1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian \n*1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter\n* 1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician\n*1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager\n* 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; First Lady of the United States; wife of United States President Donald Trump\n* 1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic\n* 1970 – Tionne \"T-Boz\" Watkins, African-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress\n*1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer \n*1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver\n* 1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer\n* 1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach\n* 1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager\n*1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster\n* 1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer\n* 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer\n* 1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach\n*1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer \n*1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer\n* 1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player\n*1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut\n* 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player\n* 1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author\n* 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor\n*1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player\n* 1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress \n* 1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor\n* 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer\n*1980 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress\n* 1980 – Marlon King, English footballer\n* 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist\n* 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor and producer\n*1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer\n* 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer\n* 1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)\n*1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter\n*1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver\n* 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier and POW\n*1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress \n*1985 – John Isner, American tennis player\n* 1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, Chilean tennis player\n*1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer\n* 1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner\n*1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer\n*1988 – Eric Salamat, Filipino basketball player\n* 1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player\n* 1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer\n* 1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer\n*1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player\n*1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player\n* 1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (d. 2012)\n*1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer\n* 1991 – Will Heard, British singer and songwriter\n* 1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer\n* 1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player\n* 1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish professional racing cyclist\n*1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player\n*1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver" ]

[ "*1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.", "*1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.", "*1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).", "*1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.", "*1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.", "*1777 – Legend tells that Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces\n*1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.", "*1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Régime and to eventually consolidate his own rule.", "*1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L'Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.", "*1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.", "*1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina.", "Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.", "* 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia.", "*1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded\n*1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.", "*1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.", "*1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.", "*1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.", "*1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.", "*1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.", "*1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.", "* 1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.", "*1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.", "* 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.", "*1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.", "*1956 – , the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.", "*1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Royal Blue'' from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.", "*1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule.", "*1962 – NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.", "*1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.", "*1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.", "*1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (''Very strong'').", "Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.", "* 1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.", "*1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.", "*1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery.", "*1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.", "*1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.", "*1989 – The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.", "* 1989 – ''People's Daily'' publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests\n*1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States.", "Before the outbreak's end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year's only F5 tornado.", "*1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.", "*2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.", "*2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).", "* 499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b.", "467)\n* 645 – Richarius, Frankish monk and saint (b.", "560)\n* 680 – Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph (b.", "602)\n* 757 – Pope Stephen II (b.", "715)\n* 893 – Chen Jingxuan, general of the Tang Dynasty\n*1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b.", "1127)\n*1366 – Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury\n*1392 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (b.", "1338) \n*1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b.", "1378)\n*1478 – Giuliano de' Medici, Italian ruler (b.", "1453)\n*1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b.", "1465)\n*1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician (b.", "1497)\n*1686 – Magnus_Gabriel_De_la_Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man (b.", "1622)\n*1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b.", "1651)\n*1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (b.", "1718)\n*1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (b.", "1721)\n*1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b.", "1838)\n*1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b.", "1815)\n*1892 – Provo Wallis, Canadian-English admiral (b.", "1791)\n*1895 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (b.", "1860)\n*1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1832)\n*1915 – John Bunny, American actor (b.", "1863)\n*1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (b.", "1887)\n*1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b.", "1868)\n*1934 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b.", "1876)\n*1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1874)\n*1944 – Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b.", "1893)\n*1945 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (b.", "1909)\n* 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b.", "1871)\n*1946 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b.", "1882)\n*1950 – George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b.", "1881)\n*1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (b.", "1868)\n*1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b.", "1890)\n*1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b.", "1868)\n*1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (b.", "1882)\n*1968 – John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (b.", "1891)\n*1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b.", "1883)\n*1970 – Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (b.", "1886)\n* 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (b.", "1911)\n*1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (b.", "1902)\n*1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b.", "1903)\n* 1976 – Sid James, South African-English actor (b.", "1913)\n* 1976 – Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (b.", "1897)\n*1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (b.", "1893)\n*1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b.", "1909)\n*1984 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b.", "1904)\n*1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (b.", "1911)\n* 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b.", "1898)\n* 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b.", "1899)\n*1987 – Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (b.", "1922)\n* 1987 – John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (b.", "1923)\n*1989 – Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (b.", "1911)\n*1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (b.", "1904)\n* 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b.", "1910)\n* 1991 – A.", "B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (b.", "1901)\n* 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b.", "1931)\n*1994 – Mas Oyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b.", "1927)\n*1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b.", "1918)\n*1999 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b.", "1957)\n* 1999 – Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (b.", "1961)\n*2003 – Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (b.", "1930)\n* 2003 – Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (b.", "1984) \n* 2003 – Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b.", "1904)\n*2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (b.", "1928)\n*2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b.", "1919)\n* 2005 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (b.", "1926)\n* 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (b.", "1917)\n*2007 – Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b.", "1921)\n*2009 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b.", "1920)\n*2010 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (b.", "1930)\n* 2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (b.", "1942)\n*2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b.", "1950)\n*2012 – Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (b.", "1938)\n*2013 – Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (b.", "1930)\n* 2013 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b.", "1931)\n*2014 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (b.", "1936)\n* 2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (b.", "1927)\n*2015 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (b.", "1919)\n* 2015 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b.", "1930)\n*2016 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b.", "1937)\n*2017 – Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (b.", "1944)", "*Chernobyl disaster related observances:\n**Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus) \n**Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia)\n*Christian feast day:\n**Aldobrandesca (or Alda)\n**Franca Visalta\n**Lucidius of Verona\n**Our Lady of Good Counsel\n**Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus\n**Riquier\n**Paschasius Radbertus\n**Peter of Rates (or of Braga) \n**Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA))\n**Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day\n**Trudpert\n**April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States)\n*Union Day (Tanzania)\n*World Intellectual Property Day", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n*\n* Today in Canadian History" ]

[ "Absolute poverty rates, based on 2011 constant PPP international dollar, according to The World Bank in 2014. According to World Bank's revised estimates for extreme poverty coupled with regional economic development, extreme poverty rates have fallen significantly in China and India. In other countries, extreme poverty has increased per 2011 benchmarks compared to 2005 benchmarks.\n\n'''Extreme poverty''', '''absolute poverty''', '''destitution''', or '''penury''', was originally defined by the United Nations in 1995 as \"a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.\" In 2008, \"extreme poverty\" widely refers to earning below the international poverty line of $1.25/day (in 2005 prices), set by the World Bank. This measure is the equivalent to earning $1.00 a day in 1996 US prices, hence the widely used expression, living on \"less than a dollar a day.\" The vast majority of those in extreme poverty – 96% – reside in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, The West Indies, East Asia and the Pacific; nearly half live in India and China alone.\n\nThe reduction of extreme poverty and hunger was the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG1), as set by 189 United Nations Member States in 2000. Specifically, MDG1 set a target of reducing the extreme poverty rate in half by 2015, a goal that was met 5 years ahead of schedule. This goal was created to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, and the international community, including the UN, the World Bank and the United States, has set a target of ending extreme poverty by 2030.\n", "\n===Income-based definition===\n\nExtreme poverty is defined by the International Community as earning less than a $1.25 a day, as measured in 2005 international prices. Originally, the international poverty line was set at earning a $1 a day when the Millennium Development Goals were first published. However, in 2008, the World Bank pushed the line to $1.25 to recognize higher price levels in several developing countries than previously estimated.\n\nAs of September 2010 (the most recent, reliable date), according to the UN, roughly 1.2 billion people remain in extreme poverty based on this metric. Despite the significant number of individuals still earning below the international poverty line, this figure represents significant progress for the international community, as this number is 700 million fewer than the number living in extreme poverty in 1990 – 1.9 billion. As highlighted in the next section, though there are many criticisms of a purely income-based approach to measuring extreme poverty, the $1.25/day line remains the most widely used metric as it is easily accessible to the public at large and \"draws attention to those in the direst need.\"\n\nOn September 23, 2015, the UK-based Financial Times reported that the World Bank intends to revise its income-based benchmark upward, to $1.90 a day based on 2011 prices. As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes. The new global poverty line uses updated price data to paint a more accurate picture of the costs of basic food, clothing, and shelter needs around the world. In other words, the real value of $1.90 in 2011’s prices is the same as $1.25 was in 2005.\n\n===Common criticism/alternatives===\n\nThough widely used by most international organizations, the $1.25/day extreme poverty line has come under scrutiny from a variety of factors. For example, when used to measure headcount ratio (i.e. the percentage of people living below the line), the $1.25/day line is unable to capture other important measures such as depth of poverty, relative poverty and how people view their own financial situation (known as the \"socially subjective poverty line\"). Moreover, the calculation of the poverty line relies on several debatable assumptions about purchasing power parity, homogeneity of household size and makeup, and consumer prices used to determine a basket of essential goods. Not to mention the fact that there may be missing data from the poorest and most fragile countries which may muddle the picture even further.\n\nTo address these problems, several alternative instruments for measuring extreme poverty have been suggested which incorporate other factors such as malnutrition and lack of access to a basic education. Thus, the 2010 Human Development Report introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which measures not only income, but also basic needs. Using this tool, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that roughly 1.5 billion people remained in extreme poverty as opposed to the conventional figure of 1.2 billion. As this figure is considered more \"holistic,\" it may shed new light on relative deprivation within a country. For example, in Ethiopia, 39% of the population is considered extremely poor under conventional measures, but 90% are in multidimensional poverty.\n\nAnother version of the MPI, known as the Alkire-Foster Method, created by Sabina Alkire and James Foster of the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), can be broken down to reflect both the incidence and the intensity of poverty. This tool is useful as development officials, using the \"M0 measure\" of the method (which is calculated by multiplying \"the proportion of people who are poor by the percentage of dimensions in which they are deprived\"), can determine the most likely causes of poverty within a region. For example, in the Gaza Strip of Palestine, using the M0 measure of the Alkire-Foster method reveals that poverty in the region is primarily caused by a lack of access to electricity and drinking water, in addition to widespread overcrowding. In contrast, data from the Chhukha District of Bhutan reveals that income is a much larger contributor to poverty as opposed to other dimensions within the region.\n", "\n===Getting to zero===\n\nUsing the World Bank definition of $1.25/day, as of September 2013, roughly 1.3 billion people remain in extreme poverty (or roughly 1 in 6 people) (of ~7.1 billion people in same time frame). Nearly half live in India and China, with more than 85% living in just 20 countries. Since the mid-1990s, there has been a steady decline in both the worldwide poverty rate and the total number of extreme poor. In 1990, the percentage of the global population living in extreme poverty was 43%, but in 2011, that percentage had dropped down to 21%. This halving of the extreme poverty rate falls in line with the first millennium development goal (MDG1) proposed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who called on the international community at the turn of the century to \"halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty…by 2015.\"\n\nVarious projections for the prospect of \"ending\" extreme poverty by 2030. The ''y''-axis represents the percentage of people living in Extreme Poverty globally.\n\nThis reduction in extreme poverty took place most notably in China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Vietnam. These five countries accounted for the alleviation of 715 million people out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010 – more than the global net total of roughly 700 million. This statistical oddity can be explained by the fact that the number of people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 290 million to 414 million over the same period. However, there have been many positive signs for extensive, global poverty reduction as well. Since 1999, the total number of extreme poor has declined by 50 million per year, on average. Moreover, in 2005, for the first time in recorded history, poverty rates began to fall in every region of the world, including Africa. Although this is largely due to a change in the 2000 UN Millennium Declaration, extending the plan period backward to 1990, it was previously 1996. Changing the date took advantage of rapid population growth and a huge poverty reduction in China during the 1990s.\n\nAs aforementioned, the number of people living in extreme poverty has reduced from 1.9 billion to 1.2 billion over the span of the last 20–25 years. If we remain on our current trajectory, many economists predict we could reach global \"zero\" by 2030–2035, thus \"ending\" extreme poverty. Global zero entails a world in which fewer than 3% of the global population lives in extreme poverty (projected under most optimistic scenarios to be fewer than 200 million people). This \"zero\" figure is set at 3% in recognition of the fact that some amount of \"frictional\" poverty will continue to exist, whether it is caused by political conflict or unexpected economic fluctuations, at least for the foreseeable future. However, the Brookings Institution notes that any projection about poverty more than a few years into the future runs the risk of being highly uncertain. This is because changes in consumption and distribution throughout the developing world over the next two decades could result in monumental shifts in global poverty, for better or worse.\n\nOthers are more pessimistic about this possibility, with many predicting a range of 193 million to 660 million people living in extreme poverty by 2035. Additionally, some believe the rate of poverty reduction will slow down in the developing world, especially in Africa, and as such it will take closer to five decades to reach global \"zero.\" Despite these reservations, several prominent international and national organizations, including the UN, the World Bank and the United States Federal Government (via USAID), have set a target of reaching global zero by the end of 2030.\n\nthumb\n\n===Exacerbating factors===\n\nThere are a variety of factors that may reinforce or instigate the existence of extreme poverty, such as weak institutions, cycles of violence and a low level of growth. Recent World Bank research shows that some countries can get caught in a \"fragility trap,\" in which the above factors prevent the poorest nations from emerging from low-level equilibrium in the long run. Moreover, most of the reduction in extreme poverty over the past twenty years has taken place in countries that have not experienced a civil conflict or have had governing institutions with a strong capacity to actually govern. Thus, to end extreme poverty, it is also important to focus on the interrelated problems of fragility and conflict.\n\nUSAID defines fragility as a government's lack of both legitimacy (the perception the government is adequate at doing its job) and effectiveness (how good the government is at maintaining law and order, in an equitable manner). As fragile nations are unable to equitably and effectively perform the functions of a state, these countries are much more prone to violent unrest and mass inequality. Additionally, in countries with high levels of inequality (a common problem in countries with inadequate governing institutions), much higher growth rates are needed to reduce the rate of poverty when compared with other nations. Not to mention, after removing China and India from the equation, up to 70% of the world's poor live in fragile states by some definitions of fragility. Looking further, some analysts project extreme poverty will be increasingly concentrated in fragile, low-income states like Haiti, Yemen and the Central African Republic over the coming years. However, some academics, such as Andy Sumner, assert that extreme poverty will be increasingly found concentrated in Middle Income Countries, creating a \"poverty paradox\" – as the World's poor don't actually live in the poorest countries.\n\nDespite this debate, addressing the problem of fragility remains a very real issue. To help low-income, fragile states make the transition towards peace and prosperity, the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, endorsed by roughly forty countries and multilateral institutions, was created in 2011. This \"New Deal,\" represents an important step towards redressing the problem of fragility as it was originally articulated by self-identified fragile states who called on the international community to not only \"do things differently,\" but to also \"do different things.\"\n\nOn the other hand, civil conflict also remains a prime cause for the perpetuation of poverty throughout the developing world. Armed conflict can have severe effects on economic growth for a plethora of reasons – it destroys assets, creates unwanted mass migration, destroys livelihoods and diverts public resources towards war fighting. Significantly, a country that experienced major violence during 1981–2005 had extreme poverty rates 21 percentage points higher than a country with no violence. On average, a civil conflict will also cost a country roughly 30 years of GDP growth. Therefore, a renewed commitment from the international community to address the deteriorating situation in highly fragile states is necessary to both prevent the mass loss of life, but to also prevent the vicious cycle of extreme poverty.\n\nIn 2013, a prevalent finding in a report by the World Bank was that extreme poverty is most prevalent in what they call low income countries. In these countries the World Bank found that progress in poverty reduction is slowest, the poor live under terrible conditions and the most affected persons are children age 12 and under.\n", "\n===Millennium Summit===\n\nOfficial logos for each of the Millennium Development Goals.\n\nIn September 2000, world leaders gathered at the Millennium Summit held in New York, launching the United Nations Millennium Project suggested by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Prior to the launch of the conference, the office of Secretary-General Annan released a report entitled We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century. In this document, now widely known as the Millennium Report, Kofi Annan called on the international community \"to adopt the target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, and so lifting more than 1 billion people out of it, by 2015.\" Citing studies that show \"an almost perfect correlation between growth and poverty reduction in poor countries,\" Annan urged international leaders to indiscriminately target the problem of extreme poverty across every region. In charge of managing the project was Jeffrey Sachs, a noted development economist, who in 2005 released a plan for action called \"Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.\"\n\n===2005 World Summit===\n\nThe 2005 World Summit, held in September and was organized to measure international progress towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Notably, the conference brought together more than 170 Heads of State. While world leaders at the summit were encouraged by the reduction of poverty in some nations, they were concerned by the uneven decline of poverty within and among different regions of the globe. However, at the end of the summit, the conference attendees reaffirmed the UN's commitment to achieve the MDGs by 2015 and urged all supranational, national and non-governmental organizations to follow suit.\n\n===Post-2015 Development Agenda===\n\nWith the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals approaching in 2015, the international community is focused on accelerating efforts to achieve the goals laid out in the original MDGs. Overall, there has been significant progress towards reducing extreme poverty, with the MDG 1 target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half, met \"five years ahead of the 2015 deadline…700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990. However, at the global level 1.2 billion people were still living in extreme poverty.\" One notable exception to this trend was in Sub-Saharan Africa, the only region where the number of people living in extreme poverty rose from 290 million in 1990 to 414 million in 2010, comprising more than a third of those living in extreme poverty worldwide.\n\nWith the aforementioned in mind, the UN convened a High Level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons, to advise on a Post-2015 Development Agenda. The HLP report, entitled A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development, was published in May 2013. In the report, the HLP wrote that:\n\n Ending extreme poverty is just the beginning, not the end. It is vital, but our vision must be broader: to start countries on the path of sustainable development – building on the foundations established by the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro12, and meeting a challenge that no country, developed or developing, has met so far. We recommend to the Secretary-General that deliberations on a new development agenda must be guided by the vision of eradicating extreme poverty once and for all, in the context of sustainable development.\n\nThus, the report determined that a central goal of the Post-Millennium Development agenda is to \"eradicate extreme poverty…by 2030.\" However, the report also emphasized that the MDGs were not enough, as they did not \"focus on the devastating effects of conflict and violence on development…the importance to development of good governance and institution…nor the need for inclusive growth...\" Consequently, there now exists synergy between the policy position papers put forward by the United States (through USAID), the World Bank and the UN itself in terms of viewing fragility and a lack of good governance as exacerbating extreme poverty. However, in a departure from the views of other organizations, the commission also proposed that the UN focus not only on extreme poverty (a line drawn at $1.25), but also on a higher target, such as $2. The report notes this change could be made to reflect the fact that escaping extreme poverty is \"only a start.\"\n\nIn addition to the UN, a host of other supranational and national actors such as the European Union and the African Union have published their own positions or recommendations on what should be incorporated in the Post-2015 agenda. The European Commission's communication, published in A decent Life for all: from vision to collective action, affirmed the UN's commitment to \"eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime and put the world on a sustainable path to ensure a decent life for all by 2030.\" A unique vision of the report was the Commission's environmental focus (in addition to a plethora of other goals such as combating hunger and gender inequality). Specifically, the Commission argued, \"long-term poverty reduction…requires inclusive and sustainable growth. Growth should create decent jobs, take place with resource efficiency and within planetary boundaries, and should support efforts to mitigate climate change.\" The African Union's report, entitled Common African Position (CAP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, likewise encouraged the international community to focus on eradicating the twin problems of \"poverty and exclusion\" in our lifetime. Moreover, the CAP pledged that it would \"commit to ensure that no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities.\"\n\n===UN LDC conferences===\n\nThe UN Least Developed Country (LDC) conferences were a series of summits organized by the UN over the past few decades, which sought to promote the substantial and even development of so-called \"third-world\" countries.\n\n'''''1st UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nHeld between September 1 and September 14, 1981, in Paris, the first UN LDC Conference was organized to finalize the UN's \"Substantial New Programme of Action\" for the 1980s in Least Developed Countries. This program, which was unanimously adopted by the conference attendees, argued for internal reforms in LDCs (meant to encourage economic growth) to be complemented by strong international measures. However, despite the major economic and policy reforms initiated many of these LDCs, in addition to strong international aid, the economic situation of these countries worsened as a whole in the 1980s. This prompted the organization of a 2nd UN LDC conference almost a decade later.\n\n'''''2nd UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nHeld between September 3 and September 14, 1990, once again in Paris, the second UN LDC Conference was convened to measure the progress made by the LDCs towards fulfilling their development goals during the 1980s. Recognizing the problems that plagued the LDCs over the past decade, the conference formulated a new set of national and international policies to accelerate the growth rates of the poorest nations. These new principles were embodied in the \"Paris Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s.\"\n\n'''''4th UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nThe most recent conference, held in May 2011 in Istanbul, recognized that the nature of development had fundamentally changed since the 1st conference held almost 30 years earlier. In the 21st century, the capital flow into emerging economies has increasingly become dominated by foreign direct investment and remittances, as opposed to bilateral and multilateral assistance. Moreover, since the 80s, significant structural changes have taken place on the international stage. With the creation of the G-20 conference of the largest economic powers, including many nations in the Global South, formerly \"undeveloped\" nations are now able to have a much larger say in international relations. Furthermore, the conference recognized that in the midst of a deep global recession, coupled with multiple crises (energy, climate, food, etc.), the international community would have fewer resources to aid the LDCs. Thus, the UN considered the participation of a wide range of stakeholders (not least the LDCs themselves), crucial to the formulation of the conference.\n", "\n===International organizations===\n\n====World Bank====\n\nIn 2013, the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) set two overriding goals for the WBG to commit itself to in the future. First, to end extreme poverty by 2030, an objective that echoes the sentiments of the UN and the Obama administration. Additionally, the WBG set an interim target of reducing extreme poverty to below 9 percent by 2020. Second, to focus on growth among the bottom 40 percent of people, as opposed to standard GDP growth. This commitment ensures that the growth of the developing world lifts people out of poverty, rather than exacerbating inequality.\n\nAs the World Bank's primary focus is on delivering economic growth to enable equitable prosperity, its developments programs are primarily commercial-based in nature, as opposed to the UN. Since the World Bank recognizes better jobs will result in higher income and thus, less poverty, the WBG seeks to support employment training initiatives, small business development programs and strong labor protection laws. However, since much of the growth in the developing world has been inequitable, the World Bank has also begun teaming with client states to map out trends in inequality and to propose public policy changes that can level the playing field.\n\nMoreover, the World Bank engages in a variety of nutritional, transfer payments and transport-based initiatives. Children who experience under-nutrition from conception to two years of age have a much higher risk of physical and mental disability. Thus, they are often trapped in poverty and are unable to make a full contribution to the social and economic development of their communities as adults. The WBG estimates that as much as 3% of GDP can be lost as a result of under-nutrition among the poorest nations. To combat undernutrition, the WBG has partnered with UNICEF and the WHO to ensure all small children are fully fed. The WBG also offers conditional cash transfers to poor households who meet certain requirements such as maintaining children's healthcare or ensuring school attendance. Finally, the WBG understands investment in public transportation and better roads is key to breaking rural isolation, improving access to healthcare and providing better job opportunities for the World's poor.\n\n====UN====\n\n'''''1. OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)'''''\n\nThe Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations works to synchronize the disparate international, national and non-governmental efforts to contest poverty. The OCHA seeks to prevent \"confusion\" in relief operations and to ensure that the humanitarian response to disaster situations has greater accountability and predictability. To do so, OCHA has begun deploying Humanitarian Coordinators and Country Teams to provide a solid architecture for the international community to work through.\n\n'''''2. UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)'''''\n\nThe United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the UN to provide food, clothing and healthcare to European children facing famine and disease in the immediate aftermath of World War II. After the UN General Assembly extended UNICEF's mandate indefinitely in 1953, it actively worked to help children in extreme poverty in more than 190 countries and territories to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child's path. Its current focus areas are 1) Child survival & development 2) Basic education & gender equality 3) Children and HIV/AIDS and 4) Child protection.\n\n'''''3. UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency)'''''\n\nThe UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights of refugees by ensuring anyone can exercise the right to seek asylum in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or resettle in a third country. The UNHCR operates in over 125 countries, helping approximately 33.9 million persons.\n\n'''''4. WFP (World Food Program)'''''\n\nThe World Food Program (WFP) is the largest agency dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide. On average, WFP brings food assistance to more than 90 million people in 75 countries. The WFP not only strives to prevent hunger in the present, but also in the future by developing stronger communities which will make food even more secure on their own. The WFP has a range of expertise from Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics.\n\n'''''5. WHO (World Health Organization)'''''\n\nThe World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, articulating evidence-based policy decisions and combating diseases that are induced from poverty, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Moreover, the WHO deals with pressing issues ranging from managing water safety, to dealing with maternal and newborn health.\n\n===Bilateral organizations===\n\n====USAID====\n\nThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. government agency dedicated to ending extreme poverty. Currently the largest bilateral donor in the world, the United States channels the majority of its \"development\" assistance through USAID and the U.S. Department of State. In President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address, he declared \"So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades...which is within our reach.\" In response to Obama's call to action, USAID has made ending extreme poverty central to its mission statement. Under its New Model of Development, USAID seeks to eradicate extreme poverty through the use of innovation in science and technology, by putting a greater emphasis on evidence based decision-making, and through leveraging the ingenuity of the private sector and global citizens.\n\nA major initiative of the Obama Administration is Power Africa, which aims to bring energy to 20 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. By reaching out to its international partners, whether commercial or public, the US has leveraged over $14 billion in outside commitments after investing only $7 billion USD of its own. To ensure that Power Africa reaches the region's poorest, the initiative engages in a transaction based approach to create systematic change. This includes expanding access to electricity to more than 20,000 additional households which already live without power.\n\nIn terms of specific programming, USAID works in a variety of fields from preventing hunger, reducing HIV/AIDS, providing general health assistance and democracy assistance, as well as dealing with gender issues. To deal with food security, which affects roughly 842 million people (who go to bed hungry each night), USAID coordinates the Feed the Future Initiative (FtF). FtF aims to reduce poverty and undernutrition each by 20 percent over five years. Thanks to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and a variety of congruent actors, the incidence of AIDS and HIV, which used to ravage Africa, has reduced in scope and intensity. Through PEPFAR, the United States has ensured over five million people have received life-saving antiviral drugs, a significant proportion of the eight million people receiving treatment in relatively poor nations.\n\nIn terms of general health assistance, USAID has worked to reduce maternal mortality by 30 percent, under-five child mortality by 35 percent, and has accomplished a host of other goals. USAID also supports the gamut of democratic initiatives, from promoting human rights and accountable, fair governance, to supporting free and fair elections and the rule of law. In pursuit of these goals, USAID has increased global political participation by training more than 9,800 domestic election observers and providing civic education to more than 6.5 million people. Since 2012, the Agency has begun integrating critical gender perspectives across all aspects of its programming to ensure all USAID initiatives work to eliminate gender disparities. To do so, USAID seeks to increase the capability of women and girls to realize their rights and determine their own life outcomes. Moreover, USAID supports additional programs to improve women's access to capital and markets, builds theirs skills in agriculture, and supports women's desire to own businesses.\n\n====DfID====\n\nThe Department for International Development (DfID) is the UK's lead agency for eradicating extreme poverty. To do so, DfID focuses on the creation of jobs, empowering women and rapidly responding to humanitarian emergencies.\n\nSome specific examples of DfID projects include governance assistance, educational initiatives, and funding cutting-edge research. In 2014 alone, DfID will support \"freer and fairer\" elections in 13 countries. DfID will also help provide 10 million women with access to justice through strengthened judicial systems and will help 40 million people make their authorities more accountable. By 2015, DfID will have helped 9 million children attend primary school, at least half of which will be girls. Furthermore, through the Research4Development (R4D) project, DfID has funded over 35,000 projects in the name of creating new technologies to help the world's poorest. These technologies include: vaccines for diseases of African cattle, better diagnostic methods for tuberculosis, new drugs for combating malaria, and developing flood-resistant rice. In addition to technological research, the R4D is also used to fund projects that seek to understand what, specifically, about governance structures can be changed to help the world's poorest.\n\n===Non-governmental movements===\n\n====NGOs====\n\nA multitude of non-governmental organizations operate in the field of extreme poverty, actively working to alleviate the poorest of the poor of their deprivation. To name but a few notable organizations: Save the Children, The Overseas Development Institute, Concern Worldwide, ONE, trickleUP and Oxfam have all done a considerable amount of work in extreme poverty.\n\nSave the Children is the leading international organization dedicated to helping the World's indigent children. In 2013 alone, Save the Children reached over 143 million children through their work, including over 52 million children directly. Save the Children also recently released their own report titled \"Getting to Zero\", in which they argued the international community could feasibly do more than lift the world's poor above $1.25/day. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the premier UK based think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. ODI is dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the world's poor by providing high-quality research and practical policy advice to the World's development officials. ODI also recently released a paper entitled, \"The Chronic Poverty Report 2014–2015: The road to zero extreme poverty\", in which its authors assert that though the international communities' goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 is laudable, much more targeted resources will be necessary to reach said target. The report states that \"To eradicate extreme poverty, massive global investment is required in social assistance, education and pro-poorest economic growth\".\n\nConcern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization whose mission is to end extreme poverty by influencing decision makers at all levels of government (local -> international). Concern has also produced a report on extreme poverty in which they explain their own conception of extreme poverty from a NGO's standpoint. In this paper, named \"How Concern Understands Extreme Poverty\", the report's creators write that extreme poverty entails more than just living under $1.25/day, it also includes having a small number of assets and being vulnerable to severe negative shocks (whether natural or man made).\n\nONE, the organization cofounded by Bono, is a non-profit organization funded almost entirely by foundations, individual philanthropists and corporations. ONE's goals include raising public awareness and working with political leaders to fight preventable diseases, increase government accountability and increase investment in nutrition. Finally, trickleUp is a microenterprise development program targeted at those living on under $1.25/day, which provides the indigent with resources to build a sustainable livelihood through both direct financing and considerable training efforts.\n\nAnother NGO that works to end extreme poverty is Oxfam. This non-governmental organization works prominently in Africa; their mission is to improve local community organizations and it works to reduce impediments to the development of the country. Oxfam helps families suffering from poverty receive food and healthcare to survive. There are many children in Africa experiencing growth stunting, and this is one example of an issue that Oxfam targets and aims to resolve.\n\n====Campaigns====\n*Giving What We Can\n*Global Poverty Project\n*Live Below the Line\n*Make Poverty History\n", "*List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty\n*Income inequality metrics\n*Least developed countries\n*Poverty line\n*Poverty reduction\n*Millennium Development Goals\n", "\n", "* Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger by 2015 | UN Millennium Development Goal curated by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Michigan State University\n* The Life You Can Save – Acting Now to End World Poverty\n* WhiteBand.org Global Call to Action Against Poverty\n* Half The Sky\n* Scientific American Magazine (September 2005 Issue) Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?\n* International Movement ATD Fourth World\n* Walk In Her Shoes\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Defining extreme poverty", "Current trends", "International conferences", "Organizations working to end extreme poverty", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Absolute poverty rates, based on 2011 constant PPP international dollar, according to The World Bank in 2014.", "According to World Bank's revised estimates for extreme poverty coupled with regional economic development, extreme poverty rates have fallen significantly in China and India.", "In 2008, \"extreme poverty\" widely refers to earning below the international poverty line of $1.25/day (in 2005 prices), set by the World Bank.", "This goal was created to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, and the international community, including the UN, the World Bank and the United States, has set a target of ending extreme poverty by 2030.", "However, in 2008, the World Bank pushed the line to $1.25 to recognize higher price levels in several developing countries than previously estimated.", "On September 23, 2015, the UK-based Financial Times reported that the World Bank intends to revise its income-based benchmark upward, to $1.90 a day based on 2011 prices.", "\n===Getting to zero===\n\nUsing the World Bank definition of $1.25/day, as of September 2013, roughly 1.3 billion people remain in extreme poverty (or roughly 1 in 6 people) (of ~7.1 billion people in same time frame).", "Despite these reservations, several prominent international and national organizations, including the UN, the World Bank and the United States Federal Government (via USAID), have set a target of reaching global zero by the end of 2030.\n\nthumb\n\n===Exacerbating factors===\n\nThere are a variety of factors that may reinforce or instigate the existence of extreme poverty, such as weak institutions, cycles of violence and a low level of growth.", "Recent World Bank research shows that some countries can get caught in a \"fragility trap,\" in which the above factors prevent the poorest nations from emerging from low-level equilibrium in the long run.", "In 2013, a prevalent finding in a report by the World Bank was that extreme poverty is most prevalent in what they call low income countries.", "In these countries the World Bank found that progress in poverty reduction is slowest, the poor live under terrible conditions and the most affected persons are children age 12 and under.", "However, the report also emphasized that the MDGs were not enough, as they did not \"focus on the devastating effects of conflict and violence on development…the importance to development of good governance and institution…nor the need for inclusive growth...\" Consequently, there now exists synergy between the policy position papers put forward by the United States (through USAID), the World Bank and the UN itself in terms of viewing fragility and a lack of good governance as exacerbating extreme poverty.", "\n===International organizations===\n\n====World Bank====\n\nIn 2013, the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) set two overriding goals for the WBG to commit itself to in the future.", "As the World Bank's primary focus is on delivering economic growth to enable equitable prosperity, its developments programs are primarily commercial-based in nature, as opposed to the UN.", "Since the World Bank recognizes better jobs will result in higher income and thus, less poverty, the WBG seeks to support employment training initiatives, small business development programs and strong labor protection laws.", "However, since much of the growth in the developing world has been inequitable, the World Bank has also begun teaming with client states to map out trends in inequality and to propose public policy changes that can level the playing field.", "Moreover, the World Bank engages in a variety of nutritional, transfer payments and transport-based initiatives." ]

[ "In other countries, extreme poverty has increased per 2011 benchmarks compared to 2005 benchmarks.", "'''Extreme poverty''', '''absolute poverty''', '''destitution''', or '''penury''', was originally defined by the United Nations in 1995 as \"a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.", "It depends not only on income but also on access to services.\"", "This measure is the equivalent to earning $1.00 a day in 1996 US prices, hence the widely used expression, living on \"less than a dollar a day.\"", "The vast majority of those in extreme poverty – 96% – reside in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, The West Indies, East Asia and the Pacific; nearly half live in India and China alone.", "The reduction of extreme poverty and hunger was the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG1), as set by 189 United Nations Member States in 2000.", "Specifically, MDG1 set a target of reducing the extreme poverty rate in half by 2015, a goal that was met 5 years ahead of schedule.", "\n===Income-based definition===\n\nExtreme poverty is defined by the International Community as earning less than a $1.25 a day, as measured in 2005 international prices.", "Originally, the international poverty line was set at earning a $1 a day when the Millennium Development Goals were first published.", "As of September 2010 (the most recent, reliable date), according to the UN, roughly 1.2 billion people remain in extreme poverty based on this metric.", "Despite the significant number of individuals still earning below the international poverty line, this figure represents significant progress for the international community, as this number is 700 million fewer than the number living in extreme poverty in 1990 – 1.9 billion.", "As highlighted in the next section, though there are many criticisms of a purely income-based approach to measuring extreme poverty, the $1.25/day line remains the most widely used metric as it is easily accessible to the public at large and \"draws attention to those in the direst need.\"", "As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes.", "The new global poverty line uses updated price data to paint a more accurate picture of the costs of basic food, clothing, and shelter needs around the world.", "In other words, the real value of $1.90 in 2011’s prices is the same as $1.25 was in 2005.", "===Common criticism/alternatives===\n\nThough widely used by most international organizations, the $1.25/day extreme poverty line has come under scrutiny from a variety of factors.", "For example, when used to measure headcount ratio (i.e.", "the percentage of people living below the line), the $1.25/day line is unable to capture other important measures such as depth of poverty, relative poverty and how people view their own financial situation (known as the \"socially subjective poverty line\").", "Moreover, the calculation of the poverty line relies on several debatable assumptions about purchasing power parity, homogeneity of household size and makeup, and consumer prices used to determine a basket of essential goods.", "Not to mention the fact that there may be missing data from the poorest and most fragile countries which may muddle the picture even further.", "To address these problems, several alternative instruments for measuring extreme poverty have been suggested which incorporate other factors such as malnutrition and lack of access to a basic education.", "Thus, the 2010 Human Development Report introduced the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which measures not only income, but also basic needs.", "Using this tool, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that roughly 1.5 billion people remained in extreme poverty as opposed to the conventional figure of 1.2 billion.", "As this figure is considered more \"holistic,\" it may shed new light on relative deprivation within a country.", "For example, in Ethiopia, 39% of the population is considered extremely poor under conventional measures, but 90% are in multidimensional poverty.", "Another version of the MPI, known as the Alkire-Foster Method, created by Sabina Alkire and James Foster of the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), can be broken down to reflect both the incidence and the intensity of poverty.", "This tool is useful as development officials, using the \"M0 measure\" of the method (which is calculated by multiplying \"the proportion of people who are poor by the percentage of dimensions in which they are deprived\"), can determine the most likely causes of poverty within a region.", "For example, in the Gaza Strip of Palestine, using the M0 measure of the Alkire-Foster method reveals that poverty in the region is primarily caused by a lack of access to electricity and drinking water, in addition to widespread overcrowding.", "In contrast, data from the Chhukha District of Bhutan reveals that income is a much larger contributor to poverty as opposed to other dimensions within the region.", "Nearly half live in India and China, with more than 85% living in just 20 countries.", "Since the mid-1990s, there has been a steady decline in both the worldwide poverty rate and the total number of extreme poor.", "In 1990, the percentage of the global population living in extreme poverty was 43%, but in 2011, that percentage had dropped down to 21%.", "This halving of the extreme poverty rate falls in line with the first millennium development goal (MDG1) proposed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who called on the international community at the turn of the century to \"halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty…by 2015.\"", "Various projections for the prospect of \"ending\" extreme poverty by 2030.", "The ''y''-axis represents the percentage of people living in Extreme Poverty globally.", "This reduction in extreme poverty took place most notably in China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.", "These five countries accounted for the alleviation of 715 million people out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2010 – more than the global net total of roughly 700 million.", "This statistical oddity can be explained by the fact that the number of people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 290 million to 414 million over the same period.", "However, there have been many positive signs for extensive, global poverty reduction as well.", "Since 1999, the total number of extreme poor has declined by 50 million per year, on average.", "Moreover, in 2005, for the first time in recorded history, poverty rates began to fall in every region of the world, including Africa.", "Although this is largely due to a change in the 2000 UN Millennium Declaration, extending the plan period backward to 1990, it was previously 1996.", "Changing the date took advantage of rapid population growth and a huge poverty reduction in China during the 1990s.", "As aforementioned, the number of people living in extreme poverty has reduced from 1.9 billion to 1.2 billion over the span of the last 20–25 years.", "If we remain on our current trajectory, many economists predict we could reach global \"zero\" by 2030–2035, thus \"ending\" extreme poverty.", "Global zero entails a world in which fewer than 3% of the global population lives in extreme poverty (projected under most optimistic scenarios to be fewer than 200 million people).", "This \"zero\" figure is set at 3% in recognition of the fact that some amount of \"frictional\" poverty will continue to exist, whether it is caused by political conflict or unexpected economic fluctuations, at least for the foreseeable future.", "However, the Brookings Institution notes that any projection about poverty more than a few years into the future runs the risk of being highly uncertain.", "This is because changes in consumption and distribution throughout the developing world over the next two decades could result in monumental shifts in global poverty, for better or worse.", "Others are more pessimistic about this possibility, with many predicting a range of 193 million to 660 million people living in extreme poverty by 2035.", "Additionally, some believe the rate of poverty reduction will slow down in the developing world, especially in Africa, and as such it will take closer to five decades to reach global \"zero.\"", "Moreover, most of the reduction in extreme poverty over the past twenty years has taken place in countries that have not experienced a civil conflict or have had governing institutions with a strong capacity to actually govern.", "Thus, to end extreme poverty, it is also important to focus on the interrelated problems of fragility and conflict.", "USAID defines fragility as a government's lack of both legitimacy (the perception the government is adequate at doing its job) and effectiveness (how good the government is at maintaining law and order, in an equitable manner).", "As fragile nations are unable to equitably and effectively perform the functions of a state, these countries are much more prone to violent unrest and mass inequality.", "Additionally, in countries with high levels of inequality (a common problem in countries with inadequate governing institutions), much higher growth rates are needed to reduce the rate of poverty when compared with other nations.", "Not to mention, after removing China and India from the equation, up to 70% of the world's poor live in fragile states by some definitions of fragility.", "Looking further, some analysts project extreme poverty will be increasingly concentrated in fragile, low-income states like Haiti, Yemen and the Central African Republic over the coming years.", "However, some academics, such as Andy Sumner, assert that extreme poverty will be increasingly found concentrated in Middle Income Countries, creating a \"poverty paradox\" – as the World's poor don't actually live in the poorest countries.", "Despite this debate, addressing the problem of fragility remains a very real issue.", "To help low-income, fragile states make the transition towards peace and prosperity, the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, endorsed by roughly forty countries and multilateral institutions, was created in 2011.", "This \"New Deal,\" represents an important step towards redressing the problem of fragility as it was originally articulated by self-identified fragile states who called on the international community to not only \"do things differently,\" but to also \"do different things.\"", "On the other hand, civil conflict also remains a prime cause for the perpetuation of poverty throughout the developing world.", "Armed conflict can have severe effects on economic growth for a plethora of reasons – it destroys assets, creates unwanted mass migration, destroys livelihoods and diverts public resources towards war fighting.", "Significantly, a country that experienced major violence during 1981–2005 had extreme poverty rates 21 percentage points higher than a country with no violence.", "On average, a civil conflict will also cost a country roughly 30 years of GDP growth.", "Therefore, a renewed commitment from the international community to address the deteriorating situation in highly fragile states is necessary to both prevent the mass loss of life, but to also prevent the vicious cycle of extreme poverty.", "\n===Millennium Summit===\n\nOfficial logos for each of the Millennium Development Goals.", "In September 2000, world leaders gathered at the Millennium Summit held in New York, launching the United Nations Millennium Project suggested by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.", "Prior to the launch of the conference, the office of Secretary-General Annan released a report entitled We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century.", "In this document, now widely known as the Millennium Report, Kofi Annan called on the international community \"to adopt the target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, and so lifting more than 1 billion people out of it, by 2015.\"", "Citing studies that show \"an almost perfect correlation between growth and poverty reduction in poor countries,\" Annan urged international leaders to indiscriminately target the problem of extreme poverty across every region.", "In charge of managing the project was Jeffrey Sachs, a noted development economist, who in 2005 released a plan for action called \"Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.\"", "===2005 World Summit===\n\nThe 2005 World Summit, held in September and was organized to measure international progress towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).", "Notably, the conference brought together more than 170 Heads of State.", "While world leaders at the summit were encouraged by the reduction of poverty in some nations, they were concerned by the uneven decline of poverty within and among different regions of the globe.", "However, at the end of the summit, the conference attendees reaffirmed the UN's commitment to achieve the MDGs by 2015 and urged all supranational, national and non-governmental organizations to follow suit.", "===Post-2015 Development Agenda===\n\nWith the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals approaching in 2015, the international community is focused on accelerating efforts to achieve the goals laid out in the original MDGs.", "Overall, there has been significant progress towards reducing extreme poverty, with the MDG 1 target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half, met \"five years ahead of the 2015 deadline…700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990.", "However, at the global level 1.2 billion people were still living in extreme poverty.\"", "One notable exception to this trend was in Sub-Saharan Africa, the only region where the number of people living in extreme poverty rose from 290 million in 1990 to 414 million in 2010, comprising more than a third of those living in extreme poverty worldwide.", "With the aforementioned in mind, the UN convened a High Level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons, to advise on a Post-2015 Development Agenda.", "The HLP report, entitled A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development, was published in May 2013.", "In the report, the HLP wrote that:\n\n Ending extreme poverty is just the beginning, not the end.", "It is vital, but our vision must be broader: to start countries on the path of sustainable development – building on the foundations established by the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro12, and meeting a challenge that no country, developed or developing, has met so far.", "We recommend to the Secretary-General that deliberations on a new development agenda must be guided by the vision of eradicating extreme poverty once and for all, in the context of sustainable development.", "Thus, the report determined that a central goal of the Post-Millennium Development agenda is to \"eradicate extreme poverty…by 2030.\"", "However, in a departure from the views of other organizations, the commission also proposed that the UN focus not only on extreme poverty (a line drawn at $1.25), but also on a higher target, such as $2.", "The report notes this change could be made to reflect the fact that escaping extreme poverty is \"only a start.\"", "In addition to the UN, a host of other supranational and national actors such as the European Union and the African Union have published their own positions or recommendations on what should be incorporated in the Post-2015 agenda.", "The European Commission's communication, published in A decent Life for all: from vision to collective action, affirmed the UN's commitment to \"eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime and put the world on a sustainable path to ensure a decent life for all by 2030.\"", "A unique vision of the report was the Commission's environmental focus (in addition to a plethora of other goals such as combating hunger and gender inequality).", "Specifically, the Commission argued, \"long-term poverty reduction…requires inclusive and sustainable growth.", "Growth should create decent jobs, take place with resource efficiency and within planetary boundaries, and should support efforts to mitigate climate change.\"", "The African Union's report, entitled Common African Position (CAP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, likewise encouraged the international community to focus on eradicating the twin problems of \"poverty and exclusion\" in our lifetime.", "Moreover, the CAP pledged that it would \"commit to ensure that no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities.\"", "===UN LDC conferences===\n\nThe UN Least Developed Country (LDC) conferences were a series of summits organized by the UN over the past few decades, which sought to promote the substantial and even development of so-called \"third-world\" countries.", "'''''1st UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nHeld between September 1 and September 14, 1981, in Paris, the first UN LDC Conference was organized to finalize the UN's \"Substantial New Programme of Action\" for the 1980s in Least Developed Countries.", "This program, which was unanimously adopted by the conference attendees, argued for internal reforms in LDCs (meant to encourage economic growth) to be complemented by strong international measures.", "However, despite the major economic and policy reforms initiated many of these LDCs, in addition to strong international aid, the economic situation of these countries worsened as a whole in the 1980s.", "This prompted the organization of a 2nd UN LDC conference almost a decade later.", "'''''2nd UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nHeld between September 3 and September 14, 1990, once again in Paris, the second UN LDC Conference was convened to measure the progress made by the LDCs towards fulfilling their development goals during the 1980s.", "Recognizing the problems that plagued the LDCs over the past decade, the conference formulated a new set of national and international policies to accelerate the growth rates of the poorest nations.", "These new principles were embodied in the \"Paris Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s.\"", "'''''4th UN LDC Conference'''''\n\nThe most recent conference, held in May 2011 in Istanbul, recognized that the nature of development had fundamentally changed since the 1st conference held almost 30 years earlier.", "In the 21st century, the capital flow into emerging economies has increasingly become dominated by foreign direct investment and remittances, as opposed to bilateral and multilateral assistance.", "Moreover, since the 80s, significant structural changes have taken place on the international stage.", "With the creation of the G-20 conference of the largest economic powers, including many nations in the Global South, formerly \"undeveloped\" nations are now able to have a much larger say in international relations.", "Furthermore, the conference recognized that in the midst of a deep global recession, coupled with multiple crises (energy, climate, food, etc.", "), the international community would have fewer resources to aid the LDCs.", "Thus, the UN considered the participation of a wide range of stakeholders (not least the LDCs themselves), crucial to the formulation of the conference.", "First, to end extreme poverty by 2030, an objective that echoes the sentiments of the UN and the Obama administration.", "Additionally, the WBG set an interim target of reducing extreme poverty to below 9 percent by 2020.", "Second, to focus on growth among the bottom 40 percent of people, as opposed to standard GDP growth.", "This commitment ensures that the growth of the developing world lifts people out of poverty, rather than exacerbating inequality.", "Children who experience under-nutrition from conception to two years of age have a much higher risk of physical and mental disability.", "Thus, they are often trapped in poverty and are unable to make a full contribution to the social and economic development of their communities as adults.", "The WBG estimates that as much as 3% of GDP can be lost as a result of under-nutrition among the poorest nations.", "To combat undernutrition, the WBG has partnered with UNICEF and the WHO to ensure all small children are fully fed.", "The WBG also offers conditional cash transfers to poor households who meet certain requirements such as maintaining children's healthcare or ensuring school attendance.", "Finally, the WBG understands investment in public transportation and better roads is key to breaking rural isolation, improving access to healthcare and providing better job opportunities for the World's poor.", "====UN====\n\n'''''1.", "OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)'''''\n\nThe Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the United Nations works to synchronize the disparate international, national and non-governmental efforts to contest poverty.", "The OCHA seeks to prevent \"confusion\" in relief operations and to ensure that the humanitarian response to disaster situations has greater accountability and predictability.", "To do so, OCHA has begun deploying Humanitarian Coordinators and Country Teams to provide a solid architecture for the international community to work through.", "'''''2.", "UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)'''''\n\nThe United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the UN to provide food, clothing and healthcare to European children facing famine and disease in the immediate aftermath of World War II.", "After the UN General Assembly extended UNICEF's mandate indefinitely in 1953, it actively worked to help children in extreme poverty in more than 190 countries and territories to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child's path.", "Its current focus areas are 1) Child survival & development 2) Basic education & gender equality 3) Children and HIV/AIDS and 4) Child protection.", "'''''3.", "UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency)'''''\n\nThe UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees worldwide.", "Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights of refugees by ensuring anyone can exercise the right to seek asylum in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or resettle in a third country.", "The UNHCR operates in over 125 countries, helping approximately 33.9 million persons.", "'''''4.", "WFP (World Food Program)'''''\n\nThe World Food Program (WFP) is the largest agency dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide.", "On average, WFP brings food assistance to more than 90 million people in 75 countries.", "The WFP not only strives to prevent hunger in the present, but also in the future by developing stronger communities which will make food even more secure on their own.", "The WFP has a range of expertise from Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics.", "'''''5.", "WHO (World Health Organization)'''''\n\nThe World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, articulating evidence-based policy decisions and combating diseases that are induced from poverty, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.", "Moreover, the WHO deals with pressing issues ranging from managing water safety, to dealing with maternal and newborn health.", "===Bilateral organizations===\n\n====USAID====\n\nThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. government agency dedicated to ending extreme poverty.", "Currently the largest bilateral donor in the world, the United States channels the majority of its \"development\" assistance through USAID and the U.S. Department of State.", "In President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address, he declared \"So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades...which is within our reach.\"", "In response to Obama's call to action, USAID has made ending extreme poverty central to its mission statement.", "Under its New Model of Development, USAID seeks to eradicate extreme poverty through the use of innovation in science and technology, by putting a greater emphasis on evidence based decision-making, and through leveraging the ingenuity of the private sector and global citizens.", "A major initiative of the Obama Administration is Power Africa, which aims to bring energy to 20 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.", "By reaching out to its international partners, whether commercial or public, the US has leveraged over $14 billion in outside commitments after investing only $7 billion USD of its own.", "To ensure that Power Africa reaches the region's poorest, the initiative engages in a transaction based approach to create systematic change.", "This includes expanding access to electricity to more than 20,000 additional households which already live without power.", "In terms of specific programming, USAID works in a variety of fields from preventing hunger, reducing HIV/AIDS, providing general health assistance and democracy assistance, as well as dealing with gender issues.", "To deal with food security, which affects roughly 842 million people (who go to bed hungry each night), USAID coordinates the Feed the Future Initiative (FtF).", "FtF aims to reduce poverty and undernutrition each by 20 percent over five years.", "Thanks to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and a variety of congruent actors, the incidence of AIDS and HIV, which used to ravage Africa, has reduced in scope and intensity.", "Through PEPFAR, the United States has ensured over five million people have received life-saving antiviral drugs, a significant proportion of the eight million people receiving treatment in relatively poor nations.", "In terms of general health assistance, USAID has worked to reduce maternal mortality by 30 percent, under-five child mortality by 35 percent, and has accomplished a host of other goals.", "USAID also supports the gamut of democratic initiatives, from promoting human rights and accountable, fair governance, to supporting free and fair elections and the rule of law.", "In pursuit of these goals, USAID has increased global political participation by training more than 9,800 domestic election observers and providing civic education to more than 6.5 million people.", "Since 2012, the Agency has begun integrating critical gender perspectives across all aspects of its programming to ensure all USAID initiatives work to eliminate gender disparities.", "To do so, USAID seeks to increase the capability of women and girls to realize their rights and determine their own life outcomes.", "Moreover, USAID supports additional programs to improve women's access to capital and markets, builds theirs skills in agriculture, and supports women's desire to own businesses.", "====DfID====\n\nThe Department for International Development (DfID) is the UK's lead agency for eradicating extreme poverty.", "To do so, DfID focuses on the creation of jobs, empowering women and rapidly responding to humanitarian emergencies.", "Some specific examples of DfID projects include governance assistance, educational initiatives, and funding cutting-edge research.", "In 2014 alone, DfID will support \"freer and fairer\" elections in 13 countries.", "DfID will also help provide 10 million women with access to justice through strengthened judicial systems and will help 40 million people make their authorities more accountable.", "By 2015, DfID will have helped 9 million children attend primary school, at least half of which will be girls.", "Furthermore, through the Research4Development (R4D) project, DfID has funded over 35,000 projects in the name of creating new technologies to help the world's poorest.", "These technologies include: vaccines for diseases of African cattle, better diagnostic methods for tuberculosis, new drugs for combating malaria, and developing flood-resistant rice.", "In addition to technological research, the R4D is also used to fund projects that seek to understand what, specifically, about governance structures can be changed to help the world's poorest.", "===Non-governmental movements===\n\n====NGOs====\n\nA multitude of non-governmental organizations operate in the field of extreme poverty, actively working to alleviate the poorest of the poor of their deprivation.", "To name but a few notable organizations: Save the Children, The Overseas Development Institute, Concern Worldwide, ONE, trickleUP and Oxfam have all done a considerable amount of work in extreme poverty.", "Save the Children is the leading international organization dedicated to helping the World's indigent children.", "In 2013 alone, Save the Children reached over 143 million children through their work, including over 52 million children directly.", "Save the Children also recently released their own report titled \"Getting to Zero\", in which they argued the international community could feasibly do more than lift the world's poor above $1.25/day.", "The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the premier UK based think tank on international development and humanitarian issues.", "ODI is dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the world's poor by providing high-quality research and practical policy advice to the World's development officials.", "ODI also recently released a paper entitled, \"The Chronic Poverty Report 2014–2015: The road to zero extreme poverty\", in which its authors assert that though the international communities' goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 is laudable, much more targeted resources will be necessary to reach said target.", "The report states that \"To eradicate extreme poverty, massive global investment is required in social assistance, education and pro-poorest economic growth\".", "Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization whose mission is to end extreme poverty by influencing decision makers at all levels of government (local -> international).", "Concern has also produced a report on extreme poverty in which they explain their own conception of extreme poverty from a NGO's standpoint.", "In this paper, named \"How Concern Understands Extreme Poverty\", the report's creators write that extreme poverty entails more than just living under $1.25/day, it also includes having a small number of assets and being vulnerable to severe negative shocks (whether natural or man made).", "ONE, the organization cofounded by Bono, is a non-profit organization funded almost entirely by foundations, individual philanthropists and corporations.", "ONE's goals include raising public awareness and working with political leaders to fight preventable diseases, increase government accountability and increase investment in nutrition.", "Finally, trickleUp is a microenterprise development program targeted at those living on under $1.25/day, which provides the indigent with resources to build a sustainable livelihood through both direct financing and considerable training efforts.", "Another NGO that works to end extreme poverty is Oxfam.", "This non-governmental organization works prominently in Africa; their mission is to improve local community organizations and it works to reduce impediments to the development of the country.", "Oxfam helps families suffering from poverty receive food and healthcare to survive.", "There are many children in Africa experiencing growth stunting, and this is one example of an issue that Oxfam targets and aims to resolve.", "====Campaigns====\n*Giving What We Can\n*Global Poverty Project\n*Live Below the Line\n*Make Poverty History", "*List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty\n*Income inequality metrics\n*Least developed countries\n*Poverty line\n*Poverty reduction\n*Millennium Development Goals", "* Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger by 2015 | UN Millennium Development Goal curated by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Michigan State University\n* The Life You Can Save – Acting Now to End World Poverty\n* WhiteBand.org Global Call to Action Against Poverty\n* Half The Sky\n* Scientific American Magazine (September 2005 Issue) Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?", "* International Movement ATD Fourth World\n* Walk In Her Shoes" ]

[ "\n\n\nSénanque Abbey, Provence\nThe cloister of Sénanque Abbey\nAn '''abbey''' is a complex of buildings used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. It provides a place for religious activities, work and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The concept of the abbey has developed over many centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them. Religious life in an abbey may be monastic. An abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors. The layout of the church and associated buildings of an abbey often follows a set plan determined by the founding religious order. Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, refuge to the persecuted or education to the young. Some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat. There are many famous abbeys across Europe.\n", "\n\n=== Ascetics and anchorites ===\nThe earliest known Christian monasteries were groups of huts built near the residence of a famous ascetic or other holy person. Disciples wished to be close to their holy man or woman in order to study their doctrine or imitate their way of life.\n\nIn the earliest times of Christian monasticism, ascetics would live in social isolation but near a village church. They would subsist whilst donating any excess produce to the poor. However, increasing religious fervor about the ascetic's ways and or persecution of them would drive them further away from their community and further into solitude. For instance, the cells and huts of anchorites (religious recluses) have been found in the deserts of Egypt.\n\nIn 312 AD, Anthony the Great retired to the Thebaid region of Egypt to escape the persecution of the Emperor Maximian. Anthony was the best known of the anchorites of his time due to his degree of austerity, sanctity and his powers of exorcism. The deeper he withdrew into the wilderness, the more numerous his disciples became. They refused to be separated from him and built their cells close to him. This became a first true monastic community. Anthony, according to Johann August Wilhelm Neander, inadvertently became the founder of a new mode of living in common, Coenobitism.\n\n=== Laurae and caenobia ===\n\n\nAt Tabennae on the Nile, in Upper Egypt, Saint Pachomius laid the foundations for the coenobitical life by arranging everything in an organized manner. He built several monasteries, each with about 1,600 separate cells laid out in lines. These cells formed an encampment where the monks slept and performed some of their manual tasks. There were nearby large halls such as the church, refectory, kitchen, infirmary, and guest house for the monk's common needs. An enclosure protecting all these buildings gave the settlement the appearance of a walled village. This layout, known as the ''laurae'' (lanes), became popular throughout Palestine.\n\nAs well as the \"laurae\", communities known as \"caenobia\" developed. These were monasteries where monks lived a common life together. The monks were not permitted to retire to the cells of a laurae before they had undergone a lengthy period of training. In time, this form of common life superseded that of the older laurae.\n\nIn the late 300s AD, Palladius visited the Egyptian monasteries. He described three hundred members of the coenobium of Panopolis. There were fifteen tailors, seven smiths, four carpenters, twelve camel-drivers and fifteen tanners. These people were divided into subgroups, each with its own \"oeconomus\". A chief steward was at the head of the monastery.\n\nThe produce of the monastery was brought to Alexandria for sale. The moneys raised were used to purchase stores for the monastery or were given away as charity. Twice in the year, the superiors of several coenobia met at the chief monastery, under the presidency of an \"archimandrite\" (the \"chief of the fold\" from the word, \"miandra\" (a sheepfold)) in order to make their reports. Chrysostom recorded the workings of a coenobia in the vicinity of Antioch. The monks lived in separate huts (\"kalbbia\") which formed a religious hamlet on the mountainside. They were subject to an abbot, and observed a common rule.\n\n=== Great Lavra, Mount Athos ===\n\n+ '''Great Lavra Monastery, Mount Athos(Lenoir, who named it ''Santa Laura'')'''\n\n File:abbey 01.png \n\n:A. Gateway\n:B. Chapels\n:C. Guesthouse\n:D. Church\n:E. Cloister\n:F. Fountain\n:G. Refectory\n:H. Kitchen\n:I. Monks' cells\n:K. Storehouses\n:L. Postern gate\n:M. Tower\n\nThe layout of the monastic coenobium was influenced by a number of factors. These included a need for defence, economy of space, and convenience of access. The layout of buildings became compact and orderly. Larger buildings were erected and defence was provided by strong outside walls. Within the walls, the buildings were arranged around one or more open courts surrounded by cloisters. The usual arrangement for monasteries of the Eastern world is exemplified in the plan of the convent of the Great Lavra at Mount Athos.\n\nWith reference to the diagram, right, the convent of the Great Lavra is enclosed within a strong and lofty blank stone wall. The area within the wall is between three and four acres (12,000 and 16,000 m²). The longer side is about in length. There is only one entrance, which is located on the north side (A), defended by three iron doors. Near the entrance is a large tower (M), a constant feature in the monasteries of the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean area). There is a small postern gate at L.\n\nThe enceinte comprises two large open courts, surrounded with buildings connected with cloister galleries of wood or stone. The outer court, which is the larger by far, contains the granaries and storehouses (K), the kitchen (H) and other offices connected with the refectory (G). Immediately adjacent to the gateway is a two-storied guest-house, entered from a cloister (C). The inner court is surrounded by a cloister (EE) from which one enters the monks' cells (II).\n\nIn the centre of this court stands the katholikon or conventual church, a square building with an apse of the cruciform domical Byzantine type, approached by a domed narthex. In front of the church stands a marble fountain (F), covered by a dome supported on columns.\n\nOpening from the western side of the cloister, but actually standing in the outer court, is the refectory (G), a large cruciform (cross shaped) building, about square, decorated within with frescoes of saints. At the upper end is a semicircular recess, similar to the triclinium of the Lateran Palace in Rome, in which is placed the seat of the hegumenos or abbot. This apartment is chiefly used as a meeting place, with the monks usually taking their meals in their separate cells.\n\n=== Adoption of the Roman villa plan ===\nMonasticism in the West began with the activities of Benedict of Nursia (born 480 AD). Near Nursia, a town in Perugia, Italy, a first abbey was established at Monte Cassino (529 AD). Between 520 and 700 AD, monasteries were built which were spacious and splendid. All the city states of Italy hosted a Benedictine convent as did the cities of England, France and Spain. By 1415 AD, the time of the Council of Constance, 15,070 Benedictine monasteries had been established.\n\nThe early Benedictine monasteries, including the first at Monte Cassino, were constructed on the plan of the Roman villa. The layout of the Roman villa was quite consistent throughout the Roman Empire and where possible, the monks reused available villas in sound repair. This was done at Monte Cassino.\n\nHowever, over time, changes to the common villa lay out occurred. The monks required buildings which suited their religious and day-to-day activities. No overriding specification was demanded of the monks but the similarity of their needs resulted in uniformity of design of abbeys across Europe. Eventually, the buildings of a Benedictine abbey were built in a uniform lay out, modified where necessary, to accommodate local circumstances.\n\n=== Abbey of St Gall ===\nThe church of the Abbey of St Gall\n\nThe plan of the Abbey of Saint Gall (719 AD) indicates the general arrangement of a Benedictine monastery of its day. According to the architect Robert Willis (architect) (1800–1875) the Abbey's lay out is that of a town of individual houses with streets running between them. The abbey was planned in compliance with the Benedictine rule that, if possible, a monastery should be self-contained. For instance, there was a mill, a bakehouse, stables, and cattle stalls. In all, there were thirty-three separate structures; mostly one level wooden buildings.\n\nThe Abbey church occupied the centre of a quadrangular area, about square. On the eastern side of the north transept of the church was the \"scriptorium\" or writing-room, with a library above.\n\nThe church and nearby buildings ranged about the cloister, a court about which there was a covered arcade which allowed sheltered movement between the buildings. The nave of the church was on the north boundary of the cloister.\n\nOn the east side of the cloister, on the ground floor, was the \"pisalis\" or \"calefactory\". This was a common room, warmed by flues beneath the floor. Above the common room was the dormitory. The dormitory opened onto the cloister and also onto the south transept of the church. This enabled the monks to attend nocturnal services. A passage at the other end of the dormitory lead to the \"necessarium\" (latrines).\n\nOn the south side of the cloister was the refectory. The kitchen, at the west end of the refectory was accessed via an anteroom and a long passage. Nearby were the bake house, brew house and the sleeping-rooms of the servants. The upper story of the refectory was called the \"vestiarium\" (a room where the ordinary clothes of the monks were stored).\n\nOn the western side of the cloister was another two-story building with a cellar on the ground floor and the larder and store-room on the upper floor. Between this building and the church was a parlour for receiving visitors. One door of the parlour led to the cloisters and the other led to the outer part of the Abbey.\n\nAgainst the outer wall of the church was a school and headmaster's house. The school consisted of a large schoolroom divided in the middle by a screen or partition, and surrounded by fourteen little rooms, the \"dwellings of the scholars\". The abbott's home was near the school.\n\nTo the north of the church and to the right of the main entrance to the Abbey, was a residence for distinguished guests. To the left of the main entrance was a building to house poor travellers and pilgrims. There was also a building to receive visiting monks. These \"hospitia\" had a large common room or refectory surrounded by bed rooms. Each hospitium had its own brewhouse and bakehouse, and the building for more prestigious travellers had a kitchen and storeroom, with bedrooms for the guests' servants and stables for their horses. The monks of the Abbey lived in a house built against the north wall of the church.\n\nThe whole of the southern and western areas of the Abbey were devoted to workshops, stables and farm-buildings including stables, ox-sheds, goatstables, piggeries, and sheep-folds, as well as the servants' and labourers' quarters.\n\nIn the eastern part of the Abbey there was a group of buildings representing in layout, two complete miniature monasteries. That is, each had a covered cloister surrounded by the usual buildings such as the church, the refectory, the dormitory and so on. A detached building belonging to each contained a bathroom and a kitchen.\n\nOne of the miniature complexes was called the \"oblati\". These were the buildings for the novices. The other complex was a hospital or infirmary for the care of sick monks. This infirmary complex included a physician's residence, a physic garden, a drug store, and a chamber for the critically ill. There was also a room for bloodletting and purging. The physic garden occupied the north east corner of the Abbey.\n\nIn the southern most area of the abbey was the workshop containing utilities for shoemakers, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders, trencher-makers, tanners, curriers, fullers, smiths and goldsmiths. The tradesmen's living quarters were at the rear of the workshop. Here, there were also farm buildings, a large granary and threshing-floor, mills, and malthouse. At the south-east corner of the Abbey were hen and duck houses, a poultry-yard, and the dwelling of the keeper. Nearby was the kitchen garden which complemented the physic garden and a cemetery orchard.\n\nEvery large monastery had priories. A priory was a smaller structure or entities which depended on the monastery. Some were small monasteries accommodating five or ten monks. Others were no more than a single building serving as residence or a farm offices. The outlying farming establishments belonging to the monastic foundations were known as \"villae\" or \"granges\". They were usually staffed by lay-brothers, sometimes under the supervision of a monk.\n", "Shrewsbury Abbey\nMany of today's cathedrals in England were originally Benedictine monasteries. These included Canterbury, Chester, Durham, Ely, Gloucester, Norwich, Peterborough, Rochester, Winchester, and Worcester. Shrewsbury Abbey in Shropshire was founded as a Benedictine monastery by the Normans in 1083.\n\n=== Westminster Abbey ===\nCloisters, Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey was founded in the tenth century by St. Dunstan who established a community of Benedictine monks. The only traces of St. Dunstan's monastery remaining are round arches and massive supporting columns of the undercroft and the Pyx Chamber.\n\nThe cloister and buildings lie directly to the south of the church. Parallel to the nave, on the south side of the cloister, was a refectory, with a lavatory at the door. On the eastern side, there was a dormitory, raised on a vaulted substructure and communicating with the south transept and a chapter house (meeting room). A small cloister lay to the south-east of the large cloister. Beyond that was an infirmary with a table hall and a refectory for those who were able to leave their chambers. At the west entrance to the Abbey, there was a house and a small courtyard for the abbott. \n\n=== St. Mary's Abbey, York ===\nIn 1055, St Mary's Abbey, York was built in England's north by the Order of Saint Benedict. It followed the common plan. The entrance to the abbey was through a strong gate on the northern side. Close to the entrance was a chapel. This was for visitors arriving at the Abbey to make their devotions. Near the gate was the hospitium (guest hall). The buildings are completely ruined, but the walls of the nave and the cloisters are still visible on the grounds of the Yorkshire Museum.\n\nThe Abbey was surrounded by fortified walls on three sides. The River Ouse bordered the fourth side. The stone walls remain as an excellent example of English abbey walls.\n", "Abbey of Cluny in lights\n\nThe Abbey of Cluny was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910 AD at Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. The Abbey was built in the Romanesque style. The Abbey was noted for its strict observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict. However, reforms resulted in many departures from this precedent. The Cluniac reforms brought focus to the traditions of monastic life, encouraging art and the caring of the poor. The Cluniac reforms quickly spread by the founding of new abbey complexes and also by adoption of the reforms by existing abbeys. By the twelfth century, the Abbey of Cluny was the head of an order consisting of 314 monasteries.\n\nThe church at the Abbey was commenced in 1089 AD by St. Hugh, the sixth abbot. It was finished and consecrated by Pope Innocent II around 1132 AD. The church was regarded as one of the wonders of the Middle Ages. At in length, it was the largest church in Christendom until the completion of St. Peter's Basilica at Rome. The church consisted of five naves, a narthex (ante-church) which was added in 1220 AD, and several towers. Together with the conventual buildings, it covered an area of twenty-five acres.\n\nIn the Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution in 1790 AD, the Abbey church was bought by the town and almost entirely destroyed.\n\n=== English Cluniac houses ===\nInterior facing east, Paisley Abbey\nThe first English house of the Cluniac order was built at Lewes, Sussex. It was founded by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey in about 1077 AD. All but one of the Cluniac houses in Britain were known as priories, symbolizing their subordination to the Abbey of Cluny. All the Cluniac houses in England and Scotland were French colonies, governed by French priors who travelled to the Abbey of Cluny to consult or be consulted (unless the abbot of Cluny chose to come to Britain, which happened rarely). The priory at Paisley was an exception. In 1245 AD it was raised to the status of an abbey, answerable only to the Pope.\n\n== Abbeys of the Austin Canons ==\nThe nave of St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester\nThe Austin canons were an order of regular clergy within the hierarchy of the Catholic church. They held a position between monks and secular canons. They were known as \"Black canons\" because of the colour of their habits. In 1105 AD, the first house of the order was established at St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester, Essex.\n\nThe canons built very long naves to accommodate large congregations. The choirs were also long. Sometimes, as at Llanthony and Christchurch, Dorset(Twynham), the choir was closed from the aisles. At other abbeys of the order, such as Bolton or Kirkham, there were no aisles. The nave in the northern houses of the order often had only a north aisle (this is the case at Bolton, Brinkburn and Lanercost). The arrangement of the monastic buildings followed the ordinary plan. The prior's lodge was usually attached to the southwest angle of the nave.\n\nThe Austin canons' house at Thornton, Lincolnshire had a large and magnificent gatehouse. The upper floors of the gatehouse formed the guest-house. The chapter-house was octagonal in shape.\n", "The plan of the Abbey of St Augustine's at Bristol (now the Bristol Cathedral) demonstrates the arrangement of the buildings by this order. The plan departs very little from the ordinary Benedictine type.\n\n+\n\n=== Bristol Cathedral ===\n\n\nFile:bristol abbey.png\n\n\nFIG. 11.--St Augustine's Abbey,\nBristol (Bristol\nA. Church.\nB. Great cloister.\nC. Little cloister.\nD. Chapter house.\nE. Calefactory.\nF. Refectory.\nG. Parlour.\nH. Kitchen.\nI. Kitchen court.\nK. Cellars.\nL. Abbot's hall.\nP. Abbot's gateway.\nR. Infirmary.\nS. Friars' lodging.\nT. King's hall.\nV. Guest-house.\nW. Abbey gateway.\nX. Barns, stables, etc\nY. Lavatory.\n\n\n\n=== Premonstratensians (Norbertians) ===\n\nThe Premonstratensian regular canons, or \"White canons\", were of an order founded in 1119 AD by Norbert of Xanten.The order was a reformed branch of the Augustinian canons. From a marshy area in the Forest of Coucy in the diocese of Laon, the order spread widely. Even in Norbert's lifetime, the order had built abbeys in Aleppo, Syria and in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Of the Abbey of Saint Samuel, Denys Pringle wrote, \"The Premonstatensian abbey of Saint Samuel was a daughter house of Prémontré itself. Its abbot had the status of a suffragan of the patriarch of Jerusalem, with the right to a cross, but not to a mitre nor a ring.\" It long maintained its rigid austerity, though in later years the abbey grew wealthier, and its members indulged in more frequent luxuries.\n\nJust after 1140 AD, the Premonstratensians were brought to England. Their first settlement was at Newhouse, Lincolnshire, near the Humber tidal estuary. There were as many as thirty-five Premonstratensian abbeys in England. The head abbey in England was at Welbeck but the best preserved are Easby Abbey in Yorkshire, and Bayham Old Abbey in Kent.\n\nThe lay out of Easby Abbey is irregular due to its position on the edge of a steep river bank. The cloister is duly placed on the south side of the church, and the chief buildings occupy their usual positions around it. However, the cloister garth (quadrangle), as at Chichester, is not rectangular, and thus, all the surrounding buildings are positioned in an awkward fashion. The church follows the plan adopted by the Austin canons in their northern abbeys, and has only one aisle to the north of the nave, while the choir is long, narrow and without an aisle. Each transept has an aisle to the east, forming three chapels.\n\nThe church at Bayham Old Abbey had no aisles in the nave or the choir. The latter terminated in a three-sided apse. The church is remarkable for its extreme narrowness in proportion to its length. While the building is long, it is not more than wide. Premonstratensian canons did not care to have congregations nor possessions. Therefore, they built their churches in the shape of a long room.\n", "Cistercian Abbey of Sénanque\n Jumièges Abbey, Normandy\n\nThe Cistercians, a Benedictine reform group, were established at Cîteaux in 1098 AD by Robert of Molesme, Abbot of Molesme, for the purpose of restoring, as far as possible, the literal observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict. La Ferté, Pontigny, Clairvaux, and Morimond were the first four abbeys to follow Cîteaux's example and others followed. The monks of Cîteaux created the well known vineyards of Clos-Vougeot and Romanée in Burgundy.\n\nThe Cistercian principle of rigid self-abnegation carried over to the design of the order's churches and buildings. The defining architectural characteristic of the Cistercian abbeys was extreme simplicity and plainness. Only a single, central tower was permitted, and that was usually very low. Unnecessary pinnacles and turrets were prohibited. The triforium was omitted. The windows were usually plain and undivided, and it was forbidden to decorate them with stained glass. All needless ornament was proscribed. The crosses were made of wood and the candlesticks of iron.\n\nThe same principle governed the choice of site for Cistercian abbeys in that a most dismal site might be improved by the building of an abbey. The Cistercian monasteries were founded in deep, well-watered valleys, always standing at a stream's edge. The building might extend over the water as is the case at Fountains Abbey. These valleys, now rich and productive, had a very different appearance when the brethren first chose them as their place of retreat. Wide swamps, deep morasses, tangled thickets, and wild, impassable forests were their prevailing features. Clara Vallis of St Bernard, now the \"bright valley\" was originally, the \"Valley of Wormwood\". It was an infamous den of robbers.\n\nSee also:\n* Fossanuova Abbey.\n* Clairvaux Abbey.\n* Cîteaux Abbey.\n* Kirkstall Abbey.\n* Loc-Dieu.\n* Rievaulx Abbey.\n* Strata Florida.\n", "The plan of a Coptic Orthodox monastery, from Lenoir, shows a church of three aisles, with cellular apses, and two ranges of cells on either side of an oblong gallery.\n", "\n* List of abbeys and priories\n* Priory\n", "\n\n=== Sources ===\n* \n* \n* \n\n; Attribution\n* \n", "\n* Monastery and abbey index on sacred-destinations.com\n* Abbeys of Provence, France \n* Abbey Pages on historyfish.net - info on abbeys and monastic life, images from Photochrom collection\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Monastic origins of the abbey ", " Benedictine abbeys in England ", " Reforms at the Abbey of Cluny ", " Augustinian abbeys ", " Cistercian abbeys ", " Copts ", " See also ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "The lay out of Easby Abbey is irregular due to its position on the edge of a steep river bank." ]

[ "\n\n\nSénanque Abbey, Provence\nThe cloister of Sénanque Abbey\nAn '''abbey''' is a complex of buildings used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess.", "It provides a place for religious activities, work and housing of Christian monks and nuns.", "The concept of the abbey has developed over many centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them.", "Religious life in an abbey may be monastic.", "An abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors.", "The layout of the church and associated buildings of an abbey often follows a set plan determined by the founding religious order.", "Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, refuge to the persecuted or education to the young.", "Some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat.", "There are many famous abbeys across Europe.", "\n\n=== Ascetics and anchorites ===\nThe earliest known Christian monasteries were groups of huts built near the residence of a famous ascetic or other holy person.", "Disciples wished to be close to their holy man or woman in order to study their doctrine or imitate their way of life.", "In the earliest times of Christian monasticism, ascetics would live in social isolation but near a village church.", "They would subsist whilst donating any excess produce to the poor.", "However, increasing religious fervor about the ascetic's ways and or persecution of them would drive them further away from their community and further into solitude.", "For instance, the cells and huts of anchorites (religious recluses) have been found in the deserts of Egypt.", "In 312 AD, Anthony the Great retired to the Thebaid region of Egypt to escape the persecution of the Emperor Maximian.", "Anthony was the best known of the anchorites of his time due to his degree of austerity, sanctity and his powers of exorcism.", "The deeper he withdrew into the wilderness, the more numerous his disciples became.", "They refused to be separated from him and built their cells close to him.", "This became a first true monastic community.", "Anthony, according to Johann August Wilhelm Neander, inadvertently became the founder of a new mode of living in common, Coenobitism.", "=== Laurae and caenobia ===\n\n\nAt Tabennae on the Nile, in Upper Egypt, Saint Pachomius laid the foundations for the coenobitical life by arranging everything in an organized manner.", "He built several monasteries, each with about 1,600 separate cells laid out in lines.", "These cells formed an encampment where the monks slept and performed some of their manual tasks.", "There were nearby large halls such as the church, refectory, kitchen, infirmary, and guest house for the monk's common needs.", "An enclosure protecting all these buildings gave the settlement the appearance of a walled village.", "This layout, known as the ''laurae'' (lanes), became popular throughout Palestine.", "As well as the \"laurae\", communities known as \"caenobia\" developed.", "These were monasteries where monks lived a common life together.", "The monks were not permitted to retire to the cells of a laurae before they had undergone a lengthy period of training.", "In time, this form of common life superseded that of the older laurae.", "In the late 300s AD, Palladius visited the Egyptian monasteries.", "He described three hundred members of the coenobium of Panopolis.", "There were fifteen tailors, seven smiths, four carpenters, twelve camel-drivers and fifteen tanners.", "These people were divided into subgroups, each with its own \"oeconomus\".", "A chief steward was at the head of the monastery.", "The produce of the monastery was brought to Alexandria for sale.", "The moneys raised were used to purchase stores for the monastery or were given away as charity.", "Twice in the year, the superiors of several coenobia met at the chief monastery, under the presidency of an \"archimandrite\" (the \"chief of the fold\" from the word, \"miandra\" (a sheepfold)) in order to make their reports.", "Chrysostom recorded the workings of a coenobia in the vicinity of Antioch.", "The monks lived in separate huts (\"kalbbia\") which formed a religious hamlet on the mountainside.", "They were subject to an abbot, and observed a common rule.", "=== Great Lavra, Mount Athos ===\n\n+ '''Great Lavra Monastery, Mount Athos(Lenoir, who named it ''Santa Laura'')'''\n\n File:abbey 01.png \n\n:A. Gateway\n:B. Chapels\n:C. Guesthouse\n:D. Church\n:E. Cloister\n:F. Fountain\n:G. Refectory\n:H. Kitchen\n:I. Monks' cells\n:K. Storehouses\n:L. Postern gate\n:M. Tower\n\nThe layout of the monastic coenobium was influenced by a number of factors.", "These included a need for defence, economy of space, and convenience of access.", "The layout of buildings became compact and orderly.", "Larger buildings were erected and defence was provided by strong outside walls.", "Within the walls, the buildings were arranged around one or more open courts surrounded by cloisters.", "The usual arrangement for monasteries of the Eastern world is exemplified in the plan of the convent of the Great Lavra at Mount Athos.", "With reference to the diagram, right, the convent of the Great Lavra is enclosed within a strong and lofty blank stone wall.", "The area within the wall is between three and four acres (12,000 and 16,000 m²).", "The longer side is about in length.", "There is only one entrance, which is located on the north side (A), defended by three iron doors.", "Near the entrance is a large tower (M), a constant feature in the monasteries of the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean area).", "There is a small postern gate at L.\n\nThe enceinte comprises two large open courts, surrounded with buildings connected with cloister galleries of wood or stone.", "The outer court, which is the larger by far, contains the granaries and storehouses (K), the kitchen (H) and other offices connected with the refectory (G).", "Immediately adjacent to the gateway is a two-storied guest-house, entered from a cloister (C).", "The inner court is surrounded by a cloister (EE) from which one enters the monks' cells (II).", "In the centre of this court stands the katholikon or conventual church, a square building with an apse of the cruciform domical Byzantine type, approached by a domed narthex.", "In front of the church stands a marble fountain (F), covered by a dome supported on columns.", "Opening from the western side of the cloister, but actually standing in the outer court, is the refectory (G), a large cruciform (cross shaped) building, about square, decorated within with frescoes of saints.", "At the upper end is a semicircular recess, similar to the triclinium of the Lateran Palace in Rome, in which is placed the seat of the hegumenos or abbot.", "This apartment is chiefly used as a meeting place, with the monks usually taking their meals in their separate cells.", "=== Adoption of the Roman villa plan ===\nMonasticism in the West began with the activities of Benedict of Nursia (born 480 AD).", "Near Nursia, a town in Perugia, Italy, a first abbey was established at Monte Cassino (529 AD).", "Between 520 and 700 AD, monasteries were built which were spacious and splendid.", "All the city states of Italy hosted a Benedictine convent as did the cities of England, France and Spain.", "By 1415 AD, the time of the Council of Constance, 15,070 Benedictine monasteries had been established.", "The early Benedictine monasteries, including the first at Monte Cassino, were constructed on the plan of the Roman villa.", "The layout of the Roman villa was quite consistent throughout the Roman Empire and where possible, the monks reused available villas in sound repair.", "This was done at Monte Cassino.", "However, over time, changes to the common villa lay out occurred.", "The monks required buildings which suited their religious and day-to-day activities.", "No overriding specification was demanded of the monks but the similarity of their needs resulted in uniformity of design of abbeys across Europe.", "Eventually, the buildings of a Benedictine abbey were built in a uniform lay out, modified where necessary, to accommodate local circumstances.", "=== Abbey of St Gall ===\nThe church of the Abbey of St Gall\n\nThe plan of the Abbey of Saint Gall (719 AD) indicates the general arrangement of a Benedictine monastery of its day.", "According to the architect Robert Willis (architect) (1800–1875) the Abbey's lay out is that of a town of individual houses with streets running between them.", "The abbey was planned in compliance with the Benedictine rule that, if possible, a monastery should be self-contained.", "For instance, there was a mill, a bakehouse, stables, and cattle stalls.", "In all, there were thirty-three separate structures; mostly one level wooden buildings.", "The Abbey church occupied the centre of a quadrangular area, about square.", "On the eastern side of the north transept of the church was the \"scriptorium\" or writing-room, with a library above.", "The church and nearby buildings ranged about the cloister, a court about which there was a covered arcade which allowed sheltered movement between the buildings.", "The nave of the church was on the north boundary of the cloister.", "On the east side of the cloister, on the ground floor, was the \"pisalis\" or \"calefactory\".", "This was a common room, warmed by flues beneath the floor.", "Above the common room was the dormitory.", "The dormitory opened onto the cloister and also onto the south transept of the church.", "This enabled the monks to attend nocturnal services.", "A passage at the other end of the dormitory lead to the \"necessarium\" (latrines).", "On the south side of the cloister was the refectory.", "The kitchen, at the west end of the refectory was accessed via an anteroom and a long passage.", "Nearby were the bake house, brew house and the sleeping-rooms of the servants.", "The upper story of the refectory was called the \"vestiarium\" (a room where the ordinary clothes of the monks were stored).", "On the western side of the cloister was another two-story building with a cellar on the ground floor and the larder and store-room on the upper floor.", "Between this building and the church was a parlour for receiving visitors.", "One door of the parlour led to the cloisters and the other led to the outer part of the Abbey.", "Against the outer wall of the church was a school and headmaster's house.", "The school consisted of a large schoolroom divided in the middle by a screen or partition, and surrounded by fourteen little rooms, the \"dwellings of the scholars\".", "The abbott's home was near the school.", "To the north of the church and to the right of the main entrance to the Abbey, was a residence for distinguished guests.", "To the left of the main entrance was a building to house poor travellers and pilgrims.", "There was also a building to receive visiting monks.", "These \"hospitia\" had a large common room or refectory surrounded by bed rooms.", "Each hospitium had its own brewhouse and bakehouse, and the building for more prestigious travellers had a kitchen and storeroom, with bedrooms for the guests' servants and stables for their horses.", "The monks of the Abbey lived in a house built against the north wall of the church.", "The whole of the southern and western areas of the Abbey were devoted to workshops, stables and farm-buildings including stables, ox-sheds, goatstables, piggeries, and sheep-folds, as well as the servants' and labourers' quarters.", "In the eastern part of the Abbey there was a group of buildings representing in layout, two complete miniature monasteries.", "That is, each had a covered cloister surrounded by the usual buildings such as the church, the refectory, the dormitory and so on.", "A detached building belonging to each contained a bathroom and a kitchen.", "One of the miniature complexes was called the \"oblati\".", "These were the buildings for the novices.", "The other complex was a hospital or infirmary for the care of sick monks.", "This infirmary complex included a physician's residence, a physic garden, a drug store, and a chamber for the critically ill.", "There was also a room for bloodletting and purging.", "The physic garden occupied the north east corner of the Abbey.", "In the southern most area of the abbey was the workshop containing utilities for shoemakers, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders, trencher-makers, tanners, curriers, fullers, smiths and goldsmiths.", "The tradesmen's living quarters were at the rear of the workshop.", "Here, there were also farm buildings, a large granary and threshing-floor, mills, and malthouse.", "At the south-east corner of the Abbey were hen and duck houses, a poultry-yard, and the dwelling of the keeper.", "Nearby was the kitchen garden which complemented the physic garden and a cemetery orchard.", "Every large monastery had priories.", "A priory was a smaller structure or entities which depended on the monastery.", "Some were small monasteries accommodating five or ten monks.", "Others were no more than a single building serving as residence or a farm offices.", "The outlying farming establishments belonging to the monastic foundations were known as \"villae\" or \"granges\".", "They were usually staffed by lay-brothers, sometimes under the supervision of a monk.", "Shrewsbury Abbey\nMany of today's cathedrals in England were originally Benedictine monasteries.", "These included Canterbury, Chester, Durham, Ely, Gloucester, Norwich, Peterborough, Rochester, Winchester, and Worcester.", "Shrewsbury Abbey in Shropshire was founded as a Benedictine monastery by the Normans in 1083.", "=== Westminster Abbey ===\nCloisters, Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey was founded in the tenth century by St. Dunstan who established a community of Benedictine monks.", "The only traces of St. Dunstan's monastery remaining are round arches and massive supporting columns of the undercroft and the Pyx Chamber.", "The cloister and buildings lie directly to the south of the church.", "Parallel to the nave, on the south side of the cloister, was a refectory, with a lavatory at the door.", "On the eastern side, there was a dormitory, raised on a vaulted substructure and communicating with the south transept and a chapter house (meeting room).", "A small cloister lay to the south-east of the large cloister.", "Beyond that was an infirmary with a table hall and a refectory for those who were able to leave their chambers.", "At the west entrance to the Abbey, there was a house and a small courtyard for the abbott.", "=== St. Mary's Abbey, York ===\nIn 1055, St Mary's Abbey, York was built in England's north by the Order of Saint Benedict.", "It followed the common plan.", "The entrance to the abbey was through a strong gate on the northern side.", "Close to the entrance was a chapel.", "This was for visitors arriving at the Abbey to make their devotions.", "Near the gate was the hospitium (guest hall).", "The buildings are completely ruined, but the walls of the nave and the cloisters are still visible on the grounds of the Yorkshire Museum.", "The Abbey was surrounded by fortified walls on three sides.", "The River Ouse bordered the fourth side.", "The stone walls remain as an excellent example of English abbey walls.", "Abbey of Cluny in lights\n\nThe Abbey of Cluny was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910 AD at Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France.", "The Abbey was built in the Romanesque style.", "The Abbey was noted for its strict observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict.", "However, reforms resulted in many departures from this precedent.", "The Cluniac reforms brought focus to the traditions of monastic life, encouraging art and the caring of the poor.", "The Cluniac reforms quickly spread by the founding of new abbey complexes and also by adoption of the reforms by existing abbeys.", "By the twelfth century, the Abbey of Cluny was the head of an order consisting of 314 monasteries.", "The church at the Abbey was commenced in 1089 AD by St. Hugh, the sixth abbot.", "It was finished and consecrated by Pope Innocent II around 1132 AD.", "The church was regarded as one of the wonders of the Middle Ages.", "At in length, it was the largest church in Christendom until the completion of St. Peter's Basilica at Rome.", "The church consisted of five naves, a narthex (ante-church) which was added in 1220 AD, and several towers.", "Together with the conventual buildings, it covered an area of twenty-five acres.", "In the Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution in 1790 AD, the Abbey church was bought by the town and almost entirely destroyed.", "=== English Cluniac houses ===\nInterior facing east, Paisley Abbey\nThe first English house of the Cluniac order was built at Lewes, Sussex.", "It was founded by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey in about 1077 AD.", "All but one of the Cluniac houses in Britain were known as priories, symbolizing their subordination to the Abbey of Cluny.", "All the Cluniac houses in England and Scotland were French colonies, governed by French priors who travelled to the Abbey of Cluny to consult or be consulted (unless the abbot of Cluny chose to come to Britain, which happened rarely).", "The priory at Paisley was an exception.", "In 1245 AD it was raised to the status of an abbey, answerable only to the Pope.", "== Abbeys of the Austin Canons ==\nThe nave of St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester\nThe Austin canons were an order of regular clergy within the hierarchy of the Catholic church.", "They held a position between monks and secular canons.", "They were known as \"Black canons\" because of the colour of their habits.", "In 1105 AD, the first house of the order was established at St. Botolph's Priory, Colchester, Essex.", "The canons built very long naves to accommodate large congregations.", "The choirs were also long.", "Sometimes, as at Llanthony and Christchurch, Dorset(Twynham), the choir was closed from the aisles.", "At other abbeys of the order, such as Bolton or Kirkham, there were no aisles.", "The nave in the northern houses of the order often had only a north aisle (this is the case at Bolton, Brinkburn and Lanercost).", "The arrangement of the monastic buildings followed the ordinary plan.", "The prior's lodge was usually attached to the southwest angle of the nave.", "The Austin canons' house at Thornton, Lincolnshire had a large and magnificent gatehouse.", "The upper floors of the gatehouse formed the guest-house.", "The chapter-house was octagonal in shape.", "The plan of the Abbey of St Augustine's at Bristol (now the Bristol Cathedral) demonstrates the arrangement of the buildings by this order.", "The plan departs very little from the ordinary Benedictine type.", "+\n\n=== Bristol Cathedral ===\n\n\nFile:bristol abbey.png\n\n\nFIG.", "11.--St Augustine's Abbey,\nBristol (Bristol\nA.", "Church.", "B.", "Great cloister.", "C. Little cloister.", "D. Chapter house.", "E. Calefactory.", "F. Refectory.", "G. Parlour.", "H. Kitchen.", "I.", "Kitchen court.", "K. Cellars.", "L. Abbot's hall.", "P. Abbot's gateway.", "R. Infirmary.", "S. Friars' lodging.", "T. King's hall.", "V. Guest-house.", "W. Abbey gateway.", "X. Barns, stables, etc\nY. Lavatory.", "=== Premonstratensians (Norbertians) ===\n\nThe Premonstratensian regular canons, or \"White canons\", were of an order founded in 1119 AD by Norbert of Xanten.The order was a reformed branch of the Augustinian canons.", "From a marshy area in the Forest of Coucy in the diocese of Laon, the order spread widely.", "Even in Norbert's lifetime, the order had built abbeys in Aleppo, Syria and in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.", "Of the Abbey of Saint Samuel, Denys Pringle wrote, \"The Premonstatensian abbey of Saint Samuel was a daughter house of Prémontré itself.", "Its abbot had the status of a suffragan of the patriarch of Jerusalem, with the right to a cross, but not to a mitre nor a ring.\"", "It long maintained its rigid austerity, though in later years the abbey grew wealthier, and its members indulged in more frequent luxuries.", "Just after 1140 AD, the Premonstratensians were brought to England.", "Their first settlement was at Newhouse, Lincolnshire, near the Humber tidal estuary.", "There were as many as thirty-five Premonstratensian abbeys in England.", "The head abbey in England was at Welbeck but the best preserved are Easby Abbey in Yorkshire, and Bayham Old Abbey in Kent.", "The cloister is duly placed on the south side of the church, and the chief buildings occupy their usual positions around it.", "However, the cloister garth (quadrangle), as at Chichester, is not rectangular, and thus, all the surrounding buildings are positioned in an awkward fashion.", "The church follows the plan adopted by the Austin canons in their northern abbeys, and has only one aisle to the north of the nave, while the choir is long, narrow and without an aisle.", "Each transept has an aisle to the east, forming three chapels.", "The church at Bayham Old Abbey had no aisles in the nave or the choir.", "The latter terminated in a three-sided apse.", "The church is remarkable for its extreme narrowness in proportion to its length.", "While the building is long, it is not more than wide.", "Premonstratensian canons did not care to have congregations nor possessions.", "Therefore, they built their churches in the shape of a long room.", "Cistercian Abbey of Sénanque\n Jumièges Abbey, Normandy\n\nThe Cistercians, a Benedictine reform group, were established at Cîteaux in 1098 AD by Robert of Molesme, Abbot of Molesme, for the purpose of restoring, as far as possible, the literal observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict.", "La Ferté, Pontigny, Clairvaux, and Morimond were the first four abbeys to follow Cîteaux's example and others followed.", "The monks of Cîteaux created the well known vineyards of Clos-Vougeot and Romanée in Burgundy.", "The Cistercian principle of rigid self-abnegation carried over to the design of the order's churches and buildings.", "The defining architectural characteristic of the Cistercian abbeys was extreme simplicity and plainness.", "Only a single, central tower was permitted, and that was usually very low.", "Unnecessary pinnacles and turrets were prohibited.", "The triforium was omitted.", "The windows were usually plain and undivided, and it was forbidden to decorate them with stained glass.", "All needless ornament was proscribed.", "The crosses were made of wood and the candlesticks of iron.", "The same principle governed the choice of site for Cistercian abbeys in that a most dismal site might be improved by the building of an abbey.", "The Cistercian monasteries were founded in deep, well-watered valleys, always standing at a stream's edge.", "The building might extend over the water as is the case at Fountains Abbey.", "These valleys, now rich and productive, had a very different appearance when the brethren first chose them as their place of retreat.", "Wide swamps, deep morasses, tangled thickets, and wild, impassable forests were their prevailing features.", "Clara Vallis of St Bernard, now the \"bright valley\" was originally, the \"Valley of Wormwood\".", "It was an infamous den of robbers.", "See also:\n* Fossanuova Abbey.", "* Clairvaux Abbey.", "* Cîteaux Abbey.", "* Kirkstall Abbey.", "* Loc-Dieu.", "* Rievaulx Abbey.", "* Strata Florida.", "The plan of a Coptic Orthodox monastery, from Lenoir, shows a church of three aisles, with cellular apses, and two ranges of cells on either side of an oblong gallery.", "\n* List of abbeys and priories\n* Priory", "\n\n=== Sources ===\n* \n* \n* \n\n; Attribution\n*", "\n* Monastery and abbey index on sacred-destinations.com\n* Abbeys of Provence, France \n* Abbey Pages on historyfish.net - info on abbeys and monastic life, images from Photochrom collection" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n", "* 870 – Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions.\n*1220 – Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.\n*1503 – King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.\n*1509 – Krishnadeva Raya is crowned Emperor of Vijayanagara at Chittoor.\n*1576 – The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven.\n*1585 – John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.\n*1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.\n*1605 – The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.\n*1647 – The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.\n*1648 – Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648) as Ottoman Emperor.\n*1709 – Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the king of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal.\n*1786 – Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.\n*1793 – The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.\n*1794 – Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.\n*1844 – The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).\n*1863 – American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).\n*1870 – The ''Republic of Ploiești'', a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.\n*1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.\n*1908 – Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.\n*1918 – World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous Allied victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).\n*1929 – The German airship ''Graf Zeppelin'' begins a round-the-world flight.\n*1940 – The \"Aufbau Ost\" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.\n*1942 – Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.\n*1945 – The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials. \n*1946 – First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.\n*1963 – Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.\n* 1963 – The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.\n*1967 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.\n*1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album ''Abbey Road''.\n* 1969 – The Manson Family commits the Tate murders.\n*1973 – Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.\n*1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.\n*1988 – The 8888 Uprising begins in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar). Led by students, hundreds of thousands join in nationwide protests against the one-party regime. On September 18, the demonstrations end in a military crackdown, killing thousands.\n*1989 – Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.\n*1990 – Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.\n*1991 – The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.\n*1993 – The 7.8 Guam earthquake shakes the island with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''), causing around $250 million in damage and injuring up to 71 people.\n* 1998 – Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan is raided by Taliban leading to the deaths of ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist.\n*2000 – Confederate submarine ''H.L. Hunley'' is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.\n*2007 – An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.\n*2008 – A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others. \n* 2009 – A tour helicopter and a private Piper aircraft collide over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S; all 3 people on the helicopter and all 6 people aboard the Piper are killed, 40 blocks south of where US Airways Flight 1549 ditched after suffering multiple bird strikes just 7 months earlier.\n*2010 – China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.\n*2013 – A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.\n*2015 – Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas.\n*2016 – Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others.\n", "* 422 – Casper, ruler of the Maya city of Palenque\n*1079 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)\n*1170 – Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominicans (d. 1221)\n*1306 – Rudolf II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1353)\n*1492 – Matteo Tafuri, Italian alchemist (d. 1582)\n*1518 – Conrad Lycosthenes, French-German scholar and author (d. 1561)\n*1558 – George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, English noble (d. 1605)\n*1605 – Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English lawyer and politician, Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1675)\n*1640 – Amalia Catharina, German poet and composer (d. 1697)\n*1646 – Godfrey Kneller, German-English painter (d. 1723)\n*1673 – John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)\n*1693 – Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)\n*1694 – Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher and academic (d. 1746)\n*1709 – Hermann Anton Gelinek, German-Italian monk and violinist (d. 1779)\n*1720 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (d. 1796)\n*1754 – Hipólito Ruiz López, Spanish botanist (d. 1816)\n*1758 – Friedrich Georg Weitsch, German painter (d. 1828)\n*1790 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (d. 1838)\n*1807 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish author (d. 1892)\n*1814 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (d. 1902)\n*1822 – George Stoneman, Jr., United States Army cavalry officer (d. 1894)\n*1839 – Nelson A. Miles, American general (d. 1925)\n*1851 – George Turner, Australian politician, 18th Premier of Victoria (d. 1916)\n*1856 – Thomas Anstey Guthrie, English journalist and author (d. 1934)\n*1857 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)\n*1866 – Matthew Henson, American explorer (d. 1955)\n*1874 – Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, English businessman and politician, President of the Board of Trade (d. 1948)\n*1875 – Arthur Bernardes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 12th President of Brazil (d. 1955)\n*1876 – Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest, founded the Sisters of the Destitute (d. 1929)\n*1879 – Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)\n* 1879 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general and politician (d. 1919)\n*1880 – Earle Page, Australian lawyer, academic, and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)\n*1881 – Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)\n*1882 – Ladislas Starevich, Russian-French animator, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1965)\n*1884 – Sara Teasdale, American poet and educator (d. 1933)\n*1889 – Hans Egede Budtz, Danish actor (d. 1968)\n* 1889 – Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)\n*1891 – Adolf Busch, German violinist and composer (d. 1952)\n*1896 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author and academic (d. 1953)\n*1901 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)\n*1902 – Paul Dirac, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)\n*1904 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)\n*1905 – André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)\n*1907 – Benny Carter, American saxophonist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2003)\n*1908 – Arthur Goldberg, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1990)\n*1909 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English cricketer and politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1977)\n* 1909 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1987)\n* 1909 – Bill Voce, England cricketer and coach (d. 1984)\n*1910 – Jimmy Murphy, Welsh-English footballer and manager (d. 1989)\n* 1910 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)\n*1911 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)\n*1915 – James Elliott, American runner and coach (d. 1981)\n*1919 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (d. 2010)\n* 1919 – John David Wilson, English animator and producer (d. 2013)\n*1920 – Leo Chiosso, Italian songwriter and producer (d. 2006)\n* 1920 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American jump blues singer (d. 1997)\n*1921 – William Asher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)\n* 1921 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)\n* 1921 – Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (d. 2013)\n*1922 – Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)\n* 1922 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the Monokini (d. 1985)\n* 1922 – Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian, author, and academic\n* 1922 – Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (d. 1988)\n*1925 – Alija Izetbegović, Bosnian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 2003)\n*1926 – Richard Anderson, American actor and producer (d. 2017)\n*1927 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player and coach (d. 1994)\n* 1927 – Maia Wojciechowska, Polish-American author (d. 2002)\n*1928 – Don Burrows, Australian saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player\n*1929 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (d. 2004)\n*1930 – Terry Nation, Welsh-American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)\n* 1930 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)\n*1931 – Roger Penrose, English physicist, mathematician, and philosopher\n*1932 – Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian general and politician, 68th President of Bolivia\n* 1932 – Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1933 – Joe Tex, American soul singer-songwriter (d. 1982)\n*1934 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)\n*1935 – Donald P. Bellisario, American director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1935 – John Laws, Papua New Guinean-Australian singer and radio host\n*1936 – Frank Howard, American baseball player and manager\n* 1936 – Jan Pieńkowski, Polish-English author and illustrator\n*1937 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor and director\n* 1937 – Sheila Varian, American horse breeder (d. 2016)\n* 1937 – Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1987)\n*1938 – Jack Baldwin, English chemist and academic\n* 1938 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2010)\n* 1938 – Connie Stevens, American actress and businesswoman \n*1939 – Jana Andrsová, Czech actress and ballerina\n* 1939 – Viorica Viscopoleanu, Romanian long jumper\n* 1939 – Alexander Watson, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Peru\n*1940 – Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)\n* 1940 – Dennis Tito, American engineer and businessman, founded Wilshire Associates\n*1942 – Dennis Canavan, Scottish educator and politician\n* 1942 – John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)\n* 1942 – Vardo Rumessen, Estonian pianist and musicologist (d. 2015)\n*1944 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)\n* 1944 – John Renbourn, English-Scottish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2015)\n* 1944 – Simon Taylor, English journalist and author\n*1946 – Joe Bethancourt, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)\n*1947 – Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player, lawyer, and politician\n* 1947 – Larry Wilcox, American actor, director, and producer\n*1948 – Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian engineer and astronaut\n* 1948 – Margaret Urban Walker, American philosopher\n*1949 – Keith Carradine, American actor \n* 1949 – Ricardo Londoño, Colombian race car driver (d. 2009)\n*1950 – Willie Hall, American drummer and producer \n* 1950 – Ken Kutaragi, Japanese businessman, created PlayStation\n*1951 – Martin Brest, American director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1951 – Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer\n* 1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian engineer, academic, and politician, 5th President of Egypt\n* 1951 – Mamoru Oshii, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1951 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)\n* 1951 – Louis van Gaal, Dutch footballer and manager\n*1952 – Anton Fig, South African-American drummer \n* 1952 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author\n* 1952 – Doug Melvin, Canadian baseball player and manager\n* 1952 – Robin Quivers, American nurse, radio host/personality, and author \n* 1952 – Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer\n*1953 – Mark Lazarowicz, English politician\n* 1953 – Nigel Mansell, English race car driver\n* 1953 – Don Most, American actor and director\n*1954 – Nick Holtam, English bishop\n*1955 – Diddú, Icelandic singer-songwriter\n* 1955 – Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer and manager\n* 1955 – Michael Roe, Irish race car driver\n*1956 – Chris Foreman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1956 – David Grant, English singer \n* 1956 – Cecilia Roth, Argentinian actress\n*1957 – Dennis Drew, American keyboard player \n*1958 – Deborah Norville, American journalist\n*1959 – Caroline Ansink, Dutch flute player, composer, and educator\n*1960 – Mustafa Balbay, Turkish journalist and politician\n* 1960 – Ulrich Maly, German politician, 16th Mayor of Nuremberg\n*1961 – The Edge, British-Irish musician, singer and songwriter\n* 1961 – Daniel House, American bass player and producer \n* 1961 – Ron Klain, American lawyer and politician, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States\n* 1961 – Bruce Matthews, American football player and coach\n* 1961 – Rikki Rockett, American glam rock drummer (Poison) \n*1962 – Kool Moe Dee, American musician, singer and actor\n*1963 – Hur Jin-ho, South Korean director and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Ron Karkovice, American baseball player and manager\n* 1963 – Emi Shinohara, Japanese voice actress and singer\n* 1963 – Jon Turteltaub, American director and producer\n* 1963 – Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager\n*1964 – Anastasia M. Ashman, American blogger and author\n* 1964 – Scott Sandelin, American ice hockey player and coach\n* 1964 – Paul Taylor, English cricketer\n*1965 – Angus Fraser, English cricketer, manager, and journalist\n* 1965 – Kate Langbroek, Australian talk show host\n*1966 – Chris Eubank, English boxer\n* 1966 – John Hudek, American baseball player and coach\n*1967 – Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster\n*1968 – Yvie Burnett, Scottish soprano\n* 1968 – Aldo Calderón van Dyke, Honduran journalist (d. 2013)\n* 1968 – Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1968 – Huey Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1969 – Monika Tsõganova, Estonian chess player\n* 1969 – Faye Wong, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress\n*1970 – Trev Alberts, American football player and journalist\n* 1970 – Ben G. Davis, English chemist and academic\n* 1970 – Chester Williams, South African rugby player and coach\n*1971 – Johnny Balentina, Dutch baseball player\n*1972 – Joely Collins, Canadian actress and producer\n* 1972 – Andrea de Rossi, Italian rugby player and coach\n* 1972 – Axel Merckx, Belgian cyclist\n* 1972 – Steven Tweed, Scottish footballer and manager\n*1973 – Shane Lee, Australian cricketer and guitarist \n* 1973 – Gert Olesk, Estonian footballer and manager\n* 1973 – Scott Stapp, American singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1973 – Ilka Agricola, German mathematician\n*1974 – Manjul Bhargava, Canadian-American mathematician and academic\n* 1974 – Scott D'Amore, Canadian wrestler and manager\n* 1974 – Brian Harvey, English singer-songwriter \n* 1974 – Andy Priaulx, Guernseyan race car driver\n*1975 – Mick Moss, English singer-songwriter \n*1976 – JC Chasez, American singer and dancer\n* 1976 – Drew Lachey, American singer and actor \n*1977 – Darren Manzella, American sergeant (d. 2013)\n* 1977 – Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1977 – Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist\n* 1977 – Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer\n*1978 – Alan Maybury, Irish footballer and coach\n* 1978 – Louis Saha, French footballer\n* 1978 – Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress\n*1979 – Richard Harwood, English cellist\n* 1979 – Rashard Lewis, American basketball player\n* 1979 – Richard Lyons, Northern Irish racing driver\n*1980 – Craig Breslow, American baseball player\n* 1980 – Jack Cassel, American baseball player\n* 1980 – Denisse Guerrero, Mexican singer-songwriter \n* 1980 – Mike Hindert, American singer and bass player \n* 1980 – Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player\n* 1980 – Diego Markwell, Dutch baseball player\n* 1980 – Pat Noonan, American soccer player\n* 1980 – Michael Urie, American actor, director, and producer\n*1981 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer-songwriter\n* 1981 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player\n* 1981 – Meagan Good, American actress and producer\n* 1981 – Harel Skaat, Israeli singer-songwriter\n*1982 – David Florence, English canoe racer\n* 1982 – Ross Ohlendorf, American baseball player\n*1983 – Guy Burnet, English actor and producer\n* 1983 – Willie Tonga, Australian rugby league player\n*1984 – Kirk Broadfoot, Scottish footballer\n* 1984 – Norbert Michelisz, Hungarian race car driver\n* 1984 – Martrez Milner, American football player\n*1985 – Toby Flood, English rugby player\n* 1985 – Ryan Koolwijk, Dutch footballer\n* 1985 – James Morgan, Welsh actor and producer\n* 1985 – Brett Ratliff, American football player\n* 1985 – Anita Włodarczyk, Polish track and field athlete\n*1986 – Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player\n* 1986 – Pierre Garçon, American football player\n* 1986 – Chris Pressley, American football player\n*1987 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor\n* 1987 – Tatjana Malek, German tennis player\n*1988 – Princess Beatrice of York\n* 1988 – Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player\n* 1988 – Rinku Singh, Indian baseball player\n* 1988 – Laura Slade Wiggins, American actress and singer \n*1989 – Ken Baumann, American actor and author\n* 1989 – Anthony Rizzo, American baseball player\n* 1989 – Hannah Miley, English-Scottish swimmer\n*1990 – Vladimír Darida, Czech footballer\n* 1990 – Parker Kligerman, American race car driver\n* 1990 – Aleksandra Szwed, Polish actress and singer\n* 1990 – Kane Williamson, New Zealand cricket captain\n*1991 – Nélson Oliveira, Portuguese footballer\n* 1991 – Tyrone Peachey, Australian rugby league player\n*1992 – Josip Drmić, Swiss footballer\n*1998 – Shawn Mendes, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1998 – Ronan Parke, English singer-songwriter\n*2000 – Félix Auger-Aliassime, Canadian tennis player\n\n", "* 117 – Trajan, Roman emperor (b. 53)\n* 753 – Hildegar, bishop of Cologne\n* 869 – Lothair II, Frankish king (b. 835)\n*1002 – Almanzor, chief minister of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, Spain\n*1171 – Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (b. 1111)\n*1303 – Henry of Castile the Senator (b. 1230)\n*1533 – Lucas van Leyden, Dutch artist (b. 1494)\n*1555 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician and cartographer (b. 1494)\n*1588 – Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter (b. 1532)\n*1604 – Horio Tadauji, Japanese daimyo (b. 1578)\n*1616 – Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (b. 1548)\n*1631 – Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian priest, lexicographer, and academic (b. 1579)\n*1684 – George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer, English politician (b. 1622)\n*1719 – Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (b. 1667)\n*1747 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian raid leader (b. 1678)\n*1759 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (b. 1704)\n*1827 – George Canning, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)\n*1828 – Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish botanist and psychologist (b. 1743)\n*1863 – Angus MacAskill, Scottish-Canadian giant (b. 1825)\n*1879 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1797)\n*1887 – Alexander William Doniphan, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1808)\n*1897 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (b. 1818)\n*1898 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)\n*1902 – James Tissot, French painter and illustrator (b. 1836)\n* 1902 – John Henry Twachtman, American painter and academic (b. 1853)\n*1909 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (b. 1842)\n*1911 – William P. Frye, American lawyer and politician (b. 1830)\n*1921 – Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and author (b. 1861)\n*1928 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b. 1871)\n*1930 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish wrestler and weightlifter (b. 1874)\n*1934 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1863)\n*1937 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motor cycle racer (b. 1897)\n*1940 – Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (b. 1892)\n*1944 – Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b. 1881)\n* 1944 – Michael Wittmann, German commander (b. 1914)\n*1947 – Anton Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)\n*1950 – Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (b. 1879)\n*1959 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (b. 1902)\n*1965 – Shirley Jackson, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1916)\n*1969 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (b. 1896)\n*1971 – Freddie Spencer Chapman, English lieutenant (b. 1907)\n*1973 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish historian and author (b. 1898)\n*1975 – Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist (b. 1928)\n*1979 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English lieutenant and author (b. 1910)\n*1980 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1910)\n*1981 – Thomas McElwee, PIRA volunteer (b. 1957)\n*1982 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1920)\n*1984 – Richard Deacon, American actor (b. 1921)\n* 1984 – Ellen Raskin, American author and illustrator (b. 1928)\n*1985 – Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)\n*1987 – Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)\n*1988 – Félix Leclerc, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)\n* 1988 – Alan Napier, English actor (b. 1903)\n*1991 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)\n*1992 – Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian religious leader and scholar (b. 1899)\n*1996 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)\n* 1996 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (b. 1927)\n*1998 – Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist (b. 1968)\n*2003 – Dirk Hoogendam, Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)\n* 2003 – Falaba Issa Traoré, Malian director and playwright (b. 1930)\n*2004 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (b. 1922)\n* 2004 – Fay Wray, Canadian-American actress (b. 1907)\n*2005 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b. 1922)\n* 2005 – Ahmed Deedat, South African missionary and author (b. 1918)\n* 2005 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (b. 1918)\n* 2005 – Gene Mauch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1925)\n* 2005 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (b. 1912)\n* 2005 – Monica Sjöö, Swedish-English painter (b. 1938)\n*2007 – Ma Lik, Chinese journalist and politician (b. 1952)\n* 2007 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)\n*2008 – Orville Moody, American golfer (b. 1933)\n*2009 – Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b. 1983)\n*2010 – Patricia Neal, American actress (b. 1926)\n*2012 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, German-American physicist and academic (b. 1926)\n* 2012 – Ruth Etchells, English poet and academic (b. 1931)\n* 2012 – Surya Lesmana, Indonesian footballer and manager (b. 1944)\n* 2012 – Kurt Maetzig, German director and screenwriter (b. 1911)\n*2013 – Karen Black, American actress (b. 1939)\n* 2013 – Johannes Bluyssen, Dutch bishop (b. 1926)\n* 2013 – Fernando Castro Pacheco, Mexican painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1918)\n* 2013 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (b. 1985)\n* 2013 – Regina Resnik, American soprano and actress (b. 1922)\n*2014 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (b. 1929)\n* 2014 – Charles Keating, English-American actor (b. 1941)\n* 2014 – Leonardo Legaspi, Filipino archbishop (b. 1935)\n* 2014 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (b. 1929)\n* 2014 – Red Wilson, American football and baseball player (b. 1929)\n*2015 – Christopher Marshall, English physician and biologist (b. 1948)\n* 2015 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1925)\n* 2015 – Sam S. Walker, American general (b. 1925)\n*2017 – Glen Campbell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1936)\n\n", "* Ceasefire Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)\n*Christian Feast Day:\n** Altmann of Passau\n** Cyriacus\n** Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Dominican Order.\n** Four Crowned Martyrs\n** Pope Hormisdas\n** Largus\n** Mary MacKillop\n** Smaragdus (and companions)\n** August 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which Children's Day (Argentina) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. \n*Earliest day on which Defence Forces Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Tuesday in August. (Zimbabwe)\n*Earliest day on which Father's Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Brazil, Samoa)\n*Earliest day on which Heroes' Day (Zimbabwe) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in August.\n*Earliest day on which Melon Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August. (Turkmenistan)\n*Earliest day on which Sports Day (Russia) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday in August.\n* Father's Day or ''Bā bā'' Day (爸爸節), ''Bā Bā'' is Mandarin for \"father\" and \"8-8\", or August 8. (Mongolia, Taiwan)\n* Happiness Happens Day (International observance)\n* International Cat Day \n* Namesday of the Queen (Sweden)\n* Nane Nane Day (Tanzania) \n* Signal Troops Day (Ukraine)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*1963 – Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes." ]

[ "* 870 – Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions.", "*1220 – Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.", "*1503 – King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.", "*1509 – Krishnadeva Raya is crowned Emperor of Vijayanagara at Chittoor.", "*1576 – The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven.", "*1585 – John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.", "*1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.", "*1605 – The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.", "*1647 – The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.", "*1648 – Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648) as Ottoman Emperor.", "*1709 – Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the king of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal.", "*1786 – Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.", "*1793 – The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.", "*1794 – Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.", "*1844 – The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).", "*1863 – American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).", "*1870 – The ''Republic of Ploiești'', a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.", "*1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.", "*1908 – Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France.", "It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.", "*1918 – World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous Allied victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).", "*1929 – The German airship ''Graf Zeppelin'' begins a round-the-world flight.", "*1940 – The \"Aufbau Ost\" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.", "*1942 – Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.", "*1945 – The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials.", "*1946 – First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.", "* 1963 – The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.", "*1967 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.", "*1969 – At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album ''Abbey Road''.", "* 1969 – The Manson Family commits the Tate murders.", "*1973 – Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.", "*1974 – President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.", "*1988 – The 8888 Uprising begins in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar).", "Led by students, hundreds of thousands join in nationwide protests against the one-party regime.", "On September 18, the demonstrations end in a military crackdown, killing thousands.", "*1989 – Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.", "*1990 – Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq.", "This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.", "*1991 – The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.", "*1993 – The 7.8 Guam earthquake shakes the island with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''), causing around $250 million in damage and injuring up to 71 people.", "* 1998 – Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan is raided by Taliban leading to the deaths of ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist.", "*2000 – Confederate submarine ''H.L.", "Hunley'' is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.", "*2007 – An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.", "*2008 – A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others.", "* 2009 – A tour helicopter and a private Piper aircraft collide over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S; all 3 people on the helicopter and all 6 people aboard the Piper are killed, 40 blocks south of where US Airways Flight 1549 ditched after suffering multiple bird strikes just 7 months earlier.", "*2010 – China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.", "*2013 – A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.", "*2015 – Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas.", "*2016 – Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others.", "* 422 – Casper, ruler of the Maya city of Palenque\n*1079 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)\n*1170 – Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominicans (d. 1221)\n*1306 – Rudolf II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1353)\n*1492 – Matteo Tafuri, Italian alchemist (d. 1582)\n*1518 – Conrad Lycosthenes, French-German scholar and author (d. 1561)\n*1558 – George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, English noble (d. 1605)\n*1605 – Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English lawyer and politician, Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1675)\n*1640 – Amalia Catharina, German poet and composer (d. 1697)\n*1646 – Godfrey Kneller, German-English painter (d. 1723)\n*1673 – John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)\n*1693 – Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)\n*1694 – Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher and academic (d. 1746)\n*1709 – Hermann Anton Gelinek, German-Italian monk and violinist (d. 1779)\n*1720 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (d. 1796)\n*1754 – Hipólito Ruiz López, Spanish botanist (d. 1816)\n*1758 – Friedrich Georg Weitsch, German painter (d. 1828)\n*1790 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (d. 1838)\n*1807 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish author (d. 1892)\n*1814 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (d. 1902)\n*1822 – George Stoneman, Jr., United States Army cavalry officer (d. 1894)\n*1839 – Nelson A.", "Miles, American general (d. 1925)\n*1851 – George Turner, Australian politician, 18th Premier of Victoria (d. 1916)\n*1856 – Thomas Anstey Guthrie, English journalist and author (d. 1934)\n*1857 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (d. 1944)\n*1866 – Matthew Henson, American explorer (d. 1955)\n*1874 – Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, English businessman and politician, President of the Board of Trade (d. 1948)\n*1875 – Arthur Bernardes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 12th President of Brazil (d. 1955)\n*1876 – Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest, founded the Sisters of the Destitute (d. 1929)\n*1879 – Bob Smith, American physician and surgeon, co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (d. 1950)\n* 1879 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general and politician (d. 1919)\n*1880 – Earle Page, Australian lawyer, academic, and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)\n*1881 – Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (d. 1954)\n*1882 – Ladislas Starevich, Russian-French animator, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1965)\n*1884 – Sara Teasdale, American poet and educator (d. 1933)\n*1889 – Hans Egede Budtz, Danish actor (d. 1968)\n* 1889 – Jack Ryder, Australian cricketer (d. 1977)\n*1891 – Adolf Busch, German violinist and composer (d. 1952)\n*1896 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author and academic (d. 1953)\n*1901 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)\n*1902 – Paul Dirac, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)\n*1904 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (d. 1948)\n*1905 – André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)\n*1907 – Benny Carter, American saxophonist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2003)\n*1908 – Arthur Goldberg, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1990)\n*1909 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English cricketer and politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1977)\n* 1909 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1987)\n* 1909 – Bill Voce, England cricketer and coach (d. 1984)\n*1910 – Jimmy Murphy, Welsh-English footballer and manager (d. 1989)\n* 1910 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)\n*1911 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)\n*1915 – James Elliott, American runner and coach (d. 1981)\n*1919 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian actor and producer (d. 2010)\n* 1919 – John David Wilson, English animator and producer (d. 2013)\n*1920 – Leo Chiosso, Italian songwriter and producer (d. 2006)\n* 1920 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American jump blues singer (d. 1997)\n*1921 – William Asher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)\n* 1921 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)\n* 1921 – Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (d. 2013)\n*1922 – Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)\n* 1922 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the Monokini (d. 1985)\n* 1922 – Gertrude Himmelfarb, American historian, author, and academic\n* 1922 – Károly Reich, Hungarian illustrator (d. 1988)\n*1925 – Alija Izetbegović, Bosnian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina (d. 2003)\n*1926 – Richard Anderson, American actor and producer (d. 2017)\n*1927 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player and coach (d. 1994)\n* 1927 – Maia Wojciechowska, Polish-American author (d. 2002)\n*1928 – Don Burrows, Australian saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player\n*1929 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (d. 2004)\n*1930 – Terry Nation, Welsh-American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)\n* 1930 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)\n*1931 – Roger Penrose, English physicist, mathematician, and philosopher\n*1932 – Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian general and politician, 68th President of Bolivia\n* 1932 – Mel Tillis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1933 – Joe Tex, American soul singer-songwriter (d. 1982)\n*1934 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)\n*1935 – Donald P. Bellisario, American director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1935 – John Laws, Papua New Guinean-Australian singer and radio host\n*1936 – Frank Howard, American baseball player and manager\n* 1936 – Jan Pieńkowski, Polish-English author and illustrator\n*1937 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor and director\n* 1937 – Sheila Varian, American horse breeder (d. 2016)\n* 1937 – Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch-Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1987)\n*1938 – Jack Baldwin, English chemist and academic\n* 1938 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2010)\n* 1938 – Connie Stevens, American actress and businesswoman \n*1939 – Jana Andrsová, Czech actress and ballerina\n* 1939 – Viorica Viscopoleanu, Romanian long jumper\n* 1939 – Alexander Watson, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Peru\n*1940 – Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)\n* 1940 – Dennis Tito, American engineer and businessman, founded Wilshire Associates\n*1942 – Dennis Canavan, Scottish educator and politician\n* 1942 – John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)\n* 1942 – Vardo Rumessen, Estonian pianist and musicologist (d. 2015)\n*1944 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)\n* 1944 – John Renbourn, English-Scottish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2015)\n* 1944 – Simon Taylor, English journalist and author\n*1946 – Joe Bethancourt, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)\n*1947 – Ken Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player, lawyer, and politician\n* 1947 – Larry Wilcox, American actor, director, and producer\n*1948 – Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian engineer and astronaut\n* 1948 – Margaret Urban Walker, American philosopher\n*1949 – Keith Carradine, American actor \n* 1949 – Ricardo Londoño, Colombian race car driver (d. 2009)\n*1950 – Willie Hall, American drummer and producer \n* 1950 – Ken Kutaragi, Japanese businessman, created PlayStation\n*1951 – Martin Brest, American director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1951 – Phil Carlson, Australian cricketer\n* 1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian engineer, academic, and politician, 5th President of Egypt\n* 1951 – Mamoru Oshii, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1951 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)\n* 1951 – Louis van Gaal, Dutch footballer and manager\n*1952 – Anton Fig, South African-American drummer \n* 1952 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author\n* 1952 – Doug Melvin, Canadian baseball player and manager\n* 1952 – Robin Quivers, American nurse, radio host/personality, and author \n* 1952 – Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer\n*1953 – Mark Lazarowicz, English politician\n* 1953 – Nigel Mansell, English race car driver\n* 1953 – Don Most, American actor and director\n*1954 – Nick Holtam, English bishop\n*1955 – Diddú, Icelandic singer-songwriter\n* 1955 – Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer and manager\n* 1955 – Michael Roe, Irish race car driver\n*1956 – Chris Foreman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1956 – David Grant, English singer \n* 1956 – Cecilia Roth, Argentinian actress\n*1957 – Dennis Drew, American keyboard player \n*1958 – Deborah Norville, American journalist\n*1959 – Caroline Ansink, Dutch flute player, composer, and educator\n*1960 – Mustafa Balbay, Turkish journalist and politician\n* 1960 – Ulrich Maly, German politician, 16th Mayor of Nuremberg\n*1961 – The Edge, British-Irish musician, singer and songwriter\n* 1961 – Daniel House, American bass player and producer \n* 1961 – Ron Klain, American lawyer and politician, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States\n* 1961 – Bruce Matthews, American football player and coach\n* 1961 – Rikki Rockett, American glam rock drummer (Poison) \n*1962 – Kool Moe Dee, American musician, singer and actor\n*1963 – Hur Jin-ho, South Korean director and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Ron Karkovice, American baseball player and manager\n* 1963 – Emi Shinohara, Japanese voice actress and singer\n* 1963 – Jon Turteltaub, American director and producer\n* 1963 – Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager\n*1964 – Anastasia M. Ashman, American blogger and author\n* 1964 – Scott Sandelin, American ice hockey player and coach\n* 1964 – Paul Taylor, English cricketer\n*1965 – Angus Fraser, English cricketer, manager, and journalist\n* 1965 – Kate Langbroek, Australian talk show host\n*1966 – Chris Eubank, English boxer\n* 1966 – John Hudek, American baseball player and coach\n*1967 – Marcelo Balboa, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster\n*1968 – Yvie Burnett, Scottish soprano\n* 1968 – Aldo Calderón van Dyke, Honduran journalist (d. 2013)\n* 1968 – Abey Kuruvilla, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1968 – Huey Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1969 – Monika Tsõganova, Estonian chess player\n* 1969 – Faye Wong, Chinese singer-songwriter and actress\n*1970 – Trev Alberts, American football player and journalist\n* 1970 – Ben G. Davis, English chemist and academic\n* 1970 – Chester Williams, South African rugby player and coach\n*1971 – Johnny Balentina, Dutch baseball player\n*1972 – Joely Collins, Canadian actress and producer\n* 1972 – Andrea de Rossi, Italian rugby player and coach\n* 1972 – Axel Merckx, Belgian cyclist\n* 1972 – Steven Tweed, Scottish footballer and manager\n*1973 – Shane Lee, Australian cricketer and guitarist \n* 1973 – Gert Olesk, Estonian footballer and manager\n* 1973 – Scott Stapp, American singer-songwriter and producer \n* 1973 – Ilka Agricola, German mathematician\n*1974 – Manjul Bhargava, Canadian-American mathematician and academic\n* 1974 – Scott D'Amore, Canadian wrestler and manager\n* 1974 – Brian Harvey, English singer-songwriter \n* 1974 – Andy Priaulx, Guernseyan race car driver\n*1975 – Mick Moss, English singer-songwriter \n*1976 – JC Chasez, American singer and dancer\n* 1976 – Drew Lachey, American singer and actor \n*1977 – Darren Manzella, American sergeant (d. 2013)\n* 1977 – Rocky Thompson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1977 – Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist\n* 1977 – Mohammad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer\n*1978 – Alan Maybury, Irish footballer and coach\n* 1978 – Louis Saha, French footballer\n* 1978 – Miho Shiraishi, Japanese actress\n*1979 – Richard Harwood, English cellist\n* 1979 – Rashard Lewis, American basketball player\n* 1979 – Richard Lyons, Northern Irish racing driver\n*1980 – Craig Breslow, American baseball player\n* 1980 – Jack Cassel, American baseball player\n* 1980 – Denisse Guerrero, Mexican singer-songwriter \n* 1980 – Mike Hindert, American singer and bass player \n* 1980 – Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player\n* 1980 – Diego Markwell, Dutch baseball player\n* 1980 – Pat Noonan, American soccer player\n* 1980 – Michael Urie, American actor, director, and producer\n*1981 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer-songwriter\n* 1981 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player\n* 1981 – Meagan Good, American actress and producer\n* 1981 – Harel Skaat, Israeli singer-songwriter\n*1982 – David Florence, English canoe racer\n* 1982 – Ross Ohlendorf, American baseball player\n*1983 – Guy Burnet, English actor and producer\n* 1983 – Willie Tonga, Australian rugby league player\n*1984 – Kirk Broadfoot, Scottish footballer\n* 1984 – Norbert Michelisz, Hungarian race car driver\n* 1984 – Martrez Milner, American football player\n*1985 – Toby Flood, English rugby player\n* 1985 – Ryan Koolwijk, Dutch footballer\n* 1985 – James Morgan, Welsh actor and producer\n* 1985 – Brett Ratliff, American football player\n* 1985 – Anita Włodarczyk, Polish track and field athlete\n*1986 – Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player\n* 1986 – Pierre Garçon, American football player\n* 1986 – Chris Pressley, American football player\n*1987 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor\n* 1987 – Tatjana Malek, German tennis player\n*1988 – Princess Beatrice of York\n* 1988 – Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player\n* 1988 – Rinku Singh, Indian baseball player\n* 1988 – Laura Slade Wiggins, American actress and singer \n*1989 – Ken Baumann, American actor and author\n* 1989 – Anthony Rizzo, American baseball player\n* 1989 – Hannah Miley, English-Scottish swimmer\n*1990 – Vladimír Darida, Czech footballer\n* 1990 – Parker Kligerman, American race car driver\n* 1990 – Aleksandra Szwed, Polish actress and singer\n* 1990 – Kane Williamson, New Zealand cricket captain\n*1991 – Nélson Oliveira, Portuguese footballer\n* 1991 – Tyrone Peachey, Australian rugby league player\n*1992 – Josip Drmić, Swiss footballer\n*1998 – Shawn Mendes, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1998 – Ronan Parke, English singer-songwriter\n*2000 – Félix Auger-Aliassime, Canadian tennis player", "* 117 – Trajan, Roman emperor (b.", "53)\n* 753 – Hildegar, bishop of Cologne\n* 869 – Lothair II, Frankish king (b.", "835)\n*1002 – Almanzor, chief minister of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, Spain\n*1171 – Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (b.", "1111)\n*1303 – Henry of Castile the Senator (b.", "1230)\n*1533 – Lucas van Leyden, Dutch artist (b.", "1494)\n*1555 – Oronce Finé, French mathematician and cartographer (b.", "1494)\n*1588 – Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter (b.", "1532)\n*1604 – Horio Tadauji, Japanese daimyo (b.", "1578)\n*1616 – Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (b.", "1548)\n*1631 – Konstantinas Sirvydas, Lithuanian priest, lexicographer, and academic (b.", "1579)\n*1684 – George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer, English politician (b.", "1622)\n*1719 – Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (b.", "1667)\n*1747 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian raid leader (b.", "1678)\n*1759 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (b.", "1704)\n*1827 – George Canning, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b.", "1770)\n*1828 – Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish botanist and psychologist (b.", "1743)\n*1863 – Angus MacAskill, Scottish-Canadian giant (b.", "1825)\n*1879 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b.", "1797)\n*1887 – Alexander William Doniphan, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b.", "1808)\n*1897 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (b.", "1818)\n*1898 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (b.", "1824)\n*1902 – James Tissot, French painter and illustrator (b.", "1836)\n* 1902 – John Henry Twachtman, American painter and academic (b.", "1853)\n*1909 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (b.", "1842)\n*1911 – William P. Frye, American lawyer and politician (b.", "1830)\n*1921 – Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and author (b.", "1861)\n*1928 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian politician (b.", "1871)\n*1930 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish wrestler and weightlifter (b.", "1874)\n*1934 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b.", "1863)\n*1937 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motor cycle racer (b.", "1897)\n*1940 – Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (b.", "1892)\n*1944 – Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (b.", "1881)\n* 1944 – Michael Wittmann, German commander (b.", "1914)\n*1947 – Anton Denikin, Russian general (b.", "1872)\n*1950 – Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (b.", "1879)\n*1959 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (b.", "1902)\n*1965 – Shirley Jackson, American novelist and short story writer (b.", "1916)\n*1969 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (b.", "1896)\n*1971 – Freddie Spencer Chapman, English lieutenant (b.", "1907)\n*1973 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish historian and author (b.", "1898)\n*1975 – Cannonball Adderley, American saxophonist (b.", "1928)\n*1979 – Nicholas Monsarrat, English lieutenant and author (b.", "1910)\n*1980 – Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (b.", "1910)\n*1981 – Thomas McElwee, PIRA volunteer (b.", "1957)\n*1982 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (b.", "1920)\n*1984 – Richard Deacon, American actor (b.", "1921)\n* 1984 – Ellen Raskin, American author and illustrator (b.", "1928)\n*1985 – Louise Brooks, American actress (b.", "1906)\n*1987 – Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician and physicist (b.", "1903)\n*1988 – Félix Leclerc, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b.", "1914)\n* 1988 – Alan Napier, English actor (b.", "1903)\n*1991 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b.", "1930)\n*1992 – Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian religious leader and scholar (b.", "1899)\n*1996 – Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1905)\n* 1996 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (b.", "1927)\n*1998 – Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist (b.", "1968)\n*2003 – Dirk Hoogendam, Dutch-German SS officer (b.", "1922)\n* 2003 – Falaba Issa Traoré, Malian director and playwright (b.", "1930)\n*2004 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (b.", "1922)\n* 2004 – Fay Wray, Canadian-American actress (b.", "1907)\n*2005 – Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b.", "1922)\n* 2005 – Ahmed Deedat, South African missionary and author (b.", "1918)\n* 2005 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (b.", "1918)\n* 2005 – Gene Mauch, American baseball player and manager (b.", "1925)\n* 2005 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (b.", "1912)\n* 2005 – Monica Sjöö, Swedish-English painter (b.", "1938)\n*2007 – Ma Lik, Chinese journalist and politician (b.", "1952)\n* 2007 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b.", "1917)\n*2008 – Orville Moody, American golfer (b.", "1933)\n*2009 – Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b.", "1983)\n*2010 – Patricia Neal, American actress (b.", "1926)\n*2012 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, German-American physicist and academic (b.", "1926)\n* 2012 – Ruth Etchells, English poet and academic (b.", "1931)\n* 2012 – Surya Lesmana, Indonesian footballer and manager (b.", "1944)\n* 2012 – Kurt Maetzig, German director and screenwriter (b.", "1911)\n*2013 – Karen Black, American actress (b.", "1939)\n* 2013 – Johannes Bluyssen, Dutch bishop (b.", "1926)\n* 2013 – Fernando Castro Pacheco, Mexican painter, engraver, and illustrator (b.", "1918)\n* 2013 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (b.", "1985)\n* 2013 – Regina Resnik, American soprano and actress (b.", "1922)\n*2014 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (b.", "1929)\n* 2014 – Charles Keating, English-American actor (b.", "1941)\n* 2014 – Leonardo Legaspi, Filipino archbishop (b.", "1935)\n* 2014 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (b.", "1929)\n* 2014 – Red Wilson, American football and baseball player (b.", "1929)\n*2015 – Christopher Marshall, English physician and biologist (b.", "1948)\n* 2015 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b.", "1925)\n* 2015 – Sam S. Walker, American general (b.", "1925)\n*2017 – Glen Campbell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b.", "1936)", "* Ceasefire Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)\n*Christian Feast Day:\n** Altmann of Passau\n** Cyriacus\n** Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Dominican Order.", "** Four Crowned Martyrs\n** Pope Hormisdas\n** Largus\n** Mary MacKillop\n** Smaragdus (and companions)\n** August 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Earliest day on which Children's Day (Argentina) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August.", "*Earliest day on which Defence Forces Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Tuesday in August.", "(Zimbabwe)\n*Earliest day on which Father's Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August.", "(Brazil, Samoa)\n*Earliest day on which Heroes' Day (Zimbabwe) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in August.", "*Earliest day on which Melon Day can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in August.", "(Turkmenistan)\n*Earliest day on which Sports Day (Russia) can fall, while August 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday in August.", "* Father's Day or ''Bā bā'' Day (爸爸節), ''Bā Bā'' is Mandarin for \"father\" and \"8-8\", or August 8.", "(Mongolia, Taiwan)\n* Happiness Happens Day (International observance)\n* International Cat Day \n* Namesday of the Queen (Sweden)\n* Nane Nane Day (Tanzania) \n* Signal Troops Day (Ukraine)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''AK-47''', or '''AK''' as it is officially known (), also known as the '''Kalashnikov''', is a selective-fire (semi-automatic and fully automatic), gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or \"AK\") family.\n\nDesign work on the AK-47 began in the last year of World War II (1945). In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials, and in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the ''AKS'' (S—''Skladnoy'' or \"folding\"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In the spring of 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.\n\nEven after almost seven decades, the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use. The AK-47 has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies worldwide, and was the basis for developing many other types of individual, crew-served and specialised firearms. As of 2004, \"Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s\".\n", "=== Origins ===\nDuring World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts. The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz, and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle. On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR. The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own, to replace the PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.\n\nThe Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun. Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS in Soviet service. In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, an AK-47 type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that would eventually replace the RPD light machine gun.\n\n=== Concept ===\nA Type 2 AK-47, the first machined receiver variation\n\nMikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a weapon designer in 1941, while recuperating from a shoulder wound, which he received during the Battle of Bryansk. Kalashnikov himself stated...\"I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: ‘Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?’ So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the date of its first manufacture, 1947.\"\n\nThe AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations. \"Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44.\" Kalashnikov's team had access to these weapons and had no need to \"reinvent the wheel\". Kalashnikov himself observed: \"A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed. These are very difficult questions. Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures. But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so.\"\n\nThere are claims about Kalashnikov copying other designs, like Bulkin's TKB-415 or Simonov's AVS-31.\n\n=== Early designs ===\nKalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942 and with a light machine gun in 1943. \"Early in 1944, Kalashnikov was given some M1943 7.62×39mm cartridges and informed that there were several designers working on weapons for this new Soviet small-arms cartridge. It was suggested to him that this new weapon might well lead to greater things, and he undertook work on the new rifle.\" In 1944, he entered a design competition with this new 7.62×39mm, semi-automatic, gas-operated, long stroke piston, carbine, strongly influenced by the American M1 Garand. \"The rifle that Kalashnikov designed was in the same class as the familiar SKS-45 Simonov with fixed magazine and gas tube above the barrel.\" However, this new Kalashnikov design lost out to a Simonov design.\n\nIn 1946, a new design competition was initiated to develop a new assault rifle. Kalashnikov submitted an entry. It was gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel, a breech-block mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30-round magazine. Kalashnikov's rifles AK-1 (with a milled receiver) and AK-2 (with a stamped receiver) proved to be reliable weapons and were accepted to a second round of competition along with other designs.\n\nThese prototypes (also known as the AK-46) had a rotary bolt, a two-part receiver with separate trigger unit housing, dual controls (separate safety and fire selector switches) and a non-reciprocating charging handle located on the left side of the weapon. This design had many similarities to the STG 44. In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaitsev, suggested a major redesign to improve reliability. At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their rifle had already fared better than its competitors. Eventually, however, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov.\n\nIn November 1947, the new prototypes (AK-47s) were completed. It utilized a long-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The upper and lower receivers were combined into a single receiver. The selector and safety were combined into a single control-lever/dust-cover on the right side of the rifle. And, the bolt-handle was simply attached to the bolt-carrier. This simplified the design and production of the rifle. The first army trial series began in early 1948. The new rifle proved to be reliable under a wide range of conditions with convenient handling characteristics. In 1949, it was adopted by the Soviet Army as \"7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK)\".\n\n=== Further development ===\nAKMS with a stamped Type 4B receiver (top), and an AK-47 with a milled Type 2A receiver\n1955 AK-47 with a milled Type 3A receiver showing the milled lightening cut on the side above the magazine that for Type 3 receivers is slanted to the barrel axis\n\nThere were many difficulties during the initial phase of production. The first production models had stamped sheet metal receivers with a milled trunnion and butt stock insert, and a stamped body. Difficulties were encountered in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates. Instead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver. This was a more costly process, but the use of machined receivers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin–Nagant rifle's machined receiver were easily adapted. Partly because of these problems, the Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifle to soldiers until 1956. During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued.\n\nOnce the manufacturing difficulties of non milled receivers had been overcome, a redesigned version designated the AKM (M for \"modernized\" or \"upgraded\"; in Russian: ''Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy)'' was introduced in 1959. This new model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted muzzle brake on the end of the barrel to compensate for muzzle rise under recoil. In addition, a hammer retarder was added to prevent the weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed), during rapid or fully automatic fire. This is also sometimes referred to as a \"cyclic rate reducer\", or simply \"rate reducer\", as it also has the effect of reducing the number of rounds fired per minute during fully automatic fire. It was also roughly one-third lighter than the previous model.\n\n\n\n Receiver type\n Description\n\n Type 1A/B\n The original stamped receiver for the AK-47 first adopted and produced in 1949. The 1B was modified for an underfolding stock with a large hole present on each side to accommodate the hardware for the underfolding stock.\n\n Type 2A/B\n The first milled receiver made from steel forging. It went into production in 1951 and production ended between 1953 and 1954. The Type 2A has a distinctive socketed metal \"boot\" connecting the butt stock to the receiver and the milled lightening cut on the sides runs parallel to the barrel.\n\n Type 3A/B\n \"Final\" version of the AK-47 milled receiver made from steel bar stock. It went into production between 1953 and 1954. The most ubiquitous example of the milled-receiver AK-47. The milled lightening cut on the sides is slanted to the barrel axis.\n\n Type 4A/B\n AKM receiver stamped from a smooth sheet of steel supported extensively by pins and rivets. It went into production in 1959. Overall, the most-used design in the construction of the AK-series rifles.\n\n\nBoth licensed and unlicensed production of the Kalashnikov weapons abroad were almost exclusively of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver. This model is the most commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities. All rifles based on the Kalashnikov design are frequently referred to as AK-47s in the West, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on the original three receiver types. In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the \"Kalashnikov\" or \"AK\". The differences between the milled and stamped receivers includes the use of rivets rather than welds on the stamped receiver, as well as the placement of a small dimple above the magazine well for stabilization of the magazine.\n\n=== Replacement ===\nIn 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the AK-74, which uses 5.45×39mm ammunition. This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the Soviet Union collapsed, drastically slowing production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc.\n", "The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s. The AK-47 uses a long stroke gas system that is generally associated with great reliability in adverse conditions. The large gas piston, generous clearances between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle.\n\n=== Cartridge ===\n\nWound Profiles of Russian small-arms ammunition compiled by Dr. Martin Fackler on behalf of the U.S. military\n\nThe AK fires the 7.62×39mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity of .\nThe cartridge weight is , the projectile weight is . The original Soviet M43 bullets are 123 grain boat-tail bullets with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket. The AK has excellent penetration when shooting through heavy foliage, walls or a common vehicle's metal body and into an opponent attempting to use these things as cover. The 7.62×39mm M43 projectile does not generally fragment when striking an opponent and has an unusual tendency to remain intact even after making contact with bone. The 7.62×39mm round produces significant wounding in cases where the bullet tumbles (yaws) in tissue, but produces relatively minor wounds in cases where the bullet exits before beginning to yaw. In the absence of yaw, the M43 round can pencil through tissue with relatively little injury.\n\nMost, if not all, of the 7.62×39mm ammunition found today is of the upgraded M67 variety. This variety deleted the steel insert, shifting the center of gravity rearward, and allowing the projectile to destabilize (or yaw) at about , nearly earlier in tissue than the M43 round. This change also reduces penetration in ballistic gelatin to ~ for the newer M67 round versus ~ for the older M43 round. However, the wounding potential of M67 is mostly limited to the small permanent wound channel the bullet itself makes, especially when the bullet yaws.\n\n=== Operating mechanism ===\nChinese AK-47\n\nTo fire, the operator inserts a loaded magazine, pulls back and releases the charging handle, and then pulls the trigger. In semi-automatic, the firearm fires only once, requiring the trigger to be released and depressed again for the next shot. In fully automatic, the rifle continues to fire automatically cycling fresh rounds into the chamber, until the magazine is exhausted or pressure is released from the trigger. After ignition of the cartridge primer and propellant, rapidly expanding propellant gases are diverted into the gas cylinder above the barrel through a vent near the muzzle. The build-up of gases inside the gas cylinder drives the long-stroke piston and bolt carrier rearward and a cam guide machined into the underside of the bolt carrier along with an ejector spur on the bolt carrier rail guide, rotates the bolt approximately 35° and unlocks it from the barrel extension via a camming pin on the bolt. The moving assembly has about of free travel, which creates a delay between the initial recoil impulse of the piston and the bolt unlocking sequence, allowing gas pressures to drop to a safe level before the seal between the chamber and the bolt is broken. The AK-47 does not have a gas valve; excess gases are ventilated through a series of radial ports in the gas cylinder. The Kalashnikov operating system offers no primary extraction upon bolt rotation, but uses an extractor claw to eject the spent cartridge case.\n\n=== Barrel ===\nAK-47 barrel and its distinctive gas block with a horizontal row of gas relief ports\n\nThe rifle received a barrel with a chrome-lined bore and four right-hand grooves at a 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in) rifling twist rate. The gas block contains a gas channel that is installed at a slanted angle in relation to the bore axis. The muzzle is threaded for the installation of various muzzle devices such as a muzzle brake or a blank-firing adaptor.\n\n===Gas block===\nThe gas block of the AK-47 features a cleaning rod capture or sling loop. Gas relief ports that alleviate gas pressure are placed horizontally in a row on the gas cylinder.\n\n=== Fire selector ===\nViệt Cộng soldier armed with an AK-47, standing beneath the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam\n\nThe fire selector is a large lever located on the right side of the rifle, it acts as a dust-cover and prevents the charging handle from being pulled fully to the rear when it is on safe. It is operated by the shooter's right fore-fingers and has 3 settings: safe (up), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (down). The reason for this is that under stress a soldier will push the selector lever down with considerable force bypassing the full-auto stage and setting the rifle to semi-auto. To set the AK-47 to full-auto requires the deliberate action of centering the selector lever. To operate the fire selector lever, right handed shooters have to briefly remove their right hand from the pistol grip, which is ergonomically sub-optimal. Some AK-type rifles also have a more traditional selector lever on the left side of the receiver just above the pistol grip. This lever is operated by the shooter's right thumb and has three settings: safe (forward), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (backward).\n\n=== Sights ===\nRear sight of a Chinese Type 56, featuring settings and omission of a battle zero setting\n\nThe AK-47 uses a notched rear tangent iron sight calibrated in increments from . The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field. Horizontal adjustment requires a special drift tool and is done by the armory before issue or if the need arises by an armorer after issue. The sight line elements are approximately over the bore axis. The \"point-blank range\" battle zero setting \"''П''\" on the 7.62×39mm AK-47 rear tangent sight element corresponds to a zero. These settings mirror the Mosin–Nagant and SKS rifles, which the AK-47 replaced. For the AK-47 combined with service cartridges, the 300 m battle zero setting limits the apparent \"bullet rise\" within approximately relative to the line of sight. Soldiers are instructed to fire at any target within this range by simply placing the sights on the center of mass (the belt buckle, according to Russian and former Soviet doctrine) of the enemy target. Any errors in range estimation are tactically irrelevant, as a well-aimed shot will hit the torso of the enemy soldier. Some AK-type rifles have a front sight with a flip-up luminous dot that is calibrated at , for improved night fighting.\n\n=== Furniture ===\nThe AK-47 was originally equipped with a buttstock, handguard and an upper heat guard made from solid wood. With the introduction of the Type 3 receiver the buttstock, lower handguard and upper heatguard were manufactured from birch plywood laminates. Such engineered woods are stronger and resist warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, do not require lengthy maturing, and are cheaper. The wooden furniture was finished with the Russian amber shellac finishing process. AKS and AKMS models featured a downward-folding metal butt-stock similar to that of the German MP40 submachine-gun, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops. All 100 series AKs use plastic furniture with side-folding stocks.\n\n=== Magazines ===\nAK-47 with stamp-steel magazines\n\"Bakelite\" rust-colored steel-reinforced 30-round plastic box 7.62×39mm AK magazines. Three magazines have an \"arrow in triangle\" Izhmash arsenal mark on the bottom right. The other magazine has a \"star\" Tula arsenal mark on the bottom right\n\nThe standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10, 20, and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round drum magazines.\n\nThe AK-47's standard 30-round magazines have a pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber. Their heavy steel construction combined with \"feed-lips\" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage. These magazines are so strong that \"Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers\". This contributes to the AK-47 magazine being more reliable, but makes it heavier than U.S. and NATO magazines.\n\nThe early slab-sided steel AK-47 30-round detachable box magazines had sheet-metal bodies and weigh empty. The later steel AKM 30-round magazines had lighter sheet-metal bodies with prominent reinforcing ribs weighing empty. To further reduce weight, a light weight magazine with an aluminum body with a prominent reinforcing waffle rib pattern weighing empty was developed for the AKM that proved to be too fragile and the small issued amount of these magazines were quickly withdrawn from service. As a replacement steel-reinforced 30-round plastic 7.62×39mm box magazines were introduced. These rust-colored magazines weigh empty and are often mistakenly identified as being made of Bakelite (a phenolic resin), but were actually fabricated from two-parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a glass-reinforced phenol-formaldehyde binder impregnated composite), assembled using an epoxy resin adhesive. Noted for their durability, these magazines did however compromise the rifle's camouflage and lacked the small horizontal reinforcing ribs running down both sides of the magazine body near the front that were added on all later plastic magazine generations. A second generation steel-reinforced dark-brown (color shades vary from maroon to plum to near black) 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine was introduced in the early 1980s, fabricated from ABS plastic. The third generation steel-reinforced 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine is similar to the second generation, but is darker colored and has a matte nonreflective surface finish. The current issue steel-reinforced matte true black nonreflective surface finished 7.62×39mm 30-round magazines, fabricated from ABS plastic weigh empty.\n\nEarly steel AK-47 magazines are long; the later ribbed steel AKM and newer plastic 7.62×39mm magazines are about shorter.\n\nThe transition from steel to mainly plastic magazines yields a significant weight reduction and allows a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight.\n\n\n\n Rifle\n Cartridge\n Cartridge weight\n Weight of empty magazine\n Weight of loaded magazine\n Max. ammunition load*\n\n AK-47 (1949)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n slab-sided steel\n 30-rounds\n 11 magazines for 330 rounds\n\n AKM (1959)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n ribbed stamped-steel\n 30-rounds\n 12 magazines for 360 rounds\n\n AK-103 (1994)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n steel-reinforced plastic\n 30-rounds\n 13 magazines for 390 rounds\n\n\nAll 7.62×39mm AK magazines are backwards compatible with older AK variants.\n\n10.12 kg (22.3 lb) is the maximum amount of ammo that the average soldier can comfortably carry. It also allows for best comparison of the three most common 7.62×39mm AK magazines.\n\nMost Yugoslavian and some East German AK magazines were made with cartridge followers that hold the bolt open when empty; however, most AK magazine followers allow the bolt to close when the magazine is empty.\n\n=== Accessories ===\nAK-47 6H2 bayonet and scabbard\nGP-34 Grenade Launcher\nAK-47 with Kalashnikov grenade launcher mounted on the muzzle\nAccessories supplied with the rifle include a long 6H3 bayonet featuring a long spear point blade. The AK-47 bayonet is installed by slipping the diameter muzzle ring around the muzzle and latching the handle down on the bayonet lug under the front sight base.\n\nAll current model AKM rifles can mount under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers such as the GP-25 and its variants, which can fire up to 20 rounds per minute and have an effective range of up to 400 metres. The main grenade is the VOG-25 (VOG-25M) fragmentation grenade which has a 6 m (9 m) (20 ft (30 ft)) lethality radius. The VOG-25P/VOG-25PM (\"jumping\") variant explodes above the ground.\n\nThe AK-47 can also mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade launcher, the Kalashnikov grenade launcher that fires standard RGD-5 Soviet hand-grenades. The maximum effective range is approximately 150 meters. This launcher can also be used to launch tear-gas and riot control grenades.\n\nAll current AKs (100 series) and some older models, have side rails for mounting a variety of scopes and sighting devices, such as the PSO-1 Optical Sniper Sight. The side rails allow for the removal and remounting of optical accessories without interfering with the zeroing of the optic. However, the 100 series side folding stocks cannot be folded with the optics mounted.\n", "=== Service life ===\nThe AK-47 and its variants are made in dozens of countries, with \"quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship.\" As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000, to 10,000, to 15,000 rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy to manufacture assault rifle, perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items. As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on \"battlefield cannibalization\" for resupply, it is actually more cost-effective to replace rather than repair weapons.\n\nThe AK-47 has small parts and springs that need to be replaced every few thousand rounds. However, \"Every time it is disassembled beyond the field stripping stage, it will take some time for some parts to regain their fit, some parts may tend to shake loose and fall out when firing the weapon. Some parts of the AK-47 line are riveted together. Repairing these can be quite a hassle, since the end of the rivet has to be ground off and a new one set after the part is replaced.\"\n", "7.62×39mm cartridges from Russia, China and Pakistan\n\n; Early variants (7.62×39mm)\n* Issue of 1948/49: Type 1: The very earliest models, stamped sheet metal receiver, are now very rare.\n* Issue of 1951: Type 2: Has a milled receiver. Barrel and chamber are chrome plated to resist corrosion.\n* Issue of 1954/55: Type 3: Lightened, milled receiver variant. Rifle weight is .\n* AKS (AKS-47): Type 1, 2, or 3 receiver: Featured a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.\n* AKN (AKSN): Night scope rail.\n\n; Modernized (7.62×39mm)\n* AKM: A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal. A slanted muzzle device was added to counter climb in automatic fire. Rifle weight is due to the lighter receiver. This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47.\n** AKMS: Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops.\n** AKMN (AKMSN): Night scope rail.\n** AKML (AKMSL): Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail.\n* RPK: Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and bipod. The variants—RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL)—mirror AKM variants. The \"S\" variants have a side-folding wooden stock.\n\nFor the further developed AK models, see Kalashnikov rifles.\n", "=== Outside of the Soviet Union/Russia ===\nKalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash) has repeatedly claimed that the majority of foreign manufacturers are producing AK type rifles without proper licensing.\n\n\n\n\n Country !! Military variant(s)\n\n Albania\n Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-1) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Model 56 Type-1 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of Type 56, which in turn is a clone of the Soviet AKM rifle)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar Tipi 1982 (ASH-82) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Type 1982 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of AKMS)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-2) Albanian Light Machine Gun Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of RPK)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-3) Albanian Automatic Hybrid Rifle Model 56 Type-3 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Hybrid rifle for multi-purpose roles mainly Marksman rifle with secondary assault rifle and grenade launcher capability)\n----\nSeveral other unnamed & unidentified versions of the AKMS have been produced mainly with short barrels similar to the Soviet AKS-74U mainly for special forces, Tank & Armoured crew also for Helicopter pilots and police. There have also been modifications and fresh production of heavily modified ASh-82 (AKMS) with SOPMOD accessories, mainly for Albania's special forces RENEA & exports.\n\n Armenia\n K-3 (bullpup, 5.45×39mm)\n\n Azerbaijan\n Khazri (AK-74M)\n\n Bangladesh\n Chinese Type 56\n\n Bulgaria\n AKK/AKKS (Type 3 AK-47/w. side-folding buttstock)\n----\nAKKMS (AKMS), AKKN-47 (fittings for NPSU night sights)\n----\nAK-47M1 (Type 3 with black polymer furniture)\n----\nAK-47MA1/AR-M1 (same as -M1, but in 5.56mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-47M1 (AKMS in 5.56×45mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-47S (AK-47M1, short version, with East German folding stock, laser aiming device)\n----\nAKS-47UF (short version of -M1, Russian folding stock), AR-SF (same as −47UF, but 5.56mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-93SM6 (similar to −47M1, cannot use grenade launcher)\n----\nRKKS (RPK), AKT-47 (.22 rimfire training rifle)\n\n Cambodia\n Chinese Type 56, Soviet AK-47, and AKM\n\n People's Republic of China\n Type 56\n\n Colombia\n Galil ACE\n\n Croatia\n APS-95\n\n Cuba\n AKM\n\n East Germany\n MPi-K/MPi-KS (AK-47/AKS)\n----\nMPi-KM (AKM; wooden and plastic stock), MPi-KMS-72 (side-folding stock), MPi-KMS-K (carbine)\n----\nMPi-AK-74N (AK-74), MPi-AKS-74N (side-folding stock), MPi-AKS-74NK (carbine)\n----\nKK-MPi Mod.69 (.22 LR select-fire trainer)\n\n Egypt\n AK-47, Misr assault rifle (AKMS), Maadi ARM (AKM)\n\n Ethiopia\n AK-47, AK-103 (manufactured locally at the State-run ''Gafat Armament Engineering Complex'' as the Et-97/1)\n\n Finland\n Rk 62, Valmet M76 (other names Rk 62 76, M62/76), Valmet M78 (light machine gun), Rk 95 Tp\n\n Hungary\n AK-55 (domestic manufacture of the 2nd Model AK-47)\n----\nAKM-63 (also known as AMD-63 in the US; modernized AK-55), AMD-65M (modernized AKM-63, shorter barrel and side-folding stock), AMP-69 (rifle grenade launcher)\n----\nAK-63F/D (other name AMM/AMMSz), AK-63MF (modernized)\n----\nNGM-81 (5.56×45mm NATO; fixed and under-folding stock)\n\n India\n INSAS (fixed and side-folding stock), KALANTAK (carbine), INSAS light machine gun (fixed and side-folding stock), a local unlicensed version with carbon fibre furniture designated as AK-7 \n----\nTrichy Assault Rifle 7.62 mm, manufactured by Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli of Ordnance Factories Board\n\n Iran\n KLS/KLF (AK-47/AKS), KLT (AKMS)\n\n Iraq\n Tabuk Sniper Rifle, Tabuk Assault Rifle (with fixed or underfolding stock, outright clones of Yugoslavian M70 rifles series), Tabuk Short Assault Rifle (carbine)\n\n Israel\n IMI Galil: AR (assault/battle rifle), ARM (assault rifle/light machine gun), SAR (carbine), MAR (compact carbine), Sniper (sniper rifle), SR-99 (sniper rifle)\n----\nGalil ACE\n\n Italy\n Bernardelli VB-STD/VB-SR (Galil AR/SAR)\n\n Nigeria\n Produced by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria as OBJ-006\n\n North Korea\n Type 58A/B (Type 3 AK-47/w. stamped steel folding stock), Type 68A/B (AKM/AKMS), Type 88A/B-2 (AK-74/AKS-74/w. top folding stock)\n\n Pakistan\n Reverse engineered by hand and machine in Pakistan's highland areas (see Khyber Pass Copy) near the border of Afghanistan; more recently the Pakistan Ordnance Factories started the manufacture of an AK-47/AKM clone called PK-10\n\n Poland\n pmK (kbk AK) / pmKS (kbk AKS) (name has changed from pmK – \"pistolet maszynowy Kałasznikowa\", Kalashnikov SMG to the kbk AK – \"karabinek AK\", Kalashnikov Carbine in the mid-1960s) (AK-47/AKS)\n----\nkbkg wz. 1960 (rifle grenade launcher), kbkg wz. 1960/72 (modernized)\n----\nkbk AKM / kbk AKMS (AKM/AKMS)\n----\nkbk wz. 1988 Tantal (5.45×39mm), skbk wz. 1989 Onyks (compact carbine)\n----\nkbs wz. 1996 Beryl (5.56×45mm), kbk wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl (compact carbine)\n\n Romania\n PM md. 63/65 (AKM/AKMS), PM md. 80, PM md. 90, collectively exported under the umbrella name AIM or AIMS\n----\nPA md. 86 (AK-74), exported as the AIMS-74\n----\nPM md. 90 short barrel, PA md. 86 short barrel, exported as the AIMR\n----\nPSL (designated marksman rifle; other names PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK and SSG-97)\n\n South Africa\n R4 assault rifle, Truvelo Raptor, Vektor CR-21 (bullpup)\n\n Sudan\n MAZ (based on the Type 56)\n\n Ukraine\n Vepr (bullpup, 5.45×39mm), Malyuk (bullpup)\n\n United States\n Century Arms: C39 (AK-47 var.), RAS47 (AKM var.), and C39v2 (AK-47 var.)), InterOrdnance: AKM247 (AKM var.) M214 (pistol), Palmetto State Armory: PSAK-47 (AKM var.), Arsenal Inc: SA M-7 (AK-47 var.), Destructive Devices Industries: DDI 47S (AKM var.) DDI 47M (AK-47 var), Rifle Dynamics: RD700 and other custom build AK / AKM guns\n\n Vietnam\n AKM-1 (AKM), TUL-1 (RPK), Galil Ace 31/32\n\n Venezuela\n License granted, factory under construction\n\n Yugoslavia/Serbia\n M64, M70, M72, M76, M77, M80, M82, M85, M90, M91, M92, M99, M21\n\n", "The AK-47's accuracy has always been considered to be \"good enough\" to hit an adult male torso out to about , though even experts firing from prone or bench rest positions at this range were observed to have difficulty placing ten consecutive rounds on target. Later designs did not significantly improve its accuracy. An AK can fire a 10-shot group of at , and at The newer stamped-steel receiver AKM models, while more rugged and less prone to metal fatigue, are actually less accurate than the forged/milled receivers of their predecessors: the milled AK-47s are capable of shooting groups at , whereas the stamped AKMs are capable of shooting groups at .\n\nThe best shooters are able to hit a man-sized target at within five shots (firing from prone or bench rest position) or ten shots (standing).\n\n\n\nThe following table represents the Russian method for determining accuracy and it is far more complex than Western methods. In the West, one fires a group of shots into the target and then simply measure the overall diameter of the group. The Russians on the other-hand, fire a group of shots into the target. They then draw two circles on the target. One for the maximum vertical dispersion of hits and one for the maximum horizontal dispersion of hits. They then disregard the hits on the outer part of the target and only count half of the hits (50% or R50) on the inner part of the circles. This dramatically reduces the overall diameter of the groups. They then use both the vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups to measure accuracy. This method cannot be converted and is not comparable to western methods for determining accuracy.\n\n\nAK-47 semi-automatic and short burst dispersion with 57-N-231 steel core service ammunition\n\nRange\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50) semi-automatic\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50) semi-automatic\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50) short burst\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50) short burst\nRemaining bullet energy\nRemaining bullet velocity\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n* R50 means the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle of the mentioned diameter.\n\nIn general, this is an improvement with respect to firing accuracy to the AK-47 and the AKM. The vertical and horizontal mean (R50) deviations with service ammunition at for AK platforms are.\n\nSKS, AK-47, AKM, and AK-74 dispersion at \n\nRifle\nFiring mode\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50)\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50)\n\nSKS (1945)\nsemi-automatic\n\n\n\nAK-47 (1949)\nsemi-automatic\n\n\n\nAK-47 (1949)\nshort burst\n\n\n\nAKM (1959)\nshort burst\n\n\n\nAK-74 (1974)\nshort burst\n\n\n\n\n\nThe single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47 and the later developed AK-74, M16A1 and M16A2 assault rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows:\n\nNATO E-type Silhouette Target\n\n\n\n'''Single-shot hit-probability on Crouching Man (NATO E-type Silhouette) Target'''\n\nRifle\nChambering\nHit-probability (With no range estimation or aiming errors)\n\n 50 meters\n 100 meters\n 200 meters\n 300 meters\n 400 meters\n 500 meters\n 600 meters\n 700 meters\n 800 meters\n\nAK-47 (1949)\n7.62×39mm\n100%\n100%\n99%\n94%\n82%\n67%\n54%\n42%\n31%\n\nAK-74 (1974)\n5.45×39mm\n100%\n100%\n100%\n99%\n93%\n81%\n66%\n51%\n34%\n\nM16A1 (1967)\n5.56×45mm NATO M193\n100%\n100%\n100%\n100%\n96%\n87%\n73%\n56%\n39%\n\nM16A2 (1982)\n5.56×45mm NATO SS109/M855\n100%\n100%\n100%\n100%\n98%\n90%\n79%\n63%\n43%\n\n\nUnder worst field exercise circumstances, due to range estimation and aiming errors, the hit probabilities for the tested assault rifles were drastically reduced with differences without operational significance.\n", "A map of current and former AK users\nU.S. Army M.P inspects a Chinese AK-47 recovered in Vietnam, 1968\nAK-47's of the PAIGC-liberation movement, ready to be transported from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau, 1973\nSoviet Spetsnaz (special operations) group prepares for a mission in Afghanistan, 1988\nDuring the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, several sources simultaneously armed both sides of the Afghan conflict, filling the country with AK-47s and their derivatives.\n\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variant was used.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Rk 62, Rk 95 Tp.\n* \n* \n* \n* : EKAM counter-terrorist unit of the Hellenic Police.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by Force One.\n* : Still used by TNI-AD, TNI-AL, TNI-AU, and Police\n* \n* \n* : Widely used by Israeli Special Forces Units from the 1960 - 1980s.\n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 58 variants were used.\n* – Peshmerga\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variant.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Myanmar Police Force (include the Chinese Type 56).\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 and AK-103 used.\n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Santiago City PNP.\n* : Replaced by AKM, Tantal and Beryl.\n* \n* \n* \n* : Replaced by the AK-74 in 1974.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Special Forces Brigade.\n* : Type 56 variant.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variants and Type 58 variants were used extensively by the Viet Cong.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n=== Illicit trade ===\n\nAK-47 copies confiscated from Somali pirates by Finnish mine-layer during Operation Atalanta, photographed in Manege Military Museum. The stocks are missing on the top three AKs\n\nThroughout the world, the AK and its variants are commonly used by governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals, and civilians alike. In some countries, such as Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Congo and Tanzania, the prices for Black Market AKs are between $30 and $125 per weapon and prices have fallen in the last few decades due to mass counterfeiting. In Kenya, \"an AK-47 fetches five head of cattle (about 10,000 Kenya shillings or 100 U.S. dollars) when offered for barter, but costs almost half that price when cash is paid\". There are places around the world where AK type weapons can be purchased on the Black Market \"for as little as $6, or traded for a chicken or a sack of grain\".\n\nThe AK-47 has also spawned a cottage industry of sorts and has been copied and manufactured (one gun at a time) in small shops around the world (see Khyber Pass Copy). The estimated numbers of AK-type weapons vary greatly. The Small Arms Survey suggest that \"between 70 and 100 million of these weapons have been produced since 1947\". The World Bank estimates that out of the 500 million total firearms available worldwide, 100 million are of the Kalashnikov family, and 75 million are AK-47s. Because AK-type weapons have been made in many countries, often illicitly, it is impossible to know how many really exist.\n", "\nFlag of Mozambique\n\nDuring the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, as well as United States and other NATO nations supplied arms and technical knowledge to numerous countries and rebel forces around the world. During this time the Western countries used relatively expensive automatic rifles, such as the FN FAL, the HK G3, the M14, and the M16. In contrast, the Russians and Chinese used the AK-47; its low production cost and ease of manufacture allow them to make AKs in vast numbers.\n\nIn the pro-communist states, the AK-47 became a symbol of third-world revolution. During the 1980s, the Soviet Union became the principal arms dealer to countries embargoed by Western nations, including Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, Libya, and Syria, which welcomed Soviet Union backing against Israel. After the fall of the Soviet Union, AK-47s were sold both openly and on the black market to any group with cash, including drug cartels and dictatorial states, and more recently they have been seen in the hands of Islamic groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Iraq, and FARC, Ejército de Liberación Nacional guerrillas in Colombia.\n\nKalashnikov Vodka\n\nIn Russia, the Kalashnikov is a tremendous source of national pride. \"The family of the inventor of the world's most famous assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has authorized German engineering company MMI to use the well-known Kalashnikov name on a variety of not-so-deadly goods.\" In recent years, Kalashnikov Vodka has been marketed with souvenir bottles in the shape of the AK-47 Kalashnikov. There are also Kalashnikov watches, umbrellas, and knives.\n\nThe Kalashnikov Museum (also called the AK-47 museum) opened on 4 November 2004 in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic. This city is in the Ural Region of Russia. The museum chronicles the biography of General Kalashnikov and documents the invention of the AK-47. The museum complex of Kalashnikov's small arms, a series of halls, and multimedia exhibitions are devoted to the evolution of the AK-47 assault rifle and attracts 10,000 monthly visitors. Nadezhda Vechtomova, the museum director, stated in an interview that the purpose of the museum is to honor the ingenuity of the inventor and the hard work of the employees and to \"separate the weapon as a weapon of murder from the people who are producing it and to tell its history in our country\". On 19 September 2017 a monument of Kalashnikov was unveiled in central Moscow. A protester, later detained by police, attempted to unfurl a banner reading \"a creator of weapons is a creator of death\".\n\nThe proliferation of this weapon is reflected by more than just numbers. The AK-47 is included in the flag of Mozambique and its emblem, an acknowledgment that the country gained its independence in large part through the effective use of their AK-47s. It is also found in the coats of arms of East Timor and the revolution era Burkina Faso, as well as in the flags of Hezbollah, Syrian Resistance, FARC-EP, the New People's Army, TKP/TIKKO and the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces.\n\nSome Western countries associate the AK-47 with their enemies; both Cold War era and present-day. For example, Western movies often portray criminals, gang members and terrorists using AK-47s. For these reasons, in the U.S. and Western Europe, the AK-47 is stereotypically regarded as the weapon of choice of insurgents, gangsters and terrorists. Conversely, throughout the developing world, the AK-47 can be positively attributed with revolutionaries against foreign occupation, imperialism, or colonialism.\n\nThe AK-47 made an appearance in U.S. popular culture as a recurring focus in the Nicolas Cage film ''Lord of War'' (2005). Numerous monologues in the movie focus on the weapon, and its effects on global conflict and the gun running market.\n\nIn 2006, the Colombian musician and peace activist César López devised the ''escopetarra'', an AK converted into a guitar. One sold for US$17,000 in a fundraiser held to benefit the victims of anti-personnel mines, while another was exhibited at the United Nations' Conference on Disarmament.\n\nIn Mexico, the AK-47 is known as \"Cuerno de Chivo\" (literally \"Goat's Horn\") because of its curved magazine design. It is one of the weapons of choice of Mexican drug cartels. It is sometimes mentioned in Mexican folk music lyrics.\n", "* Assault weapon\n* Comparison of the AK-47 and M16\n* List of Russian inventions\n* List of Russian weaponry\n* List of assault rifles\n* Table of handgun and rifle cartridges\n* Overview of gun laws by nation\n", "\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* Honeycutt Jr, Fred L. and Anthony, Patt F. ''Military Rifles of Japan.'' (1996) ''Fifth Edition'', 8th printing; Julin Books. .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* How the AK-47 Rewrote the Rules of Modern Warfare – Three-part article by C. J. Chivers, for ''Wired Magazine''\n* ''Ружье. Оружие и амуниция'' 1999/3, pp. 18–21 has an article about the AK-47 prototypes\n* М.Т. Kalashnikov, \" Кто автор АК-47?\" (Who is the author of AK-47?) – an article rejecting some of the alternative theories as to the authorship of the AK-47, ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2002/2, pp. 4–7 (in Russian)\n* М. Degtyaryov, \" Неочевидное очевидное\" – an article comparing the internals of the StG 44 and AK-47, ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/4, pp. 18–23 (in Russian)\n* \" В преддверии юбилея...\" Transcription of the commission report on the testing round from the summer of 1947; no winner was selected at this point, but the commission held Kalashnikov's, Dementiev's and Bulkin's designs as most closely satisfying TTT number 3131. ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/8, pp. 18–22 (in Russian)\n* \" Путёвка в жизнь\" Report/letter on the final round of testing, 27 December 1947, declaring Kalashnikov's design the winner. ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/9, pp. 16–22 (in Russian)\n* Articles on the 1948 military trials: \" На пути в войска\" and \" ПЕРВЫЙ В ДИНАСТИИ\", ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/10-11\n* \n", "\n\n* US Army Operator's Manual for the AK-47 Assault Rifle\n* AK Site – Kalashnikov Home Page \n* Nazarian's Gun's Recognition Guide (MANUAL) AK 47 Manual (.pdf)\n* The Timeless, Ubiquitous AK-47 – slideshow by ''Time'' magazine\n* Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle (RT's Documentary)\n* AK-47: The Weapon Changed the Face of War – audio report by ''NPR''\n* The AK-47: The Gun That Changed The Battlefield – audio report by ''NPR''\n* AK-47 Documentary: Part 1 & Part 2 by ''Al Jazeera English''\n* AK-47 Full Auto, U.S. Army in Iraq from the ''Internet Archive''\n* Years of the gun: A political history of the AK-47 in Pakistan by ''Dawn News''\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Design ", " Characteristics ", " Variants ", " Production ", "Accuracy potential", " Users ", " Cultural influence and impact ", " See also ", " Notes ", " References ", " Bibliography ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "The World Bank estimates that out of the 500 million total firearms available worldwide, 100 million are of the Kalashnikov family, and 75 million are AK-47s." ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''AK-47''', or '''AK''' as it is officially known (), also known as the '''Kalashnikov''', is a selective-fire (semi-automatic and fully automatic), gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov.", "It is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle (or \"AK\") family.", "Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year of World War II (1945).", "In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials, and in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army.", "An early development of the design was the ''AKS'' (S—''Skladnoy'' or \"folding\"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock.", "In the spring of 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.", "Even after almost seven decades, the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use.", "The AK-47 has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces and insurgencies worldwide, and was the basis for developing many other types of individual, crew-served and specialised firearms.", "As of 2004, \"Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s\".", "=== Origins ===\nDuring World War II, the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle used by German forces made a deep impression on their Soviet counterparts.", "The select-fire rifle was chambered for a new intermediate cartridge, the 7.92×33mm Kurz, and combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle.", "On 15 July 1943, an earlier model of the Sturmgewehr was demonstrated before the People's Commissariat of Arms of the USSR.", "The Soviets were impressed with the weapon and immediately set about developing an intermediate caliber fully automatic rifle of their own, to replace the PPSh-41 submachine guns and outdated Mosin–Nagant bolt-action rifles that armed most of the Soviet Army.", "The Soviets soon developed the 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, the semi-automatic SKS carbine and the RPD light machine gun.", "Shortly after World War II, the Soviets developed the AK-47 assault rifle, which would quickly replace the SKS in Soviet service.", "In the 1960s, the Soviets introduced the RPK light machine gun, an AK-47 type weapon with a stronger receiver, a longer heavy barrel, and a bipod, that would eventually replace the RPD light machine gun.", "=== Concept ===\nA Type 2 AK-47, the first machined receiver variation\n\nMikhail Kalashnikov began his career as a weapon designer in 1941, while recuperating from a shoulder wound, which he received during the Battle of Bryansk.", "Kalashnikov himself stated...\"I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: ‘Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?’ So I designed one.", "I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier.", "It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov—AK—and it carried the date of its first manufacture, 1947.\"", "The AK-47 is best described as a hybrid of previous rifle technology innovations.", "\"Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44.\"", "Kalashnikov's team had access to these weapons and had no need to \"reinvent the wheel\".", "Kalashnikov himself observed: \"A lot of Russian Army soldiers ask me how one can become a constructor, and how new weaponry is designed.", "These are very difficult questions.", "Each designer seems to have his own paths, his own successes and failures.", "But one thing is clear: before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field.", "I myself have had many experiences confirming this to be so.\"", "There are claims about Kalashnikov copying other designs, like Bulkin's TKB-415 or Simonov's AVS-31.", "=== Early designs ===\nKalashnikov started work on a submachine gun design in 1942 and with a light machine gun in 1943.", "\"Early in 1944, Kalashnikov was given some M1943 7.62×39mm cartridges and informed that there were several designers working on weapons for this new Soviet small-arms cartridge.", "It was suggested to him that this new weapon might well lead to greater things, and he undertook work on the new rifle.\"", "In 1944, he entered a design competition with this new 7.62×39mm, semi-automatic, gas-operated, long stroke piston, carbine, strongly influenced by the American M1 Garand.", "\"The rifle that Kalashnikov designed was in the same class as the familiar SKS-45 Simonov with fixed magazine and gas tube above the barrel.\"", "However, this new Kalashnikov design lost out to a Simonov design.", "In 1946, a new design competition was initiated to develop a new assault rifle.", "Kalashnikov submitted an entry.", "It was gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel, a breech-block mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine, and a curved 30-round magazine.", "Kalashnikov's rifles AK-1 (with a milled receiver) and AK-2 (with a stamped receiver) proved to be reliable weapons and were accepted to a second round of competition along with other designs.", "These prototypes (also known as the AK-46) had a rotary bolt, a two-part receiver with separate trigger unit housing, dual controls (separate safety and fire selector switches) and a non-reciprocating charging handle located on the left side of the weapon.", "This design had many similarities to the STG 44.", "In late 1946, as the rifles were being tested, one of Kalashnikov's assistants, Aleksandr Zaitsev, suggested a major redesign to improve reliability.", "At first, Kalashnikov was reluctant, given that their rifle had already fared better than its competitors.", "Eventually, however, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov.", "In November 1947, the new prototypes (AK-47s) were completed.", "It utilized a long-stroke gas piston above the barrel.", "The upper and lower receivers were combined into a single receiver.", "The selector and safety were combined into a single control-lever/dust-cover on the right side of the rifle.", "And, the bolt-handle was simply attached to the bolt-carrier.", "This simplified the design and production of the rifle.", "The first army trial series began in early 1948.", "The new rifle proved to be reliable under a wide range of conditions with convenient handling characteristics.", "In 1949, it was adopted by the Soviet Army as \"7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK)\".", "=== Further development ===\nAKMS with a stamped Type 4B receiver (top), and an AK-47 with a milled Type 2A receiver\n1955 AK-47 with a milled Type 3A receiver showing the milled lightening cut on the side above the magazine that for Type 3 receivers is slanted to the barrel axis\n\nThere were many difficulties during the initial phase of production.", "The first production models had stamped sheet metal receivers with a milled trunnion and butt stock insert, and a stamped body.", "Difficulties were encountered in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates.", "Instead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver.", "This was a more costly process, but the use of machined receivers accelerated production as tooling and labor for the earlier Mosin–Nagant rifle's machined receiver were easily adapted.", "Partly because of these problems, the Soviets were not able to distribute large numbers of the new rifle to soldiers until 1956.", "During this time, production of the interim SKS rifle continued.", "Once the manufacturing difficulties of non milled receivers had been overcome, a redesigned version designated the AKM (M for \"modernized\" or \"upgraded\"; in Russian: ''Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy)'' was introduced in 1959.", "This new model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted muzzle brake on the end of the barrel to compensate for muzzle rise under recoil.", "In addition, a hammer retarder was added to prevent the weapon from firing out of battery (without the bolt being fully closed), during rapid or fully automatic fire.", "This is also sometimes referred to as a \"cyclic rate reducer\", or simply \"rate reducer\", as it also has the effect of reducing the number of rounds fired per minute during fully automatic fire.", "It was also roughly one-third lighter than the previous model.", "Receiver type\n Description\n\n Type 1A/B\n The original stamped receiver for the AK-47 first adopted and produced in 1949.", "The 1B was modified for an underfolding stock with a large hole present on each side to accommodate the hardware for the underfolding stock.", "Type 2A/B\n The first milled receiver made from steel forging.", "It went into production in 1951 and production ended between 1953 and 1954.", "The Type 2A has a distinctive socketed metal \"boot\" connecting the butt stock to the receiver and the milled lightening cut on the sides runs parallel to the barrel.", "Type 3A/B\n \"Final\" version of the AK-47 milled receiver made from steel bar stock.", "It went into production between 1953 and 1954.", "The most ubiquitous example of the milled-receiver AK-47.", "The milled lightening cut on the sides is slanted to the barrel axis.", "Type 4A/B\n AKM receiver stamped from a smooth sheet of steel supported extensively by pins and rivets.", "It went into production in 1959.", "Overall, the most-used design in the construction of the AK-series rifles.", "Both licensed and unlicensed production of the Kalashnikov weapons abroad were almost exclusively of the AKM variant, partially due to the much easier production of the stamped receiver.", "This model is the most commonly encountered, having been produced in much greater quantities.", "All rifles based on the Kalashnikov design are frequently referred to as AK-47s in the West, although this is only correct when applied to rifles based on the original three receiver types.", "In most former Eastern Bloc countries, the weapon is known simply as the \"Kalashnikov\" or \"AK\".", "The differences between the milled and stamped receivers includes the use of rivets rather than welds on the stamped receiver, as well as the placement of a small dimple above the magazine well for stabilization of the magazine.", "=== Replacement ===\nIn 1974, the Soviets began replacing their AK-47 and AKM rifles with a newer design, the AK-74, which uses 5.45×39mm ammunition.", "This new rifle and cartridge had only started to be manufactured in Eastern European nations when the Soviet Union collapsed, drastically slowing production of the AK-74 and other weapons of the former Soviet bloc.", "The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s.", "The AK-47 uses a long stroke gas system that is generally associated with great reliability in adverse conditions.", "The large gas piston, generous clearances between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle.", "=== Cartridge ===\n\nWound Profiles of Russian small-arms ammunition compiled by Dr. Martin Fackler on behalf of the U.S. military\n\nThe AK fires the 7.62×39mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity of .", "The cartridge weight is , the projectile weight is .", "The original Soviet M43 bullets are 123 grain boat-tail bullets with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket.", "The AK has excellent penetration when shooting through heavy foliage, walls or a common vehicle's metal body and into an opponent attempting to use these things as cover.", "The 7.62×39mm M43 projectile does not generally fragment when striking an opponent and has an unusual tendency to remain intact even after making contact with bone.", "The 7.62×39mm round produces significant wounding in cases where the bullet tumbles (yaws) in tissue, but produces relatively minor wounds in cases where the bullet exits before beginning to yaw.", "In the absence of yaw, the M43 round can pencil through tissue with relatively little injury.", "Most, if not all, of the 7.62×39mm ammunition found today is of the upgraded M67 variety.", "This variety deleted the steel insert, shifting the center of gravity rearward, and allowing the projectile to destabilize (or yaw) at about , nearly earlier in tissue than the M43 round.", "This change also reduces penetration in ballistic gelatin to ~ for the newer M67 round versus ~ for the older M43 round.", "However, the wounding potential of M67 is mostly limited to the small permanent wound channel the bullet itself makes, especially when the bullet yaws.", "=== Operating mechanism ===\nChinese AK-47\n\nTo fire, the operator inserts a loaded magazine, pulls back and releases the charging handle, and then pulls the trigger.", "In semi-automatic, the firearm fires only once, requiring the trigger to be released and depressed again for the next shot.", "In fully automatic, the rifle continues to fire automatically cycling fresh rounds into the chamber, until the magazine is exhausted or pressure is released from the trigger.", "After ignition of the cartridge primer and propellant, rapidly expanding propellant gases are diverted into the gas cylinder above the barrel through a vent near the muzzle.", "The build-up of gases inside the gas cylinder drives the long-stroke piston and bolt carrier rearward and a cam guide machined into the underside of the bolt carrier along with an ejector spur on the bolt carrier rail guide, rotates the bolt approximately 35° and unlocks it from the barrel extension via a camming pin on the bolt.", "The moving assembly has about of free travel, which creates a delay between the initial recoil impulse of the piston and the bolt unlocking sequence, allowing gas pressures to drop to a safe level before the seal between the chamber and the bolt is broken.", "The AK-47 does not have a gas valve; excess gases are ventilated through a series of radial ports in the gas cylinder.", "The Kalashnikov operating system offers no primary extraction upon bolt rotation, but uses an extractor claw to eject the spent cartridge case.", "=== Barrel ===\nAK-47 barrel and its distinctive gas block with a horizontal row of gas relief ports\n\nThe rifle received a barrel with a chrome-lined bore and four right-hand grooves at a 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in) rifling twist rate.", "The gas block contains a gas channel that is installed at a slanted angle in relation to the bore axis.", "The muzzle is threaded for the installation of various muzzle devices such as a muzzle brake or a blank-firing adaptor.", "===Gas block===\nThe gas block of the AK-47 features a cleaning rod capture or sling loop.", "Gas relief ports that alleviate gas pressure are placed horizontally in a row on the gas cylinder.", "=== Fire selector ===\nViệt Cộng soldier armed with an AK-47, standing beneath the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam\n\nThe fire selector is a large lever located on the right side of the rifle, it acts as a dust-cover and prevents the charging handle from being pulled fully to the rear when it is on safe.", "It is operated by the shooter's right fore-fingers and has 3 settings: safe (up), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (down).", "The reason for this is that under stress a soldier will push the selector lever down with considerable force bypassing the full-auto stage and setting the rifle to semi-auto.", "To set the AK-47 to full-auto requires the deliberate action of centering the selector lever.", "To operate the fire selector lever, right handed shooters have to briefly remove their right hand from the pistol grip, which is ergonomically sub-optimal.", "Some AK-type rifles also have a more traditional selector lever on the left side of the receiver just above the pistol grip.", "This lever is operated by the shooter's right thumb and has three settings: safe (forward), full-auto (center), and semi-auto (backward).", "=== Sights ===\nRear sight of a Chinese Type 56, featuring settings and omission of a battle zero setting\n\nThe AK-47 uses a notched rear tangent iron sight calibrated in increments from .", "The front sight is a post adjustable for elevation in the field.", "Horizontal adjustment requires a special drift tool and is done by the armory before issue or if the need arises by an armorer after issue.", "The sight line elements are approximately over the bore axis.", "The \"point-blank range\" battle zero setting \"''П''\" on the 7.62×39mm AK-47 rear tangent sight element corresponds to a zero.", "These settings mirror the Mosin–Nagant and SKS rifles, which the AK-47 replaced.", "For the AK-47 combined with service cartridges, the 300 m battle zero setting limits the apparent \"bullet rise\" within approximately relative to the line of sight.", "Soldiers are instructed to fire at any target within this range by simply placing the sights on the center of mass (the belt buckle, according to Russian and former Soviet doctrine) of the enemy target.", "Any errors in range estimation are tactically irrelevant, as a well-aimed shot will hit the torso of the enemy soldier.", "Some AK-type rifles have a front sight with a flip-up luminous dot that is calibrated at , for improved night fighting.", "=== Furniture ===\nThe AK-47 was originally equipped with a buttstock, handguard and an upper heat guard made from solid wood.", "With the introduction of the Type 3 receiver the buttstock, lower handguard and upper heatguard were manufactured from birch plywood laminates.", "Such engineered woods are stronger and resist warping better than the conventional one-piece patterns, do not require lengthy maturing, and are cheaper.", "The wooden furniture was finished with the Russian amber shellac finishing process.", "AKS and AKMS models featured a downward-folding metal butt-stock similar to that of the German MP40 submachine-gun, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.", "All 100 series AKs use plastic furniture with side-folding stocks.", "=== Magazines ===\nAK-47 with stamp-steel magazines\n\"Bakelite\" rust-colored steel-reinforced 30-round plastic box 7.62×39mm AK magazines.", "Three magazines have an \"arrow in triangle\" Izhmash arsenal mark on the bottom right.", "The other magazine has a \"star\" Tula arsenal mark on the bottom right\n\nThe standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds.", "There are also 10, 20, and 40-round box magazines, as well as 75-round drum magazines.", "The AK-47's standard 30-round magazines have a pronounced curve that allows them to smoothly feed ammunition into the chamber.", "Their heavy steel construction combined with \"feed-lips\" (the surfaces at the top of the magazine that control the angle at which the cartridge enters the chamber) machined from a single steel billet makes them highly resistant to damage.", "These magazines are so strong that \"Soldiers have been known to use their mags as hammers, and even bottle openers\".", "This contributes to the AK-47 magazine being more reliable, but makes it heavier than U.S. and NATO magazines.", "The early slab-sided steel AK-47 30-round detachable box magazines had sheet-metal bodies and weigh empty.", "The later steel AKM 30-round magazines had lighter sheet-metal bodies with prominent reinforcing ribs weighing empty.", "To further reduce weight, a light weight magazine with an aluminum body with a prominent reinforcing waffle rib pattern weighing empty was developed for the AKM that proved to be too fragile and the small issued amount of these magazines were quickly withdrawn from service.", "As a replacement steel-reinforced 30-round plastic 7.62×39mm box magazines were introduced.", "These rust-colored magazines weigh empty and are often mistakenly identified as being made of Bakelite (a phenolic resin), but were actually fabricated from two-parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a glass-reinforced phenol-formaldehyde binder impregnated composite), assembled using an epoxy resin adhesive.", "Noted for their durability, these magazines did however compromise the rifle's camouflage and lacked the small horizontal reinforcing ribs running down both sides of the magazine body near the front that were added on all later plastic magazine generations.", "A second generation steel-reinforced dark-brown (color shades vary from maroon to plum to near black) 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine was introduced in the early 1980s, fabricated from ABS plastic.", "The third generation steel-reinforced 30-round 7.62×39mm magazine is similar to the second generation, but is darker colored and has a matte nonreflective surface finish.", "The current issue steel-reinforced matte true black nonreflective surface finished 7.62×39mm 30-round magazines, fabricated from ABS plastic weigh empty.", "Early steel AK-47 magazines are long; the later ribbed steel AKM and newer plastic 7.62×39mm magazines are about shorter.", "The transition from steel to mainly plastic magazines yields a significant weight reduction and allows a soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight.", "Rifle\n Cartridge\n Cartridge weight\n Weight of empty magazine\n Weight of loaded magazine\n Max.", "ammunition load*\n\n AK-47 (1949)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n slab-sided steel\n 30-rounds\n 11 magazines for 330 rounds\n\n AKM (1959)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n ribbed stamped-steel\n 30-rounds\n 12 magazines for 360 rounds\n\n AK-103 (1994)\n 7.62×39mm\n \n steel-reinforced plastic\n 30-rounds\n 13 magazines for 390 rounds\n\n\nAll 7.62×39mm AK magazines are backwards compatible with older AK variants.", "10.12 kg (22.3 lb) is the maximum amount of ammo that the average soldier can comfortably carry.", "It also allows for best comparison of the three most common 7.62×39mm AK magazines.", "Most Yugoslavian and some East German AK magazines were made with cartridge followers that hold the bolt open when empty; however, most AK magazine followers allow the bolt to close when the magazine is empty.", "=== Accessories ===\nAK-47 6H2 bayonet and scabbard\nGP-34 Grenade Launcher\nAK-47 with Kalashnikov grenade launcher mounted on the muzzle\nAccessories supplied with the rifle include a long 6H3 bayonet featuring a long spear point blade.", "The AK-47 bayonet is installed by slipping the diameter muzzle ring around the muzzle and latching the handle down on the bayonet lug under the front sight base.", "All current model AKM rifles can mount under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers such as the GP-25 and its variants, which can fire up to 20 rounds per minute and have an effective range of up to 400 metres.", "The main grenade is the VOG-25 (VOG-25M) fragmentation grenade which has a 6 m (9 m) (20 ft (30 ft)) lethality radius.", "The VOG-25P/VOG-25PM (\"jumping\") variant explodes above the ground.", "The AK-47 can also mount a (rarely used) cup-type grenade launcher, the Kalashnikov grenade launcher that fires standard RGD-5 Soviet hand-grenades.", "The maximum effective range is approximately 150 meters.", "This launcher can also be used to launch tear-gas and riot control grenades.", "All current AKs (100 series) and some older models, have side rails for mounting a variety of scopes and sighting devices, such as the PSO-1 Optical Sniper Sight.", "The side rails allow for the removal and remounting of optical accessories without interfering with the zeroing of the optic.", "However, the 100 series side folding stocks cannot be folded with the optics mounted.", "=== Service life ===\nThe AK-47 and its variants are made in dozens of countries, with \"quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship.\"", "As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000, to 10,000, to 15,000 rounds.", "The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy to manufacture assault rifle, perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items.", "As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on \"battlefield cannibalization\" for resupply, it is actually more cost-effective to replace rather than repair weapons.", "The AK-47 has small parts and springs that need to be replaced every few thousand rounds.", "However, \"Every time it is disassembled beyond the field stripping stage, it will take some time for some parts to regain their fit, some parts may tend to shake loose and fall out when firing the weapon.", "Some parts of the AK-47 line are riveted together.", "Repairing these can be quite a hassle, since the end of the rivet has to be ground off and a new one set after the part is replaced.\"", "7.62×39mm cartridges from Russia, China and Pakistan\n\n; Early variants (7.62×39mm)\n* Issue of 1948/49: Type 1: The very earliest models, stamped sheet metal receiver, are now very rare.", "* Issue of 1951: Type 2: Has a milled receiver.", "Barrel and chamber are chrome plated to resist corrosion.", "* Issue of 1954/55: Type 3: Lightened, milled receiver variant.", "Rifle weight is .", "* AKS (AKS-47): Type 1, 2, or 3 receiver: Featured a downward-folding metal stock similar to that of the German MP40, for use in the restricted space in the BMP infantry combat vehicle, as well as by paratroops.", "* AKN (AKSN): Night scope rail.", "; Modernized (7.62×39mm)\n* AKM: A simplified, lighter version of the AK-47; Type 4 receiver is made from stamped and riveted sheet metal.", "A slanted muzzle device was added to counter climb in automatic fire.", "Rifle weight is due to the lighter receiver.", "This is the most ubiquitous variant of the AK-47.", "** AKMS: Under-folding stock version of the AKM intended for airborne troops.", "** AKMN (AKMSN): Night scope rail.", "** AKML (AKMSL): Slotted flash suppressor and night scope rail.", "* RPK: Hand-held machine gun version with longer barrel and bipod.", "The variants—RPKS, RPKN (RPKSN), RPKL (RPKSL)—mirror AKM variants.", "The \"S\" variants have a side-folding wooden stock.", "For the further developed AK models, see Kalashnikov rifles.", "=== Outside of the Soviet Union/Russia ===\nKalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash) has repeatedly claimed that the majority of foreign manufacturers are producing AK type rifles without proper licensing.", "Country !", "!", "Military variant(s)\n\n Albania\n Automatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-1) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Model 56 Type-1 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of Type 56, which in turn is a clone of the Soviet AKM rifle)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar Tipi 1982 (ASH-82) Albanian Automatic Assault Rifle Type 1982 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of AKMS)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-2) Albanian Light Machine Gun Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Straight forward copy of RPK)\n----\nAutomatiku Shqiptar model 56 (ASH-78 Tip-3) Albanian Automatic Hybrid Rifle Model 56 Type-3 Made in Poliçan Arsenal (Hybrid rifle for multi-purpose roles mainly Marksman rifle with secondary assault rifle and grenade launcher capability)\n----\nSeveral other unnamed & unidentified versions of the AKMS have been produced mainly with short barrels similar to the Soviet AKS-74U mainly for special forces, Tank & Armoured crew also for Helicopter pilots and police.", "There have also been modifications and fresh production of heavily modified ASh-82 (AKMS) with SOPMOD accessories, mainly for Albania's special forces RENEA & exports.", "Armenia\n K-3 (bullpup, 5.45×39mm)\n\n Azerbaijan\n Khazri (AK-74M)\n\n Bangladesh\n Chinese Type 56\n\n Bulgaria\n AKK/AKKS (Type 3 AK-47/w.", "side-folding buttstock)\n----\nAKKMS (AKMS), AKKN-47 (fittings for NPSU night sights)\n----\nAK-47M1 (Type 3 with black polymer furniture)\n----\nAK-47MA1/AR-M1 (same as -M1, but in 5.56mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-47M1 (AKMS in 5.56×45mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-47S (AK-47M1, short version, with East German folding stock, laser aiming device)\n----\nAKS-47UF (short version of -M1, Russian folding stock), AR-SF (same as −47UF, but 5.56mm NATO)\n----\nAKS-93SM6 (similar to −47M1, cannot use grenade launcher)\n----\nRKKS (RPK), AKT-47 (.22 rimfire training rifle)\n\n Cambodia\n Chinese Type 56, Soviet AK-47, and AKM\n\n People's Republic of China\n Type 56\n\n Colombia\n Galil ACE\n\n Croatia\n APS-95\n\n Cuba\n AKM\n\n East Germany\n MPi-K/MPi-KS (AK-47/AKS)\n----\nMPi-KM (AKM; wooden and plastic stock), MPi-KMS-72 (side-folding stock), MPi-KMS-K (carbine)\n----\nMPi-AK-74N (AK-74), MPi-AKS-74N (side-folding stock), MPi-AKS-74NK (carbine)\n----\nKK-MPi Mod.69 (.22 LR select-fire trainer)\n\n Egypt\n AK-47, Misr assault rifle (AKMS), Maadi ARM (AKM)\n\n Ethiopia\n AK-47, AK-103 (manufactured locally at the State-run ''Gafat Armament Engineering Complex'' as the Et-97/1)\n\n Finland\n Rk 62, Valmet M76 (other names Rk 62 76, M62/76), Valmet M78 (light machine gun), Rk 95 Tp\n\n Hungary\n AK-55 (domestic manufacture of the 2nd Model AK-47)\n----\nAKM-63 (also known as AMD-63 in the US; modernized AK-55), AMD-65M (modernized AKM-63, shorter barrel and side-folding stock), AMP-69 (rifle grenade launcher)\n----\nAK-63F/D (other name AMM/AMMSz), AK-63MF (modernized)\n----\nNGM-81 (5.56×45mm NATO; fixed and under-folding stock)\n\n India\n INSAS (fixed and side-folding stock), KALANTAK (carbine), INSAS light machine gun (fixed and side-folding stock), a local unlicensed version with carbon fibre furniture designated as AK-7 \n----\nTrichy Assault Rifle 7.62 mm, manufactured by Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli of Ordnance Factories Board\n\n Iran\n KLS/KLF (AK-47/AKS), KLT (AKMS)\n\n Iraq\n Tabuk Sniper Rifle, Tabuk Assault Rifle (with fixed or underfolding stock, outright clones of Yugoslavian M70 rifles series), Tabuk Short Assault Rifle (carbine)\n\n Israel\n IMI Galil: AR (assault/battle rifle), ARM (assault rifle/light machine gun), SAR (carbine), MAR (compact carbine), Sniper (sniper rifle), SR-99 (sniper rifle)\n----\nGalil ACE\n\n Italy\n Bernardelli VB-STD/VB-SR (Galil AR/SAR)\n\n Nigeria\n Produced by the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria as OBJ-006\n\n North Korea\n Type 58A/B (Type 3 AK-47/w.", "stamped steel folding stock), Type 68A/B (AKM/AKMS), Type 88A/B-2 (AK-74/AKS-74/w.", "top folding stock)\n\n Pakistan\n Reverse engineered by hand and machine in Pakistan's highland areas (see Khyber Pass Copy) near the border of Afghanistan; more recently the Pakistan Ordnance Factories started the manufacture of an AK-47/AKM clone called PK-10\n\n Poland\n pmK (kbk AK) / pmKS (kbk AKS) (name has changed from pmK – \"pistolet maszynowy Kałasznikowa\", Kalashnikov SMG to the kbk AK – \"karabinek AK\", Kalashnikov Carbine in the mid-1960s) (AK-47/AKS)\n----\nkbkg wz.", "1960 (rifle grenade launcher), kbkg wz.", "1960/72 (modernized)\n----\nkbk AKM / kbk AKMS (AKM/AKMS)\n----\nkbk wz.", "1988 Tantal (5.45×39mm), skbk wz.", "1989 Onyks (compact carbine)\n----\nkbs wz.", "1996 Beryl (5.56×45mm), kbk wz.", "1996 Mini-Beryl (compact carbine)\n\n Romania\n PM md.", "63/65 (AKM/AKMS), PM md.", "80, PM md.", "90, collectively exported under the umbrella name AIM or AIMS\n----\nPA md.", "86 (AK-74), exported as the AIMS-74\n----\nPM md.", "90 short barrel, PA md.", "86 short barrel, exported as the AIMR\n----\nPSL (designated marksman rifle; other names PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK and SSG-97)\n\n South Africa\n R4 assault rifle, Truvelo Raptor, Vektor CR-21 (bullpup)\n\n Sudan\n MAZ (based on the Type 56)\n\n Ukraine\n Vepr (bullpup, 5.45×39mm), Malyuk (bullpup)\n\n United States\n Century Arms: C39 (AK-47 var.", "), RAS47 (AKM var.", "), and C39v2 (AK-47 var.", ")), InterOrdnance: AKM247 (AKM var.)", "M214 (pistol), Palmetto State Armory: PSAK-47 (AKM var.", "), Arsenal Inc: SA M-7 (AK-47 var.", "), Destructive Devices Industries: DDI 47S (AKM var.)", "DDI 47M (AK-47 var), Rifle Dynamics: RD700 and other custom build AK / AKM guns\n\n Vietnam\n AKM-1 (AKM), TUL-1 (RPK), Galil Ace 31/32\n\n Venezuela\n License granted, factory under construction\n\n Yugoslavia/Serbia\n M64, M70, M72, M76, M77, M80, M82, M85, M90, M91, M92, M99, M21", "The AK-47's accuracy has always been considered to be \"good enough\" to hit an adult male torso out to about , though even experts firing from prone or bench rest positions at this range were observed to have difficulty placing ten consecutive rounds on target.", "Later designs did not significantly improve its accuracy.", "An AK can fire a 10-shot group of at , and at The newer stamped-steel receiver AKM models, while more rugged and less prone to metal fatigue, are actually less accurate than the forged/milled receivers of their predecessors: the milled AK-47s are capable of shooting groups at , whereas the stamped AKMs are capable of shooting groups at .", "The best shooters are able to hit a man-sized target at within five shots (firing from prone or bench rest position) or ten shots (standing).", "The following table represents the Russian method for determining accuracy and it is far more complex than Western methods.", "In the West, one fires a group of shots into the target and then simply measure the overall diameter of the group.", "The Russians on the other-hand, fire a group of shots into the target.", "They then draw two circles on the target.", "One for the maximum vertical dispersion of hits and one for the maximum horizontal dispersion of hits.", "They then disregard the hits on the outer part of the target and only count half of the hits (50% or R50) on the inner part of the circles.", "This dramatically reduces the overall diameter of the groups.", "They then use both the vertical and horizontal measurements of the reduced groups to measure accuracy.", "This method cannot be converted and is not comparable to western methods for determining accuracy.", "AK-47 semi-automatic and short burst dispersion with 57-N-231 steel core service ammunition\n\nRange\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50) semi-automatic\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50) semi-automatic\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50) short burst\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50) short burst\nRemaining bullet energy\nRemaining bullet velocity\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n* R50 means the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle of the mentioned diameter.", "In general, this is an improvement with respect to firing accuracy to the AK-47 and the AKM.", "The vertical and horizontal mean (R50) deviations with service ammunition at for AK platforms are.", "SKS, AK-47, AKM, and AK-74 dispersion at \n\nRifle\nFiring mode\nVertical accuracy of fire (R50)\nHorizontal accuracy of fire (R50)\n\nSKS (1945)\nsemi-automatic\n\n\n\nAK-47 (1949)\nsemi-automatic\n\n\n\nAK-47 (1949)\nshort burst\n\n\n\nAKM (1959)\nshort burst\n\n\n\nAK-74 (1974)\nshort burst\n\n\n\n\n\nThe single-shot hit-probability on the NATO E-type Silhouette Target (a human upper body half and head silhouette) of the AK-47 and the later developed AK-74, M16A1 and M16A2 assault rifles were measured by the US military under ideal proving ground conditions in the 1980s as follows:\n\nNATO E-type Silhouette Target\n\n\n\n'''Single-shot hit-probability on Crouching Man (NATO E-type Silhouette) Target'''\n\nRifle\nChambering\nHit-probability (With no range estimation or aiming errors)\n\n 50 meters\n 100 meters\n 200 meters\n 300 meters\n 400 meters\n 500 meters\n 600 meters\n 700 meters\n 800 meters\n\nAK-47 (1949)\n7.62×39mm\n100%\n100%\n99%\n94%\n82%\n67%\n54%\n42%\n31%\n\nAK-74 (1974)\n5.45×39mm\n100%\n100%\n100%\n99%\n93%\n81%\n66%\n51%\n34%\n\nM16A1 (1967)\n5.56×45mm NATO M193\n100%\n100%\n100%\n100%\n96%\n87%\n73%\n56%\n39%\n\nM16A2 (1982)\n5.56×45mm NATO SS109/M855\n100%\n100%\n100%\n100%\n98%\n90%\n79%\n63%\n43%\n\n\nUnder worst field exercise circumstances, due to range estimation and aiming errors, the hit probabilities for the tested assault rifles were drastically reduced with differences without operational significance.", "A map of current and former AK users\nU.S. Army M.P inspects a Chinese AK-47 recovered in Vietnam, 1968\nAK-47's of the PAIGC-liberation movement, ready to be transported from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau, 1973\nSoviet Spetsnaz (special operations) group prepares for a mission in Afghanistan, 1988\nDuring the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, several sources simultaneously armed both sides of the Afghan conflict, filling the country with AK-47s and their derivatives.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variant was used.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Rk 62, Rk 95 Tp.", "* \n* \n* \n* : EKAM counter-terrorist unit of the Hellenic Police.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by Force One.", "* : Still used by TNI-AD, TNI-AL, TNI-AU, and Police\n* \n* \n* : Widely used by Israeli Special Forces Units from the 1960 - 1980s.", "* \n* \n* \n* : Type 58 variants were used.", "* – Peshmerga\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variant.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Myanmar Police Force (include the Chinese Type 56).", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 and AK-103 used.", "* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Santiago City PNP.", "* : Replaced by AKM, Tantal and Beryl.", "* \n* \n* \n* : Replaced by the AK-74 in 1974.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Used by the Special Forces Brigade.", "* : Type 56 variant.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* : Type 56 variants and Type 58 variants were used extensively by the Viet Cong.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n=== Illicit trade ===\n\nAK-47 copies confiscated from Somali pirates by Finnish mine-layer during Operation Atalanta, photographed in Manege Military Museum.", "The stocks are missing on the top three AKs\n\nThroughout the world, the AK and its variants are commonly used by governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, criminals, and civilians alike.", "In some countries, such as Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Congo and Tanzania, the prices for Black Market AKs are between $30 and $125 per weapon and prices have fallen in the last few decades due to mass counterfeiting.", "In Kenya, \"an AK-47 fetches five head of cattle (about 10,000 Kenya shillings or 100 U.S. dollars) when offered for barter, but costs almost half that price when cash is paid\".", "There are places around the world where AK type weapons can be purchased on the Black Market \"for as little as $6, or traded for a chicken or a sack of grain\".", "The AK-47 has also spawned a cottage industry of sorts and has been copied and manufactured (one gun at a time) in small shops around the world (see Khyber Pass Copy).", "The estimated numbers of AK-type weapons vary greatly.", "The Small Arms Survey suggest that \"between 70 and 100 million of these weapons have been produced since 1947\".", "Because AK-type weapons have been made in many countries, often illicitly, it is impossible to know how many really exist.", "\nFlag of Mozambique\n\nDuring the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, as well as United States and other NATO nations supplied arms and technical knowledge to numerous countries and rebel forces around the world.", "During this time the Western countries used relatively expensive automatic rifles, such as the FN FAL, the HK G3, the M14, and the M16.", "In contrast, the Russians and Chinese used the AK-47; its low production cost and ease of manufacture allow them to make AKs in vast numbers.", "In the pro-communist states, the AK-47 became a symbol of third-world revolution.", "During the 1980s, the Soviet Union became the principal arms dealer to countries embargoed by Western nations, including Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, Libya, and Syria, which welcomed Soviet Union backing against Israel.", "After the fall of the Soviet Union, AK-47s were sold both openly and on the black market to any group with cash, including drug cartels and dictatorial states, and more recently they have been seen in the hands of Islamic groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Iraq, and FARC, Ejército de Liberación Nacional guerrillas in Colombia.", "Kalashnikov Vodka\n\nIn Russia, the Kalashnikov is a tremendous source of national pride.", "\"The family of the inventor of the world's most famous assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has authorized German engineering company MMI to use the well-known Kalashnikov name on a variety of not-so-deadly goods.\"", "In recent years, Kalashnikov Vodka has been marketed with souvenir bottles in the shape of the AK-47 Kalashnikov.", "There are also Kalashnikov watches, umbrellas, and knives.", "The Kalashnikov Museum (also called the AK-47 museum) opened on 4 November 2004 in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic.", "This city is in the Ural Region of Russia.", "The museum chronicles the biography of General Kalashnikov and documents the invention of the AK-47.", "The museum complex of Kalashnikov's small arms, a series of halls, and multimedia exhibitions are devoted to the evolution of the AK-47 assault rifle and attracts 10,000 monthly visitors.", "Nadezhda Vechtomova, the museum director, stated in an interview that the purpose of the museum is to honor the ingenuity of the inventor and the hard work of the employees and to \"separate the weapon as a weapon of murder from the people who are producing it and to tell its history in our country\".", "On 19 September 2017 a monument of Kalashnikov was unveiled in central Moscow.", "A protester, later detained by police, attempted to unfurl a banner reading \"a creator of weapons is a creator of death\".", "The proliferation of this weapon is reflected by more than just numbers.", "The AK-47 is included in the flag of Mozambique and its emblem, an acknowledgment that the country gained its independence in large part through the effective use of their AK-47s.", "It is also found in the coats of arms of East Timor and the revolution era Burkina Faso, as well as in the flags of Hezbollah, Syrian Resistance, FARC-EP, the New People's Army, TKP/TIKKO and the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces.", "Some Western countries associate the AK-47 with their enemies; both Cold War era and present-day.", "For example, Western movies often portray criminals, gang members and terrorists using AK-47s.", "For these reasons, in the U.S. and Western Europe, the AK-47 is stereotypically regarded as the weapon of choice of insurgents, gangsters and terrorists.", "Conversely, throughout the developing world, the AK-47 can be positively attributed with revolutionaries against foreign occupation, imperialism, or colonialism.", "The AK-47 made an appearance in U.S. popular culture as a recurring focus in the Nicolas Cage film ''Lord of War'' (2005).", "Numerous monologues in the movie focus on the weapon, and its effects on global conflict and the gun running market.", "In 2006, the Colombian musician and peace activist César López devised the ''escopetarra'', an AK converted into a guitar.", "One sold for US$17,000 in a fundraiser held to benefit the victims of anti-personnel mines, while another was exhibited at the United Nations' Conference on Disarmament.", "In Mexico, the AK-47 is known as \"Cuerno de Chivo\" (literally \"Goat's Horn\") because of its curved magazine design.", "It is one of the weapons of choice of Mexican drug cartels.", "It is sometimes mentioned in Mexican folk music lyrics.", "* Assault weapon\n* Comparison of the AK-47 and M16\n* List of Russian inventions\n* List of Russian weaponry\n* List of assault rifles\n* Table of handgun and rifle cartridges\n* Overview of gun laws by nation", "\n* \n* \n* \n*", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* Honeycutt Jr, Fred L. and Anthony, Patt F. ''Military Rifles of Japan.''", "(1996) ''Fifth Edition'', 8th printing; Julin Books.", ".", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* How the AK-47 Rewrote the Rules of Modern Warfare – Three-part article by C. J. Chivers, for ''Wired Magazine''\n* ''Ружье.", "Оружие и амуниция'' 1999/3, pp.", "18–21 has an article about the AK-47 prototypes\n* М.Т.", "Kalashnikov, \" Кто автор АК-47?\"", "(Who is the author of AK-47?)", "– an article rejecting some of the alternative theories as to the authorship of the AK-47, ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2002/2, pp.", "4–7 (in Russian)\n* М. Degtyaryov, \" Неочевидное очевидное\" – an article comparing the internals of the StG 44 and AK-47, ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/4, pp.", "18–23 (in Russian)\n* \" В преддверии юбилея...\" Transcription of the commission report on the testing round from the summer of 1947; no winner was selected at this point, but the commission held Kalashnikov's, Dementiev's and Bulkin's designs as most closely satisfying TTT number 3131.", "''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/8, pp.", "18–22 (in Russian)\n* \" Путёвка в жизнь\" Report/letter on the final round of testing, 27 December 1947, declaring Kalashnikov's design the winner.", "''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/9, pp.", "16–22 (in Russian)\n* Articles on the 1948 military trials: \" На пути в войска\" and \" ПЕРВЫЙ В ДИНАСТИИ\", ''Kalashnikov'' magazine, 2009/10-11\n*", "\n\n* US Army Operator's Manual for the AK-47 Assault Rifle\n* AK Site – Kalashnikov Home Page \n* Nazarian's Gun's Recognition Guide (MANUAL) AK 47 Manual (.pdf)\n* The Timeless, Ubiquitous AK-47 – slideshow by ''Time'' magazine\n* Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle (RT's Documentary)\n* AK-47: The Weapon Changed the Face of War – audio report by ''NPR''\n* The AK-47: The Gun That Changed The Battlefield – audio report by ''NPR''\n* AK-47 Documentary: Part 1 & Part 2 by ''Al Jazeera English''\n* AK-47 Full Auto, U.S. Army in Iraq from the ''Internet Archive''\n* Years of the gun: A political history of the AK-47 in Pakistan by ''Dawn News''" ]

[ "\n \n\n'''Anbar''' () was a town in Iraq, at lat. 33 deg. 22' N., long. 43 deg. 49' E, on the east bank of the Euphrates, just south of the Nahr 'Isa, or Sakhlawieh canal, the northernmost of the canals connecting that river with the Tigris.\n", "Anbar was originally called '''Pērōz-Šāpūr''' or '''Pērōz-Šābuhr''' (from , meaning \"Victorious Shapur\"; in ''prgwzšhypwhr''; in ), and became known as '''Perisapora''' or '''Pirisabora''' to the Greeks and Romans. The city was founded by the Sasanian Persian king Shapur II, and located in the Sassanid province of Asōristān. Perisapora was sacked and burned by Emperor Julian in April 363, during his invasion of the Sasanian Empire. The town became a refuge for the Arab, Christian and Jewish colonies of that region. According to medieval Arabic sources, most of the inhabitants of the town migrated north to found the city of Hdatta south of Mosul.\n\nAnbar was adjacent or identical to the Babylonian Jewish center of Nehardea (), and lies a short distance from the present-day town of Fallujah, formerly the Babylonian Jewish center of Pumbedita ().\n\nThe name of the town was then changed to ''Anbar'' (Middle Persian word for \"granaries\"). Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, made it his capital, and such it remained until the founding of Baghdad in 762. \nIt continued to be a place of much importance throughout the Abbasid period.\n", "Anbar used to host an Assyrian community from the fifth century: the town was the seat of a bishopric of the Church of the East. The names of fourteen of its bishops of the period 486–1074 are known, three of whom became Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon.\n* Narses fl.540\n* Simeon fl.553\n* Salibazachi fl.714\n* Paul fl.740\n* Theodosius \n* Johnfl885\n* Enos 890\n* Elias fl.906-920\n* Jaballaha fl.960\n* Sebarjesus\n* Elias II fl.987\n* Unanmed bishop fl.1021\n* Mundar fl.1028\n* Maris fl.1075\n* Zacharias fl.1111\n* \nNo longer a residential bishopric, having faded.\n\n=== Titular see ===\nAnbar is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see of the Chaldean Catholic Church, established as titular bishopric in 1980.\n \nIt has had the following incumbents, generally of the lowest (episcopal) rank, ''with a single archiepiscopal (intermediate) exception, the first :\n* ''Titular Archbishop Stéphane Katchou (1980.10.03 – 1981.11.10), as Coadjutor Archeparch of Bassorah of the Chaldeans (Iraq) (1980.10.03 – 1981.11.10); later succeeded as Archeparch (Archbishop) of Bassorah of the Chaldeans (1981.11.10 – 1983.11.29), finally Archbishop-Bishop of Zaku of the Chaldeans (Iraq) (1983.11.29 – death 1987.11.08)\n* Titular Bishop Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim (1982.01.11 – 1985.08.03), as Apostolic Exarch of United States of America of the Chaldeans (USA) (1982.01.11 – 1985.08.03); later restyled and promoted first Eparch (Bishop) of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit of the Chaldeans (USA, the same) (1985.08.03 – 2014.05.03)\n* Titular Bishop Shlemon Warduni (2001.01.12 – ...), Bishop of Curia of the Chaldean Catholic Church\n", "It is now entirely deserted, occupied only by mounds of ruins, whose great number indicate the city's former importance.\n", "* Nehardea\n* Fallujah\n* Pumbedita\n* Ctesiphon\n", "\n", "* GCatholic, with titular incumbent biography links\n\n'''Attribution:'''\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Ecclesiastical history ", " Today ", " See also ", " References ", "Sources and external links" ]

[ "49' E, on the east bank of the Euphrates, just south of the Nahr 'Isa, or Sakhlawieh canal, the northernmost of the canals connecting that river with the Tigris." ]

[ "\n \n\n'''Anbar''' () was a town in Iraq, at lat.", "33 deg.", "22' N., long.", "43 deg.", "Anbar was originally called '''Pērōz-Šāpūr''' or '''Pērōz-Šābuhr''' (from , meaning \"Victorious Shapur\"; in ''prgwzšhypwhr''; in ), and became known as '''Perisapora''' or '''Pirisabora''' to the Greeks and Romans.", "The city was founded by the Sasanian Persian king Shapur II, and located in the Sassanid province of Asōristān.", "Perisapora was sacked and burned by Emperor Julian in April 363, during his invasion of the Sasanian Empire.", "The town became a refuge for the Arab, Christian and Jewish colonies of that region.", "According to medieval Arabic sources, most of the inhabitants of the town migrated north to found the city of Hdatta south of Mosul.", "Anbar was adjacent or identical to the Babylonian Jewish center of Nehardea (), and lies a short distance from the present-day town of Fallujah, formerly the Babylonian Jewish center of Pumbedita ().", "The name of the town was then changed to ''Anbar'' (Middle Persian word for \"granaries\").", "Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, made it his capital, and such it remained until the founding of Baghdad in 762.", "It continued to be a place of much importance throughout the Abbasid period.", "Anbar used to host an Assyrian community from the fifth century: the town was the seat of a bishopric of the Church of the East.", "The names of fourteen of its bishops of the period 486–1074 are known, three of whom became Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon.", "* Narses fl.540\n* Simeon fl.553\n* Salibazachi fl.714\n* Paul fl.740\n* Theodosius \n* Johnfl885\n* Enos 890\n* Elias fl.906-920\n* Jaballaha fl.960\n* Sebarjesus\n* Elias II fl.987\n* Unanmed bishop fl.1021\n* Mundar fl.1028\n* Maris fl.1075\n* Zacharias fl.1111\n* \nNo longer a residential bishopric, having faded.", "=== Titular see ===\nAnbar is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see of the Chaldean Catholic Church, established as titular bishopric in 1980.", "It has had the following incumbents, generally of the lowest (episcopal) rank, ''with a single archiepiscopal (intermediate) exception, the first :\n* ''Titular Archbishop Stéphane Katchou (1980.10.03 – 1981.11.10), as Coadjutor Archeparch of Bassorah of the Chaldeans (Iraq) (1980.10.03 – 1981.11.10); later succeeded as Archeparch (Archbishop) of Bassorah of the Chaldeans (1981.11.10 – 1983.11.29), finally Archbishop-Bishop of Zaku of the Chaldeans (Iraq) (1983.11.29 – death 1987.11.08)\n* Titular Bishop Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim (1982.01.11 – 1985.08.03), as Apostolic Exarch of United States of America of the Chaldeans (USA) (1982.01.11 – 1985.08.03); later restyled and promoted first Eparch (Bishop) of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit of the Chaldeans (USA, the same) (1985.08.03 – 2014.05.03)\n* Titular Bishop Shlemon Warduni (2001.01.12 – ...), Bishop of Curia of the Chaldean Catholic Church", "It is now entirely deserted, occupied only by mounds of ruins, whose great number indicate the city's former importance.", "* Nehardea\n* Fallujah\n* Pumbedita\n* Ctesiphon", "* GCatholic, with titular incumbent biography links\n\n'''Attribution:'''\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\nAn '''anagram''' is word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' can be rearranged into \"nag a ram\".\n\nThe original word or phrase is known as the ''subject'' of the anagram. Any word or phrase that exactly reproduces the letters in another order is an anagram. Someone who creates anagrams may be called an \"anagrammatist\", and the goal of a serious or skilled anagrammatist is to produce anagrams that reflect or comment on their subject.\n", "Anagrams may be created as a commentary on the subject. For example, it may be a synonym or antonym of its subject, a parody, a criticism, satire:\n\n* \"rail safety\" = \"fairy tales\"\n* \"roast beef\" = \"eat for BSE\" \n\nIt sometimes changes a proper noun or personal name into a sentence:\n\n* \"William Shakespeare\" = \"I am a weakish speller\"\n* \"Madam Curie\" = \"Radium came\"\n\nIt can change parts of speech, such as the adjective \"silent\" to the verb \"listen\". \"Anagrams\" itself can be anagrammatized as ''\"Ars magna\"'' (Latin, 'the great art').\n", "Anagrams can be traced back to the time of Moses, as \"Themuru\" or changing, which was to find the hidden and mystical meaning in names.\nThey were popular throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, for example with the poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut. They are said to go back at least to the Greek poet Lycophron, in the third century BCE; but this relies on an account of Lycophron given by John Tzetzes in the 12th century.\n\nAnagrams in Latin were considered witty over many centuries. \"Est vir qui adest\", explained below, was cited as the example in Samuel Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language''.\n\nAny historical material on anagrams must always be interpreted in terms of the assumptions and spellings that were current for the language in question. In particular, spelling in English only slowly became fixed. There were attempts to regulate anagram formation, an important one in English being that of George Puttenham's ''Of the Anagram or Posy Transposed'' in ''The Art of English Poesie'' (1589).\n\n===Influence of Latin===\nAs a literary game when Latin was the common property of the literate, Latin anagrams were prominent: two examples are the change of \"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum\" (''Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you'') into \"Virgo serena, pia, munda et immaculata\" (''Serene virgin, pious, clean and spotless''), and the anagrammatic answer to Pilate's question, \"Quid est veritas?\" (''What is truth?''), namely, \"Est vir qui adest\" (''It is the man who is here''). The origins of these are not documented.\n\nLatin continued to influence letter values (such as I = J, U = V and W = VV). There was an ongoing tradition of allowing anagrams to be \"perfect\" if the letters were all used once, but allowing for these interchanges. This can be seen in a popular Latin anagram against the Jesuits: \"Societas Jesu\" turned into \"Vitiosa seces\", or \"Cut off the wicked things\". Puttenham, in the time of Elizabeth I of England, wished to start from ''Elissabet Anglorum Regina'' (Elizabeth Queen of the English), to obtain ''Multa regnabis ense gloria'' (By thy sword shalt thou reign in great renown); he explains carefully that H is \"a note of aspiration only and no letter\", and that Z in Greek or Hebrew is a mere SS. The rules were not completely fixed in the 17th century. William Camden in his ''Remains'' commented, singling out some letters—Æ, K, W, and Z—not found in the classical Roman alphabet:\n\n\n\n===Early modern period===\nWhen it comes to the 17th century and anagrams in English or other languages, there is a great deal of documented evidence of learned interest. The lawyer Thomas Egerton was praised through the anagram ''gestat honorem'' ('he carries honor'); the physician George Ent took the anagrammatic motto ''genio surget'' ('he rises through spirit/genius'), which requires his first name as ''Georgius''. James I's courtiers discovered in \"James Stuart\" \"a just master\", and converted \"Charles James Stuart\" into \"Claims Arthur's seat\" (even at that point in time, the letters I and J were more-or-less interchangeable). Walter Quin, tutor to the future Charles I, worked hard on multilingual anagrams on the name of father James. A notorious murder scandal, the Overbury case, threw up two imperfect anagrams that were aided by typically loose spelling and were recorded by Simonds D'Ewes: \"Francis Howard\" (for Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset, her maiden name spelled in a variant) became \"Car findes a whore\", with the letters E hardly counted, and the victim Thomas Overbury, as \"Thomas Overburie\", was written as \"O! O! a busie murther\" (an old form of \"murder\"), with a V counted as U.\n\nWilliam Drummond of Hawthornden, in an essay ''On the Character of a Perfect Anagram'', tried to lay down rules for permissible substitutions (such as S standing for Z) and letter omissions. William Camden provided a definition of \"Anagrammatisme\" as \"a dissolution of a name truly written into his letters, as his elements, and a new connection of it by artificial transposition, without addition, subtraction or change of any letter, into different words, making some perfect sense applyable (i.e., applicable) to the person named.\" Dryden in ''MacFlecknoe'' disdainfully called the pastime the \"torturing of one poor word ten thousand ways\".\n\n\"Eleanor Audeley\", wife of Sir John Davies, is said to have been brought before the High Commission in 1634 for extravagances, stimulated by the discovery that her name could be transposed to \"Reveale, O Daniel\", and to have been laughed out of court by another anagram submitted by Sir John Lambe, the dean of the Arches, \"Dame Eleanor Davies\", \"Never soe mad a ladie\".\n\nAn example from France was a flattering anagram for Cardinal Richelieu, comparing him to Hercules or at least one of his hands (Hercules being a kingly symbol), where ''Armand de Richelieu'' became ''Ardue main d'Hercule'' (\"difficult hand of Hercules\").\n\n===Modern period===\nExamples from the nineteenth century are the transposition of \"Horatio Nelson\" into ''\"Honor est a Nilo\"'' (Latin = 'Honor is from the Nile'); and of \"Florence Nightingale\" into \"Flit on, cheering angel\". The Victorian love of anagramming as recreation is alluded to by Augustus De Morgan using his own name as example; \"Great Gun, do us a sum!\" is attributed to his son William De Morgan, but a family friend John Thomas Graves was prolific, and a manuscript with over 2,800 has been preserved.\n\nWith the advent of surrealism as a poetic movement, anagrams regained the artistic respect they had had in the Baroque period. The German poet Unica Zürn, who made extensive use of anagram techniques, came to regard obsession with anagrams as a \"dangerous fever\", because it created isolation of the author. The surrealist leader André Breton coined the anagram ''Avida Dollars'' for Salvador Dalí, to tarnish his reputation by the implication of commercialism.\n", "While anagramming is certainly a recreation first, there are ways in which anagrams are put to use, and these can be more serious, or at least not quite frivolous and formless. For example, psychologists use anagram-oriented tests, often called \"anagram solution tasks\", to assess the implicit memory of young adults and adults alike.\n\n===Establishment of priority===\nNatural philosophers (astronomers and others) of the 17th century transposed their discoveries into Latin anagrams, to establish their priority. In this way they laid claim to new discoveries, before their results were ready for publication.\n\nGalileo used ''smaismrmilmepoetaleumibunenugttauiras'' for ''Altissimum planetam tergeminum observavi'' (\"I have observed the most distant planet to have a triple form\") for discovering the rings of Saturn in 1610. Galileo announced his discovery that Venus had phases like the Moon in the form \"Haec immatura a me iam frustra leguntur -oy\" (Latin: ''These immature ones have already been read in vain by me -oy''), that is, when rearranged, \"Cynthiae figuras aemulatur Mater Amorum\" (Latin: ''The Mother of Loves = Venus imitates the figures of Cynthia = the moon'').\n\nWhen Robert Hooke discovered Hooke's law in 1660, he first published it in anagram form, ''ceiiinosssttuv'', for ''ut tensio, sic vis'' (Latin: ''as the tension, so the force'').\n\nIn a related use, from 1975, British naturalist Sir Peter Scott coined the scientific term \"Nessiteras rhombopteryx\" (Greek for \"The monster (or wonder) of Ness with the diamond-shaped fin\") for the apocryphal Loch Ness Monster. Shortly afterwards, several London newspapers pointed out that \"Nessiteras rhombopteryx\" anagrams into \"Monster hoax by Sir Peter S\". However, Robert Rines, who previously made two underwater photographs allegedly showing the monster, countered with the fact that they can also be arranged into \"Yes, both pix are monsters, R.\"\n\n===Pseudonyms===\nAnagrams are connected to pseudonyms, by the fact that they may conceal or reveal, or operate somewhere in between like a mask that can establish identity. For example, Jim Morrison used an anagram of his name in The Doors song ''L.A. Woman'', calling himself \"Mr. Mojo Risin' \". The use of anagrams and fabricated personal names may be to circumvent restrictions on the use of real names, as happened in the 18th century when Edward Cave wanted to get around restrictions imposed on the reporting of the House of Commons. In a genre such as farce or parody, anagrams as names may be used for pointed and satiric effect.\n\nPseudonyms adopted by authors are sometimes transposed forms of their names; thus \"Calvinus\" becomes \"Alcuinus\" (here V = U) or \"François Rabelais\" = \"Alcofribas Nasier\". The name \"Voltaire\" of François Marie Arouet fits this pattern, and is allowed to be an anagram of \"Arouet, le jeune\" (U = V, J = I) that is, \"Arouet the younger\". Other examples include\n* \"Arrigo Boito\" = \"Tobia Gorrio\"\n* \"Edward Gorey\" = \"Ogdred Weary\", = \"Regera Dowdy\" or = \"E. G. Deadworry\" (and others)\n* \"Vladimir Nabokov\" = \"Vivian Darkbloom\", = \"Vivian Bloodmark\", = \"Blavdak Vinomori\", or = \"Dorian Vivalkomb\"\n* \"Ted Morgan\" = \"(Sanche) de Gramont\"\n* \"Dave Barry\" = \"Ray Adverb\"\n* \"Glen Duncan\" = \"Declan Gunn\"\n* \"Damon Albarn\" = \"Dan Abnormal\"\n*\"Anna Madrigal\" = \"A man and a girl\"\n* \"Tom Marvolo Riddle\" = \"I am Lord Voldemort\"\n* \"Buckethead\" = \"Death Cube K\"\n* \"Daniel Clowes\" = \"Enid Coleslaw\"\n*\"Siobhán Donaghy\" = \"Shanghai Nobody\"\nSeveral of these are \"imperfect anagrams\", letters having been left out in some cases for the sake of easy pronunciation.\n\n===Titles===\nAnagrams used for titles afford scope for some types of wit. Examples:\n* Homer Hickam, Jr.'s book ''Rocket Boys'' was adapted into the 1999 film ''October Sky''.\n* The tapes for the revival of the BBC show Doctor Who were labeled with the anagram ''Torchwood'', which later went on to be used as the name for a spin-off show.\n* The 1980s TV series ''The A-Team'' had a Season 1 anagram episode called \"Black Day at Bad Rock\", a word play on the 1955 Spenser Tracy western movie, ''Bad Day at Black Rock''.\n* The New Wave band Missing Persons' best-selling album was called ''Spring Session M''.\n* Hip-hop artist MF DOOM recorded a 2004 album called ''MM..FOOD''.\n* Brian Eno's album ''Before and After Science'' includes a song entitled \"King's Lead Hat\", an anagram of \"Talking Heads\", a band Eno has worked with.\n* Juan Maria Solare's piano ballad \"Jura ser anomalía\" (literally \"he/she swears to be an anomaly\") is an anagram of the composer's full name. His composition for English horn titled \"A Dot in Time\" is an anagram of \"Meditation\", which describes the piece. The title of his piano piece that is an homage to Claude Debussy is \"Seduce Us Badly\".\n* Bill Evans's overdubbed piano elegy for fellow jazz pianist Sonny Clark is titled \"N.Y.C.'s No Lark,\" and another composition, \"Re: Person I Knew\" is a tribute to his producer, Orrin Keepnews.\n* The title of Imogen Heap's album ''iMegaphone'' is an anagram of her name.\n* Progressive rock group Rush published a song off their 1989 album ''Presto'' titled \"Anagram (for Mongo)\" that makes use of anagrams in every line of their song.\n* The title of the fifth album by American rock band Interpol, ''El Pintor'', is an anagram of the band's name and also Spanish for \"the painter\".\n\n===Coincidences===\nIn Hebrew, the name \"Gernot Zippe\" (גרנוט ציפה), the inventor of the Zippe-type centrifuge, is an anagram of the word \"Centrifuge\" (צנטריפוגה).\n\n===Games and puzzles===\nAnagrams are in themselves a recreational activity, but they also make up part of many other games, puzzles and game shows. The Jumble is a puzzle found in many newspapers in the United States requiring the unscrambling of letters to find the solution. Cryptic crossword puzzles frequently use anagrammatic clues, usually indicating that they are anagrams by the inclusion of a descriptive term like \"confused\" or \"in disarray\". An example would be ''Businessman burst into tears (9 letters)''. The solution, ''stationer'', is an anagram of ''into tears'', the letters of which have ''burst'' out of their original arrangement to form the name of a type of ''businessman''.\n\nSome games even use anagrams in their plot. For example, the game Undertale uses Delta Rune as an anagram of its title to represent the Dreemurr royal family and the name of their symbol.\n\nNumerous other games and contests involve some element of anagram formation as a basic skill. Some examples:\n* In Anagrams, players flip tiles over one at a time and race to take words. They can \"steal\" each other's words by rearranging the letters and extending the words.\n* In a version of Scrabble called Clabbers, the name itself being an anagram of Scrabble, tiles may be placed in any order on the board as long as they anagram to a valid word.\n* On the British game show ''Countdown'', contestants are given 30 seconds to make the longest word from nine random letters.\n* In Boggle, players make constrained words from a grid of sixteen random letters, by joining adjacent cubes.\n* On the British game show ''BrainTeaser'', contestants are shown a word broken into randomly arranged segments and must announce the whole word. At the end of the game there is a \"Pyramid\" which starts with a three-letter word. A letter appears in the line below to which the player must add the existing letters to find a solution. The pattern continues until the player reaches the final eight-letter anagram. The player wins the game by solving all the anagrams within the allotted time.\n* In Bananagrams, players place tiles from a pool into crossword-style word arrangements in a race to see who can finish the pool of tiles first.\n* Other anagram games include Bonza (Word Game), Bookworm (video game), Dabble, Jumble, Letterpress (video game), Perquackey, Puzzlage, Word Force, WordSpot, and Words with Friends.\n\n===Ciphers===\nMultiple anagramming is a technique used to solve some kinds of cryptograms, such as a permutation cipher, a transposition cipher, and the Jefferson disk. Solutions may be computationally found using a Jumble algorithm.\n", "Sometimes it is possible to \"see\" anagrams in words, unaided by tools, though the more letters involved the more difficult this becomes. Anagram dictionaries could also be used. Computer programs, known as \"anagram servers\", \"anagram solvers\" or \"anagrammers\", offer a much faster route to creating anagrams, and a large number of these programs are available on the Internet. The program or server carries out an exhaustive search of a database of words, to produce a list containing every possible combination of words or phrases from the input word or phrase using a jumble algorithm. Some programs (such as ''Lexpert'') restrict to one-word answers. Many anagram servers (for example, The Words Oracle) can control the search results, by excluding or including certain words, limiting the number or length of words in each anagram, or limiting the number of results. Anagram solvers are often banned from online anagram games. The disadvantage of computer anagram solvers, especially when applied to multi-word anagrams, is their poor understanding of the meaning of the words they are manipulating. They usually cannot filter out meaningful or appropriate anagrams from large numbers of nonsensical word combinations. Some servers attempt to improve on this using statistical techniques that try to combine only words that appear together often. This approach provides only limited success since it fails to recognize ironic and humorous combinations.\n\nSome anagrammatists indicate the method they used. Anagrams constructed without aid of a computer are noted as having been done \"manually\" or \"by hand\"; those made by utilizing a computer may be noted \"by machine\" or \"by computer\", or may indicate the name of the computer program (using ''Anagram Genius'').\n\nThere are also a few \"natural\" instances: English words unconsciously created by switching letters around. The French ''chaise longue'' (\"long chair\") became the American \"chaise lounge\" by metathesis (transposition of letters and/or sounds). It has also been speculated that the English \"curd\" comes from the Latin ''crudus'' (\"raw\"). Similarly, the ancient English word for bird was \"brid\".\n", "\n\n* Acronym\n* Ambigram\n* Anagram dictionary\n* Anagrammatic poem\n* Anagrams, a board game\n* Blanagram\n* Constrained writing\n* Isogram\n* Letter bank\n* Lipogram\n* London Underground anagram map\n* Palindrome\n* Pangram\n* Rebus\n* Tautonym\n* Word play\n\n", "\n", "*Henry Benjamin Wheatley. ''Of Anagrams: A Monograph Treating of Their History from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time.'' Williams & Norgate, 1862.\n*''Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics''. Greenwood Periodicals et al., 1968–. .\n*Howard W. Bergerson. ''Palindromes and Anagrams''. Dover Publications, 1973. .\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Examples", "History", "Applications", "Methods of construction", "See also", "References", "Further reading" ]

[ "\n\n* Acronym\n* Ambigram\n* Anagram dictionary\n* Anagrammatic poem\n* Anagrams, a board game\n* Blanagram\n* Constrained writing\n* Isogram\n* Letter bank\n* Lipogram\n* London Underground anagram map\n* Palindrome\n* Pangram\n* Rebus\n* Tautonym\n* Word play" ]

[ "\n\n\nAn '''anagram''' is word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once.", "For example, the word ''anagram'' can be rearranged into \"nag a ram\".", "The original word or phrase is known as the ''subject'' of the anagram.", "Any word or phrase that exactly reproduces the letters in another order is an anagram.", "Someone who creates anagrams may be called an \"anagrammatist\", and the goal of a serious or skilled anagrammatist is to produce anagrams that reflect or comment on their subject.", "Anagrams may be created as a commentary on the subject.", "For example, it may be a synonym or antonym of its subject, a parody, a criticism, satire:\n\n* \"rail safety\" = \"fairy tales\"\n* \"roast beef\" = \"eat for BSE\" \n\nIt sometimes changes a proper noun or personal name into a sentence:\n\n* \"William Shakespeare\" = \"I am a weakish speller\"\n* \"Madam Curie\" = \"Radium came\"\n\nIt can change parts of speech, such as the adjective \"silent\" to the verb \"listen\".", "\"Anagrams\" itself can be anagrammatized as ''\"Ars magna\"'' (Latin, 'the great art').", "Anagrams can be traced back to the time of Moses, as \"Themuru\" or changing, which was to find the hidden and mystical meaning in names.", "They were popular throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, for example with the poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut.", "They are said to go back at least to the Greek poet Lycophron, in the third century BCE; but this relies on an account of Lycophron given by John Tzetzes in the 12th century.", "Anagrams in Latin were considered witty over many centuries.", "\"Est vir qui adest\", explained below, was cited as the example in Samuel Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language''.", "Any historical material on anagrams must always be interpreted in terms of the assumptions and spellings that were current for the language in question.", "In particular, spelling in English only slowly became fixed.", "There were attempts to regulate anagram formation, an important one in English being that of George Puttenham's ''Of the Anagram or Posy Transposed'' in ''The Art of English Poesie'' (1589).", "===Influence of Latin===\nAs a literary game when Latin was the common property of the literate, Latin anagrams were prominent: two examples are the change of \"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum\" (''Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you'') into \"Virgo serena, pia, munda et immaculata\" (''Serene virgin, pious, clean and spotless''), and the anagrammatic answer to Pilate's question, \"Quid est veritas?\"", "(''What is truth?", "''), namely, \"Est vir qui adest\" (''It is the man who is here'').", "The origins of these are not documented.", "Latin continued to influence letter values (such as I = J, U = V and W = VV).", "There was an ongoing tradition of allowing anagrams to be \"perfect\" if the letters were all used once, but allowing for these interchanges.", "This can be seen in a popular Latin anagram against the Jesuits: \"Societas Jesu\" turned into \"Vitiosa seces\", or \"Cut off the wicked things\".", "Puttenham, in the time of Elizabeth I of England, wished to start from ''Elissabet Anglorum Regina'' (Elizabeth Queen of the English), to obtain ''Multa regnabis ense gloria'' (By thy sword shalt thou reign in great renown); he explains carefully that H is \"a note of aspiration only and no letter\", and that Z in Greek or Hebrew is a mere SS.", "The rules were not completely fixed in the 17th century.", "William Camden in his ''Remains'' commented, singling out some letters—Æ, K, W, and Z—not found in the classical Roman alphabet:\n\n\n\n===Early modern period===\nWhen it comes to the 17th century and anagrams in English or other languages, there is a great deal of documented evidence of learned interest.", "The lawyer Thomas Egerton was praised through the anagram ''gestat honorem'' ('he carries honor'); the physician George Ent took the anagrammatic motto ''genio surget'' ('he rises through spirit/genius'), which requires his first name as ''Georgius''.", "James I's courtiers discovered in \"James Stuart\" \"a just master\", and converted \"Charles James Stuart\" into \"Claims Arthur's seat\" (even at that point in time, the letters I and J were more-or-less interchangeable).", "Walter Quin, tutor to the future Charles I, worked hard on multilingual anagrams on the name of father James.", "A notorious murder scandal, the Overbury case, threw up two imperfect anagrams that were aided by typically loose spelling and were recorded by Simonds D'Ewes: \"Francis Howard\" (for Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset, her maiden name spelled in a variant) became \"Car findes a whore\", with the letters E hardly counted, and the victim Thomas Overbury, as \"Thomas Overburie\", was written as \"O!", "O!", "a busie murther\" (an old form of \"murder\"), with a V counted as U.\n\nWilliam Drummond of Hawthornden, in an essay ''On the Character of a Perfect Anagram'', tried to lay down rules for permissible substitutions (such as S standing for Z) and letter omissions.", "William Camden provided a definition of \"Anagrammatisme\" as \"a dissolution of a name truly written into his letters, as his elements, and a new connection of it by artificial transposition, without addition, subtraction or change of any letter, into different words, making some perfect sense applyable (i.e., applicable) to the person named.\"", "Dryden in ''MacFlecknoe'' disdainfully called the pastime the \"torturing of one poor word ten thousand ways\".", "\"Eleanor Audeley\", wife of Sir John Davies, is said to have been brought before the High Commission in 1634 for extravagances, stimulated by the discovery that her name could be transposed to \"Reveale, O Daniel\", and to have been laughed out of court by another anagram submitted by Sir John Lambe, the dean of the Arches, \"Dame Eleanor Davies\", \"Never soe mad a ladie\".", "An example from France was a flattering anagram for Cardinal Richelieu, comparing him to Hercules or at least one of his hands (Hercules being a kingly symbol), where ''Armand de Richelieu'' became ''Ardue main d'Hercule'' (\"difficult hand of Hercules\").", "===Modern period===\nExamples from the nineteenth century are the transposition of \"Horatio Nelson\" into ''\"Honor est a Nilo\"'' (Latin = 'Honor is from the Nile'); and of \"Florence Nightingale\" into \"Flit on, cheering angel\".", "The Victorian love of anagramming as recreation is alluded to by Augustus De Morgan using his own name as example; \"Great Gun, do us a sum!\"", "is attributed to his son William De Morgan, but a family friend John Thomas Graves was prolific, and a manuscript with over 2,800 has been preserved.", "With the advent of surrealism as a poetic movement, anagrams regained the artistic respect they had had in the Baroque period.", "The German poet Unica Zürn, who made extensive use of anagram techniques, came to regard obsession with anagrams as a \"dangerous fever\", because it created isolation of the author.", "The surrealist leader André Breton coined the anagram ''Avida Dollars'' for Salvador Dalí, to tarnish his reputation by the implication of commercialism.", "While anagramming is certainly a recreation first, there are ways in which anagrams are put to use, and these can be more serious, or at least not quite frivolous and formless.", "For example, psychologists use anagram-oriented tests, often called \"anagram solution tasks\", to assess the implicit memory of young adults and adults alike.", "===Establishment of priority===\nNatural philosophers (astronomers and others) of the 17th century transposed their discoveries into Latin anagrams, to establish their priority.", "In this way they laid claim to new discoveries, before their results were ready for publication.", "Galileo used ''smaismrmilmepoetaleumibunenugttauiras'' for ''Altissimum planetam tergeminum observavi'' (\"I have observed the most distant planet to have a triple form\") for discovering the rings of Saturn in 1610.", "Galileo announced his discovery that Venus had phases like the Moon in the form \"Haec immatura a me iam frustra leguntur -oy\" (Latin: ''These immature ones have already been read in vain by me -oy''), that is, when rearranged, \"Cynthiae figuras aemulatur Mater Amorum\" (Latin: ''The Mother of Loves = Venus imitates the figures of Cynthia = the moon'').", "When Robert Hooke discovered Hooke's law in 1660, he first published it in anagram form, ''ceiiinosssttuv'', for ''ut tensio, sic vis'' (Latin: ''as the tension, so the force'').", "In a related use, from 1975, British naturalist Sir Peter Scott coined the scientific term \"Nessiteras rhombopteryx\" (Greek for \"The monster (or wonder) of Ness with the diamond-shaped fin\") for the apocryphal Loch Ness Monster.", "Shortly afterwards, several London newspapers pointed out that \"Nessiteras rhombopteryx\" anagrams into \"Monster hoax by Sir Peter S\".", "However, Robert Rines, who previously made two underwater photographs allegedly showing the monster, countered with the fact that they can also be arranged into \"Yes, both pix are monsters, R.\"\n\n===Pseudonyms===\nAnagrams are connected to pseudonyms, by the fact that they may conceal or reveal, or operate somewhere in between like a mask that can establish identity.", "For example, Jim Morrison used an anagram of his name in The Doors song ''L.A.", "Woman'', calling himself \"Mr. Mojo Risin' \".", "The use of anagrams and fabricated personal names may be to circumvent restrictions on the use of real names, as happened in the 18th century when Edward Cave wanted to get around restrictions imposed on the reporting of the House of Commons.", "In a genre such as farce or parody, anagrams as names may be used for pointed and satiric effect.", "Pseudonyms adopted by authors are sometimes transposed forms of their names; thus \"Calvinus\" becomes \"Alcuinus\" (here V = U) or \"François Rabelais\" = \"Alcofribas Nasier\".", "The name \"Voltaire\" of François Marie Arouet fits this pattern, and is allowed to be an anagram of \"Arouet, le jeune\" (U = V, J = I) that is, \"Arouet the younger\".", "Other examples include\n* \"Arrigo Boito\" = \"Tobia Gorrio\"\n* \"Edward Gorey\" = \"Ogdred Weary\", = \"Regera Dowdy\" or = \"E. G. Deadworry\" (and others)\n* \"Vladimir Nabokov\" = \"Vivian Darkbloom\", = \"Vivian Bloodmark\", = \"Blavdak Vinomori\", or = \"Dorian Vivalkomb\"\n* \"Ted Morgan\" = \"(Sanche) de Gramont\"\n* \"Dave Barry\" = \"Ray Adverb\"\n* \"Glen Duncan\" = \"Declan Gunn\"\n* \"Damon Albarn\" = \"Dan Abnormal\"\n*\"Anna Madrigal\" = \"A man and a girl\"\n* \"Tom Marvolo Riddle\" = \"I am Lord Voldemort\"\n* \"Buckethead\" = \"Death Cube K\"\n* \"Daniel Clowes\" = \"Enid Coleslaw\"\n*\"Siobhán Donaghy\" = \"Shanghai Nobody\"\nSeveral of these are \"imperfect anagrams\", letters having been left out in some cases for the sake of easy pronunciation.", "===Titles===\nAnagrams used for titles afford scope for some types of wit.", "Examples:\n* Homer Hickam, Jr.'s book ''Rocket Boys'' was adapted into the 1999 film ''October Sky''.", "* The tapes for the revival of the BBC show Doctor Who were labeled with the anagram ''Torchwood'', which later went on to be used as the name for a spin-off show.", "* The 1980s TV series ''The A-Team'' had a Season 1 anagram episode called \"Black Day at Bad Rock\", a word play on the 1955 Spenser Tracy western movie, ''Bad Day at Black Rock''.", "* The New Wave band Missing Persons' best-selling album was called ''Spring Session M''.", "* Hip-hop artist MF DOOM recorded a 2004 album called ''MM..FOOD''.", "* Brian Eno's album ''Before and After Science'' includes a song entitled \"King's Lead Hat\", an anagram of \"Talking Heads\", a band Eno has worked with.", "* Juan Maria Solare's piano ballad \"Jura ser anomalía\" (literally \"he/she swears to be an anomaly\") is an anagram of the composer's full name.", "His composition for English horn titled \"A Dot in Time\" is an anagram of \"Meditation\", which describes the piece.", "The title of his piano piece that is an homage to Claude Debussy is \"Seduce Us Badly\".", "* Bill Evans's overdubbed piano elegy for fellow jazz pianist Sonny Clark is titled \"N.Y.C.", "'s No Lark,\" and another composition, \"Re: Person I Knew\" is a tribute to his producer, Orrin Keepnews.", "* The title of Imogen Heap's album ''iMegaphone'' is an anagram of her name.", "* Progressive rock group Rush published a song off their 1989 album ''Presto'' titled \"Anagram (for Mongo)\" that makes use of anagrams in every line of their song.", "* The title of the fifth album by American rock band Interpol, ''El Pintor'', is an anagram of the band's name and also Spanish for \"the painter\".", "===Coincidences===\nIn Hebrew, the name \"Gernot Zippe\" (גרנוט ציפה), the inventor of the Zippe-type centrifuge, is an anagram of the word \"Centrifuge\" (צנטריפוגה).", "===Games and puzzles===\nAnagrams are in themselves a recreational activity, but they also make up part of many other games, puzzles and game shows.", "The Jumble is a puzzle found in many newspapers in the United States requiring the unscrambling of letters to find the solution.", "Cryptic crossword puzzles frequently use anagrammatic clues, usually indicating that they are anagrams by the inclusion of a descriptive term like \"confused\" or \"in disarray\".", "An example would be ''Businessman burst into tears (9 letters)''.", "The solution, ''stationer'', is an anagram of ''into tears'', the letters of which have ''burst'' out of their original arrangement to form the name of a type of ''businessman''.", "Some games even use anagrams in their plot.", "For example, the game Undertale uses Delta Rune as an anagram of its title to represent the Dreemurr royal family and the name of their symbol.", "Numerous other games and contests involve some element of anagram formation as a basic skill.", "Some examples:\n* In Anagrams, players flip tiles over one at a time and race to take words.", "They can \"steal\" each other's words by rearranging the letters and extending the words.", "* In a version of Scrabble called Clabbers, the name itself being an anagram of Scrabble, tiles may be placed in any order on the board as long as they anagram to a valid word.", "* On the British game show ''Countdown'', contestants are given 30 seconds to make the longest word from nine random letters.", "* In Boggle, players make constrained words from a grid of sixteen random letters, by joining adjacent cubes.", "* On the British game show ''BrainTeaser'', contestants are shown a word broken into randomly arranged segments and must announce the whole word.", "At the end of the game there is a \"Pyramid\" which starts with a three-letter word.", "A letter appears in the line below to which the player must add the existing letters to find a solution.", "The pattern continues until the player reaches the final eight-letter anagram.", "The player wins the game by solving all the anagrams within the allotted time.", "* In Bananagrams, players place tiles from a pool into crossword-style word arrangements in a race to see who can finish the pool of tiles first.", "* Other anagram games include Bonza (Word Game), Bookworm (video game), Dabble, Jumble, Letterpress (video game), Perquackey, Puzzlage, Word Force, WordSpot, and Words with Friends.", "===Ciphers===\nMultiple anagramming is a technique used to solve some kinds of cryptograms, such as a permutation cipher, a transposition cipher, and the Jefferson disk.", "Solutions may be computationally found using a Jumble algorithm.", "Sometimes it is possible to \"see\" anagrams in words, unaided by tools, though the more letters involved the more difficult this becomes.", "Anagram dictionaries could also be used.", "Computer programs, known as \"anagram servers\", \"anagram solvers\" or \"anagrammers\", offer a much faster route to creating anagrams, and a large number of these programs are available on the Internet.", "The program or server carries out an exhaustive search of a database of words, to produce a list containing every possible combination of words or phrases from the input word or phrase using a jumble algorithm.", "Some programs (such as ''Lexpert'') restrict to one-word answers.", "Many anagram servers (for example, The Words Oracle) can control the search results, by excluding or including certain words, limiting the number or length of words in each anagram, or limiting the number of results.", "Anagram solvers are often banned from online anagram games.", "The disadvantage of computer anagram solvers, especially when applied to multi-word anagrams, is their poor understanding of the meaning of the words they are manipulating.", "They usually cannot filter out meaningful or appropriate anagrams from large numbers of nonsensical word combinations.", "Some servers attempt to improve on this using statistical techniques that try to combine only words that appear together often.", "This approach provides only limited success since it fails to recognize ironic and humorous combinations.", "Some anagrammatists indicate the method they used.", "Anagrams constructed without aid of a computer are noted as having been done \"manually\" or \"by hand\"; those made by utilizing a computer may be noted \"by machine\" or \"by computer\", or may indicate the name of the computer program (using ''Anagram Genius'').", "There are also a few \"natural\" instances: English words unconsciously created by switching letters around.", "The French ''chaise longue'' (\"long chair\") became the American \"chaise lounge\" by metathesis (transposition of letters and/or sounds).", "It has also been speculated that the English \"curd\" comes from the Latin ''crudus'' (\"raw\").", "Similarly, the ancient English word for bird was \"brid\".", "*Henry Benjamin Wheatley.", "''Of Anagrams: A Monograph Treating of Their History from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time.''", "Williams & Norgate, 1862.", "*''Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics''.", "Greenwood Periodicals et al., 1968–.", ".", "*Howard W. Bergerson.", "''Palindromes and Anagrams''.", "Dover Publications, 1973. ." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''AOL''' (formerly a company known as '''AOL Inc.''', originally known as '''America Online''', and stylized as '''Aol''') is a web portal and online service provider based in New York. It is a brand marketed by Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications. AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the U.S. It originally provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, as well as providing a web portal, e-mail, instant messaging and later a web browser following its purchase of Netscape. At the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in U.S. history. AOL rapidly declined thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up to broadband. AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.\n\nOn June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion. In the following months, AOL also made a deal with Microsoft and acquired several tech properties, including Millennial Media and Kanvas to bolster their mobile ad-tech capabilities.\n", "\n===1983–91: Early years===\nAOL began in 1983, as a short-lived venture called '''Control Video Corporation''' (or '''CVC'''), founded by Bill von Meister. Its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console, after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by Warner Bros. Subscribers bought a modem from the company for US$49.95 and paid a one-time US$15 setup fee. GameLine permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of US$1 per game. The telephone disconnected and the downloaded game would remain in GameLine's Master Module and playable until the user turned off the console or downloaded another game.\n\nIn January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video on the recommendation of his brother, investment banker Dan Case. In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, which was near bankruptcy. Kimsey was brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an investor in the company. In early 1985, von Meister left the company.\n\nOn May 24, 1985, '''Quantum Computer Services''', an online services company, was founded by Jim Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video, with Kimsey as Chief Executive Officer, and Marc Seriff as Chief Technology Officer. The technical team consisted of Marc Seriff, Tom Ralston, Ray Heinrich, Steve Trus, Ken Huntsman, Janet Hunter, Dave Brown, Craig Dykstra, Doug Coward, and Mike Ficco. In 1987, Case was promoted again to executive vice-president. Kimsey soon began to groom Case to take over the role of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991.\n\nKimsey changed the company's strategy, and in 1985, launched a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers, originally called Quantum Link (\"Q-Link\" for short). The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc, (founded in 1983 by Howard Goldberg and Dave Panzl). The service was different from other online services as it used the computing power of the Commodore 64 and the Apple II rather than just a \"dumb\" terminal. It passed tokens back and forth and provided a fixed price service tailored for home users. In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition for Apple II and Macintosh computers. In August 1988, Quantum launched PC Link, a service for IBM-compatible PCs developed in a joint venture with the Tandy Corporation. After the company parted ways with Apple in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online. Case was promoted to and sold AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with computers, in contrast to CompuServe, which was well established in the technical community.\n\nFrom the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system. In the early years of AOL the company introduced many innovative online interactive titles and games, including:\n* Graphical chat environments Habitat (1986–1988) and Club Caribe (1988) from LucasArts.\n* The first online interactive fiction series QuantumLink Serial by Tracy Reed (1988).\n* Quantum Space, the first fully automated Play by email game (1989–1991).\n\n===1991–2006: Internet age, Time Warner merger===\nFirst AOL logo as \"America Online\", used from 1991 to 2005.\nIn February 1991, AOL for DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface followed a year later by AOL for Windows. This coincided with growth in pay-based online services, like Prodigy, CompuServe, and GEnie. 1991 also saw the introduction of an original Dungeons & Dragons title called ''Neverwinter Nights'' from Stormfront Studios; which was one of the first Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games to depict the adventure with graphics instead of text.\n\nDuring the early 1990s, the average subscription lasted for about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue. AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in late 1994. In September 1993, AOL added USENET access to its features. This is commonly referred to as the \"Eternal September\", as USENET's cycle of new users was previously dominated by smaller numbers of college and university freshmen gaining access in September and taking a few weeks to acclimate. This also coincided with a new \"carpet bombing\" marketing campaign by CMO Jan Brandt to distribute as many free trial AOL trial disks as possible through nonconventional distribution partners. At one point, 50% of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. AOL quickly surpassed GEnie, and by the mid-1990s, it passed Prodigy (which for several years allowed AOL advertising) and CompuServe.\n\nOver the next several years, AOL launched services with the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, ''National Geographic'', the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, Pearson, Scholastic, ASCD, NSBA, NCTE, Discovery Networks, Turner Education Services (CNN Newsroom), NPR, The Princeton Review, Stanley Kaplan, Barron's, Highlights for Kids, the U.S. Department of Education, and many other education providers. AOL offered the first real-time homework help service (the Teacher Pager—1990; prior to this, AOL provided homework help bulletin boards), the first service by children, for children (Kids Only Online, 1991), the first online service for parents (the Parents Information Network, 1991), the first online courses (1988), the first omnibus service for teachers (the Teachers' Information Network, 1990), the first online exhibit (Library of Congress, 1991), the first parental controls, and many other online education firsts.\n\nAmerica Online 2.0 software for Microsoft Windows (1994)\nAOL charged its users an hourly fee until December 1996, when the company changed to a flat monthly rate of $19.95. During this time, AOL connections would be flooded with users trying to get on, and many canceled their accounts due to constant busy signals. A commercial featuring Steve Case telling people AOL was working day and night to fix the problem was made. Within three years, AOL's user base grew to 10 million people. In 1995 AOL was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in the Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, near the Town of Vienna.\n\nAOL was quickly running out of room in October 1996 for its network at the Fairfax County campus. In 1996, AOL moved to 22000 AOL Way in Dulles, unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia. The move to Dulles took place in mid-1996 and provided room for future growth. In a five-year landmark agreement with the most popular operating system, AOL was bundled with Windows software.\n\nOn March 31, 1997, the short-lived eWorld was purchased by AOL. In 1997, about half of all U.S. homes with Internet access had it through AOL. During this time, AOL's content channels, under Jason Seiken, including News, Sports, and Entertainment, experienced their greatest growth as AOL become the dominant online service internationally with more than 34 million subscribers. In November 1998, AOL announced it would acquire Netscape. The deal closed on March 17, 1999.\n\nIn January 2000, AOL and Time Warner announced plans to merge, forming AOL Time Warner, Inc. The terms of the deal called for AOL shareholders to own 55% of the new, combined company. The deal closed on January 11, 2001. The new company was led by executives from AOL, SBI, and Time Warner. Gerald Levin, who had served as CEO of Time Warner, was CEO of the new company. Steve Case served as Chairman, J. Michael Kelly (from AOL) was the Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Pittman (from AOL) and Dick Parsons (from Time Warner) served as Co-Chief Operating Officers. In 2002, Jonathan Miller became CEO of AOL. The following year, AOL Time Warner dropped the \"AOL\" from its name.\n\nIn 2004, along with the launch of AOL 9.0 Optimized, AOL also made available the option of personalized greetings which would enable the user to hear his or her name while accessing basic functions and mail alerts, or while logging in or out. In 2005, AOL broadcast the Live 8 concert live over the Internet, and thousands of users downloaded clips of the concert over the following months. In late 2005, AOL released AOL Safety & Security Center, a bundle of McAfee Antivirus, CA anti-spyware, and proprietary firewall and phishing protection software. News reports in late 2005 identified companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google as candidates for turning AOL into a joint venture. Those plans were abandoned when it was revealed on December 20, 2005 that Google would purchase a 5% share of AOL for $1 billion.\n\n===2006–09: Rebranding and decline===\nFormer AOL logo, used from 2005 to 2009\nOn April 3, 2006, AOL announced it was retiring the full name America Online; the official name of the service became AOL, and the full name of the Time Warner subdivision became '''AOL''' LLC.\nOn June 8, 2006, AOL offered a new program called AOL Active Security Monitor, a diagnostic tool which checked the local PC's security status, and recommended additional security software from AOL or Download.com. The program rated the computer on a variety of different areas of security and general computer health. Two months later, AOL released AOL Active Virus Shield. This software was developed by Kaspersky Lab. Active Virus Shield software was free and did not require an AOL account, only an internet email address. The ISP side of AOL UK was bought by The Carphone Warehouse in October 2006 to take advantage of their 100,000 LLU customers, making The Carphone Warehouse the biggest LLU provider in the UK.\n\nDecline in AOL U.S. subscribers 2Q 2001 – 2Q 2009, with a significant drop from 2Q 2006 onward.\nIn August 2006, AOL announced they would give away email accounts and software previously available only to its paying customers provided the customer accessed AOL or AOL.com through a non-AOL-owned access method (otherwise known as \"third party transit\", \"bring your own access\", or \"BYOA\"). The move was designed to reduce costs associated with the \"Walled Garden\" business model by reducing usage of AOL-owned access points and shifting members with high-speed internet access from client-based usage to the more lucrative advertising provider, AOL.com. The change from paid to free was also designed to slow the rate of members canceling their accounts and defecting to Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo!, or other free email providers. The other free services included:\n* AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)\n* AOL Video featured professional content and allowed users to upload videos as well.\n* AOL Local, comprising its CityGuide, Yellow Pages and Local Search services to help users find local information like restaurants, local events, and directory listings.\n* AOL News\n* AOL My eAddress, a custom domain name for email addresses. These email accounts could be accessed in a manner similar to other AOL and AIM email accounts.\n* Xdrive, which was a service offered by AOL, allowed users to back up their files over the Internet. It was acquired by AOL on August 3, 2005 and closed on January 12, 2009. It offered a free 5 GB account (free online file storage) to anyone with an AOL screenname. Xdrive also provided remote backup services and 50 GB of storage for a $9.95 per month fee.\n\nAlso that month, AOL informed its American customers it would be increasing the price of its dial-up access to US$25.90. The increase was part of an effort to migrate the service's remaining dial-up users to broadband, as the increased price was the same price they had been charging for monthly DSL access. However, AOL has since started offering their services for $9.95 a month for unlimited dial-up access.\n\nOn November 16, 2006, Randy Falco succeeded Jonathan Miller as CEO. In December 2006, AOL closed their last remaining call center in the United States, \"taking the America out of America Online\" according to industry pundits. Service centers based in India and the Philippines continue to this day to provide customer support and technical assistance to subscribers.\n\nAn AOL Mobile sign at GSMA Barcelona 2008\nOn September 17, 2007, AOL announced it was moving one of its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia, to New York City and combining its various advertising units into a new subsidiary called Platform A. This action followed several advertising acquisitions, most notably Advertising.com, and highlighted the company's new focus on advertising-driven business models. AOL management stressed \"significant operations\" will remain in Dulles, which included the company's access services and modem banks.\n\nIn October 2007, AOL announced it would move one of its other headquarters from Loudoun County, Virginia, to New York City; it would continue to operate its Virginia offices. As part of the impending move to New York and the restructuring of responsibilities at the Dulles headquarters complex after the Reston move, AOL CEO Randy Falco announced on October 15, 2007 plans to lay off 2,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2007, beginning \"immediately\". The end result was a near 40% layoff across the board at AOL. Most compensation packages associated with the October 2007 layoffs included a minimum of 120 days of severance pay, 60 of which were given in lieu of the 60-day advance notice requirement by provisions of the 1988 Federal WARN Act.\n\nBy November 2007, AOL's customer base had been reduced to 10.1 million subscribers, just narrowly ahead of Comcast and AT&T Yahoo!. According to Falco, as of December 2007, the conversion rate of accounts from paid access to free access was over 80%.\n\nOn January 3, 2008, AOL announced the closing of one of its three Northern Virginia data centers, Reston Technology Center, and sold it to CRG West. On February 6, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes announced Time Warner would split AOL's internet access and advertising businesses in two, with the possibility of later selling the internet access division.\n\nOn March 13, 2008, AOL purchased the social networking site Bebo for $850m (£417m). On July 25, AOL announced it was shedding Xdrive, AOL Pictures, and BlueString to save on costs and focus on its core advertising business. AOL Pictures was terminated on December 31. On October 31, AOL Hometown (a web hosting service for the websites of AOL customers) and the AOL Journal blog hosting service were eliminated.\n\n=== 2009–15: As a digital media company ===\nThe AOL 'eraser' logo, in use since 2009\nOn March 12, 2009, Tim Armstrong, formerly with Google, was named Chairman and CEO of AOL. Shortly thereafter, on May 28, Time Warner announced it would spin off AOL as an independent company once Google's shares ceased at the end of the fiscal year. On November 23, AOL unveiled a sneak preview of a new brand identity which has the wordmark \"'''Aol.'''\" superimposed onto canvases created by commissioned artists. The new identity, designed by Wolff Olins, was enacted onto all of AOL's services on December 10, the date AOL traded independently for the first time since the Time Warner merger on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AOL.\n\nOn April 6, 2010, AOL announced plans to shut down or sell Bebo; on June 16, the property was sold to Criterion Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount, believed to be around $10 million. In December, AIM eliminated access to AOL chat rooms noting a marked decline of patronage in recent months.\n\nUnder Armstrong's leadership, AOL began taking steps in a new business direction, marked by a series of acquisitions. On June 11, 2009, AOL had already announced the acquisition of Patch Media, a network of community-specific news and information sites which focuses on individual towns and communities. On September 28, 2010, at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, AOL signed an agreement to acquire TechCrunch to further its overall strategy of providing premier online content. On December 12, 2010, AOL acquired about.me, a personal profile and identity platform, four days after that latter's public launch.\n\nOn January 31, 2011, AOL announced the acquisition of European video distribution network, goviral. On February 7, AOL bought ''The Huffington Post'' for $315 million. Shortly after the acquisition was announced, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington replaced AOL Content Chief David Eun, assuming the role of President and Editor-in-Chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group. On March 10, AOL announced it would cut around 900 workers in the wake of the Huffington Post deal.\n\nOn September 14, 2011, AOL formed a strategic ad selling partnership with two of its largest competitors, Yahoo and Microsoft. According to the new partnership, the three companies would begin selling inventory on each other's sites. The strategy was designed to help them compete with Google and ad networks.\n\nOn February 28, 2012, AOL partnered with PBS to launch MAKERS, a digital documentary series focusing on high-achieving women in male-dominated industries such as war, comedy, space, business, Hollywood and politics. Subjects for MAKERS episodes have included Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Martha Stewart, Indra Nooyi, Lena Dunham, and Ellen DeGeneres.\n\nOn March 15, 2012, AOL announced the acquisition of Hipster, a mobile photo sharing app for an undisclosed amount. On April 9, 2012, AOL announced a deal to sell 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.056 billion. The deal includes a \"perpetual\" license for AOL to use these patents.\n\nIn April, AOL took several steps to expand its ability to generate revenue through online video advertising. The company announced it would offer gross rating point (GRP) guarantee for online video, mirroring the TV ratings system and guaranteeing audience delivery for online video advertising campaigns bought across its properties. This announcement came just days before the Digital Content NewFront (DCNF) a two-week event held by AOL, Google, Hulu, Microsoft, Vevo and Yahoo to showcase the participating sites' digital video offerings. The Digital Content NewFront were conducted in advance of the traditional television upfronts in hopes of diverting more advertising money into the digital space. On April 24, the company launched the AOL On network, a single website for its video output.\n\nIn February 2013, AOL reported its fourth quarter revenue of $599.5 million, its first growth in quarterly revenue in 8 years.\n\nIn August 2013, Armstrong announced Patch Media would scale back or sell hundreds of its local news sites. Not long afterwards, layoffs began, with up to 500 out of 1,100 positions initially impacted. On January 15, 2014, Patch Media was spun off, with majority ownership being held by Hale Global. By the end of 2014, AOL controlled 0.74% of the global advertising market, well behind industry leader Google's 31.4%.\n\nOn January 23, 2014, AOL acquired Gravity, a software startup that tracked users’ online behavior and tailored ads and content based on their interests, for $83 million. The deal, which included roughly 40 Gravity employees and their personalization technology, was CEO Tim Armstrong’s fourth largest deal since taking over the company in 2009. Later that year, AOL also acquired Vidible, which developed technology to help websites run video content from other publishers, and help video publishers sell their content to these websites. The deal, which was announced December 1, 2014, was reportedly worth roughly $50 million.\n\nOn July 16, 2014, AOL earned an Emmy nomination for the AOL original series, The Future Starts Here, in the News and Documentary category. This came days after AOL earned its first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for ''Park Bench with Steve Buscemi'' in the Outstanding Short Form Variety Series category, which later won the award. Created and hosted by Tiffany Shlain, the series focused on human's relationship with technology and featured episodes such as The Future of Our Species, Why We Love Robots, and A Case for Optimism.\n\n===2015–present: Division of Verizon===\nAOL's Silicon Valley branch office.\nOn May 12, 2015, Verizon announced plans to buy AOL for $50 per share in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. The transaction was completed on June 23. Armstrong, who continued to lead the firm following regulatory approval, called the deal the logical next step for AOL. \"If you look forward five years, you're going to be in a space where there are going to be massive, global-scale networks, and there's no better partner for us to go forward with than Verizon.\" he said. \"It's really not about selling the company today. It's about setting up for the next five to 10 years.\"\n\nAnalyst David Bank said he thought the deal made sense for Verizon. The deal will broaden Verizon's advertising sales platforms and increase its video production ability through websites such as ''The Huffington Post'', TechCrunch, and Engadget. However, Craig Moffett said it was unlikely the deal would make a big difference to Verizon's bottom line. AOL had about two million dial-up subscribers at the time of the buyout. The announcement caused AOL's stock price to rise 17%, while Verizon's stock price dropped slightly.\n\nShortly before the Verizon purchase, on April 14, 2015, AOL launched ONE by AOL, a digital marketing programmatic platform that unifies buying channels and audience management platforms to track and optimize campaigns over multiple screens. Later that year, on September 15, AOL expanded the product with ONE by AOL: Creative, which is geared towards creative and media agencies to similarly connect marketing and ad distribution efforts.\n\nOn May 8, 2015, AOL reported its first quarter revenue of $625.1 million, $483.5 million of which came from advertising and related operations, marking a 7% increase from Q1 2014. Over that year, the AOL Platforms division saw a 21% increase in revenue, but a drop in adjusted OIBDA due to increased investments in the company’s video and programmatic platforms.\n\nOn June 29, 2015, AOL announced a deal with Microsoft to take over the majority of its digital advertising business. Under the pact, as many as 1,200 Microsoft employees involved with the business will be transferred to AOL, and the company will take over the sale of display, video, and mobile ads on various Microsoft platforms in nine countries, including Brazil, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, Google Search will be replaced on AOL properties with Bing—which will display advertising sold by Microsoft. Both advertising deals are subject to affiliate marketing revenue sharing.\n\nAOL's Headquarters at 770 Broadway in New York City.\nOn July 22, 2015, AOL received two News and Documentary Emmy nominations, one for MAKERS in the Outstanding Historical Programming category, and the other for True Trans With Laura Jane Grace, which documented the story of Laura Jane Grace, a transgender musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!, and her decision to come out publicly and overall transition experience.\n\nOn September 3, 2015, AOL agreed to buy Millennial Media for US $238 million . On October 23, 2015, AOL completed the acquisition.\n\nOn October 1, 2015, Go90, a free ad-supported mobile video service aimed at young adult and teen viewers that Verizon owns and AOL oversees and operates launched its content publicly after months of beta testing. The initial launch line-up included content from Comedy Central, Huffington Post, Nerdist News, Univision News, Vice, ESPN and MTV.\n\nOn January 25, 2016, AOL expanded its ONE platform by introducing ONE by AOL: Publishers, which combines six previously separate technologies to offer various publisher capabilities such as customizing video players, offering premium ad experience to boost visibility, and generating large video libraries. The announcement was made in tandem with AOL’s acquisition of AlephD, a Paris-based startup focused on publisher analytics of ad price tracking based on historical data. AOL announced AlephD would be a part of the ONE by AOL: Publishers platform.\n\nOn April 20, 2016, AOL acquired virtual reality studio RYOT to bring immersive 360 degree video and VR content to The Huffington Post’s global audience across desktop, mobile, and apps.\n\nIn July 2016, Verizon Communications announced its intent to purchase the core internet business of Yahoo!. Verizon tentatively plans to merge AOL with Yahoo into a new company called \"Oath\".\n", "AOL's products and services are in the following areas: content, advertising and membership.\n\n=== Content ===\n\nAOL’s family of brands include The Huffington Post, and AOL’s independent brands (iBrands), and AOL.com. Other AOL media brands include:\n* The Huffington Post\n* Moviefone\n* Engadget\n* Autoblog\n* TechCrunch\n* Cambio\n* Style Me Pretty\n* MapQuest\n* AOL BUILD\n* MAKERS\n* Live chat rooms. Some were custom created by members and some were permanent and made by AOL and they all covered a wide variety of topics\nAOL's content contributors consists of over 20,000 bloggers, including politicians, celebrities, academics and policy experts, who contribute on a wide range of topics making news. The group's video is collected on its AOL On site, which offers channels in news, entertainment, style, tech, business, food, home, travel, health, autos, parenting, relationships, video games and pets.\n\nAOL produces the MAKERS video series, focused on high-achieving women. AOL also hosts and livestreams their BUILD interview series featuring guests from the worlds of entertainment, tech, fashion, and business.\n\nIn addition to mobile-optimized web experiences, AOL produces mobile applications for existing AOL properties like AOL On, Autoblog, Engadget, The Huffington Post, AOL MAKERS, Moviefone, TechCrunch, AIM, MapQuest, and products such as AIM, Alto, Pip, and Vivv.\n\n=== Advertising ===\nAOL has a global portfolio of media brands and advertising solutions across mobile, desktop, and TV. Solutions include brand integration and sponsorships through its in-house branded content arm, Partner Studio by AOL, as well as data and programmatic offerings through ad technology stack, ONE by AOL.\n\nAOL acquired a number of businesses and technologies help to form ONE by AOL. These acquisitions included AdapTV in 2013 and Convertro, Precision Demand, and Vidible in 2014. ONE by AOL is further broken down into ONE by AOL for Publishers (formerly Vidible, AOL On Network and Be On for Publishers) and ONE by AOL for Advertisers, each of which have several sub-platforms.\n\nONE by AOL for Publishers consists of:\n* ONE by AOL: Ad Server\n* ONE by AOL: Audience\n* ONE by AOL: Creative\n* ONE by AOL: Display MP\n* ONE by AOL: Mobile\n* ONE by AOL: Video\n* ONE by AOL: Video Marketplace\n\nONE by AOL for Advertisers consists of:\n* ONE by AOL: Attribution\n* ONE by AOL: Audience\n* ONE by AOL: Creative\n* ONE by AOL: Display\n* ONE by AOL: TV\n* ONE by AOL: Video\n* ONE by AOL: Video Marketplace\n\n=== Membership ===\nAOL offers a range of integrated products and properties including communication tools, mobile apps and services and subscription packages.\n* Dial-up Internet access – According to AOL quarterly earnings report May 8, 2015, 2.1 million people still use AOL's dial-up service.\n* AOL Mail – AOL Mail is AOL's proprietary email client. It is fully integrated with AIM and links to news headlines on AOL content sites.\n* AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) – is AOL's proprietary instant-messaging tool. It also comprises a video-chat service, AV by AIM.\n* AOL Plans — AOL Plans offers three online safety and assistance tools: ID protection, data security and a general online technical assistance service.\n\n=== AOL Desktop ===\n\n\n\n'''AOL Desktop''' is an internet suite produced by AOL that integrates a web browser, a media player and an instant messenger client. Version 10.X was based on AOL OpenRide, it is an upgrade from such. The macOS version is based on WebKit.\n\nAOL Desktop version 10.X was different from previous AOL browsers and AOL Desktop versions. Its features are focused on web browsing as well as email. For instance, one does not have to sign into AOL in order to use it as a regular browser. In addition, non-AOL email accounts can be accessed through it. There are several predominate buttons: \"MAIL\", \"IM\", and several shortcuts to various Web Pages. The first two require users to sign in but the shortcuts to web pages can be used without authentication. AOL Desktop version 10.X was late marked as unsupported in favor of supporting the AOL Desktop 9.X versions.\n\nVersion 9.8 was released, replacing the Internet Explorer components of the internet browser with CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) to give users an improved web browsing experience closer to that of Chrome\n\nVersion 11 of AOL Desktop, currently in Beta, is a total rewrite but maintains a similar user interface to the previous 9.8.X series of releases.\n", "Since spinning off from Time Warner in 2010, AOL has made corporate social responsibility an important part of its mission. In its company values, AOL states, \"We are in the business of helping people, period.\" For the company's corporate social responsibility efforts, AOL's CEO Tim Armstrong was included in a July 9, 2012 Adweek article, \"The Givers,\" highlighting individuals who have committed their and their companies' time, money and resources to a diverse range of causes.\n\nEach year on the company's birthday, AOL employees around the world are invited to participate in Monster Help Day, a global community service day dedicated to strengthening the communities in which AOL employees live and work. Other corporate social responsibility initiatives include producing cause-related content for AOL properties; donating PSA campaigns throughout the AOL network; empowering consumers through cause-related contests and initiatives; implementing a permanent cause module on AOL's homepage, dedicated to promoting nonprofit organizations.\n\nAOL Charitable Foundation is a private 501c3 foundation funded by AOL Inc.\n", "A collection of AOL CDs sent to a student dormitory in Germany, 2002\nIn its earlier incarnation as a \"walled garden\" community and service provider, AOL received criticism for its community policies, terms of service, and customer service. Prior to 2006, AOL was known for its direct mailing of CD-ROMs and 3½\" floppy disks containing its software. The disks were distributed in large numbers; at one point, half of the CDs manufactured worldwide had AOL logos on them. The marketing tactic was criticized for its environmental cost, and AOL CDs were recognized as PCWorld's most annoying tech product.\n\n=== Community leaders ===\nPrior to mid-2005, AOL used online volunteers called Community Leaders, or CLs, to monitor chatrooms, message boards, and libraries. AOL's use of remote volunteers dated back to the establishment of its Quantum Link service in 1985. Most content maintenance was performed by partner and internal employees. Community leaders were recruited for some content design and maintenance, for which they used a proprietary language and interface called RAINMAN. Other community leaders hosted chat rooms and provided online help. During the time that AOL customers paid by the hour, chat room hosts were compensated in free online time for each hour they worked, though of course any banked hours became worthless once fixed-rate payment was introduced.\n\nTwo former community leaders, Brian Williams of Dallas and Kelly Hallissey of New York filed a class action lawsuit against AOL, citing violations of U.S. labor laws in its use of community leaders. The lawsuit was filed in the United States Federal Courthouse, New York City on May 25, 1999, and was followed shortly by the dismissal of all community leaders under the age of 18 years, as well as a reorganization of the community leader program as a whole. The Department of Labor was also investigating AOL's alleged labor law violations, but came to no conclusion, closing their investigation in 2001. AOL began drastically reducing the responsibilities and privileges of its volunteers in 2000. The program was eventually ended on June 8, 2005. Current Community Leaders at the time were offered 12 months of credit on their accounts in thanks for their service.\n\nWithin one decade of the class action lawsuit being filed, the class had grown to over 6,000 members, comprising the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against an internet based company. Currently it is the third largest class ever involved in any lawsuit on a federal level in the United States, affecting ultimately the employment eligibility of individuals in an online environment.\n\nIn February 2010, a settlement was approved by the Courts in the class action suit. The settlement included a $15 million USD payment. This payment was then divided into thirds, the first of which was attorney and legal fees. Five million was then divided among the included members of the class which consisted of more than 7,000 individual former Community Leaders. The final five million dollars was donated to charities hand picked by Hallissey and Williams, and then approved by the Courts for distribution. One such charity, the Remote Area Medical Foundation (www.ramusa.org), received payments in excess of $1.2 million USD for the provision of medical services, supplies and medication for those in need within the more rural areas of the United States and beyond.\n\nPrior to the 1999 class action lawsuit, the community leaders were informed of a change in compensation for duties performed by AOL. Community leaders would be charged a reduced rate per month for their accounts, and would no longer be given unlimited access without invoice. During this live announcement via an online meeting of all community leaders in a virtual arena, Brian Williams of Dallas led many community leaders in a virtual \"strike\" or \"sit-in\" to protest the new charges the community leaders were now being asked to pay. This protest or strike is noted as the first of its kind for an online environment and was nicknamed for the row of the arena it was held in: Row 800. Following the protest, AOL terminated the online working relationship between itself and several of the Community Leaders involved. Quickly following the release of these community leaders, each was reinstated, with the exception of Williams, due to his role in the protest. During this time, Williams' role on AOL was that of Guide XNT (Guide Program), CB Naked (Crystal Ball forum), VnV Naked (iVillage's Vices and Virtues Forum) and JCommBrian (Jewish Community Online Forum).\n\n=== Billing disputes ===\nAOL has faced a number of lawsuits over claims that it has been slow to stop billing customers after their accounts have been canceled, either by the company or the user. In addition, AOL changed its method of calculating used minutes in response to a class action lawsuit. Previously, AOL would add 15 seconds to the time a user was connected to the service and round up to the next whole minute (thus, a person who used the service for 12 minutes and 46 seconds would be charged for 14 minutes). AOL claimed this was to account for sign on/sign off time, but because this practice was not made known to its customers, the plaintiffs won (some also pointed out that signing on and off did not always take 15 seconds, especially when connecting via another ISP). AOL disclosed its connection-time calculation methods to all of its customers and credited them with extra free hours. In addition, the AOL software would notify the user of exactly how long they were connected and how many minutes they were being charged.\n\nAOL was sued by the Ohio Attorney General in October 2003 for improper billing practices. The case was settled on June 8, 2005. AOL agreed to resolve any consumer complaints filed with the Ohio AG's office. In December 2006, AOL agreed to provide restitution to Florida consumers to settle the case filed against them by the Florida Attorney General.\n\n=== Account cancellation ===\nMany customers complained that AOL personnel ignored their demands to cancel service and stop billing. In response to approximately 300 consumer complaints, the New York Attorney General's office began an inquiry of AOL's customer service policies. The investigation revealed that the company had an elaborate scheme for rewarding employees who purported to retain or \"save\" subscribers who had called to cancel their Internet service. In many instances, such retention was done against subscribers' wishes, or without their consent. Under the scheme, customer service personnel received bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars if they could successfully dissuade or \"save\" half of the people who called to cancel service. For several years, AOL had instituted minimum retention or \"save\" percentages, which consumer representatives were expected to meet. These bonuses, and the minimum \"save\" rates accompanying them, had the effect of employees not honoring cancellations, or otherwise making cancellation unduly difficult for consumers.\n\nOn August 24, 2005, America Online agreed to pay $1.25 million to the state of New York and reformed its customer service procedures. Under the agreement, AOL would no longer require its customer service representatives to meet a minimum quota for customer retention in order to receive a bonus. However the agreement only covered people in the state of New York.\n\nOn June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari documented his account cancellation phone call in a blog post, stating he had switched to broadband years earlier. In the recorded phone call, the AOL representative refused to cancel the account unless the 30-year-old Ferrari explained why AOL hours were still being recorded on it. Ferrari insisted that AOL software was not even installed on the computer. When Ferrari demanded that the account be canceled regardless, the AOL representative asked to speak with Ferrari's father, for whom the account had been set up. The conversation was aired on CNBC. When CNBC reporters tried to have an account on AOL cancelled, they were hung up on immediately and it ultimately took more than 45 minutes to cancel the account.\n\nOn July 19, 2006, AOL's entire retention manual was released on the Internet. On August 3, 2006, Time Warner announced that the company would be dissolving AOL's retention centers due to its profits hinging on $1 billion in cost cuts. The company estimated that it would lose more than six million subscribers over the following year.\n\n=== Direct marketing of disks ===\nA few promotional CD-ROMs distributed in Canada.\nPrior to 2006, AOL was infamous for the unsolicited mass direct mail of 3½\" floppy disks and CD-ROMs containing their software. They were the most frequent user of this marketing tactic, and received criticism for the environmental cost of the campaign. According to ''PC World'', in the 1990s \"you couldn't open a magazine (''PC World'' included) or your mailbox without an AOL disk falling out of it\".\n\nThe mass distribution of these disks was seen as wasteful by the public and led to protest groups. One such was No More AOL CDs, a web-based effort by two IT workers to collect one million disks with the intent to return the disks to AOL. The website was started in August 2001, and an estimated 410,176 CDs were collected by August 2007 when the project was shut down. AOL CDs were recognized as No.1 on PCWorld's top ten list of most annoying tech products.\n\n=== Software ===\n* In 2000, AOL was served with an $8 billion lawsuit alleging that its AOL 5.0 software caused significant difficulties for users attempting to use third-party Internet service providers. The lawsuit sought damages of up to $1000 for each user that had downloaded the software cited at the time of the lawsuit. AOL later agreed to a settlement of $15 million, without admission of wrongdoing. The AOL software then was given a feature called AOL Dialer, or AOL Connect on . This feature allowed users to connect to the ISP without running the full interface. This allowed users to use only the applications they wish to use, especially if they do not favor the AOL Browser.\n* AOL 9.0 was once identified by Stopbadware as being ''under investigation'' for installing additional software without disclosure, and modifying browser preferences, toolbars, and icons. However, as of the release of AOL 9.0 VR (Vista Ready) on January 26, 2007, it was no longer considered badware due to changes AOL made in the software.\n\n=== Usenet newsgroups ===\nWhen AOL gave clients access to Usenet in 1993, they hid at least one newsgroup in standard list view: ''alt.aol-sucks''. AOL did list the newsgroup in the alternative description view, but changed the description to \"Flames and complaints about America Online\". With AOL clients swarming Usenet newsgroups, the old, existing user base started to develop a strong distaste for both AOL and its clients, referring to the new state of affairs as Eternal September.\n\nAOL discontinued access to Usenet on June 25, 2005. No official details were provided as to the cause of decommissioning Usenet access, except providing users the suggestion to access Usenet services from a third-party, Google Groups. AOL then provided community-based message boards in lieu of Usenet.\n\n=== Terms of Service (TOS) ===\nAOL has a detailed set of guidelines and expectations for users on their service, known as the Terms of Service (TOS, also known as Conditions of Service, or COS in the UK). It is separated into three different sections: ''Member Agreement'', ''Community Guidelines'' and ''Privacy Policy''. All three agreements are presented to users at time of registration and digital acceptance is achieved when they access the AOL service. During the period when volunteer chat room hosts and board monitors were used, chat room hosts were given a brief online training session and test on Terms of Service violations.\n\nThere have been many complaints over rules that govern an AOL user's conduct. Some users disagree with the TOS, citing the guidelines are too strict to follow coupled with the fact the TOS may change without users being made aware. A considerable cause for this was likely due to alleged censorship of user-generated content during the earlier years of growth for AOL.\n\n=== Certified email ===\nIn early 2005, AOL stated its intention to implement a certified email system called Goodmail, which will allow companies to send email to users with whom they have pre-existing business relationships, with a visual indication that the email is from a trusted source and without the risk that the email messages might be blocked or stripped by spam filters.\n\nThis decision drew fire from MoveOn, which characterized the program as an \"email tax\", and the EFF, which characterized it as a shakedown of non-profits. A website called Dearaol.com was launched, with an online petition and a blog that garnered hundreds of signatures from people and organizations expressing their opposition to AOL's use of Goodmail.\n\nEsther Dyson defended the move in a ''New York Times'' editorial saying \"I hope Goodmail succeeds, and that it has lots of competition. I also think it and its competitors will eventually transform into services that more directly serve the interests of mail recipients. Instead of the fees going to Goodmail and EON, they will also be shared with the individual recipients.\"\n\nTim Lee of the Technology Liberation Front posted an article that questioned the EFF's adopting a confrontational posture when dealing with private companies. Lee's article cited a series of discussions on Declan McCullagh's Politechbot mailing list on this subject between the EFF's Danny O'Brien and antispammer Suresh Ramasubramanian, who has also compared the EFF's tactics in opposing Goodmail to tactics used by Republican political strategist Karl Rove. Spamassassin developer Justin Mason posted some criticism of the EFF's and Moveon's \"going overboard\" in their opposition to the scheme.\n\nThe dearaol.com campaign lost momentum and disappeared, with the last post to the now defunct dearaol.com blog—\"AOL starts the shakedown\" being made on May 9, 2006.\n\nComcast, who also used the service, announced on its website that Goodmail had ceased operations and as of February 4, 2011 they no longer used the service.\n\n=== Search data ===\n\n\nOn August 4, 2006, AOL released a compressed text file on one of its websites containing 20 million search keywords for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period between March 1, 2006 and May 31, intended for research purposes. AOL pulled the file from public access by August 7, but not before its wide distribution on the Internet by others. Derivative research, titled ''A Picture of Search'' was published by authors Pass, Chowdhury and Torgeson for The First International Conference on Scalable Information Systems.\n\nThe data were used by websites such as AOLstalker for entertainment purposes, where users of AOLstalker are encouraged to judge AOL clients based on the humorousness of personal details revealed by search behavior.\n\n=== User list exposure ===\nIn 2003, Jason Smathers, an AOL employee, was convicted of stealing America Online's 92 million screen names and selling them to a known spammer. Smathers pled guilty to conspiracy charges in 2005. Smathers pled guilty to violations of the US CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. He was sentenced in August 2005 to 15 months in prison; the sentencing judge also recommended Smathers be forced to pay $84,000 in restitution, triple the $28,000 that he sold the addresses for.\n\n=== AOL's Computer Checkup \"scareware\" ===\nOn February 27, 2012 a class action lawsuit was filed against Support.com, Inc. and partner AOL, Inc. The lawsuit alleged Support.com and AOL's Computer Checkup \"scareware\" (which uses software developed by Support.com) misrepresented that their software programs would identify and resolve a host of technical problems with computers, offered to perform a free “scan,” which often found problems with users' computers. The companies then offered to sell software—for which AOL allegedly charged $4.99 a month and Support.com $29—to remedy those problems. Both AOL, Inc. and Support.com, Inc. settled on May 30, 2013 for $8.5 million. This included $25.00 to each valid class member and $100,000 each to Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Judge Corley wrote: “Distributing a portion of the funds to Consumer Watchdog will meet the interests of the silent class members because the organization will use the funds to help protect consumers across the nation from being subject to the types of fraudulent and misleading conduct that is alleged here,” and “EFF’s mission includes a strong consumer protection component, especially in regards to online protection.”\n\nAOL continues to market ''Computer Checkup''. It is not clear if this latest ''Computer Checkup'' continues to use scareware techniques.\n\n===NSA Prism program===\nFollowing media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in June 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including AOL. According to leaks of said program, AOL joined the PRISM program in 2011.\n\n===Hosting of user profiles changed, then discontinued===\nAt one time, most AOL users had an online \"profile\" hosted by the AOL Hometown service. When AOL Hometown was discontinued, users had to create a new profile on Bebo. This was an unsuccessful attempt to create a social network that would compete with Facebook. When the value of Bebo decreased to a tiny fraction of the $850 million AOL paid for it, users were forced to recreate their profiles yet again, on a new service called AOL Lifestream. \n\nAOL took the decision to shut down Lifestream on 24 February 2017, and gave users one month's notice to save off photos and videos that had been uploaded to Lifestream. Following the shutdown, AOL no longer provides any option for hosting user profiles.\n\nDuring the Hometown/Bebo/Lifestream era, another user's profile could be displayed by clicking the \"Buddy Info\" button in the AOL Desktop software. After the shutdown of Lifestream, clicking \"Buddy Info\" does something that provides no information whatsoever about the selected buddy: it causes the AIM home page (www.aim.com) to be displayed.\n", "\n* List of companies in the United States\n* List of S&P 400 companies\n* Adrian Lamo – Inside-AOL.com\n* AOL Explorer\n* AOL Radio\n* AOL RED\n* AOHell\n* ART image file format .art\n* Comparison of webmail providers\n* Dot-com bubble\n* List of acquisitions by AOL\n* Live365\n* Sessions@AOL\n* Truveo\n* David Shing\n\n", "\n\n", "\n* \n* A Visual Archive of America Online, Versions 1.1 – 3.0\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", " Products and services ", " Corporate social responsibility ", " Criticism ", " See also ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "Analyst David Bank said he thought the deal made sense for Verizon." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''AOL''' (formerly a company known as '''AOL Inc.''', originally known as '''America Online''', and stylized as '''Aol''') is a web portal and online service provider based in New York.", "It is a brand marketed by Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications.", "AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the U.S.", "It originally provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, as well as providing a web portal, e-mail, instant messaging and later a web browser following its purchase of Netscape.", "At the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in U.S. history.", "AOL rapidly declined thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up to broadband.", "AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO.", "Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.", "On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion.", "In the following months, AOL also made a deal with Microsoft and acquired several tech properties, including Millennial Media and Kanvas to bolster their mobile ad-tech capabilities.", "\n===1983–91: Early years===\nAOL began in 1983, as a short-lived venture called '''Control Video Corporation''' (or '''CVC'''), founded by Bill von Meister.", "Its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console, after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by Warner Bros.", "Subscribers bought a modem from the company for US$49.95 and paid a one-time US$15 setup fee.", "GameLine permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of US$1 per game.", "The telephone disconnected and the downloaded game would remain in GameLine's Master Module and playable until the user turned off the console or downloaded another game.", "In January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video on the recommendation of his brother, investment banker Dan Case.", "In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, which was near bankruptcy.", "Kimsey was brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an investor in the company.", "In early 1985, von Meister left the company.", "On May 24, 1985, '''Quantum Computer Services''', an online services company, was founded by Jim Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video, with Kimsey as Chief Executive Officer, and Marc Seriff as Chief Technology Officer.", "The technical team consisted of Marc Seriff, Tom Ralston, Ray Heinrich, Steve Trus, Ken Huntsman, Janet Hunter, Dave Brown, Craig Dykstra, Doug Coward, and Mike Ficco.", "In 1987, Case was promoted again to executive vice-president.", "Kimsey soon began to groom Case to take over the role of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991.", "Kimsey changed the company's strategy, and in 1985, launched a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers, originally called Quantum Link (\"Q-Link\" for short).", "The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc, (founded in 1983 by Howard Goldberg and Dave Panzl).", "The service was different from other online services as it used the computing power of the Commodore 64 and the Apple II rather than just a \"dumb\" terminal.", "It passed tokens back and forth and provided a fixed price service tailored for home users.", "In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition for Apple II and Macintosh computers.", "In August 1988, Quantum launched PC Link, a service for IBM-compatible PCs developed in a joint venture with the Tandy Corporation.", "After the company parted ways with Apple in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online.", "Case was promoted to and sold AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with computers, in contrast to CompuServe, which was well established in the technical community.", "From the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system.", "In the early years of AOL the company introduced many innovative online interactive titles and games, including:\n* Graphical chat environments Habitat (1986–1988) and Club Caribe (1988) from LucasArts.", "* The first online interactive fiction series QuantumLink Serial by Tracy Reed (1988).", "* Quantum Space, the first fully automated Play by email game (1989–1991).", "===1991–2006: Internet age, Time Warner merger===\nFirst AOL logo as \"America Online\", used from 1991 to 2005.", "In February 1991, AOL for DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface followed a year later by AOL for Windows.", "This coincided with growth in pay-based online services, like Prodigy, CompuServe, and GEnie.", "1991 also saw the introduction of an original Dungeons & Dragons title called ''Neverwinter Nights'' from Stormfront Studios; which was one of the first Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games to depict the adventure with graphics instead of text.", "During the early 1990s, the average subscription lasted for about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue.", "AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in late 1994.", "In September 1993, AOL added USENET access to its features.", "This is commonly referred to as the \"Eternal September\", as USENET's cycle of new users was previously dominated by smaller numbers of college and university freshmen gaining access in September and taking a few weeks to acclimate.", "This also coincided with a new \"carpet bombing\" marketing campaign by CMO Jan Brandt to distribute as many free trial AOL trial disks as possible through nonconventional distribution partners.", "At one point, 50% of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo.", "AOL quickly surpassed GEnie, and by the mid-1990s, it passed Prodigy (which for several years allowed AOL advertising) and CompuServe.", "Over the next several years, AOL launched services with the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, ''National Geographic'', the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, Pearson, Scholastic, ASCD, NSBA, NCTE, Discovery Networks, Turner Education Services (CNN Newsroom), NPR, The Princeton Review, Stanley Kaplan, Barron's, Highlights for Kids, the U.S. Department of Education, and many other education providers.", "AOL offered the first real-time homework help service (the Teacher Pager—1990; prior to this, AOL provided homework help bulletin boards), the first service by children, for children (Kids Only Online, 1991), the first online service for parents (the Parents Information Network, 1991), the first online courses (1988), the first omnibus service for teachers (the Teachers' Information Network, 1990), the first online exhibit (Library of Congress, 1991), the first parental controls, and many other online education firsts.", "America Online 2.0 software for Microsoft Windows (1994)\nAOL charged its users an hourly fee until December 1996, when the company changed to a flat monthly rate of $19.95.", "During this time, AOL connections would be flooded with users trying to get on, and many canceled their accounts due to constant busy signals.", "A commercial featuring Steve Case telling people AOL was working day and night to fix the problem was made.", "Within three years, AOL's user base grew to 10 million people.", "In 1995 AOL was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in the Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, near the Town of Vienna.", "AOL was quickly running out of room in October 1996 for its network at the Fairfax County campus.", "In 1996, AOL moved to 22000 AOL Way in Dulles, unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia.", "The move to Dulles took place in mid-1996 and provided room for future growth.", "In a five-year landmark agreement with the most popular operating system, AOL was bundled with Windows software.", "On March 31, 1997, the short-lived eWorld was purchased by AOL.", "In 1997, about half of all U.S. homes with Internet access had it through AOL.", "During this time, AOL's content channels, under Jason Seiken, including News, Sports, and Entertainment, experienced their greatest growth as AOL become the dominant online service internationally with more than 34 million subscribers.", "In November 1998, AOL announced it would acquire Netscape.", "The deal closed on March 17, 1999.", "In January 2000, AOL and Time Warner announced plans to merge, forming AOL Time Warner, Inc.", "The terms of the deal called for AOL shareholders to own 55% of the new, combined company.", "The deal closed on January 11, 2001.", "The new company was led by executives from AOL, SBI, and Time Warner.", "Gerald Levin, who had served as CEO of Time Warner, was CEO of the new company.", "Steve Case served as Chairman, J. Michael Kelly (from AOL) was the Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Pittman (from AOL) and Dick Parsons (from Time Warner) served as Co-Chief Operating Officers.", "In 2002, Jonathan Miller became CEO of AOL.", "The following year, AOL Time Warner dropped the \"AOL\" from its name.", "In 2004, along with the launch of AOL 9.0 Optimized, AOL also made available the option of personalized greetings which would enable the user to hear his or her name while accessing basic functions and mail alerts, or while logging in or out.", "In 2005, AOL broadcast the Live 8 concert live over the Internet, and thousands of users downloaded clips of the concert over the following months.", "In late 2005, AOL released AOL Safety & Security Center, a bundle of McAfee Antivirus, CA anti-spyware, and proprietary firewall and phishing protection software.", "News reports in late 2005 identified companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google as candidates for turning AOL into a joint venture.", "Those plans were abandoned when it was revealed on December 20, 2005 that Google would purchase a 5% share of AOL for $1 billion.", "===2006–09: Rebranding and decline===\nFormer AOL logo, used from 2005 to 2009\nOn April 3, 2006, AOL announced it was retiring the full name America Online; the official name of the service became AOL, and the full name of the Time Warner subdivision became '''AOL''' LLC.", "On June 8, 2006, AOL offered a new program called AOL Active Security Monitor, a diagnostic tool which checked the local PC's security status, and recommended additional security software from AOL or Download.com.", "The program rated the computer on a variety of different areas of security and general computer health.", "Two months later, AOL released AOL Active Virus Shield.", "This software was developed by Kaspersky Lab.", "Active Virus Shield software was free and did not require an AOL account, only an internet email address.", "The ISP side of AOL UK was bought by The Carphone Warehouse in October 2006 to take advantage of their 100,000 LLU customers, making The Carphone Warehouse the biggest LLU provider in the UK.", "Decline in AOL U.S. subscribers 2Q 2001 – 2Q 2009, with a significant drop from 2Q 2006 onward.", "In August 2006, AOL announced they would give away email accounts and software previously available only to its paying customers provided the customer accessed AOL or AOL.com through a non-AOL-owned access method (otherwise known as \"third party transit\", \"bring your own access\", or \"BYOA\").", "The move was designed to reduce costs associated with the \"Walled Garden\" business model by reducing usage of AOL-owned access points and shifting members with high-speed internet access from client-based usage to the more lucrative advertising provider, AOL.com.", "The change from paid to free was also designed to slow the rate of members canceling their accounts and defecting to Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo!, or other free email providers.", "The other free services included:\n* AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)\n* AOL Video featured professional content and allowed users to upload videos as well.", "* AOL Local, comprising its CityGuide, Yellow Pages and Local Search services to help users find local information like restaurants, local events, and directory listings.", "* AOL News\n* AOL My eAddress, a custom domain name for email addresses.", "These email accounts could be accessed in a manner similar to other AOL and AIM email accounts.", "* Xdrive, which was a service offered by AOL, allowed users to back up their files over the Internet.", "It was acquired by AOL on August 3, 2005 and closed on January 12, 2009.", "It offered a free 5 GB account (free online file storage) to anyone with an AOL screenname.", "Xdrive also provided remote backup services and 50 GB of storage for a $9.95 per month fee.", "Also that month, AOL informed its American customers it would be increasing the price of its dial-up access to US$25.90.", "The increase was part of an effort to migrate the service's remaining dial-up users to broadband, as the increased price was the same price they had been charging for monthly DSL access.", "However, AOL has since started offering their services for $9.95 a month for unlimited dial-up access.", "On November 16, 2006, Randy Falco succeeded Jonathan Miller as CEO.", "In December 2006, AOL closed their last remaining call center in the United States, \"taking the America out of America Online\" according to industry pundits.", "Service centers based in India and the Philippines continue to this day to provide customer support and technical assistance to subscribers.", "An AOL Mobile sign at GSMA Barcelona 2008\nOn September 17, 2007, AOL announced it was moving one of its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia, to New York City and combining its various advertising units into a new subsidiary called Platform A.", "This action followed several advertising acquisitions, most notably Advertising.com, and highlighted the company's new focus on advertising-driven business models.", "AOL management stressed \"significant operations\" will remain in Dulles, which included the company's access services and modem banks.", "In October 2007, AOL announced it would move one of its other headquarters from Loudoun County, Virginia, to New York City; it would continue to operate its Virginia offices.", "As part of the impending move to New York and the restructuring of responsibilities at the Dulles headquarters complex after the Reston move, AOL CEO Randy Falco announced on October 15, 2007 plans to lay off 2,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2007, beginning \"immediately\".", "The end result was a near 40% layoff across the board at AOL.", "Most compensation packages associated with the October 2007 layoffs included a minimum of 120 days of severance pay, 60 of which were given in lieu of the 60-day advance notice requirement by provisions of the 1988 Federal WARN Act.", "By November 2007, AOL's customer base had been reduced to 10.1 million subscribers, just narrowly ahead of Comcast and AT&T Yahoo!.", "According to Falco, as of December 2007, the conversion rate of accounts from paid access to free access was over 80%.", "On January 3, 2008, AOL announced the closing of one of its three Northern Virginia data centers, Reston Technology Center, and sold it to CRG West.", "On February 6, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes announced Time Warner would split AOL's internet access and advertising businesses in two, with the possibility of later selling the internet access division.", "On March 13, 2008, AOL purchased the social networking site Bebo for $850m (£417m).", "On July 25, AOL announced it was shedding Xdrive, AOL Pictures, and BlueString to save on costs and focus on its core advertising business.", "AOL Pictures was terminated on December 31.", "On October 31, AOL Hometown (a web hosting service for the websites of AOL customers) and the AOL Journal blog hosting service were eliminated.", "=== 2009–15: As a digital media company ===\nThe AOL 'eraser' logo, in use since 2009\nOn March 12, 2009, Tim Armstrong, formerly with Google, was named Chairman and CEO of AOL.", "Shortly thereafter, on May 28, Time Warner announced it would spin off AOL as an independent company once Google's shares ceased at the end of the fiscal year.", "On November 23, AOL unveiled a sneak preview of a new brand identity which has the wordmark \"'''Aol.'''\"", "superimposed onto canvases created by commissioned artists.", "The new identity, designed by Wolff Olins, was enacted onto all of AOL's services on December 10, the date AOL traded independently for the first time since the Time Warner merger on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AOL.", "On April 6, 2010, AOL announced plans to shut down or sell Bebo; on June 16, the property was sold to Criterion Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount, believed to be around $10 million.", "In December, AIM eliminated access to AOL chat rooms noting a marked decline of patronage in recent months.", "Under Armstrong's leadership, AOL began taking steps in a new business direction, marked by a series of acquisitions.", "On June 11, 2009, AOL had already announced the acquisition of Patch Media, a network of community-specific news and information sites which focuses on individual towns and communities.", "On September 28, 2010, at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt Conference, AOL signed an agreement to acquire TechCrunch to further its overall strategy of providing premier online content.", "On December 12, 2010, AOL acquired about.me, a personal profile and identity platform, four days after that latter's public launch.", "On January 31, 2011, AOL announced the acquisition of European video distribution network, goviral.", "On February 7, AOL bought ''The Huffington Post'' for $315 million.", "Shortly after the acquisition was announced, Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington replaced AOL Content Chief David Eun, assuming the role of President and Editor-in-Chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group.", "On March 10, AOL announced it would cut around 900 workers in the wake of the Huffington Post deal.", "On September 14, 2011, AOL formed a strategic ad selling partnership with two of its largest competitors, Yahoo and Microsoft.", "According to the new partnership, the three companies would begin selling inventory on each other's sites.", "The strategy was designed to help them compete with Google and ad networks.", "On February 28, 2012, AOL partnered with PBS to launch MAKERS, a digital documentary series focusing on high-achieving women in male-dominated industries such as war, comedy, space, business, Hollywood and politics.", "Subjects for MAKERS episodes have included Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Martha Stewart, Indra Nooyi, Lena Dunham, and Ellen DeGeneres.", "On March 15, 2012, AOL announced the acquisition of Hipster, a mobile photo sharing app for an undisclosed amount.", "On April 9, 2012, AOL announced a deal to sell 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.056 billion.", "The deal includes a \"perpetual\" license for AOL to use these patents.", "In April, AOL took several steps to expand its ability to generate revenue through online video advertising.", "The company announced it would offer gross rating point (GRP) guarantee for online video, mirroring the TV ratings system and guaranteeing audience delivery for online video advertising campaigns bought across its properties.", "This announcement came just days before the Digital Content NewFront (DCNF) a two-week event held by AOL, Google, Hulu, Microsoft, Vevo and Yahoo to showcase the participating sites' digital video offerings.", "The Digital Content NewFront were conducted in advance of the traditional television upfronts in hopes of diverting more advertising money into the digital space.", "On April 24, the company launched the AOL On network, a single website for its video output.", "In February 2013, AOL reported its fourth quarter revenue of $599.5 million, its first growth in quarterly revenue in 8 years.", "In August 2013, Armstrong announced Patch Media would scale back or sell hundreds of its local news sites.", "Not long afterwards, layoffs began, with up to 500 out of 1,100 positions initially impacted.", "On January 15, 2014, Patch Media was spun off, with majority ownership being held by Hale Global.", "By the end of 2014, AOL controlled 0.74% of the global advertising market, well behind industry leader Google's 31.4%.", "On January 23, 2014, AOL acquired Gravity, a software startup that tracked users’ online behavior and tailored ads and content based on their interests, for $83 million.", "The deal, which included roughly 40 Gravity employees and their personalization technology, was CEO Tim Armstrong’s fourth largest deal since taking over the company in 2009.", "Later that year, AOL also acquired Vidible, which developed technology to help websites run video content from other publishers, and help video publishers sell their content to these websites.", "The deal, which was announced December 1, 2014, was reportedly worth roughly $50 million.", "On July 16, 2014, AOL earned an Emmy nomination for the AOL original series, The Future Starts Here, in the News and Documentary category.", "This came days after AOL earned its first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for ''Park Bench with Steve Buscemi'' in the Outstanding Short Form Variety Series category, which later won the award.", "Created and hosted by Tiffany Shlain, the series focused on human's relationship with technology and featured episodes such as The Future of Our Species, Why We Love Robots, and A Case for Optimism.", "===2015–present: Division of Verizon===\nAOL's Silicon Valley branch office.", "On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced plans to buy AOL for $50 per share in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.", "The transaction was completed on June 23.", "Armstrong, who continued to lead the firm following regulatory approval, called the deal the logical next step for AOL.", "\"If you look forward five years, you're going to be in a space where there are going to be massive, global-scale networks, and there's no better partner for us to go forward with than Verizon.\"", "he said.", "\"It's really not about selling the company today.", "It's about setting up for the next five to 10 years.\"", "The deal will broaden Verizon's advertising sales platforms and increase its video production ability through websites such as ''The Huffington Post'', TechCrunch, and Engadget.", "However, Craig Moffett said it was unlikely the deal would make a big difference to Verizon's bottom line.", "AOL had about two million dial-up subscribers at the time of the buyout.", "The announcement caused AOL's stock price to rise 17%, while Verizon's stock price dropped slightly.", "Shortly before the Verizon purchase, on April 14, 2015, AOL launched ONE by AOL, a digital marketing programmatic platform that unifies buying channels and audience management platforms to track and optimize campaigns over multiple screens.", "Later that year, on September 15, AOL expanded the product with ONE by AOL: Creative, which is geared towards creative and media agencies to similarly connect marketing and ad distribution efforts.", "On May 8, 2015, AOL reported its first quarter revenue of $625.1 million, $483.5 million of which came from advertising and related operations, marking a 7% increase from Q1 2014.", "Over that year, the AOL Platforms division saw a 21% increase in revenue, but a drop in adjusted OIBDA due to increased investments in the company’s video and programmatic platforms.", "On June 29, 2015, AOL announced a deal with Microsoft to take over the majority of its digital advertising business.", "Under the pact, as many as 1,200 Microsoft employees involved with the business will be transferred to AOL, and the company will take over the sale of display, video, and mobile ads on various Microsoft platforms in nine countries, including Brazil, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.", "Additionally, Google Search will be replaced on AOL properties with Bing—which will display advertising sold by Microsoft.", "Both advertising deals are subject to affiliate marketing revenue sharing.", "AOL's Headquarters at 770 Broadway in New York City.", "On July 22, 2015, AOL received two News and Documentary Emmy nominations, one for MAKERS in the Outstanding Historical Programming category, and the other for True Trans With Laura Jane Grace, which documented the story of Laura Jane Grace, a transgender musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!, and her decision to come out publicly and overall transition experience.", "On September 3, 2015, AOL agreed to buy Millennial Media for US $238 million .", "On October 23, 2015, AOL completed the acquisition.", "On October 1, 2015, Go90, a free ad-supported mobile video service aimed at young adult and teen viewers that Verizon owns and AOL oversees and operates launched its content publicly after months of beta testing.", "The initial launch line-up included content from Comedy Central, Huffington Post, Nerdist News, Univision News, Vice, ESPN and MTV.", "On January 25, 2016, AOL expanded its ONE platform by introducing ONE by AOL: Publishers, which combines six previously separate technologies to offer various publisher capabilities such as customizing video players, offering premium ad experience to boost visibility, and generating large video libraries.", "The announcement was made in tandem with AOL’s acquisition of AlephD, a Paris-based startup focused on publisher analytics of ad price tracking based on historical data.", "AOL announced AlephD would be a part of the ONE by AOL: Publishers platform.", "On April 20, 2016, AOL acquired virtual reality studio RYOT to bring immersive 360 degree video and VR content to The Huffington Post’s global audience across desktop, mobile, and apps.", "In July 2016, Verizon Communications announced its intent to purchase the core internet business of Yahoo!.", "Verizon tentatively plans to merge AOL with Yahoo into a new company called \"Oath\".", "AOL's products and services are in the following areas: content, advertising and membership.", "=== Content ===\n\nAOL’s family of brands include The Huffington Post, and AOL’s independent brands (iBrands), and AOL.com.", "Other AOL media brands include:\n* The Huffington Post\n* Moviefone\n* Engadget\n* Autoblog\n* TechCrunch\n* Cambio\n* Style Me Pretty\n* MapQuest\n* AOL BUILD\n* MAKERS\n* Live chat rooms.", "Some were custom created by members and some were permanent and made by AOL and they all covered a wide variety of topics\nAOL's content contributors consists of over 20,000 bloggers, including politicians, celebrities, academics and policy experts, who contribute on a wide range of topics making news.", "The group's video is collected on its AOL On site, which offers channels in news, entertainment, style, tech, business, food, home, travel, health, autos, parenting, relationships, video games and pets.", "AOL produces the MAKERS video series, focused on high-achieving women.", "AOL also hosts and livestreams their BUILD interview series featuring guests from the worlds of entertainment, tech, fashion, and business.", "In addition to mobile-optimized web experiences, AOL produces mobile applications for existing AOL properties like AOL On, Autoblog, Engadget, The Huffington Post, AOL MAKERS, Moviefone, TechCrunch, AIM, MapQuest, and products such as AIM, Alto, Pip, and Vivv.", "=== Advertising ===\nAOL has a global portfolio of media brands and advertising solutions across mobile, desktop, and TV.", "Solutions include brand integration and sponsorships through its in-house branded content arm, Partner Studio by AOL, as well as data and programmatic offerings through ad technology stack, ONE by AOL.", "AOL acquired a number of businesses and technologies help to form ONE by AOL.", "These acquisitions included AdapTV in 2013 and Convertro, Precision Demand, and Vidible in 2014.", "ONE by AOL is further broken down into ONE by AOL for Publishers (formerly Vidible, AOL On Network and Be On for Publishers) and ONE by AOL for Advertisers, each of which have several sub-platforms.", "ONE by AOL for Publishers consists of:\n* ONE by AOL: Ad Server\n* ONE by AOL: Audience\n* ONE by AOL: Creative\n* ONE by AOL: Display MP\n* ONE by AOL: Mobile\n* ONE by AOL: Video\n* ONE by AOL: Video Marketplace\n\nONE by AOL for Advertisers consists of:\n* ONE by AOL: Attribution\n* ONE by AOL: Audience\n* ONE by AOL: Creative\n* ONE by AOL: Display\n* ONE by AOL: TV\n* ONE by AOL: Video\n* ONE by AOL: Video Marketplace\n\n=== Membership ===\nAOL offers a range of integrated products and properties including communication tools, mobile apps and services and subscription packages.", "* Dial-up Internet access – According to AOL quarterly earnings report May 8, 2015, 2.1 million people still use AOL's dial-up service.", "* AOL Mail – AOL Mail is AOL's proprietary email client.", "It is fully integrated with AIM and links to news headlines on AOL content sites.", "* AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) – is AOL's proprietary instant-messaging tool.", "It also comprises a video-chat service, AV by AIM.", "* AOL Plans — AOL Plans offers three online safety and assistance tools: ID protection, data security and a general online technical assistance service.", "=== AOL Desktop ===\n\n\n\n'''AOL Desktop''' is an internet suite produced by AOL that integrates a web browser, a media player and an instant messenger client.", "Version 10.X was based on AOL OpenRide, it is an upgrade from such.", "The macOS version is based on WebKit.", "AOL Desktop version 10.X was different from previous AOL browsers and AOL Desktop versions.", "Its features are focused on web browsing as well as email.", "For instance, one does not have to sign into AOL in order to use it as a regular browser.", "In addition, non-AOL email accounts can be accessed through it.", "There are several predominate buttons: \"MAIL\", \"IM\", and several shortcuts to various Web Pages.", "The first two require users to sign in but the shortcuts to web pages can be used without authentication.", "AOL Desktop version 10.X was late marked as unsupported in favor of supporting the AOL Desktop 9.X versions.", "Version 9.8 was released, replacing the Internet Explorer components of the internet browser with CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) to give users an improved web browsing experience closer to that of Chrome\n\nVersion 11 of AOL Desktop, currently in Beta, is a total rewrite but maintains a similar user interface to the previous 9.8.X series of releases.", "Since spinning off from Time Warner in 2010, AOL has made corporate social responsibility an important part of its mission.", "In its company values, AOL states, \"We are in the business of helping people, period.\"", "For the company's corporate social responsibility efforts, AOL's CEO Tim Armstrong was included in a July 9, 2012 Adweek article, \"The Givers,\" highlighting individuals who have committed their and their companies' time, money and resources to a diverse range of causes.", "Each year on the company's birthday, AOL employees around the world are invited to participate in Monster Help Day, a global community service day dedicated to strengthening the communities in which AOL employees live and work.", "Other corporate social responsibility initiatives include producing cause-related content for AOL properties; donating PSA campaigns throughout the AOL network; empowering consumers through cause-related contests and initiatives; implementing a permanent cause module on AOL's homepage, dedicated to promoting nonprofit organizations.", "AOL Charitable Foundation is a private 501c3 foundation funded by AOL Inc.", "A collection of AOL CDs sent to a student dormitory in Germany, 2002\nIn its earlier incarnation as a \"walled garden\" community and service provider, AOL received criticism for its community policies, terms of service, and customer service.", "Prior to 2006, AOL was known for its direct mailing of CD-ROMs and 3½\" floppy disks containing its software.", "The disks were distributed in large numbers; at one point, half of the CDs manufactured worldwide had AOL logos on them.", "The marketing tactic was criticized for its environmental cost, and AOL CDs were recognized as PCWorld's most annoying tech product.", "=== Community leaders ===\nPrior to mid-2005, AOL used online volunteers called Community Leaders, or CLs, to monitor chatrooms, message boards, and libraries.", "AOL's use of remote volunteers dated back to the establishment of its Quantum Link service in 1985.", "Most content maintenance was performed by partner and internal employees.", "Community leaders were recruited for some content design and maintenance, for which they used a proprietary language and interface called RAINMAN.", "Other community leaders hosted chat rooms and provided online help.", "During the time that AOL customers paid by the hour, chat room hosts were compensated in free online time for each hour they worked, though of course any banked hours became worthless once fixed-rate payment was introduced.", "Two former community leaders, Brian Williams of Dallas and Kelly Hallissey of New York filed a class action lawsuit against AOL, citing violations of U.S. labor laws in its use of community leaders.", "The lawsuit was filed in the United States Federal Courthouse, New York City on May 25, 1999, and was followed shortly by the dismissal of all community leaders under the age of 18 years, as well as a reorganization of the community leader program as a whole.", "The Department of Labor was also investigating AOL's alleged labor law violations, but came to no conclusion, closing their investigation in 2001.", "AOL began drastically reducing the responsibilities and privileges of its volunteers in 2000.", "The program was eventually ended on June 8, 2005.", "Current Community Leaders at the time were offered 12 months of credit on their accounts in thanks for their service.", "Within one decade of the class action lawsuit being filed, the class had grown to over 6,000 members, comprising the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against an internet based company.", "Currently it is the third largest class ever involved in any lawsuit on a federal level in the United States, affecting ultimately the employment eligibility of individuals in an online environment.", "In February 2010, a settlement was approved by the Courts in the class action suit.", "The settlement included a $15 million USD payment.", "This payment was then divided into thirds, the first of which was attorney and legal fees.", "Five million was then divided among the included members of the class which consisted of more than 7,000 individual former Community Leaders.", "The final five million dollars was donated to charities hand picked by Hallissey and Williams, and then approved by the Courts for distribution.", "One such charity, the Remote Area Medical Foundation (www.ramusa.org), received payments in excess of $1.2 million USD for the provision of medical services, supplies and medication for those in need within the more rural areas of the United States and beyond.", "Prior to the 1999 class action lawsuit, the community leaders were informed of a change in compensation for duties performed by AOL.", "Community leaders would be charged a reduced rate per month for their accounts, and would no longer be given unlimited access without invoice.", "During this live announcement via an online meeting of all community leaders in a virtual arena, Brian Williams of Dallas led many community leaders in a virtual \"strike\" or \"sit-in\" to protest the new charges the community leaders were now being asked to pay.", "This protest or strike is noted as the first of its kind for an online environment and was nicknamed for the row of the arena it was held in: Row 800.", "Following the protest, AOL terminated the online working relationship between itself and several of the Community Leaders involved.", "Quickly following the release of these community leaders, each was reinstated, with the exception of Williams, due to his role in the protest.", "During this time, Williams' role on AOL was that of Guide XNT (Guide Program), CB Naked (Crystal Ball forum), VnV Naked (iVillage's Vices and Virtues Forum) and JCommBrian (Jewish Community Online Forum).", "=== Billing disputes ===\nAOL has faced a number of lawsuits over claims that it has been slow to stop billing customers after their accounts have been canceled, either by the company or the user.", "In addition, AOL changed its method of calculating used minutes in response to a class action lawsuit.", "Previously, AOL would add 15 seconds to the time a user was connected to the service and round up to the next whole minute (thus, a person who used the service for 12 minutes and 46 seconds would be charged for 14 minutes).", "AOL claimed this was to account for sign on/sign off time, but because this practice was not made known to its customers, the plaintiffs won (some also pointed out that signing on and off did not always take 15 seconds, especially when connecting via another ISP).", "AOL disclosed its connection-time calculation methods to all of its customers and credited them with extra free hours.", "In addition, the AOL software would notify the user of exactly how long they were connected and how many minutes they were being charged.", "AOL was sued by the Ohio Attorney General in October 2003 for improper billing practices.", "The case was settled on June 8, 2005.", "AOL agreed to resolve any consumer complaints filed with the Ohio AG's office.", "In December 2006, AOL agreed to provide restitution to Florida consumers to settle the case filed against them by the Florida Attorney General.", "=== Account cancellation ===\nMany customers complained that AOL personnel ignored their demands to cancel service and stop billing.", "In response to approximately 300 consumer complaints, the New York Attorney General's office began an inquiry of AOL's customer service policies.", "The investigation revealed that the company had an elaborate scheme for rewarding employees who purported to retain or \"save\" subscribers who had called to cancel their Internet service.", "In many instances, such retention was done against subscribers' wishes, or without their consent.", "Under the scheme, customer service personnel received bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars if they could successfully dissuade or \"save\" half of the people who called to cancel service.", "For several years, AOL had instituted minimum retention or \"save\" percentages, which consumer representatives were expected to meet.", "These bonuses, and the minimum \"save\" rates accompanying them, had the effect of employees not honoring cancellations, or otherwise making cancellation unduly difficult for consumers.", "On August 24, 2005, America Online agreed to pay $1.25 million to the state of New York and reformed its customer service procedures.", "Under the agreement, AOL would no longer require its customer service representatives to meet a minimum quota for customer retention in order to receive a bonus.", "However the agreement only covered people in the state of New York.", "On June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari documented his account cancellation phone call in a blog post, stating he had switched to broadband years earlier.", "In the recorded phone call, the AOL representative refused to cancel the account unless the 30-year-old Ferrari explained why AOL hours were still being recorded on it.", "Ferrari insisted that AOL software was not even installed on the computer.", "When Ferrari demanded that the account be canceled regardless, the AOL representative asked to speak with Ferrari's father, for whom the account had been set up.", "The conversation was aired on CNBC.", "When CNBC reporters tried to have an account on AOL cancelled, they were hung up on immediately and it ultimately took more than 45 minutes to cancel the account.", "On July 19, 2006, AOL's entire retention manual was released on the Internet.", "On August 3, 2006, Time Warner announced that the company would be dissolving AOL's retention centers due to its profits hinging on $1 billion in cost cuts.", "The company estimated that it would lose more than six million subscribers over the following year.", "=== Direct marketing of disks ===\nA few promotional CD-ROMs distributed in Canada.", "Prior to 2006, AOL was infamous for the unsolicited mass direct mail of 3½\" floppy disks and CD-ROMs containing their software.", "They were the most frequent user of this marketing tactic, and received criticism for the environmental cost of the campaign.", "According to ''PC World'', in the 1990s \"you couldn't open a magazine (''PC World'' included) or your mailbox without an AOL disk falling out of it\".", "The mass distribution of these disks was seen as wasteful by the public and led to protest groups.", "One such was No More AOL CDs, a web-based effort by two IT workers to collect one million disks with the intent to return the disks to AOL.", "The website was started in August 2001, and an estimated 410,176 CDs were collected by August 2007 when the project was shut down.", "AOL CDs were recognized as No.1 on PCWorld's top ten list of most annoying tech products.", "=== Software ===\n* In 2000, AOL was served with an $8 billion lawsuit alleging that its AOL 5.0 software caused significant difficulties for users attempting to use third-party Internet service providers.", "The lawsuit sought damages of up to $1000 for each user that had downloaded the software cited at the time of the lawsuit.", "AOL later agreed to a settlement of $15 million, without admission of wrongdoing.", "The AOL software then was given a feature called AOL Dialer, or AOL Connect on .", "This feature allowed users to connect to the ISP without running the full interface.", "This allowed users to use only the applications they wish to use, especially if they do not favor the AOL Browser.", "* AOL 9.0 was once identified by Stopbadware as being ''under investigation'' for installing additional software without disclosure, and modifying browser preferences, toolbars, and icons.", "However, as of the release of AOL 9.0 VR (Vista Ready) on January 26, 2007, it was no longer considered badware due to changes AOL made in the software.", "=== Usenet newsgroups ===\nWhen AOL gave clients access to Usenet in 1993, they hid at least one newsgroup in standard list view: ''alt.aol-sucks''.", "AOL did list the newsgroup in the alternative description view, but changed the description to \"Flames and complaints about America Online\".", "With AOL clients swarming Usenet newsgroups, the old, existing user base started to develop a strong distaste for both AOL and its clients, referring to the new state of affairs as Eternal September.", "AOL discontinued access to Usenet on June 25, 2005.", "No official details were provided as to the cause of decommissioning Usenet access, except providing users the suggestion to access Usenet services from a third-party, Google Groups.", "AOL then provided community-based message boards in lieu of Usenet.", "=== Terms of Service (TOS) ===\nAOL has a detailed set of guidelines and expectations for users on their service, known as the Terms of Service (TOS, also known as Conditions of Service, or COS in the UK).", "It is separated into three different sections: ''Member Agreement'', ''Community Guidelines'' and ''Privacy Policy''.", "All three agreements are presented to users at time of registration and digital acceptance is achieved when they access the AOL service.", "During the period when volunteer chat room hosts and board monitors were used, chat room hosts were given a brief online training session and test on Terms of Service violations.", "There have been many complaints over rules that govern an AOL user's conduct.", "Some users disagree with the TOS, citing the guidelines are too strict to follow coupled with the fact the TOS may change without users being made aware.", "A considerable cause for this was likely due to alleged censorship of user-generated content during the earlier years of growth for AOL.", "=== Certified email ===\nIn early 2005, AOL stated its intention to implement a certified email system called Goodmail, which will allow companies to send email to users with whom they have pre-existing business relationships, with a visual indication that the email is from a trusted source and without the risk that the email messages might be blocked or stripped by spam filters.", "This decision drew fire from MoveOn, which characterized the program as an \"email tax\", and the EFF, which characterized it as a shakedown of non-profits.", "A website called Dearaol.com was launched, with an online petition and a blog that garnered hundreds of signatures from people and organizations expressing their opposition to AOL's use of Goodmail.", "Esther Dyson defended the move in a ''New York Times'' editorial saying \"I hope Goodmail succeeds, and that it has lots of competition.", "I also think it and its competitors will eventually transform into services that more directly serve the interests of mail recipients.", "Instead of the fees going to Goodmail and EON, they will also be shared with the individual recipients.\"", "Tim Lee of the Technology Liberation Front posted an article that questioned the EFF's adopting a confrontational posture when dealing with private companies.", "Lee's article cited a series of discussions on Declan McCullagh's Politechbot mailing list on this subject between the EFF's Danny O'Brien and antispammer Suresh Ramasubramanian, who has also compared the EFF's tactics in opposing Goodmail to tactics used by Republican political strategist Karl Rove.", "Spamassassin developer Justin Mason posted some criticism of the EFF's and Moveon's \"going overboard\" in their opposition to the scheme.", "The dearaol.com campaign lost momentum and disappeared, with the last post to the now defunct dearaol.com blog—\"AOL starts the shakedown\" being made on May 9, 2006.", "Comcast, who also used the service, announced on its website that Goodmail had ceased operations and as of February 4, 2011 they no longer used the service.", "=== Search data ===\n\n\nOn August 4, 2006, AOL released a compressed text file on one of its websites containing 20 million search keywords for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period between March 1, 2006 and May 31, intended for research purposes.", "AOL pulled the file from public access by August 7, but not before its wide distribution on the Internet by others.", "Derivative research, titled ''A Picture of Search'' was published by authors Pass, Chowdhury and Torgeson for The First International Conference on Scalable Information Systems.", "The data were used by websites such as AOLstalker for entertainment purposes, where users of AOLstalker are encouraged to judge AOL clients based on the humorousness of personal details revealed by search behavior.", "=== User list exposure ===\nIn 2003, Jason Smathers, an AOL employee, was convicted of stealing America Online's 92 million screen names and selling them to a known spammer.", "Smathers pled guilty to conspiracy charges in 2005.", "Smathers pled guilty to violations of the US CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.", "He was sentenced in August 2005 to 15 months in prison; the sentencing judge also recommended Smathers be forced to pay $84,000 in restitution, triple the $28,000 that he sold the addresses for.", "=== AOL's Computer Checkup \"scareware\" ===\nOn February 27, 2012 a class action lawsuit was filed against Support.com, Inc. and partner AOL, Inc.", "The lawsuit alleged Support.com and AOL's Computer Checkup \"scareware\" (which uses software developed by Support.com) misrepresented that their software programs would identify and resolve a host of technical problems with computers, offered to perform a free “scan,” which often found problems with users' computers.", "The companies then offered to sell software—for which AOL allegedly charged $4.99 a month and Support.com $29—to remedy those problems.", "Both AOL, Inc. and Support.com, Inc. settled on May 30, 2013 for $8.5 million.", "This included $25.00 to each valid class member and $100,000 each to Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.", "Judge Corley wrote: “Distributing a portion of the funds to Consumer Watchdog will meet the interests of the silent class members because the organization will use the funds to help protect consumers across the nation from being subject to the types of fraudulent and misleading conduct that is alleged here,” and “EFF’s mission includes a strong consumer protection component, especially in regards to online protection.”\n\nAOL continues to market ''Computer Checkup''.", "It is not clear if this latest ''Computer Checkup'' continues to use scareware techniques.", "===NSA Prism program===\nFollowing media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, in June 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including AOL.", "According to leaks of said program, AOL joined the PRISM program in 2011.", "===Hosting of user profiles changed, then discontinued===\nAt one time, most AOL users had an online \"profile\" hosted by the AOL Hometown service.", "When AOL Hometown was discontinued, users had to create a new profile on Bebo.", "This was an unsuccessful attempt to create a social network that would compete with Facebook.", "When the value of Bebo decreased to a tiny fraction of the $850 million AOL paid for it, users were forced to recreate their profiles yet again, on a new service called AOL Lifestream.", "AOL took the decision to shut down Lifestream on 24 February 2017, and gave users one month's notice to save off photos and videos that had been uploaded to Lifestream.", "Following the shutdown, AOL no longer provides any option for hosting user profiles.", "During the Hometown/Bebo/Lifestream era, another user's profile could be displayed by clicking the \"Buddy Info\" button in the AOL Desktop software.", "After the shutdown of Lifestream, clicking \"Buddy Info\" does something that provides no information whatsoever about the selected buddy: it causes the AIM home page (www.aim.com) to be displayed.", "\n* List of companies in the United States\n* List of S&P 400 companies\n* Adrian Lamo – Inside-AOL.com\n* AOL Explorer\n* AOL Radio\n* AOL RED\n* AOHell\n* ART image file format .art\n* Comparison of webmail providers\n* Dot-com bubble\n* List of acquisitions by AOL\n* Live365\n* Sessions@AOL\n* Truveo\n* David Shing", "\n* \n* A Visual Archive of America Online, Versions 1.1 – 3.0" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Abbotsford''' is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Melrose, on the south bank of the River Tweed. It was formerly the residence of historical novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott. It is a Category A Listed Building.\n", "Abbotsford by Henry Fox Talbot, 1844\nThe nucleus of the estate was a small farm of , called Cartleyhole, nicknamed Clarty (i.e., muddy) Hole, and was bought by Scott on the lapse of his lease (1811) of the neighbouring house of Ashestiel. He first built a small villa and named it Abbotsford, creating the name from a ford nearby where previously abbots of Melrose Abbey used to cross the river. Scott then built additions to the house and made it into a mansion, building into the walls many sculptured stones from ruined castles and abbeys of Scotland. In it he gathered a large library, a collection of ancient furniture, arms and armour, and other relics and curiosities, especially connected with Scottish history, notably the Celtic Torrs Pony-cap and Horns and the Woodwrae Stone, all now in the Museum of Scotland.\n\nThe last and principal acquisition was that of Toftfield (afterwards named Huntlyburn), purchased in 1817. The new house was then begun and completed in 1824.\nGround plan of Abbotsford House.\nThe general ground-plan is a parallelogram, with irregular outlines, one side overlooking the Tweed; and the style is mainly the Scottish Baronial. Into various parts of the fabric were built relics and curiosities from historical structures, such as the doorway of the old Tolbooth in Edinburgh.\n\nScott had only enjoyed his residence one year when (1825) he met with that reverse of fortune which involved the estate in debt. In 1830, the library and museum were presented to him as a free gift by the creditors. The property was wholly disencumbered in 1847 by Robert Cadell, the publisher, who cancelled the bond upon it in exchange for the family's share in the copyright of Sir Walter's works. \n\nScott's only son Walter did not live to enjoy the property, having died on his way from India in 1847. Among subsequent possessors were Scott's son-in-law, John Gibson Lockhart, J. R. Hope Scott, QC, and his daughter (Scott's great-granddaughter), the Hon. Mrs Maxwell Scott.\n\nAbbotsford House as seen from the gardens.\nThe house was opened to the public in 1833, but continued to be occupied by Scott's descendants until 2004. The last of his direct descendants to hold the Lairdship of Abbotsford was his great-great-great-granddaughter Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott (8 June 1923 - 5 May 2004). She inherited it from her elder sister Patricia Maxwell-Scott in 1998. The sisters turned the house into one of Scotland's premier tourist attractions, after they had to rely on paying visitors to afford the upkeep of the house. It had electricity installed only in 1962. Dame Jean was at one time a lady-in-waiting to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, patron of the Dandie Dinmont Club, a breed of dog named after one of Sir Walter Scott's characters; and a horse trainer, one of whose horses, Sir Wattie, ridden by Ian Stark, won two silver medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics.\n\nIn 2005, Scottish Borders Council was considering an application by a property developer to build a housing estate on the opposite bank of the River Tweed from Abbotsford, to which Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland objected.\n\nSir Walter Scott rescued the \"jougs\" from Threave Castle in Dumfries and Galloway and attached them to the castellated gateway he built at Abbotsford.\n\nTweedbank railway station is located near to Abbotsford House.\n", "Abbotsford gave its name to the Abbotsford Club, founded by William Barclay Turnbull in 1833 or 1834 in Scott's honour, and a successor to the Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs. It was a text publication society, which existed to print and publish historical works connected with Scott's writings. Its publications extended from 1835 to 1864.\n\nIn 2012, a new Visitor Centre opened at Abbotsford which houses a small exhibition, gift shop and Ochiltree's Dining, a cafe/restaurant with views over the house and grounds.\n\nIn 2014 it won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award for its recent conservation project.\n\nVisitors Centre, Abbotsford\n", "*List of places in the Scottish Borders\n", "\n", "*\n*\n*\n\n'''Attribution'''\n* \n", "\n* Abbotsford - The Home of Sir Walter Scott - official site\n* RCAHMS / CANMORE site record for Abbotsford House\n* Edinburgh University Library\n* Abbotsford (by W S Crockett - 1904 illustrated book pub. A & C Black)\n* Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey by Washington Irving, from Project Gutenberg\n*\n*\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Description", "Miscellaneous", "See also", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Abbotsford''' is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Melrose, on the south bank of the River Tweed.", "In 2005, Scottish Borders Council was considering an application by a property developer to build a housing estate on the opposite bank of the River Tweed from Abbotsford, to which Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland objected." ]

[ "It was formerly the residence of historical novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott.", "It is a Category A Listed Building.", "Abbotsford by Henry Fox Talbot, 1844\nThe nucleus of the estate was a small farm of , called Cartleyhole, nicknamed Clarty (i.e., muddy) Hole, and was bought by Scott on the lapse of his lease (1811) of the neighbouring house of Ashestiel.", "He first built a small villa and named it Abbotsford, creating the name from a ford nearby where previously abbots of Melrose Abbey used to cross the river.", "Scott then built additions to the house and made it into a mansion, building into the walls many sculptured stones from ruined castles and abbeys of Scotland.", "In it he gathered a large library, a collection of ancient furniture, arms and armour, and other relics and curiosities, especially connected with Scottish history, notably the Celtic Torrs Pony-cap and Horns and the Woodwrae Stone, all now in the Museum of Scotland.", "The last and principal acquisition was that of Toftfield (afterwards named Huntlyburn), purchased in 1817.", "The new house was then begun and completed in 1824.", "Ground plan of Abbotsford House.", "The general ground-plan is a parallelogram, with irregular outlines, one side overlooking the Tweed; and the style is mainly the Scottish Baronial.", "Into various parts of the fabric were built relics and curiosities from historical structures, such as the doorway of the old Tolbooth in Edinburgh.", "Scott had only enjoyed his residence one year when (1825) he met with that reverse of fortune which involved the estate in debt.", "In 1830, the library and museum were presented to him as a free gift by the creditors.", "The property was wholly disencumbered in 1847 by Robert Cadell, the publisher, who cancelled the bond upon it in exchange for the family's share in the copyright of Sir Walter's works.", "Scott's only son Walter did not live to enjoy the property, having died on his way from India in 1847.", "Among subsequent possessors were Scott's son-in-law, John Gibson Lockhart, J. R. Hope Scott, QC, and his daughter (Scott's great-granddaughter), the Hon.", "Mrs Maxwell Scott.", "Abbotsford House as seen from the gardens.", "The house was opened to the public in 1833, but continued to be occupied by Scott's descendants until 2004.", "The last of his direct descendants to hold the Lairdship of Abbotsford was his great-great-great-granddaughter Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott (8 June 1923 - 5 May 2004).", "She inherited it from her elder sister Patricia Maxwell-Scott in 1998.", "The sisters turned the house into one of Scotland's premier tourist attractions, after they had to rely on paying visitors to afford the upkeep of the house.", "It had electricity installed only in 1962.", "Dame Jean was at one time a lady-in-waiting to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, patron of the Dandie Dinmont Club, a breed of dog named after one of Sir Walter Scott's characters; and a horse trainer, one of whose horses, Sir Wattie, ridden by Ian Stark, won two silver medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics.", "Sir Walter Scott rescued the \"jougs\" from Threave Castle in Dumfries and Galloway and attached them to the castellated gateway he built at Abbotsford.", "Tweedbank railway station is located near to Abbotsford House.", "Abbotsford gave its name to the Abbotsford Club, founded by William Barclay Turnbull in 1833 or 1834 in Scott's honour, and a successor to the Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs.", "It was a text publication society, which existed to print and publish historical works connected with Scott's writings.", "Its publications extended from 1835 to 1864.", "In 2012, a new Visitor Centre opened at Abbotsford which houses a small exhibition, gift shop and Ochiltree's Dining, a cafe/restaurant with views over the house and grounds.", "In 2014 it won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award for its recent conservation project.", "Visitors Centre, Abbotsford", "*List of places in the Scottish Borders", "*\n*\n*\n\n'''Attribution'''\n*", "\n* Abbotsford - The Home of Sir Walter Scott - official site\n* RCAHMS / CANMORE site record for Abbotsford House\n* Edinburgh University Library\n* Abbotsford (by W S Crockett - 1904 illustrated book pub.", "A & C Black)\n* Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey by Washington Irving, from Project Gutenberg\n*\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n", "* 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between Byzantine Empire and Rashidun Caliphate begins.\n* 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, which will last for nearly a year.\n* 718 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Raising of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople.\n* 747 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as ''majordomo'' and retires to a monastery near Rome. His brother Pepin the Short becomes the sole ruler (''de facto'') of the Frankish Kingdom.\n* 778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed.\n* 805 – Noble Erchana of Dahauua grants the Bavarian town of Dachau to the Diocese of Freising\n* 927 – The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto.\n* 982 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto II is defeated by the Saracens in the Battle of Capo Colonna, in Calabria\n*1018 – Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.\n*1038 – King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, dies; his nephew, Peter Orseolo, succeeds him.\n*1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.\n*1070 – The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.\n*1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia.\n*1237 – The Battle of the Puig takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Taifa of Valencia against the Kingdom of Aragon. The battle resulted in an Aragonese victory.\n*1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid. (Construction is eventually completed in 1880.)\n*1261 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.\n*1281 – Mongol invasion of Japan: The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a \"divine wind\" for the second time in the Battle of Kōan.\n*1309 – The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.\n*1430 – Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.\n*1461 – The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmed II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.\n*1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.\n*1511 – Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Malacca Sultanate.\n*1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.\n*1519 – Panama City, Panama is founded.\n*1534 – Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.\n*1537 – Asunción, Paraguay is founded.\n*1540 – Arequipa, Peru is founded.\n*1549 – Jesuit priest Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: 22 July 1549).\n*1599 – Nine Years' War: Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.\n*1695 – French forces end the bombardment of Brussels. \n*1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Liegnitz: Frederick the Great's victory over the Austrians under Ernst Gideon von Laudon.\n*1824 – The Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving French general of the American Revolutionary War, arrives in New York and begins a tour of 24 states.\n*1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.\n* 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.\n*1863 – The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).\n*1893 – Ibadan area becomes a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton.\n*1907 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first African-American Orthodox priest, \"Priest-Apostolic\" to America and the West Indies.\n*1914 – A servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright murders seven people and sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's Wisconsin home, Taliesin.\n* 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship .\n* 1914 – World War I: The First Russian Army, led by Paul von Rennenkampf, enters East Prussia.\n* 1914 – World War I: Beginning of the Battle of Cer, the first Allied victory of World War I.\n*1915 – A story in ''New York World'' newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and diverted it to Bayer for aspirin production.\n*1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, so-called Miracle at the Vistula.\n*1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.\n*1939 – Thirteen Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors.\n* 1939 – ''The Wizard of Oz'' premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California.\n*1940 – An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser ''Elli'' at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.\n*1941 – Corporal Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 07:12, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for espionage.\n*1942 – World War II: Operation Pedestal: The reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.\n*1943 – World War II: Battle of Trahili: Superior German forces surround Cretan partisans, who manage to escape against all odds. \n*1944 – World War II: Operation Dragoon: Allied forces land in southern France.\n*1945 – Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Emperor Showa following effective surrender of Japan in the World War II, Korea gains Independence from the Empire of Japan.\n*1947 – India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of Crown rule and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.\n* 1947 – Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor-General of Pakistan in Karachi.\n*1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.\n*1952 – A flash flood drenches the town of Lynmouth, England, killing 34 people.\n*1954 – Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.\n*1960 – Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.\n*1961 – Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.\n*1962 – James Joseph Dresnok defects to North Korea after running across the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang.\n*1963 – Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.\n* 1963 – President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of the Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.\n*1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.\n*1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.\n*1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.\n*1971 – President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.\n* 1971 – Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.\n*1973 – Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.\n*1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President Park Chung-hee.\n*1975 – Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.\n* 1975 – Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.\n*1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the \"Wow! signal\" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.\n*1984 – The Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh\n*1995 – In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).\n*1998 – Northern Ireland: Omagh bombing takes place; 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) killed and some 220 others injured. \n*1999 – Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria: Some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.\n*2005 – Israel's unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank begins.\n* 2005 – The Helsinki Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia was signed, ending almost three decades of fighting.\n*2007 – An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.\n*2013 – At least 27 people are killed and 226 injured in an explosion in southern Beirut near a complex used by Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. A previously unknown Syrian Sunni group claims responsibility in an online video.\n* 2013 – The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivorous species found in the Americas in 35 years.\n*2015 – North Korea moves its clock back half an hour to introduce Pyongyang Time, 8½ hours ahead of UTC.\n", "*1171 – Alfonso IX of León (d. 1230)\n*1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest and saint (d. 1231)\n*1385 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (d. 1417)\n*1402 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (d. 1460)\n*1432 – Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)\n*1455 – George, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1503)\n*1507 – George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince (d. 1553)\n*1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1650)\n*1589 – Gabriel Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1613)\n*1608 – Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1652)\n*1613 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (d. 1692)\n*1615 – Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise (d. 1688)\n*1652 – John Grubb, American politician (d. 1708)\n*1702 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian painter and Royal Academician (d. 1788)\n*1717 – Blind Jack, English engineer (d. 1810)\n*1736 – Johann Christoph Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1803)\n*1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet and author (d. 1815)\n*1769 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (d. 1821)\n*1771 – Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet (d. 1832)\n*1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English journalist and author (d. 1859)\n*1798 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian warrior (d. 1831)\n*1807 – Jules Grévy, French lawyer and politician, 4th President of the French Republic (d. 1891)\n*1824 – John Chisum, American businessman (d. 1884)\n*1839 – Antonín Petrof, Czech piano maker (d. 1915)\n*1844 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1908)\n*1845 – Walter Crane, English artist and book illustrator (d. 1915)\n*1857 – Albert Ballin, German businessman (d. 1918)\n*1858 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (d. 1924)\n*1859 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1931)\n* 1860 – Florence Harding, American publisher, 31st First Lady of the United States (d. 1924)\n*1863 – Aleksey Krylov, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)\n*1865 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (d. 1926)\n*1866 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer (d. 1945)\n*1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru, poet, and philosopher (d. 1950)\n*1873 – Ramaprasad Chanda, Indian archaeologist and historian (d. 1942)\n*1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 1912)\n*1876 – Stylianos Gonatas, Greek colonel and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1966)\n*1877 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (d. 1941)\n*1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)\n*1881 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-American activist and politician (d. 1956)\n*1882 – Marion Bauer, American composer and critic (d. 1955)\n* 1882 – Gisela Richter, English archaeologist and art historian (d. 1972) \n*1883 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect (d. 1962)\n*1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1968)\n*1886 – Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (d. 1974)\n*1890 – Jacques Ibert, French composer and educator (d. 1962)\n*1892 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)\n*1893 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and academic (d. 1950)\n*1896 – Gerty Cori, Czech-American biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)\n* 1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-Canadian activist, founded the Madonna House Apostolate (d. 1985)\n* 1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer and educator (d. 1958)\n*1898 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish author and poet (d. 1966)\n*1900 – Jack Tworkov, Polish-American painter and educator (d. 1982)\n*1901 – Arnulfo Arias Madrid, 21st president of the republic of Panamá (d. 1988)\n*1901 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1975)\n*1902 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (d. 1943)\n*1904 – George Klein, Canadian inventor, invented the Motorized wheelchair (d. 1992)\n*1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973)\n*1912 – Julia Child, American chef and author (d. 2004)\n* 1912 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)\n*1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer and art director (d. 1996)\n*1915 – Signe Hasso, Swedish-American actress (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Aleks Çaçi, Albanian journalist and author (d. 1989)\n*1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish footballer and politician, 5th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1999)\n* 1917 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (d. 1980)\n*1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)\n* 1919 – Benedict Kiely, Irish journalist and author (d. 2007)\n*1920 – Judy Cassab, Austrian-Australian painter (d. 2008)\n*1921 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (d. 2012)\n*1922 – Leonard Baskin, American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2000)\n* 1922 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (d. 2005)\n* 1922 – Sabino Barinaga, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1988)\n*1923 – Rose Marie, American actress and singer\n*1924 – Robert Bolt, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995)\n* 1924 – Hedy Epstein, German-American Holocaust survivor and activist (d. 2016)\n* 1924 – Yoshirō Muraki, Japanese production designer, art director, and fashion designer (d. 2009)\n* 1924 – Phyllis Schlafly, American lawyer, writer, and political activist (d. 2016)\n*1925 – Mike Connors, American actor and producer (d. 2017)\n* 1925 – Rose Maddox, American singer-songwriter and fiddle player (d. 1998)\n* 1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2007)\n* 1925 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (The Drifters) (d. 2007)\n* 1925 – Erik Schmidt, Swedish-Estonian painter and author (d. 2014)\n*1926 – Julius Katchen, American pianist and composer (d. 1969)\n* 1926 – Sami Michael, Iraqi-Israeli author and playwright\n* 1926 – John Silber, American philosopher and academic (d. 2012)\n* 1926 – Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician, 6th President of Greece (d. 2016)\n*1927 – Eddie Leadbeater, English cricketer (d. 2011)\n* 1927 – Oliver Popplewell, English cricketer and judge\n*1928 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (d. 2013)\n* 1928 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (d. 2014)\n* 1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English director and cinematographer\n*1930 – Jackie Brenston, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)\n*1931 – Ernest C. Brace, American captain and pilot (d. 2014)\n* 1931 – Richard F. Heck, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)\n*1932 – Abby Dalton, American actress\n* 1932 – Johan Steyn, Baron Steyn, South African-English lawyer and judge\n*1933 – Bobby Helms, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)\n* 1933 – Stanley Milgram, American social psychologist (d. 1984)\n* 1933 – Mike Seeger, American folk musician and folklorist (d. 2009)\n*1934 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)\n* 1934 – Reginald Scarlett, Jamaican cricketer and coach\n*1935 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (d. 2014)\n*1936 – Rita Shane, American soprano and educator (d. 2014)\n*1938 – Stephen Breyer, American lawyer and judge\n* 1938 – Stix Hooper, American jazz drummer (The Crusaders)\n* 1938 – Pran Kumar Sharma, Indian cartoonist (d. 2014)\n* 1938 – Maxine Waters, American educator and politician\n* 1938 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish engineer and author\n*1940 – Gudrun Ensslin, German militant leader, founded Red Army Faction (d. 1977)\n*1941 – Jim Brothers, American sculptor (d. 2013)\n* 1941 – Don Rich, American country musician (The Buckaroos) (d. 1974)\n*1942 – Pete York, English rock drummer \n*1943 – Eileen Bell, Northern Irish civil servant and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly\n*1944 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health\n*1945 – Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi politician, 9th Prime Minister of Bangladesh\n*1946 – Jimmy Webb, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1948 – Patsy Gallant, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress\n* 1948 – Tom Johnston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1950 – Tommy Aldridge, American drummer \n* 1950 – Tom Kelly, American baseball player\n* 1950 – Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom\n*1951 – Ann Biderman, American screenwriter and producer\n* 1951 – Bobby Caldwell, American singer-songwriter\n* 1951 – John Childs, English cricketer\n*1952 – Chuck Burgi, American drummer \n*1953 – Carol Thatcher, English journalist and author\n* 1953 – Mark Thatcher, English businessman\n*1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2004)\n*1956 – Lorraine Desmarais, Canadian pianist and composer\n* 1956 – Freedom Neruda, Ivorian journalist\n* 1956 – Robert Syms, English businessman and politician\n*1957 – Željko Ivanek, Slovenian-American actor\n*1958 – Simon Baron-Cohen, English-Canadian psychiatrist and author\n* 1958 – Craig MacTavish, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1958 – Simple Kapadia, Indian actress and costume designer (d. 2009)\n* 1958 – Victor Shenderovich, Russian journalist and radio host\n*1959 – Scott Altman, American captain, pilot, and astronaut\n*1961 – Ed Gillespie, American political strategist \n* 1961 – Matt Johnson, English singer-songwriter and musician \n* 1961 – Gary Kubiak, American football player and coach\n* 1961 – Suhasini Maniratnam, Indian actress and screenwriter\n*1962 – Tom Colicchio, American chef and author\n* 1962 – Rıdvan Dilmen, Turkish footballer and manager\n* 1962 – Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, Estonian lawyer and politician\n*1963 – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Simon Hart, Welsh soldier and politician\n* 1963 – Jack Russell, England cricketer and coach\n*1964 – Jane Ellison, English lawyer and politician\n* 1964 – Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation\n*1965 – Rob Thomas, American author, screenwriter, and producer\n*1966 – Scott Brosius, American baseball player and coach\n* 1966 – Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach\n*1967 – Tony Hand, Scottish ice hockey player and coach\n*1968 – Debra Messing, American actress\n*1969 – Bernard Fanning, Australian singer-songwriter \n*1970 – Anthony Anderson, American comedian, actor, and producer\n* 1970 – Ben Silverman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Electus Studios\n*1971 – Adnan Sami, Indian singer, musician, music composer, pianist and actor\n*1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1972 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballerina (d. 2007)\n*1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian model and actress\n* 1974 – Tomasz Suwary, Polish footballer\n*1975 – Bertrand Berry, American football player and radio host\n* 1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1975 – Brendan Morrison, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1975 – Kara Wolters, American basketball player\n*1976 – Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch footballer and manager\n*1977 – Martin Biron, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1977 – Anthony Rocca, Australian footballer and coach\n*1978 – Tim Foreman, American bass player \n* 1978 – Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast\n* 1978 – Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer\n* 1978 – Kerri Walsh Jennings, American volleyball player\n*1979 – Carl Edwards, American race car driver\n* 1979 – Jon Hopkins, English producer and musician\n*1981 – Brendan Hansen, American swimmer\n* 1981 – Óliver Pérez, American baseball player\n*1982 – Casey Burgener, American weightlifter\n* 1982 – Germán Caffa, Argentine footballer\n* 1982 – David Harrison, American basketball player\n*1983 – Siobhan Chamberlain, English association football goalkeeper\n*1984 – Ted Dwane, British musician (Mumford & Sons) and photographer\n*1987 – Ryan D'Imperio, American football player\n* 1987 – Michel Kreder, Dutch cyclist\n* 1987 – Sean McAllister, English footballer\n*1988 – Oussama Assaidi, Moroccan footballer\n*1989 – Joe Jonas, American singer-songwriter \n* 1989 – Ryan McGowan, Australian footballer\n* 1989 – Jordan Rapana, New Zealand rugby league player\n*1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress\n* 1990 – Nyusha, Russian singer-songwriter and producer\n*1991 – Petja Piiroinen, Finnish snowboarder\n*1992 – Baskaran Adhiban, Indian chess player\n*1993 – Clinton N'Jie, Cameroonian footballer\n* 1993 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, English footballer\n*1994 – Lasse Vigen Christensen, Danish footballer\n* 1994 – Kosuke Hagino, Japanese swimmer\n\n", "* 398 – Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yan\n* 423 – Honorius, Roman emperor (b. 384)\n* 465 – Libius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 420)\n* 778 – Roland, Frankish military leader\n* 873 – Yi Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 833)\n* 874 – Altfrid, bishop of Hildesheim \n* 912 – Han Jian, Chinese warlord (b. 855)\n* 932 – Ma Xisheng, Chinese governor and king (b. 899)\n*1022 – Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos, Byzantine rebel\n*1038 – Stephen I, Hungarian king (b. 975)\n*1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland\n*1118 – Alexios I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1048)\n*1196 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173)\n*1224 – Marie of France, Duchess of Brabant (b. 1198)\n*1257 – Saint Hyacinth of Poland\n*1274 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and educator, founded the College of Sorbonne (b. 1201)\n*1275 – Lorenzo Tiepolo, Doge of Venice\n*1328 – Yesün Temür, emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (b. 1293)\n*1369 – Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of Edward III of England (b. 1314)\n*1388 – Adalbertus Ranconis de Ericinio, Bohemian theologian and rector of the University of Paris (b. circa 1320)\n*1496 – Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile and León (b. 1428)\n*1506 – Alexander Agricola, Flemish composer (b. c. 1445)\n*1507 – John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1439)\n*1528 – Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, French general (b. 1485)\n*1552 – Hermann of Wied, German archbishop (b. 1477)\n*1594 – Thomas Kyd, English playwright (b. 1558)\n*1621 – John Barclay, Scottish poet and author (b. 1582)\n*1666 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (b. 1591)\n*1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Romanian prince (b. 1654)\n*1728 – Marin Marais, French viol player and composer (b. 1656)\n*1758 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (b. 1698)\n*1799 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and author (b. 1729)\n*1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist (b. 1760)\n*1859 – Nathaniel Claiborne, American farmer and politician (b. 1777)\n*1907 – Joseph Joachim, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1831)\n*1909 – Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian sociologist and journalist (b. 1866)\n*1917 – Thomas J. Higgins, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1831)\n*1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian painter and educator (b. 1878)\n*1928 – Anatole von Hügel, Italian ethnologist and academic, co-founded St Edmund's College, Cambridge (b. 1854)\n*1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)\n* 1935 – Will Rogers, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1879)\n* 1935 – Paul Signac, French painter and author (b. 1863)\n*1936 – Grazia Deledda, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)\n*1942 – Mahadev Desai, Indian activist and author (b. 1892)\n*1945 – Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of the Army (b. 1887)\n* 1945 – Fred Hockley, English lieutenant and pilot (b. 1923)\n*1951 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)\n*1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (b. 1875)\n*1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese soldier (b. 1940)\n*1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)\n*1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1887)\n*1975 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bengali politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (b. 1920)\n* 1975 – Clay Shaw, American businessman (b. 1913)\n* 1975 – Harun Karadeniz, Turkish political activist and author (b. 1942)\n*1981 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (b. 1895)\n* 1981 – Jørgen Løvset, Norwegian gynaecologist and academic (b. 1896)\n*1982 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (b. 1905)\n* 1982 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle sidecar racer (b. 1954)\n* 1982 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)\n*1989 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general, pilot, and politician (b. 1904)\n* 1989 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general and diplomat (b. 1897)\n*1992 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (b. 1947)\n*1994 – Wout Wagtmans, Dutch cyclist (b. 1929)\n*1995 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist and actor (b. 1906)\n*1997 – Ida Gerhardt, Dutch poet and educator (b. 1905)\n*1999 – Hugh Casson, English architect and interior designer (b. 1910)\n*2001 – Yavuz Çetin, Turkish singer-songwriter (b. 1970)\n* 2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (b. 1972)\n* 2001 – Kateryna Yushchenko, Ukrainian computer scientist ad academic (b. 1919)\n*2004 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)\n* 2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (b. 1941)\n*2005 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist and academic (b. 1927)\n*2006 – Te Atairangikaahu, New Zealand queen (b. 1931)\n* 2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (b. 1955)\n* 2006 – Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist and academic (b. 1937)\n* 2006 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1923)\n*2007 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor and director (b. 1944)\n* 2007 – John Gofman, American biologist, chemist, and physicist (b. 1918)\n* 2007 – Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand physician (b. 1908)\n* 2007 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (b. 1925)\n*2008 – Vic Toweel, South African-Australian boxer (b. 1929)\n* 2008 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (b. 1917)\n*2011 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1984)\n*2012 – Bob Birch, American bass player and saxophonist (b. 1956)\n* 2012 – Altamiro Carrilho, Brazilian flute player and composer (b. 1924)\n* 2012 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)\n*2013 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (b. 1944)\n* 2013 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (b. 1930)\n* 2013 – Marich Man Singh Shrestha, Nepali politician, 28th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1942)\n*2014 – Licia Albanese, Italian-American soprano and actress (b. 1909)\n*2015 – Julian Bond, American academic and politician (b. 1940)\n* 2015 – Hamid Gul, Pakistani general (b. 1936)\n* 2017 – Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (b. 1925)\n\n", "* Armed Forces Day (Poland)\n* Christian feast day:\n** Altfrid\n** Alypius of Thagaste\n** Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, one of the Catholic holy days of obligation. (a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu); and its related observances:\n***Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches), and its related observance:\n*** Ferragosto (Italy)\n*** Lady's Day (Ireland)\n*** Māras (Latvia)\n*** Mother's Day (Antwerp and Costa Rica)\n*** National Acadian Day (Acadians)\n***Navy Day (Romania)\n*** Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands. (Tenerife, Spain)\n**San La Muerte (Paraguayan Folk Catholicism)\n**Santa Muerte (Mexican Folk Catholicism)\n** Tarcisius\n** August 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Constitution Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n* Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, while August 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in August. (Argentina and Peru)\n* Earliest day on which Day of Hearts can fall, while August 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in August. (area around Haarlem and Amsterdam)\n* Founding of Asunción (Paraguay)\n* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Korea from Japan in 1945:\n** Gwangbokjeol, \"Independence Day\" (South Korea)\n** Jogukhaebangui nal, \"Fatherland Liberation Day\" (North Korea)\n* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of India from the United Kingdom in 1947.\n* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Republic of the Congo from France in 1960.\n* National Day (Liechtenstein)\n* National Mourning Day, observed on Srabon 31 (Bangladesh)\n* The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or ''Wafaa El-Nil'' (Egypt and Coptic Church)\n* The main day of Bon Festival (Japan), and its related observances:\n** Awa Dance Festival (Tokushima Prefecture)\n* Victory over Japan Day (United Kingdom), and its related observances:\n** End-of-war Memorial Day, when the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held (Japan)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*2005 – Israel's unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank begins." ]

[ "* 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between Byzantine Empire and Rashidun Caliphate begins.", "* 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, which will last for nearly a year.", "* 718 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Raising of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople.", "* 747 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as ''majordomo'' and retires to a monastery near Rome.", "His brother Pepin the Short becomes the sole ruler (''de facto'') of the Frankish Kingdom.", "* 778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed.", "* 805 – Noble Erchana of Dahauua grants the Bavarian town of Dachau to the Diocese of Freising\n* 927 – The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto.", "* 982 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto II is defeated by the Saracens in the Battle of Capo Colonna, in Calabria\n*1018 – Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.", "*1038 – King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, dies; his nephew, Peter Orseolo, succeeds him.", "*1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.", "*1070 – The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.", "*1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia.", "*1237 – The Battle of the Puig takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Taifa of Valencia against the Kingdom of Aragon.", "The battle resulted in an Aragonese victory.", "*1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid.", "(Construction is eventually completed in 1880.)", "*1261 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.", "*1281 – Mongol invasion of Japan: The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a \"divine wind\" for the second time in the Battle of Kōan.", "*1309 – The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes.", "The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.", "*1430 – Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.", "*1461 – The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmed II.", "This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire.", "Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.", "*1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.", "*1511 – Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Malacca Sultanate.", "*1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.", "*1519 – Panama City, Panama is founded.", "*1534 – Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.", "*1537 – Asunción, Paraguay is founded.", "*1540 – Arequipa, Peru is founded.", "*1549 – Jesuit priest Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: 22 July 1549).", "*1599 – Nine Years' War: Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.", "*1695 – French forces end the bombardment of Brussels.", "*1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Liegnitz: Frederick the Great's victory over the Austrians under Ernst Gideon von Laudon.", "*1824 – The Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving French general of the American Revolutionary War, arrives in New York and begins a tour of 24 states.", "*1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated.", "Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.", "* 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.", "*1863 – The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).", "*1893 – Ibadan area becomes a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton.", "*1907 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr.", "Raphael Morgan, the first African-American Orthodox priest, \"Priest-Apostolic\" to America and the West Indies.", "*1914 – A servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright murders seven people and sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's Wisconsin home, Taliesin.", "* 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship .", "* 1914 – World War I: The First Russian Army, led by Paul von Rennenkampf, enters East Prussia.", "* 1914 – World War I: Beginning of the Battle of Cer, the first Allied victory of World War I.", "*1915 – A story in ''New York World'' newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and diverted it to Bayer for aspirin production.", "*1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, so-called Miracle at the Vistula.", "*1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.", "*1939 – Thirteen Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer.", "There are no survivors.", "* 1939 – ''The Wizard of Oz'' premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California.", "*1940 – An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser ''Elli'' at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.", "*1941 – Corporal Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 07:12, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for espionage.", "*1942 – World War II: Operation Pedestal: The reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.", "*1943 – World War II: Battle of Trahili: Superior German forces surround Cretan partisans, who manage to escape against all odds.", "*1944 – World War II: Operation Dragoon: Allied forces land in southern France.", "*1945 – Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Emperor Showa following effective surrender of Japan in the World War II, Korea gains Independence from the Empire of Japan.", "*1947 – India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of Crown rule and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.", "* 1947 – Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor-General of Pakistan in Karachi.", "*1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.", "*1952 – A flash flood drenches the town of Lynmouth, England, killing 34 people.", "*1954 – Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.", "*1960 – Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.", "*1961 – Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.", "*1962 – James Joseph Dresnok defects to North Korea after running across the Korean Demilitarized Zone.", "Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang.", "*1963 – Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.", "* 1963 – President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of the Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.", "*1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.", "*1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.", "*1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.", "*1971 – President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.", "* 1971 – Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.", "*1973 – Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.", "*1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President Park Chung-hee.", "*1975 – Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.", "* 1975 – Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.", "*1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the \"Wow!", "signal\" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.", "*1984 – The Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh\n*1995 – In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).", "*1998 – Northern Ireland: Omagh bombing takes place; 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) killed and some 220 others injured.", "*1999 – Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria: Some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.", "* 2005 – The Helsinki Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia was signed, ending almost three decades of fighting.", "*2007 – An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.", "*2013 – At least 27 people are killed and 226 injured in an explosion in southern Beirut near a complex used by Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.", "A previously unknown Syrian Sunni group claims responsibility in an online video.", "* 2013 – The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivorous species found in the Americas in 35 years.", "*2015 – North Korea moves its clock back half an hour to introduce Pyongyang Time, 8½ hours ahead of UTC.", "*1171 – Alfonso IX of León (d. 1230)\n*1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest and saint (d. 1231)\n*1385 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (d. 1417)\n*1402 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (d. 1460)\n*1432 – Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)\n*1455 – George, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1503)\n*1507 – George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince (d. 1553)\n*1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1650)\n*1589 – Gabriel Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1613)\n*1608 – Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1652)\n*1613 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (d. 1692)\n*1615 – Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise (d. 1688)\n*1652 – John Grubb, American politician (d. 1708)\n*1702 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian painter and Royal Academician (d. 1788)\n*1717 – Blind Jack, English engineer (d. 1810)\n*1736 – Johann Christoph Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1803)\n*1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet and author (d. 1815)\n*1769 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (d. 1821)\n*1771 – Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet (d. 1832)\n*1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English journalist and author (d. 1859)\n*1798 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian warrior (d. 1831)\n*1807 – Jules Grévy, French lawyer and politician, 4th President of the French Republic (d. 1891)\n*1824 – John Chisum, American businessman (d. 1884)\n*1839 – Antonín Petrof, Czech piano maker (d. 1915)\n*1844 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1908)\n*1845 – Walter Crane, English artist and book illustrator (d. 1915)\n*1857 – Albert Ballin, German businessman (d. 1918)\n*1858 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (d. 1924)\n*1859 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1931)\n* 1860 – Florence Harding, American publisher, 31st First Lady of the United States (d. 1924)\n*1863 – Aleksey Krylov, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)\n*1865 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (d. 1926)\n*1866 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer (d. 1945)\n*1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru, poet, and philosopher (d. 1950)\n*1873 – Ramaprasad Chanda, Indian archaeologist and historian (d. 1942)\n*1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 1912)\n*1876 – Stylianos Gonatas, Greek colonel and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1966)\n*1877 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (d. 1941)\n*1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)\n*1881 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-American activist and politician (d. 1956)\n*1882 – Marion Bauer, American composer and critic (d. 1955)\n* 1882 – Gisela Richter, English archaeologist and art historian (d. 1972) \n*1883 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect (d. 1962)\n*1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1968)\n*1886 – Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (d. 1974)\n*1890 – Jacques Ibert, French composer and educator (d. 1962)\n*1892 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)\n*1893 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and academic (d. 1950)\n*1896 – Gerty Cori, Czech-American biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)\n* 1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-Canadian activist, founded the Madonna House Apostolate (d. 1985)\n* 1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer and educator (d. 1958)\n*1898 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish author and poet (d. 1966)\n*1900 – Jack Tworkov, Polish-American painter and educator (d. 1982)\n*1901 – Arnulfo Arias Madrid, 21st president of the republic of Panamá (d. 1988)\n*1901 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1975)\n*1902 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (d. 1943)\n*1904 – George Klein, Canadian inventor, invented the Motorized wheelchair (d. 1992)\n*1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973)\n*1912 – Julia Child, American chef and author (d. 2004)\n* 1912 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)\n*1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer and art director (d. 1996)\n*1915 – Signe Hasso, Swedish-American actress (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Aleks Çaçi, Albanian journalist and author (d. 1989)\n*1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish footballer and politician, 5th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1999)\n* 1917 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (d. 1980)\n*1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)\n* 1919 – Benedict Kiely, Irish journalist and author (d. 2007)\n*1920 – Judy Cassab, Austrian-Australian painter (d. 2008)\n*1921 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (d. 2012)\n*1922 – Leonard Baskin, American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2000)\n* 1922 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (d. 2005)\n* 1922 – Sabino Barinaga, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1988)\n*1923 – Rose Marie, American actress and singer\n*1924 – Robert Bolt, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995)\n* 1924 – Hedy Epstein, German-American Holocaust survivor and activist (d. 2016)\n* 1924 – Yoshirō Muraki, Japanese production designer, art director, and fashion designer (d. 2009)\n* 1924 – Phyllis Schlafly, American lawyer, writer, and political activist (d. 2016)\n*1925 – Mike Connors, American actor and producer (d. 2017)\n* 1925 – Rose Maddox, American singer-songwriter and fiddle player (d. 1998)\n* 1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2007)\n* 1925 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (The Drifters) (d. 2007)\n* 1925 – Erik Schmidt, Swedish-Estonian painter and author (d. 2014)\n*1926 – Julius Katchen, American pianist and composer (d. 1969)\n* 1926 – Sami Michael, Iraqi-Israeli author and playwright\n* 1926 – John Silber, American philosopher and academic (d. 2012)\n* 1926 – Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician, 6th President of Greece (d. 2016)\n*1927 – Eddie Leadbeater, English cricketer (d. 2011)\n* 1927 – Oliver Popplewell, English cricketer and judge\n*1928 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (d. 2013)\n* 1928 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (d. 2014)\n* 1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English director and cinematographer\n*1930 – Jackie Brenston, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)\n*1931 – Ernest C. Brace, American captain and pilot (d. 2014)\n* 1931 – Richard F. Heck, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)\n*1932 – Abby Dalton, American actress\n* 1932 – Johan Steyn, Baron Steyn, South African-English lawyer and judge\n*1933 – Bobby Helms, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)\n* 1933 – Stanley Milgram, American social psychologist (d. 1984)\n* 1933 – Mike Seeger, American folk musician and folklorist (d. 2009)\n*1934 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)\n* 1934 – Reginald Scarlett, Jamaican cricketer and coach\n*1935 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (d. 2014)\n*1936 – Rita Shane, American soprano and educator (d. 2014)\n*1938 – Stephen Breyer, American lawyer and judge\n* 1938 – Stix Hooper, American jazz drummer (The Crusaders)\n* 1938 – Pran Kumar Sharma, Indian cartoonist (d. 2014)\n* 1938 – Maxine Waters, American educator and politician\n* 1938 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish engineer and author\n*1940 – Gudrun Ensslin, German militant leader, founded Red Army Faction (d. 1977)\n*1941 – Jim Brothers, American sculptor (d. 2013)\n* 1941 – Don Rich, American country musician (The Buckaroos) (d. 1974)\n*1942 – Pete York, English rock drummer \n*1943 – Eileen Bell, Northern Irish civil servant and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly\n*1944 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health\n*1945 – Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi politician, 9th Prime Minister of Bangladesh\n*1946 – Jimmy Webb, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1948 – Patsy Gallant, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress\n* 1948 – Tom Johnston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist \n*1950 – Tommy Aldridge, American drummer \n* 1950 – Tom Kelly, American baseball player\n* 1950 – Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom\n*1951 – Ann Biderman, American screenwriter and producer\n* 1951 – Bobby Caldwell, American singer-songwriter\n* 1951 – John Childs, English cricketer\n*1952 – Chuck Burgi, American drummer \n*1953 – Carol Thatcher, English journalist and author\n* 1953 – Mark Thatcher, English businessman\n*1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2004)\n*1956 – Lorraine Desmarais, Canadian pianist and composer\n* 1956 – Freedom Neruda, Ivorian journalist\n* 1956 – Robert Syms, English businessman and politician\n*1957 – Željko Ivanek, Slovenian-American actor\n*1958 – Simon Baron-Cohen, English-Canadian psychiatrist and author\n* 1958 – Craig MacTavish, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1958 – Simple Kapadia, Indian actress and costume designer (d. 2009)\n* 1958 – Victor Shenderovich, Russian journalist and radio host\n*1959 – Scott Altman, American captain, pilot, and astronaut\n*1961 – Ed Gillespie, American political strategist \n* 1961 – Matt Johnson, English singer-songwriter and musician \n* 1961 – Gary Kubiak, American football player and coach\n* 1961 – Suhasini Maniratnam, Indian actress and screenwriter\n*1962 – Tom Colicchio, American chef and author\n* 1962 – Rıdvan Dilmen, Turkish footballer and manager\n* 1962 – Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, Estonian lawyer and politician\n*1963 – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Simon Hart, Welsh soldier and politician\n* 1963 – Jack Russell, England cricketer and coach\n*1964 – Jane Ellison, English lawyer and politician\n* 1964 – Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation\n*1965 – Rob Thomas, American author, screenwriter, and producer\n*1966 – Scott Brosius, American baseball player and coach\n* 1966 – Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach\n*1967 – Tony Hand, Scottish ice hockey player and coach\n*1968 – Debra Messing, American actress\n*1969 – Bernard Fanning, Australian singer-songwriter \n*1970 – Anthony Anderson, American comedian, actor, and producer\n* 1970 – Ben Silverman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Electus Studios\n*1971 – Adnan Sami, Indian singer, musician, music composer, pianist and actor\n*1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1972 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballerina (d. 2007)\n*1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian model and actress\n* 1974 – Tomasz Suwary, Polish footballer\n*1975 – Bertrand Berry, American football player and radio host\n* 1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1975 – Brendan Morrison, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1975 – Kara Wolters, American basketball player\n*1976 – Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch footballer and manager\n*1977 – Martin Biron, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1977 – Anthony Rocca, Australian footballer and coach\n*1978 – Tim Foreman, American bass player \n* 1978 – Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast\n* 1978 – Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer\n* 1978 – Kerri Walsh Jennings, American volleyball player\n*1979 – Carl Edwards, American race car driver\n* 1979 – Jon Hopkins, English producer and musician\n*1981 – Brendan Hansen, American swimmer\n* 1981 – Óliver Pérez, American baseball player\n*1982 – Casey Burgener, American weightlifter\n* 1982 – Germán Caffa, Argentine footballer\n* 1982 – David Harrison, American basketball player\n*1983 – Siobhan Chamberlain, English association football goalkeeper\n*1984 – Ted Dwane, British musician (Mumford & Sons) and photographer\n*1987 – Ryan D'Imperio, American football player\n* 1987 – Michel Kreder, Dutch cyclist\n* 1987 – Sean McAllister, English footballer\n*1988 – Oussama Assaidi, Moroccan footballer\n*1989 – Joe Jonas, American singer-songwriter \n* 1989 – Ryan McGowan, Australian footballer\n* 1989 – Jordan Rapana, New Zealand rugby league player\n*1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress\n* 1990 – Nyusha, Russian singer-songwriter and producer\n*1991 – Petja Piiroinen, Finnish snowboarder\n*1992 – Baskaran Adhiban, Indian chess player\n*1993 – Clinton N'Jie, Cameroonian footballer\n* 1993 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, English footballer\n*1994 – Lasse Vigen Christensen, Danish footballer\n* 1994 – Kosuke Hagino, Japanese swimmer", "* 398 – Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yan\n* 423 – Honorius, Roman emperor (b.", "384)\n* 465 – Libius Severus, Roman emperor (b.", "420)\n* 778 – Roland, Frankish military leader\n* 873 – Yi Zong, Chinese emperor (b.", "833)\n* 874 – Altfrid, bishop of Hildesheim \n* 912 – Han Jian, Chinese warlord (b.", "855)\n* 932 – Ma Xisheng, Chinese governor and king (b.", "899)\n*1022 – Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos, Byzantine rebel\n*1038 – Stephen I, Hungarian king (b.", "975)\n*1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland\n*1118 – Alexios I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b.", "1048)\n*1196 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b.", "1173)\n*1224 – Marie of France, Duchess of Brabant (b.", "1198)\n*1257 – Saint Hyacinth of Poland\n*1274 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and educator, founded the College of Sorbonne (b.", "1201)\n*1275 – Lorenzo Tiepolo, Doge of Venice\n*1328 – Yesün Temür, emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (b.", "1293)\n*1369 – Philippa of Hainault, Queen consort of Edward III of England (b.", "1314)\n*1388 – Adalbertus Ranconis de Ericinio, Bohemian theologian and rector of the University of Paris (b. circa 1320)\n*1496 – Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile and León (b.", "1428)\n*1506 – Alexander Agricola, Flemish composer (b. c. 1445)\n*1507 – John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b.", "1439)\n*1528 – Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, French general (b.", "1485)\n*1552 – Hermann of Wied, German archbishop (b.", "1477)\n*1594 – Thomas Kyd, English playwright (b.", "1558)\n*1621 – John Barclay, Scottish poet and author (b.", "1582)\n*1666 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (b.", "1591)\n*1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Romanian prince (b.", "1654)\n*1728 – Marin Marais, French viol player and composer (b.", "1656)\n*1758 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (b.", "1698)\n*1799 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and author (b.", "1729)\n*1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist (b.", "1760)\n*1859 – Nathaniel Claiborne, American farmer and politician (b.", "1777)\n*1907 – Joseph Joachim, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b.", "1831)\n*1909 – Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian sociologist and journalist (b.", "1866)\n*1917 – Thomas J. Higgins, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b.", "1831)\n*1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian painter and educator (b.", "1878)\n*1928 – Anatole von Hügel, Italian ethnologist and academic, co-founded St Edmund's College, Cambridge (b.", "1854)\n*1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (b.", "1898)\n* 1935 – Will Rogers, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b.", "1879)\n* 1935 – Paul Signac, French painter and author (b.", "1863)\n*1936 – Grazia Deledda, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1871)\n*1942 – Mahadev Desai, Indian activist and author (b.", "1892)\n*1945 – Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of the Army (b.", "1887)\n* 1945 – Fred Hockley, English lieutenant and pilot (b.", "1923)\n*1951 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (b.", "1882)\n*1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (b.", "1875)\n*1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese soldier (b.", "1940)\n*1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b.", "1898)\n*1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-American actor (b.", "1887)\n*1975 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bengali politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (b.", "1920)\n* 1975 – Clay Shaw, American businessman (b.", "1913)\n* 1975 – Harun Karadeniz, Turkish political activist and author (b.", "1942)\n*1981 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (b.", "1895)\n* 1981 – Jørgen Løvset, Norwegian gynaecologist and academic (b.", "1896)\n*1982 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (b.", "1905)\n* 1982 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle sidecar racer (b.", "1954)\n* 1982 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1903)\n*1989 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general, pilot, and politician (b.", "1904)\n* 1989 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general and diplomat (b.", "1897)\n*1992 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (b.", "1947)\n*1994 – Wout Wagtmans, Dutch cyclist (b.", "1929)\n*1995 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist and actor (b.", "1906)\n*1997 – Ida Gerhardt, Dutch poet and educator (b.", "1905)\n*1999 – Hugh Casson, English architect and interior designer (b.", "1910)\n*2001 – Yavuz Çetin, Turkish singer-songwriter (b.", "1970)\n* 2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (b.", "1972)\n* 2001 – Kateryna Yushchenko, Ukrainian computer scientist ad academic (b.", "1919)\n*2004 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1916)\n* 2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (b.", "1941)\n*2005 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist and academic (b.", "1927)\n*2006 – Te Atairangikaahu, New Zealand queen (b.", "1931)\n* 2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (b.", "1955)\n* 2006 – Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist and academic (b.", "1937)\n* 2006 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer and manager (b.", "1923)\n*2007 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor and director (b.", "1944)\n* 2007 – John Gofman, American biologist, chemist, and physicist (b.", "1918)\n* 2007 – Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand physician (b.", "1908)\n* 2007 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (b.", "1925)\n*2008 – Vic Toweel, South African-Australian boxer (b.", "1929)\n* 2008 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (b.", "1917)\n*2011 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (b.", "1984)\n*2012 – Bob Birch, American bass player and saxophonist (b.", "1956)\n* 2012 – Altamiro Carrilho, Brazilian flute player and composer (b.", "1924)\n* 2012 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (b.", "1925)\n*2013 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (b.", "1944)\n* 2013 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (b.", "1930)\n* 2013 – Marich Man Singh Shrestha, Nepali politician, 28th Prime Minister of Nepal (b.", "1942)\n*2014 – Licia Albanese, Italian-American soprano and actress (b.", "1909)\n*2015 – Julian Bond, American academic and politician (b.", "1940)\n* 2015 – Hamid Gul, Pakistani general (b.", "1936)\n* 2017 – Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (b.", "1925)", "* Armed Forces Day (Poland)\n* Christian feast day:\n** Altfrid\n** Alypius of Thagaste\n** Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, one of the Catholic holy days of obligation.", "(a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu); and its related observances:\n***Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches), and its related observance:\n*** Ferragosto (Italy)\n*** Lady's Day (Ireland)\n*** Māras (Latvia)\n*** Mother's Day (Antwerp and Costa Rica)\n*** National Acadian Day (Acadians)\n***Navy Day (Romania)\n*** Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the Canary Islands.", "(Tenerife, Spain)\n**San La Muerte (Paraguayan Folk Catholicism)\n**Santa Muerte (Mexican Folk Catholicism)\n** Tarcisius\n** August 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Constitution Day (Equatorial Guinea)\n* Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, while August 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in August.", "(Argentina and Peru)\n* Earliest day on which Day of Hearts can fall, while August 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in August.", "(area around Haarlem and Amsterdam)\n* Founding of Asunción (Paraguay)\n* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Korea from Japan in 1945:\n** Gwangbokjeol, \"Independence Day\" (South Korea)\n** Jogukhaebangui nal, \"Fatherland Liberation Day\" (North Korea)\n* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of India from the United Kingdom in 1947.", "* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Republic of the Congo from France in 1960.", "* National Day (Liechtenstein)\n* National Mourning Day, observed on Srabon 31 (Bangladesh)\n* The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or ''Wafaa El-Nil'' (Egypt and Coptic Church)\n* The main day of Bon Festival (Japan), and its related observances:\n** Awa Dance Festival (Tokushima Prefecture)\n* Victory over Japan Day (United Kingdom), and its related observances:\n** End-of-war Memorial Day, when the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held (Japan)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n", "*1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who had died the previous day, had no heirs.\n* 963 – Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.\n*1328 – The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.\n*1513 – Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.\n*1652 – Battle of Plymouth: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue in the First Anglo-Dutch War.\n*1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.\n*1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.\n*1792 – Maximilien de Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.\n*1793 – French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.\n*1812 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.\n*1819 – Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.\n*1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.\n*1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.\n*1859 – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.\n*1863 – The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.\n*1869 – Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.\n*1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.\n*1891 – The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.\n*1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.\n*1900 – The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British. The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.\n*1906 – An estimated 8.2 MW earthquake hits Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.\n*1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.\n* 1913 – Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser .\n*1916 – The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States signed.\n*1918 – The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.\n*1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.\n* 1920 – The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution.\n* 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw.\n*1923 – The United Kingdom gives the name \"Ross Dependency\" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.\n*1927 – The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.\n*1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month. In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.\n*1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called ''Fiddlesticks'', is made by Ub Iwerks.\n* 1930 – The first British Empire Games were opened in Hamilton, Ontario by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon.\n*1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California.\n*1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.\n*1945 – An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantarō Suzuki.\n* 1945 – The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn Dương.\n*1946 – Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.\n* 1946 – The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad.\n*1954 – The first issue of ''Sports Illustrated'' is published. \n*1960 – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.\n* 1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at , setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.\n*1962 – Eight years after the remaining French India territories were handed to India, the ratifications of the treaty are exchanged to make the transfer official.\n* 1962 – Pete Best is discharged from the Beatles, to be replaced two days later by Ringo Starr.\n*1964 – Vietnam War: A ''coup d'état'' replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.\n*1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.\n*1972 – In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.\n*1987 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 crashes after take off in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.\n*1989 – A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.\n*2008 – The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at , at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.\n*2012 – South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.\n*2013 – The ferry ''St. Thomas Aquinas'' collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.\n*2015 – More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma.\n*2017 – Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force.\n", "*1355 – Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster (d. 1382)\n*1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)\n*1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (d. 1436)\n*1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1602)\n*1565 – Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (d. 1637)\n*1573 – Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1598)\n*1637 – Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen (d. 1706)\n*1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French philosopher and author (d. 1696)\n*1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian monk, cosmographer, and cartographer (d. 1718)\n*1682 – Louis, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1712)\n*1744 – Pierre Méchain, French astronomer and surveyor (d. 1804)\n*1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1800)\n*1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)\n*1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1892)\n*1821 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (d. 1895)\n*1831 – John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (d. 1901)\n*1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German physician, psychologist, and physiologist (d. 1920)\n*1842 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician, chess player, and academic (d. 1922)\n*1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, Luxembourger-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1921)\n*1848 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (d. 1926)\n*1855 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1922)\n*1856 – Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan general and politician (d. 1904)\n*1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German author (d. 1927)\n*1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, English-Scottish cricketer (d. 1938)\n* 1860 – Jules Laforgue, Uruguayan-French poet and author (d. 1887)\n*1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American baseball player and coach (d. 1965)\n*1865 – Mary Gilmore, Australian socialist, poet and journalist (d. 1962)\n*1868 – Bernarr Macfadden, American bodybuilder and publisher, founded Macfadden Publications (d. 1955)\n*1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator and stage designer (d. 1942)\n*1877 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (d. 1935)\n*1882 – Désiré Mérchez, French swimmer and water polo player (d. 1968)\n*1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-American author and publisher (d. 1967)\n*1888 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel, diplomat, writer and archaeologist (d. 1935)\n* 1888 – Armand J. Piron, American violinist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1943)\n*1892 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (d. 1982)\n* 1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist and animator, co-created ''Felix the Cat'' (d. 1983)\n*1894 – George Meany, American plumber and labor leader (d. 1980)\n*1895 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss author and playwright (d. 1981)\n* 1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian-Swiss actress and singer (d. 2000)\n*1902 – Georgette Heyer, English author (d. 1974)\n* 1902 – Wallace Thurman, American author and playwright (d. 1934)\n*1904 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general, pilot, and politician (d. 1989)\n* 1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)\n*1908 – Orlando Cole, American cellist and educator (d. 2010)\n* 1908 – William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2000)\n*1909 – Paul Callaway, American organist and conductor (d. 1995)\n*1910 – Gloria Blondell, American actress (d. 1986)\n* 1910 – Mae Clarke, American actress (d. 1992)\n*1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977)\n*1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (d. 1995)\n*1913 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli politician, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)\n*1915 – Al Hibbler, American baritone singer (d. 2001)\n*1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003)\n*1917 – Matt Christopher, American author (d. 1997)\n* 1917 – Roque Cordero, Panamanian composer and educator (d. 2008)\n*1919 – Karl-Heinz Euling, German captain (d. 2014)\n*1920 – Charles Bukowski, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1994)\n*1922 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (d. 2011)\n* 1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist and bandleader (d. 2001)\n*1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian journalist and playwright (d. 2012)\n*1924 – Fess Parker, American actor (d. 2010)\n* 1924 – Inez Voyce, American baseball player\n*1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983)\n* 1925 – Mal Waldron, American pianist and composer (d. 2002)\n*1927 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (d. 2008)\n*1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress and singer\n* 1928 – Eydie Gormé, American singer (d. 2013)\n* 1928 – Ara Güler, Turkish photographer and journalist\n* 1928 – Eddie Kirkland, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)\n*1929 – Bill Evans, American pianist and composer (d. 1980)\n* 1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)\n* 1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1997)\n* 1929 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American pastor, theologian, and activist\n*1930 – Robert Culp, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2010)\n* 1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (d. 2015)\n* 1930 – Leslie Manigat, Haitian educator and politician, 43rd President of Haiti (d. 2014) \n*1933 – Reiner Kunze, German poet and translator\n* 1933 – Tom Maschler, English author and publisher\n* 1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress\n* 1933 – Stuart Roosa, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1994)\n*1934 – Donnie Dunagan, American actor and soldier\n* 1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author (d. 2011)\n* 1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer and actress\n* 1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor, director, and screenwriter\n* 1934 – John Standing, English actor\n* 1934 – Dave Thomas, English-Welsh golfer and architect (d. 2013)\n* 1934 – Sam Trimble, Australian cricketer\n*1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian businessman \n* 1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach\n*1936 – Anita Gillette, American actress and singer\n* 1936 – Alan Hodgkinson, English footballer and coach (d. 2015)\n*1937 – David Anderson, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician\n* 1937 – David Behrman, American composer and producer\n* 1937 – Ian Deans, Canadian politician (d. 2016)\n* 1937 – Boris Rõtov, Estonian chess player (d. 1987)\n*1939 – Seán Brady, Irish cardinal\n* 1939 – Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian-English journalist and academic\n* 1939 – Billy Joe Shaver, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1939 – Eric Weissberg, American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist\n*1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian director and producer\n*1942 – Lesley Turner Bowrey, Australian tennis player\n* 1942 – Barbara George, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2006)\n* 1942 – Robert Squirrel Lester, American soul singer (The Chi-Lites) (d. 2010) \n*1943 – Woody Peoples, American football player (d. 2010)\n*1944 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)\n*1945 – Bob Balaban, American actor, director, and producer\n* 1945 – Russell Brookes, English race car driver\n* 1945 – Suzanne Farrell, American ballerina and educator\n* 1945 – Gary Loizzo, American guitarist, singer, recording engineer, and record producer (d. 2016)\n*1946 – Masoud Barzani, Iranian-Kurdish politician, President of Iraqi Kurdistan\n* 1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress \n*1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to New Zealand\n* 1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer\n*1948 – Earl Blumenauer, American politician, U.S. Representative from Oregon\n* 1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch rock musician (Golden Earring)\n* 1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player and manager\n* 1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian educator and politician\n* 1948 – Joey Spampinato, American singer-songwriter and bass player (NRBQ)\n*1949 – Scott Asheton, American drummer (d. 2014)\n* 1949 – Bill Spooner, American guitarist and songwriter (The Tubes)\n*1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian runner\n* 1950 – Stockwell Day, Canadian businessman and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of International Trade\n* 1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer\n*1951 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian businessman and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (d. 2010)\n*1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host, singer, and actress\n* 1953 – James \"J.T.\" Taylor, American R&B singer-songwriter \n*1954 – James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1954 – George Galloway, Scottish-English politician and broadcaster\n*1955 – James Reilly, Irish surgeon and politician, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs\n*1956 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian soldier and politician (d. 2014)\n*1957 – Tim Farriss, Australian guitarist \n* 1957 – Laura Innes, American actress and director \n* 1957 – R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2015)\n*1958 – Madonna, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and director\n* 1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress\n* 1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentinian tennis player and coach\n* 1958 – Oscar Collodo, Swiss-Italian rugby player and coach\n* 1958 – Diane Dodds, Northern Irish educator and politician\n*1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist and manager\n*1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor, producer and director\n* 1960 – Franz Welser-Möst, Austrian-American conductor and director\n* 1960 – Paul van Ass, Dutch field hockey coach\n*1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player\n* 1961 – Angela Smith, English academic and politician\n*1962 – Steve Carell, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1963 – Aloísio Pires Alves, Brazilian footballer and manager\n* 1963 – Christine Cavanaugh, American voice artist (d. 2014)\n*1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player and sportscaster\n* 1964 – Nigel Redman, English rugby player\n* 1964 – Barry Venison, English footballer and journalist\n*1966 – Eddie Olczyk, American ice hockey player, coach, and commentator\n*1967 – Mark Coyne, Australian rugby league player\n* 1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish journalist, actress, and author\n*1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian skier\n* 1968 – Wolfgang Tillmans, German photographer\n*1968 – Arvind Kejriwal, Indian civil servant and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Delhi\n*1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American journalist and sportscaster\n* 1970 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor and producer\n* 1970 – Manisha Koirala, Indian actress\n*1972 – Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian and television host\n* 1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer\n* 1972 – Emily Robison, American singer-songwriter and banjo player \n*1973 – Damian Jackson, American baseball player\n*1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer\n* 1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer\n* 1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer and politician\n*1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer\n* 1975 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager\n* 1975 – Pantelis Konstantinidis, Greek footballer\n* 1975 – George Stults, American model and actor\n* 1975 – Álvaro Tardáguila, Uruguayan cyclist\n*1977 – Pavel Královec, Czech football referee\n*1978 – Ben Galea, Australian rugby league player and referee\n*1979 – Paul Gallacher, Scottish footballer\n* 1979 – Eduardo Maiorino, Brazilian mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (d. 2012)\n* 1979 – Ian Moran, Australian cricketer \n*1980 – Emerson Ramos Borges, Brazilian footballer\n* 1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n* 1980 – Bob Hardy, English bass player (Franz Ferdinand)\n* 1980 – Piet Rooijakkers, Dutch cyclist \n* 1980 – Raniere Silva dos Santos, Brazilian footballer\n*1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer\n*1983 – Nikolaos Zisis, Greek basketball player\n*1984 – Matteo Anesi, Italian speed skater\n* 1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player\n* 1984 – Konstantin Vassiljev, Estonian footballer\n*1985 – Cristin Milioti, American actress\n*1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player\n*1987 – Carey Price, Canadian ice hockey player\n*1989 – Wang Hao, Chinese race walker\n* 1989 – Moussa Sissoko, French footballer\n*1990 – Godfrey Oboabona, Nigerian footballer\n*1991 – José Eduardo de Araújo, Brazilian footballer\n*1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress\n*1991 – Young Thug, American rapper\n*1992 – Diego Schwartzman, Argentinian tennis player\n*1994 – Jesika Malečková, Czech tennis player\n*1996 – Caeleb Dressel, American swimmer\n*1997 – Greyson Chance, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1999 – Karen Chen, American figure skater\n\n", "* AD 79 – Empress Ma, Chinese Han dynasty consort (b. 40)\n* 856 – Theutbald I, bishop of Langres\n* 963 – Marianos Argyros, Byzantine general (b. 944)\n*1027 – George I of Georgia (b. 998)\n*1153 – Bernard de Tremelay, fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar \n*1225 – Hōjō Masako, Japanese regent and onna-bugeisha (b. 1156)\n*1258 – Theodore II Laskaris, Byzantine-Greek emperor (b. 1222)\n*1285 – Philip I, Count of Savoy (b. 1207)\n*1297 – John II of Trebizond (b. 1262)\n*1327 – Roch, French saint (b. 1295)\n*1339 – Azzone Visconti, founder of the state of Milan (b. 1302)\n*1358 – Albert II, Duke of Austria (b. 1298)\n*1419 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (b. 1361)\n*1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)\n*1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer (b. 1445)\n*1532 – John, Elector of Saxony (b. 1468)\n*1661 – Thomas Fuller, English historian and author (b. 1608)\n*1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet and author (b. 1621)\n*1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b. 1654)\n*1733 – Matthew Tindal, English philosopher and author (b. 1657)\n*1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719)\n*1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1755)\n*1855 – Henry Colburn, English publisher (b. 1785)\n*1878 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (b. 1802)\n*1886 – Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and philosopher (b. 1836)\n*1887 – Webster Paulson, English civil engineer (b. 1837)\n*1888 – John Pemberton, American pharmacist and chemist, invented Coca-Cola (b. 1831)\n*1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist and academic (b. 1825)\n*1899 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (b. 1811)\n*1900 – José Maria de Eça de Queirós, Portuguese journalist and author (b. 1845)\n*1904 – Prentiss Ingraham, American soldier and author (b. 1843)\n*1911 – Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal (b. 1830)\n*1914 – Carl Theodor Schulz, German-Norwegian gardener (b. 1835)\n*1916 – George Scott, English footballer (b. 1885)\n*1920 – Henry Daglish, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1866)\n*1921 – Peter I of Serbia (b. 1844)\n*1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak priest, journalist, and politician (b. 1864)\n* 1938 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1911)\n*1945 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral (b. 1891)\n*1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (b. 1895)\n*1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American journalist and author (b. 1900)\n*1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter and academic (b. 1866)\n*1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1882)\n*1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)\n*1959 – William Halsey, Jr., American admiral (b. 1882)\n* 1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player (b. 1879)\n*1961 – Abdul Haq, Pakistani linguist and scholar (b. 1870)\n*1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman (b. 1893)\n*1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1905)\n*1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-American biochemist and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)\n*1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (b. 1935)\n*1978 – Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch soldier and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1888)\n*1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895)\n*1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902)\n*1984 – Duško Radović, Serbian children's writer, poet, journalist, aphorist and TV editor (b. 1922)\n*1986 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (b. 1902)\n* 1986 – Jaime Sáenz, Bolivian author and poet (b. 1921)\n*1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress (b. 1929)\n*1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand wrestler and trainer (b. 1925)\n*1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1905)\n*1992 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1951)\n*1993 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (b. 1913)\n*1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician and Qawwali singer (b. 1948)\n*1998 – Phil Leeds, American actor (b. 1916)\n* 1998 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (b. 1907)\n*2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian terrorist leader (b. 1937)\n* 2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914)\n* 2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)\n*2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan field marshal and politician, 3rd President of Uganda (b. 1928)\n*2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach (b. 1950)\n* 2004 – Balanadarajah Iyer, Sri Lankan journalist and poet (b. 1957)\n* 2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (b. 1907)\n* 2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969)\n*2005 – Vassar Clements, American fiddler (b. 1928)\n* 2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematographer (b. 1922)\n* 2005 – William Corlett, English novelist and playwright (b. 1938)\n* 2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915)\n*2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan general and dictator; 46th President of Paraguay (b. 1912)\n*2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian engineer and politician (b. 1945)\n*2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1914)\n* 2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese farmer and author (b. 1913)\n*2010 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general (b. 1923)\n*2011 – Mihri Belli, Turkish activist and politician (b. 1916)\n*2012 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (b. 1954)\n* 2012 – Martine Franck, Belgian photographer and director (b. 1938)\n* 2012 – Abune Paulos, Ethiopian patriarch (b. 1935)\n* 2012 – William Windom, American actor (b. 1923)\n*2013 – David Rees, Welsh mathematician and academic (b. 1918)\n*2014 – Patrick Aziza, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Kebbi State (b. 1947)\n* 2014 – Vsevolod Nestayko, Ukrainian author (b. 1930)\n* 2014 – Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, Italian-South African lawyer and politician (b. 1960)\n* 2014 – Peter Scholl-Latour, German journalist, author, and academic (b. 1924)\n*2015 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-American physicist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1947)\n* 2015 – Anna Kashfi, British actress (b. 1934)\n* 2015 – Shuja Khanzada, Pakistani colonel and politician (b. 1943)\n* 2015 – Mile Mrkšić, Serb general (b. 1947)\n*2016 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (b. 1916)\n* 2016 – John McLaughlin, American television personality (b. 1927)\n\n", "*Bennington Battle Day (Vermont, United States)\n*Children's Day (Paraguay)\n*Christian feast day:\n** Armel (Armagillus)\n** Diomedes of Tarsus\n**Roch\n**Simplician\n**Stephen I of Hungary\n**Translation of the Acheiropoietos icon from Edessa to Constantinople. (Eastern Orthodox Church)\n**August 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)\n*National Airborne Day (United States)\n*Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)\n*The first day of the Independence Days, celebrates the independence of Gabon from France in 1960.\n*Xicolatada (Palau-de-Cerdagne, France)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States." ]

[ "*1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power and is declared marshal of state.", "Emperor Ai of Han, who had died the previous day, had no heirs.", "* 963 – Nikephoros II Phokas is crowned emperor of the Byzantine Empire.", "*1328 – The House of Gonzaga seizes power in the Duchy of Mantua, and will rule until 1708.", "*1513 – Battle of the Spurs (Battle of Guinegate): King Henry VIII of England and his Imperial allies defeat French Forces who are then forced to retreat.", "*1652 – Battle of Plymouth: Inconclusive naval action between the fleets of Michiel de Ruyter and George Ayscue in the First Anglo-Dutch War.", "*1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Americans led by General John Stark rout British and Brunswick troops under Friedrich Baum at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.", "*1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden: The British defeat the Americans near Camden, South Carolina.", "*1792 – Maximilien de Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal.", "*1793 – French Revolution: A levée en masse is decreed by the National Convention.", "*1812 – War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army.", "*1819 – Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England.", "Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history.", "*1858 – U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.", "However, a weak signal forces a shutdown of the service in a few weeks.", "*1859 – The Tuscan National Assembly formally deposes the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.", "*1863 – The Dominican Restoration War begins when Gregorio Luperón raises the Dominican flag in Santo Domingo after Spain had recolonized the country.", "*1869 – Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguayan battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War.", "*1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.", "*1891 – The Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila, the first all-steel church in Asia, is officially inaugurated and blessed.", "*1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.", "*1900 – The Battle of Elands River during the Second Boer War ends after a 13-day siege is lifted by the British.", "The battle had begun when a force of between 2,000 and 3,000 Boers had surrounded a force of 500 Australians, Rhodesians, Canadians and British soldiers at a supply dump at Brakfontein Drift.", "*1906 – An estimated 8.2 MW earthquake hits Valparaíso, Chile, killing 3,886 people.", "*1913 – Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tohoku University) becomes the first university in Japan to admit female students.", "* 1913 – Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser .", "*1916 – The Migratory Bird Treaty between Canada and the United States signed.", "*1918 – The Battle of Lake Baikal was fought between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Red Army.", "*1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit on the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day.", "Chapman was the second player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game, the first being Doc Powers in 1909.", "* 1920 – The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens.", "The congress would call for armed revolution.", "* 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Battle of Radzymin concludes; the Soviet Red Army is forced to turn away from Warsaw.", "*1923 – The United Kingdom gives the name \"Ross Dependency\" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.", "*1927 – The Dole Air Race begins from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, during which six out of the eight participating planes crash or disappear.", "*1929 – The 1929 Palestine riots break out in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Arabs and Jews and continue until the end of the month.", "In total, 133 Jews and 116 Arabs are killed.", "*1930 – The first color sound cartoon, called ''Fiddlesticks'', is made by Ub Iwerks.", "* 1930 – The first British Empire Games were opened in Hamilton, Ontario by the Governor General of Canada, the Viscount Willingdon.", "*1942 – World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean.", "The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California.", "*1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.", "*1945 – An assassination attempt is made on Japan's prime minister, Kantarō Suzuki.", "* 1945 – The National Representatives' Congress, the precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam, convenes in Sơn Dương.", "*1946 – Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.", "* 1946 – The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad.", "*1954 – The first issue of ''Sports Illustrated'' is published.", "*1960 – Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom.", "* 1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at , setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.", "*1962 – Eight years after the remaining French India territories were handed to India, the ratifications of the treaty are exchanged to make the transfer official.", "* 1962 – Pete Best is discharged from the Beatles, to be replaced two days later by Ringo Starr.", "*1964 – Vietnam War: A ''coup d'état'' replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam.", "A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.", "*1966 – Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong.", "The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal.", "Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.", "*1972 – In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.", "*1987 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 crashes after take off in Detroit, Michigan, killing 154 of the 155 on board, plus two people on the ground.", "*1989 – A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.", "*2008 – The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at , at the time becoming the world's highest residence above ground-level.", "*2012 – South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute at Marikana near Rustenburg.", "*2013 – The ferry ''St.", "Thomas Aquinas'' collides with a cargo ship and sinks at Cebu, Philippines, killing 61 people with 59 others missing.", "*2015 – More than 96 people are killed and hundreds injured following a series of air-raids by the Syrian Arab Air Force on the rebel-held market town of Douma.", "*2017 – Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force.", "*1355 – Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster (d. 1382)\n*1378 – Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425)\n*1401 – Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (d. 1436)\n*1557 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1602)\n*1565 – Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (d. 1637)\n*1573 – Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1598)\n*1637 – Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen (d. 1706)\n*1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French philosopher and author (d. 1696)\n*1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian monk, cosmographer, and cartographer (d. 1718)\n*1682 – Louis, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1712)\n*1744 – Pierre Méchain, French astronomer and surveyor (d. 1804)\n*1761 – Yevstigney Fomin, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1800)\n*1815 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888)\n*1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1892)\n*1821 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (d. 1895)\n*1831 – John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (d. 1901)\n*1832 – Wilhelm Wundt, German physician, psychologist, and physiologist (d. 1920)\n*1842 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician, chess player, and academic (d. 1922)\n*1845 – Gabriel Lippmann, Luxembourger-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1921)\n*1848 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (d. 1926)\n*1855 – James McGowen, Australian politician, 18th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1922)\n*1856 – Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan general and politician (d. 1904)\n*1858 – Arthur Achleitner, German author (d. 1927)\n*1860 – Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke, English-Scottish cricketer (d. 1938)\n* 1860 – Jules Laforgue, Uruguayan-French poet and author (d. 1887)\n*1862 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American baseball player and coach (d. 1965)\n*1865 – Mary Gilmore, Australian socialist, poet and journalist (d. 1962)\n*1868 – Bernarr Macfadden, American bodybuilder and publisher, founded Macfadden Publications (d. 1955)\n*1876 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator and stage designer (d. 1942)\n*1877 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (d. 1935)\n*1882 – Désiré Mérchez, French swimmer and water polo player (d. 1968)\n*1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-American author and publisher (d. 1967)\n*1888 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel, diplomat, writer and archaeologist (d. 1935)\n* 1888 – Armand J. Piron, American violinist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1943)\n*1892 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (d. 1982)\n* 1892 – Otto Messmer, American cartoonist and animator, co-created ''Felix the Cat'' (d. 1983)\n*1894 – George Meany, American plumber and labor leader (d. 1980)\n*1895 – Albert Cohen, Greek-Swiss author and playwright (d. 1981)\n* 1895 – Liane Haid, Austrian-Swiss actress and singer (d. 2000)\n*1902 – Georgette Heyer, English author (d. 1974)\n* 1902 – Wallace Thurman, American author and playwright (d. 1934)\n*1904 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general, pilot, and politician (d. 1989)\n* 1904 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)\n*1908 – Orlando Cole, American cellist and educator (d. 2010)\n* 1908 – William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2000)\n*1909 – Paul Callaway, American organist and conductor (d. 1995)\n*1910 – Gloria Blondell, American actress (d. 1986)\n* 1910 – Mae Clarke, American actress (d. 1992)\n*1911 – E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977)\n*1912 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (d. 1995)\n*1913 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli politician, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)\n*1915 – Al Hibbler, American baritone singer (d. 2001)\n*1916 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003)\n*1917 – Matt Christopher, American author (d. 1997)\n* 1917 – Roque Cordero, Panamanian composer and educator (d. 2008)\n*1919 – Karl-Heinz Euling, German captain (d. 2014)\n*1920 – Charles Bukowski, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1994)\n*1922 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (d. 2011)\n* 1922 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist and bandleader (d. 2001)\n*1923 – Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian journalist and playwright (d. 2012)\n*1924 – Fess Parker, American actor (d. 2010)\n* 1924 – Inez Voyce, American baseball player\n*1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983)\n* 1925 – Mal Waldron, American pianist and composer (d. 2002)\n*1927 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (d. 2008)\n*1928 – Ann Blyth, American actress and singer\n* 1928 – Eydie Gormé, American singer (d. 2013)\n* 1928 – Ara Güler, Turkish photographer and journalist\n* 1928 – Eddie Kirkland, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)\n*1929 – Bill Evans, American pianist and composer (d. 1980)\n* 1929 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)\n* 1929 – Fritz Von Erich, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1997)\n* 1929 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American pastor, theologian, and activist\n*1930 – Robert Culp, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2010)\n* 1930 – Frank Gifford, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (d. 2015)\n* 1930 – Leslie Manigat, Haitian educator and politician, 43rd President of Haiti (d. 2014) \n*1933 – Reiner Kunze, German poet and translator\n* 1933 – Tom Maschler, English author and publisher\n* 1933 – Julie Newmar, American actress\n* 1933 – Stuart Roosa, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1994)\n*1934 – Donnie Dunagan, American actor and soldier\n* 1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author (d. 2011)\n* 1934 – Ketty Lester, American singer and actress\n* 1934 – Pierre Richard, French actor, director, and screenwriter\n* 1934 – John Standing, English actor\n* 1934 – Dave Thomas, English-Welsh golfer and architect (d. 2013)\n* 1934 – Sam Trimble, Australian cricketer\n*1935 – Cliff Fletcher, Canadian businessman \n* 1935 – Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach\n*1936 – Anita Gillette, American actress and singer\n* 1936 – Alan Hodgkinson, English footballer and coach (d. 2015)\n*1937 – David Anderson, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician\n* 1937 – David Behrman, American composer and producer\n* 1937 – Ian Deans, Canadian politician (d. 2016)\n* 1937 – Boris Rõtov, Estonian chess player (d. 1987)\n*1939 – Seán Brady, Irish cardinal\n* 1939 – Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian-English journalist and academic\n* 1939 – Billy Joe Shaver, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1939 – Eric Weissberg, American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist\n*1940 – Bruce Beresford, Australian director and producer\n*1942 – Lesley Turner Bowrey, Australian tennis player\n* 1942 – Barbara George, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2006)\n* 1942 – Robert Squirrel Lester, American soul singer (The Chi-Lites) (d. 2010) \n*1943 – Woody Peoples, American football player (d. 2010)\n*1944 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)\n*1945 – Bob Balaban, American actor, director, and producer\n* 1945 – Russell Brookes, English race car driver\n* 1945 – Suzanne Farrell, American ballerina and educator\n* 1945 – Gary Loizzo, American guitarist, singer, recording engineer, and record producer (d. 2016)\n*1946 – Masoud Barzani, Iranian-Kurdish politician, President of Iraqi Kurdistan\n* 1946 – Lesley Ann Warren, American actress \n*1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to New Zealand\n* 1947 – Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer\n*1948 – Earl Blumenauer, American politician, U.S. Representative from Oregon\n* 1948 – Barry Hay, Indian-born Dutch rock musician (Golden Earring)\n* 1948 – Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player and manager\n* 1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian educator and politician\n* 1948 – Joey Spampinato, American singer-songwriter and bass player (NRBQ)\n*1949 – Scott Asheton, American drummer (d. 2014)\n* 1949 – Bill Spooner, American guitarist and songwriter (The Tubes)\n*1950 – Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian runner\n* 1950 – Stockwell Day, Canadian businessman and politician, 15th Canadian Minister of International Trade\n* 1950 – Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer\n*1951 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian businessman and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (d. 2010)\n*1953 – Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host, singer, and actress\n* 1953 – James \"J.T.\"", "Taylor, American R&B singer-songwriter \n*1954 – James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1954 – George Galloway, Scottish-English politician and broadcaster\n*1955 – James Reilly, Irish surgeon and politician, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs\n*1956 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian soldier and politician (d. 2014)\n*1957 – Tim Farriss, Australian guitarist \n* 1957 – Laura Innes, American actress and director \n* 1957 – R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2015)\n*1958 – Madonna, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and director\n* 1958 – Angela Bassett, American actress\n* 1958 – José Luis Clerc, Argentinian tennis player and coach\n* 1958 – Oscar Collodo, Swiss-Italian rugby player and coach\n* 1958 – Diane Dodds, Northern Irish educator and politician\n*1959 – Marc Sergeant, Belgian cyclist and manager\n*1960 – Timothy Hutton, American actor, producer and director\n* 1960 – Franz Welser-Möst, Austrian-American conductor and director\n* 1960 – Paul van Ass, Dutch field hockey coach\n*1961 – Christian Okoye, American football player\n* 1961 – Angela Smith, English academic and politician\n*1962 – Steve Carell, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1963 – Aloísio Pires Alves, Brazilian footballer and manager\n* 1963 – Christine Cavanaugh, American voice artist (d. 2014)\n*1964 – Jimmy Arias, American tennis player and sportscaster\n* 1964 – Nigel Redman, English rugby player\n* 1964 – Barry Venison, English footballer and journalist\n*1966 – Eddie Olczyk, American ice hockey player, coach, and commentator\n*1967 – Mark Coyne, Australian rugby league player\n* 1967 – Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish journalist, actress, and author\n*1968 – Mateja Svet, Slovenian skier\n* 1968 – Wolfgang Tillmans, German photographer\n*1968 – Arvind Kejriwal, Indian civil servant and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Delhi\n*1970 – Bonnie Bernstein, American journalist and sportscaster\n* 1970 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor and producer\n* 1970 – Manisha Koirala, Indian actress\n*1972 – Frankie Boyle, Scottish comedian and television host\n* 1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer\n* 1972 – Emily Robison, American singer-songwriter and banjo player \n*1973 – Damian Jackson, American baseball player\n*1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer\n* 1974 – Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer\n* 1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer and politician\n*1975 – Didier Agathe, French footballer\n* 1975 – Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager\n* 1975 – Pantelis Konstantinidis, Greek footballer\n* 1975 – George Stults, American model and actor\n* 1975 – Álvaro Tardáguila, Uruguayan cyclist\n*1977 – Pavel Královec, Czech football referee\n*1978 – Ben Galea, Australian rugby league player and referee\n*1979 – Paul Gallacher, Scottish footballer\n* 1979 – Eduardo Maiorino, Brazilian mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (d. 2012)\n* 1979 – Ian Moran, Australian cricketer \n*1980 – Emerson Ramos Borges, Brazilian footballer\n* 1980 – Vanessa Carlton, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n* 1980 – Bob Hardy, English bass player (Franz Ferdinand)\n* 1980 – Piet Rooijakkers, Dutch cyclist \n* 1980 – Raniere Silva dos Santos, Brazilian footballer\n*1981 – Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer\n*1983 – Nikolaos Zisis, Greek basketball player\n*1984 – Matteo Anesi, Italian speed skater\n* 1984 – Candice Dupree, American basketball player\n* 1984 – Konstantin Vassiljev, Estonian footballer\n*1985 – Cristin Milioti, American actress\n*1986 – Yu Darvish, Japanese baseball player\n*1987 – Carey Price, Canadian ice hockey player\n*1989 – Wang Hao, Chinese race walker\n* 1989 – Moussa Sissoko, French footballer\n*1990 – Godfrey Oboabona, Nigerian footballer\n*1991 – José Eduardo de Araújo, Brazilian footballer\n*1991 – Evanna Lynch, Irish actress\n*1991 – Young Thug, American rapper\n*1992 – Diego Schwartzman, Argentinian tennis player\n*1994 – Jesika Malečková, Czech tennis player\n*1996 – Caeleb Dressel, American swimmer\n*1997 – Greyson Chance, American singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1999 – Karen Chen, American figure skater", "* AD 79 – Empress Ma, Chinese Han dynasty consort (b.", "40)\n* 856 – Theutbald I, bishop of Langres\n* 963 – Marianos Argyros, Byzantine general (b.", "944)\n*1027 – George I of Georgia (b.", "998)\n*1153 – Bernard de Tremelay, fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar \n*1225 – Hōjō Masako, Japanese regent and onna-bugeisha (b.", "1156)\n*1258 – Theodore II Laskaris, Byzantine-Greek emperor (b.", "1222)\n*1285 – Philip I, Count of Savoy (b.", "1207)\n*1297 – John II of Trebizond (b.", "1262)\n*1327 – Roch, French saint (b.", "1295)\n*1339 – Azzone Visconti, founder of the state of Milan (b.", "1302)\n*1358 – Albert II, Duke of Austria (b.", "1298)\n*1419 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (b.", "1361)\n*1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b.", "1434)\n*1518 – Loyset Compère, French composer (b.", "1445)\n*1532 – John, Elector of Saxony (b.", "1468)\n*1661 – Thomas Fuller, English historian and author (b.", "1608)\n*1678 – Andrew Marvell, English poet and author (b.", "1621)\n*1705 – Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b.", "1654)\n*1733 – Matthew Tindal, English philosopher and author (b.", "1657)\n*1791 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b.", "1719)\n*1836 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician and theorist (b.", "1755)\n*1855 – Henry Colburn, English publisher (b.", "1785)\n*1878 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (b.", "1802)\n*1886 – Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and philosopher (b.", "1836)\n*1887 – Webster Paulson, English civil engineer (b.", "1837)\n*1888 – John Pemberton, American pharmacist and chemist, invented Coca-Cola (b.", "1831)\n*1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist and academic (b.", "1825)\n*1899 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (b.", "1811)\n*1900 – José Maria de Eça de Queirós, Portuguese journalist and author (b.", "1845)\n*1904 – Prentiss Ingraham, American soldier and author (b.", "1843)\n*1911 – Patrick Francis Moran, Irish-Australian cardinal (b.", "1830)\n*1914 – Carl Theodor Schulz, German-Norwegian gardener (b.", "1835)\n*1916 – George Scott, English footballer (b.", "1885)\n*1920 – Henry Daglish, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Western Australia (b.", "1866)\n*1921 – Peter I of Serbia (b.", "1844)\n*1938 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak priest, journalist, and politician (b.", "1864)\n* 1938 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b.", "1911)\n*1945 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral (b.", "1891)\n*1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (b.", "1895)\n*1949 – Margaret Mitchell, American journalist and author (b.", "1900)\n*1952 – Lydia Field Emmet, American painter and academic (b.", "1866)\n*1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-American actor (b.", "1882)\n*1957 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1881)\n*1959 – William Halsey, Jr., American admiral (b.", "1882)\n* 1959 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player (b.", "1879)\n*1961 – Abdul Haq, Pakistani linguist and scholar (b.", "1870)\n*1971 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman (b.", "1893)\n*1972 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor and screenwriter (b.", "1905)\n*1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-American biochemist and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1888)\n*1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (b.", "1935)\n*1978 – Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch soldier and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b.", "1888)\n*1979 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b.", "1895)\n*1983 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (b.", "1902)\n*1984 – Duško Radović, Serbian children's writer, poet, journalist, aphorist and TV editor (b.", "1922)\n*1986 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (b.", "1902)\n* 1986 – Jaime Sáenz, Bolivian author and poet (b.", "1921)\n*1989 – Amanda Blake, American actress (b.", "1929)\n*1990 – Pat O'Connor, New Zealand wrestler and trainer (b.", "1925)\n*1991 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (b.", "1905)\n*1992 – Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b.", "1951)\n*1993 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (b.", "1913)\n*1997 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician and Qawwali singer (b.", "1948)\n*1998 – Phil Leeds, American actor (b.", "1916)\n* 1998 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (b.", "1907)\n*2002 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian terrorist leader (b.", "1937)\n* 2002 – Jeff Corey, American actor (b.", "1914)\n* 2002 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b.", "1933)\n*2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan field marshal and politician, 3rd President of Uganda (b.", "1928)\n*2004 – Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey player and coach (b.", "1950)\n* 2004 – Balanadarajah Iyer, Sri Lankan journalist and poet (b.", "1957)\n* 2004 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (b.", "1907)\n* 2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b.", "1969)\n*2005 – Vassar Clements, American fiddler (b.", "1928)\n* 2005 – Tonino Delli Colli, Italian cinematographer (b.", "1922)\n* 2005 – William Corlett, English novelist and playwright (b.", "1938)\n* 2005 – Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b.", "1915)\n*2006 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan general and dictator; 46th President of Paraguay (b.", "1912)\n*2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian engineer and politician (b.", "1945)\n*2008 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter and actor (b.", "1914)\n* 2008 – Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese farmer and author (b.", "1913)\n*2010 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general (b.", "1923)\n*2011 – Mihri Belli, Turkish activist and politician (b.", "1916)\n*2012 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (b.", "1954)\n* 2012 – Martine Franck, Belgian photographer and director (b.", "1938)\n* 2012 – Abune Paulos, Ethiopian patriarch (b.", "1935)\n* 2012 – William Windom, American actor (b.", "1923)\n*2013 – David Rees, Welsh mathematician and academic (b.", "1918)\n*2014 – Patrick Aziza, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Kebbi State (b.", "1947)\n* 2014 – Vsevolod Nestayko, Ukrainian author (b.", "1930)\n* 2014 – Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, Italian-South African lawyer and politician (b.", "1960)\n* 2014 – Peter Scholl-Latour, German journalist, author, and academic (b.", "1924)\n*2015 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-American physicist, astronomer, and academic (b.", "1947)\n* 2015 – Anna Kashfi, British actress (b.", "1934)\n* 2015 – Shuja Khanzada, Pakistani colonel and politician (b.", "1943)\n* 2015 – Mile Mrkšić, Serb general (b.", "1947)\n*2016 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (b.", "1916)\n* 2016 – John McLaughlin, American television personality (b.", "1927)", "*Bennington Battle Day (Vermont, United States)\n*Children's Day (Paraguay)\n*Christian feast day:\n** Armel (Armagillus)\n** Diomedes of Tarsus\n**Roch\n**Simplician\n**Stephen I of Hungary\n**Translation of the Acheiropoietos icon from Edessa to Constantinople.", "(Eastern Orthodox Church)\n**August 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto, Japan)\n*National Airborne Day (United States)\n*Restoration Day (Dominican Republic)\n*The first day of the Independence Days, celebrates the independence of Gabon from France in 1960.", "*Xicolatada (Palau-de-Cerdagne, France)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n*" ]

[ "\nArea settled by the Alemanni, and sites of Roman-Alemannic battles, 3rd to 6th centuries\n\nThe '''Alemanni''' (also ''Alamanni''; ''Suebi'' \"Swabians\") were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the upper Rhine river. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the Agri Decumates in 260, and later expanded into present-day Alsace, and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the Old High German language in those regions.\n\nIn 496, the Alemanni were conquered by Frankish leader Clovis and incorporated into his dominions. Mentioned as still pagan allies of the Christian Franks, the Alemanni were gradually Christianized during the 7th century. The ''Lex Alamannorum'' is a record of their customary law during this period. Until the 8th century, Frankish suzerainty over Alemannia was mostly nominal. But after an uprising by Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, Carloman executed the Alamannic nobility and installed Frankish dukes. \nDuring the later and weaker years of the Carolingian Empire the Alemannic counts became almost independent, and a struggle for supremacy took place between them and the Bishopric of Constance. The chief family in Alamannia was that of the counts of Raetia Curiensis, who were sometimes called margraves, and one of whom, Burchard II, established the Duchy of Swabia, which was recognized by Henry the Fowler in 919 and became a stem duchy of the Holy Roman Empire.\n\nThe area settled by the Alemanni corresponds roughly to the area where Alemannic German dialects remain spoken, including German Swabia and Baden, French Alsace, German-speaking Switzerland and Austrian Vorarlberg. Their name has survived into modern times, for example: The word for Germany in French \"Allemagne\", Spanish \"Alemania\", Portuguese \"Alemanha\", Persian \"Alman\", Turkish \"Almanya\" and Welsh ''Yr Almaen'' all derive from Alemanni.\n", "According to Gaius Asinius Quadratus (quoted in the mid-6th century by Byzantine historian Agathias) their name means \"all men\". It indicates that they were a conglomeration drawn from various Germanic tribes. Other sources say the name alemannen derives from alahmannen which means \"men of sanctuary\" and not \"all men\" (Sir Francis Palgrave) and other very old Urgermanic wisdom. The Romans and the Greeks called them as such mentioned. This was the derivation of ''Alemanni'' used by Edward Gibbon, in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and by the anonymous contributor of notes assembled from the papers of Nicolas Fréret, published in 1753, who noted that it was the name used by outsiders for those who called themselves the ''Suebi''. This etymology has remained the standard derivation of the term.\n\nWalafrid Strabo, a monk of the Abbey of St. Gall writing in the 9th century, remarked, in discussing the people of Switzerland and the surrounding regions, that only foreigners called them the ''Alemanni'', but that they gave themselves the name of ''Suebi''.\n\nThe name of Germany and the German language in several languages is derived from the name of this early Germanic tribal alliance. For details, see Names of Germany.\n", "\n===First explicit mention===\ngrave field at Weingarten.\nThe Alemanni were first mentioned by Cassius Dio describing the campaign of Caracalla in 213. At that time they apparently dwelt in the basin of the Main, to the south of the Chatti.\n\nCassius Dio (78.13.4) portrays the Alemanni as victims of this treacherous emperor. They had asked for his help, says Dio, but instead he colonized their country, changed their place names and executed their warriors under a pretext of coming to their aid. When he became ill, the Alemanni claimed to have put a hex on him (78.15.2). Caracalla, it was claimed, tried to counter this influence by invoking his ancestral spirits.\n\nIn retribution Caracalla then led the Legio II ''Traiana Fortis'' against the Alemanni, who lost and were pacified for a time. The legion was as a result honored with the name ''Germanica''. The 4th-century fictional Historia Augusta, ''Life of Antoninus Caracalla'', relates (10.5) that Caracalla then assumed the name ''Alemannicus'', at which Helvius Pertinax jested that he should really be called ''Geticus Maximus'', because in the year before he had murdered his brother, Geta.\n\nThrough much of his short reign Caracalla was known for unpredictable and arbitrary operations launched by surprise after a pretext of peace negotiations. If he had any reasons of state for such actions they remained unknown to his contemporaries. Whether or not the Alemanni had been previously neutral, they were certainly further influenced by Caracalla to become thereafter notoriously implacable enemies of Rome.\n\nThis mutually antagonistic relationship is perhaps the reason why the Roman writers persisted in calling the Alemanni ''barbari'', \"savages\". The archaeology, however, shows that they were largely Romanized, lived in Roman-style houses and used Roman artifacts, the Alemannic women having adopted the Roman fashion of the ''tunic'' even earlier than the men.\n\nMost of the Alemanni were probably at the time in fact resident in or close to the borders of Germania Superior. Although Dio is the earliest writer to mention them, Ammianus Marcellinus used the name to refer to Germans on the Limes Germanicus in the time of Trajan's governorship of the province shortly after it was formed, c. 98/99. At that time the entire frontier was being fortified for the first time. Trees from the earliest fortifications found in Germania Inferior are dated by dendrochronology to 99/100 AD.\n\nAmmianus relates ( xvii.1.11) that much later the Emperor Julian undertook a punitive expedition against the Alemanni, who by then were in Alsace, and crossed the Main (Latin ''Menus''), entering the forest, where the trails were blocked by felled trees. As winter was upon them, they reoccupied a\n\"fortification which was founded on the soil of the Alemanni that Trajan wished to be called with his own name\".\n\nIn this context the use of Alemanni is possibly an anachronism but it reveals that Ammianus believed they were the same people, which is consistent with the location of the Alemanni of Caracalla's campaigns.\n\n===Alemanni and Hermunduri===\nThe early detailed source, the ''Germania'' of Tacitus, has sometimes been interpreted in such a way as to provide yet other historical problems. In Chapter 42 we read of the Hermunduri, a tribe certainly located in the region that later became Thuringia. Tacitus stated that they traded with Rhaetia, which in Ptolemy is located across the Danube from Germania Superior. A logical conclusion to draw is that the Hermunduri extended over later Swabia and therefore the Alemanni originally derived from the Hermunduri.\n\nHowever, no Hermunduri appear in Ptolemy, though after the time of Ptolemy, the Hermunduri joined with the Marcomanni in the wars of 166–180 against the empire. A careful reading of Tacitus provides one solution. He says that the source of the Elbe is among the Hermunduri, somewhat to the east of the upper Main. He places them also between the Naristi (Varisti), whose location at the very edge of the ancient Black Forest is well known, and the Marcomanni and Quadi. Moreover, the Hermunduri were broken in the Marcomannic Wars and made a separate peace with Rome. The Alemanni thus were probably not primarily the Hermunduri, although some elements of them may have been present in the mix of peoples at that time that became Alemannian.\n\n===Ptolemy's ''Geography''===\nBefore the mention of ''Alemanni'' in the time of Caracalla, you would search in vain for Alemanni in the moderately detailed geography of southern Germany in Claudius Ptolemy, written in Greek in the mid-2nd century; it is likely that at that time, the people who later used that name were known by other designations.\n\nNevertheless, some conclusions can be drawn from Ptolemy. Germania Superior is easily identified. Following up the Rhine one comes to a town, Mattiacum, which must be at the border of the Roman Germany (vicinity of Wiesbaden). Upstream from it and between the Rhine and Abnoba (in the Black Forest) are the Ingriones, Intuergi, Vangiones, Caritni and Vispi, some of whom were there since the days of the early empire or before. On the other side of the northern Black Forest were the Chatti about where Hesse is today, on the lower Main.\n\nHistoric Swabia was eventually replaced by today's Baden-Württemberg, but it had been the most significant territory of mediaeval Alamannia, comprising all Germania Superior and territory east to Bavaria. It did not include the upper Main, but that is where Caracalla campaigned. Moreover, the territory of Germania Superior was not originally included among the Alemanni's possessions.\n\nHowever, if we look for the peoples in the region from the upper Main in the north, south to the Danube and east to the Czech Republic where the Quadi and Marcomanni were located, Ptolemy does not give any tribes. There are the Tubanti just south of the Chatti and at the other end of what was then the Black Forest, the Varisti, whose location is known. One possible reason for this distribution is that the population preferred not to live in the forest except in troubled times. The region between the forest and the Danube on the other hand included about a dozen settlements, or \"cantons\".\n\nPtolemy's view of Germans in the region indicates that the tribal structure had lost its grip in the Black Forest region and was replaced by a canton structure. The tribes stayed in the Roman province, perhaps because the Romans offered stability. Also, Caracalla perhaps felt more comfortable about campaigning in the upper Main because he was not declaring war on any specific historic tribe, such as the Chatti or Cherusci, against whom Rome had suffered grievous losses. By Caracalla's time the name ''Alemanni'' was being used by cantons themselves banding together for purposes of supporting a citizen army (the \"war bands\").\n\n===Concentration of Germanic peoples under Ariovistus===\nThe term Suebi has a double meaning in the sources. On the one hand Tacitus' ''Germania'' tells us ( Chapters 38, 39) that they occupy more than half of Germany, use a distinctive hair style, and are spiritually centered on the Semnones. On the other hand, the Suebi of the upper Danube are described as though they were a tribe.\n\nThe solution to the puzzle as well as explaining the historical circumstances leading to the choice of the Agri Decumates as a defensive point and the concentration of Germans there are probably to be found in the German attack on the Gallic fortified town of Vesontio in 58 BC. The upper Rhine and Danube appear to form a funnel pointing straight at Vesontio.\n\nJulius Caesar in ''Gallic Wars'' tells us ( 1.51) that Ariovistus had gathered an army from a wide region of Germany, but especially the Harudes, Marcomanni, Triboci, Vangiones, Nemetes and Sedusii. The Suebi were being invited to join. They lived in 100 cantons ( 4.1) from which 1000 young men per year were chosen for military service, a citizen-army by our standards and by comparison with the Roman professional army.\n\nAriovistus had become involved in an invasion of Gaul, which the German wished to settle. Intending to take the strategic town of Vesontio, he concentrated his forces on the Rhine near Lake Constance, and when the Suebi arrived, he crossed. The Gauls had called to Rome for military aid. Caesar occupied the town first and defeated the Germans before its walls, slaughtering most of the German army as it tried to flee across the river (1.36ff). He did not pursue the retreating remnants, leaving what was left of the German army and their dependents intact on the other side of the Rhine.\n\nThe Gauls were ambivalent in their policies toward the Romans. In 53 BC the Treveri broke their alliance and attempted to break free of Rome. Caesar foresaw that they would now attempt to ally themselves with the Germans. He crossed the Rhine to forestall that event, a successful strategy. Remembering their expensive defeat at the Battle of Vesontio, the Germans withdrew to the Black Forest, concentrating there a mixed population dominated by Suebi. As they had left their tribal homes behind, they probably took over all the former Celtic cantons along the Danube.\n\n\n===Conflicts with the Roman Empire===\nThe Limes Germanicus 83 to 260 CE.\n\nThe Alemanni were continually engaged in conflicts with the Roman Empire in the 3rd and 4th centuries. They launched a major invasion of Gaul and northern Italy in 268, when the Romans were forced to denude much of their German frontier of troops in response to a massive invasion of the Goths from the east. Their raids throughout the three parts of Gaul were traumatic: Gregory of Tours (died ca 594) mentions their destructive force at the time of Valerian and Gallienus (253–260), when the Alemanni assembled under their \"king\", whom he calls Chrocus, who \"by the advice, it is said, of his wicked mother, and overran the whole of the Gauls, and destroyed from their foundations all the temples which had been built in ancient times. And coming to Clermont he set on fire, overthrew and destroyed that shrine which they call ''Vasso Galatae'' in the Gallic tongue,\" martyring many Christians ( ''Historia Francorum'' Book I.32–34). Thus 6th-century Gallo-Romans of Gregory's class, surrounded by the ruins of Roman temples and public buildings, attributed the destruction they saw to the plundering raids of the Alemanni.\n\nIn the early summer of 268, the Emperor Gallienus halted their advance into Italy, but then had to deal with the Goths. When the Gothic campaign ended in Roman victory at the Battle of Naissus in September, Gallienus' successor Claudius Gothicus turned north to deal with the Alemanni, who were swarming over all Italy north of the Po River.\n\nAfter efforts to secure a peaceful withdrawal failed, Claudius forced the Alemanni to battle at the Battle of Lake Benacus in November. The Alemanni were routed, forced back into Germany, and did not threaten Roman territory for many years afterwards.\n\nTheir most famous battle against Rome took place in Argentoratum (Strasbourg), in 357, where they were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their king Chnodomarius was taken prisoner to Rome.\n\nOn January 2, 366, the Alemanni yet again crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers, to invade the Gallic provinces, this time being defeated by Valentinian (see Battle of Solicinium). In the great mixed invasion of 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau. The crossing is described in Wallace Breem's historical novel \"Eagle in the Snow.\" The Chronicle of Fredegar gives the account. At ''Alba Augusta'' (Alba-la-Romaine) the devastation was so complete, that the Christian bishop retired to Viviers, but in Gregory's account at Mende in Lozère, also deep in the heart of Gaul, bishop Privatus was forced to sacrifice to idols in the very cave where he was later venerated. It is thought this detail may be a generic literary ploy to epitomize the horrors of barbarian violence.\n\n====List of battles between Romans and Alemanni====\nEurope at the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.\n* 259, Battle of Mediolanum—Emperor Gallienus defeats the Alemanni to rescue Rome\n* 268, Battle of Lake Benacus—Romans under Emperor Claudius II defeat the Alemanni.\n* 271\n** Battle of Placentia—Emperor Aurelian is defeated by the Alemanni forces invading Italy\n** Battle of Fano—Aurelian defeats the Alemanni, who begin to retreat from Italy\n** Battle of Pavia—Aurelian destroys the retreating Alemanni army.\n* 298\n** Battle of Lingones—Caesar Constantius Chlorus defeats the Alemanni\n** Battle of Vindonissa—Constantius again defeats the Alemanni\n* 356, Battle of Reims—Caesar Julian is defeated by the Alemanni\n* 357, Battle of Strasbourg—Julian expels the Alemanni from the Rhineland\n* 367, Battle of Solicinium—Romans under Emperor Valentinian I defeat yet another Alemanni incursion.\n* 378, Battle of Argentovaria—Western Emperor Gratianus is victorious over the Alemanni, yet again.\n* 451, Battle of the Catalaunian Fields-Roman General Aetius and his army of Romans and barbarian allies defeat Attila's army of Huns and other Germanic allies, including the Alemanni.\n* 554, Battle of the Volturnus-Armenian-Roman General Narses defeats a combined force of Franks and Alemanni in northern Italy.\n\n===Subjugation by the Franks===\n\nAlemannia (yellow) and Upper Burgundy (green) around 1000.\nThe kingdom of Alamannia between Strasbourg and Augsburg lasted until 496, when the Alemanni were conquered by Clovis I at the Battle of Tolbiac. The war of Clovis with the Alemanni forms the setting for the conversion of Clovis, briefly treated by Gregory of Tours. ( Book II.31) Subsequently, the Alemanni formed part of the Frankish dominions and were governed by a Frankish duke.\n\nIn 746, Carloman ended an uprising by summarily executing all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt, and for the following century, Alemannia was ruled by Frankish dukes. Following the treaty of Verdun of 843, Alemannia became a province of the eastern kingdom of Louis the German, the precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. The duchy persisted until 1268.\n", "\n===Language===\nThe traditional distribution area of Western Upper German (Alemannic) dialect features in the 19th and 20th centuries\n\nThe German spoken today over the range of the former Alemanni is termed Alemannic German, and is recognised among the subgroups of the High German languages. Alemannic runic inscriptions such as those on the Pforzen buckle are among the earliest testimonies of Old High German.\nThe High German consonant shift is thought to have originated around the 5th century either in Alemannia or among the Lombards; before that the dialect spoken by Alemannic tribes was little different from that of other West Germanic peoples.\n\n''Alemannia'' lost its distinct jurisdictional identity when Charles Martel absorbed it into the Frankish empire, early in the 8th century. Today, ''Alemannic'' is a linguistic term, referring to Alemannic German, encompassing the dialects of the southern two thirds of Baden-Württemberg (German State), in western Bavaria (German State), in Vorarlberg (Austrian State), Swiss German in Switzerland and the Alsatian language of the Alsace (France).\n\n===Political organization===\nThe Alemanni established a series of territorially defined ''pagi'' (cantons) on the east bank of the Rhine. The exact number and extent of these ''pagi'' is unclear and probably changed over time.\n\n''Pagi'', usually pairs of ''pagi'' combined, formed kingdoms (''regna'') which, it is generally believed, were permanent and hereditary. Ammianus describes Alemanni rulers with various terms: ''reges excelsiores ante alios'' (\"paramount kings\"), ''reges proximi'' (\"neighbouring kings\"), ''reguli'' (\"petty kings\") and ''regales'' (\"princes\"). This may be a formal hierarchy, or they may be vague, overlapping terms, or a combination of both. In 357, there appear to have been two paramount kings (Chnodomar and Westralp) who probably acted as presidents of the confederation and seven other kings (''reges''). Their territories were small and mostly strung along the Rhine (although a few were in the hinterland). It is possible that the ''reguli'' were the rulers of the two ''pagi'' in each kingdom. Underneath the royal class were the nobles (called ''optimates'' by the Romans) and warriors (called ''armati'' by the Romans). The warriors consisted of professional warbands and levies of free men. Each nobleman could raise an average of c. 50 warriors.\n\n===Religion===\n\nThe gold bracteate of Pliezhausen (6th or 7th century) shows typical iconography of the pagan period. The bracteate depicts the \"horse-stabber underhoof\" scene, a supine warrior stabbing a horse while it runs over him. The scene is adapted from Roman era gravestones of the region.\nGutenstein scabbard, found near Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, is a late testimony of pagan ritual in Alemannia, showing a warrior in ritual wolf costume, holding a ring-spatha.\nThe Christianization of the Alemanni took place during Merovingian times (6th to 8th centuries). We know that in the 6th century, the Alemanni were predominantly pagan, and in the 8th century, they were predominantly Christian. The intervening 7th century was a period of genuine syncretism during which Christian symbolism and doctrine gradually grew in influence.\n\nSome scholars have speculated that members of the Alemannic elite such as king Gibuld due to Visigothic influence may have been converted to Arianism even in the later 5th century.\n\nIn the mid-6th century, the Byzantine historian Agathias records, in the context of the wars of the Goths and Franks against Byzantium, that the Alemanni fighting among the troops of Frankish king Theudebald were like the Franks in all respects except religion, since\n\n\nHe also spoke of the particular ruthlessness of the Alemanni in destroying Christian sanctuaries and plundering churches while the genuine Franks were respectful towards those sanctuaries. Agathias expresses his hope that the Alemanni would assume better manners through prolonged contact with the Franks, which is by all appearances, in a manner of speaking, what eventually happened.\n\nApostles of the Alemanni were Columbanus and his disciple Saint Gall. Jonas of Bobbio records that Columbanus was active in Bregenz, where he disrupted a beer sacrifice to Wodan. Despite these activities, for some time, the Alemanni seem to have continued their pagan cult activities, with only superficial or syncretistic Christian elements. In particular, there is no change in burial practice, and tumulus warrior graves continued to be erected throughout Merovingian times. Syncretism of traditional Germanic animal-style with Christian symbolism is also present in artwork, but Christian symbolism becomes more and more prevalent during the 7th century. Unlike the later Christianization of the Saxons and of the Slavs, the Alemanni seem to have adopted Christianity gradually, and voluntarily, spread in emulation of the Merovingian elite.\n\nFrom c. the 520s to the 620s, there was a surge of Alemannic Elder Futhark inscriptions. About 70 specimens have survived, roughly half of them on fibulae, others on belt buckles (see Pforzen buckle, Bülach fibula) and other jewelry and weapon parts. Use of runes subsides with the advance of Christianity.\nThe Nordendorf fibula (early 7th century) clearly records pagan theonyms, ''logaþorewodanwigiþonar '' read as \"Wodan and Donar are magicians/sorcerers\", but this may be interpreted as either a pagan invocation of the powers of these deities, or a Christian protective charm against them.\nA runic inscription on a fibula found at Bad Ems reflects Christian pious sentiment (and is also explicitly marked with a Christian cross), reading ''god fura dih deofile ᛭'' (\"God for/before you, Theophilus!\", or alternatively \"God before you, Devil!\"). Dated to between AD 660 and 690, it marks the end of the native Alemannic tradition of runic literacy. Bad Ems is in Rhineland-Palatinate, on the northwestern boundary of Alemannic settlement, where Frankish influence would have been strongest.\n\nThe establishment of the bishopric of Konstanz cannot be dated exactly and was possibly undertaken by Columbanus himself (before 612). In any case, it existed by 635, when Gunzo appointed John of Grab bishop. Constance was a missionary bishopric in newly converted lands, and did not look back on late Roman church history (unlike the Raetian bishopric of Chur, established 451) and Basel, which was an episcopal seat from 740, and which continued the line of Bishops of Augusta Raurica (see Bishop of Basel). The establishment of the church as an institution recognized by worldly rulers is also visible in legal history. In the early 7th century ''Pactus Alamannorum'' hardly ever mentions the special privileges of the church, while Lantfrid's ''Lex Alamannorum'' of 720 has an entire chapter reserved for ecclesial matters alone.\n", "\n===Independent kings===\n* Chrocus 306\n* Mederich (father of Agenarich, brother to Chnodomar)\n* Chnodomarius 350, 357\n* Vestralp 357, 359\n* Ur 357, 359\n* Agenarich (Serapio) 357\n* Suomar 357, 358\n* Hortar 357, 359\n* Gundomad 354 (co-regent of Vadomar)\n* Ursicin 357, 359\n* Macrian 368–371\n* Rando 368\n* Hariobaud 4th century\n* Vadomar vor 354–360\n* Vithicab 360–368\n* Priarius ?–378\n* Gibuld (Gebavult) c. 470\n\n===Dukes under Frankish suzerainty===\n* Butilin 539–554\n* Leuthari I before 552–554\n* Haming 539–554\n* Lantachar until 548 (Avenches diocese)\n* Magnachar 565 (Avenches diocese)\n* Vaefar 573 (Avenches diocese)\n* Theodefrid\n* Leutfred 570–587\n* Uncilin 587–607\n* Gunzo 613\n* Chrodobert 630\n* Leuthari II 642\n* Gotfrid until 709\n* Willehari 709–712 (in Ortenau)\n* Lantfrid 709–730\n* Theudebald 709–744\n\n===Carolingian ruler===\n* Carloman 744–747\n* Drogo 747–748\n* Pepin the Short 748–768\n* Carloman I 768–771\n* Charles the Bald 829–840\n* Louis the German 843–864\n* Charles the Fat 864–880\n* Louis the Younger 880–882\n* Charles the Fat 882–888\n* Bernard 888–892\n", "\n*Annales Alamannici\n*List of confederations of Germanic tribes\n", "\n", "* Drinkwater, J. F. (2007) ''The Alamanni and Rome (213–496)''\n*Ian Wood (ed.), ''Franks and Alamanni in the Merovingian Period: An Ethnographic Perspective (Studies in Historical Archaeoethnology)'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2003, .\n*Melchior Goldast, ''Rerum Alamannicarum scriptores'' (1606, 2nd ed. Senckenburg 1730)\n", "\n* The Agri Decumates\n* The Alemanni\n* The Military Orientation of the Roman Emperors Septimius Severus to Gallienus (146–268 C.E.)\n* Brauchtum und Masken Alemannic Fastnacht\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Name", "History", "Culture", "List of Alemannic rulers", "See also", "References", "Literature", "External links" ]

[ "===Political organization===\nThe Alemanni established a series of territorially defined ''pagi'' (cantons) on the east bank of the Rhine." ]

[ "\nArea settled by the Alemanni, and sites of Roman-Alemannic battles, 3rd to 6th centuries\n\nThe '''Alemanni''' (also ''Alamanni''; ''Suebi'' \"Swabians\") were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the upper Rhine river.", "First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the Agri Decumates in 260, and later expanded into present-day Alsace, and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the Old High German language in those regions.", "In 496, the Alemanni were conquered by Frankish leader Clovis and incorporated into his dominions.", "Mentioned as still pagan allies of the Christian Franks, the Alemanni were gradually Christianized during the 7th century.", "The ''Lex Alamannorum'' is a record of their customary law during this period.", "Until the 8th century, Frankish suzerainty over Alemannia was mostly nominal.", "But after an uprising by Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, Carloman executed the Alamannic nobility and installed Frankish dukes.", "During the later and weaker years of the Carolingian Empire the Alemannic counts became almost independent, and a struggle for supremacy took place between them and the Bishopric of Constance.", "The chief family in Alamannia was that of the counts of Raetia Curiensis, who were sometimes called margraves, and one of whom, Burchard II, established the Duchy of Swabia, which was recognized by Henry the Fowler in 919 and became a stem duchy of the Holy Roman Empire.", "The area settled by the Alemanni corresponds roughly to the area where Alemannic German dialects remain spoken, including German Swabia and Baden, French Alsace, German-speaking Switzerland and Austrian Vorarlberg.", "Their name has survived into modern times, for example: The word for Germany in French \"Allemagne\", Spanish \"Alemania\", Portuguese \"Alemanha\", Persian \"Alman\", Turkish \"Almanya\" and Welsh ''Yr Almaen'' all derive from Alemanni.", "According to Gaius Asinius Quadratus (quoted in the mid-6th century by Byzantine historian Agathias) their name means \"all men\".", "It indicates that they were a conglomeration drawn from various Germanic tribes.", "Other sources say the name alemannen derives from alahmannen which means \"men of sanctuary\" and not \"all men\" (Sir Francis Palgrave) and other very old Urgermanic wisdom.", "The Romans and the Greeks called them as such mentioned.", "This was the derivation of ''Alemanni'' used by Edward Gibbon, in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and by the anonymous contributor of notes assembled from the papers of Nicolas Fréret, published in 1753, who noted that it was the name used by outsiders for those who called themselves the ''Suebi''.", "This etymology has remained the standard derivation of the term.", "Walafrid Strabo, a monk of the Abbey of St. Gall writing in the 9th century, remarked, in discussing the people of Switzerland and the surrounding regions, that only foreigners called them the ''Alemanni'', but that they gave themselves the name of ''Suebi''.", "The name of Germany and the German language in several languages is derived from the name of this early Germanic tribal alliance.", "For details, see Names of Germany.", "\n===First explicit mention===\ngrave field at Weingarten.", "The Alemanni were first mentioned by Cassius Dio describing the campaign of Caracalla in 213.", "At that time they apparently dwelt in the basin of the Main, to the south of the Chatti.", "Cassius Dio (78.13.4) portrays the Alemanni as victims of this treacherous emperor.", "They had asked for his help, says Dio, but instead he colonized their country, changed their place names and executed their warriors under a pretext of coming to their aid.", "When he became ill, the Alemanni claimed to have put a hex on him (78.15.2).", "Caracalla, it was claimed, tried to counter this influence by invoking his ancestral spirits.", "In retribution Caracalla then led the Legio II ''Traiana Fortis'' against the Alemanni, who lost and were pacified for a time.", "The legion was as a result honored with the name ''Germanica''.", "The 4th-century fictional Historia Augusta, ''Life of Antoninus Caracalla'', relates (10.5) that Caracalla then assumed the name ''Alemannicus'', at which Helvius Pertinax jested that he should really be called ''Geticus Maximus'', because in the year before he had murdered his brother, Geta.", "Through much of his short reign Caracalla was known for unpredictable and arbitrary operations launched by surprise after a pretext of peace negotiations.", "If he had any reasons of state for such actions they remained unknown to his contemporaries.", "Whether or not the Alemanni had been previously neutral, they were certainly further influenced by Caracalla to become thereafter notoriously implacable enemies of Rome.", "This mutually antagonistic relationship is perhaps the reason why the Roman writers persisted in calling the Alemanni ''barbari'', \"savages\".", "The archaeology, however, shows that they were largely Romanized, lived in Roman-style houses and used Roman artifacts, the Alemannic women having adopted the Roman fashion of the ''tunic'' even earlier than the men.", "Most of the Alemanni were probably at the time in fact resident in or close to the borders of Germania Superior.", "Although Dio is the earliest writer to mention them, Ammianus Marcellinus used the name to refer to Germans on the Limes Germanicus in the time of Trajan's governorship of the province shortly after it was formed, c. 98/99.", "At that time the entire frontier was being fortified for the first time.", "Trees from the earliest fortifications found in Germania Inferior are dated by dendrochronology to 99/100 AD.", "Ammianus relates ( xvii.1.11) that much later the Emperor Julian undertook a punitive expedition against the Alemanni, who by then were in Alsace, and crossed the Main (Latin ''Menus''), entering the forest, where the trails were blocked by felled trees.", "As winter was upon them, they reoccupied a\n\"fortification which was founded on the soil of the Alemanni that Trajan wished to be called with his own name\".", "In this context the use of Alemanni is possibly an anachronism but it reveals that Ammianus believed they were the same people, which is consistent with the location of the Alemanni of Caracalla's campaigns.", "===Alemanni and Hermunduri===\nThe early detailed source, the ''Germania'' of Tacitus, has sometimes been interpreted in such a way as to provide yet other historical problems.", "In Chapter 42 we read of the Hermunduri, a tribe certainly located in the region that later became Thuringia.", "Tacitus stated that they traded with Rhaetia, which in Ptolemy is located across the Danube from Germania Superior.", "A logical conclusion to draw is that the Hermunduri extended over later Swabia and therefore the Alemanni originally derived from the Hermunduri.", "However, no Hermunduri appear in Ptolemy, though after the time of Ptolemy, the Hermunduri joined with the Marcomanni in the wars of 166–180 against the empire.", "A careful reading of Tacitus provides one solution.", "He says that the source of the Elbe is among the Hermunduri, somewhat to the east of the upper Main.", "He places them also between the Naristi (Varisti), whose location at the very edge of the ancient Black Forest is well known, and the Marcomanni and Quadi.", "Moreover, the Hermunduri were broken in the Marcomannic Wars and made a separate peace with Rome.", "The Alemanni thus were probably not primarily the Hermunduri, although some elements of them may have been present in the mix of peoples at that time that became Alemannian.", "===Ptolemy's ''Geography''===\nBefore the mention of ''Alemanni'' in the time of Caracalla, you would search in vain for Alemanni in the moderately detailed geography of southern Germany in Claudius Ptolemy, written in Greek in the mid-2nd century; it is likely that at that time, the people who later used that name were known by other designations.", "Nevertheless, some conclusions can be drawn from Ptolemy.", "Germania Superior is easily identified.", "Following up the Rhine one comes to a town, Mattiacum, which must be at the border of the Roman Germany (vicinity of Wiesbaden).", "Upstream from it and between the Rhine and Abnoba (in the Black Forest) are the Ingriones, Intuergi, Vangiones, Caritni and Vispi, some of whom were there since the days of the early empire or before.", "On the other side of the northern Black Forest were the Chatti about where Hesse is today, on the lower Main.", "Historic Swabia was eventually replaced by today's Baden-Württemberg, but it had been the most significant territory of mediaeval Alamannia, comprising all Germania Superior and territory east to Bavaria.", "It did not include the upper Main, but that is where Caracalla campaigned.", "Moreover, the territory of Germania Superior was not originally included among the Alemanni's possessions.", "However, if we look for the peoples in the region from the upper Main in the north, south to the Danube and east to the Czech Republic where the Quadi and Marcomanni were located, Ptolemy does not give any tribes.", "There are the Tubanti just south of the Chatti and at the other end of what was then the Black Forest, the Varisti, whose location is known.", "One possible reason for this distribution is that the population preferred not to live in the forest except in troubled times.", "The region between the forest and the Danube on the other hand included about a dozen settlements, or \"cantons\".", "Ptolemy's view of Germans in the region indicates that the tribal structure had lost its grip in the Black Forest region and was replaced by a canton structure.", "The tribes stayed in the Roman province, perhaps because the Romans offered stability.", "Also, Caracalla perhaps felt more comfortable about campaigning in the upper Main because he was not declaring war on any specific historic tribe, such as the Chatti or Cherusci, against whom Rome had suffered grievous losses.", "By Caracalla's time the name ''Alemanni'' was being used by cantons themselves banding together for purposes of supporting a citizen army (the \"war bands\").", "===Concentration of Germanic peoples under Ariovistus===\nThe term Suebi has a double meaning in the sources.", "On the one hand Tacitus' ''Germania'' tells us ( Chapters 38, 39) that they occupy more than half of Germany, use a distinctive hair style, and are spiritually centered on the Semnones.", "On the other hand, the Suebi of the upper Danube are described as though they were a tribe.", "The solution to the puzzle as well as explaining the historical circumstances leading to the choice of the Agri Decumates as a defensive point and the concentration of Germans there are probably to be found in the German attack on the Gallic fortified town of Vesontio in 58 BC.", "The upper Rhine and Danube appear to form a funnel pointing straight at Vesontio.", "Julius Caesar in ''Gallic Wars'' tells us ( 1.51) that Ariovistus had gathered an army from a wide region of Germany, but especially the Harudes, Marcomanni, Triboci, Vangiones, Nemetes and Sedusii.", "The Suebi were being invited to join.", "They lived in 100 cantons ( 4.1) from which 1000 young men per year were chosen for military service, a citizen-army by our standards and by comparison with the Roman professional army.", "Ariovistus had become involved in an invasion of Gaul, which the German wished to settle.", "Intending to take the strategic town of Vesontio, he concentrated his forces on the Rhine near Lake Constance, and when the Suebi arrived, he crossed.", "The Gauls had called to Rome for military aid.", "Caesar occupied the town first and defeated the Germans before its walls, slaughtering most of the German army as it tried to flee across the river (1.36ff).", "He did not pursue the retreating remnants, leaving what was left of the German army and their dependents intact on the other side of the Rhine.", "The Gauls were ambivalent in their policies toward the Romans.", "In 53 BC the Treveri broke their alliance and attempted to break free of Rome.", "Caesar foresaw that they would now attempt to ally themselves with the Germans.", "He crossed the Rhine to forestall that event, a successful strategy.", "Remembering their expensive defeat at the Battle of Vesontio, the Germans withdrew to the Black Forest, concentrating there a mixed population dominated by Suebi.", "As they had left their tribal homes behind, they probably took over all the former Celtic cantons along the Danube.", "===Conflicts with the Roman Empire===\nThe Limes Germanicus 83 to 260 CE.", "The Alemanni were continually engaged in conflicts with the Roman Empire in the 3rd and 4th centuries.", "They launched a major invasion of Gaul and northern Italy in 268, when the Romans were forced to denude much of their German frontier of troops in response to a massive invasion of the Goths from the east.", "Their raids throughout the three parts of Gaul were traumatic: Gregory of Tours (died ca 594) mentions their destructive force at the time of Valerian and Gallienus (253–260), when the Alemanni assembled under their \"king\", whom he calls Chrocus, who \"by the advice, it is said, of his wicked mother, and overran the whole of the Gauls, and destroyed from their foundations all the temples which had been built in ancient times.", "And coming to Clermont he set on fire, overthrew and destroyed that shrine which they call ''Vasso Galatae'' in the Gallic tongue,\" martyring many Christians ( ''Historia Francorum'' Book I.32–34).", "Thus 6th-century Gallo-Romans of Gregory's class, surrounded by the ruins of Roman temples and public buildings, attributed the destruction they saw to the plundering raids of the Alemanni.", "In the early summer of 268, the Emperor Gallienus halted their advance into Italy, but then had to deal with the Goths.", "When the Gothic campaign ended in Roman victory at the Battle of Naissus in September, Gallienus' successor Claudius Gothicus turned north to deal with the Alemanni, who were swarming over all Italy north of the Po River.", "After efforts to secure a peaceful withdrawal failed, Claudius forced the Alemanni to battle at the Battle of Lake Benacus in November.", "The Alemanni were routed, forced back into Germany, and did not threaten Roman territory for many years afterwards.", "Their most famous battle against Rome took place in Argentoratum (Strasbourg), in 357, where they were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their king Chnodomarius was taken prisoner to Rome.", "On January 2, 366, the Alemanni yet again crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers, to invade the Gallic provinces, this time being defeated by Valentinian (see Battle of Solicinium).", "In the great mixed invasion of 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau.", "The crossing is described in Wallace Breem's historical novel \"Eagle in the Snow.\"", "The Chronicle of Fredegar gives the account.", "At ''Alba Augusta'' (Alba-la-Romaine) the devastation was so complete, that the Christian bishop retired to Viviers, but in Gregory's account at Mende in Lozère, also deep in the heart of Gaul, bishop Privatus was forced to sacrifice to idols in the very cave where he was later venerated.", "It is thought this detail may be a generic literary ploy to epitomize the horrors of barbarian violence.", "====List of battles between Romans and Alemanni====\nEurope at the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.", "* 259, Battle of Mediolanum—Emperor Gallienus defeats the Alemanni to rescue Rome\n* 268, Battle of Lake Benacus—Romans under Emperor Claudius II defeat the Alemanni.", "* 271\n** Battle of Placentia—Emperor Aurelian is defeated by the Alemanni forces invading Italy\n** Battle of Fano—Aurelian defeats the Alemanni, who begin to retreat from Italy\n** Battle of Pavia—Aurelian destroys the retreating Alemanni army.", "* 298\n** Battle of Lingones—Caesar Constantius Chlorus defeats the Alemanni\n** Battle of Vindonissa—Constantius again defeats the Alemanni\n* 356, Battle of Reims—Caesar Julian is defeated by the Alemanni\n* 357, Battle of Strasbourg—Julian expels the Alemanni from the Rhineland\n* 367, Battle of Solicinium—Romans under Emperor Valentinian I defeat yet another Alemanni incursion.", "* 378, Battle of Argentovaria—Western Emperor Gratianus is victorious over the Alemanni, yet again.", "* 451, Battle of the Catalaunian Fields-Roman General Aetius and his army of Romans and barbarian allies defeat Attila's army of Huns and other Germanic allies, including the Alemanni.", "* 554, Battle of the Volturnus-Armenian-Roman General Narses defeats a combined force of Franks and Alemanni in northern Italy.", "===Subjugation by the Franks===\n\nAlemannia (yellow) and Upper Burgundy (green) around 1000.", "The kingdom of Alamannia between Strasbourg and Augsburg lasted until 496, when the Alemanni were conquered by Clovis I at the Battle of Tolbiac.", "The war of Clovis with the Alemanni forms the setting for the conversion of Clovis, briefly treated by Gregory of Tours.", "( Book II.31) Subsequently, the Alemanni formed part of the Frankish dominions and were governed by a Frankish duke.", "In 746, Carloman ended an uprising by summarily executing all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt, and for the following century, Alemannia was ruled by Frankish dukes.", "Following the treaty of Verdun of 843, Alemannia became a province of the eastern kingdom of Louis the German, the precursor of the Holy Roman Empire.", "The duchy persisted until 1268.", "\n===Language===\nThe traditional distribution area of Western Upper German (Alemannic) dialect features in the 19th and 20th centuries\n\nThe German spoken today over the range of the former Alemanni is termed Alemannic German, and is recognised among the subgroups of the High German languages.", "Alemannic runic inscriptions such as those on the Pforzen buckle are among the earliest testimonies of Old High German.", "The High German consonant shift is thought to have originated around the 5th century either in Alemannia or among the Lombards; before that the dialect spoken by Alemannic tribes was little different from that of other West Germanic peoples.", "''Alemannia'' lost its distinct jurisdictional identity when Charles Martel absorbed it into the Frankish empire, early in the 8th century.", "Today, ''Alemannic'' is a linguistic term, referring to Alemannic German, encompassing the dialects of the southern two thirds of Baden-Württemberg (German State), in western Bavaria (German State), in Vorarlberg (Austrian State), Swiss German in Switzerland and the Alsatian language of the Alsace (France).", "The exact number and extent of these ''pagi'' is unclear and probably changed over time.", "''Pagi'', usually pairs of ''pagi'' combined, formed kingdoms (''regna'') which, it is generally believed, were permanent and hereditary.", "Ammianus describes Alemanni rulers with various terms: ''reges excelsiores ante alios'' (\"paramount kings\"), ''reges proximi'' (\"neighbouring kings\"), ''reguli'' (\"petty kings\") and ''regales'' (\"princes\").", "This may be a formal hierarchy, or they may be vague, overlapping terms, or a combination of both.", "In 357, there appear to have been two paramount kings (Chnodomar and Westralp) who probably acted as presidents of the confederation and seven other kings (''reges'').", "Their territories were small and mostly strung along the Rhine (although a few were in the hinterland).", "It is possible that the ''reguli'' were the rulers of the two ''pagi'' in each kingdom.", "Underneath the royal class were the nobles (called ''optimates'' by the Romans) and warriors (called ''armati'' by the Romans).", "The warriors consisted of professional warbands and levies of free men.", "Each nobleman could raise an average of c. 50 warriors.", "===Religion===\n\nThe gold bracteate of Pliezhausen (6th or 7th century) shows typical iconography of the pagan period.", "The bracteate depicts the \"horse-stabber underhoof\" scene, a supine warrior stabbing a horse while it runs over him.", "The scene is adapted from Roman era gravestones of the region.", "Gutenstein scabbard, found near Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, is a late testimony of pagan ritual in Alemannia, showing a warrior in ritual wolf costume, holding a ring-spatha.", "The Christianization of the Alemanni took place during Merovingian times (6th to 8th centuries).", "We know that in the 6th century, the Alemanni were predominantly pagan, and in the 8th century, they were predominantly Christian.", "The intervening 7th century was a period of genuine syncretism during which Christian symbolism and doctrine gradually grew in influence.", "Some scholars have speculated that members of the Alemannic elite such as king Gibuld due to Visigothic influence may have been converted to Arianism even in the later 5th century.", "In the mid-6th century, the Byzantine historian Agathias records, in the context of the wars of the Goths and Franks against Byzantium, that the Alemanni fighting among the troops of Frankish king Theudebald were like the Franks in all respects except religion, since\n\n\nHe also spoke of the particular ruthlessness of the Alemanni in destroying Christian sanctuaries and plundering churches while the genuine Franks were respectful towards those sanctuaries.", "Agathias expresses his hope that the Alemanni would assume better manners through prolonged contact with the Franks, which is by all appearances, in a manner of speaking, what eventually happened.", "Apostles of the Alemanni were Columbanus and his disciple Saint Gall.", "Jonas of Bobbio records that Columbanus was active in Bregenz, where he disrupted a beer sacrifice to Wodan.", "Despite these activities, for some time, the Alemanni seem to have continued their pagan cult activities, with only superficial or syncretistic Christian elements.", "In particular, there is no change in burial practice, and tumulus warrior graves continued to be erected throughout Merovingian times.", "Syncretism of traditional Germanic animal-style with Christian symbolism is also present in artwork, but Christian symbolism becomes more and more prevalent during the 7th century.", "Unlike the later Christianization of the Saxons and of the Slavs, the Alemanni seem to have adopted Christianity gradually, and voluntarily, spread in emulation of the Merovingian elite.", "From c. the 520s to the 620s, there was a surge of Alemannic Elder Futhark inscriptions.", "About 70 specimens have survived, roughly half of them on fibulae, others on belt buckles (see Pforzen buckle, Bülach fibula) and other jewelry and weapon parts.", "Use of runes subsides with the advance of Christianity.", "The Nordendorf fibula (early 7th century) clearly records pagan theonyms, ''logaþorewodanwigiþonar '' read as \"Wodan and Donar are magicians/sorcerers\", but this may be interpreted as either a pagan invocation of the powers of these deities, or a Christian protective charm against them.", "A runic inscription on a fibula found at Bad Ems reflects Christian pious sentiment (and is also explicitly marked with a Christian cross), reading ''god fura dih deofile ᛭'' (\"God for/before you, Theophilus!", "\", or alternatively \"God before you, Devil!\").", "Dated to between AD 660 and 690, it marks the end of the native Alemannic tradition of runic literacy.", "Bad Ems is in Rhineland-Palatinate, on the northwestern boundary of Alemannic settlement, where Frankish influence would have been strongest.", "The establishment of the bishopric of Konstanz cannot be dated exactly and was possibly undertaken by Columbanus himself (before 612).", "In any case, it existed by 635, when Gunzo appointed John of Grab bishop.", "Constance was a missionary bishopric in newly converted lands, and did not look back on late Roman church history (unlike the Raetian bishopric of Chur, established 451) and Basel, which was an episcopal seat from 740, and which continued the line of Bishops of Augusta Raurica (see Bishop of Basel).", "The establishment of the church as an institution recognized by worldly rulers is also visible in legal history.", "In the early 7th century ''Pactus Alamannorum'' hardly ever mentions the special privileges of the church, while Lantfrid's ''Lex Alamannorum'' of 720 has an entire chapter reserved for ecclesial matters alone.", "\n===Independent kings===\n* Chrocus 306\n* Mederich (father of Agenarich, brother to Chnodomar)\n* Chnodomarius 350, 357\n* Vestralp 357, 359\n* Ur 357, 359\n* Agenarich (Serapio) 357\n* Suomar 357, 358\n* Hortar 357, 359\n* Gundomad 354 (co-regent of Vadomar)\n* Ursicin 357, 359\n* Macrian 368–371\n* Rando 368\n* Hariobaud 4th century\n* Vadomar vor 354–360\n* Vithicab 360–368\n* Priarius ?–378\n* Gibuld (Gebavult) c. 470\n\n===Dukes under Frankish suzerainty===\n* Butilin 539–554\n* Leuthari I before 552–554\n* Haming 539–554\n* Lantachar until 548 (Avenches diocese)\n* Magnachar 565 (Avenches diocese)\n* Vaefar 573 (Avenches diocese)\n* Theodefrid\n* Leutfred 570–587\n* Uncilin 587–607\n* Gunzo 613\n* Chrodobert 630\n* Leuthari II 642\n* Gotfrid until 709\n* Willehari 709–712 (in Ortenau)\n* Lantfrid 709–730\n* Theudebald 709–744\n\n===Carolingian ruler===\n* Carloman 744–747\n* Drogo 747–748\n* Pepin the Short 748–768\n* Carloman I 768–771\n* Charles the Bald 829–840\n* Louis the German 843–864\n* Charles the Fat 864–880\n* Louis the Younger 880–882\n* Charles the Fat 882–888\n* Bernard 888–892", "\n*Annales Alamannici\n*List of confederations of Germanic tribes", "* Drinkwater, J. F. (2007) ''The Alamanni and Rome (213–496)''\n*Ian Wood (ed.", "), ''Franks and Alamanni in the Merovingian Period: An Ethnographic Perspective (Studies in Historical Archaeoethnology)'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2003, .", "*Melchior Goldast, ''Rerum Alamannicarum scriptores'' (1606, 2nd ed.", "Senckenburg 1730)", "\n* The Agri Decumates\n* The Alemanni\n* The Military Orientation of the Roman Emperors Septimius Severus to Gallienus (146–268 C.E.)", "* Brauchtum und Masken Alemannic Fastnacht" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThe '''Australian Labor Party''' ('''ALP''', also '''Labor''', was '''Labour''' before 1912) is a political party in Australia. The party has been in opposition at the federal level since the 2013 election. Bill Shorten has been the party's federal parliamentary leader since 13 October 2013. The party is a federal party with branches in each state and territory. Labor is in government in the states of Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and in both the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. The party competes against the Liberal/National Coalition for political office at the federal and state (and sometimes local) levels.\n\nLabor's constitution has long stated: \"The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields\". This \"socialist objective\" was introduced in 1921, but was later qualified by two further objectives: \"maintenance of and support for a competitive non-monopolistic private sector\" and \"the right to own private property\". Labor governments have not attempted the \"democratic socialisation\" of any industry since the 1940s, when the Chifley government failed to nationalise the private banks, and in fact have privatised several industries such as aviation and banking. Labor's current National Platform describes the party as \"a modern social democratic party\", \"the party of opportunity and security for working people\" and \"a party of active government\".\n\nThe ALP was not founded as a federal party until after the first sitting of the Australian Parliament in 1901. Nevertheless, it is regarded as descended from labour parties founded in the various Australian colonies by the emerging labour movement in Australia, formally beginning in 1891. Labor is thus the country's oldest political party. Colonial labour parties contested seats from 1891, and federal seats following Federation at the 1901 federal election. The ALP formed the world's first Labour Party government, indeed the world's first socialist or social democratic government, at a national level. Labor was the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian Parliament, at the 1910 federal election. The Australian Labor Party at both a federal and state/colony level pre-dates, among others, both the British Labour Party and the New Zealand Labour Party in party formation, government, and policy implementation. Internationally, the ALP is a member of the Progressive Alliance network of social-democratic parties, having previously been a member of the Socialist International.\n", "\nBill Shorten, Labor leader 2013–present\nChris Watson, first leader of then Federal Labour Party 1901–07 (held the balance of power) and Prime Minister in 1904\nAndrew Fisher, Prime Minister 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15\nBilly Hughes, Prime Minister 1915–16\nJames Scullin, Prime Minister 1929–32\nJohn Curtin, Prime Minister 1941–45\nFrank Forde, Prime Minister 1945\nBen Chifley, Prime Minister 1945–49\nGough Whitlam, Prime Minister 1972–75\nBob Hawke, Prime Minister 1983–91\nPaul Keating, Prime Minister 1991–96\nKevin Rudd, Prime Minister 2007–10, 2013\nJulia Gillard, Prime Minister 2010–13\n\n\nThe Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree (the \"Tree of Knowledge\") in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia. Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.\n\nThe first election contested by Labour candidates was the 1891 New South Wales election, when Labour candidates (then called the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales) won 35 of 141 seats. The major parties were the Protectionist and Free Trade parties and Labour held the balance of power. It offered parliamentary support in exchange for policy concessions. The United Labor Party (ULP) of South Australia was founded in 1891, and three candidates were that year elected to the South Australian Legislative Council. The first successful South Australian House of Assembly candidate was John McPherson at the 1892 East Adelaide by-election. Richard Hooper however was elected as an Independent Labor candidate at the 1891 Wallaroo by-election, while he was the first Labor member of the House of Assembly he was not a member of the newly formed ULP.\n\nAt the 1893 South Australian elections the ULP was immediately elevated to balance of power status with 10 of 54 lower house seats. The liberal government of Charles Kingston was formed with the support of the ULP, ousting the conservative government of John Downer. So successful, less than a decade later at the 1905 election, Thomas Price would form the world's first stable Labor government. John Verran led Labor to form the state's first of many majority governments at the 1910 election.\n\nIn 1899, Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government in Queensland, the first in the world, which lasted one week while the conservatives regrouped after a split.\n\nThe colonial Labour parties and the trade unions were mixed in their support for the Federation of Australia. Some Labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming that the Senate as proposed was too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist colonial upper houses and the British House of Lords. They feared that federation would further entrench the power of the conservative forces. The first Labour leader and Prime Minister, Chris Watson, however, was a supporter of federation.\n\nHistorian Celia Hamilton, examining New South Wales, argues for the central role of Irish Catholics. Before 1890, they opposed Henry Parkes, the main Liberal leader, and of free trade, seeing them both as the ideals of Protestant Englishmen who represented landholding and large business interests. In the strike of 1890 the leading Catholic, Sydney's Archbishop Patrick Francis Moran was sympathetic toward unions, but Catholic newspapers were negative. After 1900, says Hamilton, Irish Catholics were drawn to the Labour Party because its stress on equality and social welfare fitted with their status as manual labourers and small farmers. In the 1910 elections Labour gained in the more Catholic areas and the representation of Catholics increased in Labour's parliamentary ranks.\n\n===Early decades at the federal level===\nThe federal parliament in 1901 was contested by each state Labour Party. In total, they won 14 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, collectively holding the balance of power, and the Labour members now met as the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (informally known as the caucus) on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first federal Parliament. The caucus decided to support the incumbent Protectionist Party in minority government, while the Free Trade Party formed the opposition. It was some years before there was any significant structure or organisation at a national level. Labour under Chris Watson doubled its vote at the 1903 federal election and continued to hold the balance of power. In April 1904, however, Watson and Alfred Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of industrial relations laws concerning the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill to cover state public servants, the fallout causing Deakin to resign. Free Trade leader George Reid declined to take office, which saw Watson become the first Labour Prime Minister of Australia, and the world's first Labour head of government at a national level (Anderson Dawson had led a short-lived Labour government in Queensland in December 1899), though his was a minority government that lasted only four months. He was aged only 37, and is still the youngest Prime Minister in Australia's history.\n\nGeorge Reid of the Free Trade Party adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs non-Labour lines – prior to the 1906 federal election, he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party. Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle. This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two-party system as very much the norm.\n\nThough Watson further strengthened Labour's position in 1906, he stepped down from the leadership the following year, to be succeeded by Andrew Fisher who formed a minority government lasting seven months from late 1908 to mid 1909. At the 1910 election, Fisher led Labor to victory, forming Australia's first elected federal majority government, Australia's first elected Senate majority, the world's first Labour Party majority government at a national level, and after the 1904 Chris Watson minority government the world's second Labour Party government at a national level. It was the first time a Labour Party had controlled any house of a legislature, and the first time the party controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature. The state branches were also successful, except in Victoria, where the strength of Deakinite liberalism inhibited the party's growth. The state branches formed their first majority governments in New South Wales and South Australia in 1910, Western Australia in 1911, Queensland in 1915 and Tasmania in 1925. Such success eluded equivalent social democratic and labour parties in other countries for many years.\n\nAnalysis of the early NSW Labor caucus reveals \"a band of unhappy amateurs\", made up of blue collar workers, a squatter, a doctor, and even a mine owner, indicating that the idea that only the socialist working class formed Labor is untrue. In addition, many members from the working class supported the liberal notion of free trade between the colonies – in the first grouping of state MPs, 17 of the 35 were free-traders.\n\nIn the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917, support for socialism grew in trade union ranks, and at the 1921 All-Australian Trades Union Congress a resolution was passed calling for \"the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange.\" The 1922 Labor Party National Conference adopted a similarly worded \"socialist objective,\" which remained official policy for many years. The resolution was immediately qualified, however, by the \"Blackburn amendment,\" which said that \"socialisation\" was desirable only when was necessary to \"eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features.\" In practice the socialist objective was a dead letter. Only once has a federal Labor government attempted to nationalise any industry (Ben Chifley's bank nationalisation of 1947), and that was held by the High Court to be unconstitutional. The commitment to nationalisation was dropped by Gough Whitlam, and Bob Hawke's government carried out many free market reforms including the floating of the dollar and privatisation of state enterprises such as Qantas airways and the Commonwealth Bank.\n\nThe Labor Party is commonly described as a social democratic party, and its constitution stipulates that it is a democratic socialist party. The party was created by, and has always been influenced by, the trade unions, and in practice its policy at any given time has usually been the policy of the broader labour movement. Thus at the first federal election 1901 Labor's platform called for a White Australia Policy, a citizen army and compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes. Labor has at various times supported high tariffs and low tariffs, conscription and pacifism, White Australia and multiculturalism, nationalisation and privatisation, isolationism and internationalism.\n\nHistorically, Labor and its affiliated unions were strong defenders of the White Australia Policy, which banned all non-European migration to Australia. This policy was partly motivated by 19th century theories about \"racial purity\" and by fears of economic competition from low-wage overseas workers which was shared by the vast majority of Australians and all major political parties. In practice the party opposed all migration, on the grounds that immigrants competed with Australian workers and drove down wages, until after World War II, when the Chifley Government launched a major immigration program. The party's opposition to non-European immigration did not change until after the retirement of Arthur Calwell as leader in 1967. Subsequently, Labor has become an advocate of multiculturalism, although some of its trade union base and some of its members continue to oppose high immigration levels.\n\n====Name changes====\nThe ALP adopted the formal name \"Australian Labour Party\" in 1908, but changed the spelling to \"Labor\" in 1912. While it is standard practice in Australian English both today and at the time to spell the word \"labour\" with a \"u\", the party was influenced by the United States labor movement, and a prominent figure in the early history of the party, the American-born King O'Malley, was successful in having the spelling \"modernised\". The change also made it easier to distinguish references to the party from the labour movement in general. (''See also Spelling in Australian English''.)\n\nIn South Australia the United Labor Party became the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party on 14 September 1917.\n\n===Second World War and beyond===\nThe Curtin and Chifley governments governed Australia through the latter half of the Second World War and initial stages of transition to peace. Labor leader John Curtin became prime minister in October 1941 when two independents crossed the floor of Parliament. Labor, led by Curtin, then led Australia through the years of the Pacific War. In December 1941, Curtin announced that \"Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom\", thus helping to establish the Australian-American alliance (later formalised as ANZUS by the Menzies Government). Remembered as a strong war time leader and for a landslide win at the 1943 election, Curtin died in office just prior to the end of the war and was succeeded by Ben Chifley. Chifley Labor won the 1946 election and oversaw Australia's initial transition to a peacetime economy. Labor was defeated at the 1949 election. At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifley sought to define the labour movement as having:\n\n\n\nTo a large extent, Chifley saw centralisation of the economy as the means to achieve such ambitions. With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and a strike by the Communist-dominated Miners Federation, Chifley lost office in 1949 to Robert Menzies' Liberal-National Coalition. Labor commenced what would be a 23-year period in opposition.\n\nVarious ideological beliefs were factionalised under reforms to the ALP under Gough Whitlam, resulting in what is now known as the Socialist Left who tend to favour a more interventionist economic policy and more socially progressive ideals, and Labor Right, the now dominant faction that tends to be more economically liberal and focus to a lesser extent on social issues. The Whitlam Labor government, marking a break with Labor's socialist tradition, pursued social-democratic policies rather than democratic socialist policies. Whitlam, in contrast to earlier Labor leaders, also cut tariffs by 25 percent. Whitlam led the Federal Labor Party back to office at the 1972 and 1974 elections, and passed a large amount of legislation. The Whitlam Government lost office following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis and dismissal by Governor-General Sir John Kerr after the Coalition blocked supply in the Senate after a series of political scandals, and was defeated at the 1975 election. Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.\n\nBob Hawke led Labor back to office at the 1983 election and the Hawke-Keating Government remained in power until defeated by John Howard at the 1996 election.\n\nKim Beazley led the party to the 1998 election, winning 51 percent of the two-party preferred vote but falling short on seats, and lost ground at the 2001 election. Mark Latham led Labor to the 2004 election but lost further ground. Beazley replaced Latham in 2005. Beazley in turn was challenged by Kevin Rudd who went on to defeat John Howard at the 2007 election with 52.7 percent of the two-party vote. The Rudd Government ended prior to the 2010 election with the replacement of Rudd as leader of the Party by deputy leader Julia Gillard. The Gillard Government was commissioned to govern in a hung parliament following the 2010 election with a one-seat parliamentary majority and 50.12 percent of the two-party vote.\n\nBetween the 2007 federal election and the 2008 Western Australian state election, Labor was in government nationally, as well as in all eight state and territory legislatures. This was the first time any single party or any coalition had achieved this since the ACT and the NT gained self-government. Labor narrowly lost government in Western Australia at the 2008 state election and Victoria at the 2010 state election. These losses were further compounded by landslide defeats in New South Wales in 2011, Queensland in 2012, the Northern Territory in 2012, Federally in 2013 and Tasmania in 2014. Labor secured a good result in the Australian Capital Territory in 2012 and, despite losing its majority, the party retained government in South Australia in 2014.\n\nHowever, most of these reversals proved only temporary with Labor returning to government in Victoria in 2014 and in Queensland in 2015 after spending only one term in opposition in both states. Furthermore, after winning the 2014 Fisher by-election by nine votes from a 7.3 percent swing, the Labor government in South Australia went from minority to majority government. Labor won landslide victories in the 2016 Northern Territory election and the 2017 Western Australian election.\n", "The policy of the Australian Labor Party is contained in its National Platform, which is approved by delegates to Labor's National Conference, held every three years. According to the Labor Party's website, \"The Platform is the result of a rigorous and constructive process of consultation, spanning the nation and including the cooperation and input of state and territory policy committees, local branches, unions, state and territory governments, and individual Party members. The Platform provides the policy foundation from which we can continue to work towards the election of a federal Labor Government.\"\n\nThe platform gives a general indication of the policy direction which a future Labor government would follow, but does not commit the party to specific policies. It maintains that \"Labor's traditional values will remain a constant on which all Australians can rely.\" While making it clear that Labor is fully committed to a market economy, it says that: \"Labor believes in a strong role for national government – the one institution all Australians truly own and control through our right to vote.\" Labor \"will not allow the benefits of change to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, or located only in privileged communities. The benefits must be shared by all Australians and all our regions.\" The platform and Labor \"believe that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential.\" For Labor, \"government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by: ensuring equal opportunity; removing unjustifiable discrimination; and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status.\" Further sections of the platform stress Labor's support for equality and human rights, labour rights and democracy.\n\nIn practice, the platform provides only general policy guidelines to Labor's federal, state and territory parliamentary leaderships. The policy Labor takes into an election campaign is determined by the Cabinet (if the party is in office) or the Shadow Cabinet (if it is in opposition), in consultation with key interest groups within the party, and is contained in the parliamentary Leader's policy speech delivered during the election campaign. When Labor is in office, the policies it implements are determined by the Cabinet, subject to the platform. Generally, it is accepted that while the platform binds Labor governments, how and when it is implemented remains the prerogative of the parliamentary caucus. It is now rare for the platform to conflict with government policy, as the content of the platform is usually developed in close collaboration with the party's parliamentary leadership as well as the factions. However, where there is a direct contradiction with the platform, Labor governments have sought to change the platform as a prerequisite for a change in policy. For example, privatisation legislation under the Hawke government occurred only after holding a special national conference to debate changing the platform.\n", "\n===National Executive and Secretariat===\nThe Australian Labor Party National Executive is the chief administrative authority of the Australian Labor Party, subject only to Labor's National Conference. The Executive is responsible for organising the triennial National Conference; carrying out the decisions of National Conference; interpreting the National Constitution, the National Platform and decisions of National Conference; and directing federal members.\n\nThe party holds a national conference every three years, which consists of delegates representing the state and territory branches (many coming from affiliated trade unions, although there is no formal requirement for unions to be represented at the national conference). The national conference decides the party's platform, elects the national executive, and appoints office-bearers such as the National Secretary, who also serves as national campaign director during elections. The current National Secretary is Noah Carroll. The most recent National Conference was the 47th conference held from 24 to 26 July 2015.\n\nThe head office of the ALP, the National Secretariat, is managed by the National Secretary. It plays a dual role of administration and national campaign strategy. It acts as a permanent secretariat to the National Executive by managing and assisting in all administrative affairs of the party. As the National Secretary also serves as national campaign director during elections, it is also responsible for national campaign strategy and organisation.\n\n===Federal Parliamentary Labor Party===\n\nThe elected members of the Labor party in both houses of the national Parliament meet as the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, also known as the Caucus. Besides discussing parliamentary business and tactics, the Caucus also is involved in the election of the federal parliamentary leaders. Until 2013 the parliamentary leaders were elected by the Caucus from among its members. The leader has historically been a member of the House of Representatives. Since October 2013, a ballot of both the Caucus and by the Labor Party's rank-and-file members determined the party leader and the deputy leader. When the Labor Party is in government, the party leader is the Prime Minister and the deputy leader is the Deputy Prime Minister. If a Labor prime minister resigns or dies in office, the deputy leader acts as prime minister and party leader until a successor is elected. Members of the Ministry are also chosen by Caucus, though the leader may allocate portfolios to the ministers.\n\n===State and territory branches===\n \nThe Australian Labor Party is a federal party, consisting of eight branches from each state and territory. While the National Executive is responsible for national campaign strategy, each state and territory are an autonomous branch and are responsible for campaigning in their own jurisdictions for federal, state and local elections. State and territory branches consist of both individual members and affiliated trade unions, who between them decide the party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office.\n\nMembers join a state branch and pay a membership fee, which is graduated according to income. The majority of trade unions in Australia are affiliated to the party at a state level. Union affiliation is direct and not through the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Affiliated unions pay an affiliation fee based on the size of their membership. Union affiliation fees make up a large part of the party's income. Another source of funds for the party are political donations and public funding.\n\nMembers are generally expected to attend at least one meeting of their local branch each year, although there are differences in the rules from state to state. In practice only a dedicated minority regularly attend meetings. Many members are only active during election campaigns.\n\nThe members and unions elect delegates to state and territory conferences (usually held annually, although more frequent conferences are often held). These conferences decide policy, and elect state or territory executives, a state or territory president (an honorary position usually held for a one-year term), and a state or territory secretary (a full-time professional position). However, ACT Labor directly elects its president. The larger branches also have full-time assistant secretaries and organisers. In the past the ratio of conference delegates coming from the branches and affiliated unions has varied from state to state, however under recent national reforms at least 50% of delegates at all state and territory conferences must be elected by branches.\n\nIn some states it also contests local government elections or endorses local candidates. In others it does not, preferring to allow its members to run as non-endorsed candidates. The process of choosing candidates is called preselection. Candidates are preselected by different methods in the various states and territories. In some they are chosen by ballots of all party members, in others by panels or committees elected by the state conference, in still others by a combination of these two.\n\n====Country Labor====\n'''Country Labor''' is a subsection of the ALP, and is used as a designation by candidates contesting elections in rural areas. It functions as a sort of ginger group within the party, and is somewhat analogous to its youth wing. The '''Country Labor Party''' is registered as a separate party in New South Wales and South Australia, and is also registered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for federal elections. It does not have the same status in other states, and consequently that designation cannot be used on the ballot paper.\n\nThe creation of a separation designation for rural candidates was first suggested at the June 1999 ALP state conference in New South Wales. In May 2000, following Labor's success at the 2000 Benalla by-election in Victoria, Kim Beazley announced that the ALP intended to register a separate \"Country Labor Party\" with the AEC; this occurred in October 2000. The Country Labor designation is most frequently used in New South Wales. According to the ALP's financial statements for the 2015–16 financial year, NSW Country Labor had around 2,600 members (around 17 percent of the party total), but almost no assets. It recorded a severe funding shortfall at the 2015 NSW state election, and had to rely on a $1.68-million loan from the party proper to remain solvent. It had been initially assumed that the party proper could provide the money from its own resources, but the NSW Electoral Commission ruled that this was impermissible because the parties were registered separately. Instead the party proper had to loan Country Labor the required funds at a commercial interest rate.\n\n===Australian Young Labor===\n \nAustralian Young Labor is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party, where all members under age 26 are automatically members. It is the peak youth body within the ALP. Former Presidents of AYL have included former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Federal Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke, former Special Minister of State Senator John Faulkner, former Australian Workers Union National Secretary and current Member for Maribyrnong and Federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten as well as dozens of State Ministers and MPs. The current national president is Jack Boyd, from the New South Wales Right.\n\n===Networks===\nThe Australian Labor Party is beginning to formally recognise single interest groups within the party. The national platform currently encourages state branches to formally establish these groups known as policy action caucuses. Examples of such groups include the Labor Environment Action Network, Rainbow Labor, and Labor for Refugees. The Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Labor Party recently gave these groups voting and speaking rights at their state conference.\n", "\nThe Labor Party has always had a left wing and a right wing, but since the 1970s it has been organised into formal factions, to which party members may belong and often pay an additional membership fee. The two largest factions are Labor Unity (National Right) and the Socialist Left (National Left). Labor Unity generally supports free-market policies and the US alliance and tends to be conservative on some social issues. The Socialist Left, although it seldom openly espouses socialism, favours more state intervention in the economy, is generally less enthusiastic about the US alliance and is often more liberal on social issues. The national factions are themselves divided into sub-factions, primarily state-based such as Centre Unity in New South Wales and Labor Forum in Queensland.\n\nSome trade unions are affiliated with the Labor Party and are also factionally aligned. The largest unions supporting the right faction are the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU). Important unions supporting the left include the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), United Voice, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). These affiliations are seldom unconditional or permanent. In some cases different union branches may have different factional alignments. On other issues, such as opposition to the Howard Government's industrial relations policy, called WorkChoices, most unions were in agreement.\n\nPreselections are usually conducted along factional lines, although sometimes a non-factional candidate will be given preferential treatment (this happened with Cheryl Kernot in 1998 and again with Peter Garrett in 2004). Deals between the factions to divide up the safe seats between them often take place. Preselections, particularly for safe Labor seats, can sometimes be strongly contested. A particularly fierce preselection sometimes gives rise to accusations of branch stacking (signing up large numbers of nominal party members to vote in preselection ballots), personation, multiple voting and, on occasions, fraudulent electoral enrolment. Trade unions were in the past accused of giving inflated membership figures to increase their influence over preselections, but party rules changes have stamped out this practice. Preselection results are sometimes challenged, and the National Executive is sometimes called on to arbitrate these disputes.\n", "The current leader of the ALP is Bill Shorten since 13 October 2013, and the deputy leader is Tanya Plibersek. In accordance with party rules, Shorten's leadership was reaffirmed by party members on 8 July 2016, following the 2016 federal election.\n\nFor a list of ALP federal parliamentary leaders and deputy leaders see Leaders of the Australian Labor Party.\n", "\n\n\nThe current leaders of state and territory Labor branches are:\n\n* New South Wales — Luke Foley – Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales since 5 January 2015\n* Victoria — Daniel Andrews – Premier of Victoria since 4 December 2014\n* Queensland — Annastacia Palaszczuk – Premier of Queensland since 14 February 2015\n* Western Australia — Mark McGowan – Premier of Western Australia since 17 March 2017\n* South Australia — Jay Weatherill – Premier of South Australia since 21 October 2011\n* Tasmania — Rebecca White – Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania since 17 March 2017\n* Australian Capital Territory — Andrew Barr – Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 11 December 2014\n* Northern Territory — Michael Gunner – Chief Minister of the Northern Territory since 31 August 2016\n", "\nSee :Category:Australian Labor Party politicians\n\nFor current ALP federal politicians, see:\n* List of members of the Australian House of Representatives\n* List of members of the Australian Senate\n", "{| class=\"wikitable sortable\"\n\n Election\n Seats won\n ±\n Total votes\n %\n Position\n Leader\n\n1901\n \n 14\n 79,736\n 15.76%\nThird party\n Chris Watson\n\n1903\n \n 7\n 223,163\n 30.95%\nThird party\n Chris Watson\n\n1906\n \n 4\n 348,711\n 36.64%\nMinority government\n Chris Watson\n\n1910\n \n 16\n 660,864\n49.9%\nMajority government\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1913\n \n 5\n 921,099\n 48.47%\nOpposition\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1914\n \n 5\n 858,451\n 50.89%\nMajority government\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1917\n \n 20\n 827,541\n 43.94%\nOpposition\n Frank Tudor\n\n1919\n \n 4\n 811,244\n 42.49%\nOpposition\n Frank Tudor\n\n1922\n \n 3\n 665,145\n 42.30%\nOpposition\n Matthew Charlton\n\n1925\n \n 6\n 1,313,627\n 45.04%\nOpposition\n Matthew Charlton\n\n1928\n \n 8\n 1,158,505\n 44.64%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1929\n \n 15\n 1,406,327\n 48.84%\nMajority government \n James Scullin\n\n1931\n \n 32\n 859,513\n 27.10%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1934\n \n 4\n 952,251\n 26.81%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1937\n \n 11\n 1,555,737\n 43.17%\nOpposition\n John Curtin\n\n1940\n \n 3\n 1,556,941\n 40.16%\nOpposition\n John Curtin\n\n1943\n \n 17\n 2,058,578\n 49.94%\nMajority government\n John Curtin\n\n1946\n \n 6\n 2,159,953\n 49.71%\nMajority government\n Ben Chifley\n\n1949\n \n 4\n 2,117,088\n 45.98%\nOpposition\n Ben Chifley\n\n1951\n \n 5\n 2,174,840\n 47.63%\nOpposition\n Ben Chifley\n\n1954\n \n 5\n 2,280,098\n 50.03%\nOpposition\n H.V. Evatt\n\n1955\n \n 10\n 1,961,829\n 44.63%\nOpposition\n H.V. Evatt\n\n1958\n \n 2\n 2,137,890\n 42.81%\nOpposition\n H.V. Evatt\n\n1961\n \n 15\n 2,512,929\n 47.90%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1963\n \n 10\n 2,489,184\n 45.47%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1966\n \n 9\n 2,282,834\n 39.98%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1969\n \n 18\n 2,870,792 \t\n 46.95%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1972\n \n 8\n 3,273,549\t\n 49.59%\nMajority government\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1974\n \n 1\n 3,644,110\t\n 49.30%\nMajority government\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1975\n \n 30\n 3,313,004\t\n 42.84%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1977\n \n 2\n 3,141,051\t\n 39.65%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1980\n \n 13\n 3,749,565\t\n 45.15%\nOpposition\n Bill Hayden\n\n1983\n \n 24\n 4,297,392\t\n 49.48%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1984\n \n 7\n 4,120,130\t\n 47.55%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1987\n \n 4\n 4,222,431\t\n 45.76%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1990\n \n 8\n 3,904,138\t\n 39.44%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1993\n \n 2\n 4,751,390\t\n 44.92%\nMajority government \n Paul Keating\n\n1996\n \n 31\n 4,217,765\t\n 38.69%\nOpposition\n Paul Keating\n\n1998\n \n 18\n 4,454,306\t\n 40.10%\nOpposition\n Kim Beazley\n\n2001\n \n 2\n 4,341,420\t\n 37.84%\nOpposition\n Kim Beazley\n\n2004\n \n 5\n 4,408,820\t\n 37.63%\nOpposition\n Mark Latham\n\n2007\n \n 23\n 5,388,184\t\n 43.38%\nMajority government \n Kevin Rudd\n\n2010\n \n 11\n 4,711,363\t\n 37.99%\nMinority government\n Julia Gillard\n\n2013\n \n 17\n 4,311,365\t\n 33.38%\nOpposition\n Kevin Rudd\n\n2016\n \n 14\n 4,702,296\n 34.73%\nOpposition\n Bill Shorten\n\n", "\nFor the 2015-2016 financial year, the top ten disclosed donors to the ALP were: Health Services Union NSW ($389,000), Village Roadshow ($257,000), Electrical Trades Union of Australia ($171,000), National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association ($153,000), Westfield Corporation ($150,000), Randazzo C&G Developments ($120,000), Macquarie Telecom ($113,000), Woodside Energy ($110,000), ANZ Bank ($100,000) and Ying Zhou ($100,000).\n\nThe Labor Party also receives undisclosed funding through several methods, such as \"associated entities\". John Curtin House, Industry 2020, IR21 and the Happy Wanderers Club are entities which have been used to funnel donations to the Labor Party without disclosing the source.\n", "\n", "\n* Bramble, Tom, and Rick Kuhn. ''Labor's Conflict: Big Business, Workers, and the Politics of Class'' (Cambridge University Press; 2011) 240 pages\n* Calwell, A.A. (1963). ''Labor's Role in Modern Society''. Melbourne, Lansdowne Press\n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* \n* Australian Labor Party Victorian Branch Rules, April 2013\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "National Platform", "Party structure", "Factions", "ALP federal parliamentary leaders", "ALP state and territory parliamentary leaders", "Other past Labor politicians", "Federal election results", " Donors ", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Only once has a federal Labor government attempted to nationalise any industry (Ben Chifley's bank nationalisation of 1947), and that was held by the High Court to be unconstitutional.", "The commitment to nationalisation was dropped by Gough Whitlam, and Bob Hawke's government carried out many free market reforms including the floating of the dollar and privatisation of state enterprises such as Qantas airways and the Commonwealth Bank.", "\nFor the 2015-2016 financial year, the top ten disclosed donors to the ALP were: Health Services Union NSW ($389,000), Village Roadshow ($257,000), Electrical Trades Union of Australia ($171,000), National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association ($153,000), Westfield Corporation ($150,000), Randazzo C&G Developments ($120,000), Macquarie Telecom ($113,000), Woodside Energy ($110,000), ANZ Bank ($100,000) and Ying Zhou ($100,000)." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nThe '''Australian Labor Party''' ('''ALP''', also '''Labor''', was '''Labour''' before 1912) is a political party in Australia.", "The party has been in opposition at the federal level since the 2013 election.", "Bill Shorten has been the party's federal parliamentary leader since 13 October 2013.", "The party is a federal party with branches in each state and territory.", "Labor is in government in the states of Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and in both the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.", "The party competes against the Liberal/National Coalition for political office at the federal and state (and sometimes local) levels.", "Labor's constitution has long stated: \"The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields\".", "This \"socialist objective\" was introduced in 1921, but was later qualified by two further objectives: \"maintenance of and support for a competitive non-monopolistic private sector\" and \"the right to own private property\".", "Labor governments have not attempted the \"democratic socialisation\" of any industry since the 1940s, when the Chifley government failed to nationalise the private banks, and in fact have privatised several industries such as aviation and banking.", "Labor's current National Platform describes the party as \"a modern social democratic party\", \"the party of opportunity and security for working people\" and \"a party of active government\".", "The ALP was not founded as a federal party until after the first sitting of the Australian Parliament in 1901.", "Nevertheless, it is regarded as descended from labour parties founded in the various Australian colonies by the emerging labour movement in Australia, formally beginning in 1891.", "Labor is thus the country's oldest political party.", "Colonial labour parties contested seats from 1891, and federal seats following Federation at the 1901 federal election.", "The ALP formed the world's first Labour Party government, indeed the world's first socialist or social democratic government, at a national level.", "Labor was the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian Parliament, at the 1910 federal election.", "The Australian Labor Party at both a federal and state/colony level pre-dates, among others, both the British Labour Party and the New Zealand Labour Party in party formation, government, and policy implementation.", "Internationally, the ALP is a member of the Progressive Alliance network of social-democratic parties, having previously been a member of the Socialist International.", "\nBill Shorten, Labor leader 2013–present\nChris Watson, first leader of then Federal Labour Party 1901–07 (held the balance of power) and Prime Minister in 1904\nAndrew Fisher, Prime Minister 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15\nBilly Hughes, Prime Minister 1915–16\nJames Scullin, Prime Minister 1929–32\nJohn Curtin, Prime Minister 1941–45\nFrank Forde, Prime Minister 1945\nBen Chifley, Prime Minister 1945–49\nGough Whitlam, Prime Minister 1972–75\nBob Hawke, Prime Minister 1983–91\nPaul Keating, Prime Minister 1991–96\nKevin Rudd, Prime Minister 2007–10, 2013\nJulia Gillard, Prime Minister 2010–13\n\n\nThe Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation.", "Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree (the \"Tree of Knowledge\") in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891.", "The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia.", "Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.", "The first election contested by Labour candidates was the 1891 New South Wales election, when Labour candidates (then called the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales) won 35 of 141 seats.", "The major parties were the Protectionist and Free Trade parties and Labour held the balance of power.", "It offered parliamentary support in exchange for policy concessions.", "The United Labor Party (ULP) of South Australia was founded in 1891, and three candidates were that year elected to the South Australian Legislative Council.", "The first successful South Australian House of Assembly candidate was John McPherson at the 1892 East Adelaide by-election.", "Richard Hooper however was elected as an Independent Labor candidate at the 1891 Wallaroo by-election, while he was the first Labor member of the House of Assembly he was not a member of the newly formed ULP.", "At the 1893 South Australian elections the ULP was immediately elevated to balance of power status with 10 of 54 lower house seats.", "The liberal government of Charles Kingston was formed with the support of the ULP, ousting the conservative government of John Downer.", "So successful, less than a decade later at the 1905 election, Thomas Price would form the world's first stable Labor government.", "John Verran led Labor to form the state's first of many majority governments at the 1910 election.", "In 1899, Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government in Queensland, the first in the world, which lasted one week while the conservatives regrouped after a split.", "The colonial Labour parties and the trade unions were mixed in their support for the Federation of Australia.", "Some Labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming that the Senate as proposed was too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist colonial upper houses and the British House of Lords.", "They feared that federation would further entrench the power of the conservative forces.", "The first Labour leader and Prime Minister, Chris Watson, however, was a supporter of federation.", "Historian Celia Hamilton, examining New South Wales, argues for the central role of Irish Catholics.", "Before 1890, they opposed Henry Parkes, the main Liberal leader, and of free trade, seeing them both as the ideals of Protestant Englishmen who represented landholding and large business interests.", "In the strike of 1890 the leading Catholic, Sydney's Archbishop Patrick Francis Moran was sympathetic toward unions, but Catholic newspapers were negative.", "After 1900, says Hamilton, Irish Catholics were drawn to the Labour Party because its stress on equality and social welfare fitted with their status as manual labourers and small farmers.", "In the 1910 elections Labour gained in the more Catholic areas and the representation of Catholics increased in Labour's parliamentary ranks.", "===Early decades at the federal level===\nThe federal parliament in 1901 was contested by each state Labour Party.", "In total, they won 14 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives, collectively holding the balance of power, and the Labour members now met as the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (informally known as the caucus) on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first federal Parliament.", "The caucus decided to support the incumbent Protectionist Party in minority government, while the Free Trade Party formed the opposition.", "It was some years before there was any significant structure or organisation at a national level.", "Labour under Chris Watson doubled its vote at the 1903 federal election and continued to hold the balance of power.", "In April 1904, however, Watson and Alfred Deakin fell out over the issue of extending the scope of industrial relations laws concerning the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill to cover state public servants, the fallout causing Deakin to resign.", "Free Trade leader George Reid declined to take office, which saw Watson become the first Labour Prime Minister of Australia, and the world's first Labour head of government at a national level (Anderson Dawson had led a short-lived Labour government in Queensland in December 1899), though his was a minority government that lasted only four months.", "He was aged only 37, and is still the youngest Prime Minister in Australia's history.", "George Reid of the Free Trade Party adopted a strategy of trying to reorient the party system along Labour vs non-Labour lines – prior to the 1906 federal election, he renamed his Free Trade Party to the Anti-Socialist Party.", "Reid envisaged a spectrum running from socialist to anti-socialist, with the Protectionist Party in the middle.", "This attempt struck a chord with politicians who were steeped in the Westminster tradition and regarded a two-party system as very much the norm.", "Though Watson further strengthened Labour's position in 1906, he stepped down from the leadership the following year, to be succeeded by Andrew Fisher who formed a minority government lasting seven months from late 1908 to mid 1909.", "At the 1910 election, Fisher led Labor to victory, forming Australia's first elected federal majority government, Australia's first elected Senate majority, the world's first Labour Party majority government at a national level, and after the 1904 Chris Watson minority government the world's second Labour Party government at a national level.", "It was the first time a Labour Party had controlled any house of a legislature, and the first time the party controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature.", "The state branches were also successful, except in Victoria, where the strength of Deakinite liberalism inhibited the party's growth.", "The state branches formed their first majority governments in New South Wales and South Australia in 1910, Western Australia in 1911, Queensland in 1915 and Tasmania in 1925.", "Such success eluded equivalent social democratic and labour parties in other countries for many years.", "Analysis of the early NSW Labor caucus reveals \"a band of unhappy amateurs\", made up of blue collar workers, a squatter, a doctor, and even a mine owner, indicating that the idea that only the socialist working class formed Labor is untrue.", "In addition, many members from the working class supported the liberal notion of free trade between the colonies – in the first grouping of state MPs, 17 of the 35 were free-traders.", "In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917, support for socialism grew in trade union ranks, and at the 1921 All-Australian Trades Union Congress a resolution was passed calling for \"the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange.\"", "The 1922 Labor Party National Conference adopted a similarly worded \"socialist objective,\" which remained official policy for many years.", "The resolution was immediately qualified, however, by the \"Blackburn amendment,\" which said that \"socialisation\" was desirable only when was necessary to \"eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features.\"", "In practice the socialist objective was a dead letter.", "The Labor Party is commonly described as a social democratic party, and its constitution stipulates that it is a democratic socialist party.", "The party was created by, and has always been influenced by, the trade unions, and in practice its policy at any given time has usually been the policy of the broader labour movement.", "Thus at the first federal election 1901 Labor's platform called for a White Australia Policy, a citizen army and compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes.", "Labor has at various times supported high tariffs and low tariffs, conscription and pacifism, White Australia and multiculturalism, nationalisation and privatisation, isolationism and internationalism.", "Historically, Labor and its affiliated unions were strong defenders of the White Australia Policy, which banned all non-European migration to Australia.", "This policy was partly motivated by 19th century theories about \"racial purity\" and by fears of economic competition from low-wage overseas workers which was shared by the vast majority of Australians and all major political parties.", "In practice the party opposed all migration, on the grounds that immigrants competed with Australian workers and drove down wages, until after World War II, when the Chifley Government launched a major immigration program.", "The party's opposition to non-European immigration did not change until after the retirement of Arthur Calwell as leader in 1967.", "Subsequently, Labor has become an advocate of multiculturalism, although some of its trade union base and some of its members continue to oppose high immigration levels.", "====Name changes====\nThe ALP adopted the formal name \"Australian Labour Party\" in 1908, but changed the spelling to \"Labor\" in 1912.", "While it is standard practice in Australian English both today and at the time to spell the word \"labour\" with a \"u\", the party was influenced by the United States labor movement, and a prominent figure in the early history of the party, the American-born King O'Malley, was successful in having the spelling \"modernised\".", "The change also made it easier to distinguish references to the party from the labour movement in general.", "(''See also Spelling in Australian English''.)", "In South Australia the United Labor Party became the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party on 14 September 1917.", "===Second World War and beyond===\nThe Curtin and Chifley governments governed Australia through the latter half of the Second World War and initial stages of transition to peace.", "Labor leader John Curtin became prime minister in October 1941 when two independents crossed the floor of Parliament.", "Labor, led by Curtin, then led Australia through the years of the Pacific War.", "In December 1941, Curtin announced that \"Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom\", thus helping to establish the Australian-American alliance (later formalised as ANZUS by the Menzies Government).", "Remembered as a strong war time leader and for a landslide win at the 1943 election, Curtin died in office just prior to the end of the war and was succeeded by Ben Chifley.", "Chifley Labor won the 1946 election and oversaw Australia's initial transition to a peacetime economy.", "Labor was defeated at the 1949 election.", "At the conference of the New South Wales Labor Party in June 1949, Chifley sought to define the labour movement as having:\n\n\n\nTo a large extent, Chifley saw centralisation of the economy as the means to achieve such ambitions.", "With an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, after his attempt to nationalise the banks and a strike by the Communist-dominated Miners Federation, Chifley lost office in 1949 to Robert Menzies' Liberal-National Coalition.", "Labor commenced what would be a 23-year period in opposition.", "Various ideological beliefs were factionalised under reforms to the ALP under Gough Whitlam, resulting in what is now known as the Socialist Left who tend to favour a more interventionist economic policy and more socially progressive ideals, and Labor Right, the now dominant faction that tends to be more economically liberal and focus to a lesser extent on social issues.", "The Whitlam Labor government, marking a break with Labor's socialist tradition, pursued social-democratic policies rather than democratic socialist policies.", "Whitlam, in contrast to earlier Labor leaders, also cut tariffs by 25 percent.", "Whitlam led the Federal Labor Party back to office at the 1972 and 1974 elections, and passed a large amount of legislation.", "The Whitlam Government lost office following the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis and dismissal by Governor-General Sir John Kerr after the Coalition blocked supply in the Senate after a series of political scandals, and was defeated at the 1975 election.", "Whitlam remains the only Prime Minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.", "Bob Hawke led Labor back to office at the 1983 election and the Hawke-Keating Government remained in power until defeated by John Howard at the 1996 election.", "Kim Beazley led the party to the 1998 election, winning 51 percent of the two-party preferred vote but falling short on seats, and lost ground at the 2001 election.", "Mark Latham led Labor to the 2004 election but lost further ground.", "Beazley replaced Latham in 2005.", "Beazley in turn was challenged by Kevin Rudd who went on to defeat John Howard at the 2007 election with 52.7 percent of the two-party vote.", "The Rudd Government ended prior to the 2010 election with the replacement of Rudd as leader of the Party by deputy leader Julia Gillard.", "The Gillard Government was commissioned to govern in a hung parliament following the 2010 election with a one-seat parliamentary majority and 50.12 percent of the two-party vote.", "Between the 2007 federal election and the 2008 Western Australian state election, Labor was in government nationally, as well as in all eight state and territory legislatures.", "This was the first time any single party or any coalition had achieved this since the ACT and the NT gained self-government.", "Labor narrowly lost government in Western Australia at the 2008 state election and Victoria at the 2010 state election.", "These losses were further compounded by landslide defeats in New South Wales in 2011, Queensland in 2012, the Northern Territory in 2012, Federally in 2013 and Tasmania in 2014.", "Labor secured a good result in the Australian Capital Territory in 2012 and, despite losing its majority, the party retained government in South Australia in 2014.", "However, most of these reversals proved only temporary with Labor returning to government in Victoria in 2014 and in Queensland in 2015 after spending only one term in opposition in both states.", "Furthermore, after winning the 2014 Fisher by-election by nine votes from a 7.3 percent swing, the Labor government in South Australia went from minority to majority government.", "Labor won landslide victories in the 2016 Northern Territory election and the 2017 Western Australian election.", "The policy of the Australian Labor Party is contained in its National Platform, which is approved by delegates to Labor's National Conference, held every three years.", "According to the Labor Party's website, \"The Platform is the result of a rigorous and constructive process of consultation, spanning the nation and including the cooperation and input of state and territory policy committees, local branches, unions, state and territory governments, and individual Party members.", "The Platform provides the policy foundation from which we can continue to work towards the election of a federal Labor Government.\"", "The platform gives a general indication of the policy direction which a future Labor government would follow, but does not commit the party to specific policies.", "It maintains that \"Labor's traditional values will remain a constant on which all Australians can rely.\"", "While making it clear that Labor is fully committed to a market economy, it says that: \"Labor believes in a strong role for national government – the one institution all Australians truly own and control through our right to vote.\"", "Labor \"will not allow the benefits of change to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, or located only in privileged communities.", "The benefits must be shared by all Australians and all our regions.\"", "The platform and Labor \"believe that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential.\"", "For Labor, \"government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by: ensuring equal opportunity; removing unjustifiable discrimination; and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status.\"", "Further sections of the platform stress Labor's support for equality and human rights, labour rights and democracy.", "In practice, the platform provides only general policy guidelines to Labor's federal, state and territory parliamentary leaderships.", "The policy Labor takes into an election campaign is determined by the Cabinet (if the party is in office) or the Shadow Cabinet (if it is in opposition), in consultation with key interest groups within the party, and is contained in the parliamentary Leader's policy speech delivered during the election campaign.", "When Labor is in office, the policies it implements are determined by the Cabinet, subject to the platform.", "Generally, it is accepted that while the platform binds Labor governments, how and when it is implemented remains the prerogative of the parliamentary caucus.", "It is now rare for the platform to conflict with government policy, as the content of the platform is usually developed in close collaboration with the party's parliamentary leadership as well as the factions.", "However, where there is a direct contradiction with the platform, Labor governments have sought to change the platform as a prerequisite for a change in policy.", "For example, privatisation legislation under the Hawke government occurred only after holding a special national conference to debate changing the platform.", "\n===National Executive and Secretariat===\nThe Australian Labor Party National Executive is the chief administrative authority of the Australian Labor Party, subject only to Labor's National Conference.", "The Executive is responsible for organising the triennial National Conference; carrying out the decisions of National Conference; interpreting the National Constitution, the National Platform and decisions of National Conference; and directing federal members.", "The party holds a national conference every three years, which consists of delegates representing the state and territory branches (many coming from affiliated trade unions, although there is no formal requirement for unions to be represented at the national conference).", "The national conference decides the party's platform, elects the national executive, and appoints office-bearers such as the National Secretary, who also serves as national campaign director during elections.", "The current National Secretary is Noah Carroll.", "The most recent National Conference was the 47th conference held from 24 to 26 July 2015.", "The head office of the ALP, the National Secretariat, is managed by the National Secretary.", "It plays a dual role of administration and national campaign strategy.", "It acts as a permanent secretariat to the National Executive by managing and assisting in all administrative affairs of the party.", "As the National Secretary also serves as national campaign director during elections, it is also responsible for national campaign strategy and organisation.", "===Federal Parliamentary Labor Party===\n\nThe elected members of the Labor party in both houses of the national Parliament meet as the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, also known as the Caucus.", "Besides discussing parliamentary business and tactics, the Caucus also is involved in the election of the federal parliamentary leaders.", "Until 2013 the parliamentary leaders were elected by the Caucus from among its members.", "The leader has historically been a member of the House of Representatives.", "Since October 2013, a ballot of both the Caucus and by the Labor Party's rank-and-file members determined the party leader and the deputy leader.", "When the Labor Party is in government, the party leader is the Prime Minister and the deputy leader is the Deputy Prime Minister.", "If a Labor prime minister resigns or dies in office, the deputy leader acts as prime minister and party leader until a successor is elected.", "Members of the Ministry are also chosen by Caucus, though the leader may allocate portfolios to the ministers.", "===State and territory branches===\n \nThe Australian Labor Party is a federal party, consisting of eight branches from each state and territory.", "While the National Executive is responsible for national campaign strategy, each state and territory are an autonomous branch and are responsible for campaigning in their own jurisdictions for federal, state and local elections.", "State and territory branches consist of both individual members and affiliated trade unions, who between them decide the party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office.", "Members join a state branch and pay a membership fee, which is graduated according to income.", "The majority of trade unions in Australia are affiliated to the party at a state level.", "Union affiliation is direct and not through the Australian Council of Trade Unions.", "Affiliated unions pay an affiliation fee based on the size of their membership.", "Union affiliation fees make up a large part of the party's income.", "Another source of funds for the party are political donations and public funding.", "Members are generally expected to attend at least one meeting of their local branch each year, although there are differences in the rules from state to state.", "In practice only a dedicated minority regularly attend meetings.", "Many members are only active during election campaigns.", "The members and unions elect delegates to state and territory conferences (usually held annually, although more frequent conferences are often held).", "These conferences decide policy, and elect state or territory executives, a state or territory president (an honorary position usually held for a one-year term), and a state or territory secretary (a full-time professional position).", "However, ACT Labor directly elects its president.", "The larger branches also have full-time assistant secretaries and organisers.", "In the past the ratio of conference delegates coming from the branches and affiliated unions has varied from state to state, however under recent national reforms at least 50% of delegates at all state and territory conferences must be elected by branches.", "In some states it also contests local government elections or endorses local candidates.", "In others it does not, preferring to allow its members to run as non-endorsed candidates.", "The process of choosing candidates is called preselection.", "Candidates are preselected by different methods in the various states and territories.", "In some they are chosen by ballots of all party members, in others by panels or committees elected by the state conference, in still others by a combination of these two.", "====Country Labor====\n'''Country Labor''' is a subsection of the ALP, and is used as a designation by candidates contesting elections in rural areas.", "It functions as a sort of ginger group within the party, and is somewhat analogous to its youth wing.", "The '''Country Labor Party''' is registered as a separate party in New South Wales and South Australia, and is also registered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for federal elections.", "It does not have the same status in other states, and consequently that designation cannot be used on the ballot paper.", "The creation of a separation designation for rural candidates was first suggested at the June 1999 ALP state conference in New South Wales.", "In May 2000, following Labor's success at the 2000 Benalla by-election in Victoria, Kim Beazley announced that the ALP intended to register a separate \"Country Labor Party\" with the AEC; this occurred in October 2000.", "The Country Labor designation is most frequently used in New South Wales.", "According to the ALP's financial statements for the 2015–16 financial year, NSW Country Labor had around 2,600 members (around 17 percent of the party total), but almost no assets.", "It recorded a severe funding shortfall at the 2015 NSW state election, and had to rely on a $1.68-million loan from the party proper to remain solvent.", "It had been initially assumed that the party proper could provide the money from its own resources, but the NSW Electoral Commission ruled that this was impermissible because the parties were registered separately.", "Instead the party proper had to loan Country Labor the required funds at a commercial interest rate.", "===Australian Young Labor===\n \nAustralian Young Labor is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party, where all members under age 26 are automatically members.", "It is the peak youth body within the ALP.", "Former Presidents of AYL have included former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Federal Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke, former Special Minister of State Senator John Faulkner, former Australian Workers Union National Secretary and current Member for Maribyrnong and Federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten as well as dozens of State Ministers and MPs.", "The current national president is Jack Boyd, from the New South Wales Right.", "===Networks===\nThe Australian Labor Party is beginning to formally recognise single interest groups within the party.", "The national platform currently encourages state branches to formally establish these groups known as policy action caucuses.", "Examples of such groups include the Labor Environment Action Network, Rainbow Labor, and Labor for Refugees.", "The Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Labor Party recently gave these groups voting and speaking rights at their state conference.", "\nThe Labor Party has always had a left wing and a right wing, but since the 1970s it has been organised into formal factions, to which party members may belong and often pay an additional membership fee.", "The two largest factions are Labor Unity (National Right) and the Socialist Left (National Left).", "Labor Unity generally supports free-market policies and the US alliance and tends to be conservative on some social issues.", "The Socialist Left, although it seldom openly espouses socialism, favours more state intervention in the economy, is generally less enthusiastic about the US alliance and is often more liberal on social issues.", "The national factions are themselves divided into sub-factions, primarily state-based such as Centre Unity in New South Wales and Labor Forum in Queensland.", "Some trade unions are affiliated with the Labor Party and are also factionally aligned.", "The largest unions supporting the right faction are the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU).", "Important unions supporting the left include the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), United Voice, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).", "These affiliations are seldom unconditional or permanent.", "In some cases different union branches may have different factional alignments.", "On other issues, such as opposition to the Howard Government's industrial relations policy, called WorkChoices, most unions were in agreement.", "Preselections are usually conducted along factional lines, although sometimes a non-factional candidate will be given preferential treatment (this happened with Cheryl Kernot in 1998 and again with Peter Garrett in 2004).", "Deals between the factions to divide up the safe seats between them often take place.", "Preselections, particularly for safe Labor seats, can sometimes be strongly contested.", "A particularly fierce preselection sometimes gives rise to accusations of branch stacking (signing up large numbers of nominal party members to vote in preselection ballots), personation, multiple voting and, on occasions, fraudulent electoral enrolment.", "Trade unions were in the past accused of giving inflated membership figures to increase their influence over preselections, but party rules changes have stamped out this practice.", "Preselection results are sometimes challenged, and the National Executive is sometimes called on to arbitrate these disputes.", "The current leader of the ALP is Bill Shorten since 13 October 2013, and the deputy leader is Tanya Plibersek.", "In accordance with party rules, Shorten's leadership was reaffirmed by party members on 8 July 2016, following the 2016 federal election.", "For a list of ALP federal parliamentary leaders and deputy leaders see Leaders of the Australian Labor Party.", "\n\n\nThe current leaders of state and territory Labor branches are:\n\n* New South Wales — Luke Foley – Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales since 5 January 2015\n* Victoria — Daniel Andrews – Premier of Victoria since 4 December 2014\n* Queensland — Annastacia Palaszczuk – Premier of Queensland since 14 February 2015\n* Western Australia — Mark McGowan – Premier of Western Australia since 17 March 2017\n* South Australia — Jay Weatherill – Premier of South Australia since 21 October 2011\n* Tasmania — Rebecca White – Leader of the Opposition of Tasmania since 17 March 2017\n* Australian Capital Territory — Andrew Barr – Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 11 December 2014\n* Northern Territory — Michael Gunner – Chief Minister of the Northern Territory since 31 August 2016", "\nSee :Category:Australian Labor Party politicians\n\nFor current ALP federal politicians, see:\n* List of members of the Australian House of Representatives\n* List of members of the Australian Senate", "{| class=\"wikitable sortable\"\n\n Election\n Seats won\n ±\n Total votes\n %\n Position\n Leader\n\n1901\n \n 14\n 79,736\n 15.76%\nThird party\n Chris Watson\n\n1903\n \n 7\n 223,163\n 30.95%\nThird party\n Chris Watson\n\n1906\n \n 4\n 348,711\n 36.64%\nMinority government\n Chris Watson\n\n1910\n \n 16\n 660,864\n49.9%\nMajority government\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1913\n \n 5\n 921,099\n 48.47%\nOpposition\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1914\n \n 5\n 858,451\n 50.89%\nMajority government\n Andrew Fisher\n\n1917\n \n 20\n 827,541\n 43.94%\nOpposition\n Frank Tudor\n\n1919\n \n 4\n 811,244\n 42.49%\nOpposition\n Frank Tudor\n\n1922\n \n 3\n 665,145\n 42.30%\nOpposition\n Matthew Charlton\n\n1925\n \n 6\n 1,313,627\n 45.04%\nOpposition\n Matthew Charlton\n\n1928\n \n 8\n 1,158,505\n 44.64%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1929\n \n 15\n 1,406,327\n 48.84%\nMajority government \n James Scullin\n\n1931\n \n 32\n 859,513\n 27.10%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1934\n \n 4\n 952,251\n 26.81%\nOpposition\n James Scullin\n\n1937\n \n 11\n 1,555,737\n 43.17%\nOpposition\n John Curtin\n\n1940\n \n 3\n 1,556,941\n 40.16%\nOpposition\n John Curtin\n\n1943\n \n 17\n 2,058,578\n 49.94%\nMajority government\n John Curtin\n\n1946\n \n 6\n 2,159,953\n 49.71%\nMajority government\n Ben Chifley\n\n1949\n \n 4\n 2,117,088\n 45.98%\nOpposition\n Ben Chifley\n\n1951\n \n 5\n 2,174,840\n 47.63%\nOpposition\n Ben Chifley\n\n1954\n \n 5\n 2,280,098\n 50.03%\nOpposition\n H.V.", "Evatt\n\n1955\n \n 10\n 1,961,829\n 44.63%\nOpposition\n H.V.", "Evatt\n\n1958\n \n 2\n 2,137,890\n 42.81%\nOpposition\n H.V.", "Evatt\n\n1961\n \n 15\n 2,512,929\n 47.90%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1963\n \n 10\n 2,489,184\n 45.47%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1966\n \n 9\n 2,282,834\n 39.98%\nOpposition\n Arthur Calwell\n\n1969\n \n 18\n 2,870,792 \t\n 46.95%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1972\n \n 8\n 3,273,549\t\n 49.59%\nMajority government\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1974\n \n 1\n 3,644,110\t\n 49.30%\nMajority government\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1975\n \n 30\n 3,313,004\t\n 42.84%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1977\n \n 2\n 3,141,051\t\n 39.65%\nOpposition\n Gough Whitlam\n\n1980\n \n 13\n 3,749,565\t\n 45.15%\nOpposition\n Bill Hayden\n\n1983\n \n 24\n 4,297,392\t\n 49.48%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1984\n \n 7\n 4,120,130\t\n 47.55%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1987\n \n 4\n 4,222,431\t\n 45.76%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1990\n \n 8\n 3,904,138\t\n 39.44%\nMajority government \n Bob Hawke\n\n1993\n \n 2\n 4,751,390\t\n 44.92%\nMajority government \n Paul Keating\n\n1996\n \n 31\n 4,217,765\t\n 38.69%\nOpposition\n Paul Keating\n\n1998\n \n 18\n 4,454,306\t\n 40.10%\nOpposition\n Kim Beazley\n\n2001\n \n 2\n 4,341,420\t\n 37.84%\nOpposition\n Kim Beazley\n\n2004\n \n 5\n 4,408,820\t\n 37.63%\nOpposition\n Mark Latham\n\n2007\n \n 23\n 5,388,184\t\n 43.38%\nMajority government \n Kevin Rudd\n\n2010\n \n 11\n 4,711,363\t\n 37.99%\nMinority government\n Julia Gillard\n\n2013\n \n 17\n 4,311,365\t\n 33.38%\nOpposition\n Kevin Rudd\n\n2016\n \n 14\n 4,702,296\n 34.73%\nOpposition\n Bill Shorten", "The Labor Party also receives undisclosed funding through several methods, such as \"associated entities\".", "John Curtin House, Industry 2020, IR21 and the Happy Wanderers Club are entities which have been used to funnel donations to the Labor Party without disclosing the source.", "\n* Bramble, Tom, and Rick Kuhn.", "''Labor's Conflict: Big Business, Workers, and the Politics of Class'' (Cambridge University Press; 2011) 240 pages\n* Calwell, A.A. (1963).", "''Labor's Role in Modern Society''.", "Melbourne, Lansdowne Press\n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* Australian Labor Party Victorian Branch Rules, April 2013" ]

[ "\n\nCardinal '''Albert of Brandenburg''' (; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was Elector and Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545.\n", "=== Early career===\nBorn in Kölln on the Spree, Albert was the younger son of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and of Margaret of Thuringia.\n\nAfter their father's funeral, Albert and his older brother Joachim I Nestor became margraves of Brandenburg in 1499, but only his older brother held the title of an elector of Brandenburg. Having studied at the University of Frankfurt (Oder), Albert entered the ecclesiastical profession, and in 1513 became archbishop of Magdeburg at the age of 23 and administrator of the Diocese of Halberstadt.\n\nIn 1514 he obtained the Electorate of Mainz, and in 1518, at the age of 28, was made a cardinal. To pay for the pallium of the see of Mainz and to discharge the other expenses of his elevation, Albert had borrowed 21,000 ducats from Jakob Fugger, ''Fugger article says 48,000 ducats'' and had obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of indulgences in his diocese to obtain funds to repay this loan, as long as he forwarded half of the income to the Papacy. An agent of the Fuggers subsequently traveled in the Cardinal's retinue in charge of the cashbox. He procured the services of John Tetzel to sell the indulgences.\n\nLargely in reaction to the commerce in indulgences, Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses, which led to the Reformation. Luther sent these to Albert on 31 October 1517, and according to tradition nailed a copy to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. Albert forwarded the theses to Rome, suspecting Luther of heresy. When the imperial election of 1519 drew near, partisans of the two leading candidates (King Charles I of Spain and Francis I, King of France) eagerly solicited the vote of the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz, and Albert appears to have received a large amount of money for his vote. The electors eventually chose Charles, who became the Emperor Charles V.\n\nCardinal Albert, Archbishop of Mainz, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526\n\nAlbert's large and liberal ideas, his friendship with Ulrich von Hutten, and his political ambitions, appear to have raised hopes that he could be won over to Protestantism; but after the German Peasants' War of 1525 he ranged himself definitely among the supporters of Catholicism, and was among the princes who joined the League of Dessau in July 1525.\n\nCardinal Albert needed a prestigious church building that met his expectations at a central location in his ''Residenz'' town. Albert feared for his peace of mind in heaven, and collected more than 8,100 relics and 42 holy skeletons which needed to be stored. These precious treasures, known as \"Hallesches Heilthum\", indirectly related to the sale of indulgences which had triggered the Reformation a few years before. Then the cardinal and the Roman Catholic members of the town council wanted to repress the growing influence of the Reformation by holding far grander masses and services in a new church dedicated solely to Saint Mary.\n\nMeeting of Saint Erasmus of Formiae and Saint Maurice, by Matthias Grünewald, between 1517 and 1523. Grünewald used Albert of Mainz, who commissioned the painting, as the model for St. Erasmus (left).\nAlbert's hostility towards the reformers, however, was not so extreme as that of his brother Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg; and he appears to have exerted himself towards peace, although he was a member of the League of Nuremberg, formed in 1538 as a counterpoise to the League of Schmalkalden. The new doctrines nevertheless made considerable progress in his dominions, and he was compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Magdeburg in return for 500,000 florins. During his later years showed more intolerance towards the Protestants, and favored the teaching of the Jesuits in his dominions.\n\n===Market Church of Our Lady===\nThe Market Church of Our Lady in Halle, which had been built to defend against the spread of Reformation sympathies, was the very spot where Justus Jonas officially introduced the Reformation into Halle with his Good Friday sermon in 1541. The service must have been at least partly conducted in the open air, because at that time construction had only been finished at the eastern end of the nave. Jonas began a successful preaching crusade and attracted so many people that the church overflowed. Cardinal Albert left the town permanently after the estates (''Stände'') in the city had announced that they would take over his enormous debt at the bank of Jacob Fugger. Halle became Protestant and in 1542 Jonas was appointed as priest to St. Mary's and in 1544 bishop over the city.\n\nAlbert adorned the collegiate church (''Stiftskirche'') at Halle (Saale) and the cathedral at Mainz in sumptuous fashion, and took as his motto the words ''Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae'' (Latin for: \"Lord, I admired the adornment of your house.\"). A generous patron of art and learning, he counted Erasmus among his friends.\n\n===Death===\nAlbert died at the Martinsburg, Mainz in 1545.\n", "\n\n\n", "* Helmut Börsch-Supan, et al. \"Hohenzollern, House of.\" Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 24 Jul. 2016.\n* Roesgen, Manfred von. Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg : ein Renaissancefürst auf dem Mainzer Bischofsthron. Moers : Steiger, 1980.\n* Schauerte, Thomas and Andreas Tacke. Der Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg : Renaissancefürst und Mäzen. 2 v. Regensburg : Schnell + Steiner, 2006. Contents: Bd. 1. Katalog / herausgegeben von Thomas Schauerte—Bd. 2. Essays / herausgegeben von Andreas Tacke ; mit Beiträgen von Bodo Brinkmann ... et al.. Note: Exhibition held September 9November 26, 2006, Halle an der Saale.\n* \"Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg.\" The J. Paul Getty Museum, viewed 24 July 2016.\n\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Biography", "Ancestry", "References", "Further reading" ]

[ "Cardinal Albert left the town permanently after the estates (''Stände'') in the city had announced that they would take over his enormous debt at the bank of Jacob Fugger." ]

[ "\n\nCardinal '''Albert of Brandenburg''' (; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was Elector and Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545.", "=== Early career===\nBorn in Kölln on the Spree, Albert was the younger son of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and of Margaret of Thuringia.", "After their father's funeral, Albert and his older brother Joachim I Nestor became margraves of Brandenburg in 1499, but only his older brother held the title of an elector of Brandenburg.", "Having studied at the University of Frankfurt (Oder), Albert entered the ecclesiastical profession, and in 1513 became archbishop of Magdeburg at the age of 23 and administrator of the Diocese of Halberstadt.", "In 1514 he obtained the Electorate of Mainz, and in 1518, at the age of 28, was made a cardinal.", "To pay for the pallium of the see of Mainz and to discharge the other expenses of his elevation, Albert had borrowed 21,000 ducats from Jakob Fugger, ''Fugger article says 48,000 ducats'' and had obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of indulgences in his diocese to obtain funds to repay this loan, as long as he forwarded half of the income to the Papacy.", "An agent of the Fuggers subsequently traveled in the Cardinal's retinue in charge of the cashbox.", "He procured the services of John Tetzel to sell the indulgences.", "Largely in reaction to the commerce in indulgences, Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 Theses, which led to the Reformation.", "Luther sent these to Albert on 31 October 1517, and according to tradition nailed a copy to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg.", "Albert forwarded the theses to Rome, suspecting Luther of heresy.", "When the imperial election of 1519 drew near, partisans of the two leading candidates (King Charles I of Spain and Francis I, King of France) eagerly solicited the vote of the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz, and Albert appears to have received a large amount of money for his vote.", "The electors eventually chose Charles, who became the Emperor Charles V.\n\nCardinal Albert, Archbishop of Mainz, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526\n\nAlbert's large and liberal ideas, his friendship with Ulrich von Hutten, and his political ambitions, appear to have raised hopes that he could be won over to Protestantism; but after the German Peasants' War of 1525 he ranged himself definitely among the supporters of Catholicism, and was among the princes who joined the League of Dessau in July 1525.", "Cardinal Albert needed a prestigious church building that met his expectations at a central location in his ''Residenz'' town.", "Albert feared for his peace of mind in heaven, and collected more than 8,100 relics and 42 holy skeletons which needed to be stored.", "These precious treasures, known as \"Hallesches Heilthum\", indirectly related to the sale of indulgences which had triggered the Reformation a few years before.", "Then the cardinal and the Roman Catholic members of the town council wanted to repress the growing influence of the Reformation by holding far grander masses and services in a new church dedicated solely to Saint Mary.", "Meeting of Saint Erasmus of Formiae and Saint Maurice, by Matthias Grünewald, between 1517 and 1523.", "Grünewald used Albert of Mainz, who commissioned the painting, as the model for St. Erasmus (left).", "Albert's hostility towards the reformers, however, was not so extreme as that of his brother Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg; and he appears to have exerted himself towards peace, although he was a member of the League of Nuremberg, formed in 1538 as a counterpoise to the League of Schmalkalden.", "The new doctrines nevertheless made considerable progress in his dominions, and he was compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Magdeburg in return for 500,000 florins.", "During his later years showed more intolerance towards the Protestants, and favored the teaching of the Jesuits in his dominions.", "===Market Church of Our Lady===\nThe Market Church of Our Lady in Halle, which had been built to defend against the spread of Reformation sympathies, was the very spot where Justus Jonas officially introduced the Reformation into Halle with his Good Friday sermon in 1541.", "The service must have been at least partly conducted in the open air, because at that time construction had only been finished at the eastern end of the nave.", "Jonas began a successful preaching crusade and attracted so many people that the church overflowed.", "Halle became Protestant and in 1542 Jonas was appointed as priest to St. Mary's and in 1544 bishop over the city.", "Albert adorned the collegiate church (''Stiftskirche'') at Halle (Saale) and the cathedral at Mainz in sumptuous fashion, and took as his motto the words ''Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae'' (Latin for: \"Lord, I admired the adornment of your house.\").", "A generous patron of art and learning, he counted Erasmus among his friends.", "===Death===\nAlbert died at the Martinsburg, Mainz in 1545.", "* Helmut Börsch-Supan, et al.", "\"Hohenzollern, House of.\"", "Grove Art Online.", "Oxford Art Online.", "Oxford University Press.", "Web.", "24 Jul.", "2016.", "* Roesgen, Manfred von.", "Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg : ein Renaissancefürst auf dem Mainzer Bischofsthron.", "Moers : Steiger, 1980.", "* Schauerte, Thomas and Andreas Tacke.", "Der Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg : Renaissancefürst und Mäzen.", "2 v. Regensburg : Schnell + Steiner, 2006.", "Contents: Bd.", "1.", "Katalog / herausgegeben von Thomas Schauerte—Bd.", "2.", "Essays / herausgegeben von Andreas Tacke ; mit Beiträgen von Bodo Brinkmann ... et al..", "Note: Exhibition held September 9November 26, 2006, Halle an der Saale.", "* \"Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg.\"", "The J. Paul Getty Museum, viewed 24 July 2016." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Aachen''' () or '''Bad Aachen''', French and traditional English: '''Aix-la-Chapelle''' (), is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531, the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans.\n\nAachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, west south west of Cologne in a former coal-mining area. One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University is located in the city. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.\n", "The name \"Aachen\" is a modern descendant, like southern German ''Ach(e)'', ''Aach'', meaning \"river\" or \"stream\", from Old High German ''ahha'', meaning \"water\" or \"stream\", which directly translates (and etymologically corresponds to) Latin ''Aquae'', referring to the springs. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs. Latin ''Aquae'' figures in Aachen's Roman name ''Aquae granni'', which meant \"waters of Grannus\", referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. This word became ''Åxhe'' in Walloon and ''Aix'' in French, and subsequently ''Aix-la-Chapelle'' after Charlemagne had his palatine chapel built there in the late eighth century and then made the city his empire's capital.\n\nAachen's name in French and German evolved in parallel. The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages:\n\n Language\n Name\n Pronunciation in IPA\n\n Aachen dialect\n Oche\n\n\n Catalan\n Aquisgrà\n\n\nCzech\nCáchy\n\n\n Dutch / Low German\n Aken\n \n\n French\n Aix-la-Chapelle\n \n\n Italian\n Aquisgrana\n\n\n Latin\n Aquisgrana, Aquae granni Aquis Granum\n\n\n Limburgish\n Aoke\n\n\n Luxembourgish\n Oochen\n \n\n Polish\n Akwizgran\n\n\n Portuguese\n Aquisgrano, Aquisgrão\n ɐkiʒˈɡɾɐnu, ɐkiʒˈɡɾɐ̃w̃\n\n Spanish\n Aquisgrán\n\n\n Walloon\n Åxhe\n\n\n\n=== Aachen dialect ===\nAachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north. Aachen's local dialect is called ''Öcher Platt'' and belongs to the Ripuarian language.\n", "\n\n=== Early history ===\nFlint quarries on the Lousberg, Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3000–2500 BC), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's ''Elisengarten'' pointing to a former settlement from the same period. Bronze Age (around 1600 BC) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg. During the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing.\n\nLater, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, around AD 124. Instead, the fictitious founder refers to the Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century AD that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel, adding at the end of the same century the ''Münstertherme'' spa, two water pipelines, and a probable sanctuary dedicated to Grannus. A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also an extensive residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourishing Jewish community. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid. A temple precinct called ''Vernenum'' was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the ''Elisenbrunnen'' and the Burtscheid bathhouse.\n\nRoman civil administration in Aachen broke down between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated. By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne.\n\n=== Middle Ages ===\nConstruction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by Jean Fouquet\nPresentation of the four \"Great Relics\" during the Aachen pilgrimage, after a 17th-century painting\n\nAfter Roman times, Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the Rhineland and northern France. Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at ''Aquis villa'' (''''), (\"and he celebrated Christmas in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter\") which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time. He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel (since 1930, cathedral) and the Palace. Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire. After his death, the king was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the ''Karlsschrein'', the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by the Roman Curia as such.\n\nIn 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, under Lothair, raided Aachen in the ensuing confusion. Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards. The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176. Over the next 500 years, most kings of Germany destined to reign over the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen. The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current city hall in 1330. The last king to be crowned here was Ferdinand I in 1531. During the Middle Ages, Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders; it achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege. The city remained a free imperial city, subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours. The only dominion it had was over Burtscheid, a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess. It was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the \"Aachener Reich\". Even in the late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich; the city of Aachen even deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away the road-diggers.\n\nAs an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years. It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages. It was also the site of many important church councils, including the Council of 837 and the Council of 1166, a council convened by the antipope Paschal III.\n\n=== Manuscript production ===\nAachen has proved an important site for the production of historical manuscripts. Under Charlemagne's purview, both the Ada Gospels and the Coronation Gospels may have been produced in Aachen. In addition, quantities of the other texts in the court library were also produced locally. During the reign of Louis the Pious (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, patristic texts including the five manuscripts of the Bamberg Pliny Group. Finally, under Lothair I (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced. This however marked the end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen.\n\n=== 16th–18th centuries ===\nsiege of Aachen by the Spanish Army of Flanders under Ambrogio Spinola in 1614\nView of Aachen in 1690\n\nIn 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands, Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and even went as far as expelling them from the city. From the early 16th century, Aachen started to lose its power and influence. First the coronations of emperors were moved from Aachen to Frankfurt. This was followed by the religious wars, and the great fire of 1656. After the destruction of most of the city in 1656, the rebuilding was mostly in the Baroque style. The decline of Aachen culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez, occupied Aachen.\n\nBy the middle of the 17th century Aachen had become attractive as a spa: not so much because of the effects of the hot springs on the health of its visitors but because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th century – a place of high-level prostitution. Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history are found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas; the main indication for visiting patients, ironically, was syphilis; only by the end of the 19th century had rheumatism become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid. Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on 2 May 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended the War of Devolution. The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis in the Aachen government, and in 1794 Aachen lost its status as a free imperial city.\n\n=== 19th century ===\nOn 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire \"left bank\" of the Rhine from Germany and granted it to France. In 1815, control of the town was passed to Prussia, by an act passed by the Congress of Vienna. The third congress took place in 1818, to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France.\n\nBy the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the entirely corrupt remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place (compare the famous remarks of Georg Forster in his ''Ansichten vom Niederrhein'') until 1801, when Aachen became the \"chef-lieu du département de la Roer\" in Napoleon's First French Empire. In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia took over. The city was one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century. Administered within the Rhine Province, by 1880 the population was 80,000. Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen. The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions until 1875, when the medieval fortifications were finally abandoned as a limit to building and new, better housing was built in the east of the city, where sanitary drainage was easiest. In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified. In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important in the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles, buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods.\n\n=== 20th century ===\nThe modern Elisabethhalle pool\nAfter World War I, Aachen was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine. Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic. On 21 October 1923, an armed band took over the city hall. Similar actions took place in Mönchen-Gladbach, Duisburg, and Krefeld. This republic lasted only about a year. Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II. The city and its fortified surroundings were laid siege to from 12 September to 21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from the south. Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division played their part, coming from the north and getting as close as Würselen, while the 30th Infantry Division played a crucial role in completing the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944. With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the Battle of Aachen then continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944. Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators. The city was destroyed partially – and in some parts completely – during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders. Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed. Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders. Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was assassinated by an SS commando unit.\n\n==== History of Aachen Jews ====\nDuring the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community. Later, during the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace. In 802, a Jew named Isaac accompanied the ambassador of Charlemagne to Harun al-Rashid. During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Aachen Minster (today’s cathedral). In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian I during his coronation ceremony. In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city. In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return. Most of the Aachen Jews settled in the nearby town of Burtscheid. On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III. A Jewish cemetery was acquired in 1851. 1,345 Jews lived in the city in 1933. The synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht in 1938. In 1939, after emigration and arrests, 782 Jews remained in the city. After World War II, only 62 Jews lived there. In 2003, 1,434 Jews were living in Aachen. In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish, or Ash (אש).\n\n=== 21st century ===\nThe city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with the RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen, one of the largest medical facilities in Europe.\n", "The three-country point, where the borders of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands meet\n\nAachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion, close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The city of Heerlen in the Netherlands lies nearby, as does Eupen, the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, both located about from Aachen's city centre. Aachen lies near the head of the open valley of the Wurm (which today flows through the city in canalised form), part of the larger basin of the Meuse, and about north of the High Fens, which form the northern edge of the Eifel uplands of the Rhenish Massif.\n\nThe maximum dimensions of the city's territory are from north to south, and from east to west. The city limits are long, of which border Belgium and the Netherlands. The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 m above sea level. The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 m.\n\n=== Climate ===\nAs the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone, with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers. Because of its location north of the Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, in Bonn (with 669 mm/year). Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of the Eifel.\n\nBecause the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog. Some areas of the city have become urban heat islands as a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography and from human activity. The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore play an important role in the urban climate of Aachen.\n\nThe January average is\n, while the July average is . Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year.\n\n", "Layered sandstone and claystone formation from the Devonian period below St. Adalbert Church in Aachen\n\nThe geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous. The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone, graywacke, claystone and limestone. These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif, north of the High Fens. In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as a result of the Variscan orogeny. After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened.\n\nDuring the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits. While the clay (which was the basis for a major pottery industry in nearby Raeren) is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits. More recent sedimentation is mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and was formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities.\n\nAlong the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny, there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid. Additionally, the subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has, in the past, been responsible for numerous earthquakes, including the 1756 Düren earthquake and the 1992 Roermond earthquake, which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands.\n", "Age distribution of Aachen's population next to Germany's (2014)\n\nAachen has 245,885 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2015), of whom 118,272 are female, and 127,613 are male.\n\nThe unemployment rate in the city is, as of April 2012, 9.7 percent. At the end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population. A significant portion of foreign residents are students at the RWTH Aachen University.\n\n\n Year\n Population\n\n 1994\n 246,570\n\n 2007\n 247,740\n\n 2011\n 238,665\n\n 2014\n 243,336\n\n 2015\n 245,885\n\n\n\n Largest groups of foreign residents\n\n Nationality\n Population (2013)\n\n \n 6,478\n\n \n 1,758\n\n \n 1,651\n\n \n 1,586\n\n \n 1,512\n\n \n 1,025\n\n\n=== Boroughs ===\nThe city is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority. The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, with each sub-district named by a two-digit number.\n\nThe districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are:\n* Aachen-Mitte: 10 Markt, 13 Theater, 14 Lindenplatz, 15 St. Jakob, 16 Westpark, 17 Hanbruch, 18 Hörn, 21 Ponttor, 22 Hansemannplatz, 23 Soers, 24 Jülicher Straße, 25 Kalkofen, 31 Kaiserplatz, 32 Adalbertsteinweg, 33 Panneschopp, 34 Rothe Erde, 35 Trierer Straße, 36 Frankenberg, 37 Forst, 41 Beverau, 42 Burtscheid Kurgarten, 43 Burtscheid Abbey, 46 Burtscheid Steinebrück, 47 Marschiertor, 48 Hangeweiher\n* Brand: 51 Brand\n* Eilendorf: 52 Eilendorf\n* Haaren: 53 Haaren (including Verlautenheide)\n* Kornelimünster/Walheim: 61 Kornelimünster, 62 Oberforstbach, 63 Walheim\n* Laurensberg: 64 Vaalserquartier, 65 Laurensberg\n* Richterich: 88 Richterich\n\nRegardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighbourhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district:\n* Aachen-Mitte: Beverau, Bildchen, Burtscheid, Forst, Frankenberg, Grüne Eiche, Hörn, Lintert, Pontviertel, Preuswald, Ronheide, Rosviertel, Rothe Erde, Stadtmitte, Steinebrück, West\n* Brand: Brand, Eich, Freund, Hitfeld, Niederforstbach\n* Eilendorf: Eilendorf, Nirm\n* Haaren: Haaren, Hüls, Verlautenheide\n* Kornelimünster/Walheim: Friesenrath, Hahn, Kitzenhaus, Kornelimünster, Krauthausen, Lichtenbusch, Nütheim, Oberforstbach, Sief, Schleckheim, Schmithof, Walheim\n* Laurensberg: Gut Kullen, Kronenberg, Laurensberg, Lemiers, Melaten, Orsbach, Seffent, Soers, Steppenberg, Vaalserquartier, Vetschau\n* Richterich: Horbach, Huf, Richterich\n\n=== Neighbouring communities ===\nThe following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from the northwest:\nHerzogenrath, Würselen, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in the district of Aachen); Raeren, Kelmis and Plombières (Lüttich Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals, Gulpen-Wittem, Simpelveld, Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands).\n", "\n=== Aachen Cathedral ===\nAachen Cathedral\n\nAachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in AD 796 and was, on completion, in 798, the largest cathedral north of the Alps. It was modelled after the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy, and was built by Odo of Metz. Charlemagne also desired for the chapel to compete with the Lateran Palace, both in quality and authority. It was originally built in the Carolingian style, including marble covered walls, and mosaic inlay on the dome. On his death, Charlemagne's remains were interred in the cathedral and can be seen there to this day. The cathedral was extended several times in later ages, turning it into a curious and unique mixture of building styles. The throne and gallery portion date from the Ottonian, with portions of the original opus sectile floor still visible. The 13th century saw gables being added to the roof, and after the fire of 1656, the dome was rebuilt. Finally, a choir was added around the start of the 15th century After, Frederick Barbarossa canonised Charlemagne, in 1165, the chapel became a destination for pilgrims. For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church built by Charlemagne is still the main attraction of the city. In addition to holding the remains of its founder, it became the burial place of his successor Otto III. In the upper chamber of the gallery, Charlemagne's marble throne is housed. Aachen Cathedral has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.\n\nMost of the marble and columns used in the construction of the cathedral were brought from Rome and Ravenna, including the sarcophagus that Charlemagne was eventually laid to rest in. A bronze bear from Gaul was placed inside, along with an equestrian statue from Ravenna, believed to be Theodric. These were in contrast to a wolf and a statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline. Bronze pieces such as the doors and railings were cast in a local foundry, some of which have survived to the present. Finally, there is uncertainty surrounding the bronze pine cone in the chapel, and where it was created. Wherever it was made, it was also a parallel to a piece in Rome, this in Old St. Peter's Basilica.\n\n=== Cathedral Treasury ===\nCross of Lothair, Aachen Cathedral Treasury\n\nAachen Cathedral Treasury has housed, throughout its history, a collection of liturgical objects. The origin of this church treasure is in dispute as some say Charlemagne himself endowed his chapel with the original collection, while the rest were collected over time. Others say all of the objects were collected over time, from such places as Jerusalem and Constantinople. The location of this treasury has moved over time and was unknown until the 15th, century when it was located in the Matthiaskapelle (St. Matthew's Chapel) until 1873, when it was moved to the Karlskapelle (Charles' Chapel). From there it was moved to the Hungarian Chapel in 1881 and in 1931 to its present location next to the Allerseelenkapelle (Poor Souls' Chapel). Only six of the original Carolingian objects have remained, and of those only three are left in Aachen: the Aachen Gospels, a diptych of Christ, and an early Byzantine silk. The Coronation Gospels and a reliquary burse of St. Stephen were moved to Vienna in 1798 and the Talisman of Charlemagne was given as a gift in 1804 to Josephine Bonaparte and subsequently to Rheims Cathedral. 210 documented pieces have been added to the treasury since its inception, typically to receive in return legitimisation of linkage to the heritage of Charlemagne. The Lothar Cross, the Gospels of Otto III and multiple additional Byzantine silks were donated by Otto III. Part of the Pala d'Oro and a covering for the Aachen Gospels were made of gold donated by Henry II. Frederick Barbarossa donated the candelabrum that adorns the dome and also once \"crowned\" the Shrine of Charlemagne, which was placed underneath in 1215. Charles IV donated a pair of reliquaries. Louis XI gave, in 1475, the crown of Margaret of York, and, in 1481, another arm reliquary of Charlemagne. Maximilian I and Charles V both gave numerous works of art by Hans von Reutlingen. Continuing the tradition, objects continued to be donated until the present, each indicative of the period of its gifting, with the last documented gift being a chalice from 1960 made by Ewald Mataré.\n\n=== Aachen Rathaus ===\nAachen Rathaus seen from the south\nThe Aachen Rathaus, English '''Aachen City Hall''' or '''Aachen Town Hall''', dated from 1330, lies between two central squares, the ''Markt'' (marketplace) and the ''Katschhof'' (between city hall and cathedral). The coronation hall is on the first floor of the building. Inside you can find five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfred Rethel which show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne, as well as Charlemagne's signature. Also, precious replicas of the Imperial Regalia are kept here.\n\nSince 2009, the city hall has been a station on the ''Route Charlemagne'', a tour programme by which historical sights of Aachen are presented to visitors. At the city hall, a museum exhibition explains the history and art of the building and gives a sense of the historical coronation banquets that took place there. A portrait of Napoleon from 1807 by Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet and one of his wife Joséphine from 1805 by Robert Lefèvre are viewable as part of the tour.\n\nAs before, the city hall is the seat of the mayor of Aachen and of the city council, and annually the Charlemagne Prize is awarded there.\n\n=== Other sights ===\nThe ''Grashaus'', a late medieval house at the ''Fischmarkt'', is one of the oldest non-religious buildings in downtown Aachen. It hosted the city archive, and before that, the Grashaus was the former city hall until the present building took over this function.\n\nThe ''Elisenbrunnen'' is one of the most famous sights of Aachen. It is a neo-classical hall covering one of the city's famous fountains. It is just a minute away from the cathedral. Just a few steps in a south-easterly direction lies the 19th-century theatre.\n\nAlso of note are two remaining city gates, the ''Ponttor'' (Pont gate), half a mile northwest of the cathedral, and the ''Marschiertor'' (marching gate), close to the central railway station. There are also a few parts of both medieval city walls left, most of them integrated into more recent buildings, but some others still visible. There are even five towers left, some of which are used for housing.\n\nSt. Michael's Church, Aachen was built as a church of the Aachen Jesuit Collegium in 1628. It is attributed to the Rhine mannerism and a sample of a local Renaissance-architecture. The rich façade remained unfinished until 1891 when the historistic architect Peter Friedrich Peters added to it. The church is a Greek Orthodox church today, but the building is used also for concerts because of its good acoustics.\n\nThe Jewish synagogue in Aachen which was destroyed on the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), 9 November 1938, was reinaugurated on 18 May 1995. One of the contributors for the reconstructions of the synagogue was Jürgen Linden, the Lord Mayor of Aachen from 1989 to 2009.\n\nThere are numerous other notable churches and monasteries, a few remarkable 17th- and 18th-century buildings in the particular Baroque style typical of the region, a Jewish synagogue, a collection of statues and monuments, park areas, cemeteries, among others. Among the museums in the town are the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, which has a fine sculpture collection and the Aachen Museum of the International Press, which is dedicated to newspapers from the 16th century to the present. The area's industrial history is reflected in dozens of 19th- and early 20th-century manufacturing sites in the city.\n\n\nFile:Aachen Grashaus.jpg|Grashaus\nFile:Aachen elisenbrunnen blau.jpg|Elisenbrunnen in Aachen\nFile:Aachen Theatre.jpg|Aachen Theatre\nFile:Aachen Neues Kurhaus.jpg|Neues Kurhaus\nFile:CarolusThermen01.JPG|Carolus Thermen, thermal baths named after Charlemagne\nFile:Aachen-SomeBoulevard.JPG|A statue commemorating David Hansemann\n\n", "Ford Research Center, Aachen\nThere have been a number of spin-offs from the university's IT technology department.\n\nAachen is the administrative centre for the coal-mining industries in neighbouring places to the northeast.\n\nProducts manufactured in Aachen include electrical goods, textiles, foodstuffs (chocolate and candy), glass, machinery, rubber products, furniture, metal products. Also in and around Aachen is the production of chemicals, plastics, cosmetics, and needles and pins. Though once a major player in Aachen's economy, today glassware and textile production make up only 10% of total manufacturing jobs in the city.\n\n=== Electric vehicle manufacturing ===\nStreetScooter ''Work'' as DHL delivery van (2016)\n\nIn June 2010, Achim Kampker, together with Günther Schuh, founded a small company to develop Street Scooter GmbH; in August 2014, it was renamed StreetScooter GmbH. This was a privately organized research initiative at the RWTH Aachen University which later became an independent company in Aachen. Kampker was also the founder and chairman of the European Network for Affordable and Sustainable Electromobility. In May 2014, the company announced that the city of Aachen, the city council Aachen and the savings bank Aachen had ordered electric vehicles from the company. In late 2014, approximately 70 employees were manufacturing 200 vehicles annually in the premises of the Waggonfabrik Talbot, the former Talbot/Bombardier plant in Aachen.\n\nIn December 2014 Deutsche Post DHL Group purchased the StreetScooter company, which became its wholly owned subsidiary. By April 2016, the company announced that it would produce 2000 of its electric vans branded ''Work'' in Aachen by the end of the year.\n\nIn April 2016, StreetScooter GmbH announced that it would be scaling up to manufacture approximately 10,000 of the ''Work'' vehicles annually, starting in 2017, also in Aachen. If that goal is achieved, it will become the largest electric light utility vehicle manufacturer in Europe, surpassing Renault which makes the smaller ''Kangoo Z.E.''.\n", "Aachen is also famous for its carnival (Karneval, Fasching), in which families dress in colourful costumes\n\nIn 1372, Aachen became the first coin-minting city in the world to regularly place an Anno Domini date on a general circulation coin, a groschen.\n\nThe Scotch-Club in Aachen was the first discothèque; it has been open since 19 October 1959. Klaus Quirini as DJ Heinrich was the first DJ ever.\n\nThe thriving Aachen black metal scene is among the most notable in Germany, with such bands as Nagelfar, The Ruins of Beverast, Graupel and Verdunkeln.\n\nThe local speciality of Aachen is an originally hard type of sweet bread, baked in large flat loaves, called ''Aachener Printen''. Unlike ''Lebkuchen'', a German form of gingerbread sweetened with honey, ''Printen'' use a syrup made from sugar. Today, a soft version is sold under the same name which follows an entirely different recipe.\n", "The main building of RWTH Aachen University\nTypical Aachen street with early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses\nAnother example of Aachen early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses\n\nRWTH Aachen University, established as Polytechnicum in 1870, is one of Germany's Universities of Excellence with strong emphasis on technological research, especially for electrical and mechanical engineering, computer sciences, physics, and chemistry. The university clinic attached to the RWTH, the Klinikum Aachen, is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe. Over time, a host of software and computer industries have developed around the university. It also maintains a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Aachen).\n\nFH Aachen, Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) was founded in 1971. The AcUAS offers a classic engineering education in professions such as mechatronics, construction engineering, mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. German and international students are educated in more than 20 international or foreign-oriented programmes and can acquire German as well as international degrees (Bachelor/Master) or ''Doppelabschlüsse'' (double degrees). Foreign students account for more than 21% of the student body.\n\nThe Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen – Abteilung Aachen (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Northrhine-Westphalia – Aachen department) offers its some 750 students a variety of degree programmes: social work, childhood education, nursing, and co-operative management. It also has the only programme of study in Germany especially designed for mothers.\n\nThe Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music) is one of the world's foremost performing arts schools and one of the largest music institutions for higher education in Europe with one of its three campuses in Aachen. The Aachen campus substantially contributes to the Opera/Musical Theatre master's programme by collaborating with the Theater Aachen and the recently established musical theatre chair through the Rheinische Opernakademie.\n\nThe German Army's Technical School (''Ausbildungszentrum Technik Landsysteme'') is in Aachen.\n", "New Tivoli, home ground of Alemannia Aachen\n\nThe annual CHIO (short for the French term ''Concours Hippique International Officiel'') is the biggest equestrian meeting of the world and among horsemen is considered to be as prestigious for equitation as the tournament of Wimbledon for tennis. Aachen hosted the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.\n\nThe local football team Alemannia Aachen had a short run-out in Germany's first division, after its promotion in 2006. However, the team could not sustain its status and is now back in the fourth division. The stadium \"Tivoli\", opened in 1928, served as the venue for the team's home games and was well known for its incomparable atmosphere throughout the whole of the second division. Before the old stadium's demolition in 2011, it was used by amateurs, whilst the Bundesliga Club held its games in the new stadium \"Neuer Tivoli\" – meaning New Tivoli—a couple of metres down the road. The building work for the stadium which has a capacity of 32,960, began in May 2008 and was completed by the beginning of 2009.\n\nThe city's biggest tennis club, \"TC Grün Weiss\", annually hosts the ATP Tournament.\n\nThe Ladies In Black women's volleyball team (part of the \"PTSV Aachen\" sports club since 2013) has played in the first German volleyball league (DVL) since 2008.\n", "=== Rail ===\nAachen's railway station, the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), was constructed in 1841 for the Cologne–Aachen railway line. In 1905 it was moved closer to the city centre. It serves main lines to Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Liège as well as branch lines to Heerlen, Alsdorf, Stolberg and Eschweiler. ICE high speed trains from Brussels via Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and Thalys trains from Paris to Cologne also stop at Aachen Central Station. Four RE lines and two RB lines connect Aachen with the Ruhrgebiet, Mönchengladbach, Spa (Belgium), Düsseldorf and the Siegerland. The ''Euregiobahn'', a regional railway system, reaches several minor cities in the Aachen region.\n\nThere are four smaller stations in Aachen: ''Aachen West'', ''Aachen Schanz'', ''Aachen-Rothe Erde'' and ''Eilendorf''. Slower trains stop at these. Aachen West has gained in importance with the expansion of RWTH Aachen University.\n\n=== Public transport ===\nBi-articulated bus of the city's transit authority ASEAG, at the university hospital bus stop\n\nThe first horse tram line in Aachen opened in December 1880. After electrification in 1895, it was with maximal in 1915 the fourth-longest tram system in Germany. Many tram lines extended to the surrounding towns of Herzogenrath, Stolberg (Rheinland), Alsdorf as well as the Belgian and Dutch communes of Vaals, Kelmis (then ''Altenberg'') and Eupen. The Aachen tram system was linked with the Belgian national interurban tram system. Like many tram systems in Western Europe, the Aachen tram suffered from not well-maintained infrastructure and was so deemed unnecessary and disrupting for car drivers by local politics. On 28 September 1974 the last line 15 (Vaals–Brand) operated for one last day and was then replaced by buses. A proposal to reinstate a tram/light rail system under the name ''Campusbahn'' was dropped after a referendum.\n\nToday, the ASEAG (''Aachener Straßenbahn und Energieversorgungs-AG'', literally \"Aachen tram and power supply company\") operates an long bus network with 68 bus routes. Because of the location at the border, many bus routes extend to Belgium and the Netherlands. Lines 14 to Eupen, Belgium and 44 to Heerlen, Netherlands are jointly operated with Transport en Commun and Veolia Transport Nederland, respectively.\nASEAG is one of the main participants in the Aachener Verkehrsverbund, a tariff association in the region.\n\n=== Roads ===\nAachen is connected to the Autobahn A4 (West-East), A44 (North-South) and A544 (a smaller motorway from the A4 to the ''Europaplatz'' near the city centre). There are plans to eliminate traffic jams at the Aachen road interchange.\n\n=== Airport ===\nMaastricht Aachen Airport is the main airport of Aachen and Maastricht. It is located around 15 NM (28 km; 17 mi) northwest of Aachen. There is a shuttle-service between Aachen and the airport.\n", "\nChancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, wearing the Charlemagne Prize awarded to her in 2008\n\nSince 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens annually awards the Charlemagne Prize () to personalities of outstanding service to the unification of Europe. It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall. In 2016, the Charlemagne Award was awarded to Pope Francis.\n\nThe International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was awarded in the year 2000 to US president Bill Clinton, for his special personal contribution to co-operation with the states of Europe, for the preservation of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe, and for his support of the enlargement of the European Union. In 2004, Pope John Paul II's efforts to unite Europe were honoured with an \"Extraordinary Charlemagne Medal\", which was awarded for the only time ever.\n", "\n", "\n\n=== Twin towns and sister cities ===\nAachen is twinned with:\n\n* Liège, Belgium (since 1955)\n* Montebourg, France (since 1960)\n* Reims, France (1967)\n* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England (1979)\n* Toledo, Spain (1985)\n* Ningbo, China (1986)\n* Naumburg, Germany (1988)\n* Arlington County, Virginia, US (1993)\n* Cape Town, South Africa (1999)\n* Kladno, Czech Republic (2001)\n* Kostroma, Russia (2005)\n* Rosh HaAyin, Israel (2007)\n* Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland (2010)\n* Sariyer, Turkey (2013)\n\n", "\n* Aachen (district)\n* Aachen Prison\n* Aachen tram\n* Aachener\n* Aachener Bachverein\n* List of mayors of Aachen\n* Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (disambiguation)\n* Maastricht Aachen Airport\n", "\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "\n\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Name ", " History ", " Geography ", " Geology ", " Demographics ", " Main sights ", " Economy ", " Culture ", " Education ", " Sports ", " Transport ", " Charlemagne Prize ", "Notable people", " International relations ", " See also ", " Notes ", " References ", " Sources ", " Further reading ", " External links " ]

[ "=== 19th century ===\nOn 9 February 1801, the Peace of Lunéville removed the ownership of Aachen and the entire \"left bank\" of the Rhine from Germany and granted it to France.", "In May 2014, the company announced that the city of Aachen, the city council Aachen and the savings bank Aachen had ordered electric vehicles from the company." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Aachen''' () or '''Bad Aachen''', French and traditional English: '''Aix-la-Chapelle''' (), is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.", "Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531, the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans.", "Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, west south west of Cologne in a former coal-mining area.", "One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University is located in the city.", "Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology.", "In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.", "The name \"Aachen\" is a modern descendant, like southern German ''Ach(e)'', ''Aach'', meaning \"river\" or \"stream\", from Old High German ''ahha'', meaning \"water\" or \"stream\", which directly translates (and etymologically corresponds to) Latin ''Aquae'', referring to the springs.", "The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, attracted to its warm mineral springs.", "Latin ''Aquae'' figures in Aachen's Roman name ''Aquae granni'', which meant \"waters of Grannus\", referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs.", "This word became ''Åxhe'' in Walloon and ''Aix'' in French, and subsequently ''Aix-la-Chapelle'' after Charlemagne had his palatine chapel built there in the late eighth century and then made the city his empire's capital.", "Aachen's name in French and German evolved in parallel.", "The city is known by a variety of different names in other languages:\n\n Language\n Name\n Pronunciation in IPA\n\n Aachen dialect\n Oche\n\n\n Catalan\n Aquisgrà\n\n\nCzech\nCáchy\n\n\n Dutch / Low German\n Aken\n \n\n French\n Aix-la-Chapelle\n \n\n Italian\n Aquisgrana\n\n\n Latin\n Aquisgrana, Aquae granni Aquis Granum\n\n\n Limburgish\n Aoke\n\n\n Luxembourgish\n Oochen\n \n\n Polish\n Akwizgran\n\n\n Portuguese\n Aquisgrano, Aquisgrão\n ɐkiʒˈɡɾɐnu, ɐkiʒˈɡɾɐ̃w̃\n\n Spanish\n Aquisgrán\n\n\n Walloon\n Åxhe\n\n\n\n=== Aachen dialect ===\nAachen is at the western end of the Benrath line that divides High German to the south from the rest of the West Germanic speech area to the north.", "Aachen's local dialect is called ''Öcher Platt'' and belongs to the Ripuarian language.", "\n\n=== Early history ===\nFlint quarries on the Lousberg, Schneeberg, and Königshügel, first used during Neolithic times (3000–2500 BC), attest to the long occupation of the site of Aachen, as do recent finds under the modern city's ''Elisengarten'' pointing to a former settlement from the same period.", "Bronze Age (around 1600 BC) settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows (burial mounds) found, for example, on the Klausberg.", "During the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basin's hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing.", "Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, around AD 124.", "Instead, the fictitious founder refers to the Celtic god, and it seems it was the Roman 6th Legion at the start of the 1st century AD that first channelled the hot springs into a spa at Büchel, adding at the end of the same century the ''Münstertherme'' spa, two water pipelines, and a probable sanctuary dedicated to Grannus.", "A kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes.", "There was also an extensive residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourishing Jewish community.", "The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid.", "A temple precinct called ''Vernenum'' was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim.", "Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the ''Elisenbrunnen'' and the Burtscheid bathhouse.", "Roman civil administration in Aachen broke down between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries.", "Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated.", "By 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne.", "=== Middle Ages ===\nConstruction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by Jean Fouquet\nPresentation of the four \"Great Relics\" during the Aachen pilgrimage, after a 17th-century painting\n\nAfter Roman times, Pepin the Short had a castle residence built in the town, due to the proximity of the hot springs and also for strategic reasons as it is located between the Rhineland and northern France.", "Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at ''Aquis villa'' (''''), (\"and he celebrated Christmas in the town Aquis, and similarly Easter\") which must have been sufficiently equipped to support the royal household for several months.", "In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks, 768, Charlemagne came to spend Christmas at Aachen for the first time.", "He remained there in a mansion which he may have extended, although there is no source attesting to any significant building activity at Aachen in his time, apart from the building of the Palatine Chapel (since 1930, cathedral) and the Palace.", "Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814.", "Aachen became the focus of his court and the political centre of his empire.", "After his death, the king was buried in the church which he had built; his original tomb has been lost, while his alleged remains are preserved in the ''Karlsschrein'', the shrine where he was reburied after being declared a saint; his saintliness, however, was never officially acknowledged by the Roman Curia as such.", "In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the collegiate church built by Charlemagne.", "During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, under Lothair, raided Aachen in the ensuing confusion.", "Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent.", "Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards.", "The palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176.", "Over the next 500 years, most kings of Germany destined to reign over the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in Aachen.", "The original audience hall built by Charlemagne was torn down and replaced by the current city hall in 1330.", "The last king to be crowned here was Ferdinand I in 1531.", "During the Middle Ages, Aachen remained a city of regional importance, due to its proximity to Flanders; it achieved a modest position in the trade in woollen cloths, favoured by imperial privilege.", "The city remained a free imperial city, subject to the emperor only, but was politically far too weak to influence the policies of any of its neighbours.", "The only dominion it had was over Burtscheid, a neighbouring territory ruled by a Benedictine abbess.", "It was forced to accept that all of its traffic must pass through the \"Aachener Reich\".", "Even in the late 18th century the Abbess of Burtscheid was prevented from building a road linking her territory to the neighbouring estates of the duke of Jülich; the city of Aachen even deployed its handful of soldiers to chase away the road-diggers.", "As an imperial city, Aachen held certain political privileges that allowed it to remain independent of the troubles of Europe for many years.", "It remained a direct vassal of the Holy Roman Empire throughout most of the Middle Ages.", "It was also the site of many important church councils, including the Council of 837 and the Council of 1166, a council convened by the antipope Paschal III.", "=== Manuscript production ===\nAachen has proved an important site for the production of historical manuscripts.", "Under Charlemagne's purview, both the Ada Gospels and the Coronation Gospels may have been produced in Aachen.", "In addition, quantities of the other texts in the court library were also produced locally.", "During the reign of Louis the Pious (814–840), substantial quantities of ancient texts were produced at Aachen, including legal manuscripts such as the leges scriptorium group, patristic texts including the five manuscripts of the Bamberg Pliny Group.", "Finally, under Lothair I (840–855), texts of outstanding quality were still being produced.", "This however marked the end of the period of manuscript production at Aachen.", "=== 16th–18th centuries ===\nsiege of Aachen by the Spanish Army of Flanders under Ambrogio Spinola in 1614\nView of Aachen in 1690\n\nIn 1598, following the invasion of Spanish troops from the Netherlands, Rudolf deposed all Protestant office holders in Aachen and even went as far as expelling them from the city.", "From the early 16th century, Aachen started to lose its power and influence.", "First the coronations of emperors were moved from Aachen to Frankfurt.", "This was followed by the religious wars, and the great fire of 1656.", "After the destruction of most of the city in 1656, the rebuilding was mostly in the Baroque style.", "The decline of Aachen culminated in 1794, when the French, led by General Charles Dumouriez, occupied Aachen.", "By the middle of the 17th century Aachen had become attractive as a spa: not so much because of the effects of the hot springs on the health of its visitors but because Aachen was then – and remained well into the 19th century – a place of high-level prostitution.", "Traces of this hidden agenda of the city's history are found in the 18th-century guidebooks to Aachen as well as to the other spas; the main indication for visiting patients, ironically, was syphilis; only by the end of the 19th century had rheumatism become the most important object of cures at Aachen and Burtscheid.", "Aachen was chosen as the site of several important congresses and peace treaties: the first congress of Aachen (often referred to as the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in English) on 2 May 1668, leading to the First Treaty of Aachen in the same year which ended the War of Devolution.", "The second congress ended with the second treaty in 1748, ending the War of the Austrian Succession.", "In 1789, there was a constitutional crisis in the Aachen government, and in 1794 Aachen lost its status as a free imperial city.", "In 1815, control of the town was passed to Prussia, by an act passed by the Congress of Vienna.", "The third congress took place in 1818, to decide the fate of occupied Napoleonic France.", "By the middle of the 19th century, industrialisation had swept away most of the city's medieval rules of production and commerce, although the entirely corrupt remains of the city's medieval constitution were kept in place (compare the famous remarks of Georg Forster in his ''Ansichten vom Niederrhein'') until 1801, when Aachen became the \"chef-lieu du département de la Roer\" in Napoleon's First French Empire.", "In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Kingdom of Prussia took over.", "The city was one of its most socially and politically backward centres until the end of the 19th century.", "Administered within the Rhine Province, by 1880 the population was 80,000.", "Starting in 1838, the railway from Cologne to Belgium passed through Aachen.", "The city suffered extreme overcrowding and deplorable sanitary conditions until 1875, when the medieval fortifications were finally abandoned as a limit to building and new, better housing was built in the east of the city, where sanitary drainage was easiest.", "In December 1880, the Aachen tramway network was opened, and in 1895 it was electrified.", "In the 19th century and up to the 1930s, the city was important in the production of railway locomotives and carriages, iron, pins, needles, buttons, tobacco, woollen goods, and silk goods.", "=== 20th century ===\nThe modern Elisabethhalle pool\nAfter World War I, Aachen was occupied by the Allies until 1930, along with the rest of German territory west of the Rhine.", "Aachen was one of the locations involved in the ill-fated Rhenish Republic.", "On 21 October 1923, an armed band took over the city hall.", "Similar actions took place in Mönchen-Gladbach, Duisburg, and Krefeld.", "This republic lasted only about a year.", "Aachen was heavily damaged during World War II.", "The city and its fortified surroundings were laid siege to from 12 September to 21 October 1944 by the US 1st Infantry Division with the 3rd Armored Division assisting from the south.", "Around 13 October the US 2nd Armored Division played their part, coming from the north and getting as close as Würselen, while the 30th Infantry Division played a crucial role in completing the encirclement of Aachen on 16 October 1944.", "With reinforcements from the US 28th Infantry Division the Battle of Aachen then continued involving direct assaults through the heavily defended city, which finally forced the German garrison to surrender on 21 October 1944.", "Aachen was the first German city to be captured by the Allies, and its residents welcomed the soldiers as liberators.", "The city was destroyed partially – and in some parts completely – during the fighting, mostly by American artillery fire and demolitions carried out by the Waffen-SS defenders.", "Damaged buildings included the medieval churches of St. Foillan, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, and the Rathaus (city hall), although Aachen Cathedral was largely unscathed.", "Only 4,000 inhabitants remained in the city; the rest had followed evacuation orders.", "Its first Allied-appointed mayor, Franz Oppenhoff, was assassinated by an SS commando unit.", "==== History of Aachen Jews ====\nDuring the Roman period, Aachen was the site of a flourishing Jewish community.", "Later, during the Carolingian empire, a Jewish community lived near the royal palace.", "In 802, a Jew named Isaac accompanied the ambassador of Charlemagne to Harun al-Rashid.", "During the 13th century, many Jews converted to Christianity, as shown in the records of the Aachen Minster (today’s cathedral).", "In 1486, the Jews of Aachen offered gifts to Maximilian I during his coronation ceremony.", "In 1629, the Aachen Jewish community was expelled from the city.", "In 1667, six Jews were allowed to return.", "Most of the Aachen Jews settled in the nearby town of Burtscheid.", "On 16 May 1815, the Jewish community of the city offered an homage in its synagogue to the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III.", "A Jewish cemetery was acquired in 1851.", "1,345 Jews lived in the city in 1933.", "The synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht in 1938.", "In 1939, after emigration and arrests, 782 Jews remained in the city.", "After World War II, only 62 Jews lived there.", "In 2003, 1,434 Jews were living in Aachen.", "In Jewish texts, the city of Aachen was called Aish, or Ash (אש).", "=== 21st century ===\nThe city of Aachen has developed into a technology hub as a by-product of hosting one of the leading universities of technology in Germany with the RWTH Aachen (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule), known especially for mechanical engineering, automotive and manufacturing technology as well as for its research and academic hospital Klinikum Aachen, one of the largest medical facilities in Europe.", "The three-country point, where the borders of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands meet\n\nAachen is located in the middle of the Meuse–Rhine Euroregion, close to the border tripoint of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.", "The city of Heerlen in the Netherlands lies nearby, as does Eupen, the capital of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, both located about from Aachen's city centre.", "Aachen lies near the head of the open valley of the Wurm (which today flows through the city in canalised form), part of the larger basin of the Meuse, and about north of the High Fens, which form the northern edge of the Eifel uplands of the Rhenish Massif.", "The maximum dimensions of the city's territory are from north to south, and from east to west.", "The city limits are long, of which border Belgium and the Netherlands.", "The highest point in Aachen, located in the far southeast of the city, lies at an elevation of 410 m above sea level.", "The lowest point, in the north, and on the border with the Netherlands, is at 125 m.\n\n=== Climate ===\nAs the westernmost city in Germany (and close to the Low Countries), Aachen and the surrounding area belongs to a temperate climate zone, with humid weather, mild winters, and warm summers.", "Because of its location north of the Eifel and the High Fens and its subsequent prevailing westerly weather patterns, rainfall in Aachen (on average 805 mm/year) is comparatively higher than, for example, in Bonn (with 669 mm/year).", "Another factor in the local weather forces of Aachen is the occurrence of Foehn winds on the southerly air currents, which results from the city's geographic location on the northern edge of the Eifel.", "Because the city is surrounded by hills, it suffers from inversion-related smog.", "Some areas of the city have become urban heat islands as a result of poor heat exchange, both because of the area's natural geography and from human activity.", "The city's numerous cold air corridors, which are slated to remain as free as possible from new construction, therefore play an important role in the urban climate of Aachen.", "The January average is\n, while the July average is .", "Precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year.", "Layered sandstone and claystone formation from the Devonian period below St. Adalbert Church in Aachen\n\nThe geology of Aachen is very structurally heterogeneous.", "The oldest occurring rocks in the area surrounding the city originate from the Devonian period and include carboniferous sandstone, graywacke, claystone and limestone.", "These formations are part of the Rhenish Massif, north of the High Fens.", "In the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous geological period, these rock layers were narrowed and folded as a result of the Variscan orogeny.", "After this event, and over the course of the following 200 million years, this area has been continuously flattened.", "During the Cretaceous period, the ocean penetrated the continent from the direction of the North Sea up to the mountainous area near Aachen, bringing with it clay, sand, and chalk deposits.", "While the clay (which was the basis for a major pottery industry in nearby Raeren) is mostly found in the lower areas of Aachen, the hills of the Aachen Forest and the Lousberg were formed from upper Cretaceous sand and chalk deposits.", "More recent sedimentation is mainly located in the north and east of Aachen and was formed through tertiary and quaternary river and wind activities.", "Along the major thrust fault of the Variscan orogeny, there are over 30 thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid.", "Additionally, the subsurface of Aachen is traversed by numerous active faults that belong to the Rurgraben fault system, which has, in the past, been responsible for numerous earthquakes, including the 1756 Düren earthquake and the 1992 Roermond earthquake, which was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Netherlands.", "Age distribution of Aachen's population next to Germany's (2014)\n\nAachen has 245,885 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2015), of whom 118,272 are female, and 127,613 are male.", "The unemployment rate in the city is, as of April 2012, 9.7 percent.", "At the end of 2009, the foreign-born residents of Aachen made up 13.6 percent of the total population.", "A significant portion of foreign residents are students at the RWTH Aachen University.", "Year\n Population\n\n 1994\n 246,570\n\n 2007\n 247,740\n\n 2011\n 238,665\n\n 2014\n 243,336\n\n 2015\n 245,885\n\n\n\n Largest groups of foreign residents\n\n Nationality\n Population (2013)\n\n \n 6,478\n\n \n 1,758\n\n \n 1,651\n\n \n 1,586\n\n \n 1,512\n\n \n 1,025\n\n\n=== Boroughs ===\nThe city is divided into seven administrative districts, or boroughs, each with its own district council, district leader, and district authority.", "The councils are elected locally by those who live within the district, and these districts are further subdivided into smaller sections for statistical purposes, with each sub-district named by a two-digit number.", "The districts of Aachen, including their constituent statistical districts, are:\n* Aachen-Mitte: 10 Markt, 13 Theater, 14 Lindenplatz, 15 St. Jakob, 16 Westpark, 17 Hanbruch, 18 Hörn, 21 Ponttor, 22 Hansemannplatz, 23 Soers, 24 Jülicher Straße, 25 Kalkofen, 31 Kaiserplatz, 32 Adalbertsteinweg, 33 Panneschopp, 34 Rothe Erde, 35 Trierer Straße, 36 Frankenberg, 37 Forst, 41 Beverau, 42 Burtscheid Kurgarten, 43 Burtscheid Abbey, 46 Burtscheid Steinebrück, 47 Marschiertor, 48 Hangeweiher\n* Brand: 51 Brand\n* Eilendorf: 52 Eilendorf\n* Haaren: 53 Haaren (including Verlautenheide)\n* Kornelimünster/Walheim: 61 Kornelimünster, 62 Oberforstbach, 63 Walheim\n* Laurensberg: 64 Vaalserquartier, 65 Laurensberg\n* Richterich: 88 Richterich\n\nRegardless of official statistical designations, there are 50 neighbourhoods and communities within Aachen, here arranged by district:\n* Aachen-Mitte: Beverau, Bildchen, Burtscheid, Forst, Frankenberg, Grüne Eiche, Hörn, Lintert, Pontviertel, Preuswald, Ronheide, Rosviertel, Rothe Erde, Stadtmitte, Steinebrück, West\n* Brand: Brand, Eich, Freund, Hitfeld, Niederforstbach\n* Eilendorf: Eilendorf, Nirm\n* Haaren: Haaren, Hüls, Verlautenheide\n* Kornelimünster/Walheim: Friesenrath, Hahn, Kitzenhaus, Kornelimünster, Krauthausen, Lichtenbusch, Nütheim, Oberforstbach, Sief, Schleckheim, Schmithof, Walheim\n* Laurensberg: Gut Kullen, Kronenberg, Laurensberg, Lemiers, Melaten, Orsbach, Seffent, Soers, Steppenberg, Vaalserquartier, Vetschau\n* Richterich: Horbach, Huf, Richterich\n\n=== Neighbouring communities ===\nThe following cities and communities border Aachen, clockwise from the northwest:\nHerzogenrath, Würselen, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Roetgen (which are all in the district of Aachen); Raeren, Kelmis and Plombières (Lüttich Province in Belgium) as well as Vaals, Gulpen-Wittem, Simpelveld, Heerlen and Kerkrade (all in Limburg Province in the Netherlands).", "\n=== Aachen Cathedral ===\nAachen Cathedral\n\nAachen Cathedral was erected on the orders of Charlemagne in AD 796 and was, on completion, in 798, the largest cathedral north of the Alps.", "It was modelled after the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy, and was built by Odo of Metz.", "Charlemagne also desired for the chapel to compete with the Lateran Palace, both in quality and authority.", "It was originally built in the Carolingian style, including marble covered walls, and mosaic inlay on the dome.", "On his death, Charlemagne's remains were interred in the cathedral and can be seen there to this day.", "The cathedral was extended several times in later ages, turning it into a curious and unique mixture of building styles.", "The throne and gallery portion date from the Ottonian, with portions of the original opus sectile floor still visible.", "The 13th century saw gables being added to the roof, and after the fire of 1656, the dome was rebuilt.", "Finally, a choir was added around the start of the 15th century After, Frederick Barbarossa canonised Charlemagne, in 1165, the chapel became a destination for pilgrims.", "For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens.", "The church built by Charlemagne is still the main attraction of the city.", "In addition to holding the remains of its founder, it became the burial place of his successor Otto III.", "In the upper chamber of the gallery, Charlemagne's marble throne is housed.", "Aachen Cathedral has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.", "Most of the marble and columns used in the construction of the cathedral were brought from Rome and Ravenna, including the sarcophagus that Charlemagne was eventually laid to rest in.", "A bronze bear from Gaul was placed inside, along with an equestrian statue from Ravenna, believed to be Theodric.", "These were in contrast to a wolf and a statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline.", "Bronze pieces such as the doors and railings were cast in a local foundry, some of which have survived to the present.", "Finally, there is uncertainty surrounding the bronze pine cone in the chapel, and where it was created.", "Wherever it was made, it was also a parallel to a piece in Rome, this in Old St. Peter's Basilica.", "=== Cathedral Treasury ===\nCross of Lothair, Aachen Cathedral Treasury\n\nAachen Cathedral Treasury has housed, throughout its history, a collection of liturgical objects.", "The origin of this church treasure is in dispute as some say Charlemagne himself endowed his chapel with the original collection, while the rest were collected over time.", "Others say all of the objects were collected over time, from such places as Jerusalem and Constantinople.", "The location of this treasury has moved over time and was unknown until the 15th, century when it was located in the Matthiaskapelle (St. Matthew's Chapel) until 1873, when it was moved to the Karlskapelle (Charles' Chapel).", "From there it was moved to the Hungarian Chapel in 1881 and in 1931 to its present location next to the Allerseelenkapelle (Poor Souls' Chapel).", "Only six of the original Carolingian objects have remained, and of those only three are left in Aachen: the Aachen Gospels, a diptych of Christ, and an early Byzantine silk.", "The Coronation Gospels and a reliquary burse of St. Stephen were moved to Vienna in 1798 and the Talisman of Charlemagne was given as a gift in 1804 to Josephine Bonaparte and subsequently to Rheims Cathedral.", "210 documented pieces have been added to the treasury since its inception, typically to receive in return legitimisation of linkage to the heritage of Charlemagne.", "The Lothar Cross, the Gospels of Otto III and multiple additional Byzantine silks were donated by Otto III.", "Part of the Pala d'Oro and a covering for the Aachen Gospels were made of gold donated by Henry II.", "Frederick Barbarossa donated the candelabrum that adorns the dome and also once \"crowned\" the Shrine of Charlemagne, which was placed underneath in 1215.", "Charles IV donated a pair of reliquaries.", "Louis XI gave, in 1475, the crown of Margaret of York, and, in 1481, another arm reliquary of Charlemagne.", "Maximilian I and Charles V both gave numerous works of art by Hans von Reutlingen.", "Continuing the tradition, objects continued to be donated until the present, each indicative of the period of its gifting, with the last documented gift being a chalice from 1960 made by Ewald Mataré.", "=== Aachen Rathaus ===\nAachen Rathaus seen from the south\nThe Aachen Rathaus, English '''Aachen City Hall''' or '''Aachen Town Hall''', dated from 1330, lies between two central squares, the ''Markt'' (marketplace) and the ''Katschhof'' (between city hall and cathedral).", "The coronation hall is on the first floor of the building.", "Inside you can find five frescoes by the Aachen artist Alfred Rethel which show legendary scenes from the life of Charlemagne, as well as Charlemagne's signature.", "Also, precious replicas of the Imperial Regalia are kept here.", "Since 2009, the city hall has been a station on the ''Route Charlemagne'', a tour programme by which historical sights of Aachen are presented to visitors.", "At the city hall, a museum exhibition explains the history and art of the building and gives a sense of the historical coronation banquets that took place there.", "A portrait of Napoleon from 1807 by Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet and one of his wife Joséphine from 1805 by Robert Lefèvre are viewable as part of the tour.", "As before, the city hall is the seat of the mayor of Aachen and of the city council, and annually the Charlemagne Prize is awarded there.", "=== Other sights ===\nThe ''Grashaus'', a late medieval house at the ''Fischmarkt'', is one of the oldest non-religious buildings in downtown Aachen.", "It hosted the city archive, and before that, the Grashaus was the former city hall until the present building took over this function.", "The ''Elisenbrunnen'' is one of the most famous sights of Aachen.", "It is a neo-classical hall covering one of the city's famous fountains.", "It is just a minute away from the cathedral.", "Just a few steps in a south-easterly direction lies the 19th-century theatre.", "Also of note are two remaining city gates, the ''Ponttor'' (Pont gate), half a mile northwest of the cathedral, and the ''Marschiertor'' (marching gate), close to the central railway station.", "There are also a few parts of both medieval city walls left, most of them integrated into more recent buildings, but some others still visible.", "There are even five towers left, some of which are used for housing.", "St. Michael's Church, Aachen was built as a church of the Aachen Jesuit Collegium in 1628.", "It is attributed to the Rhine mannerism and a sample of a local Renaissance-architecture.", "The rich façade remained unfinished until 1891 when the historistic architect Peter Friedrich Peters added to it.", "The church is a Greek Orthodox church today, but the building is used also for concerts because of its good acoustics.", "The Jewish synagogue in Aachen which was destroyed on the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), 9 November 1938, was reinaugurated on 18 May 1995.", "One of the contributors for the reconstructions of the synagogue was Jürgen Linden, the Lord Mayor of Aachen from 1989 to 2009.", "There are numerous other notable churches and monasteries, a few remarkable 17th- and 18th-century buildings in the particular Baroque style typical of the region, a Jewish synagogue, a collection of statues and monuments, park areas, cemeteries, among others.", "Among the museums in the town are the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, which has a fine sculpture collection and the Aachen Museum of the International Press, which is dedicated to newspapers from the 16th century to the present.", "The area's industrial history is reflected in dozens of 19th- and early 20th-century manufacturing sites in the city.", "File:Aachen Grashaus.jpg|Grashaus\nFile:Aachen elisenbrunnen blau.jpg|Elisenbrunnen in Aachen\nFile:Aachen Theatre.jpg|Aachen Theatre\nFile:Aachen Neues Kurhaus.jpg|Neues Kurhaus\nFile:CarolusThermen01.JPG|Carolus Thermen, thermal baths named after Charlemagne\nFile:Aachen-SomeBoulevard.JPG|A statue commemorating David Hansemann", "Ford Research Center, Aachen\nThere have been a number of spin-offs from the university's IT technology department.", "Aachen is the administrative centre for the coal-mining industries in neighbouring places to the northeast.", "Products manufactured in Aachen include electrical goods, textiles, foodstuffs (chocolate and candy), glass, machinery, rubber products, furniture, metal products.", "Also in and around Aachen is the production of chemicals, plastics, cosmetics, and needles and pins.", "Though once a major player in Aachen's economy, today glassware and textile production make up only 10% of total manufacturing jobs in the city.", "=== Electric vehicle manufacturing ===\nStreetScooter ''Work'' as DHL delivery van (2016)\n\nIn June 2010, Achim Kampker, together with Günther Schuh, founded a small company to develop Street Scooter GmbH; in August 2014, it was renamed StreetScooter GmbH.", "This was a privately organized research initiative at the RWTH Aachen University which later became an independent company in Aachen.", "Kampker was also the founder and chairman of the European Network for Affordable and Sustainable Electromobility.", "In late 2014, approximately 70 employees were manufacturing 200 vehicles annually in the premises of the Waggonfabrik Talbot, the former Talbot/Bombardier plant in Aachen.", "In December 2014 Deutsche Post DHL Group purchased the StreetScooter company, which became its wholly owned subsidiary.", "By April 2016, the company announced that it would produce 2000 of its electric vans branded ''Work'' in Aachen by the end of the year.", "In April 2016, StreetScooter GmbH announced that it would be scaling up to manufacture approximately 10,000 of the ''Work'' vehicles annually, starting in 2017, also in Aachen.", "If that goal is achieved, it will become the largest electric light utility vehicle manufacturer in Europe, surpassing Renault which makes the smaller ''Kangoo Z.E.", "''.", "Aachen is also famous for its carnival (Karneval, Fasching), in which families dress in colourful costumes\n\nIn 1372, Aachen became the first coin-minting city in the world to regularly place an Anno Domini date on a general circulation coin, a groschen.", "The Scotch-Club in Aachen was the first discothèque; it has been open since 19 October 1959.", "Klaus Quirini as DJ Heinrich was the first DJ ever.", "The thriving Aachen black metal scene is among the most notable in Germany, with such bands as Nagelfar, The Ruins of Beverast, Graupel and Verdunkeln.", "The local speciality of Aachen is an originally hard type of sweet bread, baked in large flat loaves, called ''Aachener Printen''.", "Unlike ''Lebkuchen'', a German form of gingerbread sweetened with honey, ''Printen'' use a syrup made from sugar.", "Today, a soft version is sold under the same name which follows an entirely different recipe.", "The main building of RWTH Aachen University\nTypical Aachen street with early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses\nAnother example of Aachen early 20th-century Gründerzeit houses\n\nRWTH Aachen University, established as Polytechnicum in 1870, is one of Germany's Universities of Excellence with strong emphasis on technological research, especially for electrical and mechanical engineering, computer sciences, physics, and chemistry.", "The university clinic attached to the RWTH, the Klinikum Aachen, is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe.", "Over time, a host of software and computer industries have developed around the university.", "It also maintains a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Aachen).", "FH Aachen, Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) was founded in 1971.", "The AcUAS offers a classic engineering education in professions such as mechatronics, construction engineering, mechanical engineering or electrical engineering.", "German and international students are educated in more than 20 international or foreign-oriented programmes and can acquire German as well as international degrees (Bachelor/Master) or ''Doppelabschlüsse'' (double degrees).", "Foreign students account for more than 21% of the student body.", "The Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen – Abteilung Aachen (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Northrhine-Westphalia – Aachen department) offers its some 750 students a variety of degree programmes: social work, childhood education, nursing, and co-operative management.", "It also has the only programme of study in Germany especially designed for mothers.", "The Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne University of Music) is one of the world's foremost performing arts schools and one of the largest music institutions for higher education in Europe with one of its three campuses in Aachen.", "The Aachen campus substantially contributes to the Opera/Musical Theatre master's programme by collaborating with the Theater Aachen and the recently established musical theatre chair through the Rheinische Opernakademie.", "The German Army's Technical School (''Ausbildungszentrum Technik Landsysteme'') is in Aachen.", "New Tivoli, home ground of Alemannia Aachen\n\nThe annual CHIO (short for the French term ''Concours Hippique International Officiel'') is the biggest equestrian meeting of the world and among horsemen is considered to be as prestigious for equitation as the tournament of Wimbledon for tennis.", "Aachen hosted the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.", "The local football team Alemannia Aachen had a short run-out in Germany's first division, after its promotion in 2006.", "However, the team could not sustain its status and is now back in the fourth division.", "The stadium \"Tivoli\", opened in 1928, served as the venue for the team's home games and was well known for its incomparable atmosphere throughout the whole of the second division.", "Before the old stadium's demolition in 2011, it was used by amateurs, whilst the Bundesliga Club held its games in the new stadium \"Neuer Tivoli\" – meaning New Tivoli—a couple of metres down the road.", "The building work for the stadium which has a capacity of 32,960, began in May 2008 and was completed by the beginning of 2009.", "The city's biggest tennis club, \"TC Grün Weiss\", annually hosts the ATP Tournament.", "The Ladies In Black women's volleyball team (part of the \"PTSV Aachen\" sports club since 2013) has played in the first German volleyball league (DVL) since 2008.", "=== Rail ===\nAachen's railway station, the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), was constructed in 1841 for the Cologne–Aachen railway line.", "In 1905 it was moved closer to the city centre.", "It serves main lines to Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Liège as well as branch lines to Heerlen, Alsdorf, Stolberg and Eschweiler.", "ICE high speed trains from Brussels via Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and Thalys trains from Paris to Cologne also stop at Aachen Central Station.", "Four RE lines and two RB lines connect Aachen with the Ruhrgebiet, Mönchengladbach, Spa (Belgium), Düsseldorf and the Siegerland.", "The ''Euregiobahn'', a regional railway system, reaches several minor cities in the Aachen region.", "There are four smaller stations in Aachen: ''Aachen West'', ''Aachen Schanz'', ''Aachen-Rothe Erde'' and ''Eilendorf''.", "Slower trains stop at these.", "Aachen West has gained in importance with the expansion of RWTH Aachen University.", "=== Public transport ===\nBi-articulated bus of the city's transit authority ASEAG, at the university hospital bus stop\n\nThe first horse tram line in Aachen opened in December 1880.", "After electrification in 1895, it was with maximal in 1915 the fourth-longest tram system in Germany.", "Many tram lines extended to the surrounding towns of Herzogenrath, Stolberg (Rheinland), Alsdorf as well as the Belgian and Dutch communes of Vaals, Kelmis (then ''Altenberg'') and Eupen.", "The Aachen tram system was linked with the Belgian national interurban tram system.", "Like many tram systems in Western Europe, the Aachen tram suffered from not well-maintained infrastructure and was so deemed unnecessary and disrupting for car drivers by local politics.", "On 28 September 1974 the last line 15 (Vaals–Brand) operated for one last day and was then replaced by buses.", "A proposal to reinstate a tram/light rail system under the name ''Campusbahn'' was dropped after a referendum.", "Today, the ASEAG (''Aachener Straßenbahn und Energieversorgungs-AG'', literally \"Aachen tram and power supply company\") operates an long bus network with 68 bus routes.", "Because of the location at the border, many bus routes extend to Belgium and the Netherlands.", "Lines 14 to Eupen, Belgium and 44 to Heerlen, Netherlands are jointly operated with Transport en Commun and Veolia Transport Nederland, respectively.", "ASEAG is one of the main participants in the Aachener Verkehrsverbund, a tariff association in the region.", "=== Roads ===\nAachen is connected to the Autobahn A4 (West-East), A44 (North-South) and A544 (a smaller motorway from the A4 to the ''Europaplatz'' near the city centre).", "There are plans to eliminate traffic jams at the Aachen road interchange.", "=== Airport ===\nMaastricht Aachen Airport is the main airport of Aachen and Maastricht.", "It is located around 15 NM (28 km; 17 mi) northwest of Aachen.", "There is a shuttle-service between Aachen and the airport.", "\nChancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, wearing the Charlemagne Prize awarded to her in 2008\n\nSince 1950, a committee of Aachen citizens annually awards the Charlemagne Prize () to personalities of outstanding service to the unification of Europe.", "It is traditionally awarded on Ascension Day at the City Hall.", "In 2016, the Charlemagne Award was awarded to Pope Francis.", "The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was awarded in the year 2000 to US president Bill Clinton, for his special personal contribution to co-operation with the states of Europe, for the preservation of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe, and for his support of the enlargement of the European Union.", "In 2004, Pope John Paul II's efforts to unite Europe were honoured with an \"Extraordinary Charlemagne Medal\", which was awarded for the only time ever.", "\n\n=== Twin towns and sister cities ===\nAachen is twinned with:\n\n* Liège, Belgium (since 1955)\n* Montebourg, France (since 1960)\n* Reims, France (1967)\n* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England (1979)\n* Toledo, Spain (1985)\n* Ningbo, China (1986)\n* Naumburg, Germany (1988)\n* Arlington County, Virginia, US (1993)\n* Cape Town, South Africa (1999)\n* Kladno, Czech Republic (2001)\n* Kostroma, Russia (2005)\n* Rosh HaAyin, Israel (2007)\n* Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland (2010)\n* Sariyer, Turkey (2013)", "\n* Aachen (district)\n* Aachen Prison\n* Aachen tram\n* Aachener\n* Aachener Bachverein\n* List of mayors of Aachen\n* Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (disambiguation)\n* Maastricht Aachen Airport", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Andrew Jackson''' (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress. As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the \"common man\" against a \"corrupt aristocracy\" and to preserve the Union.\n\nBorn in the Waxhaws, Jackson became a lawyer in the Western District of North Carolina (now part of Tennessee) and married Rachel Donelson Robards. He served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing Tennessee. After resigning, he was appointed a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, serving from 1798 until 1804. Jackson purchased a property that became known as the Hermitage, and became a wealthy, slaveowning planter. In 1801, he was appointed colonel of the Tennessee militia and was elected its commander the following year. He led troops during the Creek War of 1813–1814, winning a major victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The subsequent Treaty of Fort Jackson required the Creek surrender of vast lands in present-day Alabama and Georgia. Jackson won a decisive victory in the War of 1812 over the British at the Battle of New Orleans, making him a national hero. After the war, Jackson led U.S. forces in the First Seminole War, which caused the annexation of Florida from Spain. Jackson briefly served as Florida's first territorial governor before winning election as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. Jackson ran for president in 1824, winning a plurality of the popular and electoral vote. As no candidate won an electoral majority, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams in a contingent election. In reaction to the alleged \"corrupt bargain\" between Adams and Henry Clay and the ambitious agenda of President Adams, Jackson's supporters founded the Democratic Party.\n\nJackson ran again in 1828, defeating Adams in a landslide. Jackson faced the threat of secession by South Carolina over the \"Tariff of Abominations.\" The crisis was defused when the tariff was amended, and Jackson threatened the use of military force if South Carolina attempted to secede. Congress, led by Clay, tried to reauthorize the Second Bank of the United States; Jackson regarded the Bank as a corrupt institution and vetoed the renewal of its charter. After a lengthy struggle, Jackson and his allies thoroughly dismantled the Bank. In 1835, Jackson became the only president to completely pay off the national debt, fulfilling a longtime goal. His presidency marked the beginning of the ascendancy of the \"spoils system\" in American politics. In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which relocated most members of the Native American tribes in the South to Indian Territory. The relocation process dispossessed the Indians and resulted in widespread death and sickness. In foreign affairs, Jackson's administration concluded a \"most favored nation\" treaty with Great Britain, settled claims of damages against France from the Napoleonic Wars, and recognized the Republic of Texas. He vehemently opposed the rising trend of abolitionism.\n\nIn his retirement, Jackson remained active in Democratic Party politics, supporting the presidencies of Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk. Though fearful of its effects on the slavery debate, Jackson advocated the annexation of Texas, which was accomplished shortly before his death. Jackson was widely revered in the United States as an advocate for the causes of democracy and the common man, but his reputation has declined since the civil rights movement, largely due to his role in Indian removal and support for slavery. Surveys of historians and scholars have ranked Jackson between 6th and 18th most successful among United States presidents.\n", "Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas. His parents were Scots-Irish colonists Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, Presbyterians who had emigrated from present day Northern Ireland two years earlier. Jackson's father was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, in current-day Northern Ireland, around 1738. Jackson's parents lived in the village of Boneybefore, also in County Antrim. His paternal family line originated in Killingswold Grove, Yorkshire, England.\n\nWhen they immigrated to North America in 1765, Jackson's parents probably landed in Philadelphia. Most likely they traveled overland through the Appalachian Mountains to the Scots-Irish community in the Waxhaws region, straddling the border between North and South Carolina. They brought two children from Ireland, Hugh (born 1763) and Robert (born 1764). Jackson's father died in an accident in February 1767 at the age of 29, three weeks before his son Andrew was born. Jackson, his mother, and his brothers lived with Jackson's aunt and uncle in the Waxhaws region, and Jackson received schooling from two nearby priests.\n\nJackson's exact birthplace is unclear because he was born about the time his mother was making a difficult trip home from burying Jackson's father. The area was so remote that the border between North and South Carolina had not been officially surveyed. In 1824 Jackson wrote a letter saying that he was born at an uncle's plantation in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Jackson may have claimed to be a South Carolinian because the state was considering nullification of the Tariff of 1824, which he opposed. In the mid-1850s, second-hand evidence indicated that he might have been born at a different uncle's home in North Carolina.\n", "lithograph) \nDuring the Revolutionary War, Jackson's eldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion after the Battle of Stono Ferry on June 20, 1779. Anti-British sentiment intensified following the brutal Waxhaws Massacre on May 29, 1780. Jackson's mother encouraged him and his elder brother Robert to attend the local militia drills. Soon, they began to help the militia as couriers. They served under Colonel William Richardson Davie at the Battle of Hanging Rock on August 6. Andrew and Robert were eventually captured by the British in 1781 while staying at the home of the Crawford family. When Andrew refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the officer slashed at the youth with a sword, leaving him with scars on his left hand and head, as well as an intense hatred for the British. Robert also refused to do as commanded and was struck with the sword. The two brothers were held as prisoners, contracted smallpox, and nearly starved to death in captivity.\n\nAfter a time, their mother Elizabeth secured the brothers' release. She then began to walk both boys back to their home in the Waxhaws. Robert Jackson died on the way a few days later on April 27, 1781. After nursing Andrew back to health, Elizabeth volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in the Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. In November she died from the disease and was buried in an unmarked grave. Andrew became an orphan at age 14. He blamed the British personally for the loss of his brothers and mother.\n", "After the Revolutionary War, Jackson received a sporadic education in a local Waxhaw school. In 1781 he worked for a time in a saddle-maker's shop. On bad terms with much of his extended family, he boarded with several different people while teaching school or working for the saddle-maker. In 1784, he left the Waxhaws region for Salisbury, North Carolina, where he studied law under attorney Spruce Macay. With the help of various lawyers, he was able to learn enough to qualify for the bar. In September 1787, Jackson was admitted to the North Carolina bar. Shortly thereafter, a friend helped Jackson get appointed to a vacant prosecutor position in the Western District of North Carolina, which would later become the state of Tennessee. During his travel west, Jackson bought his first slave and in 1788, having been offended by fellow lawyer Waightstill Avery, fought his first duel. The duel ended with both men firing into the air, having made a secret agreement to do so before the engagement.\n\nJackson moved to the frontier town of Nashville in 1788, where he lived as a boarder with Rachel Stockly Donelson, the widow of John Donelson. Here Jackson became acquainted with their daughter, Rachel Donelson Robards. At the time, the younger Rachel was in an unhappy marriage with Captain Lewis Robards; he was subject to fits of jealous rage. The two were separated in 1790. According to Jackson, he married Rachel after hearing that Robards had obtained a divorce. However, the divorce had never been completed, making Rachel's marriage to Jackson bigamous and therefore invalid. After the divorce was officially completed, Rachel and Jackson remarried in 1794. To complicate matters further, evidence shows that Rachel had been living with Jackson and referred to herself as Mrs. Jackson before the petition for divorce was ever made. It was not uncommon on the frontier for relationships to be formed and dissolved unofficially, as long as they were recognized by the community.\n\n===Land speculation and founding of Memphis===\n\n\nIn 1794, Jackson formed a business with fellow lawyer and planter John Overton, overtly buying and selling land which had been reserved by treaty for the Cherokee and Chickasaw. Theirs was a frank avowal; they, like many of their contemporaries, would deal with lands within Indian territory. Most of the transactions involved grants made under the 'land grab' act of 1783 that briefly opened to claim by North Carolinians all of the Indian lands in that state's transmontane west. He was one of the three original investors who founded Memphis, Tennessee, in 1819.\n\n===Early political career and Tennessee militia===\nAfter moving to Nashville, Jackson became a protege of William Blount, a friend of the Donelsons and one of the most powerful men in the state. Jackson became attorney general in 1791, and he won election as a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1796. When Tennessee achieved statehood that year, he was elected its only U.S. Representative. The following year, the state legislature elected him as U.S. Senator. He resigned within a year. While in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, Jackson aligned himself with the Democratic-Republican Party, and he strongly opposed the Jay Treaty. In 1798, with strong support from western Tennessee, he was elected to serve as a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, at an annual salary of $600. Jackson's service as a judge is generally viewed as a success and earned him a reputation for honesty and good decision making. Jackson resigned the judgeship in 1804 and returned full-time to his business interests. His official reason for resigning was ill health. He had been suffering financially from poor land ventures, and so it is also possible that he wanted to return full-time to his business interests.\n\nAfter arriving in Tennessee, Jackson won the appointment of judge advocate of the Tennessee militia. While serving on the Tennessee Supreme Court, he was appointed in 1801 as a colonel in the Tennessee militia. In 1802 he declared his candidacy for major general, or commander, of the Tennessee militia, a position voted on by the officers. Jackson, with strong support from western Tennessee, tied with John Sevier with seventeen votes. Sevier was a popular Revolutionary War veteran and former governor, the recognized leader of politics in eastern Tennessee. On February 5, Governor Archibald Roane broke the tie in Jackson's favor. Jackson had also presented Roane with evidence against Sevier of land fraud. Subsequently, in 1803, when Sevier announced his intention to regain the governorship, Roane released the evidence. Sevier responded with hostility to Jackson, and the two nearly fought a duel over the matter. Despite the charges leveled against Sevier, he defeated Roane, and continued to serve as governor until 1809. Sevier took revenge on Jackson by dividing the militia into east and west districts, and giving Jackson control of only the west.\n", "Notice of reward offered by Jackson for return of an enslaved man\nIn addition to his legal and political career, Jackson prospered as planter, slave owner, and merchant. He built a home and the first general store in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1803. The next year, he acquired the Hermitage, a plantation in Davidson County, near Nashville. He later added to the plantation, which eventually totaled . The primary crop was cotton, grown by slaves—Jackson began with nine, owned as many as 44 by 1820, and later up to 150, making him among the planter elite. Jackson also co-owned with his son Andrew Jackson Jr. the Halcyon plantation in Coahoma County, Mississippi, which housed 51 slaves at the time of his death. Throughout his lifetime Jackson may have owned as many as 300 slaves.\n\nMen, women, and child slaves were owned by Jackson on three sections of the Hermitage plantation. Slaves lived in extended family units of between five and ten persons and were quartered in cabins made either of brick or logs. The size and quality of the Hermitage slave quarters exceeded the standards of his times. To help slaves acquire food, Jackson supplied them with guns, knives, and fishing equipment. At times he paid his slaves with monies and coins to trade in local markets. The Hermitage plantation was a profit-making enterprise. Jackson permitted slaves to be whipped to increase productivity or if he believed his slaves' offenses were severe enough. At various times he posted advertisements for fugitive slaves who had escaped from his plantation. For the standards of his times, Jackson was considered a humane slave owner who furnished his slaves food and housing, and he did not prohibit his female slaves from having children.\n\nThe controversy surrounding his marriage to Rachel remained a sore point for Jackson, who deeply resented attacks on his wife's honor. By May 1806, Charles Dickinson, who, like Jackson, raced horses, had published an attack on Jackson in the local newspaper, and it resulted in a written challenge from Jackson to a duel. Since Dickinson was considered an expert shot, Jackson determined it would be best to let Dickinson turn and fire first, hoping that his aim might be spoiled in his quickness; Jackson would wait and take careful aim at Dickinson. Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest. The bullet that struck Jackson was so close to his heart that it could not be removed. Under the rules of dueling, Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took aim and shot and killed him. Jackson's behavior in the duel outraged men in Tennessee, who called it a brutal, cold-blooded killing and saddled Jackson with a reputation as a violent, vengeful man. He became a social outcast.\n\nAfter the Sevier affair and the duel, Jackson was looking for a way to salvage his reputation. He chose to align himself with former Vice President Aaron Burr, who after leaving office in 1805 went on a tour of the western United States. During that time he stayed for several days at the Hermitage. Burr's true intentions are not known with certainty. He seems to have been planning a military operation to conquer Spanish Florida and drive the Spanish from Texas. To many westerners like Jackson, the promise seemed enticing. Western American settlers had long held bitter feelings towards the Spanish due to territorial disputes and the persistent failure of the Spanish to keep Indians living on their lands from raiding American settlements. On October 4, 1806, Jackson addressed the Tennessee militia, declaring that the men should be \"at a moment's warning ready to march.\" On the same day, he wrote to James Winchester, proclaiming that the United States \"can conquer not only the Floridas, but all Spanish North America.\" He continued:\n\n\nJackson agreed to provide boats and other provisions for the expedition. However, on November 10, he learned from a military captain that Burr's plans apparently included seizure of New Orleans, then part of the Louisiana Territory of the United States, and incorporating it, along with lands won from the Spanish, into a new empire. He was further outraged when he learned from the same man of the involvement of Brigadier General James Wilkinson, whom he deeply disliked, in the plan. Jackson acted cautiously at first, but wrote letters to public officials, including President Thomas Jefferson, vaguely warning them about the scheme. In December, Jefferson, a political opponent of Burr, issued a proclamation declaring that a treasonous plot was underway in the West and calling for the arrest of the perpetrators. Jackson, safe from arrest because of his extensive paper trail, organized the militia. Burr was soon captured, and the men were sent home. Jackson traveled to Richmond, Virginia, to testify on Burr's behalf in trial. The defense team decided against placing him on the witness stand, fearing his remarks were too provocative. Burr was acquitted of treason, despite Jefferson's efforts to have him convicted. Jackson endorsed James Monroe for President in 1808 against James Madison. The latter was part of the Jeffersonian wing of the Democratic-Republican Party.\n", "===War of 1812===\n\n====Creek campaign and treaty====\n\nRalph E. W. Earl, c. 1837\n\nLeading up to 1812, the United States found itself increasingly drawn into international conflict. Formal hostilities with Spain or France never materialized, but tensions with Britain increased for a number of reasons. Among these was the desire of many Americans for more land, particularly British Canada and Florida, the latter still controlled by Spain, Britain's European ally. On June 18, 1812, Congress officially declared war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, beginning the War of 1812. Jackson responded enthusiastically, sending a letter to Washington offering 2,500 volunteers. However, the men were not called up for many months. Biographer Robert V. Remini claims that Jackson saw the apparent slight as payback by the Madison administration for his support of Burr and Monroe. Meanwhile, the United States military repeatedly suffered devastating defeats on the battlefield.\n\nOn January 10, 1813, Jackson led an army of 2,071 volunteers to New Orleans to defend the region against British and Native American attacks. He was to serve under General Wilkinson, who commanded Federal forces in New Orleans. Lacking adequate provisions, Wilkinson ordered Jackson to halt in Natchez, now part of the Mississippi Territory, and await further orders. Jackson reluctantly obeyed. The newly appointed Secretary of War, John Armstrong Jr., sent a letter to Jackson dated February 6 ordering him dismiss his forces and to turn over his supplies to Wilkinson. In reply to Armstrong on March 15, Jackson defended the character and readiness of his men, and promised to turn over his supplies. However, he also promised to, instead of dismissing the troops without provisions in Natchez, march them back to Nashville. The march was filled with agony. Many of the men had fallen ill. Jackson and his officers turned over their horses to the sick. He paid for provisions for the men out of his own pocket. The soldiers began referring to their commander as \"Hickory\" because of his toughness, and Jackson became known as \"Old Hickory.\" The army arrived in Nashville within about a month. Jackson's actions earned him the widespread respect and praise of the people of Tennessee. On June 14, Jackson served as a second in a duel on behalf of his junior officer William Carroll against Jesse Benton. In September, Jackson and his top cavalry officer, Brigadier General John Coffee, were involved in a street brawl with Jesse and his brother, Thomas. Jackson was severely wounded by Jesse with a gunshot to the shoulder.\n\nOn August 30, 1813, a group of Muscogee (also known as Creek Indians) called the Red Sticks, so named for the color of their war paint, perpetrated the Fort Mims massacre. The Red Sticks, led by chiefs Red Eagle and Peter McQueen, had broken away from the rest of the Creek Confederacy, which wanted peace with the United States. They were allied with Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who had launched Tecumseh's War against the United States, and who was fighting alongside the British. During the massacre, hundreds of white American settlers and non-Red Stick Creeks were slaughtered. The resulting conflict became known as the Creek War.\n\nIn the Treaty of Fort Jackson, the Muscogee surrendered large parts of present-day Alabama and Georgia.\n\nJackson, with 2,500 men, was ordered to crush the hostile Indians. On October 10, he set out on the expedition, his arm still in a sling. Jackson established Fort Strother as a supply base. On November 3, Coffee defeated a band of Red Sticks at the Battle of Tallushatchee. Coming to the relief of friendly Creeks besieged by Red Sticks, Jackson won another decisive victory at the Battle of Talladega. In the winter, Jackson, encamped at Fort Strother, faced a severe shortage of troops due to the expiration of enlistments and chronic desertions. He sent Coffee with the cavalry (which abandoned him) back to Tennessee to secure more enlistments. Jackson decided to combine his force with that of the Georgia militia, and marched to meet the Georgia troops. From January 22–24, 1814, while on their way, the Tennessee militia and allied Muscogee were attacked by the Red Sticks at the Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek. Jackson's troops repelled the attackers, but outnumbered, were forced to withdraw to Fort Strother. Jackson, now with over 2,000 troops, marched most of his army south to confront the Red Sticks at a fortress they had constructed at a bend in the Tallapoosa River. On March 27, enjoying an advantage of more than 2 to 1, he engaged them at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. An initial artillery barrage did little damage to the well-constructed fort. However, a subsequent Infantry charge, in addition to an assault by Coffee's cavalry and diversions caused by the friendly Creeks, overwhelmed the Red Sticks.\n\nThe campaign ended three weeks later with Red Eagle's surrender, although some Red Sticks such as McQueen fled to East Florida. On June 8, Jackson accepted a commission as brigadier general in the United States Army, and 10 days later became a major general, in command of the Seventh Military Division. Subsequently, Jackson, with Madison's approval, imposed the Treaty of Fort Jackson. The treaty required the Muscogee, including those who had not joined the Red Sticks, to surrender 23 million acres of land to the United States. Though in ill-health from dysentery, Jackson turned his attention to defeating Spanish and British forces. Jackson accused the Spanish of arming the Red Sticks and of violating the terms of their neutrality by allowing British soldiers into the Floridas. The first charge was true, while the second ignored the fact that it was Jackson's threats to invade Florida which had caused them to seek British protection. In the November 7 Battle of Pensacola, Jackson defeated British and Spanish forces in a short skirmish. The Spanish surrendered and the British fled. Weeks later, he learned that the British were planning an attack on New Orleans, which sat on the mouth of the Mississippi River and held immense strategic and commercial value. Jackson abandoned Pensacola to the Spanish, placed a force in Mobile, Alabama to guard against a possible invasion there, and rushed the rest of his force west to defend the city.\n\nThe Creeks coined their own name for Jackson, ''Jacksa Chula Harjo'' or \"Jackson, old and fierce\".\n\n====Battle of New Orleans====\n\nHighlanders, by painter Edward Percy Moran in 1910.\n\nAfter arriving in New Orleans on December 1, Jackson instituted martial law in the city, as he worried about the loyalty of the city's Creole and Spanish inhabitants. At the same time, he formed an alliance with Jean Lafitte's smugglers, and formed military units consisting of African-Americans and Muscogees, in addition to recruiting volunteers in the city. Jackson received some criticism for paying white and non-white volunteers the same salary. These forces, along with U.S. Army regulars and volunteers from surrounding states, joined with Jackson's force in defending New Orleans. The approaching British force, led by Admiral Alexander Cochrane and later General Edward Pakenham, consisted of over 10,000 soldiers, many of whom had served in the Napoleonic Wars. Jackson only had about 5,000 men.\nJackson at the Battle of New Orleans, painted by Thomas Sully in 1845 from an earlier portrait he had completed from life in 1824\nThe British arrived on the east bank of the Mississippi River on the morning of December 23. That evening Jackson attacked the British and temporarily drove them back. On January 8, 1815, the British launched a major frontal assault against Jackson's defenses. Despite some success in attacking the right flank, the overall attack ended in disaster. For the battle on January 8, Jackson admitted to only 71 total casualties. Of these, 13 men were killed, 39 wounded, and 19 missing or captured. The British, however, admitted 2,037 casualties. Of these, 291 men were killed (including Pakenham), 1,262 wounded, and 484 missing or captured. After the battle, the British retreated from the area, and open hostilities ended shortly thereafter when word spread that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in Europe that December. Coming in the waning days of the war, Jackson's victory made him a national hero, as the country celebrated the end of what many called the \"Second American Revolution\" against the British. By a Congressional resolution on February 27, 1815, Jackson was given the Thanks of Congress and awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.\n\nAlexis de Tocqueville (\"underwhelmed\" by Jackson according to a 2001 commentator) later wrote in ''Democracy in America'' that Jackson \"was raised to the Presidency, and has been maintained there, solely by the recollection of a victory which he gained, twenty years ago, under the walls of New Orleans.\"\n\n====Enforced martial law in New Orleans====\nJackson, still not knowing for certain of the treaty's signing, refused to lift martial law in the city. He ordered the arrest of U. S. District Court Judge Dominic A. Hall in March 1815, after the judge signed a writ of ''habeas corpus'' on behalf of a Louisiana legislator whom Jackson had arrested. State senator Louis Louaillier had written an anonymous piece in the New Orleans newspaper, challenging Jackson's refusal to release the militia after the British ceded the field of battle. Jackson did not relent his campaign of suppressing dissent until after ordering the arrest of a Louisiana legislator, a federal judge, and a lawyer, and after the intervention of State Judge Joshua Lewis. Lewis was simultaneously serving under Jackson in the militia, and also had signed a writ of ''habeas corpus'' against Jackson, his commanding officer, seeking Judge Hall's release.\n\nCivilian authorities in New Orleans had reason to fear Jackson—he summarily ordered the execution of six members of the militia. Their deaths were not revealed until the Coffin Handbills were circulated during his 1828 presidential campaign.\n\n===First Seminole War===\n\nTrial of Robert Ambrister during the Seminole War. Ambrister was one of two British subjects executed by General Jackson. (1848)\n\nFollowing the war, Jackson remained in command of Army forces on the southern border of the U.S. He conducted official business from The Hermitage. He signed treaties with the Cherokee and Chickasaw which gained for the United States large parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. The treaty with the Chickasaw, finally agreed to later in the year, is commonly known as the Jackson Purchase.\n\nSeveral Native American tribes, which became known as the Seminole, straddled the border between the U.S. and Florida. The Seminole, in alliance with escaped slaves, frequently raided Georgia settlements before retreating back into Florida. These skirmishes continually escalated, and the conflict is now known as the First Seminole War. In 1816, Jackson led a detachment into Florida which destroyed the Negro Fort, a community of escaped slaves and their descendants. Jackson was ordered by President James Monroe in December 1817 to lead a campaign in Georgia against the Seminole and Creek Indians. Jackson was also charged with preventing Spanish Florida from becoming a refuge for runaway slaves, after Spain promised freedom to fugitive slaves. Critics later alleged that Jackson exceeded orders in his Florida actions. His orders from President Monroe were to \"terminate the conflict\". Jackson believed the best way to do this was to seize Florida from Spain once and for all. Before departing, Jackson wrote to Monroe, \"Let it be signified to me through any channel ... that the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished.\"\n1819 teracotta bust by William Rush of General Jackson\n\nJackson invaded Florida on March 15, 1818, capturing Pensacola. He crushed Seminole and Spanish resistance in the region and captured two British agents, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot. After a brief trial, Jackson executed both British agents, causing a diplomatic incident with the British. Jackson's actions polarized Monroe's cabinet, some of whom argued that Jackson had gone against Monroe's orders and violated the Constitution, since the United States had not declared war upon Spain. Yet Jackson was defended by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. Adams thought that Jackson's conquest of Florida would force Spain to finally sell the province, and Spain did indeed sell Florida to the United States in the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819. A congressional investigation exonerated Jackson, but Jackson was deeply angered by the criticism he received, particularly from Speaker of the House Henry Clay. After the ratification of the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1821, Jackson briefly served as the Governor of Florida before returning to Tennessee.\n", "===Election of 1824===\n\nJackson in 1824, painted by Thomas Sully\n\nAfter returning to Tennessee, Jackson turned down an offer to run for governor of his home state, but accepted John Overton's plan to have the legislature nominate him for president. Jackson had come to detest Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, who had been the most vocal critic of Jackson in Monroe's cabinet, and he hoped to prevent Tennessee's electoral votes from going to Crawford. Yet Jackson's nomination garnered a welcoming response even outside of Tennessee, as many Americans appreciated Jackson's attacks on banks. The Panic of 1819 had devastated the fortunes of many, and banks and politicians seen as supportive of banks were particularly unpopular. With his growing political viability, Jackson emerged as one of the five major presidential candidates, along with Crawford, Secretary of State Adams, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun. During the Era of Good Feelings, the Federalist Party had faded away, and all five presidential contenders were members of the Democratic-Republican Party. Jackson's campaign promoted him as a defender of the common people, as well as the one candidate who could rise above sectional divisions. On the major issues of the day, most prominently the tariff, Jackson expressed centrist beliefs, and opponents accused him of obfuscating his positions. At the forefront of Jackson's campaign was combatting corruption, which had increased during the Monroe administration. Jackson vowed to restore honesty in government and to scale back its excesses.\n\nIn 1823, Jackson reluctantly allowed his name to be placed in contention for one of Tennessee's U.S. Senate seats, and the legislature narrowly elected him. His return, after 24 years, 11 months, 3 days out of office, marks the second longest gap in service to the chamber in history.\n\nDemocratic-Republican presidential nominees had historically been chosen by informal Congressional nominating caucuses, but this method had become unpopular. In 1824, most of the Democratic-Republicans in Congress boycotted the caucus. Those who attended backed Crawford for President and Albert Gallatin for Vice President. A Pennsylvania convention nominated Jackson for President a month later, stating that the irregular caucus ignored the \"voice of the people\" and was a \"vain hope that the American people might be thus deceived into a belief that he Crawford was the regular democratic candidate.\" Gallatin criticized Jackson as \"an honest man and the idol of the worshipers of military glory, but from incapacity, military habits, and habitual disregard of laws and constitutional provisions, altogether unfit for the office.\" After Jackson won the Pennsylvania nomination, Calhoun dropped out of the presidential race and successfully sought the vice presidency instead.\n\nIn the presidential election, Jackson won a plurality of the electoral vote, taking several southern and western states as well as the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was the only candidate to win states outside of his regional base, as Adams dominated New England, Clay took three western states, and Crawford won Virginia and Georgia. Jackson won a plurality of the popular vote, taking 42 percent, although not all states held a popular vote for the presidency. He won 99 electoral votes, more than any other candidates, but still short of 131, which he needed for a true majority. With no candidate having won a majority of the electoral, the House of Representatives held a contingent election under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment. The amendment specifies that only the top three electoral vote-winners are eligible to be elected by the House, so Clay was eliminated from contention. Jackson believed that he was likely to win this contingent election, as Crawford and Adams lacked Jackson's national appeal, and Crawford had suffered a debilitating stroke that made many doubt his physical fitness for the presidency. However, Clay saw Jackson as a dangerous demagogue who might topple the republic in favor of his own leadership. He threw his support behind Adams, who shared Clay's support for federally-funded internal improvements such as roads and canals. With Clay's backing, Adams won the contingent election on the first ballot. Furious supporters of Jackson accused Clay and Adams of having reached a \"corrupt bargain\" after Adams appointed Clay as his Secretary of State. After the election,\nJackson resigned his Senate seat and returned to Tennessee.\n\n===Election of 1828 and death of Rachel Jackson===\n1828 election results\n\n\nJackson was nominated for president by Tennessee legislature in October 1825, more than three years before the 1828 election. It was the earliest such nomination in presidential history, and it attested to the fact that Jackson's supporters began the 1828 campaign almost as soon as the 1824 campaign ended. Adams's presidency floundered, as his ambitious agenda faced defeat in a new era of mass politics. Critics led by Jackson attacked Adams's policies as a dangerous expansion of Federal power. Senator Martin Van Buren, who had been a prominent supporter of Crawford in the 1824 election, emerged as one of the strongest opponents of Adams's policies, and he settled on Jackson as his preferred candidate in the 1828 election. Van Buren was joined by Vice President Calhoun, who also opposed much of Adams's agenda on states' rights grounds. Van Buren and other Jackson allies established numerous pro-Jackson newspapers and clubs around the country, while Jackson avoided campaigning but made himself available to visitors at his Hermitage plantation. In the election, Jackson won a commanding 56 percent of the popular vote and 68 percent of the electoral vote. The election marked the definitive end of the one-party Era of Good Feelings, as Jackson's supporters coalesced into the Democratic Party and Adams's followers became known as the National Republicans.\n\nThe campaign was very much a personal one. As was the custom at the time, neither candidate personally campaigned, but their political followers organized many campaign events. Both candidates were rhetorically attacked in the press. Jackson was strongly attacked as a slave trader, who bought and sold slaves and moved them about in defiance of higher standards of slaveholder behavior. A series of pamphlets known as the Coffin Handbills were published to attack Jackson. One revealed that he had ordered the execution of six soldiers at New Orleans. Another accused him of engaging in cannibalism by eating the bodies of American Indians killed in battle, while still another labeled his mother a \"common prostitute\" and stated that Jackson's father was a \"mulatto man.\"\n\nRachel Jackson was also a frequent target of attacks, and was widely accused of bigamy, a reference to the controversial situation of her marriage with Jackson. Jackson's campaigners fired back by claiming that while serving as Minister to Russia, Adams had procured a young girl to serve as a prostitute for Emperor Alexander I. They also stated that Adams had a billiard table in the White House and that he had charged the government for it.\n\nRachel had been under extreme stress during the election, and often struggled while Jackson was away. She began experiencing significant physical stress during the election season. Jackson described her symptoms as \"excruciating pain in the left shoulder, arm, and breast.\" After struggling for three days, Rachel finally died of a heart attack on December 22, 1828 three weeks after her husband's victory in the election (which began on October 31 and ended on December 2) and 10 weeks before Jackson took office as President. A distraught Jackson had to be pulled from her so the undertaker could prepare the body. He felt that the accusations from Adams's supporters had hastened her death and never forgave him. Rachel was buried on Christmas Eve. \"May God Almighty forgive her murderers,\" Jackson swore at her funeral. \"I never can.\"\n", "\nPresident Andrew JacksonNew York: Ritchie & Co. (1860)\n\nJackson's name has been associated with Jacksonian democracy or the shift and expansion of democracy with the passing of some political power from established elites to ordinary voters based in political parties. \"The Age of Jackson\" shaped the national agenda and American politics. Jackson's philosophy as President was similar to that of Thomas Jefferson, advocating Republican values held by the Revolutionary War generation. Jackson took a moral tone, with the belief that agrarian sympathies, and a limited view of states rights and the federal government, would produce less corruption. He feared that monied and business interests would corrupt republican values. When South Carolina opposed the tariff law, he took a strong line in favor of nationalism and against secession.\n\nJackson believed that the president's authority was derived from the people, and that public officials should obey their will or resign. Jackson chose Martin Van Buren of New York as Secretary of State, John Eaton of Tennessee as Secretary of War, Samuel D. Ingham of Pennsylvania as Secretary of Treasury, John Branch of North Carolina as Secretary of Navy, John M. Berrien of Georgia as Attorney General, and William T. Barry of Kentucky as Postmaster General. Jackson's first choice of Cabinet proved to be unsuccessful, full of bitter partisanship and gossip.\n\n===Inauguration===\n\nOn March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first United States president-elect to take the oath of office on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol. In his inaugural speech, Jackson promised to respect the sovereign powers of states and the constitutional limits of the presidency. He also promised to pursue \"reform\" by removing power from \"unfaithful or incompetent hands.\" At the conclusion of the ceremony, Jackson invited the public to the White House, where his supporters held a raucous party. Thousands of spectators overwhelmed the White House staff, and minor damage was caused to fixtures and furnishings. Jackson's populism earned him the nickname \"King Mob.\"\n\n===Petticoat affair===\n\nJackson devoted a considerable amount of his presidential time during his early years in office responding to what came to be known as the \"Petticoat affair\" or \"Eaton affair\". Washington gossip circulated among Jackson's Cabinet members and their wives, including Calhoun's wife Floride Calhoun, concerning Secretary of War Eaton and his wife Peggy Eaton. Salacious rumors held that Peggy, as a barmaid in her father's tavern, had been sexually promiscuous or had even been a prostitute. Controversy also ensued because Peggy had married soon after her previous husband's death, and it was alleged that she and her husband and engaged in an adulterous affair while her previous husband was still living. Petticoat politics emerged when the wives of cabinet members, led by Mrs. Calhoun, refused to socialize with the Eatons. Allowing a prostitute in the official family was of course unthinkable—but Jackson refused to believe the rumors, telling his Cabinet that \"She is as chaste as a virgin!\" Jackson believed that the dishonorable people were the rumormongers, who in essence questioned and dishonored Jackson himself by, in attempting to drive the Eatons out, daring to tell him who he could and could not have in his cabinet. Jackson was also reminded of the attacks that were made against his wife. These memories increased his dedication to defending Peggy Eaton.\n\nMeanwhile, the Cabinet wives insisted that the interests and honor of all American women was at stake. They believed a responsible woman should never accord a man sexual favors without the assurance that went with marriage. A woman who broke that code was dishonorable and unacceptable. Historian Daniel Walker Howe notes that this was the feminist spirit that in the next decade shaped the woman's rights movement. Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, a widower, was already forming a coalition against Calhoun. He could now see his main chance to strike hard; he took the side of Jackson and Eaton.\n\nIn the spring of 1831, Jackson, at Van Buren's suggestion, demanded the resignations of all the cabinet member except Barry. Van Buren himself resigned to avoid the appearance of bias. In 1832, Jackson nominated Van Buren to be Minister to England. Calhoun blocked the nomination with a tie-breaking vote against it, claiming the defeated nomination would \"...kill him, sir, kill dead. He will never kick, sir, never kick.\" Van Buren, however, fully recovered and played a leading role in the Jackson's unofficial Kitchen Cabinet.\n\n===Indian removal policy===\n\nIndian tribes from their traditional territories, including the Trail of Tears.\n\nThroughout his eight years in office, Jackson made about 70 treaties with Native American tribes both in the South and the Northwest. Jackson's presidency marked a new era in Indian-Anglo American relations initiating a policy of Indian removal. Jackson himself sometimes participated in the treaty negotiating process with various Indian tribes, though other times he left the negotiations to his subordinates. The southern tribes included the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole and the Cherokee. The northwest tribes include the Chippewa, Ottawa, and the Potawatomi.\n\nRelations between Indians and Americans increasingly grew tense and sometimes violent as a result of territorial conflicts. Previous presidents had at times supported removal or attempts to \"civilize\" the Indians, but generally let the problem play itself out with minimal intervention. There had developed a growing popular and political movement to deal with the issue, and out of this policy to relocate certain Indian populations. Jackson, never known for timidity, became an advocate for this relocation policy in what many historians consider the most controversial aspect of his presidency.\n\nIn his First Annual Message to Congress, Jackson advocated land west of the Mississippi River be set aside for Indian tribes. On May 26, 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which Jackson signed into law two days later. The Act authorized the President to negotiate treaties to buy tribal lands in the east in exchange for lands farther west, outside of existing state borders. The act specifically pertained to the Five Civilized Tribes in the South, the conditions being that they could either move west or stay and obey state law.\n\nJackson, Eaton, and General Coffee negotiated with the Chickasaw, who quickly agreed to move. Jackson put Eaton and Coffee in charge of negotiating with the Choctaw. Lacking Jackson's skills at negotiation, they frequently bribed to the chiefs in order to gain their submission. The tactics worked, and the chiefs agreed to move. The removal of the Choctaw took place in the winter of 1831 and 1832, and was wrought with misery and suffering. The Seminole, despite the signing of the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, refused to move. In December 1835, this dispute began the Second Seminole War. The war lasted over six years, finally ending in 1842. Members of the Creek Nation had signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, agreeing to move their tribe. However, the Creeks later resisted, leading to a second Creek War. A common complaint was that the men who had signed the treaties did not represent the whole tribe.\n\nJackson painted by Earl, 1830\nThe state of Georgia became involved in a contentious dispute with the Cherokee, culminating in the 1832 Supreme Court decision in ''Worcester v. Georgia''. In that decision, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for the court, ruled that Georgia could not forbid whites from entering tribal lands, as it had attempted to do with two missionaries supposedly stirring up resistance amongst the tribespeople. Jackson is frequently attributed the following response: \"John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.\" The quote, apparently indicating Jackson's dismissive view of the courts, was attributed to Jackson by Horace Greeley, who cited as his source Representative George N. Briggs. Remini argues that Jackson did not say it because, while it \"certainly sounds like Jackson...there was nothing for him to enforce.\" This is because a writ of ''habeas corpus'' had never been issued for the missionaries. The Court also did not ask federal marshals to carry out the decision, as had become standard.\n\nA group of Cherokees led by John Ridge negotiated the Treaty of New Echota. Ridge was not a widely recognized leader of the Cherokee, and this document was rejected by some as illegitimate. Another faction, led by John Ross, unsuccessfully petitioned to protest the proposed removal. The treaty was enforced by Jackson's successor, President Martin Van Buren, who sent 7,000 troops to carry out the relocation policy. Due to the infighting between political factions, many Cherokees thought their appeals were still being considered when the relocation began.; subsequently, as many as 4,000 Cherokees died on the \"Trail of Tears\" in 1838. More than 45,000 American Indians were relocated to the West during Jackson's administration, though a few Cherokees walked back afterwards or migrated to the high Smoky Mountains. The Black Hawk War took place during Jackson's presidency in 1832 after a group of Indians crossed into U.S. territory.\n\nJackson's initiatives to deal with the conflicts between Indians and American settlers has been a source of controversy. Starting around 1970, Jackson came under sharp attack from writers on the left, often on this issue. Howard Zinn called him \"the most aggressive enemy of the Indians in early American history\" and \"exterminator of Indians.\" In 1969, Francis Paul Prucha argued that Jackson's removal of the \"Five Civilized Tribes\" from the very hostile white environment in the Old South to Oklahoma probably saved their very existence. Similarly, Remini claims that, if not for Jackson's policies, the Southern tribes would have been totally wiped out, just like other tribes-namely, the Yamasee, Mahican, and Narragansett-which did not move.\n\n===Reforms, rotation of offices, and spoils system===\n\n\nIn an effort to purge the government of corruption, Jackson launched presidential investigations into all executive Cabinet offices and departments. He believed appointees should be hired on merit and withdrew many candidates he believed were lax in their handling of monies. He asked Congress to reform embezzlement laws, reduce fraudulent applications for federal pensions, revenue laws to prevent evasion of custom duties, and laws to improve government accounting. Jackson's Postmaster Barry resigned after a Congressional investigation into the postal service revealed mismanagement of mail services, collusion and favoritism in awarding lucrative contracts, failure to audit accounts and supervise contract performances. Jackson replaced Barry with Treasury Auditor and prominent Kitchen Cabinet member Amos Kendall, who went on to implement much needed reforms in the Postal Service.\n\n\nJackson repeatedly called for the abolition of the Electoral College by constitutional amendment in his annual messages to Congress as President. In his third annual message to Congress, he expressed the view \"I have heretofore recommended amendments of the Federal Constitution giving the election of President and Vice-President to the people and limiting the service of the former to a single term. So important do I consider these changes in our fundamental law that I can not, in accordance with my sense of duty, omit to press them upon the consideration of a new Congress.\"\n\nJackson's time in the presidency also saw various improvements in financial provisions for veterans and their dependents. The Service Pension Act of 1832, for instance, provided pensions to veterans \"even where there existed no obvious financial or physical need\", while an Act of July 1836 enabled widows of Revolutionary War soldiers who met certain criteria to receive their husband's pensions. In 1836, Jackson established the ten-hour day in national shipyards.\n\nJackson enforced the Tenure of Office Act, signed earlier by President Monroe in 1820, that limited appointed office tenure and authorized the president to remove and appoint political party associates. Jackson believed that a rotation in office was actually a democratic reform preventing father-to-son succession of office and made civil service responsible to the popular will. Jackson declared that rotation of appointments in political office was \"a leading principle in the republican creed\". Jackson noted, \"In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit of the people no one man has any more intrinsic right to official station than another.\" Jackson believed that rotating political appointments would prevent the development of a corrupt bureaucracy. The number of federal office holders removed by Jackson were exaggerated by his opponents; Jackson only rotated about 20% of federal office holders during his first term, some for dereliction of duty rather than political purposes. Jackson, however, did use his image and presidential power to award loyal Democrats by granting them federal office appointments. Jackson's approach incorporated patriotism for country as qualification for holding office. Having appointed a soldier who had lost his leg fighting on the battlefield to a postmastership Jackson stated \"If he lost his leg fighting for his country, that is ... enough for me.\"\n\nJackson's theory regarding rotation of office generated what would later be called the spoils system. The political realities of Washington, however, ultimately forced Jackson to make partisan appointments despite his personal reservations. Historians believe Jackson's presidency marked the beginning of an era of decline in public ethics. Supervision of bureaus and departments whose operations were outside of Washington (such as the New York Customs House; the Postal Service; the Departments of Navy and War; and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose budget had increased enormously in the previous two decades) proved to be difficult.\n\n===Nullification crisis===\n\n\nIn 1828, Congress had approved the \"Tariff of Abominations,\" which set the tariff at an historically high rate. Southern planters, who sold their cotton on the world market, strongly opposed this tariff, which they saw as favoring northern interests. The issue nonetheless came to a head during Jackson's presidency, resulting in the Nullification Crisis, in which South Carolina threatened disunion.\n\nThe South Carolina Exposition and Protest of 1828, secretly written by Calhoun, asserted that their state had the right to \"nullify\"—declare void—the tariff legislation of 1828. Although Jackson sympathized with the South in the tariff debate, he also vigorously supported a strong union, with effective powers for the central government. Jackson attempted to face down Calhoun over the issue, which developed into a bitter rivalry between the two men. One incident was at the April 13, 1830, Jefferson Day dinner, involving after-dinner toasts. Robert Hayne began by toasting to \"The Union of the States, and the Sovereignty of the States\". Jackson then rose, and in a booming voice added \"Our federal Union: It must be preserved!\" – a clear challenge to Calhoun. Calhoun clarified his position by responding \"The Union: Next to our Liberty, the most dear!\"\n\nIn May 1830, Jackson discovered that Calhoun had asked President Monroe to censure then-General Jackson for his invasion of Spanish Florida in 1818 while Calhoun was serving as Secretary of War. Calhoun's and Jackson's relationship deteriorated further. By February 1831, the break between Calhoun and Jackson was final. Responding to inaccurate press reports about the feud, Calhoun had published letters between him and Jackson detailing the conflict in the ''United States Telegraph''. Jackson and Calhoun began an angry correspondence which lasted until Jackson stopped it in July. The ''Telegraph,'' edited by Duff Green, had previously supported Jackson. After it took the side of Calhoun, Jackson needed a new organ for the administration. He enlisted the help of longtime supporter Francis Preston Blair, who in November 1830 established a newspaper known as ''The Washington Globe,'' which from then on served as the official mouthpiece of the Democratic Party.\n\nOn July 14, 1832, Jackson signed into law the Tariff of 1832. It was designed to placate the nullifiers by lowering tariff rates, but the nullifiers in South Carolina remained unsatisfied. On November 24, the South Carolina legislature officially nullified both the Tariff of 1832 and the Tariff of 1828. In response, Jackson sent U.S. Navy warships to Charleston harbor, and threatened to hang any man who worked to support nullification or secession. On December 28, 1832, with less than two months remaining in his term, Calhoun resigned as Vice President to become a U.S. Senator for South Carolina.\n\nIn December 1832, Jackson issued a resounding proclamation against the \"nullifiers\", stating that he considered \"the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed\". South Carolina, the President declared, stood on \"the brink of insurrection and treason\", and he appealed to the people of the state to reassert their allegiance to that Union for which their ancestors had fought. Jackson also denied the right of secession: \"The Constitution ... forms a government not a league ... To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union is to say that the United States is not a nation.\"\n\nJackson asked Congress to pass a \"Force Bill\" explicitly authorizing the use of military force to enforce the tariff, but its passage was delayed until protectionists led by Clay agreed to a reduced Compromise Tariff. The Force Bill and Compromise Tariff passed on March 1, 1833, and Jackson signed both. The South Carolina Convention then met and rescinded its nullification ordinance, but in a final show of defiance, nullified the Force Bill. On May 1, 1833, Jackson wrote, \"the tariff was only the pretext, and disunion and southern confederacy the real object. The next pretext will be the negro, or slavery question.\"\n\n===Foreign affairs===\nWilliam C. Rives, Jackson's Minister to France, successfully negotiated a reparations treaty with France in 1831.\n\nAddressing the subject of foreign affairs in his First Annual Address to Congress, Jackson declared it to be his \"settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly right and to submit to nothing that is wrong.\"\n\nWhen Jackson took office, spoliation claims, or compensation demands for the capture of American ships and sailors, dating from the Napoleonic era, caused strained relations between the U.S. and French governments. The French Navy had captured and sent American ships to Spanish ports while holding their crews captive forcing them to labor without any charges or judicial rules. According to Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, relations between the U.S. and France were \"hopeless.\" Jackson's Minister to France, William C. Rives, through diplomacy was able to convince the French government to sign a reparations treaty on July 4, 1831, that would award the U.S. ₣ 25,000,000 ($5,000,000) in damages. The French government became delinquent in payment due to internal financial and political difficulties. The French king Louis Philippe I and his ministers blamed the French Chamber of Deputies. By 1834, the non-payment of reparations by the French government drew Jackson's ire and he became impatient. In his December 1834 State of the Union address, Jackson sternly reprimanded the French government for non-payment, stating the federal government was \"wholly disappointed\" by the French, and demanded Congress authorize trade reprisals against France. Feeling insulted by Jackson's words, the French people demanded an apology. In his December 1835 State of the Union Address, Jackson refused to apologize, stating he had a good opinion of the French people and his intentions were peaceful. Jackson described in lengthy and minute detail the history of events surrounding the treaty and his belief that the French government was purposely stalling payment. The French government accepted Jackson's statements as sincere and in February 1836, American reparations were paid.\n\nIn addition to France, the Jackson administration successfully settled spoliation claims with Denmark, Portugal, and Spain. Jackson's state department was active and successful at making trade agreements with Russia, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain, and Siam. Under the treaty of Great Britain, American trade was reopened in the West Indies. The trade agreement with Siam was America's first treaty between the United States and an Asiatic country. As a result, American exports increased 75% while imports increased 250%.\n\nJackson's attempt to purchase Texas from Mexico for $5,000,000 failed. The chargé d'affaires in Mexico, Colonel Anthony Butler, suggested that the U.S. take Texas over militarily, but Jackson refused. Butler was later replaced toward the end of Jackson's presidency. In 1835, the Texas Revolution began when pro-slavery American settlers in Texas fought the Mexican government for Texan independence. By May 1836, they had routed the Mexican military, establishing an independent Republic of Texas. The new Texas government legalized slavery and demanded recognition from President Jackson and annexation into the United States. However, Jackson was hesitant recognizing Texas, unconvinced that the new republic could maintain independence from Mexico, and not wanting to make Texas an anti-slavery issue during the 1836 election. The strategy worked; the Democratic Party and national loyalties were held intact, and Van Buren was elected President. Jackson formally recognized the Republic of Texas, nominating a chargé d'affaires on the last full day of his Presidency, March 3, 1837.\n\nJackson was unsuccessful in opening trade with China and Japan. He was unsuccessful at thwarting Great Britain's presence and power in South America.\n\n===Bank veto and election of 1832===\n\n1832 election results\nDevil's bank\"\n\nThe 1832 presidential election demonstrated the rapid development and organization of political parties during this time period. The Democratic Party's first national convention, held in Baltimore, nominated Jackson's choice for vice president, Van Buren. The National Republican Party, who had held their first convention in Baltimore earlier in December 1831, nominated Henry Clay, now a senator from Kentucky, and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania. The Anti-Masonic Party, which had earlier held its convention also in Baltimore in September 1831, nominated William Wirt of Maryland and Amos Ellmaker of Pennsylvania; both Jackson and Clay were Masons.\n\nIn 1816, the Second Bank of the United States was chartered by President James Madison to restore the United States economy devastated by the War of 1812. Monroe had appointed Nicholas Biddle as the Bank's executive. Clay hoped to make the Bank an issue in the election, so as to accuse Jackson of going beyond his powers. In January 1832 Biddle submitted to Congress a renewal of the Bank's charter four years before the original 20-year charter was to end. Biddle's recharter bill passed the Senate on June 11 and the House on July 3, 1832. Jackson believed that Bank was a fundamentally corrupt monopoly. Its stock was mostly held by foreigners, he insisted, and it exerted an unfair amount of control over the political system. He vetoed the bill on July 10. Jackson used the issue to promote his democratic values, believing the Bank was being run exclusively for the wealthy. Jackson stated the Bank made \"the rich richer and the potent more powerful.\" He accused it of making loans with the intent of influencing elections. The National Republican Party immediately made Jackson's veto of the Bank a political issue. Jackson's political opponents castigated the veto as \"the very slang of the leveller and demagogue,\" claiming Jackson was using class warfare to gain support from the common man.\n\nJackson, however, managed to successfully portray his veto as a defense of the common man against governmental tyranny. Clay proved to be no match to Jackson's ability to resonate with the people and the Democratic Party's strong political networks. Democratic newspapers, parades, barbecues, and rallies increased Jackson's popularity. At Biddle's direction, the Bank poured thousands of dollars into a campaign to defeat Jackson, seemingly confirming Jackson's view that it interfered in the political process. Jackson himself made numerous popular public appearances on his return trip from Tennessee to Washington D.C. Jackson won the election decisively by a landslide, receiving 54 percent of the popular vote and 219 electoral votes. Clay received 37 percent of the popular vote and 49 electoral votes. Wirt received only eight percent of the popular vote and seven electoral votes while the Anti-Masonic Party folded. Jackson believed the solid victory was a popular mandate for his veto of the Bank's recharter and his continued warfare on the Bank's control over the national economy.\n\n===Removal of deposits and censure===\nIn 1833, Jackson attempted to begin removing federal deposits from the bank, whose money-lending functions were taken over by the legions of local and state banks that materialized across America, thus drastically increasing credit and speculation. Jackson's moves were greatly controversial. He removed his moderately pro-Bank Treasury Secretary Louis McLane, having him serve instead as Secretary of State, replacing Edward Livingston. He replaced McLane with William J. Duane. However, in September he fired Duane for refusing to remove the deposits. He replaced him with Attorney General Roger B. Taney, a strong opponent of the Bank. Under Taney, the deposits began to be removed. Biddle responded by stockpiling the Bank's reserves and contracting credit, thus causing interest rates to rise and bringing about a financial panic. Intended to force Jackson into a compromise, the move backfired, increasing anti-Bank sentiment.\n\nIn 1834, those who opposed Jackson's expansion of executive power united and formed the Whig Party, calling Jackson \"King Andrew I,\" and named their party after the English Whigs who opposed eighteenth century British monarchy. A movement emerged amongst Whigs in the Senate to censure Jackson. The censure was a political maneuver spearheaded by Jackson-rival Senator Henry Clay, which served only to perpetuate the animosity between him and Jackson. Jackson called Clay \"reckless and as full of fury as a drunken man in a brothel.\" On March 28, the Senate voted to censure Jackson 26–20. It also rejected Taney as Treasury Secretary. Finally, on January 16, 1837, when the Jacksonians had a majority in the Senate, the censure was expunged after years of effort by Jackson supporters. The expunction movement was led by Thomas Hart Benton, who, despite the brawl years earlier, had become an ardent supporter of the president.\n\nIn 1836, in response to increased land speculation, Jackson issued the Specie Circular, an executive order that required buyers of government lands to pay in \"specie\" (gold or silver coins). The result was high demand for specie, which many banks could not meet in exchange for their notes, causing the Panic of 1837. The White House Van Buren biography notes, \"Basically the trouble was the 19th-century cyclical economy of \"boom and bust\", which was following its regular pattern, but Jackson's financial measures contributed to the crash. His destruction of the Second Bank of the United States had removed restrictions upon the inflationary practices of some state banks; wild speculation in lands, based on easy bank credit, had swept the West. To end this speculation, Jackson in 1836 had issued a Specie Circular...\"\n\n===Attack and assassination attempt===\nRichard Lawrence's attempt on Jackson's life, as depicted in an 1835 etching\n\nThe first recorded physical attack on a U.S. president was directed at Jackson. He had ordered the dismissal of Robert B. Randolph from the navy for embezzlement. On May 6, 1833, Jackson sailed on USS ''Cygnet'' to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was to lay the cornerstone on a monument near the grave of Mary Ball Washington, George Washington's mother. During a stopover near Alexandria, Randolph appeared and struck the President. He fled the scene chased by several members of Jackson's party, including the writer Washington Irving. Jackson declined to press charges.\n\nOn January 30, 1835, what is believed to be the first attempt to kill a sitting President of the United States occurred just outside the United States Capitol. When Jackson was leaving through the East Portico after the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis, Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter from England, aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired. Lawrence pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired. Historians believe the humid weather contributed to the double misfiring. Jackson, infuriated, attacked Lawrence with his cane. Others present, including Davy Crockett, restrained and disarmed Lawrence.\n\nLawrence told doctors later his reasons for the shooting. He blamed Jackson for the loss of his job. He claimed that with the President dead, \"money would be more plenty\" (a reference to Jackson's struggle with the Bank of the United States) and that he \"could not rise until the President fell\". Finally, he told his interrogators that he was a deposed English king—specifically, Richard III, dead since 1485—and that Jackson was his clerk. He was deemed insane and was institutionalized.\n\nAfterwards, the pistols were tested and retested. Each time they performed perfectly. Many believed that Jackson had been protected by the same Providence that they believed also protected their young nation. The incident became a part of the Jacksonian mythos. Jackson initially suspected that a number of his political enemies may have orchestrated the attempt on his life. His suspicions were never proven.\n\n===Anti-slavery tracts===\nDuring the summer of 1835, Northern abolitionists began sending anti-slavery tracts through the U.S. Postal system into the South. Pro-slavery Southerners demanded that the postal service ban distribution of the materials, which were deemed \"incendiary\". Some rioting also broke out. Jackson wanted sectional peace, and desired to placate Southerners ahead of the 1836 election. He fiercely disliked the abolitionists, whom he believed were, by instituting sectional jealousies, attempting to destroy the Union. However, Jackson also did not want to condone open insurrection. He supported the solution of Postmaster General Amos Kendall, which gave Southern postmasters discretionary powers to either send or detain the anti-slavery tracts. That December, Jackson called on Congress to prohibit the circulation through the South of \"incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection.\"\n\n===U.S. Exploring Expedition===\n, a brig ship laid down in 1835 and launched in May 1836; used in the U.S. Exploring Expedition\n\nJackson initially opposed any federal exploratory scientific expeditions during his first term in office. The last scientific federally funded expeditions took place from 1817 to 1823, led by Stephen H. Harriman on the Red River of the North. Jackson's predecessor, President Adams, attempted to launch a scientific oceanic exploration in 1828, but Congress was unwilling to fund the effort. When Jackson assumed office in 1829 he pocketed Adams' expedition plans. However, wanting to establish his presidential legacy, similar to Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Jackson finally sponsored scientific exploration during his second term. On May 18, 1836, Jackson signed a law creating and funding the oceanic United States Exploring Expedition. Jackson put Secretary of Navy Mahlon Dickerson in charge, to assemble suitable ships, officers, and scientific staff for the expedition; with a planned launch before Jackson's term of office expired. Dickerson however proved unfit for the task, preparations stalled and the expedition was not launched until 1838, during the presidency of Van Buren. One brig ship, , later used in the expedition; having been laid down, built, and commissioned by Secretary Dickerson in May 1836, circumnavigated the world, explored and mapped the Southern Ocean, confirming the existence of the Antarctica continent.\n\n===Panic of 1837===\n\nA New York newspaper blamed the Panic of 1837 on Andrew Jackson, depicted in spectacles and top hat.\nThe national economy following the withdrawal of the remaining Funds from the Bank was booming and the federal government through duty revenues and sale of public lands was able to pay all bills. In January 1835, Jackson paid off the entire national debt, the only time in U.S. history that has been accomplished. However, reckless speculation in land and railroads caused the Panic of 1837. Contributing factors included Jackson's veto of the Second National Bank renewal charter in 1832 and subsequent transfer of federal monies to state banks in 1833 that caused Western Banks to relax their lending standards. Two other Jacksonian acts in 1836 contributed to the Panic of 1837: the Specie Circular, that mandated Western lands only be purchased by money backed by gold and silver, and the Deposit and Distribution Act, that transferred federal monies from Eastern to western state banks which in turn led to a speculation frenzy by banks. Jackson's ''Specie Circular'', albeit designed to reduce speculation and stabilize the economy, left many investors unable to afford to pay loans backed by gold and silver. The same year there was a downturn in Great Britain's economy that stopped investment in the United States. As a result, the U.S. economy went into a depression, banks became insolvent, the national debt (previously paid off) increased, business failures rose, cotton prices dropped, and unemployment dramatically increased. The depression that followed lasted for four years until 1841 when the economy began to rebound.\n\n===Administration and cabinet===\n\n\n\n===Judicial appointments===\n\nJackson appointed six Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.\n\n===States admitted to the Union===\nTwo new states were admitted into the Union during Jackson's presidency: Arkansas (June 15, 1836) and Michigan (January 26, 1837).\n", "Photographic copy of an 1845 daguerreotype\nAfter serving two terms as president, Jackson retired to his Hermitage plantation in 1837, and immediately began putting it in order as it had been poorly managed in his absence by his adopted son, Andrew Jr. Although he suffered ill health, Jackson remained influential in both national and state politics. He was a firm advocate of the federal union of the states and rejected any talk of secession, insisting, \"I will die with the Union.\" Blamed for causing the Panic of 1837, he was unpopular in his early retirement. Jackson continued to denounce the \"perfidy and treachery\" of banks and urged his successor, Van Buren, to repudiate the ''Specie Circular'' as president.\n\nAs a solution to the panic, he supported an Independent Treasury system, which was designed to hold the money balances of the government in the form of gold or silver and would be restricted from printing paper money so as to prevent further inflation. However, a coalition of conservative Democrats and Whigs opposed the bill, and it was not passed until 1840. During the delay, no effective remedy had been implemented for the depression. Van Buren grew deeply unpopular. A unified Whig Party nominated popular war hero William Henry Harrison and former Jacksonian John Tyler in the 1840 presidential election. The Whigs' campaign style in many ways mimicked that of the Democrats during Jackson's campaigns. They depicted Van Buren as an aristocrat who did not care for the concerns of ordinary Americans, while glorifying Harrison's military record and portraying him as a man of the people. Jackson campaigned heavily for Van Buren in Tennessee. He favored the nomination of James K. Polk of Tennessee for vice president at the 1840 Democratic National Convention over unpopular incumbent Richard Mentor Johnson. However, no nominee was chosen, and the party chose to leave the decision up to individual state electors.\n\nHarrison won the election, and the Whigs captured majorities in both houses of Congress. \"The democracy of the United States has been shamefully beaten,\" Jackson wrote to Van Buren. \"but I trust, not conquered.\" However, Harrison died only a month into his term, and was replaced by Tyler. Jackson was encouraged because Tyler had a strong independent streak and was not bound by party lines. Sure enough, Tyler quickly incurred the wrath of the Whigs in 1841 when he vetoed two Whig-sponsored bills to establish a new national bank, bringing satisfaction to Jackson and other Democrats. After the second veto, Tyler's entire cabinet, with the exception of Daniel Webster, resigned.\n\nJackson strongly favored the annexation of Texas, a feat he had been unable to accomplish during his own presidency. While Jackson still feared that annexation would stir up anti-slavery sentiment, his belief that the British would use Texas as a base to threaten the United States overrode his other concerns. He also insisted that Texas was part of the Louisiana Purchase and therefore rightfully belonged to the United States. At the request of Senator Robert J. Walker of Mississippi, acting on behalf of the Tyler administration, which also supported annexation, Jackson wrote several letters to Texas President Sam Houston, urging him to wait for the Senate to approve annexation and lecturing him on how much being a part of the United States would benefit Texas. Initially, Jackson again supported Van Buren for president in 1844 and Polk for vice president. When a letter from Calhoun to British Ambassador Richard Pakenham linking annexation to slavery was made public, Van Buren was moved into writing the \"Hamlet letter,\" opposing annexation. This effectively extinguished any support that Van Buren might previously have enjoyed in the South. Jackson then threw his support behind Polk for the nomination. At the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Polk emerged as the party's nominee after Van Buren failed to win the required two-thirds majority of delegates. George M. Dallas was selected for vice president. Jackson convinced Tyler to drop his plans of running for re-election as an independent by promising, as Tyler requested, to welcome the president and his allies back into the Democratic Party and by instructing Blair to stop criticizing the president. Polk won the election, defeating the Whig nominee, Henry Clay. A bill of annexation was finally signed by Tyler on March 1, 1845.\n\nJackson died at his plantation on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure. According to a newspaper account from the Boon Lick Times, \"he fainted whilst being removed from his chair to the bed ... but he subsequently revived ... Gen. Jackson died at the Hermitage at 6 o'clock P.M. on Sunday the 8th instant. ... When the messenger finally came, the old soldier, patriot and Christian was looking out for his approach. He is gone, but his memory lives, and will continue to live.\"\n\nIn his will, Jackson left his entire estate to his adopted son, Andrew Jackson Jr., except for specifically enumerated items that were left to various friends and other family members.\n", "===Family===\nJackson had three adopted sons: Theodore, an Indian about whom little is known, Andrew Jackson Jr., the son of Rachel's brother Severn Donelson, and Lyncoya, a Creek Indian orphan adopted by Jackson after the Battle of Tallushatchee. Lyncoya died of tuberculosis on July 1, 1828, at the age of sixteen.\n\nThe Jacksons also acted as guardians for eight other children. John Samuel Donelson, Daniel Smith Donelson, and Andrew Jackson Donelson were the sons of Rachel's brother Samuel Donelson, who died in 1804. Andrew Jackson Hutchings was Rachel's orphaned grand nephew. Caroline Butler, Eliza Butler, Edward Butler, and Anthony Butler were the orphaned children of Edward Butler, a family friend. They came to live with the Jacksons after the death of their father.\n\nThe widower Jackson invited Rachel's niece Emily Donelson to serve as hostess at the White House. Emily was married to Andrew Jackson Donelson, who acted as Jackson's private secretary and in 1856 ran for Vice President on the American Party ticket. The relationship between the President and Emily became strained during the Petticoat affair, and the two became estranged for over a year. They eventually reconciled and she resumed her duties as White House hostess. Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson Jr., became co-hostess of the White House in 1834. It was the only time in history when two women simultaneously acted as unofficial First Lady. Sarah took over all hostess duties after Emily died from tuberculosis in 1836. Jackson used Rip Raps as a retreat.\n\n===Temperament===\nThe Hermitage\nJackson's quick temper was notorious. Biographer H. W. Brands notes that his opponents were terrified of his temper: \"Observers likened him to a volcano, and only the most intrepid or recklessly curious cared to see it erupt. ...His close associates all had stories of his blood-curdling oaths, his summoning of the Almighty to loose His wrath upon some miscreant, typically followed by his own vow to hang the villain or blow him to perdition. Given his record—in duels, brawls, mutiny trials, and summary hearings—listeners had to take his vows seriously.\"\n\nOn the last day of the presidency, Jackson admitted that he had but two regrets, that he \"had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun.\" Remini expressed the opinion that Jackson was often in control of his rage, and that he used it, along with his fearsome reputation, as a tool to get what he wanted.\n\n===Physical appearance===\nJackson was a lean figure, standing at tall, and weighing between on average. Jackson also had an unruly shock of red hair, which had completely grayed by the time he became president at age 61. He had penetrating deep blue eyes. Jackson was one of the more sickly presidents, suffering from chronic headaches, abdominal pains, and a hacking cough. Much of his trouble was caused by a musket ball in his lung that was never removed, that often brought up blood and sometimes made his whole body shake.\n\n===Religious faith===\nIn 1838, Jackson became a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville.\n\nJackson was a Freemason, initiated at Harmony Lodge No. 1 in Tennessee; he also participated in chartering several other lodges in Tennessee. He was the only U.S. president to have served as Grand Master of a state's Grand Lodge until Harry S. Truman in 1945. His Masonic apron is on display in the Tennessee State Museum. An obelisk and bronze Masonic plaque decorate his tomb at The Hermitage.\n", "===Historical reputation===\nEquestrian statue of Gen. Jackson, Jackson County Courthouse, Kansas City, Missouri, commissioned by Judge Harry S. Truman\nJackson remains one of the most studied and controversial figures in American history. Historian Charles Grier Sellers says, \"Andrew Jackson's masterful personality was enough by itself to make him one of the most controversial figures ever to stride across the American stage.\" His most controversial presidential actions included removal of the Indians from the southeast, the dismantling of the Bank of the United States, and his threat to use military force against the state of South Carolina to make it stop nullifying federal laws. Not at all controversial was his resounding victory over the British at New Orleans in the last battle of the War of 1812. He was the main founder of the modern Democratic Party and became its iconic hero. He was always a fierce partisan, with many friends and many enemies.\n\nJackson was criticised by his contemporary Alexis de Tocqueville in ''Democracy in America'' for flattering the dominant ideas of his time, including the mistrust over the federal power, for sometimes enforcing his view by force and disrespect towards the institutions and the law:\n\n\n\nBrands observes that Jackson's reputation declined after the mid-20th century as his actions towards Indians and African Americans received new attention. After the Civil Rights movement, Brand writes, \"his unrepentant ownership of slaves marked him as one to be censured rather than praised.\" Further, \"By the turn of the present 21st century, it was scarcely an exaggeration to say that the one thing American schoolchildren learned about Jackson was that he was the author of the Trail of Tears.\"\n\nOn a more favorable note, Remini argues that Jacksonian democracy...\"stretches the concept of democracy about as far as it can go and still remain workable....As such it has inspired much of the dynamic and dramatic events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in American history—Populism, Progressivism, the New and Fair Deals, and the programs of the New Frontier and Great Society.\"\n\nJackson has long been honored, along with Thomas Jefferson, in the Jefferson–Jackson Day fundraising dinners. Each year, the dinner has been held by state Democratic Party organizations to honor the two men whom the party regards as its founders. However, due to the fact that both Jefferson and Jackson were slave owners, as well as Jackson's Indian removal policies, many state party organizations have renamed the dinners.\n\n===Portrayal on banknotes and stamps===\nJackson portrait on obverse $20 bill\nJackson has appeared on U.S. banknotes as far back as 1869, and extending into the 21st century. His image has appeared on the $5, $10, $20 and $10,000 note. Most recently, his image appears on the U.S. $20 Federal reserve note, Series 2004-2006, with a redesigned, larger portrait. In 2016, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced his goal that by 2020 an image of Harriet Tubman would replace Jackson's depiction on the front side of the $20 banknote, and that an image of Jackson would be placed on the reverse side, though the final decision will be made by his successors.\n\nJackson has appeared on 13 different U.S. postage stamps. Only George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin have appeared more often. He first appeared on an 1863 2-Cent stamp, which is commonly referred to by collectors as the ''Black Jack'' due to the large portraiture of Jackson on its face printed in pitch black. During the American Civil War the Confederate government also issued two Confederate postage stamps bearing Jackson's portrait, one a 2-cent red stamp and the other a 2-cent green stamp, both issued in 1863.\n\n===Memorials===\n\n\nThe tomb of Andrew and Rachel Jackson located at The Hermitage\n\nNumerous counties and cities are named after him, including the city of Jacksonville in Florida and North Carolina; the city of Jackson in Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; Jackson County in Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Oregon; and Jackson Parish in Louisiana.\n\nMemorials to Jackson include a set of four identical equestrian statues by the sculptor Clark Mills: in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.; in Jackson Square, New Orleans; in Nashville on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol; and in Jacksonville, Florida. Other equestrian statues of Jackson have been erected elsewhere, as in the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. That statue controversially identifies him as one of the \"presidents North Carolina gave the nation,\" and he is featured alongside James Polk and Andrew Johnson, both U.S. presidents born in North Carolina. There is a bust of Andrew Jackson in Plaza Ferdinand VII in Pensacola, Florida, where he became the first governor of the Florida Territory in 1821.\n\n===Popular culture depictions===\nJackson and his wife Rachel were the main subjects of a 1951 historical novel by Irving Stone, ''The President's Lady'', which told the story of their lives up until Rachel's death. The novel was the basis for the 1953 film of the same name starring Charlton Heston as Jackson and Susan Hayward as Rachel.\n\nJackson has been a supporting character in a number of historical films and television productions. Lionel Barrymore played Jackson in ''The Gorgeous Hussy'' (1936), a fictionalized biography of Peggy Eaton starring Joan Crawford. ''The Buccaneer'' (1938), depicting the Battle of New Orleans, included Hugh Sothern as Jackson, and was remade in 1958 with Heston again playing Jackson. Basil Ruysdael played Jackson in Walt Disney's 1955 ''Davy Crockett'' TV miniseries. Wesley Addy appeared as Jackson in some episodes of the 1976 PBS miniseries ''The Adams Chronicles''.\n\nJackson is the protagonist of the comedic historic rock musical ''Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson'' (2008) with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book by Alex Timbers.\n", "\n\n* List of United States Presidents on currency\n* U.S. presidents on U.S. postage stamps\n\n", "\n", "\n\n===Biographies===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume biography.\n* \n\n===Specialized studies===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Latner Richard B. ''The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820–1837'' (1979), standard survey.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Schama, Simon. ''The American Future: A History'' (2008).\n* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. ''The Age of Jackson''. (1945). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History. history of ideas of the era.\n* Syrett, Harold C. ''Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition'' (1953). on Jacksonian democracy\n* \n* \n* \n\n===Historiography===\n* \n* \n\n===Primary sources===\n* 7 volumes total.\n* ''The Papers of Andrew Jackson'' Edited first by Sam B. Smith and Harriet Chappell Owsley, and now by Dan Feller, Sam B. Smith, Harriet Fason Chappell Owsley, and Harold D. Moser. (9 vols. 1980 to date, U of Tennessee0 online.\n**Searchable digital edition online\n* Richardson, James D. ed. ''A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents'' (1897), reprints his major messages and reports.\n* Library of Congress. \"Andrew Jackson Papers,\" a digital archive that provides direct access to the manuscript images of many of the Jackson documents. online\n\n", "\n* vol 1 online; vol 2 online\n* Bugg Jr. James L. ed. ''Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?'' (1952), excerpts from scholars.\n* Burstein, Andrew. ''The Passions of Andrew Jackson''. (2003).\n* \n* \n* Cheathem, Mark R. \"Andrew Jackson, Slavery, and Historians.\" ''History Compass'' 9.4 (2011): 326-338. online\n* Cheathem, Mark R. ''Andrew Jackson, Southerner'' (2013)\n* Cheathem, Mark R., and Terry Corps, eds. ''Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).\n* Cheathem, Mark. \"Frontiersman or Southern Gentleman? Newspaper Coverage of Andrew Jackson during the 1828 Presidential Campaign\", ''The Readex Report'' (2014) 9#3 online\n* \n* Hays, Joel Stanford. \"Twisting the Law: Legal Inconsistencies in Andrew Jackson's Treatment of Native-American Sovereignty and State Sovereignty.\" ''Journal of Southern Legal History'' 21 (2013): 157.\n* \n* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on Jackson. online in ACLS e-books\n* \n* Mabry, Donald J., ''Short Book Bibliography on Andrew Jackson'', Historical Text Archive.\n* \n* \n* \n* McLemore, Laura Lyons, ed. ''The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory'' (LSU Press, 2016)\n* Parsons, Lynn H. ''The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828'' (2009) excerpt and text search\n* \n* Ratner, Lorman A. ''Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture'' (1997).\n* \n* Remini, Robert V. and Robert O. Rupp. ''Andrew Jackson: A Bibliography'' (Greenwood, 1991)\n* Remini, Robert V. \"Andrew Jackson\", ''American National Biography'' (2000).\n* \n* \n* Sellers, Charles Grier Jr. \"Andrew Jackson versus the Historians\", ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 44, No. 4. (March 1958), pp. 615–634. in JSTOR.\n* Taylor, George Rogers, ed. ''Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States'' (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources.\n* Van Sledright, Bruce, and Peter Afflerbach. \"Reconstructing Andrew Jackson: Prospective elementary teachers' readings of revisionist history texts\". ''Theory & Research in Social Education'' 28#3 (2000): 411-444.\n* Ward, John William. ''Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age'' (1962) how writers saw him.\n\n", "\n* White House biography\n* \n* \n* \n* Andrew Jackson: A Resource Guide at the Library of Congress\n* Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia\n* The Papers of Andrew Jackson at the Avalon Project\n* The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson\n* \"Life Portrait of Andrew Jackson\", from C-SPAN's ''American Presidents: Life Portraits'', April 26, 1999\n* \"The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party Politics\", lesson plan at the National Endowment for the Humanities\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life and education", "Revolutionary War service", "Legal career and marriage", "Planting career and controversy", "Military career", "Presidential aspirations", "Presidency 1829–1837", "Later life and death", "Personal life", "Legacy and memory", "See also", "References", "Bibliography", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Congress, led by Clay, tried to reauthorize the Second Bank of the United States; Jackson regarded the Bank as a corrupt institution and vetoed the renewal of its charter.", "After a lengthy struggle, Jackson and his allies thoroughly dismantled the Bank.", "Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, painted by Thomas Sully in 1845 from an earlier portrait he had completed from life in 1824\nThe British arrived on the east bank of the Mississippi River on the morning of December 23.", "===Bank veto and election of 1832===\n\n1832 election results\nDevil's bank\"\n\nThe 1832 presidential election demonstrated the rapid development and organization of political parties during this time period.", "In 1816, the Second Bank of the United States was chartered by President James Madison to restore the United States economy devastated by the War of 1812.", "Monroe had appointed Nicholas Biddle as the Bank's executive.", "Clay hoped to make the Bank an issue in the election, so as to accuse Jackson of going beyond his powers.", "In January 1832 Biddle submitted to Congress a renewal of the Bank's charter four years before the original 20-year charter was to end.", "Jackson believed that Bank was a fundamentally corrupt monopoly.", "Jackson used the issue to promote his democratic values, believing the Bank was being run exclusively for the wealthy.", "Jackson stated the Bank made \"the rich richer and the potent more powerful.\"", "The National Republican Party immediately made Jackson's veto of the Bank a political issue.", "At Biddle's direction, the Bank poured thousands of dollars into a campaign to defeat Jackson, seemingly confirming Jackson's view that it interfered in the political process.", "Jackson believed the solid victory was a popular mandate for his veto of the Bank's recharter and his continued warfare on the Bank's control over the national economy.", "===Removal of deposits and censure===\nIn 1833, Jackson attempted to begin removing federal deposits from the bank, whose money-lending functions were taken over by the legions of local and state banks that materialized across America, thus drastically increasing credit and speculation.", "He removed his moderately pro-Bank Treasury Secretary Louis McLane, having him serve instead as Secretary of State, replacing Edward Livingston.", "He replaced him with Attorney General Roger B. Taney, a strong opponent of the Bank.", "Biddle responded by stockpiling the Bank's reserves and contracting credit, thus causing interest rates to rise and bringing about a financial panic.", "Intended to force Jackson into a compromise, the move backfired, increasing anti-Bank sentiment.", "His destruction of the Second Bank of the United States had removed restrictions upon the inflationary practices of some state banks; wild speculation in lands, based on easy bank credit, had swept the West.", "He claimed that with the President dead, \"money would be more plenty\" (a reference to Jackson's struggle with the Bank of the United States) and that he \"could not rise until the President fell\".", "The national economy following the withdrawal of the remaining Funds from the Bank was booming and the federal government through duty revenues and sale of public lands was able to pay all bills.", "Contributing factors included Jackson's veto of the Second National Bank renewal charter in 1832 and subsequent transfer of federal monies to state banks in 1833 that caused Western Banks to relax their lending standards.", "Sure enough, Tyler quickly incurred the wrath of the Whigs in 1841 when he vetoed two Whig-sponsored bills to establish a new national bank, bringing satisfaction to Jackson and other Democrats.", "His most controversial presidential actions included removal of the Indians from the southeast, the dismantling of the Bank of the United States, and his threat to use military force against the state of South Carolina to make it stop nullifying federal laws.", "''Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States'' (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Andrew Jackson''' (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837.", "Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress.", "As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the \"common man\" against a \"corrupt aristocracy\" and to preserve the Union.", "Born in the Waxhaws, Jackson became a lawyer in the Western District of North Carolina (now part of Tennessee) and married Rachel Donelson Robards.", "He served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing Tennessee.", "After resigning, he was appointed a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, serving from 1798 until 1804.", "Jackson purchased a property that became known as the Hermitage, and became a wealthy, slaveowning planter.", "In 1801, he was appointed colonel of the Tennessee militia and was elected its commander the following year.", "He led troops during the Creek War of 1813–1814, winning a major victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.", "The subsequent Treaty of Fort Jackson required the Creek surrender of vast lands in present-day Alabama and Georgia.", "Jackson won a decisive victory in the War of 1812 over the British at the Battle of New Orleans, making him a national hero.", "After the war, Jackson led U.S. forces in the First Seminole War, which caused the annexation of Florida from Spain.", "Jackson briefly served as Florida's first territorial governor before winning election as a U.S.", "Senator from Tennessee.", "Jackson ran for president in 1824, winning a plurality of the popular and electoral vote.", "As no candidate won an electoral majority, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams in a contingent election.", "In reaction to the alleged \"corrupt bargain\" between Adams and Henry Clay and the ambitious agenda of President Adams, Jackson's supporters founded the Democratic Party.", "Jackson ran again in 1828, defeating Adams in a landslide.", "Jackson faced the threat of secession by South Carolina over the \"Tariff of Abominations.\"", "The crisis was defused when the tariff was amended, and Jackson threatened the use of military force if South Carolina attempted to secede.", "In 1835, Jackson became the only president to completely pay off the national debt, fulfilling a longtime goal.", "His presidency marked the beginning of the ascendancy of the \"spoils system\" in American politics.", "In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which relocated most members of the Native American tribes in the South to Indian Territory.", "The relocation process dispossessed the Indians and resulted in widespread death and sickness.", "In foreign affairs, Jackson's administration concluded a \"most favored nation\" treaty with Great Britain, settled claims of damages against France from the Napoleonic Wars, and recognized the Republic of Texas.", "He vehemently opposed the rising trend of abolitionism.", "In his retirement, Jackson remained active in Democratic Party politics, supporting the presidencies of Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk.", "Though fearful of its effects on the slavery debate, Jackson advocated the annexation of Texas, which was accomplished shortly before his death.", "Jackson was widely revered in the United States as an advocate for the causes of democracy and the common man, but his reputation has declined since the civil rights movement, largely due to his role in Indian removal and support for slavery.", "Surveys of historians and scholars have ranked Jackson between 6th and 18th most successful among United States presidents.", "Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas.", "His parents were Scots-Irish colonists Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, Presbyterians who had emigrated from present day Northern Ireland two years earlier.", "Jackson's father was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, in current-day Northern Ireland, around 1738.", "Jackson's parents lived in the village of Boneybefore, also in County Antrim.", "His paternal family line originated in Killingswold Grove, Yorkshire, England.", "When they immigrated to North America in 1765, Jackson's parents probably landed in Philadelphia.", "Most likely they traveled overland through the Appalachian Mountains to the Scots-Irish community in the Waxhaws region, straddling the border between North and South Carolina.", "They brought two children from Ireland, Hugh (born 1763) and Robert (born 1764).", "Jackson's father died in an accident in February 1767 at the age of 29, three weeks before his son Andrew was born.", "Jackson, his mother, and his brothers lived with Jackson's aunt and uncle in the Waxhaws region, and Jackson received schooling from two nearby priests.", "Jackson's exact birthplace is unclear because he was born about the time his mother was making a difficult trip home from burying Jackson's father.", "The area was so remote that the border between North and South Carolina had not been officially surveyed.", "In 1824 Jackson wrote a letter saying that he was born at an uncle's plantation in Lancaster County, South Carolina.", "Jackson may have claimed to be a South Carolinian because the state was considering nullification of the Tariff of 1824, which he opposed.", "In the mid-1850s, second-hand evidence indicated that he might have been born at a different uncle's home in North Carolina.", "lithograph) \nDuring the Revolutionary War, Jackson's eldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion after the Battle of Stono Ferry on June 20, 1779.", "Anti-British sentiment intensified following the brutal Waxhaws Massacre on May 29, 1780.", "Jackson's mother encouraged him and his elder brother Robert to attend the local militia drills.", "Soon, they began to help the militia as couriers.", "They served under Colonel William Richardson Davie at the Battle of Hanging Rock on August 6.", "Andrew and Robert were eventually captured by the British in 1781 while staying at the home of the Crawford family.", "When Andrew refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the officer slashed at the youth with a sword, leaving him with scars on his left hand and head, as well as an intense hatred for the British.", "Robert also refused to do as commanded and was struck with the sword.", "The two brothers were held as prisoners, contracted smallpox, and nearly starved to death in captivity.", "After a time, their mother Elizabeth secured the brothers' release.", "She then began to walk both boys back to their home in the Waxhaws.", "Robert Jackson died on the way a few days later on April 27, 1781.", "After nursing Andrew back to health, Elizabeth volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in the Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera.", "In November she died from the disease and was buried in an unmarked grave.", "Andrew became an orphan at age 14.", "He blamed the British personally for the loss of his brothers and mother.", "After the Revolutionary War, Jackson received a sporadic education in a local Waxhaw school.", "In 1781 he worked for a time in a saddle-maker's shop.", "On bad terms with much of his extended family, he boarded with several different people while teaching school or working for the saddle-maker.", "In 1784, he left the Waxhaws region for Salisbury, North Carolina, where he studied law under attorney Spruce Macay.", "With the help of various lawyers, he was able to learn enough to qualify for the bar.", "In September 1787, Jackson was admitted to the North Carolina bar.", "Shortly thereafter, a friend helped Jackson get appointed to a vacant prosecutor position in the Western District of North Carolina, which would later become the state of Tennessee.", "During his travel west, Jackson bought his first slave and in 1788, having been offended by fellow lawyer Waightstill Avery, fought his first duel.", "The duel ended with both men firing into the air, having made a secret agreement to do so before the engagement.", "Jackson moved to the frontier town of Nashville in 1788, where he lived as a boarder with Rachel Stockly Donelson, the widow of John Donelson.", "Here Jackson became acquainted with their daughter, Rachel Donelson Robards.", "At the time, the younger Rachel was in an unhappy marriage with Captain Lewis Robards; he was subject to fits of jealous rage.", "The two were separated in 1790.", "According to Jackson, he married Rachel after hearing that Robards had obtained a divorce.", "However, the divorce had never been completed, making Rachel's marriage to Jackson bigamous and therefore invalid.", "After the divorce was officially completed, Rachel and Jackson remarried in 1794.", "To complicate matters further, evidence shows that Rachel had been living with Jackson and referred to herself as Mrs. Jackson before the petition for divorce was ever made.", "It was not uncommon on the frontier for relationships to be formed and dissolved unofficially, as long as they were recognized by the community.", "===Land speculation and founding of Memphis===\n\n\nIn 1794, Jackson formed a business with fellow lawyer and planter John Overton, overtly buying and selling land which had been reserved by treaty for the Cherokee and Chickasaw.", "Theirs was a frank avowal; they, like many of their contemporaries, would deal with lands within Indian territory.", "Most of the transactions involved grants made under the 'land grab' act of 1783 that briefly opened to claim by North Carolinians all of the Indian lands in that state's transmontane west.", "He was one of the three original investors who founded Memphis, Tennessee, in 1819.", "===Early political career and Tennessee militia===\nAfter moving to Nashville, Jackson became a protege of William Blount, a friend of the Donelsons and one of the most powerful men in the state.", "Jackson became attorney general in 1791, and he won election as a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1796.", "When Tennessee achieved statehood that year, he was elected its only U.S. Representative.", "The following year, the state legislature elected him as U.S.", "Senator.", "He resigned within a year.", "While in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, Jackson aligned himself with the Democratic-Republican Party, and he strongly opposed the Jay Treaty.", "In 1798, with strong support from western Tennessee, he was elected to serve as a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, at an annual salary of $600.", "Jackson's service as a judge is generally viewed as a success and earned him a reputation for honesty and good decision making.", "Jackson resigned the judgeship in 1804 and returned full-time to his business interests.", "His official reason for resigning was ill health.", "He had been suffering financially from poor land ventures, and so it is also possible that he wanted to return full-time to his business interests.", "After arriving in Tennessee, Jackson won the appointment of judge advocate of the Tennessee militia.", "While serving on the Tennessee Supreme Court, he was appointed in 1801 as a colonel in the Tennessee militia.", "In 1802 he declared his candidacy for major general, or commander, of the Tennessee militia, a position voted on by the officers.", "Jackson, with strong support from western Tennessee, tied with John Sevier with seventeen votes.", "Sevier was a popular Revolutionary War veteran and former governor, the recognized leader of politics in eastern Tennessee.", "On February 5, Governor Archibald Roane broke the tie in Jackson's favor.", "Jackson had also presented Roane with evidence against Sevier of land fraud.", "Subsequently, in 1803, when Sevier announced his intention to regain the governorship, Roane released the evidence.", "Sevier responded with hostility to Jackson, and the two nearly fought a duel over the matter.", "Despite the charges leveled against Sevier, he defeated Roane, and continued to serve as governor until 1809.", "Sevier took revenge on Jackson by dividing the militia into east and west districts, and giving Jackson control of only the west.", "Notice of reward offered by Jackson for return of an enslaved man\nIn addition to his legal and political career, Jackson prospered as planter, slave owner, and merchant.", "He built a home and the first general store in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1803.", "The next year, he acquired the Hermitage, a plantation in Davidson County, near Nashville.", "He later added to the plantation, which eventually totaled .", "The primary crop was cotton, grown by slaves—Jackson began with nine, owned as many as 44 by 1820, and later up to 150, making him among the planter elite.", "Jackson also co-owned with his son Andrew Jackson Jr. the Halcyon plantation in Coahoma County, Mississippi, which housed 51 slaves at the time of his death.", "Throughout his lifetime Jackson may have owned as many as 300 slaves.", "Men, women, and child slaves were owned by Jackson on three sections of the Hermitage plantation.", "Slaves lived in extended family units of between five and ten persons and were quartered in cabins made either of brick or logs.", "The size and quality of the Hermitage slave quarters exceeded the standards of his times.", "To help slaves acquire food, Jackson supplied them with guns, knives, and fishing equipment.", "At times he paid his slaves with monies and coins to trade in local markets.", "The Hermitage plantation was a profit-making enterprise.", "Jackson permitted slaves to be whipped to increase productivity or if he believed his slaves' offenses were severe enough.", "At various times he posted advertisements for fugitive slaves who had escaped from his plantation.", "For the standards of his times, Jackson was considered a humane slave owner who furnished his slaves food and housing, and he did not prohibit his female slaves from having children.", "The controversy surrounding his marriage to Rachel remained a sore point for Jackson, who deeply resented attacks on his wife's honor.", "By May 1806, Charles Dickinson, who, like Jackson, raced horses, had published an attack on Jackson in the local newspaper, and it resulted in a written challenge from Jackson to a duel.", "Since Dickinson was considered an expert shot, Jackson determined it would be best to let Dickinson turn and fire first, hoping that his aim might be spoiled in his quickness; Jackson would wait and take careful aim at Dickinson.", "Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest.", "The bullet that struck Jackson was so close to his heart that it could not be removed.", "Under the rules of dueling, Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took aim and shot and killed him.", "Jackson's behavior in the duel outraged men in Tennessee, who called it a brutal, cold-blooded killing and saddled Jackson with a reputation as a violent, vengeful man.", "He became a social outcast.", "After the Sevier affair and the duel, Jackson was looking for a way to salvage his reputation.", "He chose to align himself with former Vice President Aaron Burr, who after leaving office in 1805 went on a tour of the western United States.", "During that time he stayed for several days at the Hermitage.", "Burr's true intentions are not known with certainty.", "He seems to have been planning a military operation to conquer Spanish Florida and drive the Spanish from Texas.", "To many westerners like Jackson, the promise seemed enticing.", "Western American settlers had long held bitter feelings towards the Spanish due to territorial disputes and the persistent failure of the Spanish to keep Indians living on their lands from raiding American settlements.", "On October 4, 1806, Jackson addressed the Tennessee militia, declaring that the men should be \"at a moment's warning ready to march.\"", "On the same day, he wrote to James Winchester, proclaiming that the United States \"can conquer not only the Floridas, but all Spanish North America.\"", "He continued:\n\n\nJackson agreed to provide boats and other provisions for the expedition.", "However, on November 10, he learned from a military captain that Burr's plans apparently included seizure of New Orleans, then part of the Louisiana Territory of the United States, and incorporating it, along with lands won from the Spanish, into a new empire.", "He was further outraged when he learned from the same man of the involvement of Brigadier General James Wilkinson, whom he deeply disliked, in the plan.", "Jackson acted cautiously at first, but wrote letters to public officials, including President Thomas Jefferson, vaguely warning them about the scheme.", "In December, Jefferson, a political opponent of Burr, issued a proclamation declaring that a treasonous plot was underway in the West and calling for the arrest of the perpetrators.", "Jackson, safe from arrest because of his extensive paper trail, organized the militia.", "Burr was soon captured, and the men were sent home.", "Jackson traveled to Richmond, Virginia, to testify on Burr's behalf in trial.", "The defense team decided against placing him on the witness stand, fearing his remarks were too provocative.", "Burr was acquitted of treason, despite Jefferson's efforts to have him convicted.", "Jackson endorsed James Monroe for President in 1808 against James Madison.", "The latter was part of the Jeffersonian wing of the Democratic-Republican Party.", "===War of 1812===\n\n====Creek campaign and treaty====\n\nRalph E. W. Earl, c. 1837\n\nLeading up to 1812, the United States found itself increasingly drawn into international conflict.", "Formal hostilities with Spain or France never materialized, but tensions with Britain increased for a number of reasons.", "Among these was the desire of many Americans for more land, particularly British Canada and Florida, the latter still controlled by Spain, Britain's European ally.", "On June 18, 1812, Congress officially declared war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, beginning the War of 1812.", "Jackson responded enthusiastically, sending a letter to Washington offering 2,500 volunteers.", "However, the men were not called up for many months.", "Biographer Robert V. Remini claims that Jackson saw the apparent slight as payback by the Madison administration for his support of Burr and Monroe.", "Meanwhile, the United States military repeatedly suffered devastating defeats on the battlefield.", "On January 10, 1813, Jackson led an army of 2,071 volunteers to New Orleans to defend the region against British and Native American attacks.", "He was to serve under General Wilkinson, who commanded Federal forces in New Orleans.", "Lacking adequate provisions, Wilkinson ordered Jackson to halt in Natchez, now part of the Mississippi Territory, and await further orders.", "Jackson reluctantly obeyed.", "The newly appointed Secretary of War, John Armstrong Jr., sent a letter to Jackson dated February 6 ordering him dismiss his forces and to turn over his supplies to Wilkinson.", "In reply to Armstrong on March 15, Jackson defended the character and readiness of his men, and promised to turn over his supplies.", "However, he also promised to, instead of dismissing the troops without provisions in Natchez, march them back to Nashville.", "The march was filled with agony.", "Many of the men had fallen ill. Jackson and his officers turned over their horses to the sick.", "He paid for provisions for the men out of his own pocket.", "The soldiers began referring to their commander as \"Hickory\" because of his toughness, and Jackson became known as \"Old Hickory.\"", "The army arrived in Nashville within about a month.", "Jackson's actions earned him the widespread respect and praise of the people of Tennessee.", "On June 14, Jackson served as a second in a duel on behalf of his junior officer William Carroll against Jesse Benton.", "In September, Jackson and his top cavalry officer, Brigadier General John Coffee, were involved in a street brawl with Jesse and his brother, Thomas.", "Jackson was severely wounded by Jesse with a gunshot to the shoulder.", "On August 30, 1813, a group of Muscogee (also known as Creek Indians) called the Red Sticks, so named for the color of their war paint, perpetrated the Fort Mims massacre.", "The Red Sticks, led by chiefs Red Eagle and Peter McQueen, had broken away from the rest of the Creek Confederacy, which wanted peace with the United States.", "They were allied with Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who had launched Tecumseh's War against the United States, and who was fighting alongside the British.", "During the massacre, hundreds of white American settlers and non-Red Stick Creeks were slaughtered.", "The resulting conflict became known as the Creek War.", "In the Treaty of Fort Jackson, the Muscogee surrendered large parts of present-day Alabama and Georgia.", "Jackson, with 2,500 men, was ordered to crush the hostile Indians.", "On October 10, he set out on the expedition, his arm still in a sling.", "Jackson established Fort Strother as a supply base.", "On November 3, Coffee defeated a band of Red Sticks at the Battle of Tallushatchee.", "Coming to the relief of friendly Creeks besieged by Red Sticks, Jackson won another decisive victory at the Battle of Talladega.", "In the winter, Jackson, encamped at Fort Strother, faced a severe shortage of troops due to the expiration of enlistments and chronic desertions.", "He sent Coffee with the cavalry (which abandoned him) back to Tennessee to secure more enlistments.", "Jackson decided to combine his force with that of the Georgia militia, and marched to meet the Georgia troops.", "From January 22–24, 1814, while on their way, the Tennessee militia and allied Muscogee were attacked by the Red Sticks at the Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek.", "Jackson's troops repelled the attackers, but outnumbered, were forced to withdraw to Fort Strother.", "Jackson, now with over 2,000 troops, marched most of his army south to confront the Red Sticks at a fortress they had constructed at a bend in the Tallapoosa River.", "On March 27, enjoying an advantage of more than 2 to 1, he engaged them at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.", "An initial artillery barrage did little damage to the well-constructed fort.", "However, a subsequent Infantry charge, in addition to an assault by Coffee's cavalry and diversions caused by the friendly Creeks, overwhelmed the Red Sticks.", "The campaign ended three weeks later with Red Eagle's surrender, although some Red Sticks such as McQueen fled to East Florida.", "On June 8, Jackson accepted a commission as brigadier general in the United States Army, and 10 days later became a major general, in command of the Seventh Military Division.", "Subsequently, Jackson, with Madison's approval, imposed the Treaty of Fort Jackson.", "The treaty required the Muscogee, including those who had not joined the Red Sticks, to surrender 23 million acres of land to the United States.", "Though in ill-health from dysentery, Jackson turned his attention to defeating Spanish and British forces.", "Jackson accused the Spanish of arming the Red Sticks and of violating the terms of their neutrality by allowing British soldiers into the Floridas.", "The first charge was true, while the second ignored the fact that it was Jackson's threats to invade Florida which had caused them to seek British protection.", "In the November 7 Battle of Pensacola, Jackson defeated British and Spanish forces in a short skirmish.", "The Spanish surrendered and the British fled.", "Weeks later, he learned that the British were planning an attack on New Orleans, which sat on the mouth of the Mississippi River and held immense strategic and commercial value.", "Jackson abandoned Pensacola to the Spanish, placed a force in Mobile, Alabama to guard against a possible invasion there, and rushed the rest of his force west to defend the city.", "The Creeks coined their own name for Jackson, ''Jacksa Chula Harjo'' or \"Jackson, old and fierce\".", "====Battle of New Orleans====\n\nHighlanders, by painter Edward Percy Moran in 1910.", "After arriving in New Orleans on December 1, Jackson instituted martial law in the city, as he worried about the loyalty of the city's Creole and Spanish inhabitants.", "At the same time, he formed an alliance with Jean Lafitte's smugglers, and formed military units consisting of African-Americans and Muscogees, in addition to recruiting volunteers in the city.", "Jackson received some criticism for paying white and non-white volunteers the same salary.", "These forces, along with U.S. Army regulars and volunteers from surrounding states, joined with Jackson's force in defending New Orleans.", "The approaching British force, led by Admiral Alexander Cochrane and later General Edward Pakenham, consisted of over 10,000 soldiers, many of whom had served in the Napoleonic Wars.", "Jackson only had about 5,000 men.", "That evening Jackson attacked the British and temporarily drove them back.", "On January 8, 1815, the British launched a major frontal assault against Jackson's defenses.", "Despite some success in attacking the right flank, the overall attack ended in disaster.", "For the battle on January 8, Jackson admitted to only 71 total casualties.", "Of these, 13 men were killed, 39 wounded, and 19 missing or captured.", "The British, however, admitted 2,037 casualties.", "Of these, 291 men were killed (including Pakenham), 1,262 wounded, and 484 missing or captured.", "After the battle, the British retreated from the area, and open hostilities ended shortly thereafter when word spread that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in Europe that December.", "Coming in the waning days of the war, Jackson's victory made him a national hero, as the country celebrated the end of what many called the \"Second American Revolution\" against the British.", "By a Congressional resolution on February 27, 1815, Jackson was given the Thanks of Congress and awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.", "Alexis de Tocqueville (\"underwhelmed\" by Jackson according to a 2001 commentator) later wrote in ''Democracy in America'' that Jackson \"was raised to the Presidency, and has been maintained there, solely by the recollection of a victory which he gained, twenty years ago, under the walls of New Orleans.\"", "====Enforced martial law in New Orleans====\nJackson, still not knowing for certain of the treaty's signing, refused to lift martial law in the city.", "He ordered the arrest of U. S. District Court Judge Dominic A.", "Hall in March 1815, after the judge signed a writ of ''habeas corpus'' on behalf of a Louisiana legislator whom Jackson had arrested.", "State senator Louis Louaillier had written an anonymous piece in the New Orleans newspaper, challenging Jackson's refusal to release the militia after the British ceded the field of battle.", "Jackson did not relent his campaign of suppressing dissent until after ordering the arrest of a Louisiana legislator, a federal judge, and a lawyer, and after the intervention of State Judge Joshua Lewis.", "Lewis was simultaneously serving under Jackson in the militia, and also had signed a writ of ''habeas corpus'' against Jackson, his commanding officer, seeking Judge Hall's release.", "Civilian authorities in New Orleans had reason to fear Jackson—he summarily ordered the execution of six members of the militia.", "Their deaths were not revealed until the Coffin Handbills were circulated during his 1828 presidential campaign.", "===First Seminole War===\n\nTrial of Robert Ambrister during the Seminole War.", "Ambrister was one of two British subjects executed by General Jackson.", "(1848)\n\nFollowing the war, Jackson remained in command of Army forces on the southern border of the U.S.", "He conducted official business from The Hermitage.", "He signed treaties with the Cherokee and Chickasaw which gained for the United States large parts of Tennessee and Kentucky.", "The treaty with the Chickasaw, finally agreed to later in the year, is commonly known as the Jackson Purchase.", "Several Native American tribes, which became known as the Seminole, straddled the border between the U.S. and Florida.", "The Seminole, in alliance with escaped slaves, frequently raided Georgia settlements before retreating back into Florida.", "These skirmishes continually escalated, and the conflict is now known as the First Seminole War.", "In 1816, Jackson led a detachment into Florida which destroyed the Negro Fort, a community of escaped slaves and their descendants.", "Jackson was ordered by President James Monroe in December 1817 to lead a campaign in Georgia against the Seminole and Creek Indians.", "Jackson was also charged with preventing Spanish Florida from becoming a refuge for runaway slaves, after Spain promised freedom to fugitive slaves.", "Critics later alleged that Jackson exceeded orders in his Florida actions.", "His orders from President Monroe were to \"terminate the conflict\".", "Jackson believed the best way to do this was to seize Florida from Spain once and for all.", "Before departing, Jackson wrote to Monroe, \"Let it be signified to me through any channel ... that the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished.\"", "1819 teracotta bust by William Rush of General Jackson\n\nJackson invaded Florida on March 15, 1818, capturing Pensacola.", "He crushed Seminole and Spanish resistance in the region and captured two British agents, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot.", "After a brief trial, Jackson executed both British agents, causing a diplomatic incident with the British.", "Jackson's actions polarized Monroe's cabinet, some of whom argued that Jackson had gone against Monroe's orders and violated the Constitution, since the United States had not declared war upon Spain.", "Yet Jackson was defended by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.", "Adams thought that Jackson's conquest of Florida would force Spain to finally sell the province, and Spain did indeed sell Florida to the United States in the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819.", "A congressional investigation exonerated Jackson, but Jackson was deeply angered by the criticism he received, particularly from Speaker of the House Henry Clay.", "After the ratification of the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1821, Jackson briefly served as the Governor of Florida before returning to Tennessee.", "===Election of 1824===\n\nJackson in 1824, painted by Thomas Sully\n\nAfter returning to Tennessee, Jackson turned down an offer to run for governor of his home state, but accepted John Overton's plan to have the legislature nominate him for president.", "Jackson had come to detest Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, who had been the most vocal critic of Jackson in Monroe's cabinet, and he hoped to prevent Tennessee's electoral votes from going to Crawford.", "Yet Jackson's nomination garnered a welcoming response even outside of Tennessee, as many Americans appreciated Jackson's attacks on banks.", "The Panic of 1819 had devastated the fortunes of many, and banks and politicians seen as supportive of banks were particularly unpopular.", "With his growing political viability, Jackson emerged as one of the five major presidential candidates, along with Crawford, Secretary of State Adams, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun.", "During the Era of Good Feelings, the Federalist Party had faded away, and all five presidential contenders were members of the Democratic-Republican Party.", "Jackson's campaign promoted him as a defender of the common people, as well as the one candidate who could rise above sectional divisions.", "On the major issues of the day, most prominently the tariff, Jackson expressed centrist beliefs, and opponents accused him of obfuscating his positions.", "At the forefront of Jackson's campaign was combatting corruption, which had increased during the Monroe administration.", "Jackson vowed to restore honesty in government and to scale back its excesses.", "In 1823, Jackson reluctantly allowed his name to be placed in contention for one of Tennessee's U.S. Senate seats, and the legislature narrowly elected him.", "His return, after 24 years, 11 months, 3 days out of office, marks the second longest gap in service to the chamber in history.", "Democratic-Republican presidential nominees had historically been chosen by informal Congressional nominating caucuses, but this method had become unpopular.", "In 1824, most of the Democratic-Republicans in Congress boycotted the caucus.", "Those who attended backed Crawford for President and Albert Gallatin for Vice President.", "A Pennsylvania convention nominated Jackson for President a month later, stating that the irregular caucus ignored the \"voice of the people\" and was a \"vain hope that the American people might be thus deceived into a belief that he Crawford was the regular democratic candidate.\"", "Gallatin criticized Jackson as \"an honest man and the idol of the worshipers of military glory, but from incapacity, military habits, and habitual disregard of laws and constitutional provisions, altogether unfit for the office.\"", "After Jackson won the Pennsylvania nomination, Calhoun dropped out of the presidential race and successfully sought the vice presidency instead.", "In the presidential election, Jackson won a plurality of the electoral vote, taking several southern and western states as well as the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.", "He was the only candidate to win states outside of his regional base, as Adams dominated New England, Clay took three western states, and Crawford won Virginia and Georgia.", "Jackson won a plurality of the popular vote, taking 42 percent, although not all states held a popular vote for the presidency.", "He won 99 electoral votes, more than any other candidates, but still short of 131, which he needed for a true majority.", "With no candidate having won a majority of the electoral, the House of Representatives held a contingent election under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment.", "The amendment specifies that only the top three electoral vote-winners are eligible to be elected by the House, so Clay was eliminated from contention.", "Jackson believed that he was likely to win this contingent election, as Crawford and Adams lacked Jackson's national appeal, and Crawford had suffered a debilitating stroke that made many doubt his physical fitness for the presidency.", "However, Clay saw Jackson as a dangerous demagogue who might topple the republic in favor of his own leadership.", "He threw his support behind Adams, who shared Clay's support for federally-funded internal improvements such as roads and canals.", "With Clay's backing, Adams won the contingent election on the first ballot.", "Furious supporters of Jackson accused Clay and Adams of having reached a \"corrupt bargain\" after Adams appointed Clay as his Secretary of State.", "After the election,\nJackson resigned his Senate seat and returned to Tennessee.", "===Election of 1828 and death of Rachel Jackson===\n1828 election results\n\n\nJackson was nominated for president by Tennessee legislature in October 1825, more than three years before the 1828 election.", "It was the earliest such nomination in presidential history, and it attested to the fact that Jackson's supporters began the 1828 campaign almost as soon as the 1824 campaign ended.", "Adams's presidency floundered, as his ambitious agenda faced defeat in a new era of mass politics.", "Critics led by Jackson attacked Adams's policies as a dangerous expansion of Federal power.", "Senator Martin Van Buren, who had been a prominent supporter of Crawford in the 1824 election, emerged as one of the strongest opponents of Adams's policies, and he settled on Jackson as his preferred candidate in the 1828 election.", "Van Buren was joined by Vice President Calhoun, who also opposed much of Adams's agenda on states' rights grounds.", "Van Buren and other Jackson allies established numerous pro-Jackson newspapers and clubs around the country, while Jackson avoided campaigning but made himself available to visitors at his Hermitage plantation.", "In the election, Jackson won a commanding 56 percent of the popular vote and 68 percent of the electoral vote.", "The election marked the definitive end of the one-party Era of Good Feelings, as Jackson's supporters coalesced into the Democratic Party and Adams's followers became known as the National Republicans.", "The campaign was very much a personal one.", "As was the custom at the time, neither candidate personally campaigned, but their political followers organized many campaign events.", "Both candidates were rhetorically attacked in the press.", "Jackson was strongly attacked as a slave trader, who bought and sold slaves and moved them about in defiance of higher standards of slaveholder behavior.", "A series of pamphlets known as the Coffin Handbills were published to attack Jackson.", "One revealed that he had ordered the execution of six soldiers at New Orleans.", "Another accused him of engaging in cannibalism by eating the bodies of American Indians killed in battle, while still another labeled his mother a \"common prostitute\" and stated that Jackson's father was a \"mulatto man.\"", "Rachel Jackson was also a frequent target of attacks, and was widely accused of bigamy, a reference to the controversial situation of her marriage with Jackson.", "Jackson's campaigners fired back by claiming that while serving as Minister to Russia, Adams had procured a young girl to serve as a prostitute for Emperor Alexander I.", "They also stated that Adams had a billiard table in the White House and that he had charged the government for it.", "Rachel had been under extreme stress during the election, and often struggled while Jackson was away.", "She began experiencing significant physical stress during the election season.", "Jackson described her symptoms as \"excruciating pain in the left shoulder, arm, and breast.\"", "After struggling for three days, Rachel finally died of a heart attack on December 22, 1828 three weeks after her husband's victory in the election (which began on October 31 and ended on December 2) and 10 weeks before Jackson took office as President.", "A distraught Jackson had to be pulled from her so the undertaker could prepare the body.", "He felt that the accusations from Adams's supporters had hastened her death and never forgave him.", "Rachel was buried on Christmas Eve.", "\"May God Almighty forgive her murderers,\" Jackson swore at her funeral.", "\"I never can.\"", "\nPresident Andrew JacksonNew York: Ritchie & Co. (1860)\n\nJackson's name has been associated with Jacksonian democracy or the shift and expansion of democracy with the passing of some political power from established elites to ordinary voters based in political parties.", "\"The Age of Jackson\" shaped the national agenda and American politics.", "Jackson's philosophy as President was similar to that of Thomas Jefferson, advocating Republican values held by the Revolutionary War generation.", "Jackson took a moral tone, with the belief that agrarian sympathies, and a limited view of states rights and the federal government, would produce less corruption.", "He feared that monied and business interests would corrupt republican values.", "When South Carolina opposed the tariff law, he took a strong line in favor of nationalism and against secession.", "Jackson believed that the president's authority was derived from the people, and that public officials should obey their will or resign.", "Jackson chose Martin Van Buren of New York as Secretary of State, John Eaton of Tennessee as Secretary of War, Samuel D. Ingham of Pennsylvania as Secretary of Treasury, John Branch of North Carolina as Secretary of Navy, John M. Berrien of Georgia as Attorney General, and William T. Barry of Kentucky as Postmaster General.", "Jackson's first choice of Cabinet proved to be unsuccessful, full of bitter partisanship and gossip.", "===Inauguration===\n\nOn March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first United States president-elect to take the oath of office on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol.", "In his inaugural speech, Jackson promised to respect the sovereign powers of states and the constitutional limits of the presidency.", "He also promised to pursue \"reform\" by removing power from \"unfaithful or incompetent hands.\"", "At the conclusion of the ceremony, Jackson invited the public to the White House, where his supporters held a raucous party.", "Thousands of spectators overwhelmed the White House staff, and minor damage was caused to fixtures and furnishings.", "Jackson's populism earned him the nickname \"King Mob.\"", "===Petticoat affair===\n\nJackson devoted a considerable amount of his presidential time during his early years in office responding to what came to be known as the \"Petticoat affair\" or \"Eaton affair\".", "Washington gossip circulated among Jackson's Cabinet members and their wives, including Calhoun's wife Floride Calhoun, concerning Secretary of War Eaton and his wife Peggy Eaton.", "Salacious rumors held that Peggy, as a barmaid in her father's tavern, had been sexually promiscuous or had even been a prostitute.", "Controversy also ensued because Peggy had married soon after her previous husband's death, and it was alleged that she and her husband and engaged in an adulterous affair while her previous husband was still living.", "Petticoat politics emerged when the wives of cabinet members, led by Mrs. Calhoun, refused to socialize with the Eatons.", "Allowing a prostitute in the official family was of course unthinkable—but Jackson refused to believe the rumors, telling his Cabinet that \"She is as chaste as a virgin!\"", "Jackson believed that the dishonorable people were the rumormongers, who in essence questioned and dishonored Jackson himself by, in attempting to drive the Eatons out, daring to tell him who he could and could not have in his cabinet.", "Jackson was also reminded of the attacks that were made against his wife.", "These memories increased his dedication to defending Peggy Eaton.", "Meanwhile, the Cabinet wives insisted that the interests and honor of all American women was at stake.", "They believed a responsible woman should never accord a man sexual favors without the assurance that went with marriage.", "A woman who broke that code was dishonorable and unacceptable.", "Historian Daniel Walker Howe notes that this was the feminist spirit that in the next decade shaped the woman's rights movement.", "Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, a widower, was already forming a coalition against Calhoun.", "He could now see his main chance to strike hard; he took the side of Jackson and Eaton.", "In the spring of 1831, Jackson, at Van Buren's suggestion, demanded the resignations of all the cabinet member except Barry.", "Van Buren himself resigned to avoid the appearance of bias.", "In 1832, Jackson nominated Van Buren to be Minister to England.", "Calhoun blocked the nomination with a tie-breaking vote against it, claiming the defeated nomination would \"...kill him, sir, kill dead.", "He will never kick, sir, never kick.\"", "Van Buren, however, fully recovered and played a leading role in the Jackson's unofficial Kitchen Cabinet.", "===Indian removal policy===\n\nIndian tribes from their traditional territories, including the Trail of Tears.", "Throughout his eight years in office, Jackson made about 70 treaties with Native American tribes both in the South and the Northwest.", "Jackson's presidency marked a new era in Indian-Anglo American relations initiating a policy of Indian removal.", "Jackson himself sometimes participated in the treaty negotiating process with various Indian tribes, though other times he left the negotiations to his subordinates.", "The southern tribes included the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole and the Cherokee.", "The northwest tribes include the Chippewa, Ottawa, and the Potawatomi.", "Relations between Indians and Americans increasingly grew tense and sometimes violent as a result of territorial conflicts.", "Previous presidents had at times supported removal or attempts to \"civilize\" the Indians, but generally let the problem play itself out with minimal intervention.", "There had developed a growing popular and political movement to deal with the issue, and out of this policy to relocate certain Indian populations.", "Jackson, never known for timidity, became an advocate for this relocation policy in what many historians consider the most controversial aspect of his presidency.", "In his First Annual Message to Congress, Jackson advocated land west of the Mississippi River be set aside for Indian tribes.", "On May 26, 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which Jackson signed into law two days later.", "The Act authorized the President to negotiate treaties to buy tribal lands in the east in exchange for lands farther west, outside of existing state borders.", "The act specifically pertained to the Five Civilized Tribes in the South, the conditions being that they could either move west or stay and obey state law.", "Jackson, Eaton, and General Coffee negotiated with the Chickasaw, who quickly agreed to move.", "Jackson put Eaton and Coffee in charge of negotiating with the Choctaw.", "Lacking Jackson's skills at negotiation, they frequently bribed to the chiefs in order to gain their submission.", "The tactics worked, and the chiefs agreed to move.", "The removal of the Choctaw took place in the winter of 1831 and 1832, and was wrought with misery and suffering.", "The Seminole, despite the signing of the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, refused to move.", "In December 1835, this dispute began the Second Seminole War.", "The war lasted over six years, finally ending in 1842.", "Members of the Creek Nation had signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, agreeing to move their tribe.", "However, the Creeks later resisted, leading to a second Creek War.", "A common complaint was that the men who had signed the treaties did not represent the whole tribe.", "Jackson painted by Earl, 1830\nThe state of Georgia became involved in a contentious dispute with the Cherokee, culminating in the 1832 Supreme Court decision in ''Worcester v. Georgia''.", "In that decision, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for the court, ruled that Georgia could not forbid whites from entering tribal lands, as it had attempted to do with two missionaries supposedly stirring up resistance amongst the tribespeople.", "Jackson is frequently attributed the following response: \"John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.\"", "The quote, apparently indicating Jackson's dismissive view of the courts, was attributed to Jackson by Horace Greeley, who cited as his source Representative George N. Briggs.", "Remini argues that Jackson did not say it because, while it \"certainly sounds like Jackson...there was nothing for him to enforce.\"", "This is because a writ of ''habeas corpus'' had never been issued for the missionaries.", "The Court also did not ask federal marshals to carry out the decision, as had become standard.", "A group of Cherokees led by John Ridge negotiated the Treaty of New Echota.", "Ridge was not a widely recognized leader of the Cherokee, and this document was rejected by some as illegitimate.", "Another faction, led by John Ross, unsuccessfully petitioned to protest the proposed removal.", "The treaty was enforced by Jackson's successor, President Martin Van Buren, who sent 7,000 troops to carry out the relocation policy.", "Due to the infighting between political factions, many Cherokees thought their appeals were still being considered when the relocation began.", "; subsequently, as many as 4,000 Cherokees died on the \"Trail of Tears\" in 1838.", "More than 45,000 American Indians were relocated to the West during Jackson's administration, though a few Cherokees walked back afterwards or migrated to the high Smoky Mountains.", "The Black Hawk War took place during Jackson's presidency in 1832 after a group of Indians crossed into U.S. territory.", "Jackson's initiatives to deal with the conflicts between Indians and American settlers has been a source of controversy.", "Starting around 1970, Jackson came under sharp attack from writers on the left, often on this issue.", "Howard Zinn called him \"the most aggressive enemy of the Indians in early American history\" and \"exterminator of Indians.\"", "In 1969, Francis Paul Prucha argued that Jackson's removal of the \"Five Civilized Tribes\" from the very hostile white environment in the Old South to Oklahoma probably saved their very existence.", "Similarly, Remini claims that, if not for Jackson's policies, the Southern tribes would have been totally wiped out, just like other tribes-namely, the Yamasee, Mahican, and Narragansett-which did not move.", "===Reforms, rotation of offices, and spoils system===\n\n\nIn an effort to purge the government of corruption, Jackson launched presidential investigations into all executive Cabinet offices and departments.", "He believed appointees should be hired on merit and withdrew many candidates he believed were lax in their handling of monies.", "He asked Congress to reform embezzlement laws, reduce fraudulent applications for federal pensions, revenue laws to prevent evasion of custom duties, and laws to improve government accounting.", "Jackson's Postmaster Barry resigned after a Congressional investigation into the postal service revealed mismanagement of mail services, collusion and favoritism in awarding lucrative contracts, failure to audit accounts and supervise contract performances.", "Jackson replaced Barry with Treasury Auditor and prominent Kitchen Cabinet member Amos Kendall, who went on to implement much needed reforms in the Postal Service.", "Jackson repeatedly called for the abolition of the Electoral College by constitutional amendment in his annual messages to Congress as President.", "In his third annual message to Congress, he expressed the view \"I have heretofore recommended amendments of the Federal Constitution giving the election of President and Vice-President to the people and limiting the service of the former to a single term.", "So important do I consider these changes in our fundamental law that I can not, in accordance with my sense of duty, omit to press them upon the consideration of a new Congress.\"", "Jackson's time in the presidency also saw various improvements in financial provisions for veterans and their dependents.", "The Service Pension Act of 1832, for instance, provided pensions to veterans \"even where there existed no obvious financial or physical need\", while an Act of July 1836 enabled widows of Revolutionary War soldiers who met certain criteria to receive their husband's pensions.", "In 1836, Jackson established the ten-hour day in national shipyards.", "Jackson enforced the Tenure of Office Act, signed earlier by President Monroe in 1820, that limited appointed office tenure and authorized the president to remove and appoint political party associates.", "Jackson believed that a rotation in office was actually a democratic reform preventing father-to-son succession of office and made civil service responsible to the popular will.", "Jackson declared that rotation of appointments in political office was \"a leading principle in the republican creed\".", "Jackson noted, \"In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit of the people no one man has any more intrinsic right to official station than another.\"", "Jackson believed that rotating political appointments would prevent the development of a corrupt bureaucracy.", "The number of federal office holders removed by Jackson were exaggerated by his opponents; Jackson only rotated about 20% of federal office holders during his first term, some for dereliction of duty rather than political purposes.", "Jackson, however, did use his image and presidential power to award loyal Democrats by granting them federal office appointments.", "Jackson's approach incorporated patriotism for country as qualification for holding office.", "Having appointed a soldier who had lost his leg fighting on the battlefield to a postmastership Jackson stated \"If he lost his leg fighting for his country, that is ... enough for me.\"", "Jackson's theory regarding rotation of office generated what would later be called the spoils system.", "The political realities of Washington, however, ultimately forced Jackson to make partisan appointments despite his personal reservations.", "Historians believe Jackson's presidency marked the beginning of an era of decline in public ethics.", "Supervision of bureaus and departments whose operations were outside of Washington (such as the New York Customs House; the Postal Service; the Departments of Navy and War; and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose budget had increased enormously in the previous two decades) proved to be difficult.", "===Nullification crisis===\n\n\nIn 1828, Congress had approved the \"Tariff of Abominations,\" which set the tariff at an historically high rate.", "Southern planters, who sold their cotton on the world market, strongly opposed this tariff, which they saw as favoring northern interests.", "The issue nonetheless came to a head during Jackson's presidency, resulting in the Nullification Crisis, in which South Carolina threatened disunion.", "The South Carolina Exposition and Protest of 1828, secretly written by Calhoun, asserted that their state had the right to \"nullify\"—declare void—the tariff legislation of 1828.", "Although Jackson sympathized with the South in the tariff debate, he also vigorously supported a strong union, with effective powers for the central government.", "Jackson attempted to face down Calhoun over the issue, which developed into a bitter rivalry between the two men.", "One incident was at the April 13, 1830, Jefferson Day dinner, involving after-dinner toasts.", "Robert Hayne began by toasting to \"The Union of the States, and the Sovereignty of the States\".", "Jackson then rose, and in a booming voice added \"Our federal Union: It must be preserved!\"", "– a clear challenge to Calhoun.", "Calhoun clarified his position by responding \"The Union: Next to our Liberty, the most dear!\"", "In May 1830, Jackson discovered that Calhoun had asked President Monroe to censure then-General Jackson for his invasion of Spanish Florida in 1818 while Calhoun was serving as Secretary of War.", "Calhoun's and Jackson's relationship deteriorated further.", "By February 1831, the break between Calhoun and Jackson was final.", "Responding to inaccurate press reports about the feud, Calhoun had published letters between him and Jackson detailing the conflict in the ''United States Telegraph''.", "Jackson and Calhoun began an angry correspondence which lasted until Jackson stopped it in July.", "The ''Telegraph,'' edited by Duff Green, had previously supported Jackson.", "After it took the side of Calhoun, Jackson needed a new organ for the administration.", "He enlisted the help of longtime supporter Francis Preston Blair, who in November 1830 established a newspaper known as ''The Washington Globe,'' which from then on served as the official mouthpiece of the Democratic Party.", "On July 14, 1832, Jackson signed into law the Tariff of 1832.", "It was designed to placate the nullifiers by lowering tariff rates, but the nullifiers in South Carolina remained unsatisfied.", "On November 24, the South Carolina legislature officially nullified both the Tariff of 1832 and the Tariff of 1828.", "In response, Jackson sent U.S. Navy warships to Charleston harbor, and threatened to hang any man who worked to support nullification or secession.", "On December 28, 1832, with less than two months remaining in his term, Calhoun resigned as Vice President to become a U.S.", "Senator for South Carolina.", "In December 1832, Jackson issued a resounding proclamation against the \"nullifiers\", stating that he considered \"the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed\".", "South Carolina, the President declared, stood on \"the brink of insurrection and treason\", and he appealed to the people of the state to reassert their allegiance to that Union for which their ancestors had fought.", "Jackson also denied the right of secession: \"The Constitution ... forms a government not a league ... To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union is to say that the United States is not a nation.\"", "Jackson asked Congress to pass a \"Force Bill\" explicitly authorizing the use of military force to enforce the tariff, but its passage was delayed until protectionists led by Clay agreed to a reduced Compromise Tariff.", "The Force Bill and Compromise Tariff passed on March 1, 1833, and Jackson signed both.", "The South Carolina Convention then met and rescinded its nullification ordinance, but in a final show of defiance, nullified the Force Bill.", "On May 1, 1833, Jackson wrote, \"the tariff was only the pretext, and disunion and southern confederacy the real object.", "The next pretext will be the negro, or slavery question.\"", "===Foreign affairs===\nWilliam C. Rives, Jackson's Minister to France, successfully negotiated a reparations treaty with France in 1831.", "Addressing the subject of foreign affairs in his First Annual Address to Congress, Jackson declared it to be his \"settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly right and to submit to nothing that is wrong.\"", "When Jackson took office, spoliation claims, or compensation demands for the capture of American ships and sailors, dating from the Napoleonic era, caused strained relations between the U.S. and French governments.", "The French Navy had captured and sent American ships to Spanish ports while holding their crews captive forcing them to labor without any charges or judicial rules.", "According to Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, relations between the U.S. and France were \"hopeless.\"", "Jackson's Minister to France, William C. Rives, through diplomacy was able to convince the French government to sign a reparations treaty on July 4, 1831, that would award the U.S. ₣ 25,000,000 ($5,000,000) in damages.", "The French government became delinquent in payment due to internal financial and political difficulties.", "The French king Louis Philippe I and his ministers blamed the French Chamber of Deputies.", "By 1834, the non-payment of reparations by the French government drew Jackson's ire and he became impatient.", "In his December 1834 State of the Union address, Jackson sternly reprimanded the French government for non-payment, stating the federal government was \"wholly disappointed\" by the French, and demanded Congress authorize trade reprisals against France.", "Feeling insulted by Jackson's words, the French people demanded an apology.", "In his December 1835 State of the Union Address, Jackson refused to apologize, stating he had a good opinion of the French people and his intentions were peaceful.", "Jackson described in lengthy and minute detail the history of events surrounding the treaty and his belief that the French government was purposely stalling payment.", "The French government accepted Jackson's statements as sincere and in February 1836, American reparations were paid.", "In addition to France, the Jackson administration successfully settled spoliation claims with Denmark, Portugal, and Spain.", "Jackson's state department was active and successful at making trade agreements with Russia, Spain, Turkey, Great Britain, and Siam.", "Under the treaty of Great Britain, American trade was reopened in the West Indies.", "The trade agreement with Siam was America's first treaty between the United States and an Asiatic country.", "As a result, American exports increased 75% while imports increased 250%.", "Jackson's attempt to purchase Texas from Mexico for $5,000,000 failed.", "The chargé d'affaires in Mexico, Colonel Anthony Butler, suggested that the U.S. take Texas over militarily, but Jackson refused.", "Butler was later replaced toward the end of Jackson's presidency.", "In 1835, the Texas Revolution began when pro-slavery American settlers in Texas fought the Mexican government for Texan independence.", "By May 1836, they had routed the Mexican military, establishing an independent Republic of Texas.", "The new Texas government legalized slavery and demanded recognition from President Jackson and annexation into the United States.", "However, Jackson was hesitant recognizing Texas, unconvinced that the new republic could maintain independence from Mexico, and not wanting to make Texas an anti-slavery issue during the 1836 election.", "The strategy worked; the Democratic Party and national loyalties were held intact, and Van Buren was elected President.", "Jackson formally recognized the Republic of Texas, nominating a chargé d'affaires on the last full day of his Presidency, March 3, 1837.", "Jackson was unsuccessful in opening trade with China and Japan.", "He was unsuccessful at thwarting Great Britain's presence and power in South America.", "The Democratic Party's first national convention, held in Baltimore, nominated Jackson's choice for vice president, Van Buren.", "The National Republican Party, who had held their first convention in Baltimore earlier in December 1831, nominated Henry Clay, now a senator from Kentucky, and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania.", "The Anti-Masonic Party, which had earlier held its convention also in Baltimore in September 1831, nominated William Wirt of Maryland and Amos Ellmaker of Pennsylvania; both Jackson and Clay were Masons.", "Biddle's recharter bill passed the Senate on June 11 and the House on July 3, 1832.", "Its stock was mostly held by foreigners, he insisted, and it exerted an unfair amount of control over the political system.", "He vetoed the bill on July 10.", "He accused it of making loans with the intent of influencing elections.", "Jackson's political opponents castigated the veto as \"the very slang of the leveller and demagogue,\" claiming Jackson was using class warfare to gain support from the common man.", "Jackson, however, managed to successfully portray his veto as a defense of the common man against governmental tyranny.", "Clay proved to be no match to Jackson's ability to resonate with the people and the Democratic Party's strong political networks.", "Democratic newspapers, parades, barbecues, and rallies increased Jackson's popularity.", "Jackson himself made numerous popular public appearances on his return trip from Tennessee to Washington D.C. Jackson won the election decisively by a landslide, receiving 54 percent of the popular vote and 219 electoral votes.", "Clay received 37 percent of the popular vote and 49 electoral votes.", "Wirt received only eight percent of the popular vote and seven electoral votes while the Anti-Masonic Party folded.", "Jackson's moves were greatly controversial.", "He replaced McLane with William J. Duane.", "However, in September he fired Duane for refusing to remove the deposits.", "Under Taney, the deposits began to be removed.", "In 1834, those who opposed Jackson's expansion of executive power united and formed the Whig Party, calling Jackson \"King Andrew I,\" and named their party after the English Whigs who opposed eighteenth century British monarchy.", "A movement emerged amongst Whigs in the Senate to censure Jackson.", "The censure was a political maneuver spearheaded by Jackson-rival Senator Henry Clay, which served only to perpetuate the animosity between him and Jackson.", "Jackson called Clay \"reckless and as full of fury as a drunken man in a brothel.\"", "On March 28, the Senate voted to censure Jackson 26–20.", "It also rejected Taney as Treasury Secretary.", "Finally, on January 16, 1837, when the Jacksonians had a majority in the Senate, the censure was expunged after years of effort by Jackson supporters.", "The expunction movement was led by Thomas Hart Benton, who, despite the brawl years earlier, had become an ardent supporter of the president.", "In 1836, in response to increased land speculation, Jackson issued the Specie Circular, an executive order that required buyers of government lands to pay in \"specie\" (gold or silver coins).", "The result was high demand for specie, which many banks could not meet in exchange for their notes, causing the Panic of 1837.", "The White House Van Buren biography notes, \"Basically the trouble was the 19th-century cyclical economy of \"boom and bust\", which was following its regular pattern, but Jackson's financial measures contributed to the crash.", "To end this speculation, Jackson in 1836 had issued a Specie Circular...\"\n\n===Attack and assassination attempt===\nRichard Lawrence's attempt on Jackson's life, as depicted in an 1835 etching\n\nThe first recorded physical attack on a U.S. president was directed at Jackson.", "He had ordered the dismissal of Robert B. Randolph from the navy for embezzlement.", "On May 6, 1833, Jackson sailed on USS ''Cygnet'' to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was to lay the cornerstone on a monument near the grave of Mary Ball Washington, George Washington's mother.", "During a stopover near Alexandria, Randolph appeared and struck the President.", "He fled the scene chased by several members of Jackson's party, including the writer Washington Irving.", "Jackson declined to press charges.", "On January 30, 1835, what is believed to be the first attempt to kill a sitting President of the United States occurred just outside the United States Capitol.", "When Jackson was leaving through the East Portico after the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis, Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter from England, aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired.", "Lawrence pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired.", "Historians believe the humid weather contributed to the double misfiring.", "Jackson, infuriated, attacked Lawrence with his cane.", "Others present, including Davy Crockett, restrained and disarmed Lawrence.", "Lawrence told doctors later his reasons for the shooting.", "He blamed Jackson for the loss of his job.", "Finally, he told his interrogators that he was a deposed English king—specifically, Richard III, dead since 1485—and that Jackson was his clerk.", "He was deemed insane and was institutionalized.", "Afterwards, the pistols were tested and retested.", "Each time they performed perfectly.", "Many believed that Jackson had been protected by the same Providence that they believed also protected their young nation.", "The incident became a part of the Jacksonian mythos.", "Jackson initially suspected that a number of his political enemies may have orchestrated the attempt on his life.", "His suspicions were never proven.", "===Anti-slavery tracts===\nDuring the summer of 1835, Northern abolitionists began sending anti-slavery tracts through the U.S.", "Postal system into the South.", "Pro-slavery Southerners demanded that the postal service ban distribution of the materials, which were deemed \"incendiary\".", "Some rioting also broke out.", "Jackson wanted sectional peace, and desired to placate Southerners ahead of the 1836 election.", "He fiercely disliked the abolitionists, whom he believed were, by instituting sectional jealousies, attempting to destroy the Union.", "However, Jackson also did not want to condone open insurrection.", "He supported the solution of Postmaster General Amos Kendall, which gave Southern postmasters discretionary powers to either send or detain the anti-slavery tracts.", "That December, Jackson called on Congress to prohibit the circulation through the South of \"incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection.\"", "===U.S.", "Exploring Expedition===\n, a brig ship laid down in 1835 and launched in May 1836; used in the U.S.", "Exploring Expedition\n\nJackson initially opposed any federal exploratory scientific expeditions during his first term in office.", "The last scientific federally funded expeditions took place from 1817 to 1823, led by Stephen H. Harriman on the Red River of the North.", "Jackson's predecessor, President Adams, attempted to launch a scientific oceanic exploration in 1828, but Congress was unwilling to fund the effort.", "When Jackson assumed office in 1829 he pocketed Adams' expedition plans.", "However, wanting to establish his presidential legacy, similar to Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Jackson finally sponsored scientific exploration during his second term.", "On May 18, 1836, Jackson signed a law creating and funding the oceanic United States Exploring Expedition.", "Jackson put Secretary of Navy Mahlon Dickerson in charge, to assemble suitable ships, officers, and scientific staff for the expedition; with a planned launch before Jackson's term of office expired.", "Dickerson however proved unfit for the task, preparations stalled and the expedition was not launched until 1838, during the presidency of Van Buren.", "One brig ship, , later used in the expedition; having been laid down, built, and commissioned by Secretary Dickerson in May 1836, circumnavigated the world, explored and mapped the Southern Ocean, confirming the existence of the Antarctica continent.", "===Panic of 1837===\n\nA New York newspaper blamed the Panic of 1837 on Andrew Jackson, depicted in spectacles and top hat.", "In January 1835, Jackson paid off the entire national debt, the only time in U.S. history that has been accomplished.", "However, reckless speculation in land and railroads caused the Panic of 1837.", "Two other Jacksonian acts in 1836 contributed to the Panic of 1837: the Specie Circular, that mandated Western lands only be purchased by money backed by gold and silver, and the Deposit and Distribution Act, that transferred federal monies from Eastern to western state banks which in turn led to a speculation frenzy by banks.", "Jackson's ''Specie Circular'', albeit designed to reduce speculation and stabilize the economy, left many investors unable to afford to pay loans backed by gold and silver.", "The same year there was a downturn in Great Britain's economy that stopped investment in the United States.", "As a result, the U.S. economy went into a depression, banks became insolvent, the national debt (previously paid off) increased, business failures rose, cotton prices dropped, and unemployment dramatically increased.", "The depression that followed lasted for four years until 1841 when the economy began to rebound.", "===Administration and cabinet===\n\n\n\n===Judicial appointments===\n\nJackson appointed six Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.", "===States admitted to the Union===\nTwo new states were admitted into the Union during Jackson's presidency: Arkansas (June 15, 1836) and Michigan (January 26, 1837).", "Photographic copy of an 1845 daguerreotype\nAfter serving two terms as president, Jackson retired to his Hermitage plantation in 1837, and immediately began putting it in order as it had been poorly managed in his absence by his adopted son, Andrew Jr.", "Although he suffered ill health, Jackson remained influential in both national and state politics.", "He was a firm advocate of the federal union of the states and rejected any talk of secession, insisting, \"I will die with the Union.\"", "Blamed for causing the Panic of 1837, he was unpopular in his early retirement.", "Jackson continued to denounce the \"perfidy and treachery\" of banks and urged his successor, Van Buren, to repudiate the ''Specie Circular'' as president.", "As a solution to the panic, he supported an Independent Treasury system, which was designed to hold the money balances of the government in the form of gold or silver and would be restricted from printing paper money so as to prevent further inflation.", "However, a coalition of conservative Democrats and Whigs opposed the bill, and it was not passed until 1840.", "During the delay, no effective remedy had been implemented for the depression.", "Van Buren grew deeply unpopular.", "A unified Whig Party nominated popular war hero William Henry Harrison and former Jacksonian John Tyler in the 1840 presidential election.", "The Whigs' campaign style in many ways mimicked that of the Democrats during Jackson's campaigns.", "They depicted Van Buren as an aristocrat who did not care for the concerns of ordinary Americans, while glorifying Harrison's military record and portraying him as a man of the people.", "Jackson campaigned heavily for Van Buren in Tennessee.", "He favored the nomination of James K. Polk of Tennessee for vice president at the 1840 Democratic National Convention over unpopular incumbent Richard Mentor Johnson.", "However, no nominee was chosen, and the party chose to leave the decision up to individual state electors.", "Harrison won the election, and the Whigs captured majorities in both houses of Congress.", "\"The democracy of the United States has been shamefully beaten,\" Jackson wrote to Van Buren.", "\"but I trust, not conquered.\"", "However, Harrison died only a month into his term, and was replaced by Tyler.", "Jackson was encouraged because Tyler had a strong independent streak and was not bound by party lines.", "After the second veto, Tyler's entire cabinet, with the exception of Daniel Webster, resigned.", "Jackson strongly favored the annexation of Texas, a feat he had been unable to accomplish during his own presidency.", "While Jackson still feared that annexation would stir up anti-slavery sentiment, his belief that the British would use Texas as a base to threaten the United States overrode his other concerns.", "He also insisted that Texas was part of the Louisiana Purchase and therefore rightfully belonged to the United States.", "At the request of Senator Robert J. Walker of Mississippi, acting on behalf of the Tyler administration, which also supported annexation, Jackson wrote several letters to Texas President Sam Houston, urging him to wait for the Senate to approve annexation and lecturing him on how much being a part of the United States would benefit Texas.", "Initially, Jackson again supported Van Buren for president in 1844 and Polk for vice president.", "When a letter from Calhoun to British Ambassador Richard Pakenham linking annexation to slavery was made public, Van Buren was moved into writing the \"Hamlet letter,\" opposing annexation.", "This effectively extinguished any support that Van Buren might previously have enjoyed in the South.", "Jackson then threw his support behind Polk for the nomination.", "At the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Polk emerged as the party's nominee after Van Buren failed to win the required two-thirds majority of delegates.", "George M. Dallas was selected for vice president.", "Jackson convinced Tyler to drop his plans of running for re-election as an independent by promising, as Tyler requested, to welcome the president and his allies back into the Democratic Party and by instructing Blair to stop criticizing the president.", "Polk won the election, defeating the Whig nominee, Henry Clay.", "A bill of annexation was finally signed by Tyler on March 1, 1845.", "Jackson died at his plantation on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure.", "According to a newspaper account from the Boon Lick Times, \"he fainted whilst being removed from his chair to the bed ... but he subsequently revived ... Gen. Jackson died at the Hermitage at 6 o'clock P.M. on Sunday the 8th instant.", "...", "When the messenger finally came, the old soldier, patriot and Christian was looking out for his approach.", "He is gone, but his memory lives, and will continue to live.\"", "In his will, Jackson left his entire estate to his adopted son, Andrew Jackson Jr., except for specifically enumerated items that were left to various friends and other family members.", "===Family===\nJackson had three adopted sons: Theodore, an Indian about whom little is known, Andrew Jackson Jr., the son of Rachel's brother Severn Donelson, and Lyncoya, a Creek Indian orphan adopted by Jackson after the Battle of Tallushatchee.", "Lyncoya died of tuberculosis on July 1, 1828, at the age of sixteen.", "The Jacksons also acted as guardians for eight other children.", "John Samuel Donelson, Daniel Smith Donelson, and Andrew Jackson Donelson were the sons of Rachel's brother Samuel Donelson, who died in 1804.", "Andrew Jackson Hutchings was Rachel's orphaned grand nephew.", "Caroline Butler, Eliza Butler, Edward Butler, and Anthony Butler were the orphaned children of Edward Butler, a family friend.", "They came to live with the Jacksons after the death of their father.", "The widower Jackson invited Rachel's niece Emily Donelson to serve as hostess at the White House.", "Emily was married to Andrew Jackson Donelson, who acted as Jackson's private secretary and in 1856 ran for Vice President on the American Party ticket.", "The relationship between the President and Emily became strained during the Petticoat affair, and the two became estranged for over a year.", "They eventually reconciled and she resumed her duties as White House hostess.", "Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson Jr., became co-hostess of the White House in 1834.", "It was the only time in history when two women simultaneously acted as unofficial First Lady.", "Sarah took over all hostess duties after Emily died from tuberculosis in 1836.", "Jackson used Rip Raps as a retreat.", "===Temperament===\nThe Hermitage\nJackson's quick temper was notorious.", "Biographer H. W. Brands notes that his opponents were terrified of his temper: \"Observers likened him to a volcano, and only the most intrepid or recklessly curious cared to see it erupt.", "...His close associates all had stories of his blood-curdling oaths, his summoning of the Almighty to loose His wrath upon some miscreant, typically followed by his own vow to hang the villain or blow him to perdition.", "Given his record—in duels, brawls, mutiny trials, and summary hearings—listeners had to take his vows seriously.\"", "On the last day of the presidency, Jackson admitted that he had but two regrets, that he \"had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C.", "Calhoun.\"", "Remini expressed the opinion that Jackson was often in control of his rage, and that he used it, along with his fearsome reputation, as a tool to get what he wanted.", "===Physical appearance===\nJackson was a lean figure, standing at tall, and weighing between on average.", "Jackson also had an unruly shock of red hair, which had completely grayed by the time he became president at age 61.", "He had penetrating deep blue eyes.", "Jackson was one of the more sickly presidents, suffering from chronic headaches, abdominal pains, and a hacking cough.", "Much of his trouble was caused by a musket ball in his lung that was never removed, that often brought up blood and sometimes made his whole body shake.", "===Religious faith===\nIn 1838, Jackson became a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville.", "Jackson was a Freemason, initiated at Harmony Lodge No.", "1 in Tennessee; he also participated in chartering several other lodges in Tennessee.", "He was the only U.S. president to have served as Grand Master of a state's Grand Lodge until Harry S. Truman in 1945.", "His Masonic apron is on display in the Tennessee State Museum.", "An obelisk and bronze Masonic plaque decorate his tomb at The Hermitage.", "===Historical reputation===\nEquestrian statue of Gen. Jackson, Jackson County Courthouse, Kansas City, Missouri, commissioned by Judge Harry S. Truman\nJackson remains one of the most studied and controversial figures in American history.", "Historian Charles Grier Sellers says, \"Andrew Jackson's masterful personality was enough by itself to make him one of the most controversial figures ever to stride across the American stage.\"", "Not at all controversial was his resounding victory over the British at New Orleans in the last battle of the War of 1812.", "He was the main founder of the modern Democratic Party and became its iconic hero.", "He was always a fierce partisan, with many friends and many enemies.", "Jackson was criticised by his contemporary Alexis de Tocqueville in ''Democracy in America'' for flattering the dominant ideas of his time, including the mistrust over the federal power, for sometimes enforcing his view by force and disrespect towards the institutions and the law:\n\n\n\nBrands observes that Jackson's reputation declined after the mid-20th century as his actions towards Indians and African Americans received new attention.", "After the Civil Rights movement, Brand writes, \"his unrepentant ownership of slaves marked him as one to be censured rather than praised.\"", "Further, \"By the turn of the present 21st century, it was scarcely an exaggeration to say that the one thing American schoolchildren learned about Jackson was that he was the author of the Trail of Tears.\"", "On a more favorable note, Remini argues that Jacksonian democracy...\"stretches the concept of democracy about as far as it can go and still remain workable....As such it has inspired much of the dynamic and dramatic events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in American history—Populism, Progressivism, the New and Fair Deals, and the programs of the New Frontier and Great Society.\"", "Jackson has long been honored, along with Thomas Jefferson, in the Jefferson–Jackson Day fundraising dinners.", "Each year, the dinner has been held by state Democratic Party organizations to honor the two men whom the party regards as its founders.", "However, due to the fact that both Jefferson and Jackson were slave owners, as well as Jackson's Indian removal policies, many state party organizations have renamed the dinners.", "===Portrayal on banknotes and stamps===\nJackson portrait on obverse $20 bill\nJackson has appeared on U.S. banknotes as far back as 1869, and extending into the 21st century.", "His image has appeared on the $5, $10, $20 and $10,000 note.", "Most recently, his image appears on the U.S. $20 Federal reserve note, Series 2004-2006, with a redesigned, larger portrait.", "In 2016, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced his goal that by 2020 an image of Harriet Tubman would replace Jackson's depiction on the front side of the $20 banknote, and that an image of Jackson would be placed on the reverse side, though the final decision will be made by his successors.", "Jackson has appeared on 13 different U.S. postage stamps.", "Only George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin have appeared more often.", "He first appeared on an 1863 2-Cent stamp, which is commonly referred to by collectors as the ''Black Jack'' due to the large portraiture of Jackson on its face printed in pitch black.", "During the American Civil War the Confederate government also issued two Confederate postage stamps bearing Jackson's portrait, one a 2-cent red stamp and the other a 2-cent green stamp, both issued in 1863.", "===Memorials===\n\n\nThe tomb of Andrew and Rachel Jackson located at The Hermitage\n\nNumerous counties and cities are named after him, including the city of Jacksonville in Florida and North Carolina; the city of Jackson in Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; Jackson County in Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Oregon; and Jackson Parish in Louisiana.", "Memorials to Jackson include a set of four identical equestrian statues by the sculptor Clark Mills: in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.; in Jackson Square, New Orleans; in Nashville on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol; and in Jacksonville, Florida.", "Other equestrian statues of Jackson have been erected elsewhere, as in the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh, North Carolina.", "That statue controversially identifies him as one of the \"presidents North Carolina gave the nation,\" and he is featured alongside James Polk and Andrew Johnson, both U.S. presidents born in North Carolina.", "There is a bust of Andrew Jackson in Plaza Ferdinand VII in Pensacola, Florida, where he became the first governor of the Florida Territory in 1821.", "===Popular culture depictions===\nJackson and his wife Rachel were the main subjects of a 1951 historical novel by Irving Stone, ''The President's Lady'', which told the story of their lives up until Rachel's death.", "The novel was the basis for the 1953 film of the same name starring Charlton Heston as Jackson and Susan Hayward as Rachel.", "Jackson has been a supporting character in a number of historical films and television productions.", "Lionel Barrymore played Jackson in ''The Gorgeous Hussy'' (1936), a fictionalized biography of Peggy Eaton starring Joan Crawford.", "''The Buccaneer'' (1938), depicting the Battle of New Orleans, included Hugh Sothern as Jackson, and was remade in 1958 with Heston again playing Jackson.", "Basil Ruysdael played Jackson in Walt Disney's 1955 ''Davy Crockett'' TV miniseries.", "Wesley Addy appeared as Jackson in some episodes of the 1976 PBS miniseries ''The Adams Chronicles''.", "Jackson is the protagonist of the comedic historic rock musical ''Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson'' (2008) with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book by Alex Timbers.", "\n\n* List of United States Presidents on currency\n* U.S. presidents on U.S. postage stamps", "\n\n===Biographies===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume biography.", "* \n\n===Specialized studies===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Latner Richard B.", "''The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820–1837'' (1979), standard survey.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Schama, Simon.", "''The American Future: A History'' (2008).", "* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. ''The Age of Jackson''.", "(1945).", "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History.", "history of ideas of the era.", "* Syrett, Harold C. ''Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition'' (1953).", "on Jacksonian democracy\n* \n* \n* \n\n===Historiography===\n* \n* \n\n===Primary sources===\n* 7 volumes total.", "* ''The Papers of Andrew Jackson'' Edited first by Sam B. Smith and Harriet Chappell Owsley, and now by Dan Feller, Sam B. Smith, Harriet Fason Chappell Owsley, and Harold D. Moser.", "(9 vols.", "1980 to date, U of Tennessee0 online.", "**Searchable digital edition online\n* Richardson, James D. ed.", "''A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents'' (1897), reprints his major messages and reports.", "* Library of Congress.", "\"Andrew Jackson Papers,\" a digital archive that provides direct access to the manuscript images of many of the Jackson documents.", "online", "\n* vol 1 online; vol 2 online\n* Bugg Jr. James L. ed.", "''Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?''", "(1952), excerpts from scholars.", "* Burstein, Andrew.", "''The Passions of Andrew Jackson''.", "(2003).", "* \n* \n* Cheathem, Mark R. \"Andrew Jackson, Slavery, and Historians.\"", "''History Compass'' 9.4 (2011): 326-338. online\n* Cheathem, Mark R. ''Andrew Jackson, Southerner'' (2013)\n* Cheathem, Mark R., and Terry Corps, eds.", "''Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).", "* Cheathem, Mark.", "\"Frontiersman or Southern Gentleman?", "Newspaper Coverage of Andrew Jackson during the 1828 Presidential Campaign\", ''The Readex Report'' (2014) 9#3 online\n* \n* Hays, Joel Stanford.", "\"Twisting the Law: Legal Inconsistencies in Andrew Jackson's Treatment of Native-American Sovereignty and State Sovereignty.\"", "''Journal of Southern Legal History'' 21 (2013): 157.", "* \n* Hofstadter, Richard.", "''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on Jackson.", "online in ACLS e-books\n* \n* Mabry, Donald J., ''Short Book Bibliography on Andrew Jackson'', Historical Text Archive.", "* \n* \n* \n* McLemore, Laura Lyons, ed.", "''The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory'' (LSU Press, 2016)\n* Parsons, Lynn H. ''The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828'' (2009) excerpt and text search\n* \n* Ratner, Lorman A.", "''Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture'' (1997).", "* \n* Remini, Robert V. and Robert O. Rupp.", "''Andrew Jackson: A Bibliography'' (Greenwood, 1991)\n* Remini, Robert V. \"Andrew Jackson\", ''American National Biography'' (2000).", "* \n* \n* Sellers, Charles Grier Jr. \"Andrew Jackson versus the Historians\", ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol.", "44, No.", "4.", "(March 1958), pp. 615–634.", "in JSTOR.", "* Taylor, George Rogers, ed.", "* Van Sledright, Bruce, and Peter Afflerbach.", "\"Reconstructing Andrew Jackson: Prospective elementary teachers' readings of revisionist history texts\".", "''Theory & Research in Social Education'' 28#3 (2000): 411-444.", "* Ward, John William.", "''Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age'' (1962) how writers saw him.", "\n* White House biography\n* \n* \n* \n* Andrew Jackson: A Resource Guide at the Library of Congress\n* Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia\n* The Papers of Andrew Jackson at the Avalon Project\n* The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson\n* \"Life Portrait of Andrew Jackson\", from C-SPAN's ''American Presidents: Life Portraits'', April 26, 1999\n* \"The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party Politics\", lesson plan at the National Endowment for the Humanities" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Andrew Johnson''' (December 29, 1808 July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson became president as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, Johnson came to office as the Civil War concluded. The new president favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the former slaves, and he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote. \n\nJohnson was born in poverty in Raleigh, North Carolina. Apprenticed as a tailor, he worked in several frontier towns before settling in Greeneville, Tennessee. He served as alderman and mayor there before being elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1835. After brief service in the Tennessee Senate, Johnson was elected to the federal House of Representatives in 1843, where he served five two-year terms. He became Governor of Tennessee for four years, and was elected by the legislature to the US Senate in 1857. In his congressional service, he sought passage of the Homestead Bill, which was enacted soon after he left his Senate seat in 1862. As Southern slave states, including Tennessee, seceded to form the Confederate States of America, Johnson remained firmly with the Union. He was the only sitting senator from a Confederate state who did not resign his seat upon learning of his state's secession. In 1862, Lincoln appointed him as military governor of Tennessee after most of it had been retaken. In 1864, Johnson, as a War Democrat and Southern Unionist, was a logical choice as running mate for Lincoln, who wished to send a message of national unity in his re-election campaign; their ticket easily won. When Johnson was sworn in as vice president in March 1865, he gave a rambling speech, after which he secluded himself to avoid public ridicule. Six weeks later, the assassination of Lincoln made him president.\n\nJohnson implemented his own form of Presidential Reconstruction – a series of proclamations directing the seceded states to hold conventions and elections to re-form their civil governments. When Southern states returned many of their old leaders, and passed Black Codes to deprive the freedmen of many civil liberties, Congressional Republicans refused to seat legislators from those states and advanced legislation to overrule the Southern actions. Johnson vetoed their bills, and Congressional Republicans overrode him, setting a pattern for the remainder of his presidency. Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave citizenship to former slaves. In 1866, Johnson went on an unprecedented national tour promoting his executive policies, seeking to destroy his Republican opponents. As the conflict between the branches of government grew, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnson's ability to fire Cabinet officials. When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by the House of Representatives, and narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate and removal from office. After failing to win the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination, Johnson left office in 1869.\n\nReturning to Tennessee after his presidency, Johnson sought political vindication, and gained it in his eyes when he was elected to the Senate again in 1875, making Johnson the only former president to serve in the Senate. He died just months into his term. While some admire Johnson's strict constitutionalism, his strong opposition to federally guaranteed rights for African Americans is widely criticized. He is regarded by many historians as one of the worst presidents in American history.\n", "\n===Childhood===\nMordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, North Carolina\n\nAndrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808, to Jacob Johnson (1778–1812) and Mary (\"Polly\") McDonough (1783–1856), a laundress. He was of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. He had a brother William, four years his senior, and an older sister Elizabeth, who died in childhood. Johnson's birth in a log cabin was a political asset in the mid-19th century, and he would frequently remind voters of his humble origins. Jacob Johnson was a poor man, as had been his father, William Johnson, but he became town constable of Raleigh before marrying and starting a family. He died of an apparent heart attack while ringing the town bell, shortly after rescuing three drowning men, when his son Andrew was three. Polly Johnson worked as a washerwoman and became the sole support of her family. Her occupation was then looked down on, as it often took her into other homes unaccompanied. There were even rumors that Andrew, who did not resemble his brother or sister, had been fathered by another man. Polly Johnson eventually remarried, to Turner Doughtry, who was as poor as she was.\n\nJohnson's mother apprenticed her son William to a tailor, James Selby. Andrew also became an apprentice in Selby's shop at age ten and was legally bound to serve until his 21st birthday. Johnson lived with his mother for part of his service, and one of Selby's employees taught him rudimentary literacy skills. His education was augmented by citizens who would come to Selby's shop to read to the tailors as they worked. Even before he became an apprentice, Johnson came to listen. The readings caused a lifelong love of learning, and one of his biographers, Annette Gordon-Reed, suggests that Johnson, later a gifted public speaker, learned the art as he threaded needles and cut cloth.\n\nJohnson was not happy at James Selby's, and after about five years, both he and his brother ran away. Selby responded by placing a reward for their return: \"Ten Dollars Reward. Ran away from the subscriber, two apprentice boys, legally bound, named William and Andrew Johnson ... payment to any person who will deliver said apprentices to me in Raleigh, or I will give the above reward for Andrew Johnson alone.\" The brothers went to Carthage, North Carolina, where Andrew Johnson worked as a tailor for several months. Fearing he would be arrested and returned to Raleigh, Johnson moved to Laurens, South Carolina. He found work quickly, met his first love, Mary Wood, and made her a quilt as a gift. However, she rejected his marriage proposal. He returned to Raleigh, hoping to buy out his apprenticeship, but could not come to terms with Selby. Unable to stay in Raleigh, where he risked being apprehended for abandoning Selby, he decided to move west.\n\n===Move to Tennessee===\nJohnson left North Carolina for Tennessee, traveling mostly on foot. After a brief period in Knoxville, he moved to Mooresville, Alabama. He then worked as a tailor in Columbia, Tennessee, but was called back to Raleigh by his mother and stepfather, who saw limited opportunities there and who wished to emigrate west. Johnson and his party traveled through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Greeneville, Tennessee. Andrew Johnson fell in love with the town at first sight, and when he became prosperous purchased the land where he had first camped and planted a tree in commemoration.\n\nIn Greeneville, Johnson established a successful tailoring business in the front of his home. In 1827, at the age of 18, he married 16-year-old Eliza McCardle, the daughter of a local shoemaker. The pair were married by Justice of the Peace Mordecai Lincoln, first cousin of Thomas Lincoln, whose son would become president. The Johnsons were married for almost 50 years and had five children: Martha (1828), Charles (1830), Mary (1832), Robert (1834), and Andrew Jr. (1852). Though she suffered from Tuberculosis, Eliza supported her husband's endeavors. She taught him mathematics skills and tutored him to improve his writing. Shy and retiring by nature, Eliza Johnson usually remained in Greeneville during Johnson's political rise. She was not often seen during her husband's presidency; their daughter Martha usually served as official hostess.\n\nJohnson's tailoring business prospered during the early years of the marriage, enabling him to hire help and giving him the funds to invest profitably in real estate. He later boasted of his talents as a tailor, \"my work never ripped or gave way.\" He was a voracious reader. Books about famous orators aroused his interest in political dialogue, and he had private debates on the issues of the day with customers who held opposing views. He also took part in debates at Greeneville College.\n", "\n===Tennessee politician===\nJohnson helped organize a mechanics' (working men's) ticket in the 1829 Greeneville municipal election. He was elected town alderman, along with his friends Blackston McDannel and Mordecai Lincoln. Following the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion, a state convention was called to pass a new constitution, including provisions to disenfranchise free people of color. The convention also wanted to reform real estate tax rates, and provide ways of funding improvements to Tennessee's infrastructure. The constitution was submitted for a public vote, and Johnson spoke widely for its adoption; the successful campaign provided him with statewide exposure. On January 4, 1834, his fellow aldermen elected him mayor of Greeneville.\n\nEliza McCardle Johnson\nIn 1835, Johnson made a bid for election to the \"floater\" seat which Greene County shared with neighboring Washington County in the Tennessee House of Representatives. According to his biographer, Hans L. Trefousse, Johnson \"demolished\" the opposition in debate and won the election with almost a two to one margin. Soon after taking his seat, Johnson purchased his first slave, Dolly, aged 14. Dolly had three children over the years. Johnson had the reputation of treating his slaves kindly, and the fact that Dolly was dark-skinned, and her offspring much lighter, led to speculation both during and after his lifetime that he was the father. During his Greeneville days, Johnson joined the Tennessee Militia as a member of the 90th Regiment. He attained the rank of colonel, though while an enrolled member, Johnson was fined for an unknown offense. Afterwards, he was often addressed or referred to by his rank.\n\nIn his first term in the legislature, which met in the state capital of Nashville, Johnson did not consistently vote with either the Democratic or the newly formed Whig Party, though he revered President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat and Tennessean. The major parties were still determining their core values and policy proposals, with the party system in a state of flux. The Whig Party had organized in opposition to Jackson, fearing the concentration of power in the Executive Branch of the government; Johnson differed from the Whigs as he opposed more than minimal government spending and spoke against aid for the railroads, while his constituents hoped for improvements in transportation. After Brookins Campbell and the Whigs defeated Johnson for re-election in 1837, Johnson would not lose another race for thirty years. In 1839, he sought to regain his seat, initially as a Whig, but when another candidate sought the Whig nomination, he ran as a Democrat and was elected. From that time he supported the Democratic party and built a powerful political machine in Greene County. Johnson became a strong advocate of the Democratic Party, noted for his oratory, and in an era when public speaking both informed the public and entertained it, people flocked to hear him.\n\nIn 1840, Johnson was selected as a presidential elector for Tennessee, giving him more statewide publicity. Although Democratic President Martin Van Buren was defeated by former Ohio senator William Henry Harrison, Johnson was instrumental in keeping Tennessee and Greene County in the Democratic column. He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1841, where he served a two-year term. He had achieved financial success in his tailoring business, but sold it to concentrate on politics. He had also acquired additional real estate, including a larger home and a farm (where his mother and stepfather took residence), and among his assets numbered eight or nine slaves.\n\n===Congressman (1843–1853)===\nHaving served in both houses of the state legislature, Johnson saw election to Congress as the next step in his political career. He engaged in a number of political maneuvers to gain Democratic support, including the displacement of the Whig postmaster in Greeneville, and defeated Jonesborough lawyer John A. Aiken by 5,495 votes to 4,892. In Washington, he joined a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Johnson advocated for the interests of the poor, maintained an anti-abolitionist stance, argued for only limited spending by the government and opposed protective tariffs. With Eliza remaining in Greeneville, Congressman Johnson shunned social functions in favor of study in the Library of Congress. Although a fellow Tennessee Democrat, James K. Polk, was elected president in 1844, and Johnson had campaigned for him, the two men had difficult relations, and President Polk refused some of his patronage suggestions.\n\nJohnson believed, as did many Southern Democrats, that the Constitution protected private property, including slaves, and thus prohibited the federal and state governments from abolishing slavery. He won a second term in 1845 against Wiliam G. Brownlow, presenting himself as the defender of the poor against the aristocracy. In his second term, Johnson supported the Polk administration's decision to fight the Mexican War, seen by some Northerners as an attempt to gain territory to expand slavery westward, and opposed the Wilmot Proviso, a proposal to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico. He introduced for the first time his Homestead Bill, to grant to people willing to settle the land and gain title to it. This issue was especially important to Johnson because of his own humble beginnings.\n\nIn the presidential election of 1848, the Democrats split over the slavery issue, and abolitionists formed the Free Soil Party, with former president Van Buren as their nominee. Johnson supported the Democratic candidate, former Michigan senator Lewis Cass. With the party split, Whig nominee General Zachary Taylor was easily victorious, and carried Tennessee. Johnson's relations with Polk remained poor; the President recorded of his final New Year's reception in 1849 that\n\n\n\nJohnson, due to national interest in new railroad construction and in response to the need for better transportation in his own district, also supported government assistance for the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad.\n\nThe Andrew Johnson House, built in 1851, Greeneville, Tennessee\nIn his campaign for a fourth term, Johnson concentrated on three issues: slavery, homesteads and judicial elections. He defeated his opponent, Nathaniel G. Taylor, in August 1849, with a greater margin of victory than in previous campaigns. When the House convened in December, the party division caused by the Free Soil Party precluded the formation of the majority needed to elect a Speaker. Johnson proposed adoption of a rule allowing election of a Speaker by a plurality; some weeks later others took up a similar proposal, and Democrat Howell Cobb was elected.\n\nOnce the Speaker election had concluded and Congress was ready to conduct legislative business, the issue of slavery took center stage. Northerners sought to admit California, a free state, to the Union. Kentucky's Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a series of resolutions, the Compromise of 1850, to admit California and pass legislation sought by each side. Johnson voted for all the provisions except for the abolition of slavery in the nation's capital. He pressed resolutions for constitutional amendments to provide for popular election of senators (then elected by state legislatures) and of the president (chosen by the Electoral College), and limiting the tenure of federal judges to 12 years. These were all defeated.\n\nA group of Democrats nominated Landon Carter Haynes to oppose Johnson as he sought a fifth term; the Whigs were so pleased with the internecine battle among the Democrats in the general election that they did not nominate a candidate of their own. The campaign included fierce debates: Johnson's main issue was the passage of the Homestead Bill; Haynes contended it would facilitate abolition. Johnson won the election by more than 1600 votes. Though he was not enamored of the party's presidential nominee in 1852, former New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce, Johnson campaigned for him. Pierce was elected, but he failed to carry Tennessee. In 1852, Johnson managed to get the House to pass his Homestead Bill, but it failed in the Senate. The Whigs had gained control of the Tennessee legislature, and, under the leadership of Gustavus Henry, redrew the boundaries of Johnson's First District to make it a safe seat for their party. The ''Nashville Union'' termed this \"Henry-mandering\"; lamented Johnson, \"I have no political future.\"\n\n===Governor of Tennessee (1853–57)===\nAttribution: William Brown Cooper, Sitter: Andrew Johnson, Date: 1856\n\nIf Johnson considered retiring from politics upon deciding not to seek re-election, he soon changed his mind. His political friends began to maneuver to get him the nomination for governor. The Democratic convention unanimously named him, though some party members were not happy at his selection. The Whigs had won the past two gubernatorial elections, and still controlled the legislature. That party nominated Henry, making the \"Henry-mandering\" of the First District an immediate issue. The two men debated in county seats the length of Tennessee before the meetings were called off two weeks before the August 1853 election due to illness in Henry's family. Johnson won the election by 63,413 votes to 61,163; some votes for him were cast in return for his promise to support Whig Nathaniel Taylor for his old seat in Congress.\n\nTennessee's governor had little power: Johnson could propose legislation but not veto it, and most appointments were made by the Whig-controlled legislature. Nevertheless, the office was a \"bully pulpit\" that allowed him to publicize himself and his political views. He succeeded in getting the appointments he wanted in return for his endorsement of John Bell, a Whig, for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats. In his first biennial speech, Johnson urged simplification of the state judicial system, abolition of the Bank of Tennessee, and establishment of an agency to provide uniformity in weights and measures; the last was passed. Johnson was critical of the Tennessee common school system and suggested funding be increased via taxes, either statewide or county by county—a mixture of the two was passed. Reforms carried out during Johnson's time as governor included the foundation of the State's public library (making books available to all) and its first public school system, and the initiation of regular state fairs to benefit craftsmen and farmers.\n\nAlthough the Whig Party was on its final decline nationally, it remained strong in Tennessee, and the outlook for Democrats there in 1855 was poor. Feeling that re-election as governor was necessary to give him a chance at the higher offices he sought, Johnson agreed to make the run. Meredith P. Gentry received the Whig nomination. A series of more than a dozen vitriolic debates ensued. The issues in the campaign were slavery, the prohibition of alcohol, and the nativist positions of the Know Nothing Party. Johnson favored the first, but opposed the others. Gentry was more equivocal on the alcohol question, and had gained the support of the Know Nothings, a group Johnson portrayed as a secret society. Johnson was unexpectedly victorious, albeit with a narrower margin than in 1853.\n\nWhen the presidential election of 1856 approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated; some Tennessee county conventions designated him a \"favorite son\". His position that the best interests of the Union were served by slavery in some areas made him a practical compromise candidate for president. He was never a major contender; the nomination fell to former Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan. Though he was not impressed by either, Johnson campaigned for Buchanan and his running mate, John C. Breckinridge, who were elected.\n\nJohnson decided not to seek a third term as governor, with an eye towards election to the U.S. Senate. In 1857, while returning from Washington, his train derailed, causing serious damage to his right arm. This injury would trouble him in the years to come.\n\n===United States Senator===\nSenator Johnson, 1859\n\n====Homestead Bill advocate====\nThe victors in the 1857 state legislative campaign would, once they convened in October, elect a United States Senator. Former Whig governor William B. Campbell wrote to his uncle, \"The great anxiety of the Whigs is to elect a majority in the legislature so as to defeat Andrew Johnson for senator. Should the Democrats have the majority, he will certainly be their choice, and there is no man living to whom the Americans and Whigs have as much antipathy as Johnson.\" The governor spoke widely in the campaign, and his party won the gubernatorial race and control of the legislature. Johnson's final address as governor gave him the chance to influence his electors, and he made proposals popular among Democrats. Two days later the legislature elected him to the Senate. The opposition was appalled, with the Richmond ''Whig'' newspaper referring to him as \"the vilest radical and most unscrupulous demagogue in the Union.\"\n\nJohnson gained high office due to his proven record as a man popular among the small farmers and self-employed tradesmen who made up much of Tennessee's electorate. He called them the \"plebeians\"; he was less popular among the planters and lawyers who led the state Democratic Party, but none could match him as a vote-getter. After his death, one Tennessee voter wrote of him, \"Johnson was always the same to everyone ... the honors heaped upon him did not make him forget to be kind to the humblest citizen.\" Always seen in impeccably tailored clothing, he cut an impressive figure, and had the stamina to endure lengthy campaigns with daily travel over bad roads leading to another speech or debate. Mostly denied the party's machinery, he relied on a network of friends, advisers, and contacts. One friend, Hugh Douglas, stated in a letter to him, \"you have been in the way of our would be great men for a long time. At heart many of us never wanted you to be Governor only none of the rest of us Could have been elected at the time and we only wanted to use you. Then we did not want you to go to the Senate but ''the people would send you''.\"\n\nThe new senator took his seat when Congress convened in December 1857 (the term of his predecessor, James C. Jones, had expired in March). He came to Washington as usual without his wife and family; Eliza would visit Washington only once during Johnson's first time as senator, in 1860. Johnson immediately set about introducing the Homestead Bill in the Senate, but as most senators who supported it were Northern (many associated with the newly founded Republican Party), the matter became caught up in suspicions over the slavery issue. Southern senators felt that those who took advantage of the provisions of the Homestead Bill were more likely to be Northern non-slaveholders. The issue of slavery had been complicated by the Supreme Court's ruling earlier in the year in ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' that slavery could not be prohibited in the territories. Johnson, a slaveholding senator from a Southern state, made a major speech in the Senate the following May in an attempt to convince his colleagues that the Homestead Bill and slavery were not incompatible. Nevertheless, Southern opposition was key to defeating the legislation, 30–22. In 1859, it failed on a procedural vote when Vice President Breckinridge broke a tie against the bill, and in 1860, a watered-down version passed both houses, only to be vetoed by Buchanan at the urging of Southerners. Johnson continued his opposition to spending, chairing a committee to control it.\n\nHe argued against funding to build Washington, D.C.'s infrastructure, stating that it was unfair to expect state citizens to pay for the city's streets, even if it was the seat of government. He opposed spending money for troops to put down the revolt by the Mormons in Utah Territory, arguing for temporary volunteers as the United States should not have a standing army.\n\n====Secession crisis====\nJohnson in 1860\nIn October 1859, abolitionist John Brown and sympathizers raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia). Tensions in Washington between pro- and anti-slavery forces increased greatly. Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, decrying Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery. The Tennessee senator stated that \"all men are created equal\" from the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African Americans, since the Constitution of Illinois contained that phrase—and that document barred voting by African Americans.\n\nJohnson hoped that he would be a compromise candidate for the presidential nomination as the Democratic Party tore itself apart over the slavery question. Busy with the Homestead Bill during the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, he sent two of his sons and his chief political adviser to represent his interests in the backroom deal-making. The convention deadlocked, with no candidate able to gain the required two-thirds vote, but the sides were too far apart to consider Johnson as a compromise. The party split, with Northerners backing Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas while Southerners, including Johnson, supported Vice President Breckinridge for president. With former Tennessee senator John Bell running a fourth-party candidacy and further dividing the vote, the Republican Party elected its first president, former Illinois representative Abraham Lincoln. The election of Lincoln, known to be against the spread of slavery, was unacceptable to many in the South. Although secession from the Union had not been an issue in the campaign, talk of it began in the Southern states.\n\nJohnson took to the Senate floor after the election, giving a speech well received in the North, \"I will not give up this government ... No; I intend to stand by it ... and I invite every man who is a patriot to ... rally around the altar of our common country ... and swear by our God, and all that is sacred and holy, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved.\" As Southern senators announced they would resign if their states seceded, he reminded Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis that if Southerners would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Senate, and could defend the South's interests against any infringement by Lincoln. Gordon-Reed points out that while Johnson's belief in an indissoluble Union was sincere, he had alienated Southern leaders, including Davis, who would soon be the president of the Confederate States of America, formed by the seceding states. If the Tennessean had backed the Confederacy, he would have had small influence in its government.\n\nJohnson returned home when his state took up the issue of secession. His successor as governor, Isham G. Harris, and the legislature, organized a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention to authorize secession; when that failed, they put the question of leaving the Union to a popular vote. Despite threats on Johnson's life, and actual assaults, he campaigned against both questions, sometimes speaking with a gun on the lectern before him. Although Johnson's eastern region of Tennessee was largely against secession, the second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Believing he would be killed if he stayed, Johnson fled through the Cumberland Gap, where his party was in fact shot at. He left his wife and family in Greeneville.\n\nAs the only member from a seceded state to remain in the Senate and the most prominent Southern Unionist, Johnson had Lincoln's ear in the early months of the war. With most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressional recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying in vain to convince any Union commander who would listen to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.\n\n===Military Governor of Tennessee===\n\nJohnson's first tenure in the Senate came to a conclusion in March 1862 when Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee. Much of the central and western portions of that seceded state had been recovered. Although some argued that civil government should simply resume once the Confederates were defeated in an area, Lincoln chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint military governors over Union-controlled Southern regions. The Senate quickly confirmed Johnson's nomination along with the rank of brigadier general. In response, the Confederates confiscated his land and his slaves, and turned his home into a military hospital. Later in 1862, after his departure from the Senate and in the absence of most Southern legislators, the Homestead Bill was finally enacted. Along with legislation for land-grant colleges and for the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Bill has been credited with opening the American West to settlement.\n\nAs military governor, Johnson sought to eliminate rebel influence in the state. He demanded loyalty oaths from public officials, and shut down all newspapers owned by Confederate sympathizers. Much of eastern Tennessee remained in Confederate hands, and the ebb and flow of war during 1862 sometimes brought Confederate control again close to Nashville. However, the Confederates allowed his wife and family to pass through the lines to join him. Johnson undertook the defense of Nashville as best he could, though the city was continually harassed by cavalry raids led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Relief from Union regulars did not come until William S. Rosecrans defeated the Confederates at Murfreesboro in early 1863. Much of eastern Tennessee was captured later that year.\n\nWhen Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, declaring freedom for all slaves in Confederate-held areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's request. The proclamation increased the debate over what should become of the slaves after the war, as not all Unionists supported abolition. Johnson finally decided that slavery had to end. He wrote, \"If the institution of slavery ... seeks to overthrow it the Government, then the Government has a clear right to destroy it\". He reluctantly supported efforts to enlist former slaves into the Union Army, feeling that African Americans should perform menial tasks to release white Americans to do the fighting. Nevertheless, he succeeded in recruiting 20,000 black soldiers to serve the Union.\n", "Poster for the Lincoln and Johnson ticket by Currier and Ives\n\nIn 1860, Lincoln's running mate had been Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin. Vice President Hamlin had served competently, was in good health, and was willing to run again. Nevertheless, Johnson emerged as running mate for Lincoln's re-election bid in 1864.\n\nLincoln considered several War Democrats for the ticket in 1864, and sent an agent to sound out General Benjamin Butler as a possible running mate. In May 1864, the President dispatched General Daniel Sickles to Nashville on a fact-finding mission. Although Sickles denied he was there either to investigate or interview the military governor, Johnson biographer Hans L. Trefousse believes Sickles's trip was connected to Johnson's subsequent nomination for vice president. According to historian Albert Castel in his account of Johnson's presidency, Lincoln was impressed by Johnson's administration of Tennessee. Gordon-Reed points out that while the Lincoln-Hamlin ticket might have been considered geographically balanced in 1860, \"having Johnson, the ''southern'' War Democrat, on the ticket sent the right message about the folly of secession and the continuing capacity for union within the country.\" Another factor was the desire of Secretary of State William Seward to frustrate the vice-presidential candidacy of his fellow New Yorker, former senator Daniel S. Dickinson, a War Democrat, as Seward would probably have had to yield his place if another New Yorker became vice president. Johnson, once he was told by reporters the likely purpose of Sickles' visit, was active on his own behalf, giving speeches and having his political friends work behind the scenes to boost his candidacy.\n\nTo sound a theme of unity, Lincoln in 1864 ran under the banner of the National Union Party, rather than the Republicans. At the party's convention in Baltimore in June, Lincoln was easily nominated, although there had been some talk of replacing him with a Cabinet officer or one of the more successful generals. After the convention backed Lincoln, former Secretary of War Simon Cameron offered a resolution to nominate Hamlin, but it was defeated. Johnson was nominated for vice president by C.M. Allen of Indiana with an Iowa delegate as seconder. On the first ballot, Johnson led with 200 votes to 150 for Hamlin and 108 for Dickinson. On the second ballot, Kentucky switched to vote for Johnson, beginning a stampede. Johnson was named on the second ballot with 491 votes to Hamlin's 17 and eight for Dickinson; the nomination was made unanimous. Lincoln expressed pleasure at the result, \"Andy Johnson, I think, is a good man.\" When word reached Nashville, a crowd assembled and the military governor obliged with a speech contending his selection as a Southerner meant that the rebel states had not actually left the Union.\n\nAlthough it was unusual at the time for a national candidate to actively campaign, Johnson gave a number of speeches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. He also sought to boost his chances in Tennessee while re-establishing civil government by making the loyalty oath even more restrictive, in that voters would now have to swear they opposed making a settlement with the Confederacy. The Democratic candidate for president, George McClellan, hoped to avoid additional bloodshed by negotiation, and so the stricter loyalty oath effectively disenfranchised his supporters. Lincoln declined to override Johnson, and their ticket took the state by 25,000 votes. Congress refused to count Tennessee's electoral votes, but Lincoln and Johnson did not need them, having won in most states that had voted, and easily secured the election.\n\n1865 cartoon showing Lincoln and Johnson using their talents as rail-splitter and tailor to repair the Union\nNow Vice President-elect, Johnson was anxious to complete the work of re-establishing civilian government in Tennessee, although the timetable for the election of a new governor did not allow it to take place until after Inauguration Day, March 4. He hoped to remain in Nashville to complete his task, but was told by Lincoln's advisers that he could not stay, but would be sworn in with Lincoln. In these months, Union troops finished the retaking of eastern Tennessee, including Greeneville. Just before his departure, the voters of Tennessee ratified a new constitution, abolishing slavery, on February 22, 1865. One of Johnson's final acts as military governor was to certify the results.\n\nJohnson traveled to Washington to be sworn in, although according to Gordon-Reed, \"in light of what happened on March 4, 1865, it might have been better if Johnson had stayed in Nashville.\" He may have been ill; Castel cited typhoid fever, though Gordon-Reed notes that there is no independent evidence for that diagnosis. On the evening of March 3, Johnson attended a party in his honor; he drank heavily. Hung over the following morning at the Capitol, he asked Vice President Hamlin for some whiskey. Hamlin produced a bottle, and Johnson took two stiff drinks, stating \"I need all the strength for the occasion I can have.\" In the Senate Chamber, Johnson delivered a rambling address as Lincoln, the Congress, and dignitaries looked on. Almost incoherent at times, he finally meandered to a halt, whereupon Hamlin hastily swore him in as vice president. Lincoln, who had watched sadly during the debacle, was sworn in, and delivered his acclaimed Second Inaugural Address.\n\nIn the weeks after the inauguration, Johnson only presided over the Senate briefly, and hid from public ridicule at the Maryland home of a friend, Francis Preston Blair. When he did return to Washington, it was with the intent of leaving for Tennessee to re-establish his family in Greeneville. Instead, he remained after word came that General Ulysses S. Grant had captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, presaging the end of the war. Lincoln stated, in response to criticism of Johnson's behavior, that \"I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard.\"\n", "\n\n===Accession===\n\nOn the afternoon of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Johnson met for the first time since the inauguration. Trefousse states that Johnson wanted to \"induce Lincoln not to be too lenient with traitors\"; Gordon-Reed agrees.\n\nContemporary woodcut of Johnson being sworn in by Chief Justice Chase as Cabinet members look on, April 15, 1865\nThat night, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. The shooting of the President was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward the same night. Seward barely survived his wounds, while Johnson escaped attack as his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of killing the vice president. Leonard J. Farwell, a fellow boarder at the Kirkwood House, awoke Johnson with news of Lincoln's shooting at Ford's Theatre. Johnson rushed to the President's deathbed, where he remained a short time, on his return promising, \"They shall suffer for this. They shall suffer for this.\" Lincoln died at 7:22 am the next morning; Johnson's swearing in occurred between 10 and 11 am with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding in the presence of most of the Cabinet. Johnson's demeanor was described by the newspapers as \"solemn and dignified\". Some Cabinet members had last seen Johnson, apparently drunk, at the inauguration. At noon, Johnson conducted his first Cabinet meeting in the Treasury Secretary's office, and asked all members to remain in their positions.\n\nThe events of the assassination resulted in speculation, then and subsequently, concerning Johnson and what the conspirators might have intended for him. In the vain hope of having his life spared after his capture, Atzerodt spoke much about the conspiracy, but did not say anything to indicate that the plotted assassination of Johnson was merely a ruse. Conspiracy theorists point to the fact that on the day of the assassination, Booth came to the Kirkwood House and left one of his cards. This object was received by Johnson's private secretary, William A. Browning, with an inscription, \"Don't wish to disturb you. Are you at home? J. Wilkes Booth.\"\n\nJohnson presided with dignity over Lincoln's funeral ceremonies in Washington, before his predecessor's body was sent home to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. Shortly after Lincoln's death, Union General William T. Sherman reported he had, without consulting Washington, reached an armistice agreement with Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston for the surrender of Confederate forces in North Carolina in exchange for the existing state government remaining in power, with private property rights to be respected. This did not even acknowledge the freedom of those in slavery. This was not acceptable to Johnson or the Cabinet who sent word for Sherman to secure the surrender without making political deals, which he did. Further, Johnson placed a $100,000 bounty (equivalent to $ in ) on Confederate President Davis, then a fugitive, which gave him the reputation of a man who would be tough on the South. More controversially, he permitted the execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincoln's assassination. Surratt was executed with three others, including Atzerodt, on July 7, 1865.\n\n===Reconstruction===\n\n\n====Background====\nUpon taking office, Johnson faced the question of what to do with the Confederacy. President Lincoln had authorized loyalist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as the Union came to control large parts of those states and advocated a ten percent plan that would allow elections after ten percent of the voters in any state took an oath of future loyalty to the Union. Congress considered this too lenient; its own plan, requiring a majority of voters to take the loyalty oath, passed both houses in 1864, but Lincoln pocket vetoed it.\n\nJohnson had three goals in Reconstruction. He sought a speedy restoration of the states, on the grounds that they had never truly left the Union, and thus should again be recognized once loyal citizens formed a government. To Johnson, African-American suffrage was a delay and a distraction; it had always been a state responsibility to decide who should vote. Second, political power in the Southern states should pass from the planter class to his beloved \"plebeians\". Johnson feared that the freedmen, many of whom were still economically bound to their former masters, might vote at their direction. Johnson's third priority was election in his own right in 1868, a feat no one who had succeeded a deceased president had managed to accomplish, attempting to secure a Democratic anti Congressional Reconstruction coalition in the South.\n\nThe Republicans had formed a number of factions. The Radical Republicans sought voting and other civil rights for African Americans. They believed that the freedmen could be induced to vote Republican in gratitude for emancipation, and that black votes could keep the Republicans in power and Southern Democrats, including former rebels, out of influence. They believed that top Confederates should be punished. The Moderate Republicans sought to keep the Democrats out of power at a national level, and prevent former rebels from resuming power. They were not as enthusiastic about the idea of African-American suffrage as their Radical colleagues, either because of their own local political concerns, or because they believed that the freedman would be likely to cast his vote badly. Northern Democrats favored the unconditional restoration of the Southern states. They did not support African-American suffrage, which might threaten Democratic control in the South.\n\n====Presidential Reconstruction====\nJohnson was initially left to devise a Reconstruction policy without legislative intervention, as Congress was not due to meet again until December 1865. Radical Republicans told the President that the Southern states were economically in a state of chaos and urged him to use his leverage to insist on rights for freedmen as a condition of restoration to the Union. But Johnson, with the support of other officials including Seward, insisted that the franchise was a state, not a federal matter. The Cabinet was divided on the issue.\n\nJohnson's first Reconstruction actions were two proclamations, with the unanimous backing of his Cabinet, on May 29. One recognized the Virginia government led by provisional Governor Francis Pierpont. The second provided amnesty for all ex-rebels except those holding property valued at $20,000 or more; it also appointed a temporary governor for North Carolina and authorized elections. Neither of these proclamations included provisions regarding black suffrage or freedmen's rights. The President ordered constitutional conventions in other former rebel states.\n\nAs Southern states began the process of forming governments, Johnson's policies received considerable public support in the North, which he took as unconditional backing for quick reinstatement of the South. While he received such support from the white South, he underestimated the determination of Northerners to ensure that the war had not been fought for nothing. It was important, in Northern public opinion, that the South acknowledge its defeat, that slavery be ended, and that the lot of African Americans be improved. Voting rights were less important—after all, only a handful of Northern states (mostly in New England) gave African-American men the right to vote on the same basis as whites, and in late 1865, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Minnesota voted down African-American suffrage proposals by large margins. Northern public opinion tolerated Johnson's inaction on black suffrage as an experiment, to be allowed if it quickened Southern acceptance of defeat. Instead, white Southerners felt emboldened. A number of Southern states passed Black Codes, binding African-American laborers to farms on annual contracts they could not quit, and allowing law enforcement at whim to arrest them for vagrancy and rent out their labor. Most Southerners elected to Congress were former Confederates, with the most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens. Congress assembled in early December 1865; Johnson's conciliatory annual message to them was well received. Nevertheless, Congress refused to seat the Southern legislators and established a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction legislation.\n\nNortherners were outraged at the idea of unrepentant Confederate leaders, such as Stephens, rejoining the federal government at a time when emotional wounds from the war remained raw. They saw the Black Codes placing African Americans in a position barely above slavery. Republicans also feared that restoration of the Southern states would return the Democrats to power. In addition, according to David O. Stewart in his book on Johnson's impeachment, \"the violence and poverty that oppressed the South would galvanize the opposition to Johnson\".\n\n====Break with the Republicans: 1866====\nCongress was reluctant to confront the President, and initially only sought to fine-tune Johnson's policies towards the South. According to Trefousse, \"If there was a time when Johnson could have come to an agreement with the moderates of the Republican Party, it was the period following the return of Congress\". The President was unhappy about the provocative actions of the Southern states, and about the continued control by the antebellum elite there, but made no statement publicly, believing that Southerners had a right to act as they did, even if it was unwise to do so. By late January 1866, he was convinced that winning a showdown with the Radical Republicans was necessary to his political plans – both for the success of Reconstruction and for re-election in 1868. He would have preferred that the conflict arise over the legislative efforts to enfranchise African Americans in the District of Columbia, a proposal that had been defeated overwhelmingly in an all-white referendum. A bill to accomplish this passed the House of Representatives, but to Johnson's disappointment, stalled in the Senate before he could veto it.\n\nThomas Nast cartoon of Johnson disposing of the Freedmen's Bureau as African Americans go flying\nIllinois Senator Lyman Trumbull, leader of the Moderate Republicans and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was anxious to reach an understanding with the President. He ushered through Congress a bill extending the Freedmen's Bureau beyond its scheduled abolition in 1867, and the first Civil Rights Bill, to grant citizenship to the freedmen. Trumbull met several times with Johnson, and was convinced the President would sign the measures (Johnson rarely contradicted visitors, often fooling those who met with him into thinking he was in accord). In fact, the President opposed both bills as infringements on state sovereignty. Additionally, both of Trumbull's bills were unpopular among white Southerners, whom Johnson hoped to include in his new party. Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bureau bill on February 18, 1866, to the delight of white Southerners and the puzzled anger of Republican legislators. He considered himself vindicated when a move to override his veto failed in the Senate the following day. Johnson believed that the Radicals would now be isolated and defeated, and that the Moderate Republicans would form behind him; he did not understand that Moderates too wanted to see African Americans treated fairly.\n\nOn February 22, 1866, Washington's Birthday, Johnson gave an impromptu speech to supporters who had marched to the White House and called for an address in honor of the first president. In his hour-long speech, he instead referred to himself over 200 times. More damagingly, he also spoke of \"men ... still opposed to the Union\" to whom he could not extend the hand of friendship he gave to the South. When called upon by the crowd to say who they were, Johnson named Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, and abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and accused them of plotting his assassination. Republicans viewed the address as a declaration of war, while one Democratic ally estimated Johnson's speech cost the party 200,000 votes in the 1866 congressional midterm elections.\n\nAlthough strongly urged by Moderates to sign the Civil Rights Bill, Johnson broke decisively with them by vetoing it on March 27. In his veto message, he objected to the measure because it conferred citizenship on the freedmen at a time when 11 out of 36 states were unrepresented in the Congress, and that it discriminated in favor of African Americans and against whites. Within three weeks, Congress had overridden his veto, the first time that had been done on a major bill in American history. The veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, often seen as a key mistake of Johnson's presidency, convinced Moderates there was no hope of working with him. Historian Eric Foner in his volume on Reconstruction views it as \"the most disastrous miscalculation of his political career\". According to Stewart, the veto was \"for many his defining blunder, setting a tone of perpetual confrontation with Congress that prevailed for the rest of his presidency\".\n\nCongress also proposed the Fourteenth Amendment to the states. Written by Trumbull and others, it was sent for ratification by state legislatures in a process in which the president plays no part, though Johnson opposed it. The amendment was designed to put the key provisions of the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution, but also went further. The amendment extended citizenship to every person born in the United States (except Indians on reservations), penalized states that did not give the vote to freedmen, and most importantly, created new federal civil rights that could be protected by federal courts. It also guaranteed that the federal debt would be paid and forbade repayment of Confederate war debts. Further, it disqualified many former Confederates from office, although the disability could be removed—by Congress, not the president. Both houses passed the Freedmen's Bureau Act a second time, and again the President vetoed it; this time, the veto was overridden. By the summer of 1866, when Congress finally adjourned, Johnson's method of restoring states to the Union by executive fiat, without safeguards for the freedmen, was in deep trouble. His home state of Tennessee ratified the Fourteenth Amendment despite the President's opposition. When Tennessee did so, Congress immediately seated its proposed delegation, embarrassing Johnson.\n\nEfforts to compromise failed, and a political war ensued between the united Republicans on one side, and on the other, Johnson and his allies in the Democratic Party, North and South. He called a convention of the National Union Party. Republicans had returned to using their previous identifier; Johnson intended to use the discarded name to unite his supporters and gain election to a full-term, in 1868. The battleground was the election of 1866; Southern states were not allowed to vote. Johnson campaigned vigorously, undertaking a public speaking tour, known as the \"Swing Around the Circle\". The trip, including speeches in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Columbus, proved politically disastrous, with the President making controversial comparisons between himself and Christ, and engaging in arguments with hecklers. These exchanges were attacked as beneath the dignity of the presidency. The Republicans won by a landslide, increasing their two-thirds majority in Congress, and made plans to control Reconstruction. Johnson blamed the Democrats for giving only lukewarm support to the National Union movement.\n\n====Radical Reconstruction====\nEven with the Republican victory in November 1866, Johnson considered himself in a strong position. The Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified by none of the Southern or border states except Tennessee, and had been rejected in Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland. As the amendment required ratification by three-quarters of the states to become part of the Constitution, he believed the deadlock would be broken in his favor, leading to his election in 1868. Once it reconvened in December 1866, an energized Congress began passing legislation, often over a presidential veto; this included the District of Columbia voting bill. Congress admitted Nebraska to the Union over a veto, and the Republicans gained two senators and a state that promptly ratified the amendment. Johnson's veto of a bill for statehood for Colorado Territory was sustained; enough senators agreed that a district with a population of 30,000 was not yet worthy of statehood to win the day.\n\nIn January 1867, Congressman Stevens introduced legislation to dissolve the Southern state governments and reconstitute them into five military districts, under martial law. The states would begin again by holding constitutional conventions. African Americans could vote for or become delegates; former Confederates could not. In the legislative process, Congress added to the bill that restoration to the Union would follow the state's ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and completion of the process of adding it to the Constitution. Johnson and the Southerners attempted a compromise, whereby the South would agree to a modified version of the amendment without the disqualification of former Confederates, and for limited black suffrage. The Republicans insisted on the full language of the amendment, and the deal fell through. Although Johnson could have pocket vetoed the First Reconstruction Act as it was presented to him less than ten days before the end of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, he chose to veto it directly on March 2, 1867; Congress overruled him the same day. Also on March 2, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over the President's veto, in response to statements during the Swing Around the Circle that he planned to fire Cabinet secretaries who did not agree with him. This bill, requiring Senate approval for the firing of Cabinet members during the tenure of the president who appointed them and for one month afterwards, was immediately controversial, with some senators doubting that it was constitutional or that its terms applied to Johnson, whose key Cabinet officers were Lincoln holdovers.\n\n===Impeachment===\n\"The Situation\", a ''Harper's Weekly'' editorial cartoon shows Secretary of War Stanton aiming a cannon labeled \"Congress\" to defeat Johnson. The rammer is \"Tenure of Office Bill\" and cannonballs on the floor are \"Justice\".\n\n\nSecretary of War Edwin Stanton was an able and hard-working man, but difficult to deal with. Johnson both admired and was exasperated by his War Secretary, who, in combination with General of the Army Grant, worked to undermine the president's Southern policy from within his own administration. Johnson considered firing Stanton, but respected him for his wartime service as secretary. Stanton, for his part, feared allowing Johnson to appoint his successor and refused to resign, despite his public disagreements with his president.\n\nThe new Congress met for a few weeks in March 1867, then adjourned, leaving the House Committee on the Judiciary behind, charged with reporting back to the full House whether there were grounds for Johnson to be impeached. This committee duly met, examined the President's bank accounts, and summoned members of the Cabinet to testify. When a federal court released former Confederate president Davis on bail on May 13 (he had been captured shortly after the war), the committee investigated whether the President had impeded the prosecution. It learned that Johnson was eager to have Davis tried. A bipartisan majority of the committee voted down impeachment charges; the committee adjourned on June 3.\n\nLater in June, Johnson and Stanton battled over the question of whether the military officers placed in command of the South could override the civil authorities. The President had Attorney General Henry Stanbery issue an opinion backing his position that they could not. Johnson sought to pin down Stanton either as for, and thus endorsing Johnson's position, or against, showing himself to be opposed to his president and the rest of the Cabinet. Stanton evaded the point in meetings and written communications. When Congress reconvened in July, it passed a Reconstruction Act against Johnson's position, waited for his veto, overruled it, and went home. In addition to clarifying the powers of the generals, the legislation also deprived the President of control over the Army in the South. With Congress in recess until November, Johnson decided to fire Stanton and relieve one of the military commanders, General Philip Sheridan, who had dismissed the governor of Texas and installed a replacement with little popular support. He was initially deterred by a strong objection from Grant. On August 5, the President demanded Stanton's resignation; the secretary refused to quit with Congress out of session. Johnson then suspended him pending the next meeting of Congress as permitted under the Tenure of Office Act; Grant agreed to serve as temporary replacement while continuing to lead the Army.\n\nGrant, under protest, followed Johnson's order transferring Sheridan and another of the district commanders, Daniel Sickles, who had angered Johnson by firmly following Congress's plan. The President also issued a proclamation pardoning most Confederates, exempting those who held office under the Confederacy, or who had served in federal office before the war and had breached their oaths. Although Republicans expressed anger with his actions, the 1867 elections generally went Democratic. No seats in Congress were directly elected in the polling, but the Democrats took control of the Ohio General Assembly, allowing them to defeat for re-election one of Johnson's strongest opponents, Senator Benjamin Wade. Voters in Ohio, Connecticut, and Minnesota turned down propositions to grant African Americans the vote. The adverse results momentarily put a stop to Republican calls to impeach Johnson, who was elated by the elections. Nevertheless, once Congress met in November, the Judiciary Committee reversed itself and passed a resolution of impeachment against Johnson. After much debate about whether anything the President had done was a high crime or misdemeanor, the standard under the Constitution, the resolution was defeated by the House of Representatives on December 7, 1867, by a vote of 57 in favor to 108 opposed.\n\nJohnson notified Congress of Stanton's suspension and Grant's interim appointment. In January 1868, the Senate disapproved of his action, and reinstated Stanton, contending the President had violated the Tenure of Office Act. Grant stepped aside over Johnson's objection, causing a complete break between them. Johnson then dismissed Stanton and appointed Lorenzo Thomas to replace him. Stanton refused to leave his office, and on February 24, 1868, the House impeached the President for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act, by a vote of 128 to 47. The House subsequently adopted eleven articles of impeachment, for the most part alleging that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, and had questioned the legitimacy of Congress.\n\nTheodore R. Davis' illustration of Johnson's impeachment trial in the United States Senate, published in ''Harper's Weekly''\nOn March 5, 1868, the impeachment trial began in the Senate and lasted almost three months; Congressmen George S. Boutwell, Benjamin Butler and Thaddeus Stevens acted as managers for the House, or prosecutors, and William M. Evarts, Benjamin R. Curtis and former Attorney General Stanbery were Johnson's counsel; Chief Justice Chase served as presiding judge. The defense relied on the provision of the Tenure of Office Act that made it applicable only to appointees of the current administration. Since Lincoln had appointed Stanton, the defense maintained Johnson had not violated the act, and also argued that the President had the right to test the constitutionality of an act of Congress. Johnson's counsel insisted that he make no appearance at the trial, nor publicly comment about the proceedings, and except for a pair of interviews in April, he complied.\n\nJohnson maneuvered to gain an acquittal; for example, he pledged to Iowa Senator James W. Grimes that he would not interfere with Congress's Reconstruction efforts. Grimes reported to a group of Moderates, many of whom voted for acquittal, that he believed the President would keep his word. Johnson also promised to install the respected John Schofield as War Secretary. Kansas Senator Edmund G. Ross received assurances that the new, Radical-influenced constitutions ratified in South Carolina and Arkansas would be transmitted to the Congress without delay, an action which would give him and other senators political cover to vote for acquittal. One reason senators were reluctant to remove the President was that his successor would have been Ohio Senator Wade, the president ''pro tempore'' of the Senate. Wade, a lame duck who left office in early 1869, was a Radical who supported such measures as women's suffrage, placing him beyond the pale politically in much of the nation. Additionally, a President Wade was seen as an obstacle to Grant's ambitions.\n\nWith the dealmaking, Johnson was confident of the result in advance of the verdict, and in the days leading up to the ballot, newspapers reported that Stevens and his Radicals had given up. On May 16, the Senate voted on the 11th article of impeachment, accusing Johnson of firing Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office of Act once the Senate had overturned his suspension. Thirty-five senators voted \"guilty\" and 19 \"not guilty\", thus falling short by a single vote of the two-thirds majority required for conviction under the Constitution. Seven Republicans—Senators Grimes, Ross, Trumbull, William Pitt Fessenden, Joseph S. Fowler, John B. Henderson, and Peter G. Van Winkle—voted to acquit the President. With Stevens bitterly disappointed at the result, the Senate then adjourned for the Republican National Convention; Grant was nominated for president. The Senate returned on May 26 and voted on the second and third articles, with identical 35–19 results. Faced with those results, Johnson's opponents gave up and dismissed proceedings. Stanton \"relinquished\" his office on May 26, and the Senate subsequently confirmed Schofield. When Johnson renominated Stanbery to return to his position as Attorney General after his service as a defense manager, the Senate refused to confirm him.\n\nAllegations were made at the time and again later that bribery dictated the outcome of the trial. Even when it was in progress, Representative Butler began an investigation, held contentious hearings, and issued a report, unendorsed by any other congressman. Butler focused on a New York–based \"Astor House Group\", supposedly led by political boss and editor Thurlow Weed. This organization was said to have raised large sums of money from whiskey interests through Cincinnati lawyer Charles Woolley to bribe senators to acquit Johnson. Butler went so far as to imprison Woolley in the Capitol building when he refused to answer questions, but failed to prove bribery.\n\n===Foreign policy===\nSoon after taking office as president, Johnson reached an accord with Secretary of State William H. Seward that there would be no change in foreign policy. In practice, this meant that Seward would continue to run things as he had under Lincoln. Seward and Lincoln had been rivals for the nomination in 1860; the victor hoped that Seward would succeed him as president in 1869. At the time of Johnson's accession, the French had intervened in Mexico, sending troops there. While many politicians had indulged in saber-rattling over the Mexican matter, Seward preferred quiet diplomacy, warning the French through diplomatic channels that their presence in Mexico was not acceptable. Although the President preferred a more aggressive approach, Seward persuaded him to follow his lead. In April 1866, the French government informed Seward that its troops would be brought home in stages, to conclude by November 1867.\n\nSeward was an expansionist, and sought opportunities to gain territory for the United States. By 1867, the Russian government saw its North American colony (today Alaska) as a financial liability, and feared losing control as American settlement reached there. It instructed its minister in Washington, Baron Eduard de Stoeckl, to negotiate a sale. De Stoeckl did so deftly, getting Seward to raise his offer from $5 million (coincidentally, the minimum that Russia had instructed de Stoeckl to accept) to $7 million, and then getting $200,000 added by raising various objections. This sum of $7.2 million is equivalent to $ in present-day terms. On March 30, 1867, de Stoeckl and Seward signed the treaty, working quickly as the Senate was about to adjourn. Johnson and Seward took the signed document to the President's Room in the Capitol, only to be told there was no time to deal with the matter before adjournment. The President summoned the Senate into session to meet on April 1; that body approved the treaty, 37–2. Emboldened by his success in Alaska, Seward sought acquisitions elsewhere. His only success was staking an American claim to uninhabited Wake Island in the Pacific, which would be officially claimed by the U.S. in 1898. He came close with the Danish West Indies as Denmark agreed to sell and the local population approved the transfer in a plebiscite, but the Senate never voted on the treaty and it expired.\n\nAnother treaty that fared badly was the Johnson-Clarendon convention, negotiated in settlement of the ''Alabama'' Claims, for damages to American shipping from British-built Confederate raiders. Negotiated by the United States Minister to Britain, former Maryland senator Reverdy Johnson, in late 1868, it was ignored by the Senate during the remainder of the President's term. The treaty was rejected after he left office, and the Grant administration later negotiated considerably better terms from Britain.\n\n===Administration and Cabinet===\n\n\n\n====Judicial appointments====\n\nJohnson appointed nine Article III federal judges during his presidency, all to United States district courts; he did not appoint a justice to serve on the Supreme Court. In April 1866, he nominated Henry Stanbery to fill the vacancy left with the death of John Catron, but Congress eliminated the seat to prevent the appointment, and to ensure that he did not get to make any appointments eliminated the next vacancy as well, providing that the court would shrink by one justice when one next departed from office. Johnson appointed his Greeneville crony, Samuel Milligan, to the United States Court of Claims, where he served from 1868 until his death in 1874.\n\n=== Reforms initiated ===\nIn June 1866, Johnson signed the Southern Homestead Act into law, believing that the legislation would assist poor whites. Around 28,000 land claims were successfully patented, although few former slaves benefitted from the law, fraud was rampant, and much of the best land was off-limits; reserved for grants to veterans or railroads. In June 1868, Johnson signed an eight-hour law passed by Congress that established an eight-hour workday for laborers and mechanics employed by the Federal Government. Although Johnson told members of a Workingmen's party delegation in Baltimore that he could not directly commit himself to an eight-hour day, he nevertheless told the same delegation that he greatly favoured the \"shortest number of hours consistent with the interests of all.\" According to Richard F. Selcer, however, the good intentions behind the law were \"immediately frustrated\" as wages were cut by 20%.\n\n===Completion of term===\nJohnson sought nomination by the 1868 Democratic National Convention in New York in July 1868. He remained very popular among Southern whites, and boosted that popularity by issuing, just before the convention, a pardon ending the possibility of criminal proceedings against any Confederate not already indicted, meaning that only Davis and a few others still might face trial. On the first ballot, Johnson was second to former Ohio representative George H. Pendleton, who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864. Johnson's support was mostly from the South, and fell away as the ballots passed. On the 22nd ballot, former New York governor Horatio Seymour was nominated, and the President received only four votes, all from Tennessee.\n\nThe conflict with Congress continued. Johnson sent Congress proposals for amendments to limit the president to a single six-year term and make the president and the Senate directly elected, and for term limits for judges. Congress took no action on them. When the President was slow to officially report ratifications of the Fourteenth Amendment by the new Southern legislatures, Congress passed a bill, again over his veto, requiring him to do so within ten days of receipt. He still delayed as much as he could, but was required, in July 1868, to report the ratifications making the amendment part of the Constitution.\n\n\"Farewell to all my greatness\": ''Harper's Weekly'' cartoon mocking Johnson on leaving office\nSeymour's operatives sought Johnson's support, but he long remained silent on the presidential campaign. It was not until October, with the vote already having taken place in some states, that he mentioned Seymour at all, and he never endorsed him. Nevertheless, Johnson regretted Grant's victory, in part because of their animus from the Stanton affair. In his annual message to Congress in December, Johnson urged the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act and told legislators that had they admitted their Southern colleagues in 1865, all would have been well. He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children, though not including those of President-elect Grant, who did not allow his to go.\n\nOn Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Davis. He also issued, in his final months in office, pardons for crimes, including one for Dr. Samuel Mudd, controversially convicted of involvement in the Lincoln assassination (he had set Booth's broken leg) and imprisoned in Fort Jefferson on Florida's Dry Tortugas.\n\nOn March 3, the President hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final full day in office. Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent the morning of March 4 finishing last-minute business, and then shortly after noon rode from the White House to the home of a friend.\n", "Senator Andrew Johnson in 1875 (age 66)\n\nAfter leaving the presidency, Johnson remained for some weeks in Washington, then returned to Greeneville for the first time in eight years. He was honored with large public celebrations along the way, especially in Tennessee, where cities hostile to him during the war hung out welcome banners. He had arranged to purchase a large farm near Greeneville to live on after his presidency.\n\nSome expected Johnson to seek to be Tennessee's governor again or to attempt a return to the Senate, others that he would become a railroad executive. Johnson found Greeneville boring, and his private life was embittered by the suicide of his son Robert in 1869. Seeking vindication for himself, and revenge against his political enemies, he launched a Senate bid soon after returning home. Tennessee had gone Republican, but court rulings restoring the vote to some whites and the violence of the Ku Klux Klan kept down the African-American vote, leading to a Democratic victory in the legislative elections in August 1869. Johnson was seen as a likely victor in the Senate election, although hated by Radical Republicans, and also by some Democrats because of his wartime activities. Although he was at one point within a single vote of victory in the legislature's balloting, the Republicans eventually elected Henry Cooper over Johnson, 54–51. In 1872, there was a special election for an at-large congressional seat for Tennessee; Johnson initially sought the Democratic nomination, but when he saw that it would go to former Confederate general Benjamin F. Cheatham, decided to run as an independent. The former president was defeated, finishing third, but the split in the Democratic Party defeated Cheatham in favor of an old Johnson Unionist ally, Horace Maynard.\n\nIn 1873, Johnson contracted cholera during an epidemic but recovered; that year he lost about $73,000, when the First National Bank of Washington went under, though he was eventually repaid much of the sum. He began looking towards the next Senate election, to take place in the legislature in early 1875. Johnson began to woo the farmers' Grange movement; with his Jeffersonian leanings, he easily gained their support. He spoke throughout the state in his final campaign tour. Few African Americans outside the large towns were now able to vote as Reconstruction faded in Tennessee, setting a pattern that would be repeated in the other Southern states; the white domination would last almost a century. In the Tennessee legislative elections in August, the Democrats elected 92 legislators to the Republicans' eight, and Johnson went to Nashville for the legislative session. When the balloting for the Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he led with 30 votes, but did not have the required majority as three former Confederate generals, one former colonel, and a former Democratic congressman split the vote with him. Johnson's opponents tried to agree on a single candidate who might gain majority support and defeat him, but failed, and he was elected on January 26 on the 54th ballot, with a margin of a single vote. Nashville erupted in rejoicing; remarked Johnson, \"Thank God for the vindication.\"\n\nJohnson's comeback garnered national attention, with the ''St. Louis Republican'' calling it, \"the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show\". At his swearing-in in the Senate on March 5, 1875, he was greeted with flowers and sworn in with his predecessor as vice president, Hamlin, by that office's current incumbent, Henry Wilson, who as senator had voted for his ousting. Many Republicans ignored Senator Johnson, though some, such as Ohio's John Sherman (who had voted for conviction), shook his hand. Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate. He spoke only once in the short session, on March 22 lambasting President Grant for his use of federal troops in support of Louisiana's Reconstruction government. The former president asked, \"How far off is military despotism?\" and concluded his speech, \"may God bless this people and God save the Constitution.\"\n\n===Death===\n\nJohnson returned home after the special session concluded. In late July, convinced some of his opponents were defaming him in the Ohio gubernatorial race, he decided to travel there to give speeches. He began the trip on July 28, and broke the journey at his daughter Mary's farm near Elizabethton, where his daughter Martha was also staying. That evening he suffered a stroke, but refused medical treatment until the next day, when he did not improve and two doctors were sent for from Elizabethton. He seemed to respond to their ministrations, but suffered another stroke on the evening of July 30, and died early the following morning at the age of 66. President Grant had the \"painful duty\" of announcing the death of the only surviving past president. Northern newspapers, in their obituaries, tended to focus on Johnson's loyalty during the war, while Southern ones paid tribute to his actions as president. Johnson's funeral was held on August 3 in Greeneville. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.\n", "According to Castel, \"historians of Johnson's presidency have tended to concentrate to the exclusion of practically everything else upon his role in that titanic event Reconstruction\". Through the remainder of the 19th century, there were few historical evaluations of Johnson and his presidency. Memoirs from Northerners who had dealt with him, such as former vice president Henry Wilson and Maine Senator James G. Blaine, depicted him as an obstinate boor who tried to favor the South in Reconstruction, but who was frustrated by Congress. According to historian Howard K. Beale in his journal article about the historiography of Reconstruction, \"Men of the postwar decades were more concerned with justifying their own position than they were with painstaking search for truth. Thus Alabama congressman and historian Hilary Herbert and his corroborators presented a Southern indictment of Northern policies, and Henry Wilson's history was a brief for the North.\"\n\nThe turn of the 20th century saw the first significant historical evaluations of Johnson. Leading the wave was Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James Ford Rhodes, who wrote of the former president:\n\n\n\nRhodes ascribed Johnson's faults to his personal weaknesses, and blamed him for the problems of the postbellum South. Other early 20th-century historians, such as John Burgess, Woodrow Wilson (who later became president himself) and William Dunning, all Southerners, concurred with Rhodes, believing Johnson flawed and politically inept, but concluding that he had tried to carry out Lincoln's plans for the South in good faith. Author and journalist Jay Tolson suggests that Wilson \"depicted Reconstruction as a vindictive program that hurt even repentant southerners while benefiting northern opportunists, the so-called Carpetbaggers, and cynical white southerners, or Scalawags, who exploited alliances with blacks for political gain\".\n\nThe grave of Andrew Johnson, Greeneville, Tennessee\nEven as Rhodes and his school wrote, another group of historians was setting out on the full rehabilitation of Johnson, using for the first time primary sources such as his papers, provided by his daughter Martha before her death in 1901, and the diaries of Johnson's Navy Secretary, Gideon Welles, first published in 1911. The resulting volumes, such as David Miller DeWitt's ''The Impeachment and Trial of President Andrew Johnson'' (1903), presented him far more favorably than they did those who had sought to oust him. In James Schouler's 1913 ''History of the Reconstruction Period'', the author accused Rhodes of being \"quite unfair to Johnson\", though agreeing that the former president had created many of his own problems through inept political moves. These works had an effect; although historians continued to view Johnson as having deep flaws which sabotaged his presidency, they saw his Reconstruction policies as fundamentally correct. \n\nCastel writes:\n\n\nBeale wondered in 1940, \"is it not time that we studied the history of Reconstruction without first assuming, at least subconsciously, that carpetbaggers and Southern white Republicans were wicked, that Negroes were illiterate incompetents, and that the whole white South owes a debt of gratitude to the restorers of 'white supremacy'?\" Despite these doubts, the favorable view of Johnson survived for a time. In 1942, Van Heflin portrayed the former president as a fighter for democracy in the Hollywood film ''Tennessee Johnson''. In 1948, a poll of his colleagues by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger deemed Johnson among the average presidents; in 1956, one by Clinton L. Rossiter named him as one of the near-great Chief Executives. Foner notes that at the time of these surveys, \"the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War was regarded as a time of corruption and misgovernment caused by granting black men the right to vote\".\n\nEarlier historians, including Beale, believed that money drove events, and had seen Reconstruction as an economic struggle. They also accepted, for the most part, that reconciliation between North and South should have been the top priority of Reconstruction. In the 1950s, historians began to focus on the African-American experience as central to Reconstruction. They rejected completely any claim of black inferiority, which had marked many earlier historical works, and saw the developing Civil Rights Movement as a second Reconstruction; some writers stated they hoped their work on the postbellum era would advance the cause of civil rights. These authors sympathized with the Radical Republicans for their desire to help the African American, and saw Johnson as callous towards the freedman. In a number of works from 1956 onwards by such historians as Fawn Brodie, the former president was depicted as a successful saboteur of efforts to better the freedman's lot. These volumes included major biographies of Stevens and Stanton. Reconstruction was increasingly seen as a noble effort to integrate the freed slaves into society.\n\nIn the early 21st century, Johnson is among those commonly mentioned as the worst presidents in U.S. history. According to historian Glenn W. Lafantasie, who believes Buchanan the worst president, \"Johnson is a particular favorite for the bottom of the pile because of his impeachment ... his complete mishandling of Reconstruction policy ... his bristling personality, and his enormous sense of self-importance.\" Tolson suggests that \"Johnson is now scorned for having resisted Radical Republican policies aimed at securing the rights and well-being of the newly emancipated African-Americans\". Gordon-Reed notes that Johnson, along with his contemporaries Pierce and Buchanan, are generally listed among the five worst presidents, but states, \"there have never been more difficult times in the life of this nation. The problems these men had to confront were enormous. It would have taken a succession of Lincolns to do them justice.\"\n\nTrefousse considers Johnson's legacy to be \"the maintenance of white supremacy. His boost to Southern conservatives by undermining Reconstruction was his legacy to the nation, one that would trouble the country for generations to come.\" Gordon-Reed states of Johnson:\n\n\n", "'''Explanatory notes'''\n\n\n\n'''References'''\n\n", "\n* \n* Benedict, Michael Les. ''The impeachment and trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1973) online\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* McKitrick, Eric L. ''Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1960) online\n* vol 5 1864-66 online and vol 6 1866-72 online\n* \n* Sefton, James E. ''Andrew Johnson and the uses of constitutional power'' (1980) online\n* \n* Swanson, Ryan A., \"Andrew Johnson and His Governors: An Examination of Failed Reconstruction Leadership,\" ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'' (2012), 71#1 pp 16–45.\n* \n* \n===Primary sources===\n* \n", "\n* White House biography \n* \n* Andrew Johnson National Historic Site\n* Andrew Johnson: A Resource Guide – Library of Congress\n* Essays on Andrew Johnson and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady, from the Miller Center of Public Affairs\n* \"Life Portrait of Andrew Johnson\", from C-SPAN's ''American Presidents: Life Portraits'', July 9, 1999\n* Text of a number of Johnson's speeches at the Miller Center of Public Affairs\n* Andrew Johnson Personal Manuscripts and Letters – Shapell Manuscript Foundation\n* Resolutions of Impeachment from the National Archives\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life and career", "Political rise", "Vice President (1865)", "President (1865–69)", "Post-presidency", "Historical view and legacy", "Notes", "Bibliography", "External links" ]

[ "In his first biennial speech, Johnson urged simplification of the state judicial system, abolition of the Bank of Tennessee, and establishment of an agency to provide uniformity in weights and measures; the last was passed.", "This committee duly met, examined the President's bank accounts, and summoned members of the Cabinet to testify.", "In 1873, Johnson contracted cholera during an epidemic but recovered; that year he lost about $73,000, when the First National Bank of Washington went under, though he was eventually repaid much of the sum." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Andrew Johnson''' (December 29, 1808 July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869.", "Johnson became president as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.", "A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, Johnson came to office as the Civil War concluded.", "The new president favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union.", "His plans did not give protection to the former slaves, and he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives.", "He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.", "Johnson was born in poverty in Raleigh, North Carolina.", "Apprenticed as a tailor, he worked in several frontier towns before settling in Greeneville, Tennessee.", "He served as alderman and mayor there before being elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1835.", "After brief service in the Tennessee Senate, Johnson was elected to the federal House of Representatives in 1843, where he served five two-year terms.", "He became Governor of Tennessee for four years, and was elected by the legislature to the US Senate in 1857.", "In his congressional service, he sought passage of the Homestead Bill, which was enacted soon after he left his Senate seat in 1862.", "As Southern slave states, including Tennessee, seceded to form the Confederate States of America, Johnson remained firmly with the Union.", "He was the only sitting senator from a Confederate state who did not resign his seat upon learning of his state's secession.", "In 1862, Lincoln appointed him as military governor of Tennessee after most of it had been retaken.", "In 1864, Johnson, as a War Democrat and Southern Unionist, was a logical choice as running mate for Lincoln, who wished to send a message of national unity in his re-election campaign; their ticket easily won.", "When Johnson was sworn in as vice president in March 1865, he gave a rambling speech, after which he secluded himself to avoid public ridicule.", "Six weeks later, the assassination of Lincoln made him president.", "Johnson implemented his own form of Presidential Reconstruction – a series of proclamations directing the seceded states to hold conventions and elections to re-form their civil governments.", "When Southern states returned many of their old leaders, and passed Black Codes to deprive the freedmen of many civil liberties, Congressional Republicans refused to seat legislators from those states and advanced legislation to overrule the Southern actions.", "Johnson vetoed their bills, and Congressional Republicans overrode him, setting a pattern for the remainder of his presidency.", "Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave citizenship to former slaves.", "In 1866, Johnson went on an unprecedented national tour promoting his executive policies, seeking to destroy his Republican opponents.", "As the conflict between the branches of government grew, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnson's ability to fire Cabinet officials.", "When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by the House of Representatives, and narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate and removal from office.", "After failing to win the 1868 Democratic presidential nomination, Johnson left office in 1869.", "Returning to Tennessee after his presidency, Johnson sought political vindication, and gained it in his eyes when he was elected to the Senate again in 1875, making Johnson the only former president to serve in the Senate.", "He died just months into his term.", "While some admire Johnson's strict constitutionalism, his strong opposition to federally guaranteed rights for African Americans is widely criticized.", "He is regarded by many historians as one of the worst presidents in American history.", "\n===Childhood===\nMordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, North Carolina\n\nAndrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808, to Jacob Johnson (1778–1812) and Mary (\"Polly\") McDonough (1783–1856), a laundress.", "He was of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry.", "He had a brother William, four years his senior, and an older sister Elizabeth, who died in childhood.", "Johnson's birth in a log cabin was a political asset in the mid-19th century, and he would frequently remind voters of his humble origins.", "Jacob Johnson was a poor man, as had been his father, William Johnson, but he became town constable of Raleigh before marrying and starting a family.", "He died of an apparent heart attack while ringing the town bell, shortly after rescuing three drowning men, when his son Andrew was three.", "Polly Johnson worked as a washerwoman and became the sole support of her family.", "Her occupation was then looked down on, as it often took her into other homes unaccompanied.", "There were even rumors that Andrew, who did not resemble his brother or sister, had been fathered by another man.", "Polly Johnson eventually remarried, to Turner Doughtry, who was as poor as she was.", "Johnson's mother apprenticed her son William to a tailor, James Selby.", "Andrew also became an apprentice in Selby's shop at age ten and was legally bound to serve until his 21st birthday.", "Johnson lived with his mother for part of his service, and one of Selby's employees taught him rudimentary literacy skills.", "His education was augmented by citizens who would come to Selby's shop to read to the tailors as they worked.", "Even before he became an apprentice, Johnson came to listen.", "The readings caused a lifelong love of learning, and one of his biographers, Annette Gordon-Reed, suggests that Johnson, later a gifted public speaker, learned the art as he threaded needles and cut cloth.", "Johnson was not happy at James Selby's, and after about five years, both he and his brother ran away.", "Selby responded by placing a reward for their return: \"Ten Dollars Reward.", "Ran away from the subscriber, two apprentice boys, legally bound, named William and Andrew Johnson ... payment to any person who will deliver said apprentices to me in Raleigh, or I will give the above reward for Andrew Johnson alone.\"", "The brothers went to Carthage, North Carolina, where Andrew Johnson worked as a tailor for several months.", "Fearing he would be arrested and returned to Raleigh, Johnson moved to Laurens, South Carolina.", "He found work quickly, met his first love, Mary Wood, and made her a quilt as a gift.", "However, she rejected his marriage proposal.", "He returned to Raleigh, hoping to buy out his apprenticeship, but could not come to terms with Selby.", "Unable to stay in Raleigh, where he risked being apprehended for abandoning Selby, he decided to move west.", "===Move to Tennessee===\nJohnson left North Carolina for Tennessee, traveling mostly on foot.", "After a brief period in Knoxville, he moved to Mooresville, Alabama.", "He then worked as a tailor in Columbia, Tennessee, but was called back to Raleigh by his mother and stepfather, who saw limited opportunities there and who wished to emigrate west.", "Johnson and his party traveled through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Greeneville, Tennessee.", "Andrew Johnson fell in love with the town at first sight, and when he became prosperous purchased the land where he had first camped and planted a tree in commemoration.", "In Greeneville, Johnson established a successful tailoring business in the front of his home.", "In 1827, at the age of 18, he married 16-year-old Eliza McCardle, the daughter of a local shoemaker.", "The pair were married by Justice of the Peace Mordecai Lincoln, first cousin of Thomas Lincoln, whose son would become president.", "The Johnsons were married for almost 50 years and had five children: Martha (1828), Charles (1830), Mary (1832), Robert (1834), and Andrew Jr. (1852).", "Though she suffered from Tuberculosis, Eliza supported her husband's endeavors.", "She taught him mathematics skills and tutored him to improve his writing.", "Shy and retiring by nature, Eliza Johnson usually remained in Greeneville during Johnson's political rise.", "She was not often seen during her husband's presidency; their daughter Martha usually served as official hostess.", "Johnson's tailoring business prospered during the early years of the marriage, enabling him to hire help and giving him the funds to invest profitably in real estate.", "He later boasted of his talents as a tailor, \"my work never ripped or gave way.\"", "He was a voracious reader.", "Books about famous orators aroused his interest in political dialogue, and he had private debates on the issues of the day with customers who held opposing views.", "He also took part in debates at Greeneville College.", "\n===Tennessee politician===\nJohnson helped organize a mechanics' (working men's) ticket in the 1829 Greeneville municipal election.", "He was elected town alderman, along with his friends Blackston McDannel and Mordecai Lincoln.", "Following the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion, a state convention was called to pass a new constitution, including provisions to disenfranchise free people of color.", "The convention also wanted to reform real estate tax rates, and provide ways of funding improvements to Tennessee's infrastructure.", "The constitution was submitted for a public vote, and Johnson spoke widely for its adoption; the successful campaign provided him with statewide exposure.", "On January 4, 1834, his fellow aldermen elected him mayor of Greeneville.", "Eliza McCardle Johnson\nIn 1835, Johnson made a bid for election to the \"floater\" seat which Greene County shared with neighboring Washington County in the Tennessee House of Representatives.", "According to his biographer, Hans L. Trefousse, Johnson \"demolished\" the opposition in debate and won the election with almost a two to one margin.", "Soon after taking his seat, Johnson purchased his first slave, Dolly, aged 14.", "Dolly had three children over the years.", "Johnson had the reputation of treating his slaves kindly, and the fact that Dolly was dark-skinned, and her offspring much lighter, led to speculation both during and after his lifetime that he was the father.", "During his Greeneville days, Johnson joined the Tennessee Militia as a member of the 90th Regiment.", "He attained the rank of colonel, though while an enrolled member, Johnson was fined for an unknown offense.", "Afterwards, he was often addressed or referred to by his rank.", "In his first term in the legislature, which met in the state capital of Nashville, Johnson did not consistently vote with either the Democratic or the newly formed Whig Party, though he revered President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat and Tennessean.", "The major parties were still determining their core values and policy proposals, with the party system in a state of flux.", "The Whig Party had organized in opposition to Jackson, fearing the concentration of power in the Executive Branch of the government; Johnson differed from the Whigs as he opposed more than minimal government spending and spoke against aid for the railroads, while his constituents hoped for improvements in transportation.", "After Brookins Campbell and the Whigs defeated Johnson for re-election in 1837, Johnson would not lose another race for thirty years.", "In 1839, he sought to regain his seat, initially as a Whig, but when another candidate sought the Whig nomination, he ran as a Democrat and was elected.", "From that time he supported the Democratic party and built a powerful political machine in Greene County.", "Johnson became a strong advocate of the Democratic Party, noted for his oratory, and in an era when public speaking both informed the public and entertained it, people flocked to hear him.", "In 1840, Johnson was selected as a presidential elector for Tennessee, giving him more statewide publicity.", "Although Democratic President Martin Van Buren was defeated by former Ohio senator William Henry Harrison, Johnson was instrumental in keeping Tennessee and Greene County in the Democratic column.", "He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1841, where he served a two-year term.", "He had achieved financial success in his tailoring business, but sold it to concentrate on politics.", "He had also acquired additional real estate, including a larger home and a farm (where his mother and stepfather took residence), and among his assets numbered eight or nine slaves.", "===Congressman (1843–1853)===\nHaving served in both houses of the state legislature, Johnson saw election to Congress as the next step in his political career.", "He engaged in a number of political maneuvers to gain Democratic support, including the displacement of the Whig postmaster in Greeneville, and defeated Jonesborough lawyer John A. Aiken by 5,495 votes to 4,892.", "In Washington, he joined a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.", "Johnson advocated for the interests of the poor, maintained an anti-abolitionist stance, argued for only limited spending by the government and opposed protective tariffs.", "With Eliza remaining in Greeneville, Congressman Johnson shunned social functions in favor of study in the Library of Congress.", "Although a fellow Tennessee Democrat, James K. Polk, was elected president in 1844, and Johnson had campaigned for him, the two men had difficult relations, and President Polk refused some of his patronage suggestions.", "Johnson believed, as did many Southern Democrats, that the Constitution protected private property, including slaves, and thus prohibited the federal and state governments from abolishing slavery.", "He won a second term in 1845 against Wiliam G. Brownlow, presenting himself as the defender of the poor against the aristocracy.", "In his second term, Johnson supported the Polk administration's decision to fight the Mexican War, seen by some Northerners as an attempt to gain territory to expand slavery westward, and opposed the Wilmot Proviso, a proposal to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico.", "He introduced for the first time his Homestead Bill, to grant to people willing to settle the land and gain title to it.", "This issue was especially important to Johnson because of his own humble beginnings.", "In the presidential election of 1848, the Democrats split over the slavery issue, and abolitionists formed the Free Soil Party, with former president Van Buren as their nominee.", "Johnson supported the Democratic candidate, former Michigan senator Lewis Cass.", "With the party split, Whig nominee General Zachary Taylor was easily victorious, and carried Tennessee.", "Johnson's relations with Polk remained poor; the President recorded of his final New Year's reception in 1849 that\n\n\n\nJohnson, due to national interest in new railroad construction and in response to the need for better transportation in his own district, also supported government assistance for the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad.", "The Andrew Johnson House, built in 1851, Greeneville, Tennessee\nIn his campaign for a fourth term, Johnson concentrated on three issues: slavery, homesteads and judicial elections.", "He defeated his opponent, Nathaniel G. Taylor, in August 1849, with a greater margin of victory than in previous campaigns.", "When the House convened in December, the party division caused by the Free Soil Party precluded the formation of the majority needed to elect a Speaker.", "Johnson proposed adoption of a rule allowing election of a Speaker by a plurality; some weeks later others took up a similar proposal, and Democrat Howell Cobb was elected.", "Once the Speaker election had concluded and Congress was ready to conduct legislative business, the issue of slavery took center stage.", "Northerners sought to admit California, a free state, to the Union.", "Kentucky's Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a series of resolutions, the Compromise of 1850, to admit California and pass legislation sought by each side.", "Johnson voted for all the provisions except for the abolition of slavery in the nation's capital.", "He pressed resolutions for constitutional amendments to provide for popular election of senators (then elected by state legislatures) and of the president (chosen by the Electoral College), and limiting the tenure of federal judges to 12 years.", "These were all defeated.", "A group of Democrats nominated Landon Carter Haynes to oppose Johnson as he sought a fifth term; the Whigs were so pleased with the internecine battle among the Democrats in the general election that they did not nominate a candidate of their own.", "The campaign included fierce debates: Johnson's main issue was the passage of the Homestead Bill; Haynes contended it would facilitate abolition.", "Johnson won the election by more than 1600 votes.", "Though he was not enamored of the party's presidential nominee in 1852, former New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce, Johnson campaigned for him.", "Pierce was elected, but he failed to carry Tennessee.", "In 1852, Johnson managed to get the House to pass his Homestead Bill, but it failed in the Senate.", "The Whigs had gained control of the Tennessee legislature, and, under the leadership of Gustavus Henry, redrew the boundaries of Johnson's First District to make it a safe seat for their party.", "The ''Nashville Union'' termed this \"Henry-mandering\"; lamented Johnson, \"I have no political future.\"", "===Governor of Tennessee (1853–57)===\nAttribution: William Brown Cooper, Sitter: Andrew Johnson, Date: 1856\n\nIf Johnson considered retiring from politics upon deciding not to seek re-election, he soon changed his mind.", "His political friends began to maneuver to get him the nomination for governor.", "The Democratic convention unanimously named him, though some party members were not happy at his selection.", "The Whigs had won the past two gubernatorial elections, and still controlled the legislature.", "That party nominated Henry, making the \"Henry-mandering\" of the First District an immediate issue.", "The two men debated in county seats the length of Tennessee before the meetings were called off two weeks before the August 1853 election due to illness in Henry's family.", "Johnson won the election by 63,413 votes to 61,163; some votes for him were cast in return for his promise to support Whig Nathaniel Taylor for his old seat in Congress.", "Tennessee's governor had little power: Johnson could propose legislation but not veto it, and most appointments were made by the Whig-controlled legislature.", "Nevertheless, the office was a \"bully pulpit\" that allowed him to publicize himself and his political views.", "He succeeded in getting the appointments he wanted in return for his endorsement of John Bell, a Whig, for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats.", "Johnson was critical of the Tennessee common school system and suggested funding be increased via taxes, either statewide or county by county—a mixture of the two was passed.", "Reforms carried out during Johnson's time as governor included the foundation of the State's public library (making books available to all) and its first public school system, and the initiation of regular state fairs to benefit craftsmen and farmers.", "Although the Whig Party was on its final decline nationally, it remained strong in Tennessee, and the outlook for Democrats there in 1855 was poor.", "Feeling that re-election as governor was necessary to give him a chance at the higher offices he sought, Johnson agreed to make the run.", "Meredith P. Gentry received the Whig nomination.", "A series of more than a dozen vitriolic debates ensued.", "The issues in the campaign were slavery, the prohibition of alcohol, and the nativist positions of the Know Nothing Party.", "Johnson favored the first, but opposed the others.", "Gentry was more equivocal on the alcohol question, and had gained the support of the Know Nothings, a group Johnson portrayed as a secret society.", "Johnson was unexpectedly victorious, albeit with a narrower margin than in 1853.", "When the presidential election of 1856 approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated; some Tennessee county conventions designated him a \"favorite son\".", "His position that the best interests of the Union were served by slavery in some areas made him a practical compromise candidate for president.", "He was never a major contender; the nomination fell to former Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan.", "Though he was not impressed by either, Johnson campaigned for Buchanan and his running mate, John C. Breckinridge, who were elected.", "Johnson decided not to seek a third term as governor, with an eye towards election to the U.S. Senate.", "In 1857, while returning from Washington, his train derailed, causing serious damage to his right arm.", "This injury would trouble him in the years to come.", "===United States Senator===\nSenator Johnson, 1859\n\n====Homestead Bill advocate====\nThe victors in the 1857 state legislative campaign would, once they convened in October, elect a United States Senator.", "Former Whig governor William B. Campbell wrote to his uncle, \"The great anxiety of the Whigs is to elect a majority in the legislature so as to defeat Andrew Johnson for senator.", "Should the Democrats have the majority, he will certainly be their choice, and there is no man living to whom the Americans and Whigs have as much antipathy as Johnson.\"", "The governor spoke widely in the campaign, and his party won the gubernatorial race and control of the legislature.", "Johnson's final address as governor gave him the chance to influence his electors, and he made proposals popular among Democrats.", "Two days later the legislature elected him to the Senate.", "The opposition was appalled, with the Richmond ''Whig'' newspaper referring to him as \"the vilest radical and most unscrupulous demagogue in the Union.\"", "Johnson gained high office due to his proven record as a man popular among the small farmers and self-employed tradesmen who made up much of Tennessee's electorate.", "He called them the \"plebeians\"; he was less popular among the planters and lawyers who led the state Democratic Party, but none could match him as a vote-getter.", "After his death, one Tennessee voter wrote of him, \"Johnson was always the same to everyone ... the honors heaped upon him did not make him forget to be kind to the humblest citizen.\"", "Always seen in impeccably tailored clothing, he cut an impressive figure, and had the stamina to endure lengthy campaigns with daily travel over bad roads leading to another speech or debate.", "Mostly denied the party's machinery, he relied on a network of friends, advisers, and contacts.", "One friend, Hugh Douglas, stated in a letter to him, \"you have been in the way of our would be great men for a long time.", "At heart many of us never wanted you to be Governor only none of the rest of us Could have been elected at the time and we only wanted to use you.", "Then we did not want you to go to the Senate but ''the people would send you''.\"", "The new senator took his seat when Congress convened in December 1857 (the term of his predecessor, James C. Jones, had expired in March).", "He came to Washington as usual without his wife and family; Eliza would visit Washington only once during Johnson's first time as senator, in 1860.", "Johnson immediately set about introducing the Homestead Bill in the Senate, but as most senators who supported it were Northern (many associated with the newly founded Republican Party), the matter became caught up in suspicions over the slavery issue.", "Southern senators felt that those who took advantage of the provisions of the Homestead Bill were more likely to be Northern non-slaveholders.", "The issue of slavery had been complicated by the Supreme Court's ruling earlier in the year in ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' that slavery could not be prohibited in the territories.", "Johnson, a slaveholding senator from a Southern state, made a major speech in the Senate the following May in an attempt to convince his colleagues that the Homestead Bill and slavery were not incompatible.", "Nevertheless, Southern opposition was key to defeating the legislation, 30–22.", "In 1859, it failed on a procedural vote when Vice President Breckinridge broke a tie against the bill, and in 1860, a watered-down version passed both houses, only to be vetoed by Buchanan at the urging of Southerners.", "Johnson continued his opposition to spending, chairing a committee to control it.", "He argued against funding to build Washington, D.C.'s infrastructure, stating that it was unfair to expect state citizens to pay for the city's streets, even if it was the seat of government.", "He opposed spending money for troops to put down the revolt by the Mormons in Utah Territory, arguing for temporary volunteers as the United States should not have a standing army.", "====Secession crisis====\nJohnson in 1860\nIn October 1859, abolitionist John Brown and sympathizers raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia).", "Tensions in Washington between pro- and anti-slavery forces increased greatly.", "Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, decrying Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery.", "The Tennessee senator stated that \"all men are created equal\" from the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African Americans, since the Constitution of Illinois contained that phrase—and that document barred voting by African Americans.", "Johnson hoped that he would be a compromise candidate for the presidential nomination as the Democratic Party tore itself apart over the slavery question.", "Busy with the Homestead Bill during the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, he sent two of his sons and his chief political adviser to represent his interests in the backroom deal-making.", "The convention deadlocked, with no candidate able to gain the required two-thirds vote, but the sides were too far apart to consider Johnson as a compromise.", "The party split, with Northerners backing Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas while Southerners, including Johnson, supported Vice President Breckinridge for president.", "With former Tennessee senator John Bell running a fourth-party candidacy and further dividing the vote, the Republican Party elected its first president, former Illinois representative Abraham Lincoln.", "The election of Lincoln, known to be against the spread of slavery, was unacceptable to many in the South.", "Although secession from the Union had not been an issue in the campaign, talk of it began in the Southern states.", "Johnson took to the Senate floor after the election, giving a speech well received in the North, \"I will not give up this government ... No; I intend to stand by it ... and I invite every man who is a patriot to ... rally around the altar of our common country ... and swear by our God, and all that is sacred and holy, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved.\"", "As Southern senators announced they would resign if their states seceded, he reminded Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis that if Southerners would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Senate, and could defend the South's interests against any infringement by Lincoln.", "Gordon-Reed points out that while Johnson's belief in an indissoluble Union was sincere, he had alienated Southern leaders, including Davis, who would soon be the president of the Confederate States of America, formed by the seceding states.", "If the Tennessean had backed the Confederacy, he would have had small influence in its government.", "Johnson returned home when his state took up the issue of secession.", "His successor as governor, Isham G. Harris, and the legislature, organized a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention to authorize secession; when that failed, they put the question of leaving the Union to a popular vote.", "Despite threats on Johnson's life, and actual assaults, he campaigned against both questions, sometimes speaking with a gun on the lectern before him.", "Although Johnson's eastern region of Tennessee was largely against secession, the second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined the Confederacy.", "Believing he would be killed if he stayed, Johnson fled through the Cumberland Gap, where his party was in fact shot at.", "He left his wife and family in Greeneville.", "As the only member from a seceded state to remain in the Senate and the most prominent Southern Unionist, Johnson had Lincoln's ear in the early months of the war.", "With most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressional recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying in vain to convince any Union commander who would listen to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.", "===Military Governor of Tennessee===\n\nJohnson's first tenure in the Senate came to a conclusion in March 1862 when Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee.", "Much of the central and western portions of that seceded state had been recovered.", "Although some argued that civil government should simply resume once the Confederates were defeated in an area, Lincoln chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint military governors over Union-controlled Southern regions.", "The Senate quickly confirmed Johnson's nomination along with the rank of brigadier general.", "In response, the Confederates confiscated his land and his slaves, and turned his home into a military hospital.", "Later in 1862, after his departure from the Senate and in the absence of most Southern legislators, the Homestead Bill was finally enacted.", "Along with legislation for land-grant colleges and for the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Bill has been credited with opening the American West to settlement.", "As military governor, Johnson sought to eliminate rebel influence in the state.", "He demanded loyalty oaths from public officials, and shut down all newspapers owned by Confederate sympathizers.", "Much of eastern Tennessee remained in Confederate hands, and the ebb and flow of war during 1862 sometimes brought Confederate control again close to Nashville.", "However, the Confederates allowed his wife and family to pass through the lines to join him.", "Johnson undertook the defense of Nashville as best he could, though the city was continually harassed by cavalry raids led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest.", "Relief from Union regulars did not come until William S. Rosecrans defeated the Confederates at Murfreesboro in early 1863.", "Much of eastern Tennessee was captured later that year.", "When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, declaring freedom for all slaves in Confederate-held areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's request.", "The proclamation increased the debate over what should become of the slaves after the war, as not all Unionists supported abolition.", "Johnson finally decided that slavery had to end.", "He wrote, \"If the institution of slavery ... seeks to overthrow it the Government, then the Government has a clear right to destroy it\".", "He reluctantly supported efforts to enlist former slaves into the Union Army, feeling that African Americans should perform menial tasks to release white Americans to do the fighting.", "Nevertheless, he succeeded in recruiting 20,000 black soldiers to serve the Union.", "Poster for the Lincoln and Johnson ticket by Currier and Ives\n\nIn 1860, Lincoln's running mate had been Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin.", "Vice President Hamlin had served competently, was in good health, and was willing to run again.", "Nevertheless, Johnson emerged as running mate for Lincoln's re-election bid in 1864.", "Lincoln considered several War Democrats for the ticket in 1864, and sent an agent to sound out General Benjamin Butler as a possible running mate.", "In May 1864, the President dispatched General Daniel Sickles to Nashville on a fact-finding mission.", "Although Sickles denied he was there either to investigate or interview the military governor, Johnson biographer Hans L. Trefousse believes Sickles's trip was connected to Johnson's subsequent nomination for vice president.", "According to historian Albert Castel in his account of Johnson's presidency, Lincoln was impressed by Johnson's administration of Tennessee.", "Gordon-Reed points out that while the Lincoln-Hamlin ticket might have been considered geographically balanced in 1860, \"having Johnson, the ''southern'' War Democrat, on the ticket sent the right message about the folly of secession and the continuing capacity for union within the country.\"", "Another factor was the desire of Secretary of State William Seward to frustrate the vice-presidential candidacy of his fellow New Yorker, former senator Daniel S. Dickinson, a War Democrat, as Seward would probably have had to yield his place if another New Yorker became vice president.", "Johnson, once he was told by reporters the likely purpose of Sickles' visit, was active on his own behalf, giving speeches and having his political friends work behind the scenes to boost his candidacy.", "To sound a theme of unity, Lincoln in 1864 ran under the banner of the National Union Party, rather than the Republicans.", "At the party's convention in Baltimore in June, Lincoln was easily nominated, although there had been some talk of replacing him with a Cabinet officer or one of the more successful generals.", "After the convention backed Lincoln, former Secretary of War Simon Cameron offered a resolution to nominate Hamlin, but it was defeated.", "Johnson was nominated for vice president by C.M.", "Allen of Indiana with an Iowa delegate as seconder.", "On the first ballot, Johnson led with 200 votes to 150 for Hamlin and 108 for Dickinson.", "On the second ballot, Kentucky switched to vote for Johnson, beginning a stampede.", "Johnson was named on the second ballot with 491 votes to Hamlin's 17 and eight for Dickinson; the nomination was made unanimous.", "Lincoln expressed pleasure at the result, \"Andy Johnson, I think, is a good man.\"", "When word reached Nashville, a crowd assembled and the military governor obliged with a speech contending his selection as a Southerner meant that the rebel states had not actually left the Union.", "Although it was unusual at the time for a national candidate to actively campaign, Johnson gave a number of speeches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.", "He also sought to boost his chances in Tennessee while re-establishing civil government by making the loyalty oath even more restrictive, in that voters would now have to swear they opposed making a settlement with the Confederacy.", "The Democratic candidate for president, George McClellan, hoped to avoid additional bloodshed by negotiation, and so the stricter loyalty oath effectively disenfranchised his supporters.", "Lincoln declined to override Johnson, and their ticket took the state by 25,000 votes.", "Congress refused to count Tennessee's electoral votes, but Lincoln and Johnson did not need them, having won in most states that had voted, and easily secured the election.", "1865 cartoon showing Lincoln and Johnson using their talents as rail-splitter and tailor to repair the Union\nNow Vice President-elect, Johnson was anxious to complete the work of re-establishing civilian government in Tennessee, although the timetable for the election of a new governor did not allow it to take place until after Inauguration Day, March 4.", "He hoped to remain in Nashville to complete his task, but was told by Lincoln's advisers that he could not stay, but would be sworn in with Lincoln.", "In these months, Union troops finished the retaking of eastern Tennessee, including Greeneville.", "Just before his departure, the voters of Tennessee ratified a new constitution, abolishing slavery, on February 22, 1865.", "One of Johnson's final acts as military governor was to certify the results.", "Johnson traveled to Washington to be sworn in, although according to Gordon-Reed, \"in light of what happened on March 4, 1865, it might have been better if Johnson had stayed in Nashville.\"", "He may have been ill; Castel cited typhoid fever, though Gordon-Reed notes that there is no independent evidence for that diagnosis.", "On the evening of March 3, Johnson attended a party in his honor; he drank heavily.", "Hung over the following morning at the Capitol, he asked Vice President Hamlin for some whiskey.", "Hamlin produced a bottle, and Johnson took two stiff drinks, stating \"I need all the strength for the occasion I can have.\"", "In the Senate Chamber, Johnson delivered a rambling address as Lincoln, the Congress, and dignitaries looked on.", "Almost incoherent at times, he finally meandered to a halt, whereupon Hamlin hastily swore him in as vice president.", "Lincoln, who had watched sadly during the debacle, was sworn in, and delivered his acclaimed Second Inaugural Address.", "In the weeks after the inauguration, Johnson only presided over the Senate briefly, and hid from public ridicule at the Maryland home of a friend, Francis Preston Blair.", "When he did return to Washington, it was with the intent of leaving for Tennessee to re-establish his family in Greeneville.", "Instead, he remained after word came that General Ulysses S. Grant had captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, presaging the end of the war.", "Lincoln stated, in response to criticism of Johnson's behavior, that \"I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard.\"", "\n\n===Accession===\n\nOn the afternoon of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Johnson met for the first time since the inauguration.", "Trefousse states that Johnson wanted to \"induce Lincoln not to be too lenient with traitors\"; Gordon-Reed agrees.", "Contemporary woodcut of Johnson being sworn in by Chief Justice Chase as Cabinet members look on, April 15, 1865\nThat night, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer.", "The shooting of the President was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward the same night.", "Seward barely survived his wounds, while Johnson escaped attack as his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of killing the vice president.", "Leonard J. Farwell, a fellow boarder at the Kirkwood House, awoke Johnson with news of Lincoln's shooting at Ford's Theatre.", "Johnson rushed to the President's deathbed, where he remained a short time, on his return promising, \"They shall suffer for this.", "They shall suffer for this.\"", "Lincoln died at 7:22 am the next morning; Johnson's swearing in occurred between 10 and 11 am with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding in the presence of most of the Cabinet.", "Johnson's demeanor was described by the newspapers as \"solemn and dignified\".", "Some Cabinet members had last seen Johnson, apparently drunk, at the inauguration.", "At noon, Johnson conducted his first Cabinet meeting in the Treasury Secretary's office, and asked all members to remain in their positions.", "The events of the assassination resulted in speculation, then and subsequently, concerning Johnson and what the conspirators might have intended for him.", "In the vain hope of having his life spared after his capture, Atzerodt spoke much about the conspiracy, but did not say anything to indicate that the plotted assassination of Johnson was merely a ruse.", "Conspiracy theorists point to the fact that on the day of the assassination, Booth came to the Kirkwood House and left one of his cards.", "This object was received by Johnson's private secretary, William A. Browning, with an inscription, \"Don't wish to disturb you.", "Are you at home?", "J. Wilkes Booth.\"", "Johnson presided with dignity over Lincoln's funeral ceremonies in Washington, before his predecessor's body was sent home to Springfield, Illinois, for burial.", "Shortly after Lincoln's death, Union General William T. Sherman reported he had, without consulting Washington, reached an armistice agreement with Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston for the surrender of Confederate forces in North Carolina in exchange for the existing state government remaining in power, with private property rights to be respected.", "This did not even acknowledge the freedom of those in slavery.", "This was not acceptable to Johnson or the Cabinet who sent word for Sherman to secure the surrender without making political deals, which he did.", "Further, Johnson placed a $100,000 bounty (equivalent to $ in ) on Confederate President Davis, then a fugitive, which gave him the reputation of a man who would be tough on the South.", "More controversially, he permitted the execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincoln's assassination.", "Surratt was executed with three others, including Atzerodt, on July 7, 1865.", "===Reconstruction===\n\n\n====Background====\nUpon taking office, Johnson faced the question of what to do with the Confederacy.", "President Lincoln had authorized loyalist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as the Union came to control large parts of those states and advocated a ten percent plan that would allow elections after ten percent of the voters in any state took an oath of future loyalty to the Union.", "Congress considered this too lenient; its own plan, requiring a majority of voters to take the loyalty oath, passed both houses in 1864, but Lincoln pocket vetoed it.", "Johnson had three goals in Reconstruction.", "He sought a speedy restoration of the states, on the grounds that they had never truly left the Union, and thus should again be recognized once loyal citizens formed a government.", "To Johnson, African-American suffrage was a delay and a distraction; it had always been a state responsibility to decide who should vote.", "Second, political power in the Southern states should pass from the planter class to his beloved \"plebeians\".", "Johnson feared that the freedmen, many of whom were still economically bound to their former masters, might vote at their direction.", "Johnson's third priority was election in his own right in 1868, a feat no one who had succeeded a deceased president had managed to accomplish, attempting to secure a Democratic anti Congressional Reconstruction coalition in the South.", "The Republicans had formed a number of factions.", "The Radical Republicans sought voting and other civil rights for African Americans.", "They believed that the freedmen could be induced to vote Republican in gratitude for emancipation, and that black votes could keep the Republicans in power and Southern Democrats, including former rebels, out of influence.", "They believed that top Confederates should be punished.", "The Moderate Republicans sought to keep the Democrats out of power at a national level, and prevent former rebels from resuming power.", "They were not as enthusiastic about the idea of African-American suffrage as their Radical colleagues, either because of their own local political concerns, or because they believed that the freedman would be likely to cast his vote badly.", "Northern Democrats favored the unconditional restoration of the Southern states.", "They did not support African-American suffrage, which might threaten Democratic control in the South.", "====Presidential Reconstruction====\nJohnson was initially left to devise a Reconstruction policy without legislative intervention, as Congress was not due to meet again until December 1865.", "Radical Republicans told the President that the Southern states were economically in a state of chaos and urged him to use his leverage to insist on rights for freedmen as a condition of restoration to the Union.", "But Johnson, with the support of other officials including Seward, insisted that the franchise was a state, not a federal matter.", "The Cabinet was divided on the issue.", "Johnson's first Reconstruction actions were two proclamations, with the unanimous backing of his Cabinet, on May 29.", "One recognized the Virginia government led by provisional Governor Francis Pierpont.", "The second provided amnesty for all ex-rebels except those holding property valued at $20,000 or more; it also appointed a temporary governor for North Carolina and authorized elections.", "Neither of these proclamations included provisions regarding black suffrage or freedmen's rights.", "The President ordered constitutional conventions in other former rebel states.", "As Southern states began the process of forming governments, Johnson's policies received considerable public support in the North, which he took as unconditional backing for quick reinstatement of the South.", "While he received such support from the white South, he underestimated the determination of Northerners to ensure that the war had not been fought for nothing.", "It was important, in Northern public opinion, that the South acknowledge its defeat, that slavery be ended, and that the lot of African Americans be improved.", "Voting rights were less important—after all, only a handful of Northern states (mostly in New England) gave African-American men the right to vote on the same basis as whites, and in late 1865, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Minnesota voted down African-American suffrage proposals by large margins.", "Northern public opinion tolerated Johnson's inaction on black suffrage as an experiment, to be allowed if it quickened Southern acceptance of defeat.", "Instead, white Southerners felt emboldened.", "A number of Southern states passed Black Codes, binding African-American laborers to farms on annual contracts they could not quit, and allowing law enforcement at whim to arrest them for vagrancy and rent out their labor.", "Most Southerners elected to Congress were former Confederates, with the most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens.", "Congress assembled in early December 1865; Johnson's conciliatory annual message to them was well received.", "Nevertheless, Congress refused to seat the Southern legislators and established a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction legislation.", "Northerners were outraged at the idea of unrepentant Confederate leaders, such as Stephens, rejoining the federal government at a time when emotional wounds from the war remained raw.", "They saw the Black Codes placing African Americans in a position barely above slavery.", "Republicans also feared that restoration of the Southern states would return the Democrats to power.", "In addition, according to David O. Stewart in his book on Johnson's impeachment, \"the violence and poverty that oppressed the South would galvanize the opposition to Johnson\".", "====Break with the Republicans: 1866====\nCongress was reluctant to confront the President, and initially only sought to fine-tune Johnson's policies towards the South.", "According to Trefousse, \"If there was a time when Johnson could have come to an agreement with the moderates of the Republican Party, it was the period following the return of Congress\".", "The President was unhappy about the provocative actions of the Southern states, and about the continued control by the antebellum elite there, but made no statement publicly, believing that Southerners had a right to act as they did, even if it was unwise to do so.", "By late January 1866, he was convinced that winning a showdown with the Radical Republicans was necessary to his political plans – both for the success of Reconstruction and for re-election in 1868.", "He would have preferred that the conflict arise over the legislative efforts to enfranchise African Americans in the District of Columbia, a proposal that had been defeated overwhelmingly in an all-white referendum.", "A bill to accomplish this passed the House of Representatives, but to Johnson's disappointment, stalled in the Senate before he could veto it.", "Thomas Nast cartoon of Johnson disposing of the Freedmen's Bureau as African Americans go flying\nIllinois Senator Lyman Trumbull, leader of the Moderate Republicans and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was anxious to reach an understanding with the President.", "He ushered through Congress a bill extending the Freedmen's Bureau beyond its scheduled abolition in 1867, and the first Civil Rights Bill, to grant citizenship to the freedmen.", "Trumbull met several times with Johnson, and was convinced the President would sign the measures (Johnson rarely contradicted visitors, often fooling those who met with him into thinking he was in accord).", "In fact, the President opposed both bills as infringements on state sovereignty.", "Additionally, both of Trumbull's bills were unpopular among white Southerners, whom Johnson hoped to include in his new party.", "Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bureau bill on February 18, 1866, to the delight of white Southerners and the puzzled anger of Republican legislators.", "He considered himself vindicated when a move to override his veto failed in the Senate the following day.", "Johnson believed that the Radicals would now be isolated and defeated, and that the Moderate Republicans would form behind him; he did not understand that Moderates too wanted to see African Americans treated fairly.", "On February 22, 1866, Washington's Birthday, Johnson gave an impromptu speech to supporters who had marched to the White House and called for an address in honor of the first president.", "In his hour-long speech, he instead referred to himself over 200 times.", "More damagingly, he also spoke of \"men ... still opposed to the Union\" to whom he could not extend the hand of friendship he gave to the South.", "When called upon by the crowd to say who they were, Johnson named Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, and abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and accused them of plotting his assassination.", "Republicans viewed the address as a declaration of war, while one Democratic ally estimated Johnson's speech cost the party 200,000 votes in the 1866 congressional midterm elections.", "Although strongly urged by Moderates to sign the Civil Rights Bill, Johnson broke decisively with them by vetoing it on March 27.", "In his veto message, he objected to the measure because it conferred citizenship on the freedmen at a time when 11 out of 36 states were unrepresented in the Congress, and that it discriminated in favor of African Americans and against whites.", "Within three weeks, Congress had overridden his veto, the first time that had been done on a major bill in American history.", "The veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, often seen as a key mistake of Johnson's presidency, convinced Moderates there was no hope of working with him.", "Historian Eric Foner in his volume on Reconstruction views it as \"the most disastrous miscalculation of his political career\".", "According to Stewart, the veto was \"for many his defining blunder, setting a tone of perpetual confrontation with Congress that prevailed for the rest of his presidency\".", "Congress also proposed the Fourteenth Amendment to the states.", "Written by Trumbull and others, it was sent for ratification by state legislatures in a process in which the president plays no part, though Johnson opposed it.", "The amendment was designed to put the key provisions of the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution, but also went further.", "The amendment extended citizenship to every person born in the United States (except Indians on reservations), penalized states that did not give the vote to freedmen, and most importantly, created new federal civil rights that could be protected by federal courts.", "It also guaranteed that the federal debt would be paid and forbade repayment of Confederate war debts.", "Further, it disqualified many former Confederates from office, although the disability could be removed—by Congress, not the president.", "Both houses passed the Freedmen's Bureau Act a second time, and again the President vetoed it; this time, the veto was overridden.", "By the summer of 1866, when Congress finally adjourned, Johnson's method of restoring states to the Union by executive fiat, without safeguards for the freedmen, was in deep trouble.", "His home state of Tennessee ratified the Fourteenth Amendment despite the President's opposition.", "When Tennessee did so, Congress immediately seated its proposed delegation, embarrassing Johnson.", "Efforts to compromise failed, and a political war ensued between the united Republicans on one side, and on the other, Johnson and his allies in the Democratic Party, North and South.", "He called a convention of the National Union Party.", "Republicans had returned to using their previous identifier; Johnson intended to use the discarded name to unite his supporters and gain election to a full-term, in 1868.", "The battleground was the election of 1866; Southern states were not allowed to vote.", "Johnson campaigned vigorously, undertaking a public speaking tour, known as the \"Swing Around the Circle\".", "The trip, including speeches in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Columbus, proved politically disastrous, with the President making controversial comparisons between himself and Christ, and engaging in arguments with hecklers.", "These exchanges were attacked as beneath the dignity of the presidency.", "The Republicans won by a landslide, increasing their two-thirds majority in Congress, and made plans to control Reconstruction.", "Johnson blamed the Democrats for giving only lukewarm support to the National Union movement.", "====Radical Reconstruction====\nEven with the Republican victory in November 1866, Johnson considered himself in a strong position.", "The Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified by none of the Southern or border states except Tennessee, and had been rejected in Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland.", "As the amendment required ratification by three-quarters of the states to become part of the Constitution, he believed the deadlock would be broken in his favor, leading to his election in 1868.", "Once it reconvened in December 1866, an energized Congress began passing legislation, often over a presidential veto; this included the District of Columbia voting bill.", "Congress admitted Nebraska to the Union over a veto, and the Republicans gained two senators and a state that promptly ratified the amendment.", "Johnson's veto of a bill for statehood for Colorado Territory was sustained; enough senators agreed that a district with a population of 30,000 was not yet worthy of statehood to win the day.", "In January 1867, Congressman Stevens introduced legislation to dissolve the Southern state governments and reconstitute them into five military districts, under martial law.", "The states would begin again by holding constitutional conventions.", "African Americans could vote for or become delegates; former Confederates could not.", "In the legislative process, Congress added to the bill that restoration to the Union would follow the state's ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, and completion of the process of adding it to the Constitution.", "Johnson and the Southerners attempted a compromise, whereby the South would agree to a modified version of the amendment without the disqualification of former Confederates, and for limited black suffrage.", "The Republicans insisted on the full language of the amendment, and the deal fell through.", "Although Johnson could have pocket vetoed the First Reconstruction Act as it was presented to him less than ten days before the end of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, he chose to veto it directly on March 2, 1867; Congress overruled him the same day.", "Also on March 2, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over the President's veto, in response to statements during the Swing Around the Circle that he planned to fire Cabinet secretaries who did not agree with him.", "This bill, requiring Senate approval for the firing of Cabinet members during the tenure of the president who appointed them and for one month afterwards, was immediately controversial, with some senators doubting that it was constitutional or that its terms applied to Johnson, whose key Cabinet officers were Lincoln holdovers.", "===Impeachment===\n\"The Situation\", a ''Harper's Weekly'' editorial cartoon shows Secretary of War Stanton aiming a cannon labeled \"Congress\" to defeat Johnson.", "The rammer is \"Tenure of Office Bill\" and cannonballs on the floor are \"Justice\".", "Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was an able and hard-working man, but difficult to deal with.", "Johnson both admired and was exasperated by his War Secretary, who, in combination with General of the Army Grant, worked to undermine the president's Southern policy from within his own administration.", "Johnson considered firing Stanton, but respected him for his wartime service as secretary.", "Stanton, for his part, feared allowing Johnson to appoint his successor and refused to resign, despite his public disagreements with his president.", "The new Congress met for a few weeks in March 1867, then adjourned, leaving the House Committee on the Judiciary behind, charged with reporting back to the full House whether there were grounds for Johnson to be impeached.", "When a federal court released former Confederate president Davis on bail on May 13 (he had been captured shortly after the war), the committee investigated whether the President had impeded the prosecution.", "It learned that Johnson was eager to have Davis tried.", "A bipartisan majority of the committee voted down impeachment charges; the committee adjourned on June 3.", "Later in June, Johnson and Stanton battled over the question of whether the military officers placed in command of the South could override the civil authorities.", "The President had Attorney General Henry Stanbery issue an opinion backing his position that they could not.", "Johnson sought to pin down Stanton either as for, and thus endorsing Johnson's position, or against, showing himself to be opposed to his president and the rest of the Cabinet.", "Stanton evaded the point in meetings and written communications.", "When Congress reconvened in July, it passed a Reconstruction Act against Johnson's position, waited for his veto, overruled it, and went home.", "In addition to clarifying the powers of the generals, the legislation also deprived the President of control over the Army in the South.", "With Congress in recess until November, Johnson decided to fire Stanton and relieve one of the military commanders, General Philip Sheridan, who had dismissed the governor of Texas and installed a replacement with little popular support.", "He was initially deterred by a strong objection from Grant.", "On August 5, the President demanded Stanton's resignation; the secretary refused to quit with Congress out of session.", "Johnson then suspended him pending the next meeting of Congress as permitted under the Tenure of Office Act; Grant agreed to serve as temporary replacement while continuing to lead the Army.", "Grant, under protest, followed Johnson's order transferring Sheridan and another of the district commanders, Daniel Sickles, who had angered Johnson by firmly following Congress's plan.", "The President also issued a proclamation pardoning most Confederates, exempting those who held office under the Confederacy, or who had served in federal office before the war and had breached their oaths.", "Although Republicans expressed anger with his actions, the 1867 elections generally went Democratic.", "No seats in Congress were directly elected in the polling, but the Democrats took control of the Ohio General Assembly, allowing them to defeat for re-election one of Johnson's strongest opponents, Senator Benjamin Wade.", "Voters in Ohio, Connecticut, and Minnesota turned down propositions to grant African Americans the vote.", "The adverse results momentarily put a stop to Republican calls to impeach Johnson, who was elated by the elections.", "Nevertheless, once Congress met in November, the Judiciary Committee reversed itself and passed a resolution of impeachment against Johnson.", "After much debate about whether anything the President had done was a high crime or misdemeanor, the standard under the Constitution, the resolution was defeated by the House of Representatives on December 7, 1867, by a vote of 57 in favor to 108 opposed.", "Johnson notified Congress of Stanton's suspension and Grant's interim appointment.", "In January 1868, the Senate disapproved of his action, and reinstated Stanton, contending the President had violated the Tenure of Office Act.", "Grant stepped aside over Johnson's objection, causing a complete break between them.", "Johnson then dismissed Stanton and appointed Lorenzo Thomas to replace him.", "Stanton refused to leave his office, and on February 24, 1868, the House impeached the President for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act, by a vote of 128 to 47.", "The House subsequently adopted eleven articles of impeachment, for the most part alleging that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, and had questioned the legitimacy of Congress.", "Theodore R. Davis' illustration of Johnson's impeachment trial in the United States Senate, published in ''Harper's Weekly''\nOn March 5, 1868, the impeachment trial began in the Senate and lasted almost three months; Congressmen George S. Boutwell, Benjamin Butler and Thaddeus Stevens acted as managers for the House, or prosecutors, and William M. Evarts, Benjamin R. Curtis and former Attorney General Stanbery were Johnson's counsel; Chief Justice Chase served as presiding judge.", "The defense relied on the provision of the Tenure of Office Act that made it applicable only to appointees of the current administration.", "Since Lincoln had appointed Stanton, the defense maintained Johnson had not violated the act, and also argued that the President had the right to test the constitutionality of an act of Congress.", "Johnson's counsel insisted that he make no appearance at the trial, nor publicly comment about the proceedings, and except for a pair of interviews in April, he complied.", "Johnson maneuvered to gain an acquittal; for example, he pledged to Iowa Senator James W. Grimes that he would not interfere with Congress's Reconstruction efforts.", "Grimes reported to a group of Moderates, many of whom voted for acquittal, that he believed the President would keep his word.", "Johnson also promised to install the respected John Schofield as War Secretary.", "Kansas Senator Edmund G. Ross received assurances that the new, Radical-influenced constitutions ratified in South Carolina and Arkansas would be transmitted to the Congress without delay, an action which would give him and other senators political cover to vote for acquittal.", "One reason senators were reluctant to remove the President was that his successor would have been Ohio Senator Wade, the president ''pro tempore'' of the Senate.", "Wade, a lame duck who left office in early 1869, was a Radical who supported such measures as women's suffrage, placing him beyond the pale politically in much of the nation.", "Additionally, a President Wade was seen as an obstacle to Grant's ambitions.", "With the dealmaking, Johnson was confident of the result in advance of the verdict, and in the days leading up to the ballot, newspapers reported that Stevens and his Radicals had given up.", "On May 16, the Senate voted on the 11th article of impeachment, accusing Johnson of firing Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office of Act once the Senate had overturned his suspension.", "Thirty-five senators voted \"guilty\" and 19 \"not guilty\", thus falling short by a single vote of the two-thirds majority required for conviction under the Constitution.", "Seven Republicans—Senators Grimes, Ross, Trumbull, William Pitt Fessenden, Joseph S. Fowler, John B. Henderson, and Peter G. Van Winkle—voted to acquit the President.", "With Stevens bitterly disappointed at the result, the Senate then adjourned for the Republican National Convention; Grant was nominated for president.", "The Senate returned on May 26 and voted on the second and third articles, with identical 35–19 results.", "Faced with those results, Johnson's opponents gave up and dismissed proceedings.", "Stanton \"relinquished\" his office on May 26, and the Senate subsequently confirmed Schofield.", "When Johnson renominated Stanbery to return to his position as Attorney General after his service as a defense manager, the Senate refused to confirm him.", "Allegations were made at the time and again later that bribery dictated the outcome of the trial.", "Even when it was in progress, Representative Butler began an investigation, held contentious hearings, and issued a report, unendorsed by any other congressman.", "Butler focused on a New York–based \"Astor House Group\", supposedly led by political boss and editor Thurlow Weed.", "This organization was said to have raised large sums of money from whiskey interests through Cincinnati lawyer Charles Woolley to bribe senators to acquit Johnson.", "Butler went so far as to imprison Woolley in the Capitol building when he refused to answer questions, but failed to prove bribery.", "===Foreign policy===\nSoon after taking office as president, Johnson reached an accord with Secretary of State William H. Seward that there would be no change in foreign policy.", "In practice, this meant that Seward would continue to run things as he had under Lincoln.", "Seward and Lincoln had been rivals for the nomination in 1860; the victor hoped that Seward would succeed him as president in 1869.", "At the time of Johnson's accession, the French had intervened in Mexico, sending troops there.", "While many politicians had indulged in saber-rattling over the Mexican matter, Seward preferred quiet diplomacy, warning the French through diplomatic channels that their presence in Mexico was not acceptable.", "Although the President preferred a more aggressive approach, Seward persuaded him to follow his lead.", "In April 1866, the French government informed Seward that its troops would be brought home in stages, to conclude by November 1867.", "Seward was an expansionist, and sought opportunities to gain territory for the United States.", "By 1867, the Russian government saw its North American colony (today Alaska) as a financial liability, and feared losing control as American settlement reached there.", "It instructed its minister in Washington, Baron Eduard de Stoeckl, to negotiate a sale.", "De Stoeckl did so deftly, getting Seward to raise his offer from $5 million (coincidentally, the minimum that Russia had instructed de Stoeckl to accept) to $7 million, and then getting $200,000 added by raising various objections.", "This sum of $7.2 million is equivalent to $ in present-day terms.", "On March 30, 1867, de Stoeckl and Seward signed the treaty, working quickly as the Senate was about to adjourn.", "Johnson and Seward took the signed document to the President's Room in the Capitol, only to be told there was no time to deal with the matter before adjournment.", "The President summoned the Senate into session to meet on April 1; that body approved the treaty, 37–2.", "Emboldened by his success in Alaska, Seward sought acquisitions elsewhere.", "His only success was staking an American claim to uninhabited Wake Island in the Pacific, which would be officially claimed by the U.S. in 1898.", "He came close with the Danish West Indies as Denmark agreed to sell and the local population approved the transfer in a plebiscite, but the Senate never voted on the treaty and it expired.", "Another treaty that fared badly was the Johnson-Clarendon convention, negotiated in settlement of the ''Alabama'' Claims, for damages to American shipping from British-built Confederate raiders.", "Negotiated by the United States Minister to Britain, former Maryland senator Reverdy Johnson, in late 1868, it was ignored by the Senate during the remainder of the President's term.", "The treaty was rejected after he left office, and the Grant administration later negotiated considerably better terms from Britain.", "===Administration and Cabinet===\n\n\n\n====Judicial appointments====\n\nJohnson appointed nine Article III federal judges during his presidency, all to United States district courts; he did not appoint a justice to serve on the Supreme Court.", "In April 1866, he nominated Henry Stanbery to fill the vacancy left with the death of John Catron, but Congress eliminated the seat to prevent the appointment, and to ensure that he did not get to make any appointments eliminated the next vacancy as well, providing that the court would shrink by one justice when one next departed from office.", "Johnson appointed his Greeneville crony, Samuel Milligan, to the United States Court of Claims, where he served from 1868 until his death in 1874.", "=== Reforms initiated ===\nIn June 1866, Johnson signed the Southern Homestead Act into law, believing that the legislation would assist poor whites.", "Around 28,000 land claims were successfully patented, although few former slaves benefitted from the law, fraud was rampant, and much of the best land was off-limits; reserved for grants to veterans or railroads.", "In June 1868, Johnson signed an eight-hour law passed by Congress that established an eight-hour workday for laborers and mechanics employed by the Federal Government.", "Although Johnson told members of a Workingmen's party delegation in Baltimore that he could not directly commit himself to an eight-hour day, he nevertheless told the same delegation that he greatly favoured the \"shortest number of hours consistent with the interests of all.\"", "According to Richard F. Selcer, however, the good intentions behind the law were \"immediately frustrated\" as wages were cut by 20%.", "===Completion of term===\nJohnson sought nomination by the 1868 Democratic National Convention in New York in July 1868.", "He remained very popular among Southern whites, and boosted that popularity by issuing, just before the convention, a pardon ending the possibility of criminal proceedings against any Confederate not already indicted, meaning that only Davis and a few others still might face trial.", "On the first ballot, Johnson was second to former Ohio representative George H. Pendleton, who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864.", "Johnson's support was mostly from the South, and fell away as the ballots passed.", "On the 22nd ballot, former New York governor Horatio Seymour was nominated, and the President received only four votes, all from Tennessee.", "The conflict with Congress continued.", "Johnson sent Congress proposals for amendments to limit the president to a single six-year term and make the president and the Senate directly elected, and for term limits for judges.", "Congress took no action on them.", "When the President was slow to officially report ratifications of the Fourteenth Amendment by the new Southern legislatures, Congress passed a bill, again over his veto, requiring him to do so within ten days of receipt.", "He still delayed as much as he could, but was required, in July 1868, to report the ratifications making the amendment part of the Constitution.", "\"Farewell to all my greatness\": ''Harper's Weekly'' cartoon mocking Johnson on leaving office\nSeymour's operatives sought Johnson's support, but he long remained silent on the presidential campaign.", "It was not until October, with the vote already having taken place in some states, that he mentioned Seymour at all, and he never endorsed him.", "Nevertheless, Johnson regretted Grant's victory, in part because of their animus from the Stanton affair.", "In his annual message to Congress in December, Johnson urged the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act and told legislators that had they admitted their Southern colleagues in 1865, all would have been well.", "He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children, though not including those of President-elect Grant, who did not allow his to go.", "On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Davis.", "He also issued, in his final months in office, pardons for crimes, including one for Dr. Samuel Mudd, controversially convicted of involvement in the Lincoln assassination (he had set Booth's broken leg) and imprisoned in Fort Jefferson on Florida's Dry Tortugas.", "On March 3, the President hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final full day in office.", "Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all.", "Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent the morning of March 4 finishing last-minute business, and then shortly after noon rode from the White House to the home of a friend.", "Senator Andrew Johnson in 1875 (age 66)\n\nAfter leaving the presidency, Johnson remained for some weeks in Washington, then returned to Greeneville for the first time in eight years.", "He was honored with large public celebrations along the way, especially in Tennessee, where cities hostile to him during the war hung out welcome banners.", "He had arranged to purchase a large farm near Greeneville to live on after his presidency.", "Some expected Johnson to seek to be Tennessee's governor again or to attempt a return to the Senate, others that he would become a railroad executive.", "Johnson found Greeneville boring, and his private life was embittered by the suicide of his son Robert in 1869.", "Seeking vindication for himself, and revenge against his political enemies, he launched a Senate bid soon after returning home.", "Tennessee had gone Republican, but court rulings restoring the vote to some whites and the violence of the Ku Klux Klan kept down the African-American vote, leading to a Democratic victory in the legislative elections in August 1869.", "Johnson was seen as a likely victor in the Senate election, although hated by Radical Republicans, and also by some Democrats because of his wartime activities.", "Although he was at one point within a single vote of victory in the legislature's balloting, the Republicans eventually elected Henry Cooper over Johnson, 54–51.", "In 1872, there was a special election for an at-large congressional seat for Tennessee; Johnson initially sought the Democratic nomination, but when he saw that it would go to former Confederate general Benjamin F. Cheatham, decided to run as an independent.", "The former president was defeated, finishing third, but the split in the Democratic Party defeated Cheatham in favor of an old Johnson Unionist ally, Horace Maynard.", "He began looking towards the next Senate election, to take place in the legislature in early 1875.", "Johnson began to woo the farmers' Grange movement; with his Jeffersonian leanings, he easily gained their support.", "He spoke throughout the state in his final campaign tour.", "Few African Americans outside the large towns were now able to vote as Reconstruction faded in Tennessee, setting a pattern that would be repeated in the other Southern states; the white domination would last almost a century.", "In the Tennessee legislative elections in August, the Democrats elected 92 legislators to the Republicans' eight, and Johnson went to Nashville for the legislative session.", "When the balloting for the Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he led with 30 votes, but did not have the required majority as three former Confederate generals, one former colonel, and a former Democratic congressman split the vote with him.", "Johnson's opponents tried to agree on a single candidate who might gain majority support and defeat him, but failed, and he was elected on January 26 on the 54th ballot, with a margin of a single vote.", "Nashville erupted in rejoicing; remarked Johnson, \"Thank God for the vindication.\"", "Johnson's comeback garnered national attention, with the ''St.", "Louis Republican'' calling it, \"the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show\".", "At his swearing-in in the Senate on March 5, 1875, he was greeted with flowers and sworn in with his predecessor as vice president, Hamlin, by that office's current incumbent, Henry Wilson, who as senator had voted for his ousting.", "Many Republicans ignored Senator Johnson, though some, such as Ohio's John Sherman (who had voted for conviction), shook his hand.", "Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate.", "He spoke only once in the short session, on March 22 lambasting President Grant for his use of federal troops in support of Louisiana's Reconstruction government.", "The former president asked, \"How far off is military despotism?\"", "and concluded his speech, \"may God bless this people and God save the Constitution.\"", "===Death===\n\nJohnson returned home after the special session concluded.", "In late July, convinced some of his opponents were defaming him in the Ohio gubernatorial race, he decided to travel there to give speeches.", "He began the trip on July 28, and broke the journey at his daughter Mary's farm near Elizabethton, where his daughter Martha was also staying.", "That evening he suffered a stroke, but refused medical treatment until the next day, when he did not improve and two doctors were sent for from Elizabethton.", "He seemed to respond to their ministrations, but suffered another stroke on the evening of July 30, and died early the following morning at the age of 66.", "President Grant had the \"painful duty\" of announcing the death of the only surviving past president.", "Northern newspapers, in their obituaries, tended to focus on Johnson's loyalty during the war, while Southern ones paid tribute to his actions as president.", "Johnson's funeral was held on August 3 in Greeneville.", "He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes.", "The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.", "According to Castel, \"historians of Johnson's presidency have tended to concentrate to the exclusion of practically everything else upon his role in that titanic event Reconstruction\".", "Through the remainder of the 19th century, there were few historical evaluations of Johnson and his presidency.", "Memoirs from Northerners who had dealt with him, such as former vice president Henry Wilson and Maine Senator James G. Blaine, depicted him as an obstinate boor who tried to favor the South in Reconstruction, but who was frustrated by Congress.", "According to historian Howard K. Beale in his journal article about the historiography of Reconstruction, \"Men of the postwar decades were more concerned with justifying their own position than they were with painstaking search for truth.", "Thus Alabama congressman and historian Hilary Herbert and his corroborators presented a Southern indictment of Northern policies, and Henry Wilson's history was a brief for the North.\"", "The turn of the 20th century saw the first significant historical evaluations of Johnson.", "Leading the wave was Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James Ford Rhodes, who wrote of the former president:\n\n\n\nRhodes ascribed Johnson's faults to his personal weaknesses, and blamed him for the problems of the postbellum South.", "Other early 20th-century historians, such as John Burgess, Woodrow Wilson (who later became president himself) and William Dunning, all Southerners, concurred with Rhodes, believing Johnson flawed and politically inept, but concluding that he had tried to carry out Lincoln's plans for the South in good faith.", "Author and journalist Jay Tolson suggests that Wilson \"depicted Reconstruction as a vindictive program that hurt even repentant southerners while benefiting northern opportunists, the so-called Carpetbaggers, and cynical white southerners, or Scalawags, who exploited alliances with blacks for political gain\".", "The grave of Andrew Johnson, Greeneville, Tennessee\nEven as Rhodes and his school wrote, another group of historians was setting out on the full rehabilitation of Johnson, using for the first time primary sources such as his papers, provided by his daughter Martha before her death in 1901, and the diaries of Johnson's Navy Secretary, Gideon Welles, first published in 1911.", "The resulting volumes, such as David Miller DeWitt's ''The Impeachment and Trial of President Andrew Johnson'' (1903), presented him far more favorably than they did those who had sought to oust him.", "In James Schouler's 1913 ''History of the Reconstruction Period'', the author accused Rhodes of being \"quite unfair to Johnson\", though agreeing that the former president had created many of his own problems through inept political moves.", "These works had an effect; although historians continued to view Johnson as having deep flaws which sabotaged his presidency, they saw his Reconstruction policies as fundamentally correct.", "Castel writes:\n\n\nBeale wondered in 1940, \"is it not time that we studied the history of Reconstruction without first assuming, at least subconsciously, that carpetbaggers and Southern white Republicans were wicked, that Negroes were illiterate incompetents, and that the whole white South owes a debt of gratitude to the restorers of 'white supremacy'?\"", "Despite these doubts, the favorable view of Johnson survived for a time.", "In 1942, Van Heflin portrayed the former president as a fighter for democracy in the Hollywood film ''Tennessee Johnson''.", "In 1948, a poll of his colleagues by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger deemed Johnson among the average presidents; in 1956, one by Clinton L. Rossiter named him as one of the near-great Chief Executives.", "Foner notes that at the time of these surveys, \"the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War was regarded as a time of corruption and misgovernment caused by granting black men the right to vote\".", "Earlier historians, including Beale, believed that money drove events, and had seen Reconstruction as an economic struggle.", "They also accepted, for the most part, that reconciliation between North and South should have been the top priority of Reconstruction.", "In the 1950s, historians began to focus on the African-American experience as central to Reconstruction.", "They rejected completely any claim of black inferiority, which had marked many earlier historical works, and saw the developing Civil Rights Movement as a second Reconstruction; some writers stated they hoped their work on the postbellum era would advance the cause of civil rights.", "These authors sympathized with the Radical Republicans for their desire to help the African American, and saw Johnson as callous towards the freedman.", "In a number of works from 1956 onwards by such historians as Fawn Brodie, the former president was depicted as a successful saboteur of efforts to better the freedman's lot.", "These volumes included major biographies of Stevens and Stanton.", "Reconstruction was increasingly seen as a noble effort to integrate the freed slaves into society.", "In the early 21st century, Johnson is among those commonly mentioned as the worst presidents in U.S. history.", "According to historian Glenn W. Lafantasie, who believes Buchanan the worst president, \"Johnson is a particular favorite for the bottom of the pile because of his impeachment ... his complete mishandling of Reconstruction policy ... his bristling personality, and his enormous sense of self-importance.\"", "Tolson suggests that \"Johnson is now scorned for having resisted Radical Republican policies aimed at securing the rights and well-being of the newly emancipated African-Americans\".", "Gordon-Reed notes that Johnson, along with his contemporaries Pierce and Buchanan, are generally listed among the five worst presidents, but states, \"there have never been more difficult times in the life of this nation.", "The problems these men had to confront were enormous.", "It would have taken a succession of Lincolns to do them justice.\"", "Trefousse considers Johnson's legacy to be \"the maintenance of white supremacy.", "His boost to Southern conservatives by undermining Reconstruction was his legacy to the nation, one that would trouble the country for generations to come.\"", "Gordon-Reed states of Johnson:", "'''Explanatory notes'''\n\n\n\n'''References'''", "\n* \n* Benedict, Michael Les.", "''The impeachment and trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1973) online\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* McKitrick, Eric L. ''Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1960) online\n* vol 5 1864-66 online and vol 6 1866-72 online\n* \n* Sefton, James E. ''Andrew Johnson and the uses of constitutional power'' (1980) online\n* \n* Swanson, Ryan A., \"Andrew Johnson and His Governors: An Examination of Failed Reconstruction Leadership,\" ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'' (2012), 71#1 pp 16–45.", "* \n* \n===Primary sources===\n*", "\n* White House biography \n* \n* Andrew Johnson National Historic Site\n* Andrew Johnson: A Resource Guide – Library of Congress\n* Essays on Andrew Johnson and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady, from the Miller Center of Public Affairs\n* \"Life Portrait of Andrew Johnson\", from C-SPAN's ''American Presidents: Life Portraits'', July 9, 1999\n* Text of a number of Johnson's speeches at the Miller Center of Public Affairs\n* Andrew Johnson Personal Manuscripts and Letters – Shapell Manuscript Foundation\n* Resolutions of Impeachment from the National Archives" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Aberdeen''' (; , ; ; ) is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 37th most populous built-up area, with an official population estimate of 196,670 for the city of Aberdeen and for the local authority area.\n\nNicknames include the ''Granite City'', the ''Grey City'' and the ''Silver City with the Golden Sands''. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver because of its high mica content. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the ''Oil Capital of the World'' or the ''Energy Capital of the World''.\nThe area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. The city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters.\n\nAberdeen received Royal Burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–53), transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east of Scotland. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.\n\nAberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record-breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies. In 2015, Mercer named Aberdeen the 57th most liveable city in the world, as well as the fourth most liveable city in Britain. In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as a leading business hub and one of eight 'super cities' spearheading the UK's economy, marking it as the only city in Scotland to receive this accolade.\n", "\nThe Town House, Old Aberdeen. Once a separate burgh, Old Aberdeen was incorporated into the city in 1891\nCastlegate and Union Street (c.1900)\n\nThe Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary. The earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians.\nDuring the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308, followed by the massacring of the English garrison and the retaking of Aberdeen for the townspeople. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770.\nThe Powis gate Old Aberdeen\n\nDuring the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644–1647 the city was plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of Marquis of Huntly. In 1647 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed a quarter of the population. In the 18th century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The council began major road improvements at the end of the 18th century with the main thoroughfares of George Street, King Street and Union Street all completed at the beginning of the 19th century.\nUnion Terrace, Aberdeen, circa 1900\n\nThe expensive infrastructure works led to the city becoming bankrupt in 1817 during the Post-Napoleonic depression, an economic downturn immediately after the Napoleonic wars; but the city's prosperity later recovered. The increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and the development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries led to the construction of the present harbour including Victoria Dock and the South Breakwater, and the extension of the North Pier. Gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865. The city was incorporated in 1891. Although Old Aberdeen has a separate history and still holds its ancient charter, it is no longer officially independent. It is an integral part of the city, as is Woodside and the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of the River Dee.\n\n===Toponymy===\n\nThough Brittonic was spoken in Southern Scotland (part of ''yr Hen Ogledd'') up to medieval times, as evidenced (for example) by the poem ''Y Gododdin'', Aberdeen was in Pictish territory and became Gaelic-speaking at some time in the medieval period. Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of ''Aberdon'', the first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means \"the mouth of the Don\". The Celtic word ''aber'' means \"river mouth\", as in modern Welsh (Aberystwyth, Aberdare, Aberbeeg etc.). The Gaelic name is ''Obar Dheathain'' (variation: ''Obairreadhain'') (''obar'' presumably being a loan from the earlier Pictish; the Gaelic term is \"inbhir\"), and in Latin, the Romans referred to the river as ''Devana''. Mediaeval (or ecclesiastical) Latin has it as ''Aberdonia''.\n", "\n\nMarischal College, home of Aberdeen City Council, Broad St.\n\nAberdeen is locally governed by the Aberdeen City Council, which comprises forty-five councillors who represent the city's wards and is headed by the Lord Provost. The current Lord Provost is Barney Crockett. From May 2003 until May 2007 the council was run by a Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party coalition. Following the May 2007 local elections, the Liberal Democrats formed a new coalition with the Scottish National Party. After a later SNP by-election gain from the Conservatives, this coalition held 28 of the 43 seats. Following the election of 4 May 2017, the council was controlled by a coalition of Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and independent councillors; the Labour councillors were subsequently suspended by Scottish Labour Party leader, Kezia Dugdale.\n\nAberdeen is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by three constituencies: Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South which are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area, and Gordon, which includes a large area of the Aberdeenshire Council area.\n\nIn the Scottish Parliament, the city is represented by three constituencies with different boundaries: Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen Donside are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area. Aberdeen South and North Kincardine includes the North Kincardine ward of Aberdeenshire Council. A further seven MSPs are elected as part of the North East Scotland electoral region. In the European Parliament the city is represented by six MEPs as part of the all-inclusive Scotland constituency.\n", "\nBon Accord Square, designed by Archibald Simpson and dating from 1823\nLamp-post bearing the city coat of arms\nThe arms and banner of the city show three silver towers on red. This motif dates from at least the time of Robert the Bruce and represents the buildings that stood on the three hills of medieval Aberdeen: Aberdeen Castle on Castle Hill (today's Castlegate); the city gate on Port Hill; and a church on St Catherine's Hill (now levelled).\n\n''Bon Accord'' is the motto of the city and is French for \"Good Agreement\". Legend tells that its use dates from a password used by Robert the Bruce during the 14th century Wars of Scottish Independence, when he and his men laid siege to the English-held Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308. It is still widely present in the city, throughout street names, business names and the city's Bon Accord shopping mall.\n\nThe shield in the coat of arms is supported by two leopards. A local magazine is called the \"Leopard\" and, when Union Bridge was widened in the 20th century, small statues of the creature in a sitting position were cast and placed on top of the railing posts (known locally as Kelly's Cats). The city's toast is \"Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again\"; this has been commonly misinterpreted as the translation of Bon Accord.\n", "\nAberdeen Coast\nAberdeen Beach\nBeing sited between two river mouths, the city has little natural exposure of bedrock. This leaves local geologists in a slight quandary: despite the high concentration of geoscientists in the area (courtesy of the oil industry), there is only a vague understanding of what underlies the city. To the south side of the city, coastal cliffs expose high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Grampian Group; to the south-west and west are extensive granites intruded into similar high-grade schists; to the north the metamorphics are intruded by gabbroic complexes instead. The small amount of geophysics done, and occasional building-related exposures, combined with small exposures in the banks of the River Don, suggest that it is actually sited on an inlier of Devonian \"Old Red\" sandstones and silts. The outskirts of the city spread beyond the (inferred) limits of the outlier onto the surrounding metamorphic/ igneous complexes formed during the Dalradian period (approximately 480–600 million years ago) with sporadic areas of igneous Diorite granites to be found, such as that at the Rubislaw quarry which was used to build much of the Victorian parts of the city.\n\nOn the coast, Aberdeen has a long sand beach between the two rivers, the Dee and the Don, which turns into high sand dunes north of the Don stretching as far as Fraserburgh; to the south of the Dee are steep rocky cliff faces with only minor pebble and shingle beaches in deep inlets. A number of granite outcrops along the south coast have been quarried in the past, making for spectacular scenery and good rock-climbing.\n\nThe city extends to , and includes the former burghs of Old Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Woodside and the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of River Dee. In this gave the city a population density of . The city is built on many hills, with the original beginnings of the city growing from Castle Hill, St. Catherine's Hill and Windmill Hill.\n\n===Location===\n\n\n===Climate===\nAberdeen features an oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfb''). Aberdeen has far milder winter temperatures than one might expect for its northern location, although statistically it is the coldest city in the UK. During the winter, especially throughout December, the length of the day is very short, averaging 6 hours and 41 minutes between sunrise and sunset at winter solstice. As winter progresses, the length of the day grows fairly quickly, to 8 hours and 20 minutes by the end of January. Around summer solstice, the days will be around 18 hours long, having 17 hours and 55 minutes between sunrise and sunset. During this time of the year marginal nautical twilight lasts the entire night. Temperatures at this time of year will be typically hovering around during the day in most of the urban area, though nearer directly on the coast, and around in the westernmost suburbs, illustrating the cooling effect of the North Sea during summer. In addition, from June onward skies are more overcast than in April/May, as reflected in a lower percentage of possible sunshine (the percentage of daylight hours that are sunny). These factors render summer to be very temperate by European standards.\n\nTwo weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone. Both are about to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime temperatures year round owing to its slightly lower elevation, though it is more susceptible to harsh frosts. The coldest temperature to occur in recent years was during December 2010, while the following winter, Dyce set a new February high temperature station record on 28 February 2012 of ., and a new March high temperature record of on 25 March 2012.\n\nThe average temperature of the sea ranges from in March to in August.\n\n\n\n\n", "Aberdeen's population since 1396\n\nThe latest population estimate (mid 2012) for the urban area of Aberdeen is 196,670. For the wider settlement of Aberdeen including Cove Bay and Dyce the latest population estimate (mid 2012) is 209,460. For the local authority area of Aberdeen City the latest estimate (mid ) is \n\nIn 1396 the population was about 3,000. By 1801 it had become 26,992; (1901) 153,503; (1941) 182,467.\n\nThe 2011 census showed that there are fewer young people in Aberdeen, with 16.4% under 16, opposed to the national average of 19.2%. According to the 2011 census Aberdeen is 91.9% white, ethnically, 24.7% were born outside Scotland, higher than the national average of 16%. Of this population 7.6% were born in other parts of the UK. 8.2% of Aberdonians stated to be from an ethnic minority (non-white) in the 2011 census, with 9,519 (4.3%) being Asian, with 3,385 (1.5%) coming from India and 2,187 (1.0%) being Chinese. The city has around 5,610 (2.6%) residents of African or Caribbean origin, which is a higher percentage than both Glasgow and Edinburgh. The most multicultural part of the city is George Street, which has many ethnic restaurants, supermarkets and hairdressers.\n\n\n'''Aberdeen compared'''\n\n'''UK Census 2011'''\n'''Aberdeen'''\n'''Scotland'''\n\nTotal population\n222,793\n5,295,000\n\nPopulation growth 2001–2011\n5.0%\n5.0%\n\nWhite\n91.9%\n96.0%\n\nAsian\n4.3%\n2.7%\n\nBlack\n2.6%\n0.8%\n\nChristian\n30.9%\n54.0%\n\nMuslim\n1.9%\n1.4%\n\nIn the household, there were 97,013 individual dwellings recorded in the city of which 61% were privately owned, 9% privately rented and 23% rented from the council. The most popular type of dwellings are apartments which comprise 49% of residences followed by semi-detached at just below 22%.\nThe median income of a household in the city is £16,813 (the mean income is £20,292) (2005) which places approximately 18% households in the city below the poverty line (defined as 60% of the mean income). Conversely, an Aberdeen postcode has the second highest number of millionaires of any postcode in the UK.\n\n===Religion===\n\nSt Machar's Cathedral\nSouth and St. Nicholas Kirk Spires viewed from Union St\nChristianity is the main religion practised in the city. Aberdeen's largest denominations are the Church of Scotland (through the Presbytery of Aberdeen) and the Roman Catholic Church, both with numerous churches across the city, with the Scottish Episcopal Church having the third-largest number. The most recent census in 2001 showed that Aberdeen has the highest proportion of non-religious residents of any city in Scotland, with nearly 43% of citizens claiming to have no religion and several former churches in the city have been converted into bars and restaurants. In the Middle Ages, the Kirk of St Nicholas was the only burgh kirk and one of Scotland's largest parish churches. Like a number of other Scottish kirks, it was subdivided after the Reformation, in this case into the East and West churches. At this time, the city also was home to houses of the Carmelites (Whitefriars) and Franciscans (Greyfriars), the latter of which surviving in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College as late as the early 20th century.\nGilcomston Church, Union St, Aberdeen\nSt Machar's Cathedral was built twenty years after David I (1124–53) transferred the pre-Reformation Diocese from Mortlach in Banffshire to Old Aberdeen in 1137. With the exception of the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484–1511), building progressed slowly. Gavin Dunbar, who followed him in 1518, completed the structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept. It is now a congregation of the Church of Scotland. Aberdeen has two other cathedrals: St. Mary's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Gothic style, erected in 1859. In addition, St. Andrew's Cathedral serves the Scottish Episcopal Church. It was constructed in 1817 as Archibald Simpson's first commission and contains a memorial to the consecration of the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which took place nearby. In 1804, St Peter's Church, the first permanent Roman Catholic church in the city after the Reformation was built.\nSt Andrew's Cathedral, King Street\nNumerous other Protestant denominations have a presence in Aberdeen. The Salvation Army citadel on the Castlegate dominates the view of east end of Union Street. In addition, there is a Unitarian church, established in 1833 and located in Skene Terrace. Christadelphians have been present in Aberdeen since at least 1844. Over the years, they have rented space to meet at a number of locations and currently meet in the Inchgarth Community Centre in Garthdee. There is also a Quaker meetinghouse on Crown street, the only purpose built Quaker House in Scotland that is still in use today. In addition, there are a number of Baptist congregations in the city, and Evangelical congregations have been appearing in significant numbers since the late 2000s. The city also has two meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).\n\nThere is also a mosque in Old Aberdeen which serves the Islamic community in the city, and an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue established in 1945. There is also a Thai Buddhist temple located in the Hazelhead area of the city.There are no formal Hindu buildings, although the University of Aberdeen has a small Bahá'í society and there is a fortnightly Hindu religious gathering in the 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoons at Queens Cross Parish church hall.\n", "Rubislaw Quarry, opened in 1740, provided some six million tonnes of granite prior to its closure. Both the Houses of Parliament and the Forth Rail Bridge were constructed using its granite.\nWar Memorial at Pocra Quay with Marine Ops Centre in background. Situated at Aberdeen Harbour, next to Footdee an ancient fishing village dating as far back as 1398\n\nTraditionally, Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, shipbuilding and paper making. These industries have been largely replaced. High technology developments in the electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing and the oil industry, which has been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic boom in the last three decades, are now major parts of Aberdeen's economy.\nUntil the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the 18th century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and paper-making, the oldest industry in the city, with paper having been first made there in 1694. Paper-making has reduced in importance since the closures of Donside Paper Mill in 2001 and the Davidson Mill in 2005 leaving the Stoneywood Paper Mill with a workforce of approximately 500. Textile production ended in 2004 when Richards of Aberdeen closed.\n\nGrey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry for more than 300 years, and used for paving setts, kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental pieces. Aberdeen granite was used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge in London. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971. The current owners have begun pumping 40 years of rain water from the quarry with the aim of developing a heritage centre on the site.\n\nFishing was once the predominant industry, but was surpassed by deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout the 20th century. Catches have fallen because of overfishing and the use of the harbour by oil support vessels, and so although still an important fishing port it is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The Fisheries Research Services are headquartered in Aberdeen, and there is a marine research lab in Torry.\nGDF Suez and Aker Solutions Buildings, North Dee Business Quarter. An example of modern offices becoming more prevalent in Aberdeen's City Centre\nAberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research carried out at The James Hutton Institute (formerly the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute), which has close links to the city's two universities. The Rowett Research Institute is a world-renowned research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen. It has produced three Nobel laureates and there is a high concentration of life scientists working in the city.\n\nAs oil reserves in the North Sea decrease there is an effort to rebrand Aberdeen as \"Energy Capital of Europe\" rather than \"Oil Capital of Europe\", and there is interest in the development of new energy sources; and technology transfer from oil into renewable energy and other industries is under way. The \"Energetica\" initiative led by Scottish Enterprise has been designed to accelerate this process. As of 2013, Aberdeen remained a major world center for undersea petroleum technology.\n\n===Aberdeen and the North Sea===\nAberdeen had been a major maritime centre throughout the 19th century, when a group of local entrepreneurs launched the first steam-powered trawler. The steam trawling industry expanded and by 1933 Aberdeen was Scotland's top fishing port, employing nearly 3,000 men with 300 vessels sailing from its harbour. By the time oil was coming on stream, much of the trawling fleet had relocated to Peterhead. Although Aberdeen still brings in substantial catches, the tugs, safety vessels and supply ships which pack the harbour far outnumber the trawlers.\nAberdeen Harbour from the Air\nGeologists had speculated about the existence of oil and gas in the North Sea since the middle of the 20th century, but tapping its deep and inhospitable waters was another story. With the Middle Eastern oil sheiks becoming more aware of the political and economic power of their oil reserves and government threats of rationing, the industry began to consider the North Sea as a viable source of oil. Exploration commenced in the 1960s and the first major find in the British sector was in November 1970 in the Forties field, east of Aberdeen.\n\nBy late 1975, after years of intense construction the necessary infrastructure was in place. In Aberdeen, at BP's (British Petroleum) headquarters, the Queen pressed the button that would set the whole thing moving. Oil flowed from the rig directly to the refinery at far-away Grangemouth. While many ports have suffered decline, Aberdeen remains busy because of the oil trade and the influx of people connected with the industry, a subsequent rise in property prices have brought prosperity to the area.\n\nThe industry supports about 47,000 jobs locally, and known reserves ensure that oil will continue to flow well into the 21st century.\n\nAs a major port in the UK, Aberdeen receives many ships calling at the port. Seafarers' welfare organisation, Apostleship of the Sea has a port chaplain in Aberdeen to offer practical and pastoral support to them.\n\n===Business===\nIn 2011, the Centre for Cities named Aberdeen as the best placed city for growth in Britain, as the country looked to emerge from the recent economic downturn. With energy still providing the backbone of the local economy, recent years have seen very large new investment in the North Sea owing to rising oil prices and favourable government tax incentives. This has led to several oil majors and independents building new global offices in the city.\n\nAberdeen City and Shire's Gross Domestic Product is estimated at over £11.4billion, accounting for over 17% of the overall Scottish GDP. Five of Scotland's top ten businesses are based in Aberdeen with a collective turnover of £14billion, yielding a profit in excess of £2.4billion. Alongside this 29 of Scotland's top 100 businesses are located in Aberdeen with an employment rate of 77.9%, making it the 2nd highest UK city for employment.\n\nFigures released in 2016 ranked Aberdeen as having the second highest amount of patents processed per person in the UK.\n\n===Shopping===\nThe Academy, Belmont St and Schoolhill, Aberdeen\nUnion St towards West End, Aberdeen\nThe city ranks third in Scotland for shopping. The traditional shopping streets are Union Street and George Street, now complemented by shopping centres, notably the Bon Accord & St Nicholas and the Trinity Shopping Centre. A new retail £190 million development, Union Square, reached completion in late September/early October 2009. Major retail parks away from the city centre include the Berryden Retail Park, the Kittybrewster Retail Park and the Beach Boulevard Retail Park.\n\nIn March 2004, Aberdeen was awarded Fairtrade City status by the Fairtrade Foundation. Along with Dundee, it shares the distinction of being the first city in Scotland to receive this accolade.\n", "\nAberdeen Central Library and St Marks Church, Rosemount, Aberdeen\nTown House, Sheriff Court and North of Scotland Bank, Aberdeen\nGranite Buildings on Union Street\nAberdeen, Salvation Army Citadel\nHead Post Office, Crown Street\nFormer Trinity United Free Church, Crown Street, Aberdeen\nAberdeen's architecture is known for its principal use during the Victorian era of granite, which has led to its local nickname of the ''Granite City'' or more romantically the less commonly used name the ''Silver City'', since the Mica in the stone sparkles in the sun. The hard grey stone is one of the most durable materials available and helps to explain why the city's buildings look brand-new when they have been newly cleaned and the cement has been pointed. Unlike other Scottish cities where sandstone has been used, the buildings are not weathering and need very little structural maintenance on their masonry. The buildings can however become noticeably darker as a result of pollution and grime accumulated over the years. There has however been great success in cleaning the buildings which can result in their façade being restored back to much how they looked originally.\n\nAmongst the notable buildings in the city's main street, Union Street, are the Town and County Bank, the Music Hall, the Trinity Hall of the incorporated trades (originating between 1398 and 1527, although completely rebuilt in the 1860s), now a shopping mall; the former office of the Northern Assurance Company, and the National Bank of Scotland. In Castle Street, a continuation eastwards of Union Street, is the new Town House, a very prominent landmark in Aberdeen, built between 1868 and 1873 to a design by Peddie and Kinnear.\n\nAlexander Marshall Mackenzie's extension to Marischal College on Broad Street, opened by King Edward VII in 1906, created the second largest granite building in the world (after the Escorial, Madrid).\n\nIn addition to the many fine landmark buildings, Aberdeen has many prominent public statues, three of the most notable being William Wallace at the junction between Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct, Robert Burns on Union Terrace above Union Terrace Gardens, and Robert the Bruce holding aloft the charter he issued to the city in 1319 on Broad Street, outside Marischal College.\n\n===Parks, gardens and open spaces===\n\n\nAberdeen has long been famous for its 45 parks and gardens, and citywide floral displays which include two million roses, eleven million daffodils and three million crocuses. The city has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom 'Best City' award ten times, the overall Scotland in Bloom competition twenty times and the large city category every year since 1968. However, despite recent spurious reports, Aberdeen has never been banned from the Britain in Bloom competition. The city won the 2006 Scotland in Bloom \"Best City\" award along with the International Cities in Bloom award. The suburb of Dyce also won the Small Towns award.\nUnion Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen\nDuthie Park opened in 1899 on the north bank of the River Dee. It was named after and given to the city by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston in 1881. It has extensive gardens, a rose hill, boating pond, bandstand, and play area as well as Europe's second largest enclosed gardens the David Welch Winter Gardens. Hazlehead Park, is large and forested, located on the outskirts of the city, it is popular with walkers in the forests, sports enthusiasts, naturalists and picnickers. There are football pitches, two golf courses, a pitch and putt course and a horse riding school.\n\nDuthie Park, Aberdeen, Scotland\n\nAberdeen's success in the Britain in Bloom competitions is often attributed to Johnston Gardens, a small park of one hectare in the west end of the city containing many different flowers and plants which have been renowned for their beauty. In 2002, the garden was named the best garden in the British Islands. Seaton Park, formerly the grounds of a private house, is on the edge of the grounds of St Machar's Cathedral. The Cathedral Walk is maintained in a formal style with a great variety of plants providing a popular display. The park includes several other areas with contrasting styles to this. Union Terrace Gardens opened in 1879 and is situated in the centre of the city. It covers in the centre of Aberdeen bordered on three sides by Union Street, Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct. The park forms a natural amphitheatre located in the Denburn Valley and is an oasis of peace and calm in the city centre. A recent proposal to build a three-storey concrete and steel superstructure in place of the gardens, part of which will provide a commercial concourse, has proved highly controversial. \n\nSituated next to each other, Victoria Park and Westburn Park cover between them. Victoria Park opened in 1871. There is a conservatory used as a seating area and a fountain made of fourteen different granites, presented to the people by the granite polishers and master builders of Aberdeen. Opposite to the north is Westburn Park opened in 1901. With large grass pitches it is widely used for field sports. There is large tennis centre with indoor and outdoor courts, a children's cycle track, play area and a grass boules lawn.\n\n===Theatres and concert halls===\n\nThe Tivoli Theatre, Guild Street, Aberdeen\nHis Majesty's Theatre, Rosemount, Aberdeen\nAberdeen has hosted several theatres throughout its history, some of which have subsequently been converted or destroyed. The most\nfamous include:\n*His Majesty's Theatre (HMT), on Rosemount Viaduct\n*The Tivoli, on Guild Street\n*Capitol Theatre, on Union Street\n*Aberdeen Arts Centre, on King Street\n*The Palace Theatre, on Bridge Street\n*The Lemon Tree on West North Street\n\nThe main concert hall is the Music Hall on Union Street, built in 1822.\n", "\nPlaza outside railway station at Aberdeen in early morning, with Union Square to left\nAberdeen railway station, main concourse\n\nAberdeen Airport (ABZ), at Dyce in the north of the city, serves domestic and international destinations including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Scandinavian countries. The heliport which serves the oil industry and rescue services is one of the world's busiest commercial heliports. Aberdeen railway station is on the main UK rail network and Abellio ScotRail has frequent direct trains to major cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. Virgin Trains East Coast and the Caledonian Sleeper operate direct trains to London. The station is being updated to bring it into the modern age. In 2007 additions were made and a new ticket office was built in the building. The UK's longest direct rail journey runs from Aberdeen to Penzance. It is operated by CrossCountry, leaving Aberdeen at 08:20 and taking 13 hours and 23 minutes.\n\nUntil 2007, a 1950s-style concrete bus station at Guild Street served out-of-the-city locations; it has since transferred to a new and well-presented bus station just 100 metres to the east off Market Street as part of the Union Square development. There are six major roads in and out of the city. The A90 is the main arterial route into the city from the north and south, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh, Dundee, Brechin and Perth in the south and Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the north. The A96 links Elgin and Inverness and the north west. The A93 is the main route to the west, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms. After Braemar, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth. The A944 also heads west, through Westhill and on to Alford. The A92 was the original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, and is now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of Montrose and Arbroath and on the east coast. The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to Newmachar, Oldmeldrum and Turriff finally ending at Banff and Macduff.\nRiver Dee Railway Bridge, Aberdeen\nAfter first being mooted some 60 years ago and being held up for the past five years by a number of legal challenges, Aberdeen's long-awaited Western Peripheral Route was given the go-ahead after campaigners lost their appeal to the UK Supreme Court in October 2012. The route is earmarked to be completed in 2018 and is hoped to significantly reduce traffic congestion in and around the city. Aberdeen Harbour is important as the largest in the north of Scotland and as a ferry route to Orkney and Shetland. Established in 1136, it has been referred to as the oldest business in Britain.\n\nFirstGroup operates the city buses under the name First Aberdeen, as the successor of Grampian Regional Transport (GRT) and Aberdeen Corporation Tramways. Aberdeen is the global headquarters of FirstGroup plc, having grown from the GRT Group. First is still based at the former Aberdeen Tramways depot on King Street, which has now been redeveloped into a new Global Headquarters and Aberdeen bus depot. Stagecoach East Scotland also run buses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, under the Stagecoach Bluebird brand. Megabus run buses from the bus station to places north and south of the city.\n\nNational Express operate express coach services to London twice daily. The 590 service, operated by Bruce's Coaches of Salsburgh\noperates in the morning and runs through the day, calling at Dundee, Perth, Glasgow, Hamilton, Carlisle, Milton Keynes, Golders Green and Victoria Coach Station, whilst the 592 (operated by Parks of Hamilton) leaves in the evening and travels overnight,\ncalling at Dundee, Glasgow, Hamilton, Carlisle, Heathrow Airport and Victoria Coach Station.\nIn addition, there are Megabus services to London and Edinburgh and Scottish Citylink services to Glasgow, operated by Stagecoach East Scotland and Parks of Hamilton using the Citylink gold and blue livery.\n\nAberdeen is connected to the UK National Cycle Network, and has a track to the south connecting to cities such as Dundee and Edinburgh and one to the north that forks about from the city into two different tracks heading to Inverness and Fraserburgh respectively. Two popular footpaths along old railway tracks are the Deeside Way to Banchory (which will eventually connect to Ballater) and the Formartine and Buchan Way to Ellon, both used by a mixture of cyclists, walkers and occasionally horses. Four park-and-ride sites serve the city: Stonehaven and Ellon (approx out from the city centre) and Kingswells and Bridge of Don (approx out).\n\nThe Dee Estuary, Aberdeen's harbour, has continually been improved. Starting out as a fishing port, moving onto steam trawlers, the oil industry, it is now a major port of departure for the Baltic and Scandinavia. Major exports include fertiliser, granite, and chemicals.\n", "\nElphinstone Hall, Old Aberdeen\nSir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen University, Aberdeen\nKing's College, Old Aberdeen\n\n===Universities and colleges===\nAberdeen has two universities, the ancient ''University of Aberdeen'', and ''Robert Gordon University'', a modern university often referred to as RGU. Aberdeen's student rate of 11.5% is higher than the national average of 7%.\n\nAberdeen Business School at the Robert Gordon University\n\nThe University of Aberdeen began as King's College, Aberdeen, which was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone (1431–1514), Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland. Marischal College, a separate institution, was founded in \"New\" Aberdeen by George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal of Scotland in 1593. These institutions were merged by order of Parliament in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen. The university is the fifth oldest in the English-speaking world and offers degrees in a full range of disciplines. Its main campus is in Old Aberdeen in the north of the city and it currently has approximately 14,000 students. The university's debating society is the oldest in Scotland, founded in 1848 as the King's College Debating Society.\n\nRobert Gordon's College (originally Robert Gordon's Hospital) was founded in 1750 by the merchant Robert Gordon, grandson of the map maker Robert Gordon of Straloch, and was further endowed in 1816 by Alexander Simpson of Collyhill. Originally devoted to the instruction and maintenance of the sons of poor burgesses of guild and trade in the city, it was reorganised in 1881 as a day and night school for secondary and technical education. In 1903, the vocational education component of the college was designated a Central Institution and was renamed as the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology in 1965. In 1992, university status was awarded and it became Robert Gordon University. The university has expanded and developed significantly in recent years, and was named Best Modern University in the UK for 2012 by ''The Sunday Times''. It was previously ''The Sunday Times'' Scottish University of the Year for 2011, primarily because of its record on graduate employment. The citation for the 2011 award read: \"''With a graduate unemployment rate that is lower than the most famous universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, plus a flourishing reputation for research, high student satisfaction rates and ambitious plans for its picturesque campus, the Robert Gordon University is The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year''\". RGU had two campuses: one in the city centre at Schoolhill/St. Andrew Street and a larger suburban campus at Garthdee and currently has approximately 15,500 students. As of 2013, the Garthdee campus was expanded to include all schools, with the Schoolhill/St. Andrew Street campus being sold to Robert Gordon's College, and the building now functions as the school's Science and Technology Centre. The closure of the Schoolhill site includes the removal of the Student Union building, giving Aberdeen the dubious distinction of having two universities but no student bar.\nRobert Gordon University – Sir Ian Wood building\nNorth East Scotland College\nAberdeen is also home to two artistic schools: Gray's School of Art, founded in 1886, which is one of the oldest established colleges of art in the UK. The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment, was one of the first architectural schools to have its training courses recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Both are now part of Robert Gordon University and are based at its Garthdee campus. North East Scotland College has several campuses in the city and offers a wide variety of part-time and full-time courses leading to several different qualifications in science. The Scottish Agricultural College is based just outside Aberdeen, on the Craibstone Estate. This is situated beside the roundabout for Aberdeen Airport on the A96. The college provides three services—Learning, Research and Consultancy. The college features many land based courses such as Agriculture, Countryside Management, Sustainable Environmental Management and Rural Business Management. There are a variety of courses from diplomas through to master's degrees. The Marine Laboratory Aberdeen, which specialises in fisheries, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (soil science), and the Rowett Research Institute (animal nutrition) are some other higher education institutions.\n\n===Schools===\nAberdeen Grammar School\nWoodside School, dating from 1890\nThere are currently 12 secondary schools and 54 primary schools which are run by the city council. The most notable are Aberdeen Grammar School (founded in 1257), Harlaw Academy, Cults Academy, and Oldmachar Academy which were all rated in the top 50 Scottish secondary schools league tables published by ''The Times'' in 2005. Harlaw Academy was taken down from the list after a short time but is still a popular school.\nThere are a number of private schools in Aberdeen: Robert Gordon's College, Albyn School for Girls (co-educational as of 2005), St Margaret's School for Girls, the Hamilton School (closed by the Child Care Inspectorate in early 2014), the Total French School (for French oil industry families), the International School of Aberdeen and a Waldorf/Steiner School. Primary schools in Aberdeen include Airyhall Primary School, Albyn School, Ashley Road Primary School, Balgownie Primary School, Broomhill Primary School, Cornhill Primary School (the city's largest), Culter Primary School, Cults Primary School, Danestone Primary School, Fernielea Primary school, Ferryhill Primary School, Gilcomstoun Primary School, Glashieburn Primary School, Hamilton School, Kaimhill Primary School, Kingsford Primary School, Kittybrewster Primary School, Mile-End School, Muirfield Primary School, Robert Gordon's College, Skene Square Primary School, St. Joseph's Primary School and St Margaret's School for Girls.\n", "\nAberdeen Art Gallery\nMaritime Museum, Shiprow.\n\nThe city has a wide range of cultural activities, amenities and museums. The city is regularly visited by Scotland's National Arts Companies. The Aberdeen Art Gallery houses a collection of Impressionist, Victorian, Scottish and 20th-century British paintings as well as collections of silver and glass. It also includes The Alexander Macdonald Bequest, a collection of late 19th century works donated by the museum's first benefactor and a constantly changing collection of contemporary work and regular visiting exhibitions.\n\n===Museums and galleries===\nThe Aberdeen Maritime Museum, located in Shiprow, tells the story of Aberdeen's links with the sea from the days of sail and clipper ships to the latest oil and gas exploration technology. It includes an model of the Murchison oil production platform and a 19th-century assembly taken from Rattray Head lighthouse\nProvost Ross' House is the second oldest dwelling house in the city. It was built in 1593 and became the residence of Provost John Ross of Arnage in 1702. The house retains some original medieval features, including a kitchen, fireplaces and beam-and-board ceilings. The Gordon Highlanders Museum tells the story of one of Scotland's best known regiments.\nProvost Skene's House Museum, dating from 1545\nThe Tolbooth Museum, a 17th-century jail\nMarischal Museum holds the principal collections of the University of Aberdeen, comprising some 80,000 items in the areas of fine art, Scottish history and archaeology, and European, Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeology. The permanent displays and reference collections are augmented by regular temporary exhibitions. It closed to the public in 2008 for renovations; its reopening date has yet to be confirmed. The King's Museum acts as the main museum of the university in the meantime.\n\n===Festivals and performing arts===\nAberdeen is home to a number of events and festivals including the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (the world's largest arts festival for young performers), Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Aberdeen Alternative Festival, ''Rootin' Aboot'' (a folk and roots music event), ''Triptych'', the University of Aberdeen's literature festival ''Word'' and DanceLive, Scotland's only Festival of contemporary dance, which is produced by the city's Citymoves dance organisation.\nAberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre\nThe Aberdeen Student Show, performed annually without interruption since 1921, under the auspices of the Aberdeen Students' Charities Campaign, is the longest-running of its kind in the United Kingdom. It is written, produced and performed by students and graduates of Aberdeen's universities and higher education institutions. Since 1929—other than on a handful of occasions—it has been staged at His Majesty's Theatre. The Student Show traditionally combines comedy and music, inspired by the North-East's Doric dialect and humour.\nGordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen\nNational festivals which visited Aberdeen in 2012 included the British Science Festival in September, hosted by the University of Aberdeen but with events also taking place at Robert Gordon University and at other venues across the city. In February 2012 the University of Aberdeen also hosted the Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival, the longest running folk festival in the United Kingdom.\n\n===Music and film===\nAberdeen Arts Centre\nAberdeen's music scene includes a variety of live music venues including pubs, clubs, and church choirs. The bars of Belmont Street are particularly known for featuring live music. Ceilidhs are also common in the city's halls. Popular music venues include the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), Aberdeen Music Hall, along with smaller venues such as The Tunnels, The Moorings, Drummonds, Downstairs, The Lemon Tree and The Garage. Notable Aberdonian musicians include Annie Lennox, Emeli Sandé, cult band Pallas and contemporary composer John McLeod. There are many local bands including Grader, Sleepless, Hayworth, Deceptions, Without Reason, Monroe and Deadfire A large proportion of Aberdeen's classical music scene is based around the ensembles of Aberdeen University's music department, notably the Symphony Orchestra, Marischal Chamber Orchestra, and the Concert Band.\nThe Music Hall, Union Street, Aberdeen\nCultural cinema, educational work and local film events are provided by The Belmont Picturehouse on Belmont Street, Peacock Visual Arts and The Foyer. The only Doric speaking feature film was released in 2008 by Stirton Productions and Canny Films. ''One Day Removals'' is a black comedy/adult drama starring Patrick Wight and Scott Ironside and tells the tale of two unlucky removal men whose day goes from bad to worse. It was filmed on location in Aberdeenshire for a budget of £60,000.\nThe Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen\n\n===Dialect===\nSatrosphere, Science Centre Links Road\n Listen to recordings of a speaker of Scots from Aberdeen\nThe local dialect of Lowland Scots is often known as ''Doric'', and is spoken not just in the city, but across the north-east of Scotland. It differs somewhat from other Scots dialects most noticeable are the pronunciation ''f'' for what is normally written ''wh'' and ''ee'' for what in standard English would usually be written ''oo'' (Scots ''ui''). Every year the annual Doric Festival takes place in Aberdeenshire to celebrate the history of the north-east's language. As with all Scots dialects in urban areas, it is not spoken as widely as it used to be in Aberdeen.\n\n===Media===\n\nAberdeen is home to Scotland's oldest newspaper the ''Press and Journal'', a local and regional newspaper first published in 1747. The ''Press and Journal'' and its sister paper the tabloid ''Evening Express'' are printed six days a week by Aberdeen Journals. There is one free newspaper, the ''Aberdeen Citizen''. BBC Scotland has a network studio production base in the city's Beechgrove area, and BBC Aberdeen produces ''The Beechgrove Potting Shed'' for radio while Tern Television produces ''The Beechgrove Garden'' television programme. The city is also home to STV North (formerly ''Grampian Television''), which produces the regional news programmes such as ''STV News at Six'', as well as local commercials. The station, based at Craigshaw Business Park in Tullos, was based at larger studios in Queens Cross from September 1961 until June 2003.\n\nThere are three commercial radio stations operating in the city: Northsound Radio, which runs Northsound 1 and Northsound 2, and independent station Original 106. Other radio stations include NECR FM (''North-East Community Radio FM'') DAB station, and shmu FM managed by ''Station House Media Unit'' which supports community members to run Aberdeen's first (and only) full-time community radio station, broadcasting on 99.8 MHz FM.\n\n===Food===\nAberdeen butteries, also known as rowies, served with jamThe Aberdeen region has given its name to a number of dishes, including the Aberdeen buttery (also known as \"rowie\") and Aberdeen Sausage. The Aberdeen buttery is more frequently seen and is sold at bakeries and supermarkets throughout the city. It looks like a cross between a pancake and a croissant and has a buttery, salty taste and heavy texture. It is usually eaten cold and served plain or with jam or butter.\n\nIn 2015, a study was published in The Scotsman which analysed the presence of branded fast food outlets in Scotland. Of the ten towns and cities analysed, Aberdeen was found to have the lowest per capita concentration, with just 0.12 stores per 1,000 inhabitants.\n", "\n\n===Football===\nPittodrie Stadium viewed from Broad Hill\nSPFL football club, Aberdeen F.C. play at Pittodrie Stadium. The club won the European Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983, the Scottish Premier League Championship four times (1955, 1980, 1984 and 1985), and the Scottish Cup seven times (1947, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990). Under the management of Alex Ferguson, Aberdeen was a major force in British football during the 1980s. As of the 2016–17 season, the club is managed by Derek McInnes. There are plans to build a new Aberdeen Stadium in the future. Under the management of McInnes the team won the 2014 Scottish League Cup and followed it up with a second place league finish for the first time for more than 20 years in the following season.\n\nThe other senior team is Cove Rangers F.C. of the Highland Football League (HFL), who play at Allan Park in the suburb of Cove Bay, although they will be moving to Calder Park once it is built to boost their chances of getting into the Scottish Football League. Cove won the HFL championship in 2001, 2008, 2009 and 2013.\n\nThere was also a historic senior team Bon Accord F.C. who no longer play. Local junior teams include Banks O' Dee F.C., Culter F.C., F.C. Stoneywood, Glentanar F.C., Sunnybank and Hermes F.C..\n\n===Rugby Union===\nAberdeen hosted Caledonia Reds a Scottish rugby team, before they merged with the Glasgow Warriors in 1998. The city is also home to the Scottish Premiership Division One rugby club Aberdeen GSFP RFC who play at Rubislaw Playing Fields, and Aberdeenshire RFC which was founded in 1875 and runs Junior, Senior Men's, Senior Ladies and Touch sections from the Woodside Sports Complex and also Aberdeen Wanderers RFC. Former Wanderers' player Jason White was captain of the Scotland national rugby union team.\n\nAberdeenshire Rugby Football Club is based in the North of the city at Woodside Sports Complex near the Great North Road on the banks of the river Don. They currently play in the Scottish League Championship B (East), the 3rd tier of club rugby.\n\nIn 2005 the President of the SRU said it was hoped eventually to establish a professional team in Aberdeen. In November 2008 the city hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between Scotland and Canada, with Scotland winning 41–0.\nIn November 2010 the city once again hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between Scotland and Samoa, with Scotland winning 19–16.\n\n===Rugby League===\nAberdeen Warriors rugby league team play in the Scotland Rugby League Conference Division One. The Warriors also run Under 15's and 17's teams. Aberdeen Grammar School won the Saltire Schools Cup in 2011.\n\n===Golf===\nHazlehead Golf Course, Aberdeen\nThe Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, founded in 1780 and the oldest golf club in Aberdeen, hosted the Senior British Open in 2005, and the amateur team event the Walker Cup in 2011. Royal Aberdeen also hosted the Scottish Open in 2014, won by Justin Rose. The club has a second course, and there are public golf courses at Auchmill, Balnagask, Hazlehead and King's Links. The 1999 winner of The Open Championship, Paul Lawrie, hails from the city.\n\nThere are new courses planned for the area, including world class facilities with major financial backing, the city and shire are set to become a hotbed for golf tourism. In Summer 2012, Donald Trump opened a new state of the art golf course at Menie, just north of the city, as the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland.\n\nAberdeen Aquatics Centre – Aberdeen Sports Village\n\n===Swimming===\nThe ''City of Aberdeen Swim Team'' (COAST) was based in Northfield swimming pool, but since the opening of the Aberdeen Aquatics Centre in 2014, it is now based there, as it has a 50 m pool as opposed to the 25 m pool at Northfield. It has been in operation since 1996. The team comprises several smaller swimming clubs, and has enjoyed success throughout Scotland and in international competitions. Three of the team's swimmers qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.\n\n===Rowing===\nRowers under Wellington Suspension Bridge on the River Dee, Aberdeen\n\nThere are four boat clubs that row on the River Dee: Aberdeen Boat Club (ABC), Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association (ASRA), Aberdeen University Boat Club (AUBC) and Robert Gordon University Boat Club (RGUBC). There are regattas and head races annually, managed by the Committee of the Dee. There is also a boat race held every year between AUBC and RGUBC. The race is in mixed eights, and usually held in late February / early March.\n\n===Cricket===\nAberdeen boasts a large cricket community with 4 local leagues operating that comprise a total of 25 clubs fielding 36 teams. The city has two national league sides, Aberdeenshire and Stoneywood-Dyce. Local 'Grades' cricket has been played in Aberdeen since 1884. Aberdeenshire were the 2009 & 2014 Scottish National Premier League and Scottish Cup Champions\n\n===Ice hockey===\nAberdeen Lynx are an amateur ice hockey team who play in the Scottish National League and are based at the Linx Ice Arena. The arena has a seating capacity of 1,100. The club also field teams at the Under 20, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 age groups.\n\n===Other sports===\nThe city council operates public tennis courts in various parks including an indoor tennis centre at Westburn Park. The Beach Leisure Centre is home to a climbing wall, gymnasium and a swimming pool. There are numerous swimming pools dotted around the city notably the largest, the Bon-Accord Baths which closed down in 2006.\n\nAberdeen City council also have an Outdoor Education service which is now known as '''''adventure aberdeen''''', that provides abseiling, surfing, white water rafting, gorge walking, kayaking and open canoeing, mountaineering, sailing, mountain biking and rock climbing. They say they aim to \"Inspire learning through adventure\", and have many programs for children and adults.\n\nIn common with many other major towns and cities in the UK, Aberdeen has an active roller derby league, Granite City Roller Girls. The Aberdeen Roughnecks American football club are a new team which started in 2012. They are an adult contact team who currently train at Seaton Park. This is the first team which Aberdeen has enjoyed since the Granite City Oilers were wound up in the late 1990s. Aberdeen Oilers Floorball Club was founded in 2007. The club initially attracted a range of experienced Scandinavian and other European players who were studying in Aberdeen. Since their formation, Aberdeen Oilers have played in the British Floorball Northern League and went on to win the league in the 2008/09 season. The club played a major role in setting up a ladies league in Scotland. The Oiler's ladies team ended up 2nd in the first ladies league season (2008/09).\n", "New Royal Aberdeen's Children Hospital and New Emergency Care Centre in background, Foresterhill, Aberdeen\nPolice Scotland's Aberdeen HQ, Queen Street\nThe public health service in Scotland, NHS Scotland provides for the people of Aberdeen through the NHS Grampian health board. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is the largest hospital in the city (the location of the city's A&E department), Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, a paediatric hospital, Royal Cornhill Hospital for mental health, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, an antenatal hospital, Woodend Hospital, which specialises in rehabilitation and long term illnesses and conditions, and City Hospital and Woolmanhill Hospital, which host several out-patient clinics and offices.\n\nAlbyn Hospital is a private hospital located in the west end of the city.\n\nAberdeen City Council is responsible for city owned infrastructure which is paid for by a mixture of council tax and income from HM Treasury. Infrastructure and services run by the council include: clearing snow in winter, city wardens, maintaining parks, refuse collection, sewage, street cleaning and street lighting. Infrastructure in private hands includes electricity, gas and telecoms. Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water.\n\n*'''Police:''' Policing in Aberdeen is the responsibility of Police Scotland (the British Transport Police has responsibility for railways). The Grampian Division of Police Scotland headquarters (and Aberdeen divisional headquarters) is located in Queen Street, Aberdeen.\n*'''Ambulance:''' The North East divisional headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service is located in Aberdeen.\n*'''Fire and rescue:''' This is the responsibility of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.\n*'''Lifeboat:''' The Royal National Lifeboat Institution operates Aberdeen Lifeboat Station. It is located at Victoria Dock Entrance in York Place. The current building was opened in 1997.\n", "Aberdeen is twinned with Regensburg, Germany (1955), Clermont-Ferrand, France (1983), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (1986), Stavanger, Norway (1990), Gomel, Belarus (1990) and Barranquilla, Colombia (2016).\n\nHouston, Texas, is twinned with the former region of Grampian, of which Aberdeen was the largest settlement.\n", "\nGeorge Gordon Byron\n\n* Leslie Benzies, Former president of Rockstar North, creators of the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series.\n* Scott Booth, former football player, played for Aberdeen F.C., FC Twente, Borussia Dortmund and the Scottish national football team.\n* Lord Byron, poet, was raised (age 2–10) in Aberdeen.\n* David Carry, swimmer, 2x 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.\n* Henry Cecil, one of the most successful horse trainers of all time.\n* Oswald Chambers, author of ''My Utmost For His Highest''\n* Andrew Cruickshank, actor famous for his role in ''Dr Finlay's Casebook''\n* John Mathieson Dodds, apprentice and engineer with Metrovick, Manchester and radar pioneer in Chain Home defence system for 1940 Battle of Britain.\n* Neil Fachie, cyclist, 2012 Paralympic Games gold and silver medallist.\n* Simon Farquhar, playwright.\n* Bertie Charles Forbes (from New Deer, Aberdeenshire), founded Forbes.\n* Graeme Garden, author, actor, comedian, artist, TV presenter, famous for The Goodies.\n* Ryan Gauld, footballer who currently plays for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.\n* James Gibbs, 18th-century architect.\n* George Jamesone, Scotland's first eminent portrait-painter.\n* Reginald Victor Jones, physicist, Chair of Natural Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, author.\n* Denis Law, former football player, played for Manchester City, Manchester United and the Scottish national football team, joint all-time record Scotland goalscorer with thirty goals.\n* Paul Lawrie, golfer, winner of the 1999 Open Championship.\n* Annie Lennox, musician, winner of eight Brit Awards, grew up in Ellon.\n* Rose Leslie, actress, best known for playing Ygritte in HBO's Game of Thrones.\n* James Clerk Maxwell, Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen from 1856–60.\n* Robbie Renwick, swimmer, 1x 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.\n* Professor Sir C. Duncan Rice, historian, former principal of the University of Aberdeen.\n* Archibald Simpson, architect, one of Aberdeen's major architects.\n* John Smith, architect, Aberdeen's other major architect and official City Architect\n* Nicol Stephen, former Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, former Deputy First Minister of Scotland\n* John Strachan, first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.\n* Ron Yeats, former football player, captain of the first great Liverpool team of the 1960s, also played for the Scottish national football team.\n", "*Stuart MacBride's crime novels, ''Cold Granite'', ''Dying Light'', ''Broken Skin'', ''Flesh House'', ''Blind Eye'' and ''Dark Blood'' (a series with main protagonist, DS Logan MacRae) are all set in Aberdeen. DS Logan MacRae is a Grampian Police officer and locations found in the books can be found in Aberdeen and the surrounding countryside.\n*A large part of the plot of the World War II spy thriller ''Eye of the Needle'' takes place in wartime Aberdeen, from which a German spy is trying to escape to a submarine waiting offshore.\n*Stewart Home's sex and literary obsessed contemporary novel 69 Things to Do with a Dead Princess is set in Aberdeen.\n*A portion of Ian Rankin's novel ''Black and Blue'' (1997) is set in Aberdeen, where its nickname \"Furry Boots\" is noted.\n*Sarah Jane Smith from the popular science fiction show Doctor Who was accidentally returned to Aberdeen instead of her home in South Croydon by the fourth incarnation of the Doctor.\n*The successful Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show makes occasional reference to Aberdeen, as the employer of one of the main characters has an office in Aberdeen. In one episode Mark Corrigan is desperate to be put on secondment to Aberdeen so as to spend some time with his love interest, Sophie, whilst in another episode, Mark's boss, Alan Johnson, announces that he is \"just back from Aberdeen.\"\n* The pop music groups Danny Wilson and Royseven, as well as alternative rock group Cage the Elephant have all recorded songs called 'Aberdeen'.\n* The fictional character Groundskeeper Willie, a recurring character on the USA TV show \"The Simpsons\" is heard cheering \"Go Aberdeen\" upon waking up from a dream in the episode titled 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky. Also, in an episode when Homer and Mr Burns go to Loch Ness in search of the Loch Ness Monster, they discover a fake version of the monster with graffiti which reads 'Stomp Aberdeen'. Homer then goes on to proclaim that 'Aberdeen rules!'. This is in spite of the fact that Groundskeeper Willie does not have an Aberdeen accent.\n*Star Trek's chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, described himself as \"an old Aberdeen pub crawler\" in the episode \"Wolf in the Fold\" (however, actor James Doohan does not speak with an Aberdeenshire accent).\n*Auberdine, a seaport town located in Darkshore in the game World of Warcraft, is a possible reference to the city of Aberdeen.\n*In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Aberdeen is mentioned as one of the stops of The Knight Bus.\n*Aberdeen is mentioned in Under the Lake, the third episode of the ninth series of the popular science fiction show Doctor Who. Looking to portray a socially acceptable level of empathy, The Doctor flips through a series of cue cards. One of the cards reads, \"It was my fault, I should have known you didn't live in Aberdeen.\"\n", "\n*Aberdeen Bestiary\n*Aberdeen City Youth Council\n*Aberdeen typhoid outbreak 1964\n*Aberdonia (disambiguation)\n*List of places in Aberdeen\n*List of places in Scotland\n*Our Lady of Aberdeen\n*William Wallace Statue, Aberdeen\n*William Wallace Statue, Bemersyde\n", "\n", "* \n* \n* \n*\n*\n", "\n\n* Aberdeen City Council\n*\n* A collection of historic maps of Aberdeen from the 1660s onward at National Library of Scotland\n* A selection of archive films relating to Aberdeen at the Scottish Screen Archive\n* Engraving of Aberdeen in 1693 by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland\n* Aberdeen Tourist Guide\n* Aberdeen listings and review\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Governance", "Heraldry", "Geography", "Demography", "Economy", "Landmarks", "Transport", "Education", "Culture", "Sport", "Public services", "Twin cities", "Notable people", "Aberdeen in popular culture", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "\nAberdeen Central Library and St Marks Church, Rosemount, Aberdeen\nTown House, Sheriff Court and North of Scotland Bank, Aberdeen\nGranite Buildings on Union Street\nAberdeen, Salvation Army Citadel\nHead Post Office, Crown Street\nFormer Trinity United Free Church, Crown Street, Aberdeen\nAberdeen's architecture is known for its principal use during the Victorian era of granite, which has led to its local nickname of the ''Granite City'' or more romantically the less commonly used name the ''Silver City'', since the Mica in the stone sparkles in the sun.", "Amongst the notable buildings in the city's main street, Union Street, are the Town and County Bank, the Music Hall, the Trinity Hall of the incorporated trades (originating between 1398 and 1527, although completely rebuilt in the 1860s), now a shopping mall; the former office of the Northern Assurance Company, and the National Bank of Scotland.", "Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen\nDuthie Park opened in 1899 on the north bank of the River Dee." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Aberdeen''' (; , ; ; ) is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 37th most populous built-up area, with an official population estimate of 196,670 for the city of Aberdeen and for the local authority area.", "Nicknames include the ''Granite City'', the ''Grey City'' and the ''Silver City with the Golden Sands''.", "During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver because of its high mica content.", "Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the ''Oil Capital of the World'' or the ''Energy Capital of the World''.", "The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don.", "The city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters.", "Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–53), transforming the city economically.", "The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east of Scotland.", "The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport.", "Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.", "Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record-breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies.", "In 2015, Mercer named Aberdeen the 57th most liveable city in the world, as well as the fourth most liveable city in Britain.", "In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as a leading business hub and one of eight 'super cities' spearheading the UK's economy, marking it as the only city in Scotland to receive this accolade.", "\nThe Town House, Old Aberdeen.", "Once a separate burgh, Old Aberdeen was incorporated into the city in 1891\nCastlegate and Union Street (c.1900)\n\nThe Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years.", "The city began as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary.", "The earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I.", "In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community.", "Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians.", "During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308, followed by the massacring of the English garrison and the retaking of Aberdeen for the townspeople.", "The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen.", "The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770.", "The Powis gate Old Aberdeen\n\nDuring the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644–1647 the city was plundered by both sides.", "In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of Marquis of Huntly.", "In 1647 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed a quarter of the population.", "In the 18th century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779.", "The council began major road improvements at the end of the 18th century with the main thoroughfares of George Street, King Street and Union Street all completed at the beginning of the 19th century.", "Union Terrace, Aberdeen, circa 1900\n\nThe expensive infrastructure works led to the city becoming bankrupt in 1817 during the Post-Napoleonic depression, an economic downturn immediately after the Napoleonic wars; but the city's prosperity later recovered.", "The increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and the development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries led to the construction of the present harbour including Victoria Dock and the South Breakwater, and the extension of the North Pier.", "Gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place.", "An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865.", "The city was incorporated in 1891.", "Although Old Aberdeen has a separate history and still holds its ancient charter, it is no longer officially independent.", "It is an integral part of the city, as is Woodside and the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of the River Dee.", "===Toponymy===\n\nThough Brittonic was spoken in Southern Scotland (part of ''yr Hen Ogledd'') up to medieval times, as evidenced (for example) by the poem ''Y Gododdin'', Aberdeen was in Pictish territory and became Gaelic-speaking at some time in the medieval period.", "Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of ''Aberdon'', the first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means \"the mouth of the Don\".", "The Celtic word ''aber'' means \"river mouth\", as in modern Welsh (Aberystwyth, Aberdare, Aberbeeg etc.).", "The Gaelic name is ''Obar Dheathain'' (variation: ''Obairreadhain'') (''obar'' presumably being a loan from the earlier Pictish; the Gaelic term is \"inbhir\"), and in Latin, the Romans referred to the river as ''Devana''.", "Mediaeval (or ecclesiastical) Latin has it as ''Aberdonia''.", "\n\nMarischal College, home of Aberdeen City Council, Broad St.\n\nAberdeen is locally governed by the Aberdeen City Council, which comprises forty-five councillors who represent the city's wards and is headed by the Lord Provost.", "The current Lord Provost is Barney Crockett.", "From May 2003 until May 2007 the council was run by a Liberal Democrat and Conservative Party coalition.", "Following the May 2007 local elections, the Liberal Democrats formed a new coalition with the Scottish National Party.", "After a later SNP by-election gain from the Conservatives, this coalition held 28 of the 43 seats.", "Following the election of 4 May 2017, the council was controlled by a coalition of Scottish Labour, Scottish Conservatives and independent councillors; the Labour councillors were subsequently suspended by Scottish Labour Party leader, Kezia Dugdale.", "Aberdeen is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by three constituencies: Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South which are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area, and Gordon, which includes a large area of the Aberdeenshire Council area.", "In the Scottish Parliament, the city is represented by three constituencies with different boundaries: Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen Donside are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area.", "Aberdeen South and North Kincardine includes the North Kincardine ward of Aberdeenshire Council.", "A further seven MSPs are elected as part of the North East Scotland electoral region.", "In the European Parliament the city is represented by six MEPs as part of the all-inclusive Scotland constituency.", "\nBon Accord Square, designed by Archibald Simpson and dating from 1823\nLamp-post bearing the city coat of arms\nThe arms and banner of the city show three silver towers on red.", "This motif dates from at least the time of Robert the Bruce and represents the buildings that stood on the three hills of medieval Aberdeen: Aberdeen Castle on Castle Hill (today's Castlegate); the city gate on Port Hill; and a church on St Catherine's Hill (now levelled).", "''Bon Accord'' is the motto of the city and is French for \"Good Agreement\".", "Legend tells that its use dates from a password used by Robert the Bruce during the 14th century Wars of Scottish Independence, when he and his men laid siege to the English-held Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308.", "It is still widely present in the city, throughout street names, business names and the city's Bon Accord shopping mall.", "The shield in the coat of arms is supported by two leopards.", "A local magazine is called the \"Leopard\" and, when Union Bridge was widened in the 20th century, small statues of the creature in a sitting position were cast and placed on top of the railing posts (known locally as Kelly's Cats).", "The city's toast is \"Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again\"; this has been commonly misinterpreted as the translation of Bon Accord.", "\nAberdeen Coast\nAberdeen Beach\nBeing sited between two river mouths, the city has little natural exposure of bedrock.", "This leaves local geologists in a slight quandary: despite the high concentration of geoscientists in the area (courtesy of the oil industry), there is only a vague understanding of what underlies the city.", "To the south side of the city, coastal cliffs expose high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Grampian Group; to the south-west and west are extensive granites intruded into similar high-grade schists; to the north the metamorphics are intruded by gabbroic complexes instead.", "The small amount of geophysics done, and occasional building-related exposures, combined with small exposures in the banks of the River Don, suggest that it is actually sited on an inlier of Devonian \"Old Red\" sandstones and silts.", "The outskirts of the city spread beyond the (inferred) limits of the outlier onto the surrounding metamorphic/ igneous complexes formed during the Dalradian period (approximately 480–600 million years ago) with sporadic areas of igneous Diorite granites to be found, such as that at the Rubislaw quarry which was used to build much of the Victorian parts of the city.", "On the coast, Aberdeen has a long sand beach between the two rivers, the Dee and the Don, which turns into high sand dunes north of the Don stretching as far as Fraserburgh; to the south of the Dee are steep rocky cliff faces with only minor pebble and shingle beaches in deep inlets.", "A number of granite outcrops along the south coast have been quarried in the past, making for spectacular scenery and good rock-climbing.", "The city extends to , and includes the former burghs of Old Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Woodside and the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of River Dee.", "In this gave the city a population density of .", "The city is built on many hills, with the original beginnings of the city growing from Castle Hill, St. Catherine's Hill and Windmill Hill.", "===Location===\n\n\n===Climate===\nAberdeen features an oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfb'').", "Aberdeen has far milder winter temperatures than one might expect for its northern location, although statistically it is the coldest city in the UK.", "During the winter, especially throughout December, the length of the day is very short, averaging 6 hours and 41 minutes between sunrise and sunset at winter solstice.", "As winter progresses, the length of the day grows fairly quickly, to 8 hours and 20 minutes by the end of January.", "Around summer solstice, the days will be around 18 hours long, having 17 hours and 55 minutes between sunrise and sunset.", "During this time of the year marginal nautical twilight lasts the entire night.", "Temperatures at this time of year will be typically hovering around during the day in most of the urban area, though nearer directly on the coast, and around in the westernmost suburbs, illustrating the cooling effect of the North Sea during summer.", "In addition, from June onward skies are more overcast than in April/May, as reflected in a lower percentage of possible sunshine (the percentage of daylight hours that are sunny).", "These factors render summer to be very temperate by European standards.", "Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone.", "Both are about to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes.", "Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime temperatures year round owing to its slightly lower elevation, though it is more susceptible to harsh frosts.", "The coldest temperature to occur in recent years was during December 2010, while the following winter, Dyce set a new February high temperature station record on 28 February 2012 of ., and a new March high temperature record of on 25 March 2012.", "The average temperature of the sea ranges from in March to in August.", "Aberdeen's population since 1396\n\nThe latest population estimate (mid 2012) for the urban area of Aberdeen is 196,670.", "For the wider settlement of Aberdeen including Cove Bay and Dyce the latest population estimate (mid 2012) is 209,460.", "For the local authority area of Aberdeen City the latest estimate (mid ) is \n\nIn 1396 the population was about 3,000.", "By 1801 it had become 26,992; (1901) 153,503; (1941) 182,467.", "The 2011 census showed that there are fewer young people in Aberdeen, with 16.4% under 16, opposed to the national average of 19.2%.", "According to the 2011 census Aberdeen is 91.9% white, ethnically, 24.7% were born outside Scotland, higher than the national average of 16%.", "Of this population 7.6% were born in other parts of the UK.", "8.2% of Aberdonians stated to be from an ethnic minority (non-white) in the 2011 census, with 9,519 (4.3%) being Asian, with 3,385 (1.5%) coming from India and 2,187 (1.0%) being Chinese.", "The city has around 5,610 (2.6%) residents of African or Caribbean origin, which is a higher percentage than both Glasgow and Edinburgh.", "The most multicultural part of the city is George Street, which has many ethnic restaurants, supermarkets and hairdressers.", "'''Aberdeen compared'''\n\n'''UK Census 2011'''\n'''Aberdeen'''\n'''Scotland'''\n\nTotal population\n222,793\n5,295,000\n\nPopulation growth 2001–2011\n5.0%\n5.0%\n\nWhite\n91.9%\n96.0%\n\nAsian\n4.3%\n2.7%\n\nBlack\n2.6%\n0.8%\n\nChristian\n30.9%\n54.0%\n\nMuslim\n1.9%\n1.4%\n\nIn the household, there were 97,013 individual dwellings recorded in the city of which 61% were privately owned, 9% privately rented and 23% rented from the council.", "The most popular type of dwellings are apartments which comprise 49% of residences followed by semi-detached at just below 22%.", "The median income of a household in the city is £16,813 (the mean income is £20,292) (2005) which places approximately 18% households in the city below the poverty line (defined as 60% of the mean income).", "Conversely, an Aberdeen postcode has the second highest number of millionaires of any postcode in the UK.", "===Religion===\n\nSt Machar's Cathedral\nSouth and St. Nicholas Kirk Spires viewed from Union St\nChristianity is the main religion practised in the city.", "Aberdeen's largest denominations are the Church of Scotland (through the Presbytery of Aberdeen) and the Roman Catholic Church, both with numerous churches across the city, with the Scottish Episcopal Church having the third-largest number.", "The most recent census in 2001 showed that Aberdeen has the highest proportion of non-religious residents of any city in Scotland, with nearly 43% of citizens claiming to have no religion and several former churches in the city have been converted into bars and restaurants.", "In the Middle Ages, the Kirk of St Nicholas was the only burgh kirk and one of Scotland's largest parish churches.", "Like a number of other Scottish kirks, it was subdivided after the Reformation, in this case into the East and West churches.", "At this time, the city also was home to houses of the Carmelites (Whitefriars) and Franciscans (Greyfriars), the latter of which surviving in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College as late as the early 20th century.", "Gilcomston Church, Union St, Aberdeen\nSt Machar's Cathedral was built twenty years after David I (1124–53) transferred the pre-Reformation Diocese from Mortlach in Banffshire to Old Aberdeen in 1137.", "With the exception of the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484–1511), building progressed slowly.", "Gavin Dunbar, who followed him in 1518, completed the structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept.", "It is now a congregation of the Church of Scotland.", "Aberdeen has two other cathedrals: St. Mary's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Gothic style, erected in 1859.", "In addition, St. Andrew's Cathedral serves the Scottish Episcopal Church.", "It was constructed in 1817 as Archibald Simpson's first commission and contains a memorial to the consecration of the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which took place nearby.", "In 1804, St Peter's Church, the first permanent Roman Catholic church in the city after the Reformation was built.", "St Andrew's Cathedral, King Street\nNumerous other Protestant denominations have a presence in Aberdeen.", "The Salvation Army citadel on the Castlegate dominates the view of east end of Union Street.", "In addition, there is a Unitarian church, established in 1833 and located in Skene Terrace.", "Christadelphians have been present in Aberdeen since at least 1844.", "Over the years, they have rented space to meet at a number of locations and currently meet in the Inchgarth Community Centre in Garthdee.", "There is also a Quaker meetinghouse on Crown street, the only purpose built Quaker House in Scotland that is still in use today.", "In addition, there are a number of Baptist congregations in the city, and Evangelical congregations have been appearing in significant numbers since the late 2000s.", "The city also has two meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).", "There is also a mosque in Old Aberdeen which serves the Islamic community in the city, and an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue established in 1945.", "There is also a Thai Buddhist temple located in the Hazelhead area of the city.There are no formal Hindu buildings, although the University of Aberdeen has a small Bahá'í society and there is a fortnightly Hindu religious gathering in the 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoons at Queens Cross Parish church hall.", "Rubislaw Quarry, opened in 1740, provided some six million tonnes of granite prior to its closure.", "Both the Houses of Parliament and the Forth Rail Bridge were constructed using its granite.", "War Memorial at Pocra Quay with Marine Ops Centre in background.", "Situated at Aberdeen Harbour, next to Footdee an ancient fishing village dating as far back as 1398\n\nTraditionally, Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, shipbuilding and paper making.", "These industries have been largely replaced.", "High technology developments in the electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing and the oil industry, which has been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic boom in the last three decades, are now major parts of Aberdeen's economy.", "Until the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the 18th century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and paper-making, the oldest industry in the city, with paper having been first made there in 1694.", "Paper-making has reduced in importance since the closures of Donside Paper Mill in 2001 and the Davidson Mill in 2005 leaving the Stoneywood Paper Mill with a workforce of approximately 500.", "Textile production ended in 2004 when Richards of Aberdeen closed.", "Grey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry for more than 300 years, and used for paving setts, kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental pieces.", "Aberdeen granite was used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge in London.", "Quarrying finally ceased in 1971.", "The current owners have begun pumping 40 years of rain water from the quarry with the aim of developing a heritage centre on the site.", "Fishing was once the predominant industry, but was surpassed by deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout the 20th century.", "Catches have fallen because of overfishing and the use of the harbour by oil support vessels, and so although still an important fishing port it is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh.", "The Fisheries Research Services are headquartered in Aberdeen, and there is a marine research lab in Torry.", "GDF Suez and Aker Solutions Buildings, North Dee Business Quarter.", "An example of modern offices becoming more prevalent in Aberdeen's City Centre\nAberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research carried out at The James Hutton Institute (formerly the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute), which has close links to the city's two universities.", "The Rowett Research Institute is a world-renowned research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen.", "It has produced three Nobel laureates and there is a high concentration of life scientists working in the city.", "As oil reserves in the North Sea decrease there is an effort to rebrand Aberdeen as \"Energy Capital of Europe\" rather than \"Oil Capital of Europe\", and there is interest in the development of new energy sources; and technology transfer from oil into renewable energy and other industries is under way.", "The \"Energetica\" initiative led by Scottish Enterprise has been designed to accelerate this process.", "As of 2013, Aberdeen remained a major world center for undersea petroleum technology.", "===Aberdeen and the North Sea===\nAberdeen had been a major maritime centre throughout the 19th century, when a group of local entrepreneurs launched the first steam-powered trawler.", "The steam trawling industry expanded and by 1933 Aberdeen was Scotland's top fishing port, employing nearly 3,000 men with 300 vessels sailing from its harbour.", "By the time oil was coming on stream, much of the trawling fleet had relocated to Peterhead.", "Although Aberdeen still brings in substantial catches, the tugs, safety vessels and supply ships which pack the harbour far outnumber the trawlers.", "Aberdeen Harbour from the Air\nGeologists had speculated about the existence of oil and gas in the North Sea since the middle of the 20th century, but tapping its deep and inhospitable waters was another story.", "With the Middle Eastern oil sheiks becoming more aware of the political and economic power of their oil reserves and government threats of rationing, the industry began to consider the North Sea as a viable source of oil.", "Exploration commenced in the 1960s and the first major find in the British sector was in November 1970 in the Forties field, east of Aberdeen.", "By late 1975, after years of intense construction the necessary infrastructure was in place.", "In Aberdeen, at BP's (British Petroleum) headquarters, the Queen pressed the button that would set the whole thing moving.", "Oil flowed from the rig directly to the refinery at far-away Grangemouth.", "While many ports have suffered decline, Aberdeen remains busy because of the oil trade and the influx of people connected with the industry, a subsequent rise in property prices have brought prosperity to the area.", "The industry supports about 47,000 jobs locally, and known reserves ensure that oil will continue to flow well into the 21st century.", "As a major port in the UK, Aberdeen receives many ships calling at the port.", "Seafarers' welfare organisation, Apostleship of the Sea has a port chaplain in Aberdeen to offer practical and pastoral support to them.", "===Business===\nIn 2011, the Centre for Cities named Aberdeen as the best placed city for growth in Britain, as the country looked to emerge from the recent economic downturn.", "With energy still providing the backbone of the local economy, recent years have seen very large new investment in the North Sea owing to rising oil prices and favourable government tax incentives.", "This has led to several oil majors and independents building new global offices in the city.", "Aberdeen City and Shire's Gross Domestic Product is estimated at over £11.4billion, accounting for over 17% of the overall Scottish GDP.", "Five of Scotland's top ten businesses are based in Aberdeen with a collective turnover of £14billion, yielding a profit in excess of £2.4billion.", "Alongside this 29 of Scotland's top 100 businesses are located in Aberdeen with an employment rate of 77.9%, making it the 2nd highest UK city for employment.", "Figures released in 2016 ranked Aberdeen as having the second highest amount of patents processed per person in the UK.", "===Shopping===\nThe Academy, Belmont St and Schoolhill, Aberdeen\nUnion St towards West End, Aberdeen\nThe city ranks third in Scotland for shopping.", "The traditional shopping streets are Union Street and George Street, now complemented by shopping centres, notably the Bon Accord & St Nicholas and the Trinity Shopping Centre.", "A new retail £190 million development, Union Square, reached completion in late September/early October 2009.", "Major retail parks away from the city centre include the Berryden Retail Park, the Kittybrewster Retail Park and the Beach Boulevard Retail Park.", "In March 2004, Aberdeen was awarded Fairtrade City status by the Fairtrade Foundation.", "Along with Dundee, it shares the distinction of being the first city in Scotland to receive this accolade.", "The hard grey stone is one of the most durable materials available and helps to explain why the city's buildings look brand-new when they have been newly cleaned and the cement has been pointed.", "Unlike other Scottish cities where sandstone has been used, the buildings are not weathering and need very little structural maintenance on their masonry.", "The buildings can however become noticeably darker as a result of pollution and grime accumulated over the years.", "There has however been great success in cleaning the buildings which can result in their façade being restored back to much how they looked originally.", "In Castle Street, a continuation eastwards of Union Street, is the new Town House, a very prominent landmark in Aberdeen, built between 1868 and 1873 to a design by Peddie and Kinnear.", "Alexander Marshall Mackenzie's extension to Marischal College on Broad Street, opened by King Edward VII in 1906, created the second largest granite building in the world (after the Escorial, Madrid).", "In addition to the many fine landmark buildings, Aberdeen has many prominent public statues, three of the most notable being William Wallace at the junction between Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct, Robert Burns on Union Terrace above Union Terrace Gardens, and Robert the Bruce holding aloft the charter he issued to the city in 1319 on Broad Street, outside Marischal College.", "===Parks, gardens and open spaces===\n\n\nAberdeen has long been famous for its 45 parks and gardens, and citywide floral displays which include two million roses, eleven million daffodils and three million crocuses.", "The city has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom 'Best City' award ten times, the overall Scotland in Bloom competition twenty times and the large city category every year since 1968.", "However, despite recent spurious reports, Aberdeen has never been banned from the Britain in Bloom competition.", "The city won the 2006 Scotland in Bloom \"Best City\" award along with the International Cities in Bloom award.", "The suburb of Dyce also won the Small Towns award.", "It was named after and given to the city by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston in 1881.", "It has extensive gardens, a rose hill, boating pond, bandstand, and play area as well as Europe's second largest enclosed gardens the David Welch Winter Gardens.", "Hazlehead Park, is large and forested, located on the outskirts of the city, it is popular with walkers in the forests, sports enthusiasts, naturalists and picnickers.", "There are football pitches, two golf courses, a pitch and putt course and a horse riding school.", "Duthie Park, Aberdeen, Scotland\n\nAberdeen's success in the Britain in Bloom competitions is often attributed to Johnston Gardens, a small park of one hectare in the west end of the city containing many different flowers and plants which have been renowned for their beauty.", "In 2002, the garden was named the best garden in the British Islands.", "Seaton Park, formerly the grounds of a private house, is on the edge of the grounds of St Machar's Cathedral.", "The Cathedral Walk is maintained in a formal style with a great variety of plants providing a popular display.", "The park includes several other areas with contrasting styles to this.", "Union Terrace Gardens opened in 1879 and is situated in the centre of the city.", "It covers in the centre of Aberdeen bordered on three sides by Union Street, Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct.", "The park forms a natural amphitheatre located in the Denburn Valley and is an oasis of peace and calm in the city centre.", "A recent proposal to build a three-storey concrete and steel superstructure in place of the gardens, part of which will provide a commercial concourse, has proved highly controversial.", "Situated next to each other, Victoria Park and Westburn Park cover between them.", "Victoria Park opened in 1871.", "There is a conservatory used as a seating area and a fountain made of fourteen different granites, presented to the people by the granite polishers and master builders of Aberdeen.", "Opposite to the north is Westburn Park opened in 1901.", "With large grass pitches it is widely used for field sports.", "There is large tennis centre with indoor and outdoor courts, a children's cycle track, play area and a grass boules lawn.", "===Theatres and concert halls===\n\nThe Tivoli Theatre, Guild Street, Aberdeen\nHis Majesty's Theatre, Rosemount, Aberdeen\nAberdeen has hosted several theatres throughout its history, some of which have subsequently been converted or destroyed.", "The most\nfamous include:\n*His Majesty's Theatre (HMT), on Rosemount Viaduct\n*The Tivoli, on Guild Street\n*Capitol Theatre, on Union Street\n*Aberdeen Arts Centre, on King Street\n*The Palace Theatre, on Bridge Street\n*The Lemon Tree on West North Street\n\nThe main concert hall is the Music Hall on Union Street, built in 1822.", "\nPlaza outside railway station at Aberdeen in early morning, with Union Square to left\nAberdeen railway station, main concourse\n\nAberdeen Airport (ABZ), at Dyce in the north of the city, serves domestic and international destinations including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Scandinavian countries.", "The heliport which serves the oil industry and rescue services is one of the world's busiest commercial heliports.", "Aberdeen railway station is on the main UK rail network and Abellio ScotRail has frequent direct trains to major cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.", "Virgin Trains East Coast and the Caledonian Sleeper operate direct trains to London.", "The station is being updated to bring it into the modern age.", "In 2007 additions were made and a new ticket office was built in the building.", "The UK's longest direct rail journey runs from Aberdeen to Penzance.", "It is operated by CrossCountry, leaving Aberdeen at 08:20 and taking 13 hours and 23 minutes.", "Until 2007, a 1950s-style concrete bus station at Guild Street served out-of-the-city locations; it has since transferred to a new and well-presented bus station just 100 metres to the east off Market Street as part of the Union Square development.", "There are six major roads in and out of the city.", "The A90 is the main arterial route into the city from the north and south, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh, Dundee, Brechin and Perth in the south and Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the north.", "The A96 links Elgin and Inverness and the north west.", "The A93 is the main route to the west, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms.", "After Braemar, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth.", "The A944 also heads west, through Westhill and on to Alford.", "The A92 was the original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, and is now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of Montrose and Arbroath and on the east coast.", "The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to Newmachar, Oldmeldrum and Turriff finally ending at Banff and Macduff.", "River Dee Railway Bridge, Aberdeen\nAfter first being mooted some 60 years ago and being held up for the past five years by a number of legal challenges, Aberdeen's long-awaited Western Peripheral Route was given the go-ahead after campaigners lost their appeal to the UK Supreme Court in October 2012.", "The route is earmarked to be completed in 2018 and is hoped to significantly reduce traffic congestion in and around the city.", "Aberdeen Harbour is important as the largest in the north of Scotland and as a ferry route to Orkney and Shetland.", "Established in 1136, it has been referred to as the oldest business in Britain.", "FirstGroup operates the city buses under the name First Aberdeen, as the successor of Grampian Regional Transport (GRT) and Aberdeen Corporation Tramways.", "Aberdeen is the global headquarters of FirstGroup plc, having grown from the GRT Group.", "First is still based at the former Aberdeen Tramways depot on King Street, which has now been redeveloped into a new Global Headquarters and Aberdeen bus depot.", "Stagecoach East Scotland also run buses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, under the Stagecoach Bluebird brand.", "Megabus run buses from the bus station to places north and south of the city.", "National Express operate express coach services to London twice daily.", "The 590 service, operated by Bruce's Coaches of Salsburgh\noperates in the morning and runs through the day, calling at Dundee, Perth, Glasgow, Hamilton, Carlisle, Milton Keynes, Golders Green and Victoria Coach Station, whilst the 592 (operated by Parks of Hamilton) leaves in the evening and travels overnight,\ncalling at Dundee, Glasgow, Hamilton, Carlisle, Heathrow Airport and Victoria Coach Station.", "In addition, there are Megabus services to London and Edinburgh and Scottish Citylink services to Glasgow, operated by Stagecoach East Scotland and Parks of Hamilton using the Citylink gold and blue livery.", "Aberdeen is connected to the UK National Cycle Network, and has a track to the south connecting to cities such as Dundee and Edinburgh and one to the north that forks about from the city into two different tracks heading to Inverness and Fraserburgh respectively.", "Two popular footpaths along old railway tracks are the Deeside Way to Banchory (which will eventually connect to Ballater) and the Formartine and Buchan Way to Ellon, both used by a mixture of cyclists, walkers and occasionally horses.", "Four park-and-ride sites serve the city: Stonehaven and Ellon (approx out from the city centre) and Kingswells and Bridge of Don (approx out).", "The Dee Estuary, Aberdeen's harbour, has continually been improved.", "Starting out as a fishing port, moving onto steam trawlers, the oil industry, it is now a major port of departure for the Baltic and Scandinavia.", "Major exports include fertiliser, granite, and chemicals.", "\nElphinstone Hall, Old Aberdeen\nSir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen University, Aberdeen\nKing's College, Old Aberdeen\n\n===Universities and colleges===\nAberdeen has two universities, the ancient ''University of Aberdeen'', and ''Robert Gordon University'', a modern university often referred to as RGU.", "Aberdeen's student rate of 11.5% is higher than the national average of 7%.", "Aberdeen Business School at the Robert Gordon University\n\nThe University of Aberdeen began as King's College, Aberdeen, which was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone (1431–1514), Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland.", "Marischal College, a separate institution, was founded in \"New\" Aberdeen by George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal of Scotland in 1593.", "These institutions were merged by order of Parliament in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen.", "The university is the fifth oldest in the English-speaking world and offers degrees in a full range of disciplines.", "Its main campus is in Old Aberdeen in the north of the city and it currently has approximately 14,000 students.", "The university's debating society is the oldest in Scotland, founded in 1848 as the King's College Debating Society.", "Robert Gordon's College (originally Robert Gordon's Hospital) was founded in 1750 by the merchant Robert Gordon, grandson of the map maker Robert Gordon of Straloch, and was further endowed in 1816 by Alexander Simpson of Collyhill.", "Originally devoted to the instruction and maintenance of the sons of poor burgesses of guild and trade in the city, it was reorganised in 1881 as a day and night school for secondary and technical education.", "In 1903, the vocational education component of the college was designated a Central Institution and was renamed as the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology in 1965.", "In 1992, university status was awarded and it became Robert Gordon University.", "The university has expanded and developed significantly in recent years, and was named Best Modern University in the UK for 2012 by ''The Sunday Times''.", "It was previously ''The Sunday Times'' Scottish University of the Year for 2011, primarily because of its record on graduate employment.", "The citation for the 2011 award read: \"''With a graduate unemployment rate that is lower than the most famous universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, plus a flourishing reputation for research, high student satisfaction rates and ambitious plans for its picturesque campus, the Robert Gordon University is The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year''\".", "RGU had two campuses: one in the city centre at Schoolhill/St.", "Andrew Street and a larger suburban campus at Garthdee and currently has approximately 15,500 students.", "As of 2013, the Garthdee campus was expanded to include all schools, with the Schoolhill/St.", "Andrew Street campus being sold to Robert Gordon's College, and the building now functions as the school's Science and Technology Centre.", "The closure of the Schoolhill site includes the removal of the Student Union building, giving Aberdeen the dubious distinction of having two universities but no student bar.", "Robert Gordon University – Sir Ian Wood building\nNorth East Scotland College\nAberdeen is also home to two artistic schools: Gray's School of Art, founded in 1886, which is one of the oldest established colleges of art in the UK.", "The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment, was one of the first architectural schools to have its training courses recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects.", "Both are now part of Robert Gordon University and are based at its Garthdee campus.", "North East Scotland College has several campuses in the city and offers a wide variety of part-time and full-time courses leading to several different qualifications in science.", "The Scottish Agricultural College is based just outside Aberdeen, on the Craibstone Estate.", "This is situated beside the roundabout for Aberdeen Airport on the A96.", "The college provides three services—Learning, Research and Consultancy.", "The college features many land based courses such as Agriculture, Countryside Management, Sustainable Environmental Management and Rural Business Management.", "There are a variety of courses from diplomas through to master's degrees.", "The Marine Laboratory Aberdeen, which specialises in fisheries, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (soil science), and the Rowett Research Institute (animal nutrition) are some other higher education institutions.", "===Schools===\nAberdeen Grammar School\nWoodside School, dating from 1890\nThere are currently 12 secondary schools and 54 primary schools which are run by the city council.", "The most notable are Aberdeen Grammar School (founded in 1257), Harlaw Academy, Cults Academy, and Oldmachar Academy which were all rated in the top 50 Scottish secondary schools league tables published by ''The Times'' in 2005.", "Harlaw Academy was taken down from the list after a short time but is still a popular school.", "There are a number of private schools in Aberdeen: Robert Gordon's College, Albyn School for Girls (co-educational as of 2005), St Margaret's School for Girls, the Hamilton School (closed by the Child Care Inspectorate in early 2014), the Total French School (for French oil industry families), the International School of Aberdeen and a Waldorf/Steiner School.", "Primary schools in Aberdeen include Airyhall Primary School, Albyn School, Ashley Road Primary School, Balgownie Primary School, Broomhill Primary School, Cornhill Primary School (the city's largest), Culter Primary School, Cults Primary School, Danestone Primary School, Fernielea Primary school, Ferryhill Primary School, Gilcomstoun Primary School, Glashieburn Primary School, Hamilton School, Kaimhill Primary School, Kingsford Primary School, Kittybrewster Primary School, Mile-End School, Muirfield Primary School, Robert Gordon's College, Skene Square Primary School, St. Joseph's Primary School and St Margaret's School for Girls.", "\nAberdeen Art Gallery\nMaritime Museum, Shiprow.", "The city has a wide range of cultural activities, amenities and museums.", "The city is regularly visited by Scotland's National Arts Companies.", "The Aberdeen Art Gallery houses a collection of Impressionist, Victorian, Scottish and 20th-century British paintings as well as collections of silver and glass.", "It also includes The Alexander Macdonald Bequest, a collection of late 19th century works donated by the museum's first benefactor and a constantly changing collection of contemporary work and regular visiting exhibitions.", "===Museums and galleries===\nThe Aberdeen Maritime Museum, located in Shiprow, tells the story of Aberdeen's links with the sea from the days of sail and clipper ships to the latest oil and gas exploration technology.", "It includes an model of the Murchison oil production platform and a 19th-century assembly taken from Rattray Head lighthouse\nProvost Ross' House is the second oldest dwelling house in the city.", "It was built in 1593 and became the residence of Provost John Ross of Arnage in 1702.", "The house retains some original medieval features, including a kitchen, fireplaces and beam-and-board ceilings.", "The Gordon Highlanders Museum tells the story of one of Scotland's best known regiments.", "Provost Skene's House Museum, dating from 1545\nThe Tolbooth Museum, a 17th-century jail\nMarischal Museum holds the principal collections of the University of Aberdeen, comprising some 80,000 items in the areas of fine art, Scottish history and archaeology, and European, Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeology.", "The permanent displays and reference collections are augmented by regular temporary exhibitions.", "It closed to the public in 2008 for renovations; its reopening date has yet to be confirmed.", "The King's Museum acts as the main museum of the university in the meantime.", "===Festivals and performing arts===\nAberdeen is home to a number of events and festivals including the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (the world's largest arts festival for young performers), Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Aberdeen Alternative Festival, ''Rootin' Aboot'' (a folk and roots music event), ''Triptych'', the University of Aberdeen's literature festival ''Word'' and DanceLive, Scotland's only Festival of contemporary dance, which is produced by the city's Citymoves dance organisation.", "Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre\nThe Aberdeen Student Show, performed annually without interruption since 1921, under the auspices of the Aberdeen Students' Charities Campaign, is the longest-running of its kind in the United Kingdom.", "It is written, produced and performed by students and graduates of Aberdeen's universities and higher education institutions.", "Since 1929—other than on a handful of occasions—it has been staged at His Majesty's Theatre.", "The Student Show traditionally combines comedy and music, inspired by the North-East's Doric dialect and humour.", "Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen\nNational festivals which visited Aberdeen in 2012 included the British Science Festival in September, hosted by the University of Aberdeen but with events also taking place at Robert Gordon University and at other venues across the city.", "In February 2012 the University of Aberdeen also hosted the Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival, the longest running folk festival in the United Kingdom.", "===Music and film===\nAberdeen Arts Centre\nAberdeen's music scene includes a variety of live music venues including pubs, clubs, and church choirs.", "The bars of Belmont Street are particularly known for featuring live music.", "Ceilidhs are also common in the city's halls.", "Popular music venues include the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), Aberdeen Music Hall, along with smaller venues such as The Tunnels, The Moorings, Drummonds, Downstairs, The Lemon Tree and The Garage.", "Notable Aberdonian musicians include Annie Lennox, Emeli Sandé, cult band Pallas and contemporary composer John McLeod.", "There are many local bands including Grader, Sleepless, Hayworth, Deceptions, Without Reason, Monroe and Deadfire A large proportion of Aberdeen's classical music scene is based around the ensembles of Aberdeen University's music department, notably the Symphony Orchestra, Marischal Chamber Orchestra, and the Concert Band.", "The Music Hall, Union Street, Aberdeen\nCultural cinema, educational work and local film events are provided by The Belmont Picturehouse on Belmont Street, Peacock Visual Arts and The Foyer.", "The only Doric speaking feature film was released in 2008 by Stirton Productions and Canny Films.", "''One Day Removals'' is a black comedy/adult drama starring Patrick Wight and Scott Ironside and tells the tale of two unlucky removal men whose day goes from bad to worse.", "It was filmed on location in Aberdeenshire for a budget of £60,000.", "The Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen\n\n===Dialect===\nSatrosphere, Science Centre Links Road\n Listen to recordings of a speaker of Scots from Aberdeen\nThe local dialect of Lowland Scots is often known as ''Doric'', and is spoken not just in the city, but across the north-east of Scotland.", "It differs somewhat from other Scots dialects most noticeable are the pronunciation ''f'' for what is normally written ''wh'' and ''ee'' for what in standard English would usually be written ''oo'' (Scots ''ui'').", "Every year the annual Doric Festival takes place in Aberdeenshire to celebrate the history of the north-east's language.", "As with all Scots dialects in urban areas, it is not spoken as widely as it used to be in Aberdeen.", "===Media===\n\nAberdeen is home to Scotland's oldest newspaper the ''Press and Journal'', a local and regional newspaper first published in 1747.", "The ''Press and Journal'' and its sister paper the tabloid ''Evening Express'' are printed six days a week by Aberdeen Journals.", "There is one free newspaper, the ''Aberdeen Citizen''.", "BBC Scotland has a network studio production base in the city's Beechgrove area, and BBC Aberdeen produces ''The Beechgrove Potting Shed'' for radio while Tern Television produces ''The Beechgrove Garden'' television programme.", "The city is also home to STV North (formerly ''Grampian Television''), which produces the regional news programmes such as ''STV News at Six'', as well as local commercials.", "The station, based at Craigshaw Business Park in Tullos, was based at larger studios in Queens Cross from September 1961 until June 2003.", "There are three commercial radio stations operating in the city: Northsound Radio, which runs Northsound 1 and Northsound 2, and independent station Original 106.", "Other radio stations include NECR FM (''North-East Community Radio FM'') DAB station, and shmu FM managed by ''Station House Media Unit'' which supports community members to run Aberdeen's first (and only) full-time community radio station, broadcasting on 99.8 MHz FM.", "===Food===\nAberdeen butteries, also known as rowies, served with jamThe Aberdeen region has given its name to a number of dishes, including the Aberdeen buttery (also known as \"rowie\") and Aberdeen Sausage.", "The Aberdeen buttery is more frequently seen and is sold at bakeries and supermarkets throughout the city.", "It looks like a cross between a pancake and a croissant and has a buttery, salty taste and heavy texture.", "It is usually eaten cold and served plain or with jam or butter.", "In 2015, a study was published in The Scotsman which analysed the presence of branded fast food outlets in Scotland.", "Of the ten towns and cities analysed, Aberdeen was found to have the lowest per capita concentration, with just 0.12 stores per 1,000 inhabitants.", "\n\n===Football===\nPittodrie Stadium viewed from Broad Hill\nSPFL football club, Aberdeen F.C.", "play at Pittodrie Stadium.", "The club won the European Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983, the Scottish Premier League Championship four times (1955, 1980, 1984 and 1985), and the Scottish Cup seven times (1947, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990).", "Under the management of Alex Ferguson, Aberdeen was a major force in British football during the 1980s.", "As of the 2016–17 season, the club is managed by Derek McInnes.", "There are plans to build a new Aberdeen Stadium in the future.", "Under the management of McInnes the team won the 2014 Scottish League Cup and followed it up with a second place league finish for the first time for more than 20 years in the following season.", "The other senior team is Cove Rangers F.C.", "of the Highland Football League (HFL), who play at Allan Park in the suburb of Cove Bay, although they will be moving to Calder Park once it is built to boost their chances of getting into the Scottish Football League.", "Cove won the HFL championship in 2001, 2008, 2009 and 2013.", "There was also a historic senior team Bon Accord F.C.", "who no longer play.", "Local junior teams include Banks O' Dee F.C., Culter F.C., F.C.", "Stoneywood, Glentanar F.C., Sunnybank and Hermes F.C..\n\n===Rugby Union===\nAberdeen hosted Caledonia Reds a Scottish rugby team, before they merged with the Glasgow Warriors in 1998.", "The city is also home to the Scottish Premiership Division One rugby club Aberdeen GSFP RFC who play at Rubislaw Playing Fields, and Aberdeenshire RFC which was founded in 1875 and runs Junior, Senior Men's, Senior Ladies and Touch sections from the Woodside Sports Complex and also Aberdeen Wanderers RFC.", "Former Wanderers' player Jason White was captain of the Scotland national rugby union team.", "Aberdeenshire Rugby Football Club is based in the North of the city at Woodside Sports Complex near the Great North Road on the banks of the river Don.", "They currently play in the Scottish League Championship B (East), the 3rd tier of club rugby.", "In 2005 the President of the SRU said it was hoped eventually to establish a professional team in Aberdeen.", "In November 2008 the city hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between Scotland and Canada, with Scotland winning 41–0.", "In November 2010 the city once again hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between Scotland and Samoa, with Scotland winning 19–16.", "===Rugby League===\nAberdeen Warriors rugby league team play in the Scotland Rugby League Conference Division One.", "The Warriors also run Under 15's and 17's teams.", "Aberdeen Grammar School won the Saltire Schools Cup in 2011.", "===Golf===\nHazlehead Golf Course, Aberdeen\nThe Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, founded in 1780 and the oldest golf club in Aberdeen, hosted the Senior British Open in 2005, and the amateur team event the Walker Cup in 2011.", "Royal Aberdeen also hosted the Scottish Open in 2014, won by Justin Rose.", "The club has a second course, and there are public golf courses at Auchmill, Balnagask, Hazlehead and King's Links.", "The 1999 winner of The Open Championship, Paul Lawrie, hails from the city.", "There are new courses planned for the area, including world class facilities with major financial backing, the city and shire are set to become a hotbed for golf tourism.", "In Summer 2012, Donald Trump opened a new state of the art golf course at Menie, just north of the city, as the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland.", "Aberdeen Aquatics Centre – Aberdeen Sports Village\n\n===Swimming===\nThe ''City of Aberdeen Swim Team'' (COAST) was based in Northfield swimming pool, but since the opening of the Aberdeen Aquatics Centre in 2014, it is now based there, as it has a 50 m pool as opposed to the 25 m pool at Northfield.", "It has been in operation since 1996.", "The team comprises several smaller swimming clubs, and has enjoyed success throughout Scotland and in international competitions.", "Three of the team's swimmers qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.", "===Rowing===\nRowers under Wellington Suspension Bridge on the River Dee, Aberdeen\n\nThere are four boat clubs that row on the River Dee: Aberdeen Boat Club (ABC), Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association (ASRA), Aberdeen University Boat Club (AUBC) and Robert Gordon University Boat Club (RGUBC).", "There are regattas and head races annually, managed by the Committee of the Dee.", "There is also a boat race held every year between AUBC and RGUBC.", "The race is in mixed eights, and usually held in late February / early March.", "===Cricket===\nAberdeen boasts a large cricket community with 4 local leagues operating that comprise a total of 25 clubs fielding 36 teams.", "The city has two national league sides, Aberdeenshire and Stoneywood-Dyce.", "Local 'Grades' cricket has been played in Aberdeen since 1884.", "Aberdeenshire were the 2009 & 2014 Scottish National Premier League and Scottish Cup Champions\n\n===Ice hockey===\nAberdeen Lynx are an amateur ice hockey team who play in the Scottish National League and are based at the Linx Ice Arena.", "The arena has a seating capacity of 1,100.", "The club also field teams at the Under 20, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 age groups.", "===Other sports===\nThe city council operates public tennis courts in various parks including an indoor tennis centre at Westburn Park.", "The Beach Leisure Centre is home to a climbing wall, gymnasium and a swimming pool.", "There are numerous swimming pools dotted around the city notably the largest, the Bon-Accord Baths which closed down in 2006.", "Aberdeen City council also have an Outdoor Education service which is now known as '''''adventure aberdeen''''', that provides abseiling, surfing, white water rafting, gorge walking, kayaking and open canoeing, mountaineering, sailing, mountain biking and rock climbing.", "They say they aim to \"Inspire learning through adventure\", and have many programs for children and adults.", "In common with many other major towns and cities in the UK, Aberdeen has an active roller derby league, Granite City Roller Girls.", "The Aberdeen Roughnecks American football club are a new team which started in 2012.", "They are an adult contact team who currently train at Seaton Park.", "This is the first team which Aberdeen has enjoyed since the Granite City Oilers were wound up in the late 1990s.", "Aberdeen Oilers Floorball Club was founded in 2007.", "The club initially attracted a range of experienced Scandinavian and other European players who were studying in Aberdeen.", "Since their formation, Aberdeen Oilers have played in the British Floorball Northern League and went on to win the league in the 2008/09 season.", "The club played a major role in setting up a ladies league in Scotland.", "The Oiler's ladies team ended up 2nd in the first ladies league season (2008/09).", "New Royal Aberdeen's Children Hospital and New Emergency Care Centre in background, Foresterhill, Aberdeen\nPolice Scotland's Aberdeen HQ, Queen Street\nThe public health service in Scotland, NHS Scotland provides for the people of Aberdeen through the NHS Grampian health board.", "Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is the largest hospital in the city (the location of the city's A&E department), Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, a paediatric hospital, Royal Cornhill Hospital for mental health, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, an antenatal hospital, Woodend Hospital, which specialises in rehabilitation and long term illnesses and conditions, and City Hospital and Woolmanhill Hospital, which host several out-patient clinics and offices.", "Albyn Hospital is a private hospital located in the west end of the city.", "Aberdeen City Council is responsible for city owned infrastructure which is paid for by a mixture of council tax and income from HM Treasury.", "Infrastructure and services run by the council include: clearing snow in winter, city wardens, maintaining parks, refuse collection, sewage, street cleaning and street lighting.", "Infrastructure in private hands includes electricity, gas and telecoms.", "Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water.", "*'''Police:''' Policing in Aberdeen is the responsibility of Police Scotland (the British Transport Police has responsibility for railways).", "The Grampian Division of Police Scotland headquarters (and Aberdeen divisional headquarters) is located in Queen Street, Aberdeen.", "*'''Ambulance:''' The North East divisional headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service is located in Aberdeen.", "*'''Fire and rescue:''' This is the responsibility of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.", "*'''Lifeboat:''' The Royal National Lifeboat Institution operates Aberdeen Lifeboat Station.", "It is located at Victoria Dock Entrance in York Place.", "The current building was opened in 1997.", "Aberdeen is twinned with Regensburg, Germany (1955), Clermont-Ferrand, France (1983), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (1986), Stavanger, Norway (1990), Gomel, Belarus (1990) and Barranquilla, Colombia (2016).", "Houston, Texas, is twinned with the former region of Grampian, of which Aberdeen was the largest settlement.", "\nGeorge Gordon Byron\n\n* Leslie Benzies, Former president of Rockstar North, creators of the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series.", "* Scott Booth, former football player, played for Aberdeen F.C., FC Twente, Borussia Dortmund and the Scottish national football team.", "* Lord Byron, poet, was raised (age 2–10) in Aberdeen.", "* David Carry, swimmer, 2x 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.", "* Henry Cecil, one of the most successful horse trainers of all time.", "* Oswald Chambers, author of ''My Utmost For His Highest''\n* Andrew Cruickshank, actor famous for his role in ''Dr Finlay's Casebook''\n* John Mathieson Dodds, apprentice and engineer with Metrovick, Manchester and radar pioneer in Chain Home defence system for 1940 Battle of Britain.", "* Neil Fachie, cyclist, 2012 Paralympic Games gold and silver medallist.", "* Simon Farquhar, playwright.", "* Bertie Charles Forbes (from New Deer, Aberdeenshire), founded Forbes.", "* Graeme Garden, author, actor, comedian, artist, TV presenter, famous for The Goodies.", "* Ryan Gauld, footballer who currently plays for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.", "* James Gibbs, 18th-century architect.", "* George Jamesone, Scotland's first eminent portrait-painter.", "* Reginald Victor Jones, physicist, Chair of Natural Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, author.", "* Denis Law, former football player, played for Manchester City, Manchester United and the Scottish national football team, joint all-time record Scotland goalscorer with thirty goals.", "* Paul Lawrie, golfer, winner of the 1999 Open Championship.", "* Annie Lennox, musician, winner of eight Brit Awards, grew up in Ellon.", "* Rose Leslie, actress, best known for playing Ygritte in HBO's Game of Thrones.", "* James Clerk Maxwell, Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen from 1856–60.", "* Robbie Renwick, swimmer, 1x 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.", "* Professor Sir C. Duncan Rice, historian, former principal of the University of Aberdeen.", "* Archibald Simpson, architect, one of Aberdeen's major architects.", "* John Smith, architect, Aberdeen's other major architect and official City Architect\n* Nicol Stephen, former Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, former Deputy First Minister of Scotland\n* John Strachan, first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.", "* Ron Yeats, former football player, captain of the first great Liverpool team of the 1960s, also played for the Scottish national football team.", "*Stuart MacBride's crime novels, ''Cold Granite'', ''Dying Light'', ''Broken Skin'', ''Flesh House'', ''Blind Eye'' and ''Dark Blood'' (a series with main protagonist, DS Logan MacRae) are all set in Aberdeen.", "DS Logan MacRae is a Grampian Police officer and locations found in the books can be found in Aberdeen and the surrounding countryside.", "*A large part of the plot of the World War II spy thriller ''Eye of the Needle'' takes place in wartime Aberdeen, from which a German spy is trying to escape to a submarine waiting offshore.", "*Stewart Home's sex and literary obsessed contemporary novel 69 Things to Do with a Dead Princess is set in Aberdeen.", "*A portion of Ian Rankin's novel ''Black and Blue'' (1997) is set in Aberdeen, where its nickname \"Furry Boots\" is noted.", "*Sarah Jane Smith from the popular science fiction show Doctor Who was accidentally returned to Aberdeen instead of her home in South Croydon by the fourth incarnation of the Doctor.", "*The successful Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show makes occasional reference to Aberdeen, as the employer of one of the main characters has an office in Aberdeen.", "In one episode Mark Corrigan is desperate to be put on secondment to Aberdeen so as to spend some time with his love interest, Sophie, whilst in another episode, Mark's boss, Alan Johnson, announces that he is \"just back from Aberdeen.\"", "* The pop music groups Danny Wilson and Royseven, as well as alternative rock group Cage the Elephant have all recorded songs called 'Aberdeen'.", "* The fictional character Groundskeeper Willie, a recurring character on the USA TV show \"The Simpsons\" is heard cheering \"Go Aberdeen\" upon waking up from a dream in the episode titled 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky.", "Also, in an episode when Homer and Mr Burns go to Loch Ness in search of the Loch Ness Monster, they discover a fake version of the monster with graffiti which reads 'Stomp Aberdeen'.", "Homer then goes on to proclaim that 'Aberdeen rules!'.", "This is in spite of the fact that Groundskeeper Willie does not have an Aberdeen accent.", "*Star Trek's chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, described himself as \"an old Aberdeen pub crawler\" in the episode \"Wolf in the Fold\" (however, actor James Doohan does not speak with an Aberdeenshire accent).", "*Auberdine, a seaport town located in Darkshore in the game World of Warcraft, is a possible reference to the city of Aberdeen.", "*In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Aberdeen is mentioned as one of the stops of The Knight Bus.", "*Aberdeen is mentioned in Under the Lake, the third episode of the ninth series of the popular science fiction show Doctor Who.", "Looking to portray a socially acceptable level of empathy, The Doctor flips through a series of cue cards.", "One of the cards reads, \"It was my fault, I should have known you didn't live in Aberdeen.\"", "\n*Aberdeen Bestiary\n*Aberdeen City Youth Council\n*Aberdeen typhoid outbreak 1964\n*Aberdonia (disambiguation)\n*List of places in Aberdeen\n*List of places in Scotland\n*Our Lady of Aberdeen\n*William Wallace Statue, Aberdeen\n*William Wallace Statue, Bemersyde", "* \n* \n* \n*\n*", "\n\n* Aberdeen City Council\n*\n* A collection of historic maps of Aberdeen from the 1660s onward at National Library of Scotland\n* A selection of archive films relating to Aberdeen at the Scottish Screen Archive\n* Engraving of Aberdeen in 1693 by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland\n* Aberdeen Tourist Guide\n* Aberdeen listings and review\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n", "*30 BC – After the successful invasion of Egypt, Octavian executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, eldest son of Mark Antony, and Caesarion, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and only child of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.\n*20 BC – ''Ludi Volcanalici'' are held within the temple precinct of Vulcan, and used by Augustus to mark the treaty with Parthia and the return of the legionary standards that had been lost at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC.\n*AD 79 – Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.\n* 406 – Gothic king Radagaisus is executed after he is defeated by Roman general Stilicho and 12,000 \"barbarians\" are incorporated into the Roman army or sold as slaves.\n* 476 – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic - Scirian ''foederati''), is proclaimed ''rex Italiae'' (\"King of Italy\") by his troops.\n* 634 – Abu Bakr dies at Medina and is succeeded by Umar I who becomes the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.\n*1244 – Siege of Jerusalem: The city's citadel, the Tower of David, surrenders to Khwarezmian Empire.\n*1268 – Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Charles of Anjou defeats the Ghibellines supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen marking the fall of the Hohenstaufen family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy.\n*1305 – Sir William Wallace is executed for high treason at Smithfield, London.\n*1328 – Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers.\n*1382 – Siege of Moscow: The Golden Horde led by Tokhtamysh lays siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.\n*1514 – The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty.\n*1521 – Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected regent.\n*1541 – French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.\n*1572 – French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.\n*1595 – Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory.\n*1600 – Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara.\n*1614 – Fettmilch Uprising: Jews are expelled from Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire, following the plundering of the Judengasse.\n*1628 – George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton.\n*1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards.\n*1655 – Battle of Sobota: The Swedish Empire led by Charles X Gustav defeats the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.\n*1703 – Edirne event: Sultan Mustafa II of the Ottoman Empire is dethroned.\n*1775 – American Revolutionary War: King George III delivers his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.\n*1784 – Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years.\n*1799 – Napoleon I of France leaves Egypt for France en route to seizing power.\n*1813 – At the Battle of Großbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army.\n*1831 – Nat Turner's slave rebellion is suppressed. \n*1839 – The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing three-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.\n*1864 – The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas.\n*1866 – Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague.\n*1873 – Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens.\n*1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.\n*1904 – The automobile tire chain is patented.\n*1914 – World War I: Battle of Mons: The British Army begins withdrawal.\n*1921 – British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber estuary. Of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive.\n*1923 – Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter performed the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.\n*1927 – Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial.\n*1929 – Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.\n*1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations.\n*1942 – World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad.\n*1943 – World War II: Kharkiv is liberated after the Battle of Kursk.\n*1944 – World War II: Marseille is liberated by the Allies.\n* 1944 – World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu, who is arrested. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies.\n* 1944 – Freckleton Air Disaster: A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people.\n*1945 – Soviet–Japanese War: The USSR State Defense Committee issues Decree no. 9898cc \"About Receiving, Accommodation, and Labor Utilization of the Japanese Army Prisoners of War\".\n*1946 – Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German ''Länder'' (states) of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein.\n*1948 – World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries.\n*1954 – First flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft.\n*1958 – Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy.\n*1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.\n*1970 – Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.\n*1973 – A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term \"Stockholm syndrome\".\n*1985 – Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.\n*1987 – The American male basketball team lost the gold medal to Brazilian team at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, 120–115.\n*1989 – Singing Revolution: Two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius–Tallinn road, holding hands. \n*1990 – Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western \"guests\" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.\n* 1990 – Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.\n* 1990 – West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3.\n*1991 – The World Wide Web is opened to the public.\n*1994 – Eugene Bullard, the only black pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.\n*2000 – Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143.\n*2006 – Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity.\n*2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.\n*2011 – A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at $200 million–$300 million USD.\n* 2011 – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War.\n*2012 – A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others. \n*2013 – A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people.\n", "*1482 – Jo Gwang-jo, Korean philosopher (d. 1520)\n*1486 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Slovenian historian and diplomat (d. 1566)\n*1498 – Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal (d. 1500)\n*1524 – François Hotman, French lawyer and jurist (d. 1590)\n*1579 – Thomas Dempster, Scottish scholar and historian (d. 1625)\n*1623 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, theologian, and historian (d. 1675)\n*1659 – Henry Every, English pirate (d. 1696)\n*1724 – Abraham Yates, Jr., American lawyer and civil servant (d. 1796)\n*1741 – Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, French admiral and explorer (d. 1788)\n*1754 – Louis XVI of France (d. 1793)\n*1769 – Georges Cuvier, French biologist and academic (d. 1832)\n*1783 – William Tierney Clark, English engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge (d. 1852)\n*1785 – Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (d. 1819)\n*1805 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian judge and politician (d. 1893)\n*1814 – James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop (d. 1877)\n*1829 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician and historian (d. 1920)\n*1843 – William Southam, Canadian publisher (d. 1932)\n*1846 – Alexander Milne Calder, Scottish-American sculptor (d. 1923)\n*1847 – Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1927)\n*1849 – William Ernest Henley, English poet and critic (d. 1903)\n*1850 – John Cockburn, Scottish-Australian politician, 18th Premier of South Australia (d. 1929)\n*1852 – Radha Gobinda Kar, Indian physician and philanthropist (d. 1918)\n*1852 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (d. 1913)\n* 1852 – Arnold Toynbee, English economist and historian (d. 1883)\n*1854 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (d. 1925)\n*1864 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek lawyer, jurist, and politician, 93rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)\n*1867 – Edgar de Wahl, Ukrainian-Estonian linguist and academic (d. 1948)\n*1868 – Edgar Lee Masters, American lawyer, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1950)\n*1872 – Tanguturi Prakasam, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Andhra (d. 1957)\n*1875 – William Eccles, English physicist and engineer (d. 1966)\n* 1875 – Eugene Lanceray, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1946)\n*1877 – István Medgyaszay, Hungarian architect and academic (d. 1959)\n*1880 – Alexander Grin, Russian sailor and author (d. 1932)\n*1883 – Jonathan M. Wainwright, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1953)\n*1884 – Will Cuppy, American author and critic (d. 1949)\n* 1884 – Ogden L. Mills, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)\n*1890 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded ''Newsday'' (d. 1971)\n*1891 – Roy Agnew, Australian pianist and composer (d. 1944)\n*1894 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (d. 1959)\n*1897 – Henry F. Pringle, American historian and journalist (d. 1958)\n*1900 – Ernst Krenek, Austrian-American composer and educator (d. 1991)\n* 1900 – Malvina Reynolds, American singer-songwriter and activist (d. 1978)\n*1901 – Guy Bush, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)\n* 1901 – John Sherman Cooper, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 2nd United States Ambassador to East Germany (d. 1991)\n*1903 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (d. 1982)\n*1905 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (d. 1982)\n* 1905 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (d. 1951)\n*1906 – Zoltan Sarosy, Hungarian-Canadian chess master (d. 2017)\n*1908 – Hannah Frank, Scottish sculptor and illustrator (d. 2008)\n*1909 – Syd Buller, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1970)\n*1910 – Lonny Frey, American baseball player and soldier (d. 2009)\n* 1910 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (d. 1979)\n*1912 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1996)\n* 1912 – Igor Troubetzkoy, Russian aristocrat and racing driver (d. 2008)\n*1913 – Bob Crosby, American swing singer and bandleader (d. 1993) \n*1917 – Tex Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)\n*1919 – Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin, Azerbaijani mathematician and theorist (d. 1984)\n*1921 – Kenneth Arrow, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)\n* 1921 – Sam Cook, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1996)\n*1922 – Nazik Al-Malaika, Iraqi poet and academic (d. 2007)\n* 1922 – Jean Darling, American actress and singer (d. 2015)\n* 1922 – George Kell, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n*1923 – Edgar F. Codd, English-American computer scientist and programmer (d. 2003)\n*1924 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (d. 2005)\n* 1924 – Robert Solow, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1925 – Robert Mulligan, American director and producer (d. 2008)\n*1926 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2006)\n* 1926 – Gyula Hernádi, Hungarian author and screenwriter (d. 2005)\n*1927 – Dick Bruna, Dutch author and illustrator (d. 2017)\n* 1927 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and author (d. 2006)\n* 1927 – Martial Solal, Algerian-French pianist and composer\n*1928 – Marian Seldes, American actress (d. 2014)\n*1929 – Vladimir Beekman, Estonian poet and translator (d. 2009)\n* 1929 – Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (d. 1997)\n* 1929 – Peter Thomson, Australian golfer\n*1930 – Michel Rocard, French civil servant and politician, 160th Prime Minister of France (d. 2016)\n*1931 – Barbara Eden, American actress and singer\n* 1931 – Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1932 – Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (d. 1978)\n* 1932 – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean soldier and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (d. 2013)\n* 1932 – Mark Russell, American comedian and pianist\n*1933 – Robert Curl, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n* 1933 – Don Talbot, Australian swim coach and administrator\n* 1933 – Pete Wilson, American commander and politician, 36th Governor of California\n*1934 – Sonny Jurgensen, American football player and sportscaster\n*1935 – Roy Strong, English historian, curator, and author\n*1936 – Rudy Lewis, American R&B singer (The Drifters) (d. 1964)\n* 1936 – Henry Lee Lucas, American murderer (d. 2001)\n*1938 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (d. 2014)\n* 1938 – Roger Greenaway, English singer-songwriter and producer \n*1940 – Galen Rowell, American mountaineer and photographer (d. 2002)\n* 1940 – Richard Sanders, American actor and screenwriter\n*1941 – Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, British philosopher, academic, and politician\n*1942 – Nancy Richey, American tennis player\n*1943 – Dale Campbell-Savours, Baron Campbell-Savours, English businessman and politician\n* 1943 – Nelson DeMille, American lieutenant and author\n* 1943 – Peter Lilley, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills\n* 1943 – Pino Presti, Italian bass player, composer, conductor, and producer\n*1944 – Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States\n*1945 – Rayfield Wright, American football player and coach\n*1946 – Keith Moon, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1978)\n*1947 – Willy Russell, English playwright and composer\n* 1947 – Linda Thompson, English folk-rock singer-songwriter \n* 1947 – Rowena Wallace, English-Australian actress\n*1948 – Atef Bseiso, Palestinian intelligence officer (d. 1992)\n* 1948 – Andrei Pleșu, Romanian journalist and politician, 95th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs\n* 1948 – Rudy Ruettiger, American football player\n* 1948 – Lev Zeleny, Russian physicist and academic\n*1949 – Vicky Leandros, Greek singer and politician\n* 1949 – Shelley Long, American actress \n* 1949 – Rick Springfield, Australian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor \n*1951 – Allan Bristow, American basketball player and coach\n* 1951 – Mark Hudson, American musician, songwriter, and producer \n* 1951 – Jimi Jamison, American singer-songwriter and musician (Survivor) (d. 2014)\n* 1951 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (d. 2004)\n* 1951 – Queen Noor of Jordan\n*1952 – Santillana, Spanish footballer\n* 1952 – Georgios Paraschos, Greek footballer and manager\n*1953 – Bobby G, English singer-songwriter\n*1954 – Charles Busch, American actor and screenwriter \n*1956 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (d. 1991)\n* 1956 – Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, Norwegian educator and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture\n*1957 – Tasos Mitropoulos, Greek footballer and politician\n*1958 – Julio Franco, Dominican baseball player and manager\n*1959 – Edwyn Collins, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1959 – George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player and coach\n*1960 – Rodney Greenblat, American painter and graphic designer \n* 1960 – Gary Hoey, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n*1961 – Dean DeLeo, American guitarist and songwriter \n* 1961 – Alexandre Desplat, French composer and conductor\n* 1961 – Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian commander and politician, 54th Mayor of Tehran\n* 1961 – Gary Mabbutt, English footballer\n* 1961 – Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese actress\n*1962 – Martin Cauchon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 46th Canadian Minister of Justice\n* 1962 – Shaun Ryder, English singer-songwriter and actor \n*1963 – Park Chan-wook, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Richard Illingworth, English cricketer and umpire\n* 1963 – Kenny Wallace, American race car driver\n*1965 – Roger Avary, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1966 – Rik Smits, Dutch-American basketball player\n*1967 – Jim Murphy, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister of State for Europe\n* 1967 – Richard Petrie, New Zealand cricketer\n*1968 – Laura Claycomb, American soprano\n* 1968 – Chris DiMarco, American golfer\n*1969 – Tinus Linee, South African rugby player and coach (d. 2014)\n* 1969 – Jack Lopresti, English soldier and politician\n* 1969 – Jeremy Schaap, American journalist and author\n* 1969 – Keith Tyson, English painter and illustrator\n*1970 – Lawrence Frank, American basketball player and coach\n* 1970 – Jason Hetherington, Australian rugby league player\n* 1970 – Jay Mohr, American actor, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1970 – River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)\n*1971 – Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer and manager\n* 1971 – Tim Gutberlet, German footballer\n*1972 – Mark Butcher, English cricketer and singer\n* 1972 – Raul Casanova, Puerto Rican-American baseball player\n* 1972 – Martin Grainger, English footballer and manager\n* 1972 – Manuel Vidrio, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager\n*1973 – Casey Blake, American baseball player\n* 1973 – Kerry Walmsley, New Zealand cricketer\n*1974 – Mark Bellhorn, American baseball player\n* 1974 – Benjamin Limo, Kenyan runner\n* 1974 – Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1975 – Sean Marks, New Zealand basketball player and manager\n*1976 – Pat Garrity, American basketball player\n*1977 – Douglas Sequeira, Costa Rican footballer and manager\n*1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman\n* 1978 – Julian Casablancas, American singer-songwriter and producer\n* 1978 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)\n*1979 – Jessica Bibby, Australian basketball player\n* 1979 – Saskia Clark, English sailor\n* 1979 – Edgar Sosa, Mexican boxer\n* 1979 – Zuzana Váleková, Slovak tennis player\n*1980 – Denny Bautista, Dominican baseball player\n* 1980 – Rex Grossman, American football player\n* 1980 – Nenad Vučković, Serbian handball player\n*1981 – Carlos Cuéllar, Spanish footballer\n* 1981 – Stephan Loboué, Ivorian footballer\n*1982 – Natalie Coughlin, American swimmer\n* 1982 – Scott Palguta, American soccer player\n* 1982 – Cristian Tudor, Romanian footballer (d. 2012)\n*1983 – James Collins, Welsh footballer\n* 1983 – Athena Farrokhzad, Iranian-Swedish poet, playwright, and critic\n* 1983 – Sun Mingming, Chinese basketball player\n* 1983 – Tony Moll, American football player\n* 1983 – Bruno Spengler, Canadian race car driver\n*1984 – Glen Johnson, English footballer\n* 1984 – Eric Tai, New Zealand rugby player and actor\n*1985 – Valeria Lukyanova, Moldovan-Ukrainian model and singer\n*1986 – Sky Blu, American rapper \n* 1986 – Brett Morris, Australian rugby league player\n* 1986 – Josh Morris, Australian rugby league player\n*1988 – Olga Govortsova, Belarusian tennis player\n* 1988 – Carl Hagelin, Swedish ice hockey player\n* 1988 – Jeremy Lin, American basketball player\n*1989 – Breanna Conrad, American fashion designer\n* 1989 – Heiko Schwarz, German footballer\n*1990 – Seth Curry, American basketball player\n*1993 – Iván López Mendoza, Spanish professional footballer\n* 1993 – Seo Hye-lin, South Korean girl group EXID member\n*1997 – Lil Yachty, American rapper and singer\n\n", "* 30 BC – Caesarion, Egyptian king (b. 47 BC)\n* 30 BC – Marcus Antonius Antyllus, Roman soldier (b. 47 BC)\n* AD 93 – Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general and politician (b. AD 40)\n* 406 – Radagaisus, Gothic king\n* 634 – Abu Bakr, Arabian caliph (b. 573)\n* 818 – Ali al-Ridha, Iranian 8th of the Twelve Imams (b. 765)\n*1106 – Magnus, Duke of Saxony (b. 1045)\n*1176 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (b. 1164)\n*1305 – William Wallace, Scottish rebel commander (b. 1272)\n*1328 – Nicolaas Zannekin, Flemish peasant leader (in the battle of Cassel)\n*1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)\n*1335 – Heilwige Bloemardinne, Christian mystic (b. c. 1265)\n*1348 – John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury\n*1363 – Chen Youliang, founder of the Dahan regime (b. 1320)\n*1367 – Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz, Spanish cardinal (b. 1310)\n*1387 – Olaf II of Denmark (b. 1370)\n*1478 – Johannes Pullois, Franco-Flemish composer (b. c. 1420?)\n*1481 – Thomas de Littleton, English judge and legal author (b. c. 1407)\n*1498 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, eldest daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1470)\n*1507 – Jean Molinet, French poet and composer (b. 1435)\n*1519 – Philibert Berthelier, Swiss soldier (b. 1465)\n*1540 – Guillaume Budé, French philosopher and scholar (b. 1467)\n*1568 – Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton (b. 1495)\n*1574 – Ebussuud Efendi, Turkish lawyer and jurist (b. 1490)\n*1591 – Luis de León, Spanish poet and academic (b. 1527)\n*1618 – Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1585)\n*1628 – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (b. 1592)\n*1652 – John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, English soldier and politician (b. 1600)\n*1706 – Edward Nott, English politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1654)\n*1723 – Increase Mather, American minister and author (b. 1639)\n*1806 – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist and engineer (b. 1736)\n*1813 – Alexander Wilson (ornithologist), Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (b. 1766)\n*1819 – Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (b. 1785)\n*1831 – Ferenc Kazinczy, Hungarian author and poet (b. 1759)\n* 1831 – August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1760)\n*1853 – Alexander Calder, American lawyer and politician (b. 1806)\n*1867 – Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet and author (b. 1796)\n*1892 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (b. 1827)\n*1900 – Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1840)\n*1924 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (b. 1856)\n*1926 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (b. 1895)\n*1927 – Nicola Sacco, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (b. 1891)\n* 1927 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (b. 1888)\n*1933 – Adolf Loos, Austrian architect and theoretician, designed Villa Müller (b. 1870)\n*1937 – Albert Roussel, French composer and educator (b. 1869)\n*1944 – Abdülmecid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1868)\n* 1944 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter and illustrator (b. 1879)\n*1949 – Helen Churchill Candee, American geographer, journalist, and author (b. 1858)\n*1954 – Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (b. 1877)\n*1960 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and composer (b. 1895)\n*1962 – Walter Anderson, Russian-German ethnologist and academic (b. 1885)\n* 1962 – Hoot Gibson, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1892)\n*1964 – Edmond Hogan, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Victoria (b. 1883)\n*1966 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1883)\n*1967 – Georges Berger, Belgian race car driver (b. 1918)\n* 1967 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (b. 1883)\n*1974 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)\n*1975 – Faruk Gürler, Turkish general (b. 1913)\n*1977 – Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor and academic (b. 1890)\n*1982 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)\n*1987 – Didier Pironi, French race car driver (b. 1952)\n*1989 – Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese poet and academic (b. 1944)\n* 1989 – R. D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist and author (b. 1927)\n*1990 – David Rose, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)\n*1994 – Zoltán Fábri, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b. 1917)\n*1995 – Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer and journalist (b. 1898)\n*1996 – Margaret Tucker, Australian author and activist (b. 1904)\n*1997 – Eric Gairy, Grenadian educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1922)\n* 1997 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)\n*1999 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (b. 1926)\n*2000 – John Anthony Kaiser, American priest and missionary (b. 1932)\n*2001 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (b. 1919)\n* 2001 – Peter Maas, American journalist and author (b. 1929)\n*2002 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (b. 1922)\n*2003 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and manager (b. 1946)\n* 2003 – Jack Dyer, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1913)\n* 2003 – Jan Sedivka, Czech-Australian violinist and educator (b. 1917)\n* 2003 – Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenyan lawyer and politician, 8th Vice President of Kenya (b. 1944)\n*2005 – Brock Peters, American actor (b. 1927)\n*2006 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1928)\n*2008 – John Russell, English-American author and critic (b. 1919)\n*2012 – Merv Neagle, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)\n* 2012 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (b. 1934)\n* 2012 – Josepha Sherman, American anthologist and author (b. 1946)\n*2013 – Richard J. Corman, American businessman, founded the R.J. Corman Railroad Group (b. 1955)\n* 2013 – William Glasser, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1925)\n* 2013 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and set director (b. 1924)\n* 2013 – Konstanty Miodowicz, Polish ethnographer and politician (b. 1951)\n* 2013 – Vesna Rožič, Slovenian chess player (b. 1987)\n* 2013 – Tatyana Zaslavskaya, Russian sociologist and economist (b. 1927)\n*2014 – Albert Ebossé Bodjongo, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1989)\n* 2014 – Annefleur Kalvenhaar, Dutch cyclist (b. 1994)\n* 2014 – Dan Magill, American swimmer, tennis player, and coach (b. 1921)\n* 2014 – Birgitta Stenberg, Swedish author and illustrator (b. 1932)\n* 2014 – Jaume Vallcorba Plana, Spanish philologist and publisher (b. 1949)\n*2015 – Augusta Chiwy, Congolese-Belgian nurse (b. 1921)\n* 2015 – Guy Ligier, French rugby player and race car driver (b. 1930)\n* 2015 – Enrique Reneau, Honduran footballer (b. 1971)\n* 2015 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1914)\n*2016 – Steven Hill, American actor (b. 1922)\n\n", "* Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)\n* Christian feast day:\n** Ascelina\n** Asterius, Claudius, and Neon\n** Éogan of Ardstraw\n** Lupus (Luppus) of Novae\n** Philip Benitius\n** Quiriacus and companions, of Ostia\n** Rose of Lima\n** Tydfil\n** Zacchaeus of Jerusalem\n** August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) \n* European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances:\n** Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania)\n* International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition \n* National Day for Physicians (Iran)\n* Umhlanga Day (Swaziland)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* On This Day in Canada\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*1973 – A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term \"Stockholm syndrome\"." ]

[ "*30 BC – After the successful invasion of Egypt, Octavian executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, eldest son of Mark Antony, and Caesarion, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and only child of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.", "*20 BC – ''Ludi Volcanalici'' are held within the temple precinct of Vulcan, and used by Augustus to mark the treaty with Parthia and the return of the legionary standards that had been lost at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC.", "*AD 79 – Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.", "* 406 – Gothic king Radagaisus is executed after he is defeated by Roman general Stilicho and 12,000 \"barbarians\" are incorporated into the Roman army or sold as slaves.", "* 476 – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic - Scirian ''foederati''), is proclaimed ''rex Italiae'' (\"King of Italy\") by his troops.", "* 634 – Abu Bakr dies at Medina and is succeeded by Umar I who becomes the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.", "*1244 – Siege of Jerusalem: The city's citadel, the Tower of David, surrenders to Khwarezmian Empire.", "*1268 – Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Charles of Anjou defeats the Ghibellines supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen marking the fall of the Hohenstaufen family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy.", "*1305 – Sir William Wallace is executed for high treason at Smithfield, London.", "*1328 – Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers.", "*1382 – Siege of Moscow: The Golden Horde led by Tokhtamysh lays siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.", "*1514 – The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty.", "*1521 – Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected regent.", "*1541 – French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.", "*1572 – French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.", "*1595 – Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory.", "*1600 – Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara.", "*1614 – Fettmilch Uprising: Jews are expelled from Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire, following the plundering of the Judengasse.", "*1628 – George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton.", "*1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards.", "*1655 – Battle of Sobota: The Swedish Empire led by Charles X Gustav defeats the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.", "*1703 – Edirne event: Sultan Mustafa II of the Ottoman Empire is dethroned.", "*1775 – American Revolutionary War: King George III delivers his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.", "*1784 – Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years.", "*1799 – Napoleon I of France leaves Egypt for France en route to seizing power.", "*1813 – At the Battle of Großbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army.", "*1831 – Nat Turner's slave rebellion is suppressed.", "*1839 – The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China.", "The ensuing three-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.", "*1864 – The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas.", "*1866 – Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague.", "*1873 – Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens.", "*1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.", "*1904 – The automobile tire chain is patented.", "*1914 – World War I: Battle of Mons: The British Army begins withdrawal.", "*1921 – British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber estuary.", "Of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive.", "*1923 – Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter performed the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.", "*1927 – Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial.", "*1929 – Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.", "*1939 – World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.", "In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations.", "*1942 – World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad.", "*1943 – World War II: Kharkiv is liberated after the Battle of Kursk.", "*1944 – World War II: Marseille is liberated by the Allies.", "* 1944 – World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu, who is arrested.", "Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies.", "* 1944 – Freckleton Air Disaster: A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people.", "*1945 – Soviet–Japanese War: The USSR State Defense Committee issues Decree no.", "9898cc \"About Receiving, Accommodation, and Labor Utilization of the Japanese Army Prisoners of War\".", "*1946 – Ordinance No.", "46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German ''Länder'' (states) of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein.", "*1948 – World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries.", "*1954 – First flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft.", "*1958 – Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy.", "*1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.", "*1970 – Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.", "*1985 – Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.", "*1987 – The American male basketball team lost the gold medal to Brazilian team at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, 120–115.", "*1989 – Singing Revolution: Two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius–Tallinn road, holding hands.", "*1990 – Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western \"guests\" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.", "* 1990 – Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.", "* 1990 – West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3.", "*1991 – The World Wide Web is opened to the public.", "*1994 – Eugene Bullard, the only black pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.", "*2000 – Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143.", "*2006 – Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity.", "*2007 – The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.", "*2011 – A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia.", "Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at $200 million–$300 million USD.", "* 2011 – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War.", "*2012 – A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others.", "*2013 – A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people.", "*1482 – Jo Gwang-jo, Korean philosopher (d. 1520)\n*1486 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Slovenian historian and diplomat (d. 1566)\n*1498 – Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal (d. 1500)\n*1524 – François Hotman, French lawyer and jurist (d. 1590)\n*1579 – Thomas Dempster, Scottish scholar and historian (d. 1625)\n*1623 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, theologian, and historian (d. 1675)\n*1659 – Henry Every, English pirate (d. 1696)\n*1724 – Abraham Yates, Jr., American lawyer and civil servant (d. 1796)\n*1741 – Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, French admiral and explorer (d. 1788)\n*1754 – Louis XVI of France (d. 1793)\n*1769 – Georges Cuvier, French biologist and academic (d. 1832)\n*1783 – William Tierney Clark, English engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge (d. 1852)\n*1785 – Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (d. 1819)\n*1805 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian judge and politician (d. 1893)\n*1814 – James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop (d. 1877)\n*1829 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician and historian (d. 1920)\n*1843 – William Southam, Canadian publisher (d. 1932)\n*1846 – Alexander Milne Calder, Scottish-American sculptor (d. 1923)\n*1847 – Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1927)\n*1849 – William Ernest Henley, English poet and critic (d. 1903)\n*1850 – John Cockburn, Scottish-Australian politician, 18th Premier of South Australia (d. 1929)\n*1852 – Radha Gobinda Kar, Indian physician and philanthropist (d. 1918)\n*1852 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (d. 1913)\n* 1852 – Arnold Toynbee, English economist and historian (d. 1883)\n*1854 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (d. 1925)\n*1864 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek lawyer, jurist, and politician, 93rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)\n*1867 – Edgar de Wahl, Ukrainian-Estonian linguist and academic (d. 1948)\n*1868 – Edgar Lee Masters, American lawyer, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1950)\n*1872 – Tanguturi Prakasam, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Andhra (d. 1957)\n*1875 – William Eccles, English physicist and engineer (d. 1966)\n* 1875 – Eugene Lanceray, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1946)\n*1877 – István Medgyaszay, Hungarian architect and academic (d. 1959)\n*1880 – Alexander Grin, Russian sailor and author (d. 1932)\n*1883 – Jonathan M. Wainwright, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1953)\n*1884 – Will Cuppy, American author and critic (d. 1949)\n* 1884 – Ogden L. Mills, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)\n*1890 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded ''Newsday'' (d. 1971)\n*1891 – Roy Agnew, Australian pianist and composer (d. 1944)\n*1894 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (d. 1959)\n*1897 – Henry F. Pringle, American historian and journalist (d. 1958)\n*1900 – Ernst Krenek, Austrian-American composer and educator (d. 1991)\n* 1900 – Malvina Reynolds, American singer-songwriter and activist (d. 1978)\n*1901 – Guy Bush, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)\n* 1901 – John Sherman Cooper, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 2nd United States Ambassador to East Germany (d. 1991)\n*1903 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (d. 1982)\n*1905 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (d. 1982)\n* 1905 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (d. 1951)\n*1906 – Zoltan Sarosy, Hungarian-Canadian chess master (d. 2017)\n*1908 – Hannah Frank, Scottish sculptor and illustrator (d. 2008)\n*1909 – Syd Buller, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1970)\n*1910 – Lonny Frey, American baseball player and soldier (d. 2009)\n* 1910 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (d. 1979)\n*1912 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1996)\n* 1912 – Igor Troubetzkoy, Russian aristocrat and racing driver (d. 2008)\n*1913 – Bob Crosby, American swing singer and bandleader (d. 1993) \n*1917 – Tex Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)\n*1919 – Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin, Azerbaijani mathematician and theorist (d. 1984)\n*1921 – Kenneth Arrow, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)\n* 1921 – Sam Cook, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1996)\n*1922 – Nazik Al-Malaika, Iraqi poet and academic (d. 2007)\n* 1922 – Jean Darling, American actress and singer (d. 2015)\n* 1922 – George Kell, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)\n*1923 – Edgar F. Codd, English-American computer scientist and programmer (d. 2003)\n*1924 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (d. 2005)\n* 1924 – Robert Solow, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1925 – Robert Mulligan, American director and producer (d. 2008)\n*1926 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2006)\n* 1926 – Gyula Hernádi, Hungarian author and screenwriter (d. 2005)\n*1927 – Dick Bruna, Dutch author and illustrator (d. 2017)\n* 1927 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and author (d. 2006)\n* 1927 – Martial Solal, Algerian-French pianist and composer\n*1928 – Marian Seldes, American actress (d. 2014)\n*1929 – Vladimir Beekman, Estonian poet and translator (d. 2009)\n* 1929 – Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (d. 1997)\n* 1929 – Peter Thomson, Australian golfer\n*1930 – Michel Rocard, French civil servant and politician, 160th Prime Minister of France (d. 2016)\n*1931 – Barbara Eden, American actress and singer\n* 1931 – Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1932 – Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (d. 1978)\n* 1932 – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean soldier and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (d. 2013)\n* 1932 – Mark Russell, American comedian and pianist\n*1933 – Robert Curl, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n* 1933 – Don Talbot, Australian swim coach and administrator\n* 1933 – Pete Wilson, American commander and politician, 36th Governor of California\n*1934 – Sonny Jurgensen, American football player and sportscaster\n*1935 – Roy Strong, English historian, curator, and author\n*1936 – Rudy Lewis, American R&B singer (The Drifters) (d. 1964)\n* 1936 – Henry Lee Lucas, American murderer (d. 2001)\n*1938 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (d. 2014)\n* 1938 – Roger Greenaway, English singer-songwriter and producer \n*1940 – Galen Rowell, American mountaineer and photographer (d. 2002)\n* 1940 – Richard Sanders, American actor and screenwriter\n*1941 – Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, British philosopher, academic, and politician\n*1942 – Nancy Richey, American tennis player\n*1943 – Dale Campbell-Savours, Baron Campbell-Savours, English businessman and politician\n* 1943 – Nelson DeMille, American lieutenant and author\n* 1943 – Peter Lilley, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills\n* 1943 – Pino Presti, Italian bass player, composer, conductor, and producer\n*1944 – Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States\n*1945 – Rayfield Wright, American football player and coach\n*1946 – Keith Moon, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1978)\n*1947 – Willy Russell, English playwright and composer\n* 1947 – Linda Thompson, English folk-rock singer-songwriter \n* 1947 – Rowena Wallace, English-Australian actress\n*1948 – Atef Bseiso, Palestinian intelligence officer (d. 1992)\n* 1948 – Andrei Pleșu, Romanian journalist and politician, 95th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs\n* 1948 – Rudy Ruettiger, American football player\n* 1948 – Lev Zeleny, Russian physicist and academic\n*1949 – Vicky Leandros, Greek singer and politician\n* 1949 – Shelley Long, American actress \n* 1949 – Rick Springfield, Australian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor \n*1951 – Allan Bristow, American basketball player and coach\n* 1951 – Mark Hudson, American musician, songwriter, and producer \n* 1951 – Jimi Jamison, American singer-songwriter and musician (Survivor) (d. 2014)\n* 1951 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (d. 2004)\n* 1951 – Queen Noor of Jordan\n*1952 – Santillana, Spanish footballer\n* 1952 – Georgios Paraschos, Greek footballer and manager\n*1953 – Bobby G, English singer-songwriter\n*1954 – Charles Busch, American actor and screenwriter \n*1956 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (d. 1991)\n* 1956 – Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, Norwegian educator and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture\n*1957 – Tasos Mitropoulos, Greek footballer and politician\n*1958 – Julio Franco, Dominican baseball player and manager\n*1959 – Edwyn Collins, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist \n* 1959 – George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player and coach\n*1960 – Rodney Greenblat, American painter and graphic designer \n* 1960 – Gary Hoey, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n*1961 – Dean DeLeo, American guitarist and songwriter \n* 1961 – Alexandre Desplat, French composer and conductor\n* 1961 – Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian commander and politician, 54th Mayor of Tehran\n* 1961 – Gary Mabbutt, English footballer\n* 1961 – Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese actress\n*1962 – Martin Cauchon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 46th Canadian Minister of Justice\n* 1962 – Shaun Ryder, English singer-songwriter and actor \n*1963 – Park Chan-wook, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1963 – Richard Illingworth, English cricketer and umpire\n* 1963 – Kenny Wallace, American race car driver\n*1965 – Roger Avary, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1966 – Rik Smits, Dutch-American basketball player\n*1967 – Jim Murphy, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister of State for Europe\n* 1967 – Richard Petrie, New Zealand cricketer\n*1968 – Laura Claycomb, American soprano\n* 1968 – Chris DiMarco, American golfer\n*1969 – Tinus Linee, South African rugby player and coach (d. 2014)\n* 1969 – Jack Lopresti, English soldier and politician\n* 1969 – Jeremy Schaap, American journalist and author\n* 1969 – Keith Tyson, English painter and illustrator\n*1970 – Lawrence Frank, American basketball player and coach\n* 1970 – Jason Hetherington, Australian rugby league player\n* 1970 – Jay Mohr, American actor, producer, and screenwriter\n* 1970 – River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)\n*1971 – Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer and manager\n* 1971 – Tim Gutberlet, German footballer\n*1972 – Mark Butcher, English cricketer and singer\n* 1972 – Raul Casanova, Puerto Rican-American baseball player\n* 1972 – Martin Grainger, English footballer and manager\n* 1972 – Manuel Vidrio, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager\n*1973 – Casey Blake, American baseball player\n* 1973 – Kerry Walmsley, New Zealand cricketer\n*1974 – Mark Bellhorn, American baseball player\n* 1974 – Benjamin Limo, Kenyan runner\n* 1974 – Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1975 – Sean Marks, New Zealand basketball player and manager\n*1976 – Pat Garrity, American basketball player\n*1977 – Douglas Sequeira, Costa Rican footballer and manager\n*1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman\n* 1978 – Julian Casablancas, American singer-songwriter and producer\n* 1978 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)\n*1979 – Jessica Bibby, Australian basketball player\n* 1979 – Saskia Clark, English sailor\n* 1979 – Edgar Sosa, Mexican boxer\n* 1979 – Zuzana Váleková, Slovak tennis player\n*1980 – Denny Bautista, Dominican baseball player\n* 1980 – Rex Grossman, American football player\n* 1980 – Nenad Vučković, Serbian handball player\n*1981 – Carlos Cuéllar, Spanish footballer\n* 1981 – Stephan Loboué, Ivorian footballer\n*1982 – Natalie Coughlin, American swimmer\n* 1982 – Scott Palguta, American soccer player\n* 1982 – Cristian Tudor, Romanian footballer (d. 2012)\n*1983 – James Collins, Welsh footballer\n* 1983 – Athena Farrokhzad, Iranian-Swedish poet, playwright, and critic\n* 1983 – Sun Mingming, Chinese basketball player\n* 1983 – Tony Moll, American football player\n* 1983 – Bruno Spengler, Canadian race car driver\n*1984 – Glen Johnson, English footballer\n* 1984 – Eric Tai, New Zealand rugby player and actor\n*1985 – Valeria Lukyanova, Moldovan-Ukrainian model and singer\n*1986 – Sky Blu, American rapper \n* 1986 – Brett Morris, Australian rugby league player\n* 1986 – Josh Morris, Australian rugby league player\n*1988 – Olga Govortsova, Belarusian tennis player\n* 1988 – Carl Hagelin, Swedish ice hockey player\n* 1988 – Jeremy Lin, American basketball player\n*1989 – Breanna Conrad, American fashion designer\n* 1989 – Heiko Schwarz, German footballer\n*1990 – Seth Curry, American basketball player\n*1993 – Iván López Mendoza, Spanish professional footballer\n* 1993 – Seo Hye-lin, South Korean girl group EXID member\n*1997 – Lil Yachty, American rapper and singer", "* 30 BC – Caesarion, Egyptian king (b.", "47 BC)\n* 30 BC – Marcus Antonius Antyllus, Roman soldier (b.", "47 BC)\n* AD 93 – Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general and politician (b.", "AD 40)\n* 406 – Radagaisus, Gothic king\n* 634 – Abu Bakr, Arabian caliph (b.", "573)\n* 818 – Ali al-Ridha, Iranian 8th of the Twelve Imams (b.", "765)\n*1106 – Magnus, Duke of Saxony (b.", "1045)\n*1176 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (b.", "1164)\n*1305 – William Wallace, Scottish rebel commander (b.", "1272)\n*1328 – Nicolaas Zannekin, Flemish peasant leader (in the battle of Cassel)\n*1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b.", "1282)\n*1335 – Heilwige Bloemardinne, Christian mystic (b. c. 1265)\n*1348 – John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury\n*1363 – Chen Youliang, founder of the Dahan regime (b.", "1320)\n*1367 – Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz, Spanish cardinal (b.", "1310)\n*1387 – Olaf II of Denmark (b.", "1370)\n*1478 – Johannes Pullois, Franco-Flemish composer (b. c.", "1420?)", "*1481 – Thomas de Littleton, English judge and legal author (b. c. 1407)\n*1498 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, eldest daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (b.", "1470)\n*1507 – Jean Molinet, French poet and composer (b.", "1435)\n*1519 – Philibert Berthelier, Swiss soldier (b.", "1465)\n*1540 – Guillaume Budé, French philosopher and scholar (b.", "1467)\n*1568 – Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton (b.", "1495)\n*1574 – Ebussuud Efendi, Turkish lawyer and jurist (b.", "1490)\n*1591 – Luis de León, Spanish poet and academic (b.", "1527)\n*1618 – Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (b.", "1585)\n*1628 – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (b.", "1592)\n*1652 – John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, English soldier and politician (b.", "1600)\n*1706 – Edward Nott, English politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b.", "1654)\n*1723 – Increase Mather, American minister and author (b.", "1639)\n*1806 – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist and engineer (b.", "1736)\n*1813 – Alexander Wilson (ornithologist), Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (b.", "1766)\n*1819 – Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (b.", "1785)\n*1831 – Ferenc Kazinczy, Hungarian author and poet (b.", "1759)\n* 1831 – August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b.", "1760)\n*1853 – Alexander Calder, American lawyer and politician (b.", "1806)\n*1867 – Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet and author (b.", "1796)\n*1892 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (b.", "1827)\n*1900 – Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (b.", "1840)\n*1924 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (b.", "1856)\n*1926 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (b.", "1895)\n*1927 – Nicola Sacco, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (b.", "1891)\n* 1927 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (b.", "1888)\n*1933 – Adolf Loos, Austrian architect and theoretician, designed Villa Müller (b.", "1870)\n*1937 – Albert Roussel, French composer and educator (b.", "1869)\n*1944 – Abdülmecid II, Ottoman sultan (b.", "1868)\n* 1944 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter and illustrator (b.", "1879)\n*1949 – Helen Churchill Candee, American geographer, journalist, and author (b.", "1858)\n*1954 – Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (b.", "1877)\n*1960 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and composer (b.", "1895)\n*1962 – Walter Anderson, Russian-German ethnologist and academic (b.", "1885)\n* 1962 – Hoot Gibson, American actor, director, and producer (b.", "1892)\n*1964 – Edmond Hogan, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Victoria (b.", "1883)\n*1966 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b.", "1883)\n*1967 – Georges Berger, Belgian race car driver (b.", "1918)\n* 1967 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (b.", "1883)\n*1974 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and author (b.", "1888)\n*1975 – Faruk Gürler, Turkish general (b.", "1913)\n*1977 – Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor and academic (b.", "1890)\n*1982 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1913)\n*1987 – Didier Pironi, French race car driver (b.", "1952)\n*1989 – Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese poet and academic (b.", "1944)\n* 1989 – R. D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist and author (b.", "1927)\n*1990 – David Rose, American pianist and composer (b.", "1910)\n*1994 – Zoltán Fábri, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b.", "1917)\n*1995 – Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer and journalist (b.", "1898)\n*1996 – Margaret Tucker, Australian author and activist (b.", "1904)\n*1997 – Eric Gairy, Grenadian educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (b.", "1922)\n* 1997 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1917)\n*1999 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (b.", "1926)\n*2000 – John Anthony Kaiser, American priest and missionary (b.", "1932)\n*2001 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (b.", "1919)\n* 2001 – Peter Maas, American journalist and author (b.", "1929)\n*2002 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (b.", "1922)\n*2003 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and manager (b.", "1946)\n* 2003 – Jack Dyer, Australian footballer and coach (b.", "1913)\n* 2003 – Jan Sedivka, Czech-Australian violinist and educator (b.", "1917)\n* 2003 – Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenyan lawyer and politician, 8th Vice President of Kenya (b.", "1944)\n*2005 – Brock Peters, American actor (b.", "1927)\n*2006 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (b.", "1928)\n*2008 – John Russell, English-American author and critic (b.", "1919)\n*2012 – Merv Neagle, Australian footballer and coach (b.", "1958)\n* 2012 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (b.", "1934)\n* 2012 – Josepha Sherman, American anthologist and author (b.", "1946)\n*2013 – Richard J. Corman, American businessman, founded the R.J. Corman Railroad Group (b.", "1955)\n* 2013 – William Glasser, American psychiatrist and author (b.", "1925)\n* 2013 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and set director (b.", "1924)\n* 2013 – Konstanty Miodowicz, Polish ethnographer and politician (b.", "1951)\n* 2013 – Vesna Rožič, Slovenian chess player (b.", "1987)\n* 2013 – Tatyana Zaslavskaya, Russian sociologist and economist (b.", "1927)\n*2014 – Albert Ebossé Bodjongo, Cameroonian footballer (b.", "1989)\n* 2014 – Annefleur Kalvenhaar, Dutch cyclist (b.", "1994)\n* 2014 – Dan Magill, American swimmer, tennis player, and coach (b.", "1921)\n* 2014 – Birgitta Stenberg, Swedish author and illustrator (b.", "1932)\n* 2014 – Jaume Vallcorba Plana, Spanish philologist and publisher (b.", "1949)\n*2015 – Augusta Chiwy, Congolese-Belgian nurse (b.", "1921)\n* 2015 – Guy Ligier, French rugby player and race car driver (b.", "1930)\n* 2015 – Enrique Reneau, Honduran footballer (b.", "1971)\n* 2015 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (b.", "1914)\n*2016 – Steven Hill, American actor (b.", "1922)", "* Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)\n* Christian feast day:\n** Ascelina\n** Asterius, Claudius, and Neon\n** Éogan of Ardstraw\n** Lupus (Luppus) of Novae\n** Philip Benitius\n** Quiriacus and companions, of Ostia\n** Rose of Lima\n** Tydfil\n** Zacchaeus of Jerusalem\n** August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) \n* European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances:\n** Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania)\n* International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition \n* National Day for Physicians (Iran)\n* Umhlanga Day (Swaziland)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* On This Day in Canada" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n", "* 49 BC – Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Battle of the Bagradas (49 BC) by the Numidians under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba of Numidia. Curio commits suicide to avoid capture.\n* 79 AD – Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash (note: this traditional date has been challenged, and many scholars believe that the event occurred on October 24).\n* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father .\n* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, was written.\n* 410 – The Visigoths under king Alaric I begin to pillage Rome.\n* 455 – The Vandals, led by king Genseric, begin to plunder Rome. Pope Leo I requests Genseric not destroy the ancient city or murder its citizens. He agrees and the gates of Rome are opened. However, the Vandals loot a great amount of treasure.\n*1185 – Sack of Thessalonica by the Normans.\n*1200 – King John of England, signer of the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angoulême in Bordeaux Cathedral.\n*1215 – Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.\n*1349 – Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.\n*1456 – The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed.\n*1482 – The town and castle of Berwick upon Tweed is captured from Scotland by an English army\n*1516 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Syria at the Battle of Marj Dabiq.\n*1561 – Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.\n*1608 – The first official English representative to India lands in Surat.\n*1662 – The Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.\n*1682 – William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania.\n*1690 – Job Charnock of the East India Company establishes a factory in Calcutta, an event formerly considered the founding of the city (in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled that the city's foundation date is unknown).\n*1781 – American Revolutionary War: A small force of Pennsylvania militia is ambushed and overwhelmed by an American Indian group, which forces George Rogers Clark to abandon his attempt to attack Detroit.\n*1812 – Peninsular War: A coalition of Spanish, British, and Portuguese forces succeed in lifting the two-and-a-half-year-long Siege of Cádiz.\n*1814 – British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings are set ablaze.\n*1815 – The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.\n*1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri.\n*1820 – Constitutionalist insurrection at Oporto, Portugal.\n*1821 – The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.\n*1857 – The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.\n*1870 – The Wolseley expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion.\n*1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel.\n*1891 – Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.\n*1898 – Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presents a ''rescript'' that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.\n*1909 – Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.\n*1911 – Manuel de Arriaga is elected and sworn-in as the first President of Portugal.\n*1914 – World War I: German troops capture Namur.\n* 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Cer ends as the first Allied victory in the war.\n*1929 – Second day of two-day Hebron massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attacks on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, result in the death of 65–68 Jews; the remaining Jews are forced to flee the city.\n*1931 – France and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact. \n* 1931 – Resignation of the United Kingdom's Second Labour Government. Formation of the UK National Government.\n*1932 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).\n*1933 – The Crescent Limited train derails in Washington, D.C., after the bridge it is crossing is washed out by the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane.\n*1936 – The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.\n*1937 – Spanish Civil War: the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement.\n* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Sovereign Council of Asturias and León is proclaimed in Gijón.\n*1941 – Adolf Hitler orders the cessation of Nazi Germany's systematic T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and the handicapped due to protests, although killings continue for the remainder of the war.\n*1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Japanese aircraft carrier ''Ryūjō'' is sunk, with the loss of 7 officers and 113 crewmen. The US carrier is heavily damaged.\n*1944 – World War II: Allied troops begin the attack on Paris.\n*1949 – The treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization goes into effect.\n*1950 – Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations.\n*1954 – The Communist Control Act goes into effect, outlawing the American Communist Party.\n* 1954 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, president of Brazil, commits suicide and is succeeded by João Café Filho.\n*1963 – Buddhist crisis: As a result of the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, the US State Department cables the United States Embassy, Saigon to encourage Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals to launch a coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm if he did not remove his brother Ngô Đình Nhu.\n*1967 – Led by Abbie Hoffman, the Youth International Party temporarily disrupts trading at the New York Stock Exchange by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them.\n*1970 – Vietnam War protesters bomb Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, leading to an international manhunt for the perpetrators. \n*1981 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.\n*1989 – Colombian drug barons declare \"total war\" on the Colombian government.\n* 1989 – Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.\n* 1989 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe.\n*1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.\n* 1991 – Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.\n*1992 – Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Homestead, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, causing up to $25 billion (1992 USD) in damages.\n*1994 – Initial accord between Israel and the PLO about partial self-rule of the Palestinians on the West Bank.\n*1995 – Microsoft Windows 95 was released to the public in North America.\n*1998 – First radio-frequency identification (RFID) human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.\n*2004 – Eighty-nine passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions are caused by suicide bombers from Chechnya.\n*2006 – The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term \"planet\" such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.\n*2010 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 72 illegal immigrants are killed by Los Zetas and eventually found dead by Mexican authorities.\n*2016 – An earthquake strikes Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks felt as far as Rome and Florence.\n", "*1016 – Fujiwara no Genshi, Japanese empress consort (d. 1039)\n*1113 – Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (d. 1151)\n*1198 – Alexander II of Scotland (d. 1249)\n*1358 – John I of Castile (d. 1390)\n*1393 – Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1458)\n*1423 – Thomas Rotherham, English cleric (d. 1500)\n*1498 – John, Hereditary Prince of Saxony (d. 1537)\n*1510 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen (d. 1558)\n*1552 – Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter and educator (d. 1614)\n*1556 – Sophia Brahe, Danish horticulturalist and astronomer (d. 1643)\n*1561 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (d. 1626)\n*1578 – John Taylor, English poet and author (d. 1653)\n*1591 – Robert Herrick, English poet and cleric (d. 1674)\n*1631 – Philip Henry, English minister (d. 1696)\n*1635 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1699)\n*1684 – Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet, British politician (d. 1746)\n*1714 – Alaungpaya, Burmese king (d. 1760)\n*1732 – Peter Ernst Wilde, German physician and journalist (d. 1785)\n*1758 – Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1794)\n*1759 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (d. 1833)\n*1772 – William I of the Netherlands (d. 1840)\n*1787 – James Weddell, Belgian-English sailor, hunter, and explorer (d. 1834)\n*1824 – Antonio Stoppani, Italian geologist and scholar (d. 1891)\n*1837 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)\n*1843 – Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Australian politician, 10th Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)\n*1845 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (d. 1876)\n*1851 – Tom Kendall, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 1924)\n*1860 – David Bowman, Australian lawyer and politician (d. 1916)\n*1863 – Dragutin Lerman, Croatian explorer (d. 1918)\n*1865 – Ferdinand I of Romania (d. 1927)\n*1872 – Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (d. 1956)\n*1884 – Earl Derr Biggers, American author and playwright (d. 1933)\n*1887 – Harry Hooper, American baseball player and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (d. 1974)\n*1888 – Valentine Baker, Welsh co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company (d. 1942)\n*1890 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, actor, and surfer (d. 1968)\n* 1890 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (d. 1979)\n*1893 – Haim Ernst Wertheimer, German-Israeli biochemist and academic (d. 1978)\n*1895 – Richard Cushing, American cardinal (d. 1970)\n*1897 – Fred Rose, American pianist, songwriter, and publisher (d. 1954)\n*1898 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, literary critic (d. 1989)\n*1899 – Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator (d. 1986)\n* 1899 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)\n* 1899 – Gaylord DuBois, American author and poet (d. 1993)\n*1901 – Preston Foster, American actor (d. 1970)\n*1902 – Fernand Braudel, French historian and academic (d. 1985)\n* 1902 – Carlo Gambino, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1976)\n*1903 – Karl Hanke, German businessman and politician (d. 1945)\n*1905 – Arthur \"Big Boy\" Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1974)\n* 1905 – Siaka Stevens, Sierra Leonean police officer and politician, 1st President of Sierra Leone (d. 1988)\n*1907 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect, designed the Hallenstadion (d. 2012)\n*1908 – Shivaram Rajguru, Indian activist (d. 1931)\n*1909 – Ronnie Grieveson, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1998)\n*1911 – Durward Kirby, American television host and announcer (d. 2000)\n*1913 – Charles Snead Houston, American physician and mountaineer (d. 2009)\n*1915 – Wynonie Harris, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)\n* 1915 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (d. 1987)\n*1917 – Dennis James, American game show host (d. 1997)\n*1918 – Sikander Bakht, Indian field hockey player and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2004)\n*1919 – Enrique Llanes, Mexican wrestler (d. 2004)\n*1920 – Alex Colville, Canadian painter and academic (d. 2013)\n*1921 – Sam Tingle, English-Zimbabwean race car driver (d. 2008)\n*1921 – Eric Simms, English ornithologist and conservationist (d. 2009)\n*1922 – René Lévesque, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1987)\n* 1922 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (d. 2010)\n*1923 – Arthur Jensen, American psychologist and academic (d. 2012)\n*1924 – Alyn Ainsworth, English singer and conductor (d. 1990)\n* 1924 – Louis Teicher, American pianist (Ferrante & Teicher) (d. 2008)\n*1926 – Nancy Spero, American painter and academic (d. 2009)\n*1927 – Anjali Devi, Indian actress and producer (d. 2014)\n* 1927 – David Ireland, Australian author and playwright\n* 1927 – Harry Markowitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1929 – Yasser Arafat, Egyptian-Palestinian engineer and politician, 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority (d. 2004)\n* 1929 – Betty Dodson, American author and educator\n*1930 – Jackie Brenston, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 1979)\n* 1930 – Roger McCluskey, American race car driver (d. 1993)\n*1932 – Robert D. Hales, American captain and religious leader\n* 1932 – Richard Meale, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2009)\n* 1932 – Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, English cardinal (d. 2017)\n*1933 – Prince Rupert Loewenstein, Spanish-English banker and manager (d. 2014)\n*1934 – Kenny Baker, English actor (d. 2016)\n*1936 – A. S. Byatt, English novelist and poet\n* 1936 – Kenny Guinn, American banker and politician, 27th Governor of Nevada (d. 2010)\n* 1936 – Arthur B. C. Walker, Jr., American physicist and academic (d. 2001)\n*1937 – Moshood Abiola, Nigerian businessman and politician (d. 1998)\n* 1937 – Susan Sheehan, Austrian-American journalist and author\n*1938 – David Freiberg, American singer and bass player \n* 1938 – Mason Williams, American guitarist and composer\n*1940 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2014)\n* 1940 – Keith Savage, English rugby player\n*1941 – Alan M. Roberts, Professor of Zoology at the University of Bristol\n*1942 – Max Cleland, American captain and politician\n* 1942 – Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington, English businessman\n* 1942 – Jimmy Soul, American pop-soul singer (d. 1988)\n*1943 – John Cipollina, American rock guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1989) \n*1944 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)\n* 1944 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)\n* 1944 – Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1986)\n* 1944 – Rocky Johnson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer\n*1945 – Ronee Blakley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress\n* 1945 – Molly Duncan, Scottish saxophonist ( Average White Band)\n* 1945 – Ken Hensley, English rock singer-songwriter and musician (Uriah Heep)\n* 1945 – Marsha P. Johnson, African American gay liberation activist and drag queen\n* 1945 – Vince McMahon, American wrestler, promoter, and entrepreneur; co-founded WWE\n*1947 – Anne Archer, American actress and producer\n* 1947 – Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author and songwriter\n* 1947 – Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist and coach\n* 1947 – Jim Fox, American rock drummer and organist (James Gang) \n* 1947 – Joe Manchin, American politician, 34th Governor of West Virginia\n* 1947 – Vladimir Masorin, Russian admiral\n*1948 – Jean Michel Jarre, French pianist, composer, and producer\n* 1948 – Alexander McCall Smith, Rhodesian-Scottish author and educator\n* 1948 – Sauli Niinistö, Finnish captain and politician, 12th President of Finland\n* 1948 – Kim Sung-il, South Korean commander and pilot\n*1949 – Stephen Paulus, American composer and educator (d. 2014) \n* 1949 – Charles Rocket, American actor (d. 2005)\n*1950 – John Banaszak, American football player and coach\n* 1950 – Tim D. White, American paleoanthropologist and academic\n*1951 – Danny Joe Brown, American southern rock singer-songwriter and musician (Molly Hatchet) (d. 2005)\n* 1951 – Oscar Hijuelos, American author and academic (d. 2013)\n*1952 – Marion Bloem, Dutch author, director, and painter\n* 1952 – Bob Corker, American businessman and politician\n* 1952 – Carlo Curley, American organist and educator (d. 2012)\n* 1952 – Ian Grob, English race car driver\n* 1952 – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican dub poet\n* 1952 – Mike Shanahan, American football player and coach\n*1953 – Ron Holloway, American saxophonist\n* 1953 – Sam Torrance, Scottish golfer and sportscaster\n*1954 – Alain Daigle, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1954 – Heini Otto, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager\n*1955 – Mike Huckabee, American minister and politician, 44th Governor of Arkansas\n*1956 – Gerry Cooney, American boxer\n* 1956 – John Culberson, American lawyer and politician\n* 1956 – Dick Lee, Singaporean singer-songwriter and playwright\n*1957 – Jeffrey Daniel, American singer-songwriter and dancer \n* 1957 – Stephen Fry, English actor, journalist, producer, and screenwriter\n*1958 – Steve Guttenberg, American actor and producer\n* 1958 – Chris Offutt, American author and academic\n*1959 – Meg Munn, English social worker and politician\n*1960 – Cal Ripken, Jr., American baseball player and coach\n*1961 – Jared Harris, English actor\n*1962 – Major Garrett, American journalist and author\n* 1962 – Emile Roemer, Dutch educator and politician\n*1963 – Hideo Kojima, Japanese director, screenwriter, video game designer and video game producer\n* 1963 – Francis Pangilinan, Filipino lawyer and politician\n*1964 – Éric Bernard, French race car driver\n* 1964 – Mark Cerny, American video game designer, programmer, producer and business executive\n* 1964 – Salizhan Sharipov, Kyrgyzstani-Russian lieutenant, pilot, and astronaut\n*1965 – Marlee Matlin, American actress and producer\n* 1965 – Reggie Miller, American basketball player and sportscaster\n* 1965 – Brian Rajadurai, Sri Lankan-Canadian cricketer\n*1966 – Nick Denton, English journalist and businessman, founded Gawker Media\n*1967 – Michael Thomas, English footballer\n*1968 – Benoît Brunet, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1968 – Shoichi Funaki, Japanese-American wrestler and sportscaster\n* 1968 – Andreas Kisser, Brazilian guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n* 1968 – Tim Salmon, American baseball player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Jans Koerts, Dutch cyclist\n*1970 – Rich Beem, American golfer\n* 1970 – Tugay Kerimoğlu, Turkish footballer and manager\n*1972 – Jean-Luc Brassard, Canadian skier and radio host\n*1972 – Ava DuVernay, American director and screenwriter\n*1973 – Andrew Brunette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1973 – Dave Chappelle, American comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter\n* 1973 – Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer\n*1975 – Roberto Colombo, Italian footballer\n* 1975 – Mark de Vries, Surinamese-Dutch footballer\n*1976 – Simon Dennis, English rower and academic\n* 1976 – Nordin Wooter, Surinamese-Dutch footballer\n*1976 –Funke Akindele, Nigerian actress\n*1977 – Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, Brazilian footballer\n* 1977 – Robert Enke, German footballer (d. 2009)\n* 1977 – Per Gade, Danish footballer\n* 1977 – John Green, American author and vlogger\n* 1977 – Jürgen Macho, Austrian footballer\n*1978 – Derek Morris, Canadian ice hockey player\n*1979 – Vahur Afanasjev, Estonian author and poet\n* 1979 – Orlando Engelaar, Dutch footballer\n* 1979 – Kaki King, American guitarist and composer\n* 1979 – Michael Redd, American basketball player\n*1981 – Chad Michael Murray, American model and actor\n*1982 – José Bosingwa, Portuguese footballer\n* 1982 – Kim Källström, Swedish footballer\n* 1982 – Glen Atle Larsen, Norwegian footballer\n*1983 – Brett Gardner, American baseball player\n* 1983 – Marcel Goc, German ice hockey player\n* 1983 – George Perris, Greek-French singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1984 – Erin Molan, Australian journalist and sportscaster\n* 1984 – Charlie Villanueva, American basketball player\n*1986 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (d. 2009)\n* 1986 – Joseph Akpala, Nigerian footballer\n* 1986 – Arian Foster, American football player\n* 1986 – Fabiano Santacroce, Italian footballer\n*1987 – Anže Kopitar, Slovenian ice hockey player\n* 1987 – Daichi Miura, Japanese singer-songwriter, dancer, and choreographer\n*1988 – Rupert Grint, English actor\n* 1988 – Manu Ma'u, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1988 – Joel Thompson, Australian rugby league player\n* 1988 – Maya Yoshida, Japanese footballer\n*1989 – Reynaldo, Brazilian footballer\n*1989 – Rocío Igarzábal, Argentinian actress and singer \n*1990 – Juan Pedro Lanzani, Argentinian actor and singer \n*1991 – Wang Zhen, Chinese race walker\n*1992 – Jemerson, Brazilian footballer\n*1996 – Camila Giangreco Campiz, Paraguayan tennis player\n\n", "* 691 – Fu Youyi, official of the Tang Dynasty\n* 842 – Saga, Japanese emperor (b. 786)\n* 895 – Guthred, king of Northumbria\n* 927 – Doulu Ge, chancellor of Later Tang\n* 927 – Wei Shuo, chancellor of Later Tang\n* 942 – Liu, empress dowager of Later Jin\n* 948 – Zhang Ye, Chinese general and chancellor\n*1042 – Michael V Kalaphates, Byzantine emperor (b. 1015)\n*1103 – Magnus Barefoot, Norwegian king (b. 1073)\n*1217 – Eustace the Monk, French pirate (b. 1170)\n*1313 – Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1275)\n*1372 – Casimir III, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1348)\n*1497 – Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Pomerania (b. 1435)\n*1507 – Cecily of York, English princess (b. 1469)\n*1540 – Parmigianino, Italian painter and etcher (b. 1503)\n*1542 – Gasparo Contarini, Italian cardinal (b. 1483)\n*1572 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (b. 1519)\n* 1572 – Charles de Téligny, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1535)\n*1595 – Thomas Digges, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1546)\n*1617 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (b. 1586)\n*1647 – Nicholas Stone, English sculptor and architect (b. 1586)\n*1679 – Jean François Paul de Gondi, French cardinal and author (b. 1614)\n*1680 – Thomas Blood, Irish colonel (b. 1618)\n* 1680 – Ferdinand Bol, Dutch painter and etcher (b. 1616)\n*1683 – John Owen, English theologian and academic (b. 1616)\n*1759 – Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet and soldier (b. 1715)\n*1773 – George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1709)\n*1779 – Cosmas of Aetolia, Greek monk and saint (b. 1714)\n*1798 – Thomas Alcock, English priest and author (b. 1709)\n*1818 – James Carr, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)\n*1832 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (b. 1796)\n*1838 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (b. 1790)\n*1841 – Theodore Hook, English civil servant and composer (b. 1788)\n* 1841 – John Ordronaux, French-American soldier (b. 1778)\n*1888 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1822)\n*1895 – Albert F. Mummery, English mountaineer and author (b. 1855)\n*1923 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (b. 1856)\n*1930 – Tom Norman, English businessman and showman (b. 1860)\n*1932 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (b. 1861)\n*1939 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, American painter and educator (b. 1874)\n*1940 – Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Polish-German technician and inventor, invented the Nipkow disk (b. 1860)\n*1943 – Antonio Alice, Argentinian painter and educator (b. 1886)\n* 1943 – Simone Weil, French philosopher and activist (b. 1909)\n*1946 – James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer and judge, 48th United States Attorney General (b. 1862)\n*1954 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (b. 1882)\n*1956 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1898)\n*1958 – Paul Henry, Irish painter and educator (b. 1876)\n*1967 – Henry J. Kaiser, American businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards and Kaiser Aluminum (b. 1882)\n*1974 – Alexander P. de Seversky, Russian-American pilot and businessman, co-founded Republic Aviation (b. 1894)\n*1977 – Buddy O'Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1916)\n*1978 – Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor (b. 1910)\n*1979 – Hanna Reitsch, German soldier and pilot (b. 1912)\n*1980 – Yootha Joyce, English actress (b. 1927)\n*1982 – Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and author (b. 1896)\n*1983 – Kalevi Kotkas, Estonian-Finnish high jumper and discus thrower (b. 1913)\n* 1983 – Scott Nearing, American economist, educator, and activist (b. 1883)\n*1985 – Paul Creston, American composer and educator (b. 1906)\n*1987 – Malcolm Kirk, English rugby player and wrestler (b. 1936)\n*1990 – Sergei Dovlatov, Russian-American journalist and author (b. 1941)\n* 1990 – Gely Abdel Rahman, Sudanese-Egyptian poet and academic (b. 1931)\n*1991 – Bernard Castro, Italian-American inventor (b. 1904)\n*1992 – André Donner, Dutch academic and judge (b. 1918)\n*1997 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (b. 1907)\n*1998 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (b. 1910)\n*1999 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (b. 1916)\n* 1999 – Alexandre Lagoya, Egyptian guitarist and composer (b. 1929)\n*2000 – Andy Hug, Swiss martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1964)\n*2001 – Jane Greer, American actress (b. 1924)\n* 2001 – Roman Matsov, Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor (b. 1917)\n*2002 – Nikolay Guryanov Russian priest and mystic (b. 1909)\n*2003 – Wilfred Thesiger, Ethiopian-English explorer and author (b. 1910)\n*2004 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1926)\n*2006 – Rocco Petrone, American soldier and engineer (b. 1926)\n* 2006 – Léopold Simoneau, Canadian tenor and educator (b. 1916)\n*2007 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (b. 1937)\n* 2007 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (b. 1943)\n*2010 – Satoshi Kon, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1963)\n*2011 – Seyhan Erözçelik, Turkish poet and author (b. 1962)\n* 2011 – Mike Flanagan, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1951)\n*2012 – Dadullah, Pakistani Taliban leader (b. 1965)\n* 2012 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese surveyor and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1936)\n* 2012 – Steve Franken, American actor (b. 1932)\n* 2012 – Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1937)\n*2013 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (b. 1938)\n* 2013 – Nílton de Sordi, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)\n* 2013 – Julie Harris, American actress (b. 1925)\n* 2013 – Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1928)\n*2014 – Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1923)\n* 2014 – Antônio Ermírio de Moraes, Brazilian businessman (b. 1928)\n*2015 – Charlie Coffey, American football player and coach (b. 1934)\n* 2015 – Joseph F. Traub, German-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1932) \n* 2015 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (b. 1978)\n*2016 – Walter Scheel, German politician, 4th President of Germany (b. 1919)\n*2017 – Jay Thomas, American actor, comedian, and radio talk show host (b. 1948)\n\n", "*Christian feast day:\n**Abbán of Ireland\n**Aurea of Ostia\n**Bartholomew the Apostle (Roman Catholic, Anglican)\n**Jeanne-Antide Thouret\n**Massa Candida (Martyrs of Utica)\n**Owen (Audoin)\n**August 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Flag Day (Liberia)\n*Independence Day or ''Den' Nezalezhnosti'', celebrates the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1991.\n*International Strange Music Day\n*National Waffle Day (United States) \n*Nostalgia Night (Uruguay)\n*Willka Raymi (Cusco, Peru)\n", "\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n*\n* On This Day in Canada\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "References", "External links" ]

[ "*1994 – Initial accord between Israel and the PLO about partial self-rule of the Palestinians on the West Bank." ]

[ "* 49 BC – Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Battle of the Bagradas (49 BC) by the Numidians under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba of Numidia.", "Curio commits suicide to avoid capture.", "* 79 AD – Mount Vesuvius erupts.", "The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash (note: this traditional date has been challenged, and many scholars believe that the event occurred on October 24).", "* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father .", "* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, was written.", "* 410 – The Visigoths under king Alaric I begin to pillage Rome.", "* 455 – The Vandals, led by king Genseric, begin to plunder Rome.", "Pope Leo I requests Genseric not destroy the ancient city or murder its citizens.", "He agrees and the gates of Rome are opened.", "However, the Vandals loot a great amount of treasure.", "*1185 – Sack of Thessalonica by the Normans.", "*1200 – King John of England, signer of the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angoulême in Bordeaux Cathedral.", "*1215 – Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.", "*1349 – Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.", "*1456 – The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed.", "*1482 – The town and castle of Berwick upon Tweed is captured from Scotland by an English army\n*1516 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Syria at the Battle of Marj Dabiq.", "*1561 – Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.", "*1608 – The first official English representative to India lands in Surat.", "*1662 – The Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.", "*1682 – William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania.", "*1690 – Job Charnock of the East India Company establishes a factory in Calcutta, an event formerly considered the founding of the city (in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled that the city's foundation date is unknown).", "*1781 – American Revolutionary War: A small force of Pennsylvania militia is ambushed and overwhelmed by an American Indian group, which forces George Rogers Clark to abandon his attempt to attack Detroit.", "*1812 – Peninsular War: A coalition of Spanish, British, and Portuguese forces succeed in lifting the two-and-a-half-year-long Siege of Cádiz.", "*1814 – British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings are set ablaze.", "*1815 – The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.", "*1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis is signed in St. Louis, Missouri.", "*1820 – Constitutionalist insurrection at Oporto, Portugal.", "*1821 – The Treaty of Córdoba is signed in Córdoba, now in Veracruz, Mexico, concluding the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.", "*1857 – The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.", "*1870 – The Wolseley expedition reaches Manitoba to end the Red River Rebellion.", "*1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel.", "*1891 – Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.", "*1898 – Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presents a ''rescript'' that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.", "*1909 – Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.", "*1911 – Manuel de Arriaga is elected and sworn-in as the first President of Portugal.", "*1914 – World War I: German troops capture Namur.", "* 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Cer ends as the first Allied victory in the war.", "*1929 – Second day of two-day Hebron massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attacks on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, result in the death of 65–68 Jews; the remaining Jews are forced to flee the city.", "*1931 – France and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact.", "* 1931 – Resignation of the United Kingdom's Second Labour Government.", "Formation of the UK National Government.", "*1932 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).", "*1933 – The Crescent Limited train derails in Washington, D.C., after the bridge it is crossing is washed out by the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane.", "*1936 – The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.", "*1937 – Spanish Civil War: the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement.", "* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Sovereign Council of Asturias and León is proclaimed in Gijón.", "*1941 – Adolf Hitler orders the cessation of Nazi Germany's systematic T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and the handicapped due to protests, although killings continue for the remainder of the war.", "*1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons.", "Japanese aircraft carrier ''Ryūjō'' is sunk, with the loss of 7 officers and 113 crewmen.", "The US carrier is heavily damaged.", "*1944 – World War II: Allied troops begin the attack on Paris.", "*1949 – The treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization goes into effect.", "*1950 – Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations.", "*1954 – The Communist Control Act goes into effect, outlawing the American Communist Party.", "* 1954 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, president of Brazil, commits suicide and is succeeded by João Café Filho.", "*1963 – Buddhist crisis: As a result of the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, the US State Department cables the United States Embassy, Saigon to encourage Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals to launch a coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm if he did not remove his brother Ngô Đình Nhu.", "*1967 – Led by Abbie Hoffman, the Youth International Party temporarily disrupts trading at the New York Stock Exchange by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them.", "*1970 – Vietnam War protesters bomb Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, leading to an international manhunt for the perpetrators.", "*1981 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.", "*1989 – Colombian drug barons declare \"total war\" on the Colombian government.", "* 1989 – Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.", "* 1989 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe.", "*1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.", "* 1991 – Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.", "*1992 – Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Homestead, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, causing up to $25 billion (1992 USD) in damages.", "*1995 – Microsoft Windows 95 was released to the public in North America.", "*1998 – First radio-frequency identification (RFID) human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.", "*2004 – Eighty-nine passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow.", "The explosions are caused by suicide bombers from Chechnya.", "*2006 – The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term \"planet\" such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.", "*2010 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 72 illegal immigrants are killed by Los Zetas and eventually found dead by Mexican authorities.", "*2016 – An earthquake strikes Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks felt as far as Rome and Florence.", "*1016 – Fujiwara no Genshi, Japanese empress consort (d. 1039)\n*1113 – Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (d. 1151)\n*1198 – Alexander II of Scotland (d. 1249)\n*1358 – John I of Castile (d. 1390)\n*1393 – Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1458)\n*1423 – Thomas Rotherham, English cleric (d. 1500)\n*1498 – John, Hereditary Prince of Saxony (d. 1537)\n*1510 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen (d. 1558)\n*1552 – Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter and educator (d. 1614)\n*1556 – Sophia Brahe, Danish horticulturalist and astronomer (d. 1643)\n*1561 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (d. 1626)\n*1578 – John Taylor, English poet and author (d. 1653)\n*1591 – Robert Herrick, English poet and cleric (d. 1674)\n*1631 – Philip Henry, English minister (d. 1696)\n*1635 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1699)\n*1684 – Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet, British politician (d. 1746)\n*1714 – Alaungpaya, Burmese king (d. 1760)\n*1732 – Peter Ernst Wilde, German physician and journalist (d. 1785)\n*1758 – Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1794)\n*1759 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (d. 1833)\n*1772 – William I of the Netherlands (d. 1840)\n*1787 – James Weddell, Belgian-English sailor, hunter, and explorer (d. 1834)\n*1824 – Antonio Stoppani, Italian geologist and scholar (d. 1891)\n*1837 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)\n*1843 – Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Australian politician, 10th Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)\n*1845 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (d. 1876)\n*1851 – Tom Kendall, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 1924)\n*1860 – David Bowman, Australian lawyer and politician (d. 1916)\n*1863 – Dragutin Lerman, Croatian explorer (d. 1918)\n*1865 – Ferdinand I of Romania (d. 1927)\n*1872 – Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (d. 1956)\n*1884 – Earl Derr Biggers, American author and playwright (d. 1933)\n*1887 – Harry Hooper, American baseball player and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee (d. 1974)\n*1888 – Valentine Baker, Welsh co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company (d. 1942)\n*1890 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, actor, and surfer (d. 1968)\n* 1890 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (d. 1979)\n*1893 – Haim Ernst Wertheimer, German-Israeli biochemist and academic (d. 1978)\n*1895 – Richard Cushing, American cardinal (d. 1970)\n*1897 – Fred Rose, American pianist, songwriter, and publisher (d. 1954)\n*1898 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, literary critic (d. 1989)\n*1899 – Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator (d. 1986)\n* 1899 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)\n* 1899 – Gaylord DuBois, American author and poet (d. 1993)\n*1901 – Preston Foster, American actor (d. 1970)\n*1902 – Fernand Braudel, French historian and academic (d. 1985)\n* 1902 – Carlo Gambino, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1976)\n*1903 – Karl Hanke, German businessman and politician (d. 1945)\n*1905 – Arthur \"Big Boy\" Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1974)\n* 1905 – Siaka Stevens, Sierra Leonean police officer and politician, 1st President of Sierra Leone (d. 1988)\n*1907 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect, designed the Hallenstadion (d. 2012)\n*1908 – Shivaram Rajguru, Indian activist (d. 1931)\n*1909 – Ronnie Grieveson, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1998)\n*1911 – Durward Kirby, American television host and announcer (d. 2000)\n*1913 – Charles Snead Houston, American physician and mountaineer (d. 2009)\n*1915 – Wynonie Harris, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)\n* 1915 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (d. 1987)\n*1917 – Dennis James, American game show host (d. 1997)\n*1918 – Sikander Bakht, Indian field hockey player and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2004)\n*1919 – Enrique Llanes, Mexican wrestler (d. 2004)\n*1920 – Alex Colville, Canadian painter and academic (d. 2013)\n*1921 – Sam Tingle, English-Zimbabwean race car driver (d. 2008)\n*1921 – Eric Simms, English ornithologist and conservationist (d. 2009)\n*1922 – René Lévesque, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1987)\n* 1922 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (d. 2010)\n*1923 – Arthur Jensen, American psychologist and academic (d. 2012)\n*1924 – Alyn Ainsworth, English singer and conductor (d. 1990)\n* 1924 – Louis Teicher, American pianist (Ferrante & Teicher) (d. 2008)\n*1926 – Nancy Spero, American painter and academic (d. 2009)\n*1927 – Anjali Devi, Indian actress and producer (d. 2014)\n* 1927 – David Ireland, Australian author and playwright\n* 1927 – Harry Markowitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate\n*1929 – Yasser Arafat, Egyptian-Palestinian engineer and politician, 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority (d. 2004)\n* 1929 – Betty Dodson, American author and educator\n*1930 – Jackie Brenston, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 1979)\n* 1930 – Roger McCluskey, American race car driver (d. 1993)\n*1932 – Robert D. Hales, American captain and religious leader\n* 1932 – Richard Meale, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2009)\n* 1932 – Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, English cardinal (d. 2017)\n*1933 – Prince Rupert Loewenstein, Spanish-English banker and manager (d. 2014)\n*1934 – Kenny Baker, English actor (d. 2016)\n*1936 – A. S. Byatt, English novelist and poet\n* 1936 – Kenny Guinn, American banker and politician, 27th Governor of Nevada (d. 2010)\n* 1936 – Arthur B. C. Walker, Jr., American physicist and academic (d. 2001)\n*1937 – Moshood Abiola, Nigerian businessman and politician (d. 1998)\n* 1937 – Susan Sheehan, Austrian-American journalist and author\n*1938 – David Freiberg, American singer and bass player \n* 1938 – Mason Williams, American guitarist and composer\n*1940 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2014)\n* 1940 – Keith Savage, English rugby player\n*1941 – Alan M. Roberts, Professor of Zoology at the University of Bristol\n*1942 – Max Cleland, American captain and politician\n* 1942 – Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington, English businessman\n* 1942 – Jimmy Soul, American pop-soul singer (d. 1988)\n*1943 – John Cipollina, American rock guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1989) \n*1944 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)\n* 1944 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)\n* 1944 – Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1986)\n* 1944 – Rocky Johnson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer\n*1945 – Ronee Blakley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress\n* 1945 – Molly Duncan, Scottish saxophonist ( Average White Band)\n* 1945 – Ken Hensley, English rock singer-songwriter and musician (Uriah Heep)\n* 1945 – Marsha P. Johnson, African American gay liberation activist and drag queen\n* 1945 – Vince McMahon, American wrestler, promoter, and entrepreneur; co-founded WWE\n*1947 – Anne Archer, American actress and producer\n* 1947 – Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author and songwriter\n* 1947 – Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist and coach\n* 1947 – Jim Fox, American rock drummer and organist (James Gang) \n* 1947 – Joe Manchin, American politician, 34th Governor of West Virginia\n* 1947 – Vladimir Masorin, Russian admiral\n*1948 – Jean Michel Jarre, French pianist, composer, and producer\n* 1948 – Alexander McCall Smith, Rhodesian-Scottish author and educator\n* 1948 – Sauli Niinistö, Finnish captain and politician, 12th President of Finland\n* 1948 – Kim Sung-il, South Korean commander and pilot\n*1949 – Stephen Paulus, American composer and educator (d. 2014) \n* 1949 – Charles Rocket, American actor (d. 2005)\n*1950 – John Banaszak, American football player and coach\n* 1950 – Tim D. White, American paleoanthropologist and academic\n*1951 – Danny Joe Brown, American southern rock singer-songwriter and musician (Molly Hatchet) (d. 2005)\n* 1951 – Oscar Hijuelos, American author and academic (d. 2013)\n*1952 – Marion Bloem, Dutch author, director, and painter\n* 1952 – Bob Corker, American businessman and politician\n* 1952 – Carlo Curley, American organist and educator (d. 2012)\n* 1952 – Ian Grob, English race car driver\n* 1952 – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican dub poet\n* 1952 – Mike Shanahan, American football player and coach\n*1953 – Ron Holloway, American saxophonist\n* 1953 – Sam Torrance, Scottish golfer and sportscaster\n*1954 – Alain Daigle, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1954 – Heini Otto, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager\n*1955 – Mike Huckabee, American minister and politician, 44th Governor of Arkansas\n*1956 – Gerry Cooney, American boxer\n* 1956 – John Culberson, American lawyer and politician\n* 1956 – Dick Lee, Singaporean singer-songwriter and playwright\n*1957 – Jeffrey Daniel, American singer-songwriter and dancer \n* 1957 – Stephen Fry, English actor, journalist, producer, and screenwriter\n*1958 – Steve Guttenberg, American actor and producer\n* 1958 – Chris Offutt, American author and academic\n*1959 – Meg Munn, English social worker and politician\n*1960 – Cal Ripken, Jr., American baseball player and coach\n*1961 – Jared Harris, English actor\n*1962 – Major Garrett, American journalist and author\n* 1962 – Emile Roemer, Dutch educator and politician\n*1963 – Hideo Kojima, Japanese director, screenwriter, video game designer and video game producer\n* 1963 – Francis Pangilinan, Filipino lawyer and politician\n*1964 – Éric Bernard, French race car driver\n* 1964 – Mark Cerny, American video game designer, programmer, producer and business executive\n* 1964 – Salizhan Sharipov, Kyrgyzstani-Russian lieutenant, pilot, and astronaut\n*1965 – Marlee Matlin, American actress and producer\n* 1965 – Reggie Miller, American basketball player and sportscaster\n* 1965 – Brian Rajadurai, Sri Lankan-Canadian cricketer\n*1966 – Nick Denton, English journalist and businessman, founded Gawker Media\n*1967 – Michael Thomas, English footballer\n*1968 – Benoît Brunet, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster\n* 1968 – Shoichi Funaki, Japanese-American wrestler and sportscaster\n* 1968 – Andreas Kisser, Brazilian guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n* 1968 – Tim Salmon, American baseball player and sportscaster\n*1969 – Jans Koerts, Dutch cyclist\n*1970 – Rich Beem, American golfer\n* 1970 – Tugay Kerimoğlu, Turkish footballer and manager\n*1972 – Jean-Luc Brassard, Canadian skier and radio host\n*1972 – Ava DuVernay, American director and screenwriter\n*1973 – Andrew Brunette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach\n* 1973 – Dave Chappelle, American comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter\n* 1973 – Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer\n*1975 – Roberto Colombo, Italian footballer\n* 1975 – Mark de Vries, Surinamese-Dutch footballer\n*1976 – Simon Dennis, English rower and academic\n* 1976 – Nordin Wooter, Surinamese-Dutch footballer\n*1976 –Funke Akindele, Nigerian actress\n*1977 – Denílson de Oliveira Araújo, Brazilian footballer\n* 1977 – Robert Enke, German footballer (d. 2009)\n* 1977 – Per Gade, Danish footballer\n* 1977 – John Green, American author and vlogger\n* 1977 – Jürgen Macho, Austrian footballer\n*1978 – Derek Morris, Canadian ice hockey player\n*1979 – Vahur Afanasjev, Estonian author and poet\n* 1979 – Orlando Engelaar, Dutch footballer\n* 1979 – Kaki King, American guitarist and composer\n* 1979 – Michael Redd, American basketball player\n*1981 – Chad Michael Murray, American model and actor\n*1982 – José Bosingwa, Portuguese footballer\n* 1982 – Kim Källström, Swedish footballer\n* 1982 – Glen Atle Larsen, Norwegian footballer\n*1983 – Brett Gardner, American baseball player\n* 1983 – Marcel Goc, German ice hockey player\n* 1983 – George Perris, Greek-French singer-songwriter and pianist\n*1984 – Erin Molan, Australian journalist and sportscaster\n* 1984 – Charlie Villanueva, American basketball player\n*1986 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (d. 2009)\n* 1986 – Joseph Akpala, Nigerian footballer\n* 1986 – Arian Foster, American football player\n* 1986 – Fabiano Santacroce, Italian footballer\n*1987 – Anže Kopitar, Slovenian ice hockey player\n* 1987 – Daichi Miura, Japanese singer-songwriter, dancer, and choreographer\n*1988 – Rupert Grint, English actor\n* 1988 – Manu Ma'u, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1988 – Joel Thompson, Australian rugby league player\n* 1988 – Maya Yoshida, Japanese footballer\n*1989 – Reynaldo, Brazilian footballer\n*1989 – Rocío Igarzábal, Argentinian actress and singer \n*1990 – Juan Pedro Lanzani, Argentinian actor and singer \n*1991 – Wang Zhen, Chinese race walker\n*1992 – Jemerson, Brazilian footballer\n*1996 – Camila Giangreco Campiz, Paraguayan tennis player", "* 691 – Fu Youyi, official of the Tang Dynasty\n* 842 – Saga, Japanese emperor (b.", "786)\n* 895 – Guthred, king of Northumbria\n* 927 – Doulu Ge, chancellor of Later Tang\n* 927 – Wei Shuo, chancellor of Later Tang\n* 942 – Liu, empress dowager of Later Jin\n* 948 – Zhang Ye, Chinese general and chancellor\n*1042 – Michael V Kalaphates, Byzantine emperor (b.", "1015)\n*1103 – Magnus Barefoot, Norwegian king (b.", "1073)\n*1217 – Eustace the Monk, French pirate (b.", "1170)\n*1313 – Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor (b.", "1275)\n*1372 – Casimir III, Duke of Pomerania (b.", "1348)\n*1497 – Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Pomerania (b.", "1435)\n*1507 – Cecily of York, English princess (b.", "1469)\n*1540 – Parmigianino, Italian painter and etcher (b.", "1503)\n*1542 – Gasparo Contarini, Italian cardinal (b.", "1483)\n*1572 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (b.", "1519)\n* 1572 – Charles de Téligny, French soldier and diplomat (b.", "1535)\n*1595 – Thomas Digges, English mathematician and astronomer (b.", "1546)\n*1617 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (b.", "1586)\n*1647 – Nicholas Stone, English sculptor and architect (b.", "1586)\n*1679 – Jean François Paul de Gondi, French cardinal and author (b.", "1614)\n*1680 – Thomas Blood, Irish colonel (b.", "1618)\n* 1680 – Ferdinand Bol, Dutch painter and etcher (b.", "1616)\n*1683 – John Owen, English theologian and academic (b.", "1616)\n*1759 – Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet and soldier (b.", "1715)\n*1773 – George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b.", "1709)\n*1779 – Cosmas of Aetolia, Greek monk and saint (b.", "1714)\n*1798 – Thomas Alcock, English priest and author (b.", "1709)\n*1818 – James Carr, American lawyer and politician (b.", "1777)\n*1832 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (b.", "1796)\n*1838 – Ferenc Kölcsey, Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (b.", "1790)\n*1841 – Theodore Hook, English civil servant and composer (b.", "1788)\n* 1841 – John Ordronaux, French-American soldier (b.", "1778)\n*1888 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist and mathematician (b.", "1822)\n*1895 – Albert F. Mummery, English mountaineer and author (b.", "1855)\n*1923 – Kate Douglas Wiggin, American author and educator (b.", "1856)\n*1930 – Tom Norman, English businessman and showman (b.", "1860)\n*1932 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (b.", "1861)\n*1939 – Frederick Carl Frieseke, American painter and educator (b.", "1874)\n*1940 – Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Polish-German technician and inventor, invented the Nipkow disk (b.", "1860)\n*1943 – Antonio Alice, Argentinian painter and educator (b.", "1886)\n* 1943 – Simone Weil, French philosopher and activist (b.", "1909)\n*1946 – James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer and judge, 48th United States Attorney General (b.", "1862)\n*1954 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (b.", "1882)\n*1956 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b.", "1898)\n*1958 – Paul Henry, Irish painter and educator (b.", "1876)\n*1967 – Henry J. Kaiser, American businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards and Kaiser Aluminum (b.", "1882)\n*1974 – Alexander P. de Seversky, Russian-American pilot and businessman, co-founded Republic Aviation (b.", "1894)\n*1977 – Buddy O'Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (b.", "1916)\n*1978 – Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor (b.", "1910)\n*1979 – Hanna Reitsch, German soldier and pilot (b.", "1912)\n*1980 – Yootha Joyce, English actress (b.", "1927)\n*1982 – Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and author (b.", "1896)\n*1983 – Kalevi Kotkas, Estonian-Finnish high jumper and discus thrower (b.", "1913)\n* 1983 – Scott Nearing, American economist, educator, and activist (b.", "1883)\n*1985 – Paul Creston, American composer and educator (b.", "1906)\n*1987 – Malcolm Kirk, English rugby player and wrestler (b.", "1936)\n*1990 – Sergei Dovlatov, Russian-American journalist and author (b.", "1941)\n* 1990 – Gely Abdel Rahman, Sudanese-Egyptian poet and academic (b.", "1931)\n*1991 – Bernard Castro, Italian-American inventor (b.", "1904)\n*1992 – André Donner, Dutch academic and judge (b.", "1918)\n*1997 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (b.", "1907)\n*1998 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (b.", "1910)\n*1999 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (b.", "1916)\n* 1999 – Alexandre Lagoya, Egyptian guitarist and composer (b.", "1929)\n*2000 – Andy Hug, Swiss martial artist and kick-boxer (b.", "1964)\n*2001 – Jane Greer, American actress (b.", "1924)\n* 2001 – Roman Matsov, Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor (b.", "1917)\n*2002 – Nikolay Guryanov Russian priest and mystic (b.", "1909)\n*2003 – Wilfred Thesiger, Ethiopian-English explorer and author (b.", "1910)\n*2004 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American psychiatrist and academic (b.", "1926)\n*2006 – Rocco Petrone, American soldier and engineer (b.", "1926)\n* 2006 – Léopold Simoneau, Canadian tenor and educator (b.", "1916)\n*2007 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (b.", "1937)\n* 2007 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (b.", "1943)\n*2010 – Satoshi Kon, Japanese director and screenwriter (b.", "1963)\n*2011 – Seyhan Erözçelik, Turkish poet and author (b.", "1962)\n* 2011 – Mike Flanagan, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b.", "1951)\n*2012 – Dadullah, Pakistani Taliban leader (b.", "1965)\n* 2012 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese surveyor and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b.", "1936)\n* 2012 – Steve Franken, American actor (b.", "1932)\n* 2012 – Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer and manager (b.", "1937)\n*2013 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (b.", "1938)\n* 2013 – Nílton de Sordi, Brazilian footballer and manager (b.", "1931)\n* 2013 – Julie Harris, American actress (b.", "1925)\n* 2013 – Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b.", "1928)\n*2014 – Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, producer, and politician (b.", "1923)\n* 2014 – Antônio Ermírio de Moraes, Brazilian businessman (b.", "1928)\n*2015 – Charlie Coffey, American football player and coach (b.", "1934)\n* 2015 – Joseph F. Traub, German-American computer scientist and academic (b.", "1932) \n* 2015 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (b.", "1978)\n*2016 – Walter Scheel, German politician, 4th President of Germany (b.", "1919)\n*2017 – Jay Thomas, American actor, comedian, and radio talk show host (b.", "1948)", "*Christian feast day:\n**Abbán of Ireland\n**Aurea of Ostia\n**Bartholomew the Apostle (Roman Catholic, Anglican)\n**Jeanne-Antide Thouret\n**Massa Candida (Martyrs of Utica)\n**Owen (Audoin)\n**August 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n*Flag Day (Liberia)\n*Independence Day or ''Den' Nezalezhnosti'', celebrates the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1991.", "*International Strange Music Day\n*National Waffle Day (United States) \n*Nostalgia Night (Uruguay)\n*Willka Raymi (Cusco, Peru)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n*\n* On This Day in Canada" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alfred the Great''' (, \"elf counsel\" or \"wise elf\"; 849 – 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.\n\nAlfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet \"the Great\", the other being the Scandinavian Cnut the Great. He was also the first King of the West Saxons to style himself \"King of the Anglo-Saxons\". Details of Alfred's life are described in a work by the 9th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser.\n\nAlfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be taught in English rather than Latin, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and his people's quality of life. In 2002 Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.\n", "\nAlfred was born in the village of Wanating, now Wantage, historically in Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex by his first wife, Osburh.\n\nIn 853, at the age of four, Alfred is reported by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' to have been sent to Rome where he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV, who \"anointed him as king\". Victorian writers later interpreted this as an anticipatory coronation in preparation for his eventual succession to the throne of Wessex. This is unlikely; his succession could not have been foreseen at the time as Alfred had three living elder brothers. A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a \"consul\"; a misinterpretation of this investiture, deliberate or accidental, could explain later confusion. It may also be based on Alfred's later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, around 854–855.\n\nOn their return from Rome in 856 Æthelwulf was deposed by his son Æthelbald. With civil war looming the magnates of the realm met in council to hammer out a compromise. Æthelbald would retain the western shires (i.e. historical Wessex), and Æthelwulf would rule in the east. When King Æthelwulf died in 858 Wessex was ruled by three of Alfred's brothers in succession: Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred.\n\nBishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won as a prize a book of Saxon poems, offered by his mother to the first of her children able to memorize it. Legend also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Ireland seeking healing. Alfred was troubled by health problems throughout his life. It is thought that he may have suffered from Crohn's disease. Statues of Alfred in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a great warrior. Evidence suggests he was not physically strong and, though not lacking in courage, he was noted more for his intellect than as a warlike character.\n", "A map of the route taken by the Viking Great Heathen Army which arrived in England from Denmark, Norway, and southern Sweden in 865.\n\nAlfred is not mentioned during the short reigns of his older brothers Æthelbald of Wessex and Æthelberht of Wessex. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' describe the Great Heathen Army, an army of Danes, landing in East Anglia with the intent of conquering the four kingdoms that constituted Anglo-Saxon England in 865. Alfred's public life began at age 16 with the accession of his third brother, 18 year old King Æthelred of Wessex in 865.\n\nDuring this period, Bishop Asser applied to Alfred the unique title of \"secundarius\", which may indicate a position similar to the Celtic \"tanist\", a recognised successor closely associated with the reigning monarch. This arrangement may have been sanctioned by Alfred's father or by the Witan to guard against the danger of a disputed succession should Æthelred fall in battle. It is well known among other Germanic peoples to crown a successor as royal prince and military commander, such as among the Swedes and Franks, to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related.\n\n===Fighting the Viking invasion===\nIn 868, Alfred is recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the Great Heathen Army led by Ivar the Boneless out of the adjoining Kingdom of Mercia. The Danes arrived in his homeland at the end of 870, and nine engagements were fought in the following year, with varying outcomes, though the places and dates of two of these battles have not been recorded.\n\nA successful skirmish at the Battle of Englefield in Berkshire on 31 December 870 was followed by a severe defeat at the siege and Battle of Reading by Ivar's brother Halfdan Ragnarsson on 5 January 871. Four days later, the Anglo-Saxons won a brilliant victory at the Battle of Ashdown on the Berkshire Downs, possibly near Compton or Aldworth. Alfred is particularly credited with the success of last battle.\n\nThe Saxons were defeated at the Battle of Basing on 22 January. They were defeated again on 22 March at the Battle of Merton (perhaps Marden in Wiltshire or Martin in Dorset). Æthelred died shortly afterwards on 23 April.\n", "\n===Early struggles, defeat and flight===\nIn April 871 King Æthelred died and Alfred succeeded to the throne of Wessex and the burden of its defence, even though Æthelred left two under-age sons, Æthelhelm and Æthelwold. This was in accordance with the agreement that Æthelred and Alfred had made earlier that year in an assembly at \"Swinbeorg\". The brothers had agreed that whichever of them outlived the other would inherit the personal property that King Æthelwulf had left jointly to his sons in his will. The deceased's sons would receive only whatever property and riches their father had settled upon them, and whatever additional lands their uncle had acquired. The unstated premise was that the surviving brother would be king. Given the ongoing Danish invasion, and the youth of his nephews, Alfred's accession probably went uncontested.\n\nWhile he was busy with the burial ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the Saxon army in his absence at an unnamed spot, and then again in his presence at Wilton in May. The defeat at Wilton smashed any remaining hope that Alfred could drive the invaders from his kingdom. He was forced instead to make peace with them, according to sources that do not tell what the terms of the peace were. Bishop Asser claimed that the pagans agreed to vacate the realm and made good their promise.\n\nIndeed, the Viking army did withdraw from Reading in the autumn of 871 to take up winter quarters in Mercian London. Although not mentioned by Asser, or by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Alfred probably also paid the Vikings cash to leave, much as the Mercians were to do in the following year. Hoards dating to the Viking occupation of London in 871/2 have been excavated at Croydon, Gravesend, and Waterloo Bridge. These finds hint at the cost involved in making peace with the Vikings. For the next five years the Danes occupied other parts of England.\n\nA Victorian portrayal of the 12th-century legend of Alfred burning the cakes\nIn 876 under their new leader, Guthrum, the Danes slipped past the Saxon army and attacked and occupied Wareham in Dorset. Alfred blockaded them but was unable to take Wareham by assault. Accordingly, he negotiated a peace which involved an exchange of hostages and oaths, which the Danes swore on a \"holy ring\" associated with the worship of Thor. The Danes broke their word and, after killing all the hostages, slipped away under cover of night to Exeter in Devon.\n\nAlfred blockaded the Viking ships in Devon and, with a relief fleet having been scattered by a storm, the Danes were forced to submit. The Danes withdrew to Mercia. In January 878 the Danes made a sudden attack on Chippenham, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas, \"and most of the people they killed, except the King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after Easter he made a fort at Athelney in the marshes of Somerset, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe.\" From his fort at Athelney, an island in the marshes near North Petherton, Alfred was able to mount an effective resistance movement, rallying the local militias from Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.\n\nA legend, originating from 12th century chronicles, tells how when he first fled to the Somerset Levels, Alfred was given shelter by a peasant woman who, unaware of his identity, left him to watch some wheaten cakes she had left cooking on the fire. Preoccupied with the problems of his kingdom Alfred accidentally let the cakes burn and was roundly scolded by the woman upon her return.\n\n878 was the low-water mark in the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. With all the other kingdoms having fallen to the Vikings Wessex alone was still resisting.\n\n===Counter-attack and victory===\nKing Alfred's Tower (1772) on the supposed site of \"Egbert's Stone\", the mustering place before the Battle of Edington. \n\nIn the seventh week after Easter (4–10 May 878), around Whitsuntide, Alfred rode to Egbert's Stone east of Selwood where he was met by \"all the people of Somerset and of Wiltshire and of that part of Hampshire which is on this side of the sea (that is, west of Southampton Water), and they rejoiced to see him\". Alfred's emergence from his marshland stronghold was part of a carefully planned offensive that entailed raising the fyrds of three shires. This meant not only that the king had retained the loyalty of ealdormen, royal reeves and king's thegns, who were charged with levying and leading these forces, but that they had maintained their positions of authority in these localities well enough to answer his summons to war. Alfred's actions also suggest a system of scouts and messengers.\n\nAlfred won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Edington which may have been fought near Westbury, Wiltshire. He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at Chippenham and starved them into submission. One of the terms of the surrender was that Guthrum convert to Christianity. Three weeks later the Danish king and 29 of his chief men were baptised at Alfred's court at Aller, near Athelney, with Alfred receiving Guthrum as his spiritual son.\n\nAccording to Asser:\n\nThe unbinding of the Chrisom took place with great ceremony eight days later at the royal estate at Wedmore \n\nWhile at Wedmore Alfred and Guthrum negotiated what some historians have called the Treaty of Wedmore, but it was to be some years after the cessation of hostilities that a formal treaty was signed. Under the terms of the so-called Treaty of Wedmore the converted Guthrum was required to leave Wessex and return to East Anglia. Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester. The formal Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, preserved in Old English in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (Manuscript 383), and in a Latin compilation known as \"Quadripartitus\", was negotiated later, perhaps in 879 or 880, when King Ceolwulf II of Mercia was deposed.\n\nThat treaty divided up the kingdom of Mercia. By its terms the boundary between Alfred's and Guthrum's kingdoms was to run up the River Thames to the River Lea, follow the Lea to its source (near Luton), from there extend in a straight line to Bedford, and from Bedford follow the River Ouse to Watling Street.\n\nIn other words, Alfred succeeded to Ceolwulf's kingdom consisting of western Mercia, and Guthrum incorporated the eastern part of Mercia into an enlarged kingdom of East Anglia (henceforward known as the Danelaw). By terms of the treaty, moreover, Alfred was to have control over the Mercian city of London and its mints—at least for the time being. The disposition of Essex, held by West Saxon kings since the days of Egbert, is unclear from the treaty though, given Alfred's political and military superiority, it would have been surprising if he had conceded any disputed territory to his new godson.\n\n===Quiet years, restoration of London (880s)===\n\nA coin of Alfred, king of Wessex, London, 880 (based upon a Roman model).'''''Obv''''': King with royal band in profile, with legend: ÆLFRED REX \"King Ælfred\"\n\nWith the signing of the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, an event most commonly held to have taken place around 880 when Guthrum's people began settling East Anglia, Guthrum was neutralised as a threat. The Viking army, which had stayed at Fulham during the winter of 878–879, sailed for Ghent and was active on the continent from 879–892.\n\nAlfred was still forced to contend with a number of Danish threats. A year later, in 881, Alfred fought a small sea battle against four Danish ships \"on the high seas\", Two of the ships were destroyed and the others surrendered to Alfred's forces. Similar small skirmishes with independent Viking raiders would have occurred for much of the period, as they had for decades.\n\nIn 883—though there is some debate over the year—King Alfred, because of his support and his donation of alms to Rome, received a number of gifts from Pope Marinus. Among these gifts was reputed to be a piece of the true cross, a great treasure for the devout Saxon king. According to Asser, because of Pope Marinus' friendship with King Alfred, the pope granted an exemption to any Anglo-Saxons residing within Rome from tax or tribute.\n\nAfter the signing of the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred was spared any large-scale conflicts for some time. Despite this relative peace the king was still forced to deal with a number of Danish raids and incursions. Among these was a raid in Kent, an allied kingdom in South East England, during the year 885, which was quite possibly the largest raid since the battles with Guthrum. Asser's account of the raid places the Danish raiders at the Saxon city of Rochester where they built a temporary fortress in order to besiege the city. In response to this incursion Alfred led an Anglo-Saxon force against the Danes who, instead of engaging the army of Wessex, fled to their beached ships and sailed to another part of Britain. The retreating Danish force supposedly left Britain the following summer.\n\nNot long after the failed Danish raid in Kent, Alfred dispatched his fleet to East Anglia. The purpose of this expedition is debated, though Asser claims that it was for the sake of plunder. After travelling up the River Stour the fleet was met by Danish vessels that numbered 13 or 16 (sources vary on the number) and a battle ensued. The Anglo-Saxon fleet emerged victorious and, as Huntingdon accounts, \"laden with spoils\". The victorious fleet was then caught unawares when attempting to leave the River Stour and was attacked by a Danish force at the mouth of the river. The Danish fleet defeated Alfred's fleet, which may have been weakened in the previous engagement.\n\nA plaque in the City of London noting the restoration of the Roman walled city by Alfred.\nA year later, in 886, Alfred reoccupied the city of London and set out to make it habitable again. Alfred entrusted the city to the care of his son-in-law Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia. The restoration of London progressed through the latter half of the 880s and is believed to have revolved around: a new street plan; added fortifications in addition to the existing Roman walls; and, some believe, the construction of matching fortifications on the south bank of the River Thames.\n\nThis is also the period in which almost all chroniclers agree that the Saxon people of pre-unification England submitted to Alfred. This was not, however, the point at which Alfred came to be known as King of England; in fact he would never adopt the title for himself.\n\nBetween the restoration of London and the resumption of large-scale Danish attacks in the early 890s, Alfred's reign was rather uneventful. The relative peace of the late 880s was marred by the death of Alfred's sister, Æthelswith, en route to Rome in 888. In the same year the Archbishop of Canterbury, Æthelred, also died. One year later Guthrum, or Athelstan by his baptismal name, Alfred's former enemy and king of East Anglia, died and was buried in Hadleigh, Suffolk.\nMap of Britain in 886\n\nGuthrum's passing changed the political landscape for Alfred. The resulting power vacuum stirred up other power–hungry warlords eager to take his place in the following years. The quiet years of Alfred's life were coming to a close and war was on the horizon.\n\n===Further Viking attacks repelled (890s)===\nAfter another lull, in the autumn of 892 or 893, the Danes attacked again. Finding their position in mainland Europe precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions. They entrenched themselves, the larger body, at Appledore, Kent, and the lesser under Hastein, at Milton, also in Kent. The invaders brought their wives and children with them indicating a meaningful attempt at conquest and colonisation. Alfred, in 893 or 894, took up a position from which he could observe both forces.\n\nWhile he was in talks with Hastein the Danes at Appledore broke out and struck northwestwards. They were overtaken by Alfred's eldest son, Edward, and were defeated in a general engagement at Farnham in Surrey. They took refuge on an island at Thorney, on the River Colne between Buckinghamshire and Middlesex, where they were blockaded and forced to give hostages and promise to leave Wessex. They then went to Essex and, after suffering another defeat at Benfleet, joined with Hastein's force at Shoebury.\n\nAlfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore. Alfred at once hurried westward and raised the Siege of Exeter. The fate of the other place is not recorded.\n\nMeanwhile, the force under Hastein set out to march up the Thames Valley, possibly with the idea of assisting their friends in the west. They were met by a large force under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wiltshire and Somerset and, forced to head off to the northwest, being finally overtaken and blockaded at Buttington. (Some identify this with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the River Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool.) An attempt to break through the English lines was defeated. Those who escaped retreated to Shoebury. After collecting reinforcements, they made a sudden dash across England and occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester. The English did not attempt a winter blockade but contented themselves with destroying all the supplies in the district.\n\nEarly in 894 or 895 lack of food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex. At the end of the year the Danes drew their ships up the River Thames and the River Lea and fortified themselves north of London. A direct attack on the Danish lines failed but, later in the year, Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river so as to prevent the egress of the Danish ships. The Danes realised that they were outmanoeuvred. They struck off north-westwards and wintered at Cwatbridge near Bridgnorth. The next year, 896 (or 897), they gave up the struggle. Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia. Those who had no connections in England withdrew back to the continent.\n", "Alfred the Great silver offering penny, 871–899. Legend: AELFRED REX SAXONUM \"Ælfred King of the Saxons\".\nThe Germanic tribes who invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries relied upon the unarmoured infantry supplied by their tribal levy, or fyrd, and it was upon this system that the military power of the several kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England depended. The fyrd was a local militia in the Anglo-Saxon shire in which all freemen had to serve; those who refused military service were subject to fines or loss of their land.\nAccording to the law code of King Ine of Wessex, issued in about 694:\n\n\nWessex's history of failures preceding his success in 878 emphasised to Alfred that the traditional system of battle he had inherited played to the Danes' advantage. While both the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes attacked settlements to seize wealth and other resources, they employed very different strategies. In their raids the Anglo-Saxons traditionally preferred to attack head-on by assembling their forces in a shield wall, advancing against their target and overcoming the oncoming wall marshaled against them in defence.\n\nIn contrast the Danes preferred to choose easy targets, mapping cautious forays designed to avoid risking all their accumulated plunder with high-stake attacks for more. Alfred determined their strategy was to launch smaller scaled attacks from a secure and reinforced defensible base to which they could retreat should their raiders meet strong resistance.\n\nThese bases were prepared in advance, often by capturing an estate and augmenting its defences with surrounding ditches, ramparts and palisades. Once inside the fortification, Alfred realised, the Danes enjoyed the advantage, better situated to outlast their opponents or crush them with a counter-attack as the provisions and stamina of the besieging forces waned.\n\nThe means by which the Anglo-Saxons marshaled forces to defend against marauders also left them vulnerable to the Vikings. It was the responsibility of the shire fyrd to deal with local raids. The king could call up the national militia to defend the kingdom but, in the case of the Viking hit-and-run raids, problems with communication, and raising supplies meant that the national militia could not be mustered quickly enough. It was only after the raids were underway that a call went out to landowners to gather their men for battle. Large regions could be devastated before the fyrd could assemble and arrive. And although the landowners were obliged to the king to supply these men when called, during the attacks in 878 many of them opportunistically abandoned their king and collaborated with Guthrum.\n\nWith these lessons in mind Alfred capitalised on the relatively peaceful years immediately following his victory at Edington by focusing on an ambitious restructuring of his kingdom's military defences. On a trip to Rome Alfred had stayed with Charles the Bald and it is possible that he may have studied how the Carolingian kings had dealt with the Viking problem. Learning from their experiences he was able to put together a system of taxation and defence for his own kingdom. Also there had been a system of fortifications in pre-Viking Mercia that may have been an influence. So when the Viking raids resumed in 892 Alfred was better prepared to confront them with a standing, mobile field army, a network of garrisons, and a small fleet of ships navigating the rivers and estuaries.\n\n===Administration and taxation===\nTenants in Anglo-Saxon England had a threefold obligation based on their landholding: the so-called \"common burdens\" of military service, fortress work, and bridge repair. This threefold obligation has traditionally been called \"trinoda neccessitas\" or \"trimoda neccessitas\". The Old English name for the fine due for neglecting military service was \"fierdwite\" or \"fyrdwitee\".\n\nTo maintain the burhs, and to reorganise the fyrd as a standing army, Alfred expanded the tax and conscription system based on the productivity of a tenant's landholding. The \"hide\" was the basic unit of the system on which the tenant's public obligations were assessed. A \"hide\" is thought to represent the amount of land required to support one family. The \"hide\" would differ in size according to the value and resources of the land, and the landowner would have to provide service based on how many \"hides\" he owned.\n\n===Burghal system===\n\n\nA map of burhs named in the Burghal Hidage.\n\nAt the centre of Alfred's reformed military defence system was the network of burhs, distributed at strategic points throughout the kingdom. There were thirty-three in total, spaced approximately apart, enabling the military to confront attacks anywhere in the kingdom within a single day.\n\nAlfred's burhs (later termed boroughs) ranged from former Roman towns, such as Winchester, where the stone walls were repaired and ditches added, to massive earthen walls surrounded by wide ditches, probably reinforced with wooden revetments and palisades, such as at Burpham, Sussex. The size of the burhs ranged from tiny outposts such as Pilton to large fortifications in established towns, the largest being at Winchester.\n\nA contemporary document now known as the Burghal Hidage provides an insight into how the system worked. It lists the \"hidage\" for each of the fortified towns contained in the document. For example, Wallingford had a \"hidage\" of 2400, which meant that the landowners there were responsible for supplying and feeding 2,400 men, the number sufficient for maintaining of wall. A total of 27,071 soldiers were needed system-wide, or approximately one in four of all the free men in Wessex.\n\nMany of the burhs were twin towns that straddled a river and were connected by a fortified bridge, like those built by Charles the Bald a generation before. The double-burh blocked passage on the river, forcing Viking ships to navigate under a garrisoned bridge lined with men armed with stones, spears, or arrows. Other burhs were sited near fortified royal villas, allowing the king better control over his strongholds.\nThe burhs were also interconnected by a road system maintained for army use (known as \"herepaths\"). These roads would allow an army to be quickly assembled, sometimes from more than one burh, to confront the Viking invader. This network posed significant obstacles to Viking invaders, especially those laden with booty. The system threatened Viking routes and communications making it far more dangerous for the Viking raiders. The Vikings lacked both the equipment necessary to undertake a siege against a burh and a developed doctrine of siegecraft, having tailored their methods of fighting to rapid strikes and unimpeded retreats to well-defended fortifications. The only means left to them was to starve the burh into submission, but this gave the king time to send his mobile field army or garrisons from neighbouring burhs along the well-maintained army roads. In such cases the Vikings were extremely vulnerable to pursuit by the king's joint military forces. Alfred's burh system posed such a formidable challenge against Viking attack that when the Vikings returned in 892, and successfully stormed a half-made, poorly garrisoned fortress up the Lympne estuary in Kent, the Anglo-Saxons were able to limit their penetration to the outer frontiers of Wessex and Mercia.\n\nAlfred's burghal system was revolutionary in its strategic conception and potentially expensive in its execution. His contemporary biographer Asser wrote that many nobles balked at the new demands placed upon them even though they were for \"the common needs of the kingdom\".\n\n===English navy===\nAlfred also tried his hand at naval design. In 896 he ordered the construction of a small fleet, perhaps a dozen or so longships that, at 60 oars, were twice the size of Viking warships. This was not, as the Victorians asserted, the birth of the English Navy. Wessex had possessed a royal fleet before this. King Athelstan of Kent and Ealdorman Ealhhere had defeated a Viking fleet in 851 capturing nine ships, and Alfred himself had conducted naval actions in 882.\n\nNevertheless, 897 clearly marked an important development in the naval power of Wessex. The author of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' related that Alfred's ships were larger, swifter, steadier and rode higher in the water than either Danish or Frisian ships. It is probable that, under the classical tutelage of Asser, Alfred utilised the design of Greek and Roman warships, with high sides, designed for fighting rather than for navigation.\n\nAlfred had seapower in mind—if he could intercept raiding fleets before they landed, he could spare his kingdom from being ravaged. Alfred's ships may have been superior in conception. In practice they proved to be too large to manoeuvre well in the close waters of estuaries and rivers, the only places in which a naval battle could occur.\n\nThe warships of the time were not designed to be ship killers but rather troop carriers. It has been suggested that, like sea battles in late Viking age Scandinavia, these battles may have entailed a ship coming alongside an enemy vessel, lashing the two ships together and then boarding the enemy craft. The result was effectively a land battle involving hand-to-hand fighting on board the two lashed vessels.\n\nIn the one recorded naval engagement in 896 Alfred's new fleet of nine ships intercepted six Viking ships in the mouth of an unidentified river along the south of England. The Danes had beached half their ships and gone inland, either to rest their rowers or to forage for food. Alfred's ships immediately moved to block their escape to the sea. The three Viking ships afloat attempted to break through the English lines. Only one made it; Alfred's ships intercepted the other two.\n\nLashing the Viking boats to their own the English crew boarded the enemy's vessels and proceeded to kill everyone on board. The one ship that escaped managed to do so only because all of Alfred's heavy ships became grounded when the tide went out. What ensued was a land battle between the crews of the grounded ships. The Danes, heavily outnumbered, would have been wiped out if the tide had not risen. When that occurred the Danes rushed back to their boats which, being lighter with shallower drafts, were freed before Alfred's ships. Helplessly the English watched as the Vikings rowed past them. The pirates had suffered so many casualties (120 Danes dead against 62 Frisians and English) that they had difficulty putting out to sea. All were too damaged to row around Sussex and two were driven against the Sussex coast (possibly at Selsey Bill). The shipwrecked sailors were brought before Alfred at Winchester and hanged.\n", "\n\nA silver coin of Alfred.\nIn the late 880s or early 890s Alfred issued a long ''domboc'' or law code consisting of his \"own\" laws, followed by a code issued by his late seventh-century predecessor King Ine of Wessex. Together these laws are arranged into 120 chapters. In his introduction Alfred explains that he gathered together the laws he found in many \"synod-books\" and \"ordered to be written many of the ones that our forefathers observed—those that pleased me; and many of the ones that did not please me, I rejected with the advice of my councillors, and commanded them to be observed in a different way\".\n\nAlfred singled out in particular the laws that he \"found in the days of Ine, my kinsman, or Offa, king of the Mercians, or King Æthelberht of Kent who first among the English people received baptism\". He appended, rather than integrated, the laws of Ine into his code and, although he included, as had Æthelbert, a scale of payments in compensation for injuries to various body parts the two injury tariffs are not aligned. Offa is not known to have issued a law code leading historian Patrick Wormald to speculate that Alfred had in mind the legatine capitulary of 786 that was presented to Offa by two papal legates.\n\nAbout a fifth of the law code is taken up by Alfred's introduction which includes translations into English of the Ten Commandments, a few chapters from the Book of Exodus, and the \"Apostolic Letter\" from the Acts of the Apostles (15:23–29). The Introduction may best be understood as Alfred's meditation upon the meaning of Christian law. It traces the continuity between God's gift of law to Moses to Alfred's own issuance of law to the West Saxon people. By doing so, it linked the holy past to the historical present and represented Alfred's law-giving as a type of divine legislation.\n\nSimilarly Alfred divided his code into 120 chapters because 120 was the age at which Moses died and, in the number-symbolism of early medieval biblical exegetes, 120 stood for law. The link between the Mosaic Law and Alfred's code is the \"Apostolic Letter\" which explained that Christ \"had come not to shatter or annul the commandments but to fulfill them; and he taught mercy and meekness\". (Intro, 49.1) The mercy that Christ infused into Mosaic Law underlies the injury tariffs that figure so prominently in barbarian law codes since Christian synods \"established, through that mercy which Christ taught, that for almost every misdeed at the first offence secular lords might with their permission receive without sin the monetary compensation which they then fixed\".\n\nThe only crime that could not be compensated with a payment of money was treachery to a lord \"since Almighty God adjudged none for those who despised Him, nor did Christ, the Son of God, adjudge any for the one who betrayed Him to death; and He commanded everyone to love his lord as Himself\". Alfred's transformation of Christ's commandment, from \"Love your neighbour as yourself\" (Matt. 22:39–40) to love your secular lord as you would love the Lord Christ himself, underscores the importance that Alfred placed upon lordship which he understood as a sacred bond instituted by God for the governance of man.\n\nWhen one turns from the domboc's introduction to the laws themselves it is difficult to uncover any logical arrangement. The impression one receives is of a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws. The law code, as it has been preserved, is singularly unsuitable for use in lawsuits. In fact several of Alfred's laws contradicted the laws of Ine that form an integral part of the code. Patrick Wormald's explanation is that Alfred's law code should be understood not as a legal manual but as an ideological manifesto of kingship \"designed more for symbolic impact than for practical direction\". In practical terms the most important law in the code may well have been the very first: \"We enjoin, what is most necessary, that each man keep carefully his oath and his pledge\" which expresses a fundamental tenet of Anglo-Saxon law.\n\nAlfred devoted considerable attention and thought to judicial matters. Asser underscores his concern for judicial fairness. Alfred, according to Asser, insisted upon reviewing contested judgments made by his ealdormen and reeves and \"would carefully look into nearly all the judgements which were passed issued in his absence anywhere in the realm to see whether they were just or unjust\". A charter from the reign of his son Edward the Elder depicts Alfred as hearing one such appeal in his chamber while washing his hands.\n\nAsser represents Alfred as a Solomonic judge, painstaking in his own judicial investigations and critical of royal officials who rendered unjust or unwise judgments. Although Asser never mentions Alfred's law code he does say that Alfred insisted that his judges be literate so that they could apply themselves \"to the pursuit of wisdom\". The failure to comply with this royal order was to be punished by loss of office.\n\nThe ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', commissioned at the time of Alfred, was probably written to promote unification of England, whereas Asser's ''The Life of King Alfred'' promoted Alfred's achievements and personal qualities. It was possible that the document was designed this way so that it could be disseminated in Wales, as Alfred had recently acquired overlordship of that country.\n", "Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers but little definite information is available. His interest in foreign countries is shown by the insertions which he made in his translation of Orosius. He corresponded with Elias III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and embassies to Rome conveying the English alms to the Pope were fairly frequent. Around 890 Wulfstan of Hedeby undertook a journey from Hedeby on Jutland along the Baltic Sea to the Prussian trading town of Truso. Alfred personally collected details of this trip.\n\nAlfred's relations with the Celtic princes in the western half of Britain are clearer. Comparatively early in his reign, according to Asser, the southern Welsh princes, owing to the pressure on them from North Wales and Mercia, commended themselves to Alfred. Later in his reign the North Welsh followed their example and the latter cooperated with the English in the campaign of 893 (or 894). That Alfred sent alms to Irish and Continental monasteries may be taken on Asser's authority. The visit of the three pilgrim \"Scots\" (i.e. Irish) to Alfred in 891 is undoubtedly authentic. The story that he himself in his childhood was sent to Ireland to be healed by Saint Modwenna, though mythical, may show Alfred's interest in that island.\n", "\nKing Alfred the Great pictured in a stained glass window in the West Window of the South Transept of Bristol Cathedral.\nIn the 880s, at the same time that he was \"cajoling and threatening\" his nobles to build and man the burhs, Alfred, perhaps inspired by the example of Charlemagne almost a century before, undertook an equally ambitious effort to revive learning. During this time period the Viking raids were often seen as a divine punishment and Alfred may have wished to revive religious awe in order to appease God's wrath. This revival entailed the recruitment of clerical scholars from Mercia, Wales and abroad to enhance the tenor of the court and of the episcopacy; the establishment of a court school to educate his own children, the sons of his nobles, and intellectually promising boys of lesser birth; an attempt to require literacy in those who held offices of authority; a series of translations into the vernacular of Latin works the king deemed \"most necessary for all men to know\"; the compilation of a chronicle detailing the rise of Alfred's kingdom and house, with a genealogy that stretched back to Adam, thus giving the West Saxon kings a biblical ancestry.\n\nVery little is known of the church under Alfred. The Danish attacks had been particularly damaging to the monasteries. Although Alfred founded monasteries at Athelney and Shaftesbury, these were the first new monastic houses in Wessex since the beginning of the eighth century. According to Asser, Alfred enticed foreign monks to England for his monastery at Athelney as there was little interest for the locals to take up the monastic life.\n\nAlfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex. For him the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots. As king he saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects. Secular and spiritual authority were not distinct categories for Alfred.\n\nHe was equally comfortable distributing his translation of Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'' to his bishops so that they might better train and supervise priests and using those same bishops as royal officials and judges. Nor did his piety prevent him from expropriating strategically sited church lands, especially estates along the border with the Danelaw, and transferring them to royal thegns and officials who could better defend them against Viking attacks.\n\n===Impact of Danish raids on education===\nThe Danish raids had a devastating effect on learning in England. Alfred lamented in the preface to his translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care'' that \"learning had declined so thoroughly in England that there were very few men on this side of the Humber who could understand their divine services in English or even translate a single letter from Latin into English: and I suppose that there were not many beyond the Humber either\". Alfred undoubtedly exaggerated, for dramatic effect, the abysmal state of learning in England during his youth. That Latin learning had not been obliterated is evidenced by the presence in his court of learned Mercian and West Saxon clerics such as Plegmund, Wæferth, and Wulfsige.\n\nManuscript production in England dropped off precipitously around the 860s when the Viking invasions began in earnest, not to be revived until the end of the century. Numerous Anglo-Saxon manuscripts burnt up along with the churches that housed them. And a solemn diploma from Christ Church, Canterbury, dated 873, is so poorly constructed and written that historian Nicholas Brooks posited a scribe who was either so blind he could not read what he wrote or who knew little or no Latin. \"It is clear\", Brooks concludes, \"that the metropolitan church of Canterbury must have been quite unable to provide any effective training in the scriptures or in Christian worship\".\n\n===Establishment of a court school===\nFollowing the example of Charlemagne Alfred established a court school for the education of his own children, those of the nobility, and \"a good many of lesser birth\". There they studied books in both English and Latin and \"devoted themselves to writing, to such an extent ... they were seen to be devoted and intelligent students of the liberal arts\". He recruited scholars from the Continent and from Britain to aid in the revival of Christian learning in Wessex and to provide the king personal instruction. Grimbald and John the Saxon came from Francia; Plegmund (whom Alfred appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 890), Bishop Werferth of Worcester, Æthelstan, and the royal chaplains Werwulf, from Mercia; and Asser, from St David's in southwestern Wales.\n\n===Advocacy of education in the English language===\nAlfred's educational ambitions seem to have extended beyond the establishment of a court school. Believing that without Christian wisdom there can be neither prosperity nor success in war, Alfred aimed \"to set to learning (as long as they are not useful for some other employment) all the free-born young men now in England who have the means to apply themselves to it\". Conscious of the decay of Latin literacy in his realm Alfred proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.\n\nThere were few \"books of wisdom\" written in English. Alfred sought to remedy this through an ambitious court-centred programme of translating into English the books he deemed \"most necessary for all men to know\". It is unknown when Alfred launched this programme but it may have been during the 880s when Wessex was enjoying a respite from Viking attacks. Alfred was, until recently, often considered to have been the author of many of the translations but this is now considered doubtful in almost all cases. Scholars more often refer to translations as \"Alfredian\" indicating that they probably had something to do with his patronage but are unlikely to be his own work.\n\nApart from the lost ''Handboc'' or ''Encheiridio'', which seems to have been a commonplace book kept by the king, the earliest work to be translated was the ''Dialogues'' of Gregory the Great, a book greatly popular in the Middle Ages. The translation was undertaken at Alfred's command by Werferth, Bishop of Worcester, with the king merely furnishing a preface. Remarkably Alfred, undoubtedly with the advice and aid of his court scholars, translated four works himself: Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'', Boethius's ''Consolation of Philosophy''\", St. Augustine's ''Soliloquies'' and the first fifty psalms of the Psalter.\n\nOne might add to this list the translation, in Alfred's law code, of excerpts from the Vulgate Book of Exodus. The Old English versions of Orosius's ''Histories against the Pagans'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' are no longer accepted by scholars as Alfred's own translations because of lexical and stylistic differences. Nonetheless the consensus remains that they were part of the Alfredian programme of translation. Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge suggest this also for Bald's ''Leechbook'' and the anonymous ''Old English Martyrology''.\n\nThe preface of Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'' explained why he thought it necessary to translate works such as this from Latin into English. Although he described his method as translating \"sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense\", the translation actually keeps very close to the original although, through his choice of language, he blurred throughout the distinction between spiritual and secular authority. Alfred meant the translation to be used, and circulated it to all his bishops. Interest in Alfred's translation of ''Pastoral Care'' was so enduring that copies were still being made in the 11th century.\n\nBoethius'''Consolation of Philosophy'' was the most popular philosophical handbook of the Middle Ages. Unlike the translation of the ''Pastoral Care'' the Alfredian text deals very freely with the original and, though the late Dr. G. Schepss showed that many of the additions to the text are to be traced not to the translator himself but to the glosses and commentaries which he used, still there is much in the work which is distinctive to the translation and has been taken to reflect philosophies of kingship in Alfred's milieu. It is in the Boethius that the oft-quoted sentence occurs: \"To speak briefly: I desired to live worthily as long as I lived, and after my life to leave to them that should come after, my memory in good works.\" The book has come down to us in two manuscripts only. In one of these the writing is prose, in the other a combination of prose and alliterating verse. The latter manuscript was severely damaged in the 18th and 19th centuries.\n\nThe last of the Alfredian works is one which bears the name ''Blostman'', i.e. \"Blooms\" or Anthology. The first half is based mainly on the ''Soliloquies'' of St Augustine of Hippo, the remainder is drawn from various sources. The material has traditionally been thought to contain much that is Alfred's own and highly characteristic of him. The last words of it may be quoted; they form a fitting epitaph for the noblest of English kings. \"Therefore, he seems to me a very foolish man, and truly wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear.\" Alfred appears as a character in the twelfth- or thirteenth-century poem ''The Owl and the Nightingale'' where his wisdom and skill with proverbs is praised. ''The Proverbs of Alfred'', a thirteenth-century work, contains sayings that are not likely to have originated with Alfred but attest to his posthumous medieval reputation for wisdom.\n\n2A drawing of the Alfred Jewel.\nThe Alfred Jewel, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, commissioned by Alfred.\nThe Alfred jewel, discovered in Somerset in 1693, has long been associated with King Alfred because of its Old English inscription AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (Alfred ordered me to be made). The jewel is about long, made of filigreed gold, enclosing a highly polished piece of quartz crystal beneath which is set in a cloisonné enamel plaque with an enamelled image of a man holding floriate sceptres, perhaps personifying Sight or the Wisdom of God.\n\nIt was at one time attached to a thin rod or stick based on the hollow socket at its base. The jewel certainly dates from Alfred's reign. Although its function is unknown it has been often suggested that the jewel was one of the \"æstels\"—pointers for reading—that Alfred ordered sent to every bishopric accompanying a copy of his translation of the ''Pastoral Care''. Each \"æstel\" was worth the princely sum of 50 mancuses which fits in well with the quality workmanship and expensive materials of the Alfred jewel\".\n\nHistorian Richard Abels sees Alfred's educational and military reforms as complementary. Restoring religion and learning in Wessex, Abels contends, was to Alfred's mind as essential to the defence of his realm as the building of the burhs. As Alfred observed in the preface to his English translation of Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'', kings who fail to obey their divine duty to promote learning can expect earthly punishments to befall their people. The pursuit of wisdom, he assured his readers of the Boethius, was the surest path to power: \"Study Wisdom, then, and, when you have learned it, condemn it not, for I tell you that by its means you may without fail attain to power, yea, even though not desiring it\".\n\nThe portrayal of the West-Saxon resistance to the Vikings by Asser and the chronicler as a Christian holy war was more than mere rhetoric or 'propaganda'. It reflected Alfred's own belief in a doctrine of divine rewards and punishments rooted in a vision of a hierarchical Christian world order in which God is the Lord to whom kings owe obedience and through whom they derive their authority over their followers. The need to persuade his nobles to undertake work for the 'common good' led Alfred and his court scholars to strengthen and deepen the conception of Christian kingship that he had inherited by building upon the legacy of earlier kings such as Offa as well as clerical writers such as Bede, Alcuin and the other luminaries of the Carolingian renaissance. This was not a cynical use of religion to manipulate his subjects into obedience but an intrinsic element in Alfred's worldview. He believed, as did other kings in ninth-century England and Francia, that God had entrusted him with the spiritual as well as physical welfare of his people. If the Christian faith fell into ruin in his kingdom, if the clergy were too ignorant to understand the Latin words they butchered in their offices and liturgies, if the ancient monasteries and collegiate churches lay deserted out of indifference, he was answerable before God, as Josiah had been. Alfred's ultimate responsibility was the pastoral care of his people.\n", "Asser wrote of Alfred in his ''Life of King Alfred'':\n\n\nIt is also written by Asser that Alfred did not learn to read until he was twelve years old or later, which is described as \"shameful negligence\" of his parents and tutors. Alfred was an excellent listener and had an incredible memory and he retained poetry and psalms very well. A story is told by Asser about how his mother held up a book of Saxon poetry to him and his brothers, and said; \"I shall give this book to whichever one of you can learn it the fastest.\" After excitedly asking, \"Will you really give this book to the one of us who can understand it the soonest and recite it to you?\" Alfred then took it to his teacher, learned it, and recited it back to his mother.\n\nAlfred is also noted as carrying around a small book, probably a medieval version of a small pocket notebook, which contained psalms and many prayers that he often collected. Asser writes: these \"he collected in a single book, as I have seen for myself; amid all the affairs of the present life he took it around with him everywhere for the sake of prayer, and was inseparable from it.\"\n\nAn excellent hunter in every branch of the sport, Alfred is remembered as an enthusiastic huntsman against whom nobody’s skills could compare.\n\nAlthough he was the youngest of his brothers, he was probably the most open-minded. He was an early advocate for education. His desire for learning could have come from his early love of English poetry and inability to read or physically record it until later in life. Asser writes that Alfred \"could not satisfy his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time\".\n", "In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family.\n\nThey had five or six children together including: Edward the Elder who succeeded his father as king; Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her own right; and Ælfthryth who married Baldwin II the Count of Flanders. His mother was Osburga, daughter of Oslac of the Isle of Wight, Chief Butler of England. Asser, in his ''Vita Ælfredi'' asserts that this shows his lineage from the Jutes of the Isle of Wight. This is unlikely as Bede tells us that they were all slaughtered by the Saxons under Cædwalla. In 2008 the skeleton of Queen Eadgyth, granddaughter of Alfred the Great was found in Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany. It was confirmed in 2010 that these remains belong to her—one of the earliest members of the English royal family.\n\nOsferth was described as a relative in King Alfred's will and he attested charters in a high position until 934. A charter of King Edward's reign described him as the king's brother, \"mistakenly\" according to Keynes and Lapidge, but in the view of Janet Nelson he probably was an illegitimate son of King Alfred.\n\n\n\nNotes\n\nÆthelflæd\n\n12 June 918\nMarried c 886, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians d. 911; had issue\n\nEdward\nc. 874\n17 July 924\nMarried (1) Ecgwynn, (2) Ælfflæd, (3) 919 Eadgifu\n\nÆthelgifu\n\n\nAbbess of Shaftesbury\n\nÆthelweard\n\n16 October 922(?)\n Married and had issue\n\nÆlfthryth\n\n929\nMarried Baldwin II d. 918; had issue\n\n", "\n\n\n\n", "Alfred's will\nAlfred died on 26 October 899. How he died is unknown, although he suffered throughout his life with a painful and unpleasant illness. His biographer Asser gave a detailed description of Alfred's symptoms and this has allowed modern doctors to provide a possible diagnosis. It is thought that he had either Crohn's disease or haemorrhoidal disease. His grandson King Eadred seems to have suffered from a similar illness.\n\nAlfred was originally buried temporarily in the Old Minster in Winchester. Four years after his death he was moved to the New Minster (perhaps built especially to receive his body). When the New Minster moved to Hyde, a little north of the city, in 1110, the monks were transferred to Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body and those of his wife and children, which were presumably interred before the high altar. Soon after the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, the church was demolished, leaving the graves intact.\n\nThe royal graves and many others were probably rediscovered by chance in 1788 when a prison was being constructed by convicts on the site. Prisoners dug across the width of the altar area in order to dispose of rubble left at the dissolution. Coffins were stripped of lead, and bones were scattered and lost. The prison was demolished between 1846 and 1850. Further excavations in 1866 and 1897 were inconclusive. In 1866 amateur antiquarian John Mellor claimed to have recovered a number of bones from the site which he said were those of Alfred. These later came into the possession of the vicar of nearby St Bartholomew's Church who reburied them in an unmarked grave in the church graveyard.\n\nExcavations conducted by the Winchester Museums Service of the Hyde Abbey site in 1999 located a second pit dug in front of where the high altar would have been located, which was identified as probably dating to Mellor's 1886 excavation. The 1999 archeological excavation uncovered the foundations of the abbey buildings and some bones. Bones suggested at the time to be those of Alfred proved instead to belong to an elderly woman.\n\nIn March 2013 the Diocese of Winchester exhumed the bones from the unmarked grave at St Bartholomew's and placed them in secure storage. The diocese made no claim they were the bones of Alfred, but intended to secure them for later analysis, and from the attentions of people whose interest may have been sparked by the recent identification of the remains of King Richard III. The bones were radiocarbon-dated but the results showed that they were from the 1300s and therefore unrelated to Alfred. In January 2014, a fragment of pelvis unearthed in the 1999 excavation of the Hyde site, which had subsequently lain in a Winchester museum store room, was radiocarbon-dated to the correct period. It has been suggested that this bone may belong to either Alfred or his son Edward, but this remains unproven.\n", "\nStatue of Alfred the Great at Wantage, Oxfordshire\n\nAlfred is venerated as a saint by some Christian traditions, but an attempt by Henry VI of England in 1441 to have him canonized by the pope was unsuccessful. The Anglican Communion venerates him as a Christian hero, with a feast day or commemoration on 26 October, and he may often be found depicted in stained glass in Church of England parish churches.\n\nAlfred commissioned Bishop Asser to write his biography, which inevitably emphasised Alfred's positive aspects. Later medieval historians, such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, also reinforced Alfred's favourable image. By the time of the Reformation Alfred was seen as being a pious Christian ruler who promoted the use of English rather than Latin, and so the translations that he commissioned were viewed as untainted by the later Roman Catholic influences of the Normans. Consequently, it was writers of the sixteenth century who gave Alfred his epithet as 'the Great' rather than any of Alfred's contemporaries. The epithet was retained by succeeding generations of Parliamentarians and empire-builders who saw Alfred's patriotism, success against barbarism, promotion of education and establishment of the rule of law as supporting their own ideals.\n\nA number of educational establishments are named in Alfred's honour. These include:\n* The University of Winchester created from the former 'King Alfred's College, Winchester' (1928 to 2004).\n* Alfred University and Alfred State College in Alfred, New York. The local telephone exchange for Alfred University is 871 in commemoration of Alfred's ascension to the throne.\n* In honour of Alfred, the University of Liverpool created a King Alfred Chair of English Literature.\n* 18th century portrait of Alfred King Alfred's Academy, a secondary school in Wantage, Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Alfred.\n* King's Lodge School in Chippenham, Wiltshire is so named because King Alfred's hunting lodge is reputed to have stood on or near the site of the school.\n* The King Alfred School & Specialist Sports Academy, Burnham Road, Highbridge is so named due to its rough proximity to Brent Knoll (a Beacon site) and Athelney.\n* The King Alfred School in Barnet, North London, UK.\n* King Alfred's Middle School, Shaftesbury, Dorset Now defunct after reorganisation\n* King's College, Taunton, Somerset. (The king in question is King Alfred).\n* King Alfred's house in Bishop Stopford's School at Enfield.\n* Saxonwold Primary School in Gauteng, South Africa names one of its houses after King Alfred. The others being Bede, Caedmon, and Dunston.\n\nThe Royal Navy has named one ship and two shore establishments HMS ''King Alfred'', and one of the first ships of the US Navy was named USS ''Alfred'' in his honour. In 2002, Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons following a UK-wide vote.\n", "===Alfred University (New York)===\nOne of the first items visible when entering the campus of Alfred University is a bronze statue of the king, created in 1990 by William Underhill. It features the king as a young man, holding a shield in his left hand and an open book in his right.\n===Pewsey===\n\nA prominent statue of King Alfred the Great stands in the middle of Pewsey. It was unveiled in June 1913 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.\n\n===Wantage===\nA statue of Alfred the Great, situated in the Wantage market place, was sculpted by Count Gleichen, a relative of Queen Victoria, and unveiled on 14 July 1877 by the Prince and Princess of Wales.\nThe statue was vandalised on New Year's Eve 2007, losing part of its right arm and axe. After the arm and axe were replaced the statue was again vandalised on Christmas Eve 2008, losing its axe.\n\n===Winchester===\nA bronze statue of Alfred the Great stands at the eastern end of The Broadway, close to the site of Winchester's medieval East Gate. The statue was designed by Hamo Thornycroft, and erected in 1899 to mark one thousand years since Alfred's death. The statue is placed on a pedestal consisting of two immense blocks of gray Cornish granite.\n\n===Cleveland, Ohio===\nA marble statue of Alfred the Great stands on the North side of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It was sculpted by Isidore Konti in 1910.\n", "\n* Cultural depictions of Alfred the Great\n", "\n", "\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* — \"Note: This electronic edition of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collation of material from nine diverse extant versions of the Chronicle. It contains primarily the translation of Rev. James Ingram, as published in the 1847 Everyman edition\". It was \"Originally compiled on the orders of King Alfred the Great, approximately A.D. 890, and subsequently maintained and added to by generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the 12th Century\".\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n'''Attribution:'''\n* \n", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* BBC article on Alfred\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Childhood", "Reigns of Alfred's brothers", "King at war", "Military reorganisation", "Legal reform", "Foreign relations", "Religion and culture", "Appearance and character", "Family", "Ancestry", "Death, burial and fate of remains", "Legacy", "Statues", "See also", "Notes", "Citations", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The restoration of London progressed through the latter half of the 880s and is believed to have revolved around: a new street plan; added fortifications in addition to the existing Roman walls; and, some believe, the construction of matching fortifications on the south bank of the River Thames." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alfred the Great''' (, \"elf counsel\" or \"wise elf\"; 849 – 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.", "Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England.", "He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet \"the Great\", the other being the Scandinavian Cnut the Great.", "He was also the first King of the West Saxons to style himself \"King of the Anglo-Saxons\".", "Details of Alfred's life are described in a work by the 9th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser.", "Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be taught in English rather than Latin, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and his people's quality of life.", "In 2002 Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.", "\nAlfred was born in the village of Wanating, now Wantage, historically in Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire.", "He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex by his first wife, Osburh.", "In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is reported by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' to have been sent to Rome where he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV, who \"anointed him as king\".", "Victorian writers later interpreted this as an anticipatory coronation in preparation for his eventual succession to the throne of Wessex.", "This is unlikely; his succession could not have been foreseen at the time as Alfred had three living elder brothers.", "A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a \"consul\"; a misinterpretation of this investiture, deliberate or accidental, could explain later confusion.", "It may also be based on Alfred's later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, around 854–855.", "On their return from Rome in 856 Æthelwulf was deposed by his son Æthelbald.", "With civil war looming the magnates of the realm met in council to hammer out a compromise.", "Æthelbald would retain the western shires (i.e.", "historical Wessex), and Æthelwulf would rule in the east.", "When King Æthelwulf died in 858 Wessex was ruled by three of Alfred's brothers in succession: Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred.", "Bishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won as a prize a book of Saxon poems, offered by his mother to the first of her children able to memorize it.", "Legend also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Ireland seeking healing.", "Alfred was troubled by health problems throughout his life.", "It is thought that he may have suffered from Crohn's disease.", "Statues of Alfred in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a great warrior.", "Evidence suggests he was not physically strong and, though not lacking in courage, he was noted more for his intellect than as a warlike character.", "A map of the route taken by the Viking Great Heathen Army which arrived in England from Denmark, Norway, and southern Sweden in 865.", "Alfred is not mentioned during the short reigns of his older brothers Æthelbald of Wessex and Æthelberht of Wessex.", "The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' describe the Great Heathen Army, an army of Danes, landing in East Anglia with the intent of conquering the four kingdoms that constituted Anglo-Saxon England in 865.", "Alfred's public life began at age 16 with the accession of his third brother, 18 year old King Æthelred of Wessex in 865.", "During this period, Bishop Asser applied to Alfred the unique title of \"secundarius\", which may indicate a position similar to the Celtic \"tanist\", a recognised successor closely associated with the reigning monarch.", "This arrangement may have been sanctioned by Alfred's father or by the Witan to guard against the danger of a disputed succession should Æthelred fall in battle.", "It is well known among other Germanic peoples to crown a successor as royal prince and military commander, such as among the Swedes and Franks, to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related.", "===Fighting the Viking invasion===\nIn 868, Alfred is recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the Great Heathen Army led by Ivar the Boneless out of the adjoining Kingdom of Mercia.", "The Danes arrived in his homeland at the end of 870, and nine engagements were fought in the following year, with varying outcomes, though the places and dates of two of these battles have not been recorded.", "A successful skirmish at the Battle of Englefield in Berkshire on 31 December 870 was followed by a severe defeat at the siege and Battle of Reading by Ivar's brother Halfdan Ragnarsson on 5 January 871.", "Four days later, the Anglo-Saxons won a brilliant victory at the Battle of Ashdown on the Berkshire Downs, possibly near Compton or Aldworth.", "Alfred is particularly credited with the success of last battle.", "The Saxons were defeated at the Battle of Basing on 22 January.", "They were defeated again on 22 March at the Battle of Merton (perhaps Marden in Wiltshire or Martin in Dorset).", "Æthelred died shortly afterwards on 23 April.", "\n===Early struggles, defeat and flight===\nIn April 871 King Æthelred died and Alfred succeeded to the throne of Wessex and the burden of its defence, even though Æthelred left two under-age sons, Æthelhelm and Æthelwold.", "This was in accordance with the agreement that Æthelred and Alfred had made earlier that year in an assembly at \"Swinbeorg\".", "The brothers had agreed that whichever of them outlived the other would inherit the personal property that King Æthelwulf had left jointly to his sons in his will.", "The deceased's sons would receive only whatever property and riches their father had settled upon them, and whatever additional lands their uncle had acquired.", "The unstated premise was that the surviving brother would be king.", "Given the ongoing Danish invasion, and the youth of his nephews, Alfred's accession probably went uncontested.", "While he was busy with the burial ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the Saxon army in his absence at an unnamed spot, and then again in his presence at Wilton in May.", "The defeat at Wilton smashed any remaining hope that Alfred could drive the invaders from his kingdom.", "He was forced instead to make peace with them, according to sources that do not tell what the terms of the peace were.", "Bishop Asser claimed that the pagans agreed to vacate the realm and made good their promise.", "Indeed, the Viking army did withdraw from Reading in the autumn of 871 to take up winter quarters in Mercian London.", "Although not mentioned by Asser, or by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Alfred probably also paid the Vikings cash to leave, much as the Mercians were to do in the following year.", "Hoards dating to the Viking occupation of London in 871/2 have been excavated at Croydon, Gravesend, and Waterloo Bridge.", "These finds hint at the cost involved in making peace with the Vikings.", "For the next five years the Danes occupied other parts of England.", "A Victorian portrayal of the 12th-century legend of Alfred burning the cakes\nIn 876 under their new leader, Guthrum, the Danes slipped past the Saxon army and attacked and occupied Wareham in Dorset.", "Alfred blockaded them but was unable to take Wareham by assault.", "Accordingly, he negotiated a peace which involved an exchange of hostages and oaths, which the Danes swore on a \"holy ring\" associated with the worship of Thor.", "The Danes broke their word and, after killing all the hostages, slipped away under cover of night to Exeter in Devon.", "Alfred blockaded the Viking ships in Devon and, with a relief fleet having been scattered by a storm, the Danes were forced to submit.", "The Danes withdrew to Mercia.", "In January 878 the Danes made a sudden attack on Chippenham, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas, \"and most of the people they killed, except the King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after Easter he made a fort at Athelney in the marshes of Somerset, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe.\"", "From his fort at Athelney, an island in the marshes near North Petherton, Alfred was able to mount an effective resistance movement, rallying the local militias from Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.", "A legend, originating from 12th century chronicles, tells how when he first fled to the Somerset Levels, Alfred was given shelter by a peasant woman who, unaware of his identity, left him to watch some wheaten cakes she had left cooking on the fire.", "Preoccupied with the problems of his kingdom Alfred accidentally let the cakes burn and was roundly scolded by the woman upon her return.", "878 was the low-water mark in the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.", "With all the other kingdoms having fallen to the Vikings Wessex alone was still resisting.", "===Counter-attack and victory===\nKing Alfred's Tower (1772) on the supposed site of \"Egbert's Stone\", the mustering place before the Battle of Edington.", "In the seventh week after Easter (4–10 May 878), around Whitsuntide, Alfred rode to Egbert's Stone east of Selwood where he was met by \"all the people of Somerset and of Wiltshire and of that part of Hampshire which is on this side of the sea (that is, west of Southampton Water), and they rejoiced to see him\".", "Alfred's emergence from his marshland stronghold was part of a carefully planned offensive that entailed raising the fyrds of three shires.", "This meant not only that the king had retained the loyalty of ealdormen, royal reeves and king's thegns, who were charged with levying and leading these forces, but that they had maintained their positions of authority in these localities well enough to answer his summons to war.", "Alfred's actions also suggest a system of scouts and messengers.", "Alfred won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Edington which may have been fought near Westbury, Wiltshire.", "He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at Chippenham and starved them into submission.", "One of the terms of the surrender was that Guthrum convert to Christianity.", "Three weeks later the Danish king and 29 of his chief men were baptised at Alfred's court at Aller, near Athelney, with Alfred receiving Guthrum as his spiritual son.", "According to Asser:\n\nThe unbinding of the Chrisom took place with great ceremony eight days later at the royal estate at Wedmore \n\nWhile at Wedmore Alfred and Guthrum negotiated what some historians have called the Treaty of Wedmore, but it was to be some years after the cessation of hostilities that a formal treaty was signed.", "Under the terms of the so-called Treaty of Wedmore the converted Guthrum was required to leave Wessex and return to East Anglia.", "Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester.", "The formal Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, preserved in Old English in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (Manuscript 383), and in a Latin compilation known as \"Quadripartitus\", was negotiated later, perhaps in 879 or 880, when King Ceolwulf II of Mercia was deposed.", "That treaty divided up the kingdom of Mercia.", "By its terms the boundary between Alfred's and Guthrum's kingdoms was to run up the River Thames to the River Lea, follow the Lea to its source (near Luton), from there extend in a straight line to Bedford, and from Bedford follow the River Ouse to Watling Street.", "In other words, Alfred succeeded to Ceolwulf's kingdom consisting of western Mercia, and Guthrum incorporated the eastern part of Mercia into an enlarged kingdom of East Anglia (henceforward known as the Danelaw).", "By terms of the treaty, moreover, Alfred was to have control over the Mercian city of London and its mints—at least for the time being.", "The disposition of Essex, held by West Saxon kings since the days of Egbert, is unclear from the treaty though, given Alfred's political and military superiority, it would have been surprising if he had conceded any disputed territory to his new godson.", "===Quiet years, restoration of London (880s)===\n\nA coin of Alfred, king of Wessex, London, 880 (based upon a Roman model).", "'''''Obv''''': King with royal band in profile, with legend: ÆLFRED REX \"King Ælfred\"\n\nWith the signing of the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, an event most commonly held to have taken place around 880 when Guthrum's people began settling East Anglia, Guthrum was neutralised as a threat.", "The Viking army, which had stayed at Fulham during the winter of 878–879, sailed for Ghent and was active on the continent from 879–892.", "Alfred was still forced to contend with a number of Danish threats.", "A year later, in 881, Alfred fought a small sea battle against four Danish ships \"on the high seas\", Two of the ships were destroyed and the others surrendered to Alfred's forces.", "Similar small skirmishes with independent Viking raiders would have occurred for much of the period, as they had for decades.", "In 883—though there is some debate over the year—King Alfred, because of his support and his donation of alms to Rome, received a number of gifts from Pope Marinus.", "Among these gifts was reputed to be a piece of the true cross, a great treasure for the devout Saxon king.", "According to Asser, because of Pope Marinus' friendship with King Alfred, the pope granted an exemption to any Anglo-Saxons residing within Rome from tax or tribute.", "After the signing of the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred was spared any large-scale conflicts for some time.", "Despite this relative peace the king was still forced to deal with a number of Danish raids and incursions.", "Among these was a raid in Kent, an allied kingdom in South East England, during the year 885, which was quite possibly the largest raid since the battles with Guthrum.", "Asser's account of the raid places the Danish raiders at the Saxon city of Rochester where they built a temporary fortress in order to besiege the city.", "In response to this incursion Alfred led an Anglo-Saxon force against the Danes who, instead of engaging the army of Wessex, fled to their beached ships and sailed to another part of Britain.", "The retreating Danish force supposedly left Britain the following summer.", "Not long after the failed Danish raid in Kent, Alfred dispatched his fleet to East Anglia.", "The purpose of this expedition is debated, though Asser claims that it was for the sake of plunder.", "After travelling up the River Stour the fleet was met by Danish vessels that numbered 13 or 16 (sources vary on the number) and a battle ensued.", "The Anglo-Saxon fleet emerged victorious and, as Huntingdon accounts, \"laden with spoils\".", "The victorious fleet was then caught unawares when attempting to leave the River Stour and was attacked by a Danish force at the mouth of the river.", "The Danish fleet defeated Alfred's fleet, which may have been weakened in the previous engagement.", "A plaque in the City of London noting the restoration of the Roman walled city by Alfred.", "A year later, in 886, Alfred reoccupied the city of London and set out to make it habitable again.", "Alfred entrusted the city to the care of his son-in-law Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia.", "This is also the period in which almost all chroniclers agree that the Saxon people of pre-unification England submitted to Alfred.", "This was not, however, the point at which Alfred came to be known as King of England; in fact he would never adopt the title for himself.", "Between the restoration of London and the resumption of large-scale Danish attacks in the early 890s, Alfred's reign was rather uneventful.", "The relative peace of the late 880s was marred by the death of Alfred's sister, Æthelswith, en route to Rome in 888.", "In the same year the Archbishop of Canterbury, Æthelred, also died.", "One year later Guthrum, or Athelstan by his baptismal name, Alfred's former enemy and king of East Anglia, died and was buried in Hadleigh, Suffolk.", "Map of Britain in 886\n\nGuthrum's passing changed the political landscape for Alfred.", "The resulting power vacuum stirred up other power–hungry warlords eager to take his place in the following years.", "The quiet years of Alfred's life were coming to a close and war was on the horizon.", "===Further Viking attacks repelled (890s)===\nAfter another lull, in the autumn of 892 or 893, the Danes attacked again.", "Finding their position in mainland Europe precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions.", "They entrenched themselves, the larger body, at Appledore, Kent, and the lesser under Hastein, at Milton, also in Kent.", "The invaders brought their wives and children with them indicating a meaningful attempt at conquest and colonisation.", "Alfred, in 893 or 894, took up a position from which he could observe both forces.", "While he was in talks with Hastein the Danes at Appledore broke out and struck northwestwards.", "They were overtaken by Alfred's eldest son, Edward, and were defeated in a general engagement at Farnham in Surrey.", "They took refuge on an island at Thorney, on the River Colne between Buckinghamshire and Middlesex, where they were blockaded and forced to give hostages and promise to leave Wessex.", "They then went to Essex and, after suffering another defeat at Benfleet, joined with Hastein's force at Shoebury.", "Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore.", "Alfred at once hurried westward and raised the Siege of Exeter.", "The fate of the other place is not recorded.", "Meanwhile, the force under Hastein set out to march up the Thames Valley, possibly with the idea of assisting their friends in the west.", "They were met by a large force under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wiltshire and Somerset and, forced to head off to the northwest, being finally overtaken and blockaded at Buttington.", "(Some identify this with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the River Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool.)", "An attempt to break through the English lines was defeated.", "Those who escaped retreated to Shoebury.", "After collecting reinforcements, they made a sudden dash across England and occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester.", "The English did not attempt a winter blockade but contented themselves with destroying all the supplies in the district.", "Early in 894 or 895 lack of food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex.", "At the end of the year the Danes drew their ships up the River Thames and the River Lea and fortified themselves north of London.", "A direct attack on the Danish lines failed but, later in the year, Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river so as to prevent the egress of the Danish ships.", "The Danes realised that they were outmanoeuvred.", "They struck off north-westwards and wintered at Cwatbridge near Bridgnorth.", "The next year, 896 (or 897), they gave up the struggle.", "Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia.", "Those who had no connections in England withdrew back to the continent.", "Alfred the Great silver offering penny, 871–899.", "Legend: AELFRED REX SAXONUM \"Ælfred King of the Saxons\".", "The Germanic tribes who invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries relied upon the unarmoured infantry supplied by their tribal levy, or fyrd, and it was upon this system that the military power of the several kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England depended.", "The fyrd was a local militia in the Anglo-Saxon shire in which all freemen had to serve; those who refused military service were subject to fines or loss of their land.", "According to the law code of King Ine of Wessex, issued in about 694:\n\n\nWessex's history of failures preceding his success in 878 emphasised to Alfred that the traditional system of battle he had inherited played to the Danes' advantage.", "While both the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes attacked settlements to seize wealth and other resources, they employed very different strategies.", "In their raids the Anglo-Saxons traditionally preferred to attack head-on by assembling their forces in a shield wall, advancing against their target and overcoming the oncoming wall marshaled against them in defence.", "In contrast the Danes preferred to choose easy targets, mapping cautious forays designed to avoid risking all their accumulated plunder with high-stake attacks for more.", "Alfred determined their strategy was to launch smaller scaled attacks from a secure and reinforced defensible base to which they could retreat should their raiders meet strong resistance.", "These bases were prepared in advance, often by capturing an estate and augmenting its defences with surrounding ditches, ramparts and palisades.", "Once inside the fortification, Alfred realised, the Danes enjoyed the advantage, better situated to outlast their opponents or crush them with a counter-attack as the provisions and stamina of the besieging forces waned.", "The means by which the Anglo-Saxons marshaled forces to defend against marauders also left them vulnerable to the Vikings.", "It was the responsibility of the shire fyrd to deal with local raids.", "The king could call up the national militia to defend the kingdom but, in the case of the Viking hit-and-run raids, problems with communication, and raising supplies meant that the national militia could not be mustered quickly enough.", "It was only after the raids were underway that a call went out to landowners to gather their men for battle.", "Large regions could be devastated before the fyrd could assemble and arrive.", "And although the landowners were obliged to the king to supply these men when called, during the attacks in 878 many of them opportunistically abandoned their king and collaborated with Guthrum.", "With these lessons in mind Alfred capitalised on the relatively peaceful years immediately following his victory at Edington by focusing on an ambitious restructuring of his kingdom's military defences.", "On a trip to Rome Alfred had stayed with Charles the Bald and it is possible that he may have studied how the Carolingian kings had dealt with the Viking problem.", "Learning from their experiences he was able to put together a system of taxation and defence for his own kingdom.", "Also there had been a system of fortifications in pre-Viking Mercia that may have been an influence.", "So when the Viking raids resumed in 892 Alfred was better prepared to confront them with a standing, mobile field army, a network of garrisons, and a small fleet of ships navigating the rivers and estuaries.", "===Administration and taxation===\nTenants in Anglo-Saxon England had a threefold obligation based on their landholding: the so-called \"common burdens\" of military service, fortress work, and bridge repair.", "This threefold obligation has traditionally been called \"trinoda neccessitas\" or \"trimoda neccessitas\".", "The Old English name for the fine due for neglecting military service was \"fierdwite\" or \"fyrdwitee\".", "To maintain the burhs, and to reorganise the fyrd as a standing army, Alfred expanded the tax and conscription system based on the productivity of a tenant's landholding.", "The \"hide\" was the basic unit of the system on which the tenant's public obligations were assessed.", "A \"hide\" is thought to represent the amount of land required to support one family.", "The \"hide\" would differ in size according to the value and resources of the land, and the landowner would have to provide service based on how many \"hides\" he owned.", "===Burghal system===\n\n\nA map of burhs named in the Burghal Hidage.", "At the centre of Alfred's reformed military defence system was the network of burhs, distributed at strategic points throughout the kingdom.", "There were thirty-three in total, spaced approximately apart, enabling the military to confront attacks anywhere in the kingdom within a single day.", "Alfred's burhs (later termed boroughs) ranged from former Roman towns, such as Winchester, where the stone walls were repaired and ditches added, to massive earthen walls surrounded by wide ditches, probably reinforced with wooden revetments and palisades, such as at Burpham, Sussex.", "The size of the burhs ranged from tiny outposts such as Pilton to large fortifications in established towns, the largest being at Winchester.", "A contemporary document now known as the Burghal Hidage provides an insight into how the system worked.", "It lists the \"hidage\" for each of the fortified towns contained in the document.", "For example, Wallingford had a \"hidage\" of 2400, which meant that the landowners there were responsible for supplying and feeding 2,400 men, the number sufficient for maintaining of wall.", "A total of 27,071 soldiers were needed system-wide, or approximately one in four of all the free men in Wessex.", "Many of the burhs were twin towns that straddled a river and were connected by a fortified bridge, like those built by Charles the Bald a generation before.", "The double-burh blocked passage on the river, forcing Viking ships to navigate under a garrisoned bridge lined with men armed with stones, spears, or arrows.", "Other burhs were sited near fortified royal villas, allowing the king better control over his strongholds.", "The burhs were also interconnected by a road system maintained for army use (known as \"herepaths\").", "These roads would allow an army to be quickly assembled, sometimes from more than one burh, to confront the Viking invader.", "This network posed significant obstacles to Viking invaders, especially those laden with booty.", "The system threatened Viking routes and communications making it far more dangerous for the Viking raiders.", "The Vikings lacked both the equipment necessary to undertake a siege against a burh and a developed doctrine of siegecraft, having tailored their methods of fighting to rapid strikes and unimpeded retreats to well-defended fortifications.", "The only means left to them was to starve the burh into submission, but this gave the king time to send his mobile field army or garrisons from neighbouring burhs along the well-maintained army roads.", "In such cases the Vikings were extremely vulnerable to pursuit by the king's joint military forces.", "Alfred's burh system posed such a formidable challenge against Viking attack that when the Vikings returned in 892, and successfully stormed a half-made, poorly garrisoned fortress up the Lympne estuary in Kent, the Anglo-Saxons were able to limit their penetration to the outer frontiers of Wessex and Mercia.", "Alfred's burghal system was revolutionary in its strategic conception and potentially expensive in its execution.", "His contemporary biographer Asser wrote that many nobles balked at the new demands placed upon them even though they were for \"the common needs of the kingdom\".", "===English navy===\nAlfred also tried his hand at naval design.", "In 896 he ordered the construction of a small fleet, perhaps a dozen or so longships that, at 60 oars, were twice the size of Viking warships.", "This was not, as the Victorians asserted, the birth of the English Navy.", "Wessex had possessed a royal fleet before this.", "King Athelstan of Kent and Ealdorman Ealhhere had defeated a Viking fleet in 851 capturing nine ships, and Alfred himself had conducted naval actions in 882.", "Nevertheless, 897 clearly marked an important development in the naval power of Wessex.", "The author of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' related that Alfred's ships were larger, swifter, steadier and rode higher in the water than either Danish or Frisian ships.", "It is probable that, under the classical tutelage of Asser, Alfred utilised the design of Greek and Roman warships, with high sides, designed for fighting rather than for navigation.", "Alfred had seapower in mind—if he could intercept raiding fleets before they landed, he could spare his kingdom from being ravaged.", "Alfred's ships may have been superior in conception.", "In practice they proved to be too large to manoeuvre well in the close waters of estuaries and rivers, the only places in which a naval battle could occur.", "The warships of the time were not designed to be ship killers but rather troop carriers.", "It has been suggested that, like sea battles in late Viking age Scandinavia, these battles may have entailed a ship coming alongside an enemy vessel, lashing the two ships together and then boarding the enemy craft.", "The result was effectively a land battle involving hand-to-hand fighting on board the two lashed vessels.", "In the one recorded naval engagement in 896 Alfred's new fleet of nine ships intercepted six Viking ships in the mouth of an unidentified river along the south of England.", "The Danes had beached half their ships and gone inland, either to rest their rowers or to forage for food.", "Alfred's ships immediately moved to block their escape to the sea.", "The three Viking ships afloat attempted to break through the English lines.", "Only one made it; Alfred's ships intercepted the other two.", "Lashing the Viking boats to their own the English crew boarded the enemy's vessels and proceeded to kill everyone on board.", "The one ship that escaped managed to do so only because all of Alfred's heavy ships became grounded when the tide went out.", "What ensued was a land battle between the crews of the grounded ships.", "The Danes, heavily outnumbered, would have been wiped out if the tide had not risen.", "When that occurred the Danes rushed back to their boats which, being lighter with shallower drafts, were freed before Alfred's ships.", "Helplessly the English watched as the Vikings rowed past them.", "The pirates had suffered so many casualties (120 Danes dead against 62 Frisians and English) that they had difficulty putting out to sea.", "All were too damaged to row around Sussex and two were driven against the Sussex coast (possibly at Selsey Bill).", "The shipwrecked sailors were brought before Alfred at Winchester and hanged.", "\n\nA silver coin of Alfred.", "In the late 880s or early 890s Alfred issued a long ''domboc'' or law code consisting of his \"own\" laws, followed by a code issued by his late seventh-century predecessor King Ine of Wessex.", "Together these laws are arranged into 120 chapters.", "In his introduction Alfred explains that he gathered together the laws he found in many \"synod-books\" and \"ordered to be written many of the ones that our forefathers observed—those that pleased me; and many of the ones that did not please me, I rejected with the advice of my councillors, and commanded them to be observed in a different way\".", "Alfred singled out in particular the laws that he \"found in the days of Ine, my kinsman, or Offa, king of the Mercians, or King Æthelberht of Kent who first among the English people received baptism\".", "He appended, rather than integrated, the laws of Ine into his code and, although he included, as had Æthelbert, a scale of payments in compensation for injuries to various body parts the two injury tariffs are not aligned.", "Offa is not known to have issued a law code leading historian Patrick Wormald to speculate that Alfred had in mind the legatine capitulary of 786 that was presented to Offa by two papal legates.", "About a fifth of the law code is taken up by Alfred's introduction which includes translations into English of the Ten Commandments, a few chapters from the Book of Exodus, and the \"Apostolic Letter\" from the Acts of the Apostles (15:23–29).", "The Introduction may best be understood as Alfred's meditation upon the meaning of Christian law.", "It traces the continuity between God's gift of law to Moses to Alfred's own issuance of law to the West Saxon people.", "By doing so, it linked the holy past to the historical present and represented Alfred's law-giving as a type of divine legislation.", "Similarly Alfred divided his code into 120 chapters because 120 was the age at which Moses died and, in the number-symbolism of early medieval biblical exegetes, 120 stood for law.", "The link between the Mosaic Law and Alfred's code is the \"Apostolic Letter\" which explained that Christ \"had come not to shatter or annul the commandments but to fulfill them; and he taught mercy and meekness\".", "(Intro, 49.1) The mercy that Christ infused into Mosaic Law underlies the injury tariffs that figure so prominently in barbarian law codes since Christian synods \"established, through that mercy which Christ taught, that for almost every misdeed at the first offence secular lords might with their permission receive without sin the monetary compensation which they then fixed\".", "The only crime that could not be compensated with a payment of money was treachery to a lord \"since Almighty God adjudged none for those who despised Him, nor did Christ, the Son of God, adjudge any for the one who betrayed Him to death; and He commanded everyone to love his lord as Himself\".", "Alfred's transformation of Christ's commandment, from \"Love your neighbour as yourself\" (Matt.", "22:39–40) to love your secular lord as you would love the Lord Christ himself, underscores the importance that Alfred placed upon lordship which he understood as a sacred bond instituted by God for the governance of man.", "When one turns from the domboc's introduction to the laws themselves it is difficult to uncover any logical arrangement.", "The impression one receives is of a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws.", "The law code, as it has been preserved, is singularly unsuitable for use in lawsuits.", "In fact several of Alfred's laws contradicted the laws of Ine that form an integral part of the code.", "Patrick Wormald's explanation is that Alfred's law code should be understood not as a legal manual but as an ideological manifesto of kingship \"designed more for symbolic impact than for practical direction\".", "In practical terms the most important law in the code may well have been the very first: \"We enjoin, what is most necessary, that each man keep carefully his oath and his pledge\" which expresses a fundamental tenet of Anglo-Saxon law.", "Alfred devoted considerable attention and thought to judicial matters.", "Asser underscores his concern for judicial fairness.", "Alfred, according to Asser, insisted upon reviewing contested judgments made by his ealdormen and reeves and \"would carefully look into nearly all the judgements which were passed issued in his absence anywhere in the realm to see whether they were just or unjust\".", "A charter from the reign of his son Edward the Elder depicts Alfred as hearing one such appeal in his chamber while washing his hands.", "Asser represents Alfred as a Solomonic judge, painstaking in his own judicial investigations and critical of royal officials who rendered unjust or unwise judgments.", "Although Asser never mentions Alfred's law code he does say that Alfred insisted that his judges be literate so that they could apply themselves \"to the pursuit of wisdom\".", "The failure to comply with this royal order was to be punished by loss of office.", "The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', commissioned at the time of Alfred, was probably written to promote unification of England, whereas Asser's ''The Life of King Alfred'' promoted Alfred's achievements and personal qualities.", "It was possible that the document was designed this way so that it could be disseminated in Wales, as Alfred had recently acquired overlordship of that country.", "Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers but little definite information is available.", "His interest in foreign countries is shown by the insertions which he made in his translation of Orosius.", "He corresponded with Elias III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and embassies to Rome conveying the English alms to the Pope were fairly frequent.", "Around 890 Wulfstan of Hedeby undertook a journey from Hedeby on Jutland along the Baltic Sea to the Prussian trading town of Truso.", "Alfred personally collected details of this trip.", "Alfred's relations with the Celtic princes in the western half of Britain are clearer.", "Comparatively early in his reign, according to Asser, the southern Welsh princes, owing to the pressure on them from North Wales and Mercia, commended themselves to Alfred.", "Later in his reign the North Welsh followed their example and the latter cooperated with the English in the campaign of 893 (or 894).", "That Alfred sent alms to Irish and Continental monasteries may be taken on Asser's authority.", "The visit of the three pilgrim \"Scots\" (i.e.", "Irish) to Alfred in 891 is undoubtedly authentic.", "The story that he himself in his childhood was sent to Ireland to be healed by Saint Modwenna, though mythical, may show Alfred's interest in that island.", "\nKing Alfred the Great pictured in a stained glass window in the West Window of the South Transept of Bristol Cathedral.", "In the 880s, at the same time that he was \"cajoling and threatening\" his nobles to build and man the burhs, Alfred, perhaps inspired by the example of Charlemagne almost a century before, undertook an equally ambitious effort to revive learning.", "During this time period the Viking raids were often seen as a divine punishment and Alfred may have wished to revive religious awe in order to appease God's wrath.", "This revival entailed the recruitment of clerical scholars from Mercia, Wales and abroad to enhance the tenor of the court and of the episcopacy; the establishment of a court school to educate his own children, the sons of his nobles, and intellectually promising boys of lesser birth; an attempt to require literacy in those who held offices of authority; a series of translations into the vernacular of Latin works the king deemed \"most necessary for all men to know\"; the compilation of a chronicle detailing the rise of Alfred's kingdom and house, with a genealogy that stretched back to Adam, thus giving the West Saxon kings a biblical ancestry.", "Very little is known of the church under Alfred.", "The Danish attacks had been particularly damaging to the monasteries.", "Although Alfred founded monasteries at Athelney and Shaftesbury, these were the first new monastic houses in Wessex since the beginning of the eighth century.", "According to Asser, Alfred enticed foreign monks to England for his monastery at Athelney as there was little interest for the locals to take up the monastic life.", "Alfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex.", "For him the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots.", "As king he saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects.", "Secular and spiritual authority were not distinct categories for Alfred.", "He was equally comfortable distributing his translation of Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'' to his bishops so that they might better train and supervise priests and using those same bishops as royal officials and judges.", "Nor did his piety prevent him from expropriating strategically sited church lands, especially estates along the border with the Danelaw, and transferring them to royal thegns and officials who could better defend them against Viking attacks.", "===Impact of Danish raids on education===\nThe Danish raids had a devastating effect on learning in England.", "Alfred lamented in the preface to his translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care'' that \"learning had declined so thoroughly in England that there were very few men on this side of the Humber who could understand their divine services in English or even translate a single letter from Latin into English: and I suppose that there were not many beyond the Humber either\".", "Alfred undoubtedly exaggerated, for dramatic effect, the abysmal state of learning in England during his youth.", "That Latin learning had not been obliterated is evidenced by the presence in his court of learned Mercian and West Saxon clerics such as Plegmund, Wæferth, and Wulfsige.", "Manuscript production in England dropped off precipitously around the 860s when the Viking invasions began in earnest, not to be revived until the end of the century.", "Numerous Anglo-Saxon manuscripts burnt up along with the churches that housed them.", "And a solemn diploma from Christ Church, Canterbury, dated 873, is so poorly constructed and written that historian Nicholas Brooks posited a scribe who was either so blind he could not read what he wrote or who knew little or no Latin.", "\"It is clear\", Brooks concludes, \"that the metropolitan church of Canterbury must have been quite unable to provide any effective training in the scriptures or in Christian worship\".", "===Establishment of a court school===\nFollowing the example of Charlemagne Alfred established a court school for the education of his own children, those of the nobility, and \"a good many of lesser birth\".", "There they studied books in both English and Latin and \"devoted themselves to writing, to such an extent ... they were seen to be devoted and intelligent students of the liberal arts\".", "He recruited scholars from the Continent and from Britain to aid in the revival of Christian learning in Wessex and to provide the king personal instruction.", "Grimbald and John the Saxon came from Francia; Plegmund (whom Alfred appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 890), Bishop Werferth of Worcester, Æthelstan, and the royal chaplains Werwulf, from Mercia; and Asser, from St David's in southwestern Wales.", "===Advocacy of education in the English language===\nAlfred's educational ambitions seem to have extended beyond the establishment of a court school.", "Believing that without Christian wisdom there can be neither prosperity nor success in war, Alfred aimed \"to set to learning (as long as they are not useful for some other employment) all the free-born young men now in England who have the means to apply themselves to it\".", "Conscious of the decay of Latin literacy in his realm Alfred proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.", "There were few \"books of wisdom\" written in English.", "Alfred sought to remedy this through an ambitious court-centred programme of translating into English the books he deemed \"most necessary for all men to know\".", "It is unknown when Alfred launched this programme but it may have been during the 880s when Wessex was enjoying a respite from Viking attacks.", "Alfred was, until recently, often considered to have been the author of many of the translations but this is now considered doubtful in almost all cases.", "Scholars more often refer to translations as \"Alfredian\" indicating that they probably had something to do with his patronage but are unlikely to be his own work.", "Apart from the lost ''Handboc'' or ''Encheiridio'', which seems to have been a commonplace book kept by the king, the earliest work to be translated was the ''Dialogues'' of Gregory the Great, a book greatly popular in the Middle Ages.", "The translation was undertaken at Alfred's command by Werferth, Bishop of Worcester, with the king merely furnishing a preface.", "Remarkably Alfred, undoubtedly with the advice and aid of his court scholars, translated four works himself: Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'', Boethius's ''Consolation of Philosophy''\", St. Augustine's ''Soliloquies'' and the first fifty psalms of the Psalter.", "One might add to this list the translation, in Alfred's law code, of excerpts from the Vulgate Book of Exodus.", "The Old English versions of Orosius's ''Histories against the Pagans'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' are no longer accepted by scholars as Alfred's own translations because of lexical and stylistic differences.", "Nonetheless the consensus remains that they were part of the Alfredian programme of translation.", "Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge suggest this also for Bald's ''Leechbook'' and the anonymous ''Old English Martyrology''.", "The preface of Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'' explained why he thought it necessary to translate works such as this from Latin into English.", "Although he described his method as translating \"sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense\", the translation actually keeps very close to the original although, through his choice of language, he blurred throughout the distinction between spiritual and secular authority.", "Alfred meant the translation to be used, and circulated it to all his bishops.", "Interest in Alfred's translation of ''Pastoral Care'' was so enduring that copies were still being made in the 11th century.", "Boethius'''Consolation of Philosophy'' was the most popular philosophical handbook of the Middle Ages.", "Unlike the translation of the ''Pastoral Care'' the Alfredian text deals very freely with the original and, though the late Dr. G. Schepss showed that many of the additions to the text are to be traced not to the translator himself but to the glosses and commentaries which he used, still there is much in the work which is distinctive to the translation and has been taken to reflect philosophies of kingship in Alfred's milieu.", "It is in the Boethius that the oft-quoted sentence occurs: \"To speak briefly: I desired to live worthily as long as I lived, and after my life to leave to them that should come after, my memory in good works.\"", "The book has come down to us in two manuscripts only.", "In one of these the writing is prose, in the other a combination of prose and alliterating verse.", "The latter manuscript was severely damaged in the 18th and 19th centuries.", "The last of the Alfredian works is one which bears the name ''Blostman'', i.e.", "\"Blooms\" or Anthology.", "The first half is based mainly on the ''Soliloquies'' of St Augustine of Hippo, the remainder is drawn from various sources.", "The material has traditionally been thought to contain much that is Alfred's own and highly characteristic of him.", "The last words of it may be quoted; they form a fitting epitaph for the noblest of English kings.", "\"Therefore, he seems to me a very foolish man, and truly wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear.\"", "Alfred appears as a character in the twelfth- or thirteenth-century poem ''The Owl and the Nightingale'' where his wisdom and skill with proverbs is praised.", "''The Proverbs of Alfred'', a thirteenth-century work, contains sayings that are not likely to have originated with Alfred but attest to his posthumous medieval reputation for wisdom.", "2A drawing of the Alfred Jewel.", "The Alfred Jewel, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, commissioned by Alfred.", "The Alfred jewel, discovered in Somerset in 1693, has long been associated with King Alfred because of its Old English inscription AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (Alfred ordered me to be made).", "The jewel is about long, made of filigreed gold, enclosing a highly polished piece of quartz crystal beneath which is set in a cloisonné enamel plaque with an enamelled image of a man holding floriate sceptres, perhaps personifying Sight or the Wisdom of God.", "It was at one time attached to a thin rod or stick based on the hollow socket at its base.", "The jewel certainly dates from Alfred's reign.", "Although its function is unknown it has been often suggested that the jewel was one of the \"æstels\"—pointers for reading—that Alfred ordered sent to every bishopric accompanying a copy of his translation of the ''Pastoral Care''.", "Each \"æstel\" was worth the princely sum of 50 mancuses which fits in well with the quality workmanship and expensive materials of the Alfred jewel\".", "Historian Richard Abels sees Alfred's educational and military reforms as complementary.", "Restoring religion and learning in Wessex, Abels contends, was to Alfred's mind as essential to the defence of his realm as the building of the burhs.", "As Alfred observed in the preface to his English translation of Gregory the Great's ''Pastoral Care'', kings who fail to obey their divine duty to promote learning can expect earthly punishments to befall their people.", "The pursuit of wisdom, he assured his readers of the Boethius, was the surest path to power: \"Study Wisdom, then, and, when you have learned it, condemn it not, for I tell you that by its means you may without fail attain to power, yea, even though not desiring it\".", "The portrayal of the West-Saxon resistance to the Vikings by Asser and the chronicler as a Christian holy war was more than mere rhetoric or 'propaganda'.", "It reflected Alfred's own belief in a doctrine of divine rewards and punishments rooted in a vision of a hierarchical Christian world order in which God is the Lord to whom kings owe obedience and through whom they derive their authority over their followers.", "The need to persuade his nobles to undertake work for the 'common good' led Alfred and his court scholars to strengthen and deepen the conception of Christian kingship that he had inherited by building upon the legacy of earlier kings such as Offa as well as clerical writers such as Bede, Alcuin and the other luminaries of the Carolingian renaissance.", "This was not a cynical use of religion to manipulate his subjects into obedience but an intrinsic element in Alfred's worldview.", "He believed, as did other kings in ninth-century England and Francia, that God had entrusted him with the spiritual as well as physical welfare of his people.", "If the Christian faith fell into ruin in his kingdom, if the clergy were too ignorant to understand the Latin words they butchered in their offices and liturgies, if the ancient monasteries and collegiate churches lay deserted out of indifference, he was answerable before God, as Josiah had been.", "Alfred's ultimate responsibility was the pastoral care of his people.", "Asser wrote of Alfred in his ''Life of King Alfred'':\n\n\nIt is also written by Asser that Alfred did not learn to read until he was twelve years old or later, which is described as \"shameful negligence\" of his parents and tutors.", "Alfred was an excellent listener and had an incredible memory and he retained poetry and psalms very well.", "A story is told by Asser about how his mother held up a book of Saxon poetry to him and his brothers, and said; \"I shall give this book to whichever one of you can learn it the fastest.\"", "After excitedly asking, \"Will you really give this book to the one of us who can understand it the soonest and recite it to you?\"", "Alfred then took it to his teacher, learned it, and recited it back to his mother.", "Alfred is also noted as carrying around a small book, probably a medieval version of a small pocket notebook, which contained psalms and many prayers that he often collected.", "Asser writes: these \"he collected in a single book, as I have seen for myself; amid all the affairs of the present life he took it around with him everywhere for the sake of prayer, and was inseparable from it.\"", "An excellent hunter in every branch of the sport, Alfred is remembered as an enthusiastic huntsman against whom nobody’s skills could compare.", "Although he was the youngest of his brothers, he was probably the most open-minded.", "He was an early advocate for education.", "His desire for learning could have come from his early love of English poetry and inability to read or physically record it until later in life.", "Asser writes that Alfred \"could not satisfy his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time\".", "In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini.", "The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians.", "Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family.", "They had five or six children together including: Edward the Elder who succeeded his father as king; Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her own right; and Ælfthryth who married Baldwin II the Count of Flanders.", "His mother was Osburga, daughter of Oslac of the Isle of Wight, Chief Butler of England.", "Asser, in his ''Vita Ælfredi'' asserts that this shows his lineage from the Jutes of the Isle of Wight.", "This is unlikely as Bede tells us that they were all slaughtered by the Saxons under Cædwalla.", "In 2008 the skeleton of Queen Eadgyth, granddaughter of Alfred the Great was found in Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany.", "It was confirmed in 2010 that these remains belong to her—one of the earliest members of the English royal family.", "Osferth was described as a relative in King Alfred's will and he attested charters in a high position until 934.", "A charter of King Edward's reign described him as the king's brother, \"mistakenly\" according to Keynes and Lapidge, but in the view of Janet Nelson he probably was an illegitimate son of King Alfred.", "Notes\n\nÆthelflæd\n\n12 June 918\nMarried c 886, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians d. 911; had issue\n\nEdward\nc. 874\n17 July 924\nMarried (1) Ecgwynn, (2) Ælfflæd, (3) 919 Eadgifu\n\nÆthelgifu\n\n\nAbbess of Shaftesbury\n\nÆthelweard\n\n16 October 922(?)", "Married and had issue\n\nÆlfthryth\n\n929\nMarried Baldwin II d. 918; had issue", "Alfred's will\nAlfred died on 26 October 899.", "How he died is unknown, although he suffered throughout his life with a painful and unpleasant illness.", "His biographer Asser gave a detailed description of Alfred's symptoms and this has allowed modern doctors to provide a possible diagnosis.", "It is thought that he had either Crohn's disease or haemorrhoidal disease.", "His grandson King Eadred seems to have suffered from a similar illness.", "Alfred was originally buried temporarily in the Old Minster in Winchester.", "Four years after his death he was moved to the New Minster (perhaps built especially to receive his body).", "When the New Minster moved to Hyde, a little north of the city, in 1110, the monks were transferred to Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body and those of his wife and children, which were presumably interred before the high altar.", "Soon after the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, the church was demolished, leaving the graves intact.", "The royal graves and many others were probably rediscovered by chance in 1788 when a prison was being constructed by convicts on the site.", "Prisoners dug across the width of the altar area in order to dispose of rubble left at the dissolution.", "Coffins were stripped of lead, and bones were scattered and lost.", "The prison was demolished between 1846 and 1850.", "Further excavations in 1866 and 1897 were inconclusive.", "In 1866 amateur antiquarian John Mellor claimed to have recovered a number of bones from the site which he said were those of Alfred.", "These later came into the possession of the vicar of nearby St Bartholomew's Church who reburied them in an unmarked grave in the church graveyard.", "Excavations conducted by the Winchester Museums Service of the Hyde Abbey site in 1999 located a second pit dug in front of where the high altar would have been located, which was identified as probably dating to Mellor's 1886 excavation.", "The 1999 archeological excavation uncovered the foundations of the abbey buildings and some bones.", "Bones suggested at the time to be those of Alfred proved instead to belong to an elderly woman.", "In March 2013 the Diocese of Winchester exhumed the bones from the unmarked grave at St Bartholomew's and placed them in secure storage.", "The diocese made no claim they were the bones of Alfred, but intended to secure them for later analysis, and from the attentions of people whose interest may have been sparked by the recent identification of the remains of King Richard III.", "The bones were radiocarbon-dated but the results showed that they were from the 1300s and therefore unrelated to Alfred.", "In January 2014, a fragment of pelvis unearthed in the 1999 excavation of the Hyde site, which had subsequently lain in a Winchester museum store room, was radiocarbon-dated to the correct period.", "It has been suggested that this bone may belong to either Alfred or his son Edward, but this remains unproven.", "\nStatue of Alfred the Great at Wantage, Oxfordshire\n\nAlfred is venerated as a saint by some Christian traditions, but an attempt by Henry VI of England in 1441 to have him canonized by the pope was unsuccessful.", "The Anglican Communion venerates him as a Christian hero, with a feast day or commemoration on 26 October, and he may often be found depicted in stained glass in Church of England parish churches.", "Alfred commissioned Bishop Asser to write his biography, which inevitably emphasised Alfred's positive aspects.", "Later medieval historians, such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, also reinforced Alfred's favourable image.", "By the time of the Reformation Alfred was seen as being a pious Christian ruler who promoted the use of English rather than Latin, and so the translations that he commissioned were viewed as untainted by the later Roman Catholic influences of the Normans.", "Consequently, it was writers of the sixteenth century who gave Alfred his epithet as 'the Great' rather than any of Alfred's contemporaries.", "The epithet was retained by succeeding generations of Parliamentarians and empire-builders who saw Alfred's patriotism, success against barbarism, promotion of education and establishment of the rule of law as supporting their own ideals.", "A number of educational establishments are named in Alfred's honour.", "These include:\n* The University of Winchester created from the former 'King Alfred's College, Winchester' (1928 to 2004).", "* Alfred University and Alfred State College in Alfred, New York.", "The local telephone exchange for Alfred University is 871 in commemoration of Alfred's ascension to the throne.", "* In honour of Alfred, the University of Liverpool created a King Alfred Chair of English Literature.", "* 18th century portrait of Alfred King Alfred's Academy, a secondary school in Wantage, Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Alfred.", "* King's Lodge School in Chippenham, Wiltshire is so named because King Alfred's hunting lodge is reputed to have stood on or near the site of the school.", "* The King Alfred School & Specialist Sports Academy, Burnham Road, Highbridge is so named due to its rough proximity to Brent Knoll (a Beacon site) and Athelney.", "* The King Alfred School in Barnet, North London, UK.", "* King Alfred's Middle School, Shaftesbury, Dorset Now defunct after reorganisation\n* King's College, Taunton, Somerset.", "(The king in question is King Alfred).", "* King Alfred's house in Bishop Stopford's School at Enfield.", "* Saxonwold Primary School in Gauteng, South Africa names one of its houses after King Alfred.", "The others being Bede, Caedmon, and Dunston.", "The Royal Navy has named one ship and two shore establishments HMS ''King Alfred'', and one of the first ships of the US Navy was named USS ''Alfred'' in his honour.", "In 2002, Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons following a UK-wide vote.", "===Alfred University (New York)===\nOne of the first items visible when entering the campus of Alfred University is a bronze statue of the king, created in 1990 by William Underhill.", "It features the king as a young man, holding a shield in his left hand and an open book in his right.", "===Pewsey===\n\nA prominent statue of King Alfred the Great stands in the middle of Pewsey.", "It was unveiled in June 1913 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.\n\n===Wantage===\nA statue of Alfred the Great, situated in the Wantage market place, was sculpted by Count Gleichen, a relative of Queen Victoria, and unveiled on 14 July 1877 by the Prince and Princess of Wales.", "The statue was vandalised on New Year's Eve 2007, losing part of its right arm and axe.", "After the arm and axe were replaced the statue was again vandalised on Christmas Eve 2008, losing its axe.", "===Winchester===\nA bronze statue of Alfred the Great stands at the eastern end of The Broadway, close to the site of Winchester's medieval East Gate.", "The statue was designed by Hamo Thornycroft, and erected in 1899 to mark one thousand years since Alfred's death.", "The statue is placed on a pedestal consisting of two immense blocks of gray Cornish granite.", "===Cleveland, Ohio===\nA marble statue of Alfred the Great stands on the North side of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.", "It was sculpted by Isidore Konti in 1910.", "\n* Cultural depictions of Alfred the Great", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* — \"Note: This electronic edition of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collation of material from nine diverse extant versions of the Chronicle.", "It contains primarily the translation of Rev.", "James Ingram, as published in the 1847 Everyman edition\".", "It was \"Originally compiled on the orders of King Alfred the Great, approximately A.D. 890, and subsequently maintained and added to by generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the 12th Century\".", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n'''Attribution:'''\n*", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* \n* \n* BBC article on Alfred\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\nTopography of the Amazon River Basin\n\nThe '''Amazon River''', usually abbreviated to '''Amazon''' ( or ; Spanish and ), in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world and according to some authors, the longest in length.\n\n\nThe headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi had been considered for nearly a century as the Amazon’s most distant source, until a 2014 study found it to be the Cordillera Rumi Cruz at the headwaters of the Mantaro River in Peru. The Mantaro and Apurímac join, and with other tributaries form the Ucayali River, which in turn meets the Marañón River upstream of Iquitos, Peru, to form what countries other than Brazil consider to be the main stem of the Amazon. Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro to form what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters () at Manaus, the river's largest city.\n\nAt an average discharge of about —approximately , greater than the next seven largest independent rivers combined—the Amazon represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, with an area of approximately . The portion of the river's drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other river's basin. The Amazon enters Brazil with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, yet already has a greater flow at this point than the discharge of any other river.\n", "\n\n=== Pre-Columbian era ===\nJivaro people were famous for their head-hunting raids and shrinking the heads from these raids.\nDuring what many archaeologists call the ''formative stage'', Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South America's highland agrarian systems. The trade with Andean civilisations in the terrains of the headwaters in the Andes, formed an essential contribution to the social and religious development of the higher altitude civilisations of among others the Muisca and Incas. Early human settlements were typically based on low-lying hills or mounds.\n\n\nFive types of archaeological mound have been noted in the Amazon region: shell refuse and artificial mounds, artificial earth platforms for entire villages, earth mounds and ridges for cultivation, causeways and canals, and figurative mounds, both geometric and biomorphic.\n\n\nShell mounds were the earliest evidences of habitation; they represent piles of human refuse and are mainly dated between 7500 and 4000 years BP. They are associated with ceramic age cultures; no preceramic shell mounds have been documented so far by archaeologists. Artificial earth platforms for entire villages are the second type of mounds. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture. Figurative mounds are the most recent types of occupation.\n\nThere is ample evidence that the areas surrounding the Amazon River were home to complex and large-scale indigenous societies, mainly chiefdoms who developed large towns and cities. Archaeologists estimate that by the time the Spanish conquistador De Orellana travelled across the Amazon in 1541, more than 3 million indigenous people lived around the Amazon. These pre-Columbian settlements created highly developed civilisations. For instance, pre-Columbian indigenous people on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification and supported a population of 100,000 people. In order to achieve this level of development, the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest altered the forest's ecology by selective cultivation and the use of fire. Scientists argue that by burning areas of the forest repetitiously, the indigenous people caused the soil to become richer in nutrients. This created dark soil areas known as ''terra preta de índio'' (\"indian dark earth\"). Because of the terra preta, indigenous communities were able to make land fertile and thus sustainable for the large-scale agriculture needed to support their large populations and complex social structures. Further research has hypothesised that this practice began around 11,000 years ago. Some say that its effects on forest ecology and regional climate explain the otherwise inexplicable band of lower rainfall through the Amazon basin.\n\nMany indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare. James Stuart Olson wrote: \"The Munduruku expansion dislocated and displaced the Kawahíb, breaking the tribe down into much smaller groups ... Munduruku first came to the attention of Europeans in 1770 when they began a series of widespread attacks on Brazilian settlements along the Amazon River.\"\n\n=== European discovery ===\nAmazon tributaries near Manaus\nIn March 1500, Spanish conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first documented European to sail up the Amazon River. Pinzón called the stream ''Río Santa María del Mar Dulce'', later shortened to ''Mar Dulce'', literally, ''sweet sea'', because of its fresh water pushing out into the ocean. Another Spanish explorer, Francisco de Orellana, was the first European to travel from the origins of the upstream river basins, situated in the Andes, to the mouth of the river. In this journey, Orellana baptised some of the affluents of the Amazonas like Rio Negro, Napo and Jurua. The name Amazonas is taken from the native warriors that attacked this expedition, mostly women, that reminded De Orellana of the female Amazon warriors from the ancient Hellenic culture in Greece.\n\n=== Exploration ===\nSamuel Fritz's 1707 map showing the Amazon and the Orinoco\nNative MundurukúPainting by Hercules Florence\nGonzalo Pizarro set off in 1541 to explore east of Quito into the South American interior in search of ''El Dorado'', the \"city of gold\" and La Canela, the \"valley of cinnamon\". He was accompanied by his second-in-command Francisco de Orellana. After , the Coca River joined the Napo River (at a point now known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana); the party stopped for a few weeks to build a boat just upriver from this confluence. They continued downriver through an uninhabited area, where they could not find food. Orellana offered and was ordered to follow the Napo River, then known as ''Río de la Canela'' (\"Cinnamon River\") and return with food for the party. Based on intelligence received from a captive native chief named Delicola, they expected to find food within a few days downriver by ascending another river to the north.\n\nDe Orellana took about 57 men, the boat, and some canoes and left Pizarro's troops on 26 December 1541. However, De Orellana apparently missed the confluence (probably with the Aguarico) where he was searching supplies for his men. By the time he and his men reached another village, many of them were sick from hunger and eating \"noxious plants\", and near death. Seven men died at that village. His men threatened to mutiny if he followed his orders and the expedition turned back to join Pizarro's larger party. He accepted to change the purpose of the expedition to discover new lands in the name of the king of Spain, and the men built a larger boat in which to navigate downstream. After a journey of 600 km down the Napo River they reached a further major confluence, at a point near modern Iquitos, and then followed the upper Amazon, now known as the Solimões, for a further to its confluence with the Rio Negro (near modern Manaus), which they reached on 3 June 1542. On the Nhamunda River, a tributary of the Amazon downstream from Manaus, Orellana's party had a fierce battle with warriors who, they reported, were led by fierce female warriors who beat the men to death with clubs if they tried to retreat. Orellana's men began referring to the women as Amazons, a reference to the tribe of women warriors from Greek mythology. The river was initially known as the ''Marañón'' (the name by which the Peruvian part of the river is still known today) or ''Rio de Orellana''. It later became known as the ''Rio Amazonas'', the name by which it is still known in both Spanish and Portuguese.\n\nRegarding the initial mission of finding cinnamon, Pizarro reported to the king that they had found cinnamon trees, but that they could not be profitably harvested. In fact, true cinnamon (''Cinnamomum verum'') is not native to South America. Other related cinnamon-containing plants (of the family ''Lauraceae'') are fairly common in that part of the Amazon and Pizarro probably saw some of these. The expedition reached the mouth of the Amazon on 24 August 1542, demonstrating the practical navigability of the Great River.\n\nIn 1560 another Spanish conquistador, Lope de Aguirre, may have made the second descent of the Amazon. Historians are uncertain whether the river he descended was the Amazon or the Orinoco River, which runs more or less parallel to the Amazon further north.\n\nPortuguese explorer Pedro Teixeira was the first European to travel up the entire river. He arrived in Quito in 1637, and returned via the same route.\n\nFrom 1648 to 1652, Portuguese Brazilian ''bandeirante'' António Raposo Tavares led an expedition from São Paulo overland to the mouth of the Amazon, investigating many of its tributaries, including the Rio Negro, and covering a distance of more than .\n\nIn what is currently Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, a number of colonial and religious settlements were established along the banks of primary rivers and tributaries for the purpose of trade, slaving and evangelisation among the indigenous peoples of the vast rainforest, such as the Urarina. In the late 1600s Spanish Jesuit Father Samuel Fritz, apostle of the Omaguas, established some forty mission villages.\n\n=== Scientific exploration ===\nHenry Walter Bates was most famous for his expedition to the Amazon (1848–1859).\nEarly scientific, zoological and botanical exploration of the Amazon River and basin took place from the 18th century through the first half of the 19th century.\n* Charles Marie de La Condamine explored the river in 1743.\n* Alexander von Humboldt, 1799–1804\n* Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, 1817–1820\n* Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace, 1848–1859\n\n=== Post-colonial exploitation and settlement ===\nAmazonas state\nAmazon Theatre opera house in Manaus built in 1896 during the rubber boom\n\n\nThe Cabanagem revolt (1835–1840) was directed against the white ruling class. It is estimated that from 30 to 40% of the population of Grão-Pará, estimated at 100,000 people, died.\n\nThe total population of the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin in 1850 was perhaps 300,000, of whom about two-thirds were Europeans and slaves, the slaves amounting to about 25,000. The Brazilian Amazon's principal commercial city, Pará (now Belém), had from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves. The town of Manáos, now Manaus, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, had a population between 1,000 and 1,500. All the remaining villages, as far up as Tabatinga, on the Brazilian frontier of Peru, were relatively small.\n\nOn 6 September 1850, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil sanctioned a law authorising steam navigation on the Amazon and gave the Viscount of Mauá (Irineu Evangelista de Sousa) the task of putting it into effect. He organised the \"Companhia de Navegação e Comércio do Amazonas\" in Rio de Janeiro in 1852; in the following year it commenced operations with four small steamers, the ''Monarca'' ('Monarch'), the ''Cametá'', the ''Marajó'' and the ''Rio Negro''.\n\nAt first, navigation was principally confined to the main river; and even in 1857 a modification of the government contract only obliged the company to a monthly service between Pará and Manaus, with steamers of 200 tons cargo capacity, a second line to make six round voyages a year between Manaus and Tabatinga, and a third, two trips a month between Pará and Cametá. This was the first step in opening up the vast interior.\n\nThe success of the venture called attention to the opportunities for economic exploitation of the Amazon, and a second company soon opened commerce on the Madeira, Purús and Negro; a third established a line between Pará and Manaus; and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams. In that same period, the Amazonas Company was increasing its fleet. Meanwhile, private individuals were building and running small steam craft of their own on the main river as well as on many of its tributaries.\n\nOn 31 July 1867 the government of Brazil, constantly pressed by the maritime powers and by the countries encircling the upper Amazon basin, especially Peru, decreed the opening of the Amazon to all countries, but they limited this to certain defined points: Tabatinga – on the Amazon; Cametá – on the Tocantins; Santarém – on the Tapajós; Borba – on the Madeira, and Manaus – on the Rio Negro. The Brazilian decree took effect on 7 September 1867.\n\nThanks in part to the mercantile development associated with steamboat navigation coupled with the internationally driven demand for natural rubber, the Peruvian city of Iquitos became a thriving, cosmopolitan centre of commerce. Foreign companies settled in Iquitos, from whence they controlled the extraction of rubber. In 1851 Iquitos had a population of 200, and by 1900 its population reached 20,000. In the 1860s, approximately 3,000 tons of rubber were being exported annually, and by 1911 annual exports had grown to 44,000 tons, representing 9.3% of Peru's exports. During the rubber boom it is estimated that diseases brought by immigrants, such as typhus and malaria, killed 40,000 native Amazonians.\n\nThe first direct foreign trade with Manaus commenced around 1874. Local trade along the river was carried on by the English successors to the Amazonas Company—the Amazon Steam Navigation Company—as well as numerous small steamboats, belonging to companies and firms engaged in the rubber trade, navigating the Negro, Madeira, Purús and many other tributaries, such as the Marañón, to ports as distant as Nauta, Peru.\n\nBy the turn of the 20th century, the exports of the Amazon basin were India-rubber, cacao beans, Brazil nuts and a few other products of minor importance, such as pelts and exotic forest produce (resins, barks, woven hammocks, prized bird feathers, live animals) and extracted goods, such as lumber and gold.\n\n=== 20th-century development ===\nManaus, the largest city in Amazonas, as seen from a NASA satellite image, surrounded by the dark Rio Negro and the muddy Amazon River\nLeticia, Colombia\n\nSince colonial times, the Portuguese portion of the Amazon basin has remained a land largely undeveloped by agriculture and occupied by indigenous people who survived the arrival of European diseases.\n\nFour centuries after the European discovery of the Amazon river, the total cultivated area in its basin was probably less than , excluding the limited and crudely cultivated areas among the mountains at its extreme headwaters. This situation changed dramatically during the 20th century.\n\nWary of foreign exploitation of the nation's resources, Brazilian governments in the 1940s set out to develop the interior, away from the seaboard where foreigners owned large tracts of land. The original architect of this expansion was president Getúlio Vargas, with the demand for rubber from the Allied forces in World War II providing funding for the drive.\n\nIn the 1960s, economic exploitation of the Amazon basin was seen as a way to fuel the \"economic miracle\" occurring at the time. This resulted in the development of \"Operation Amazon\", an economic development project that brought large scale agriculture and ranching to Amazonia. This was done through a combination of credit and fiscal incentives.\n\nHowever, in the 1970s the government took a new approach with the National Integration Programme. A large-scale colonisation programme saw families from northeastern Brazil relocated to the \"land without people\" in the Amazon Basin. This was done in conjunction with infrastructure projects mainly the Trans-Amazonian Highway (''Transamazônica'').\n\nThe Trans-Amazonian Highway's three pioneering highways were completed within ten years but never fulfilled their promise. Large portions of the Trans-Amazonian and its accessory roads, such as BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), are derelict and impassable in the rainy season. Small towns and villages are scattered across the forest, and because its vegetation is so dense, some remote areas are still unexplored.\n\nMany settlements grew along the road from Brasília to Belém with the highway and National Integration Programme however the programme failed as the settlers were unequipped to live in the delicate rainforest ecosystem. This, although the government believed it could sustain millions, instead could sustain very few.\n\nWith a population of 1.9 million people in 2014, Manaus is the largest city on the Amazon. Manaus alone makes up approximately 50% of the population of the largest Brazilian state of Amazonas. The racial makeup of the city is 64% pardo (mulatto and mestizo) and 32% white.\n\nAlthough the Amazon river remains largely undammed, around 412 dams are in operation in the Amazon’s tributary rivers. From these 412 dams, 151 are constructed over six of the main tributary rivers that drain into the Amazon. Since only four percent of the Amazon’s hydropower potential has been developed in countries like Brazil, more damming projects are underway and hundreds more are planned. After witnessing the negative effects of environmental degradation, sedimentation, navigation and flood control caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River, scientists are worried that constructing more dams in the Amazon will harm its biodiversity in the same way by “blocking-fish spawning runs, reducing the flows of vital oil nutrients and clearing forests”. Damming the Amazon River could potentially bring about the “end of free flowing rivers” and contribute to an “ecosystem collapse” that will cause major social problems.\n", "\n=== Origins ===\nThe Amazon was thought to originate from the Apacheta cliff in Arequipa at the Nevado Mismi, marked only by a wooden cross.\nSource of the Amazon\nMarañón River in Peru\n\nThe most distant source of the Amazon was thought to be in the Apurímac river drainage for nearly a century. Such studies continued to be published even recently, such as in 1996, 2001, 2007, and 2008, where various authors identified the snowcapped Nevado Mismi peak, located roughly west of Lake Titicaca and southeast of Lima, as the most distant source of the river. From that point, Quebrada Carhuasanta emerges from Nevado Mismi, joins Quebrada Apacheta and soon forms Río Lloqueta which becomes Río Hornillos and eventually joins the Río Apurímac.\n\nA 2014 study by Americans James Contos and Nicolas Tripcevich in ''Area'', a peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Geographic Society, however, identifies the most distant source of the Amazon as actually being in the Río Mantaro drainage. A variety of methods were used to compare the lengths of the Mantaro river vs. the Apurímac river from their most distant source points to their confluence, showing the longer length of the Mantaro. Then distances from Lago Junín to several potential source points in the uppermost Mantaro river were measured, which enabled them to determine that the Cordillera Rumi Cruz was the most distant source of water in the Mantaro basin (and therefore in the entire Amazon basin). The most accurate measurement method was direct GPS measurement obtained by kayak descent of each of the rivers from their source points to their confluence (performed by Contos). Obtaining these measurements was difficult given the class IV–V nature of each of these rivers, especially in their lower \"Abyss\" sections. Ultimately, they determined that the most distant point in the Mantaro drainage is nearly 80 km farther upstream compared to Mt. Mismi in the Apurímac drainage, and thus the maximal length of the Amazon river is about 80 km longer than previously thought. Contos continued downstream to the ocean and finished the first complete descent of the Amazon river from its newly identified source (finishing November 2012), a journey repeated by two groups after the news spread.\n\nAfter about , the Apurímac then joins Río Mantaro to form the Ene, which joins the Perene to form the Tambo, which joins the Urubamba River to form the Ucayali. After the confluence of Apurímac and Ucayali, the river leaves Andean terrain and is surrounded by floodplain. From this point to the confluence of the Ucayali and the Marañón, some , the forested banks are just above the water and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood stage. The low river banks are interrupted by only a few hills, and the river enters the enormous Amazon rainforest.\n\n=== The Upper Amazon or Solimões ===\nAmazon River near Iquitos, Peru\nAlthough the Ucayali–Marañón confluence is the point at which most geographers place the beginning of the Amazon River proper, in Brazil the river is known at this point as the ''Solimões das Águas''. The river systems and flood plains in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, whose waters drain into the ''Solimões'' and its tributaries, are called the \"Upper Amazon\".\n\nThe Amazon proper runs mostly through Brazil and Peru, and is part of the border between Colombia and Perú. It has a series of major tributaries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, some of which flow into the Marañón and Ucayali, and others directly into the Amazon proper. These include rivers Putumayo, Caquetá, Vaupés, Guainía, Morona, Pastaza, Nucuray, Urituyacu, Chambira, Tigre, Nanay, Napo, and Huallaga.\n\nAt some points the river divides into anabranches, or multiple channels, often very long, with inland and lateral channels, all connected by a complicated system of natural canals, cutting the low, flat ''igapó'' lands, which are never more than above low river, into many islands.\n\nFrom the town of Canaria at the great bend of the Amazon to the Negro, vast areas of land are submerged at high water, above which only the upper part of the trees of the sombre forests appear. Near the mouth of the Rio Negro to Serpa, nearly opposite the river Madeira, the banks of the Amazon are low, until approaching Manaus, they rise to become rolling hills.\n\n=== The Lower Amazon ===\nMeeting of Waters; the confluence of Rio Negro (black) and Amazon (sandy) near Manaus, Brazil\nWater samples of the Solimões (left) and Rio Negro (right)\n\nThe Lower Amazon begins where the darkly coloured waters of the Rio Negro meet the sandy coloured Rio Solimões, and for over these waters run side by side without mixing. At Óbidos, a bluff above the river is backed by low hills. The lower Amazon seems to have once been a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean, the waters of which washed the cliffs near Óbidos.\n\nOnly about ten percent of the Amazon's water enters downstream of Óbidos, very little of which is from the northern slope of the valley. The drainage area of the Amazon basin above Óbidos city is about , and, below, only about (around 20%), exclusive of the of the Tocantins basin. The Tocantins River enters the southern portion of the Amazon delta.\n\nIn the lower reaches of the river, the north bank consists of a series of steep, table-topped hills extending for about from opposite the mouth of the Xingu as far as Monte Alegre. These hills are cut down to a kind of terrace which lies between them and the river.\n\nOn the south bank, above the Xingu, a line of low bluffs bordering the floodplain extends nearly to Santarém in a series of gentle curves before they bend to the southwest, and, abutting upon the lower Tapajós, merge into the bluffs which form the terrace margin of the Tapajós river valley.\n\n=== Mouth ===\nSatellite image of the mouth of the Amazon River, from the north looking south\nBelém is the major city and port at the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean. The definition of where exactly the mouth of the Amazon is located, and how wide it is, is a matter of dispute, because of the area's peculiar geography. The Pará and the Amazon are connected by a series of river channels called ''furos'' near the town of Breves; between them lies Marajó, the world's largest combined river/sea island.\n\nIf the Pará river and the Marajó island ocean frontage are included, the Amazon estuary is some wide. In this case, the width of the mouth of the river is usually measured from Cabo Norte, the cape located straight east of Pracuúba in the Brazilian state of Amapá, to Ponta da Tijoca near the town of Curuçá, in the state of Pará.\n\nA more conservative measurement excluding the Pará river estuary, from the mouth of the Araguari River to Ponta do Navio on the northern coast of Marajó, would still give the mouth of the Amazon a width of over . If only the river's main channel is considered, between the islands of Curuá (state of Amapá) and Jurupari (state of Pará), the width falls to about .\n\nThe plume generated by the river's discharge covers up to 1.3 million square kilometres and is responsible for muddy bottoms influencing a wide area of the tropical north Atlantic in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration, and sedimentation.\n\n=== Dispute regarding length ===\nRiver taxi in Peru\nWhile debate as to whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river has gone on for many years, the historic consensus of geographic authorities has been to regard the Amazon as the second longest river in the world, with the Nile being the longest. However, the Amazon has been measured by different geographers as being anywhere between long. It is often said to be \"at least\" long. The Nile is reported to be anywhere from . Often it is said to be \"about\" long. There are many factors that can affect these measurements.\n\nA study by Brazilian scientists concluded that the Amazon is actually longer than the Nile. Using Nevado Mismi, which in 2001 was labelled by the National Geographic Society as the Amazon's source, these scientists made new calculations of the Amazon's length. They calculated the Amazon's length as . Using the same techniques, they calculated the length of the Nile as , which is longer than previous estimates but still shorter than the Amazon. They made it possible by measuring the Amazon downstream to the beginning of the tidal estuary of ''Canal do Sul'' and then, after a sharp turn back, following tidal canals surrounding the isle of Marajó and finally including the marine waters of the ''Río Pará'' bay in its entire length. Guido Gelli, director of science at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), told the Brazilian TV network Globo in June 2007 that it could be considered as a fact that the Amazon was the longest river in the world. However, other geographers have had access to the same data since 2001, and a consensus has yet to emerge to support the claims of these Brazilian scientists. The length of both the Amazon and the Nile remains open to interpretation and continued debate.\n", "\nThe Amazon basin, the largest in the world, covers about 40% of South America, an area of approximately . It drains from west to east, from Iquitos in Peru, across Brazil to the Atlantic. It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south latitude. Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean. The locals often refer to it as \"El Jefe Negro\", referring to an ancient god of fertility.\n\nThe Amazon River and its tributaries are characterised by extensive forested areas that become flooded every rainy season. Every year, the river rises more than , flooding the surrounding forests, known as ''várzea'' (\"flooded forests\"). The Amazon's flooded forests are the most extensive example of this habitat type in the world. In an average dry season, of land are water-covered, while in the wet season, the flooded area of the Amazon basin rises to .\n\nThe quantity of water released by the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: up to in the rainy season, with an average of from 1973 to 1990. The Amazon is responsible for about 20% of the Earth's fresh water entering the ocean. The river pushes a vast plume of fresh water into the ocean. The plume is about long and between wide. The fresh water, being lighter, flows on top of the seawater, diluting the salinity and altering the colour of the ocean surface over an area up to in extent. For centuries ships have reported fresh water near the Amazon's mouth yet well out of sight of land in what otherwise seemed to be the open ocean.\n\nThe Atlantic has sufficient wave and tidal energy to carry most of the Amazon's sediments out to sea, thus the Amazon does not form a true delta. The great deltas of the world are all in relatively protected bodies of water, while the Amazon empties directly into the turbulent Atlantic.\n\nThere is a natural water union between the Amazon and the Orinoco basins, the so-called Casiquiare canal. The Casiquiare is a river distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro, which in turn flows into the Amazon. The Casiquiare is the largest river on earth that links two major river systems, a so-called bifurcation.\n\n=== Flooding ===\nNASA satellite image of a flooded portion of the river\nNot all of the Amazon's tributaries flood at the same time of the year. Many branches begin flooding in November and may continue to rise until June. The rise of the Rio Negro starts in February or March and begins to recede in June. The Madeira River rises and falls two months earlier than most of the rest of the Amazon.\n\nThe depth of the Amazon between Manacapuru and Óbidos has been calculated as between . At Manacapuru, the Amazon's water level is only about above mean sea level. More than half of the water in the Amazon downstream of Manacapuru is below sea level. In its lowermost section, the Amazon's depth averages , in some places as much as .\n\nThe main river is navigable for large ocean steamers to Manaus, upriver from the mouth. Smaller ocean vessels of and draft can reach as far as Iquitos, Peru, from the sea. Smaller riverboats can reach higher, as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point in Peru.\n\nAnnual flooding occurs in late northern latitude winter at high tide when the incoming waters of the Atlantic are funnelled into the Amazon delta. The resulting undular tidal bore is called the ''pororoca'', with a leading wave that can be up to high and travel up to inland.\n", "The Amazon River originated as a transcontinental river in the Miocene epoch between 11.8 million and 11.3 million years ago and took its present shape approximately 2.4 million years ago in the Early Pleistocene.\n\nThe proto-Amazon during the Cretaceous flowed west, as part of a proto-Amazon-Congo river system, from the interior of present-day Africa when the continents were connected, forming western Gondwana. Fifteen million years ago, the main tectonic uplift phase of the Andean chain started. This tectonic movement is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate underneath the South American Plate. The rise of the Andes and the linkage of the Brazilian and Guyana bedrock shields, blocked the river and caused the Amazon Basin to become a vast inland sea. Gradually, this inland sea became a massive swampy, freshwater lake and the marine inhabitants adapted to life in freshwater. For example, over 20 species of stingray, most closely related to those found in the Pacific Ocean, can be found today in the freshwaters of the Amazon.\n\nEleven to ten million years ago, waters worked through the sandstone from the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward, leading to the emergence of the Amazon rainforest. During glacial periods, sea levels dropped and the great Amazon lake rapidly drained and became a river, which would eventually become the world's largest, draining the most extensive area of rainforest on the planet.\n\nParalleling the Amazon River is a large aquifer, dubbed the Hamza River, the discovery of which was made public in August 2011.\n", "{| class=\"wikitable sortable mw-collapsible\"\n Name\n Country\n Coordinates\n Image\n Notes\n\n Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve \n Peru \n \n 150px \n \n\n Amacayacu National Park \n Colombia \n \n 150px \n \n\n Amazônia National Park \n Brazil \n \n 150px \n \n\n Anavilhanas National Park \n Brazil \n \n 150px \n \n\n\n", "\n\n=== Flora ===\n\n\n=== Fauna ===\nCichlid native to rivers of the Amazon basin\n\nMore than one-third of all known species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest, a giant tropical forest and river basin with an area that stretches more than . It is the richest tropical forest in the world in terms of biodiversity. There are over 3,000 species of fish currently recognised in the Amazon basin, with more being discovered every year. In addition to the thousands of species of fish, the river supports crabs, algae, and turtles.\n\n==== Mammals ====\nAmazon river dolphin\nAlong with the Orinoco, the Amazon is one of the main habitats of the ''boto'', also known as the Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''). It is the largest species of river dolphin, and it can grow to lengths of up to . The colour of its skin changes with age; young animals are gray, but become pink and then white as they mature. The dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt in the river's tricky depths. The ''boto'' is the subject of a legend in Brazil about a dolphin that turns into a man and seduces maidens by the riverside.\n\nThe tucuxi (''Sotalia fluviatilis''), also a dolphin species, is found both in the rivers of the Amazon basin and in the coastal waters of South America. The Amazonian manatee (''Trichechus inunguis''), also known as \"seacow\", is found in the northern Amazon River basin and its tributaries. It is a mammal and a herbivore. Its population is limited to freshwater habitats, and, unlike other manatees, it does not venture into salt water. It is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.\n\nThe Amazon and its tributaries are the main habitat of the giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis''). It is a member of the weasel family and is the largest of its kind. Because of habitat destruction and hunting, its population has dramatically decreased.\n\n==== Birds ====\n\n\n==== Reptiles ====\n\nThe anaconda is found in shallow waters in the Amazon basin. One of the world's largest species of snake, the anaconda spends most of its time in the water with just its nostrils above the surface. The caiman, which is related to alligators and other crocodilians, also inhabits the Amazon as do varieties of turtles.\n\n==== Fish ====\nCharacins, such as the piranha species, are prey for the giant otter, but these aggressive fish may also pose a danger to humans.\nThe Amazonian fish fauna is the centre of diversity for neotropical fishes. 5,600 species are currently known, and approximately fifty new species are discovered each year. The arapaima, known in Brazil as the ''pirarucu'', is a South American tropical freshwater fish, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a length of up to . Another Amazonian freshwater fish is the arowana (or ''aruanã'' in Portuguese), such as the silver arowana (''Osteoglossum bicirrhosum''), which is a predator and very similar to the arapaima, but only reaches a length of . Also present in large numbers is the notorious piranha, an omnivorous fish that congregates in large schools and may attack livestock and even humans. There are approximately 30 to 60 species of piranha. However, only a few of its species are known to attack humans, most notably ''Pygocentrus nattereri'', the red-bellied piranha. The candirú, native to the Amazon River, is a species of parasitic fresh water catfish in the family Trichomycteridae, just one of more than 1200 species of catfish in the Amazon basin. Other catfish 'walk' overland on their ventral fins, while the kumakuma (''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum''), aka ''piraiba'' or \"goliath catfish\", can reach in length and in weight. The electric eel (''Electrophorus electricus'') and more than 100 species of electric fishes (Gymnotiformes) inhabit the Amazon basin. River stingrays (Potamotrygonidae) are also known. The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas'') has been reported up the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru.\n\n==== Microbiota ====\nFreshwater microbes are generally not very well known, even less so for a pristine ecosystem like the Amazon. Recently, metagenomics has provided answers to what kind of microbes inhabit the river. The most important microbes in the Amazon River are Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Crenarchaeota.\n", "Solimões, the section of the upper Amazon River\nAerial view of an Amazon tributary\nThe Amazon has over 1,100 tributaries, 12 of which are over long. Some of the more notable ones are:\n\n\n* Branco\n* Casiquiare canal\n* Caqueta River\n* Huallaga\n* Putumayo (or Içá River)\n* Javary\n* Juruá\n* Madeira\n* Marañón\n* Morona\n* Nanay\n* Napo\n* Negro\n* Pastaza\n* Purús\n* Tambo\n* Tapajós\n* Tigre\n* Tocantins\n* Trombetas\n* Ucayali\n* Xingu\n* Yapura\n\n\n=== List by length ===\n# to – Amazon, South America\n# – Madeira, Bolivia/Brazil\n# – Purús, Peru/Brazil\n# – Japurá or Caquetá, Colombia/Brazil\n# – Tocantins, Brazil\n# – Araguaia, Brazil (tributary of Tocantins)\n# – Juruá, Peru/Brazil\n# – Rio Negro, Brazil/Venezuela/Colombia\n# – Tapajós, Brazil\n# – Xingu, Brazil\n# – Ucayali River, Peru\n# – Guaporé, Brazil/Bolivia (tributary of Madeira)\n# – Içá (Putumayo), Ecuador/Colombia/Peru\n# – Marañón, Peru\n# – Teles Pires, Brazil (tributary of Tapajós)\n# – Iriri, Brazil (tributary of Xingu)\n# – Juruena, Brazil (tributary of Tapajós)\n# – Madre de Dios, Peru/Bolivia (tributary of Madeira)\n# – Huallaga, Peru (tributary of Marañón)\n", "\n* Amazon natural region\n* 1930 Curuçá River event\n* Hamza River\n* Peruvian Amazon\n\n\n", "\n\n=== Bibliography ===\n* \n* \n", "\n* Information on the Amazon from Extreme Science\n* A photographic journey up the Amazon River from its mouth to its source\n* Amazon Alive: Light & Shadow documentary film about the Amazon river\n* Amazon River Ecosystem\n* Research on the influence of the Amazon River on the Atlantic Ocean at the University of Southern California\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " History ", " Course ", " Watershed ", " Geology ", " Protected areas ", " Flora and fauna ", " Major tributaries ", " See also ", " References ", " External links " ]

[ "In the lower reaches of the river, the north bank consists of a series of steep, table-topped hills extending for about from opposite the mouth of the Xingu as far as Monte Alegre.", "On the south bank, above the Xingu, a line of low bluffs bordering the floodplain extends nearly to Santarém in a series of gentle curves before they bend to the southwest, and, abutting upon the lower Tapajós, merge into the bluffs which form the terrace margin of the Tapajós river valley." ]

[ "\n\nTopography of the Amazon River Basin\n\nThe '''Amazon River''', usually abbreviated to '''Amazon''' ( or ; Spanish and ), in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world and according to some authors, the longest in length.", "The headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi had been considered for nearly a century as the Amazon’s most distant source, until a 2014 study found it to be the Cordillera Rumi Cruz at the headwaters of the Mantaro River in Peru.", "The Mantaro and Apurímac join, and with other tributaries form the Ucayali River, which in turn meets the Marañón River upstream of Iquitos, Peru, to form what countries other than Brazil consider to be the main stem of the Amazon.", "Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro to form what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters () at Manaus, the river's largest city.", "At an average discharge of about —approximately , greater than the next seven largest independent rivers combined—the Amazon represents 20% of the global riverine discharge to the ocean.", "The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, with an area of approximately .", "The portion of the river's drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other river's basin.", "The Amazon enters Brazil with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, yet already has a greater flow at this point than the discharge of any other river.", "\n\n=== Pre-Columbian era ===\nJivaro people were famous for their head-hunting raids and shrinking the heads from these raids.", "During what many archaeologists call the ''formative stage'', Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South America's highland agrarian systems.", "The trade with Andean civilisations in the terrains of the headwaters in the Andes, formed an essential contribution to the social and religious development of the higher altitude civilisations of among others the Muisca and Incas.", "Early human settlements were typically based on low-lying hills or mounds.", "Five types of archaeological mound have been noted in the Amazon region: shell refuse and artificial mounds, artificial earth platforms for entire villages, earth mounds and ridges for cultivation, causeways and canals, and figurative mounds, both geometric and biomorphic.", "Shell mounds were the earliest evidences of habitation; they represent piles of human refuse and are mainly dated between 7500 and 4000 years BP.", "They are associated with ceramic age cultures; no preceramic shell mounds have been documented so far by archaeologists.", "Artificial earth platforms for entire villages are the second type of mounds.", "They are best represented by the Marajoara culture.", "Figurative mounds are the most recent types of occupation.", "There is ample evidence that the areas surrounding the Amazon River were home to complex and large-scale indigenous societies, mainly chiefdoms who developed large towns and cities.", "Archaeologists estimate that by the time the Spanish conquistador De Orellana travelled across the Amazon in 1541, more than 3 million indigenous people lived around the Amazon.", "These pre-Columbian settlements created highly developed civilisations.", "For instance, pre-Columbian indigenous people on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification and supported a population of 100,000 people.", "In order to achieve this level of development, the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest altered the forest's ecology by selective cultivation and the use of fire.", "Scientists argue that by burning areas of the forest repetitiously, the indigenous people caused the soil to become richer in nutrients.", "This created dark soil areas known as ''terra preta de índio'' (\"indian dark earth\").", "Because of the terra preta, indigenous communities were able to make land fertile and thus sustainable for the large-scale agriculture needed to support their large populations and complex social structures.", "Further research has hypothesised that this practice began around 11,000 years ago.", "Some say that its effects on forest ecology and regional climate explain the otherwise inexplicable band of lower rainfall through the Amazon basin.", "Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare.", "James Stuart Olson wrote: \"The Munduruku expansion dislocated and displaced the Kawahíb, breaking the tribe down into much smaller groups ... Munduruku first came to the attention of Europeans in 1770 when they began a series of widespread attacks on Brazilian settlements along the Amazon River.\"", "=== European discovery ===\nAmazon tributaries near Manaus\nIn March 1500, Spanish conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first documented European to sail up the Amazon River.", "Pinzón called the stream ''Río Santa María del Mar Dulce'', later shortened to ''Mar Dulce'', literally, ''sweet sea'', because of its fresh water pushing out into the ocean.", "Another Spanish explorer, Francisco de Orellana, was the first European to travel from the origins of the upstream river basins, situated in the Andes, to the mouth of the river.", "In this journey, Orellana baptised some of the affluents of the Amazonas like Rio Negro, Napo and Jurua.", "The name Amazonas is taken from the native warriors that attacked this expedition, mostly women, that reminded De Orellana of the female Amazon warriors from the ancient Hellenic culture in Greece.", "=== Exploration ===\nSamuel Fritz's 1707 map showing the Amazon and the Orinoco\nNative MundurukúPainting by Hercules Florence\nGonzalo Pizarro set off in 1541 to explore east of Quito into the South American interior in search of ''El Dorado'', the \"city of gold\" and La Canela, the \"valley of cinnamon\".", "He was accompanied by his second-in-command Francisco de Orellana.", "After , the Coca River joined the Napo River (at a point now known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana); the party stopped for a few weeks to build a boat just upriver from this confluence.", "They continued downriver through an uninhabited area, where they could not find food.", "Orellana offered and was ordered to follow the Napo River, then known as ''Río de la Canela'' (\"Cinnamon River\") and return with food for the party.", "Based on intelligence received from a captive native chief named Delicola, they expected to find food within a few days downriver by ascending another river to the north.", "De Orellana took about 57 men, the boat, and some canoes and left Pizarro's troops on 26 December 1541.", "However, De Orellana apparently missed the confluence (probably with the Aguarico) where he was searching supplies for his men.", "By the time he and his men reached another village, many of them were sick from hunger and eating \"noxious plants\", and near death.", "Seven men died at that village.", "His men threatened to mutiny if he followed his orders and the expedition turned back to join Pizarro's larger party.", "He accepted to change the purpose of the expedition to discover new lands in the name of the king of Spain, and the men built a larger boat in which to navigate downstream.", "After a journey of 600 km down the Napo River they reached a further major confluence, at a point near modern Iquitos, and then followed the upper Amazon, now known as the Solimões, for a further to its confluence with the Rio Negro (near modern Manaus), which they reached on 3 June 1542.", "On the Nhamunda River, a tributary of the Amazon downstream from Manaus, Orellana's party had a fierce battle with warriors who, they reported, were led by fierce female warriors who beat the men to death with clubs if they tried to retreat.", "Orellana's men began referring to the women as Amazons, a reference to the tribe of women warriors from Greek mythology.", "The river was initially known as the ''Marañón'' (the name by which the Peruvian part of the river is still known today) or ''Rio de Orellana''.", "It later became known as the ''Rio Amazonas'', the name by which it is still known in both Spanish and Portuguese.", "Regarding the initial mission of finding cinnamon, Pizarro reported to the king that they had found cinnamon trees, but that they could not be profitably harvested.", "In fact, true cinnamon (''Cinnamomum verum'') is not native to South America.", "Other related cinnamon-containing plants (of the family ''Lauraceae'') are fairly common in that part of the Amazon and Pizarro probably saw some of these.", "The expedition reached the mouth of the Amazon on 24 August 1542, demonstrating the practical navigability of the Great River.", "In 1560 another Spanish conquistador, Lope de Aguirre, may have made the second descent of the Amazon.", "Historians are uncertain whether the river he descended was the Amazon or the Orinoco River, which runs more or less parallel to the Amazon further north.", "Portuguese explorer Pedro Teixeira was the first European to travel up the entire river.", "He arrived in Quito in 1637, and returned via the same route.", "From 1648 to 1652, Portuguese Brazilian ''bandeirante'' António Raposo Tavares led an expedition from São Paulo overland to the mouth of the Amazon, investigating many of its tributaries, including the Rio Negro, and covering a distance of more than .", "In what is currently Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, a number of colonial and religious settlements were established along the banks of primary rivers and tributaries for the purpose of trade, slaving and evangelisation among the indigenous peoples of the vast rainforest, such as the Urarina.", "In the late 1600s Spanish Jesuit Father Samuel Fritz, apostle of the Omaguas, established some forty mission villages.", "=== Scientific exploration ===\nHenry Walter Bates was most famous for his expedition to the Amazon (1848–1859).", "Early scientific, zoological and botanical exploration of the Amazon River and basin took place from the 18th century through the first half of the 19th century.", "* Charles Marie de La Condamine explored the river in 1743.", "* Alexander von Humboldt, 1799–1804\n* Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, 1817–1820\n* Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace, 1848–1859\n\n=== Post-colonial exploitation and settlement ===\nAmazonas state\nAmazon Theatre opera house in Manaus built in 1896 during the rubber boom\n\n\nThe Cabanagem revolt (1835–1840) was directed against the white ruling class.", "It is estimated that from 30 to 40% of the population of Grão-Pará, estimated at 100,000 people, died.", "The total population of the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin in 1850 was perhaps 300,000, of whom about two-thirds were Europeans and slaves, the slaves amounting to about 25,000.", "The Brazilian Amazon's principal commercial city, Pará (now Belém), had from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves.", "The town of Manáos, now Manaus, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, had a population between 1,000 and 1,500.", "All the remaining villages, as far up as Tabatinga, on the Brazilian frontier of Peru, were relatively small.", "On 6 September 1850, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil sanctioned a law authorising steam navigation on the Amazon and gave the Viscount of Mauá (Irineu Evangelista de Sousa) the task of putting it into effect.", "He organised the \"Companhia de Navegação e Comércio do Amazonas\" in Rio de Janeiro in 1852; in the following year it commenced operations with four small steamers, the ''Monarca'' ('Monarch'), the ''Cametá'', the ''Marajó'' and the ''Rio Negro''.", "At first, navigation was principally confined to the main river; and even in 1857 a modification of the government contract only obliged the company to a monthly service between Pará and Manaus, with steamers of 200 tons cargo capacity, a second line to make six round voyages a year between Manaus and Tabatinga, and a third, two trips a month between Pará and Cametá.", "This was the first step in opening up the vast interior.", "The success of the venture called attention to the opportunities for economic exploitation of the Amazon, and a second company soon opened commerce on the Madeira, Purús and Negro; a third established a line between Pará and Manaus; and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams.", "In that same period, the Amazonas Company was increasing its fleet.", "Meanwhile, private individuals were building and running small steam craft of their own on the main river as well as on many of its tributaries.", "On 31 July 1867 the government of Brazil, constantly pressed by the maritime powers and by the countries encircling the upper Amazon basin, especially Peru, decreed the opening of the Amazon to all countries, but they limited this to certain defined points: Tabatinga – on the Amazon; Cametá – on the Tocantins; Santarém – on the Tapajós; Borba – on the Madeira, and Manaus – on the Rio Negro.", "The Brazilian decree took effect on 7 September 1867.", "Thanks in part to the mercantile development associated with steamboat navigation coupled with the internationally driven demand for natural rubber, the Peruvian city of Iquitos became a thriving, cosmopolitan centre of commerce.", "Foreign companies settled in Iquitos, from whence they controlled the extraction of rubber.", "In 1851 Iquitos had a population of 200, and by 1900 its population reached 20,000.", "In the 1860s, approximately 3,000 tons of rubber were being exported annually, and by 1911 annual exports had grown to 44,000 tons, representing 9.3% of Peru's exports.", "During the rubber boom it is estimated that diseases brought by immigrants, such as typhus and malaria, killed 40,000 native Amazonians.", "The first direct foreign trade with Manaus commenced around 1874.", "Local trade along the river was carried on by the English successors to the Amazonas Company—the Amazon Steam Navigation Company—as well as numerous small steamboats, belonging to companies and firms engaged in the rubber trade, navigating the Negro, Madeira, Purús and many other tributaries, such as the Marañón, to ports as distant as Nauta, Peru.", "By the turn of the 20th century, the exports of the Amazon basin were India-rubber, cacao beans, Brazil nuts and a few other products of minor importance, such as pelts and exotic forest produce (resins, barks, woven hammocks, prized bird feathers, live animals) and extracted goods, such as lumber and gold.", "=== 20th-century development ===\nManaus, the largest city in Amazonas, as seen from a NASA satellite image, surrounded by the dark Rio Negro and the muddy Amazon River\nLeticia, Colombia\n\nSince colonial times, the Portuguese portion of the Amazon basin has remained a land largely undeveloped by agriculture and occupied by indigenous people who survived the arrival of European diseases.", "Four centuries after the European discovery of the Amazon river, the total cultivated area in its basin was probably less than , excluding the limited and crudely cultivated areas among the mountains at its extreme headwaters.", "This situation changed dramatically during the 20th century.", "Wary of foreign exploitation of the nation's resources, Brazilian governments in the 1940s set out to develop the interior, away from the seaboard where foreigners owned large tracts of land.", "The original architect of this expansion was president Getúlio Vargas, with the demand for rubber from the Allied forces in World War II providing funding for the drive.", "In the 1960s, economic exploitation of the Amazon basin was seen as a way to fuel the \"economic miracle\" occurring at the time.", "This resulted in the development of \"Operation Amazon\", an economic development project that brought large scale agriculture and ranching to Amazonia.", "This was done through a combination of credit and fiscal incentives.", "However, in the 1970s the government took a new approach with the National Integration Programme.", "A large-scale colonisation programme saw families from northeastern Brazil relocated to the \"land without people\" in the Amazon Basin.", "This was done in conjunction with infrastructure projects mainly the Trans-Amazonian Highway (''Transamazônica'').", "The Trans-Amazonian Highway's three pioneering highways were completed within ten years but never fulfilled their promise.", "Large portions of the Trans-Amazonian and its accessory roads, such as BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), are derelict and impassable in the rainy season.", "Small towns and villages are scattered across the forest, and because its vegetation is so dense, some remote areas are still unexplored.", "Many settlements grew along the road from Brasília to Belém with the highway and National Integration Programme however the programme failed as the settlers were unequipped to live in the delicate rainforest ecosystem.", "This, although the government believed it could sustain millions, instead could sustain very few.", "With a population of 1.9 million people in 2014, Manaus is the largest city on the Amazon.", "Manaus alone makes up approximately 50% of the population of the largest Brazilian state of Amazonas.", "The racial makeup of the city is 64% pardo (mulatto and mestizo) and 32% white.", "Although the Amazon river remains largely undammed, around 412 dams are in operation in the Amazon’s tributary rivers.", "From these 412 dams, 151 are constructed over six of the main tributary rivers that drain into the Amazon.", "Since only four percent of the Amazon’s hydropower potential has been developed in countries like Brazil, more damming projects are underway and hundreds more are planned.", "After witnessing the negative effects of environmental degradation, sedimentation, navigation and flood control caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River, scientists are worried that constructing more dams in the Amazon will harm its biodiversity in the same way by “blocking-fish spawning runs, reducing the flows of vital oil nutrients and clearing forests”.", "Damming the Amazon River could potentially bring about the “end of free flowing rivers” and contribute to an “ecosystem collapse” that will cause major social problems.", "\n=== Origins ===\nThe Amazon was thought to originate from the Apacheta cliff in Arequipa at the Nevado Mismi, marked only by a wooden cross.", "Source of the Amazon\nMarañón River in Peru\n\nThe most distant source of the Amazon was thought to be in the Apurímac river drainage for nearly a century.", "Such studies continued to be published even recently, such as in 1996, 2001, 2007, and 2008, where various authors identified the snowcapped Nevado Mismi peak, located roughly west of Lake Titicaca and southeast of Lima, as the most distant source of the river.", "From that point, Quebrada Carhuasanta emerges from Nevado Mismi, joins Quebrada Apacheta and soon forms Río Lloqueta which becomes Río Hornillos and eventually joins the Río Apurímac.", "A 2014 study by Americans James Contos and Nicolas Tripcevich in ''Area'', a peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Geographic Society, however, identifies the most distant source of the Amazon as actually being in the Río Mantaro drainage.", "A variety of methods were used to compare the lengths of the Mantaro river vs. the Apurímac river from their most distant source points to their confluence, showing the longer length of the Mantaro.", "Then distances from Lago Junín to several potential source points in the uppermost Mantaro river were measured, which enabled them to determine that the Cordillera Rumi Cruz was the most distant source of water in the Mantaro basin (and therefore in the entire Amazon basin).", "The most accurate measurement method was direct GPS measurement obtained by kayak descent of each of the rivers from their source points to their confluence (performed by Contos).", "Obtaining these measurements was difficult given the class IV–V nature of each of these rivers, especially in their lower \"Abyss\" sections.", "Ultimately, they determined that the most distant point in the Mantaro drainage is nearly 80 km farther upstream compared to Mt.", "Mismi in the Apurímac drainage, and thus the maximal length of the Amazon river is about 80 km longer than previously thought.", "Contos continued downstream to the ocean and finished the first complete descent of the Amazon river from its newly identified source (finishing November 2012), a journey repeated by two groups after the news spread.", "After about , the Apurímac then joins Río Mantaro to form the Ene, which joins the Perene to form the Tambo, which joins the Urubamba River to form the Ucayali.", "After the confluence of Apurímac and Ucayali, the river leaves Andean terrain and is surrounded by floodplain.", "From this point to the confluence of the Ucayali and the Marañón, some , the forested banks are just above the water and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood stage.", "The low river banks are interrupted by only a few hills, and the river enters the enormous Amazon rainforest.", "=== The Upper Amazon or Solimões ===\nAmazon River near Iquitos, Peru\nAlthough the Ucayali–Marañón confluence is the point at which most geographers place the beginning of the Amazon River proper, in Brazil the river is known at this point as the ''Solimões das Águas''.", "The river systems and flood plains in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, whose waters drain into the ''Solimões'' and its tributaries, are called the \"Upper Amazon\".", "The Amazon proper runs mostly through Brazil and Peru, and is part of the border between Colombia and Perú.", "It has a series of major tributaries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, some of which flow into the Marañón and Ucayali, and others directly into the Amazon proper.", "These include rivers Putumayo, Caquetá, Vaupés, Guainía, Morona, Pastaza, Nucuray, Urituyacu, Chambira, Tigre, Nanay, Napo, and Huallaga.", "At some points the river divides into anabranches, or multiple channels, often very long, with inland and lateral channels, all connected by a complicated system of natural canals, cutting the low, flat ''igapó'' lands, which are never more than above low river, into many islands.", "From the town of Canaria at the great bend of the Amazon to the Negro, vast areas of land are submerged at high water, above which only the upper part of the trees of the sombre forests appear.", "Near the mouth of the Rio Negro to Serpa, nearly opposite the river Madeira, the banks of the Amazon are low, until approaching Manaus, they rise to become rolling hills.", "=== The Lower Amazon ===\nMeeting of Waters; the confluence of Rio Negro (black) and Amazon (sandy) near Manaus, Brazil\nWater samples of the Solimões (left) and Rio Negro (right)\n\nThe Lower Amazon begins where the darkly coloured waters of the Rio Negro meet the sandy coloured Rio Solimões, and for over these waters run side by side without mixing.", "At Óbidos, a bluff above the river is backed by low hills.", "The lower Amazon seems to have once been a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean, the waters of which washed the cliffs near Óbidos.", "Only about ten percent of the Amazon's water enters downstream of Óbidos, very little of which is from the northern slope of the valley.", "The drainage area of the Amazon basin above Óbidos city is about , and, below, only about (around 20%), exclusive of the of the Tocantins basin.", "The Tocantins River enters the southern portion of the Amazon delta.", "These hills are cut down to a kind of terrace which lies between them and the river.", "=== Mouth ===\nSatellite image of the mouth of the Amazon River, from the north looking south\nBelém is the major city and port at the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean.", "The definition of where exactly the mouth of the Amazon is located, and how wide it is, is a matter of dispute, because of the area's peculiar geography.", "The Pará and the Amazon are connected by a series of river channels called ''furos'' near the town of Breves; between them lies Marajó, the world's largest combined river/sea island.", "If the Pará river and the Marajó island ocean frontage are included, the Amazon estuary is some wide.", "In this case, the width of the mouth of the river is usually measured from Cabo Norte, the cape located straight east of Pracuúba in the Brazilian state of Amapá, to Ponta da Tijoca near the town of Curuçá, in the state of Pará.", "A more conservative measurement excluding the Pará river estuary, from the mouth of the Araguari River to Ponta do Navio on the northern coast of Marajó, would still give the mouth of the Amazon a width of over .", "If only the river's main channel is considered, between the islands of Curuá (state of Amapá) and Jurupari (state of Pará), the width falls to about .", "The plume generated by the river's discharge covers up to 1.3 million square kilometres and is responsible for muddy bottoms influencing a wide area of the tropical north Atlantic in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration, and sedimentation.", "=== Dispute regarding length ===\nRiver taxi in Peru\nWhile debate as to whether the Amazon or the Nile is the world's longest river has gone on for many years, the historic consensus of geographic authorities has been to regard the Amazon as the second longest river in the world, with the Nile being the longest.", "However, the Amazon has been measured by different geographers as being anywhere between long.", "It is often said to be \"at least\" long.", "The Nile is reported to be anywhere from .", "Often it is said to be \"about\" long.", "There are many factors that can affect these measurements.", "A study by Brazilian scientists concluded that the Amazon is actually longer than the Nile.", "Using Nevado Mismi, which in 2001 was labelled by the National Geographic Society as the Amazon's source, these scientists made new calculations of the Amazon's length.", "They calculated the Amazon's length as .", "Using the same techniques, they calculated the length of the Nile as , which is longer than previous estimates but still shorter than the Amazon.", "They made it possible by measuring the Amazon downstream to the beginning of the tidal estuary of ''Canal do Sul'' and then, after a sharp turn back, following tidal canals surrounding the isle of Marajó and finally including the marine waters of the ''Río Pará'' bay in its entire length.", "Guido Gelli, director of science at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), told the Brazilian TV network Globo in June 2007 that it could be considered as a fact that the Amazon was the longest river in the world.", "However, other geographers have had access to the same data since 2001, and a consensus has yet to emerge to support the claims of these Brazilian scientists.", "The length of both the Amazon and the Nile remains open to interpretation and continued debate.", "\nThe Amazon basin, the largest in the world, covers about 40% of South America, an area of approximately .", "It drains from west to east, from Iquitos in Peru, across Brazil to the Atlantic.", "It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south latitude.", "Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean.", "The locals often refer to it as \"El Jefe Negro\", referring to an ancient god of fertility.", "The Amazon River and its tributaries are characterised by extensive forested areas that become flooded every rainy season.", "Every year, the river rises more than , flooding the surrounding forests, known as ''várzea'' (\"flooded forests\").", "The Amazon's flooded forests are the most extensive example of this habitat type in the world.", "In an average dry season, of land are water-covered, while in the wet season, the flooded area of the Amazon basin rises to .", "The quantity of water released by the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: up to in the rainy season, with an average of from 1973 to 1990.", "The Amazon is responsible for about 20% of the Earth's fresh water entering the ocean.", "The river pushes a vast plume of fresh water into the ocean.", "The plume is about long and between wide.", "The fresh water, being lighter, flows on top of the seawater, diluting the salinity and altering the colour of the ocean surface over an area up to in extent.", "For centuries ships have reported fresh water near the Amazon's mouth yet well out of sight of land in what otherwise seemed to be the open ocean.", "The Atlantic has sufficient wave and tidal energy to carry most of the Amazon's sediments out to sea, thus the Amazon does not form a true delta.", "The great deltas of the world are all in relatively protected bodies of water, while the Amazon empties directly into the turbulent Atlantic.", "There is a natural water union between the Amazon and the Orinoco basins, the so-called Casiquiare canal.", "The Casiquiare is a river distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro, which in turn flows into the Amazon.", "The Casiquiare is the largest river on earth that links two major river systems, a so-called bifurcation.", "=== Flooding ===\nNASA satellite image of a flooded portion of the river\nNot all of the Amazon's tributaries flood at the same time of the year.", "Many branches begin flooding in November and may continue to rise until June.", "The rise of the Rio Negro starts in February or March and begins to recede in June.", "The Madeira River rises and falls two months earlier than most of the rest of the Amazon.", "The depth of the Amazon between Manacapuru and Óbidos has been calculated as between .", "At Manacapuru, the Amazon's water level is only about above mean sea level.", "More than half of the water in the Amazon downstream of Manacapuru is below sea level.", "In its lowermost section, the Amazon's depth averages , in some places as much as .", "The main river is navigable for large ocean steamers to Manaus, upriver from the mouth.", "Smaller ocean vessels of and draft can reach as far as Iquitos, Peru, from the sea.", "Smaller riverboats can reach higher, as far as Achual Point.", "Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point in Peru.", "Annual flooding occurs in late northern latitude winter at high tide when the incoming waters of the Atlantic are funnelled into the Amazon delta.", "The resulting undular tidal bore is called the ''pororoca'', with a leading wave that can be up to high and travel up to inland.", "The Amazon River originated as a transcontinental river in the Miocene epoch between 11.8 million and 11.3 million years ago and took its present shape approximately 2.4 million years ago in the Early Pleistocene.", "The proto-Amazon during the Cretaceous flowed west, as part of a proto-Amazon-Congo river system, from the interior of present-day Africa when the continents were connected, forming western Gondwana.", "Fifteen million years ago, the main tectonic uplift phase of the Andean chain started.", "This tectonic movement is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate underneath the South American Plate.", "The rise of the Andes and the linkage of the Brazilian and Guyana bedrock shields, blocked the river and caused the Amazon Basin to become a vast inland sea.", "Gradually, this inland sea became a massive swampy, freshwater lake and the marine inhabitants adapted to life in freshwater.", "For example, over 20 species of stingray, most closely related to those found in the Pacific Ocean, can be found today in the freshwaters of the Amazon.", "Eleven to ten million years ago, waters worked through the sandstone from the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward, leading to the emergence of the Amazon rainforest.", "During glacial periods, sea levels dropped and the great Amazon lake rapidly drained and became a river, which would eventually become the world's largest, draining the most extensive area of rainforest on the planet.", "Paralleling the Amazon River is a large aquifer, dubbed the Hamza River, the discovery of which was made public in August 2011.", "{| class=\"wikitable sortable mw-collapsible\"\n Name\n Country\n Coordinates\n Image\n Notes\n\n Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve \n Peru \n \n 150px \n \n\n Amacayacu National Park \n Colombia \n \n 150px \n \n\n Amazônia National Park \n Brazil \n \n 150px \n \n\n Anavilhanas National Park \n Brazil \n \n 150px", "\n\n=== Flora ===\n\n\n=== Fauna ===\nCichlid native to rivers of the Amazon basin\n\nMore than one-third of all known species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest, a giant tropical forest and river basin with an area that stretches more than .", "It is the richest tropical forest in the world in terms of biodiversity.", "There are over 3,000 species of fish currently recognised in the Amazon basin, with more being discovered every year.", "In addition to the thousands of species of fish, the river supports crabs, algae, and turtles.", "==== Mammals ====\nAmazon river dolphin\nAlong with the Orinoco, the Amazon is one of the main habitats of the ''boto'', also known as the Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis'').", "It is the largest species of river dolphin, and it can grow to lengths of up to .", "The colour of its skin changes with age; young animals are gray, but become pink and then white as they mature.", "The dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt in the river's tricky depths.", "The ''boto'' is the subject of a legend in Brazil about a dolphin that turns into a man and seduces maidens by the riverside.", "The tucuxi (''Sotalia fluviatilis''), also a dolphin species, is found both in the rivers of the Amazon basin and in the coastal waters of South America.", "The Amazonian manatee (''Trichechus inunguis''), also known as \"seacow\", is found in the northern Amazon River basin and its tributaries.", "It is a mammal and a herbivore.", "Its population is limited to freshwater habitats, and, unlike other manatees, it does not venture into salt water.", "It is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.", "The Amazon and its tributaries are the main habitat of the giant otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'').", "It is a member of the weasel family and is the largest of its kind.", "Because of habitat destruction and hunting, its population has dramatically decreased.", "==== Birds ====\n\n\n==== Reptiles ====\n\nThe anaconda is found in shallow waters in the Amazon basin.", "One of the world's largest species of snake, the anaconda spends most of its time in the water with just its nostrils above the surface.", "The caiman, which is related to alligators and other crocodilians, also inhabits the Amazon as do varieties of turtles.", "==== Fish ====\nCharacins, such as the piranha species, are prey for the giant otter, but these aggressive fish may also pose a danger to humans.", "The Amazonian fish fauna is the centre of diversity for neotropical fishes.", "5,600 species are currently known, and approximately fifty new species are discovered each year.", "The arapaima, known in Brazil as the ''pirarucu'', is a South American tropical freshwater fish, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a length of up to .", "Another Amazonian freshwater fish is the arowana (or ''aruanã'' in Portuguese), such as the silver arowana (''Osteoglossum bicirrhosum''), which is a predator and very similar to the arapaima, but only reaches a length of .", "Also present in large numbers is the notorious piranha, an omnivorous fish that congregates in large schools and may attack livestock and even humans.", "There are approximately 30 to 60 species of piranha.", "However, only a few of its species are known to attack humans, most notably ''Pygocentrus nattereri'', the red-bellied piranha.", "The candirú, native to the Amazon River, is a species of parasitic fresh water catfish in the family Trichomycteridae, just one of more than 1200 species of catfish in the Amazon basin.", "Other catfish 'walk' overland on their ventral fins, while the kumakuma (''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum''), aka ''piraiba'' or \"goliath catfish\", can reach in length and in weight.", "The electric eel (''Electrophorus electricus'') and more than 100 species of electric fishes (Gymnotiformes) inhabit the Amazon basin.", "River stingrays (Potamotrygonidae) are also known.", "The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas'') has been reported up the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru.", "==== Microbiota ====\nFreshwater microbes are generally not very well known, even less so for a pristine ecosystem like the Amazon.", "Recently, metagenomics has provided answers to what kind of microbes inhabit the river.", "The most important microbes in the Amazon River are Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Crenarchaeota.", "Solimões, the section of the upper Amazon River\nAerial view of an Amazon tributary\nThe Amazon has over 1,100 tributaries, 12 of which are over long.", "Some of the more notable ones are:\n\n\n* Branco\n* Casiquiare canal\n* Caqueta River\n* Huallaga\n* Putumayo (or Içá River)\n* Javary\n* Juruá\n* Madeira\n* Marañón\n* Morona\n* Nanay\n* Napo\n* Negro\n* Pastaza\n* Purús\n* Tambo\n* Tapajós\n* Tigre\n* Tocantins\n* Trombetas\n* Ucayali\n* Xingu\n* Yapura\n\n\n=== List by length ===\n# to – Amazon, South America\n# – Madeira, Bolivia/Brazil\n# – Purús, Peru/Brazil\n# – Japurá or Caquetá, Colombia/Brazil\n# – Tocantins, Brazil\n# – Araguaia, Brazil (tributary of Tocantins)\n# – Juruá, Peru/Brazil\n# – Rio Negro, Brazil/Venezuela/Colombia\n# – Tapajós, Brazil\n# – Xingu, Brazil\n# – Ucayali River, Peru\n# – Guaporé, Brazil/Bolivia (tributary of Madeira)\n# – Içá (Putumayo), Ecuador/Colombia/Peru\n# – Marañón, Peru\n# – Teles Pires, Brazil (tributary of Tapajós)\n# – Iriri, Brazil (tributary of Xingu)\n# – Juruena, Brazil (tributary of Tapajós)\n# – Madre de Dios, Peru/Bolivia (tributary of Madeira)\n# – Huallaga, Peru (tributary of Marañón)", "\n* Amazon natural region\n* 1930 Curuçá River event\n* Hamza River\n* Peruvian Amazon", "\n\n=== Bibliography ===\n* \n*", "\n* Information on the Amazon from Extreme Science\n* A photographic journey up the Amazon River from its mouth to its source\n* Amazon Alive: Light & Shadow documentary film about the Amazon river\n* Amazon River Ecosystem\n* Research on the influence of the Amazon River on the Atlantic Ocean at the University of Southern California\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Anah''' or '''Ana''' (, ''ʾĀna''), formerly also known as '''Anna''', is an Iraqi town on the Euphrates river, approximately midway between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Persian Gulf. Anah lies from west to east on the right bank along a bend of the river just before it turns south towards Hit.\n\n\n", "The town is called '''Ha-na-at''' in a Babylonian letter around 2200 , '''A-na-at''' by the scribes of Tukulti-Ninurta  , and '''An-at''' by the scribes of Assur-nasir-pal II in 879 . The name has been connected with the widely worshipped war goddess Anat. It was known as ''Anathō'' () to Isidore Charax and '''' to Ammianus Marcellinus; early Arabic writers described it variously as ''ʾĀna'' or (as if plural) ''ʾĀnāt''.\n", "\n===Ancient===\nDespite maintaining its name across 42 centuries, the exact location of the settlement seems to have moved from time to time. Sources across most of its early history, however, place Anah on an island in the Euphrates.\n\nIts early history under the Babylonians is uncertain. A 3rd-millennium  letter mentions six \"men of Hanat\" are mentioned in a description of disturbances in the Residency of Suhi, which would have included the district of Anah. It is probably not the place mentioned by Amenhotep I in the 16th century  or in the speech of Sennacherib's messengers to Hezekiah, but probably was the site \"in the middle of the Euphrates\" opposite which Assur-nasir-pal II halted during his 879  campaign. It may also be mentioned in four 7th-century  documents edited by Claude Hermann Walter Johns.\n\nXenophon records that the army of Cyrus resupplied during a campaign in 401  at \"Charmande\" near the end of a 90-parasang march between Korsote and Pylae, which likely intends Anah. It was the site where Julian first met opposition in his  363 expedition against Parthia. He got possession of the place and relocated its inhabitants.\n\n===Medieval===\nIn 657, during the Muslim conquest of Iraq, Ali's lieutenants Ziyad and Shureih were refused passage across the Euphrates at Anah. Later, in 1058, Anah was the place of exile of the caliph Qaim when al-Basasiri was in power. In the 14th century, Anah was the seat of the catholicos who served as primate over the Persian Christians. Throughout early Islamic rule, it was a prosperous trade town, well known for its date palms and gardens; in the 14th century, Mustafi wrote of the fame of its palm groves. Medieval Arab poets celebrated Anah's wine;\n\nBetween the 14th and 17th centuries, Anah served as a headquarters for a host of regional Arab tribes. In 1574, Leonhart Rauwolff found the town divided into two parts, the Turkish \"so surrounded by the river that you cannot go into it but by boats\" and the larger Arabian section along one of the banks. In 1610, Texeira said Anah lay on both banks of the river, with which Pietro Della Valle agreed. In that year, Della Valle found the Scot George Strachan resident at Anah, working as the physician to the emir and studying Arabic; he also found some sun worshipers still living there. Della Valle and Texeira called Anah the principal Arab town on the Euphrates, controlling a major route west from Baghdad and territory reaching Palmyra.\n\n====Late Ottoman era====\nAbout 1750, the Ottomans installed a rudimentary administration to run Anah and its district. After roughly a century, a more organized local government was put in place, whereby Anah became the center of a kaza belonging to the Baghdad Vilayet.\n\nAt the beginning of the 19th century, G.A. Olivier found only 25 men in service of the local prince, with residents fleeing daily to escape from bedouin attacks against which he offered no protection. He described the city as a single long street of five or six miles along a narrow strip of land between the river and a ridge of rocky hills. W. F. Ainsworth, chronicling the English Euphrates expedition, reported that in 1835 the Arabs inhabited the northwest part of the town, the Christians the center, and the Jews the southeast. The same year, the steamer ''Tigris'' went down in a storm just above Anah, near where Julian's force had suffered from a similar storm.\n\nBy the mid-19th century, the houses were separated from one another by fruit gardens, which also filled the riverine islands near the town. The most easterly island contained a ruined castle, while the ruins of ancient Anatho extended a further 2 miles along the left bank. It marked the boundary between the olive (north) and date (south) growing regions in the area. With the positioning of Turkish troops in the town around 1890, the locals no longer had to pay blackmail (''huwwa'') to the bedouins. Through the early 20th century, coarse cotton cloth was the only manufacture. In 1909 Anah had an estimated population of 15,000 and 2,000 houses. Most of the inhabitants were Sunni Muslim Arabs, though a small Jewish community lived in the town's southern edge.\n\nMosque in Anah\n\n===Kingdom of Iraq===\nIn 1918, the town was captured by British forces and by 1921, became incorporated into the Kingdom of Iraq. It remained an administrative center of a qadaa, part of the larger Ramadi-based liwa of Dulaym. Anah's ''qadaa'' also included the subdistricts of Hīt, al-Qa'im and Jubba. The townspeople's long feud with the inhabitants of Rawa was settled diplomatically by 1921. Its territory to the west was dominated by the subtribes of Anizzah, while to the east the Jarba branch of the Shammar held sway.\n\nMost of Anah's building were located among a dense belt of date palms and was \"reckoned as healthy and picturesque\", according to historian S. H. Longrigg. The date palms were irrigated by water wheels. There were also more scattered dwelling in the mid-stream islands of the Euphrates near the town center. The women of the town were well known for their beauty and the weaving of cotton and wool textiles. The men, many of whom were compelled to emigrate to lack of living space, were largely engaged as boatmen and transporters of water to Baghdad. The town had relatively high educational standards, with eight schools built there by 1946.\n\nF. R. Chesney reported about 1800 houses, 2 mosques, and 16 waterwheels. One minaret is particularly old. Northedge reported the locals commonly attributed it to the 11th century but opined that it was more likely from about a century after that. It rose from one of the islands and belonged to the local mosque. Dr. Muayad Said described it as an octagonal body \"enhanced by alcoves, some of which are blind\" and noted earlier conservation work undertaken in 1935, 1963 and 1964. When the valley was flooded by the Haditha Dam in 1984 and '85, the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities cut it into sections and removed it to the new Anah, where it was re-erected to a height of at the end of the 1980s.\n\nISIS captured the town in 2014.\nIn September, 2017, the town was recaptured by the Iraqi army.\n", "\n\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n\n'''Attribution:'''\n* \n", "\n\n\n\n\nب\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Name", "History", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Anah lies from west to east on the right bank along a bend of the river just before it turns south towards Hit.", "The most easterly island contained a ruined castle, while the ruins of ancient Anatho extended a further 2 miles along the left bank." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Anah''' or '''Ana''' (, ''ʾĀna''), formerly also known as '''Anna''', is an Iraqi town on the Euphrates river, approximately midway between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Persian Gulf.", "The town is called '''Ha-na-at''' in a Babylonian letter around 2200 , '''A-na-at''' by the scribes of Tukulti-Ninurta  , and '''An-at''' by the scribes of Assur-nasir-pal II in 879 .", "The name has been connected with the widely worshipped war goddess Anat.", "It was known as ''Anathō'' () to Isidore Charax and '''' to Ammianus Marcellinus; early Arabic writers described it variously as ''ʾĀna'' or (as if plural) ''ʾĀnāt''.", "\n===Ancient===\nDespite maintaining its name across 42 centuries, the exact location of the settlement seems to have moved from time to time.", "Sources across most of its early history, however, place Anah on an island in the Euphrates.", "Its early history under the Babylonians is uncertain.", "A 3rd-millennium  letter mentions six \"men of Hanat\" are mentioned in a description of disturbances in the Residency of Suhi, which would have included the district of Anah.", "It is probably not the place mentioned by Amenhotep I in the 16th century  or in the speech of Sennacherib's messengers to Hezekiah, but probably was the site \"in the middle of the Euphrates\" opposite which Assur-nasir-pal II halted during his 879  campaign.", "It may also be mentioned in four 7th-century  documents edited by Claude Hermann Walter Johns.", "Xenophon records that the army of Cyrus resupplied during a campaign in 401  at \"Charmande\" near the end of a 90-parasang march between Korsote and Pylae, which likely intends Anah.", "It was the site where Julian first met opposition in his  363 expedition against Parthia.", "He got possession of the place and relocated its inhabitants.", "===Medieval===\nIn 657, during the Muslim conquest of Iraq, Ali's lieutenants Ziyad and Shureih were refused passage across the Euphrates at Anah.", "Later, in 1058, Anah was the place of exile of the caliph Qaim when al-Basasiri was in power.", "In the 14th century, Anah was the seat of the catholicos who served as primate over the Persian Christians.", "Throughout early Islamic rule, it was a prosperous trade town, well known for its date palms and gardens; in the 14th century, Mustafi wrote of the fame of its palm groves.", "Medieval Arab poets celebrated Anah's wine;\n\nBetween the 14th and 17th centuries, Anah served as a headquarters for a host of regional Arab tribes.", "In 1574, Leonhart Rauwolff found the town divided into two parts, the Turkish \"so surrounded by the river that you cannot go into it but by boats\" and the larger Arabian section along one of the banks.", "In 1610, Texeira said Anah lay on both banks of the river, with which Pietro Della Valle agreed.", "In that year, Della Valle found the Scot George Strachan resident at Anah, working as the physician to the emir and studying Arabic; he also found some sun worshipers still living there.", "Della Valle and Texeira called Anah the principal Arab town on the Euphrates, controlling a major route west from Baghdad and territory reaching Palmyra.", "====Late Ottoman era====\nAbout 1750, the Ottomans installed a rudimentary administration to run Anah and its district.", "After roughly a century, a more organized local government was put in place, whereby Anah became the center of a kaza belonging to the Baghdad Vilayet.", "At the beginning of the 19th century, G.A.", "Olivier found only 25 men in service of the local prince, with residents fleeing daily to escape from bedouin attacks against which he offered no protection.", "He described the city as a single long street of five or six miles along a narrow strip of land between the river and a ridge of rocky hills.", "W. F. Ainsworth, chronicling the English Euphrates expedition, reported that in 1835 the Arabs inhabited the northwest part of the town, the Christians the center, and the Jews the southeast.", "The same year, the steamer ''Tigris'' went down in a storm just above Anah, near where Julian's force had suffered from a similar storm.", "By the mid-19th century, the houses were separated from one another by fruit gardens, which also filled the riverine islands near the town.", "It marked the boundary between the olive (north) and date (south) growing regions in the area.", "With the positioning of Turkish troops in the town around 1890, the locals no longer had to pay blackmail (''huwwa'') to the bedouins.", "Through the early 20th century, coarse cotton cloth was the only manufacture.", "In 1909 Anah had an estimated population of 15,000 and 2,000 houses.", "Most of the inhabitants were Sunni Muslim Arabs, though a small Jewish community lived in the town's southern edge.", "Mosque in Anah\n\n===Kingdom of Iraq===\nIn 1918, the town was captured by British forces and by 1921, became incorporated into the Kingdom of Iraq.", "It remained an administrative center of a qadaa, part of the larger Ramadi-based liwa of Dulaym.", "Anah's ''qadaa'' also included the subdistricts of Hīt, al-Qa'im and Jubba.", "The townspeople's long feud with the inhabitants of Rawa was settled diplomatically by 1921.", "Its territory to the west was dominated by the subtribes of Anizzah, while to the east the Jarba branch of the Shammar held sway.", "Most of Anah's building were located among a dense belt of date palms and was \"reckoned as healthy and picturesque\", according to historian S. H. Longrigg.", "The date palms were irrigated by water wheels.", "There were also more scattered dwelling in the mid-stream islands of the Euphrates near the town center.", "The women of the town were well known for their beauty and the weaving of cotton and wool textiles.", "The men, many of whom were compelled to emigrate to lack of living space, were largely engaged as boatmen and transporters of water to Baghdad.", "The town had relatively high educational standards, with eight schools built there by 1946.", "F. R. Chesney reported about 1800 houses, 2 mosques, and 16 waterwheels.", "One minaret is particularly old.", "Northedge reported the locals commonly attributed it to the 11th century but opined that it was more likely from about a century after that.", "It rose from one of the islands and belonged to the local mosque.", "Dr. Muayad Said described it as an octagonal body \"enhanced by alcoves, some of which are blind\" and noted earlier conservation work undertaken in 1935, 1963 and 1964.", "When the valley was flooded by the Haditha Dam in 1984 and '85, the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities cut it into sections and removed it to the new Anah, where it was re-erected to a height of at the end of the 1980s.", "ISIS captured the town in 2014.", "In September, 2017, the town was recaptured by the Iraqi army.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n\n'''Attribution:'''\n*", "\n\n\n\n\nب" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger''' (; ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American actor, producer, businessman, investor, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and former professional bodybuilder who holds both Austrian and American citizenship. He served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011.\n\nSchwarzenegger began weight training at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport. He is widely considered to be among the greatest bodybuilders of all time as well as bodybuilding's biggest icon. Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ''Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, a box office hit that resulted in a sequel.\n\nIn 1984, Schwarzenegger appeared in James Cameron's science-fiction thriller film ''The Terminator'', a critical and commercial success. Schwarzenegger subsequently reprised the Terminator character in the franchise's later installments: ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), and ''Terminator Genisys'' (2015). He has appeared in a number of successful films, such as ''Commando'' (1985), ''The Running Man'' (1987), ''Predator'' (1987), ''Twins'' (1988), ''Total Recall'' (1990), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), and ''True Lies'' (1994). In 2015, it was announced that Schwarzenegger would replace Donald Trump as the host of ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', though he left after one season due to conflicts caused by Trump's remarks. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed \"the Austrian Oak\" in his bodybuilding days, \"Arnie\" during his acting career, and \"The Governator\" (a portmanteau of \"Governor\" and \"The Terminator\") during his political career.\n\nAs a Republican, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. He was sworn in on November 17, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He was then re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor. In 2011, he completed his second term as governor and returned to acting.\n", "===Childhood===\nThalersee, a lake in Schwarzenegger's birthplace of Thal, pictured in October 2002\nArnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, the son of Aurelia (''née'' Jadrny; July 29, 1922 – August 2, 1998) and Gustav Schwarzenegger (August 17, 1907 – December 13, 1972). Gustav was the local chief of police and had served in World War II as a ''Hauptfeldwebel'' after voluntarily joining the Nazi Party in 1938, though he was discharged in 1943 following a bout of malaria. He married Aurelia on October 20, 1945; he was 38 and she was 23. According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were very strict: \"Back then in Austria it was a very different world ... if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared.\" Schwarzenegger grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended Mass every Sunday.\n\nGustav had a preference for his elder son, Meinhard (July 17, 1946 – May 20, 1971), over Arnold. His favoritism was \"strong and blatant\", which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his biological child. Schwarzenegger has said his father had \"no patience for listening or understanding your problems\". He had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death. In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of Gustav being involved in atrocities, despite his membership in the Nazi Party and SA. Gustav's background received wide press attention during the 2003 California recall campaign. At school, Schwarzenegger was reportedly academically average, but stood out for his \"cheerful, good-humored, and exuberant\" character. Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.\n\nAs a boy, Schwarzenegger played several sports, heavily influenced by his father. He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his soccer coach took his team to a local gym. At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over soccer as a career. He later said, \"I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting.\" However, his official website biography claims that \"at 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career\". During a speech in 2001, he said, \"My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school.\"\n\nSchwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: \"As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible, when others around me didn't always understand my dreams. Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve.\" In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz. He was so dedicated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train. \"It would make me sick to miss a workout... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it.\" When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied: \"I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Wayne movie.\"\n\nSchwarzenegger's brother, Meinhard, died in a car crash on May 20, 1971. He was driving drunk and died instantly. Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral. Meinhard was engaged to Erika Knapp, and they had a three-year-old son named Patrick. Schwarzenegger paid for Patrick's education and helped him to move to the U.S. Gustav died on December 13, 1972, from a stroke. In ''Pumping Iron'', Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder to show the extremes some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image colder to create controversy for the film. Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, recalled that he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother. Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral.\n\nIn an interview with ''Fortune'' in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what \"would now be called child abuse\" at the hands of his father: \"My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the kid next door. It was just the way it was. Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming. I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken. Therefore, I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer, because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'\"\n\n===Early adulthood===\nSchwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males. During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest. He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in military prison: \"Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences.\" He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirerhof Hotel (where he placed second). He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous. \"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America—the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich.\" Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London. He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.\n\nCharles \"Wag\" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the East End of London helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language. Living with the Bennetts also changed him as a person: \"Being with them made me so much more sophisticated. When you're the age I was then, you're always looking for approval, for love, for attention and also for guidance. At the time, I wasn't really aware of that. But now, looking back, I see that the Bennett family fulfilled all those needs. Especially my need to be the best in the world. To be recognized and to feel unique and special. They saw that I needed that care and attention and love.”\n\nAlso in 1966, while at the Bennett's home, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor. The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20. He would go on to win the title a further three times. Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, where he attended a business school and worked in a health club (Rolf Putziger's gym, where he worked and trained from 1966 to 1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title. He frequently told Roger C. Field, his English coach and friend in Munich at that time, \"I'm going to become the greatest actor!\"\n\n===Move to the U.S.===\nSchwarzenegger with President Ronald Reagan in 1984\nSchwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so, realized his dream by moving to the United States in September 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English. There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973. Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler Superstar Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.\n\nThe immigration law firm Siskind & Susser has stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa. ''LA Weekly'' would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who \"overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s\".\n\nIn 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide ''Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder'' became a huge success. In 1977 he posed for the gay magazine ''After Dark''. After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in California, he earned a BA by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979. He got his American citizenship in 1983.\n\nHe tells that during this time he ran into a friend who told him that he was teaching Transcendental Meditation (TM), which prompted Schwarzenegger to reveal he had been struggling with anxiety for the first time in his life: \"Even today, I still benefit from the year of TM because I don't merge and bring things together and see everything as one big problem.\"\n", "\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nSchwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. He has remained a prominent face in bodybuilding long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.\n\nFor many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex''. Shortly after being elected governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. When the deal, including the contract that gave Schwarzenegger at least $1 million a year, was made public in 2005, many criticized it as being a conflict of interest since the governor's office made decisions concerning regulation of dietary supplements in California. Consequently, Schwarzenegger relinquished the executive editor role in 2005. American Media Inc., which owns ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex'', announced in March 2013 that Schwarzenegger had accepted their renewed offer to be executive editor of the magazines.\n\nOne of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965. He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19. He would go on to compete in, and win, many bodybuilding contests. His bodybuilding victories included five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBA England, 1 – IFBB USA) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.\n\nSchwarzenegger continues to work out even today. When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.\n* Competition weight: \n* Off-season weight: \n\n===Powerlifting/weightlifting===\nDuring Schwarzenegger's early years in bodybuilding, he also competed in several Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting contests. Schwarzenegger won two weightlifting contests in 1964 and 1965, as well as two powerlifting contests in 1966 and 1968.\n\nIn 1967, Schwarzenegger won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg/560 lbs.) is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests.\n\n====Personal records====\n* Clean and press – \n* Snatch – \n* Clean and jerk – \n* Squat – \n* Bench press – \n* Deadlift – \nSchwarzenegger, pictured with 1987 world champion American Karyn Marshall, presenting awards at the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2011 in Columbus, Ohio\n\n===Mr. Olympia===\nSchwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia. His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he still holds to this day.\n\nHe continued his winning streak in the 1971–74 competitions. In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time, beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.\n\nMonths before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called ''Pumping Iron.'' Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film ''Stay Hungry'' with Jeff Bridges. Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia.\n\nSchwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger was training for his role in ''Conan'', and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: \"Why not compete?\" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger then officially retired from competition.\n\n===Steroid use===\nSchwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that \"steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up.\" He has called the drugs \"tissue building\".\n\nIn 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted his early death on the basis of a link between his steroid use and his later heart problems. As the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a US$10,000 libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with the ''Globe'', a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.\n\n===List of competitions===\n\n\n\n Year \n Competition \n Location \n Result and notes\n\n 1965 \n Junior Mr. Europe \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n Best Built Man of Europe \n Germany\n 1st\n\n 1966 \n Mr. Europe \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n International Powerlifting Championship \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n NABBA Mr. Universe amateur \n London \n 2nd to Chet Yorton\n\n 1967 \n NABBA Mr. Universe amateur \n London\n 1st\n\n 1968 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London\n 1st\n\n 1968 \n German Powerlifting Championship \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1968 \n IFBB Mr. International \n Mexico \n 1st\n\n 1968 \n IFBB Mr. Universe \n Florida \n 2nd to Frank Zane\n\n 1969 \n IFBB Mr. Universe amateur \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1969 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London \n 1st\n\n 1969 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 2nd to Sergio Oliva \n\n 1970 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London \n 1st. Defeated his idol Reg Park\n\n 1970 \n AAU Mr. World \n Columbus, Ohio \n 1st. Defeated Sergio Oliva for the first time\n\n 1970 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1971 \n Mr. Olympia \n Paris \n 1st\n\n 1972 \n Mr. Olympia \n Essen, Germany \n 1st\n\n 1973 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1974 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1975 \n Mr. Olympia \n Pretoria, South Africa \n 1st. Subject of the documentary ''Pumping Iron''\n\n 1980 \n Mr. Olympia \n Sydney, Australia \n 1st\n\n\n===Competitive stats===\n* Height: 6'2\" (188 cm)\n* Contest weight: \n* Off-season weight: \n* Arms: \n* Chest: \n* Waist: \n* Thighs: \n* Calves: \n\n", "\n===Early roles===\nSchwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's ''Hercules in New York''. Credited under the stage name \"Arnold Strong\", his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a deaf-mute mob hitman in ''The Long Goodbye'' (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film ''Stay Hungry'' (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career: \"It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance.\"\n\nSchwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film ''Pumping Iron'' (1977), elements of which were dramatized; in 1991, he purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography. In 1977, he made guest appearances in single episodes of the ABC sitcom ''The San Pedro Beach Bums'' and the ABC police procedural ''The Streets of San Francisco''. Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of ''The Incredible Hulk'', but did not win the role because of his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy ''The Villain''. In 1980, he starred in a biographical film of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.\n\n===Action superstar===\nSchwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ''Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, which was a box-office hit. This was followed by a sequel, ''Conan the Destroyer'', in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor. In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video, ''Carnival in Rio''. In 1984, he made his first appearance as the eponymous character, and what some would say was his acting career's signature role, in James Cameron's science fiction thriller film ''The Terminator''. Following this, Schwarzenegger made ''Red Sonja'' in 1985.\n\nDuring the 1980s, audiences had an appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone becoming international stars. Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his sense of humor, separating him from more serious action hero films. He made a number of successful action films in the '80s, such as ''Commando'' (1985), ''Raw Deal'' (1986), ''The Running Man'' (1987), ''Predator'' (1987), and ''Red Heat'' (1988).\n\nFootprints and handprints of Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with his famous catchphrase ''\"I'll be back\"'' written in.\n''Twins'' (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito, also proved successful. ''Total Recall'' (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the film's gross. A science fiction script, the film was based on the Philip K. Dick short story \"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale\". ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him in ''Twins''. Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series ''Tales from the Crypt'', entitled \"The Switch\", and then with the 1992 telemovie ''Christmas in Connecticut''. He has not directed since.\n\nSchwarzenegger's commercial peak was his return as the title character in 1991's ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', which was the highest-grossing film of 1991. In 1993, the National Association of Theatre Owners named him the \"International Star of the Decade\". His next film project, the 1993 self-aware action comedy spoof ''Last Action Hero'', was released opposite ''Jurassic Park'', and did not do well at the box office. His next film, the comedy drama ''True Lies'' (1994), was a popular spy film, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with James Cameron.\n\nThat same year, the comedy ''Junior'' was released, the last of Schwarzenegger's three collaborations with Ivan Reitman and again co-starring Danny DeVito. This film brought him his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the action thriller ''Eraser'' (1996), the Christmas comedy ''Jingle All The Way'' (1996), and the comic book-based ''Batman & Robin'' (1997), in which he played the villain Mr. Freeze. This was his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Following the critical failure of ''Batman & Robin'', his film career and box office prominence went into decline. He returned with the supernatural thriller ''End of Days'' (1999), later followed by the action films ''The 6th Day'' (2000) and ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), both of which failed to do well at the box office. In 2003, he made his third appearance as the title character in ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', which went on to earn over $150 million domestically.\nArnold Schwarzenegger's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame\nIn tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-meter (82 ft) tall ''Terminator'' statue in a park in central Graz. Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the Special Olympics.\n\n===Retirement===\nHis film appearances after becoming Governor of California included a three-second cameo appearance in ''The Rundown'', and the 2004 remake of ''Around the World in 80 Days''. In 2005, he appeared as himself in the film ''The Kid & I''. He voiced Baron von Steuben in the ''Liberty's Kids'' episode \"Valley Forge\". He had been rumored to be appearing in ''Terminator Salvation'' as the original T-800; he denied his involvement, but he ultimately did appear briefly via his image being inserted into the movie from stock footage of the first ''Terminator'' movie. Schwarzenegger appeared in Sylvester Stallone's ''The Expendables'', where he made a cameo appearance.\n\n===Return to acting===\nIn January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama ''With Wings as Eagles'', written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story. On March 6, 2011, at the Arnold Seminar of the Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger revealed that he was being considered for several films, including sequels to ''The Terminator'' and remakes of ''Predator'' and ''The Running Man'', and that he was \"packaging\" a comic book character. The character was later revealed to be the Governator, star of the comic book and animated series of the same name. Schwarzenegger inspired the character and co-developed it with Stan Lee, who would have produced the series. Schwarzenegger would have voiced the Governator.\n\nOn May 20, 2011, Schwarzenegger's entertainment counsel announced that all movie projects currently in development were being halted: \"Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines\". On July 11, 2011, it was announced that Schwarzenegger was considering a comeback film despite his legal problems. He appeared in ''The Expendables 2'' (2012), and starred in ''The Last Stand'' (2013), his first leading role in 10 years, and ''Escape Plan'' (2013), his first co-starring role alongside Sylvester Stallone. He starred in ''Sabotage'', released in March 2014, and appeared in ''The Expendables 3'', released in August 2014. He starred in the fifth Terminator movie ''Terminator Genisys'' in 2015 and will reprise his role as Conan the Barbarian in ''The Legend of Conan'', later renamed ''Conan the Conqueror''.\n\nIn August 2016, his filming of action-comedy ''Why We're Killing Gunther'' was temporarily interrupted by bank robbers near filming location in Surrey, British Columbia. He was announced to star and produce in a film about the ruins of Sanxingdui called ''The Guest of Sanxingdui'', as an ambassador.\n\n===''The Celebrity Apprentice''===\nIn September 2015, it was announced Schwarzenegger would replace Donald Trump as host of ''The New Celebrity Apprentice''. This show, the 15th season of ''The Apprentice'', aired during the 2016–2017 TV season. In the show, he used the phrases \"you're terminated\" and \"get to the choppa\", which are quotes from some of his famous roles, when firing the contestants. \n\nIn March 2017, following repeated criticisms from Donald Trump, Schwarzenegger announced that he would not return for another season on the show. Schwarzenegger reacted to Trump’s latest remarks on January 2017: “Hey, Donald, I have a great idea. Why don’t we switch jobs?” he asked in an Instagram clip. “You take over TV because you’re such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job, and then people can finally sleep comfortably again.”\n\n===Filmography===\n\n\nSelected notable roles:\n\n* ''Hercules in New York'' as Hercules (1970)\n* ''Stay Hungry'' as Joe Santo (1976)\n* ''Pumping Iron'' as himself (1977)\n* ''The Villain'' as Handsome Stranger (1979)\n* ''The Jayne Mansfield Story'' as Mickey Hargitay (1980)\n* ''Conan the Barbarian'' as Conan (1982)\n* ''Conan the Destroyer'' as Conan (1984)\n* ''The Terminator'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101 (1984)\n* ''Red Sonja'' as Kalidor (1985)\n* ''Commando'' as John Matrix (1985)\n* ''Raw Deal'' as Mark Kaminsky, a.k.a. Joseph P. Brenner (1986)\n* ''Predator'' as Major Alan \"Dutch\" Schaeffer (1987)\n* ''The Running Man'' as Ben Richards (1987)\n* ''Red Heat'' as Captain Ivan Danko (1988)\n* ''Twins'' as Julius Benedict (1988)\n* ''Total Recall'' as Douglas Quaid/Hauser (1990)\n* ''Kindergarten Cop'' as Detective John Kimble (1990)\n* ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101 (1991)\n* ''Last Action Hero'' as Jack Slater / Himself (1993)\n* ''True Lies'' as Harry Tasker (1994)\n* ''Junior'' as Dr. Alex Hesse (1994)\n* ''Eraser'' as U.S. Marshal John Kruger (1996)\n* ''Jingle All the Way'' as Howard Langston (1996)\n* ''Batman and Robin'' as Mr. Freeze (1997)\n* ''End of Days'' as Jericho Cane (1999)\n* ''The 6th Day'' as Adam Gibson / Adam Gibson Clone (2000)\n* ''Collateral Damage'' as Gordy Brewer (2002)\n* ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' as The Terminator/T-850 Model 101 (2003)\n* ''Around the World in 80 Days'' as Prince Hapi (2004)\n* ''The Expendables'' as Trench (2010)\n* ''The Expendables 2'' as Trench (2012)\n* ''The Last Stand'' as Sheriff Ray Owens (2013)\n* ''Escape Plan'' as Rottmayer (2013)\n* ''Sabotage'' as John 'Breacher' Wharton (2014)\n* ''The Expendables 3'' as Trench (2014)\n* ''Maggie'' as Wade Vogel (2015)\n* ''Terminator Genisys'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101/ The Guardian (2015)\n* ''Aftermath'' as Roman Melnik (2017)\n* ''Killing Gunther'' as Gunther (2017)\n* ''Journey to China: The Mystery of Iron Mask'' (2017)\n* ''Triplets'' as Julius Benedict (2018)\n* ''The Expendables 4'' as Trench (2018)\n\n", "\n\n===Early politics===\nVice President Dick Cheney meets with Schwarzenegger for the first time at the White House\n\nSchwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. As an actor, his political views were always well known as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained he was a Republican because the Democrats of the 1960s sounded too much like Austrian socialists.\n\n\n\nArnold Schwarzenegger on Capitol Hill for an event related to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports\nIn 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in \"Stop the Madness\", an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H. W. Bush at a campaign rally.\n\nSchwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993. He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who dubbed him \"Conan the Republican\". He later served as chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.\n\nBetween 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio public service announcements to donate blood.\n\nIn an interview with ''Talk'' magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office. He replied, \"I think about it many times. The possibility is there, because I feel it inside.\" ''The Hollywood Reporter'' claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California. Following his initial comments, Schwarzenegger said, \"I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career. Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?\"\n\n===Governor of California===\nSchwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the 2003 California recall election for Governor of California on August 6, 2003, episode of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the \"Governator\" (referring to ''The Terminator'' movies, see above) and \"The Running Man\" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election \"Total Recall\" (yet another movie starring Schwarzenegger). Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003.\n\nPresident George W. Bush meets with Schwarzenegger after his successful election to the California Governorship.\nOn October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the ''Yes'' vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the second foreign-born governor of California after Irish-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.\n\nSchwarzenegger was entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock. Building on a catchphrase from the sketch \"Hans and Franz\" from ''Saturday Night Live'' (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians \"girlie men\".\n\nSchwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses being given out to illegal immigrants, but later he began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives. Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated. Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California. He would later comment that \"no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you\". The U.S. Supreme Court later found the public employee unions' use of compulsory fundraising during the campaign had been illegal in ''Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000''.\n\nSchwarzenegger then went against the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff. Schwarzenegger gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.\n\nSchwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7, 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes. In recent years, many commentators have seen Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum. After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said that, \"He's becoming a Democrat … He's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left\".\n\nIt was rumored that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010, as his governorship would be term-limited by that time. This turned out to be false.\n\nWith Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein behind him, President George W. Bush comments on wildfires and firefighting efforts in California, October 2007.\nWendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home. Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, \"I wanted to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers. I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential – I was always fascinated by people in control of other people.\" Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to enter politics, but he says, \"I married into a political family. You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people. I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes.\" Eunice Kennedy Shriver was sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger; Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger.\n\nSchwarzenegger cannot run for president as he is not a natural born citizen of the United States. Schwarzenegger is a dual Austrian/United States citizen. He has held Austrian citizenship since birth and U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European, he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.\n\nNaval Medical Center in San Diego, July 2010.\nBecause of his personal wealth from his acting career, Schwarzenegger did not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year.\n\nSchwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. presidential election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, \"It's Rudy's fault!\" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind). Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy.\n\nIn its April 2010 report, Progressive ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger one of 11 \"worst governors\" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Schwarzenegger's term as governor.\n\nGovernor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004. This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intensive campaign against Proposition 66. He stated that \"it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists\".\n\nAlthough he began his tenure as governor with record high approval ratings (as high as 89% in December 2003), he left office with a record low 23%, only one percent higher than that of Gray Davis, when he was recalled in October 2003.\n\n====Death of Louis Santos====\n\n\nIn May 2010, Esteban Núñez pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of Louis Santos. Núñez is the son of Fabian Núñez, then California Assembly Speaker of the House and a close friend and staunch political ally of then governor Schwarzenegger.\n\nAs a personal favor to \"a friend\", just hours before he left office, and as one of his last official acts, Schwarzenegger commuted Núñez's sentence by more than half, to seven years. Against protocol, Schwarzenegger did not inform Santos' family or the San Diego County prosecutors about the commutation. They learned about it in a call from a reporter.\n\nThe Santos family, along with the San Diego district attorney, sued to stop the commutation, claiming that it violated Marsy's Law. In September 2012, Sacramento County superior court judge Lloyd Connelly stated, \"Based on the evidentiary records before this court involving this case, there was an abuse of discretion...This was a distasteful commutation. It was repugnant to the bulk of the citizenry of this state.\" However, Connelly ruled that Schwarzenegger remained within his executive powers as governor. Subsequently, as a direct result of the way the commutation was handled, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bipartisan bill that allows offender's victims and their families to be notified at least 10 days notice for any commutations. Núñez was released from prison after serving less than six years.\n\n===Allegations of sexual misconduct===\nCode Pink protesting against Schwarzenegger\nDuring his initial campaign for governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger, dubbed \"Gropegate\". Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'' recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.\n\nThree of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last said he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a sex act.\n\nSchwarzenegger admitted that he has \"behaved badly sometimes\" and apologized, but also stated that \"a lot of what you see in the stories is not true\". This came after an interview in adult magazine ''Oui'' from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film ''Pumping Iron.'' In an interview with ''GQ'' magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, \"Marijuana is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me.\" His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.\n\nBritish television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main. A joint statement read: \"The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled.\" Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event for ''The 6th Day'' in London. She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a ''Los Angeles Times'' article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.\n\n===Citizenship===\nSchwarzenegger in 2004\n\nSchwarzenegger became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 17, 1983. Shortly before he gained his citizenship, he asked the Austrian authorities for the right to keep his Austrian citizenship, as Austria does not usually allow dual citizenship. His request was granted, and he retained his Austrian citizenship. In 2005, Peter Pilz, a member of the Austrian Parliament from the Austrian Green Party, unsuccessfully advocated for Parliament to revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship due to his decision not to prevent the executions of Donald Beardslee and Stanley Williams. Pilz argued that Schwarzenegger caused damage to Austria's reputation in the international community, because Austria abolished the death penalty in 1968. Pilz based his argument on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act, which states: \"A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic.\" Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had damaged Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger explained his actions by pointing out that his only duty as Governor of California with respect to the death penalty was to correct an error by the justice system by pardon or clemency, if such an error had occurred.\n\n===Environmental record===\nOn September 27, 2006, Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, creating the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California's emissions by 25 percent to 1990s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.\n\nSchwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006, allowing California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan took effect in 2009. In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.\n\nIn respect of his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit, on April 20, 2009.\n\nIn 2011, Schwarzenegger founded the R20 Regions of Climate Action to develop a sustainable, low carbon economy.\n\n===Electoral history===\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===Presidential ambitions===\nThe Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment in 2003 was widely accredited as the \"Amend for Arnold\" bill, which would have removed language from the U.S. Constitution prohibiting his run, having been born in Austria. In 2004, the \"Amend for Arnold\" campaign was launched, featuring a website and TV advertising promotion.\n\nIn June 2007, Schwarzenegger was featured on the cover of TIME magazine with Michael Bloomberg, and subsequently the two joked about a Presidential ticket together.\n\nIn October 2013, the ''New York Post'' reported that Schwarzenegger was exploring a future run for president. The former California governor would face a constitutional hurdle; Article II, Section I, Clause V nominally prevents individuals who are not natural-born citizens of the United States from assuming the office. He has reportedly been lobbying legislators about a possible constitutional change, or filing a legal challenge to the provision. Columbia University law professor Michael Dorf observed that Schwarzenegger's possible lawsuit could ultimately win him the right to run for the office, noting, \"The law is very clear, but it's not 100 percent clear that the courts would enforce that law rather than leave it to the political process.\"\n", "Schwarzenegger has had a highly successful business career. Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a \"prolific goal setter\" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so. By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from his success as a budding entrepreneur with a series of successful business ventures and investments.\n\n===Bricklaying business===\nIn 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.\n\n===Investments===\nSchwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate investment venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would later go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.\n\nSchwarzenegger was a founding celebrity investor in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore. Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000. Schwarzenegger said the company had not had the success he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on \"new US global business ventures\" and his movie career.\n\nHe also invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: \"I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!\" He has significant ownership in Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm. Schwarzenegger is also the owner of Arnold's Sports Festival, which he started in 1989 and is held annually in Columbus, Ohio. It is a festival that hosts thousands of international health and fitness professionals which has also expanded into a three-day expo. He also owns a movie production company called Oak Productions, Inc. and Fitness Publications, a joint publishing venture with Simon & Schuster.\n\n===Restaurant===\nIn 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called ''Schatzi On Main''. ''Schatzi'' literally means \"little treasure,\" colloquial for \"honey\" or \"darling\" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant.\n\n===Wealth===\n\nSchwarzenegger's net worth had been conservatively estimated at $100–$200 million. After separating from his wife, Maria Shriver, in 2011, it has been estimated that his net worth has been approximately $400 million, and even as high as $800 million, based on tax returns he filed in 2006.\n\nOver the years as an investor, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, making his net worth as an accurate estimation difficult to calculate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to economic recessions in the U.S. and Europe since the late 2000s. In June 1997, Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream jet. Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, \"Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.\"\n\n===Commercial advertisements===\nHe appears in a series of commercials for the Machine Zone game ''Mobile Strike'' as a military commander and spokesman.\n", "\n===Early relationships===\nIn 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher he lived with until 1974. Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: \"Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life.\" Baker has described Schwarzenegger as \"a joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic\" but claims towards the end of the relationship he became \"insufferable – classically conceited – the world revolved around him\". Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled ''Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak''. Although Baker, at times, painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the tell-all book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours. Baker claims, for example, that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life. Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ. The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S – their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television. They shared an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years, and having little money, would visit the beach all day, or have barbecues in the back yard. Although Baker claims that when she first met him, he had \"little understanding of polite society\" and she found him a turn-off, she says, \"He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be – he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive … I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me.\"\n\nSchwarzenegger met his next paramour, Sue Moray, a Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant, on Venice Beach in July 1977. According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: \"We were faithful when we were both in LA … but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted.\" Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and went on to have a relationship with both women until August 1978, when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum.\n\n===Marriage and family===\nSchwarzenegger with his wife Maria Shriver at the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai, China\nPatrick at Edwards Air Force Base, California in December 2002\nOn April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. They have four children: Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger (born December 13, 1989); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991); Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993); and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997); all born in Los Angeles. The family lived in a home in Brentwood, with vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. They attended St. Monica's Catholic Church.\n\n===Marital separation===\nOn May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger ended their relationship after 25 years of marriage, with Shriver moving out of the couple's Brentwood mansion. On May 16, 2011, the ''Los Angeles Times'' revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son more than fourteen years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena. \"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,\" Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued to ''The Times''. In the statement, Schwarzenegger did not mention that he had confessed to his wife only after Shriver had confronted him with the information, which she had done after confirming with the housekeeper what she had suspected about the child.\n\nBaena is of Guatemalan origin, she was employed by the family for 20 years and retired in January 2011. The pregnant Baena was working in the home while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of the couple's four children. Baena's son with Schwarzenegger, Joseph, was born on October 2, 1997; Shriver gave birth to Christopher on September 27, 1997. Schwarzenegger says it took seven or eight years before he found out that he had fathered a child with his housekeeper. It was not until the boy \"started looking like me, that's when I kind of got it. I put things together,\" the action star and former California governor, told ''60 Minutes''. Schwarzenegger has taken financial responsibility for the child \"from the start and continued to provide support.\" KNX 1070 radio reported that in 2010 he bought a new four-bedroom house, with a pool, for Baena and their son in Bakersfield, about north of Los Angeles. Baena separated from her husband, Rogelio, in 1997, a few months after Joseph's birth, and filed for divorce in 2008. Baena's ex-husband says that the child's birth certificate was falsified and that he plans to sue Schwarzenegger for engaging in conspiracy to falsify a public document, a serious crime in California.\n\nSchwarzenegger has consulted an attorney, Bob Kaufman. Kaufman has earlier handled divorce cases for celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Schwarzenegger will keep the Brentwood home as part of their divorce settlement and Shriver has purchased a new home nearby so that the children may travel easily between their parents' homes. They will share custody of the two minor children. Schwarzenegger came under fire after the initial petition did not include spousal support and a reimbursement of attorney's fees. However, he claims this was not intentional and that he signed the initial documents without having properly read them. Schwarzenegger has filed amended divorce papers remedying this.\n\nAfter the scandal, actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and stated that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was in a relationship with Shriver, saying, \"Maybe I wouldn't have got into it if he said 'I'm going to marry Maria' and this is dead serious, but he didn't, and our affair carried on.\" When asked in 2014 \"Of all the things you are famous for … which are you least proud of?\", Schwarzenegger replied \"I'm least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up\".\n\nAs of July 2015, Schwarzenegger was dating physical therapist Heather Milligan, 27 years his junior.\n\n===Accidents and injuries===\nSchwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets). Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predicted he would require heart valve replacement surgery in the following two to eight years as his valve would progressively degrade. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.\n\nOn December 9, 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.\n\nSchwarzenegger saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.\n\nOn January 8, 2006, while Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, Schwarzenegger sustained a minor injury to his lip, requiring 15 stitches. \"No citations were issued\", said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. Schwarzenegger did not obtain his motorcycle license until July 3, 2006.\n\nSchwarzenegger tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, with his family on December 23, 2006. On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together. He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006.\n\nSchwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by the governor's press secretary. No one was harmed in the incident.\n\n===Height===\nSchwarzenegger's official height of 6'2\" (1.88 m) has been brought into question by several articles. In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5\" (1.87 m), a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders. However, in 1988 both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Time Out'' magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter. Prior to running for governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the ''Chicago Reader''. As governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point, Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, \"settle this once and for all and find out how tall he is\" by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words \"Need a lift?\" on the five-foot-five inch (165 cm) Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office. Bob Mulholland also claimed Schwarzenegger was 5'10\" (1.78 m) and that he wore risers in his boots. In 1999, ''Men's Health'' magazine stated his height was 5'10\".\n\n===Autobiography===\nSchwarzenegger's autobiography, ''Total Recall'', was released in October 2012. He devotes one chapter called \"The Secret\" to his extramarital affair. The majority of his book is about his successes in the three major chapters in his life: bodybuilder, actor, and Governor of California.\n\n===Vehicles===\nSchwarzenegger was the first civilian to purchase a Humvee. He was so enamored by the vehicle that he lobbied the Humvee's manufacturer, AM General, to produce a street-legal, civilian version, which they did in 1992; the first two Hummer H1s they sold were also purchased by Schwarzenegger. In 2010, he had one regular and three running on non-fossil power sources; one for hydrogen, one for vegetable oil, and one for biodiesel. Schwarzenegger was in the news in 2014 for buying a rare Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. He was spotted and filmed in 2015 in his car, painted silver with bright aluminium forged wheels. His Bugatti has its interior adorned in dark brown leather. In 2017, Schwarzenegger acquired a Mercedes G-Class modified for all-electric drive.\n\nThe Hummers that Schwarzenegger bought in 1992 are so large – each weighs and is wide – that they are classified as large trucks, and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to them. During the gubernatorial recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the California Hydrogen Highway Network, and gained a U.S. Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost. California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.\n", "Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003\nSchwarzenegger has been involved with the Special Olympics for many years after they were founded by his ex-mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In 2007, Schwarzenegger was the official spokesperson for the Special Olympics which were held in Shanghai, China. Schwarzenegger believes that quality school opportunities should be made available to children who might not normally be able to access them. In 1995, he founded the Inner City Games Foundation (ICG) which provides cultural, educational and community enrichment programming to youth. ICG is active in 15 cities around the country and serves over 250,000 children in over 400 schools countrywide. He has also been involved with After-School All-Stars, and founded the Los Angeles branch in 2002. ASAS is an after school program provider, educating youth about health, fitness and nutrition.\n\nOn February 12, 2010, Schwarzenegger took part in the Vancouver Olympic Torch relay. He handed off the flame to the next runner, Sebastian Coe.\n\nSchwarzenegger had a collection of Marxist busts, which he requested from Russian friends at the end of the Soviet Union as they were being destroyed. In 2011, he revealed that his wife had requested they be removed, but he kept the one of Vladimir Lenin present, since \"he was the first\". In 2015, he said he kept the Lenin bust to \"show losers\".\n\nSchwarzenegger is a lifelong supporter and \"friend of Israel\", and has participated in L.A.'s Pro-Israel rally among other similar events.\n===Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy===\nIn 2012, Schwarzenegger helped to found the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which is a part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. The Institute's mission is to \"advance post-partisanship, where leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve\" and to \"seek to influence public policy and public debate in finding solutions to the serious challenges we face\". Schwarzenegger serves as chairman of the Institute.\n\n===Global warming===\nAt a 2015 security conference, Arnold Schwarzenegger called climate change the issue of our time.\n\n===2016 Presidential election===\nFor the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schwarzenegger endorsed fellow Republican John Kasich. However, he announced in October that he would not vote for the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the that year's United States presidential election, with this being the first time he did not vote for the Republican candidate since becoming a citizen in 1983.\n", "\n* Seven-time Mr. Olympia winner\n* Four-time Mr. Universe winner\n* 1969 World Amateur Bodybuilding Champion\n* 1977 Golden Globe Award winner\n* Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame\n* International Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2012)\n* WWE Hall of Fame (class of 2015)\n* Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy (part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California) named in his honor.\n* ''Arnold's Run'' ski trail at Sun Valley Resort named in his honor. The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain.\n* \"A Day for Arnold\" on July 30, 2007 in Thal, Austria. For his 60th birthday the mayor sent Schwarzenegger the enameled address sign (Thal 145) of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, declaring \"This belongs to him. No one here will ever be assigned that number again\".\n* Commandeur of the French Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (on April 28, 2017)\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "* List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States\n* Kennedy family tree\n\n", "\n\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "\n* \n* Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum\n* Arnold Schwarzenegger: Wild Years – slideshow by ''Life'' magazine\n* \n* \n\n===Governorship===\n* Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger\n* \n* Complete text and audio of Governor Schwarzenegger's Speech to the United Nations on Global Climate Change AmericanRhetoric.com, September 24, 2007\n* Complete text, audio, video of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2004 Republican National Convention Address AmericanRhetoric.com\n* Archive of Correspondence pertaining to Governor Schwarzenegger and same-sex marriage AB 43 Project\n\n===Interviews===\n* Interview in ''Oui'' magazine, August 1977 at thesmokinggun.com\n* Excerpts from ''Time Out'' (London) interview, 1977 at time.com\n* Schwarzenegger Interview on ''The Hour'' with George Stroumboulopoulos\n\n===Film===\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life", "Bodybuilding career", "Acting career", "Political career", "Business career", "Personal life", "Public life", "Awards and honors", "Books", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "In August 2016, his filming of action-comedy ''Why We're Killing Gunther'' was temporarily interrupted by bank robbers near filming location in Surrey, British Columbia." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger''' (; ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American actor, producer, businessman, investor, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and former professional bodybuilder who holds both Austrian and American citizenship.", "He served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011.", "Schwarzenegger began weight training at the age of 15.", "He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport.", "He is widely considered to be among the greatest bodybuilders of all time as well as bodybuilding's biggest icon.", "Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon.", "His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ''Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, a box office hit that resulted in a sequel.", "In 1984, Schwarzenegger appeared in James Cameron's science-fiction thriller film ''The Terminator'', a critical and commercial success.", "Schwarzenegger subsequently reprised the Terminator character in the franchise's later installments: ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), and ''Terminator Genisys'' (2015).", "He has appeared in a number of successful films, such as ''Commando'' (1985), ''The Running Man'' (1987), ''Predator'' (1987), ''Twins'' (1988), ''Total Recall'' (1990), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), and ''True Lies'' (1994).", "In 2015, it was announced that Schwarzenegger would replace Donald Trump as the host of ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', though he left after one season due to conflicts caused by Trump's remarks.", "Schwarzenegger was nicknamed \"the Austrian Oak\" in his bodybuilding days, \"Arnie\" during his acting career, and \"The Governator\" (a portmanteau of \"Governor\" and \"The Terminator\") during his political career.", "As a Republican, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis.", "He was sworn in on November 17, to serve the remainder of Davis' term.", "He was then re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor.", "In 2011, he completed his second term as governor and returned to acting.", "===Childhood===\nThalersee, a lake in Schwarzenegger's birthplace of Thal, pictured in October 2002\nArnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria, the son of Aurelia (''née'' Jadrny; July 29, 1922 – August 2, 1998) and Gustav Schwarzenegger (August 17, 1907 – December 13, 1972).", "Gustav was the local chief of police and had served in World War II as a ''Hauptfeldwebel'' after voluntarily joining the Nazi Party in 1938, though he was discharged in 1943 following a bout of malaria.", "He married Aurelia on October 20, 1945; he was 38 and she was 23.", "According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were very strict: \"Back then in Austria it was a very different world ... if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared.\"", "Schwarzenegger grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended Mass every Sunday.", "Gustav had a preference for his elder son, Meinhard (July 17, 1946 – May 20, 1971), over Arnold.", "His favoritism was \"strong and blatant\", which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his biological child.", "Schwarzenegger has said his father had \"no patience for listening or understanding your problems\".", "He had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death.", "In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of Gustav being involved in atrocities, despite his membership in the Nazi Party and SA.", "Gustav's background received wide press attention during the 2003 California recall campaign.", "At school, Schwarzenegger was reportedly academically average, but stood out for his \"cheerful, good-humored, and exuberant\" character.", "Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.", "As a boy, Schwarzenegger played several sports, heavily influenced by his father.", "He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his soccer coach took his team to a local gym.", "At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over soccer as a career.", "He later said, \"I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting.\"", "However, his official website biography claims that \"at 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career\".", "During a speech in 2001, he said, \"My own plan formed when I was 14 years old.", "My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was.", "My mother wanted me to go to trade school.\"", "Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen.", "When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: \"As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves.", "His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible, when others around me didn't always understand my dreams.", "Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve.\"", "In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz.", "He was so dedicated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train.", "\"It would make me sick to miss a workout...", "I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it.\"", "When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied: \"I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels.", "The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Wayne movie.\"", "Schwarzenegger's brother, Meinhard, died in a car crash on May 20, 1971.", "He was driving drunk and died instantly.", "Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral.", "Meinhard was engaged to Erika Knapp, and they had a three-year-old son named Patrick.", "Schwarzenegger paid for Patrick's education and helped him to move to the U.S. Gustav died on December 13, 1972, from a stroke.", "In ''Pumping Iron'', Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest.", "Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder to show the extremes some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image colder to create controversy for the film.", "Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, recalled that he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother.", "Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral.", "In an interview with ''Fortune'' in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what \"would now be called child abuse\" at the hands of his father: \"My hair was pulled.", "I was hit with belts.", "So was the kid next door.", "It was just the way it was.", "Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality.", "They didn't want to create an individual.", "It was all about conforming.", "I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken.", "Therefore, I became a rebel.", "Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer, because I'm going to move out of here.", "I want to be rich.", "I want to be somebody.'\"", "===Early adulthood===\nSchwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males.", "During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest.", "He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in military prison: \"Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences.\"", "He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirerhof Hotel (where he placed second).", "He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous.", "\"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America—the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich.\"", "Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London.", "He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.", "Charles \"Wag\" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him.", "As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London.", "Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs.", "Staying in the East End of London helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language.", "Living with the Bennetts also changed him as a person: \"Being with them made me so much more sophisticated.", "When you're the age I was then, you're always looking for approval, for love, for attention and also for guidance.", "At the time, I wasn't really aware of that.", "But now, looking back, I see that the Bennett family fulfilled all those needs.", "Especially my need to be the best in the world.", "To be recognized and to feel unique and special.", "They saw that I needed that care and attention and love.”\n\nAlso in 1966, while at the Bennett's home, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor.", "The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20.", "He would go on to win the title a further three times.", "Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, where he attended a business school and worked in a health club (Rolf Putziger's gym, where he worked and trained from 1966 to 1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title.", "He frequently told Roger C. Field, his English coach and friend in Munich at that time, \"I'm going to become the greatest actor!\"", "===Move to the U.S.===\nSchwarzenegger with President Ronald Reagan in 1984\nSchwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so, realized his dream by moving to the United States in September 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English.", "There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider.", "From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973.", "Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler Superstar Billy Graham.", "In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.", "The immigration law firm Siskind & Susser has stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa.", "''LA Weekly'' would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who \"overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s\".", "In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide ''Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder'' became a huge success.", "In 1977 he posed for the gay magazine ''After Dark''.", "After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in California, he earned a BA by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979.", "He got his American citizenship in 1983.", "He tells that during this time he ran into a friend who told him that he was teaching Transcendental Meditation (TM), which prompted Schwarzenegger to reveal he had been struggling with anxiety for the first time in his life: \"Even today, I still benefit from the year of TM because I don't merge and bring things together and see everything as one big problem.\"", "\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nSchwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition.", "He has remained a prominent face in bodybuilding long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines.", "He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.", "For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex''.", "Shortly after being elected governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity.", "The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives.", "When the deal, including the contract that gave Schwarzenegger at least $1 million a year, was made public in 2005, many criticized it as being a conflict of interest since the governor's office made decisions concerning regulation of dietary supplements in California.", "Consequently, Schwarzenegger relinquished the executive editor role in 2005.", "American Media Inc., which owns ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex'', announced in March 2013 that Schwarzenegger had accepted their renewed offer to be executive editor of the magazines.", "One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.", "He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19.", "He would go on to compete in, and win, many bodybuilding contests.", "His bodybuilding victories included five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBA England, 1 – IFBB USA) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.", "Schwarzenegger continues to work out even today.", "When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.", "* Competition weight: \n* Off-season weight: \n\n===Powerlifting/weightlifting===\nDuring Schwarzenegger's early years in bodybuilding, he also competed in several Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting contests.", "Schwarzenegger won two weightlifting contests in 1964 and 1965, as well as two powerlifting contests in 1966 and 1968.", "In 1967, Schwarzenegger won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg/560 lbs.)", "is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests.", "====Personal records====\n* Clean and press – \n* Snatch – \n* Clean and jerk – \n* Squat – \n* Bench press – \n* Deadlift – \nSchwarzenegger, pictured with 1987 world champion American Karyn Marshall, presenting awards at the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2011 in Columbus, Ohio\n\n===Mr.", "Olympia===\nSchwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia.", "His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva.", "However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he still holds to this day.", "He continued his winning streak in the 1971–74 competitions.", "In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time, beating Franco Columbu.", "After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.", "Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called ''Pumping Iron.''", "Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film ''Stay Hungry'' with Jeff Bridges.", "Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia.", "Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia.", "Schwarzenegger was training for his role in ''Conan'', and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time.", "He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face.", "Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: \"Why not compete?\"", "Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation.", "After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger then officially retired from competition.", "===Steroid use===\nSchwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that \"steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest.", "I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up.\"", "He has called the drugs \"tissue building\".", "In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted his early death on the basis of a link between his steroid use and his later heart problems.", "As the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a US$10,000 libel judgment against him in a German court.", "In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with the ''Globe'', a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.", "===List of competitions===\n\n\n\n Year \n Competition \n Location \n Result and notes\n\n 1965 \n Junior Mr. Europe \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n Best Built Man of Europe \n Germany\n 1st\n\n 1966 \n Mr. Europe \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n International Powerlifting Championship \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1966 \n NABBA Mr. Universe amateur \n London \n 2nd to Chet Yorton\n\n 1967 \n NABBA Mr. Universe amateur \n London\n 1st\n\n 1968 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London\n 1st\n\n 1968 \n German Powerlifting Championship \n Germany \n 1st\n\n 1968 \n IFBB Mr. International \n Mexico \n 1st\n\n 1968 \n IFBB Mr. Universe \n Florida \n 2nd to Frank Zane\n\n 1969 \n IFBB Mr. Universe amateur \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1969 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London \n 1st\n\n 1969 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 2nd to Sergio Oliva \n\n 1970 \n NABBA Mr. Universe professional \n London \n 1st.", "Defeated his idol Reg Park\n\n 1970 \n AAU Mr. World \n Columbus, Ohio \n 1st.", "Defeated Sergio Oliva for the first time\n\n 1970 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1971 \n Mr. Olympia \n Paris \n 1st\n\n 1972 \n Mr. Olympia \n Essen, Germany \n 1st\n\n 1973 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1974 \n Mr. Olympia \n New York \n 1st\n\n 1975 \n Mr. Olympia \n Pretoria, South Africa \n 1st.", "Subject of the documentary ''Pumping Iron''\n\n 1980 \n Mr. Olympia \n Sydney, Australia \n 1st\n\n\n===Competitive stats===\n* Height: 6'2\" (188 cm)\n* Contest weight: \n* Off-season weight: \n* Arms: \n* Chest: \n* Waist: \n* Thighs: \n* Calves:", "\n===Early roles===\nSchwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's ''Hercules in New York''.", "Credited under the stage name \"Arnold Strong\", his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production.", "His second film appearance was as a deaf-mute mob hitman in ''The Long Goodbye'' (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film ''Stay Hungry'' (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year.", "Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career: \"It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long.", "You name it, and they told me I had to change it.", "Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance.\"", "Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film ''Pumping Iron'' (1977), elements of which were dramatized; in 1991, he purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography.", "In 1977, he made guest appearances in single episodes of the ABC sitcom ''The San Pedro Beach Bums'' and the ABC police procedural ''The Streets of San Francisco''.", "Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of ''The Incredible Hulk'', but did not win the role because of his height.", "Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego.", "Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy ''The Villain''.", "In 1980, he starred in a biographical film of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.", "===Action superstar===\nSchwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ''Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, which was a box-office hit.", "This was followed by a sequel, ''Conan the Destroyer'', in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor.", "In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video, ''Carnival in Rio''.", "In 1984, he made his first appearance as the eponymous character, and what some would say was his acting career's signature role, in James Cameron's science fiction thriller film ''The Terminator''.", "Following this, Schwarzenegger made ''Red Sonja'' in 1985.", "During the 1980s, audiences had an appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone becoming international stars.", "Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his sense of humor, separating him from more serious action hero films.", "He made a number of successful action films in the '80s, such as ''Commando'' (1985), ''Raw Deal'' (1986), ''The Running Man'' (1987), ''Predator'' (1987), and ''Red Heat'' (1988).", "Footprints and handprints of Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with his famous catchphrase ''\"I'll be back\"'' written in.", "''Twins'' (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito, also proved successful.", "''Total Recall'' (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the film's gross.", "A science fiction script, the film was based on the Philip K. Dick short story \"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale\".", "''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him in ''Twins''.", "Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series ''Tales from the Crypt'', entitled \"The Switch\", and then with the 1992 telemovie ''Christmas in Connecticut''.", "He has not directed since.", "Schwarzenegger's commercial peak was his return as the title character in 1991's ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', which was the highest-grossing film of 1991.", "In 1993, the National Association of Theatre Owners named him the \"International Star of the Decade\".", "His next film project, the 1993 self-aware action comedy spoof ''Last Action Hero'', was released opposite ''Jurassic Park'', and did not do well at the box office.", "His next film, the comedy drama ''True Lies'' (1994), was a popular spy film, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with James Cameron.", "That same year, the comedy ''Junior'' was released, the last of Schwarzenegger's three collaborations with Ivan Reitman and again co-starring Danny DeVito.", "This film brought him his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy.", "It was followed by the action thriller ''Eraser'' (1996), the Christmas comedy ''Jingle All The Way'' (1996), and the comic book-based ''Batman & Robin'' (1997), in which he played the villain Mr.", "Freeze.", "This was his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury.", "Following the critical failure of ''Batman & Robin'', his film career and box office prominence went into decline.", "He returned with the supernatural thriller ''End of Days'' (1999), later followed by the action films ''The 6th Day'' (2000) and ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), both of which failed to do well at the box office.", "In 2003, he made his third appearance as the title character in ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', which went on to earn over $150 million domestically.", "Arnold Schwarzenegger's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame\nIn tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-meter (82 ft) tall ''Terminator'' statue in a park in central Graz.", "Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the Special Olympics.", "===Retirement===\nHis film appearances after becoming Governor of California included a three-second cameo appearance in ''The Rundown'', and the 2004 remake of ''Around the World in 80 Days''.", "In 2005, he appeared as himself in the film ''The Kid & I''.", "He voiced Baron von Steuben in the ''Liberty's Kids'' episode \"Valley Forge\".", "He had been rumored to be appearing in ''Terminator Salvation'' as the original T-800; he denied his involvement, but he ultimately did appear briefly via his image being inserted into the movie from stock footage of the first ''Terminator'' movie.", "Schwarzenegger appeared in Sylvester Stallone's ''The Expendables'', where he made a cameo appearance.", "===Return to acting===\nIn January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama ''With Wings as Eagles'', written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story.", "On March 6, 2011, at the Arnold Seminar of the Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger revealed that he was being considered for several films, including sequels to ''The Terminator'' and remakes of ''Predator'' and ''The Running Man'', and that he was \"packaging\" a comic book character.", "The character was later revealed to be the Governator, star of the comic book and animated series of the same name.", "Schwarzenegger inspired the character and co-developed it with Stan Lee, who would have produced the series.", "Schwarzenegger would have voiced the Governator.", "On May 20, 2011, Schwarzenegger's entertainment counsel announced that all movie projects currently in development were being halted: \"Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines\".", "On July 11, 2011, it was announced that Schwarzenegger was considering a comeback film despite his legal problems.", "He appeared in ''The Expendables 2'' (2012), and starred in ''The Last Stand'' (2013), his first leading role in 10 years, and ''Escape Plan'' (2013), his first co-starring role alongside Sylvester Stallone.", "He starred in ''Sabotage'', released in March 2014, and appeared in ''The Expendables 3'', released in August 2014.", "He starred in the fifth Terminator movie ''Terminator Genisys'' in 2015 and will reprise his role as Conan the Barbarian in ''The Legend of Conan'', later renamed ''Conan the Conqueror''.", "He was announced to star and produce in a film about the ruins of Sanxingdui called ''The Guest of Sanxingdui'', as an ambassador.", "===''The Celebrity Apprentice''===\nIn September 2015, it was announced Schwarzenegger would replace Donald Trump as host of ''The New Celebrity Apprentice''.", "This show, the 15th season of ''The Apprentice'', aired during the 2016–2017 TV season.", "In the show, he used the phrases \"you're terminated\" and \"get to the choppa\", which are quotes from some of his famous roles, when firing the contestants.", "In March 2017, following repeated criticisms from Donald Trump, Schwarzenegger announced that he would not return for another season on the show.", "Schwarzenegger reacted to Trump’s latest remarks on January 2017: “Hey, Donald, I have a great idea.", "Why don’t we switch jobs?” he asked in an Instagram clip.", "“You take over TV because you’re such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job, and then people can finally sleep comfortably again.”\n\n===Filmography===\n\n\nSelected notable roles:\n\n* ''Hercules in New York'' as Hercules (1970)\n* ''Stay Hungry'' as Joe Santo (1976)\n* ''Pumping Iron'' as himself (1977)\n* ''The Villain'' as Handsome Stranger (1979)\n* ''The Jayne Mansfield Story'' as Mickey Hargitay (1980)\n* ''Conan the Barbarian'' as Conan (1982)\n* ''Conan the Destroyer'' as Conan (1984)\n* ''The Terminator'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101 (1984)\n* ''Red Sonja'' as Kalidor (1985)\n* ''Commando'' as John Matrix (1985)\n* ''Raw Deal'' as Mark Kaminsky, a.k.a.", "Joseph P. Brenner (1986)\n* ''Predator'' as Major Alan \"Dutch\" Schaeffer (1987)\n* ''The Running Man'' as Ben Richards (1987)\n* ''Red Heat'' as Captain Ivan Danko (1988)\n* ''Twins'' as Julius Benedict (1988)\n* ''Total Recall'' as Douglas Quaid/Hauser (1990)\n* ''Kindergarten Cop'' as Detective John Kimble (1990)\n* ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101 (1991)\n* ''Last Action Hero'' as Jack Slater / Himself (1993)\n* ''True Lies'' as Harry Tasker (1994)\n* ''Junior'' as Dr. Alex Hesse (1994)\n* ''Eraser'' as U.S.", "Marshal John Kruger (1996)\n* ''Jingle All the Way'' as Howard Langston (1996)\n* ''Batman and Robin'' as Mr.", "Freeze (1997)\n* ''End of Days'' as Jericho Cane (1999)\n* ''The 6th Day'' as Adam Gibson / Adam Gibson Clone (2000)\n* ''Collateral Damage'' as Gordy Brewer (2002)\n* ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' as The Terminator/T-850 Model 101 (2003)\n* ''Around the World in 80 Days'' as Prince Hapi (2004)\n* ''The Expendables'' as Trench (2010)\n* ''The Expendables 2'' as Trench (2012)\n* ''The Last Stand'' as Sheriff Ray Owens (2013)\n* ''Escape Plan'' as Rottmayer (2013)\n* ''Sabotage'' as John 'Breacher' Wharton (2014)\n* ''The Expendables 3'' as Trench (2014)\n* ''Maggie'' as Wade Vogel (2015)\n* ''Terminator Genisys'' as The Terminator/T-800 Model 101/ The Guardian (2015)\n* ''Aftermath'' as Roman Melnik (2017)\n* ''Killing Gunther'' as Gunther (2017)\n* ''Journey to China: The Mystery of Iron Mask'' (2017)\n* ''Triplets'' as Julius Benedict (2018)\n* ''The Expendables 4'' as Trench (2018)", "\n\n===Early politics===\nVice President Dick Cheney meets with Schwarzenegger for the first time at the White House\n\nSchwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years.", "As an actor, his political views were always well known as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community.", "At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained he was a Republican because the Democrats of the 1960s sounded too much like Austrian socialists.", "Arnold Schwarzenegger on Capitol Hill for an event related to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports\nIn 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in \"Stop the Madness\", an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration.", "He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H. W. Bush at a campaign rally.", "Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993.", "He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who dubbed him \"Conan the Republican\".", "He later served as chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.", "Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio public service announcements to donate blood.", "In an interview with ''Talk'' magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office.", "He replied, \"I think about it many times.", "The possibility is there, because I feel it inside.\"", "''The Hollywood Reporter'' claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California.", "Following his initial comments, Schwarzenegger said, \"I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career.", "Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?\"", "===Governor of California===\nSchwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the 2003 California recall election for Governor of California on August 6, 2003, episode of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''.", "Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians.", "His candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the \"Governator\" (referring to ''The Terminator'' movies, see above) and \"The Running Man\" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election \"Total Recall\" (yet another movie starring Schwarzenegger).", "Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003.", "President George W. Bush meets with Schwarzenegger after his successful election to the California Governorship.", "On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the ''Yes'' vote in favor of a recall.", "Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis.", "Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others.", "His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote.", "In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes.", "Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required.", "Schwarzenegger was the second foreign-born governor of California after Irish-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.", "Schwarzenegger was entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock.", "Building on a catchphrase from the sketch \"Hans and Franz\" from ''Saturday Night Live'' (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians \"girlie men\".", "Schwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses being given out to illegal immigrants, but later he began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives.", "Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated.", "Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California.", "He would later comment that \"no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you\".", "The U.S. Supreme Court later found the public employee unions' use of compulsory fundraising during the campaign had been illegal in ''Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000''.", "Schwarzenegger then went against the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff.", "Schwarzenegger gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.", "Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7, 2006.", "Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes.", "In recent years, many commentators have seen Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum.", "After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said that, \"He's becoming a Democrat … He's running back, not even to the center.", "I would say center-left\".", "It was rumored that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010, as his governorship would be term-limited by that time.", "This turned out to be false.", "With Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein behind him, President George W. Bush comments on wildfires and firefighting efforts in California, October 2007.", "Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home.", "Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, \"I wanted to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers.", "I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential – I was always fascinated by people in control of other people.\"", "Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to enter politics, but he says, \"I married into a political family.", "You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people.", "I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes.\"", "Eunice Kennedy Shriver was sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger; Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger.", "Schwarzenegger cannot run for president as he is not a natural born citizen of the United States.", "Schwarzenegger is a dual Austrian/United States citizen.", "He has held Austrian citizenship since birth and U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983.", "Being Austrian and thus European, he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.", "Naval Medical Center in San Diego, July 2010.", "Because of his personal wealth from his acting career, Schwarzenegger did not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year.", "Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. presidential election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008.", "Giuliani dropped out of the presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain.", "Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.", "The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, \"It's Rudy's fault!\"", "(in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind).", "Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy.", "In its April 2010 report, Progressive ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger one of 11 \"worst governors\" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Schwarzenegger's term as governor.", "Governor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004.", "This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence.", "In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intensive campaign against Proposition 66.", "He stated that \"it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists\".", "Although he began his tenure as governor with record high approval ratings (as high as 89% in December 2003), he left office with a record low 23%, only one percent higher than that of Gray Davis, when he was recalled in October 2003.", "====Death of Louis Santos====\n\n\nIn May 2010, Esteban Núñez pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of Louis Santos.", "Núñez is the son of Fabian Núñez, then California Assembly Speaker of the House and a close friend and staunch political ally of then governor Schwarzenegger.", "As a personal favor to \"a friend\", just hours before he left office, and as one of his last official acts, Schwarzenegger commuted Núñez's sentence by more than half, to seven years.", "Against protocol, Schwarzenegger did not inform Santos' family or the San Diego County prosecutors about the commutation.", "They learned about it in a call from a reporter.", "The Santos family, along with the San Diego district attorney, sued to stop the commutation, claiming that it violated Marsy's Law.", "In September 2012, Sacramento County superior court judge Lloyd Connelly stated, \"Based on the evidentiary records before this court involving this case, there was an abuse of discretion...This was a distasteful commutation.", "It was repugnant to the bulk of the citizenry of this state.\"", "However, Connelly ruled that Schwarzenegger remained within his executive powers as governor.", "Subsequently, as a direct result of the way the commutation was handled, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bipartisan bill that allows offender's victims and their families to be notified at least 10 days notice for any commutations.", "Núñez was released from prison after serving less than six years.", "===Allegations of sexual misconduct===\nCode Pink protesting against Schwarzenegger\nDuring his initial campaign for governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger, dubbed \"Gropegate\".", "Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'' recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.", "Three of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock.", "A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last said he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a sex act.", "Schwarzenegger admitted that he has \"behaved badly sometimes\" and apologized, but also stated that \"a lot of what you see in the stories is not true\".", "This came after an interview in adult magazine ''Oui'' from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana.", "Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film ''Pumping Iron.''", "In an interview with ''GQ'' magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, \"Marijuana is not a drug.", "It's a leaf.", "My drug was pumping iron, trust me.\"", "His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.", "British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main.", "A joint statement read: \"The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled.\"", "Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event for ''The 6th Day'' in London.", "She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a ''Los Angeles Times'' article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.", "===Citizenship===\nSchwarzenegger in 2004\n\nSchwarzenegger became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 17, 1983.", "Shortly before he gained his citizenship, he asked the Austrian authorities for the right to keep his Austrian citizenship, as Austria does not usually allow dual citizenship.", "His request was granted, and he retained his Austrian citizenship.", "In 2005, Peter Pilz, a member of the Austrian Parliament from the Austrian Green Party, unsuccessfully advocated for Parliament to revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship due to his decision not to prevent the executions of Donald Beardslee and Stanley Williams.", "Pilz argued that Schwarzenegger caused damage to Austria's reputation in the international community, because Austria abolished the death penalty in 1968.", "Pilz based his argument on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act, which states: \"A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic.\"", "Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had damaged Austria's reputation.", "Schwarzenegger explained his actions by pointing out that his only duty as Governor of California with respect to the death penalty was to correct an error by the justice system by pardon or clemency, if such an error had occurred.", "===Environmental record===\nOn September 27, 2006, Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, creating the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions.", "The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere.", "Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards.", "The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California's emissions by 25 percent to 1990s levels by 2020.", "In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.", "Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006, allowing California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.", "They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states.", "Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference.", "The plan took effect in 2009.", "In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint.", "Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels.", "He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.", "In respect of his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit, on April 20, 2009.", "In 2011, Schwarzenegger founded the R20 Regions of Climate Action to develop a sustainable, low carbon economy.", "===Electoral history===\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===Presidential ambitions===\nThe Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment in 2003 was widely accredited as the \"Amend for Arnold\" bill, which would have removed language from the U.S. Constitution prohibiting his run, having been born in Austria.", "In 2004, the \"Amend for Arnold\" campaign was launched, featuring a website and TV advertising promotion.", "In June 2007, Schwarzenegger was featured on the cover of TIME magazine with Michael Bloomberg, and subsequently the two joked about a Presidential ticket together.", "In October 2013, the ''New York Post'' reported that Schwarzenegger was exploring a future run for president.", "The former California governor would face a constitutional hurdle; Article II, Section I, Clause V nominally prevents individuals who are not natural-born citizens of the United States from assuming the office.", "He has reportedly been lobbying legislators about a possible constitutional change, or filing a legal challenge to the provision.", "Columbia University law professor Michael Dorf observed that Schwarzenegger's possible lawsuit could ultimately win him the right to run for the office, noting, \"The law is very clear, but it's not 100 percent clear that the courts would enforce that law rather than leave it to the political process.\"", "Schwarzenegger has had a highly successful business career.", "Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a \"prolific goal setter\" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so.", "By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood.", "His financial independence came from his success as a budding entrepreneur with a series of successful business ventures and investments.", "===Bricklaying business===\nIn 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business.", "The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.", "Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.", "===Investments===\nSchwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate investment venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000.", "He would later go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.", "Schwarzenegger was a founding celebrity investor in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore.", "Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000.", "Schwarzenegger said the company had not had the success he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on \"new US global business ventures\" and his movie career.", "He also invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio.", "He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: \"I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett.", "I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out!", "And I did!\"", "He has significant ownership in Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm.", "Schwarzenegger is also the owner of Arnold's Sports Festival, which he started in 1989 and is held annually in Columbus, Ohio.", "It is a festival that hosts thousands of international health and fitness professionals which has also expanded into a three-day expo.", "He also owns a movie production company called Oak Productions, Inc. and Fitness Publications, a joint publishing venture with Simon & Schuster.", "===Restaurant===\nIn 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called ''Schatzi On Main''.", "''Schatzi'' literally means \"little treasure,\" colloquial for \"honey\" or \"darling\" in German.", "In 1998, he sold his restaurant.", "===Wealth===\n\nSchwarzenegger's net worth had been conservatively estimated at $100–$200 million.", "After separating from his wife, Maria Shriver, in 2011, it has been estimated that his net worth has been approximately $400 million, and even as high as $800 million, based on tax returns he filed in 2006.", "Over the years as an investor, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, making his net worth as an accurate estimation difficult to calculate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to economic recessions in the U.S. and Europe since the late 2000s.", "In June 1997, Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream jet.", "Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, \"Money doesn't make you happy.", "I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.\"", "===Commercial advertisements===\nHe appears in a series of commercials for the Machine Zone game ''Mobile Strike'' as a military commander and spokesman.", "\n===Early relationships===\nIn 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher he lived with until 1974.", "Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: \"Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life.\"", "Baker has described Schwarzenegger as \"a joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic\" but claims towards the end of the relationship he became \"insufferable – classically conceited – the world revolved around him\".", "Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled ''Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak''.", "Although Baker, at times, painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the tell-all book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours.", "Baker claims, for example, that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life.", "Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ.", "The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S – their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television.", "They shared an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years, and having little money, would visit the beach all day, or have barbecues in the back yard.", "Although Baker claims that when she first met him, he had \"little understanding of polite society\" and she found him a turn-off, she says, \"He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be – he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother.", "He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive … I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me.\"", "Schwarzenegger met his next paramour, Sue Moray, a Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant, on Venice Beach in July 1977.", "According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: \"We were faithful when we were both in LA … but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted.\"", "Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and went on to have a relationship with both women until August 1978, when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum.", "===Marriage and family===\nSchwarzenegger with his wife Maria Shriver at the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai, China\nPatrick at Edwards Air Force Base, California in December 2002\nOn April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts.", "The Rev.", "John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.", "They have four children: Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger (born December 13, 1989); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991); Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993); and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997); all born in Los Angeles.", "The family lived in a home in Brentwood, with vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.", "They attended St. Monica's Catholic Church.", "===Marital separation===\nOn May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger ended their relationship after 25 years of marriage, with Shriver moving out of the couple's Brentwood mansion.", "On May 16, 2011, the ''Los Angeles Times'' revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son more than fourteen years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena.", "\"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,\" Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued to ''The Times''.", "In the statement, Schwarzenegger did not mention that he had confessed to his wife only after Shriver had confronted him with the information, which she had done after confirming with the housekeeper what she had suspected about the child.", "Baena is of Guatemalan origin, she was employed by the family for 20 years and retired in January 2011.", "The pregnant Baena was working in the home while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of the couple's four children.", "Baena's son with Schwarzenegger, Joseph, was born on October 2, 1997; Shriver gave birth to Christopher on September 27, 1997.", "Schwarzenegger says it took seven or eight years before he found out that he had fathered a child with his housekeeper.", "It was not until the boy \"started looking like me, that's when I kind of got it.", "I put things together,\" the action star and former California governor, told ''60 Minutes''.", "Schwarzenegger has taken financial responsibility for the child \"from the start and continued to provide support.\"", "KNX 1070 radio reported that in 2010 he bought a new four-bedroom house, with a pool, for Baena and their son in Bakersfield, about north of Los Angeles.", "Baena separated from her husband, Rogelio, in 1997, a few months after Joseph's birth, and filed for divorce in 2008.", "Baena's ex-husband says that the child's birth certificate was falsified and that he plans to sue Schwarzenegger for engaging in conspiracy to falsify a public document, a serious crime in California.", "Schwarzenegger has consulted an attorney, Bob Kaufman.", "Kaufman has earlier handled divorce cases for celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.", "Schwarzenegger will keep the Brentwood home as part of their divorce settlement and Shriver has purchased a new home nearby so that the children may travel easily between their parents' homes.", "They will share custody of the two minor children.", "Schwarzenegger came under fire after the initial petition did not include spousal support and a reimbursement of attorney's fees.", "However, he claims this was not intentional and that he signed the initial documents without having properly read them.", "Schwarzenegger has filed amended divorce papers remedying this.", "After the scandal, actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and stated that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was in a relationship with Shriver, saying, \"Maybe I wouldn't have got into it if he said 'I'm going to marry Maria' and this is dead serious, but he didn't, and our affair carried on.\"", "When asked in 2014 \"Of all the things you are famous for … which are you least proud of?", "\", Schwarzenegger replied \"I'm least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up\".", "As of July 2015, Schwarzenegger was dating physical therapist Heather Milligan, 27 years his junior.", "===Accidents and injuries===\nSchwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets).", "Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predicted he would require heart valve replacement surgery in the following two to eight years as his valve would progressively degrade.", "Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.", "On December 9, 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.", "Schwarzenegger saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.", "On January 8, 2006, while Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed.", "While his son and the other driver were unharmed, Schwarzenegger sustained a minor injury to his lip, requiring 15 stitches.", "\"No citations were issued\", said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.", "Schwarzenegger did not obtain his motorcycle license until July 3, 2006.", "Schwarzenegger tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, with his family on December 23, 2006.", "On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together.", "He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006.", "Schwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by the governor's press secretary.", "No one was harmed in the incident.", "===Height===\nSchwarzenegger's official height of 6'2\" (1.88 m) has been brought into question by several articles.", "In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5\" (1.87 m), a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders.", "However, in 1988 both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Time Out'' magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter.", "Prior to running for governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the ''Chicago Reader''.", "As governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights.", "At one point, Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, \"settle this once and for all and find out how tall he is\" by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor.", "Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words \"Need a lift?\"", "on the five-foot-five inch (165 cm) Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office.", "Bob Mulholland also claimed Schwarzenegger was 5'10\" (1.78 m) and that he wore risers in his boots.", "In 1999, ''Men's Health'' magazine stated his height was 5'10\".", "===Autobiography===\nSchwarzenegger's autobiography, ''Total Recall'', was released in October 2012.", "He devotes one chapter called \"The Secret\" to his extramarital affair.", "The majority of his book is about his successes in the three major chapters in his life: bodybuilder, actor, and Governor of California.", "===Vehicles===\nSchwarzenegger was the first civilian to purchase a Humvee.", "He was so enamored by the vehicle that he lobbied the Humvee's manufacturer, AM General, to produce a street-legal, civilian version, which they did in 1992; the first two Hummer H1s they sold were also purchased by Schwarzenegger.", "In 2010, he had one regular and three running on non-fossil power sources; one for hydrogen, one for vegetable oil, and one for biodiesel.", "Schwarzenegger was in the news in 2014 for buying a rare Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.", "He was spotted and filmed in 2015 in his car, painted silver with bright aluminium forged wheels.", "His Bugatti has its interior adorned in dark brown leather.", "In 2017, Schwarzenegger acquired a Mercedes G-Class modified for all-electric drive.", "The Hummers that Schwarzenegger bought in 1992 are so large – each weighs and is wide – that they are classified as large trucks, and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to them.", "During the gubernatorial recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen.", "The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000.", "After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the California Hydrogen Highway Network, and gained a U.S. Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost.", "California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.", "Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003\nSchwarzenegger has been involved with the Special Olympics for many years after they were founded by his ex-mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.", "In 2007, Schwarzenegger was the official spokesperson for the Special Olympics which were held in Shanghai, China.", "Schwarzenegger believes that quality school opportunities should be made available to children who might not normally be able to access them.", "In 1995, he founded the Inner City Games Foundation (ICG) which provides cultural, educational and community enrichment programming to youth.", "ICG is active in 15 cities around the country and serves over 250,000 children in over 400 schools countrywide.", "He has also been involved with After-School All-Stars, and founded the Los Angeles branch in 2002.", "ASAS is an after school program provider, educating youth about health, fitness and nutrition.", "On February 12, 2010, Schwarzenegger took part in the Vancouver Olympic Torch relay.", "He handed off the flame to the next runner, Sebastian Coe.", "Schwarzenegger had a collection of Marxist busts, which he requested from Russian friends at the end of the Soviet Union as they were being destroyed.", "In 2011, he revealed that his wife had requested they be removed, but he kept the one of Vladimir Lenin present, since \"he was the first\".", "In 2015, he said he kept the Lenin bust to \"show losers\".", "Schwarzenegger is a lifelong supporter and \"friend of Israel\", and has participated in L.A.'s Pro-Israel rally among other similar events.", "===Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy===\nIn 2012, Schwarzenegger helped to found the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which is a part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.", "The Institute's mission is to \"advance post-partisanship, where leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve\" and to \"seek to influence public policy and public debate in finding solutions to the serious challenges we face\".", "Schwarzenegger serves as chairman of the Institute.", "===Global warming===\nAt a 2015 security conference, Arnold Schwarzenegger called climate change the issue of our time.", "===2016 Presidential election===\nFor the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schwarzenegger endorsed fellow Republican John Kasich.", "However, he announced in October that he would not vote for the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the that year's United States presidential election, with this being the first time he did not vote for the Republican candidate since becoming a citizen in 1983.", "\n* Seven-time Mr. Olympia winner\n* Four-time Mr. Universe winner\n* 1969 World Amateur Bodybuilding Champion\n* 1977 Golden Globe Award winner\n* Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame\n* International Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2012)\n* WWE Hall of Fame (class of 2015)\n* Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy (part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California) named in his honor.", "* ''Arnold's Run'' ski trail at Sun Valley Resort named in his honor.", "The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain.", "* \"A Day for Arnold\" on July 30, 2007 in Thal, Austria.", "For his 60th birthday the mayor sent Schwarzenegger the enameled address sign (Thal 145) of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, declaring \"This belongs to him.", "No one here will ever be assigned that number again\".", "* Commandeur of the French Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (on April 28, 2017)", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "* List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States\n* Kennedy family tree", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum\n* Arnold Schwarzenegger: Wild Years – slideshow by ''Life'' magazine\n* \n* \n\n===Governorship===\n* Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger\n* \n* Complete text and audio of Governor Schwarzenegger's Speech to the United Nations on Global Climate Change AmericanRhetoric.com, September 24, 2007\n* Complete text, audio, video of Governor Schwarzenegger's 2004 Republican National Convention Address AmericanRhetoric.com\n* Archive of Correspondence pertaining to Governor Schwarzenegger and same-sex marriage AB 43 Project\n\n===Interviews===\n* Interview in ''Oui'' magazine, August 1977 at thesmokinggun.com\n* Excerpts from ''Time Out'' (London) interview, 1977 at time.com\n* Schwarzenegger Interview on ''The Hour'' with George Stroumboulopoulos\n\n===Film===\n* \n* \n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n'''Amway''' (short for \"American Way\") is an American company specializing in the use of multi-level marketing to sell health, beauty, and home care products. The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada, Michigan.\n\nAmway and its sister companies under Alticor reported sales of $9.5 billion in 2015. It conducts business through a number of affiliated companies in more than a hundred countries and territories. Amway was ranked No. 29 among the largest privately held companies in the United States by ''Forbes'' in 2015 based on revenue, and No. 1 among multi-level marketing companies by ''Direct Selling News'' in 2016.\n\nAmway has been investigated in various countries and by institutions such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for alleged pyramid scheme practices.\n", "\n===Founding===\nAmway Japan Head Office\nAmway Vietnam (Hồ Chí Minh City)\n\nJay Van Andel and Richard DeVos had been friends since school days and business partners in various endeavors, including a hamburger stand, an air charter service, and a sailing business. In 1949, they were introduced to the Nutrilite Products Corporation by Van Andel's second cousin Neil Maaskant. DeVos and Van Andel signed up to become distributors for Nutrilite food supplements in August. They sold their first box the next day for $19.50, but lost interest for the next two weeks. They traveled to Chicago to attend a Nutrilite seminar soon after, at the urging of Maaskant, who had become their sponsor. They watched promotional filmstrips and listened to talks by company representatives and successful distributors, then they decided to pursue the Nutrilite business. They sold their second box of supplements on their return trip to Michigan, and rapidly proceeded to develop the business further.\n\nEarlier in 1949, DeVos and Van Andel had formed the Ja-Ri Corporation (abbreviated from their respective first names) to import wooden goods from South American countries. After the Chicago seminar, they turned Ja-Ri into a Nutrilite distributorship instead. In addition to profits on each product sold, Nutrilite offered commissions on sales made by new distributors introduced to the company by existing distributors—a system known as multi-level marketing or network marketing. By 1958, DeVos and Van Andel had built an organization of more than 5,000 distributors. However, they and some of their top distributors formed the American Way Association, or Amway, in April 1959 in response to concerns about the stability of Nutrilite and in order to represent the distributors and look for additional products to market.\n\nTheir first product was called Frisk, a concentrated organic cleaner developed by a scientist in Ohio. DeVos and Van Andel bought the rights to manufacture and distribute Frisk, and later changed the name to LOC (Liquid Organic Cleaner). They subsequently formed the Amway Sales Corporation to procure and inventory products and to handle sales and marketing plans, and the Amway Services Corporation to handle insurance and other benefits for distributors. In 1960, they purchased a 50% share in Atco Manufacturing Company in Detroit, the original manufacturers of LOC, and changed its name to Amway Manufacturing Corporation. In 1964, the Amway Sales Corporation, Amway Services Corporation, and Amway Manufacturing Corporation merged to form the Amway Corporation.\n\nAmway bought control of Nutrilite in 1972 and full ownership in 1994.\n\n===International expansion===\nAmway expanded to Australia in 1971, to parts of Europe in 1973, to parts of Asia in 1974, to Japan in 1979, to Latin America in 1985, to Thailand in 1987, to China in 1995, to Africa in 1997, to India and Scandinavia in 1998, to Ukraine in 2003, to Russia in 2005, and to Vietnam in 2006.\n\n===Quixtar===\n\nIn 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation established a new holding company, named Alticor, and launched three new companies: a sister (and separate) Internet-focused company named Quixtar, Access Business Group, and Pyxis Innovations. Pyxis, later replaced by Fulton Innovation, pursued research and development and Access Business Group handled manufacturing and logistics for Amway, Quixtar, and third-party clients.\n\nThe main difference was that all \"Independent Business Owners\" (IBO) could order directly from Amway on the Internet, rather than from their upline \"direct distributor\", and have products shipped directly to their home. The Amway name continued being used in the rest of the world. After virtually all Amway distributors in North America switched to Quixtar, Alticor elected to close Amway North America after 2001. In June 2007 it was announced that the Quixtar brand would be phased out over an 18- to 24-month period in favor of a unified Amway brand (Amway Global) worldwide.\n\nIn 2006, Quixtar published ''The Quixtar Independent Business Owner Compensation Plan'', in which the company reported that the average monthly gross income for \"Active\" IBOs was $115.\n", "According to the Amway website, the company operates in over 100 countries and territories, organized into regional markets: the Americas, Europe, greater China, Japan and Korea, and SE Asia/Australia. The top 10 markets for Amway in 2015 were China, South Korea, United States, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Malaysia, India and Ukraine.\n\nIn 2008, Alticor announced that two-thirds of the company's 58 markets reported sales increases, including strong growth in the China, Russia, Ukraine and India markets.\n\n===Amway Australia===\n* See Amway Australia Private Ltd.\n\n===Amway China===\nAmway China launched in 1995. In 1998, after abuses of illegal pyramid schemes led to riots, the Chinese government enacted a ban on all direct selling companies, including Amway. After the negotiations, some companies like Amway, Avon, and Mary Kay continued to operate through a network of retail stores promoted by an independent sales force. China introduced new direct selling laws in December 2005, and in December 2006 Amway was one of the first companies to receive a license to resume direct sales. However, the law forbids teachers, doctors, and civil servants from becoming direct sales agents for the company and, unlike in the United States, salespeople in China are ineligible to receive commissions from sales made by the distributors they recruit.\n\nIn 2006, Amway China had a reported 180,000 sales representatives, 140 stores, and $2 billion in annual sales. In 2007 Amway Greater China and South-east Asia Chief Executive Eva Cheng was ranked No.88 by ''Forbes'' magazine in its list of the World's Most Powerful Women. In 2008, China was Amway's largest market, reporting 28% growth and sales of 17 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion). According to a report in ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' in April 2010, Amway had 237 retail shops in China, 160,000 direct sales agents, and $3 billion in revenue.\n", "Amway's product line grew from LOC, with the laundry detergent SA8 added in 1960, and later the hair care product Satinique (1965) and the cosmetics line Artistry (1968). Today Amway manufactures over 450 products, with manufacturing facilities in China, India and the United States, as well as Nutrilite organic farms in Brazil, Mexico and the United States (California and Washington State). Amway brands include Artistry, Atmosphere, Body Blends, Bodykey, Body Works, Clear Now, eSpring, Glister, iCook, Legacy of Clean, Nutrilite, Peter Island, Perfect Empowered Drinking Water, Personal Accents, Ribbon, Satinique, Artistry Men and XS.\n\nIn 2015, the vitamins and weight management products accounted for 46 percent of Alticor's sales. Beauty and personal care products represented 25 percent of sales while durable products, such as eSpring water treatment systems and Atmosphere air treatment systems, represented 16 percent of sales. Home care products generated 7 percent of sales.\n\nAccording to Euromonitor International, Amway sells more products with a satisfaction guarantee than any other direct seller.\n\n===Household cleaners===\nAmway is best known in North America for its original multi-purpose cleaning product LOC, SA8 laundry detergent, and Dish Drops dishwashing liquid. In the January 2007 issue of ''Consumer Reports'', SA8 with Bioquest was rated the best-performing laundry detergent. ''Consumer Reports'' did, however, criticize SA8's pricing, a situation which was disputed by Amway. Consumer Reports conducted blind testing of detergents in 2010 and ranked versions of Amway's Legacy of Clean detergents 9th and 18th of 20 detergents tested. ''Consumer Reports'' program manager Pat Slaven recommended against buying the products because consumers can \"go to the grocery store and get something that performs a whole lot better for a whole lot less money\".\n\n===Health and beauty===\nAmway's health and beauty brands include Artistry, Satinique, Hymm, Body Series, Glister, ''Moiskin'' (South America), Nutrilite, ''Nutriway'' (Scandinavia and Australia/New Zealand), ''Attitude'' (India), eSpring, ''Atmosphere'' and ''iCook'' as well as ''XL'' and XS Energy drinks. Other Amway brands that were discontinued or replaced include Tolsom, Eddie Funkhouser New York, or beautycycle (Eastern Europe).\n\n====Artistry====\n\nAmway's Artistry products include skin care, cosmetics, and anti-aging creams and serums. In 2011, Artistry brand reached sales of $2.8 billion. According to Euromonitor International, the Artistry brand was among the world's top five, largest selling, premium skincare brands, and among the world's top ten, largest selling, premium cosmetic brands in 2014–2015.\n\n====Nutrilite====\n\nAmway's largest selling brand is the Nutrilite range of health supplements (marketed as Nutriway in some countries), and in 2008 Nutrilite sales exceeded $3 billion globally. In 2001, five Nutrilite products were the first dietary supplements to be certified by NSF International. In 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the nutrient and health food category, Nutrilite won \"Platinum\" and \"Gold\" awards in Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Asia overall in the ''Reader's Digest'' \"Trusted Brands of Asia\" survey. In 2008 Nutrilite scientists, in partnership with Alticor subsidiary Interleukin Genetics won the 12th John M. Kinney Award for Nutrition and Metabolism for their research into the interaction between nutrition and genetics.\n\nIn 2011, Nutrilite brand of vitamins and dietary supplements led Amway's sales, totaling almost $4.7 billion. According to Euromonitor International, in 2014, Nutrilite was the world's No. 1 selling vitamins and dietary supplements brand. In 2015, it was reported that according to Euromonitor International, Amway was the largest vitamin and dietary supplement vendor in China, with 11% of a market that generated 100 billion yuan ($15.6 billion) in annual sales. In 2015, it was reported that according to China Confidential consumer brands survey, Amway Nutrilite was the most popular vitamin and dietary supplement brand in China.\n\nIn January 2009, Amway announced a voluntary recall of Nutrilite and XS Energy Bars after learning that they had possibly been manufactured with Salmonella-contaminated ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America. The company indicated that it had not received any reports of illness in connection with the products.\n\nIn 2012, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), accused Amway of making unsubstantiated and illegal claims about Nutrilite Fruits & Vegetables 2GO Twist Tubes and threatened to launch a class action lawsuit against the company unless it took remedial action. Amway responded that the claims made about the products were properly substantiated and that they did not plan to change the product's labeling but nevertheless would review the statements that CSPI has questioned. CSPI later reported that Amway had agreed to changing product labels by the end of 2014.\n\n===eSpring===\nAmway's eSpring water filter was introduced in 2000. According to Amway, it was the first system to combine a carbon block filter and ultraviolet light with electronic-monitoring technology in the filter cartridge and it became the first home system to achieve certification for ANSI/NSF Standards 42, 53, and 55. According to Amway, eSpring was the first water treatment system to receive certification for all fifteen NSF/ANSI 401 contaminants which include pharmaceuticals, pesticides and herbicides. The company also claims that, in addition to these 15 contaminants, eSpring is certified for more than 145 potential contaminants, including lead and mercury.\n\neSpring was the first commercial product which employed Fulton Innovation's eCoupled wireless power induction technology. In December 2006, Amway sister company, Fulton Innovations, announced that it would introduce eCoupled technology in other consumer electronic products at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. Companies licensing this technology include Visteon, Herman Miller, Motorola and Mobility Electronics. Fulton was a founding member of the Wireless Power Consortium which developed the Qi (inductive power standard).\n\nIn 2007 eSpring was ranked fifth out of 27 brands in a comparison of water filters by ''Consumer Reports''. In 2012, eSpring scored 94 points (out of a possible 100 points) – best among countertop models and third out of 18 brands in a comparison by ''Consumer Reports''.\n\nIn 2013, eSpring was one of the Reader's Digest Trusted Brands Award winners in the water purifiers category in Malaysia. In 2015, Amway was recognized for the sixth consecutive year by Frost & Sullivan as Asia Pacific Water Filtration company of the year. According to an Amway commissioned study of global sales conducted by marketing research firm Verify Markets, eSpring was the world's largest selling brand of kitchen water treatment systems and home water treatment systems in 2014.\n\n===XS===\nOn January 14, 2015, Amway announced that it had acquired XS Energy, a California-based brand of energy drinks and snacks. The XS Energy brand has been sold as an Amway product since 2003. As of January 2015, it has been distributed in 38 countries, generating annual sales of $150 million.\n\nAccording to Euromonitor International, the XS Energy was the first exclusively sugar-free energy drink brand sold globally.\n", "Ditto Delivery is Alticor's automatic, monthly replenishment program that fills orders based on customers' predetermined needs. As of May 2001, Ditto Delivery accounted for 30% of Quixtar's North American sales.\n", "Amway combines direct selling with a multi-level marketing strategy. Amway distributors, referred to as \"independent business owners\" (IBOs), may market products directly to potential customers and may also sponsor and mentor other people to become IBOs. IBOs may earn income both from the retail markup on any products they sell personally, plus a performance bonus based on the sales volume they and their downline (IBOs they have sponsored) have generated. People may also register as IBOs to buy products at discounted prices. Harvard Business School, which described Amway as \"one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world\", noted that Amway founders Van Andel and DeVos \"accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system in which independent distributors of Amway products received a percentage of the merchandise they sold and also a percentage of the merchandise sold by recruited distributors\".\n", "\nIn December 2006, Alticor secured the naming rights for the Orlando Magic's home basketball arena in Orlando, Florida. The Orlando Magic are owned by the DeVos family. The arena, formerly known as the TD Waterhouse Centre, was renamed the Amway Arena. Its successor, the Amway Center, was opened in 2010, and the older arena was demolished in 2012.\n\nIn 2009, Amway Global signed a three-year deal with the San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer team to become the jersey sponsor.\n\nIn March 2009, Amway Global signed a multi-year deal to become the presenting partner of the Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer. The deal, however, would last only one year, as the Sol folded the next year.\n\nIn 2011 Amway signed a three-year deal to be the presenting sponsor of the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings.\n\nSince 2012, Amway has been the title sponsor of the Canadian Championship, an annual soccer tournament.\n", "\n===Political contributions===\nIn the 1990s, the Amway organization was a major contributor to the Republican Party (GOP) and to the election campaigns of various GOP candidates. Amway and its sales force contributed a substantial amount (up to half) of the total funds ($669,525) for the 1994 political campaign of Republican congresswoman and Amway distributor Sue Myrick (N.C.). According to two reports by ''Mother Jones'' magazine, Amway distributor Dexter Yager \"used the company's extensive voice-mail system to rally hundreds of Amway distributors into giving a total of $295,871\" to Myrick's campaign. According to a campaign staffer quoted by the magazine, Myrick had appeared regularly on the Amway circuit, speaking at hundreds of rallies and selling $5 and $10 audiotapes. Following the 1994 election, Myrick maintained \"close ties to Amway and Yager\", and raised $100,000 from Amway sources, \"most notably through fundraisers at the homes of big distributors\", in the 1997–98 election cycle.\n\nIn October 1994, Amway gave the biggest corporate contribution recorded to that date to a political party for a single election, $2.5 million to the Republican National Committee, and was the number one corporate political donor in the United States. In the 2004 election cycle, the organization contributed a total of $4 million to a conservative 527 group, Progress for America.\n\nIn July 1996, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos was honored at a $3 million fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a week later, it was reported that Amway had tried to donate $1.3 million to pay for Republican \"infomercials\" and televising of the GOP convention on Pat Robertson's Family Channel, but backed off when Democrats criticized the donation as a ploy to avoid campaign-finance restrictions.\n\nIn April 1997 Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee (RNC), which at the time was the second-largest soft-money donation ever, behind Amway's 1994 gift of $2.5 million to the RNC. In July 1997, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Newt Gingrich slipped a last-minute provision into a hotly contested compromise tax bill that granted Amway and four other companies a tax break on their Asian branches that totaled $19 million.\n\nIn a column published in the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' newspaper in August 1997, reporter Molly Ivins wrote that Amway had \"its own caucus in Congress...Five Republican House members are also Amway distributors: Reps. Sue Myrick of North Carolina, Jon Christensen of Nebraska, Dick Chrysler of Michigan, Richard Pombo of California, and John Ensign of Nevada. Their informal caucus meets several times a year with Amway bigwigs to discuss policy matters affecting the company, including China's trade status.\"\n\nA 1998 analysis of campaign contributions conducted by ''Businessweek'' found that Amway, along with the founding families and some top distributors, had donated at least $7 million to GOP causes in the preceding decade. Political candidates who received campaign funding from Amway in 1998 included Representatives Bill Redmond (R–N.M.), Heather Wilson (R–N.M.), and Jon Christensen (R–Neb).\n\nAccording to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, in the 2004 election cycle, members of the Van Andel and DeVos families were the second, third and fifth largest donors to the Republican party.\n\nDick DeVos, son of Amway founder Richard DeVos and past president of the company, served as Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and his wife Betsy DeVos served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000 and 2003 to 2005.\n\nIn May 2005, Dick DeVos ran against incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm in Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial election. DeVos was defeated by Granholm, who won 56% of the popular vote to DeVos' 42%.\n\nIn August 2012, gay rights activist Fred Karger began a movement to boycott Amway in protest of the contribution from a private foundation of Amway President Doug DeVos to the National Organization for Marriage, a political organization which opposes legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.\n\n===Religion===\nSeveral sources have commented on the promotion of Christian conservative ideology within the Amway organization. ''Mother Jones'' magazine described the Amway distributor force as \"heavily influenced by the company's dual themes of Christian morality and free enterprise\" and operating \"like a private political army\". In ''The Cult of Free Enterprise'', Stephen Butterfield, who spent time in the Yager group within Amway, wrote \"Amway sells a marketing and motivational system, a cause, a way of life, in a fervid emotional atmosphere of rallies and political religious revivalism.\" ''Philadelphia City Paper'' correspondent Maryam Henein stated that \"The language used in motivational tools for Amway frequently echoes or directly quotes the Bible, with the unstated assumption of a shared Christian perspective.\"\n\n''Businessweek'' correspondents Bill Vlasic and Beth Regan characterized the founding families of Amway as \"fervently conservative, fervently Christian, and hugely influential in the Republican Party\", noting that \"Rich DeVos charged up the troops with a message of Christian beliefs and rock-ribbed conservatism.\"\n\nHigh-ranking Amway leaders such as Richard DeVos and Dexter Yager were owners and members of the board of Gospel Films, a producer of movies and books geared towards conservative Christians, as well as co-owners (along with Salem Communications) of a right-wing, Christian nonprofit called Gospel Communications International. Yager, interviewed on ''60 Minutes'' in 1983, admitted that he promotes Christianity through his Amway group, but stated that this might not be the case in other Amway groups.\n\n''Rolling Stone's'' Bob Moser reported that former Amway CEO and co-founder Richard DeVos is connected with the Dominionist political movement in the United States. Moser states that DeVos was a supporter of the late D. James Kennedy, giving more than $5 million to Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries. DeVos was also a founding member and two-time president of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing Christian organization.\n\nSociologist David G. Bromley calls Amway a \"quasi-religious corporation\" having sectarian characteristics. Bromley and Anson Shupe view Amway as preaching the gospel of prosperity. Patralekha Bhattacharya and Krishna Kumar Mehta, of the consulting firm Thinkalytics, LLC, reasoned that although some critics have referred to organizations such as Amway as \"cults\" and have speculated that they engage in \"mind control\", there are other explanations that could account for the behavior of distributors. Namely, continued involvement of distributors despite minimal economic return may result from social satisfaction compensating for diminished economic satisfaction.\n\n===Chamber of commerce===\nAmway co-founder Jay Van Andel (in 1980), and later his son Steve Van Andel (in 2001), were elected by the board of directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce to be the chairman of the private American lobbying organization.\n\n===Accreditation program===\nIn 2006 Amway (then Quixtar in North America) introduced its ''Professional Development Accreditation Program'' in response to concerns surrounding business support materials (BSM), including books, tapes and meetings. In 2010 this was superseded by its ''Accreditation Plus'' program to ensure that all BSM content is consistent with Amway's quality assurance standards, which approved providers of BSM must abide by. The quality assurance standards state that\n* Promoting political causes or other issues of a personal nature in the Amway Business environment is not permitted \n* Spiritual references are not allowed as the message or focus and presenters may not use the stage as a platform to promote religious and/or personal social beliefs\n* Endorsement or denouncement of specific candidates, political parties, and/or issues, unless specifically related to the operation of an Amway Business is not allowed.\n", "Robert Carroll, of the ''Skeptic's Dictionary'', has described Amway as a \"legal pyramid scheme\", and has said that the quasi-religious devotion of its affiliates is used by the company to conceal poor performance rates by distributors.\n\n===FTC investigation===\n\n\nIn a 1979 ruling, the Federal Trade Commission found that Amway did not fit the definition of a pyramid scheme because (a) distributors were not paid to recruit people, (b) it did not require distributors to buy a large stock of unmoving inventory, (c) distributors were required to maintain retail sales (at least 10 per month), and (d) the company and all distributors were required to accept returns of excess inventory from down-level distributors.\n\nThe FTC did, however, find Amway \"guilty of price-fixing and making exaggerated income claims\"; the company was ordered to stop retail price fixing and allocating customers among distributors and was prohibited from misrepresenting the amount of profit, earnings or sales its distributors are likely to achieve with the business. Amway was ordered to accompany any such statements with the actual averages per distributor, pointing out that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor making less than $100 per month. The order was violated with a 1986 ad campaign, resulting in a $100,000 fine.\n\nStudies of independent consumer watchdog agencies have shown that between 990 and 999 of 1000 participants in MLMs that use Amway-type pay plans in fact lose money. According to The Skeptic's Dictionary, \"In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month.\"\n\n===Amway India (Andhra Pradesh and Kerala)===\n\nIn September 2006, following a public complaint, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state police (CID) initiated raids and seizures against Amway distributors in the state, and submitted a petition against them, claiming the company violated the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (banning) Act. They shut down all corporate offices associated with the Amway organization including the offices of some Amway distributors. The enforcement said that the business model of the company is illegal. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had notified the police that Amway in India may be violating certain laws regarding a \"money circulation scheme\" and the ''IB Times'' article writes that \"some say ... Amway is really more about making money from recruiting people to become distributors, as opposed to selling products\". In 2008, the state government of Andhra Pradesh enacted a ban on Amway media advertisements.\n\nOn August 6, 2011, Kerala Police sealed the offices of Amway at Kozhikode, Kannur, Kochi, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram following complaints. On November 2012, The Economic Offences Wing of Kerala Police, conducted searches at the offices of Amway at Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kannur as part of its crackdown on money chain activities and closed down the firm's godowns at these centres. Products valued at Rs.2.14 crore were also seized. Later, Area manager of Amway, P. M. Rajkumar, who was arrested following searches was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.\n\nOn May 27, 2013, Crime Branch officials of Kerala Police arrested William S. Pinckney, Managing Director & CEO of Amway India Enterprises along with two other directors of the company from Kozhikode. The three were arrested on charges of running a pyramid scheme. They were granted bail the next day and the business was unaffected. On June 8, 2013, Kozhikode Court lifted the freeze on Amway offices in Kerala. On May 26, 2014, Pinckney was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police on the basis of a consumer complaint that alleged unethical circulation of money by Amway. He was subsequently arrested in other criminal cases registered against him in the state on allegations of financial irregularities by the company. Pinckney was jailed for two months until being released on bail''.\n\n===U.S. class action settlement===\n\nOn November 3, 2010, Amway announced that it had agreed to pay $56 million – $34 million in cash and $22 million in products – to settle a class action that had been filed in Federal District Court in California in 2007. The class action, which had been brought against Quixtar and several of its top-level distributors, alleged fraud, racketeering, and that the defendants operated as an illegal pyramid scheme.\n\nWhile noting that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability, Amway acknowledged that it had made changes to its business operations as a result of the lawsuit. The settlement is subject to approval by the court, which was expected in early 2011. The economic value of the settlement, including the changes Amway made to its business model, totals $100 million.\n\n===Class action in Canada===\n\nA 2009 class action case lodged in Canada was rejected by the Federal Court and confirmed on appeal by the Federal Court of Appeal, with costs awarded to Amway and the plaintiffs directed to arbitration.\n", "\n===Canadian tax fraud case===\nIn 1982, Amway co-founders, Richard M. DeVos and Jay Van Andel, along with Amway's executive vice president for corporate services, William J. Mr. Discher Jr., were indicted in Canada on several criminal charges, including allegations that they underreported the value of goods brought into the country and had defrauded the Canadian government of more than $28 million from 1965 to 1980. The charges were dropped in 1983 after Amway and its Canadian subsidiary pleaded guilty to criminal customs fraud charges. The companies paid a fine of $25 million CAD, the largest fine ever imposed in Canada at the time. In 1989 the company settled the outstanding customs duties for $45 million CAD. In a 1994 article authored by DeVos, he stated that the guilty plea was entered for technical reasons, despite believing they were innocent of the charges, and that he believed that the case had been motivated by \"political reasons\".\n\n===RIAA lawsuit===\nThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as part of its anti-piracy efforts, sued Amway and several distributors in 1996, alleging that copyrighted music was used on \"highly profitable\" training videotapes. Amway denied wrongdoing, blaming the case on a misunderstanding by distributors, and settled the case out of court for $9 million. In a related lawsuit initiated by the distributors involved, the Court established that Mahaleel Lee Luster, who had been contracted to make the videotapes, had violated copyright without the knowledge of three of the five of those distributors.\n\n===Amway UK===\nIn 2007, Amway's operations were halted in the United Kingdom and Ireland following a yearlong investigation by the UK Department of Trade and Industry, which moved to have Amway banned on the basis that the company had employed deceptive marketing, presented inflated earnings estimates, and lured distributors into buying bogus \"motivation and training\" tools. In 2008, a UK judge dismissed government claims against Amway's operations, saying major reforms in the prior year (which included banning non-Amway approved motivational events and materials) had fixed company faults that favored selling training materials over products and misrepresented earnings. However, the judge also expressed his belief that Amway allowed \"misrepresentations\" of its business by independent sellers in years past and failed to act decisively against the misrepresentations.\n\n===''Welcome to Life'' (Poland)===\nIn 1997, Amway Poland and Network TwentyOne separately sued the makers of a Polish film, ''Welcome to Life'' (), for defamation and copyright violations. Henryk Dederki (the director) and producer were later acquitted on the charge of disseminating false information. The film, banned for 12 years, was one of the highly anticipated movies of 2009's Warsaw Film Festival and was dubbed by the promoters as a \"scary movie about brainwashing\" It was said to depict hard-sell \"pep rallies\", and to include statements from distributors that meetings had a similar tone to meetings of the Communist Party before it lost power in Poland. Methods of recruitment that confusingly resembled those of a sect were also described. A bestseller on the local video black market, the film was banned while the suit proceeded.\n\nIn 2001 a regional court ruled in favor of Network 21; however, in 2004 the Warsaw Regional Court dismissed Amway's civil lawsuit. On appeal Amway won the case and the producers were ordered to pay a fine to a children's charity and publish a public apology. the film was still banned due to an ongoing case brought by \"private individuals\" ridiculed in the film.\n\nOn December 18, 2012, the court ruled that film can be screened, but the makers have to remove \"untrue information\", as the screen near the end of the movie stated that 30% of company income is generated by sales of training materials and that the vast majority of its profits are shared only by the tiny fraction of top distributors. This is not the only court case, so the film is still banned on other grounds.\n\n===Dr. Phil and Shape Up===\nIn March 2004, TV personality Phil McGraw (a.k.a. Dr. Phil) pulled his \"Shape Up\" line of supplements off the market in the face of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The supplements were manufactured by CSA Nutraceuticals, a subsidiary of Alticor's Access Business Group. The FTC later dropped the probe, but in October 2005 a class-action lawsuit was filed against McGraw by several people who used the products and claimed that the supplements, which cost $120 per month, did not stimulate weight loss. In September 2006, a $10.5 million settlement was reached, in which Alticor agreed to provide $4.5 million in cash and $6 million in Nutrilite products to disgruntled users of Shape Up.\n\n===Procter & Gamble===\nSome Amway distributors distributed an urban legend that the (old) Procter & Gamble service mark was in fact a Satanic symbol or that the CEO of P&G is himself a practicing Satanist. (In some variants of the story, it is also claimed that the CEO of Procter & Gamble donated \"satanic tithes\" to the Church of Satan.) Procter & Gamble alleged that several Amway distributors were behind a resurgence of the story in the 1990s and sued several independent Amway distributors and the company for defamation and slander. The distributors had used Amway's Amvox voice messaging service to send the rumor to their downline distributors in April 1995. After more than a decade of lawsuits in multiple states, by 2003 all allegations against Amway and Amway distributors had been dismissed. In October 2005 a Utah appeals court reversed part of the decision dismissing the case against the four Amway distributors, and remanded it to the lower court for further proceedings. On March 20, 2007, Procter & Gamble was awarded $19.25 million by a U.S. District Court jury in Salt Lake City, in the lawsuit against the four former Amway distributors. On November 24, 2008, the case was officially settled.\n\n===Regulatory violations in Vietnam===\nIn January 2017, the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade determined that Amway Vietnam had violated federal regulations by engaging in unauthorized multi-level marketing.\n", "\n===Cultism===\nSome Amway distributor groups have been accused of using \"cult-like\" tactics to attract new distributors and keep them involved and committed. Allegations include resemblance to a Big Brother organization with paranoid attitude to insiders critical of the organization, seminars and rallies resembling religious revival meetings and enormous involvement of distributors despite minimal incomes. An examination of the 1979–1980 tax records in the state of Wisconsin showed that the Direct Distributors reported a net loss of $918 on average.\n\n===''Dateline NBC''===\nIn 2004, ''Dateline NBC'' featured a critical report based on a yearlong undercover investigation of business practices of Quixtar. The report noted that the average distributor makes only about $1,400 per year and that many of the \"high level distributors singing the praises of Quixtar\" are actually \"making most of their money by selling motivational books, tapes and seminars; not Quixtar's cosmetics, soaps, and electronics\".\n\"In fact, about twenty high level distributors are part of an exclusive club; one that those hundreds of thousands of other distributors don't get to join. For years only a privileged few, including Bill Britt, have run hugely profitable businesses selling all those books, tapes and seminars; things the rank and file distributors can't sell themselves but, are told over and over again, they need to buy in order to succeed.\"\nThe program said that a Quixtar recruiter featured in the report made misleading and inconsistent statements about Quixtar earnings during a recruitment meeting and had an outstanding arrest warrant for cocaine possession from the mid-90s.\n\nIn a response to the ''Dateline'' report, Quixtar published a \"Dateline Quixtar Response\" on its official website. In its response, Quixtar, among others, stated:\n\"We learned that two Dateline producers had registered as IBOs and for months had been conducting undercover research for the story, which included using a hidden camera to videotape meetings and conversations with IBOs. The producers did not identify themselves as working for Dateline, instead feigning interest in building a business powered by Quixtar.\"\nThe site also stated that:\n\"Dateline's story on Quixtar boiled down to the complaints of three former Independent Business Owners (IBOs) – one of whom is a competitor – and ignored the hundreds of thousands of IBOs powered by Quixtar who are achieving their goals.\"\n", "\n* Multi-level marketing\n", "\n", " \n* ''American Victory: The Real Story of Today's Amway'' published April 1997 by Chapel & Croft Publishing; \n* ''Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise'' published December 1, 1985 by South End Press; \n* '' Amway Forever: The Amazing Story of a Global Business Phenomenon'' published August 2011 by John Wiley & Sons; \n* ''Amway: The True Story of the Company That Transformed the Lives of Millions'' published September 1, 1999 by Berkley Publishing Group; \n* ''An Enterprising Life'' published 1998 by HarperCollins; \n* ''An Uncommon Freedom, the Amway Experience and Why It Grows'' published 1982 by Revell; \n* ''Commitment to excellence: The remarkable Amway story'' published 1986 by Benjamin; \n* ''Compassionate Capitalism: People Helping People Help Themselves'' published September 1994 by Penguin Books; \n* ''Empire of Freedom: The Amway Story and What It Means to You'' published September 3, 1997 by Prima Lifestyles; \n* ''How to Be Like Rich DeVos. Succeeding with Integrity in Business and Life'' published 2004 by Health Communications, Inc; \n* ''Merchants of Deception: An insider's chilling look at the worldwide, multi-billion dollar conspiracy of lies that is Amway and its motivational organizations'' published 2009 by BookSurge Publishing; \n* ''The First Eleven — The growth of Amway in Britain through the lives of its local heroes'' published 1984 by AM Publishing; \n* ''Promises to Keep: The Amway Phenomenon and How It Works'' published 1986 by Berkley Books; \n* ''The Direct Selling Revolution: Understanding the Growth of the Amway Corporation'' published 1993 by WileyBlackwell; \n* ''The Possible Dream: A Candid Look At Amway'' published 1977 by Revell; \n* ''Profiles of the American Dream: Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel and the Remarkable Beginnings of Amway'' 1997 by Premiere Films\n\n", " \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Global markets", "Brands", "Ditto Delivery", "Business model", "Commercial sponsorships", "Politics and culture", "Pyramid scheme accusations", "Other legal actions", "Other issues", "See also", "References", "Books", "External links" ]

[ "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had notified the police that Amway in India may be violating certain laws regarding a \"money circulation scheme\" and the ''IB Times'' article writes that \"some say ... Amway is really more about making money from recruiting people to become distributors, as opposed to selling products\"." ]

[ "\n\n'''Amway''' (short for \"American Way\") is an American company specializing in the use of multi-level marketing to sell health, beauty, and home care products.", "The company was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos and is based in Ada, Michigan.", "Amway and its sister companies under Alticor reported sales of $9.5 billion in 2015.", "It conducts business through a number of affiliated companies in more than a hundred countries and territories.", "Amway was ranked No.", "29 among the largest privately held companies in the United States by ''Forbes'' in 2015 based on revenue, and No.", "1 among multi-level marketing companies by ''Direct Selling News'' in 2016.", "Amway has been investigated in various countries and by institutions such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for alleged pyramid scheme practices.", "\n===Founding===\nAmway Japan Head Office\nAmway Vietnam (Hồ Chí Minh City)\n\nJay Van Andel and Richard DeVos had been friends since school days and business partners in various endeavors, including a hamburger stand, an air charter service, and a sailing business.", "In 1949, they were introduced to the Nutrilite Products Corporation by Van Andel's second cousin Neil Maaskant.", "DeVos and Van Andel signed up to become distributors for Nutrilite food supplements in August.", "They sold their first box the next day for $19.50, but lost interest for the next two weeks.", "They traveled to Chicago to attend a Nutrilite seminar soon after, at the urging of Maaskant, who had become their sponsor.", "They watched promotional filmstrips and listened to talks by company representatives and successful distributors, then they decided to pursue the Nutrilite business.", "They sold their second box of supplements on their return trip to Michigan, and rapidly proceeded to develop the business further.", "Earlier in 1949, DeVos and Van Andel had formed the Ja-Ri Corporation (abbreviated from their respective first names) to import wooden goods from South American countries.", "After the Chicago seminar, they turned Ja-Ri into a Nutrilite distributorship instead.", "In addition to profits on each product sold, Nutrilite offered commissions on sales made by new distributors introduced to the company by existing distributors—a system known as multi-level marketing or network marketing.", "By 1958, DeVos and Van Andel had built an organization of more than 5,000 distributors.", "However, they and some of their top distributors formed the American Way Association, or Amway, in April 1959 in response to concerns about the stability of Nutrilite and in order to represent the distributors and look for additional products to market.", "Their first product was called Frisk, a concentrated organic cleaner developed by a scientist in Ohio.", "DeVos and Van Andel bought the rights to manufacture and distribute Frisk, and later changed the name to LOC (Liquid Organic Cleaner).", "They subsequently formed the Amway Sales Corporation to procure and inventory products and to handle sales and marketing plans, and the Amway Services Corporation to handle insurance and other benefits for distributors.", "In 1960, they purchased a 50% share in Atco Manufacturing Company in Detroit, the original manufacturers of LOC, and changed its name to Amway Manufacturing Corporation.", "In 1964, the Amway Sales Corporation, Amway Services Corporation, and Amway Manufacturing Corporation merged to form the Amway Corporation.", "Amway bought control of Nutrilite in 1972 and full ownership in 1994.", "===International expansion===\nAmway expanded to Australia in 1971, to parts of Europe in 1973, to parts of Asia in 1974, to Japan in 1979, to Latin America in 1985, to Thailand in 1987, to China in 1995, to Africa in 1997, to India and Scandinavia in 1998, to Ukraine in 2003, to Russia in 2005, and to Vietnam in 2006.", "===Quixtar===\n\nIn 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation established a new holding company, named Alticor, and launched three new companies: a sister (and separate) Internet-focused company named Quixtar, Access Business Group, and Pyxis Innovations.", "Pyxis, later replaced by Fulton Innovation, pursued research and development and Access Business Group handled manufacturing and logistics for Amway, Quixtar, and third-party clients.", "The main difference was that all \"Independent Business Owners\" (IBO) could order directly from Amway on the Internet, rather than from their upline \"direct distributor\", and have products shipped directly to their home.", "The Amway name continued being used in the rest of the world.", "After virtually all Amway distributors in North America switched to Quixtar, Alticor elected to close Amway North America after 2001.", "In June 2007 it was announced that the Quixtar brand would be phased out over an 18- to 24-month period in favor of a unified Amway brand (Amway Global) worldwide.", "In 2006, Quixtar published ''The Quixtar Independent Business Owner Compensation Plan'', in which the company reported that the average monthly gross income for \"Active\" IBOs was $115.", "According to the Amway website, the company operates in over 100 countries and territories, organized into regional markets: the Americas, Europe, greater China, Japan and Korea, and SE Asia/Australia.", "The top 10 markets for Amway in 2015 were China, South Korea, United States, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Malaysia, India and Ukraine.", "In 2008, Alticor announced that two-thirds of the company's 58 markets reported sales increases, including strong growth in the China, Russia, Ukraine and India markets.", "===Amway Australia===\n* See Amway Australia Private Ltd.\n\n===Amway China===\nAmway China launched in 1995.", "In 1998, after abuses of illegal pyramid schemes led to riots, the Chinese government enacted a ban on all direct selling companies, including Amway.", "After the negotiations, some companies like Amway, Avon, and Mary Kay continued to operate through a network of retail stores promoted by an independent sales force.", "China introduced new direct selling laws in December 2005, and in December 2006 Amway was one of the first companies to receive a license to resume direct sales.", "However, the law forbids teachers, doctors, and civil servants from becoming direct sales agents for the company and, unlike in the United States, salespeople in China are ineligible to receive commissions from sales made by the distributors they recruit.", "In 2006, Amway China had a reported 180,000 sales representatives, 140 stores, and $2 billion in annual sales.", "In 2007 Amway Greater China and South-east Asia Chief Executive Eva Cheng was ranked No.88 by ''Forbes'' magazine in its list of the World's Most Powerful Women.", "In 2008, China was Amway's largest market, reporting 28% growth and sales of 17 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion).", "According to a report in ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' in April 2010, Amway had 237 retail shops in China, 160,000 direct sales agents, and $3 billion in revenue.", "Amway's product line grew from LOC, with the laundry detergent SA8 added in 1960, and later the hair care product Satinique (1965) and the cosmetics line Artistry (1968).", "Today Amway manufactures over 450 products, with manufacturing facilities in China, India and the United States, as well as Nutrilite organic farms in Brazil, Mexico and the United States (California and Washington State).", "Amway brands include Artistry, Atmosphere, Body Blends, Bodykey, Body Works, Clear Now, eSpring, Glister, iCook, Legacy of Clean, Nutrilite, Peter Island, Perfect Empowered Drinking Water, Personal Accents, Ribbon, Satinique, Artistry Men and XS.", "In 2015, the vitamins and weight management products accounted for 46 percent of Alticor's sales.", "Beauty and personal care products represented 25 percent of sales while durable products, such as eSpring water treatment systems and Atmosphere air treatment systems, represented 16 percent of sales.", "Home care products generated 7 percent of sales.", "According to Euromonitor International, Amway sells more products with a satisfaction guarantee than any other direct seller.", "===Household cleaners===\nAmway is best known in North America for its original multi-purpose cleaning product LOC, SA8 laundry detergent, and Dish Drops dishwashing liquid.", "In the January 2007 issue of ''Consumer Reports'', SA8 with Bioquest was rated the best-performing laundry detergent.", "''Consumer Reports'' did, however, criticize SA8's pricing, a situation which was disputed by Amway.", "Consumer Reports conducted blind testing of detergents in 2010 and ranked versions of Amway's Legacy of Clean detergents 9th and 18th of 20 detergents tested.", "''Consumer Reports'' program manager Pat Slaven recommended against buying the products because consumers can \"go to the grocery store and get something that performs a whole lot better for a whole lot less money\".", "===Health and beauty===\nAmway's health and beauty brands include Artistry, Satinique, Hymm, Body Series, Glister, ''Moiskin'' (South America), Nutrilite, ''Nutriway'' (Scandinavia and Australia/New Zealand), ''Attitude'' (India), eSpring, ''Atmosphere'' and ''iCook'' as well as ''XL'' and XS Energy drinks.", "Other Amway brands that were discontinued or replaced include Tolsom, Eddie Funkhouser New York, or beautycycle (Eastern Europe).", "====Artistry====\n\nAmway's Artistry products include skin care, cosmetics, and anti-aging creams and serums.", "In 2011, Artistry brand reached sales of $2.8 billion.", "According to Euromonitor International, the Artistry brand was among the world's top five, largest selling, premium skincare brands, and among the world's top ten, largest selling, premium cosmetic brands in 2014–2015.", "====Nutrilite====\n\nAmway's largest selling brand is the Nutrilite range of health supplements (marketed as Nutriway in some countries), and in 2008 Nutrilite sales exceeded $3 billion globally.", "In 2001, five Nutrilite products were the first dietary supplements to be certified by NSF International.", "In 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the nutrient and health food category, Nutrilite won \"Platinum\" and \"Gold\" awards in Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Asia overall in the ''Reader's Digest'' \"Trusted Brands of Asia\" survey.", "In 2008 Nutrilite scientists, in partnership with Alticor subsidiary Interleukin Genetics won the 12th John M. Kinney Award for Nutrition and Metabolism for their research into the interaction between nutrition and genetics.", "In 2011, Nutrilite brand of vitamins and dietary supplements led Amway's sales, totaling almost $4.7 billion.", "According to Euromonitor International, in 2014, Nutrilite was the world's No.", "1 selling vitamins and dietary supplements brand.", "In 2015, it was reported that according to Euromonitor International, Amway was the largest vitamin and dietary supplement vendor in China, with 11% of a market that generated 100 billion yuan ($15.6 billion) in annual sales.", "In 2015, it was reported that according to China Confidential consumer brands survey, Amway Nutrilite was the most popular vitamin and dietary supplement brand in China.", "In January 2009, Amway announced a voluntary recall of Nutrilite and XS Energy Bars after learning that they had possibly been manufactured with Salmonella-contaminated ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America.", "The company indicated that it had not received any reports of illness in connection with the products.", "In 2012, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), accused Amway of making unsubstantiated and illegal claims about Nutrilite Fruits & Vegetables 2GO Twist Tubes and threatened to launch a class action lawsuit against the company unless it took remedial action.", "Amway responded that the claims made about the products were properly substantiated and that they did not plan to change the product's labeling but nevertheless would review the statements that CSPI has questioned.", "CSPI later reported that Amway had agreed to changing product labels by the end of 2014.", "===eSpring===\nAmway's eSpring water filter was introduced in 2000.", "According to Amway, it was the first system to combine a carbon block filter and ultraviolet light with electronic-monitoring technology in the filter cartridge and it became the first home system to achieve certification for ANSI/NSF Standards 42, 53, and 55.", "According to Amway, eSpring was the first water treatment system to receive certification for all fifteen NSF/ANSI 401 contaminants which include pharmaceuticals, pesticides and herbicides.", "The company also claims that, in addition to these 15 contaminants, eSpring is certified for more than 145 potential contaminants, including lead and mercury.", "eSpring was the first commercial product which employed Fulton Innovation's eCoupled wireless power induction technology.", "In December 2006, Amway sister company, Fulton Innovations, announced that it would introduce eCoupled technology in other consumer electronic products at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show.", "Companies licensing this technology include Visteon, Herman Miller, Motorola and Mobility Electronics.", "Fulton was a founding member of the Wireless Power Consortium which developed the Qi (inductive power standard).", "In 2007 eSpring was ranked fifth out of 27 brands in a comparison of water filters by ''Consumer Reports''.", "In 2012, eSpring scored 94 points (out of a possible 100 points) – best among countertop models and third out of 18 brands in a comparison by ''Consumer Reports''.", "In 2013, eSpring was one of the Reader's Digest Trusted Brands Award winners in the water purifiers category in Malaysia.", "In 2015, Amway was recognized for the sixth consecutive year by Frost & Sullivan as Asia Pacific Water Filtration company of the year.", "According to an Amway commissioned study of global sales conducted by marketing research firm Verify Markets, eSpring was the world's largest selling brand of kitchen water treatment systems and home water treatment systems in 2014.", "===XS===\nOn January 14, 2015, Amway announced that it had acquired XS Energy, a California-based brand of energy drinks and snacks.", "The XS Energy brand has been sold as an Amway product since 2003.", "As of January 2015, it has been distributed in 38 countries, generating annual sales of $150 million.", "According to Euromonitor International, the XS Energy was the first exclusively sugar-free energy drink brand sold globally.", "Ditto Delivery is Alticor's automatic, monthly replenishment program that fills orders based on customers' predetermined needs.", "As of May 2001, Ditto Delivery accounted for 30% of Quixtar's North American sales.", "Amway combines direct selling with a multi-level marketing strategy.", "Amway distributors, referred to as \"independent business owners\" (IBOs), may market products directly to potential customers and may also sponsor and mentor other people to become IBOs.", "IBOs may earn income both from the retail markup on any products they sell personally, plus a performance bonus based on the sales volume they and their downline (IBOs they have sponsored) have generated.", "People may also register as IBOs to buy products at discounted prices.", "Harvard Business School, which described Amway as \"one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world\", noted that Amway founders Van Andel and DeVos \"accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system in which independent distributors of Amway products received a percentage of the merchandise they sold and also a percentage of the merchandise sold by recruited distributors\".", "\nIn December 2006, Alticor secured the naming rights for the Orlando Magic's home basketball arena in Orlando, Florida.", "The Orlando Magic are owned by the DeVos family.", "The arena, formerly known as the TD Waterhouse Centre, was renamed the Amway Arena.", "Its successor, the Amway Center, was opened in 2010, and the older arena was demolished in 2012.", "In 2009, Amway Global signed a three-year deal with the San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer team to become the jersey sponsor.", "In March 2009, Amway Global signed a multi-year deal to become the presenting partner of the Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer.", "The deal, however, would last only one year, as the Sol folded the next year.", "In 2011 Amway signed a three-year deal to be the presenting sponsor of the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings.", "Since 2012, Amway has been the title sponsor of the Canadian Championship, an annual soccer tournament.", "\n===Political contributions===\nIn the 1990s, the Amway organization was a major contributor to the Republican Party (GOP) and to the election campaigns of various GOP candidates.", "Amway and its sales force contributed a substantial amount (up to half) of the total funds ($669,525) for the 1994 political campaign of Republican congresswoman and Amway distributor Sue Myrick (N.C.).", "According to two reports by ''Mother Jones'' magazine, Amway distributor Dexter Yager \"used the company's extensive voice-mail system to rally hundreds of Amway distributors into giving a total of $295,871\" to Myrick's campaign.", "According to a campaign staffer quoted by the magazine, Myrick had appeared regularly on the Amway circuit, speaking at hundreds of rallies and selling $5 and $10 audiotapes.", "Following the 1994 election, Myrick maintained \"close ties to Amway and Yager\", and raised $100,000 from Amway sources, \"most notably through fundraisers at the homes of big distributors\", in the 1997–98 election cycle.", "In October 1994, Amway gave the biggest corporate contribution recorded to that date to a political party for a single election, $2.5 million to the Republican National Committee, and was the number one corporate political donor in the United States.", "In the 2004 election cycle, the organization contributed a total of $4 million to a conservative 527 group, Progress for America.", "In July 1996, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos was honored at a $3 million fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a week later, it was reported that Amway had tried to donate $1.3 million to pay for Republican \"infomercials\" and televising of the GOP convention on Pat Robertson's Family Channel, but backed off when Democrats criticized the donation as a ploy to avoid campaign-finance restrictions.", "In April 1997 Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee (RNC), which at the time was the second-largest soft-money donation ever, behind Amway's 1994 gift of $2.5 million to the RNC.", "In July 1997, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Newt Gingrich slipped a last-minute provision into a hotly contested compromise tax bill that granted Amway and four other companies a tax break on their Asian branches that totaled $19 million.", "In a column published in the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' newspaper in August 1997, reporter Molly Ivins wrote that Amway had \"its own caucus in Congress...Five Republican House members are also Amway distributors: Reps. Sue Myrick of North Carolina, Jon Christensen of Nebraska, Dick Chrysler of Michigan, Richard Pombo of California, and John Ensign of Nevada.", "Their informal caucus meets several times a year with Amway bigwigs to discuss policy matters affecting the company, including China's trade status.\"", "A 1998 analysis of campaign contributions conducted by ''Businessweek'' found that Amway, along with the founding families and some top distributors, had donated at least $7 million to GOP causes in the preceding decade.", "Political candidates who received campaign funding from Amway in 1998 included Representatives Bill Redmond (R–N.M.", "), Heather Wilson (R–N.M.", "), and Jon Christensen (R–Neb).", "According to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, in the 2004 election cycle, members of the Van Andel and DeVos families were the second, third and fifth largest donors to the Republican party.", "Dick DeVos, son of Amway founder Richard DeVos and past president of the company, served as Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and his wife Betsy DeVos served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000 and 2003 to 2005.", "In May 2005, Dick DeVos ran against incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm in Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial election.", "DeVos was defeated by Granholm, who won 56% of the popular vote to DeVos' 42%.", "In August 2012, gay rights activist Fred Karger began a movement to boycott Amway in protest of the contribution from a private foundation of Amway President Doug DeVos to the National Organization for Marriage, a political organization which opposes legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.", "===Religion===\nSeveral sources have commented on the promotion of Christian conservative ideology within the Amway organization.", "''Mother Jones'' magazine described the Amway distributor force as \"heavily influenced by the company's dual themes of Christian morality and free enterprise\" and operating \"like a private political army\".", "In ''The Cult of Free Enterprise'', Stephen Butterfield, who spent time in the Yager group within Amway, wrote \"Amway sells a marketing and motivational system, a cause, a way of life, in a fervid emotional atmosphere of rallies and political religious revivalism.\"", "''Philadelphia City Paper'' correspondent Maryam Henein stated that \"The language used in motivational tools for Amway frequently echoes or directly quotes the Bible, with the unstated assumption of a shared Christian perspective.\"", "''Businessweek'' correspondents Bill Vlasic and Beth Regan characterized the founding families of Amway as \"fervently conservative, fervently Christian, and hugely influential in the Republican Party\", noting that \"Rich DeVos charged up the troops with a message of Christian beliefs and rock-ribbed conservatism.\"", "High-ranking Amway leaders such as Richard DeVos and Dexter Yager were owners and members of the board of Gospel Films, a producer of movies and books geared towards conservative Christians, as well as co-owners (along with Salem Communications) of a right-wing, Christian nonprofit called Gospel Communications International.", "Yager, interviewed on ''60 Minutes'' in 1983, admitted that he promotes Christianity through his Amway group, but stated that this might not be the case in other Amway groups.", "''Rolling Stone's'' Bob Moser reported that former Amway CEO and co-founder Richard DeVos is connected with the Dominionist political movement in the United States.", "Moser states that DeVos was a supporter of the late D. James Kennedy, giving more than $5 million to Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries.", "DeVos was also a founding member and two-time president of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing Christian organization.", "Sociologist David G. Bromley calls Amway a \"quasi-religious corporation\" having sectarian characteristics.", "Bromley and Anson Shupe view Amway as preaching the gospel of prosperity.", "Patralekha Bhattacharya and Krishna Kumar Mehta, of the consulting firm Thinkalytics, LLC, reasoned that although some critics have referred to organizations such as Amway as \"cults\" and have speculated that they engage in \"mind control\", there are other explanations that could account for the behavior of distributors.", "Namely, continued involvement of distributors despite minimal economic return may result from social satisfaction compensating for diminished economic satisfaction.", "===Chamber of commerce===\nAmway co-founder Jay Van Andel (in 1980), and later his son Steve Van Andel (in 2001), were elected by the board of directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce to be the chairman of the private American lobbying organization.", "===Accreditation program===\nIn 2006 Amway (then Quixtar in North America) introduced its ''Professional Development Accreditation Program'' in response to concerns surrounding business support materials (BSM), including books, tapes and meetings.", "In 2010 this was superseded by its ''Accreditation Plus'' program to ensure that all BSM content is consistent with Amway's quality assurance standards, which approved providers of BSM must abide by.", "The quality assurance standards state that\n* Promoting political causes or other issues of a personal nature in the Amway Business environment is not permitted \n* Spiritual references are not allowed as the message or focus and presenters may not use the stage as a platform to promote religious and/or personal social beliefs\n* Endorsement or denouncement of specific candidates, political parties, and/or issues, unless specifically related to the operation of an Amway Business is not allowed.", "Robert Carroll, of the ''Skeptic's Dictionary'', has described Amway as a \"legal pyramid scheme\", and has said that the quasi-religious devotion of its affiliates is used by the company to conceal poor performance rates by distributors.", "===FTC investigation===\n\n\nIn a 1979 ruling, the Federal Trade Commission found that Amway did not fit the definition of a pyramid scheme because (a) distributors were not paid to recruit people, (b) it did not require distributors to buy a large stock of unmoving inventory, (c) distributors were required to maintain retail sales (at least 10 per month), and (d) the company and all distributors were required to accept returns of excess inventory from down-level distributors.", "The FTC did, however, find Amway \"guilty of price-fixing and making exaggerated income claims\"; the company was ordered to stop retail price fixing and allocating customers among distributors and was prohibited from misrepresenting the amount of profit, earnings or sales its distributors are likely to achieve with the business.", "Amway was ordered to accompany any such statements with the actual averages per distributor, pointing out that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor making less than $100 per month.", "The order was violated with a 1986 ad campaign, resulting in a $100,000 fine.", "Studies of independent consumer watchdog agencies have shown that between 990 and 999 of 1000 participants in MLMs that use Amway-type pay plans in fact lose money.", "According to The Skeptic's Dictionary, \"In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires Amway to label its products with the message that 54% of Amway recruits make nothing and the rest earn on average $65 a month.\"", "===Amway India (Andhra Pradesh and Kerala)===\n\nIn September 2006, following a public complaint, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state police (CID) initiated raids and seizures against Amway distributors in the state, and submitted a petition against them, claiming the company violated the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (banning) Act.", "They shut down all corporate offices associated with the Amway organization including the offices of some Amway distributors.", "The enforcement said that the business model of the company is illegal.", "In 2008, the state government of Andhra Pradesh enacted a ban on Amway media advertisements.", "On August 6, 2011, Kerala Police sealed the offices of Amway at Kozhikode, Kannur, Kochi, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram following complaints.", "On November 2012, The Economic Offences Wing of Kerala Police, conducted searches at the offices of Amway at Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kannur as part of its crackdown on money chain activities and closed down the firm's godowns at these centres.", "Products valued at Rs.2.14 crore were also seized.", "Later, Area manager of Amway, P. M. Rajkumar, who was arrested following searches was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.", "On May 27, 2013, Crime Branch officials of Kerala Police arrested William S. Pinckney, Managing Director & CEO of Amway India Enterprises along with two other directors of the company from Kozhikode.", "The three were arrested on charges of running a pyramid scheme.", "They were granted bail the next day and the business was unaffected.", "On June 8, 2013, Kozhikode Court lifted the freeze on Amway offices in Kerala.", "On May 26, 2014, Pinckney was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police on the basis of a consumer complaint that alleged unethical circulation of money by Amway.", "He was subsequently arrested in other criminal cases registered against him in the state on allegations of financial irregularities by the company.", "Pinckney was jailed for two months until being released on bail''.", "===U.S.", "class action settlement===\n\nOn November 3, 2010, Amway announced that it had agreed to pay $56 million – $34 million in cash and $22 million in products – to settle a class action that had been filed in Federal District Court in California in 2007.", "The class action, which had been brought against Quixtar and several of its top-level distributors, alleged fraud, racketeering, and that the defendants operated as an illegal pyramid scheme.", "While noting that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability, Amway acknowledged that it had made changes to its business operations as a result of the lawsuit.", "The settlement is subject to approval by the court, which was expected in early 2011.", "The economic value of the settlement, including the changes Amway made to its business model, totals $100 million.", "===Class action in Canada===\n\nA 2009 class action case lodged in Canada was rejected by the Federal Court and confirmed on appeal by the Federal Court of Appeal, with costs awarded to Amway and the plaintiffs directed to arbitration.", "\n===Canadian tax fraud case===\nIn 1982, Amway co-founders, Richard M. DeVos and Jay Van Andel, along with Amway's executive vice president for corporate services, William J. Mr. Discher Jr., were indicted in Canada on several criminal charges, including allegations that they underreported the value of goods brought into the country and had defrauded the Canadian government of more than $28 million from 1965 to 1980.", "The charges were dropped in 1983 after Amway and its Canadian subsidiary pleaded guilty to criminal customs fraud charges.", "The companies paid a fine of $25 million CAD, the largest fine ever imposed in Canada at the time.", "In 1989 the company settled the outstanding customs duties for $45 million CAD.", "In a 1994 article authored by DeVos, he stated that the guilty plea was entered for technical reasons, despite believing they were innocent of the charges, and that he believed that the case had been motivated by \"political reasons\".", "===RIAA lawsuit===\nThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as part of its anti-piracy efforts, sued Amway and several distributors in 1996, alleging that copyrighted music was used on \"highly profitable\" training videotapes.", "Amway denied wrongdoing, blaming the case on a misunderstanding by distributors, and settled the case out of court for $9 million.", "In a related lawsuit initiated by the distributors involved, the Court established that Mahaleel Lee Luster, who had been contracted to make the videotapes, had violated copyright without the knowledge of three of the five of those distributors.", "===Amway UK===\nIn 2007, Amway's operations were halted in the United Kingdom and Ireland following a yearlong investigation by the UK Department of Trade and Industry, which moved to have Amway banned on the basis that the company had employed deceptive marketing, presented inflated earnings estimates, and lured distributors into buying bogus \"motivation and training\" tools.", "In 2008, a UK judge dismissed government claims against Amway's operations, saying major reforms in the prior year (which included banning non-Amway approved motivational events and materials) had fixed company faults that favored selling training materials over products and misrepresented earnings.", "However, the judge also expressed his belief that Amway allowed \"misrepresentations\" of its business by independent sellers in years past and failed to act decisively against the misrepresentations.", "===''Welcome to Life'' (Poland)===\nIn 1997, Amway Poland and Network TwentyOne separately sued the makers of a Polish film, ''Welcome to Life'' (), for defamation and copyright violations.", "Henryk Dederki (the director) and producer were later acquitted on the charge of disseminating false information.", "The film, banned for 12 years, was one of the highly anticipated movies of 2009's Warsaw Film Festival and was dubbed by the promoters as a \"scary movie about brainwashing\" It was said to depict hard-sell \"pep rallies\", and to include statements from distributors that meetings had a similar tone to meetings of the Communist Party before it lost power in Poland.", "Methods of recruitment that confusingly resembled those of a sect were also described.", "A bestseller on the local video black market, the film was banned while the suit proceeded.", "In 2001 a regional court ruled in favor of Network 21; however, in 2004 the Warsaw Regional Court dismissed Amway's civil lawsuit.", "On appeal Amway won the case and the producers were ordered to pay a fine to a children's charity and publish a public apology.", "the film was still banned due to an ongoing case brought by \"private individuals\" ridiculed in the film.", "On December 18, 2012, the court ruled that film can be screened, but the makers have to remove \"untrue information\", as the screen near the end of the movie stated that 30% of company income is generated by sales of training materials and that the vast majority of its profits are shared only by the tiny fraction of top distributors.", "This is not the only court case, so the film is still banned on other grounds.", "===Dr.", "Phil and Shape Up===\nIn March 2004, TV personality Phil McGraw (a.k.a.", "Dr. Phil) pulled his \"Shape Up\" line of supplements off the market in the face of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).", "The supplements were manufactured by CSA Nutraceuticals, a subsidiary of Alticor's Access Business Group.", "The FTC later dropped the probe, but in October 2005 a class-action lawsuit was filed against McGraw by several people who used the products and claimed that the supplements, which cost $120 per month, did not stimulate weight loss.", "In September 2006, a $10.5 million settlement was reached, in which Alticor agreed to provide $4.5 million in cash and $6 million in Nutrilite products to disgruntled users of Shape Up.", "===Procter & Gamble===\nSome Amway distributors distributed an urban legend that the (old) Procter & Gamble service mark was in fact a Satanic symbol or that the CEO of P&G is himself a practicing Satanist.", "(In some variants of the story, it is also claimed that the CEO of Procter & Gamble donated \"satanic tithes\" to the Church of Satan.)", "Procter & Gamble alleged that several Amway distributors were behind a resurgence of the story in the 1990s and sued several independent Amway distributors and the company for defamation and slander.", "The distributors had used Amway's Amvox voice messaging service to send the rumor to their downline distributors in April 1995.", "After more than a decade of lawsuits in multiple states, by 2003 all allegations against Amway and Amway distributors had been dismissed.", "In October 2005 a Utah appeals court reversed part of the decision dismissing the case against the four Amway distributors, and remanded it to the lower court for further proceedings.", "On March 20, 2007, Procter & Gamble was awarded $19.25 million by a U.S. District Court jury in Salt Lake City, in the lawsuit against the four former Amway distributors.", "On November 24, 2008, the case was officially settled.", "===Regulatory violations in Vietnam===\nIn January 2017, the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade determined that Amway Vietnam had violated federal regulations by engaging in unauthorized multi-level marketing.", "\n===Cultism===\nSome Amway distributor groups have been accused of using \"cult-like\" tactics to attract new distributors and keep them involved and committed.", "Allegations include resemblance to a Big Brother organization with paranoid attitude to insiders critical of the organization, seminars and rallies resembling religious revival meetings and enormous involvement of distributors despite minimal incomes.", "An examination of the 1979–1980 tax records in the state of Wisconsin showed that the Direct Distributors reported a net loss of $918 on average.", "===''Dateline NBC''===\nIn 2004, ''Dateline NBC'' featured a critical report based on a yearlong undercover investigation of business practices of Quixtar.", "The report noted that the average distributor makes only about $1,400 per year and that many of the \"high level distributors singing the praises of Quixtar\" are actually \"making most of their money by selling motivational books, tapes and seminars; not Quixtar's cosmetics, soaps, and electronics\".", "\"In fact, about twenty high level distributors are part of an exclusive club; one that those hundreds of thousands of other distributors don't get to join.", "For years only a privileged few, including Bill Britt, have run hugely profitable businesses selling all those books, tapes and seminars; things the rank and file distributors can't sell themselves but, are told over and over again, they need to buy in order to succeed.\"", "The program said that a Quixtar recruiter featured in the report made misleading and inconsistent statements about Quixtar earnings during a recruitment meeting and had an outstanding arrest warrant for cocaine possession from the mid-90s.", "In a response to the ''Dateline'' report, Quixtar published a \"Dateline Quixtar Response\" on its official website.", "In its response, Quixtar, among others, stated:\n\"We learned that two Dateline producers had registered as IBOs and for months had been conducting undercover research for the story, which included using a hidden camera to videotape meetings and conversations with IBOs.", "The producers did not identify themselves as working for Dateline, instead feigning interest in building a business powered by Quixtar.\"", "The site also stated that:\n\"Dateline's story on Quixtar boiled down to the complaints of three former Independent Business Owners (IBOs) – one of whom is a competitor – and ignored the hundreds of thousands of IBOs powered by Quixtar who are achieving their goals.\"", "\n* Multi-level marketing", " \n* ''American Victory: The Real Story of Today's Amway'' published April 1997 by Chapel & Croft Publishing; \n* ''Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise'' published December 1, 1985 by South End Press; \n* '' Amway Forever: The Amazing Story of a Global Business Phenomenon'' published August 2011 by John Wiley & Sons; \n* ''Amway: The True Story of the Company That Transformed the Lives of Millions'' published September 1, 1999 by Berkley Publishing Group; \n* ''An Enterprising Life'' published 1998 by HarperCollins; \n* ''An Uncommon Freedom, the Amway Experience and Why It Grows'' published 1982 by Revell; \n* ''Commitment to excellence: The remarkable Amway story'' published 1986 by Benjamin; \n* ''Compassionate Capitalism: People Helping People Help Themselves'' published September 1994 by Penguin Books; \n* ''Empire of Freedom: The Amway Story and What It Means to You'' published September 3, 1997 by Prima Lifestyles; \n* ''How to Be Like Rich DeVos.", "Succeeding with Integrity in Business and Life'' published 2004 by Health Communications, Inc; \n* ''Merchants of Deception: An insider's chilling look at the worldwide, multi-billion dollar conspiracy of lies that is Amway and its motivational organizations'' published 2009 by BookSurge Publishing; \n* ''The First Eleven — The growth of Amway in Britain through the lives of its local heroes'' published 1984 by AM Publishing; \n* ''Promises to Keep: The Amway Phenomenon and How It Works'' published 1986 by Berkley Books; \n* ''The Direct Selling Revolution: Understanding the Growth of the Amway Corporation'' published 1993 by WileyBlackwell; \n* ''The Possible Dream: A Candid Look At Amway'' published 1977 by Revell; \n* ''Profiles of the American Dream: Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel and the Remarkable Beginnings of Amway'' 1997 by Premiere Films", " \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Adam Smith''' (16 June 1723 NS (5 June 1723 OS) – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist, philosopher, and author. He was a moral philosopher, a pioneer of political economy, and was a key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment era. He is best known for two classic works: ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' (1759), and ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'' (1776). The latter, usually abbreviated as ''The Wealth of Nations'', is considered his ''magnum opus'' and the first modern work of economics.\n\nSmith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by fellow Scot, John Snell. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments''. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day.\n\nSmith laid the foundations of classical free market economic theory. ''The Wealth of Nations'' was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In this and other works, he developed the concept of division of labour, and expounded upon how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity. Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by Tory writers in the moralising tradition of William Hogarth and Jonathan Swift. In 2005, ''The Wealth of Nations'' was named among the 100 Best Scottish Books of all time. The minor planet 12838 Adamsmith was named in his memory.\n", "\n===Early life===\nPortrait of Smith's mother, Margaret Douglas\n\nSmith was born in Kirkcaldy, in the County of Fife, Scotland. His father, also Adam Smith, was a Scottish ''Writer to the Signet'' (senior solicitor), advocate, and prosecutor (Judge Advocate) and also served as comptroller of the Customs in Kirkcaldy. In 1720 he married Margaret Douglas, daughter of the landed Robert Douglas of Strathendry, also in Fife. His father died two months after he was born, leaving his mother a widow. The date of Smith's baptism into the Church of Scotland at Kirkcaldy was 5 June 1723, and this has often been treated as if it were also his date of birth, which is unknown. Although few events in Smith's early childhood are known, the Scottish journalist John Rae, Smith's biographer, recorded that Smith was abducted by gypsies at the age of three and released when others went to rescue him. Smith was close to his mother, who probably encouraged him to pursue his scholarly ambitions. He attended the Burgh School of Kirkcaldy—characterised by Rae as \"one of the best secondary schools of Scotland at that period\"—from 1729 to 1737, he learned Latin, mathematics, history, and writing.\n\n===Formal education===\nA commemorative plaque for Smith is located in Smith's home town of alt=A plaque of Smith\n\nSmith entered the University of Glasgow when he was fourteen and studied moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson. Here, Smith developed his passion for liberty, reason, and free speech. In 1740 Smith was the graduate scholar presented to undertake postgraduate studies at Balliol College, Oxford, under the Snell Exhibition.\n\nAdam Smith considered the teaching at Glasgow to be far superior to that at Oxford, which he found intellectually stifling. In Book V, Chapter II of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Smith wrote: \"In the University of Oxford, the greater part of the public professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching.\"\nSmith is also reported to have complained to friends that Oxford officials once discovered him reading a copy of David Hume's ''Treatise on Human Nature'', and they subsequently confiscated his book and punished him severely for reading it. According to William Robert Scott, \"The Oxford of Smith's time gave little if any help towards what was to be his lifework.\" Nevertheless, Smith took the opportunity while at Oxford to teach himself several subjects by reading many books from the shelves of the large Bodleian Library. When Smith was not studying on his own, his time at Oxford was not a happy one, according to his letters. Near the end of his time there, Smith began suffering from shaking fits, probably the symptoms of a nervous breakdown. He left Oxford University in 1746, before his scholarship ended.\n\nIn Book V of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Smith comments on the low quality of instruction and the meager intellectual activity at English universities, when compared to their Scottish counterparts. He attributes this both to the rich endowments of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, which made the income of professors independent of their ability to attract students, and to the fact that distinguished men of letters could make an even more comfortable living as ministers of the Church of England.\n\nAdam Smith's discontent at Oxford might be in part due to the absence of his beloved teacher in Glasgow, Francis Hutcheson. Hutcheson was well regarded as one of the most prominent lecturers at the University of Glasgow in his day and earned the approbation of students, colleagues, and even ordinary residents with the fervor and earnestness of his orations (which he sometimes opened to the public). His lectures endeavoured not merely to teach philosophy but to make his students embody that philosophy in their lives, appropriately acquiring the epithet, the preacher of philosophy. Unlike Smith, Hutcheson was not a system builder; rather it was his magnetic personality and method of lecturing that so influenced his students and caused the greatest of those to reverentially refer to him as \"the never to be forgotten Hutcheson\"—a title that Smith in all his correspondence used to describe only two people, his good friend David Hume and influential mentor Francis Hutcheson.\n\n===Teaching career===\nSmith began delivering public lectures in 1748 in Edinburgh, sponsored by the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh under the patronage of Lord Kames. His lecture topics included rhetoric and ''belles-lettres'', and later the subject of \"the progress of opulence\". On this latter topic he first expounded his economic philosophy of \"the obvious and simple system of natural liberty\". While Smith was not adept at public speaking, his lectures met with success.\n\nalt=A man posing for a painting\n\nIn 1750, he met the philosopher David Hume, who was his senior by more than a decade. In their writings covering history, politics, philosophy, economics, and religion, Smith and Hume shared closer intellectual and personal bonds than with other important figures of the Scottish Enlightenment.\n\nIn 1751, Smith earned a professorship at Glasgow University teaching logic courses, and in 1752 he was elected a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, having been introduced to the society by Lord Kames. When the head of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow died the next year, Smith took over the position. He worked as an academic for the next thirteen years, which he characterised as \"by far the most useful and therefore by far the happiest and most honorable period of his life\".\n\nSmith published ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' in 1759, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures. This work was concerned with how human morality depends on sympathy between agent and spectator, or the individual and other members of society. Smith defined \"mutual sympathy\" as the basis of moral sentiments. He based his explanation, not on a special \"moral sense\" as the Third Lord Shaftesbury and Hutcheson had done, nor on utility as Hume did, but on mutual sympathy, a term best captured in modern parlance by the twentieth-century concept of empathy, the capacity to recognise feelings that are being experienced by another being.\n\nFollowing the publication of ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith became so popular that many wealthy students left their schools in other countries to enroll at Glasgow to learn under Smith. After the publication of ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith began to give more attention to jurisprudence and economics in his lectures and less to his theories of morals. For example, Smith lectured that the cause of increase in national wealth is labour, rather than the nation's quantity of gold or silver, which is the basis for mercantilism, the economic theory that dominated Western European economic policies at the time.\n\nFrançois Quesnay, one of the leaders of the Physiocratic school of thought | alt=A drawing of a man sitting down\n\nIn 1762, the University of Glasgow conferred on Smith the title of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.). At the end of 1763, he obtained an offer from Charles Townshend—who had been introduced to Smith by David Hume—to tutor his stepson, Henry Scott, the young Duke of Buccleuch. Smith then resigned from his professorship to take the tutoring position. He subsequently attempted to return the fees he had collected from his students because he resigned in the middle of the term, but his students refused.\n\n===Tutoring and travels===\nSmith's tutoring job entailed touring Europe with Scott, during which time he educated Scott on a variety of subjects—such as proper Polish. He was paid £300 per year (plus expenses) along with a £300 per year pension; roughly twice his former income as a teacher. Smith first travelled as a tutor to Toulouse, France, where he stayed for one and a half years. According to his own account, he found Toulouse to be somewhat boring, having written to Hume that he \"had begun to write a book to pass away the time\". After touring the south of France, the group moved to Geneva, where Smith met with the philosopher Voltaire.\n\nFrom Geneva, the party moved to Paris. Here Smith came to know several great intellectual leaders of the time; invariably having an effect on his future works. This list included: Benjamin Franklin, Turgot, Jean D'Alembert, André Morellet, Helvétius, and, notably, François Quesnay, the head of the Physiocratic school. Smith was so impressed with his ideas that he might have dedicated ''The Wealth of Nations'' to Quesnay had he not died beforehand. Physiocrats were opposed to mercantilism, the dominating economic theory of the time. Illustrated in their motto Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même! (Let do and let pass, the world goes on by itself!). They were also known to have declared that only agricultural activity produced real wealth; merchants and industrialists (manufacturers) did not. This however, did not represent their true school of thought, but was a mere \"smoke screen\" manufactured to hide their actual criticisms of the nobility and church; arguing that they made up the only real clients of merchants.\n\nThe wealth of France was virtually destroyed by Louis XIV and Louis XV in ruinous wars, by aiding the American insurgents against the British, and perhaps most destructive (in terms of public perceptions) was what was seen as the excessive consumption of goods and services deemed to have no economic contribution—unproductive labour. Assuming that nobility and church are essentially detractors from economic growth, the feudal system of agriculture in France was the only sector important to maintain the wealth of the nation. Given that the English economy of the day yielded an income distribution that stood in contrast to that which existed in France, Smith concluded that the teachings and beliefs of Physiocrats were, \"with all their imperfections perhaps, the nearest approximation to the truth that has yet been published upon the subject of political economy\". The distinction between productive versus unproductive labour—the physiocratic ''classe steril''—was a predominant issue in the development and understanding of what would become classical economic theory.\n\n===Later years===\nIn 1766, Henry Scott's younger brother died in Paris, and Smith's tour as a tutor ended shortly thereafter. Smith returned home that year to Kirkcaldy, and he devoted much of the next ten years to his magnum opus. There he befriended Henry Moyes, a young blind man who showed precocious aptitude. As well as teaching Moyes, Smith secured the patronage of David Hume and Thomas Reid in the young man's education. In May 1773, Smith was elected fellow of the Royal Society of London, and was elected a member of the Literary Club in 1775. ''The Wealth of Nations'' was published in 1776 and was an instant success, selling out its first edition in only six months.\n\nIn 1778, Smith was appointed to a post as commissioner of customs in Scotland and went to live with his mother in Panmure House in Edinburgh's Canongate. Five years later, as a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh when it received its royal charter, he automatically became one of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and from 1787 to 1789 he occupied the honorary position of Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. He died in the northern wing of Panmure House in Edinburgh on 17 July 1790 after a painful illness and was buried in the Canongate Kirkyard. On his death bed, Smith expressed disappointment that he had not achieved more.\n\nSmith's literary executors were two friends from the Scottish academic world: the physicist and chemist Joseph Black, and the pioneering geologist James Hutton. Smith left behind many notes and some unpublished material, but gave instructions to destroy anything that was not fit for publication. He mentioned an early unpublished ''History of Astronomy'' as probably suitable, and it duly appeared in 1795, along with other material such as ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects''.\n\nSmith's library went by his will to David Douglas, Lord Reston (son of his cousin Colonel Robert Douglas of Strathendry, Fife), who lived with Smith. It was eventually divided between his two surviving children, Cecilia Margaret (Mrs. Cunningham) and David Anne (Mrs. Bannerman). On the death of her husband, the Reverend W. B. Cunningham of Prestonpans in 1878, Mrs. Cunningham sold some of the books. The remainder passed to her son, Professor Robert Oliver Cunningham of Queen's College, Belfast, who presented a part to the library of Queen's College. After his death the remaining books were sold. On the death of Mrs. Bannerman in 1879 her portion of the library went intact to the New College (of the Free Church), Edinburgh, and the collection was transferred to the University of Edinburgh Main Library in 1972.\n", "\n===Character===\nalt=An enamel paste medallion, depicting a man's head facing the right\n\nNot much is known about Smith's personal views beyond what can be deduced from his published articles. His personal papers were destroyed after his death at his request. He never married, and seems to have maintained a close relationship with his mother, whom he lived with after his return from France and who died six years before his own death.\n\nSmith was described by several of his contemporaries and biographers as comically absent-minded, with peculiar habits of speech and gait, and a smile of \"inexpressible benignity\". He was known to talk to himself, a habit that began during his childhood when he would smile in rapt conversation with invisible companions. He also had occasional spells of imaginary illness, and he is reported to have had books and papers placed in tall stacks in his study. According to one story, Smith took Charles Townshend on a tour of a tanning factory, and while discussing free trade, Smith walked into a huge tanning pit from which he needed help to escape. He is also said to have put bread and butter into a teapot, drunk the concoction, and declared it to be the worst cup of tea he ever had. According to another account, Smith distractedly went out walking in his nightgown and ended up outside of town, before nearby church bells brought him back to reality.\n\nJames Boswell who was a student of Smith's at Glasgow University, and later knew him at the Literary Club, says that Smith thought that speaking about his ideas in conversation might reduce the sale of his books, and so his conversation was unimpressive. According to Boswell, he once told Sir Joshua Reynolds that 'he made it a rule when in company never to talk of what he understood'.\n\nJohn Kay, 1790|alt=A drawing of a man standing up, with one hand holding a cane and the other pointing at a book\n\nSmith has been alternately described as someone who \"had a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, a nervous twitch, and a speech impediment\" and one whose \"countenance was manly and agreeable.\" Smith is said to have acknowledged his looks at one point, saying, \"I am a beau in nothing but my books.\" Smith rarely sat for portraits, so almost all depictions of him created during his lifetime were drawn from memory. The best-known portraits of Smith are the profile by James Tassie and two etchings by John Kay. The line engravings produced for the covers of 19th century reprints of ''The Wealth of Nations'' were based largely on Tassie's medallion.\n\n===Religious views===\nThere has been considerable scholarly debate about the nature of Smith's religious views. Smith's father had shown a strong interest in Christianity and belonged to the moderate wing of the Church of Scotland. The fact that Adam Smith received the Snell Exhibition suggests that he may have gone to Oxford with the intention of pursuing a career in the Church of England.\n\nAnglo-American economist Ronald Coase has challenged the view that Smith was a deist, based on the fact that Smith's writings never explicitly invoke God as an explanation of the harmonies of the natural or the human worlds. According to Coase, though Smith does sometimes refer to the \"Great Architect of the Universe\", later scholars such as Jacob Viner have \"very much exaggerated the extent to which Adam Smith was committed to a belief in a personal God\", a belief for which Coase finds little evidence in passages such as the one in the ''Wealth of Nations'' in which Smith writes that the curiosity of mankind about the \"great phenomena of nature\", such as \"the generation, the life, growth and dissolution of plants and animals\", has led men to \"enquire into their causes\", and that \"superstition first attempted to satisfy this curiosity, by referring all those wonderful appearances to the immediate agency of the gods. Philosophy afterwards endeavoured to account for them, from more familiar causes, or from such as mankind were better acquainted with than the agency of the gods\".\n\nSome other authors argue that Smith's social and economic philosophy is inherently theological and that his entire model of social order is logically dependent on the notion of God's action in nature.\n\nSmith was also a close friend and later the executor of David Hume, who was commonly characterised in his own time as an atheist. The publication in 1777 of Smith's letter to William Strahan, in which he described Hume's courage in the face of death in spite of his irreligiosity, attracted considerable controversy.\n", "\n===''The Theory of Moral Sentiments''===\n\n1922 printing of ''An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations''\nIn 1759, Smith published his first work, ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments,'' sold by co-publishers Andrew Millar of London and Alexander Kincaid of Edinburgh. Smith continued making extensive revisions to the book, up until his death. Although ''The Wealth of Nations'' is widely regarded as Smith's most influential work, it is believed that Smith himself considered ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' to be a superior work.\n\nIn the work, Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from dynamic and interactive social relationships through which people seek \"mutual sympathy of sentiments.\" His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind's ability to form moral judgement, given that people begin life with no moral sentiments at all. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others and seeing the judgements they form of both others and oneself makes people aware of themselves and how others perceive their behavior. The feedback we receive from perceiving (or imagining) others' judgements creates an incentive to achieve \"mutual sympathy of sentiments\" with them and leads people to develop habits, and then principles, of behavior, which come to constitute one's conscience.\n\nSome scholars have perceived a conflict between ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and ''The Wealth of Nations''; the former emphasises sympathy for others, while the latter focuses on the role of self-interest. In recent years, however, some scholars of Smith's work have argued that no contradiction exists. They claim that in ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith develops a theory of psychology in which individuals seek the approval of the \"impartial spectator\" as a result of a natural desire to have outside observers sympathise with their sentiments. Rather than viewing ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and ''The Wealth of Nations'' as presenting incompatible views of human nature, some Smith scholars regard the works as emphasising different aspects of human nature that vary depending on the situation. Otteson argues that both books are Newtonian in their methodology and deploy a similar \"market model\" for explaining the creation and development of large-scale human social orders, including morality, economics, as well as language. Ekelund and Hebert offer a differing view, observing that self-interest is present in both works and that \"in the former, sympathy is the moral faculty that holds self-interest in check, whereas in the latter, competition is the economic faculty that restrains self-interest.\"\n\n===''The Wealth of Nations''===\n\nLater building on the site where Smith wrote ''The Wealth of Nations''|alt=A brown building\n\nThere is disagreement between classical and neoclassical economists about the central message of Smith's most influential work: ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'' (1776). Neoclassical economists emphasise Smith's invisible hand, a concept mentioned in the middle of his work – Book IV, Chapter II – and classical economists believe that Smith stated his programme for promoting the \"wealth of nations\" in the first sentences, which attributes the growth of wealth and prosperity to the division of labour.\n\nSmith used the term \"the invisible hand\" in \"History of Astronomy\" referring to \"the invisible hand of Jupiter,\" and once in each of his The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and The Wealth of Nations (1776). This last statement about \"an invisible hand\" has been interpreted in numerous ways.\n\nAs every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.\n\nThose who regard that statement as Smith's central message also quote frequently Smith's dictum:\n\nIt is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.\n\nalt=The first page of a book\n\nSmith's statement about the benefits of \"an invisible hand\" may be meant to answer Mandeville's contention that \"Private Vices … may be turned into Public Benefits\". It shows Smith's belief that when an individual pursues his self-interest under conditions of justice, he unintentionally promotes the good of society. Self-interested competition in the free market, he argued, would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building in an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services. Nevertheless, he was wary of businessmen and warned of their \"conspiracy against the public or in some other contrivance to raise prices\". Again and again, Smith warned of the collusive nature of business interests, which may form cabals or monopolies, fixing the highest price \"which can be squeezed out of the buyers\". Smith also warned that a business-dominated political system would allow a conspiracy of businesses and industry against consumers, with the former scheming to influence politics and legislation. Smith states that the interest of manufacturers and merchants \"...in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public...The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.\" Thus Smith's chief worry seems to be when business is given special protections or privileges from government; by contrast, in the absence of such special political favours, he believed that business activities were generally beneficial to the whole society:\n\nIt is the great multiplication of the production of all the different arts, in consequence of the division of labour, which occasions, in a well-governed society, that universal opulence which extends itself to the lowest ranks of the people. Every workman has a great quantity of his own work to dispose of beyond what he himself has occasion for; and every other workman being exactly in the same situation, he is enabled to exchange a great quantity of his own goods for a great quantity, or, what comes to the same thing, for the price of a great quantity of theirs. He supplies them abundantly with what they have occasion for, and they accommodate him as amply with what he has occasion for, and a general plenty diffuses itself through all the different ranks of society. (''The Wealth of Nations,'' I.i.10)\n\nThe neoclassical interest in Smith's statement about \"an invisible hand\" originates in the possibility of seeing it as a precursor of neoclassical economics and its concept of general equilibrium – Samuelson's \"Economics\" refers six times to Smith's \"invisible hand\". To emphasise this connection, Samuelson quotes Smith's \"invisible hand\" statement substituting \"general interest\" for \"public interest\". Samuelson concludes: \"Smith was unable to prove the essence of his invisible-hand doctrine. Indeed, until the 1940s no one knew how to prove, even to state properly, the kernel of truth in this proposition about perfectly competitive market.\"\n\nVery differently, classical economists see in Smith's first sentences his programme to promote \"The Wealth of Nations\". Using the physiocratical concept of the economy as a circular process, to secure growth the inputs of Period 2 must exceed the inputs of Period 1. Therefore, those outputs of Period 1 which are not used or usable as inputs of Period 2 are regarded as unproductive labour, as they do not contribute to growth. This is what Smith had heard in France from, among others, Quesnay. To this French insight that unproductive labour should be reduced in order to use labour more productively, Smith added his own proposal, that productive labour should be made even more productive by deepening the division of labour. Smith argued that deepening the division of labour under competition leads to greater productivity, which leads to lower prices and thus an increasing standard of living—\"general plenty\" and \"universal opulence\"—for all. Extended markets and increased production lead to the continuous reorganisation of production and the invention of new ways of producing, which in turn lead to further increased production, lower prices, and improved standards of living. Smith's central message is therefore that under dynamic competition a growth machine secures \"The Wealth of Nations\". Smith's argument predicted Britain's evolution as the workshop of the world, underselling and outproducing all its competitors. The opening sentences of the \"Wealth of Nations\" summarise this policy:\n\nThe annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniences of life which it annually consumes … . This produce … bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of those who are to consume it … .But this proportion must in every nation be regulated by two different circumstances;\n* first, by the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which its labour is generally applied; and,\n* secondly, by the proportion between the number of those who are employed in useful labour, and that of those who are not so employed emphasis added.\n\nSmith added, however, that the \"abundance or scantiness of this supply too seems to depend more upon the former of those two circumstances than upon the latter.\"\n\n===Criticism and dissent===\nAlfred Marshall criticised Smith's definition of economy on several points. He argued that man should be equally important as money, services are as important as goods, and that there must be an emphasis on human welfare, instead of just wealth. The \"invisible hand\" only works well when both production and consumption operates in free markets, with small (\"atomistic\") producers and consumers allowing supply and demand to fluctuate and equilibrate. In conditions of monopoly and oligopoly, the \"invisible hand\" fails. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz says, on the topic of one of Smith's better known ideas: \"the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.\"\n\n===Other works===\nSmith's burial place in alt=A burial\n\nShortly before his death, Smith had nearly all his manuscripts destroyed. In his last years, he seemed to have been planning two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts. The posthumously published ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects'', a history of astronomy down to Smith's own era, plus some thoughts on ancient physics and metaphysics, probably contain parts of what would have been the latter treatise. ''Lectures on Jurisprudence'' were notes taken from Smith's early lectures, plus an early draft of ''The Wealth of Nations'', published as part of the 1976 Glasgow Edition of the works and correspondence of Smith. Other works, including some published posthumously, include ''Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms'' (1763) (first published in 1896); and ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects'' (1795).\n", "\n===In economics and moral philosophy===\n''The Wealth of Nations'' was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In this and other works, Smith expounded how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity. Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by Tory writers in the moralising tradition of Hogarth and Swift, as a discussion at the University of Winchester suggests. In 2005, ''The Wealth of Nations'' was named among the 100 Best Scottish Books of all time. Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, it is said, used to carry a copy of the book in her handbag.\n\nIn light of the arguments put forward by Smith and other economic theorists in Britain, academic belief in mercantilism began to decline in Britain in the late 18th century. During the Industrial Revolution, Britain embraced free trade and Smith's laissez-faire economics, and via the British Empire, used its power to spread a broadly liberal economic model around the world, characterised by open markets, and relatively barrier free domestic and international trade.\n\nGeorge Stigler attributes to Smith \"the most important substantive proposition in all of economics\". It is that, under competition, owners of resources (for example labour, land, and capital) will use them most profitably, resulting in an equal rate of return in equilibrium for all uses, adjusted for apparent differences arising from such factors as training, trust, hardship, and unemployment.\n\nPaul Samuelson finds in Smith's pluralist use of supply and demand as applied to wages, rents, and profit a valid and valuable anticipation of the general equilibrium modelling of Walras a century later. Smith's allowance for wage increases in the short and intermediate term from capital accumulation and invention contrasted with Malthus, Ricardo, and Karl Marx in their propounding a rigid subsistence–wage theory of labour supply.\n\nJoseph Schumpeter criticised Smith for a lack of technical rigour, yet he argued that this enabled Smith's writings to appeal to wider audiences: \"His very limitation made for success. Had he been more brilliant, he would not have been taken so seriously. Had he dug more deeply, had he unearthed more recondite truth, had he used more difficult and ingenious methods, he would not have been understood. But he had no such ambitions; in fact he disliked whatever went beyond plain common sense. He never moved above the heads of even the dullest readers. He led them on gently, encouraging them by trivialities and homely observations, making them feel comfortable all along.\"\n\nClassical economists presented competing theories of those of Smith, termed the \"labour theory of value\". Later Marxian economics descending from classical economics also use Smith's labour theories, in part. The first volume of Karl Marx's major work, ''Capital'', was published in German in 1867. In it, Marx focused on the labour theory of value and what he considered to be the exploitation of labour by capital. The labour theory of value held that the value of a thing was determined by the labour that went into its production. This contrasts with the modern contention of neoclassical economics, that the value of a thing is determined by what one is willing to give up to obtain the thing.\n\nThe Adam Smith Theatre in alt=A brown building\n\nThe body of theory later termed \"neoclassical economics\" or \"marginalism\" formed from about 1870 to 1910. The term \"economics\" was popularised by such neoclassical economists as Alfred Marshall as a concise synonym for \"economic science\" and a substitute for the earlier, broader term \"political economy\" used by Smith. This corresponded to the influence on the subject of mathematical methods used in the natural sciences. Neoclassical economics systematised supply and demand as joint determinants of price and quantity in market equilibrium, affecting both the allocation of output and the distribution of income. It dispensed with the labour theory of value of which Smith was most famously identified with in classical economics, in favour of a marginal utility theory of value on the demand side and a more general theory of costs on the supply side.\n\nThe bicentennial anniversary of the publication of ''The Wealth of Nations'' was celebrated in 1976, resulting in increased interest for ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and his other works throughout academia. After 1976, Smith was more likely to be represented as the author of both ''The Wealth of Nations'' and ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', and thereby as the founder of a moral philosophy and the science of economics. His ''homo economicus'' or \"economic man\" was also more often represented as a moral person. Additionally, economists David Levy and Sandra Peart in \"The Secret History of the Dismal Science\" point to his opposition to hierarchy and beliefs in inequality, including racial inequality, and provide additional support for those who point to Smith's opposition to slavery, colonialism, and empire. They show the caricatures of Smith drawn by the opponents of views on hierarchy and inequality in this online article. Emphasised also are Smith's statements of the need for high wages for the poor, and the efforts to keep wages low. In The \"Vanity of the Philosopher: From Equality to Hierarchy in Postclassical Economics\", Peart and Levy also cite Smith's view that a common street porter was not intellectually inferior to a philosopher, and point to the need for greater appreciation of the public views in discussions of science and other subjects now considered to be technical. They also cite Smith's opposition to the often expressed view that science is superior to common sense.\n\nSmith also explained the relationship between growth of private property and civil government:\n\nMen may live together in society with some tolerable degree of security, though there is no civil magistrate to protect them from the injustice of those passions. But avarice and ambition in the rich, in the poor the hatred of labour and the love of present ease and enjoyment, are the passions which prompt to invade property, passions much more steady in their operation, and much more universal in their influence. Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many. The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor, who are often both driven by want, and prompted by envy, to invade his possessions. It is only under the shelter of the civil magistrate that the owner of that valuable property, which is acquired by the labour of many years, or perhaps of many successive generations, can sleep a single night in security. He is at all times surrounded by unknown enemies, whom, though he never provoked, he can never appease, and from whose injustice he can be protected only by the powerful arm of the civil magistrate continually held up to chastise it. The acquisition of valuable and extensive property, therefore, necessarily requires the establishment of civil government. Where there is no property, or at least none that exceeds the value of two or three days' labour, civil government is not so necessary. Civil government supposes a certain subordination. But as the necessity of civil government gradually grows up with the acquisition of valuable property, so the principal causes which naturally introduce subordination gradually grow up with the growth of that valuable property. (…) Men of inferior wealth combine to defend those of superior wealth in the possession of their property, in order that men of superior wealth may combine to defend them in the possession of theirs. All the inferior shepherds and herdsmen feel that the security of their own herds and flocks depends upon the security of those of the great shepherd or herdsman; that the maintenance of their lesser authority depends upon that of his greater authority, and that upon their subordination to him depends his power of keeping their inferiors in subordination to them. They constitute a sort of little nobility, who feel themselves interested to defend the property and to support the authority of their own little sovereign in order that he may be able to defend their property and to support their authority. Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all. (Source: ''The Wealth of Nations'', Book 5, Chapter 1, Part 2)\n\n===In British Imperial debates===\n\nSmith's chapter on colonies in turn would help shape British imperial debates from the mid-nineteenth century onward. ''The Wealth of Nations'' would become an ambiguous text regarding the imperial question. In his chapter on colonies, Smith pondered how to solve the crisis developing across the Atlantic among the empire's thirteen American colonies. He offered two different proposals for easing tensions. The first proposal called for giving the colonies their independence and, by thus parting on a friendly basis, Britain would be able to develop and maintain a free-trade relationship with them, and possibly even an informal military alliance. Smith's second proposal called for a theoretical imperial federation that would bring the colonies and the metropole closer together through an imperial parliamentary system and imperial free trade.\n\nSmith's most prominent disciple in nineteenth-century Britain, peace advocate Richard Cobden, preferred the first proposal. Cobden would lead the Anti-Corn Law League in overturning the Corn Laws in 1846, shifting Britain to a policy of free trade and empire \"on the cheap\" for decades to come. This hands-off approach toward the British Empire would become known as Cobdenism or the Manchester School. By the turn of the century, however, advocates of Smith's second proposal such as Joseph Shield Nicholson would become ever more vocal in opposing Cobdenism, calling instead for imperial federation. As Marc-William Palen notes: \"On the one hand, Adam Smith’s late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Cobdenite adherents used his theories to argue for gradual imperial devolution and empire ‘on the cheap’. On the other, various proponents of imperial federation throughout the British World sought to use Smith’s theories to overturn the predominant Cobdenite hands-off imperial approach and instead, with a firm grip, bring the empire closer than ever before.\" Smith's ideas thus played an important part in subsequent debates over the British Empire.\n\n===Portraits, monuments, and banknotes===\nA statue of Smith in Edinburgh's High Street, erected through private donations organised by the Adam Smith Institute.\n\nSmith has been commemorated in the UK on banknotes printed by two different banks; his portrait has appeared since 1981 on the £50 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, and in March 2007 Smith's image also appeared on the new series of £20 notes issued by the Bank of England, making him the first Scotsman to feature on an English banknote.\nStatue of Smith built in 1867–1870 at the old headquarters of the University of London, 6 Burlington Gardens. \nA large-scale memorial of Smith by Alexander Stoddart was unveiled on 4 July 2008 in Edinburgh. It is a -tall bronze sculpture and it stands above the Royal Mile outside St Giles' Cathedral in Parliament Square, near the Mercat cross. 20th-century sculptor Jim Sanborn (best known for the ''Kryptos'' sculpture at the United States Central Intelligence Agency) has created multiple pieces which feature Smith's work. At Central Connecticut State University is ''Circulating Capital'', a tall cylinder which features an extract from ''The Wealth of Nations'' on the lower half, and on the upper half, some of the same text but represented in binary code. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, outside the Belk College of Business Administration, is ''Adam Smith's Spinning Top''. Another Smith sculpture is at Cleveland State University. He also appears as the narrator in the 2013 play ''The Low Road'', centred on a proponent on laissez-faire economics in the late eighteenth century but dealing obliquely with the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the recession which followed—in the premiere production, he was portrayed by Bill Paterson.\n\nA bust of Smith is in the Hall of Heroes of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling.\n\n===Residence===\nAdam Smith resided at Panmure house from 1778–90. This residence has now been purchased by the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot Watt University and fundraising has begun to restore it. Part of the Northern end of the original building appears to have been demolished in the 19th century to make way for an iron foundry.\n\n===As a symbol of free market economics===\n''Adam Smith's Spinning Top'', sculpture by Jim Sanborn at Cleveland State University | alt=A sculpture of an upside down cone\n\nSmith has been celebrated by advocates of free market policies as the founder of free market economics, a view reflected in the naming of bodies such as the Adam Smith Institute in London, the Adam Smith Society and the Australian Adam Smith Club, and in terms such as the Adam Smith necktie.\n\nAlan Greenspan argues that, while Smith did not coin the term ''laissez-faire'', \"it was left to Adam Smith to identify the more-general set of principles that brought conceptual clarity to the seeming chaos of market transactions\". Greenspan continues that ''The Wealth of Nations'' was \"one of the great achievements in human intellectual history\". P. J. O'Rourke describes Smith as the \"founder of free market economics\".\n\nOther writers have argued that Smith's support for ''laissez-faire'' (which in French means leave alone) has been overstated. Herbert Stein wrote that the people who \"wear an Adam Smith necktie\" do it to \"make a statement of their devotion to the idea of free markets and limited government\", and that this misrepresents Smith's ideas. Stein writes that Smith \"was not pure or doctrinaire about this idea. He viewed government intervention in the market with great skepticism...yet he was prepared to accept or propose qualifications to that policy in the specific cases where he judged that their net effect would be beneficial and would not undermine the basically free character of the system. He did not wear the Adam Smith necktie.\" In Stein's reading, ''The Wealth of Nations'' could justify the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, mandatory employer health benefits, environmentalism, and \"discriminatory taxation to deter improper or luxurious behavior\".\n\nSimilarly, Vivienne Brown stated in ''The Economic Journal'' that in the 20th century United States, Reaganomics supporters, the ''Wall Street Journal'', and other similar sources have spread among the general public a partial and misleading vision of Smith, portraying him as an \"extreme dogmatic defender of ''laissez-faire'' capitalism and supply-side economics\". In fact, ''The Wealth of Nations'' includes the following statement on the payment of taxes:\n\n\"The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.\"\n\nSome commentators have argued that Smith's works show support for a progressive, not flat, income tax and that he specifically named taxes that he thought should be required by the state, among them luxury goods taxes and tax on rent. Yet Smith argued for the \"impossibility of taxing the people, in proportion to their economic revenue, by any capitation\" (''The Wealth of Nations,'' V.ii.k.1). Smith argued that taxes should principally go toward protecting \"justice\" and \"certain publick institutions\" that were necessary for the benefit of all of society but that could not be provided by private enterprise (''The Wealth of Nations,'' IV.ix.51).\n\nAdditionally, Smith outlined the proper expenses of the government in ''The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Ch. I''. Included in his requirements of a government is to enforce contracts and provide justice system, grant patents and copy rights, provide public goods such as infrastructure, provide national defence and regulate banking. It was the role of the government to provide goods \"of such a nature that the profit could never repay the expense to any individual\" such as roads, bridges, canals, and harbours. He also encouraged invention and new ideas through his patent enforcement and support of infant industry monopolies. He supported partial public subsidies for elementary education, and he believed that competition among religious institutions would provide general benefit to the society. In such cases, however, Smith argued for local rather than centralised control: \"Even those publick works which are of such a nature that they cannot afford any revenue for maintaining themselves . . . are always better maintained by a local or provincial revenue, under the management of a local and provincial administration, than by the general revenue of the state\" (''Wealth of Nations,'' V.i.d.18). Finally he outlined how the government should support the dignity of the monarch or chief magistrate, such that they are equal or above the public in fashion. He even states that monarchs should be provided for in a greater fashion than magistrates of a republic because \"we naturally expect more splendor in the court of a king than in the mansion-house of a doge\". In addition, he allowed that in some specific circumstances retaliatory tariffs may be beneficial:\n\n\"The recovery of a great foreign market will generally more than compensate the transitory inconvenience of paying dearer during a short time for some sorts of goods.\"\n\nHe added, however, that in general a retaliatory tariff \"seems a bad method of compensating the injury done to certain classes of our people, to do another injury ourselves, not only to those classes, but to almost all the other classes of them\" (''The Wealth of Nations,'' IV.ii.39).\n\nEconomic historians such as Jacob Viner regard Smith as a strong advocate of free markets and limited government (what Smith called \"natural liberty\") but not as a dogmatic supporter of ''laissez-faire''.\n\nEconomist Daniel Klein believes using the term \"free market economics\" or \"free market economist\" to identify the ideas of Smith is too general and slightly misleading. Klein offers six characteristics central to the identity of Smith's economic thought and argues that a new name is needed to give a more accurate depiction of the \"Smithian\" identity. Economist David Ricardo set straight some of the misunderstandings about Smith's thoughts on free market. Most people still fall victim to the thinking that Smith was a free market economist without exception, though he was not. Ricardo pointed out that Smith was in support of helping infant industries. Smith believed that the government should subsidise newly formed industry, but he did fear that when the infant industry grew into adulthood it would be unwilling to surrender the government help. Smith also supported tariffs on imported goods to counteract an internal tax on the same good. Smith also fell to pressure in supporting some tariffs in support for national defence.\n\nSome have also claimed, Emma Rothschild among them, that Smith would have supported a minimum wage, although there is no direct textual evidence supporting the claim. Indeed, Smith wrote:\n\nThe price of labour, it must be observed, cannot be ascertained very accurately anywhere, different prices being often paid at the same place and for the same sort of labour, not only according to the different abilities of the workmen, but according to the easiness or hardness of the masters. Where wages are not regulated by law, all that we can pretend to determine is what are the most usual; and experience seems to show that law can never regulate them properly, though it has often pretended to do so. (''The Wealth of Nations'', Book 1, Chapter 8)\n\nHowever, Smith also noted, to the contrary, the existence of an imbalanced, inequality of bargaining power:\nA landlord, a farmer, a master manufacturer, a merchant, though they did not employ a single workman, could generally live a year or two upon the stocks which they have already acquired. Many workmen could not subsist a week, few could subsist a month, and scarce any a year without employment. In the long run the workman may be as necessary to his master as his master is to him; but the necessity is not so immediate.\n", "* Organizational capital\n* List of abolitionist forerunners\n* List of Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts\n", "\n", " \n", "* Robert.L.Helbroner. ''The Essential Adam Smith''. \n* Benians, E. A (1925). \" Adam Smith’s Project of an Empire.\" ''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 1 (3): 249–83.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Nicholson, Joseph Shield (1909). ''A Project of Empire: A Critical Study of the Economics of Imperialism, with Special Reference to the Ideas of Adam Smith.'' London.\n* Otteson, James R. (2002). ''Adam Smith's Marketplace of Life.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. \n* Palen, Marc-William (March 2014). “ Adam Smith as Advocate of Empire, c. 1870–1932.” ''Historical Journal'' 57 (1): 179–98.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Hardwick, D., and Marsh, L. (2014). '' Propriety and Prosperity: New Studies on the Philosophy of Adam Smith''. Palgrave Macmillan\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Phillipson Nicholas: ''Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life'', Yale University Press, 2010 , 352 pages; scholarly biography\n* Iain McLean, ''Adam Smith, Radical and Egalitarian: An Interpretation for the 21st Century'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)\n* Éric Pichet, (2004), Adam Smith, je connais !, French biography.\n* Vianello, F. 1999, \"Social accounting in Adam Smith\", in: Mongiovi, G. and Petri F. (eds.), ''Value, Distribution and capital. Essays in honour of Pierangelo Garegnani'', London, Routledge, .\n* \n* Wolloch, N. (2015). \"Symposium on Jack Russell Weinstein’s Adam Smith’s Pluralism: Rationality, Education And The Moral Sentiments\". '' Cosmos + Taxis''\n* \"Adam Smith and Empire: A New Talking Empire Podcast,\" ''Imperial & Global Forum'', 12 March 2014.\n", "\n\n\n\n* at the Adam Smith Institute\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* References to Adam Smith in historic European newspapers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Biography", "Personality and beliefs", "Published works", "Legacy", "See also", "Notes", "Citations", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Smith has been commemorated in the UK on banknotes printed by two different banks; his portrait has appeared since 1981 on the £50 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, and in March 2007 Smith's image also appeared on the new series of £20 notes issued by the Bank of England, making him the first Scotsman to feature on an English banknote." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Adam Smith''' (16 June 1723 NS (5 June 1723 OS) – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist, philosopher, and author.", "He was a moral philosopher, a pioneer of political economy, and was a key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment era.", "He is best known for two classic works: ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' (1759), and ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'' (1776).", "The latter, usually abbreviated as ''The Wealth of Nations'', is considered his ''magnum opus'' and the first modern work of economics.", "Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by fellow Scot, John Snell.", "After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment.", "Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments''.", "In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day.", "Smith laid the foundations of classical free market economic theory.", "''The Wealth of Nations'' was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics.", "In this and other works, he developed the concept of division of labour, and expounded upon how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity.", "Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by Tory writers in the moralising tradition of William Hogarth and Jonathan Swift.", "In 2005, ''The Wealth of Nations'' was named among the 100 Best Scottish Books of all time.", "The minor planet 12838 Adamsmith was named in his memory.", "\n===Early life===\nPortrait of Smith's mother, Margaret Douglas\n\nSmith was born in Kirkcaldy, in the County of Fife, Scotland.", "His father, also Adam Smith, was a Scottish ''Writer to the Signet'' (senior solicitor), advocate, and prosecutor (Judge Advocate) and also served as comptroller of the Customs in Kirkcaldy.", "In 1720 he married Margaret Douglas, daughter of the landed Robert Douglas of Strathendry, also in Fife.", "His father died two months after he was born, leaving his mother a widow.", "The date of Smith's baptism into the Church of Scotland at Kirkcaldy was 5 June 1723, and this has often been treated as if it were also his date of birth, which is unknown.", "Although few events in Smith's early childhood are known, the Scottish journalist John Rae, Smith's biographer, recorded that Smith was abducted by gypsies at the age of three and released when others went to rescue him.", "Smith was close to his mother, who probably encouraged him to pursue his scholarly ambitions.", "He attended the Burgh School of Kirkcaldy—characterised by Rae as \"one of the best secondary schools of Scotland at that period\"—from 1729 to 1737, he learned Latin, mathematics, history, and writing.", "===Formal education===\nA commemorative plaque for Smith is located in Smith's home town of alt=A plaque of Smith\n\nSmith entered the University of Glasgow when he was fourteen and studied moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson.", "Here, Smith developed his passion for liberty, reason, and free speech.", "In 1740 Smith was the graduate scholar presented to undertake postgraduate studies at Balliol College, Oxford, under the Snell Exhibition.", "Adam Smith considered the teaching at Glasgow to be far superior to that at Oxford, which he found intellectually stifling.", "In Book V, Chapter II of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Smith wrote: \"In the University of Oxford, the greater part of the public professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching.\"", "Smith is also reported to have complained to friends that Oxford officials once discovered him reading a copy of David Hume's ''Treatise on Human Nature'', and they subsequently confiscated his book and punished him severely for reading it.", "According to William Robert Scott, \"The Oxford of Smith's time gave little if any help towards what was to be his lifework.\"", "Nevertheless, Smith took the opportunity while at Oxford to teach himself several subjects by reading many books from the shelves of the large Bodleian Library.", "When Smith was not studying on his own, his time at Oxford was not a happy one, according to his letters.", "Near the end of his time there, Smith began suffering from shaking fits, probably the symptoms of a nervous breakdown.", "He left Oxford University in 1746, before his scholarship ended.", "In Book V of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Smith comments on the low quality of instruction and the meager intellectual activity at English universities, when compared to their Scottish counterparts.", "He attributes this both to the rich endowments of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, which made the income of professors independent of their ability to attract students, and to the fact that distinguished men of letters could make an even more comfortable living as ministers of the Church of England.", "Adam Smith's discontent at Oxford might be in part due to the absence of his beloved teacher in Glasgow, Francis Hutcheson.", "Hutcheson was well regarded as one of the most prominent lecturers at the University of Glasgow in his day and earned the approbation of students, colleagues, and even ordinary residents with the fervor and earnestness of his orations (which he sometimes opened to the public).", "His lectures endeavoured not merely to teach philosophy but to make his students embody that philosophy in their lives, appropriately acquiring the epithet, the preacher of philosophy.", "Unlike Smith, Hutcheson was not a system builder; rather it was his magnetic personality and method of lecturing that so influenced his students and caused the greatest of those to reverentially refer to him as \"the never to be forgotten Hutcheson\"—a title that Smith in all his correspondence used to describe only two people, his good friend David Hume and influential mentor Francis Hutcheson.", "===Teaching career===\nSmith began delivering public lectures in 1748 in Edinburgh, sponsored by the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh under the patronage of Lord Kames.", "His lecture topics included rhetoric and ''belles-lettres'', and later the subject of \"the progress of opulence\".", "On this latter topic he first expounded his economic philosophy of \"the obvious and simple system of natural liberty\".", "While Smith was not adept at public speaking, his lectures met with success.", "alt=A man posing for a painting\n\nIn 1750, he met the philosopher David Hume, who was his senior by more than a decade.", "In their writings covering history, politics, philosophy, economics, and religion, Smith and Hume shared closer intellectual and personal bonds than with other important figures of the Scottish Enlightenment.", "In 1751, Smith earned a professorship at Glasgow University teaching logic courses, and in 1752 he was elected a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, having been introduced to the society by Lord Kames.", "When the head of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow died the next year, Smith took over the position.", "He worked as an academic for the next thirteen years, which he characterised as \"by far the most useful and therefore by far the happiest and most honorable period of his life\".", "Smith published ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' in 1759, embodying some of his Glasgow lectures.", "This work was concerned with how human morality depends on sympathy between agent and spectator, or the individual and other members of society.", "Smith defined \"mutual sympathy\" as the basis of moral sentiments.", "He based his explanation, not on a special \"moral sense\" as the Third Lord Shaftesbury and Hutcheson had done, nor on utility as Hume did, but on mutual sympathy, a term best captured in modern parlance by the twentieth-century concept of empathy, the capacity to recognise feelings that are being experienced by another being.", "Following the publication of ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith became so popular that many wealthy students left their schools in other countries to enroll at Glasgow to learn under Smith.", "After the publication of ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith began to give more attention to jurisprudence and economics in his lectures and less to his theories of morals.", "For example, Smith lectured that the cause of increase in national wealth is labour, rather than the nation's quantity of gold or silver, which is the basis for mercantilism, the economic theory that dominated Western European economic policies at the time.", "François Quesnay, one of the leaders of the Physiocratic school of thought | alt=A drawing of a man sitting down\n\nIn 1762, the University of Glasgow conferred on Smith the title of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.).", "At the end of 1763, he obtained an offer from Charles Townshend—who had been introduced to Smith by David Hume—to tutor his stepson, Henry Scott, the young Duke of Buccleuch.", "Smith then resigned from his professorship to take the tutoring position.", "He subsequently attempted to return the fees he had collected from his students because he resigned in the middle of the term, but his students refused.", "===Tutoring and travels===\nSmith's tutoring job entailed touring Europe with Scott, during which time he educated Scott on a variety of subjects—such as proper Polish.", "He was paid £300 per year (plus expenses) along with a £300 per year pension; roughly twice his former income as a teacher.", "Smith first travelled as a tutor to Toulouse, France, where he stayed for one and a half years.", "According to his own account, he found Toulouse to be somewhat boring, having written to Hume that he \"had begun to write a book to pass away the time\".", "After touring the south of France, the group moved to Geneva, where Smith met with the philosopher Voltaire.", "From Geneva, the party moved to Paris.", "Here Smith came to know several great intellectual leaders of the time; invariably having an effect on his future works.", "This list included: Benjamin Franklin, Turgot, Jean D'Alembert, André Morellet, Helvétius, and, notably, François Quesnay, the head of the Physiocratic school.", "Smith was so impressed with his ideas that he might have dedicated ''The Wealth of Nations'' to Quesnay had he not died beforehand.", "Physiocrats were opposed to mercantilism, the dominating economic theory of the time.", "Illustrated in their motto Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même!", "(Let do and let pass, the world goes on by itself!).", "They were also known to have declared that only agricultural activity produced real wealth; merchants and industrialists (manufacturers) did not.", "This however, did not represent their true school of thought, but was a mere \"smoke screen\" manufactured to hide their actual criticisms of the nobility and church; arguing that they made up the only real clients of merchants.", "The wealth of France was virtually destroyed by Louis XIV and Louis XV in ruinous wars, by aiding the American insurgents against the British, and perhaps most destructive (in terms of public perceptions) was what was seen as the excessive consumption of goods and services deemed to have no economic contribution—unproductive labour.", "Assuming that nobility and church are essentially detractors from economic growth, the feudal system of agriculture in France was the only sector important to maintain the wealth of the nation.", "Given that the English economy of the day yielded an income distribution that stood in contrast to that which existed in France, Smith concluded that the teachings and beliefs of Physiocrats were, \"with all their imperfections perhaps, the nearest approximation to the truth that has yet been published upon the subject of political economy\".", "The distinction between productive versus unproductive labour—the physiocratic ''classe steril''—was a predominant issue in the development and understanding of what would become classical economic theory.", "===Later years===\nIn 1766, Henry Scott's younger brother died in Paris, and Smith's tour as a tutor ended shortly thereafter.", "Smith returned home that year to Kirkcaldy, and he devoted much of the next ten years to his magnum opus.", "There he befriended Henry Moyes, a young blind man who showed precocious aptitude.", "As well as teaching Moyes, Smith secured the patronage of David Hume and Thomas Reid in the young man's education.", "In May 1773, Smith was elected fellow of the Royal Society of London, and was elected a member of the Literary Club in 1775.", "''The Wealth of Nations'' was published in 1776 and was an instant success, selling out its first edition in only six months.", "In 1778, Smith was appointed to a post as commissioner of customs in Scotland and went to live with his mother in Panmure House in Edinburgh's Canongate.", "Five years later, as a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh when it received its royal charter, he automatically became one of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and from 1787 to 1789 he occupied the honorary position of Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow.", "He died in the northern wing of Panmure House in Edinburgh on 17 July 1790 after a painful illness and was buried in the Canongate Kirkyard.", "On his death bed, Smith expressed disappointment that he had not achieved more.", "Smith's literary executors were two friends from the Scottish academic world: the physicist and chemist Joseph Black, and the pioneering geologist James Hutton.", "Smith left behind many notes and some unpublished material, but gave instructions to destroy anything that was not fit for publication.", "He mentioned an early unpublished ''History of Astronomy'' as probably suitable, and it duly appeared in 1795, along with other material such as ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects''.", "Smith's library went by his will to David Douglas, Lord Reston (son of his cousin Colonel Robert Douglas of Strathendry, Fife), who lived with Smith.", "It was eventually divided between his two surviving children, Cecilia Margaret (Mrs. Cunningham) and David Anne (Mrs. Bannerman).", "On the death of her husband, the Reverend W. B. Cunningham of Prestonpans in 1878, Mrs. Cunningham sold some of the books.", "The remainder passed to her son, Professor Robert Oliver Cunningham of Queen's College, Belfast, who presented a part to the library of Queen's College.", "After his death the remaining books were sold.", "On the death of Mrs. Bannerman in 1879 her portion of the library went intact to the New College (of the Free Church), Edinburgh, and the collection was transferred to the University of Edinburgh Main Library in 1972.", "\n===Character===\nalt=An enamel paste medallion, depicting a man's head facing the right\n\nNot much is known about Smith's personal views beyond what can be deduced from his published articles.", "His personal papers were destroyed after his death at his request.", "He never married, and seems to have maintained a close relationship with his mother, whom he lived with after his return from France and who died six years before his own death.", "Smith was described by several of his contemporaries and biographers as comically absent-minded, with peculiar habits of speech and gait, and a smile of \"inexpressible benignity\".", "He was known to talk to himself, a habit that began during his childhood when he would smile in rapt conversation with invisible companions.", "He also had occasional spells of imaginary illness, and he is reported to have had books and papers placed in tall stacks in his study.", "According to one story, Smith took Charles Townshend on a tour of a tanning factory, and while discussing free trade, Smith walked into a huge tanning pit from which he needed help to escape.", "He is also said to have put bread and butter into a teapot, drunk the concoction, and declared it to be the worst cup of tea he ever had.", "According to another account, Smith distractedly went out walking in his nightgown and ended up outside of town, before nearby church bells brought him back to reality.", "James Boswell who was a student of Smith's at Glasgow University, and later knew him at the Literary Club, says that Smith thought that speaking about his ideas in conversation might reduce the sale of his books, and so his conversation was unimpressive.", "According to Boswell, he once told Sir Joshua Reynolds that 'he made it a rule when in company never to talk of what he understood'.", "John Kay, 1790|alt=A drawing of a man standing up, with one hand holding a cane and the other pointing at a book\n\nSmith has been alternately described as someone who \"had a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, a nervous twitch, and a speech impediment\" and one whose \"countenance was manly and agreeable.\"", "Smith is said to have acknowledged his looks at one point, saying, \"I am a beau in nothing but my books.\"", "Smith rarely sat for portraits, so almost all depictions of him created during his lifetime were drawn from memory.", "The best-known portraits of Smith are the profile by James Tassie and two etchings by John Kay.", "The line engravings produced for the covers of 19th century reprints of ''The Wealth of Nations'' were based largely on Tassie's medallion.", "===Religious views===\nThere has been considerable scholarly debate about the nature of Smith's religious views.", "Smith's father had shown a strong interest in Christianity and belonged to the moderate wing of the Church of Scotland.", "The fact that Adam Smith received the Snell Exhibition suggests that he may have gone to Oxford with the intention of pursuing a career in the Church of England.", "Anglo-American economist Ronald Coase has challenged the view that Smith was a deist, based on the fact that Smith's writings never explicitly invoke God as an explanation of the harmonies of the natural or the human worlds.", "According to Coase, though Smith does sometimes refer to the \"Great Architect of the Universe\", later scholars such as Jacob Viner have \"very much exaggerated the extent to which Adam Smith was committed to a belief in a personal God\", a belief for which Coase finds little evidence in passages such as the one in the ''Wealth of Nations'' in which Smith writes that the curiosity of mankind about the \"great phenomena of nature\", such as \"the generation, the life, growth and dissolution of plants and animals\", has led men to \"enquire into their causes\", and that \"superstition first attempted to satisfy this curiosity, by referring all those wonderful appearances to the immediate agency of the gods.", "Philosophy afterwards endeavoured to account for them, from more familiar causes, or from such as mankind were better acquainted with than the agency of the gods\".", "Some other authors argue that Smith's social and economic philosophy is inherently theological and that his entire model of social order is logically dependent on the notion of God's action in nature.", "Smith was also a close friend and later the executor of David Hume, who was commonly characterised in his own time as an atheist.", "The publication in 1777 of Smith's letter to William Strahan, in which he described Hume's courage in the face of death in spite of his irreligiosity, attracted considerable controversy.", "\n===''The Theory of Moral Sentiments''===\n\n1922 printing of ''An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations''\nIn 1759, Smith published his first work, ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments,'' sold by co-publishers Andrew Millar of London and Alexander Kincaid of Edinburgh.", "Smith continued making extensive revisions to the book, up until his death.", "Although ''The Wealth of Nations'' is widely regarded as Smith's most influential work, it is believed that Smith himself considered ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' to be a superior work.", "In the work, Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from dynamic and interactive social relationships through which people seek \"mutual sympathy of sentiments.\"", "His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind's ability to form moral judgement, given that people begin life with no moral sentiments at all.", "Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others and seeing the judgements they form of both others and oneself makes people aware of themselves and how others perceive their behavior.", "The feedback we receive from perceiving (or imagining) others' judgements creates an incentive to achieve \"mutual sympathy of sentiments\" with them and leads people to develop habits, and then principles, of behavior, which come to constitute one's conscience.", "Some scholars have perceived a conflict between ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and ''The Wealth of Nations''; the former emphasises sympathy for others, while the latter focuses on the role of self-interest.", "In recent years, however, some scholars of Smith's work have argued that no contradiction exists.", "They claim that in ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', Smith develops a theory of psychology in which individuals seek the approval of the \"impartial spectator\" as a result of a natural desire to have outside observers sympathise with their sentiments.", "Rather than viewing ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and ''The Wealth of Nations'' as presenting incompatible views of human nature, some Smith scholars regard the works as emphasising different aspects of human nature that vary depending on the situation.", "Otteson argues that both books are Newtonian in their methodology and deploy a similar \"market model\" for explaining the creation and development of large-scale human social orders, including morality, economics, as well as language.", "Ekelund and Hebert offer a differing view, observing that self-interest is present in both works and that \"in the former, sympathy is the moral faculty that holds self-interest in check, whereas in the latter, competition is the economic faculty that restrains self-interest.\"", "===''The Wealth of Nations''===\n\nLater building on the site where Smith wrote ''The Wealth of Nations''|alt=A brown building\n\nThere is disagreement between classical and neoclassical economists about the central message of Smith's most influential work: ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'' (1776).", "Neoclassical economists emphasise Smith's invisible hand, a concept mentioned in the middle of his work – Book IV, Chapter II – and classical economists believe that Smith stated his programme for promoting the \"wealth of nations\" in the first sentences, which attributes the growth of wealth and prosperity to the division of labour.", "Smith used the term \"the invisible hand\" in \"History of Astronomy\" referring to \"the invisible hand of Jupiter,\" and once in each of his The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and The Wealth of Nations (1776).", "This last statement about \"an invisible hand\" has been interpreted in numerous ways.", "As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can.", "He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it.", "By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.", "Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it.", "By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.", "I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.", "It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.", "Those who regard that statement as Smith's central message also quote frequently Smith's dictum:\n\nIt is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.", "We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.", "alt=The first page of a book\n\nSmith's statement about the benefits of \"an invisible hand\" may be meant to answer Mandeville's contention that \"Private Vices … may be turned into Public Benefits\".", "It shows Smith's belief that when an individual pursues his self-interest under conditions of justice, he unintentionally promotes the good of society.", "Self-interested competition in the free market, he argued, would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices low, while still building in an incentive for a wide variety of goods and services.", "Nevertheless, he was wary of businessmen and warned of their \"conspiracy against the public or in some other contrivance to raise prices\".", "Again and again, Smith warned of the collusive nature of business interests, which may form cabals or monopolies, fixing the highest price \"which can be squeezed out of the buyers\".", "Smith also warned that a business-dominated political system would allow a conspiracy of businesses and industry against consumers, with the former scheming to influence politics and legislation.", "Smith states that the interest of manufacturers and merchants \"...in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public...The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.\"", "Thus Smith's chief worry seems to be when business is given special protections or privileges from government; by contrast, in the absence of such special political favours, he believed that business activities were generally beneficial to the whole society:\n\nIt is the great multiplication of the production of all the different arts, in consequence of the division of labour, which occasions, in a well-governed society, that universal opulence which extends itself to the lowest ranks of the people.", "Every workman has a great quantity of his own work to dispose of beyond what he himself has occasion for; and every other workman being exactly in the same situation, he is enabled to exchange a great quantity of his own goods for a great quantity, or, what comes to the same thing, for the price of a great quantity of theirs.", "He supplies them abundantly with what they have occasion for, and they accommodate him as amply with what he has occasion for, and a general plenty diffuses itself through all the different ranks of society.", "(''The Wealth of Nations,'' I.i.10)\n\nThe neoclassical interest in Smith's statement about \"an invisible hand\" originates in the possibility of seeing it as a precursor of neoclassical economics and its concept of general equilibrium – Samuelson's \"Economics\" refers six times to Smith's \"invisible hand\".", "To emphasise this connection, Samuelson quotes Smith's \"invisible hand\" statement substituting \"general interest\" for \"public interest\".", "Samuelson concludes: \"Smith was unable to prove the essence of his invisible-hand doctrine.", "Indeed, until the 1940s no one knew how to prove, even to state properly, the kernel of truth in this proposition about perfectly competitive market.\"", "Very differently, classical economists see in Smith's first sentences his programme to promote \"The Wealth of Nations\".", "Using the physiocratical concept of the economy as a circular process, to secure growth the inputs of Period 2 must exceed the inputs of Period 1.", "Therefore, those outputs of Period 1 which are not used or usable as inputs of Period 2 are regarded as unproductive labour, as they do not contribute to growth.", "This is what Smith had heard in France from, among others, Quesnay.", "To this French insight that unproductive labour should be reduced in order to use labour more productively, Smith added his own proposal, that productive labour should be made even more productive by deepening the division of labour.", "Smith argued that deepening the division of labour under competition leads to greater productivity, which leads to lower prices and thus an increasing standard of living—\"general plenty\" and \"universal opulence\"—for all.", "Extended markets and increased production lead to the continuous reorganisation of production and the invention of new ways of producing, which in turn lead to further increased production, lower prices, and improved standards of living.", "Smith's central message is therefore that under dynamic competition a growth machine secures \"The Wealth of Nations\".", "Smith's argument predicted Britain's evolution as the workshop of the world, underselling and outproducing all its competitors.", "The opening sentences of the \"Wealth of Nations\" summarise this policy:\n\nThe annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniences of life which it annually consumes … .", "This produce … bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of those who are to consume it … .But this proportion must in every nation be regulated by two different circumstances;\n* first, by the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which its labour is generally applied; and,\n* secondly, by the proportion between the number of those who are employed in useful labour, and that of those who are not so employed emphasis added.", "Smith added, however, that the \"abundance or scantiness of this supply too seems to depend more upon the former of those two circumstances than upon the latter.\"", "===Criticism and dissent===\nAlfred Marshall criticised Smith's definition of economy on several points.", "He argued that man should be equally important as money, services are as important as goods, and that there must be an emphasis on human welfare, instead of just wealth.", "The \"invisible hand\" only works well when both production and consumption operates in free markets, with small (\"atomistic\") producers and consumers allowing supply and demand to fluctuate and equilibrate.", "In conditions of monopoly and oligopoly, the \"invisible hand\" fails.", "Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz says, on the topic of one of Smith's better known ideas: \"the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.\"", "===Other works===\nSmith's burial place in alt=A burial\n\nShortly before his death, Smith had nearly all his manuscripts destroyed.", "In his last years, he seemed to have been planning two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts.", "The posthumously published ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects'', a history of astronomy down to Smith's own era, plus some thoughts on ancient physics and metaphysics, probably contain parts of what would have been the latter treatise.", "''Lectures on Jurisprudence'' were notes taken from Smith's early lectures, plus an early draft of ''The Wealth of Nations'', published as part of the 1976 Glasgow Edition of the works and correspondence of Smith.", "Other works, including some published posthumously, include ''Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms'' (1763) (first published in 1896); and ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects'' (1795).", "\n===In economics and moral philosophy===\n''The Wealth of Nations'' was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics.", "In this and other works, Smith expounded how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity.", "Smith was controversial in his own day and his general approach and writing style were often satirised by Tory writers in the moralising tradition of Hogarth and Swift, as a discussion at the University of Winchester suggests.", "In 2005, ''The Wealth of Nations'' was named among the 100 Best Scottish Books of all time.", "Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, it is said, used to carry a copy of the book in her handbag.", "In light of the arguments put forward by Smith and other economic theorists in Britain, academic belief in mercantilism began to decline in Britain in the late 18th century.", "During the Industrial Revolution, Britain embraced free trade and Smith's laissez-faire economics, and via the British Empire, used its power to spread a broadly liberal economic model around the world, characterised by open markets, and relatively barrier free domestic and international trade.", "George Stigler attributes to Smith \"the most important substantive proposition in all of economics\".", "It is that, under competition, owners of resources (for example labour, land, and capital) will use them most profitably, resulting in an equal rate of return in equilibrium for all uses, adjusted for apparent differences arising from such factors as training, trust, hardship, and unemployment.", "Paul Samuelson finds in Smith's pluralist use of supply and demand as applied to wages, rents, and profit a valid and valuable anticipation of the general equilibrium modelling of Walras a century later.", "Smith's allowance for wage increases in the short and intermediate term from capital accumulation and invention contrasted with Malthus, Ricardo, and Karl Marx in their propounding a rigid subsistence–wage theory of labour supply.", "Joseph Schumpeter criticised Smith for a lack of technical rigour, yet he argued that this enabled Smith's writings to appeal to wider audiences: \"His very limitation made for success.", "Had he been more brilliant, he would not have been taken so seriously.", "Had he dug more deeply, had he unearthed more recondite truth, had he used more difficult and ingenious methods, he would not have been understood.", "But he had no such ambitions; in fact he disliked whatever went beyond plain common sense.", "He never moved above the heads of even the dullest readers.", "He led them on gently, encouraging them by trivialities and homely observations, making them feel comfortable all along.\"", "Classical economists presented competing theories of those of Smith, termed the \"labour theory of value\".", "Later Marxian economics descending from classical economics also use Smith's labour theories, in part.", "The first volume of Karl Marx's major work, ''Capital'', was published in German in 1867.", "In it, Marx focused on the labour theory of value and what he considered to be the exploitation of labour by capital.", "The labour theory of value held that the value of a thing was determined by the labour that went into its production.", "This contrasts with the modern contention of neoclassical economics, that the value of a thing is determined by what one is willing to give up to obtain the thing.", "The Adam Smith Theatre in alt=A brown building\n\nThe body of theory later termed \"neoclassical economics\" or \"marginalism\" formed from about 1870 to 1910.", "The term \"economics\" was popularised by such neoclassical economists as Alfred Marshall as a concise synonym for \"economic science\" and a substitute for the earlier, broader term \"political economy\" used by Smith.", "This corresponded to the influence on the subject of mathematical methods used in the natural sciences.", "Neoclassical economics systematised supply and demand as joint determinants of price and quantity in market equilibrium, affecting both the allocation of output and the distribution of income.", "It dispensed with the labour theory of value of which Smith was most famously identified with in classical economics, in favour of a marginal utility theory of value on the demand side and a more general theory of costs on the supply side.", "The bicentennial anniversary of the publication of ''The Wealth of Nations'' was celebrated in 1976, resulting in increased interest for ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' and his other works throughout academia.", "After 1976, Smith was more likely to be represented as the author of both ''The Wealth of Nations'' and ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'', and thereby as the founder of a moral philosophy and the science of economics.", "His ''homo economicus'' or \"economic man\" was also more often represented as a moral person.", "Additionally, economists David Levy and Sandra Peart in \"The Secret History of the Dismal Science\" point to his opposition to hierarchy and beliefs in inequality, including racial inequality, and provide additional support for those who point to Smith's opposition to slavery, colonialism, and empire.", "They show the caricatures of Smith drawn by the opponents of views on hierarchy and inequality in this online article.", "Emphasised also are Smith's statements of the need for high wages for the poor, and the efforts to keep wages low.", "In The \"Vanity of the Philosopher: From Equality to Hierarchy in Postclassical Economics\", Peart and Levy also cite Smith's view that a common street porter was not intellectually inferior to a philosopher, and point to the need for greater appreciation of the public views in discussions of science and other subjects now considered to be technical.", "They also cite Smith's opposition to the often expressed view that science is superior to common sense.", "Smith also explained the relationship between growth of private property and civil government:\n\nMen may live together in society with some tolerable degree of security, though there is no civil magistrate to protect them from the injustice of those passions.", "But avarice and ambition in the rich, in the poor the hatred of labour and the love of present ease and enjoyment, are the passions which prompt to invade property, passions much more steady in their operation, and much more universal in their influence.", "Wherever there is great property there is great inequality.", "For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.", "The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor, who are often both driven by want, and prompted by envy, to invade his possessions.", "It is only under the shelter of the civil magistrate that the owner of that valuable property, which is acquired by the labour of many years, or perhaps of many successive generations, can sleep a single night in security.", "He is at all times surrounded by unknown enemies, whom, though he never provoked, he can never appease, and from whose injustice he can be protected only by the powerful arm of the civil magistrate continually held up to chastise it.", "The acquisition of valuable and extensive property, therefore, necessarily requires the establishment of civil government.", "Where there is no property, or at least none that exceeds the value of two or three days' labour, civil government is not so necessary.", "Civil government supposes a certain subordination.", "But as the necessity of civil government gradually grows up with the acquisition of valuable property, so the principal causes which naturally introduce subordination gradually grow up with the growth of that valuable property.", "(…) Men of inferior wealth combine to defend those of superior wealth in the possession of their property, in order that men of superior wealth may combine to defend them in the possession of theirs.", "All the inferior shepherds and herdsmen feel that the security of their own herds and flocks depends upon the security of those of the great shepherd or herdsman; that the maintenance of their lesser authority depends upon that of his greater authority, and that upon their subordination to him depends his power of keeping their inferiors in subordination to them.", "They constitute a sort of little nobility, who feel themselves interested to defend the property and to support the authority of their own little sovereign in order that he may be able to defend their property and to support their authority.", "Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.", "(Source: ''The Wealth of Nations'', Book 5, Chapter 1, Part 2)\n\n===In British Imperial debates===\n\nSmith's chapter on colonies in turn would help shape British imperial debates from the mid-nineteenth century onward.", "''The Wealth of Nations'' would become an ambiguous text regarding the imperial question.", "In his chapter on colonies, Smith pondered how to solve the crisis developing across the Atlantic among the empire's thirteen American colonies.", "He offered two different proposals for easing tensions.", "The first proposal called for giving the colonies their independence and, by thus parting on a friendly basis, Britain would be able to develop and maintain a free-trade relationship with them, and possibly even an informal military alliance.", "Smith's second proposal called for a theoretical imperial federation that would bring the colonies and the metropole closer together through an imperial parliamentary system and imperial free trade.", "Smith's most prominent disciple in nineteenth-century Britain, peace advocate Richard Cobden, preferred the first proposal.", "Cobden would lead the Anti-Corn Law League in overturning the Corn Laws in 1846, shifting Britain to a policy of free trade and empire \"on the cheap\" for decades to come.", "This hands-off approach toward the British Empire would become known as Cobdenism or the Manchester School.", "By the turn of the century, however, advocates of Smith's second proposal such as Joseph Shield Nicholson would become ever more vocal in opposing Cobdenism, calling instead for imperial federation.", "As Marc-William Palen notes: \"On the one hand, Adam Smith’s late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Cobdenite adherents used his theories to argue for gradual imperial devolution and empire ‘on the cheap’.", "On the other, various proponents of imperial federation throughout the British World sought to use Smith’s theories to overturn the predominant Cobdenite hands-off imperial approach and instead, with a firm grip, bring the empire closer than ever before.\"", "Smith's ideas thus played an important part in subsequent debates over the British Empire.", "===Portraits, monuments, and banknotes===\nA statue of Smith in Edinburgh's High Street, erected through private donations organised by the Adam Smith Institute.", "Statue of Smith built in 1867–1870 at the old headquarters of the University of London, 6 Burlington Gardens.", "A large-scale memorial of Smith by Alexander Stoddart was unveiled on 4 July 2008 in Edinburgh.", "It is a -tall bronze sculpture and it stands above the Royal Mile outside St Giles' Cathedral in Parliament Square, near the Mercat cross.", "20th-century sculptor Jim Sanborn (best known for the ''Kryptos'' sculpture at the United States Central Intelligence Agency) has created multiple pieces which feature Smith's work.", "At Central Connecticut State University is ''Circulating Capital'', a tall cylinder which features an extract from ''The Wealth of Nations'' on the lower half, and on the upper half, some of the same text but represented in binary code.", "At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, outside the Belk College of Business Administration, is ''Adam Smith's Spinning Top''.", "Another Smith sculpture is at Cleveland State University.", "He also appears as the narrator in the 2013 play ''The Low Road'', centred on a proponent on laissez-faire economics in the late eighteenth century but dealing obliquely with the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the recession which followed—in the premiere production, he was portrayed by Bill Paterson.", "A bust of Smith is in the Hall of Heroes of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling.", "===Residence===\nAdam Smith resided at Panmure house from 1778–90.", "This residence has now been purchased by the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot Watt University and fundraising has begun to restore it.", "Part of the Northern end of the original building appears to have been demolished in the 19th century to make way for an iron foundry.", "===As a symbol of free market economics===\n''Adam Smith's Spinning Top'', sculpture by Jim Sanborn at Cleveland State University | alt=A sculpture of an upside down cone\n\nSmith has been celebrated by advocates of free market policies as the founder of free market economics, a view reflected in the naming of bodies such as the Adam Smith Institute in London, the Adam Smith Society and the Australian Adam Smith Club, and in terms such as the Adam Smith necktie.", "Alan Greenspan argues that, while Smith did not coin the term ''laissez-faire'', \"it was left to Adam Smith to identify the more-general set of principles that brought conceptual clarity to the seeming chaos of market transactions\".", "Greenspan continues that ''The Wealth of Nations'' was \"one of the great achievements in human intellectual history\".", "P. J. O'Rourke describes Smith as the \"founder of free market economics\".", "Other writers have argued that Smith's support for ''laissez-faire'' (which in French means leave alone) has been overstated.", "Herbert Stein wrote that the people who \"wear an Adam Smith necktie\" do it to \"make a statement of their devotion to the idea of free markets and limited government\", and that this misrepresents Smith's ideas.", "Stein writes that Smith \"was not pure or doctrinaire about this idea.", "He viewed government intervention in the market with great skepticism...yet he was prepared to accept or propose qualifications to that policy in the specific cases where he judged that their net effect would be beneficial and would not undermine the basically free character of the system.", "He did not wear the Adam Smith necktie.\"", "In Stein's reading, ''The Wealth of Nations'' could justify the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, mandatory employer health benefits, environmentalism, and \"discriminatory taxation to deter improper or luxurious behavior\".", "Similarly, Vivienne Brown stated in ''The Economic Journal'' that in the 20th century United States, Reaganomics supporters, the ''Wall Street Journal'', and other similar sources have spread among the general public a partial and misleading vision of Smith, portraying him as an \"extreme dogmatic defender of ''laissez-faire'' capitalism and supply-side economics\".", "In fact, ''The Wealth of Nations'' includes the following statement on the payment of taxes:\n\n\"The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.\"", "Some commentators have argued that Smith's works show support for a progressive, not flat, income tax and that he specifically named taxes that he thought should be required by the state, among them luxury goods taxes and tax on rent.", "Yet Smith argued for the \"impossibility of taxing the people, in proportion to their economic revenue, by any capitation\" (''The Wealth of Nations,'' V.ii.k.1).", "Smith argued that taxes should principally go toward protecting \"justice\" and \"certain publick institutions\" that were necessary for the benefit of all of society but that could not be provided by private enterprise (''The Wealth of Nations,'' IV.ix.51).", "Additionally, Smith outlined the proper expenses of the government in ''The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Ch.", "I''.", "Included in his requirements of a government is to enforce contracts and provide justice system, grant patents and copy rights, provide public goods such as infrastructure, provide national defence and regulate banking.", "It was the role of the government to provide goods \"of such a nature that the profit could never repay the expense to any individual\" such as roads, bridges, canals, and harbours.", "He also encouraged invention and new ideas through his patent enforcement and support of infant industry monopolies.", "He supported partial public subsidies for elementary education, and he believed that competition among religious institutions would provide general benefit to the society.", "In such cases, however, Smith argued for local rather than centralised control: \"Even those publick works which are of such a nature that they cannot afford any revenue for maintaining themselves .", ".", ".", "are always better maintained by a local or provincial revenue, under the management of a local and provincial administration, than by the general revenue of the state\" (''Wealth of Nations,'' V.i.d.18).", "Finally he outlined how the government should support the dignity of the monarch or chief magistrate, such that they are equal or above the public in fashion.", "He even states that monarchs should be provided for in a greater fashion than magistrates of a republic because \"we naturally expect more splendor in the court of a king than in the mansion-house of a doge\".", "In addition, he allowed that in some specific circumstances retaliatory tariffs may be beneficial:\n\n\"The recovery of a great foreign market will generally more than compensate the transitory inconvenience of paying dearer during a short time for some sorts of goods.\"", "He added, however, that in general a retaliatory tariff \"seems a bad method of compensating the injury done to certain classes of our people, to do another injury ourselves, not only to those classes, but to almost all the other classes of them\" (''The Wealth of Nations,'' IV.ii.39).", "Economic historians such as Jacob Viner regard Smith as a strong advocate of free markets and limited government (what Smith called \"natural liberty\") but not as a dogmatic supporter of ''laissez-faire''.", "Economist Daniel Klein believes using the term \"free market economics\" or \"free market economist\" to identify the ideas of Smith is too general and slightly misleading.", "Klein offers six characteristics central to the identity of Smith's economic thought and argues that a new name is needed to give a more accurate depiction of the \"Smithian\" identity.", "Economist David Ricardo set straight some of the misunderstandings about Smith's thoughts on free market.", "Most people still fall victim to the thinking that Smith was a free market economist without exception, though he was not.", "Ricardo pointed out that Smith was in support of helping infant industries.", "Smith believed that the government should subsidise newly formed industry, but he did fear that when the infant industry grew into adulthood it would be unwilling to surrender the government help.", "Smith also supported tariffs on imported goods to counteract an internal tax on the same good.", "Smith also fell to pressure in supporting some tariffs in support for national defence.", "Some have also claimed, Emma Rothschild among them, that Smith would have supported a minimum wage, although there is no direct textual evidence supporting the claim.", "Indeed, Smith wrote:\n\nThe price of labour, it must be observed, cannot be ascertained very accurately anywhere, different prices being often paid at the same place and for the same sort of labour, not only according to the different abilities of the workmen, but according to the easiness or hardness of the masters.", "Where wages are not regulated by law, all that we can pretend to determine is what are the most usual; and experience seems to show that law can never regulate them properly, though it has often pretended to do so.", "(''The Wealth of Nations'', Book 1, Chapter 8)\n\nHowever, Smith also noted, to the contrary, the existence of an imbalanced, inequality of bargaining power:\nA landlord, a farmer, a master manufacturer, a merchant, though they did not employ a single workman, could generally live a year or two upon the stocks which they have already acquired.", "Many workmen could not subsist a week, few could subsist a month, and scarce any a year without employment.", "In the long run the workman may be as necessary to his master as his master is to him; but the necessity is not so immediate.", "* Organizational capital\n* List of abolitionist forerunners\n* List of Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts", "* Robert.L.Helbroner.", "''The Essential Adam Smith''.", "* Benians, E. A (1925). \"", "Adam Smith’s Project of an Empire.\"", "''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 1 (3): 249–83.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Nicholson, Joseph Shield (1909).", "''A Project of Empire: A Critical Study of the Economics of Imperialism, with Special Reference to the Ideas of Adam Smith.''", "London.", "* Otteson, James R. (2002).", "''Adam Smith's Marketplace of Life.''", "Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.", "* Palen, Marc-William (March 2014).", "“ Adam Smith as Advocate of Empire, c. 1870–1932.” ''Historical Journal'' 57 (1): 179–98.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Hardwick, D., and Marsh, L. (2014). ''", "Propriety and Prosperity: New Studies on the Philosophy of Adam Smith''.", "Palgrave Macmillan\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Phillipson Nicholas: ''Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life'', Yale University Press, 2010 , 352 pages; scholarly biography\n* Iain McLean, ''Adam Smith, Radical and Egalitarian: An Interpretation for the 21st Century'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)\n* Éric Pichet, (2004), Adam Smith, je connais !, French biography.", "* Vianello, F. 1999, \"Social accounting in Adam Smith\", in: Mongiovi, G. and Petri F.", "(eds.", "), ''Value, Distribution and capital.", "Essays in honour of Pierangelo Garegnani'', London, Routledge, .", "* \n* Wolloch, N. (2015).", "\"Symposium on Jack Russell Weinstein’s Adam Smith’s Pluralism: Rationality, Education And The Moral Sentiments\". ''", "Cosmos + Taxis''\n* \"Adam Smith and Empire: A New Talking Empire Podcast,\" ''Imperial & Global Forum'', 12 March 2014.", "\n\n\n\n* at the Adam Smith Institute\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* References to Adam Smith in historic European newspapers" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Amitabh Harivansh Rai Shrivastava Bachchan''' (; born 11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s for movies like ''Zanjeer'' and ''Deewaar'', and was dubbed India's first \"angry young man\" for his on-screen roles in Bollywood. Referred to as the \"Shahenshah of Bollywood\", \"Star of the Millennium\" or \"Big B\",\nhe has since appeared in over 190 Indian films in a career spanning almost five decades. Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. So total was his dominance on the movie scene in the 1970s and 1980s that the French director François Truffaut called him a \"one-man industry.\"\n\nBachchan has won numerous accolades in his career, including four National Film Awards as Best Actor and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies. He has won fifteen Filmfare Awards and is the most nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 41 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He has hosted several seasons of the game show, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'', India's version of the game show franchise, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s.\n\nThe Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts. The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond.\n\nBachchan made his Hollywood debut in 2013 with ''The Great Gatsby'', in which he played a non-Indian Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim.\n", "\nBachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in north central India. His ancestors on his father's side hailed from a village called Babupatti, in the Raniganj tehsil, in the Pratapgarh district, in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, in India. His father Harivansh Rai Srivastava (Bachchan) was a Srivastava Kayastha Awadhi Hindu and a well-known Awadhi dialect-Hindi poet and his mother Teji Bachchan was a Khatri-Kshatriya Punjabi Sikh from Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Punjab. Bachchan was initially named ''Inquilaab,'' inspired by the phrase ''Inquilab Zindabad'' popularly used during the Indian independence struggle. In English, ''Inquilab Zindabad'' means \"Long live the revolution.\" However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the boy's name to Amitabh, which, according to a Times of India article, means \"the light that will never die.\". \nAlthough his surname was Shrivastava, Amitabh's father had adopted the pen name Bachchan (\"child-like\" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films and for all other practical purposes, Bachchan has become the surname for all of his immediate family. Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.\n\nBachchan is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital. He later attended Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. He has a younger brother, Ajitabh. His mother had a keen interest in theatre and was offered a feature film role, but she preferred her domestic duties. Teji had some influence in Amitabh Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should \"take the centre stage.\"\n\nBachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. The couple have two children, Shweta Bachchan (later after marriage, known as Shweta Nanda wife of businessman Nikhil Nanda) and Abhishek Bachchan (actor and husband of actress Aishwarya Rai).\n", "\n===Early work: 1969–1972===\nBachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film ''Bhuvan Shome''. His first acting role was as one of the seven protagonists in the film ''Saat Hindustani'' directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Anwar Ali (brother of comedian Mehmood), Madhu and Jalal Agha.\n\n''Anand'' (1971) followed, in which Bachchan starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. His role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garnered Bachchan his first Filmfare ''Best Supporting Actor'' award. He then played his first antagonist role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in ''Parwana'' (1971). Following Parwana were several films including ''Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971). During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film ''Guddi'' which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri. He narrated part of the film ''Bawarchi.'' In 1972 he made an appearance in the road action comedy ''Bombay to Goa'' directed by S. Ramanathan. Many of Bachchan's films during this early period did not do well, but that was about to change.\n\n===Rise to stardom: 1973–1983===\nJaya Bhaduri Bachchan in 2013, the couple got married in 1973, after the release of ''Zanjeer''.\nDirector Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film ''Zanjeer'' (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the \"angry young man\" of Bollywood cinema. Filmfare considers this one of the most iconic performances of Bollywood history. The film was a huge success and one of the highest-grossing films of that year, breaking Bachchan's dry spell at the box office and making him a star. From then onwards, Bachchan became one of the most successful leading men of the film industry. He earned his first Filmfare nomination for Best Actor for ''Zanjeer''. The year 1973 was also when he married Jaya, and around this time they appeared in several films together; not only in ''Zanjeer'' but in films such as ''Abhimaan'' which followed and was released only a month after their marriage and was also successful at the box office. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram, once again along with Rajesh Khanna, in the film ''Namak Haraam'', a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role won him his second Filmfare ''Best Supporting Actor'' award.\n\nIn 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as ''Kunwara Baap'' and ''Dost'', before playing a supporting role in ''Roti Kapda Aur Makaan''. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship and was the top earning film of 1974. Bachchan then played the leading role in the film ''Majboor'', released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film ''Zig Zag''. The film was a success at the box office. In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy ''Chupke Chupke,'' the crime drama ''Faraar'' to the romantic drama ''Mili.'' 1975 was also the year when Bachchan appeared in two films regarded as important in Hindi cinema history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film ''Deewaar'' along with Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, earning him a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4. ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranks ''Deewaar'' amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''. Released on 15 August 1975 was ''Sholay'', which became the highest-grossing film of 1975 and also of all time in India, earning INR equivalent to US$60 million, after adjusting for inflation, in which Bachchan played the role of Jaidev. Sholay is often credited with exalting Bachchan to the heights of superstardom, two years after he became a star with Zanjeer and consolidating his domination of the industry throughout the 70s and 80s. In 1999, BBC India declared it the \"Film of the Millennium\" and like ''Deewar'', it has been cited by ''Indiatimes movies'' as amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''. In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards awarded it with the special distinction award called the Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.\n\nIn 1976, he was cast by Yash Chopra in the romantic family drama ''Kabhie Kabhie''. Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja (Rakhee Gulzar) who ends up marrying someone else (Shashi Kapoor). The film was notable for portraying Bachchan as a romantic hero, a far cry from his \"angry young man\" roles like ''Zanjeer'' and ''Deewar''. The film evoked a favourable response from critics and audiences alike. Bachchan was again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role in the film. That same year he played a double role in ''Adalat'' as father and son. In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. The film was the highest-grossing film of that year. His other successes that year include ''Parvarish'' and ''Khoon Pasina''. He once again resumed double roles in films such as ''Kasme Vaade'' (1978) as Amit and Shankar and ''Don'' (1978) playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld gang and his look-alike Vijay. His performance won him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also gave towering performances in Yash Chopra's ''Trishul'' and Prakash Mehra's ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' both of which earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. 1978 is widely regarded as perhaps his most successful year at the box office since all of his six releases the same year, namely Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Trishul, Don, Kasme Vaade, ''Ganga Ki Saugandh'' and ''Besharam'' were massive successes, the former three being the consecutive highest-grossing films of the year, remarkably releasing within a couple of months of each other, a rare feat in Indian cinema.\nIn 1979, Bachchan starred in ''Suhaag'' which was the highest earning film of that year. In the same year he also enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success with films like ''Mr. Natwarlal,'' ''Kaala Patthar'', ''The Great Gambler'' and ''Manzil''. Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the first time in a song from the film ''Mr. Natwarlal'' in which he starred with Rekha. Bachchan's performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the ''Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer''. He also received Best Actor nomination for ''Kaala Patthar'' and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film ''Dostana'', in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. ''Dostana'' proved to be the top-grossing film of 1980. In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama film ''Silsila'', where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and also Rekha. Other films of this period like ''Shaan'' (1980) and ''Shakti'' (1982) which pitted him against the veteran actor Dilip Kumar were not successful at the box office but ''Ram Balram'' (1980), ''Naseeb'' (1981) and ''Lawaaris'' (1981) were successful.\n\nIn 1982 he played double roles in the films ''Satte Pe Satta'' and ''Desh Premee'' which succeeded at the box office. In 1983 he played a triple role in ''Mahaan'' and starred in the top-grossing film of that year ''Coolie''.\n\n===1982 injury while filming ''Coolie''===\nOn 26 July 1982, while filming ''Coolie'', in the University Campus in Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. Bachchan was performing his own stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall onto a table and then on the ground. However, as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood. He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating.\n\nNevertheless, he resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office success and the top-grossing film of that year.\n\nThe director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending of ''Coolie'' after Bachchan's accident. Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end. It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen. Also, in the released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking this as the instant of the actor's injury and the ensuing publicity of the accident.\n\nLater, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics. At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received and stated before every release, \"Yeh film to flop hogi!\" (\"This film will flop\").\n\n===Politics: 1984–87===\nIn 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's seat of 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote). His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool. The resignation followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother in the \"Bofors scandal\" by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court. Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.\n\nHis old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during the financial crisis caused by the failure of his company, ABCL. Thereafter Bachchan started supporting the Samajwadi Party, the political party to which Amar Singh belonged. Furthermore, Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi party and represented the party as an MP in the Rajya Sabha. Bachchan has continued to do favours for the Samajwadi party, including appearing in advertisements and political campaigns. These activities have recently got him into trouble in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.\n\nA 15-year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by ''Stardust'' and some of the other film magazines. In defence, Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets until late 1989.\n\n===Comeback and retirement: 1988–1992===\nAgneepath.\nIn 1988, Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role in ''Shahenshah'', which was a box office success. After the success of his comeback film however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films like ''Jaadugar'', ''Toofan'' and ''Main Azaad Hoon'' (all released in 1989) failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film, ''Hum'', for which he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, looked like it might reverse the trend, but this momentum was short-lived and his string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite the lack of hits, it was during this era that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance as a Mafia don in the 1990 film ''Agneepath.'' These years would see his last on-screen appearances for some time. After the release of ''Khuda Gawah'' in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years. With the exception of the delayed release of ''Insaniyat'' (1994), which was also a box office failure, Bachchan did not appear in any new releases for five years.\n\n===Producer and acting comeback 1996–99===\nBachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996, with a vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approx. U.S. $250 M) premier entertainment company by the year 2000. ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering an entire cross-section of India's entertainment industry. ABCL's operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, and celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film it produced was ''Tere Mere Sapne,'' which did not fare well at the box office but launched the careers of actors like Arshad Warsi and southern film star Simran. ABCL produced a few other films, none of which did well.\n\nIn 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film ''Mrityudata'', produced by ABCL. Though ''Mrityudaata'' attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the ''1996 Miss World beauty pageant'', Bangalore, but lost millions. The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by the Indian Industries board. The Bombay high court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to raise funds for his company.\n\nBachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with ''Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'' (1998), and received positive reviews for ''Sooryavansham'' (1999) but other films such as ''Lal Baadshah'' (1999) and ''Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (1999) were box office failures.\n\n===Return to prominence: 2000–present===\nBachchan at the IIFA Awards in 2006\nBachchan with Mohanlal\nIn 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, ''Mohabbatein'', directed by Aditya Chopra. He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan. His role won him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Other hits followed, with Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in ''Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love'' (2001), ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001) and ''Baghban'' (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in ''Aks'' (2001), ''Aankhen'' (2002), ''Khakee'' (2004) and ''Dev'' (2004).\nHis performance in ''Aks'' won him his first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.\nOne project that did particularly well for Bachchan was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005). The film starred Bachchan as an aging teacher of a deaf-blind girl and followed their relationship. His performance was unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor, his fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award and his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films ''Bunty Aur Babli'' (2005), the ''Godfather'' tribute ''Sarkar'' (2005), and ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006). All of them were successful at the box office. His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were ''Baabul'' (2006), ''Ekalavya'' and ''Nishabd'' (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics.\n\nIn May 2007, two of his films ''Cheeni Kum'' and the multi-starrer ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' were released. ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' did well at the box office and was declared a semi-hit in India, while ''Cheeni Kum'' picked up after a slow start and only had average success. A remake of his biggest hit, ''Sholay'' (1975), entitled ''Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag'', released in August of that same year and proved to be a major commercial failure in addition to its poor critical reception. The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh's ''The Last Lear'', co-starring Arjun Rampal and Preity Zinta. The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since ''Black''.\nBachchan was slated to play a supporting role in his first international film, ''Shantaram'', directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead. The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008. The film is currently \"shelved\" indefinitely. Vivek Sharma's ''Bhoothnath'', in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on 9 May 2008. ''Sarkar Raj'', the sequel of the 2005 film ''Sarkar'', released in June 2008 and received a positive response at the box-office. ''Paa'', which released at the end of 2009 was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son Abhishek's Progeria-affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance. It won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through ''Kandahar'', directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal. The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814. Bachchan declined any remuneration for this film. In 2013 he made his Hollywood debut in ''The Great Gatsby'' making a special appearance opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. In 2014, he played the role of the friendly ghost in the sequel ''Bhoothnath Returns''. The next year, he played the role of a grumpy father suffering from chronic constipation in the critically acclaimed ''Piku'' which was also one of the biggest hits of 2015. A review in ''Daily News and Analysis'' (DNA) summarized Bachchan's performance as \"The heart and soul of Piku clearly belong to Amitabh Bachchan who is in his elements. His performance in Piku, without doubt, finds a place among the top 10 in his illustrious career.\" ''The Guardian'' summed up, \"Bachchan seizes upon his cranky character part, making Bashkor as garrulously funny in his theories on caste and marriage as his system is backed-up.\" The performance won Bachchan his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor and his third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. Bachchan will next appear in Ram Gopal Varma's ''Sarkar 3''. He has also committed to starring in ''Thugs Of Hindostan'' with Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh.\n\n===Television career===\nAmitabh Bachchan at KBC-5 Press Meet\nIn 2000, Bachchan hosted the first season of ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (''KBC''), the Indian adaptation of the British television game show, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. The show was well received. A second season followed in 2005 but its run was cut short by STAR Plus when Bachchan fell ill in 2006.\n\nIn 2009, Bachchan hosted the third season of the reality show ''Bigg Boss''.\n\nIn 2010, Bachchan hosted the fourth season of ''KBC''. The fifth season started on 15 August 2011 and ended on 17 November 2011. The show became a massive hit with audiences and broke many TRP Records. CNN IBN awarded Indian of the Year- Entertainment to Team KBC and Bachchan. The Show also grabbed all the major Awards for its category. Bachchan continued to host KBC until 2014.\n\nThe sixth season was also hosted by Bachchan, commencing on 7 September 2012, broadcast on Sony TV and received the highest number of viewers thus far.\n\nIn 2014, he debuted in the fictional Sony Entertainment Television TV series titled ''Yudh'' playing the lead role of a businessman battling both his personal and professional life.\n\nBachchan is also the brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism, which he has been since 1 February 2010.\n\n===Voice===\nBachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer, and presenter for numerous programmes. Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Bachchan's voice that he decided to use Bachchan as the narrator in his 1977 film ''Shatranj Ke Khilari'' (The Chess Players). Bachchan lent his voice as a narrator to the 2001 movie ''Lagaan'' which was a super hit. In 2005, Bachchan lent his voice to the Oscar-winning French documentary ''March of the Penguins'', directed by Luc Jacquet.\n\nHe also done voice-over work for the following movies:\n\n*''Balika Badhu'' (1975)\n*''Tere Mere Sapne'' (1996)\n*''Lagaan'' (2001)\n*''Parineeta'' (2005)\n*''Jodhaa Akbar'' (2008)\n*''Swami'' (2007)\n*''Zor Lagaa Ke...Haiya!'' (2009)\n*''Kahaani'' (2012)\n*''Krrish 3'' (2013)\n*''Mahabharat'' (2013)\n*''Kochadaiiyaan (Hindi Version)'' (2014)\n*''The Ghazi Attack'' (2017)\n", "Bachchan speaking at a function in 2013.\nAmitabh Bachchan has been involved in many social works. Amitabh donated to clear the debts of nearly 40 beleaguered farmers in Andhra Pradesh. He also donated to clear the debts of some 100 Vidarbha farmers.\n\nIn 2010, he donated for Resul Pookutty's foundation, for a medical centre at Kochi.\n\nAmitabh Bachchan donated to Delhi Police constable Subhash Chand Tomar's family, who died after succumbing to injuries during anti gang-rape protest for 2012 Delhi gang rape. He opened a Harivansh Rai Bachchan Memorial Trust, or HRB Memorial Trust in his father's name in 2013.\n\nAmitabh Bachchan was made UNICEF goodwill ambassador for the polio Eradication Campaign in India in 2002, when 1,556 polio cases were detected that year. On 27 March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India a polio free country with no case of disease being reported in the previous three years. In 2013, Amitabh and his family donated to charitable trust Plan India, that works for the betterment of the girl child in India. Amitabh Bachchan donated to the Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund in 2013. Amitabh was the face of the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign that promoted the importance of tiger conservation in India.\n\nAmitabh also supported PETA India's campaign to free Sunder, a 14-year-old elephant who was chained and tortured in a temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. After the elephant was freed and rehabilitated in Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, he was reported to tweet, \"@PetaIndia has turned elephant Sunder’s home into free-roaming, forested sanctuary... feeling good I contributed to this cause!\"\n\nIn 2014, it was announced that he had recorded his voice and lent his image to the Hindi and English language versions of the TeachAIDS software, an international HIV/AIDS prevention education tool developed at Stanford University.\n", "Amitabh Bachchan has invested in many upcoming business ventures. In 2013, he bought a 10% stake in Just Dial from which he made a gain of 4600 percent. He holds a 3.4% equity in Stampede Capital, a financial technology firm specializing in cloud computing for financial markets. The Bachchan family also bought shares worth $252,000 in Meridian Tech, a consulting company in U.S. Recently they made their first overseas investment in Ziddu.com, a cloud based content distribution platform.\n", "\n\nApart from National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards and other competitive awards which Bachchan won for his performances throughout the years, he has been awarded several honours for his achievements in the Indian film industry. In 1991, he became the first artist to receive the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established in the name of Raj Kapoor. Bachchan was crowned as Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards.\n\nIn 1999, Bachchan was voted the \"greatest star of stage or screen\" in a BBC ''Your Millennium'' online poll. The organisation noted that \"Many people in the western world will not have heard of him ... but it is a reflection of the huge popularity of Indian films.\" In 2001, he was honoured with the Actor of the Century award at the Alexandria International Film Festival in Egypt in recognition of his contribution to the world of cinema. Many other honours for his achievements were conferred upon him at several International Film Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Asian Film Awards.\n\nIn June 2000, he became the first living Asian to have been modeled in wax at London's Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Another statue was installed in New York in 2009, Hong Kong in 2011, Bangkok in 2011, Washington, DC in 2012, and Delhi, in 2017.\n\nIn 2003, he was conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of the French town of Deauville.\n\n;Civilian Awards\nThe Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. France's highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred upon him by the French Government in 2007 for his \"exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond\".\n\n'''Honoured with an Honorary Doctorate'''\n* In 2004, by the University of Jhansi, India,\n* In 2006, by the University of Delhi\n* In 2006, by the De Montfort University in Leicester, UK\n* In 2007, by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire, UK\n* In 2011, by the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia\n* In 2013, by the Jodhpur National University\n* In 2015, by the Academy of Arts (Egypt) in Cairo, Egypt\n\nAmitabh Bachchan with the Olympic flame in London on 27 July 2012\nOn 27 July 2012, Bachchan carried the Olympic torch during the last leg of its relay in London's Southwark.\n\nSeveral books have been written about Bachchan. \n* ''Amitabh Bachchan: the Legend'' was published in 1999, \n* ''To be or not to be: Amitabh Bachchan'' in 2004, \n* ''AB: The Legend (A Photographer's Tribute)'' in 2006, \n* ''Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit Kimvadanti'' in 2006, \n* ''Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar'' in 2006, \n* ''Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me'' in 2007 and \n* ''Bachchanalia'' in 2009.\n\nBachchan himself wrote a book in 2002: ''Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life''. In the early 80s, Bachchan authorised the use of his likeness for the comic book character Supremo in a series titled ''The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan''. In May 2014, La Trobe University in Australia named a Scholarship after Bachchan.\n\nHe was named \"Hottest Vegetarian\" by PETA India in 2012. He won the title of \"Asia's Sexiest Vegetarian\" in a contest poll run by PETA Asia\n", "Amitabh Bachchan Sports Complex in Allahabad managed by UP Sports Directorate is named after him. Also a road is named after him as Amitabh Bachchan Road in his home town, Allahabad. A government senior secondary school in Saifai, Etawah, '''Amitabh Bachchan Government Inter College, Saifai''', established in 1997 is also named after him.\n\nThere is a temple in Kolkata, where Amitabh is worshipped as a God. The tiles of the temple are adorned with the words \"Jai Shri Amitabh\"; in place of the idol, you see his photo and a pair of white shoes that the actor wore in his movie, Agneepath\n", "\n\n\n Year\n Film\n Role\n Notes\n\n 1971\n ''Anand''\n Dr. Bhaskar Bannerjee (Babu Moshai)\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 1973\n ''Namak Haraam''\n Vikram (Vicky)\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 1975\n ''Sholay''\n Jai (Jaidev)\n Regarded as the most popular Hindi film ever.\n\n 1977\n ''Amar Akbar Anthony''\n Anthony Gonsalves\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 1978\n ''Don''\n Don/ Vijay\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 1990\n ''Agneepath''\n Vijay Deenanath Chauhan\n National Film Award for Best Actor\n\n 1991\n ''Hum''\n Tiger / Shekhar\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 2000\n ''Mohabbatein''\n Narayan Shankar\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 2001\n ''Aks''\n Manu Verma\n Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor\n\n 2005\n ''Black''\n Debraj Sahani\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Award for Best Actor Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor\n\n 2009\n ''Paa''\n Auro\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 2015\n ''Piku''\n Bhashkor Banerjee\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actor\n\n", "\n\n", "* Mazumdar, Ranjani.'' Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007 \n* \n* \n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n", "\n\n\n* Amitabh Bachchan's official blog\n* \n* \n* British Academy of Film and Television Arts brochure\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early and personal life", "Career", "Humanitarian causes", "Business investments", "Awards, honours and recognitions", "Memorials", "Selected filmography", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The Bombay high court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Amitabh Harivansh Rai Shrivastava Bachchan''' (; born 11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor.", "He first gained popularity in the early 1970s for movies like ''Zanjeer'' and ''Deewaar'', and was dubbed India's first \"angry young man\" for his on-screen roles in Bollywood.", "Referred to as the \"Shahenshah of Bollywood\", \"Star of the Millennium\" or \"Big B\",\nhe has since appeared in over 190 Indian films in a career spanning almost five decades.", "Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema.", "So total was his dominance on the movie scene in the 1970s and 1980s that the French director François Truffaut called him a \"one-man industry.\"", "Bachchan has won numerous accolades in his career, including four National Film Awards as Best Actor and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies.", "He has won fifteen Filmfare Awards and is the most nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 41 nominations overall.", "In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter.", "He has hosted several seasons of the game show, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'', India's version of the game show franchise, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''.", "He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s.", "The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts.", "The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond.", "Bachchan made his Hollywood debut in 2013 with ''The Great Gatsby'', in which he played a non-Indian Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim.", "\nBachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in north central India.", "His ancestors on his father's side hailed from a village called Babupatti, in the Raniganj tehsil, in the Pratapgarh district, in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, in India.", "His father Harivansh Rai Srivastava (Bachchan) was a Srivastava Kayastha Awadhi Hindu and a well-known Awadhi dialect-Hindi poet and his mother Teji Bachchan was a Khatri-Kshatriya Punjabi Sikh from Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Punjab.", "Bachchan was initially named ''Inquilaab,'' inspired by the phrase ''Inquilab Zindabad'' popularly used during the Indian independence struggle.", "In English, ''Inquilab Zindabad'' means \"Long live the revolution.\"", "However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the boy's name to Amitabh, which, according to a Times of India article, means \"the light that will never die.\".", "Although his surname was Shrivastava, Amitabh's father had adopted the pen name Bachchan (\"child-like\" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works.", "It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films and for all other practical purposes, Bachchan has become the surname for all of his immediate family.", "Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.", "Bachchan is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital.", "He later attended Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.", "He has a younger brother, Ajitabh.", "His mother had a keen interest in theatre and was offered a feature film role, but she preferred her domestic duties.", "Teji had some influence in Amitabh Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should \"take the centre stage.\"", "Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri.", "The couple have two children, Shweta Bachchan (later after marriage, known as Shweta Nanda wife of businessman Nikhil Nanda) and Abhishek Bachchan (actor and husband of actress Aishwarya Rai).", "\n===Early work: 1969–1972===\nBachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film ''Bhuvan Shome''.", "His first acting role was as one of the seven protagonists in the film ''Saat Hindustani'' directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Anwar Ali (brother of comedian Mehmood), Madhu and Jalal Agha.", "''Anand'' (1971) followed, in which Bachchan starred alongside Rajesh Khanna.", "His role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garnered Bachchan his first Filmfare ''Best Supporting Actor'' award.", "He then played his first antagonist role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in ''Parwana'' (1971).", "Following Parwana were several films including ''Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971).", "During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film ''Guddi'' which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri.", "He narrated part of the film ''Bawarchi.''", "In 1972 he made an appearance in the road action comedy ''Bombay to Goa'' directed by S. Ramanathan.", "Many of Bachchan's films during this early period did not do well, but that was about to change.", "===Rise to stardom: 1973–1983===\nJaya Bhaduri Bachchan in 2013, the couple got married in 1973, after the release of ''Zanjeer''.", "Director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film ''Zanjeer'' (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna.", "The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the \"angry young man\" of Bollywood cinema.", "Filmfare considers this one of the most iconic performances of Bollywood history.", "The film was a huge success and one of the highest-grossing films of that year, breaking Bachchan's dry spell at the box office and making him a star.", "From then onwards, Bachchan became one of the most successful leading men of the film industry.", "He earned his first Filmfare nomination for Best Actor for ''Zanjeer''.", "The year 1973 was also when he married Jaya, and around this time they appeared in several films together; not only in ''Zanjeer'' but in films such as ''Abhimaan'' which followed and was released only a month after their marriage and was also successful at the box office.", "Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram, once again along with Rajesh Khanna, in the film ''Namak Haraam'', a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship.", "His supporting role won him his second Filmfare ''Best Supporting Actor'' award.", "In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as ''Kunwara Baap'' and ''Dost'', before playing a supporting role in ''Roti Kapda Aur Makaan''.", "The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship and was the top earning film of 1974.", "Bachchan then played the leading role in the film ''Majboor'', released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film ''Zig Zag''.", "The film was a success at the box office.", "In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy ''Chupke Chupke,'' the crime drama ''Faraar'' to the romantic drama ''Mili.''", "1975 was also the year when Bachchan appeared in two films regarded as important in Hindi cinema history.", "He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film ''Deewaar'' along with Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, earning him a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor.", "The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4.", "''Indiatimes Movies'' ranks ''Deewaar'' amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''.", "Released on 15 August 1975 was ''Sholay'', which became the highest-grossing film of 1975 and also of all time in India, earning INR equivalent to US$60 million, after adjusting for inflation, in which Bachchan played the role of Jaidev.", "Sholay is often credited with exalting Bachchan to the heights of superstardom, two years after he became a star with Zanjeer and consolidating his domination of the industry throughout the 70s and 80s.", "In 1999, BBC India declared it the \"Film of the Millennium\" and like ''Deewar'', it has been cited by ''Indiatimes movies'' as amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''.", "In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards awarded it with the special distinction award called the Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.", "In 1976, he was cast by Yash Chopra in the romantic family drama ''Kabhie Kabhie''.", "Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja (Rakhee Gulzar) who ends up marrying someone else (Shashi Kapoor).", "The film was notable for portraying Bachchan as a romantic hero, a far cry from his \"angry young man\" roles like ''Zanjeer'' and ''Deewar''.", "The film evoked a favourable response from critics and audiences alike.", "Bachchan was again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role in the film.", "That same year he played a double role in ''Adalat'' as father and son.", "In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves.", "The film was the highest-grossing film of that year.", "His other successes that year include ''Parvarish'' and ''Khoon Pasina''.", "He once again resumed double roles in films such as ''Kasme Vaade'' (1978) as Amit and Shankar and ''Don'' (1978) playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld gang and his look-alike Vijay.", "His performance won him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award.", "He also gave towering performances in Yash Chopra's ''Trishul'' and Prakash Mehra's ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' both of which earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations.", "1978 is widely regarded as perhaps his most successful year at the box office since all of his six releases the same year, namely Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Trishul, Don, Kasme Vaade, ''Ganga Ki Saugandh'' and ''Besharam'' were massive successes, the former three being the consecutive highest-grossing films of the year, remarkably releasing within a couple of months of each other, a rare feat in Indian cinema.", "In 1979, Bachchan starred in ''Suhaag'' which was the highest earning film of that year.", "In the same year he also enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success with films like ''Mr.", "Natwarlal,'' ''Kaala Patthar'', ''The Great Gambler'' and ''Manzil''.", "Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the first time in a song from the film ''Mr.", "Natwarlal'' in which he starred with Rekha.", "Bachchan's performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the ''Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer''.", "He also received Best Actor nomination for ''Kaala Patthar'' and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film ''Dostana'', in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman.", "''Dostana'' proved to be the top-grossing film of 1980.", "In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama film ''Silsila'', where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and also Rekha.", "Other films of this period like ''Shaan'' (1980) and ''Shakti'' (1982) which pitted him against the veteran actor Dilip Kumar were not successful at the box office but ''Ram Balram'' (1980), ''Naseeb'' (1981) and ''Lawaaris'' (1981) were successful.", "In 1982 he played double roles in the films ''Satte Pe Satta'' and ''Desh Premee'' which succeeded at the box office.", "In 1983 he played a triple role in ''Mahaan'' and starred in the top-grossing film of that year ''Coolie''.", "===1982 injury while filming ''Coolie''===\nOn 26 July 1982, while filming ''Coolie'', in the University Campus in Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar.", "Bachchan was performing his own stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall onto a table and then on the ground.", "However, as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood.", "He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death.", "The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating.", "Nevertheless, he resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation.", "The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office success and the top-grossing film of that year.", "The director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending of ''Coolie'' after Bachchan's accident.", "Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end.", "It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen.", "Also, in the released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking this as the instant of the actor's injury and the ensuing publicity of the accident.", "Later, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis.", "His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics.", "At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received and stated before every release, \"Yeh film to flop hogi!\"", "(\"This film will flop\").", "===Politics: 1984–87===\nIn 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi.", "He contested Allahabad's seat of 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote).", "His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool.", "The resignation followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother in the \"Bofors scandal\" by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court.", "Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.", "His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during the financial crisis caused by the failure of his company, ABCL.", "Thereafter Bachchan started supporting the Samajwadi Party, the political party to which Amar Singh belonged.", "Furthermore, Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi party and represented the party as an MP in the Rajya Sabha.", "Bachchan has continued to do favours for the Samajwadi party, including appearing in advertisements and political campaigns.", "These activities have recently got him into trouble in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.", "A 15-year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by ''Stardust'' and some of the other film magazines.", "In defence, Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets until late 1989.", "===Comeback and retirement: 1988–1992===\nAgneepath.", "In 1988, Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role in ''Shahenshah'', which was a box office success.", "After the success of his comeback film however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films like ''Jaadugar'', ''Toofan'' and ''Main Azaad Hoon'' (all released in 1989) failed at the box office.", "The 1991 hit film, ''Hum'', for which he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, looked like it might reverse the trend, but this momentum was short-lived and his string of box office failures continued.", "Notably, despite the lack of hits, it was during this era that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance as a Mafia don in the 1990 film ''Agneepath.''", "These years would see his last on-screen appearances for some time.", "After the release of ''Khuda Gawah'' in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years.", "With the exception of the delayed release of ''Insaniyat'' (1994), which was also a box office failure, Bachchan did not appear in any new releases for five years.", "===Producer and acting comeback 1996–99===\nBachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996, with a vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approx.", "U.S. $250 M) premier entertainment company by the year 2000.", "ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering an entire cross-section of India's entertainment industry.", "ABCL's operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, and celebrity and event management.", "Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film it produced was ''Tere Mere Sapne,'' which did not fare well at the box office but launched the careers of actors like Arshad Warsi and southern film star Simran.", "ABCL produced a few other films, none of which did well.", "In 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film ''Mrityudata'', produced by ABCL.", "Though ''Mrityudaata'' attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically.", "ABCL was the main sponsor of the ''1996 Miss World beauty pageant'', Bangalore, but lost millions.", "The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997.", "The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by the Indian Industries board.", "Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to raise funds for his company.", "Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with ''Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'' (1998), and received positive reviews for ''Sooryavansham'' (1999) but other films such as ''Lal Baadshah'' (1999) and ''Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (1999) were box office failures.", "===Return to prominence: 2000–present===\nBachchan at the IIFA Awards in 2006\nBachchan with Mohanlal\nIn 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, ''Mohabbatein'', directed by Aditya Chopra.", "He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan.", "His role won him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.", "Other hits followed, with Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in ''Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love'' (2001), ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001) and ''Baghban'' (2003).", "As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in ''Aks'' (2001), ''Aankhen'' (2002), ''Khakee'' (2004) and ''Dev'' (2004).", "His performance in ''Aks'' won him his first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.", "One project that did particularly well for Bachchan was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005).", "The film starred Bachchan as an aging teacher of a deaf-blind girl and followed their relationship.", "His performance was unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor, his fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award and his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.", "Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements.", "In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films ''Bunty Aur Babli'' (2005), the ''Godfather'' tribute ''Sarkar'' (2005), and ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (2006).", "All of them were successful at the box office.", "His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were ''Baabul'' (2006), ''Ekalavya'' and ''Nishabd'' (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics.", "In May 2007, two of his films ''Cheeni Kum'' and the multi-starrer ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' were released.", "''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' did well at the box office and was declared a semi-hit in India, while ''Cheeni Kum'' picked up after a slow start and only had average success.", "A remake of his biggest hit, ''Sholay'' (1975), entitled ''Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag'', released in August of that same year and proved to be a major commercial failure in addition to its poor critical reception.", "The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh's ''The Last Lear'', co-starring Arjun Rampal and Preity Zinta.", "The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2007.", "He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since ''Black''.", "Bachchan was slated to play a supporting role in his first international film, ''Shantaram'', directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead.", "The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008.", "The film is currently \"shelved\" indefinitely.", "Vivek Sharma's ''Bhoothnath'', in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on 9 May 2008.", "''Sarkar Raj'', the sequel of the 2005 film ''Sarkar'', released in June 2008 and received a positive response at the box-office.", "''Paa'', which released at the end of 2009 was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son Abhishek's Progeria-affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance.", "It won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award.", "In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through ''Kandahar'', directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal.", "The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814.", "Bachchan declined any remuneration for this film.", "In 2013 he made his Hollywood debut in ''The Great Gatsby'' making a special appearance opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.", "In 2014, he played the role of the friendly ghost in the sequel ''Bhoothnath Returns''.", "The next year, he played the role of a grumpy father suffering from chronic constipation in the critically acclaimed ''Piku'' which was also one of the biggest hits of 2015.", "A review in ''Daily News and Analysis'' (DNA) summarized Bachchan's performance as \"The heart and soul of Piku clearly belong to Amitabh Bachchan who is in his elements.", "His performance in Piku, without doubt, finds a place among the top 10 in his illustrious career.\"", "''The Guardian'' summed up, \"Bachchan seizes upon his cranky character part, making Bashkor as garrulously funny in his theories on caste and marriage as his system is backed-up.\"", "The performance won Bachchan his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor and his third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.", "Bachchan will next appear in Ram Gopal Varma's ''Sarkar 3''.", "He has also committed to starring in ''Thugs Of Hindostan'' with Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh.", "===Television career===\nAmitabh Bachchan at KBC-5 Press Meet\nIn 2000, Bachchan hosted the first season of ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (''KBC''), the Indian adaptation of the British television game show, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''.", "The show was well received.", "A second season followed in 2005 but its run was cut short by STAR Plus when Bachchan fell ill in 2006.", "In 2009, Bachchan hosted the third season of the reality show ''Bigg Boss''.", "In 2010, Bachchan hosted the fourth season of ''KBC''.", "The fifth season started on 15 August 2011 and ended on 17 November 2011.", "The show became a massive hit with audiences and broke many TRP Records.", "CNN IBN awarded Indian of the Year- Entertainment to Team KBC and Bachchan.", "The Show also grabbed all the major Awards for its category.", "Bachchan continued to host KBC until 2014.", "The sixth season was also hosted by Bachchan, commencing on 7 September 2012, broadcast on Sony TV and received the highest number of viewers thus far.", "In 2014, he debuted in the fictional Sony Entertainment Television TV series titled ''Yudh'' playing the lead role of a businessman battling both his personal and professional life.", "Bachchan is also the brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism, which he has been since 1 February 2010.", "===Voice===\nBachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice.", "He has been a narrator, a playback singer, and presenter for numerous programmes.", "Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Bachchan's voice that he decided to use Bachchan as the narrator in his 1977 film ''Shatranj Ke Khilari'' (The Chess Players).", "Bachchan lent his voice as a narrator to the 2001 movie ''Lagaan'' which was a super hit.", "In 2005, Bachchan lent his voice to the Oscar-winning French documentary ''March of the Penguins'', directed by Luc Jacquet.", "He also done voice-over work for the following movies:\n\n*''Balika Badhu'' (1975)\n*''Tere Mere Sapne'' (1996)\n*''Lagaan'' (2001)\n*''Parineeta'' (2005)\n*''Jodhaa Akbar'' (2008)\n*''Swami'' (2007)\n*''Zor Lagaa Ke...Haiya!''", "(2009)\n*''Kahaani'' (2012)\n*''Krrish 3'' (2013)\n*''Mahabharat'' (2013)\n*''Kochadaiiyaan (Hindi Version)'' (2014)\n*''The Ghazi Attack'' (2017)", "Bachchan speaking at a function in 2013.", "Amitabh Bachchan has been involved in many social works.", "Amitabh donated to clear the debts of nearly 40 beleaguered farmers in Andhra Pradesh.", "He also donated to clear the debts of some 100 Vidarbha farmers.", "In 2010, he donated for Resul Pookutty's foundation, for a medical centre at Kochi.", "Amitabh Bachchan donated to Delhi Police constable Subhash Chand Tomar's family, who died after succumbing to injuries during anti gang-rape protest for 2012 Delhi gang rape.", "He opened a Harivansh Rai Bachchan Memorial Trust, or HRB Memorial Trust in his father's name in 2013.", "Amitabh Bachchan was made UNICEF goodwill ambassador for the polio Eradication Campaign in India in 2002, when 1,556 polio cases were detected that year.", "On 27 March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India a polio free country with no case of disease being reported in the previous three years.", "In 2013, Amitabh and his family donated to charitable trust Plan India, that works for the betterment of the girl child in India.", "Amitabh Bachchan donated to the Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund in 2013.", "Amitabh was the face of the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign that promoted the importance of tiger conservation in India.", "Amitabh also supported PETA India's campaign to free Sunder, a 14-year-old elephant who was chained and tortured in a temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.", "After the elephant was freed and rehabilitated in Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, he was reported to tweet, \"@PetaIndia has turned elephant Sunder’s home into free-roaming, forested sanctuary... feeling good I contributed to this cause!\"", "In 2014, it was announced that he had recorded his voice and lent his image to the Hindi and English language versions of the TeachAIDS software, an international HIV/AIDS prevention education tool developed at Stanford University.", "Amitabh Bachchan has invested in many upcoming business ventures.", "In 2013, he bought a 10% stake in Just Dial from which he made a gain of 4600 percent.", "He holds a 3.4% equity in Stampede Capital, a financial technology firm specializing in cloud computing for financial markets.", "The Bachchan family also bought shares worth $252,000 in Meridian Tech, a consulting company in U.S.", "Recently they made their first overseas investment in Ziddu.com, a cloud based content distribution platform.", "\n\nApart from National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards and other competitive awards which Bachchan won for his performances throughout the years, he has been awarded several honours for his achievements in the Indian film industry.", "In 1991, he became the first artist to receive the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established in the name of Raj Kapoor.", "Bachchan was crowned as Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards.", "In 1999, Bachchan was voted the \"greatest star of stage or screen\" in a BBC ''Your Millennium'' online poll.", "The organisation noted that \"Many people in the western world will not have heard of him ... but it is a reflection of the huge popularity of Indian films.\"", "In 2001, he was honoured with the Actor of the Century award at the Alexandria International Film Festival in Egypt in recognition of his contribution to the world of cinema.", "Many other honours for his achievements were conferred upon him at several International Film Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Asian Film Awards.", "In June 2000, he became the first living Asian to have been modeled in wax at London's Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.", "Another statue was installed in New York in 2009, Hong Kong in 2011, Bangkok in 2011, Washington, DC in 2012, and Delhi, in 2017.", "In 2003, he was conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of the French town of Deauville.", ";Civilian Awards\nThe Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.", "France's highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred upon him by the French Government in 2007 for his \"exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond\".", "'''Honoured with an Honorary Doctorate'''\n* In 2004, by the University of Jhansi, India,\n* In 2006, by the University of Delhi\n* In 2006, by the De Montfort University in Leicester, UK\n* In 2007, by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire, UK\n* In 2011, by the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia\n* In 2013, by the Jodhpur National University\n* In 2015, by the Academy of Arts (Egypt) in Cairo, Egypt\n\nAmitabh Bachchan with the Olympic flame in London on 27 July 2012\nOn 27 July 2012, Bachchan carried the Olympic torch during the last leg of its relay in London's Southwark.", "Several books have been written about Bachchan.", "* ''Amitabh Bachchan: the Legend'' was published in 1999, \n* ''To be or not to be: Amitabh Bachchan'' in 2004, \n* ''AB: The Legend (A Photographer's Tribute)'' in 2006, \n* ''Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit Kimvadanti'' in 2006, \n* ''Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar'' in 2006, \n* ''Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me'' in 2007 and \n* ''Bachchanalia'' in 2009.", "Bachchan himself wrote a book in 2002: ''Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life''.", "In the early 80s, Bachchan authorised the use of his likeness for the comic book character Supremo in a series titled ''The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan''.", "In May 2014, La Trobe University in Australia named a Scholarship after Bachchan.", "He was named \"Hottest Vegetarian\" by PETA India in 2012.", "He won the title of \"Asia's Sexiest Vegetarian\" in a contest poll run by PETA Asia", "Amitabh Bachchan Sports Complex in Allahabad managed by UP Sports Directorate is named after him.", "Also a road is named after him as Amitabh Bachchan Road in his home town, Allahabad.", "A government senior secondary school in Saifai, Etawah, '''Amitabh Bachchan Government Inter College, Saifai''', established in 1997 is also named after him.", "There is a temple in Kolkata, where Amitabh is worshipped as a God.", "The tiles of the temple are adorned with the words \"Jai Shri Amitabh\"; in place of the idol, you see his photo and a pair of white shoes that the actor wore in his movie, Agneepath", "\n\n\n Year\n Film\n Role\n Notes\n\n 1971\n ''Anand''\n Dr. Bhaskar Bannerjee (Babu Moshai)\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 1973\n ''Namak Haraam''\n Vikram (Vicky)\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 1975\n ''Sholay''\n Jai (Jaidev)\n Regarded as the most popular Hindi film ever.", "1977\n ''Amar Akbar Anthony''\n Anthony Gonsalves\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 1978\n ''Don''\n Don/ Vijay\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 1990\n ''Agneepath''\n Vijay Deenanath Chauhan\n National Film Award for Best Actor\n\n 1991\n ''Hum''\n Tiger / Shekhar\n Filmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 2000\n ''Mohabbatein''\n Narayan Shankar\n Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor\n\n 2001\n ''Aks''\n Manu Verma\n Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor\n\n 2005\n ''Black''\n Debraj Sahani\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Award for Best Actor Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor\n\n 2009\n ''Paa''\n Auro\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Award for Best Actor\n\n 2015\n ''Piku''\n Bhashkor Banerjee\n National Film Award for Best ActorFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actor", "* Mazumdar, Ranjani.''", "Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City''.", "Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007 \n* \n* \n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*", "\n\n\n* Amitabh Bachchan's official blog\n* \n* \n* British Academy of Film and Television Arts brochure" ]

[ "Aerial photo of oilfield roads and drill sites in the Pembina Oil Field, 2008.\n\n''' Alberta's economy''' is the sum of all economic activity in Alberta, Canada's fourth largest province by population. Although Alberta has a presence in many industries such as agriculture, forestry, education, tourism, finance, and manufacturing, the politics and culture of the province have been closely tied to the production of fossil energy since the 1940s. Alberta—with an estimated 1.4 billion cubic metres of unconventional oil resource in the bituminous oil sands—leads Canada as an oil producer. Revenue from oil and natural gas extraction has fueled a series of economic booms in the province's recent history, and economic spin-offs have included petrochemical and pipelines. In 1985 36.1% of Alberta's $66.8 billion GDP was from energy industries. In 2012, \"the mining and oil and gas extraction industry made up 23.3% of Alberta's GDP.\" By 2013 Alberta's GDP was $331.9 billion with 24.6% in energy. The energy industry provided 7.7% of all jobs in Alberta in 2013.\n\nFrom 1990 to 2003, Alberta's economy grew by 57% compared to 43% for all of Canada—the strongest economic growth of any region in Canada. In 2006 Alberta's per capita GDP was higher than all US states, and one of the highest figures in the world. In 2006, the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history. Alberta's per capita GDP in 2007 was by far the highest of any province in Canada at C$74,825 (approx. US$75,000). Alberta's per capita GDP in 2007 was 61% higher than the Canadian average of C$46,441 and more than twice that of all the Maritime provinces. From 2004 to 2014 Alberta's \"exports of commodities rose 91%, reaching $121 billion in 2014\" and 500,000 new jobs were created. In 2014, Alberta’s real GDP by expenditure grew by 4.8%, the strongest growth rate among the provinces.\"\n\nBeginning in June 2014 the record high volume of worldwide oil inventories in storage—referred to as a global oil glut—caused crude oil prices to collapse at near ten-year low prices. By 2016 West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—the benchmark light, sweet crude oil—reached its lowest price in ten years—US$26.55. In 2012 the price of WTI had reached US$125 and in 2014 the price was $100. By February 2016 the price of Western Canadian Select WCS—the Alberta benchmark heavy crude oil—was US$14.10—the cheapest oil in the world. Alberta's economy suffered with over 100,000 oil patch jobs lost. In spite of the surplus with the low price of WCS in 2015—99% of Canada's oil exports went to the United States and in 2015 Canada was still their largest exporter of total petroleum—3,789 thousand bpd in September, 3,401 thousand bpd in October up from 3,026 thousand bpd in September 2014.\n", "\nEach fiscal quarter the office of Alberta Treasury Board and Finance submits a report which includes an updated Alberta economic outlook and predictions for the following year.\n\n===2015–16 Third Quarter Fiscal Update and Economic Statement===\n\nIn the third quarterly fiscal update published in February 2016, forecasts for the Crown debt was $18.9 billion compared to a surplus of $1.12 billion in 2014/2015. The deficit was forecast at $6.3 billion, revenue was forecast to be $43.1 billion and the expense was forecast at $49.4 billion. The 2015/2016 forecast for non-renewable resource revenue has been decreased to $2.47, down from In 2014-15 the non-renewable resource revenue was $8.95 billion. In the 2015 spring budget it was projected to be $2.77 billion. With the lower exchange rate crude oil royalties—budgeted at $610 million are forecast to be $74 million higher but remain much lower than the $2.25 billion in 2014-15. Transfers from the federal government are forecast at a total of 7,256 million up from 5,982 in 2014-15. If global oil production continued to outperform expectations for an even more prolonged period, Alberta's outlook will be further weakened. In January 2016 the price of Western Canadian Select WCS—the Alberta heavy oil benchmark—fell below US$20 per barrel—\"the lowest level since trading began in 2004.\" However, Alberta's economy experienced real GDP growth because of an improved trade balance with declining imports and rising exports—mainly because of the low Canadian dollar. The unemployment rate was expected to average 7.4% in 2016.\n\n===2015–16 First Quarter Fiscal Update and Economic Statement===\n\nOn August 30, 2015, Joe Ceci Minister of Finance of Alberta, released the quarterly fiscal update which covers the period from April 1 to June 30, stating that the Alberta budget \"could include a deficit of as much as $6.5-billion (Canadian) – $1.1-billion more than his previous estimate – if the oil industry downturn persists at recent levels.\" Rachel Notley’s NDP party came into power on May 24, 2015.\n\nFactors such as the lower Canadian-US exchange rate and the lower WTI-WCS price differential bolstered the otherwise downgraded outlook. The dramatic drop in the price of oil, weakened Alberta's economic outlook and continued to contribute to the province's loss of revenue. Alberta's oil and gas investment is \"expected to fall over 30% in 2015, with weakness carrying into 2016.\" From January through July oil rig activity declined almost 50%. By July 2015 the unemployment rate was 6.0%. In spite of the rising unemployment rate, and the outflow of some Albertans due to job loss, 7,723 people from outside Alberta moved there from January to April, leaving a positive net flow with a forecast population growth of 2% in 2015.\n", "Alberta's location within Canada\n\n\nAlberta has a small internal market, and it is relatively distant from major world markets, despite good transportation links to the rest of Canada and to the United States to the south. Alberta is located in the northwestern quadrant of North America, in a region of low population density called the Interior Plains. Alberta is landlocked, and separated by a series of mountain ranges from the nearest outlets to the Pacific Ocean, and by the Canadian Shield from ports on the Lakehead or Hudson Bay. From these ports to major populations centres and markets in Europe or Asia is several thousands of kilometers. The largest population clusters of North America (the Boston – Washington, San Francisco - San Diego, Chicago – Pittsburgh, and Quebec City – Windsor Corridors) are all thousands of kilometers away from Alberta. Partly for this reason, Alberta has never developed a large presence in the industries that have traditionally started industrialization in other places (notably the original Industrial Revolution in Great Britain) but which require large labour forces, and large internal markets or easy transportation to export markets, namely textiles, metallurgy, or transportation-related manufacturing (automotives, ships, or train cars).\n\nAgriculture has the been a key industry since the 1870s. The climate is dry, temperate, and continental, with extreme variations between seasons. Productive soils are found in most of the southern half of the province (excluding the mountains), and in certain parts of the north. Agriculture on a large scale is practiced further north in Alberta than anywhere else in North America, extending into the Peace River country above the 55th parallel north. Generally, however, northern Alberta (and areas along the Alberta Rockies) is forested land and logging is more important than agriculture there. Agriculture is divided into primarily field crops in the east, livestock in the west, and a mixture in between and in the parkland belt in the near north.\n\nConventional oil and gas fields are found throughout the province on an axis running from the northwest to the southeast. Oil sands are found in the northeast, especially around Fort McMurray (the Athabasca Oil Sands).\n\nBecause of its (relatively) economically isolated location, Alberta relies heavily on transportation links with the rest of the world. Alberta's historical development has been largely influenced by the development of new transportation infrastructure, (see \"trends\" below). Alberta is now served by two major transcontinental railways (CN and CP), by three major highway connections to the Pacific (the Trans-Canada via Kicking Horse Pass, the Yellowhead via Yellowhead Pass and the Crowsnest via Crowsnest Pass), and one to the United States (Interstate 15), as well as two international airports (Calgary and Edmonton). Also, Alberta is connected to the TransCanada pipeline system (natural gas) to Eastern Canada, the Northern Border Pipeline (gas), Alliance Pipeline (gas) and Enbridge Pipeline System (oil) to the Eastern United States, the Gas Transmission Northwest and Northwest Pipeline (gas) to the Western United States, and the McNeill HVDC Back-to-back station (electric power) to Saskatchewan.\n\n\n\n=== Economic regions and cities ===\nSince the days of early agricultural settlement, the majority of Alberta's population has been concentrated in the parkland belt (mixed forest-grassland), a boomerang-shaped strip of land extending along the North Saskatchewan River from Lloydminster to Edmonton and then along the Rocky Mountain foothills south to Calgary. This area is slightly more humid and treed than the drier prairie (grassland) region called Palliser's Triangle to its south, and large areas of the south (the “Special Areas”) were depopulated during the droughts of the 1920s and 30s. The chernozem (black soil) of the parkland region is more agriculturally productive than the red and grey soils to the south. Urban development has also been most advanced in the parkland belt. Edmonton and Red Deer are parkland cities, while Calgary is on the parkland-prairie fringe. Lethbridge and Medicine Hat are prairie cities. Grande Prairie lies in the Peace River Country a parkland region (with isolated patches of prairie, hence the name) in the northwest isolated from the rest of the parkland by the forested Swan Hills. Fort McMurray is the only urbanized population centre in the boreal forest which covers much of the northern half of the province.\n\n==== Calgary and Edmonton ====\nThe Calgary and Edmonton regions, by far the province's two largest metropolitan regions, account for the majority of the province’s population. They are relatively close to each other by the standards of Western Canada and distant from other metropolitan regions such as Vancouver or Winnipeg. This has produced a history of political and economical rivalry and comparison but also economic integration that has created an urbanized corridor between the two cities.\n\nThe economic profile of the two regions is slightly different. Both cities are mature service economies built on a base of resource extraction in their hinterlands. However Calgary is predominant in hosting the regional and national headquarters of oil and gas exploration and drilling companies. Edmonton skews much more towards governments, universities and hospitals as large employers, while Edmonton’s suburban fringes (e.g. Fort Saskatchewan, Nisku, Strathcona County (Refinery Row), Leduc, Beaumont, Acheson) are home to most of the province’s manufacturing (much of it related to oil and gas).\n\n===== Calgary-Edmonton Corridor =====\nThe Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada. Measured from north to south, the region covers a distance of roughly . In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72% of Alberta's population). It is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country. A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor was the only Canadian urban centre to amass a U.S. level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian-style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits. The study found GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average U.S. metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.\n\n===== Calgary–Edmonton rivalry =====\n\nSeeing Calgary and Edmonton as part of a single economic region as the TD study did in 2003 was novel. The more traditional view had been to see the two cities as economic rivals. For example, in the 1980 both cities claimed to be the \"Oil Capital of Canada\".\n", "The Leduc No. 1 well, which blew in 1947, marked the beginning of series of petroleum-related economic booms.\n\n\nAlberta has always been an export-oriented economy. In line with Harold Innis' \"Staples Thesis\", the economy has changed substantially as different export commodities have risen or fallen in importance. In sequence, the most important products have been: fur, wheat and beef, and oil and gas.\n\nThe development of transportation in Alberta has been crucial to its historical economic development. The North American fur trade relied on birch-bark canoes, York boats, and Red River carts on buffalo trails to move furs out of, and European trade goods into, the region. Immigration into the province was eased tremendously by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway's transcontinental line in 1880s. Commercial farming became viable in the area once the grain trade had developed technologies to handle the bulk export of grain, especially hopper cars and grain elevators. Oil and gas exports have been possible because of increasing pipeline technology.\n\nPrior to the 1950s, Alberta was a primarily agricultural economy, based on the export of wheat, beef, and a few other commodities. The health of economy was closely bound up with the price of wheat.\n\nIn 1947 a major oil field was discovered near Edmonton. It was not the first petroleum find in Alberta, but it was large enough to significantly alter the economy of the province (and coincided with growing American demand for energy). Since that time, Alberta's economic fortunes have largely tracked the price of oil, and increasingly natural gas prices. When oil prices spiked during the 1967 Oil Embargo, 1973 oil crisis, and 1979 energy crisis, Alberta's economy boomed. However, during the 1980s oil glut Alberta's economy suffered. Alberta boomed once again during the 2003-2008 oil price spike. In July 2008 the price of oil peaked and began to decline and Alberta's economy soon followed suit, with unemployment doubling within a year. By 2009 with natural gas prices at a long-term low, Alberta's economy was in poor health compared to before, although still relatively better than many other comparable jurisdictions. By 2012 natural gas prices were at a ten-year low, the Canadian dollar was high, and oil prices recovered until June 2014.\n\nThe spin-offs from petroleum allowed Alberta to develop many other industries. Oilpatch-related manufacturing is an obvious example, but financial services and government services have also benefited from oil money.\n\nA comparison of the development of Alberta's less oil and gas-endowed neighbours, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, reveals the role petroleum has played. Alberta was once the smallest of the three Prairie Provinces by population in the early 20th century, but by 2009, Alberta's population was 3,632,483 or approximately three times as much as either Saskatchewan (1,023,810) or Manitoba (1,213,815).\n", "Alberta's economy is a highly developed one in which most people work in services such as healthcare, government, or retail. Primary industries are also of great importance, however.\n\nBy March 2016 the unemployment rate in Alberta rose to 7.9%— its \"highest level since April 1995 and the first time the province’s rate has surpassed the national average since December 1988.\" There were 21,200 fewer jobs than February 2015. The unemployment rate was expected to average 7.4% in 2016. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) claimed that Alberta lost 35,000 jobs in 2015—25,000 from the oil services sector and 10,000 from exploration and production. Full-time employment increased by 10,000 in February 2016 after falling 20,000 in both December 2015 and January 2016. The natural resources industry lost 7,400 jobs in February. \"Year-over-year (y/y), the goods sector lost 56,000 jobs, while the services sector gained 34,800.\" In 2015 Alberta's population increased by 3,900. While Alberta had a reprieve in job loss in February 2016—up 1,400 jobs after losing jobs in October, November, December 2015 and January 2016—Ontario lost 11,200 jobs, Saskatchewan lost 7,800 jobs and New Brunswick lost 5,700 jobs.\n\n===Employment in extraction industries===\nIn 2013 171,200 people were employed in the mining and oil and gas extraction industry.\n\nIn 2007 there were 146,900 people working in the mining and oil and gas extraction industry. \n* Oil and Gas Extraction industry = 69,900\n* Support Activities for Mining & Oil & Gas Extraction (primarily oil and gas exploration and drilling) = 71,700\n* Mining other than oil and gas (mainly coal and mineral mining & quarrying) = 5,100\n\n===Largest employers===\nAccording to ''Alberta Venture'' magazine's list of the 50 largest employers in the province, the largest employers are:\n\n\n Rank (2012)\n Rank (2010)\n Rank (2007)\n Employer\n Industry\n 2012 Employees (Total)\n 2010 Employees (Total)\n 2007 Employees (Total)\n Head office\n Description\n Notes\n\n 1\n 1\n *\n Alberta Health Services\n Healthcare\n 99,400\n 92,200\n see note\n Edmonton\n Provincial public health authority\n Created in 2008 by merging nine separate provincial health authorities.\n\n 2\n 2\n 4.\n Canada Safeway Limited\n Wholesale and Retail Trade\n 30,000\n 30,000\n 34,318\n Calgary\n Food and drug retailer\n subsidiary of Sobeys Inc. since 2014, before that subsidiary of American chain\n\n 3\n 6\n n/a\n Agrium Inc.\n Agri-business\n 14,800\n 11,153\n n/a\n Calgary\n Wholesale producer, distributor and retailer of agricultural products and services in North and South America\n n/a = not listed in 2007\n\n 4\n 7\n 8\n University of Alberta\n Education\n 14,500\n 10,800\n 11,000\n Edmonton\n Publicly funded accredited university\n \n\n 5\n 4\n 29\n Canadian Pacific Railway\n Transportation\n 14,169\n 14,970\n 15,232\n Calgary\n Railway and inter-modal transportation services\n\n\n 6\n 5\n 31\n Suncor Energy\n Petroleum Resource Industry\n 13,026\n 12,978\n 5,800\n Calgary\n Petroleum extraction, refining, and retail\n Merged with Petro-Canada in 2009\n\n 7\n 9\n 35\n Shaw Communications\n Communications\n 12,500\n 10,000\n 8,985\n Calgary\n Provider of digital telecommunications services cable television / internet / telephony and community television production facilities\n\n\n 8\n 8\n 15\n Flint Energy Services Ltd.\n Energy\n 11,211\n 10,280\n 6,169\n Calgary\n Energy / Construction\n\n\n 9\n 11\n n/a\n Stantec Inc.\n Professional Services\n 11,100\n 9,300\n n/a\n Edmonton\n Architecture/Engineering/Construction\n n/a = not listed in 2007\n\n 10\n 12\n 9\n Calgary Board of Education\n Public Education\n 9,106\n 9,278\n 10,972\n Calgary\n Municipal K-12 Public Education School Board\n\n\n", "\n===Industry===\nAlberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in the country. Alberta is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of natural gas and the 4th largest producer. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.\n\nThe Athabasca Oil Sands (sometimes known as the Athabasca Tar sands) have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be . With the development of new extraction methods such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), which was developed in Alberta, bitumen and synthetic crude oil can be produced at costs close to those of conventional crude. Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands. With current technology and at current prices, about of bitumen are recoverable. Fort McMurray, one of Canada's fastest growing cities, has grown enormously in recent years because of the large corporations which have taken on the task of oil production. As of late 2006 there were over $100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta.\n\nAnother factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands was the price of oil. The oil price increases since 2003 made it more than profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss.\n\nAlberta's economy was negatively impacted by the 2015-2016 oil glut with a record high volume of worldwide oil inventories in storage, with global crude oil collapsing at near ten-year low prices. The United States doubled its 2008 production levels mainly due to substantial improvements in shale \"fracking\" technology, OPEC members consistently exceeded their production ceiling, and China experienced a marked slowdown in economic growth and crude oil imports.\n\nWith concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems. With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.\n\n====Energy====\n\n=====Oil and gas=====\nDrilling rig in Alberta.\n\n\nSince the early 1940s, Alberta had supplied oil and gas to the rest of Canada and the United States. The Athabasca River region produces oil for internal and external use. The Athabasca Oil Sands contain the largest proven reserves of oil in the world outside Saudi Arabia. Natural gas has been found at several points, and in 1999, the production of natural gas liquids (ethane, propane, and butanes) totalled , valued at $2.27 billion. Alberta also provides 13% of all the natural gas used in the United States.\n\nNotable gas reserves were discovered in the 1883 near Medicine Hat. The town of Medicine Hat began using gas for lighting the town, and supplying light and fuel for the people, and a number of industries using the gas for manufacturing. In fact a large glassworks was established at Redcliff. When Rudyard Kipling visited Medicine Hat he described it as the city \"with all hell for a basement\".\n\n======Basic statistics======\n\n* In 2003, Alberta produced of conventional light, medium, and heavy crude, plus an additional of pentanes plus used for blending with heavy crude oil and bitumen to facilitate its transportation through pipelines.\n* Alberta exports over of oil to US markets accounting for 10 per cent of US oil imports.\n* The conventional oil resource is estimated to have approximately of remaining established reserves.\n*Conventional crude oil production (not including oil sands and pentanes plus) represented 38.6% of Alberta ’s total crude oil and equivalent production and 25.5% of Canada’s total crude oil and equivalent production.\n*Alberta's oil sands reserve is considered to be one of the largest in the world, containing of bitumen initially in place. Of this total, are considered to be remaining established reserves, recoverable using current technology under present and anticipated economic conditions. To date, about 2% of the initial established resource has been produced.\n* In 2003, total crude bitumen production in Alberta averaged .\n* Disposition of Alberta ’s total crude oil and equivalent production in 2003 was approximately:\n** 62% to the United States\n** 24% within Alberta\n** 14% to the rest of Canada\n* In 2003, Alberta produced of marketable natural gas.\n* The average Albertan household uses of natural gas a year.\n* Over 80 per cent of Canada’s natural gas production is from Alberta.\n* In 2006, Alberta consumed of natural gas. The rest was exported across Canada and to the United States.\n* Royalties to Alberta from natural gas and its byproducts are larger than royalties from crude oil and bitumen.\n* In 2006, there were 13,473 successful natural gas wells drilled in Alberta: 12,029 conventional gas wells and 1,444 coalbed methane wells\n* There may be up to of coalbed methane in Alberta, although it is unknown how much of this gas might be recoverable.\n* Alberta has one of the most extensive natural gas systems in the world as part of its energy infrastructure, with of energy related pipelines.\n\n=====Coal=====\nRemains of the former Atlas Coal Mine, near Drumheller, now a National Historic Site of Canada.\n\nCoal has been mined in Alberta since the late 19th century. Over 1800 mines have operated in Alberta since then.\n\nThe coal industry was vital to the early development of several communities, especially those in the foothills and along deep river valleys where coal was close to the surface.\n\nAlberta is still a major coal producer, every two weeks Alberta produces enough coal to fill the Sky Dome in Toronto.\n\nMuch of that coal is burned in Alberta for electricity generation. Alberta uses over 25 million tonnes of coal annually to generate electricity.\n\nAlberta has vast coal resources and 70 per cent of Canada's coal reserves are located in Alberta. This amounts to 33.6 Gigatonnes.\n\nVast beds of coal are found extending for hundreds of miles, a short distance below the surface of the plains. The coal belongs to the Cretaceous beds, and while not so heavy as that of the Coal Measures in England is of excellent quality. In the valley of the Bow River, alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway, valuable beds of anthracite coal are still worked. The usual coal deposits of the area of bituminous or semi-bituminous coal. These are largely worked at Lethbridge in southern Alberta and Edmonton in the centre of the province. Many other parts of the province have pits for private use.\n\n=====Electricity=====\n\n\n, Alberta's generating capacity was 16,261 MW, and Alberta has about of transmission lines.\n\nAlberta has 1491 megawatts of wind power capacity.\n\nProduction of Electricity in Alberta in 2015 by source:\n\n\n Generation !! GWh !! Share by Fuel\n\n Coal \n 41,378 \n 51%\n\n Natural Gas \n 32,215 \n 39%\n\n Hydro \n 1,745 \n 2%\n\n Wind \n 3,816 \n 5%\n\n Biomass \n 2,149 \n 3%\n\n Others \n 318 \n 0%\n\n Total \n 81,621 \n 100%\n\n\nAlberta has added 9,000 MW of new supply since 1998.\n\nPeak for power use in one day was set on July 9, 2015 – 10,520 MW.\n\n====Mineral mining====\n\nBuilding stones mined in Alberta include Rundle stone, and Paskapoo sandstone.\n\nDiamonds were first found in Alberta in 1958, and many stones have been found since, although to date no large-scale mines have been developed.\n\n====Manufacturing====\nThe Edmonton area, and in particular Nisku is a major centre for manufacturing oil and gas related equipment. As well Edmonton's Refinery Row is home to a petrochemical industry.\n\nAccording to a Statistics Canada report Alberta's manufacturing sales year-over-year sales fell 13.2 per cent, with a loss of almost four per cent from December to January. Alberta's economy continued to shrink because of the collapse of the oil and gas sector. The petroleum and coal product manufacturing industry is now third— behind food and chemicals.\n\n====Biotechnology====\nSeveral companies and services in the biotech sector are clustered around the University of Alberta, for example ColdFX.\n\n====Food processing====\nOwing to the strength of agriculture, food processing was once a major part of the economies of Edmonton and Calgary, but this sector has increasingly moved to smaller centres such as Brooks, the home of XL Foods, responsible for one third of Canada's beef processing in 2011.\n\n====Transportation====\nHeadquarters of the airline WestJet, in Calgary.\nEdmonton is a major distribution centre for northern communities, hence the nickname \"Gateway to the North\". Edmonton is one CN Rail's most important hubs. Since 1996, Canadian Pacific Railway has its headquarters in downtown Calgary.\n\nWestJet, Canada's second largest air carrier, is headquartered in Calgary, by Calgary International Airport, which serves as the airline's primary hub. Prior to its dissolution, Canadian Airlines was headquartered in Calgary by the airport. Prior to its dissolution, Air Canada subsidiary Zip was headquartered in Calgary.\n\n===Agriculture and forestry===\nGrain elevator in southern Alberta\n\n==== Agriculture ====\n\nIn the past, cattle, horses, and sheep were reared in the southern prairie region on ranches or smaller holdings. Currently Alberta produces cattle valued at over $3.3 billion, as well as other livestock in lesser quantities. In this region irrigation is widely used. Wheat, accounting for almost half of the $2 billion agricultural economy, is supplemented by canola, barley, rye, sugar beets, and other mixed farming. In 2011, Alberta producers seeded an estimated total of to spring wheat, durum, barley, oats, mixed grains, triticale, canola and dry peas. Of the total seeded area, 94 per cent was harvested as grains and oilseeds and six per cent as greenfeed and silage.\n\nAgriculture has a significant position in the province's economy. Over three million cattle are residents of the province at one time or another, and Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market. Sheep for wool and lamb are also raised.\n\nWheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production, with other grains also prominent. Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation. Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion. Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreased and farmers now truck the grain to central points.\n\nAlberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.\n\n==== Forestry ====\n\n\nThe vast northern forest reserves of softwood allow Alberta to produce large quantities of lumber, oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, and several plants in northern Alberta supply North America and the Pacific Rim nations with bleached wood pulp and newsprint.\n\nIn 1999, lumber products from Alberta were valued at $4.1 billion of which 72% were exported around the world. Since forests cover approximately 59% of the province's land area, the government allows about to be harvested annually from the forests on public lands.\n\n===Services===\nDespite the high profile of the extractive industries, Alberta has a mature economy and most people work in services. In 2014 there were 1,635.8 thousand people employed in the services-producing sector. By January 2016 that number had increased to 1,668.5 thousand and by February 2016 to 1,670.6 thousand. This includes wholesale and retail trade; transportation and warehousing; finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; business, building and other support services; educational services; health care and social assistance; information, culture and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services (except public administration) and public administration.\n\n====Finance====\nThe TSX Venture Exchange is headquartered in Calgary, and Calgary also has a robust service industry relating to the securities market. The city has the second highest number of corporate head offices in Canada after Toronto, and the financial services industry in Calgary has developed to support them.\n\nEdmonton hosts the headquarters of the only major Canadian banks west of Toronto: Canadian Western Bank, and ATB Financial, as well as the only province-wide credit union, Servus.\n\n====Government====\nDespite Alberta's reputation as a \"small government\" province, many health care and education professionals are lured to Alberta from other provinces by the higher wages the Alberta government is able to offer because of oil revenues. In 2014 the median household income in Alberta was $100,000 with the average weekly wage at $1,163—23 per cent higher than the Canadian national average. Alberta has the \"lowest taxes overall of any province or territory\" in Canada.\n", "* Economy of Canada\n* Economy of Lethbridge\n* Canadian Oil Patch, for the petroleum industry\n* History of the petroleum industry in Canada\n* Canada's Global Markets Action Plan\n* Free trade agreements of Canada\n", "\n", "\n* CBC Digital Archives - Striking Oil in Alberta\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Minister of Finance quarterly reports", "Economic geography", "Trends", "Employment", "Sectors", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor was the only Canadian urban centre to amass a U.S. level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian-style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits.", "Edmonton hosts the headquarters of the only major Canadian banks west of Toronto: Canadian Western Bank, and ATB Financial, as well as the only province-wide credit union, Servus." ]

[ "Aerial photo of oilfield roads and drill sites in the Pembina Oil Field, 2008.\n\n'''", "Alberta's economy''' is the sum of all economic activity in Alberta, Canada's fourth largest province by population.", "Although Alberta has a presence in many industries such as agriculture, forestry, education, tourism, finance, and manufacturing, the politics and culture of the province have been closely tied to the production of fossil energy since the 1940s.", "Alberta—with an estimated 1.4 billion cubic metres of unconventional oil resource in the bituminous oil sands—leads Canada as an oil producer.", "Revenue from oil and natural gas extraction has fueled a series of economic booms in the province's recent history, and economic spin-offs have included petrochemical and pipelines.", "In 1985 36.1% of Alberta's $66.8 billion GDP was from energy industries.", "In 2012, \"the mining and oil and gas extraction industry made up 23.3% of Alberta's GDP.\"", "By 2013 Alberta's GDP was $331.9 billion with 24.6% in energy.", "The energy industry provided 7.7% of all jobs in Alberta in 2013.", "From 1990 to 2003, Alberta's economy grew by 57% compared to 43% for all of Canada—the strongest economic growth of any region in Canada.", "In 2006 Alberta's per capita GDP was higher than all US states, and one of the highest figures in the world.", "In 2006, the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history.", "Alberta's per capita GDP in 2007 was by far the highest of any province in Canada at C$74,825 (approx.", "US$75,000).", "Alberta's per capita GDP in 2007 was 61% higher than the Canadian average of C$46,441 and more than twice that of all the Maritime provinces.", "From 2004 to 2014 Alberta's \"exports of commodities rose 91%, reaching $121 billion in 2014\" and 500,000 new jobs were created.", "In 2014, Alberta’s real GDP by expenditure grew by 4.8%, the strongest growth rate among the provinces.\"", "Beginning in June 2014 the record high volume of worldwide oil inventories in storage—referred to as a global oil glut—caused crude oil prices to collapse at near ten-year low prices.", "By 2016 West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—the benchmark light, sweet crude oil—reached its lowest price in ten years—US$26.55.", "In 2012 the price of WTI had reached US$125 and in 2014 the price was $100.", "By February 2016 the price of Western Canadian Select WCS—the Alberta benchmark heavy crude oil—was US$14.10—the cheapest oil in the world.", "Alberta's economy suffered with over 100,000 oil patch jobs lost.", "In spite of the surplus with the low price of WCS in 2015—99% of Canada's oil exports went to the United States and in 2015 Canada was still their largest exporter of total petroleum—3,789 thousand bpd in September, 3,401 thousand bpd in October up from 3,026 thousand bpd in September 2014.", "\nEach fiscal quarter the office of Alberta Treasury Board and Finance submits a report which includes an updated Alberta economic outlook and predictions for the following year.", "===2015–16 Third Quarter Fiscal Update and Economic Statement===\n\nIn the third quarterly fiscal update published in February 2016, forecasts for the Crown debt was $18.9 billion compared to a surplus of $1.12 billion in 2014/2015.", "The deficit was forecast at $6.3 billion, revenue was forecast to be $43.1 billion and the expense was forecast at $49.4 billion.", "The 2015/2016 forecast for non-renewable resource revenue has been decreased to $2.47, down from In 2014-15 the non-renewable resource revenue was $8.95 billion.", "In the 2015 spring budget it was projected to be $2.77 billion.", "With the lower exchange rate crude oil royalties—budgeted at $610 million are forecast to be $74 million higher but remain much lower than the $2.25 billion in 2014-15.", "Transfers from the federal government are forecast at a total of 7,256 million up from 5,982 in 2014-15.", "If global oil production continued to outperform expectations for an even more prolonged period, Alberta's outlook will be further weakened.", "In January 2016 the price of Western Canadian Select WCS—the Alberta heavy oil benchmark—fell below US$20 per barrel—\"the lowest level since trading began in 2004.\"", "However, Alberta's economy experienced real GDP growth because of an improved trade balance with declining imports and rising exports—mainly because of the low Canadian dollar.", "The unemployment rate was expected to average 7.4% in 2016.", "===2015–16 First Quarter Fiscal Update and Economic Statement===\n\nOn August 30, 2015, Joe Ceci Minister of Finance of Alberta, released the quarterly fiscal update which covers the period from April 1 to June 30, stating that the Alberta budget \"could include a deficit of as much as $6.5-billion (Canadian) – $1.1-billion more than his previous estimate – if the oil industry downturn persists at recent levels.\"", "Rachel Notley’s NDP party came into power on May 24, 2015.", "Factors such as the lower Canadian-US exchange rate and the lower WTI-WCS price differential bolstered the otherwise downgraded outlook.", "The dramatic drop in the price of oil, weakened Alberta's economic outlook and continued to contribute to the province's loss of revenue.", "Alberta's oil and gas investment is \"expected to fall over 30% in 2015, with weakness carrying into 2016.\"", "From January through July oil rig activity declined almost 50%.", "By July 2015 the unemployment rate was 6.0%.", "In spite of the rising unemployment rate, and the outflow of some Albertans due to job loss, 7,723 people from outside Alberta moved there from January to April, leaving a positive net flow with a forecast population growth of 2% in 2015.", "Alberta's location within Canada\n\n\nAlberta has a small internal market, and it is relatively distant from major world markets, despite good transportation links to the rest of Canada and to the United States to the south.", "Alberta is located in the northwestern quadrant of North America, in a region of low population density called the Interior Plains.", "Alberta is landlocked, and separated by a series of mountain ranges from the nearest outlets to the Pacific Ocean, and by the Canadian Shield from ports on the Lakehead or Hudson Bay.", "From these ports to major populations centres and markets in Europe or Asia is several thousands of kilometers.", "The largest population clusters of North America (the Boston – Washington, San Francisco - San Diego, Chicago – Pittsburgh, and Quebec City – Windsor Corridors) are all thousands of kilometers away from Alberta.", "Partly for this reason, Alberta has never developed a large presence in the industries that have traditionally started industrialization in other places (notably the original Industrial Revolution in Great Britain) but which require large labour forces, and large internal markets or easy transportation to export markets, namely textiles, metallurgy, or transportation-related manufacturing (automotives, ships, or train cars).", "Agriculture has the been a key industry since the 1870s.", "The climate is dry, temperate, and continental, with extreme variations between seasons.", "Productive soils are found in most of the southern half of the province (excluding the mountains), and in certain parts of the north.", "Agriculture on a large scale is practiced further north in Alberta than anywhere else in North America, extending into the Peace River country above the 55th parallel north.", "Generally, however, northern Alberta (and areas along the Alberta Rockies) is forested land and logging is more important than agriculture there.", "Agriculture is divided into primarily field crops in the east, livestock in the west, and a mixture in between and in the parkland belt in the near north.", "Conventional oil and gas fields are found throughout the province on an axis running from the northwest to the southeast.", "Oil sands are found in the northeast, especially around Fort McMurray (the Athabasca Oil Sands).", "Because of its (relatively) economically isolated location, Alberta relies heavily on transportation links with the rest of the world.", "Alberta's historical development has been largely influenced by the development of new transportation infrastructure, (see \"trends\" below).", "Alberta is now served by two major transcontinental railways (CN and CP), by three major highway connections to the Pacific (the Trans-Canada via Kicking Horse Pass, the Yellowhead via Yellowhead Pass and the Crowsnest via Crowsnest Pass), and one to the United States (Interstate 15), as well as two international airports (Calgary and Edmonton).", "Also, Alberta is connected to the TransCanada pipeline system (natural gas) to Eastern Canada, the Northern Border Pipeline (gas), Alliance Pipeline (gas) and Enbridge Pipeline System (oil) to the Eastern United States, the Gas Transmission Northwest and Northwest Pipeline (gas) to the Western United States, and the McNeill HVDC Back-to-back station (electric power) to Saskatchewan.", "=== Economic regions and cities ===\nSince the days of early agricultural settlement, the majority of Alberta's population has been concentrated in the parkland belt (mixed forest-grassland), a boomerang-shaped strip of land extending along the North Saskatchewan River from Lloydminster to Edmonton and then along the Rocky Mountain foothills south to Calgary.", "This area is slightly more humid and treed than the drier prairie (grassland) region called Palliser's Triangle to its south, and large areas of the south (the “Special Areas”) were depopulated during the droughts of the 1920s and 30s.", "The chernozem (black soil) of the parkland region is more agriculturally productive than the red and grey soils to the south.", "Urban development has also been most advanced in the parkland belt.", "Edmonton and Red Deer are parkland cities, while Calgary is on the parkland-prairie fringe.", "Lethbridge and Medicine Hat are prairie cities.", "Grande Prairie lies in the Peace River Country a parkland region (with isolated patches of prairie, hence the name) in the northwest isolated from the rest of the parkland by the forested Swan Hills.", "Fort McMurray is the only urbanized population centre in the boreal forest which covers much of the northern half of the province.", "==== Calgary and Edmonton ====\nThe Calgary and Edmonton regions, by far the province's two largest metropolitan regions, account for the majority of the province’s population.", "They are relatively close to each other by the standards of Western Canada and distant from other metropolitan regions such as Vancouver or Winnipeg.", "This has produced a history of political and economical rivalry and comparison but also economic integration that has created an urbanized corridor between the two cities.", "The economic profile of the two regions is slightly different.", "Both cities are mature service economies built on a base of resource extraction in their hinterlands.", "However Calgary is predominant in hosting the regional and national headquarters of oil and gas exploration and drilling companies.", "Edmonton skews much more towards governments, universities and hospitals as large employers, while Edmonton’s suburban fringes (e.g.", "Fort Saskatchewan, Nisku, Strathcona County (Refinery Row), Leduc, Beaumont, Acheson) are home to most of the province’s manufacturing (much of it related to oil and gas).", "===== Calgary-Edmonton Corridor =====\nThe Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada.", "Measured from north to south, the region covers a distance of roughly .", "In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72% of Alberta's population).", "It is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country.", "The study found GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average U.S. metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.", "===== Calgary–Edmonton rivalry =====\n\nSeeing Calgary and Edmonton as part of a single economic region as the TD study did in 2003 was novel.", "The more traditional view had been to see the two cities as economic rivals.", "For example, in the 1980 both cities claimed to be the \"Oil Capital of Canada\".", "The Leduc No.", "1 well, which blew in 1947, marked the beginning of series of petroleum-related economic booms.", "Alberta has always been an export-oriented economy.", "In line with Harold Innis' \"Staples Thesis\", the economy has changed substantially as different export commodities have risen or fallen in importance.", "In sequence, the most important products have been: fur, wheat and beef, and oil and gas.", "The development of transportation in Alberta has been crucial to its historical economic development.", "The North American fur trade relied on birch-bark canoes, York boats, and Red River carts on buffalo trails to move furs out of, and European trade goods into, the region.", "Immigration into the province was eased tremendously by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway's transcontinental line in 1880s.", "Commercial farming became viable in the area once the grain trade had developed technologies to handle the bulk export of grain, especially hopper cars and grain elevators.", "Oil and gas exports have been possible because of increasing pipeline technology.", "Prior to the 1950s, Alberta was a primarily agricultural economy, based on the export of wheat, beef, and a few other commodities.", "The health of economy was closely bound up with the price of wheat.", "In 1947 a major oil field was discovered near Edmonton.", "It was not the first petroleum find in Alberta, but it was large enough to significantly alter the economy of the province (and coincided with growing American demand for energy).", "Since that time, Alberta's economic fortunes have largely tracked the price of oil, and increasingly natural gas prices.", "When oil prices spiked during the 1967 Oil Embargo, 1973 oil crisis, and 1979 energy crisis, Alberta's economy boomed.", "However, during the 1980s oil glut Alberta's economy suffered.", "Alberta boomed once again during the 2003-2008 oil price spike.", "In July 2008 the price of oil peaked and began to decline and Alberta's economy soon followed suit, with unemployment doubling within a year.", "By 2009 with natural gas prices at a long-term low, Alberta's economy was in poor health compared to before, although still relatively better than many other comparable jurisdictions.", "By 2012 natural gas prices were at a ten-year low, the Canadian dollar was high, and oil prices recovered until June 2014.", "The spin-offs from petroleum allowed Alberta to develop many other industries.", "Oilpatch-related manufacturing is an obvious example, but financial services and government services have also benefited from oil money.", "A comparison of the development of Alberta's less oil and gas-endowed neighbours, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, reveals the role petroleum has played.", "Alberta was once the smallest of the three Prairie Provinces by population in the early 20th century, but by 2009, Alberta's population was 3,632,483 or approximately three times as much as either Saskatchewan (1,023,810) or Manitoba (1,213,815).", "Alberta's economy is a highly developed one in which most people work in services such as healthcare, government, or retail.", "Primary industries are also of great importance, however.", "By March 2016 the unemployment rate in Alberta rose to 7.9%— its \"highest level since April 1995 and the first time the province’s rate has surpassed the national average since December 1988.\"", "There were 21,200 fewer jobs than February 2015.", "The unemployment rate was expected to average 7.4% in 2016.", "The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) claimed that Alberta lost 35,000 jobs in 2015—25,000 from the oil services sector and 10,000 from exploration and production.", "Full-time employment increased by 10,000 in February 2016 after falling 20,000 in both December 2015 and January 2016.", "The natural resources industry lost 7,400 jobs in February.", "\"Year-over-year (y/y), the goods sector lost 56,000 jobs, while the services sector gained 34,800.\"", "In 2015 Alberta's population increased by 3,900.", "While Alberta had a reprieve in job loss in February 2016—up 1,400 jobs after losing jobs in October, November, December 2015 and January 2016—Ontario lost 11,200 jobs, Saskatchewan lost 7,800 jobs and New Brunswick lost 5,700 jobs.", "===Employment in extraction industries===\nIn 2013 171,200 people were employed in the mining and oil and gas extraction industry.", "In 2007 there were 146,900 people working in the mining and oil and gas extraction industry.", "* Oil and Gas Extraction industry = 69,900\n* Support Activities for Mining & Oil & Gas Extraction (primarily oil and gas exploration and drilling) = 71,700\n* Mining other than oil and gas (mainly coal and mineral mining & quarrying) = 5,100\n\n===Largest employers===\nAccording to ''Alberta Venture'' magazine's list of the 50 largest employers in the province, the largest employers are:\n\n\n Rank (2012)\n Rank (2010)\n Rank (2007)\n Employer\n Industry\n 2012 Employees (Total)\n 2010 Employees (Total)\n 2007 Employees (Total)\n Head office\n Description\n Notes\n\n 1\n 1\n *\n Alberta Health Services\n Healthcare\n 99,400\n 92,200\n see note\n Edmonton\n Provincial public health authority\n Created in 2008 by merging nine separate provincial health authorities.", "2\n 2\n 4.", "Canada Safeway Limited\n Wholesale and Retail Trade\n 30,000\n 30,000\n 34,318\n Calgary\n Food and drug retailer\n subsidiary of Sobeys Inc. since 2014, before that subsidiary of American chain\n\n 3\n 6\n n/a\n Agrium Inc.\n Agri-business\n 14,800\n 11,153\n n/a\n Calgary\n Wholesale producer, distributor and retailer of agricultural products and services in North and South America\n n/a = not listed in 2007\n\n 4\n 7\n 8\n University of Alberta\n Education\n 14,500\n 10,800\n 11,000\n Edmonton\n Publicly funded accredited university\n \n\n 5\n 4\n 29\n Canadian Pacific Railway\n Transportation\n 14,169\n 14,970\n 15,232\n Calgary\n Railway and inter-modal transportation services\n\n\n 6\n 5\n 31\n Suncor Energy\n Petroleum Resource Industry\n 13,026\n 12,978\n 5,800\n Calgary\n Petroleum extraction, refining, and retail\n Merged with Petro-Canada in 2009\n\n 7\n 9\n 35\n Shaw Communications\n Communications\n 12,500\n 10,000\n 8,985\n Calgary\n Provider of digital telecommunications services cable television / internet / telephony and community television production facilities\n\n\n 8\n 8\n 15\n Flint Energy Services Ltd.\n Energy\n 11,211\n 10,280\n 6,169\n Calgary\n Energy / Construction\n\n\n 9\n 11\n n/a\n Stantec Inc.\n Professional Services\n 11,100\n 9,300\n n/a\n Edmonton\n Architecture/Engineering/Construction\n n/a = not listed in 2007\n\n 10\n 12\n 9\n Calgary Board of Education\n Public Education\n 9,106\n 9,278\n 10,972\n Calgary\n Municipal K-12 Public Education School Board", "\n===Industry===\nAlberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in the country.", "Alberta is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of natural gas and the 4th largest producer.", "Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta.", "In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.", "The Athabasca Oil Sands (sometimes known as the Athabasca Tar sands) have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be .", "With the development of new extraction methods such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), which was developed in Alberta, bitumen and synthetic crude oil can be produced at costs close to those of conventional crude.", "Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands.", "With current technology and at current prices, about of bitumen are recoverable.", "Fort McMurray, one of Canada's fastest growing cities, has grown enormously in recent years because of the large corporations which have taken on the task of oil production.", "As of late 2006 there were over $100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta.", "Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands was the price of oil.", "The oil price increases since 2003 made it more than profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss.", "Alberta's economy was negatively impacted by the 2015-2016 oil glut with a record high volume of worldwide oil inventories in storage, with global crude oil collapsing at near ten-year low prices.", "The United States doubled its 2008 production levels mainly due to substantial improvements in shale \"fracking\" technology, OPEC members consistently exceeded their production ceiling, and China experienced a marked slowdown in economic growth and crude oil imports.", "With concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems.", "With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.", "====Energy====\n\n=====Oil and gas=====\nDrilling rig in Alberta.", "Since the early 1940s, Alberta had supplied oil and gas to the rest of Canada and the United States.", "The Athabasca River region produces oil for internal and external use.", "The Athabasca Oil Sands contain the largest proven reserves of oil in the world outside Saudi Arabia.", "Natural gas has been found at several points, and in 1999, the production of natural gas liquids (ethane, propane, and butanes) totalled , valued at $2.27 billion.", "Alberta also provides 13% of all the natural gas used in the United States.", "Notable gas reserves were discovered in the 1883 near Medicine Hat.", "The town of Medicine Hat began using gas for lighting the town, and supplying light and fuel for the people, and a number of industries using the gas for manufacturing.", "In fact a large glassworks was established at Redcliff.", "When Rudyard Kipling visited Medicine Hat he described it as the city \"with all hell for a basement\".", "======Basic statistics======\n\n* In 2003, Alberta produced of conventional light, medium, and heavy crude, plus an additional of pentanes plus used for blending with heavy crude oil and bitumen to facilitate its transportation through pipelines.", "* Alberta exports over of oil to US markets accounting for 10 per cent of US oil imports.", "* The conventional oil resource is estimated to have approximately of remaining established reserves.", "*Conventional crude oil production (not including oil sands and pentanes plus) represented 38.6% of Alberta ’s total crude oil and equivalent production and 25.5% of Canada’s total crude oil and equivalent production.", "*Alberta's oil sands reserve is considered to be one of the largest in the world, containing of bitumen initially in place.", "Of this total, are considered to be remaining established reserves, recoverable using current technology under present and anticipated economic conditions.", "To date, about 2% of the initial established resource has been produced.", "* In 2003, total crude bitumen production in Alberta averaged .", "* Disposition of Alberta ’s total crude oil and equivalent production in 2003 was approximately:\n** 62% to the United States\n** 24% within Alberta\n** 14% to the rest of Canada\n* In 2003, Alberta produced of marketable natural gas.", "* The average Albertan household uses of natural gas a year.", "* Over 80 per cent of Canada’s natural gas production is from Alberta.", "* In 2006, Alberta consumed of natural gas.", "The rest was exported across Canada and to the United States.", "* Royalties to Alberta from natural gas and its byproducts are larger than royalties from crude oil and bitumen.", "* In 2006, there were 13,473 successful natural gas wells drilled in Alberta: 12,029 conventional gas wells and 1,444 coalbed methane wells\n* There may be up to of coalbed methane in Alberta, although it is unknown how much of this gas might be recoverable.", "* Alberta has one of the most extensive natural gas systems in the world as part of its energy infrastructure, with of energy related pipelines.", "=====Coal=====\nRemains of the former Atlas Coal Mine, near Drumheller, now a National Historic Site of Canada.", "Coal has been mined in Alberta since the late 19th century.", "Over 1800 mines have operated in Alberta since then.", "The coal industry was vital to the early development of several communities, especially those in the foothills and along deep river valleys where coal was close to the surface.", "Alberta is still a major coal producer, every two weeks Alberta produces enough coal to fill the Sky Dome in Toronto.", "Much of that coal is burned in Alberta for electricity generation.", "Alberta uses over 25 million tonnes of coal annually to generate electricity.", "Alberta has vast coal resources and 70 per cent of Canada's coal reserves are located in Alberta.", "This amounts to 33.6 Gigatonnes.", "Vast beds of coal are found extending for hundreds of miles, a short distance below the surface of the plains.", "The coal belongs to the Cretaceous beds, and while not so heavy as that of the Coal Measures in England is of excellent quality.", "In the valley of the Bow River, alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway, valuable beds of anthracite coal are still worked.", "The usual coal deposits of the area of bituminous or semi-bituminous coal.", "These are largely worked at Lethbridge in southern Alberta and Edmonton in the centre of the province.", "Many other parts of the province have pits for private use.", "=====Electricity=====\n\n\n, Alberta's generating capacity was 16,261 MW, and Alberta has about of transmission lines.", "Alberta has 1491 megawatts of wind power capacity.", "Production of Electricity in Alberta in 2015 by source:\n\n\n Generation !", "!", "GWh !", "!", "Share by Fuel\n\n Coal \n 41,378 \n 51%\n\n Natural Gas \n 32,215 \n 39%\n\n Hydro \n 1,745 \n 2%\n\n Wind \n 3,816 \n 5%\n\n Biomass \n 2,149 \n 3%\n\n Others \n 318 \n 0%\n\n Total \n 81,621 \n 100%\n\n\nAlberta has added 9,000 MW of new supply since 1998.", "Peak for power use in one day was set on July 9, 2015 – 10,520 MW.", "====Mineral mining====\n\nBuilding stones mined in Alberta include Rundle stone, and Paskapoo sandstone.", "Diamonds were first found in Alberta in 1958, and many stones have been found since, although to date no large-scale mines have been developed.", "====Manufacturing====\nThe Edmonton area, and in particular Nisku is a major centre for manufacturing oil and gas related equipment.", "As well Edmonton's Refinery Row is home to a petrochemical industry.", "According to a Statistics Canada report Alberta's manufacturing sales year-over-year sales fell 13.2 per cent, with a loss of almost four per cent from December to January.", "Alberta's economy continued to shrink because of the collapse of the oil and gas sector.", "The petroleum and coal product manufacturing industry is now third— behind food and chemicals.", "====Biotechnology====\nSeveral companies and services in the biotech sector are clustered around the University of Alberta, for example ColdFX.", "====Food processing====\nOwing to the strength of agriculture, food processing was once a major part of the economies of Edmonton and Calgary, but this sector has increasingly moved to smaller centres such as Brooks, the home of XL Foods, responsible for one third of Canada's beef processing in 2011.", "====Transportation====\nHeadquarters of the airline WestJet, in Calgary.", "Edmonton is a major distribution centre for northern communities, hence the nickname \"Gateway to the North\".", "Edmonton is one CN Rail's most important hubs.", "Since 1996, Canadian Pacific Railway has its headquarters in downtown Calgary.", "WestJet, Canada's second largest air carrier, is headquartered in Calgary, by Calgary International Airport, which serves as the airline's primary hub.", "Prior to its dissolution, Canadian Airlines was headquartered in Calgary by the airport.", "Prior to its dissolution, Air Canada subsidiary Zip was headquartered in Calgary.", "===Agriculture and forestry===\nGrain elevator in southern Alberta\n\n==== Agriculture ====\n\nIn the past, cattle, horses, and sheep were reared in the southern prairie region on ranches or smaller holdings.", "Currently Alberta produces cattle valued at over $3.3 billion, as well as other livestock in lesser quantities.", "In this region irrigation is widely used.", "Wheat, accounting for almost half of the $2 billion agricultural economy, is supplemented by canola, barley, rye, sugar beets, and other mixed farming.", "In 2011, Alberta producers seeded an estimated total of to spring wheat, durum, barley, oats, mixed grains, triticale, canola and dry peas.", "Of the total seeded area, 94 per cent was harvested as grains and oilseeds and six per cent as greenfeed and silage.", "Agriculture has a significant position in the province's economy.", "Over three million cattle are residents of the province at one time or another, and Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market.", "Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta.", "Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market.", "Sheep for wool and lamb are also raised.", "Wheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production, with other grains also prominent.", "Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation.", "Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion.", "Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreased and farmers now truck the grain to central points.", "Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed.", "Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.", "==== Forestry ====\n\n\nThe vast northern forest reserves of softwood allow Alberta to produce large quantities of lumber, oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood, and several plants in northern Alberta supply North America and the Pacific Rim nations with bleached wood pulp and newsprint.", "In 1999, lumber products from Alberta were valued at $4.1 billion of which 72% were exported around the world.", "Since forests cover approximately 59% of the province's land area, the government allows about to be harvested annually from the forests on public lands.", "===Services===\nDespite the high profile of the extractive industries, Alberta has a mature economy and most people work in services.", "In 2014 there were 1,635.8 thousand people employed in the services-producing sector.", "By January 2016 that number had increased to 1,668.5 thousand and by February 2016 to 1,670.6 thousand.", "This includes wholesale and retail trade; transportation and warehousing; finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; business, building and other support services; educational services; health care and social assistance; information, culture and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services (except public administration) and public administration.", "====Finance====\nThe TSX Venture Exchange is headquartered in Calgary, and Calgary also has a robust service industry relating to the securities market.", "The city has the second highest number of corporate head offices in Canada after Toronto, and the financial services industry in Calgary has developed to support them.", "====Government====\nDespite Alberta's reputation as a \"small government\" province, many health care and education professionals are lured to Alberta from other provinces by the higher wages the Alberta government is able to offer because of oil revenues.", "In 2014 the median household income in Alberta was $100,000 with the average weekly wage at $1,163—23 per cent higher than the Canadian national average.", "Alberta has the \"lowest taxes overall of any province or territory\" in Canada.", "* Economy of Canada\n* Economy of Lethbridge\n* Canadian Oil Patch, for the petroleum industry\n* History of the petroleum industry in Canada\n* Canada's Global Markets Action Plan\n* Free trade agreements of Canada", "\n* CBC Digital Archives - Striking Oil in Alberta" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alternative medicine''' – or '''fringe medicine''' – includes practices claimed to have the healing effects of medicine but which are disproven, unproven, impossible to prove, or are excessively harmful in relation to their effect; and where the scientific consensus is that the therapy does not, or cannot, work because the known laws of nature are violated by its basic claims; or where it is considered so much worse than conventional treatment that it would be unethical to offer as treatment. Alternative therapies or diagnoses are not part of medicine or science-based healthcare systems. Alternative medicine consists of a wide variety of practices, products, and therapies – ranging from those that are biologically plausible but not well tested, to those with known harmful and toxic effects. Contrary to popular belief, significant expense is paid to test alternative medicine, including over $2.5 billion spent by the United States government. Almost none show any effect beyond that of false treatment. Perceived effects of alternative medicine may be caused by placebo; decreased effect of functional treatment (and therefore potentially decreased side effects); and regression toward the mean where improvement that would have occurred anyway is credited to alternative therapies; or any combination of the above. Alternative treatments are not the same as experimental medicine or traditional medicine, although much of the latter is alternative when used today.\n\nAlternative medicine has grown in popularity and is used by a significant percentage of the population in many countries. While it has extensively rebranded itself: from quackery to complementary or integrative medicine – it promotes essentially the same practices. Newer proponents often suggest alternative medicine be used together with functional medical treatment, in a belief that it \"complements\" (improves the effect of, or mitigates the side effects of) the treatment. There is no evidence showing they do so, and significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatments, making them less effective, notably cancer therapy. Despite being illegal to market alternative therapies for cancer treatment in most of the developed world, many cancer patients use them.\n\nAlternative medical diagnoses and treatments are not taught as part of science-based curricula in medical schools, and are not used in any practice where treatment is based on scientific knowledge or proven experience. Alternative therapies are often based on religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or lies. Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies between and within countries.\n\nAlternative medicine is criticized for being based on misleading statements, quackery, pseudoscience, antiscience, fraud, or poor scientific methodology. Promoting alternative medicine has been called dangerous and unethical. Testing alternative medicine that has no scientific basis has been called a waste of scarce research resources. Critics state \"there is really no such thing as alternative medicine, just medicine that works and medicine that doesn't\", and the problem with the idea of \"alternative\" treatments in this sense is that the \"underlying logic is magical, childish or downright absurd\". It has been strongly suggested that the very idea of any alternative treatment that works is paradoxical, as any treatment proven to work is by definition \"medicine\".\n\n", "Alternative therapies often make bombastic claims, and frequently include anecdotes from healthy-looking individuals claiming successful treatment.\n\nPractitioners of complementary medicine usually discuss and advise patients as to available alternative therapies. Patients often express interest in mind-body complementary therapies because they offer a non-drug approach to treating some health conditions.\n\nIn addition to the social-cultural underpinnings of the popularity of alternative medicine, there are several psychological issues that are critical to its growth. One of the most critical is the placebo effect – a well-established observation in medicine. Related to it are similar psychological effects, such as the will to believe, cognitive biases that help maintain self-esteem and promote harmonious social functioning, and the ''post hoc, ergo propter hoc'' fallacy.\n\n===Marketing===\nEdzard Ernst, a leading authority on scientific study of alternative treatments and diagnoses, and the first university professor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Here in 2012, promoting his book ''Trick or Treatment'' co-written with Simon Singh.\n\nCAM's popularity may be related to other factors that Edzard Ernst mentioned in an interview in ''The Independent'':\n\nWhy is it so popular, then? Ernst blames the providers, customers and the doctors whose neglect, he says, has created the opening into which alternative therapists have stepped. \"People are told lies. There are 40 million websites and 39.9 million tell lies, sometimes outrageous lies. They mislead cancer patients, who are encouraged not only to pay their last penny but to be treated with something that shortens their lives. \"At the same time, people are gullible. It needs gullibility for the industry to succeed. It doesn't make me popular with the public, but it's the truth.\n\nPaul Offit proposed that \"alternative medicine becomes quackery\" in four ways: by recommending against conventional therapies that are helpful, promoting potentially harmful therapies without adequate warning, draining patients' bank accounts, or by promoting \"magical thinking.\"\n\n=== A failure of mainstream medicine ===\nFriendly and colorful images of herbal treatments may look less threatening or dangerous when compared to conventional medicine. This is an intentional marketing strategy.\n\nIn a paper published in October 2010 entitled ''The public's enthusiasm for complementary and alternative medicine amounts to a critique of mainstream medicine'', Ernst described these views in greater detail and concluded:\n\nCAM is popular. An analysis of the reasons why this is so points towards the therapeutic relationship as a key factor. Providers of CAM tend to build better therapeutic relationships than mainstream healthcare professionals. In turn, this implies that much of the popularity of CAM is a poignant criticism of the failure of mainstream healthcare. We should consider it seriously with a view of improving our service to patients.\n\n===Social factors===\n\nAuthors have speculated on the socio-cultural and psychological reasons for the appeal of alternative medicines among the minority using them ''in lieu'' of conventional medicine. There are several socio-cultural reasons for the interest in these treatments centered on the low level of scientific literacy among the public at large and a concomitant increase in antiscientific attitudes and new age mysticism. Related to this are vigorous marketing of extravagant claims by the alternative medical community combined with inadequate media scrutiny and attacks on critics.\n\nThere is also an increase in conspiracy theories toward conventional medicine and pharmaceutical companies, mistrust of traditional authority figures, such as the physician, and a dislike of the current delivery methods of scientific biomedicine, all of which have led patients to seek out alternative medicine to treat a variety of ailments. Many patients lack access to contemporary medicine, due to a lack of private or public health insurance, which leads them to seek out lower-cost alternative medicine. Medical doctors are also aggressively marketing alternative medicine to profit from this market.\n\nPatients can be averse to the painful, unpleasant, and sometimes-dangerous side effects of biomedical treatments. Treatments for severe diseases such as cancer and HIV infection have well-known, significant side-effects. Even low-risk medications such as antibiotics can have potential to cause life-threatening anaphylactic reactions in a very few individuals. Many medications may cause minor but bothersome symptoms such as cough or upset stomach. In all of these cases, patients may be seeking out alternative treatments to avoid the adverse effects of conventional treatments.\n", "\n=== Alternative medicine ===\n'''Alternative medicine''' is defined loosely as a set of products, practices, and theories that are believed or perceived by their users to have the healing effects of medicine, but whose effectiveness has not been clearly established using scientific methods, or whose theory and practice is not part of biomedicine, or whose theories or practices are directly contradicted by scientific evidence or scientific principles used in biomedicine. \"Biomedicine\" or \"medicine\" is that part of medical science that applies principles of biology, physiology, molecular biology, biophysics, and other natural sciences to clinical practice, using scientific methods to establish the effectiveness of that practice. Unlike medicine, an alternative product or practice does not originate from using scientific methodology, but may instead be based on testimonials, religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or other unscientific sources.\n\nIn ''General Guidelines for Methodologies on Research and Evaluation of Traditional Medicine'', published in 2000 by the World Health Organization (WHO), complementary and alternative medicine were defined as a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country's own tradition and are not integrated into the dominant health care system.\n\nThe expression also refers to a diverse range of related and unrelated products, practices, and theories ranging from biologically plausible practices and products and practices with some evidence, to practices and theories that are directly contradicted by basic science or clear evidence, and products that have been conclusively proven to be ineffective or even toxic and harmful.\n\nThe terms''-Alternative medicine'', ''complementary medicine'', ''integrative medicine,'' ''holistic medicine'', ''natural medicine'', ''unorthodox medicine'', ''fringe medicine'', ''unconventional medicine'', and ''new age medicine'' are used interchangeably as having the same meaning and are almost synonymous in some contexts, but may have different meanings in some rare cases.\n\nMarcia Angell: \"There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative\".\n\nThe meaning of the term \"alternative\" in the expression \"alternative medicine\", is not that it is an effective alternative to medical science, although some alternative medicine promoters may use the loose terminology to give the appearance of effectiveness. Loose terminology may also be used to suggest meaning that a dichotomy exists when it does not, e.g., the use of the expressions \"western medicine\" and \"eastern medicine\" to suggest that the difference is a cultural difference between the Asiatic east and the European west, rather than that the difference is between evidence-based medicine and treatments that don't work.\n\n=== Complementary/integrative medicine ===\n'''Complementary medicine''' ('''CM''') or '''integrative medicine''' ('''IM''') is when alternative medicine is used together with functional medical treatment, in a belief that it improves the effect of treatments. However, significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatment, making treatments less effective, notably cancer therapy. Both terms refer to use of alternative medical treatments alongside conventional medicine, an example of which is use of acupuncture (sticking needles in the body to influence the flow of a supernatural energy), along with using science-based medicine, in the belief that the acupuncture increases the effectiveness or \"complements\" the science-based medicine.\n\n\n\n===Allopathic medicine ===\n'''Allopathic medicine''' or '''allopathy''' is an expression commonly used by homeopaths and proponents of other forms of alternative medicine to refer to mainstream medicine. Specifically it refers to the use of pharmacologically active agents or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or pathophysiologic processes of diseases or conditions. The German version of the word, , was coined in 1810 by the creator of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843). The word was coined from (different) and (relating to a disease or to a method of treatment). In alternative medicine circles the expression \"allopathic medicine\" is still used to refer to \"the broad category of medical practice that is sometimes called Western medicine, biomedicine, evidence-based medicine, or modern medicine\" (see the article on scientific medicine).\n\nUse of the term remains common among homeopaths and has spread to other alternative medicine practices. The meaning implied by the label has never been accepted by conventional medicine and is considered pejorative. More recently, some sources have used the term \"allopathic\", particularly American sources wishing to distinguish between Doctors of Medicine (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) in the United States. William Jarvis, an expert on alternative medicine and public health, states that \"although many modern therapies can be construed to conform to an allopathic rationale (e.g., using a laxative to relieve constipation), standard medicine has never paid allegiance to an allopathic principle\" and that the label \"allopath\" was from the start \"considered highly derisive by regular medicine\".\n\nMany conventional medical treatments clearly do not fit the nominal definition of allopathy, as they seek to prevent illness, or remove its cause.\n\n===CAM===\nCAM is an abbreviation of complementary and alternative medicine. It has also been called sCAM or SCAM with the addition of \"so-called\" or \"supplements\". The words balance and holism are often used, claiming to take into account a \"whole\" person, in contrast to the supposed reductionism of medicine. Due to its many names the field has been criticized for intense rebranding of what are essentially the same practices: as soon as one name is declared synonymous with quackery, a new name is chosen.\n\n===Traditional medicine===\n\n'''Traditional medicine''' refers to the pre-scientific practices of a certain culture, contrary to what is typically practiced in other cultures where medical science dominates.\n\n\"Eastern medicine\" typically refers to the traditional medicines of Asia where conventional bio-medicine penetrated much later.\n\n=== Problems with definition ===\n\nProminent members of the science and biomedical science community say that it is not meaningful to define an alternative medicine that is separate from a conventional medicine, that the expressions \"conventional medicine\", \"alternative medicine\", \"complementary medicine\", \"integrative medicine\", and \"holistic medicine\" do not refer to any medicine at all.\n\nOthers in both the biomedical and CAM communities say that CAM ''cannot'' be precisely defined because of the diversity of theories and practices it includes, and because the boundaries between CAM and biomedicine overlap, are porous, and change. The expression \"complementary and alternative medicine\" (CAM) resists easy definition because the health systems and practices it refers to are diffuse, and its boundaries poorly defined. Healthcare practices categorized as alternative may differ in their historical origin, theoretical basis, diagnostic technique, therapeutic practice and in their relationship to the medical mainstream. Some alternative therapies, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda, have antique origins in East or South Asia and are entirely alternative medical systems; others, such as homeopathy and chiropractic, have origins in Europe or the United States and emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some, such as osteopathy and chiropractic, employ manipulative physical methods of treatment; others, such as meditation and prayer, are based on mind-body interventions. Treatments considered alternative in one location may be considered conventional in another. Thus, chiropractic is not considered alternative in Denmark and likewise osteopathic medicine is no longer thought of as an alternative therapy in the United States.\n\nCritics say the expression is deceptive because it implies there is an effective alternative to science-based medicine, and that ''complementary'' is deceptive because it implies that the treatment increases the effectiveness of (complements) science-based medicine, while alternative medicines that have been tested nearly always have no measurable positive effect compared to a placebo.\n\n===Different types of definitions===\n\nOne common feature of all definitions of alternative medicine is its designation as \"other than\" conventional medicine. For example, the widely referenced descriptive definition of complementary and alternative medicine devised by the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), states that it is \"a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine\". For conventional medical practitioners, it does not necessarily follow that either it or its practitioners would no longer be considered alternative.\n\nSome definitions seek to specify alternative medicine in terms of its social and political marginality to mainstream healthcare. This can refer to the lack of support that alternative therapies receive from the medical establishment and related bodies regarding access to research funding, sympathetic coverage in the medical press, or inclusion in the standard medical curriculum. In 1993, the British Medical Association (BMA), one among many professional organizations who have attempted to define alternative medicine, stated that it referred to \"...those forms of treatment which are not widely used by the conventional healthcare professions, and the skills of which are not taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum of conventional medical and paramedical healthcare courses\". In a US context, an influential definition coined in 1993 by the Harvard-based physician, David M. Eisenberg, characterized alternative medicine \"as interventions neither taught widely in medical schools nor generally available in US hospitals\". These descriptive definitions are inadequate in the present-day when some conventional doctors offer alternative medical treatments and CAM introductory courses or modules can be offered as part of standard undergraduate medical training; alternative medicine is taught in more than 50 per cent of US medical schools and increasingly US health insurers are willing to provide reimbursement for CAM therapies. In 1999, 7.7% of US hospitals reported using some form of CAM therapy; this proportion had risen to 37.7% by 2008.\n\nAn expert panel at a conference hosted in 1995 by the US Office for Alternative Medicine (OAM), devised a theoretical definition of alternative medicine as \"a broad domain of healing resources ... other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period\". This definition has been widely adopted by CAM researchers, cited by official government bodies such as the UK Department of Health, attributed as the definition used by the Cochrane Collaboration, and, with some modification, was preferred in the 2005 consensus report of the US Institute of Medicine, ''Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States''.\n\nThe 1995 OAM conference definition, an expansion of Eisenberg's 1993 formulation, is silent regarding questions of the medical effectiveness of alternative therapies. Its proponents hold that it thus avoids relativism about differing forms of medical knowledge and, while it is an essentially political definition, this should not imply that the dominance of mainstream biomedicine is solely due to political forces. According to this definition, alternative and mainstream medicine can only be differentiated with reference to what is \"intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society of culture\". However, there is neither a reliable method to distinguish between cultures and subcultures, nor to attribute them as dominant or subordinate, nor any accepted criteria to determine the dominance of a cultural entity. If the culture of a politically dominant healthcare system is held to be equivalent to the perspectives of those charged with the medical management of leading healthcare institutions and programs, the definition fails to recognize the potential for division either within such an elite or between a healthcare elite and the wider population.\n\nNormative definitions distinguish alternative medicine from the biomedical mainstream in its provision of therapies that are unproven, unvalidated, or ineffective and support of theories with no recognized scientific basis. These definitions characterize practices as constituting alternative medicine when, used independently or in place of evidence-based medicine, they are put forward as having the healing effects of medicine, but are not based on evidence gathered with the scientific method. Exemplifying this perspective, a 1998 editorial co-authored by Marcia Angell, a former editor of ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', argued that:\n\nIt is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride. There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative. There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work. Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset. If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted. But assertions, speculation, and testimonials do not substitute for evidence. Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments.\n\nThis line of division has been subject to criticism, however, as not all forms of standard medical practice have adequately demonstrated evidence of benefit, and it is also unlikely in most instances that conventional therapies, if proven to be ineffective, would ever be classified as CAM.\n\nSimilarly, the public information website maintained by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of the Commonwealth of Australia uses the acronym \"CAM\" for a wide range of health care practices, therapies, procedures and devices not within the domain of conventional medicine. In the Australian context this is stated to include acupuncture; aromatherapy; chiropractic; homeopathy; massage; meditation and relaxation therapies; naturopathy; osteopathy; reflexology, traditional Chinese medicine; and the use of vitamin supplements.\n\nThe Danish National Board of Health's \"Council for Alternative Medicine\" (Sundhedsstyrelsens Råd for Alternativ Behandling (SRAB)), an independent institution under the National Board of Health (Danish: ''Sundhedsstyrelsen''), uses the term \"alternative medicine\" for:\n\n* Treatments performed by therapists that are not authorized healthcare professionals.\n* Treatments performed by authorized healthcare professionals, but those based on methods otherwise used mainly outside the healthcare system. People without a healthcare authorisation are also allowed to perform the treatments.\n\nProponents of an evidence-base for medicine such as the Cochrane Collaboration (founded in 1993 and from 2011 providing input for WHO resolutions) take a position that ''all'' systematic reviews of treatments, whether \"mainstream\" or \"alternative\", ought to be held to the current standards of scientific method. In a study titled ''Development and classification of an operational definition of complementary and alternative medicine for the Cochrane Collaboration'' (2011) it was proposed that indicators that a therapy is accepted include government licensing of practitioners, coverage by health insurance, statements of approval by government agencies, and recommendation as part of a practice guideline; and that if something is currently a standard, accepted therapy, then it is not likely to be widely considered as CAM.\n\n=== NCCIH classification ===\nA United States government agency, the National Center on Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), created its own classification system for branches of complementary and alternative medicine that divides them into five major groups. These groups have some overlap, and distinguish two types of energy medicine: ''veritable'' which involves scientifically observable energy (including magnet therapy, colorpuncture and light therapy) and ''putative'', which invokes physically undetectable or unverifiable energy.\n\nThe NCCIH classification system is - \n# Whole medical systems: Cut across more than one of the other groups; examples include traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, and ayurveda\n# Mind-body interventions: Explore the interconnection between the mind, body, and spirit, under the premise that the mind can affect \"bodily functions and symptoms\"\n# \"Biology\"-based practices: Use substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, vitamins, and other natural substances. (Note that as used here, \"biology\" does ''not'' refer to the science of biology, but is a usage newly coined by NCCIH in the primary source used for this article. \"Biology-based\" as coined by NCCIH may refer to chemicals from a nonbiological source, such as use of the poison lead in traditional Chinese medicine, and to other nonbiological substances.)\n# Manipulative and body-based practices: feature manipulation or movement of body parts, such as is done in bodywork, chiropractic, and osteopathic manipulation\n# Energy medicine: is a domain that deals with putative and verifiable energy fields:\n#* Biofield therapies are intended to influence energy fields that are purported to surround and penetrate the body. No empirical evidence has been found to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.\n#* Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies use verifiable electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, alternating-current, or direct-current fields in an unconventional manner.\n", "\nReady-to-drink 200x200px\n\nAlternative medicine consists of a wide range of health care practices, products, and therapies. The shared feature is a claim to heal that is not based on the scientific method. Alternative medicine practices are diverse in their foundations and methodologies. Alternative medicine practices may be classified by their cultural origins or by the types of beliefs upon which they are based. Methods may incorporate or be based on traditional medicinal practices of a particular culture, folk knowledge, superstition, spiritual beliefs, belief in supernatural energies (antiscience), pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, new or different concepts of health and disease, and any bases other than being proven by scientific methods. Different cultures may have their own unique traditional or belief based practices developed recently or over thousands of years, and specific practices or entire systems of practices.\n\n\n===Unscientific belief systems===\n\nAlternative medicine, such as using naturopathy or homeopathy in place of conventional medicine, is based on belief systems not grounded in science.\n\n\n\nProposed mechanism\nIssues\n\nNaturopathy\nNaturopathic medicine is based on a belief that the body heals itself using a supernatural vital energy that guides bodily processes.\nIn conflict with the paradigm of evidence-based medicine. Many naturopaths have opposed vaccination, and \"scientific evidence does not support claims that naturopathic medicine can cure cancer or any other disease\".\n\nHomeopathy\nA belief that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people cures similar symptoms in sick people.\nDeveloped before knowledge of atoms and molecules, or of basic chemistry, which shows that repeated dilution as practiced in homeopathy produces only water, and that homeopathy is not scientifically valid.\n\n\n===Traditional ethnic systems===\nAlternative medical systems may be based on traditional medicine practices, such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurveda in India, or practices of other cultures around the world. Some useful applications of traditional medicines have been researched and accepted within ordinary medicine, however the underlying belief systems are seldom scientific and are not accepted.\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nTraditional Chinese medicine\nTraditional practices and beliefs from China, together with modifications made by the Communist party make up TCM. Common practices include herbal medicine, acupuncture (insertion of needles in the body at specified points), massage (Tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy.\nThe practices are based on belief in a supernatural energy called qi, considerations of Chinese Astrology and Chinese numerology, traditional use of herbs and other substances found in China – a belief that the tongue contains a map of the body that reflects changes in the body, and an incorrect model of the anatomy and physiology of internal organs.\n\nAyurveda\nTraditional medicine of India. Ayurveda believes in the existence of three elemental substances, the doshas (called Vata, Pitta and Kapha), and states that a balance of the doshas results in health, while imbalance results in disease. Such disease-inducing imbalances can be adjusted and balanced using traditional herbs, minerals and heavy metals. Ayurveda stresses the use of plant-based medicines and treatments, with some animal products, and added minerals, including sulfur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate.\nSafety concerns have been raised about Ayurveda, with two U.S. studies finding about 20 percent of Ayurvedic Indian-manufactured patent medicines contained toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. Other concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities. Incidents of heavy metal poisoning have been attributed to the use of these compounds in the United States.\n\n\n===Supernatural energies===\n\nBases of belief may include belief in existence of supernatural energies undetected by the science of physics, as in biofields, or in belief in properties of the energies of physics that are inconsistent with the laws of physics, as in energy medicine.\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nBiofield therapy\nIntended to influence energy fields that, it is purported, surround and penetrate the body.\nWriters such as noted astrophysicist and advocate of skeptical thinking (Scientific skepticism) Carl Sagan (1934–1996) have described the lack of empirical evidence to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.\n\nBioelectromagnetic therapy\nUse verifiable electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, alternating-current, or direct-current fields in an unconventional manner. \nAsserts that magnets can be used to defy the laws of physics to influence health and disease.\n\nChiropractic\nSpinal manipulation aims to treat \"vertebral subluxations\" which are claimed to put pressure on nerves.\nChiropractic was developed in the belief that manipulating the spine affects the flow of a supernatural vital energy and thereby affects health and disease. Vertebral subluxation is a pseudoscientific concept and has not been proven to exist.\n\nReiki\nPractitioners place their palms on the patient near Chakras that they believe are centers of supernatural energies in the belief that these supernatural energies can transfer from the practitioner's palms to heal the patient.\nLacks credible scientific evidence.\n\nAcupuncture involves insertion of needles in the body.\n\n===Holistic therapy===\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nMind-body medicine\nThe mind can affect \"bodily functions and symptoms\" and there is an interconnection between the mind, body, and spirit.\n\n\n\n===Herbal remedies and other substances used===\n\nSubstance based practices use substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, non-vitamin supplements and megavitamins, animal and fungal products, and minerals, including use of these products in traditional medical practices that may also incorporate other methods. Examples include healing claims for nonvitamin supplements, fish oil, Omega-3 fatty acid, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil, and ginseng. Herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, includes not just the use of plant products, but may also include the use of animal and mineral products. It is among the most commercially successful branches of alternative medicine, and includes the tablets, powders and elixirs that are sold as \"nutritional supplements\". Only a very small percentage of these have been shown to have any efficacy, and there is little regulation as to standards and safety of their contents. This may include use of known toxic substances, such as use of the poison lead in traditional Chinese medicine.A chiropractor \"adjusting\" the spine.\n\n===Religion, faith healing, and prayer===\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nChristian faith healing\nThere is a divine or spiritual intervention in healing.\n\n\n\nShamanism\nA practitioner can reach an altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world or channel supernatural energies in the belief that they can heal.\n\n\n", "The history of alternative medicine may refer to the history of a group of diverse medical practices that were collectively promoted as \"alternative medicine\" beginning in the 1970s, to the collection of individual histories of members of that group, or to the history of western medical practices that were labeled \"irregular practices\" by the western medical establishment. It includes the histories of complementary medicine and of integrative medicine. Before the 1970s, western practitioners that were not part of the increasingly science-based medical establishment were referred to \"irregular practitioners\", and were dismissed by the medical establishment as unscientific and as practicing quackery. Until the 1970's, irregular practice became increasingly marginalized as quackery and fraud, as western medicine increasingly incorporated scientific methods and discoveries, and had a corresponding increase in success of its treatments. In the 1970s, irregular practices were grouped with traditional practices of nonwestern cultures and with other unproven or disproven practices that were not part of biomedicine, with the entire group collectively marketed and promoted under the single expression \"alternative medicine\".\n\nUse of alternative medicine in the west began to rise following the counterculture movement of the 1960s, as part of the rising new age movement of the 1970s. This was due to misleading mass marketing of \"alternative medicine\" being an effective \"alternative\" to biomedicine, changing social attitudes about not using chemicals and challenging the establishment and authority of any kind, sensitivity to giving equal measure to beliefs and practices of other cultures (cultural relativism), and growing frustration and desperation by patients about limitations and side effects of science-based medicine. At the same time, in 1975, the American Medical Association, which played the central role in fighting quackery in the United States, abolished its quackery committee and closed down its Department of Investigation. By the early to mid 1970s the expression \"alternative medicine\" came into widespread use, and the expression became mass marketed as a collection of \"natural\" and effective treatment \"alternatives\" to science-based biomedicine. By 1983, mass marketing of \"alternative medicine\" was so pervasive that the British Medical Journal (BMJ) pointed to \"an apparently endless stream of books, articles, and radio and television programmes urge on the public the virtues of (alternative medicine) treatments ranging from meditation to drilling a hole in the skull to let in more oxygen\". In this 1983 article, the BMJ wrote, \"one of the few growth industries in contemporary Britain is alternative medicine\", noting that by 1983, \"33% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 39% of those with backache admitted to having consulted an alternative practitioner\".\n\nBy about 1990, the American alternative medicine industry had grown to a $27 billion per year, with polls showing 30% of Americans were using it. Moreover, polls showed that Americans made more visits for alternative therapies than the total number of visits to primary care doctors, and American out-of-pocket spending (non-insurance spending) on alternative medicine was about equal to spending on biomedical doctors. In 1991, Time magazine ran a cover story, \"The New Age of Alternative Medicine: Why New Age Medicine Is Catching On\". In 1993, the New England Journal of Medicine reported one in three Americans as using alternative medicine. In 1993, the Public Broadcasting System ran a Bill Moyers special, Healing and the Mind, with Moyers commenting that \"...people by the tens of millions are using alternative medicine. If established medicine does not understand that, they are going to lose their clients.\"\n\nAnother explosive growth began in the 1990s, when senior level political figures began promoting alternative medicine, investing large sums of government medical research funds into testing alternative medicine, including testing of scientifically implausible treatments, and relaxing government regulation of alternative medicine products as compared to biomedical products. Beginning with a 1991 appropriation of $2 million for funding research of alternative medicine research, federal spending grew to a cumulative total of about $2.5 billion by 2009, with 50% of Americans using alternative medicine by 2013.\n\nIn 1993, Britain's Prince Charles, who claimed that homeopathy and other alternative medicine was an effective alternative to biomedicine, established The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH), as a charity to explore \"how safe, proven complementary therapies can work in conjunction with mainstream medicine\". The FIH received government funding through grants from Britain's Department of Health. In 2008, London's ''The Times'' published a letter from Edzard Ernst that asked the FIH to recall two guides promoting alternative medicine, saying: \"the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous.\" In 2010, the FIH closed after allegations of fraud and money laundering led to arrests of its officials.\n\nIn 2001, MEDLINE introduced a MeSH term to index scientific publications in alternative medicine.\n\nIn 2004, modifications of the European Parliament's 2001 Directive 2001/83/EC, regulating all medicine products, were made with the expectation of influencing development of the European market for alternative medicine products. Regulation of alternative medicine in Europe was loosened with \"a simplified registration procedure\" for traditional herbal medicinal products. Plausible \"efficacy\" for traditional medicine was redefined to be based on long term popularity and testimonials (\"the pharmacological effects or efficacy of the medicinal product are plausible on the basis of long-standing use and experience.\"), without scientific testing. The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) was created within the European Medicines Agency in London (EMEA). A special working group was established for homeopathic remedies under the Heads of Medicines Agencies.\n\nThrough 2004, alternative medicine that was traditional to Germany continued to be a regular part of the health care system, including homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine. The German Medicines Act mandated that science-based medical authorities consider the \"particular characteristics\" of complementary and alternative medicines. By 2004, homeopathy had grown to be the most used alternative therapy in France, growing from 16% of the population using homeopathic medicine in 1982, to 29% by 1987, 36% percent by 1992, and 62% of French mothers using homeopathic medicines by 2004, with 95% of French pharmacists advising pregnant women to use homeopathic remedies. , 100 million people in India depended solely on traditional German homeopathic remedies for their medical care. , homeopathic remedies continued to be the leading alternative treatment used by European physicians. By 2005, sales of homeopathic remedies and anthroposophical medicine had grown to $930 million Euros, a 60% increase from 1995.\n\nSince 2009, according to Art. 118a of the Swiss Federal Constitution, the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons of Switzerland shall within the scope of their powers ensure that consideration is given to complementary medicine.\n\nBy 2013, 50% of Americans were using CAM. , CAM medicinal products in Europe continued to be exempted from documented efficacy standards required of other medicinal products.\n\n===Individual systems and practices===\n\nMuch of what is now categorized as alternative medicine was developed as independent, complete medical systems. These were developed long before biomedicine and use of scientific methods. Each system was developed in relatively isolated regions of the world where there was little or no medical contact with pre-scientific western medicine, or with each other's systems. Examples are traditional Chinese medicine and the Ayurvedic medicine of India.\n\nOther alternative medicine practices, such as homeopathy, were developed in western Europe and in opposition to western medicine, at a time when western medicine was based on unscientific theories that were dogmatically imposed by western religious authorities. Homeopathy was developed prior to discovery of the basic principles of chemistry, which proved homeopathic remedies contained nothing but water. But homeopathy, with its remedies made of water, was harmless compared to the unscientific and dangerous orthodox western medicine practiced at that time, which included use of toxins and draining of blood, often resulting in permanent disfigurement or death.\n\nOther alternative practices such as chiropractic and osteopathic manipulative medicine were developed in the United States at a time that western medicine was beginning to incorporate scientific methods and theories, but the biomedical model was not yet totally dominant. Practices such as chiropractic and osteopathy, each considered to be irregular practices by the western medical establishment, also opposed each other, both rhetorically and politically with licensing legislation. Osteopathic practitioners added the courses and training of biomedicine to their licensing, and licensed Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine holders began diminishing use of the unscientific origins of the field.\n\n===\"Irregular practitioners\" ===\n\n\n\nUntil the 1970s, western practitioners that were not part of the medical establishment were referred to \"irregular practitioners\", and were dismissed by the medical establishment as unscientific, as practicing quackery. The Irregular practice became increasingly marginalized as quackery and fraud, as western medicine increasingly incorporated scientific methods and discoveries, and had a corresponding increase in success of its treatments.\n\nDating from the 1970s, medical professionals, sociologists, anthropologists and other commentators noted the increasing visibility of a wide variety of health practices that had neither derived directly from nor been verified by biomedical science. Since that time, those who have analyzed this trend have deliberated over the most apt language with which to describe this emergent health field. A variety of terms have been used, including heterodox, irregular, fringe and alternative medicine while others, particularly medical commentators, have been satisfied to label them as instances of quackery. The most persistent term has been alternative medicine but its use is problematic as it assumes a value-laden dichotomy between a medical fringe, implicitly of borderline acceptability at best, and a privileged medical orthodoxy, associated with validated medico-scientific norms. The use of the category of alternative medicine has also been criticized as it cannot be studied as an independent entity but must be understood in terms of a regionally and temporally specific medical orthodoxy. Its use can also be misleading as it may erroneously imply that a real medical alternative exists. As with near-synonymous expressions, such as unorthodox, complementary, marginal, or quackery, these linguistic devices have served, in the context of processes of professionalisation and market competition, to establish the authority of official medicine and police the boundary between it and its unconventional rivals.\n\nPeking Union Medical College\n\nAn early instance of the influence of this modern, or western, scientific medicine outside Europe and North America is Peking Union Medical College.\n\nFrom a historical perspective, the emergence of alternative medicine, if not the term itself, is typically dated to the 19th century. This is despite the fact that there are variants of Western non-conventional medicine that arose in the late-eighteenth century or earlier and some non-Western medical traditions, currently considered alternative in the West and elsewhere, which boast extended historical pedigrees. Alternative medical systems, however, can only be said to exist when there is an identifiable, regularized and authoritative standard medical practice, such as arose in the West during the nineteenth century, to which they can function as an alternative.\n\nDuring the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries regular and irregular medical practitioners became more clearly differentiated throughout much of Europe and, as the nineteenth century progressed, most Western states converged in the creation of legally delimited and semi-protected medical markets. It is at this point that an \"official\" medicine, created in cooperation with the state and employing a scientific rhetoric of legitimacy, emerges as a recognizable entity and that the concept of alternative medicine as a historical category becomes tenable.\n\nAs part of this process, professional adherents of mainstream medicine in countries such as Germany, France, and Britain increasingly invoked the scientific basis of their discipline as a means of engendering internal professional unity and of external differentiation in the face of sustained market competition from homeopaths, naturopaths, mesmerists and other nonconventional medical practitioners, finally achieving a degree of imperfect dominance through alliance with the state and the passage of regulatory legislation. In the US the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland, opened in 1893, with William H. Welch and William Osler among the founding physicians, and was the first medical school devoted to teaching \"German scientific medicine\".\n\nButtressed by increased authority arising from significant advances in the medical sciences of the late 19th century onwards – including development and application of the germ theory of disease by the chemist Louis Pasteur and the surgeon Joseph Lister, of microbiology co-founded by Robert Koch (in 1885 appointed professor of hygiene at the University of Berlin), and of the use of X-rays (Röntgen rays)—the 1910 Flexner Report called upon American medical schools to follow the model of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and adhere to mainstream science in their teaching and research. This was in a belief, mentioned in the Report's introduction, that the preliminary and professional training then prevailing in medical schools should be reformed, in view of the new means for diagnosing and combating disease made available by the sciences on which medicine depended.\n\nPutative medical practices at the time that later became known as \"alternative medicine\" included homeopathy (founded in Germany in the early 19th century) and chiropractic (founded in North America in the late 19th century). These conflicted in principle with the developments in medical science upon which the Flexner reforms were based, and they have not become compatible with further advances of medical science such as listed in Timeline of medicine and medical technology, 1900–1999 and 2000–present, nor have Ayurveda, acupuncture or other kinds of alternative medicine.\n\nAt the same time \"tropical medicine\" was being developed as a specialist branch of western medicine in research establishments such as Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine founded in 1898 by Alfred Lewis Jones, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, founded in 1899 by Patrick Manson, and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, instituted in 1912. A distinction was being made between western scientific medicine and indigenous systems. An example is given by an official report about indigenous systems of medicine in India, including Ayurveda, submitted by Mohammad Usman of Madras and others in 1923. This stated that the first question the Committee considered was \"to decide whether the indigenous systems of medicine were scientific or not\".\n\nBy the later twentieth century the term \"alternative medicine\" entered public discourse, but it was not always being used with the same meaning by all parties. Arnold S. Relman remarked in 1998 that in the best kind of medical practice, all proposed treatments must be tested objectively, and that in the end there will only be treatments that pass and those that do not, those that are proven worthwhile and those that are not. He asked \"Can there be any reasonable 'alternative'?\" But also in 1998 the then Surgeon General of the United States, David Satcher, issued public information about eight common alternative treatments (including acupuncture, holistic and massage), together with information about common diseases and conditions, on nutrition, diet, and lifestyle changes, and about helping consumers to decipher fraud and quackery, and to find healthcare centers and doctors who practiced alternative medicine.\n\nBy 1990, approximately 60 million Americans had used one or more complementary or alternative therapies to address health issues, according to a nationwide survey in the US published in 1993 by David Eisenberg. A study published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' reported that 42% of Americans had used complementary and alternative therapies, up from 34% in 1990. However, despite the growth in patient demand for complementary medicine, most of the early alternative/complementary medical centers failed.\n\n===Medical education===\n\nMainly as a result of reforms following the Flexner Report of 1910 medical education in established medical schools in the US has generally not included alternative medicine as a teaching topic. Typically, their teaching is based on current practice and scientific knowledge about: anatomy, physiology, histology, embryology, neuroanatomy, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and immunology. Medical schools' teaching includes such topics as doctor-patient communication, ethics, the art of medicine, and engaging in complex clinical reasoning (medical decision-making). Writing in 2002, Snyderman and Weil remarked that by the early twentieth century the Flexner model had helped to create the 20th-century academic health center, in which education, research, and practice were inseparable. While this had much improved medical practice by defining with increasing certainty the pathophysiological basis of disease, a single-minded focus on the pathophysiological had diverted much of mainstream American medicine from clinical conditions that were not well understood in mechanistic terms, and were not effectively treated by conventional therapies.\n\nBy 2001 some form of CAM training was being offered by at least 75 out of 125 medical schools in the US. Exceptionally, the School of Medicine of the University of Maryland, Baltimore includes a research institute for integrative medicine (a member entity of the Cochrane Collaboration). Medical schools are responsible for conferring medical degrees, but a physician typically may not legally practice medicine until licensed by the local government authority. Licensed physicians in the US who have attended one of the established medical schools there have usually graduated Doctor of Medicine (MD). All states require that applicants for MD licensure be graduates of an approved medical school and complete the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).\n\nThe British Medical Association, in its publication ''Complementary Medicine, New Approach to Good Practice'' (1993), gave as a working definition of non-conventional therapies (including acupuncture, chiropractic and homeopathy): \"...those forms of treatment which are not widely used by the orthodox health-care professions, and the skills of which are not part of the undergraduate curriculum of orthodox medical and paramedical health-care courses.\" By 2000 some medical schools in the UK were offering CAM familiarisation courses to undergraduate medical students while some were also offering modules specifically on CAM.\n\n===United States government===\n\nSen. Tom Harkin at a press conference.\n\nIn 1991, pointing to a need for testing because of the widespread use of alternative medicine without authoritative information on its efficacy, United States Senator Tom Harkin used $2 million of his discretionary funds to create the Office for the Study of Unconventional Medical Practices (OSUMP), later renamed to be the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM). The OAM was created to be within the National Institute of Health (NIH), the scientifically prestigious primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. The mandate was to investigate, evaluate, and validate effective alternative medicine treatments, and alert the public as the results of testing its efficacy.\n\nSen. Harkin had become convinced his allergies were cured by taking bee pollen pills, and was urged to make the spending by two of his influential constituents. Bedell, a longtime friend of Sen. Harkin, was a former member of the United States House of Representatives who believed that alternative medicine had twice cured him of diseases after mainstream medicine had failed, claiming that cow's milk colostrum cured his Lyme disease, and an herbal derivative from camphor had prevented post surgical recurrence of his prostate cancer. Wiewel was a promoter of unproven cancer treatments involving a mixture of blood sera that the Food and Drug Administration had banned from being imported. Both Bedell and Wiewel became members of the advisory panel for the OAM. The company that sold the bee pollen was later fined by the Federal Trade Commission for making false health claims about their bee-pollen products reversing the aging process, curing allergies, and helping with weight loss.\n\nIn 1994, Sen. Harkin (D) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R) introduced the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). The act reduced authority of the FDA to monitor products sold as \"natural\" treatments. Labeling standards were reduced to allow health claims for supplements based only on unconfirmed preliminary studies that were not subjected to scientific peer review, and the act made it more difficult for the FDA to promptly seize products or demand proof of safety where there was evidence of a product being dangerous. The Act became known as \"The 1993 Snake Oil Protection Act\" following a New York Times editorial under that name.\n\nSenator Harkin complained about the \"unbendable rules of randomized clinical trials\", citing his use of bee pollen to treat his allergies, which he claimed to be effective even though it was biologically implausible and efficacy was not established using scientific methods. Sen. Harkin asserted that claims for alternative medicine efficacy be allowed not only without conventional scientific testing, even when they are biologically implausible, \"It is not necessary for the scientific community to understand the process before the American public can benefit from these therapies.\" Following passage of the act, sales rose from about $4 billion in 1994, to $20 billion by the end of 2000, at the same time as evidence of their lack of efficacy or harmful effects grew. Senator Harkin came into open public conflict with the first OAM Director Joseph M. Jacobs and OAM board members from the scientific and biomedical community. Jacobs' insistence on rigorous scientific methodology caused friction with Senator Harkin. Increasing political resistance to the use of scientific methodology was publicly criticized by Dr. Jacobs and another OAM board member complained that \"nonsense has trickled down to every aspect of this office...It's the only place where opinions are counted as equal to data.\" In 1994, Senator Harkin appeared on television with cancer patients who blamed Dr. Jacobs for blocking their access to untested cancer treatment, leading Jacobs to resign in frustration.\n\nIn 1995, Wayne Jonas, a promoter of homeopathy and political ally of Senator Harkin, became the director of the OAM, and continued in that role until 1999. In 1997, the NCCAM budget was increased from $12 million to $20 million annually. From 1990 to 1997, use of alternative medicine in the US increased by 25%, with a corresponding 50% increase in expenditures. The OAM drew increasing criticism from eminent members of the scientific community with letters to the Senate Appropriations Committee when discussion of renewal of funding OAM came up. Nobel laureate Paul Berg wrote that prestigious NIH should not be degraded to act as a cover for quackery, calling the OAM \"an embarrassment to serious scientists.\" The president of the American Physical Society wrote complaining that the government was spending money on testing products and practices that \"violate basic laws of physics and more clearly resemble witchcraft\". In 1998, the President of the North Carolina Medical Association publicly called for shutting down the OAM.\n\nIn 1998, NIH director and Nobel laureate Harold Varmus came into conflict with Senator Harkin by pushing to have more NIH control of alternative medicine research. The NIH Director placed the OAM under more strict scientific NIH control. Senator Harkin responded by elevating OAM into an independent NIH \"center\", just short of being its own \"institute\", and renamed to be the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). NCCAM had a mandate to promote a more rigorous and scientific approach to the study of alternative medicine, research training and career development, outreach, and \"integration\". In 1999, the NCCAM budget was increased from $20 million to $50 million. The United States Congress approved the appropriations without dissent. In 2000, the budget was increased to about $68 million, in 2001 to $90 million, in 2002 to $104 million, and in 2003, to $113 million.\n\nIn 2009, after a history of 17 years of government testing and spending of nearly $2.5 billion on research had produced almost no clearly proven efficacy of alternative therapies, Senator Harkin complained, \"One of the purposes of this center was to investigate and validate alternative approaches. Quite frankly, I must say publicly that it has fallen short. It think quite frankly that in this center and in the office previously before it, most of its focus has been on disproving things rather than seeking out and approving.\" Members of the scientific community criticized this comment as showing Senator Harkin did not understand the basics of scientific inquiry, which tests hypotheses, but never intentionally attempts to \"validate approaches\". Members of the scientific and biomedical communities complained that after a history of 17 years of being tested, at a cost of over $2.5 Billion on testing scientifically and biologically implausible practices, almost no alternative therapy showed clear efficacy. In 2009, the NCCAM's budget was increased to about $122 million. Overall NIH funding for CAM research increased to $300 Million by 2009. By 2009, Americans were spending $34 Billion annually on CAM.\n\nIn 2012, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a criticism that study after study had been funded by NCCAM, but \"failed to prove that complementary or alternative therapies are anything more than placebos\". The JAMA criticism pointed to large wasting of research money on testing scientifically implausible treatments, citing \"NCCAM officials spending $374,000 to find that inhaling lemon and lavender scents does not promote wound healing; $750,000 to find that prayer does not cure AIDS or hasten recovery from breast-reconstruction surgery; $390,000 to find that ancient Indian remedies do not control type 2 diabetes; $700,000 to find that magnets do not treat arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or migraine headaches; and $406,000 to find that coffee enemas do not cure pancreatic cancer.\" It was pointed out that negative results from testing were generally ignored by the public, that people continue to \"believe what they want to believe, arguing that it does not matter what the data show: They know what works for them\". Continued increasing use of CAM products was also blamed on the lack of FDA ability to regulate alternative products, where negative studies do not result in FDA warnings or FDA-mandated changes on labeling, whereby few consumers are aware that many claims of many supplements were found not to have not to be supported.\n\nIn 2014 the NCCAM was renamed to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) with a new charter requiring that 12 of the 18 council members shall be selected with a preference to selecting leading representatives of complementary and alternative medicine, 9 of the members must be licensed practitioners of alternative medicine, six members must be general public leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management, and 3 members must represent the interests of individual consumers of complementary and alternative medicine.\n", "There is a general scientific consensus that Alternative Therapies lack the requisite scientific validation, and their effectiveness is either unproved or disproved. Many of the claims regarding the efficacy of alternative medicines are controversial, since research on them is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed. Selective publication bias, marked differences in product quality and standardisation, and some companies making unsubstantiated claims, call into question the claims of efficacy of isolated examples where there is evidence for alternative therapies.\n\n''The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine'' points to confusions in the general population – a person may attribute symptomatic relief to an otherwise-ineffective therapy just because they are taking something (the placebo effect); the natural recovery from or the cyclical nature of an illness (the regression fallacy) gets misattributed to an alternative medicine being taken; a person not diagnosed with science-based medicine may never originally have had a true illness diagnosed as an alternative disease category.\n\nEdzard Ernst characterized the evidence for many alternative techniques as weak, nonexistent, or negative and in 2011 published his estimate that about 7.4% were based on \"sound evidence\", although he believes that may be an overestimate. Ernst has concluded that 95% of the alternative treatments he and his team studied, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and reflexology, are \"statistically indistinguishable from placebo treatments\", but he also believes there is something that conventional doctors can usefully learn from the chiropractors and homeopath: this is the therapeutic value of the placebo effect, one of the strangest phenomena in medicine.\n\nIn 2003, a project funded by the CDC identified 208 condition-treatment pairs, of which 58% had been studied by at least one randomized controlled trial (RCT), and 23% had been assessed with a meta-analysis. According to a 2005 book by a US Institute of Medicine panel, the number of RCTs focused on CAM has risen dramatically.\n\n, the Cochrane Library had 145 CAM-related Cochrane systematic reviews and 340 non-Cochrane systematic reviews. An analysis of the conclusions of only the 145 Cochrane reviews was done by two readers. In 83% of the cases, the readers agreed. In the 17% in which they disagreed, a third reader agreed with one of the initial readers to set a rating. These studies found that, for CAM, 38.4% concluded positive effect or possibly positive (12.4%), 4.8% concluded no effect, 0.7% concluded harmful effect, and 56.6% concluded insufficient evidence. An assessment of conventional treatments found that 41.3% concluded positive or possibly positive effect, 20% concluded no effect, 8.1% concluded net harmful effects, and 21.3% concluded insufficient evidence. However, the CAM review used the more developed 2004 Cochrane database, while the conventional review used the initial 1998 Cochrane database.\n\nIn the same way as for conventional therapies, drugs, and interventions, it can be difficult to test the efficacy of alternative medicine in clinical trials. In instances where an established, effective, treatment for a condition is already available, the Helsinki Declaration states that withholding such treatment is unethical in most circumstances. Use of standard-of-care treatment in addition to an alternative technique being tested may produce confounded or difficult-to-interpret results.\n\nCancer researcher Andrew J. Vickers has stated:\n\nContrary to much popular and scientific writing, many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective. The label \"unproven\" is inappropriate for such therapies; it is time to assert that many alternative cancer therapies have been \"disproven\".\n", "\n\n\"CAM\", meaning \"complementary and alternative medicine\", is not as well researched as conventional medicine, which undergoes intense research before release to the public. Funding for research is also sparse making it difficult to do further research for effectiveness of CAM. Most funding for CAM is funded by government agencies. Proposed research for CAM are rejected by most private funding agencies because the results of research are not reliable. The research for CAM has to meet certain standards from research ethics committees, which most CAM researchers find almost impossible to meet. Even with the little research done on it, CAM has not been proven to be effective.\n\nSteven Novella, a neurologist at Yale School of Medicine, wrote that government funded studies of integrating alternative medicine techniques into the mainstream are \"used to lend an appearance of legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate.\" Marcia Angell considered that critics felt that healthcare practices should be classified based solely on scientific evidence, and if a treatment had been rigorously tested and found safe and effective, science-based medicine will adopt it regardless of whether it was considered \"alternative\" to begin with. It is possible for a method to change categories (proven vs. unproven), based on increased knowledge of its effectiveness or lack thereof. A prominent supporter of this position is George D. Lundberg, former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).\n\nWriting in 1999 in ''CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' Barrie R. Cassileth mentioned a 1997 letter to the US Senate Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety, which had deplored the lack of critical thinking and scientific rigor in OAM-supported research, had been signed by four Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists. (This was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).)\n\nIn March 2009 a staff writer for ''the Washington Post'' reported that the impending national discussion about broadening access to health care, improving medical practice and saving money was giving a group of scientists an opening to propose shutting down the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. They quoted one of these scientists, Steven Salzberg, a genome researcher and computational biologist at the University of Maryland, as saying \"One of our concerns is that NIH is funding pseudoscience.\" They noted that the vast majority of studies were based on fundamental misunderstandings of physiology and disease, and had shown little or no effect.\n\nWriters such as Carl Sagan, a noted astrophysicist, advocate of scientific skepticism and the author of ''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'' (1996), have lambasted the lack of empirical evidence to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.\n\nSampson has also pointed out that CAM tolerated contradiction without thorough reason and experiment. Barrett has pointed out that there is a policy at the NIH of never saying something doesn't work only that a different version or dose might give different results. Barrett also expressed concern that, just because some \"alternatives\" have merit, there is the impression that the rest deserve equal consideration and respect even though most are worthless, since they are all classified under the one heading of alternative medicine.\n\nSome critics of alternative medicine are focused upon health fraud, misinformation, and quackery as public health problems, notably Wallace Sampson and Paul Kurtz founders of Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and Stephen Barrett, co-founder of The National Council Against Health Fraud and webmaster of Quackwatch. Grounds for opposing alternative medicine include that:\n\n* It is usually based on religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, or fraud.\n* Alternative therapies typically lack any scientific validation, and their effectiveness is either unproved or disproved.\n* Treatments are not part of the conventional, science-based healthcare system.\n*Research on alternative medicine is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed.\n* Where alternative treatments have replaced conventional science-based medicine, even with the safest alternative medicines, failure to use or delay in using conventional science-based medicine has caused deaths.\n* Methods may incorporate or base themselves on traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, ignorance or misunderstanding of scientific principles, errors in reasoning, or newly conceived approaches claiming to heal.\n\nMany alternative medical treatments are not patentable,, which may lead to less research funding from the private sector. In addition, in most countries, alternative treatments (in contrast to pharmaceuticals) can be marketed without any proof of efficacy – also a disincentive for manufacturers to fund scientific research.\n\nEnglish evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in his 2003 book ''A Devil's Chaplain'', defined alternative medicine as a \"set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested, or consistently fail tests.\" Dawkins argued that if a technique is demonstrated effective in properly performed trials then it ceases to be alternative and simply becomes medicine.\n\nCAM is also often less regulated than conventional medicine. There are ethical concerns about whether people who perform CAM have the proper knowledge to treat patients. CAM is often done by non-physicians who do not operate with the same medical licensing laws which govern conventional medicine, and it is often described as an issue of non-maleficence.\n\nAccording to two writers, Wallace Sampson and K. Butler, marketing is part of the training required in alternative medicine, and propaganda methods in alternative medicine have been traced back to those used by Hitler and Goebels in their promotion of pseudoscience in medicine.\n\nIn November 2011 Edzard Ernst stated that the \"level of misinformation about alternative medicine has now reached the point where it has become dangerous and unethical. So far, alternative medicine has remained an ethics-free zone. It is time to change this.\"\n", "A research methods expert and author of \"Snake Oil Science\", R. Barker Bausell, has stated that \"it's become politically correct to investigate nonsense.\" There are concerns that just having NIH support is being used to give unfounded \"legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate.\"\n\nUse of placebos to achieve a placebo effect in integrative medicine has been criticized as, \"...diverting research time, money, and other resources from more fruitful lines of investigation in order to pursue a theory that has no basis in biology.\"\n\nAnother critic has argued that academic proponents of integrative medicine sometimes recommend misleading patients by using known placebo treatments to achieve a placebo effect. However, a 2010 survey of family physicians found that 56% of respondents said they had used a placebo in clinical practice as well. Eighty-five percent of respondents believed placebos can have both psychological and physical benefits.\n\nIntegrative medicine has been criticized in that its practitioners, trained in science-based medicine, deliberately mislead patients by pretending placebos are not. \"quackademic medicine\" is a pejorative term used for ''integrative medicine'', which medical professionals consider an infiltration of quackery into academic science-based medicine.\n\nAn analysis of trends in the criticism of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in five prestigious American medical journals during the period of reorganization within medicine (1965–1999) was reported as showing that the medical profession had responded to the growth of CAM in three phases, and that in each phase, changes in the medical marketplace had influenced the type of response in the journals. Changes included relaxed medical licensing, the development of managed care, rising consumerism, and the establishment of the USA Office of Alternative Medicine (later National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, currently National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). In the \"condemnation\" phase, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, authors had ridiculed, exaggerated the risks, and petitioned the state to contain CAM; in the \"reassessment\" phase (mid-1970s through early 1990s), when increased consumer utilization of CAM was prompting concern, authors had pondered whether patient dissatisfaction and shortcomings in conventional care contributed to the trend; in the \"integration\" phase of the 1990s physicians began learning to work around or administer CAM, and the subjugation of CAM to scientific scrutiny had become the primary means of control.\n", "\n===Prevalence of use===\n\n'''Complementary and alternative medicine''' (CAM) has been described as a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. CAM includes all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and that of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed.\n\nAccording to recent research, the increasing popularity of the CAM needs to be explained by moral convictions or lifestyle choices rather than by economic reasoning.\n\nAbout 50% of people in developed countries use some kind of complementary and alternative medicine other than prayer for health. A British telephone survey by the BBC of 1209 adults in 1998 shows that around 20% of adults in Britain had used alternative medicine in the past 12 months. About 40% of cancer patients use some form of CAM.\n\nIn developing nations, access to essential medicines is severely restricted by lack of resources and poverty. Traditional remedies, often closely resembling or forming the basis for alternative remedies, may comprise primary healthcare or be integrated into the healthcare system. In Africa, traditional medicine is used for 80% of primary healthcare, and in developing nations as a whole over one-third of the population lack access to essential medicines.\n\nSome have proposed adopting a prize system to reward medical research. However, public funding for research exists. Increasing the funding for research on alternative medicine techniques is the purpose of the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. NCCIH and its predecessor, the Office of Alternative Medicine, have spent more than $2.5 billion on such research since 1992; this research has largely not demonstrated the efficacy of alternative treatments.\n\nThat alternative medicine has been on the rise \"in countries where Western science and scientific method generally are accepted as the major foundations for healthcare, and 'evidence-based' practice is the dominant paradigm\" was described as an \"enigma\" in the Medical Journal of Australia.\n\n====In the US====\n\nIn the United States, the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) required that for states to receive federal money, they had to grant religious exemptions to child neglect and abuse laws regarding religion-based healing practices. Thirty-one states have child-abuse religious exemptions.\n\nThe use of alternative medicine in the US has increased, with a 50 percent increase in expenditures and a 25 percent increase in the use of alternative therapies between 1990 and 1997 in America. Americans spend many billions on the therapies annually. Most Americans used CAM to treat and/or prevent musculoskeletal conditions or other conditions associated with chronic or recurring pain. In America, women were more likely than men to use CAM, with the biggest difference in use of mind-body therapies including prayer specifically for health reasons\". In 2008, more than 37% of American hospitals offered alternative therapies, up from 27 percent in 2005, and 25% in 2004. More than 70% of the hospitals offering CAM were in urban areas.\n\nA survey of Americans found that 88 percent thought that \"there are some good ways of treating sickness that medical science does not recognize\". Use of magnets was the most common tool in energy medicine in America, and among users of it, 58 percent described it as at least \"sort of scientific\", when it is not at all scientific. In 2002, at least 60 percent of US medical schools have at least some class time spent teaching alternative therapies. \"Therapeutic touch\", was taught at more than 100 colleges and universities in 75 countries before the practice was debunked by a nine-year-old child for a school science project.\n\n====Prevalence of use of specific therapies====\n\nThe most common CAM therapies used in the US in 2002 were prayer (45%), herbalism (19%), breathing meditation (12%), meditation (8%), chiropractic medicine (8%), yoga (5–6%), body work (5%), diet-based therapy (4%), progressive relaxation (3%), mega-vitamin therapy (3%) and Visualization (2%)\n\nIn Britain, the most often used alternative therapies were Alexander technique, Aromatherapy, Bach and other flower remedies, Body work therapies including massage, Counseling stress therapies, hypnotherapy, Meditation, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Ayurvedic medicine, Nutritional medicine, and Yoga. Ayurvedic medicine remedies are mainly plant based with some use of animal materials. Safety concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities.\n\nAccording to the National Health Service (England), the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) supported by the NHS in the UK are: acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, homeopathy, massage, osteopathy and clinical hypnotherapy.\n\n====In palliative care====\n\nComplementary therapies are often used in palliative care or by practitioners attempting to manage chronic pain in patients. Integrative medicine is considered more acceptable in the interdisciplinary approach used in palliative care than in other areas of medicine. \"From its early experiences of care for the dying, palliative care took for granted the necessity of placing patient values and lifestyle habits at the core of any design and delivery of quality care at the end of life. If the patient desired complementary therapies, and as long as such treatments provided additional support and did not endanger the patient, they were considered acceptable.\" The non-pharmacologic interventions of complementary medicine can employ mind-body interventions designed to \"reduce pain and concomitant mood disturbance and increase quality of life.\"\n\n===Regulation===\n\nHealth campaign flyers, as in this example from the Food and Drug Administration, warn the public about unsafe products.\n\nIn Austria and Germany complementary and alternative medicine is mainly in the hands of doctors with MDs, and half or more of the American alternative practitioners are licensed MDs. In Germany herbs are tightly regulated: half are prescribed by doctors and covered by health insurance.\n\nSome professions of complementary/traditional/alternative medicine, such as chiropractic, have achieved full regulation in North America and other parts of the world and are regulated in a manner similar to that governing science-based medicine. In contrast, other approaches may be partially recognized and others have no regulation at all. Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine ranges widely from country to country, and state to state.\n\nGovernment bodies in the USA and elsewhere have published information or guidance about alternative medicine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has issued online warnings for consumers about medication health fraud. This includes a section on Alternative Medicine Fraud, such as a warning that Ayurvedic products generally have not been approved by the FDA before marketing.\n", "\nSome commentators have said that special consideration must be given to the issue of conflicts of interest in alternative medicine. Edzard Ernst has said that most researchers into alternative medicine are at risk of \"unidirectional bias\" because of a generally uncritical belief in their chosen subject. Ernst cites as evidence the phenomenon whereby 100% of a sample of acupuncture trials originating in China had positive conclusions. David Gorski contrasts evidence-based medicine, in which researchers try to disprove hyphotheses, with what he says is the frequent practice in pseudoscience-based research, of striving to confirm pre-existing notions. Harriet A. Hall writes that there is a contrast between the circumstances of alternative medicine practitioners and disinterested scientists: in the case of acupuncture, for example, an acupuncturist would have \"a great deal to lose\" if acupuncture were rejected by research; but the disinterested skeptic would not lose anything if its effects were confirmed; rather their change of mind would enhance their skeptical credentials.\n", "\n\n===Adequacy of regulation and CAM safety===\n\nMany of the claims regarding the safety and efficacy of alternative medicine are controversial. Some alternative treatments have been associated with unexpected side effects, which can be fatal.\n\nA commonly voiced concerns about complementary alternative medicine (CAM) is the way it's regulated. There have been significant developments in how CAMs should be assessed prior to re-sale in the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) in the last 2 years. Despite this, it has been suggested that current regulatory bodies have been ineffective in preventing deception of patients as many companies have re-labelled their drugs to avoid the new laws. There is no general consensus about how to balance consumer protection (from false claims, toxicity, and advertising) with freedom to choose remedies.\n\nAdvocates of CAM suggest that regulation of the industry will adversely affect patients looking for alternative ways to manage their symptoms, even if many of the benefits may represent the placebo affect. Some contend that alternative medicines should not require any more regulation than over-the-counter medicines that can also be toxic in overdose (such as paracetamol).\n\n===Interactions with conventional pharmaceuticals===\n\nForms of alternative medicine that are biologically active can be dangerous even when used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Examples include immuno-augmentation therapy, shark cartilage, bioresonance therapy, oxygen and ozone therapies, and insulin potentiation therapy. Some herbal remedies can cause dangerous interactions with chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy, or anesthetics during surgery, among other problems. An anecdotal example of these dangers was reported by Associate Professor Alastair MacLennan of Adelaide University, Australia regarding a patient who almost bled to death on the operating table after neglecting to mention that she had been taking \"natural\" potions to \"build up her strength\" before the operation, including a powerful anticoagulant that nearly caused her death.\n\nTo ''ABC Online'', MacLennan also gives another possible mechanism:\n\nAnd lastly there's the cynicism and disappointment and depression that some patients get from going on from one alternative medicine to the next, and they find after three months the placebo effect wears off, and they're disappointed and they move on to the next one, and they're disappointed and disillusioned, and that can create depression and make the eventual treatment of the patient with anything effective difficult, because you may not get compliance, because they've seen the failure so often in the past.\n\n===Potential side-effects===\n\nConventional treatments are subjected to testing for undesired side-effects, whereas alternative treatments, in general, are not subjected to such testing at all. Any treatment – whether conventional or alternative – that has a biological or psychological effect on a patient may also have potential to possess dangerous biological or psychological side-effects. Attempts to refute this fact with regard to alternative treatments sometimes use the ''appeal to nature'' fallacy, i.e., \"That which is natural cannot be harmful.\" Specific groups of patients such as patients with impaired hepatic or renal function are more susceptible to side effects of alternative remedies.\n\nAn exception to the normal thinking regarding side-effects is Homeopathy. Since 1938, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulated homeopathic products in \"several significantly different ways from other drugs.\" Homeopathic preparations, termed \"remedies\", are extremely dilute, often far beyond the point where a single molecule of the original active (and possibly toxic) ingredient is likely to remain. They are, thus, considered safe on that count, but \"their products are exempt from good manufacturing practice requirements related to expiration dating and from finished product testing for identity and strength\", and their alcohol concentration may be much higher than allowed in conventional drugs.\n\n===Treatment delay===\n\nThose having experienced or perceived success with one alternative therapy for a minor ailment may be convinced of its efficacy and persuaded to extrapolate that success to some other alternative therapy for a more serious, possibly life-threatening illness. For this reason, critics argue that therapies that rely on the placebo effect to define success are very dangerous. According to mental health journalist Scott Lilienfeld in 2002, \"unvalidated or scientifically unsupported mental health practices can lead individuals to forgo effective treatments\" and refers to this as \"opportunity cost\". Individuals who spend large amounts of time and money on ineffective treatments may be left with precious little of either, and may forfeit the opportunity to obtain treatments that could be more helpful. In short, even innocuous treatments can indirectly produce negative outcomes. Between 2001 and 2003, four children died in Australia because their parents chose ineffective naturopathic, homeopathic, or other alternative medicines and diets rather than conventional therapies.\n\n===Unconventional cancer \"cures\"===\n\nThere have always been \"many therapies offered outside of conventional cancer treatment centers and based on theories not found in biomedicine. These alternative cancer cures have often been described as 'unproven,' suggesting that appropriate clinical trials have not been conducted and that the therapeutic value of the treatment is unknown.\" However, \"many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective....The label 'unproven' is inappropriate for such therapies; it is time to assert that many alternative cancer therapies have been 'disproven'.\"\n\nEdzard Ernst has stated:\n\n...any alternative cancer cure is bogus by definition. There will never be an alternative cancer cure. Why? Because if something looked halfway promising, then mainstream oncology would scrutinize it, and if there is anything to it, it would become mainstream almost automatically and very quickly. All curative \"alternative cancer cures\" are based on false claims, are bogus, and, I would say, even criminal.\n", "\nFile:Fallerjfa.JPG|Christian laying on of hands, prayer intervention, and faith healing\nFile:Dhanvantari-at-Ayurveda-expo.jpg|Indian Ayurvedic medicine includes a belief that the spiritual balance of mind influences disease.\nFile:Hierbas medicinales mercado medieval.jpg|Medicinal herbs in a traditional Spanish market\nFile:Market Pharmacy Tana MS5179.jpg|Traditional medicines in Madagascar\nFile:Traditional Chinese medicine in Xi'an market.jpg|Assorted dried plant and animal parts used in traditional Chinese medicine\nFile:Doña ramona.jpg|Shaman healer in Sonora, Mexico.\nFile:American medical botany, being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet and (14764623455).jpg|Phytotherapy (herbal medicine): an engraving of ''magnolia glauca'' in Jacob Bigelow's ''American Medical Botany''\n\n", "\n* Conservation medicine\n* Ethnomedicine\n* Psychic surgery\n", "\n", "\n\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "\n* \n* \n* Reprinted in .\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n===World Health Organization===\n\n*\n*\n* Summary.\n\n===Journals===\n\n* Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Aliso Viejo, California : InnoVision Communications, c1995- NLM ID: 9502013\n* Alternative Medicine Review: A Journal of Clinical Therapeutics. Sandpoint, Idaho : Thorne Research, c. 1996 NLM ID: 9705340\n* BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. London: BioMed Central, 2001 NLM ID: 101088661\n* Complementary Therapies in Medicine. Edinburgh ; New York : Churchill Livingstone, c. 1993 NLM ID: 9308777\n* Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM. New York: Hindawi, c. 2004 NLM ID: 101215021\n* Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine\n* Journal of Integrative Medicine\n* Journal for Alternative and Complementary Medicine New York : Mary Ann Liebert, c. 1995\n* Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine (SRAM)\n", "\n\n* \n* The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: US National Institutes of Health\n* The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine: US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health\n* The National Institutes of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements: US National Institutes of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements \n* Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine: Denmark, the Ministry of the Interior and Health\n* Guidelines for Using Complementary and Alternative Methods: from the American Cancer Society\n* Complementary and Alternative Medicine Index: from the University of Maryland Medical Center\n* Integrative Medicine Podcasts and Handouts: Teaching modules from the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine Program\n* \"Alternative Medicine\": A BBC/Open University television series that examines the evidence scientifically\n* \"Complementary and alternative medicine: What is it?\": from the Mayo Clinic\n* Natural Standard Research Collaboration\n* A Different Way to Heal? and Videos: from PBS and Scientific American Frontiers\n* Who Gets to Validate Alternative Medicine?: from PBS\n\n===Criticism===\n* What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine? – Steven Novella, Maryland\n* \"Alternative\" health practice – Skeptic's Dictionary\n* Quackwatch.org – Stephen Barrett (See also: Quackwatch)\n* \n* What's the harm? Website created by Tim Farley listing cases of people harmed by various alternative treatments\n* The Alternative Medicine Racket A video investigation of state-supported quackery at the National Institutes of Health. – Reason TV\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Appeal", " Definitions and terminology ", " Types", "History", " Efficacy ", "Criticism, legitimacy and effects", " Placebo effect ", "Use and regulation", " Conflicts of interest ", "Risks", " Gallery ", " See also ", "Notes", "References", "Bibliography", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Paul Offit proposed that \"alternative medicine becomes quackery\" in four ways: by recommending against conventional therapies that are helpful, promoting potentially harmful therapies without adequate warning, draining patients' bank accounts, or by promoting \"magical thinking.\"" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Alternative medicine''' – or '''fringe medicine''' – includes practices claimed to have the healing effects of medicine but which are disproven, unproven, impossible to prove, or are excessively harmful in relation to their effect; and where the scientific consensus is that the therapy does not, or cannot, work because the known laws of nature are violated by its basic claims; or where it is considered so much worse than conventional treatment that it would be unethical to offer as treatment.", "Alternative therapies or diagnoses are not part of medicine or science-based healthcare systems.", "Alternative medicine consists of a wide variety of practices, products, and therapies – ranging from those that are biologically plausible but not well tested, to those with known harmful and toxic effects.", "Contrary to popular belief, significant expense is paid to test alternative medicine, including over $2.5 billion spent by the United States government.", "Almost none show any effect beyond that of false treatment.", "Perceived effects of alternative medicine may be caused by placebo; decreased effect of functional treatment (and therefore potentially decreased side effects); and regression toward the mean where improvement that would have occurred anyway is credited to alternative therapies; or any combination of the above.", "Alternative treatments are not the same as experimental medicine or traditional medicine, although much of the latter is alternative when used today.", "Alternative medicine has grown in popularity and is used by a significant percentage of the population in many countries.", "While it has extensively rebranded itself: from quackery to complementary or integrative medicine – it promotes essentially the same practices.", "Newer proponents often suggest alternative medicine be used together with functional medical treatment, in a belief that it \"complements\" (improves the effect of, or mitigates the side effects of) the treatment.", "There is no evidence showing they do so, and significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatments, making them less effective, notably cancer therapy.", "Despite being illegal to market alternative therapies for cancer treatment in most of the developed world, many cancer patients use them.", "Alternative medical diagnoses and treatments are not taught as part of science-based curricula in medical schools, and are not used in any practice where treatment is based on scientific knowledge or proven experience.", "Alternative therapies are often based on religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or lies.", "Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies between and within countries.", "Alternative medicine is criticized for being based on misleading statements, quackery, pseudoscience, antiscience, fraud, or poor scientific methodology.", "Promoting alternative medicine has been called dangerous and unethical.", "Testing alternative medicine that has no scientific basis has been called a waste of scarce research resources.", "Critics state \"there is really no such thing as alternative medicine, just medicine that works and medicine that doesn't\", and the problem with the idea of \"alternative\" treatments in this sense is that the \"underlying logic is magical, childish or downright absurd\".", "It has been strongly suggested that the very idea of any alternative treatment that works is paradoxical, as any treatment proven to work is by definition \"medicine\".", "Alternative therapies often make bombastic claims, and frequently include anecdotes from healthy-looking individuals claiming successful treatment.", "Practitioners of complementary medicine usually discuss and advise patients as to available alternative therapies.", "Patients often express interest in mind-body complementary therapies because they offer a non-drug approach to treating some health conditions.", "In addition to the social-cultural underpinnings of the popularity of alternative medicine, there are several psychological issues that are critical to its growth.", "One of the most critical is the placebo effect – a well-established observation in medicine.", "Related to it are similar psychological effects, such as the will to believe, cognitive biases that help maintain self-esteem and promote harmonious social functioning, and the ''post hoc, ergo propter hoc'' fallacy.", "===Marketing===\nEdzard Ernst, a leading authority on scientific study of alternative treatments and diagnoses, and the first university professor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.", "Here in 2012, promoting his book ''Trick or Treatment'' co-written with Simon Singh.", "CAM's popularity may be related to other factors that Edzard Ernst mentioned in an interview in ''The Independent'':\n\nWhy is it so popular, then?", "Ernst blames the providers, customers and the doctors whose neglect, he says, has created the opening into which alternative therapists have stepped.", "\"People are told lies.", "There are 40 million websites and 39.9 million tell lies, sometimes outrageous lies.", "They mislead cancer patients, who are encouraged not only to pay their last penny but to be treated with something that shortens their lives.", "\"At the same time, people are gullible.", "It needs gullibility for the industry to succeed.", "It doesn't make me popular with the public, but it's the truth.", "=== A failure of mainstream medicine ===\nFriendly and colorful images of herbal treatments may look less threatening or dangerous when compared to conventional medicine.", "This is an intentional marketing strategy.", "In a paper published in October 2010 entitled ''The public's enthusiasm for complementary and alternative medicine amounts to a critique of mainstream medicine'', Ernst described these views in greater detail and concluded:\n\nCAM is popular.", "An analysis of the reasons why this is so points towards the therapeutic relationship as a key factor.", "Providers of CAM tend to build better therapeutic relationships than mainstream healthcare professionals.", "In turn, this implies that much of the popularity of CAM is a poignant criticism of the failure of mainstream healthcare.", "We should consider it seriously with a view of improving our service to patients.", "===Social factors===\n\nAuthors have speculated on the socio-cultural and psychological reasons for the appeal of alternative medicines among the minority using them ''in lieu'' of conventional medicine.", "There are several socio-cultural reasons for the interest in these treatments centered on the low level of scientific literacy among the public at large and a concomitant increase in antiscientific attitudes and new age mysticism.", "Related to this are vigorous marketing of extravagant claims by the alternative medical community combined with inadequate media scrutiny and attacks on critics.", "There is also an increase in conspiracy theories toward conventional medicine and pharmaceutical companies, mistrust of traditional authority figures, such as the physician, and a dislike of the current delivery methods of scientific biomedicine, all of which have led patients to seek out alternative medicine to treat a variety of ailments.", "Many patients lack access to contemporary medicine, due to a lack of private or public health insurance, which leads them to seek out lower-cost alternative medicine.", "Medical doctors are also aggressively marketing alternative medicine to profit from this market.", "Patients can be averse to the painful, unpleasant, and sometimes-dangerous side effects of biomedical treatments.", "Treatments for severe diseases such as cancer and HIV infection have well-known, significant side-effects.", "Even low-risk medications such as antibiotics can have potential to cause life-threatening anaphylactic reactions in a very few individuals.", "Many medications may cause minor but bothersome symptoms such as cough or upset stomach.", "In all of these cases, patients may be seeking out alternative treatments to avoid the adverse effects of conventional treatments.", "\n=== Alternative medicine ===\n'''Alternative medicine''' is defined loosely as a set of products, practices, and theories that are believed or perceived by their users to have the healing effects of medicine, but whose effectiveness has not been clearly established using scientific methods, or whose theory and practice is not part of biomedicine, or whose theories or practices are directly contradicted by scientific evidence or scientific principles used in biomedicine.", "\"Biomedicine\" or \"medicine\" is that part of medical science that applies principles of biology, physiology, molecular biology, biophysics, and other natural sciences to clinical practice, using scientific methods to establish the effectiveness of that practice.", "Unlike medicine, an alternative product or practice does not originate from using scientific methodology, but may instead be based on testimonials, religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or other unscientific sources.", "In ''General Guidelines for Methodologies on Research and Evaluation of Traditional Medicine'', published in 2000 by the World Health Organization (WHO), complementary and alternative medicine were defined as a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country's own tradition and are not integrated into the dominant health care system.", "The expression also refers to a diverse range of related and unrelated products, practices, and theories ranging from biologically plausible practices and products and practices with some evidence, to practices and theories that are directly contradicted by basic science or clear evidence, and products that have been conclusively proven to be ineffective or even toxic and harmful.", "The terms''-Alternative medicine'', ''complementary medicine'', ''integrative medicine,'' ''holistic medicine'', ''natural medicine'', ''unorthodox medicine'', ''fringe medicine'', ''unconventional medicine'', and ''new age medicine'' are used interchangeably as having the same meaning and are almost synonymous in some contexts, but may have different meanings in some rare cases.", "Marcia Angell: \"There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative\".", "The meaning of the term \"alternative\" in the expression \"alternative medicine\", is not that it is an effective alternative to medical science, although some alternative medicine promoters may use the loose terminology to give the appearance of effectiveness.", "Loose terminology may also be used to suggest meaning that a dichotomy exists when it does not, e.g., the use of the expressions \"western medicine\" and \"eastern medicine\" to suggest that the difference is a cultural difference between the Asiatic east and the European west, rather than that the difference is between evidence-based medicine and treatments that don't work.", "=== Complementary/integrative medicine ===\n'''Complementary medicine''' ('''CM''') or '''integrative medicine''' ('''IM''') is when alternative medicine is used together with functional medical treatment, in a belief that it improves the effect of treatments.", "However, significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatment, making treatments less effective, notably cancer therapy.", "Both terms refer to use of alternative medical treatments alongside conventional medicine, an example of which is use of acupuncture (sticking needles in the body to influence the flow of a supernatural energy), along with using science-based medicine, in the belief that the acupuncture increases the effectiveness or \"complements\" the science-based medicine.", "===Allopathic medicine ===\n'''Allopathic medicine''' or '''allopathy''' is an expression commonly used by homeopaths and proponents of other forms of alternative medicine to refer to mainstream medicine.", "Specifically it refers to the use of pharmacologically active agents or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or pathophysiologic processes of diseases or conditions.", "The German version of the word, , was coined in 1810 by the creator of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843).", "The word was coined from (different) and (relating to a disease or to a method of treatment).", "In alternative medicine circles the expression \"allopathic medicine\" is still used to refer to \"the broad category of medical practice that is sometimes called Western medicine, biomedicine, evidence-based medicine, or modern medicine\" (see the article on scientific medicine).", "Use of the term remains common among homeopaths and has spread to other alternative medicine practices.", "The meaning implied by the label has never been accepted by conventional medicine and is considered pejorative.", "More recently, some sources have used the term \"allopathic\", particularly American sources wishing to distinguish between Doctors of Medicine (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) in the United States.", "William Jarvis, an expert on alternative medicine and public health, states that \"although many modern therapies can be construed to conform to an allopathic rationale (e.g., using a laxative to relieve constipation), standard medicine has never paid allegiance to an allopathic principle\" and that the label \"allopath\" was from the start \"considered highly derisive by regular medicine\".", "Many conventional medical treatments clearly do not fit the nominal definition of allopathy, as they seek to prevent illness, or remove its cause.", "===CAM===\nCAM is an abbreviation of complementary and alternative medicine.", "It has also been called sCAM or SCAM with the addition of \"so-called\" or \"supplements\".", "The words balance and holism are often used, claiming to take into account a \"whole\" person, in contrast to the supposed reductionism of medicine.", "Due to its many names the field has been criticized for intense rebranding of what are essentially the same practices: as soon as one name is declared synonymous with quackery, a new name is chosen.", "===Traditional medicine===\n\n'''Traditional medicine''' refers to the pre-scientific practices of a certain culture, contrary to what is typically practiced in other cultures where medical science dominates.", "\"Eastern medicine\" typically refers to the traditional medicines of Asia where conventional bio-medicine penetrated much later.", "=== Problems with definition ===\n\nProminent members of the science and biomedical science community say that it is not meaningful to define an alternative medicine that is separate from a conventional medicine, that the expressions \"conventional medicine\", \"alternative medicine\", \"complementary medicine\", \"integrative medicine\", and \"holistic medicine\" do not refer to any medicine at all.", "Others in both the biomedical and CAM communities say that CAM ''cannot'' be precisely defined because of the diversity of theories and practices it includes, and because the boundaries between CAM and biomedicine overlap, are porous, and change.", "The expression \"complementary and alternative medicine\" (CAM) resists easy definition because the health systems and practices it refers to are diffuse, and its boundaries poorly defined.", "Healthcare practices categorized as alternative may differ in their historical origin, theoretical basis, diagnostic technique, therapeutic practice and in their relationship to the medical mainstream.", "Some alternative therapies, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda, have antique origins in East or South Asia and are entirely alternative medical systems; others, such as homeopathy and chiropractic, have origins in Europe or the United States and emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.", "Some, such as osteopathy and chiropractic, employ manipulative physical methods of treatment; others, such as meditation and prayer, are based on mind-body interventions.", "Treatments considered alternative in one location may be considered conventional in another.", "Thus, chiropractic is not considered alternative in Denmark and likewise osteopathic medicine is no longer thought of as an alternative therapy in the United States.", "Critics say the expression is deceptive because it implies there is an effective alternative to science-based medicine, and that ''complementary'' is deceptive because it implies that the treatment increases the effectiveness of (complements) science-based medicine, while alternative medicines that have been tested nearly always have no measurable positive effect compared to a placebo.", "===Different types of definitions===\n\nOne common feature of all definitions of alternative medicine is its designation as \"other than\" conventional medicine.", "For example, the widely referenced descriptive definition of complementary and alternative medicine devised by the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), states that it is \"a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine\".", "For conventional medical practitioners, it does not necessarily follow that either it or its practitioners would no longer be considered alternative.", "Some definitions seek to specify alternative medicine in terms of its social and political marginality to mainstream healthcare.", "This can refer to the lack of support that alternative therapies receive from the medical establishment and related bodies regarding access to research funding, sympathetic coverage in the medical press, or inclusion in the standard medical curriculum.", "In 1993, the British Medical Association (BMA), one among many professional organizations who have attempted to define alternative medicine, stated that it referred to \"...those forms of treatment which are not widely used by the conventional healthcare professions, and the skills of which are not taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum of conventional medical and paramedical healthcare courses\".", "In a US context, an influential definition coined in 1993 by the Harvard-based physician, David M. Eisenberg, characterized alternative medicine \"as interventions neither taught widely in medical schools nor generally available in US hospitals\".", "These descriptive definitions are inadequate in the present-day when some conventional doctors offer alternative medical treatments and CAM introductory courses or modules can be offered as part of standard undergraduate medical training; alternative medicine is taught in more than 50 per cent of US medical schools and increasingly US health insurers are willing to provide reimbursement for CAM therapies.", "In 1999, 7.7% of US hospitals reported using some form of CAM therapy; this proportion had risen to 37.7% by 2008.", "An expert panel at a conference hosted in 1995 by the US Office for Alternative Medicine (OAM), devised a theoretical definition of alternative medicine as \"a broad domain of healing resources ... other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period\".", "This definition has been widely adopted by CAM researchers, cited by official government bodies such as the UK Department of Health, attributed as the definition used by the Cochrane Collaboration, and, with some modification, was preferred in the 2005 consensus report of the US Institute of Medicine, ''Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States''.", "The 1995 OAM conference definition, an expansion of Eisenberg's 1993 formulation, is silent regarding questions of the medical effectiveness of alternative therapies.", "Its proponents hold that it thus avoids relativism about differing forms of medical knowledge and, while it is an essentially political definition, this should not imply that the dominance of mainstream biomedicine is solely due to political forces.", "According to this definition, alternative and mainstream medicine can only be differentiated with reference to what is \"intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society of culture\".", "However, there is neither a reliable method to distinguish between cultures and subcultures, nor to attribute them as dominant or subordinate, nor any accepted criteria to determine the dominance of a cultural entity.", "If the culture of a politically dominant healthcare system is held to be equivalent to the perspectives of those charged with the medical management of leading healthcare institutions and programs, the definition fails to recognize the potential for division either within such an elite or between a healthcare elite and the wider population.", "Normative definitions distinguish alternative medicine from the biomedical mainstream in its provision of therapies that are unproven, unvalidated, or ineffective and support of theories with no recognized scientific basis.", "These definitions characterize practices as constituting alternative medicine when, used independently or in place of evidence-based medicine, they are put forward as having the healing effects of medicine, but are not based on evidence gathered with the scientific method.", "Exemplifying this perspective, a 1998 editorial co-authored by Marcia Angell, a former editor of ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', argued that:\n\nIt is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride.", "There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative.", "There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work.", "Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset.", "If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted.", "But assertions, speculation, and testimonials do not substitute for evidence.", "Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments.", "This line of division has been subject to criticism, however, as not all forms of standard medical practice have adequately demonstrated evidence of benefit, and it is also unlikely in most instances that conventional therapies, if proven to be ineffective, would ever be classified as CAM.", "Similarly, the public information website maintained by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of the Commonwealth of Australia uses the acronym \"CAM\" for a wide range of health care practices, therapies, procedures and devices not within the domain of conventional medicine.", "In the Australian context this is stated to include acupuncture; aromatherapy; chiropractic; homeopathy; massage; meditation and relaxation therapies; naturopathy; osteopathy; reflexology, traditional Chinese medicine; and the use of vitamin supplements.", "The Danish National Board of Health's \"Council for Alternative Medicine\" (Sundhedsstyrelsens Råd for Alternativ Behandling (SRAB)), an independent institution under the National Board of Health (Danish: ''Sundhedsstyrelsen''), uses the term \"alternative medicine\" for:\n\n* Treatments performed by therapists that are not authorized healthcare professionals.", "* Treatments performed by authorized healthcare professionals, but those based on methods otherwise used mainly outside the healthcare system.", "People without a healthcare authorisation are also allowed to perform the treatments.", "Proponents of an evidence-base for medicine such as the Cochrane Collaboration (founded in 1993 and from 2011 providing input for WHO resolutions) take a position that ''all'' systematic reviews of treatments, whether \"mainstream\" or \"alternative\", ought to be held to the current standards of scientific method.", "In a study titled ''Development and classification of an operational definition of complementary and alternative medicine for the Cochrane Collaboration'' (2011) it was proposed that indicators that a therapy is accepted include government licensing of practitioners, coverage by health insurance, statements of approval by government agencies, and recommendation as part of a practice guideline; and that if something is currently a standard, accepted therapy, then it is not likely to be widely considered as CAM.", "=== NCCIH classification ===\nA United States government agency, the National Center on Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), created its own classification system for branches of complementary and alternative medicine that divides them into five major groups.", "These groups have some overlap, and distinguish two types of energy medicine: ''veritable'' which involves scientifically observable energy (including magnet therapy, colorpuncture and light therapy) and ''putative'', which invokes physically undetectable or unverifiable energy.", "The NCCIH classification system is - \n# Whole medical systems: Cut across more than one of the other groups; examples include traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, and ayurveda\n# Mind-body interventions: Explore the interconnection between the mind, body, and spirit, under the premise that the mind can affect \"bodily functions and symptoms\"\n# \"Biology\"-based practices: Use substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, vitamins, and other natural substances.", "(Note that as used here, \"biology\" does ''not'' refer to the science of biology, but is a usage newly coined by NCCIH in the primary source used for this article.", "\"Biology-based\" as coined by NCCIH may refer to chemicals from a nonbiological source, such as use of the poison lead in traditional Chinese medicine, and to other nonbiological substances.)", "# Manipulative and body-based practices: feature manipulation or movement of body parts, such as is done in bodywork, chiropractic, and osteopathic manipulation\n# Energy medicine: is a domain that deals with putative and verifiable energy fields:\n#* Biofield therapies are intended to influence energy fields that are purported to surround and penetrate the body.", "No empirical evidence has been found to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.", "#* Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies use verifiable electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, alternating-current, or direct-current fields in an unconventional manner.", "\nReady-to-drink 200x200px\n\nAlternative medicine consists of a wide range of health care practices, products, and therapies.", "The shared feature is a claim to heal that is not based on the scientific method.", "Alternative medicine practices are diverse in their foundations and methodologies.", "Alternative medicine practices may be classified by their cultural origins or by the types of beliefs upon which they are based.", "Methods may incorporate or be based on traditional medicinal practices of a particular culture, folk knowledge, superstition, spiritual beliefs, belief in supernatural energies (antiscience), pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, new or different concepts of health and disease, and any bases other than being proven by scientific methods.", "Different cultures may have their own unique traditional or belief based practices developed recently or over thousands of years, and specific practices or entire systems of practices.", "===Unscientific belief systems===\n\nAlternative medicine, such as using naturopathy or homeopathy in place of conventional medicine, is based on belief systems not grounded in science.", "Proposed mechanism\nIssues\n\nNaturopathy\nNaturopathic medicine is based on a belief that the body heals itself using a supernatural vital energy that guides bodily processes.", "In conflict with the paradigm of evidence-based medicine.", "Many naturopaths have opposed vaccination, and \"scientific evidence does not support claims that naturopathic medicine can cure cancer or any other disease\".", "Homeopathy\nA belief that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people cures similar symptoms in sick people.", "Developed before knowledge of atoms and molecules, or of basic chemistry, which shows that repeated dilution as practiced in homeopathy produces only water, and that homeopathy is not scientifically valid.", "===Traditional ethnic systems===\nAlternative medical systems may be based on traditional medicine practices, such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurveda in India, or practices of other cultures around the world.", "Some useful applications of traditional medicines have been researched and accepted within ordinary medicine, however the underlying belief systems are seldom scientific and are not accepted.", "Claims\nIssues\n\nTraditional Chinese medicine\nTraditional practices and beliefs from China, together with modifications made by the Communist party make up TCM.", "Common practices include herbal medicine, acupuncture (insertion of needles in the body at specified points), massage (Tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy.", "The practices are based on belief in a supernatural energy called qi, considerations of Chinese Astrology and Chinese numerology, traditional use of herbs and other substances found in China – a belief that the tongue contains a map of the body that reflects changes in the body, and an incorrect model of the anatomy and physiology of internal organs.", "Ayurveda\nTraditional medicine of India.", "Ayurveda believes in the existence of three elemental substances, the doshas (called Vata, Pitta and Kapha), and states that a balance of the doshas results in health, while imbalance results in disease.", "Such disease-inducing imbalances can be adjusted and balanced using traditional herbs, minerals and heavy metals.", "Ayurveda stresses the use of plant-based medicines and treatments, with some animal products, and added minerals, including sulfur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate.", "Safety concerns have been raised about Ayurveda, with two U.S. studies finding about 20 percent of Ayurvedic Indian-manufactured patent medicines contained toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic.", "Other concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities.", "Incidents of heavy metal poisoning have been attributed to the use of these compounds in the United States.", "===Supernatural energies===\n\nBases of belief may include belief in existence of supernatural energies undetected by the science of physics, as in biofields, or in belief in properties of the energies of physics that are inconsistent with the laws of physics, as in energy medicine.", "Claims\nIssues\n\nBiofield therapy\nIntended to influence energy fields that, it is purported, surround and penetrate the body.", "Writers such as noted astrophysicist and advocate of skeptical thinking (Scientific skepticism) Carl Sagan (1934–1996) have described the lack of empirical evidence to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.", "Bioelectromagnetic therapy\nUse verifiable electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, alternating-current, or direct-current fields in an unconventional manner.", "Asserts that magnets can be used to defy the laws of physics to influence health and disease.", "Chiropractic\nSpinal manipulation aims to treat \"vertebral subluxations\" which are claimed to put pressure on nerves.", "Chiropractic was developed in the belief that manipulating the spine affects the flow of a supernatural vital energy and thereby affects health and disease.", "Vertebral subluxation is a pseudoscientific concept and has not been proven to exist.", "Reiki\nPractitioners place their palms on the patient near Chakras that they believe are centers of supernatural energies in the belief that these supernatural energies can transfer from the practitioner's palms to heal the patient.", "Lacks credible scientific evidence.", "Acupuncture involves insertion of needles in the body.", "===Holistic therapy===\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nMind-body medicine\nThe mind can affect \"bodily functions and symptoms\" and there is an interconnection between the mind, body, and spirit.", "===Herbal remedies and other substances used===\n\nSubstance based practices use substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, non-vitamin supplements and megavitamins, animal and fungal products, and minerals, including use of these products in traditional medical practices that may also incorporate other methods.", "Examples include healing claims for nonvitamin supplements, fish oil, Omega-3 fatty acid, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil, and ginseng.", "Herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, includes not just the use of plant products, but may also include the use of animal and mineral products.", "It is among the most commercially successful branches of alternative medicine, and includes the tablets, powders and elixirs that are sold as \"nutritional supplements\".", "Only a very small percentage of these have been shown to have any efficacy, and there is little regulation as to standards and safety of their contents.", "This may include use of known toxic substances, such as use of the poison lead in traditional Chinese medicine.A chiropractor \"adjusting\" the spine.", "===Religion, faith healing, and prayer===\n\n\nClaims\nIssues\n\nChristian faith healing\nThere is a divine or spiritual intervention in healing.", "Shamanism\nA practitioner can reach an altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world or channel supernatural energies in the belief that they can heal.", "The history of alternative medicine may refer to the history of a group of diverse medical practices that were collectively promoted as \"alternative medicine\" beginning in the 1970s, to the collection of individual histories of members of that group, or to the history of western medical practices that were labeled \"irregular practices\" by the western medical establishment.", "It includes the histories of complementary medicine and of integrative medicine.", "Before the 1970s, western practitioners that were not part of the increasingly science-based medical establishment were referred to \"irregular practitioners\", and were dismissed by the medical establishment as unscientific and as practicing quackery.", "Until the 1970's, irregular practice became increasingly marginalized as quackery and fraud, as western medicine increasingly incorporated scientific methods and discoveries, and had a corresponding increase in success of its treatments.", "In the 1970s, irregular practices were grouped with traditional practices of nonwestern cultures and with other unproven or disproven practices that were not part of biomedicine, with the entire group collectively marketed and promoted under the single expression \"alternative medicine\".", "Use of alternative medicine in the west began to rise following the counterculture movement of the 1960s, as part of the rising new age movement of the 1970s.", "This was due to misleading mass marketing of \"alternative medicine\" being an effective \"alternative\" to biomedicine, changing social attitudes about not using chemicals and challenging the establishment and authority of any kind, sensitivity to giving equal measure to beliefs and practices of other cultures (cultural relativism), and growing frustration and desperation by patients about limitations and side effects of science-based medicine.", "At the same time, in 1975, the American Medical Association, which played the central role in fighting quackery in the United States, abolished its quackery committee and closed down its Department of Investigation.", "By the early to mid 1970s the expression \"alternative medicine\" came into widespread use, and the expression became mass marketed as a collection of \"natural\" and effective treatment \"alternatives\" to science-based biomedicine.", "By 1983, mass marketing of \"alternative medicine\" was so pervasive that the British Medical Journal (BMJ) pointed to \"an apparently endless stream of books, articles, and radio and television programmes urge on the public the virtues of (alternative medicine) treatments ranging from meditation to drilling a hole in the skull to let in more oxygen\".", "In this 1983 article, the BMJ wrote, \"one of the few growth industries in contemporary Britain is alternative medicine\", noting that by 1983, \"33% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 39% of those with backache admitted to having consulted an alternative practitioner\".", "By about 1990, the American alternative medicine industry had grown to a $27 billion per year, with polls showing 30% of Americans were using it.", "Moreover, polls showed that Americans made more visits for alternative therapies than the total number of visits to primary care doctors, and American out-of-pocket spending (non-insurance spending) on alternative medicine was about equal to spending on biomedical doctors.", "In 1991, Time magazine ran a cover story, \"The New Age of Alternative Medicine: Why New Age Medicine Is Catching On\".", "In 1993, the New England Journal of Medicine reported one in three Americans as using alternative medicine.", "In 1993, the Public Broadcasting System ran a Bill Moyers special, Healing and the Mind, with Moyers commenting that \"...people by the tens of millions are using alternative medicine.", "If established medicine does not understand that, they are going to lose their clients.\"", "Another explosive growth began in the 1990s, when senior level political figures began promoting alternative medicine, investing large sums of government medical research funds into testing alternative medicine, including testing of scientifically implausible treatments, and relaxing government regulation of alternative medicine products as compared to biomedical products.", "Beginning with a 1991 appropriation of $2 million for funding research of alternative medicine research, federal spending grew to a cumulative total of about $2.5 billion by 2009, with 50% of Americans using alternative medicine by 2013.", "In 1993, Britain's Prince Charles, who claimed that homeopathy and other alternative medicine was an effective alternative to biomedicine, established The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH), as a charity to explore \"how safe, proven complementary therapies can work in conjunction with mainstream medicine\".", "The FIH received government funding through grants from Britain's Department of Health.", "In 2008, London's ''The Times'' published a letter from Edzard Ernst that asked the FIH to recall two guides promoting alternative medicine, saying: \"the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous.\"", "In 2010, the FIH closed after allegations of fraud and money laundering led to arrests of its officials.", "In 2001, MEDLINE introduced a MeSH term to index scientific publications in alternative medicine.", "In 2004, modifications of the European Parliament's 2001 Directive 2001/83/EC, regulating all medicine products, were made with the expectation of influencing development of the European market for alternative medicine products.", "Regulation of alternative medicine in Europe was loosened with \"a simplified registration procedure\" for traditional herbal medicinal products.", "Plausible \"efficacy\" for traditional medicine was redefined to be based on long term popularity and testimonials (\"the pharmacological effects or efficacy of the medicinal product are plausible on the basis of long-standing use and experience.", "\"), without scientific testing.", "The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) was created within the European Medicines Agency in London (EMEA).", "A special working group was established for homeopathic remedies under the Heads of Medicines Agencies.", "Through 2004, alternative medicine that was traditional to Germany continued to be a regular part of the health care system, including homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine.", "The German Medicines Act mandated that science-based medical authorities consider the \"particular characteristics\" of complementary and alternative medicines.", "By 2004, homeopathy had grown to be the most used alternative therapy in France, growing from 16% of the population using homeopathic medicine in 1982, to 29% by 1987, 36% percent by 1992, and 62% of French mothers using homeopathic medicines by 2004, with 95% of French pharmacists advising pregnant women to use homeopathic remedies.", ", 100 million people in India depended solely on traditional German homeopathic remedies for their medical care.", ", homeopathic remedies continued to be the leading alternative treatment used by European physicians.", "By 2005, sales of homeopathic remedies and anthroposophical medicine had grown to $930 million Euros, a 60% increase from 1995.", "Since 2009, according to Art.", "118a of the Swiss Federal Constitution, the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons of Switzerland shall within the scope of their powers ensure that consideration is given to complementary medicine.", "By 2013, 50% of Americans were using CAM.", ", CAM medicinal products in Europe continued to be exempted from documented efficacy standards required of other medicinal products.", "===Individual systems and practices===\n\nMuch of what is now categorized as alternative medicine was developed as independent, complete medical systems.", "These were developed long before biomedicine and use of scientific methods.", "Each system was developed in relatively isolated regions of the world where there was little or no medical contact with pre-scientific western medicine, or with each other's systems.", "Examples are traditional Chinese medicine and the Ayurvedic medicine of India.", "Other alternative medicine practices, such as homeopathy, were developed in western Europe and in opposition to western medicine, at a time when western medicine was based on unscientific theories that were dogmatically imposed by western religious authorities.", "Homeopathy was developed prior to discovery of the basic principles of chemistry, which proved homeopathic remedies contained nothing but water.", "But homeopathy, with its remedies made of water, was harmless compared to the unscientific and dangerous orthodox western medicine practiced at that time, which included use of toxins and draining of blood, often resulting in permanent disfigurement or death.", "Other alternative practices such as chiropractic and osteopathic manipulative medicine were developed in the United States at a time that western medicine was beginning to incorporate scientific methods and theories, but the biomedical model was not yet totally dominant.", "Practices such as chiropractic and osteopathy, each considered to be irregular practices by the western medical establishment, also opposed each other, both rhetorically and politically with licensing legislation.", "Osteopathic practitioners added the courses and training of biomedicine to their licensing, and licensed Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine holders began diminishing use of the unscientific origins of the field.", "===\"Irregular practitioners\" ===\n\n\n\nUntil the 1970s, western practitioners that were not part of the medical establishment were referred to \"irregular practitioners\", and were dismissed by the medical establishment as unscientific, as practicing quackery.", "The Irregular practice became increasingly marginalized as quackery and fraud, as western medicine increasingly incorporated scientific methods and discoveries, and had a corresponding increase in success of its treatments.", "Dating from the 1970s, medical professionals, sociologists, anthropologists and other commentators noted the increasing visibility of a wide variety of health practices that had neither derived directly from nor been verified by biomedical science.", "Since that time, those who have analyzed this trend have deliberated over the most apt language with which to describe this emergent health field.", "A variety of terms have been used, including heterodox, irregular, fringe and alternative medicine while others, particularly medical commentators, have been satisfied to label them as instances of quackery.", "The most persistent term has been alternative medicine but its use is problematic as it assumes a value-laden dichotomy between a medical fringe, implicitly of borderline acceptability at best, and a privileged medical orthodoxy, associated with validated medico-scientific norms.", "The use of the category of alternative medicine has also been criticized as it cannot be studied as an independent entity but must be understood in terms of a regionally and temporally specific medical orthodoxy.", "Its use can also be misleading as it may erroneously imply that a real medical alternative exists.", "As with near-synonymous expressions, such as unorthodox, complementary, marginal, or quackery, these linguistic devices have served, in the context of processes of professionalisation and market competition, to establish the authority of official medicine and police the boundary between it and its unconventional rivals.", "Peking Union Medical College\n\nAn early instance of the influence of this modern, or western, scientific medicine outside Europe and North America is Peking Union Medical College.", "From a historical perspective, the emergence of alternative medicine, if not the term itself, is typically dated to the 19th century.", "This is despite the fact that there are variants of Western non-conventional medicine that arose in the late-eighteenth century or earlier and some non-Western medical traditions, currently considered alternative in the West and elsewhere, which boast extended historical pedigrees.", "Alternative medical systems, however, can only be said to exist when there is an identifiable, regularized and authoritative standard medical practice, such as arose in the West during the nineteenth century, to which they can function as an alternative.", "During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries regular and irregular medical practitioners became more clearly differentiated throughout much of Europe and, as the nineteenth century progressed, most Western states converged in the creation of legally delimited and semi-protected medical markets.", "It is at this point that an \"official\" medicine, created in cooperation with the state and employing a scientific rhetoric of legitimacy, emerges as a recognizable entity and that the concept of alternative medicine as a historical category becomes tenable.", "As part of this process, professional adherents of mainstream medicine in countries such as Germany, France, and Britain increasingly invoked the scientific basis of their discipline as a means of engendering internal professional unity and of external differentiation in the face of sustained market competition from homeopaths, naturopaths, mesmerists and other nonconventional medical practitioners, finally achieving a degree of imperfect dominance through alliance with the state and the passage of regulatory legislation.", "In the US the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland, opened in 1893, with William H. Welch and William Osler among the founding physicians, and was the first medical school devoted to teaching \"German scientific medicine\".", "Buttressed by increased authority arising from significant advances in the medical sciences of the late 19th century onwards – including development and application of the germ theory of disease by the chemist Louis Pasteur and the surgeon Joseph Lister, of microbiology co-founded by Robert Koch (in 1885 appointed professor of hygiene at the University of Berlin), and of the use of X-rays (Röntgen rays)—the 1910 Flexner Report called upon American medical schools to follow the model of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and adhere to mainstream science in their teaching and research.", "This was in a belief, mentioned in the Report's introduction, that the preliminary and professional training then prevailing in medical schools should be reformed, in view of the new means for diagnosing and combating disease made available by the sciences on which medicine depended.", "Putative medical practices at the time that later became known as \"alternative medicine\" included homeopathy (founded in Germany in the early 19th century) and chiropractic (founded in North America in the late 19th century).", "These conflicted in principle with the developments in medical science upon which the Flexner reforms were based, and they have not become compatible with further advances of medical science such as listed in Timeline of medicine and medical technology, 1900–1999 and 2000–present, nor have Ayurveda, acupuncture or other kinds of alternative medicine.", "At the same time \"tropical medicine\" was being developed as a specialist branch of western medicine in research establishments such as Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine founded in 1898 by Alfred Lewis Jones, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, founded in 1899 by Patrick Manson, and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, instituted in 1912.", "A distinction was being made between western scientific medicine and indigenous systems.", "An example is given by an official report about indigenous systems of medicine in India, including Ayurveda, submitted by Mohammad Usman of Madras and others in 1923.", "This stated that the first question the Committee considered was \"to decide whether the indigenous systems of medicine were scientific or not\".", "By the later twentieth century the term \"alternative medicine\" entered public discourse, but it was not always being used with the same meaning by all parties.", "Arnold S. Relman remarked in 1998 that in the best kind of medical practice, all proposed treatments must be tested objectively, and that in the end there will only be treatments that pass and those that do not, those that are proven worthwhile and those that are not.", "He asked \"Can there be any reasonable 'alternative'?\"", "But also in 1998 the then Surgeon General of the United States, David Satcher, issued public information about eight common alternative treatments (including acupuncture, holistic and massage), together with information about common diseases and conditions, on nutrition, diet, and lifestyle changes, and about helping consumers to decipher fraud and quackery, and to find healthcare centers and doctors who practiced alternative medicine.", "By 1990, approximately 60 million Americans had used one or more complementary or alternative therapies to address health issues, according to a nationwide survey in the US published in 1993 by David Eisenberg.", "A study published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' reported that 42% of Americans had used complementary and alternative therapies, up from 34% in 1990.", "However, despite the growth in patient demand for complementary medicine, most of the early alternative/complementary medical centers failed.", "===Medical education===\n\nMainly as a result of reforms following the Flexner Report of 1910 medical education in established medical schools in the US has generally not included alternative medicine as a teaching topic.", "Typically, their teaching is based on current practice and scientific knowledge about: anatomy, physiology, histology, embryology, neuroanatomy, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and immunology.", "Medical schools' teaching includes such topics as doctor-patient communication, ethics, the art of medicine, and engaging in complex clinical reasoning (medical decision-making).", "Writing in 2002, Snyderman and Weil remarked that by the early twentieth century the Flexner model had helped to create the 20th-century academic health center, in which education, research, and practice were inseparable.", "While this had much improved medical practice by defining with increasing certainty the pathophysiological basis of disease, a single-minded focus on the pathophysiological had diverted much of mainstream American medicine from clinical conditions that were not well understood in mechanistic terms, and were not effectively treated by conventional therapies.", "By 2001 some form of CAM training was being offered by at least 75 out of 125 medical schools in the US.", "Exceptionally, the School of Medicine of the University of Maryland, Baltimore includes a research institute for integrative medicine (a member entity of the Cochrane Collaboration).", "Medical schools are responsible for conferring medical degrees, but a physician typically may not legally practice medicine until licensed by the local government authority.", "Licensed physicians in the US who have attended one of the established medical schools there have usually graduated Doctor of Medicine (MD).", "All states require that applicants for MD licensure be graduates of an approved medical school and complete the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).", "The British Medical Association, in its publication ''Complementary Medicine, New Approach to Good Practice'' (1993), gave as a working definition of non-conventional therapies (including acupuncture, chiropractic and homeopathy): \"...those forms of treatment which are not widely used by the orthodox health-care professions, and the skills of which are not part of the undergraduate curriculum of orthodox medical and paramedical health-care courses.\"", "By 2000 some medical schools in the UK were offering CAM familiarisation courses to undergraduate medical students while some were also offering modules specifically on CAM.", "===United States government===\n\nSen. Tom Harkin at a press conference.", "In 1991, pointing to a need for testing because of the widespread use of alternative medicine without authoritative information on its efficacy, United States Senator Tom Harkin used $2 million of his discretionary funds to create the Office for the Study of Unconventional Medical Practices (OSUMP), later renamed to be the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM).", "The OAM was created to be within the National Institute of Health (NIH), the scientifically prestigious primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.", "The mandate was to investigate, evaluate, and validate effective alternative medicine treatments, and alert the public as the results of testing its efficacy.", "Sen. Harkin had become convinced his allergies were cured by taking bee pollen pills, and was urged to make the spending by two of his influential constituents.", "Bedell, a longtime friend of Sen. Harkin, was a former member of the United States House of Representatives who believed that alternative medicine had twice cured him of diseases after mainstream medicine had failed, claiming that cow's milk colostrum cured his Lyme disease, and an herbal derivative from camphor had prevented post surgical recurrence of his prostate cancer.", "Wiewel was a promoter of unproven cancer treatments involving a mixture of blood sera that the Food and Drug Administration had banned from being imported.", "Both Bedell and Wiewel became members of the advisory panel for the OAM.", "The company that sold the bee pollen was later fined by the Federal Trade Commission for making false health claims about their bee-pollen products reversing the aging process, curing allergies, and helping with weight loss.", "In 1994, Sen. Harkin (D) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R) introduced the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).", "The act reduced authority of the FDA to monitor products sold as \"natural\" treatments.", "Labeling standards were reduced to allow health claims for supplements based only on unconfirmed preliminary studies that were not subjected to scientific peer review, and the act made it more difficult for the FDA to promptly seize products or demand proof of safety where there was evidence of a product being dangerous.", "The Act became known as \"The 1993 Snake Oil Protection Act\" following a New York Times editorial under that name.", "Senator Harkin complained about the \"unbendable rules of randomized clinical trials\", citing his use of bee pollen to treat his allergies, which he claimed to be effective even though it was biologically implausible and efficacy was not established using scientific methods.", "Sen. Harkin asserted that claims for alternative medicine efficacy be allowed not only without conventional scientific testing, even when they are biologically implausible, \"It is not necessary for the scientific community to understand the process before the American public can benefit from these therapies.\"", "Following passage of the act, sales rose from about $4 billion in 1994, to $20 billion by the end of 2000, at the same time as evidence of their lack of efficacy or harmful effects grew.", "Senator Harkin came into open public conflict with the first OAM Director Joseph M. Jacobs and OAM board members from the scientific and biomedical community.", "Jacobs' insistence on rigorous scientific methodology caused friction with Senator Harkin.", "Increasing political resistance to the use of scientific methodology was publicly criticized by Dr. Jacobs and another OAM board member complained that \"nonsense has trickled down to every aspect of this office...It's the only place where opinions are counted as equal to data.\"", "In 1994, Senator Harkin appeared on television with cancer patients who blamed Dr. Jacobs for blocking their access to untested cancer treatment, leading Jacobs to resign in frustration.", "In 1995, Wayne Jonas, a promoter of homeopathy and political ally of Senator Harkin, became the director of the OAM, and continued in that role until 1999.", "In 1997, the NCCAM budget was increased from $12 million to $20 million annually.", "From 1990 to 1997, use of alternative medicine in the US increased by 25%, with a corresponding 50% increase in expenditures.", "The OAM drew increasing criticism from eminent members of the scientific community with letters to the Senate Appropriations Committee when discussion of renewal of funding OAM came up.", "Nobel laureate Paul Berg wrote that prestigious NIH should not be degraded to act as a cover for quackery, calling the OAM \"an embarrassment to serious scientists.\"", "The president of the American Physical Society wrote complaining that the government was spending money on testing products and practices that \"violate basic laws of physics and more clearly resemble witchcraft\".", "In 1998, the President of the North Carolina Medical Association publicly called for shutting down the OAM.", "In 1998, NIH director and Nobel laureate Harold Varmus came into conflict with Senator Harkin by pushing to have more NIH control of alternative medicine research.", "The NIH Director placed the OAM under more strict scientific NIH control.", "Senator Harkin responded by elevating OAM into an independent NIH \"center\", just short of being its own \"institute\", and renamed to be the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).", "NCCAM had a mandate to promote a more rigorous and scientific approach to the study of alternative medicine, research training and career development, outreach, and \"integration\".", "In 1999, the NCCAM budget was increased from $20 million to $50 million.", "The United States Congress approved the appropriations without dissent.", "In 2000, the budget was increased to about $68 million, in 2001 to $90 million, in 2002 to $104 million, and in 2003, to $113 million.", "In 2009, after a history of 17 years of government testing and spending of nearly $2.5 billion on research had produced almost no clearly proven efficacy of alternative therapies, Senator Harkin complained, \"One of the purposes of this center was to investigate and validate alternative approaches.", "Quite frankly, I must say publicly that it has fallen short.", "It think quite frankly that in this center and in the office previously before it, most of its focus has been on disproving things rather than seeking out and approving.\"", "Members of the scientific community criticized this comment as showing Senator Harkin did not understand the basics of scientific inquiry, which tests hypotheses, but never intentionally attempts to \"validate approaches\".", "Members of the scientific and biomedical communities complained that after a history of 17 years of being tested, at a cost of over $2.5 Billion on testing scientifically and biologically implausible practices, almost no alternative therapy showed clear efficacy.", "In 2009, the NCCAM's budget was increased to about $122 million.", "Overall NIH funding for CAM research increased to $300 Million by 2009.", "By 2009, Americans were spending $34 Billion annually on CAM.", "In 2012, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a criticism that study after study had been funded by NCCAM, but \"failed to prove that complementary or alternative therapies are anything more than placebos\".", "The JAMA criticism pointed to large wasting of research money on testing scientifically implausible treatments, citing \"NCCAM officials spending $374,000 to find that inhaling lemon and lavender scents does not promote wound healing; $750,000 to find that prayer does not cure AIDS or hasten recovery from breast-reconstruction surgery; $390,000 to find that ancient Indian remedies do not control type 2 diabetes; $700,000 to find that magnets do not treat arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or migraine headaches; and $406,000 to find that coffee enemas do not cure pancreatic cancer.\"", "It was pointed out that negative results from testing were generally ignored by the public, that people continue to \"believe what they want to believe, arguing that it does not matter what the data show: They know what works for them\".", "Continued increasing use of CAM products was also blamed on the lack of FDA ability to regulate alternative products, where negative studies do not result in FDA warnings or FDA-mandated changes on labeling, whereby few consumers are aware that many claims of many supplements were found not to have not to be supported.", "In 2014 the NCCAM was renamed to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) with a new charter requiring that 12 of the 18 council members shall be selected with a preference to selecting leading representatives of complementary and alternative medicine, 9 of the members must be licensed practitioners of alternative medicine, six members must be general public leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management, and 3 members must represent the interests of individual consumers of complementary and alternative medicine.", "There is a general scientific consensus that Alternative Therapies lack the requisite scientific validation, and their effectiveness is either unproved or disproved.", "Many of the claims regarding the efficacy of alternative medicines are controversial, since research on them is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed.", "Selective publication bias, marked differences in product quality and standardisation, and some companies making unsubstantiated claims, call into question the claims of efficacy of isolated examples where there is evidence for alternative therapies.", "''The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine'' points to confusions in the general population – a person may attribute symptomatic relief to an otherwise-ineffective therapy just because they are taking something (the placebo effect); the natural recovery from or the cyclical nature of an illness (the regression fallacy) gets misattributed to an alternative medicine being taken; a person not diagnosed with science-based medicine may never originally have had a true illness diagnosed as an alternative disease category.", "Edzard Ernst characterized the evidence for many alternative techniques as weak, nonexistent, or negative and in 2011 published his estimate that about 7.4% were based on \"sound evidence\", although he believes that may be an overestimate.", "Ernst has concluded that 95% of the alternative treatments he and his team studied, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and reflexology, are \"statistically indistinguishable from placebo treatments\", but he also believes there is something that conventional doctors can usefully learn from the chiropractors and homeopath: this is the therapeutic value of the placebo effect, one of the strangest phenomena in medicine.", "In 2003, a project funded by the CDC identified 208 condition-treatment pairs, of which 58% had been studied by at least one randomized controlled trial (RCT), and 23% had been assessed with a meta-analysis.", "According to a 2005 book by a US Institute of Medicine panel, the number of RCTs focused on CAM has risen dramatically.", ", the Cochrane Library had 145 CAM-related Cochrane systematic reviews and 340 non-Cochrane systematic reviews.", "An analysis of the conclusions of only the 145 Cochrane reviews was done by two readers.", "In 83% of the cases, the readers agreed.", "In the 17% in which they disagreed, a third reader agreed with one of the initial readers to set a rating.", "These studies found that, for CAM, 38.4% concluded positive effect or possibly positive (12.4%), 4.8% concluded no effect, 0.7% concluded harmful effect, and 56.6% concluded insufficient evidence.", "An assessment of conventional treatments found that 41.3% concluded positive or possibly positive effect, 20% concluded no effect, 8.1% concluded net harmful effects, and 21.3% concluded insufficient evidence.", "However, the CAM review used the more developed 2004 Cochrane database, while the conventional review used the initial 1998 Cochrane database.", "In the same way as for conventional therapies, drugs, and interventions, it can be difficult to test the efficacy of alternative medicine in clinical trials.", "In instances where an established, effective, treatment for a condition is already available, the Helsinki Declaration states that withholding such treatment is unethical in most circumstances.", "Use of standard-of-care treatment in addition to an alternative technique being tested may produce confounded or difficult-to-interpret results.", "Cancer researcher Andrew J. Vickers has stated:\n\nContrary to much popular and scientific writing, many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective.", "The label \"unproven\" is inappropriate for such therapies; it is time to assert that many alternative cancer therapies have been \"disproven\".", "\n\n\"CAM\", meaning \"complementary and alternative medicine\", is not as well researched as conventional medicine, which undergoes intense research before release to the public.", "Funding for research is also sparse making it difficult to do further research for effectiveness of CAM.", "Most funding for CAM is funded by government agencies.", "Proposed research for CAM are rejected by most private funding agencies because the results of research are not reliable.", "The research for CAM has to meet certain standards from research ethics committees, which most CAM researchers find almost impossible to meet.", "Even with the little research done on it, CAM has not been proven to be effective.", "Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale School of Medicine, wrote that government funded studies of integrating alternative medicine techniques into the mainstream are \"used to lend an appearance of legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate.\"", "Marcia Angell considered that critics felt that healthcare practices should be classified based solely on scientific evidence, and if a treatment had been rigorously tested and found safe and effective, science-based medicine will adopt it regardless of whether it was considered \"alternative\" to begin with.", "It is possible for a method to change categories (proven vs. unproven), based on increased knowledge of its effectiveness or lack thereof.", "A prominent supporter of this position is George D. Lundberg, former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).", "Writing in 1999 in ''CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' Barrie R. Cassileth mentioned a 1997 letter to the US Senate Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety, which had deplored the lack of critical thinking and scientific rigor in OAM-supported research, had been signed by four Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists.", "(This was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).)", "In March 2009 a staff writer for ''the Washington Post'' reported that the impending national discussion about broadening access to health care, improving medical practice and saving money was giving a group of scientists an opening to propose shutting down the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.", "They quoted one of these scientists, Steven Salzberg, a genome researcher and computational biologist at the University of Maryland, as saying \"One of our concerns is that NIH is funding pseudoscience.\"", "They noted that the vast majority of studies were based on fundamental misunderstandings of physiology and disease, and had shown little or no effect.", "Writers such as Carl Sagan, a noted astrophysicist, advocate of scientific skepticism and the author of ''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'' (1996), have lambasted the lack of empirical evidence to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.", "Sampson has also pointed out that CAM tolerated contradiction without thorough reason and experiment.", "Barrett has pointed out that there is a policy at the NIH of never saying something doesn't work only that a different version or dose might give different results.", "Barrett also expressed concern that, just because some \"alternatives\" have merit, there is the impression that the rest deserve equal consideration and respect even though most are worthless, since they are all classified under the one heading of alternative medicine.", "Some critics of alternative medicine are focused upon health fraud, misinformation, and quackery as public health problems, notably Wallace Sampson and Paul Kurtz founders of Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and Stephen Barrett, co-founder of The National Council Against Health Fraud and webmaster of Quackwatch.", "Grounds for opposing alternative medicine include that:\n\n* It is usually based on religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, or fraud.", "* Alternative therapies typically lack any scientific validation, and their effectiveness is either unproved or disproved.", "* Treatments are not part of the conventional, science-based healthcare system.", "*Research on alternative medicine is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed.", "* Where alternative treatments have replaced conventional science-based medicine, even with the safest alternative medicines, failure to use or delay in using conventional science-based medicine has caused deaths.", "* Methods may incorporate or base themselves on traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, ignorance or misunderstanding of scientific principles, errors in reasoning, or newly conceived approaches claiming to heal.", "Many alternative medical treatments are not patentable,, which may lead to less research funding from the private sector.", "In addition, in most countries, alternative treatments (in contrast to pharmaceuticals) can be marketed without any proof of efficacy – also a disincentive for manufacturers to fund scientific research.", "English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in his 2003 book ''A Devil's Chaplain'', defined alternative medicine as a \"set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested, or consistently fail tests.\"", "Dawkins argued that if a technique is demonstrated effective in properly performed trials then it ceases to be alternative and simply becomes medicine.", "CAM is also often less regulated than conventional medicine.", "There are ethical concerns about whether people who perform CAM have the proper knowledge to treat patients.", "CAM is often done by non-physicians who do not operate with the same medical licensing laws which govern conventional medicine, and it is often described as an issue of non-maleficence.", "According to two writers, Wallace Sampson and K. Butler, marketing is part of the training required in alternative medicine, and propaganda methods in alternative medicine have been traced back to those used by Hitler and Goebels in their promotion of pseudoscience in medicine.", "In November 2011 Edzard Ernst stated that the \"level of misinformation about alternative medicine has now reached the point where it has become dangerous and unethical.", "So far, alternative medicine has remained an ethics-free zone.", "It is time to change this.\"", "A research methods expert and author of \"Snake Oil Science\", R. Barker Bausell, has stated that \"it's become politically correct to investigate nonsense.\"", "There are concerns that just having NIH support is being used to give unfounded \"legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate.\"", "Use of placebos to achieve a placebo effect in integrative medicine has been criticized as, \"...diverting research time, money, and other resources from more fruitful lines of investigation in order to pursue a theory that has no basis in biology.\"", "Another critic has argued that academic proponents of integrative medicine sometimes recommend misleading patients by using known placebo treatments to achieve a placebo effect.", "However, a 2010 survey of family physicians found that 56% of respondents said they had used a placebo in clinical practice as well.", "Eighty-five percent of respondents believed placebos can have both psychological and physical benefits.", "Integrative medicine has been criticized in that its practitioners, trained in science-based medicine, deliberately mislead patients by pretending placebos are not.", "\"quackademic medicine\" is a pejorative term used for ''integrative medicine'', which medical professionals consider an infiltration of quackery into academic science-based medicine.", "An analysis of trends in the criticism of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in five prestigious American medical journals during the period of reorganization within medicine (1965–1999) was reported as showing that the medical profession had responded to the growth of CAM in three phases, and that in each phase, changes in the medical marketplace had influenced the type of response in the journals.", "Changes included relaxed medical licensing, the development of managed care, rising consumerism, and the establishment of the USA Office of Alternative Medicine (later National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, currently National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health).", "In the \"condemnation\" phase, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, authors had ridiculed, exaggerated the risks, and petitioned the state to contain CAM; in the \"reassessment\" phase (mid-1970s through early 1990s), when increased consumer utilization of CAM was prompting concern, authors had pondered whether patient dissatisfaction and shortcomings in conventional care contributed to the trend; in the \"integration\" phase of the 1990s physicians began learning to work around or administer CAM, and the subjugation of CAM to scientific scrutiny had become the primary means of control.", "\n===Prevalence of use===\n\n'''Complementary and alternative medicine''' (CAM) has been described as a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period.", "CAM includes all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being.", "Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and that of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed.", "According to recent research, the increasing popularity of the CAM needs to be explained by moral convictions or lifestyle choices rather than by economic reasoning.", "About 50% of people in developed countries use some kind of complementary and alternative medicine other than prayer for health.", "A British telephone survey by the BBC of 1209 adults in 1998 shows that around 20% of adults in Britain had used alternative medicine in the past 12 months.", "About 40% of cancer patients use some form of CAM.", "In developing nations, access to essential medicines is severely restricted by lack of resources and poverty.", "Traditional remedies, often closely resembling or forming the basis for alternative remedies, may comprise primary healthcare or be integrated into the healthcare system.", "In Africa, traditional medicine is used for 80% of primary healthcare, and in developing nations as a whole over one-third of the population lack access to essential medicines.", "Some have proposed adopting a prize system to reward medical research.", "However, public funding for research exists.", "Increasing the funding for research on alternative medicine techniques is the purpose of the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.", "NCCIH and its predecessor, the Office of Alternative Medicine, have spent more than $2.5 billion on such research since 1992; this research has largely not demonstrated the efficacy of alternative treatments.", "That alternative medicine has been on the rise \"in countries where Western science and scientific method generally are accepted as the major foundations for healthcare, and 'evidence-based' practice is the dominant paradigm\" was described as an \"enigma\" in the Medical Journal of Australia.", "====In the US====\n\nIn the United States, the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) required that for states to receive federal money, they had to grant religious exemptions to child neglect and abuse laws regarding religion-based healing practices.", "Thirty-one states have child-abuse religious exemptions.", "The use of alternative medicine in the US has increased, with a 50 percent increase in expenditures and a 25 percent increase in the use of alternative therapies between 1990 and 1997 in America.", "Americans spend many billions on the therapies annually.", "Most Americans used CAM to treat and/or prevent musculoskeletal conditions or other conditions associated with chronic or recurring pain.", "In America, women were more likely than men to use CAM, with the biggest difference in use of mind-body therapies including prayer specifically for health reasons\".", "In 2008, more than 37% of American hospitals offered alternative therapies, up from 27 percent in 2005, and 25% in 2004.", "More than 70% of the hospitals offering CAM were in urban areas.", "A survey of Americans found that 88 percent thought that \"there are some good ways of treating sickness that medical science does not recognize\".", "Use of magnets was the most common tool in energy medicine in America, and among users of it, 58 percent described it as at least \"sort of scientific\", when it is not at all scientific.", "In 2002, at least 60 percent of US medical schools have at least some class time spent teaching alternative therapies.", "\"Therapeutic touch\", was taught at more than 100 colleges and universities in 75 countries before the practice was debunked by a nine-year-old child for a school science project.", "====Prevalence of use of specific therapies====\n\nThe most common CAM therapies used in the US in 2002 were prayer (45%), herbalism (19%), breathing meditation (12%), meditation (8%), chiropractic medicine (8%), yoga (5–6%), body work (5%), diet-based therapy (4%), progressive relaxation (3%), mega-vitamin therapy (3%) and Visualization (2%)\n\nIn Britain, the most often used alternative therapies were Alexander technique, Aromatherapy, Bach and other flower remedies, Body work therapies including massage, Counseling stress therapies, hypnotherapy, Meditation, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Ayurvedic medicine, Nutritional medicine, and Yoga.", "Ayurvedic medicine remedies are mainly plant based with some use of animal materials.", "Safety concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities.", "According to the National Health Service (England), the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) supported by the NHS in the UK are: acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, homeopathy, massage, osteopathy and clinical hypnotherapy.", "====In palliative care====\n\nComplementary therapies are often used in palliative care or by practitioners attempting to manage chronic pain in patients.", "Integrative medicine is considered more acceptable in the interdisciplinary approach used in palliative care than in other areas of medicine.", "\"From its early experiences of care for the dying, palliative care took for granted the necessity of placing patient values and lifestyle habits at the core of any design and delivery of quality care at the end of life.", "If the patient desired complementary therapies, and as long as such treatments provided additional support and did not endanger the patient, they were considered acceptable.\"", "The non-pharmacologic interventions of complementary medicine can employ mind-body interventions designed to \"reduce pain and concomitant mood disturbance and increase quality of life.\"", "===Regulation===\n\nHealth campaign flyers, as in this example from the Food and Drug Administration, warn the public about unsafe products.", "In Austria and Germany complementary and alternative medicine is mainly in the hands of doctors with MDs, and half or more of the American alternative practitioners are licensed MDs.", "In Germany herbs are tightly regulated: half are prescribed by doctors and covered by health insurance.", "Some professions of complementary/traditional/alternative medicine, such as chiropractic, have achieved full regulation in North America and other parts of the world and are regulated in a manner similar to that governing science-based medicine.", "In contrast, other approaches may be partially recognized and others have no regulation at all.", "Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine ranges widely from country to country, and state to state.", "Government bodies in the USA and elsewhere have published information or guidance about alternative medicine.", "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has issued online warnings for consumers about medication health fraud.", "This includes a section on Alternative Medicine Fraud, such as a warning that Ayurvedic products generally have not been approved by the FDA before marketing.", "\nSome commentators have said that special consideration must be given to the issue of conflicts of interest in alternative medicine.", "Edzard Ernst has said that most researchers into alternative medicine are at risk of \"unidirectional bias\" because of a generally uncritical belief in their chosen subject.", "Ernst cites as evidence the phenomenon whereby 100% of a sample of acupuncture trials originating in China had positive conclusions.", "David Gorski contrasts evidence-based medicine, in which researchers try to disprove hyphotheses, with what he says is the frequent practice in pseudoscience-based research, of striving to confirm pre-existing notions.", "Harriet A.", "Hall writes that there is a contrast between the circumstances of alternative medicine practitioners and disinterested scientists: in the case of acupuncture, for example, an acupuncturist would have \"a great deal to lose\" if acupuncture were rejected by research; but the disinterested skeptic would not lose anything if its effects were confirmed; rather their change of mind would enhance their skeptical credentials.", "\n\n===Adequacy of regulation and CAM safety===\n\nMany of the claims regarding the safety and efficacy of alternative medicine are controversial.", "Some alternative treatments have been associated with unexpected side effects, which can be fatal.", "A commonly voiced concerns about complementary alternative medicine (CAM) is the way it's regulated.", "There have been significant developments in how CAMs should be assessed prior to re-sale in the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) in the last 2 years.", "Despite this, it has been suggested that current regulatory bodies have been ineffective in preventing deception of patients as many companies have re-labelled their drugs to avoid the new laws.", "There is no general consensus about how to balance consumer protection (from false claims, toxicity, and advertising) with freedom to choose remedies.", "Advocates of CAM suggest that regulation of the industry will adversely affect patients looking for alternative ways to manage their symptoms, even if many of the benefits may represent the placebo affect.", "Some contend that alternative medicines should not require any more regulation than over-the-counter medicines that can also be toxic in overdose (such as paracetamol).", "===Interactions with conventional pharmaceuticals===\n\nForms of alternative medicine that are biologically active can be dangerous even when used in conjunction with conventional medicine.", "Examples include immuno-augmentation therapy, shark cartilage, bioresonance therapy, oxygen and ozone therapies, and insulin potentiation therapy.", "Some herbal remedies can cause dangerous interactions with chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy, or anesthetics during surgery, among other problems.", "An anecdotal example of these dangers was reported by Associate Professor Alastair MacLennan of Adelaide University, Australia regarding a patient who almost bled to death on the operating table after neglecting to mention that she had been taking \"natural\" potions to \"build up her strength\" before the operation, including a powerful anticoagulant that nearly caused her death.", "To ''ABC Online'', MacLennan also gives another possible mechanism:\n\nAnd lastly there's the cynicism and disappointment and depression that some patients get from going on from one alternative medicine to the next, and they find after three months the placebo effect wears off, and they're disappointed and they move on to the next one, and they're disappointed and disillusioned, and that can create depression and make the eventual treatment of the patient with anything effective difficult, because you may not get compliance, because they've seen the failure so often in the past.", "===Potential side-effects===\n\nConventional treatments are subjected to testing for undesired side-effects, whereas alternative treatments, in general, are not subjected to such testing at all.", "Any treatment – whether conventional or alternative – that has a biological or psychological effect on a patient may also have potential to possess dangerous biological or psychological side-effects.", "Attempts to refute this fact with regard to alternative treatments sometimes use the ''appeal to nature'' fallacy, i.e., \"That which is natural cannot be harmful.\"", "Specific groups of patients such as patients with impaired hepatic or renal function are more susceptible to side effects of alternative remedies.", "An exception to the normal thinking regarding side-effects is Homeopathy.", "Since 1938, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulated homeopathic products in \"several significantly different ways from other drugs.\"", "Homeopathic preparations, termed \"remedies\", are extremely dilute, often far beyond the point where a single molecule of the original active (and possibly toxic) ingredient is likely to remain.", "They are, thus, considered safe on that count, but \"their products are exempt from good manufacturing practice requirements related to expiration dating and from finished product testing for identity and strength\", and their alcohol concentration may be much higher than allowed in conventional drugs.", "===Treatment delay===\n\nThose having experienced or perceived success with one alternative therapy for a minor ailment may be convinced of its efficacy and persuaded to extrapolate that success to some other alternative therapy for a more serious, possibly life-threatening illness.", "For this reason, critics argue that therapies that rely on the placebo effect to define success are very dangerous.", "According to mental health journalist Scott Lilienfeld in 2002, \"unvalidated or scientifically unsupported mental health practices can lead individuals to forgo effective treatments\" and refers to this as \"opportunity cost\".", "Individuals who spend large amounts of time and money on ineffective treatments may be left with precious little of either, and may forfeit the opportunity to obtain treatments that could be more helpful.", "In short, even innocuous treatments can indirectly produce negative outcomes.", "Between 2001 and 2003, four children died in Australia because their parents chose ineffective naturopathic, homeopathic, or other alternative medicines and diets rather than conventional therapies.", "===Unconventional cancer \"cures\"===\n\nThere have always been \"many therapies offered outside of conventional cancer treatment centers and based on theories not found in biomedicine.", "These alternative cancer cures have often been described as 'unproven,' suggesting that appropriate clinical trials have not been conducted and that the therapeutic value of the treatment is unknown.\"", "However, \"many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective....The label 'unproven' is inappropriate for such therapies; it is time to assert that many alternative cancer therapies have been 'disproven'.\"", "Edzard Ernst has stated:\n\n...any alternative cancer cure is bogus by definition.", "There will never be an alternative cancer cure.", "Why?", "Because if something looked halfway promising, then mainstream oncology would scrutinize it, and if there is anything to it, it would become mainstream almost automatically and very quickly.", "All curative \"alternative cancer cures\" are based on false claims, are bogus, and, I would say, even criminal.", "\nFile:Fallerjfa.JPG|Christian laying on of hands, prayer intervention, and faith healing\nFile:Dhanvantari-at-Ayurveda-expo.jpg|Indian Ayurvedic medicine includes a belief that the spiritual balance of mind influences disease.", "File:Hierbas medicinales mercado medieval.jpg|Medicinal herbs in a traditional Spanish market\nFile:Market Pharmacy Tana MS5179.jpg|Traditional medicines in Madagascar\nFile:Traditional Chinese medicine in Xi'an market.jpg|Assorted dried plant and animal parts used in traditional Chinese medicine\nFile:Doña ramona.jpg|Shaman healer in Sonora, Mexico.", "File:American medical botany, being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet and (14764623455).jpg|Phytotherapy (herbal medicine): an engraving of ''magnolia glauca'' in Jacob Bigelow's ''American Medical Botany''", "\n* Conservation medicine\n* Ethnomedicine\n* Psychic surgery", "\n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* \n* Reprinted in .", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n===World Health Organization===\n\n*\n*\n* Summary.", "===Journals===\n\n* Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.", "Aliso Viejo, California : InnoVision Communications, c1995- NLM ID: 9502013\n* Alternative Medicine Review: A Journal of Clinical Therapeutics.", "Sandpoint, Idaho : Thorne Research, c. 1996 NLM ID: 9705340\n* BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.", "London: BioMed Central, 2001 NLM ID: 101088661\n* Complementary Therapies in Medicine.", "Edinburgh ; New York : Churchill Livingstone, c. 1993 NLM ID: 9308777\n* Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM.", "New York: Hindawi, c. 2004 NLM ID: 101215021\n* Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine\n* Journal of Integrative Medicine\n* Journal for Alternative and Complementary Medicine New York : Mary Ann Liebert, c. 1995\n* Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine (SRAM)", "\n\n* \n* The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: US National Institutes of Health\n* The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine: US National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health\n* The National Institutes of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements: US National Institutes of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements \n* Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine: Denmark, the Ministry of the Interior and Health\n* Guidelines for Using Complementary and Alternative Methods: from the American Cancer Society\n* Complementary and Alternative Medicine Index: from the University of Maryland Medical Center\n* Integrative Medicine Podcasts and Handouts: Teaching modules from the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine Program\n* \"Alternative Medicine\": A BBC/Open University television series that examines the evidence scientifically\n* \"Complementary and alternative medicine: What is it?", "\": from the Mayo Clinic\n* Natural Standard Research Collaboration\n* A Different Way to Heal?", "and Videos: from PBS and Scientific American Frontiers\n* Who Gets to Validate Alternative Medicine?", ": from PBS\n\n===Criticism===\n* What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine?", "– Steven Novella, Maryland\n* \"Alternative\" health practice – Skeptic's Dictionary\n* Quackwatch.org – Stephen Barrett (See also: Quackwatch)\n* \n* What's the harm?", "Website created by Tim Farley listing cases of people harmed by various alternative treatments\n* The Alternative Medicine Racket A video investigation of state-supported quackery at the National Institutes of Health.", "– Reason TV" ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Art Deco''', sometimes referred to as '''Deco''', is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for ''Arts Décoratifs'', from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It combined modernist styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.\n\nArt Deco was a pastiche of many different styles, sometimes contradictory, united by a desire to be modern. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments of the Art Deco style.\n\nIn the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the Art Deco style became more subdued. New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s; it featured curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco is one of the first truly international styles, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modernism and the International Style of architecture that followed.\n", "Poster for the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes\nArt Deco took its name, short for ''Arts Décoratifs'', from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925, though the diverse styles that characterize Art Deco had already appeared in Paris and Brussels before World War I.\n\nThe term ''arts décoratifs'' was first used in France in 1858; published in the Bulletin de la Société française de photographie.\n\nIn 1868, ''Le Figaro'' newspaper used the term ''objets d'art décoratifs'' with respect to objects for stage scenery created for the Théâtre de l'Opéra.\n\nIn 1875, furniture designers, textile, jewelry and glass designers and other craftsmen were officially given the status of artists by the French government. In response to this, the ''École royale gratuite de dessin'' (Royal Free School of Design) founded in 1766 under King Louis XVI to train artists and artisans in crafts relating to the fine arts, was renamed the National School of Decorative Arts (''l'École nationale des arts décoratifs''). It took its present name of ENSAD (''École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs'') in 1927.\n\nDuring the 1925 Exposition the architect Le Corbusier wrote a series of articles about the exhibition for his magazine ''L'Esprit Nouveau'' under the title, \"1925 Expo: Arts Déco\" which were combined into a book, \"L'art décoratif d'aujourd'hui\" (Decorative Art Today). The book was a spirited attack on the excesses of the colorful and lavish objects at the Exposition; and on the idea that practical objects such as furniture should have any decoration at all; his conclusion was that \"Modern decoration has no decoration\".\n\nThe shorthand title \"Arts Deco\" that Le Corbusier used in the articles and book was adapted in 1966 for title of the first modern exhibit on the subject, called ''Les Années 25 : Art déco, Bauhaus, Stijl, Esprit nouveau'', which covered the variety of major styles in the 1920s and 1930s. The term Art déco was then used in a 1966 newspaper article by Hillary Gelson in the Times (London, 12 November), describing the different styles at the exhibit.\n\nArt Deco gained currency as a broadly applied stylistic label in 1968 when historian Bevis Hillier published the first major academic book on the style: ''Art Deco of the 20s and 30s''. Hillier noted that the term was already being used by art dealers and cites ''The Times'' (2 November 1966) and an essay named \"Les Arts Déco\" in ''Elle'' magazine (November 1967) as examples of prior usage. In 1971, Hillier organized an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which he details in his book about it, ''The World of Art Deco''.\n", "\n===Society of Decorative Artists (1901–1913)===\nA fireplace screen by the Symbolist painter Odilon Redon now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (1908)\nThe emergence of Art Deco was closely connected with the rise in status of decorative artists, who until late in the 19th century had been considered simply as artisans. The term \"arts décoratifs\" had been invented in 1875, giving the designers of furniture, textiles, and other decoration official status. The Société des artistes décorateurs (Society of decorative artists), or SAD, was founded in 1901, and decorative artists were given the same rights of authorship as painters and sculptors. A similar movement developed in Italy. The first international exhibition devoted entirely to the decorative arts, the ''Esposizione international d'Arte decorative moderna'' , was held in Turin in 1902. Several new magazines devoted to decorative arts were founded in Paris, including ''Arts et décoration'' and ''L'Art décoratif moderne''. Decorative arts sections were introduced into the annual salons of the Sociéte des artistes français, and later in the'' Salon d'automne''. French nationalism also played a part in the resurgence of decorative arts; French designers felt challenged by the increasing exports of less expensive German furnishings. In 1911, the SAD proposed the holding of a major new international exposition of decorative arts in 1912. No copies of old styles were to be permitted; only modern works. The exhibit was postponed until 1914, then, because of the war, postponed until 1925, when it gave its name to the whole family of styles known as Déco.\n\nThe Paris department stores and fashion designers also played an important part in the rise of Art Déco. Established firms including the luggage maker Louis Vuitton silverware firm Christofle, glass designer René Lalique, and the jewelers Louis Cartier and Boucheron, who all began designing products in more modern styles. Beginning in 1900, the Department stores had recruited decorative artists to work in their design studios. The decoration of the 1912 Salon d'Automne had been entrusted to the department store Printemps. During the same year Printemps created its own workshop called \"Primavera\". By 1920 Primavera employed more than three hundred artists. The styles ranged from the updated versions of Louis XIV, Louis XVI and especially Louis Philippe furniture made by Louis Süe and the Primavera workshop to more modern forms from the workshop of the Au Louvre department store. Other designers, including Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Paul Foliot refused to use mass production, and insisted that each piece be made individually by hand. The early art deco style featured luxurious and exotic materials such as ebony, and ivory and silk, very bright colors and stylized motifs, particularly baskets and bouquets of flowers of all colors, giving a modernist look.\n\n===Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–1913)===\n\n\"La Danse\", bas-relief dAntoine Bourdelle (Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris) (3713880263).jpg|Antoine Bourdelle, ''La Danse'', facade of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris (1912)\nFile:Théâtre des Champs-Élysées DSC09330.jpg|Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, by Auguste Perret, 15 avenue Montaigne, Paris, (1910–13). Reinforced concrete gave architects the ability to create new forms and bigger spaces.\nFile:Theatre Champs Elysees 35.jpg|Interior of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, with Bourdelle bas-reliefs over the stage\nFile:Plafond du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.jpg|Dome of the Theater, with Art-Deco rose design by Maurice Denis\n\nThe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–1913), by Auguste Perret was the first landmark Art Deco building completed in Paris. Previously reinforced concrete had been used only for industrial and apartment buildings, Perret had built the first modern reinforced concrete apartment building in Paris on rue Benjamin Franklin in 1903-04. Henri Sauvage, another important future Art Deco architect, built another in 1904 at 7 rue Trétaigne (1904). From 1908 to 1910, the 21-year old Le Corbusier worked as a draftsman in Perret's office, learning the techniques of concrete construction. Perret's building had clean rectangular form, geometric decoration and straight lines, the future trademarks of Art Deco. The decor of the theater was also revolutionary; the facade was decorated with plaques of Art Deco sculpture by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, paintings by Édouard Vuillard, and an Art Deco curtain Ker-Xavier Roussel. The theater became famous as the venue for many of the first performances of the Ballets Russes. Perret and Sauvage became the leading Art Deco architects in Paris in the 1920s.\n\n===Salon d'Automne (1912–1913)===\n\nFile:Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov) 02 by L. Bakst 2.jpg|Set design for ''Sheherazade'' (1910) by Leon Bakst\nFile:Art Deco table, chairs, carpet.jpg|Table and chairs by Maurice Dufrene and carpet by Paul Follot at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs\nFile:Art Deco Armchair.jpg|Art Deco armchair made for art collector Jacques Doucet (1912–13)\nFile:Display at Salon D'Automne (1913).jpg|Display of early Art Deco furnishings by the Atelier Français at the 1913 Salon d'Automne from ''Art et décoration'' magazine (1914)\n\n\nAt its birth between 1910 and 1914, Art Deco was an explosion of colors, featuring bright and often clashing hues, frequently in floral designs, presented in furniture upholstery, carpets, screens, wallpaper and fabrics. Many colorful works, including chairs and a table by Maurice Dufrene and a bright Gobelin carpet by Paul Follot were presented at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs. In 1912–1913 designer Alfred Karbowsky made a floral chair with a parrot design for the hunting lodge of art collector Jacques Doucet. The furniture designers Louis Süe and André Mare made their first appearance at the 1912 exhibit, under the name of the ''Atelier Française,'' combining colorful fabrics with exotic and expensive materials, including ebony and ivory. After World War I they became one of the most prominent French interior design firms, producing the furniture for the first-class salons and cabins of the French transatlantic ocean liners.\n\nThe vivid colors of Art Deco came from many sources, including the exotic set designs by Leon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, which caused a sensation in Paris just before World War I. Some of the colors were inspired by the earlier Fauvism movement led by Henri Matisse; others by the Orphism of painters such as Sonia Delaunay; others by the movement known as the Nabis, and in the work of symbolist painter Odilon Redon, who designed fireplace screens and other decorative objects. Bright colors were a feature of the work of fashion designer Paul Poiret, whose work influenced both Art Deco fashion and interior design.\n\n===Cubist House (1912)===\n\n\nFile:Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, Projet d'hôtel, Maquette de la façade de la Maison Cubiste, published in Les Peintres Cubistes, 1913.jpg|Design for the facade of ''La Maison Cubiste'' (''Cubist House'') by Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1912)\nFile:Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, La Maison Cubiste (Cubist House) at the Salon d'Automne, 1912, detail of the entrance. Photograph by Duchamp-Villon.jpg|Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, ''La Maison Cubiste'' (''Cubist House'') at the Salon d'Automne, 1912, detail of the entrance\nFile:La Maison Cubiste, Le Salon Bourgeois, Salon d'Automne, 1912, Paris.jpg|''Le Salon Bourgeois'', designed by André Mare inside ''La Maison Cubiste'', in the decorative arts section of the Salon d'Automne, 1912, Paris. Metzinger's ''Femme à l'Éventail'' on the left wall\n\n\nJoseph Csaky, 1912, ''Danseuse (Femme à l'éventail, Femme à la cruche)'', original plaster, exhibited at the 1912 Salon d'Automne and the 1914 Salon des Indépendants, a Proto-Art Deco sculpture\nThe art style known as Cubism appeared in France between 1907 and 1912, influencing the development of Art Deco. The Cubists, themselves under the influence of Paul Cézanne, were interested in the simplification of forms to their geometric essentials: the cylinder, the sphere, the cone.\n\nIn 1912, the artists of the Section d'Or exhibited works considerably more accessible to the general public than the analytical Cubism of Picasso and Braque. The Cubist vocabulary was poised to attract fashion, furniture and interior designers.\n\nIn the 1912 writings of André Vera. ''Le Nouveau style'', published in the journal ''L'Art décoratif'', he expressed the rejection of Art Nouveau forms (asymmetric, polychrome and picturesque) and called for ''simplicité volontaire, symétrie manifeste, l'ordre et l'harmonie'', themes that would eventually become common within Art Deco; though with time the Deco style was often extremely colorful and anything but simple.\n\nIn the ''Art Décoratif'' section of the 1912 Salon d'Automne, an architectural installation was exhibited known as the ''La Maison Cubiste''. The facade was designed by Raymond Duchamp-Villon. The decor of the house was by the firm of Louis Süe and André Mare, who had formed a company called the ''Atlelier Français'' in 1912. ''La Maison Cubiste'' was a furnished installation with a facade, a staircase, wrought iron banisters, a bedroom, a living room—the ''Salon Bourgeois'', where paintings by Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger and Roger de La Fresnaye were hung. Thousands of spectators at the salon passed through the full-scale model.\n\nJacques Doucet's hôtel particulier, 1927. Picasso's ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'' can be seen hanging in the background\nThe facade of the house, designed by Duchamp-Villon, was not very radical by modern standards; the lintels and pediments had prismatic shapes, but otherwise the facade resembled an ordinary house of the period. The rooms were furnished by Mare with neo-Louis XVI and Louis-Philippe style chairs and sofas that were updated with more angular features to make hem go with the Cubist paintings. The critic Emile Sedeyn described Mare's work in the magazine ''Art et Décoration'': \"He does not embarrass himself with simplicity, for he multiplies flowers wherever they can be put. The effect he seeks is obviously one of picturesqueness and gaiety. He achieves it.\" The Cubist element was provided by the paintings. Despite its tameness, the installation was attacked by some critics as extremely radical, which helped make for its success. This architectural installation was subsequently exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show, New York, Chicago and Boston. Thanks largely to the exhibition, the term \"Cubist\" began to be applied to anything modern, from women's haircuts to clothing to theater performances.\n\nThe Cubist style continued within Art Deco, even as Deco branched out in many other directions. In 1927, Cubists Joseph Csaky, Jacques Lipchitz, Louis Marcoussis, Henri Laurens, the sculptor Gustave Miklos, and others collaborated in the decoration of a Studio House, rue Saint-James, Neuilly-sur-Seine, designed by the architect Paul Ruaud and owned by the French fashion designer Jacques Doucet, also a collector of Post-Impressionist art by Henri Matisse and Cubist paintings (including ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'', which he bought directly from Picasso's studio). Laurens designed the fountain, Csaky designed Doucet's staircase, Lipchitz made the fireplace mantel, and Marcoussis made a Cubist rug.\n\nBesides the Cubist artists, Doucet brought in other Deco interior designers to help in decorating the house, including Pierre Legrain, who was in charge of organizing the decoration, and Paul Iribe, Marcel Coard, André Groult, Eileen Gray and Rose Adler to provide furniture. The decor included massive pieces made of macassar ebony, inspired by African art, and furniture covered with Morocco leather, crocodile skin and snakeskin, and patterns taken from African designs.\n", "\nFile:George Barbier (1882-1932), Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950), 1913 1.jpg|The exoticism of the Ballets Russes had a strong influence on early Deco. A drawing of the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky by Paris fashion artist Georges Barbier (1913)\nFile:Paquin3.jpg|Illustration by Georges Barbier of a gown by Paquin (1914). Stylized floral designs and bright colors were a feature of early Art Deco.\nFile:Jacques Doucet's hôtel particulier stairs, 33 rue Saint-James, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1929 photograph by Pierre Legrain.jpg|Stairway in the hôtel particulier of fashion designer-art collector Jacques Doucet (1927). Design by Joseph Csaky. The geometric forms of Cubism had an important influence on Art Deco\n\nFile:450 Sutter St. lobby lights 2.JPG|Lobby of 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger, (1929) inspired by ancient Maya art\n\nFile:Rockefeller Center MAM.JPG|The gilded bronze ''Prometheus'' at Rockefeller Center by Paul Manship (1934), a stylized Art Deco update of classical sculpture (1936)\n\nFile:Art Deco vase Emile Lenoble.jpg|A ceramic vase inspired by motifs of traditional African carved wood sculpture, by Emile Lenoble (1937), Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris\n\n \t\nArt Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles. In architecture, Art Deco was the successor to and reaction against Art Nouveau, a style which flourished in Europe between 1895 and 1900, and also gradually replaced the Beaux-Arts and neoclassical that were predominant in European and American architecture. In 1905 Eugène Grasset wrote and published ''Méthode de Composition Ornementale, Éléments Rectilignes,'' in which he systematically explored the decorative (ornamental) aspects of geometric elements, forms, motifs and their variations, in contrast with (and as a departure from) the undulating Art Nouveau style of Hector Guimard, so popular in Paris a few years earlier. Grasset stressed the principle that various simple geometric shapes like triangles and squares are the basis of all compositional arrangements. The reinforced concrete buildings of Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage, and particularly the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, offered a new form of construction and decoration which was copied worldwide.\n\nIn decoration, many different styles were borrowed and used by Art Deco. They included pre-modern art from around the world and observable at the Musée du Louvre, Musée de l'Homme and the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie. There was also popular interest in archeology due to excavations at Pompeii, Troy, and the tomb of the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Artists and designers integrated motifs from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Asia, Mesoamerica and Oceania with Machine Age elements.\n\nOther styles borrowed included Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism, as well as Orphism, Functionalism, and Modernism in general. Art Deco also used the clashing colors and designs of Fauvism, notably in the work of Henri Matisse and André Derain, inspired the designs of art deco textiles, wallpaper, and painted ceramics. It took ideas from the high fashion vocabulary of the period, which featured geometric designs, chevrons, zigzags, and stylized bouquets of flowers. It was influenced by discoveries in Egyptology, and growing interest in the Orient and in African art. From 1925 onwards, it was often inspired by a passion for new machines, such as airships, automobiles and ocean liners, and by 1930 this influence resulted in the style called streamline moderne.\n", "\nFile:Appartement Jeanne Lanvin by Armand-Albert Rateau - boudoir 01.jpg|The boudoir of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin (1922–25) now in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris\nFile:Jeanne Lanvin bath -Museum of Decorative Arts.jpg|Bath of Jeanne Lanvin, of Sienna marble, with decoration of carved stucco and bronze (1922–25)\nFile:Alavoine, Weil-Worgelt Study, ca. 1928-1930..jpg|An Art Deco study by the Paris design firm of Alavoine, now in the Brooklyn Museum (1928–30)\nFile:Glass Salon by Paul Ruaud and Eileen Gray.jpg|The Glass Salon, designed for Suzanne Talbot by Paul Ruaud, with furniture by Eileen Gray (1932)\n\nArt Deco was associated with both luxury and modernity; it combined very expensive materials and exquisite craftsmanship put into modernistic forms. Nothing was cheap about Art Deco: pieces of furniture included ivory and silver inlays, and pieces of Art Deco jewellry combined diamonds with platinum, jade, and other precious materials. The style was used to decorate the first-class salons of ocean liners, deluxe trains, and skyscrapers. It was used around the world to decorate the great movie palaces of the late 1920s and 1930s. Later, after the Great Depression, the style changed and became more sober.\n\nA good example of the luxury style of Art Deco is the boudoir of the fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin, designed by Armand-Albert Rateau (1882-1938) made between 1922-25. It was located in her house at 16 rue Barbet de Jouy, in Paris, which was demolished in 1965. The room was reconstructed in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. The walls are covered with molded ''lambris'' below sculpted bas-reliefs in stucco. The alcove is framed with columns of marble on with bases and a plinth of sculpted wood. The floor is of white and black marble, and in the cabinets decorative objects are displayed against a background of blue silk. Her bathroom had a tub and washstand made of sienna marble, with a wall of carved stucco and bronze fittings.\n\nBy 1928 the style had become more comfortable, with deep leather club chairs. The study designed by the Paris firm of Alavoine for an American businessman in 1928-30, now in the Brooklyn Museum, had a unique American feature. Since it was constructed during Prohibition, when serving alcohol was prohibited, it included a secret bar hidden behind the panels.\n\nBy the 1930s, the style had been somewhat simplified, but it was still extravagant. In 1932 the decorator Paul Ruoud made the Glass Salon for Suzanne Talbot. It featured a serpentine armchair and two tubular armchairs by Eileen Gray, a floor of mat silvered glass slabs, a panel of abstract patterns in silver and black lacquer, and an assortment of animal skins.\n", "\nFile:Postcard of Exposition des Art Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.jpg|Postcard of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris (1925)\nFile:Paris-FR-75-Expo 1925 Arts décoratifs-pavillon des Galeries Lafayette.jpg|Pavilion of the Galeries Lafayette Department Store at the 1925 Exposition\nFile:Hotel du Collectioneur , Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industrielles Modernes (1925).jpg|The Hotel du Riche Collectioneur, pavilion of the furniture manufacturer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann\nSalon of the Hotel du Collectionneur (1925).jpg|Salon of the Hôtel du Riche Collectionneur from the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts, furnished by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, painting by Jean Dupas\n\n\nThe event that marked the zenith of the style and gave it its name was the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts which took place in Paris from April to October in 1925. This was officially sponsored by the French government, and covered a site in Paris of 55 acres, running from the Grand Palais on the right bank to Les Invalides on the left bank, and along the banks of the Seine. The Grand Palais, the largest hall in the city, was filled with exhibits of decorative arts from the participating countries. There were 15,000 exhibitors from twenty different countries, including England, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Japan, and the new Soviet Union, though Germany was not invited because of tensions after the war and the United States, misunderstanding the purpose of the exhibit, declined to participate. It was visited by sixteen million people during its seven-month run. The rules of the exhibition required that all work be modern; no historical styles were allowed. The main purpose of the Exhibit was to promote the French manufacturers of luxury furniture, porcelain, glass, metal work, textiles and other decorative products. To further promote the products, all the major Paris department stores and major designers had their own pavilions. The Exposition had a secondary purpose in promoting products from French colonies in Africa and Asia, including ivory and exotic woods.\n\nThe Hôtel du Riche Collectionneur was a popular attraction at the Exposition; it displayed the new furniture designs of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, as well as Art Deco fabrics, carpets, and a painting by Jean Dupas. The interior design followed the same principles of symmetry and geometric forms which set it apart from Art Nouveau, and bright colors, fine craftsmanship rare and expensive materials which set it apart from the strict functionality of the Modernist style. While most of the pavilions were lavishly decorated and filled with hand-made luxury furniture, two pavilions, those of the Soviet Union and Pavilion du Nouveau Esprit, built by the magazine of that name run by Le Corbusier, were built in an austere style with plain white walls and no decoration; they were among the earliest examples of modernist architecture.\n", "\nFile:American Radiator Building.jpg|The American Radiator Building in New York City by Raymond Hood (1924)\nFile:Chrysler Building spire, Manhattan, by Carol Highsmith (LOC highsm.04444).jpg|Chrysler Building in New York City, by William Van Alen (1928–30)\nFile:USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight over Manhattan, circa 1931-1933.jpg|New York City skyline (1931-1933)\nFile:GeneralElectricBuilding-Crown.jpg|Crown of the General Electric Building (also known as 570 Lexington Avenue) by Cross & Cross (1933)\nFile:GE Building by David Shankbone.JPG|30 Rockefeller Center, now the Comcast Building, by Raymond Hood (1933)\n\n\nAmerican skyscrapers marked the summit of the Art Deco style; they became the tallest and most recognizable modern buildings in the world. They were designed to show the prestige of their builders through their height, their shape, their color, and their dramatic illumination at night. The first New York skyscraper, the Woolworth Building, in a neoclassical style, was completed in 1913, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Building (1924) had ionic and doric columns and a classical Doric hypostyle with a frieze. The American Radiator Building by Raymond Hood (1924) combined Gothic and Deco modern elements in the design of the building. Black brick on the frontage of the building (symbolizing coal) was selected to give an idea of solidity and to give the building a solid mass. Other parts of the facade were covered in gold bricks (symbolizing fire), and the entry was decorated with marble and black mirrors. Another early Art Deco skyscraper was Detroit's Guardian Building, which opened in 1929. Designed by modernist Wirt C. Rowland, the building was the first to employ stainless steel as a decorative element, and the extensive use of colored designs in place of traditional ornaments.\n\nThe New York skyline was radically changed by the Chrysler Building in Manhattan (completed in 1930), designed by William Van Alen. It was a giant seventy-seven floor tall advertisement for Chrysler automobiles. The top was crowned by a stainless steel spire, and was ornamented by deco \"gargoyles\" in the form stainless steel radiator cap decorations. The base of the tower, thirty-three stories above the street, was decorated with colorful art deco friezes, and the lobby was decorated with art deco symbols and images expressing modernity.\n\nThe Chrysler Building was followed by Empire State Building by William F. Lamb (1931) and the RCA Building (now the Comcast Building) in Rockefeller Center, by Raymond Hood (1933) which together completely changed the skyline of New York. The tops of the buildings were decorated with Art Deco crowns and spires covered with stainless steel, and, in the case of the Chrysler building, with Art Deco gargoyles modeled after radiator ornaments, while the entrances and lobbies were lavishly decorated with Art Deco sculpture, ceramics, and design. Similar buildings, though not quite as tall, soon appeared in Chicago and other large American cities.The Chrysler Building was soon surpassed in height by the Empire State Building, in a slightly less lavish Deco style. Rockefeller Center added a new design element; several tall building grouped around an open plaza, with a fountain in the center.\n", "\nFile:Miami Beach FL Lincoln Mall Lincoln Theatre01.jpg|Lincoln Theater in Miami Beach , Florida by Thomas W. Lamb (1936)\nFile:Troc1.jpg|The Palais de Chaillot by Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Léon Azéma from the 1937 Paris International Exposition\nFile:L'exposition Auguste Perret (Conseil économique, social et environnemental, Paris) (11872278295).jpg|Stairway of the Economic and Social Council in Paris, originally the Museum of Public Works, built for the 1937 Paris International Exposition by Auguste Perret (1937)\nFile:KingCityHS-RobertStantonTheater.jpg|High School in King City, California, built by Robert Stanton for the Works Progress Administration (1939)\n\nIn 1925 two different competing schools coexisted within Art Deco: the traditionalists, who had founded the Society of Decorative Artists; included the furniture designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jean Dunard, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, and designer Paul Poiret; they combined modern forms with traditional craftsmanship and expensive materials. On the other side were the modernists, who increasingly rejected the past and wanted a style based upon advances in new technologies, simplicity, a lack of decoration, inexpensive materials, and mass production. The modernists founded their own organization, The French Union of Modern Artists, in 1929. Its members included architects Pierre Chareau, Francis Jourdain, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Corbusier, and, in the Soviet Union, Konstantin Melnikov; the Irish designer Eileen Gray, and French designer Sonia Delaunay, the jewelers Jean Fouquet and Jean Puiforcat. They fiercely attacked the traditional art deco style, which they said was created only for the wealthy, and insisted that well-constructed buildings should be available to everyone, and that form should follow function. The beauty of an object or building resided in whether it was perfectly fit to fulfill its function. Modern industrial methods meant that furniture and buildings could be mass-produced, not made by hand.\n\nThe Art Deco interior designer Paul Follot defended Art Deco in this way: \"We know that man is never content with the indispensable and that the superfluous is always needed...If not, we would have to get rid of music, flowers, and perfumes..!\" However, Le Corbusier was a brilliant publicist for modernist architecture; he stated that a house was simply \"a machine to live in\", and tirelessly promoted the idea that Art Deco was the past and modernism was the future. Le Corbusier's ideas were gradually adopted by architecture schools, and the aesthetics of Art Deco were abandoned. The same features that made Art Deco popular in the beginning, its craftsmanship, rich materials and ornament, led to its decline. The Great Depression that began in the United States in 1929, and reached Europe shortly afterwards, greatly reduced the number of wealthy clients who could pay for the furnishings and art objects. In the Depression economic climate, few companies were ready to build new skyscrapers. Even the Ruhlmann firm was forced to produce pieces of furniture in series, rather than individual hand-made items. The last buildings built in Paris in the new style were the Museum of Public Works by Auguste Perret (now the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council) and the Palais de Chaillot by Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Léon Azéma, and the Palais de Tokyo of the 1937 Paris International Exposition; they looked out at the grandiose pavilion of Nazi Germany, designed by Albert Speer, which faced the equally grandiose socialist-realist pavilion of Stalin's Soviet Union.\n\nAfter World War II the dominant architectural style became the International Style pioneered by Le Corbusier, and Mies Van der Rohe. A handful of Art Deco hotels were built in Miami Beach after World War II, but elsewhere the style largely vanished, except in industrial design, where it continued to be used in automobile styling and products such as juke boxes. In the 1960s, it experienced a modest academic revival, thanks in part to the writings of architectural historians such as Bevis Hillier. In the 1970s efforts were made in the United States and Europe to preserve the best examples of Art Deco architecture, and many buildings were restored and repurposed. Postmodern architecture, which first appeared in the 1980s, like Art Deco, often includes purely decorative features. Deco continues to inspire designers, and is often used in contemporary fashion, jewelry, and toiletries.\n", "\nFile:1925, quand l'Art déco séduit le monde (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris) (11037440654).jpg|Mural by Jean Dupas, ''La Vigne et le Vin'', from the Bordeaux Pavilion of the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels moderns in Paris (1925)\nFile:Lempicka musician.jpg|Tamara de Lempicka, 1929, ''La Musicienne'', oil on canvas, 161 × 96 cm\nFile:Rivera detroit industry south.jpg|Diego Rivera, 1932–1933, ''Detroit Industry, South Wall'', Detroit Institute of Arts\nFile:Entrance of Rockefeller Center.JPG|Detail of ''Time'', 1941, ceiling mural in lobby of Rockefeller Center by the Spanish painter Josep Maria Sert\nFile:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Marsh-1.jpg|Reginald Marsh, 1936, ''Workers sorting the mail'', a mural in the U.S. Customs House in New York\nFile:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Rockwell-Kent-1.jpg|Rockwell Kent, 1938, ''Art in the Tropics'', mural in the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building\n\nThere was no section set aside for painting at the 1925 Exposition. Art deco painting was by definition decorative, designed to decorate a room or work of architecture, so few painters worked exclusively in the style, but two painters are closely associated with Art Deco. Jean Dupas painted Art Deco murals for the Bordeaux Pavilion at the 1925 Decorative Arts Exposition in Paris, and also painted the picture over the fireplace in the Maison de la Collectioneur exhibit at the 1925 Exposition, which featured furniture by Ruhlmann and other prominent Art Deco designers. His murals were also prominent in the decor of the French ocean liner SS ''Normandie''. His work was purely decorative, designed as a background or accompaniment to other elements of the decor. The other painter closely associated with the style is Tamara de Lempicka. Born in Poland in an aristocratic family, she emigrated to Paris after the Russian Revolution. There she became a student of the artist Maurice Denis of the movement called ''Les Nabis'' and the Cubist André Lhote and borrowed many elements from their styles. She painted almost exclusively portraits in a realistic, dynamic and colorful Art Deco style.\n\nIn the 1930s a dramatic new form of Art Deco painting appeared in the United States. During the Great Depression, the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration was created to give work to unemployed artists. Many were given the task of decorating government buildings, hospitals and schools. There was no specific art deco style used in the murals; artists engaged to paint murals in government buildings came from many different schools, from American regionalism to social realism; they included Reginald Marsh, Rockwell Kent and the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. The murals were Art Deco because they were all decorative and related to the activities in the building or city where they were painted: Reginald Marsh and Rockwell Kent both decorated U.S. postal buildings, and showed postal employees at work while Diego Rivera depicted automobile factory workers for the Detroit Institute of Arts. Diego Rivera's mural ''American Progress'' for Rockefeller Center featured an unauthorized portrait of Lenin. When Rivera refused to remove Lenin, the painting was destroyed and a new mural was painted by the Spanish artist Josep Maria Sert.\n", "\nFile:Aerial_view_of_the_Statue_of_Christ_the_Redeemer.jpg|''Christ the Redeemer'' by Paul Landowski, (1931), Soapstone, Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro\nFile:Dancer and Gazelles Paul Manship (1916).jpg|''Dancer and Gazelles'' by Paul Manship, (1916), bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art\nFile:Joseph Csaky, Tête, ca 1920 (front and side view) limestone, 60 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Holland.tiff|Joseph Csaky, ''Tête'' (front and side view), limestone, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (c.1920)\nFile:Josef Lorenzl00.jpg|Salon sculpture by Josef Lorenzl (1920)\nFile:Speed - Harriet Frishmuth.jpg|''Speed'' by the American sculptor Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1922)\nFile:Pompon LOursBlanc1.jpg|François Pompon, ''Ours blanc'' (''Polar Bear''), Musée d'Orsay (1922)\nFile:Art Deco Sculpture.jpg|Demétre Chiparus, ''Tanara'', bronze, ivory and onyx (c.1925)\nStackpole-155Sansome.jpg|Ralph Stackpole's sculpture group over the door of the San Francisco Stock Exchange (1930)\nFile:Lobby, (former) Daily Express Building by Ronald Atkinson.jpg|Relief sculpture in the lobby of the former Daily Express Building in London (1932)\nRocCt-LeeLawrie-Wisdom.jpg|Portal decoration ''Wisdom'' by Lee Lawrie, Rockefeller Center, New York (1933)\nFile:Rockefeller Center MAM.JPG|''Prometheus'' by Paul Manship, Rockefeller Center, New York (1937)\nFile:New York City, May 2014 - 033.JPG|Lee Lawrie, 1936–37, ''Atlas'' statue, in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York (installed 1937)\nFile:KMM Maillol.JPG|''Air'', by Aristide Maillol, in the Tuileries Gardens, Paris (1938)\nFile:Preparing for the 84th Annual Academy Awards - giant Oscar statue (6787512754).jpg|A giant replica of the Academy Awards statuette known as ''The Oscar'', by George Stanley and Cedric Gibbons (1928)\nFile:Monumento a las Banderas, São Paulo, Brasil.jpg|''Monumento às Bandeiras'', granite, by Victor Brecheret, at the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo (1954)\n\nMost of the sculpture of the Art Deco period was, as the name suggests, purely decorative; it was designed not for museums, but to ornament office buildings, government buildings, public squares, and private salons. It was almost always representational, usually of heroic or allegorical figures related to the purpose of the building; the themes were usually chosen by the patron, and abstract sculpture for decoration was extremely rare. It was frequently attached to facade of buildings, particularly over the entrance.\n\nAllegorical sculptures of the dance and music by Antoine Bourdelle were the essential decorative feature of the earliest Art Deco landmark in Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, in 1912. The sculptor Aristide Maillol reinvented the classical ideal for his statue of the River (1939), now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In the 1930s, a whole team of sculptors made sculpture for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne at Chaillot. The buildings of the Exposition were covered with low-relief sculpture, statues. Alfred Janniot made the relief sculptures on the facade of the Palais de Tokyo. The Paris City Museum of Modern Art, and the esplanade in front of the Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower, was crowded with new statuary by Charles Malfray, Henry Arnold, and many others.\n\nIn the United States, many European sculptors trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, came to work; they included Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore Lincoln Memorial. Other American sculptors, including Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, had studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris. The 1929 stock market crash largely destroyed the market for monumental sculpture, but one grand project remained; the new Rockefeller Center. The American sculptors Lee Lawrie and Paul Manship designed heroic allegorical figures for facade and plaza. In San Francisco, Ralph Stackpole provided sculpture for the facade of the new San Francisco Stock Exchange building.\n\nOne of the best known and certainly the largest Art Deco sculpture is the ''Christ the Redeemer'' by the French sculptor Paul Landowski, completed between 1922 and 1931, located on a mountain top overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. François Pompon was a pioneer of modern stylized animalier sculpture. He was not fully recognized for his artistic accomplishments until the age of 67 at the Salon d'Automne of 1922 with the work ''Ours blanc'', also known as ''The White Bear'', now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.\n\nMany early Art Deco sculptures were small, designed to decorate salons. One genre of this sculpture was called the Chryselephantine statuette, named for a style of ancient Greek temple statues made of gold and ivory. One of the best-known Art Deco salon sculptors was the Romanian-born Demétre Chiparus, who produced colorful small sculptures of dancers. Other notable salon sculptors included Ferdinand Preiss, Josef Lorenzl, Alexander Kelety, Dorothea Charol and Gustav Schmidtcassel.\n\nParallel with these more neoclassical sculptors, more avant-garde and abstract sculptors were at work in Paris and New York. The most prominent were Constantin Brâncuși, Joseph Csaky, Alexander Archipenko, Henri Laurens, Jacques Lipchitz, Gustave Miklos, Jean Lambert-Rucki, Jan et Joël Martel, Chana Orloff, and Pablo Gargallo.\n", "\nFile:Richard Strauss-Woche, festival poster, 1910 by Ludwig Hohlwein.jpg|Festival poster by Ludwig Hohlwein (1910)\nFile:Bakst Nizhinsky.jpg|Program for the Ballets Russes by Leon Bakst (1912)\nFile:Deutsche Werkbund-Ausstellung Kunst in Handwerk, Industrie und Handel Architektur Köln 1914 Oct. Peter Behrens A. Molling & Comp. KG Hannover Berlin.jpg|Peter Behrens, Deutscher Werkbund exhibition poster (1914)\nFile:Vanity Fair cover by Georges Lepape 1919.jpg|A ''Vanity Fair'' cover by Georges Lepape (1919)\nFile:Weinold Reiss - Drawing in two colors.jpg|''Interpretation of Harlem Jazz I'' by Winold Reiss (c.1920)\nFile:Erté Harpers Bazar cover Feb 1922.jpg|Cover of ''Harper's Bazaar'' by Erté (1922)\nFile:Brightest London is best reached by Underground, subway poster, 1924.jpg|London Underground poster by Horace Taylor (1924)\nFile:Moulin Rouge Music-Hall.jpg|Moulin Rouge poster by Charles Gesmar (1925)\n\nFile:Chicago world's fair, a century of progress, expo poster, 1933, 2.jpg|Poster for Chicago World's Fair (1933)\n\nThe Art Deco style appeared early in the graphic arts, in the years just before World War I. It appeared in Paris in the posters and the costume designs of Leon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, and in the catalogs of the fashion designers Paul Poiret. The illustrations of Georges Barbier, and Georges Lepape and the images in the fashion magazine ''La Gazette du bon ton'' perfectly captured the elegance and sensuality of the style. In the 1920s, the look changed; the fashions stressed were more casual, sportive and daring, with the woman models usually smoking cigarettes. American fashion magazines such as ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fair'' and ''Harper's Bazaar'' quickly picked up the new style and popularized it in the United States. It also influenced the work of American book illustrators such as Rockwell Kent. In Germany, the most famous poster artist of the period was Ludwig Hohlwein, who created colorful and dramatic posters for music festivals, beers, and, late in his career, for the Nazi Party.\n\nDuring the Art Nouveau period, posters usually advertised theatrical products or cabarets. In the 1920s, travel posters, made for steamship lines and airlines, became extremely popular. The style changed notably in the 1920s, to focus attention on the product being advertised. The images became simpler, precise, more linear, more dynamic, and were often placed against a single color background. In France popular Art Deco designers included, Charles Loupot and Paul Colin, who became famous for his posters of American singer and dancer Josephine Baker. Jean Carlu designed posters for Charlie Chaplin movies, soaps, and theaters; in the late 1930s he emigrated to the United States, where, during the World War, he designed posters to encourage war production. The designer Charles Gesmar became famous making posters for the singer Mistinguett and for Air France. Among the best known French Art Deco poster designers was Cassandre, who made the celebrated poster of the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'' in 1935.\n\nIn the 1930s a new genre of posters appeared in the United States during the Great Depression. The Federal Art Project hired American artists to create posters to promote tourism and cultural events.\n", "\nFile:P1030956 Paris Ier La Samaritaine rwk.JPG|La Samaritaine department store, by Henri Sauvage, Paris, (1925–28)\nFile:Los Angeles City Hall (color) edit1.jpg|Los Angeles City Hall by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, Sr.,(1928)\nFile:InteriorHoyBADF.JPG|Interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in Mexico City (1934)\nFile:Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg|National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan (1936)\nFile:Vertical panorama of the Mayakovskaya Metro Station.jpg|Mayakovskaya Metro Station in Moscow (1936)\n\n\nThe architectural style of art deco made its debut in Paris in 1903-04, with the construction of two apartment buildings in Paris, one by Auguste Perret on rue Trétaigne and the other on rue Benjamin Franklin by Henri Sauvage. The two young architects used reinforced concrete for the first time in Paris residential buildings; the new buildings had clean lines, rectangular forms, and no decoration on the facades; they marked a clean break with the art nouveau style. Between 1910 and 1913, Perret used his experience in concrete apartment buildings to construct the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 15 avenue Montaigne. Between 1925 and 1928 he constructed the new art deco facade of the La Samaritaine department store in Paris.\n\nAfter the First World War, art deco buildings of steel and reinforced concrete began to appear in large cities across Europe and the United States. In the United States the style was most commonly used for office buildings, government buildings, movie theaters, and railroad stations. It sometimes was combined with other styles; Los Angeles City Hall combined Art Deco with a roof based on the ancient Greek Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, while the Los Angeles railroad station combined Deco with Spanish mission architecture. Art Deco elements also appeared in engineering projects, including the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the intake towers of Hoover Dam. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a truly international style, with examples including the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in Mexico City by , the Mayakovskaya Metro Station in Moscow and the National Diet Building in Tokyo by Watanabe Fukuzo.\n\nThe Art Deco style was not limited to buildings on land; the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'', whose first voyage was in 1935, featured Art Deco design, including a dining room whose ceiling and decoration were made of glass by Lalique.\n\n=== \"Cathedrals of Commerce\" ===\n\n\nFile:Interior of Fisher Building, Detroit.JPG|The Fisher Building in Detroit by Joseph Nathaniel French (1928)\nFile:Detroit December 2015 30 (Guardian Building).jpg|Lower lobby of the Guardian Building in Detroit by Wirt Rowland (1929)\nFile:450 Sutter St. lobby 2.JPG|Lobby of 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger (1929)\nFile:Chrysler Building Lobby.jpg|Lobby of the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen in New York City (1930)\nFile:Chrysler Building 01.JPG|Elevator of the Chrysler Building (1930)\nFile:L'espace intérieur de la CNHI.jpg|The interior of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris (Now the Museum of Immigration) by Albert Laprade, Léon Jaussely and Léon Bazin (1931)\n\n\nThe grand showcases of Art deco interior design were the lobbies of government buildings, theaters, and particularly office buildings. Interiors were extremely colorful and dynamic, combining sculpture, murals, and ornate geometric design in marble, glass, ceramics and stainless steel. An early example was the Fisher Building in Detroit, by Joseph Nathaniel French; the lobby was highly decorated with sculpture and ceramics. The Guardian Building (originally the Union Trust Building) in Detroit, by Wirt Rowland (1929), decorated with red and black marble and brightly colored ceramics, highlighted by highly polished steel elevator doors and counters. The sculptural decoration installed in the walls illustrated the virtues of industry and saving; the building was immediately termed the \"Cathedral of Commerce\". The Medical and Dental Building called 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger was inspired by Mayan architecture, in a highly stylized form; it used pyramid shapes, and the interior walls were covered highly stylized rows of hieroglyphs.\n\nIn France, the best example of an Art Deco interior during period was the Palais de la Porte Dorée (1931) by Albert Laprade, Léon Jaussely and Léon Bazin. The building (now the National Museum of Immigration, with an aquarium in the basement) was built for the Paris Colonial Exposition of 1931, to celebrate the people and products of French colonies. The exterior facade was entirely covered with sculpture, and the lobby created an Art Deco harmony with a wood parquet floor in a geometric pattern, a mural depicting the people of French colonies; and a harmonious composition of vertical doors and horizontal balconies.\n\n===Movie palaces===\n\nFile:Graumanegyptian-opening1922.jpg|Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (1922)\nFile:20ans.jpg|Grand Rex movie theater in Paris (1932)\nFile:Paramount Fountain of Light in Lobby.jpg|Four-story high grand lobby of the Paramount Theater, Oakland (1932)\nFile:Radio City Music Hall 3051638324 4a385c5623.jpg|Auditorium and stage of Radio City Music Hall, New York City (1932)\nFile:Gaumont State Cinema Entrance.jpg|Gaumont State Cinema in London (1937)\nFile:The Paramount, Shanghai.JPG|The Paramount in Shanghai, China (1933)\n\nMany of the best surviving examples of Art Deco are movie theaters built in the 1920s and 1930s. The Art Deco period coincided with the conversion of silent films to sound, and movie companies built enormous theaters in major cities to capture the huge audience that came to see movies. Movie palaces in the 1920s often combined exotic themes with art deco style; Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (1922) was inspired by ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids, while the Fox Theater in Bakersfield, California attached a tower in California Mission style to an Art Deco hall. The largest of all is Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which opened in 1932. Originally designed as a stage theater, it quickly transformed into a movie theater, which could seat 6,015 persons The interior design by Donald Deskey used glass, aluminum, chrome, and leather to create a colorful escape from reality The Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, by Timothy Pflueger, had a colorful ceramic facade a lobby four stories high, and separate Art Deco smoking rooms for gentlemen and ladies. Similar grand palaces appeared in Europe. The Grand Rex in Paris (1932), with its imposing tower, was the largest movie theater in Europe. The Gaumont State Cinema in London (1937) had a tower modeled after the Empire State building, covered with cream-colored ceramic tiles and an interior in an Art Deco-Italian Renaissance style. The Paramount Theater in Shanghai, China (1933) was originally built as a dance hall called ''The gate of 100 pleasures''; it was converted to a movie theater after the Communist Revolution in 1949, and now is a ballroom and disco. In the 1930s Italian architects built a small movie palace, the Cinema Impero, in Asmara in what is now Eritrea. Today, many of the movie theaters have been subdivided into multiplexes, but others have been restored and are used as cultural centers in their communities.\n\n=== Streamline Moderne ===\n\n\nFile:Immeuble de Pierre Patout Bd Victor Paris XV.jpg|Paris Building in the ''Pacquebot'' or ocean liner style, 3 boulevard Victor (1935)\nFile:Pan-Pacific Auditorium entrance.jpg|Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles (1936)\nFile:SFMaritimeMuseum.jpg|The San Francisco Maritime Museum , originally was a public bath house (1936)\nFile:LaGuardia MarineAirTerminal 1974.jpg|The Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia Airport (1937) was the New York terminal for the flights of Pan Am Clipper flying boats to Europe\nFile:Hoover Building No 1.jpg|The Hoover Building canteen in Perivale in the London suburbs, by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners (1938)\nFile:World Fair 1939 LOC gsc.5a03061.jpg|The Ford Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair\nFile:Broadcasting_House_by_Stephen_Craven.jpg|The nautical-style rounded corner of BBC Broadcasting House (1931)\n\n\nIn the late 1930s, a new variety of Art Deco architecture became common; it was called Streamline Moderne or simply Streamline, or, in France, the Style Paqueboat, or Ocean Liner style. Buildings in the style were had rounded corners, long horizontal lines; they were built of reinforced concrete, and were almost always white; and sometimes had nautical features, such as railings that resembled those on a ship. The rounded corner was not entirely new; it had appeared in Berlin in 1923 in the Mossehaus by Erich Mendelsohn, and later in the Hoover Building, an industrial complex in the London suburb of Perivale. In the United States, it became most closely associated with transport; Streamline moderne was rare in office buildings, but was often used for bus stations and airport terminals, such as terminal at La Guardia airport in New York City that handled the first transatlantic flights, via the PanAm clipper flying boats; and in roadside architecture, such as gas stations and diners. In the late 1930s a series of diners, modeled after streamlined railroad cars, were produced and installed in towns in New England; at least two examples still remain and are now registered historic buildings.\n", "\nFile:Fire screen made by Rose Iron Works of Cleveland, 1930.JPG|Iron fireplace screen, Rose Iron Works, Cleveland (1930)\nFile:Elevator doors of Chrysler Building (1927-30).jpg|Elevator doors of the Chrysler Building, by William Van Alen (1927–30)\nFile:MilwaukeeGasLightBuilding architecturaldetails.jpg|Sunrise motif from the Wisconsin Gas Building (1930)\nFile:Oakland Paramount facade mosaic detail 2.jpg|Detail of mosaic facade of Paramount Theater (Oakland, California) (1931)\nFile:Fresque façade Palais de la Porte Dorée 10.JPG|Bas-relief on the facade of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris, showing the people of French colonies (1931)\n\nDecoration in the Art Deco period went through several distinct phases. Between 1910 and 1920, as Art Nouveau was exhausted, design styles saw a return to tradition, particularly in the work of Paul Iribe. In 1912 André Vera published an essay in the magazine ''L'Art Décoratif'' calling for a return to the craftsmanship and materials of earlier centuries, and using a new repertoire of forms taken from nature, particularly baskets and garlands of fruit and flowers. A second tendency of Art Deco, also from 1910 to 1920, was inspired by the bright colors of the artistic movement known as the Fauves and by the colorful costumes and sets of the Ballets Russes. This style was often expressed with exotic materials such as sharkskin, mother of pearl, ivory, tinted leather, lacquered and painted wood, and decorative inlays on furniture that emphasized its geometry. This period of the style reached its high point in the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts. In the late 1920s and the 1930s, the decorative style changed, inspired by new materials and technologies. It became sleeker and less ornamental. Furniture, like architecture, began to have rounded edges and to take on a polished, streamlined look, taken from the streamline moderne style. New materials, such as chrome-plated steel, aluminum and bakelite, an early form of plastic, began to appear in furniture and decoration.\n\nThroughout the Art Deco period, and particularly in the 1930s, the motifs of the decor expressed the function of the building. Theaters were decorated with sculpture which illustrated music, dance, and excitement; power companies showed sunrises, the Chrysler building showed stylized hood ornaments; The friezes of Palais de la Porte Dorée at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition showed the faces of the different nationalities of French colonies. The Streamline style made it appear that the building itself was in motion. The WPA murals of the 1930s featured ordinary people; factory workers, postal workers, families and farmers, in place of classical heroes.\n", "\nFile:Paul follot, sedia, parigi 1914-16 ca.JPG|Chair by Paul Follot (1912–14)\nFile:Art Deco chair and screen (1912 and 1920).jpg|Armchair by Louis Süe (1912) and painted screen by André Mare (1920)\nFile:Art Deco dressing table (1919-20).jpg|Dressing table and chair of marble and encrusted, lacquered, and glided wood by Paul Follot (1919-1920\nFile:Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (French, 1879-1933). Corner Cabinet, ca. 1923..jpg|Corner cabinet of Mahogany with rose basket design of inlaid ivory by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1923)\nFile:J.-E. Ruhlmann au Musée des Années 30 (Boulogne-Billancourt) (2132077838).jpg|Cabinet by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1926)\nFile:Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) (5469658728).jpg|Cabinet design by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann\nFile:André Groult, cassettone antropomorphe, parigi, 1925 ca..JPG|Cabinet covered with shagreen or sharkskin, by André Groult (1925)\nFile:Gio ponti ed emilio lancia, sala da pranzo 'domus nova', 1927, 02.JPG|Furniture by Gio Ponti (1927)\nFile:Desk of Adminiistrator Michel Roux-Spitz 1930.jpg|Desk of an administrator, by Michel Roux-Spitz for the 1930 Salon of Decorative Artists\nFile:Fauteuil jazzclub.jpg|An Art Deco club chair (1930s)\nFile:\"La Maison Leleu\" au Musée des Années 30 (Boulogne-Billancourt) (2132078468).jpg|Late Art Deco furniture and rug by Jules Leleu (1930s)\n\nFrench furniture from 1910 until the early 1920s was largely an updating of French traditional furniture styles, and the art nouveau designs of Louis Majorelle, Charles Plumet and other manufacturers. French furniture manufacturers felt threatened by the growing popularity of German manufacturers and styles, particularly the Biedermeier style, which was simple and clean-lined. The French designer Frantz Jourdain, the President of the Paris Salon d'Automne, invited designers from Munich to participate in the 1910 Salon. French designers saw the new German style, and decided to meet the German challenge. The French designers decided to present new French styles in the Salon of 1912. The rules of the Salon indicated that only modern styles would be permitted. All of the major French furniture designers took part in Salon: Paul Follot, Paul Iribe, Maurice Dufrene, André Groult, André Mare and Louis Süe took part, presenting new works that updated the traditional French styles of Louis XVI and Louis Philippe with more angular corners inspired by Cubism and brighter colors inspired by Fauvism and the Nabis.\n\nThe painter André Mare and furniture designer Louis Suë both participated the 1912 Salon. After the War the two men joined together to form their own company, formally called the ''Compagnie des Arts Française'', but usually known simply as Suë and Mare. Unlike the prominent art nouveau designers like Louis Majorelle, who personally designed every piece, they assembled a team of skilled craftsmen and produced complete interior designs, including furniture, glassware, carpets, ceramics, wallpaper and lighting. Their work featured bright colors and furniture and fine woods, such ebony encrusted with mother of pearl, abalone and silvered metal to create bouquets of flowers. They designed everything from the interiors of ocean liners to perfume bottles for the label of Jean Patou.The firm prospered in the early 1920s, but the two men were better craftsmen than businessmen. The firm was sold in 1928, and both men left.\n\nThe most prominent furniture designer at the 1925 Decorative Arts Exposition was Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, from Alsace. He first exhibited his works at the 1913 Autumn Salon, then had his own pavilion, the \"House of the Rich Collector\", at the 1925 Exposition. He used only most rare and expensive materials, including ebony, mahogany, rosewood, ambon and other exotic woods, decorated with inlays of ivory, tortoise shell, mother of pearl, Little pompoms of silk decorated the handles of drawers of the cabinets. His furniture was based upon 18th century models, but simplified and reshaped. In all of his work, the interior structure of the furniture was completely concealed. The framework usually of oak, was completely covered with an overlay of thin strips of wood, then covered by a second layer of strips of rare and expensive woods. This was then covered with a veneer and polished, so that the piece looked as if it had been cut out of a single block of wood. Contrast to the dark wood was provided by inlays of ivory, and ivory key plates and handles. According to Ruhlmann, armchairs had to be designed differently according to the functions of the rooms where they appeared; living room armchairs were designed to be welcoming, office chairs comfortable, and salon chairs voluptuous. Only a small number of pieces of each design of furniture was made, and the average price of one of his beds or cabinets was greater than the price of an average house.\n\nJules Leleu was a traditional furniture designer who moved smoothly into Art Deco in the 1920s; he designed the furniture for the dining room of the Elysee Palace, and for the first-class cabins of the steamship ''Normandie''. his style was characterized by the use of ebony, Macassar wood, walnut, with decoration of plaques of ivory and mother of pearl. He introduced the style of lacquered art deco furniture at the end of in the late 1920s, and in the late 1930s introduced furniture made of metal with panels of smoked glass. In Italy, the designer Gio Ponti was famous for his streamlined designs. In the United States,\n\nThe costly and exotic furniture Ruhlmann and other traditionalists infuriated modernists, including the architect Le Corbusier, causing him to write a famous series of articles denouncing the ''arts décoratif'' style. He attacked furniture made only for the rich, and called upon designers to create furniture made with inexpensive materials and modern style, which ordinary people could afford. He designed his own chairs, created to be inexpensive and mass-produced.\n\nIn the 1930s, furniture designs adapted to the form, with smoother surfaces and curved forms. The masters of the late style included Donald Deskey was one of the most influential designers; he created the interior of the Radio City Music Hall. He used a mixture of traditional and very modern materials, including aluminum, chrome, and bakelite, an early form of plastic.\n", "\nFile:Philips 930.jpg|Philips Art Deco radio set (1931)\nFile:SLNSW 22573 Chrysler Airflow.jpg|Chrysler Airflow sedan, designed by Carl Breer (1934)\nFile:SS Normandie (ship, 1935) interior.jpg|Grand dining room of the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'' (1935), bas-reliefs by Raymond Delamarre\nFile:Bugatti Aérolithe AV.jpg|Bugatti Aérolithe (1936)\nFile:Lurelle Guild. Vacuum Cleaner, ca. 1937..jpg|Electrolux Vacuum cleaner (1937)\nFile:NY Worlds' Fair streamlined Hudson LC-G613-T01-35339 DLC.jpg|Streamlined railroad locomotive (1939)\n\n\n\nStreamline was a variety of Art Deco which emerged during the mid-1930s. It was influenced by modern aerodynamic principles developed for aviation and ballistics to reduce air friction at high velocities. The bullet shapes were applied by designers to cars, trains, ships, and even objects not intended to move, such as refrigerators, gas pumps, and buildings. One of the first production vehicles in this style was the Chrysler Airflow of 1933. It was unsuccessful commercially, but the beauty and functionality of its design set a precedent; meant modernity. It continued to be used in car design well after World War II.\n\nNew industrial materials began to influence design of cars and household objects. These included aluminum, chrome, and bakelite, an early form of plastic. Bakelite could be easily molded into different forms, and soon was used in telephones, radios and other appliances.\n\nOcean liners also adopted a style of Art Deco, known in French as the ''Style Paquebot'', or \"Ocean Liner Style\". The most famous example was the SS ''Normandie'', which made its first transatlantic trip in 1935. It was designed particularly to bring wealthy Americans to Paris to shop. The cabins and salons featured the latest Art Deco furnishings and decoration. The Grand Salon of the ship, which was the restaurant for first-class passengers, was bigger than the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles. It was illuminated by electric lights within twelve pillars of Lalique crystal; thirty-six matching pillars lined the walls. This was one of the earliest examples of illumination being directly integrated into architecture. The style of ships was soon adapted to buildings. A notable example is found on the San Francisco waterfront, where the Maritime Museum building, built as a public bath in 1937, resembles a ferryboat, with ship railings and rounded corners. The Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong also used a variation of the style.\n", "\nFile:Art Deco bracelet (1925) Museum of Decorative Arts.jpg|Art Deco bracelet of gold, coral and jade (1925) (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris)\nFile:Art Deco glass pendants Rene Lalique.jpg|René Lalique (1925–30), molded glass pendants on silk cords\nFile:Art Deco buckle (1925).jpg|Boucheron (1925), a gold buckle set with diamonds and carved onyx, lapis lazuli, jade, and coral\nCartier 3526707735 f4583fda9a.jpg|Cartier, (1930), ''Mackay Emerald Necklace'', emerald, diamond and platinum, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA\n\nIn the 1920s and 1930s, designers including René Lalique and Cartier tried reduce the traditional dominance of diamonds by introducing more colorful gemstones, such as small emeralds, rubies and sapphires. They also placed greater emphasis on very elaborate and elegant settings, featuring less-expensive materials such as enamel, glass, horn and ivory. Diamonds themselves were cut in less traditional forms; the 1925 Exposition saw a large number of diamonds cut in the form of tiny rods or matchsticks. The settings for diamonds also changed; More and more often jewelers used platinum instead of gold, since it was strong and flexible, and could set clusters of stones. Jewelers also began to use more dark materials, such as enamels and black onyx, which provided a higher contrast with diamonds.\n\nJewelry became much more colorful and varied in style. Cartier and the firm of Boucheron combined diamonds with colorful other gemstones cut into the form of leaves, fruit or flowers. to make brooches, rings, earrings, clips and pendants Far Eastern themes also became popular; plaques of jade and coral were combined with platinum and diamonds, and vanity cases, cigarette cases and powder boxes were decorated with Japanese and Chinese landscapes made with mother of pearl, enamel and lacquer.\n\nRapidly changing fashions in clothing brought new styles of jewelry. Sleeveless dresses of the 1920s meant that arms needed decoration, and designers quickly created bracelets of gold, silver and platinum encrusted with lapis-lazuli, onyx, coral, and other colorful stones; Other bracelets were intended for the upper arms, and several bracelets were often worn at the same time. The short haircuts of women in the twenties called for elaborate deco earring designs. As women began to smoke in public, designers created very ornate cigarette cases and ivory cigarette holders. The invention of the wrist-watch before World War I inspired jewelers to create extraordinary decorated watches, encrusted with diamonds and plated with enamel, gold and silver. Pendant watches, hanging from a ribbon, also became fashionable.\n\nThe established jewelry houses of Paris in the period, Cartier, Chaumet, Georges Fouquet, Mauboussin, and Van Cleef & Arpels all created jewellry and objects in the new fashion. The firm of Chaumet made highly geometric cigarette boxes, cigarette lighters, pillboxes and notebooks, made of hard stones decorated with jade, lapis lazuli, diamonds and sapphires. They were joined by many young new designers, each with his own idea of deco. Raymond Templier designed pieces with highly intricate geometric patterns, including silver earrings that looked like skyscrapers. Gerard Sandoz was only 18 when he started to design jewelry in 1921; he designed many celebrated pieces based on the smooth and polished look of modern machinery. The glass designer René Lalique also entered the field, creating pendants of fruit, flowers, frogs, fairies of mermaids made of sculpted glass in bright colors, hanging on cords of silk with tassels. The jeweler Paul Brandt contrasted rectangular and triangular patterns, and embedded pearls in lines on onyx plaques. Jean Despres made necklaces of contrasting colors by bringing together silver and black lacquer, or gold with lapis lazuli. Many of his designs looked like highly polished pieces of machines. Jean Dunand was also inspired by modern machinery, combined with bright reds and blacks contrasting with polished metal.\n", "\nFile:'Oiseau de Feu' made by René Lalique, Dayton Art Institute.JPG|''The Firebird'' by René Lalique (1922)\nFile:Vase (Perruches) by René Jules Lalique, 1922, blown four mold glass - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04355.JPG|''Parrot'' vase by René Lalique (1922)\nFile:Vase aux raisins.jpg|A Daum vase with sculpted grapes (1925)\nFile:Vitraux Louis Majorelle, Grands Bureaux des Aciéries de Longwy 03.jpg|Window for a steel mill office by Louis Majorelle (1928)\nFile:Vase des années 30 (musée des arts décoratifs) (4782889920).jpg|Daum vase (1930–35)\n\nLike the Art Nouveau period before it, Art Deco was an exceptional period for fine glass and other decorative objects, designed to fit their architectural surroundings. The most famous producer of glass objects was René Lalique, whose works, from vases to hood ornaments for automobiles, became symbols of the period. He had made ventures into glass before World War I, designing bottles for the perfumes of François Coty, but he did not begin serious production of art glass until after World War I. In 1918, at the age of 58, he bought a large glass works in Combs-la-Ville and began to manufacture both artistic and practical glass objects. He treated glass as a form of sculpture, and created statuettes, vases, bowls, lamps and ornaments. He used demi-crystal rather than lead crystal, which was softer and easier to form, though not as lustrous. He sometimes used colored glass, but more often used opalescent glass, where part or the whole of the outer surface was stained with a wash. Lalique provided the decorative glass panels, lights and illuminated glass ceilings for the ocean liners SS ''Ile de France'' in 1927 and the SS ''Normandie'' in 1935, and for some of the first-class sleeping cars of the French railroads. At the 1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts, he had his own pavilion, designed a dining room with a table settling and matching glass ceiling for the Sèvres Pavilion, and designed a glass fountain for the courtyard of the Cours des Métier, a slender glass column which spouted water from the sides and was illuminated at night.\n\nOther notable Art Deco glass manufacturers included Marius-Ernest Sabino, who specialized in figurines, vases, bowls, and glass sculptures of fish, nudes, and animals. For these he often used an opalescent glass which could change from white to blue to amber, depending upon the light. His vases and bowls featured molded friezes of animals, nudes or busts of women with fruit or flowers. His work was less subtle but more colorful than that of Lalique.\n\nOther notable Deco glass designers included Edmond Etling, who also used bright opalescent colors, often with geometric patterns and sculpted nudes; Albert Simonet, and Aristide Colotte and Maurice Marinot, who was known for his deeply etched sculptural bottles and vases. The firm of Daum from the city of Nancy, which had been famous for its Art Nouveau glass, produced a line of Deco vases and glass sculpture, solid, geometric and chunky in form. More delicate multicolored works were made by Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, who produced delicately colored vases with sculpted butterflies and nymphs, and Francois Decorchemont, whose vases were streaked and marbled.\n\nThe Great Depression ruined a large part of the decorative glass industry, which depended upon wealthy clients. Some artists turned to designing stained glass windows for churches. In 1937, the Steuben glass company began the practice of commissioning famous artists to produce glassware. Louis Majorelle, famous for his Art Nouveau furniture, designed a remarkable Art Deco stained glass window portraying steel workers for the offices of the Aciéries de Longwy, a steel mill in Longwy, France.\n", "\nFile:Art Deco fireplace grill.jpg|A grill with two wings called \"The Pheasants\", made by Paul Kiss and displayed at the 1925 Exposition of Decorative and Industrial Arts\nFile:Art Deco screen \"Oasis\" 1925.jpg|Iron and copper grill called \"Oasis\" by Edgar Brandt, displayed at the 1925 Paris Exposition\nFile:Grilles de l'entresol, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris 2013.jpg|Metal grilles in the lobby of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris by Raymond Subes (1931)\nFile:Norman Bel Geddes. Cocktail Set. 1937..jpg|Cocktail set of chrome-plated steel by Norman Bel Geddes (1937)\n\nArt Deco artists produced a wide variety of practical objects in the Art Deco style, made of industrial materials from traditional wrought iron to chrome-plated steel. The American artist Norman Bel Geddes designed a cocktail set resembling a skyscraper made of chrome-plated steel. Raymond Subes designed an elegant metal grille for the entrance of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the centerpiece of the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition. The French sculptor Jean Dunand produced magnificent doors on the theme \"The Hunt\", covered with gold leaf and paint on plaster (1935).\n", "Art Deco architecture began in Europe, but by 1939 there were examples in large cities on every continent and in almost every country. This is a selection of prominent buildings on each continent. (For a comprehensive of existing buildings by country, see List of Art Deco architecture.)\n\n===Africa===\n\n\nFile:Asmara, cinema impero, 07.JPG|Cinema Impero in Asmara, Eritrea (1937)\nFile:Fiat tagliero, 08.JPG|Fiat Tagliero Building in Asmara, Eritrea by Giuseppe Pettazzi (1938)\nFile:La Cathédrale de Rabat.jpg|St. Peter's Cathedral in Rabat, Morocco (1938)\n\nMost Art Deco buildings in Africa were built during European colonial rule, and often designed by Italian and French architects.\n\n===Asia===\n\n\nFile:NewIndiaAssuranceBdg.jpg|New India Assurance Building in Mumbai, India (1936)\nFile:Broadway Mansions pic 1.jpg|Broadway Mansions in Shanghai, China (1934)\nFile:Capitol Theater Tower.jpg|Capitol Theater in Manila, Philippines by Juan Nakpil (1935)\nFile:Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg|National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan (1936)\nFile:Jaarbeurs.JPG|Kologdam Building in Bandung, Indonesia (1920)\nFile:Le marché central (Phnom-Penh) (6847539946).jpg|The Central Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1937)\nFile:Ankara Train Station.JPG|Ankara railway station in Ankara, Turkey (1937)\n\n\nA large number of the Art Deco buildings in Asia were designed by European architects, but in the Philippines local architect Juan Nakpil was preeminent. Many art deco landmarks in Asia were demolished during the great economic expansion of Asia the late 20th century, but some notable enclaves of the architecture still remain, particularly in Shanghai and Mumbai.\n\n===Central America and the Caribbean===\n\n\nFile:Bacardi Building.jpg|The Bacardi Building in Havana, Cuba (1930)\nFile:HotelNacionaldeCuba.jpg|The Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana, Cuba (1930)\nFile:Havana Art Deco (8703599920).jpg|Havana art deco building\nFile:IMG 2684 - Plaza del Mercado Isabel II in Ponce, PR.jpg|The Plaza del Mercado de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico (1941)\n\nArt Deco buildings can be found throughout Central America. A particularly rich collection is found in Cuba, built largely for the large number of tourists who came to the island from the United States.\n\n===South America===\n\n\nFile:Elevador Lacerda dia.jpg|Lacerda Elevator in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (1930)\nFile:Edifício do Banespa.jpg|Altino Arantes Building, in São Paulo, Brazil (1947)\nFile:Predio do Mappin by Deni Williams.jpg|João Bricola building in São Paulo, Brazil\nFile:Viaduto do Chá - \"Viaduto do Chá\" viaduct (9630396439).jpg|Viaduto do Chá, São Paulo, Brazil (1938)\nFile:Estação Central do Brasil.jpg|Central do Brasil Station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1943)\nFile:Kavanagh building.jpg|Kavanagh building in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1934)\nFile:Palacio Municipal de Laprida, vista desde la plaza.JPG|Palacio Municipal and fountain, Laprida, Buenos Aires, Argentina\n\nThe Art Deco in South America is present especially at the countries that received a great wave of immigration on the first half of the 20th century, with notable works at their richest cities, like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina.The Kavanagh building in Buenos Aires (1934), by Sánchez, Lagos and de la Torre, was the tallest reinforced concrete structure when it was completed, and a notable example of late Art Deco style.\n\n===Europe===\n\n\n\nFile:Theatre-des-champs-elysees-.jpg|Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France (1910–13)\nFile:Berlin, Mitte, Schuetzenstrasse, Mosse-Zentrum 05.jpg|The Mossehaus with Art Deco elements by Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin, Germany (c.1923)\nFile:Basilica_of_the_Sacred_Heart,_Brussels_(1).jpg|Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels, Belgium (1925)\nFile:Éden teatro - Avenida dos Restauradores.jpg|Éden Theater in Lisbon, Portugal (1931)\nFile:Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus (aut. A. Užbalis).jpg|Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania (1936)\nFile:Moscow Metro Station platform.JPG|Mayakovskaya Station in Moscow, Russia (1938)\nFile:Porto Teatro Rivoli 4.JPG|Rivoli Theater in Porto, Portugal (1937)\nFile:Express Building Manchester.jpg|Daily Express Building in Manchester, UK (1939)\n\nThe architectural style first appeared in Paris with the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–13) by Auguste Perret but then spread rapidly around Europe, until examples could be found in nearly every large city, from London to Moscow. In Germany two variations of Art Deco flourished in the 1920s and 30s: The Neue Sachlichkeit style and Expressionist architecture. Notable examples include Erich Mendelsohn's Mossehaus and Schaubühne theater in Berlin, Fritz Höger's Chilehaus in Hamburg and his Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz in Berlin, the Anzeiger Tower in Hannover and the Borsig Tower in Berlin.\n\nOne of the largest Art Deco buildings in Western Europe is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, Brussels. In 1925, architect Albert van Huffel won the Grand Prize for Architecture with his scale model of the basilica at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.\n\nSpain and Portugal have some striking examples of Art Deco buildings, particularly movie theaters. Examples in Portugal are the Capitólio Theater (1931) and the Éden Cine-Theater (1937) in Lisbon, the Rivoli Theater (1937) and the Coliseu (1941) in Porto and the Rosa Damasceno Theater (1937) in Santarém. An example in Spain is the Cine Rialto in Valencia (1939).\n\nDuring the 1930s, Art Deco had a noticeable effect on house design in the United Kingdom, as well as the design of various public buildings. Straight, white-rendered house frontages rising to flat roofs, sharply geometric door surrounds and tall windows, as well as convex-curved metal corner windows, were all characteristic of that period.\n\nThe London Underground is famous for many examples of Art Deco architecture, and there are a number of buildings in the style situated along the Golden Mile in Brentford. Also in West London is the Hoover Building, which was originally built for The Hoover Company and was converted into a superstore in the early 1990s.\n\n===Canada, Mexico, and the United States===\n\n\nFile:Edifice Price.jpg|The Price Building in Quebec City, Canada (1930)\nFile:Vancouver City Hall.jpg|Vancouver City Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1935)\nFile:PBADFCeiling.JPG|Interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Mexico (1934)\nBarclay-Vesey Building 140 West Street.jpg|The Verizon Building in New York City, US (1923–27)\nFile:Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, NY - IMG 3740.JPG|Buffalo City Hall in Buffalo, US (1931)\nFile:Bullocks Wilshire.jpg|Bullocks Wilshire in Los Angeles, US (1929)\nFile:Louisiana State Capitol Top.jpg|Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, US (1930–32)\nFile:Jefferson County Courthouse, Texas.jpg|Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont, US (1931)\n\nIn Canada Art Deco structures that survive are mainly in the major cities; Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, and Vancouver. They range from public buildings like Vancouver City Hall to commercial buildings (College Park) to public works (R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant).\n\nIn Mexico, the most imposing Art Deco example is interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), finished in 1934 with its elaborate decor and murals. Examples of Art Deco residential architecture can be found in the Condesa neighborhood, many designed by Francisco J. Serrano.\n\nIn the United States, Art Deco buildings are found from coast to coast, in all the major cities. It was most widely used for office buildings, train stations, airport terminals, and movie theaters; residential buildings are rare. In the 1930s, the more austere streamline style became popular. Many buildings were demolished between 1945 and the late 1960s, but then efforts began to protect the best examples. The City of Miami Beach established the Miami Beach Architectural District to preserve the colorful collection of Art Deco buildings found there.\n\n===Australia and New Zealand===\n\n\nFile:Manchester Unity Building.jpg|Manchester Unity Building in Melbourne (1932)\nImage:Napier-SoundShell.jpg|Sound Shell (1931) in Napier, New Zealand at night\nFile:ANZAC War Memorial.jpg|ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney (1934)\n\nMelbourne and Sydney Australia have several notable Art Deco buildings, including the Manchester Unity Building and the former Russell Street Police Headquarters in Melbourne, the Castlemaine Art Museum in Castlemaine, central Victoria and the Grace Building, AWA Tower and ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney. \n\nSeveral towns in New Zealand, including Napier and Hastings were rebuilt in Art Deco style after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, and many of the buildings have been protected and restored. Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated. Wellington has retained a sizeable number of Art Deco buildings.\n", "\nFile:Delano National MiamiBeach.JPG|The Miami Beach Architectural District protects historic Art Deco buildings\nFile:U-Drop Inn.jpg|The U-Drop Inn, a roadside gas station and diner on U.S. Highway 66 in Shamrock, Texas (1936), now an historic monument\nFile:Havana Art Deco (8862331012).jpg|Art deco neighborhood in Havana, Cuba\nFile:Smithcenterlv.jpg|Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, a Neo-Art Deco building (2012))\n\nIn many cities, efforts have been made to protect the remaining Art Deco buildings. In many U.S. cities, historic art deco movie theaters have been preserved and turned into cultural centers. Even more modest art deco buildings have been preserved as part of America's architectural heritage; an art deco cafe and gas station along Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas is an historic monument. The Miami Beach Architectural District protects several hundred old buildings, and requires that new buildings comply with the style. In Havana, Cuba, a large number of Art Deco buildings have badly deteriorated. Efforts are underway to bring the buildings back to their original color and appearance.\n\nIn the 21st century, modern variants of Art Deco, called Neo Art Deco, have appeared in some American cities, inspired by the classic Art Deco buildings of the 1920s and 1930s. Examples include the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, which includes art deco features from Hoover Dam, fifty miles away, and from the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, an art deco landmark built in 1936.\n", "\n\n\n\nFile:1941 Packard 180 Formal Sedan.jpg|1941 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Formal sedan\nFile:PRR S1.jpg|Pennsylvania RR's S-1 locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, at the 1939 New York World's Fair\nFile:Arnaldo Dell'Ira (1903-1943), lampada a grattacielo, 1929.jpg|\"Skyscraper Lamp\" designed by Arnaldo dell'Ira, 1929\nFile:HHLorain-pylon2.jpg|''Guardians of Traffic'' pylon on Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland (1932)\nFile:Municipal Auditorium art deco chandelier.jpg|Municipal Auditorium of Kansas City, Missouri: Hoit Price & Barnes, and Gentry, Voskamp & Neville, 1935\nFile:DontKillWildlifeWPA1940.jpg|U.S. Works Progress Administration poster, John Wagner, artist, ca. 1940\nFile:Beau Brownie.jpg|\"Beau Brownie\" camera, Walter Dorwin Teague 1930 design for Eastman Kodak\nFile:HotelEdenTagSmCrop.jpg|Former Teatro Eden, now Aparthotel Vip Eden in Lisbon, Portugal: Cassiano Branco and Carlo Florencio Dias, 1931\nFile:Duofold Desk Set.jpg|Parker Duofold desk set, c.1930\nFile:Cord 812 1937.jpg|1937 Cord automobile model 812, designed in 1935 by Gordon M. Buehrig and staff\nFile:Mexican art deco.jpg|Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Federico Mariscal, completed 1934\nFile:Paramount Ladies Lounge.jpg|Women's Smoking Room at the Paramount Theatre, Oakland. Timothy L. Pflueger, architect, 1931\nFile:US 853.jpg|U.S. postage stamp commemorating the 1939 New York World's Fair, 1939\nFile:Rytm2.jpg|Henryk Kuna, ''Rytm'' (\"Rhythm\"), in Skaryszewski Park, Warsaw, Poland, 1925\nFile:Snowdon Theatre (Montreal).jpg|Disused Snowdon Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened 1937, closed 1984. Daniel J. Crighton, architect\nFile:Cincimuseum.jpg|Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio; Paul Philippe Cret, Alfred T. Fellheimer, Steward Wagner, Roland Wank, 1933\nFile:Empire State Lobby-27527.jpg|Lobby, Empire State Building, New York City. William F. Lamb, opened 1931\nFile:WPAMilkPoster1940.jpg|Federal Art Project poster promoting milk drinking in Cleveland, 1940\nFile:Eaton's College Street Store Toronto Canada - 7th Floor Lobby Sketch.jpg|Interior drawing, Eaton's College Street department store, Toronto, Ontario, Canada\nFile:Niagara Mohawk Bldg (Syracuse, NY).jpg|Niagara Mohawk Building, Syracuse, New York. Melvin L. King and Bley & Lyman, architects, completed 1932\n\n", "\n\n* Art Deco jewelry (1915–1935)\n* Roaring Twenties\n* 1920s in Western fashion\n* Annees folles\n* 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress\n* 1936 Fair Park built for Texas Centennial Exposition\n* Art Deco stamps\n* Paris architecture of the Belle Époque\n* Paris between the Wars (1919–1939)\n* Socialist realism, the Soviet version of Art Deco architecture.\n\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n\n* Art Deco Miami Beach\n* Art Deco Montreal\n* Art Deco Society of Washington\n* Art Deco Society of California\n* Art Deco Rio de Janeiro\n* Art Deco Shanghai\n* Art Deco Museum in Moscow\n* Art Deco Society New York\n* Art Deco Society of Los Angeles\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Naming", "Origins", "Influences", "Style of luxury and modernity", "International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (1925)", "Skyscrapers", "Late Art Deco", "Painting", "Sculpture", "Graphic arts", "Architecture", "Decoration and motifs", "Furniture", " Design ", "Jewelry", " Glass art ", "Metal art", "Art Deco architecture around the world", "Preservation and Neo Art Deco", "Gallery", "See also", "References", "Bibliography", "External links" ]

[ "This was officially sponsored by the French government, and covered a site in Paris of 55 acres, running from the Grand Palais on the right bank to Les Invalides on the left bank, and along the banks of the Seine." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Art Deco''', sometimes referred to as '''Deco''', is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I.", "Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners.", "It took its name, short for ''Arts Décoratifs'', from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925.", "It combined modernist styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials.", "During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.", "Art Deco was a pastiche of many different styles, sometimes contradictory, united by a desire to be modern.", "From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art.", "It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship.", "The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments of the Art Deco style.", "In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the Art Deco style became more subdued.", "New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic.", "A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s; it featured curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces.", "Art Deco is one of the first truly international styles, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modernism and the International Style of architecture that followed.", "Poster for the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes\nArt Deco took its name, short for ''Arts Décoratifs'', from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925, though the diverse styles that characterize Art Deco had already appeared in Paris and Brussels before World War I.", "The term ''arts décoratifs'' was first used in France in 1858; published in the Bulletin de la Société française de photographie.", "In 1868, ''Le Figaro'' newspaper used the term ''objets d'art décoratifs'' with respect to objects for stage scenery created for the Théâtre de l'Opéra.", "In 1875, furniture designers, textile, jewelry and glass designers and other craftsmen were officially given the status of artists by the French government.", "In response to this, the ''École royale gratuite de dessin'' (Royal Free School of Design) founded in 1766 under King Louis XVI to train artists and artisans in crafts relating to the fine arts, was renamed the National School of Decorative Arts (''l'École nationale des arts décoratifs'').", "It took its present name of ENSAD (''École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs'') in 1927.", "During the 1925 Exposition the architect Le Corbusier wrote a series of articles about the exhibition for his magazine ''L'Esprit Nouveau'' under the title, \"1925 Expo: Arts Déco\" which were combined into a book, \"L'art décoratif d'aujourd'hui\" (Decorative Art Today).", "The book was a spirited attack on the excesses of the colorful and lavish objects at the Exposition; and on the idea that practical objects such as furniture should have any decoration at all; his conclusion was that \"Modern decoration has no decoration\".", "The shorthand title \"Arts Deco\" that Le Corbusier used in the articles and book was adapted in 1966 for title of the first modern exhibit on the subject, called ''Les Années 25 : Art déco, Bauhaus, Stijl, Esprit nouveau'', which covered the variety of major styles in the 1920s and 1930s.", "The term Art déco was then used in a 1966 newspaper article by Hillary Gelson in the Times (London, 12 November), describing the different styles at the exhibit.", "Art Deco gained currency as a broadly applied stylistic label in 1968 when historian Bevis Hillier published the first major academic book on the style: ''Art Deco of the 20s and 30s''.", "Hillier noted that the term was already being used by art dealers and cites ''The Times'' (2 November 1966) and an essay named \"Les Arts Déco\" in ''Elle'' magazine (November 1967) as examples of prior usage.", "In 1971, Hillier organized an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which he details in his book about it, ''The World of Art Deco''.", "\n===Society of Decorative Artists (1901–1913)===\nA fireplace screen by the Symbolist painter Odilon Redon now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (1908)\nThe emergence of Art Deco was closely connected with the rise in status of decorative artists, who until late in the 19th century had been considered simply as artisans.", "The term \"arts décoratifs\" had been invented in 1875, giving the designers of furniture, textiles, and other decoration official status.", "The Société des artistes décorateurs (Society of decorative artists), or SAD, was founded in 1901, and decorative artists were given the same rights of authorship as painters and sculptors.", "A similar movement developed in Italy.", "The first international exhibition devoted entirely to the decorative arts, the ''Esposizione international d'Arte decorative moderna'' , was held in Turin in 1902.", "Several new magazines devoted to decorative arts were founded in Paris, including ''Arts et décoration'' and ''L'Art décoratif moderne''.", "Decorative arts sections were introduced into the annual salons of the Sociéte des artistes français, and later in the'' Salon d'automne''.", "French nationalism also played a part in the resurgence of decorative arts; French designers felt challenged by the increasing exports of less expensive German furnishings.", "In 1911, the SAD proposed the holding of a major new international exposition of decorative arts in 1912.", "No copies of old styles were to be permitted; only modern works.", "The exhibit was postponed until 1914, then, because of the war, postponed until 1925, when it gave its name to the whole family of styles known as Déco.", "The Paris department stores and fashion designers also played an important part in the rise of Art Déco.", "Established firms including the luggage maker Louis Vuitton silverware firm Christofle, glass designer René Lalique, and the jewelers Louis Cartier and Boucheron, who all began designing products in more modern styles.", "Beginning in 1900, the Department stores had recruited decorative artists to work in their design studios.", "The decoration of the 1912 Salon d'Automne had been entrusted to the department store Printemps.", "During the same year Printemps created its own workshop called \"Primavera\".", "By 1920 Primavera employed more than three hundred artists.", "The styles ranged from the updated versions of Louis XIV, Louis XVI and especially Louis Philippe furniture made by Louis Süe and the Primavera workshop to more modern forms from the workshop of the Au Louvre department store.", "Other designers, including Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Paul Foliot refused to use mass production, and insisted that each piece be made individually by hand.", "The early art deco style featured luxurious and exotic materials such as ebony, and ivory and silk, very bright colors and stylized motifs, particularly baskets and bouquets of flowers of all colors, giving a modernist look.", "===Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–1913)===\n\n\"La Danse\", bas-relief dAntoine Bourdelle (Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris) (3713880263).jpg|Antoine Bourdelle, ''La Danse'', facade of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris (1912)\nFile:Théâtre des Champs-Élysées DSC09330.jpg|Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, by Auguste Perret, 15 avenue Montaigne, Paris, (1910–13).", "Reinforced concrete gave architects the ability to create new forms and bigger spaces.", "File:Theatre Champs Elysees 35.jpg|Interior of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, with Bourdelle bas-reliefs over the stage\nFile:Plafond du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.jpg|Dome of the Theater, with Art-Deco rose design by Maurice Denis\n\nThe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–1913), by Auguste Perret was the first landmark Art Deco building completed in Paris.", "Previously reinforced concrete had been used only for industrial and apartment buildings, Perret had built the first modern reinforced concrete apartment building in Paris on rue Benjamin Franklin in 1903-04.", "Henri Sauvage, another important future Art Deco architect, built another in 1904 at 7 rue Trétaigne (1904).", "From 1908 to 1910, the 21-year old Le Corbusier worked as a draftsman in Perret's office, learning the techniques of concrete construction.", "Perret's building had clean rectangular form, geometric decoration and straight lines, the future trademarks of Art Deco.", "The decor of the theater was also revolutionary; the facade was decorated with plaques of Art Deco sculpture by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, paintings by Édouard Vuillard, and an Art Deco curtain Ker-Xavier Roussel.", "The theater became famous as the venue for many of the first performances of the Ballets Russes.", "Perret and Sauvage became the leading Art Deco architects in Paris in the 1920s.", "===Salon d'Automne (1912–1913)===\n\nFile:Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov) 02 by L. Bakst 2.jpg|Set design for ''Sheherazade'' (1910) by Leon Bakst\nFile:Art Deco table, chairs, carpet.jpg|Table and chairs by Maurice Dufrene and carpet by Paul Follot at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs\nFile:Art Deco Armchair.jpg|Art Deco armchair made for art collector Jacques Doucet (1912–13)\nFile:Display at Salon D'Automne (1913).jpg|Display of early Art Deco furnishings by the Atelier Français at the 1913 Salon d'Automne from ''Art et décoration'' magazine (1914)\n\n\nAt its birth between 1910 and 1914, Art Deco was an explosion of colors, featuring bright and often clashing hues, frequently in floral designs, presented in furniture upholstery, carpets, screens, wallpaper and fabrics.", "Many colorful works, including chairs and a table by Maurice Dufrene and a bright Gobelin carpet by Paul Follot were presented at the 1912 Salon des artistes décorateurs.", "In 1912–1913 designer Alfred Karbowsky made a floral chair with a parrot design for the hunting lodge of art collector Jacques Doucet.", "The furniture designers Louis Süe and André Mare made their first appearance at the 1912 exhibit, under the name of the ''Atelier Française,'' combining colorful fabrics with exotic and expensive materials, including ebony and ivory.", "After World War I they became one of the most prominent French interior design firms, producing the furniture for the first-class salons and cabins of the French transatlantic ocean liners.", "The vivid colors of Art Deco came from many sources, including the exotic set designs by Leon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, which caused a sensation in Paris just before World War I.", "Some of the colors were inspired by the earlier Fauvism movement led by Henri Matisse; others by the Orphism of painters such as Sonia Delaunay; others by the movement known as the Nabis, and in the work of symbolist painter Odilon Redon, who designed fireplace screens and other decorative objects.", "Bright colors were a feature of the work of fashion designer Paul Poiret, whose work influenced both Art Deco fashion and interior design.", "===Cubist House (1912)===\n\n\nFile:Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, Projet d'hôtel, Maquette de la façade de la Maison Cubiste, published in Les Peintres Cubistes, 1913.jpg|Design for the facade of ''La Maison Cubiste'' (''Cubist House'') by Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1912)\nFile:Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, La Maison Cubiste (Cubist House) at the Salon d'Automne, 1912, detail of the entrance.", "Photograph by Duchamp-Villon.jpg|Raymond Duchamp-Villon, 1912, ''La Maison Cubiste'' (''Cubist House'') at the Salon d'Automne, 1912, detail of the entrance\nFile:La Maison Cubiste, Le Salon Bourgeois, Salon d'Automne, 1912, Paris.jpg|''Le Salon Bourgeois'', designed by André Mare inside ''La Maison Cubiste'', in the decorative arts section of the Salon d'Automne, 1912, Paris.", "Metzinger's ''Femme à l'Éventail'' on the left wall\n\n\nJoseph Csaky, 1912, ''Danseuse (Femme à l'éventail, Femme à la cruche)'', original plaster, exhibited at the 1912 Salon d'Automne and the 1914 Salon des Indépendants, a Proto-Art Deco sculpture\nThe art style known as Cubism appeared in France between 1907 and 1912, influencing the development of Art Deco.", "The Cubists, themselves under the influence of Paul Cézanne, were interested in the simplification of forms to their geometric essentials: the cylinder, the sphere, the cone.", "In 1912, the artists of the Section d'Or exhibited works considerably more accessible to the general public than the analytical Cubism of Picasso and Braque.", "The Cubist vocabulary was poised to attract fashion, furniture and interior designers.", "In the 1912 writings of André Vera.", "''Le Nouveau style'', published in the journal ''L'Art décoratif'', he expressed the rejection of Art Nouveau forms (asymmetric, polychrome and picturesque) and called for ''simplicité volontaire, symétrie manifeste, l'ordre et l'harmonie'', themes that would eventually become common within Art Deco; though with time the Deco style was often extremely colorful and anything but simple.", "In the ''Art Décoratif'' section of the 1912 Salon d'Automne, an architectural installation was exhibited known as the ''La Maison Cubiste''.", "The facade was designed by Raymond Duchamp-Villon.", "The decor of the house was by the firm of Louis Süe and André Mare, who had formed a company called the ''Atlelier Français'' in 1912.", "''La Maison Cubiste'' was a furnished installation with a facade, a staircase, wrought iron banisters, a bedroom, a living room—the ''Salon Bourgeois'', where paintings by Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, Marie Laurencin, Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger and Roger de La Fresnaye were hung.", "Thousands of spectators at the salon passed through the full-scale model.", "Jacques Doucet's hôtel particulier, 1927.", "Picasso's ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'' can be seen hanging in the background\nThe facade of the house, designed by Duchamp-Villon, was not very radical by modern standards; the lintels and pediments had prismatic shapes, but otherwise the facade resembled an ordinary house of the period.", "The rooms were furnished by Mare with neo-Louis XVI and Louis-Philippe style chairs and sofas that were updated with more angular features to make hem go with the Cubist paintings.", "The critic Emile Sedeyn described Mare's work in the magazine ''Art et Décoration'': \"He does not embarrass himself with simplicity, for he multiplies flowers wherever they can be put.", "The effect he seeks is obviously one of picturesqueness and gaiety.", "He achieves it.\"", "The Cubist element was provided by the paintings.", "Despite its tameness, the installation was attacked by some critics as extremely radical, which helped make for its success.", "This architectural installation was subsequently exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show, New York, Chicago and Boston.", "Thanks largely to the exhibition, the term \"Cubist\" began to be applied to anything modern, from women's haircuts to clothing to theater performances.", "The Cubist style continued within Art Deco, even as Deco branched out in many other directions.", "In 1927, Cubists Joseph Csaky, Jacques Lipchitz, Louis Marcoussis, Henri Laurens, the sculptor Gustave Miklos, and others collaborated in the decoration of a Studio House, rue Saint-James, Neuilly-sur-Seine, designed by the architect Paul Ruaud and owned by the French fashion designer Jacques Doucet, also a collector of Post-Impressionist art by Henri Matisse and Cubist paintings (including ''Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'', which he bought directly from Picasso's studio).", "Laurens designed the fountain, Csaky designed Doucet's staircase, Lipchitz made the fireplace mantel, and Marcoussis made a Cubist rug.", "Besides the Cubist artists, Doucet brought in other Deco interior designers to help in decorating the house, including Pierre Legrain, who was in charge of organizing the decoration, and Paul Iribe, Marcel Coard, André Groult, Eileen Gray and Rose Adler to provide furniture.", "The decor included massive pieces made of macassar ebony, inspired by African art, and furniture covered with Morocco leather, crocodile skin and snakeskin, and patterns taken from African designs.", "\nFile:George Barbier (1882-1932), Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950), 1913 1.jpg|The exoticism of the Ballets Russes had a strong influence on early Deco.", "A drawing of the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky by Paris fashion artist Georges Barbier (1913)\nFile:Paquin3.jpg|Illustration by Georges Barbier of a gown by Paquin (1914).", "Stylized floral designs and bright colors were a feature of early Art Deco.", "File:Jacques Doucet's hôtel particulier stairs, 33 rue Saint-James, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1929 photograph by Pierre Legrain.jpg|Stairway in the hôtel particulier of fashion designer-art collector Jacques Doucet (1927).", "Design by Joseph Csaky.", "The geometric forms of Cubism had an important influence on Art Deco\n\nFile:450 Sutter St. lobby lights 2.JPG|Lobby of 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger, (1929) inspired by ancient Maya art\n\nFile:Rockefeller Center MAM.JPG|The gilded bronze ''Prometheus'' at Rockefeller Center by Paul Manship (1934), a stylized Art Deco update of classical sculpture (1936)\n\nFile:Art Deco vase Emile Lenoble.jpg|A ceramic vase inspired by motifs of traditional African carved wood sculpture, by Emile Lenoble (1937), Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris\n\n \t\nArt Deco was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles.", "In architecture, Art Deco was the successor to and reaction against Art Nouveau, a style which flourished in Europe between 1895 and 1900, and also gradually replaced the Beaux-Arts and neoclassical that were predominant in European and American architecture.", "In 1905 Eugène Grasset wrote and published ''Méthode de Composition Ornementale, Éléments Rectilignes,'' in which he systematically explored the decorative (ornamental) aspects of geometric elements, forms, motifs and their variations, in contrast with (and as a departure from) the undulating Art Nouveau style of Hector Guimard, so popular in Paris a few years earlier.", "Grasset stressed the principle that various simple geometric shapes like triangles and squares are the basis of all compositional arrangements.", "The reinforced concrete buildings of Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage, and particularly the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, offered a new form of construction and decoration which was copied worldwide.", "In decoration, many different styles were borrowed and used by Art Deco.", "They included pre-modern art from around the world and observable at the Musée du Louvre, Musée de l'Homme and the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie.", "There was also popular interest in archeology due to excavations at Pompeii, Troy, and the tomb of the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun.", "Artists and designers integrated motifs from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Asia, Mesoamerica and Oceania with Machine Age elements.", "Other styles borrowed included Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism, as well as Orphism, Functionalism, and Modernism in general.", "Art Deco also used the clashing colors and designs of Fauvism, notably in the work of Henri Matisse and André Derain, inspired the designs of art deco textiles, wallpaper, and painted ceramics.", "It took ideas from the high fashion vocabulary of the period, which featured geometric designs, chevrons, zigzags, and stylized bouquets of flowers.", "It was influenced by discoveries in Egyptology, and growing interest in the Orient and in African art.", "From 1925 onwards, it was often inspired by a passion for new machines, such as airships, automobiles and ocean liners, and by 1930 this influence resulted in the style called streamline moderne.", "\nFile:Appartement Jeanne Lanvin by Armand-Albert Rateau - boudoir 01.jpg|The boudoir of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin (1922–25) now in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris\nFile:Jeanne Lanvin bath -Museum of Decorative Arts.jpg|Bath of Jeanne Lanvin, of Sienna marble, with decoration of carved stucco and bronze (1922–25)\nFile:Alavoine, Weil-Worgelt Study, ca.", "1928-1930..jpg|An Art Deco study by the Paris design firm of Alavoine, now in the Brooklyn Museum (1928–30)\nFile:Glass Salon by Paul Ruaud and Eileen Gray.jpg|The Glass Salon, designed for Suzanne Talbot by Paul Ruaud, with furniture by Eileen Gray (1932)\n\nArt Deco was associated with both luxury and modernity; it combined very expensive materials and exquisite craftsmanship put into modernistic forms.", "Nothing was cheap about Art Deco: pieces of furniture included ivory and silver inlays, and pieces of Art Deco jewellry combined diamonds with platinum, jade, and other precious materials.", "The style was used to decorate the first-class salons of ocean liners, deluxe trains, and skyscrapers.", "It was used around the world to decorate the great movie palaces of the late 1920s and 1930s.", "Later, after the Great Depression, the style changed and became more sober.", "A good example of the luxury style of Art Deco is the boudoir of the fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin, designed by Armand-Albert Rateau (1882-1938) made between 1922-25.", "It was located in her house at 16 rue Barbet de Jouy, in Paris, which was demolished in 1965.", "The room was reconstructed in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris.", "The walls are covered with molded ''lambris'' below sculpted bas-reliefs in stucco.", "The alcove is framed with columns of marble on with bases and a plinth of sculpted wood.", "The floor is of white and black marble, and in the cabinets decorative objects are displayed against a background of blue silk.", "Her bathroom had a tub and washstand made of sienna marble, with a wall of carved stucco and bronze fittings.", "By 1928 the style had become more comfortable, with deep leather club chairs.", "The study designed by the Paris firm of Alavoine for an American businessman in 1928-30, now in the Brooklyn Museum, had a unique American feature.", "Since it was constructed during Prohibition, when serving alcohol was prohibited, it included a secret bar hidden behind the panels.", "By the 1930s, the style had been somewhat simplified, but it was still extravagant.", "In 1932 the decorator Paul Ruoud made the Glass Salon for Suzanne Talbot.", "It featured a serpentine armchair and two tubular armchairs by Eileen Gray, a floor of mat silvered glass slabs, a panel of abstract patterns in silver and black lacquer, and an assortment of animal skins.", "\nFile:Postcard of Exposition des Art Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes.jpg|Postcard of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris (1925)\nFile:Paris-FR-75-Expo 1925 Arts décoratifs-pavillon des Galeries Lafayette.jpg|Pavilion of the Galeries Lafayette Department Store at the 1925 Exposition\nFile:Hotel du Collectioneur , Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industrielles Modernes (1925).jpg|The Hotel du Riche Collectioneur, pavilion of the furniture manufacturer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann\nSalon of the Hotel du Collectionneur (1925).jpg|Salon of the Hôtel du Riche Collectionneur from the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts, furnished by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, painting by Jean Dupas\n\n\nThe event that marked the zenith of the style and gave it its name was the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts which took place in Paris from April to October in 1925.", "The Grand Palais, the largest hall in the city, was filled with exhibits of decorative arts from the participating countries.", "There were 15,000 exhibitors from twenty different countries, including England, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Japan, and the new Soviet Union, though Germany was not invited because of tensions after the war and the United States, misunderstanding the purpose of the exhibit, declined to participate.", "It was visited by sixteen million people during its seven-month run.", "The rules of the exhibition required that all work be modern; no historical styles were allowed.", "The main purpose of the Exhibit was to promote the French manufacturers of luxury furniture, porcelain, glass, metal work, textiles and other decorative products.", "To further promote the products, all the major Paris department stores and major designers had their own pavilions.", "The Exposition had a secondary purpose in promoting products from French colonies in Africa and Asia, including ivory and exotic woods.", "The Hôtel du Riche Collectionneur was a popular attraction at the Exposition; it displayed the new furniture designs of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, as well as Art Deco fabrics, carpets, and a painting by Jean Dupas.", "The interior design followed the same principles of symmetry and geometric forms which set it apart from Art Nouveau, and bright colors, fine craftsmanship rare and expensive materials which set it apart from the strict functionality of the Modernist style.", "While most of the pavilions were lavishly decorated and filled with hand-made luxury furniture, two pavilions, those of the Soviet Union and Pavilion du Nouveau Esprit, built by the magazine of that name run by Le Corbusier, were built in an austere style with plain white walls and no decoration; they were among the earliest examples of modernist architecture.", "\nFile:American Radiator Building.jpg|The American Radiator Building in New York City by Raymond Hood (1924)\nFile:Chrysler Building spire, Manhattan, by Carol Highsmith (LOC highsm.04444).jpg|Chrysler Building in New York City, by William Van Alen (1928–30)\nFile:USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight over Manhattan, circa 1931-1933.jpg|New York City skyline (1931-1933)\nFile:GeneralElectricBuilding-Crown.jpg|Crown of the General Electric Building (also known as 570 Lexington Avenue) by Cross & Cross (1933)\nFile:GE Building by David Shankbone.JPG|30 Rockefeller Center, now the Comcast Building, by Raymond Hood (1933)\n\n\nAmerican skyscrapers marked the summit of the Art Deco style; they became the tallest and most recognizable modern buildings in the world.", "They were designed to show the prestige of their builders through their height, their shape, their color, and their dramatic illumination at night.", "The first New York skyscraper, the Woolworth Building, in a neoclassical style, was completed in 1913, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Building (1924) had ionic and doric columns and a classical Doric hypostyle with a frieze.", "The American Radiator Building by Raymond Hood (1924) combined Gothic and Deco modern elements in the design of the building.", "Black brick on the frontage of the building (symbolizing coal) was selected to give an idea of solidity and to give the building a solid mass.", "Other parts of the facade were covered in gold bricks (symbolizing fire), and the entry was decorated with marble and black mirrors.", "Another early Art Deco skyscraper was Detroit's Guardian Building, which opened in 1929.", "Designed by modernist Wirt C. Rowland, the building was the first to employ stainless steel as a decorative element, and the extensive use of colored designs in place of traditional ornaments.", "The New York skyline was radically changed by the Chrysler Building in Manhattan (completed in 1930), designed by William Van Alen.", "It was a giant seventy-seven floor tall advertisement for Chrysler automobiles.", "The top was crowned by a stainless steel spire, and was ornamented by deco \"gargoyles\" in the form stainless steel radiator cap decorations.", "The base of the tower, thirty-three stories above the street, was decorated with colorful art deco friezes, and the lobby was decorated with art deco symbols and images expressing modernity.", "The Chrysler Building was followed by Empire State Building by William F. Lamb (1931) and the RCA Building (now the Comcast Building) in Rockefeller Center, by Raymond Hood (1933) which together completely changed the skyline of New York.", "The tops of the buildings were decorated with Art Deco crowns and spires covered with stainless steel, and, in the case of the Chrysler building, with Art Deco gargoyles modeled after radiator ornaments, while the entrances and lobbies were lavishly decorated with Art Deco sculpture, ceramics, and design.", "Similar buildings, though not quite as tall, soon appeared in Chicago and other large American cities.The Chrysler Building was soon surpassed in height by the Empire State Building, in a slightly less lavish Deco style.", "Rockefeller Center added a new design element; several tall building grouped around an open plaza, with a fountain in the center.", "\nFile:Miami Beach FL Lincoln Mall Lincoln Theatre01.jpg|Lincoln Theater in Miami Beach , Florida by Thomas W. Lamb (1936)\nFile:Troc1.jpg|The Palais de Chaillot by Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Léon Azéma from the 1937 Paris International Exposition\nFile:L'exposition Auguste Perret (Conseil économique, social et environnemental, Paris) (11872278295).jpg|Stairway of the Economic and Social Council in Paris, originally the Museum of Public Works, built for the 1937 Paris International Exposition by Auguste Perret (1937)\nFile:KingCityHS-RobertStantonTheater.jpg|High School in King City, California, built by Robert Stanton for the Works Progress Administration (1939)\n\nIn 1925 two different competing schools coexisted within Art Deco: the traditionalists, who had founded the Society of Decorative Artists; included the furniture designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jean Dunard, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, and designer Paul Poiret; they combined modern forms with traditional craftsmanship and expensive materials.", "On the other side were the modernists, who increasingly rejected the past and wanted a style based upon advances in new technologies, simplicity, a lack of decoration, inexpensive materials, and mass production.", "The modernists founded their own organization, The French Union of Modern Artists, in 1929.", "Its members included architects Pierre Chareau, Francis Jourdain, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Corbusier, and, in the Soviet Union, Konstantin Melnikov; the Irish designer Eileen Gray, and French designer Sonia Delaunay, the jewelers Jean Fouquet and Jean Puiforcat.", "They fiercely attacked the traditional art deco style, which they said was created only for the wealthy, and insisted that well-constructed buildings should be available to everyone, and that form should follow function.", "The beauty of an object or building resided in whether it was perfectly fit to fulfill its function.", "Modern industrial methods meant that furniture and buildings could be mass-produced, not made by hand.", "The Art Deco interior designer Paul Follot defended Art Deco in this way: \"We know that man is never content with the indispensable and that the superfluous is always needed...If not, we would have to get rid of music, flowers, and perfumes..!\"", "However, Le Corbusier was a brilliant publicist for modernist architecture; he stated that a house was simply \"a machine to live in\", and tirelessly promoted the idea that Art Deco was the past and modernism was the future.", "Le Corbusier's ideas were gradually adopted by architecture schools, and the aesthetics of Art Deco were abandoned.", "The same features that made Art Deco popular in the beginning, its craftsmanship, rich materials and ornament, led to its decline.", "The Great Depression that began in the United States in 1929, and reached Europe shortly afterwards, greatly reduced the number of wealthy clients who could pay for the furnishings and art objects.", "In the Depression economic climate, few companies were ready to build new skyscrapers.", "Even the Ruhlmann firm was forced to produce pieces of furniture in series, rather than individual hand-made items.", "The last buildings built in Paris in the new style were the Museum of Public Works by Auguste Perret (now the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council) and the Palais de Chaillot by Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, Jacques Carlu and Léon Azéma, and the Palais de Tokyo of the 1937 Paris International Exposition; they looked out at the grandiose pavilion of Nazi Germany, designed by Albert Speer, which faced the equally grandiose socialist-realist pavilion of Stalin's Soviet Union.", "After World War II the dominant architectural style became the International Style pioneered by Le Corbusier, and Mies Van der Rohe.", "A handful of Art Deco hotels were built in Miami Beach after World War II, but elsewhere the style largely vanished, except in industrial design, where it continued to be used in automobile styling and products such as juke boxes.", "In the 1960s, it experienced a modest academic revival, thanks in part to the writings of architectural historians such as Bevis Hillier.", "In the 1970s efforts were made in the United States and Europe to preserve the best examples of Art Deco architecture, and many buildings were restored and repurposed.", "Postmodern architecture, which first appeared in the 1980s, like Art Deco, often includes purely decorative features.", "Deco continues to inspire designers, and is often used in contemporary fashion, jewelry, and toiletries.", "\nFile:1925, quand l'Art déco séduit le monde (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris) (11037440654).jpg|Mural by Jean Dupas, ''La Vigne et le Vin'', from the Bordeaux Pavilion of the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels moderns in Paris (1925)\nFile:Lempicka musician.jpg|Tamara de Lempicka, 1929, ''La Musicienne'', oil on canvas, 161 × 96 cm\nFile:Rivera detroit industry south.jpg|Diego Rivera, 1932–1933, ''Detroit Industry, South Wall'', Detroit Institute of Arts\nFile:Entrance of Rockefeller Center.JPG|Detail of ''Time'', 1941, ceiling mural in lobby of Rockefeller Center by the Spanish painter Josep Maria Sert\nFile:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Marsh-1.jpg|Reginald Marsh, 1936, ''Workers sorting the mail'', a mural in the U.S. Customs House in New York\nFile:Mural-Ariel-Rios-Rockwell-Kent-1.jpg|Rockwell Kent, 1938, ''Art in the Tropics'', mural in the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building\n\nThere was no section set aside for painting at the 1925 Exposition.", "Art deco painting was by definition decorative, designed to decorate a room or work of architecture, so few painters worked exclusively in the style, but two painters are closely associated with Art Deco.", "Jean Dupas painted Art Deco murals for the Bordeaux Pavilion at the 1925 Decorative Arts Exposition in Paris, and also painted the picture over the fireplace in the Maison de la Collectioneur exhibit at the 1925 Exposition, which featured furniture by Ruhlmann and other prominent Art Deco designers.", "His murals were also prominent in the decor of the French ocean liner SS ''Normandie''.", "His work was purely decorative, designed as a background or accompaniment to other elements of the decor.", "The other painter closely associated with the style is Tamara de Lempicka.", "Born in Poland in an aristocratic family, she emigrated to Paris after the Russian Revolution.", "There she became a student of the artist Maurice Denis of the movement called ''Les Nabis'' and the Cubist André Lhote and borrowed many elements from their styles.", "She painted almost exclusively portraits in a realistic, dynamic and colorful Art Deco style.", "In the 1930s a dramatic new form of Art Deco painting appeared in the United States.", "During the Great Depression, the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration was created to give work to unemployed artists.", "Many were given the task of decorating government buildings, hospitals and schools.", "There was no specific art deco style used in the murals; artists engaged to paint murals in government buildings came from many different schools, from American regionalism to social realism; they included Reginald Marsh, Rockwell Kent and the Mexican painter Diego Rivera.", "The murals were Art Deco because they were all decorative and related to the activities in the building or city where they were painted: Reginald Marsh and Rockwell Kent both decorated U.S. postal buildings, and showed postal employees at work while Diego Rivera depicted automobile factory workers for the Detroit Institute of Arts.", "Diego Rivera's mural ''American Progress'' for Rockefeller Center featured an unauthorized portrait of Lenin.", "When Rivera refused to remove Lenin, the painting was destroyed and a new mural was painted by the Spanish artist Josep Maria Sert.", "\nFile:Aerial_view_of_the_Statue_of_Christ_the_Redeemer.jpg|''Christ the Redeemer'' by Paul Landowski, (1931), Soapstone, Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro\nFile:Dancer and Gazelles Paul Manship (1916).jpg|''Dancer and Gazelles'' by Paul Manship, (1916), bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art\nFile:Joseph Csaky, Tête, ca 1920 (front and side view) limestone, 60 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Holland.tiff|Joseph Csaky, ''Tête'' (front and side view), limestone, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (c.1920)\nFile:Josef Lorenzl00.jpg|Salon sculpture by Josef Lorenzl (1920)\nFile:Speed - Harriet Frishmuth.jpg|''Speed'' by the American sculptor Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1922)\nFile:Pompon LOursBlanc1.jpg|François Pompon, ''Ours blanc'' (''Polar Bear''), Musée d'Orsay (1922)\nFile:Art Deco Sculpture.jpg|Demétre Chiparus, ''Tanara'', bronze, ivory and onyx (c.1925)\nStackpole-155Sansome.jpg|Ralph Stackpole's sculpture group over the door of the San Francisco Stock Exchange (1930)\nFile:Lobby, (former) Daily Express Building by Ronald Atkinson.jpg|Relief sculpture in the lobby of the former Daily Express Building in London (1932)\nRocCt-LeeLawrie-Wisdom.jpg|Portal decoration ''Wisdom'' by Lee Lawrie, Rockefeller Center, New York (1933)\nFile:Rockefeller Center MAM.JPG|''Prometheus'' by Paul Manship, Rockefeller Center, New York (1937)\nFile:New York City, May 2014 - 033.JPG|Lee Lawrie, 1936–37, ''Atlas'' statue, in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York (installed 1937)\nFile:KMM Maillol.JPG|''Air'', by Aristide Maillol, in the Tuileries Gardens, Paris (1938)\nFile:Preparing for the 84th Annual Academy Awards - giant Oscar statue (6787512754).jpg|A giant replica of the Academy Awards statuette known as ''The Oscar'', by George Stanley and Cedric Gibbons (1928)\nFile:Monumento a las Banderas, São Paulo, Brasil.jpg|''Monumento às Bandeiras'', granite, by Victor Brecheret, at the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo (1954)\n\nMost of the sculpture of the Art Deco period was, as the name suggests, purely decorative; it was designed not for museums, but to ornament office buildings, government buildings, public squares, and private salons.", "It was almost always representational, usually of heroic or allegorical figures related to the purpose of the building; the themes were usually chosen by the patron, and abstract sculpture for decoration was extremely rare.", "It was frequently attached to facade of buildings, particularly over the entrance.", "Allegorical sculptures of the dance and music by Antoine Bourdelle were the essential decorative feature of the earliest Art Deco landmark in Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, in 1912.", "The sculptor Aristide Maillol reinvented the classical ideal for his statue of the River (1939), now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.", "In the 1930s, a whole team of sculptors made sculpture for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne at Chaillot.", "The buildings of the Exposition were covered with low-relief sculpture, statues.", "Alfred Janniot made the relief sculptures on the facade of the Palais de Tokyo.", "The Paris City Museum of Modern Art, and the esplanade in front of the Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower, was crowded with new statuary by Charles Malfray, Henry Arnold, and many others.", "In the United States, many European sculptors trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, came to work; they included Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore Lincoln Memorial.", "Other American sculptors, including Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, had studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris.", "The 1929 stock market crash largely destroyed the market for monumental sculpture, but one grand project remained; the new Rockefeller Center.", "The American sculptors Lee Lawrie and Paul Manship designed heroic allegorical figures for facade and plaza.", "In San Francisco, Ralph Stackpole provided sculpture for the facade of the new San Francisco Stock Exchange building.", "One of the best known and certainly the largest Art Deco sculpture is the ''Christ the Redeemer'' by the French sculptor Paul Landowski, completed between 1922 and 1931, located on a mountain top overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.", "François Pompon was a pioneer of modern stylized animalier sculpture.", "He was not fully recognized for his artistic accomplishments until the age of 67 at the Salon d'Automne of 1922 with the work ''Ours blanc'', also known as ''The White Bear'', now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.", "Many early Art Deco sculptures were small, designed to decorate salons.", "One genre of this sculpture was called the Chryselephantine statuette, named for a style of ancient Greek temple statues made of gold and ivory.", "One of the best-known Art Deco salon sculptors was the Romanian-born Demétre Chiparus, who produced colorful small sculptures of dancers.", "Other notable salon sculptors included Ferdinand Preiss, Josef Lorenzl, Alexander Kelety, Dorothea Charol and Gustav Schmidtcassel.", "Parallel with these more neoclassical sculptors, more avant-garde and abstract sculptors were at work in Paris and New York.", "The most prominent were Constantin Brâncuși, Joseph Csaky, Alexander Archipenko, Henri Laurens, Jacques Lipchitz, Gustave Miklos, Jean Lambert-Rucki, Jan et Joël Martel, Chana Orloff, and Pablo Gargallo.", "\nFile:Richard Strauss-Woche, festival poster, 1910 by Ludwig Hohlwein.jpg|Festival poster by Ludwig Hohlwein (1910)\nFile:Bakst Nizhinsky.jpg|Program for the Ballets Russes by Leon Bakst (1912)\nFile:Deutsche Werkbund-Ausstellung Kunst in Handwerk, Industrie und Handel Architektur Köln 1914 Oct. Peter Behrens A. Molling & Comp.", "KG Hannover Berlin.jpg|Peter Behrens, Deutscher Werkbund exhibition poster (1914)\nFile:Vanity Fair cover by Georges Lepape 1919.jpg|A ''Vanity Fair'' cover by Georges Lepape (1919)\nFile:Weinold Reiss - Drawing in two colors.jpg|''Interpretation of Harlem Jazz I'' by Winold Reiss (c.1920)\nFile:Erté Harpers Bazar cover Feb 1922.jpg|Cover of ''Harper's Bazaar'' by Erté (1922)\nFile:Brightest London is best reached by Underground, subway poster, 1924.jpg|London Underground poster by Horace Taylor (1924)\nFile:Moulin Rouge Music-Hall.jpg|Moulin Rouge poster by Charles Gesmar (1925)\n\nFile:Chicago world's fair, a century of progress, expo poster, 1933, 2.jpg|Poster for Chicago World's Fair (1933)\n\nThe Art Deco style appeared early in the graphic arts, in the years just before World War I.", "It appeared in Paris in the posters and the costume designs of Leon Bakst for the Ballets Russes, and in the catalogs of the fashion designers Paul Poiret.", "The illustrations of Georges Barbier, and Georges Lepape and the images in the fashion magazine ''La Gazette du bon ton'' perfectly captured the elegance and sensuality of the style.", "In the 1920s, the look changed; the fashions stressed were more casual, sportive and daring, with the woman models usually smoking cigarettes.", "American fashion magazines such as ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fair'' and ''Harper's Bazaar'' quickly picked up the new style and popularized it in the United States.", "It also influenced the work of American book illustrators such as Rockwell Kent.", "In Germany, the most famous poster artist of the period was Ludwig Hohlwein, who created colorful and dramatic posters for music festivals, beers, and, late in his career, for the Nazi Party.", "During the Art Nouveau period, posters usually advertised theatrical products or cabarets.", "In the 1920s, travel posters, made for steamship lines and airlines, became extremely popular.", "The style changed notably in the 1920s, to focus attention on the product being advertised.", "The images became simpler, precise, more linear, more dynamic, and were often placed against a single color background.", "In France popular Art Deco designers included, Charles Loupot and Paul Colin, who became famous for his posters of American singer and dancer Josephine Baker.", "Jean Carlu designed posters for Charlie Chaplin movies, soaps, and theaters; in the late 1930s he emigrated to the United States, where, during the World War, he designed posters to encourage war production.", "The designer Charles Gesmar became famous making posters for the singer Mistinguett and for Air France.", "Among the best known French Art Deco poster designers was Cassandre, who made the celebrated poster of the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'' in 1935.", "In the 1930s a new genre of posters appeared in the United States during the Great Depression.", "The Federal Art Project hired American artists to create posters to promote tourism and cultural events.", "\nFile:P1030956 Paris Ier La Samaritaine rwk.JPG|La Samaritaine department store, by Henri Sauvage, Paris, (1925–28)\nFile:Los Angeles City Hall (color) edit1.jpg|Los Angeles City Hall by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, Sr.,(1928)\nFile:InteriorHoyBADF.JPG|Interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in Mexico City (1934)\nFile:Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg|National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan (1936)\nFile:Vertical panorama of the Mayakovskaya Metro Station.jpg|Mayakovskaya Metro Station in Moscow (1936)\n\n\nThe architectural style of art deco made its debut in Paris in 1903-04, with the construction of two apartment buildings in Paris, one by Auguste Perret on rue Trétaigne and the other on rue Benjamin Franklin by Henri Sauvage.", "The two young architects used reinforced concrete for the first time in Paris residential buildings; the new buildings had clean lines, rectangular forms, and no decoration on the facades; they marked a clean break with the art nouveau style.", "Between 1910 and 1913, Perret used his experience in concrete apartment buildings to construct the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 15 avenue Montaigne.", "Between 1925 and 1928 he constructed the new art deco facade of the La Samaritaine department store in Paris.", "After the First World War, art deco buildings of steel and reinforced concrete began to appear in large cities across Europe and the United States.", "In the United States the style was most commonly used for office buildings, government buildings, movie theaters, and railroad stations.", "It sometimes was combined with other styles; Los Angeles City Hall combined Art Deco with a roof based on the ancient Greek Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, while the Los Angeles railroad station combined Deco with Spanish mission architecture.", "Art Deco elements also appeared in engineering projects, including the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the intake towers of Hoover Dam.", "In the 1920s and 1930s it became a truly international style, with examples including the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in Mexico City by , the Mayakovskaya Metro Station in Moscow and the National Diet Building in Tokyo by Watanabe Fukuzo.", "The Art Deco style was not limited to buildings on land; the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'', whose first voyage was in 1935, featured Art Deco design, including a dining room whose ceiling and decoration were made of glass by Lalique.", "=== \"Cathedrals of Commerce\" ===\n\n\nFile:Interior of Fisher Building, Detroit.JPG|The Fisher Building in Detroit by Joseph Nathaniel French (1928)\nFile:Detroit December 2015 30 (Guardian Building).jpg|Lower lobby of the Guardian Building in Detroit by Wirt Rowland (1929)\nFile:450 Sutter St. lobby 2.JPG|Lobby of 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger (1929)\nFile:Chrysler Building Lobby.jpg|Lobby of the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen in New York City (1930)\nFile:Chrysler Building 01.JPG|Elevator of the Chrysler Building (1930)\nFile:L'espace intérieur de la CNHI.jpg|The interior of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris (Now the Museum of Immigration) by Albert Laprade, Léon Jaussely and Léon Bazin (1931)\n\n\nThe grand showcases of Art deco interior design were the lobbies of government buildings, theaters, and particularly office buildings.", "Interiors were extremely colorful and dynamic, combining sculpture, murals, and ornate geometric design in marble, glass, ceramics and stainless steel.", "An early example was the Fisher Building in Detroit, by Joseph Nathaniel French; the lobby was highly decorated with sculpture and ceramics.", "The Guardian Building (originally the Union Trust Building) in Detroit, by Wirt Rowland (1929), decorated with red and black marble and brightly colored ceramics, highlighted by highly polished steel elevator doors and counters.", "The sculptural decoration installed in the walls illustrated the virtues of industry and saving; the building was immediately termed the \"Cathedral of Commerce\".", "The Medical and Dental Building called 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco by Timothy Pflueger was inspired by Mayan architecture, in a highly stylized form; it used pyramid shapes, and the interior walls were covered highly stylized rows of hieroglyphs.", "In France, the best example of an Art Deco interior during period was the Palais de la Porte Dorée (1931) by Albert Laprade, Léon Jaussely and Léon Bazin.", "The building (now the National Museum of Immigration, with an aquarium in the basement) was built for the Paris Colonial Exposition of 1931, to celebrate the people and products of French colonies.", "The exterior facade was entirely covered with sculpture, and the lobby created an Art Deco harmony with a wood parquet floor in a geometric pattern, a mural depicting the people of French colonies; and a harmonious composition of vertical doors and horizontal balconies.", "===Movie palaces===\n\nFile:Graumanegyptian-opening1922.jpg|Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (1922)\nFile:20ans.jpg|Grand Rex movie theater in Paris (1932)\nFile:Paramount Fountain of Light in Lobby.jpg|Four-story high grand lobby of the Paramount Theater, Oakland (1932)\nFile:Radio City Music Hall 3051638324 4a385c5623.jpg|Auditorium and stage of Radio City Music Hall, New York City (1932)\nFile:Gaumont State Cinema Entrance.jpg|Gaumont State Cinema in London (1937)\nFile:The Paramount, Shanghai.JPG|The Paramount in Shanghai, China (1933)\n\nMany of the best surviving examples of Art Deco are movie theaters built in the 1920s and 1930s.", "The Art Deco period coincided with the conversion of silent films to sound, and movie companies built enormous theaters in major cities to capture the huge audience that came to see movies.", "Movie palaces in the 1920s often combined exotic themes with art deco style; Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (1922) was inspired by ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids, while the Fox Theater in Bakersfield, California attached a tower in California Mission style to an Art Deco hall.", "The largest of all is Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which opened in 1932.", "Originally designed as a stage theater, it quickly transformed into a movie theater, which could seat 6,015 persons The interior design by Donald Deskey used glass, aluminum, chrome, and leather to create a colorful escape from reality The Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, by Timothy Pflueger, had a colorful ceramic facade a lobby four stories high, and separate Art Deco smoking rooms for gentlemen and ladies.", "Similar grand palaces appeared in Europe.", "The Grand Rex in Paris (1932), with its imposing tower, was the largest movie theater in Europe.", "The Gaumont State Cinema in London (1937) had a tower modeled after the Empire State building, covered with cream-colored ceramic tiles and an interior in an Art Deco-Italian Renaissance style.", "The Paramount Theater in Shanghai, China (1933) was originally built as a dance hall called ''The gate of 100 pleasures''; it was converted to a movie theater after the Communist Revolution in 1949, and now is a ballroom and disco.", "In the 1930s Italian architects built a small movie palace, the Cinema Impero, in Asmara in what is now Eritrea.", "Today, many of the movie theaters have been subdivided into multiplexes, but others have been restored and are used as cultural centers in their communities.", "=== Streamline Moderne ===\n\n\nFile:Immeuble de Pierre Patout Bd Victor Paris XV.jpg|Paris Building in the ''Pacquebot'' or ocean liner style, 3 boulevard Victor (1935)\nFile:Pan-Pacific Auditorium entrance.jpg|Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles (1936)\nFile:SFMaritimeMuseum.jpg|The San Francisco Maritime Museum , originally was a public bath house (1936)\nFile:LaGuardia MarineAirTerminal 1974.jpg|The Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia Airport (1937) was the New York terminal for the flights of Pan Am Clipper flying boats to Europe\nFile:Hoover Building No 1.jpg|The Hoover Building canteen in Perivale in the London suburbs, by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners (1938)\nFile:World Fair 1939 LOC gsc.5a03061.jpg|The Ford Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair\nFile:Broadcasting_House_by_Stephen_Craven.jpg|The nautical-style rounded corner of BBC Broadcasting House (1931)\n\n\nIn the late 1930s, a new variety of Art Deco architecture became common; it was called Streamline Moderne or simply Streamline, or, in France, the Style Paqueboat, or Ocean Liner style.", "Buildings in the style were had rounded corners, long horizontal lines; they were built of reinforced concrete, and were almost always white; and sometimes had nautical features, such as railings that resembled those on a ship.", "The rounded corner was not entirely new; it had appeared in Berlin in 1923 in the Mossehaus by Erich Mendelsohn, and later in the Hoover Building, an industrial complex in the London suburb of Perivale.", "In the United States, it became most closely associated with transport; Streamline moderne was rare in office buildings, but was often used for bus stations and airport terminals, such as terminal at La Guardia airport in New York City that handled the first transatlantic flights, via the PanAm clipper flying boats; and in roadside architecture, such as gas stations and diners.", "In the late 1930s a series of diners, modeled after streamlined railroad cars, were produced and installed in towns in New England; at least two examples still remain and are now registered historic buildings.", "\nFile:Fire screen made by Rose Iron Works of Cleveland, 1930.JPG|Iron fireplace screen, Rose Iron Works, Cleveland (1930)\nFile:Elevator doors of Chrysler Building (1927-30).jpg|Elevator doors of the Chrysler Building, by William Van Alen (1927–30)\nFile:MilwaukeeGasLightBuilding architecturaldetails.jpg|Sunrise motif from the Wisconsin Gas Building (1930)\nFile:Oakland Paramount facade mosaic detail 2.jpg|Detail of mosaic facade of Paramount Theater (Oakland, California) (1931)\nFile:Fresque façade Palais de la Porte Dorée 10.JPG|Bas-relief on the facade of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris, showing the people of French colonies (1931)\n\nDecoration in the Art Deco period went through several distinct phases.", "Between 1910 and 1920, as Art Nouveau was exhausted, design styles saw a return to tradition, particularly in the work of Paul Iribe.", "In 1912 André Vera published an essay in the magazine ''L'Art Décoratif'' calling for a return to the craftsmanship and materials of earlier centuries, and using a new repertoire of forms taken from nature, particularly baskets and garlands of fruit and flowers.", "A second tendency of Art Deco, also from 1910 to 1920, was inspired by the bright colors of the artistic movement known as the Fauves and by the colorful costumes and sets of the Ballets Russes.", "This style was often expressed with exotic materials such as sharkskin, mother of pearl, ivory, tinted leather, lacquered and painted wood, and decorative inlays on furniture that emphasized its geometry.", "This period of the style reached its high point in the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts.", "In the late 1920s and the 1930s, the decorative style changed, inspired by new materials and technologies.", "It became sleeker and less ornamental.", "Furniture, like architecture, began to have rounded edges and to take on a polished, streamlined look, taken from the streamline moderne style.", "New materials, such as chrome-plated steel, aluminum and bakelite, an early form of plastic, began to appear in furniture and decoration.", "Throughout the Art Deco period, and particularly in the 1930s, the motifs of the decor expressed the function of the building.", "Theaters were decorated with sculpture which illustrated music, dance, and excitement; power companies showed sunrises, the Chrysler building showed stylized hood ornaments; The friezes of Palais de la Porte Dorée at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition showed the faces of the different nationalities of French colonies.", "The Streamline style made it appear that the building itself was in motion.", "The WPA murals of the 1930s featured ordinary people; factory workers, postal workers, families and farmers, in place of classical heroes.", "\nFile:Paul follot, sedia, parigi 1914-16 ca.JPG|Chair by Paul Follot (1912–14)\nFile:Art Deco chair and screen (1912 and 1920).jpg|Armchair by Louis Süe (1912) and painted screen by André Mare (1920)\nFile:Art Deco dressing table (1919-20).jpg|Dressing table and chair of marble and encrusted, lacquered, and glided wood by Paul Follot (1919-1920\nFile:Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (French, 1879-1933).", "Corner Cabinet, ca.", "1923..jpg|Corner cabinet of Mahogany with rose basket design of inlaid ivory by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1923)\nFile:J.-E. Ruhlmann au Musée des Années 30 (Boulogne-Billancourt) (2132077838).jpg|Cabinet by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1926)\nFile:Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) (5469658728).jpg|Cabinet design by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann\nFile:André Groult, cassettone antropomorphe, parigi, 1925 ca..JPG|Cabinet covered with shagreen or sharkskin, by André Groult (1925)\nFile:Gio ponti ed emilio lancia, sala da pranzo 'domus nova', 1927, 02.JPG|Furniture by Gio Ponti (1927)\nFile:Desk of Adminiistrator Michel Roux-Spitz 1930.jpg|Desk of an administrator, by Michel Roux-Spitz for the 1930 Salon of Decorative Artists\nFile:Fauteuil jazzclub.jpg|An Art Deco club chair (1930s)\nFile:\"La Maison Leleu\" au Musée des Années 30 (Boulogne-Billancourt) (2132078468).jpg|Late Art Deco furniture and rug by Jules Leleu (1930s)\n\nFrench furniture from 1910 until the early 1920s was largely an updating of French traditional furniture styles, and the art nouveau designs of Louis Majorelle, Charles Plumet and other manufacturers.", "French furniture manufacturers felt threatened by the growing popularity of German manufacturers and styles, particularly the Biedermeier style, which was simple and clean-lined.", "The French designer Frantz Jourdain, the President of the Paris Salon d'Automne, invited designers from Munich to participate in the 1910 Salon.", "French designers saw the new German style, and decided to meet the German challenge.", "The French designers decided to present new French styles in the Salon of 1912.", "The rules of the Salon indicated that only modern styles would be permitted.", "All of the major French furniture designers took part in Salon: Paul Follot, Paul Iribe, Maurice Dufrene, André Groult, André Mare and Louis Süe took part, presenting new works that updated the traditional French styles of Louis XVI and Louis Philippe with more angular corners inspired by Cubism and brighter colors inspired by Fauvism and the Nabis.", "The painter André Mare and furniture designer Louis Suë both participated the 1912 Salon.", "After the War the two men joined together to form their own company, formally called the ''Compagnie des Arts Française'', but usually known simply as Suë and Mare.", "Unlike the prominent art nouveau designers like Louis Majorelle, who personally designed every piece, they assembled a team of skilled craftsmen and produced complete interior designs, including furniture, glassware, carpets, ceramics, wallpaper and lighting.", "Their work featured bright colors and furniture and fine woods, such ebony encrusted with mother of pearl, abalone and silvered metal to create bouquets of flowers.", "They designed everything from the interiors of ocean liners to perfume bottles for the label of Jean Patou.The firm prospered in the early 1920s, but the two men were better craftsmen than businessmen.", "The firm was sold in 1928, and both men left.", "The most prominent furniture designer at the 1925 Decorative Arts Exposition was Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, from Alsace.", "He first exhibited his works at the 1913 Autumn Salon, then had his own pavilion, the \"House of the Rich Collector\", at the 1925 Exposition.", "He used only most rare and expensive materials, including ebony, mahogany, rosewood, ambon and other exotic woods, decorated with inlays of ivory, tortoise shell, mother of pearl, Little pompoms of silk decorated the handles of drawers of the cabinets.", "His furniture was based upon 18th century models, but simplified and reshaped.", "In all of his work, the interior structure of the furniture was completely concealed.", "The framework usually of oak, was completely covered with an overlay of thin strips of wood, then covered by a second layer of strips of rare and expensive woods.", "This was then covered with a veneer and polished, so that the piece looked as if it had been cut out of a single block of wood.", "Contrast to the dark wood was provided by inlays of ivory, and ivory key plates and handles.", "According to Ruhlmann, armchairs had to be designed differently according to the functions of the rooms where they appeared; living room armchairs were designed to be welcoming, office chairs comfortable, and salon chairs voluptuous.", "Only a small number of pieces of each design of furniture was made, and the average price of one of his beds or cabinets was greater than the price of an average house.", "Jules Leleu was a traditional furniture designer who moved smoothly into Art Deco in the 1920s; he designed the furniture for the dining room of the Elysee Palace, and for the first-class cabins of the steamship ''Normandie''.", "his style was characterized by the use of ebony, Macassar wood, walnut, with decoration of plaques of ivory and mother of pearl.", "He introduced the style of lacquered art deco furniture at the end of in the late 1920s, and in the late 1930s introduced furniture made of metal with panels of smoked glass.", "In Italy, the designer Gio Ponti was famous for his streamlined designs.", "In the United States,\n\nThe costly and exotic furniture Ruhlmann and other traditionalists infuriated modernists, including the architect Le Corbusier, causing him to write a famous series of articles denouncing the ''arts décoratif'' style.", "He attacked furniture made only for the rich, and called upon designers to create furniture made with inexpensive materials and modern style, which ordinary people could afford.", "He designed his own chairs, created to be inexpensive and mass-produced.", "In the 1930s, furniture designs adapted to the form, with smoother surfaces and curved forms.", "The masters of the late style included Donald Deskey was one of the most influential designers; he created the interior of the Radio City Music Hall.", "He used a mixture of traditional and very modern materials, including aluminum, chrome, and bakelite, an early form of plastic.", "\nFile:Philips 930.jpg|Philips Art Deco radio set (1931)\nFile:SLNSW 22573 Chrysler Airflow.jpg|Chrysler Airflow sedan, designed by Carl Breer (1934)\nFile:SS Normandie (ship, 1935) interior.jpg|Grand dining room of the ocean liner SS ''Normandie'' (1935), bas-reliefs by Raymond Delamarre\nFile:Bugatti Aérolithe AV.jpg|Bugatti Aérolithe (1936)\nFile:Lurelle Guild.", "Vacuum Cleaner, ca.", "1937..jpg|Electrolux Vacuum cleaner (1937)\nFile:NY Worlds' Fair streamlined Hudson LC-G613-T01-35339 DLC.jpg|Streamlined railroad locomotive (1939)\n\n\n\nStreamline was a variety of Art Deco which emerged during the mid-1930s.", "It was influenced by modern aerodynamic principles developed for aviation and ballistics to reduce air friction at high velocities.", "The bullet shapes were applied by designers to cars, trains, ships, and even objects not intended to move, such as refrigerators, gas pumps, and buildings.", "One of the first production vehicles in this style was the Chrysler Airflow of 1933.", "It was unsuccessful commercially, but the beauty and functionality of its design set a precedent; meant modernity.", "It continued to be used in car design well after World War II.", "New industrial materials began to influence design of cars and household objects.", "These included aluminum, chrome, and bakelite, an early form of plastic.", "Bakelite could be easily molded into different forms, and soon was used in telephones, radios and other appliances.", "Ocean liners also adopted a style of Art Deco, known in French as the ''Style Paquebot'', or \"Ocean Liner Style\".", "The most famous example was the SS ''Normandie'', which made its first transatlantic trip in 1935.", "It was designed particularly to bring wealthy Americans to Paris to shop.", "The cabins and salons featured the latest Art Deco furnishings and decoration.", "The Grand Salon of the ship, which was the restaurant for first-class passengers, was bigger than the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles.", "It was illuminated by electric lights within twelve pillars of Lalique crystal; thirty-six matching pillars lined the walls.", "This was one of the earliest examples of illumination being directly integrated into architecture.", "The style of ships was soon adapted to buildings.", "A notable example is found on the San Francisco waterfront, where the Maritime Museum building, built as a public bath in 1937, resembles a ferryboat, with ship railings and rounded corners.", "The Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong also used a variation of the style.", "\nFile:Art Deco bracelet (1925) Museum of Decorative Arts.jpg|Art Deco bracelet of gold, coral and jade (1925) (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris)\nFile:Art Deco glass pendants Rene Lalique.jpg|René Lalique (1925–30), molded glass pendants on silk cords\nFile:Art Deco buckle (1925).jpg|Boucheron (1925), a gold buckle set with diamonds and carved onyx, lapis lazuli, jade, and coral\nCartier 3526707735 f4583fda9a.jpg|Cartier, (1930), ''Mackay Emerald Necklace'', emerald, diamond and platinum, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA\n\nIn the 1920s and 1930s, designers including René Lalique and Cartier tried reduce the traditional dominance of diamonds by introducing more colorful gemstones, such as small emeralds, rubies and sapphires.", "They also placed greater emphasis on very elaborate and elegant settings, featuring less-expensive materials such as enamel, glass, horn and ivory.", "Diamonds themselves were cut in less traditional forms; the 1925 Exposition saw a large number of diamonds cut in the form of tiny rods or matchsticks.", "The settings for diamonds also changed; More and more often jewelers used platinum instead of gold, since it was strong and flexible, and could set clusters of stones.", "Jewelers also began to use more dark materials, such as enamels and black onyx, which provided a higher contrast with diamonds.", "Jewelry became much more colorful and varied in style.", "Cartier and the firm of Boucheron combined diamonds with colorful other gemstones cut into the form of leaves, fruit or flowers.", "to make brooches, rings, earrings, clips and pendants Far Eastern themes also became popular; plaques of jade and coral were combined with platinum and diamonds, and vanity cases, cigarette cases and powder boxes were decorated with Japanese and Chinese landscapes made with mother of pearl, enamel and lacquer.", "Rapidly changing fashions in clothing brought new styles of jewelry.", "Sleeveless dresses of the 1920s meant that arms needed decoration, and designers quickly created bracelets of gold, silver and platinum encrusted with lapis-lazuli, onyx, coral, and other colorful stones; Other bracelets were intended for the upper arms, and several bracelets were often worn at the same time.", "The short haircuts of women in the twenties called for elaborate deco earring designs.", "As women began to smoke in public, designers created very ornate cigarette cases and ivory cigarette holders.", "The invention of the wrist-watch before World War I inspired jewelers to create extraordinary decorated watches, encrusted with diamonds and plated with enamel, gold and silver.", "Pendant watches, hanging from a ribbon, also became fashionable.", "The established jewelry houses of Paris in the period, Cartier, Chaumet, Georges Fouquet, Mauboussin, and Van Cleef & Arpels all created jewellry and objects in the new fashion.", "The firm of Chaumet made highly geometric cigarette boxes, cigarette lighters, pillboxes and notebooks, made of hard stones decorated with jade, lapis lazuli, diamonds and sapphires.", "They were joined by many young new designers, each with his own idea of deco.", "Raymond Templier designed pieces with highly intricate geometric patterns, including silver earrings that looked like skyscrapers.", "Gerard Sandoz was only 18 when he started to design jewelry in 1921; he designed many celebrated pieces based on the smooth and polished look of modern machinery.", "The glass designer René Lalique also entered the field, creating pendants of fruit, flowers, frogs, fairies of mermaids made of sculpted glass in bright colors, hanging on cords of silk with tassels.", "The jeweler Paul Brandt contrasted rectangular and triangular patterns, and embedded pearls in lines on onyx plaques.", "Jean Despres made necklaces of contrasting colors by bringing together silver and black lacquer, or gold with lapis lazuli.", "Many of his designs looked like highly polished pieces of machines.", "Jean Dunand was also inspired by modern machinery, combined with bright reds and blacks contrasting with polished metal.", "\nFile:'Oiseau de Feu' made by René Lalique, Dayton Art Institute.JPG|''The Firebird'' by René Lalique (1922)\nFile:Vase (Perruches) by René Jules Lalique, 1922, blown four mold glass - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04355.JPG|''Parrot'' vase by René Lalique (1922)\nFile:Vase aux raisins.jpg|A Daum vase with sculpted grapes (1925)\nFile:Vitraux Louis Majorelle, Grands Bureaux des Aciéries de Longwy 03.jpg|Window for a steel mill office by Louis Majorelle (1928)\nFile:Vase des années 30 (musée des arts décoratifs) (4782889920).jpg|Daum vase (1930–35)\n\nLike the Art Nouveau period before it, Art Deco was an exceptional period for fine glass and other decorative objects, designed to fit their architectural surroundings.", "The most famous producer of glass objects was René Lalique, whose works, from vases to hood ornaments for automobiles, became symbols of the period.", "He had made ventures into glass before World War I, designing bottles for the perfumes of François Coty, but he did not begin serious production of art glass until after World War I.", "In 1918, at the age of 58, he bought a large glass works in Combs-la-Ville and began to manufacture both artistic and practical glass objects.", "He treated glass as a form of sculpture, and created statuettes, vases, bowls, lamps and ornaments.", "He used demi-crystal rather than lead crystal, which was softer and easier to form, though not as lustrous.", "He sometimes used colored glass, but more often used opalescent glass, where part or the whole of the outer surface was stained with a wash. Lalique provided the decorative glass panels, lights and illuminated glass ceilings for the ocean liners SS ''Ile de France'' in 1927 and the SS ''Normandie'' in 1935, and for some of the first-class sleeping cars of the French railroads.", "At the 1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts, he had his own pavilion, designed a dining room with a table settling and matching glass ceiling for the Sèvres Pavilion, and designed a glass fountain for the courtyard of the Cours des Métier, a slender glass column which spouted water from the sides and was illuminated at night.", "Other notable Art Deco glass manufacturers included Marius-Ernest Sabino, who specialized in figurines, vases, bowls, and glass sculptures of fish, nudes, and animals.", "For these he often used an opalescent glass which could change from white to blue to amber, depending upon the light.", "His vases and bowls featured molded friezes of animals, nudes or busts of women with fruit or flowers.", "His work was less subtle but more colorful than that of Lalique.", "Other notable Deco glass designers included Edmond Etling, who also used bright opalescent colors, often with geometric patterns and sculpted nudes; Albert Simonet, and Aristide Colotte and Maurice Marinot, who was known for his deeply etched sculptural bottles and vases.", "The firm of Daum from the city of Nancy, which had been famous for its Art Nouveau glass, produced a line of Deco vases and glass sculpture, solid, geometric and chunky in form.", "More delicate multicolored works were made by Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, who produced delicately colored vases with sculpted butterflies and nymphs, and Francois Decorchemont, whose vases were streaked and marbled.", "The Great Depression ruined a large part of the decorative glass industry, which depended upon wealthy clients.", "Some artists turned to designing stained glass windows for churches.", "In 1937, the Steuben glass company began the practice of commissioning famous artists to produce glassware.", "Louis Majorelle, famous for his Art Nouveau furniture, designed a remarkable Art Deco stained glass window portraying steel workers for the offices of the Aciéries de Longwy, a steel mill in Longwy, France.", "\nFile:Art Deco fireplace grill.jpg|A grill with two wings called \"The Pheasants\", made by Paul Kiss and displayed at the 1925 Exposition of Decorative and Industrial Arts\nFile:Art Deco screen \"Oasis\" 1925.jpg|Iron and copper grill called \"Oasis\" by Edgar Brandt, displayed at the 1925 Paris Exposition\nFile:Grilles de l'entresol, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Paris 2013.jpg|Metal grilles in the lobby of the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris by Raymond Subes (1931)\nFile:Norman Bel Geddes.", "Cocktail Set.", "1937..jpg|Cocktail set of chrome-plated steel by Norman Bel Geddes (1937)\n\nArt Deco artists produced a wide variety of practical objects in the Art Deco style, made of industrial materials from traditional wrought iron to chrome-plated steel.", "The American artist Norman Bel Geddes designed a cocktail set resembling a skyscraper made of chrome-plated steel.", "Raymond Subes designed an elegant metal grille for the entrance of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the centerpiece of the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition.", "The French sculptor Jean Dunand produced magnificent doors on the theme \"The Hunt\", covered with gold leaf and paint on plaster (1935).", "Art Deco architecture began in Europe, but by 1939 there were examples in large cities on every continent and in almost every country.", "This is a selection of prominent buildings on each continent.", "(For a comprehensive of existing buildings by country, see List of Art Deco architecture.)", "===Africa===\n\n\nFile:Asmara, cinema impero, 07.JPG|Cinema Impero in Asmara, Eritrea (1937)\nFile:Fiat tagliero, 08.JPG|Fiat Tagliero Building in Asmara, Eritrea by Giuseppe Pettazzi (1938)\nFile:La Cathédrale de Rabat.jpg|St.", "Peter's Cathedral in Rabat, Morocco (1938)\n\nMost Art Deco buildings in Africa were built during European colonial rule, and often designed by Italian and French architects.", "===Asia===\n\n\nFile:NewIndiaAssuranceBdg.jpg|New India Assurance Building in Mumbai, India (1936)\nFile:Broadway Mansions pic 1.jpg|Broadway Mansions in Shanghai, China (1934)\nFile:Capitol Theater Tower.jpg|Capitol Theater in Manila, Philippines by Juan Nakpil (1935)\nFile:Diet of Japan Kokkai 2009.jpg|National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan (1936)\nFile:Jaarbeurs.JPG|Kologdam Building in Bandung, Indonesia (1920)\nFile:Le marché central (Phnom-Penh) (6847539946).jpg|The Central Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1937)\nFile:Ankara Train Station.JPG|Ankara railway station in Ankara, Turkey (1937)\n\n\nA large number of the Art Deco buildings in Asia were designed by European architects, but in the Philippines local architect Juan Nakpil was preeminent.", "Many art deco landmarks in Asia were demolished during the great economic expansion of Asia the late 20th century, but some notable enclaves of the architecture still remain, particularly in Shanghai and Mumbai.", "===Central America and the Caribbean===\n\n\nFile:Bacardi Building.jpg|The Bacardi Building in Havana, Cuba (1930)\nFile:HotelNacionaldeCuba.jpg|The Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana, Cuba (1930)\nFile:Havana Art Deco (8703599920).jpg|Havana art deco building\nFile:IMG 2684 - Plaza del Mercado Isabel II in Ponce, PR.jpg|The Plaza del Mercado de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico (1941)\n\nArt Deco buildings can be found throughout Central America.", "A particularly rich collection is found in Cuba, built largely for the large number of tourists who came to the island from the United States.", "===South America===\n\n\nFile:Elevador Lacerda dia.jpg|Lacerda Elevator in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (1930)\nFile:Edifício do Banespa.jpg|Altino Arantes Building, in São Paulo, Brazil (1947)\nFile:Predio do Mappin by Deni Williams.jpg|João Bricola building in São Paulo, Brazil\nFile:Viaduto do Chá - \"Viaduto do Chá\" viaduct (9630396439).jpg|Viaduto do Chá, São Paulo, Brazil (1938)\nFile:Estação Central do Brasil.jpg|Central do Brasil Station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1943)\nFile:Kavanagh building.jpg|Kavanagh building in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1934)\nFile:Palacio Municipal de Laprida, vista desde la plaza.JPG|Palacio Municipal and fountain, Laprida, Buenos Aires, Argentina\n\nThe Art Deco in South America is present especially at the countries that received a great wave of immigration on the first half of the 20th century, with notable works at their richest cities, like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina.The Kavanagh building in Buenos Aires (1934), by Sánchez, Lagos and de la Torre, was the tallest reinforced concrete structure when it was completed, and a notable example of late Art Deco style.", "===Europe===\n\n\n\nFile:Theatre-des-champs-elysees-.jpg|Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France (1910–13)\nFile:Berlin, Mitte, Schuetzenstrasse, Mosse-Zentrum 05.jpg|The Mossehaus with Art Deco elements by Erich Mendelsohn in Berlin, Germany (c.1923)\nFile:Basilica_of_the_Sacred_Heart,_Brussels_(1).jpg|Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels, Belgium (1925)\nFile:Éden teatro - Avenida dos Restauradores.jpg|Éden Theater in Lisbon, Portugal (1931)\nFile:Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus (aut.", "A. Užbalis).jpg|Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania (1936)\nFile:Moscow Metro Station platform.JPG|Mayakovskaya Station in Moscow, Russia (1938)\nFile:Porto Teatro Rivoli 4.JPG|Rivoli Theater in Porto, Portugal (1937)\nFile:Express Building Manchester.jpg|Daily Express Building in Manchester, UK (1939)\n\nThe architectural style first appeared in Paris with the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–13) by Auguste Perret but then spread rapidly around Europe, until examples could be found in nearly every large city, from London to Moscow.", "In Germany two variations of Art Deco flourished in the 1920s and 30s: The Neue Sachlichkeit style and Expressionist architecture.", "Notable examples include Erich Mendelsohn's Mossehaus and Schaubühne theater in Berlin, Fritz Höger's Chilehaus in Hamburg and his Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz in Berlin, the Anzeiger Tower in Hannover and the Borsig Tower in Berlin.", "One of the largest Art Deco buildings in Western Europe is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, Brussels.", "In 1925, architect Albert van Huffel won the Grand Prize for Architecture with his scale model of the basilica at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.", "Spain and Portugal have some striking examples of Art Deco buildings, particularly movie theaters.", "Examples in Portugal are the Capitólio Theater (1931) and the Éden Cine-Theater (1937) in Lisbon, the Rivoli Theater (1937) and the Coliseu (1941) in Porto and the Rosa Damasceno Theater (1937) in Santarém.", "An example in Spain is the Cine Rialto in Valencia (1939).", "During the 1930s, Art Deco had a noticeable effect on house design in the United Kingdom, as well as the design of various public buildings.", "Straight, white-rendered house frontages rising to flat roofs, sharply geometric door surrounds and tall windows, as well as convex-curved metal corner windows, were all characteristic of that period.", "The London Underground is famous for many examples of Art Deco architecture, and there are a number of buildings in the style situated along the Golden Mile in Brentford.", "Also in West London is the Hoover Building, which was originally built for The Hoover Company and was converted into a superstore in the early 1990s.", "===Canada, Mexico, and the United States===\n\n\nFile:Edifice Price.jpg|The Price Building in Quebec City, Canada (1930)\nFile:Vancouver City Hall.jpg|Vancouver City Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1935)\nFile:PBADFCeiling.JPG|Interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Mexico (1934)\nBarclay-Vesey Building 140 West Street.jpg|The Verizon Building in New York City, US (1923–27)\nFile:Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo, NY - IMG 3740.JPG|Buffalo City Hall in Buffalo, US (1931)\nFile:Bullocks Wilshire.jpg|Bullocks Wilshire in Los Angeles, US (1929)\nFile:Louisiana State Capitol Top.jpg|Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, US (1930–32)\nFile:Jefferson County Courthouse, Texas.jpg|Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont, US (1931)\n\nIn Canada Art Deco structures that survive are mainly in the major cities; Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Ontario, and Vancouver.", "They range from public buildings like Vancouver City Hall to commercial buildings (College Park) to public works (R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant).", "In Mexico, the most imposing Art Deco example is interior of the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), finished in 1934 with its elaborate decor and murals.", "Examples of Art Deco residential architecture can be found in the Condesa neighborhood, many designed by Francisco J. Serrano.", "In the United States, Art Deco buildings are found from coast to coast, in all the major cities.", "It was most widely used for office buildings, train stations, airport terminals, and movie theaters; residential buildings are rare.", "In the 1930s, the more austere streamline style became popular.", "Many buildings were demolished between 1945 and the late 1960s, but then efforts began to protect the best examples.", "The City of Miami Beach established the Miami Beach Architectural District to preserve the colorful collection of Art Deco buildings found there.", "===Australia and New Zealand===\n\n\nFile:Manchester Unity Building.jpg|Manchester Unity Building in Melbourne (1932)\nImage:Napier-SoundShell.jpg|Sound Shell (1931) in Napier, New Zealand at night\nFile:ANZAC War Memorial.jpg|ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney (1934)\n\nMelbourne and Sydney Australia have several notable Art Deco buildings, including the Manchester Unity Building and the former Russell Street Police Headquarters in Melbourne, the Castlemaine Art Museum in Castlemaine, central Victoria and the Grace Building, AWA Tower and ANZAC War Memorial in Sydney.", "Several towns in New Zealand, including Napier and Hastings were rebuilt in Art Deco style after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, and many of the buildings have been protected and restored.", "Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated.", "Wellington has retained a sizeable number of Art Deco buildings.", "\nFile:Delano National MiamiBeach.JPG|The Miami Beach Architectural District protects historic Art Deco buildings\nFile:U-Drop Inn.jpg|The U-Drop Inn, a roadside gas station and diner on U.S. Highway 66 in Shamrock, Texas (1936), now an historic monument\nFile:Havana Art Deco (8862331012).jpg|Art deco neighborhood in Havana, Cuba\nFile:Smithcenterlv.jpg|Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, a Neo-Art Deco building (2012))\n\nIn many cities, efforts have been made to protect the remaining Art Deco buildings.", "In many U.S. cities, historic art deco movie theaters have been preserved and turned into cultural centers.", "Even more modest art deco buildings have been preserved as part of America's architectural heritage; an art deco cafe and gas station along Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas is an historic monument.", "The Miami Beach Architectural District protects several hundred old buildings, and requires that new buildings comply with the style.", "In Havana, Cuba, a large number of Art Deco buildings have badly deteriorated.", "Efforts are underway to bring the buildings back to their original color and appearance.", "In the 21st century, modern variants of Art Deco, called Neo Art Deco, have appeared in some American cities, inspired by the classic Art Deco buildings of the 1920s and 1930s.", "Examples include the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, which includes art deco features from Hoover Dam, fifty miles away, and from the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, an art deco landmark built in 1936.", "\n\n\n\nFile:1941 Packard 180 Formal Sedan.jpg|1941 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Formal sedan\nFile:PRR S1.jpg|Pennsylvania RR's S-1 locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, at the 1939 New York World's Fair\nFile:Arnaldo Dell'Ira (1903-1943), lampada a grattacielo, 1929.jpg|\"Skyscraper Lamp\" designed by Arnaldo dell'Ira, 1929\nFile:HHLorain-pylon2.jpg|''Guardians of Traffic'' pylon on Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland (1932)\nFile:Municipal Auditorium art deco chandelier.jpg|Municipal Auditorium of Kansas City, Missouri: Hoit Price & Barnes, and Gentry, Voskamp & Neville, 1935\nFile:DontKillWildlifeWPA1940.jpg|U.S.", "Works Progress Administration poster, John Wagner, artist, ca.", "1940\nFile:Beau Brownie.jpg|\"Beau Brownie\" camera, Walter Dorwin Teague 1930 design for Eastman Kodak\nFile:HotelEdenTagSmCrop.jpg|Former Teatro Eden, now Aparthotel Vip Eden in Lisbon, Portugal: Cassiano Branco and Carlo Florencio Dias, 1931\nFile:Duofold Desk Set.jpg|Parker Duofold desk set, c.1930\nFile:Cord 812 1937.jpg|1937 Cord automobile model 812, designed in 1935 by Gordon M. Buehrig and staff\nFile:Mexican art deco.jpg|Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Federico Mariscal, completed 1934\nFile:Paramount Ladies Lounge.jpg|Women's Smoking Room at the Paramount Theatre, Oakland.", "Timothy L. Pflueger, architect, 1931\nFile:US 853.jpg|U.S.", "postage stamp commemorating the 1939 New York World's Fair, 1939\nFile:Rytm2.jpg|Henryk Kuna, ''Rytm'' (\"Rhythm\"), in Skaryszewski Park, Warsaw, Poland, 1925\nFile:Snowdon Theatre (Montreal).jpg|Disused Snowdon Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.", "Opened 1937, closed 1984.", "Daniel J. Crighton, architect\nFile:Cincimuseum.jpg|Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio; Paul Philippe Cret, Alfred T. Fellheimer, Steward Wagner, Roland Wank, 1933\nFile:Empire State Lobby-27527.jpg|Lobby, Empire State Building, New York City.", "William F. Lamb, opened 1931\nFile:WPAMilkPoster1940.jpg|Federal Art Project poster promoting milk drinking in Cleveland, 1940\nFile:Eaton's College Street Store Toronto Canada - 7th Floor Lobby Sketch.jpg|Interior drawing, Eaton's College Street department store, Toronto, Ontario, Canada\nFile:Niagara Mohawk Bldg (Syracuse, NY).jpg|Niagara Mohawk Building, Syracuse, New York.", "Melvin L. King and Bley & Lyman, architects, completed 1932", "\n\n* Art Deco jewelry (1915–1935)\n* Roaring Twenties\n* 1920s in Western fashion\n* Annees folles\n* 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress\n* 1936 Fair Park built for Texas Centennial Exposition\n* Art Deco stamps\n* Paris architecture of the Belle Époque\n* Paris between the Wars (1919–1939)\n* Socialist realism, the Soviet version of Art Deco architecture.", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "\n\n* Art Deco Miami Beach\n* Art Deco Montreal\n* Art Deco Society of Washington\n* Art Deco Society of California\n* Art Deco Rio de Janeiro\n* Art Deco Shanghai\n* Art Deco Museum in Moscow\n* Art Deco Society New York\n* Art Deco Society of Los Angeles" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\nEnglish language prevalence in the United States. Darker shades of blue indicate higher concentrations of native English speakers in the corresponding states\n\n\n'''American English''' ('''AmE''', '''AE''', '''AmEng''', '''USEng''', '''en-US'''), sometimes called '''United States English''' or '''U.S. English''', is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. \n\nEnglish is the most widely spoken language in the United States and is the common language used by the federal government, considered the ''de facto'' language of the country because of its widespread use. English has been given official status by 32 of the 50 state governments. As an example, while both Spanish and English have equivalent status in the local courts of Puerto Rico, under federal law, English is the official language for any matters being referred to the United States district court for the territory.\n\nThe use of English in the United States is a result of British colonization of the Americas. The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North America during the 17th century, followed by further migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since then, American English has developed into new dialects, in some cases under the influence of West African and Native American languages, German, Dutch, Irish, Spanish, and other languages of successive waves of immigrants to the United States.\n\nAny American or even Canadian English accent perceived as free of noticeably local, ethnic, or cultural markers is popularly called \"General American\", described by sociolinguist William Labov as \"a fairly uniform broadcast standard in the mass media\". Otherwise, however, historical and present linguistic evidence does not support the notion of there being a mainstream standard English of the United States. According to Labov, with the major exception of Southern American English, regional accents throughout the country are not yielding to this broadcast standard. On the contrary, the sound of American English continues to evolve, with some local accents disappearing, but several larger regional accents emerging.\n\n==Varieties== \n\n\nWhile written American English is (in general) standardized across the country, there are several recognizable variations in the spoken language, both in pronunciation and in vernacular vocabulary. The regional sounds of present-day American English are reportedly engaged in a complex phenomenon of \"both convergence and divergence\": some accents are homogenizing and levelling, while others are diversifying and deviating further away from one another. In 2010, William Labov summarized the current state of regional American accents as follows:\n\nSome regional American English has undergone \"vigorous new sound changes\" since the mid-nineteenth century onwards, spawning relatively recent Mid-Atlantic (centered on Philadelphia and Baltimore), Western Pennsylvania (centered on Pittsburgh), Inland Northern (centered on Chicago, Detroit, and the Great Lakes region), Midland (centered on Indianapolis, Columbus, and Kansas City) and Western accents, all of which \"are now more different from each other than they were fifty or a hundred years ago.\" Meanwhile, the unique features of the Eastern New England (centered on Boston) and New York City accents appear to be stable. \"On the other hand, dialects of many smaller cities have receded in favor of the new regional patterns\"; for example, the traditional accents of Charleston and of Cincinnati have given way to the general Midland accent, and of St. Louis now approaches the sounds of an Inland Northern or Midland accent. At the same time, the Southern accent, despite its huge geographic coverage, \"is on the whole slowly receding due to cultural stigma: younger speakers everywhere in the South are shifting away from the marked features of Southern speech.\" Finally, the \"Hoi Toider\" dialect shows the paradox of receding among younger speakers in North Carolina's Outer Banks islands, yet strengthening in the islands of the Chesapeake Bay.\n\n\n'''Major regional dialects of American English'''\n\n\n\n The map above shows the major regional dialects of American English (in all caps) plus smaller and more local dialects, as demarcated primarily by Labov et al.'s ''Atlas of North American English'', as well as the related Telsur Project's regional maps. Any region may also contain speakers of a \"General American\" accent that resists the marked features of their region. Furthermore, this map does not account for speakers of ethnic or cultural varieties (such as African-American Vernacular English, Chicano English, Cajun English, etc.). All regional American English, unless specifically stated otherwise, can be assumed to be rhotic, with the ''father–bother'' merger, ''Mary–marry–merry'' merger, and pre-nasal \"short ''a''\" tensing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBelow, eleven major American English accents are defined by their particular combinations of certain characteristics:\n\n\nMost populous urban center !! Strong fronting !! Strong fronting !! Strong fronting !! Strong fronting !! split system !! ''Cot–caught'' merger !! ''Pin–pen'' merger\n\n '''African American English''' \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Chicano English''' \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Inland Northern U.S. English''' \n Chicago \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Mid-Atlantic U.S. English''' \n Philadelphia \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Midland U.S. English''' \n Indianapolis \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''New York City English''' \n New York City \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''North-Central U.S. English''' \n Minneapolis \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''''' \n Boston \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Southern U.S. English''' \n San Antonio \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Western U.S. English''' \n Los Angeles \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Western Pennsylvania English''' \n Pittsburgh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n===Eastern New England===\n\nMarked New England speech is mostly associated with eastern New England, centering on Boston and Providence, and traditionally includes some notable degree of ''r''-dropping (or non-rhoticity), as well as the back tongue positioning of the vowel (to ) and the vowel (to ). In and north of Boston, the sound is famously centralized or even fronted. Boston shows a cot–caught merger, while Providence keeps the same two vowels sharply distinct.\n\n===New York City===\n \nNew York City English, which prevails in a relatively small but nationally recognizable dialect region in and around New York City (including Long Island and northeastern New Jersey). Its features include some notable degree of non-rhoticity and a locally unique short-''a'' vowel pronunciation split. New York City English otherwise broadly follows Northern patterns, except that the vowel is fronted. The cot–caught merger is markedly resisted around New York City, as depicted in popular stereotypes like ''tawwk'' and ''cawwfee'', with this vowel being typically tensed and diphthongal.\n\n===South===\n \nMost older Southern speech along the Eastern seaboard was non-rhotic, though, today, all local Southern dialects are strongly rhotic, defined most recognizably by the vowel losing its gliding quality and approaching , the initiating event for the Southern Vowel Shift, which includes the famous \"Southern drawl\" that makes short front vowels into gliding vowels.\n\n===Inland North and North Central===\nSince the mid-twentieth century, a distinctive new Northern speech pattern has developed near the Canadian border of the United States, centered on the central and eastern Great Lakes region (but only on the American side). Linguists call this region the \"Inland North\", as defined by its local vowel shift—occurring in the same region whose \"standard Midwestern\" speech was the basis for General American in the mid-20th century (though prior to this recent vowel shift). Those not from this area frequently confuse it with the North Midland dialect treated below, referring to both, plus areas to the immediate west of the Great Lakes region, all collectively as \"the Midwest\": a common but vaguely delineated term for what is now the central or north-central United States. The North Central or \"Minnesotan\" dialect is also prevalent in the Upper Midwest, and is characterized by influences from the German and Scandinavian settlers of the region (like \"yah\" for yes, pronounced similarly to \"ja\" in German, Norwegian and Swedish). In parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, another dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch English is also spoken.\n\n===Midland===\nBetween the traditional American dialect areas of the \"North\" and \"South\" is what linguists have long called the \"Midland\". This geographically overlaps with some states situated in the lower Midwest. West of the Appalachian Mountains begins the broad zone of modern-day Midland speech . Its vocabulary has been divided into two discrete subdivisions, the \"North Midland\" that begins north of the Ohio River valley area, and the \"South Midland\" speech, which to the American ear has a slight trace of the \"Southern accent\" (especially due to some degree of glide weakening). The South Midland dialect follows the Ohio River in a generally southwesterly direction, moves across Arkansas and Oklahoma west of the Mississippi, and peters out in West Texas. Modern Midland speech is transitional regarding a presence or absence of the cot–caught merger. Historically, Pennsylvania was a home of the Midland dialect, however, this state of early English-speaking settlers has now largely split off into new dialect regions, with distinct Philadelphia and Pittsburgh dialects documented since the latter half of the twentieth century.\n\n===West===\n\nA generalized Midland speech continues westward until becoming a somewhat internally diverse Western American English that unites the entire western half of the country. This Western dialect is mostly unified by a firm cot–caught merger and a conservatively backed pronunciation of the long ''oh'' sound in ''goat, toe, show'', etc., but a fronted pronunciation of the long ''oo'' sound in ''goose, lose, tune,'' etc. Western speech itself contains such advanced sub-types as Pacific Northwest English and California English, with the Chicano English accent also being a sub-type primarily of the Western accent. In the immediate San Francisco area, some older speakers do not have the normal Western cot–caught merger. The island state of Hawaii, though primarily English-speaking, is also home to a creole language known commonly as Hawaiian Pidgin, and some native Hawaiians may even speak English with a Pidgin accent.\n\n===Other varieties===\nAlthough no longer region-specific, African American Vernacular English, which remains prevalent particularly among working- and middle-class African Americans, has a close relationship to Southern dialects and has greatly influenced everyday speech of many Americans, including hip hop culture. The same aforementioned socioeconomic groups, but among Hispanic and Latino Americans, have also developed native-speaker varieties of English. The best-studied Latino Englishes are Chicano English, spoken in the West and Midwest, and New York Latino English, spoken in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, ethnic varieties such as Yeshiva English and \"Yinglish\" are spoken by some American Jews, and Cajun Vernacular English by some Cajuns in southern Louisiana.\n", "\n\n\n+ Pure vowels in General American English (Monophthongs)\n\nGenAm phonemes\n GenAm realization\n Example words\n\n\n \n b'''a'''th, tr'''a'''p, y'''a'''k\n\n \n b'''a'''n, tr'''a'''m, y'''eah'''\n\n\n \n '''ah''', f'''a'''ther, sp'''a'''\n\n b'''o'''ther, l'''o'''t, w'''a'''sp (father-bother merger)\n\n\n \nb'''o'''ss, cl'''o'''th, d'''o'''g, '''o'''ff (lot-cloth split)\n\n'''a'''ll, b'''ough'''t, fl'''au'''nt\n\n \n \n dr'''e'''ss, m'''e'''t, br'''ea'''d\n\n \n \n '''a'''bout, syr'''u'''p, '''a'''ren'''a'''\n\n\n \n k'''i'''t, p'''i'''nk, t'''i'''p\n\n \npriv'''a'''te, muff'''i'''n, wast'''e'''d (allophone of )\n\n\n \n b'''ea'''m, ch'''i'''c, fl'''ee'''ce\n\n\nhapp'''y''', mon'''ey''', part'''ie'''s (allophone of )\n\n \n \n b'''u'''s, fl'''oo'''d, wh'''a'''t\n\n \n \n b'''oo'''k, p'''u'''t, sh'''ou'''ld\n\n \n \n g'''oo'''se, n'''ew''', tr'''ue'''\n\n\n\nCompared with English as spoken in England, North American English is more homogeneous, and any North American accent that exhibits a majority of the most common phonological features is known as \"General American.\" This section mostly refers to such widespread or mainstream pronunciation features that characterize American English.\n\nStudies on historical usage of English in both the United States and the United Kingdom suggest that spoken American English did not simply deviate away from period British English, but retained certain now-archaic features contemporary British English has since lost. One of these is the rhoticity common in most American accents, because in the 17th century, when English was brought to the Americas, most English in England was also rhotic. The preservation of rhoticity has been further supported by the influences of Hiberno-English, West Country English and Scottish English. In most varieties of North American English, the sound corresponding to the letter is a postalveolar approximant or retroflex approximant rather than a trill or tap (as often heard, for example, in the English accents of Scotland or India). A unique \"bunched tongue\" variant of the approximant ''r'' sound is also associated with the United States, and seems particularly noticeable in the Midwest and South.\n\nblack speakers throughout the whole country.\n\nTraditionally, the \"East Coast\" comprises three or four major linguistically distinct regions, each of which possesses English varieties both distinct from each other as well as quite internally diverse: New England, the New York metropolitan area, the Mid-Atlantic states (centering on Philadelphia and Baltimore), and the Southern United States. The only ''r''-dropping (or non-rhotic) regional accents of American English are all spoken along the East Coast, except the Mid-Atlantic region, because these areas were in close historical contact with England and imitated prestigious varieties of English at a time when these were undergoing changes; in particular, the London prestige of non-rhoticity (or dropping the sound, except before vowels) from the 17th century onwards, which is now widespread throughout most of England. Today, non-rhoticity is confined in the United States to the accents of eastern New England, the former plantation South, New York City, and African American Vernacular English (though the vowel-consonant cluster found in \"bird\", \"work\", \"hurt\", \"learn\", etc. usually retains its ''r'' pronunciation today, even in these non-rhotic accents). Other than these varieties, American accents are rhotic, pronouncing every instance of the sound.\n\nMany British accents have evolved in other ways compared to which General American English has remained relatively more conservative, for example, regarding the typical southern British features of a trap–bath split, fronting of , and H-dropping. The innovation of /t/ glottaling, which does occur before a consonant (including a syllabic coronal nasal consonant, like in the words ''button'' or ''satin'') and word-finally in General American, additionally occurs variably between vowels in British English. On the other hand, General American is more innovative than the dialects of England, or English elsewhere in the world, in a number of its own ways:\n\n* The merger of and , making ''father'' and ''bother'' rhyme. This change, known as the ''father–bother'' merger is in a transitional or completed stage nearly universally in North American English. Exceptions are in northeastern New England English, such as the Boston accent, New York City English, Philadelphia English, Baltimore English, and many Southern dialects, such as the Yat dialect.\n* About half of all Americans merge of the vowels and . This is the so-called cot–caught merger, where words like ''cot'' and ''caught'' are homophones. This change has occurred most firmly in eastern New England (Boston area), Greater Pittsburgh, and the whole western half of the country.\n* For speakers who do not merge ''caught'' and ''cot'', the lot–cloth split has taken hold. This change took place prior to the unrounding of the ''cot''. It is the result of the lengthening and raising of the ''cot'' vowel, merging with the ''caught'' vowel in many cases before voiceless fricatives (as in ''cloth, off''), which is also found in some varieties of British English, as well as before (as in ''strong, long),'' usually in ''gone,'' often in ''on,'' and irregularly before ''(log, hog, dog, fog'').\n* The ''strut'' vowel, rather than the ''lot'' or ''thought'' vowel, is used in the function words ''was, of, from, what, everybody, nobody, somebody, anybody'', and, for some speakers, ''because'' and ''want'', when stressed.\n* Vowel mergers before intervocalic : The Mary–marry–merry, serious–Sirius, and hurry–furry mergers are found in most American English dialects. However, exceptions exist primarily along the east coast.\n** Americans vary slightly in their pronunciations of R-colored vowels—such as those in and —sometimes monophthongizing towards and or tensing towards and respectively, causing pronunciations like for ''pair''/''pear'' and for ''peer''/''pier''. Also, is often reduced to , so that ''cure'', ''pure'', and ''mature'' may all end with the sound , thus rhyming with ''blur'' and ''sir''. The word ''sure'' is also part of this rhyming set as it is commonly pronounced .\n* Dropping of is much more extensive than in most of England. In most North American accents, is dropped after all alveolar and interdental consonants (i.e. everywhere except after /p/, /b/, /f/, /h/, /k/, and /m/) so that ''new, duke, Tuesday, presume'' are pronounced , , , . \n* /æ/ tensing in environments that vary widely from accent to accent. With most American speakers, for whom the phoneme operates under a somewhat continuous system, has both a tense and a lax allophone (with a kind of \"continuum\" of possible sounds between those two extremes, rather than a definitive split). In these accents, is overall realized before nasal stops as more tense (approximately ), while other environments are more lax (approximately the standard ); for example, note the vowel sound in for ''mass'', but for ''man''). In some American accents, though, specifically those from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City, and are entirely separate (or \"split\") phonemes, for example, in ''planet'' vs. ''plan it'' . This is often called the Mid-Atlantic split-''a'' system. Note that these vowels move in the opposite direction in the mouth compared to the backed British \"broad A\"; this phenomenon has been noted as related to the increasingly rare phenomenon of older speakers of the eastern New England (Boston) area for whom changes to before alone or when preceded by a homorganic nasal.\n\n\n\n* Flapping of intervocalic and to alveolar tap before unstressed vowels (as in ''bu'''tt'''er'' , ''par'''t'''y'' ) and syllabic (''bo'''tt'''le'' ), as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel (''wha'''t''' else'' , ''wha'''t'''ever'' ). Thus, for most speakers, pairs such as ''ladder/latter, metal/medal,'' and ''coating/coding'' are pronounced the same, except with the stressed (see below).\n* Canadian raising of : many speakers split the sound based on its presence before either a voiceless or voiced consonant, so that in ''writer'' it is pronounced but in ''rider'' it is pronounced (because is a voiceless consonant while is voiced). This is a form of Canadian raising but, unlike more extreme forms of that process, does not affect . In many areas and idiolects, a distinction between what elsewhere become homophones through this process is maintained by vowel lengthening in the vowel preceding the formerly voiced consonant, ''e.g.'', for \"writer\" as opposed to for \"rider\".\n** Many speakers in the Inland North, North Central American English, and Philadelphia dialect areas raise before voiced consonants in certain words as well, particularly , and . Hence, words like ''tiny'', ''spider'', ''cider'', ''tiger'', ''dinosaur'', ''cyber-'', ''beside'', ''idle'' (but sometimes not ''idol''), and ''fire'' may contain a raised nucleus. The use of rather than in such words is unpredictable from phonetic environment alone, though it may have to do with their acoustic similarity to other words that ''do'' contain before a voiceless consonant, per the traditional Canadian-raising system. Hence, some researchers have argued that there has been a phonemic split in these dialects; the distribution of the two sounds is becoming more unpredictable among younger speakers.\n*T glottalization is common when is in the final position of a syllable or word (''get'', ''fretful'': , ), though this is always superseded by the aforementioned rules of flapping\n*L-velarization: England's typical distinction between a \"clear L\" (i.e. ) and a \"dark L\" (i.e. or sometimes even ) is much less noticeable in nearly all dialects of American English; it may even be altogether absent. Instead, most U.S. speakers pronounce all \"L\" sounds with a tendency to be \"dark\", meaning with some degree of velarization. The only notable exceptions to this are in some Spanish-influenced U.S. English varieties (such as East Coast Latino English, which typically shows a clear \"L\" in syllable onsets); in New York City English, where the is clear in prevocalic positions; and in older, moribund Southern speech of the U.S., where \"L\" is clear in an intervocalic environment between front vowels.\n* Both intervocalic and may commonly be realized as or simply , making ''winter'' and ''winner'' homophones in fast or non-careful speech.\n*The vowel in unstressed syllables generally merges with (weak-vowel merger), so ''roses'' is pronounced like ''Rosa's''.\n\nSome mergers found in most varieties of both American and British English include:\n*Horse–hoarse merger, making the vowels and before 'r' homophones, with homophonous pairs like ''horse/hoarse, corps/core, for/four, morning/mourning, war/wore,'' etc. homophones.\n*Wine–whine merger, making pairs like ''wine/whine, wet/whet, Wales/whales, wear/where,'' etc. homophones, in most cases eliminating , the voiceless labiovelar fricative. Many older varieties of southern and western American English still keep these distinct, but the merger appears to be spreading.\n", "\nNorth America has given the English lexicon many thousands of words, meanings, and phrases. Several thousand are now used in English as spoken internationally.\n\n===Creation of an American lexicon===\nThe process of coining new lexical items started as soon as the colonists began borrowing names for unfamiliar flora, fauna, and topography from the Native American languages. Examples of such names are ''opossum, raccoon, squash'' and ''moose'' (from Algonquian). Other Native American loanwords, such as ''wigwam'' or ''moccasin'', describe articles in common use among Native Americans. The languages of the other colonizing nations also added to the American vocabulary; for instance, ''cookie'', ''cruller'', ''stoop'', and ''pit'' (of a fruit) from Dutch; ''angst, kindergarten, sauerkraut'' from German, ''levee, portage'' (\"carrying of boats or goods\") and (probably) ''gopher'' from French; ''barbecue, stevedore, and rodeo'' from Spanish.\n\nAmong the earliest and most notable regular \"English\" additions to the American vocabulary, dating from the early days of colonization through the early 19th century, are terms describing the features of the North American landscape; for instance, ''run, branch, fork, snag, bluff, gulch, neck'' (of the woods), ''barrens, bottomland, notch, knob, riffle, rapids, watergap, cutoff, trail, timberline'' and ''divide.'' Already existing words such as ''creek, slough, sleet'' and (in later use) ''watershed'' received new meanings that were unknown in England.\n\nOther noteworthy American toponyms are found among loanwords; for example, ''prairie, butte'' (French); ''bayou'' (Choctaw via Louisiana French); ''coulee'' (Canadian French, but used also in Louisiana with a different meaning); ''canyon, mesa, arroyo'' (Spanish); ''vlei, skate, kill'' (Dutch, Hudson Valley).\n\nThe word ''corn'', used in England to refer to wheat (or any cereal), came to denote the plant ''Zea mays'', the most important crop in the U.S., originally named ''Indian corn'' by the earliest settlers; wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc. came to be collectively referred to as ''grain''. Other notable farm related vocabulary additions were the new meanings assumed by ''barn'' (not only a building for hay and grain storage, but also for housing livestock) and ''team'' (not just the horses, but also the vehicle along with them), as well as, in various periods, the terms ''range, (corn) crib, truck, elevator, sharecropping'' and ''feedlot.''\n\n''Ranch,'' later applied to a house style, derives from Mexican Spanish; most Spanish contributions came after the War of 1812, with the opening of the West. Among these are, other than toponyms, ''chaps'' (from ''chaparreras), plaza, lasso, bronco, buckaroo, rodeo;'' examples of \"English\" additions from the cowboy era are ''bad man, maverick, chuck'' (\"food\") and ''Boot Hill;'' from the California Gold Rush came such idioms as ''hit pay dirt'' or ''strike it rich.'' The word ''blizzard'' probably originated in the West. A couple of notable late 18th century additions are the verb ''belittle'' and the noun ''bid,'' both first used in writing by Thomas Jefferson.\n\nWith the new continent developed new forms of dwelling, and hence a large inventory of words designating real estate concepts ''(land office, lot, outlands, waterfront,'' the verbs ''locate'' and ''relocate, betterment, addition, subdivision),'' types of property ''(log cabin, adobe'' in the 18th century; ''frame house, apartment, tenement house, shack, shanty'' in the 19th century; ''project, condominium, townhouse, split-level, mobile home, multi-family'' in the 20th century), and parts thereof ''(driveway, breezeway, backyard, dooryard; clapboard, siding, trim, baseboard; stoop'' (from Dutch), ''family room, den;'' and, in recent years, ''HVAC, central air, walkout basement).''\n\nEver since the American Revolution, a great number of terms connected with the U.S. political institutions have entered the language; examples are ''run (i.e, for office), gubernatorial, primary election, carpetbagger'' (after the Civil War), ''repeater'', ''lame duck'' (a British term used originally in Banking) and ''pork barrel.'' Some of these are internationally used (for example, ''caucus, gerrymander, filibuster, exit poll).''\n\n====19th century onwards====\nThe development of industry and material innovations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries were the source of a massive stock of distinctive new words, phrases and idioms. Typical examples are the vocabulary of ''railroading'' (see further at rail terminology) and ''transportation'' terminology, ranging from names of roads (from ''dirt roads'' and ''back roads'' to ''freeways'' and ''parkways)'' to road infrastructure ''(parking lot, overpass, rest area),'' and from automotive terminology to ''public transit'' (for example, in the sentence \"''riding'' the ''subway downtown''\"); such American introductions as ''commuter'' (from ''commutation ticket), concourse, to board'' (a vehicle), ''to park, double-park'' and ''parallel park'' (a car), ''double decker'' or the noun ''terminal'' have long been used in all dialects of English.\n\nTrades of various kinds have endowed (American) English with household words describing jobs and occupations ''(bartender, longshoreman, patrolman, hobo, bouncer, bellhop, roustabout, white collar, blue collar, employee, boss'' from Dutch, ''intern, busboy, mortician, senior citizen),'' businesses and workplaces ''(department store, supermarket, thrift store, gift shop, drugstore, motel, main street, gas station, hardware store, savings and loan, hock'' also from Dutch), as well as general concepts and innovations ''(automated teller machine, smart card, cash register, dishwasher, reservation'' as at hotels, ''pay envelope, movie, mileage, shortage, outage, blood bank).''\n\nAlready existing English words—such as ''store, shop, dry goods, haberdashery, lumber''—underwent shifts in meaning; some—such as ''mason, student, clerk'', the verbs ''can'' (as in \"canned goods\"), ''ship, fix, carry, enroll'' (as in school), ''run'' (as in \"run a business\"), ''release'' and ''haul''—were given new significations, while others (such as ''tradesman)'' have retained meanings that disappeared in England. From the world of business and finance came ''break-even, merger, delisting, downsize, disintermediation, bottom line;'' from sports terminology came, jargon aside, ''Monday-morning quarterback, cheap shot, game plan'' (football); ''in the ballpark, out of left field, off base, hit and run,'' and many other idioms from baseball; gamblers coined ''bluff, blue chip, ante, bottom dollar, raw deal, pass the buck, ace in the hole, freeze-out, showdown;'' miners coined ''bedrock, bonanza, peter out, pan out'' and the verb ''prospect'' from the noun; and railroadmen are to be credited with ''make the grade, sidetrack, head-on,'' and the verb ''railroad.'' A number of Americanisms describing material innovations remained largely confined to North America: ''elevator, ground, gasoline;'' many automotive terms fall in this category, although many do not ''(hatchback, sport utility vehicle, station wagon, tailgate, motorhome, truck, pickup truck, to exhaust).''\n\nIn addition to the above-mentioned loans from French, Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Dutch, and Native American languages, other accretions from foreign languages came with 19th and early 20th century immigration; notably, from Yiddish ''(chutzpah, schmooze, tush'') and German—''hamburger'' and culinary terms like ''frankfurter/franks, liverwurst, sauerkraut, wiener, deli(catessen); scram, kindergarten, gesundheit;'' musical terminology ''(whole note, half note,'' etc.); and apparently ''cookbook, fresh'' (\"impudent\") and ''what gives?'' Such constructions as ''Are you coming with?'' and ''I like to dance'' (for \"I like dancing\") may also be the result of German or Yiddish influence.\n\nFinally, a large number of English colloquialisms from various periods are American in origin; some have lost their American flavor (from ''OK'' and ''cool'' to ''nerd'' and ''24/7),'' while others have not ''(have a nice day, for sure);'' many are now distinctly old-fashioned ''(swell, groovy).'' Some English words now in general use, such as ''hijacking, disc jockey, boost, bulldoze'' and ''jazz,'' originated as American slang. Among the many English idioms of U.S. origin are ''get the hang of, bark up the wrong tree, keep tabs, run scared, take a backseat, have an edge over, stake a claim, take a shine to, in on the ground floor, bite off more than one can chew, off/on the wagon, stay put, inside track, stiff upper lip, bad hair day, throw a monkey wrench/monkeywrenching, under the weather, jump bail, come clean, come again?, it ain't over till it's over,'' and ''what goes around comes around.''\n\n===Morphology===\nAmerican English has always shown a marked tendency to use nouns as verbs. Examples of verbed nouns are ''interview, advocate, vacuum, lobby, pressure, rear-end, transition, feature, profile, spearhead, skyrocket, showcase, service'' (as a car), ''corner, torch, exit'' (as in \"exit the lobby\"), ''factor'' (in mathematics), ''gun'' (\"shoot\"), ''author'' (which disappeared in English around 1630 and was revived in the U.S. three centuries later) and, out of American material, ''proposition, graft'' (bribery), ''bad-mouth, vacation, major, backpack, backtrack, intern, ticket'' (traffic violations), ''hassle, blacktop, peer-review, dope'' and ''OD'', and, of course ''verbed'' as used at the start of this sentence.\n\nCompounds coined in the U.S. are for instance ''foothill, flatlands, badlands, landslide'' (in all senses), ''overview'' (the noun), ''backdrop, teenager, brainstorm, bandwagon, hitchhike, smalltime, deadbeat, frontman, lowbrow'' and ''highbrow, hell-bent, foolproof, nitpick, about-face'' (later verbed), ''upfront'' (in all senses), ''fixer-upper, no-show;'' many of these are phrases used as adverbs or (often) hyphenated attributive adjectives: ''non-profit, for-profit, free-for-all, ready-to-wear, catchall, low-down, down-and-out, down and dirty, in-your-face, nip and tuck;'' many compound nouns and adjectives are open: ''happy hour, fall guy, capital gain, road trip, wheat pit, head start, plea bargain;'' some of these are colorful ''(empty nester, loan shark, ambulance chaser, buzz saw, ghetto blaster, dust bunny),'' others are euphemistic ''(differently abled (physically challenged), human resources, affirmative action, correctional facility).''\n\nMany compound nouns have the form verb plus preposition: ''add-on, stopover, lineup, shakedown, tryout, spin-off, rundown'' (\"summary\"), ''shootout, holdup, hideout, comeback, cookout, kickback, makeover, takeover, rollback'' (\"decrease\"), ''rip-off, come-on, shoo-in, fix-up, tie-in, tie-up'' (\"stoppage\"), ''stand-in.'' These essentially are nouned phrasal verbs; some prepositional and phrasal verbs are in fact of American origin ''(spell out, figure out, hold up, brace up, size up, rope in, back up/off/down/out, step down, miss out, kick around, cash in, rain out, check in'' and ''check out'' (in all senses), ''fill in'' (\"inform\"), ''kick in'' or ''throw in'' (\"contribute\"), ''square off, sock in, sock away, factor in/out, come down with, give up on, lay off'' (from employment), ''run into'' and ''across'' (\"meet\"), ''stop by, pass up, put up'' (money), ''set up'' (\"frame\"), ''trade in, pick up on, pick up after, lose out).''\n\nNoun endings such as ''-ee (retiree), -ery (bakery), -ster (gangster)'' and ''-cian (beautician)'' are also particularly productive. Some verbs ending in ''-ize'' are of U.S. origin; for example, ''fetishize, prioritize, burglarize, accessorize, itemize, editorialize, customize, notarize, weatherize, winterize, Mirandize;'' and so are some back-formations ''(locate, fine-tune, evolute, curate, donate, emote, upholster, peeve'' and ''enthuse).'' Among syntactical constructions that arose in the U.S. are ''as of'' (with dates and times), ''outside of, headed for, meet up with, back of, convince someone to, not about to'' and ''lack for.''\n\nAmericanisms formed by alteration of some existing words include notably ''pesky, phony, rambunctious, pry'' (as in \"pry open\", from ''prize), putter'' (verb), ''buddy, sundae, skeeter, sashay'' and ''kitty-corner.'' Adjectives that arose in the U.S. are for example, ''lengthy, bossy, cute'' and ''cutesy, grounded'' (of a child), ''punk'' (in all senses), ''sticky'' (of the weather), ''through'' (as in \"through train\", or meaning \"finished\"), and many colloquial forms such as ''peppy'' or ''wacky''. American blends include ''motel, guesstimate, infomercial'' and ''televangelist.''\n\n===English words that survived in the United States and not in the United Kingdom===\nA number of words and meanings that originated in Middle English or Early Modern English and that have been in everyday use in the United States dropped out in most varieties of British English; some of these have cognates in Lowland Scots. Terms such as ''fall'' (\"autumn\"), ''faucet'' (\"tap\"), ''diaper'' (\"nappy\"), ''candy'' (\"sweets\"), ''skillet'', ''eyeglasses'' and ''obligate'' are often regarded as Americanisms. ''Fall'' for example came to denote the season in 16th century England, a contraction of Middle English expressions like \"fall of the leaf\" and \"fall of the year\".\n\nDuring the 17th century, English immigration to the British colonies in North America was at its peak and the new settlers took the English language with them. While the term ''fall'' gradually became obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America. ''Gotten'' (past participle of ''get'') is often considered to be an Americanism, although there are some areas of Britain, such as Lancashire and North East England, that still continue to use it and sometimes also use ''putten'' as the past participle for ''put'' (which is not done by most speakers of American English).\n\nOther words and meanings, to various extents, were brought back to Britain, especially in the second half of the 20th century; these include ''hire'' (\"to employ\"), ''quit'' (\"to stop\", which spawned ''quitter'' in the U.S.), ''I guess'' (famously criticized by H. W. Fowler), ''baggage'', ''hit'' (a place), and the adverbs ''overly'' and ''presently'' (\"currently\"). Some of these, for example ''monkey wrench'' and ''wastebasket'', originated in 19th century Britain.\n\nThe mandative subjunctive (as in \"the City Attorney suggested that the case ''not be closed''\") is livelier in American English than it is in British English. It appears in some areas as a spoken usage and is considered obligatory in contexts that are more formal. The adjectives ''mad'' meaning \"angry\", ''smart'' meaning \"intelligent\", and ''sick'' meaning \"ill\" are also more frequent in American (these meanings are also frequent in Hiberno-English) than British English.\n\n===Regionally distinct terms within the United States===\nLinguist Bert Vaux created a survey, completed in 2003, polling English speakers across the United States about the specific words they would use in everyday speech for various concepts. This 2003 study concluded that:\n*For a \"long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on\", the most common term found in the survey, throughout the country (preferred by 77% of the participants), was the word ''sub'' (an abbreviation for ''submarine sandwich''). The New York metropolitan area shows the greatest variety of terms for this idea in one single region, largely counting for the 5% of the survey who preferred the term ''hero'', nearly 7% (which is even more prevalent in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, including southern New Jersey as well as eastern Pennsylvania) who preferred ''hoagie'', and just less than 3% (also notably prevalent throughout New England, except Maine) who prefer ''grinder''. \n*The U.S. is largely divided about the \"generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage\". Nearly 53% of the surveyed sample preferred ''soda'', particularly in the Northeast, eastern Wisconsin, Greater St. Louis, the far West, and some of South Florida, with it also called ''tonic'' in some parts of southeastern New England. Over 25% preferred ''pop'', particularly around the Midwest (including the Great Lakes region) and the Western regions along the Canada–US border. Over 12% preferred ''coke'' (which is also trademarked for a specific cola product), particularly scattered throughout the South. Urban, coastal California speakers use all three terms, though especially ''soda''. Speakers of the West generally use ''soda'' or ''pop''.\n*The most common word or phrase \"to address a group of two or more people\" (in the second person) was ''you guys'' at almost 43%, particularly throughout the Northeast and Great Lakes region (along with simply ''you'' at nearly 13%). ''Y'all'' was preferred by 14%, particularly in the South, but reaching somewhat noticeably into the Northern regions as well. ''Yous(e)'' was largely confined to the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, at just over 0.5%. The expression \"yinz\" is a distinctive feature of Western Pennsylvania speech.\n*The most common term for generic, rubber-soled shoes worn for athletic activities is ''sneakers'' as said by 46% of those surveyed throughout the country, but particularly in the Northeast. 41%, particularly outside of the Northeast, said ''tennis shoes''. Several much rarer other terms were also documented in various regions of the country.\n*Nearly 68% of the participating speakers make no distinction between ''dinner'' and ''supper'', or simply never use the term ''supper''.\n*64% of the participants said they use \"Where are you at?\" to mean \"How are you coming along?\" This also incorporated the 34% who use \"Where are you at?\" in any context, for example, to even mean \"Where are you physically located right now?\"\n*Freshwater \"miniature lobsters\" were identified by 40% of polled speakers as ''crawfish'', 32% as ''crayfish'', and 19% as ''crawdads'' within no particular regional boundaries, except that ''crayfish'' was especially uncommon in the South. 5% reported having no term for this animal.\n*The most common nicknames for grandparents were ''grandpa''/''grampa'' and ''grandma''/''gramma''.\n*Nearly all American English speakers called the lampyrid insect a ''firefly'' or ''lightning bug'', with nearly 40% using the two terms interchangeably.\n*The use of the word ''anymore'' with a positive sense, simply as a synonym for ''nowadays'' (e.g. ''I do only figurative paintings anymore''), was reported as sounding acceptable to 5% of participants. However, in example sentences with a clearly disheartened tone or dismissive attitude, the positive use of ''anymore'' sounded acceptable to as many as 29% of participants (e.g. ''Forget your baby wearing nice clothes anymore''). This rare use of the word was observed much more around Pennsylvania and going westward into the Midland region.\n*The \"wheeled contraption\" for carrying groceries was identified by 77% of participants as a ''shopping cart'' and by nearly 14% as a ''grocery cart''. 4% preferred the term ''buggy'': a clearly Southern phenomenon.\n", "\nAmerican English and British English (BrE) often differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a much lesser extent, grammar and orthography.\nThe first large American dictionary, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', known as Webster's Dictionary, was written by Noah Webster in 1828, codifying several of these spellings.\n\nDifferences in grammar are relatively minor, and do not normally affect mutual intelligibility; these include: different use of some auxiliary verbs; formal (rather than notional) agreement with collective nouns; different preferences for the past forms of a few verbs (for example, AmE/BrE: ''learned''/''learnt'', ''burned''/''burnt'', ''snuck/sneaked'', ''dove/dived'') although the purportedly \"British\" forms can occasionally be seen in American English writing as well; different prepositions and adverbs in certain contexts (for example, AmE ''in school,'' BrE ''at school''); and whether or not a definite article is used, in very few cases (AmE ''to the hospital'', BrE ''to hospital''; contrast, however, AmE ''actress Elizabeth Taylor'', BrE ''the actress Elizabeth Taylor''). Often, these differences are a matter of relative preferences rather than absolute rules; and most are not stable, since the two varieties are constantly influencing each other, and American English is not a standardized set of dialects.\n\nDifferences in orthography are also minor. The main differences are that American English usually uses spellings such as ''flavor'' for British ''flavour'', ''fiber'' for ''fibre'', ''defense'' for ''defence'', ''analyze'' for ''analyse'', ''license'' for ''licence'', ''catalog'' for ''catalogue'' and ''traveling'' for ''travelling''. Noah Webster popularized such spellings in America, but he did not invent most of them. Rather, \"he chose already existing options ... on such grounds as simplicity, analogy or etymology\". Other differences are due to the francophile tastes of the 19th century Victorian era Britain (for example they preferred ''programme'' for ''program'', ''manoeuvre'' for ''maneuver'', ''cheque'' for ''check'', etc.). AmE almost always uses ''-ize'' in words like ''realize''. BrE prefers ''-ise'', but also uses ''-ize'' on occasion (see Oxford spelling).\n\nThere are a few differences in punctuation rules. British English is more tolerant of run-on sentences, called \"comma splices\" in American English, and American English requires that periods and commas be placed inside closing quotation marks even in cases in which British rules would place them outside. American English also favors the double quotation mark over single.\n\nAmE sometimes favors words that are morphologically more complex, whereas BrE uses clipped forms, such as AmE ''transportation'' and BrE ''transport'' or where the British form is a back-formation, such as AmE ''burglarize'' and BrE ''burgle'' (from ''burglar''). However, while individuals usually use one or the other, both forms will be widely understood and mostly used alongside each other within the two systems.\n\nBritish English also differs from American English in that \"schedule\" can be pronounced with either sk or ʃ.\n", "\n*Dictionary of American Regional English\n*List of English words from indigenous languages of the Americas\n*IPA chart for English\n*Regional accents of English speakers\n*Canadian English\n*North American English\n*International English\n*Received Pronunciation\n*Transatlantic accent\n*American and British English spelling differences\n", "\n", "\n", "* \n", "* Bailey, Richard W. (2012). ''Speaking American: A History of English in the United States'' 20th-21st century usage in different cities\n* \n* Garner, Bryan A. (2003). ''Garner's Modern American Usage''. New York: Oxford University Press.\n* \n\n;History of American English\n* Bailey, Richard W. (2004). \"American English: Its origins and history\". In E. Finegan & J. R. Rickford (Eds.), ''Language in the USA: Themes for the twenty-first century'' (pp. 3–17). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.\n* Finegan, Edward. (2006). \"English in North America\". In R. Hogg & D. Denison (Eds.), ''A history of the English language'' (pp. 384–419). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.\n", "\n\n\n* Do You Speak American: PBS special\n* Dialect Survey of the United States, by Bert Vaux ''et al.'', Harvard University.\n* Linguistic Atlas Projects\n* Phonological Atlas of North America at the University of Pennsylvania\n* Speech Accent Archive\n* Dictionary of American Regional English \n* Dialect maps based on pronunciation\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Phonology", "Vocabulary", "Differences between British and American English", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Bibliography", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Trades of various kinds have endowed (American) English with household words describing jobs and occupations ''(bartender, longshoreman, patrolman, hobo, bouncer, bellhop, roustabout, white collar, blue collar, employee, boss'' from Dutch, ''intern, busboy, mortician, senior citizen),'' businesses and workplaces ''(department store, supermarket, thrift store, gift shop, drugstore, motel, main street, gas station, hardware store, savings and loan, hock'' also from Dutch), as well as general concepts and innovations ''(automated teller machine, smart card, cash register, dishwasher, reservation'' as at hotels, ''pay envelope, movie, mileage, shortage, outage, blood bank).''" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\nEnglish language prevalence in the United States.", "Darker shades of blue indicate higher concentrations of native English speakers in the corresponding states\n\n\n'''American English''' ('''AmE''', '''AE''', '''AmEng''', '''USEng''', '''en-US'''), sometimes called '''United States English''' or '''U.S.", "English''', is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States.", "English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and is the common language used by the federal government, considered the ''de facto'' language of the country because of its widespread use.", "English has been given official status by 32 of the 50 state governments.", "As an example, while both Spanish and English have equivalent status in the local courts of Puerto Rico, under federal law, English is the official language for any matters being referred to the United States district court for the territory.", "The use of English in the United States is a result of British colonization of the Americas.", "The first wave of English-speaking settlers arrived in North America during the 17th century, followed by further migrations in the 18th and 19th centuries.", "Since then, American English has developed into new dialects, in some cases under the influence of West African and Native American languages, German, Dutch, Irish, Spanish, and other languages of successive waves of immigrants to the United States.", "Any American or even Canadian English accent perceived as free of noticeably local, ethnic, or cultural markers is popularly called \"General American\", described by sociolinguist William Labov as \"a fairly uniform broadcast standard in the mass media\".", "Otherwise, however, historical and present linguistic evidence does not support the notion of there being a mainstream standard English of the United States.", "According to Labov, with the major exception of Southern American English, regional accents throughout the country are not yielding to this broadcast standard.", "On the contrary, the sound of American English continues to evolve, with some local accents disappearing, but several larger regional accents emerging.", "==Varieties== \n\n\nWhile written American English is (in general) standardized across the country, there are several recognizable variations in the spoken language, both in pronunciation and in vernacular vocabulary.", "The regional sounds of present-day American English are reportedly engaged in a complex phenomenon of \"both convergence and divergence\": some accents are homogenizing and levelling, while others are diversifying and deviating further away from one another.", "In 2010, William Labov summarized the current state of regional American accents as follows:\n\nSome regional American English has undergone \"vigorous new sound changes\" since the mid-nineteenth century onwards, spawning relatively recent Mid-Atlantic (centered on Philadelphia and Baltimore), Western Pennsylvania (centered on Pittsburgh), Inland Northern (centered on Chicago, Detroit, and the Great Lakes region), Midland (centered on Indianapolis, Columbus, and Kansas City) and Western accents, all of which \"are now more different from each other than they were fifty or a hundred years ago.\"", "Meanwhile, the unique features of the Eastern New England (centered on Boston) and New York City accents appear to be stable.", "\"On the other hand, dialects of many smaller cities have receded in favor of the new regional patterns\"; for example, the traditional accents of Charleston and of Cincinnati have given way to the general Midland accent, and of St. Louis now approaches the sounds of an Inland Northern or Midland accent.", "At the same time, the Southern accent, despite its huge geographic coverage, \"is on the whole slowly receding due to cultural stigma: younger speakers everywhere in the South are shifting away from the marked features of Southern speech.\"", "Finally, the \"Hoi Toider\" dialect shows the paradox of receding among younger speakers in North Carolina's Outer Banks islands, yet strengthening in the islands of the Chesapeake Bay.", "'''Major regional dialects of American English'''\n\n\n\n The map above shows the major regional dialects of American English (in all caps) plus smaller and more local dialects, as demarcated primarily by Labov et al.", "'s ''Atlas of North American English'', as well as the related Telsur Project's regional maps.", "Any region may also contain speakers of a \"General American\" accent that resists the marked features of their region.", "Furthermore, this map does not account for speakers of ethnic or cultural varieties (such as African-American Vernacular English, Chicano English, Cajun English, etc.).", "All regional American English, unless specifically stated otherwise, can be assumed to be rhotic, with the ''father–bother'' merger, ''Mary–marry–merry'' merger, and pre-nasal \"short ''a''\" tensing.", "Below, eleven major American English accents are defined by their particular combinations of certain characteristics:\n\n\nMost populous urban center !", "!", "Strong fronting !", "!", "Strong fronting !", "!", "Strong fronting !", "!", "Strong fronting !", "!", "split system !", "!", "''Cot–caught'' merger !", "!", "''Pin–pen'' merger\n\n '''African American English''' \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Chicano English''' \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Inland Northern U.S. English''' \n Chicago \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Mid-Atlantic U.S. English''' \n Philadelphia \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Midland U.S. English''' \n Indianapolis \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''New York City English''' \n New York City \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''North-Central U.S. English''' \n Minneapolis \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''''' \n Boston \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Southern U.S. English''' \n San Antonio \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Western U.S. English''' \n Los Angeles \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n '''Western Pennsylvania English''' \n Pittsburgh \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n===Eastern New England===\n\nMarked New England speech is mostly associated with eastern New England, centering on Boston and Providence, and traditionally includes some notable degree of ''r''-dropping (or non-rhoticity), as well as the back tongue positioning of the vowel (to ) and the vowel (to ).", "In and north of Boston, the sound is famously centralized or even fronted.", "Boston shows a cot–caught merger, while Providence keeps the same two vowels sharply distinct.", "===New York City===\n \nNew York City English, which prevails in a relatively small but nationally recognizable dialect region in and around New York City (including Long Island and northeastern New Jersey).", "Its features include some notable degree of non-rhoticity and a locally unique short-''a'' vowel pronunciation split.", "New York City English otherwise broadly follows Northern patterns, except that the vowel is fronted.", "The cot–caught merger is markedly resisted around New York City, as depicted in popular stereotypes like ''tawwk'' and ''cawwfee'', with this vowel being typically tensed and diphthongal.", "===South===\n \nMost older Southern speech along the Eastern seaboard was non-rhotic, though, today, all local Southern dialects are strongly rhotic, defined most recognizably by the vowel losing its gliding quality and approaching , the initiating event for the Southern Vowel Shift, which includes the famous \"Southern drawl\" that makes short front vowels into gliding vowels.", "===Inland North and North Central===\nSince the mid-twentieth century, a distinctive new Northern speech pattern has developed near the Canadian border of the United States, centered on the central and eastern Great Lakes region (but only on the American side).", "Linguists call this region the \"Inland North\", as defined by its local vowel shift—occurring in the same region whose \"standard Midwestern\" speech was the basis for General American in the mid-20th century (though prior to this recent vowel shift).", "Those not from this area frequently confuse it with the North Midland dialect treated below, referring to both, plus areas to the immediate west of the Great Lakes region, all collectively as \"the Midwest\": a common but vaguely delineated term for what is now the central or north-central United States.", "The North Central or \"Minnesotan\" dialect is also prevalent in the Upper Midwest, and is characterized by influences from the German and Scandinavian settlers of the region (like \"yah\" for yes, pronounced similarly to \"ja\" in German, Norwegian and Swedish).", "In parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, another dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch English is also spoken.", "===Midland===\nBetween the traditional American dialect areas of the \"North\" and \"South\" is what linguists have long called the \"Midland\".", "This geographically overlaps with some states situated in the lower Midwest.", "West of the Appalachian Mountains begins the broad zone of modern-day Midland speech .", "Its vocabulary has been divided into two discrete subdivisions, the \"North Midland\" that begins north of the Ohio River valley area, and the \"South Midland\" speech, which to the American ear has a slight trace of the \"Southern accent\" (especially due to some degree of glide weakening).", "The South Midland dialect follows the Ohio River in a generally southwesterly direction, moves across Arkansas and Oklahoma west of the Mississippi, and peters out in West Texas.", "Modern Midland speech is transitional regarding a presence or absence of the cot–caught merger.", "Historically, Pennsylvania was a home of the Midland dialect, however, this state of early English-speaking settlers has now largely split off into new dialect regions, with distinct Philadelphia and Pittsburgh dialects documented since the latter half of the twentieth century.", "===West===\n\nA generalized Midland speech continues westward until becoming a somewhat internally diverse Western American English that unites the entire western half of the country.", "This Western dialect is mostly unified by a firm cot–caught merger and a conservatively backed pronunciation of the long ''oh'' sound in ''goat, toe, show'', etc., but a fronted pronunciation of the long ''oo'' sound in ''goose, lose, tune,'' etc.", "Western speech itself contains such advanced sub-types as Pacific Northwest English and California English, with the Chicano English accent also being a sub-type primarily of the Western accent.", "In the immediate San Francisco area, some older speakers do not have the normal Western cot–caught merger.", "The island state of Hawaii, though primarily English-speaking, is also home to a creole language known commonly as Hawaiian Pidgin, and some native Hawaiians may even speak English with a Pidgin accent.", "===Other varieties===\nAlthough no longer region-specific, African American Vernacular English, which remains prevalent particularly among working- and middle-class African Americans, has a close relationship to Southern dialects and has greatly influenced everyday speech of many Americans, including hip hop culture.", "The same aforementioned socioeconomic groups, but among Hispanic and Latino Americans, have also developed native-speaker varieties of English.", "The best-studied Latino Englishes are Chicano English, spoken in the West and Midwest, and New York Latino English, spoken in the New York metropolitan area.", "Additionally, ethnic varieties such as Yeshiva English and \"Yinglish\" are spoken by some American Jews, and Cajun Vernacular English by some Cajuns in southern Louisiana.", "\n\n\n+ Pure vowels in General American English (Monophthongs)\n\nGenAm phonemes\n GenAm realization\n Example words\n\n\n \n b'''a'''th, tr'''a'''p, y'''a'''k\n\n \n b'''a'''n, tr'''a'''m, y'''eah'''\n\n\n \n '''ah''', f'''a'''ther, sp'''a'''\n\n b'''o'''ther, l'''o'''t, w'''a'''sp (father-bother merger)\n\n\n \nb'''o'''ss, cl'''o'''th, d'''o'''g, '''o'''ff (lot-cloth split)\n\n'''a'''ll, b'''ough'''t, fl'''au'''nt\n\n \n \n dr'''e'''ss, m'''e'''t, br'''ea'''d\n\n \n \n '''a'''bout, syr'''u'''p, '''a'''ren'''a'''\n\n\n \n k'''i'''t, p'''i'''nk, t'''i'''p\n\n \npriv'''a'''te, muff'''i'''n, wast'''e'''d (allophone of )\n\n\n \n b'''ea'''m, ch'''i'''c, fl'''ee'''ce\n\n\nhapp'''y''', mon'''ey''', part'''ie'''s (allophone of )\n\n \n \n b'''u'''s, fl'''oo'''d, wh'''a'''t\n\n \n \n b'''oo'''k, p'''u'''t, sh'''ou'''ld\n\n \n \n g'''oo'''se, n'''ew''', tr'''ue'''\n\n\n\nCompared with English as spoken in England, North American English is more homogeneous, and any North American accent that exhibits a majority of the most common phonological features is known as \"General American.\"", "This section mostly refers to such widespread or mainstream pronunciation features that characterize American English.", "Studies on historical usage of English in both the United States and the United Kingdom suggest that spoken American English did not simply deviate away from period British English, but retained certain now-archaic features contemporary British English has since lost.", "One of these is the rhoticity common in most American accents, because in the 17th century, when English was brought to the Americas, most English in England was also rhotic.", "The preservation of rhoticity has been further supported by the influences of Hiberno-English, West Country English and Scottish English.", "In most varieties of North American English, the sound corresponding to the letter is a postalveolar approximant or retroflex approximant rather than a trill or tap (as often heard, for example, in the English accents of Scotland or India).", "A unique \"bunched tongue\" variant of the approximant ''r'' sound is also associated with the United States, and seems particularly noticeable in the Midwest and South.", "black speakers throughout the whole country.", "Traditionally, the \"East Coast\" comprises three or four major linguistically distinct regions, each of which possesses English varieties both distinct from each other as well as quite internally diverse: New England, the New York metropolitan area, the Mid-Atlantic states (centering on Philadelphia and Baltimore), and the Southern United States.", "The only ''r''-dropping (or non-rhotic) regional accents of American English are all spoken along the East Coast, except the Mid-Atlantic region, because these areas were in close historical contact with England and imitated prestigious varieties of English at a time when these were undergoing changes; in particular, the London prestige of non-rhoticity (or dropping the sound, except before vowels) from the 17th century onwards, which is now widespread throughout most of England.", "Today, non-rhoticity is confined in the United States to the accents of eastern New England, the former plantation South, New York City, and African American Vernacular English (though the vowel-consonant cluster found in \"bird\", \"work\", \"hurt\", \"learn\", etc.", "usually retains its ''r'' pronunciation today, even in these non-rhotic accents).", "Other than these varieties, American accents are rhotic, pronouncing every instance of the sound.", "Many British accents have evolved in other ways compared to which General American English has remained relatively more conservative, for example, regarding the typical southern British features of a trap–bath split, fronting of , and H-dropping.", "The innovation of /t/ glottaling, which does occur before a consonant (including a syllabic coronal nasal consonant, like in the words ''button'' or ''satin'') and word-finally in General American, additionally occurs variably between vowels in British English.", "On the other hand, General American is more innovative than the dialects of England, or English elsewhere in the world, in a number of its own ways:\n\n* The merger of and , making ''father'' and ''bother'' rhyme.", "This change, known as the ''father–bother'' merger is in a transitional or completed stage nearly universally in North American English.", "Exceptions are in northeastern New England English, such as the Boston accent, New York City English, Philadelphia English, Baltimore English, and many Southern dialects, such as the Yat dialect.", "* About half of all Americans merge of the vowels and .", "This is the so-called cot–caught merger, where words like ''cot'' and ''caught'' are homophones.", "This change has occurred most firmly in eastern New England (Boston area), Greater Pittsburgh, and the whole western half of the country.", "* For speakers who do not merge ''caught'' and ''cot'', the lot–cloth split has taken hold.", "This change took place prior to the unrounding of the ''cot''.", "It is the result of the lengthening and raising of the ''cot'' vowel, merging with the ''caught'' vowel in many cases before voiceless fricatives (as in ''cloth, off''), which is also found in some varieties of British English, as well as before (as in ''strong, long),'' usually in ''gone,'' often in ''on,'' and irregularly before ''(log, hog, dog, fog'').", "* The ''strut'' vowel, rather than the ''lot'' or ''thought'' vowel, is used in the function words ''was, of, from, what, everybody, nobody, somebody, anybody'', and, for some speakers, ''because'' and ''want'', when stressed.", "* Vowel mergers before intervocalic : The Mary–marry–merry, serious–Sirius, and hurry–furry mergers are found in most American English dialects.", "However, exceptions exist primarily along the east coast.", "** Americans vary slightly in their pronunciations of R-colored vowels—such as those in and —sometimes monophthongizing towards and or tensing towards and respectively, causing pronunciations like for ''pair''/''pear'' and for ''peer''/''pier''.", "Also, is often reduced to , so that ''cure'', ''pure'', and ''mature'' may all end with the sound , thus rhyming with ''blur'' and ''sir''.", "The word ''sure'' is also part of this rhyming set as it is commonly pronounced .", "* Dropping of is much more extensive than in most of England.", "In most North American accents, is dropped after all alveolar and interdental consonants (i.e.", "everywhere except after /p/, /b/, /f/, /h/, /k/, and /m/) so that ''new, duke, Tuesday, presume'' are pronounced , , , .", "* /æ/ tensing in environments that vary widely from accent to accent.", "With most American speakers, for whom the phoneme operates under a somewhat continuous system, has both a tense and a lax allophone (with a kind of \"continuum\" of possible sounds between those two extremes, rather than a definitive split).", "In these accents, is overall realized before nasal stops as more tense (approximately ), while other environments are more lax (approximately the standard ); for example, note the vowel sound in for ''mass'', but for ''man'').", "In some American accents, though, specifically those from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City, and are entirely separate (or \"split\") phonemes, for example, in ''planet'' vs. ''plan it'' .", "This is often called the Mid-Atlantic split-''a'' system.", "Note that these vowels move in the opposite direction in the mouth compared to the backed British \"broad A\"; this phenomenon has been noted as related to the increasingly rare phenomenon of older speakers of the eastern New England (Boston) area for whom changes to before alone or when preceded by a homorganic nasal.", "* Flapping of intervocalic and to alveolar tap before unstressed vowels (as in ''bu'''tt'''er'' , ''par'''t'''y'' ) and syllabic (''bo'''tt'''le'' ), as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel (''wha'''t''' else'' , ''wha'''t'''ever'' ).", "Thus, for most speakers, pairs such as ''ladder/latter, metal/medal,'' and ''coating/coding'' are pronounced the same, except with the stressed (see below).", "* Canadian raising of : many speakers split the sound based on its presence before either a voiceless or voiced consonant, so that in ''writer'' it is pronounced but in ''rider'' it is pronounced (because is a voiceless consonant while is voiced).", "This is a form of Canadian raising but, unlike more extreme forms of that process, does not affect .", "In many areas and idiolects, a distinction between what elsewhere become homophones through this process is maintained by vowel lengthening in the vowel preceding the formerly voiced consonant, ''e.g.", "'', for \"writer\" as opposed to for \"rider\".", "** Many speakers in the Inland North, North Central American English, and Philadelphia dialect areas raise before voiced consonants in certain words as well, particularly , and .", "Hence, words like ''tiny'', ''spider'', ''cider'', ''tiger'', ''dinosaur'', ''cyber-'', ''beside'', ''idle'' (but sometimes not ''idol''), and ''fire'' may contain a raised nucleus.", "The use of rather than in such words is unpredictable from phonetic environment alone, though it may have to do with their acoustic similarity to other words that ''do'' contain before a voiceless consonant, per the traditional Canadian-raising system.", "Hence, some researchers have argued that there has been a phonemic split in these dialects; the distribution of the two sounds is becoming more unpredictable among younger speakers.", "*T glottalization is common when is in the final position of a syllable or word (''get'', ''fretful'': , ), though this is always superseded by the aforementioned rules of flapping\n*L-velarization: England's typical distinction between a \"clear L\" (i.e. )", "and a \"dark L\" (i.e.", "or sometimes even ) is much less noticeable in nearly all dialects of American English; it may even be altogether absent.", "Instead, most U.S. speakers pronounce all \"L\" sounds with a tendency to be \"dark\", meaning with some degree of velarization.", "The only notable exceptions to this are in some Spanish-influenced U.S. English varieties (such as East Coast Latino English, which typically shows a clear \"L\" in syllable onsets); in New York City English, where the is clear in prevocalic positions; and in older, moribund Southern speech of the U.S., where \"L\" is clear in an intervocalic environment between front vowels.", "* Both intervocalic and may commonly be realized as or simply , making ''winter'' and ''winner'' homophones in fast or non-careful speech.", "*The vowel in unstressed syllables generally merges with (weak-vowel merger), so ''roses'' is pronounced like ''Rosa's''.", "Some mergers found in most varieties of both American and British English include:\n*Horse–hoarse merger, making the vowels and before 'r' homophones, with homophonous pairs like ''horse/hoarse, corps/core, for/four, morning/mourning, war/wore,'' etc.", "homophones.", "*Wine–whine merger, making pairs like ''wine/whine, wet/whet, Wales/whales, wear/where,'' etc.", "homophones, in most cases eliminating , the voiceless labiovelar fricative.", "Many older varieties of southern and western American English still keep these distinct, but the merger appears to be spreading.", "\nNorth America has given the English lexicon many thousands of words, meanings, and phrases.", "Several thousand are now used in English as spoken internationally.", "===Creation of an American lexicon===\nThe process of coining new lexical items started as soon as the colonists began borrowing names for unfamiliar flora, fauna, and topography from the Native American languages.", "Examples of such names are ''opossum, raccoon, squash'' and ''moose'' (from Algonquian).", "Other Native American loanwords, such as ''wigwam'' or ''moccasin'', describe articles in common use among Native Americans.", "The languages of the other colonizing nations also added to the American vocabulary; for instance, ''cookie'', ''cruller'', ''stoop'', and ''pit'' (of a fruit) from Dutch; ''angst, kindergarten, sauerkraut'' from German, ''levee, portage'' (\"carrying of boats or goods\") and (probably) ''gopher'' from French; ''barbecue, stevedore, and rodeo'' from Spanish.", "Among the earliest and most notable regular \"English\" additions to the American vocabulary, dating from the early days of colonization through the early 19th century, are terms describing the features of the North American landscape; for instance, ''run, branch, fork, snag, bluff, gulch, neck'' (of the woods), ''barrens, bottomland, notch, knob, riffle, rapids, watergap, cutoff, trail, timberline'' and ''divide.''", "Already existing words such as ''creek, slough, sleet'' and (in later use) ''watershed'' received new meanings that were unknown in England.", "Other noteworthy American toponyms are found among loanwords; for example, ''prairie, butte'' (French); ''bayou'' (Choctaw via Louisiana French); ''coulee'' (Canadian French, but used also in Louisiana with a different meaning); ''canyon, mesa, arroyo'' (Spanish); ''vlei, skate, kill'' (Dutch, Hudson Valley).", "The word ''corn'', used in England to refer to wheat (or any cereal), came to denote the plant ''Zea mays'', the most important crop in the U.S., originally named ''Indian corn'' by the earliest settlers; wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc.", "came to be collectively referred to as ''grain''.", "Other notable farm related vocabulary additions were the new meanings assumed by ''barn'' (not only a building for hay and grain storage, but also for housing livestock) and ''team'' (not just the horses, but also the vehicle along with them), as well as, in various periods, the terms ''range, (corn) crib, truck, elevator, sharecropping'' and ''feedlot.''", "''Ranch,'' later applied to a house style, derives from Mexican Spanish; most Spanish contributions came after the War of 1812, with the opening of the West.", "Among these are, other than toponyms, ''chaps'' (from ''chaparreras), plaza, lasso, bronco, buckaroo, rodeo;'' examples of \"English\" additions from the cowboy era are ''bad man, maverick, chuck'' (\"food\") and ''Boot Hill;'' from the California Gold Rush came such idioms as ''hit pay dirt'' or ''strike it rich.''", "The word ''blizzard'' probably originated in the West.", "A couple of notable late 18th century additions are the verb ''belittle'' and the noun ''bid,'' both first used in writing by Thomas Jefferson.", "With the new continent developed new forms of dwelling, and hence a large inventory of words designating real estate concepts ''(land office, lot, outlands, waterfront,'' the verbs ''locate'' and ''relocate, betterment, addition, subdivision),'' types of property ''(log cabin, adobe'' in the 18th century; ''frame house, apartment, tenement house, shack, shanty'' in the 19th century; ''project, condominium, townhouse, split-level, mobile home, multi-family'' in the 20th century), and parts thereof ''(driveway, breezeway, backyard, dooryard; clapboard, siding, trim, baseboard; stoop'' (from Dutch), ''family room, den;'' and, in recent years, ''HVAC, central air, walkout basement).''", "Ever since the American Revolution, a great number of terms connected with the U.S. political institutions have entered the language; examples are ''run (i.e, for office), gubernatorial, primary election, carpetbagger'' (after the Civil War), ''repeater'', ''lame duck'' (a British term used originally in Banking) and ''pork barrel.''", "Some of these are internationally used (for example, ''caucus, gerrymander, filibuster, exit poll).''", "====19th century onwards====\nThe development of industry and material innovations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries were the source of a massive stock of distinctive new words, phrases and idioms.", "Typical examples are the vocabulary of ''railroading'' (see further at rail terminology) and ''transportation'' terminology, ranging from names of roads (from ''dirt roads'' and ''back roads'' to ''freeways'' and ''parkways)'' to road infrastructure ''(parking lot, overpass, rest area),'' and from automotive terminology to ''public transit'' (for example, in the sentence \"''riding'' the ''subway downtown''\"); such American introductions as ''commuter'' (from ''commutation ticket), concourse, to board'' (a vehicle), ''to park, double-park'' and ''parallel park'' (a car), ''double decker'' or the noun ''terminal'' have long been used in all dialects of English.", "Already existing English words—such as ''store, shop, dry goods, haberdashery, lumber''—underwent shifts in meaning; some—such as ''mason, student, clerk'', the verbs ''can'' (as in \"canned goods\"), ''ship, fix, carry, enroll'' (as in school), ''run'' (as in \"run a business\"), ''release'' and ''haul''—were given new significations, while others (such as ''tradesman)'' have retained meanings that disappeared in England.", "From the world of business and finance came ''break-even, merger, delisting, downsize, disintermediation, bottom line;'' from sports terminology came, jargon aside, ''Monday-morning quarterback, cheap shot, game plan'' (football); ''in the ballpark, out of left field, off base, hit and run,'' and many other idioms from baseball; gamblers coined ''bluff, blue chip, ante, bottom dollar, raw deal, pass the buck, ace in the hole, freeze-out, showdown;'' miners coined ''bedrock, bonanza, peter out, pan out'' and the verb ''prospect'' from the noun; and railroadmen are to be credited with ''make the grade, sidetrack, head-on,'' and the verb ''railroad.''", "A number of Americanisms describing material innovations remained largely confined to North America: ''elevator, ground, gasoline;'' many automotive terms fall in this category, although many do not ''(hatchback, sport utility vehicle, station wagon, tailgate, motorhome, truck, pickup truck, to exhaust).''", "In addition to the above-mentioned loans from French, Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Dutch, and Native American languages, other accretions from foreign languages came with 19th and early 20th century immigration; notably, from Yiddish ''(chutzpah, schmooze, tush'') and German—''hamburger'' and culinary terms like ''frankfurter/franks, liverwurst, sauerkraut, wiener, deli(catessen); scram, kindergarten, gesundheit;'' musical terminology ''(whole note, half note,'' etc.", "); and apparently ''cookbook, fresh'' (\"impudent\") and ''what gives?''", "Such constructions as ''Are you coming with?''", "and ''I like to dance'' (for \"I like dancing\") may also be the result of German or Yiddish influence.", "Finally, a large number of English colloquialisms from various periods are American in origin; some have lost their American flavor (from ''OK'' and ''cool'' to ''nerd'' and ''24/7),'' while others have not ''(have a nice day, for sure);'' many are now distinctly old-fashioned ''(swell, groovy).''", "Some English words now in general use, such as ''hijacking, disc jockey, boost, bulldoze'' and ''jazz,'' originated as American slang.", "Among the many English idioms of U.S. origin are ''get the hang of, bark up the wrong tree, keep tabs, run scared, take a backseat, have an edge over, stake a claim, take a shine to, in on the ground floor, bite off more than one can chew, off/on the wagon, stay put, inside track, stiff upper lip, bad hair day, throw a monkey wrench/monkeywrenching, under the weather, jump bail, come clean, come again?, it ain't over till it's over,'' and ''what goes around comes around.''", "===Morphology===\nAmerican English has always shown a marked tendency to use nouns as verbs.", "Examples of verbed nouns are ''interview, advocate, vacuum, lobby, pressure, rear-end, transition, feature, profile, spearhead, skyrocket, showcase, service'' (as a car), ''corner, torch, exit'' (as in \"exit the lobby\"), ''factor'' (in mathematics), ''gun'' (\"shoot\"), ''author'' (which disappeared in English around 1630 and was revived in the U.S. three centuries later) and, out of American material, ''proposition, graft'' (bribery), ''bad-mouth, vacation, major, backpack, backtrack, intern, ticket'' (traffic violations), ''hassle, blacktop, peer-review, dope'' and ''OD'', and, of course ''verbed'' as used at the start of this sentence.", "Compounds coined in the U.S. are for instance ''foothill, flatlands, badlands, landslide'' (in all senses), ''overview'' (the noun), ''backdrop, teenager, brainstorm, bandwagon, hitchhike, smalltime, deadbeat, frontman, lowbrow'' and ''highbrow, hell-bent, foolproof, nitpick, about-face'' (later verbed), ''upfront'' (in all senses), ''fixer-upper, no-show;'' many of these are phrases used as adverbs or (often) hyphenated attributive adjectives: ''non-profit, for-profit, free-for-all, ready-to-wear, catchall, low-down, down-and-out, down and dirty, in-your-face, nip and tuck;'' many compound nouns and adjectives are open: ''happy hour, fall guy, capital gain, road trip, wheat pit, head start, plea bargain;'' some of these are colorful ''(empty nester, loan shark, ambulance chaser, buzz saw, ghetto blaster, dust bunny),'' others are euphemistic ''(differently abled (physically challenged), human resources, affirmative action, correctional facility).''", "Many compound nouns have the form verb plus preposition: ''add-on, stopover, lineup, shakedown, tryout, spin-off, rundown'' (\"summary\"), ''shootout, holdup, hideout, comeback, cookout, kickback, makeover, takeover, rollback'' (\"decrease\"), ''rip-off, come-on, shoo-in, fix-up, tie-in, tie-up'' (\"stoppage\"), ''stand-in.''", "These essentially are nouned phrasal verbs; some prepositional and phrasal verbs are in fact of American origin ''(spell out, figure out, hold up, brace up, size up, rope in, back up/off/down/out, step down, miss out, kick around, cash in, rain out, check in'' and ''check out'' (in all senses), ''fill in'' (\"inform\"), ''kick in'' or ''throw in'' (\"contribute\"), ''square off, sock in, sock away, factor in/out, come down with, give up on, lay off'' (from employment), ''run into'' and ''across'' (\"meet\"), ''stop by, pass up, put up'' (money), ''set up'' (\"frame\"), ''trade in, pick up on, pick up after, lose out).''", "Noun endings such as ''-ee (retiree), -ery (bakery), -ster (gangster)'' and ''-cian (beautician)'' are also particularly productive.", "Some verbs ending in ''-ize'' are of U.S. origin; for example, ''fetishize, prioritize, burglarize, accessorize, itemize, editorialize, customize, notarize, weatherize, winterize, Mirandize;'' and so are some back-formations ''(locate, fine-tune, evolute, curate, donate, emote, upholster, peeve'' and ''enthuse).''", "Among syntactical constructions that arose in the U.S. are ''as of'' (with dates and times), ''outside of, headed for, meet up with, back of, convince someone to, not about to'' and ''lack for.''", "Americanisms formed by alteration of some existing words include notably ''pesky, phony, rambunctious, pry'' (as in \"pry open\", from ''prize), putter'' (verb), ''buddy, sundae, skeeter, sashay'' and ''kitty-corner.''", "Adjectives that arose in the U.S. are for example, ''lengthy, bossy, cute'' and ''cutesy, grounded'' (of a child), ''punk'' (in all senses), ''sticky'' (of the weather), ''through'' (as in \"through train\", or meaning \"finished\"), and many colloquial forms such as ''peppy'' or ''wacky''.", "American blends include ''motel, guesstimate, infomercial'' and ''televangelist.''", "===English words that survived in the United States and not in the United Kingdom===\nA number of words and meanings that originated in Middle English or Early Modern English and that have been in everyday use in the United States dropped out in most varieties of British English; some of these have cognates in Lowland Scots.", "Terms such as ''fall'' (\"autumn\"), ''faucet'' (\"tap\"), ''diaper'' (\"nappy\"), ''candy'' (\"sweets\"), ''skillet'', ''eyeglasses'' and ''obligate'' are often regarded as Americanisms.", "''Fall'' for example came to denote the season in 16th century England, a contraction of Middle English expressions like \"fall of the leaf\" and \"fall of the year\".", "During the 17th century, English immigration to the British colonies in North America was at its peak and the new settlers took the English language with them.", "While the term ''fall'' gradually became obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America.", "''Gotten'' (past participle of ''get'') is often considered to be an Americanism, although there are some areas of Britain, such as Lancashire and North East England, that still continue to use it and sometimes also use ''putten'' as the past participle for ''put'' (which is not done by most speakers of American English).", "Other words and meanings, to various extents, were brought back to Britain, especially in the second half of the 20th century; these include ''hire'' (\"to employ\"), ''quit'' (\"to stop\", which spawned ''quitter'' in the U.S.), ''I guess'' (famously criticized by H. W. Fowler), ''baggage'', ''hit'' (a place), and the adverbs ''overly'' and ''presently'' (\"currently\").", "Some of these, for example ''monkey wrench'' and ''wastebasket'', originated in 19th century Britain.", "The mandative subjunctive (as in \"the City Attorney suggested that the case ''not be closed''\") is livelier in American English than it is in British English.", "It appears in some areas as a spoken usage and is considered obligatory in contexts that are more formal.", "The adjectives ''mad'' meaning \"angry\", ''smart'' meaning \"intelligent\", and ''sick'' meaning \"ill\" are also more frequent in American (these meanings are also frequent in Hiberno-English) than British English.", "===Regionally distinct terms within the United States===\nLinguist Bert Vaux created a survey, completed in 2003, polling English speakers across the United States about the specific words they would use in everyday speech for various concepts.", "This 2003 study concluded that:\n*For a \"long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on\", the most common term found in the survey, throughout the country (preferred by 77% of the participants), was the word ''sub'' (an abbreviation for ''submarine sandwich'').", "The New York metropolitan area shows the greatest variety of terms for this idea in one single region, largely counting for the 5% of the survey who preferred the term ''hero'', nearly 7% (which is even more prevalent in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, including southern New Jersey as well as eastern Pennsylvania) who preferred ''hoagie'', and just less than 3% (also notably prevalent throughout New England, except Maine) who prefer ''grinder''.", "*The U.S. is largely divided about the \"generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage\".", "Nearly 53% of the surveyed sample preferred ''soda'', particularly in the Northeast, eastern Wisconsin, Greater St. Louis, the far West, and some of South Florida, with it also called ''tonic'' in some parts of southeastern New England.", "Over 25% preferred ''pop'', particularly around the Midwest (including the Great Lakes region) and the Western regions along the Canada–US border.", "Over 12% preferred ''coke'' (which is also trademarked for a specific cola product), particularly scattered throughout the South.", "Urban, coastal California speakers use all three terms, though especially ''soda''.", "Speakers of the West generally use ''soda'' or ''pop''.", "*The most common word or phrase \"to address a group of two or more people\" (in the second person) was ''you guys'' at almost 43%, particularly throughout the Northeast and Great Lakes region (along with simply ''you'' at nearly 13%).", "''Y'all'' was preferred by 14%, particularly in the South, but reaching somewhat noticeably into the Northern regions as well.", "''Yous(e)'' was largely confined to the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, at just over 0.5%.", "The expression \"yinz\" is a distinctive feature of Western Pennsylvania speech.", "*The most common term for generic, rubber-soled shoes worn for athletic activities is ''sneakers'' as said by 46% of those surveyed throughout the country, but particularly in the Northeast.", "41%, particularly outside of the Northeast, said ''tennis shoes''.", "Several much rarer other terms were also documented in various regions of the country.", "*Nearly 68% of the participating speakers make no distinction between ''dinner'' and ''supper'', or simply never use the term ''supper''.", "*64% of the participants said they use \"Where are you at?\"", "to mean \"How are you coming along?\"", "This also incorporated the 34% who use \"Where are you at?\"", "in any context, for example, to even mean \"Where are you physically located right now?\"", "*Freshwater \"miniature lobsters\" were identified by 40% of polled speakers as ''crawfish'', 32% as ''crayfish'', and 19% as ''crawdads'' within no particular regional boundaries, except that ''crayfish'' was especially uncommon in the South.", "5% reported having no term for this animal.", "*The most common nicknames for grandparents were ''grandpa''/''grampa'' and ''grandma''/''gramma''.", "*Nearly all American English speakers called the lampyrid insect a ''firefly'' or ''lightning bug'', with nearly 40% using the two terms interchangeably.", "*The use of the word ''anymore'' with a positive sense, simply as a synonym for ''nowadays'' (e.g.", "''I do only figurative paintings anymore''), was reported as sounding acceptable to 5% of participants.", "However, in example sentences with a clearly disheartened tone or dismissive attitude, the positive use of ''anymore'' sounded acceptable to as many as 29% of participants (e.g.", "''Forget your baby wearing nice clothes anymore'').", "This rare use of the word was observed much more around Pennsylvania and going westward into the Midland region.", "*The \"wheeled contraption\" for carrying groceries was identified by 77% of participants as a ''shopping cart'' and by nearly 14% as a ''grocery cart''.", "4% preferred the term ''buggy'': a clearly Southern phenomenon.", "\nAmerican English and British English (BrE) often differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a much lesser extent, grammar and orthography.", "The first large American dictionary, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', known as Webster's Dictionary, was written by Noah Webster in 1828, codifying several of these spellings.", "Differences in grammar are relatively minor, and do not normally affect mutual intelligibility; these include: different use of some auxiliary verbs; formal (rather than notional) agreement with collective nouns; different preferences for the past forms of a few verbs (for example, AmE/BrE: ''learned''/''learnt'', ''burned''/''burnt'', ''snuck/sneaked'', ''dove/dived'') although the purportedly \"British\" forms can occasionally be seen in American English writing as well; different prepositions and adverbs in certain contexts (for example, AmE ''in school,'' BrE ''at school''); and whether or not a definite article is used, in very few cases (AmE ''to the hospital'', BrE ''to hospital''; contrast, however, AmE ''actress Elizabeth Taylor'', BrE ''the actress Elizabeth Taylor'').", "Often, these differences are a matter of relative preferences rather than absolute rules; and most are not stable, since the two varieties are constantly influencing each other, and American English is not a standardized set of dialects.", "Differences in orthography are also minor.", "The main differences are that American English usually uses spellings such as ''flavor'' for British ''flavour'', ''fiber'' for ''fibre'', ''defense'' for ''defence'', ''analyze'' for ''analyse'', ''license'' for ''licence'', ''catalog'' for ''catalogue'' and ''traveling'' for ''travelling''.", "Noah Webster popularized such spellings in America, but he did not invent most of them.", "Rather, \"he chose already existing options ... on such grounds as simplicity, analogy or etymology\".", "Other differences are due to the francophile tastes of the 19th century Victorian era Britain (for example they preferred ''programme'' for ''program'', ''manoeuvre'' for ''maneuver'', ''cheque'' for ''check'', etc.).", "AmE almost always uses ''-ize'' in words like ''realize''.", "BrE prefers ''-ise'', but also uses ''-ize'' on occasion (see Oxford spelling).", "There are a few differences in punctuation rules.", "British English is more tolerant of run-on sentences, called \"comma splices\" in American English, and American English requires that periods and commas be placed inside closing quotation marks even in cases in which British rules would place them outside.", "American English also favors the double quotation mark over single.", "AmE sometimes favors words that are morphologically more complex, whereas BrE uses clipped forms, such as AmE ''transportation'' and BrE ''transport'' or where the British form is a back-formation, such as AmE ''burglarize'' and BrE ''burgle'' (from ''burglar'').", "However, while individuals usually use one or the other, both forms will be widely understood and mostly used alongside each other within the two systems.", "British English also differs from American English in that \"schedule\" can be pronounced with either sk or ʃ.", "\n*Dictionary of American Regional English\n*List of English words from indigenous languages of the Americas\n*IPA chart for English\n*Regional accents of English speakers\n*Canadian English\n*North American English\n*International English\n*Received Pronunciation\n*Transatlantic accent\n*American and British English spelling differences", "*", "* Bailey, Richard W. (2012).", "''Speaking American: A History of English in the United States'' 20th-21st century usage in different cities\n* \n* Garner, Bryan A.", "(2003).", "''Garner's Modern American Usage''.", "New York: Oxford University Press.", "* \n\n;History of American English\n* Bailey, Richard W. (2004).", "\"American English: Its origins and history\".", "In E. Finegan & J. R. Rickford (Eds.", "), ''Language in the USA: Themes for the twenty-first century'' (pp.", "3–17).", "Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.", "* Finegan, Edward.", "(2006).", "\"English in North America\".", "In R. Hogg & D. Denison (Eds.", "), ''A history of the English language'' (pp.", "384–419).", "Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.", "\n\n\n* Do You Speak American: PBS special\n* Dialect Survey of the United States, by Bert Vaux ''et al.", "'', Harvard University.", "* Linguistic Atlas Projects\n* Phonological Atlas of North America at the University of Pennsylvania\n* Speech Accent Archive\n* Dictionary of American Regional English \n* Dialect maps based on pronunciation" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Australian English''' ('''AuE''', '''en-AU''') is a major variety of the English language, used throughout Australia. Although English has no official status in the Constitution, Australian English is the country's national and ''de facto'' official language as it is the first language of the majority of the population.\n\nAustralian English began to diverge from British English after the founding of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognised as being different from British English by 1820. It arose from the intermingling of early settlers from a great variety of mutually intelligible dialectal regions of the British Isles and quickly developed into a distinct variety of English.\n\nAs a distinct dialect, Australian English differs considerably from other varieties of English in vocabulary, accent, pronunciation, register, grammar and spelling.\n", "The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony of New South Wales. This first generation of children created a new dialect that was to become the language of the nation. The Australian-born children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular from Ireland and South East England.\n\nThe native-born children of the colony created the new dialect from the speech they heard around them, and with it expressed peer solidarity. Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect was strong enough to blunt other patterns of speech.\n\nA quarter of the convicts were Irish. Many had been arrested in Ireland, and some in Great Britain. Many, if not most, of the Irish spoke Irish and either no English at all, or spoke it poorly and rarely. There were other significant populations of convicts from non-English speaking part of Britain, such as the Scottish Highlands and Wales.\n\nRecords from the early 19th century show the distinct dialect that had surfaced in the colonies since first settlement in 1788, with Peter Miller Cunningham's 1827 book ''Two Years in New South Wales'', describing the distinctive accent and vocabulary of the native-born colonists, different from that of their parents and with a strong London influence. Anthony Burgess writes that \"Australian English may be thought of as a kind of fossilised Cockney of the Dickensian era.\"\n\nThe Australian gold rushes saw many external influences on the language.\nThe first of the Australian gold rushes, in the 1850s, began a large wave of immigration, during which about two per cent of the population of the United Kingdom emigrated to the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. According to linguist Bruce Moore, \"the major input of the various sounds that went into constructing the Australian accent was from south-east England\".\n\nSome elements of Aboriginal languages have been adopted by Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example dingo) and local culture. Many such are localised, and do not form part of general Australian use, while others, such as ''kangaroo'', ''boomerang'', ''budgerigar'', ''wallaby'' and so on have become international. Other examples are ''cooee'' and ''hard yakka''. The former is used as a high-pitched call, for attracting attention, (pronounced ) which travels long distances. ''Cooee'' is also a notional distance: ''if he's within cooee, we'll spot him''. ''Hard yakka'' means ''hard work'' and is derived from ''yakka'', from the Jagera/Yagara language once spoken in the Brisbane region.\n\nAlso of Aboriginal origin is the word ''bung'', from the Sydney pidgin English (and ultimately from the Sydney Aboriginal language), meaning \"dead\", with some extension to \"broken\" or \"useless\". Many towns or suburbs of Australia have also been influenced or named after Aboriginal words. The best-known example is the capital, Canberra, named after a local language word meaning \"meeting place\".\n\nAmong the changes starting in the 19th century was the introduction of words, spellings, terms and usages from North American English. The words imported included some later considered to be typically Australian, such as ''bushwhacker'' and ''squatter''.\n \nThis American influence continued with the popularity of American films and the influx of American military personnel in World War II; seen in the enduring persistence of such terms as ''okay'', ''you guys'' and ''gee''.\n", "\nThe primary way in which Australian English is distinctive from other varieties of English is through its unique pronunciation. It shares most similarity with other Southern Hemisphere accents, in particular New Zealand English. Like most dialects of English it is distinguished primarily by its vowel phonology.\n\n===Vowels===\nAustralian English monophthongs\nAustralian English diphthongs\nThe vowels of Australian English can be divided according to length. The long vowels, which include monophthongs and diphthongs, mostly correspond to the tense vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation (RP) as well as its centring diphthongs. The short vowels, consisting only of monophthongs, correspond to the RP lax vowels. There exist pairs of long and short vowels with overlapping vowel quality giving Australian English phonemic length distinction, which is unusual amongst the various dialects of English, though not unknown elsewhere, such as in regional south-eastern dialects of the UK and eastern seaboard dialects in the US. As with General American and New Zealand English, the weak-vowel merger is complete in Australian English: unstressed is merged into (schwa), unless it is followed by a velar consonant.\n\n\n\nmonophthongs\ndiphthongs\n\nshort vowels\nlong vowels\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''f'''oo'''t'', ''h'''oo'''d'', ''ch'''oo'''k''\n\n \n ''k'''i'''t'', ''b'''i'''d'', ''h'''i'''d'',\n\n \n ''dr'''e'''ss'', ''l'''e'''d'', ''h'''ea'''d''\n\n \n ''comm'''a''''', '''''a'''bout'', ''wint'''er'''''\n\n \n ''tr'''a'''p'', ''l'''a'''d'', ''h'''a'''d''\n\n \n ''str'''u'''t'', ''b'''u'''d'', ''h'''u'''d''\n\n \n ''l'''o'''t'', ''cl'''o'''th'', ''h'''o'''t''\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''g'''oo'''se'', ''b'''oo''''', ''wh'''o'''’d''\n\n \n ''fl'''ee'''ce'', ''b'''ea'''d'', ''h'''ea'''t''\n\n \n ''squ'''are''''', ''b'''are'''d'', ''h'''aire'''d''\n\n \n ''n'''ur'''se'', ''b'''ir'''d'', ''h'''ear'''d''\n\n \n ''b'''a'''g'', ''t'''a'''n'', ''b'''a'''d''\n\n \n ''st'''ar'''t'', ''p'''al'''m'', ''b'''a'''th''\n\n \n ''th'''ou'''ght'', ''n'''or'''th'', ''f'''or'''ce''\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''n'''ear''''', ''b'''ear'''d'', ''h'''ear'''''\n\n \n ''m'''ou'''th'', ''b'''owe'''d'', ''h'''ow'''’d''\n\n \n ''g'''oa'''t'', ''b'''o'''d'''e''''', ''h'''oe'''d''\n\n \n ''f'''a'''ce'', ''b'''ai'''t'', ''h'''a'''de''\n\n \n ''pr'''i'''ce'', ''b'''i'''te'', ''h'''i'''de''\n\n \n ''ch'''oi'''ce'', ''b'''oy''''', '''''oi'''l''\n\n\n\n\n\n===Consonants===\nThere is little variation with respect to the sets of consonants used in various English dialects. There are, however, variations in how these consonants are used. Australian English is no exception.\n\n\n+ Consonant phonemes of Australian English\n  \n Bilabial\n Labio-dental\n Dental\n Alveolar\n Post-alveolar\n Palatal\n Velar\n Glottal\n\n Nasal\n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n\n Plosive\n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n\n Affricate\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n\n Fricative\n   \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n  \n\n Approximant\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n \n   \n  \n\n Lateral\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n ()\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n\n\nAustralian English is non-rhotic; in other words, the sound does not appear at the end of a syllable or immediately before a consonant. However, a linking can occur when a word that has a final in the spelling comes before another word that starts with a vowel. An intrusive may similarly be inserted before a vowel in words that do not have in the spelling in certain environments, namely after the long vowel and after word final .\n\nThere is some degree of allophonic variation in the alveolar stops. As with North American English, Intervocalic alveolar flapping is a feature of Australian English: prevocalic and surface as the alveolar tap after sonorants other than , /m/as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel in the same breath group. For many speakers, and in the combinations and -are also palatalised, thus and , as Australian is only very slightly retroflex, the tip remaining below the level of the bottom teeth in the same position as for ; it is also somewhat rounded (\"to say 'r' the way Australians do you need to say 'w' at the same time\"), where older English and have fallen together as . The wine–whine merger is complete in Australian English.\n\n''Yod''-dropping occurs after , and, . Other cases of and , along with and , have coalesced to , , and respectively for many speakers. is generally retained in other consonant clusters.\n\nIn common with Scottish English and some varieties of American English, the phoneme is pronounced as a \"dark\" (velarised) L (", "{| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"float: right;\"\n+ Variation in Australian closing diphthongs\n Diaphoneme !! Lexical set !! Cultivated !! General !! Broad\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\nAcademic research has shown that the most notable variation within Australian English is largely sociocultural. This is mostly evident in phonology, which is divided into three sociocultural varieties: ''broad'', ''general'' and ''cultivated''.\n\nA limited range of word choices is strongly regional in nature. Consequently, the geographical background of individuals can be inferred, if they use words that are peculiar to particular Australian states or territories and, in some cases, even smaller regions.\n\nIn addition, some Australians speak creole languages derived from Australian English, such as Australian Kriol, Torres Strait Creole and Norfuk.\n\n===Sociocultural===\nThe ''broad'', ''general'' and ''cultivated'' accents form a continuum that reflects minute variations in the Australian accent. They can reflect the social class, education and urban or rural background of speakers, though such indicators are not always reliable. According to linguists, the general Australian variant emerged some time before 1900. Recent generations have seen a comparatively smaller proportion of the population speaking with the broad variant, along with the near extinction of the cultivated Australian accent. The growth and dominance of general Australian accents perhaps reflects its prominence on radio and television during the late 20th century.\n\nAustralian Aboriginal English is made up of a range of forms which developed differently in different parts of Australia, and are said to vary along a continuum, from forms close to Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms. There are distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use.\n\nThe ethnocultural dialects are diverse accents in Australian English that are spoken by the minority groups, which are of non-English speaking background. A massive immigration from Asia has made a large increase in diversity and the will for people to show their cultural identity within the Australian context. These ethnocultural varieties contain features of General Australian English as adopted by the children of immigrants blended with some non-English language features, such as the Afro-Asiatic and Asian languages.\n\n===Regional variation===\nAlthough Australian English is relatively homogeneous, some regional variations are notable. The dialects of English spoken in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands differ slightly from each other. Differences exist both in terms of vocabulary and phonology.\n\nMost regional differences come down to word usage. For example, swimming clothes are known as ''cossies'' or ''swimmers'' in New South Wales, ''togs'' in Queensland, and ''bathers'' in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia; what is referred to as a ''stroller'' in most of Australia is usually called a ''pram'' in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. Preference for synonymous words also differs between states. For example, ''garbage'' (i.e., garbage bin, garbage truck) dominates over ''rubbish'' in New South Wales and Queensland, while ''rubbish'' is more popular in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. The word ''footy'' generally refers to the most popular football code in the particular state or territory; that is, rugby league in New South Wales and Queensland, and Australian rules football elsewhere. Beer glasses are also named differently in different states. Distinctive grammatical patterns exist such as the use of the interrogative ''eh'' (also spelled ''ay'' or ''aye''), which is particularly associated with Queensland.\n\nThere are some notable regional variations in the pronunciations of certain words. The extent to which the trap‑bath split has taken hold is one example. This phonological development is more advanced in South Australia, which had a different settlement chronology and type from other parts of the country, which resulted in a prolonged British English influence that outlasted that of the other colonies. Words such as ''dance'', ''advance'', ''plant'', ''graph'', ''example'' and ''answer'' are pronounced far more frequently with the older (as in ''mad'') outside South Australia, but with (as in ''father'') within South Australia. ''L''-vocalisation is also more common in South Australia than other states. In Western Australian and Queensland English, the vowels in ''near'' and ''square'' are typically realised as centring diphthongs (\"nee-ya\"), whereas in the other states they may also be realised as monophthongs. A feature common in Victorian English is salary–celery merger, whereby a Victorian pronunciation of ''Ellen'' may sound like ''Alan'' to speakers from other states. There is also regional variation in before (as in ''school'' and ''pool'').\n", "===Intrinsic traits===\n\nBush poets such as Banjo Paterson captured the Australian vocabulary of the 19th century in their bush ballads.\n\nAustralian English has many words and idioms which are unique to the dialect and have been written on extensively, with the ''Macquarie Dictionary'', widely regarded as the national standard, incorporating numerous Australian terms.\n\nInternationally well-known examples of Australian terminology include ''outback'', meaning a remote, sparsely populated area, ''the bush'', meaning either a native forest or a country area in general, and ''g'day'', a greeting. ''Dinkum'', or ''fair dinkum'' means \"true\" or \"is that true?\", among other things, depending on context and inflection. The derivative ''dinky-di'' means \"true\" or devoted: a \"dinky-di Aussie\" is a \"true Australian\".\n\nAustralian poetry, such as \"The Man from Snowy River\", as well as folk songs such as \"Waltzing Matilda\", contain many historical Australian words and phrases that are understood by Australians even though some are not in common usage today.\n\nAustralian English, in common with several British English dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse, Glaswegian and Geordie), uses the word ''mate''. Many words used by Australians were at one time used in the United Kingdom but have since fallen out of usage or changed in meaning there.\n\nFor example, ''creek'' in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in the UK it means a small watercourse flowing into the sea; ''paddock'' in Australia means field, whereas in the UK it means a small enclosure for livestock; ''bush'' or ''scrub'' in Australia, as in North America, means a wooded area, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names (such as Shepherd's Bush and Wormwood Scrubs).\n\nLitotes, such as \"not bad\", \"not much\" and \"you're not wrong\", are also used, as are diminutives, which are commonly used and are often used to indicate familiarity. Some common examples are ''arvo'' (afternoon), ''barbie'' (barbecue), ''smoko'' (cigarette break), ''Aussie'' (Australian) and ''pressie'' (present/gift). This may also be done with people's names to create nicknames (other English speaking countries create similar diminutives). For example, \"Gazza\" from Gary, or \"Smitty\" from John Smith. The use of the suffix ''-o'' originates in Irish Gaelic (Irish ''ó''), which is both a postclitic and a suffix with much the same meaning as in Australian English.\n\nIn informal speech, incomplete comparisons are sometimes used, such as \"sweet as\" (as in \"That car is sweet as.\"). \"Full\", \"fully\" or \"heaps\" may precede a word to act as an intensifier (as in \"The waves at the beach were heaps good.\"). This was more common in regional Australia and South Australia but has been in common usage in urban Australia for decades. The suffix \"-ly\" is sometimes omitted in broader Australian English. For instance, \"really good\" can become \"real good\".\n\nAustralia's switch to the metric system in the 1970s changed the country's vocabulary of measurement from imperial towards metric measures. Since the switch to metric, heights of individuals are still commonly spoken of and understood in feet and inches, despite being listed in centimetres on official documents such as driver's licence.\n\n===Comparison with other varieties===\nWhere British and American vocabulary differs, Australians sometimes favour a usage different from both varieties, as with footpath (for US sidewalk, UK pavement), capsicum (for US bell pepper, UK green/red pepper), or doona (for US comforter, UK duvet). In other instances, it either shares a term with American English, as with truck (UK: lorry) or eggplant (UK: aubergine), or with British English, as with mobile phone (US: cell phone) or bonnet (US: hood).\n\nA non-exhaustive selection of common British English terms not commonly used in Australian English include (Australian usage in brackets): artic/articulated lorry (semi-trailer); aubergine (eggplant); bank holiday (public holiday); bedsit (one-bedroom apartment); bin lorry (garbage/rubbish truck); cagoule (raincoat); candy floss (fairy floss); cash machine (automatic teller machine/ATM); child-minder (babysitter); clingfilm (glad wrap/cling-wrap); cooker (stove); courgette (zucchini); crisps (chips/potato chips); skive (bludge); dungarees (overalls); dustbin (garbage/rubbish bin); dustcart (garbage/rubbish truck); duvet (doona); elastoplast/plaster (band-aid); estate car (station wagon); fairy cake (cupcake/patty cake); flannel ((face) washer/wash cloth); free phone (toll-free); football (soccer); full fat milk (full-cream milk); high street (main street); hoover (''v'' - to vacuum); horsebox (horse float); ice lolly (ice block/icy pole); kitchen roll (paper towel); lavatory (toilet); lilo (inflatable mattress, air bed); lorry (truck); marrow (squash); off-licence (bottle shop); pavement (footpath); potato crisps (potato chips); red/green pepper (capsicum); pilchard (sardine); pillar box (post box); plimsoll (sandshoe); pushchair (pram/stroller); saloon car (sedan); sellotape (sticky tape); snog (''v'' - pash); swan (''v'' - to go somewhere in an ostentatious way); sweets (lollies); utility room (laundry); Wellington boots (gumboots).\n\nA non-exhaustive list of American English terms not commonly found in Australian English include: acclimate (acclimatise); aluminum (aluminium); bangs (fringe); bell pepper (capsicum); bellhop (hotel porter); broil (grill); burglarize (burgle); busboy (included under the broader term of waiter); candy (lollies); cell phone (mobile phone); cilantro (coriander); comforter (doona); counter-clockwise (anticlockwise); diaper (nappy); downtown (CBD); drywall (plasterboard); emergency brake (handbrake); faucet (tap); flashlight (torch); frosting (icing); gasoline (petrol); golden raisin (sultana); hood (bonnet); jell-o (jelly); jelly (jam); math (maths); nightstand (bedside table); pacifier (dummy); period (full stop); parking lot (car park); popsicle (ice block/icy pole); railway ties (sleepers); rear view mirror (rear vision mirror); row house (terrace house); scallion (spring onion); silverware/flatware (cutlery); stickshift (manual transmission); streetcar (tram); takeout (takeaway); trash can (garbage/rubbish bin); trunk (boot); turn signal (indicator/blinker); vacation (holiday); upscale/downscale (upmarket/downmarket); windshield (windscreen).\n\nTerms shared by British and American English but not so commonly found in Australian English include: abroad (overseas); cooler/ice box (esky); flip-flops (thongs); pickup truck (ute); wildfire (bushfire).\n\nAustralian English is particularly divergent from other varieties with respect to geographical terminology, due to the country's unique geography. This is particularly true when comparing with British English, due to that country's dramatically different geography. British geographical terms not in common use in Australia include: coppice (cleared bushland); dell (valley); fen (swamp); heath (shrubland); meadow (grassy plain); moor (swampland); spinney (shrubland); stream (creek); woods (bush) and village (even the smallest settlements in Australia are called ''towns'' or ''stations'').\n\nIn addition, a number of words in Australian English have different meanings from those ascribed in other varieties of English. Clothing-related examples are notable. ''Pants'' in Australian English refer to British English ''trousers'' but in British English refer to Australian English ''underpants''; ''vest'' in Australian English refers to British English ''waistcoat'' but in British English refers to Australian English ''singlet''; ''thong'' in both American and British English refers to underwear (otherwise known as a G-string), while in Australian English it refers to British and American English ''flip-flop'' (footwear). There are numerous other examples, including ''biscuit'' which refers in Australian and British English to American English ''cookie'' or ''cracker'' but to a savoury cake in American English; ''Asian'', which in Australian and American English commonly refers to people of East Asian heritage, as opposed to British English, in which it commonly refers to people of South Asian descent; and ''(potato) chips'' which refers both to British English ''crisps'' (which is not commonly used in Australian English) and to American English ''French fries'' (which is used alongside ''hot chips'').\n\nIn addition to the large number of uniquely Australian idioms in common use, there are instances of idioms taking differing forms in the various Anglophone nations, for example ''home away from home'', ''take with a grain of salt'' and ''wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole'' (which in British English take the respective forms ''home from home'', ''take with a pinch of salt'' and ''wouldn't touch with a barge pole''), or ''a drop in the ocean'' and ''touch wood'' (which in American English take the forms ''a drop in the bucket'' and ''knock on wood'').\n", "As with American English, but unlike British English, collective nouns are almost always singular in construction, e.g., ''the government was unable to decide'' as opposed to ''the government were unable to decide''. ''Shan't'', the use of ''should'' as in ''I should be happy if ...'', the use of ''haven't any'' instead of ''haven't got any'' and the use of ''don't let's'' in place of ''let's not'', common in upper-register British English, are almost never encountered in Australian (or North American) English. ''River'' generally follows the name of the river in question as in North America, i.e., ''Darling River'', rather than the British convention of coming before the name, e.g., ''River Thames''. In South Australia however, the British convention applies—for example, the ''River Murray'' or the ''River Torrens''. As with American English, ''on the weekend'' and ''studied medicine'' are used rather than the British ''at the weekend'' and ''read medicine''. Similarly, ''around'' is more commonly used in constructions such as ''running around'', ''stomping around'' or ''messing around'' in contrast with the British convention of using ''about''.\n\nIn common with British English, the past tense and past participles of the verbs ''learn'', ''spell'' and ''smell'' are often irregular (''learnt'', ''spelt'', ''smelt''). Similarly, in Australian usage, the ''to'' in ''I'll write to you'' is retained, as opposed to US usage where it may be dropped. While prepositions before days may be omitted in American English, i.e., ''She resigned Thursday'', they are retained in Australian English, as in British English: ''She resigned on Thursday''. Ranges of dates use ''to'', i.e., ''Monday to Friday'', as with British English, rather than ''Monday through Friday'' in American English. When saying or writing out numbers, ''and'' is inserted before the tens and units, i.e., ''one hundred and sixty-two'', as with British practice. However Australians, like Americans, are more likely to pronounce numbers such as 1,200 as ''twelve hundred'', rather than ''one thousand two hundred''.\n\n==Spelling and style==\nAs in most English-speaking countries, there is no official governmental regulator or overseer of correct spelling and grammar. The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' is used by some universities and some other organisations as a standard for Australian English spelling. The ''Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers'', the ''Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage'' and the ''Australian Guide to Legal Citation'' are prominent style guides.\n\nAustralian spelling is closer to British than American spelling. As with British spelling, the ''u'' is retained in words such as ''colour'', ''honour'', ''labour'' and ''favour''. While the Macquarie Dictionary lists the ''-our'' ending and follows it with the ''-or'' ending as an acceptable variant, the latter is rarely found in actual use today. Australian print media, including digital media, today strongly favour ''-our'' endings. A notable exception to this rule is the Australian Labor Party, which adopted the American spelling in 1912 as a result of ''-or'' spellings' comparative popularity at that time. Consistent with British spellings, ''-re'', rather than ''-er'', is the only listed variant in Australian dictionaries in words such as ''theatre'', ''centre'' and ''manoeuvre''. Unlike British English, which is split between ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' in words such as ''organise'' and ''realise'', with ''-ize'' favoured by the Oxford English Dictionary and ''-ise'' listed as a variant, ''-ize'' is rare in Australian English and designated as a variant by the Macquarie Dictionary. ''Ae'' and ''oe'' are often maintained in words such as ''manoeuvre'', ''paedophilia'' and ''foetus'' (excepting those listed below); however, the Macquarie dictionary lists forms with ''e'' (e.g., pedophilia, fetus) as acceptable variants and notes a tendency within Australian English towards using only ''e''. Individual words where the preferred spelling is listed by the Macquarie Dictionary as being different from the British spellings include \"program\" (in all contexts) as opposed to \"programme\", \"inquire\" and derivatives \"inquired\", \"inquiry\", etc. as opposed to \"enquire\" and derivatives, \"analog\" (as opposed to digital) as opposed to \"analogue\", \"livable\" as opposed to \"liveable\", \"guerilla\" as opposed to \"guerrilla\", \"yoghurt\" as opposed to \"yogurt\", \"verandah\" as opposed to \"veranda\", \"burqa\" as opposed to \"burka\", \"pastie\" (food) as opposed to \"pasty\", \"amoxycillin\" as opposed to \"amoxicillin\", \"dexamphetamine\" as opposed to \"dexamfetamine\", \"methicillin\" as opposed to \"meticillin\", \"oxpentifylline\" as opposed to \"pentoxifylline\", and \"thioguanine\" as opposed to \"tioguanine\". Unspaced prepositions such as \"onto\", \"anytime\", \"alright\" and \"anymore\" are also listed as being equally as acceptable as their spaced counterparts.\n\nDifferent spellings have existed throughout Australia's history. A pamphlet entitled ''The So-Called \"American Spelling\"'', published in Sydney some time in the 19th century, argued that \"there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the ''u'' in such words as ''honor'', ''labor'', etc.\" The pamphlet also claimed that \"the tendency of people in Australasia is to excise the u, and one of the Sydney morning papers habitually does this, while the other generally follows the older form.\" What are today regarded as American spellings were popular in Australia throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the Victorian Department of Education endorsing them into the 1970s and ''The Age'' newspaper until the 1990s. This influence can be seen in the spelling of the Australian Labor Party and also in some place names such as Victor Harbor. The ''Concise Oxford English Dictionary'' has been attributed with re-establishing the dominance of the British spellings in the 1920s and 1930s. For a short time during the late 20th century, Harry Lindgren's 1969 spelling reform proposal (''Spelling Reform 1'' or ''SR1'') gained some support in Australia: in 1975, the Australian Teachers' Federation adopted SR1 as a policy. SR1 calls for the short sound (as in ''bet'') to be spelt with E (for example ''friend→frend, head→hed'').\n\nBoth single and double quotation marks are in use (with double quotation marks being far more common in print media), with logical (as opposed to typesetter's) punctuation. Spaced and unspaced em-dashes remain in mainstream use, as with American and Canadian English. The DD/MM/YYYY date format is followed and the 12-hour clock is generally used in everyday life (as opposed to service, police, and airline applications).\n", "\nThere are two major English language keyboard layouts, the United States layout and the United Kingdom layout. Australia universally uses the United States keyboard layout, which lacks pound sterling, Euro currency and negation symbols. Punctuation symbols are also placed differently from British keyboards.\n", "\n*''The Australian National Dictionary''\n*International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects\n*Strine\n", "\n", "\n* \n* Mitchell, Alexander G. (1995). ''The Story of Australian English.'' Sydney: Dictionary Research Centre.\n\n", "\n* Australian National Dictionary Centre\n* Ozwords—free newsletter from the Australian National Dictionary Centre, which includes articles on Australian English\n* Australian Word Map at the ABC—documents regionalisms\n* R. Mannell, F. Cox and J. Harrington (2009), An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Macquarie University\n* Aussie English for beginners—the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge at the National Museum of Australia.\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Phonology and pronunciation", "Variation", "Vocabulary", "Grammar", "Computer keyboards", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "A non-exhaustive selection of common British English terms not commonly used in Australian English include (Australian usage in brackets): artic/articulated lorry (semi-trailer); aubergine (eggplant); bank holiday (public holiday); bedsit (one-bedroom apartment); bin lorry (garbage/rubbish truck); cagoule (raincoat); candy floss (fairy floss); cash machine (automatic teller machine/ATM); child-minder (babysitter); clingfilm (glad wrap/cling-wrap); cooker (stove); courgette (zucchini); crisps (chips/potato chips); skive (bludge); dungarees (overalls); dustbin (garbage/rubbish bin); dustcart (garbage/rubbish truck); duvet (doona); elastoplast/plaster (band-aid); estate car (station wagon); fairy cake (cupcake/patty cake); flannel ((face) washer/wash cloth); free phone (toll-free); football (soccer); full fat milk (full-cream milk); high street (main street); hoover (''v'' - to vacuum); horsebox (horse float); ice lolly (ice block/icy pole); kitchen roll (paper towel); lavatory (toilet); lilo (inflatable mattress, air bed); lorry (truck); marrow (squash); off-licence (bottle shop); pavement (footpath); potato crisps (potato chips); red/green pepper (capsicum); pilchard (sardine); pillar box (post box); plimsoll (sandshoe); pushchair (pram/stroller); saloon car (sedan); sellotape (sticky tape); snog (''v'' - pash); swan (''v'' - to go somewhere in an ostentatious way); sweets (lollies); utility room (laundry); Wellington boots (gumboots)." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Australian English''' ('''AuE''', '''en-AU''') is a major variety of the English language, used throughout Australia.", "Although English has no official status in the Constitution, Australian English is the country's national and ''de facto'' official language as it is the first language of the majority of the population.", "Australian English began to diverge from British English after the founding of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognised as being different from British English by 1820.", "It arose from the intermingling of early settlers from a great variety of mutually intelligible dialectal regions of the British Isles and quickly developed into a distinct variety of English.", "As a distinct dialect, Australian English differs considerably from other varieties of English in vocabulary, accent, pronunciation, register, grammar and spelling.", "The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony of New South Wales.", "This first generation of children created a new dialect that was to become the language of the nation.", "The Australian-born children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular from Ireland and South East England.", "The native-born children of the colony created the new dialect from the speech they heard around them, and with it expressed peer solidarity.", "Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect was strong enough to blunt other patterns of speech.", "A quarter of the convicts were Irish.", "Many had been arrested in Ireland, and some in Great Britain.", "Many, if not most, of the Irish spoke Irish and either no English at all, or spoke it poorly and rarely.", "There were other significant populations of convicts from non-English speaking part of Britain, such as the Scottish Highlands and Wales.", "Records from the early 19th century show the distinct dialect that had surfaced in the colonies since first settlement in 1788, with Peter Miller Cunningham's 1827 book ''Two Years in New South Wales'', describing the distinctive accent and vocabulary of the native-born colonists, different from that of their parents and with a strong London influence.", "Anthony Burgess writes that \"Australian English may be thought of as a kind of fossilised Cockney of the Dickensian era.\"", "The Australian gold rushes saw many external influences on the language.", "The first of the Australian gold rushes, in the 1850s, began a large wave of immigration, during which about two per cent of the population of the United Kingdom emigrated to the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria.", "According to linguist Bruce Moore, \"the major input of the various sounds that went into constructing the Australian accent was from south-east England\".", "Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been adopted by Australian English—mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example dingo) and local culture.", "Many such are localised, and do not form part of general Australian use, while others, such as ''kangaroo'', ''boomerang'', ''budgerigar'', ''wallaby'' and so on have become international.", "Other examples are ''cooee'' and ''hard yakka''.", "The former is used as a high-pitched call, for attracting attention, (pronounced ) which travels long distances.", "''Cooee'' is also a notional distance: ''if he's within cooee, we'll spot him''.", "''Hard yakka'' means ''hard work'' and is derived from ''yakka'', from the Jagera/Yagara language once spoken in the Brisbane region.", "Also of Aboriginal origin is the word ''bung'', from the Sydney pidgin English (and ultimately from the Sydney Aboriginal language), meaning \"dead\", with some extension to \"broken\" or \"useless\".", "Many towns or suburbs of Australia have also been influenced or named after Aboriginal words.", "The best-known example is the capital, Canberra, named after a local language word meaning \"meeting place\".", "Among the changes starting in the 19th century was the introduction of words, spellings, terms and usages from North American English.", "The words imported included some later considered to be typically Australian, such as ''bushwhacker'' and ''squatter''.", "This American influence continued with the popularity of American films and the influx of American military personnel in World War II; seen in the enduring persistence of such terms as ''okay'', ''you guys'' and ''gee''.", "\nThe primary way in which Australian English is distinctive from other varieties of English is through its unique pronunciation.", "It shares most similarity with other Southern Hemisphere accents, in particular New Zealand English.", "Like most dialects of English it is distinguished primarily by its vowel phonology.", "===Vowels===\nAustralian English monophthongs\nAustralian English diphthongs\nThe vowels of Australian English can be divided according to length.", "The long vowels, which include monophthongs and diphthongs, mostly correspond to the tense vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation (RP) as well as its centring diphthongs.", "The short vowels, consisting only of monophthongs, correspond to the RP lax vowels.", "There exist pairs of long and short vowels with overlapping vowel quality giving Australian English phonemic length distinction, which is unusual amongst the various dialects of English, though not unknown elsewhere, such as in regional south-eastern dialects of the UK and eastern seaboard dialects in the US.", "As with General American and New Zealand English, the weak-vowel merger is complete in Australian English: unstressed is merged into (schwa), unless it is followed by a velar consonant.", "monophthongs\ndiphthongs\n\nshort vowels\nlong vowels\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''f'''oo'''t'', ''h'''oo'''d'', ''ch'''oo'''k''\n\n \n ''k'''i'''t'', ''b'''i'''d'', ''h'''i'''d'',\n\n \n ''dr'''e'''ss'', ''l'''e'''d'', ''h'''ea'''d''\n\n \n ''comm'''a''''', '''''a'''bout'', ''wint'''er'''''\n\n \n ''tr'''a'''p'', ''l'''a'''d'', ''h'''a'''d''\n\n \n ''str'''u'''t'', ''b'''u'''d'', ''h'''u'''d''\n\n \n ''l'''o'''t'', ''cl'''o'''th'', ''h'''o'''t''\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''g'''oo'''se'', ''b'''oo''''', ''wh'''o'''’d''\n\n \n ''fl'''ee'''ce'', ''b'''ea'''d'', ''h'''ea'''t''\n\n \n ''squ'''are''''', ''b'''are'''d'', ''h'''aire'''d''\n\n \n ''n'''ur'''se'', ''b'''ir'''d'', ''h'''ear'''d''\n\n \n ''b'''a'''g'', ''t'''a'''n'', ''b'''a'''d''\n\n \n ''st'''ar'''t'', ''p'''al'''m'', ''b'''a'''th''\n\n \n ''th'''ou'''ght'', ''n'''or'''th'', ''f'''or'''ce''\n\n\n\n\n IPA\n examples\n\n \n ''n'''ear''''', ''b'''ear'''d'', ''h'''ear'''''\n\n \n ''m'''ou'''th'', ''b'''owe'''d'', ''h'''ow'''’d''\n\n \n ''g'''oa'''t'', ''b'''o'''d'''e''''', ''h'''oe'''d''\n\n \n ''f'''a'''ce'', ''b'''ai'''t'', ''h'''a'''de''\n\n \n ''pr'''i'''ce'', ''b'''i'''te'', ''h'''i'''de''\n\n \n ''ch'''oi'''ce'', ''b'''oy''''', '''''oi'''l''\n\n\n\n\n\n===Consonants===\nThere is little variation with respect to the sets of consonants used in various English dialects.", "There are, however, variations in how these consonants are used.", "Australian English is no exception.", "+ Consonant phonemes of Australian English\n  \n Bilabial\n Labio-dental\n Dental\n Alveolar\n Post-alveolar\n Palatal\n Velar\n Glottal\n\n Nasal\n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n\n Plosive\n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n\n Affricate\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n\n Fricative\n   \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n   \n  \n   \n  \n \n  \n\n Approximant\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n  \n   \n \n   \n \n   \n  \n\n Lateral\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n ()\n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n   \n  \n\n\nAustralian English is non-rhotic; in other words, the sound does not appear at the end of a syllable or immediately before a consonant.", "However, a linking can occur when a word that has a final in the spelling comes before another word that starts with a vowel.", "An intrusive may similarly be inserted before a vowel in words that do not have in the spelling in certain environments, namely after the long vowel and after word final .", "There is some degree of allophonic variation in the alveolar stops.", "As with North American English, Intervocalic alveolar flapping is a feature of Australian English: prevocalic and surface as the alveolar tap after sonorants other than , /m/as well as at the end of a word or morpheme before any vowel in the same breath group.", "For many speakers, and in the combinations and -are also palatalised, thus and , as Australian is only very slightly retroflex, the tip remaining below the level of the bottom teeth in the same position as for ; it is also somewhat rounded (\"to say 'r' the way Australians do you need to say 'w' at the same time\"), where older English and have fallen together as .", "The wine–whine merger is complete in Australian English.", "''Yod''-dropping occurs after , and, .", "Other cases of and , along with and , have coalesced to , , and respectively for many speakers.", "is generally retained in other consonant clusters.", "In common with Scottish English and some varieties of American English, the phoneme is pronounced as a \"dark\" (velarised) L (", "{| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"float: right;\"\n+ Variation in Australian closing diphthongs\n Diaphoneme !", "!", "Lexical set !", "!", "Cultivated !", "!", "General !", "!", "Broad\n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\nAcademic research has shown that the most notable variation within Australian English is largely sociocultural.", "This is mostly evident in phonology, which is divided into three sociocultural varieties: ''broad'', ''general'' and ''cultivated''.", "A limited range of word choices is strongly regional in nature.", "Consequently, the geographical background of individuals can be inferred, if they use words that are peculiar to particular Australian states or territories and, in some cases, even smaller regions.", "In addition, some Australians speak creole languages derived from Australian English, such as Australian Kriol, Torres Strait Creole and Norfuk.", "===Sociocultural===\nThe ''broad'', ''general'' and ''cultivated'' accents form a continuum that reflects minute variations in the Australian accent.", "They can reflect the social class, education and urban or rural background of speakers, though such indicators are not always reliable.", "According to linguists, the general Australian variant emerged some time before 1900.", "Recent generations have seen a comparatively smaller proportion of the population speaking with the broad variant, along with the near extinction of the cultivated Australian accent.", "The growth and dominance of general Australian accents perhaps reflects its prominence on radio and television during the late 20th century.", "Australian Aboriginal English is made up of a range of forms which developed differently in different parts of Australia, and are said to vary along a continuum, from forms close to Standard Australian English to more non-standard forms.", "There are distinctive features of accent, grammar, words and meanings, as well as language use.", "The ethnocultural dialects are diverse accents in Australian English that are spoken by the minority groups, which are of non-English speaking background.", "A massive immigration from Asia has made a large increase in diversity and the will for people to show their cultural identity within the Australian context.", "These ethnocultural varieties contain features of General Australian English as adopted by the children of immigrants blended with some non-English language features, such as the Afro-Asiatic and Asian languages.", "===Regional variation===\nAlthough Australian English is relatively homogeneous, some regional variations are notable.", "The dialects of English spoken in South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands differ slightly from each other.", "Differences exist both in terms of vocabulary and phonology.", "Most regional differences come down to word usage.", "For example, swimming clothes are known as ''cossies'' or ''swimmers'' in New South Wales, ''togs'' in Queensland, and ''bathers'' in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia; what is referred to as a ''stroller'' in most of Australia is usually called a ''pram'' in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.", "Preference for synonymous words also differs between states.", "For example, ''garbage'' (i.e., garbage bin, garbage truck) dominates over ''rubbish'' in New South Wales and Queensland, while ''rubbish'' is more popular in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.", "The word ''footy'' generally refers to the most popular football code in the particular state or territory; that is, rugby league in New South Wales and Queensland, and Australian rules football elsewhere.", "Beer glasses are also named differently in different states.", "Distinctive grammatical patterns exist such as the use of the interrogative ''eh'' (also spelled ''ay'' or ''aye''), which is particularly associated with Queensland.", "There are some notable regional variations in the pronunciations of certain words.", "The extent to which the trap‑bath split has taken hold is one example.", "This phonological development is more advanced in South Australia, which had a different settlement chronology and type from other parts of the country, which resulted in a prolonged British English influence that outlasted that of the other colonies.", "Words such as ''dance'', ''advance'', ''plant'', ''graph'', ''example'' and ''answer'' are pronounced far more frequently with the older (as in ''mad'') outside South Australia, but with (as in ''father'') within South Australia.", "''L''-vocalisation is also more common in South Australia than other states.", "In Western Australian and Queensland English, the vowels in ''near'' and ''square'' are typically realised as centring diphthongs (\"nee-ya\"), whereas in the other states they may also be realised as monophthongs.", "A feature common in Victorian English is salary–celery merger, whereby a Victorian pronunciation of ''Ellen'' may sound like ''Alan'' to speakers from other states.", "There is also regional variation in before (as in ''school'' and ''pool'').", "===Intrinsic traits===\n\nBush poets such as Banjo Paterson captured the Australian vocabulary of the 19th century in their bush ballads.", "Australian English has many words and idioms which are unique to the dialect and have been written on extensively, with the ''Macquarie Dictionary'', widely regarded as the national standard, incorporating numerous Australian terms.", "Internationally well-known examples of Australian terminology include ''outback'', meaning a remote, sparsely populated area, ''the bush'', meaning either a native forest or a country area in general, and ''g'day'', a greeting.", "''Dinkum'', or ''fair dinkum'' means \"true\" or \"is that true?", "\", among other things, depending on context and inflection.", "The derivative ''dinky-di'' means \"true\" or devoted: a \"dinky-di Aussie\" is a \"true Australian\".", "Australian poetry, such as \"The Man from Snowy River\", as well as folk songs such as \"Waltzing Matilda\", contain many historical Australian words and phrases that are understood by Australians even though some are not in common usage today.", "Australian English, in common with several British English dialects (for example, Cockney, Scouse, Glaswegian and Geordie), uses the word ''mate''.", "Many words used by Australians were at one time used in the United Kingdom but have since fallen out of usage or changed in meaning there.", "For example, ''creek'' in Australia, as in North America, means a stream or small river, whereas in the UK it means a small watercourse flowing into the sea; ''paddock'' in Australia means field, whereas in the UK it means a small enclosure for livestock; ''bush'' or ''scrub'' in Australia, as in North America, means a wooded area, whereas in England they are commonly used only in proper names (such as Shepherd's Bush and Wormwood Scrubs).", "Litotes, such as \"not bad\", \"not much\" and \"you're not wrong\", are also used, as are diminutives, which are commonly used and are often used to indicate familiarity.", "Some common examples are ''arvo'' (afternoon), ''barbie'' (barbecue), ''smoko'' (cigarette break), ''Aussie'' (Australian) and ''pressie'' (present/gift).", "This may also be done with people's names to create nicknames (other English speaking countries create similar diminutives).", "For example, \"Gazza\" from Gary, or \"Smitty\" from John Smith.", "The use of the suffix ''-o'' originates in Irish Gaelic (Irish ''ó''), which is both a postclitic and a suffix with much the same meaning as in Australian English.", "In informal speech, incomplete comparisons are sometimes used, such as \"sweet as\" (as in \"That car is sweet as.\").", "\"Full\", \"fully\" or \"heaps\" may precede a word to act as an intensifier (as in \"The waves at the beach were heaps good.\").", "This was more common in regional Australia and South Australia but has been in common usage in urban Australia for decades.", "The suffix \"-ly\" is sometimes omitted in broader Australian English.", "For instance, \"really good\" can become \"real good\".", "Australia's switch to the metric system in the 1970s changed the country's vocabulary of measurement from imperial towards metric measures.", "Since the switch to metric, heights of individuals are still commonly spoken of and understood in feet and inches, despite being listed in centimetres on official documents such as driver's licence.", "===Comparison with other varieties===\nWhere British and American vocabulary differs, Australians sometimes favour a usage different from both varieties, as with footpath (for US sidewalk, UK pavement), capsicum (for US bell pepper, UK green/red pepper), or doona (for US comforter, UK duvet).", "In other instances, it either shares a term with American English, as with truck (UK: lorry) or eggplant (UK: aubergine), or with British English, as with mobile phone (US: cell phone) or bonnet (US: hood).", "A non-exhaustive list of American English terms not commonly found in Australian English include: acclimate (acclimatise); aluminum (aluminium); bangs (fringe); bell pepper (capsicum); bellhop (hotel porter); broil (grill); burglarize (burgle); busboy (included under the broader term of waiter); candy (lollies); cell phone (mobile phone); cilantro (coriander); comforter (doona); counter-clockwise (anticlockwise); diaper (nappy); downtown (CBD); drywall (plasterboard); emergency brake (handbrake); faucet (tap); flashlight (torch); frosting (icing); gasoline (petrol); golden raisin (sultana); hood (bonnet); jell-o (jelly); jelly (jam); math (maths); nightstand (bedside table); pacifier (dummy); period (full stop); parking lot (car park); popsicle (ice block/icy pole); railway ties (sleepers); rear view mirror (rear vision mirror); row house (terrace house); scallion (spring onion); silverware/flatware (cutlery); stickshift (manual transmission); streetcar (tram); takeout (takeaway); trash can (garbage/rubbish bin); trunk (boot); turn signal (indicator/blinker); vacation (holiday); upscale/downscale (upmarket/downmarket); windshield (windscreen).", "Terms shared by British and American English but not so commonly found in Australian English include: abroad (overseas); cooler/ice box (esky); flip-flops (thongs); pickup truck (ute); wildfire (bushfire).", "Australian English is particularly divergent from other varieties with respect to geographical terminology, due to the country's unique geography.", "This is particularly true when comparing with British English, due to that country's dramatically different geography.", "British geographical terms not in common use in Australia include: coppice (cleared bushland); dell (valley); fen (swamp); heath (shrubland); meadow (grassy plain); moor (swampland); spinney (shrubland); stream (creek); woods (bush) and village (even the smallest settlements in Australia are called ''towns'' or ''stations'').", "In addition, a number of words in Australian English have different meanings from those ascribed in other varieties of English.", "Clothing-related examples are notable.", "''Pants'' in Australian English refer to British English ''trousers'' but in British English refer to Australian English ''underpants''; ''vest'' in Australian English refers to British English ''waistcoat'' but in British English refers to Australian English ''singlet''; ''thong'' in both American and British English refers to underwear (otherwise known as a G-string), while in Australian English it refers to British and American English ''flip-flop'' (footwear).", "There are numerous other examples, including ''biscuit'' which refers in Australian and British English to American English ''cookie'' or ''cracker'' but to a savoury cake in American English; ''Asian'', which in Australian and American English commonly refers to people of East Asian heritage, as opposed to British English, in which it commonly refers to people of South Asian descent; and ''(potato) chips'' which refers both to British English ''crisps'' (which is not commonly used in Australian English) and to American English ''French fries'' (which is used alongside ''hot chips'').", "In addition to the large number of uniquely Australian idioms in common use, there are instances of idioms taking differing forms in the various Anglophone nations, for example ''home away from home'', ''take with a grain of salt'' and ''wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole'' (which in British English take the respective forms ''home from home'', ''take with a pinch of salt'' and ''wouldn't touch with a barge pole''), or ''a drop in the ocean'' and ''touch wood'' (which in American English take the forms ''a drop in the bucket'' and ''knock on wood'').", "As with American English, but unlike British English, collective nouns are almost always singular in construction, e.g., ''the government was unable to decide'' as opposed to ''the government were unable to decide''.", "''Shan't'', the use of ''should'' as in ''I should be happy if ...'', the use of ''haven't any'' instead of ''haven't got any'' and the use of ''don't let's'' in place of ''let's not'', common in upper-register British English, are almost never encountered in Australian (or North American) English.", "''River'' generally follows the name of the river in question as in North America, i.e., ''Darling River'', rather than the British convention of coming before the name, e.g., ''River Thames''.", "In South Australia however, the British convention applies—for example, the ''River Murray'' or the ''River Torrens''.", "As with American English, ''on the weekend'' and ''studied medicine'' are used rather than the British ''at the weekend'' and ''read medicine''.", "Similarly, ''around'' is more commonly used in constructions such as ''running around'', ''stomping around'' or ''messing around'' in contrast with the British convention of using ''about''.", "In common with British English, the past tense and past participles of the verbs ''learn'', ''spell'' and ''smell'' are often irregular (''learnt'', ''spelt'', ''smelt'').", "Similarly, in Australian usage, the ''to'' in ''I'll write to you'' is retained, as opposed to US usage where it may be dropped.", "While prepositions before days may be omitted in American English, i.e., ''She resigned Thursday'', they are retained in Australian English, as in British English: ''She resigned on Thursday''.", "Ranges of dates use ''to'', i.e., ''Monday to Friday'', as with British English, rather than ''Monday through Friday'' in American English.", "When saying or writing out numbers, ''and'' is inserted before the tens and units, i.e., ''one hundred and sixty-two'', as with British practice.", "However Australians, like Americans, are more likely to pronounce numbers such as 1,200 as ''twelve hundred'', rather than ''one thousand two hundred''.", "==Spelling and style==\nAs in most English-speaking countries, there is no official governmental regulator or overseer of correct spelling and grammar.", "The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' is used by some universities and some other organisations as a standard for Australian English spelling.", "The ''Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers'', the ''Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage'' and the ''Australian Guide to Legal Citation'' are prominent style guides.", "Australian spelling is closer to British than American spelling.", "As with British spelling, the ''u'' is retained in words such as ''colour'', ''honour'', ''labour'' and ''favour''.", "While the Macquarie Dictionary lists the ''-our'' ending and follows it with the ''-or'' ending as an acceptable variant, the latter is rarely found in actual use today.", "Australian print media, including digital media, today strongly favour ''-our'' endings.", "A notable exception to this rule is the Australian Labor Party, which adopted the American spelling in 1912 as a result of ''-or'' spellings' comparative popularity at that time.", "Consistent with British spellings, ''-re'', rather than ''-er'', is the only listed variant in Australian dictionaries in words such as ''theatre'', ''centre'' and ''manoeuvre''.", "Unlike British English, which is split between ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' in words such as ''organise'' and ''realise'', with ''-ize'' favoured by the Oxford English Dictionary and ''-ise'' listed as a variant, ''-ize'' is rare in Australian English and designated as a variant by the Macquarie Dictionary.", "''Ae'' and ''oe'' are often maintained in words such as ''manoeuvre'', ''paedophilia'' and ''foetus'' (excepting those listed below); however, the Macquarie dictionary lists forms with ''e'' (e.g., pedophilia, fetus) as acceptable variants and notes a tendency within Australian English towards using only ''e''.", "Individual words where the preferred spelling is listed by the Macquarie Dictionary as being different from the British spellings include \"program\" (in all contexts) as opposed to \"programme\", \"inquire\" and derivatives \"inquired\", \"inquiry\", etc.", "as opposed to \"enquire\" and derivatives, \"analog\" (as opposed to digital) as opposed to \"analogue\", \"livable\" as opposed to \"liveable\", \"guerilla\" as opposed to \"guerrilla\", \"yoghurt\" as opposed to \"yogurt\", \"verandah\" as opposed to \"veranda\", \"burqa\" as opposed to \"burka\", \"pastie\" (food) as opposed to \"pasty\", \"amoxycillin\" as opposed to \"amoxicillin\", \"dexamphetamine\" as opposed to \"dexamfetamine\", \"methicillin\" as opposed to \"meticillin\", \"oxpentifylline\" as opposed to \"pentoxifylline\", and \"thioguanine\" as opposed to \"tioguanine\".", "Unspaced prepositions such as \"onto\", \"anytime\", \"alright\" and \"anymore\" are also listed as being equally as acceptable as their spaced counterparts.", "Different spellings have existed throughout Australia's history.", "A pamphlet entitled ''The So-Called \"American Spelling\"'', published in Sydney some time in the 19th century, argued that \"there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the ''u'' in such words as ''honor'', ''labor'', etc.\"", "The pamphlet also claimed that \"the tendency of people in Australasia is to excise the u, and one of the Sydney morning papers habitually does this, while the other generally follows the older form.\"", "What are today regarded as American spellings were popular in Australia throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the Victorian Department of Education endorsing them into the 1970s and ''The Age'' newspaper until the 1990s.", "This influence can be seen in the spelling of the Australian Labor Party and also in some place names such as Victor Harbor.", "The ''Concise Oxford English Dictionary'' has been attributed with re-establishing the dominance of the British spellings in the 1920s and 1930s.", "For a short time during the late 20th century, Harry Lindgren's 1969 spelling reform proposal (''Spelling Reform 1'' or ''SR1'') gained some support in Australia: in 1975, the Australian Teachers' Federation adopted SR1 as a policy.", "SR1 calls for the short sound (as in ''bet'') to be spelt with E (for example ''friend→frend, head→hed'').", "Both single and double quotation marks are in use (with double quotation marks being far more common in print media), with logical (as opposed to typesetter's) punctuation.", "Spaced and unspaced em-dashes remain in mainstream use, as with American and Canadian English.", "The DD/MM/YYYY date format is followed and the 12-hour clock is generally used in everyday life (as opposed to service, police, and airline applications).", "\nThere are two major English language keyboard layouts, the United States layout and the United Kingdom layout.", "Australia universally uses the United States keyboard layout, which lacks pound sterling, Euro currency and negation symbols.", "Punctuation symbols are also placed differently from British keyboards.", "\n*''The Australian National Dictionary''\n*International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects\n*Strine", "\n* \n* Mitchell, Alexander G. (1995).", "''The Story of Australian English.''", "Sydney: Dictionary Research Centre.", "\n* Australian National Dictionary Centre\n* Ozwords—free newsletter from the Australian National Dictionary Centre, which includes articles on Australian English\n* Australian Word Map at the ABC—documents regionalisms\n* R. Mannell, F. Cox and J. Harrington (2009), An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Macquarie University\n* Aussie English for beginners—the origins, meanings and a quiz to test your knowledge at the National Museum of Australia." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Al-Qaeda''' ( or ; '''', , translation: \"The Base\", \"The Foundation\" or \"The Fundament\" and alternatively spelled '''al-Qaida''', '''al-Qæda''' and sometimes '''al-Qa'ida''') is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.\n\nAl-Qaeda operates as a network made up of Islamic extremist, Salafist jihadists. It has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, the United States, Russia, India, and various other countries (see below). Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countries, including the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the September 11 attacks, and the 2002 Bali bombings. The U.S. government responded to the September 11 attacks by launching the \"War on Terror\". With the loss of key leaders, culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's operations have devolved from actions that were controlled from the top down, to actions by associated groups and ''lone-wolf'' operators. Characteristic techniques employed by al-Qaeda include suicide attacks and the simultaneous bombing of different targets. Activities ascribed to it may involve members of the movement who have made a pledge of loyalty to bin Laden, or the much more numerous \"al-Qaeda-linked\" individuals who have undergone training in one of its camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or Sudan. Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from all foreign influences in Muslim countries, and the creation of a new caliphate ruling over the entire Muslim world.\n\nAmong the beliefs ascribed to al-Qaeda members is the conviction that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam. As Salafist jihadists, they believe that the killing of non-combatants is religiously sanctioned, but they ignore any aspect of religious scripture which might be interpreted as forbidding the murder of non-combatants and internecine fighting. Al-Qaeda also opposes what it regards as man-made laws, and it wants to replace them with a strict form of sharia law.\n\nAl-Qaeda has carried out many attacks on targets it considers ''kafir''. Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating sectarian violence among Muslims. Al-Qaeda's leaders regard liberal Muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretical and its members and sympathizers have attacked their mosques and gatherings. Examples of sectarian attacks include the Yazidi community bombings, the Sadr City bombings, the Ashoura massacre and the April 2007 Baghdad bombings.\n\nSince the death of bin Laden in 2011, the group has been led by the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri.\n", "Al-Qaeda's philosophy has been described as \"centralization of decision and decentralization of execution.\" It is thought that al-Qaeda's leadership, after the War on Terror, has \"become geographically isolated,\" leading to the \"emergence of decentralized leadership\" of regionalized al-Qaeda groups.\n\nMany terrorism experts do not believe that the global jihadist movement is driven at every level by al-Qaeda's leadership. Although bin Laden still held considerable ideological sway over some Muslim extremists before his death, experts argue that al-Qaeda has fragmented over the years into a variety of regional movements that have little connection with one another. Marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, said that al-Qaeda is now just a \"loose label for a movement that seems to target the west. There is no umbrella organisation. We like to create a mythical entity called al-Qaeda in our minds, but that is not the reality we are dealing with.\"\n\nThis view mirrors the account given by Osama bin Laden in his October 2001 interview with Tayseer Allouni:\n\n... this matter isn't about any specific person and... is not about the al-Qa'idah Organization. We are the children of an Islamic Nation, with Prophet Muhammad as its leader, our Lord is one... and all the true believers mu'mineen are brothers. So the situation isn't like the West portrays it, that there is an 'organization' with a specific name (such as 'al-Qa'idah') and so on. That particular name is very old. It was born without any intention from us. Brother Abu Ubaida... created a military base to train the young men to fight against the vicious, arrogant, brutal, terrorizing Soviet empire... So this place was called 'The Base' 'Al-Qa'idah', as in a training base, so this name grew and became. We aren't separated from this nation. We are the children of a nation, and we are an inseparable part of it, and from those public *** which spread from the far east, from the Philippines, to Indonesia, to Malaysia, to India, to Pakistan, reaching Mauritania... and so we discuss the conscience of this nation.\n\nBruce Hoffman, however, sees al-Qaeda as a cohesive network that is strongly led from the Pakistani tribal areas.\n\nAl-Qaeda militant in Sahel, 2012\nAl-Qaeda has the following direct affiliates:\n\n* Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb\n* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)\n* Al Qaeda in Yemen\n* Al-Qaeda in Somalia\n* Al Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel\n* Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula\n* Al-Qaeda in Syria\n* Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent\n* Al-Qaeda in Lebanon\n* Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago\n* Al-Qaeda in Kurdistan\n* Al-Qaeda in West Africa\n* Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina\n* Al-Qaeda in Gaza\n* Al Qaeda in Spain\n* Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula\n* Al-Qaeda in Mali\n* Al-Qaeda in Caucasus and Russia\n\nAl-Qaeda's indirect affiliates includes the following, some of which have left the organization and joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:\n\n* Ansar Dine\n* Abu Sayyaf (pledged allegiance to ISIL)\n* Ansar al-Islam (merged with ISIL on August 29, 2014)\n* Turkistan Islamic Party\n* Caucasus Emirate\n* Fatah al-Islam\n* Islamic Jihad Union\n* Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan\n* Jaish-e-Mohammed\n* Jemaah Islamiyah\n* Lashkar-e-Taiba\n* Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa\n* Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group\n* Rajah Sulaiman movement\n\n\n===Leadership===\nAl-Zawahiri and Bin Laden in 2001 interview with Hamid Mir in Kabul\n\n====Osama bin Laden (1987 – May 2011) ====\nOsama bin Laden was the most historically notable emir, or commander, and Senior Operations Chief of al-Qaeda prior to his assassination on May 1, 2011, by U.S. forces. Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.\n\nBin Laden was advised by a Shura Council, which consists of senior al-Qaeda members, estimated by Western officials to consist of 20–30 people.\n\n====after May 2011====\nAyman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief prior to bin Laden's death, assumed the role of commander, according to an announcement by al-Qaeda on June 16, 2011. He replaced Saif al-Adel, who had served as interim commander.\n\nOn June 5, 2012, Pakistan intelligence officials announced that al-Rahman's alleged successor Abu Yahya al-Libi had been killed in Pakistan.\n\nNasir al-Wuhayshi was said to have become second in command in 2013. He was the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), until he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June 2015.\n\nAl-Qaeda's network was built from scratch as a conspiratorial network that draws on leaders of all its regional nodes \"as and when necessary to serve as an integral part of its high command.\"\n* The Military Committee is responsible for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.\n* The Money/Business Committee funds the recruitment and training of operatives through the ''hawala'' banking system. U.S-led efforts to eradicate the sources of terrorist financing were most successful in the year immediately following the September 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda continues to operate through unregulated banks, such as the 1,000 or so ''hawaladars'' in Pakistan, some of which can handle deals of up to $10 million. It also provides air tickets and false passports, pays al-Qaeda members, and oversees profit-driven businesses.See:\n* . In the ''9/11 Commission Report'', it was estimated that al-Qaeda required $30 million-per-year to conduct its operations.\n* The Law Committee reviews Sharia law, and decides whether particular courses of action conform to it.\n* The Islamic Study/''Fatwah'' Committee issues religious edicts, such as an edict in 1998 telling Muslims to kill Americans.\n* In the late 1990s, there was a publicly known Media Committee, which ran the now-defunct newspaper ''Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast)'' and handled public relations.\n* In 2005, al-Qaeda formed As-Sahab, a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.\n\n===Command structure===\n\nAl-Qaeda is not operationally managed by Ayman al-Zawahiri. Operational groups consult with the leadership in situations where attacks are in preparation (The Wilson Centre 2015). \n\n\nWhen asked about the possibility of al-Qaeda's connection to the July 7, 2005 London bombings in 2005, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said: \"Al-Qaeda is not an organization. Al-Qaeda is a way of working... but this has the hallmark of that approach... al-Qaeda clearly has the ability to provide training... to provide expertise... and I think that is what has occurred here.\"\n\nOn August 13, 2005, however, ''The Independent'' newspaper, quoting police and MI5 investigations, reported that the July 7 bombers had acted independently of an al-Qaeda terror mastermind someplace abroad.\n\nWhat exactly al-Qaeda is, or was, remains in dispute. Certainly, it has been obliged to evolve and adapt in the aftermath of 9/11 and the launch of the 'war on terror'.\n\nNasser al-Bahri, who was Osama bin Laden's bodyguard for four years in the run-up to 9/11 gives a highly detailed description of how the group functioned at that time in his memoir. He describes its formal administrative structure and vast arsenal, as well as day-to-day life as a member.\n\nHowever, author and journalist Adam Curtis argues that the idea of al-Qaeda as a formal organization is primarily an American invention. Curtis contends the name \"al-Qaeda\" was first brought to the attention of the public in the 2001 trial of bin Laden and the four men accused of the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa:\n\nThe reality was that bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy. But there was no organization. These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance. He was not their commander. There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term \"al-Qaeda\" to refer to the name of a group until after September 11 attacks, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it.\n\nAs a matter of law, the US Department of Justice needed to show that bin Laden was the leader of a criminal organization in order to charge him ''in absentia'' under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as the RICO statutes. The name of the organization and details of its structure were provided in the testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, who said he was a founding member of the group and a former employee of bin Laden. Questions about the reliability of al-Fadl's testimony have been raised by a number of sources because of his history of dishonesty, and because he was delivering it as part of a plea bargain agreement after being convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. military establishments. Sam Schmidt, one of his defense lawyers, said:\n\nThere were selective portions of al-Fadl's testimony that I believe was false, to help support the picture that he helped the Americans join together. I think he lied in a number of specific testimony about a unified image of what this organization was. It made al-Qaeda the new Mafia or the new Communists. It made them identifiable as a group and therefore made it easier to prosecute any person associated with al-Qaeda for any acts or statements made by bin Laden.\n\n===Field operatives===\nPakistani journalist Hamid Mir interviewing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, in 1997\nThe number of individuals in the group who have undergone proper military training, and are capable of commanding insurgent forces, is largely unknown. Documents captured in the raid on bin Laden compound in 2011, show that the core al-Qaeda membership in 2002 was 170. In 2006, it was estimated that al-Qaeda had several thousand commanders embedded in 40 different countries. , it was believed that no more than 200–300 members were still active commanders.\n\nAccording to the award-winning 2004 BBC documentary ''The Power of Nightmares'', al-Qaeda was so weakly linked together that it was hard to say it existed apart from bin Laden and a small clique of close associates. The lack of any significant numbers of convicted al-Qaeda members, despite a large number of arrests on terrorism charges, was cited by the documentary as a reason to doubt whether a widespread entity that met the description of al-Qaeda existed.\n\n===Insurgent forces===\nAccording to author Robert Cassidy, al-Qaeda controls two separate forces deployed alongside insurgents in Iraq and Pakistan. The first, numbering in the tens of thousands, was \"organized, trained, and equipped as insurgent combat forces\" in the Soviet-Afghan war. It was made up primarily of foreign ''mujahideen'' from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Many went on to fight in Bosnia and Somalia for global ''jihad''. Another group, approximately 10,000 strong, live in Western states and have received rudimentary combat training.\n\nOther analysts have described al-Qaeda's rank and file as being \"predominantly Arab,\" in its first years of operation, and now also includes \"other peoples\" . It has been estimated that 62% of al-Qaeda members have university education.\n\n===Financing===\n\nSome financing for al-Qaeda in the 1990s came from the personal wealth of Osama bin Laden. Other sources of income in 2001 included the heroin trade and donations from supporters in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic Gulf states. A WikiLeaks released memo from the United States Secretary of State sent in 2009 asserted that the primary source of funding of Sunni terrorist groups worldwide was Saudi Arabia.\n\nAmong the first pieces of evidence of Saudi Arabia’s conspicuous support for al-Qaeda was the so-called \"Golden Chain\", a list of early al-Qaeda funders seized during a 2002 raid at the premises of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) in Sarajevo by Bosnian police. The hand-written list, validated by al-Qaeda defector Jamal al-Fadl, included the names of both donors and beneficiaries. Osama bin-Laden’s name appeared seven times among the beneficiaries, while 20 Saudi and Gulf-based businessmen and politicians were listed among the donors. Besides Osama bin Laden, among the most notable Saudi recipients were Adel Batterjee (founder of BIF and designated as a terror financier by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2004) and Wael Hamza Julaidan (U.S.-terrorist designated in 2002 as one of al-Qaeda’s founder).\n\nThe most prominent Saudi figures among the donors included Saudi billionaire Saleh Kamel (CEO of Dallah Al-Baraka, accused of funding and supporting al-Qaeda operations), Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi (funder of SAAR Foundation, shut down within the framework of Operation Green Quest, and CEO of al-Rajhi Bank, investigated several times by U.S. authorities for its role in financing terrorism and al-Qaeda especially), and Ahmad Turki Yamani (son of former Saudi chief of Justice and former Saudi Minister of Petroleum). Saleh Kamel’s case in particular reinforces Saudi Arabia’s role as sponsor of al-Qaeda. For years, Omar al-Bayoumi, an associate of Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, two 9/11 highjackers, received a stipend from al-Baraka, the financial group kamel directed. Kamel invested for several years in a Sudanese bank that held accounts under the names of senior al-Qaeda affiliates. According to the ''Wall Street Journal'', the Jidda-based al-Baraka Bank, one of the biggest subsidiaries of the financial group, was also suspected of providing banking services to al-Qaeda operatives. In general, the documents seized during the 2002 Bosnia raid pointed out that al-Qaeda widely exploited charities to channel financial and material support to its operatives across the globe. This was the case, for instance, with the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League (MWL). The former had solid ties with al-Qaeda associates worldwide, including al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al Zawahiri’s brother working for IIRO in Albania who had actively recruited on behalf of al-Qaeda and involved several Egyptian Islamic Jihad members in IIRO activities. The latter was openly identified by al-Qaeda’s leader as one of the three charities al-Qaeda primarily relied upon for funding sources.\n\nQatar has provided financial support to al-Qaeda as well. On December 18, 2013, the U.S. Treasury designated Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi, a Qatari citizen close to the al-Thani family and a human rights activist who founded the Swiss-based NGO Alkarama, as a global terrorist for his activities in support to al-Qaeda. The U.S. Treasury has stated that Nuaimi, currently enjoying impunity in Qatar, \"has facilitated significant financial support to al-Qa'ida in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between al-Qa'ida in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors\".\n\nNuaimi was also accused of overseeing a $2 million monthly transfer to al-Qaeda in Iraq for a period of time as part of his role as mediator between Iraq-based al-Qaeda senior officers and Qatari citizens. He also allegedly entertained relationships with Abu-Khalid al-Suri, al-Qaeda’s top envoy in Syria, who processed a $600,000 transfer to al-Qaeda in 2013. Moreover, Nuaimi is known to be associated with Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani, a Yemeni politician and founding member of Alkarama listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the U.S. Treasury in 2013. The U.S. authorities claimed that Humayqani exploited his role in Alkarama to fundraise on behalf of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). A prominent figure among AQAP ranks, he was also reported to have facilitated the flow of funding to AQAP affiliates based in Yemen. Nuaimi was accused of investing funds in the charity directed by Humayqani to ultimately fund AQAP. About ten months after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, Nuaimi was also restrained from doing business in the UK.\n\nAnother Qatari citizen, Kalifa Mohammed Turki Subayi, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury on June 5, 2008, for his activities as a \"Gulf-based al-Qaeda financier\". Subayi’s name was added to the UN Security Council’s Sanctions List in 2008 upon charges of providing financial and material support to al-Qaeda senior leadership. Subayi allegedly moved al-Qaeda recruits to South Asia-based training camps. He also supported financially Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani national and senior al-Qaeda officer who is believed to be the mastermind behind the September 11 attack according to the 9/11 Commission Report. Besides the activities of key facilitators, Qatar’s financial support to al-Qaeda has been channeled through Qatar’s largest NGO, the Qatar Charitable Society currently known as Qatar Charity. Al-Qaeda defector al-Fadl, who was also a former member of Qatar Charity, testified in court that Abdullah Mohammed Yusef, who served as Qatar Charity’s director, was affiliated to al-Qaeda and simultaneously to the National Islamic Front, a political group that gave al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden harbor in Sudan in the early 1990s.\n\nLegal proceedings from the trial \"United States vs. Enaam M. Arnaout\" also mentioned that Qatar Charity was cited by Bin Laden in 1993 as one of the charities used to channel financial support to al-Qaeda operatives overseas. The same documents also report Bin Laden’s complaint that the failed assassination attempt of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had compromised the ability of al-Qaeda to exploit charities to support its operatives to the extent it was capable of it before 1995.\nQatar Charity’s track record of terror financing includes support to members of al-Qaeda in Chechnya, an accusation publicly denied by Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani. In 1999 Qatar Charity supposedly funneled money to Chechnya-based al-Qaeda affiliates. Furthermore, Qatar Charity is among the NGOs allegedly channelling funds to Ansar Dine in North Mali, a piece of information confirmed by French military intelligence reports dating back to France’s intervention in the country in early 2013. The group has long been suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda.\n\nToday, Qatar’s enduring financing of al-Qaeda’s enterprises mostly benefits al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria Jabhat al-Nusra and is channeled primarily through kidnapping for ransom. The Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF) reported that the Gulf country has thus funded al-Nusra since 2013. Al-Awsat estimated that Qatar disbursed $25 million in support of al-Nusra through kidnapping for ransom. In addition to this strategy, Qatar has also launched fundraising campaigns on behalf of al-Nusra. The ''Washington Post'' reporter Joby Warrick wrote in December 2013 that al-Nusra acknowledged a Qatar-sponsored campaign (\"Madid sic Ahl al-Sham\") \"as one of the preferred conduits for donations intended for the group\".\n", "\nOn March 11, 2005, ''Al-Quds Al-Arabi'' published extracts from Saif al-Adel's document \"Al Qaeda's Strategy to the Year 2020\". Abdel Bari Atwan summarizes this strategy as comprising five stages to rid the Ummah from all forms of oppression:\n# Provoke the United States and the West into invading a Muslim country by staging a massive attack or string of attacks on US soil that results in massive civilian casualties.\n# Incite local resistance to occupying forces.\n# Expand the conflict to neighboring countries, and engage the US and its allies in a long war of attrition.\n# Convert al-Qaeda into an ideology and set of operating principles that can be loosely franchised in other countries without requiring direct command and control, and via these franchises incite attacks against the US and countries allied with the US until they withdraw from the conflict, as happened with the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but which did not have the same effect with the July 7, 2005 London bombings.\n# The US economy will finally collapse by the year 2020, under the strain of multiple engagements in numerous places, making the worldwide economic system, which is dependent on the US, also collapse, leading to global political instability, which in turn leads to a global jihad led by al-Qaeda, and a Wahhabi Caliphate will then be installed across the world, following the collapse of the US and the rest of the Western world countries.\n\nAtwan also noted, regarding the collapse of the US, \"If this sounds far-fetched, it is sobering to consider that this virtually describes the downfall of the Soviet Union.\"\n\nAccording to Fouad Hussein, a Jordanian journalist and author who has spent time in prison with Al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's strategy plan consists of seven phases and is similar to the plan described in Al Qaeda's Strategy to the year 2020:\n# \"The Awakening.\" This phase was supposed to last from 2001 to 2003. The goal of the phase is to provoke the United States to attack a Muslim country by executing an attack on US soil that kills many civilians.\n# \"Opening Eyes.\" This phase was supposed to last from 2003 to 2006. The goal of this phase was to recruit young men to the cause and to transform the al-Qaeda group into a movement. Iraq was supposed to become the center of all operations with financial and military support for bases in other states.\n# \"Arising and Standing up\", was supposed to last from 2007 to 2010. In this phase, al-Qaeda wanted to execute additional attacks and focus their attention on Syria. Hussein believed that other countries in the Arabian Peninsula were also in danger.\n# Al-Qaeda expected a steady growth among their ranks and territories due to the declining power of the regimes in the Arabian Peninsula. The main focus of attack in this phase was supposed to be on oil suppliers and Cyberterrorism, targeting the US economy and military infrastructure.\n# The declaration of an Islamic Caliphate, which was projected between 2013 and 2016. In this phase, al-Qaeda expected the resistance from Israel to be heavily reduced.\n# The declaration of an \"Islamic Army\" and a \"fight between believers and non-believers\", also called \"total confrontation\".\n# \"Definitive Victory\", projected to be completed by 2020. The world will be \"beaten down\" by the Islamic Army.\n\nAccording to the seven-phase strategy, the war isn't projected to last longer than two years.\n\nAccording to Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute and Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute, the new model of al-Qaeda is to \"socialise communities\" and build a broad territorial base of operations with the support of local communities, also gaining income independent of the funding of sheiks.\n", "The English name of the organization is a simplified transliteration of the Arabic noun '''' (), which means \"the foundation\" or \"the base\". The initial ''al-'' is the Arabic definite article \"the\", hence \"the base\".\n\nIn Arabic, ''al-Qaeda'' has four syllables (). However, since two of the Arabic consonants in the name (the voiceless uvular plosive and the voiced pharyngeal fricative ) are not phones found in the English language, the common naturalized English pronunciations include , and . Al-Qaeda's name can also be transliterated as ''al-Qaida'', ''al-Qa'ida'', or ''el-Qaida''.\n\nBin Laden explained the origin of the term in a videotaped interview with Al Jazeera journalist Tayseer Alouni in October 2001:\nThe name 'al-Qaeda' was established a long time ago by mere chance. The late Abu Ebeida El-Banashiri established the training camps for our ''mujahedeen'' against Russia's terrorism. We used to call the training camp al-Qaeda. The name stayed.\n\nIt has been argued that two documents seized from the Sarajevo office of the Benevolence International Foundation prove that the name was not simply adopted by the ''mujahid'' movement and that a group called al-Qaeda was established in August 1988. Both of these documents contain minutes of meetings held to establish a new military group, and contain the term \"al-Qaeda\".\n\nFormer British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook wrote that the word al-Qaeda should be translated as \"the database\", and originally referred to the computer file of the thousands of ''mujahideen'' militants who were recruited and trained with CIA help to defeat the Russians. In April 2002, the group assumed the name ''Qa'idat al-Jihad'' ( ''''), which means \"the base of Jihad\". According to Diaa Rashwan, this was \"apparently as a result of the merger of the overseas branch of Egypt's al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamist Jihad, or EIJ) group, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, with the groups Bin Laden brought under his control after his return to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s.\"\n", "\n\nThe radical Islamist movement in general and al-Qaeda in particular developed during the Islamic revival and the rise of the Islamist movement during the last three decades of the 20th century, along with less extreme movements.\n\nSome have argued that \"without the writings\" of Islamic author and thinker Sayyid Qutb, \"al-Qaeda would not have existed.\" In the 1950s-60s, Qutb preached that because of the lack of ''sharia'' law, the Muslim world was no longer Muslim, having reverted to pre-Islamic ignorance known as ''jahiliyyah''. To restore Islam, he said that a vanguard movement of righteous Muslims was needed in order to establish \"true Islamic states\", implement ''sharia'', and rid the Muslim world of any non-Muslim influences, such as concepts like socialism and nationalism. In Qutb's view, the enemies of Islam included \"treacherous Orientalists\" and \"world Jewry,\" who plotted \"conspiracies\" and \"wickedly\" opposed Islam.\n\nIn the words of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, a close college friend of bin Laden: Islam is different from any other religion; it's a way of life. We Khalifa and bin Laden were trying to understand what Islam has to say about how we eat, who we marry, how we talk. We read Sayyid Qutb. He was the one who most affected our generation.\n\nQutb had an even greater influence on bin Laden's mentor and another leading member of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri's uncle and maternal family patriarch, Mafouz Azzam, was Qutb's student, then protégé, then personal lawyer, and finally executor of his estate – one of the last people to see Qutb before his execution. \"Young Ayman al-Zawahiri heard again and again from his beloved uncle Mahfouz about the purity of Qutb's character and the torment he had endured in prison.\" Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work ''Knights under the Prophet's Banner.''\n\nOne of the most powerful of Qutb's ideas was his belief that many who said they were Muslims were really not. Rather, they were apostates. That not only gave jihadists \"a legal loophole around the prohibition of killing another Muslim,\" but made \"it a religious obligation to execute\" these self-professed Muslims. These alleged apostates included leaders of Muslim countries, since they failed to enforce ''sharia'' law.\n\nThe Afghan jihad against the pro-Soviet government (December 1979 to February 1989) developed the Salafist Jihadist movement of which Al-Qaeda was the most prominent example.\n", "Abdel Bari Atwan writes that:\n\n", "\n''The Guardian'' has described five distinct phases in the development of al-Qaeda: beginnings in the late 1980s, a \"wilderness\" period in 1990–96, its \"heyday\" in 1996–2001, a network period from 2001 to 2005, and a period of fragmentation from 2005 to today.\n\n===Jihad in Afghanistan===\n\nCIA-funded and ISI-trained Afghan mujahideen fighters crossing the Durand Line border to fight Soviet forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in 1985.\n\nThe origins of al-Qaeda as a network inspiring terrorism around the world and training operatives can be traced to the Soviet War in Afghanistan (December 1979 – February 1989). The US viewed the conflict in Afghanistan, with the Afghan Marxists and allied Soviet troops on one side and the native Afghan ''mujahideen'', some of whom were radical Islamic militants, on the other, as a blatant case of Soviet expansionism and aggression.\n\nA CIA program called Operation Cyclone channeled funds through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency to the Afghan Mujahideen who were fighting the Soviet occupation. US government financial support for the Afghan Islamic militants was substantial. Aid to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan ''mujahideen'' leader and founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami radical Islamic militant faction, alone amounted \"by the most conservative estimates\" to $600 million. In addition to receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid, Hekmatyar was the recipient of the lion's share of Saudi aid. (Later, in the early 1990s, after the US had withdrawn support, Hekmatyar \"worked closely\" with bin Laden.)\n\nAt the same time, a growing number of Arab ''mujahideen'' joined the ''jihad'' against the Afghan Marxist regime, facilitated by international Muslim organizations, particularly the Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK), which was funded by the Saudi Arabia government as well as by individual Muslims (particularly Saudi businessmen who were approached by bin Laden). Together, these sources donated some $600 million a year to jihad. In 1984, MAK, or the \"Services Office\", was established in Peshawar, Pakistan, by bin Laden and Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, a Palestinian Islamic scholar and member of the Muslim Brotherhood. MAK organized guest houses in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, and gathered supplies for the construction of paramilitary training camps to prepare foreign recruits for the Afghan war front. Bin Laden became a \"major financier\" of the ''mujahideen'', spending his own money and using his connections with \"the Saudi royal family and the petro-billionaires of the Gulf\" to influence public opinion about the war and raise additional funds.\n\nOmar Abdel-Rahman\nFrom 1986, MAK began to set up a network of recruiting offices in the US, the hub of which was the Al Kifah Refugee Center at the Farouq Mosque on Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue. Among notable figures at the Brooklyn center were \"double agent\" Ali Mohamed, whom FBI special agent Jack Cloonan called \"bin Laden's first trainer\", and \"Blind Sheikh\" Omar Abdel-Rahman, a leading recruiter of ''mujahideen'' for Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda evolved from MAK. Azzam and bin Laden began to establish camps in Afghanistan in 1987.\n\nMAK and foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers, or \"Afghan Arabs,\" did not play a major role in the war. While over 250,000 Afghan ''mujahideen'' fought the Soviets and the communist Afghan government, it is estimated that were never more than 2,000 foreign ''mujahideen'' in the field at any one time. Nonetheless, foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers came from 43 countries, and the total number that participated in the Afghan movement between 1982 and 1992 is reported to have been 35,000. Bin Laden played a central role in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim volunteers.\n\nThe Soviet Union finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. To the surprise of many, Mohammad Najibullah's Communist Afghan government hung on for three more years, before being overrun by elements of the ''mujahideen''. With ''mujahideen'' leaders unable to agree on a structure for governance, chaos ensued, with constantly reorganizing alliances fighting for control of ill-defined territories, leaving the country devastated.\n\n===Expanding operations===\nToward the end of the Soviet military mission in Afghanistan, some foreign ''mujahideen'' wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world, such as Palestine and Kashmir. A number of overlapping and interrelated organizations were formed, to further those aspirations. One of these was the organization that would eventually be called al-Qaeda.\n\nWright's research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an August 11, 1988, meeting between \"several senior leaders\" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abdullah Azzam, and bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Laden's money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organization and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan.\n\nNotes of a meeting of bin Laden and others on August 20, 1988, indicate al-Qaeda was a formal group by that time: \"basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make His religion victorious.\" A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge (''bayat'') to follow one's superiors. In his memoir, bin Laden's former bodyguard, Nasser al-Bahri, gives the only publicly available description of the ritual of giving ''bayat'' when he swore his allegiance to the al-Qaeda chief. According to Wright, the group's real name wasn't used in public pronouncements because \"its existence was still a closely held secret.\"\n\nAfter Azzam was assassinated in 1989, the MAK split, with a significant number joining bin Laden's organization.\n\nIn November 1989, Ali Mohamed, a former special forces sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, left military service and moved to California. He traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and became \"deeply involved with bin Laden's plans.\" In 1991, Ali Mohammed is said to have helped orchestrate bin Laden's relocation to Sudan.\n\n===Gulf War and the start of US enmity===\n\n\nFollowing the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 had put the Kingdom and its ruling House of Saud at risk. The world's most valuable oil fields were within easy striking distance of Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and Saddam's call to pan-Arab/Islamism could potentially rally internal dissent.\n\nIn the face of a seemingly massive Iraqi military presence, Saudi Arabia's own forces were well armed but far outnumbered. Bin Laden offered the services of his ''mujahideen'' to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army. The Saudi monarch refused bin Laden's offer, opting instead to allow US and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory.\n\nThe deployment angered bin Laden, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the \"land of the two mosques\" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, he was banished and forced to live in exile in Sudan.\n\n===Sudan===\nFrom around 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda and bin Laden based themselves in Sudan at the invitation of Islamist theoretician Hassan al-Turabi. The move followed an Islamist coup d'état in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values. During this time, bin Laden assisted the Sudanese government, bought or set up various business enterprises, and established camps where insurgents trained.\n\nA key turning point for bin Laden, further pitting him against the Sauds, occurred in 1993 when Saudi Arabia gave support for the Oslo Accords, which set a path for peace between Israel and Palestinians.\n\nZawahiri and the EIJ, who served as the core of al-Qaeda but also engaged in separate operations against the Egyptian government, had bad luck in Sudan. In 1993, a young schoolgirl was killed in an unsuccessful EIJ attempt on the life of the Egyptian prime minister, Atef Sedki. Egyptian public opinion turned against Islamist bombings, and the police arrested 280 of al-Jihad's members and executed 6.\n\nDue to bin Laden's continuous verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, on March 5, 1994 Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Laden's passport; bin Laden's Saudi citizenship was also revoked. His family was persuaded to cut off his stipend, $7 million a year, and his Saudi assets were frozen. His family publicly disowned him. There is controversy over whether and to what extent he continued to garner support from members of his family and/or the Saudi government.\n\nIn June 1995, an even more ill-fated attempt to assassinate Egyptian president Mubarak led to the expulsion of EIJ, and in May 1996, an expulsion of bin Laden, by the Sudanese government occured as well.\n\nAccording to Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the Sudanese government offered the Clinton Administration numerous opportunities to arrest bin Laden. Ijaz's claims appeared in numerous Op-Ed pieces, including one in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and one in ''The Washington Post'' co-written with former Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. Carney. Similar allegations have been made by ''Vanity Fair'' contributing editor David Rose, and Richard Miniter, author of ''Losing bin Laden'', in a November 2003 interview with ''World''.\n\nSeveral sources dispute Ijaz's claim, including the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the US (the 9/11 Commission), which concluded in part: Sudan's minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Ladin over to the US. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Ladin. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment out-standing.\n\n===Refuge in Afghanistan===\n\n\nAfter the fall of the Afghan communist regime in 1992, Afghanistan was effectively ungoverned for four years and plagued by constant infighting between various ''mujahideen'' groups.\n\nThe origins of the Taliban (literally \"students\") lay in the children of Afghanistan, many of them orphaned by the war, and many of whom had been educated in the rapidly expanding network of Islamic schools (madrassas) either in Kandahar or in the refugee camps on the Afghan-Pakistani border.\n\nAccording to Ahmed Rashid, five leaders of the Taliban were graduates of Darul Uloom Haqqania, a madrassa in the small town of Akora Khattak. The town is situated near Peshawar in Pakistan, but largely attended by Afghan refugees. This institution reflected Salafi beliefs in its teachings, and much of its funding came from private donations from wealthy Arabs. Bin Laden's contacts were still laundering most of these donations, using \"unscrupulous\" Islamic banks to transfer the money to an \"array\" of charities which serve as front groups for al-Qaeda, or transporting cash-filled suitcases straight into Pakistan. Another four of the Taliban's leaders attended a similarly funded and influenced madrassa in Kandahar.\n\nMany of the ''mujahideen'' who later joined the Taliban fought alongside Afghan warlord Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi's Harkat i Inqilabi group at the time of the Russian invasion. This group also enjoyed the loyalty of most Afghan Arab fighters.\n\nThe continuing internecine strife between various factions, and accompanying lawlessness following the Soviet withdrawal, enabled the growing and well-disciplined Taliban to expand their control over territory in Afghanistan, and it came to establish an enclave which it called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In 1994, it captured the regional center of Kandahar, and after making rapid territorial gains thereafter, conquered the capital city Kabul in September 1996.\n\nAfter the Sudanese made it clear, in May 1996, that bin Laden would never be welcome to return, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan – with previously established connections between the groups, administered with a shared militancy, and largely isolated from American political influence and military power – provided a perfect location for al-Qaeda to relocate its headquarters. Al-Qaeda enjoyed the Taliban's protection and a measure of legitimacy as part of their Ministry of Defense, although only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.\n\nWhile in Afghanistan, the Taliban government tasked al-Qaeda with the training of Brigade 055, an elite part of the Taliban's army from 1997–2001. The Brigade was made up of mostly foreign fighters, many veterans from the Soviet Invasion, and all under the same basic ideology of the mujahideen. In November 2001, as Operation Enduring Freedom had toppled the Taliban government, many Brigade 055 fighters were captured or killed, and those that survived were thought to head into Pakistan along with bin Laden.\n\nBy the end of 2008, some sources reported that the Taliban had severed any remaining ties with al-Qaeda, while others cast doubt on this. According to senior US military intelligence officials, there were fewer than 100 members of al-Qaeda remaining in Afghanistan in 2009.\n\n===Call for global Salafi jihadism===\n\nAround 1994, the Salafi groups waging Salafi jihadism in Bosnia entered into a seemingly irreversible decline. As they grew less and less aggressive, groups such as EIJ began to drift away from the Salafi cause in Europe. Al-Qaeda stepped in and assumed control of around 80% of the terrorist cells in Bosnia in late 1995.\n\nAt the same time, al-Qaeda ideologues instructed the network's recruiters to look for ''Jihadi international'' Muslims who believed that extremist-''jihad'' must be fought on a global level. The concept of a \"global Salafi ''jihad''\" had been around since at least the early 1980s. Several groups had formed for the explicit purpose of driving non-Muslims out of every Muslim land at the same time and with maximum carnage. This was, however, a fundamentally defensive strategy.\n\nAl-Qaeda sought to open the \"offensive phase\" of the global Salafi ''jihad''. Bosnian Islamists in 2006 called for \"solidarity with Islamic causes around the world\", supporting the insurgents in Kashmir and Iraq as well as the groups fighting for a Palestinian state.\n\n===Fatwas===\nIn 1996, al-Qaeda announced its ''jihad'' to expel foreign troops and interests from what they considered Islamic lands. Bin Laden issued a ''fatwa'' (binding religious edict), which amounted to a public declaration of war against the US and its allies, and began to refocus al-Qaeda's resources on large-scale, propagandist strikes.\n\nOn February 23, 1998, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, a leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, along with three other Islamist leaders, co-signed and issued a ''fatwa'' calling on Muslims to kill Americans and their allies where they can, when they can. Under the banner of the World Islamic Front for Combat Against the Jews and Crusaders, they declared:\n\nThe ruling to kill the Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the holy mosque in Mecca from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'.\n\nNeither bin Laden nor al-Zawahiri possessed the traditional Islamic scholarly qualifications to issue a ''fatwa''. However, they rejected the authority of the contemporary ''ulema'' (which they saw as the paid servants of ''jahiliyya'' rulers), and took it upon themselves.\n\n===Iraq===\n\n\nAl-Qaeda is Sunni, and often attacked the Iraqi Shia majority in an attempt to incite sectarian violence and greater chaos in the country. Al-Zarqawi purportedly declared an all-out war on Shiites while claiming responsibility for Shiite mosque bombings. The same month, a statement claiming to be by AQI rejected as \"fake\" a letter allegedly written by al-Zawahiri, in which he appears to question the insurgents' tactic of indiscriminately attacking Shiites in Iraq. In a December 2007 video, al-Zawahiri defended the Islamic State in Iraq, but distanced himself from the attacks against civilians committed by \"hypocrites and traitors existing among the ranks\".\n\nUS and Iraqi officials accused AQI of trying to slide Iraq into a full-scale civil war between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs, with an orchestrated campaign of civilian massacres and a number of provocative attacks against high-profile religious targets. With attacks such as the 2003 Imam Ali Mosque bombing, the 2004 Day of Ashura and Karbala and Najaf bombings, the 2006 first al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra, the deadly single-day series of bombings in which at least 215 people were killed in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City, and the second al-Askari bombing in 2007, they provoked Shiite militias to unleash a wave of retaliatory attacks, resulting in death squad-style killings and spiraling further sectarian violence which escalated in 2006 and brought Iraq to the brink of violent anarchy in 2007. In 2008, sectarian bombings blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq killed at least 42 people at the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala in March, and at least 51 people at a bus stop in Baghdad in June.\n\nIn February 2014, after a prolonged dispute with al-Qaeda in Iraq's successor organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), al-Qaeda publicly announced it was cutting all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and \"notorious intractability\".\n\n===Somalia and Yemen===\n\nCurrent military situation in Somalia: \nCurrent military situation in Yemen: \nIn Somalia, al-Qaeda agents had been collaborating closely with its Somali wing, which was created from the al-Shabaab group. In February 2012, al-Shabaab officially joined al-Qaeda, declaring loyalty in a joint video. The Somalian al-Qaeda actively recruit children for suicide-bomber training, and export young people to participate in military actions against Americans at the AfPak border.\n\nThe percentage of terrorist attacks in the West originating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) border declined considerably from almost 100% to 75% in 2007, and to 50% in 2010, as al-Qaeda shifted to Somalia and Yemen. While al-Qaeda leaders are hiding in the tribal areas along the AfPak border, the middle-tier of the movement display heightened activity in Somalia and Yemen.\n\"We know that South Asia is no longer their primary base,\" a US defense agency source said. \"They are looking for a hide-out in other parts of the world, and continue to expand their organization.\"\n\nIn January 2009, al-Qaeda's division in Saudi Arabia merged with its Yemeni wing to form al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Centered in Yemen, the group takes advantage of the country's poor economy, demography and domestic security. In August 2009, they made the first assassination attempt against a member of the Saudi royal dynasty in decades. President Obama asked his Yemen counterpart Ali Abdullah Saleh to ensure closer cooperation with the US in the struggle against the growing activity of al-Qaeda in Yemen, and promised to send additional aid. Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US was unable to pay sufficient attention to Somalia and Yemen, which could cause problems in the near future. In December 2011, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that the US operations against al-Qaeda \"are now concentrating on key groups in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.\" Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the 2009 bombing attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The group released photos of Abdulmutallab smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap, with the al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background. The AQAP declared the Al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen in March 31, 2011, after capturing the most of the Abyan Governorate.\n\nAs the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen escalated in July 2015, ''The Guardian'' wrote: \"As another 50 civilians die in the forgotten war, only Isis and al-Qaida are gaining from a conflict tearing Yemen apart and leaving 20 million people in need of aid.\" In February 2016, al-Qaeda forces and Saudi Arabian-led coalition forces were both seen fighting Houthi rebels in the same battle.\n\n===United States operations===\nAnwar al-Awlaki\nIn December 1998, the Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center reported to the president that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the USA, including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacked the United States, hijacking four airliners within the country and deliberately crashing two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third into the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth, however, failed to reach its intended target – either the United States Capitol or the White House, both located in Washington, D.C. – due to the rebellion by the passengers to retake the airliner, and instead crashed into the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In total, the attackers killed 2,977 victims and injured more than 6,000 others.\n\nU.S. officials called Anwar al-Awlaki an \"example of al-Qaeda reach into\" the U.S. in 2008 after probes into his ties to the September 11 attacks hijackers. A former FBI agent identifies Awlaki as a known \"senior recruiter for al-Qaeda\", and a spiritual motivator. Awlaki's sermons in the U.S. were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, as well as accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. U.S. intelligence intercepted emails from Hasan to Awlaki between December 2008 and early 2009. On his website, Awlaki has praised Hasan's actions in the Fort Hood shooting.\n\nAn unnamed official claimed there was good reason to believe Awlaki \"has been involved in very serious terrorist activities since leaving the U.S. in 2002, including plotting attacks against America and our allies.\"\n\nU.S. President Barack Obama approved the targeted killing of al-Awlaki by April 2010, making al-Awlaki the first US citizen ever placed on the CIA target list. That required the consent of the U.S. National Security Council, and officials said it was appropriate for an individual who posed an imminent danger to national security. In May 2010, Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, told interrogators he was \"inspired by\" al-Awlaki, and sources said Shahzad had made contact with al-Awlaki over the internet. Representative Jane Harman called him \"terrorist number one\", and ''Investor's Business Daily'' called him \"the world's most dangerous man\". In July 2010, the US Treasury Department added him to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and the UN added him to its list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda. In August 2010, al-Awlaki's father initiated a lawsuit against the U.S. government with the American Civil Liberties Union, challenging its order to kill al-Awlaki. In October 2010, U.S. and U.K. officials linked al-Awlaki to the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot. In September 2011, he was killed in a targeted killing drone attack in Yemen. It was reported on March 16, 2012, that Osama bin Laden plotted to kill United States President Barack Obama.\n\n===Death of Osama bin Laden===\n\nView of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed on May 1, 2011.\nOn May 1, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (May 2, Pakistan Standard Time), U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by \"a small team of Americans\" acting under Obama's direct orders, in a covert operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about north of Islamabad. According to U.S. officials a team of 20–25 US Navy SEALs under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command and working with the CIA stormed bin Laden's compound in two helicopters. Bin Laden and those with him were killed during a firefight in which U.S. forces experienced no casualties. According to one US official the attack was carried out without the knowledge or consent of the Pakistani authorities. In Pakistan some people were reported to be shocked at the unauthorized incursion by US armed forces. The site is a few miles from the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. In his broadcast announcement President Obama said that U.S. forces \"took care to avoid civilian casualties.\"\nDetails soon emerged that three men and a woman were killed along with bin Laden, the woman being killed when she was \"used as a shield by a male combatant\". DNA from bin Laden's body, compared with DNA samples on record from his dead sister, confirmed bin Laden's identity. The body was recovered by the US military and was in its custody until, according to one US official, his body was buried at sea according to Islamic traditions. One U.S. official stated that \"finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult.\" U.S State Department issued a \"Worldwide caution\" for Americans following bin Laden's death and U.S Diplomatic facilities everywhere were placed on high alert, a senior U.S official said. Crowds gathered outside the White House and in New York City's Times Square to celebrate bin Laden's death.\n\n===Syria===\n\n\nMilitary situation in the Syrian Civil War as of .The scene of an October 2012 Aleppo bombings, for which al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility.\nIn 2003, President Bashar al-Assad revealed in an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper that he doubted that al-Qaeda even existed. He was quoted as saying, \"Is there really an entity called al-Qaeda? Was it in Afghanistan? Does it exist now?\" He went on further to remark about bin Laden commenting, he \"cannot talk on the phone or use the Internet, but he can direct communications to the four corners of the world? This is illogical.\"\n\nFollowing the mass protests that took place later in 2011 demanding the resignation of al-Assad, al-Qaeda affiliated groups and Sunni sympathizers soon began to constitute the most effective fighting force in the Syrian opposition. Until then, al-Qaeda's presence in Syria was not worth mentioning, but its growth thereafter was rapid. Groups such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS; sometimes ISIL) have recruited many foreign Mujahideen to train and fight in what has gradually become a highly sectarian war. Ideologically, the Syrian Civil War has served the interests of al-Qaeda as it pits a mainly Sunni opposition against a Shia backed government. Viewing Shia Islam as heretical, al-Qaeda and other fundamentalist Sunni militant groups have invested heavily in the civil conflict, actively backing and supporting the Syrian Opposition despite its clashes with moderate opposition groups such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA).\n\nOn February 2, 2014, al-Qaeda distanced itself from ISIS and its actions in Syria, but ISIS and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front are still able to occasionally cooperate with each other when they fight against the Syrian government. The Saudi/Turkish-backed al-Nusra launched many attacks and bombings, mostly against targets affiliated with or supportive of the Syrian government. In October 2015, Russian air strikes targeted positions held by al-Nusra Front. In early 2016, a leading ISIL ideologue described al-Qaeda as the \"Jews of jihad\".\n\n===India===\n\n\nIn September 2014 al-Zawahiri announced al-Qaeda was establishing a front in India to \"wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty, and to revive its Caliphate.\" He nominated India as a beachhead for regional jihad taking in neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh. The motivation for the video was questioned in some quarters where it was seen the militant group was struggling to remain relevant in light of the emerging prominence of ISIS. Reaction amongst Muslims in India to the formation of the new wing, to be known as \"Qaedat al-Jihad fi'shibhi al-qarrat al-Hindiya\" or al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent AQIS, was one of fury. Leaders of several Indian Muslim organizations rejected al-Zawahiri's pronouncement, saying they could see no good coming from it, and viewed it as a threat to Muslim youth in the country.\n\nUS intelligence analyst accused the Pakistan military of 'stage-managing' the terror outfit's latest advance into India. Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and National Security Council official for South Asia, also said that Pakistan should be warned that it will be placed on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Riedel also said that \"Zawahiri made the tape in his hideout in Pakistan, no doubt, and many Indians suspect the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is helping to protect him,\" he wrote.\n", "\nThe Pentagon, US – September 11, 2001\n2. World Trade Center, US – September 11, 2001\n3. Istanbul, Turkey – November 15, 2003; November 20, 2003\n4. Aden, Yemen – October 12, 2000\n5. Nairobi, Kenya – August 7, 1998\n6. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – August 7, 1998\nal-Qaeda around the world.\nAl-Qaeda has carried out a total of six major terrorist attacks, four of them in its jihad against America. In each case the leadership planned the attack years in advance, arranging for the shipment of weapons and explosives and using its privatized businesses to provide operatives with safehouses and false identities.\n\nAl-Qaeda usually does not disburse funds for attacks, and very rarely makes wire transfers.\n\n===1992===\nOn December 29, 1992, al-Qaeda's first terrorist attack took place as two bombs were detonated in Aden, Yemen. The first target was the Movenpick Hotel and the second was the parking lot of the Goldmohur Hotel.\n\nThe bombings were an attempt to eliminate American soldiers on their way to Somalia to take part in the international famine relief effort, Operation Restore Hope. Internally, al-Qaeda considered the bombing a victory that frightened the Americans away, but in the US, the attack was barely noticed.\n\nNo Americans were killed because the soldiers were staying in a different hotel altogether, and they went on to Somalia as scheduled. However, two people were killed in the bombing, an Australian tourist and a Yemeni hotel worker. Seven others, mostly Yemenis, were severely injured. Two fatwas are said to have been appointed by the most theologically knowledgeable of al-Qaeda's members, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, to justify the killings according to Islamic law. Salim referred to a famous fatwa appointed by Ibn Taymiyyah, a 13th-century scholar much admired by Wahhabis, which sanctioned resistance by any means during the Mongol invasions.\n\n===Late 1990s===\nNairobi embassy bombing\n\nIn 1996, bin Laden personally engineered a plot to assassinate Clinton while the president was in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. However, intelligence agents intercepted a message just minutes before the motorcade was to leave, and alerted the U.S. Secret Service. Agents later discovered a bomb planted under a bridge.\n\nOn August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in East Africa, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. In retaliation, a barrage of cruise missiles launched by the U.S. military devastated an al-Qaeda base in Khost, Afghanistan, but the network's capacity was unharmed. In late 1999/2000, Al-Qaeda planned attacks to coincide with the millennium, masterminded by Abu Zubaydah and involving Abu Qatada, which would include the bombing Christian holy sites in Jordan, the bombing of Los Angeles International Airport by Ahmed Ressam, and the bombing of the .\n\nOn October 12, 2000, al-Qaeda militants in Yemen bombed the missile destroyer ''USS Cole'' in a suicide attack, killing 17 U.S. servicemen and damaging the vessel while it lay offshore. Inspired by the success of such a brazen attack, al-Qaeda's command core began to prepare for an attack on the U.S. itself.\n\n===September 11 attacks===\n\n\nAftermath of the September 11 attacks\nThe September 11 attacks were the most devastating terrorist acts in American history, killing 2,977 victims, including 2,507 civilians, 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, and 55 military personnel. Two commercial airliners were deliberately flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, a third into the Pentagon, and a fourth, originally intended to target either the United States Capitol or the White House, crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was also the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.\n\nThe attacks were conducted by al-Qaeda, acting in accord with the 1998 ''fatwa'' issued against the U.S. and its allies by persons under the command of bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and others. Evidence points to suicide squads led by al-Qaeda military commander Mohamed Atta as the culprits of the attacks, with bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and Hambali as the key planners and part of the political and military command.\n\nMessages issued by bin Laden after September 11, 2001, praised the attacks, and explained their motivation while denying any involvement. Bin Laden legitimized the attacks by identifying grievances felt by both mainstream and Islamist Muslims, such as the general perception that the U.S. was actively oppressing Muslims.\n\nBin Laden asserted that America was massacring Muslims in \"Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq\" and that Muslims should retain the \"right to attack in reprisal.\" He also claimed the 9/11 attacks were not targeted at people, but \"America's icons of military and economic power,\" despite the fact he planned to attack in the morning where most of the people in the intended targets were present and thus generating massive amount of human casualties.\n\nEvidence has since come to light that the original targets for the attack may have been nuclear power stations on the east coast of the U.S. The targets were later altered by al-Qaeda, as it was feared that such an attack \"might get out of hand\".\n", "Al-Qaeda is deemed a designated terrorist group by the following countries and international organizations:\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* designated Al-Qaeda's Turkish branch\n* \n* United Nations Security Council\n* \n \n", "\nUS troops in Afghanistan\nIn the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the US government responded militarily, and began to prepare its armed forces to overthrow the Taliban regime it believed was harboring al-Qaeda. Before the US attacked, it offered Taliban leader Mullah Omar a chance to surrender bin Laden and his top associates. The first forces to be inserted into Afghanistan were Paramilitary Officers from the CIA's elite Special Activities Division (SAD).\n\nThe Taliban offered to turn over bin Laden to a neutral country for trial if the US would provide evidence of bin Laden's complicity in the attacks. US President George W. Bush responded by saying: \"We know he's guilty. Turn him over\", and British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned the Taliban regime: \"Surrender bin Laden, or surrender power\".\n\nSoon thereafter the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan, and together with the Afghan Northern Alliance removed the Taliban government in the war in Afghanistan.\n\nAs a result of the US using its special forces and providing air support for the Northern Alliance ground forces, both Taliban and al-Qaeda training camps were destroyed, and much of the operating structure of al-Qaeda is believed to have been disrupted. After being driven from their key positions in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan, many al-Qaeda fighters tried to regroup in the rugged Gardez region of the nation.\nKhalid Sheikh Mohammed after his arrest in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in March 2003.\n\nAgain, under the cover of intense aerial bombardment, US infantry and local Afghan forces attacked, shattering the al-Qaeda position and killing or capturing many of the militants. By early 2002, al-Qaeda had been dealt a serious blow to its operational capacity, and the Afghan invasion appeared an initial success. Nevertheless, a significant Taliban insurgency remains in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda's top two leaders, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, evaded capture.\n\nDebate raged about the exact nature of al-Qaeda's role in the 9/11 attacks, and after the US invasion began, the US State Department also released a videotape showing bin Laden speaking with a small group of associates somewhere in Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban was removed from power. Although its authenticity has been questioned by a couple of people, the tape definitively implicates bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the September 11 attacks and was aired on many television channels all over the world, with an accompanying English translation provided by the U.S. Defense Department.\n\nIn September 2004, the US government 9/11 Commission investigating the September 11 attacks officially concluded that the attacks were conceived and implemented by al-Qaeda operatives. In October 2004, bin Laden appeared to claim responsibility for the attacks in a videotape released through Al Jazeera, saying he was inspired by Israeli attacks on high-rises in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon: \"As I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children.\"\n\nBy the end of 2004, the U.S. government proclaimed that two-thirds of the most senior al-Qaeda figures from 2001 had been captured and interrogated by the CIA: Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in 2002; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003; and Saif al Islam el Masry in 2004. Mohammed Atef and several others were killed. The West was criticised for not being able to comprehend or deal with Al-Qaida despite more than a decade of the war. This also meant no progress has been made in global state security.\n", "\n===Africa===\n\nFront page of ''The Guardian Weekly'' on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The article claimed that al-Qaeda's activity is \"increasingly dispersed to 'affiliates' or 'franchises' in Yemen and North Africa.\"\nAl-Qaeda involvement in Africa has included a number of bombing attacks in North Africa, as well as supporting parties in civil wars in Eritrea and Somalia. From 1991 to 1996, bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders were based in Sudan.\n\nIslamist rebels in the Sahara calling themselves al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have stepped up their violence in recent years. French officials say the rebels have no real links to the al-Qaeda leadership, but this is a matter of some dispute in the international press and amongst security analysts. It seems likely that bin Laden approved the group's name in late 2006, and the rebels \"took on the al Qaeda franchise label\", almost a year before the violence began to escalate.\n\nIn Mali, the Ansar Dine faction was also reported as an ally of al-Qaeda in 2013. The Ansar al Dine faction aligned themselves with the AQIM.\n\nFollowing the Libyan Civil War, the removal of Gaddafi and the ensuing period of post-civil war violence in Libya allowed various Islamist militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda to expand their operations in the region. The 2012 Benghazi attack, which resulted in the death of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and 3 other Americans, is suspected of having been carried out by various Jihadist networks, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar al-Sharia and several other Al-Qaeda affiliated groups. The capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a senior al-Qaeda operative wanted by the United States for his involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings, on October 5, 2013, by US Navy Seals, FBI and CIA agents illustrates the importance the US and other Western allies have placed on North Africa.\n\n===Europe===\n\n\nPrior to the September 11 attacks, al-Qaeda was present in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its members were mostly former veterans of the El Mudžahid detachment of the Bosnian Muslim Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Three members of al-Qaeda carried out the Mostar car bombing in 1997. They were closely linked to and financed by the Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina founded by then-prince King Salman of Saudi Arabia.\n\nBefore the 9/11 attacks and the US invasion of Afghanistan, recruits at al-Qaeda training camps who had Western backgrounds were especially sought after by al-Qaeda's military wing for conducting operations overseas. Language skills and knowledge of Western culture were generally found among recruits from Europe, such was the case with Mohamed Atta, an Egyptian national studying in Germany at the time of his training, and other members of the Hamburg Cell. Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Atef would later designate Atta as the ringleader of the 9/11 hijackers. Following the attacks, Western intelligence agencies determined that al-Qaeda cells operating in Europe had aided the hijackers with financing and communications with the central leadership based in Afghanistan.\n\nIn 2003, Islamists carried out a series of bombings in Istanbul killing fifty-seven people and injuring seven hundred. Seventy-four people were charged by the Turkish authorities. Some had previously met bin Laden, and though they specifically declined to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda they asked for its blessing and help.\n\nIn 2009, three Londoners, Tanvir Hussain, Assad Sarwar and Ahmed Abdullah Ali, were convicted of conspiring to detonate bombs disguised as soft drinks on seven airplanes bound for Canada and the U.S. The massively complex police and MI5 investigation of the plot involved more than a year of surveillance work conducted by over two hundred officers. British and U.S. officials said the plot – unlike many similar homegrown European Islamic militant plots – was directly linked to al-Qaeda and guided by senior al-Qaeda members in Pakistan.\n\nIn 2012, Russian Intelligence indicated that al-Qaeda had given a call for \"forest jihad\" and has been starting massive forest fires as part of a strategy of \"thousand cuts\".\n\n===Arab world===\n\n\nUSS ''Cole'' after the October 2000 attack\nFollowing Yemeni unification in 1990, Wahhabi networks began moving missionaries into the country in an effort to subvert the capitalist north. Although it is unlikely that bin Laden or Saudi al-Qaeda were directly involved, the personal connections they made would be established over the next decade and used in the USS ''Cole'' bombing. Concerns grow over Al Qaeda's group in Yemen.\n\nIn Iraq, al-Qaeda forces loosely associated with the leadership were embedded in the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad group commanded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Specializing in suicide operations, they have been a \"key driver\" of the Sunni insurgency. Although they played a small part in the overall insurgency, between 30% and 42% of all suicide bombings which took place in the early years were claimed by Zarqawi's group. Reports have indicated that oversights such as the failure to control access to the Qa'qaa munitions factory in Yusufiyah have allowed large quantities of munitions to fall into the hands of al-Qaida. In November 2010, the militant group Islamic State of Iraq , which is linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, threatened to \"exterminate all Iraqi Christians\".\n\nSignificantly, it was not until the late 1990s that al-Qaeda began training Palestinians. This is not to suggest that resistance fighters are underrepresented in the network as a number of Palestinians, mostly coming from Jordan, wanted to join and have risen to serve high-profile roles in Afghanistan. Rather, large groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – which cooperate with al-Qaeda in many respects – have had difficulties accepting a strategic alliance, fearing that al-Qaeda will co-opt their smaller cells. This may have changed recently, because the Israeli security and intelligence services believe that al-Qaeda has managed to infiltrate operatives from the Occupied Territories into Israel, and is waiting for the right time to mount an attack.\n\n, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are openly supporting the Army of Conquest, an umbrella rebel group fighting in the Syrian Civil War against the Syrian government that reportedly includes an al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and another Salafi coalition known as Ahrar al-Sham.\n\n===Kashmir===\n\n\nBin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri consider India to be a part of the 'Crusader-Zionist-Hindu' conspiracy against the Islamic world. According to the 2005 report 'Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment' by Congressional Research Service, bin Laden was involved in training militants for Jihad in Kashmir while living in Sudan in the early nineties. By 2001, Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen had become a part of the al-Qaeda coalition. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees al-Qaeda was thought to have established bases in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (in Azad Kashmir, and to some extent in Gilgit–Baltistan) during the 1999 Kargil War and continued to operate there with tacit approval of Pakistan's Intelligence services.\n\nMany of the militants active in Kashmir were trained in the same Madrasahs as Taliban and al-Qaeda. Fazlur Rehman Khalil of Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was a signatory of al-Qaeda's 1998 declaration of Jihad against America and its allies. In a 'Letter to American People' written by bin Laden in 2002 he stated that one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of its support to India on the Kashmir issue. In November 2001, Kathmandu airport went on high alert after threats that bin Laden planned to hijack a plane from there and crash it into a target in New Delhi. In 2002, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on a trip to Delhi, suggested that al-Qaeda was active in Kashmir though he did not have any hard evidence. He proposed hi tech ground sensors along the line of control to prevent militants from infiltrating into Indian administered Kashmir.\nAn investigation in 2002 unearthed evidence that al-Qaeda and its affiliates were prospering in Pakistan-administered Kashmir with tacit approval of Pakistan's National Intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence In 2002, a special team of Special Air Service and Delta Force was sent into Indian Administered Kashmir to hunt for bin Laden after reports that he was being sheltered by Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen which had previously been responsible for 1995 Kidnapping of western tourists in Kashmir. Britain's highest ranking al-Qaeda operative Rangzieb Ahmed had previously fought in Kashmir with the group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and spent time in Indian prison after being captured in Kashmir.\n\nUS officials believe that al-Qaeda was helping organize a campaign of terror in Kashmir in order to provoke conflict between India and Pakistan. Their strategy was to force Pakistan to move its troops to the border with India, thereby relieving pressure on al-Qaeda elements hiding in northwestern Pakistan. In 2006 al-Qaeda claimed they had established a wing in Kashmir; this has worried the Indian government. However the Indian Army Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag, GOC-in-C Northern Command, said to reporters that the army has ruled out the presence of al-Qaeda in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir; furthermore he said that there is nothing that can verify reports from the media of al-Qaeda presence in the state. He however stated that al-Qaeda had strong ties with Kashmiri militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed based in Pakistan. It has been noted that Waziristan has now become the new battlefield for Kashmiri militants fighting NATO in support of al-Qaeda and Taliban. Dhiren Barot, who wrote the ''Army of Madinah in Kashmir'' and was an al-Qaeda operative convicted for involvement in the 2004 financial buildings plot, had received training in weapons and explosives at a militant training camp in Kashmir.\n\nMaulana Masood Azhar, the founder of another Kashmiri group Jaish-e-Mohammed, is believed to have met bin Laden several times and received funding from him. In 2002, Jaish-e-Mohammed organized the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl in an operation run in conjunction with al-Qaeda and funded by bin Laden. According to American counter-terrorism expert Bruce Riedel, al-Qaeda and Taliban were closely involved in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 to Kandahar which led to the release of Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh from an Indian prison in exchange for the passengers. This hijacking, Riedel stated, was rightly described by then Indian Foreign minister Jaswant Singh as a 'dress rehearsal' for September 11 attacks. Bin Laden personally welcomed Azhar and threw a lavish party in his honor after his release, according to Abu Jandal, bodyguard of bin Laden. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had been in Indian prison for his role in 1994 kidnappings of Western tourists in India, went on to murder Daniel Pearl and was sentenced to death by Pakistan. Al-Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf, who was one of the accused in 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, was related to Maulana Masood Azhar by marriage.\n\nLashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri militant group which is thought to be behind 2008 Mumbai attacks, is also known to have strong ties to senior al-Qaeda leaders living in Pakistan. In Late 2002, top al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah was arrested while being sheltered by Lashkar-e-Taiba in a safe house in Faisalabad. The FBI believes that al-Qaeda and Lashkar have been 'intertwined' for a long time while the CIA has said that al-Qaeda funds Lashkar-e-Taiba. French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, who was the top French counter-terrorism official, told Reuters in 2009 that 'Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir political or military agenda. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al-Qaeda.'\n\nIn a video released in 2008, senior al-Qaeda operative American-born Adam Yahiye Gadahn stated that \"victory in Kashmir has been delayed for years; it is the liberation of the jihad there from this interference which, Allah willing, will be the first step towards victory over the Hindu occupiers of that Islam land.\"\n\nIn September 2009, a US drone strike reportedly killed Ilyas Kashmiri who was the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, a Kashmiri militant group associated with al-Qaeda. Kashmiri was described by Bruce Riedel as a 'prominent' al-Qaeda member while others have described him as head of military operations for al-Qaeda. Kashmiri was also charged by the US in a plot against Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper which was at the center of Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. US officials also believe that Kashmiri was involved in the Camp Chapman attack against the CIA. In January 2010, Indian authorities notified Britain of an al-Qaeda plot to hijack an Indian airlines or Air India plane and crash it into a British city. This information was uncovered from interrogation of Amjad Khwaja, an operative of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, who had been arrested in India.\n\nIn January 2010, US Defense secretary Robert Gates, while on a visit to Pakistan, stated that al-Qaeda was seeking to destabilize the region and planning to provoke a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.\n\n===Internet===\nTimothy L. Thomas claims that in the wake of its evacuation from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and its successors have migrated online to escape detection in an atmosphere of increased international vigilance. As a result, the group's use of the Internet has grown more sophisticated, encompassing financing, recruitment, networking, mobilization, publicity, as well as information dissemination, gathering and sharing.\n\nAbu Ayyub al-Masri's al-Qaeda movement in Iraq regularly releases short videos glorifying the activity of jihadist suicide bombers. In addition, both before and after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq), the umbrella organization to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs, the Mujahideen Shura Council, has a regular presence on the Web.\n\nThe range of multimedia content includes guerrilla training clips, stills of victims about to be murdered, testimonials of suicide bombers, and videos that show participation in jihad through stylized portraits of mosques and musical scores. A website associated with al-Qaeda posted a video of captured American entrepreneur Nick Berg being decapitated in Iraq. Other decapitation videos and pictures, including those of Paul Johnson, Kim Sun-il, and Daniel Pearl, were first posted on jihadist websites.\n\nIn December 2004 an audio message claiming to be from bin Laden was posted directly to a website, rather than sending a copy to al Jazeera as he had done in the past.\n\nAl-Qaeda turned to the Internet for release of its videos in order to be certain it would be available unedited, rather than risk the possibility of al Jazeera editors editing the videos and cutting out anything critical of the Saudi royal family. Bin Laden's December 2004 message was much more vehement than usual in this speech, lasting over an hour.\n\nIn the past, Alneda.com and Jehad.net were perhaps the most significant al-Qaeda websites. Alneda was initially taken down by American Jon Messner, but the operators resisted by shifting the site to various servers and strategically shifting content.\n\nThe US charged a British information technology specialist, Babar Ahmad, on terrorism charges related to his operating a network of English-language al-Qaeda websites, such as Azzam.com. He was convicted and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison.\n\n====Online communications====\nIn 2007, al-Qaeda released Mujahedeen Secrets, encryption software used for online and cellular communications. A later version, Mujahideen Secrets 2, was released in 2008.\n\n===Aviation network===\nAl-Qaeda is believed to be operating a clandestine aviation network including \"several Boeing 727 aircraft\", turboprops and executive jets, according to a 2010 Reuters story. Based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, the story said that al-Qaeda is possibly using aircraft to transport drugs and weapons from South America to various unstable countries in West Africa. A Boeing 727 can carry up to 10 tons of cargo. The drugs eventually are smuggled to Europe for distribution and sale, and the weapons are used in conflicts in Africa and possibly elsewhere. Gunmen with links to al-Qaeda have been increasingly kidnapping some Europeans for ransom. The profits from the drug and weapon sales, and kidnappings can, in turn, fund more militant activities.\n\n===Involvement in military conflicts===\n\nThe following is a list of military conflicts in which Al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken part militarily.\n\n\n Start of conflict\n End of conflict\n Conflict\n Continent\n Location\n Branches involved\n\n1991\npresent\nSomali Civil War\nAfrica\nSomalia\nAl-Shabaab\n\n1992\n1996\nCivil war in Afghanistan (1992–96)\nAsia\nIslamic State of Afghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n1992\npresent\nAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen\nAsia\nYemen\nAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula\n\n1996\n2001\nCivil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001)\nAsia\nIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2001\npresent\nWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)\nAsia\nAfghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2002\npresent\nInsurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)\nAfrica\nAlgeriaChadMaliMauritaniaMoroccoNigerTunisia\nAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb\n\n2003\n2011\nIraq War\nAsia\nIraq\nAl-Qaeda in Iraq\nIslamic State of Iraq\n\n2004\npresent\nWar in North-West Pakistan\nAsia\nPakistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2009\npresent\nInsurgency in the North Caucasus\nAsia\nRussia\nCaucasus Emirate\n\n2011\npresent\nSyrian Civil War\nAsia\nSyria\nal-Nusra Front\n\n", " Experts debate whether or not the al-Qaeda attacks were an indirect result from the American CIA's \"Operation Cyclone\" program to help the Afghan mujahideen. Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, has written that al-Qaeda and bin Laden were \"a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies\", and that \"Al-Qaida, literally 'the database', was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.\"\n\nMunir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations from 2002 to 2008, wrote in a letter published in the ''New York Times'' on January 19, 2008:\nThe strategy to support the Afghans against Soviet military intervention was evolved by several intelligence agencies, including the C.I.A. and Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI. After the Soviet withdrawal, the Western powers walked away from the region, leaving behind 40,000 militants imported from several countries to wage the anti-Soviet jihad. Pakistan was left to face the blowback of extremism, drugs and guns.\n\nA variety of sources – CNN journalist Peter Bergen, Pakistani ISI Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, and CIA operatives involved in the Afghan program, such as Vincent Cannistraro – deny that the CIA or other American officials had contact with the foreign mujahideen or bin Laden, let alone armed, trained, coached or indoctrinated them.\n\nBergen and others argue that there was no need to recruit foreigners unfamiliar with the local language, customs or lay of the land since there were a quarter of a million local Afghans willing to fight; that foreign mujahideen themselves had no need for American funds since they received several hundred million dollars a year from non-American, Muslim sources; that Americans could not have trained mujahideen because Pakistani officials would not allow more than a handful of them to operate in Pakistan and none in Afghanistan; and that the Afghan Arabs were almost invariably militant Islamists reflexively hostile to Westerners whether or not the Westerners were helping the Muslim Afghans.\n\nAccording to Bergen, known for conducting the first television interview with bin Laden in 1997, the idea that \"the CIA funded bin Laden or trained bin Laden... is a folk myth. There's no evidence of this... Bin Laden had his own money, he was anti-American and he was operating secretly and independently... The real story here is the CIA didn't really have a clue about who this guy was until 1996 when they set up a unit to really start tracking him.\"\n\nEnglish journalist Jason Burke wrote:\n", "Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, was inspired by al-Qaeda, calling it \"the most successful revolutionary movement in the world.\" While admitting different aims, he sought to \"create a European version of al-Qaida.\"\n", "\nExtremism within Islam goes back to the Kharijites of the 7th century. From their essentially political position, they developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunni and Shiʿa Muslims. The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to Takfir, whereby they declared other Muslims to be unbelievers and therefore deemed them worthy of death.\n\nAccording to a number of sources, a \"wave of revulsion\" has been expressed against al-Qaeda and its affiliates by \"religious scholars, former fighters and militants\" who are alarmed by al-Qaeda's takfir and its killing of Muslims in Muslim countries, especially in Iraq.\n\nNoman Benotman, a former Afghan Arab and a militant member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, went public with an open letter of criticism to Ayman al-Zawahiri in November 2007 after persuading the imprisoned senior leaders of his former group to enter into peace negotiations with the Libyan regime. While Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the affiliation of the group with al-Qaeda in November 2007, the Libyan government released 90 members of the group from prison several months later after \"they were said to have renounced violence.\"\n\nIn 2007, around the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and a couple of months before ''Rationalizing Jihad'' first appeared in the newspapers, the Saudi sheikh Salman al-Ouda delivered a personal rebuke to bin Laden. Al-Ouda, a religious scholar and one of the fathers of the Sahwa, the fundamentalist awakening movement that swept through Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, is a widely respected critic of jihadism. Al-Ouda addressed al-Qaeda's leader on television asking him\nMy brother Osama, how much blood has been spilt? How many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed... in the name of al-Qaeda? Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions of victims on your back?\n\nAccording to Pew polls, support for al-Qaeda has been slightly dropped for parts of the Muslim world in the years before 2008. The numbers supporting suicide bombings in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, for instance, have dropped by half or more in the last five years. In Saudi Arabia, only 10 percent now have a favorable view of al-Qaeda, according to a December poll by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based think tank.\n\nIn 2007, the imprisoned Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, an influential Afghan Arab, \"ideological godfather of al-Qaeda\", and former supporter of takfir, sensationally withdrew his support from al-Qaeda with a book ''Wathiqat Tarshid Al-'Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w'Al-'Alam'' (''Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World'').\n\nAlthough once associated with al-Qaeda, in September 2009 LIFG completed a new \"code\" for jihad, a 417-page religious document entitled \"Corrective Studies\". Given its credibility and the fact that several other prominent Jihadists in the Middle East have turned against al-Qaeda, the LIFG's about face may be an important step toward staunching al-Qaeda's recruitment.\n", "\n\n* Al Qaeda Network Exord\n* Bin Laden Issue Station (former CIA unit for tracking bin Laden)\n* Mujahideen\n* Fatawā of Osama bin Laden\n* List of designated terrorist groups\n* Operation Cannonball\n* Psychological warfare\n* Religious terrorism\n* Steven Emerson\n* Takfir wal-Hijra\n* Videos of Osama bin Laden\n* List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War \n* List of wars and battles involving al-Qaeda\n* Violent extremism\n* Islamic Military Alliance\n\n\n'''Publications:'''\n* ''Al Qaeda Handbook''\n* ''Management of Savagery''\n", "\n", "\n;Bibliography\n\n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Schmid, Alex P. ''Al Qaeda’s \"Single Narrative\" and Attempts to Develop Counter-Narratives'' (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2014)\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n;Reviews\n\n* \n* \n* \n\n\n;Government reports\n\n* \n* \n* \n\n", "\n* \n* Al-Qaeda in Oxford Islamic Studies Online\n* Al-Qaeda, Counter Extremism Project profile\n* 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center\n* \n;Media\n* Peter Taylor. (2007). \" War on the West\". ''Age of Terror'', No. 4, series 1. BBC.\n* Investigating Al-Qaeda, BBC News\n* \n* \"Al Qaeda's New Front\" from ''PBS Frontline'', January 2005\n* \"Inside al Qaeda\" – video report by National Geographic\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Organization", "Strategy", "Name", "Ideology", "Religious compatibility", "History", "Attacks", "Designation as a terrorist group", "War on Terror", "Activities", "Alleged CIA involvement", "Broader influence", "Criticism", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The most prominent Saudi figures among the donors included Saudi billionaire Saleh Kamel (CEO of Dallah Al-Baraka, accused of funding and supporting al-Qaeda operations), Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi (funder of SAAR Foundation, shut down within the framework of Operation Green Quest, and CEO of al-Rajhi Bank, investigated several times by U.S. authorities for its role in financing terrorism and al-Qaeda especially), and Ahmad Turki Yamani (son of former Saudi chief of Justice and former Saudi Minister of Petroleum).", "Kamel invested for several years in a Sudanese bank that held accounts under the names of senior al-Qaeda affiliates.", "According to the ''Wall Street Journal'', the Jidda-based al-Baraka Bank, one of the biggest subsidiaries of the financial group, was also suspected of providing banking services to al-Qaeda operatives." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Al-Qaeda''' ( or ; '''', , translation: \"The Base\", \"The Foundation\" or \"The Fundament\" and alternatively spelled '''al-Qaida''', '''al-Qæda''' and sometimes '''al-Qa'ida''') is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.", "Al-Qaeda operates as a network made up of Islamic extremist, Salafist jihadists.", "It has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, the United States, Russia, India, and various other countries (see below).", "Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countries, including the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the September 11 attacks, and the 2002 Bali bombings.", "The U.S. government responded to the September 11 attacks by launching the \"War on Terror\".", "With the loss of key leaders, culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's operations have devolved from actions that were controlled from the top down, to actions by associated groups and ''lone-wolf'' operators.", "Characteristic techniques employed by al-Qaeda include suicide attacks and the simultaneous bombing of different targets.", "Activities ascribed to it may involve members of the movement who have made a pledge of loyalty to bin Laden, or the much more numerous \"al-Qaeda-linked\" individuals who have undergone training in one of its camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or Sudan.", "Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from all foreign influences in Muslim countries, and the creation of a new caliphate ruling over the entire Muslim world.", "Among the beliefs ascribed to al-Qaeda members is the conviction that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam.", "As Salafist jihadists, they believe that the killing of non-combatants is religiously sanctioned, but they ignore any aspect of religious scripture which might be interpreted as forbidding the murder of non-combatants and internecine fighting.", "Al-Qaeda also opposes what it regards as man-made laws, and it wants to replace them with a strict form of sharia law.", "Al-Qaeda has carried out many attacks on targets it considers ''kafir''.", "Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating sectarian violence among Muslims.", "Al-Qaeda's leaders regard liberal Muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretical and its members and sympathizers have attacked their mosques and gatherings.", "Examples of sectarian attacks include the Yazidi community bombings, the Sadr City bombings, the Ashoura massacre and the April 2007 Baghdad bombings.", "Since the death of bin Laden in 2011, the group has been led by the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri.", "Al-Qaeda's philosophy has been described as \"centralization of decision and decentralization of execution.\"", "It is thought that al-Qaeda's leadership, after the War on Terror, has \"become geographically isolated,\" leading to the \"emergence of decentralized leadership\" of regionalized al-Qaeda groups.", "Many terrorism experts do not believe that the global jihadist movement is driven at every level by al-Qaeda's leadership.", "Although bin Laden still held considerable ideological sway over some Muslim extremists before his death, experts argue that al-Qaeda has fragmented over the years into a variety of regional movements that have little connection with one another.", "Marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, said that al-Qaeda is now just a \"loose label for a movement that seems to target the west.", "There is no umbrella organisation.", "We like to create a mythical entity called al-Qaeda in our minds, but that is not the reality we are dealing with.\"", "This view mirrors the account given by Osama bin Laden in his October 2001 interview with Tayseer Allouni:\n\n... this matter isn't about any specific person and... is not about the al-Qa'idah Organization.", "We are the children of an Islamic Nation, with Prophet Muhammad as its leader, our Lord is one... and all the true believers mu'mineen are brothers.", "So the situation isn't like the West portrays it, that there is an 'organization' with a specific name (such as 'al-Qa'idah') and so on.", "That particular name is very old.", "It was born without any intention from us.", "Brother Abu Ubaida... created a military base to train the young men to fight against the vicious, arrogant, brutal, terrorizing Soviet empire...", "So this place was called 'The Base' 'Al-Qa'idah', as in a training base, so this name grew and became.", "We aren't separated from this nation.", "We are the children of a nation, and we are an inseparable part of it, and from those public *** which spread from the far east, from the Philippines, to Indonesia, to Malaysia, to India, to Pakistan, reaching Mauritania... and so we discuss the conscience of this nation.", "Bruce Hoffman, however, sees al-Qaeda as a cohesive network that is strongly led from the Pakistani tribal areas.", "Al-Qaeda militant in Sahel, 2012\nAl-Qaeda has the following direct affiliates:\n\n* Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb\n* Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)\n* Al Qaeda in Yemen\n* Al-Qaeda in Somalia\n* Al Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel\n* Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula\n* Al-Qaeda in Syria\n* Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent\n* Al-Qaeda in Lebanon\n* Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago\n* Al-Qaeda in Kurdistan\n* Al-Qaeda in West Africa\n* Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina\n* Al-Qaeda in Gaza\n* Al Qaeda in Spain\n* Al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula\n* Al-Qaeda in Mali\n* Al-Qaeda in Caucasus and Russia\n\nAl-Qaeda's indirect affiliates includes the following, some of which have left the organization and joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:\n\n* Ansar Dine\n* Abu Sayyaf (pledged allegiance to ISIL)\n* Ansar al-Islam (merged with ISIL on August 29, 2014)\n* Turkistan Islamic Party\n* Caucasus Emirate\n* Fatah al-Islam\n* Islamic Jihad Union\n* Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan\n* Jaish-e-Mohammed\n* Jemaah Islamiyah\n* Lashkar-e-Taiba\n* Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa\n* Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group\n* Rajah Sulaiman movement\n\n\n===Leadership===\nAl-Zawahiri and Bin Laden in 2001 interview with Hamid Mir in Kabul\n\n====Osama bin Laden (1987 – May 2011) ====\nOsama bin Laden was the most historically notable emir, or commander, and Senior Operations Chief of al-Qaeda prior to his assassination on May 1, 2011, by U.S. forces.", "Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was alleged to be second in command prior to his death on August 22, 2011.", "Bin Laden was advised by a Shura Council, which consists of senior al-Qaeda members, estimated by Western officials to consist of 20–30 people.", "====after May 2011====\nAyman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's Deputy Operations Chief prior to bin Laden's death, assumed the role of commander, according to an announcement by al-Qaeda on June 16, 2011.", "He replaced Saif al-Adel, who had served as interim commander.", "On June 5, 2012, Pakistan intelligence officials announced that al-Rahman's alleged successor Abu Yahya al-Libi had been killed in Pakistan.", "Nasir al-Wuhayshi was said to have become second in command in 2013.", "He was the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), until he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June 2015.", "Al-Qaeda's network was built from scratch as a conspiratorial network that draws on leaders of all its regional nodes \"as and when necessary to serve as an integral part of its high command.\"", "* The Military Committee is responsible for training operatives, acquiring weapons, and planning attacks.", "* The Money/Business Committee funds the recruitment and training of operatives through the ''hawala'' banking system.", "U.S-led efforts to eradicate the sources of terrorist financing were most successful in the year immediately following the September 11 attacks.", "Al-Qaeda continues to operate through unregulated banks, such as the 1,000 or so ''hawaladars'' in Pakistan, some of which can handle deals of up to $10 million.", "It also provides air tickets and false passports, pays al-Qaeda members, and oversees profit-driven businesses.See:\n* .", "In the ''9/11 Commission Report'', it was estimated that al-Qaeda required $30 million-per-year to conduct its operations.", "* The Law Committee reviews Sharia law, and decides whether particular courses of action conform to it.", "* The Islamic Study/''Fatwah'' Committee issues religious edicts, such as an edict in 1998 telling Muslims to kill Americans.", "* In the late 1990s, there was a publicly known Media Committee, which ran the now-defunct newspaper ''Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast)'' and handled public relations.", "* In 2005, al-Qaeda formed As-Sahab, a media production house, to supply its video and audio materials.", "===Command structure===\n\nAl-Qaeda is not operationally managed by Ayman al-Zawahiri.", "Operational groups consult with the leadership in situations where attacks are in preparation (The Wilson Centre 2015).", "When asked about the possibility of al-Qaeda's connection to the July 7, 2005 London bombings in 2005, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said: \"Al-Qaeda is not an organization.", "Al-Qaeda is a way of working... but this has the hallmark of that approach... al-Qaeda clearly has the ability to provide training... to provide expertise... and I think that is what has occurred here.\"", "On August 13, 2005, however, ''The Independent'' newspaper, quoting police and MI5 investigations, reported that the July 7 bombers had acted independently of an al-Qaeda terror mastermind someplace abroad.", "What exactly al-Qaeda is, or was, remains in dispute.", "Certainly, it has been obliged to evolve and adapt in the aftermath of 9/11 and the launch of the 'war on terror'.", "Nasser al-Bahri, who was Osama bin Laden's bodyguard for four years in the run-up to 9/11 gives a highly detailed description of how the group functioned at that time in his memoir.", "He describes its formal administrative structure and vast arsenal, as well as day-to-day life as a member.", "However, author and journalist Adam Curtis argues that the idea of al-Qaeda as a formal organization is primarily an American invention.", "Curtis contends the name \"al-Qaeda\" was first brought to the attention of the public in the 2001 trial of bin Laden and the four men accused of the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa:\n\nThe reality was that bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy.", "But there was no organization.", "These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance.", "He was not their commander.", "There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term \"al-Qaeda\" to refer to the name of a group until after September 11 attacks, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it.", "As a matter of law, the US Department of Justice needed to show that bin Laden was the leader of a criminal organization in order to charge him ''in absentia'' under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as the RICO statutes.", "The name of the organization and details of its structure were provided in the testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, who said he was a founding member of the group and a former employee of bin Laden.", "Questions about the reliability of al-Fadl's testimony have been raised by a number of sources because of his history of dishonesty, and because he was delivering it as part of a plea bargain agreement after being convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. military establishments.", "Sam Schmidt, one of his defense lawyers, said:\n\nThere were selective portions of al-Fadl's testimony that I believe was false, to help support the picture that he helped the Americans join together.", "I think he lied in a number of specific testimony about a unified image of what this organization was.", "It made al-Qaeda the new Mafia or the new Communists.", "It made them identifiable as a group and therefore made it easier to prosecute any person associated with al-Qaeda for any acts or statements made by bin Laden.", "===Field operatives===\nPakistani journalist Hamid Mir interviewing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, in 1997\nThe number of individuals in the group who have undergone proper military training, and are capable of commanding insurgent forces, is largely unknown.", "Documents captured in the raid on bin Laden compound in 2011, show that the core al-Qaeda membership in 2002 was 170.", "In 2006, it was estimated that al-Qaeda had several thousand commanders embedded in 40 different countries.", ", it was believed that no more than 200–300 members were still active commanders.", "According to the award-winning 2004 BBC documentary ''The Power of Nightmares'', al-Qaeda was so weakly linked together that it was hard to say it existed apart from bin Laden and a small clique of close associates.", "The lack of any significant numbers of convicted al-Qaeda members, despite a large number of arrests on terrorism charges, was cited by the documentary as a reason to doubt whether a widespread entity that met the description of al-Qaeda existed.", "===Insurgent forces===\nAccording to author Robert Cassidy, al-Qaeda controls two separate forces deployed alongside insurgents in Iraq and Pakistan.", "The first, numbering in the tens of thousands, was \"organized, trained, and equipped as insurgent combat forces\" in the Soviet-Afghan war.", "It was made up primarily of foreign ''mujahideen'' from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.", "Many went on to fight in Bosnia and Somalia for global ''jihad''.", "Another group, approximately 10,000 strong, live in Western states and have received rudimentary combat training.", "Other analysts have described al-Qaeda's rank and file as being \"predominantly Arab,\" in its first years of operation, and now also includes \"other peoples\" .", "It has been estimated that 62% of al-Qaeda members have university education.", "===Financing===\n\nSome financing for al-Qaeda in the 1990s came from the personal wealth of Osama bin Laden.", "Other sources of income in 2001 included the heroin trade and donations from supporters in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic Gulf states.", "A WikiLeaks released memo from the United States Secretary of State sent in 2009 asserted that the primary source of funding of Sunni terrorist groups worldwide was Saudi Arabia.", "Among the first pieces of evidence of Saudi Arabia’s conspicuous support for al-Qaeda was the so-called \"Golden Chain\", a list of early al-Qaeda funders seized during a 2002 raid at the premises of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) in Sarajevo by Bosnian police.", "The hand-written list, validated by al-Qaeda defector Jamal al-Fadl, included the names of both donors and beneficiaries.", "Osama bin-Laden’s name appeared seven times among the beneficiaries, while 20 Saudi and Gulf-based businessmen and politicians were listed among the donors.", "Besides Osama bin Laden, among the most notable Saudi recipients were Adel Batterjee (founder of BIF and designated as a terror financier by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2004) and Wael Hamza Julaidan (U.S.-terrorist designated in 2002 as one of al-Qaeda’s founder).", "Saleh Kamel’s case in particular reinforces Saudi Arabia’s role as sponsor of al-Qaeda.", "For years, Omar al-Bayoumi, an associate of Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, two 9/11 highjackers, received a stipend from al-Baraka, the financial group kamel directed.", "In general, the documents seized during the 2002 Bosnia raid pointed out that al-Qaeda widely exploited charities to channel financial and material support to its operatives across the globe.", "This was the case, for instance, with the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League (MWL).", "The former had solid ties with al-Qaeda associates worldwide, including al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al Zawahiri’s brother working for IIRO in Albania who had actively recruited on behalf of al-Qaeda and involved several Egyptian Islamic Jihad members in IIRO activities.", "The latter was openly identified by al-Qaeda’s leader as one of the three charities al-Qaeda primarily relied upon for funding sources.", "Qatar has provided financial support to al-Qaeda as well.", "On December 18, 2013, the U.S. Treasury designated Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi, a Qatari citizen close to the al-Thani family and a human rights activist who founded the Swiss-based NGO Alkarama, as a global terrorist for his activities in support to al-Qaeda.", "The U.S. Treasury has stated that Nuaimi, currently enjoying impunity in Qatar, \"has facilitated significant financial support to al-Qa'ida in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between al-Qa'ida in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors\".", "Nuaimi was also accused of overseeing a $2 million monthly transfer to al-Qaeda in Iraq for a period of time as part of his role as mediator between Iraq-based al-Qaeda senior officers and Qatari citizens.", "He also allegedly entertained relationships with Abu-Khalid al-Suri, al-Qaeda’s top envoy in Syria, who processed a $600,000 transfer to al-Qaeda in 2013.", "Moreover, Nuaimi is known to be associated with Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani, a Yemeni politician and founding member of Alkarama listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the U.S. Treasury in 2013.", "The U.S. authorities claimed that Humayqani exploited his role in Alkarama to fundraise on behalf of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).", "A prominent figure among AQAP ranks, he was also reported to have facilitated the flow of funding to AQAP affiliates based in Yemen.", "Nuaimi was accused of investing funds in the charity directed by Humayqani to ultimately fund AQAP.", "About ten months after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, Nuaimi was also restrained from doing business in the UK.", "Another Qatari citizen, Kalifa Mohammed Turki Subayi, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury on June 5, 2008, for his activities as a \"Gulf-based al-Qaeda financier\".", "Subayi’s name was added to the UN Security Council’s Sanctions List in 2008 upon charges of providing financial and material support to al-Qaeda senior leadership.", "Subayi allegedly moved al-Qaeda recruits to South Asia-based training camps.", "He also supported financially Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani national and senior al-Qaeda officer who is believed to be the mastermind behind the September 11 attack according to the 9/11 Commission Report.", "Besides the activities of key facilitators, Qatar’s financial support to al-Qaeda has been channeled through Qatar’s largest NGO, the Qatar Charitable Society currently known as Qatar Charity.", "Al-Qaeda defector al-Fadl, who was also a former member of Qatar Charity, testified in court that Abdullah Mohammed Yusef, who served as Qatar Charity’s director, was affiliated to al-Qaeda and simultaneously to the National Islamic Front, a political group that gave al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden harbor in Sudan in the early 1990s.", "Legal proceedings from the trial \"United States vs. Enaam M. Arnaout\" also mentioned that Qatar Charity was cited by Bin Laden in 1993 as one of the charities used to channel financial support to al-Qaeda operatives overseas.", "The same documents also report Bin Laden’s complaint that the failed assassination attempt of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had compromised the ability of al-Qaeda to exploit charities to support its operatives to the extent it was capable of it before 1995.", "Qatar Charity’s track record of terror financing includes support to members of al-Qaeda in Chechnya, an accusation publicly denied by Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani.", "In 1999 Qatar Charity supposedly funneled money to Chechnya-based al-Qaeda affiliates.", "Furthermore, Qatar Charity is among the NGOs allegedly channelling funds to Ansar Dine in North Mali, a piece of information confirmed by French military intelligence reports dating back to France’s intervention in the country in early 2013.", "The group has long been suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda.", "Today, Qatar’s enduring financing of al-Qaeda’s enterprises mostly benefits al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria Jabhat al-Nusra and is channeled primarily through kidnapping for ransom.", "The Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF) reported that the Gulf country has thus funded al-Nusra since 2013.", "Al-Awsat estimated that Qatar disbursed $25 million in support of al-Nusra through kidnapping for ransom.", "In addition to this strategy, Qatar has also launched fundraising campaigns on behalf of al-Nusra.", "The ''Washington Post'' reporter Joby Warrick wrote in December 2013 that al-Nusra acknowledged a Qatar-sponsored campaign (\"Madid sic Ahl al-Sham\") \"as one of the preferred conduits for donations intended for the group\".", "\nOn March 11, 2005, ''Al-Quds Al-Arabi'' published extracts from Saif al-Adel's document \"Al Qaeda's Strategy to the Year 2020\".", "Abdel Bari Atwan summarizes this strategy as comprising five stages to rid the Ummah from all forms of oppression:\n# Provoke the United States and the West into invading a Muslim country by staging a massive attack or string of attacks on US soil that results in massive civilian casualties.", "# Incite local resistance to occupying forces.", "# Expand the conflict to neighboring countries, and engage the US and its allies in a long war of attrition.", "# Convert al-Qaeda into an ideology and set of operating principles that can be loosely franchised in other countries without requiring direct command and control, and via these franchises incite attacks against the US and countries allied with the US until they withdraw from the conflict, as happened with the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but which did not have the same effect with the July 7, 2005 London bombings.", "# The US economy will finally collapse by the year 2020, under the strain of multiple engagements in numerous places, making the worldwide economic system, which is dependent on the US, also collapse, leading to global political instability, which in turn leads to a global jihad led by al-Qaeda, and a Wahhabi Caliphate will then be installed across the world, following the collapse of the US and the rest of the Western world countries.", "Atwan also noted, regarding the collapse of the US, \"If this sounds far-fetched, it is sobering to consider that this virtually describes the downfall of the Soviet Union.\"", "According to Fouad Hussein, a Jordanian journalist and author who has spent time in prison with Al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's strategy plan consists of seven phases and is similar to the plan described in Al Qaeda's Strategy to the year 2020:\n# \"The Awakening.\"", "This phase was supposed to last from 2001 to 2003.", "The goal of the phase is to provoke the United States to attack a Muslim country by executing an attack on US soil that kills many civilians.", "# \"Opening Eyes.\"", "This phase was supposed to last from 2003 to 2006.", "The goal of this phase was to recruit young men to the cause and to transform the al-Qaeda group into a movement.", "Iraq was supposed to become the center of all operations with financial and military support for bases in other states.", "# \"Arising and Standing up\", was supposed to last from 2007 to 2010.", "In this phase, al-Qaeda wanted to execute additional attacks and focus their attention on Syria.", "Hussein believed that other countries in the Arabian Peninsula were also in danger.", "# Al-Qaeda expected a steady growth among their ranks and territories due to the declining power of the regimes in the Arabian Peninsula.", "The main focus of attack in this phase was supposed to be on oil suppliers and Cyberterrorism, targeting the US economy and military infrastructure.", "# The declaration of an Islamic Caliphate, which was projected between 2013 and 2016.", "In this phase, al-Qaeda expected the resistance from Israel to be heavily reduced.", "# The declaration of an \"Islamic Army\" and a \"fight between believers and non-believers\", also called \"total confrontation\".", "# \"Definitive Victory\", projected to be completed by 2020.", "The world will be \"beaten down\" by the Islamic Army.", "According to the seven-phase strategy, the war isn't projected to last longer than two years.", "According to Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute and Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute, the new model of al-Qaeda is to \"socialise communities\" and build a broad territorial base of operations with the support of local communities, also gaining income independent of the funding of sheiks.", "The English name of the organization is a simplified transliteration of the Arabic noun '''' (), which means \"the foundation\" or \"the base\".", "The initial ''al-'' is the Arabic definite article \"the\", hence \"the base\".", "In Arabic, ''al-Qaeda'' has four syllables ().", "However, since two of the Arabic consonants in the name (the voiceless uvular plosive and the voiced pharyngeal fricative ) are not phones found in the English language, the common naturalized English pronunciations include , and .", "Al-Qaeda's name can also be transliterated as ''al-Qaida'', ''al-Qa'ida'', or ''el-Qaida''.", "Bin Laden explained the origin of the term in a videotaped interview with Al Jazeera journalist Tayseer Alouni in October 2001:\nThe name 'al-Qaeda' was established a long time ago by mere chance.", "The late Abu Ebeida El-Banashiri established the training camps for our ''mujahedeen'' against Russia's terrorism.", "We used to call the training camp al-Qaeda.", "The name stayed.", "It has been argued that two documents seized from the Sarajevo office of the Benevolence International Foundation prove that the name was not simply adopted by the ''mujahid'' movement and that a group called al-Qaeda was established in August 1988.", "Both of these documents contain minutes of meetings held to establish a new military group, and contain the term \"al-Qaeda\".", "Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook wrote that the word al-Qaeda should be translated as \"the database\", and originally referred to the computer file of the thousands of ''mujahideen'' militants who were recruited and trained with CIA help to defeat the Russians.", "In April 2002, the group assumed the name ''Qa'idat al-Jihad'' ( ''''), which means \"the base of Jihad\".", "According to Diaa Rashwan, this was \"apparently as a result of the merger of the overseas branch of Egypt's al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamist Jihad, or EIJ) group, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, with the groups Bin Laden brought under his control after his return to Afghanistan in the mid-1990s.\"", "\n\nThe radical Islamist movement in general and al-Qaeda in particular developed during the Islamic revival and the rise of the Islamist movement during the last three decades of the 20th century, along with less extreme movements.", "Some have argued that \"without the writings\" of Islamic author and thinker Sayyid Qutb, \"al-Qaeda would not have existed.\"", "In the 1950s-60s, Qutb preached that because of the lack of ''sharia'' law, the Muslim world was no longer Muslim, having reverted to pre-Islamic ignorance known as ''jahiliyyah''.", "To restore Islam, he said that a vanguard movement of righteous Muslims was needed in order to establish \"true Islamic states\", implement ''sharia'', and rid the Muslim world of any non-Muslim influences, such as concepts like socialism and nationalism.", "In Qutb's view, the enemies of Islam included \"treacherous Orientalists\" and \"world Jewry,\" who plotted \"conspiracies\" and \"wickedly\" opposed Islam.", "In the words of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, a close college friend of bin Laden: Islam is different from any other religion; it's a way of life.", "We Khalifa and bin Laden were trying to understand what Islam has to say about how we eat, who we marry, how we talk.", "We read Sayyid Qutb.", "He was the one who most affected our generation.", "Qutb had an even greater influence on bin Laden's mentor and another leading member of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri.", "Zawahiri's uncle and maternal family patriarch, Mafouz Azzam, was Qutb's student, then protégé, then personal lawyer, and finally executor of his estate – one of the last people to see Qutb before his execution.", "\"Young Ayman al-Zawahiri heard again and again from his beloved uncle Mahfouz about the purity of Qutb's character and the torment he had endured in prison.\"", "Zawahiri paid homage to Qutb in his work ''Knights under the Prophet's Banner.''", "One of the most powerful of Qutb's ideas was his belief that many who said they were Muslims were really not.", "Rather, they were apostates.", "That not only gave jihadists \"a legal loophole around the prohibition of killing another Muslim,\" but made \"it a religious obligation to execute\" these self-professed Muslims.", "These alleged apostates included leaders of Muslim countries, since they failed to enforce ''sharia'' law.", "The Afghan jihad against the pro-Soviet government (December 1979 to February 1989) developed the Salafist Jihadist movement of which Al-Qaeda was the most prominent example.", "Abdel Bari Atwan writes that:", "\n''The Guardian'' has described five distinct phases in the development of al-Qaeda: beginnings in the late 1980s, a \"wilderness\" period in 1990–96, its \"heyday\" in 1996–2001, a network period from 2001 to 2005, and a period of fragmentation from 2005 to today.", "===Jihad in Afghanistan===\n\nCIA-funded and ISI-trained Afghan mujahideen fighters crossing the Durand Line border to fight Soviet forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in 1985.", "The origins of al-Qaeda as a network inspiring terrorism around the world and training operatives can be traced to the Soviet War in Afghanistan (December 1979 – February 1989).", "The US viewed the conflict in Afghanistan, with the Afghan Marxists and allied Soviet troops on one side and the native Afghan ''mujahideen'', some of whom were radical Islamic militants, on the other, as a blatant case of Soviet expansionism and aggression.", "A CIA program called Operation Cyclone channeled funds through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency to the Afghan Mujahideen who were fighting the Soviet occupation.", "US government financial support for the Afghan Islamic militants was substantial.", "Aid to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan ''mujahideen'' leader and founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami radical Islamic militant faction, alone amounted \"by the most conservative estimates\" to $600 million.", "In addition to receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid, Hekmatyar was the recipient of the lion's share of Saudi aid.", "(Later, in the early 1990s, after the US had withdrawn support, Hekmatyar \"worked closely\" with bin Laden.)", "At the same time, a growing number of Arab ''mujahideen'' joined the ''jihad'' against the Afghan Marxist regime, facilitated by international Muslim organizations, particularly the Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK), which was funded by the Saudi Arabia government as well as by individual Muslims (particularly Saudi businessmen who were approached by bin Laden).", "Together, these sources donated some $600 million a year to jihad.", "In 1984, MAK, or the \"Services Office\", was established in Peshawar, Pakistan, by bin Laden and Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, a Palestinian Islamic scholar and member of the Muslim Brotherhood.", "MAK organized guest houses in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, and gathered supplies for the construction of paramilitary training camps to prepare foreign recruits for the Afghan war front.", "Bin Laden became a \"major financier\" of the ''mujahideen'', spending his own money and using his connections with \"the Saudi royal family and the petro-billionaires of the Gulf\" to influence public opinion about the war and raise additional funds.", "Omar Abdel-Rahman\nFrom 1986, MAK began to set up a network of recruiting offices in the US, the hub of which was the Al Kifah Refugee Center at the Farouq Mosque on Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue.", "Among notable figures at the Brooklyn center were \"double agent\" Ali Mohamed, whom FBI special agent Jack Cloonan called \"bin Laden's first trainer\", and \"Blind Sheikh\" Omar Abdel-Rahman, a leading recruiter of ''mujahideen'' for Afghanistan.", "Al-Qaeda evolved from MAK.", "Azzam and bin Laden began to establish camps in Afghanistan in 1987.", "MAK and foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers, or \"Afghan Arabs,\" did not play a major role in the war.", "While over 250,000 Afghan ''mujahideen'' fought the Soviets and the communist Afghan government, it is estimated that were never more than 2,000 foreign ''mujahideen'' in the field at any one time.", "Nonetheless, foreign ''mujahideen'' volunteers came from 43 countries, and the total number that participated in the Afghan movement between 1982 and 1992 is reported to have been 35,000.", "Bin Laden played a central role in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim volunteers.", "The Soviet Union finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.", "To the surprise of many, Mohammad Najibullah's Communist Afghan government hung on for three more years, before being overrun by elements of the ''mujahideen''.", "With ''mujahideen'' leaders unable to agree on a structure for governance, chaos ensued, with constantly reorganizing alliances fighting for control of ill-defined territories, leaving the country devastated.", "===Expanding operations===\nToward the end of the Soviet military mission in Afghanistan, some foreign ''mujahideen'' wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world, such as Palestine and Kashmir.", "A number of overlapping and interrelated organizations were formed, to further those aspirations.", "One of these was the organization that would eventually be called al-Qaeda.", "Wright's research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an August 11, 1988, meeting between \"several senior leaders\" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abdullah Azzam, and bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Laden's money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organization and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan.", "Notes of a meeting of bin Laden and others on August 20, 1988, indicate al-Qaeda was a formal group by that time: \"basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make His religion victorious.\"", "A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge (''bayat'') to follow one's superiors.", "In his memoir, bin Laden's former bodyguard, Nasser al-Bahri, gives the only publicly available description of the ritual of giving ''bayat'' when he swore his allegiance to the al-Qaeda chief.", "According to Wright, the group's real name wasn't used in public pronouncements because \"its existence was still a closely held secret.\"", "After Azzam was assassinated in 1989, the MAK split, with a significant number joining bin Laden's organization.", "In November 1989, Ali Mohamed, a former special forces sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, left military service and moved to California.", "He traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and became \"deeply involved with bin Laden's plans.\"", "In 1991, Ali Mohammed is said to have helped orchestrate bin Laden's relocation to Sudan.", "===Gulf War and the start of US enmity===\n\n\nFollowing the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia.", "The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 had put the Kingdom and its ruling House of Saud at risk.", "The world's most valuable oil fields were within easy striking distance of Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and Saddam's call to pan-Arab/Islamism could potentially rally internal dissent.", "In the face of a seemingly massive Iraqi military presence, Saudi Arabia's own forces were well armed but far outnumbered.", "Bin Laden offered the services of his ''mujahideen'' to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army.", "The Saudi monarch refused bin Laden's offer, opting instead to allow US and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory.", "The deployment angered bin Laden, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the \"land of the two mosques\" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil.", "After speaking publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, he was banished and forced to live in exile in Sudan.", "===Sudan===\nFrom around 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda and bin Laden based themselves in Sudan at the invitation of Islamist theoretician Hassan al-Turabi.", "The move followed an Islamist coup d'état in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values.", "During this time, bin Laden assisted the Sudanese government, bought or set up various business enterprises, and established camps where insurgents trained.", "A key turning point for bin Laden, further pitting him against the Sauds, occurred in 1993 when Saudi Arabia gave support for the Oslo Accords, which set a path for peace between Israel and Palestinians.", "Zawahiri and the EIJ, who served as the core of al-Qaeda but also engaged in separate operations against the Egyptian government, had bad luck in Sudan.", "In 1993, a young schoolgirl was killed in an unsuccessful EIJ attempt on the life of the Egyptian prime minister, Atef Sedki.", "Egyptian public opinion turned against Islamist bombings, and the police arrested 280 of al-Jihad's members and executed 6.", "Due to bin Laden's continuous verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, on March 5, 1994 Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Laden's passport; bin Laden's Saudi citizenship was also revoked.", "His family was persuaded to cut off his stipend, $7 million a year, and his Saudi assets were frozen.", "His family publicly disowned him.", "There is controversy over whether and to what extent he continued to garner support from members of his family and/or the Saudi government.", "In June 1995, an even more ill-fated attempt to assassinate Egyptian president Mubarak led to the expulsion of EIJ, and in May 1996, an expulsion of bin Laden, by the Sudanese government occured as well.", "According to Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the Sudanese government offered the Clinton Administration numerous opportunities to arrest bin Laden.", "Ijaz's claims appeared in numerous Op-Ed pieces, including one in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and one in ''The Washington Post'' co-written with former Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. Carney.", "Similar allegations have been made by ''Vanity Fair'' contributing editor David Rose, and Richard Miniter, author of ''Losing bin Laden'', in a November 2003 interview with ''World''.", "Several sources dispute Ijaz's claim, including the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the US (the 9/11 Commission), which concluded in part: Sudan's minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Ladin over to the US.", "The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so.", "Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Ladin.", "Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment out-standing.", "===Refuge in Afghanistan===\n\n\nAfter the fall of the Afghan communist regime in 1992, Afghanistan was effectively ungoverned for four years and plagued by constant infighting between various ''mujahideen'' groups.", "The origins of the Taliban (literally \"students\") lay in the children of Afghanistan, many of them orphaned by the war, and many of whom had been educated in the rapidly expanding network of Islamic schools (madrassas) either in Kandahar or in the refugee camps on the Afghan-Pakistani border.", "According to Ahmed Rashid, five leaders of the Taliban were graduates of Darul Uloom Haqqania, a madrassa in the small town of Akora Khattak.", "The town is situated near Peshawar in Pakistan, but largely attended by Afghan refugees.", "This institution reflected Salafi beliefs in its teachings, and much of its funding came from private donations from wealthy Arabs.", "Bin Laden's contacts were still laundering most of these donations, using \"unscrupulous\" Islamic banks to transfer the money to an \"array\" of charities which serve as front groups for al-Qaeda, or transporting cash-filled suitcases straight into Pakistan.", "Another four of the Taliban's leaders attended a similarly funded and influenced madrassa in Kandahar.", "Many of the ''mujahideen'' who later joined the Taliban fought alongside Afghan warlord Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi's Harkat i Inqilabi group at the time of the Russian invasion.", "This group also enjoyed the loyalty of most Afghan Arab fighters.", "The continuing internecine strife between various factions, and accompanying lawlessness following the Soviet withdrawal, enabled the growing and well-disciplined Taliban to expand their control over territory in Afghanistan, and it came to establish an enclave which it called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.", "In 1994, it captured the regional center of Kandahar, and after making rapid territorial gains thereafter, conquered the capital city Kabul in September 1996.", "After the Sudanese made it clear, in May 1996, that bin Laden would never be welcome to return, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan – with previously established connections between the groups, administered with a shared militancy, and largely isolated from American political influence and military power – provided a perfect location for al-Qaeda to relocate its headquarters.", "Al-Qaeda enjoyed the Taliban's protection and a measure of legitimacy as part of their Ministry of Defense, although only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.", "While in Afghanistan, the Taliban government tasked al-Qaeda with the training of Brigade 055, an elite part of the Taliban's army from 1997–2001.", "The Brigade was made up of mostly foreign fighters, many veterans from the Soviet Invasion, and all under the same basic ideology of the mujahideen.", "In November 2001, as Operation Enduring Freedom had toppled the Taliban government, many Brigade 055 fighters were captured or killed, and those that survived were thought to head into Pakistan along with bin Laden.", "By the end of 2008, some sources reported that the Taliban had severed any remaining ties with al-Qaeda, while others cast doubt on this.", "According to senior US military intelligence officials, there were fewer than 100 members of al-Qaeda remaining in Afghanistan in 2009.", "===Call for global Salafi jihadism===\n\nAround 1994, the Salafi groups waging Salafi jihadism in Bosnia entered into a seemingly irreversible decline.", "As they grew less and less aggressive, groups such as EIJ began to drift away from the Salafi cause in Europe.", "Al-Qaeda stepped in and assumed control of around 80% of the terrorist cells in Bosnia in late 1995.", "At the same time, al-Qaeda ideologues instructed the network's recruiters to look for ''Jihadi international'' Muslims who believed that extremist-''jihad'' must be fought on a global level.", "The concept of a \"global Salafi ''jihad''\" had been around since at least the early 1980s.", "Several groups had formed for the explicit purpose of driving non-Muslims out of every Muslim land at the same time and with maximum carnage.", "This was, however, a fundamentally defensive strategy.", "Al-Qaeda sought to open the \"offensive phase\" of the global Salafi ''jihad''.", "Bosnian Islamists in 2006 called for \"solidarity with Islamic causes around the world\", supporting the insurgents in Kashmir and Iraq as well as the groups fighting for a Palestinian state.", "===Fatwas===\nIn 1996, al-Qaeda announced its ''jihad'' to expel foreign troops and interests from what they considered Islamic lands.", "Bin Laden issued a ''fatwa'' (binding religious edict), which amounted to a public declaration of war against the US and its allies, and began to refocus al-Qaeda's resources on large-scale, propagandist strikes.", "On February 23, 1998, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, a leader of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, along with three other Islamist leaders, co-signed and issued a ''fatwa'' calling on Muslims to kill Americans and their allies where they can, when they can.", "Under the banner of the World Islamic Front for Combat Against the Jews and Crusaders, they declared:\n\nThe ruling to kill the Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the holy mosque in Mecca from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.", "This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'.", "Neither bin Laden nor al-Zawahiri possessed the traditional Islamic scholarly qualifications to issue a ''fatwa''.", "However, they rejected the authority of the contemporary ''ulema'' (which they saw as the paid servants of ''jahiliyya'' rulers), and took it upon themselves.", "===Iraq===\n\n\nAl-Qaeda is Sunni, and often attacked the Iraqi Shia majority in an attempt to incite sectarian violence and greater chaos in the country.", "Al-Zarqawi purportedly declared an all-out war on Shiites while claiming responsibility for Shiite mosque bombings.", "The same month, a statement claiming to be by AQI rejected as \"fake\" a letter allegedly written by al-Zawahiri, in which he appears to question the insurgents' tactic of indiscriminately attacking Shiites in Iraq.", "In a December 2007 video, al-Zawahiri defended the Islamic State in Iraq, but distanced himself from the attacks against civilians committed by \"hypocrites and traitors existing among the ranks\".", "US and Iraqi officials accused AQI of trying to slide Iraq into a full-scale civil war between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs, with an orchestrated campaign of civilian massacres and a number of provocative attacks against high-profile religious targets.", "With attacks such as the 2003 Imam Ali Mosque bombing, the 2004 Day of Ashura and Karbala and Najaf bombings, the 2006 first al-Askari Mosque bombing in Samarra, the deadly single-day series of bombings in which at least 215 people were killed in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City, and the second al-Askari bombing in 2007, they provoked Shiite militias to unleash a wave of retaliatory attacks, resulting in death squad-style killings and spiraling further sectarian violence which escalated in 2006 and brought Iraq to the brink of violent anarchy in 2007.", "In 2008, sectarian bombings blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq killed at least 42 people at the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala in March, and at least 51 people at a bus stop in Baghdad in June.", "In February 2014, after a prolonged dispute with al-Qaeda in Iraq's successor organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), al-Qaeda publicly announced it was cutting all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and \"notorious intractability\".", "===Somalia and Yemen===\n\nCurrent military situation in Somalia: \nCurrent military situation in Yemen: \nIn Somalia, al-Qaeda agents had been collaborating closely with its Somali wing, which was created from the al-Shabaab group.", "In February 2012, al-Shabaab officially joined al-Qaeda, declaring loyalty in a joint video.", "The Somalian al-Qaeda actively recruit children for suicide-bomber training, and export young people to participate in military actions against Americans at the AfPak border.", "The percentage of terrorist attacks in the West originating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) border declined considerably from almost 100% to 75% in 2007, and to 50% in 2010, as al-Qaeda shifted to Somalia and Yemen.", "While al-Qaeda leaders are hiding in the tribal areas along the AfPak border, the middle-tier of the movement display heightened activity in Somalia and Yemen.", "\"We know that South Asia is no longer their primary base,\" a US defense agency source said.", "\"They are looking for a hide-out in other parts of the world, and continue to expand their organization.\"", "In January 2009, al-Qaeda's division in Saudi Arabia merged with its Yemeni wing to form al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.", "Centered in Yemen, the group takes advantage of the country's poor economy, demography and domestic security.", "In August 2009, they made the first assassination attempt against a member of the Saudi royal dynasty in decades.", "President Obama asked his Yemen counterpart Ali Abdullah Saleh to ensure closer cooperation with the US in the struggle against the growing activity of al-Qaeda in Yemen, and promised to send additional aid.", "Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US was unable to pay sufficient attention to Somalia and Yemen, which could cause problems in the near future.", "In December 2011, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that the US operations against al-Qaeda \"are now concentrating on key groups in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.\"", "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the 2009 bombing attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.", "The group released photos of Abdulmutallab smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap, with the al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background.", "The AQAP declared the Al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen in March 31, 2011, after capturing the most of the Abyan Governorate.", "As the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen escalated in July 2015, ''The Guardian'' wrote: \"As another 50 civilians die in the forgotten war, only Isis and al-Qaida are gaining from a conflict tearing Yemen apart and leaving 20 million people in need of aid.\"", "In February 2016, al-Qaeda forces and Saudi Arabian-led coalition forces were both seen fighting Houthi rebels in the same battle.", "===United States operations===\nAnwar al-Awlaki\nIn December 1998, the Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center reported to the president that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the USA, including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft.", "On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacked the United States, hijacking four airliners within the country and deliberately crashing two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third into the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia.", "The fourth, however, failed to reach its intended target – either the United States Capitol or the White House, both located in Washington, D.C. – due to the rebellion by the passengers to retake the airliner, and instead crashed into the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.", "In total, the attackers killed 2,977 victims and injured more than 6,000 others.", "U.S. officials called Anwar al-Awlaki an \"example of al-Qaeda reach into\" the U.S. in 2008 after probes into his ties to the September 11 attacks hijackers.", "A former FBI agent identifies Awlaki as a known \"senior recruiter for al-Qaeda\", and a spiritual motivator.", "Awlaki's sermons in the U.S. were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, as well as accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.", "U.S. intelligence intercepted emails from Hasan to Awlaki between December 2008 and early 2009.", "On his website, Awlaki has praised Hasan's actions in the Fort Hood shooting.", "An unnamed official claimed there was good reason to believe Awlaki \"has been involved in very serious terrorist activities since leaving the U.S. in 2002, including plotting attacks against America and our allies.\"", "U.S. President Barack Obama approved the targeted killing of al-Awlaki by April 2010, making al-Awlaki the first US citizen ever placed on the CIA target list.", "That required the consent of the U.S. National Security Council, and officials said it was appropriate for an individual who posed an imminent danger to national security.", "In May 2010, Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, told interrogators he was \"inspired by\" al-Awlaki, and sources said Shahzad had made contact with al-Awlaki over the internet.", "Representative Jane Harman called him \"terrorist number one\", and ''Investor's Business Daily'' called him \"the world's most dangerous man\".", "In July 2010, the US Treasury Department added him to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and the UN added him to its list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda.", "In August 2010, al-Awlaki's father initiated a lawsuit against the U.S. government with the American Civil Liberties Union, challenging its order to kill al-Awlaki.", "In October 2010, U.S. and U.K. officials linked al-Awlaki to the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot.", "In September 2011, he was killed in a targeted killing drone attack in Yemen.", "It was reported on March 16, 2012, that Osama bin Laden plotted to kill United States President Barack Obama.", "===Death of Osama bin Laden===\n\nView of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed on May 1, 2011.", "On May 1, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (May 2, Pakistan Standard Time), U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by \"a small team of Americans\" acting under Obama's direct orders, in a covert operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about north of Islamabad.", "According to U.S. officials a team of 20–25 US Navy SEALs under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command and working with the CIA stormed bin Laden's compound in two helicopters.", "Bin Laden and those with him were killed during a firefight in which U.S. forces experienced no casualties.", "According to one US official the attack was carried out without the knowledge or consent of the Pakistani authorities.", "In Pakistan some people were reported to be shocked at the unauthorized incursion by US armed forces.", "The site is a few miles from the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul.", "In his broadcast announcement President Obama said that U.S. forces \"took care to avoid civilian casualties.\"", "Details soon emerged that three men and a woman were killed along with bin Laden, the woman being killed when she was \"used as a shield by a male combatant\".", "DNA from bin Laden's body, compared with DNA samples on record from his dead sister, confirmed bin Laden's identity.", "The body was recovered by the US military and was in its custody until, according to one US official, his body was buried at sea according to Islamic traditions.", "One U.S. official stated that \"finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult.\"", "U.S State Department issued a \"Worldwide caution\" for Americans following bin Laden's death and U.S Diplomatic facilities everywhere were placed on high alert, a senior U.S official said.", "Crowds gathered outside the White House and in New York City's Times Square to celebrate bin Laden's death.", "===Syria===\n\n\nMilitary situation in the Syrian Civil War as of .The scene of an October 2012 Aleppo bombings, for which al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility.", "In 2003, President Bashar al-Assad revealed in an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper that he doubted that al-Qaeda even existed.", "He was quoted as saying, \"Is there really an entity called al-Qaeda?", "Was it in Afghanistan?", "Does it exist now?\"", "He went on further to remark about bin Laden commenting, he \"cannot talk on the phone or use the Internet, but he can direct communications to the four corners of the world?", "This is illogical.\"", "Following the mass protests that took place later in 2011 demanding the resignation of al-Assad, al-Qaeda affiliated groups and Sunni sympathizers soon began to constitute the most effective fighting force in the Syrian opposition.", "Until then, al-Qaeda's presence in Syria was not worth mentioning, but its growth thereafter was rapid.", "Groups such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS; sometimes ISIL) have recruited many foreign Mujahideen to train and fight in what has gradually become a highly sectarian war.", "Ideologically, the Syrian Civil War has served the interests of al-Qaeda as it pits a mainly Sunni opposition against a Shia backed government.", "Viewing Shia Islam as heretical, al-Qaeda and other fundamentalist Sunni militant groups have invested heavily in the civil conflict, actively backing and supporting the Syrian Opposition despite its clashes with moderate opposition groups such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA).", "On February 2, 2014, al-Qaeda distanced itself from ISIS and its actions in Syria, but ISIS and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front are still able to occasionally cooperate with each other when they fight against the Syrian government.", "The Saudi/Turkish-backed al-Nusra launched many attacks and bombings, mostly against targets affiliated with or supportive of the Syrian government.", "In October 2015, Russian air strikes targeted positions held by al-Nusra Front.", "In early 2016, a leading ISIL ideologue described al-Qaeda as the \"Jews of jihad\".", "===India===\n\n\nIn September 2014 al-Zawahiri announced al-Qaeda was establishing a front in India to \"wage jihad against its enemies, to liberate its land, to restore its sovereignty, and to revive its Caliphate.\"", "He nominated India as a beachhead for regional jihad taking in neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh.", "The motivation for the video was questioned in some quarters where it was seen the militant group was struggling to remain relevant in light of the emerging prominence of ISIS.", "Reaction amongst Muslims in India to the formation of the new wing, to be known as \"Qaedat al-Jihad fi'shibhi al-qarrat al-Hindiya\" or al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent AQIS, was one of fury.", "Leaders of several Indian Muslim organizations rejected al-Zawahiri's pronouncement, saying they could see no good coming from it, and viewed it as a threat to Muslim youth in the country.", "US intelligence analyst accused the Pakistan military of 'stage-managing' the terror outfit's latest advance into India.", "Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and National Security Council official for South Asia, also said that Pakistan should be warned that it will be placed on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.", "Riedel also said that \"Zawahiri made the tape in his hideout in Pakistan, no doubt, and many Indians suspect the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is helping to protect him,\" he wrote.", "\nThe Pentagon, US – September 11, 2001\n2.", "World Trade Center, US – September 11, 2001\n3.", "Istanbul, Turkey – November 15, 2003; November 20, 2003\n4.", "Aden, Yemen – October 12, 2000\n5.", "Nairobi, Kenya – August 7, 1998\n6.", "Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – August 7, 1998\nal-Qaeda around the world.", "Al-Qaeda has carried out a total of six major terrorist attacks, four of them in its jihad against America.", "In each case the leadership planned the attack years in advance, arranging for the shipment of weapons and explosives and using its privatized businesses to provide operatives with safehouses and false identities.", "Al-Qaeda usually does not disburse funds for attacks, and very rarely makes wire transfers.", "===1992===\nOn December 29, 1992, al-Qaeda's first terrorist attack took place as two bombs were detonated in Aden, Yemen.", "The first target was the Movenpick Hotel and the second was the parking lot of the Goldmohur Hotel.", "The bombings were an attempt to eliminate American soldiers on their way to Somalia to take part in the international famine relief effort, Operation Restore Hope.", "Internally, al-Qaeda considered the bombing a victory that frightened the Americans away, but in the US, the attack was barely noticed.", "No Americans were killed because the soldiers were staying in a different hotel altogether, and they went on to Somalia as scheduled.", "However, two people were killed in the bombing, an Australian tourist and a Yemeni hotel worker.", "Seven others, mostly Yemenis, were severely injured.", "Two fatwas are said to have been appointed by the most theologically knowledgeable of al-Qaeda's members, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, to justify the killings according to Islamic law.", "Salim referred to a famous fatwa appointed by Ibn Taymiyyah, a 13th-century scholar much admired by Wahhabis, which sanctioned resistance by any means during the Mongol invasions.", "===Late 1990s===\nNairobi embassy bombing\n\nIn 1996, bin Laden personally engineered a plot to assassinate Clinton while the president was in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.", "However, intelligence agents intercepted a message just minutes before the motorcade was to leave, and alerted the U.S. Secret Service.", "Agents later discovered a bomb planted under a bridge.", "On August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in East Africa, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans.", "In retaliation, a barrage of cruise missiles launched by the U.S. military devastated an al-Qaeda base in Khost, Afghanistan, but the network's capacity was unharmed.", "In late 1999/2000, Al-Qaeda planned attacks to coincide with the millennium, masterminded by Abu Zubaydah and involving Abu Qatada, which would include the bombing Christian holy sites in Jordan, the bombing of Los Angeles International Airport by Ahmed Ressam, and the bombing of the .", "On October 12, 2000, al-Qaeda militants in Yemen bombed the missile destroyer ''USS Cole'' in a suicide attack, killing 17 U.S. servicemen and damaging the vessel while it lay offshore.", "Inspired by the success of such a brazen attack, al-Qaeda's command core began to prepare for an attack on the U.S. itself.", "===September 11 attacks===\n\n\nAftermath of the September 11 attacks\nThe September 11 attacks were the most devastating terrorist acts in American history, killing 2,977 victims, including 2,507 civilians, 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, and 55 military personnel.", "Two commercial airliners were deliberately flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, a third into the Pentagon, and a fourth, originally intended to target either the United States Capitol or the White House, crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.", "It was also the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.", "The attacks were conducted by al-Qaeda, acting in accord with the 1998 ''fatwa'' issued against the U.S. and its allies by persons under the command of bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and others.", "Evidence points to suicide squads led by al-Qaeda military commander Mohamed Atta as the culprits of the attacks, with bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and Hambali as the key planners and part of the political and military command.", "Messages issued by bin Laden after September 11, 2001, praised the attacks, and explained their motivation while denying any involvement.", "Bin Laden legitimized the attacks by identifying grievances felt by both mainstream and Islamist Muslims, such as the general perception that the U.S. was actively oppressing Muslims.", "Bin Laden asserted that America was massacring Muslims in \"Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq\" and that Muslims should retain the \"right to attack in reprisal.\"", "He also claimed the 9/11 attacks were not targeted at people, but \"America's icons of military and economic power,\" despite the fact he planned to attack in the morning where most of the people in the intended targets were present and thus generating massive amount of human casualties.", "Evidence has since come to light that the original targets for the attack may have been nuclear power stations on the east coast of the U.S.", "The targets were later altered by al-Qaeda, as it was feared that such an attack \"might get out of hand\".", "Al-Qaeda is deemed a designated terrorist group by the following countries and international organizations:\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* designated Al-Qaeda's Turkish branch\n* \n* United Nations Security Council\n*", "\nUS troops in Afghanistan\nIn the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the US government responded militarily, and began to prepare its armed forces to overthrow the Taliban regime it believed was harboring al-Qaeda.", "Before the US attacked, it offered Taliban leader Mullah Omar a chance to surrender bin Laden and his top associates.", "The first forces to be inserted into Afghanistan were Paramilitary Officers from the CIA's elite Special Activities Division (SAD).", "The Taliban offered to turn over bin Laden to a neutral country for trial if the US would provide evidence of bin Laden's complicity in the attacks.", "US President George W. Bush responded by saying: \"We know he's guilty.", "Turn him over\", and British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned the Taliban regime: \"Surrender bin Laden, or surrender power\".", "Soon thereafter the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan, and together with the Afghan Northern Alliance removed the Taliban government in the war in Afghanistan.", "As a result of the US using its special forces and providing air support for the Northern Alliance ground forces, both Taliban and al-Qaeda training camps were destroyed, and much of the operating structure of al-Qaeda is believed to have been disrupted.", "After being driven from their key positions in the Tora Bora area of Afghanistan, many al-Qaeda fighters tried to regroup in the rugged Gardez region of the nation.", "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed after his arrest in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in March 2003.", "Again, under the cover of intense aerial bombardment, US infantry and local Afghan forces attacked, shattering the al-Qaeda position and killing or capturing many of the militants.", "By early 2002, al-Qaeda had been dealt a serious blow to its operational capacity, and the Afghan invasion appeared an initial success.", "Nevertheless, a significant Taliban insurgency remains in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda's top two leaders, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, evaded capture.", "Debate raged about the exact nature of al-Qaeda's role in the 9/11 attacks, and after the US invasion began, the US State Department also released a videotape showing bin Laden speaking with a small group of associates somewhere in Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban was removed from power.", "Although its authenticity has been questioned by a couple of people, the tape definitively implicates bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the September 11 attacks and was aired on many television channels all over the world, with an accompanying English translation provided by the U.S. Defense Department.", "In September 2004, the US government 9/11 Commission investigating the September 11 attacks officially concluded that the attacks were conceived and implemented by al-Qaeda operatives.", "In October 2004, bin Laden appeared to claim responsibility for the attacks in a videotape released through Al Jazeera, saying he was inspired by Israeli attacks on high-rises in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon: \"As I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children.\"", "By the end of 2004, the U.S. government proclaimed that two-thirds of the most senior al-Qaeda figures from 2001 had been captured and interrogated by the CIA: Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in 2002; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003; and Saif al Islam el Masry in 2004.", "Mohammed Atef and several others were killed.", "The West was criticised for not being able to comprehend or deal with Al-Qaida despite more than a decade of the war.", "This also meant no progress has been made in global state security.", "\n===Africa===\n\nFront page of ''The Guardian Weekly'' on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.", "The article claimed that al-Qaeda's activity is \"increasingly dispersed to 'affiliates' or 'franchises' in Yemen and North Africa.\"", "Al-Qaeda involvement in Africa has included a number of bombing attacks in North Africa, as well as supporting parties in civil wars in Eritrea and Somalia.", "From 1991 to 1996, bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders were based in Sudan.", "Islamist rebels in the Sahara calling themselves al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have stepped up their violence in recent years.", "French officials say the rebels have no real links to the al-Qaeda leadership, but this is a matter of some dispute in the international press and amongst security analysts.", "It seems likely that bin Laden approved the group's name in late 2006, and the rebels \"took on the al Qaeda franchise label\", almost a year before the violence began to escalate.", "In Mali, the Ansar Dine faction was also reported as an ally of al-Qaeda in 2013.", "The Ansar al Dine faction aligned themselves with the AQIM.", "Following the Libyan Civil War, the removal of Gaddafi and the ensuing period of post-civil war violence in Libya allowed various Islamist militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda to expand their operations in the region.", "The 2012 Benghazi attack, which resulted in the death of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and 3 other Americans, is suspected of having been carried out by various Jihadist networks, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar al-Sharia and several other Al-Qaeda affiliated groups.", "The capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a senior al-Qaeda operative wanted by the United States for his involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings, on October 5, 2013, by US Navy Seals, FBI and CIA agents illustrates the importance the US and other Western allies have placed on North Africa.", "===Europe===\n\n\nPrior to the September 11 attacks, al-Qaeda was present in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its members were mostly former veterans of the El Mudžahid detachment of the Bosnian Muslim Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.", "Three members of al-Qaeda carried out the Mostar car bombing in 1997.", "They were closely linked to and financed by the Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina founded by then-prince King Salman of Saudi Arabia.", "Before the 9/11 attacks and the US invasion of Afghanistan, recruits at al-Qaeda training camps who had Western backgrounds were especially sought after by al-Qaeda's military wing for conducting operations overseas.", "Language skills and knowledge of Western culture were generally found among recruits from Europe, such was the case with Mohamed Atta, an Egyptian national studying in Germany at the time of his training, and other members of the Hamburg Cell.", "Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Atef would later designate Atta as the ringleader of the 9/11 hijackers.", "Following the attacks, Western intelligence agencies determined that al-Qaeda cells operating in Europe had aided the hijackers with financing and communications with the central leadership based in Afghanistan.", "In 2003, Islamists carried out a series of bombings in Istanbul killing fifty-seven people and injuring seven hundred.", "Seventy-four people were charged by the Turkish authorities.", "Some had previously met bin Laden, and though they specifically declined to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda they asked for its blessing and help.", "In 2009, three Londoners, Tanvir Hussain, Assad Sarwar and Ahmed Abdullah Ali, were convicted of conspiring to detonate bombs disguised as soft drinks on seven airplanes bound for Canada and the U.S.", "The massively complex police and MI5 investigation of the plot involved more than a year of surveillance work conducted by over two hundred officers.", "British and U.S. officials said the plot – unlike many similar homegrown European Islamic militant plots – was directly linked to al-Qaeda and guided by senior al-Qaeda members in Pakistan.", "In 2012, Russian Intelligence indicated that al-Qaeda had given a call for \"forest jihad\" and has been starting massive forest fires as part of a strategy of \"thousand cuts\".", "===Arab world===\n\n\nUSS ''Cole'' after the October 2000 attack\nFollowing Yemeni unification in 1990, Wahhabi networks began moving missionaries into the country in an effort to subvert the capitalist north.", "Although it is unlikely that bin Laden or Saudi al-Qaeda were directly involved, the personal connections they made would be established over the next decade and used in the USS ''Cole'' bombing.", "Concerns grow over Al Qaeda's group in Yemen.", "In Iraq, al-Qaeda forces loosely associated with the leadership were embedded in the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad group commanded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.", "Specializing in suicide operations, they have been a \"key driver\" of the Sunni insurgency.", "Although they played a small part in the overall insurgency, between 30% and 42% of all suicide bombings which took place in the early years were claimed by Zarqawi's group.", "Reports have indicated that oversights such as the failure to control access to the Qa'qaa munitions factory in Yusufiyah have allowed large quantities of munitions to fall into the hands of al-Qaida.", "In November 2010, the militant group Islamic State of Iraq , which is linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, threatened to \"exterminate all Iraqi Christians\".", "Significantly, it was not until the late 1990s that al-Qaeda began training Palestinians.", "This is not to suggest that resistance fighters are underrepresented in the network as a number of Palestinians, mostly coming from Jordan, wanted to join and have risen to serve high-profile roles in Afghanistan.", "Rather, large groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – which cooperate with al-Qaeda in many respects – have had difficulties accepting a strategic alliance, fearing that al-Qaeda will co-opt their smaller cells.", "This may have changed recently, because the Israeli security and intelligence services believe that al-Qaeda has managed to infiltrate operatives from the Occupied Territories into Israel, and is waiting for the right time to mount an attack.", ", Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are openly supporting the Army of Conquest, an umbrella rebel group fighting in the Syrian Civil War against the Syrian government that reportedly includes an al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and another Salafi coalition known as Ahrar al-Sham.", "===Kashmir===\n\n\nBin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri consider India to be a part of the 'Crusader-Zionist-Hindu' conspiracy against the Islamic world.", "According to the 2005 report 'Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment' by Congressional Research Service, bin Laden was involved in training militants for Jihad in Kashmir while living in Sudan in the early nineties.", "By 2001, Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen had become a part of the al-Qaeda coalition.", "According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees al-Qaeda was thought to have established bases in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (in Azad Kashmir, and to some extent in Gilgit–Baltistan) during the 1999 Kargil War and continued to operate there with tacit approval of Pakistan's Intelligence services.", "Many of the militants active in Kashmir were trained in the same Madrasahs as Taliban and al-Qaeda.", "Fazlur Rehman Khalil of Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was a signatory of al-Qaeda's 1998 declaration of Jihad against America and its allies.", "In a 'Letter to American People' written by bin Laden in 2002 he stated that one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of its support to India on the Kashmir issue.", "In November 2001, Kathmandu airport went on high alert after threats that bin Laden planned to hijack a plane from there and crash it into a target in New Delhi.", "In 2002, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on a trip to Delhi, suggested that al-Qaeda was active in Kashmir though he did not have any hard evidence.", "He proposed hi tech ground sensors along the line of control to prevent militants from infiltrating into Indian administered Kashmir.", "An investigation in 2002 unearthed evidence that al-Qaeda and its affiliates were prospering in Pakistan-administered Kashmir with tacit approval of Pakistan's National Intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence In 2002, a special team of Special Air Service and Delta Force was sent into Indian Administered Kashmir to hunt for bin Laden after reports that he was being sheltered by Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen which had previously been responsible for 1995 Kidnapping of western tourists in Kashmir.", "Britain's highest ranking al-Qaeda operative Rangzieb Ahmed had previously fought in Kashmir with the group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and spent time in Indian prison after being captured in Kashmir.", "US officials believe that al-Qaeda was helping organize a campaign of terror in Kashmir in order to provoke conflict between India and Pakistan.", "Their strategy was to force Pakistan to move its troops to the border with India, thereby relieving pressure on al-Qaeda elements hiding in northwestern Pakistan.", "In 2006 al-Qaeda claimed they had established a wing in Kashmir; this has worried the Indian government.", "However the Indian Army Lt. Gen. H.S.", "Panag, GOC-in-C Northern Command, said to reporters that the army has ruled out the presence of al-Qaeda in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir; furthermore he said that there is nothing that can verify reports from the media of al-Qaeda presence in the state.", "He however stated that al-Qaeda had strong ties with Kashmiri militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed based in Pakistan.", "It has been noted that Waziristan has now become the new battlefield for Kashmiri militants fighting NATO in support of al-Qaeda and Taliban.", "Dhiren Barot, who wrote the ''Army of Madinah in Kashmir'' and was an al-Qaeda operative convicted for involvement in the 2004 financial buildings plot, had received training in weapons and explosives at a militant training camp in Kashmir.", "Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of another Kashmiri group Jaish-e-Mohammed, is believed to have met bin Laden several times and received funding from him.", "In 2002, Jaish-e-Mohammed organized the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl in an operation run in conjunction with al-Qaeda and funded by bin Laden.", "According to American counter-terrorism expert Bruce Riedel, al-Qaeda and Taliban were closely involved in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 to Kandahar which led to the release of Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh from an Indian prison in exchange for the passengers.", "This hijacking, Riedel stated, was rightly described by then Indian Foreign minister Jaswant Singh as a 'dress rehearsal' for September 11 attacks.", "Bin Laden personally welcomed Azhar and threw a lavish party in his honor after his release, according to Abu Jandal, bodyguard of bin Laden.", "Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had been in Indian prison for his role in 1994 kidnappings of Western tourists in India, went on to murder Daniel Pearl and was sentenced to death by Pakistan.", "Al-Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf, who was one of the accused in 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, was related to Maulana Masood Azhar by marriage.", "Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri militant group which is thought to be behind 2008 Mumbai attacks, is also known to have strong ties to senior al-Qaeda leaders living in Pakistan.", "In Late 2002, top al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah was arrested while being sheltered by Lashkar-e-Taiba in a safe house in Faisalabad.", "The FBI believes that al-Qaeda and Lashkar have been 'intertwined' for a long time while the CIA has said that al-Qaeda funds Lashkar-e-Taiba.", "French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, who was the top French counter-terrorism official, told Reuters in 2009 that 'Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir political or military agenda.", "Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al-Qaeda.'", "In a video released in 2008, senior al-Qaeda operative American-born Adam Yahiye Gadahn stated that \"victory in Kashmir has been delayed for years; it is the liberation of the jihad there from this interference which, Allah willing, will be the first step towards victory over the Hindu occupiers of that Islam land.\"", "In September 2009, a US drone strike reportedly killed Ilyas Kashmiri who was the chief of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, a Kashmiri militant group associated with al-Qaeda.", "Kashmiri was described by Bruce Riedel as a 'prominent' al-Qaeda member while others have described him as head of military operations for al-Qaeda.", "Kashmiri was also charged by the US in a plot against Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper which was at the center of Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.", "US officials also believe that Kashmiri was involved in the Camp Chapman attack against the CIA.", "In January 2010, Indian authorities notified Britain of an al-Qaeda plot to hijack an Indian airlines or Air India plane and crash it into a British city.", "This information was uncovered from interrogation of Amjad Khwaja, an operative of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, who had been arrested in India.", "In January 2010, US Defense secretary Robert Gates, while on a visit to Pakistan, stated that al-Qaeda was seeking to destabilize the region and planning to provoke a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.", "===Internet===\nTimothy L. Thomas claims that in the wake of its evacuation from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and its successors have migrated online to escape detection in an atmosphere of increased international vigilance.", "As a result, the group's use of the Internet has grown more sophisticated, encompassing financing, recruitment, networking, mobilization, publicity, as well as information dissemination, gathering and sharing.", "Abu Ayyub al-Masri's al-Qaeda movement in Iraq regularly releases short videos glorifying the activity of jihadist suicide bombers.", "In addition, both before and after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq), the umbrella organization to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs, the Mujahideen Shura Council, has a regular presence on the Web.", "The range of multimedia content includes guerrilla training clips, stills of victims about to be murdered, testimonials of suicide bombers, and videos that show participation in jihad through stylized portraits of mosques and musical scores.", "A website associated with al-Qaeda posted a video of captured American entrepreneur Nick Berg being decapitated in Iraq.", "Other decapitation videos and pictures, including those of Paul Johnson, Kim Sun-il, and Daniel Pearl, were first posted on jihadist websites.", "In December 2004 an audio message claiming to be from bin Laden was posted directly to a website, rather than sending a copy to al Jazeera as he had done in the past.", "Al-Qaeda turned to the Internet for release of its videos in order to be certain it would be available unedited, rather than risk the possibility of al Jazeera editors editing the videos and cutting out anything critical of the Saudi royal family.", "Bin Laden's December 2004 message was much more vehement than usual in this speech, lasting over an hour.", "In the past, Alneda.com and Jehad.net were perhaps the most significant al-Qaeda websites.", "Alneda was initially taken down by American Jon Messner, but the operators resisted by shifting the site to various servers and strategically shifting content.", "The US charged a British information technology specialist, Babar Ahmad, on terrorism charges related to his operating a network of English-language al-Qaeda websites, such as Azzam.com.", "He was convicted and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison.", "====Online communications====\nIn 2007, al-Qaeda released Mujahedeen Secrets, encryption software used for online and cellular communications.", "A later version, Mujahideen Secrets 2, was released in 2008.", "===Aviation network===\nAl-Qaeda is believed to be operating a clandestine aviation network including \"several Boeing 727 aircraft\", turboprops and executive jets, according to a 2010 Reuters story.", "Based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, the story said that al-Qaeda is possibly using aircraft to transport drugs and weapons from South America to various unstable countries in West Africa.", "A Boeing 727 can carry up to 10 tons of cargo.", "The drugs eventually are smuggled to Europe for distribution and sale, and the weapons are used in conflicts in Africa and possibly elsewhere.", "Gunmen with links to al-Qaeda have been increasingly kidnapping some Europeans for ransom.", "The profits from the drug and weapon sales, and kidnappings can, in turn, fund more militant activities.", "===Involvement in military conflicts===\n\nThe following is a list of military conflicts in which Al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken part militarily.", "Start of conflict\n End of conflict\n Conflict\n Continent\n Location\n Branches involved\n\n1991\npresent\nSomali Civil War\nAfrica\nSomalia\nAl-Shabaab\n\n1992\n1996\nCivil war in Afghanistan (1992–96)\nAsia\nIslamic State of Afghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n1992\npresent\nAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen\nAsia\nYemen\nAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula\n\n1996\n2001\nCivil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001)\nAsia\nIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2001\npresent\nWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)\nAsia\nAfghanistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2002\npresent\nInsurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)\nAfrica\nAlgeriaChadMaliMauritaniaMoroccoNigerTunisia\nAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb\n\n2003\n2011\nIraq War\nAsia\nIraq\nAl-Qaeda in Iraq\nIslamic State of Iraq\n\n2004\npresent\nWar in North-West Pakistan\nAsia\nPakistan\nAl-Qaeda Central\n\n2009\npresent\nInsurgency in the North Caucasus\nAsia\nRussia\nCaucasus Emirate\n\n2011\npresent\nSyrian Civil War\nAsia\nSyria\nal-Nusra Front", " Experts debate whether or not the al-Qaeda attacks were an indirect result from the American CIA's \"Operation Cyclone\" program to help the Afghan mujahideen.", "Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, has written that al-Qaeda and bin Laden were \"a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies\", and that \"Al-Qaida, literally 'the database', was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.\"", "Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations from 2002 to 2008, wrote in a letter published in the ''New York Times'' on January 19, 2008:\nThe strategy to support the Afghans against Soviet military intervention was evolved by several intelligence agencies, including the C.I.A.", "and Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.", "After the Soviet withdrawal, the Western powers walked away from the region, leaving behind 40,000 militants imported from several countries to wage the anti-Soviet jihad.", "Pakistan was left to face the blowback of extremism, drugs and guns.", "A variety of sources – CNN journalist Peter Bergen, Pakistani ISI Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, and CIA operatives involved in the Afghan program, such as Vincent Cannistraro – deny that the CIA or other American officials had contact with the foreign mujahideen or bin Laden, let alone armed, trained, coached or indoctrinated them.", "Bergen and others argue that there was no need to recruit foreigners unfamiliar with the local language, customs or lay of the land since there were a quarter of a million local Afghans willing to fight; that foreign mujahideen themselves had no need for American funds since they received several hundred million dollars a year from non-American, Muslim sources; that Americans could not have trained mujahideen because Pakistani officials would not allow more than a handful of them to operate in Pakistan and none in Afghanistan; and that the Afghan Arabs were almost invariably militant Islamists reflexively hostile to Westerners whether or not the Westerners were helping the Muslim Afghans.", "According to Bergen, known for conducting the first television interview with bin Laden in 1997, the idea that \"the CIA funded bin Laden or trained bin Laden... is a folk myth.", "There's no evidence of this... Bin Laden had his own money, he was anti-American and he was operating secretly and independently...", "The real story here is the CIA didn't really have a clue about who this guy was until 1996 when they set up a unit to really start tracking him.\"", "English journalist Jason Burke wrote:", "Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, was inspired by al-Qaeda, calling it \"the most successful revolutionary movement in the world.\"", "While admitting different aims, he sought to \"create a European version of al-Qaida.\"", "\nExtremism within Islam goes back to the Kharijites of the 7th century.", "From their essentially political position, they developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunni and Shiʿa Muslims.", "The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to Takfir, whereby they declared other Muslims to be unbelievers and therefore deemed them worthy of death.", "According to a number of sources, a \"wave of revulsion\" has been expressed against al-Qaeda and its affiliates by \"religious scholars, former fighters and militants\" who are alarmed by al-Qaeda's takfir and its killing of Muslims in Muslim countries, especially in Iraq.", "Noman Benotman, a former Afghan Arab and a militant member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, went public with an open letter of criticism to Ayman al-Zawahiri in November 2007 after persuading the imprisoned senior leaders of his former group to enter into peace negotiations with the Libyan regime.", "While Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the affiliation of the group with al-Qaeda in November 2007, the Libyan government released 90 members of the group from prison several months later after \"they were said to have renounced violence.\"", "In 2007, around the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and a couple of months before ''Rationalizing Jihad'' first appeared in the newspapers, the Saudi sheikh Salman al-Ouda delivered a personal rebuke to bin Laden.", "Al-Ouda, a religious scholar and one of the fathers of the Sahwa, the fundamentalist awakening movement that swept through Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, is a widely respected critic of jihadism.", "Al-Ouda addressed al-Qaeda's leader on television asking him\nMy brother Osama, how much blood has been spilt?", "How many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed... in the name of al-Qaeda?", "Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions of victims on your back?", "According to Pew polls, support for al-Qaeda has been slightly dropped for parts of the Muslim world in the years before 2008.", "The numbers supporting suicide bombings in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, for instance, have dropped by half or more in the last five years.", "In Saudi Arabia, only 10 percent now have a favorable view of al-Qaeda, according to a December poll by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based think tank.", "In 2007, the imprisoned Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, an influential Afghan Arab, \"ideological godfather of al-Qaeda\", and former supporter of takfir, sensationally withdrew his support from al-Qaeda with a book ''Wathiqat Tarshid Al-'Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w'Al-'Alam'' (''Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World'').", "Although once associated with al-Qaeda, in September 2009 LIFG completed a new \"code\" for jihad, a 417-page religious document entitled \"Corrective Studies\".", "Given its credibility and the fact that several other prominent Jihadists in the Middle East have turned against al-Qaeda, the LIFG's about face may be an important step toward staunching al-Qaeda's recruitment.", "\n\n* Al Qaeda Network Exord\n* Bin Laden Issue Station (former CIA unit for tracking bin Laden)\n* Mujahideen\n* Fatawā of Osama bin Laden\n* List of designated terrorist groups\n* Operation Cannonball\n* Psychological warfare\n* Religious terrorism\n* Steven Emerson\n* Takfir wal-Hijra\n* Videos of Osama bin Laden\n* List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War \n* List of wars and battles involving al-Qaeda\n* Violent extremism\n* Islamic Military Alliance\n\n\n'''Publications:'''\n* ''Al Qaeda Handbook''\n* ''Management of Savagery''", "\n;Bibliography\n\n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Schmid, Alex P. ''Al Qaeda’s \"Single Narrative\" and Attempts to Develop Counter-Narratives'' (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2014)\n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n;Reviews\n\n* \n* \n* \n\n\n;Government reports\n\n* \n* \n*", "\n* \n* Al-Qaeda in Oxford Islamic Studies Online\n* Al-Qaeda, Counter Extremism Project profile\n* 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center\n* \n;Media\n* Peter Taylor.", "(2007). \"", "War on the West\".", "''Age of Terror'', No.", "4, series 1.", "BBC.", "* Investigating Al-Qaeda, BBC News\n* \n* \"Al Qaeda's New Front\" from ''PBS Frontline'', January 2005\n* \"Inside al Qaeda\" – video report by National Geographic\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Sir Alexander Fleming''' (6 August 188111 March 1955) was a Scottish physician, biologist, pharmacologist and botanist. His best-known discoveries are the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the world's first antibiotic substance benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G) from the mould ''Penicillium notatum'' in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy.\n\nFleming was knighted for his scientific achievements in 1944. In 1999, he was named in ''Time'' magazine's list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. In 2002, he was chosen in the BBC's television poll for determining the 100 Greatest Britons, and in 2009, he was also voted third \"greatest Scot\" in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Robert Burns and William Wallace.\n", "Born on 6 August 1881 at Lochfield farm near Darvel, in Ayrshire, Scotland, Alexander was the third of the four children of farmer Hugh Fleming (1816–1888) from his second marriage to Grace Stirling Morton (1848–1928), the daughter of a neighbouring farmer. Hugh Fleming had four surviving children from his first marriage. He was 59 at the time of his second marriage, and died when Alexander was seven.\n\nFleming went to Loudoun Moor School and Darvel School, and earned a two-year scholarship to Kilmarnock Academy before moving to London, where he attended the Royal Polytechnic Institution. After working in a shipping office for four years, the twenty-year-old Fleming inherited some money from an uncle, John Fleming. His elder brother, Tom, was already a physician and suggested to him that he should follow the same career, and so in 1903, the younger Alexander enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in Paddington; he qualified with an MBBS degree from the school with distinction in 1906.\n\nFleming had been a private in the London Scottish Regiment of the Volunteer Force since 1900, and had been a member of the rifle club at the medical school. The captain of the club, wishing to retain Fleming in the team, suggested that he join the research department at St Mary's, where he became assistant bacteriologist to Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in vaccine therapy and immunology. In 1908, he gained a BSc degree with Gold Medal in Bacteriology, and became a lecturer at St Mary's until 1914.\nFleming served throughout World War I as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was Mentioned in Dispatches. He and many of his colleagues worked in battlefield hospitals at the Western Front in France. In 1918 he returned to St Mary's Hospital, where he was elected Professor of Bacteriology of the University of London in 1928. In 1951 he was elected the Rector of the University of Edinburgh for a term of three years.\n", "\n===Work before penicillin===\nDuring World War I, Fleming witnessed the death of many soldiers from sepsis resulting from infected wounds. Antiseptics, which were used at the time to treat infected wounds, often worsened the injuries. In an article he submitted for the medical journal ''The Lancet'' during World War I, Fleming described an ingenious experiment, which he was able to conduct as a result of his own glass blowing skills, in which he explained why antiseptics were killing more soldiers than infection itself during World War I. Antiseptics worked well on the surface, but deep wounds tended to shelter anaerobic bacteria from the antiseptic agent, and antiseptics seemed to remove beneficial agents produced that protected the patients in these cases at least as well as they removed bacteria, and did nothing to remove the bacteria that were out of reach. Sir Almroth Wright strongly supported Fleming's findings, but despite this, most army physicians over the course of the war continued to use antiseptics even in cases where this worsened the condition of the patients.\n\nAt St Mary’s Hospital Fleming continued his investigations into antibacterial substances. Testing the nasal secretions from a patient with a heavy cold, he found that nasal mucus had an inhibitory effect on bacterial growth. This was the first recorded discovery of lysozyme, an enzyme present in many secretions including tears, saliva, skin, hair and nails as well as mucus. Although he was able to obtain larger amounts of lysozyme from egg whites, the enzyme was only effective against small counts of harmless bacteria, and therefore had little therapeutic potential.\n", "Miracle cure.\n\n\n\nBy 1927, Fleming had been investigating the properties of staphylococci. He was already well-known from his earlier work, and had developed a reputation as a brilliant researcher, but his laboratory was often untidy. On 3 September 1928, Fleming returned to his laboratory having spent August on holiday with his family. Before leaving, he had stacked all his cultures of staphylococci on a bench in a corner of his laboratory. On returning, Fleming noticed that one culture was contaminated with a fungus, and that the colonies of staphylococci immediately surrounding the fungus had been destroyed, whereas other staphylococci colonies farther away were normal, famously remarking ''\"That's funny\"''. Fleming showed the contaminated culture to his former assistant Merlin Price, who reminded him, \"That's how you discovered lysozyme.\" Fleming grew the mould in a pure culture and found that it produced a substance that killed a number of disease-causing bacteria. He identified the mould as being from the ''Penicillium'' genus, and, after some months of calling it ''\"mould juice\"'', named the substance it released ''penicillin'' on 7 March 1929. The laboratory in which Fleming discovered and tested penicillin is preserved as the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington.\n\nHe investigated its positive anti-bacterial effect on many organisms, and noticed that it affected bacteria such as staphylococci and many other Gram-positive pathogens that cause scarlet fever, pneumonia, meningitis and diphtheria, but not typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever, which are caused by Gram-negative bacteria, for which he was seeking a cure at the time. It also affected ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae,'' which causes gonorrhoea although this bacterium is Gram-negative.\n\nFleming published his discovery in 1929, in the British ''Journal of Experimental Pathology,'' but little attention was paid to his article. Fleming continued his investigations, but found that cultivating ''penicillium'' was quite difficult, and that after having grown the mould, it was even more difficult to isolate the antibiotic agent. Fleming's impression was that because of the problem of producing it in quantity, and because its action appeared to be rather slow, penicillin would not be important in treating infection. Fleming also became convinced that penicillin would not last long enough in the human body (''in vivo'') to kill bacteria effectively. Many clinical tests were inconclusive, probably because it had been used as a surface antiseptic. In the 1930s, Fleming’s trials occasionally showed more promise, and he continued, until 1940, to try to interest a chemist skilled enough to further refine usable penicillin. Fleming finally abandoned penicillin, and not long after he did, Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford took up researching and mass-producing it, with funds from the U.S. and British governments. They started mass production after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By D-Day in 1944, enough penicillin had been produced to treat all the wounded in the Allied forces.\n\n===Purification and stabilisation===\n\n3D-model of benzylpenicillin.\nIn Oxford, Ernst Boris Chain and Edward Abraham were studying the molecular structure of the antibiotic. Abraham was the first to propose the correct structure of penicillin. Shortly after the team published its first results in 1940, Fleming telephoned Howard Florey, Chain's head of department, to say that he would be visiting within the next few days. When Chain heard that Fleming was coming, he remarked ''\"Good God! I thought he was dead.\"''\n\nNorman Heatley suggested transferring the active ingredient of penicillin back into water by changing its acidity. This produced enough of the drug to begin testing on animals. There were many more people involved in the Oxford team, and at one point the entire Dunn School was involved in its production.\n\nAfter the team had developed a method of purifying penicillin to an effective first stable form in 1940, several clinical trials ensued, and their amazing success inspired the team to develop methods for mass production and mass distribution in 1945.\n\nFleming was modest about his part in the development of penicillin, describing his fame as the ''\"Fleming Myth\"'' and he praised Florey and Chain for transforming the laboratory curiosity into a practical drug. Fleming was the first to discover the properties of the active substance, giving him the privilege of naming it: penicillin. He also kept, grew, and distributed the original mould for twelve years, and continued until 1940 to try to get help from any chemist who had enough skill to make penicillin. But Sir Henry Harris said in 1998: \"Without Fleming, no Chain; without Chain, no Florey; without Florey, no Heatley; without Heatley, no penicillin.\"\n\n===Antibiotics===\nModern antibiotics are tested using a method similar to Fleming's discovery.\nFleming's accidental discovery and isolation of penicillin in September 1928 marks the start of modern antibiotics. Before that, several scientists had published or pointed out that mould or ''penicillium sp.'' were able to inhibit bacterial growth, and even to cure bacterial infections in animals. Ernest Duchesne in 1897 in his thesis \"Contribution to the study of vital competition in micro-organisms: antagonism between moulds and microbes\", or also Clodomiro Picado Twight whose work at Institut Pasteur in 1923 on the inhibiting action of fungi of the \"Penicillin sp\" genre in the growth of staphylococci drew little interest from the direction of the Institut at the time. Fleming was the first to push these studies further by isolating the penicillin, and by being motivated enough to promote his discovery at a larger scale. Fleming also discovered very early that bacteria developed antibiotic resistance whenever too little penicillin was used or when it was used for too short a period. Almroth Wright had predicted antibiotic resistance even before it was noticed during experiments. Fleming cautioned about the use of penicillin in his many speeches around the world. On 26 June 1945, he made the following cautionary statements \"... the microbes are educated to resist penicillin and a host of penicillin-fast organisms is bred out... In such cases the thoughtless person playing with penicillin is morally responsible for the death of the man who finally succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism. I hope this evil can be averted.\" He cautioned not to use penicillin unless there was a properly diagnosed reason for it to be used, and that if it were used, never to use too little, or for too short a period, since these are the circumstances under which bacterial resistance to antibiotics develops.\n", "The popular story of Winston Churchill's father paying for Fleming's education after Fleming's father saved young Winston from death is false. According to the biography, ''Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution'' by Kevin Brown, Alexander Fleming, in a letter to his friend and colleague Andre Gratia, described this as \"A wondrous fable.\" Nor did he save Winston Churchill himself during World War II. Churchill was saved by Lord Moran, using sulphonamides, since he had no experience with penicillin, when Churchill fell ill in Carthage in Tunisia in 1943. ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Morning Post'' on 21 December 1943 wrote that he had been saved by penicillin. He was saved by the new sulphonamide drug Sulphapyridine, known at the time under the research code M&B 693, discovered and produced by May & Baker Ltd, Dagenham, Essex – a subsidiary of the French group Rhône-Poulenc. In a subsequent radio broadcast, Churchill referred to the new drug as \"This admirable M&B\". It is highly probable that the correct information about the sulphonamide did not reach the newspapers because, since the original sulphonamide antibacterial, Prontosil, had been a discovery by the German laboratory Bayer, and as Britain was at war with Germany at the time, it was thought better to raise British morale by associating Churchill's cure with a British discovery, penicillin.\n", "Display of Fleming's awards, including his Nobel Prize. Also shows a sample of penicillin and an example of an early apparatus for preparing it.\nFleming (centre) receiving the Nobel prize from King Gustaf V of Sweden (right) in 1945\nFaroe Islands postage stamp commemorating Fleming\nCatalan sculptor Josep Manuel Benedicto. Barcelona: jardins del Doctor Fleming.\nHis discovery of penicillin had changed the world of modern medicine by introducing the age of useful antibiotics; penicillin has saved, and is still saving, millions of people around the world.\n\nThe laboratory at St Mary's Hospital where Fleming discovered penicillin is home to the Fleming Museum, a popular London attraction. His alma mater, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, merged with Imperial College London in 1988. The ''Sir Alexander Fleming Building'' on the South Kensington campus was opened in 1998, where his son Robert and his great granddaughter Claire were presented to the Queen and is now one of the main preclinical teaching sites of the Imperial College School of Medicine.\n\nHis other alma mater, the Royal Polytechnic Institution (now the University of Westminster) has named one of its student halls of residence ''Alexander Fleming House'', which is near to Old Street.\n* Fleming, Florey and Chain jointly received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945. According to the rules of the Nobel committee a maximum of three people may share the prize. Fleming's Nobel Prize medal was acquired by the National Museums of Scotland in 1989 and is on display after the museum re-opened in 2011.\n* Fleming was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.\n* Fleming was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1943.\n* Fleming was awarded the Hunterian Professorship by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.\n* Fleming was knighted, as a Knight Bachelor, by king George VI in 1944.\n* He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise in 1948.\n* In 1999, ''Time'' magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century, stating:\n\n* When 2000 was approaching, at least three large Swedish magazines ranked penicillin as the most important discovery of the millennium.\n* In 2002, Fleming was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons following a nationwide vote.\n* A statue of Alexander Fleming stands outside the main bullring in Madrid, Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. It was erected by subscription from grateful matadors, as penicillin greatly reduced the number of deaths in the bullring.\n* Flemingovo náměstí is a square named after Fleming in the university area of the Dejvice community in Prague.\n* A secondary school is named after him in Sofia, Bulgaria.\n* In mid-2009, Fleming was commemorated on a new series of banknotes issued by the Clydesdale Bank; his image appears on the new issue of £5 notes.\n* In 2009, Fleming was voted third greatest Scot in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Scotland's national poet Robert Burns and national hero William Wallace.\n* 91006 Fleming, an asteroid in the Asteroid Belt, is named after Fleming.\n", "On 24 December 1915, Fleming married a trained nurse, Sarah Marion McElroy of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. Their only child, Robert Fleming, (1924-2015) became a general medical practitioner. After his first wife's death in 1949, Fleming married Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas, a Greek colleague at St. Mary's, on 9 April 1953; she died in 1986.\n\nFrom 1921 until his death in 1955, Fleming owned a country home in Barton Mills, Suffolk.\n", "On 11 March 1955, Fleming died at his home in London of a heart attack. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.\n", "\n", "* ''The Life Of Sir Alexander Fleming'', Jonathan Cape, 1959. Maurois, André.\n* ''Nobel Lectures, the Physiology or Medicine 1942–1962'', Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1964\n* ''An Outline History of Medicine''. London: Butterworths, 1985. Rhodes, Philip.\n* ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Porter, Roy, ed.\n* ''Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution'', Stroud, Sutton, 2004. Brown, Kevin.\n* ''Alexander Fleming: The Man and the Myth'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1984. Macfarlane, Gwyn\n* ''Fleming, Discoverer of Penicillin'', Ludovici, Laurence J., 1952\n* ''The Penicillin Man: the Story of Sir Alexander Fleming'', Lutterworth Press, 1957, Rowland, John.\n", "\n\n* Alexander Fleming Biography\n* ''Time'', 29 March 1999, Bacteriologist Alexander Fleming\n* Some places and memories related to Alexander Fleming\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Early life and education", "Research", "Accidental discovery", "Myths", "Awards and honours", "Personal life", "Death", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "* In mid-2009, Fleming was commemorated on a new series of banknotes issued by the Clydesdale Bank; his image appears on the new issue of £5 notes." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n'''Sir Alexander Fleming''' (6 August 188111 March 1955) was a Scottish physician, biologist, pharmacologist and botanist.", "His best-known discoveries are the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the world's first antibiotic substance benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G) from the mould ''Penicillium notatum'' in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain.", "He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy.", "Fleming was knighted for his scientific achievements in 1944.", "In 1999, he was named in ''Time'' magazine's list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century.", "In 2002, he was chosen in the BBC's television poll for determining the 100 Greatest Britons, and in 2009, he was also voted third \"greatest Scot\" in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Robert Burns and William Wallace.", "Born on 6 August 1881 at Lochfield farm near Darvel, in Ayrshire, Scotland, Alexander was the third of the four children of farmer Hugh Fleming (1816–1888) from his second marriage to Grace Stirling Morton (1848–1928), the daughter of a neighbouring farmer.", "Hugh Fleming had four surviving children from his first marriage.", "He was 59 at the time of his second marriage, and died when Alexander was seven.", "Fleming went to Loudoun Moor School and Darvel School, and earned a two-year scholarship to Kilmarnock Academy before moving to London, where he attended the Royal Polytechnic Institution.", "After working in a shipping office for four years, the twenty-year-old Fleming inherited some money from an uncle, John Fleming.", "His elder brother, Tom, was already a physician and suggested to him that he should follow the same career, and so in 1903, the younger Alexander enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in Paddington; he qualified with an MBBS degree from the school with distinction in 1906.", "Fleming had been a private in the London Scottish Regiment of the Volunteer Force since 1900, and had been a member of the rifle club at the medical school.", "The captain of the club, wishing to retain Fleming in the team, suggested that he join the research department at St Mary's, where he became assistant bacteriologist to Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in vaccine therapy and immunology.", "In 1908, he gained a BSc degree with Gold Medal in Bacteriology, and became a lecturer at St Mary's until 1914.", "Fleming served throughout World War I as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was Mentioned in Dispatches.", "He and many of his colleagues worked in battlefield hospitals at the Western Front in France.", "In 1918 he returned to St Mary's Hospital, where he was elected Professor of Bacteriology of the University of London in 1928.", "In 1951 he was elected the Rector of the University of Edinburgh for a term of three years.", "\n===Work before penicillin===\nDuring World War I, Fleming witnessed the death of many soldiers from sepsis resulting from infected wounds.", "Antiseptics, which were used at the time to treat infected wounds, often worsened the injuries.", "In an article he submitted for the medical journal ''The Lancet'' during World War I, Fleming described an ingenious experiment, which he was able to conduct as a result of his own glass blowing skills, in which he explained why antiseptics were killing more soldiers than infection itself during World War I. Antiseptics worked well on the surface, but deep wounds tended to shelter anaerobic bacteria from the antiseptic agent, and antiseptics seemed to remove beneficial agents produced that protected the patients in these cases at least as well as they removed bacteria, and did nothing to remove the bacteria that were out of reach.", "Sir Almroth Wright strongly supported Fleming's findings, but despite this, most army physicians over the course of the war continued to use antiseptics even in cases where this worsened the condition of the patients.", "At St Mary’s Hospital Fleming continued his investigations into antibacterial substances.", "Testing the nasal secretions from a patient with a heavy cold, he found that nasal mucus had an inhibitory effect on bacterial growth.", "This was the first recorded discovery of lysozyme, an enzyme present in many secretions including tears, saliva, skin, hair and nails as well as mucus.", "Although he was able to obtain larger amounts of lysozyme from egg whites, the enzyme was only effective against small counts of harmless bacteria, and therefore had little therapeutic potential.", "Miracle cure.", "By 1927, Fleming had been investigating the properties of staphylococci.", "He was already well-known from his earlier work, and had developed a reputation as a brilliant researcher, but his laboratory was often untidy.", "On 3 September 1928, Fleming returned to his laboratory having spent August on holiday with his family.", "Before leaving, he had stacked all his cultures of staphylococci on a bench in a corner of his laboratory.", "On returning, Fleming noticed that one culture was contaminated with a fungus, and that the colonies of staphylococci immediately surrounding the fungus had been destroyed, whereas other staphylococci colonies farther away were normal, famously remarking ''\"That's funny\"''.", "Fleming showed the contaminated culture to his former assistant Merlin Price, who reminded him, \"That's how you discovered lysozyme.\"", "Fleming grew the mould in a pure culture and found that it produced a substance that killed a number of disease-causing bacteria.", "He identified the mould as being from the ''Penicillium'' genus, and, after some months of calling it ''\"mould juice\"'', named the substance it released ''penicillin'' on 7 March 1929.", "The laboratory in which Fleming discovered and tested penicillin is preserved as the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington.", "He investigated its positive anti-bacterial effect on many organisms, and noticed that it affected bacteria such as staphylococci and many other Gram-positive pathogens that cause scarlet fever, pneumonia, meningitis and diphtheria, but not typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever, which are caused by Gram-negative bacteria, for which he was seeking a cure at the time.", "It also affected ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae,'' which causes gonorrhoea although this bacterium is Gram-negative.", "Fleming published his discovery in 1929, in the British ''Journal of Experimental Pathology,'' but little attention was paid to his article.", "Fleming continued his investigations, but found that cultivating ''penicillium'' was quite difficult, and that after having grown the mould, it was even more difficult to isolate the antibiotic agent.", "Fleming's impression was that because of the problem of producing it in quantity, and because its action appeared to be rather slow, penicillin would not be important in treating infection.", "Fleming also became convinced that penicillin would not last long enough in the human body (''in vivo'') to kill bacteria effectively.", "Many clinical tests were inconclusive, probably because it had been used as a surface antiseptic.", "In the 1930s, Fleming’s trials occasionally showed more promise, and he continued, until 1940, to try to interest a chemist skilled enough to further refine usable penicillin.", "Fleming finally abandoned penicillin, and not long after he did, Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford took up researching and mass-producing it, with funds from the U.S. and British governments.", "They started mass production after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.", "By D-Day in 1944, enough penicillin had been produced to treat all the wounded in the Allied forces.", "===Purification and stabilisation===\n\n3D-model of benzylpenicillin.", "In Oxford, Ernst Boris Chain and Edward Abraham were studying the molecular structure of the antibiotic.", "Abraham was the first to propose the correct structure of penicillin.", "Shortly after the team published its first results in 1940, Fleming telephoned Howard Florey, Chain's head of department, to say that he would be visiting within the next few days.", "When Chain heard that Fleming was coming, he remarked ''\"Good God!", "I thought he was dead.\"''", "Norman Heatley suggested transferring the active ingredient of penicillin back into water by changing its acidity.", "This produced enough of the drug to begin testing on animals.", "There were many more people involved in the Oxford team, and at one point the entire Dunn School was involved in its production.", "After the team had developed a method of purifying penicillin to an effective first stable form in 1940, several clinical trials ensued, and their amazing success inspired the team to develop methods for mass production and mass distribution in 1945.", "Fleming was modest about his part in the development of penicillin, describing his fame as the ''\"Fleming Myth\"'' and he praised Florey and Chain for transforming the laboratory curiosity into a practical drug.", "Fleming was the first to discover the properties of the active substance, giving him the privilege of naming it: penicillin.", "He also kept, grew, and distributed the original mould for twelve years, and continued until 1940 to try to get help from any chemist who had enough skill to make penicillin.", "But Sir Henry Harris said in 1998: \"Without Fleming, no Chain; without Chain, no Florey; without Florey, no Heatley; without Heatley, no penicillin.\"", "===Antibiotics===\nModern antibiotics are tested using a method similar to Fleming's discovery.", "Fleming's accidental discovery and isolation of penicillin in September 1928 marks the start of modern antibiotics.", "Before that, several scientists had published or pointed out that mould or ''penicillium sp.''", "were able to inhibit bacterial growth, and even to cure bacterial infections in animals.", "Ernest Duchesne in 1897 in his thesis \"Contribution to the study of vital competition in micro-organisms: antagonism between moulds and microbes\", or also Clodomiro Picado Twight whose work at Institut Pasteur in 1923 on the inhibiting action of fungi of the \"Penicillin sp\" genre in the growth of staphylococci drew little interest from the direction of the Institut at the time.", "Fleming was the first to push these studies further by isolating the penicillin, and by being motivated enough to promote his discovery at a larger scale.", "Fleming also discovered very early that bacteria developed antibiotic resistance whenever too little penicillin was used or when it was used for too short a period.", "Almroth Wright had predicted antibiotic resistance even before it was noticed during experiments.", "Fleming cautioned about the use of penicillin in his many speeches around the world.", "On 26 June 1945, he made the following cautionary statements \"... the microbes are educated to resist penicillin and a host of penicillin-fast organisms is bred out...", "In such cases the thoughtless person playing with penicillin is morally responsible for the death of the man who finally succumbs to infection with the penicillin-resistant organism.", "I hope this evil can be averted.\"", "He cautioned not to use penicillin unless there was a properly diagnosed reason for it to be used, and that if it were used, never to use too little, or for too short a period, since these are the circumstances under which bacterial resistance to antibiotics develops.", "The popular story of Winston Churchill's father paying for Fleming's education after Fleming's father saved young Winston from death is false.", "According to the biography, ''Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution'' by Kevin Brown, Alexander Fleming, in a letter to his friend and colleague Andre Gratia, described this as \"A wondrous fable.\"", "Nor did he save Winston Churchill himself during World War II.", "Churchill was saved by Lord Moran, using sulphonamides, since he had no experience with penicillin, when Churchill fell ill in Carthage in Tunisia in 1943.", "''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Morning Post'' on 21 December 1943 wrote that he had been saved by penicillin.", "He was saved by the new sulphonamide drug Sulphapyridine, known at the time under the research code M&B 693, discovered and produced by May & Baker Ltd, Dagenham, Essex – a subsidiary of the French group Rhône-Poulenc.", "In a subsequent radio broadcast, Churchill referred to the new drug as \"This admirable M&B\".", "It is highly probable that the correct information about the sulphonamide did not reach the newspapers because, since the original sulphonamide antibacterial, Prontosil, had been a discovery by the German laboratory Bayer, and as Britain was at war with Germany at the time, it was thought better to raise British morale by associating Churchill's cure with a British discovery, penicillin.", "Display of Fleming's awards, including his Nobel Prize.", "Also shows a sample of penicillin and an example of an early apparatus for preparing it.", "Fleming (centre) receiving the Nobel prize from King Gustaf V of Sweden (right) in 1945\nFaroe Islands postage stamp commemorating Fleming\nCatalan sculptor Josep Manuel Benedicto.", "Barcelona: jardins del Doctor Fleming.", "His discovery of penicillin had changed the world of modern medicine by introducing the age of useful antibiotics; penicillin has saved, and is still saving, millions of people around the world.", "The laboratory at St Mary's Hospital where Fleming discovered penicillin is home to the Fleming Museum, a popular London attraction.", "His alma mater, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, merged with Imperial College London in 1988.", "The ''Sir Alexander Fleming Building'' on the South Kensington campus was opened in 1998, where his son Robert and his great granddaughter Claire were presented to the Queen and is now one of the main preclinical teaching sites of the Imperial College School of Medicine.", "His other alma mater, the Royal Polytechnic Institution (now the University of Westminster) has named one of its student halls of residence ''Alexander Fleming House'', which is near to Old Street.", "* Fleming, Florey and Chain jointly received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.", "According to the rules of the Nobel committee a maximum of three people may share the prize.", "Fleming's Nobel Prize medal was acquired by the National Museums of Scotland in 1989 and is on display after the museum re-opened in 2011.", "* Fleming was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.", "* Fleming was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1943.", "* Fleming was awarded the Hunterian Professorship by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.", "* Fleming was knighted, as a Knight Bachelor, by king George VI in 1944.", "* He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise in 1948.", "* In 1999, ''Time'' magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century, stating:\n\n* When 2000 was approaching, at least three large Swedish magazines ranked penicillin as the most important discovery of the millennium.", "* In 2002, Fleming was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons following a nationwide vote.", "* A statue of Alexander Fleming stands outside the main bullring in Madrid, Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.", "It was erected by subscription from grateful matadors, as penicillin greatly reduced the number of deaths in the bullring.", "* Flemingovo náměstí is a square named after Fleming in the university area of the Dejvice community in Prague.", "* A secondary school is named after him in Sofia, Bulgaria.", "* In 2009, Fleming was voted third greatest Scot in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Scotland's national poet Robert Burns and national hero William Wallace.", "* 91006 Fleming, an asteroid in the Asteroid Belt, is named after Fleming.", "On 24 December 1915, Fleming married a trained nurse, Sarah Marion McElroy of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland.", "Their only child, Robert Fleming, (1924-2015) became a general medical practitioner.", "After his first wife's death in 1949, Fleming married Dr. Amalia Koutsouri-Vourekas, a Greek colleague at St. Mary's, on 9 April 1953; she died in 1986.", "From 1921 until his death in 1955, Fleming owned a country home in Barton Mills, Suffolk.", "On 11 March 1955, Fleming died at his home in London of a heart attack.", "He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.", "* ''The Life Of Sir Alexander Fleming'', Jonathan Cape, 1959.", "Maurois, André.", "* ''Nobel Lectures, the Physiology or Medicine 1942–1962'', Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1964\n* ''An Outline History of Medicine''.", "London: Butterworths, 1985.", "Rhodes, Philip.", "* ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine''.", "Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996.", "Porter, Roy, ed.", "* ''Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution'', Stroud, Sutton, 2004.", "Brown, Kevin.", "* ''Alexander Fleming: The Man and the Myth'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1984.", "Macfarlane, Gwyn\n* ''Fleming, Discoverer of Penicillin'', Ludovici, Laurence J., 1952\n* ''The Penicillin Man: the Story of Sir Alexander Fleming'', Lutterworth Press, 1957, Rowland, John.", "\n\n* Alexander Fleming Biography\n* ''Time'', 29 March 1999, Bacteriologist Alexander Fleming\n* Some places and memories related to Alexander Fleming" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nJohn Trumbull's ''Declaration of Independence'', showing the Committee of Five presenting its plan for independence to Congress on June 28, 1776\n\nThe '''American Revolution''' was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America. They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and others.\n\nMembers of American colonial society argued the position of \"no taxation without representation\", starting with the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. They rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them because they lacked representation in Parliament. Protests steadily escalated to the burning of the ''Gaspee'' in Rhode Island in 1772, followed by the Boston Tea Party in 1773, during which patriots destroyed a consignment of taxed tea. The British responded by closing Boston Harbor, then followed with a series of legislative acts which effectively rescinded Massachusetts Bay Colony's rights of self-government and caused the other colonies to rally behind Massachusetts. In late 1774, the Patriots set up their own alternative government to better coordinate their resistance efforts against Great Britain; other colonists preferred to remain aligned to the British Crown and were known as Loyalists or Tories.\n\nTensions erupted into battle between Patriot militia and British regulars when the British attempted to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. The conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots (and later their French, Spanish, and Dutch allies) fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). Each of the thirteen colonies formed a Provincial Congress that assumed power from the old colonial governments and suppressed Loyalism, and from there they built a Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington. The Continental Congress determined King George's rule to be tyrannical and infringing the colonists' rights as Englishmen, and they declared the colonies free and independent states on July 2, 1776. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, and they proclaimed that all men are created equal.\n\nThe Continental Army forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but the British captured and held New York City for the duration of the war. The British blockaded ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but they failed to defeat Washington's forces. The Patriots unsuccessfully attempted to invade Canada during the winter of 1775–76, but they captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, and the French entered the war as allies of the United States as a result. The war later turned to the American South where the British under the leadership of Charles Cornwallis captured an army at South Carolina but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilians to take effective control of the territory. A combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nation's complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida.\n\nAmong the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. The new Constitution established a relatively strong federal national government that included an executive, a national judiciary, and a bicameral Congress that represented states in the Senate and the population in the House of Representatives. The Revolution also resulted in the migration of around 60,000 Loyalists to other British territories, especially British North America (Canada).\n", "\nBritish Province of Quebec, the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic coast, and the Indian Reserve as defined by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The 1763 \"Proclamation line\" comprises the border between the red and the pink areas, while the orange area represents the Spanish claim.\nHistorians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British coalition victory in the Seven Years' War in 1763. The North American theater of the Seven Years' War, commonly known as the French and Indian War in the United States, removed France as a major player in North American affairs and led to the cession of the territory of New France to Great Britain. Lawrence Henry Gipson, the historian of the British Empire, states:\n:It may be said as truly that the American Revolution was an aftermath of the Anglo-French conflict in the New World carried on between 1754 and 1763.\n\nThe Royal Proclamation of 1763 may have played a role in the separation of the United States from Great Britain, as colonists at the time wanted to continue in the economically beneficial cultural practice of taking land for one's own livelihood as part of the drive west. The lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement.\n\n===1651–1748: Early seeds===\n\n\nAs early as 1651, the English government had sought to regulate trade in the American colonies. On October 9, the Navigation Acts were passed to ensure that trade enriched only Britain, barring trade with other nations. Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the colonists, but the political friction which the acts triggered was more serious, as the merchants most directly affected were most politically active. King Philip's War ended in 1678, and much of it was fought without significant assistance from England. This contributed to the development of a unique identity, separate from that of Britain.\n\nIn the 1680s, King Charles II determined to bring the New England colonies under a more centralized administration in order to regulate trade more effectively. His efforts were fiercely opposed by the colonists, resulting in the abrogation of their colonial charter by the Crown. Charles' successor James II finalized these efforts in 1686, establishing the Dominion of New England. Dominion rule triggered bitter resentment throughout New England; the enforcement of the unpopular Navigation Acts and the curtailing of local democracy angered the colonists. New Englanders were encouraged, however, by a change of government in England that saw James II effectively abdicate, and a populist uprising overthrew Dominion rule on April 18, 1689. Colonial governments reasserted their control in the wake of the revolt, and successive governments made no more attempts to restore the Dominion.\n\nSubsequent English governments continued in their efforts to tax certain goods, passing acts regulating the trade of wool, hats, and molasses. The Molasses Act of 1733 in particular was egregious to the colonists, as a significant part of colonial trade relied on the product. The taxes severely damaged the New England economy, and the taxes were rarely paid as a result, resulting in a surge of smuggling, bribery, and intimidation of customs officials. Colonial wars fought in America were often the source of considerable tension. The British captured the fortress of Louisbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, but then ceded it back to France in 1748. New England colonists resented their losses of lives, as well as the effort and expenditure involved in subduing the fortress, only to have it returned to their erstwhile enemy.\n\n===1764–1766: Taxes imposed and withdrawn===\n\n\n\nNotice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper\n\nIn 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money, fearing that otherwise the colonists might evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles. That same year, Prime Minister George Grenville proposed direct taxes on the colonies to raise revenue, but he delayed action to see whether the colonies would propose some way to raise the revenue themselves. Parliament finally passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets were required to have the stamps—even decks of playing cards.\n\nThe colonists did not object that the taxes were high; they were actually low. They objected to the fact that they had no representation in the Parliament, and thus no voice concerning legislation that affected them. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire. He said that local governments had raised, outfitted, and paid 25,000 soldiers to fight France—as many as Britain itself sent—and spent many millions from American treasuries doing so in the French and Indian War alone. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British Army soldiers. The decision was to keep them on active duty with full pay, but they had to be stationed somewhere. Stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable, so the decision was made to station them in America and have the Americans pay them. The soldiers had no military mission; they were not there to defend the colonies because there was no threat to the colonies.\n\nThe Sons of Liberty were formed in 1765. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765. Moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a \"Declaration of Rights and Grievances\" stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise.\n\nThe Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval. They argued that the colonies were legally British corporations that were completely subordinate to the British parliament and pointed to numerous instances where Parliament had made laws binding on the colonies in the past. They did not see anything in the unwritten British constitution that made taxes special and noted that they had taxed American trade for decades. Parliament insisted that the colonies effectively enjoyed a \"virtual representation\" as most British people did, as only a small minority of the British population elected representatives to Parliament. Americans such as James Otis maintained that the Americans were not in fact virtually represented.\n\nIn London, the Rockingham government came to power (July 1765) and Parliament debated whether to repeal the stamp tax or to send an army to enforce it. Benjamin Franklin made the case for repeal, explaining that the colonies had spent heavily in manpower, money, and blood in defense of the empire in a series of wars against the French and Indians, and that further taxes to pay for those wars were unjust and might bring about a rebellion. Parliament agreed and repealed the tax (February 21, 1766), but insisted in the Declaratory Act of March 1766 that they retained full power to make laws for the colonies \"in all cases whatsoever\". The repeal nonetheless caused widespread celebrations in the colonies.\n\n===1767–1773: Townshend Acts and the Tea Act===\n\n\nGaspee''\n\nIn 1767, the Parliament passed the Townshend Acts which placed duties on a number of essential goods, including paper, glass, and tea, and established a Board of Customs in Boston to more rigorously execute trade regulations. The new taxes were enacted on the belief that Americans only objected to internal taxes and not to external taxes such as custom duties. The Americans, however, argued against the constitutionality of the act because its purpose was to raise revenue and not regulate trade. Colonists responded by organizing new boycotts of British goods. These boycotts were less effective, however, as the Townshend goods were widely used.\n\nIn February 1768, the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay issued a circular letter to the other colonies urging them to coordinate resistance. The governor dissolved the assembly when it refused to rescind the letter. Meanwhile, a riot broke out in Boston in June 1768 over the seizure of the sloop ''Liberty'', owned by John Hancock, for alleged smuggling. Customs officials were forced to flee, prompting the British to deploy troops to Boston. A Boston town meeting declared that no obedience was due to parliamentary laws and called for the convening of a convention. A convention assembled but only issued a mild protest before dissolving itself. In January 1769, Parliament responded to the unrest by reactivating the Treason Act 1543 which called for subjects outside the realm to face trials for treason in England. The governor of Massachusetts was instructed to collect evidence of said treason, and the threat caused widespread outrage, though it was not carried out.\n\nOn March 5, 1770, a large crowd gathered around a group of British soldiers. The crowd grew threatening, throwing snowballs, rocks, and debris at them. One soldier was clubbed and fell. There was no order to fire, but the soldiers fired into the crowd anyway. They hit 11 people; three civilians died at the scene of the shooting, and two died after the incident. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre. The soldiers were tried and acquitted (defended by John Adams), but the widespread descriptions soon began to turn colonial sentiment against the British. This, in turn, began a downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and the Province of Massachusetts.\n\nA new ministry under Lord North came to power in 1770, and Parliament withdrew all taxes except the tax on tea, giving up its efforts to raise revenue while maintaining the right to tax. This temporarily resolved the crisis, and the boycott of British goods largely ceased, with only the more radical patriots such as Samuel Adams continuing to agitate.\n\nlithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled \"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor\"; the phrase \"Boston Tea Party\" had not yet become standard.\n\nIn June 1772, American patriots, including John Brown, burned a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations in what became known as the ''Gaspee'' Affair. The affair was investigated for possible treason, but no action was taken.\n\nIn 1772, it became known that the Crown intended to pay fixed salaries to the governors and judges in Massachusetts. Samuel Adams in Boston set about creating new Committees of Correspondence, which linked Patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provided the framework for a rebel government. Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence in early 1773, on which Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson served.\n\nA total of about 7000 to 8000 Patriots served on \"Committees of Correspondence\" at the colonial and local levels, comprising most of the leadership in their communities. Loyalists were excluded. The committees became the leaders of the American resistance to British actions, and largely determined the war effort at the state and local level. When the First Continental Congress decided to boycott British products, the colonial and local Committees took charge, examining merchant records and publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods.\n\nIn 1773, private letters were published in which Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson claimed that the colonists could not enjoy all English liberties, and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver called for the direct payment of colonial officials. The letters' contents were used as evidence of a systematic plot against American rights, and discredited Hutchinson in the eyes of the people; the Assembly petitioned for his recall. Benjamin Franklin, postmaster general for the colonies, acknowledged that he leaked the letters, which led to him being berated by British officials and fired from his job.\n\nMeanwhile, Parliament passed the Tea Act to lower the price of taxed tea exported to the colonies in order to help the East India Company undersell smuggled Dutch tea. Special consignees were appointed to sell the tea in order to bypass colonial merchants. The act was opposed by those who resisted the taxes and also by smugglers who stood to lose business. In most instances, the consignees were forced to resign and the tea was turned back, but Massachusetts governor Hutchinson refused to allow Boston merchants to give in to pressure. A town meeting in Boston determined that the tea would not be landed, and ignored a demand from the governor to disperse. On December 16, 1773, a group of men, led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke the appearance of American Indians, boarded the ships of the British East India Company and dumped £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor. Decades later, this event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a significant part of American patriotic lore.\n\n===1774–1775: Intolerable Acts and the Quebec Act===\nA 1774 etching from ''The London Magazine'', copied by Paul Revere of Boston. Prime Minister Lord North, author of the Boston Port Act, forces the Intolerable Acts down the throat of America, whose arms are restrained by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, while Lord Sandwich pins down her feet and peers up her robes. Behind them, Mother Britannia weeps helplessly.\n\n \nThe British government responded by passing several Acts which came to be known as the Intolerable Acts, which further darkened colonial opinion towards the British. They consisted of four laws enacted by the British parliament. The first was the Massachusetts Government Act which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings. The second act was the Administration of Justice Act which ordered that all British soldiers to be tried were to be arraigned in Britain, not in the colonies. The third Act was the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party. The fourth Act was the Quartering Act of 1774, which allowed royal governors to house British troops in the homes of citizens without requiring permission of the owner.\n\nIn response, Massachusetts patriots issued the Suffolk Resolves and formed an alternative shadow government known as the \"Provincial Congress\" which began training militia outside British-occupied Boston. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, consisting of representatives from each of the colonies, to serve as a vehicle for deliberation and collective action. During secret debates, conservative Joseph Galloway proposed the creation of a colonial Parliament that would be able to approve or disapprove of acts of the British Parliament, but his idea was not accepted. The Congress instead endorsed the proposal of John Adams that Americans would obey Parliament voluntarily but would resist all taxes in disguise. Congress called for a boycott beginning on 1 December 1774 of all British goods; it was enforced by new committees authorized by the Congress.\n", "Join, or Die by Benjamin Franklin was recycled to encourage the former colonies to unite against British rule.\n\n\nMassachusetts was declared in a state of rebellion in February 1775 and the British garrison received orders to disarm the rebels and arrest their leaders, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. The Patriots laid siege to Boston, expelled royal officials from all the colonies, and took control through the establishment of Provincial Congresses. The Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17, 1775. It was a British victory—but at a great cost: about 1,000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6,000, as compared to 500 American casualties from a much larger force. The Second Continental Congress was divided on the best course of action, but eventually produced the Olive Branch Petition, in which they attempted to come to an accord with King George. The king, however, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion which stated that the states were \"in rebellion\" and the members of Congress were traitors.\n\nIn the winter of 1775, the Americans invaded Canada under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery. The attack was a complete failure; many Americans who weren't killed were either captured or died of smallpox.\n\nIn March 1776, the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston, with George Washington as the commander of the new army. The revolutionaries were now in full control of all 13 colonies and were ready to declare independence. There still were many Loyalists, but they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled.\n", "Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, the Patriots had control of Massachusetts outside the Boston city limits, and the Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive with no protection from the British army. In all 13 colonies, Patriots had overthrown their existing governments, closing courts and driving away British officials. They had elected conventions and \"legislatures\" that existed outside any legal framework; new constitutions were drawn up in each state to supersede royal charters. They declared that they were states now, not colonies.\n\nOn January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution. In May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown. The new states were all committed to republicanism, with no inherited offices. They decided what form of government to create, and also how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified. On 26 May 1776, John Adams wrote James Sullivan from Philadelphia:\n\n\"Depend upon it, sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation, as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters. There will be no end of it. New claims will arise. Women will demand a vote. Lads from twelve to twenty one will think their rights not enough attended to, and every man, who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other in all acts of state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks, to one common level\".\n\nThe resulting constitutions in states such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York, and Massachusetts featured:\n* Property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications)\n* Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower\n* Strong governors with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority\n* Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government\n* The continuation of state-established religion\n Benjamin Rush, 1783\nIn Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, the resulting constitutions embodied:\n* universal manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property-owning widows, a step that it retracted 25 years later)\n* strong, unicameral legislatures\n* relatively weak governors without veto powers, and with little appointing authority\n* prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts\n\nThe radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years. In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution. The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America.\n", "Johannes Adam Simon Oertel. ''Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C.'', ca. 1859. The painting is a romanticized version of the Sons of Liberty destroying the symbol of monarchy following the reading of the United States Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army and residents on the New York City commons by George Washington, July 9th, 1776.\n\n\n\nIn April 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the Halifax Resolves, explicitly authorizing its delegates to vote for independence. In May, Congress called on all the states to write constitutions and eliminate the last remnants of royal rule.\n\nBy June, nine colonies were ready for independence; one by one, the last four fell into line—Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New York. Richard Henry Lee was instructed by the Virginia legislature to propose independence, and he did so on June 7, 1776. On the 11th, a committee was created to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain. After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for on July 2. The Declaration of Independence was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the committee; it was slightly revised and unanimously adopted by the entire Congress on July 4, marking the formation of a new sovereign nation which called itself the United States of America.\n\nThe Second Continental Congress approved a new constitution, the \"Articles of Confederation,\" for ratification by the states on November 15, 1777, and immediately began operating under their terms. The Articles were formally ratified on March 1, 1781. At that point, the Continental Congress was dissolved and a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place on the following day, with Samuel Huntington as presiding officer.\n", "\n\n===British return: 1776–1777===\n\nAccording to British historian Jeremy Black, the British had significant advantages, including a highly trained army, the world's largest navy, and a highly efficient system of public finance that could easily fund the war. However, the British were seriously handicapped by their misunderstanding of the depth of support for the Patriot position. Ignoring the advice of General Gage, they misinterpreted the situation as merely a large-scale riot. London decided that they could overawe the Americans by sending a large military and naval force, forcing them to be loyal again:\n\n\n\nWashington forced the British out of Boston in the spring of 1776, and neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas. The British, however, were massing forces at their naval base at Halifax, Nova Scotia. They returned in force in July 1776, landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army in August at the Battle of Brooklyn. Following that victory, the British requested a meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities.\n\nA delegation including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor on September 11, in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference. Howe demanded a retraction of the Declaration of Independence, which was refused, and negotiations ended. The British then quickly seized New York City and nearly captured Washington's army. They made New York their main political and military base of operations in North America, holding it until November 1783. The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network.\n\nThe British also took New Jersey, pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania. Washington crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey in a surprise attack in late December 1776 and defeated Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton, thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey. The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and have become iconic events of the war.\n\nIn 1777, the British sent Burgoyne's invasion force from Canada south to New York to seal off New England. Their aim was to neutralize the Yankees, whom the British perceived as the primary source of agitators. The British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington. The invasion army under Burgoyne was much too slow and became trapped in northern New York state. It surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777. From early October 1777 until November 15, a siege distracted British troops at Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and allowed Washington time to preserve the Continental Army by safely leading his troops to harsh winter quarters at Valley Forge.\n\n===Prisoners===\n\nIn August 1775, George III declared Americans in arms against royal authority to be traitors to the Crown. Following their surrender at the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777, there were thousands of British and Hessian soldiers in American hands. Although Lord Germain took a hard line, the British generals on the scene never held treason trials; they treated captured enemy soldiers as prisoners of war. The dilemma was that tens of thousands of Loyalists were under American control and American retaliation would have been easy. The British built much of their strategy around using these Loyalists, and therefore, no Americans were put on trial for treason. The British maltreated the prisoners whom they held, resulting in more deaths to American sailors and soldiers than from combat operations. At the end of the war, both sides released their surviving prisoners.\n\n===American alliances after 1778===\n\n\nThe capture of a British army at Saratoga encouraged the French to formally enter the war in support of Congress. Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778, significantly becoming the first country to officially recognize the Declaration of Independence. On February 6, 1778, a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance were signed between the United States and France. William Pitt spoke out in parliament urging Britain to make peace in America and to unite with America against France, while other British politicians who had previously sympathized with colonial grievances now turned against the Americans for allying with Britain's international rival and enemy.\n\nLater, Spain (in 1779) and the Dutch (1780) became allies of the French, leaving the British Empire to fight a global war alone without major allies, and requiring it to slip through a combined blockade of the Atlantic. The American theater thus became only one front in Britain's war. The British were forced to withdraw troops from continental America to reinforce the valuable sugar-producing Caribbean colonies, which were more lucrative to British investors.\n\nBritish commander Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and returned to New York City. General Washington intercepted Clinton in the Battle of Monmouth Court House, the last major battle fought in the north. After an inconclusive engagement, the British successfully retreated to New York City. The northern war subsequently became a stalemate, as the focus of attention shifted to the smaller southern theater.\nHessian troops hired out to the British by their German sovereigns\n\n===The British move South, 1778–1783===\n\n\nThe British strategy in America now concentrated on a campaign in the southern states. With fewer regular troops at their disposal, the British commanders saw the \"southern strategy\" as a more viable plan, as the south was perceived as being more strongly Loyalist, with a large population of recent immigrants as well as large numbers of slaves who might be captured or run away to join the British.\n\nBeginning in late December 1778, the British captured Savannah and controlled the Georgia coastline. In 1780, they launched a fresh invasion and took Charleston, as well. A significant victory at the Battle of Camden meant that royal forces soon controlled most of Georgia and South Carolina. The British set up a network of forts inland, hoping that the Loyalists would rally to the flag.\n\nNot enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia, with a severely weakened army. Behind them, much of the territory that they had already captured dissolved into a chaotic guerrilla war, fought predominantly between bands of Loyalist and American militia, which negated many of the gains that the British had previously made.\n\n====Surrender at Yorktown (1781)====\n\n\nThe siege of Yorktown ended with the surrender of a second British army, marking effective British defeat.\n\nThe British army under Cornwallis marched to Yorktown, Virginia where they expected to be rescued by a British fleet. The fleet showed up, but so did a larger French fleet, so the British fleet returned to New York for reinforcements after the Battle of the Chesapeake, leaving Cornwallis trapped. In October 1781, the British surrendered their second invading army of the war, under a siege by the combined French and Continental armies commanded by Washington.\n\n===The end of the war===\nHistorians continue to debate whether the odds for American victory were long or short. John E. Ferling says that the odds were so long that the American victory was \"almost a miracle\". On the other hand, Joseph Ellis says that the odds favored the Americans, and asks whether there ever was any realistic chance for the British to win. He argues that this opportunity came only once, in the summer of 1776, and the British failed that test. Admiral Howe and his brother General Howe \"missed several opportunities to destroy the Continental Army.... Chance, luck, and even the vagaries of the weather played crucial roles.\" Ellis's point is that the strategic and tactical decisions of the Howes were fatally flawed because they underestimated the challenges posed by the Patriots. Ellis concludes that, once the Howe brothers failed, the opportunity for a British victory \"would never come again.\"\n\nSupport for the conflict had never been strong in Britain, where many sympathized with the Americans, but now it reached a new low. King George III personally wanted to fight on, but his supporters lost control of Parliament and no further major land offensives were launched in the American Theater.\n\nWashington could not know that the British would not reopen hostilities after Yorktown. They still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston, and Savannah, together with a powerful fleet. The French army and navy departed, so the Americans were on their own in 1782–83. The treasury was empty, and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive, almost to the point of mutiny or possible ''coup d'état''. The unrest among officers of the Newburgh Conspiracy was personally dispelled by Washington in 1783, and Congress subsequently created the promise of a five years bonus for all officers.\n", "\nDuring negotiations in Paris, the American delegation discovered that France would support independence, but no territorial gains. The new nation would be confined to the area east of the Appalachian Mountains. The American delegation opened direct secret negotiations with London, cutting the French out. British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne was in full charge of the British negotiations. He now saw a chance make the United States a valuable economic partner. The U.S. obtained all the land east of the Mississippi River, south of Canada, and north of Florida. It gained fishing rights off Canadian coasts, and agreed to allow British merchants and Loyalists to try to recover their property. It was a highly favorable treaty for the United States, and deliberately so from the British point of view. Prime Minister Shelburne foresaw highly profitable two-way trade between Britain and the rapidly growing United States, as indeed came to pass. Since the blockade was lifted and the old imperial restrictions were gone, American merchants were free to trade with any nation anywhere in the world, and their businesses flourished.\n\nThe British largely abandoned the Indian allies living in the new nation. They were not a party to this treaty and did not recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States. However, the British did promise to support the Indians. They sold them munitions and maintained forts in American territory until the Jay Treaty of 1795.\n\n===Impact on Britain===\nLosing the war and the 13 colonies was a shock to Britain. The war revealed the limitations of Britain's fiscal-military state when they discovered that they suddenly faced powerful enemies with no allies, and they were dependent on extended and vulnerable transatlantic lines of communication. The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the King's ministers. Inside parliament, the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to the issues of representation, parliamentary reform, and government retrenchment. Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption.\n\nThe result was a powerful crisis from 1776 to 1783. The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate, while the British economy boomed thanks to the return of American business. The crisis ended after 1784 thanks to the King's shrewdness in outwitting Charles James Fox (the leader of the Fox-North Coalition), and renewed confidence in the system engendered by the leadership of the new Prime Minister William Pitt. Historians conclude that loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the French Revolution with more unity and better organization than would otherwise have been the case. Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire.\n", "Britain's war against the Americans, French, and Spanish cost about £100 million. The Treasury borrowed 40% of the money that it needed. Heavy spending brought France to the verge of bankruptcy and revolution, while the British had relatively little difficulty financing their war, keeping their suppliers and soldiers paid, and hiring tens of thousands of German soldiers.\n\nBritain had a sophisticated financial system based on the wealth of thousands of landowners, who supported the government, together with banks and financiers in London. The British tax system collected about 12 percent of the GDP in taxes during the 1770s.\n\nIn sharp contrast, Congress and the American states had no end of difficulty financing the war. In 1775, there was at most 12 million dollars in gold in the colonies, not nearly enough to cover current transactions, let alone finance a major war. The British made the situation much worse by imposing a tight blockade on every American port, which cut off almost all imports and exports. One partial solution was to rely on volunteer support from militiamen and donations from patriotic citizens. Another was to delay actual payments, pay soldiers and suppliers in depreciated currency, and promise that it would be made good after the war. Indeed, the soldiers and officers were given land grants in 1783 to cover the wages that they had earned but had not been paid during the war. Not until 1781 did the national government have a strong leader in financial matters, when Robert Morris was named Superintendent of Finance of the United States.\n\nMorris used a French loan in 1782 to set up the private Bank of North America to finance the war. Seeking greater efficiency, Morris reduced the civil list, saved money by using competitive bidding for contracts, tightened accounting procedures, and demanded the national government's full share of money and supplies from the confederated states.\n\nCongress used four main methods to cover the cost of the war, which cost about 66 million dollars in specie (gold and silver). Congress made two issues of paper money—in 1775–1780 and in 1780–81. The first issue amounted to 242 million dollars. This paper money would supposedly be redeemed for state taxes, but the holders were eventually paid off in 1791 at the rate of one cent on the dollar. By 1780, the paper money was \"not worth a Continental\", as people said.\n\nThe skyrocketing inflation was a hardship on the few people who had fixed incomes—but 90 percent of the people were farmers, and were not directly affected by that inflation. Debtors benefited by paying off their debts with depreciated paper. The greatest burden was borne by the soldiers of the Continental Army, whose wages were usually in arrears and declined in value every month, weakening their morale and adding to the hardships of their families.\n\nBeginning in 1777, Congress repeatedly asked the states to provide money. But the states had no system of taxation either, and were little help. By 1780, Congress was making requisitions for specific supplies of corn, beef, pork, and other necessities—an inefficient system that kept the army barely alive.\n\nStarting in 1776, the Congress sought to raise money by loans from wealthy individuals, promising to redeem the bonds after the war. The bonds were in fact redeemed in 1791 at face value, but the scheme raised little money because Americans had little specie, and many of the rich merchants were supporters of the Crown. Starting in 1776, the French secretly supplied the Americans with money, gunpowder, and munitions in order to weaken its arch enemy Great Britain. When France officially entered the war in 1778, the subsidies continued, and the French government, as well as bankers in Paris and Amsterdam, lent large sums to the American war effort. These loans were repaid in full in the 1790s.\n", "\n\n\n===Creating a \"more perfect union\" and guaranteeing rights===\n\nThe war finally ended in 1783 and was followed by a period of prosperity. The national government was still operating under the Articles of Confederation and was able to settle the issue of the western territories, which were ceded by the states to Congress. American settlers moved rapidly into those areas, with Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee becoming states in the 1790s.\n\nHowever, the national government had no money to pay either the war debts owed to European nations and the private banks, or to pay Americans who had been given millions of dollars of promissory notes for supplies during the war. Nationalists led by Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other veterans feared that the new nation was too fragile to withstand an international war, or even internal revolts such as the Shays' Rebellion of 1786 in Massachusetts.\n\nCalling themselves \"Federalists,\" the nationalists convinced Congress to call the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. It adopted a new Constitution that provided for a much stronger federal government, including an effective executive in a check-and-balance system with the judiciary and legislature. The Constitution was ratified in 1788, after a fierce debate in the states over the nature of the proposed new government. The new government under President George Washington took office in New York in March 1789. Amendments to the Constitution were spearheaded in Congress by James Madison as assurances to those who were cautious about federal power, guaranteeing many of the inalienable rights that formed a foundation for the revolution. The amendments were ratified by the states in 1791.\n\n===National debt===\n\n\nThe national debt fell into three categories after the American Revolution. The first was the $12 million owed to foreigners, mostly money borrowed from France. There was general agreement to pay the foreign debts at full value. The national government owed $40 million and state governments owed $25 million to Americans who had sold food, horses, and supplies to the revolutionary forces. There were also other debts that consisted of promissory notes issued during the Revolutionary War to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who accepted these payments on the premise that the new Constitution would create a government that would pay these debts eventually.\n\nThe war expenses of the individual states added up to $114 million compared to $37 million by the central government. In 1790, Congress combined the remaining state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totaling $80 million at the recommendation of first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.\n", "The population of the 13 Colonies was not homogeneous in their political views and attitudes. Loyalties and allegiances varied widely within regions and communities and even within families, and sometimes shifted during the course of the Revolution.\n\n===Ideology behind the Revolution===\n\nThe American Enlightenment was a critical precursor of the American Revolution. Chief among the ideas of the American Enlightenment were the concepts of Natural Law, Natural Rights, Consent of the Governed, Individualism, Property Rights, Self-Ownership, Self-Determination, liberalism, republicanism and fear of corruption. Collectively, the acceptance of these concepts by a growing number of American colonists began to foster an intellectual environment which would lead to a new sense of political and social identity.\n\n====Liberalism====\n\n\n\nIn this portrait by John Singleton Copley, Samuel Adams points at the Massachusetts Charter, which he viewed as a constitution that protected the people's rights.\nJohn Locke's (1632–1704) ideas on liberty influenced the political thinking behind the revolution, especially through his indirect influence on English writers such as John Trenchard, Thomas Gordon, and Benjamin Hoadly, whose political ideas in turn had a strong influence on the American revolutionaries. Locke is often referred to as \"the philosopher of the American Revolution\", and is credited with leading Americans to the critical concepts of social contract, natural rights, and \"born free and equal.\" Locke's Two Treatises of Government published in 1689 were especially influential. He argued that all humans were created equally free, and governments therefore needed the \"consent of the governed.\" In late eighteenth-century America, belief was still widespread in \"equality by creation\" and \"rights by creation\".\n\nThe theory of the \"social contract\" influenced the belief among many of the Founders that among the \"natural rights\" of man was the right of the people to overthrow their leaders, should those leaders betray the historic rights of Englishmen. In terms of writing state and national constitutions, the Americans heavily used Montesquieu's analysis of the wisdom of the \"balanced\" British Constitution (mixed government).\n\n====Republicanism====\n\n\nA central motivating force behind the overthrow of monarchy and aristocracy was the American embrace of a political ideology called \"republicanism\", which was dominant in the colonies by 1775 but of minor importance back in Great Britain. The republicanism was inspired by the \"country party\" in Great Britain, whose critique of British government emphasized that corruption was a terrible reality in Great Britain. Americans feared that the corruption was crossing the Atlantic; the commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their rights energized the revolution, as Britain was increasingly seen as hopelessly corrupt and hostile to American interests. Britain seemed to threaten the established liberties that Americans enjoyed. The greatest threat to liberty was depicted as corruption—not just in London but at home, as well. The colonists associated it with luxury, and especially with inherited aristocracy, which they condemned.\n\nThe Founding Fathers were strong advocates of republican values, particularly Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, which required men to put civic duty ahead of their personal desires. Men had a civic duty to be prepared and willing to fight for the rights and liberties of their countrymen. John Adams wrote to Mercy Otis Warren in 1776, agreeing with some classical Greek and Roman thinkers in that \"Public Virtue cannot exist without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics.\" He continued:\n\n\n\nFor women, \"republican motherhood\" became the ideal, exemplified by Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren; the first duty of the republican woman was to instill republican values in her children and to avoid luxury and ostentation.\n\n=====Fusing republicanism and liberalism=====\n\nThomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'', published in 1776\nSome republics had emerged throughout history, such as the Roman Republic of the ancient world, but none ever existed that was based on liberal principles. Thomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'' appeared in January 1776, after the Revolution had started. It was widely distributed and loaned, and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism together, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Great Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army.\n\nPaine provided a new and widely accepted argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history. ''Common Sense'' is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice. It offered a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.\n\n====Impact of Great Awakening====\n\nDissenting churches of the day (i.e., Protestant, non-Church of England) were, in the words of Patricia Bonomi, the \"school of democracy.\" President John Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) wrote widely circulated sermons linking the American Revolution to the teachings of the Bible. Throughout the colonies, dissenting Protestant ministers (Congregationalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian) preached Revolutionary themes in their sermons, while most Church of England clergymen preached loyalty to the king, the titular head of the English state church. Religious motivation for fighting tyranny transcended socioeconomic lines to encompass rich and poor, men and women, frontiersmen and townsmen, farmers and merchants.\n\nThe Declaration also referred to the \"Laws of Nature and of Nature's God\" as justification for the Americans' separation from the British monarchy. Most eighteenth-century Americans believed that nature, the entire universe, was God's creation. Therefore, he was \"Nature's God.\" Everything, including man, was part of the \"universal order of things\", which began with God and was pervaded and directed by his providence. Accordingly, the signers of the Declaration professed their \"firm reliance on the Protection of divine Providence.\" And they appealed to \"the Supreme Judge God for the rectitude of their intentions.\" Like most of his countrymen, George Washington was firmly convinced that he was an instrument of providence, to the benefit of the American people and of all humanity.\n\nHistorian Bernard Bailyn argues that the evangelicalism of the era challenged traditional notions of natural hierarchy by preaching that the Bible teaches that all men are equal, so that the true value of a man lies in his moral behavior, not in his class. Kidd argues that religious disestablishment, belief in a God as the source of human rights, and shared convictions about sin, virtue, and divine providence worked together to unite rationalists and evangelicals and thus encouraged American defiance of the Empire. Bailyn, on the other hand, denies that religion played such a critical role. Alan Heimert argues that New Light antiauthoritarianism was essential to furthering democracy in colonial American society and set the stage for a confrontation with British monarchical and aristocratic rule.\n\n===Class and psychology of the factions===\nLooking back, John Adams concluded in 1818:\n\n\n\nIn terms of class, Loyalists tended to have longstanding social and economic connections to British merchants and government; for instance, prominent merchants in major port cities such as New York, Boston and Charleston tended to be Loyalists, as did men involved with the fur trade along the northern frontier. In addition, officials of colonial government and their staffs, those who had established positions and status to maintain, favored maintaining relations with Great Britain. They often were linked to British families in England by marriage as well.\n\nBy contrast, Patriots by number tended to be yeomen farmers, especially in the frontier areas of New York and the backcountry of Pennsylvania, Virginia and down the Appalachian mountains. They were craftsmen and small merchants. Leaders of both the Patriots and the Loyalists were men of educated, propertied classes. The Patriots included many prominent men of the planter class from Virginia and South Carolina, for instance, who became leaders during the Revolution, and formed the new government at the national and state levels.\n\nTo understand the opposing groups, historians have assessed evidence of their hearts and minds. In the mid-20th century, historian Leonard Woods Labaree identified eight characteristics of the Loyalists that made them essentially conservative; opposite traits to those characteristic of the Patriots. Older and better established men, Loyalists tended to resist innovation. They thought resistance to the Crown—which they insisted was the only legitimate government—was morally wrong, while the Patriots thought morality was on their side.\n\nLoyalists were alienated when the Patriots resorted to violence, such as burning houses and tarring and feathering. Loyalists wanted to take a centrist position and resisted the Patriots' demand to declare their opposition to the Crown. Many Loyalists, especially merchants in the port cities, had maintained strong and long-standing relations with Britain (often with business and family links to other parts of the British Empire).\n\nMany Loyalists realized that independence was bound to come eventually, but they were fearful that revolution might lead to anarchy, tyranny or mob rule. In contrast, the prevailing attitude among Patriots, who made systematic efforts to use mob violence in a controlled manner, was a desire to seize the initiative. Labaree also wrote that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the confidence in the future displayed by the Patriots.\n\nHistorians in the early 20th century, such as J. Franklin Jameson, examined the class composition of the Patriot cause, looking for evidence of a class war inside the revolution. In the last 50 years, historians have largely abandoned that interpretation, emphasizing instead the high level of ideological unity. Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a 'mixed lot', with the richer and better educated more likely to become officers in the Army.\n\nIdeological demands always came first: the Patriots viewed independence as a means to gain freedom from British oppression and taxation and, above all, to reassert what they considered to be their rights as English subjects. Most yeomen farmers, craftsmen, and small merchants joined the Patriot cause to demand more political equality. They were especially successful in Pennsylvania but less so in New England, where John Adams attacked Thomas Paine's ''Common Sense'' for the \"absurd democratical notions\" it proposed.\n\n===King George III===\n\nThe war became a personal issue for the king, fueled by his growing belief that British leniency would be taken as weakness by the Americans. The king also sincerely believed he was defending Britain's constitution against usurpers, rather than opposing patriots fighting for their natural rights.\n\n===Patriots===\n\n\nAt the time, revolutionaries were called \"Patriots\", \"Whigs\", \"Congress-men\", or \"Americans\". They included a full range of social and economic classes, but were unanimous regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans and uphold the principles of republicanism in terms of rejecting monarchy and aristocracy, while emphasizing civic virtue on the part of the citizens. Newspapers were strongholds of patriotism (although there were a few Loyalist papers), and printed many pamphlets, announcements, patriotic letters and pronouncements.\n\nAccording to historian Robert Calhoon, the consensus of historians is that 40–45% of the white population in the Thirteen Colonies supported the Patriots' cause, 15–20% supported the Loyalists, and the remainder were neutral or kept a low profile. Mark Lender explores why ordinary folk became insurgents against the British even though they were unfamiliar with the ideological rationales being offered. They held very strongly a sense of \"rights\" that they felt the British were violating – rights that stressed local autonomy, fair dealing, and government by consent. They were highly sensitive to the issue of tyranny, which they saw manifested in the British response to the Boston Tea Party. The arrival in Boston of the British Army heightened their sense of violated rights, leading to rage and demands for revenge. They had faith that God was on their side.\n\n===Loyalists===\n\nMobbing of a Loyalist by American Patriots in 1775–76\nThe consensus of scholars is that about 15–20% of the white population remained loyal to the British Crown. Those who actively supported the king were known at the time as \"Loyalists\", \"Tories\", or \"King's men\". The Loyalists never controlled territory unless the British Army occupied it. Loyalists were typically older, less willing to break with old loyalties, often connected to the Church of England, and included many established merchants with strong business connections across the Empire, as well as royal officials such as Thomas Hutchinson of Boston. There were 500 to 1000 black loyalists who were held as slaves by patriots, escaped to British lines and joined the British army. Most died of disease but Britain took the survivors to Canada as free men.\n\nThe revolution could divide families. The most dramatic example was when William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin and royal governor of the Province of New Jersey, remained loyal to the Crown throughout the war; they never spoke again. Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King, such as recent Scottish settlers in the back country; among the more striking examples of this, see Flora MacDonald.\n\nAfter the war, the great majority of the 450,000–500,000 Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives. Some, such as Samuel Seabury, became prominent American leaders. Estimates vary, but about 62,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada, and others to Britain (7,000) or to Florida or the West Indies (9,000). The exiles represented approximately 2% of the total population of the colonies. Nearly all black loyalists left for Nova Scotia, Florida, or England, where they could remain free. When Loyalists left the South in 1783, they took thousands of their slaves with them to be slaves in the British West Indies.\n\n===Neutrals===\nA minority of uncertain size tried to stay neutral in the war. Most kept a low profile, but the Quakers, especially in Pennsylvania, were the most important group to speak out for neutrality. As Patriots declared independence, the Quakers, who continued to do business with the British, were attacked as supporters of British rule, \"contrivers and authors of seditious publications\" critical of the revolutionary cause. Though the majority of Quakers attempted to remain neutral, a sizable number of Quakers in the American Revolution nevertheless participated to some degree.\n\n===Role of women===\nAbigail Adams\n\n\nWomen contributed to the American Revolution in many ways, and were involved on both sides. While formal Revolutionary politics did not include women, ordinary domestic behaviors became charged with political significance as Patriot women confronted a war that permeated all aspects of political, civil, and domestic life. They participated by boycotting British goods, spying on the British, following armies as they marched, washing, cooking, and tending for soldiers, delivering secret messages, and in a few cases like Deborah Samson, fighting disguised as men. Also, Mercy Otis Warren held meetings in her house and cleverly attacked Loyalists with her creative plays and histories. Above all, they continued the agricultural work at home to feed their families and the armies. They maintained their families during their husbands' absences and sometimes after their deaths.\n\nAmerican women were integral to the success of the boycott of British goods, as the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. Women had to return to knitting goods, and to spinning and weaving their own cloth — skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove of cloth.\n\nA crisis of political loyalties could disrupt the fabric of colonial America women's social worlds: whether a man did or did not renounce his allegiance to the King could dissolve ties of class, family, and friendship, isolating women from former connections. A woman's loyalty to her husband, once a private commitment, could become a political act, especially for women in America committed to men who remained loyal to the King. Legal divorce, usually rare, was granted to Patriot women whose husbands supported the King.\n", "\n\n===France===\n\nIn early 1776, France set up a major program of aid to the Americans, and the Spanish secretly added funds. Each country spent one million \"livres tournaises\" to buy munitions. A dummy corporation run by Pierre Beaumarchais concealed their activities. American rebels obtained some munitions through the Dutch Republic as well as French and Spanish ports in the West Indies.\n\n===Spain===\n\nSpain did not officially recognize the U.S. but became an informal ally when it declared war on Britain on June 21, 1779. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, general of the Spanish forces in New Spain, also served as governor of Louisiana. He led an expedition of colonial troops to force the British out of Florida and keep open a vital conduit for supplies.\n\n===American Indians===\n\n\nMost American Indians rejected pleas that they remain neutral and supported the British Crown, both because of trading relationships and Britain's effort to establish an Indian reserve and prohibit Colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The great majority of the 200,000 Indians east of the Mississippi distrusted the Colonists and supported the British cause, hoping to forestall continued colonial encroachment on their territories. Those tribes that were more closely involved in Colonial trade tended to side with the Colonists, although political factors were important, as well.\n\nMost Indians did not participate directly in the war, except for warriors and bands associated with four of the Iroquois nations in New York and Pennsylvania which allied with the British. The British did have other allies, especially in the upper Midwest. They provided Indians with funding and weapons to attack American outposts. Some Indians tried to remain neutral, seeing little value in joining what they perceived to be a European conflict, and fearing reprisals from whichever side they opposed. The Oneida and Tuscarora among the Iroquois of central and western New York supported the American cause.\n\nThe British provided arms to Indians who were led by Loyalists in war parties to raid frontier settlements from the Carolinas to New York. They killed many settlers on the frontier, especially in Pennsylvania and New York's Mohawk Valley.\n\nIn 1776, Cherokee war parties attacked American Colonists all along the southern frontier of the uplands throughout the Washington District, North Carolina (now Tennessee) and the Kentucky wilderness area. They would launch raids with roughly 200 warriors, as seen in the Cherokee–American wars; they could not mobilize enough forces to invade Colonial areas without the help of allies, most often the Creek. The Chickamauga Cherokee under Dragging Canoe allied themselves closely with the British, and fought on for an additional decade after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.\n\nJoseph Brant of the powerful Mohawk nation, part of the Iroquois Confederacy based in New York, was the most prominent Indian leader against the Colonial forces. In 1778 and 1780, he led 300 Iroquois warriors and 100 white Loyalists in multiple attacks on small frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania, killing many settlers and destroying villages, crops, and stores. The Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga of the Iroquois Confederacy also allied with the British against the Americans.\n\nIn 1779, the Colonists retaliated with an American army under John Sullivan which raided and destroyed 40 empty Iroquois villages in central and western New York. Sullivan's forces systematically burned the villages and destroyed about 160,000 bushels of corn that composed the winter food supply. Facing starvation and homeless for the winter, the Iroquois fled to the Niagara Falls area and to Canada, mostly to what became Ontario. The British resettled them there after the war, providing land grants as compensation for some of their losses.\n\nAt the peace conference following the war, the British ceded lands which they did not really control, and did not consult their Indian allies. They transferred control to the United States of all the land east of the Mississippi and north of Florida. Calloway concludes:\n\n\n\nThe British did not give up their forts in the West until 1796 in what is now the eastern Midwest, stretching from Ohio to Wisconsin; they kept alive the dream of forming a satellite Indian nation there, which they called a Neutral Indian Zone. That goal was one of the causes of the War of 1812.\n\n===Black Americans===\n\nFree blacks in the North and South fought on both sides of the Revolution, but most fought for the Patriots. Gary Nash reports that there were about 9,000 black Patriots, counting the Continental Army and Navy, state militia units, privateers, wagoneers in the Army, servants to officers, and spies. Ray Raphael notes that thousands did join the Loyalist cause, but \"a far larger number, free as well as slave, tried to further their interests by siding with the patriots.\" Crispus Attucks was shot dead by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre in 1770 and is an iconic martyr to Patriots. Both sides offered freedom and re-settlement to slaves who were willing to fight for them, recruiting slaves whose owners supported the opposing cause.\n\nMany black slaves sided with the Loyalists. Tens of thousands in the South used the turmoil of war to escape, and the southern plantation economies of South Carolina and Georgia especially were disrupted. During the Revolution, the British tried to turn slavery against the Americans. Historian David Brion Davis explains the difficulties with a policy of wholesale arming of the slaves:\n\n\n\nDavis underscored the British dilemma: \"Britain, when confronted by the rebellious American colonists, hoped to exploit their fear of slave revolts while also reassuring the large number of slave-holding Loyalists and wealthy Caribbean planters and merchants that their slave property would be secure\". The Colonists, however, accused the British of encouraging slave revolts.\n\nAmerican advocates of independence were commonly lampooned in Britain for what was termed their hypocritical calls for freedom, at the same time that many of their leaders were planters who held hundreds of slaves. Samuel Johnson snapped, \"how is it we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the slave drivers of the Negroes?\" Benjamin Franklin countered by criticizing the British self-congratulation about \"the freeing of one Negro\" (Somersett) while they continued to permit the Slave Trade.\n\nPhyllis Wheatley was a black poet who popularized the image of Columbia to represent America. She came to public attention when her ''Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral'' appeared in 1773.\n\nDuring the war, slaves escaped from New England and the mid-Atlantic area to British-occupied cities such as New York. The effects of the war were more dramatic in the South. In Virginia, royal governor Lord Dunmore recruited black men into the British forces with the promise of freedom, protection for their families, and land grants. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines throughout the South, causing dramatic losses to slaveholders and disrupting cultivation and harvesting of crops. For instance, South Carolina was estimated to have lost about 25,000 slaves to flight, migration, or death—amounting to one third of its slave population. From 1770 to 1790, the black proportion of the population (mostly slaves) in South Carolina dropped from 60.5 percent to 43.8 percent, and from 45.2 percent to 36.1 percent in Georgia.\n\nBritish forces gave transportation to 10,000 slaves when they evacuated Savannah and Charleston, carrying through on their promise. They evacuated and resettled more than 3,000 Black Loyalists from New York to Nova Scotia, Upper Canada, and Lower Canada. Others sailed with the British to England or were resettled as freedmen in the West Indies of the Caribbean. But slaves who were carried to the Caribbean under control of Loyalist masters generally remained slaves until British abolition in its colonies in 1834. More than 1,200 of the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia later resettled in the British colony of Sierra Leone, where they became leaders of the Krio ethnic group of Freetown and the later national government. Many of their descendants still live in Sierra Leone, as well as other African countries.\n", "\n===Loyalist expatriation===\nAbout 60,000 to 70,000 Loyalists left the newly founded republic; some migrated to Britain. The remainder, known as United Empire Loyalists, received land and subsidies for resettlement in British colonies in North America, especially Quebec (concentrating in the Eastern Townships), Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. The new colonies of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and New Brunswick were expressly created by Britain for their benefit, where the Crown awarded land to Loyalists as compensation for losses in the United States. Britain wanted to develop the frontier of Upper Canada on a British colonial model. But about 80% of the Loyalists stayed in the United States and became full, loyal citizens; some of the exiles later returned to the U.S.\n\n===Interpretations===\nInterpretations about the effect of the Revolution vary. Contemporary participants referred to the events as \"the revolution\". Greene argues that the events were not \"revolutionary\", as the relationships and property rights of colonial society were not transformed: a distant government was simply replaced with a local one; the Revolution is still sometimes known outside the United States as the American War of Independence.\n\nHistorians such as Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood, and Edmund Morgan accept the contemporary view of the participants that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event that produced deep changes and had a profound effect on world affairs, based on an increasing belief in the principles of the Enlightenment, as reflected in how liberalism was understood during the period, and republicanism. These were demonstrated by a leadership and government that espoused protection of natural rights, and a system of laws chosen by the people. However, what was then considered \"the people\" was still mostly restricted to free white males who were able to pass a property-qualification. Such a restriction made a significant gain of the revolution in the short term irrelevant to women, African Americans and slaves, poor white men, youth, and Native Americans. Only with the development of the American system over the following centuries would \"a government by the people\", promised by the revolution, be won for a greater proportion of the population.\n\nMorgan has argued that in terms of long-term impact on American society and values:\n:The Revolution did revolutionize social relations. It did displace the deference, the patronage, the social divisions that had determined the way people viewed one another for centuries and still view one another in much of the world. It did give to ordinary people a pride and power, not to say an arrogance, that have continued to shock visitors from less favored lands. It may have left standing a host of inequalities that have troubled us ever since. But it generated the egalitarian view of human society that makes them troubling and makes our world so different from the own in which the revolutionists had grown up.\n\n===Inspiring all colonies===\n\nAfter the Revolution, genuinely democratic politics became possible in the former colonies. The rights of the people were incorporated into state constitutions. Concepts of liberty, individual rights, equality among men and hostility toward corruption became incorporated as core values of liberal republicanism. The greatest challenge to the old order in Europe was the challenge to inherited political power and the democratic idea that government rests on the consent of the governed. The example of the first successful revolution against a European empire, and the first successful establishment of a republican form of democratically elected government, provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations with directly elected representative government.\n\nThe Dutch Republic, also at war with Britain, was the next country to sign a treaty with the United States, on October 8, 1782. On April 3, 1783, Ambassador Extraordinary Gustaf Philip Creutz, representing King Gustav III of Sweden, and Benjamin Franklin, signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the U.S.\n\nThe American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions: the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American wars of independence. Aftershocks reached Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the Netherlands.\n\nThe Revolution had a strong, immediate influence in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs spoke in favor of the American cause. In Ireland, there was a profound impact; the Protestants who controlled Ireland were demanding more and more self-rule. Under the leadership of Henry Grattan, the so-called \"Patriots\" forced the reversal of mercantilist prohibitions against trade with other British colonies. The King and his cabinet in London could not risk another rebellion on the American model, and made a series of concessions to the Patriot faction in Dublin. Armed Protestant volunteer units were set up to protect against an invasion from France. As in America, so too in Ireland the King no longer had a monopoly of lethal force.\n\nThe Revolution, along with the Dutch Revolt (end of the 16th century) and the 17th century English Civil War, was among the examples of overthrowing an old regime for many Europeans who later were active during the era of the French Revolution, such as Marquis de Lafayette. The American Declaration of Independence influenced the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789. The spirit of the Declaration of Independence led to laws ending slavery in all the Northern states and the Northwest Territory, with New Jersey the last in 1804. States such as New Jersey and New York adopted gradual emancipation, which kept some people as slaves for more than two decades longer.\n\n===Status of American women===\nThe democratic ideals of the Revolution inspired changes in the roles of women.\n\nThe concept of republican motherhood was inspired by this period and reflects the importance of Republicanism as the dominant American ideology. It assumed that a successful republic rested upon the virtue of its citizens. Women were considered to have the essential role of instilling their children with values conducive to a healthy republic. During this period, the wife's relationship with her husband also became more liberal, as love and affection instead of obedience and subservience began to characterize the ideal marital relationship. In addition, many women contributed to the war effort through fundraising and running family businesses in the absence of husbands.\n\nThe traditional constraints gave way to more liberal conditions for women. Patriarchy faded as an ideal; young people had more freedom to choose their spouses and more often used birth control to regulate the size of their families. Society emphasized the role of mothers in child rearing, especially the patriotic goal of raising republican children rather than those locked into aristocratic value systems. There was more permissiveness in child-rearing. Patriot women married to Loyalists who left the state could get a divorce and obtain control of the ex-husband's property.\nWhatever gains they had made, however, women still found themselves subordinated, legally and socially, to their husbands, disfranchised and usually with only the role of mother open to them. But, some women earned livelihoods as midwives and in other roles in the community, which were not originally recognized as significant by men.\n\nAbigail Adams expressed to her husband, the president, the desire of women to have a place in the new republic:\n\n\n\nZagarri in 2007 argued that the American Revolution created a continuing debate on the rights of woman and an environment favorable to women's participation in U.S. politics. She asserts that for a brief decade, a \"comprehensive transformation in women's rights, roles, and responsibilities seemed not only possible but perhaps inevitable.\" But, the changes also engendered a backlash that set back the cause of women's rights and led to a greater rigidity that marginalized women from political life.\n\nFor more than thirty years, however, the 1776 New Jersey State Constitution gave the vote to \"all inhabitants\" who had a certain level of wealth, including unmarried women and blacks (not married women because they could not own property separately from their husbands), until in 1807, when that state legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal ''white male'' suffrage, excluding paupers.\n\n===Status of African Americans===\nIn the first two decades after the American Revolution, state legislatures and individuals took actions to free numerous slaves, in part based on revolutionary ideals. Northern states passed new constitutions that contained language about equal rights or specifically abolished slavery; some states, such as New York and New Jersey, where slavery was more widespread, passed laws by the end of the 18th century to abolish slavery by a gradual method; in New York, the last slaves were freed in 1827.\n\nWhile no southern state abolished slavery, for a period individual owners could free their slaves by personal decision, often providing for manumission in wills but sometimes filing deeds or court papers to free individuals. Numerous slaveholders who freed their slaves cited revolutionary ideals in their documents; others freed slaves as a reward for service. Records also suggest that some slaveholders were freeing their own mixed-race children, born into slavery to slave mothers.\n\n===Memory===\n\n250px\nGovernor's Palace, Colonial Williamsburg, a restored colonial city, Williamburg, Virginia\nThe American Revolution has a central place in the American memory. As the founding story, it is covered in the schools, memorialized by a national holiday, and commemorated in innumerable monuments. Thus Independence Day (the \"Fourth of July\") is a major national holiday celebrated annually. Besides local sites such as Bunker Hill, one of the first national pilgrimages for memorial tourists was Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate (near Washington City), which attracted ten thousand visitors a year by the 1850s.\n\nCrider points out that in the 1850s, editors and orators both North and South claimed their region was the true custodian of the legacy of 1776, as they used the Revolution symbolically in their rhetoric. Ryan, noting that the Bicentennial was celebrated a year after the United States' humiliating 1975 withdrawal from Vietnam, says the Ford administration stressed the themes of renewal and rebirth based on a restoration of traditional values, and presented a nostalgic approach to 1776 that made it seem eternally young and fresh.\n\nAlbanese argues that the Revolution became the main source of the non-denominational \"American civil religion\" that has shaped patriotism, and the memory and meaning of the nation's birth ever since. She says that specific battles are not central (as they are for the Civil War) but rather certain events and people have been celebrated as icons of certain virtues (or vices). Thus she points out the Revolution produced a Moses-like leader (George Washington), prophets (Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine), disciples (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison) and martyrs (Boston Massacre, Nathan Hale), as well as devils (Benedict Arnold), sacred places (Valley Forge, Bunker Hill), rituals (Boston Tea Party), emblems (the new flag), sacred holidays (Independence Day), and a holy scripture whose every sentence is carefully studied and applied in current law cases (The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights).\n", "* Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War\n* Timeline of the American Revolution\n* Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War\n* Founding Fathers of the United States\n* Patriot (American Revolution)\n* Sons of Liberty\n* List of plays and films about the American Revolution\n", "\n", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n", ":Further information : Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War  and  Bibliography of George Washington\n\n===Reference works===\n* Barnes, Ian, and Charles Royster. ''The Historical Atlas of the American Revolution'' (2000), maps and commentary excerpt and text search\n* \n* \n* Cappon, Lester J. ''Atlas of Early American History: The Revolutionary Era, 1760–1790'' (1976)\n* Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard A. Ryerson, eds. ''The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History'' (5 vol. 2006) 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all topics\n* Gray, Edward G., and Jane Kamensky, eds. ''The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution'' (2013) 672 pp; 33 essays by scholars\n* Greene, Jack P. and J. R. Pole, eds. ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (2004), 777pp an expanded edition of Greene and Pole, eds. ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution'' (1994); comprehensive coverage of political and social themes and international dimension; thin on military\n* Kennedy, Frances H. ''The American Revolution: A Historical Guidebook'' (2014) A guide to 150 famous historical sites.\n* Purcell, L. Edward. ''Who Was Who in the American Revolution'' (1993); 1500 short biographies\n* Resch, John P., ed. ''Americans at War: Society, Culture and the Homefront'' vol 1 (2005), articles by scholars\n* Symonds, Craig L. and William J. Clipson. ''A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1986) new diagrams of each battle\n\n===Surveys of the era===\n* Allison, Robert. ''The American Revolution: A Concise History'' (2011) 128pp excerpt and text search\n* Axelrod, Alan. ''The Real History of the American Revolution: A New Look at the Past'' (2009), well-illustrated popular history\n* Bancroft, George. ''History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent.'' (1854–78), vol 4–10 online edition, classic 19th century narrative; highly detailed\n* Black, Jeremy. ''War for America: The Fight for Independence 1775–1783'' (2001) 266pp; by leading British scholar\n* Brown, Richard D., and Thomas Paterson, eds. ''Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760–1791: Documents and Essays'' (2nd ed. 1999)\n* Christie, Ian R. and Benjamin W. Labaree. ''Empire or Independence: 1760-1776'' (1976)\n* Cogliano, Francis D. ''Revolutionary America, 1763–1815; A Political History'' (2nd ed. 2008), British textbook\n* Ellis, Joseph J. ''American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic'' (2008) excerpt and text search\n* Higginbotham, Don. ''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789'' (1983) Online in ACLS Humanities E-book Project; comprehensive coverage of military and domestic aspects of the war.\n* Jensen, Merrill. ''The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 1763–1776.'' (2004)\n* Knollenberg, Bernhard. ''Growth of the American Revolution: 1766–1775'' (2003)\n* Lecky, William Edward Hartpole. ''The American Revolution, 1763–1783'' (1898), older British perspective online edition\n* Mackesy, Piers. ''The War for America: 1775–1783'' (1992), British military study online edition\n* Middlekauff, Robert. '' The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789'' (Oxford History of the United States, 2005). online edition\n* Miller, John C. ''Triumph of Freedom, 1775–1783'' (1948) online edition\n* Miller, John C. ''Origins of the American Revolution'' (1943) online edition, to 1775\n* Rakove, Jack N. ''Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America'' (2010) interpretation by leading scholar excerpt and text search\n* Taylor, Alan. ''American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804'' (2016) 704pp; recent survey by leading scholar\n* Weintraub, Stanley. ''Iron Tears: Rebellion in America 1775–83'' (2005) excerpt and text search, popular\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different'' (2007)\n* Wrong, George M. ''Washington and His Comrades in Arms: A Chronicle of the War of Independence'' (1921) online short survey by Canadian scholar online\n\n===Specialized studies===\n* Bailyn, Bernard. ''The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.'' (Harvard University Press, 1967). \n* Bangs, Jeremy D. \"The Travels of Elkanah Watson\". (McFarland & Company, 2015).\n* Becker, Carl. ''The Declaration of Independence: A Study on the History of Political Ideas'' (1922)\n* Becker, Frank: The American Revolution as a European Media Event, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: October 25, 2011.\n* Berkin, Carol.''Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence'' (2006)\n* Bonomi, Patricia U., ''Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America'' (2003)\n* Breen, T. H. ''The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence'' (2005)\n* Breen, T. H. ''American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People'' (2010) 337 pages; examines rebellions in 1774–76 including loosely organized militants took control before elected safety committees emerged.\n* Brunsman, Denver, and David J Silverman, eds. ''The American Revolution Reader'' (Routledge Readers in History, 2013) 472pp; essays by leading scholars\n* Chernow, Ron. ''Washington: A Life'' (2010) detailed biography; Pulitzer Prize\n* Crow, Jeffrey J. and Larry E. Tise, eds. ''The Southern Experience in the American Revolution'' (1978)\n* Fischer, David Hackett. ''Paul Revere's Ride'' (1995), Minutemen in 1775\n* Fischer, David Hackett. ''Washington's Crossing'' (2004). 1776 campaigns; Pulitzer prize. \n* Freeman, Douglas Southall. ''Washington'' (1968) Pulitzer Prize; abridged version of 7 vol biography\n* Horne, Gerald. ''The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.'' (New York University Press, 2014). \n* Kerber, Linda K. ''Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America'' (1979)\n* Kidd, Thomas S. ''God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution'' (2010)\n* McCullough, David. ''1776'' (2005). ; popular narrative of the year 1776\n* Maier, Pauline. ''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence'' (1998) excerpt and text search\n* Nash, Gary B. ''The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America''. (2005). \n* Nevins, Allan; ''The American States during and after the Revolution, 1775–1789'' 1927. online edition\n* Norton, Mary Beth. ''Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750–1800'' (1980)\n* O'Shaughnessy Andrew Jackson. ''The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire'' (Yale University Press; 2013) 466 pages; on top British leaders\n* Palmer, Robert R. ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800.'' vol 1 (1959) online edition\n* Resch, John Phillips and Walter Sargent, eds. ''War and Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization and Home Fronts'' (2006)\n* Rothbard, Murray, ''Conceived in Liberty'' (2000), ''Volume III: Advance to Revolution, 1760–1775'' and ''Volume IV: The Revolutionary War, 1775–1784''. , libertarian perspective\n* Van Tyne, Claude Halstead. ''American Loyalists: The Loyalists in the American Revolution'' (1902) online edition\n* Volo, James M. and Dorothy Denneen Volo. ''Daily Life during the American Revolution'' (2003)\n* Wahlke, John C. ed. ''The Causes of the American Revolution'' (1967) readings\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''American Revolution'' (2005) excerpt and text search 208pp excerpt and text search\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''The Radicalism of the American Revolution: How a Revolution Transformed a Monarchical Society into a Democratic One Unlike Any That Had Ever Existed''. (1992), by a leading scholar\n\n===Historiography===\n* Breen, Timothy H. \"Ideology and nationalism on the eve of the American Revolution: Revisions once more in need of revising.\" ''Journal of American History'' (1997): 13-39. in JSTOR\n* Schocket, Andrew M. ''Fighting over the Founders: How We Remember the American Revolution'' (2014), how politicians, screenwriters, activists, biographers, museum professionals, and reenactors portray the American Revolution. excerpt\n* Sehat, David. ''The Jefferson Rule: How the Founding Fathers Became Infallible and Our Politics Inflexibl'' (2015) excerpt\n* Shalhope, Robert E. \"Toward a republican synthesis: the emergence of an understanding of republicanism in American historiography.\" ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1972): 49-80. in JSTOR\n* Waldstreicher, David. \"The Revolutions of Revolution Historiography: Cold War Contradance, Neo-Imperial Waltz, or Jazz Standard?.\" ''Reviews in American History'' 42.1 (2014): 23-35. online\n* Wood, Gordon S. \"Rhetoric and Reality in the American Revolution.\" ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1966): 4-32. in JSTOR\n\n===Primary sources===\n* ''The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence'' (2001), Library of America, 880pp\n* Commager, Henry Steele and Morris, Richard B., eds. ''The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution As Told by Participants'' (1975) () short excerpts from hundreds of official and unofficial primary sources\n* Dann, John C., ed. ''The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence'' (1999) excerpt and text search, recollections by ordinary soldiers\n*\n* Humphrey, Carol Sue ed. ''The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800'' (2003), 384pp; newspaper accounts excerpt and text search\n* Jensen, Merill, ed. ''Tracts of the American Revolution, 1763–1776'' (1967). American pamphlets\n* Jensen, Merill, ed. ''English Historical Documents: American Colonial Documents to 1776: Volume 9'' (1955), 890pp; major collection of important documents\n* Morison, Samuel E. ed. ''Sources and Documents Illustrating the American Revolution, 1764–1788, and the Formation of the Federal Constitution'' (1923). 370 pp online version\n* Tansill, Charles C. ed.; ''Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States.'' Government Printing Office. (1927). 1124 pages online version\n* Martin Kallich and Andrew MacLeish, eds. ''The American Revolution through British eyes'' (1962) primary documents\n\n===Contemporary sources: Annual Register===\n* Murdoch, David H. ed. ''Rebellion in America: A Contemporary British Viewpoint, 1769-1783'' (1979), 900+ pp of annotated excerpts from ''Annual Register''\n* ''Annual Register'' 1773, British compendium of speeches and reports\n* 1774\n* 1775\n* 1776\n* 1777\n* 1778\n* 1779\n* 1780\n* 1781\n* 1782\n* 1783\n", "* Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution\n* 132 historic photographs dealing with the personalities, monuments, weapons and locations of the American Revolution; these are pre-1923 and out of copyright.\n* ''Pictures of the Revolutionary War: Select Audiovisual Records'', National Archives and Records Administration selection of images, including a number of non-military events and portraits\n* Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn, Revolution! explores the enormous transformations in the world's politics that took place from 1763-1815, with particular attention to three globally influential revolutions in America, France, and Haiti. Linking the attack on monarchism and aristocracy to the struggle against slavery, Revolution!shows how freedom, equality, and the sovereignty of the people became universal goals.New-York Historical Society\n* PBS Television Series\n* Chickasaws Conflicted by the American Revolution - Chickasaw.TV\n* Smithsonian study unit on Revolutionary Money\n* ''The American Revolution: Lighting Freedom's Flame'', US National Park Service website\n* ''Honored Places: The National Park Service Teacher's Guide to the American Revolution''\n* Haldimand Collection Letters regarding the war to important generals. Fully indexed\n* \"Military History of Revolution\" with links to documents, maps, URLs\n* American Independence Museum\n* Black Loyalist Heritage Society\n* Spanish and Latin American contribution to the American Revolution\n* American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution at Northern Illinois University Libraries\n* American Revolution study guide and teacher resources\n* AmericanRevolution.Org Resource for pre collegiate historical educational institutions\n* The American Revolution, the History Channel (US cable television) website\n* Gayle Olson-Ramer, \"Half a Revolution\", 16-page teaching guide for high school students, Zinn Education Project/Rethinking Schools\n* \"Counter-Revolution of 1776\": Was U.S. Independence War a Conservative Revolt in Favor of Slavery? ''Democracy Now!'' June 27, 2014.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Origin", "Military hostilities begin", "Creating new state constitutions", "Independence and Union", "Defending the Revolution", "Peace treaty", "Finance", "Concluding the Revolution", "Ideology and factions", "Other participants", "Effects of the Revolution", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Bibliography", "External links" ]

[ "Morris used a French loan in 1782 to set up the private Bank of North America to finance the war." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\nJohn Trumbull's ''Declaration of Independence'', showing the Committee of Five presenting its plan for independence to Congress on June 28, 1776\n\nThe '''American Revolution''' was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783.", "The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America.", "They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and others.", "Members of American colonial society argued the position of \"no taxation without representation\", starting with the Stamp Act Congress in 1765.", "They rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them because they lacked representation in Parliament.", "Protests steadily escalated to the burning of the ''Gaspee'' in Rhode Island in 1772, followed by the Boston Tea Party in 1773, during which patriots destroyed a consignment of taxed tea.", "The British responded by closing Boston Harbor, then followed with a series of legislative acts which effectively rescinded Massachusetts Bay Colony's rights of self-government and caused the other colonies to rally behind Massachusetts.", "In late 1774, the Patriots set up their own alternative government to better coordinate their resistance efforts against Great Britain; other colonists preferred to remain aligned to the British Crown and were known as Loyalists or Tories.", "Tensions erupted into battle between Patriot militia and British regulars when the British attempted to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.", "The conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots (and later their French, Spanish, and Dutch allies) fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War (1775–83).", "Each of the thirteen colonies formed a Provincial Congress that assumed power from the old colonial governments and suppressed Loyalism, and from there they built a Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington.", "The Continental Congress determined King George's rule to be tyrannical and infringing the colonists' rights as Englishmen, and they declared the colonies free and independent states on July 2, 1776.", "The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, and they proclaimed that all men are created equal.", "The Continental Army forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but the British captured and held New York City for the duration of the war.", "The British blockaded ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but they failed to defeat Washington's forces.", "The Patriots unsuccessfully attempted to invade Canada during the winter of 1775–76, but they captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, and the French entered the war as allies of the United States as a result.", "The war later turned to the American South where the British under the leadership of Charles Cornwallis captured an army at South Carolina but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilians to take effective control of the territory.", "A combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States.", "The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nation's complete separation from the British Empire.", "The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida.", "Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States.", "The new Constitution established a relatively strong federal national government that included an executive, a national judiciary, and a bicameral Congress that represented states in the Senate and the population in the House of Representatives.", "The Revolution also resulted in the migration of around 60,000 Loyalists to other British territories, especially British North America (Canada).", "\nBritish Province of Quebec, the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic coast, and the Indian Reserve as defined by the Royal Proclamation of 1763.", "The 1763 \"Proclamation line\" comprises the border between the red and the pink areas, while the orange area represents the Spanish claim.", "Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British coalition victory in the Seven Years' War in 1763.", "The North American theater of the Seven Years' War, commonly known as the French and Indian War in the United States, removed France as a major player in North American affairs and led to the cession of the territory of New France to Great Britain.", "Lawrence Henry Gipson, the historian of the British Empire, states:\n:It may be said as truly that the American Revolution was an aftermath of the Anglo-French conflict in the New World carried on between 1754 and 1763.", "The Royal Proclamation of 1763 may have played a role in the separation of the United States from Great Britain, as colonists at the time wanted to continue in the economically beneficial cultural practice of taking land for one's own livelihood as part of the drive west.", "The lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement.", "===1651–1748: Early seeds===\n\n\nAs early as 1651, the English government had sought to regulate trade in the American colonies.", "On October 9, the Navigation Acts were passed to ensure that trade enriched only Britain, barring trade with other nations.", "Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the colonists, but the political friction which the acts triggered was more serious, as the merchants most directly affected were most politically active.", "King Philip's War ended in 1678, and much of it was fought without significant assistance from England.", "This contributed to the development of a unique identity, separate from that of Britain.", "In the 1680s, King Charles II determined to bring the New England colonies under a more centralized administration in order to regulate trade more effectively.", "His efforts were fiercely opposed by the colonists, resulting in the abrogation of their colonial charter by the Crown.", "Charles' successor James II finalized these efforts in 1686, establishing the Dominion of New England.", "Dominion rule triggered bitter resentment throughout New England; the enforcement of the unpopular Navigation Acts and the curtailing of local democracy angered the colonists.", "New Englanders were encouraged, however, by a change of government in England that saw James II effectively abdicate, and a populist uprising overthrew Dominion rule on April 18, 1689.", "Colonial governments reasserted their control in the wake of the revolt, and successive governments made no more attempts to restore the Dominion.", "Subsequent English governments continued in their efforts to tax certain goods, passing acts regulating the trade of wool, hats, and molasses.", "The Molasses Act of 1733 in particular was egregious to the colonists, as a significant part of colonial trade relied on the product.", "The taxes severely damaged the New England economy, and the taxes were rarely paid as a result, resulting in a surge of smuggling, bribery, and intimidation of customs officials.", "Colonial wars fought in America were often the source of considerable tension.", "The British captured the fortress of Louisbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, but then ceded it back to France in 1748.", "New England colonists resented their losses of lives, as well as the effort and expenditure involved in subduing the fortress, only to have it returned to their erstwhile enemy.", "===1764–1766: Taxes imposed and withdrawn===\n\n\n\nNotice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper\n\nIn 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money, fearing that otherwise the colonists might evade debt payments.", "Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles.", "That same year, Prime Minister George Grenville proposed direct taxes on the colonies to raise revenue, but he delayed action to see whether the colonies would propose some way to raise the revenue themselves.", "Parliament finally passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time.", "All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets were required to have the stamps—even decks of playing cards.", "The colonists did not object that the taxes were high; they were actually low.", "They objected to the fact that they had no representation in the Parliament, and thus no voice concerning legislation that affected them.", "Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire.", "He said that local governments had raised, outfitted, and paid 25,000 soldiers to fight France—as many as Britain itself sent—and spent many millions from American treasuries doing so in the French and Indian War alone.", "London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British Army soldiers.", "The decision was to keep them on active duty with full pay, but they had to be stationed somewhere.", "Stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable, so the decision was made to station them in America and have the Americans pay them.", "The soldiers had no military mission; they were not there to defend the colonies because there was no threat to the colonies.", "The Sons of Liberty were formed in 1765.", "They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable.", "In Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson.", "Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765.", "Moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a \"Declaration of Rights and Grievances\" stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen.", "Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise.", "The Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval.", "They argued that the colonies were legally British corporations that were completely subordinate to the British parliament and pointed to numerous instances where Parliament had made laws binding on the colonies in the past.", "They did not see anything in the unwritten British constitution that made taxes special and noted that they had taxed American trade for decades.", "Parliament insisted that the colonies effectively enjoyed a \"virtual representation\" as most British people did, as only a small minority of the British population elected representatives to Parliament.", "Americans such as James Otis maintained that the Americans were not in fact virtually represented.", "In London, the Rockingham government came to power (July 1765) and Parliament debated whether to repeal the stamp tax or to send an army to enforce it.", "Benjamin Franklin made the case for repeal, explaining that the colonies had spent heavily in manpower, money, and blood in defense of the empire in a series of wars against the French and Indians, and that further taxes to pay for those wars were unjust and might bring about a rebellion.", "Parliament agreed and repealed the tax (February 21, 1766), but insisted in the Declaratory Act of March 1766 that they retained full power to make laws for the colonies \"in all cases whatsoever\".", "The repeal nonetheless caused widespread celebrations in the colonies.", "===1767–1773: Townshend Acts and the Tea Act===\n\n\nGaspee''\n\nIn 1767, the Parliament passed the Townshend Acts which placed duties on a number of essential goods, including paper, glass, and tea, and established a Board of Customs in Boston to more rigorously execute trade regulations.", "The new taxes were enacted on the belief that Americans only objected to internal taxes and not to external taxes such as custom duties.", "The Americans, however, argued against the constitutionality of the act because its purpose was to raise revenue and not regulate trade.", "Colonists responded by organizing new boycotts of British goods.", "These boycotts were less effective, however, as the Townshend goods were widely used.", "In February 1768, the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay issued a circular letter to the other colonies urging them to coordinate resistance.", "The governor dissolved the assembly when it refused to rescind the letter.", "Meanwhile, a riot broke out in Boston in June 1768 over the seizure of the sloop ''Liberty'', owned by John Hancock, for alleged smuggling.", "Customs officials were forced to flee, prompting the British to deploy troops to Boston.", "A Boston town meeting declared that no obedience was due to parliamentary laws and called for the convening of a convention.", "A convention assembled but only issued a mild protest before dissolving itself.", "In January 1769, Parliament responded to the unrest by reactivating the Treason Act 1543 which called for subjects outside the realm to face trials for treason in England.", "The governor of Massachusetts was instructed to collect evidence of said treason, and the threat caused widespread outrage, though it was not carried out.", "On March 5, 1770, a large crowd gathered around a group of British soldiers.", "The crowd grew threatening, throwing snowballs, rocks, and debris at them.", "One soldier was clubbed and fell.", "There was no order to fire, but the soldiers fired into the crowd anyway.", "They hit 11 people; three civilians died at the scene of the shooting, and two died after the incident.", "The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre.", "The soldiers were tried and acquitted (defended by John Adams), but the widespread descriptions soon began to turn colonial sentiment against the British.", "This, in turn, began a downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and the Province of Massachusetts.", "A new ministry under Lord North came to power in 1770, and Parliament withdrew all taxes except the tax on tea, giving up its efforts to raise revenue while maintaining the right to tax.", "This temporarily resolved the crisis, and the boycott of British goods largely ceased, with only the more radical patriots such as Samuel Adams continuing to agitate.", "lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled \"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor\"; the phrase \"Boston Tea Party\" had not yet become standard.", "In June 1772, American patriots, including John Brown, burned a British warship that had been vigorously enforcing unpopular trade regulations in what became known as the ''Gaspee'' Affair.", "The affair was investigated for possible treason, but no action was taken.", "In 1772, it became known that the Crown intended to pay fixed salaries to the governors and judges in Massachusetts.", "Samuel Adams in Boston set about creating new Committees of Correspondence, which linked Patriots in all 13 colonies and eventually provided the framework for a rebel government.", "Virginia, the largest colony, set up its Committee of Correspondence in early 1773, on which Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson served.", "A total of about 7000 to 8000 Patriots served on \"Committees of Correspondence\" at the colonial and local levels, comprising most of the leadership in their communities.", "Loyalists were excluded.", "The committees became the leaders of the American resistance to British actions, and largely determined the war effort at the state and local level.", "When the First Continental Congress decided to boycott British products, the colonial and local Committees took charge, examining merchant records and publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods.", "In 1773, private letters were published in which Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson claimed that the colonists could not enjoy all English liberties, and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver called for the direct payment of colonial officials.", "The letters' contents were used as evidence of a systematic plot against American rights, and discredited Hutchinson in the eyes of the people; the Assembly petitioned for his recall.", "Benjamin Franklin, postmaster general for the colonies, acknowledged that he leaked the letters, which led to him being berated by British officials and fired from his job.", "Meanwhile, Parliament passed the Tea Act to lower the price of taxed tea exported to the colonies in order to help the East India Company undersell smuggled Dutch tea.", "Special consignees were appointed to sell the tea in order to bypass colonial merchants.", "The act was opposed by those who resisted the taxes and also by smugglers who stood to lose business.", "In most instances, the consignees were forced to resign and the tea was turned back, but Massachusetts governor Hutchinson refused to allow Boston merchants to give in to pressure.", "A town meeting in Boston determined that the tea would not be landed, and ignored a demand from the governor to disperse.", "On December 16, 1773, a group of men, led by Samuel Adams and dressed to evoke the appearance of American Indians, boarded the ships of the British East India Company and dumped £10,000 worth of tea from their holds (approximately £636,000 in 2008) into Boston Harbor.", "Decades later, this event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a significant part of American patriotic lore.", "===1774–1775: Intolerable Acts and the Quebec Act===\nA 1774 etching from ''The London Magazine'', copied by Paul Revere of Boston.", "Prime Minister Lord North, author of the Boston Port Act, forces the Intolerable Acts down the throat of America, whose arms are restrained by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, while Lord Sandwich pins down her feet and peers up her robes.", "Behind them, Mother Britannia weeps helplessly.", "The British government responded by passing several Acts which came to be known as the Intolerable Acts, which further darkened colonial opinion towards the British.", "They consisted of four laws enacted by the British parliament.", "The first was the Massachusetts Government Act which altered the Massachusetts charter and restricted town meetings.", "The second act was the Administration of Justice Act which ordered that all British soldiers to be tried were to be arraigned in Britain, not in the colonies.", "The third Act was the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until the British had been compensated for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party.", "The fourth Act was the Quartering Act of 1774, which allowed royal governors to house British troops in the homes of citizens without requiring permission of the owner.", "In response, Massachusetts patriots issued the Suffolk Resolves and formed an alternative shadow government known as the \"Provincial Congress\" which began training militia outside British-occupied Boston.", "In September 1774, the First Continental Congress convened, consisting of representatives from each of the colonies, to serve as a vehicle for deliberation and collective action.", "During secret debates, conservative Joseph Galloway proposed the creation of a colonial Parliament that would be able to approve or disapprove of acts of the British Parliament, but his idea was not accepted.", "The Congress instead endorsed the proposal of John Adams that Americans would obey Parliament voluntarily but would resist all taxes in disguise.", "Congress called for a boycott beginning on 1 December 1774 of all British goods; it was enforced by new committees authorized by the Congress.", "Join, or Die by Benjamin Franklin was recycled to encourage the former colonies to unite against British rule.", "Massachusetts was declared in a state of rebellion in February 1775 and the British garrison received orders to disarm the rebels and arrest their leaders, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775.", "The Patriots laid siege to Boston, expelled royal officials from all the colonies, and took control through the establishment of Provincial Congresses.", "The Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17, 1775.", "It was a British victory—but at a great cost: about 1,000 British casualties from a garrison of about 6,000, as compared to 500 American casualties from a much larger force.", "The Second Continental Congress was divided on the best course of action, but eventually produced the Olive Branch Petition, in which they attempted to come to an accord with King George.", "The king, however, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion which stated that the states were \"in rebellion\" and the members of Congress were traitors.", "In the winter of 1775, the Americans invaded Canada under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery.", "The attack was a complete failure; many Americans who weren't killed were either captured or died of smallpox.", "In March 1776, the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston, with George Washington as the commander of the new army.", "The revolutionaries were now in full control of all 13 colonies and were ready to declare independence.", "There still were many Loyalists, but they were no longer in control anywhere by July 1776, and all of the Royal officials had fled.", "Following the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, the Patriots had control of Massachusetts outside the Boston city limits, and the Loyalists suddenly found themselves on the defensive with no protection from the British army.", "In all 13 colonies, Patriots had overthrown their existing governments, closing courts and driving away British officials.", "They had elected conventions and \"legislatures\" that existed outside any legal framework; new constitutions were drawn up in each state to supersede royal charters.", "They declared that they were states now, not colonies.", "On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution.", "In May 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority.", "Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4.", "Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown.", "The new states were all committed to republicanism, with no inherited offices.", "They decided what form of government to create, and also how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified.", "On 26 May 1776, John Adams wrote James Sullivan from Philadelphia:\n\n\"Depend upon it, sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation, as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters.", "There will be no end of it.", "New claims will arise.", "Women will demand a vote.", "Lads from twelve to twenty one will think their rights not enough attended to, and every man, who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other in all acts of state.", "It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks, to one common level\".", "The resulting constitutions in states such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York, and Massachusetts featured:\n* Property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications)\n* Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower\n* Strong governors with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority\n* Few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government\n* The continuation of state-established religion\n Benjamin Rush, 1783\nIn Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, the resulting constitutions embodied:\n* universal manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property-owning widows, a step that it retracted 25 years later)\n* strong, unicameral legislatures\n* relatively weak governors without veto powers, and with little appointing authority\n* prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts\n\nThe radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution lasted only 14 years.", "In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution.", "The new constitution substantially reduced universal male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature.", "Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America.", "Johannes Adam Simon Oertel.", "''Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C.", "'', ca.", "1859.", "The painting is a romanticized version of the Sons of Liberty destroying the symbol of monarchy following the reading of the United States Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army and residents on the New York City commons by George Washington, July 9th, 1776.", "In April 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress issued the Halifax Resolves, explicitly authorizing its delegates to vote for independence.", "In May, Congress called on all the states to write constitutions and eliminate the last remnants of royal rule.", "By June, nine colonies were ready for independence; one by one, the last four fell into line—Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New York.", "Richard Henry Lee was instructed by the Virginia legislature to propose independence, and he did so on June 7, 1776.", "On the 11th, a committee was created to draft a document explaining the justifications for separation from Britain.", "After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for on July 2.", "The Declaration of Independence was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the committee; it was slightly revised and unanimously adopted by the entire Congress on July 4, marking the formation of a new sovereign nation which called itself the United States of America.", "The Second Continental Congress approved a new constitution, the \"Articles of Confederation,\" for ratification by the states on November 15, 1777, and immediately began operating under their terms.", "The Articles were formally ratified on March 1, 1781.", "At that point, the Continental Congress was dissolved and a new government of the United States in Congress Assembled took its place on the following day, with Samuel Huntington as presiding officer.", "\n\n===British return: 1776–1777===\n\nAccording to British historian Jeremy Black, the British had significant advantages, including a highly trained army, the world's largest navy, and a highly efficient system of public finance that could easily fund the war.", "However, the British were seriously handicapped by their misunderstanding of the depth of support for the Patriot position.", "Ignoring the advice of General Gage, they misinterpreted the situation as merely a large-scale riot.", "London decided that they could overawe the Americans by sending a large military and naval force, forcing them to be loyal again:\n\n\n\nWashington forced the British out of Boston in the spring of 1776, and neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas.", "The British, however, were massing forces at their naval base at Halifax, Nova Scotia.", "They returned in force in July 1776, landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army in August at the Battle of Brooklyn.", "Following that victory, the British requested a meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities.", "A delegation including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin met Howe on Staten Island in New York Harbor on September 11, in what became known as the Staten Island Peace Conference.", "Howe demanded a retraction of the Declaration of Independence, which was refused, and negotiations ended.", "The British then quickly seized New York City and nearly captured Washington's army.", "They made New York their main political and military base of operations in North America, holding it until November 1783.", "The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's intelligence network.", "The British also took New Jersey, pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania.", "Washington crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey in a surprise attack in late December 1776 and defeated Hessian and British armies at Trenton and Princeton, thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey.", "The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and have become iconic events of the war.", "In 1777, the British sent Burgoyne's invasion force from Canada south to New York to seal off New England.", "Their aim was to neutralize the Yankees, whom the British perceived as the primary source of agitators.", "The British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington.", "The invasion army under Burgoyne was much too slow and became trapped in northern New York state.", "It surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777.", "From early October 1777 until November 15, a siege distracted British troops at Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and allowed Washington time to preserve the Continental Army by safely leading his troops to harsh winter quarters at Valley Forge.", "===Prisoners===\n\nIn August 1775, George III declared Americans in arms against royal authority to be traitors to the Crown.", "Following their surrender at the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777, there were thousands of British and Hessian soldiers in American hands.", "Although Lord Germain took a hard line, the British generals on the scene never held treason trials; they treated captured enemy soldiers as prisoners of war.", "The dilemma was that tens of thousands of Loyalists were under American control and American retaliation would have been easy.", "The British built much of their strategy around using these Loyalists, and therefore, no Americans were put on trial for treason.", "The British maltreated the prisoners whom they held, resulting in more deaths to American sailors and soldiers than from combat operations.", "At the end of the war, both sides released their surviving prisoners.", "===American alliances after 1778===\n\n\nThe capture of a British army at Saratoga encouraged the French to formally enter the war in support of Congress.", "Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778, significantly becoming the first country to officially recognize the Declaration of Independence.", "On February 6, 1778, a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance were signed between the United States and France.", "William Pitt spoke out in parliament urging Britain to make peace in America and to unite with America against France, while other British politicians who had previously sympathized with colonial grievances now turned against the Americans for allying with Britain's international rival and enemy.", "Later, Spain (in 1779) and the Dutch (1780) became allies of the French, leaving the British Empire to fight a global war alone without major allies, and requiring it to slip through a combined blockade of the Atlantic.", "The American theater thus became only one front in Britain's war.", "The British were forced to withdraw troops from continental America to reinforce the valuable sugar-producing Caribbean colonies, which were more lucrative to British investors.", "British commander Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and returned to New York City.", "General Washington intercepted Clinton in the Battle of Monmouth Court House, the last major battle fought in the north.", "After an inconclusive engagement, the British successfully retreated to New York City.", "The northern war subsequently became a stalemate, as the focus of attention shifted to the smaller southern theater.", "Hessian troops hired out to the British by their German sovereigns\n\n===The British move South, 1778–1783===\n\n\nThe British strategy in America now concentrated on a campaign in the southern states.", "With fewer regular troops at their disposal, the British commanders saw the \"southern strategy\" as a more viable plan, as the south was perceived as being more strongly Loyalist, with a large population of recent immigrants as well as large numbers of slaves who might be captured or run away to join the British.", "Beginning in late December 1778, the British captured Savannah and controlled the Georgia coastline.", "In 1780, they launched a fresh invasion and took Charleston, as well.", "A significant victory at the Battle of Camden meant that royal forces soon controlled most of Georgia and South Carolina.", "The British set up a network of forts inland, hoping that the Loyalists would rally to the flag.", "Not enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia, with a severely weakened army.", "Behind them, much of the territory that they had already captured dissolved into a chaotic guerrilla war, fought predominantly between bands of Loyalist and American militia, which negated many of the gains that the British had previously made.", "====Surrender at Yorktown (1781)====\n\n\nThe siege of Yorktown ended with the surrender of a second British army, marking effective British defeat.", "The British army under Cornwallis marched to Yorktown, Virginia where they expected to be rescued by a British fleet.", "The fleet showed up, but so did a larger French fleet, so the British fleet returned to New York for reinforcements after the Battle of the Chesapeake, leaving Cornwallis trapped.", "In October 1781, the British surrendered their second invading army of the war, under a siege by the combined French and Continental armies commanded by Washington.", "===The end of the war===\nHistorians continue to debate whether the odds for American victory were long or short.", "John E. Ferling says that the odds were so long that the American victory was \"almost a miracle\".", "On the other hand, Joseph Ellis says that the odds favored the Americans, and asks whether there ever was any realistic chance for the British to win.", "He argues that this opportunity came only once, in the summer of 1776, and the British failed that test.", "Admiral Howe and his brother General Howe \"missed several opportunities to destroy the Continental Army....", "Chance, luck, and even the vagaries of the weather played crucial roles.\"", "Ellis's point is that the strategic and tactical decisions of the Howes were fatally flawed because they underestimated the challenges posed by the Patriots.", "Ellis concludes that, once the Howe brothers failed, the opportunity for a British victory \"would never come again.\"", "Support for the conflict had never been strong in Britain, where many sympathized with the Americans, but now it reached a new low.", "King George III personally wanted to fight on, but his supporters lost control of Parliament and no further major land offensives were launched in the American Theater.", "Washington could not know that the British would not reopen hostilities after Yorktown.", "They still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston, and Savannah, together with a powerful fleet.", "The French army and navy departed, so the Americans were on their own in 1782–83.", "The treasury was empty, and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive, almost to the point of mutiny or possible ''coup d'état''.", "The unrest among officers of the Newburgh Conspiracy was personally dispelled by Washington in 1783, and Congress subsequently created the promise of a five years bonus for all officers.", "\nDuring negotiations in Paris, the American delegation discovered that France would support independence, but no territorial gains.", "The new nation would be confined to the area east of the Appalachian Mountains.", "The American delegation opened direct secret negotiations with London, cutting the French out.", "British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne was in full charge of the British negotiations.", "He now saw a chance make the United States a valuable economic partner.", "The U.S. obtained all the land east of the Mississippi River, south of Canada, and north of Florida.", "It gained fishing rights off Canadian coasts, and agreed to allow British merchants and Loyalists to try to recover their property.", "It was a highly favorable treaty for the United States, and deliberately so from the British point of view.", "Prime Minister Shelburne foresaw highly profitable two-way trade between Britain and the rapidly growing United States, as indeed came to pass.", "Since the blockade was lifted and the old imperial restrictions were gone, American merchants were free to trade with any nation anywhere in the world, and their businesses flourished.", "The British largely abandoned the Indian allies living in the new nation.", "They were not a party to this treaty and did not recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States.", "However, the British did promise to support the Indians.", "They sold them munitions and maintained forts in American territory until the Jay Treaty of 1795.", "===Impact on Britain===\nLosing the war and the 13 colonies was a shock to Britain.", "The war revealed the limitations of Britain's fiscal-military state when they discovered that they suddenly faced powerful enemies with no allies, and they were dependent on extended and vulnerable transatlantic lines of communication.", "The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the King's ministers.", "Inside parliament, the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to the issues of representation, parliamentary reform, and government retrenchment.", "Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption.", "The result was a powerful crisis from 1776 to 1783.", "The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate, while the British economy boomed thanks to the return of American business.", "The crisis ended after 1784 thanks to the King's shrewdness in outwitting Charles James Fox (the leader of the Fox-North Coalition), and renewed confidence in the system engendered by the leadership of the new Prime Minister William Pitt.", "Historians conclude that loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the French Revolution with more unity and better organization than would otherwise have been the case.", "Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire.", "Britain's war against the Americans, French, and Spanish cost about £100 million.", "The Treasury borrowed 40% of the money that it needed.", "Heavy spending brought France to the verge of bankruptcy and revolution, while the British had relatively little difficulty financing their war, keeping their suppliers and soldiers paid, and hiring tens of thousands of German soldiers.", "Britain had a sophisticated financial system based on the wealth of thousands of landowners, who supported the government, together with banks and financiers in London.", "The British tax system collected about 12 percent of the GDP in taxes during the 1770s.", "In sharp contrast, Congress and the American states had no end of difficulty financing the war.", "In 1775, there was at most 12 million dollars in gold in the colonies, not nearly enough to cover current transactions, let alone finance a major war.", "The British made the situation much worse by imposing a tight blockade on every American port, which cut off almost all imports and exports.", "One partial solution was to rely on volunteer support from militiamen and donations from patriotic citizens.", "Another was to delay actual payments, pay soldiers and suppliers in depreciated currency, and promise that it would be made good after the war.", "Indeed, the soldiers and officers were given land grants in 1783 to cover the wages that they had earned but had not been paid during the war.", "Not until 1781 did the national government have a strong leader in financial matters, when Robert Morris was named Superintendent of Finance of the United States.", "Seeking greater efficiency, Morris reduced the civil list, saved money by using competitive bidding for contracts, tightened accounting procedures, and demanded the national government's full share of money and supplies from the confederated states.", "Congress used four main methods to cover the cost of the war, which cost about 66 million dollars in specie (gold and silver).", "Congress made two issues of paper money—in 1775–1780 and in 1780–81.", "The first issue amounted to 242 million dollars.", "This paper money would supposedly be redeemed for state taxes, but the holders were eventually paid off in 1791 at the rate of one cent on the dollar.", "By 1780, the paper money was \"not worth a Continental\", as people said.", "The skyrocketing inflation was a hardship on the few people who had fixed incomes—but 90 percent of the people were farmers, and were not directly affected by that inflation.", "Debtors benefited by paying off their debts with depreciated paper.", "The greatest burden was borne by the soldiers of the Continental Army, whose wages were usually in arrears and declined in value every month, weakening their morale and adding to the hardships of their families.", "Beginning in 1777, Congress repeatedly asked the states to provide money.", "But the states had no system of taxation either, and were little help.", "By 1780, Congress was making requisitions for specific supplies of corn, beef, pork, and other necessities—an inefficient system that kept the army barely alive.", "Starting in 1776, the Congress sought to raise money by loans from wealthy individuals, promising to redeem the bonds after the war.", "The bonds were in fact redeemed in 1791 at face value, but the scheme raised little money because Americans had little specie, and many of the rich merchants were supporters of the Crown.", "Starting in 1776, the French secretly supplied the Americans with money, gunpowder, and munitions in order to weaken its arch enemy Great Britain.", "When France officially entered the war in 1778, the subsidies continued, and the French government, as well as bankers in Paris and Amsterdam, lent large sums to the American war effort.", "These loans were repaid in full in the 1790s.", "\n\n\n===Creating a \"more perfect union\" and guaranteeing rights===\n\nThe war finally ended in 1783 and was followed by a period of prosperity.", "The national government was still operating under the Articles of Confederation and was able to settle the issue of the western territories, which were ceded by the states to Congress.", "American settlers moved rapidly into those areas, with Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee becoming states in the 1790s.", "However, the national government had no money to pay either the war debts owed to European nations and the private banks, or to pay Americans who had been given millions of dollars of promissory notes for supplies during the war.", "Nationalists led by Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other veterans feared that the new nation was too fragile to withstand an international war, or even internal revolts such as the Shays' Rebellion of 1786 in Massachusetts.", "Calling themselves \"Federalists,\" the nationalists convinced Congress to call the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.", "It adopted a new Constitution that provided for a much stronger federal government, including an effective executive in a check-and-balance system with the judiciary and legislature.", "The Constitution was ratified in 1788, after a fierce debate in the states over the nature of the proposed new government.", "The new government under President George Washington took office in New York in March 1789.", "Amendments to the Constitution were spearheaded in Congress by James Madison as assurances to those who were cautious about federal power, guaranteeing many of the inalienable rights that formed a foundation for the revolution.", "The amendments were ratified by the states in 1791.", "===National debt===\n\n\nThe national debt fell into three categories after the American Revolution.", "The first was the $12 million owed to foreigners, mostly money borrowed from France.", "There was general agreement to pay the foreign debts at full value.", "The national government owed $40 million and state governments owed $25 million to Americans who had sold food, horses, and supplies to the revolutionary forces.", "There were also other debts that consisted of promissory notes issued during the Revolutionary War to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who accepted these payments on the premise that the new Constitution would create a government that would pay these debts eventually.", "The war expenses of the individual states added up to $114 million compared to $37 million by the central government.", "In 1790, Congress combined the remaining state debts with the foreign and domestic debts into one national debt totaling $80 million at the recommendation of first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.", "Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.", "The population of the 13 Colonies was not homogeneous in their political views and attitudes.", "Loyalties and allegiances varied widely within regions and communities and even within families, and sometimes shifted during the course of the Revolution.", "===Ideology behind the Revolution===\n\nThe American Enlightenment was a critical precursor of the American Revolution.", "Chief among the ideas of the American Enlightenment were the concepts of Natural Law, Natural Rights, Consent of the Governed, Individualism, Property Rights, Self-Ownership, Self-Determination, liberalism, republicanism and fear of corruption.", "Collectively, the acceptance of these concepts by a growing number of American colonists began to foster an intellectual environment which would lead to a new sense of political and social identity.", "====Liberalism====\n\n\n\nIn this portrait by John Singleton Copley, Samuel Adams points at the Massachusetts Charter, which he viewed as a constitution that protected the people's rights.", "John Locke's (1632–1704) ideas on liberty influenced the political thinking behind the revolution, especially through his indirect influence on English writers such as John Trenchard, Thomas Gordon, and Benjamin Hoadly, whose political ideas in turn had a strong influence on the American revolutionaries.", "Locke is often referred to as \"the philosopher of the American Revolution\", and is credited with leading Americans to the critical concepts of social contract, natural rights, and \"born free and equal.\"", "Locke's Two Treatises of Government published in 1689 were especially influential.", "He argued that all humans were created equally free, and governments therefore needed the \"consent of the governed.\"", "In late eighteenth-century America, belief was still widespread in \"equality by creation\" and \"rights by creation\".", "The theory of the \"social contract\" influenced the belief among many of the Founders that among the \"natural rights\" of man was the right of the people to overthrow their leaders, should those leaders betray the historic rights of Englishmen.", "In terms of writing state and national constitutions, the Americans heavily used Montesquieu's analysis of the wisdom of the \"balanced\" British Constitution (mixed government).", "====Republicanism====\n\n\nA central motivating force behind the overthrow of monarchy and aristocracy was the American embrace of a political ideology called \"republicanism\", which was dominant in the colonies by 1775 but of minor importance back in Great Britain.", "The republicanism was inspired by the \"country party\" in Great Britain, whose critique of British government emphasized that corruption was a terrible reality in Great Britain.", "Americans feared that the corruption was crossing the Atlantic; the commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their rights energized the revolution, as Britain was increasingly seen as hopelessly corrupt and hostile to American interests.", "Britain seemed to threaten the established liberties that Americans enjoyed.", "The greatest threat to liberty was depicted as corruption—not just in London but at home, as well.", "The colonists associated it with luxury, and especially with inherited aristocracy, which they condemned.", "The Founding Fathers were strong advocates of republican values, particularly Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, which required men to put civic duty ahead of their personal desires.", "Men had a civic duty to be prepared and willing to fight for the rights and liberties of their countrymen.", "John Adams wrote to Mercy Otis Warren in 1776, agreeing with some classical Greek and Roman thinkers in that \"Public Virtue cannot exist without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics.\"", "He continued:\n\n\n\nFor women, \"republican motherhood\" became the ideal, exemplified by Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren; the first duty of the republican woman was to instill republican values in her children and to avoid luxury and ostentation.", "=====Fusing republicanism and liberalism=====\n\nThomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'', published in 1776\nSome republics had emerged throughout history, such as the Roman Republic of the ancient world, but none ever existed that was based on liberal principles.", "Thomas Paine's pamphlet ''Common Sense'' appeared in January 1776, after the Revolution had started.", "It was widely distributed and loaned, and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism together, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Great Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army.", "Paine provided a new and widely accepted argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history.", "''Common Sense'' is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice.", "It offered a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.", "====Impact of Great Awakening====\n\nDissenting churches of the day (i.e., Protestant, non-Church of England) were, in the words of Patricia Bonomi, the \"school of democracy.\"", "President John Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) wrote widely circulated sermons linking the American Revolution to the teachings of the Bible.", "Throughout the colonies, dissenting Protestant ministers (Congregationalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian) preached Revolutionary themes in their sermons, while most Church of England clergymen preached loyalty to the king, the titular head of the English state church.", "Religious motivation for fighting tyranny transcended socioeconomic lines to encompass rich and poor, men and women, frontiersmen and townsmen, farmers and merchants.", "The Declaration also referred to the \"Laws of Nature and of Nature's God\" as justification for the Americans' separation from the British monarchy.", "Most eighteenth-century Americans believed that nature, the entire universe, was God's creation.", "Therefore, he was \"Nature's God.\"", "Everything, including man, was part of the \"universal order of things\", which began with God and was pervaded and directed by his providence.", "Accordingly, the signers of the Declaration professed their \"firm reliance on the Protection of divine Providence.\"", "And they appealed to \"the Supreme Judge God for the rectitude of their intentions.\"", "Like most of his countrymen, George Washington was firmly convinced that he was an instrument of providence, to the benefit of the American people and of all humanity.", "Historian Bernard Bailyn argues that the evangelicalism of the era challenged traditional notions of natural hierarchy by preaching that the Bible teaches that all men are equal, so that the true value of a man lies in his moral behavior, not in his class.", "Kidd argues that religious disestablishment, belief in a God as the source of human rights, and shared convictions about sin, virtue, and divine providence worked together to unite rationalists and evangelicals and thus encouraged American defiance of the Empire.", "Bailyn, on the other hand, denies that religion played such a critical role.", "Alan Heimert argues that New Light antiauthoritarianism was essential to furthering democracy in colonial American society and set the stage for a confrontation with British monarchical and aristocratic rule.", "===Class and psychology of the factions===\nLooking back, John Adams concluded in 1818:\n\n\n\nIn terms of class, Loyalists tended to have longstanding social and economic connections to British merchants and government; for instance, prominent merchants in major port cities such as New York, Boston and Charleston tended to be Loyalists, as did men involved with the fur trade along the northern frontier.", "In addition, officials of colonial government and their staffs, those who had established positions and status to maintain, favored maintaining relations with Great Britain.", "They often were linked to British families in England by marriage as well.", "By contrast, Patriots by number tended to be yeomen farmers, especially in the frontier areas of New York and the backcountry of Pennsylvania, Virginia and down the Appalachian mountains.", "They were craftsmen and small merchants.", "Leaders of both the Patriots and the Loyalists were men of educated, propertied classes.", "The Patriots included many prominent men of the planter class from Virginia and South Carolina, for instance, who became leaders during the Revolution, and formed the new government at the national and state levels.", "To understand the opposing groups, historians have assessed evidence of their hearts and minds.", "In the mid-20th century, historian Leonard Woods Labaree identified eight characteristics of the Loyalists that made them essentially conservative; opposite traits to those characteristic of the Patriots.", "Older and better established men, Loyalists tended to resist innovation.", "They thought resistance to the Crown—which they insisted was the only legitimate government—was morally wrong, while the Patriots thought morality was on their side.", "Loyalists were alienated when the Patriots resorted to violence, such as burning houses and tarring and feathering.", "Loyalists wanted to take a centrist position and resisted the Patriots' demand to declare their opposition to the Crown.", "Many Loyalists, especially merchants in the port cities, had maintained strong and long-standing relations with Britain (often with business and family links to other parts of the British Empire).", "Many Loyalists realized that independence was bound to come eventually, but they were fearful that revolution might lead to anarchy, tyranny or mob rule.", "In contrast, the prevailing attitude among Patriots, who made systematic efforts to use mob violence in a controlled manner, was a desire to seize the initiative.", "Labaree also wrote that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the confidence in the future displayed by the Patriots.", "Historians in the early 20th century, such as J. Franklin Jameson, examined the class composition of the Patriot cause, looking for evidence of a class war inside the revolution.", "In the last 50 years, historians have largely abandoned that interpretation, emphasizing instead the high level of ideological unity.", "Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a 'mixed lot', with the richer and better educated more likely to become officers in the Army.", "Ideological demands always came first: the Patriots viewed independence as a means to gain freedom from British oppression and taxation and, above all, to reassert what they considered to be their rights as English subjects.", "Most yeomen farmers, craftsmen, and small merchants joined the Patriot cause to demand more political equality.", "They were especially successful in Pennsylvania but less so in New England, where John Adams attacked Thomas Paine's ''Common Sense'' for the \"absurd democratical notions\" it proposed.", "===King George III===\n\nThe war became a personal issue for the king, fueled by his growing belief that British leniency would be taken as weakness by the Americans.", "The king also sincerely believed he was defending Britain's constitution against usurpers, rather than opposing patriots fighting for their natural rights.", "===Patriots===\n\n\nAt the time, revolutionaries were called \"Patriots\", \"Whigs\", \"Congress-men\", or \"Americans\".", "They included a full range of social and economic classes, but were unanimous regarding the need to defend the rights of Americans and uphold the principles of republicanism in terms of rejecting monarchy and aristocracy, while emphasizing civic virtue on the part of the citizens.", "Newspapers were strongholds of patriotism (although there were a few Loyalist papers), and printed many pamphlets, announcements, patriotic letters and pronouncements.", "According to historian Robert Calhoon, the consensus of historians is that 40–45% of the white population in the Thirteen Colonies supported the Patriots' cause, 15–20% supported the Loyalists, and the remainder were neutral or kept a low profile.", "Mark Lender explores why ordinary folk became insurgents against the British even though they were unfamiliar with the ideological rationales being offered.", "They held very strongly a sense of \"rights\" that they felt the British were violating – rights that stressed local autonomy, fair dealing, and government by consent.", "They were highly sensitive to the issue of tyranny, which they saw manifested in the British response to the Boston Tea Party.", "The arrival in Boston of the British Army heightened their sense of violated rights, leading to rage and demands for revenge.", "They had faith that God was on their side.", "===Loyalists===\n\nMobbing of a Loyalist by American Patriots in 1775–76\nThe consensus of scholars is that about 15–20% of the white population remained loyal to the British Crown.", "Those who actively supported the king were known at the time as \"Loyalists\", \"Tories\", or \"King's men\".", "The Loyalists never controlled territory unless the British Army occupied it.", "Loyalists were typically older, less willing to break with old loyalties, often connected to the Church of England, and included many established merchants with strong business connections across the Empire, as well as royal officials such as Thomas Hutchinson of Boston.", "There were 500 to 1000 black loyalists who were held as slaves by patriots, escaped to British lines and joined the British army.", "Most died of disease but Britain took the survivors to Canada as free men.", "The revolution could divide families.", "The most dramatic example was when William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin and royal governor of the Province of New Jersey, remained loyal to the Crown throughout the war; they never spoke again.", "Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King, such as recent Scottish settlers in the back country; among the more striking examples of this, see Flora MacDonald.", "After the war, the great majority of the 450,000–500,000 Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives.", "Some, such as Samuel Seabury, became prominent American leaders.", "Estimates vary, but about 62,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada, and others to Britain (7,000) or to Florida or the West Indies (9,000).", "The exiles represented approximately 2% of the total population of the colonies.", "Nearly all black loyalists left for Nova Scotia, Florida, or England, where they could remain free.", "When Loyalists left the South in 1783, they took thousands of their slaves with them to be slaves in the British West Indies.", "===Neutrals===\nA minority of uncertain size tried to stay neutral in the war.", "Most kept a low profile, but the Quakers, especially in Pennsylvania, were the most important group to speak out for neutrality.", "As Patriots declared independence, the Quakers, who continued to do business with the British, were attacked as supporters of British rule, \"contrivers and authors of seditious publications\" critical of the revolutionary cause.", "Though the majority of Quakers attempted to remain neutral, a sizable number of Quakers in the American Revolution nevertheless participated to some degree.", "===Role of women===\nAbigail Adams\n\n\nWomen contributed to the American Revolution in many ways, and were involved on both sides.", "While formal Revolutionary politics did not include women, ordinary domestic behaviors became charged with political significance as Patriot women confronted a war that permeated all aspects of political, civil, and domestic life.", "They participated by boycotting British goods, spying on the British, following armies as they marched, washing, cooking, and tending for soldiers, delivering secret messages, and in a few cases like Deborah Samson, fighting disguised as men.", "Also, Mercy Otis Warren held meetings in her house and cleverly attacked Loyalists with her creative plays and histories.", "Above all, they continued the agricultural work at home to feed their families and the armies.", "They maintained their families during their husbands' absences and sometimes after their deaths.", "American women were integral to the success of the boycott of British goods, as the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth.", "Women had to return to knitting goods, and to spinning and weaving their own cloth — skills that had fallen into disuse.", "In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove of cloth.", "A crisis of political loyalties could disrupt the fabric of colonial America women's social worlds: whether a man did or did not renounce his allegiance to the King could dissolve ties of class, family, and friendship, isolating women from former connections.", "A woman's loyalty to her husband, once a private commitment, could become a political act, especially for women in America committed to men who remained loyal to the King.", "Legal divorce, usually rare, was granted to Patriot women whose husbands supported the King.", "\n\n===France===\n\nIn early 1776, France set up a major program of aid to the Americans, and the Spanish secretly added funds.", "Each country spent one million \"livres tournaises\" to buy munitions.", "A dummy corporation run by Pierre Beaumarchais concealed their activities.", "American rebels obtained some munitions through the Dutch Republic as well as French and Spanish ports in the West Indies.", "===Spain===\n\nSpain did not officially recognize the U.S. but became an informal ally when it declared war on Britain on June 21, 1779.", "Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, general of the Spanish forces in New Spain, also served as governor of Louisiana.", "He led an expedition of colonial troops to force the British out of Florida and keep open a vital conduit for supplies.", "===American Indians===\n\n\nMost American Indians rejected pleas that they remain neutral and supported the British Crown, both because of trading relationships and Britain's effort to establish an Indian reserve and prohibit Colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.", "The great majority of the 200,000 Indians east of the Mississippi distrusted the Colonists and supported the British cause, hoping to forestall continued colonial encroachment on their territories.", "Those tribes that were more closely involved in Colonial trade tended to side with the Colonists, although political factors were important, as well.", "Most Indians did not participate directly in the war, except for warriors and bands associated with four of the Iroquois nations in New York and Pennsylvania which allied with the British.", "The British did have other allies, especially in the upper Midwest.", "They provided Indians with funding and weapons to attack American outposts.", "Some Indians tried to remain neutral, seeing little value in joining what they perceived to be a European conflict, and fearing reprisals from whichever side they opposed.", "The Oneida and Tuscarora among the Iroquois of central and western New York supported the American cause.", "The British provided arms to Indians who were led by Loyalists in war parties to raid frontier settlements from the Carolinas to New York.", "They killed many settlers on the frontier, especially in Pennsylvania and New York's Mohawk Valley.", "In 1776, Cherokee war parties attacked American Colonists all along the southern frontier of the uplands throughout the Washington District, North Carolina (now Tennessee) and the Kentucky wilderness area.", "They would launch raids with roughly 200 warriors, as seen in the Cherokee–American wars; they could not mobilize enough forces to invade Colonial areas without the help of allies, most often the Creek.", "The Chickamauga Cherokee under Dragging Canoe allied themselves closely with the British, and fought on for an additional decade after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.", "Joseph Brant of the powerful Mohawk nation, part of the Iroquois Confederacy based in New York, was the most prominent Indian leader against the Colonial forces.", "In 1778 and 1780, he led 300 Iroquois warriors and 100 white Loyalists in multiple attacks on small frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania, killing many settlers and destroying villages, crops, and stores.", "The Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga of the Iroquois Confederacy also allied with the British against the Americans.", "In 1779, the Colonists retaliated with an American army under John Sullivan which raided and destroyed 40 empty Iroquois villages in central and western New York.", "Sullivan's forces systematically burned the villages and destroyed about 160,000 bushels of corn that composed the winter food supply.", "Facing starvation and homeless for the winter, the Iroquois fled to the Niagara Falls area and to Canada, mostly to what became Ontario.", "The British resettled them there after the war, providing land grants as compensation for some of their losses.", "At the peace conference following the war, the British ceded lands which they did not really control, and did not consult their Indian allies.", "They transferred control to the United States of all the land east of the Mississippi and north of Florida.", "Calloway concludes:\n\n\n\nThe British did not give up their forts in the West until 1796 in what is now the eastern Midwest, stretching from Ohio to Wisconsin; they kept alive the dream of forming a satellite Indian nation there, which they called a Neutral Indian Zone.", "That goal was one of the causes of the War of 1812.", "===Black Americans===\n\nFree blacks in the North and South fought on both sides of the Revolution, but most fought for the Patriots.", "Gary Nash reports that there were about 9,000 black Patriots, counting the Continental Army and Navy, state militia units, privateers, wagoneers in the Army, servants to officers, and spies.", "Ray Raphael notes that thousands did join the Loyalist cause, but \"a far larger number, free as well as slave, tried to further their interests by siding with the patriots.\"", "Crispus Attucks was shot dead by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre in 1770 and is an iconic martyr to Patriots.", "Both sides offered freedom and re-settlement to slaves who were willing to fight for them, recruiting slaves whose owners supported the opposing cause.", "Many black slaves sided with the Loyalists.", "Tens of thousands in the South used the turmoil of war to escape, and the southern plantation economies of South Carolina and Georgia especially were disrupted.", "During the Revolution, the British tried to turn slavery against the Americans.", "Historian David Brion Davis explains the difficulties with a policy of wholesale arming of the slaves:\n\n\n\nDavis underscored the British dilemma: \"Britain, when confronted by the rebellious American colonists, hoped to exploit their fear of slave revolts while also reassuring the large number of slave-holding Loyalists and wealthy Caribbean planters and merchants that their slave property would be secure\".", "The Colonists, however, accused the British of encouraging slave revolts.", "American advocates of independence were commonly lampooned in Britain for what was termed their hypocritical calls for freedom, at the same time that many of their leaders were planters who held hundreds of slaves.", "Samuel Johnson snapped, \"how is it we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the slave drivers of the Negroes?\"", "Benjamin Franklin countered by criticizing the British self-congratulation about \"the freeing of one Negro\" (Somersett) while they continued to permit the Slave Trade.", "Phyllis Wheatley was a black poet who popularized the image of Columbia to represent America.", "She came to public attention when her ''Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral'' appeared in 1773.", "During the war, slaves escaped from New England and the mid-Atlantic area to British-occupied cities such as New York.", "The effects of the war were more dramatic in the South.", "In Virginia, royal governor Lord Dunmore recruited black men into the British forces with the promise of freedom, protection for their families, and land grants.", "Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines throughout the South, causing dramatic losses to slaveholders and disrupting cultivation and harvesting of crops.", "For instance, South Carolina was estimated to have lost about 25,000 slaves to flight, migration, or death—amounting to one third of its slave population.", "From 1770 to 1790, the black proportion of the population (mostly slaves) in South Carolina dropped from 60.5 percent to 43.8 percent, and from 45.2 percent to 36.1 percent in Georgia.", "British forces gave transportation to 10,000 slaves when they evacuated Savannah and Charleston, carrying through on their promise.", "They evacuated and resettled more than 3,000 Black Loyalists from New York to Nova Scotia, Upper Canada, and Lower Canada.", "Others sailed with the British to England or were resettled as freedmen in the West Indies of the Caribbean.", "But slaves who were carried to the Caribbean under control of Loyalist masters generally remained slaves until British abolition in its colonies in 1834.", "More than 1,200 of the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia later resettled in the British colony of Sierra Leone, where they became leaders of the Krio ethnic group of Freetown and the later national government.", "Many of their descendants still live in Sierra Leone, as well as other African countries.", "\n===Loyalist expatriation===\nAbout 60,000 to 70,000 Loyalists left the newly founded republic; some migrated to Britain.", "The remainder, known as United Empire Loyalists, received land and subsidies for resettlement in British colonies in North America, especially Quebec (concentrating in the Eastern Townships), Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.", "The new colonies of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and New Brunswick were expressly created by Britain for their benefit, where the Crown awarded land to Loyalists as compensation for losses in the United States.", "Britain wanted to develop the frontier of Upper Canada on a British colonial model.", "But about 80% of the Loyalists stayed in the United States and became full, loyal citizens; some of the exiles later returned to the U.S.\n\n===Interpretations===\nInterpretations about the effect of the Revolution vary.", "Contemporary participants referred to the events as \"the revolution\".", "Greene argues that the events were not \"revolutionary\", as the relationships and property rights of colonial society were not transformed: a distant government was simply replaced with a local one; the Revolution is still sometimes known outside the United States as the American War of Independence.", "Historians such as Bernard Bailyn, Gordon Wood, and Edmund Morgan accept the contemporary view of the participants that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event that produced deep changes and had a profound effect on world affairs, based on an increasing belief in the principles of the Enlightenment, as reflected in how liberalism was understood during the period, and republicanism.", "These were demonstrated by a leadership and government that espoused protection of natural rights, and a system of laws chosen by the people.", "However, what was then considered \"the people\" was still mostly restricted to free white males who were able to pass a property-qualification.", "Such a restriction made a significant gain of the revolution in the short term irrelevant to women, African Americans and slaves, poor white men, youth, and Native Americans.", "Only with the development of the American system over the following centuries would \"a government by the people\", promised by the revolution, be won for a greater proportion of the population.", "Morgan has argued that in terms of long-term impact on American society and values:\n:The Revolution did revolutionize social relations.", "It did displace the deference, the patronage, the social divisions that had determined the way people viewed one another for centuries and still view one another in much of the world.", "It did give to ordinary people a pride and power, not to say an arrogance, that have continued to shock visitors from less favored lands.", "It may have left standing a host of inequalities that have troubled us ever since.", "But it generated the egalitarian view of human society that makes them troubling and makes our world so different from the own in which the revolutionists had grown up.", "===Inspiring all colonies===\n\nAfter the Revolution, genuinely democratic politics became possible in the former colonies.", "The rights of the people were incorporated into state constitutions.", "Concepts of liberty, individual rights, equality among men and hostility toward corruption became incorporated as core values of liberal republicanism.", "The greatest challenge to the old order in Europe was the challenge to inherited political power and the democratic idea that government rests on the consent of the governed.", "The example of the first successful revolution against a European empire, and the first successful establishment of a republican form of democratically elected government, provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations with directly elected representative government.", "The Dutch Republic, also at war with Britain, was the next country to sign a treaty with the United States, on October 8, 1782.", "On April 3, 1783, Ambassador Extraordinary Gustaf Philip Creutz, representing King Gustav III of Sweden, and Benjamin Franklin, signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the U.S.", "The American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions: the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American wars of independence.", "Aftershocks reached Ireland in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the Netherlands.", "The Revolution had a strong, immediate influence in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France.", "Many British and Irish Whigs spoke in favor of the American cause.", "In Ireland, there was a profound impact; the Protestants who controlled Ireland were demanding more and more self-rule.", "Under the leadership of Henry Grattan, the so-called \"Patriots\" forced the reversal of mercantilist prohibitions against trade with other British colonies.", "The King and his cabinet in London could not risk another rebellion on the American model, and made a series of concessions to the Patriot faction in Dublin.", "Armed Protestant volunteer units were set up to protect against an invasion from France.", "As in America, so too in Ireland the King no longer had a monopoly of lethal force.", "The Revolution, along with the Dutch Revolt (end of the 16th century) and the 17th century English Civil War, was among the examples of overthrowing an old regime for many Europeans who later were active during the era of the French Revolution, such as Marquis de Lafayette.", "The American Declaration of Independence influenced the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789.", "The spirit of the Declaration of Independence led to laws ending slavery in all the Northern states and the Northwest Territory, with New Jersey the last in 1804.", "States such as New Jersey and New York adopted gradual emancipation, which kept some people as slaves for more than two decades longer.", "===Status of American women===\nThe democratic ideals of the Revolution inspired changes in the roles of women.", "The concept of republican motherhood was inspired by this period and reflects the importance of Republicanism as the dominant American ideology.", "It assumed that a successful republic rested upon the virtue of its citizens.", "Women were considered to have the essential role of instilling their children with values conducive to a healthy republic.", "During this period, the wife's relationship with her husband also became more liberal, as love and affection instead of obedience and subservience began to characterize the ideal marital relationship.", "In addition, many women contributed to the war effort through fundraising and running family businesses in the absence of husbands.", "The traditional constraints gave way to more liberal conditions for women.", "Patriarchy faded as an ideal; young people had more freedom to choose their spouses and more often used birth control to regulate the size of their families.", "Society emphasized the role of mothers in child rearing, especially the patriotic goal of raising republican children rather than those locked into aristocratic value systems.", "There was more permissiveness in child-rearing.", "Patriot women married to Loyalists who left the state could get a divorce and obtain control of the ex-husband's property.", "Whatever gains they had made, however, women still found themselves subordinated, legally and socially, to their husbands, disfranchised and usually with only the role of mother open to them.", "But, some women earned livelihoods as midwives and in other roles in the community, which were not originally recognized as significant by men.", "Abigail Adams expressed to her husband, the president, the desire of women to have a place in the new republic:\n\n\n\nZagarri in 2007 argued that the American Revolution created a continuing debate on the rights of woman and an environment favorable to women's participation in U.S. politics.", "She asserts that for a brief decade, a \"comprehensive transformation in women's rights, roles, and responsibilities seemed not only possible but perhaps inevitable.\"", "But, the changes also engendered a backlash that set back the cause of women's rights and led to a greater rigidity that marginalized women from political life.", "For more than thirty years, however, the 1776 New Jersey State Constitution gave the vote to \"all inhabitants\" who had a certain level of wealth, including unmarried women and blacks (not married women because they could not own property separately from their husbands), until in 1807, when that state legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal ''white male'' suffrage, excluding paupers.", "===Status of African Americans===\nIn the first two decades after the American Revolution, state legislatures and individuals took actions to free numerous slaves, in part based on revolutionary ideals.", "Northern states passed new constitutions that contained language about equal rights or specifically abolished slavery; some states, such as New York and New Jersey, where slavery was more widespread, passed laws by the end of the 18th century to abolish slavery by a gradual method; in New York, the last slaves were freed in 1827.", "While no southern state abolished slavery, for a period individual owners could free their slaves by personal decision, often providing for manumission in wills but sometimes filing deeds or court papers to free individuals.", "Numerous slaveholders who freed their slaves cited revolutionary ideals in their documents; others freed slaves as a reward for service.", "Records also suggest that some slaveholders were freeing their own mixed-race children, born into slavery to slave mothers.", "===Memory===\n\n250px\nGovernor's Palace, Colonial Williamsburg, a restored colonial city, Williamburg, Virginia\nThe American Revolution has a central place in the American memory.", "As the founding story, it is covered in the schools, memorialized by a national holiday, and commemorated in innumerable monuments.", "Thus Independence Day (the \"Fourth of July\") is a major national holiday celebrated annually.", "Besides local sites such as Bunker Hill, one of the first national pilgrimages for memorial tourists was Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate (near Washington City), which attracted ten thousand visitors a year by the 1850s.", "Crider points out that in the 1850s, editors and orators both North and South claimed their region was the true custodian of the legacy of 1776, as they used the Revolution symbolically in their rhetoric.", "Ryan, noting that the Bicentennial was celebrated a year after the United States' humiliating 1975 withdrawal from Vietnam, says the Ford administration stressed the themes of renewal and rebirth based on a restoration of traditional values, and presented a nostalgic approach to 1776 that made it seem eternally young and fresh.", "Albanese argues that the Revolution became the main source of the non-denominational \"American civil religion\" that has shaped patriotism, and the memory and meaning of the nation's birth ever since.", "She says that specific battles are not central (as they are for the Civil War) but rather certain events and people have been celebrated as icons of certain virtues (or vices).", "Thus she points out the Revolution produced a Moses-like leader (George Washington), prophets (Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine), disciples (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison) and martyrs (Boston Massacre, Nathan Hale), as well as devils (Benedict Arnold), sacred places (Valley Forge, Bunker Hill), rituals (Boston Tea Party), emblems (the new flag), sacred holidays (Independence Day), and a holy scripture whose every sentence is carefully studied and applied in current law cases (The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights).", "* Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War\n* Timeline of the American Revolution\n* Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War\n* Founding Fathers of the United States\n* Patriot (American Revolution)\n* Sons of Liberty\n* List of plays and films about the American Revolution", "\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", ":Further information : Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War  and  Bibliography of George Washington\n\n===Reference works===\n* Barnes, Ian, and Charles Royster.", "''The Historical Atlas of the American Revolution'' (2000), maps and commentary excerpt and text search\n* \n* \n* Cappon, Lester J.", "''Atlas of Early American History: The Revolutionary Era, 1760–1790'' (1976)\n* Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard A. Ryerson, eds.", "''The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History'' (5 vol.", "2006) 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all topics\n* Gray, Edward G., and Jane Kamensky, eds.", "''The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution'' (2013) 672 pp; 33 essays by scholars\n* Greene, Jack P. and J. R. Pole, eds.", "''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (2004), 777pp an expanded edition of Greene and Pole, eds.", "''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution'' (1994); comprehensive coverage of political and social themes and international dimension; thin on military\n* Kennedy, Frances H. ''The American Revolution: A Historical Guidebook'' (2014) A guide to 150 famous historical sites.", "* Purcell, L. Edward.", "''Who Was Who in the American Revolution'' (1993); 1500 short biographies\n* Resch, John P., ed.", "''Americans at War: Society, Culture and the Homefront'' vol 1 (2005), articles by scholars\n* Symonds, Craig L. and William J. Clipson.", "''A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1986) new diagrams of each battle\n\n===Surveys of the era===\n* Allison, Robert.", "''The American Revolution: A Concise History'' (2011) 128pp excerpt and text search\n* Axelrod, Alan.", "''The Real History of the American Revolution: A New Look at the Past'' (2009), well-illustrated popular history\n* Bancroft, George.", "''History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent.''", "(1854–78), vol 4–10 online edition, classic 19th century narrative; highly detailed\n* Black, Jeremy.", "''War for America: The Fight for Independence 1775–1783'' (2001) 266pp; by leading British scholar\n* Brown, Richard D., and Thomas Paterson, eds.", "''Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760–1791: Documents and Essays'' (2nd ed.", "1999)\n* Christie, Ian R. and Benjamin W. Labaree.", "''Empire or Independence: 1760-1776'' (1976)\n* Cogliano, Francis D. ''Revolutionary America, 1763–1815; A Political History'' (2nd ed.", "2008), British textbook\n* Ellis, Joseph J.", "''American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic'' (2008) excerpt and text search\n* Higginbotham, Don.", "''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789'' (1983) Online in ACLS Humanities E-book Project; comprehensive coverage of military and domestic aspects of the war.", "* Jensen, Merrill.", "''The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 1763–1776.''", "(2004)\n* Knollenberg, Bernhard.", "''Growth of the American Revolution: 1766–1775'' (2003)\n* Lecky, William Edward Hartpole.", "''The American Revolution, 1763–1783'' (1898), older British perspective online edition\n* Mackesy, Piers.", "''The War for America: 1775–1783'' (1992), British military study online edition\n* Middlekauff, Robert. ''", "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789'' (Oxford History of the United States, 2005).", "online edition\n* Miller, John C. ''Triumph of Freedom, 1775–1783'' (1948) online edition\n* Miller, John C. ''Origins of the American Revolution'' (1943) online edition, to 1775\n* Rakove, Jack N. ''Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America'' (2010) interpretation by leading scholar excerpt and text search\n* Taylor, Alan.", "''American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804'' (2016) 704pp; recent survey by leading scholar\n* Weintraub, Stanley.", "''Iron Tears: Rebellion in America 1775–83'' (2005) excerpt and text search, popular\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different'' (2007)\n* Wrong, George M. ''Washington and His Comrades in Arms: A Chronicle of the War of Independence'' (1921) online short survey by Canadian scholar online\n\n===Specialized studies===\n* Bailyn, Bernard.", "''The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.''", "(Harvard University Press, 1967).", "* Bangs, Jeremy D. \"The Travels of Elkanah Watson\".", "(McFarland & Company, 2015).", "* Becker, Carl.", "''The Declaration of Independence: A Study on the History of Political Ideas'' (1922)\n* Becker, Frank: The American Revolution as a European Media Event, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: October 25, 2011.", "* Berkin, Carol.", "''Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence'' (2006)\n* Bonomi, Patricia U., ''Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America'' (2003)\n* Breen, T. H. ''The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence'' (2005)\n* Breen, T. H. ''American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People'' (2010) 337 pages; examines rebellions in 1774–76 including loosely organized militants took control before elected safety committees emerged.", "* Brunsman, Denver, and David J Silverman, eds.", "''The American Revolution Reader'' (Routledge Readers in History, 2013) 472pp; essays by leading scholars\n* Chernow, Ron.", "''Washington: A Life'' (2010) detailed biography; Pulitzer Prize\n* Crow, Jeffrey J. and Larry E. Tise, eds.", "''The Southern Experience in the American Revolution'' (1978)\n* Fischer, David Hackett.", "''Paul Revere's Ride'' (1995), Minutemen in 1775\n* Fischer, David Hackett.", "''Washington's Crossing'' (2004).", "1776 campaigns; Pulitzer prize.", "* Freeman, Douglas Southall.", "''Washington'' (1968) Pulitzer Prize; abridged version of 7 vol biography\n* Horne, Gerald.", "''The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.''", "(New York University Press, 2014).", "* Kerber, Linda K. ''Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America'' (1979)\n* Kidd, Thomas S. ''God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution'' (2010)\n* McCullough, David.", "''1776'' (2005).", "; popular narrative of the year 1776\n* Maier, Pauline.", "''American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence'' (1998) excerpt and text search\n* Nash, Gary B.", "''The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America''.", "(2005).", "* Nevins, Allan; ''The American States during and after the Revolution, 1775–1789'' 1927. online edition\n* Norton, Mary Beth.", "''Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750–1800'' (1980)\n* O'Shaughnessy Andrew Jackson.", "''The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire'' (Yale University Press; 2013) 466 pages; on top British leaders\n* Palmer, Robert R. ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800.''", "vol 1 (1959) online edition\n* Resch, John Phillips and Walter Sargent, eds.", "''War and Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization and Home Fronts'' (2006)\n* Rothbard, Murray, ''Conceived in Liberty'' (2000), ''Volume III: Advance to Revolution, 1760–1775'' and ''Volume IV: The Revolutionary War, 1775–1784''.", ", libertarian perspective\n* Van Tyne, Claude Halstead.", "''American Loyalists: The Loyalists in the American Revolution'' (1902) online edition\n* Volo, James M. and Dorothy Denneen Volo.", "''Daily Life during the American Revolution'' (2003)\n* Wahlke, John C. ed.", "''The Causes of the American Revolution'' (1967) readings\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''American Revolution'' (2005) excerpt and text search 208pp excerpt and text search\n* Wood, Gordon S. ''The Radicalism of the American Revolution: How a Revolution Transformed a Monarchical Society into a Democratic One Unlike Any That Had Ever Existed''.", "(1992), by a leading scholar\n\n===Historiography===\n* Breen, Timothy H. \"Ideology and nationalism on the eve of the American Revolution: Revisions once more in need of revising.\"", "''Journal of American History'' (1997): 13-39. in JSTOR\n* Schocket, Andrew M. ''Fighting over the Founders: How We Remember the American Revolution'' (2014), how politicians, screenwriters, activists, biographers, museum professionals, and reenactors portray the American Revolution.", "excerpt\n* Sehat, David.", "''The Jefferson Rule: How the Founding Fathers Became Infallible and Our Politics Inflexibl'' (2015) excerpt\n* Shalhope, Robert E. \"Toward a republican synthesis: the emergence of an understanding of republicanism in American historiography.\"", "''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1972): 49-80. in JSTOR\n* Waldstreicher, David.", "\"The Revolutions of Revolution Historiography: Cold War Contradance, Neo-Imperial Waltz, or Jazz Standard?.\"", "''Reviews in American History'' 42.1 (2014): 23-35. online\n* Wood, Gordon S. \"Rhetoric and Reality in the American Revolution.\"", "''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1966): 4-32. in JSTOR\n\n===Primary sources===\n* ''The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence'' (2001), Library of America, 880pp\n* Commager, Henry Steele and Morris, Richard B., eds.", "''The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution As Told by Participants'' (1975) () short excerpts from hundreds of official and unofficial primary sources\n* Dann, John C., ed.", "''The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence'' (1999) excerpt and text search, recollections by ordinary soldiers\n*\n* Humphrey, Carol Sue ed.", "''The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800'' (2003), 384pp; newspaper accounts excerpt and text search\n* Jensen, Merill, ed.", "''Tracts of the American Revolution, 1763–1776'' (1967).", "American pamphlets\n* Jensen, Merill, ed.", "''English Historical Documents: American Colonial Documents to 1776: Volume 9'' (1955), 890pp; major collection of important documents\n* Morison, Samuel E. ed.", "''Sources and Documents Illustrating the American Revolution, 1764–1788, and the Formation of the Federal Constitution'' (1923).", "370 pp online version\n* Tansill, Charles C.", "ed.", "; ''Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States.''", "Government Printing Office.", "(1927).", "1124 pages online version\n* Martin Kallich and Andrew MacLeish, eds.", "''The American Revolution through British eyes'' (1962) primary documents\n\n===Contemporary sources: Annual Register===\n* Murdoch, David H. ed.", "''Rebellion in America: A Contemporary British Viewpoint, 1769-1783'' (1979), 900+ pp of annotated excerpts from ''Annual Register''\n* ''Annual Register'' 1773, British compendium of speeches and reports\n* 1774\n* 1775\n* 1776\n* 1777\n* 1778\n* 1779\n* 1780\n* 1781\n* 1782\n* 1783", "* Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution\n* 132 historic photographs dealing with the personalities, monuments, weapons and locations of the American Revolution; these are pre-1923 and out of copyright.", "* ''Pictures of the Revolutionary War: Select Audiovisual Records'', National Archives and Records Administration selection of images, including a number of non-military events and portraits\n* Revolution!", "The Atlantic World Reborn, Revolution!", "explores the enormous transformations in the world's politics that took place from 1763-1815, with particular attention to three globally influential revolutions in America, France, and Haiti.", "Linking the attack on monarchism and aristocracy to the struggle against slavery, Revolution!shows how freedom, equality, and the sovereignty of the people became universal goals.New-York Historical Society\n* PBS Television Series\n* Chickasaws Conflicted by the American Revolution - Chickasaw.TV\n* Smithsonian study unit on Revolutionary Money\n* ''The American Revolution: Lighting Freedom's Flame'', US National Park Service website\n* ''Honored Places: The National Park Service Teacher's Guide to the American Revolution''\n* Haldimand Collection Letters regarding the war to important generals.", "Fully indexed\n* \"Military History of Revolution\" with links to documents, maps, URLs\n* American Independence Museum\n* Black Loyalist Heritage Society\n* Spanish and Latin American contribution to the American Revolution\n* American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution at Northern Illinois University Libraries\n* American Revolution study guide and teacher resources\n* AmericanRevolution.Org Resource for pre collegiate historical educational institutions\n* The American Revolution, the History Channel (US cable television) website\n* Gayle Olson-Ramer, \"Half a Revolution\", 16-page teaching guide for high school students, Zinn Education Project/Rethinking Schools\n* \"Counter-Revolution of 1776\": Was U.S.", "Independence War a Conservative Revolt in Favor of Slavery?", "''Democracy Now!''", "June 27, 2014." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Sir Alan Ayckbourn''', CBE (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific English playwright and director. He has written and produced more than seventy full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit ''Relatively Speaking'' opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1969.\n\nMajor successes include ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1975), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975), ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984), ''Woman in Mind'' (1985), ''A Small Family Business'' (1987), ''Man Of The Moment'' (1988), ''House'' & ''Garden'' (1999) and ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (2004). His plays have won numerous awards, including seven London ''Evening Standard'' Awards. They have been translated into over 35 languages and are performed on stage and television throughout the world. Ten of his plays have been staged on Broadway, attracting two Tony nominations, and one Tony award.\n", "\n===Childhood===\n\nAyckbourn was born in Hampstead, London. His mother Irene Worley (\"Lolly\") (1906-1998) was a writer of short stories who published under the name \"Mary James\". His father, Horace Ayckbourn (1904-1965), was an orchestral violinist, at one time deputy leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. His parents, who separated shortly after World War II, never married, and Ayckbourn's mother divorced her first husband to marry again in 1948.\n\nAyckbourn wrote his first play at Wisborough Lodge (a preparatory school in the village of Wisborough Green) when he was about 10. Whilst at prep school as a boarder, his mother wrote to tell him she was marrying Cecil Pye, a bank manager. When he went home for the holidays his new family consisted of his mother, his stepfather and Christopher, his stepfather's son by an earlier marriage. This relationship too, reportedly ran into difficulties early on.\n\nAyckbourn attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College, in the village of Hertford Heath, and whilst there toured Europe and America with the school's Shakespeare company.\n\n===Adult life===\n\nAfter leaving school at 17, Ayckbourn's career took several temporary jobs in various places before starting a temporary job at the Scarborough Library Theatre, where he was introduced to the artistic director, Stephen Joseph. It is said that Joseph became both a mentor and father figure for Ayckbourn until his untimely death in 1967, and he has consistently spoken highly of him.\n\nAyckbourn's career was briefly interrupted when he was called for National Service. He was swiftly discharged, officially on medical grounds, but it is suggested that a doctor who noticed his reluctance to join the Armed Forces deliberately failed the medical as a favour. Although Ayckbourn continued to move where his career took him, he settled in Scarborough, eventually buying Longwestgate House, the house formerly owned by Stephen Joseph.\n\nIn 1957, Ayckbourn married Christine Roland, another member of the Library Theatre company, and indeed Ayckbourn's first two plays were written jointly with her under the pseudonym of \"Roland Allen\". They had two sons, Steven and Philip. However, the marriage had difficulties which eventually led to their separation in 1971. Alan Ayckbourn said that his relationship with Christine became easy once they agreed their marriage was over. Around this time, he started to share a home with Heather Stoney, an actress he had first met ten years earlier. Like his mother, neither he nor Christine sought a divorce for the next thirty years and it was only in 1997 that they formally divorced; Ayckbourn married Heather Stoney. One side-effect of the timing is that, as Alan was awarded a knighthood a few months before the divorce, both his first and second wife are entitled to take the title of Lady Ayckbourn.\n\nIn February 2006, he suffered a stroke in Scarborough, and stated: \"I hope to be back on my feet, or should I say my left leg, as soon as possible, but I know it is going to take some time. In the meantime I am in excellent hands and so is the Stephen Joseph Theatre.\" He left hospital after eight weeks and returned to directing after six months, but the following year he announced he would step down as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Ayckbourn, however, continues to write and direct his own work at the theatre.\n\n===Influence on plays===\n\nSince Alan Ayckbourn's plays started becoming established in the West End, interviewers have raised the question of whether his work is autobiographical. There is no clear answer to this question. There has only been one biography, written by Paul Allen, and this primarily covers his career in the theatre. Ayckbourn has frequently said he sees aspects of himself in all his characters. For example, in ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975), he admitted to being, in some respects, all four of the men in the play. It has been suggested that, after Ayckbourn himself, the person who is used the most in his plays is his mother, particularly as Susan in ''Woman in Mind'' (1985).\n\nWhat is less clear is how much influence events in Ayckbourn's life have had on his writing. It is true that the theme of marriages in various difficulties was heavily present throughout his plays in the early seventies, around the time his own marriage was coming to an end. However, by this time, he had also witnessed the failures of his parents' relationships as well as those of some of his friends. Which relationships, if any, he drew on for his plays, is unclear. In Paul Allen’s biography, Ayckbourn is briefly compared to Dafydd and Guy in ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984). Both characters feel themselves in trouble, and there was speculation that Alan Ayckbourn himself may have felt himself to be in trouble. At the time, he had reportedly become seriously involved with another actress, which threatened his relationship with Heather Stoney. But again, it is unclear whether this had any effect on the writing, and Paul Allen's view is that it is not current experience that Ayckbourn uses for his plays.\n\nIt could be that Ayckbourn had written plays with himself and his own issues in mind, but as Ayckbourn is portrayed as a guarded and private man, it is hard to imagine him exposing his own life in his plays to any great degree. In the biography, Paul Allen wrote, regarding a suggestion in ''Cosmopolitan'' that his plays were becoming autobiographical: \"If we take that to mean that his plays tell his own life story, he still hasn't started.\"\n", "\n===Early career and acting===\n\nOn leaving school his theatrical career started immediately, with an introduction to Sir Donald Wolfit by his French master. Ayckbourn joined Wolfit on tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as an acting assistant stage manager (meaning a role that involved both acting and stage management) for three weeks, with his first role on the professional stage being various parts in ''The Strong are Lonely'' by Fritz Hochwälder. In the following year, Ayckbourn appeared in six other plays at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, and the Thorndyke theatre, Leatherhead.\n\nIn 1957, Ayckbourn was employed by the director Stephen Joseph at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, the predecessor to the modern Stephen Joseph Theatre. His role, again, was initially an acting stage manager. This employment led to Ayckbourn's first professional script commission, in 1958. When he complained about the quality of a script he was performing, Joseph challenged him to write a better one. The result was ''The Square Cat'', written under the pseudonym Roland Allen and first performed in 1959. In this play, Ayckbourn himself played the character Jerry Watiss.\n\nAfter thirty-four appearances in plays at the Library Theatre, including four of his own, in 1962 Ayckbourn moved to Stoke-on-Trent to help set up the Victoria Theatre, (now the New Vic), where he appeared in a further eighteen plays. His final appearance in one of his own plays was as the Crimson Gollywog in the disastrous children's play ''Christmas v Mastermind''. He left the Stoke company in 1964, officially to commit his time to the London production of ''Mr. Whatnot'', but reportedly because was having trouble working with the artistic director, Peter Cheeseman. By now, his career as a writer was coming to fruition, and his acting career was sidelined.\n\nHis final role on stage was as Jerry in ''Two for the Seesaw'' by William Gibson, at the Civic Theatre in Rotherham. He was left stranded on stage because Heather Stoney was unable to re-appear because the props had been left unpacked, and this led him to decide acting was more trouble than it was worth. The assistant stage manager on the production, Bill Kenwright, would become one of the UK's most successful producers.\n\n===Writing===\n\nAlan Ayckbourn's earliest plays were written and produced at a time when the Scarborough Library theatre, like most regional theatres, regularly commissioned work from their own actors to keep costs down (the other notable actor whose work was being commissioned being David Campton). His first play, ''The Square Cat'', was sufficiently popular locally to secure further commissions, but neither this nor the following three plays had any major impact outside of Scarborough. But, after his transfer to Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, there came ''Christmas v Mastermind'', which flopped and is now universally regarded as Ayckbourn's greatest disaster.\n\nHis fortunes began to revive in 1963 with ''Mr. Whatnot'', again premiering at the Victoria Theatre. This was the first play that Ayckbourn was sufficiently happy with to allow performances today, and the first play to receive a West End performance. However, the West End production flopped, in part down to misguided casting. After this, Ayckbourn experimented by collaborating with comedians, first writing a monologue for Tommy Cooper, and later with Ronnie Barker, who played Lord Slingsby-Craddock in the London production of ''Mr Whatnot'' in 1964, for the scripts of for LWT's ''Hark at Barker''. Ayckbourn used the pseudonym 'Peter Caulfield' because he was under exclusive contract to the BBC at the time.\n\nThen, in 1965, back at the Scarborough Library Theatre, ''Meet my Father'' was produced, later retitled ''Relatively Speaking''. This time, the play was a massive success, both in Scarborough and the West End, making Alan Ayckbourn rich and earning him a congratulatory telegram from Noël Coward. This was not quite the end of Ayckbourn's hit-and-miss record, because his following play, ''The Sparrow'' only ran for three weeks at Scarborough. However, the following play, ''How the Other Half Loves'', secured his runaway success as a playwright.\n\nThe height of Ayckbourn's commercial success included ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1975), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975) and ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), all plays that focused heavily on marriage in the British middle classes. The only failure during this period was a 1975 musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber, ''Jeeves'', and even this did little to dent Ayckbourn's popularity. Although his plays have received major West End productions almost from the beginning of his writing career, and hence have been reviewed in British newspapers, Ayckbourn's work was for years routinely dismissed as being too slight for serious study. Recently, scholars have begun to view Ayckbourn as an important commentator on the lifestyles of the British suburban middle class, and as a stylistic innovator who experiments with theatrical styles within the boundaries set by popular tastes.\n\nFrom the 1980s, Ayckbourn began to move away from the recurring themes of marriage and explore other contemporary themes, one example being ''Woman in Mind'', a play performed entirely from the perspective of a Woman going through a nervous breakdown. He also experimented with several more unconventional ways of writing plays, such as ''Intimate Exchanges'', which has one beginning and sixteen possible endings, and ''House & Garden'', where two plays take place simultaneously of two different stages, as well as diversifying into children's theatre (such as ''Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays'' and musical plays, such as ''By Jeeves'' (a more successful rewrite of the original ''Jeeves'').\n\nWith a résumé of over seventy plays, of which more than forty have played at the National Theatre or in the West End, Alan Ayckbourn is one of England’s most successful living playwrights. Despite his success, honours and awards (which include a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award), Alan Ayckbourn remains a relatively anonymous figure dedicated to regional theatre. Throughout his writing career, all but four of his plays were premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in its three different locations.\n\nAlan Ayckbourn received the CBE in 1987 and was knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours. It is frequently claimed (but not proven) that Alan Ayckbourn is the most performed living English playwright, and the second most performed of all time after Shakespeare.\n\nAlthough Alan Ayckbourn's plays no longer dominate the theatrical scene on the scale of his earlier works, he continues to write, his most recent major success being ''Private Fears in Public Places'' that had a hugely successful Off-Broadway run at 59E59 Theaters, and in 2006 was made into a film ''Cœurs'', directed by Alain Resnais. After suffering a stroke, there was uncertainly as to whether he could continue to write (the Ayckbourn play premiered immediately after the stroke, ''If I Were You'', was written before his illness), but his first play written afterwards, ''Life and Beth'', was premiered in the summer of 2008. Ayckbourn continues to write for the Stephen Joseph Theatre on invitation of his successor as artistic director, Chris Monks, with the first new play under this arrangement, ''My Wonderful Day'', performed in October 2009. His latest play, ''Roundelay'' is scheduled to open in September 2014; the order in which each of the five acts is played in each performance is to be left to chance (allowing 120 possible permutations), with members of the audience being invited to extract five coloured ping pong balls from a bag beforehand.\n\nMany of Ayckbourn's plays have had their New York premiere at 59E59 Theaters as part of their annual Brits Off Broadway Festitval including ''Private Fears in Public Places'', ''Intimate Exchanges'', ''My Wonderful Day'' and ''Neighbourhood Watch'' among others.\n\n===Directing===\n\nAlthough Alan Ayckbourn is best known as a writer, it is said that he only spends 10% of his time writing plays. Most of the rest of his time is spent directing.\n\nAlan Ayckbourn began directing at the Scarborough Library Theatre in 1961, with a production of ''Gas Light'' by Patrick Hamilton. He directed five other plays that year and the following year in Scarborough, and after transferring to the Victoria Theatre, directed a further six plays in 1963. Between 1964 and 1967 (when much of his time was taken up by various productions of his early successes ''Mr. Whatnot'' and ''Relatively Speaking'') he only directed one play (''The Sparrow'', written by himself, later withdrawn), but in 1968 he resumed regularly directing plays, mostly at Scarborough. At this time he also worked as a radio drama producer for the BBC, based in Leeds.\n\nAt first, his directing career was separate from his writing career. It was not until 1963 that Ayckbourn directed a play of his own (a revival of ''Standing Room Only''), 1967 that Ayckbourn directed a premiere of his own (''The Sparrow''). The London premieres remained in the hands of other directors for longer, with the first play of his both written and directed by him in London (''Bedroom Farce'') waiting until 1977.\n\nAfter the death of Stephen Joseph in 1967, the position of Director of Productions was appointed on an annual basis. Alan Ayckbourn was offered this position in 1969 and 1970, succeeding Rodney Wood, but he handed the position over to Caroline Smith in 1971 (having spent most of his time that year in the USA with ''How the Other Half Loves''). He became Director of Productions again in 1972, and this time, on 12 November that same year, he was made the permanent artistic director of the theatre.\n\nIn mid-1986, Ayckbourn accepted an invitation to work as a visiting director for two years at the Royal National Theatre in London, form his own company, and perform a play in each of the three auditoria provided at least one was a new play of his own. Using a stock company that included established performers like Michael Gambon, Polly Adams and Simon Cadell. The three plays became four, and were: ''Tons of Money'' by Will Evans and Valentine, with adaptations by Ayckbourn (Lyttelton), Arthur Miller's ''A View From the Bridge'' (Cottesloe), his own ''A Small Family Business'' (Olivier) and John Ford's '''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (Olivier again). During this time, Alan Ayckbourn shared his role of artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre with Robin Herford and returned in 1987 to direct the premiere of ''Henceforward...''.\n\nHe announced in 1999 that he would step back from directing the work of other playwrights, in order to concentrate on his own plays, the last one being Rob Shearman's ''Knights in Plastic Armour'' in 1999; the exception being in 2002 when he directed the world premiere of Tim Firth's ''The Safari Party''.\n\nIn 2002, following a dispute over the Duchess Theatre's handling of ''Damsels in Distress'', Ayckbourn sharply criticised both this and the West End's treatment of theatre in general, in particular their casting of celebrities. Although he did not explicitly say he would boycott the West End, he did not return to direct in the West End again until 2009 with a revival of ''Woman in Mind'' (although he did allow other West End producers to revive ''Absurd Person Singular'' in 2007 and ''The Norman Conquests'' in 2008).\n\nAfter Ayckbourn suffered a stroke in February 2006, he returned to work in September and premiered his 70th play ''If I Were You'' at the Stephen Joseph Theatre the following month.\n\nHe announced in June 2007 that he would retire as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre after the 2008 season. His successor, Chris Monks, took over at the start of the 2009–2010 season, but Ayckbourn remained to direct premieres and revivals of his work at the theatre, beginning with ''How the Other Half Loves'' in June 2009.\n\nIn March 2010 he directed an in-the-round revival of his play ''Taking Steps'' at the Orange Tree Theatre, winning universal press acclaim.\n\nIn July 2014, Ayckbourn directed a musical adaptation of ''The Boy Who Fell Into A Book'', with musical adaptation and lyrics by Paul James and music by Eric Angus and Cathy Shostak. The show ran in The Stephen Joseph Theatre and received critical acclaim.\n", "{|\n\n1956: Acting assistant stage manager with Donald Wolfit's company for three weeks at Edinburgh Festival.\n\n1956 – 1957: Actor at Worthing, Leatherhead, Scarborough (see below), and Oxford\n\n1957 – 1962: Acting assistant stage manager (1957 only) and actor (1958–1962) at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, Yorkshire\n\n1962 – 1964: Associate director, Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire\n\n1964 – 1970: Drama producer, BBC Radio, Leeds\n\n1972 – 2009: Artistic director, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough (formerly Library Theatre & Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round)\n\n1986 – 1988: Associate Director, National Theatre, London\n\n1991 – 1992: Cameron Mackintosh Professor of contemporary theatre, Oxford University\n\n", "\n* 1973: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Absurd Person Singular''\n* 1974: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''The Norman Conquests''\n* 1977: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''Just Between Ourselves''\n* 1981: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.) from University of Hull\n* 1985: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n* 1985: Laurence Olivier Award, Best Comedy, for ''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n* 1987: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''A Small Family Business''\n* 1987: Plays and Players Award\n* 1987: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.) from Keele University\n* 1987: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.) from University of Leeds\n* 1987: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)\n* 1989: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Henceforward...''\n* 1990: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Man of the Moment''\n* 1997: Knight Bachelor\n* 1998: Honorary Doctor of the University degree (D.Univ.) from Open University\n* 2008: Induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame \n* 2009: Laurence Olivier Special Award\n* 2009: The Critics' Circle annual award for Distinguished Service to the Arts\n* 2011: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.) from York St. John University\n\nAyckbourn also sits on the Council of the Society of Authors.\n", "\n===Full-length plays===\n\n\n Play number\n Title\n Series\n Scarborough premiere\n West End premiere\n New York premiere\n\n1\n''The Square Cat'' \n30 July 1959\n\n\n\n2\n''Love After All'' \n21 December 1959\n\n\n\n3\n''Dad's Tale'' \n19 December 1960\n\n\n\n4\n''Standing Room Only'' \n13 July 1961\n(12 June 1966) \n\n\n5\n''Christmas V Mastermind'' \n26 December 1962\n\n\n\n6\n''Mr Whatnot''\n12 November 1963\n6 August 1964\n\n\n7\n''Relatively Speaking'' \n9 July 1965\n29 March 1967\n\n\n8\n''The Sparrow'' \n13 July 1967\n\n\n\n9\n''How the Other Half Loves''\n31 July 1969\n 5 August 1970\n 29 March 1971\n\n10\n''Family Circles'' \n 20 August 1970\n 8 October 1974\n\n\n11\n''Time And Time Again''\n8 July 1971\n16 August 1972\n\n\n12\n''Absurd Person Singular''\n26 June 1972\n4 July 1973\n8 October 1974\n\n13\n''The Norman Conquests''\n''Table Manners'' \n 18 June 1973\n 9 May 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n14\n''Living Together'' \n 26 June 1973\n 21 May 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n15\n''Round and Round the Garden''\n 2 July 1973\n 6 June 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n16\n''Absent Friends''\n17 June 1974\n23 July 1975\n\n\n17\n''Confusions ''\n30 September 1974\n19 May 1976\n\n\n18\n''Jeeves'' \n\n 22 April 1975\n\n\n19\n''Bedroom Farce''\n 16 June 1975\n 16 March 1977\n 29 March 1979\n\n20\n''Just Between Ourselves''\n 28 January 1976\n 20 April 1977\n\n\n21\n''Ten Times Table''\n 18 January 1977\n 5 April 1978\n\n\n22\n''Joking Apart''\n 11 January 1978\n 7 March 1979\n\n\n23\n''Sisterly Feelings''\n 10/11 January 1979 \n 3/4 June 1980 \n\n\n24\n''Taking Steps''\n 28 September 1979\n 2 September 1980\n 20 February 1991\n\n25\n''Suburban Strains''\n 18 January 1980\n 5 February 1981\n\n\n26\n''Season's Greetings''\n 25 September 1980\n 29 March 1982\n\n\n27\n''Way Upstream''\n2 October 1981\n 4 October 1982\n\n\n28\n''Making Tracks'' \n 16 December 1981\n 14 March 1983\n\n\n29\n''Intimate Exchanges''\n''Affairs in a Tent''\n 3 June 1982\n 14 August 1984\n (31 May 2007) \n\n''Events on a Hotel Terrace''\n\n''A Garden Fete''\n\n''A Pageant''\n\n''A Cricket Match''\n\n''A Game of Golf''\n\n''A One Man Protest''\n\n''Love in the Mist''\n\n30\n''It Could Be Any One Of Us'' \n 5 October 1983\n 14 March 1983\n\n\n31\n\n''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n 2 May 1984\n 1 August 1985\n\n\n32\n''Woman in Mind''\n 30 May 1985\n 3 September 1986\n\n\n33\n''A Small Family Business''\n\n20 May 1987\n 27 April 1992\n\n34\n''Henceforward...''\n 30 July 1987\n 21 November 1988\n\n\n35\n''Man Of The Moment''\n 10 August 1988\n 14 February 1990\n\n\n36\n''Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays''\n 30 November 1988\n 4 March 1993\n\n\n37\n\n''The Revengers' Comedies'' \n 13 June 1989\n 13 March 1991\n\n\n38\n''Invisible Friends''\n 23 November 1989\n 13 March 1991\n\n\n39\n''Body Language''\n 21 May 1990\n\n\n40\n''This Is Where We Came In''\n 4/11 January 1990\n\n\n\n41\n''Callisto 5'' \n 12 December 1990\n\n\n42\n''Wildest Dreams''\n 6 May 1991\n 14 December 1993\n\n\n43\n''My Very Own Story''\n 10 August 1991\n\n\n\n44\n''Time Of My Life''\n 21 April 1992\n 3 August 1993\n 6 June 2014\n\n45\n''Dreams From A Summer House''\n 26 August 1992\n\n\n\n46\n''Communicating Doors''\n 2 February 1994\n 7 August 1995\n\n\n47\n''Haunting Julia'' \n 20 April 1994\n\n\n\n48\n''The Musical Jigsaw Play'' \n 1 December 1994\n\n\n\n49\n''A Word From Our Sponsor''\n 20 April 1995\n\n\n\n(18)\n ''By Jeeves ''\n 2 July 1996\n 2 July 1996\n 28 October 2001\n\n50\n''The Champion Of Paribanou''\n 4 December 1996\n\n\n\n51\n''Things We Do For Love''\n 29 April 1997 \n 2 March 1998\n\n\n52\n''Comic Potential''\n 4 June 1998\n 13 October 1999\n\n53\n''The Boy Who Fell Into A Book''\n 4 December 1998\n\n\n\n54\n''House and Garden'' \n ''House''\n 17 June 1999 \n 8 August 2000\n\n\n55\n''Garden''\n 17 June 1999\n 8 August 2000\n\n\n(41)\n''Callisto#7'' \n 4 December 1999\n\n\n\n56\n''Virtual Reality'' \n 8 February 2000 \n\n\n\n57\n''Whenever''\n 5 December 2000\n\n\n\n58\n''Damsels in Distress''\n''GamePlan''\n 29 May 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n59\n''FlatSpin''\n 3 July 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n60\n''RolePlay''\n 4 September 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n61\n''Snake in the Grass'' \n 5 June 2002\n\n\n\n62\n''The Jollies''\n 3 December 2002\n\n\n\n63\n''Sugar Daddies''\n 23 July 2003\n\n\n\n64\n''Orvin - Champion Of Champions''\n 8 August 2003\n\n\n\n65\n''My Sister Sadie''\n 2 December 2003\n\n\n\n66\n''Drowning on Dry Land''\n 4 May 2004\n\n\n\n67\n''Private Fears in Public Places''\n 17 August 2004\n (5 May 2005) \n (9 June 2005)\n\n68\n''Miss Yesterday''\n 2 December 2004\n\n\n\n69\n''Improbable Fiction''\n 31 May 2005\n\n\n\n70\n''If I Were You''\n 17 October 2006\n\n\n\n71\n ''Things That Go Bump''\n''Life and Beth'' \n 22 July 2008\n\n\n\n72\n''Awaking Beauty''\n 16 December 2008\n\n\n\n73\n''My Wonderful Day''\n 13 October 2009\n\n\n\n74\n''Life of Riley''\n 16 September 2010\n\n\n\n75\n''Neighbourhood Watch''\n 13 September 2011\n\n\n\n76\n''Surprises''\n 17 July 2012\n\n\n\n77\n''Arrivals & Departures''\n 6 August 2013\n\n 29 May 2014\n\n78\n''Roundelay''\n 9 September 2014\n\n \n\n79\n''The Divide'' (Parts One and Two)\n\n30 January 2018\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===One-act plays===\n\nThere are eight one-act plays written by Alan Ayckbourn. Five of them (''Mother Figure'', ''Drinking Companion'', ''Between Mouthfuls'', ''Gosforth’s Fete'' and ''Widows Might'') were written for ''Confusions'', first performed in 1974.\n\nThe other three one-act plays were:\n* ''Countdown'', first performed in 1962, most well known as part of ''Mixed Doubles'', a set of short one-act plays and monologues contributed by nine different authors.\n* ''Ernie's Incredible Illucinations'', written in 1969 for a collection of short plays and intended for performance by schools.\n* ''A Cut in the Rates'', performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1984, and filmed for a BBC documentary.\n\n===Books===\n\n* \n* \n\n===Film adaptations of Ayckbourn plays===\n\nPlays adapted as films include:\n\n* ''A Chorus of Disapproval (play)'' filmed as ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1988 film), directed by Michael Winner;\n* ''Intimate Exchanges'' (play) filmed as ''Smoking/No Smoking'' (1993 film), directed by Alain Resnais;\n* ''The Revengers' Comedies'' (play) filmed as ''The Revengers' Comedies'' (also known as ''Sweet Revenge''), directed by Malcolm Mowbray;\n* ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (play) filmed as ''Cœurs'' (2006 film) directed by Alain Resnais.\n* ''Life of Riley'' (play) filmed as ''Life of Riley'' (2014 film) directed by Alain Resnais.\n", "\n", "\n* \n\n", "\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* Archival material at \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Life", "Career", "C.V.", "Honours and awards", "Works", "Notes", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Whilst at prep school as a boarder, his mother wrote to tell him she was marrying Cecil Pye, a bank manager." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Sir Alan Ayckbourn''', CBE (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific English playwright and director.", "He has written and produced more than seventy full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance.", "More than 40 have subsequently been produced in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre or by the Royal Shakespeare Company since his first hit ''Relatively Speaking'' opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1969.", "Major successes include ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1975), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975), ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984), ''Woman in Mind'' (1985), ''A Small Family Business'' (1987), ''Man Of The Moment'' (1988), ''House'' & ''Garden'' (1999) and ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (2004).", "His plays have won numerous awards, including seven London ''Evening Standard'' Awards.", "They have been translated into over 35 languages and are performed on stage and television throughout the world.", "Ten of his plays have been staged on Broadway, attracting two Tony nominations, and one Tony award.", "\n===Childhood===\n\nAyckbourn was born in Hampstead, London.", "His mother Irene Worley (\"Lolly\") (1906-1998) was a writer of short stories who published under the name \"Mary James\".", "His father, Horace Ayckbourn (1904-1965), was an orchestral violinist, at one time deputy leader of the London Symphony Orchestra.", "His parents, who separated shortly after World War II, never married, and Ayckbourn's mother divorced her first husband to marry again in 1948.", "Ayckbourn wrote his first play at Wisborough Lodge (a preparatory school in the village of Wisborough Green) when he was about 10.", "When he went home for the holidays his new family consisted of his mother, his stepfather and Christopher, his stepfather's son by an earlier marriage.", "This relationship too, reportedly ran into difficulties early on.", "Ayckbourn attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College, in the village of Hertford Heath, and whilst there toured Europe and America with the school's Shakespeare company.", "===Adult life===\n\nAfter leaving school at 17, Ayckbourn's career took several temporary jobs in various places before starting a temporary job at the Scarborough Library Theatre, where he was introduced to the artistic director, Stephen Joseph.", "It is said that Joseph became both a mentor and father figure for Ayckbourn until his untimely death in 1967, and he has consistently spoken highly of him.", "Ayckbourn's career was briefly interrupted when he was called for National Service.", "He was swiftly discharged, officially on medical grounds, but it is suggested that a doctor who noticed his reluctance to join the Armed Forces deliberately failed the medical as a favour.", "Although Ayckbourn continued to move where his career took him, he settled in Scarborough, eventually buying Longwestgate House, the house formerly owned by Stephen Joseph.", "In 1957, Ayckbourn married Christine Roland, another member of the Library Theatre company, and indeed Ayckbourn's first two plays were written jointly with her under the pseudonym of \"Roland Allen\".", "They had two sons, Steven and Philip.", "However, the marriage had difficulties which eventually led to their separation in 1971.", "Alan Ayckbourn said that his relationship with Christine became easy once they agreed their marriage was over.", "Around this time, he started to share a home with Heather Stoney, an actress he had first met ten years earlier.", "Like his mother, neither he nor Christine sought a divorce for the next thirty years and it was only in 1997 that they formally divorced; Ayckbourn married Heather Stoney.", "One side-effect of the timing is that, as Alan was awarded a knighthood a few months before the divorce, both his first and second wife are entitled to take the title of Lady Ayckbourn.", "In February 2006, he suffered a stroke in Scarborough, and stated: \"I hope to be back on my feet, or should I say my left leg, as soon as possible, but I know it is going to take some time.", "In the meantime I am in excellent hands and so is the Stephen Joseph Theatre.\"", "He left hospital after eight weeks and returned to directing after six months, but the following year he announced he would step down as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre.", "Ayckbourn, however, continues to write and direct his own work at the theatre.", "===Influence on plays===\n\nSince Alan Ayckbourn's plays started becoming established in the West End, interviewers have raised the question of whether his work is autobiographical.", "There is no clear answer to this question.", "There has only been one biography, written by Paul Allen, and this primarily covers his career in the theatre.", "Ayckbourn has frequently said he sees aspects of himself in all his characters.", "For example, in ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975), he admitted to being, in some respects, all four of the men in the play.", "It has been suggested that, after Ayckbourn himself, the person who is used the most in his plays is his mother, particularly as Susan in ''Woman in Mind'' (1985).", "What is less clear is how much influence events in Ayckbourn's life have had on his writing.", "It is true that the theme of marriages in various difficulties was heavily present throughout his plays in the early seventies, around the time his own marriage was coming to an end.", "However, by this time, he had also witnessed the failures of his parents' relationships as well as those of some of his friends.", "Which relationships, if any, he drew on for his plays, is unclear.", "In Paul Allen’s biography, Ayckbourn is briefly compared to Dafydd and Guy in ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1984).", "Both characters feel themselves in trouble, and there was speculation that Alan Ayckbourn himself may have felt himself to be in trouble.", "At the time, he had reportedly become seriously involved with another actress, which threatened his relationship with Heather Stoney.", "But again, it is unclear whether this had any effect on the writing, and Paul Allen's view is that it is not current experience that Ayckbourn uses for his plays.", "It could be that Ayckbourn had written plays with himself and his own issues in mind, but as Ayckbourn is portrayed as a guarded and private man, it is hard to imagine him exposing his own life in his plays to any great degree.", "In the biography, Paul Allen wrote, regarding a suggestion in ''Cosmopolitan'' that his plays were becoming autobiographical: \"If we take that to mean that his plays tell his own life story, he still hasn't started.\"", "\n===Early career and acting===\n\nOn leaving school his theatrical career started immediately, with an introduction to Sir Donald Wolfit by his French master.", "Ayckbourn joined Wolfit on tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as an acting assistant stage manager (meaning a role that involved both acting and stage management) for three weeks, with his first role on the professional stage being various parts in ''The Strong are Lonely'' by Fritz Hochwälder.", "In the following year, Ayckbourn appeared in six other plays at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, and the Thorndyke theatre, Leatherhead.", "In 1957, Ayckbourn was employed by the director Stephen Joseph at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, the predecessor to the modern Stephen Joseph Theatre.", "His role, again, was initially an acting stage manager.", "This employment led to Ayckbourn's first professional script commission, in 1958.", "When he complained about the quality of a script he was performing, Joseph challenged him to write a better one.", "The result was ''The Square Cat'', written under the pseudonym Roland Allen and first performed in 1959.", "In this play, Ayckbourn himself played the character Jerry Watiss.", "After thirty-four appearances in plays at the Library Theatre, including four of his own, in 1962 Ayckbourn moved to Stoke-on-Trent to help set up the Victoria Theatre, (now the New Vic), where he appeared in a further eighteen plays.", "His final appearance in one of his own plays was as the Crimson Gollywog in the disastrous children's play ''Christmas v Mastermind''.", "He left the Stoke company in 1964, officially to commit his time to the London production of ''Mr.", "Whatnot'', but reportedly because was having trouble working with the artistic director, Peter Cheeseman.", "By now, his career as a writer was coming to fruition, and his acting career was sidelined.", "His final role on stage was as Jerry in ''Two for the Seesaw'' by William Gibson, at the Civic Theatre in Rotherham.", "He was left stranded on stage because Heather Stoney was unable to re-appear because the props had been left unpacked, and this led him to decide acting was more trouble than it was worth.", "The assistant stage manager on the production, Bill Kenwright, would become one of the UK's most successful producers.", "===Writing===\n\nAlan Ayckbourn's earliest plays were written and produced at a time when the Scarborough Library theatre, like most regional theatres, regularly commissioned work from their own actors to keep costs down (the other notable actor whose work was being commissioned being David Campton).", "His first play, ''The Square Cat'', was sufficiently popular locally to secure further commissions, but neither this nor the following three plays had any major impact outside of Scarborough.", "But, after his transfer to Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, there came ''Christmas v Mastermind'', which flopped and is now universally regarded as Ayckbourn's greatest disaster.", "His fortunes began to revive in 1963 with ''Mr.", "Whatnot'', again premiering at the Victoria Theatre.", "This was the first play that Ayckbourn was sufficiently happy with to allow performances today, and the first play to receive a West End performance.", "However, the West End production flopped, in part down to misguided casting.", "After this, Ayckbourn experimented by collaborating with comedians, first writing a monologue for Tommy Cooper, and later with Ronnie Barker, who played Lord Slingsby-Craddock in the London production of ''Mr Whatnot'' in 1964, for the scripts of for LWT's ''Hark at Barker''.", "Ayckbourn used the pseudonym 'Peter Caulfield' because he was under exclusive contract to the BBC at the time.", "Then, in 1965, back at the Scarborough Library Theatre, ''Meet my Father'' was produced, later retitled ''Relatively Speaking''.", "This time, the play was a massive success, both in Scarborough and the West End, making Alan Ayckbourn rich and earning him a congratulatory telegram from Noël Coward.", "This was not quite the end of Ayckbourn's hit-and-miss record, because his following play, ''The Sparrow'' only ran for three weeks at Scarborough.", "However, the following play, ''How the Other Half Loves'', secured his runaway success as a playwright.", "The height of Ayckbourn's commercial success included ''Absurd Person Singular'' (1975), ''The Norman Conquests'' trilogy (1973), ''Bedroom Farce'' (1975) and ''Just Between Ourselves'' (1976), all plays that focused heavily on marriage in the British middle classes.", "The only failure during this period was a 1975 musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber, ''Jeeves'', and even this did little to dent Ayckbourn's popularity.", "Although his plays have received major West End productions almost from the beginning of his writing career, and hence have been reviewed in British newspapers, Ayckbourn's work was for years routinely dismissed as being too slight for serious study.", "Recently, scholars have begun to view Ayckbourn as an important commentator on the lifestyles of the British suburban middle class, and as a stylistic innovator who experiments with theatrical styles within the boundaries set by popular tastes.", "From the 1980s, Ayckbourn began to move away from the recurring themes of marriage and explore other contemporary themes, one example being ''Woman in Mind'', a play performed entirely from the perspective of a Woman going through a nervous breakdown.", "He also experimented with several more unconventional ways of writing plays, such as ''Intimate Exchanges'', which has one beginning and sixteen possible endings, and ''House & Garden'', where two plays take place simultaneously of two different stages, as well as diversifying into children's theatre (such as ''Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays'' and musical plays, such as ''By Jeeves'' (a more successful rewrite of the original ''Jeeves'').", "With a résumé of over seventy plays, of which more than forty have played at the National Theatre or in the West End, Alan Ayckbourn is one of England’s most successful living playwrights.", "Despite his success, honours and awards (which include a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award), Alan Ayckbourn remains a relatively anonymous figure dedicated to regional theatre.", "Throughout his writing career, all but four of his plays were premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in its three different locations.", "Alan Ayckbourn received the CBE in 1987 and was knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours.", "It is frequently claimed (but not proven) that Alan Ayckbourn is the most performed living English playwright, and the second most performed of all time after Shakespeare.", "Although Alan Ayckbourn's plays no longer dominate the theatrical scene on the scale of his earlier works, he continues to write, his most recent major success being ''Private Fears in Public Places'' that had a hugely successful Off-Broadway run at 59E59 Theaters, and in 2006 was made into a film ''Cœurs'', directed by Alain Resnais.", "After suffering a stroke, there was uncertainly as to whether he could continue to write (the Ayckbourn play premiered immediately after the stroke, ''If I Were You'', was written before his illness), but his first play written afterwards, ''Life and Beth'', was premiered in the summer of 2008.", "Ayckbourn continues to write for the Stephen Joseph Theatre on invitation of his successor as artistic director, Chris Monks, with the first new play under this arrangement, ''My Wonderful Day'', performed in October 2009.", "His latest play, ''Roundelay'' is scheduled to open in September 2014; the order in which each of the five acts is played in each performance is to be left to chance (allowing 120 possible permutations), with members of the audience being invited to extract five coloured ping pong balls from a bag beforehand.", "Many of Ayckbourn's plays have had their New York premiere at 59E59 Theaters as part of their annual Brits Off Broadway Festitval including ''Private Fears in Public Places'', ''Intimate Exchanges'', ''My Wonderful Day'' and ''Neighbourhood Watch'' among others.", "===Directing===\n\nAlthough Alan Ayckbourn is best known as a writer, it is said that he only spends 10% of his time writing plays.", "Most of the rest of his time is spent directing.", "Alan Ayckbourn began directing at the Scarborough Library Theatre in 1961, with a production of ''Gas Light'' by Patrick Hamilton.", "He directed five other plays that year and the following year in Scarborough, and after transferring to the Victoria Theatre, directed a further six plays in 1963.", "Between 1964 and 1967 (when much of his time was taken up by various productions of his early successes ''Mr.", "Whatnot'' and ''Relatively Speaking'') he only directed one play (''The Sparrow'', written by himself, later withdrawn), but in 1968 he resumed regularly directing plays, mostly at Scarborough.", "At this time he also worked as a radio drama producer for the BBC, based in Leeds.", "At first, his directing career was separate from his writing career.", "It was not until 1963 that Ayckbourn directed a play of his own (a revival of ''Standing Room Only''), 1967 that Ayckbourn directed a premiere of his own (''The Sparrow'').", "The London premieres remained in the hands of other directors for longer, with the first play of his both written and directed by him in London (''Bedroom Farce'') waiting until 1977.", "After the death of Stephen Joseph in 1967, the position of Director of Productions was appointed on an annual basis.", "Alan Ayckbourn was offered this position in 1969 and 1970, succeeding Rodney Wood, but he handed the position over to Caroline Smith in 1971 (having spent most of his time that year in the USA with ''How the Other Half Loves'').", "He became Director of Productions again in 1972, and this time, on 12 November that same year, he was made the permanent artistic director of the theatre.", "In mid-1986, Ayckbourn accepted an invitation to work as a visiting director for two years at the Royal National Theatre in London, form his own company, and perform a play in each of the three auditoria provided at least one was a new play of his own.", "Using a stock company that included established performers like Michael Gambon, Polly Adams and Simon Cadell.", "The three plays became four, and were: ''Tons of Money'' by Will Evans and Valentine, with adaptations by Ayckbourn (Lyttelton), Arthur Miller's ''A View From the Bridge'' (Cottesloe), his own ''A Small Family Business'' (Olivier) and John Ford's '''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (Olivier again).", "During this time, Alan Ayckbourn shared his role of artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre with Robin Herford and returned in 1987 to direct the premiere of ''Henceforward...''.", "He announced in 1999 that he would step back from directing the work of other playwrights, in order to concentrate on his own plays, the last one being Rob Shearman's ''Knights in Plastic Armour'' in 1999; the exception being in 2002 when he directed the world premiere of Tim Firth's ''The Safari Party''.", "In 2002, following a dispute over the Duchess Theatre's handling of ''Damsels in Distress'', Ayckbourn sharply criticised both this and the West End's treatment of theatre in general, in particular their casting of celebrities.", "Although he did not explicitly say he would boycott the West End, he did not return to direct in the West End again until 2009 with a revival of ''Woman in Mind'' (although he did allow other West End producers to revive ''Absurd Person Singular'' in 2007 and ''The Norman Conquests'' in 2008).", "After Ayckbourn suffered a stroke in February 2006, he returned to work in September and premiered his 70th play ''If I Were You'' at the Stephen Joseph Theatre the following month.", "He announced in June 2007 that he would retire as artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre after the 2008 season.", "His successor, Chris Monks, took over at the start of the 2009–2010 season, but Ayckbourn remained to direct premieres and revivals of his work at the theatre, beginning with ''How the Other Half Loves'' in June 2009.", "In March 2010 he directed an in-the-round revival of his play ''Taking Steps'' at the Orange Tree Theatre, winning universal press acclaim.", "In July 2014, Ayckbourn directed a musical adaptation of ''The Boy Who Fell Into A Book'', with musical adaptation and lyrics by Paul James and music by Eric Angus and Cathy Shostak.", "The show ran in The Stephen Joseph Theatre and received critical acclaim.", "{|\n\n1956: Acting assistant stage manager with Donald Wolfit's company for three weeks at Edinburgh Festival.", "1956 – 1957: Actor at Worthing, Leatherhead, Scarborough (see below), and Oxford\n\n1957 – 1962: Acting assistant stage manager (1957 only) and actor (1958–1962) at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, Yorkshire\n\n1962 – 1964: Associate director, Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire\n\n1964 – 1970: Drama producer, BBC Radio, Leeds\n\n1972 – 2009: Artistic director, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough (formerly Library Theatre & Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round)\n\n1986 – 1988: Associate Director, National Theatre, London\n\n1991 – 1992: Cameron Mackintosh Professor of contemporary theatre, Oxford University", "\n* 1973: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Absurd Person Singular''\n* 1974: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''The Norman Conquests''\n* 1977: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''Just Between Ourselves''\n* 1981: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.)", "from University of Hull\n* 1985: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n* 1985: Laurence Olivier Award, Best Comedy, for ''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n* 1987: Evening Standard Award, Best Play, for ''A Small Family Business''\n* 1987: Plays and Players Award\n* 1987: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.)", "from Keele University\n* 1987: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.)", "from University of Leeds\n* 1987: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)\n* 1989: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Henceforward...''\n* 1990: Evening Standard Award, Best Comedy, for ''Man of the Moment''\n* 1997: Knight Bachelor\n* 1998: Honorary Doctor of the University degree (D.Univ.)", "from Open University\n* 2008: Induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame \n* 2009: Laurence Olivier Special Award\n* 2009: The Critics' Circle annual award for Distinguished Service to the Arts\n* 2011: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree (Litt.D.)", "from York St. John University\n\nAyckbourn also sits on the Council of the Society of Authors.", "\n===Full-length plays===\n\n\n Play number\n Title\n Series\n Scarborough premiere\n West End premiere\n New York premiere\n\n1\n''The Square Cat'' \n30 July 1959\n\n\n\n2\n''Love After All'' \n21 December 1959\n\n\n\n3\n''Dad's Tale'' \n19 December 1960\n\n\n\n4\n''Standing Room Only'' \n13 July 1961\n(12 June 1966) \n\n\n5\n''Christmas V Mastermind'' \n26 December 1962\n\n\n\n6\n''Mr Whatnot''\n12 November 1963\n6 August 1964\n\n\n7\n''Relatively Speaking'' \n9 July 1965\n29 March 1967\n\n\n8\n''The Sparrow'' \n13 July 1967\n\n\n\n9\n''How the Other Half Loves''\n31 July 1969\n 5 August 1970\n 29 March 1971\n\n10\n''Family Circles'' \n 20 August 1970\n 8 October 1974\n\n\n11\n''Time And Time Again''\n8 July 1971\n16 August 1972\n\n\n12\n''Absurd Person Singular''\n26 June 1972\n4 July 1973\n8 October 1974\n\n13\n''The Norman Conquests''\n''Table Manners'' \n 18 June 1973\n 9 May 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n14\n''Living Together'' \n 26 June 1973\n 21 May 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n15\n''Round and Round the Garden''\n 2 July 1973\n 6 June 1974\n 7 December 1975\n\n16\n''Absent Friends''\n17 June 1974\n23 July 1975\n\n\n17\n''Confusions ''\n30 September 1974\n19 May 1976\n\n\n18\n''Jeeves'' \n\n 22 April 1975\n\n\n19\n''Bedroom Farce''\n 16 June 1975\n 16 March 1977\n 29 March 1979\n\n20\n''Just Between Ourselves''\n 28 January 1976\n 20 April 1977\n\n\n21\n''Ten Times Table''\n 18 January 1977\n 5 April 1978\n\n\n22\n''Joking Apart''\n 11 January 1978\n 7 March 1979\n\n\n23\n''Sisterly Feelings''\n 10/11 January 1979 \n 3/4 June 1980 \n\n\n24\n''Taking Steps''\n 28 September 1979\n 2 September 1980\n 20 February 1991\n\n25\n''Suburban Strains''\n 18 January 1980\n 5 February 1981\n\n\n26\n''Season's Greetings''\n 25 September 1980\n 29 March 1982\n\n\n27\n''Way Upstream''\n2 October 1981\n 4 October 1982\n\n\n28\n''Making Tracks'' \n 16 December 1981\n 14 March 1983\n\n\n29\n''Intimate Exchanges''\n''Affairs in a Tent''\n 3 June 1982\n 14 August 1984\n (31 May 2007) \n\n''Events on a Hotel Terrace''\n\n''A Garden Fete''\n\n''A Pageant''\n\n''A Cricket Match''\n\n''A Game of Golf''\n\n''A One Man Protest''\n\n''Love in the Mist''\n\n30\n''It Could Be Any One Of Us'' \n 5 October 1983\n 14 March 1983\n\n\n31\n\n''A Chorus of Disapproval''\n 2 May 1984\n 1 August 1985\n\n\n32\n''Woman in Mind''\n 30 May 1985\n 3 September 1986\n\n\n33\n''A Small Family Business''\n\n20 May 1987\n 27 April 1992\n\n34\n''Henceforward...''\n 30 July 1987\n 21 November 1988\n\n\n35\n''Man Of The Moment''\n 10 August 1988\n 14 February 1990\n\n\n36\n''Mr A's Amazing Maze Plays''\n 30 November 1988\n 4 March 1993\n\n\n37\n\n''The Revengers' Comedies'' \n 13 June 1989\n 13 March 1991\n\n\n38\n''Invisible Friends''\n 23 November 1989\n 13 March 1991\n\n\n39\n''Body Language''\n 21 May 1990\n\n\n40\n''This Is Where We Came In''\n 4/11 January 1990\n\n\n\n41\n''Callisto 5'' \n 12 December 1990\n\n\n42\n''Wildest Dreams''\n 6 May 1991\n 14 December 1993\n\n\n43\n''My Very Own Story''\n 10 August 1991\n\n\n\n44\n''Time Of My Life''\n 21 April 1992\n 3 August 1993\n 6 June 2014\n\n45\n''Dreams From A Summer House''\n 26 August 1992\n\n\n\n46\n''Communicating Doors''\n 2 February 1994\n 7 August 1995\n\n\n47\n''Haunting Julia'' \n 20 April 1994\n\n\n\n48\n''The Musical Jigsaw Play'' \n 1 December 1994\n\n\n\n49\n''A Word From Our Sponsor''\n 20 April 1995\n\n\n\n(18)\n ''By Jeeves ''\n 2 July 1996\n 2 July 1996\n 28 October 2001\n\n50\n''The Champion Of Paribanou''\n 4 December 1996\n\n\n\n51\n''Things We Do For Love''\n 29 April 1997 \n 2 March 1998\n\n\n52\n''Comic Potential''\n 4 June 1998\n 13 October 1999\n\n53\n''The Boy Who Fell Into A Book''\n 4 December 1998\n\n\n\n54\n''House and Garden'' \n ''House''\n 17 June 1999 \n 8 August 2000\n\n\n55\n''Garden''\n 17 June 1999\n 8 August 2000\n\n\n(41)\n''Callisto#7'' \n 4 December 1999\n\n\n\n56\n''Virtual Reality'' \n 8 February 2000 \n\n\n\n57\n''Whenever''\n 5 December 2000\n\n\n\n58\n''Damsels in Distress''\n''GamePlan''\n 29 May 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n59\n''FlatSpin''\n 3 July 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n60\n''RolePlay''\n 4 September 2001\n 7 September 2002\n\n\n61\n''Snake in the Grass'' \n 5 June 2002\n\n\n\n62\n''The Jollies''\n 3 December 2002\n\n\n\n63\n''Sugar Daddies''\n 23 July 2003\n\n\n\n64\n''Orvin - Champion Of Champions''\n 8 August 2003\n\n\n\n65\n''My Sister Sadie''\n 2 December 2003\n\n\n\n66\n''Drowning on Dry Land''\n 4 May 2004\n\n\n\n67\n''Private Fears in Public Places''\n 17 August 2004\n (5 May 2005) \n (9 June 2005)\n\n68\n''Miss Yesterday''\n 2 December 2004\n\n\n\n69\n''Improbable Fiction''\n 31 May 2005\n\n\n\n70\n''If I Were You''\n 17 October 2006\n\n\n\n71\n ''Things That Go Bump''\n''Life and Beth'' \n 22 July 2008\n\n\n\n72\n''Awaking Beauty''\n 16 December 2008\n\n\n\n73\n''My Wonderful Day''\n 13 October 2009\n\n\n\n74\n''Life of Riley''\n 16 September 2010\n\n\n\n75\n''Neighbourhood Watch''\n 13 September 2011\n\n\n\n76\n''Surprises''\n 17 July 2012\n\n\n\n77\n''Arrivals & Departures''\n 6 August 2013\n\n 29 May 2014\n\n78\n''Roundelay''\n 9 September 2014\n\n \n\n79\n''The Divide'' (Parts One and Two)\n\n30 January 2018\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===One-act plays===\n\nThere are eight one-act plays written by Alan Ayckbourn.", "Five of them (''Mother Figure'', ''Drinking Companion'', ''Between Mouthfuls'', ''Gosforth’s Fete'' and ''Widows Might'') were written for ''Confusions'', first performed in 1974.", "The other three one-act plays were:\n* ''Countdown'', first performed in 1962, most well known as part of ''Mixed Doubles'', a set of short one-act plays and monologues contributed by nine different authors.", "* ''Ernie's Incredible Illucinations'', written in 1969 for a collection of short plays and intended for performance by schools.", "* ''A Cut in the Rates'', performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1984, and filmed for a BBC documentary.", "===Books===\n\n* \n* \n\n===Film adaptations of Ayckbourn plays===\n\nPlays adapted as films include:\n\n* ''A Chorus of Disapproval (play)'' filmed as ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1988 film), directed by Michael Winner;\n* ''Intimate Exchanges'' (play) filmed as ''Smoking/No Smoking'' (1993 film), directed by Alain Resnais;\n* ''The Revengers' Comedies'' (play) filmed as ''The Revengers' Comedies'' (also known as ''Sweet Revenge''), directed by Malcolm Mowbray;\n* ''Private Fears in Public Places'' (play) filmed as ''Cœurs'' (2006 film) directed by Alain Resnais.", "* ''Life of Riley'' (play) filmed as ''Life of Riley'' (2014 film) directed by Alain Resnais.", "\n*", "\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* Archival material at" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n", "*AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.\n* 135 – Roman armies enter Betar, slaughtering thousands and ending the bar Kokhba revolt.\n* 642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.\n* 910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.\n* 939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Córdoba.\n*1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.\n*1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.\n*1278 – Spanish Reconquista: the forces of the Kingdom of Castile initiate the ultimately futile Siege of Algeciras against the Emirate of Granada.\n*1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.\n*1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.\n*1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.\n*1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.\n*1620 – The ''Mayflower'' departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.\n*1689 – Beaver Wars: Fifteen hundred Iroquois attack Lachine in New France.\n*1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.\n*1735 – Freedom of the press: ''New York Weekly Journal'' writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.\n*1763 – Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run: British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.\n*1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.\n*1796 – The Battle of Castiglione in Napoleon's first Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars.\n*1816 – The British Admiralty dismisses Francis Ronalds's new invention of the first working electric telegraph as \"wholly unnecessary\", preferring to continue using the semaphore.\n*1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces in the Battle of Samos.\n*1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.\n*1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.\n*1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).\n* 1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.\n*1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.\n*1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.\n*1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.\n*1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.\n*1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.\n*1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.\n*1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of . The record will stand for 20 years.\n*1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.\n*1914 – World War I: The German minelayer lays a minefield about off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser .\n* 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.\n* 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.\n*1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.\n*1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.\n*1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.\n*1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.\n*1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.\n*1944 – World War II: At least 1,104 Japanese POWs in Australia attempt to escape from a camp at Cowra, New South Wales; 545 temporarily succeed but are later either killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured.\n* 1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp (Gęsiówka) in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.\n* 1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.\n*1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.\n*1957 – ''American Bandstand'', a show dedicated to the teenage \"baby-boomers\" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.\n*1960 – Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.\n*1962 – Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.\n*1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.\n*1964 – Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers and bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.\n*1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.\n*1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the \"South Pacific Forum\") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.\n*1973 – Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.\n*1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.\n*1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.\n*1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.\n*1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.\n*1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.\n*2003 – A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.\n*2010 – The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately below the ground.\n* 2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.\n*2012 – The Oak Creek shooting took place at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator was shot dead by police.\n*2015 – The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases 3 million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.\n", "\n* 79 BC – Tullia, Roman daughter of Cicero (d. 45 BC)\n*1262 – Ladislaus IV of Hungary (d. 1290)\n*1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1330)\n*1397 – Guillaume Dufay, Belgian-Italian composer and theorist (d. 1474)\n*1461 – Alexander Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1506)\n*1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)\n*1607 – Antonio Barberini, Italian cardinal (d. 1671)\n*1623 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1669)\n*1626 – Richard Ottley, English politician (d. 1670)\n*1662 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (d. 1728)\n*1681 – Vitus Bering, Danish explorer (d. 1741)\n*1694 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)\n*1749 – Thomas Lynch, Jr., American commander and politician (d. 1779)\n*1797 – Friedrich August Kummer, German cellist and composer (d. 1879)\n*1802 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1829)\n*1811 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (d. 1896)\n*1813 – Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and linguist (d. 1896)\n*1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer and politician, Governor of Jamaica (d. 1901)\n*1827 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (d. 1892)\n*1828 – Louise of the Netherlands (d. 1871)\n*1833 – Carola of Vasa (d. 1907)\n*1843 – James Scott Skinner, Scottish violinist and composer (d. 1927)\n*1844 – Ilya Repin, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1930)\n*1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1893)\n*1860 – Louis Wain, English artist (d. 1939)\n*1862 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (d. 1890)\n*1866 – Carl Harries, German chemist and academic (d. 1923)\n* 1866 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)\n*1868 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish pianist and composer (d. 1924)\n*1872 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist, founded the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (d. 1917)\n*1874 – Wesley Clair Mitchell, American economist and academic (d. 1948)\n* 1874 – Horace Rawlins, English golfer (d. 1935)\n*1876 – Mary Ritter Beard, American historian and activist (d. 1958)\n*1877 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)\n*1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1962)\n* 1880 – Ruth Sawyer, American author and educator (d. 1970)\n*1887 – Reginald Owen, English-American actor and singer (d. 1972)\n*1889 – Conrad Aiken, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet (d. 1973)\n*1890 – Naum Gabo, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1977)\n* 1890 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (d. 1956)\n*1897 – Roberta Dodd Crawford, American soprano and educator (d. 1954)\n* 1897 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1972)\n*1900 – Rudolf Schottlaender, German philosopher, classical philologist and translator (d. 1988)\n*1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director, screenwriter, and politician (d. 2000)\n*1904 – Kenneth V. Thimann, English-American botanist and microbiologist (d. 1997)\n*1906 – Joan Hickson, English actress (d. 1998)\n* 1906 – John Huston, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1987)\n* 1906 – Wassily Leontief, German-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)\n*1908 – Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)\n* 1908 – Jose Garcia Villa, Filipino short story writer and poet (d. 1997)\n*1910 – Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and manager (d. 1979)\n* 1910 – Herminio Masantonio, Argentinian footballer (d. 1956)\n*1911 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (d. 1969)\n*1912 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and humanitarian (d. 2007)\n*1914 – Parley Baer, American actor (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Peter Viereck, American poet and academic (d. 2006)\n*1918 – Tom Drake, American actor and singer (d. 1982)\n* 1918 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded the Canada's National Ballet School (d. 2004)\n*1920 – George Tooker, American painter and academic (d. 2011)\n*1921 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)\n*1922 – L. Tom Perry, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2015)\n* 1922 – Frank Stranahan, American golfer (d. 2013)\n*1923 – Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (d. 2005)\n*1926 – Betsy Jolas, French composer\n* 1926 – Jeri Southern, American jazz singer and pianist (d. 1991)\n*1927 – John H. Moore II, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)\n*1929 – Don Matheson, American soldier, police officer, and actor (d. 2014)\n*1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 2012)\n* 1930 – Damita Jo DeBlanc, American comedian, actress, and singer (d. 1998) \n* 1930 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (d. 1989)\n* 1930 – Michal Kováč, Slovak lawyer and politician, 1st President of Slovakia\n*1931 – Tom Hafey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)\n*1932 – Tera de Marez Oyens, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1996)\n* 1932 – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Russian conductor\n*1934 – Karl Johan Åström, Swedish engineer and theorist\n* 1934 – Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist\n* 1934 – Gay Byrne, Irish radio and television host\n*1935 – Michael Ballhaus, German director and cinematographer\n* 1935 – Peter Inge, Baron Inge, English field marshal\n* 1935 – John Saxon, American actor\n* 1935 – Roy Benavidez, American Master Sergeant and Medal of Honor Winner (d. 1998)\n*1936 – Nikolai Baturin, Estonian author and playwright\n*1937 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)\n* 1937 – Brian G. Marsden, English-American astronomer and academic (d. 2010)\n*1939 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (d. 1998)\n*1940 – Bobby Braddock, American country music songwriter, musician, and producer \n* 1940 – Roman Gabriel, American football player, coach, and actor\n* 1940 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (The Dave Clark Five) (d. 2013)\n*1941 – Bob Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)\n* 1941 – Leonid Kizim, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2010)\n* 1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian-American drummer and composer\n*1942 – Joe Boyd, American record producer, founded Hannibal Records\n*1943 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2005)\n* 1943 – Sammi Smith, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2005)\n*1944 – Christopher Gunning, English composer\n*1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress\n*1946 – Bruce Coslet, American football player and coach\n* 1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2006)\n* 1946 – Bob McCarthy, Australian rugby league player and coach\n* 1946 – Erika Slezak, American actress\n* 1946 – Xavier Trias, Spanish pediatrician and politician, 118th Mayor of Barcelona\n*1947 – Bernie Carbo, American baseball player \n* 1947 – France A. Córdova, American astrophysicist and academic\n* 1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer\n* 1947 – Greg Leskiw, Canadian guitarist and songwriter \n*1948 – Ray Clemence, English footballer and manager\n* 1948 – Barbara Flynn, English actress\n* 1948 – David Hungate, American bass guitarist, producer, and arranger (Toto)\n* 1948 – Shin Takamatsu, Japanese architect and academic\n*1950 – Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (d. 2013)\n* 1950 – Mahendra Karma, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)\n*1951 – Samantha Sang, Australian pop singer\n*1952 – Tamás Faragó, Hungarian water polo player\n* 1952 – John Jarratt, Australian actor and producer\n* 1952 – Louis Walsh, Irish talent manager\n*1953 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)\n*1955 – Eddie Ojeda, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1956 – Christopher Chessun, English bishop\n* 1956 – Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1957 – Larry Corowa, Australian rugby league player\n* 1957 – David Gill, English businessman\n* 1957 – Faith Prince, American actress and singer\n*1959 – Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)\n* 1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1960 – David Baldacci, American lawyer and author\n*1961 – Janet McTeer, English actress\n* 1961 – Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach\n* 1961 – Tim Wilson, American comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2014)\n*1962 – Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-American basketball player and coach\n* 1962 – Otis Thorpe, American basketball player\n*1963 – Steve Lee, Swiss singer-songwriter (d. 2010)\n* 1963 – Ingmar De Vos, Belgian sports administrator\n*1964 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (d. 2013)\n* 1964 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (d. 2012)\n*1965 – Jeff Coffin, American saxophonist and composer \n* 1965 – Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese keyboard player and composer\n*1966 – Jennifer Finch, American singer, bass player, and photographer \n* 1966 – Jonathan Silverman, American actor and producer\n*1967 – Matthew Caws, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n*1968 – Terri Clark, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1968 – Kendo Kashin, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist\n* 1968 – Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician\n* 1968 – Oleh Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer and manager\n* 1968 – Colin McRae, Scottish race car driver (d. 2007)\n* 1968 – John Olerud, American baseball player\n*1969 – Jackie Doyle-Price, English politician\n* 1969 – Vasbert Drakes, Barbadian cricketer\n* 1969 – Venkatesh Prasad, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1969 – Robert Scott, Australian rower\n*1970 – James Gunn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1971 – Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Latvia\n*1972 – Ikuto Hidaka, Japanese wrestler\n* 1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and coach\n* 1972 – Darren Shahlavi, English-American actor and martial artist (d. 2015)\n* 1972 – Jon Sleightholme, English rugby player\n* 1972 – Theodore Whitmore, Jamaican footballer and manager\n* 1972 – Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n*1973 – Paul Carige, Australian rugby league player\n* 1973 – Justin Marshall, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster\n*1974 – Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer\n* 1974 – Olle Kullinger, Swedish footballer\n* 1974 – Antoine Sibierski, French footballer\n*1975 – Dan Hipgrave, English guitarist and journalist \n* 1975 – Josep Jufré, Catalan cyclist \n* 1975 – Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist and composer \n*1976 – Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1976 – Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Eugen Trică, Romanian footballer and manager\n*1977 – Eric Hinske, American baseball player and coach\n* 1977 – Mark Mulder, American baseball player and sportscaster\n* 1977 – Michael Walsh, English footballer\n*1978 – Cosmin Bărcăuan, Romanian footballer and manager\n* 1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter\n*1979 – David Healy, Irish footballer\n*1980 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer\n* 1980 – Salvador Cabañas, Paraguayan footballer\n* 1980 – Jason Culina, Australian footballer\n*1981 – David Clarke, English ice hockey player\n* 1981 – Carl Crawford, American baseball player\n* 1981 – Maik Franz, German footballer\n* 1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian skier\n* 1981 – Anna Rawson, Australian golfer\n*1982 – Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player\n* 1982 – Lolo Jones, American hurdler \n* 1982 – Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer\n* 1982 – Tobias Regner, German singer-songwriter\n* 1982 – Jeff Robson, Australian rugby league player\n* 1982 – Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist\n*1984 – Steve Matai, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1984 – Helene Fischer, German singer-songwriter\n*1985 – Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer\n* 1985 – Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer\n* 1985 – Gil Vermouth, Israeli footballer\n* 1985 – Erkan Zengin, Swedish footballer\n*1986 – Paula Creamer, American golfer\n*1987 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress\n*1988 – Michael Jamieson, Scottish-English swimmer\n* 1988 – Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer\n*1989 – Ryan Bertrand, English footballer\n* 1989 – Mathieu Manset, French footballer\n*1991 – Esteban Gutiérrez, Mexican race car driver\n* 1991 – Konrad Hurrell, Tongan rugby league player\n* 1991 – Andreas Weimann, Austrian footballer\n*1995 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Danish footballer\n*1996 – Takakeishō Mitsunobu, Japanese sumo wrestler\n*1997 – Jack Cogger, Australian rugby league player\n\n", "* 553 – Xiao Ji, prince of the Liang dynasty (b. 508)\n* 642 – Eowa, king of Mercia\n* 642 – Oswald, king of Northumbria (b. 604)\n* 824 – Heizei, Japanese emperor (b. 773)\n* 877 – Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan, Abbasid vizier \n* 882 – Louis III, Frankish king (b. 863)\n* 890 – Ranulf II, duke of Aquitaine (b. 850)\n* 910 – Eowils and Halfdan, joint kings of Northumbria\n* 910 – Ingwær, king of Northumbria\n* 917 – Euthymius I of Constantinople (b. 834)\n* 940 – Li Decheng, Chinese general (b. 863)\n*1063 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd\n*1364 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b. 1313)\n*1415 – Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (b. 1375)\n* 1415 – Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham (b. 1370)\n*1447 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (b. 1395)\n*1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (b. 1504)\n*1600 – John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, Scottish conspirator (b. 1577)\n*1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and politician, Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1552)\n*1633 – George Abbot, English archbishop and academic (b. 1562)\n*1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican tenor and composer (b. 1619)\n*1729 – Thomas Newcomen, English engineer, invented the eponymous Newcomen atmospheric engine (b. 1664)\n*1743 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (b. 1696)\n*1778 – Charles Clémencet, French historian and author (b. 1703)\n* 1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer (b. 1756)\n*1792 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)\n*1799 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician (b. 1726)\n*1868 – Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist and historian (b. 1788)\n*1877 – Robert Williams (known as Trebor Mai), Welsh poet (b. 1830)\n*1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician and dermatologist (b. 1816)\n*1881 – Spotted Tail, American tribal chief (b. 1823)\n*1895 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)\n*1901 – Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1840)\n*1904 – George Dibbs, Australian politician, 10th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1834)\n*1911 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1864)\n*1916 – George Butterworth, British composer, killed at the Battle of the Somme (b. 1885)\n*1921 – Dimitrios Rallis, Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)\n*1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English trade union leader and activist (b. 1847)\n*1933 – Charles Harold Davis, American painter and academic (b. 1856)\n*1935 – David Townsend, American art director and set designer (b. 1891)\n*1939 – Béla Jankovich, Hungarian economist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (b. 1865)\n*1944 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh cricketer and rugby player (b. 1906)\n*1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)\n*1948 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1871)\n*1952 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (b. 1917)\n*1955 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress and singer (b. 1909)\n*1957 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)\n*1959 – Edgar Guest, English-American journalist and poet (b. 1881)\n*1960 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)\n*1962 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (b. 1926)\n*1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)\n*1964 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1886)\n*1968 – Luther Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1928)\n*1978 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player and coach (b. 1893)\n*1980 – Harold L. Runnels, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)\n*1983 – Judy Canova, American actress and comedian (b. 1913)\n* 1983 – Joan Robinson, English economist and author (b. 1903)\n*1984 – Richard Burton, Welsh-Swiss actor and producer (b. 1925)\n*1985 – Arnold Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1898)\n*1987 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1910)\n*1991 – Paul Brown, American football player and coach (b. 1908)\n* 1991 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, founded Honda (b. 1906)\n*1992 – Robert Muldoon, New Zealand sergeant, accountant, and politician, 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)\n*1994 – Menachem Avidom, Israeli composer (b. 1908)\n* 1994 – Alain de Changy, Belgian race car driver (b. 1922)\n*1998 – Otto Kretschmer, German commander (b. 1912)\n* 1998 – Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian commander and politician, 36th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1911)\n*2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (b. 1920)\n* 2000 – Tullio Crali, Montenegrin-Italian pilot and painter (b. 1910)\n* 2000 – Alec Guinness, English actor (b. 1914)\n*2001 – Otema Allimadi, Ugandan politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)\n* 2001 – Christopher Skase, Australian-Spanish businessman (b. 1948)\n*2002 – Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (b. 1916)\n* 2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian journalist and author (b. 1920)\n* 2002 – Matt Robinson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)\n*2005 – Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast and coach (b. 1936)\n* 2005 – Jim O'Hora, American football player and coach (b. 1915)\n* 2005 – Raul Roco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 31st Filipino Secretary of Education (b. 1941)\n*2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (b. 1926)\n* 2007 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1943)\n*2008 – Neil Bartlett, English-American chemist and academic (b. 1932)\n* 2008 – Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1929)\n*2009 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1914)\n*2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish farmer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1954)\n* 2011 – Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian Bodybuilder and internet sensation (b. 1989)\n*2012 – Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (b. 1917)\n* 2012 – Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)\n* 2012 – Fred Matua, American football player (b. 1984)\n* 2012 – Martin E. Segal, Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (b. 1916)\n* 2012 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1919)\n* 2012 – Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (b. 1960)\n*2013 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (b. 1926)\n* 2013 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1966)\n* 2013 – Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)\n* 2013 – Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)\n* 2013 – May Song Vang, American activist (b. 1951)\n* 2013 – Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (b. 1959)\n*2014 – Harold J. Greene, American general (b. 1962)\n* 2014 – Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (b. 1936)\n* 2014 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (b. 1914)\n* 2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1927)\n*2015 – Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (b. 1912)\n* 2015 – Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)\n\n", "* Christian feast day:\n** Abel of Reims\n** Addai\n** Afra\n** Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder (Episcopal Church (USA))\n** Cassian of Autun\n** Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Roman Catholic Church)\n** Emygdius\n** Memnius\n** Oswald of Northumbria\n** August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Independence Day (Burkina Faso)\n* Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)\n", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Events", "Births", "Deaths", "Holidays and observances", "External links" ]

[ "*1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place." ]

[ "*AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.", "* 135 – Roman armies enter Betar, slaughtering thousands and ending the bar Kokhba revolt.", "* 642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.", "* 910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.", "* 939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.", "The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Córdoba.", "*1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.", "*1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.", "*1278 – Spanish Reconquista: the forces of the Kingdom of Castile initiate the ultimately futile Siege of Algeciras against the Emirate of Granada.", "*1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.", "*1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.", "*1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.", "*1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.", "*1620 – The ''Mayflower'' departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.", "*1689 – Beaver Wars: Fifteen hundred Iroquois attack Lachine in New France.", "*1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.", "*1735 – Freedom of the press: ''New York Weekly Journal'' writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.", "*1763 – Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run: British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.", "*1796 – The Battle of Castiglione in Napoleon's first Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars.", "*1816 – The British Admiralty dismisses Francis Ronalds's new invention of the first working electric telegraph as \"wholly unnecessary\", preferring to continue using the semaphore.", "*1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces in the Battle of Samos.", "*1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts.", "It will operate for less than a month.", "*1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.", "*1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).", "* 1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.", "*1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.", "*1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.", "*1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.", "*1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.", "*1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.", "*1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.", "*1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of .", "The record will stand for 20 years.", "*1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.", "*1914 – World War I: The German minelayer lays a minefield about off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft).", "She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser .", "* 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.", "* 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.", "*1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.", "*1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.", "*1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.", "*1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.", "*1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.", "*1944 – World War II: At least 1,104 Japanese POWs in Australia attempt to escape from a camp at Cowra, New South Wales; 545 temporarily succeed but are later either killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured.", "* 1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp (Gęsiówka) in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.", "* 1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.", "*1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.", "*1957 – ''American Bandstand'', a show dedicated to the teenage \"baby-boomers\" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.", "*1960 – Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.", "*1962 – Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed.", "He would not be released until 1990.", "*1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.", "*1964 – Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers and bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.", "*1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.", "*1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the \"South Pacific Forum\") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.", "*1973 – Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.", "*1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.", "*1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.", "*1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.", "*1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.", "*1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm.", "The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.", "*2003 – A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.", "*2010 – The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately below the ground.", "* 2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.", "*2012 – The Oak Creek shooting took place at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator was shot dead by police.", "*2015 – The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases 3 million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.", "\n* 79 BC – Tullia, Roman daughter of Cicero (d. 45 BC)\n*1262 – Ladislaus IV of Hungary (d. 1290)\n*1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1330)\n*1397 – Guillaume Dufay, Belgian-Italian composer and theorist (d. 1474)\n*1461 – Alexander Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1506)\n*1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)\n*1607 – Antonio Barberini, Italian cardinal (d. 1671)\n*1623 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1669)\n*1626 – Richard Ottley, English politician (d. 1670)\n*1662 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (d. 1728)\n*1681 – Vitus Bering, Danish explorer (d. 1741)\n*1694 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)\n*1749 – Thomas Lynch, Jr., American commander and politician (d. 1779)\n*1797 – Friedrich August Kummer, German cellist and composer (d. 1879)\n*1802 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1829)\n*1811 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (d. 1896)\n*1813 – Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and linguist (d. 1896)\n*1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer and politician, Governor of Jamaica (d. 1901)\n*1827 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (d. 1892)\n*1828 – Louise of the Netherlands (d. 1871)\n*1833 – Carola of Vasa (d. 1907)\n*1843 – James Scott Skinner, Scottish violinist and composer (d. 1927)\n*1844 – Ilya Repin, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1930)\n*1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1893)\n*1860 – Louis Wain, English artist (d. 1939)\n*1862 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (d. 1890)\n*1866 – Carl Harries, German chemist and academic (d. 1923)\n* 1866 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)\n*1868 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish pianist and composer (d. 1924)\n*1872 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist, founded the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (d. 1917)\n*1874 – Wesley Clair Mitchell, American economist and academic (d. 1948)\n* 1874 – Horace Rawlins, English golfer (d. 1935)\n*1876 – Mary Ritter Beard, American historian and activist (d. 1958)\n*1877 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)\n*1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1962)\n* 1880 – Ruth Sawyer, American author and educator (d. 1970)\n*1887 – Reginald Owen, English-American actor and singer (d. 1972)\n*1889 – Conrad Aiken, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet (d. 1973)\n*1890 – Naum Gabo, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1977)\n* 1890 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (d. 1956)\n*1897 – Roberta Dodd Crawford, American soprano and educator (d. 1954)\n* 1897 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1972)\n*1900 – Rudolf Schottlaender, German philosopher, classical philologist and translator (d. 1988)\n*1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director, screenwriter, and politician (d. 2000)\n*1904 – Kenneth V. Thimann, English-American botanist and microbiologist (d. 1997)\n*1906 – Joan Hickson, English actress (d. 1998)\n* 1906 – John Huston, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1987)\n* 1906 – Wassily Leontief, German-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)\n*1908 – Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)\n* 1908 – Jose Garcia Villa, Filipino short story writer and poet (d. 1997)\n*1910 – Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and manager (d. 1979)\n* 1910 – Herminio Masantonio, Argentinian footballer (d. 1956)\n*1911 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (d. 1969)\n*1912 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and humanitarian (d. 2007)\n*1914 – Parley Baer, American actor (d. 2002)\n*1916 – Peter Viereck, American poet and academic (d. 2006)\n*1918 – Tom Drake, American actor and singer (d. 1982)\n* 1918 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded the Canada's National Ballet School (d. 2004)\n*1920 – George Tooker, American painter and academic (d. 2011)\n*1921 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)\n*1922 – L. Tom Perry, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2015)\n* 1922 – Frank Stranahan, American golfer (d. 2013)\n*1923 – Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (d. 2005)\n*1926 – Betsy Jolas, French composer\n* 1926 – Jeri Southern, American jazz singer and pianist (d. 1991)\n*1927 – John H. Moore II, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)\n*1929 – Don Matheson, American soldier, police officer, and actor (d. 2014)\n*1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 2012)\n* 1930 – Damita Jo DeBlanc, American comedian, actress, and singer (d. 1998) \n* 1930 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (d. 1989)\n* 1930 – Michal Kováč, Slovak lawyer and politician, 1st President of Slovakia\n*1931 – Tom Hafey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)\n*1932 – Tera de Marez Oyens, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1996)\n* 1932 – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Russian conductor\n*1934 – Karl Johan Åström, Swedish engineer and theorist\n* 1934 – Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist\n* 1934 – Gay Byrne, Irish radio and television host\n*1935 – Michael Ballhaus, German director and cinematographer\n* 1935 – Peter Inge, Baron Inge, English field marshal\n* 1935 – John Saxon, American actor\n* 1935 – Roy Benavidez, American Master Sergeant and Medal of Honor Winner (d. 1998)\n*1936 – Nikolai Baturin, Estonian author and playwright\n*1937 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)\n* 1937 – Brian G. Marsden, English-American astronomer and academic (d. 2010)\n*1939 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (d. 1998)\n*1940 – Bobby Braddock, American country music songwriter, musician, and producer \n* 1940 – Roman Gabriel, American football player, coach, and actor\n* 1940 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (The Dave Clark Five) (d. 2013)\n*1941 – Bob Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)\n* 1941 – Leonid Kizim, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2010)\n* 1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian-American drummer and composer\n*1942 – Joe Boyd, American record producer, founded Hannibal Records\n*1943 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2005)\n* 1943 – Sammi Smith, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2005)\n*1944 – Christopher Gunning, English composer\n*1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress\n*1946 – Bruce Coslet, American football player and coach\n* 1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2006)\n* 1946 – Bob McCarthy, Australian rugby league player and coach\n* 1946 – Erika Slezak, American actress\n* 1946 – Xavier Trias, Spanish pediatrician and politician, 118th Mayor of Barcelona\n*1947 – Bernie Carbo, American baseball player \n* 1947 – France A. Córdova, American astrophysicist and academic\n* 1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer\n* 1947 – Greg Leskiw, Canadian guitarist and songwriter \n*1948 – Ray Clemence, English footballer and manager\n* 1948 – Barbara Flynn, English actress\n* 1948 – David Hungate, American bass guitarist, producer, and arranger (Toto)\n* 1948 – Shin Takamatsu, Japanese architect and academic\n*1950 – Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (d. 2013)\n* 1950 – Mahendra Karma, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)\n*1951 – Samantha Sang, Australian pop singer\n*1952 – Tamás Faragó, Hungarian water polo player\n* 1952 – John Jarratt, Australian actor and producer\n* 1952 – Louis Walsh, Irish talent manager\n*1953 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)\n*1955 – Eddie Ojeda, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1956 – Christopher Chessun, English bishop\n* 1956 – Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1957 – Larry Corowa, Australian rugby league player\n* 1957 – David Gill, English businessman\n* 1957 – Faith Prince, American actress and singer\n*1959 – Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)\n* 1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist and songwriter \n*1960 – David Baldacci, American lawyer and author\n*1961 – Janet McTeer, English actress\n* 1961 – Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach\n* 1961 – Tim Wilson, American comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2014)\n*1962 – Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-American basketball player and coach\n* 1962 – Otis Thorpe, American basketball player\n*1963 – Steve Lee, Swiss singer-songwriter (d. 2010)\n* 1963 – Ingmar De Vos, Belgian sports administrator\n*1964 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (d. 2013)\n* 1964 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (d. 2012)\n*1965 – Jeff Coffin, American saxophonist and composer \n* 1965 – Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese keyboard player and composer\n*1966 – Jennifer Finch, American singer, bass player, and photographer \n* 1966 – Jonathan Silverman, American actor and producer\n*1967 – Matthew Caws, American singer-songwriter and guitarist\n*1968 – Terri Clark, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist\n* 1968 – Kendo Kashin, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist\n* 1968 – Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician\n* 1968 – Oleh Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer and manager\n* 1968 – Colin McRae, Scottish race car driver (d. 2007)\n* 1968 – John Olerud, American baseball player\n*1969 – Jackie Doyle-Price, English politician\n* 1969 – Vasbert Drakes, Barbadian cricketer\n* 1969 – Venkatesh Prasad, Indian cricketer and coach\n* 1969 – Robert Scott, Australian rower\n*1970 – James Gunn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter\n*1971 – Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Latvia\n*1972 – Ikuto Hidaka, Japanese wrestler\n* 1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and coach\n* 1972 – Darren Shahlavi, English-American actor and martial artist (d. 2015)\n* 1972 – Jon Sleightholme, English rugby player\n* 1972 – Theodore Whitmore, Jamaican footballer and manager\n* 1972 – Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer \n*1973 – Paul Carige, Australian rugby league player\n* 1973 – Justin Marshall, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster\n*1974 – Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer\n* 1974 – Olle Kullinger, Swedish footballer\n* 1974 – Antoine Sibierski, French footballer\n*1975 – Dan Hipgrave, English guitarist and journalist \n* 1975 – Josep Jufré, Catalan cyclist \n* 1975 – Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist and composer \n*1976 – Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player\n* 1976 – Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer and manager\n* 1976 – Eugen Trică, Romanian footballer and manager\n*1977 – Eric Hinske, American baseball player and coach\n* 1977 – Mark Mulder, American baseball player and sportscaster\n* 1977 – Michael Walsh, English footballer\n*1978 – Cosmin Bărcăuan, Romanian footballer and manager\n* 1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter\n*1979 – David Healy, Irish footballer\n*1980 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer\n* 1980 – Salvador Cabañas, Paraguayan footballer\n* 1980 – Jason Culina, Australian footballer\n*1981 – David Clarke, English ice hockey player\n* 1981 – Carl Crawford, American baseball player\n* 1981 – Maik Franz, German footballer\n* 1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian skier\n* 1981 – Anna Rawson, Australian golfer\n*1982 – Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player\n* 1982 – Lolo Jones, American hurdler \n* 1982 – Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer\n* 1982 – Tobias Regner, German singer-songwriter\n* 1982 – Jeff Robson, Australian rugby league player\n* 1982 – Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist\n*1984 – Steve Matai, New Zealand rugby league player\n* 1984 – Helene Fischer, German singer-songwriter\n*1985 – Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer\n* 1985 – Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer\n* 1985 – Gil Vermouth, Israeli footballer\n* 1985 – Erkan Zengin, Swedish footballer\n*1986 – Paula Creamer, American golfer\n*1987 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress\n*1988 – Michael Jamieson, Scottish-English swimmer\n* 1988 – Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer\n*1989 – Ryan Bertrand, English footballer\n* 1989 – Mathieu Manset, French footballer\n*1991 – Esteban Gutiérrez, Mexican race car driver\n* 1991 – Konrad Hurrell, Tongan rugby league player\n* 1991 – Andreas Weimann, Austrian footballer\n*1995 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Danish footballer\n*1996 – Takakeishō Mitsunobu, Japanese sumo wrestler\n*1997 – Jack Cogger, Australian rugby league player", "* 553 – Xiao Ji, prince of the Liang dynasty (b.", "508)\n* 642 – Eowa, king of Mercia\n* 642 – Oswald, king of Northumbria (b.", "604)\n* 824 – Heizei, Japanese emperor (b.", "773)\n* 877 – Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan, Abbasid vizier \n* 882 – Louis III, Frankish king (b.", "863)\n* 890 – Ranulf II, duke of Aquitaine (b.", "850)\n* 910 – Eowils and Halfdan, joint kings of Northumbria\n* 910 – Ingwær, king of Northumbria\n* 917 – Euthymius I of Constantinople (b.", "834)\n* 940 – Li Decheng, Chinese general (b.", "863)\n*1063 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd\n*1364 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b.", "1313)\n*1415 – Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (b.", "1375)\n* 1415 – Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham (b.", "1370)\n*1447 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (b.", "1395)\n*1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (b.", "1504)\n*1600 – John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, Scottish conspirator (b.", "1577)\n*1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and politician, Royal Governor of Chile (b.", "1552)\n*1633 – George Abbot, English archbishop and academic (b.", "1562)\n*1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican tenor and composer (b.", "1619)\n*1729 – Thomas Newcomen, English engineer, invented the eponymous Newcomen atmospheric engine (b.", "1664)\n*1743 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (b.", "1696)\n*1778 – Charles Clémencet, French historian and author (b.", "1703)\n* 1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer (b.", "1756)\n*1792 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b.", "1732)\n*1799 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician (b.", "1726)\n*1868 – Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist and historian (b.", "1788)\n*1877 – Robert Williams (known as Trebor Mai), Welsh poet (b.", "1830)\n*1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician and dermatologist (b.", "1816)\n*1881 – Spotted Tail, American tribal chief (b.", "1823)\n*1895 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b.", "1820)\n*1901 – Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b.", "1840)\n*1904 – George Dibbs, Australian politician, 10th Premier of New South Wales (b.", "1834)\n*1911 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and umpire (b.", "1864)\n*1916 – George Butterworth, British composer, killed at the Battle of the Somme (b.", "1885)\n*1921 – Dimitrios Rallis, Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Greece (b.", "1844)\n*1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English trade union leader and activist (b.", "1847)\n*1933 – Charles Harold Davis, American painter and academic (b.", "1856)\n*1935 – David Townsend, American art director and set designer (b.", "1891)\n*1939 – Béla Jankovich, Hungarian economist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (b.", "1865)\n*1944 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh cricketer and rugby player (b.", "1906)\n*1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b.", "1863)\n*1948 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (b.", "1871)\n*1952 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (b.", "1917)\n*1955 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress and singer (b.", "1909)\n*1957 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b.", "1877)\n*1959 – Edgar Guest, English-American journalist and poet (b.", "1881)\n*1960 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b.", "1874)\n*1962 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (b.", "1926)\n*1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b.", "1898)\n*1964 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b.", "1886)\n*1968 – Luther Perkins, American guitarist (b.", "1928)\n*1978 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player and coach (b.", "1893)\n*1980 – Harold L. Runnels, American soldier and politician (b.", "1924)\n*1983 – Judy Canova, American actress and comedian (b.", "1913)\n* 1983 – Joan Robinson, English economist and author (b.", "1903)\n*1984 – Richard Burton, Welsh-Swiss actor and producer (b.", "1925)\n*1985 – Arnold Horween, American football player and coach (b.", "1898)\n*1987 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b.", "1910)\n*1991 – Paul Brown, American football player and coach (b.", "1908)\n* 1991 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, founded Honda (b.", "1906)\n*1992 – Robert Muldoon, New Zealand sergeant, accountant, and politician, 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b.", "1921)\n*1994 – Menachem Avidom, Israeli composer (b.", "1908)\n* 1994 – Alain de Changy, Belgian race car driver (b.", "1922)\n*1998 – Otto Kretschmer, German commander (b.", "1912)\n* 1998 – Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian commander and politician, 36th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b.", "1911)\n*2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (b.", "1920)\n* 2000 – Tullio Crali, Montenegrin-Italian pilot and painter (b.", "1910)\n* 2000 – Alec Guinness, English actor (b.", "1914)\n*2001 – Otema Allimadi, Ugandan politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Uganda (b.", "1929)\n* 2001 – Christopher Skase, Australian-Spanish businessman (b.", "1948)\n*2002 – Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (b.", "1916)\n* 2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian journalist and author (b.", "1920)\n* 2002 – Matt Robinson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b.", "1937)\n*2005 – Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast and coach (b.", "1936)\n* 2005 – Jim O'Hora, American football player and coach (b.", "1915)\n* 2005 – Raul Roco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 31st Filipino Secretary of Education (b.", "1941)\n*2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (b.", "1926)\n* 2007 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (b.", "1943)\n*2008 – Neil Bartlett, English-American chemist and academic (b.", "1932)\n* 2008 – Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b.", "1929)\n*2009 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (b.", "1914)\n*2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish farmer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (b.", "1954)\n* 2011 – Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian Bodybuilder and internet sensation (b.", "1989)\n*2012 – Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (b.", "1917)\n* 2012 – Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (b.", "1949)\n* 2012 – Fred Matua, American football player (b.", "1984)\n* 2012 – Martin E. Segal, Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (b.", "1916)\n* 2012 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (b.", "1919)\n* 2012 – Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (b.", "1960)\n*2013 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (b.", "1926)\n* 2013 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b.", "1966)\n* 2013 – Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b.", "1942)\n* 2013 – Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (b.", "1925)\n* 2013 – May Song Vang, American activist (b.", "1951)\n* 2013 – Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (b.", "1959)\n*2014 – Harold J. Greene, American general (b.", "1962)\n* 2014 – Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (b.", "1936)\n* 2014 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (b.", "1914)\n* 2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (b.", "1927)\n*2015 – Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (b.", "1912)\n* 2015 – Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (b.", "1943)", "* Christian feast day:\n** Abel of Reims\n** Addai\n** Afra\n** Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder (Episcopal Church (USA))\n** Cassian of Autun\n** Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Roman Catholic Church)\n** Emygdius\n** Memnius\n** Oswald of Northumbria\n** August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)\n* Independence Day (Burkina Faso)\n* Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)", "\n* BBC: On This Day\n* \n* Today in Canadian History" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Austin''' (, ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. It is the city in the United States and the city in Texas. It is the fastest growing large city in the United States and the second most populous state capital in the U.S after Phoenix, Arizona. As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2016 estimate, Austin has a population of 947,890. Located in in the foothills of Texas Hill Country, the city is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways including Lady Bird Lake, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, the Colorado River, Lake Travis, and Lake Walter E. Long. It is the cultural and economic center of the metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1, 2016. It is the most populous state capital in the U.S that isn't the most populous city in a state.\n\nIn the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River. In 1839, the site was officially chosen to replace Houston as the new capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the \"Father of Texas\" and the republic's first secretary of state. The city subsequently grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a major city and, by the 1980s, it emerged as a center for technology and business. A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including Amazon.com, Apple Inc., Cisco, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Paypal, Texas Instruments, 3M, and Whole Foods Market. Dell's worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin.\n\nResidents of Austin are known as Austinites. They include a diverse mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and a vibrant LGBT community. The city's official slogan promotes Austin as \"The Live Music Capital of the World,\" a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the city, as well as the long-running PBS TV concert series ''Austin City Limits''. The city also adopted \"Silicon Hills\" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies. In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan \"Keep Austin Weird,\" which refers to the desire to protect small, unique, and local businesses from being overrun by large corporations. In the late 19th century, Austin was known as the \"City of the Violet Crown\" because of the colorful glow of light across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term \"Violet Crown\" in their name. Austin is known as a \"clean-air city\" for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars. The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U.S. for the year 2012. ''U.S. News & World Report'' named Austin the best place to live in the U.S. in 2017.\n", "\n\nAustin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of human habitation since at least 9200 BC. The area's earliest known inhabitants lived during the late Pleistocene (Ice Age) and are linked to the Clovis culture around 9200 BC (11,200 years ago), based on evidence found throughout the area and documented at the much-studied Gault Site, midway between Georgetown and Fort Hood.\n\nWhen settlers arrived from Europe, the Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area. The Comanches and Lipan Apaches were also known to travel through the area. Spanish colonists, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, though few permanent settlements were created for some time. In 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in this area for only about seven months, and then was moved to San Antonio de Béxar and split into three missions.\n\nEarly in the 19th century, Spanish forts were established in what are now Bastrop and San Marcos. Following Mexico's independence, new settlements were established in Central Texas, but growth in the region was stagnant because of conflicts with the regional Native Americans.\n\nIn 1835–1836, Texans fought and won independence from Mexico. Texas thus became an independent country with its own president, congress, and monetary system. After Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar visited the area during a buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital, then in Houston, be relocated to the area situated on the north bank of the Colorado River near the present-day Congress Avenue Bridge. In 1839, the Texas Congress formed a commission to seek a site for a new capital to be named for Stephen F. Austin. Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the newly formed Republic of Texas, advised the commissioners to investigate the area named Waterloo, noting the area's hills, waterways, and pleasant surroundings. Waterloo was selected and the name ''Austin'' was chosen as the town's new name. The location was seen as a convenient crossroads for trade routes between Santa Fe and Galveston Bay, as well as routes between northern Mexico and the Red River.\n\nAn 1873 illustration of Edwin Waller's layout for Austin\nEdwin Waller was picked by Lamar to survey the village and draft a plan laying out the new capital. The original site was narrowed to that fronted the Colorado River between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor. The 14-block grid plan was bisected by a broad north-south thoroughfare, Congress Avenue, running up from the river to Capital Square, where the new Texas State Capitol was to be constructed. A temporary one-story capitol was erected on the corner of Colorado and 8th Streets. On August 1, 1839, the first auction of 217 out of 306 lots total was held. The grid plan Waller designed and surveyed now forms the basis of downtown Austin.\n\nIn 1840, a series of conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Comanches, known as the Council House Fight and the Battle of Plum Creek, finally pushed the Comanches westward, mostly ending conflicts in Central Texas. Settlement in the area began to expand quickly. Travis County was established in 1840, and the surrounding counties were mostly established within the next two decades.\n\nInitially, the new capital thrived. But Lamar's political enemy, Sam Houston, used two Mexican army incursions to San Antonio as an excuse to move the government. Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar's decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness. The men and women who traveled mainly from Houston to conduct government business were intensely disappointed as well. By 1840, the population had risen to 856, of whom nearly half fled from Austin when Congress recessed. The resident Black population listed in January of this same year was 176. The fear of Austin's proximity to the Indians and Mexico, which still considered Texas a part of their land, created an immense motive for Sam Houston, the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, to relocate the capital once again in 1841. Upon threats of Mexican troops in Texas, Houston raided the Land Office to transfer all official documents to Houston for safe keeping in what was later known as the Archive War, but the people of Austin would not allow this unaccompanied decision to be executed. The documents stayed, but the capital would temporarily move from Austin to Houston to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Without the governmental body, Austin's population declined to a low of only a few hundred people throughout the early 1840s. The voting by the fourth President of the Republic, Anson Jones, and Congress, who reconvened in Austin in 1845, settled the issue to keep Austin the seat of government as well as annex the Republic of Texas into the United States.\n\nStatue of the Goddess of Liberty on the Texas State Capitol Grounds prior to installation on top of the rotunda\nIn 1860, 38% of Travis County residents were slaves. In 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, voters in Austin and other Central Texas communities voted against secession. However, as the war progressed and fears of attack by Union forces increased, Austin contributed hundreds of men to the Confederate forces. The African American population of Austin swelled dramatically after the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas by Union General Gordon Granger at Galveston in an event commemorated as Juneteenth. Black communities such as Wheatville, Pleasant Hill, and Clarksville were established with Clarksville being the oldest surviving freedomtown ‒ the original post-Civil War settlements founded by former African-American slaves ‒ west of the Mississippi River. In 1870, blacks made up 36.5% of Austin's population. The postwar period saw dramatic population and economic growth. The opening of the Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) in 1871 turned Austin into the major trading center for the region with the ability to transport both cotton and cattle. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MKT) line followed close behind. Austin was also the terminus of the southernmost leg of the Chisholm Trail and \"drovers\" pushed cattle north to the railroad. Cotton was one of the few crops produced locally for export and a cotton gin engine was located downtown near the trains for \"ginning\" cotton of its seeds and turning the product into bales for shipment. However, as other new railroads were built through the region in the 1870s, Austin began to lose its primacy in trade to the surrounding communities. In addition, the areas east of Austin took over cattle and cotton production from Austin, especially in towns like Hutto and Taylor that sit over the blackland prairie, with its deep, rich soils for producing cotton and hay.\n\nIn September 1881, Austin public schools held their first classes. The same year, Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute (now part of Huston-Tillotson University) opened its doors. The University of Texas at Austin held its first classes in 1883, although classes had been held in the original wooden state Capitol for four years before.\n\nDuring the 1880s, Austin gained new prominence as the state capitol building was completed in 1888 and claimed as the seventh largest building in the world. In the late 19th century, Austin expanded its city limits to more than three times its former area, and the first granite dam was built on the Colorado River to power a new street car line and the new \"moon towers\". Unfortunately, the first dam washed away in a flood on April 7, 1900.\n\nIn the 1920s and 1930s, Austin launched a series of civic development and beautification projects that created much of the city's infrastructure and many of its parks. In addition, the state legislature established the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) that, along with the city of Austin, created the system of dams along the Colorado River to form the Highland Lakes. These projects were enabled in large part because the Public Works Administration provided Austin with greater funding for municipal construction projects than other Texas cities.\n\nBob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin. Its mission is to \"tell The Story of Texas\".\nDuring the early twentieth century, a three-way system of social segregation emerged in Austin, with Anglos, African Americans and Mexicans being separated by custom or law in most aspects of life, including housing, health care, and education. Many of the municipal improvement programs initiated during this period—such as the construction of new roads, schools, and hospitals—were deliberately designed to institutionalize this system of segregation. Deed restrictions also played an important role in residential segregation. After 1935 most housing deeds prohibited African Americans (and sometimes other nonwhite groups) from using land. Combined with the system of segregated public services, racial segregation increased in Austin during the first half of the twentieth century, with African Americans and Mexicans experiencing high levels of discrimination and social marginalization.\n\nIn 1940, the destroyed granite dam on the Colorado River was finally replaced by a hollow concrete dam that formed Lake McDonald (now called Lake Austin) and which has withstood all floods since. In addition, the much larger Mansfield Dam was built by the LCRA upstream of Austin to form the flood-control lake, Lake Travis. In the early 20th century, the Texas Oil Boom took hold, creating tremendous economic opportunities in Southeast Texas and North Texas. The growth generated by this boom largely passed by Austin at first, with the city slipping from fourth largest to 10th largest in Texas between 1880 and 1920.\n\nAfter the mid-20th century, Austin became established as one of Texas' major metropolitan centers. In 1970, the United States Census Bureau reported Austin's population as 14.5% Hispanic, 11.9% black, and 73.4% non-Hispanic white. In the late 20th century, Austin emerged as an important high tech center for semiconductors and software. The University of Texas at Austin emerged as a major university.\n\nThe 1970s saw Austin's emergence in the national music scene, with local artists such as Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and iconic music venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters. Over time, the long-running television program ''Austin City Limits'', its namesake Austin City Limits Festival, and the South by Southwest music festival solidified the city's place in the music industry.\n", "Austin as seen from the International Space Station, 2007\n\nCity limits of Austin\nThe most southerly of the capitals of the contiguous forty-eight states, Austin is located in Central Texas, along the Balcones Escarpment and Interstate 35, northwest of Houston. It is also south of Dallas and north of San Antonio. Its elevation varies from to approximately above sea level. In 2010, the city occupied a total area of . Approximately of this area is water.\n\nAustin is situated on the Colorado River, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin (both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant. Mansfield Dam and the foot of Lake Travis are located within the city's limits. Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River. As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault, much of the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone rock with a thin covering of topsoil, portions of the city are frequently subjected to flash floods from the runoff caused by thunderstorms. To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes. The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks on the lake shores.\n\nAustin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate. The area is very diverse ecologically and biologically, and is home to a variety of animals and plants. Notably, the area is home to many types of wildflowers that blossom throughout the year but especially in the spring, including the popular bluebonnets, some planted in an effort by \"Lady Bird\" Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon Johnson.\n\nA popular point of prominence in Austin is Mount Bonnell. At about above sea level, it is a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin on the Colorado River, with an observation deck about below its summit.\n\nThe soils of Austin range from shallow, gravelly clay loams over limestone in the western outskirts to deep, fine sandy loams, silty clay loams, silty clays or clays in the city's eastern part. Some of the clays have pronounced shrink-swell properties and are difficult to work under most moisture conditions. Many of Austin's soils, especially the clay-rich types, are slightly to moderately alkaline and have free calcium carbonate.\n\nAustin has several rock climbing locations. Rock climbing can be found at three Austin parks: Barton Creek Greenbelt, Bull Creek Park and McKinney Falls State Park. The sport-climbing routes at Barton Creek Greenbelt–with its many vertical to overhanging walls–offer challenges to both the beginner and advanced climber.\n\n===Cityscape===\n\n\nThe skyline of Austin, TX viewed at sunrise from Zilker Park.\n360\nCondominiums Tower\nAustin's skyline historically was modest, dominated by the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas Main Building. However, many new high-rise towers have been constructed since 2000—Austin's ten tallest buildings were completed after 2003. The city's tallest building, The Austonian, was topped out on September 17, 2009. Austin is currently undergoing a skyscraper boom, which includes recent construction on the now complete 360 Condominiums at , Spring (condominiums), the Austonian at , and several other office, hotel and residential buildings. Downtown's buildings are somewhat spread out, partly due to a restriction that preserves the view of the Texas State Capitol from various locations around Austin (known as the Capitol View Corridors).\n\nAt night, parts of Austin are lit by \"artificial moonlight\" from Moonlight Towers built to illuminate the central part of the city. The moonlight towers were built in the late 19th century and are now recognized as historic landmarks. Only 15 of the 31 original innovative towers remain standing in Austin, and none remain in any of the other cities where they were installed. The towers are featured in the 1993 film ''Dazed and Confused''.\n\n====Downtown====\n\nThe central business district of Austin is home to the tallest condo towers in the state, with the under construction Independent (58 stories and . tall) and The Austonian (topping out at 56 floors and . tall). The Independent will supplant The Austonian as the tallest all-residential building in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River when completed in 2018.\n\nIn 2005, then-Mayor Will Wynn set out a goal of having 25,000 people living Downtown by 2015. Although Downtown's growth did not meet this goal, Downtown's residential population did surge from an estimated 5,000 in 2005 to 12,000 in 2015. The skyline has drastically changed in recent years, and the residential real estate market has remained relatively strong. As of December 2016, there are 31 high-rise projects either under construction, approved or planned to be completed in Austin's downtown core between 2017 and 2020. Sixteen of those are set to rise above . tall, including four above 600', and eight above 500'. An additional 15 towers are slated to stand between 300' and 399' tall.\n\nDowntown growth has been aided by the presence of a popular live music and nightlife scene, museums, restaurants, and Lady Bird Lake, considered one of the city's best recreational spots. The 2nd Street District consists of several new residential projects, restaurants, upscale boutiques and other entertainment venues, as well as Austin's City Hall. Across 2nd Street from Austin's City Hall is the new ACL Live @ the Moody Theatre where the long-running PBS program ''Austin City Limits'', is filmed. It is located at the base of the new W Hotel. The South by Southwest is a music, film and interactive festival which occurs over five days each March in downtown Austin, and includes one of the world's largest music festivals; with more than 3,000 acts playing in more than 100 venues.\n\n===Climate===\n\nUnder the Köppen climate classification, Austin has a humid subtropical climate. This climate is typified by very long, hot summers; short, mild winters; and warm transitional seasons in between. Austin averages of annual rainfall and it is distributed mostly evenly throughout the year, though spring and fall are the wettest seasons. Sunshine is abundant during all seasons, with 2,650 hours, or 60.3% of the possible total, of bright sunshine per year.\n\nThe summer season in Austin is very hot, and average July and August highs frequently reach the high-90s (34–36 °C) or above. Highs reach on 116 days per year, of which 18 days reach . The daytime high averages or warmer every day between April 14 and October 24. The highest ever recorded temperature was occurring on September 5, 2000, and August 28, 2011. Humidity is inconsistent and fluctuates frequently depending on the shifting patterns of air flow and wind direction. Humidity rises when the air drifts inland from the Gulf of Mexico, but decreases significantly when the air is channeled through the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas.\n\nWinters in Austin are mild with cool nights. January is the coolest month with an average daytime high of . The overnight low reaches or exceeds freezing 19 times per year, and sinks below during 88 evenings per year, including most nights between mid-December and mid-February. Lows in the upper 30s also occur commonly during the winter. Conversely, winter months are also capable of occasionally producing warm days. On average, eight days in January reach or exceed and one day reaches . The lowest ever recorded temperature in the city was on January 31, 1949. Roughly every two years Austin experiences an ice storm that freezes roads over and cripples travel in the city for 24 to 48 hours. When Austin received of ice on January 24, 2014, there were 278 vehicular collisions. Similarly, snowfall is exceptionally rare in Austin. A snow event of on February 4, 2011, caused more than 300 car crashes. A snowstorm brought the city to a near standstill in 1985.\n\nTypical of Central Texas, severe weather in Austin is a threat that can strike during any season. However, it is most common during the spring. According to most classifications, Austin lies within the extreme southern periphery of Tornado Alley, although many sources place Austin outside of Tornado Alley altogether. Consequently, tornadoes strike Austin less frequently than areas farther to the north. However, severe weather and/or supercell thunderstorms can occur multiple times per year, bringing damaging winds, lightning, heavy rain, and occasional flash flooding to the city. The deadliest storm to ever strike city limits was the twin tornadoes storm of May 4, 1922, while the deadliest tornado outbreak to ever strike the metro area was the Central Texas tornado outbreak of May 27, 1997.\n\n\n\n===2011 drought===\n\nThe 2011 Texas drought dried up much of Central Texas water ways. This boat was left to sit in the middle of what is normally a branch of Lake Travis, part of the Colorado River.\nFrom October 2010 through September 2011, both major reporting stations in Austin, Camp Mabry and Bergstrom Int'l, had the least rainfall of a water year on record, receiving less than a third of normal precipitation. This was a result of La Niña conditions in the eastern Pacific Ocean where water was significantly cooler than normal. David Brown, a regional official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has explained that \"these kinds of droughts will have effects that are even more extreme in the future, given a warming and drying regional climate.\"\n", "\n\n\n\n Racial composition !! 2010!! 1990 !! 1970 !! 1950\n\n White \n 68.3% \n 70.6% \n 87.2% \n 86.6%\n\n —Non-Hispanic \n 48.7% \n 61.7% \n 73.4% \n n/a\n\n Black or African American \n 8.1% \n 12.4% \n 11.8% \n 13.3%\n\n Hispanic or Latino (of any race) \n 35.1% \n 23.0% \n 14.5% \n n/a\n\n Asian \n 6.3% \n 3.0% \n 0.2% \n 0.1%\n\n\nAccording to the 2010 United States Census, the racial composition of Austin is:\n* White: 68.3% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 48.7%)\n* Hispanic or Latino: 35.1% (29.1% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, 5.1% Other)\n* African American: 8.1%\n* Asian: 6.3% (1.9% Indian, 1.5% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Japanese, 0.8% Other)\n* American Indian: 0.9%\n* Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%\n* Two or More Races: 3.4%\n\nMap of racial distribution in Austin, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: '''White''', '''Black''', '''Asian''' '''Hispanic''', or '''Other''' (yellow)\nAt the 2000 United States Census, there were people, households, and families residing in the city (roughly comparable in size to San Francisco, Leeds, UK; and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). The population density was . There were housing units at an average density of . There were households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.14.\n\nIn the city, the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 105.8 males.\n\nThe median income for a household in the city was , and the median income for a family was $. Males had a median income of $ vs. $ for females. The per capita income for the city was $. About 9.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. The median house price was $ in 2009, and it has increased every year since 2004. The median value of a house in which the owner occupies it was $227,800 in 2014, which is higher than the average American home value of $175,700. Census\n\n\nA 2014 University of Texas study stated that Austin was the only U.S. city with a fast growth rate between 2000 and 2010 with a net loss in African-Americans. , Austin's African-American and Non-Hispanic White percentage share of the total population is declining despite the absolute number of both ethnic groups increasing. Austin's Non-Hispanic White population first dropped below 50% in 2005. The rapid growth of the Hispanic and Asian population has outpaced all other ethnic groups in the city.\n\nAccording to one survey completed in 2014, it is estimated that 5.3% of residents in the Austin Metropolitan area identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender. The Austin metropolitan area had the third highest rate in the nation.\n", "\nDowntown Austin from Congress Avenue Bridge, Texas State Capitol in background\n\nThe Greater Austin metropolitan statistical area had a Gross Domestic Product of $86 billion in 2010. Austin is considered to be a major center for high tech. Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of Texas at Austin provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin's technology and defense industry sectors. The region's rapid growth has led ''Forbes'' to rank the Austin metropolitan area number one among all big cities for jobs for 2012 in their annual survey and WSJ Marketwatch to rank the area number one for growing businesses. By 2013, Austin ranked No. 14 on ''Forbes''' list of the Best Places for Business and Careers (directly below Dallas, No. 13 on the list). As a result of the high concentration of high-tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom in the late 1990s and subsequent bust. Austin's largest employers include the Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, Dell, the U.S. Federal Government, NXP Semiconductors, IBM, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas, the Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin.\nOther high-tech companies with operations in Austin include 3M, Apple, Amazon, AMD, Apartment Ratings, Applied Materials, ARM Holdings, Bigcommerce, BioWare, Blizzard Entertainment, Buffalo Technology, Cirrus Logic, Cisco Systems, Dropbox, eBay, PayPal, Electronic Arts, Flextronics, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Hoover's, HomeAway, Hostgator, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Nvidia, Oracle, Polycom, Qualcomm, Inc., Rackspace, RetailMeNot, Rooster Teeth, Samsung Group, Silicon Laboratories, Spansion, Troux Technologies, United Devices, and Xerox. In 2010, Facebook accepted a grant to build a downtown office that could bring as many as 200 jobs to the city. The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, \"the Silicon Hills\", and spurred development that greatly expanded the city.\n\nAustin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; the city is home to about 85 of them. The city was ranked by the Milken Institute as the No.12 biotech and life science center in the United States. Companies such as Hospira, Pharmaceutical Product Development, and ArthroCare Corporation are located there.\n\nWhole Foods Market (often called just \"Whole Foods\") is an upscale, international grocery store chain specializing in fresh and packaged food products—many having an organic-/local-/\"natural\"-theme. It was founded and is headquartered in Austin.\n\nOther companies based in Austin include Freescale Semiconductor, GoodPop, Temple-Inland, Sweet Leaf Tea Company, Keller Williams Realty, National Western Life, GSD&M, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Golfsmith, Forestar Group, EZCorp, Tito's Vodka and YETI.\n\nIn addition to national and global corporations, Austin features a strong network of independent, unique, locally owned firms and organizations.\n", "\"Keep Austin Weird\" has been a local motto for years, featured on bumper stickers and T-shirts. This motto has not only been used in promoting Austin's eccentricity and diversity, but is also meant to bolster support of local independent businesses. According to the 2010 book, ''Weird City'', the phrase was begun by a local Austin Community College librarian, Red Wassenich, and his wife, Karen Pavelka, who were concerned about Austin's \"rapid descent into commercialism and overdevelopment.\" The slogan has been interpreted many ways since its inception, but remains an important symbol for many Austinites who wish to voice concerns over rapid growth and irresponsible development. Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes.\n\nAccording to the Nielsen Company, adults in Austin read and contribute to blogs more than those in any other U.S. metropolitan area. Austin residents have the highest internet usage in all of Texas. Austin was selected as the No. 2 Best Big City in \"Best Places to Live\" by ''Money'' magazine in 2006, and No. 3 in 2009, and also the \"Greenest City in America\" by MSN. According to ''Travel & Leisure'' magazine, Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of cities with the best people, referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens. In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by ''CBS Money Watch''.\n\nIn 2015, ''Forbes'' listed Austin as #1 Boom Town because of its economic strength, including jobs among other appealing attributes.\n\nSouth Congress is a shopping district stretching down South Congress Avenue from Downtown. This area is home to coffee shops, eccentric stores, restaurants, food trucks, trailers and festivals. It prides itself on \"Keeping Austin Weird\", especially with development in the surrounding area(s).\n\n===Old Austin===\n''Old Austin'' is an adage often used by the native citizens in Austin, Texas when being nostalgic to refer to the olden days of the capital city of Texas. Although Austin is also known internationally as the live music capital of the world and its catch phrase/slogan Keep Austin Weird can be heard echoed in places as far as Buffalo, NY and Santa Monica, CA - the term ''Old Austin'' refers to a time when the city was smaller and more bohemian with a considerably lower cost of living and better known for its lack of traffic, hipsters, and urban sprawl. It is often employed by longtime residents expressing displeasure at the rapidly changing culture.\n\nConstruction barrier on South Congress with sentiment towards growth of the city.\n\nThe growth and popularity of Austin can be seen by the expansive development taking place in its downtown landscape. Forbes ranked Austin as the second fastest-growing city in 2015. This growth can have a negative impact on longtime small businesses that cannot keep up with the expenses associated with gentrification and the rising cost of real estate.\n\n===Annual cultural events===\n\n6th Street during 2012 South by Southwest\n\nRear photo of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, located on Lady Bird Lake at 600 River Street in Austin. The center sponsors ethnic cultural events, including an annual celebration to the memory of labor figure Cesar Chavez.\n\nThe O. Henry House Museum hosts the annual O. Henry Pun-Off, a pun contest where the successful contestants exhibit wit akin to that of the author William Sydney Porter.\n\nOther annual events include Eeyore's Birthday Party, Spamarama, Austin Gay Pride in August, the Austin Reggae Festival in April, Kite Festival, Texas Craft Brewers Festival in September, Art City Austin in April, East Austin Studio Tour in November, and Carnaval Brasileiro in February. Sixth Street features annual festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival and Halloween night. The three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival has been held in Zilker Park every year since 2002. Every year around the end of March and the beginning of April, Austin is home to \"Texas Relay Weekend.\"\n\nAustin's Zilker Park Tree is a Christmas display made of lights strung from the top of a Moonlight tower in Zilker Park. The Zilker Tree is lit in December along with the \"Trail of Lights,\" an Austin Christmas tradition. The Trail of Lights were cancelled four times, first starting in 2001 and 2002 due to the September 11 Attacks, and again in 2010 and 2011 due to budget shortfalls, but the trail was turned back on for the 2012 holiday season.\n\n===Music===\n\n2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival with view of stages and Downtown Austin\nAs Austin's official slogan is ''The Live Music Capital of the World'', the city has a vibrant live music scene with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film/music/interactive festival known as South by Southwest (SXSW). The concentration of restaurants, bars, and music venues in the city's downtown core is a major contributor to Austin's live music scene, as the zip code encompassing the downtown entertainment district hosts the most bar or alcohol-serving establishments in the U.S.\n\nThe longest-running concert music program on American television, ''Austin City Limits'', is recorded at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. ''Austin City Limits'' and C3 Presents produce the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin. Other music events include the Urban Music Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Chaos In Tejas and Old Settler's Music Festival. Austin Lyric Opera performs multiple operas each year (including the 2007 opening of Philip Glass's ''Waiting for the Barbarians'', written by University of Texas at Austin alumnus J. M. Coetzee). The Austin Symphony Orchestra performs a range of classical, pop and family performances and is led by Music Director and Conductor Peter Bay.\n\n===Film===\nAustin hosts several film festivals including SXSW Film Festival and Austin Film Festival, which hosts international films. In 2004 the city was first in ''MovieMaker Magazine's'' annual top ten cities to live and make movies.\n\nAustin has been the location for a number of motion pictures, partly due to the influence of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Radio-Television-Film. Films produced in Austin include ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974), ''Songwriter'' (1984), ''Man of the House'', ''Secondhand Lions'', ''Chainsaw Massacre 2'', ''Nadine'', ''Waking Life'', ''Spy Kids'', ''The Faculty'', ''Dazed and Confused'', ''Wild Texas Wind'', ''Office Space'', ''The Life of David Gale'', ''Miss Congeniality'', ''Doubting Thomas'', ''Slacker'', ''Idiocracy'', ''The New Guy'', ''Hope Floats'', ''The Alamo'', ''Blank Check'', ''The Wendall Baker Story'', ''School of Rock'', ''A Slipping-Down Life'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', ''Saturday Morning Massacre'', and most recently, the Coen brothers' ''True Grit'', ''Grindhouse'', ''Machete'', ''How to Eat Fried Worms'', ''Bandslam'' and ''Lazer Team''. In order to draw future film projects to the area, the Austin Film Society has converted several airplane hangars from the former Mueller Airport into filmmaking center Austin Studios. Projects that have used facilities at Austin Studios include music videos by The Flaming Lips and feature films such as ''25th Hour'' and ''Sin City''. Austin also hosted the MTV series, ''The Real World: Austin'' in 2005. The film review websites Spill.com and Ain't It Cool News are based in Austin. Rooster Teeth Productions, creator of popular web series such as ''Red vs. Blue'', and ''RWBY'' is also located in Austin.\n\n===Theater===\nAustin has a strong theater culture, with dozens of itinerant and resident companies producing a variety of work. The city also has live performance theater venues such as the Zachary Scott Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals' the Off Center, Austin Playhouse, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, the Blue Theater, The Hideout Theatre, and Esther's Follies. The Victory Grill was a renowned venue on the Chitlin' circuit. Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular. Austin hosts the Fuse Box Festival each April featuring international, leading-edge theater artists.\n\nThe Paramount Theatre, opened in downtown Austin in 1915, contributes to Austin's theater and film culture, showing classic films throughout the summer and hosting regional premieres for films such as ''Miss Congeniality''. The Zilker Park Summer Musical is a long-running outdoor musical.\n\nThe Long Center for the Performing Arts is a 2,300-seat theater built partly with materials reused from the old Lester E. Palmer Auditorium.\n\nBallet Austin is the fourth largest ballet academy in the country. Each year Ballet Austin's 20-member professional company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including their international award-winning artistic director, Stephen Mills. The city is also home to the Ballet East Dance Company, a modern dance ensemble, and the Tapestry Dance Company which performs a variety of dance genres.\n\nThe Austin improvisational theatre scene has several theaters: ColdTowne Theater, The Hideout Theater, The New Movement Theater, and The Institution Theater. Austin also hosts the Out of Bounds Improv Festival, which draws comedic artists in all disciplines to Austin.\n\n===Museums and other points of interest===\nMuseums in Austin include the Texas Memorial Museum, the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Thinkery, the Blanton Museum of Art (reopened in 2006), the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum across the street (which opened in 2000), The Contemporary Austin, the Elisabet Ney Museum and the galleries at the Harry Ransom Center. The Texas State Capitol itself is also a major tourist attraction. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library on The University of Texas campus in Austin, TexasThe Driskill Hotel built in 1886, once owned by George W. Littlefield, and located at 6th and Brazos streets, was finished just before the construction of the Capitol building. Sixth Street is a musical hub for the city. The Enchanted Forest, a multi-acre outdoor music, art, and performance art space in South Austin hosts events such as fire-dancing and circus-like-acts. Austin is also home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, which houses documents and artifacts related to the Johnson administration, including LBJ's limousine and a re-creation of the Oval Office.\n\nLocally produced art is featured at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture. The Mexic-Arte Museum is a Mexican and Mexican-American art museum founded in 1983. Austin is also home to the O. Henry House Museum, which served as the residence of O. Henry from 1893 to 1895. Farmers' markets are popular attractions, providing a variety of locally grown and often organic foods.\n\nAustin also has many odd statues and landmarks, such as the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue, the Willie Nelson statue, the Mangia dinosaur, the Loca Maria lady at Taco Xpress, the Hyde Park Gym's giant flexed arm, and Daniel Johnston's ''Hi, How are You?'' Jeremiah the Innocent frog mural.\n\nThe Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge houses the world's largest urban population of Mexican free-tailed bats. Starting in March, up to 1.5 million bats take up residence inside the bridge's expansion and contraction zones as well as in long horizontal grooves running the length of the bridge's underside, an environment ideally suited for raising their young. Every evening around sunset, the bats emerge in search of insects, an exit visible on weather radar. Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year. The bats migrate to Mexico each winter.\n\nThe Austin Zoo, located in unincorporated western Travis County, is a rescue zoo that provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a variety of situations, including those involving neglect.\n", "Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, home of Texas Longhorns football.\n\nMany Austinites support the athletic programs of the University of Texas at Austin known as the Texas Longhorns. During the 2005–06 academic term, Longhorns football team was named the NCAA Division I FBS National Football Champion, and Longhorns baseball team won the College World Series. The Texas Longhorns play home games in the state's second-largest sports stadium, Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, seating over 101,000 fans. Baseball games are played at UFCU Disch–Falk Field.\n\nAustin is the most populous city in the United States without a major-league professional sports team. Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats began playing at the Travis County Expo Center; they were later replaced by the AHL Texas Stars. Austin has hosted a number of other professional teams, including the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, the Austin Aztex of the United Soccer League, the Austin Outlaws in WFA football, and the Austin Aces in WTT tennis.\n\nNatural features like the bicycle-friendly Texas Hill Country and generally mild climate make Austin the home of several endurance and multi-sport races and communities. The Capitol 10,000 is the largest race in Texas, and approximately fifth largest in the United States. The Austin Marathon has been run in the city every year since 1992. Additionally the city is home to the largest 5 mile race in Texas, named the Turkey Trot as it is run annually on thanksgiving. Started in 1991 by Thundercloud Subs, a local sandwich chain (who still sponsors the event), the event has grown to host over 20,000 runners. All proceeds are donated to Caritas of Austin, a local charity.\n\n\n+ Austin area professional sports teams\n Club\n Sport\n Founded\n League\n Venue\n\nRound Rock Express\nBaseball\n 2000\nPacific Coast League(AAA)\nDell Diamond\n\nAustin Spurs\nBasketball\n 2005\nNBA G League\nH-E-B Center at Cedar Park\n\nTexas Stars\nIce hockey\n 2009\nAmerican Hockey League\nH-E-B Center at Cedar Park\n\nAustin Outlaws\nFootball\n 2003\nWomen's Football Alliance\nHouse Park\n\nAustin Huns\nRugby\n 1972\nTexas Rugby Union\nHuns Field at Nixon Lane\n\n\nThe Austin-founded American Swimming Association hosts several swim races around town. Austin is also the hometown of several cycling groups and the former seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. Combining these three disciplines is a growing crop of triathlons, including the Capital of Texas Triathlon held every Memorial Day on and around Lady Bird Lake, Auditorium Shores, and Downtown Austin.\n\nIn June 2010 it was announced that the Austin area would host the Formula One, United States Grand Prix, from 2012 until 2021. The State pledged $25 million in public funds annually for 10 years to pay the sanctioning fees for the race. A Formula One circuit was built at an estimated cost of $250 to $300 million, and is located just east of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Circuit of the Americas also plays host to MotoGP World Championships from 2013.\n\nThe summer of 2014 marked the inaugural season for World TeamTennis team Austin Aces, formerly Orange County Breakers of the southern California region. Austin Aces played their matches at the Cedar Park Center northwest of Austin, and featured former professionals Andy Roddick and Marion Bartoli, as well as current WTA tour player Vera Zvonareva. The team left after the 2015 season.\n", "Austin's Deep Eddy Pool is the oldest man-made pool in Texas\n\nThe Austin Parks and Recreation Department received the Excellence in Aquatics award in 1999 and the Gold Medal Awards in 2004 from the National Recreation and Park Association. Home to more than 50 public swimming pools, Austin has parks and pools throughout the city. There are several well-known swimming locations. These include Deep Eddy Pool, Texas' oldest man-made swimming pool, and Barton Springs Pool, the nation's largest natural swimming pool in an urban area. Barton Springs Pool is spring-fed while Deep Eddy is well-fed. Both range in temperature from about during the winter to about during the summer. Hippie Hollow Park, a county park situated along Lake Travis, is the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional public park in Texas. Activities include rockclimbing, kayaking, swimming, mountain biking, exploring, and hiking along the greenbelt, a long-spanning area that runs through the city. Some well known naturally forming swimming holes along Austin's greenbelt include Twin Falls, Sculpture Falls and Campbell's Hole. Zilker Park, a large green area close to downtown, forms part of the greenbelt along the Colorado River. Hamilton Pool is a pool and wildlife park located about 30 minutes from the city.\n\nTo strengthen the region's parks system, which spans more than , The Austin Parks Foundation (APF) was established in 1992 to develop and improve parks in and around Austin. APF works to fill the city's park funding gap by leveraging volunteers, philanthropists, park advocates and strategic collaborations to develop, maintain and enhance Austin's parks, trails and green spaces. APF fosters innovative public/private partnerships and since 2006, has given over 145 grants totaling more than $2 million in service to the greater Austin community.\n", "===Crime===\nThe city had 39 homicides in 2016, the most since 1997.\nFBI Statistics show that overall violent and property crimes dropped in Austin in 2015, but increased in suburban areas of the city.\nOne such Southeastern suburb, Del Valle reported 8 homicides within 2 months in 2016.\nAccording to 2016 APD crime statistics, the 78723 census tract had the most violent crime, with 6 murders, 25 rapes, and 81 robberies.\n\nOne of the first American school mass-shooting incidents took place in Austin on August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman shot 43 people, killing 13 from the top of the University of Texas tower (see University of Texas tower shooting). This event led to the formation of the SWAT team.\n\n===City government===\n\n\nAustin City Hall\n\nAustin is administered by an 11-member city council (10 council members elected by geographic district plus a mayor elected at large). The council is accompanied by a hired city manager under the manager-council system of municipal governance. Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner. A referendum approved by voters on November 6, 2012 changed the council composition from six council members plus a mayor elected at large to the current \"10+1\" district system. November 2014 marked the first election under the new system.\n\nAustin formerly operated its city hall at 128 West 8th Street. Antoine Predock and Cotera Kolar Negrete & Reed Architects designed a new city hall building, which was intended to reflect what ''The Dallas Morning News'' referred to as a \"crazy-quilt vitality, that embraces everything from country music to environmental protests and high-tech swagger.\" The new city hall, built from recycled materials, has solar panels in its garage. The city hall, at 301 West Second Street, opened in November 2004. The mayor of Austin is Steve Adler.\n\nLaw enforcement in Austin is provided by the Austin Police Department, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The University of Texas Police operate from the University of Texas.\n\nFire protection within the city limits is provided by the Austin Fire Department, while the surrounding county is divided into twelve geographical areas known as Emergency Services Districts, which are covered by separate regional fire departments. Emergency Medical Services are provided for the whole county by \"Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services\".\n\n====State and federal representation====\nThe 8-story U.S. Courthouse constructed at a cost of $123 million is located at Fourth, Fifth, San Antonio, and Nueces streets in Austin (opened December 2012).\n\nThe Texas Department of Transportation operates the Austin District Office in Austin.\n\nThe Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Austin I and Austin II district parole offices in Austin.\n\nThe United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Austin.\n\n\n\n===Politics===\n\n+ '''Travis County Presidential elections results'''\n\n Year\n Republican\n Democratic\n\n2016\n27.4% ''126,750\n'''66.3%''' ''306,475\n\n2012\n36.2% ''140,152\n'''60.1%''' ''232,788\n\n2008\n34.3% ''136,981\n'''63.5%''' ''254,017\n\n2004\n42.0% ''147,885\n'''56.0%''' ''197,235\n\n2000\n'''46.9%''' ''141,235\n41.7% ''125,526\n\n1996\n39.9% ''98,454\n'''52.3%''' ''128,970\n\n1992\n31.9% ''88,105\n'''47.3%''' ''130,546\n\n1988\n44.9% ''105,915\n'''54.1%''' ''127,783\n\n1984\n'''56.8%''' ''124,944\n42.8% ''94,124\n\n1980\n45.7% ''73,151\n'''46.9%''' ''75,028\n\n1976\n46.7% ''71,031\n'''51.6%''' ''78,585\n\n1972\n'''56.3%''' ''70,561\n43.2% ''54,157\n\n1968\n41.6% ''34,309\n'''48.1%''' ''39,667\n\n1964\n31.0% ''19,838\n'''68.9%''' ''44,058\n\n1960\n44.9% ''22,107\n'''54.9%''' ''27,022\n\n\nAustin is known as an enclave of liberal politics in an otherwise conservative state—so much so, that the city is sometimes sarcastically called the \"People's Republic of Austin\" by residents of other parts of Texas, and conservatives in the Texas Legislature.\n\nSince redistricting following the 2010 United States Census, Austin has been divided between six congressional districts at the federal level: Texas's 35th, Texas's 25th, Texas's 10th, Texas's 21st, Texas's 17th, and Texas's 31st. Texas's 35th congressional district is represented by Democrat Lloyd Doggett. The other five districts are represented by Republicans, of whom only one, Michael McCaul of the 10th district, lives in Travis County.\n\nAs a result of the major party realignment that began in the 1970s, central Austin became a stronghold of the Democratic Party, while the suburbs tend to vote Republican. A controversial turning point in the political history of the Austin area was the 2003 Texas redistricting. Opponents characterized the resulting district layout as excessively partisan gerrymandering, and the plan was challenged in court by Democratic and minority activists; of note, the Supreme Court of the United States has never struck down a redistricting plan for being excessively partisan. The plan was subsequently upheld by a three-judge federal panel in late 2003, and on June 28, 2006, the matter was largely settled when the Supreme Court, in a 7–2 decision, upheld the entire congressional redistricting plan with the exception of a Hispanic-majority district in southwest Texas. This affected Austin's districting, as U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett's district (U.S. Congressional District 25) was found to be insufficiently compact to compensate for the reduced minority influence in the southwest district; it was redrawn so that it took in most of southeastern Travis County and several counties to its south and east.\n\nOverall, the city is a blend of downtown liberalism and suburban conservatism but leans to the political left as a whole. The city last went to a Republican candidate in 2000 when former Texas Governor George W. Bush successfully ran for President. In 2004, the Democrats rebounded strongly as John Kerry enjoyed a 14.0% margin over Bush, who once again won Texas.\n\nCity residents have been supportive of alternative candidates; for example, Ralph Nader won 10.4% of the vote in Austin in 2000.\n\nIn 2003, the city adopted a resolution against the USA PATRIOT Act that reaffirmed constitutionally guaranteed rights. Of Austin's six state legislative districts, three are strongly Democratic and three are swing districts, two of which are held by Democrats and one of which is held by a Republican. However, two of its three congressional districts (the 10th and the 21st) are presently held by Republicans, with only the 25th held by a Democrat. This is largely due to the 2003 redistricting, which left downtown Austin without an exclusive congressional seat of its own. Travis County was also the only county in Texas to reject Texas Constitutional Amendment Proposition 2 that effectively outlawed gay marriage and status equal or similar to it and did so by a wide margin (40% for, 60% against).\n\nTwo of the candidates for president in the 2004 race called Austin home. Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian Party candidate, and David Cobb of the Green Party both had lived in Austin. During the run up to the election in November, a presidential debate was held at the University of Texas at Austin student union involving the two candidates. While the Commission on Presidential Debates only invites Democrats and Republicans to participate in televised debates, the debate at UT was open to all presidential candidates. Austin also hosted one of the last presidential debates between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their heated race for the Democratic nomination in 2008.\n\nIn the 2016 presidential election, Travis County, which contains the majority of Austin, voted for Hillary Clinton (D) by a 38.9-point margin (66.3% to 27.4%).\n\n====Environmental movement====\nThe distinguishing political movement of Austin politics has been that of the environmental movement, which spawned the parallel neighborhood movement, then the more recent conservationist movement (as typified by the Hill Country Conservancy), and eventually the current ongoing debate about \"sense of place\" and preserving the Austin quality of life. Much of the environmental movement has matured into a debate on issues related to saving and creating an Austin \"sense of place.\" In 2012, Austin became just one of a few cities in Texas to ban the sale and use of plastic bags.\n", "Researchers at Central Connecticut State University ranked Austin the 16th most literate city in the United States for 2008. The Austin Public Library operates the John Henry Faulk Library and various library branches. In addition, the University of Texas at Austin operates the seventh-largest academic library in the nation.\n\nAustin was voted \"America's No.1 College Town\" by the Travel Channel. Over 43 percent of Austin residents age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree, while 16 percent hold a graduate degree. In 2009, greater Austin ranked eighth among metropolitan areas in the United States for bachelor's degree attainment with nearly 39 percent of area residents over 25 holding a bachelor's degree.\n\n===Higher education===\nThe University of Texas at Austin\n\nAustin is home to the University of Texas at Austin, the flagship institution of the University of Texas System with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students. In 2015 rankings, the university was ranked 53rd among \"National Universities\" (17th among public universities) by ''U.S. News & World Report.'' UT has annual research expenditures of over $595 million and has the highest-ranked business, engineering, and law programs of any university in the state of Texas.\n\nOther institutions of higher learning in Austin include St. Edward's University, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin Community College, Concordia University, the Seminary of the Southwest, the Acton School of Business, Texas Health and Science University, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Austin Graduate School of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Virginia College's Austin Campus, The Art Institute of Austin, Southern Careers Institute of Austin, Austin Conservatory and a branch of Park University.\n\n===Public primary and secondary education===\nJohn Henry Faulk Library of the Austin Public Library\nThe Austin area has 29 public school districts, 17 charter schools and 69 private schools. Most of the city is served by the Austin Independent School District. This district includes notable schools such as the magnet Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School of Austin, Texas (LASA), which, by test scores, has consistently been within the top thirty high schools in the nation, as well as The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Some parts of Austin are served by other districts, including Round Rock, Pflugerville, Leander, Manor, Del Valle, Lake Travis, Hays, and Eanes ISDs. Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in ''Expansion Management'' magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide. Two districts—Eanes and Round Rock—are rated \"gold medal\", the highest of the magazine's cost-performance categories.\n\n===Private and alternative education===\nAustin has a large network of private and alternative education institutions for children in preschool-12th grade including Abrome, ACE Academy, Acton Academy, Austin International School, Austin Jewish Academy, Austin Peace Academy, The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, The Austin Waldorf School, Brentwood Christian School, Cleaview Sudbury School, Concordia Academy, The Griffin School, Holy Family Catholic School, Huntington-Surrey, Inside Outside School, Integrity Academy, Headwaters School, Hyde Park Baptist, Kirby Hall School, Long-View Micro School, Paragon Preparatory Middle School, Progress School, Redeemer Lutheran School, Regents School of Austin, Renaissance Academy, San Juan Diego Catholic High School, Skybridge Academy, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, St. Austin Catholic School, St. Francis School, St. Gabriel's Catholic School, St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School, St. Mary's, St. Michael's Catholic Academy, St. Paul Lutheran School, St. Stephen's Episcopal School, St. Theresa's, Trinity Episcopal School, and a number of Montessori schools.\n\nAlong with homeschooling and unschooling communities, Austin is home to a number of part-time learning environments designed to offer basic academics and inspired mentoring. Such current resources include the Whole Life Learning Center and AHB Community School.\n\nAustin is also home to child developmental institutions including the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, the Central Texas Autism Center, Johnson Center for Child Health and Development and many more.\n", "\nAustin's main daily newspaper is the ''Austin American-Statesman''. ''The Austin Chronicle'' is Austin's alternative weekly, while ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. Austin's business newspaper is the weekly ''Austin Business Journal''. ''The Austin Monitor'' is an online outlet that specializes in insider reporting on City Hall, Travis County Commissioners Court, AISD, and other related local civics beats. The ''Monitor'' is backed by the nonprofit Capital of Texas Media Foundation. Austin also has numerous smaller special interest or sub-regional newspapers such as the ''Oak Hill Gazette'', ''Westlake Picayune'', ''Hill Country News'', ''Round Rock Leader'', ''NOKOA'', and ''The Villager'' among others. ''Texas Monthly'', a major regional magazine, is also headquartered in Austin. The ''Texas Observer'', a muckraking biweekly political magazine, has been based in Austin for over five decades. The weekly ''Community Impact Newspaper'' newspaper published by John Garrett, former publisher of the ''Austin Business Journal'' has five regional editions and is delivered to every house and business within certain zip codes and all of the news is specific to those zip codes. Another statewide publication based in Austin is ''The Texas Tribune'', an on-line publication focused on Texas politics. The ''Tribune'' is \"user-supported\" through donations, a business model similar to public radio. The editor is Evan Smith, former editor of ''Texas Monthly''. Smith co-founded the ''Texas Tribune'', a nonprofit, non-partisan public media organization, with Austin venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran journalist Ross Ramsey.\n\nCommercial radio stations include KASE-FM (country), KVET (sports), KVET-FM (country), KKMJ-FM (adult contemporary), KLBJ (talk), KLBJ-FM (classic rock), KTSN (progressive country), KFMK (contemporary Christian), KOKE-FM (progressive country) and KPEZ (rhythmic contemporary). KUT-FM is the leading public radio station in Texas and produces the majority of its content locally. KOOP (FM) is a volunteer-run radio station with more than 60 locally produced programs. KVRX is the student-run college radio station of the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on local and non-mainstream music and community programming. Other listener-supported stations include KAZI (urban contemporary), and KMFA (classical)\n\nNetwork television stations (affiliations in parentheses) include KTBC (Fox O&O), KVUE (ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE-TV (CBS), KLRU (PBS), KNVA (The CW), KBVO (My Network TV), and KAKW (Univision O&O). KLRU produces several award-winning locally produced programs such as ''Austin City Limits''.\nAlex Jones, journalist, radio show host and filmmaker, produces his talk show ''The Alex Jones Show'' in Austin which broadcasts nationally on more than 60 AM and FM radio stations in the United States, WWCR Radio shortwave and XM Radio: Channel 166.\n", "Of all the people who work in Austin, 73% drive alone, 10% carpool, 6% work from home, 5% take the bus, 2% walk, and 1% bicycle.\n\n===Highways===\n\nThe Pennybacker Bridge is the signature element of Loop 360 in the Texas Hill Country.\nCentral Austin lies between two major north-south freeways: Interstate 35 to the east and the Mopac Expressway (Loop 1) to the west. U.S. Highway 183 runs from northwest to southeast, and State Highway 71 crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough \"box\" around central and north-central Austin. Austin is the largest city in the United States to be served by only one Interstate Highway.\n\nU.S. Highway 290 enters Austin from the east and merges into Interstate 35. Its highway designation continues south on I-35 and then becomes part of Highway 71, continuing to the west. Highway 290 splits from Highway 71 in southwest Austin, in an interchange known as \"The Y.\" Highway 71 continues to Brady, Texas, and Highway 290 continues west to intersect Interstate 10 near Junction. Interstate 35 continues south through San Antonio to Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border. Interstate 35 is the highway link to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in northern Texas. There are two links to Houston, Texas (Highway 290 and State Highway 71/Interstate 10). Highway 183 leads northwest of Austin toward Lampasas.\n\nIn the mid-1980s, construction was completed on Loop 360, a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the 183/Mopac interchange in the north. The iconic Pennybacker Bridge, also known as the \"360 Bridge\", crosses Lake Austin to connect the northern and southern portions of Loop 360.\n\n===Tollways===\nState Highway 45\nState Highway 130 is a bypass route designed to relieve traffic congestion, starting from Interstate 35 just north of Georgetown and running along a parallel route to the east, where it bypasses Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos and New Braunfels before ending at Interstate 10 east of Seguin, where drivers could drive west to return to Interstate 35 in San Antonio. The first segment was opened in November 2006, which was located east of Austin–Bergstrom International Airport at Austin's southeast corner on State Highway 71. Highway 130 runs concurrently with Highway 45 from Pflugerville on the north until it reaches US 183 well south of Austin, where it splits off and goes west. The entire route of State Highway 130 is now complete with last leg, which opened on November 1, 2012. The highway is noted for having the entire route with a speed limit of at least . The 41-mile section of the toll road between Mustang Ridge and Seguin has a posted speed limit of , the highest posted speed limit in the United States.\n\nState Highway 45 runs east-west from just south of Highway 183 in Cedar Park to 130 inside Pflugerville (just east of Round Rock). A tolled extension of State Highway Loop 1 was also created. A new southeast leg of Highway 45 has recently been completed, running from US 183 and the south end of Segment 5 of TX-130 south of Austin due west to I-35 at the FM 1327/Creedmoor exit between the south end of Austin and Buda. The 183A Toll Road opened March 2007, providing a tolled alternative to U.S. 183 through the cities of Leander and Cedar Park. Currently under construction is a change to East US 290 from US 183 to the town of Manor. Officially, the tollway will be dubbed Tollway 290 with the Manor Expressway as a nickname.\nDespite the overwhelming initial opposition to the toll road concept when it was first announced, all three toll roads have exceeded revenue projections.\n\n===Airports===\nAustin's airport is Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) (IATA code '''AUS'''), located southeast of the city. The airport is on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. Previously, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was the commercial airport of Austin. Austin Executive Airport serves the general aviation coming into the city, as well as other smaller airports outside of the city centre.\n\n===Intercity bus service===\nGreyhound Lines operates the Austin Station at 916 East Koenig Lane, just east of Airport Boulevard and adjacent to Highland Mall. Turimex Internacional operates bus service from Austin to Nuevo Laredo and on to many destinations in Mexico. The Turimex station is located at 5012 East 7th Street, near Shady Lane.\n\nMegabus offers daily service to San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston from a stop at Dobie Center.\n\n===Public transportation===\n\nAustin Metrorail train at Downtown Station\n\nThe Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (\"Capital Metro\") provides public transportation to the city, primarily by bus. Some heavily utilized routes feature bus rapid transit, with long, train-like, high-tech buses.\n\nCapital Metro opened a commuter rail system known as Capital MetroRail on March 22, 2010. The system was built on existing freight rail lines and serves downtown Austin, East Austin, North Central Austin, Northwest Austin, and Leander in its first phase. Future expansion could include a line to Manor and another to Round Rock. The MetroRail system has struggled to build ridership and has faced heavy criticism for its high per-rider cost to the public.\n\nCapital Metro has also explored building a light rail system to connect the MetroRail line to key destinations in Central Austin. On August 7, 2014, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to place a $600 million light rail bond proposal on the November 4, 2014 ballot; the ballot measure was voted down, and no further rail expansions have been put to voters since.\n\nCapital Area Rural Transportation System connects Austin with outlying suburbs.\n\nAn Amtrak ''Texas Eagle'' station is located in west downtown. Segments of the Amtrak route between Austin and San Antonio are under evaluation for a future regional passenger rail corridor as an alternative to the traffic congestion of Interstate 35. This is a multi jurisdictional project called Lone Star Rail. Austin is also home to Car2Go, a carsharing program. Austin was chosen as the first city in the western hemisphere to host this company's business, which is based in Germany.\n\n===Cycling===\nThe 10-mile Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail along Lady Bird Lake\nAustin is known as the most bike-friendly city in Texas, and was ranked the #7 city in the US by Bicycling Magazine in 2016.\n\nThe city's bike advocacy organization is Bike Austin. Bike Texas, a state-level advocacy also has its main office in Austin.\n\nBicycles are a popular transportation choice among students, faculty, and staff at the University of Texas, Austin. According to a survey done at UT, 57% of commuters bike to campus.\n\n===Walkability===\nA 2013 study by Walk Score ranked Austin 35th most walkable of the 50 largest U.S. cities. This is considered a medium low ranking.\n", "\n\n", "Sister city monument in Austin commemorating the relationship with Saltillo\nList of sister cities of Austin, Texas, designated by Sister Cities International.\n* Adelaide, South Australia, Australia – since 1983\n* Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France – since 2011\n* Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil – since 2015\n* Antalya Kepez, Turkey – since 2009\n* Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, South Korea – since 2001\n* Hackney, Greater London, England, United Kingdom - since February 2014\n* Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – since 1991\n* Lima, Peru – since 1981\n* Maseru, Lesotho – since 1978\n* Ōita City, Japan – since 1990\n* Orlu, Imo, Nigeria – since 2000\n* Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico – since 1968\n* Taichung, Taiwan – since 1986\n* Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China – since 1997\n\nThe cities of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil and Elche, Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain were formerly sister cities, but upon a vote of the Austin City Council in 1991, their status was de-activated.\n", "\n* List of Austinites\n* List of companies based in Austin, Texas\n* National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas\n* Silicon Hills\n* Easton Park – a Planned unit development in the southeast portion of Austin\n* South by Southwest\n", "\n", "\n", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n", "* Long, Joshua (2010). ''Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas''. University of Texas Press.\n* \n* Swearingen Jr., William Scott ''Environmental City: People, Place, and the Meaning of Modern Austin'' (University of Texas Press; 2010) 273 pages; traces the history of environmentalism in the Texas capital, which has been part of a larger effort to preserve Austin's quality of life and sense of place.\n", "\n* AustinTexas.gov - Official City Website\n* Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau\n* Austin Chamber of Commerce\n* Historic photographs from the Austin History Center, hosted by the Portal to Texas History\n* \n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Geography", "Demographics", "Economy", "Arts and culture", "Sports", "Parks and recreation", "Government and law", "Education", "Media", "Transportation", "Notable people", "Twin towns – sister cities", "See also", "Notes", "References", "Bibliography", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "After Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar visited the area during a buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital, then in Houston, be relocated to the area situated on the north bank of the Colorado River near the present-day Congress Avenue Bridge." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''Austin''' (, ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties.", "It is the city in the United States and the city in Texas.", "It is the fastest growing large city in the United States and the second most populous state capital in the U.S after Phoenix, Arizona.", "As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2016 estimate, Austin has a population of 947,890.", "Located in in the foothills of Texas Hill Country, the city is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways including Lady Bird Lake, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, the Colorado River, Lake Travis, and Lake Walter E. Long.", "It is the cultural and economic center of the metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1, 2016.", "It is the most populous state capital in the U.S that isn't the most populous city in a state.", "In the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River.", "In 1839, the site was officially chosen to replace Houston as the new capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name Waterloo.", "Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the \"Father of Texas\" and the republic's first secretary of state.", "The city subsequently grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin.", "After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a major city and, by the 1980s, it emerged as a center for technology and business.", "A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including Amazon.com, Apple Inc., Cisco, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Paypal, Texas Instruments, 3M, and Whole Foods Market.", "Dell's worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin.", "Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.", "They include a diverse mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and a vibrant LGBT community.", "The city's official slogan promotes Austin as \"The Live Music Capital of the World,\" a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the city, as well as the long-running PBS TV concert series ''Austin City Limits''.", "The city also adopted \"Silicon Hills\" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies.", "In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan \"Keep Austin Weird,\" which refers to the desire to protect small, unique, and local businesses from being overrun by large corporations.", "In the late 19th century, Austin was known as the \"City of the Violet Crown\" because of the colorful glow of light across the hills just after sunset.", "Even today, many Austin businesses use the term \"Violet Crown\" in their name.", "Austin is known as a \"clean-air city\" for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars.", "The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U.S. for the year 2012.", "''U.S.", "News & World Report'' named Austin the best place to live in the U.S. in 2017.", "\n\nAustin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of human habitation since at least 9200 BC.", "The area's earliest known inhabitants lived during the late Pleistocene (Ice Age) and are linked to the Clovis culture around 9200 BC (11,200 years ago), based on evidence found throughout the area and documented at the much-studied Gault Site, midway between Georgetown and Fort Hood.", "When settlers arrived from Europe, the Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area.", "The Comanches and Lipan Apaches were also known to travel through the area.", "Spanish colonists, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, though few permanent settlements were created for some time.", "In 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin.", "The mission was in this area for only about seven months, and then was moved to San Antonio de Béxar and split into three missions.", "Early in the 19th century, Spanish forts were established in what are now Bastrop and San Marcos.", "Following Mexico's independence, new settlements were established in Central Texas, but growth in the region was stagnant because of conflicts with the regional Native Americans.", "In 1835–1836, Texans fought and won independence from Mexico.", "Texas thus became an independent country with its own president, congress, and monetary system.", "In 1839, the Texas Congress formed a commission to seek a site for a new capital to be named for Stephen F. Austin.", "Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the newly formed Republic of Texas, advised the commissioners to investigate the area named Waterloo, noting the area's hills, waterways, and pleasant surroundings.", "Waterloo was selected and the name ''Austin'' was chosen as the town's new name.", "The location was seen as a convenient crossroads for trade routes between Santa Fe and Galveston Bay, as well as routes between northern Mexico and the Red River.", "An 1873 illustration of Edwin Waller's layout for Austin\nEdwin Waller was picked by Lamar to survey the village and draft a plan laying out the new capital.", "The original site was narrowed to that fronted the Colorado River between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor.", "The 14-block grid plan was bisected by a broad north-south thoroughfare, Congress Avenue, running up from the river to Capital Square, where the new Texas State Capitol was to be constructed.", "A temporary one-story capitol was erected on the corner of Colorado and 8th Streets.", "On August 1, 1839, the first auction of 217 out of 306 lots total was held.", "The grid plan Waller designed and surveyed now forms the basis of downtown Austin.", "In 1840, a series of conflicts between the Texas Rangers and the Comanches, known as the Council House Fight and the Battle of Plum Creek, finally pushed the Comanches westward, mostly ending conflicts in Central Texas.", "Settlement in the area began to expand quickly.", "Travis County was established in 1840, and the surrounding counties were mostly established within the next two decades.", "Initially, the new capital thrived.", "But Lamar's political enemy, Sam Houston, used two Mexican army incursions to San Antonio as an excuse to move the government.", "Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar's decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness.", "The men and women who traveled mainly from Houston to conduct government business were intensely disappointed as well.", "By 1840, the population had risen to 856, of whom nearly half fled from Austin when Congress recessed.", "The resident Black population listed in January of this same year was 176.", "The fear of Austin's proximity to the Indians and Mexico, which still considered Texas a part of their land, created an immense motive for Sam Houston, the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, to relocate the capital once again in 1841.", "Upon threats of Mexican troops in Texas, Houston raided the Land Office to transfer all official documents to Houston for safe keeping in what was later known as the Archive War, but the people of Austin would not allow this unaccompanied decision to be executed.", "The documents stayed, but the capital would temporarily move from Austin to Houston to Washington-on-the-Brazos.", "Without the governmental body, Austin's population declined to a low of only a few hundred people throughout the early 1840s.", "The voting by the fourth President of the Republic, Anson Jones, and Congress, who reconvened in Austin in 1845, settled the issue to keep Austin the seat of government as well as annex the Republic of Texas into the United States.", "Statue of the Goddess of Liberty on the Texas State Capitol Grounds prior to installation on top of the rotunda\nIn 1860, 38% of Travis County residents were slaves.", "In 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, voters in Austin and other Central Texas communities voted against secession.", "However, as the war progressed and fears of attack by Union forces increased, Austin contributed hundreds of men to the Confederate forces.", "The African American population of Austin swelled dramatically after the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas by Union General Gordon Granger at Galveston in an event commemorated as Juneteenth.", "Black communities such as Wheatville, Pleasant Hill, and Clarksville were established with Clarksville being the oldest surviving freedomtown ‒ the original post-Civil War settlements founded by former African-American slaves ‒ west of the Mississippi River.", "In 1870, blacks made up 36.5% of Austin's population.", "The postwar period saw dramatic population and economic growth.", "The opening of the Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) in 1871 turned Austin into the major trading center for the region with the ability to transport both cotton and cattle.", "The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MKT) line followed close behind.", "Austin was also the terminus of the southernmost leg of the Chisholm Trail and \"drovers\" pushed cattle north to the railroad.", "Cotton was one of the few crops produced locally for export and a cotton gin engine was located downtown near the trains for \"ginning\" cotton of its seeds and turning the product into bales for shipment.", "However, as other new railroads were built through the region in the 1870s, Austin began to lose its primacy in trade to the surrounding communities.", "In addition, the areas east of Austin took over cattle and cotton production from Austin, especially in towns like Hutto and Taylor that sit over the blackland prairie, with its deep, rich soils for producing cotton and hay.", "In September 1881, Austin public schools held their first classes.", "The same year, Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute (now part of Huston-Tillotson University) opened its doors.", "The University of Texas at Austin held its first classes in 1883, although classes had been held in the original wooden state Capitol for four years before.", "During the 1880s, Austin gained new prominence as the state capitol building was completed in 1888 and claimed as the seventh largest building in the world.", "In the late 19th century, Austin expanded its city limits to more than three times its former area, and the first granite dam was built on the Colorado River to power a new street car line and the new \"moon towers\".", "Unfortunately, the first dam washed away in a flood on April 7, 1900.", "In the 1920s and 1930s, Austin launched a series of civic development and beautification projects that created much of the city's infrastructure and many of its parks.", "In addition, the state legislature established the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) that, along with the city of Austin, created the system of dams along the Colorado River to form the Highland Lakes.", "These projects were enabled in large part because the Public Works Administration provided Austin with greater funding for municipal construction projects than other Texas cities.", "Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin.", "Its mission is to \"tell The Story of Texas\".", "During the early twentieth century, a three-way system of social segregation emerged in Austin, with Anglos, African Americans and Mexicans being separated by custom or law in most aspects of life, including housing, health care, and education.", "Many of the municipal improvement programs initiated during this period—such as the construction of new roads, schools, and hospitals—were deliberately designed to institutionalize this system of segregation.", "Deed restrictions also played an important role in residential segregation.", "After 1935 most housing deeds prohibited African Americans (and sometimes other nonwhite groups) from using land.", "Combined with the system of segregated public services, racial segregation increased in Austin during the first half of the twentieth century, with African Americans and Mexicans experiencing high levels of discrimination and social marginalization.", "In 1940, the destroyed granite dam on the Colorado River was finally replaced by a hollow concrete dam that formed Lake McDonald (now called Lake Austin) and which has withstood all floods since.", "In addition, the much larger Mansfield Dam was built by the LCRA upstream of Austin to form the flood-control lake, Lake Travis.", "In the early 20th century, the Texas Oil Boom took hold, creating tremendous economic opportunities in Southeast Texas and North Texas.", "The growth generated by this boom largely passed by Austin at first, with the city slipping from fourth largest to 10th largest in Texas between 1880 and 1920.", "After the mid-20th century, Austin became established as one of Texas' major metropolitan centers.", "In 1970, the United States Census Bureau reported Austin's population as 14.5% Hispanic, 11.9% black, and 73.4% non-Hispanic white.", "In the late 20th century, Austin emerged as an important high tech center for semiconductors and software.", "The University of Texas at Austin emerged as a major university.", "The 1970s saw Austin's emergence in the national music scene, with local artists such as Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and iconic music venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters.", "Over time, the long-running television program ''Austin City Limits'', its namesake Austin City Limits Festival, and the South by Southwest music festival solidified the city's place in the music industry.", "Austin as seen from the International Space Station, 2007\n\nCity limits of Austin\nThe most southerly of the capitals of the contiguous forty-eight states, Austin is located in Central Texas, along the Balcones Escarpment and Interstate 35, northwest of Houston.", "It is also south of Dallas and north of San Antonio.", "Its elevation varies from to approximately above sea level.", "In 2010, the city occupied a total area of .", "Approximately of this area is water.", "Austin is situated on the Colorado River, with three man-made (artificial) lakes within the city limits: Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), Lake Austin (both created by dams along the Colorado River), and Lake Walter E. Long that is partly used for cooling water for the Decker Power Plant.", "Mansfield Dam and the foot of Lake Travis are located within the city's limits.", "Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are each on the Colorado River.", "As a result of its straddling the Balcones Fault, much of the eastern part of the city is flat, with heavy clay and loam soils, whereas, the western part and western suburbs consist of rolling hills on the edge of the Texas Hill Country.", "Because the hills to the west are primarily limestone rock with a thin covering of topsoil, portions of the city are frequently subjected to flash floods from the runoff caused by thunderstorms.", "To help control this runoff and to generate hydroelectric power, the Lower Colorado River Authority operates a series of dams that form the Texas Highland Lakes.", "The lakes also provide venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation within several parks on the lake shores.", "Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate.", "The area is very diverse ecologically and biologically, and is home to a variety of animals and plants.", "Notably, the area is home to many types of wildflowers that blossom throughout the year but especially in the spring, including the popular bluebonnets, some planted in an effort by \"Lady Bird\" Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon Johnson.", "A popular point of prominence in Austin is Mount Bonnell.", "At about above sea level, it is a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin on the Colorado River, with an observation deck about below its summit.", "The soils of Austin range from shallow, gravelly clay loams over limestone in the western outskirts to deep, fine sandy loams, silty clay loams, silty clays or clays in the city's eastern part.", "Some of the clays have pronounced shrink-swell properties and are difficult to work under most moisture conditions.", "Many of Austin's soils, especially the clay-rich types, are slightly to moderately alkaline and have free calcium carbonate.", "Austin has several rock climbing locations.", "Rock climbing can be found at three Austin parks: Barton Creek Greenbelt, Bull Creek Park and McKinney Falls State Park.", "The sport-climbing routes at Barton Creek Greenbelt–with its many vertical to overhanging walls–offer challenges to both the beginner and advanced climber.", "===Cityscape===\n\n\nThe skyline of Austin, TX viewed at sunrise from Zilker Park.", "360\nCondominiums Tower\nAustin's skyline historically was modest, dominated by the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas Main Building.", "However, many new high-rise towers have been constructed since 2000—Austin's ten tallest buildings were completed after 2003.", "The city's tallest building, The Austonian, was topped out on September 17, 2009.", "Austin is currently undergoing a skyscraper boom, which includes recent construction on the now complete 360 Condominiums at , Spring (condominiums), the Austonian at , and several other office, hotel and residential buildings.", "Downtown's buildings are somewhat spread out, partly due to a restriction that preserves the view of the Texas State Capitol from various locations around Austin (known as the Capitol View Corridors).", "At night, parts of Austin are lit by \"artificial moonlight\" from Moonlight Towers built to illuminate the central part of the city.", "The moonlight towers were built in the late 19th century and are now recognized as historic landmarks.", "Only 15 of the 31 original innovative towers remain standing in Austin, and none remain in any of the other cities where they were installed.", "The towers are featured in the 1993 film ''Dazed and Confused''.", "====Downtown====\n\nThe central business district of Austin is home to the tallest condo towers in the state, with the under construction Independent (58 stories and .", "tall) and The Austonian (topping out at 56 floors and .", "tall).", "The Independent will supplant The Austonian as the tallest all-residential building in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River when completed in 2018.", "In 2005, then-Mayor Will Wynn set out a goal of having 25,000 people living Downtown by 2015.", "Although Downtown's growth did not meet this goal, Downtown's residential population did surge from an estimated 5,000 in 2005 to 12,000 in 2015.", "The skyline has drastically changed in recent years, and the residential real estate market has remained relatively strong.", "As of December 2016, there are 31 high-rise projects either under construction, approved or planned to be completed in Austin's downtown core between 2017 and 2020.", "Sixteen of those are set to rise above .", "tall, including four above 600', and eight above 500'.", "An additional 15 towers are slated to stand between 300' and 399' tall.", "Downtown growth has been aided by the presence of a popular live music and nightlife scene, museums, restaurants, and Lady Bird Lake, considered one of the city's best recreational spots.", "The 2nd Street District consists of several new residential projects, restaurants, upscale boutiques and other entertainment venues, as well as Austin's City Hall.", "Across 2nd Street from Austin's City Hall is the new ACL Live @ the Moody Theatre where the long-running PBS program ''Austin City Limits'', is filmed.", "It is located at the base of the new W Hotel.", "The South by Southwest is a music, film and interactive festival which occurs over five days each March in downtown Austin, and includes one of the world's largest music festivals; with more than 3,000 acts playing in more than 100 venues.", "===Climate===\n\nUnder the Köppen climate classification, Austin has a humid subtropical climate.", "This climate is typified by very long, hot summers; short, mild winters; and warm transitional seasons in between.", "Austin averages of annual rainfall and it is distributed mostly evenly throughout the year, though spring and fall are the wettest seasons.", "Sunshine is abundant during all seasons, with 2,650 hours, or 60.3% of the possible total, of bright sunshine per year.", "The summer season in Austin is very hot, and average July and August highs frequently reach the high-90s (34–36 °C) or above.", "Highs reach on 116 days per year, of which 18 days reach .", "The daytime high averages or warmer every day between April 14 and October 24.", "The highest ever recorded temperature was occurring on September 5, 2000, and August 28, 2011.", "Humidity is inconsistent and fluctuates frequently depending on the shifting patterns of air flow and wind direction.", "Humidity rises when the air drifts inland from the Gulf of Mexico, but decreases significantly when the air is channeled through the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas.", "Winters in Austin are mild with cool nights.", "January is the coolest month with an average daytime high of .", "The overnight low reaches or exceeds freezing 19 times per year, and sinks below during 88 evenings per year, including most nights between mid-December and mid-February.", "Lows in the upper 30s also occur commonly during the winter.", "Conversely, winter months are also capable of occasionally producing warm days.", "On average, eight days in January reach or exceed and one day reaches .", "The lowest ever recorded temperature in the city was on January 31, 1949.", "Roughly every two years Austin experiences an ice storm that freezes roads over and cripples travel in the city for 24 to 48 hours.", "When Austin received of ice on January 24, 2014, there were 278 vehicular collisions.", "Similarly, snowfall is exceptionally rare in Austin.", "A snow event of on February 4, 2011, caused more than 300 car crashes.", "A snowstorm brought the city to a near standstill in 1985.", "Typical of Central Texas, severe weather in Austin is a threat that can strike during any season.", "However, it is most common during the spring.", "According to most classifications, Austin lies within the extreme southern periphery of Tornado Alley, although many sources place Austin outside of Tornado Alley altogether.", "Consequently, tornadoes strike Austin less frequently than areas farther to the north.", "However, severe weather and/or supercell thunderstorms can occur multiple times per year, bringing damaging winds, lightning, heavy rain, and occasional flash flooding to the city.", "The deadliest storm to ever strike city limits was the twin tornadoes storm of May 4, 1922, while the deadliest tornado outbreak to ever strike the metro area was the Central Texas tornado outbreak of May 27, 1997.", "===2011 drought===\n\nThe 2011 Texas drought dried up much of Central Texas water ways.", "This boat was left to sit in the middle of what is normally a branch of Lake Travis, part of the Colorado River.", "From October 2010 through September 2011, both major reporting stations in Austin, Camp Mabry and Bergstrom Int'l, had the least rainfall of a water year on record, receiving less than a third of normal precipitation.", "This was a result of La Niña conditions in the eastern Pacific Ocean where water was significantly cooler than normal.", "David Brown, a regional official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has explained that \"these kinds of droughts will have effects that are even more extreme in the future, given a warming and drying regional climate.\"", "\n\n\n\n Racial composition !", "!", "2010!!", "1990 !", "!", "1970 !", "!", "1950\n\n White \n 68.3% \n 70.6% \n 87.2% \n 86.6%\n\n —Non-Hispanic \n 48.7% \n 61.7% \n 73.4% \n n/a\n\n Black or African American \n 8.1% \n 12.4% \n 11.8% \n 13.3%\n\n Hispanic or Latino (of any race) \n 35.1% \n 23.0% \n 14.5% \n n/a\n\n Asian \n 6.3% \n 3.0% \n 0.2% \n 0.1%\n\n\nAccording to the 2010 United States Census, the racial composition of Austin is:\n* White: 68.3% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 48.7%)\n* Hispanic or Latino: 35.1% (29.1% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, 5.1% Other)\n* African American: 8.1%\n* Asian: 6.3% (1.9% Indian, 1.5% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Japanese, 0.8% Other)\n* American Indian: 0.9%\n* Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%\n* Two or More Races: 3.4%\n\nMap of racial distribution in Austin, 2010 U.S. Census.", "Each dot is 25 people: '''White''', '''Black''', '''Asian''' '''Hispanic''', or '''Other''' (yellow)\nAt the 2000 United States Census, there were people, households, and families residing in the city (roughly comparable in size to San Francisco, Leeds, UK; and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada).", "The population density was .", "There were housing units at an average density of .", "There were households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families.", "32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.", "The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.14.", "In the city, the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older.", "The median age was 30 years.", "For every 100 females there were 105.8 males.", "The median income for a household in the city was , and the median income for a family was $.", "Males had a median income of $ vs. $ for females.", "The per capita income for the city was $.", "About 9.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.", "The median house price was $ in 2009, and it has increased every year since 2004.", "The median value of a house in which the owner occupies it was $227,800 in 2014, which is higher than the average American home value of $175,700.", "Census\n\n\nA 2014 University of Texas study stated that Austin was the only U.S. city with a fast growth rate between 2000 and 2010 with a net loss in African-Americans.", ", Austin's African-American and Non-Hispanic White percentage share of the total population is declining despite the absolute number of both ethnic groups increasing.", "Austin's Non-Hispanic White population first dropped below 50% in 2005.", "The rapid growth of the Hispanic and Asian population has outpaced all other ethnic groups in the city.", "According to one survey completed in 2014, it is estimated that 5.3% of residents in the Austin Metropolitan area identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender.", "The Austin metropolitan area had the third highest rate in the nation.", "\nDowntown Austin from Congress Avenue Bridge, Texas State Capitol in background\n\nThe Greater Austin metropolitan statistical area had a Gross Domestic Product of $86 billion in 2010.", "Austin is considered to be a major center for high tech.", "Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of Texas at Austin provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin's technology and defense industry sectors.", "The region's rapid growth has led ''Forbes'' to rank the Austin metropolitan area number one among all big cities for jobs for 2012 in their annual survey and WSJ Marketwatch to rank the area number one for growing businesses.", "By 2013, Austin ranked No.", "14 on ''Forbes''' list of the Best Places for Business and Careers (directly below Dallas, No.", "13 on the list).", "As a result of the high concentration of high-tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom in the late 1990s and subsequent bust.", "Austin's largest employers include the Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, Dell, the U.S. Federal Government, NXP Semiconductors, IBM, St. David's Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas, the Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin.", "Other high-tech companies with operations in Austin include 3M, Apple, Amazon, AMD, Apartment Ratings, Applied Materials, ARM Holdings, Bigcommerce, BioWare, Blizzard Entertainment, Buffalo Technology, Cirrus Logic, Cisco Systems, Dropbox, eBay, PayPal, Electronic Arts, Flextronics, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Hoover's, HomeAway, Hostgator, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Nvidia, Oracle, Polycom, Qualcomm, Inc., Rackspace, RetailMeNot, Rooster Teeth, Samsung Group, Silicon Laboratories, Spansion, Troux Technologies, United Devices, and Xerox.", "In 2010, Facebook accepted a grant to build a downtown office that could bring as many as 200 jobs to the city.", "The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, \"the Silicon Hills\", and spurred development that greatly expanded the city.", "Austin is also emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; the city is home to about 85 of them.", "The city was ranked by the Milken Institute as the No.12 biotech and life science center in the United States.", "Companies such as Hospira, Pharmaceutical Product Development, and ArthroCare Corporation are located there.", "Whole Foods Market (often called just \"Whole Foods\") is an upscale, international grocery store chain specializing in fresh and packaged food products—many having an organic-/local-/\"natural\"-theme.", "It was founded and is headquartered in Austin.", "Other companies based in Austin include Freescale Semiconductor, GoodPop, Temple-Inland, Sweet Leaf Tea Company, Keller Williams Realty, National Western Life, GSD&M, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Golfsmith, Forestar Group, EZCorp, Tito's Vodka and YETI.", "In addition to national and global corporations, Austin features a strong network of independent, unique, locally owned firms and organizations.", "\"Keep Austin Weird\" has been a local motto for years, featured on bumper stickers and T-shirts.", "This motto has not only been used in promoting Austin's eccentricity and diversity, but is also meant to bolster support of local independent businesses.", "According to the 2010 book, ''Weird City'', the phrase was begun by a local Austin Community College librarian, Red Wassenich, and his wife, Karen Pavelka, who were concerned about Austin's \"rapid descent into commercialism and overdevelopment.\"", "The slogan has been interpreted many ways since its inception, but remains an important symbol for many Austinites who wish to voice concerns over rapid growth and irresponsible development.", "Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes.", "According to the Nielsen Company, adults in Austin read and contribute to blogs more than those in any other U.S. metropolitan area.", "Austin residents have the highest internet usage in all of Texas.", "Austin was selected as the No.", "2 Best Big City in \"Best Places to Live\" by ''Money'' magazine in 2006, and No.", "3 in 2009, and also the \"Greenest City in America\" by MSN.", "According to ''Travel & Leisure'' magazine, Austin ranks No.", "1 on the list of cities with the best people, referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens.", "In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by ''CBS Money Watch''.", "In 2015, ''Forbes'' listed Austin as #1 Boom Town because of its economic strength, including jobs among other appealing attributes.", "South Congress is a shopping district stretching down South Congress Avenue from Downtown.", "This area is home to coffee shops, eccentric stores, restaurants, food trucks, trailers and festivals.", "It prides itself on \"Keeping Austin Weird\", especially with development in the surrounding area(s).", "===Old Austin===\n''Old Austin'' is an adage often used by the native citizens in Austin, Texas when being nostalgic to refer to the olden days of the capital city of Texas.", "Although Austin is also known internationally as the live music capital of the world and its catch phrase/slogan Keep Austin Weird can be heard echoed in places as far as Buffalo, NY and Santa Monica, CA - the term ''Old Austin'' refers to a time when the city was smaller and more bohemian with a considerably lower cost of living and better known for its lack of traffic, hipsters, and urban sprawl.", "It is often employed by longtime residents expressing displeasure at the rapidly changing culture.", "Construction barrier on South Congress with sentiment towards growth of the city.", "The growth and popularity of Austin can be seen by the expansive development taking place in its downtown landscape.", "Forbes ranked Austin as the second fastest-growing city in 2015.", "This growth can have a negative impact on longtime small businesses that cannot keep up with the expenses associated with gentrification and the rising cost of real estate.", "===Annual cultural events===\n\n6th Street during 2012 South by Southwest\n\nRear photo of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, located on Lady Bird Lake at 600 River Street in Austin.", "The center sponsors ethnic cultural events, including an annual celebration to the memory of labor figure Cesar Chavez.", "The O. Henry House Museum hosts the annual O. Henry Pun-Off, a pun contest where the successful contestants exhibit wit akin to that of the author William Sydney Porter.", "Other annual events include Eeyore's Birthday Party, Spamarama, Austin Gay Pride in August, the Austin Reggae Festival in April, Kite Festival, Texas Craft Brewers Festival in September, Art City Austin in April, East Austin Studio Tour in November, and Carnaval Brasileiro in February.", "Sixth Street features annual festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival and Halloween night.", "The three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival has been held in Zilker Park every year since 2002.", "Every year around the end of March and the beginning of April, Austin is home to \"Texas Relay Weekend.\"", "Austin's Zilker Park Tree is a Christmas display made of lights strung from the top of a Moonlight tower in Zilker Park.", "The Zilker Tree is lit in December along with the \"Trail of Lights,\" an Austin Christmas tradition.", "The Trail of Lights were cancelled four times, first starting in 2001 and 2002 due to the September 11 Attacks, and again in 2010 and 2011 due to budget shortfalls, but the trail was turned back on for the 2012 holiday season.", "===Music===\n\n2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival with view of stages and Downtown Austin\nAs Austin's official slogan is ''The Live Music Capital of the World'', the city has a vibrant live music scene with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city.", "Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film/music/interactive festival known as South by Southwest (SXSW).", "The concentration of restaurants, bars, and music venues in the city's downtown core is a major contributor to Austin's live music scene, as the zip code encompassing the downtown entertainment district hosts the most bar or alcohol-serving establishments in the U.S.", "The longest-running concert music program on American television, ''Austin City Limits'', is recorded at ACL Live at The Moody Theater.", "''Austin City Limits'' and C3 Presents produce the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin.", "Other music events include the Urban Music Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Chaos In Tejas and Old Settler's Music Festival.", "Austin Lyric Opera performs multiple operas each year (including the 2007 opening of Philip Glass's ''Waiting for the Barbarians'', written by University of Texas at Austin alumnus J. M. Coetzee).", "The Austin Symphony Orchestra performs a range of classical, pop and family performances and is led by Music Director and Conductor Peter Bay.", "===Film===\nAustin hosts several film festivals including SXSW Film Festival and Austin Film Festival, which hosts international films.", "In 2004 the city was first in ''MovieMaker Magazine's'' annual top ten cities to live and make movies.", "Austin has been the location for a number of motion pictures, partly due to the influence of The University of Texas at Austin Department of Radio-Television-Film.", "Films produced in Austin include ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974), ''Songwriter'' (1984), ''Man of the House'', ''Secondhand Lions'', ''Chainsaw Massacre 2'', ''Nadine'', ''Waking Life'', ''Spy Kids'', ''The Faculty'', ''Dazed and Confused'', ''Wild Texas Wind'', ''Office Space'', ''The Life of David Gale'', ''Miss Congeniality'', ''Doubting Thomas'', ''Slacker'', ''Idiocracy'', ''The New Guy'', ''Hope Floats'', ''The Alamo'', ''Blank Check'', ''The Wendall Baker Story'', ''School of Rock'', ''A Slipping-Down Life'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', ''Saturday Morning Massacre'', and most recently, the Coen brothers' ''True Grit'', ''Grindhouse'', ''Machete'', ''How to Eat Fried Worms'', ''Bandslam'' and ''Lazer Team''.", "In order to draw future film projects to the area, the Austin Film Society has converted several airplane hangars from the former Mueller Airport into filmmaking center Austin Studios.", "Projects that have used facilities at Austin Studios include music videos by The Flaming Lips and feature films such as ''25th Hour'' and ''Sin City''.", "Austin also hosted the MTV series, ''The Real World: Austin'' in 2005.", "The film review websites Spill.com and Ain't It Cool News are based in Austin.", "Rooster Teeth Productions, creator of popular web series such as ''Red vs. Blue'', and ''RWBY'' is also located in Austin.", "===Theater===\nAustin has a strong theater culture, with dozens of itinerant and resident companies producing a variety of work.", "The city also has live performance theater venues such as the Zachary Scott Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals' the Off Center, Austin Playhouse, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, the Blue Theater, The Hideout Theatre, and Esther's Follies.", "The Victory Grill was a renowned venue on the Chitlin' circuit.", "Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular.", "Austin hosts the Fuse Box Festival each April featuring international, leading-edge theater artists.", "The Paramount Theatre, opened in downtown Austin in 1915, contributes to Austin's theater and film culture, showing classic films throughout the summer and hosting regional premieres for films such as ''Miss Congeniality''.", "The Zilker Park Summer Musical is a long-running outdoor musical.", "The Long Center for the Performing Arts is a 2,300-seat theater built partly with materials reused from the old Lester E. Palmer Auditorium.", "Ballet Austin is the fourth largest ballet academy in the country.", "Each year Ballet Austin's 20-member professional company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including their international award-winning artistic director, Stephen Mills.", "The city is also home to the Ballet East Dance Company, a modern dance ensemble, and the Tapestry Dance Company which performs a variety of dance genres.", "The Austin improvisational theatre scene has several theaters: ColdTowne Theater, The Hideout Theater, The New Movement Theater, and The Institution Theater.", "Austin also hosts the Out of Bounds Improv Festival, which draws comedic artists in all disciplines to Austin.", "===Museums and other points of interest===\nMuseums in Austin include the Texas Memorial Museum, the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Thinkery, the Blanton Museum of Art (reopened in 2006), the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum across the street (which opened in 2000), The Contemporary Austin, the Elisabet Ney Museum and the galleries at the Harry Ransom Center.", "The Texas State Capitol itself is also a major tourist attraction.", "The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library on The University of Texas campus in Austin, TexasThe Driskill Hotel built in 1886, once owned by George W. Littlefield, and located at 6th and Brazos streets, was finished just before the construction of the Capitol building.", "Sixth Street is a musical hub for the city.", "The Enchanted Forest, a multi-acre outdoor music, art, and performance art space in South Austin hosts events such as fire-dancing and circus-like-acts.", "Austin is also home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, which houses documents and artifacts related to the Johnson administration, including LBJ's limousine and a re-creation of the Oval Office.", "Locally produced art is featured at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture.", "The Mexic-Arte Museum is a Mexican and Mexican-American art museum founded in 1983.", "Austin is also home to the O. Henry House Museum, which served as the residence of O. Henry from 1893 to 1895.", "Farmers' markets are popular attractions, providing a variety of locally grown and often organic foods.", "Austin also has many odd statues and landmarks, such as the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue, the Willie Nelson statue, the Mangia dinosaur, the Loca Maria lady at Taco Xpress, the Hyde Park Gym's giant flexed arm, and Daniel Johnston's ''Hi, How are You?''", "Jeremiah the Innocent frog mural.", "The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge houses the world's largest urban population of Mexican free-tailed bats.", "Starting in March, up to 1.5 million bats take up residence inside the bridge's expansion and contraction zones as well as in long horizontal grooves running the length of the bridge's underside, an environment ideally suited for raising their young.", "Every evening around sunset, the bats emerge in search of insects, an exit visible on weather radar.", "Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year.", "The bats migrate to Mexico each winter.", "The Austin Zoo, located in unincorporated western Travis County, is a rescue zoo that provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a variety of situations, including those involving neglect.", "Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, home of Texas Longhorns football.", "Many Austinites support the athletic programs of the University of Texas at Austin known as the Texas Longhorns.", "During the 2005–06 academic term, Longhorns football team was named the NCAA Division I FBS National Football Champion, and Longhorns baseball team won the College World Series.", "The Texas Longhorns play home games in the state's second-largest sports stadium, Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, seating over 101,000 fans.", "Baseball games are played at UFCU Disch–Falk Field.", "Austin is the most populous city in the United States without a major-league professional sports team.", "Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats began playing at the Travis County Expo Center; they were later replaced by the AHL Texas Stars.", "Austin has hosted a number of other professional teams, including the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, the Austin Aztex of the United Soccer League, the Austin Outlaws in WFA football, and the Austin Aces in WTT tennis.", "Natural features like the bicycle-friendly Texas Hill Country and generally mild climate make Austin the home of several endurance and multi-sport races and communities.", "The Capitol 10,000 is the largest race in Texas, and approximately fifth largest in the United States.", "The Austin Marathon has been run in the city every year since 1992.", "Additionally the city is home to the largest 5 mile race in Texas, named the Turkey Trot as it is run annually on thanksgiving.", "Started in 1991 by Thundercloud Subs, a local sandwich chain (who still sponsors the event), the event has grown to host over 20,000 runners.", "All proceeds are donated to Caritas of Austin, a local charity.", "+ Austin area professional sports teams\n Club\n Sport\n Founded\n League\n Venue\n\nRound Rock Express\nBaseball\n 2000\nPacific Coast League(AAA)\nDell Diamond\n\nAustin Spurs\nBasketball\n 2005\nNBA G League\nH-E-B Center at Cedar Park\n\nTexas Stars\nIce hockey\n 2009\nAmerican Hockey League\nH-E-B Center at Cedar Park\n\nAustin Outlaws\nFootball\n 2003\nWomen's Football Alliance\nHouse Park\n\nAustin Huns\nRugby\n 1972\nTexas Rugby Union\nHuns Field at Nixon Lane\n\n\nThe Austin-founded American Swimming Association hosts several swim races around town.", "Austin is also the hometown of several cycling groups and the former seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong.", "Combining these three disciplines is a growing crop of triathlons, including the Capital of Texas Triathlon held every Memorial Day on and around Lady Bird Lake, Auditorium Shores, and Downtown Austin.", "In June 2010 it was announced that the Austin area would host the Formula One, United States Grand Prix, from 2012 until 2021.", "The State pledged $25 million in public funds annually for 10 years to pay the sanctioning fees for the race.", "A Formula One circuit was built at an estimated cost of $250 to $300 million, and is located just east of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport.", "Circuit of the Americas also plays host to MotoGP World Championships from 2013.", "The summer of 2014 marked the inaugural season for World TeamTennis team Austin Aces, formerly Orange County Breakers of the southern California region.", "Austin Aces played their matches at the Cedar Park Center northwest of Austin, and featured former professionals Andy Roddick and Marion Bartoli, as well as current WTA tour player Vera Zvonareva.", "The team left after the 2015 season.", "Austin's Deep Eddy Pool is the oldest man-made pool in Texas\n\nThe Austin Parks and Recreation Department received the Excellence in Aquatics award in 1999 and the Gold Medal Awards in 2004 from the National Recreation and Park Association.", "Home to more than 50 public swimming pools, Austin has parks and pools throughout the city.", "There are several well-known swimming locations.", "These include Deep Eddy Pool, Texas' oldest man-made swimming pool, and Barton Springs Pool, the nation's largest natural swimming pool in an urban area.", "Barton Springs Pool is spring-fed while Deep Eddy is well-fed.", "Both range in temperature from about during the winter to about during the summer.", "Hippie Hollow Park, a county park situated along Lake Travis, is the only officially sanctioned clothing-optional public park in Texas.", "Activities include rockclimbing, kayaking, swimming, mountain biking, exploring, and hiking along the greenbelt, a long-spanning area that runs through the city.", "Some well known naturally forming swimming holes along Austin's greenbelt include Twin Falls, Sculpture Falls and Campbell's Hole.", "Zilker Park, a large green area close to downtown, forms part of the greenbelt along the Colorado River.", "Hamilton Pool is a pool and wildlife park located about 30 minutes from the city.", "To strengthen the region's parks system, which spans more than , The Austin Parks Foundation (APF) was established in 1992 to develop and improve parks in and around Austin.", "APF works to fill the city's park funding gap by leveraging volunteers, philanthropists, park advocates and strategic collaborations to develop, maintain and enhance Austin's parks, trails and green spaces.", "APF fosters innovative public/private partnerships and since 2006, has given over 145 grants totaling more than $2 million in service to the greater Austin community.", "===Crime===\nThe city had 39 homicides in 2016, the most since 1997.", "FBI Statistics show that overall violent and property crimes dropped in Austin in 2015, but increased in suburban areas of the city.", "One such Southeastern suburb, Del Valle reported 8 homicides within 2 months in 2016.", "According to 2016 APD crime statistics, the 78723 census tract had the most violent crime, with 6 murders, 25 rapes, and 81 robberies.", "One of the first American school mass-shooting incidents took place in Austin on August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman shot 43 people, killing 13 from the top of the University of Texas tower (see University of Texas tower shooting).", "This event led to the formation of the SWAT team.", "===City government===\n\n\nAustin City Hall\n\nAustin is administered by an 11-member city council (10 council members elected by geographic district plus a mayor elected at large).", "The council is accompanied by a hired city manager under the manager-council system of municipal governance.", "Council and mayoral elections are non-partisan, with a runoff in case there is no majority winner.", "A referendum approved by voters on November 6, 2012 changed the council composition from six council members plus a mayor elected at large to the current \"10+1\" district system.", "November 2014 marked the first election under the new system.", "Austin formerly operated its city hall at 128 West 8th Street.", "Antoine Predock and Cotera Kolar Negrete & Reed Architects designed a new city hall building, which was intended to reflect what ''The Dallas Morning News'' referred to as a \"crazy-quilt vitality, that embraces everything from country music to environmental protests and high-tech swagger.\"", "The new city hall, built from recycled materials, has solar panels in its garage.", "The city hall, at 301 West Second Street, opened in November 2004.", "The mayor of Austin is Steve Adler.", "Law enforcement in Austin is provided by the Austin Police Department, except for state government buildings, which are patrolled by the Texas Department of Public Safety.", "The University of Texas Police operate from the University of Texas.", "Fire protection within the city limits is provided by the Austin Fire Department, while the surrounding county is divided into twelve geographical areas known as Emergency Services Districts, which are covered by separate regional fire departments.", "Emergency Medical Services are provided for the whole county by \"Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services\".", "====State and federal representation====\nThe 8-story U.S.", "Courthouse constructed at a cost of $123 million is located at Fourth, Fifth, San Antonio, and Nueces streets in Austin (opened December 2012).", "The Texas Department of Transportation operates the Austin District Office in Austin.", "The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Austin I and Austin II district parole offices in Austin.", "The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Austin.", "===Politics===\n\n+ '''Travis County Presidential elections results'''\n\n Year\n Republican\n Democratic\n\n2016\n27.4% ''126,750\n'''66.3%''' ''306,475\n\n2012\n36.2% ''140,152\n'''60.1%''' ''232,788\n\n2008\n34.3% ''136,981\n'''63.5%''' ''254,017\n\n2004\n42.0% ''147,885\n'''56.0%''' ''197,235\n\n2000\n'''46.9%''' ''141,235\n41.7% ''125,526\n\n1996\n39.9% ''98,454\n'''52.3%''' ''128,970\n\n1992\n31.9% ''88,105\n'''47.3%''' ''130,546\n\n1988\n44.9% ''105,915\n'''54.1%''' ''127,783\n\n1984\n'''56.8%''' ''124,944\n42.8% ''94,124\n\n1980\n45.7% ''73,151\n'''46.9%''' ''75,028\n\n1976\n46.7% ''71,031\n'''51.6%''' ''78,585\n\n1972\n'''56.3%''' ''70,561\n43.2% ''54,157\n\n1968\n41.6% ''34,309\n'''48.1%''' ''39,667\n\n1964\n31.0% ''19,838\n'''68.9%''' ''44,058\n\n1960\n44.9% ''22,107\n'''54.9%''' ''27,022\n\n\nAustin is known as an enclave of liberal politics in an otherwise conservative state—so much so, that the city is sometimes sarcastically called the \"People's Republic of Austin\" by residents of other parts of Texas, and conservatives in the Texas Legislature.", "Since redistricting following the 2010 United States Census, Austin has been divided between six congressional districts at the federal level: Texas's 35th, Texas's 25th, Texas's 10th, Texas's 21st, Texas's 17th, and Texas's 31st.", "Texas's 35th congressional district is represented by Democrat Lloyd Doggett.", "The other five districts are represented by Republicans, of whom only one, Michael McCaul of the 10th district, lives in Travis County.", "As a result of the major party realignment that began in the 1970s, central Austin became a stronghold of the Democratic Party, while the suburbs tend to vote Republican.", "A controversial turning point in the political history of the Austin area was the 2003 Texas redistricting.", "Opponents characterized the resulting district layout as excessively partisan gerrymandering, and the plan was challenged in court by Democratic and minority activists; of note, the Supreme Court of the United States has never struck down a redistricting plan for being excessively partisan.", "The plan was subsequently upheld by a three-judge federal panel in late 2003, and on June 28, 2006, the matter was largely settled when the Supreme Court, in a 7–2 decision, upheld the entire congressional redistricting plan with the exception of a Hispanic-majority district in southwest Texas.", "This affected Austin's districting, as U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett's district (U.S. Congressional District 25) was found to be insufficiently compact to compensate for the reduced minority influence in the southwest district; it was redrawn so that it took in most of southeastern Travis County and several counties to its south and east.", "Overall, the city is a blend of downtown liberalism and suburban conservatism but leans to the political left as a whole.", "The city last went to a Republican candidate in 2000 when former Texas Governor George W. Bush successfully ran for President.", "In 2004, the Democrats rebounded strongly as John Kerry enjoyed a 14.0% margin over Bush, who once again won Texas.", "City residents have been supportive of alternative candidates; for example, Ralph Nader won 10.4% of the vote in Austin in 2000.", "In 2003, the city adopted a resolution against the USA PATRIOT Act that reaffirmed constitutionally guaranteed rights.", "Of Austin's six state legislative districts, three are strongly Democratic and three are swing districts, two of which are held by Democrats and one of which is held by a Republican.", "However, two of its three congressional districts (the 10th and the 21st) are presently held by Republicans, with only the 25th held by a Democrat.", "This is largely due to the 2003 redistricting, which left downtown Austin without an exclusive congressional seat of its own.", "Travis County was also the only county in Texas to reject Texas Constitutional Amendment Proposition 2 that effectively outlawed gay marriage and status equal or similar to it and did so by a wide margin (40% for, 60% against).", "Two of the candidates for president in the 2004 race called Austin home.", "Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian Party candidate, and David Cobb of the Green Party both had lived in Austin.", "During the run up to the election in November, a presidential debate was held at the University of Texas at Austin student union involving the two candidates.", "While the Commission on Presidential Debates only invites Democrats and Republicans to participate in televised debates, the debate at UT was open to all presidential candidates.", "Austin also hosted one of the last presidential debates between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their heated race for the Democratic nomination in 2008.", "In the 2016 presidential election, Travis County, which contains the majority of Austin, voted for Hillary Clinton (D) by a 38.9-point margin (66.3% to 27.4%).", "====Environmental movement====\nThe distinguishing political movement of Austin politics has been that of the environmental movement, which spawned the parallel neighborhood movement, then the more recent conservationist movement (as typified by the Hill Country Conservancy), and eventually the current ongoing debate about \"sense of place\" and preserving the Austin quality of life.", "Much of the environmental movement has matured into a debate on issues related to saving and creating an Austin \"sense of place.\"", "In 2012, Austin became just one of a few cities in Texas to ban the sale and use of plastic bags.", "Researchers at Central Connecticut State University ranked Austin the 16th most literate city in the United States for 2008.", "The Austin Public Library operates the John Henry Faulk Library and various library branches.", "In addition, the University of Texas at Austin operates the seventh-largest academic library in the nation.", "Austin was voted \"America's No.1 College Town\" by the Travel Channel.", "Over 43 percent of Austin residents age 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree, while 16 percent hold a graduate degree.", "In 2009, greater Austin ranked eighth among metropolitan areas in the United States for bachelor's degree attainment with nearly 39 percent of area residents over 25 holding a bachelor's degree.", "===Higher education===\nThe University of Texas at Austin\n\nAustin is home to the University of Texas at Austin, the flagship institution of the University of Texas System with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students.", "In 2015 rankings, the university was ranked 53rd among \"National Universities\" (17th among public universities) by ''U.S.", "News & World Report.''", "UT has annual research expenditures of over $595 million and has the highest-ranked business, engineering, and law programs of any university in the state of Texas.", "Other institutions of higher learning in Austin include St. Edward's University, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin Community College, Concordia University, the Seminary of the Southwest, the Acton School of Business, Texas Health and Science University, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Austin Graduate School of Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Virginia College's Austin Campus, The Art Institute of Austin, Southern Careers Institute of Austin, Austin Conservatory and a branch of Park University.", "===Public primary and secondary education===\nJohn Henry Faulk Library of the Austin Public Library\nThe Austin area has 29 public school districts, 17 charter schools and 69 private schools.", "Most of the city is served by the Austin Independent School District.", "This district includes notable schools such as the magnet Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School of Austin, Texas (LASA), which, by test scores, has consistently been within the top thirty high schools in the nation, as well as The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.", "Some parts of Austin are served by other districts, including Round Rock, Pflugerville, Leander, Manor, Del Valle, Lake Travis, Hays, and Eanes ISDs.", "Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in ''Expansion Management'' magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide.", "Two districts—Eanes and Round Rock—are rated \"gold medal\", the highest of the magazine's cost-performance categories.", "===Private and alternative education===\nAustin has a large network of private and alternative education institutions for children in preschool-12th grade including Abrome, ACE Academy, Acton Academy, Austin International School, Austin Jewish Academy, Austin Peace Academy, The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, The Austin Waldorf School, Brentwood Christian School, Cleaview Sudbury School, Concordia Academy, The Griffin School, Holy Family Catholic School, Huntington-Surrey, Inside Outside School, Integrity Academy, Headwaters School, Hyde Park Baptist, Kirby Hall School, Long-View Micro School, Paragon Preparatory Middle School, Progress School, Redeemer Lutheran School, Regents School of Austin, Renaissance Academy, San Juan Diego Catholic High School, Skybridge Academy, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, St. Austin Catholic School, St. Francis School, St. Gabriel's Catholic School, St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School, St. Mary's, St. Michael's Catholic Academy, St. Paul Lutheran School, St. Stephen's Episcopal School, St. Theresa's, Trinity Episcopal School, and a number of Montessori schools.", "Along with homeschooling and unschooling communities, Austin is home to a number of part-time learning environments designed to offer basic academics and inspired mentoring.", "Such current resources include the Whole Life Learning Center and AHB Community School.", "Austin is also home to child developmental institutions including the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, the Central Texas Autism Center, Johnson Center for Child Health and Development and many more.", "\nAustin's main daily newspaper is the ''Austin American-Statesman''.", "''The Austin Chronicle'' is Austin's alternative weekly, while ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin.", "Austin's business newspaper is the weekly ''Austin Business Journal''.", "''The Austin Monitor'' is an online outlet that specializes in insider reporting on City Hall, Travis County Commissioners Court, AISD, and other related local civics beats.", "The ''Monitor'' is backed by the nonprofit Capital of Texas Media Foundation.", "Austin also has numerous smaller special interest or sub-regional newspapers such as the ''Oak Hill Gazette'', ''Westlake Picayune'', ''Hill Country News'', ''Round Rock Leader'', ''NOKOA'', and ''The Villager'' among others.", "''Texas Monthly'', a major regional magazine, is also headquartered in Austin.", "The ''Texas Observer'', a muckraking biweekly political magazine, has been based in Austin for over five decades.", "The weekly ''Community Impact Newspaper'' newspaper published by John Garrett, former publisher of the ''Austin Business Journal'' has five regional editions and is delivered to every house and business within certain zip codes and all of the news is specific to those zip codes.", "Another statewide publication based in Austin is ''The Texas Tribune'', an on-line publication focused on Texas politics.", "The ''Tribune'' is \"user-supported\" through donations, a business model similar to public radio.", "The editor is Evan Smith, former editor of ''Texas Monthly''.", "Smith co-founded the ''Texas Tribune'', a nonprofit, non-partisan public media organization, with Austin venture capitalist John Thornton and veteran journalist Ross Ramsey.", "Commercial radio stations include KASE-FM (country), KVET (sports), KVET-FM (country), KKMJ-FM (adult contemporary), KLBJ (talk), KLBJ-FM (classic rock), KTSN (progressive country), KFMK (contemporary Christian), KOKE-FM (progressive country) and KPEZ (rhythmic contemporary).", "KUT-FM is the leading public radio station in Texas and produces the majority of its content locally.", "KOOP (FM) is a volunteer-run radio station with more than 60 locally produced programs.", "KVRX is the student-run college radio station of the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on local and non-mainstream music and community programming.", "Other listener-supported stations include KAZI (urban contemporary), and KMFA (classical)\n\nNetwork television stations (affiliations in parentheses) include KTBC (Fox O&O), KVUE (ABC), KXAN (NBC), KEYE-TV (CBS), KLRU (PBS), KNVA (The CW), KBVO (My Network TV), and KAKW (Univision O&O).", "KLRU produces several award-winning locally produced programs such as ''Austin City Limits''.", "Alex Jones, journalist, radio show host and filmmaker, produces his talk show ''The Alex Jones Show'' in Austin which broadcasts nationally on more than 60 AM and FM radio stations in the United States, WWCR Radio shortwave and XM Radio: Channel 166.", "Of all the people who work in Austin, 73% drive alone, 10% carpool, 6% work from home, 5% take the bus, 2% walk, and 1% bicycle.", "===Highways===\n\nThe Pennybacker Bridge is the signature element of Loop 360 in the Texas Hill Country.", "Central Austin lies between two major north-south freeways: Interstate 35 to the east and the Mopac Expressway (Loop 1) to the west.", "U.S. Highway 183 runs from northwest to southeast, and State Highway 71 crosses the southern part of the city from east to west, completing a rough \"box\" around central and north-central Austin.", "Austin is the largest city in the United States to be served by only one Interstate Highway.", "U.S. Highway 290 enters Austin from the east and merges into Interstate 35.", "Its highway designation continues south on I-35 and then becomes part of Highway 71, continuing to the west.", "Highway 290 splits from Highway 71 in southwest Austin, in an interchange known as \"The Y.\"", "Highway 71 continues to Brady, Texas, and Highway 290 continues west to intersect Interstate 10 near Junction.", "Interstate 35 continues south through San Antonio to Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border.", "Interstate 35 is the highway link to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in northern Texas.", "There are two links to Houston, Texas (Highway 290 and State Highway 71/Interstate 10).", "Highway 183 leads northwest of Austin toward Lampasas.", "In the mid-1980s, construction was completed on Loop 360, a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the 183/Mopac interchange in the north.", "The iconic Pennybacker Bridge, also known as the \"360 Bridge\", crosses Lake Austin to connect the northern and southern portions of Loop 360.", "===Tollways===\nState Highway 45\nState Highway 130 is a bypass route designed to relieve traffic congestion, starting from Interstate 35 just north of Georgetown and running along a parallel route to the east, where it bypasses Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos and New Braunfels before ending at Interstate 10 east of Seguin, where drivers could drive west to return to Interstate 35 in San Antonio.", "The first segment was opened in November 2006, which was located east of Austin–Bergstrom International Airport at Austin's southeast corner on State Highway 71.", "Highway 130 runs concurrently with Highway 45 from Pflugerville on the north until it reaches US 183 well south of Austin, where it splits off and goes west.", "The entire route of State Highway 130 is now complete with last leg, which opened on November 1, 2012.", "The highway is noted for having the entire route with a speed limit of at least .", "The 41-mile section of the toll road between Mustang Ridge and Seguin has a posted speed limit of , the highest posted speed limit in the United States.", "State Highway 45 runs east-west from just south of Highway 183 in Cedar Park to 130 inside Pflugerville (just east of Round Rock).", "A tolled extension of State Highway Loop 1 was also created.", "A new southeast leg of Highway 45 has recently been completed, running from US 183 and the south end of Segment 5 of TX-130 south of Austin due west to I-35 at the FM 1327/Creedmoor exit between the south end of Austin and Buda.", "The 183A Toll Road opened March 2007, providing a tolled alternative to U.S. 183 through the cities of Leander and Cedar Park.", "Currently under construction is a change to East US 290 from US 183 to the town of Manor.", "Officially, the tollway will be dubbed Tollway 290 with the Manor Expressway as a nickname.", "Despite the overwhelming initial opposition to the toll road concept when it was first announced, all three toll roads have exceeded revenue projections.", "===Airports===\nAustin's airport is Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) (IATA code '''AUS'''), located southeast of the city.", "The airport is on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process.", "Previously, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was the commercial airport of Austin.", "Austin Executive Airport serves the general aviation coming into the city, as well as other smaller airports outside of the city centre.", "===Intercity bus service===\nGreyhound Lines operates the Austin Station at 916 East Koenig Lane, just east of Airport Boulevard and adjacent to Highland Mall.", "Turimex Internacional operates bus service from Austin to Nuevo Laredo and on to many destinations in Mexico.", "The Turimex station is located at 5012 East 7th Street, near Shady Lane.", "Megabus offers daily service to San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston from a stop at Dobie Center.", "===Public transportation===\n\nAustin Metrorail train at Downtown Station\n\nThe Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (\"Capital Metro\") provides public transportation to the city, primarily by bus.", "Some heavily utilized routes feature bus rapid transit, with long, train-like, high-tech buses.", "Capital Metro opened a commuter rail system known as Capital MetroRail on March 22, 2010.", "The system was built on existing freight rail lines and serves downtown Austin, East Austin, North Central Austin, Northwest Austin, and Leander in its first phase.", "Future expansion could include a line to Manor and another to Round Rock.", "The MetroRail system has struggled to build ridership and has faced heavy criticism for its high per-rider cost to the public.", "Capital Metro has also explored building a light rail system to connect the MetroRail line to key destinations in Central Austin.", "On August 7, 2014, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to place a $600 million light rail bond proposal on the November 4, 2014 ballot; the ballot measure was voted down, and no further rail expansions have been put to voters since.", "Capital Area Rural Transportation System connects Austin with outlying suburbs.", "An Amtrak ''Texas Eagle'' station is located in west downtown.", "Segments of the Amtrak route between Austin and San Antonio are under evaluation for a future regional passenger rail corridor as an alternative to the traffic congestion of Interstate 35.", "This is a multi jurisdictional project called Lone Star Rail.", "Austin is also home to Car2Go, a carsharing program.", "Austin was chosen as the first city in the western hemisphere to host this company's business, which is based in Germany.", "===Cycling===\nThe 10-mile Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail along Lady Bird Lake\nAustin is known as the most bike-friendly city in Texas, and was ranked the #7 city in the US by Bicycling Magazine in 2016.", "The city's bike advocacy organization is Bike Austin.", "Bike Texas, a state-level advocacy also has its main office in Austin.", "Bicycles are a popular transportation choice among students, faculty, and staff at the University of Texas, Austin.", "According to a survey done at UT, 57% of commuters bike to campus.", "===Walkability===\nA 2013 study by Walk Score ranked Austin 35th most walkable of the 50 largest U.S. cities.", "This is considered a medium low ranking.", "Sister city monument in Austin commemorating the relationship with Saltillo\nList of sister cities of Austin, Texas, designated by Sister Cities International.", "* Adelaide, South Australia, Australia – since 1983\n* Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France – since 2011\n* Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil – since 2015\n* Antalya Kepez, Turkey – since 2009\n* Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, South Korea – since 2001\n* Hackney, Greater London, England, United Kingdom - since February 2014\n* Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – since 1991\n* Lima, Peru – since 1981\n* Maseru, Lesotho – since 1978\n* Ōita City, Japan – since 1990\n* Orlu, Imo, Nigeria – since 2000\n* Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico – since 1968\n* Taichung, Taiwan – since 1986\n* Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China – since 1997\n\nThe cities of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil and Elche, Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain were formerly sister cities, but upon a vote of the Austin City Council in 1991, their status was de-activated.", "\n* List of Austinites\n* List of companies based in Austin, Texas\n* National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas\n* Silicon Hills\n* Easton Park – a Planned unit development in the southeast portion of Austin\n* South by Southwest", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "* Long, Joshua (2010).", "''Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas''.", "University of Texas Press.", "* \n* Swearingen Jr., William Scott ''Environmental City: People, Place, and the Meaning of Modern Austin'' (University of Texas Press; 2010) 273 pages; traces the history of environmentalism in the Texas capital, which has been part of a larger effort to preserve Austin's quality of life and sense of place.", "\n* AustinTexas.gov - Official City Website\n* Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau\n* Austin Chamber of Commerce\n* Historic photographs from the Austin History Center, hosted by the Portal to Texas History\n* \n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto''' (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings, though he never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as \"branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture.\" Aalto's early career runs in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the twentieth century and many of his clients were industrialists; among these were the Ahlström-Gullichsen family. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards. What is typical for his entire career, however, is a concern for design as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a ''total work of art''; whereby he – together with his first wife Aino Aalto – would design not just the building, but give special treatments to the interior surfaces and design furniture, lamps, and furnishings and glassware. His furniture designs are considered Scandinavian Modern, in the sense of a concern for materials, especially wood, and simplification but also technical experimentation, which led to him receiving patents for various manufacturing processes, such as bent wood. The Alvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, is located in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.\n", "\n===Life===\n\nAlvar Aalto portrayed on a stamp published in 1976\nThe signature of Alvar Aalto on the wall of Jyväskylä's theatre building.\nAuditorium of the Viipuri Municipal Library in the 1930s.\nAlvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)\nAlvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)\nMain Building of the Jyväskylä University (1955)\nHeilig-Geist-Church Wolfsburg (1958-62)\n\nHugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland. His father, Johan Henrik Aalto, was a Finnish-speaking land-surveyor and his mother, Selly (Selma) Matilda (née Hackstedt) was a Swedish-speaking postmistress. When Aalto was 5 years old, the family moved to Alajärvi, and from there to Jyväskylä in Central Finland. Aalto studied at the Jyväskylä Lyceum school, where he completed his basic education in 1916 and took drawing lessons from a local artist named Jonas Heiska. In 1916 he then enrolled to study architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology. His studies were interrupted by the Finnish Civil War, which he fought in. He fought on the side of the ''White Army'' and fought at the Battle of Länkipohja and the Battle of Tampere. He built his first piece of architecture while still a student, a house for his parents, at Alajärvi. Afterwards, he continued his education, graduating in 1921. In the summer of 1922 he began his official military service, finishing at the Hamina reserve officer training school, and was promoted to reserve second lieutenant in June 1923.\n\nIn 1920, while still a student, Aalto made his first trip abroad, travelling via Stockholm to Gothenburg, where he even briefly found work with the architect Arvid Bjerke. In 1922, he accomplished his first independent piece at the Industrial Exposition in Tampere. In 1923 he returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office under the name 'Alvar Aalto, Architect and Monumental Artist'. At that same time he also wrote articles for the Jyväskylä newspaper ''Sisä-Suomi'' under the pseudonym Remus. During this time, he designed a number of small single-family houses in Jyväskylä, and the office's workload steadily increased. \n\nOn October 6, 1924, Aalto married architect Aino Marsio; their honeymoon journey to Italy was Aalto's first trip there, though Aino had previously made a study trip there. The latter trip together sealed an intellectual bond with the culture of the Mediterranean region that was to remain important to Aalto for the rest of his life. On their return, they continued with a number of local projects, notably the Jyväskylä Worker's Club, which incorporated a number of motifs which they had studied during their trip, most notably the decorations of the Festival hall modelled on the Rucellai Sepulchre in Florence by Leon Battista Alberti. Following winning the architecture competition for the Southwest Finland Agricultural Cooperative building in 1927 the Aaltos moved their office to Turku. They had made contact with the city's most progressive architect, Erik Bryggman, already before moving, and they then began collaborating with him, most notably on the Turku Fair of 1928-29. Aalto's biographer, Göran Schildt, claimed that Bryggman was the only architect with whom Aalto cooperated as an equal. With increasing works in the Finnish capital, the Aaltos' office moved again in 1933 to Helsinki.\n\nThe Aaltos designed and built a joint house-office (1935–36) for themselves in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, but later (1954–56) had a purpose-built office erected in the same neighbourhood – nowadays the former is a \"home museum\" and the latter the premises of the Alvar Aalto Academy. In 1926 the young Aaltos designed and had built for themselves a summer cottage in Alajärvi, Villa Flora. Aino Aalto died of cancer in 1949. Aino and Alvar Aalto had 2 children, a daughter Johanna \"Hanni\" Alanen, born Aalto, 1925, and a son Hamilkar Aalto, 1928. In 1952 Aalto married architect Elissa Mäkiniemi (died 1994), who had been working as an assistant in his office. In 1952 Aalto designed and had built a summer cottage, the so-called Experimental House, for himself and his new wife in Muuratsalo in Central Finland. Alvar Aalto died on 11 May 1976, in Helsinki, and is buried in the Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki. His wife and the office employees continued the works of the office which were still in progress. In 1978 the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki arranged a major exhibition of Aalto's works.\n\n===Architecture career===\n\n====Early career: classicism====\n\nAlthough he is sometimes regarded as among the first and most influential architects of Nordic modernism, a closer examination of the historical facts reveals that Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland) closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden, in particular Gunnar Asplund and Sven Markelius. What they and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries had in common was that they started off from a classical education and were first designing classical architecture, though what historians now call Nordic Classicism – a style that had been a reaction to the previous dominant style of National Romanticism – before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism. On returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect's office, Aalto busied himself with a number of single-family homes, all designed in the Nordic Classicism style, such as the manor-like house for his mother's cousin Terho Manner in Töysa in 1923, a summer villa for the Jyväskylä chief constable in 1923 and the Alatalo farmhouse in Tarvaala in 1924. During this period he also completed his first public buildings, the Jyväskylä Workers' Club in 1925, the Jyväskylä Defence Corps building in 1926 and the Seinäjoki Defence Corp building in 1924–29. Aalto also entered several architectural competitions for prestigious state public buildings, both in Finland and abroad, including the two competitions for the Finnish Parliament building in 1923 and 1924, the extension to the University of Helsinki in 1931, and the building to house the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1926–27. Furthermore, this was the period when Aalto was most prolific in his writings, with articles for professional journals and newspapers. Among his most well-known essays from this period are \"Urban culture\" (1924), \"Temple baths on Jyväskylä ridge\" (1925), \"Abbé Coignard's sermon\" (1925), and \"From doorstep to living room\" (1926).\n\nVilla Mairea in Noormarkku\nBaker House on the Charles River\nAuditorium of the University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland (1949–66)\nHouse of Culture, Helsinki\nCultural Center Wolfsburg (1958-62)\nFinlandia Hall (1962–71)\nAalto-Theater opera house in Essen, Germany\n\n====Early career: functionalism====\nThe shift in Aalto's design approach from classicism to modernism is epitomised by the Viipuri Library in Vyborg (1927–35), which went through a transformation from an originally classical competition entry proposal to the completed high-modernist building. Yet his humanistic approach is in full evidence in the library: the interior displays natural materials, warm colours, and undulating lines. Due to problems over financing and a change of site, the Viipuri Library project lasted eight years, and during that same time he also designed the Standard Apartment Building (1928-29) in Turku, Turun Sanomat Building (1929–30) and Paimio Sanatorium (1929–32). A number of factors heralded Aalto's shift towards modernism: on a personal level, Aalto's increased familiarization of international trends especially after travelling throughout Europe, but in terms of completed projects it was the client of the Standard Apartment Building giving Aalto the opportunity to experiment with concrete prefabrication, the cutting-edge Corbusian form language of the Turun Sanomat Building, and these were then carried forward both in the Paimio Sanatorium and in the ongoing design for the library. Although the Turun Sanomat Building and Paimio Sanatorium are comparatively pure modernist works, they too carried the seeds of his questioning of such an orthodox modernist approach and a move to a more daring, synthetic attitude. It has been pointed out that the planning principle for Paimio Sanatorium - the splayed wings - was indebted to the Zonnestraal Sanatorium (1925-31) by Jan Duiker, which Aalto visited while it was still under construction. But while these early Functionalist works by Aalto bear hallmarks of influences from Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and other key modernist figures of central Europe, in all these buildings Aalto nevertheless started to show his individuality in a departure from such norms with the introduction of organic references.\n\nThrough Sven Markelius, Aalto became a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), attending the second congress in Frankfurt in 1929 and the fourth congress in Athens in 1933, where he established a close friendship with László Moholy-Nagy, Sigfried Giedion and Philip Morton Shand. It was during this time that he followed closely the work of the main driving force behind the new modernism, Le Corbusier, and visited him in his Paris office several times in the following years.\n\nIt was not until the completion of the Paimio Sanatorium (1932) and Viipuri Library (1935) that Aalto first achieved world attention in architecture. His reputation grew in the USA following the invitation to hold a retrospective exhibition of his works at the MOMA in New York in 1938, which was also the first time he visited the US. The significance of the exhibition - which afterwards went on a 12-city tour of the country - lies in the fact that he was only the second ever architect - after Le Corbusier - to have a solo exhibition at the museum. His reputation grew in the USA following the critical reception of his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, described by Frank Lloyd Wright as a \"work of genius\". It could be said that Aalto's international reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion's influential book on Modernist architecture, ''Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition'' (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier. In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics, declaring that \"Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes\".\n\n====Mid career: experimentation====\nDuring the 1930s Alvar spent some time experimenting with laminated wood, making sculptures, and abstract reliefs, characterized by irregular curved forms. Utilizing this knowledge he was able to solve technical problems concerning the flexibility of wood and also of working out spatial issues in his designs. Aalto's early experiments with wood and his move away from a purist modernism would be tested in built form with the commission to design Villa Mairea (1939) in Noormarkku, the luxury home of the young industrialist couple Harry and Maire Gullichsen. It was Maire Gullichsen who acted as the main client, and she worked closely not only with Alvar but also Aino Aalto on the design, inspiring them to be more daring in their work. The original design was to include a private art gallery, but this was never built. The building forms a U-shape around a central inner \"garden\" the central feature of which is a kidney-shaped swimming pool. Adjacent to the pool is a sauna executed in a rustic style, alluding to both Finnish and Japanese precedents. The design of the house is a synthesis of numerous stylistic influences, from traditional Finnish vernacular to purist modernism, as well as influences from English and Japanese architecture. While the house is clearly intended for a wealthy family, Aalto nevertheless argued that it was also an experiment that would prove useful in the design of mass housing.\n\nHis increased fame led to offers and commissions outside Finland. In 1941 he accepted an invitation as a visiting professor to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA. Because of the Second World War, he returned to Finland to direct the Reconstruction Office. After the war, he returned to MIT, where he designed the student dormitory Baker House, completed in 1949. The dormitory lay along the Charles River and its undulating form provided maximum view and ventilation for each resident. This building was the first building of Aalto's redbrick period. Originally used in Baker House to signify the Ivy League university tradition, on his return to Finland Aalto used it in a number of key buildings, in particular, in several of the buildings in the new Helsinki University of Technology campus (starting in 1950), Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952), Helsinki Pensions Institute (1954), Helsinki House of Culture (1958), as well as in his own summer house, the so-called Experimental House in Muuratsalo (1957).\n\nIn the fifties Aalto immersed himself in his sculpting, be it with wood, bronze, marble, or mixed media. Among the notable works from this period is the memorial to the Battle of Suomussalmi (1960); located on the battlefield, it consists of a leaning bronze pillar on a pedestal.\n\n====Mature career: monumentalism====\nThe early 1960s and 1970s (up until his death in 1976) were marked by key works in Helsinki, in particular the huge town plan for the void in centre of Helsinki adjacent to Töölö Bay and the vast railway yards, and marked on the edges by significant buildings such as the National Museum and the main railway station, both by Eliel Saarinen. In his town plan Aalto proposed a line of separate marble-clad buildings fronting the bay which would house various cultural institutions, including a concert hall, opera, museum of architecture and headquarters for the Finnish Academy. The scheme also extended into the Kamppi district with a series of tall office blocks. Aalto first presented his scheme in 1961, but it went through various modifications during the early 1960s. Only two fragments of the overall plan were ever realized: the Finlandia Hall concert hall (1976) fronting Töölö Bay, and an office building in the Kamppi district for the Helsinki Electricity Company (1975). The Miesian formal language of geometric grids employed in the buildings was also used by Aalto for other sites in Helsinki, including the Enso-Gutzeit building (1962), the Academic Bookstore (1962) and the SYP Bank building (1969).\n\nFollowing Aalto's death in 1976 his office continued to operate under the direction of his widow, Elissa, completing works already to some extent designed. These works include the Jyväskylä City Theatre and Essen opera house. Since the death of Elissa Aalto the office has continued to operate as the Alvar Aalto Academy, giving advice on the restoration of Aalto buildings and organising the vast archive material.\n", "Paimio chair \nWhereas Aalto was famous for his architecture, his furniture designs were well thought of and are still popular today. He studied Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte, and for a period of time, worked under Eliel Saarinen. He also gained inspiration from Gebrüder Thonet. During the late 1920s and 1930s he, working closely with Aino Aalto, also focused a lot of his energy on furniture design, partly due to the decision to design much of the individual furniture pieces and lamps for the Paimio Sanatorium. Of particular significance was the experimentation in bent plywood chairs, most notably the so-called Paimio chair, which had been designed for the sitting tuberculosis patient. The Aaltos, together with visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl founded the Artek company in 1935, ostensibly to sell Aalto products but also other imported products. He became the first furniture designer to use the cantilever principle in chair design using wood.\n", "Aalto's awards included the Prince Eugen Medal in 1954, the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1957 and the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1963. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1957. He also was a member of the Academy of Finland, and was its president from 1963 to 1968. From 1925 to 1956 he was a member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne. In 1960 he received an honorary doctorate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).\n", "Aalto's career spans the changes in style from (Nordic Classicism) to purist International Style Modernism to a more personal, synthetic and idiosyncratic Modernism. Aalto's wide field of design activity ranges from the large scale of city planning and architecture to interior design, furniture and glassware design and painting. It has been estimated that during his entire career Aalto designed over 500 individual buildings, approximately 300 of which were built, the vast majority of which are in Finland. He also has a few buildings in France, Germany, Italy and the USA.\n\nAalto's work with wood, was influenced by early Scandinavian architects; however, his experiments and departure from the norm brought attention to his ability to make wood do things not previously done. His techniques in the way he cut the beech tree, for example, and also his ability to use plywood as structural and aesthetic. Other examples include the rough-hewn vertical placement of logs at his pavilion at the Lapua expo, looking similar to a medieval barricade, at the orchestra platform at turku and the Paris expo at the World Fair, he used varying sizes and shapes of planks. Also at Paris and at Villa Mairea he utilized birch boarding in a vertical arrangement. Also his famous undulating walls and ceilings made of red pine. In his roofing, he created massive spans (155-foot at the covered statium at Otaniemi) all without tie rods. His stairway at Villa Mairea, he evokes feelings of a natural forest by binding beech wood with withes into columns.\n\nAalto claimed that his paintings were not made as individual artworks but as part of his process of architectural design, and many of his small-scale \"sculptural\" experiments with wood led to later larger architectural details and forms. These experiments also led to a number of patents: for example, he invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932 (which was patented in 1933). His experimental method had been influenced by his meetings with various members of the Bauhaus design school, especially László Moholy-Nagy, whom he first met in 1930. Aalto's furniture was exhibited in London in 1935, to great critical acclaim, and to cope with the consumer demand Aalto, together with his wife Aino, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl founded the company Artek that same year. Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured by Iittala.\n\nAalto's 'High Stool' and 'Stool E60' (manufactured by Artek) are currently used in Apple Stores across the world to serve as seating for customers. Finished in black lacquer, the stools are used to seat customers at the 'Genius Bar' and also in other areas of the store at times when seating is required for a product workshop or special event. Aalto was also influential in bringing modern art to the knowledge of the Finnish people, in particular the work of his friends, Alexander Milne Calder and Fernand Léger.\n\n===Significant buildings===\nKUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark (1958–72)\nChurch of Santa Maria Assunta, Riola of Vergato, Italy, designed in 1966 and built 1975-1978. Photo by Paolo Monti, 1980.\n\nTable and chairs designed by Alvar Aalto\nTea cart (tea trolley)\nArmchair 400 with reindeer fur\n\n\n\n* 1921–1923: Bell tower of Kauhajärvi Church, Lapua, Finland\n* 1924–1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi, Finland\n* 1926–1929: Defence Corps Building, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1927-1928: South-West Finland Agricultural Cooperative building, Turku, Finland\n* 1927–1935: Municipal library, Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia)\n* 1928–1929, 1930: ''Turun Sanomat'' newspaper offices, Turku, Finland\n* 1928–1933: Paimio Sanatorium, Tuberculosis sanatorium and staff housing, Paimio, Finland\n* 1931: Toppila paper mill in Oulu, Finland\n* 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (former Yugoslavia)\n* 1932: Villa Tammekann, Tartu, Estonia\n* 1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior, Zürich, Switzerland\n* 1936–1939: Ahlstrom Sunila Pulp Mill, Housing, and Town Plan, Kotka\n* 1937–1939: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland\n* 1939: Finnish Pavilion, at the 1939 New York World's Fair\n* 1945: Sawmill at Varkaus\n* 1947–1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA\n* 1949–1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland\n* 1949–1952: Säynätsalo Town Hall, 1949 competition, built 1952, Säynätsalo (now part of Jyväskylä), Finland\n* 1950–1957: National Pension Institution office building, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1951–1971: University of Jyväskylä various buildings and facilities on the university campus, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1952–1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1953: The Experimental House, Muuratsalo, Finland\n* 1956–1958: Home for Louis Carre, Bazoches, France\n* 1956–1958: Church of the Three Crosses, Vuoksenniska, Imatra, Finland\n* 1957–1967: Town center (Town library, Lakeuden Risti Church and central administrative buildings), Seinäjoki, Finland\n* 1958: Post and telegraph office, Baghdad, Iraq\n* 1958–1972: KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark\n* 1959–1962: Community Centre, Wolfsburg, Germany\n* 1959–1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1962: Aalto-Hochhaus, Bremen, Germany\n* 1964–1965: Institute of International Education, New York City\n* 1965: Regional Library of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland\n* 1962–1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1963–1965: Building for Västmanland-Dala nation, Uppsala, Sweden\n* 1967–1970: Library at the Mount Angel Abbey, St. Benedict, Salem, Oregon, USA\n* 1965–1968: Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland\n* 1966 (built 1975-1978): Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Riola of Vergato, Italy\n* 1973: Alvar Aalto Museum, a.k.a. Taidemuseo, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1970-1973: Sähkötalo, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1959–1988: Essen opera house, Essen, Germany\n\n===Furniture and glassware===\n\n;Chairs\n* 1932: Paimio Chair\n* 1933: Three-legged stacking Stool 60\n* 1933: Four-legged Stool E60\n* 1935-6: Armchair 404 (a/k/a/ Zebra Tank Chair)\n* 1939: Armchair 406\n;Lamps\n* 1954: Floor lamp A805\n* 1959: Floor lamp A810\n;Vases\n* 1936: Aalto Vase\n", "* \"God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.\" Alvar Aalto, ''Sketches'', 1978, 104.\n* \"We should work for simple, good, undecorated things\" and he continues, \"but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.\" Alvar Aalto, speech in London 1957.\n", "As already mentioned, Aalto's international reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion's influential book on Modernist architecture, ''Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition'' (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier. In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics, declaring that \"Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes\". However, a few more recent architecture critics and historians have questioned Aalto's position of influence in the canonic history. Italian Marxist architecture historians Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co put forward the viewpoint that Aalto's \"historical significance has perhaps been rather exaggerated; with Aalto we are outside of the great themes that have made the course of contemporary architecture so dramatic. The qualities of his works have a meaning only as masterful distractions, not subject to reproduction outside the remote reality in which they have their roots.\" Their viewpoint was propounded by their own priority given to urbanism, seeing Aalto as an anti-urban, and thus consequently disparaging what they regarded as peripheral non-urban areas of the world: \"Essentially his architecture is not appropriate to urban typologies.\" Similarly concerned with the appropriateness of Aalto's form language, at the other end of the political spectrum, American postmodernist critic Charles Jencks made a claim for the need for buildings to signify meaning; however, he then lifted out Aalto's Pensions Institute building as an example of what he termed Aalto's 'soft paternalism': \"Conceived as a fragmented mass to break up the feeling of bureaucracy, it succeeds all too well in being humane and killing the pensioner with kindness. The forms are familiar red brick and ribbon-strip windows broken by copper and bronze elements – all carried through with a literal-mindedness that borders on the soporific.\" But also during Aalto's lifetime he faced critique from his fellow architects in Finland, most notably Kirmo Mikkola and Juhani Pallasmaa; by the last decade of his life Aalto's work was seen as idiosyncratic and individualistic, when the opposing tendencies of rationalism and constructivism – often championed under left-wing politics – argued for anonymous virtually non-aesthetic architecture. Mikkola wrote of Aalto's late works: \"Aalto has moved to his present baroque line...\"\n", "Aalto has been commemorated in a number of ways:\n* Alvar Aalto is the eponym of the Alvar Aalto Medal, now considered one of world architecture's most prestigious awards.\n* Aalto was featured in the 50 mk note in the last series of the Finnish markka (before its replacement by the Euro in 2002).\n* The centenary of Aalto's birth in 1898 was marked in Finland not only by several books and exhibitions, but also by the promotion of specially bottled red and white Aalto Wine and a specially designed cupcake.\n* In 1976, the year of his death, Aalto was commemorated on a Finnish postage stamp.\n* Piazza Alvar Aalto, a square named after Aalto, can be found in the Porta Nuova business district of Milan, Italy\n* Aalto University, a Finnish university formed by merging Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and TaiK in 2010, is named after Alvar Aalto.\n* An Alvar Aallon katu (Alvar Aalto Street) can be found in five different Finnish cities: Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kotka and Seinäjoki.\n", "*Architecture of Finland\n*Aino Aalto\n*Elissa Aalto\n", "\n", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n\n", "Göran Schildt has written and edited many books on Aalto, the most well-known being the three-volume biography, usually referred to as the definitive biography on Aalto.\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n;Other books\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Jormakka, Kari; Gargus, Jacqueline; Graf, Douglas ''The Use and Abuse of Paper. Essays on Alvar Aalto''. Datutop 20: Tampere 1999.\n* \n\n;Aalto research\n* The extensive archives of Alvar Aalto are nowadays kept at the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä, Finland. Material is also available from the former offices of Aalto, at Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, nowadays the headquarters of the Alvar Aalto Foundation.\n* Since 1995 the Alvar Aalto Museum and Aalto Academy has published a journal, ''Ptah'', which is devoted not only to Aalto scholarship but also to architecture generally as well as theory, design and art.\n", "\n\n;Archives\n* Alvar Aalto Foundation Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawings and writings.\n\n;Resources\n* \n* Alvar Aalto biography at FinnishDesign.com\n* Short Biographies: Alvar Aalto\n* Aalto bibliography – From the official site\n* Alvar Aalto – Design Dictionary Illustrated article about Alvar Aalto\n* Alvar Aalto Biography in Spanish about Alvar Aalto\n* Modern Furniture and the history of Moulded Plywood Role played by Alvar Alto in the use of Moulded plywood for furniture.\n* \n* \n* Map of the Alvar Aalto works – Wikiartmap, the art map of the public space\n*\n\n;Catalogs\n* Artek.fi, Aalto furniture; company founded by Aalto.\n* Alvar Aalto glassware, iittala.com\n* Between Humanism and Materialism New York Museum of Modern Art exhibit site. Contains an especially useful timeline of his life and career.\n\n;Buildings and reviews\n* Checkonsite.com – Alvar Aalto architecture guide.\n* \"Ahead of the curve\" ''The Guardian'' – Fiona MacCarthy recalls a shared lunch of smoked reindeer and schnapps in his elegant Helsinki restaurant\n* Baker House\n* North Jutland Museum\n* S. Maria Assunta – Riola BO Italy\n\n;Shops\n* Alvar Aalto Shop (official Alvar Aalto Foundation & Alvar Aalto Museum online store)\n* Alvar Aalto Collection Tomorrow's Antique Alvar Aalto furniture collection.\n* Coliseum-shop.com Alvar Aalto Furniture Selection.\n* Aalto.com – Alvar Aalto Collection Shop dedicated to Alvar Aalto designs.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Biography", "Furniture career", "Awards", "Works", "Quotes", "Critique of Aalto's architecture", "Memorials", "See also", "References", "Sources", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "The Miesian formal language of geometric grids employed in the buildings was also used by Aalto for other sites in Helsinki, including the Enso-Gutzeit building (1962), the Academic Bookstore (1962) and the SYP Bank building (1969)." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto''' (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer.", "His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings, though he never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as \"branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture.\"", "Aalto's early career runs in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the twentieth century and many of his clients were industrialists; among these were the Ahlström-Gullichsen family.", "The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards.", "What is typical for his entire career, however, is a concern for design as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a ''total work of art''; whereby he – together with his first wife Aino Aalto – would design not just the building, but give special treatments to the interior surfaces and design furniture, lamps, and furnishings and glassware.", "His furniture designs are considered Scandinavian Modern, in the sense of a concern for materials, especially wood, and simplification but also technical experimentation, which led to him receiving patents for various manufacturing processes, such as bent wood.", "The Alvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, is located in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.", "\n===Life===\n\nAlvar Aalto portrayed on a stamp published in 1976\nThe signature of Alvar Aalto on the wall of Jyväskylä's theatre building.", "Auditorium of the Viipuri Municipal Library in the 1930s.", "Alvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)\nAlvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)\nMain Building of the Jyväskylä University (1955)\nHeilig-Geist-Church Wolfsburg (1958-62)\n\nHugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland.", "His father, Johan Henrik Aalto, was a Finnish-speaking land-surveyor and his mother, Selly (Selma) Matilda (née Hackstedt) was a Swedish-speaking postmistress.", "When Aalto was 5 years old, the family moved to Alajärvi, and from there to Jyväskylä in Central Finland.", "Aalto studied at the Jyväskylä Lyceum school, where he completed his basic education in 1916 and took drawing lessons from a local artist named Jonas Heiska.", "In 1916 he then enrolled to study architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology.", "His studies were interrupted by the Finnish Civil War, which he fought in.", "He fought on the side of the ''White Army'' and fought at the Battle of Länkipohja and the Battle of Tampere.", "He built his first piece of architecture while still a student, a house for his parents, at Alajärvi.", "Afterwards, he continued his education, graduating in 1921.", "In the summer of 1922 he began his official military service, finishing at the Hamina reserve officer training school, and was promoted to reserve second lieutenant in June 1923.", "In 1920, while still a student, Aalto made his first trip abroad, travelling via Stockholm to Gothenburg, where he even briefly found work with the architect Arvid Bjerke.", "In 1922, he accomplished his first independent piece at the Industrial Exposition in Tampere.", "In 1923 he returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office under the name 'Alvar Aalto, Architect and Monumental Artist'.", "At that same time he also wrote articles for the Jyväskylä newspaper ''Sisä-Suomi'' under the pseudonym Remus.", "During this time, he designed a number of small single-family houses in Jyväskylä, and the office's workload steadily increased.", "On October 6, 1924, Aalto married architect Aino Marsio; their honeymoon journey to Italy was Aalto's first trip there, though Aino had previously made a study trip there.", "The latter trip together sealed an intellectual bond with the culture of the Mediterranean region that was to remain important to Aalto for the rest of his life.", "On their return, they continued with a number of local projects, notably the Jyväskylä Worker's Club, which incorporated a number of motifs which they had studied during their trip, most notably the decorations of the Festival hall modelled on the Rucellai Sepulchre in Florence by Leon Battista Alberti.", "Following winning the architecture competition for the Southwest Finland Agricultural Cooperative building in 1927 the Aaltos moved their office to Turku.", "They had made contact with the city's most progressive architect, Erik Bryggman, already before moving, and they then began collaborating with him, most notably on the Turku Fair of 1928-29.", "Aalto's biographer, Göran Schildt, claimed that Bryggman was the only architect with whom Aalto cooperated as an equal.", "With increasing works in the Finnish capital, the Aaltos' office moved again in 1933 to Helsinki.", "The Aaltos designed and built a joint house-office (1935–36) for themselves in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, but later (1954–56) had a purpose-built office erected in the same neighbourhood – nowadays the former is a \"home museum\" and the latter the premises of the Alvar Aalto Academy.", "In 1926 the young Aaltos designed and had built for themselves a summer cottage in Alajärvi, Villa Flora.", "Aino Aalto died of cancer in 1949.", "Aino and Alvar Aalto had 2 children, a daughter Johanna \"Hanni\" Alanen, born Aalto, 1925, and a son Hamilkar Aalto, 1928.", "In 1952 Aalto married architect Elissa Mäkiniemi (died 1994), who had been working as an assistant in his office.", "In 1952 Aalto designed and had built a summer cottage, the so-called Experimental House, for himself and his new wife in Muuratsalo in Central Finland.", "Alvar Aalto died on 11 May 1976, in Helsinki, and is buried in the Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki.", "His wife and the office employees continued the works of the office which were still in progress.", "In 1978 the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki arranged a major exhibition of Aalto's works.", "===Architecture career===\n\n====Early career: classicism====\n\nAlthough he is sometimes regarded as among the first and most influential architects of Nordic modernism, a closer examination of the historical facts reveals that Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland) closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden, in particular Gunnar Asplund and Sven Markelius.", "What they and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries had in common was that they started off from a classical education and were first designing classical architecture, though what historians now call Nordic Classicism – a style that had been a reaction to the previous dominant style of National Romanticism – before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism.", "On returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect's office, Aalto busied himself with a number of single-family homes, all designed in the Nordic Classicism style, such as the manor-like house for his mother's cousin Terho Manner in Töysa in 1923, a summer villa for the Jyväskylä chief constable in 1923 and the Alatalo farmhouse in Tarvaala in 1924.", "During this period he also completed his first public buildings, the Jyväskylä Workers' Club in 1925, the Jyväskylä Defence Corps building in 1926 and the Seinäjoki Defence Corp building in 1924–29.", "Aalto also entered several architectural competitions for prestigious state public buildings, both in Finland and abroad, including the two competitions for the Finnish Parliament building in 1923 and 1924, the extension to the University of Helsinki in 1931, and the building to house the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1926–27.", "Furthermore, this was the period when Aalto was most prolific in his writings, with articles for professional journals and newspapers.", "Among his most well-known essays from this period are \"Urban culture\" (1924), \"Temple baths on Jyväskylä ridge\" (1925), \"Abbé Coignard's sermon\" (1925), and \"From doorstep to living room\" (1926).", "Villa Mairea in Noormarkku\nBaker House on the Charles River\nAuditorium of the University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland (1949–66)\nHouse of Culture, Helsinki\nCultural Center Wolfsburg (1958-62)\nFinlandia Hall (1962–71)\nAalto-Theater opera house in Essen, Germany\n\n====Early career: functionalism====\nThe shift in Aalto's design approach from classicism to modernism is epitomised by the Viipuri Library in Vyborg (1927–35), which went through a transformation from an originally classical competition entry proposal to the completed high-modernist building.", "Yet his humanistic approach is in full evidence in the library: the interior displays natural materials, warm colours, and undulating lines.", "Due to problems over financing and a change of site, the Viipuri Library project lasted eight years, and during that same time he also designed the Standard Apartment Building (1928-29) in Turku, Turun Sanomat Building (1929–30) and Paimio Sanatorium (1929–32).", "A number of factors heralded Aalto's shift towards modernism: on a personal level, Aalto's increased familiarization of international trends especially after travelling throughout Europe, but in terms of completed projects it was the client of the Standard Apartment Building giving Aalto the opportunity to experiment with concrete prefabrication, the cutting-edge Corbusian form language of the Turun Sanomat Building, and these were then carried forward both in the Paimio Sanatorium and in the ongoing design for the library.", "Although the Turun Sanomat Building and Paimio Sanatorium are comparatively pure modernist works, they too carried the seeds of his questioning of such an orthodox modernist approach and a move to a more daring, synthetic attitude.", "It has been pointed out that the planning principle for Paimio Sanatorium - the splayed wings - was indebted to the Zonnestraal Sanatorium (1925-31) by Jan Duiker, which Aalto visited while it was still under construction.", "But while these early Functionalist works by Aalto bear hallmarks of influences from Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and other key modernist figures of central Europe, in all these buildings Aalto nevertheless started to show his individuality in a departure from such norms with the introduction of organic references.", "Through Sven Markelius, Aalto became a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), attending the second congress in Frankfurt in 1929 and the fourth congress in Athens in 1933, where he established a close friendship with László Moholy-Nagy, Sigfried Giedion and Philip Morton Shand.", "It was during this time that he followed closely the work of the main driving force behind the new modernism, Le Corbusier, and visited him in his Paris office several times in the following years.", "It was not until the completion of the Paimio Sanatorium (1932) and Viipuri Library (1935) that Aalto first achieved world attention in architecture.", "His reputation grew in the USA following the invitation to hold a retrospective exhibition of his works at the MOMA in New York in 1938, which was also the first time he visited the US.", "The significance of the exhibition - which afterwards went on a 12-city tour of the country - lies in the fact that he was only the second ever architect - after Le Corbusier - to have a solo exhibition at the museum.", "His reputation grew in the USA following the critical reception of his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, described by Frank Lloyd Wright as a \"work of genius\".", "It could be said that Aalto's international reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion's influential book on Modernist architecture, ''Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition'' (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier.", "In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics, declaring that \"Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes\".", "====Mid career: experimentation====\nDuring the 1930s Alvar spent some time experimenting with laminated wood, making sculptures, and abstract reliefs, characterized by irregular curved forms.", "Utilizing this knowledge he was able to solve technical problems concerning the flexibility of wood and also of working out spatial issues in his designs.", "Aalto's early experiments with wood and his move away from a purist modernism would be tested in built form with the commission to design Villa Mairea (1939) in Noormarkku, the luxury home of the young industrialist couple Harry and Maire Gullichsen.", "It was Maire Gullichsen who acted as the main client, and she worked closely not only with Alvar but also Aino Aalto on the design, inspiring them to be more daring in their work.", "The original design was to include a private art gallery, but this was never built.", "The building forms a U-shape around a central inner \"garden\" the central feature of which is a kidney-shaped swimming pool.", "Adjacent to the pool is a sauna executed in a rustic style, alluding to both Finnish and Japanese precedents.", "The design of the house is a synthesis of numerous stylistic influences, from traditional Finnish vernacular to purist modernism, as well as influences from English and Japanese architecture.", "While the house is clearly intended for a wealthy family, Aalto nevertheless argued that it was also an experiment that would prove useful in the design of mass housing.", "His increased fame led to offers and commissions outside Finland.", "In 1941 he accepted an invitation as a visiting professor to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA.", "Because of the Second World War, he returned to Finland to direct the Reconstruction Office.", "After the war, he returned to MIT, where he designed the student dormitory Baker House, completed in 1949.", "The dormitory lay along the Charles River and its undulating form provided maximum view and ventilation for each resident.", "This building was the first building of Aalto's redbrick period.", "Originally used in Baker House to signify the Ivy League university tradition, on his return to Finland Aalto used it in a number of key buildings, in particular, in several of the buildings in the new Helsinki University of Technology campus (starting in 1950), Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952), Helsinki Pensions Institute (1954), Helsinki House of Culture (1958), as well as in his own summer house, the so-called Experimental House in Muuratsalo (1957).", "In the fifties Aalto immersed himself in his sculpting, be it with wood, bronze, marble, or mixed media.", "Among the notable works from this period is the memorial to the Battle of Suomussalmi (1960); located on the battlefield, it consists of a leaning bronze pillar on a pedestal.", "====Mature career: monumentalism====\nThe early 1960s and 1970s (up until his death in 1976) were marked by key works in Helsinki, in particular the huge town plan for the void in centre of Helsinki adjacent to Töölö Bay and the vast railway yards, and marked on the edges by significant buildings such as the National Museum and the main railway station, both by Eliel Saarinen.", "In his town plan Aalto proposed a line of separate marble-clad buildings fronting the bay which would house various cultural institutions, including a concert hall, opera, museum of architecture and headquarters for the Finnish Academy.", "The scheme also extended into the Kamppi district with a series of tall office blocks.", "Aalto first presented his scheme in 1961, but it went through various modifications during the early 1960s.", "Only two fragments of the overall plan were ever realized: the Finlandia Hall concert hall (1976) fronting Töölö Bay, and an office building in the Kamppi district for the Helsinki Electricity Company (1975).", "Following Aalto's death in 1976 his office continued to operate under the direction of his widow, Elissa, completing works already to some extent designed.", "These works include the Jyväskylä City Theatre and Essen opera house.", "Since the death of Elissa Aalto the office has continued to operate as the Alvar Aalto Academy, giving advice on the restoration of Aalto buildings and organising the vast archive material.", "Paimio chair \nWhereas Aalto was famous for his architecture, his furniture designs were well thought of and are still popular today.", "He studied Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstätte, and for a period of time, worked under Eliel Saarinen.", "He also gained inspiration from Gebrüder Thonet.", "During the late 1920s and 1930s he, working closely with Aino Aalto, also focused a lot of his energy on furniture design, partly due to the decision to design much of the individual furniture pieces and lamps for the Paimio Sanatorium.", "Of particular significance was the experimentation in bent plywood chairs, most notably the so-called Paimio chair, which had been designed for the sitting tuberculosis patient.", "The Aaltos, together with visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl founded the Artek company in 1935, ostensibly to sell Aalto products but also other imported products.", "He became the first furniture designer to use the cantilever principle in chair design using wood.", "Aalto's awards included the Prince Eugen Medal in 1954, the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1957 and the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1963.", "He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1957.", "He also was a member of the Academy of Finland, and was its president from 1963 to 1968.", "From 1925 to 1956 he was a member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne.", "In 1960 he received an honorary doctorate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).", "Aalto's career spans the changes in style from (Nordic Classicism) to purist International Style Modernism to a more personal, synthetic and idiosyncratic Modernism.", "Aalto's wide field of design activity ranges from the large scale of city planning and architecture to interior design, furniture and glassware design and painting.", "It has been estimated that during his entire career Aalto designed over 500 individual buildings, approximately 300 of which were built, the vast majority of which are in Finland.", "He also has a few buildings in France, Germany, Italy and the USA.", "Aalto's work with wood, was influenced by early Scandinavian architects; however, his experiments and departure from the norm brought attention to his ability to make wood do things not previously done.", "His techniques in the way he cut the beech tree, for example, and also his ability to use plywood as structural and aesthetic.", "Other examples include the rough-hewn vertical placement of logs at his pavilion at the Lapua expo, looking similar to a medieval barricade, at the orchestra platform at turku and the Paris expo at the World Fair, he used varying sizes and shapes of planks.", "Also at Paris and at Villa Mairea he utilized birch boarding in a vertical arrangement.", "Also his famous undulating walls and ceilings made of red pine.", "In his roofing, he created massive spans (155-foot at the covered statium at Otaniemi) all without tie rods.", "His stairway at Villa Mairea, he evokes feelings of a natural forest by binding beech wood with withes into columns.", "Aalto claimed that his paintings were not made as individual artworks but as part of his process of architectural design, and many of his small-scale \"sculptural\" experiments with wood led to later larger architectural details and forms.", "These experiments also led to a number of patents: for example, he invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932 (which was patented in 1933).", "His experimental method had been influenced by his meetings with various members of the Bauhaus design school, especially László Moholy-Nagy, whom he first met in 1930.", "Aalto's furniture was exhibited in London in 1935, to great critical acclaim, and to cope with the consumer demand Aalto, together with his wife Aino, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl founded the company Artek that same year.", "Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured by Iittala.", "Aalto's 'High Stool' and 'Stool E60' (manufactured by Artek) are currently used in Apple Stores across the world to serve as seating for customers.", "Finished in black lacquer, the stools are used to seat customers at the 'Genius Bar' and also in other areas of the store at times when seating is required for a product workshop or special event.", "Aalto was also influential in bringing modern art to the knowledge of the Finnish people, in particular the work of his friends, Alexander Milne Calder and Fernand Léger.", "===Significant buildings===\nKUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark (1958–72)\nChurch of Santa Maria Assunta, Riola of Vergato, Italy, designed in 1966 and built 1975-1978.", "Photo by Paolo Monti, 1980.", "Table and chairs designed by Alvar Aalto\nTea cart (tea trolley)\nArmchair 400 with reindeer fur\n\n\n\n* 1921–1923: Bell tower of Kauhajärvi Church, Lapua, Finland\n* 1924–1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi, Finland\n* 1926–1929: Defence Corps Building, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1927-1928: South-West Finland Agricultural Cooperative building, Turku, Finland\n* 1927–1935: Municipal library, Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia)\n* 1928–1929, 1930: ''Turun Sanomat'' newspaper offices, Turku, Finland\n* 1928–1933: Paimio Sanatorium, Tuberculosis sanatorium and staff housing, Paimio, Finland\n* 1931: Toppila paper mill in Oulu, Finland\n* 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (former Yugoslavia)\n* 1932: Villa Tammekann, Tartu, Estonia\n* 1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior, Zürich, Switzerland\n* 1936–1939: Ahlstrom Sunila Pulp Mill, Housing, and Town Plan, Kotka\n* 1937–1939: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland\n* 1939: Finnish Pavilion, at the 1939 New York World's Fair\n* 1945: Sawmill at Varkaus\n* 1947–1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA\n* 1949–1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland\n* 1949–1952: Säynätsalo Town Hall, 1949 competition, built 1952, Säynätsalo (now part of Jyväskylä), Finland\n* 1950–1957: National Pension Institution office building, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1951–1971: University of Jyväskylä various buildings and facilities on the university campus, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1952–1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1953: The Experimental House, Muuratsalo, Finland\n* 1956–1958: Home for Louis Carre, Bazoches, France\n* 1956–1958: Church of the Three Crosses, Vuoksenniska, Imatra, Finland\n* 1957–1967: Town center (Town library, Lakeuden Risti Church and central administrative buildings), Seinäjoki, Finland\n* 1958: Post and telegraph office, Baghdad, Iraq\n* 1958–1972: KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark\n* 1959–1962: Community Centre, Wolfsburg, Germany\n* 1959–1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1962: Aalto-Hochhaus, Bremen, Germany\n* 1964–1965: Institute of International Education, New York City\n* 1965: Regional Library of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland\n* 1962–1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1963–1965: Building for Västmanland-Dala nation, Uppsala, Sweden\n* 1967–1970: Library at the Mount Angel Abbey, St. Benedict, Salem, Oregon, USA\n* 1965–1968: Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland\n* 1966 (built 1975-1978): Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Riola of Vergato, Italy\n* 1973: Alvar Aalto Museum, a.k.a.", "Taidemuseo, Jyväskylä, Finland\n* 1970-1973: Sähkötalo, Helsinki, Finland\n* 1959–1988: Essen opera house, Essen, Germany\n\n===Furniture and glassware===\n\n;Chairs\n* 1932: Paimio Chair\n* 1933: Three-legged stacking Stool 60\n* 1933: Four-legged Stool E60\n* 1935-6: Armchair 404 (a/k/a/ Zebra Tank Chair)\n* 1939: Armchair 406\n;Lamps\n* 1954: Floor lamp A805\n* 1959: Floor lamp A810\n;Vases\n* 1936: Aalto Vase", "* \"God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it.", "Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.\"", "Alvar Aalto, ''Sketches'', 1978, 104.", "* \"We should work for simple, good, undecorated things\" and he continues, \"but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.\"", "Alvar Aalto, speech in London 1957.", "As already mentioned, Aalto's international reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion's influential book on Modernist architecture, ''Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition'' (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier.", "In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics, declaring that \"Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes\".", "However, a few more recent architecture critics and historians have questioned Aalto's position of influence in the canonic history.", "Italian Marxist architecture historians Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co put forward the viewpoint that Aalto's \"historical significance has perhaps been rather exaggerated; with Aalto we are outside of the great themes that have made the course of contemporary architecture so dramatic.", "The qualities of his works have a meaning only as masterful distractions, not subject to reproduction outside the remote reality in which they have their roots.\"", "Their viewpoint was propounded by their own priority given to urbanism, seeing Aalto as an anti-urban, and thus consequently disparaging what they regarded as peripheral non-urban areas of the world: \"Essentially his architecture is not appropriate to urban typologies.\"", "Similarly concerned with the appropriateness of Aalto's form language, at the other end of the political spectrum, American postmodernist critic Charles Jencks made a claim for the need for buildings to signify meaning; however, he then lifted out Aalto's Pensions Institute building as an example of what he termed Aalto's 'soft paternalism': \"Conceived as a fragmented mass to break up the feeling of bureaucracy, it succeeds all too well in being humane and killing the pensioner with kindness.", "The forms are familiar red brick and ribbon-strip windows broken by copper and bronze elements – all carried through with a literal-mindedness that borders on the soporific.\"", "But also during Aalto's lifetime he faced critique from his fellow architects in Finland, most notably Kirmo Mikkola and Juhani Pallasmaa; by the last decade of his life Aalto's work was seen as idiosyncratic and individualistic, when the opposing tendencies of rationalism and constructivism – often championed under left-wing politics – argued for anonymous virtually non-aesthetic architecture.", "Mikkola wrote of Aalto's late works: \"Aalto has moved to his present baroque line...\"", "Aalto has been commemorated in a number of ways:\n* Alvar Aalto is the eponym of the Alvar Aalto Medal, now considered one of world architecture's most prestigious awards.", "* Aalto was featured in the 50 mk note in the last series of the Finnish markka (before its replacement by the Euro in 2002).", "* The centenary of Aalto's birth in 1898 was marked in Finland not only by several books and exhibitions, but also by the promotion of specially bottled red and white Aalto Wine and a specially designed cupcake.", "* In 1976, the year of his death, Aalto was commemorated on a Finnish postage stamp.", "* Piazza Alvar Aalto, a square named after Aalto, can be found in the Porta Nuova business district of Milan, Italy\n* Aalto University, a Finnish university formed by merging Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and TaiK in 2010, is named after Alvar Aalto.", "* An Alvar Aallon katu (Alvar Aalto Street) can be found in five different Finnish cities: Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kotka and Seinäjoki.", "*Architecture of Finland\n*Aino Aalto\n*Elissa Aalto", "\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n*", "Göran Schildt has written and edited many books on Aalto, the most well-known being the three-volume biography, usually referred to as the definitive biography on Aalto.", "* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n\n;Other books\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Jormakka, Kari; Gargus, Jacqueline; Graf, Douglas ''The Use and Abuse of Paper.", "Essays on Alvar Aalto''.", "Datutop 20: Tampere 1999.", "* \n\n;Aalto research\n* The extensive archives of Alvar Aalto are nowadays kept at the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä, Finland.", "Material is also available from the former offices of Aalto, at Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, nowadays the headquarters of the Alvar Aalto Foundation.", "* Since 1995 the Alvar Aalto Museum and Aalto Academy has published a journal, ''Ptah'', which is devoted not only to Aalto scholarship but also to architecture generally as well as theory, design and art.", "\n\n;Archives\n* Alvar Aalto Foundation Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawings and writings.", ";Resources\n* \n* Alvar Aalto biography at FinnishDesign.com\n* Short Biographies: Alvar Aalto\n* Aalto bibliography – From the official site\n* Alvar Aalto – Design Dictionary Illustrated article about Alvar Aalto\n* Alvar Aalto Biography in Spanish about Alvar Aalto\n* Modern Furniture and the history of Moulded Plywood Role played by Alvar Alto in the use of Moulded plywood for furniture.", "* \n* \n* Map of the Alvar Aalto works – Wikiartmap, the art map of the public space\n*\n\n;Catalogs\n* Artek.fi, Aalto furniture; company founded by Aalto.", "* Alvar Aalto glassware, iittala.com\n* Between Humanism and Materialism New York Museum of Modern Art exhibit site.", "Contains an especially useful timeline of his life and career.", ";Buildings and reviews\n* Checkonsite.com – Alvar Aalto architecture guide.", "* \"Ahead of the curve\" ''The Guardian'' – Fiona MacCarthy recalls a shared lunch of smoked reindeer and schnapps in his elegant Helsinki restaurant\n* Baker House\n* North Jutland Museum\n* S. Maria Assunta – Riola BO Italy\n\n;Shops\n* Alvar Aalto Shop (official Alvar Aalto Foundation & Alvar Aalto Museum online store)\n* Alvar Aalto Collection Tomorrow's Antique Alvar Aalto furniture collection.", "* Coliseum-shop.com Alvar Aalto Furniture Selection.", "* Aalto.com – Alvar Aalto Collection Shop dedicated to Alvar Aalto designs." ]

[ "An '''automatic number announcement circuit''' ('''ANAC''') is a component of a central office of a telephone company that provides a service to installation and service technicians to determine the telephone number of a line. The facility has a telephone number that may be called to listen to an automatic announcement that includes the caller's telephone number.\n\nThe ANAC number is useful primarily during the installation of landline telephones to quickly identify one of multiple lines.\n", "A technician calls the local telephone number of the automatic number announcement service. This call is connected to equipment at a local central office that uses a voice synthesizer or digital samples to announce the telephone number of the line calling in. The main purpose of this system is to allow telephone company technicians to identify the telephone line they are connected to.\n\nAutomatic number announcement systems are based on automatic number identification, and meant for phone company technicians, the ANAC system works with unlisted numbers, numbers with caller ID blocking, and numbers with no outgoing calls allowed. Installers of multi-line business services where outgoing calls from all lines display the company's main number on call display can use ANAC to identify a specific line in the system, even if CID displays every line as \"line one\".\n\nSome ANACs are very regional or local in scope, while others are state-/province- or area-code-wide: there appears to be no consistent national system for them. Most are provider-specific. Every telephone company, whether large or small, determines its own ANAC for each individual central office, which tends to perpetuate the current situation of a mess of overlapping and/or spotty areas of coverage. No official lists of ANAC numbers are published as telephone companies believe overuse of these numbers could make them more likely to be busy when needed by installers.\n\n=== 958 local test exchanges ===\nUnder the North American Numbering Plan, almost all North American area codes reserve telephone numbers beginning with ''958'' and ''959'' for internal local and long distance testing (respectively), sometimes called plant testing. (One exception is Winnipeg, which reserves ''959'' only). Numbers within this block are used for various test utilities such as a ringback number (to test the ringer when installing telephone sets), milliwatt tone (a number simply answers with a continuous test tone) and a loop around (which connects a call to another inbound call to the same or another test number). ANAC numbers can also appear in the ''958'' range, but there is no requirement that they reside there.\n\nIn some area codes, multiple additional prefixes had been reserved for test purposes, in addition to the standard 958 and 959. Many area codes reserved 999; 320 was also formerly reserved in Bell Canada territory. As widespread inefficiencies in numbering (such as the assignment of entire blocks of 10000 numbers to every competing carrier in every small village to support local number portability schemes) have created shortages of available numbers, these prefixes are often \"reclaimed\" and issued as standard exchanges, moving the handful of numbers in them to one standard test exchange (usually 958).\n\nSome carriers have been known to disable payphone calls to 958 or 959 test lines, such as Bell Canada's system-wide ANAC line at '''(area code) 958-2580'''. Conversely, a standard line on which voice service has been unsubscribed (such as an ADSL dry loop) may still accept calls to the 958 test exchange but not allow calls to standard numbers. This \"soft disconnect\" condition is intended to allow calls to 9-1-1 emergency services and to the telco business office to order telephone service, but to no other numbers.\n\n===Tollfree numbers===\nSome large telephone companies have toll-free numbers set up. In most cases, these numbers remain undisclosed to prevent abuse, but MCI maintains this widely published, toll-free ANAC: '''1-800-437-7950'''. This is distinct from technical support and other lines which use ANI so that a computer can automatically display the customer's account on a \"screen pop\" for the next available customer service representative: the MCI number is intended specifically for ANAC use.\n\nFormerly, some companies changed their ANAC number every month for secrecy; this is still the case with a few numbers. In one example of this concern, most payphones in the United States are assigned a telephone number and can ring if the number is called. The phone can then be used to make and receive calls by anyone, making it a potential tool in anonymous criminal activity such as narcotics trafficking. Where a payphone does not have any number listed on the unit, the number can be discovered by calling an ANAC service.\n\nLate in the 20th century, caller ID and prepaid cellphone service became commonplace. These services being more easily exploited for criminal purposes, this type of abuse of payphones faded from concern. In Canada, this behaviour has always been more difficult. As a matter of course, incoming calls to payphones are disabled; furthermore, the Bell ANAC number is also disabled (although the telephone number is marked on the payphone itself as it is needed to report a non-working coin phone to 6-1-1 repair service).\n\nThere are some private national toll-free numbers that use ANI and then have a computer read back the number that is calling, but these are not intended for use in identifying the customer's own phone number. They are used in order for the agent in the call center to confirm the phone the customer is calling from, so that a computer can automatically display the customer's account on a \"screen pop\" for the next available customer service representative; they are distinct from purpose-made toll-free ANAC numbers. Regardless, if one were to call one of these numbers, listen for the number confirmation and hang up, they would in effect be using this system as if it were an ANAC.\n\nOne such toll-free service is one owned by MCI - 1-800-444-4444. This number (US only) is easy to remember and, when called, will read back the number after a very short message. A suspended (out of service) line or an incoming only line would not be able to reach any toll-free numbers.\n", "\n\n\nThese numbers appear on various lists circulated on-line, many from the 1980s and 1990s. Most were published years ago by Phrack, 2600 Magazine, the alt.2600 Usenet newsgroup (as part of the FAQ) or phone phreaks and are now hopelessly outdated. The information is not reliable, as numbers change often. Many of the listed numbers no longer work.\n\nThe list is presented by area code, number and location. In some regions, there are several numbers, depending on the telephone company or the area code of the caller, as there can be several central offices serving some areas.\n\n===United States===\nThe North American Numbering Plan reserves 958-XXXX and 1-NPA-959-XXXX for local and long-distance test numbers in almost all USA and Canadian area codes.\n\nFrequently, a prefix outside the 958 or 959 range (such as 200, 997, 998, 999) was also listed as a test exchange, only to be reclaimed and issued as a block of standard numbers at a later date. NANPA's utilised codes report will indicate 'UA' (unassignable) for valid test prefixes; if a formerly 'UA' code newly appears on the available list or becomes an active exchange, any former test numbers from its time as a reserved prefix are presumed invalid and deprecated. N11 prefixes such as 211, 311 and 511 are also disappearing as test numbers as these codes are reassigned to local services such as city, community or highway information.\n\n;958, 959 test prefixes: The standard location for test numbers in most NANP area codes, although specific local numbers vary. 1-NPA-959 traditionally contained long-distance test numbers, but this convention is often ignored; AT&T's 959-1122 and GTE (Verizon)'s 959-1114 are local. Some area codes will flag additional codes as 'UA' or unassignable, in some cases reserving them for test numbers.\n\nA few commonly-used 958 or 959 numbers for major incumbent landline carriers:\n* 958, as a three-digit number in many former NYNEX/Bell Atlantic areas, now Verizon or FairPoint (207 Maine, 212 New York, 215 Pennsylvania, 315 New York, 413 Massachusetts, 508 Massachusetts, 516 New York, 603 New Hampshire, 609 New Jersey, 610 Pennsylvania, 617 Massachusetts, 718 New York, 732 New Jersey, 856 New Jersey, 958 New Jersey)\n* 959-1114 Verizon, for all former GTE points in California (area codes 310, 714, 760, 805); also Southwestern Virginia (276), Farmersburg/North Terre Haute/South Terre Haute/Riley Indiana (812) and Durham, North Carolina (919)\n* 959-1122 PacBell (AT&T), all points (California area codes 209, 213, 310, 408, 415, 510, 530, 619, 650, 714, 760, 805, 831, 909, 916 and 925)\n* 959-1122 Southwestern Bell (AT&T), (417 Missouri, 620 Kansas, 816 Missouri, 913 Kansas, 817 Texas, 972 Texas and 682 Texas)\n\nNumbers otherwise vary arbitrarily by locality:\n* 216: 959-9892 Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, Ohio\n* 301: 958-9968 Hagerstown/Rockville, Maryland\n* 309: 959-1114 Central Illinois (Frontier, Ex-Verizon)\n* 309: 959-9833 Quad City Iowa/Illinois Area (AT&T)\n* 412: 959-1114 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 503: 958 Portland, Oregon (CLEC, MCIMetro ATS)\n* 602/623/480: 958-7847 Phoenix Metro Area (Qwest)\n* 610: 958-4100 Allentown/Reading, Pennsylvania\n* 717: 958 Harrisburg/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania \n* 724: 959-1114 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 787: 787-959-1240 Puerto Rico (PRTC)\n* 787: 787-959-1250 Puerto Rico (PRTC)\n* 805: 959-1123 Bakersfield/San Luis Obispo, California (?) (Returns DTMF Tones)\n* 814: 958-2111 Cresson, Pennsylvania\n* 850: 959-3111 Tallahassee, Florida\n* 860: 959-9822 Connecticut\n* 919: 959-1031 Raleigh/Cary/Apex, North Carolina area. (BellSouth/AT&T) Dial as 7-digits.\n* 919: 959-1041 Raleigh/Cary/Apex, North Carolina area. (BellSouth/AT&T) Dial as 7-digits.\n* 970: 958-(any 4 digits) Greeley, Colorado (Qwest)\n* 973: 973-959-3111 Northern New Jersey (Centurylink)\n\n;Other regionally nonassignable (UA) test prefixes: These are, over time, being phased out. As each reservation consumes a block of 10000 numbers, the prefixes are increasingly being recovered for use as regular exchange codes and the test numbers moved (usually) to 958-XXXX. If the number is active for test, the prefix listed (often 200, 990, 997, 998, 999) remains within a block currently marked by NANPA.com as unassignable in the one specified area code. These test numbers will be shut down before the 'UA' flag is removed, the prefix made available or reassigned as a standard exchange.\n\n* 210: 830 Brownsville/Laredo/San Antonio, Texas\n* 214: 970-222-2222 Dallas, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 214: 970-611-1111 Dallas, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 312: 200 Chicago, Illinois (Ameritech)\n* 313: 200-200-2002 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 313: 200-222-2222 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 313: 200-200-200-200-200 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 315: 998 Syracuse/Utica, New York\n* 412: 975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 508: 200-222-1234 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts\n* 508: 200-222-2222 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts\n* 508: 260-11 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 512: 830 Austin/Corpus Christi, Texas\n* 513: 380-55555555 Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio\n* 518: 997 Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York\n* 518: 998 Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York\n* 607: 993 Binghamton/Elmira, New York\n* 617: 200-222-1234 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 617: 200-222-2222 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 617: 200-444-4444 Boston, Massachusetts (Woburn, Massachusetts)\n* 617: 220 Boston, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 617: 220-2622 Boston, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 618: 930 Alton/Cairo/Mt. Vernon, Illinois\n* 724: 975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 781: 200-222-2222 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 810: 200-200-200-200-200 Flint/Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, Michigan\n* 817: 970-611-1111 Ft. Worth/Waco, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 817: 970-1234 Ft. Worth, Texas (AT&T / SBC)\n* 914: 990-1111 Peekskill/Poughkeepsie/White Plains/Yonkers, New York\n\n;Vertical service codes, carrier-specific: Most vertical service codes are activated with #, * or a leading 11- and are internal to an individual landline or wireless carrier. This block mostly contains codes to activate or deactivate features such as call forwarding, but rarely a test number may appear in this set.\n\n* 515: 552# Des Moines Metro Area (CLEC), Iowa\n* 434: 118 Charlottesville, Virginia \n* 732: *99 Central New Jersey (Optimum Phone Service)\n* 802: 111-2222 Vermont\n* 909: 111 Riverside/San Bernardino Counties, California (GTE) \n* 909: 114 and 959-1114 Ontario/Pomona/San Bernardino, California (Current for all GTE switches in California)\n* 914: *99 Westchester County, New York (Cablevision/Optimum Voice)\n\n;Long distance carrier-specific: Area code 700 is reserved for carrier-specific numbers operated by interstate long distance providers, such as AT&T. With the exception of 1-700-555-4141 (which identifies the default interexchange carrier on a line), all of these are LD carrier-specific. Area code 700 is therefore rarely used.\n\n* 802: 1-700-222-2222 Vermont\n\n;Area code 1-200: There is no non-geographic area code 200, although exchange 1-NPA-200-XXXX now exists in many local area codes (if it has not been explicitly reserved). The 1-200 area has occasionally been used as an unused space in which to place test numbers, but is rare as in most communities a 1- indicates a long-distance trunk call.\n\n* 312: 1-200-555-1212 Chicago, Illinois\n* 312: 1-200-8825 Chicago, Illinois (Last Four Change Rapidly)\n* 708: 1-200-555-1212 Chicago/Elgin, Illinois\n* 708: 1-200-8825 Chicago/Elgin, Illinois (Last Four Change Rapidly)\n* 906: 1-200-222-2222 Marquette/Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan\n\n;Local numbers: These are regular numbers within valid local exchanges in the communities listed. Many belong to competitive local exchange carriers or independent telephone company exchanges. Supposedly, a test call gives an automatic announcement. Some may announce caller Idaho instead of ANI; these will incur a toll (if they work at all) for calls outside their home area. These are unverified; there is a risk these will be reassigned to individual subscribers:\n\n* 209: 888-6945 Stockton, California (Reads ANAC and CNAM) (out of service, returns false answer supervision 2014)\n* 334: 557-2311 Montgomery, Alabama (CLEC) (no answer, 2014)\n* 334: 557-2411 Montgomery, Alabama (CLEC) (busy/no answer, 2013)\n* 503: 266-1021 Canby-Needy, Oregon (Canby Telephone Association, independent, returns ANI)\n* 503: 697-0053 Clackamas/Lake Oswego, Oregon (Qwest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 505: 243-0049 Albuquerque, New Mexico (Quest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 508: 200-5555 Worcester, Massachusetts (Dial 7 digits—City VZ landlines only?)\n* 515: 280-1241 Des Moines, Iowa (Qwest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 541: 330-0024 Bend, Oregon (Qwest)\n* 561: 364-1781 Boynton Beach, Florida (Bellsouth, West Palm Beach/Jupiter/Juno Beach, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 570: 674-0086 Dallas, Pennsylvania (Frontier/Commonwealth Telephone)\n* 602: 253-0227 Phoenix, Arizona (Qwest)\n* 608: 884-1206 Edgerton, Wisconsin (Frontier North, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 702: 889-4579 Las Vegas, Nevada (CenturyLink) (no answer, 2014)\n* 806: 863-9999 Woodrow, Texas (South Plains Telephone Co-Op)\n* 812: 462-1218 Terre Haute, Indiana (Frontier North) (no answer, 2014)\n\n;N-1-1 numbers: These are mostly dead, except in rare locations where some of the standard information numbers (2-1-1 through 8-1-1) have not yet been assigned to their usual function. The corresponding test number will stop working when 2-1-1 becomes community info, 3-1-1 becomes city or county hall, 4-1-1 becomes directory info or 5-1-1 provides highway conditions, for instance. With rare exception, one should not expect these numbers to be valid.\n\n* 402: 311 Lincoln, Nebraska \n* 410: 811 Annapolis/Baltimore, Maryland\n* 419: 311 Toledo, Ohio\n* 434: 311 Danville, Virginia (Verizon)\n* 501: 511 Arkansas\n* 503: 611 Portland, Oregon\n* 515: 811 Des Moines, Iowa\n* 540: 311 Roanoke, Virginia (GTE) \n* 703: 811 Alexandria/Arlington/Roanoke, Virginia\n* 713: 811 Humble, Texas\n* 810: 311 Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, Michigan\n* 907: 811 Alaska\n* 908: 311-MMYY Northern New Jersey (Embarq, now CenturyTel) (MMYY is current Month/Year)\n\n===US toll-free===\n''Please note that it is always preferable to call the local ANAC; only if the local ANAC number can not be called is it advisable to call a toll-free ANAC number. It is also preferable to call an open ANAC rather than the password-protected one given below.''\n* 1-800-444-4444 MCI ANAC (no input needed)\n* 1-800-437-7950 MCI ANAC (no input needed)\n* 1-800-223-1104 PASSWORD-PROTECTED ANAC\n* 1-855-343-2255 TracFone ANAC (press 1 for English)\n\n''The below numbers are not true ANAC numbers; however, they do read back one's phone number. These numbers provide valuable services to the customers they serve; it is, therefore, inadvisable to misuse them.''\n* 1-800-225-5313 BANK OF SOUTH SIDE VIRGINIA, FRAUD DEPT (press 1)\n* 1-800-225-5214 NATIONAL CAPITAL BANK OF WASHINGTON, FRAUD DEPT (press 1)\n* 1-800-444-2222 MCI customer service (business)\n* 1-800-444-3333 MCI customer service (residential)\n* 1-800-314-4258, 1-800-444-0800, 1-800-444-4444 and 1-888-624-9266 (press 2 at prompt) are also often listed as MCI customer service.\n\n===Canada===\nThe current use of exchange prefixes for each area code is listed by CNAC; if an exchange changes from \"plant test\" to reclaimed or active, any former test numbers with the associated prefix are invalidated. Commonly-used test numbers for major carriers include:\n* 555-0311 Rogers (403 Alberta, 519 613 Ontario)\n* 958-2580 Bell Canada (519 613 705 905 Ontario, 450 418 438 514 579 581 819 873 Quebec)\n* 958-ANAC (958-2622) Bell Canada (416 Toronto) (invalid from WIND Mobile)\n* 958-6111 Telus landline (403 780 Alberta, 250 BC)\n* 958-6111 Shaw Cable (204 MB, questionable as 1-204-958 is a standard MTS landline exchange)\n* 959-4444 Manitoba Telecom Services (204 MB) (959 is used as 958 is a regular Winnipeg exchange, not a test prefix)\n* 958-9999 Bell Aliant (709 NL)\n\nAdditional plant test codes may be in use locally in some areas:\n*403: 555-0311 Alberta (GroupTel - may work in other parts of Canada - untested)\n*604: 1116 British Columbia (Telus)\n*604: 1211 British Columbia (Telus)\n*819: 959-1135 Most of Outaouais region (Bell Canada)\n\nOccasionally, a number in an existing, standard local exchange in the area is used. These will incur a toll (and might not work) outside their home area. Some may be announcing caller ID, which is not the same as ANI. As standard local calls, they are not accessible from ADSL \"dry loop\", inbound-only or unsubscribed lines:\n*403: 705-0311 Calgary, Alberta (Allstream - gives \"call cannot be completed as dialled\" in other parts of Canada, identifying as Allstream)\n*416: 477-0034 Toronto, Ontario (Fibernetics - verified September 27, 2015, and again on July 8th, 2016)\n*416: 477-0035 Toronto, Ontario (Fibernetics - verified September 27, 2015, and again on July 8th, 2016; this number allows you to leave a message for reasons not yet determined)\n*416: 981-0001 Toronto, Ontario (verified July 1, 2010) (returns busy as of September 27, 2015)\n*418: 380-0099 Quebec City (Vidéotron - verified June 17th, 2017)\n*867: 873-0000 Yellowknife, NWT (Northwestel - verified October 9, 2012)\n*905: 310-3789 Mississauga, ON (Now no longer includes loop line or ringback. In NPAs where Bell Canada is incumbent, 310-xxxx is assigned as a pseudo-tollfree exchange which may be called at local call rates from an entire area code.)\n\nIn Bell Canada territory, +1-areacode-320 was formerly reserved for 320-xxxx test numbers; these were moved to the 958-xxxx range and 320-xxxx reclaimed for use as a standard exchange. The use of N11 prefixes (such as 3-1-1) for test numbers is also deprecated as 3-1-1 now often reaches city hall or municipal services while 2-1-1 is local community information.\n\nSome lists erroneously mention 1-555-1313 as ANAC (506 New Brunswick). The purpose of +1-areacode-555-1313, a pay-per-use \"name that number\" reverse lookup information service introduced in the mid-1990s, differs from ANAC. ANAC announces the caller's own number; the reverse lookup gives the directory name for a listed telephone number input by the user. 555-1313 is one of the rare uses of 555 (telephone number) for other than the standard 555-1212 directory information line.\n\n===United Kingdom===\n*17070, BT Linetest Facilities\n*0208 759 9036, same recording as 17070 but useful on LLU and cable lines where 17070's functionality is limited. Not usable on mobiles.\n*08081707788, it does have a long introductory message, but it is useful on COCOTs which have 17070 barred.\n*18866, Same recording as 08081707788 but a shorter number to remember.\n*020 81 803 803, Same recording as 08081707788. These numbers are set up by a company offering low charge calls in the UK, these numbers are meant to be used as a sort of operator routed through in order to qualify for these cheap calls. However, if the phone these numbers are dialled from is already registered with this company it will not announce the number.\n\n===Ireland===\n*19 9000\nThis service announces the line number on all Eir lines, including lines where calls are carried by another provider using carrier preselect.\nThe same number also works for Smart Telecom lines provided by local-loop unbundling.\n\nThe number is called out without the leading 0. For example, 021 XXX XXXX is read back as \"21 XXX XXXX\".\n\nThere is also an extended ANAC service for identifying which carrier handles calls. Dialling these numbers will cause the local switch to announce which carrier the calls are being routed through for a specific category of calls.\n*19 800 - International calls\n*19 822 - Local calls\n*19 801 - Calls to other parts of the Republic of Ireland, Irish mobile numbers and to landlines in Northern Ireland.\n\n===Israel===\n*110\n\n===Australia===\n*127 22 123\n*1800 801 920\n\n===New Zealand===\n* 1956 or 0(8)320-1231 area code and number\n* 1957 or 0(8)320-1234 local number\n\nSubscribers may also dial +64-8-320-1231 from overseas to test if the (CPN) Caller ID number is being passed on to New Zealand; this should announce the area code and local number as it appears on call display.\n\n===South Africa===\n*+27 21 405 9111 Cape Town ANAC\n*+27 21 405 9116 Cape Town ANAC with callback\n*+27 10 130 0999 Johannesburg ANAC\n*+27 31 120 0999 Durban ANAC\n*+27 87 180 0999 VoIP ANAC\n*+27 84 190 0048 Mobile ANAC\n", "* Plant test number\n* Ringback number\n", "\n", "* Automatic number announcement circuit recordings\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", " Operation ", "ANAC numbers", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "* 1-800-225-5313 BANK OF SOUTH SIDE VIRGINIA, FRAUD DEPT (press 1)\n* 1-800-225-5214 NATIONAL CAPITAL BANK OF WASHINGTON, FRAUD DEPT (press 1)\n* 1-800-444-2222 MCI customer service (business)\n* 1-800-444-3333 MCI customer service (residential)\n* 1-800-314-4258, 1-800-444-0800, 1-800-444-4444 and 1-888-624-9266 (press 2 at prompt) are also often listed as MCI customer service." ]

[ "An '''automatic number announcement circuit''' ('''ANAC''') is a component of a central office of a telephone company that provides a service to installation and service technicians to determine the telephone number of a line.", "The facility has a telephone number that may be called to listen to an automatic announcement that includes the caller's telephone number.", "The ANAC number is useful primarily during the installation of landline telephones to quickly identify one of multiple lines.", "A technician calls the local telephone number of the automatic number announcement service.", "This call is connected to equipment at a local central office that uses a voice synthesizer or digital samples to announce the telephone number of the line calling in.", "The main purpose of this system is to allow telephone company technicians to identify the telephone line they are connected to.", "Automatic number announcement systems are based on automatic number identification, and meant for phone company technicians, the ANAC system works with unlisted numbers, numbers with caller ID blocking, and numbers with no outgoing calls allowed.", "Installers of multi-line business services where outgoing calls from all lines display the company's main number on call display can use ANAC to identify a specific line in the system, even if CID displays every line as \"line one\".", "Some ANACs are very regional or local in scope, while others are state-/province- or area-code-wide: there appears to be no consistent national system for them.", "Most are provider-specific.", "Every telephone company, whether large or small, determines its own ANAC for each individual central office, which tends to perpetuate the current situation of a mess of overlapping and/or spotty areas of coverage.", "No official lists of ANAC numbers are published as telephone companies believe overuse of these numbers could make them more likely to be busy when needed by installers.", "=== 958 local test exchanges ===\nUnder the North American Numbering Plan, almost all North American area codes reserve telephone numbers beginning with ''958'' and ''959'' for internal local and long distance testing (respectively), sometimes called plant testing.", "(One exception is Winnipeg, which reserves ''959'' only).", "Numbers within this block are used for various test utilities such as a ringback number (to test the ringer when installing telephone sets), milliwatt tone (a number simply answers with a continuous test tone) and a loop around (which connects a call to another inbound call to the same or another test number).", "ANAC numbers can also appear in the ''958'' range, but there is no requirement that they reside there.", "In some area codes, multiple additional prefixes had been reserved for test purposes, in addition to the standard 958 and 959.", "Many area codes reserved 999; 320 was also formerly reserved in Bell Canada territory.", "As widespread inefficiencies in numbering (such as the assignment of entire blocks of 10000 numbers to every competing carrier in every small village to support local number portability schemes) have created shortages of available numbers, these prefixes are often \"reclaimed\" and issued as standard exchanges, moving the handful of numbers in them to one standard test exchange (usually 958).", "Some carriers have been known to disable payphone calls to 958 or 959 test lines, such as Bell Canada's system-wide ANAC line at '''(area code) 958-2580'''.", "Conversely, a standard line on which voice service has been unsubscribed (such as an ADSL dry loop) may still accept calls to the 958 test exchange but not allow calls to standard numbers.", "This \"soft disconnect\" condition is intended to allow calls to 9-1-1 emergency services and to the telco business office to order telephone service, but to no other numbers.", "===Tollfree numbers===\nSome large telephone companies have toll-free numbers set up.", "In most cases, these numbers remain undisclosed to prevent abuse, but MCI maintains this widely published, toll-free ANAC: '''1-800-437-7950'''.", "This is distinct from technical support and other lines which use ANI so that a computer can automatically display the customer's account on a \"screen pop\" for the next available customer service representative: the MCI number is intended specifically for ANAC use.", "Formerly, some companies changed their ANAC number every month for secrecy; this is still the case with a few numbers.", "In one example of this concern, most payphones in the United States are assigned a telephone number and can ring if the number is called.", "The phone can then be used to make and receive calls by anyone, making it a potential tool in anonymous criminal activity such as narcotics trafficking.", "Where a payphone does not have any number listed on the unit, the number can be discovered by calling an ANAC service.", "Late in the 20th century, caller ID and prepaid cellphone service became commonplace.", "These services being more easily exploited for criminal purposes, this type of abuse of payphones faded from concern.", "In Canada, this behaviour has always been more difficult.", "As a matter of course, incoming calls to payphones are disabled; furthermore, the Bell ANAC number is also disabled (although the telephone number is marked on the payphone itself as it is needed to report a non-working coin phone to 6-1-1 repair service).", "There are some private national toll-free numbers that use ANI and then have a computer read back the number that is calling, but these are not intended for use in identifying the customer's own phone number.", "They are used in order for the agent in the call center to confirm the phone the customer is calling from, so that a computer can automatically display the customer's account on a \"screen pop\" for the next available customer service representative; they are distinct from purpose-made toll-free ANAC numbers.", "Regardless, if one were to call one of these numbers, listen for the number confirmation and hang up, they would in effect be using this system as if it were an ANAC.", "One such toll-free service is one owned by MCI - 1-800-444-4444.", "This number (US only) is easy to remember and, when called, will read back the number after a very short message.", "A suspended (out of service) line or an incoming only line would not be able to reach any toll-free numbers.", "\n\n\nThese numbers appear on various lists circulated on-line, many from the 1980s and 1990s.", "Most were published years ago by Phrack, 2600 Magazine, the alt.2600 Usenet newsgroup (as part of the FAQ) or phone phreaks and are now hopelessly outdated.", "The information is not reliable, as numbers change often.", "Many of the listed numbers no longer work.", "The list is presented by area code, number and location.", "In some regions, there are several numbers, depending on the telephone company or the area code of the caller, as there can be several central offices serving some areas.", "===United States===\nThe North American Numbering Plan reserves 958-XXXX and 1-NPA-959-XXXX for local and long-distance test numbers in almost all USA and Canadian area codes.", "Frequently, a prefix outside the 958 or 959 range (such as 200, 997, 998, 999) was also listed as a test exchange, only to be reclaimed and issued as a block of standard numbers at a later date.", "NANPA's utilised codes report will indicate 'UA' (unassignable) for valid test prefixes; if a formerly 'UA' code newly appears on the available list or becomes an active exchange, any former test numbers from its time as a reserved prefix are presumed invalid and deprecated.", "N11 prefixes such as 211, 311 and 511 are also disappearing as test numbers as these codes are reassigned to local services such as city, community or highway information.", ";958, 959 test prefixes: The standard location for test numbers in most NANP area codes, although specific local numbers vary.", "1-NPA-959 traditionally contained long-distance test numbers, but this convention is often ignored; AT&T's 959-1122 and GTE (Verizon)'s 959-1114 are local.", "Some area codes will flag additional codes as 'UA' or unassignable, in some cases reserving them for test numbers.", "A few commonly-used 958 or 959 numbers for major incumbent landline carriers:\n* 958, as a three-digit number in many former NYNEX/Bell Atlantic areas, now Verizon or FairPoint (207 Maine, 212 New York, 215 Pennsylvania, 315 New York, 413 Massachusetts, 508 Massachusetts, 516 New York, 603 New Hampshire, 609 New Jersey, 610 Pennsylvania, 617 Massachusetts, 718 New York, 732 New Jersey, 856 New Jersey, 958 New Jersey)\n* 959-1114 Verizon, for all former GTE points in California (area codes 310, 714, 760, 805); also Southwestern Virginia (276), Farmersburg/North Terre Haute/South Terre Haute/Riley Indiana (812) and Durham, North Carolina (919)\n* 959-1122 PacBell (AT&T), all points (California area codes 209, 213, 310, 408, 415, 510, 530, 619, 650, 714, 760, 805, 831, 909, 916 and 925)\n* 959-1122 Southwestern Bell (AT&T), (417 Missouri, 620 Kansas, 816 Missouri, 913 Kansas, 817 Texas, 972 Texas and 682 Texas)\n\nNumbers otherwise vary arbitrarily by locality:\n* 216: 959-9892 Akron/Canton/Cleveland/Lorain/Youngstown, Ohio\n* 301: 958-9968 Hagerstown/Rockville, Maryland\n* 309: 959-1114 Central Illinois (Frontier, Ex-Verizon)\n* 309: 959-9833 Quad City Iowa/Illinois Area (AT&T)\n* 412: 959-1114 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 503: 958 Portland, Oregon (CLEC, MCIMetro ATS)\n* 602/623/480: 958-7847 Phoenix Metro Area (Qwest)\n* 610: 958-4100 Allentown/Reading, Pennsylvania\n* 717: 958 Harrisburg/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania \n* 724: 959-1114 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 787: 787-959-1240 Puerto Rico (PRTC)\n* 787: 787-959-1250 Puerto Rico (PRTC)\n* 805: 959-1123 Bakersfield/San Luis Obispo, California (?)", "(Returns DTMF Tones)\n* 814: 958-2111 Cresson, Pennsylvania\n* 850: 959-3111 Tallahassee, Florida\n* 860: 959-9822 Connecticut\n* 919: 959-1031 Raleigh/Cary/Apex, North Carolina area.", "(BellSouth/AT&T) Dial as 7-digits.", "* 919: 959-1041 Raleigh/Cary/Apex, North Carolina area.", "(BellSouth/AT&T) Dial as 7-digits.", "* 970: 958-(any 4 digits) Greeley, Colorado (Qwest)\n* 973: 973-959-3111 Northern New Jersey (Centurylink)\n\n;Other regionally nonassignable (UA) test prefixes: These are, over time, being phased out.", "As each reservation consumes a block of 10000 numbers, the prefixes are increasingly being recovered for use as regular exchange codes and the test numbers moved (usually) to 958-XXXX.", "If the number is active for test, the prefix listed (often 200, 990, 997, 998, 999) remains within a block currently marked by NANPA.com as unassignable in the one specified area code.", "These test numbers will be shut down before the 'UA' flag is removed, the prefix made available or reassigned as a standard exchange.", "* 210: 830 Brownsville/Laredo/San Antonio, Texas\n* 214: 970-222-2222 Dallas, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 214: 970-611-1111 Dallas, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 312: 200 Chicago, Illinois (Ameritech)\n* 313: 200-200-2002 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 313: 200-222-2222 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 313: 200-200-200-200-200 Ann Arbor/Dearborn/Detroit, Michigan\n* 315: 998 Syracuse/Utica, New York\n* 412: 975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 508: 200-222-1234 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts\n* 508: 200-222-2222 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts\n* 508: 260-11 Fall River/New Bedford/Worcester, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 512: 830 Austin/Corpus Christi, Texas\n* 513: 380-55555555 Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio\n* 518: 997 Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York\n* 518: 998 Albany/Schenectady/Troy, New York\n* 607: 993 Binghamton/Elmira, New York\n* 617: 200-222-1234 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 617: 200-222-2222 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 617: 200-444-4444 Boston, Massachusetts (Woburn, Massachusetts)\n* 617: 220 Boston, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 617: 220-2622 Boston, Massachusetts (Verizon)\n* 618: 930 Alton/Cairo/Mt.", "Vernon, Illinois\n* 724: 975 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Verizon)\n* 781: 200-222-2222 Boston, Massachusetts\n* 810: 200-200-200-200-200 Flint/Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, Michigan\n* 817: 970-611-1111 Ft. Worth/Waco, Texas (Southwestern Bell)\n* 817: 970-1234 Ft. Worth, Texas (AT&T / SBC)\n* 914: 990-1111 Peekskill/Poughkeepsie/White Plains/Yonkers, New York\n\n;Vertical service codes, carrier-specific: Most vertical service codes are activated with #, * or a leading 11- and are internal to an individual landline or wireless carrier.", "This block mostly contains codes to activate or deactivate features such as call forwarding, but rarely a test number may appear in this set.", "* 515: 552# Des Moines Metro Area (CLEC), Iowa\n* 434: 118 Charlottesville, Virginia \n* 732: *99 Central New Jersey (Optimum Phone Service)\n* 802: 111-2222 Vermont\n* 909: 111 Riverside/San Bernardino Counties, California (GTE) \n* 909: 114 and 959-1114 Ontario/Pomona/San Bernardino, California (Current for all GTE switches in California)\n* 914: *99 Westchester County, New York (Cablevision/Optimum Voice)\n\n;Long distance carrier-specific: Area code 700 is reserved for carrier-specific numbers operated by interstate long distance providers, such as AT&T.", "With the exception of 1-700-555-4141 (which identifies the default interexchange carrier on a line), all of these are LD carrier-specific.", "Area code 700 is therefore rarely used.", "* 802: 1-700-222-2222 Vermont\n\n;Area code 1-200: There is no non-geographic area code 200, although exchange 1-NPA-200-XXXX now exists in many local area codes (if it has not been explicitly reserved).", "The 1-200 area has occasionally been used as an unused space in which to place test numbers, but is rare as in most communities a 1- indicates a long-distance trunk call.", "* 312: 1-200-555-1212 Chicago, Illinois\n* 312: 1-200-8825 Chicago, Illinois (Last Four Change Rapidly)\n* 708: 1-200-555-1212 Chicago/Elgin, Illinois\n* 708: 1-200-8825 Chicago/Elgin, Illinois (Last Four Change Rapidly)\n* 906: 1-200-222-2222 Marquette/Sault Ste.", "Marie, Michigan\n\n;Local numbers: These are regular numbers within valid local exchanges in the communities listed.", "Many belong to competitive local exchange carriers or independent telephone company exchanges.", "Supposedly, a test call gives an automatic announcement.", "Some may announce caller Idaho instead of ANI; these will incur a toll (if they work at all) for calls outside their home area.", "These are unverified; there is a risk these will be reassigned to individual subscribers:\n\n* 209: 888-6945 Stockton, California (Reads ANAC and CNAM) (out of service, returns false answer supervision 2014)\n* 334: 557-2311 Montgomery, Alabama (CLEC) (no answer, 2014)\n* 334: 557-2411 Montgomery, Alabama (CLEC) (busy/no answer, 2013)\n* 503: 266-1021 Canby-Needy, Oregon (Canby Telephone Association, independent, returns ANI)\n* 503: 697-0053 Clackamas/Lake Oswego, Oregon (Qwest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 505: 243-0049 Albuquerque, New Mexico (Quest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 508: 200-5555 Worcester, Massachusetts (Dial 7 digits—City VZ landlines only?)", "* 515: 280-1241 Des Moines, Iowa (Qwest, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 541: 330-0024 Bend, Oregon (Qwest)\n* 561: 364-1781 Boynton Beach, Florida (Bellsouth, West Palm Beach/Jupiter/Juno Beach, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 570: 674-0086 Dallas, Pennsylvania (Frontier/Commonwealth Telephone)\n* 602: 253-0227 Phoenix, Arizona (Qwest)\n* 608: 884-1206 Edgerton, Wisconsin (Frontier North, returns Caller Idaho)\n* 702: 889-4579 Las Vegas, Nevada (CenturyLink) (no answer, 2014)\n* 806: 863-9999 Woodrow, Texas (South Plains Telephone Co-Op)\n* 812: 462-1218 Terre Haute, Indiana (Frontier North) (no answer, 2014)\n\n;N-1-1 numbers: These are mostly dead, except in rare locations where some of the standard information numbers (2-1-1 through 8-1-1) have not yet been assigned to their usual function.", "The corresponding test number will stop working when 2-1-1 becomes community info, 3-1-1 becomes city or county hall, 4-1-1 becomes directory info or 5-1-1 provides highway conditions, for instance.", "With rare exception, one should not expect these numbers to be valid.", "* 402: 311 Lincoln, Nebraska \n* 410: 811 Annapolis/Baltimore, Maryland\n* 419: 311 Toledo, Ohio\n* 434: 311 Danville, Virginia (Verizon)\n* 501: 511 Arkansas\n* 503: 611 Portland, Oregon\n* 515: 811 Des Moines, Iowa\n* 540: 311 Roanoke, Virginia (GTE) \n* 703: 811 Alexandria/Arlington/Roanoke, Virginia\n* 713: 811 Humble, Texas\n* 810: 311 Pontiac/Southfield/Troy, Michigan\n* 907: 811 Alaska\n* 908: 311-MMYY Northern New Jersey (Embarq, now CenturyTel) (MMYY is current Month/Year)\n\n===US toll-free===\n''Please note that it is always preferable to call the local ANAC; only if the local ANAC number can not be called is it advisable to call a toll-free ANAC number.", "It is also preferable to call an open ANAC rather than the password-protected one given below.''", "* 1-800-444-4444 MCI ANAC (no input needed)\n* 1-800-437-7950 MCI ANAC (no input needed)\n* 1-800-223-1104 PASSWORD-PROTECTED ANAC\n* 1-855-343-2255 TracFone ANAC (press 1 for English)\n\n''The below numbers are not true ANAC numbers; however, they do read back one's phone number.", "These numbers provide valuable services to the customers they serve; it is, therefore, inadvisable to misuse them.''", "===Canada===\nThe current use of exchange prefixes for each area code is listed by CNAC; if an exchange changes from \"plant test\" to reclaimed or active, any former test numbers with the associated prefix are invalidated.", "Commonly-used test numbers for major carriers include:\n* 555-0311 Rogers (403 Alberta, 519 613 Ontario)\n* 958-2580 Bell Canada (519 613 705 905 Ontario, 450 418 438 514 579 581 819 873 Quebec)\n* 958-ANAC (958-2622) Bell Canada (416 Toronto) (invalid from WIND Mobile)\n* 958-6111 Telus landline (403 780 Alberta, 250 BC)\n* 958-6111 Shaw Cable (204 MB, questionable as 1-204-958 is a standard MTS landline exchange)\n* 959-4444 Manitoba Telecom Services (204 MB) (959 is used as 958 is a regular Winnipeg exchange, not a test prefix)\n* 958-9999 Bell Aliant (709 NL)\n\nAdditional plant test codes may be in use locally in some areas:\n*403: 555-0311 Alberta (GroupTel - may work in other parts of Canada - untested)\n*604: 1116 British Columbia (Telus)\n*604: 1211 British Columbia (Telus)\n*819: 959-1135 Most of Outaouais region (Bell Canada)\n\nOccasionally, a number in an existing, standard local exchange in the area is used.", "These will incur a toll (and might not work) outside their home area.", "Some may be announcing caller ID, which is not the same as ANI.", "As standard local calls, they are not accessible from ADSL \"dry loop\", inbound-only or unsubscribed lines:\n*403: 705-0311 Calgary, Alberta (Allstream - gives \"call cannot be completed as dialled\" in other parts of Canada, identifying as Allstream)\n*416: 477-0034 Toronto, Ontario (Fibernetics - verified September 27, 2015, and again on July 8th, 2016)\n*416: 477-0035 Toronto, Ontario (Fibernetics - verified September 27, 2015, and again on July 8th, 2016; this number allows you to leave a message for reasons not yet determined)\n*416: 981-0001 Toronto, Ontario (verified July 1, 2010) (returns busy as of September 27, 2015)\n*418: 380-0099 Quebec City (Vidéotron - verified June 17th, 2017)\n*867: 873-0000 Yellowknife, NWT (Northwestel - verified October 9, 2012)\n*905: 310-3789 Mississauga, ON (Now no longer includes loop line or ringback.", "In NPAs where Bell Canada is incumbent, 310-xxxx is assigned as a pseudo-tollfree exchange which may be called at local call rates from an entire area code.)", "In Bell Canada territory, +1-areacode-320 was formerly reserved for 320-xxxx test numbers; these were moved to the 958-xxxx range and 320-xxxx reclaimed for use as a standard exchange.", "The use of N11 prefixes (such as 3-1-1) for test numbers is also deprecated as 3-1-1 now often reaches city hall or municipal services while 2-1-1 is local community information.", "Some lists erroneously mention 1-555-1313 as ANAC (506 New Brunswick).", "The purpose of +1-areacode-555-1313, a pay-per-use \"name that number\" reverse lookup information service introduced in the mid-1990s, differs from ANAC.", "ANAC announces the caller's own number; the reverse lookup gives the directory name for a listed telephone number input by the user.", "555-1313 is one of the rare uses of 555 (telephone number) for other than the standard 555-1212 directory information line.", "===United Kingdom===\n*17070, BT Linetest Facilities\n*0208 759 9036, same recording as 17070 but useful on LLU and cable lines where 17070's functionality is limited.", "Not usable on mobiles.", "*08081707788, it does have a long introductory message, but it is useful on COCOTs which have 17070 barred.", "*18866, Same recording as 08081707788 but a shorter number to remember.", "*020 81 803 803, Same recording as 08081707788.", "These numbers are set up by a company offering low charge calls in the UK, these numbers are meant to be used as a sort of operator routed through in order to qualify for these cheap calls.", "However, if the phone these numbers are dialled from is already registered with this company it will not announce the number.", "===Ireland===\n*19 9000\nThis service announces the line number on all Eir lines, including lines where calls are carried by another provider using carrier preselect.", "The same number also works for Smart Telecom lines provided by local-loop unbundling.", "The number is called out without the leading 0.", "For example, 021 XXX XXXX is read back as \"21 XXX XXXX\".", "There is also an extended ANAC service for identifying which carrier handles calls.", "Dialling these numbers will cause the local switch to announce which carrier the calls are being routed through for a specific category of calls.", "*19 800 - International calls\n*19 822 - Local calls\n*19 801 - Calls to other parts of the Republic of Ireland, Irish mobile numbers and to landlines in Northern Ireland.", "===Israel===\n*110\n\n===Australia===\n*127 22 123\n*1800 801 920\n\n===New Zealand===\n* 1956 or 0(8)320-1231 area code and number\n* 1957 or 0(8)320-1234 local number\n\nSubscribers may also dial +64-8-320-1231 from overseas to test if the (CPN) Caller ID number is being passed on to New Zealand; this should announce the area code and local number as it appears on call display.", "===South Africa===\n*+27 21 405 9111 Cape Town ANAC\n*+27 21 405 9116 Cape Town ANAC with callback\n*+27 10 130 0999 Johannesburg ANAC\n*+27 31 120 0999 Durban ANAC\n*+27 87 180 0999 VoIP ANAC\n*+27 84 190 0048 Mobile ANAC", "* Plant test number\n* Ringback number", "* Automatic number announcement circuit recordings" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''François Auguste René Rodin''' (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917), known as '''Auguste Rodin''' (; ), was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.\n\nSculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.\n\nFrom the unexpected realism of his first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, such that he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades, his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community.\n", "\n===Formative years===\nRodin was born in 1840 into a working-class family in Paris, the second child of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin, who was a police department clerk. He was largely self-educated, and began to draw at age ten. Between ages 14 and 17, Rodin attended the ''Petite École'', a school specializing in art and mathematics, where he studied drawing and painting. His drawing teacher, Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, believed in first developing the personality of his students so that they observed with their own eyes and drew from their recollections. Rodin still expressed appreciation for his teacher much later in life. It was at Petite École that he first met Jules Dalou and Alphonse Legros.\n\nRodin circa 1862.\nIn 1857, Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the École des Beaux-Arts in an attempt to win entrance; he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied. Given that entrance requirements at the ''Grande École'' were not particularly high, the rejections were considerable setbacks. Rodin's inability to gain entrance may have been due to the judges' Neoclassical tastes, while Rodin had been schooled in light, 18th-century sculpture. Leaving the ''Petite École'' in 1857, Rodin earned a living as a craftsman and ornamenter for most of the next two decades, producing decorative objects and architectural embellishments.\n\nRodin's sister Maria, two years his senior, died of peritonitis in a convent in 1862. Rodin was anguished and felt guilty because he had introduced Maria to an unfaithful suitor. Turning away from art, he briefly joined a Catholic order, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder and head of the congregation, recognized Rodin's talent and, sensing his lack of suitability for the order, encouraged Rodin to continue with his sculpture. He returned to work as a decorator, while taking classes with animal sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye. The teacher's attention to detail – his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion – significantly influenced Rodin.\n\nIn 1864, Rodin began to live with a young seamstress named Rose Beuret (born in June 1844), with whom he would stay – with ranging commitment – for the rest of his life. The couple had a son, Auguste-Eugène Beuret (1866–1934). That year, Rodin offered his first sculpture for exhibition, and entered the studio of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a successful mass producer of ''objets d'art''. Rodin worked as Carrier-Belleuse' chief assistant until 1870, designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments. With the arrival of the Franco-Prussian War, Rodin was called to serve in the National Guard, but his service was brief due to his near-sightedness. Decorators' work had dwindled because of the war, yet Rodin needed to support his family; poverty was a continual difficulty for Rodin until about the age of 30. Carrier-Belleuse soon asked Rodin to join him in Belgium, where they would work on ornamentation for the Brussels Stock Exchange.\n\nRodin planned to stay in Belgium a few months, but he spent the next six years outside of France. It was a pivotal time in his life. He had acquired skill and experience as a craftsman, but no one had yet seen his art, which sat in his workshop, since he could not afford castings. Though his relationship with Carrier-Belleuse deteriorated, Rodin found other employment in Brussels, displaying some works at salons, and his companion Rose soon joined him there. Having saved enough money to travel, Rodin visited Italy for two months in 1875, where he was drawn to the work of Donatello and Michelangelo. Their work had a profound effect on his artistic direction. Rodin said, \"It is Michelangelo who has freed me from academic sculpture.\" Returning to Belgium, he began work on ''The Age of Bronze'', a life-size male figure whose realism brought Rodin attention but led to accusations of sculptural cheating—its realism and scale was such that critics alleged he had cast the work from a living model. Much of Rodin's later work was explicitly larger or smaller than life, in part to demonstrate the folly of such accusations.\n\n===Artistic independence===\n''Auguste Rodin'', John Singer Sargent, 1884\n\nRose Beuret and Rodin returned to Paris in 1877, moving into a small flat on the Left Bank. Misfortune surrounded Rodin: his mother, who had wanted to see her son marry, was dead, and his father was blind and senile, cared for by Rodin's sister-in-law, Aunt Thérèse. Rodin's eleven-year-old son Auguste, possibly developmentally delayed, was also in the ever-helpful Thérèse's care. Rodin had essentially abandoned his son for six years, and would have a very limited relationship with him throughout his life. Father and son now joined the couple in their flat, with Rose as caretaker. The charges of fakery surrounding ''The Age of Bronze'' continued. Rodin increasingly sought more soothing female companionship in Paris, and Rose stayed in the background.\n\nRodin earned his living collaborating with more established sculptors on public commissions, primarily memorials and neo-baroque architectural pieces in the style of Carpeaux. In competitions for commissions he submitted models of Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Lazare Carnot, all to no avail. On his own time, he worked on studies leading to the creation of his next important work, ''St. John the Baptist Preaching''.\n\nCamille Claudel (1864–1943)\nRodin in his studio.\n\nIn 1880, Carrier-Belleuse – now art director of the Sèvres national porcelain factory – offered Rodin a part-time position as a designer. The offer was in part a gesture of reconciliation, and Rodin accepted. That part of Rodin which appreciated 18th-century tastes was aroused, and he immersed himself in designs for vases and table ornaments that brought the factory renown across Europe.\n\nThe artistic community appreciated his work in this vein, and Rodin was invited to Paris Salons by such friends as writer Léon Cladel. During his early appearances at these social events, Rodin seemed shy; in his later years, as his fame grew, he displayed the loquaciousness and temperament for which he is better known. French statesman Leon Gambetta expressed a desire to meet Rodin, and the sculptor impressed him when they met at a salon. Gambetta spoke of Rodin in turn to several government ministers, likely including Edmund Turquet, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Fine Arts, whom Rodin eventually met.\n\nRodin's relationship with Turquet was rewarding: through him, he won the 1880 commission to create a portal for a planned museum of decorative arts. Rodin dedicated much of the next four decades to his elaborate ''Gates of Hell'', an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built. Many of the portal's figures became sculptures in themselves, including Rodin's most famous, ''The Thinker'' and ''The Kiss''. With the museum commission came a free studio, granting Rodin a new level of artistic freedom. Soon, he stopped working at the porcelain factory; his income came from private commissions.\n\nIn 1883, Rodin agreed to supervise a course for sculptor Alfred Boucher in his absence, where he met the 18-year-old Camille Claudel. The two formed a passionate but stormy relationship and influenced each other artistically. Claudel inspired Rodin as a model for many of his figures, and she was a talented sculptor, assisting him on commissions.\n\nAlthough busy with ''The Gates of Hell'', Rodin won other commissions. He pursued an opportunity to create a historical monument for the town of Calais. For a monument to French author Honoré de Balzac, Rodin was chosen in 1891. His execution of both sculptures clashed with traditional tastes, and met with varying degrees of disapproval from the organizations that sponsored the commissions. Still, Rodin was gaining support from diverse sources that propelled him toward fame.\n\nIn 1889, the Paris Salon invited Rodin to be a judge on its artistic jury. Though Rodin's career was on the rise, Claudel and Beuret were becoming increasingly impatient with Rodin's \"double life\". Claudel and Rodin shared an atelier at a small old castle, but Rodin refused to relinquish his ties to Beuret, his loyal companion during the lean years, and mother of his son. During one absence, Rodin wrote to Beuret, \"I think of how much you must have loved me to put up with my caprices...I remain, in all tenderness, your Rodin.\" \n\nClaudel and Rodin parted in 1898. Claudel suffered an alleged nervous breakdown several years later and was confined to an institution for 30 years by her family, until her death in 1943, despite numerous attempts by doctors to explain to her mother and brother that she was sane.\n", "''The Age of Bronze'' (1877).\nM. Auguste Rodin - photo by Edward Steichen, ca. 1911\n\nIn 1864, Rodin submitted his first sculpture for exhibition, ''The Man with the Broken Nose'', to the Paris Salon. The subject was an elderly neighbourhood street porter. The unconventional bronze piece was not a traditional bust, but instead the head was \"broken off\" at the neck, the nose was flattened and crooked, and the back of the head was absent, having fallen off the clay model in an accident. The work emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject; it illustrated the \"unfinishedness\" that would characterize many of Rodin's later sculptures. The Salon rejected the piece.\n\n===Early figures: the inspiration of Italy===\nIn Brussels, Rodin created his first full-scale work, ''The Age of Bronze'', having returned from Italy. Modeled after a Belgian soldier, the figure drew inspiration from Michelangelo's ''Dying Slave'', which Rodin had observed at the Louvre. Attempting to combine Michelangelo's mastery of the human form with his own sense of human nature, Rodin studied his model from all angles, at rest and in motion; he mounted a ladder for additional perspective, and made clay models, which he studied by candlelight. The result was a life-size, well-proportioned nude figure, posed unconventionally with his right hand atop his head, and his left arm held out at his side, forearm parallel to the body.\n\nIn 1877, the work debuted in Brussels and then was shown at the Paris Salon. The statue's apparent lack of a theme was troubling to critics – commemorating neither mythology nor a noble historical event – and it is not clear whether Rodin intended a theme. He first titled the work ''The Vanquished'', in which form the left hand held a spear, but he removed the spear because it obstructed the torso from certain angles. After two more intermediary titles, Rodin settled on ''The Age of Bronze'', suggesting the Bronze Age, and in Rodin's words, \"man arising from nature\". Later, however, Rodin said that he had had in mind \"just a simple piece of sculpture without reference to subject\".\n\nIts mastery of form, light, and shadow made the work look so realistic that Rodin was accused of ''surmoulage'' – having taken a cast from a living model. Rodin vigorously denied the charges, writing to newspapers and having photographs taken of the model to prove how the sculpture differed. He demanded an inquiry and was eventually exonerated by a committee of sculptors. Leaving aside the false charges, the piece polarized critics. It had barely won acceptance for display at the Paris Salon, and criticism likened it to \"a statue of a sleepwalker\" and called it \"an astonishingly accurate copy of a low type\". Others rallied to defend the piece and Rodin's integrity. The government minister Turquet admired the piece, and ''The Age of Bronze'' was purchased by the state for 2,200 francs – what it had cost Rodin to have it cast in bronze.\n\n''St. John the Baptist Preaching'' (1878).\nA second male nude, ''St. John the Baptist Preaching'', was completed in 1878. Rodin sought to avoid another charge of ''surmoulage'' by making the statue larger than life: ''St. John'' stands almost 6' 7\" (2 m). While ''The Age of Bronze'' is statically posed, ''St. John'' gestures and seems to move toward the viewer. The effect of walking is achieved despite the figure having both feet firmly on the ground – a physical impossibility, and a technical achievement that was lost on most contemporary critics. Rodin chose this contradictory position to, in his words, \"display simultaneously...views of an object which in fact can be seen only successively\".\n\nDespite the title, ''St. John the Baptist Preaching'' did not have an obviously religious theme. The model, an Italian peasant who presented himself at Rodin's studio, possessed an idiosyncratic sense of movement that Rodin felt compelled to capture. Rodin thought of John the Baptist, and carried that association into the title of the work. In 1880, Rodin submitted the sculpture to the Paris Salon. Critics were still mostly dismissive of his work, but the piece finished third in the Salon's sculpture category.\n\nRegardless of the immediate receptions of ''St. John'' and ''The Age of Bronze'', Rodin had achieved a new degree of fame. Students sought him at his studio, praising his work and scorning the charges of ''surmoulage''. The artistic community knew his name.\n\n===''The Gates of Hell''===\n''The Gates of Hell'' (unfinished), Kunsthaus Zürich\n\nA commission to create a portal for Paris' planned Museum of Decorative Arts was awarded to Rodin in 1880. Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked throughout his life on ''The Gates of Hell'', a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from Dante's ''Inferno'' in high relief. Often lacking a clear conception of his major works, Rodin compensated with hard work and a striving for perfection.\n\nHe conceived ''The Gates'' with the ''surmoulage'' controversy still in mind: \"...I had made the ''St. John'' to refute the charges of casting from a model, but it only partially succeeded. To prove completely that I could model from life as well as other sculptors, I determined...to make the sculpture on the door of figures smaller than life.\" Laws of composition gave way to the ''Gates''' disordered and untamed depiction of Hell. The figures and groups in this, Rodin's meditation on the condition of man, are physically and morally isolated in their torment.\n\n''The Gates of Hell'' comprised 186 figures in its final form. Many of Rodin's best-known sculptures started as designs of figures for this composition, such as ''The Thinker'', ''The Three Shades'', and ''The Kiss'', and were only later presented as separate and independent works. Other well-known works derived from ''The Gates'' are ''Ugolino'', ''Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone'', ''Fugit Amor'', ''She Who Was Once the Helmet-Maker's Beautiful Wife'', ''The Falling Man'', and ''The Prodigal Son''.\n\nRodin's ''The Thinker'' (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture.\n''The Thinker'' (originally titled ''The Poet'', after Dante) was to become one of the most well-known sculptures in the world. The original was a high bronze piece created between 1879 and 1889, designed for the ''Gates'' lintel, from which the figure would gaze down upon Hell. While ''The Thinker'' most obviously characterizes Dante, aspects of the Biblical Adam, the mythological Prometheus, and Rodin himself have been ascribed to him. Other observers de-emphasize the apparent intellectual theme of ''The Thinker'', stressing the figure's rough physicality and the emotional tension emanating from it.\n\n===''The Burghers of Calais''===\n\n\n''The Burghers of Calais'' (1884–ca. 1889) in Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England.\nThe town of Calais had contemplated a historical monument for decades when Rodin learned of the project. He pursued the commission, interested in the medieval motif and patriotic theme. The mayor of Calais was tempted to hire Rodin on the spot upon visiting his studio, and soon the memorial was approved, with Rodin as its architect. It would commemorate the six townspeople of Calais who offered their lives to save their fellow citizens.\n\nDuring the Hundred Years' War, the army of King Edward III besieged Calais, and Edward ordered that the town's population be killed ''en masse''. He agreed to spare them if six of the principal citizens would come to him prepared to die, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes around their necks. When they came, he ordered that they be executed, but pardoned them when his queen, Philippa of Hainault, begged him to spare their lives. ''The Burghers of Calais'' depicts the men as they are leaving for the king's camp, carrying keys to the town's gates and citadel.\n\nRodin began the project in 1884, inspired by the chronicles of the siege by Jean Froissart. Though the town envisioned an allegorical, heroic piece centered on Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the eldest of the six men, Rodin conceived the sculpture as a study in the varied and complex emotions under which all six men were laboring. One year into the commission, the Calais committee was not impressed with Rodin's progress. Rodin indicated his willingness to end the project rather than change his design to meet the committee's conservative expectations, but Calais said to continue.\n\nIn 1889, ''The Burghers of Calais'' was first displayed to general acclaim. It is a bronze sculpture weighing two tons (1,814 kg), and its figures are 6.6 ft (2 m) tall. The six men portrayed do not display a united, heroic front; rather, each is isolated from his brothers, individually deliberating and struggling with his expected fate. Rodin soon proposed that the monument's high pedestal be eliminated, wanting to move the sculpture to ground level so that viewers could \"penetrate to the heart of the subject\". At ground level, the figures' positions lead the viewer around the work, and subtly suggest their common movement forward.\n\nThe committee was incensed by the untraditional proposal, but Rodin would not yield. In 1895, Calais succeeded in having ''Burghers'' displayed in their preferred form: the work was placed in front of a public garden on a high platform, surrounded by a cast-iron railing. Rodin had wanted it located near the town hall, where it would engage the public. Only after damage during the First World War, subsequent storage, and Rodin's death was the sculpture displayed as he had intended. It is one of Rodin's best-known and most acclaimed works.\n\n===Commissions and controversy ===\nBalzac'' (1891–1898) exposed in Jardin du Musée Rodin. The same statue is used for the monument in Paris\nRodin in mid-career\nRodin observing work on the monument to Victor Hugo at the studio of his assistant Henri Lebossé in 1896\nThe ''Monument to Balzac'' in Paris\n\nCommissioned to create a monument to French writer Victor Hugo in 1889, Rodin dealt extensively with the subject of ''artist and muse''. Like many of Rodin's public commissions, ''Monument to Victor Hugo'' was met with resistance because it did not fit conventional expectations. Commenting on Rodin's monument to Victor Hugo, ''The Times'' in 1909 expressed that \"there is some show of reason in the complaint that Rodin's conceptions are sometimes unsuited to his medium, and that in such cases they overstrain his vast technical powers\". The 1897 plaster model was not cast in bronze until 1964.\n\nThe ''Société des Gens des Lettres'', a Parisian organization of writers, planned a monument to French novelist Honoré de Balzac immediately after his death in 1850. The society commissioned Rodin to create the memorial in 1891, and Rodin spent years developing the concept for his sculpture. Challenged in finding an appropriate representation of Balzac given the author's rotund physique, Rodin produced many studies: portraits, full-length figures in the nude, wearing a frock coat, or in a robe – a replica of which Rodin had requested. The realized sculpture displays Balzac cloaked in the drapery, looking forcefully into the distance with deeply gouged features. Rodin's intent had been to show Balzac at the moment of conceiving a work – to express courage, labor, and struggle.\n\nWhen ''Balzac'' was exhibited in 1898, the negative reaction was not surprising. The ''Société'' rejected the work, and the press ran parodies. Criticizing the work, Morey (1918) reflected, \"there may come a time, and doubtless will come a time, when it will not seem ''outre'' to represent a great novelist as a huge comic mask crowning a bathrobe, but even at the present day this statue impresses one as slang.\" A modern critic, indeed, indicates that ''Balzac'' is one of Rodin's masterpieces.\n\nThe monument had its supporters in Rodin's day; a manifesto defending him was signed by Monet, Debussy, and future Premier Georges Clemenceau, among many others. In the BBC series Civilisation, art historian Kenneth Clark praised the monument as \"the greatest piece of sculpture of the 19th Century, perhaps, indeed, the greatest since Michelangelo.\" Rather than try to convince skeptics of the merit of the monument, Rodin repaid the ''Société'' his commission and moved the figure to his garden. After this experience, Rodin did not complete another public commission. Only in 1939 was ''Monument to Balzac'' cast in bronze and placed on the Boulevard du Montparnasse at the intersection with Boulevard Raspail.\n\n===Other works===\n''Auguste Rodin'', 1892 by Camille Claudel\nThe popularity of Rodin's most famous sculptures tends to obscure his total creative output. A prolific artist, he created thousands of busts, figures, and sculptural fragments over more than five decades. He painted in oils (especially in his thirties) and in watercolors. The Musée Rodin holds 7,000 of his drawings and prints, in chalk and charcoal, and thirteen vigorous drypoints. He also produced a single lithograph.\n\nPortraiture was an important component of Rodin's oeuvre, helping him to win acceptance and financial independence. His first sculpture was a bust of his father in 1860, and he produced at least 56 portraits between 1877 and his death in 1917. Early subjects included fellow sculptor Jules Dalou (1883) and companion Camille Claudel (1884).\n\nLater, with his reputation established, Rodin made busts of prominent contemporaries such as English politician George Wyndham (1905), Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1906), Socialist and former mistress of the Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII Countess of Warwick (1908), Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1909), former Argentinian president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and French statesman Georges Clemenceau (1911).\n\nHis undated drawing ''Study of a Woman Nude, Standing, Arms Raised, Hands Crossed Above Head'' is one of the works seized in 2012 from Cornelius Gurlitt.\n", "A famous \"fragment\": ''The Walking Man'' (1877-78)\n\nRodin was a naturalist, less concerned with monumental expression than with character and emotion. Departing with centuries of tradition, he turned away from the idealism of the Greeks, and the decorative beauty of the Baroque and neo-Baroque movements. His sculpture emphasized the individual and the concreteness of flesh, and suggested emotion through detailed, textured surfaces, and the interplay of light and shadow. To a greater degree than his contemporaries, Rodin believed that an individual's character was revealed by his physical features.\n\nRodin's talent for surface modeling allowed him to let every part of the body speak for the whole. The male's passion in ''The Thinker'' is suggested by the grip of his toes on the rock, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands. Speaking of ''The Thinker'', Rodin illuminated his aesthetic: \"What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.\"\n\nSculptural fragments to Rodin were autonomous works, and he considered them the essence of his artistic statement. His fragments – perhaps lacking arms, legs, or a head – took sculpture further from its traditional role of portraying likenesses, and into a realm where forms existed for their own sake. Notable examples are ''The Walking Man'', ''Meditation without Arms'', and ''Iris, Messenger of the Gods''.\n\nRodin saw suffering and conflict as hallmarks of modern art. \"Nothing, really, is more moving than the maddened beast, dying from unfulfilled desire and asking in vain for grace to quell its passion.\" Charles Baudelaire echoed those themes, and was among Rodin's favorite poets. Rodin enjoyed music, especially the opera composer Gluck, and wrote a book about French cathedrals. He owned a work by the as-yet-unrecognized Van Gogh, and admired the forgotten El Greco.\n\n===Method===\n''The Shade'', (1880-81) High Museum of Art, Atlanta\nA plaster of ''The Age of Bronze''\n\nInstead of copying traditional academic postures, Rodin preferred his models to move naturally around his studio (despite their nakedness). The sculptor often made quick sketches in clay that were later fine-tuned, cast in plaster, and cast in bronze or carved from marble. Rodin's focus was on the handling of clay.\n\nGeorge Bernard Shaw sat for a portrait and gave an idea of Rodin's technique: \"While he worked, he achieved a number of miracles. At the end of the first fifteen minutes, after having given a simple idea of the human form to the block of clay, he produced by the action of his thumb a bust so living that I would have taken it away with me to relieve the sculptor of any further work.\"\n\nHe described the evolution of his bust over a month, passing through \"all the stages of art's evolution\": first, a \"Byzantine masterpiece\", then \"Bernini intermingled\", then an elegant Houdon. \"The hand of Rodin worked not as the hand of a sculptor works, but as the work of ''Elan Vital''. The ''Hand of God'' is his own hand.\"\n\nAfter he completed his work in clay, he employed highly skilled assistants to re-sculpt his compositions at larger sizes (including any of his large-scale monuments such as ''The Thinker''), to cast the clay compositions into plaster or bronze, and to carve his marbles. Rodin's major innovation was to capitalize on such multi-staged processes of 19th century sculpture and their reliance on plaster casting.\n\nSince clay deteriorates rapidly if not kept wet or fired into a terra-cotta, sculptors used plaster casts as a means of securing the composition they would make from the fugitive material that is clay. This was common practice amongst Rodin's contemporaries, and sculptors would exhibit plaster casts with the hopes that they would be commissioned to have the works made in a more permanent material. Rodin, however, would have multiple plasters made and treat them as the raw material of sculpture, recombining their parts and figures into new compositions, and new names.\n\nAs Rodin's practice developed into the 1890s, he became more and more radical in his pursuit of fragmentation, the combination of figures at different scales, and the making of new compositions from his earlier work. A prime example of this is the bold ''The Walking Man'' (1899–1900), which was exhibited as his major one-person show in 1900. This is composed of two sculptures from the 1870s that Rodin found in his studio – a broken and damaged torso that had fallen into neglect and the lower extremities of a statuette version of his 1878 ''St. John the Baptist Preaching'' he was having re-sculpted at a reduced scale.\n\nWithout finessing the join between upper and lower, between torso and legs, Rodin created a work that many sculptors at the time and subsequently have seen as one of his strongest and most singular works. This is despite the fact that the object conveys two different styles, exhibits two different attitudes toward finish, and lacks any attempt to hide the arbitrary fusion of these two components. It was the freedom and creativity with which Rodin used these practices – along with his activation surfaces of sculptures through traces of his own touch and with his more open attitude toward bodily pose, sensual subject matter, and non-realistic surface – that marked Rodin's re-making of traditional 19th century sculptural techniques into the prototype for modern sculpture.\n", "A portrait of Rodin by his friend Alphonse Legros\n\nBy 1900, Rodin's artistic reputation was entrenched. Gaining exposure from a pavilion of his artwork set up near the 1900 World's Fair (''Exposition Universelle'') in Paris, he received requests to make busts of prominent people internationally, while his assistants at the atelier produced duplicates of his works. His income from portrait commissions alone totaled probably 200,000 francs a year. As Rodin's fame grew, he attracted many followers, including the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and authors Octave Mirbeau, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and Oscar Wilde.\n\nRilke stayed with Rodin in 1905 and 1906, and did administrative work for him; he would later write a laudatory monograph on the sculptor. Rodin and Beuret's modest country estate in Meudon, purchased in 1897, was a host to such visitors as King Edward, dancer Isadora Duncan, and harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Rodin moved to the city in 1908, renting the main floor of the Hôtel Biron, an 18th-century townhouse. He left Beuret in Meudon, and began an affair with the American-born Duchesse de Choiseul. From 1910, he mentored the Russian sculptor, Moissey Kogan.\n\n===America===\nJardin des Tuileries, Paris\nWhile Rodin was beginning to be accepted in France by the time of ''The Burghers of Calais'', he had not yet conquered the American market. Because of his technique and the frankness of some of his work, he did not have an easy time selling his work to American industrialists. Fortunately, he came to know Sarah Tyson Hallowell (1846–1924), a curator from Chicago who visited Paris to arrange exhibitions at the large Interstate Expositions of the 1870s and 1880s. Hallowell was not only a curator but an adviser and a facilitator who was trusted by a number of prominent American collectors to suggest works for their collections, the most prominent of these being the Chicago hotelier Potter Palmer and his wife, Bertha Palmer (1849–1918).\n\nThe next opportunity for Rodin in America was the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Hallowell wanted to help promote Rodin's work and he suggested a solo exhibition, which she wrote him was ''beaucoup moins beau que l'original'' but impossible, outside the rules. Instead, she suggested he send a number of works for her loan exhibition of French art from American collections and she told him she would list them as being part of an American collection. Rodin sent Hallowell three works, ''Cupid and Psyche'', ''Sphinx'' and ''Andromeda''. All nudes, these works provoked great controversy and were ultimately hidden behind a drape with special permission given for viewers to see them.\n\nFortunately, ''Bust of Dalou'' and ''Burgher of Calais'' were on display in the official French pavilion at the fair and so between the works that were on display and those that were not, he was noticed. However, the works he gave Hallowell to sell found no takers, but she soon brought the controversial Quaker-born financier Charles Yerkes (1837–1905) into the fold and he purchased two large marbles for his Chicago manse; Yerkes was likely the first American to own a Rodin sculpture.\n\nOther collectors soon followed including the tastemaking Potter Palmers of Chicago and Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) of Boston, all arranged by Sarah Hallowell. In appreciation for her efforts at unlocking the American market, Rodin eventually presented Hallowell with a bronze, a marble and a terra cotta. When Hallowell moved to Paris in 1893, she and Rodin continued their warm friendship and correspondence, which lasted to the end of the sculptor's life. After Hallowell's death, her niece, the painter Harriet Hallowell, inherited the Rodins and after her death, the American heirs could not manage to match their value in order to export them, so they became the property of the French state.\n\n===Great Britain===\nRodin in 1914\n\nAfter the start of the 20th century, Rodin was a regular visitor to Great Britain, where he developed a loyal following by the beginning of the First World War. He first visited England in 1881, where his friend, the artist Alphonse Legros, had introduced him to the poet William Ernest Henley. With his personal connections and enthusiasm for Rodin's art, Henley was most responsible for Rodin's reception in Britain. (Rodin later returned the favor by sculpting a bust of Henley that was used as the frontispiece to Henley's collected works and, after his death, on his monument in London.)\n\nThrough Henley, Rodin met Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Browning, in whom he found further support. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of British artists, students, and high society for his art, Rodin donated a significant selection of his works to the nation in 1914.\n\nAfter the revitalization of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1890, Rodin served as the body's vice-president. In 1903, Rodin was elected president of the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers. He replaced its former president, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, upon Whistler's death. His election to the prestigious position was largely due to the efforts of Albert Ludovici, father of English philosopher Anthony Ludovici, who was private secretary to Rodin for several months in 1906, but the two men parted company after Christmas, \"to their mutual relief.\"\n\nDuring his later creative years, Rodin's work turned increasingly toward the female form, and themes of more overt masculinity and femininity. He concentrated on small dance studies, and produced numerous erotic drawings, sketched in a loose way, without taking his pencil from the paper or his eyes from the model. Rodin met American dancer Isadora Duncan in 1900, attempted to seduce her, and the next year sketched studies of her and her students. In July 1906, Rodin was also enchanted by dancers from the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, and produced some of his most famous drawings from the experience.\n\nRodin's gravesite at the Musée Rodin de Meudon\nFifty-three years into their relationship, Rodin married Rose Beuret. The wedding was 29 January 1917, and Beuret died two weeks later, on 16 February. Rodin was ill that year; in January, he suffered weakness from influenza, and on 16 November his physician announced that \"congestion of the lungs has caused great weakness. The patient's condition is grave.\" Rodin died the next day, age 77, at his villa in Meudon, Île-de-France, on the outskirts of Paris.\n\nA cast of ''The Thinker'' was placed next to his tomb in Meudon; it was Rodin's wish that the figure served as his headstone and epitaph. In 1923, Marcell Tirel, Rodin's secretary, published a book alleging that Rodin's death was largely due to cold, and the fact that he had no heat at Meudon. Rodin requested permission to stay in the Hotel Biron, a museum of his works, but the director of the museum refused to let him stay there.\n", "The Kiss'', 1889\nRodin's signature on ''The Thinker''\nThe grounds of Musée Rodin\nRodin Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA\n\nRodin willed to the French state his studio and the right to make casts from his plasters. Because he encouraged the edition of his sculpted work, Rodin's sculptures are represented in many public and private collections. The Musée Rodin was founded in 1916 and opened in 1919 at the Hôtel Biron, where Rodin had lived, and it holds the largest Rodin collection, with more than 6,000 sculptures and 7,000 works on paper. The French order ''Légion d'honneur'' made him a Commander, and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.\n\nDuring his lifetime, Rodin was compared to Michelangelo, and was widely recognized as the greatest artist of the era. In the three decades following his death, his popularity waned with changing aesthetic values. Since the 1950s, Rodin's reputation has re-ascended; he is recognized as the most important sculptor of the modern era, and has been the subject of much scholarly work. The sense of incompletion offered by some of his sculpture, such as ''The Walking Man'', influenced the increasingly abstract sculptural forms of the 20th century.\n\nRodin restored an ancient role of sculpture – to capture the physical and intellectual force of the human subject – and he freed sculpture from the repetition of traditional patterns, providing the foundation for greater experimentation in the 20th century. His popularity is ascribed to his emotion-laden representations of ordinary men and women – to his ability to find the beauty and pathos in the human animal. His most popular works, such as ''The Kiss'' and ''The Thinker'', are widely used outside the fine arts as symbols of human emotion and character. To honor Rodin's artistic legacy, the Google search engine homepage displayed a Google Doodle featuring ''The Thinker'' to celebrate his 172nd birthday on 12 November 2012.\n\nRodin had enormous artistic influence. A whole generation of sculptors studied in his workshop. These include Gutzon Borglum, Antoine Bourdelle, Constantin Brancusi, Camille Claudel, Charles Despiau, Malvina Hoffman, Carl Milles, François Pompon, Rodo, Gustav Vigeland, and Clara Westhoff, even though Brancusi later rejected his legacy. Rodin also promoted the work of other sculptors, including Aristide Maillol and Ivan Meštrović whom Rodin once called \"the greatest phenomenon amongst sculptors.\" Other sculptors whose work has been described as owing to Rodin include Joseph Csaky, Alexander Archipenko, Joseph Bernard, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Georg Kolbe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Jacques Lipchitz, Pablo Picasso, Adolfo Wildt, and Ossip Zadkine. Henry Moore acknowledged Rodin's seminal influence on his work.\n\nSeveral films have been made featuring Rodin as a prominent character or presence. These include ''Camille Claudel'', a 1988 film in which Gérard Depardieu portrays Rodin, ''Camille Claudel 1915'' from 2013, and ''Rodin'', a 2017 film starring Vincent Lindon as Rodin.\n\nIn 2011 the world premiere of Boris Eifman's new ballet ''Rodin'' took place in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The ballet is dedicated to the life and work of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel.\n\n===Forgeries===\nThe relative ease of making reproductions has also encouraged many forgeries: a survey of expert opinion placed Rodin in the top ten most-faked artists. Rodin fought against forgeries of his works as early as 1901, and since his death, many cases of organized, large-scale forgeries have been revealed. A massive forgery was discovered by French authorities in the early 1990s and led to the conviction of art dealer Guy Hain.\n\nTo deal with the complexity of bronze reproduction, France has promulgated several laws since 1956 which limit reproduction to twelve casts – the maximum number that can be made from an artist's plasters and still be considered his work. As a result of this limit, ''The Burghers of Calais'', for example, is found in fourteen cities.\n\nIn the market for sculpture, plagued by fakes, the value of a piece increases significantly when its provenance can be established. A Rodin work with a verified history sold for US$4.8 million in 1999, and Rodin's bronze ''Eve, grand modele – version sans rocher'' sold for $18.9 million at a 2008 Christie's auction in New York. Art critics concerned about authenticity have argued that taking a cast does not equal reproducing a Rodin sculpture – especially given the importance of surface treatment in Rodin's work.\n\nA number of drawings, previously attributed to Rodin, are now known to have been forged by Ernest Durig.\n", "\n", "\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* (Online Essay)\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n", "* Corbett, Rachel, ''You Must Change Your Life: the Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin'', New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2016.\n*\n*\n*\n* Vincent, Clare. \"Auguste Rodin (1840–1917).\" In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2004)\n", "\n\n\n* Musée Rodin, Paris\n* Rodin Museum, Philadelphia\n* Auguste Rodin at the National Gallery of Art\n* Rodin Collection, Stanford University\n* Auguste Rodin: Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art\n* Rodin Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Nov 1987- Jan 1988\n* Rodin at the Victoria and Albert Museum\n* Correspondence with Walter Butterworth held at the University of Salford\n* Public Art Fund: Rodin at Rockefeller Center\n* Video documentary about Rodin's work\n* \n* \n* (by Ranier Maria Rilke, trans. by Jessie Lemont & Hans Trausil)\n*\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Biography", "Works", "Aesthetic", "Later years (1900–1917)", "Legacy", "References", "Sources", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "===Artistic independence===\n''Auguste Rodin'', John Singer Sargent, 1884\n\nRose Beuret and Rodin returned to Paris in 1877, moving into a small flat on the Left Bank." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n'''François Auguste René Rodin''' (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917), known as '''Auguste Rodin''' (; ), was a French sculptor.", "Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past.", "He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.", "Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay.", "Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime.", "They clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic.", "Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality.", "Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style.", "Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.", "From the unexpected realism of his first major figure – inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy – to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, such that he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time.", "By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist.", "Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists.", "He married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives.", "His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades, his legacy solidified.", "Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community.", "\n===Formative years===\nRodin was born in 1840 into a working-class family in Paris, the second child of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin, who was a police department clerk.", "He was largely self-educated, and began to draw at age ten.", "Between ages 14 and 17, Rodin attended the ''Petite École'', a school specializing in art and mathematics, where he studied drawing and painting.", "His drawing teacher, Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, believed in first developing the personality of his students so that they observed with their own eyes and drew from their recollections.", "Rodin still expressed appreciation for his teacher much later in life.", "It was at Petite École that he first met Jules Dalou and Alphonse Legros.", "Rodin circa 1862.", "In 1857, Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the École des Beaux-Arts in an attempt to win entrance; he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied.", "Given that entrance requirements at the ''Grande École'' were not particularly high, the rejections were considerable setbacks.", "Rodin's inability to gain entrance may have been due to the judges' Neoclassical tastes, while Rodin had been schooled in light, 18th-century sculpture.", "Leaving the ''Petite École'' in 1857, Rodin earned a living as a craftsman and ornamenter for most of the next two decades, producing decorative objects and architectural embellishments.", "Rodin's sister Maria, two years his senior, died of peritonitis in a convent in 1862.", "Rodin was anguished and felt guilty because he had introduced Maria to an unfaithful suitor.", "Turning away from art, he briefly joined a Catholic order, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.", "Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder and head of the congregation, recognized Rodin's talent and, sensing his lack of suitability for the order, encouraged Rodin to continue with his sculpture.", "He returned to work as a decorator, while taking classes with animal sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye.", "The teacher's attention to detail – his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion – significantly influenced Rodin.", "In 1864, Rodin began to live with a young seamstress named Rose Beuret (born in June 1844), with whom he would stay – with ranging commitment – for the rest of his life.", "The couple had a son, Auguste-Eugène Beuret (1866–1934).", "That year, Rodin offered his first sculpture for exhibition, and entered the studio of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a successful mass producer of ''objets d'art''.", "Rodin worked as Carrier-Belleuse' chief assistant until 1870, designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments.", "With the arrival of the Franco-Prussian War, Rodin was called to serve in the National Guard, but his service was brief due to his near-sightedness.", "Decorators' work had dwindled because of the war, yet Rodin needed to support his family; poverty was a continual difficulty for Rodin until about the age of 30.", "Carrier-Belleuse soon asked Rodin to join him in Belgium, where they would work on ornamentation for the Brussels Stock Exchange.", "Rodin planned to stay in Belgium a few months, but he spent the next six years outside of France.", "It was a pivotal time in his life.", "He had acquired skill and experience as a craftsman, but no one had yet seen his art, which sat in his workshop, since he could not afford castings.", "Though his relationship with Carrier-Belleuse deteriorated, Rodin found other employment in Brussels, displaying some works at salons, and his companion Rose soon joined him there.", "Having saved enough money to travel, Rodin visited Italy for two months in 1875, where he was drawn to the work of Donatello and Michelangelo.", "Their work had a profound effect on his artistic direction.", "Rodin said, \"It is Michelangelo who has freed me from academic sculpture.\"", "Returning to Belgium, he began work on ''The Age of Bronze'', a life-size male figure whose realism brought Rodin attention but led to accusations of sculptural cheating—its realism and scale was such that critics alleged he had cast the work from a living model.", "Much of Rodin's later work was explicitly larger or smaller than life, in part to demonstrate the folly of such accusations.", "Misfortune surrounded Rodin: his mother, who had wanted to see her son marry, was dead, and his father was blind and senile, cared for by Rodin's sister-in-law, Aunt Thérèse.", "Rodin's eleven-year-old son Auguste, possibly developmentally delayed, was also in the ever-helpful Thérèse's care.", "Rodin had essentially abandoned his son for six years, and would have a very limited relationship with him throughout his life.", "Father and son now joined the couple in their flat, with Rose as caretaker.", "The charges of fakery surrounding ''The Age of Bronze'' continued.", "Rodin increasingly sought more soothing female companionship in Paris, and Rose stayed in the background.", "Rodin earned his living collaborating with more established sculptors on public commissions, primarily memorials and neo-baroque architectural pieces in the style of Carpeaux.", "In competitions for commissions he submitted models of Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Lazare Carnot, all to no avail.", "On his own time, he worked on studies leading to the creation of his next important work, ''St.", "John the Baptist Preaching''.", "Camille Claudel (1864–1943)\nRodin in his studio.", "In 1880, Carrier-Belleuse – now art director of the Sèvres national porcelain factory – offered Rodin a part-time position as a designer.", "The offer was in part a gesture of reconciliation, and Rodin accepted.", "That part of Rodin which appreciated 18th-century tastes was aroused, and he immersed himself in designs for vases and table ornaments that brought the factory renown across Europe.", "The artistic community appreciated his work in this vein, and Rodin was invited to Paris Salons by such friends as writer Léon Cladel.", "During his early appearances at these social events, Rodin seemed shy; in his later years, as his fame grew, he displayed the loquaciousness and temperament for which he is better known.", "French statesman Leon Gambetta expressed a desire to meet Rodin, and the sculptor impressed him when they met at a salon.", "Gambetta spoke of Rodin in turn to several government ministers, likely including Edmund Turquet, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Fine Arts, whom Rodin eventually met.", "Rodin's relationship with Turquet was rewarding: through him, he won the 1880 commission to create a portal for a planned museum of decorative arts.", "Rodin dedicated much of the next four decades to his elaborate ''Gates of Hell'', an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built.", "Many of the portal's figures became sculptures in themselves, including Rodin's most famous, ''The Thinker'' and ''The Kiss''.", "With the museum commission came a free studio, granting Rodin a new level of artistic freedom.", "Soon, he stopped working at the porcelain factory; his income came from private commissions.", "In 1883, Rodin agreed to supervise a course for sculptor Alfred Boucher in his absence, where he met the 18-year-old Camille Claudel.", "The two formed a passionate but stormy relationship and influenced each other artistically.", "Claudel inspired Rodin as a model for many of his figures, and she was a talented sculptor, assisting him on commissions.", "Although busy with ''The Gates of Hell'', Rodin won other commissions.", "He pursued an opportunity to create a historical monument for the town of Calais.", "For a monument to French author Honoré de Balzac, Rodin was chosen in 1891.", "His execution of both sculptures clashed with traditional tastes, and met with varying degrees of disapproval from the organizations that sponsored the commissions.", "Still, Rodin was gaining support from diverse sources that propelled him toward fame.", "In 1889, the Paris Salon invited Rodin to be a judge on its artistic jury.", "Though Rodin's career was on the rise, Claudel and Beuret were becoming increasingly impatient with Rodin's \"double life\".", "Claudel and Rodin shared an atelier at a small old castle, but Rodin refused to relinquish his ties to Beuret, his loyal companion during the lean years, and mother of his son.", "During one absence, Rodin wrote to Beuret, \"I think of how much you must have loved me to put up with my caprices...I remain, in all tenderness, your Rodin.\"", "Claudel and Rodin parted in 1898.", "Claudel suffered an alleged nervous breakdown several years later and was confined to an institution for 30 years by her family, until her death in 1943, despite numerous attempts by doctors to explain to her mother and brother that she was sane.", "''The Age of Bronze'' (1877).", "M. Auguste Rodin - photo by Edward Steichen, ca.", "1911\n\nIn 1864, Rodin submitted his first sculpture for exhibition, ''The Man with the Broken Nose'', to the Paris Salon.", "The subject was an elderly neighbourhood street porter.", "The unconventional bronze piece was not a traditional bust, but instead the head was \"broken off\" at the neck, the nose was flattened and crooked, and the back of the head was absent, having fallen off the clay model in an accident.", "The work emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject; it illustrated the \"unfinishedness\" that would characterize many of Rodin's later sculptures.", "The Salon rejected the piece.", "===Early figures: the inspiration of Italy===\nIn Brussels, Rodin created his first full-scale work, ''The Age of Bronze'', having returned from Italy.", "Modeled after a Belgian soldier, the figure drew inspiration from Michelangelo's ''Dying Slave'', which Rodin had observed at the Louvre.", "Attempting to combine Michelangelo's mastery of the human form with his own sense of human nature, Rodin studied his model from all angles, at rest and in motion; he mounted a ladder for additional perspective, and made clay models, which he studied by candlelight.", "The result was a life-size, well-proportioned nude figure, posed unconventionally with his right hand atop his head, and his left arm held out at his side, forearm parallel to the body.", "In 1877, the work debuted in Brussels and then was shown at the Paris Salon.", "The statue's apparent lack of a theme was troubling to critics – commemorating neither mythology nor a noble historical event – and it is not clear whether Rodin intended a theme.", "He first titled the work ''The Vanquished'', in which form the left hand held a spear, but he removed the spear because it obstructed the torso from certain angles.", "After two more intermediary titles, Rodin settled on ''The Age of Bronze'', suggesting the Bronze Age, and in Rodin's words, \"man arising from nature\".", "Later, however, Rodin said that he had had in mind \"just a simple piece of sculpture without reference to subject\".", "Its mastery of form, light, and shadow made the work look so realistic that Rodin was accused of ''surmoulage'' – having taken a cast from a living model.", "Rodin vigorously denied the charges, writing to newspapers and having photographs taken of the model to prove how the sculpture differed.", "He demanded an inquiry and was eventually exonerated by a committee of sculptors.", "Leaving aside the false charges, the piece polarized critics.", "It had barely won acceptance for display at the Paris Salon, and criticism likened it to \"a statue of a sleepwalker\" and called it \"an astonishingly accurate copy of a low type\".", "Others rallied to defend the piece and Rodin's integrity.", "The government minister Turquet admired the piece, and ''The Age of Bronze'' was purchased by the state for 2,200 francs – what it had cost Rodin to have it cast in bronze.", "''St.", "John the Baptist Preaching'' (1878).", "A second male nude, ''St.", "John the Baptist Preaching'', was completed in 1878.", "Rodin sought to avoid another charge of ''surmoulage'' by making the statue larger than life: ''St.", "John'' stands almost 6' 7\" (2 m).", "While ''The Age of Bronze'' is statically posed, ''St.", "John'' gestures and seems to move toward the viewer.", "The effect of walking is achieved despite the figure having both feet firmly on the ground – a physical impossibility, and a technical achievement that was lost on most contemporary critics.", "Rodin chose this contradictory position to, in his words, \"display simultaneously...views of an object which in fact can be seen only successively\".", "Despite the title, ''St.", "John the Baptist Preaching'' did not have an obviously religious theme.", "The model, an Italian peasant who presented himself at Rodin's studio, possessed an idiosyncratic sense of movement that Rodin felt compelled to capture.", "Rodin thought of John the Baptist, and carried that association into the title of the work.", "In 1880, Rodin submitted the sculpture to the Paris Salon.", "Critics were still mostly dismissive of his work, but the piece finished third in the Salon's sculpture category.", "Regardless of the immediate receptions of ''St.", "John'' and ''The Age of Bronze'', Rodin had achieved a new degree of fame.", "Students sought him at his studio, praising his work and scorning the charges of ''surmoulage''.", "The artistic community knew his name.", "===''The Gates of Hell''===\n''The Gates of Hell'' (unfinished), Kunsthaus Zürich\n\nA commission to create a portal for Paris' planned Museum of Decorative Arts was awarded to Rodin in 1880.", "Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked throughout his life on ''The Gates of Hell'', a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from Dante's ''Inferno'' in high relief.", "Often lacking a clear conception of his major works, Rodin compensated with hard work and a striving for perfection.", "He conceived ''The Gates'' with the ''surmoulage'' controversy still in mind: \"...I had made the ''St.", "John'' to refute the charges of casting from a model, but it only partially succeeded.", "To prove completely that I could model from life as well as other sculptors, I determined...to make the sculpture on the door of figures smaller than life.\"", "Laws of composition gave way to the ''Gates''' disordered and untamed depiction of Hell.", "The figures and groups in this, Rodin's meditation on the condition of man, are physically and morally isolated in their torment.", "''The Gates of Hell'' comprised 186 figures in its final form.", "Many of Rodin's best-known sculptures started as designs of figures for this composition, such as ''The Thinker'', ''The Three Shades'', and ''The Kiss'', and were only later presented as separate and independent works.", "Other well-known works derived from ''The Gates'' are ''Ugolino'', ''Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone'', ''Fugit Amor'', ''She Who Was Once the Helmet-Maker's Beautiful Wife'', ''The Falling Man'', and ''The Prodigal Son''.", "Rodin's ''The Thinker'' (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture.", "''The Thinker'' (originally titled ''The Poet'', after Dante) was to become one of the most well-known sculptures in the world.", "The original was a high bronze piece created between 1879 and 1889, designed for the ''Gates'' lintel, from which the figure would gaze down upon Hell.", "While ''The Thinker'' most obviously characterizes Dante, aspects of the Biblical Adam, the mythological Prometheus, and Rodin himself have been ascribed to him.", "Other observers de-emphasize the apparent intellectual theme of ''The Thinker'', stressing the figure's rough physicality and the emotional tension emanating from it.", "===''The Burghers of Calais''===\n\n\n''The Burghers of Calais'' (1884–ca.", "1889) in Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England.", "The town of Calais had contemplated a historical monument for decades when Rodin learned of the project.", "He pursued the commission, interested in the medieval motif and patriotic theme.", "The mayor of Calais was tempted to hire Rodin on the spot upon visiting his studio, and soon the memorial was approved, with Rodin as its architect.", "It would commemorate the six townspeople of Calais who offered their lives to save their fellow citizens.", "During the Hundred Years' War, the army of King Edward III besieged Calais, and Edward ordered that the town's population be killed ''en masse''.", "He agreed to spare them if six of the principal citizens would come to him prepared to die, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes around their necks.", "When they came, he ordered that they be executed, but pardoned them when his queen, Philippa of Hainault, begged him to spare their lives.", "''The Burghers of Calais'' depicts the men as they are leaving for the king's camp, carrying keys to the town's gates and citadel.", "Rodin began the project in 1884, inspired by the chronicles of the siege by Jean Froissart.", "Though the town envisioned an allegorical, heroic piece centered on Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the eldest of the six men, Rodin conceived the sculpture as a study in the varied and complex emotions under which all six men were laboring.", "One year into the commission, the Calais committee was not impressed with Rodin's progress.", "Rodin indicated his willingness to end the project rather than change his design to meet the committee's conservative expectations, but Calais said to continue.", "In 1889, ''The Burghers of Calais'' was first displayed to general acclaim.", "It is a bronze sculpture weighing two tons (1,814 kg), and its figures are 6.6 ft (2 m) tall.", "The six men portrayed do not display a united, heroic front; rather, each is isolated from his brothers, individually deliberating and struggling with his expected fate.", "Rodin soon proposed that the monument's high pedestal be eliminated, wanting to move the sculpture to ground level so that viewers could \"penetrate to the heart of the subject\".", "At ground level, the figures' positions lead the viewer around the work, and subtly suggest their common movement forward.", "The committee was incensed by the untraditional proposal, but Rodin would not yield.", "In 1895, Calais succeeded in having ''Burghers'' displayed in their preferred form: the work was placed in front of a public garden on a high platform, surrounded by a cast-iron railing.", "Rodin had wanted it located near the town hall, where it would engage the public.", "Only after damage during the First World War, subsequent storage, and Rodin's death was the sculpture displayed as he had intended.", "It is one of Rodin's best-known and most acclaimed works.", "===Commissions and controversy ===\nBalzac'' (1891–1898) exposed in Jardin du Musée Rodin.", "The same statue is used for the monument in Paris\nRodin in mid-career\nRodin observing work on the monument to Victor Hugo at the studio of his assistant Henri Lebossé in 1896\nThe ''Monument to Balzac'' in Paris\n\nCommissioned to create a monument to French writer Victor Hugo in 1889, Rodin dealt extensively with the subject of ''artist and muse''.", "Like many of Rodin's public commissions, ''Monument to Victor Hugo'' was met with resistance because it did not fit conventional expectations.", "Commenting on Rodin's monument to Victor Hugo, ''The Times'' in 1909 expressed that \"there is some show of reason in the complaint that Rodin's conceptions are sometimes unsuited to his medium, and that in such cases they overstrain his vast technical powers\".", "The 1897 plaster model was not cast in bronze until 1964.", "The ''Société des Gens des Lettres'', a Parisian organization of writers, planned a monument to French novelist Honoré de Balzac immediately after his death in 1850.", "The society commissioned Rodin to create the memorial in 1891, and Rodin spent years developing the concept for his sculpture.", "Challenged in finding an appropriate representation of Balzac given the author's rotund physique, Rodin produced many studies: portraits, full-length figures in the nude, wearing a frock coat, or in a robe – a replica of which Rodin had requested.", "The realized sculpture displays Balzac cloaked in the drapery, looking forcefully into the distance with deeply gouged features.", "Rodin's intent had been to show Balzac at the moment of conceiving a work – to express courage, labor, and struggle.", "When ''Balzac'' was exhibited in 1898, the negative reaction was not surprising.", "The ''Société'' rejected the work, and the press ran parodies.", "Criticizing the work, Morey (1918) reflected, \"there may come a time, and doubtless will come a time, when it will not seem ''outre'' to represent a great novelist as a huge comic mask crowning a bathrobe, but even at the present day this statue impresses one as slang.\"", "A modern critic, indeed, indicates that ''Balzac'' is one of Rodin's masterpieces.", "The monument had its supporters in Rodin's day; a manifesto defending him was signed by Monet, Debussy, and future Premier Georges Clemenceau, among many others.", "In the BBC series Civilisation, art historian Kenneth Clark praised the monument as \"the greatest piece of sculpture of the 19th Century, perhaps, indeed, the greatest since Michelangelo.\"", "Rather than try to convince skeptics of the merit of the monument, Rodin repaid the ''Société'' his commission and moved the figure to his garden.", "After this experience, Rodin did not complete another public commission.", "Only in 1939 was ''Monument to Balzac'' cast in bronze and placed on the Boulevard du Montparnasse at the intersection with Boulevard Raspail.", "===Other works===\n''Auguste Rodin'', 1892 by Camille Claudel\nThe popularity of Rodin's most famous sculptures tends to obscure his total creative output.", "A prolific artist, he created thousands of busts, figures, and sculptural fragments over more than five decades.", "He painted in oils (especially in his thirties) and in watercolors.", "The Musée Rodin holds 7,000 of his drawings and prints, in chalk and charcoal, and thirteen vigorous drypoints.", "He also produced a single lithograph.", "Portraiture was an important component of Rodin's oeuvre, helping him to win acceptance and financial independence.", "His first sculpture was a bust of his father in 1860, and he produced at least 56 portraits between 1877 and his death in 1917.", "Early subjects included fellow sculptor Jules Dalou (1883) and companion Camille Claudel (1884).", "Later, with his reputation established, Rodin made busts of prominent contemporaries such as English politician George Wyndham (1905), Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1906), Socialist and former mistress of the Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII Countess of Warwick (1908), Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1909), former Argentinian president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and French statesman Georges Clemenceau (1911).", "His undated drawing ''Study of a Woman Nude, Standing, Arms Raised, Hands Crossed Above Head'' is one of the works seized in 2012 from Cornelius Gurlitt.", "A famous \"fragment\": ''The Walking Man'' (1877-78)\n\nRodin was a naturalist, less concerned with monumental expression than with character and emotion.", "Departing with centuries of tradition, he turned away from the idealism of the Greeks, and the decorative beauty of the Baroque and neo-Baroque movements.", "His sculpture emphasized the individual and the concreteness of flesh, and suggested emotion through detailed, textured surfaces, and the interplay of light and shadow.", "To a greater degree than his contemporaries, Rodin believed that an individual's character was revealed by his physical features.", "Rodin's talent for surface modeling allowed him to let every part of the body speak for the whole.", "The male's passion in ''The Thinker'' is suggested by the grip of his toes on the rock, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands.", "Speaking of ''The Thinker'', Rodin illuminated his aesthetic: \"What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.\"", "Sculptural fragments to Rodin were autonomous works, and he considered them the essence of his artistic statement.", "His fragments – perhaps lacking arms, legs, or a head – took sculpture further from its traditional role of portraying likenesses, and into a realm where forms existed for their own sake.", "Notable examples are ''The Walking Man'', ''Meditation without Arms'', and ''Iris, Messenger of the Gods''.", "Rodin saw suffering and conflict as hallmarks of modern art.", "\"Nothing, really, is more moving than the maddened beast, dying from unfulfilled desire and asking in vain for grace to quell its passion.\"", "Charles Baudelaire echoed those themes, and was among Rodin's favorite poets.", "Rodin enjoyed music, especially the opera composer Gluck, and wrote a book about French cathedrals.", "He owned a work by the as-yet-unrecognized Van Gogh, and admired the forgotten El Greco.", "===Method===\n''The Shade'', (1880-81) High Museum of Art, Atlanta\nA plaster of ''The Age of Bronze''\n\nInstead of copying traditional academic postures, Rodin preferred his models to move naturally around his studio (despite their nakedness).", "The sculptor often made quick sketches in clay that were later fine-tuned, cast in plaster, and cast in bronze or carved from marble.", "Rodin's focus was on the handling of clay.", "George Bernard Shaw sat for a portrait and gave an idea of Rodin's technique: \"While he worked, he achieved a number of miracles.", "At the end of the first fifteen minutes, after having given a simple idea of the human form to the block of clay, he produced by the action of his thumb a bust so living that I would have taken it away with me to relieve the sculptor of any further work.\"", "He described the evolution of his bust over a month, passing through \"all the stages of art's evolution\": first, a \"Byzantine masterpiece\", then \"Bernini intermingled\", then an elegant Houdon.", "\"The hand of Rodin worked not as the hand of a sculptor works, but as the work of ''Elan Vital''.", "The ''Hand of God'' is his own hand.\"", "After he completed his work in clay, he employed highly skilled assistants to re-sculpt his compositions at larger sizes (including any of his large-scale monuments such as ''The Thinker''), to cast the clay compositions into plaster or bronze, and to carve his marbles.", "Rodin's major innovation was to capitalize on such multi-staged processes of 19th century sculpture and their reliance on plaster casting.", "Since clay deteriorates rapidly if not kept wet or fired into a terra-cotta, sculptors used plaster casts as a means of securing the composition they would make from the fugitive material that is clay.", "This was common practice amongst Rodin's contemporaries, and sculptors would exhibit plaster casts with the hopes that they would be commissioned to have the works made in a more permanent material.", "Rodin, however, would have multiple plasters made and treat them as the raw material of sculpture, recombining their parts and figures into new compositions, and new names.", "As Rodin's practice developed into the 1890s, he became more and more radical in his pursuit of fragmentation, the combination of figures at different scales, and the making of new compositions from his earlier work.", "A prime example of this is the bold ''The Walking Man'' (1899–1900), which was exhibited as his major one-person show in 1900.", "This is composed of two sculptures from the 1870s that Rodin found in his studio – a broken and damaged torso that had fallen into neglect and the lower extremities of a statuette version of his 1878 ''St.", "John the Baptist Preaching'' he was having re-sculpted at a reduced scale.", "Without finessing the join between upper and lower, between torso and legs, Rodin created a work that many sculptors at the time and subsequently have seen as one of his strongest and most singular works.", "This is despite the fact that the object conveys two different styles, exhibits two different attitudes toward finish, and lacks any attempt to hide the arbitrary fusion of these two components.", "It was the freedom and creativity with which Rodin used these practices – along with his activation surfaces of sculptures through traces of his own touch and with his more open attitude toward bodily pose, sensual subject matter, and non-realistic surface – that marked Rodin's re-making of traditional 19th century sculptural techniques into the prototype for modern sculpture.", "A portrait of Rodin by his friend Alphonse Legros\n\nBy 1900, Rodin's artistic reputation was entrenched.", "Gaining exposure from a pavilion of his artwork set up near the 1900 World's Fair (''Exposition Universelle'') in Paris, he received requests to make busts of prominent people internationally, while his assistants at the atelier produced duplicates of his works.", "His income from portrait commissions alone totaled probably 200,000 francs a year.", "As Rodin's fame grew, he attracted many followers, including the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and authors Octave Mirbeau, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and Oscar Wilde.", "Rilke stayed with Rodin in 1905 and 1906, and did administrative work for him; he would later write a laudatory monograph on the sculptor.", "Rodin and Beuret's modest country estate in Meudon, purchased in 1897, was a host to such visitors as King Edward, dancer Isadora Duncan, and harpsichordist Wanda Landowska.", "Rodin moved to the city in 1908, renting the main floor of the Hôtel Biron, an 18th-century townhouse.", "He left Beuret in Meudon, and began an affair with the American-born Duchesse de Choiseul.", "From 1910, he mentored the Russian sculptor, Moissey Kogan.", "===America===\nJardin des Tuileries, Paris\nWhile Rodin was beginning to be accepted in France by the time of ''The Burghers of Calais'', he had not yet conquered the American market.", "Because of his technique and the frankness of some of his work, he did not have an easy time selling his work to American industrialists.", "Fortunately, he came to know Sarah Tyson Hallowell (1846–1924), a curator from Chicago who visited Paris to arrange exhibitions at the large Interstate Expositions of the 1870s and 1880s.", "Hallowell was not only a curator but an adviser and a facilitator who was trusted by a number of prominent American collectors to suggest works for their collections, the most prominent of these being the Chicago hotelier Potter Palmer and his wife, Bertha Palmer (1849–1918).", "The next opportunity for Rodin in America was the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.", "Hallowell wanted to help promote Rodin's work and he suggested a solo exhibition, which she wrote him was ''beaucoup moins beau que l'original'' but impossible, outside the rules.", "Instead, she suggested he send a number of works for her loan exhibition of French art from American collections and she told him she would list them as being part of an American collection.", "Rodin sent Hallowell three works, ''Cupid and Psyche'', ''Sphinx'' and ''Andromeda''.", "All nudes, these works provoked great controversy and were ultimately hidden behind a drape with special permission given for viewers to see them.", "Fortunately, ''Bust of Dalou'' and ''Burgher of Calais'' were on display in the official French pavilion at the fair and so between the works that were on display and those that were not, he was noticed.", "However, the works he gave Hallowell to sell found no takers, but she soon brought the controversial Quaker-born financier Charles Yerkes (1837–1905) into the fold and he purchased two large marbles for his Chicago manse; Yerkes was likely the first American to own a Rodin sculpture.", "Other collectors soon followed including the tastemaking Potter Palmers of Chicago and Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) of Boston, all arranged by Sarah Hallowell.", "In appreciation for her efforts at unlocking the American market, Rodin eventually presented Hallowell with a bronze, a marble and a terra cotta.", "When Hallowell moved to Paris in 1893, she and Rodin continued their warm friendship and correspondence, which lasted to the end of the sculptor's life.", "After Hallowell's death, her niece, the painter Harriet Hallowell, inherited the Rodins and after her death, the American heirs could not manage to match their value in order to export them, so they became the property of the French state.", "===Great Britain===\nRodin in 1914\n\nAfter the start of the 20th century, Rodin was a regular visitor to Great Britain, where he developed a loyal following by the beginning of the First World War.", "He first visited England in 1881, where his friend, the artist Alphonse Legros, had introduced him to the poet William Ernest Henley.", "With his personal connections and enthusiasm for Rodin's art, Henley was most responsible for Rodin's reception in Britain.", "(Rodin later returned the favor by sculpting a bust of Henley that was used as the frontispiece to Henley's collected works and, after his death, on his monument in London.)", "Through Henley, Rodin met Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Browning, in whom he found further support.", "Encouraged by the enthusiasm of British artists, students, and high society for his art, Rodin donated a significant selection of his works to the nation in 1914.", "After the revitalization of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1890, Rodin served as the body's vice-president.", "In 1903, Rodin was elected president of the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers.", "He replaced its former president, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, upon Whistler's death.", "His election to the prestigious position was largely due to the efforts of Albert Ludovici, father of English philosopher Anthony Ludovici, who was private secretary to Rodin for several months in 1906, but the two men parted company after Christmas, \"to their mutual relief.\"", "During his later creative years, Rodin's work turned increasingly toward the female form, and themes of more overt masculinity and femininity.", "He concentrated on small dance studies, and produced numerous erotic drawings, sketched in a loose way, without taking his pencil from the paper or his eyes from the model.", "Rodin met American dancer Isadora Duncan in 1900, attempted to seduce her, and the next year sketched studies of her and her students.", "In July 1906, Rodin was also enchanted by dancers from the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, and produced some of his most famous drawings from the experience.", "Rodin's gravesite at the Musée Rodin de Meudon\nFifty-three years into their relationship, Rodin married Rose Beuret.", "The wedding was 29 January 1917, and Beuret died two weeks later, on 16 February.", "Rodin was ill that year; in January, he suffered weakness from influenza, and on 16 November his physician announced that \"congestion of the lungs has caused great weakness.", "The patient's condition is grave.\"", "Rodin died the next day, age 77, at his villa in Meudon, Île-de-France, on the outskirts of Paris.", "A cast of ''The Thinker'' was placed next to his tomb in Meudon; it was Rodin's wish that the figure served as his headstone and epitaph.", "In 1923, Marcell Tirel, Rodin's secretary, published a book alleging that Rodin's death was largely due to cold, and the fact that he had no heat at Meudon.", "Rodin requested permission to stay in the Hotel Biron, a museum of his works, but the director of the museum refused to let him stay there.", "The Kiss'', 1889\nRodin's signature on ''The Thinker''\nThe grounds of Musée Rodin\nRodin Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA\n\nRodin willed to the French state his studio and the right to make casts from his plasters.", "Because he encouraged the edition of his sculpted work, Rodin's sculptures are represented in many public and private collections.", "The Musée Rodin was founded in 1916 and opened in 1919 at the Hôtel Biron, where Rodin had lived, and it holds the largest Rodin collection, with more than 6,000 sculptures and 7,000 works on paper.", "The French order ''Légion d'honneur'' made him a Commander, and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.", "During his lifetime, Rodin was compared to Michelangelo, and was widely recognized as the greatest artist of the era.", "In the three decades following his death, his popularity waned with changing aesthetic values.", "Since the 1950s, Rodin's reputation has re-ascended; he is recognized as the most important sculptor of the modern era, and has been the subject of much scholarly work.", "The sense of incompletion offered by some of his sculpture, such as ''The Walking Man'', influenced the increasingly abstract sculptural forms of the 20th century.", "Rodin restored an ancient role of sculpture – to capture the physical and intellectual force of the human subject – and he freed sculpture from the repetition of traditional patterns, providing the foundation for greater experimentation in the 20th century.", "His popularity is ascribed to his emotion-laden representations of ordinary men and women – to his ability to find the beauty and pathos in the human animal.", "His most popular works, such as ''The Kiss'' and ''The Thinker'', are widely used outside the fine arts as symbols of human emotion and character.", "To honor Rodin's artistic legacy, the Google search engine homepage displayed a Google Doodle featuring ''The Thinker'' to celebrate his 172nd birthday on 12 November 2012.", "Rodin had enormous artistic influence.", "A whole generation of sculptors studied in his workshop.", "These include Gutzon Borglum, Antoine Bourdelle, Constantin Brancusi, Camille Claudel, Charles Despiau, Malvina Hoffman, Carl Milles, François Pompon, Rodo, Gustav Vigeland, and Clara Westhoff, even though Brancusi later rejected his legacy.", "Rodin also promoted the work of other sculptors, including Aristide Maillol and Ivan Meštrović whom Rodin once called \"the greatest phenomenon amongst sculptors.\"", "Other sculptors whose work has been described as owing to Rodin include Joseph Csaky, Alexander Archipenko, Joseph Bernard, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Georg Kolbe, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Jacques Lipchitz, Pablo Picasso, Adolfo Wildt, and Ossip Zadkine.", "Henry Moore acknowledged Rodin's seminal influence on his work.", "Several films have been made featuring Rodin as a prominent character or presence.", "These include ''Camille Claudel'', a 1988 film in which Gérard Depardieu portrays Rodin, ''Camille Claudel 1915'' from 2013, and ''Rodin'', a 2017 film starring Vincent Lindon as Rodin.", "In 2011 the world premiere of Boris Eifman's new ballet ''Rodin'' took place in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.", "The ballet is dedicated to the life and work of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel.", "===Forgeries===\nThe relative ease of making reproductions has also encouraged many forgeries: a survey of expert opinion placed Rodin in the top ten most-faked artists.", "Rodin fought against forgeries of his works as early as 1901, and since his death, many cases of organized, large-scale forgeries have been revealed.", "A massive forgery was discovered by French authorities in the early 1990s and led to the conviction of art dealer Guy Hain.", "To deal with the complexity of bronze reproduction, France has promulgated several laws since 1956 which limit reproduction to twelve casts – the maximum number that can be made from an artist's plasters and still be considered his work.", "As a result of this limit, ''The Burghers of Calais'', for example, is found in fourteen cities.", "In the market for sculpture, plagued by fakes, the value of a piece increases significantly when its provenance can be established.", "A Rodin work with a verified history sold for US$4.8 million in 1999, and Rodin's bronze ''Eve, grand modele – version sans rocher'' sold for $18.9 million at a 2008 Christie's auction in New York.", "Art critics concerned about authenticity have argued that taking a cast does not equal reproducing a Rodin sculpture – especially given the importance of surface treatment in Rodin's work.", "A number of drawings, previously attributed to Rodin, are now known to have been forged by Ernest Durig.", "\n\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n* (Online Essay)\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*", "* Corbett, Rachel, ''You Must Change Your Life: the Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin'', New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2016.", "*\n*\n*\n* Vincent, Clare.", "\"Auguste Rodin (1840–1917).\"", "In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''.", "New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.", "(October 2004)", "\n\n\n* Musée Rodin, Paris\n* Rodin Museum, Philadelphia\n* Auguste Rodin at the National Gallery of Art\n* Rodin Collection, Stanford University\n* Auguste Rodin: Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art\n* Rodin Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Nov 1987- Jan 1988\n* Rodin at the Victoria and Albert Museum\n* Correspondence with Walter Butterworth held at the University of Salford\n* Public Art Fund: Rodin at Rockefeller Center\n* Video documentary about Rodin's work\n* \n* \n* (by Ranier Maria Rilke, trans.", "by Jessie Lemont & Hans Trausil)\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\nThe 1977 Apple II, shown here with two Disk II floppy disk drives and a 1980s-era Apple Monitor II. The Apple II featured an integrated keyboard, sound, a plastic case, and eight internal expansion slots.\n\nThe '''Apple II series''' (trademarked with square brackets as \"Apple \" and rendered on later models as \"Apple //\") is a family of home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced text command microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II. In terms of ease of use, features and expandability, the Apple II was a major technological advancement over its predecessor, the Apple I, a limited-production bare circuit board computer for electronics hobbyists that pioneered many features that made the Apple II a commercial success. Introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire on April 16, 1977, the Apple II was among the first successful personal computers; it launched the Apple company into a successful business (and allowed several related companies to start). Throughout the years, a number of models were sold, with the most popular model remaining relatively little changed into the 1990s. While primarily an 8-bit computer, by mid-run a 16-bit model was introduced.\n\nIt was first sold on June 10, 1977. By the end of production in 1993, somewhere between five and six million Apple II series computers (including about 1.25 million Apple IIGS models) had been produced. The Apple II was one of the longest running mass-produced home computer series, with models in production just under 17 years.\n\nThe Apple II became one of several recognizable and successful computers during the 1980s and early 1990s, although this was mainly limited to the USA. It was aggressively marketed through volume discounts and manufacturing arrangements to educational institutions which made it the first computer in widespread use in American secondary schools, displacing the early leader Commodore PET. The effort to develop educational and business software for the Apple II, including the 1979 release of the popular VisiCalc spreadsheet, made the computer especially popular with business users and families.\n\nThe original Apple II operating system was in ROM along with Integer BASIC. Programs were entered, then saved and loaded on cassette tape. When the Disk II was implemented in 1978 by Steve Wozniak, a Disk Operating System or DOS was commissioned from the company Shepardson where its development was done by Paul Laughton. The final and most popular version of this software was Apple DOS 3.3. Some commercial Apple II software booted directly and did not use standard DOS formats. This discouraged the copying or modifying of the software on the disks and improved loading speed. Apple DOS was superseded by ProDOS, which supported a hierarchical filesystem and larger storage devices. With an optional third-party Z80-based expansion card the Apple II could boot into the CP/M operating system and run WordStar, dBase II, and other CP/M software. At the height of its evolution, towards the late 1980s, the platform had the graphical look of a hybrid of the Apple II and Macintosh with the introduction of the Apple IIGS. By 1992, the platform had 16-bit processing capabilities, a mouse-driven graphical user interface, and graphics and sound capabilities far beyond the original.\n\nDespite the introduction of the Motorola 68000-based Apple Macintosh in 1984 the Apple II series still reportedly accounted for 85% of the company's sales in the first quarter of fiscal 1985. Apple continued to sell Apple II systems alongside the Macintosh until terminating the IIGS in December 1992 and the IIe in November 1993. The last II-series Apple in production, the IIe card for Macintoshes, was discontinued on October 15, 1993. Total Apple II sales for its 14-year run were about 6 million units, with the peak occurring in 1983 when 1 million were sold.\n", "The Apple II was designed to look more like a home appliance than a piece of electronic equipment. The lid popped off the beige plastic case without the use of tools, allowing access to the computer's internals, including the motherboard with eight expansion slots, and an array of random access memory (RAM) sockets that could hold up to 48 kilobytes worth of memory chips.\n\nThe Apple II had color and high-resolution graphics modes, sound capabilities and one of two built-in BASIC programming languages (initially Integer BASIC, later Applesoft BASIC). The Apple II was targeted for the masses rather than just hobbyists and engineers; it also influenced most of the microcomputers that followed it. Unlike preceding home microcomputers, it was sold as a finished consumer appliance rather than as a kit (unassembled or preassembled). ''VanLOVEs Apple Handbook'' and ''The Apple Educators Guide'' by Gerald VanDiver and Rolland Love reviewed more than 1,500 software programs that the Apple II series could use. The Apple dealer network used this book to emphasize the growing software developer base in education and personal use. \n\nThe Apple II series had a keyboard built into the motherboard shell, with the exception of the Apple IIGS which featured an external keyboard. An upgrade kit was sold later to house the motherboard of an Apple IIGS in an Apple IIe case. The Apple II case was durable enough, according to a 1981 Apple ad, to protect an Apple II from a fire started when a cat belonging to one early user knocked over a lamp.\n", "\n\nEarly II-series models were usually designated \"Apple \"; later models \"Apple //\", plus a letter suffix.\n\n===Apple II===\n\nAn Apple II computer with an internal modem and external DAA\nThe first Apple II computers went on sale on June 10, 1977 with a MOS Technology 6502 (later Synertek) microprocessor running at 1.023 MHz, 4 KB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, and the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs. The video controller displayed 40 columns by 24 lines of monochrome, upper-case-only (the original character set matches ASCII characters 0x20 to 0x5F) text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator. The original retail price of the computer was US$1298(with 4 kB of RAM) and US$2638 (with the maximum 48 kB of RAM). To reflect the computer's color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing was represented using rainbow stripes, which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998. The earliest Apple IIs were assembled in Silicon Valley, and later in Texas; printed circuit boards were manufactured in Ireland and Singapore.\n\nAn external 5¼-inch floppy disk drive, the Disk II, attached via a controller card that plugged into one of the computer's expansion slots (usually slot 6), was used for data storage and retrieval to replace cassettes. The Disk II interface, created by Steve Wozniak, was regarded as an engineering masterpiece for its economy of electronic components. While other controllers had dozens of chips for synchronizing data I/O with disk rotation, seeking the head to the appropriate track, and encoding the data into magnetic pulses, Wozniak's controller card had few chips; instead, the Apple DOS used software to perform these functions. The Group Coded Recording used by the controller was simpler and easier to implement in software than the more common MFM. In the end, the low chip count of the controller helped make Apple's Disk II the first affordable floppy drive for personal computers. As a side effect, Wozniak's scheme made it easy for proprietary software developers to copy-protect the media on which their software shipped by changing the low-level sector format or stepping the drive's head between the tracks; inevitably, other companies eventually sold software to foil this protection. Another Wozniak optimization allowed him to omit Shugart's Track-0 sensor. When the Operating System wants to go to track 0, the controller simply moves 40 times toward the next-lower-numbered track, relying on the mechanical stop to prevent it going any further down than track 0. This process, called \"recalibration\", made a loud buzzing (rapid mechanical chattering) sound that often frightened Apple novices.\n\nThe approach taken in the Disk II controller was typical of Wozniak's design sensibility. The Apple II used several engineering shortcuts to save hardware and reduce costs. For example, taking advantage of the way that 6502 instructions only access memory every other clock cycle, the video generation circuitry's memory access on the otherwise unused cycles avoided memory contention issues and also eliminated the need for a separate refresh circuit for the DRAM chips. Rather than use a complex analog-to-digital circuit to read the outputs of the game controller, Wozniak used a simple timer circuit whose period was proportional to the resistance of the game controller, and used a software loop to measure the timer.\n\nThe text and graphics screens had a complex arrangement (the scanlines were not stored in sequential areas of memory) which was reputedly due to Wozniak's realization that doing it that way would save a chip; it was less expensive to have software calculate or look up the address of the required scanline than to include the extra hardware. Similarly, in the high-resolution graphics mode, color was determined by pixel position and could thus be implemented in software, saving Wozniak the chips needed to convert bit patterns to colors. This also allowed for sub-pixel font rendering since orange and blue pixels appeared half a pixel-width further to the right on the screen than green and purple pixels.\n\nColor on the Apple II series took advantage of a quirk of the NTSC television signal standard, which made color display relatively easy and inexpensive to implement. The original NTSC television signal specification was black-and-white. Color was tacked on later by adding a 3.58-MHz subcarrier signal that was partially ignored by B&W TV sets. Color is encoded based on the ''phase'' of this signal in relation to a reference ''color burst'' signal. The result is that the position, size, and intensity of a series of pulses define color information. These pulses can translate into ''pixels'' on the computer screen.\n\nThe Apple II display provided two pixels per subcarrier cycle. When the color burst reference signal was turned on and the computer attached to a color display, it could display green by showing one alternating pattern of pixels, magenta with an opposite pattern of alternating pixels, and white by placing two pixels next to each other. Later, blue and orange became available by tweaking the offset of the pixels by half a pixel-width in relation to the colorburst signal. The high-resolution display offered more colors simply by compressing more, narrower pixels into each subcarrier cycle. The coarse, low-resolution graphics display mode worked differently, as it could output a short burst of high-frequency signal per pixel to offer more color options.\n\nThe epitome of the Apple II design philosophy was the Apple II sound circuitry. Rather than having a dedicated sound-synthesis chip, the Apple II had a toggle circuit that could only emit a click through a built-in speaker or a line out jack; all other sounds (including two, three and, eventually, four-voice music and playback of audio samples and speech synthesis) were generated entirely by software that clicked the speaker at just the right times. Not for nearly a decade would an Apple II be released with a dedicated sound chip (though with eight expansion slots, users could add sound functionality with various sound cards). Similar techniques were used for cassette storage: the cassette output worked the same as the speaker, and the input was a simple zero-crossing detector that served as a crude (1-bit) audio digitizer. Routines in the ROM were used to encode and decode data in frequency-shift keying for the cassette. Since the Apple II mainboard had no interrupts, it was impossible to use the speaker without taking CPU time and so most games had little sound.\n\nWozniak's open design and the Apple II's multiple expansion slots permitted a wide variety of third-party devices, including Apple II peripheral cards such as serial controllers, display controllers, memory boards, hard disks, networking components, and realtime clocks. There were plug-in expansion cards – such as the Z-80 SoftCard – that permitted the Apple to use the Z80 processor and run a multitude of programs developed under the CP/M operating system, including the dBase II database and the WordStar word processor. There was also a third-party 6809 card that would allow OS-9 Level One to be run. Third-party sound cards greatly improved audio capabilities, allowing simple music synthesis and text-to-speech functions. Eventually, Apple II accelerator cards were created to double or quadruple the computer's speed.\n\nRod Holt is credited (for example in the Walter Isaacson biography of ''Jobs'') with the design of the Apple II's power supply. He employed a Switched-mode power supply design. This was far smaller and generated less unwanted heat than the linear power supply some other home computers used. Isaacson quotes Wozniak saying that this was not something he could have done; \"I only knew vaguely what a switching power supply was.\"\n\nThe original Apple II was discontinued at the start of 1981, having been superseded by the II+. An estimated 40,000 machines were sold for its 4-year production run.\n\n===Apple II Plus===\n\nApple II Plus\nThe '''Apple II Plus''', introduced in June 1979, included the Applesoft BASIC programming language in ROM. This Microsoft-authored dialect of BASIC, which was previously available as an upgrade, supported floating-point arithmetic, and became the standard BASIC dialect on the Apple II series (though it ran at a noticeably slower speed than Steve Wozniak's Integer BASIC).\n\nExcept for improved graphics and disk-booting support in the ROM, and the removal of the 2k 6502 assembler/disassembler to make room for the floating point BASIC, the II+ was otherwise identical to the original II. RAM prices fell during 1980–81 and all II+ machines came from the factory with a full 48k of memory already installed. The language card in Slot 0 added another 16k, but it had to be bank switched since the remaining CPU address space was occupied by the ROMs and I/O area. For this reason, the extra RAM in the language card was bank-switched over the machine's built-in ROM, allowing code loaded into the additional memory to be used as if it actually were ROM. Users could thus load Integer BASIC into the language card from disk and switch between the Integer and Applesoft dialects of BASIC with DOS 3.3's INT and FP commands just as if they had the BASIC ROM expansion card. The language card was also required to use the UCSD Pascal and FORTRAN 77 compilers, which were released by Apple at about the same time. These ran under the UCSD p-System operating system, which had its own disk format and emitted code for a \"virtual machine\" rather than the actual 6502 processor.\n\nA TEMPEST-approved version of the Apple II Plus was created in 1980 by the Georgia Tech Research Institute for U.S. Army FORSCOM, and used as a component in the earliest versions of the Microfix system. Fielded in 1982, the Microfix system was the first tactical system using video disk (Laserdisc) map technology providing zoom and scroll over map imagery coupled with a point database of intelligence data such as order of battle, airfields, roadways, and bridges.\n\n====Apple II Europlus and J-Plus====\nApple II J-Plus\nAfter the success of the first Apple II in the United States, Apple expanded its market to include Europe, Australia and the Far East in 1979, with the '''Apple II Europlus''' (Europe, Australia) and the '''Apple II J-Plus''' (Japan). In these models, Apple made the necessary hardware, software and firmware changes in order to comply to standards outside of the U.S. The power supply was modified to accept the local voltage, and in the European and Australian model the video output signal was changed from color NTSC to monochrome PAL – an extra video card was needed for color PAL graphics, since the simple tricks Wozniak had used to generate a pseudo-NTSC signal with minimal hardware did not carry over to the more complex PAL system. In the Japanese version of the international Apple, the keyboard layout was changed to allow for Katakana writing (full Kanji support was clearly beyond the capabilities of the machine), but in most other countries the international Apple was sold with an unmodified American keyboard; thus the German model still lacked the umlauts, for example. For the most part, the Apple II Europlus and J-Plus were identical to the Apple II Plus. Production of the Europlus ended in 1983.\n\n===Apple IIe===\n\nAn Apple IIe with DuoDisk and Monitor //.\n\nThe Apple II Plus was followed in 1983 by the '''Apple IIe''', a cost-reduced yet more powerful machine that used newer chips to reduce the component count and add new features, such as the display of upper and lowercase letters and a standard 64 kB of RAM.\n\nThe IIe RAM was configured as if it were a 48 kB Apple II Plus with a language card; the machine had no slot 0, but instead had an auxiliary slot that for most practical purposes took the place of slot 3, the most commonly used slot for 80-column cards in the II Plus.\n\nThe auxiliary slot could accept a 1 kB memory card to enable the 80-column display. This card contained only RAM; the hardware and firmware for the 80-column display was built into the Apple IIe, remaining fairly compatible with the older Videx-style cards, even though the low-level details were very different. An \"extended 80-column card\" with more memory expanded the machine's RAM to 128 kB.\n\nAs with the language card, the memory in the 80-column card was bank-switched over the machine's main RAM; this made the memory better suited to data storage than to running software, and in fact the ProDOS operating system, which was introduced with the Apple IIe, would automatically configure this memory as a RAM disk upon booting.\n\nThird-party aux-slot memory cards later allowed expansion up to 1 MB. The 80-column card also enabled one new graphics mode, Double Lo-Res (80×48 pixels). The extended 80-column card enabled two, Double Lo-Res and Double Hi-Res (560×192 pixels). Both modes doubled the horizontal resolution in comparison to the standard Lo-Res (40×48) and Hi-Res (280×192) Modes; in the case of Double Hi-Res, the number of available colors was increased as well, from 6 to 15. Apple IIes from the very first production run could not use Double Hi-Res. Neither of these modes was directly supported by the built-in BASIC, however, so the user had to resort to the use of lots of POKE and CALL commands in BASIC, or assembly language programming, or one of a number of software Toolkits to exploit these modes.\n\nWhile it was possible for software to switch out the 80-column firmware, making the firmware of a card in slot 3 available with a card in the auxiliary slot, it was not a common thing to do. However, even with the 80-column firmware enabled, slot 3's I/O memory range was still usable, giving it approximately the capability of slot 0 on a II or II plus. This meant that it actually was possible to use slot 3 for things, such as coprocessor cards and language cards, that did not use slot firmware space.\n\nIntroduced with the IIe was the DuoDisk, essentially two Disk II 5.25-inch drives in a single enclosure designed to stack between the computer and the monitor, and a new controller card to run it. This controller was (by design) functionally identical to the original Disk II controller but used a different connector, allowing a single cable to control both drives in the DuoDisk. The DuoDisk was plagued by reliability problems, however, and did not catch on as well as the Apple IIe itself.\n\nThe Apple IIe was the most popular Apple II ever built and was widely considered the \"workhorse\" of the line. It also has the distinction of being the longest-lived Apple computer of all time – it was manufactured and sold with only minor changes for nearly 11 years. In that time, following the original, two important variations were introduced known as the Apple IIe Enhanced (four new replacement chips to give it some of the features of the later model Apple IIc, including an upgraded processor called the 65C02) and the Apple IIe Platinum (a modernized new look for the case color to match other Apple products of the era, along with the addition of a built-in numeric keypad). An Enhanced IIe with 128 kB of RAM can be considered the minimum requirement for running most Apple II software released after about 1988. IIe models were distinguished from the standard IIe by having 128k of memory, double hi-resolution graphics, and a 65C02 CPU.\n\nTwo and a half years before the Apple IIe, Apple produced and unsuccessfully marketed a computer called the ''Apple III'' for business users. Some of its features were carried over in the design of the Apple IIe. Among them was the ProDOS operating system, which was based on Apple III's Sophisticated Operating System (SOS).\n\n===Apple IIc===\n\nThe Apple IIc was Apple's first compact and portable computer.\n\nApple released the '''Apple IIc''' in April 1984, billing it as a portable Apple II, because it could be easily carried, though unlike modern portables it lacked a built-in display and battery. The IIc even sported a carrying handle that folded down to prop the machine up into a typing position. It was the first of three Apple II models to be made in the Snow White design language, and the only one that used its unique creamy off-white color. (The other Snow White computers from the Apple II series, the IIGS and the IIc Plus, were light gray, called \"Platinum\" by Apple.) The obsolete cassette port was omitted from the IIc.\n\nThe Apple IIc was the first Apple II to use the 65C02 low-power variant of the 6502 processor, and featured a built-in 5.25-inch floppy drive and 128 kB RAM, with a built-in disk controller that could control external drives, composite video (NTSC or PAL), serial interfaces for modem and printer, and a port usable by either a joystick or mouse. Unlike previous Apple II models, the IIc had no internal expansion slots at all, this being the means by which its compact size was attained. Third parties did eventually figure out how to wedge up to 1 MB of additional memory and a real-time clock into the machine, and a later revision of the motherboard provided an expansion slot that could accept an Apple memory card bearing up to 1 MB of RAM. The disk port, originally intended for a second 5.25-inch floppy drive, eventually was able to interface to 3½-inch disk drives and (via third parties) even hard disks.\n\nIIc machines supported the 16-color double hi-resolution graphics mode and from a software standpoint were identical to the IIe.\n\nTwo different monochrome LCD displays were sold for use with the IIc's video expansion port, although both were short-lived due to high cost and poor legibility. The IIc had an external power supply that converted AC power to 12 V DC, allowing third parties to offer battery packs and automobile power adapters that connected in place of the supplied AC adapter.\n\nThe Apple IIc (in its American version) was the first microcomputer to include support for the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, which was activated using a switch above the keyboard. This feature was also later found in late-model American Apple IIe computers (though the switch was inside the computer) and in the Apple IIGS (accessible via the built-in control panel). The international models used the same mechanism to switch between the localized and the American keyboard layouts, but did not offer Dvorak.\n\n===Apple IIGS===\n\nThe Apple IIGS, the most powerful Apple II, featuring a true 16-bit CPU, 4096 colors, Ensoniq synthesizer, a Mac-like GUI and a mouse.\nThe Apple IIGS setup, with keyboard and mouse shown.\n\nThe next member of the line was the '''Apple IIGS''' computer, released on September 15, 1986. A radical departure from the existing Apple II line, the IIGS featured a true 16-bit microprocessor, the 65C816, operating at with 24-bit addressing, allowing expansion up to 8 MB of RAM without the bank-switching hassles of the earlier machines (RAM cards with more than 4 MB were never directly supported by Apple). It introduced two completely new graphic modes sporting higher resolutions with a palette of 4,096 colors and up to 256 colors on screen; however, only 4 (at 640×200 resolution) or 16 (at 320×200 resolution) colors could be used on a single line at a time.\n\nIn a departure from earlier Apple II graphics modes, the new modes laid out the scanlines sequentially in memory and up to 16 scanline changes could be made (i.e. 16 palettes of 16 distinct colors each, equals 256 colors) without slowing down the CPU. However, programmers in search of a graphics challenge could always turn to 3200-color mode, which involved precisely swapping in a different 16-color palette for each of the screen's 200 scanlines as the monitor's electron beam traced the screen line by line. This exotic technique did not leave many CPU cycles available for other processing, so this \"mode\" was best suited to displaying static images.\n\nThe Apple IIGS stood out from any previous (or future) Apple II models, evolving and advancing the platform into the next generation of computing while still maintaining near-complete backward compatibility. The secret of the Apple IIGS's compatibility was a single chip called the Mega II, which contained the functional equivalent of an entire Apple IIe computer (sans processor). This, combined with the flawless 65C02 emulation mode of the 65C816 processor, provided full support for legacy software.\n\nThe computer also included a 32-voice Ensoniq 5503 DOC 'wavetable' sample-based sound synthesizer chip with 64 kB dedicated RAM, 256 kB (or later 1.125 MB) of standard RAM, built-in peripheral ports (switchable between IIe-style card slots and IIc-style onboard controllers for disk drives, mouse, RGB video, and serial devices), built-in AppleTalk networking, and a ROM toolbox that supported a graphical user interface derived from the Macintosh toolbox. The computer could run existing 8-bit Apple II software (including software written for the very first Apple II in Integer BASIC), but also supported 16-bit software running under a new (albeit modified) OS called ProDOS 16 and later replaced by a full 16-bit OS called GS/OS. The new OS eventually included a Finder that could be used for managing disks and files and opening documents and applications, along with desk accessories – just like the Macintosh. The 16-bit operating system would automatically switch to the text display and downshift to 8-bit mode to run legacy software, while offering a consistent, Macintosh-like graphical interface for native 16-bit applications. Eventually, the IIGS gained the ability to read and write Macintosh disks and, through third-party software, even multitasking (both cooperative and preemptive, the latter in the form of a Unix-type shell), outline TrueType font support, and in one case, even real-time 3D gaming using texture mapping.\n\nThe first 50,000 Apple IIGS computers came with Steve Wozniak's \"''Woz''\" signature silkscreened on the front and were referred to as the \"''Woz Limited Edition''\". These machines are not functionally different from machines from the same time period without the signature.\n\n===Apple IIc Plus===\n\nThe Apple IIc Plus, an 8-bit revision of the original portable but with faster CPU, 3.5-inch floppy and built-in power supply. It was the last introduced of the Apple II line.\n\nThe final Apple II model was the '''Apple IIc Plus''' introduced in 1988. It was the same size and shape as the IIc that came before it, but the 5.25-inch floppy drive had been replaced with a 3½-inch drive, the power supply was moved inside (gone was the IIc's external power brick), and the processor was a fast 65C02 processor that actually ran 8-bit Apple II software faster than the IIGS. (Third-party accelerators for other models could, however, go as fast as , and IIGS accelerators would eventually reach .) The IIc Plus's accelerator was derived from a design licensed from Zip Technologies, a third-party maker of accelerators for the Apple II, though Apple used separate chips instead of combining the processor, cache, and supporting logic on a multi-chip module as did Zip. Like later models of the original Apple IIc, the IIc Plus included a memory expansion slot that would accept a daughter-card carrying up to a megabyte of RAM. The IIc Plus also featured a new keyboard layout that matched the Platinum IIe and IIGS. Unlike the IIe, IIc and IIGS, the IIc Plus came only in one version (American) and was not officially sold anywhere outside the USA.\n\nMany perceived the IIc Plus as Apple's attempt to compete with the Laser 128EX/2, a popular third party Apple-compatible machine that also had an accelerated processor and a built-in 3.5-inch drive. There were few other rational explanations for Apple expending resources on the continued development of a new 8-bit Apple II model rather than furthering the 16-bit Apple IIGS. However, with its 3.5-inch drive and speedy processor, it provided a compact machine for running the AppleWorks integrated productivity package, especially with the 1 MB memory upgrade.\n\n===Apple IIe Card===\n\n\nAlthough not an extension of the Apple II line, in 1990 the '''Apple IIe Card''', an expansion card for the LC line of Macintosh computers, was released. Essentially a miniaturized Apple IIe computer on a card (using the Mega II chip from the Apple IIGS), it allowed the Macintosh to run 8-bit Apple IIe software through hardware emulation (although video was emulated in software and was slower at times than a IIe). Many of the LC's built-in Macintosh peripherals could be \"borrowed\" by the card when in Apple II mode (i.e. extra RAM, 3.5-inch floppy, AppleTalk networking, hard disk). The IIe card could not, however, run software intended for the 16-bit Apple IIGS. The Macintosh LC with IIe Card was intended to replace the Apple IIGS in schools and homes and was presumably the reason a new model Apple IIGS that was confirmed by insiders to be in development at one point was cancelled and never released.\n", "A page from a 1977 ''Byte'' magazine advertisement for the original Apple II\nMike Markkula, a retired Intel marketing manager, provided the early critical funding for Apple Computer. From 1977 to 1981, Apple used the Regis McKenna agency for its advertisements and marketing. In 1981, Chiat-Day acquired Regis McKenna's advertising operations and Apple used Chiat-Day. At Regis McKenna Advertising, the team assigned to launch the Apple II consisted of Rob Janoff, art director, Chip Schafer, copywriter and Bill Kelley, account executive. Janoff came up with the Apple logo with a bite out of it. The design was originally an olive green with matching company logotype all in lower case. Steve Jobs insisted on promoting the color capability of the Apple II by putting rainbow stripes on the Apple logo. In its letterhead and business card implementation, the rounded \"a\" of the logotype echoed the \"bite\" in the logo. This logo was developed simultaneously with an advertisement and a brochure; the latter being produced for distribution initially at the first West Coast Computer Faire. Ever since the original Apple II, Apple has paid high attention to its quality of packaging, partly because of Steve Jobs' personal preferences and opinions on packaging and final product appearance. All of Apple's packaging for the Apple II series looked similar, featuring lots of clean white space and showing the Apple rainbow logo prominently. For several years up until the late 1980s, Apple used the Motter Tektura font for packaging, until changing to the Apple Garamond font.\n\nApple ran the first advertisement for the Apple II, a two-page spread ad titled \"Introducing Apple II\", in ''BYTE'' in July 1977. The first brochure, was entitled \"Simplicity\" and the copy in both the ad and brochure pioneered \"demystifying\" language intended to make the new idea of a home computer more \"personal.\" The Apple II introduction ad was later run in the September 1977 issue of ''Scientific American''.\n\nFor the Apple IIc, Apple wanted an advertisement to demonstrate the power of the machine despite its small size; they ran a memorable television commercial featuring a high-rise office building in which they claimed with words and images that the IIc had all the power necessary to run a large building, suggesting that it had more than enough power for the home user. (This ad, along with the ''1984'' Macintosh ad, was featured in a Marketing telecourse run on PBS.)\n\nApple later aired eight television commercials for the Apple IIGS, emphasizing its benefits to education and students, along with some print ads.\n\nTowards the end of 1982, art director Brent Thomas and Steve Hayden came up with the idea of doing an advertising campaign based on the timely tagline \"Why 1984 will not be like 1984\". Chiat-Day shopped it around to a number of clients, including Apple, where it was proposed to be used for a print ad in the Wall Street Journal promoting the Apple II. However, Apple did not go for it, and the idea was filed away until the spring of 1983, when they met with the Macintosh marketing team to start working on the launch, which was scheduled for January 1984. The idea eventually became the famous ''1984'' commercial which aired during the third quarter at Super Bowl XVIII.\n", "\nTaiwanese clone of the Apple II, looks almost identical to the Apple II and II+, including an identical case, color, and keyboard layout. The only noticeable physical difference is the label above the keyboard.\n\nThe Apple II was frequently cloned, both in the United States and abroad and similar cloning of the IBM PC later occurred. According to some sources (see below), more than 190 different models of Apple II clones were manufactured. Most could not be legally imported into the United States; United States Customs might confiscate even a clone purchased in Asia and brought into the country as luggage. Apple sued and sought criminal charges against clone makers in more than a dozen countries, and cooperated with the agency in investigations. For example, in December 1983 raids on three separate importers, customs confiscated about 400 clones of the discontinued Apple II that investigators purchased for $375–500.\n\nWithout explicitly stating that they were Apple II clones, many had fruit-related names. An example was the Pineapple, and) that a review of the ACT Apricot explained that it was not \"yet another 'fruity' Apple rip-off\". Apple successfully forced the \"Pineapple\" to change its name to \"Pinecom\".\n\nSoviet clone of Apple II \"Agat\".\nAgat was a series of Apple II compatible computers produced in Soviet Union between 1984 and 1993. They were widely used in schools in 80's. First mass-produced models Agat 4 and Agat 7 had different memory layouts and video modes to Apple II, which made first Agats only partially compatible. Agats were not direct clones of Apple II, but rather uniquely designed computers based on 6502 CPU and emulated Apple II architecture. That helped developers to port Apple II software titles to Agat. Later model Agat 9 had Apple II compatibility mode out of the box. Soviet engineers and enthusiasts developed thousands of software titles for Agat, including system software, business applications and rich frameworks for education.\n\nBulgarian Pravetz Series 8 was Apple II clone with Cyrillic support.\n\nBasis, a German company, created the Basis 108, a clone for the Apple II that included both a 6502 processor and the Zilog Z80, allowing it to run the CP/M operating system as well as most Apple II software. This machine was unusual in that it was housed in a heavy cast aluminum chassis. The Basis 108 was equipped with built-in Centronics (parallel) and RS232c (serial) ports, as well as the standard six Apple II compatible slots. Unlike the Apple II it came with a detached full-stroke keyboard (AZERTY/QWERTY) of 100 keys plus 15 functions keys and separate numeric and editing keypads.\n\nAnother European Apple II clone was the Pearcom Pear II, which was larger as the original as it sported not eight but fourteen expansion slots. It also had a numerical keypad. Pearcom initially used a pear shaped rainbow logo, but stopped after Apple threatened to take legal action.\n\nA Bosnian company named IRIS Computers (subsidiary of an electric company in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia ENERGOINVEST) produced Apple II clones starting in the early 1980s. Their official brand name was IRIS 8. They were very expensive and hard to obtain and were produced primarily for use in early computerized digital telephone systems and for education. Their use in offices of state companies, R&D labs and in the Yugoslav army was also reported. IRIS 8 machines looked like early IBM PCs, with a separate central unit accompanied by a cooling system and two 5.25-inch disks, monitor, and keyboard. Compatibility with the original Apple II was complete. Elite high schools in Yugoslavia and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina were equipped with clusters of 8, 16, or 32 IRIS 8 computers connected in a local network administrated by an IRIS 16 PC clone. The number of IRIS 8s produced is believed to be on the order of 10 or 20 thousand.\n\nAn Australian-produced clone of the Apple II was the Medfly, named after the Mediterranean fruit fly that attacks apples. The Medfly computer featured a faster processor, more memory, detached keyboard, lower and upper case characters, and a built-in disk controller.\n\nUntil 1992 in Brazil, it was illegal to import microcomputers. Because of that, the illegal cloning industry of Apple II-based computers was strong there. In the early 1980s, there were around 20 different clones of Apple II Plus computers in that country, all of them using illegally copied software and hardware (since the Apple II and II Plus used commonly available TTL integrated circuits). Some of the names include Elppa (\"Apple\" spelled backwards), Maxtro, Exato MC4000 (by CCE), AP II (by Unitron), and even an \"Apple II Plus\" (manufactured by a company called Milmar, which was using the name illegally). There were only two clones of the Apple IIe, since it used custom IC chips that could not be copied, and therefore had to be reversed-engineered and developed in the country. These clones were the TK3000 IIe by Microdigital and Exato IIe by CCE. In addition, the Laser IIc was manufactured by Milmar and, despite the name, was a clone of the Apple II Plus, not of the Apple IIc, although it had a design similar to that of the Apple IIc, with an integrated floppy controller and 80-column card, but without an integrated floppy disk drive.\n\nThe Ace clones from Franklin Computer Corporation were the best known Apple II clones and had the most lasting impact, as Franklin copied Apple's ROMs and software and freely admitted to doing so. Franklin's response was that a computer's ROM was simply a pattern of switches locked into a fixed position, and one cannot copyright a pattern of switches. Apple fought Franklin in court for about five years to get its clones off the market, and was ultimately successful when a court ruled that software stored in ROM was in fact copyrightable in the U.S. (See Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.) Franklin later released non-infringing but less-compatible clones; these could run ProDOS and AppleWorks and had an Applesoft-like BASIC, but compatibility with other software was hit-or-miss.\n\nApple also challenged VTech's Laser 128, an enhanced clone of the Apple IIc first released in 1984, in court. This suit proved less fruitful for Apple, because VTech had reverse-engineered the Monitor ROM rather than copying it and had licensed Applesoft BASIC from its creator, Microsoft. Apple had neglected to obtain exclusive rights to the Applesoft dialect of BASIC from Microsoft; VTech was the first cloner to license it. The Laser 128 proved popular and remained on the market for many years, both in its original form and in accelerated versions that ran faster than . Although it was not fully compatible with the Apple II, it was close, and its popularity ensured that most major developers tested their software on a Laser as well as on genuine Apple machines. Because it was frequently sold via mail order and mass-market retailers such as Sears, the Laser 128 cut into the sales of low-cost competitors such as Commodore Business Machines as much as it did Apple's.\n\nWhile the first Apple II clones were generally exact copies of their Apple counterparts that competed mainly on price, many clones had extra capabilities too. A Franklin model, the Ace 1000, sported a numeric keypad and lower-case long before these features were added to the Apple II line. The Laser 128 series is sometimes credited with spurring Apple to release the Apple IIc Plus; the built-in 3½-inch drive and accelerated processor were features Laser had pioneered. The Laser 128 also had a IIe-style expansion slot on the side that could be used to add peripheral cards.\n\nBell & Howell, an audiovisual equipment manufacturer whose products (particularly film projectors) were ubiquitous in American schools, offered what appeared at first glance to be an Apple II Plus clone in a distinctive black plastic case. However, these were in fact real Apple II Plus units manufactured by Apple for B&H for a brief period of time. Many schools had a few of these Black Apple or Black \"Darth Vader\" Apples in their labs.\n\nITT made the ITT 2020, a licensed Apple II Plus clone, in the UK. It has the same shape as the Apple II but was matte silver (it was sometimes known as the \"silver Apple\") and was not an exact copy functionally. The ITT2020 produced a PAL video signal for the European market, where the domestic US market used NTSC. Software using the BIOS worked correctly on both the Apple and ITT, but software written to access the Apple's display hardware directly, bypassing the BIOS, displayed with vertical stripes on the ITT 2020. The Apple II itself was later introduced in the UK, and both the Apple II and ITT 2020 were sold for a time, the ITT at a lower price.\n\nSyscom 2 Inc (from Carson City, NV) created the Syscom 2 Apple II+ clone. The case looked nearly identical. It had 48kb of RAM and the normal expansion capabilities. These clones also supported lower case characters, toggled with a ^O keystroke.\n\nAn unknown company produced a clone called the RX-8800. One new feature it had was a numeric keypad.\n\nOne of the best Apple II clones, SEKON, made in Taiwan, had the same color plastic case as an Apple , sported 48kb of RAM standard, and a lower-uppercase switch, located where the power light indicator was typically situated on Apple II's. Additionally, it featured a 5-amp power supply which supplied ample power for add-on cards. SEKON avoided shipments being confiscated by U.S. Customs, by shipping their computers without ROMS, leaving it to the dealers to populate the boards upon arrival to their private stores. Often these machines would boot up with a familiar logo of the Apple II after the dealers removed E-proms of original Apple ROMS and added them in. The reason for such activity was so that users could obtain a fully Apple-compatible clone for usually around US$600, as opposed to US$2500 from Apple.\n\nAlthough not technically a clone, Quadram produced an add-in ISA card, called the Quadlink, that provided hardware emulation of an Apple II+ for the IBM PC. The card had its own 6502 CPU and dedicated 80 K RAM (64 K for applications, plus 16 K to hold a reverse-engineered Apple ROM image, loaded at boot-time), and installed \"between\" the PC and its floppy drive(s), color display, and speaker, in a pass-through configuration. This allowed the PC to operate in a dual-boot fashion: when booted through the Quadlink, the PC could run the majority of Apple II software, and read and write Apple-formatted floppies through the standard PC floppy drive. Because it had a dedicated processor, rather than any form of software emulation, this system ran at nearly the same speed as an equivalent Apple machine. Another company, Diamond Computer Systems, produced a similar card called the Trackstar, that had a dual pair of 6502 CPUs, and ran Apple II software using an Apple licensed ROM. The original Trackstar (and \"128\" and \"Plus\" model) was Apple II Plus compatible, while the \"Trackstar E\", Apple IIe compatible. The original offered 64K of usable Apple II RAM, while the other models 128K RAM (192K is on-board, with the additional memory reserved for the Trackstar itself). The original Trackstar also contained a Z80 CPU, allowing it to run both Apple DOS and Apple CP/M software, however the newer Trackstar models did not, and thus dropped CP/M compatibility. The Trackstar also had a connector allowing use of an actual Apple floppy drive, which enhanced its compatibility with software that took advantage of Apple hardware for copy-protection.\n\nMost of the clone manufacturers chose to stop production on their own once the IBM PC became popular since it was possible to make legitimate clones of the PC which would not violate any of IBM's patents or copyrights.\n", "\n===Data storage===\nOriginally the Apple II used audio cassette tapes for program and data storage. A dedicated tape recorder along the lines of the Commodore Datasette was never produced; Apple recommended using the Panasonic RQ309 in some of its early printed documentation. The uses of common consumer cassette recorders and a standard video monitor or television set (with a third party R-F modulator) made the total cost of owning an Apple II less expensive and helped contribute to the Apple II's success.\n\nCassette storage may have been inexpensive, but it was also slow and unreliable. The Apple II's lack of a disk drive was \"a glaring weakness\" in what was otherwise intended to be a polished, professional product. Recognizing that the II needed a disk drive to be taken seriously, Apple set out to develop a disk drive and a DOS to run it. Wozniak spent the 1977 Christmas holidays designing a disk controller that reduced the number of chips used by a factor of 10 compared to existing controllers. Still lacking a DOS, and with Wozniak inexperienced in operating system design, Jobs approached Shepardson Microsystems with the project. On April 10, 1978 Apple signed a contract for $13,000 with Sheperdson to develop the DOS.\n\nEven after disk drives made the cassette input and output ports obsolete they were still used by enthusiasts as simple one-bit audio input-output ports. Ham radio operators used the cassette input to receive slow scan TV (single frame images). A commercial speech recognition Blackjack program was available, after some user-specific voice training it would recognize simple commands (Hit, stand). Bob Bishop's \"Music Kaleidoscope\" was a simple program which monitored the cassette input port and based on zero-crossings created color patterns on the screen, a predecessor to current audio visualization plug-ins for media players. Music Kaleidoscope was especially popular on projection TV sets in dance halls.\n\nApple and many third-party developers made software available on tape at first, but after the Disk II became available in 1978, tape-based Apple II software essentially disappeared from the market. The initial price of the Disk II drive and controller was US$595, although a $100 off coupon was available through the Apple newsletter \"Contact\". The controller could handle two drives and a second drive (without controller) retailed for $495.\n\nThe Disk II single-sided floppy drive used 5.25-inch floppy disks; double-sided disks could be used, one side at a time, by turning them over and notching a hole for the write protect sensor. The first disk operating systems for the Apple II were DOS 3.1 and DOS 3.2, which stored 113.75 kB on each disk, organized into 35 tracks of 13 256-byte sectors each. After about two years, DOS 3.3 was introduced, storing 140 kB thanks to a minor firmware change on the disk controller that allowed it to store 16 sectors per track. (This upgrade was user-installable as two PROMs on older controllers.) After the release of DOS 3.3, the user community discontinued use of DOS 3.2 except for running legacy software. Programs that required DOS 3.2 were fairly rare; however, as DOS 3.3 was not a major architectural change aside from the number of sectors per track, a program called MUFFIN was provided with DOS 3.3 to allow users to copy files from DOS 3.2 disks to DOS 3.3 disks. It was possible for software developers to create a DOS 3.2 disk which would also boot on a system with DOS 3.3 firmware.\n\nLater, double-sided drives, with heads to read both sides of the disk, became available from third-party companies. (Apple only produced double-sided 5.25\" disks for the Lisa 1 computer).\n\nOn a DOS 3.x disk, tracks 0, 1, and most of track 2 were reserved to store the operating system. (It was possible, with a special utility, to reclaim most of this space for data if a disk did not need to be bootable.) A short ROM program on the disk controller had the ability to seek to track zero – which it did without regard for the read/write head's current position, resulting in the characteristic \"chattering\" sound of a Disk II boot, which was the read/write head hitting the rubber stop block at the end of the rail – and read and execute code from sector 0. The code contained in there would then pull in the rest of the operating system. DOS stored the disk's directory on track 17, smack in the middle of the 35-track disks, in order to reduce the average seek time to the frequently used directory track. The directory was fixed in size and could hold a maximum of 105 files. Subdirectories were not supported.\n\nMost game publishers did not include DOS on their floppy disks, since they needed the memory it occupied more than its capabilities; instead, they often wrote their own boot loaders and read-only file systems. This also served to discourage \"crackers\" from snooping around in the game's copy-protection code, since the data on the disk was not in files that could be accessed easily.\n\nSome third-party manufacturers produced floppy drives that could write 40 tracks to most 5.25-inch disks, yielding 160 kB of storage per disk, but the format did not catch on widely, and no known commercial software was published on 40-track media. Most drives, even Disk IIs, could write 36 tracks; a two byte modification to DOS to format the extra track was common.\n\nThe Apple Disk II stored 140 kB on single-sided, \"single-density\" floppy disks, but it was very common for Apple II users to extend the capacity of a single-sided floppy disk to 280 kB by cutting out a second write-protect notch on the side of the disk using a \"disk notcher\" or hole puncher and inserting the disk flipped over. Double-sided disks, with notches on both sides, were available at a higher price, but in practice the magnetic coating on the reverse of nominally single-sided disks was usually of good enough quality to be used (both sides were coated in the same way to prevent warping, although only one side was certified for use). Early on, diskette manufacturers routinely warned that this technique would damage the read/write head of the drives or wear out the disk faster, and these warnings were frequently repeated in magazines of the day. In practice, however, this method was an inexpensive way to store twice as much data for no extra cost, and was widely used for commercially released floppies as well.\n\nLater, Apple IIs were able to use 3.5-inch disks with a total capacity of 800 kB and hard disks. DOS 3.3 did not support these drives natively; third-party software was required, and disks larger than about 400 kB had to be split up into multiple \"virtual disk volumes.\"\n\nDOS 3.3 was succeeded by ProDOS, a 1983 descendent of the Apple ///'s SOS. It added the capabilities for subdirectories and larger storage capacities.\n\nProDOS became the Apple II operating system of choice for users with these larger disks thanks to its native support of volumes up to 32 MB in size and the fact that AppleWorks and other newer programs required it.\n\n===Renditions of the \"II\" name===\nThe \"II\" portion of the Apple II name was rendered in a variety of creative ways using stylized characters which resembled punctuation symbols on the front lids of the computers, and most printed material followed this lead. The II and II+ were labeled . The IIGS and IIc Plus were rendered in small caps. The Apple III, IIc, and IIe models used slashes: ///, //c and //e.\n\n===Legacy===\nToday, emulators for various Apple II models are available to run Apple II software on macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, homebrew enabled Nintendo DS and other operating systems. Numerous disk images of Apple II software are available free over the Internet for use with these emulators. AppleWin and MESS are among the best emulators compatible with most Apple II images. The MESS emulator supports recording and playing back of Apple II emulation sessions, as does Home Action Replay Page (a.k.a. HARP).\n\nHowever, many emulators cannot run software on copy-protected media, or can run only software employing fairly simple protection schemes, unless it is \"cracked\" (copy restrictions removed). Breaking protection on software was widely popular in the Apple II's heyday; even Apple itself apparently engaged in the practice. Commercial cracking software such as the popular Copy II+ program were sold in stores with the purpose of creating legitimate back-ups of protected software. Although creating back-ups was legitimate under copyright law of the time, the use of such software today is of questionable legality in the U.S. (see DMCA). For those who prefer to obtain their old software legally, the Lost Classics Project has the goal of convincing copyright holders of classic Apple II software to officially allow unrestricted free distribution of their software and has \"freed\" a number of programs.\n\nIn addition, an active retrocomputing community of vintage Apple II collectors and users, continue to restore, maintain and develop hardware and software for daily use of these original computers. Numerous websites and support groups exist for these enthusiasts who maintain and use their machines. There is still a small annual convention, KansasFest, dedicated to the platform.\n\n===Industry impact===\nThe Apple II series of computers had an enormous impact on the technology industry and on everyday life. The Apple II was the first personal computer many people ever saw. Its price was within the reach of many middle-class families, and a partnership with MECC helped make the Apple II popular in schools. By the end of 1980 Apple had already sold over 100,000 Apple IIs. Its popularity bootstrapped the computer game and educational software markets and began the boom in the word processor and computer printer markets. The first microcomputer program for business was VisiCalc, the earliest spreadsheet, and it ran first on the Apple II. Many businesses bought Apple IIs just to run VisiCalc.\n\nThe Apple II series had much more business software than the rival Atari 8-bit computers. Its success caused IBM to create the IBM PC, which many businesses purchased to run spreadsheet and word processing software, at first ported from Apple II versions; later, whole new application software dynasties would be founded on the PC. The popularity of these PCs and their clones then transformed business again with LAN applications such as e-mail and later Internet applications such as Usenet and the WWW.\n\nThe first 1000 or so Apple IIs shipped with a 68-page mimeographed \"Apple II Mini Manual\" bound with brass paper fasteners. This was the basis for the ''Apple II Reference Manual'' (a/k/a Red book) which was published in January 1978. All existing customers who sent in their warranty cards were sent free copies of the Red Book.\n\nThe Apple II Reference Manual contained the complete schematic of the entire computer's circuitry and a complete source listing of the \"Monitor\" ROM firmware that served as the machine's BIOS.\nA revised spiral bound guide released several years later with updated information had to be purchased separately, and in the case of the Apple IIGS, the full technical documentation ran to several volumes.\nThe Apple II's slots, allowing any peripheral card to take control of the bus and directly access memory, enabled an independent industry of card manufacturers who together created a flood of hardware products that let users build systems that were far more powerful and useful (at a lower cost) than any competing system, most of which were not nearly as expandable and were universally proprietary. The first peripheral card was a blank prototyping card intended for electronics enthusiasts who wanted to design their own peripherals for the Apple II.\n\nSpecialty peripherals kept the Apple II in use in industry and education environments for many years after Apple Computer stopped supporting the Apple II. Well into the 1990s every clean-room (the super-clean facility where spacecraft are prepared for flight) at the Kennedy Space Center used an Apple II to monitor the environment and air quality. Most planetariums used Apple IIs to control their projectors and other equipment.\n\nEven the game port was unusually powerful and could be used for digital and analog input and output. The early manuals included instructions for how to build a circuit with only four commonly available components (one transistor and three resistors) and a software routine to drive a common Teletype Model 33 machine. One hacker (Don Lancaster) used the game I/O to drive a LaserWriter printer.\n\n===Timeline of Apple II and Family models===\n\n\n", "*Apple Industrial Design Group\n*List of publications and periodicals devoted to the Apple II\n*Apple II peripheral cards\n*Apple II graphics\n*List of Apple II application software\n*List of Apple II games\n*List of Apple IIGS games\n", "\n*\n", "*Edwards, Jim. '' These Pictures Of Apple's First Employees Are Absolutely Wonderful'' (Contains a c.1977 photograph taken inside Apple of early employees Chrisann Brennan, Mark Johnson, and Robert Martinengo standing in front of a stack of Apple IIs that they had tested, assembled, and were about to ship) - ''Business Insider'', December 26, 2013.\n", "\n\n*\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBig text" ]

[ "Introduction", "Design", "Models", "Advertising, marketing, and packaging", "Clones", "General", "See also", "References", "Photographs", "External links" ]

[ "The language card in Slot 0 added another 16k, but it had to be bank switched since the remaining CPU address space was occupied by the ROMs and I/O area.", "For this reason, the extra RAM in the language card was bank-switched over the machine's built-in ROM, allowing code loaded into the additional memory to be used as if it actually were ROM.", "As with the language card, the memory in the 80-column card was bank-switched over the machine's main RAM; this made the memory better suited to data storage than to running software, and in fact the ProDOS operating system, which was introduced with the Apple IIe, would automatically configure this memory as a RAM disk upon booting.", "A radical departure from the existing Apple II line, the IIGS featured a true 16-bit microprocessor, the 65C816, operating at with 24-bit addressing, allowing expansion up to 8 MB of RAM without the bank-switching hassles of the earlier machines (RAM cards with more than 4 MB were never directly supported by Apple)." ]

[ "\n\n\nThe 1977 Apple II, shown here with two Disk II floppy disk drives and a 1980s-era Apple Monitor II.", "The Apple II featured an integrated keyboard, sound, a plastic case, and eight internal expansion slots.", "The '''Apple II series''' (trademarked with square brackets as \"Apple \" and rendered on later models as \"Apple //\") is a family of home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced text command microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II.", "In terms of ease of use, features and expandability, the Apple II was a major technological advancement over its predecessor, the Apple I, a limited-production bare circuit board computer for electronics hobbyists that pioneered many features that made the Apple II a commercial success.", "Introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire on April 16, 1977, the Apple II was among the first successful personal computers; it launched the Apple company into a successful business (and allowed several related companies to start).", "Throughout the years, a number of models were sold, with the most popular model remaining relatively little changed into the 1990s.", "While primarily an 8-bit computer, by mid-run a 16-bit model was introduced.", "It was first sold on June 10, 1977.", "By the end of production in 1993, somewhere between five and six million Apple II series computers (including about 1.25 million Apple IIGS models) had been produced.", "The Apple II was one of the longest running mass-produced home computer series, with models in production just under 17 years.", "The Apple II became one of several recognizable and successful computers during the 1980s and early 1990s, although this was mainly limited to the USA.", "It was aggressively marketed through volume discounts and manufacturing arrangements to educational institutions which made it the first computer in widespread use in American secondary schools, displacing the early leader Commodore PET.", "The effort to develop educational and business software for the Apple II, including the 1979 release of the popular VisiCalc spreadsheet, made the computer especially popular with business users and families.", "The original Apple II operating system was in ROM along with Integer BASIC.", "Programs were entered, then saved and loaded on cassette tape.", "When the Disk II was implemented in 1978 by Steve Wozniak, a Disk Operating System or DOS was commissioned from the company Shepardson where its development was done by Paul Laughton.", "The final and most popular version of this software was Apple DOS 3.3.", "Some commercial Apple II software booted directly and did not use standard DOS formats.", "This discouraged the copying or modifying of the software on the disks and improved loading speed.", "Apple DOS was superseded by ProDOS, which supported a hierarchical filesystem and larger storage devices.", "With an optional third-party Z80-based expansion card the Apple II could boot into the CP/M operating system and run WordStar, dBase II, and other CP/M software.", "At the height of its evolution, towards the late 1980s, the platform had the graphical look of a hybrid of the Apple II and Macintosh with the introduction of the Apple IIGS.", "By 1992, the platform had 16-bit processing capabilities, a mouse-driven graphical user interface, and graphics and sound capabilities far beyond the original.", "Despite the introduction of the Motorola 68000-based Apple Macintosh in 1984 the Apple II series still reportedly accounted for 85% of the company's sales in the first quarter of fiscal 1985.", "Apple continued to sell Apple II systems alongside the Macintosh until terminating the IIGS in December 1992 and the IIe in November 1993.", "The last II-series Apple in production, the IIe card for Macintoshes, was discontinued on October 15, 1993.", "Total Apple II sales for its 14-year run were about 6 million units, with the peak occurring in 1983 when 1 million were sold.", "The Apple II was designed to look more like a home appliance than a piece of electronic equipment.", "The lid popped off the beige plastic case without the use of tools, allowing access to the computer's internals, including the motherboard with eight expansion slots, and an array of random access memory (RAM) sockets that could hold up to 48 kilobytes worth of memory chips.", "The Apple II had color and high-resolution graphics modes, sound capabilities and one of two built-in BASIC programming languages (initially Integer BASIC, later Applesoft BASIC).", "The Apple II was targeted for the masses rather than just hobbyists and engineers; it also influenced most of the microcomputers that followed it.", "Unlike preceding home microcomputers, it was sold as a finished consumer appliance rather than as a kit (unassembled or preassembled).", "''VanLOVEs Apple Handbook'' and ''The Apple Educators Guide'' by Gerald VanDiver and Rolland Love reviewed more than 1,500 software programs that the Apple II series could use.", "The Apple dealer network used this book to emphasize the growing software developer base in education and personal use.", "The Apple II series had a keyboard built into the motherboard shell, with the exception of the Apple IIGS which featured an external keyboard.", "An upgrade kit was sold later to house the motherboard of an Apple IIGS in an Apple IIe case.", "The Apple II case was durable enough, according to a 1981 Apple ad, to protect an Apple II from a fire started when a cat belonging to one early user knocked over a lamp.", "\n\nEarly II-series models were usually designated \"Apple \"; later models \"Apple //\", plus a letter suffix.", "===Apple II===\n\nAn Apple II computer with an internal modem and external DAA\nThe first Apple II computers went on sale on June 10, 1977 with a MOS Technology 6502 (later Synertek) microprocessor running at 1.023 MHz, 4 KB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, and the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs.", "The video controller displayed 40 columns by 24 lines of monochrome, upper-case-only (the original character set matches ASCII characters 0x20 to 0x5F) text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator.", "The original retail price of the computer was US$1298(with 4 kB of RAM) and US$2638 (with the maximum 48 kB of RAM).", "To reflect the computer's color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing was represented using rainbow stripes, which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998.", "The earliest Apple IIs were assembled in Silicon Valley, and later in Texas; printed circuit boards were manufactured in Ireland and Singapore.", "An external 5¼-inch floppy disk drive, the Disk II, attached via a controller card that plugged into one of the computer's expansion slots (usually slot 6), was used for data storage and retrieval to replace cassettes.", "The Disk II interface, created by Steve Wozniak, was regarded as an engineering masterpiece for its economy of electronic components.", "While other controllers had dozens of chips for synchronizing data I/O with disk rotation, seeking the head to the appropriate track, and encoding the data into magnetic pulses, Wozniak's controller card had few chips; instead, the Apple DOS used software to perform these functions.", "The Group Coded Recording used by the controller was simpler and easier to implement in software than the more common MFM.", "In the end, the low chip count of the controller helped make Apple's Disk II the first affordable floppy drive for personal computers.", "As a side effect, Wozniak's scheme made it easy for proprietary software developers to copy-protect the media on which their software shipped by changing the low-level sector format or stepping the drive's head between the tracks; inevitably, other companies eventually sold software to foil this protection.", "Another Wozniak optimization allowed him to omit Shugart's Track-0 sensor.", "When the Operating System wants to go to track 0, the controller simply moves 40 times toward the next-lower-numbered track, relying on the mechanical stop to prevent it going any further down than track 0.", "This process, called \"recalibration\", made a loud buzzing (rapid mechanical chattering) sound that often frightened Apple novices.", "The approach taken in the Disk II controller was typical of Wozniak's design sensibility.", "The Apple II used several engineering shortcuts to save hardware and reduce costs.", "For example, taking advantage of the way that 6502 instructions only access memory every other clock cycle, the video generation circuitry's memory access on the otherwise unused cycles avoided memory contention issues and also eliminated the need for a separate refresh circuit for the DRAM chips.", "Rather than use a complex analog-to-digital circuit to read the outputs of the game controller, Wozniak used a simple timer circuit whose period was proportional to the resistance of the game controller, and used a software loop to measure the timer.", "The text and graphics screens had a complex arrangement (the scanlines were not stored in sequential areas of memory) which was reputedly due to Wozniak's realization that doing it that way would save a chip; it was less expensive to have software calculate or look up the address of the required scanline than to include the extra hardware.", "Similarly, in the high-resolution graphics mode, color was determined by pixel position and could thus be implemented in software, saving Wozniak the chips needed to convert bit patterns to colors.", "This also allowed for sub-pixel font rendering since orange and blue pixels appeared half a pixel-width further to the right on the screen than green and purple pixels.", "Color on the Apple II series took advantage of a quirk of the NTSC television signal standard, which made color display relatively easy and inexpensive to implement.", "The original NTSC television signal specification was black-and-white.", "Color was tacked on later by adding a 3.58-MHz subcarrier signal that was partially ignored by B&W TV sets.", "Color is encoded based on the ''phase'' of this signal in relation to a reference ''color burst'' signal.", "The result is that the position, size, and intensity of a series of pulses define color information.", "These pulses can translate into ''pixels'' on the computer screen.", "The Apple II display provided two pixels per subcarrier cycle.", "When the color burst reference signal was turned on and the computer attached to a color display, it could display green by showing one alternating pattern of pixels, magenta with an opposite pattern of alternating pixels, and white by placing two pixels next to each other.", "Later, blue and orange became available by tweaking the offset of the pixels by half a pixel-width in relation to the colorburst signal.", "The high-resolution display offered more colors simply by compressing more, narrower pixels into each subcarrier cycle.", "The coarse, low-resolution graphics display mode worked differently, as it could output a short burst of high-frequency signal per pixel to offer more color options.", "The epitome of the Apple II design philosophy was the Apple II sound circuitry.", "Rather than having a dedicated sound-synthesis chip, the Apple II had a toggle circuit that could only emit a click through a built-in speaker or a line out jack; all other sounds (including two, three and, eventually, four-voice music and playback of audio samples and speech synthesis) were generated entirely by software that clicked the speaker at just the right times.", "Not for nearly a decade would an Apple II be released with a dedicated sound chip (though with eight expansion slots, users could add sound functionality with various sound cards).", "Similar techniques were used for cassette storage: the cassette output worked the same as the speaker, and the input was a simple zero-crossing detector that served as a crude (1-bit) audio digitizer.", "Routines in the ROM were used to encode and decode data in frequency-shift keying for the cassette.", "Since the Apple II mainboard had no interrupts, it was impossible to use the speaker without taking CPU time and so most games had little sound.", "Wozniak's open design and the Apple II's multiple expansion slots permitted a wide variety of third-party devices, including Apple II peripheral cards such as serial controllers, display controllers, memory boards, hard disks, networking components, and realtime clocks.", "There were plug-in expansion cards – such as the Z-80 SoftCard – that permitted the Apple to use the Z80 processor and run a multitude of programs developed under the CP/M operating system, including the dBase II database and the WordStar word processor.", "There was also a third-party 6809 card that would allow OS-9 Level One to be run.", "Third-party sound cards greatly improved audio capabilities, allowing simple music synthesis and text-to-speech functions.", "Eventually, Apple II accelerator cards were created to double or quadruple the computer's speed.", "Rod Holt is credited (for example in the Walter Isaacson biography of ''Jobs'') with the design of the Apple II's power supply.", "He employed a Switched-mode power supply design.", "This was far smaller and generated less unwanted heat than the linear power supply some other home computers used.", "Isaacson quotes Wozniak saying that this was not something he could have done; \"I only knew vaguely what a switching power supply was.\"", "The original Apple II was discontinued at the start of 1981, having been superseded by the II+.", "An estimated 40,000 machines were sold for its 4-year production run.", "===Apple II Plus===\n\nApple II Plus\nThe '''Apple II Plus''', introduced in June 1979, included the Applesoft BASIC programming language in ROM.", "This Microsoft-authored dialect of BASIC, which was previously available as an upgrade, supported floating-point arithmetic, and became the standard BASIC dialect on the Apple II series (though it ran at a noticeably slower speed than Steve Wozniak's Integer BASIC).", "Except for improved graphics and disk-booting support in the ROM, and the removal of the 2k 6502 assembler/disassembler to make room for the floating point BASIC, the II+ was otherwise identical to the original II.", "RAM prices fell during 1980–81 and all II+ machines came from the factory with a full 48k of memory already installed.", "Users could thus load Integer BASIC into the language card from disk and switch between the Integer and Applesoft dialects of BASIC with DOS 3.3's INT and FP commands just as if they had the BASIC ROM expansion card.", "The language card was also required to use the UCSD Pascal and FORTRAN 77 compilers, which were released by Apple at about the same time.", "These ran under the UCSD p-System operating system, which had its own disk format and emitted code for a \"virtual machine\" rather than the actual 6502 processor.", "A TEMPEST-approved version of the Apple II Plus was created in 1980 by the Georgia Tech Research Institute for U.S. Army FORSCOM, and used as a component in the earliest versions of the Microfix system.", "Fielded in 1982, the Microfix system was the first tactical system using video disk (Laserdisc) map technology providing zoom and scroll over map imagery coupled with a point database of intelligence data such as order of battle, airfields, roadways, and bridges.", "====Apple II Europlus and J-Plus====\nApple II J-Plus\nAfter the success of the first Apple II in the United States, Apple expanded its market to include Europe, Australia and the Far East in 1979, with the '''Apple II Europlus''' (Europe, Australia) and the '''Apple II J-Plus''' (Japan).", "In these models, Apple made the necessary hardware, software and firmware changes in order to comply to standards outside of the U.S.", "The power supply was modified to accept the local voltage, and in the European and Australian model the video output signal was changed from color NTSC to monochrome PAL – an extra video card was needed for color PAL graphics, since the simple tricks Wozniak had used to generate a pseudo-NTSC signal with minimal hardware did not carry over to the more complex PAL system.", "In the Japanese version of the international Apple, the keyboard layout was changed to allow for Katakana writing (full Kanji support was clearly beyond the capabilities of the machine), but in most other countries the international Apple was sold with an unmodified American keyboard; thus the German model still lacked the umlauts, for example.", "For the most part, the Apple II Europlus and J-Plus were identical to the Apple II Plus.", "Production of the Europlus ended in 1983.", "===Apple IIe===\n\nAn Apple IIe with DuoDisk and Monitor //.", "The Apple II Plus was followed in 1983 by the '''Apple IIe''', a cost-reduced yet more powerful machine that used newer chips to reduce the component count and add new features, such as the display of upper and lowercase letters and a standard 64 kB of RAM.", "The IIe RAM was configured as if it were a 48 kB Apple II Plus with a language card; the machine had no slot 0, but instead had an auxiliary slot that for most practical purposes took the place of slot 3, the most commonly used slot for 80-column cards in the II Plus.", "The auxiliary slot could accept a 1 kB memory card to enable the 80-column display.", "This card contained only RAM; the hardware and firmware for the 80-column display was built into the Apple IIe, remaining fairly compatible with the older Videx-style cards, even though the low-level details were very different.", "An \"extended 80-column card\" with more memory expanded the machine's RAM to 128 kB.", "Third-party aux-slot memory cards later allowed expansion up to 1 MB.", "The 80-column card also enabled one new graphics mode, Double Lo-Res (80×48 pixels).", "The extended 80-column card enabled two, Double Lo-Res and Double Hi-Res (560×192 pixels).", "Both modes doubled the horizontal resolution in comparison to the standard Lo-Res (40×48) and Hi-Res (280×192) Modes; in the case of Double Hi-Res, the number of available colors was increased as well, from 6 to 15.", "Apple IIes from the very first production run could not use Double Hi-Res.", "Neither of these modes was directly supported by the built-in BASIC, however, so the user had to resort to the use of lots of POKE and CALL commands in BASIC, or assembly language programming, or one of a number of software Toolkits to exploit these modes.", "While it was possible for software to switch out the 80-column firmware, making the firmware of a card in slot 3 available with a card in the auxiliary slot, it was not a common thing to do.", "However, even with the 80-column firmware enabled, slot 3's I/O memory range was still usable, giving it approximately the capability of slot 0 on a II or II plus.", "This meant that it actually was possible to use slot 3 for things, such as coprocessor cards and language cards, that did not use slot firmware space.", "Introduced with the IIe was the DuoDisk, essentially two Disk II 5.25-inch drives in a single enclosure designed to stack between the computer and the monitor, and a new controller card to run it.", "This controller was (by design) functionally identical to the original Disk II controller but used a different connector, allowing a single cable to control both drives in the DuoDisk.", "The DuoDisk was plagued by reliability problems, however, and did not catch on as well as the Apple IIe itself.", "The Apple IIe was the most popular Apple II ever built and was widely considered the \"workhorse\" of the line.", "It also has the distinction of being the longest-lived Apple computer of all time – it was manufactured and sold with only minor changes for nearly 11 years.", "In that time, following the original, two important variations were introduced known as the Apple IIe Enhanced (four new replacement chips to give it some of the features of the later model Apple IIc, including an upgraded processor called the 65C02) and the Apple IIe Platinum (a modernized new look for the case color to match other Apple products of the era, along with the addition of a built-in numeric keypad).", "An Enhanced IIe with 128 kB of RAM can be considered the minimum requirement for running most Apple II software released after about 1988.", "IIe models were distinguished from the standard IIe by having 128k of memory, double hi-resolution graphics, and a 65C02 CPU.", "Two and a half years before the Apple IIe, Apple produced and unsuccessfully marketed a computer called the ''Apple III'' for business users.", "Some of its features were carried over in the design of the Apple IIe.", "Among them was the ProDOS operating system, which was based on Apple III's Sophisticated Operating System (SOS).", "===Apple IIc===\n\nThe Apple IIc was Apple's first compact and portable computer.", "Apple released the '''Apple IIc''' in April 1984, billing it as a portable Apple II, because it could be easily carried, though unlike modern portables it lacked a built-in display and battery.", "The IIc even sported a carrying handle that folded down to prop the machine up into a typing position.", "It was the first of three Apple II models to be made in the Snow White design language, and the only one that used its unique creamy off-white color.", "(The other Snow White computers from the Apple II series, the IIGS and the IIc Plus, were light gray, called \"Platinum\" by Apple.)", "The obsolete cassette port was omitted from the IIc.", "The Apple IIc was the first Apple II to use the 65C02 low-power variant of the 6502 processor, and featured a built-in 5.25-inch floppy drive and 128 kB RAM, with a built-in disk controller that could control external drives, composite video (NTSC or PAL), serial interfaces for modem and printer, and a port usable by either a joystick or mouse.", "Unlike previous Apple II models, the IIc had no internal expansion slots at all, this being the means by which its compact size was attained.", "Third parties did eventually figure out how to wedge up to 1 MB of additional memory and a real-time clock into the machine, and a later revision of the motherboard provided an expansion slot that could accept an Apple memory card bearing up to 1 MB of RAM.", "The disk port, originally intended for a second 5.25-inch floppy drive, eventually was able to interface to 3½-inch disk drives and (via third parties) even hard disks.", "IIc machines supported the 16-color double hi-resolution graphics mode and from a software standpoint were identical to the IIe.", "Two different monochrome LCD displays were sold for use with the IIc's video expansion port, although both were short-lived due to high cost and poor legibility.", "The IIc had an external power supply that converted AC power to 12 V DC, allowing third parties to offer battery packs and automobile power adapters that connected in place of the supplied AC adapter.", "The Apple IIc (in its American version) was the first microcomputer to include support for the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, which was activated using a switch above the keyboard.", "This feature was also later found in late-model American Apple IIe computers (though the switch was inside the computer) and in the Apple IIGS (accessible via the built-in control panel).", "The international models used the same mechanism to switch between the localized and the American keyboard layouts, but did not offer Dvorak.", "===Apple IIGS===\n\nThe Apple IIGS, the most powerful Apple II, featuring a true 16-bit CPU, 4096 colors, Ensoniq synthesizer, a Mac-like GUI and a mouse.", "The Apple IIGS setup, with keyboard and mouse shown.", "The next member of the line was the '''Apple IIGS''' computer, released on September 15, 1986.", "It introduced two completely new graphic modes sporting higher resolutions with a palette of 4,096 colors and up to 256 colors on screen; however, only 4 (at 640×200 resolution) or 16 (at 320×200 resolution) colors could be used on a single line at a time.", "In a departure from earlier Apple II graphics modes, the new modes laid out the scanlines sequentially in memory and up to 16 scanline changes could be made (i.e.", "16 palettes of 16 distinct colors each, equals 256 colors) without slowing down the CPU.", "However, programmers in search of a graphics challenge could always turn to 3200-color mode, which involved precisely swapping in a different 16-color palette for each of the screen's 200 scanlines as the monitor's electron beam traced the screen line by line.", "This exotic technique did not leave many CPU cycles available for other processing, so this \"mode\" was best suited to displaying static images.", "The Apple IIGS stood out from any previous (or future) Apple II models, evolving and advancing the platform into the next generation of computing while still maintaining near-complete backward compatibility.", "The secret of the Apple IIGS's compatibility was a single chip called the Mega II, which contained the functional equivalent of an entire Apple IIe computer (sans processor).", "This, combined with the flawless 65C02 emulation mode of the 65C816 processor, provided full support for legacy software.", "The computer also included a 32-voice Ensoniq 5503 DOC 'wavetable' sample-based sound synthesizer chip with 64 kB dedicated RAM, 256 kB (or later 1.125 MB) of standard RAM, built-in peripheral ports (switchable between IIe-style card slots and IIc-style onboard controllers for disk drives, mouse, RGB video, and serial devices), built-in AppleTalk networking, and a ROM toolbox that supported a graphical user interface derived from the Macintosh toolbox.", "The computer could run existing 8-bit Apple II software (including software written for the very first Apple II in Integer BASIC), but also supported 16-bit software running under a new (albeit modified) OS called ProDOS 16 and later replaced by a full 16-bit OS called GS/OS.", "The new OS eventually included a Finder that could be used for managing disks and files and opening documents and applications, along with desk accessories – just like the Macintosh.", "The 16-bit operating system would automatically switch to the text display and downshift to 8-bit mode to run legacy software, while offering a consistent, Macintosh-like graphical interface for native 16-bit applications.", "Eventually, the IIGS gained the ability to read and write Macintosh disks and, through third-party software, even multitasking (both cooperative and preemptive, the latter in the form of a Unix-type shell), outline TrueType font support, and in one case, even real-time 3D gaming using texture mapping.", "The first 50,000 Apple IIGS computers came with Steve Wozniak's \"''Woz''\" signature silkscreened on the front and were referred to as the \"''Woz Limited Edition''\".", "These machines are not functionally different from machines from the same time period without the signature.", "===Apple IIc Plus===\n\nThe Apple IIc Plus, an 8-bit revision of the original portable but with faster CPU, 3.5-inch floppy and built-in power supply.", "It was the last introduced of the Apple II line.", "The final Apple II model was the '''Apple IIc Plus''' introduced in 1988.", "It was the same size and shape as the IIc that came before it, but the 5.25-inch floppy drive had been replaced with a 3½-inch drive, the power supply was moved inside (gone was the IIc's external power brick), and the processor was a fast 65C02 processor that actually ran 8-bit Apple II software faster than the IIGS.", "(Third-party accelerators for other models could, however, go as fast as , and IIGS accelerators would eventually reach .)", "The IIc Plus's accelerator was derived from a design licensed from Zip Technologies, a third-party maker of accelerators for the Apple II, though Apple used separate chips instead of combining the processor, cache, and supporting logic on a multi-chip module as did Zip.", "Like later models of the original Apple IIc, the IIc Plus included a memory expansion slot that would accept a daughter-card carrying up to a megabyte of RAM.", "The IIc Plus also featured a new keyboard layout that matched the Platinum IIe and IIGS.", "Unlike the IIe, IIc and IIGS, the IIc Plus came only in one version (American) and was not officially sold anywhere outside the USA.", "Many perceived the IIc Plus as Apple's attempt to compete with the Laser 128EX/2, a popular third party Apple-compatible machine that also had an accelerated processor and a built-in 3.5-inch drive.", "There were few other rational explanations for Apple expending resources on the continued development of a new 8-bit Apple II model rather than furthering the 16-bit Apple IIGS.", "However, with its 3.5-inch drive and speedy processor, it provided a compact machine for running the AppleWorks integrated productivity package, especially with the 1 MB memory upgrade.", "===Apple IIe Card===\n\n\nAlthough not an extension of the Apple II line, in 1990 the '''Apple IIe Card''', an expansion card for the LC line of Macintosh computers, was released.", "Essentially a miniaturized Apple IIe computer on a card (using the Mega II chip from the Apple IIGS), it allowed the Macintosh to run 8-bit Apple IIe software through hardware emulation (although video was emulated in software and was slower at times than a IIe).", "Many of the LC's built-in Macintosh peripherals could be \"borrowed\" by the card when in Apple II mode (i.e.", "extra RAM, 3.5-inch floppy, AppleTalk networking, hard disk).", "The IIe card could not, however, run software intended for the 16-bit Apple IIGS.", "The Macintosh LC with IIe Card was intended to replace the Apple IIGS in schools and homes and was presumably the reason a new model Apple IIGS that was confirmed by insiders to be in development at one point was cancelled and never released.", "A page from a 1977 ''Byte'' magazine advertisement for the original Apple II\nMike Markkula, a retired Intel marketing manager, provided the early critical funding for Apple Computer.", "From 1977 to 1981, Apple used the Regis McKenna agency for its advertisements and marketing.", "In 1981, Chiat-Day acquired Regis McKenna's advertising operations and Apple used Chiat-Day.", "At Regis McKenna Advertising, the team assigned to launch the Apple II consisted of Rob Janoff, art director, Chip Schafer, copywriter and Bill Kelley, account executive.", "Janoff came up with the Apple logo with a bite out of it.", "The design was originally an olive green with matching company logotype all in lower case.", "Steve Jobs insisted on promoting the color capability of the Apple II by putting rainbow stripes on the Apple logo.", "In its letterhead and business card implementation, the rounded \"a\" of the logotype echoed the \"bite\" in the logo.", "This logo was developed simultaneously with an advertisement and a brochure; the latter being produced for distribution initially at the first West Coast Computer Faire.", "Ever since the original Apple II, Apple has paid high attention to its quality of packaging, partly because of Steve Jobs' personal preferences and opinions on packaging and final product appearance.", "All of Apple's packaging for the Apple II series looked similar, featuring lots of clean white space and showing the Apple rainbow logo prominently.", "For several years up until the late 1980s, Apple used the Motter Tektura font for packaging, until changing to the Apple Garamond font.", "Apple ran the first advertisement for the Apple II, a two-page spread ad titled \"Introducing Apple II\", in ''BYTE'' in July 1977.", "The first brochure, was entitled \"Simplicity\" and the copy in both the ad and brochure pioneered \"demystifying\" language intended to make the new idea of a home computer more \"personal.\"", "The Apple II introduction ad was later run in the September 1977 issue of ''Scientific American''.", "For the Apple IIc, Apple wanted an advertisement to demonstrate the power of the machine despite its small size; they ran a memorable television commercial featuring a high-rise office building in which they claimed with words and images that the IIc had all the power necessary to run a large building, suggesting that it had more than enough power for the home user.", "(This ad, along with the ''1984'' Macintosh ad, was featured in a Marketing telecourse run on PBS.)", "Apple later aired eight television commercials for the Apple IIGS, emphasizing its benefits to education and students, along with some print ads.", "Towards the end of 1982, art director Brent Thomas and Steve Hayden came up with the idea of doing an advertising campaign based on the timely tagline \"Why 1984 will not be like 1984\".", "Chiat-Day shopped it around to a number of clients, including Apple, where it was proposed to be used for a print ad in the Wall Street Journal promoting the Apple II.", "However, Apple did not go for it, and the idea was filed away until the spring of 1983, when they met with the Macintosh marketing team to start working on the launch, which was scheduled for January 1984.", "The idea eventually became the famous ''1984'' commercial which aired during the third quarter at Super Bowl XVIII.", "\nTaiwanese clone of the Apple II, looks almost identical to the Apple II and II+, including an identical case, color, and keyboard layout.", "The only noticeable physical difference is the label above the keyboard.", "The Apple II was frequently cloned, both in the United States and abroad and similar cloning of the IBM PC later occurred.", "According to some sources (see below), more than 190 different models of Apple II clones were manufactured.", "Most could not be legally imported into the United States; United States Customs might confiscate even a clone purchased in Asia and brought into the country as luggage.", "Apple sued and sought criminal charges against clone makers in more than a dozen countries, and cooperated with the agency in investigations.", "For example, in December 1983 raids on three separate importers, customs confiscated about 400 clones of the discontinued Apple II that investigators purchased for $375–500.", "Without explicitly stating that they were Apple II clones, many had fruit-related names.", "An example was the Pineapple, and) that a review of the ACT Apricot explained that it was not \"yet another 'fruity' Apple rip-off\".", "Apple successfully forced the \"Pineapple\" to change its name to \"Pinecom\".", "Soviet clone of Apple II \"Agat\".", "Agat was a series of Apple II compatible computers produced in Soviet Union between 1984 and 1993.", "They were widely used in schools in 80's.", "First mass-produced models Agat 4 and Agat 7 had different memory layouts and video modes to Apple II, which made first Agats only partially compatible.", "Agats were not direct clones of Apple II, but rather uniquely designed computers based on 6502 CPU and emulated Apple II architecture.", "That helped developers to port Apple II software titles to Agat.", "Later model Agat 9 had Apple II compatibility mode out of the box.", "Soviet engineers and enthusiasts developed thousands of software titles for Agat, including system software, business applications and rich frameworks for education.", "Bulgarian Pravetz Series 8 was Apple II clone with Cyrillic support.", "Basis, a German company, created the Basis 108, a clone for the Apple II that included both a 6502 processor and the Zilog Z80, allowing it to run the CP/M operating system as well as most Apple II software.", "This machine was unusual in that it was housed in a heavy cast aluminum chassis.", "The Basis 108 was equipped with built-in Centronics (parallel) and RS232c (serial) ports, as well as the standard six Apple II compatible slots.", "Unlike the Apple II it came with a detached full-stroke keyboard (AZERTY/QWERTY) of 100 keys plus 15 functions keys and separate numeric and editing keypads.", "Another European Apple II clone was the Pearcom Pear II, which was larger as the original as it sported not eight but fourteen expansion slots.", "It also had a numerical keypad.", "Pearcom initially used a pear shaped rainbow logo, but stopped after Apple threatened to take legal action.", "A Bosnian company named IRIS Computers (subsidiary of an electric company in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia ENERGOINVEST) produced Apple II clones starting in the early 1980s.", "Their official brand name was IRIS 8.", "They were very expensive and hard to obtain and were produced primarily for use in early computerized digital telephone systems and for education.", "Their use in offices of state companies, R&D labs and in the Yugoslav army was also reported.", "IRIS 8 machines looked like early IBM PCs, with a separate central unit accompanied by a cooling system and two 5.25-inch disks, monitor, and keyboard.", "Compatibility with the original Apple II was complete.", "Elite high schools in Yugoslavia and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina were equipped with clusters of 8, 16, or 32 IRIS 8 computers connected in a local network administrated by an IRIS 16 PC clone.", "The number of IRIS 8s produced is believed to be on the order of 10 or 20 thousand.", "An Australian-produced clone of the Apple II was the Medfly, named after the Mediterranean fruit fly that attacks apples.", "The Medfly computer featured a faster processor, more memory, detached keyboard, lower and upper case characters, and a built-in disk controller.", "Until 1992 in Brazil, it was illegal to import microcomputers.", "Because of that, the illegal cloning industry of Apple II-based computers was strong there.", "In the early 1980s, there were around 20 different clones of Apple II Plus computers in that country, all of them using illegally copied software and hardware (since the Apple II and II Plus used commonly available TTL integrated circuits).", "Some of the names include Elppa (\"Apple\" spelled backwards), Maxtro, Exato MC4000 (by CCE), AP II (by Unitron), and even an \"Apple II Plus\" (manufactured by a company called Milmar, which was using the name illegally).", "There were only two clones of the Apple IIe, since it used custom IC chips that could not be copied, and therefore had to be reversed-engineered and developed in the country.", "These clones were the TK3000 IIe by Microdigital and Exato IIe by CCE.", "In addition, the Laser IIc was manufactured by Milmar and, despite the name, was a clone of the Apple II Plus, not of the Apple IIc, although it had a design similar to that of the Apple IIc, with an integrated floppy controller and 80-column card, but without an integrated floppy disk drive.", "The Ace clones from Franklin Computer Corporation were the best known Apple II clones and had the most lasting impact, as Franklin copied Apple's ROMs and software and freely admitted to doing so.", "Franklin's response was that a computer's ROM was simply a pattern of switches locked into a fixed position, and one cannot copyright a pattern of switches.", "Apple fought Franklin in court for about five years to get its clones off the market, and was ultimately successful when a court ruled that software stored in ROM was in fact copyrightable in the U.S. (See Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.) Franklin later released non-infringing but less-compatible clones; these could run ProDOS and AppleWorks and had an Applesoft-like BASIC, but compatibility with other software was hit-or-miss.", "Apple also challenged VTech's Laser 128, an enhanced clone of the Apple IIc first released in 1984, in court.", "This suit proved less fruitful for Apple, because VTech had reverse-engineered the Monitor ROM rather than copying it and had licensed Applesoft BASIC from its creator, Microsoft.", "Apple had neglected to obtain exclusive rights to the Applesoft dialect of BASIC from Microsoft; VTech was the first cloner to license it.", "The Laser 128 proved popular and remained on the market for many years, both in its original form and in accelerated versions that ran faster than .", "Although it was not fully compatible with the Apple II, it was close, and its popularity ensured that most major developers tested their software on a Laser as well as on genuine Apple machines.", "Because it was frequently sold via mail order and mass-market retailers such as Sears, the Laser 128 cut into the sales of low-cost competitors such as Commodore Business Machines as much as it did Apple's.", "While the first Apple II clones were generally exact copies of their Apple counterparts that competed mainly on price, many clones had extra capabilities too.", "A Franklin model, the Ace 1000, sported a numeric keypad and lower-case long before these features were added to the Apple II line.", "The Laser 128 series is sometimes credited with spurring Apple to release the Apple IIc Plus; the built-in 3½-inch drive and accelerated processor were features Laser had pioneered.", "The Laser 128 also had a IIe-style expansion slot on the side that could be used to add peripheral cards.", "Bell & Howell, an audiovisual equipment manufacturer whose products (particularly film projectors) were ubiquitous in American schools, offered what appeared at first glance to be an Apple II Plus clone in a distinctive black plastic case.", "However, these were in fact real Apple II Plus units manufactured by Apple for B&H for a brief period of time.", "Many schools had a few of these Black Apple or Black \"Darth Vader\" Apples in their labs.", "ITT made the ITT 2020, a licensed Apple II Plus clone, in the UK.", "It has the same shape as the Apple II but was matte silver (it was sometimes known as the \"silver Apple\") and was not an exact copy functionally.", "The ITT2020 produced a PAL video signal for the European market, where the domestic US market used NTSC.", "Software using the BIOS worked correctly on both the Apple and ITT, but software written to access the Apple's display hardware directly, bypassing the BIOS, displayed with vertical stripes on the ITT 2020.", "The Apple II itself was later introduced in the UK, and both the Apple II and ITT 2020 were sold for a time, the ITT at a lower price.", "Syscom 2 Inc (from Carson City, NV) created the Syscom 2 Apple II+ clone.", "The case looked nearly identical.", "It had 48kb of RAM and the normal expansion capabilities.", "These clones also supported lower case characters, toggled with a ^O keystroke.", "An unknown company produced a clone called the RX-8800.", "One new feature it had was a numeric keypad.", "One of the best Apple II clones, SEKON, made in Taiwan, had the same color plastic case as an Apple , sported 48kb of RAM standard, and a lower-uppercase switch, located where the power light indicator was typically situated on Apple II's.", "Additionally, it featured a 5-amp power supply which supplied ample power for add-on cards.", "SEKON avoided shipments being confiscated by U.S. Customs, by shipping their computers without ROMS, leaving it to the dealers to populate the boards upon arrival to their private stores.", "Often these machines would boot up with a familiar logo of the Apple II after the dealers removed E-proms of original Apple ROMS and added them in.", "The reason for such activity was so that users could obtain a fully Apple-compatible clone for usually around US$600, as opposed to US$2500 from Apple.", "Although not technically a clone, Quadram produced an add-in ISA card, called the Quadlink, that provided hardware emulation of an Apple II+ for the IBM PC.", "The card had its own 6502 CPU and dedicated 80 K RAM (64 K for applications, plus 16 K to hold a reverse-engineered Apple ROM image, loaded at boot-time), and installed \"between\" the PC and its floppy drive(s), color display, and speaker, in a pass-through configuration.", "This allowed the PC to operate in a dual-boot fashion: when booted through the Quadlink, the PC could run the majority of Apple II software, and read and write Apple-formatted floppies through the standard PC floppy drive.", "Because it had a dedicated processor, rather than any form of software emulation, this system ran at nearly the same speed as an equivalent Apple machine.", "Another company, Diamond Computer Systems, produced a similar card called the Trackstar, that had a dual pair of 6502 CPUs, and ran Apple II software using an Apple licensed ROM.", "The original Trackstar (and \"128\" and \"Plus\" model) was Apple II Plus compatible, while the \"Trackstar E\", Apple IIe compatible.", "The original offered 64K of usable Apple II RAM, while the other models 128K RAM (192K is on-board, with the additional memory reserved for the Trackstar itself).", "The original Trackstar also contained a Z80 CPU, allowing it to run both Apple DOS and Apple CP/M software, however the newer Trackstar models did not, and thus dropped CP/M compatibility.", "The Trackstar also had a connector allowing use of an actual Apple floppy drive, which enhanced its compatibility with software that took advantage of Apple hardware for copy-protection.", "Most of the clone manufacturers chose to stop production on their own once the IBM PC became popular since it was possible to make legitimate clones of the PC which would not violate any of IBM's patents or copyrights.", "\n===Data storage===\nOriginally the Apple II used audio cassette tapes for program and data storage.", "A dedicated tape recorder along the lines of the Commodore Datasette was never produced; Apple recommended using the Panasonic RQ309 in some of its early printed documentation.", "The uses of common consumer cassette recorders and a standard video monitor or television set (with a third party R-F modulator) made the total cost of owning an Apple II less expensive and helped contribute to the Apple II's success.", "Cassette storage may have been inexpensive, but it was also slow and unreliable.", "The Apple II's lack of a disk drive was \"a glaring weakness\" in what was otherwise intended to be a polished, professional product.", "Recognizing that the II needed a disk drive to be taken seriously, Apple set out to develop a disk drive and a DOS to run it.", "Wozniak spent the 1977 Christmas holidays designing a disk controller that reduced the number of chips used by a factor of 10 compared to existing controllers.", "Still lacking a DOS, and with Wozniak inexperienced in operating system design, Jobs approached Shepardson Microsystems with the project.", "On April 10, 1978 Apple signed a contract for $13,000 with Sheperdson to develop the DOS.", "Even after disk drives made the cassette input and output ports obsolete they were still used by enthusiasts as simple one-bit audio input-output ports.", "Ham radio operators used the cassette input to receive slow scan TV (single frame images).", "A commercial speech recognition Blackjack program was available, after some user-specific voice training it would recognize simple commands (Hit, stand).", "Bob Bishop's \"Music Kaleidoscope\" was a simple program which monitored the cassette input port and based on zero-crossings created color patterns on the screen, a predecessor to current audio visualization plug-ins for media players.", "Music Kaleidoscope was especially popular on projection TV sets in dance halls.", "Apple and many third-party developers made software available on tape at first, but after the Disk II became available in 1978, tape-based Apple II software essentially disappeared from the market.", "The initial price of the Disk II drive and controller was US$595, although a $100 off coupon was available through the Apple newsletter \"Contact\".", "The controller could handle two drives and a second drive (without controller) retailed for $495.", "The Disk II single-sided floppy drive used 5.25-inch floppy disks; double-sided disks could be used, one side at a time, by turning them over and notching a hole for the write protect sensor.", "The first disk operating systems for the Apple II were DOS 3.1 and DOS 3.2, which stored 113.75 kB on each disk, organized into 35 tracks of 13 256-byte sectors each.", "After about two years, DOS 3.3 was introduced, storing 140 kB thanks to a minor firmware change on the disk controller that allowed it to store 16 sectors per track.", "(This upgrade was user-installable as two PROMs on older controllers.)", "After the release of DOS 3.3, the user community discontinued use of DOS 3.2 except for running legacy software.", "Programs that required DOS 3.2 were fairly rare; however, as DOS 3.3 was not a major architectural change aside from the number of sectors per track, a program called MUFFIN was provided with DOS 3.3 to allow users to copy files from DOS 3.2 disks to DOS 3.3 disks.", "It was possible for software developers to create a DOS 3.2 disk which would also boot on a system with DOS 3.3 firmware.", "Later, double-sided drives, with heads to read both sides of the disk, became available from third-party companies.", "(Apple only produced double-sided 5.25\" disks for the Lisa 1 computer).", "On a DOS 3.x disk, tracks 0, 1, and most of track 2 were reserved to store the operating system.", "(It was possible, with a special utility, to reclaim most of this space for data if a disk did not need to be bootable.)", "A short ROM program on the disk controller had the ability to seek to track zero – which it did without regard for the read/write head's current position, resulting in the characteristic \"chattering\" sound of a Disk II boot, which was the read/write head hitting the rubber stop block at the end of the rail – and read and execute code from sector 0.", "The code contained in there would then pull in the rest of the operating system.", "DOS stored the disk's directory on track 17, smack in the middle of the 35-track disks, in order to reduce the average seek time to the frequently used directory track.", "The directory was fixed in size and could hold a maximum of 105 files.", "Subdirectories were not supported.", "Most game publishers did not include DOS on their floppy disks, since they needed the memory it occupied more than its capabilities; instead, they often wrote their own boot loaders and read-only file systems.", "This also served to discourage \"crackers\" from snooping around in the game's copy-protection code, since the data on the disk was not in files that could be accessed easily.", "Some third-party manufacturers produced floppy drives that could write 40 tracks to most 5.25-inch disks, yielding 160 kB of storage per disk, but the format did not catch on widely, and no known commercial software was published on 40-track media.", "Most drives, even Disk IIs, could write 36 tracks; a two byte modification to DOS to format the extra track was common.", "The Apple Disk II stored 140 kB on single-sided, \"single-density\" floppy disks, but it was very common for Apple II users to extend the capacity of a single-sided floppy disk to 280 kB by cutting out a second write-protect notch on the side of the disk using a \"disk notcher\" or hole puncher and inserting the disk flipped over.", "Double-sided disks, with notches on both sides, were available at a higher price, but in practice the magnetic coating on the reverse of nominally single-sided disks was usually of good enough quality to be used (both sides were coated in the same way to prevent warping, although only one side was certified for use).", "Early on, diskette manufacturers routinely warned that this technique would damage the read/write head of the drives or wear out the disk faster, and these warnings were frequently repeated in magazines of the day.", "In practice, however, this method was an inexpensive way to store twice as much data for no extra cost, and was widely used for commercially released floppies as well.", "Later, Apple IIs were able to use 3.5-inch disks with a total capacity of 800 kB and hard disks.", "DOS 3.3 did not support these drives natively; third-party software was required, and disks larger than about 400 kB had to be split up into multiple \"virtual disk volumes.\"", "DOS 3.3 was succeeded by ProDOS, a 1983 descendent of the Apple ///'s SOS.", "It added the capabilities for subdirectories and larger storage capacities.", "ProDOS became the Apple II operating system of choice for users with these larger disks thanks to its native support of volumes up to 32 MB in size and the fact that AppleWorks and other newer programs required it.", "===Renditions of the \"II\" name===\nThe \"II\" portion of the Apple II name was rendered in a variety of creative ways using stylized characters which resembled punctuation symbols on the front lids of the computers, and most printed material followed this lead.", "The II and II+ were labeled .", "The IIGS and IIc Plus were rendered in small caps.", "The Apple III, IIc, and IIe models used slashes: ///, //c and //e.", "===Legacy===\nToday, emulators for various Apple II models are available to run Apple II software on macOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, homebrew enabled Nintendo DS and other operating systems.", "Numerous disk images of Apple II software are available free over the Internet for use with these emulators.", "AppleWin and MESS are among the best emulators compatible with most Apple II images.", "The MESS emulator supports recording and playing back of Apple II emulation sessions, as does Home Action Replay Page (a.k.a.", "HARP).", "However, many emulators cannot run software on copy-protected media, or can run only software employing fairly simple protection schemes, unless it is \"cracked\" (copy restrictions removed).", "Breaking protection on software was widely popular in the Apple II's heyday; even Apple itself apparently engaged in the practice.", "Commercial cracking software such as the popular Copy II+ program were sold in stores with the purpose of creating legitimate back-ups of protected software.", "Although creating back-ups was legitimate under copyright law of the time, the use of such software today is of questionable legality in the U.S. (see DMCA).", "For those who prefer to obtain their old software legally, the Lost Classics Project has the goal of convincing copyright holders of classic Apple II software to officially allow unrestricted free distribution of their software and has \"freed\" a number of programs.", "In addition, an active retrocomputing community of vintage Apple II collectors and users, continue to restore, maintain and develop hardware and software for daily use of these original computers.", "Numerous websites and support groups exist for these enthusiasts who maintain and use their machines.", "There is still a small annual convention, KansasFest, dedicated to the platform.", "===Industry impact===\nThe Apple II series of computers had an enormous impact on the technology industry and on everyday life.", "The Apple II was the first personal computer many people ever saw.", "Its price was within the reach of many middle-class families, and a partnership with MECC helped make the Apple II popular in schools.", "By the end of 1980 Apple had already sold over 100,000 Apple IIs.", "Its popularity bootstrapped the computer game and educational software markets and began the boom in the word processor and computer printer markets.", "The first microcomputer program for business was VisiCalc, the earliest spreadsheet, and it ran first on the Apple II.", "Many businesses bought Apple IIs just to run VisiCalc.", "The Apple II series had much more business software than the rival Atari 8-bit computers.", "Its success caused IBM to create the IBM PC, which many businesses purchased to run spreadsheet and word processing software, at first ported from Apple II versions; later, whole new application software dynasties would be founded on the PC.", "The popularity of these PCs and their clones then transformed business again with LAN applications such as e-mail and later Internet applications such as Usenet and the WWW.", "The first 1000 or so Apple IIs shipped with a 68-page mimeographed \"Apple II Mini Manual\" bound with brass paper fasteners.", "This was the basis for the ''Apple II Reference Manual'' (a/k/a Red book) which was published in January 1978.", "All existing customers who sent in their warranty cards were sent free copies of the Red Book.", "The Apple II Reference Manual contained the complete schematic of the entire computer's circuitry and a complete source listing of the \"Monitor\" ROM firmware that served as the machine's BIOS.", "A revised spiral bound guide released several years later with updated information had to be purchased separately, and in the case of the Apple IIGS, the full technical documentation ran to several volumes.", "The Apple II's slots, allowing any peripheral card to take control of the bus and directly access memory, enabled an independent industry of card manufacturers who together created a flood of hardware products that let users build systems that were far more powerful and useful (at a lower cost) than any competing system, most of which were not nearly as expandable and were universally proprietary.", "The first peripheral card was a blank prototyping card intended for electronics enthusiasts who wanted to design their own peripherals for the Apple II.", "Specialty peripherals kept the Apple II in use in industry and education environments for many years after Apple Computer stopped supporting the Apple II.", "Well into the 1990s every clean-room (the super-clean facility where spacecraft are prepared for flight) at the Kennedy Space Center used an Apple II to monitor the environment and air quality.", "Most planetariums used Apple IIs to control their projectors and other equipment.", "Even the game port was unusually powerful and could be used for digital and analog input and output.", "The early manuals included instructions for how to build a circuit with only four commonly available components (one transistor and three resistors) and a software routine to drive a common Teletype Model 33 machine.", "One hacker (Don Lancaster) used the game I/O to drive a LaserWriter printer.", "===Timeline of Apple II and Family models===", "*Apple Industrial Design Group\n*List of publications and periodicals devoted to the Apple II\n*Apple II peripheral cards\n*Apple II graphics\n*List of Apple II application software\n*List of Apple II games\n*List of Apple IIGS games", "\n*", "*Edwards, Jim. ''", "These Pictures Of Apple's First Employees Are Absolutely Wonderful'' (Contains a c.1977 photograph taken inside Apple of early employees Chrisann Brennan, Mark Johnson, and Robert Martinengo standing in front of a stack of Apple IIs that they had tested, assembled, and were about to ship) - ''Business Insider'', December 26, 2013.", "\n\n*\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBig text" ]

[ "\n\nThe '''Apple III''' (often styled as '''apple ///''') is a business-oriented personal computer produced and released by Apple Computer in 1980. It was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but was largely considered a failure in the market.\n\nDevelopment work on the Apple III started in late 1978 under the guidance of Dr. Wendell Sander. It had the internal code name of \"Sara\", named after Sander's daughter. The machine was first announced and released on May 19, 1980, but due to serious stability issues that required a design overhaul and a recall of existing machines, it was formally reintroduced in the second half of 1981. Development stopped and the Apple III was discontinued on April 24, 1984, and its last successor—the III Plus, was dropped from the Apple product line in September 1985.\n\nThe Apple III could be viewed as an enhanced Apple II – then the newest heir to a line of 8-bit machines dating back to 1976. However, the Apple III was not part of the Apple II line, but rather a close cousin. The key features business users wanted in a personal computer were a true typewriter-style upper/lowercase keyboard (as opposed to the Apple II, which only supported uppercase letters) and 80-column display. In addition, the machine had to pass U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radio frequency interference (RFI) qualifications for business equipment. In 1981, International Business Machines (IBM) unveiled the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) – a completely new 16-bit design soon available in a wide range of inexpensive clones. The business market moved rapidly towards the PC DOS/MS-DOS platform, eventually pulling away from the Apple 8-bit computer line.\n\nAfter numerous stability issues and a recall that included the first 14,000 units from the assembly line, Apple was eventually able to produce a reliable version of the machine. However, damage to the computer's reputation had already been done and it failed to do well commercially as a direct result. In the end, an estimated 65,000–75,000 Apple III computers were sold. The Apple III Plus brought this up to approximately 120,000. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak stated that the primary reason for the Apple III's failure was that the system was designed by Apple's marketing department, unlike Apple's previous engineering-driven projects. The Apple III's failure led to Apple reevaluating their plan to phase out the Apple II, and eventual continuation of development of the older machine. As a result, later Apple II models incorporated some hardware, such as the Apple Scribe Printer, a thermal printer, and software technologies of the Apple III.\n\n", "===Design===\nThe Apple III was designed to be a business computer and an eventual successor for the Apple II. While the Apple II contributed to the inspirations of several important business products, such as VisiCalc, Multiplan and Apple Writer, the computer's hardware architecture, operating system and developer environment were limited. The Apple III addressed these weaknesses. According to Steve Wozniak, VisiCalc and Disk II had caused the Apple II's popularity, with 90% of sales going to businesses as opposed to the hobbyists that were its original market. Apple management intended to clearly establish market segmentation by designing the Apple III to appeal to the business market, leaving the Apple II to home and education users. Management believed that \"once the Apple III was out, the Apple II would stop selling in six months\", Wozniak said.\n\nThe Apple III is powered by a 1.8 MHz Synertek 6502A or B 8-bit CPU and, like some of the later machines in the Apple II family, uses bank switching techniques to address memory beyond the 6502's traditional 64KB limit, up to 256 K in the IIIs case. Third-party vendors also produced memory upgrade kits that allow the Apple III to reach up to 512 KB. Other Apple III built-in features include an 80-column, 24-line display with upper and lowercase characters, a numeric keypad, dual-speed (pressure-sensitive) cursor control keys, 6-bit (DAC) audio, and a built-in 140 KB 5.25\" floppy disk drive. Graphics modes include 560x192 in black and white, and 280x192 with 16 colors or shades of gray. Unlike the Apple II, the Disk III controller is part of the logic board.\n\nThe Apple III is the first Apple product to allow the user to choose both a screen font and a keyboard layout: either QWERTY or Dvorak. These choices can not be changed while programs were running, unlike the Apple IIc, which has a keyboard switch directly above the keyboard, allowing switching on the fly.\n\n===Software===\nAn advertisement for access to health information through the Apple III\n\nA major limitation of the Apple II and DOS 3.3 is the way it addresses resources, which makes it highly desirable for peripherals to be installed in standardized locations (slot 5 and 6 reserved for storage devices, slot 2 reserved for serial communication interfaces, etc.) This forces the user to identify a peripheral by its physical location, such as PR#6, CATALOG, D1, and so on. The Apple III introduced an advanced operating system called Apple SOS, pronounced \"apple sauce\". Its ability to address resources by name instead of a physical location allows the Apple III to be more scalable than the Apple II. Apple SOS also allows the full capacity of a storage device to be used as a single volume, such as the Apple ProFile hard disk drive. Also, Apple SOS supports a hierarchical file system (HFS). Some of the features and code base of Apple SOS were migrated into the Apple II's ProDOS and GS/OS operating systems, as well as Lisa 7/7 and Macintosh system software.\n\nWith a starting price between $4,340 to $7,800 US, the Apple III was more expensive than many of the CP/M-based business computers that were available at the time. Little Apple III software was available besides VisiCalc, and because Apple did not view the Apple III as suitable for hobbyists, it did not provide much of the technical software information that accompanied the Apple II. Originally intended as a direct replacement to the Apple II series, it was designed to be backward compatible with Apple II software. However, since Apple did not want to encourage continued development of the II platform, Apple II compatibility existed only in a special \"Apple II Mode\" which was limited in its capabilities to the emulation of a basic 48 KB Apple II+ configuration. Special chips were intentionally added to prevent access to the III's advanced features such as its larger memory.\n\n===Peripherals===\nThe Apple III has four expansion slots, a number that ''inCider'' in 1986 called \"miserly\". Apple II cards are compatible but risk violating government RFI regulations, and require Apple III-specific device drivers; ''BYTE'' stated that \"Apple provides virtually no information on how to write them\". As with software, Apple provided little hardware technical information with the computer but Apple III-specific products became available, such as one that made the computer compatible with the Apple IIe. Several new Apple-produced peripherals were developed for the Apple III. The original Apple III has a built-in real-time clock, which is recognized by Apple SOS. The clock was later removed from the \"revised\" model, and instead was made available as an add-on.\n\nAlong with the built-in floppy drive, the Apple III can also handle up to three additional external Disk III floppy disk drives. The Disk III is only officially compatible with the Apple III. The Apple III Plus requires an adaptor from Apple to use the Disk III with its DB-25 disk port.\n\n\nWith the introduction of the revised Apple III a year after launch, Apple began offering the ProFile external hard disk system. Costing US$3499 for 5MB, it also required a peripheral slot for the ProFile controller card.\n\n===Revisions===\nApple III Plus\n\nOnce the logic board design flaws were discovered, a newer logic board design was produced – which includes a lower power requirement, wider traces, and better designed chip sockets. The $3,495 revised model also includes 256 KiB RAM as a standard configuration. The 14,000 units of the original Apple III sold were returned and replaced with the entirely new revised model.\n\n====Apple III Plus====\nApple discontinued the III in October 1983 because it violated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, and the FCC required the company to change the redesigned computer's name. It introduced the '''Apple III Plus''' in December 1983 at a price of US$2995. This newer version includes a built-in clock, video interlacing, standardized rear port connectors, 55-watt power supply, 256 KiB RAM as standard, and a redesigned, IIe-like keyboard.\n\nOwners of the Apple III could purchase individual III Plus upgrades, like the clock and interlacing feature, and obtain the newer logic board as a service replacement. A keyboard upgrade kit, dubbed \"Apple III Plus upgrade kit\" was also made available – which included the keyboard, cover, keyboard encoder ROM, and logo replacements. This upgrade had to be installed by an authorized service technician.\n", "According to Wozniak, the Apple III \"had 100 percent hardware failures\". Former Apple executive Taylor Pohlman recalled this:\n\n\n\nSteve Jobs insisted on the idea of no fan or air vents, in order to make the computer run quietly. Jobs would later push this same ideology onto almost all Apple models he had control of, from the Apple Lisa and Macintosh 128K to the iMac. To allow the computer to dissipate heat, the base of the Apple III was made of heavy cast aluminum, which supposedly acts as a heat sink. One undeniable advantage to the aluminum case was a reduction in RFI (Radio Frequency Interference), a problem which had plagued the Apple II series throughout its history. Unlike the Apple II series, the power supply was mounted – without its own shell – in a compartment separate from the logic board. The decision to use an aluminum shell ultimately led to engineering issues which resulted in the Apple III's reliability problems. The lead time for manufacturing the shells was high, and this had to be done before the motherboard was finalized. Later it was realized that there wasn't enough room on the motherboard for all of the components unless narrow traces were used.\n\nApple III Plus showing the RFI shield over the floppy drive and the cast aluminum case\n\nMany Apple IIIs were thought to have failed due to their inability to properly dissipate heat. ''inCider'' stated in 1986 that \"Heat has always been a formidable enemy of the Apple ///\", and some users reported that their Apple IIIs became so hot that the chips started dislodging from the board, causing the screen to display garbled data or their disk to come out of the slot \"melted\". ''BYTE'' wrote, \"the integrated circuits tended to wander out of their sockets\". Apple advised customers to tilt the front of the Apple III six inches above the desk, and then drop it to reseat the chips. Other analyses blame a faulty automatic chip insertion process, not heat.\n\nCase designer Jerry Manock denied the design flaw charges, stating that tests proved that the unit adequately dissipated the internal heat. The primary cause, he claimed, was a major logic board design problem. The logic board used \"fineline\" technology that was not fully mature at the time, with narrow, closely spaced traces. When chips were \"stuffed\" into the board and wave-soldered, solder bridges would form between traces that were not supposed to be connected. This caused numerous short circuits, which required hours of costly diagnosis and hand rework to fix. Apple designed a new circuit board, with more layers and normal-width traces. The new logic board was laid out by one designer on a huge drafting board, rather than using the costly CAD-CAM system used for the previous board, and the new design worked.\n\nEarlier Apple III units came with a built-in real time clock. The hardware, however, would fail after prolonged use. Assuming that National Semiconductor would test all parts before shipping them, Apple did not perform this level of testing. Apple was soldering chips directly to boards, and could not easily change out a bad chip if one was found. Eventually, Apple solved this problem by removing the real-time clock from the Apple III's specification rather than shipping the Apple III with the clock pre-installed, and then sold the peripheral as a level 1 technician add-on.\n", "===Commercial failure===\nThe Apple III's technical problems made marketing the computer difficult. One distributor's representative described the computer as \"a complete disaster\", recalling that he \"was responsible for going to every dealership, setting up the Apple III in their showroom, and then explaining to them the functions of the Apple III, which in many cases didn’t really work\". Pohlman stated that Apple was only selling 500 units a month by late 1981, mostly as replacements. The company was able to raise monthly sales to 5,000, but the IBM PC's successful launch encouraged software companies to develop for it instead, causing Apple to shift focus to the Lisa and Macintosh. By early 1984 sales were only to existing III owners, Apple itself—its 4500 employees had about 3000-4500 units—and some small businesses. Despite formerly devoting the majority of its R&D to the III and so ignoring the II that for a while dealers had difficulty in obtaining the latter, Apple discontinued the Apple III series on April 24, 1984, four months after introducing the III Plus, after selling 65,000-75,000 computers and replacing 14,000 defective units.\n\nJobs stated that Apple lost \"infinite, incalculable amounts\" of money on the Apple III. Pohlman claimed that there was a \"stigma\" at the company associated with having contributed to the computer. Most employees who worked on the III reportedly left Apple.\n\n===Legacy===\nThe filesystem and some design ideas from Apple SOS, the Apple III's operating system, were part of Apple ProDOS and Apple GS/OS, the major operating systems for the Apple II series following the demise of the Apple III, as well as the Apple Lisa, which was the de facto business-oriented successor to the Apple III. The hierarchical file system influenced the evolution of the Macintosh: while the original Macintosh File System (MFS) was a flat file system designed for a floppy disk without subdirectories, subsequent file systems were hierarchical. By comparison, the IBM PC's first file system (again designed for floppy disks) was also flat and later versions (designed for hard disks) were hierarchical.\n\n===In popular culture===\nAt the start of the Walt Disney Pictures film TRON, lead character Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges) is seen hacking into the ENCOM mainframe using an Apple III.\n", "* List of products discontinued by Apple Inc.\n", "\n", "\n* Inside the Apple III\n* The Ill-Fated Apple III\n* Many manuals and diagrams\n* Sara – Apple /// emulator\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Overview", "Design flaws", "Reception", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "The Apple III is powered by a 1.8 MHz Synertek 6502A or B 8-bit CPU and, like some of the later machines in the Apple II family, uses bank switching techniques to address memory beyond the 6502's traditional 64KB limit, up to 256 K in the IIIs case." ]

[ "\n\nThe '''Apple III''' (often styled as '''apple ///''') is a business-oriented personal computer produced and released by Apple Computer in 1980.", "It was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but was largely considered a failure in the market.", "Development work on the Apple III started in late 1978 under the guidance of Dr. Wendell Sander.", "It had the internal code name of \"Sara\", named after Sander's daughter.", "The machine was first announced and released on May 19, 1980, but due to serious stability issues that required a design overhaul and a recall of existing machines, it was formally reintroduced in the second half of 1981.", "Development stopped and the Apple III was discontinued on April 24, 1984, and its last successor—the III Plus, was dropped from the Apple product line in September 1985.", "The Apple III could be viewed as an enhanced Apple II – then the newest heir to a line of 8-bit machines dating back to 1976.", "However, the Apple III was not part of the Apple II line, but rather a close cousin.", "The key features business users wanted in a personal computer were a true typewriter-style upper/lowercase keyboard (as opposed to the Apple II, which only supported uppercase letters) and 80-column display.", "In addition, the machine had to pass U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radio frequency interference (RFI) qualifications for business equipment.", "In 1981, International Business Machines (IBM) unveiled the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) – a completely new 16-bit design soon available in a wide range of inexpensive clones.", "The business market moved rapidly towards the PC DOS/MS-DOS platform, eventually pulling away from the Apple 8-bit computer line.", "After numerous stability issues and a recall that included the first 14,000 units from the assembly line, Apple was eventually able to produce a reliable version of the machine.", "However, damage to the computer's reputation had already been done and it failed to do well commercially as a direct result.", "In the end, an estimated 65,000–75,000 Apple III computers were sold.", "The Apple III Plus brought this up to approximately 120,000.", "Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak stated that the primary reason for the Apple III's failure was that the system was designed by Apple's marketing department, unlike Apple's previous engineering-driven projects.", "The Apple III's failure led to Apple reevaluating their plan to phase out the Apple II, and eventual continuation of development of the older machine.", "As a result, later Apple II models incorporated some hardware, such as the Apple Scribe Printer, a thermal printer, and software technologies of the Apple III.", "===Design===\nThe Apple III was designed to be a business computer and an eventual successor for the Apple II.", "While the Apple II contributed to the inspirations of several important business products, such as VisiCalc, Multiplan and Apple Writer, the computer's hardware architecture, operating system and developer environment were limited.", "The Apple III addressed these weaknesses.", "According to Steve Wozniak, VisiCalc and Disk II had caused the Apple II's popularity, with 90% of sales going to businesses as opposed to the hobbyists that were its original market.", "Apple management intended to clearly establish market segmentation by designing the Apple III to appeal to the business market, leaving the Apple II to home and education users.", "Management believed that \"once the Apple III was out, the Apple II would stop selling in six months\", Wozniak said.", "Third-party vendors also produced memory upgrade kits that allow the Apple III to reach up to 512 KB.", "Other Apple III built-in features include an 80-column, 24-line display with upper and lowercase characters, a numeric keypad, dual-speed (pressure-sensitive) cursor control keys, 6-bit (DAC) audio, and a built-in 140 KB 5.25\" floppy disk drive.", "Graphics modes include 560x192 in black and white, and 280x192 with 16 colors or shades of gray.", "Unlike the Apple II, the Disk III controller is part of the logic board.", "The Apple III is the first Apple product to allow the user to choose both a screen font and a keyboard layout: either QWERTY or Dvorak.", "These choices can not be changed while programs were running, unlike the Apple IIc, which has a keyboard switch directly above the keyboard, allowing switching on the fly.", "===Software===\nAn advertisement for access to health information through the Apple III\n\nA major limitation of the Apple II and DOS 3.3 is the way it addresses resources, which makes it highly desirable for peripherals to be installed in standardized locations (slot 5 and 6 reserved for storage devices, slot 2 reserved for serial communication interfaces, etc.)", "This forces the user to identify a peripheral by its physical location, such as PR#6, CATALOG, D1, and so on.", "The Apple III introduced an advanced operating system called Apple SOS, pronounced \"apple sauce\".", "Its ability to address resources by name instead of a physical location allows the Apple III to be more scalable than the Apple II.", "Apple SOS also allows the full capacity of a storage device to be used as a single volume, such as the Apple ProFile hard disk drive.", "Also, Apple SOS supports a hierarchical file system (HFS).", "Some of the features and code base of Apple SOS were migrated into the Apple II's ProDOS and GS/OS operating systems, as well as Lisa 7/7 and Macintosh system software.", "With a starting price between $4,340 to $7,800 US, the Apple III was more expensive than many of the CP/M-based business computers that were available at the time.", "Little Apple III software was available besides VisiCalc, and because Apple did not view the Apple III as suitable for hobbyists, it did not provide much of the technical software information that accompanied the Apple II.", "Originally intended as a direct replacement to the Apple II series, it was designed to be backward compatible with Apple II software.", "However, since Apple did not want to encourage continued development of the II platform, Apple II compatibility existed only in a special \"Apple II Mode\" which was limited in its capabilities to the emulation of a basic 48 KB Apple II+ configuration.", "Special chips were intentionally added to prevent access to the III's advanced features such as its larger memory.", "===Peripherals===\nThe Apple III has four expansion slots, a number that ''inCider'' in 1986 called \"miserly\".", "Apple II cards are compatible but risk violating government RFI regulations, and require Apple III-specific device drivers; ''BYTE'' stated that \"Apple provides virtually no information on how to write them\".", "As with software, Apple provided little hardware technical information with the computer but Apple III-specific products became available, such as one that made the computer compatible with the Apple IIe.", "Several new Apple-produced peripherals were developed for the Apple III.", "The original Apple III has a built-in real-time clock, which is recognized by Apple SOS.", "The clock was later removed from the \"revised\" model, and instead was made available as an add-on.", "Along with the built-in floppy drive, the Apple III can also handle up to three additional external Disk III floppy disk drives.", "The Disk III is only officially compatible with the Apple III.", "The Apple III Plus requires an adaptor from Apple to use the Disk III with its DB-25 disk port.", "With the introduction of the revised Apple III a year after launch, Apple began offering the ProFile external hard disk system.", "Costing US$3499 for 5MB, it also required a peripheral slot for the ProFile controller card.", "===Revisions===\nApple III Plus\n\nOnce the logic board design flaws were discovered, a newer logic board design was produced – which includes a lower power requirement, wider traces, and better designed chip sockets.", "The $3,495 revised model also includes 256 KiB RAM as a standard configuration.", "The 14,000 units of the original Apple III sold were returned and replaced with the entirely new revised model.", "====Apple III Plus====\nApple discontinued the III in October 1983 because it violated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, and the FCC required the company to change the redesigned computer's name.", "It introduced the '''Apple III Plus''' in December 1983 at a price of US$2995.", "This newer version includes a built-in clock, video interlacing, standardized rear port connectors, 55-watt power supply, 256 KiB RAM as standard, and a redesigned, IIe-like keyboard.", "Owners of the Apple III could purchase individual III Plus upgrades, like the clock and interlacing feature, and obtain the newer logic board as a service replacement.", "A keyboard upgrade kit, dubbed \"Apple III Plus upgrade kit\" was also made available – which included the keyboard, cover, keyboard encoder ROM, and logo replacements.", "This upgrade had to be installed by an authorized service technician.", "According to Wozniak, the Apple III \"had 100 percent hardware failures\".", "Former Apple executive Taylor Pohlman recalled this:\n\n\n\nSteve Jobs insisted on the idea of no fan or air vents, in order to make the computer run quietly.", "Jobs would later push this same ideology onto almost all Apple models he had control of, from the Apple Lisa and Macintosh 128K to the iMac.", "To allow the computer to dissipate heat, the base of the Apple III was made of heavy cast aluminum, which supposedly acts as a heat sink.", "One undeniable advantage to the aluminum case was a reduction in RFI (Radio Frequency Interference), a problem which had plagued the Apple II series throughout its history.", "Unlike the Apple II series, the power supply was mounted – without its own shell – in a compartment separate from the logic board.", "The decision to use an aluminum shell ultimately led to engineering issues which resulted in the Apple III's reliability problems.", "The lead time for manufacturing the shells was high, and this had to be done before the motherboard was finalized.", "Later it was realized that there wasn't enough room on the motherboard for all of the components unless narrow traces were used.", "Apple III Plus showing the RFI shield over the floppy drive and the cast aluminum case\n\nMany Apple IIIs were thought to have failed due to their inability to properly dissipate heat.", "''inCider'' stated in 1986 that \"Heat has always been a formidable enemy of the Apple ///\", and some users reported that their Apple IIIs became so hot that the chips started dislodging from the board, causing the screen to display garbled data or their disk to come out of the slot \"melted\".", "''BYTE'' wrote, \"the integrated circuits tended to wander out of their sockets\".", "Apple advised customers to tilt the front of the Apple III six inches above the desk, and then drop it to reseat the chips.", "Other analyses blame a faulty automatic chip insertion process, not heat.", "Case designer Jerry Manock denied the design flaw charges, stating that tests proved that the unit adequately dissipated the internal heat.", "The primary cause, he claimed, was a major logic board design problem.", "The logic board used \"fineline\" technology that was not fully mature at the time, with narrow, closely spaced traces.", "When chips were \"stuffed\" into the board and wave-soldered, solder bridges would form between traces that were not supposed to be connected.", "This caused numerous short circuits, which required hours of costly diagnosis and hand rework to fix.", "Apple designed a new circuit board, with more layers and normal-width traces.", "The new logic board was laid out by one designer on a huge drafting board, rather than using the costly CAD-CAM system used for the previous board, and the new design worked.", "Earlier Apple III units came with a built-in real time clock.", "The hardware, however, would fail after prolonged use.", "Assuming that National Semiconductor would test all parts before shipping them, Apple did not perform this level of testing.", "Apple was soldering chips directly to boards, and could not easily change out a bad chip if one was found.", "Eventually, Apple solved this problem by removing the real-time clock from the Apple III's specification rather than shipping the Apple III with the clock pre-installed, and then sold the peripheral as a level 1 technician add-on.", "===Commercial failure===\nThe Apple III's technical problems made marketing the computer difficult.", "One distributor's representative described the computer as \"a complete disaster\", recalling that he \"was responsible for going to every dealership, setting up the Apple III in their showroom, and then explaining to them the functions of the Apple III, which in many cases didn’t really work\".", "Pohlman stated that Apple was only selling 500 units a month by late 1981, mostly as replacements.", "The company was able to raise monthly sales to 5,000, but the IBM PC's successful launch encouraged software companies to develop for it instead, causing Apple to shift focus to the Lisa and Macintosh.", "By early 1984 sales were only to existing III owners, Apple itself—its 4500 employees had about 3000-4500 units—and some small businesses.", "Despite formerly devoting the majority of its R&D to the III and so ignoring the II that for a while dealers had difficulty in obtaining the latter, Apple discontinued the Apple III series on April 24, 1984, four months after introducing the III Plus, after selling 65,000-75,000 computers and replacing 14,000 defective units.", "Jobs stated that Apple lost \"infinite, incalculable amounts\" of money on the Apple III.", "Pohlman claimed that there was a \"stigma\" at the company associated with having contributed to the computer.", "Most employees who worked on the III reportedly left Apple.", "===Legacy===\nThe filesystem and some design ideas from Apple SOS, the Apple III's operating system, were part of Apple ProDOS and Apple GS/OS, the major operating systems for the Apple II series following the demise of the Apple III, as well as the Apple Lisa, which was the de facto business-oriented successor to the Apple III.", "The hierarchical file system influenced the evolution of the Macintosh: while the original Macintosh File System (MFS) was a flat file system designed for a floppy disk without subdirectories, subsequent file systems were hierarchical.", "By comparison, the IBM PC's first file system (again designed for floppy disks) was also flat and later versions (designed for hard disks) were hierarchical.", "===In popular culture===\nAt the start of the Walt Disney Pictures film TRON, lead character Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges) is seen hacking into the ENCOM mainframe using an Apple III.", "* List of products discontinued by Apple Inc.", "\n* Inside the Apple III\n* The Ill-Fated Apple III\n* Many manuals and diagrams\n* Sara – Apple /// emulator" ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''Arizona Diamondbacks''', often shortened as the '''D-backs''', are an American professional baseball franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona. The club competes in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) West division. Since the team's inception in 1998, the franchise has played home games at Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark. The Diamondbacks have won one World Series championship (in 2001), becoming the fastest expansion team in the Major Leagues to win a championship, doing it in only the fourth season since the franchise's inception in the 1998 Major League Baseball season.\n", "\n\nOn March 9, 1995, Arizona was awarded a franchise to begin play for the 1998 season. A $130 million franchise fee was paid to Major League Baseball and on January 16, 1997, the Diamondbacks were officially voted into the National League. The Diamondbacks' first major league game was played against the Colorado Rockies on March 31, 1998, at Bank One Ballpark. The ballpark was renamed Chase Field in 2005, as a result of Bank One Corporation's merger with JPMorgan Chase & Co.\n\nSince their debut, the Diamondbacks have won five National League West titles, one National League Championship pennant, and the 2001 World Series.\n", "The Diamondbacks' original colors were purple, black, teal and copper. Their first logo was an italicized block letter \"A\" with a diamond pattern, and the crossbar represented by a snake's tongue. Prior to their inaugural season, they released their baseball caps. The home cap had a cream color crown with a purple visor and button. The road cap was black and had a turquoise visor and button. Their alternate cap had a turquoise crown with a purple visor and button. Depending on the cap, the \"A\" logo on the front of the cap had different color variations.\n\nIn the Diamondbacks' second season, they introduced a new logo which was a copper color snake in the shape of a letter \"D\". It was used on a solid black cap, which in the beginning, was worn as a road cap.\n\nThe franchise unveiled new uniforms and colors of Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand and black on November 8, 2006. The red shade is named for the sandstone canyon at Red Rock State Park near Sedona, while the beige (sand) shade is named for the Sonoran Desert. A sleeve patch was added featuring a lowercase \"d\" and \"b\" configured to look like a snake's head. The team also kept the \"D\" logo, but was slightly altered and put on an all red cap to be used as their game cap. They also kept the \"A\" logo with the new colors applied to it, with a solid black cap used as the alternate cap. A similar color scheme is currently used by the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.\n\nPrior to the 2016 season, the Diamondbacks reincorporated teal into its color scheme while keeping Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand and black. They also unveiled eight different uniform combinations, including two separate home white and away grey uniforms. One major difference between the two sets is that the non-teal uniforms feature a snakeskin pattern on the shoulders, while the teal-trimmed uniforms include a charcoal/grey snakeskin pattern on the back. Arizona also kept the throwback pinstriped sleeveless uniforms from their 2001 championship season for use during Thursday home games.\n", "The primary television play-by-play voice for the team's first nine seasons of play was Thom Brennaman, who also broadcasts baseball and college football games nationally for Fox Television. Brennaman was the TV announcer for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds (along with his father Marty Brennaman) before being hired by Diamondbacks founder Jerry Colangelo in 1996, two years before the team would begin play.\n\nIn October 2006, Brennaman left the Diamondbacks to call games with his father for the Reds beginning in 2007, signing a four-year deal (his FOX duties remained unchanged).\n\nThe English language flagship radio station is KTAR. Greg Schulte is the regular radio play-by-play voice, a 25-year veteran of sports radio in the Phoenix market, also well known for his previous work on Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals and Arizona State University (ASU) broadcasts.\n\nJeff Munn is a backup radio play-by-play announcer; he served as the regular public address announcer at Chase Field in the early days of the franchise. He is well-known to many Phoenix area sports fans, having also served as the public address announcer for the Suns at America West Arena (now Talking Stick Resort Arena) in the 1990s. He is also the play-by-play radio voice for ASU women's basketball.\n\nOn November 1, 2006, the team announced that the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers since 2002, Daron Sutton, would be hired as the Diamondbacks primary TV play-by-play voice. Sutton was signed to a five-year contract with a team option for three more years. Sutton is considered one of the best of the younger generation of baseball broadcasters. His signature chants include \"let's get some runs\" when the D-backs trail in late innings. Sutton's father is Hall of Fame pitcher and current Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton.\n\nFormer Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace and former Major League knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti were the Diamondbacks primary color analysts for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Former Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams also did color commentary on occasion, as did former Cardinals and NBC broadcast legend Joe Garagiola, Sr., a longtime Phoenix-area resident and father of Joe Garagiola, Jr., the first GM of the Diamondbacks (as head of the Maricopa County Sports Authority in the early 1990s, Garagiola, Jr. was one of the primary people involved in Phoenix obtaining a Major League Baseball franchise).\n\nThe Diamondbacks announced in July 2007 that for the 2008 season, all regionally broadcast Diamondbacks TV games will be shown exclusively on Fox Sports Arizona, and a few could possibly be shown on the national Fox MLB telecasts. Fox Sports Arizona (or FS Arizona) is currently seen in 2.8 million households in Arizona and New Mexico. The previous flagship station, since the inaugural 1998 season, was KTVK, a popular over-the-air independent station (and former longtime ABC affiliate) in Phoenix.\n\nFrom 2009 to 2012, Mark Grace and Daron Sutton were tagged as the main broadcasters of the Diamondbacks with pre-game and postgame shows on Fox Sports Arizona, being hosted by former big-league closer Joe Borowski.\n\nOn June 21, 2012, Daron Sutton was suspended indefinitely, amid rumors of insubordination. Then on August 24, the team announced that Mark Grace had requested an indefinite leave of absence after being arrested for his second DUI in less than two years (Grace was later indicted on four DUI counts). For the remainder of the 2012 season, Sutton was replaced by Greg Schulte (Jeff Munn replaced Schulte on the radio broadcast) and Grace was replaced by Luis Gonzalez. At the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that neither Sutton nor Grace would be returning for the 2013 season.\n\nOn October 18, 2012, the team announced that Bob Brenly would be returning as a broadcaster, and that he would be joined by then-ESPN personality Steve Berthiaume.\n\n===Spanish broadcasts===\nThe flagship Spanish language radio station is KBMB AM 710 with Miguel Quintana, Richard Saenz and Oscar Soria.\n\nGames were televised in Spanish on KPHE-LP—with Oscar Soria and Jerry Romo as the announcers—but this arrangement ended prior to the 2009 season due to the team switching fully to Fox Sports Arizona and the lack of carriage of KHPE-LP on the Cox cable system.\n", ";Hitting\n:Games played: Luis Gonzalez (1999–2006) – 1,194\n:At bats: Luis Gonzalez – 4,488\n:Hits: Luis Gonzalez – 1,337\n:Batting average: Greg Colbrunn – .310\n:Runs: Luis Gonzalez – 780\n:Doubles: Luis Gonzalez – 310\n:Triples: Stephen Drew* – 52\n:Home runs: Luis Gonzalez – 224\n:Runs batted in: Luis Gonzalez – 774\n:On-base percentage: Paul Goldschmidt* – .396\n:Walks: Luis Gonzalez – 650\n:Strikeouts: Chris Young* – 814\n:Slugging percentage: Paul Goldschmidt – .538\n:Stolen bases: Tony Womack – 182\n\nRandy Johnson pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks.\n;Pitching\n:ERA: Randy Johnson (1999–2004, 2007–08) – 2.83\n:Wins: Randy Johnson – 118\n:Losses: Randy Johnson/Brandon Webb (2003–10) – 62\n:Games: Brad Ziegler* – 290\n:Saves: José Valverde – 98\n:Innings: Randy Johnson – 1630.1\n:Starts: Randy Johnson – 232\n:Strikeouts: Randy Johnson – 2,077\n:Complete games: Randy Johnson – 38\n:Shutouts: Randy Johnson – 14\n:WHIP: Curt Schilling – 1.04\n* all stats are current as of December 9, 2015 from the Arizona Diamondbacks website.\n signifies current Major League player\n Played as Diamondbacks catcher\n\n===Retired numbers===\n\n*No. 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson.\n", "\n", "\n\n===Ford C. Frick Award recipients===\n\n\n===Arizona Sports Hall of Fame===\n\n\n'''Diamondbacks in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame'''\n\nNo.\nName\nPosition\nTenure\nNotes\n\n — \n Jerry Colangelo \n Owner \n 1998–2004 \n\n\n 20 \n Luis Gonzalez \n LF \n 1999–2006 \n\n\n 38 \n Curt Schilling \n P \n 2000–2003 \n Grew up in Phoenix, attended Yavapai College\n\n 51 \n Randy Johnson \n P \n 1999–20042007–2008 \n \n\n", "\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "\n\n\nLevel\nTeam\nLeague\nLocation\n\n''AAA''\nReno Aces\nPacific Coast League\nReno, Nevada\n\n''AA''\nJackson Generals\nSouthern League\nJackson, Tennessee\n\n''Advanced A''\nVisalia Rawhide\nCalifornia League\nVisalia, California\n\n''A''\nKane County Cougars\nMidwest League\nGeneva, Illinois\n\n''Short Season A''\nHillsboro Hops\nNorthwest League\nHillsboro, Oregon\n\n''Rookie''\nMissoula Osprey\nPioneer League\nMissoula, Montana\n\n AZL Diamondbacks\n Arizona League\nScottsdale, Arizona\n\n DSL D-backs\n Dominican Summer League\n Boca Chica, Dominican Republic\n\n", "* List of Arizona Diamondbacks team records\n* List of Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasters\n* List of managers and ownership of the Arizona Diamondbacks\n", "\n", "\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Franchise history", "Logos", "Media", "All-time leaders", "Current roster", "Baseball Hall of Famers", "Season record", "Championships", "Minor league affiliations", "See also", "References", "External links" ]

[ "Since the team's inception in 1998, the franchise has played home games at Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark.", "The Diamondbacks' first major league game was played against the Colorado Rockies on March 31, 1998, at Bank One Ballpark.", "The ballpark was renamed Chase Field in 2005, as a result of Bank One Corporation's merger with JPMorgan Chase & Co." ]

[ "\n\n\n\nThe '''Arizona Diamondbacks''', often shortened as the '''D-backs''', are an American professional baseball franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona.", "The club competes in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) West division.", "The Diamondbacks have won one World Series championship (in 2001), becoming the fastest expansion team in the Major Leagues to win a championship, doing it in only the fourth season since the franchise's inception in the 1998 Major League Baseball season.", "\n\nOn March 9, 1995, Arizona was awarded a franchise to begin play for the 1998 season.", "A $130 million franchise fee was paid to Major League Baseball and on January 16, 1997, the Diamondbacks were officially voted into the National League.", "Since their debut, the Diamondbacks have won five National League West titles, one National League Championship pennant, and the 2001 World Series.", "The Diamondbacks' original colors were purple, black, teal and copper.", "Their first logo was an italicized block letter \"A\" with a diamond pattern, and the crossbar represented by a snake's tongue.", "Prior to their inaugural season, they released their baseball caps.", "The home cap had a cream color crown with a purple visor and button.", "The road cap was black and had a turquoise visor and button.", "Their alternate cap had a turquoise crown with a purple visor and button.", "Depending on the cap, the \"A\" logo on the front of the cap had different color variations.", "In the Diamondbacks' second season, they introduced a new logo which was a copper color snake in the shape of a letter \"D\".", "It was used on a solid black cap, which in the beginning, was worn as a road cap.", "The franchise unveiled new uniforms and colors of Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand and black on November 8, 2006.", "The red shade is named for the sandstone canyon at Red Rock State Park near Sedona, while the beige (sand) shade is named for the Sonoran Desert.", "A sleeve patch was added featuring a lowercase \"d\" and \"b\" configured to look like a snake's head.", "The team also kept the \"D\" logo, but was slightly altered and put on an all red cap to be used as their game cap.", "They also kept the \"A\" logo with the new colors applied to it, with a solid black cap used as the alternate cap.", "A similar color scheme is currently used by the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.", "Prior to the 2016 season, the Diamondbacks reincorporated teal into its color scheme while keeping Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand and black.", "They also unveiled eight different uniform combinations, including two separate home white and away grey uniforms.", "One major difference between the two sets is that the non-teal uniforms feature a snakeskin pattern on the shoulders, while the teal-trimmed uniforms include a charcoal/grey snakeskin pattern on the back.", "Arizona also kept the throwback pinstriped sleeveless uniforms from their 2001 championship season for use during Thursday home games.", "The primary television play-by-play voice for the team's first nine seasons of play was Thom Brennaman, who also broadcasts baseball and college football games nationally for Fox Television.", "Brennaman was the TV announcer for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds (along with his father Marty Brennaman) before being hired by Diamondbacks founder Jerry Colangelo in 1996, two years before the team would begin play.", "In October 2006, Brennaman left the Diamondbacks to call games with his father for the Reds beginning in 2007, signing a four-year deal (his FOX duties remained unchanged).", "The English language flagship radio station is KTAR.", "Greg Schulte is the regular radio play-by-play voice, a 25-year veteran of sports radio in the Phoenix market, also well known for his previous work on Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals and Arizona State University (ASU) broadcasts.", "Jeff Munn is a backup radio play-by-play announcer; he served as the regular public address announcer at Chase Field in the early days of the franchise.", "He is well-known to many Phoenix area sports fans, having also served as the public address announcer for the Suns at America West Arena (now Talking Stick Resort Arena) in the 1990s.", "He is also the play-by-play radio voice for ASU women's basketball.", "On November 1, 2006, the team announced that the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers since 2002, Daron Sutton, would be hired as the Diamondbacks primary TV play-by-play voice.", "Sutton was signed to a five-year contract with a team option for three more years.", "Sutton is considered one of the best of the younger generation of baseball broadcasters.", "His signature chants include \"let's get some runs\" when the D-backs trail in late innings.", "Sutton's father is Hall of Fame pitcher and current Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton.", "Former Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace and former Major League knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti were the Diamondbacks primary color analysts for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.", "Former Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams also did color commentary on occasion, as did former Cardinals and NBC broadcast legend Joe Garagiola, Sr., a longtime Phoenix-area resident and father of Joe Garagiola, Jr., the first GM of the Diamondbacks (as head of the Maricopa County Sports Authority in the early 1990s, Garagiola, Jr. was one of the primary people involved in Phoenix obtaining a Major League Baseball franchise).", "The Diamondbacks announced in July 2007 that for the 2008 season, all regionally broadcast Diamondbacks TV games will be shown exclusively on Fox Sports Arizona, and a few could possibly be shown on the national Fox MLB telecasts.", "Fox Sports Arizona (or FS Arizona) is currently seen in 2.8 million households in Arizona and New Mexico.", "The previous flagship station, since the inaugural 1998 season, was KTVK, a popular over-the-air independent station (and former longtime ABC affiliate) in Phoenix.", "From 2009 to 2012, Mark Grace and Daron Sutton were tagged as the main broadcasters of the Diamondbacks with pre-game and postgame shows on Fox Sports Arizona, being hosted by former big-league closer Joe Borowski.", "On June 21, 2012, Daron Sutton was suspended indefinitely, amid rumors of insubordination.", "Then on August 24, the team announced that Mark Grace had requested an indefinite leave of absence after being arrested for his second DUI in less than two years (Grace was later indicted on four DUI counts).", "For the remainder of the 2012 season, Sutton was replaced by Greg Schulte (Jeff Munn replaced Schulte on the radio broadcast) and Grace was replaced by Luis Gonzalez.", "At the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that neither Sutton nor Grace would be returning for the 2013 season.", "On October 18, 2012, the team announced that Bob Brenly would be returning as a broadcaster, and that he would be joined by then-ESPN personality Steve Berthiaume.", "===Spanish broadcasts===\nThe flagship Spanish language radio station is KBMB AM 710 with Miguel Quintana, Richard Saenz and Oscar Soria.", "Games were televised in Spanish on KPHE-LP—with Oscar Soria and Jerry Romo as the announcers—but this arrangement ended prior to the 2009 season due to the team switching fully to Fox Sports Arizona and the lack of carriage of KHPE-LP on the Cox cable system.", ";Hitting\n:Games played: Luis Gonzalez (1999–2006) – 1,194\n:At bats: Luis Gonzalez – 4,488\n:Hits: Luis Gonzalez – 1,337\n:Batting average: Greg Colbrunn – .310\n:Runs: Luis Gonzalez – 780\n:Doubles: Luis Gonzalez – 310\n:Triples: Stephen Drew* – 52\n:Home runs: Luis Gonzalez – 224\n:Runs batted in: Luis Gonzalez – 774\n:On-base percentage: Paul Goldschmidt* – .396\n:Walks: Luis Gonzalez – 650\n:Strikeouts: Chris Young* – 814\n:Slugging percentage: Paul Goldschmidt – .538\n:Stolen bases: Tony Womack – 182\n\nRandy Johnson pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks.", ";Pitching\n:ERA: Randy Johnson (1999–2004, 2007–08) – 2.83\n:Wins: Randy Johnson – 118\n:Losses: Randy Johnson/Brandon Webb (2003–10) – 62\n:Games: Brad Ziegler* – 290\n:Saves: José Valverde – 98\n:Innings: Randy Johnson – 1630.1\n:Starts: Randy Johnson – 232\n:Strikeouts: Randy Johnson – 2,077\n:Complete games: Randy Johnson – 38\n:Shutouts: Randy Johnson – 14\n:WHIP: Curt Schilling – 1.04\n* all stats are current as of December 9, 2015 from the Arizona Diamondbacks website.", "signifies current Major League player\n Played as Diamondbacks catcher\n\n===Retired numbers===\n\n*No.", "42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson.", "\n\n===Ford C. Frick Award recipients===\n\n\n===Arizona Sports Hall of Fame===\n\n\n'''Diamondbacks in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame'''\n\nNo.", "Name\nPosition\nTenure\nNotes\n\n — \n Jerry Colangelo \n Owner \n 1998–2004 \n\n\n 20 \n Luis Gonzalez \n LF \n 1999–2006 \n\n\n 38 \n Curt Schilling \n P \n 2000–2003 \n Grew up in Phoenix, attended Yavapai College\n\n 51 \n Randy Johnson \n P \n 1999–20042007–2008", "\n\n\nLevel\nTeam\nLeague\nLocation\n\n''AAA''\nReno Aces\nPacific Coast League\nReno, Nevada\n\n''AA''\nJackson Generals\nSouthern League\nJackson, Tennessee\n\n''Advanced A''\nVisalia Rawhide\nCalifornia League\nVisalia, California\n\n''A''\nKane County Cougars\nMidwest League\nGeneva, Illinois\n\n''Short Season A''\nHillsboro Hops\nNorthwest League\nHillsboro, Oregon\n\n''Rookie''\nMissoula Osprey\nPioneer League\nMissoula, Montana\n\n AZL Diamondbacks\n Arizona League\nScottsdale, Arizona\n\n DSL D-backs\n Dominican Summer League\n Boca Chica, Dominican Republic", "* List of Arizona Diamondbacks team records\n* List of Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasters\n* List of managers and ownership of the Arizona Diamondbacks", "\n*" ]

[ "\n\n''Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant'' by Benjamin West, 1800\nThe '''Ark of the Covenant''' (), also known as the '''Ark of the Testimony''', is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to various texts within the Hebrew Bible, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna.\n\nThe biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of biblical Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves while en route by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately ) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men. When carried, the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests and the Levites who carried it. God was said to have spoken with Moses \"from between the two cherubim\" on the Ark's cover. When at rest the tabernacle was set up and the holy Ark was placed under the veil of the covering the staves of it crossing the middle side bars to hold it up off the ground.\n\nBeside the classic Ark of the Covenant made of wood and gold plated described in Exodus, there is a second and less known ark described only in Deuteronomy 10:3-5. This modest ark is made of acacia wood. Researchers do not know whether both arks belong to the same tradition, an older and a more recent, or belong to two different traditions. \n", "The covered ark and seven priests with rams' horns, at the Battle of Jericho, in an eighteenth-century artist's depiction.\n\n===Construction and description===\nAccording to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain within the thick cloud and darkness where God was and he was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark to be made of shittim wood to house the Tablets of Stone. Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the Ark. In Deuteronomy, however, the Ark is said to have been built specifically by Moses himself without reference of Bezalel or Oholiab.\n\nThe Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed. It is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height (approximately ). Then it is to be gilded entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four corners, two on each side—and through these rings staves of shittim-wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark are to be inserted; and these are not to be removed. A golden lid, the ''kapporet'' (traditionally \"mercy seat\" in Christian translations) which is covered with 2 golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark. Instructions missing from the biblical account include the thickness of the mercy seat, but instruct that the cherubim cover be beaten out the ends of it and details concerning the cherubim except that they form the space that God will appear. The Ark is finally to be placed under the veil of the covering.\n\n===Mobile vanguard===\n''Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark'', painting by James Tissot, c. 1900\n\nThe biblical account continues that, after its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a separate room in a sacred tent, called the Tabernacle.\n\nWhen the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the Jordan river, the Ark was carried in the lead preceding the people and was the signal for their advance (Joshua 3:3, 6). During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched its waters, and remained so until the priests—with the Ark—left the river after the people had passed over (Josh. 3:15-17; 4:10, 11, 18). As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood (Josh. 4:1-9).\n\nIn the Battle of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city once a day for seven days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh. 6:4-15). On the seventh day, the seven priests sounding the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Ark compassed the city seven times and, with a great shout, Jericho's wall fell down flat and the people took the city (Josh. 6:16-20). After the defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark (Josh. 7:6-9). When Joshua read the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each side of the Ark. We next hear of the Ark in Bethel where it was being cared for by the priest Phineas the grandson of Aaron (Judges 20:26f, where 'Bethel' is translated 'the House of God' in the King James Version). According to this verse it was consulted by the people of Israel when they were planning to attack the Benjaminites at the battle of Gibeah. Later, however, the Ark was kept at Shiloh, another religious centre some 10 miles north of Bethel, at the time of the prophet Samuel's apprenticeship (1 Samuel 3:3), where it was cared for by Hophni and Phinehas, two sons of Eli (1 Samuel 4:3f).\n\n===Capture by the Philistines===\n1728 illustration of the Ark at the erection of the Tabernacle and the sacred vessels, as in Exodus 40:17-19\n\nA few years later the elders of Israel decided to take the Ark out onto the battlefield to assist them against the Philistines, after being defeated at the battle of Eben-Ezer (1 Sam. 4:3-11). They were, however, heavily defeated with the loss of 30,000 men. The Ark was captured by the Philistines and Hophni and Phinehas were killed. The news of its capture was at once taken to Shiloh by a messenger \"with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.\" The old priest, Eli, fell dead when he heard it; and his daughter-in-law, bearing a son at the time the news of the capture of the Ark was received, named him Ichabod — explained as \"The glory has departed Israel\" in reference to the loss of the Ark (1 Sam. 4:12-22). The mother of the child Ichabod died at his birth. (1 Sam. 4:20)\n\nThe Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune befell them (1 Sam. 5:1-6). At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon. The next morning Dagon was found prostrate, bowed down, before it; and on being restored to his place, he was on the following morning again found prostrate and broken. The people of Ashdod were smitten with hemorrhoids; a plague of mice was sent over the land (1 Sam. 6:5). The affliction of boils was also visited upon the people of Gath and of Ekron, whither the Ark was successively removed (1 Sam. 5:8-12).\n\nAfter the Ark had been among them for seven months, the Philistines, on the advice of their diviners, returned it to the Israelites, accompanying its return with an offering consisting of golden images of the tumors and mice wherewith they had been afflicted. The Ark was set up in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and the Beth-shemites offered sacrifices and burnt offerings (1 Sam. 6:1-15). Out of curiosity the men of Beth-shemesh gazed at the Ark; and as a punishment, seventy of them (fifty thousand and seventy in some translations) were smitten by the Lord (1 Samuel 6:19). The Bethshemites sent to Kirjath-jearim, or Baal-Judah, to have the Ark removed (1 Samuel 6:21); and it was taken to the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep it. Kirjath-jearim remained the abode of the Ark for twenty years. Under Saul, the Ark was with the army before he first met the Philistines, but the king was too impatient to consult it before engaging in battle. In 1 Chronicles 13:3 it is stated that the people were not accustomed to consulting the Ark in the days of Saul.\n\n===In the days of King David===\nIllustration from the 13th century Morgan Bible of David bringing the Ark into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).\nAt the beginning of his reign over the United Monarchy, King David removed the Ark from Kirjath-jearim amid great rejoicing. On the way to Zion, Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart that carried the Ark, put out his hand to steady the Ark, and was struck dead by God for touching it. The place was subsequently named \"Perez-Uzzah\", literally \"Outburst Against Uzzah\", as a result. David, in fear, carried the Ark aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, instead of carrying it on to Zion, and there it stayed three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11; 1 Chronicles 13:1-13).\n\nOn hearing that God had blessed Obed-edom because of the presence of the Ark in his house, David had the Ark brought to Zion by the Levites, while he himself, \"girded with a linen ephod ... danced before the Lord with all his might\" and in the sight of all the public gathered in Jerusalem - a performance that caused him to be scornfully rebuked by his first wife, Saul's daughter Michal (2 Sam. 6:12-16, 20-22; 1 Chron. 15). In Zion, David put the Ark in the tabernacle he had prepared for it, offered sacrifices, distributed food, and blessed the people and his own household (2 Sam. 6:17-20; 1 Chron. 16:1-3; 2 Chron. 1:4).\n\nThe Levites were appointed to minister before the Ark (1 Chron. 16:4). David's plan of building a temple for the Ark was stopped at the advice of God (2 Sam. 7:1-17; 1 Chron. 17:1-15; 28:2, 3). The Ark was with the army during the siege of Rabbah (2 Sam. 11:11); and when David fled from Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's conspiracy, the Ark was carried along with him until he ordered Zadok the priest to return it to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 15:24-29).\n\n===In Solomon's Temple===\nThe Ark carried into the Temple from the early 15th century ''Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''\nWhen Abiathar was dismissed from the priesthood by King Solomon for having taken part in Adonijah's conspiracy against David, his life was spared because he had formerly borne the Ark (1 Kings 2:26). Solomon worshipped before the Ark after his dream in which God promised him wisdom (1 Kings 3:15).\n\nDuring the construction of Solomon's Temple, a special inner room, named ''Kodesh Hakodashim'' (Eng. Holy of Holies), was prepared to receive and house the Ark (1 Kings 6:19); and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark—containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments—was placed therein (1 Kings 8:6-9). When the priests emerged from the holy place after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with a cloud, \"for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord\" (1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14).\n\nWhen Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, he caused her to dwell in a house outside Zion, as Zion was consecrated because of its containing the Ark (2 Chron. 8:11). King Josiah also had the Ark returned to the Temple (2 Chron. 35:3), from which it appears to have been removed by one of his predecessors (cf. 2 Chron. 33-34 and 2 Kings 21-23).\n\n===The Babylonian Conquest and aftermath===\nIn 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple. There is no record of what became of the Ark in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. An ancient Greek version of the biblical third Book of Ezra, 1 Esdras, suggests that Babylonians took away the vessels of the ark of God, but does not mention taking away the Ark:\n\n\nIn Rabbinic literature, the final disposition of the Ark is disputed. Some rabbis hold that it must have been carried off to Babylon, while others hold that it must have been hidden lest it be carried off into Babylon and never brought back. A late 2nd-century rabbinic work known as the ''Tosefta'' states the opinions of these rabbis that Josiah, the king of Judah, stored away the Ark, along with the jar of manna, and a jar containing the holy anointing oil, the rod of Aaron which budded and a chest given to Israel by the Philistines. This was said to have been done in order to prevent their being carried off into Babylon as had already happened to the other vessels. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon, in the same rabbinic work, state that the Ark was, in fact, taken into Babylon. Rabbi Yehudah, dissenting, says that the Ark was stored away in its own place, meaning, somewhere on the Temple Mount.\n", "\n===Tanakh===\n\nThe Ark is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus, and then numerous times in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Psalms and Jeremiah.\n\nIn the Book of Jeremiah, it is referenced by Jeremiah, who, speaking in the days of Josiah (Jer. 3:16), prophesied a future time, possibly the end of days, when the Ark will no longer be talked about or be made again:\n\n\n\nRashi comments on this verse that \"The entire people will be so imbued with the spirit of sanctity that God's Presence will rest upon them collectively, as if the congregation itself was the Ark of the Covenant.\"\n\n===Second Book of Maccabees===\n\nAccording to Second Maccabees, at the beginning of chapter 2:\n\n\n\nThe \"mountain from the top of which Moses saw God's promised land\" would be Mount Nebo, located in what is now Jordan.\n\n===The Ark in Islamic sources===\nChapter 2 (''Sura'' 2) of the Quran (Verse 248), is believed to refer to the Ark:\n\nAnd their prophet said to them, \"Indeed, a sign of his kingship is that the chest (''tābūt'') will come to you in which is assurance (''sakīnatun'') from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses (''Mūsā'') and the family of Aaron (''Hārūn'') had left, carried by the angels. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.\"\n\nThe Arabic word ''sakīna'' (variously translated \"peace of reassurance\" or \"spirit of tranquility\") is related to the post-Biblical Hebrew shekhinah, meaning \"dwelling or presence of God\".\n\nThe Islamic scholar Al Baidawi mentioned that the ''sakina'' could be Tawrat, the Books of Moses. According to Al-Jalalan, the relics in the Ark were the fragments of the two tablets, rods, robes, shoes, mitres of Moses and the vase of manna. Al-Tha'alibi, in ''Qisas Al-Anbiya'' (The Stories of the Prophets), has given an earlier and later history of the Ark.\n\nAccording to Uri Rubin the Ark of the Covenant has a religious basis in Islam, and Islam gives it special significance.\n", "Since its disappearance from the Biblical narrative, there have been a number of claims of having discovered or of having possession of the Ark, and several possible places have been suggested for its location.\n\n===Mount Nebo===\n2 Maccabees 2:4-10, written around 100 BC, says that the prophet Jeremiah, \"being warned by God\" before the Babylonian invasion, took the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Altar of Incense, and buried them in a cave on Mount Nebo, informing those of his followers who wished to find the place that it should remain unknown \"until the time that God should gather His people again together, and receive them unto mercy.\"\nMount Nebo is also described in the Bible (Deuteronomy 34) as the site from which Moses views the Promised Land, and apparently also is his final burial place. Mount Nebo is approximately 47 km (29 miles) slightly south of due east from Jerusalem, near the east bank of the Jordan River.\n\n===Ethiopia===\nThe Chapel of the Tablet at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum allegedly houses the original Ark of the Covenant.\nThe Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or ''Tabot'', in Axum. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. Replicas of the Axum ''tabot'' are kept in every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint; the most popular of these include Mary, George and Michael.\n\nThe ''Kebra Nagast'' was composed to legitimise the Solomonic dynasty, which ruled the Ethiopian Empire following its establishment in 1270. It narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the ''Kebra Nagast'' is the best-known account of this belief, it predates the document. Abu al-Makarim, writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark. \"The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant\", he wrote, and, after a description of the object, describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year, \"on the feast of the great nativity, on the feast of the glorious Baptism, on the feast of the holy Resurrection, and on the feast of the illuminating Cross.\"\n\nIn his 1992 book ''The Sign and the Seal'', British writer Graham Hancock suggests, contrary to the ''Kebra Nagast'', that the ark spent several years in Egypt before it came to Ethiopia via the Nile River, where it was kept in the islands of Lake Tana for about four hundred years and finally taken to Axum. Archaeologist John Holladay of the University of Toronto called Hancock's theory \"garbage and hogwash,\" while Edward Ullendorff, a former Professor of Ethiopian Studies at the University of London, said he \"wasted a lot of time reading it.\"\n\nOn 25 June 2009, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, Abune Paulos, said he would announce to the world the next day the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, which he said had been kept safe and secure in a church in Axum, Ethiopia. The following day, on 26 June 2009, the patriarch announced that he would not unveil the Ark after all, but that instead he could attest to its current status.\n\n===Southern Africa===\nThe Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe have claimed that their ancestors carried the Ark south, calling it the ''ngoma lungundu'' or \"voice of God\", eventually hiding it in a deep cave in the Dumghe mountains, their spiritual home.\n\nOn 14 April 2008, in a UK Channel 4 documentary, Tudor Parfitt, taking a literalist approach to the Biblical story, described his research into this claim. He says that the object described by the Lemba has attributes similar to the Ark. It was of similar size, was carried on poles by priests, was not allowed to touch the ground, was revered as a voice of their God, and was used as a weapon of great power, sweeping enemies aside.\n\nIn his book ''The Lost Ark of the Covenant'' (2008), Parfitt also suggests that the Ark was taken to Arabia following the events depicted in the Second Book of Maccabees, and cites Arabic sources which maintain it was brought in distant times to Yemen. One Lemba clan, the Buba, which was supposed to have brought the Ark to Africa, have a genetic signature called the Cohen Modal Haplotype. This suggests a male Semitic link to the Levant. Lemba tradition maintains that the Ark spent some time in Sena in Yemen. Later, it was taken across the sea to East Africa and may have been taken inland at the time of the Great Zimbabwe civilization. According to their oral traditions, some time after the arrival of the Lemba with the Ark, it self-destructed. Using a core from the original, the Lemba priests constructed a new one. This replica was discovered in a cave by a Swedish German missionary named Harald von Sicard in the 1940s and eventually found its way to the Museum of Human Science in Harare. Parfitt had this artifact radio-carbon dated to about 1350, which coincided with the sudden end of the Great Zimbabwe civilization.\n\n===Europe===\n\n====Chartres Cathedral, France====\nFrench author Louis Charpentier claimed that the Ark was taken to the Chartres Cathedral by the Knights Templar.\n\n====Rennes-le-Château, then to the United States====\nOne author has theorised that the Ark was taken from Jerusalem to the village of Rennes-le-Château in Southern France. Karen Ralls has cited Freemason Patrick Byrne, who believes the Ark was moved from Rennes-le-Château at the outbreak of World War I to the United States.\n\n====Rome====\nThe Ark of the Covenant was said to have been kept in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, surviving the pillages of Rome by Genseric and Alaric I but lost when the basilica burned.\n\n\"Rabbi Eliezer ben José stated that he saw in Rome the mercy-seat of the temple. There was a bloodstain on it. On inquiry he was told that it was a stain from the blood which the high priest sprinkled thereon on the Day of Atonement.\"\n\n====United Kingdom====\nIn 2003, author Graham Phillips hypothetically concluded that the Ark was taken to Mount Sinai in the Valley of Edom by the Maccabees. Phillips claims it remained there until the 1180s, when Ralph de Sudeley, the leader of the Templars found the Maccabean treasure at Jebel al-Madhbah, and returned home to his estate at Herdewyke in Warwickshire, England taking the treasure with him.\n\n====Ireland====\nDuring the turn of the 20th century British Israelites carried out some excavations of the Hill of Tara in Ireland looking for the Ark of the Covenant—the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland campaigned successfully to have them stopped before they destroyed the hill.\n\n===Egypt===\n\n====Tutankhamun's tomb====\n\nHarry Burton (1879-1940)\nIn 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the royal tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (KV62) was opened by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. Among the artifacts was a processional ark, listed as Shrine 261, the Anubis Shrine. Almost immediately after publication of the photographs of this sensational archaeological find, some claimed that the Anubis Shrine could be the Ark of the Covenant. John M. Lundquist, author of ''The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future'' (2008), discounts this idea. The Anubis Shrine measures long, wide, and high in the shape of a pylon. The Biblical Ark of the Covenant is approximately long, wide, and high in the shape of a rectangular chest.\n\nLundquist observes that the Anubis Shrine is not strictly analogous to the Ark of the Covenant; it can only be said that the it is \"ark-like\", constructed of wood, gessoed and gilded, stored within a sacred tomb, \"guarding\" the treasury of the tomb (and not the primary focus of that environment), that it contains compartments within it that store and hold sacred objects, that it has a figure of Anubis on its lid, and that it was carried by two staves permanently inserted into rings at its base and borne by eight priests in the funerary procession to Tutankhamun's tomb. Its value is the insight it provides to the ancient culture of Egypt.\n", "The Ark of the Covenant is the main plot device in Steven Spielberg's 1981 adventure film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' which depicts it as located by Indiana Jones in the Egyptian city of Tanis in 1936. It is mentioned briefly in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) and appears in a cameo in ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008).\n\nIn the Danish family film ''The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar'' from 2006, the main part of the treasure found in the end is the Ark of the Covenant. The power of the Ark comes from charged static electricity from different metal plates like a giant battery.\n", "Yom HaAliyah (Aliyah Day) () is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan to commemorate the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Land of Israel while carrying the Ark of the Covenant. \n", "* List of artifacts in biblical archaeology\n* ''The Exodus Decoded'' (television documentary)\n* ''Foucault's Pendulum''\n* History of ancient Israel and Judah\n* Jewish symbolism\n* Lost history\n* Mikoshi\n", "\n", "*\n* Carew, Mairead, ''Tara and the Ark of the Covenant: A Search for the Ark of the Covenant by British Israelites on the Hill of Tara, 1899-1902''. Royal Irish Academy, 2003. \n* Cline, Eric H. (2007), ''From Eden to Exile: Unravelling Mysteries of the Bible'', National Geographic Society, \n* Fisher, Milton C., ''The Ark of the Covenant: Alive and Well in Ethiopia?''. Bible and Spade 8/3, pp. 65–72, 1995.\n* Foster, Charles, ''Tracking the Ark of the Covenant''. Monarch, 2007.\n* Grierson, Roderick & Munro-Hay, Stuart, ''The Ark of the Covenant''. Orion Books Ltd, 2000. \n* Hancock, Graham, ''The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant''. Touchstone Books, 1993. \n* Haran, M., ''The Disappearance of the Ark'', IEJ 13 (1963), 46-58\n* Hertz, J.H., ''The Pentateuch and Haftoras. Deuteronomy''. Oxford University Press, 1936.\n* Hubbard, David (1956) The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast Ph.D. dissertation, St. Andrews University, Scotland\n* Munro-Hay, Stuart, ''The Quest For The Ark of The Covenant: The True History of The Tablets of Moses''. L. B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 2006. \n* Ritmeyer, L., ''The Ark of the Covenant: Where It Stood in Solomon's Temple''. Biblical Archaeology Review 22/1: 46-55, 70-73, 1996.\n* Stolz, Fritz. \"Ark of the Covenant.\" In ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'', edited by Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, 125. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999. \n", "\n\n\n\n* Portions of this article have been taken from the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906. Ark of the Covenant\n* Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897. Ark of the Covenant\n* The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I. Ark of the Covenant\n* Shemot (Exodus) - Chapter 25\n* Smithsonian.com \"Keepers of the Lost Ark?\"\n* Derby, Josiah, \"The Gold of The Ark\", ''Jewish Bible Quarterly''.\n* Havergal, William Henry. ''Six Lectures on The Ark of The Covenant'' (London: Hamilton, Adams And Co, 1867). Available on Google Books. \n* Pendleton, Philip Y., A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle. 1901. (International Sunday-school Lessons for 1902. Standard Eclectic Commentary comprising original and selected notes, explanatory, illustrative, practical. Embellished with maps, diagrams, chronological charts, tables, etc.)\n* Schatz, Elihu, \"The Weight of The Ark of The Covenant\", ''Jewish Bible Quarterly''.\n* Shyovitz, David, The Lost Ark of the Covenant. Jewish Virtual Library.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Biblical account", "References in Scripture", "Possible locations", "In popular culture", "Yom HaAliyah", "See also", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "Mount Nebo is approximately 47 km (29 miles) slightly south of due east from Jerusalem, near the east bank of the Jordan River." ]

[ "\n\n''Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant'' by Benjamin West, 1800\nThe '''Ark of the Covenant''' (), also known as the '''Ark of the Testimony''', is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.", "According to various texts within the Hebrew Bible, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna.", "The biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of biblical Mount Sinai.", "Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves while en route by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately ) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men.", "When carried, the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests and the Levites who carried it.", "God was said to have spoken with Moses \"from between the two cherubim\" on the Ark's cover.", "When at rest the tabernacle was set up and the holy Ark was placed under the veil of the covering the staves of it crossing the middle side bars to hold it up off the ground.", "Beside the classic Ark of the Covenant made of wood and gold plated described in Exodus, there is a second and less known ark described only in Deuteronomy 10:3-5.", "This modest ark is made of acacia wood.", "Researchers do not know whether both arks belong to the same tradition, an older and a more recent, or belong to two different traditions.", "The covered ark and seven priests with rams' horns, at the Battle of Jericho, in an eighteenth-century artist's depiction.", "===Construction and description===\nAccording to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain within the thick cloud and darkness where God was and he was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark to be made of shittim wood to house the Tablets of Stone.", "Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the Ark.", "In Deuteronomy, however, the Ark is said to have been built specifically by Moses himself without reference of Bezalel or Oholiab.", "The Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed.", "It is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height (approximately ).", "Then it is to be gilded entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it.", "Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four corners, two on each side—and through these rings staves of shittim-wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark are to be inserted; and these are not to be removed.", "A golden lid, the ''kapporet'' (traditionally \"mercy seat\" in Christian translations) which is covered with 2 golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark.", "Instructions missing from the biblical account include the thickness of the mercy seat, but instruct that the cherubim cover be beaten out the ends of it and details concerning the cherubim except that they form the space that God will appear.", "The Ark is finally to be placed under the veil of the covering.", "===Mobile vanguard===\n''Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark'', painting by James Tissot, c. 1900\n\nThe biblical account continues that, after its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert.", "Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a separate room in a sacred tent, called the Tabernacle.", "When the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the Jordan river, the Ark was carried in the lead preceding the people and was the signal for their advance (Joshua 3:3, 6).", "During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched its waters, and remained so until the priests—with the Ark—left the river after the people had passed over (Josh.", "3:15-17; 4:10, 11, 18).", "As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood (Josh.", "4:1-9).", "In the Battle of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city once a day for seven days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh.", "6:4-15).", "On the seventh day, the seven priests sounding the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Ark compassed the city seven times and, with a great shout, Jericho's wall fell down flat and the people took the city (Josh.", "6:16-20).", "After the defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark (Josh.", "7:6-9).", "When Joshua read the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each side of the Ark.", "We next hear of the Ark in Bethel where it was being cared for by the priest Phineas the grandson of Aaron (Judges 20:26f, where 'Bethel' is translated 'the House of God' in the King James Version).", "According to this verse it was consulted by the people of Israel when they were planning to attack the Benjaminites at the battle of Gibeah.", "Later, however, the Ark was kept at Shiloh, another religious centre some 10 miles north of Bethel, at the time of the prophet Samuel's apprenticeship (1 Samuel 3:3), where it was cared for by Hophni and Phinehas, two sons of Eli (1 Samuel 4:3f).", "===Capture by the Philistines===\n1728 illustration of the Ark at the erection of the Tabernacle and the sacred vessels, as in Exodus 40:17-19\n\nA few years later the elders of Israel decided to take the Ark out onto the battlefield to assist them against the Philistines, after being defeated at the battle of Eben-Ezer (1 Sam.", "4:3-11).", "They were, however, heavily defeated with the loss of 30,000 men.", "The Ark was captured by the Philistines and Hophni and Phinehas were killed.", "The news of its capture was at once taken to Shiloh by a messenger \"with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.\"", "The old priest, Eli, fell dead when he heard it; and his daughter-in-law, bearing a son at the time the news of the capture of the Ark was received, named him Ichabod — explained as \"The glory has departed Israel\" in reference to the loss of the Ark (1 Sam.", "4:12-22).", "The mother of the child Ichabod died at his birth.", "(1 Sam.", "4:20)\n\nThe Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune befell them (1 Sam.", "5:1-6).", "At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon.", "The next morning Dagon was found prostrate, bowed down, before it; and on being restored to his place, he was on the following morning again found prostrate and broken.", "The people of Ashdod were smitten with hemorrhoids; a plague of mice was sent over the land (1 Sam.", "6:5).", "The affliction of boils was also visited upon the people of Gath and of Ekron, whither the Ark was successively removed (1 Sam.", "5:8-12).", "After the Ark had been among them for seven months, the Philistines, on the advice of their diviners, returned it to the Israelites, accompanying its return with an offering consisting of golden images of the tumors and mice wherewith they had been afflicted.", "The Ark was set up in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and the Beth-shemites offered sacrifices and burnt offerings (1 Sam.", "6:1-15).", "Out of curiosity the men of Beth-shemesh gazed at the Ark; and as a punishment, seventy of them (fifty thousand and seventy in some translations) were smitten by the Lord (1 Samuel 6:19).", "The Bethshemites sent to Kirjath-jearim, or Baal-Judah, to have the Ark removed (1 Samuel 6:21); and it was taken to the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep it.", "Kirjath-jearim remained the abode of the Ark for twenty years.", "Under Saul, the Ark was with the army before he first met the Philistines, but the king was too impatient to consult it before engaging in battle.", "In 1 Chronicles 13:3 it is stated that the people were not accustomed to consulting the Ark in the days of Saul.", "===In the days of King David===\nIllustration from the 13th century Morgan Bible of David bringing the Ark into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).", "At the beginning of his reign over the United Monarchy, King David removed the Ark from Kirjath-jearim amid great rejoicing.", "On the way to Zion, Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart that carried the Ark, put out his hand to steady the Ark, and was struck dead by God for touching it.", "The place was subsequently named \"Perez-Uzzah\", literally \"Outburst Against Uzzah\", as a result.", "David, in fear, carried the Ark aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, instead of carrying it on to Zion, and there it stayed three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11; 1 Chronicles 13:1-13).", "On hearing that God had blessed Obed-edom because of the presence of the Ark in his house, David had the Ark brought to Zion by the Levites, while he himself, \"girded with a linen ephod ... danced before the Lord with all his might\" and in the sight of all the public gathered in Jerusalem - a performance that caused him to be scornfully rebuked by his first wife, Saul's daughter Michal (2 Sam.", "6:12-16, 20-22; 1 Chron.", "15).", "In Zion, David put the Ark in the tabernacle he had prepared for it, offered sacrifices, distributed food, and blessed the people and his own household (2 Sam.", "6:17-20; 1 Chron.", "16:1-3; 2 Chron.", "1:4).", "The Levites were appointed to minister before the Ark (1 Chron.", "16:4).", "David's plan of building a temple for the Ark was stopped at the advice of God (2 Sam.", "7:1-17; 1 Chron.", "17:1-15; 28:2, 3).", "The Ark was with the army during the siege of Rabbah (2 Sam.", "11:11); and when David fled from Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's conspiracy, the Ark was carried along with him until he ordered Zadok the priest to return it to Jerusalem (2 Sam.", "15:24-29).", "===In Solomon's Temple===\nThe Ark carried into the Temple from the early 15th century ''Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''\nWhen Abiathar was dismissed from the priesthood by King Solomon for having taken part in Adonijah's conspiracy against David, his life was spared because he had formerly borne the Ark (1 Kings 2:26).", "Solomon worshipped before the Ark after his dream in which God promised him wisdom (1 Kings 3:15).", "During the construction of Solomon's Temple, a special inner room, named ''Kodesh Hakodashim'' (Eng.", "Holy of Holies), was prepared to receive and house the Ark (1 Kings 6:19); and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark—containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments—was placed therein (1 Kings 8:6-9).", "When the priests emerged from the holy place after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with a cloud, \"for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord\" (1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chron.", "5:13, 14).", "When Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, he caused her to dwell in a house outside Zion, as Zion was consecrated because of its containing the Ark (2 Chron.", "8:11).", "King Josiah also had the Ark returned to the Temple (2 Chron.", "35:3), from which it appears to have been removed by one of his predecessors (cf.", "2 Chron.", "33-34 and 2 Kings 21-23).", "===The Babylonian Conquest and aftermath===\nIn 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple.", "There is no record of what became of the Ark in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.", "An ancient Greek version of the biblical third Book of Ezra, 1 Esdras, suggests that Babylonians took away the vessels of the ark of God, but does not mention taking away the Ark:\n\n\nIn Rabbinic literature, the final disposition of the Ark is disputed.", "Some rabbis hold that it must have been carried off to Babylon, while others hold that it must have been hidden lest it be carried off into Babylon and never brought back.", "A late 2nd-century rabbinic work known as the ''Tosefta'' states the opinions of these rabbis that Josiah, the king of Judah, stored away the Ark, along with the jar of manna, and a jar containing the holy anointing oil, the rod of Aaron which budded and a chest given to Israel by the Philistines.", "This was said to have been done in order to prevent their being carried off into Babylon as had already happened to the other vessels.", "Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon, in the same rabbinic work, state that the Ark was, in fact, taken into Babylon.", "Rabbi Yehudah, dissenting, says that the Ark was stored away in its own place, meaning, somewhere on the Temple Mount.", "\n===Tanakh===\n\nThe Ark is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus, and then numerous times in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Psalms and Jeremiah.", "In the Book of Jeremiah, it is referenced by Jeremiah, who, speaking in the days of Josiah (Jer.", "3:16), prophesied a future time, possibly the end of days, when the Ark will no longer be talked about or be made again:\n\n\n\nRashi comments on this verse that \"The entire people will be so imbued with the spirit of sanctity that God's Presence will rest upon them collectively, as if the congregation itself was the Ark of the Covenant.\"", "===Second Book of Maccabees===\n\nAccording to Second Maccabees, at the beginning of chapter 2:\n\n\n\nThe \"mountain from the top of which Moses saw God's promised land\" would be Mount Nebo, located in what is now Jordan.", "===The Ark in Islamic sources===\nChapter 2 (''Sura'' 2) of the Quran (Verse 248), is believed to refer to the Ark:\n\nAnd their prophet said to them, \"Indeed, a sign of his kingship is that the chest (''tābūt'') will come to you in which is assurance (''sakīnatun'') from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses (''Mūsā'') and the family of Aaron (''Hārūn'') had left, carried by the angels.", "Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.\"", "The Arabic word ''sakīna'' (variously translated \"peace of reassurance\" or \"spirit of tranquility\") is related to the post-Biblical Hebrew shekhinah, meaning \"dwelling or presence of God\".", "The Islamic scholar Al Baidawi mentioned that the ''sakina'' could be Tawrat, the Books of Moses.", "According to Al-Jalalan, the relics in the Ark were the fragments of the two tablets, rods, robes, shoes, mitres of Moses and the vase of manna.", "Al-Tha'alibi, in ''Qisas Al-Anbiya'' (The Stories of the Prophets), has given an earlier and later history of the Ark.", "According to Uri Rubin the Ark of the Covenant has a religious basis in Islam, and Islam gives it special significance.", "Since its disappearance from the Biblical narrative, there have been a number of claims of having discovered or of having possession of the Ark, and several possible places have been suggested for its location.", "===Mount Nebo===\n2 Maccabees 2:4-10, written around 100 BC, says that the prophet Jeremiah, \"being warned by God\" before the Babylonian invasion, took the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Altar of Incense, and buried them in a cave on Mount Nebo, informing those of his followers who wished to find the place that it should remain unknown \"until the time that God should gather His people again together, and receive them unto mercy.\"", "Mount Nebo is also described in the Bible (Deuteronomy 34) as the site from which Moses views the Promised Land, and apparently also is his final burial place.", "===Ethiopia===\nThe Chapel of the Tablet at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum allegedly houses the original Ark of the Covenant.", "The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or ''Tabot'', in Axum.", "The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.", "Replicas of the Axum ''tabot'' are kept in every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint; the most popular of these include Mary, George and Michael.", "The ''Kebra Nagast'' was composed to legitimise the Solomonic dynasty, which ruled the Ethiopian Empire following its establishment in 1270.", "It narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem.", "Although the ''Kebra Nagast'' is the best-known account of this belief, it predates the document.", "Abu al-Makarim, writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark.", "\"The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant\", he wrote, and, after a description of the object, describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year, \"on the feast of the great nativity, on the feast of the glorious Baptism, on the feast of the holy Resurrection, and on the feast of the illuminating Cross.\"", "In his 1992 book ''The Sign and the Seal'', British writer Graham Hancock suggests, contrary to the ''Kebra Nagast'', that the ark spent several years in Egypt before it came to Ethiopia via the Nile River, where it was kept in the islands of Lake Tana for about four hundred years and finally taken to Axum.", "Archaeologist John Holladay of the University of Toronto called Hancock's theory \"garbage and hogwash,\" while Edward Ullendorff, a former Professor of Ethiopian Studies at the University of London, said he \"wasted a lot of time reading it.\"", "On 25 June 2009, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, Abune Paulos, said he would announce to the world the next day the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, which he said had been kept safe and secure in a church in Axum, Ethiopia.", "The following day, on 26 June 2009, the patriarch announced that he would not unveil the Ark after all, but that instead he could attest to its current status.", "===Southern Africa===\nThe Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe have claimed that their ancestors carried the Ark south, calling it the ''ngoma lungundu'' or \"voice of God\", eventually hiding it in a deep cave in the Dumghe mountains, their spiritual home.", "On 14 April 2008, in a UK Channel 4 documentary, Tudor Parfitt, taking a literalist approach to the Biblical story, described his research into this claim.", "He says that the object described by the Lemba has attributes similar to the Ark.", "It was of similar size, was carried on poles by priests, was not allowed to touch the ground, was revered as a voice of their God, and was used as a weapon of great power, sweeping enemies aside.", "In his book ''The Lost Ark of the Covenant'' (2008), Parfitt also suggests that the Ark was taken to Arabia following the events depicted in the Second Book of Maccabees, and cites Arabic sources which maintain it was brought in distant times to Yemen.", "One Lemba clan, the Buba, which was supposed to have brought the Ark to Africa, have a genetic signature called the Cohen Modal Haplotype.", "This suggests a male Semitic link to the Levant.", "Lemba tradition maintains that the Ark spent some time in Sena in Yemen.", "Later, it was taken across the sea to East Africa and may have been taken inland at the time of the Great Zimbabwe civilization.", "According to their oral traditions, some time after the arrival of the Lemba with the Ark, it self-destructed.", "Using a core from the original, the Lemba priests constructed a new one.", "This replica was discovered in a cave by a Swedish German missionary named Harald von Sicard in the 1940s and eventually found its way to the Museum of Human Science in Harare.", "Parfitt had this artifact radio-carbon dated to about 1350, which coincided with the sudden end of the Great Zimbabwe civilization.", "===Europe===\n\n====Chartres Cathedral, France====\nFrench author Louis Charpentier claimed that the Ark was taken to the Chartres Cathedral by the Knights Templar.", "====Rennes-le-Château, then to the United States====\nOne author has theorised that the Ark was taken from Jerusalem to the village of Rennes-le-Château in Southern France.", "Karen Ralls has cited Freemason Patrick Byrne, who believes the Ark was moved from Rennes-le-Château at the outbreak of World War I to the United States.", "====Rome====\nThe Ark of the Covenant was said to have been kept in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, surviving the pillages of Rome by Genseric and Alaric I but lost when the basilica burned.", "\"Rabbi Eliezer ben José stated that he saw in Rome the mercy-seat of the temple.", "There was a bloodstain on it.", "On inquiry he was told that it was a stain from the blood which the high priest sprinkled thereon on the Day of Atonement.\"", "====United Kingdom====\nIn 2003, author Graham Phillips hypothetically concluded that the Ark was taken to Mount Sinai in the Valley of Edom by the Maccabees.", "Phillips claims it remained there until the 1180s, when Ralph de Sudeley, the leader of the Templars found the Maccabean treasure at Jebel al-Madhbah, and returned home to his estate at Herdewyke in Warwickshire, England taking the treasure with him.", "====Ireland====\nDuring the turn of the 20th century British Israelites carried out some excavations of the Hill of Tara in Ireland looking for the Ark of the Covenant—the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland campaigned successfully to have them stopped before they destroyed the hill.", "===Egypt===\n\n====Tutankhamun's tomb====\n\nHarry Burton (1879-1940)\nIn 1922 in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the royal tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (KV62) was opened by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.", "Among the artifacts was a processional ark, listed as Shrine 261, the Anubis Shrine.", "Almost immediately after publication of the photographs of this sensational archaeological find, some claimed that the Anubis Shrine could be the Ark of the Covenant.", "John M. Lundquist, author of ''The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future'' (2008), discounts this idea.", "The Anubis Shrine measures long, wide, and high in the shape of a pylon.", "The Biblical Ark of the Covenant is approximately long, wide, and high in the shape of a rectangular chest.", "Lundquist observes that the Anubis Shrine is not strictly analogous to the Ark of the Covenant; it can only be said that the it is \"ark-like\", constructed of wood, gessoed and gilded, stored within a sacred tomb, \"guarding\" the treasury of the tomb (and not the primary focus of that environment), that it contains compartments within it that store and hold sacred objects, that it has a figure of Anubis on its lid, and that it was carried by two staves permanently inserted into rings at its base and borne by eight priests in the funerary procession to Tutankhamun's tomb.", "Its value is the insight it provides to the ancient culture of Egypt.", "The Ark of the Covenant is the main plot device in Steven Spielberg's 1981 adventure film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' which depicts it as located by Indiana Jones in the Egyptian city of Tanis in 1936.", "It is mentioned briefly in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) and appears in a cameo in ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008).", "In the Danish family film ''The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar'' from 2006, the main part of the treasure found in the end is the Ark of the Covenant.", "The power of the Ark comes from charged static electricity from different metal plates like a giant battery.", "Yom HaAliyah (Aliyah Day) () is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan to commemorate the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the Land of Israel while carrying the Ark of the Covenant.", "* List of artifacts in biblical archaeology\n* ''The Exodus Decoded'' (television documentary)\n* ''Foucault's Pendulum''\n* History of ancient Israel and Judah\n* Jewish symbolism\n* Lost history\n* Mikoshi", "*\n* Carew, Mairead, ''Tara and the Ark of the Covenant: A Search for the Ark of the Covenant by British Israelites on the Hill of Tara, 1899-1902''.", "Royal Irish Academy, 2003.", "* Cline, Eric H. (2007), ''From Eden to Exile: Unravelling Mysteries of the Bible'', National Geographic Society, \n* Fisher, Milton C., ''The Ark of the Covenant: Alive and Well in Ethiopia?''.", "Bible and Spade 8/3, pp.", "65–72, 1995.", "* Foster, Charles, ''Tracking the Ark of the Covenant''.", "Monarch, 2007.", "* Grierson, Roderick & Munro-Hay, Stuart, ''The Ark of the Covenant''.", "Orion Books Ltd, 2000.", "* Hancock, Graham, ''The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant''.", "Touchstone Books, 1993.", "* Haran, M., ''The Disappearance of the Ark'', IEJ 13 (1963), 46-58\n* Hertz, J.H., ''The Pentateuch and Haftoras.", "Deuteronomy''.", "Oxford University Press, 1936.", "* Hubbard, David (1956) The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast Ph.D. dissertation, St. Andrews University, Scotland\n* Munro-Hay, Stuart, ''The Quest For The Ark of The Covenant: The True History of The Tablets of Moses''.", "L. B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 2006.", "* Ritmeyer, L., ''The Ark of the Covenant: Where It Stood in Solomon's Temple''.", "Biblical Archaeology Review 22/1: 46-55, 70-73, 1996.", "* Stolz, Fritz.", "\"Ark of the Covenant.\"", "In ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'', edited by Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, 125.", "Vol.", "1.", "Grand Rapids: Wm.", "B. Eerdmans, 1999.", "\n\n\n\n* Portions of this article have been taken from the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906.", "Ark of the Covenant\n* Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897.", "Ark of the Covenant\n* The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I. Ark of the Covenant\n* Shemot (Exodus) - Chapter 25\n* Smithsonian.com \"Keepers of the Lost Ark?\"", "* Derby, Josiah, \"The Gold of The Ark\", ''Jewish Bible Quarterly''.", "* Havergal, William Henry.", "''Six Lectures on The Ark of The Covenant'' (London: Hamilton, Adams And Co, 1867).", "Available on Google Books.", "* Pendleton, Philip Y., A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle.", "1901.", "(International Sunday-school Lessons for 1902.", "Standard Eclectic Commentary comprising original and selected notes, explanatory, illustrative, practical.", "Embellished with maps, diagrams, chronological charts, tables, etc.)", "* Schatz, Elihu, \"The Weight of The Ark of The Covenant\", ''Jewish Bible Quarterly''.", "* Shyovitz, David, The Lost Ark of the Covenant.", "Jewish Virtual Library." ]

[ " \n\n'''ABC''' are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.\n\n'''ABC''' or '''abc''' may refer to:\n\n", "\n* ABC Radio (disambiguation)\n* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. broadcaster\n** ABC Radio, the former name of the American radio network Cumulus Media Networks\n** ABC Radio (United States), the current radio network relaunched by Disney/ABC News since 2015\n** Disney–ABC Television Group, the parent organization of ABC Television Network\n* ''ABC'' (newspaper), a Spanish daily newspaper\n* ''ABC'' (Swedish news programme), a regional news programme\n* ABC Development Corporation, former name of TV5 Network, Inc., a Philippine television company\n* Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, a Japanese commercial television and radio station\n* Associated British Corporation, a former British film and television company\n* Associated Broadcasting Company, a former name of Associated Television, a British television company\n* Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the national publicly funded broadcaster of Australia\n** ABC (Australian TV channel), the flagship TV channel of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation\n", "* ABC (food), an Indonesian-based food division of the H. J. Heinz Company\n* ABC Cinemas, a UK cinema chain\n* ABC Group, a department store\n* ABC Learning Centres, a former Australian childcare business\n* ABC Stores (Hawaii), a chain of convenience stores in Hawaii\n* Aerated Bread Company, a once-famous British bakery and tea-room chain\n* Agricultural Bank of China, a bank in the People's Republic of China\n* Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control\n* Anglo Belgian Corporation, a diesel engine manufacturer\n* Appalachian Brewing Company, an American brewery\n* Arab Banking Corporation, an international bank headquartered in Bahrain\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (disambiguation), publication circulation auditing companies\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America)\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK)\n", "* ABC (computer virus), a memory-resident, file-infecting computer virus\n* ABC (programming language), a programming language and environment\n* ABC (stream cipher), a stream cipher algorithm\n* ABC (Yet Another BitTorrent Client), a BitTorrent client\n* ABC notation, a language for music notation\n* Abstract base class, a programming language concept\n* Acorn Business Computer, a series of microcomputers announced at the end of 1983 by the British company Acorn Computers\n* .abc, ActionScript Byte Code files; see comparison of application virtual machines\n* Alcatel Business Communications, a telecommunications protocol\n* Artificial bee colony algorithm, a search algorithm\n* Atanasoff–Berry computer, an early electronic digital computer\n* ABC, a line of computers by Dataindustrier AB\n", "* ABC analysis, an inventory categorization technique\n* Activity-based costing, an accounting method\n* Assignment for the benefit of creditors, a concept in bankruptcy law\n", "* Abacavir, an antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV/AIDS\n* ABC (medicine), a mnemonic for \"Airway, Breathing, Circulation\"\n* ABC model of flower development, a genetic model\n* ABC strategy, for \"Abstinence, be faithful, use a condom\", a sex-education strategy\n* Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis, a posited connection between breast cancer and abortion\n* Aneurysmal bone cyst, a kind of lesion\n* ATP-binding cassette transporter, a transmembrane protein\n\n===Mathematics===\n* ''abc'' conjecture, a concept in number theory\n* ABC formula\n* Approximate Bayesian computation, a family of statistical techniques\n", "\n===Songs and albums===\n* ABC song (disambiguation)\n* \"ABC\" (Anna Book song), from 1986\n* ''ABC'' (Jin album), a 2007 album by Chinese-American rapper Jin\n** \"ABC\" (Jin song), the title song\n* ''ABC'' (Kreidler album), a 2014 album by the band Kreidler\n* ''ABC'' (The Jackson 5 album), a 1970 album by The Jackson 5\n** \"ABC\" (The Jackson 5 song), the title song\n* \"ABC\" (The Pipettes song)\n* \"ABCs\" (song), a 2008 single on the album ''Troubadour'' by rapper K'naan\n* Alphabet song, or \"the ABCs\"\n\n===Groups===\n* ABC (band), an English new wave band\n* A.B.C-Z (A.B.C. till 2008), a Japanese boyband managed by Johnny's and Associates\n* Acid Black Cherry, a Japanese rock band\n* Alien Beat Club, a Danish pop band\n* Another Bad Creation, an American R&B and rap musical group\n\n===Other music===\n* ABC Classics, an Australian record label\n* ABC notation, a musical notation language\n* ABC Records, an American record label\n* O2 ABC Glasgow, a music venue\n", "\n===Ornithology===\n* American Bird Conservancy, a non-profit membership organization\n* Australian Bird Count, a project of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union\n\n===Politics===\n* ABC, Cuban political organization 1931–1952, named after the system for labeling its clandestine cells\n* All Basotho Convention, a political party in Lesotho\n* American Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union, a predecessor to the contemporary Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union\n* Americans Battling Communism, founded 1947\n* Anarchist Black Cross, a political organization\n* Anything But Conservative, a 2008 Canadian political campaign\n* Association of British Counties, of historic counties\n* Association of Barangay Captains, a formal organization of all the barangays in the Philippines\n\n===Religion===\n* American Baptist Convention, former name of American Baptist Churches USA\n* Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, in Ireland and the United Kingdom\n\n===Other organizations===\n* Afrikan Black Coalition, a University of California student organization\n* Aircraft Builders Council, a provider of aviation products liability insurance\n* American Bowling Congress, now part of the United States Bowling Congress\n* Association of Boxing Commissions, a North American not-for-profit professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) organization\n* Indianapolis ABCs, a 1900s Negro league baseball team\n", "* ABC Islands (Alaska), Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, and Chichagof Island\n* ABC islands (Lesser Antilles), Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao\n* ABC countries, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile\n* ABC Region, an industrial area outside of São Paulo, Brazil\n* Academia Británica Cuscatleca, a school in Santa Tecla, El Salvador\n* Altnabreac railway station, Scotland, by National Rail code\n", "* ''ABC'' (newspaper), a Spanish newspaper founded in 1903\n* ''ABC'' (magazine), an Italian magazine published between 1960 and 1977\n* Alphabet book, any of several children's books depicting the alphabet\n* ''America's Best Comics'', an imprint of DC Comics\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), a circulation-auditing organization in India\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America), a circulation-auditing organization in North America\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK), a circulation-auditing organization in the UK and Ireland\n* ''Diario ABC Color'', a Paraguayan newspaper founded in 1967\n", "* ABC dry chemical, a fire extinguishing agent\n* ABC weapon, or weapon of mass destruction\n* Aerial bundled cable, for power lines\n", "\n===Cars===\n* ABC (1906 automobile), an American car\n* ABC (1920 automobile), an English car\n* ABC (1922 automobile), a planned American car\n* ABC Motors, an English manufacturer of aircraft, aero engines and cars\n* Active Body Control, a type of automobile suspension technology\n\n===Others===\n* ABC motorcycles, a British motorcycle manufacturer\n* Advance Booking Charter, a type of air travel\n* Automatic Buffer Couplers, railway couplers\n", "* ABC Futebol Clube, a football (soccer) club based in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil\n* Air batu campur, also known as ''ais kacang'', a Malaysian dessert\n* Alcoholic Beverage Control (disambiguation)\n* Alien big cat, large feline outside its indigenous range\n* Alphabet, and metaphorically the fundamentals of any subject (e.g. \"the ABCs of finance\") \n** The A.B.C., the alphabet song, to learn the alphabet\n* Ambala language, a Sambalic language of the Philippines, ISO 639-3 code\n* American-born Chinese, people of Chinese ethnicity born in the United States\n* Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope (1883–1963), nicknamed ABC, British WWII admiral\n* The Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England\n* Atomic, biological, and chemical, now rendered as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear\n", "* .abc (disambiguation)\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Broadcasting", "Companies", "Computing", "Economics", "Science and medicine", "Music", "Organizations", "Places", "Publications and media", "Technology", "Transport", "Other uses", "See also" ]

[ "* ABC (food), an Indonesian-based food division of the H. J. Heinz Company\n* ABC Cinemas, a UK cinema chain\n* ABC Group, a department store\n* ABC Learning Centres, a former Australian childcare business\n* ABC Stores (Hawaii), a chain of convenience stores in Hawaii\n* Aerated Bread Company, a once-famous British bakery and tea-room chain\n* Agricultural Bank of China, a bank in the People's Republic of China\n* Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control\n* Anglo Belgian Corporation, a diesel engine manufacturer\n* Appalachian Brewing Company, an American brewery\n* Arab Banking Corporation, an international bank headquartered in Bahrain\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (disambiguation), publication circulation auditing companies\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America)\n** Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK)" ]

[ " \n\n'''ABC''' are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.", "'''ABC''' or '''abc''' may refer to:", "\n* ABC Radio (disambiguation)\n* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. broadcaster\n** ABC Radio, the former name of the American radio network Cumulus Media Networks\n** ABC Radio (United States), the current radio network relaunched by Disney/ABC News since 2015\n** Disney–ABC Television Group, the parent organization of ABC Television Network\n* ''ABC'' (newspaper), a Spanish daily newspaper\n* ''ABC'' (Swedish news programme), a regional news programme\n* ABC Development Corporation, former name of TV5 Network, Inc., a Philippine television company\n* Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, a Japanese commercial television and radio station\n* Associated British Corporation, a former British film and television company\n* Associated Broadcasting Company, a former name of Associated Television, a British television company\n* Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the national publicly funded broadcaster of Australia\n** ABC (Australian TV channel), the flagship TV channel of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation", "* ABC (computer virus), a memory-resident, file-infecting computer virus\n* ABC (programming language), a programming language and environment\n* ABC (stream cipher), a stream cipher algorithm\n* ABC (Yet Another BitTorrent Client), a BitTorrent client\n* ABC notation, a language for music notation\n* Abstract base class, a programming language concept\n* Acorn Business Computer, a series of microcomputers announced at the end of 1983 by the British company Acorn Computers\n* .abc, ActionScript Byte Code files; see comparison of application virtual machines\n* Alcatel Business Communications, a telecommunications protocol\n* Artificial bee colony algorithm, a search algorithm\n* Atanasoff–Berry computer, an early electronic digital computer\n* ABC, a line of computers by Dataindustrier AB", "* ABC analysis, an inventory categorization technique\n* Activity-based costing, an accounting method\n* Assignment for the benefit of creditors, a concept in bankruptcy law", "* Abacavir, an antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV/AIDS\n* ABC (medicine), a mnemonic for \"Airway, Breathing, Circulation\"\n* ABC model of flower development, a genetic model\n* ABC strategy, for \"Abstinence, be faithful, use a condom\", a sex-education strategy\n* Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis, a posited connection between breast cancer and abortion\n* Aneurysmal bone cyst, a kind of lesion\n* ATP-binding cassette transporter, a transmembrane protein\n\n===Mathematics===\n* ''abc'' conjecture, a concept in number theory\n* ABC formula\n* Approximate Bayesian computation, a family of statistical techniques", "\n===Songs and albums===\n* ABC song (disambiguation)\n* \"ABC\" (Anna Book song), from 1986\n* ''ABC'' (Jin album), a 2007 album by Chinese-American rapper Jin\n** \"ABC\" (Jin song), the title song\n* ''ABC'' (Kreidler album), a 2014 album by the band Kreidler\n* ''ABC'' (The Jackson 5 album), a 1970 album by The Jackson 5\n** \"ABC\" (The Jackson 5 song), the title song\n* \"ABC\" (The Pipettes song)\n* \"ABCs\" (song), a 2008 single on the album ''Troubadour'' by rapper K'naan\n* Alphabet song, or \"the ABCs\"\n\n===Groups===\n* ABC (band), an English new wave band\n* A.B.C-Z (A.B.C.", "till 2008), a Japanese boyband managed by Johnny's and Associates\n* Acid Black Cherry, a Japanese rock band\n* Alien Beat Club, a Danish pop band\n* Another Bad Creation, an American R&B and rap musical group\n\n===Other music===\n* ABC Classics, an Australian record label\n* ABC notation, a musical notation language\n* ABC Records, an American record label\n* O2 ABC Glasgow, a music venue", "\n===Ornithology===\n* American Bird Conservancy, a non-profit membership organization\n* Australian Bird Count, a project of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union\n\n===Politics===\n* ABC, Cuban political organization 1931–1952, named after the system for labeling its clandestine cells\n* All Basotho Convention, a political party in Lesotho\n* American Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union, a predecessor to the contemporary Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union\n* Americans Battling Communism, founded 1947\n* Anarchist Black Cross, a political organization\n* Anything But Conservative, a 2008 Canadian political campaign\n* Association of British Counties, of historic counties\n* Association of Barangay Captains, a formal organization of all the barangays in the Philippines\n\n===Religion===\n* American Baptist Convention, former name of American Baptist Churches USA\n* Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, in Ireland and the United Kingdom\n\n===Other organizations===\n* Afrikan Black Coalition, a University of California student organization\n* Aircraft Builders Council, a provider of aviation products liability insurance\n* American Bowling Congress, now part of the United States Bowling Congress\n* Association of Boxing Commissions, a North American not-for-profit professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) organization\n* Indianapolis ABCs, a 1900s Negro league baseball team", "* ABC Islands (Alaska), Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, and Chichagof Island\n* ABC islands (Lesser Antilles), Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao\n* ABC countries, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile\n* ABC Region, an industrial area outside of São Paulo, Brazil\n* Academia Británica Cuscatleca, a school in Santa Tecla, El Salvador\n* Altnabreac railway station, Scotland, by National Rail code", "* ''ABC'' (newspaper), a Spanish newspaper founded in 1903\n* ''ABC'' (magazine), an Italian magazine published between 1960 and 1977\n* Alphabet book, any of several children's books depicting the alphabet\n* ''America's Best Comics'', an imprint of DC Comics\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (India), a circulation-auditing organization in India\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America), a circulation-auditing organization in North America\n* Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK), a circulation-auditing organization in the UK and Ireland\n* ''Diario ABC Color'', a Paraguayan newspaper founded in 1967", "* ABC dry chemical, a fire extinguishing agent\n* ABC weapon, or weapon of mass destruction\n* Aerial bundled cable, for power lines", "\n===Cars===\n* ABC (1906 automobile), an American car\n* ABC (1920 automobile), an English car\n* ABC (1922 automobile), a planned American car\n* ABC Motors, an English manufacturer of aircraft, aero engines and cars\n* Active Body Control, a type of automobile suspension technology\n\n===Others===\n* ABC motorcycles, a British motorcycle manufacturer\n* Advance Booking Charter, a type of air travel\n* Automatic Buffer Couplers, railway couplers", "* ABC Futebol Clube, a football (soccer) club based in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil\n* Air batu campur, also known as ''ais kacang'', a Malaysian dessert\n* Alcoholic Beverage Control (disambiguation)\n* Alien big cat, large feline outside its indigenous range\n* Alphabet, and metaphorically the fundamentals of any subject (e.g.", "\"the ABCs of finance\") \n** The A.B.C., the alphabet song, to learn the alphabet\n* Ambala language, a Sambalic language of the Philippines, ISO 639-3 code\n* American-born Chinese, people of Chinese ethnicity born in the United States\n* Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope (1883–1963), nicknamed ABC, British WWII admiral\n* The Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England\n* Atomic, biological, and chemical, now rendered as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear", "* .abc (disambiguation)" ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Arsenal Football Club''' is a professional football club based in Highbury, London, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 League titles, a record 13 FA Cups, two League Cups, the League Centenary Trophy, 15 FA Community Shields, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It has won the second-most top flight matches in English football history, and is the only English club to go a 38-match league season unbeaten.\n\nArsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893, and they reached the First Division in 1904. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division. In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double. Between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position.\n\nHerbert Chapman won Arsenal's first national trophies, but died prematurely. He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers, and added the white sleeves and brighter red to Arsenal's kit. Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies. He has won a record 7 FA Cups, and his teams set English records for the longest win streak and longest unbeaten run.\n\nIn 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. They became Tottenham Hotspur's nearest club, commencing the North London derby. In 2006, they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal earned €435.5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football. Based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenal's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2016, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England, worth $2.0 billion.\n", "\n\n\n\n===1886–1919: Changing names===\n\nDial Square: the workplace of Arsenal's founding fathers, and the club's original eponym\nRoyal Arsenal squad in 1888. Original captain, David Danskin, sits on the right of the bench.\n\nOn 1 December 1886, munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with David Danskin as their first captain. Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the whole complex a month later. Royal Arsenal F.C.'s first home was Plumstead Common, though they spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead, at the Manor Ground. Royal Arsenal won Arsenal's first trophies in 1890 and 1891, and these were the only football association trophies Arsenal won during their time in South East London. In 1891, Royal Arsenal became the first London club to turn professional.\n\nRoyal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893. They registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended later that year. Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers and the arrival of more accessible football clubs elsewhere in the city, led the club close to bankruptcy by 1910. Businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall became involved in the club, and sought to move them elsewhere.\n\nIn 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London. This saw their third change of name: the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to simply The Arsenal. In 1919, The Football League voted to promote The Arsenal, instead of relegated local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, into the newly enlarged First Division, despite only listing the club sixth in the Second Division's last pre-war season of 1914–15. Some books have speculated that the club won this election to division one by dubious means. Later that year, The Arsenal started dropping \"The\" in official documents, gradually shifting its name for the final time towards Arsenal, as it is generally known today.\n\n===1919–1953: The Bank of England Club===\n\n\nA bronze bust of Herbert Chapman stands inside Emirates Stadium as a tribute to his achievements at the club.\n\nWith a new home and First Division football, attendances were more than double those at the Manor Ground, and Arsenal's budget grew rapidly. Their location and record-breaking salary offer lured star Huddersfield Town manager Herbert Chapman in 1925. Over the next five years, Chapman built a new Arsenal. He appointed enduring new trainer Tom Whittaker, implemented Charlie Buchan's new twist on the nascent WM formation, captured young players like Cliff Bastin and Eddie Hapgood, and lavished Highbury's income on stars like David Jack and Alex James. With record-breaking spending and gate receipts, Arsenal quickly became known as the Bank of England club.\n\nHighbury's Art Deco east facade\n\nTransformed, Chapman's Arsenal claimed their first national trophy, the FA Cup, in 1930. Two League Championships followed, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. Chapman also presided over multiple off the pitch changes: white sleeves and shirt numbers were added to the kit; a Tube station was named after the club; and the first of two opulent, Art Deco stands was completed, with some of the first floodlights in English football. Suddenly, in the middle of the 1933–34 season, Chapman died of pneumonia. His work was left to Joe Shaw and George Allison, who saw out a hat-trick with the 1933–34 and 1934–35 titles, and then won the 1936 FA Cup and 1937–38 title.\n\nWorld War II meant The Football League was suspended for seven years, but Arsenal returned to win it in the second post-war season, 1947–48. This was Tom Whittaker's first season as manager, after his promotion to succeed Allison, and the club had equalled the champions of England record. They won a third FA Cup in 1950, and then won a record-breaking seventh championship in 1952–53. However, the war had taken its toll on Arsenal. The club had had more players killed than any top flight club, and debt from reconstructing the North Bank Stand bled Arsenal's resources.\n\n===1953–1986: The long sleep, Mee and Neill===\n\nArsenal were not to win the League or the FA Cup for another 18 years. The '53 Champions squad was old, and the club failed to attract strong enough replacements. Although Arsenal were competitive during these years, their fortunes had waned; the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in midleague mediocrity. Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.\n\nAlan Ball (left) and Bertie Mee (right) in 1972\n\nArsenal tentatively appointed club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as acting manager in 1966. With new assistant Don Howe and new players such as Bob McNab and George Graham, Mee led Arsenal to their first League Cup finals, in 1967–68 and 1968–69. Next season saw a breakthrough: Arsenal's first competitive European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. And the season after, an even greater triumph: Arsenal's first League and FA Cup double, and a new champions of England record. This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the rest of the decade was characterised by a series of near misses, starting with Arsenal finishing as FA Cup runners up in 1972, and First Division runners-up in 1972–73.\n\nFormer player Terry Neill succeeded Mee in 1976. At the age of 34, he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date. With new signings like Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Jennings, and a crop of talent in the side such as Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton, the club reached a trio of FA Cup finals (1978, 1979 and 1980), and lost the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final on penalties. The club's only trophy during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final, widely regarded as a classic.\n\n===1986–present: Graham to Wenger===\n\nTony Adams statue and the Emirates Stadium\n\nOne of Bertie Mee's double winners, George Graham, returned as manager in 1986. Arsenal won their first League Cup in 1987, Graham's first season in charge. By 1988, new signings Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Steve Bould had joined the club to complete the \"famous Back Four\" led by existing player Tony Adams. They immediately won the 1988 Football League Centenary Trophy, and followed it with the 1988–89 Football League title, snatched with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, won the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993, and the European Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994. Graham's reputation was tarnished when he was found to have taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players, and he was dismissed in 1995. His permanent replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.\n\nAfter Arsenal completed the only 38-match season unbeaten, the Premier League commissioned a unique gold trophy to commemorate the achievement.\n\nThe club metamorphosed during the long tenure of manager Arsène Wenger, appointed in 1996. New, attacking football, an overhaul of dietary and fitness practices, and efficiency with money have defined his reign. Accumulating key players from Wenger's homeland, such as Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname \"The Invincibles\". This latter feat came within a run of 49 league matches unbeaten from 7 May 2003 to 24 October 2004, a national record.\n\nArsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first nine seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title. The club had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League until 2005–06; in that season they became the first club from London in the competition's fifty-year history to reach the final, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Barcelona. In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury. Arsenal reached the final of the 2007 and 2011 League Cups, losing 2–1 to Chelsea and Birmingham City respectively.\n\nThe club had not gained a major trophy since the 2005 FA Cup until 17 May 2014, when Arsenal beat Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup Final, coming back from a 2–0 deficit to win the match 3–2. A year later, Arsenal appeared in the FA Cup final for the second time in a row, defeating Aston Villa 4–0 in the final and becoming the most successful club in the tournament's history with 12 titles, a record which Manchester United would tie the following season. Arsenal later won the FA Cup for a record 13th time, defeating Chelsea 2–1 in the 2017 final and once more becoming the outright leader in terms of FA Cups won. The victory also saw Wenger become the first manager in English football history to win seven FA Cups. However, in that same season, Arsenal finished in the fifth position in the league, the first time they had finished outside the top four since before Wenger arrived in 1996.\n\n", "Arsenal's first crest from 1888\n\nUnveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first crest featured three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich (nowadays transferred to the coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich). These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannons. This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, ''The Gunners'', inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.\n\nIn 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set in blackletter, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, ''Victoria Concordia Crescit -'' \"victory comes from harmony\" – coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer. For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green. Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright it. Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold \"unofficial\" Arsenal merchandise, Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable. The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.\n\nArsenal's crest used until 2002\nUntil the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram of the club's initials in red on a white background.\n\nThe monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors. From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname \"The Gunners\", in the 1990s.\n\nIn the 2011–12 season, Arsenal celebrated their 125th year anniversary. The celebrations included a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season. The crest was all white, surrounded by 15 oak leaves to the right and 15 laurel leaves to the left. The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub. The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club. The laurel leaves also represent strength. To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto \"Forward\" at the bottom of the crest.\n", "\n\nFor much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball. The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and socks with blue and white hoops.\nIn 1933, Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box red. Two possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the white sleeves. One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played golf.\nRegardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts; this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the next season. In the 2008–09 season, Arsenal replaced the traditional all-white sleeves with red sleeves with a broad white stripe.\n\nArsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs. In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time; in 1938, Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip. In 1920, Sporting Clube de Braga's manager returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit to a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of ''Os Arsenalistas''. These teams still wear those designs to this day.\n\nFor many years Arsenal's away colours were white shirts and either black or white shorts. In the 1969–70 season, Arsenal introduced an away kit of yellow shirts with blue shorts. This kit was worn in the 1971 FA Cup Final as Arsenal beat Liverpool to secure the double for the first time in their history. Arsenal reached the FA Cup final again the following year wearing the red and white home strip and were beaten by Leeds United. Arsenal then competed in three consecutive FA Cup finals between 1978 and 1980 wearing their \"lucky\" yellow and blue strip, which remained the club's away strip until the release of a green and navy away kit in 1982–83. The following season, Arsenal returned to the yellow and blue scheme, albeit with a darker shade of blue than before.\n\nWhen Nike took over from Adidas as Arsenal's kit provider in 1994, Arsenal's away colours were again changed to two-tone blue shirts and shorts. Since the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away kits have been changed regularly, with Arsenal usually releasing both away and third choice kits. During this period the designs have been either all blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season, the yellow and dark grey used from 2005 to 2007, and the yellow and maroon of 2010 to 2013.\nUntil 2014, the away kit was changed every season, and the outgoing away kit became the third-choice kit if a new home kit was being introduced in the same year. Since Puma began manufacturing Arsenal's kits in 2014, new home, away and third kits are released every single season.\n\n===Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors===\nArsenal's shirts have been made by manufacturers including Bukta (from the 1930s until the early 1970s), Umbro (from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas (1986–1994), Nike (1994–2014), and Puma (from 2014). Like those of most other major football clubs, Arsenal's shirts have featured sponsors' logos since the 1980s; sponsors include JVC (1982–1999), Sega (1999–2002), O2 (2002–2006), and Emirates (from 2006).\n", "Manor Ground, Woolwich Arsenal vs. Everton F.C.\nBefore joining the Football League, Arsenal played briefly on Plumstead Common, then at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, then spent three years between 1890 and 1893 at the nearby Invicta Ground. Upon joining the Football League in 1893, the club returned to the Manor Ground and installed stands and terracing, upgrading it from just a field. Arsenal continued to play their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in the 1894–95 season), until the move to north London in 1913.\n\nWidely referred to as Highbury, Arsenal Stadium was the club's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing. The entire stadium was given a massive overhaul in the 1930s: new Art Deco West and East stands were constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and a roof was added to the North Bank terrace, which was bombed during the Second World War and not restored until 1954.\n\nHighbury could hold more than 60,000 spectators at its peak, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations obliged Arsenal to convert Highbury to an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators. This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League matches to accommodate additional advertising boards, so much so that for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000, Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.\n\nThe North Bank Stand, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury|alt=A grandstand at a sports stadium. The seats are predominantly red.\nExpansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties. These limitations prevented the club from maximising matchday revenue during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, putting them in danger of being left behind in the football boom of that time.\nAfter considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,361-capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove, since named the Emirates Stadium, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury.\nThe project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs,\nand construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season.\nThe stadium was named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth around £100 million.\nSome fans referred to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they did not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names.\nThe stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2028, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2018–19 season. From the start of the 2010–11 season on, the stands of the stadium have been officially known as North Bank, East Stand, West Stand and Clock end.\n\nArsenal's players train at the Shenley Training Centre in Hertfordshire, a purpose-built facility which opened in 1999. Before that the club used facilities on a nearby site owned by the University College of London Students' Union. Until 1961 they had trained at Highbury. Arsenal's Academy under-18 teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the reserves play their games at Meadow Park, which is also the home of Boreham Wood F.C..\n\n\n", "\nArsenal against rivals Tottenham, known as the North London derby, in November 2010.\nArsenal fans often refer to themselves as \"Gooners\", the name derived from the team's nickname, \"The Gunners\". The fanbase is large and generally loyal, and virtually all home matches sell out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity), and, as of 2015, the third-highest all-time average attendance. Arsenal have the seventh highest average attendance of European football clubs only behind Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Schalke. The club's location, adjoining wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway, Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working-class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington, has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from a variety of social classes. Much of the Afro-Caribbean support comes from the neighbouring London Borough of Hackney and a large portion of the South Asian Arsenal supporters commute to the stadium from Wembley Park, North West of the capital. There was also traditionally a large Irish community that followed Arsenal, with the nearby Archway area having a particularly large community, but Irish migration to North London is much lower than in the 1960s or 1970s.\n\nArsenal supporters\nLike all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters' Club, which works closely with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line. The Arsenal Supporters' Trust promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans. The club's supporters also publish fanzines such as ''The Gooner'', ''Gunflash'' and the satirical ''Up The Arse!''. In addition to the usual English football chants, supporters sing \"One-Nil to the Arsenal\" (to the tune of \"Go West\").\n\nThere have always been Arsenal supporters outside London, and since the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; in 2007, 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 other overseas supporters clubs were affiliated with the club. A 2011 report by SPORT+MARKT estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 113 million. The club's social media activity was the fifth highest in world football during the 2014–15 season.\n\nArsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur; matches between the two are referred to as North London derbies. Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United developed a strong on-pitch rivalry in the late 1980s, which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title – so much so that a 2003 online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea. A 2008 poll listed the Tottenham rivalry as more important.\n", "\nThe largest shareholder on the Arsenal board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke. Kroenke first launched a bid for the club in April 2007, and faced competition for shares from Red and White Securities, which acquired its first shares off David Dein in August 2007. Red & White Securities was co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Iranian London-based financier Farhad Moshiri, though Usmanov bought Moshiri's stake in 2016. Kroenke came close to the 30% takeover threshold in November 2009, when he increased his holding to 18,594 shares (29.9%). In April 2011, Kroenke achieved a full takeover by purchasing the shareholdings of Nina Bracewell-Smith and Danny Fiszman, taking his shareholding to 62.89%. As of May 2017, Kroenke owns 41,721 shares (67.05%) and Red & White Securities own 18,695 shares (30.04%). Ivan Gazidis has been the club's Chief Executive since 2009.\n\nArsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,219 shares in Arsenal have been issued, and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on the ICAP Securities and Derivatives Exchange, a specialist market. On 29 May 2017, a single share in Arsenal had a mid price of £18,000, which sets the club's market capitalisation value at approximately £1,119.9m. Most football clubs aren't listed on an exchange, which makes direct comparisons of their values difficult. Consultants Brand Finance valued the club's brand and intangible assets at $703m in 2015, and consider Arsenal an AAA global brand. Business magazine Forbes valued Arsenal as a whole at $2.0 billion (£1.4 billion) in 2016, ranked second in English football. Research by the Henley Business School also ranked Arsenal second in English football, modelling the club's value at £1.118 billion in 2015.\n\nArsenal's financial results for the 2014–15 season show group revenue of £344.5m, with a profit before tax of £24.7m. The footballing core of the business showed a revenue of £329.3m. The Deloitte Football Money League is a publication that homogenizes and compares clubs' annual revenue. They put Arsenal's footballing revenue at £331.3m (€435.5m), ranking Arsenal seventh among world football clubs. Arsenal and Deloitte both list the match day revenue generated by the Emirates Stadium as £100.4m, more than any other football stadium in the world.\n", "\nArsenal have appeared in a number of media \"firsts\". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio. A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first football match in the world to be televised live. Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's ''Match of the Day'', which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964. BSkyB's coverage of Arsenal's January 2010 match against Manchester United was the first live public broadcast of a sports event on 3D television.\n\nAs one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in the arts in Britain. They formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related novels, ''The Arsenal Stadium Mystery'' (1939), which was made into a film in the same year. The story centres on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned while playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves in the film and manager George Allison was given a speaking part. More recently, the book ''Fever Pitch'' by Nick Hornby was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s. The book was twice adapted for the cinema – the 1997 British film focuses on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win, and a 2005 American version features a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox.\n\nArsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and \"boring\" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film ''The Full Monty'', in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their striptease routine. Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film ''Plunkett & Macleane'', in which two characters are named Dixon and Winterburn after Arsenal's long-serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.\n", "In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, \"Arsenal in the Community\", which offered sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects. The club support a number of charitable causes directly and in 1992 established The Arsenal Charitable Trust, which by 2006 had raised more than £2 million for local causes. An ex-professional and celebrity football team associated with the club also raised money by playing charity matches.\n\nIn the 2009–10 season Arsenal announced that they had raised a record breaking £818,897 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. The original target was £500,000.\n\nSave the Children has been Arsenal global charity partner since 2011 and have worked together in numerous projects to improve safety and well-being for vulnerable children in London and abroad. On 3 September 2016 The Arsenal Foundation has donated £1m to build football pitches for children in London, Iraq, Jordan and Somalia thanks to The Arsenal Foundation Legends Match against Milan Glorie at the Emirates Stadium.\n", "\nThierry Henry is Arsenal's record goalscorer, with 228 goals in all competitions.\nArsenal's tally of 13 League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Manchester United (20) and Liverpool (18),\nand they were the first club to reach a seventh and an eighth League Championship. As of May 2016, they are one of only six teams, the others being Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Manchester City and Leicester City, to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992.\n\nThey hold the highest number of FA Cup trophies, with 13. The club is one of only six clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003, and 2014 and 2015. Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup \"Doubles\" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a feat only previously achieved by Manchester United (in 1994, 1996 and 1999). They were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double, in 1993. Arsenal were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006, losing the final 2–1 to Barcelona.\n\nArsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times. They have won the second most top flight league matches in English football, and have also accumulated the second most points, whether calculated by two points per win or by the contemporary points value. They have been in the top flight for the most consecutive seasons (92 as of 2017–18). Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the 20th century, with an average league placement of 8.5.\n\nArsenal hold the record for the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004). This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89. They also hold the record for the longest top flight win streak.\n\nArsenal set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final, when Samuel Eto'o scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona.\n\nDavid O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 564 appearances.\n\nThierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2012, having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005. Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939. Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 175, a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.\n\nArsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935, while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.\n\n\n", "===First-team squad===\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n====UEFA Reserve squad====\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n====Out on loan====\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===Under 23s and Under 18s===\n\n\n===Former players===\n\n\n", "Arsène Wenger, who has been managing Arsenal since 1996.\n:''As of 18 July 2017.''\n\n\n Position\n Name\n\n Manager\n Arsène Wenger\n\n Assistant manager\n Steve Bould\n\n First-team coach\n Boro Primorac\n\n First-team coach\n Neil Banfield\n\n First-team coach\n Jens Lehmann\n\n Goalkeeping coach\n Gerry Peyton\n\n Head of performance\n Shad Forsythe\n\n Fitness coach\n Berick Kolisić\n\n Head of medical services\n Colin Lewin\n\n Club doctor\n Gary O'Driscoll\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n Ben Ashworth\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n Andrew Rolls\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n James Haycock\n\n First team strength and conditioning coach\n Barry Solan\n\n Assistant fitness coach\n Craig Gant\n\n Masseur\n Darren Page\n\n Masseur\n Chris Harvey\n\n Masseur\n Chris Senior\n\n Soft tissue therapist\n Takahiro Yamamoto\n\n Kit manager\n Vic Akers\n\n Assistant kit manager\n Paul Akers\n\n Equipment manager\n Paul Johnson\n\n Performance nutritionist\n James Collins\n\n Senior Football Analyst\n Ben Knapper\n\n First Team Analyst\n Mark Curtis\n\n Football Analyst Assistant\n Sam Hayball\n\n\n\nWenger glares at José Mourinho during one of their many spats, in October 2014.\n", "\nThere have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managers of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell in 1897. The club's longest-serving manager, in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen, is Arsène Wenger, who was appointed in 1996. Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside the United Kingdom. Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman and Tom Whittaker.\n", "\n\n\n\n\n\nAs of 28 May 2017. Seasons in '''bold''' are seasons when the club won a Double of the league and FA Cup, or of the FA Cup and League Cup. The ''2003–04'' season was the only 38-match league season unbeaten in English football history. A special gold version of the Premier League trophy was commissioned and presented to the club the following season.\n\n===EFL and Premier League===\n\n*First Division (until 1992) and Premier League\n:''Winners (13):'' 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, '''1970–71''', 1988–89, 1990–91, '''1997–98''', '''2001–02''', ''2003–04''\n\n*League Cup\n:''Winners (2):'' 1986–87, '''1992–93'''\n\n*League Centenary Trophy\n:''Winners (1):'' 1988 '''(record)'''\n\n===The FA===\n\n*FA Cup\n:''Winners (13):'' 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, '''1970–71''', 1978–79, '''1992–93''', '''1997–98''', '''2001–02''', 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17 '''(record)'''\n\n*FA Community Shield (FA Charity Shield before 2002)\n:''Winners (15):'' 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017\n\n===UEFA===\n\n*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (European Cup Winners' Cup before 1994)\n:''Winners (1):'' 1993–94\n\n*Inter-Cities Fairs Cup\n:''Winners (1):'' 1969–70\n\n===County FAs===\n\n\nWhen the FA Cup was the only national football association competition available to Arsenal, the other football association competitions were County Cups, and they made up many of the competitive matches the club played during a season. Arsenal's first first-team trophy was a County Cup, the inaugural Kent Senior Cup. Arsenal became ineligible for the London Cups when the club turned professional in 1891, and rarely participated in County Cups after this. Due to the club's original location within the borders of both the London and Kent Football Associations, Arsenal competed in and won trophies organized by each.\n\n===Other===\n\n\n", " \nArsenal Women are the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded as Arsenal Ladies F.C. in 1987 by Vic Akers, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are currently managed by Clair Wheatley. Akers currently holds the role of Honorary President of Arsenal Women. As part of the festivities surrounding their 30th anniversary in 2017, the club announced that they were changing their formal name to Arsenal Women F.C., and would use \"Arsenal\" in all references except rare cases where there might be confusion with the men's side.\n\nArsenal Women are the most successful team in English women's football. In the 2008–09 season, they won all three major English trophies – the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup and FA Women's Premier League Cup, and, as of 2017, were the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup or UEFA Women's Champions League, having won the Cup in the 2006–07 season as part of a unique quadruple. The men's and women's clubs are formally separate entities but have quite close ties; Arsenal Women are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium, though they usually play their home matches at Boreham Wood. At present the women have won 46 trophies in their 30-year history.\n", "\n", "\n", "\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n", "\n\n\n\n\n===Official websites===\n* \n* Arsenal at the Premier League official website\n* Arsenal at the UEFA official website\n\n===News sites===\n\n* Arsenal news from Sky Sports\n\n===Other===\n* \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "History", "Crest", "Colours", "Stadiums", "Supporters", "Ownership and finances", "In popular culture", "In the community", "Statistics and records", "Players", "Current technical staff", "Managers", "Honours", "Arsenal Women", "Footnotes", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "===1919–1953: The Bank of England Club===\n\n\nA bronze bust of Herbert Chapman stands inside Emirates Stadium as a tribute to his achievements at the club.", "With record-breaking spending and gate receipts, Arsenal quickly became known as the Bank of England club.", "The club had had more players killed than any top flight club, and debt from reconstructing the North Bank Stand bled Arsenal's resources.", "The entire stadium was given a massive overhaul in the 1930s: new Art Deco West and East stands were constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and a roof was added to the North Bank terrace, which was bombed during the Second World War and not restored until 1954.", "The North Bank Stand, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury|alt=A grandstand at a sports stadium.", "From the start of the 2010–11 season on, the stands of the stadium have been officially known as North Bank, East Stand, West Stand and Clock end." ]

[ "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n'''Arsenal Football Club''' is a professional football club based in Highbury, London, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.", "The club has won 13 League titles, a record 13 FA Cups, two League Cups, the League Centenary Trophy, 15 FA Community Shields, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.", "It has won the second-most top flight matches in English football history, and is the only English club to go a 38-match league season unbeaten.", "Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893, and they reached the First Division in 1904.", "Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division.", "In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war.", "In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double.", "Between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles.", "They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position.", "Herbert Chapman won Arsenal's first national trophies, but died prematurely.", "He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers, and added the white sleeves and brighter red to Arsenal's kit.", "Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies.", "He has won a record 7 FA Cups, and his teams set English records for the longest win streak and longest unbeaten run.", "In 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square.", "In 1913, the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury.", "They became Tottenham Hotspur's nearest club, commencing the North London derby.", "In 2006, they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium.", "Arsenal earned €435.5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football.", "Based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenal's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world.", "In 2016, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England, worth $2.0 billion.", "\n\n\n\n===1886–1919: Changing names===\n\nDial Square: the workplace of Arsenal's founding fathers, and the club's original eponym\nRoyal Arsenal squad in 1888.", "Original captain, David Danskin, sits on the right of the bench.", "On 1 December 1886, munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with David Danskin as their first captain.", "Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the whole complex a month later.", "Royal Arsenal F.C.", "'s first home was Plumstead Common, though they spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead, at the Manor Ground.", "Royal Arsenal won Arsenal's first trophies in 1890 and 1891, and these were the only football association trophies Arsenal won during their time in South East London.", "In 1891, Royal Arsenal became the first London club to turn professional.", "Royal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893.", "They registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended later that year.", "Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904.", "Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers and the arrival of more accessible football clubs elsewhere in the city, led the club close to bankruptcy by 1910.", "Businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall became involved in the club, and sought to move them elsewhere.", "In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London.", "This saw their third change of name: the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to simply The Arsenal.", "In 1919, The Football League voted to promote The Arsenal, instead of relegated local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, into the newly enlarged First Division, despite only listing the club sixth in the Second Division's last pre-war season of 1914–15.", "Some books have speculated that the club won this election to division one by dubious means.", "Later that year, The Arsenal started dropping \"The\" in official documents, gradually shifting its name for the final time towards Arsenal, as it is generally known today.", "With a new home and First Division football, attendances were more than double those at the Manor Ground, and Arsenal's budget grew rapidly.", "Their location and record-breaking salary offer lured star Huddersfield Town manager Herbert Chapman in 1925.", "Over the next five years, Chapman built a new Arsenal.", "He appointed enduring new trainer Tom Whittaker, implemented Charlie Buchan's new twist on the nascent WM formation, captured young players like Cliff Bastin and Eddie Hapgood, and lavished Highbury's income on stars like David Jack and Alex James.", "Highbury's Art Deco east facade\n\nTransformed, Chapman's Arsenal claimed their first national trophy, the FA Cup, in 1930.", "Two League Championships followed, in 1930–31 and 1932–33.", "Chapman also presided over multiple off the pitch changes: white sleeves and shirt numbers were added to the kit; a Tube station was named after the club; and the first of two opulent, Art Deco stands was completed, with some of the first floodlights in English football.", "Suddenly, in the middle of the 1933–34 season, Chapman died of pneumonia.", "His work was left to Joe Shaw and George Allison, who saw out a hat-trick with the 1933–34 and 1934–35 titles, and then won the 1936 FA Cup and 1937–38 title.", "World War II meant The Football League was suspended for seven years, but Arsenal returned to win it in the second post-war season, 1947–48.", "This was Tom Whittaker's first season as manager, after his promotion to succeed Allison, and the club had equalled the champions of England record.", "They won a third FA Cup in 1950, and then won a record-breaking seventh championship in 1952–53.", "However, the war had taken its toll on Arsenal.", "===1953–1986: The long sleep, Mee and Neill===\n\nArsenal were not to win the League or the FA Cup for another 18 years.", "The '53 Champions squad was old, and the club failed to attract strong enough replacements.", "Although Arsenal were competitive during these years, their fortunes had waned; the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in midleague mediocrity.", "Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.", "Alan Ball (left) and Bertie Mee (right) in 1972\n\nArsenal tentatively appointed club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as acting manager in 1966.", "With new assistant Don Howe and new players such as Bob McNab and George Graham, Mee led Arsenal to their first League Cup finals, in 1967–68 and 1968–69.", "Next season saw a breakthrough: Arsenal's first competitive European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.", "And the season after, an even greater triumph: Arsenal's first League and FA Cup double, and a new champions of England record.", "This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the rest of the decade was characterised by a series of near misses, starting with Arsenal finishing as FA Cup runners up in 1972, and First Division runners-up in 1972–73.", "Former player Terry Neill succeeded Mee in 1976.", "At the age of 34, he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date.", "With new signings like Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Jennings, and a crop of talent in the side such as Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton, the club reached a trio of FA Cup finals (1978, 1979 and 1980), and lost the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final on penalties.", "The club's only trophy during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final, widely regarded as a classic.", "===1986–present: Graham to Wenger===\n\nTony Adams statue and the Emirates Stadium\n\nOne of Bertie Mee's double winners, George Graham, returned as manager in 1986.", "Arsenal won their first League Cup in 1987, Graham's first season in charge.", "By 1988, new signings Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Steve Bould had joined the club to complete the \"famous Back Four\" led by existing player Tony Adams.", "They immediately won the 1988 Football League Centenary Trophy, and followed it with the 1988–89 Football League title, snatched with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool.", "Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, won the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993, and the European Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994.", "Graham's reputation was tarnished when he was found to have taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players, and he was dismissed in 1995.", "His permanent replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.", "After Arsenal completed the only 38-match season unbeaten, the Premier League commissioned a unique gold trophy to commemorate the achievement.", "The club metamorphosed during the long tenure of manager Arsène Wenger, appointed in 1996.", "New, attacking football, an overhaul of dietary and fitness practices, and efficiency with money have defined his reign.", "Accumulating key players from Wenger's homeland, such as Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02.", "In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname \"The Invincibles\".", "This latter feat came within a run of 49 league matches unbeaten from 7 May 2003 to 24 October 2004, a national record.", "Arsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first nine seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title.", "The club had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League until 2005–06; in that season they became the first club from London in the competition's fifty-year history to reach the final, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Barcelona.", "In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.", "Arsenal reached the final of the 2007 and 2011 League Cups, losing 2–1 to Chelsea and Birmingham City respectively.", "The club had not gained a major trophy since the 2005 FA Cup until 17 May 2014, when Arsenal beat Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup Final, coming back from a 2–0 deficit to win the match 3–2.", "A year later, Arsenal appeared in the FA Cup final for the second time in a row, defeating Aston Villa 4–0 in the final and becoming the most successful club in the tournament's history with 12 titles, a record which Manchester United would tie the following season.", "Arsenal later won the FA Cup for a record 13th time, defeating Chelsea 2–1 in the 2017 final and once more becoming the outright leader in terms of FA Cups won.", "The victory also saw Wenger become the first manager in English football history to win seven FA Cups.", "However, in that same season, Arsenal finished in the fifth position in the league, the first time they had finished outside the top four since before Wenger arrived in 1996.", "Arsenal's first crest from 1888\n\nUnveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first crest featured three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich (nowadays transferred to the coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich).", "These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannons.", "This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, ''The Gunners'', inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.", "In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set in blackletter, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, ''Victoria Concordia Crescit -'' \"victory comes from harmony\" – coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer.", "For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green.", "Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright it.", "Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold \"unofficial\" Arsenal merchandise, Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection.", "Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable.", "The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon.", "Green was replaced by dark blue.", "The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.", "Arsenal's crest used until 2002\nUntil the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram of the club's initials in red on a white background.", "The monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border.", "This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors.", "From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname \"The Gunners\", in the 1990s.", "In the 2011–12 season, Arsenal celebrated their 125th year anniversary.", "The celebrations included a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season.", "The crest was all white, surrounded by 15 oak leaves to the right and 15 laurel leaves to the left.", "The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub.", "The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club.", "The laurel leaves also represent strength.", "To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto \"Forward\" at the bottom of the crest.", "\n\nFor much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case.", "The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886.", "Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work.", "As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball.", "The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and socks with blue and white hoops.", "In 1933, Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box red.", "Two possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the white sleeves.", "One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played golf.", "Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons.", "The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts; this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season.", "The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the next season.", "In the 2008–09 season, Arsenal replaced the traditional all-white sleeves with red sleeves with a broad white stripe.", "Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs.", "In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time; in 1938, Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip.", "In 1920, Sporting Clube de Braga's manager returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit to a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of ''Os Arsenalistas''.", "These teams still wear those designs to this day.", "For many years Arsenal's away colours were white shirts and either black or white shorts.", "In the 1969–70 season, Arsenal introduced an away kit of yellow shirts with blue shorts.", "This kit was worn in the 1971 FA Cup Final as Arsenal beat Liverpool to secure the double for the first time in their history.", "Arsenal reached the FA Cup final again the following year wearing the red and white home strip and were beaten by Leeds United.", "Arsenal then competed in three consecutive FA Cup finals between 1978 and 1980 wearing their \"lucky\" yellow and blue strip, which remained the club's away strip until the release of a green and navy away kit in 1982–83.", "The following season, Arsenal returned to the yellow and blue scheme, albeit with a darker shade of blue than before.", "When Nike took over from Adidas as Arsenal's kit provider in 1994, Arsenal's away colours were again changed to two-tone blue shirts and shorts.", "Since the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away kits have been changed regularly, with Arsenal usually releasing both away and third choice kits.", "During this period the designs have been either all blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season, the yellow and dark grey used from 2005 to 2007, and the yellow and maroon of 2010 to 2013.", "Until 2014, the away kit was changed every season, and the outgoing away kit became the third-choice kit if a new home kit was being introduced in the same year.", "Since Puma began manufacturing Arsenal's kits in 2014, new home, away and third kits are released every single season.", "===Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors===\nArsenal's shirts have been made by manufacturers including Bukta (from the 1930s until the early 1970s), Umbro (from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas (1986–1994), Nike (1994–2014), and Puma (from 2014).", "Like those of most other major football clubs, Arsenal's shirts have featured sponsors' logos since the 1980s; sponsors include JVC (1982–1999), Sega (1999–2002), O2 (2002–2006), and Emirates (from 2006).", "Manor Ground, Woolwich Arsenal vs. Everton F.C.", "Before joining the Football League, Arsenal played briefly on Plumstead Common, then at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, then spent three years between 1890 and 1893 at the nearby Invicta Ground.", "Upon joining the Football League in 1893, the club returned to the Manor Ground and installed stands and terracing, upgrading it from just a field.", "Arsenal continued to play their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in the 1894–95 season), until the move to north London in 1913.", "Widely referred to as Highbury, Arsenal Stadium was the club's home from September 1913 until May 2006.", "The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing.", "Highbury could hold more than 60,000 spectators at its peak, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s.", "The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations obliged Arsenal to convert Highbury to an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators.", "This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League matches to accommodate additional advertising boards, so much so that for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000, Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.", "The seats are predominantly red.", "Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties.", "These limitations prevented the club from maximising matchday revenue during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, putting them in danger of being left behind in the football boom of that time.", "After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,361-capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove, since named the Emirates Stadium, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury.", "The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs,\nand construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season.", "The stadium was named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth around £100 million.", "Some fans referred to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they did not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names.", "The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2028, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2018–19 season.", "Arsenal's players train at the Shenley Training Centre in Hertfordshire, a purpose-built facility which opened in 1999.", "Before that the club used facilities on a nearby site owned by the University College of London Students' Union.", "Until 1961 they had trained at Highbury.", "Arsenal's Academy under-18 teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the reserves play their games at Meadow Park, which is also the home of Boreham Wood F.C..", "\nArsenal against rivals Tottenham, known as the North London derby, in November 2010.", "Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as \"Gooners\", the name derived from the team's nickname, \"The Gunners\".", "The fanbase is large and generally loyal, and virtually all home matches sell out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity), and, as of 2015, the third-highest all-time average attendance.", "Arsenal have the seventh highest average attendance of European football clubs only behind Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Schalke.", "The club's location, adjoining wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway, Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working-class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington, has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from a variety of social classes.", "Much of the Afro-Caribbean support comes from the neighbouring London Borough of Hackney and a large portion of the South Asian Arsenal supporters commute to the stadium from Wembley Park, North West of the capital.", "There was also traditionally a large Irish community that followed Arsenal, with the nearby Archway area having a particularly large community, but Irish migration to North London is much lower than in the 1960s or 1970s.", "Arsenal supporters\nLike all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters' Club, which works closely with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line.", "The Arsenal Supporters' Trust promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans.", "The club's supporters also publish fanzines such as ''The Gooner'', ''Gunflash'' and the satirical ''Up The Arse!''.", "In addition to the usual English football chants, supporters sing \"One-Nil to the Arsenal\" (to the tune of \"Go West\").", "There have always been Arsenal supporters outside London, and since the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography.", "Consequently, Arsenal have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; in 2007, 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 other overseas supporters clubs were affiliated with the club.", "A 2011 report by SPORT+MARKT estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 113 million.", "The club's social media activity was the fifth highest in world football during the 2014–15 season.", "Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur; matches between the two are referred to as North London derbies.", "Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United.", "In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United developed a strong on-pitch rivalry in the late 1980s, which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title – so much so that a 2003 online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea.", "A 2008 poll listed the Tottenham rivalry as more important.", "\nThe largest shareholder on the Arsenal board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke.", "Kroenke first launched a bid for the club in April 2007, and faced competition for shares from Red and White Securities, which acquired its first shares off David Dein in August 2007.", "Red & White Securities was co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Iranian London-based financier Farhad Moshiri, though Usmanov bought Moshiri's stake in 2016.", "Kroenke came close to the 30% takeover threshold in November 2009, when he increased his holding to 18,594 shares (29.9%).", "In April 2011, Kroenke achieved a full takeover by purchasing the shareholdings of Nina Bracewell-Smith and Danny Fiszman, taking his shareholding to 62.89%.", "As of May 2017, Kroenke owns 41,721 shares (67.05%) and Red & White Securities own 18,695 shares (30.04%).", "Ivan Gazidis has been the club's Chief Executive since 2009.", "Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs.", "Only 62,219 shares in Arsenal have been issued, and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on the ICAP Securities and Derivatives Exchange, a specialist market.", "On 29 May 2017, a single share in Arsenal had a mid price of £18,000, which sets the club's market capitalisation value at approximately £1,119.9m.", "Most football clubs aren't listed on an exchange, which makes direct comparisons of their values difficult.", "Consultants Brand Finance valued the club's brand and intangible assets at $703m in 2015, and consider Arsenal an AAA global brand.", "Business magazine Forbes valued Arsenal as a whole at $2.0 billion (£1.4 billion) in 2016, ranked second in English football.", "Research by the Henley Business School also ranked Arsenal second in English football, modelling the club's value at £1.118 billion in 2015.", "Arsenal's financial results for the 2014–15 season show group revenue of £344.5m, with a profit before tax of £24.7m.", "The footballing core of the business showed a revenue of £329.3m.", "The Deloitte Football Money League is a publication that homogenizes and compares clubs' annual revenue.", "They put Arsenal's footballing revenue at £331.3m (€435.5m), ranking Arsenal seventh among world football clubs.", "Arsenal and Deloitte both list the match day revenue generated by the Emirates Stadium as £100.4m, more than any other football stadium in the world.", "\nArsenal have appeared in a number of media \"firsts\".", "On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.", "A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first football match in the world to be televised live.", "Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's ''Match of the Day'', which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964.", "BSkyB's coverage of Arsenal's January 2010 match against Manchester United was the first live public broadcast of a sports event on 3D television.", "As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in the arts in Britain.", "They formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related novels, ''The Arsenal Stadium Mystery'' (1939), which was made into a film in the same year.", "The story centres on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned while playing.", "Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves in the film and manager George Allison was given a speaking part.", "More recently, the book ''Fever Pitch'' by Nick Hornby was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular.", "Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s.", "The book was twice adapted for the cinema – the 1997 British film focuses on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win, and a 2005 American version features a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox.", "Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and \"boring\" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense.", "The theme was repeated in the 1997 film ''The Full Monty'', in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their striptease routine.", "Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film ''Plunkett & Macleane'', in which two characters are named Dixon and Winterburn after Arsenal's long-serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.", "In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, \"Arsenal in the Community\", which offered sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects.", "The club support a number of charitable causes directly and in 1992 established The Arsenal Charitable Trust, which by 2006 had raised more than £2 million for local causes.", "An ex-professional and celebrity football team associated with the club also raised money by playing charity matches.", "In the 2009–10 season Arsenal announced that they had raised a record breaking £818,897 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.", "The original target was £500,000.", "Save the Children has been Arsenal global charity partner since 2011 and have worked together in numerous projects to improve safety and well-being for vulnerable children in London and abroad.", "On 3 September 2016 The Arsenal Foundation has donated £1m to build football pitches for children in London, Iraq, Jordan and Somalia thanks to The Arsenal Foundation Legends Match against Milan Glorie at the Emirates Stadium.", "\nThierry Henry is Arsenal's record goalscorer, with 228 goals in all competitions.", "Arsenal's tally of 13 League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Manchester United (20) and Liverpool (18),\nand they were the first club to reach a seventh and an eighth League Championship.", "As of May 2016, they are one of only six teams, the others being Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Manchester City and Leicester City, to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992.", "They hold the highest number of FA Cup trophies, with 13.", "The club is one of only six clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003, and 2014 and 2015.", "Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup \"Doubles\" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a feat only previously achieved by Manchester United (in 1994, 1996 and 1999).", "They were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double, in 1993.", "Arsenal were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006, losing the final 2–1 to Barcelona.", "Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times.", "They have won the second most top flight league matches in English football, and have also accumulated the second most points, whether calculated by two points per win or by the contemporary points value.", "They have been in the top flight for the most consecutive seasons (92 as of 2017–18).", "Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the 20th century, with an average league placement of 8.5.", "Arsenal hold the record for the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004).", "This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.", "They also hold the record for the longest top flight win streak.", "Arsenal set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan.", "They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final, when Samuel Eto'o scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona.", "David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993.", "Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times.", "The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 564 appearances.", "Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2012, having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005.", "Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939.", "Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 175, a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.", "Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity.", "The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935, while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.", "===First-team squad===\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n====UEFA Reserve squad====\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n====Out on loan====\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n===Under 23s and Under 18s===\n\n\n===Former players===", "Arsène Wenger, who has been managing Arsenal since 1996.\n:''As of 18 July 2017.''", "Position\n Name\n\n Manager\n Arsène Wenger\n\n Assistant manager\n Steve Bould\n\n First-team coach\n Boro Primorac\n\n First-team coach\n Neil Banfield\n\n First-team coach\n Jens Lehmann\n\n Goalkeeping coach\n Gerry Peyton\n\n Head of performance\n Shad Forsythe\n\n Fitness coach\n Berick Kolisić\n\n Head of medical services\n Colin Lewin\n\n Club doctor\n Gary O'Driscoll\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n Ben Ashworth\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n Andrew Rolls\n\n First-team physiotherapist\n James Haycock\n\n First team strength and conditioning coach\n Barry Solan\n\n Assistant fitness coach\n Craig Gant\n\n Masseur\n Darren Page\n\n Masseur\n Chris Harvey\n\n Masseur\n Chris Senior\n\n Soft tissue therapist\n Takahiro Yamamoto\n\n Kit manager\n Vic Akers\n\n Assistant kit manager\n Paul Akers\n\n Equipment manager\n Paul Johnson\n\n Performance nutritionist\n James Collins\n\n Senior Football Analyst\n Ben Knapper\n\n First Team Analyst\n Mark Curtis\n\n Football Analyst Assistant\n Sam Hayball\n\n\n\nWenger glares at José Mourinho during one of their many spats, in October 2014.", "\nThere have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managers of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell in 1897.", "The club's longest-serving manager, in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen, is Arsène Wenger, who was appointed in 1996.", "Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside the United Kingdom.", "Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman and Tom Whittaker.", "\n\n\n\n\n\nAs of 28 May 2017.", "Seasons in '''bold''' are seasons when the club won a Double of the league and FA Cup, or of the FA Cup and League Cup.", "The ''2003–04'' season was the only 38-match league season unbeaten in English football history.", "A special gold version of the Premier League trophy was commissioned and presented to the club the following season.", "===EFL and Premier League===\n\n*First Division (until 1992) and Premier League\n:''Winners (13):'' 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, '''1970–71''', 1988–89, 1990–91, '''1997–98''', '''2001–02''', ''2003–04''\n\n*League Cup\n:''Winners (2):'' 1986–87, '''1992–93'''\n\n*League Centenary Trophy\n:''Winners (1):'' 1988 '''(record)'''\n\n===The FA===\n\n*FA Cup\n:''Winners (13):'' 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, '''1970–71''', 1978–79, '''1992–93''', '''1997–98''', '''2001–02''', 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17 '''(record)'''\n\n*FA Community Shield (FA Charity Shield before 2002)\n:''Winners (15):'' 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017\n\n===UEFA===\n\n*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (European Cup Winners' Cup before 1994)\n:''Winners (1):'' 1993–94\n\n*Inter-Cities Fairs Cup\n:''Winners (1):'' 1969–70\n\n===County FAs===\n\n\nWhen the FA Cup was the only national football association competition available to Arsenal, the other football association competitions were County Cups, and they made up many of the competitive matches the club played during a season.", "Arsenal's first first-team trophy was a County Cup, the inaugural Kent Senior Cup.", "Arsenal became ineligible for the London Cups when the club turned professional in 1891, and rarely participated in County Cups after this.", "Due to the club's original location within the borders of both the London and Kent Football Associations, Arsenal competed in and won trophies organized by each.", "===Other===", " \nArsenal Women are the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal.", "Founded as Arsenal Ladies F.C.", "in 1987 by Vic Akers, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are currently managed by Clair Wheatley.", "Akers currently holds the role of Honorary President of Arsenal Women.", "As part of the festivities surrounding their 30th anniversary in 2017, the club announced that they were changing their formal name to Arsenal Women F.C., and would use \"Arsenal\" in all references except rare cases where there might be confusion with the men's side.", "Arsenal Women are the most successful team in English women's football.", "In the 2008–09 season, they won all three major English trophies – the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup and FA Women's Premier League Cup, and, as of 2017, were the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup or UEFA Women's Champions League, having won the Cup in the 2006–07 season as part of a unique quadruple.", "The men's and women's clubs are formally separate entities but have quite close ties; Arsenal Women are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium, though they usually play their home matches at Boreham Wood.", "At present the women have won 46 trophies in their 30-year history.", "\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*\n*", "\n\n\n\n\n===Official websites===\n* \n* Arsenal at the Premier League official website\n* Arsenal at the UEFA official website\n\n===News sites===\n\n* Arsenal news from Sky Sports\n\n===Other===\n*" ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Arabs''' (; ISO 233 , Arabic pronunciation ), are a population inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and western Indian Ocean islands. They also form a significant diaspora, with Arab communities established around the world.\n\nThe Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BC as tribal people in eastern and southern Syria, and the north of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–612 BC), and the succeeding Neo-Babylonian (626–539 BC), Achaemenid (539–332 BC), Seleucid and Parthian empires. Arab tribes, most notably the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, begin to appear in the southern Syrian Desert from the mid 3rd century CE onward, during the mid to later stages of the Roman and Sasanian empires. Tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of \"Arab\", as well other Arab groups that spread in the land and existed for millennia.\n\nBefore the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), \"Arab\" referred to any of the largely nomadic and settled Semitic people from the Arabian Peninsula, Syrian Desert, North and Lower Mesopotamia. Today, \"Arab\" refers to a large number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to the spread of Arabs and the Arabic language throughout the region during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries and the subsequent Arabisation of indigenous populations. The Arabs forged the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750) and the Abbasid (750–1258) caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and the Sudan in the south. This was one of the largest land empires in history. In the early 20th century, the First World War signalled the end of the Ottoman Empire; which had ruled much of the Arab world since conquering the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517. This resulted in the defeat and dissolution of the empire and the partition of its territories, forming the modern Arab states. Following the adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the individual sovereignty of its member states.\n\nToday, Arabs primarily inhabit the 22 Arab states within the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The Arab world stretches around 13 million km2, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora. The ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports and mythology. The total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the world's second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese.\n\nArabs are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions. Some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the ''hanifs'', apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities. Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic or Chaldean churches. Other smaller minority religions are followed, such as the Bahá'í Faith, Sabianism, Bábism and Mandaeism.\n", "\nArabic epitaph of Imru' al-Qais, son of 'Amr, king of all the Arabs\", inscribed in Nabataean script. Basalt, dated in 7 Kislul, 223, viz. December 7, 328 AD. Found at Nemara in the Hauran (Southern Syria).\nThe earliest documented use of the word \"Arab\" to refer to a people appears in the Kurkh Monoliths, an Akkadian language record of the ninth century BC Assyrian conquest of Aram, which referred to Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula under King Gindibu, who fought as part of a coalition opposed to Assyria. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of \"Gi-in-di-bu'u the ar-ba-a-a\" or \"the man Gindibu belonging to the ''Arab'' (''ar-ba-a-a'' being an adjectival nisba of the noun ''ʿarab''). The related word ''ʾaʿrāb'' is still used to refer to Bedouins today, in contrast to ''ʿarab'' which refers to Arabs in general.\n\nTraditional Qahtanite genealogy.\nThe oldest surviving indication of an Arab national identity is an inscription made in an archaic form of Arabic in 328 using the Nabataean alphabet, which refers to Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr as \"King of all the Arabs\". Herodotus refers to the Arabs in the Sinai, southern Palestine, and the frankincense region (Southern Arabia). Other ancient Greek historians like Agatharchides, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo mention Arabs living in Mesopotamia (along the Euphrates), in Egypt (the Sinai and the Red Sea), southern Jordan (the Nabataeans), the Syrian steppe and in eastern Arabia (the people of Gerrha). Inscriptions dating to the 6th century BCE in Yemen include the term \"Arab\". \n\nThe most popular Arab account holds that the word \"Arab\" came from an eponymous father called Ya'rub who was supposedly the first to speak Arabic. Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani had another view; he states that Arabs were called '''Gharab''' (\"West\") by Mesopotamians because Bedouins originally resided to the west of Mesopotamia; the term was then corrupted into \"Arab\".\n\nYet another view is held by al-Masudi that the word \"Arabs\" was initially applied to the Ishmaelites of the \"Arabah\" valley. In Biblical etymology, \"Arab\" (in Hebrew ''Arvi'' ) comes both from the desert origin of the Bedouins it originally described (''Arava'' means wilderness).\n\nThe root ''ʿ-r-b'' has several additional meanings in Semitic languages—including \"west/sunset,\" \"desert,\" \"mingle,\" \"mixed,\" \"merchant,\" and \"raven\"—and are \"comprehensible\" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to the emergence of the name. It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from \"moving around\" (Arabic \"traverse\"), and hence, it is alleged, \"nomadic.\"\n", "\n\n===Pre-Islamic===\n\nA drawing of the Kaaba's black stone in fragmented form, front and side illustrations.\nPre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabian Peninsula prior to the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam. Some of the settled communities in the Arabian Peninsula developed into distinctive civilizations. Sources for these civilizations are not extensive, and are limited to archaeological evidence, accounts written outside of Arabia, and Arab oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars. Among the most prominent civilizations was Dilmun, which arose around the 4th millennium BC and lasted to 538 BC, and Thamud, which arose around the 1st millennium BC and lasted to about 300 CE. Additionally, from the beginning of the first millennium BC, Southern Arabia was the home to a number of kingdoms, such as the Sabaean kingdom, and the coastal areas of Eastern Arabia were controlled by the Parthian and Sassanians from 300 BC.\n\n====Origins and early history====\n\nAccording to Arab-Islamic-Jewish traditions, Ishmael was father of the Arabs, to be the ancestor of the Ishmaelites.\n\nThe first written attestation of the ethnonym ''Arab'' occurs in an Assyrian inscription of 853 BCE, where Shalmaneser III lists a King Gindibu of ''mâtu arbâi'' (Arab land) as among the people he defeated at the Battle of Karkar. Some of the names given in these texts are Aramaic, while others are the first attestations of Ancient North Arabian dialects. In fact several different ethnonyms are found in Assyrian texts that are conventionally translated \"Arab\": ''Arabi, Arubu, Aribi'' and ''Urbi''. Many of the Qedarite queens were also described as queens of the ''aribi''. The Hebrew Bible occasionally refers to ''Aravi'' peoples (or variants thereof), translated as \"Arab\" or \"Arabian.\" The scope of the term at that early stage is unclear, but it seems to have referred to various desert-dwelling Semitic tribes in the Syrian Desert and Arabia. Arab tribes came into conflict with the Assyrians during the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, and he records military victories against the powerful Qedar tribe among others.\n\nOld Arabic diverges from Central Semitic by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.Nabataean trade routes in Pre-Islamic Arabia.\nMedieval Arab genealogists divided Arabs into three groups:\n# \"Ancient Arabs\", tribes that had vanished or been destroyed, such as ʿĀd and Thamud, often mentioned in the Qur'an as examples of God's power to vanquish those who fought his prophets.\n# \"Pure Arabs\" of South Arabia, descending from Qahtan. The Qahtanites (Qahtanis) are said to have migrated from the land of Yemen following the destruction of the Ma'rib Dam (''sadd Ma'rib'').\n# The \"Arabized Arabs\" (''mustaʿribah'') of Central Arabia (Najd) and North Arabia, descending from Ishmael the elder son of Abraham, through Adnan (hence, Adnanites). The Book of Genesis narrates that God promised Hagar to beget from Ishmael twelve princes and turn him to a great nation.() The Book of Jubilees claims that the sons of Ishmael intermingled with the 6 sons of Keturah, from Abraham, and their descendants were called Arabs and Ishmaelites:\n\n\nAssyrian horsemen pursue defeated Arabs.\nAssyrian and Babylonian Royal Inscriptions and North Arabian inscriptions from 9th to 6th century B.C.E, mention the king of Qedar as king of the Arabs and King of the Ishmaelites.\nOf the names of the sons of Ishmael the names \"Nabat, Kedar, Abdeel, Dumah, Massa, and Teman\" were mentioned in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions as tribes of the Ishmaelites. Jesur was mentioned in Greek inscriptions in the First Century B.C.E\nLife-size bronze bust sculpture of Ibn Khaldun.\nIbn Khaldun's ''Muqaddima'' distinguishes between sedentary Arabian Muslims who used to be nomadic, and Bedouin nomadic Arabs of the desert. He used the term \"formerly nomadic\" Arabs and refers to sedentary Muslims by the region or city they lived in, as in Yemenis. The Christians of Italy and the Crusaders preferred the term Saracens for all the Arabs and Muslims of that time. The Christians of Iberia used the term Moor to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time.\n\nMuslims of Medina referred to the nomadic tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds. The term \"A'raab\" mirrors the term Assyrians used to describe the closely related nomads they defeated in Syria. The Qur'an does not use the word '''', only the nisba adjective ''''. The Qur'an calls itself '''', \"Arabic\", and '''', \"clear\". The two qualities are connected for example in ayat 43.2–3, \"By the ''clear'' Book: We have made it an ''Arabic'' recitation in order that you may understand\". The Qur'an became regarded as the prime example of the '''', the language of the Arabs. The term ''ʾiʿrāb'' has the same root and refers to a particularly clear and correct mode of speech. The plural noun '''' refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who resisted Muhammad, for example in ''at-Tawba'' 97,\n\n'''' \"the Bedouin are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy\".\n\nBased on this, in early Islamic terminology, '''' referred to the language, and '''' to the Arab Bedouins, carrying a negative connotation due to the Qur'anic verdict just cited. But after the Islamic conquest of the eighth century, the language of the nomadic Arabs became regarded as the most pure by the grammarians following Abi Ishaq, and the term , \"language of the Arabs\", denoted the uncontaminated language of the Bedouins.\n\n====Classical kingdoms====\n\n Façade of Al Khazneh in Petra, Jordan, built by the Nabateans.\nProto-Arabic, or Ancient North Arabian, texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of epigraphic south Arabian ''musnad'' script, including the 8th century BCE Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the 6th century BCE Lihyanite texts of southeastern Saudi Arabia and the Thamudic texts found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai (not in reality connected with Thamud).\n\nThe Nabataeans were nomadic who moved into territory vacated by the Edomites – Semites who settled the region centuries before them. Their early inscriptions were in Aramaic, but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic. The Nabataean alphabet was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered ''proto-Arabic'', but ''pre-classical Arabic''. Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi, one of which dates to the 2nd century CE.\n\nThe ruins of Palmyra. The Palmyrenes were a mix of Arabs, Amorites and Arameans.\nArabs arrived in the Palmyra in the late first millennium BC. The soldiers of the sheikh Zabdibel, who aided the Seleucids in the battle of Raphia (217 BC), were described as Arabs; Zabdibel and his men were not actually identified as Palmyrenes in the texts, but the name \"Zabdibel\" is a Palmyrene name leading to the conclusion that the sheikh hailed from Palmyra. Palmyra was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate after its 634 capture by the Arab general Khalid ibn al-Walid, who took the city on his way to Damascus; an 18-day march by his army through the Syrian Desert from Mesopotamia. By then Palmyra was limited to the Diocletian camp. After the conquest, the city became part of Homs Province.\n\nFragment of a wall painting showing a Kindite king, 1st century CE.\nPalmyra prospered as part of the Umayyad Caliphate, and its population grew. It was a key stop on the East-West trade route, with a large ''souq'' (market), built by the Umayyads, who also commissioned part of the Temple of Bel as a mosque. During this period, Palmyra was a stronghold of the Banu Kalb tribe. After being defeated by Marwan II during a civil war in the caliphate, Umayyad contender Sulayman ibn Hisham fled to the Banu Kalb in Palmyra, but eventually pledged allegiance to Marwan in 744; Palmyra continued to oppose Marwan until the surrender of the Banu Kalb leader al-Abrash al-Kalbi in 745. That year, Marwan ordered the city's walls demolished. In 750 a revolt, led by Majza'a ibn al-Kawthar and Umayyad pretender Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani, against the new Abbasid Caliphate swept across Syria; the tribes in Palmyra supported the rebels. After his defeat Abu Muhammad took refuge in the city, which withstood an Abbasid assault long enough to allow him to escape.\n\n====Late kingdoms====\n\nNear East in 565, showing the Lakhmids and their neighbors.\nThe Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Kindites were the last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized Syria, the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples. They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon, Palestine and East Jordan.\nThe imperial province of Arabia Petraea in 117–138 CE.\nGreeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Romans called Yemen \"Arabia Felix\". The Romans called the vassal nomadic states within the Roman Empire ''Arabia Petraea'', after the city of Petra, and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east Arabia Magna.\n\nThe Lakhmids as a dynasty inherited their power from the Tanukhids, the mid Tigris region around their capital Al-Hira. They ended up allying with the Sassanids against the Ghassanids and the Byzantine Empire. The Lakhmids contested control of the Central Arabian tribes with the Kindites with the Lakhmids eventually destroying Kinda in 540 after the fall of their main ally Himyar. The Persian Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control.\nThe Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais Rabi'a tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with the Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arabia from \"Qaryah Dhat Kahl\" (the present-day called Qaryat al-Faw). They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula, until they were destroyed by the Lakhmid king Al-Mundhir, and his son 'Amr.\n\n===Islamic===\n\nAge of the Caliphs \n\n====Arab Caliphates====\n\n=====Rashidun Era (632–661)=====\n\nAfter the death of Muhammad in 632, Rashidun armies launched campaigns of conquest, establishing the Caliphate, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history. It was larger and lasted longer than the previous Arab empire of Queen Mawia or the Aramean-Arab Palmyrene Empire. The Rashidun state was a completely new state and unlike the Arab kingdoms of its century such as the Himyarite, Lakhmids or Ghassanids.\n\n=====Umayyad Era (661–750 & 756–1031)=====\n\nThe Great Mosque of Kairouan in Kairouan, Tunisia was founded in 670 by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi; it is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb and represents an architectural testimony of the Arab conquest of North Africa.\nThe Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, built in 715, is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved mosques in the world.\nIn 661, the Rashidun Caliphate fell into the hands of the Umayyad dynasty and Damascus was established as the empire's capital. The Umayyads were proud of their Arab identity and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia. They established garrison towns at Ramla, Raqqa, Basra, Kufa, Mosul and Samarra, all of which developed into major cities.\n\nCaliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic as the Caliphate's official language in 686. This reform greatly influenced the conquered non-Arab peoples and fueled the Arabization of the region. However, the Arabs' higher status among non-Arab Muslim converts and the latter's obligation to pay heavy taxes caused resentment. Caliph Umar II strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717. He rectified the disparity, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals, but his intended reforms did not take effect, as he died after only three years of rule. By now, discontent with the Umayyads swept the region and an uprising occurred in which the Abbasids came to power and moved the capital to Baghdad.\n\nThe Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, constructed during the reign of Abd al Malik.\nUmayyads expanded their Empire westwards capturing North Africa from the Byzantines. Before the Arab conquest, North Africa was conquered or settled by various people including Punics, Vandals and Romans. After the Abbasid Revolution, the Umayyads lost most of their territories with the exception of Iberia. Their last holding became known as the Emirate of Córdoba. It wasn't until the rule of the grandson of the founder of this new emirate that the state entered a new phase as the Caliphate of Córdoba. This new state was characterized by an expansion of trade, culture and knowledge, and saw the construction of masterpieces of al-Andalus architecture and the library of Al-Ḥakam II which housed over 400,000 volumes. With the collapse of the Umayyad state in 1031 AD, Islamic Spain was divided into small kingdoms.\n\n===== Abbassid Era (750–1258 & 1261–1517) =====\n\nMustansiriya University in Baghdad.\nScholars at an Abbasid library in Baghdad. Maqamat of al-Hariri Illustration, 1237.\nThe Abbasids were the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan. The Abbasids led a revolt against the Umayyads and defeated them in the Battle of the Zab effectively ending their rule in all parts of the Empire with the exception of al-Andalus. In 762, the second Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad and declared it the capital of the Caliphate. Unlike the Umayyads, the Abbasids had the support of non-Arab subjects.\n\nThe Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad. The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as \"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs\" stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the \"House of Wisdom\" () in Baghdad. Rival dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad.\n\nHarun al-Rashid receiving a delegation sent by Charlemagne.\nThe Abbasids ruled for 200 years before they lost their central control when Wilayas began to fracture in the 10th century; afterwards, in the 1190s, there was a revival of their power, which was ended by the Mongols, who conquered Baghdad in 1258 and killed the Caliph Al-Musta'sim. Members of the Abbasid royal family escaped the massacre and resorted to Cairo, which had broken from the Abbasid rule two years earlier; the Mamluk generals taking the political side of the kingdom while Abbasid Caliphs were engaged in civil activities and continued patronizing science, arts and literature.\n\n=====Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171)=====\n\nThe Al-Azhar Mosque, commissioned by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Mu'izz for the newly established capital city of Cairo in 970.\nThe Fatimid caliphate was founded by al-Mahdi Billah, a descendant of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, in the early 10th century. Egypt was the political, cultural, and religious centre of the Fatimid empire. The Fatimid state took shape among the Kutama Berbers, in the West of the North African littoral, in Algeria, in 909 conquering Raqqada, the Aghlabid capital. In 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, and in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate.\n\nIntellectual life in Egypt during the Fatimid period achieved great progress and activity, due to many scholars who lived in or came to Egypt, as well as the number of books available. Fatimid Caliphs gave prominent positions to scholars in their courts, encouraged students, and established libraries in their palaces, so that scholars might expand their knowledge and reap benefits from the work of their predecessors. The Fatimids were also known for their exquisite arts. Many traces of Fatimid architecture exist in Cairo today; the most defining examples include the Al-Hakim Mosque and the Al-Azhar University.\n\nivory plaque, 11th–12th century, Egypt\nIt was not until the 11th century that the Maghreb saw a large influx of ethnic Arabs. Starting with the 11th century, the Arab bedouin Banu Hilal tribes migrated to the West. Having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Berber Zirids for abandoning Shias, they travelled westwards. The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. According to some modern historians. their influx was a major factor in the arabization of the Maghreb. Although Berbers ruled the region until the 16th century (under such powerful dynasties as the Almoravids, the Almohads, Hafsids, etc.), the arrival of these tribes eventually helped Arabize much of it ethnically, in addition to the linguistic and political impact on local non-Arabs.\n\n====Ottoman Empire====\n\nSoldiers of the Arab Army in the Arabian Desert carrying the Flag of the Arab Revolt.\nFrom 1517 to 1918, much of the Arab world was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo, and ended the Abbasid Caliphate. Arabs did not feel the change of administration because the Ottomans modeled their rule after the previous Arab administration systems. \n\nIn 1911, Arab intellectuals and politicians from throughout the Levant formed al-Fatat (\"the Young Arab Society\"), a small Arab nationalist club, in Paris. Its stated aim was \"raising the level of the Arab nation to the level of modern nations.\" In the first few years of its existence, al-Fatat called for greater autonomy within a unified Ottoman state rather than Arab independence from the empire. Al-Fatat hosted the Arab Congress of 1913 in Paris, the purpose of which was to discuss desired reforms with other dissenting individuals from the Arab world. However, as the Ottoman authorities cracked down on the organization's activities and members, al-Fatat went underground and demanded the complete independence and unity of the Arab provinces.\n\nAfter World War I, when the Ottoman Empire was overthrown by the British Empire, former Ottoman colonies were divided up between the British and French as League of Nations mandates.\n\n===Modern===\nArabs in modern times live in the Arab world, which comprises 22 countries in Western Asia, North Africa, and parts of the Horn of Africa. They are all modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922).\n", "\nArab identity is defined independently of religious identity, and pre-dates the spread of Islam, with historically attested Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes. Today, however, most Arabs are Muslim, with a minority adhering to other faiths, largely Christianity, but also Druze and Baha'i.\n\nNear East in 565, showing the Ghassanids, Lakhmids, Kindah and Hejaz.\nToday, the main unifying characteristic among Arabs is Arabic, a Central Semitic language from the Afroasiatic language family. Modern Standard Arabic serves as the standardized and literary variety of Arabic used in writing. The Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula subjugated by Upper Mesopotamia-based state of Assyria. The Arabs appear to have remained largely under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), and then the succeeding Neo-Babylonian Empire (605–539 BC), Persian Achaemenid Empire (539–332 BC), Greek Macedonian/Seleucid Empire and Parthian Empire.\n\nArab tribes, most notably the Ghassanids and Lakhmids begin to appear in the south Syrian deserts and southern Jordan from the mid 3rd century AD onwards, during the mid to later stages of the Roman Empire and Sasanian Empire. The Nabataeans of Jordan appear to have been an Aramaic speaking ethnic mix of Canaanites, Arameans and Arabs. Thus, although a more limited diffusion of Arab culture and language was felt in some areas by these migrant minority Arabs in ''pre-Islamic'' times through Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes, it was only after the rise of Islam in the mid-7th century that Arab culture, people and language began their wholesale spread from the central Arabian Peninsula (including the south Syrian desert) through conquest and trade.\n", "\nApproximate locations of certain tribes of Arabia, including those descended from Adnan, Hawazin and Quraysh at the dawn of Islam, 600 AD.\nArabs in the narrow sense are the indigenous Arabians who trace their roots back to the tribes of Arabia and their immediate descendant groups in the Levant and North Africa. Within the people of the Arabian Peninsula, distinction is made between:\nPerishing Arabs () are ancient tribes of whose history little is known. They include ‘Aad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, Imlaq and others. Jadis and Tasm perished because of genocide. 'Aad and Thamud perished because of their decadence, as recorded in the Qur'an. Archaeologists have recently uncovered inscriptions that contain references to 'Iram, which was a major city of the 'Aad. Imlaq is the singular form of 'Amaleeq and is probably synonymous to the biblical Amalek.\nPure Arabs () or Qahtanites from Yemen, taken to be descended from Ya‘rub ibn Yashjub ibn Qahtan and further from Ishmael.\nArabized Arabs () or Adnanites, taken to be the descendants of Ishmael son of Abraham.\n\nArabians are most prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, but are also found in large numbers in Mesopotamia (Arab tribes in Iraq), the Levant and Sinai (Negev Bedouin, Tarabin bedouin), as well as the Maghreb (Libya, South Tunisia and South Algeria) and the Sudan region.Arabian tribes before the spread of Islam.\nThis traditional division of the Arabs of Arabia may have arisen at the time of the First Fitna. Of the Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad, the most prominent was the Quraysh. The Quraysh subclan, the Banu Hashim, was the clan of Muhammad. During the early Muslim conquests and the Islamic Golden Age, the political rulers of Islam were exclusively members of the Quraysh.\n\nThe Arab presence in Iran did not begin with the Arab conquest of Persia in 633 AD. For centuries, Iranian rulers had maintained contacts with Arabs outside their borders, dealt with Arab subjects and client states (such as those of Iraq and Yemen), and settled Arab tribesmen in various parts of the Iranian plateau. It follows that the \"Arab\" conquests and settlements were by no means the exclusive work of Arabs from the Hejaz and the tribesmen of inner Arabia. The Arab infiltration into Iran began before the Muslim conquests and continued as a result of the joint exertions of the civilized Arabs (ahl al-madar) as well as the desert Arabs (ahl al-wabar). The largest group of Iranian Arabs are the Ahwazi Arabs, including Banu Ka'b, Bani Turuf and the Musha'sha'iyyah sect. Smaller groups are the Khamseh nomads in Fars Province and the Arabs in Khorasan.\n\nAnaza tribe near Aleppo with his sons after being decorated with the Croix de Légion d'honneur on September 20, 1920.\nThe Arabs of the Levant are traditionally divided into Qays and Yaman tribes. This tribal division is likewise taken to date to the Umayyad period.\nThe Yemen trace their origin to South Arabia or Yemen; they include Banu Kalb, Kindah, Ghassanids, and Lakhmids. Since the 1834 Peasants' revolt in Palestine, the Arabic-speaking population of Palestine has shed its formerly tribal structure and emerged as the Palestinians.\n\nNative Jordanians are either descended from Bedouins (of which, 6% live a nomadic lifestyle), or from the many deeply rooted non bedouin communities across the country, most notably Al-Salt city west of Amman which was at the time of Emirate the largest urban settlement east of the Jordan River. Along with indigenous communities in Al Husn, Aqaba, Irbid, Al Karak, Madaba, Jerash, Ajloun, Fuheis and Pella. In Jordan, there is no official census data for how many inhabitants have Palestinian roots but they are estimated to constitute half of the population, which in 2008 amounted to about 3 million. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics put their number at 3.24 million in 2009.\n\nOld Bedouin man and his wife in Egypt, 1918.\nThe Bedouins of western Egypt and eastern Libya are traditionally divided into Saʿada and Murabtin, the Saʿada having higher social status. This may derive from a historical feudal system in which the Murabtin were vassals to the Saʿada\nIn Sudan, there are numerous Arabic-speaking tribes, including the Shaigya, Ja'alin and Shukria, who are ancestrally related to the Nubians. These groups are collectively known as Sudanese Arabs. In addition, there are other Afroasiatic-speaking populations, such as Copts and Beja.\nMascara, Banu Hilal.\nThe medieval Arab slave trade in the Sudan drove a wedge between the Arabic-speaking groups and the indigenous Nilotic populations. Slavery substantially persists today along these lines. It has contributed to ethnic conflict in the region, such as the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Northern Mali conflict, or the Boko Haram insurgency.\n\nThe Arabs of the Maghreb are descendants of Arabian tribes of Banu Hilal, the Banu Sulaym and the Maqil native of Middle East and of other tribes native to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq. Arabs and Arabic-speakers inhabit plains and cities. The Banu Hilal spent almost a century in Egypt before moving to Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, and another century later some moved to Morocco, it is logical to think that they are mixed with inhabitants of Egypt and with Libya.\n", "The total number of Arabic speakers living in the Arab nations is estimated at 366 million by the CIA Factbook (as of 2014). The estimated number of Arabs in countries outside the Arab League is estimated at 17.5 million, yielding a total of close to 384 million.\n\n===Arab world===\nPopulation density of the Arab world in 2008.\nAccording to the Charter of the Arab League (also known as the ''Pact of the League of Arab States''), the League of Arab States is composed of independent Arab states that are signatories to the Charter.\n\nAlthough all Arab states have Arabic as an official language, there are many non-Arabic-speaking populations native to the Arab world. Among these are Berbers, Toubou, Nubians, Jews, Kurds, Armenians. Additionally, many Arab countries in the Persian Gulf have sizable non-Arab immigrant populations (10–30%). Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman have a Persian speaking minority. The same countries also have Hindi-Urdu speakers and Filipinos as sizable minority. Balochi speakers are a good size minority in Oman. Additionally, countries like Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Kuwait have significant non-Arab and non-Muslim minorities (10–20%) like Hindus and Christians from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines.\n\nThe table below shows the distribution of populations in the Arab world, as well as the official language(s) within the various Arab states.\n\n\nArab state\nPopulation\nOfficial language(s)\n\n \n 38,700,000 \n Arabic co-official language with Berber\n\n \n 1,314,089 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 780,971 \n Arabic co-official language with Comorian and French\n\n \n 810,179 \n Arabic co-official language with French\n\n \n 94,526,231 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 32,585,692 \n Arabic co-official language with Kurdish\n\n \n 9,531,712\n Arabic official language\n\n \n 4,156,306 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 5,882,562 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 6,244,174 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 3,516,806 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 32,987,206 \n Arabic co-official language with Berber\n\n \n 3,219,775 \n Arabic official language\n\n Palestine \n 4,550,368 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 2,123,160 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 27,345,986 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,428,043 \n Arabic co-official language with Somali\n\n \n 35,482,233 \n Arabic co-official language with English\n\n \n 17,951,639 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,937,521 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,102,678 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 26,052,966 \n Arabic official language\n\n\n=== Arab diaspora ===\n\nSyrian immigrants in New York City, as depicted in 1895.\nArab diaspora refers to descendants of the Arab immigrants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands in non-Arab countries, primarily in East Africa, South America, Europe, North America, and parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and West Africa. According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 13 million first-generation Arab migrants in the world, of which 5.8 million reside in Arab countries. Arab expatriates contribute to the circulation of financial and human capital in the region and thus significantly promote regional development. In 2009, Arab countries received a total of 35.1 billion USD in remittance in-flows and remittances sent to Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon from other Arab countries are 40 to 190 per cent higher than trade revenues between these and other Arab countries. The 250,000 strong Lebanese community in West Africa is the largest non-African group in the region. Arab traders have long operated in Southeast Asia and along the East Africa's Swahili coast. Zanzibar was once ruled by Omani Arabs. Most of the prominent Indonesians, Malaysians, and Singaporeans of Arab descent are Hadhrami people with origins in southern Yemen in the Hadramawt coastal region.\nAmel Bent, a France-born Maghrebi pop singer.\nThere are millions of Arabs living in Europe mostly concentrated in France (about 6,000,000 in 2005). Most Arabs in France are from the Maghreb but some also come from the Mashreq areas of the Arab world. Arabs in France form the second largest ethnic group after French people of French origin. Spain (about 800,000 to 1,600,000 – 1,800,000), there have been Arabs in Spain since the early 8th century when the Umayyad conquest of Hispania created the state of Al-Andalus. Germany (over 1,000,000), Italy (about 680,000), United Kingdom (366,769 to 500,000). Greece (250,000 to 750,000), In addition, Greece has people from Arab countries who have the status of refugees (e.g. refugees of the Syrian civil war) or illegal immigrants trying to immigrate to Western Europe. Sweden (210,400). Netherlands (180,000). Denmark (121,000). And in other European countries, such as Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. As of late 2015, Turkey had a population of 78.7 million, with Syrian refugees accounting for 3.1% of that figure based on conservative estimates. Demographic trends indicate that the country already had from 1,500,000 to more than 2,000,000, so Turkey's Arab constituency now numbers anywhere from 4.5 to 5.1% of the population. In other words, nearly 4–5 million Arab inhabitants.\nThe Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.\nArab immigration to the United States began in sizable numbers during the 1880s. Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.7 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country. Arab Americans are found in every state, but more than two thirds of them live in just ten states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Metropolitan Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York City are home to one-third of the population. Contrary to popular assumptions or stereotypes, the majority of Arab Americans are native-born, and nearly 82% of Arabs in the U.S. are citizens. Arabs immigrants began to arrive in Canada in small numbers in 1882. Their immigration was relatively limited until 1945, after which time it increased progressively, particularly in the 1960s and thereafter. According to the website \"Who are Arab Canadians,\" Montreal, the Canadian city with the largest Arab population, has approximately 267,000 Arab inhabitants.\n\nMichel Temer, the 37th and current President of Brazil, is of Lebanese descent.\nLatin America has the largest Arab population outside of the Arab World. Latin America is home to anywhere from 17–25 to 30 million people of Arab descent, which is more than any other diaspora region in the world. The Brazilian and Lebanese governments claim there are 7 million Brazilians of Lebanese descent. Also, the Brazilian government claims there are 4 million Brazilians of Syrian descent. According to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East. Other large Arab communities includes Argentina (about 4,500,000) The interethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. Venezuela (over 1,600,000), Colombia (over 1,600,000 to 3,200,000), a genetic study found that on average the Colombians have 8.5% genes from Middle East, Mexico (over 1,100,000), Chile (over 800,000), and Central America, particularly El Salvador, and Honduras (between 150,000 and 200,000). is the fourth largest in the world after those in Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. Arab Haitians (a large number of whom live in the capital) are more often than not, concentrated in financial areas where the majority of them establish businesses.\n\nGeorgia and the Caucasus in 1060, during the final decline of the emirate.\nIn 1728, a Russian officer described a group of Arab nomads who populated the Caspian shores of Mughan (in present-day Azerbaijan) and spoke a mixed Turkic-Arabic language. It is believed that these groups migrated to the Caucasus in the 16th century. The 1888 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica also mentioned a certain number of Arabs populating the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire. They retained an Arabic dialect at least into the mid-19th century, there are nearly 30 settlements still holding the name ''Arab'' (for example, Arabgadim, Arabojaghy, Arab-Yengija, etc.). From the time of the Arab conquest of the Caucasus, continuous small-scale Arab migration from various parts of the Arab world occurred in Dagestan. The majority of these lived in the village of Darvag, to the north-west of Derbent. The latest of these accounts dates to the 1930s. Most Arab communities in southern Dagestan underwent linguistic Turkicisation, thus nowadays Darvag is a majority-Azeri village. According to the ''History of Ibn Khaldun'', the Arabs that were once in Central Asia have been either killed or have fled the Tatar invasion of the region, leaving only the locals. However, today many people in Central Asia identify as Arabs. Most Arabs of Central Asia are fully integrated into local populations, and sometimes call themselves the same as locals (for example, Tajiks, Uzbeks) but they use special titles to show their Arab origin such as Sayyid, Khoja or Siddiqui.left\n\nThere are only two communities in India which self-identify as Arabs, the Chaush of the Deccan region and the Chavuse of Gujarat. These groups are largely descended from Hadhrami migrants who settled in these two regions in the 18th century. However, neither community still speaks Arabic, although the Chaush have seen re-immigration to the Arab States of the Persian Gulf and thus a re-adoption of Arabic. In South Asia, where Arab ancestry is considered prestigious, many communities have origin myths that claim Arab ancestry. These include the Mappilla of Kerala and the Labbai of Tamil Nadu. Among North Indian and Pakistani Arabs there are groups who claim the status of Sayyid and have origin myths that allege descent from the Prophet Mohammad. The South Asian Iraqi biradri may be considered Arabs because records of their ancestors who migrated from Iraq exist in historical documents. There are about 5,000,000 Native Indonesians with Arab ancestry. Arab Indonesians are mainly of Hadrami descent. The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.23% of the country's total population. Some sources trace the ancestry of the Sri Lankan Moors to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka at some time between the 8th and 15th centuries.\nBaggara belt.\nAfro-Arabs are individuals and groups from Africa who are of partial Arab descent. Most Afro-Arabs inhabit the Swahili Coast in the African Great Lakes region, although some can also be found in parts of the Arab world. Large numbers of Arabs migrated to West Africa, particularly Côte d'Ivoire (home to over 100,000 Lebanese), Senegal (roughly 30,000 Lebanese), Sierra Leone (roughly 10,000 Lebanese today; about 30,000 prior to the outbreak of civil war in 1991), Liberia, and Nigeria. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Lebanese traders have become re-established in Sierra Leone. The Arabs of Chad occupy northern Cameroon and Nigeria (where they are sometimes known as Shuwa), and extend as a belt across Chad and into Sudan, where they are called the Baggara grouping of Arab ethnic groups inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel. The Chadian Arabs are (2,391,000 to 2,500,000), Nigeria (289,000), Cameroon (171,000), Niger (150,000), and the Central African Republic (107,000).\n", "\nNemesis, Allāt and the dedicator.\nArabs are mostly Muslims with a Sunni majority and a Shia minority, one exception being the Ibadis, who predominate in Oman. Arab Christians generally follow Eastern Churches such as the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, though a minority of Protestant Church followers also exists; The Copts and the Maronites, follow the Coptic Church and Maronite Church accordingly. The Greek Catholic church and Maronite church are under the Pope of Rome, and a part of the larger worldwide Catholic Church. There are also Arab communities consisting of Druze and Baha'is.\n\nBefore the coming of Islam, most Arabs followed a pagan religion with a number of deities, including Hubal, Wadd, Allāt, Manat, and Uzza. A few individuals, the ''hanifs'', had apparently rejected polytheism in favor of monotheism unaffiliated with any particular religion. Some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism. The most prominent Arab Christian kingdoms were the Ghassanid and Lakhmid kingdoms. When the Himyarite king converted to Judaism in the late 4th century, the elites of the other prominent Arab kingdom, the Kindites, being Himyirite vassals, apparently also converted (at least partly). With the expansion of Islam, polytheistic Arabs were rapidly Islamized, and polytheistic traditions gradually disappeared.\n\nThe holiest place in Islam, the Kaaba, is located in Saudi Arabia.\nToday, Sunni Islam dominates in most areas, overwhelmingly so in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Shia Islam is dominant among the Arab population in Bahrain and southern Iraq while northern Iraq is mostly Sunni. Substantial Shia populations exist in Lebanon, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, northern Syria and the al-Batinah region in Oman. There are small numbers of Ibadi and non-denominational Muslims too. The Druze community is concentrated in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan. Many Druze claim independence from other major religions in the area and consider their religion more of a philosophy. Their books of worship are called Kitab Al Hikma (Epistles of Wisdom). They believe in reincarnation and pray to five messengers from God. In Israel, the Druze have a ''status aparte'' from the general Arab population, treated as a separate ethno-religious community.\n\nGreek Orthodox Church during a snow storm in Amman, Jordan.\nChristianity had a prominent presence In pre-Islamic Arabia among several Arab communities, including the Bahrani people of Eastern Arabia, the Christian community of Najran, in parts of Yemen, and among certain northern Arabian tribes such as the Ghassanids, Lakhmids, Taghlib, Banu Amela, Banu Judham, Tanukhids and Tayy. In the early Christian centuries, Arabia was sometimes known as ''Arabia heretica'', due to its being \"well known as a breeding-ground for heterodox interpretations of Christianity.\" Christians make up 5.5% of the population of Western Asia and North Africa. A sizeable share of those are Arab Christians proper, and affiliated Arabic-speaking populations of Copts and Maronites. In Lebanon, Christians number about 40.5% of the population. In Syria, Christians make up 10% of the population. In West Bank and in Gaza Strip, Christians make up 8% and 0.7% of the populations, respectively. In Egypt, Coptic Christians number about 10% of the population. In Iraq, Christians constitute 0.1% of the population. In Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1% (roughly 9% of the Arab population). Arab Christians make up 8% of the population of Jordan. Most North and South American Arabs are Christian, so are about half of the Arabs in Australia who come particularly from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. One well known member of this religious and ethnic community is Saint Abo, martyr and the patron saint of Tbilisi, Georgia. Arab Christians also live in holy Christian cities such as Nazareth, Bethlehem and the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and many other villages with holy Christian sites.\n", "\nArabic culture is the culture of Arab people, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea. Language, literature, gastronomy, art, architecture, music, spirituality, philosophy, mysticism (etc.) are all part of the cultural heritage of the Arabs.\n\nArabs share basic beliefs and values that cross national and social class boundaries. Social attitudes have remained constant because Arab society is more conservative and demands conformity from its members. It is important for Western observers to be able to identify and distinguish these cultural patterns from individual behaviors.\n\n=== Language ===\n\nArabic calligraphy.\nAnother important and unifying characteristic of Arabs is a common language. Arabic is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic Family. Evidence of its first use appears in accounts of wars in 853 BC. It also became widely used in trade and commerce. Arabic also is a liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations. It is revered as the language that God chose to reveal the Quran.\n\nArabic has developed into at least two distinct forms. Classical Arabic is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times (7th to 9th centuries). It is based on the medieval dialects of Arab tribes. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the direct descendant used today throughout the Arab world in writing and in formal speaking, for example, prepared speeches, some radio broadcasts, and non-entertainment content, while the lexis and stylistics of Modern Standard Arabic are different from Classical Arabic. Colloquial Arabic, an informal spoken language, varies by dialect from region to region; various forms of the language are in use today and provide an important force for Arab cohesion.\n\n=== Literature ===\n\nSelf portrait of renowned Lebanese poet/writer Khalil Gibran.\nThere is a small remnant of pre-Islamic poetry, but Arabic literature predominantly emerges in the Middle Ages, during the Golden Age of Islam. Literary Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, based on the language of the Quran as it was analyzed by Arabic grammarians beginning in the 8th century. A large portion of Arabic literature before the 20th century is in the form of poetry, and even prose from this period is either filled with snippets of poetry or is in the form of ''saj'' or rhymed prose.\nThe ''ghazal'' or love poem had a long history being at times tender and chaste and at other times rather explicit. In the Sufi tradition the love poem would take on a wider, mystical and religious importance. Arabic epic literature was much less common than poetry, and presumably originates in oral tradition, written down from the 14th century or so. Maqama or rhymed prose is intermediate between poetry and prose, and also between fiction and non-fiction. Maqama was an incredibly popular form of Arabic literature, being one of the few forms which continued to be written during the decline of Arabic in the 17th and 18th centuries.\nAn Abbasid-era Arabic manuscript.\nArabic literature and culture declined significantly after the 13th century, to the benefit of Turkish and Persian. A modern revival took place beginning in the 19th century, alongside resistance against Ottoman rule. The literary revival is known as ''al-Nahda'' in Arabic, and was centered in Egypt and Lebanon. Two distinct trends can be found in the ''nahda'' period of revival. The first was a neo-classical movement which sought to rediscover the literary traditions of the past, and was influenced by traditional literary genres—such as the ''maqama''—and works like ''One Thousand and One Nights''. In contrast, a modernist movement began by translating Western modernist works—primarily novels—into Arabic. A tradition of modern Arabic poetry was established by writers such as Francis Marrash, Ahmad Shawqi and Hafiz Ibrahim. Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab is considered to be the originator of free verse in Arabic poetry.\n\n=== Gastronomy ===\n\nA large plate of Mezes in Petra, Jordan.\nArabic cuisine is the cuisine of the Arab people. The cuisines are often centuries old and resemble and culture of great trading in spices, herbs, and foods. The three main regions, also known as the Maghreb, the Mashriq, and the Khaleej have many similarities, but also many unique traditions. These kitchens have been influenced by the climate, cultivating possibilities, as well as trading possibilities. The kitchens of the Maghreb and Levant are relatively young kitchens which were developed over the past centuries. The kitchen from the Khaleej region is a very old kitchen. The kitchens can be divided into the urban and rural kitchens.\n\nArab cuisine mostly follows one of three culinary traditions – from the Maghreb, the Levant or the Persian Gulf states. In the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) traditional main meals are tajines or dishes using couscous. In the Levant (Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) main meals usually start with mezze – small dishes of dips and other items which are eaten with bread. This is typically followed by skewers of grilled lamb or chicken. Gulf cuisine, tends to be more highly spiced with more use of rice. Sometimes a lamb is roasted and served whole.\n\nOne will find the following items on most dishes; Cinnamon, Fish (in coastal areas), Garlic, Lamb (or veal), Mild to hot sauces, Mint, Onion, Rice, Saffron, Sesame, Yogurt, Spices due to heavy trading between the two regions. Tea, Thyme (or oregano), Turmeric, Variety of fruits (primarily citrus), Variety of vegetables such as cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, green beans, zucchini and parsley.\n\n===Art===\n\nMosaic and arabesque on a wall of the Myrtle court in 218x218px\nArabic art takes on many forms, though it is jewelry, textiles and architecture that are the most well-known. It is generally split up by different eras, among them being early Arabic, early medieval, late medieval, late Arabic, and finally, current Arabic. One thing to remember is that many times a particular style from one era may continue into the next with few changes, while some have a drastic transformation. This may seem like a strange grouping of art mediums, but they are all closely related.\n\nArabic writing is done from right to left, and was generally written in dark inks, with certain things embellished with special colored inks (red, green, gold). In early Arabic and early Medieval, writing was typically done on parchment made of animal skin. The ink showed up very well on it, and occasionally the parchment was dyed a separate color and brighter ink was used (this was only for special projects). The name given to the form of writing in early times was called Kufic script.\n\nArabic miniatures are small paintings on paper, whether book illustrations or separate works of art. Arabic miniature art dates to the late 7th century. Arabs depended on such art not only to satisfy their artistic taste, but also for scientific explanations. Arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of \"surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils\" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is \"Foliate ornament, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems\". It usually consists of a single design which can be 'tiled' or seamlessly repeated as many times as desired.\n\n===Architecture===\n\nMosque-Cathedral of Cordóba, built by Abd al Rahman I in 987.\nArabic Architecture has a deep diverse history, it dates to the dawn of the history in pre-Islamic Arabia and includes various styles from the Nabataean architecture to the old yet still used architecture in various regions of the Arab world. Each of it phases largely\nan extension of the earlier phase, it left also heavy impact on the architecture of other nations. Arab Architecture also encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day. Some parts of its religious architectures raised by Muslim Arabs were influenced by cultures of Roman, Byzantine and cultures of other lands which the Arab conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries.\n\nIn Sicily, Arab-Norman architecture combined Occidental features, such as the Classical pillars and friezes, with typical Arabic decorations and calligraphy. The principal Islamic architectural types are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.\n\n=== Music ===\n\nBayad & Riyad'', Arabic tale.\nArabic music, while independent and flourishing in the 2010s, has a long history of interaction with many other regional musical styles and genres. It is an amalgam of the music of the Arab people in the Arabian Peninsula and the music of all the peoples that make up the Arab world today Pre-Islamic Arab music was similar to that of Ancient Middle Eastern music. Most historians agree that there existed distinct forms of music in the Arabian peninsula in the pre-Islamic period between the 5th and 7th century AD. Arab poets of that \"Jahili poets\", meaning \"the poets of the period of ignorance\"—used to recite poems with a high notes. It was believed that Jinns revealed poems to poets and music to musicians. By the 11th century, Islamic Iberia had become a center for the manufacture of instruments. These goods spread gradually throughout France, influencing French troubadours, and eventually reaching the rest of Europe. The English words lute, rebec, and naker are derived from Arabic oud, rabab, and naqareh.\n244x244px\nA number of musical instruments used in classical music are believed to have been derived from Arabic musical instruments: the lute was derived from the ''Oud'', the rebec (ancestor of violin) from the ''rebab'', the guitar from ''qitara'', which in turn was derived from the Persian Tar, naker from ''naqareh'', adufe from ''al-duff'', alboka from ''al-buq'', anafil from ''al-nafir'', exabeba from ''al-shabbaba'' (flute), atabal (bass drum) from ''al-tabl'', atambal from ''al-tinbal'', the balaban, the castanet from ''kasatan'', sonajas de azófar from ''sunuj al-sufr'', the conical bore wind instruments, the xelami from the ''sulami'' or ''fistula'' (flute or musical pipe),\nthe shawm and dulzaina from the reed instruments ''zamr'' and ''al-zurna'', the gaita from the ''ghaita'', rackett from ''iraqya'' or ''iraqiyya'', geige (violin) from ''ghichak'',\nand the theorbo from the ''tarab''.\n\nDuring the 1950s and the 1960s, Arabic music began to take on a more Western tone – artists Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez along with composers Mohamed Abd al-Wahab and Baligh Hamdi pioneered the use of western instruments in Egyptian music. By the 1970s several other singers had followed suit and a strand of Arabic pop was born. Arabic pop usually consists of Western styled songs with Arabic instruments and lyrics. Melodies are often a mix between Eastern and Western. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Lydia Canaan, musical pioneer widely regarded as the first rock star of the Middle East\n\n=== Spirituality ===\n\nAl-‘Uzzá was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion.\nArab polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on veneration of deities and other rituals. Gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt, were worshipped at local shrines, such as the Kaaba in Mecca, whilst Arabs in the south, in what is today's Yemen, worshipped various gods, some of which represented the Sun or Moon. Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion. Many of the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols, especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them. Until about the fourth century, almost all Arabs practised polytheistic religions. Although significant Jewish and Christian minorities developed, polytheism remained the dominant belief system in pre-Islamic Arabia.\n\nThe religious beliefs and practices of the nomadic bedouin were distinct from those of the settled tribes of towns such as Mecca. Nomadic religious belief systems and practices are believed to have included fetishism, totemism and veneration of the dead but were connected principally with immediate concerns and problems and did not consider larger philosophical questions such as the afterlife. Settled urban Arabs, on the other hand, are thought to have believed in a more complex pantheon of deities. While the Meccans and the other settled inhabitants of the Hejaz worshipped their gods at permanent shrines in towns and oases, the bedouin practised their religion on the move.\n\n=== Philosophy ===\n\nAverroes, founder of the Averroism school of philosophy, was influential in the rise of secular thought in Western Europe.|left\nAndalusian mystic and philosopher 236x236px\nArabic philosophy refers to philosophical thought in the Arab world. Schools of Arabic thought include Avicennism and Averroism. The first great Arab thinker is widely regarded to be al-Kindi (801–873 A.D.), a Neo-Platonic philosopher, mathematician and scientist who lived in Kufa and Baghdad (modern day Iraq). After being appointed by the Abbasid Caliphs to translate Greek scientific and philosophical texts into Arabic, he wrote a number of original treatises of his own on a range of subjects, from metaphysics and ethics to mathematics and pharmacology.\n\nMuch of his philosophical output focuses on theological subjects such as the nature of God, the soul and prophetic knowledge. Doctrines of the Arabic philosophers of the 9th–12th century who influenced medieval Scholasticism in Europe. The Arabic tradition combines Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam. Influential thinkers include the Persians al-Farabi and Avicenna. The Arabic philosophic literature was translated into Hebrew and Latin, this contributed to the development of modern European philosophy. The Arabic tradition was developed by Moses Maimonides and Ibn Khaldun.\n\n=== Science ===\n\nA giraffe from ''Kitāb al-ḥayawān'' (''Book of the Animals'') by the 9th century Arab naturalist Al-Jahiz\nArabic science underwent remarkable development during the 8th to 13th centuries C.E., a flowering of knowledge and intellect that later spread throughout Europe and greatly influenced both medical practice and education. The scientific glory of the Arabic nation originated on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century C.E., where the preaching of the prophet Mohammed united the Arab tribes and inaugurated the Muslim religion.\nAlbategnius's ''Kitāb az-Zīj'' was one of the most influential books in medieval astronomy.\nWithin a century after Mohammed's death (632 C.E.), an empire ruled by Arabs was established. It encompassed a large part of the planet, stretching from southern Europe to North Africa to Central Asia and on to India. In 711 C.E., Arab Muslims invaded southern Spain and a center of flourishing civilization (al-Andalus) was created. Another center emerged in Baghdad from the Abbasids, who ruled part of the Islamic world during a historic period later characterized as the \"Golden Age\" (∼750 to 1258 C.E.).\nThe Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154, is one of the most advanced ancient world maps. Modern consolidation, created from the 70 double-page spreads of the original atlas.\nThis era can be identified as the years between 692 and 945, and ended when the caliphate was marginalized by local Muslim rulers in Baghdad – its traditional seat of power. From 945 onward until the sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, the Caliph continued on as a figurehead, with power devolving more to local amirs. The pious scholars of Islam, men and women collectively known as the ulama, were the most influential element of society in the fields of Sharia law, speculative thought and theology. Arabic scientific achievement is not as yet fully understood, but is very large. These achievements encompass a wide range of subject areas, especially mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Other subjects of scientific inquiry included physics, alchemy and chemistry, cosmology, ophthalmology, geography and cartography, sociology, and psychology. Also the birth of the University institution can be traced to this development.\n\nAl-Jahiz (born 776, in Basra – December 868/January 869) was an Arab prose writer and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics. A leading scholar in the Abassid Caliphate, his canon includes two hundred books on various subjects, including Arabic grammar, zoology, poetry, lexicography, and rhetoric. Of his writings, only thirty books survive. Al-Jāḥiẓ was also one of the first Arabian writers to suggest a complete overhaul of the language's grammatical system, though this would not be undertaken until his fellow linguist Ibn Maḍāʾ took up the matter two hundred years later.\n\nAl-Battani (c. 858 – 929; born Harran, Bilad al-Sham) was an Arab astronomer, astrologer and mathematician of the Islamic Golden Age. His work is considered instrumental in the development of science and astronomy. One of Al-Battani's best-known achievements in astronomy was the determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds which is only 2 minutes and 22 seconds off. \n\n=== Wedding and marriage ===\n\nHenna tattoo in Morocco.\nArabic weddings have changed greatly in the past 100 years. Original traditional Arabic weddings are supposed to be very similar to modern-day Bedouin weddings and rural weddings, and they are in some cases unique from one region to another, even within the same country. it must be mentioned that what some people today call \"Bedouin\" wedding is in fact the original true traditional Arab Islamic wedding without foreign influence. The practice of marrying of relatives is a common feature of Arab culture. Among Arabs the practice of marrying of relatives is a common feature.\n\nIn the Arab world today between 40% and 50% of all marriages are consanguineous or between close family members, though these figures may vary among Arab nations. In Egypt, around 40% of the population marry a cousin. A 1992 survey in Jordan found that 32% were married to a first cousin; a further 17.3% were married to more distant relatives. 67% of marriages in Saudi Arabia are between close relatives as are 54% of all marriages in Kuwait, whereas 18% of all Lebanese were between blood relatives. Due to the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, marriage between cousins is explicitly allowed in Islam and the Qur'an itself does not discourage or forbid the practice. Nevertheless, opinions vary on whether the phenomenon should be seen as exclusively based on Islamic practices as a 1992 study among Arabs in Jordan did not show significant differences between Christian Arabs or Muslim Arabs when comparing the occurrence of consanguinity.\n", "\nE1b1b is the most frequent paternal clade among the populations in the western part of the Arab world (Maghreb, Nile Valley and Horn of Africa), whereas haplogroup J is the most frequent paternal clade toward the east (Arabian peninsula and Near East). Other less common haplogroups are R1a, R1b, G, I, L and T.\n\n\nListed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Arabian peninsula, Mashriq/Levant, Maghreb and Nile Valley. Yemeni Arabs J (82.3%), E1b1b (12.9%) and E1b1a (3.2%). Saudi Arabs J1 (58%), E1b1b (7.6%), E1b1a (7.6%), R1a (5.1%), T (5.1%), G (3.2%) and L (1.9%). Emirati Arabs J (45.1%), E1b1b (11.6%), R1a (7.3%), E1b1a (5.5%), T (4.9%), R1b (4.3%) and L (3%). Omani Arabs J (47.9%), E1b1b (15.7%), R1a (9.1%), T (8.3%), E1b1a (7.4%), R1b (1.7%), G (1.7%) and L (0.8%). Qatari Arabs J (66.7%), R1a (6.9%), E1b1b (5.6%), E1b1a (2.8%), G (2.8%) and L (2.8%). Lebanese Arabs J (45.2%), E1b1b (25.8%), R1a (9.7%), R1b (6.4%), G, I and I (3.2%), (3.2%), (3.2%). Syrian Arabs J (58.3%), E1b1b (12.0%), I (5.0%), R1a (10.0%) and R1b 15.0%. Palestinian Arabs J (55.2%), E1b1b (20.3%), R1b (8.4%), I (6.3%), G (7%), R1a and T (1.4%), (1.4%). Jordanian Arabs J (43.8%), E1b1b (26%), R1b (17.8%), G (4.1%), I (3.4%) and R1a (1.4%). Iraqi Arabs J (50.6%), E1b1b (10.8%), R1b (10.8%), R1a (6.9%) and T (5.9%). Egyptian Arabs E1b1b (36.7%) and J (32%), G (8.8%), T (8.2% R1b (4.1%), E1b1a (2.8%) and I (0.7%). Sudanese Arabs J (47.1%), E1b1b (16.3%), R1b (15.7%) and I (3.13%). Moroccan Arabs E1b1b (75.5%) and J1 (20.4%). Tunisian Arabs E1b1b (49.3%), J1 (35.8%), R1b (6.8%) and E1b1a (1.4%). Algerian Arabs E1b1b (54%), J1 (35%), R1b (13%). Libyan Arabs E1b1b (35.88%), J (30.53%), E1b1a (8.78%), G (4.20%), R1a/R1b (3.43%) and E (1.53%).\n\nThe mtDNA haplogroup J has been observed at notable frequencies among overall populations in the Arab world. The maternal clade R0 reaches its highest frequency in the Arabian peninsula, while K and T(specifically subclade T2) is more common in the Levant. In the Nile Valley and Horn of Africa, haplogroups N1 and M1; in the Maghreb, haplogroups H1 and U6 are more significant.\n\nThere are four principal West Eurasian autosomal DNA components that characterize the populations in the Arab world: the Arabian, Levantine, Coptic and Maghrebi components.\n\nThe Arabian component is the main autosomal element in the Persian Gulf region. It is most closely associated with local Arabic-speaking populations. The Arabian component is also found at significant frequencies in parts of the Levant and Northeast Africa. The geographical distribution pattern of this component correlates with the pattern of the Islamic expansion, but its presence in Lebanese Christians, Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, Cypriots and Armenians might suggest that its spread to the Levant could also represent an earlier event.\n\nThe Levantine component is the main autosomal element in the Near East and Caucasus. It peaks among Druze populations in the Levant. The Levantine component diverged from the Arabian component about 15,500–23,700 ypb.\n\nThe Coptic component is the main autosomal element in Northeast Africa. It peaks among Egyptian Copts in Sudan, and is also found at high frequencies among other Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in the Nile Valley and Horn of Africa. The Coptic component is roughly equivalent with the Ethio-Somali component.\n\nThe Maghrebi component is the main autosomal element in the Maghreb. It peaks among the non-Arabized Berber populations in the region. The Maghrebi component diverged from the Coptic/Ethio-Somali, Arabian and Levantine components prior to the Holocene.\n", "* Arab Union\n* Arab world\n* Lists of Arab companies\n* North African Arabs\n", ";Notes\n\n\n\n;Bibliography\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Touma, Habib Hassan. ''The Music of the Arabs''. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus P, 1996. .\n* Lipinski, Edward. ''Semitic Languages: Outlines of a Comparative Grammar'', 2nd ed., Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta: Leuven 2001\n* Kees Versteegh, ''The Arabic Language'', Edinburgh University Press (1997)\n* The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, 1907, Online Edition, K. Night 2003: article Arabia\n* History of Arabic language(1894), Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.\n* The Arabic language, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education web page (2006)\n* \n* Hooker, Richard. \"Pre-Islamic Arabic Culture.\" WSU Web Site. 6 June 1999. Washington State University.\n* Owen, Roger. \"State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East 3rd Ed\" Page 57 \n* \n\n", "*Price-Jones, David. ''The Closed Circle: an Interpretation of the Arabs''. Pbk. ed., with a new preface by the author. Chicago: I. R. Dee, 2002. xiv, 464 p. \n*Ankerl, Guy. ''Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western.'' INU PRESS, Geneva, 2000. .\n", "\n* www.LasPortal.org\n* ArabCultureFund AFAC\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]

[ "Introduction", "Etymology", "History", "Identity", "Subgroups", "Demographics", " Religion ", "Culture", "Genetics", " See also ", "References", "Further reading", "External links" ]

[ "In West Bank and in Gaza Strip, Christians make up 8% and 0.7% of the populations, respectively." ]

[ "\n\n\n'''Arabs''' (; ISO 233 , Arabic pronunciation ), are a population inhabiting the Arab world.", "They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and western Indian Ocean islands.", "They also form a significant diaspora, with Arab communities established around the world.", "The Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BC as tribal people in eastern and southern Syria, and the north of the Arabian Peninsula.", "The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–612 BC), and the succeeding Neo-Babylonian (626–539 BC), Achaemenid (539–332 BC), Seleucid and Parthian empires.", "Arab tribes, most notably the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, begin to appear in the southern Syrian Desert from the mid 3rd century CE onward, during the mid to later stages of the Roman and Sasanian empires.", "Tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham.", "The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of \"Arab\", as well other Arab groups that spread in the land and existed for millennia.", "Before the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), \"Arab\" referred to any of the largely nomadic and settled Semitic people from the Arabian Peninsula, Syrian Desert, North and Lower Mesopotamia.", "Today, \"Arab\" refers to a large number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to the spread of Arabs and the Arabic language throughout the region during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries and the subsequent Arabisation of indigenous populations.", "The Arabs forged the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750) and the Abbasid (750–1258) caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and the Sudan in the south.", "This was one of the largest land empires in history.", "In the early 20th century, the First World War signalled the end of the Ottoman Empire; which had ruled much of the Arab world since conquering the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517.", "This resulted in the defeat and dissolution of the empire and the partition of its territories, forming the modern Arab states.", "Following the adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945.", "The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the individual sovereignty of its member states.", "Today, Arabs primarily inhabit the 22 Arab states within the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.", "The Arab world stretches around 13 million km2, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast.", "Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora.", "The ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political.", "The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports and mythology.", "The total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million.", "This makes them the world's second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese.", "Arabs are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices.", "In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions.", "Some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the ''hanifs'', apparently observed monotheism.", "Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities.", "Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations.", "Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic or Chaldean churches.", "Other smaller minority religions are followed, such as the Bahá'í Faith, Sabianism, Bábism and Mandaeism.", "\nArabic epitaph of Imru' al-Qais, son of 'Amr, king of all the Arabs\", inscribed in Nabataean script.", "Basalt, dated in 7 Kislul, 223, viz.", "December 7, 328 AD.", "Found at Nemara in the Hauran (Southern Syria).", "The earliest documented use of the word \"Arab\" to refer to a people appears in the Kurkh Monoliths, an Akkadian language record of the ninth century BC Assyrian conquest of Aram, which referred to Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula under King Gindibu, who fought as part of a coalition opposed to Assyria.", "Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of \"Gi-in-di-bu'u the ar-ba-a-a\" or \"the man Gindibu belonging to the ''Arab'' (''ar-ba-a-a'' being an adjectival nisba of the noun ''ʿarab'').", "The related word ''ʾaʿrāb'' is still used to refer to Bedouins today, in contrast to ''ʿarab'' which refers to Arabs in general.", "Traditional Qahtanite genealogy.", "The oldest surviving indication of an Arab national identity is an inscription made in an archaic form of Arabic in 328 using the Nabataean alphabet, which refers to Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr as \"King of all the Arabs\".", "Herodotus refers to the Arabs in the Sinai, southern Palestine, and the frankincense region (Southern Arabia).", "Other ancient Greek historians like Agatharchides, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo mention Arabs living in Mesopotamia (along the Euphrates), in Egypt (the Sinai and the Red Sea), southern Jordan (the Nabataeans), the Syrian steppe and in eastern Arabia (the people of Gerrha).", "Inscriptions dating to the 6th century BCE in Yemen include the term \"Arab\".", "The most popular Arab account holds that the word \"Arab\" came from an eponymous father called Ya'rub who was supposedly the first to speak Arabic.", "Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani had another view; he states that Arabs were called '''Gharab''' (\"West\") by Mesopotamians because Bedouins originally resided to the west of Mesopotamia; the term was then corrupted into \"Arab\".", "Yet another view is held by al-Masudi that the word \"Arabs\" was initially applied to the Ishmaelites of the \"Arabah\" valley.", "In Biblical etymology, \"Arab\" (in Hebrew ''Arvi'' ) comes both from the desert origin of the Bedouins it originally described (''Arava'' means wilderness).", "The root ''ʿ-r-b'' has several additional meanings in Semitic languages—including \"west/sunset,\" \"desert,\" \"mingle,\" \"mixed,\" \"merchant,\" and \"raven\"—and are \"comprehensible\" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to the emergence of the name.", "It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from \"moving around\" (Arabic \"traverse\"), and hence, it is alleged, \"nomadic.\"", "\n\n===Pre-Islamic===\n\nA drawing of the Kaaba's black stone in fragmented form, front and side illustrations.", "Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabian Peninsula prior to the rise of Islam in the 630s.", "The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.", "Some of the settled communities in the Arabian Peninsula developed into distinctive civilizations.", "Sources for these civilizations are not extensive, and are limited to archaeological evidence, accounts written outside of Arabia, and Arab oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars.", "Among the most prominent civilizations was Dilmun, which arose around the 4th millennium BC and lasted to 538 BC, and Thamud, which arose around the 1st millennium BC and lasted to about 300 CE.", "Additionally, from the beginning of the first millennium BC, Southern Arabia was the home to a number of kingdoms, such as the Sabaean kingdom, and the coastal areas of Eastern Arabia were controlled by the Parthian and Sassanians from 300 BC.", "====Origins and early history====\n\nAccording to Arab-Islamic-Jewish traditions, Ishmael was father of the Arabs, to be the ancestor of the Ishmaelites.", "The first written attestation of the ethnonym ''Arab'' occurs in an Assyrian inscription of 853 BCE, where Shalmaneser III lists a King Gindibu of ''mâtu arbâi'' (Arab land) as among the people he defeated at the Battle of Karkar.", "Some of the names given in these texts are Aramaic, while others are the first attestations of Ancient North Arabian dialects.", "In fact several different ethnonyms are found in Assyrian texts that are conventionally translated \"Arab\": ''Arabi, Arubu, Aribi'' and ''Urbi''.", "Many of the Qedarite queens were also described as queens of the ''aribi''.", "The Hebrew Bible occasionally refers to ''Aravi'' peoples (or variants thereof), translated as \"Arab\" or \"Arabian.\"", "The scope of the term at that early stage is unclear, but it seems to have referred to various desert-dwelling Semitic tribes in the Syrian Desert and Arabia.", "Arab tribes came into conflict with the Assyrians during the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, and he records military victories against the powerful Qedar tribe among others.", "Old Arabic diverges from Central Semitic by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.Nabataean trade routes in Pre-Islamic Arabia.", "Medieval Arab genealogists divided Arabs into three groups:\n# \"Ancient Arabs\", tribes that had vanished or been destroyed, such as ʿĀd and Thamud, often mentioned in the Qur'an as examples of God's power to vanquish those who fought his prophets.", "# \"Pure Arabs\" of South Arabia, descending from Qahtan.", "The Qahtanites (Qahtanis) are said to have migrated from the land of Yemen following the destruction of the Ma'rib Dam (''sadd Ma'rib'').", "# The \"Arabized Arabs\" (''mustaʿribah'') of Central Arabia (Najd) and North Arabia, descending from Ishmael the elder son of Abraham, through Adnan (hence, Adnanites).", "The Book of Genesis narrates that God promised Hagar to beget from Ishmael twelve princes and turn him to a great nation.", "() The Book of Jubilees claims that the sons of Ishmael intermingled with the 6 sons of Keturah, from Abraham, and their descendants were called Arabs and Ishmaelites:\n\n\nAssyrian horsemen pursue defeated Arabs.", "Assyrian and Babylonian Royal Inscriptions and North Arabian inscriptions from 9th to 6th century B.C.E, mention the king of Qedar as king of the Arabs and King of the Ishmaelites.", "Of the names of the sons of Ishmael the names \"Nabat, Kedar, Abdeel, Dumah, Massa, and Teman\" were mentioned in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions as tribes of the Ishmaelites.", "Jesur was mentioned in Greek inscriptions in the First Century B.C.E\nLife-size bronze bust sculpture of Ibn Khaldun.", "Ibn Khaldun's ''Muqaddima'' distinguishes between sedentary Arabian Muslims who used to be nomadic, and Bedouin nomadic Arabs of the desert.", "He used the term \"formerly nomadic\" Arabs and refers to sedentary Muslims by the region or city they lived in, as in Yemenis.", "The Christians of Italy and the Crusaders preferred the term Saracens for all the Arabs and Muslims of that time.", "The Christians of Iberia used the term Moor to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time.", "Muslims of Medina referred to the nomadic tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds.", "The term \"A'raab\" mirrors the term Assyrians used to describe the closely related nomads they defeated in Syria.", "The Qur'an does not use the word '''', only the nisba adjective ''''.", "The Qur'an calls itself '''', \"Arabic\", and '''', \"clear\".", "The two qualities are connected for example in ayat 43.2–3, \"By the ''clear'' Book: We have made it an ''Arabic'' recitation in order that you may understand\".", "The Qur'an became regarded as the prime example of the '''', the language of the Arabs.", "The term ''ʾiʿrāb'' has the same root and refers to a particularly clear and correct mode of speech.", "The plural noun '''' refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who resisted Muhammad, for example in ''at-Tawba'' 97,\n\n'''' \"the Bedouin are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy\".", "Based on this, in early Islamic terminology, '''' referred to the language, and '''' to the Arab Bedouins, carrying a negative connotation due to the Qur'anic verdict just cited.", "But after the Islamic conquest of the eighth century, the language of the nomadic Arabs became regarded as the most pure by the grammarians following Abi Ishaq, and the term , \"language of the Arabs\", denoted the uncontaminated language of the Bedouins.", "====Classical kingdoms====\n\n Façade of Al Khazneh in Petra, Jordan, built by the Nabateans.", "Proto-Arabic, or Ancient North Arabian, texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence.", "The earliest are written in variants of epigraphic south Arabian ''musnad'' script, including the 8th century BCE Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the 6th century BCE Lihyanite texts of southeastern Saudi Arabia and the Thamudic texts found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai (not in reality connected with Thamud).", "The Nabataeans were nomadic who moved into territory vacated by the Edomites – Semites who settled the region centuries before them.", "Their early inscriptions were in Aramaic, but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic.", "The Nabataean alphabet was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century.", "This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in Nabataean inscriptions.", "From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered ''proto-Arabic'', but ''pre-classical Arabic''.", "Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi, one of which dates to the 2nd century CE.", "The ruins of Palmyra.", "The Palmyrenes were a mix of Arabs, Amorites and Arameans.", "Arabs arrived in the Palmyra in the late first millennium BC.", "The soldiers of the sheikh Zabdibel, who aided the Seleucids in the battle of Raphia (217 BC), were described as Arabs; Zabdibel and his men were not actually identified as Palmyrenes in the texts, but the name \"Zabdibel\" is a Palmyrene name leading to the conclusion that the sheikh hailed from Palmyra.", "Palmyra was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate after its 634 capture by the Arab general Khalid ibn al-Walid, who took the city on his way to Damascus; an 18-day march by his army through the Syrian Desert from Mesopotamia.", "By then Palmyra was limited to the Diocletian camp.", "After the conquest, the city became part of Homs Province.", "Fragment of a wall painting showing a Kindite king, 1st century CE.", "Palmyra prospered as part of the Umayyad Caliphate, and its population grew.", "It was a key stop on the East-West trade route, with a large ''souq'' (market), built by the Umayyads, who also commissioned part of the Temple of Bel as a mosque.", "During this period, Palmyra was a stronghold of the Banu Kalb tribe.", "After being defeated by Marwan II during a civil war in the caliphate, Umayyad contender Sulayman ibn Hisham fled to the Banu Kalb in Palmyra, but eventually pledged allegiance to Marwan in 744; Palmyra continued to oppose Marwan until the surrender of the Banu Kalb leader al-Abrash al-Kalbi in 745.", "That year, Marwan ordered the city's walls demolished.", "In 750 a revolt, led by Majza'a ibn al-Kawthar and Umayyad pretender Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani, against the new Abbasid Caliphate swept across Syria; the tribes in Palmyra supported the rebels.", "After his defeat Abu Muhammad took refuge in the city, which withstood an Abbasid assault long enough to allow him to escape.", "====Late kingdoms====\n\nNear East in 565, showing the Lakhmids and their neighbors.", "The Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Kindites were the last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north.", "The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized Syria, the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples.", "They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon, Palestine and East Jordan.", "The imperial province of Arabia Petraea in 117–138 CE.", "Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi.", "The Romans called Yemen \"Arabia Felix\".", "The Romans called the vassal nomadic states within the Roman Empire ''Arabia Petraea'', after the city of Petra, and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east Arabia Magna.", "The Lakhmids as a dynasty inherited their power from the Tanukhids, the mid Tigris region around their capital Al-Hira.", "They ended up allying with the Sassanids against the Ghassanids and the Byzantine Empire.", "The Lakhmids contested control of the Central Arabian tribes with the Kindites with the Lakhmids eventually destroying Kinda in 540 after the fall of their main ally Himyar.", "The Persian Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control.", "The Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais Rabi'a tribe.", "They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with the Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arabia from \"Qaryah Dhat Kahl\" (the present-day called Qaryat al-Faw).", "They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula, until they were destroyed by the Lakhmid king Al-Mundhir, and his son 'Amr.", "===Islamic===\n\nAge of the Caliphs \n\n====Arab Caliphates====\n\n=====Rashidun Era (632–661)=====\n\nAfter the death of Muhammad in 632, Rashidun armies launched campaigns of conquest, establishing the Caliphate, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history.", "It was larger and lasted longer than the previous Arab empire of Queen Mawia or the Aramean-Arab Palmyrene Empire.", "The Rashidun state was a completely new state and unlike the Arab kingdoms of its century such as the Himyarite, Lakhmids or Ghassanids.", "=====Umayyad Era (661–750 & 756–1031)=====\n\nThe Great Mosque of Kairouan in Kairouan, Tunisia was founded in 670 by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi; it is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb and represents an architectural testimony of the Arab conquest of North Africa.", "The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, built in 715, is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved mosques in the world.", "In 661, the Rashidun Caliphate fell into the hands of the Umayyad dynasty and Damascus was established as the empire's capital.", "The Umayyads were proud of their Arab identity and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia.", "They established garrison towns at Ramla, Raqqa, Basra, Kufa, Mosul and Samarra, all of which developed into major cities.", "Caliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic as the Caliphate's official language in 686.", "This reform greatly influenced the conquered non-Arab peoples and fueled the Arabization of the region.", "However, the Arabs' higher status among non-Arab Muslim converts and the latter's obligation to pay heavy taxes caused resentment.", "Caliph Umar II strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717.", "He rectified the disparity, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals, but his intended reforms did not take effect, as he died after only three years of rule.", "By now, discontent with the Umayyads swept the region and an uprising occurred in which the Abbasids came to power and moved the capital to Baghdad.", "The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, constructed during the reign of Abd al Malik.", "Umayyads expanded their Empire westwards capturing North Africa from the Byzantines.", "Before the Arab conquest, North Africa was conquered or settled by various people including Punics, Vandals and Romans.", "After the Abbasid Revolution, the Umayyads lost most of their territories with the exception of Iberia.", "Their last holding became known as the Emirate of Córdoba.", "It wasn't until the rule of the grandson of the founder of this new emirate that the state entered a new phase as the Caliphate of Córdoba.", "This new state was characterized by an expansion of trade, culture and knowledge, and saw the construction of masterpieces of al-Andalus architecture and the library of Al-Ḥakam II which housed over 400,000 volumes.", "With the collapse of the Umayyad state in 1031 AD, Islamic Spain was divided into small kingdoms.", "===== Abbassid Era (750–1258 & 1261–1517) =====\n\nMustansiriya University in Baghdad.", "Scholars at an Abbasid library in Baghdad.", "Maqamat of al-Hariri Illustration, 1237.", "The Abbasids were the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan.", "The Abbasids led a revolt against the Umayyads and defeated them in the Battle of the Zab effectively ending their rule in all parts of the Empire with the exception of al-Andalus.", "In 762, the second Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad and declared it the capital of the Caliphate.", "Unlike the Umayyads, the Abbasids had the support of non-Arab subjects.", "The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad.", "The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as \"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs\" stressing the value of knowledge.", "During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the \"House of Wisdom\" () in Baghdad.", "Rival dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad.", "Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation sent by Charlemagne.", "The Abbasids ruled for 200 years before they lost their central control when Wilayas began to fracture in the 10th century; afterwards, in the 1190s, there was a revival of their power, which was ended by the Mongols, who conquered Baghdad in 1258 and killed the Caliph Al-Musta'sim.", "Members of the Abbasid royal family escaped the massacre and resorted to Cairo, which had broken from the Abbasid rule two years earlier; the Mamluk generals taking the political side of the kingdom while Abbasid Caliphs were engaged in civil activities and continued patronizing science, arts and literature.", "=====Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171)=====\n\nThe Al-Azhar Mosque, commissioned by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Mu'izz for the newly established capital city of Cairo in 970.", "The Fatimid caliphate was founded by al-Mahdi Billah, a descendant of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, in the early 10th century.", "Egypt was the political, cultural, and religious centre of the Fatimid empire.", "The Fatimid state took shape among the Kutama Berbers, in the West of the North African littoral, in Algeria, in 909 conquering Raqqada, the Aghlabid capital.", "In 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital.", "In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, and in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate.", "Intellectual life in Egypt during the Fatimid period achieved great progress and activity, due to many scholars who lived in or came to Egypt, as well as the number of books available.", "Fatimid Caliphs gave prominent positions to scholars in their courts, encouraged students, and established libraries in their palaces, so that scholars might expand their knowledge and reap benefits from the work of their predecessors.", "The Fatimids were also known for their exquisite arts.", "Many traces of Fatimid architecture exist in Cairo today; the most defining examples include the Al-Hakim Mosque and the Al-Azhar University.", "ivory plaque, 11th–12th century, Egypt\nIt was not until the 11th century that the Maghreb saw a large influx of ethnic Arabs.", "Starting with the 11th century, the Arab bedouin Banu Hilal tribes migrated to the West.", "Having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Berber Zirids for abandoning Shias, they travelled westwards.", "The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids.", "According to some modern historians.", "their influx was a major factor in the arabization of the Maghreb.", "Although Berbers ruled the region until the 16th century (under such powerful dynasties as the Almoravids, the Almohads, Hafsids, etc.", "), the arrival of these tribes eventually helped Arabize much of it ethnically, in addition to the linguistic and political impact on local non-Arabs.", "====Ottoman Empire====\n\nSoldiers of the Arab Army in the Arabian Desert carrying the Flag of the Arab Revolt.", "From 1517 to 1918, much of the Arab world was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire.", "The Ottomans defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo, and ended the Abbasid Caliphate.", "Arabs did not feel the change of administration because the Ottomans modeled their rule after the previous Arab administration systems.", "In 1911, Arab intellectuals and politicians from throughout the Levant formed al-Fatat (\"the Young Arab Society\"), a small Arab nationalist club, in Paris.", "Its stated aim was \"raising the level of the Arab nation to the level of modern nations.\"", "In the first few years of its existence, al-Fatat called for greater autonomy within a unified Ottoman state rather than Arab independence from the empire.", "Al-Fatat hosted the Arab Congress of 1913 in Paris, the purpose of which was to discuss desired reforms with other dissenting individuals from the Arab world.", "However, as the Ottoman authorities cracked down on the organization's activities and members, al-Fatat went underground and demanded the complete independence and unity of the Arab provinces.", "After World War I, when the Ottoman Empire was overthrown by the British Empire, former Ottoman colonies were divided up between the British and French as League of Nations mandates.", "===Modern===\nArabs in modern times live in the Arab world, which comprises 22 countries in Western Asia, North Africa, and parts of the Horn of Africa.", "They are all modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922).", "\nArab identity is defined independently of religious identity, and pre-dates the spread of Islam, with historically attested Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes.", "Today, however, most Arabs are Muslim, with a minority adhering to other faiths, largely Christianity, but also Druze and Baha'i.", "Near East in 565, showing the Ghassanids, Lakhmids, Kindah and Hejaz.", "Today, the main unifying characteristic among Arabs is Arabic, a Central Semitic language from the Afroasiatic language family.", "Modern Standard Arabic serves as the standardized and literary variety of Arabic used in writing.", "The Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula subjugated by Upper Mesopotamia-based state of Assyria.", "The Arabs appear to have remained largely under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), and then the succeeding Neo-Babylonian Empire (605–539 BC), Persian Achaemenid Empire (539–332 BC), Greek Macedonian/Seleucid Empire and Parthian Empire.", "Arab tribes, most notably the Ghassanids and Lakhmids begin to appear in the south Syrian deserts and southern Jordan from the mid 3rd century AD onwards, during the mid to later stages of the Roman Empire and Sasanian Empire.", "The Nabataeans of Jordan appear to have been an Aramaic speaking ethnic mix of Canaanites, Arameans and Arabs.", "Thus, although a more limited diffusion of Arab culture and language was felt in some areas by these migrant minority Arabs in ''pre-Islamic'' times through Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes, it was only after the rise of Islam in the mid-7th century that Arab culture, people and language began their wholesale spread from the central Arabian Peninsula (including the south Syrian desert) through conquest and trade.", "\nApproximate locations of certain tribes of Arabia, including those descended from Adnan, Hawazin and Quraysh at the dawn of Islam, 600 AD.", "Arabs in the narrow sense are the indigenous Arabians who trace their roots back to the tribes of Arabia and their immediate descendant groups in the Levant and North Africa.", "Within the people of the Arabian Peninsula, distinction is made between:\nPerishing Arabs () are ancient tribes of whose history little is known.", "They include ‘Aad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, Imlaq and others.", "Jadis and Tasm perished because of genocide.", "'Aad and Thamud perished because of their decadence, as recorded in the Qur'an.", "Archaeologists have recently uncovered inscriptions that contain references to 'Iram, which was a major city of the 'Aad.", "Imlaq is the singular form of 'Amaleeq and is probably synonymous to the biblical Amalek.", "Pure Arabs () or Qahtanites from Yemen, taken to be descended from Ya‘rub ibn Yashjub ibn Qahtan and further from Ishmael.", "Arabized Arabs () or Adnanites, taken to be the descendants of Ishmael son of Abraham.", "Arabians are most prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, but are also found in large numbers in Mesopotamia (Arab tribes in Iraq), the Levant and Sinai (Negev Bedouin, Tarabin bedouin), as well as the Maghreb (Libya, South Tunisia and South Algeria) and the Sudan region.Arabian tribes before the spread of Islam.", "This traditional division of the Arabs of Arabia may have arisen at the time of the First Fitna.", "Of the Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad, the most prominent was the Quraysh.", "The Quraysh subclan, the Banu Hashim, was the clan of Muhammad.", "During the early Muslim conquests and the Islamic Golden Age, the political rulers of Islam were exclusively members of the Quraysh.", "The Arab presence in Iran did not begin with the Arab conquest of Persia in 633 AD.", "For centuries, Iranian rulers had maintained contacts with Arabs outside their borders, dealt with Arab subjects and client states (such as those of Iraq and Yemen), and settled Arab tribesmen in various parts of the Iranian plateau.", "It follows that the \"Arab\" conquests and settlements were by no means the exclusive work of Arabs from the Hejaz and the tribesmen of inner Arabia.", "The Arab infiltration into Iran began before the Muslim conquests and continued as a result of the joint exertions of the civilized Arabs (ahl al-madar) as well as the desert Arabs (ahl al-wabar).", "The largest group of Iranian Arabs are the Ahwazi Arabs, including Banu Ka'b, Bani Turuf and the Musha'sha'iyyah sect.", "Smaller groups are the Khamseh nomads in Fars Province and the Arabs in Khorasan.", "Anaza tribe near Aleppo with his sons after being decorated with the Croix de Légion d'honneur on September 20, 1920.", "The Arabs of the Levant are traditionally divided into Qays and Yaman tribes.", "This tribal division is likewise taken to date to the Umayyad period.", "The Yemen trace their origin to South Arabia or Yemen; they include Banu Kalb, Kindah, Ghassanids, and Lakhmids.", "Since the 1834 Peasants' revolt in Palestine, the Arabic-speaking population of Palestine has shed its formerly tribal structure and emerged as the Palestinians.", "Native Jordanians are either descended from Bedouins (of which, 6% live a nomadic lifestyle), or from the many deeply rooted non bedouin communities across the country, most notably Al-Salt city west of Amman which was at the time of Emirate the largest urban settlement east of the Jordan River.", "Along with indigenous communities in Al Husn, Aqaba, Irbid, Al Karak, Madaba, Jerash, Ajloun, Fuheis and Pella.", "In Jordan, there is no official census data for how many inhabitants have Palestinian roots but they are estimated to constitute half of the population, which in 2008 amounted to about 3 million.", "Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics put their number at 3.24 million in 2009.", "Old Bedouin man and his wife in Egypt, 1918.", "The Bedouins of western Egypt and eastern Libya are traditionally divided into Saʿada and Murabtin, the Saʿada having higher social status.", "This may derive from a historical feudal system in which the Murabtin were vassals to the Saʿada\nIn Sudan, there are numerous Arabic-speaking tribes, including the Shaigya, Ja'alin and Shukria, who are ancestrally related to the Nubians.", "These groups are collectively known as Sudanese Arabs.", "In addition, there are other Afroasiatic-speaking populations, such as Copts and Beja.", "Mascara, Banu Hilal.", "The medieval Arab slave trade in the Sudan drove a wedge between the Arabic-speaking groups and the indigenous Nilotic populations.", "Slavery substantially persists today along these lines.", "It has contributed to ethnic conflict in the region, such as the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Northern Mali conflict, or the Boko Haram insurgency.", "The Arabs of the Maghreb are descendants of Arabian tribes of Banu Hilal, the Banu Sulaym and the Maqil native of Middle East and of other tribes native to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq.", "Arabs and Arabic-speakers inhabit plains and cities.", "The Banu Hilal spent almost a century in Egypt before moving to Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, and another century later some moved to Morocco, it is logical to think that they are mixed with inhabitants of Egypt and with Libya.", "The total number of Arabic speakers living in the Arab nations is estimated at 366 million by the CIA Factbook (as of 2014).", "The estimated number of Arabs in countries outside the Arab League is estimated at 17.5 million, yielding a total of close to 384 million.", "===Arab world===\nPopulation density of the Arab world in 2008.", "According to the Charter of the Arab League (also known as the ''Pact of the League of Arab States''), the League of Arab States is composed of independent Arab states that are signatories to the Charter.", "Although all Arab states have Arabic as an official language, there are many non-Arabic-speaking populations native to the Arab world.", "Among these are Berbers, Toubou, Nubians, Jews, Kurds, Armenians.", "Additionally, many Arab countries in the Persian Gulf have sizable non-Arab immigrant populations (10–30%).", "Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman have a Persian speaking minority.", "The same countries also have Hindi-Urdu speakers and Filipinos as sizable minority.", "Balochi speakers are a good size minority in Oman.", "Additionally, countries like Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Kuwait have significant non-Arab and non-Muslim minorities (10–20%) like Hindus and Christians from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines.", "The table below shows the distribution of populations in the Arab world, as well as the official language(s) within the various Arab states.", "Arab state\nPopulation\nOfficial language(s)\n\n \n 38,700,000 \n Arabic co-official language with Berber\n\n \n 1,314,089 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 780,971 \n Arabic co-official language with Comorian and French\n\n \n 810,179 \n Arabic co-official language with French\n\n \n 94,526,231 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 32,585,692 \n Arabic co-official language with Kurdish\n\n \n 9,531,712\n Arabic official language\n\n \n 4,156,306 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 5,882,562 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 6,244,174 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 3,516,806 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 32,987,206 \n Arabic co-official language with Berber\n\n \n 3,219,775 \n Arabic official language\n\n Palestine \n 4,550,368 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 2,123,160 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 27,345,986 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,428,043 \n Arabic co-official language with Somali\n\n \n 35,482,233 \n Arabic co-official language with English\n\n \n 17,951,639 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,937,521 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 10,102,678 \n Arabic official language\n\n \n 26,052,966 \n Arabic official language\n\n\n=== Arab diaspora ===\n\nSyrian immigrants in New York City, as depicted in 1895.", "Arab diaspora refers to descendants of the Arab immigrants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands in non-Arab countries, primarily in East Africa, South America, Europe, North America, and parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and West Africa.", "According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 13 million first-generation Arab migrants in the world, of which 5.8 million reside in Arab countries.", "Arab expatriates contribute to the circulation of financial and human capital in the region and thus significantly promote regional development.", "In 2009, Arab countries received a total of 35.1 billion USD in remittance in-flows and remittances sent to Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon from other Arab countries are 40 to 190 per cent higher than trade revenues between these and other Arab countries.", "The 250,000 strong Lebanese community in West Africa is the largest non-African group in the region.", "Arab traders have long operated in Southeast Asia and along the East Africa's Swahili coast.", "Zanzibar was once ruled by Omani Arabs.", "Most of the prominent Indonesians, Malaysians, and Singaporeans of Arab descent are Hadhrami people with origins in southern Yemen in the Hadramawt coastal region.", "Amel Bent, a France-born Maghrebi pop singer.", "There are millions of Arabs living in Europe mostly concentrated in France (about 6,000,000 in 2005).", "Most Arabs in France are from the Maghreb but some also come from the Mashreq areas of the Arab world.", "Arabs in France form the second largest ethnic group after French people of French origin.", "Spain (about 800,000 to 1,600,000 – 1,800,000), there have been Arabs in Spain since the early 8th century when the Umayyad conquest of Hispania created the state of Al-Andalus.", "Germany (over 1,000,000), Italy (about 680,000), United Kingdom (366,769 to 500,000).", "Greece (250,000 to 750,000), In addition, Greece has people from Arab countries who have the status of refugees (e.g.", "refugees of the Syrian civil war) or illegal immigrants trying to immigrate to Western Europe.", "Sweden (210,400).", "Netherlands (180,000).", "Denmark (121,000).", "And in other European countries, such as Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.", "As of late 2015, Turkey had a population of 78.7 million, with Syrian refugees accounting for 3.1% of that figure based on conservative estimates.", "Demographic trends indicate that the country already had from 1,500,000 to more than 2,000,000, so Turkey's Arab constituency now numbers anywhere from 4.5 to 5.1% of the population.", "In other words, nearly 4–5 million Arab inhabitants.", "The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.", "Arab immigration to the United States began in sizable numbers during the 1880s.", "Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.7 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country.", "Arab Americans are found in every state, but more than two thirds of them live in just ten states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.", "Metropolitan Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York City are home to one-third of the population.", "Contrary to popular assumptions or stereotypes, the majority of Arab Americans are native-born, and nearly 82% of Arabs in the U.S. are citizens.", "Arabs immigrants began to arrive in Canada in small numbers in 1882.", "Their immigration was relatively limited until 1945, after which time it increased progressively, particularly in the 1960s and thereafter.", "According to the website \"Who are Arab Canadians,\" Montreal, the Canadian city with the largest Arab population, has approximately 267,000 Arab inhabitants.", "Michel Temer, the 37th and current President of Brazil, is of Lebanese descent.", "Latin America has the largest Arab population outside of the Arab World.", "Latin America is home to anywhere from 17–25 to 30 million people of Arab descent, which is more than any other diaspora region in the world.", "The Brazilian and Lebanese governments claim there are 7 million Brazilians of Lebanese descent.", "Also, the Brazilian government claims there are 4 million Brazilians of Syrian descent.", "According to a research conducted by IBGE in 2008, covering only the states of Amazonas, Paraíba, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, 0.9% of white Brazilian respondents said they had family origins in the Middle East.", "Other large Arab communities includes Argentina (about 4,500,000) The interethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity.", "Venezuela (over 1,600,000), Colombia (over 1,600,000 to 3,200,000), a genetic study found that on average the Colombians have 8.5% genes from Middle East, Mexico (over 1,100,000), Chile (over 800,000), and Central America, particularly El Salvador, and Honduras (between 150,000 and 200,000).", "is the fourth largest in the world after those in Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.", "Arab Haitians (a large number of whom live in the capital) are more often than not, concentrated in financial areas where the majority of them establish businesses.", "Georgia and the Caucasus in 1060, during the final decline of the emirate.", "In 1728, a Russian officer described a group of Arab nomads who populated the Caspian shores of Mughan (in present-day Azerbaijan) and spoke a mixed Turkic-Arabic language.", "It is believed that these groups migrated to the Caucasus in the 16th century.", "The 1888 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica also mentioned a certain number of Arabs populating the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire.", "They retained an Arabic dialect at least into the mid-19th century, there are nearly 30 settlements still holding the name ''Arab'' (for example, Arabgadim, Arabojaghy, Arab-Yengija, etc.).", "From the time of the Arab conquest of the Caucasus, continuous small-scale Arab migration from various parts of the Arab world occurred in Dagestan.", "The majority of these lived in the village of Darvag, to the north-west of Derbent.", "The latest of these accounts dates to the 1930s.", "Most Arab communities in southern Dagestan underwent linguistic Turkicisation, thus nowadays Darvag is a majority-Azeri village.", "According to the ''History of Ibn Khaldun'', the Arabs that were once in Central Asia have been either killed or have fled the Tatar invasion of the region, leaving only the locals.", "However, today many people in Central Asia identify as Arabs.", "Most Arabs of Central Asia are fully integrated into local populations, and sometimes call themselves the same as locals (for example, Tajiks, Uzbeks) but they use special titles to show their Arab origin such as Sayyid, Khoja or Siddiqui.left\n\nThere are only two communities in India which self-identify as Arabs, the Chaush of the Deccan region and the Chavuse of Gujarat.", "These groups are largely descended from Hadhrami migrants who settled in these two regions in the 18th century.", "However, neither community still speaks Arabic, although the Chaush have seen re-immigration to the Arab States of the Persian Gulf and thus a re-adoption of Arabic.", "In South Asia, where Arab ancestry is considered prestigious, many communities have origin myths that claim Arab ancestry.", "These include the Mappilla of Kerala and the Labbai of Tamil Nadu.", "Among North Indian and Pakistani Arabs there are groups who claim the status of Sayyid and have origin myths that allege descent from the Prophet Mohammad.", "The South Asian Iraqi biradri may be considered Arabs because records of their ancestors who migrated from Iraq exist in historical documents.", "There are about 5,000,000 Native Indonesians with Arab ancestry.", "Arab Indonesians are mainly of Hadrami descent.", "The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.23% of the country's total population.", "Some sources trace the ancestry of the Sri Lankan Moors to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka at some time between the 8th and 15th centuries.", "Baggara belt.", "Afro-Arabs are individuals and groups from Africa who are of partial Arab descent.", "Most Afro-Arabs inhabit the Swahili Coast in the African Great Lakes region, although some can also be found in parts of the Arab world.", "Large numbers of Arabs migrated to West Africa, particularly Côte d'Ivoire (home to over 100,000 Lebanese), Senegal (roughly 30,000 Lebanese), Sierra Leone (roughly 10,000 Lebanese today; about 30,000 prior to the outbreak of civil war in 1991), Liberia, and Nigeria.", "Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Lebanese traders have become re-established in Sierra Leone.", "The Arabs of Chad occupy northern Cameroon and Nigeria (where they are sometimes known as Shuwa), and extend as a belt across Chad and into Sudan, where they are called the Baggara grouping of Arab ethnic groups inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel.", "The Chadian Arabs are (2,391,000 to 2,500,000), Nigeria (289,000), Cameroon (171,000), Niger (150,000), and the Central African Republic (107,000).", "\nNemesis, Allāt and the dedicator.", "Arabs are mostly Muslims with a Sunni majority and a Shia minority, one exception being the Ibadis, who predominate in Oman.", "Arab Christians generally follow Eastern Churches such as the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, though a minority of Protestant Church followers also exists; The Copts and the Maronites, follow the Coptic Church and Maronite Church accordingly.", "The Greek Catholic church and Maronite church are under the Pope of Rome, and a part of the larger worldwide Catholic Church.", "There are also Arab communities consisting of Druze and Baha'is.", "Before the coming of Islam, most Arabs followed a pagan religion with a number of deities, including Hubal, Wadd, Allāt, Manat, and Uzza.", "A few individuals, the ''hanifs'', had apparently rejected polytheism in favor of monotheism unaffiliated with any particular religion.", "Some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism.", "The most prominent Arab Christian kingdoms were the Ghassanid and Lakhmid kingdoms.", "When the Himyarite king converted to Judaism in the late 4th century, the elites of the other prominent Arab kingdom, the Kindites, being Himyirite vassals, apparently also converted (at least partly).", "With the expansion of Islam, polytheistic Arabs were rapidly Islamized, and polytheistic traditions gradually disappeared.", "The holiest place in Islam, the Kaaba, is located in Saudi Arabia.", "Today, Sunni Islam dominates in most areas, overwhelmingly so in North Africa and the Horn of Africa.", "Shia Islam is dominant among the Arab population in Bahrain and southern Iraq while northern Iraq is mostly Sunni.", "Substantial Shia populations exist in Lebanon, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, northern Syria and the al-Batinah region in Oman.", "There are small numbers of Ibadi and non-denominational Muslims too.", "The Druze community is concentrated in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan.", "Many Druze claim independence from other major religions in the area and consider their religion more of a philosophy.", "Their books of worship are called Kitab Al Hikma (Epistles of Wisdom).", "They believe in reincarnation and pray to five messengers from God.", "In Israel, the Druze have a ''status aparte'' from the general Arab population, treated as a separate ethno-religious community.", "Greek Orthodox Church during a snow storm in Amman, Jordan.", "Christianity had a prominent presence In pre-Islamic Arabia among several Arab communities, including the Bahrani people of Eastern Arabia, the Christian community of Najran, in parts of Yemen, and among certain northern Arabian tribes such as the Ghassanids, Lakhmids, Taghlib, Banu Amela, Banu Judham, Tanukhids and Tayy.", "In the early Christian centuries, Arabia was sometimes known as ''Arabia heretica'', due to its being \"well known as a breeding-ground for heterodox interpretations of Christianity.\"", "Christians make up 5.5% of the population of Western Asia and North Africa.", "A sizeable share of those are Arab Christians proper, and affiliated Arabic-speaking populations of Copts and Maronites.", "In Lebanon, Christians number about 40.5% of the population.", "In Syria, Christians make up 10% of the population.", "In Egypt, Coptic Christians number about 10% of the population.", "In Iraq, Christians constitute 0.1% of the population.", "In Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1% (roughly 9% of the Arab population).", "Arab Christians make up 8% of the population of Jordan.", "Most North and South American Arabs are Christian, so are about half of the Arabs in Australia who come particularly from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.", "One well known member of this religious and ethnic community is Saint Abo, martyr and the patron saint of Tbilisi, Georgia.", "Arab Christians also live in holy Christian cities such as Nazareth, Bethlehem and the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and many other villages with holy Christian sites.", "\nArabic culture is the culture of Arab people, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea.", "Language, literature, gastronomy, art, architecture, music, spirituality, philosophy, mysticism (etc.)", "are all part of the cultural heritage of the Arabs.", "Arabs share basic beliefs and values that cross national and social class boundaries.", "Social attitudes have remained constant because Arab society is more conservative and demands conformity from its members.", "It is important for Western observers to be able to identify and distinguish these cultural patterns from individual behaviors.", "=== Language ===\n\nArabic calligraphy.", "Another important and unifying characteristic of Arabs is a common language.", "Arabic is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic Family.", "Evidence of its first use appears in accounts of wars in 853 BC.", "It also became widely used in trade and commerce.", "Arabic also is a liturgical language of 1.7 billion Muslims.", "It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.", "It is revered as the language that God chose to reveal the Quran.", "Arabic has developed into at least two distinct forms.", "Classical Arabic is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times (7th to 9th centuries).", "It is based on the medieval dialects of Arab tribes.", "Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the direct descendant used today throughout the Arab world in writing and in formal speaking, for example, prepared speeches, some radio broadcasts, and non-entertainment content, while the lexis and stylistics of Modern Standard Arabic are different from Classical Arabic.", "Colloquial Arabic, an informal spoken language, varies by dialect from region to region; various forms of the language are in use today and provide an important force for Arab cohesion.", "=== Literature ===\n\nSelf portrait of renowned Lebanese poet/writer Khalil Gibran.", "There is a small remnant of pre-Islamic poetry, but Arabic literature predominantly emerges in the Middle Ages, during the Golden Age of Islam.", "Literary Arabic is derived from Classical Arabic, based on the language of the Quran as it was analyzed by Arabic grammarians beginning in the 8th century.", "A large portion of Arabic literature before the 20th century is in the form of poetry, and even prose from this period is either filled with snippets of poetry or is in the form of ''saj'' or rhymed prose.", "The ''ghazal'' or love poem had a long history being at times tender and chaste and at other times rather explicit.", "In the Sufi tradition the love poem would take on a wider, mystical and religious importance.", "Arabic epic literature was much less common than poetry, and presumably originates in oral tradition, written down from the 14th century or so.", "Maqama or rhymed prose is intermediate between poetry and prose, and also between fiction and non-fiction.", "Maqama was an incredibly popular form of Arabic literature, being one of the few forms which continued to be written during the decline of Arabic in the 17th and 18th centuries.", "An Abbasid-era Arabic manuscript.", "Arabic literature and culture declined significantly after the 13th century, to the benefit of Turkish and Persian.", "A modern revival took place beginning in the 19th century, alongside resistance against Ottoman rule.", "The literary revival is known as ''al-Nahda'' in Arabic, and was centered in Egypt and Lebanon.", "Two distinct trends can be found in the ''nahda'' period of revival.", "The first was a neo-classical movement which sought to rediscover the literary traditions of the past, and was influenced by traditional literary genres—such as the ''maqama''—and works like ''One Thousand and One Nights''.", "In contrast, a modernist movement began by translating Western modernist works—primarily novels—into Arabic.", "A tradition of modern Arabic poetry was established by writers such as Francis Marrash, Ahmad Shawqi and Hafiz Ibrahim.", "Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab is considered to be the originator of free verse in Arabic poetry.", "=== Gastronomy ===\n\nA large plate of Mezes in Petra, Jordan.", "Arabic cuisine is the cuisine of the Arab people.", "The cuisines are often centuries old and resemble and culture of great trading in spices, herbs, and foods.", "The three main regions, also known as the Maghreb, the Mashriq, and the Khaleej have many similarities, but also many unique traditions.", "These kitchens have been influenced by the climate, cultivating possibilities, as well as trading possibilities.", "The kitchens of the Maghreb and Levant are relatively young kitchens which were developed over the past centuries.", "The kitchen from the Khaleej region is a very old kitchen.", "The kitchens can be divided into the urban and rural kitchens.", "Arab cuisine mostly follows one of three culinary traditions – from the Maghreb, the Levant or the Persian Gulf states.", "In the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) traditional main meals are tajines or dishes using couscous.", "In the Levant (Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) main meals usually start with mezze – small dishes of dips and other items which are eaten with bread.", "This is typically followed by skewers of grilled lamb or chicken.", "Gulf cuisine, tends to be more highly spiced with more use of rice.", "Sometimes a lamb is roasted and served whole.", "One will find the following items on most dishes; Cinnamon, Fish (in coastal areas), Garlic, Lamb (or veal), Mild to hot sauces, Mint, Onion, Rice, Saffron, Sesame, Yogurt, Spices due to heavy trading between the two regions.", "Tea, Thyme (or oregano), Turmeric, Variety of fruits (primarily citrus), Variety of vegetables such as cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, green beans, zucchini and parsley.", "===Art===\n\nMosaic and arabesque on a wall of the Myrtle court in 218x218px\nArabic art takes on many forms, though it is jewelry, textiles and architecture that are the most well-known.", "It is generally split up by different eras, among them being early Arabic, early medieval, late medieval, late Arabic, and finally, current Arabic.", "One thing to remember is that many times a particular style from one era may continue into the next with few changes, while some have a drastic transformation.", "This may seem like a strange grouping of art mediums, but they are all closely related.", "Arabic writing is done from right to left, and was generally written in dark inks, with certain things embellished with special colored inks (red, green, gold).", "In early Arabic and early Medieval, writing was typically done on parchment made of animal skin.", "The ink showed up very well on it, and occasionally the parchment was dyed a separate color and brighter ink was used (this was only for special projects).", "The name given to the form of writing in early times was called Kufic script.", "Arabic miniatures are small paintings on paper, whether book illustrations or separate works of art.", "Arabic miniature art dates to the late 7th century.", "Arabs depended on such art not only to satisfy their artistic taste, but also for scientific explanations.", "Arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of \"surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils\" or plain lines, often combined with other elements.", "Another definition is \"Foliate ornament, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems\".", "It usually consists of a single design which can be 'tiled' or seamlessly repeated as many times as desired.", "===Architecture===\n\nMosque-Cathedral of Cordóba, built by Abd al Rahman I in 987.", "Arabic Architecture has a deep diverse history, it dates to the dawn of the history in pre-Islamic Arabia and includes various styles from the Nabataean architecture to the old yet still used architecture in various regions of the Arab world.", "Each of it phases largely\nan extension of the earlier phase, it left also heavy impact on the architecture of other nations.", "Arab Architecture also encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day.", "Some parts of its religious architectures raised by Muslim Arabs were influenced by cultures of Roman, Byzantine and cultures of other lands which the Arab conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries.", "In Sicily, Arab-Norman architecture combined Occidental features, such as the Classical pillars and friezes, with typical Arabic decorations and calligraphy.", "The principal Islamic architectural types are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort.", "From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.", "=== Music ===\n\nBayad & Riyad'', Arabic tale.", "Arabic music, while independent and flourishing in the 2010s, has a long history of interaction with many other regional musical styles and genres.", "It is an amalgam of the music of the Arab people in the Arabian Peninsula and the music of all the peoples that make up the Arab world today Pre-Islamic Arab music was similar to that of Ancient Middle Eastern music.", "Most historians agree that there existed distinct forms of music in the Arabian peninsula in the pre-Islamic period between the 5th and 7th century AD.", "Arab poets of that \"Jahili poets\", meaning \"the poets of the period of ignorance\"—used to recite poems with a high notes.", "It was believed that Jinns revealed poems to poets and music to musicians.", "By the 11th century, Islamic Iberia had become a center for the manufacture of instruments.", "These goods spread gradually throughout France, influencing French troubadours, and eventually reaching the rest of Europe.", "The English words lute, rebec, and naker are derived from Arabic oud, rabab, and naqareh.", "244x244px\nA number of musical instruments used in classical music are believed to have been derived from Arabic musical instruments: the lute was derived from the ''Oud'', the rebec (ancestor of violin) from the ''rebab'', the guitar from ''qitara'', which in turn was derived from the Persian Tar, naker from ''naqareh'', adufe from ''al-duff'', alboka from ''al-buq'', anafil from ''al-nafir'', exabeba from ''al-shabbaba'' (flute), atabal (bass drum) from ''al-tabl'', atambal from ''al-tinbal'', the balaban, the castanet from ''kasatan'', sonajas de azófar from ''sunuj al-sufr'', the conical bore wind instruments, the xelami from the ''sulami'' or ''fistula'' (flute or musical pipe),\nthe shawm and dulzaina from the reed instruments ''zamr'' and ''al-zurna'', the gaita from the ''ghaita'', rackett from ''iraqya'' or ''iraqiyya'', geige (violin) from ''ghichak'',\nand the theorbo from the ''tarab''.", "During the 1950s and the 1960s, Arabic music began to take on a more Western tone – artists Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez along with composers Mohamed Abd al-Wahab and Baligh Hamdi pioneered the use of western instruments in Egyptian music.", "By the 1970s several other singers had followed suit and a strand of Arabic pop was born.", "Arabic pop usually consists of Western styled songs with Arabic instruments and lyrics.", "Melodies are often a mix between Eastern and Western.", "Beginning in the mid-1980s, Lydia Canaan, musical pioneer widely regarded as the first rock star of the Middle East\n\n=== Spirituality ===\n\nAl-‘Uzzá was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion.", "Arab polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on veneration of deities and other rituals.", "Gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá and Manāt, were worshipped at local shrines, such as the Kaaba in Mecca, whilst Arabs in the south, in what is today's Yemen, worshipped various gods, some of which represented the Sun or Moon.", "Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion.", "Many of the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols, especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them.", "Until about the fourth century, almost all Arabs practised polytheistic religions.", "Although significant Jewish and Christian minorities developed, polytheism remained the dominant belief system in pre-Islamic Arabia.", "The religious beliefs and practices of the nomadic bedouin were distinct from those of the settled tribes of towns such as Mecca.", "Nomadic religious belief systems and practices are believed to have included fetishism, totemism and veneration of the dead but were connected principally with immediate concerns and problems and did not consider larger philosophical questions such as the afterlife.", "Settled urban Arabs, on the other hand, are thought to have believed in a more complex pantheon of deities.", "While the Meccans and the other settled inhabitants of the Hejaz worshipped their gods at permanent shrines in towns and oases, the bedouin practised their religion on the move.", "=== Philosophy ===\n\nAverroes, founder of the Averroism school of philosophy, was influential in the rise of secular thought in Western Europe.|left\nAndalusian mystic and philosopher 236x236px\nArabic philosophy refers to philosophical thought in the Arab world.", "Schools of Arabic thought include Avicennism and Averroism.", "The first great Arab thinker is widely regarded to be al-Kindi (801–873 A.D.), a Neo-Platonic philosopher, mathematician and scientist who lived in Kufa and Baghdad (modern day Iraq).", "After being appointed by the Abbasid Caliphs to translate Greek scientific and philosophical texts into Arabic, he wrote a number of original treatises of his own on a range of subjects, from metaphysics and ethics to mathematics and pharmacology.", "Much of his philosophical output focuses on theological subjects such as the nature of God, the soul and prophetic knowledge.", "Doctrines of the Arabic philosophers of the 9th–12th century who influenced medieval Scholasticism in Europe.", "The Arabic tradition combines Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam.", "Influential thinkers include the Persians al-Farabi and Avicenna.", "The Arabic philosophic literature was translated into Hebrew and Latin, this contributed to the development of modern European philosophy.", "The Arabic tradition was developed by Moses Maimonides and Ibn Khaldun.", "=== Science ===\n\nA giraffe from ''Kitāb al-ḥayawān'' (''Book of the Animals'') by the 9th century Arab naturalist Al-Jahiz\nArabic science underwent remarkable development during the 8th to 13th centuries C.E., a flowering of knowledge and intellect that later spread throughout Europe and greatly influenced both medical practice and education.", "The scientific glory of the Arabic nation originated on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century C.E., where the preaching of the prophet Mohammed united the Arab tribes and inaugurated the Muslim religion.", "Albategnius's ''Kitāb az-Zīj'' was one of the most influential books in medieval astronomy.", "Within a century after Mohammed's death (632 C.E.", "), an empire ruled by Arabs was established.", "It encompassed a large part of the planet, stretching from southern Europe to North Africa to Central Asia and on to India.", "In 711 C.E., Arab Muslims invaded southern Spain and a center of flourishing civilization (al-Andalus) was created.", "Another center emerged in Baghdad from the Abbasids, who ruled part of the Islamic world during a historic period later characterized as the \"Golden Age\" (∼750 to 1258 C.E.).", "The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154, is one of the most advanced ancient world maps.", "Modern consolidation, created from the 70 double-page spreads of the original atlas.", "This era can be identified as the years between 692 and 945, and ended when the caliphate was marginalized by local Muslim rulers in Baghdad – its traditional seat of power.", "From 945 onward until the sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, the Caliph continued on as a figurehead, with power devolving more to local amirs.", "The pious scholars of Islam, men and women collectively known as the ulama, were the most influential element of society in the fields of Sharia law, speculative thought and theology.", "Arabic scientific achievement is not as yet fully understood, but is very large.", "These achievements encompass a wide range of subject areas, especially mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.", "Other subjects of scientific inquiry included physics, alchemy and chemistry, cosmology, ophthalmology, geography and cartography, sociology, and psychology.", "Also the birth of the University institution can be traced to this development.", "Al-Jahiz (born 776, in Basra – December 868/January 869) was an Arab prose writer and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.", "A leading scholar in the Abassid Caliphate, his canon includes two hundred books on various subjects, including Arabic grammar, zoology, poetry, lexicography, and rhetoric.", "Of his writings, only thirty books survive.", "Al-Jāḥiẓ was also one of the first Arabian writers to suggest a complete overhaul of the language's grammatical system, though this would not be undertaken until his fellow linguist Ibn Maḍāʾ took up the matter two hundred years later.", "Al-Battani (c. 858 – 929; born Harran, Bilad al-Sham) was an Arab astronomer, astrologer and mathematician of the Islamic Golden Age.", "His work is considered instrumental in the development of science and astronomy.", "One of Al-Battani's best-known achievements in astronomy was the determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds which is only 2 minutes and 22 seconds off.", "=== Wedding and marriage ===\n\nHenna tattoo in Morocco.", "Arabic weddings have changed greatly in the past 100 years.", "Original traditional Arabic weddings are supposed to be very similar to modern-day Bedouin weddings and rural weddings, and they are in some cases unique from one region to another, even within the same country.", "it must be mentioned that what some people today call \"Bedouin\" wedding is in fact the original true traditional Arab Islamic wedding without foreign influence.", "The practice of marrying of relatives is a common feature of Arab culture.", "Among Arabs the practice of marrying of relatives is a common feature.", "In the Arab world today between 40% and 50% of all marriages are consanguineous or between close family members, though these figures may vary among Arab nations.", "In Egypt, around 40% of the population marry a cousin.", "A 1992 survey in Jordan found that 32% were married to a first cousin; a further 17.3% were married to more distant relatives.", "67% of marriages in Saudi Arabia are between close relatives as are 54% of all marriages in Kuwait, whereas 18% of all Lebanese were between blood relatives.", "Due to the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, marriage between cousins is explicitly allowed in Islam and the Qur'an itself does not discourage or forbid the practice.", "Nevertheless, opinions vary on whether the phenomenon should be seen as exclusively based on Islamic practices as a 1992 study among Arabs in Jordan did not show significant differences between Christian Arabs or Muslim Arabs when comparing the occurrence of consanguinity.", "\nE1b1b is the most frequent paternal clade among the populations in the western part of the Arab world (Maghreb, Nile Valley and Horn of Africa), whereas haplogroup J is the most frequent paternal clade toward the east (Arabian peninsula and Near East).", "Other less common haplogroups are R1a, R1b, G, I, L and T.\n\n\nListed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Arabian peninsula, Mashriq/Levant, Maghreb and Nile Valley.", "Yemeni Arabs J (82.3%), E1b1b (12.9%) and E1b1a (3.2%).", "Saudi Arabs J1 (58%), E1b1b (7.6%), E1b1a (7.6%), R1a (5.1%), T (5.1%), G (3.2%) and L (1.9%).", "Emirati Arabs J (45.1%), E1b1b (11.6%), R1a (7.3%), E1b1a (5.5%), T (4.9%), R1b (4.3%) and L (3%).", "Omani Arabs J (47.9%), E1b1b (15.7%), R1a (9.1%), T (8.3%), E1b1a (7.4%), R1b (1.7%), G (1.7%) and L (0.8%).", "Qatari Arabs J (66.7%), R1a (6.9%), E1b1b (5.6%), E1b1a (2.8%), G (2.8%) and L (2.8%).", "Lebanese Arabs J (45.2%), E1b1b (25.8%), R1a (9.7%), R1b (6.4%), G, I and I (3.2%), (3.2%), (3.2%).", "Syrian Arabs J (58.3%), E1b1b (12.0%), I (5.0%), R1a (10.0%) and R1b 15.0%.", "Palestinian Arabs J (55.2%), E1b1b (20.3%), R1b (8.4%), I (6.3%), G (7%), R1a and T (1.4%), (1.4%).", "Jordanian Arabs J (43.8%), E1b1b (26%), R1b (17.8%), G (4.1%), I (3.4%) and R1a (1.4%).", "Iraqi Arabs J (50.6%), E1b1b (10.8%), R1b (10.8%), R1a (6.9%) and T (5.9%).", "Egyptian Arabs E1b1b (36.7%) and J (32%), G (8.8%), T (8.2% R1b (4.1%), E1b1a (2.8%) and I (0.7%).", "Sudanese Arabs J (47.1%), E1b1b (16.3%), R1b (15.7%) and I (3.13%).", "Moroccan Arabs E1b1b (75.5%) and J1 (20.4%).", "Tunisian Arabs E1b1b (49.3%), J1 (35.8%), R1b (6.8%) and E1b1a (1.4%).", "Algerian Arabs E1b1b (54%), J1 (35%), R1b (13%).", "Libyan Arabs E1b1b (35.88%), J (30.53%), E1b1a (8.78%), G (4.20%), R1a/R1b (3.43%) and E (1.53%).", "The mtDNA haplogroup J has been observed at notable frequencies among overall populations in the Arab world.", "The maternal clade R0 reaches its highest frequency in the Arabian peninsula, while K and T(specifically subclade T2) is more common in the Levant.", "In the Nile Valley and Horn of Africa, haplogroups N1 and M1; in the Maghreb, haplogroups H1 and U6 are more significant.", "There are four principal West Eurasian autosomal DNA components that characterize the populations in the Arab world: the Arabian, Levantine, Coptic and Maghrebi components.", "The Arabian component is the main autosomal element in the Persian Gulf region.", "It is most closely associated with local Arabic-speaking populations.", "The Arabian component is also found at significant frequencies in parts of the Levant and Northeast Africa.", "The geographical distribution pattern of this component correlates with the pattern of the Islamic expansion, but its presence in Lebanese Christians, Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, Cypriots and Armenians might suggest that its spread to the Levant could also represent an earlier event.", "The Levantine component is the main autosomal element in the Near East and Caucasus.", "It peaks among Druze populations in the Levant.", "The Levantine component diverged from the Arabian component about 15,500–23,700 ypb.", "The Coptic component is the main autosomal element in Northeast Africa.", "It peaks among Egyptian Copts in Sudan, and is also found at high frequencies among other Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in the Nile Valley and Horn of Africa.", "The Coptic component is roughly equivalent with the Ethio-Somali component.", "The Maghrebi component is the main autosomal element in the Maghreb.", "It peaks among the non-Arabized Berber populations in the region.", "The Maghrebi component diverged from the Coptic/Ethio-Somali, Arabian and Levantine components prior to the Holocene.", "* Arab Union\n* Arab world\n* Lists of Arab companies\n* North African Arabs", ";Notes\n\n\n\n;Bibliography\n\n\n* \n* \n* \n* \n* Touma, Habib Hassan.", "''The Music of the Arabs''.", "Portland, Oregon: Amadeus P, 1996. .", "* Lipinski, Edward.", "''Semitic Languages: Outlines of a Comparative Grammar'', 2nd ed., Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta: Leuven 2001\n* Kees Versteegh, ''The Arabic Language'', Edinburgh University Press (1997)\n* The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, 1907, Online Edition, K. Night 2003: article Arabia\n* History of Arabic language(1894), Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.\n* The Arabic language, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education web page (2006)\n* \n* Hooker, Richard.", "\"Pre-Islamic Arabic Culture.\"", "WSU Web Site.", "6 June 1999.", "Washington State University.", "* Owen, Roger.", "\"State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East 3rd Ed\" Page 57 \n*", "*Price-Jones, David.", "''The Closed Circle: an Interpretation of the Arabs''.", "Pbk.", "ed., with a new preface by the author.", "Chicago: I. R. Dee, 2002. xiv, 464 p. \n*Ankerl, Guy.", "''Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western.''", "INU PRESS, Geneva, 2000. .", "\n* www.LasPortal.org\n* ArabCultureFund AFAC" ]